By Dr. Umar Razzaq and Naila Mannan

This article will be an attempt to prove the existence of God (Allah) by using the holy scripture of Muslims – the Quran. The Holy Quran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, may peace be on him, over a period of 23 years in Arabic. It was initially revealed in small chunks with enough time in between revelations to improve comprehension and memorization. As the followers grew, and more people memorized the text, there were longer transmissions [1]. It has been documented that the companions of the Prophet would write down his revealed verses while the Prophet was still alive, ensuring both verbal and written proof of the revelation. (A list of those companions: 1. Zayd bin Thabit; 2. Ubayy bin Ka‘b; 3. Abdullah bin Sa‘d bin Abi Sarah; 4. Zubayr bin al-‘Awwam; 5. Khalid bin Sa‘id bin al-‘As; 6. Aban bin Sa‘id bin al-‘As; 7. Hanzalah bin ar-Rabi‘ al-Asadi; 8. Mu‘ayqib bin Abi Fatimah; 9. ‘Abdullah bin Arqam az-Zuhri; 10. Shurahbil bin Hasanah; 11. Abdullah bin Rawahah; 12. Abu Bakr; 13. Umar; 14. Uthman; 15 Ali [2]).

The compilation of the Quran officially began with the first Caliph, Abu Bakr, and was completed and standardized in a book by the third Caliph, Uthman. As the Muslims of that time were a diverse population from different lands with different dialects, there was a need to ensure the Quran was preserved in its original form with correct pronunciation. Hence, the Quran was standardized to ensure everyone recited it correctly. It is this same Quran which is available today throughout the world. From the last revelation (the year of the death of the Prophet) in 632 CE, to the final completion of the compilation of the Quran in 650 CE, there was a mere 18 years, which is well within a person’s lifetime and memory, leaving no gap for errors.

Furthermore, in the University of Brimingham, scholars have found perhaps the oldest manuscript of the Quran in the world. It dates from the period of 568 CE to 645 CE which means it’s from the time of the Holy Prophet SAW  himself. It contains parts of chapters 18 to 20 of the Holy Quran. Comparing it to a present-day publication of the Quran reveals that they are identical, without any differences [7]. Compared to other documents of antiquity, the Quran is unique because it was memorized portions and as a whole and it was compiled so soon after it was revealed and in such a controlled and proper manner.

Analyzing the transmission of the Quran, we can see that there were no gaps or periods of time where misunderstandings or corruption could have crept into the script. The fact that the same Quran is in writing today and is memorized by people, and all Muslims anywhere in the world have the same Quran, proves its authenticity.

Now let us turn to what is said in the Quran about itself. It states that it is “a perfect book” and that there is “no doubt in it” (Chapter 2; verse 3). It could not have been a creation of man, as in fact man can not even produce anything like it, as stated in Chapter 17; verse 89: “Say, ‘If mankind and the Jinn gathered together to produce the like of this Qur’an, they could not produce the like thereof, even though they should help one another.” Up to this day, no-one has disproved this statement as no-one has created anything like the Quran in its eloquence and truths.

Furthermore, the Quran contains many beautiful and scientifically accurate statements that could not have been known in the 7th Century. This shows that these words must have come from a divine being who knew about His creation and not a pondered guess from man. For instance, let us take Chapter 21, verse 31: “Do not the disbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were a closed-up mass, then We opened them out? And we make every living thing from water. Will they not then believe?” If one contemplates about this verse, one will realize this is the very description of the Big Bang theory [3]. Furthermore, this description is followed by a fact that we all know to be true – that water is the absolute essential of all life, and NASA has called it “the list of ingredients for life” [4]. How could a man in the deserts of Arabia, who was said to be uneducated (“unlettered”), even contemplate such a thought when no such ideas were mentioned? Moreover, such complex ideas would not even be observed or discovered until hundreds of years had passed from his time via the modern invention of advanced technology. Looking at Chapter 21, verse 105: “Remember the day when We shall roll up the heavens like the rolling up of written scrolls by a scribe. As We began the first creation, so shall We repeat it — a promise binding upon Us; We shall certainly perform it.” This again describes a theory about the universe that was only proposed recently in 1922, which is what NASA calls the Big Crunch [5]. This is just one of many bold and confident statements made in the Quran; no person could make that up.

Countless other verses in the Quran contain scientific truths that have only recently been theorized or discovered. Here are just a few examples of truths told to us in the Quran: the Big Bang theory; expansion of the universe, planetary orbits; the Big Crunch theory; the sky/atmosphere being protective; water is necessary for life; the composition of the Earth (iron within meteorites); embryology; the phenomena of a barrier when two seas meet; mountains are stakes (as they root deep within the Earth); internal waves in the ocean; pain receptors; the frontal lobe is responsible for deeds [6]. Only the Creator of all things could know of them as they are His laws of the worlds, nature, and humans.

Concerning the argument that the Quran may have been copied from prior religious texts such as the Gospels or the Torah. This is false because upon reading the Quran, numerous verses are negating the Christian and Jewish beliefs. For instance, the details about how there were date trees with ripe dates during the birth of Jesus are not found in the Bible. This detail shows his birth could not have been in the winter, thus negating the celebration of Christmas is on 25th December. The Prophet was not educated on the Christian or Jewish faith; he could not read, so he could not read their scriptures, and he was a man under persecution and engaged in battles for the survival of his message. With so many forces against him, what time did he have to philosophize and copy the entire Bible, much less contemplate the many wonders of the natural world?

Other faiths have only taken people to the point of realizing that there should be a God. One can look at the world’s creation and, through rational arguments, conclude that there should be a God. However, this does not equate to the actual realization and certainty of the fact that God truly exists. Only the Quran can point to the existence of God with absolute certainty that cannot be refuted or denied. Only by understanding God’s attributes and seeing His signs can one reach the certainty of God’s existence.

Only the Quran has hundreds of signs and brings you to this understanding of God because only God can tell us about truths we cannot even imagine ourselves. The truths are broad (from the vast universe to a minute cell in the human body) and are always telling us truths from the past, facts about the present, and prophecies about the future. You can only be sure that God exists because God has shown Himself to us in the Quran in the most basic way we can understand – proven truths. Beyond that, the spiritual aspect of experiencing God in our lives is for those who are righteous and connected enough to God to have prayers answered and accurate future dreams. Every attribute of God is proof of His existence. For one example, the attribute Al-Mujib (One Who accepts prayers) – we see so many incredible examples of the acceptance of prayers when we study the life of the Promised Messiah. May peace be on him. You can only be sure of something when you experience it – all prophets of God have experienced His signs and miracles in their lifetime, and for the rest of humanity, the Quran is God’s signs and miracles for our lives. In summary, the Quran is unchanged as revealed to the Holy Prophet. He had no reason or way to fabricate it. The miraculous truths and signs within it leave us with no conclusion other than that it must be the Creator of all things who has sent down its message and informed us of His existence.

References:

[1] Introduction to the Study of the Holy Quran (online), p259
[2] Introduction to the Holy Quran (online), p260
[3] https://www.space.com/25126-big-bang-theory.html
[4] https://europa.nasa.gov/why-europa/ingredients-for-life/
[5] https://www.nasa.gov/universe/nasas-wfirst-will-help-uncover-universes-
fate/
[6] https://themuslimvibe.com/faith-islam/13-scientific-facts-in-the-holy-quran
[7] https://www.alislam.org/articles/was-holy-quran-perfectly-preserved/