How can we prove that The Qur'an is the word of God?

The amount of people who have believed in the Divine authorship of the Qur’an since its revelation 14 centuries ago amounts to billions. In the face of such a consensus, especially when considered that each affirmation corroborates the others while negations or denials add nothing to each other, it falls upon those who reject the Divine authorship of the Qur’an to prove their negation, which is impossible. However, in order to remove the dust of doubt that may come to the hearts and minds of some believers under the influence of both modern trends of scepticism and atheism and followers of other religions, we shall mention only a few of the evidences to establish that the Qur’an is a word of God.

The Qur’an is completely different from all the other books in the world.

When we study the Qur’an even superficially from the viewpoint of its wording, styles, and meaning, we will certainly conclude that it is completely different from all the other books in the world. So, in rank and worth it is either below all of them—even Satan cannot claim this, nor does he conceive of it—or above them. Since it is above all of them, it must be the Word of God.
The Qur’an, which he brought, has challenged all mankind with all their literary geniuses and scientists, from the first day of its revelation to the Last Day, to produce a like of it or even a single chapter of it
The Qur’an openly declares:

You (O Muhammad) was not a reader of any Scripture before it, nor did you write (such a Scripture) with your right hand, for then those who follow falsehood might (have a right) to doubt it. (al-Ankabut, 29.48)

It is an established, undeniable fact that the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, was unlettered. Whereas the Qur’an, which he brought, has challenged all mankind with all their literary geniuses and scientists, from the first day of its revelation to the Last Day, to produce a like of it or even a single chapter of it:

If you are in doubt concerning that which We have sent down onto Our servant (Muhammad), then produce a chapter of the like thereof, and call your witnesses, supporters, who are apart from God, if you are truthful. (al-Baqara, 2.23)

Mankind have since been unable to produce a like of only one of its chapters, including, of course, its shortest ones like sura al-Ikhlas or sura al-Kawthar; those who have ventured to do that have all laid themselves open to ridicule. This is a clear proof for the Divine authorship of the Qur’an.

The Qur’an was revealed in 23 years, yet there are not any contradictory points in it.

The revelation of the Qur’an lasted 23 years. It is inconceivable that any book written by a mortal being in 23 years, one which is a book of Divine truths, metaphysics, religious beliefs and worship, prayer, law and morality, a book fully describing the other life, a book of psychology, sociology, epistemology, and history, and a book containing scientific facts and the principles of a happy life, does not have any contradictory points. Whereas, the Qur’an openly declares that it has no contradictions at all and therefore is a Divine Book:

Will they not then ponder on the Qur’an? If it had been from other than God they would have found therein much contradiction and incongruity. (al-Nisa’, 4.82)

The Qur’an is beyond compare from the viewpoint of its styles and eloquence.

The Qur’an is beyond compare from the viewpoint of its styles and eloquence. All the sentences, words and even letters used in the Qur’an form such a miraculous harmony that, with respect to rhythm, music, and even geometric proportions and mathematical measures, and with respect to how many times each is used in the whole of the Qur’an, each is in the exact place it must be and interwoven and interrelated with others. The literary masterpiece of no one, including the sayings of the Prophet himself, upon him be peace and blessings, cannot compete with the Qur’an.

Prophet Muhammad was unlettered and no one had heard him say even a couple of poetry. However, the Qur’an also challenged the known experts in poetry and oratory and forced them to surrender.

In the period when the Qur’an was revealed, in addition to eloquence, poetry and oratory enjoyed great prestige in the Arabian peninsula. They used to hold poetry competitions and the poems of the winners write in gold and hang on the wall of the Ka‘ba. The Prophet Muhammad was, as everybody knows, unlettered and no one had heard him say even a couple of poetry. However, the Qur’an also challenged the known experts in these fields and forced them to surrender. When those who persisted in unbelief heard the Qur’an, they were captivated by it. Nevertheless, in order to prevent the spread of Islam, they labelled it as something magical and advised people not to listen to it. But when those, like Hansa and Lebid, who believed in the Qur’an, gave up inventing poetry after the Qur’an’s revelation in respect for and awe of its styles and eloquence, the unbelievers had to confess: ‘If we call it a piece of poetry, it is not. If we designate it a piece of rhymed prose, it is not. If we describe it as the word of a soothsayer, it is not.’ At times, they could not help listening to the Prophet’s recitation secretly at night but they could not overcome their arrogance and so believe in its Divine origin.

Arabic became so rich through the Qur’an and attained such a high level that it developed as the language of the most magnificent civilization of world history with all its scientific, religious, metaphysical, literary, economic, juridical, social and political aspects.

Despite the high level poetry reached at that time, the vocabulary of Arabic was not as advanced as the same degree. It was difficult, even impossible, to express in it metaphysical ideas or scientific, religious and philosophical concepts. Restricted to the words and expressions to explain the thoughts and feelings of desert men and the simple life they led, this language became so rich through the Qur’an and attained such a high level that it developed as the language of the most magnificent civilization of world history with all its scientific, religious, metaphysical, literary, economic, juridical, social and political aspects. It is impossible for an unlettered one to prepare the ground for and give way to such a philological revolution unparalleled in human history.

Despite its apparent simplicity, the Qur’an has such depths of meaning that everyone from the commonest of people to the most high-ranking scholar, scientist and literary man, finds his share in it.

Despite its apparent simplicity, the Qur’an has such depths of meaning that everyone from the commonest of people to the most high-ranking scholar, scientist and literary man, finds his share in it. The Qur’an is such a book that it illuminates the ways of both poets, musicians and orators, sociologists, psychologists, scientists, economists and jurists. Also, the founders of all the true spiritual orders and the schools of law and conduct found in it the principles of their orders and schools. The Qur’an has shown everybody the ways to solve their problems. It also satisfies everyone in his spiritual quests. Is there another book of the same character, quality and level next to the Qur’an?

No one has ever been heard to be bored with the recitation of the Qur’an.

However beautiful and interesting, we can read a book at most two or three times and then are bored with it. However, no one has ever been heard to be bored with the recitation of the Qur’an. Hundreds of millions of Muslims recite portions from it in their five daily prayers and most of them recite it from beginning to end at least once a year. There have been hundreds of thousands of people reciting it from the beginning to the end once or twice or even three times a month. The more frequently one recites it, the more one benefits from it and the more desire one feels to recite it. One never gets tired of it, its wording, meaning and content, nor does the Qur’an lose anything of its originality and freshness. As time passes, it breathes into minds and souls new truths and meanings, thus increasing them in activity and liveliness.

The Qur’an describes man with all his physical and spiritual aspects and contains principles to solve all the problems that may appear at any time and in any place concerning all the social, economic, juridical, political and administrative fields of life. Furthermore, it satisfies both the mind and spirit at the same time and guarantees happiness in both worlds.

The Qur’an describes man with all his physical and spiritual aspects and contains principles to solve all the problems that may appear at any time and in any place concerning all the social, economic, juridical, political and administrative fields of life. Furthermore, it satisfies both the mind and spirit at the same time and guarantees happiness in both worlds.
However great a genius one may be, it is impossible for one to establish rules to solve all kinds of problems that mankind may encounter until the Last Day. Even the best of systems that do not originate in the Qur’an or the Divine Revelation cannot last without undergoing revisions at least every 50 years. More important than this, none of those systems can promise man eternal happiness; the principles of all of them are restricted to the worldly life, which is transient and infinitely short when compared to the afterlife. By contrast, none of the principles which the Qur’an laid down centuries ago has become outmoded and worn-out with the passage of time, nor do they have any defects or shortcomings. For example, the Qur’an enjoins that wealth should not become a means of prosperity circulated only among the rich (al-Hashr, 59.7); that government offices should be entrusted to competent persons qualified for them and absolute justice should be the rule in public administration and judging between people (al-Nisa’, 4.58), and it lays down that a man has only that for which he makes effort (al-Najm, 53.39) and that whoever kills a human being unjustly is as if he had killed all mankind (al-Ma’ida, 5.32). All such eternal, golden principles and many others like the prohibition of usury, gambling, alcohol and all kinds of illicit intercourse, and the injunctions with respect to praying, fasting, alms-giving and good conduct—principles strengthened through love and fear of God and through the promise of an eternal, happy life and fear of the eternal punishment of Hell—constitute another undeniable proof for the Divine authorship of the Qur’an.

The Qur’an unveils the mystery of man, creation and the universe.

Also, the Qur’an unveils the mystery of man, creation and the universe. These three creatures of God, that is, man, the Qur’an and the universe, are the three ‘books’ which make the Creator known to us. They are the three versions or expressions of the same truth. Therefore, the One Who has created man and the universe is He Who has revealed the Qur’an.

The Qur’an is the embodiment of Muhammad in words or Muhammad is the embodiment of the Qur’an in belief and conduct

You cannot find one who does exactly what he tells others to do or one whose work exactly reflects himself. However, the Qur’an is exactly identical with the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, who received it from God and designed his life according to it. It may be said that the Qur’an is the embodiment of Muhammad in words or Muhammad is the embodiment of the Qur’an in belief and conduct. They are the two expressions of the same truth. When asked about the conduct of Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, ‘A’isha Siddiqa answered: ‘Don’t you read the Qur’an? The conduct of Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, consisted in the Qur’an.’ This clearly shows that both the Qur’an and Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, are the works of God Almighty.

Even though revealed in parts on certain occasions, the Qur’an is equally universal and objective where it deals with particular issues as it is exact and precise where it deals with universal matters.

A writer usually writes under the influence of the conditions surrounding him. It is almost impossible to find a writer, whether he be a realist or idealist or even a science-fiction writer, who can write completely detached from the conditions surrounding him. By contrast, even though revealed in parts on certain occasions, the Qur’an is equally universal and objective where it deals with particular issues as it is exact and precise where it deals with universal matters. It uses precise expressions even while describing the beginning of creation and end of time and the creation of man and his future life in the other world. Also, just as it sometimes draws universal conclusions from particular events, so too it sometimes goes from universal principles to particular events. This is typical of the Qur’anic style, which is impossible to find in any human work and is, therefore, another sign of its Divine origin.

The Qur’an contains at least the principles of all the branches of knowledge either in summary or detail and not even a single piece of the knowledge it contains has ever been contradicted.

There has been no one in human history who has written books accurate to the same degree on both religion and law and sociology and psychology and eschatology and morality and history and literature and so on. However, the Qur’an contains at least the principles of all the branches of knowledge either in summary or detail and not even a single piece of the knowledge it contains has ever been contradicted. Must this not be enough for one unprejudiced to acknowledge its Divine origin?

“As time passes, the Qur’an grows ever younger.”

Which writer can claim that whatever he writes is absolutely correct and cannot be contradicted until the Last Day? At a time when the conclusions of science soon become ‘outmoded’ and worn-out and even the previous Divine Scriptures such as the Torah and Gospels undergo continuous alterations—even a superficial study of the issues of the Bible published in different times and in different languages will be enough to see the great alterations it has undergone—the truths of the Qur’an retain their freshness or, in the words of Said Nursi, ‘as time passes, the Qur’an grows ever younger.’ Despite all the efforts to find mistakes and contradictions in it exerted since the beginning of its revelation, it has remained unchanged and displayed its uniqueness, conquering every day new hearts and its hidden unlimited treasures being discovered one by one or growing to full bloom like a heavenly rose with countless petals.

The Qur’an addresses and legislates for all in all times.

However knowledgeable you are and if you are famous for your truthfulness, can you speak on behalf of the president, the prime minister and all of the ministers, and also on behalf of the associations of literary men, lawyers and craftsmen, and the board of university lecturers and scientists? If you can, can you claim that you represented them all as perfectly as each would want you to? If you can, can you legislate for all the affairs of the country? This is just what the Prophet achieved through the Qur’an. Now, how can you claim that an unlettered one, who had had nothing to do with any such affairs until his fortieth year, achieved this without Divine inspiration and support?

If Prophet Muhammad had written the Qur’an by himself, he should never have mentioned some incidents concerning him.

However slight, there are some admonitions for the Prophet in the Qur’an.

• No one, especially if that one claims Prophethood, mentions a grave slander against his wife in the book he writes by himself. Whereas, the Qur’an gives an important place to the slander hypocrites uttered against ‘A’isha, the Prophet’s wife.
• In order to show practically that Islam does not allow any racial discrimination and that superiority is only by piety and righteousness, not by birth, color, race, wealth or position, the Prophet married Zaynab, a noble woman from the Hashimites, to Zayd, an emancipated black slave. However, verses revealed later ordered that, in order to put an end to an established false tradition—namely, neither adoption nor any other way of declaring someone a son can create a legal relationship comparable to the relationship of children and natural parents, and there is no difficulty and sin for believers in marriage with the divorced wives of those whom they once adopted as sons—the Prophet should marry Zaynab. This marriage was very difficult for God’s Messenger to enter into, but since it was ordered by God, he had no way out other than fulfilling it. As ‘A’isha would later say, if the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, would have concealed something of the Qur’an, he would have concealed this order and would not have married Zaynab. Also, if he had written the Qur’an by himself, he would never have mentioned this incident.
• Abu Talib, the Prophet’s uncle to whose safeguarding ‘Abd al-Muttalib entrusted him, undertook the Prophet’s maintenance when he was yet eight years old and, after his declaration of Prophethood, protected him against the Quraysh for ten years. The Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, loved his uncle very deeply and desired his conversion very much. However, a verse came and admonished the Prophet against this desire of his which nearly drove him to death: You guide not whom you love, but God guides whom He wills. He is best aware of those who are guided (al-Qasas, 28.56). What would have prevented the Prophet, if he were the author of the Qur’an, from falsely declaring that his uncle had accepted Islam?

There are answers to many such questions in the Qur’an that one who does not have an all-encompassing knowledge could not have answered them.

There are many verses in the Qur’an beginning with ‘They ask you’ and continue with ‘Say (in answer)’. These verses were revealed to answer the questions put to the Prophet by Muslims and non-Muslims, including especially the Jews of Madina. The questions asked were about lawful or unlawful things, the distribution of war spoils, the mansions of the moon, the Judgment Day, Dhu’l-Qarnayn (one of the ancient kings who made great conquests in Asia and Africa), the spirit and so on. One who does not have an all-encompassing knowledge cannot answer such questions. But the answers given by the unlettered Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, satisfied everybody and no one could object to him. This shows that he was taught by God, the All-Knowing.

To claim that Muhammad—God forbid such a thought!— invented the Qur’an means that Muhammad, who was known as Muhammad the Trustworthy, was—we beg forgiveness for having to narrate such a false claim—the greatest liar and cheat history has ever known.

As was explained earlier, the Prophet lived a very austere life and never pursued any worldly gains or aims like fame, rulership, wealth and having beautiful women. Furthermore, he had to resist hardships and persecutions of the severest kind. To claim that Muhammad—God forbid such a thought!— invented the Qur’an means that Muhammad, who was known as Muhammad the Trustworthy, was—we beg forgiveness for having to narrate such a false claim— the greatest liar and cheat history has ever known. What might have caused him to falsely claim Prophethood despite the severest of deprivations and persecutions? To accuse the Prophet Muhammad of falsely claiming Prophethood and attribute the Qur’an to him, is the most groundless and the most degrading and meanest of accusations.

Although other Prophets like Moses and Jesus are mentioned many times in the Qur’an despite the Jews’ and Christians’ denial of Muhammad, we come across the name Muhammad only four times

The Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, saw much resistance from the Jews and Christians. He had to fight against the Jews of Madina several times and expel them from the city. Despite this, the Qur’an mentions the Prophet Moses, the Prophet sent to the Israelites, about 500 times, while the name of Muhammad is mentioned in the Qur’an only four times. The Qur’an also mentions the Prophet Jesus many times. Is it conceivable that one who falsely claims Prophethood ever mentions the Prophets of the peoples who show him great hostility?
The Qur’an’s mention of previous Prophets, including especially Moses and Jesus, upon them be peace, and the Christians’ and Jews’ denial of Muhammad’s Prophethood and the Divine authorship of the Qur’an, is an undeniable proof of the Prophethood of Muhammad and the Divine authorship of the Qur’an and that the Christians’ and Jews’ denial comes from purely false reasons like jealousy, prejudice and selfishness.

It is another argument for the Divine authorship of the Qur’an that it refers to certain facts of creation recently established by modern scientific methods.

It is another argument for the Divine authorship of the Qur’an that it refers to certain facts of creation recently established by modern scientific methods. How, except on account of its Divine authorship, is it possible for the Qur’an to be literally true on matters of which people had not the least inkling at the time when it was revealed? For example, if the Qur’an were not a Divine Revelation, would it have been possible for it to contain such a verse as this: Do not the unbelievers realize that the heavens and the earth were one unit of creation before we split them asunder? (al-Anbiya’, 21.20).
Whether the Qur’an really does refer, explicitly or implicitly, to the kinds of facts the sciences deal with, and the relationship between the Qur’an and modern sciences, are matters of considerable controversy among Muslim intellectuals. We should therefore treat the subject at length.

Conclusion

All of the six sides or aspects of the Qur’an are luminous and demonstrate its truth. From below, it is supported upon the pillars of proofs and evidences (rational, scientific, historical, and those pertaining to conscience and sound judgment, and so on); above it, are gleams of the seal of miraculousness: it aims at happiness in both worlds; and behind it are, another point of support, the truths of the Divine Revelation. To its right is the unanimous confirmation of guided reasons based on proofs; and to its left are the intellectual and spiritual contentment of those with sound heart and conscience, and their sincere attachment and submission to it. All these together bear witness that the Qur’an is an absolutely formidable, extraordinary and unconquerable stronghold which the hand of heaven established on the earth, and set their seal of admission of it as a faultless, true Word of God. The Administrator of the universe, Who always acts in a way to manifest unity, protect virtuousness and goodness, and extirpate falsehood and slander, has given the Qur’an the most acceptable, high and dominant rank of respect and success, and thereby confirmed its truth.
Also, the person who is the interpreter of the Qur’an, upon him be peace and blessings, believed in it and respected it more than anything and anybody else. He went into a sleep-like state during the revelation of its verses and confirmed and preached all of its decrees and commandments with utmost conviction and without exhibiting any deception and error to eyes wide open always to catch him, and without anything to shake him. Despite being unlettered, having founded on the Qur’an, he gave, without hesitation, news and information about the past and future and about the facts of creation and operation of the universe. Other sayings of his do not resemble the Qur’an and are inferior to it in certain respects. All this together proves that the Qur’an is the true, heavenly and blessed Word of that person’s Merciful Creator.
The fifth of mankind or even the majority of them in certain cases have always had an ecstatic and religious devotion to the Qur’an and listened to it lovingly and in adoration of truth, and as is testified to by numerous observations, signs, and events, as moths fly round a light, angels, believing jinn and other spirit beings gather together around it during its recitation. This also confirms that the Qur’an is accepted by almost all the beings in the universe and is of the highest rank.
Also, all the groups of mankind with different levels of understanding and learning, from the commonest to the most intelligent and learned, derive their share from the teaching of the Qur’an, and all the greatest scholars in Islamic sciences such as jurisprudence, theology, and religious methodology, have found in the Qur’an the answers to all of their questions and based their conclusions upon it. This is another evidence that the Qur’an is the source of truths, the mine of all true knowledge.
Furthermore, although among the unbelieving Arab literary men those who have been the most advanced in literature, have always felt much need to dispute with the Qur’an, they have been unable to do that even in eloquence, which is only one of the seven major aspects of the Qur’an’s miraculousness, and have not dared to produce the like of even one of its suras. The others, geniuses of learning and eloquence, who by disputing with it in eloquence have sought fame, have been compelled to refrain from doing so. This clearly shows that the Qur’an is a miracle, beyond the capacity of mankind.
Indeed, in order to judge the value, sublimity, and eloquence of a word it is asked: ‘Who has spoken it? To whom has it been spoken? Why has it been spoken?’ When considered from the perspective of these questions, again the Qur’an has no equal. For the Qur’an is the Word of the Lord of all beings and the Speech of the Creator of the whole of the universe which bears no signs to suggest that it is a book of imitation, one fabricated by someone and then falsely attributed to God. God revealed the Qur’an to the one whom He chose as the representative of all the creatures, one who is His most famous and renowned addressee, and the extent and strength of whose faith embraced the comprehensive religion of Islam and caused its owner to rise to the rank of the distance of two bows’ length, and being honored with direct conversation with the Eternally Besought-of-All, after which he turned back to the world to convey to people the principles of happiness in both worlds. The Qur’an explains the principles of happiness in both worlds and the results of, and the Divine purpose in, the creation of the universe, and expounds the Prophet’s most comprehensive faith, which sustains all the truths of Islam: it shows and describes the huge universe like a map or a clock or a house and teaches about the Artist Who made it. Certainly it is impossible to produce a like of it or to match the degree of its eloquence.
In addition, numerous collections of books on the interpretation of the Qur’an, some of which cover as many as forty or even seventy volumes—written by meticulous scholars of the highest intelligence and learning—expound with proofs countless virtues of the Qur’an and its subtleties and mysteries, and disclose and affirm its numerous predictions. Among them, the one hundred and thirty treatises of the Risale-i Nur explain each virtue and subtlety of the Qur’an, such as its allusions to the scientific and technical wonders of modern civilization like trains and aircrafts and electricity, and its indirect references to future victories of Muslims and the history of the Companions after the Prophet, and the meaningful and mysterious design of its letters. All this means setting a seal on the fact that the Qur’an is a miracle with no equals and the Word of the Knower of the Unseen, which is the tongue of the world of the Unseen in this visible world of corporeality.
It is because of such virtues of the Qur’an that its magnificent spiritual dominion and its majestic sacred rule has been continuing for centuries to illuminate the earth and the ages, time and space, and more and more people have been embracing it with perfect respect. It is because of the same virtues, that each letter of the Qur’an yields at least the merits, ten rewards, and ten fruits pertaining to the eternal world, and that the letters of certain verses and suras, each give hundreds or even thousands of merits, and when recited on certain blessed occasions, the light and merits of each of its letters multiply by tens or hundreds. The world-traveller came to understand this and said to himself: ‘Based on the consensus of its lights and mysteries, and the concord of its fruits and results, this Qur’an, miraculous in every respect, proves and testifies to the existence, unity, attributes, and Names of a single Necessarily Existent One in such a manner that the testimonies of innumerable believers have their sources from that testimony.’
In a brief reference to the instruction which that traveller has taken from the Qur’an about faith and the Unity of God, we say:

There is no god but God—the Necessarily Existent One, the One, the Single—the necessity of Whose existence in His Oneness the Qur’an of miraculous exposition decisively proves, which is accepted and sought for by the species of angels, human beings and jinn; all of whose verses are recited in every minute with perfect respect by the tongues of millions of human beings; whose sacred rule in the regions of the earth and the realms of space and on the faces of ages and time; whose enlightened spiritual dominion has prevailed with perfect splendor over half of the globe and a fifth of humankind for fourteen centuries... Likewise, with the consensus of its heavenly and sacred suras, and the agreement of its luminous Divine verses, and the correspondence of its mysteries and lights, and the concord of its truths, and results, it manifestly attests, and is a clear proof of, this same truth.

What is the Qur'an? How can it be defined?

The Qur’an is an eternal translation of the great book of the universe and the everlasting translator of the various ‘languages’ in which Divine laws of the creation and operation of the universe are ‘inscribed’; the interpreter of the books of the visible, material world and the world of the Unseen; the discloser of the immaterial treasuries of the Divine Names hidden on the earth and in the heavens; the key to the truths which lie beneath the lines of events; the tongue of the Unseen world in the visible, material one; the treasury of the favors of the All-Merciful One and the eternal addresses of the All-Glorified One coming from the world of the Unseen beyond the veil of this visible world; the sun of the spiritual and intellectual world of Islam and its foundation and plan; the sacred map of the worlds of the Hereafter; the expounder, the lucid interpreter, articulate proof, and clear translator of the Divine Essence, Attributes, Names and acts; the educator and trainer of the world of humanity and the water and light of Islam, which is the true and greatest humanity; the true wisdom of humankind and their true guide leading them to happiness; and for human beings it is both a book of law, a book of prayer, a book of wisdom, a book of worship and servanthood to God, and a book of commands and invitation, a book of invocation, and a book of mediation, a holy book containing books for all the spiritual needs of mankind, and a heavenly book which, like a sacred library, contains numerous booklets from which all the saints and the eminently truthful, and all the purified and discerning scholars and saints of different temperaments have derived their ways peculiar to each, and which illuminate each of these ways and answer the needs of all those with different tastes and temperaments who follow them.
Having come from the Supreme Throne of God, and originated in His Greatest Name, and issued forth from the most comprehensive rank of each Name, and as is explained in The Twelfth Word, the Qur’an is both the word of God as regards His being the Lord of the worlds, and His decree in respect of His having the title of the Deity of all creatures, and a discourse in the name of the Creator of all the heavens and earth, and a speech from the perspective of the absolute Divine Lordship, and an eternal sermon on behalf of the universal Sovereignty of the All-Glorified One, and a register of the favors of the Most Merciful One from the viewpoint of the all-embracing Mercy, and a collection of messages some of which begin with a cipher, and a holy book which, having descended from the surrounding circle of the Divine Greatest Name, looks over and surveys the circle surrounded by the Supreme Throne of God.
It is because of all these that the title of Word of God has been, and will always be, given to the Qur’an most deservedly. After the Qur’an come the Scriptures and Pages which were sent to some other Prophets. As for the other countless Divine words, some of them are conversations in the form of inspirations coming as the particular manifestations of a particular aspect of Divine Mercy, Sovereignty, and Lordship under a particular title with particular regard. The inspirations coming to angels, human beings and animals vary greatly with regard to their universality or particularity.
The Qur’an is a heavenly book, which contains in brief the Scriptures revealed to the previous Prophets in different ages, and the content of the treatises of all the saints with different temperaments, and the works of all the purified scholars each following a way particular to himself; the six sides of which are bright and absolutely free of the darkness of doubts and whimsical thoughts; whose point of support is with certainty Divine Revelation and the Divine eternal word, whose aim is manifestly eternal happiness, and whose inside is manifestly pure guidance. And it is surrounded and supported: from above by the lights of faith, from below by proof and evidence, from the right by the submission of the heart and the conscience, and from the left by the admission of reason and other intellectual faculties. Its fruit is with absolute certainty the mercy of the Most Merciful One, and Paradise; and it has been accepted and promoted by angels and innumerable men and jinn through the centuries.
All these qualities mentioned so far to define the Qur’an either have been proved in other places or will be done so in the following pages. None of this is mere assertion on our part; rather, whatever we claim is based on clear arguments.

What are the differences between Islam and other religions with respect to the spiritual education of humanity?

What are the differences between Islam and other religions with respect to the spiritual education of humanity?

Islam and other religious traditions

Almost all moral or religious revival movements prior to Islam emerged or developed as reactions against existing circumstances. This explains why they lacked some principles and did not deal with every aspect of life and humanity. For example, Taoism taught a corrupt and vice-ridden China to neglect material pleasure. Confucianism was opposed to these principles and called upon those who had retreated to monasteries to seek spiritual purification and individual piety to establish a virtuous state and live a fully social life among the people. India’s vast fertile country was invaded several times, which caused its religions to become very mystical. In addition, asceticism grew as a reaction against the previously prevalent luxury and debauchery.
Christianity, particularly in the beginning, developed too much as an otherworldly religion. One reason was its emergence in an atmosphere dominated by worldliness. Another reason was because, as Jesus admitted, it was a revelation for a particular nation at a particular time and in particular circumstances, and so was not the final and complete Divine message:

I have much more to tell you, but now it would be too much for you to bear. However, when the Spirit of truth comes, who reveals the truth about God, he will lead you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own authority, but will speak of what he hears and tell you of things to come. (John 16:12-13)

Five centuries later, the entire truth was revealed to humanity via the Spirit of truth, known to history as Prophet Muhammad. God revealed that the message he brought was universal (34:28), that he spoke only what was revealed to him, and that he did not speak on his own authority. Such facts were foretold by Jesus (John 16:12-13) and mentioned in the Qur’an (53:3-4).
Only Muhammad has emerged as a Prophet after Jesus, and only he has been used by God to reveal His truth. Before this, polytheism and other denials of monotheism were prevalent: Most of humanity does not believe in Him, but associate other gods with Him (12:106). As people measured not God with His true measure (6:91), some believed that He had a son while others considered the angels to be His daughters.
The Prophet revealed the truth about God and emphasized His Unity. With him, God perfected religion and declared that the true religion with Him is Islam (3:19) and: therefore, whoso desires another religion than Islam, it shall not be accepted of him; in the next world he shall be among the losers (3:85). Jesus stated: He [the Spirit of truth] shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine and show it to you (John 16:14), and the Prophet acknowledged Jesus’ true glory by revealing the true importance of his life and teachings. Finally, he brought Islam, the last and complete message, because he is the Seal of Prophets.
Given all of this, Islam is a religion that contains a complete guidance for all aspects of life regardless of time and place; a faith-based system of life that combines action, intention, and faith and considers the totality of human life. Although it concentrates on our spiritual aspect, it does not neglect life’s socioeconomic and administrative aspects. In fact, the Qur’an mentions the qualifications of the people chosen by God Almighty to guide and educate humanity and describes the foundations of a perfect community as follows: Thus We appointed for you a Messenger from among you so that he will recite to you Our signs, purify you, and teach you the Book, wisdom, and what you do not know (2:151).
As Islam is the way of love, knowledge, and action, humanity needs signs to implement it. Thus every event in the universe and human life is no more than a sign upon which we are to contemplate and through which we can find ways to the Sublime Creator. By contemplating these signs in the light of the Qur’an’s guidance, we acquire knowledge of God and faith and lead a virtuous life based upon Islam, which purifies our soul from evil and sin. Such contemplation enables us to “discover” modern science, all of which originates in the signs (commonly known as the Divine laws of nature).
However, we should note that only purified souls can use science and technology to benefit humanity. If this fact is ignored, such knowledge can lead to millions of deaths, widows and orphans, and homeless people, as we saw throughout the twentieth century. Only purified souls familiar with science and knowing how to use it can lead humanity toward true happiness and salvation.
Obviously, such purified individuals endowed with scientific knowledge and ability must live among the people. Thus the Messenger was sent with the Qur’an, which contains the Divine principles of social life, and the Balance so that we could follow absolute justice.14 Any religion or system that lacks the principles of spiritual purity or the conditions of a virtuous social life cannot provide true happiness. As will be explained, and as witnessed by history, Islam provides a complete guidance for our lives here and in the next world. Prophet Muhammad was sent as the blessing for all the worlds, and so there is no need to renew the Divine message through another Prophet—we already have the eternal and uncorrupted Qur’an.

Can Islam become outdated?

Some people argue that Islam, now 1,400 years old, is obsolete and unsuitable, that new guidance is required. Such an assertion is totally unfounded, for Islam was revealed by God and thus is eternal, as He is. Our knowledge is limited, whereas God’s Knowledge is all-inclusive. God is also omniscient, for He is not limited by time and space as we are.
Moreover, Islam is based on essential human nature, which does not change over time or according to location. It is a modern illusion that everything is subject to change. Human life and nature show a beautiful balance between elements of permanence and change: Outward forms change, while fundamental principles, basic values, and essential human nature and needs do not.
The Qur’an and Sunna propound Islam’s eternal principles, while deductive reasoning based upon them (ijtihad) meets the needs of every age. Ijtihad is neither independent reasoning (Joseph Schacht) nor free thinking (Hamilton Gibb), but a technical legal term and principle defined by Muslim scholars as “the competency or legal ability to deduce rules of law through juristic speculation from original sources where definite authentic decisive texts are not specific.” For example, Islam does not object to modern traffic laws, but considers murder a capital sin and a grave crime worthy of severe punishment even if committed by someone driving a car.
Someone once said to a famous Muslim jurist: “You argue that the Qur’an contains every principle related to modern needs. If so, does it say how many loaves of bread can be made from a kilo of flour?” The jurist’s answer is very significant to understanding the matter’s essence: “Yes, the Qur’an gives that information in 16:43, which tells us that if we don’t know something we must ask the experts. So ask a baker about it.”
Islam is the only religion that embraces all dimensions of life and possesses an established method that allows for the perennial evolution of human society in accordance with life’s fundamental principles and permanent values.

How do Islam and materialistic philosophies view the ego?

How do Islam and materialistic philosophies view the ego?

What follows is a summary of Said Nursi’s explanation of how Islam views the human ego and its education, and how this view differs from those human philosophies based on human arrogance and denial of God:
An absolute and all-encompassing entity has no limits or terms, and therefore cannot be shaped or formed, or determined in such a way that its essential nature can be comprehended. For example, light undetermined by darkness cannot be known or perceived. However, light can be determined if a real or hypothetical boundary line of darkness is drawn. In the same way, the Divine Attributes and Names (e.g., Knowledge, Power, Wisdom, and Compassion) cannot be determined, for they are all-encompassing and have no limits or like. Therefore, as their essence cannot be known or perceived, a hypothetical boundary is needed for them to become known.
In order to make Himself known through His Attributes and Names, God Almighty drew a hypothetical line before His all-encompassing Attributes and Names. This line is the human ego. By reflecting all of His Attributes and Names on it and thereby making it an essential dimension of human existence, the ego became a Divine trust, an arena in which the manifestations of Divine Attributes and Names are reflected in order to mirror the Divine Being. The ego imagines within itself a fictitious lordship, power, and knowledge as reflections of their Divine counterparts, and so posits a boundary line, hypothesizes a limit to the all-encompassing Divine Attributes, and says: “This is mine, and the rest is His.” Ego thus makes a division. By means of the miniature measure it contains, ego slowly comes to understand the true nature of the Divine Attributes and Names.
Ego can understand the Lordship of the Creator of the universe through this imagined lordship, as well as the real Ownership of its Creator by means of its own apparent ownership. This enables it to say: “I own this house, just as the Creator owns all of creation.” Ego obtains a degree of understanding of His Absolute Knowledge through its partial knowledge, and can intuit the Exalted Fashioner’s primary, originative art through its defective, acquired art. For example, ego says: “I built and arranged this house, so there must be One Who made and arranged this universe.”
Ego contains thousands of states, attributes, and perceptions that disclose and make the Divine Attributes and essential Qualities knowable to some extent. It is like a measure, a mirror, or an instrument for seeing or finding out, an entity with an indicative function. Having no meaning in itself, it discloses meaning outside itself. It is a strand of consciousness from the thick rope of human existence, a fine thread from the celestial weave of humanity’s essential nature, a hypothetical line from the book of human character.
That character has two aspects or faces. One looks toward good and existence and, unable to create, only receives what is given. The other looks toward evil and derives from non-existence. Here ego is active. Ego’s real nature is indicative—like a letter that has no meaning by itself—and points to the meaning of things other than itself. Its lordship is completely hypothetical, and its existence so weak and insubstantial that it cannot bear or support anything on its own. Rather, ego is a scale or measure designed to show the degrees and quantities of what is measured. The Necessary Being’s absolute, all-encompassing, and limitless Attributes can become known, to some degree, through it.
Those who know and realize this reality of their essential nature and act accordingly are included in: Truly he [she] who purifies it succeeds and prospers (91:9). They carry out the trust and, through their ego, see what the universe is and what duties it performs. Since they find in themselves a point of confirmation with respect to their Creator’s Existence and Oneness, they see that their ego confirms the information they have gathered about the universe. As a result, this information retains the quality of light and wisdom and is not changed into darkness and futility.
When ego has performed its duty correctly, it renounces its claim to lordship and hypothetical ownership (mere devices of measurement) and proclaims: “His is the sovereignty and ownership of all beings, and to Him is due all praise and thanks. His is the judgment and rule, and to Him you are returning.” Thus it achieves true worship and attains the rank of the best pattern of creation.
But if ego forgets the Divine purpose of its creation, abandons the duty of its nature, and views itself as a self-existing being independent of the Creator, it betrays the trust and falls into the class of those warned and threatened by: And he [she] who corrupts it fails  (91:10). This development is responsible for all of the polytheism, evil, and deviation that have caused the heavens, Earth, and the mountains to be terrified of assuming the trust, lest they be led to associate partners with God.
Followers of materialistic and naturalistic philosophies have adopted this second face of ego. They consider ego as having an essential meaning of its own, for they view it as an independent existence, an index only to itself, and as working wholly on its own behalf. Considering its existence necessary and essential, they mistakenly assume that it owns its being, is the real lord and master of its own domain, and is a permanent reality entrusted with a quest for self-perfection to acquire self-esteem.
Such ideas cause ego to swell until it gradually permeates all parts of a human being, to change from a hypothetical line or “light vapor” into a “viscous liquid.” Our indifference to creation’s miraculous truths (with which we are now “too familiar”) and our preoccupation with this world and natural sciences causes that “liquid” to “harden.” After this, our neglect and denial cause ego to “freeze.” Losing its refined and opaque nature, due to ingrained rebelliousness, arrogance, injustice, and wrong viewpoints, it increases in density until it envelops the person. Like some huge monster, the ego completely swallows its owner so that he or she and his or her faculties become no more than its slave.
Eventually, the ego of the human race strengthens the individual ego through individual and national racism, causing this now-swollen ego to contest the Majestic Maker’s commands, just as Satan did. Finally it considers itself the yardstick by which everyone and everything else should be compared and measured. Thus it divides God’s sovereignty between itself and other causes and associates partners with God in the most grievous manner. To justify its position, it then shares God’s acts with many other things (e.g., causality, idols, natural forces, and matter), just like a thief who seeks to justify his or her theft by claiming to have taken a certain amount for each of his or her friends.
As a result, people can no longer perceive and confess their impotence and weakness, insufficiency and need, deficiency and imperfection, which are basic to human beings, and thus cannot fulfill the purpose of their creation: to worship and serve God as He wills. Immersed in naturalism and ascribing partners to God, they cannot locate the wide open doors of gratitude and thus are the people mentioned in: To associate partners with God is the highest wrongdoing (31:13).
This betrayal of the Divine trust causes ego to sink into absolute ignorance. Regardless of how much science it has acquired, knowledge only compounds its ignorance. Whatever glimmers of knowledge of God it obtains from the universe through its senses or reflective powers are extinguished, for it can no longer find within itself anything with which to confirm, polish, and maintain them. Whatever comes to ego is stained with the colors within it. If pure wisdom were to come, an ego stained by atheism, polytheism, or other forms of denying the All-Mighty could not even absorb a small fraction of it. If the whole universe were full of shining indications of God, one dark point in that ego would cause them to be hidden, just as if they were invisible.
Philosophies based on denying God and disobeying religion cause ego to pick up the reins and gallop headlong into error. Their principles approve of power, for they believe that “might is right” and live by the maxims of “all power to the strongest,” “winner takes all,” and “right comes from power.” They give moral support to tyranny, encourage dictators, urge oppressors to claim divinity, and consider conflict to be social life’s fundamental principle. In fact, conflict springs from tyrants, brutes, and savage people misusing their innate dispositions. Conflict is so fundamental and general to the their line of reasoning that they absurdly claim: “Life is conflict.”
By ascribing the beauty of the Divine works of art and the threads of which they are made to the works and threads themselves instead of to the Maker and Fashioner’s pure, sacred Beauty, they say: “How beautiful it is” instead of: “How beautifully it has been made,” and thus consider each as an idol worthy of adoration. Such philosophies assume the form of an evil tree spreading its dark veils of ascribing partners to God and of misguidance to countless people. The branch of empowered reason or intellect, one of human nature’s three main drives, yields the fruits of atheism, materialism, and naturalism for the intellect’s consumption. The branch of empowered anger and passion produces such tyrants as Pharaoh, Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin, while the branch of empowered animal desires and appetites produces the fruits of goddesses, idols, and those who claim divinity.
In sum, the powers of evil have flattered the reason of philosophers and thrown them, in their self-conceit and arrogance, into the abyss of deviation. They have transformed ego into a false deity (microcosm) and nature into an object of worship (macrocosm). Hence, whoever rejects false deities and believes in God has grasped a most unfailing support that never will give way: God is the All-Hearing, All-Knowing (2:256).
In contrast, the blessed line of Prophethood represents ego’s first, purified face and assumes the form of a blessed tree of worship bearing the fruits of Prophets, Messengers, saints, and the righteous in the garden of Earth and on the branch of empowered reason or intellect. On the branch of empowered anger, which defends against and repels evil, it yields the fruits of virtuous and just rulers and governors. On the branch of empowered attractiveness, it bears the fruits of generous, benevolent persons of good character and modest bearing. As a result, this line shows humanity as creation’s perfect fruit.
This line is the origin of pure worship and servitude to God, for the ego represented by this line knows that it is His servant, that it was created to serve One other than itself, and that its essential nature has only an indicative function. Ego understands that it bears the meaning of One other than itself and is meaningful only when pointing to that One upon Whom its existence depends. Believing that its existence and life depend upon that One’s creativity and Existence, ego knows that its feeling of ownership is illusory, that it enjoys only an apparent and temporary ownership by the real Owner’s permission, and that it has only a shadow-like reality. Understanding itself as a contingent entity, an insignificant shadow manifesting the true and necessary Truth, ego knows that its function is limited to serving as a conscious and willing measure and balance for its Creator’s Attributes and essential Qualities.
This is how Prophets, pure and righteous people, and saints following the Prophets’ line perceive ego’s nature. As a result, they ascribe sovereignty only to the Exalted Sovereign of creation; believe that He has no partner or like in His Sovereignty, Lordship, and Divinity; has no need of an assistant or deputy; and that He possesses the key to and absolute power over all things. They also believe that causes serve as veils to conceal reality and that nature is no more than the sum of His creation’s rules, an assemblage of His laws through which He displays His Power.
This radiant, luminous, and beautiful face of ego always has been like a living seed full of meaning, a seed from which the Exalted Creator has created the blessed tree of worship whose branches have adorned humanity with such illustrious fruits. This face lifts the past’s darkness, thereby enabling us to know that it is a source of light, a bright shining ladder whose many rungs enable all souls traversing it to leap into the future and eternal happiness, and a radiant abode and garden for souls that have left this world, cast off their heavy loads, and been set free, as opposed to what the materialist, naturalist, and even existentialist philosophies claim it to be: a domain of eternal extinction or a vast graveyard.
Prophethood teaches that our aim and function is to be molded by Divine values and achieve good character. Prophets believe that we should perceive our impotence and seek refuge with Divine Power, perceive our weakness and rely on Divine Strength, realize our insufficiency and essential poverty and trust in Divine Mercy, know our need and seek help from Divine Riches, see our faults and plead for pardon through Divine Forgiveness, and perceive our inadequacy and glorify Divine Perfection.
Prophethood states that the principles upon which human social life is to be based are mutual assistance, magnanimity, and generosity, since all things, from the sun and the moon and down to particles, work together in ways determined by reciprocal cooperation. For example, plants help animals, animals help people, and particles of food help the body’s cells.

What is the Islamic view of Humanity?

Each person is composed of three parts—spirit, carnal soul, and body. Each of these needs to be satisfied. They are so interrelated, and their needs are so different, that neglecting one results in our failing to attain perfection.

The path to perfection

As we read in the Qur’an: Fair in the eyes of men is the love of what they covet: women, children, stored-up heaps of gold and silver, horses of mark, cattle and tillage (3:14). Our physical make-up and individual characteristics produce certain inclinations, and we can neither avoid satisfying these lusts implanted  in us by the Creator nor be rid of them. This does not mean that people attempting to satisfy their lusts are free to do as they please or cannot overcome their inclinations. On the contrary, this means that we can change our inclinations by exercising our free will, and can control our lust, anger, and other emotions and then use them to propel ourselves along the path of perfection and wisdom.
Made of dust (our earthly element) and spirit (our heavenly element), we have to satisfy both our material and spiritual needs. Just as we are subject to anger and passion, so can we exercise our intellect. We are not just plants or animals; rather, we are unique beings with both plant and animal aspects. Just as our physical body is subject to its own pleasures and diseases, our spirit has its own joys and ailments. Sickness harms the body, while the body’s well-being, health, and whatever is in harmony with its nature gives it pleasure. As for the spirit, its pleasures and diseases depend on whether or not the carnal soul has been purified.
Our most important task, inseparable from existence and our life’s ultimate aim, is to attain felicity and happiness. The most consummate happiness is to embody and manifest the Divine Attributes and characteristics. The soul of a truly happy person develops by knowing and loving God, and is illuminated by an effulgence emanating from the Godhead. When that happens to a person, he or she radiates only beauty, for beauty can radiate only from that which is beautiful.
True happiness cannot be reached or retained unless all of the soul’s faculties and powers are purified and reformed. Doing so either partially or temporarily will not result in true happiness. This is similar to physical health. Just as a body can be considered healthy only when all of its limbs and organs are eternally healthy, people can attain perfect happiness only when freed from all evil-commanding and animal forces preventing their ascension to higher realms.
Purifying our faculties and powers does not mean eliminating desire and anger or destroying our reproductive instincts and capacity for self-defense, for such abilities are necessary for our continued existence. For example, without intellect we could not distinguish between good and bad, right and wrong, true and false; without anger we could not defend ourselves; and without sexual attraction and desire humanity’s continued existence would be threatened.
We must express our powers and faculties in a balanced and moderate way so that they can perform their functions properly. Doing so engenders a particular ability. For example, purifying and training the intellect brings knowledge and wisdom, purifying anger engenders courage and then forbearance, and purifying passion and desire develops chastity. The moral virtues acquired by those rising toward perfection and the realization of true happiness are wisdom, courage, and chastity.
If every virtue is considered the center of a circle, and any movement away from the center is considered a vice, each vice becomes greater the further it moves away from the center. Thus the number of vices is infinite, for there can be only one center. Moreover the direction of deviation does not matter, for any deviation from the center is a vice.
Each moral virtue has two extremes. For example, wisdom has stupidity and cunning, courage has cowardice and rashness, and chastity has lethargy and uncontrolled lust. Thus the purpose of our existence—perfection—lies in maintaining a balance and moderation between these two extremes. Concerning this, ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib is reported to have said:

God gave angels intellect without sexual desire and passions or anger, and gave animals anger and desire without intellect. He exalted humanity by bestowing all of these qualities upon it. Accordingly, if our intellect dominates our desire and ferocity, we rise above angels, because such a station is attained by people despite obstacles that do not vex angels.

One important point related to our earthly existence is that since we are social, civilized beings coexisting with other people, our earthly life covers social, political, and economic aspects as well as spiritual ones. Our worldly nature makes it possible for us to be too obedient to our desires. History shows that when those who are interested only in power finally attain it, they light fires of oppression and enslave the poor and the weak. On the other hand, God is All-Just and never approves of injustice and oppression. Thus the religion He revealed must—and does—cover all aspects of human life.

Why peoples of all eras have embraced Islam?

During the tenth century, Islam was the predominant religion of an area covering more than half of the then-known world. Its adherents inhabited three continents: from the Pyrenees and Siberia up to China and New Guinea, and from Morocco to the southern tip of Africa.
One of history’s most striking facts is that Islam reached such a vast area within 3 centuries. Within 50 years after the Hijra, all of North Africa (from Egypt to Morocco) and the Middle East (from Yemen to Caucasia, and from Egypt to the lands beyond Transoxiana) had embraced Islam. During ‘Uthman’s reign (644-56), Muslim envoys reached the Chinese royal court and were welcomed enthusiastically. According to historians, this important event marks the beginning of Islam’s presence in China.
Peoples of all eras have been ready to embrace Islam for a wide variety of reasons. But perhaps the foremost one, as pointed out by Muhammad Asad, a Jewish convert to Islam, is that:

Islam appears to me like a perfect work of architecture. All its parts are harmoniously conceived to complement and support each other, nothing lacking, with the result of an absolute balance and solid composure. Everything in the teaching and postulate of Islam is in its proper place. [1]

Some Western writers accuse Islam of expanding by the sword. One major cause of this prejudice is that Islam often expanded at the expense of Christianity. For hundreds of years Christians have converted to Islam without much effort or organized missionary activity. Muslims, however, almost never convert to Christianity despite sophisticated means and well-organized missionary activities. This has caused its missionaries and most Orientalists to present Islam as a regressive and vulgar religion of uncivilized peoples [2]. Such negative attitudes also color their accounts of the Prophet. Some unbiased Western writers have admitted this:

Muslims, according to the principles of their faith, are under an obligation to use force for the purpose of bringing other religions to ruin (probably he means Jihad, which is unfortunately misinterpreted and not for the purpose he claims, as will be explained in the next chapter); yet, in spite of that, they have been tolerating other religions for some centuries past. The Christians have not been given orders to do anything but preach and instruct, yet, despite this, from time immemorial they have been exterminating by fire and sword all those who are not of their religion… We may feel certain that if Western Christians, instead of the Saracens and the Turks, had won the dominion over Asia, there would be today not a trace left of the Greek Church, and that they would never have tolerated Muhammadanism as the ‘infidels’ have tolerated Christianity there. We (Christians) enjoy the fine advantage of being far better versed than others in the art of killing, bombarding and exterminating the Human Race. [3]

Islam’s rapid expansion, unequaled by any other religion, was due to its religious content and values, as many unbiased Western intellectuals state:

Many have sought to answer the questions of why the triumph of Islam was so speedy and complete? Why have so many millions embraced the religion of Islam and scarcely a hundred ever recanted?.. Some have attempted to explain the first overwhelming success of Islam by the argument of the Sword. They forget Carlyle’s laconic reply. First get your sword. You must win men’s hearts before you can induce them to imperil their lives for you; and the first conquerors of Islam must have been made Muslims before they were made fighters on the Path of God. Others allege the low morality of the religion and the sensual paradise it promises as a sufficient cause for the zeal of its followers: but even were these admitted to the full, no religion has ever gained a lasting hold upon the souls of men by the force of its sensual permissions and fleshy promises...

In all these explanations the religion itself is left out of the question. Decidedly, Islam itself was the main cause for its triumph. Islam not only was at once accepted (by many peoples and races) by Arabia, Syria, Persia, Egypt, Northern Africa and Spain, at its first outburst; but, with the exception of Spain, it has never lost its vantage ground; it has been spreading ever since it came into being. Admitting the mixed causes that contributed to the rapidity of the first swift spread of Islam, they do not account for the duration of Islam. There must be something in the religion itself to explain its persistence and spread, and to account for its present hold over so large of a proportion of the dwellers on the earth... Islam has stirred an enthusiasm that has never been surpassed. Islam has had its martyrs, its recluses, who have renounced all that life offered and have accepted death with a smile for the sake of the faith that was in them. [4]

A. J. Arberry holds the same view:

The rapidity of the spread of Islam is a crucial fact of history... The sublime rhetoric of the Qur’an, that inimitable symphony, the very sounds of which move men to tears and ecstasy. (M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Qur’an, p.vii) ...
This, and the urgency of the simple message carried, holds the key to the mystery of one of the greatest cataclysms in the history of religion. When all military, political and economic factors have been exhausted, the religious impulse must still be recognized as the most vital and enduring. [5]

Brockelman, usually very unsympathetic and partial, also recognizes Islam’s religious values as the main factor for its spread [6]. Rosenthal writes: “The more important factor for the spread of Islam is religious law of Islam (Sharia which is an inclusive, all-embracing, all-comprehensive way of thinking and living) which was designed to cover all manifestations of life.” [7] 
Along with many other reasons, Islam spread because of its followers’ exemplary lifestyle and unceasing efforts to transmit its message throughout the world. These lie at the root of Islam’s conquest of hearts. Islamic universalism is closely associated with the principle of amr bi al-ma‘ruf (enjoining the good), for this is how Muslims are to spread Islam. This principle seeks to convey Islam’s message to everyone, without exception, and to establish a model community that displays Islam to the world: Thus We have made of you an Ummah justly balanced, that you might be witnesses (models) for the peoples, and the Messenger has been a witness for you (2:143).
Muslims, both as individuals and as a community, therefore have certain goals to achieve: communicating Islam to others, conveying the truth to everyone, striving to prevent oppression and tyranny, and establishing justice. To do this, they must live an exemplary life. Thus Islam’s moral and ethical values usually have played an important part in its spread.
One Nineteenth-Century European writer recorded his impressions on how Islamic ethics influenced black Africans as follows:

As to the effects of Islam when first embraced by a Negro tribe, can there, when viewed as a whole, be any reasonable doubt? Polytheism disappears almost instantaneously; sorcery, with its attendant evils, gradually dies away; human sacrifice becomes a thing of the past. The general moral elevation is most marked; the natives begin for the first time in their history to dress, and that neatly. Squalid filth is replaced by some approach to personal cleanliness; hospitality becomes a religious duty; drunkenness, instead of the rule, becomes a comparatively rare exception... chastity is looked upon as one of the highest, and becomes, in fact, one of the commoner virtues. It is idleness that henceforward degrades, and industry that elevates, instead of the reverse. Offences are henceforward measured by a written code instead of the arbitrary caprice of a chieftain—a step, as everyone will admit, of vast importance in the progress of a tribe. The Mosque gives an idea of architecture at all events higher than any the Negro has yet had. A thirst for literature is created and that for works of science and philosophy as well as for commentaries on the Qur’an. [8] 

Islam also spread rapidly because of  its tolerance. Toynbee praises the Muslims’ tolerance toward the Peoples of the Book after comparing it with the Christians’ attitude toward Muslims in their lands [9]. Link attributes Islam’s spread to its credible principles and tolerance, persuasion, and other attractions [10]. Makarios, a Seventeenth-century Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, compared the Poles’ harsh treatment of the Russian Orthodox to the Ottomans’ tolerant attitude toward Orthodox Christians and prayed for the sultans [11].
This is not the only example of non-Muslims’ preference for Muslim rule over that of their own coreligionists. Byzantium’s Orthodox Christians openly expressed their preference for the Ottoman turban in Istanbul to the hats of the Catholic cardinals. Elisee Reclus, a Nineteenth-century French traveler, wrote that the Muslim Turks allowed all non-Muslims to observe their religious duties and rituals, and that the sultan’s Christian subjects were freer to live their own lives than those Christians whose lands were ruled by a member of a rival Christian sect [12]. Popescu Ciocanel pays tribute to the Muslim Turks by stating that the Romanians were lucky to have Turkish, instead of Russian and Austrian, rulers. Otherwise, he points out, “no trace of the Romanian nation would have remained.” [13]. 
The Muslims’ attitude toward the people they conquered is quite clear in the instructions given by the Rightly-Guided Caliphs: [14]

Always keep fear of God in your mind; remember that you cannot afford to do anything without His grace. Do not forget that Islam is a mission of peace and love. Keep the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) before you as a model of bravery and piety. Do not destroy fruit trees or fertile fields in your paths. Be just, and spare the feelings of the vanquished. Respect all religious persons who live in hermitages or convents and spare their edifices. Do not kill civilians. Do not outrage the chastity of women and the honor of the conquered. Do not harm old people and children. Do not accept any gifts from the civil population of any place. Do not billet your soldiers or officers in the houses of civilians. Do not forget to perform your daily prayers. Fear God. Remember that death will inevitably come to everyone of you at some time or other, even if you are thousands of miles away from a battlefield; therefore be always ready to face death. [15]

An historical episode, recorded by the famous Muslim historian Baladhuri in his Futuh al-Buldan, tells how pleased the indigenous peoples were with their Muslim conquerors and is of great significance:

When Heraclius, Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire (610-41), massed his troops against the Muslims, and the Muslims heard that they were coming to meet them, they refunded the tribute they had taken from the inhabitants of Hims, saying: “We are too busy to support and protect you. Take care of yourselves.” But the people of Hims replied: “We like your rule and justice far better than our former state of oppression and tyranny. We shall indeed, with your help, repulse Heraclius’ army from the city.” The Jews rose and said: “We swear by the Torah, no governor of Heraclius shall enter Hims unless we are first vanquished and exhausted.” Saying this, they closed and guarded the city gates. The Christians and Jews of cities that had capitulated did the same. When, by God’s help, Heraclius’ army was defeated and the Muslims won, they opened the gates of their cities, went out with singers and musicians, and paid the tribute. 

Annotations

1. Muhammad Asad, Islam at the Crossroads (New Era Pubs.: 1982), 5.

2. John Cogley, Religion in a Secular Age (New York: Praeger, 1968); Muhammad Asad, The Road to Makka, 4th. ed. (Gibraltar: Dar Al-Andalus, 1980).

3. P. Bayle, Dictionary, “Mohammed,” 1850.

4. Stanley Lane-Poole, Studies in a Mosque (Beirut: Khayats, 1966), 86-89.

5. J. Arberry, Aspects of Islamic Civilization (Westport, CN: Greenwood Press, 1977), 12.

6. Carl Brockelman, History of the Islamic Peoples (London: Routledge & K. Paul, 1949), 37.

7. Franz Rosenthal, Political Thought in Medieval Islam (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1958), 21.

8. Quoted from Waitz by B. Smith, Muhammad and Muhammadanism, 42-43.

9. Arnold Toynbee, A Historian’s Approach to Religion (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1956), 246.

10. T. Link, A History of Religion.

11. Ibid.

12. Elisee Reclus, Nouvelle Geographie Universelle, vol. IX.

13. Popescu Ciocanel, La Crise de l’Orient.

14. This group consists of Abu Bakr, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan, and ‘Ali ibn Abu Talib, the first four rulers of the Islamic community after the Prophet’s death. They did not inherit the Prophet’s spiritual status or authority.

15. Andrew Miller, Church History; ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib, Nahj al-Balagha.

Bibliography

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Algul, Huseyin, Islam Tarihi, Istanbul: 1987.

Baladhuri, Futuh al-Buldan, Istanbul: 1965.

Dursun, Davud, Osmanli Devletinde Siyaset ve Din, Istanbul: 1989.

Fayda, Mustafa, Hz. Omer Zamaninda Gayr-i Muslimler, 1989.

Imam Abu Yusuf, Kitab al-Kharaj, Istanbul: 1973.

Izzeti, Abu’l-Fazl, An Introduction to the History of the Spread of Islam, (London: 1976) (frequently quoted).

Al-Mas‘udi, A. Hasan, Muruj adh-Dhahab, Cairo: 1964.

Numani, Shibli, Butun Yonleriyle Hz. Omer ve Devlet Idaresi (Turkish trans.), 1975.

Qutb, Sayid, Islam’da Sosyal Adalet (Turkish trans.), 1980.

Said, Edward, Oryantalizm (Turkish trans.), Istanbul: 1983.

Al-Tabari, Ibn Jarir, Milletler ve Hukumdarlar Tarihi (Turkish trans.), 1955.

Turan, Osman, Selcuklular Tarihi ve Turk-Islam Medeniyeti, 1969.

What is the Islamic view of humanity and its relationship with religion?

What is the Islamic view of humanity and its relationship with religion?

Immediately after our birth, we have no conscious knowledge of ourselves or our surrounding environment. And yet we are not aliens, but rather beings who are fitted to survive here. For example, each person’s body is made up of the same elements that exist in nature. The building blocks making up Earth’s mineral, vegetable, and animal elements also constitute the sperm and the egg that, when joined, initiate our earthly life. And yet no one knows how this inanimate matter is transformed into living forms. We can say only that it is a direct gift of the Creator. Thus we are children of nature and aware of ourselves as creatures made by the Creator. Such awareness makes us aware of the second aspect of our being: our heavenly aspect.
Typically, children are born into a welcoming environment and know the embrace of parents and a wider family of relatives. Moreover, they are immediately provided with the most perfect nourishment: a mother’s milk. As they grow, children experience the world as a fully ordered environment of sight and sounds, heat and light and rainfall, and an infinite diversity of plants, fruits, and animals. All of these enable children to exercise and enlarge the senses, feelings, and intellect implanted within them by the Creator.
Likewise, their bodies function without their conscious effort or decision. Each person receives a minutely arranged and coordinated physical body as a gift from the Creator when He bestows life, so that his or her life may be supported and mature. Very little of what we have can be said to be our own doing. In fact, without the Creator’s help, we could not even manage our own bodies and therefore would die.
The One Who created the universe and subjected it to our stewardship is also the One Who created us. Given this, it makes perfect sense to consider what our responsibility is and, considering all that we have been given, to reflect on how we will answer for ourselves and for what has been placed in our care. Human responsibility before the Creator is voluntary, whereas all non-human creatures perform their duties without reflection but also without defect.
The apparent efficiency of modern technology obscures our relative impotence and vulnerability. We cannot create even a leaf or a fly, although we are free to tamper with God’s creation to the extent He wills. We have no dominion over our body’s operations, such as its hunger or thirst, or the world. We cannot determine our parents, our time and place of birth and death, or our physique or physical structure. We have to use the natural world to sustain and enlarge our lives. The One Who subjected nature to us also implanted within us the necessary intellectual faculties by which we can use nature. Our intellect is capable of obtaining some knowledge of nature’s orderly operations and then formulating laws based upon the observed uniformity and reliability. These laws are our imperfect, human intimations of the supreme laws created and used by the Supreme Being to create the universe.
The quality of being human comes from our immaterial and spiritual aspects, not from our natural and material aspects. The spirit and intellect do not originate in the physical body, for the spirit’s departure from a dead body reduces that body to something that will decompose into the soil. The body remains for a while, but all of its former senses are now absent. This means that the spirit uses the body, and that only life gives the body any meaning.
This body–spirit relation can be understood somewhat by the following analogy: A factory, no matter how complex, sophisticated, and excellent, has no more value than a pile of mechanical junk if there is no electricity to operate it. This does not mean that the spirit is everything in and of itself and that the body is junk; rather, the spirit needs matter or a corporeal form to express its powers and functions.
A fruit tree’s future life is encapsulated in its seed, and a tree is worth only as much as the value of the fruit it yields. In the same way, each person’s life-history is recorded and is of value only in proportion to the number of good deeds done and the level of virtue attained. Again, just as a tree increases by means of the seeds in its fruit, we prosper by our good deeds, the weight and consequence of which one day will be revealed to us.
We scatter our deeds in this world and harvest the results in the next world. Given this, the All-Majestic, All-Powerful, All-Wise Creator, Who brings us into existence from non-existence and Who brings us to life by breathing the “spirit” into our bodies fashioned from nature’s clay, will resurrect us after we decompose into the ground. For Him, doing so is as easy as bringing day after night, spring after winter, and making what appears to be dry wood at the end of autumn yield grapes the following summer.
In addition to all of this, we have three principal drives: desire, anger, and intellect. We desire or lust after the opposite sex, and love our children and worldly possessions. We direct our anger at what stands in our way, and by using it can defend ourselves. Our intellect enables us to make right decisions. The Creator does not restrain these drives, but rather requires us to seek perfection through self-discipline so that we do not misuse them. It is this struggle that determines our humanity, for without it we would have no purpose and would be the same as all other non-human creatures.
Only people mature spiritually and intellectually, for no other part of creation has the necessary ingredient for this process: free will. All of them live lives that are wholly determined within nature, for without free will they have no way to keep themselves within the correct limits. If we ignore these limits, we may usurp the property of others or seek illicit sexual relations, or use our intellect to deceive others.
This is why our powers must be held in check. Our intellect was given to us to be used with wisdom, and our desire and anger to be used lawfully and in moderation. Moreover, since we are social beings we must restrain ourselves, or else wrongdoing, injustice, exploitation, disorder, and revolution will occur.
But what is lawful and right, moderate and wise? Who decides the criteria, and how will they be accepted by people? Who am I? Where do I come from? What is my final destination? What does death demand from me? Who is my guide on this journey, beginning from clay and passing through the stages of a sperm-drop, a blood-clot, and a lump of flesh, another creation where the spirit is breathed into my body, and finally reaching the grave and through there to the Hereafter? In all of these questions lie the essential problem of human life.

What is truth and where does it come from?

It is rare for even two or three people to agree on the truth of a matter. If the rich and powerful define truth, their truth will exclude or disadvantage the poor and vice versa. Truth cannot be decided by majority vote, for truth is truth regardless of how many people vote for it. Truth is—and can only be determined by—the Truth, another name for God, Who created humanity and the universe. Our task is to discover that truth and abide by it.
Of course there are some universal truths, such as honesty, generosity, altruism, truthfulness, helpfulness, and compassion. These are essentially reflections of our true nature. Created by the One, Who is All-Wise, All-Generous, All-Compassionate, every person has an innate inclination toward these virtues. Therefore they are confirmed and established by Islam, which was revealed by God through His Prophets to show humanity how to resolve all of its psychological and social problems.
While constant change is observed in nature, there is an underlying aspect of permanence in everything. For instance, a seed germinates underground and grows into a tree without the laws of germination and growth changing. Likewise the essential purposes of all people, regardless of any external material or other changes in their lifestyles, as well as their impact on our lives and environment have remained unchanged since the creation of Adam and Eve. All of us share certain general conditions of life and value: we are born, mature, marry, have children, and die; we have some degree of will and common desires; we share certain values, such as honesty, kindness, justice, courage, and so on.
Thus all Prophets sent by God were sent with the same message concerning God’s Absolute Oneness and Absolute Transcendence: He does not beget nor is He begotten, for He is Eternally Self-Existent. Each created being naturally depends on his or her Creator. Only the Creator is Self-Existent, unique and single, and not composite, subject to change, or contained by time or space. Belief in such a Divine Being constitutes the primary foundation of the Divine religion preached by all Prophets. Its other pillars are belief in the Resurrection, all Prophets without distinction, angels, Divine Scriptures, and Divine Destiny (including human free will).
Through sincere faith and worship, as well as adherence to the Prophets’ pristine teachings, we can attain the highest degree of elevation, even becoming worthy of heaven. There is no other escape from the snares of worldly life, the oppressive ignorance of false human-made systems, or the tyranny of self-appointed  clerical authority.
Those who do not use their free will to discipline themselves face the danger of enslavement by their passions. Such lack of self-discipline causes us to wrong others, for the goal of such behavior is to satisfy our desires. Since the Divine religion does not allow such wrongdoing, those who pursue it try to corrupt religion in order to justify their whims and fancies. This causes disorder, oppression, unending conflict, and destruction. God wills mercy for His creatures, not oppression or injustice, and that they live in peace so that justice prevails. However, history relates that the followers of all earlier Prophets split into opposing factions and tampered with the religion to serve a given sect’s local cultural preference or interest.
All previous Prophets were sent to restore the Divine religion to its original purity by purging the innovations and deviations added by its adherents. This is why Prophet Muhammad was sent after Jesus to preach the same pillars of faith. God revealed to him the Qur’an, which contains the eternal principles for our individual and collective life. Since God decrees that the Qur’an is absolutely and permanently preserved, Prophet Muhammad is the last Messenger.
Unfortunately, Judaism and Christianity rejected the Divine Messages and Prophets that came after the ones sent to them: The Jews rejected Christianity and Jesus, as well as Islam and Muhammad, and the Christians rejected Islam and Muhammad. So these two religions finally became so exclusive that Judaism took on the form of a national religion and Christianity presented itself as the only true religion. However, Islam honors the religious experience of those who came before its revelation, because Islam confirms and completes what is true in those religions. Given this, Muslims say that Prophet Abraham and all other Prophets were Muslim. Such an outlook explains why Islamic civilization, from its very beginnings, was and remains tolerant, plural, and inclusive. It has always been this way, except for the rarest of exceptions