Is it possible to write a book similar to the Quran?

- Could a human being have written the Quran?
- Does God have feelings?​
- Why does a great and powerful being like God have human feelings like love and damnation?
- Why are there verses such as “We rendered them halal for you” in the private life of the prophet? Could this have been a book written by the prophet for his own benefit?
- Even if he did not write it himself, could it have been a copy of the books of other religions written by others after some thought to protect morality? After all, it took 23 years.
- Revelation stopped after the death of Waraqa bin Nawfal; does it mean that Waraqa bin Nawfal started it?
- After all, he had the books of other religions translated and there is not much information in the Quran that is not found in other religions; for example, the separation of the earth from the sky exists in Sumerians; it was transferred to the Quran exactly.
- Why is there no information such as we created the heavens directly from point?
- The Quran did not say much about what was not known at that time?
- Does the fact that other religions have their holy books not refute the thesis that you cannot make the like of the Quran?
- The question included a lot of question. I would be very happy if you could answer them one by one; my belief has been seriously shaken.

Dear Brother / Sister,

The similarity in shape between a nylon flower and a real flower, or a human sculpture made of clay and a living person does not mean that they are the same.

The words of Allah and the words of human beings are just like that.

It is not possible to make something like the Quran just as it is not possible to make something exactly like a human being.

Although the Quran is in Arabic, it is the word of Allah; while people make pottery from clay, Allah creates humans and animals.

After this short information, let us deal with the issues mentioned in the question:

It is very wise that Allah made man receive some manifestations of His own names and attributes and that He gave human beings some senses and feelings such as seeing, hearing, loving and hating.

In that case, the fact that man contains the manifestations of such divine qualities does not show that Allah is a human being or man is Allah, or that the Quran is the word of man. On the contrary, this issue helps man to know Allah’s unlimited names and attributes with his limited attributes.

- Moreover, the Quran has challenged everyone since the very first day to prove that it is the word of Allah. “...You can prove that the Quran is the word of a human being by producing something like a single surah (chapter) but you can never do that…” (see al-Baqara, 2/23) This challenge is valid now and until the Day of Judgment. The fact that Islam’s greatest enemies have not been able to do so in the face of this challenge for nearly fifteen centuries is an indication of their inability to do so.

- The humble and poor life of the Prophet (pbuh), which shows that he did not attach importance to material things, eliminates all the thoughts and delusions that he did such a thing “for his own benefit”.

He rejected the suggestions that were offered to him at the beginning that “he would become the head of Mecca and the richest of them, and that he could marry the most beautiful noble women he wanted”; his historical words meaning “If you put the sun in one of my hands and the moon in the other, I would not give up on this cause. Either I will conclude it successfully or die for this cause” are clearly emphasized in the sources of tafsir, hadith, biography and history.

- First of all, it will be useful to know the following fact: “A probability without evidence has no logical value.”

The possibility that “the Quran is a copy of ancient books” is such a delusion. The concepts essentially possible and reasonably possible are confused with each other.

That is, many things that are impossible in reality can be imagined as having happened in terms of what is “essentially possible”; and this imagination is only a delusion. For example; there is a possibility that the Black Sea is currently a sugar basin - in terms of being essentially possible. However, since this possibility does not arise from any indication or evidence, it cannot go beyond a dream. Similarly, there is no evidence for the possibility of the Quran to be a copy from ancient books. It is only a product of delusion originating from delusion. We sincerely recommend that anyone who sincerely wishes to strengthen and preserve their belief should take a look at our website and the Risale-i Nur collection. What we write here is not even one thousandth of what we know.

- Revelation taking 23 years is also a long process for copying. If it were really copying, the “copy-paste” work would take a month at most.

“Those who reject Faith say: ‘Why is not the Qur’an revealed to him all at once?’ Thus (is it revealed), that We may strengthen thy heart thereby, and We have rehearsed it to thee in slow, well-arranged stages, gradually.” (al-Furqan, 25/32)

It is emphasized in the verse above that the revelation of the Quran piece by piece over a period of 23 years aimed at strengthening the heart of the Prophet (pbuh). It is possible to explain this wisdom as follows:

a) In the face of every new revelation to explain any issue, the Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) heart was filled with joy. He once again felt deeply that his Lord, Allah, believed in him, helped him, and came to his aid in his most troubled situations.

b. The occasional revelation of the Quran facilitated the memorization of the text of the Quran, as well as the application of its rules. The heart of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was also calmed with it.

c. In every revelation that came, there were also issues showing the miraculousness of the Quran. Some of them were in the form of open challenging, some of them were at a level that Muhammad (pbuh) could easily understand. Each revelation emphasizing the divine identity of the Quran gave his heart a different strength, enthusiasm and energy.

d. On the other hand, the fact that each revelation coming at different times revealed different mistakes of different deniers, refuted the evidence they were based on, and introduced explanations that would distinguish between right and wrong also relieved the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

e. Likewise, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) faced different difficulties at different times. Each time, the arrival of new revelation that would relieve those troubles was a consolation to his heart. It is necessary to understand the parts of the revelation that informed the salvation of the prophets and the bad fate of the deniers in that sense. (see Zarqani Manahilul-Irfan, 1/54-61)

f. Similarly, one of the reasons for the gradual descent of the revelation in parts is that the Companions, who constituted the first line of the ummah, could easily memorize the text of the revelation, understand its meaning, abandon their old false creeds and assimilate the newly taught sound creed, and get rid of the ethics of ignorance and embellish themselves with Islamic ethics. All of these took a certain period of time.

g. Again, issues such as answering different questions, bringing solutions to the problems that occurred, and providing solutions to the problems that people needed at different times were some of the reasons that made it necessary for the revelation to come down from time to time at different times.

In addition, although the Quran was revealed in twenty-three years, it showed coherence, fluency, rhetoric, and harmony as if it was revealed once, which is another aspect that emerged as a reflection of its miraculousness. (see Zarqani, ibid)

This point alone is an indication that the Quran is not a copy of ancient books.

- There is not even a small piece of sound information that revelation was interrupted after Waraqa bin Nawfal’s death. On the contrary, the information given by the sources is as follows:

Nawfal said, “You are, my nephew, the Last Prophet to come in the End Times. The angel who brought you revelation is the angel who brought revelation to Moses. I wish I would be alive and helped you when your people would expel you from Makkah…”

Although these statements are carefully emphasized in all hadith, tafsir, biography and history sources, it is not reasonable to be swayed by an unfounded an illogical slander and to ignore that facts.

However, 23 years is really a short time for the reforms carried out by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in line with the orders of the Quran.

As Bediuzzaman Said Nursi puts it,

“Let them each take a hundred philosophers, go there, and strive for a hundred years; would they be able to carry out in that time one hundredth of what he achieved in a year?” (see Sözler, On Dokuzuncu Söz)

Let us see if they can!

- What does “to create the heavens from point...” mean? This question is not clear but we can still say something: Many facts about the creation of the universe are pointed out in the Quran. The meaning of one or two verses is as follows:

“Moreover, He comprehended in His design the sky, and it had been (as) smoke: He said to it and to the earth: ‘Come ye together, willingly or unwillingly.’ They said: ‘We do come (together), in willing obedience.’” (Fussilat, 41/11)

The state of the gases and nebulae, which is the first cosmic soup state of the sky, is indicated in the verse above.

“Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of creation), before we clove them asunder? We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?” (al-Anbiya, 21/30)

Attention is drawn to two facts that exist in today’s scientific data: The Big Bang theory and the fact that living things were created from water.

- With the statement “The Quran did not say much about what was not known at that time...”, they try to cast doubts on the Quran. However, this method is the very miracle. Let us listen to this issue from Badiuzzaman Said Nursi. Please try to understand it:

“Question: Contrary to modern philosophy and science, which provide apparent information on heavenly objects and Earth, as well as on their shape and movements, the Quran deals with the universe in succinct and allusive ways. Why is this?”

“Answer: In such issues, ambiguity is more important. And conciseness is better and more beautiful. The Quran mentions the universe only parenthetically, for its purpose is to make the Creator known by humanity with His Attributes and Names. An argument should be explicit and understandable If it had proclaimed, as scientists desire: “Look at the sun in its motionlessness and Earth in its movements, and see how their Creator is powerful,” the resulting argument and purpose would have remained beyond most people, regardless of the time in which they were living. The absolute majority of people should be given precedence in guidance by considering their level of knowledge and understanding. However, the Quran’s consideration of their level never excludes any society’s small minority of scientists, philosophers, and intellectuals. Giving precedence to the minority would deprive the majority of benefiting from the Quran’s guidance.” (Mesnevi-i Nuriye, On Dördüncü Reşha, pp. 232-233)

Tawhid (oneness) is the goal, and the evidence brought for tawhid is a means. The purpose never changes, but the means may change in accordance with the requirements of some periods. It is called “balagah” in the sense of “acting in accordance with the situation”. In other words, it is necessary to speak in accordance with the state of the addressee and to give him/her what he/she can comprehend.

Since most of the people are common people, the evidence brought in the name of proving the purpose should be so simple and easy enough for common people to understand. Otherwise, if the evidence brought to prove the purpose is hidden and complicated, we will do more harm than good. The method of the Quran follows the path that the evidence should be clear and simple enough for everyone to understand. That is, the evidences brought for tawhid must be apparent and clear; they do not have to be scientific.

For example, it is not necessary to talk about neutrons and protons in order to prove the order/system in the universe. The fact that the sun rises in the same way every day, the stars are in their place and the beautiful faces of the flowers indicate it.

That is, the evidence brought to prove tawhid should not need more explanation than tawhid. If the evidence is clear, simple and plain, everyone will benefit from it. If the evidence is hidden and scientific, only scientists will benefit from that evidence, and most of the common people cannot benefit from it. What matters here is not the evidence itself, but the result that the evidence proves and people’s understanding of it. It is another aspect of ignorance to say that there is no evidence other than doing everything based on science.

When we look at the style of the Quran, it shows plain and apparent proofs that everyone can understand. It points to subtle and hard-to-understand evidence with presumption, that is, with clues. In other words, it addresses the mental level of the majority of the addressees, i.e., common people. As for the learned scholars, who are a minority, the Quran addresses them with presumption. We should also follow this method. In all education systems, education and training techniques are adjusted to the situation of the majority, while minorities are handled with additional materials.

- The existence of other religious books can never be perceived as a rival to the Quran because they cannot be compared with the Quran in terms of expression, rhetoric and eloquence, either in news about ghayb, or in matters approved by science, either in cosmological statements, or in sociological judgments, either in terms of arts nor meaning. As people who know and read these books and the Quran closely, we express our scientific conviction like this. May Allah guide us all! Amin...

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