The Qur'an is a miracle. Nothing else like the Qur'an has ever been produced. The Qur'an is the strongest proof that Muhammad was a true prophet.
We hear these claims made quite often, but do we truly understand them? What makes the Qur'an so otherworldly? Why is the Qur'an a miracle?
There are many reasons, but for now, let's explore three big ones. Reason number one, the Qur'an is a literary masterpiece.
So what, you might ask? There are lots of great works of literature in the world. This is true, but there's something different going on here.
How many literary masterpieces do you know that were first conveyed by an illiterate person? How many of them were spontaneously created in response to unscripted questions without a drop
in linguistic quality? How many verses were recited in a culture with such strong oral tradition that the poets were prized above all others, yet the poets of that time
were unable to mimic or improve upon them? The Qur'an accomplished all of these things. When Al-Waleed ibn al-Mughirah, a hater of Islam until his death, was asked to critique the Qur'an,
he responded, and what can I possibly say? There is not a single man among you who is more versed in poetry than I or in prose, and by God, what he says bears no resemblance to any of these things.
By God, his statement which he utters has a sweetness to it, and a charm hovers over it. Its highest parts are fruitful, and its depths gush forth without end.
Reason number two, the Qur'an contains historical information that could not have been known at the time of revelation. It's common to argue that many of the historical narrations in the Qur'an
were taken from the Bible. While it's true that both holy books tell the same stories, there is a key difference. The Qur'an contains accurate details not found in the Bible.
For example, in the Qur'anic narration in the story of Joseph, peace be upon him, the ruler of Egypt is never referred to as the pharaoh. In the biblical version of the same
story, the ruler is called the pharaoh. Why is this significant? Because the king of Egypt in Joseph's time was not a pharaoh. Historians have found that during the era of Joseph,
the rulers of Egypt were an invading force from Palestine, and hence they were called the Ixos, literally foreign kings, not pharaohs. This isn't a coincidence. Later in history,
during the time of Moses, the ruler of Egypt was a pharaoh, and is referred to by this title across several chapters in the Qur'an. There are many other examples of the Qur'an departing from the
biblical narrative or adding new details to biblical stories that would later prove to hold some historical significance. Maybe there was a version of the Bible available to Muhammad,
peace and blessings be upon him, that has since disappeared. This would make sense, except that the historical record indicates that there were no versions of either the Old
or New Testaments available in Arabic, Muhammad's language, until a century after the Qur'an was revealed. There are also no known versions of the Bible that would have contained the
accurate historical details found in the Qur'an. Maybe a Jewish or Christian scholar taught Muhammad these details. There was simply no time or circumstance in which this could have happened.
The sources of Judeo-Christian knowledge in the time of Muhammad were limited and passing. But the volume and accuracy of what the prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, taught could only be attained
through decades of apprenticeship that would be impossible to hide. They certainly couldn't have come from a few short encounters. Reason number three, the Qur'an has been preserved in its
original form. The Qur'an itself contains verses in which God promises its preservation. Is this
in itself a proof? As it turns out, yes. After a millennium and a half, today's Qur'an perfectly
matches with the Urthmanic Codex, the full text of the Qur'an that was compiled by the prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, companions. The consistency of the Qur'an's oral transmission is
also rock solid. Every oral recitation all over the globe is consistent with every other oral recitation, and they are also compatible with the written form of the Qur'an. As we have seen with
the Bible, this is extremely unlikely to happen on its own. Historical texts are often edited, lost, changed, forgotten, or otherwise altered by human intervention over the course of history.
With all this information in mind, then, is it possible that an illiterate man from 7th century
Arabia could create a linguistic masterpiece with intricate details of lost knowledge and complex theology that has lasted unaltered for over a thousand years? Of course not. What
we see in the revelation and preservation of the Qur'an is the divine at work. Is it not sufficient for them that we reveal to you the book which is recited to them? Indeed, and that is a
mercy and reminder for a people who believe. With this then, let us conclude that the Qur'an
