Humanity has received divine guidance through two channels: the word of Allah and the prophets who were chosen by Him to communicate His will to humanity These channels have always functioned together, and if one is ignored or neglected, the will of Allah cannot be known with any degree of accuracy. The Hindus neglected their prophets and focused all of their attention on their books, which proved to be only word puzzles that eventually were no longer understood by the people. Similarly the Christians, disregarding the Bible, attached importance only to the person of Jesus Christ and eventually deified him,. This resulted in the loss of t he very essence of tawhid (monotheism) contained in the Bible.

As a matter of fact, the main scriptures revealed before the Qur'an i.e., the Old Testament and the New Testament, acquired book form long after the days of the prophets. Moreover, the New Testament was not recorded in the language spoken by Jesus Christ, believed to be Aramaic, but in Greek. This was because the early Christians made no serious effort to preserve their revelation during the lifetime of their prophet. The Old and New Testaments, which together form the Christian Bible, now consist of translations of various individuals' accounts of the original revelations as well as the additions and deletions made by the faithful.

The Qur'an, as the last revealed book of God, is extant in its original form. Allah Himself guaranteed its preservation. The entire Qur'an was recorded in written form during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) on pieces of palm leaves, parchments, bones, and other suitable surfaces. Moreover, there were tens of thousands of his followers who memorized the whole Qur'an, and the Prophet himself used to recite it to the angel Gabriel once a year and twice when he was about to die.

After the Prophet's death, Abu Bakr, the first caliph, oversaw the collection of the Qur'an into one volume by the Prophet's scribe, Zaid Ibn Thabit. This volume remained with Abu Bakr who, when he was about to die, entrusted it to his successor, Umar Ibn al Khattab who, in turn, passed it on to Hafsa, the Prophet's wife. It was from this original copy that Uthman, the third caliph, prepared several other copies and sent them to different Muslim territories.

The Qur'an was preserved so meticulously because it was to be the book of guidance for all humanity forever. Thus it does not address only the Arabs, even though it was revealed in their language. It speaks to man as a human being: "O Man! What has seduced you from your Lord?" The practical nature of the Qur'anic teachings is established by the examples of the Prophet and of pious Muslims throughout history.

The Qur'an instructions are aimed at the general welfare of man and are based on possibilities within his reach. Its wisdom is conclusive in all of its venous dimensions. It does not condemn or torture the flesh, nor does it neglect the soul. It does not humanize God nor does it deify man. Everything is carefully placed where it belongs in the total scheme of creation.

Those scholars who allege that Muhammad wrote the Qur'an claim something that is not humanly possible. Could anyone living in the sixth century CE. utter such scientific truths as the Qur'an contains? Could he describe the evolution of the embryo inside the uterus so accurately that it matches the description given by modern science?

Secondly, is it logical to believe that the Prophet, who, until the age of forty, was known far and wide for his honesty and integrity, began all of a sudden to write a book that is without equal in literary merit and that could not be surpassed by the whole legion of the Arab poets and orators of the highest caliber?

And lastly, is it justified to say that Muhammad (PBUH), who was known to his people as al-Amin (The trustworthy) and who is still admired by non-Muslim scholars for his honesty and integrity, came forth with a false claim and on that falsehood trained thousands of individuals of character, integrity, and honesty who were able to establish the best human society that the world has ever known? Surely, any sincere and unbiased searcher of truth will come to believe that the Qur'an is the revealed book of Allah.

Without necessarily agreeing completely with their statements, we would like to quote some of the opinions of important non-Muslim scholars who have studied the Qur'an. Such comments show that the non Muslim world is taking a more serious view of the Qur'an and that it is beginning to appreciate its truth. We appeal to all people who are seeking spiritual truth to study the Qur'an in light of the aforementioned points. Cast your preconceived notions aside and listen to what these people have to say.



However often we turn to it [the Qur'an], at first disgusting us each time afresh, it soon attracts, astounds, and in the end enforces our reverence... Its style, in accordance with its contents and aim, is stern, grand, terrible - ever and anon truly sublime. Thus this book will go on exercising through all ages a most potent influence.