Of all the acclaimed masterpieces that the world has seen, nothing can be compared to the book known as the Qur’an. Millions have become Muslims upon simply hearing a verse from
this amazing book, yet still the majority knows nothing of it. The Qur’an is the Final Revelation from the Creator to humanity. It was revealed in the year 610 CE to the Prophet Muhammed (Peace be upon him), and completed over a period of 23 years. These 23 years of revelation resulted in a book which comprised of 114 chapters and 6,666 verses. All of this was to become the primary source of law for the whole of mankind to live and die by.The impact of this book is such that Allah says :
“Had We[1] revealed this Qur’an upon a mountain, surely you would have seen it humble itself and crumble out of the fear of Allah. Such are the parables We put forward to mankind so that they may reflect” (Surah Al-Hashr 59:21)
However, it seems as if the hearts of the people have become harder then the mountains which tower above us. When the Qur’an is recited or even mentioned, people turn away with disgust. In the West, this is primarily due to the negative exposure from the media. It has resulted in many non-Muslims not even wanting to hear the name of this amazing book. Muslims too, have become hardhearted because of the cultural influences of the West. Many young Muslims perceive the Qur’an to be nothing more then an old wrapped up book, which comes off the highest shelf once a year during Ramadan!If people were to truly reflect upon this book, they would realise that nothing in this world is quite the same. So why should this claim be accepted over others? Why should the Qur’an be given precedence over the likes of the Bible, the Gita[2] or the Granth Sahib[3] ? The following reasons will inshallah give an
indication as to why this book deserves the attention of all humanity.
Preservation
“There is probably in the world no other book which has remained twelve centuries with so pure a text”. Writing 200 years ago, these are the words of the famous English critic of Islam, Sir William Muir. But as Muslims we do not need Williarn Muir to tell us this. 1400 years ago, the Muslims accepted this reality when Allah revealed to them:
“Indeed it is We who have sent down the reminder (the Qur’an), and indeed it is Us who shall preserve it” (Surah Al-Hijr 15:9)
These words have proved true to this very day. From the moment the first words were revealed to Muhammed (Peace be upon him), to this very day, every single letter and word of the Qur’an has remained unchanged. Before Islam, all the revelations sent were not given this divine assurance. This is why we find that books like the Bible are riddled with corruption and inaccuracies. It is well known that man has tampered with the Bible to the extent that annually different versions are produced to suit trends and desires[4]. In fact this has been going on for so long that it is almost impossible to see what of the words of the Creator are left, if any!