Fifth Lecture
The Greatest Miracle of the Prophet of Islam

The Eternal Miracle

All Islamic scholars believe that the Holy Qur’¡n is the greatest miracle of the Prophet of Islam. The reasons for this statement are as follows:

The Holy Qur’¡n is a rational miracle which deals with people’s souls.

The Holy Qur’¡n is an eternal miracle.

The Holy Qur’¡n is a miracle that says aloud:

“If you say this book is not from God, then bring forth one like it.”

This challenge is explicitly stated in the Holy Qur’¡n:

قُل لَّئِنِ اجْتَمَعَتِ الإِنسُ وَالْجِنُّ عَلَى أَن يَأْتُواْ بِمِثْلِ هَذَا الْقُرْآنِ لاَ يَأْتُونَ بِمِثْلِهِ وَلَوْ كَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ ظَهِيراً.

Say: If men and jinn should combine together to bring the like of this Qur’¡n, they could not bring the like of it, though some of them supported the other. [Qur’¡n 17:88]

Still on another occasion, The Holy Qur’¡n has eased the condition for such a challenge:

أَمْ يَقُولُونَ افْتَرَاهُ قُلْ فَأْتُوا بِعَشْرِ سُوَرٍ مِثْلِهِ مُفْتَرَيَاتٍ وَادْعُوا مَنْ اسْتَطَعْتُمْ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ إِنْ كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ.

Or do they say: He has forged it. Say: then bring ten forged chapters like it and call upon whom you can besides Allah, if you are truthful. [Qur’¡n 11:13]

And later, the Holy Qur’¡n adds: if they did not accept this invitation, be aware that these verses are from God.

فَإِلَّمْ يَسْتَجِيبُوا لَكُمْ فَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّمَا أُنزِلَ بِعِلْمِ اللَّهِ وَأَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ فَهَلْ أَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ.

But if they do not answer you, then know that it is revealed by Allah’s knowledge and that there is no god but He; will you then submit? [Qur’¡n 11:14].

Once again, the Holy Qur’¡n has set the least condition for challenges against it:

وَإِنْ كُنتُمْ فِي رَيْبٍ مِمَّا نَزَّلْنَا عَلَى عَبْدِنَا فَأْتُوا بِسُورَةٍ مِنْ مِثْلِهِ وَادْعُوا شُهَدَاءَكُمْ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ إِنْ كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ.

And if you are in doubt as to that which We have revealed to Our Servant, then produce a chapter like it and call on your witness besides Allah if you are truthful. [Qur’¡n 2:23]

In the next verse, the Holy Qur’¡n explicitly states:

فَإِنْ لَمْ تَفْعَلُوا وَلَنْ تَفْعَلُوا فَاتَّقُوا النَّارَ الَّتِي وَقُودُهَا النَّاسُ وَالْحِجَارَةُ أُعِدَّتْ لِلْكَافِرِينَ.

But if you do it not and never shall you do it, then guard yourselves against the fire whose fuel will be men and stones and is prepared for the unbelievers. [Qur’¡n 2:24]

These continual challenges reveal the fact that the Great Prophet had relied heavily on the Holy Qur’¡n and presented it as his miracle despite the fact that he performed numerous other miracles mention of which can be found in the history books.

Since the Holy Qur’¡n is a living miracle which is available to all, we shall rely on it extensively.

How did the Infidels Show Their Weakness in Response to These Challenges?

It is worth noting that the Holy Qur’¡n put a lot of pressure on the infidels to encourage them to mount a response to its challenge because it did not like to give the infidels a chance to make excuses.

Expressions such as “If you tell the truth”… “You would never be capable of”… “Ask the whole world for assistance”… “Bring forth at least one S£rah like it”… “If you become an unbeliever, a burning fire is waiting for you”… all explain this truth.

Besides all this, the Prophet’s Holy wars against the unbelievers was not an easy job because Islam had endangered not only their religion to which they were inclined but also their economic and political interests. In short, even their very existence was severely jeopardized.

In other words, the advance of Islam had disturbed every aspect of their life. For this very reason, they had to fight back vehemently.

In order to weaken the Prophet of Islam, they decided to bring forth verses similar to those of the Holy Qur’¡n so that they could not be intimidated by it any more.

They asked all the eloquent writers among the Arabs to combat the Holy Qur’¡n but each time they took part in the competition they were the losers. The account of these failures is recorded in history books.

The Story of Wal¢d Ibn Mugh¢rah

Among those who were invited to this contest was Wal¢d Ibn Mugh¢rah, of the tribe of Ban£-Makhz£m who was quite well-known among the Arabs in those days for his penmanship and his literary style.

He was asked to deliberate on the Holy Qur’¡n and tell others about the impressions he got from it. Wal¢d asked the Prophet to recite some of the verses of the Holy Qur’¡n for him and the Prophet recited a part of the S£rah °¡-M¢m.⁽[1]⁾

These verses excited Wal¢d so much that he jumped up instantly and headed towards the tribe of Ban£-Makhz£m, saying vehemently, “I swear to God I heard some words from Mu¦ammad that are similar neither to the words of human beings nor of the fairies.” He then uttered the following:

“His statements have a special flavor and a unique beauty. Above them you would assume branches filled with fruits and their roots encompass deep meanings which dominate everything and are dominated by nothing.”

These remarks of Wal¢d caused the rumor among the tribe of Quraish that Wal¢d had been enchanted by Mu¦ammad(s).

Ab£-Jahl hurriedly went to his house, and told him what he had heard from the men of Quraish and invited him to a meeting they were holding.

Arriving in their company, Wal¢d asked them: Do you think Mu¦ammad is crazy? Have you observed any symptoms of madness?

The audience replied in unison that they did not, and then he asked them if they thought that he was a liar. Had he not been well-known among them as a trustworthy man?

Some of the Quraishi leaders replied “Then with what term shall we accuse him? Wal¢d thought for a moment and then replied: “Call him a wizard.”

Although they desired to drive away the masses that had been fond of The Holy Qur’¡n, this very appellation of “magic” was living proof of the supernatural attraction of the Holy Qur’¡n. They thus interpreted this attraction as “magic” when in reality these two are not connected, at all.

This is why the Quraish men spread the rumor that Mu¦ammad was a skillful wizard and that those verses were his magic. They advised the people to stay away from him and not to listen to his words.

However, they failed in every respect and those thirsty for the truth and those who found it, who were clean-hearted, gathered around the Holy Qur’¡n in the thousands and were satisfied with the content of its verses. The defeated enemies had to withdraw.

Today, too, like in the past, the Holy Qur’¡n invites all peoples to challenge it and it proclaims: If you are in doubt concerning the validity of these verses, and if you imagine they are man-made, then bring forth something like them. I invite you scientists, you philosophers, you literary men and you writers from all nations and tribes, to do so.

We know that the enemies of Islam, especially Christian priests, who see Islam as a revolutionary sect that is full of meaning, and who visualize Islam as a threat to their interests, spend millions of dollars every year to carry out their anti-Islamic propaganda. They carry out their obnoxious activities in Islamic countries under the pretext of cultural, scientific, medical and hygienic activities. Why have they not taken the short-cut by inviting Christian Arabs, and Arab scientists, poets, writers and philosophers to write and produce some Surahs like those of the Holy Qur’¡n, in this way, they could silence Muslims forever.

They would have done this under any circumstances if they could. Their weakness vis-à-vis this issue is a firm argument against the infidels and a living argument in favor of the miraculousness of the Qur’¡n.