Most Read in the Category of Belief in Books

None of the books that were sent before the Quran and that are present today are the original books that Allah sent down to His prophets. Their original copies were lost during the course of time; they were rewritten by human beings. Therefore, some additions were made and superstitions were included. For instance, it is a historical truth that the Torah could not be protected by Jews, who lived as slaves and in exile for many centuries and who lost their belief and became idolaters and that the copy that is present today was written by some Jewish rabbis and accepted as a religious book. It is obvious that the book that emerged after such a long and complicated period cannot be the same book that was sent to Moses. Therefore, there are slanders and claims that are not suitable for prophets; there are also some decrees that are contrary to the essence of the religion of oneness in the Torah.

The Psalms, which consisted of prayers and hymns, sent down to Prophet Dawud underwent the same consequence.

As for the Gospel (Bible), Jesus Christ did not have the revelations that were sent to him written. He became a prophet when he was 30 and his prophethood ended when he was 33 years old. He traveled from village to village, from town to town in order to teach people in three years, which is a short time. He was always followed by the men of Roman administrators due to the provocation of Jews in his last year. He could not have enough time or opportunity to have the Gospel written.  As a matter of fact, today the Gospels (Bibles) are called by the names of their authors and they are like  biographies that include the preaches, lessons and the guidance of Jesus to his disciples. Besides, those who wrote them were not the disciples of Jesus, who were the first believers, but those who listened to the divine words that were sent down to Jesus from his disciples. 

There are some differences in terms of narration and content in the Bibles that are present today. As a matter of fact those Bibles were approved by the council consisting of 1000 bishops that gathered in Nicaea in A.D. 325. That council inspected hundreds of Bibles and accepted the present four Bibles, which advocated the divinity of Jesus Christ, with the unanimity of 318 members and destroyed the others by burning them. 

As it is seen, the principle that Jesus is the son of God was accepted by the decision of a council many years after the death of Jesus. Some Christian churches did not accept that decision. Therefore, it is impossible to say that the four Bibles that are present today are the same as the original Bible sent down to Jesus.

If it is considered that it is necessary to recite the Quran in its original language for non-Arab Muslims too, it will be understood what an ease it is for non-Arab Muslims and why Islam is a universal language. Thus, by sending down the Quran in Arabic, God Almighty chose the best language in terms of being easy to be understood: “Allah intends every facility for you He does not want to put you to difficulties...” (al-Baqara, 185).” (Kur’an’ın Getirdiği, Emin Işık).

“It will be sufficient to state the following in order to explain the reasons why the Quran was sent in Arabic: Apart from being a very rich and lively language in terms of verb inflections, personal pronouns and word formation, Arabic has a very strong power and ability against semantic shifts and misunderstanding. No language in the world, including the most developed languages like English and French, has the power of expression to match Arabic. Many scholars attribute it greatly to that characteristic of Arabic that the Quran was sent in Arabic.

However, there is one more important characteristics that they have overlooked: Arabic is the most phonetic (easy to pronounce) language because there are only four vowels in Arabic. It is one of the languages with the least vowels and with the easiest pronunciation among the languages of the world. The difficulty of the pronunciation of a language is directly proportional with the number of the vowels in that language. As it is known, there are eight vowels in Turkish. In English and French, there are more than 10 vowels. The other world languages have more than seven or eight vowels. However, there are only four vowels (A, E, I and U) in Arabic, and they are present in almost all languages and are the most widely used ones. Thus, an Arab who wants to learn another language and to speak it well has to learn some sounds that are not present in Arabic and has to get used to them. However, someone who is not an Arab will not have any difficulty in getting used to the sounds in Arabic because the sounds in Arabic are the main sounds that are widely used in his language.

If it is considered that it is necessary to recite the Quran in its original language for non-Arab Muslims too, it will be understood what an ease it is for non-Arab Muslims and why Islam is a universal language. Thus, by sending down the Quran in Arabic, God Almighty chose the best language in terms of being easy to be understood: “Allah intends every facility for you He does not want to put you to difficulties...” (al-Baqara, 185).” (Kur’an’ın Getirdiği, Emin Işık).

The Divine Books sent down before the Quran are divided into two:

1. Small books, 2. Big books.

* The small books sent down before the Quran are called “Suhuf”: “pages”. They are booklets that are small in volume and that cannot be called as books. They are 100 pages in total. (ad-Durrul-mansur VIII/489; Alusi, Ruhu’l-maani, XV, 141-142) We do not have any documents remaining from those pages.

The prophets that were sent down pages: Adam, Shet (Seth), Idris (Enoch) and Ibrahim (Abraham). Prophet Adam was sent down 10 pages, Shet 50 pages, Idris 30 pages and Ibrahim 10 pages.

There are three big books other than the Quran. They are the Torah, Psalms, and Gospel. There are altogether four big books including the Quran. 

The first holy book, the Torah, was sent to Prophet Musa (Moses) (al-Maida 5/44); the Psalms to Prophet Dawud (David) (al-Isra 17/55), and the Gospel (Bible) to Prophet Eesa (Jesus Christ) (al-Maida, 5/46). The Quran was sent down to our Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as we all know.

* As a Muslim, our first duty toward the Quran is to approve that the truths it contains are right. Then come the other duties like reading it, understanding its meaning, practicing its orders, making its high principles prevail in our life as an individual and community. 

* It is fard al-ayn for every Muslim to memorize one part from the Quran so that his prayer will be valid. It is wajib to memorize one more chapter along with the chapter al-Fatiha. (Thus, he will have fulfilled the fard, too).

It is fard al-kifaya to memorize the whole Quran. That is, if some Muslims memorize the whole Quran, the other Muslims will be freed from the responsibility of memorizing the whole Quran. However, if there is nobody who has memorized the whole Quran left, all Muslims will be responsible. 

* It is more virtuous to read the Quran by looking at the text of it except while performing prayers because both the eyes and the tongue are involved in it. It is also more appropriate for contemplation. When one reads the Quran by heart, only the tongue is involved. It is mustahab to read the Quran by turning toward the direction of the Qiblah, with clean clothes and by sitting properly.

* It is mustahab to start reading the Quran by uttering Audhu-Basmala.

* It is fard to touch the Quran being in the state of wudu (having ablution). One cannot touch the Quran if he is not in the state of wudu.

* It is regarded a good deed by majority of the scholars to read the whole Quran in a month. There are some who prefer to finish reading it in a year, in 40 days, in week, too. However, it is not regarded appropriate to read the whole Quran in less than three days because one cannot think about its meaning while reading it fast and it is possible to make pronunciation mistakes. 

* It is fard al-kifaya to listen to the Quran. If there are some people who listen to the Quran in a place, meeting, etc, the others will be freed of the responsibility. However, it is not a suitable act to read the Quran aloud near people who are involved in doing other things.

* It is more virtuous to read the Quran than to be engaged in nafilah worshipping; and to read the Quran aloud than to read it silently.

* A person can read the Quran while walking or working. However, his work should not cause him to read it heedlessly.

On the contrary, the Quran he reads should free him of heedlessness. 

* Supplication, glorification and sending salawat to the (pbuh) when it is makrooh (abominable) to perform prayers are more virtuous than reading the Quran then.

* It is mustahab to recite the Quran with a nice voice and tajwid (proper pronunciation). The Prophet said the following in a hadith: “Adorn and beautify the Quran with your voice.”

* It is not permissible to recite the Quran like a song, contrary to tajwid. Reciting it by changing the words and distorting the meaning is forbidden.

* If a person learns to read the Quran and forgets it, he is regarded to have committed a sin.

* Reading the Quran, making others read the Quran and to teach people how to read the Quran are all virtuous (rewarding) deeds.

* Although some scholars regard it permissible to get money in return for teaching how to read the Quran, it is necessary to avoid adopting to teach reading the Quran as a way of making one’s living. It is regarded permissible to receive a certain salary for teaching how to read the Quran.

* The Quran copies that are torn and very old should not be burn. They should be covered in a clean piece of cloth and buried or put away in a place where there is no dust. (from Tatarhâniye)

* The following is stated about the virtues of reading the Quran in the hadiths:

 "The example of a believer who recites the Qur'an and acts on it, like a citron which tastes nice and smells nice. And the example of a believer who does not recite the Qur'an but acts on it, is like a date which tastes good but has no smell. And the example of a hypocrite who recites the Qur'an is like a sweet basil which smells good but tastes bitter. And the example of a hypocrite who does not recite the Quran is like a colocynth which tastes bitter and has a bad smell."

“One of the most virtuous worshipping of my ummah is to read the Quran by looking at the text of it.”

“When a person finishes reading the whole Quran, 10 thousand angels ask forgiveness for him during the prayer of khatm al-Quran.”

“Make your eyes take pleasure from worshipping, too. You can do it by reading the Quran looking at its text, by contemplating it and by drawing lessons from the truths in it.”

“Increase reading the Quran in your houses. If the Quran is not read in a house, the goodness of that house decreases and the evil of it increases. The people living there will have financial difficulties...”

“Read the Quran and understand what it prohibits. If your reading does not prevent you from committing what it prohibits, you are not regarded to have read and understood it.”

“The fasting and the Quran will intercede for a person on the Day of Judgment. The fasting will say:

– O my Lord! I prevented him from eating and lustful things during the day. Accept my intercession for him.

The Quran will say:

– O my Lord! I prevented him from sleeping at night. Accept my intercession for him.

Their intercession is accepted.”

“If a group of people come together in one of the houses of Allah, read the book of Allah and try to understand the meaning of it, Allah sends down sakinah (tranquility) to them. Mercy covers them and angels surround them; Allah tells those who are near him about them.”

“The huffaz (those who have memorized the whole Quran) of the Quran are the chiefs of Paradise.”

(How can one be a Muslim of the Quran?)

There are some principles that should be paid attention to while reading the Quran so that the Quran will dominate the spirit of man and will elevate him spiritually. We can list those principles as follows:

1. To realize the greatness and exaltedness of the Quran...

The following is stated in the Quran:

“Had We sent down this Qur'an on a mountain, verily, thou would have seen it humble itself and cleave asunder for fear of Allah...” (al-Hashr, 21)

Allah makes man carry the burden that mountains cannot bear with the ability He gave him. Then, a person who reads the Quran should realize the magnitude and sublimity of the Quran first.

2. To think that the Quran is the word of Allah.

A person who reads the Quran should think that the owner of the Quran is Allah and he should always bear in mind that it is not the word of a human being.

3. To read the Quran with tranquility in one’s heart and to abandon the gossip of the soul...

When a scholar was asked, “Does anything come to your heart when you read the Quran?”, he said “There is nothing lovelier than the Quran for me. How should anything come to my heart?”

4. To think about the truths one reads (contemplation)...

A person sometimes reads the Quran without thinking about it. However, what is meant by reading the Quran is to think about it and to draw lessons from it. It is regarded as sunnah to read the Quran slowly because it enables one to think.

Hazrat Ali said, “there is no good in worshipping performed without understanding it and in reading the Quran without thinking about it”

The Prophet read the 90th verse of the chapter Aal-i-Imran and said, “woe on him who reads this verse and does not think about it...”

5. To understand what one reads...

A person who reads the Quran should try to understand the part he reads as much as he can.

6. To keep away from the states that prevents one from understanding the meaning of the Quran...

The main states that prevent one from understanding the meaning of the Quran are as follows:

a) Imitation and fanaticism: To adhere to some ideas with fanaticism or to learn things by imitation prevents one from discovering and understanding the subtleties of the Quran.

b) States like conceit, insistence on committing sins or pursuing the temporary fancies of the world prevent one from understanding the truths of the Quran.

c) To read the translations of the Quran and to think that all of the meaning of the Quran consists of only the words and information in that translation.

That state is one of the greatest obstacles to understanding the Quran. Today, many people read the translations of the Quran and think that the truths of the Quran consist of only those apparent meanings and their hearts are affected and their respect to the Quran is hurt.

7. To regard himself as the addressee of the Quran.

A person who reads the Quran should regard that he is the addressee of all of the addresses of the Quran. That is, he should read the Quran by regarding his soul as the addressee.

8. To be affected or moved by the Quran...

The heart of a person who reads the Quran should be moved by the meaning of the verses. He should be in a state that is in compliance with the content of the verses he is reading. When he reads the verses about torture and Hell, he should shrink out of fear as if he will die at that moment; when he reads the verses regarding mercy and forgiveness, he should be joyful as if he will fly. When he reads the verses that mention the attributes and names of Allah, he should lower his head before the sublimity of Allah and should think about the greatness of Allah. When he reads the attributions and slanders of the unbelievers against Allah, he should pronounce them more quietly, feel grievous and ashamed. While reading the verses informing about the properties of Paradise, he should have enthusiasm and desire for Paradise. While reading the verses about Hell, he should shiver. When the Quran is read truthfully, the tongue, mind and heart work together. The duty of the tongue is to pronounce the letters properly. The duty of the mind is to interpret the meanings of the verses. The duty of the heart is to tidy itself up due to the influence of what is read. That is, the tongue reads the Quran; the mind translates it and the heart draws lessons from it.

9. To ascend spiritually...

What is meant here is reading the Quran as if one is listening to it from Allah not from himself by ascending spiritually.

10. To be freed from the soul and egoism...

A person who reads the Quran should give up depending on his own strength relying on his own soul and complementing his soul. When he reads the verses that give good news about good Muslims and praise good Muslims, he should not regard himself as one of them but he should pray Allah to join him among that luminous group.

When he reads the verses regarding rebels and sinners he should regard himself as one of them, he should take refuge with the mercy of Allah, and he should repent and ask for forgiveness. 

The Quran, the last divine book of Allah and His divine command for the mankind, was sent down verse by verse, chapter by chapter in 23 years. Our Prophet read the chapters and the verses that were sent down to his Companions that were near him; the Companions memorized them and some of the Companions wrote them down. In addition, there were revelation scribes of our Prophet, The Prophet was informed by Gabriel (pbuh) where to put the verses and chapters in the Quran; and the Prophet told the revelation scribes what to do. Thus, all of the Quran was written down while he was alive and it was definite which verses belonged to which chapter. In addition, Gabriel (pbuh) came down in each Ramadan and read all of the verses and chapters that had been sent down up to that time. In the last Ramadan before the death of our Prophet, Gabriel and our Prophet read the Quran twice. First Gabriel read it and the Prophet listened to him; then the Prophet read it and Gabriel listened to it. Thus, the last form of the Quran became definite.

However, the Quran was not in the form of a collected book when the Prophet was alive. They were in the form of pages belonging to the Companions and it was in the memories of the people. However, it was definitely known which verse was in which chapter.

Eventually, during the caliphate of Hazrat Abu Bakr, a committee consisting of revelation scribes and strong huffaz (people who memorized the whole Quran) under the presidency of Zayd bin Thabit. The committee was given the duty of collecting the Quran in a volume. All of the Companions delivered the written pieces of the Quran that they had to that committee. As a result of the common work of the revelation scribes and huffaz, the chapters and verses were placed in the Quran as our Prophet described. Thus, the Quran took the form of a single volume of book, called Mushaf.

From then on, it was impossible for the Quran to be forgotten, lost, distorted and changed because its original form had been determined as it was sent down to the Prophet.

During the period of Hazrat Uthman, new copies were reproduced from that volume and they were sent to different countries as it was necessary.

The copies of the Quran that we have today were reproduced from that Quran.

The Quran was determined soundly in the form that it was sent down, and it reached today without undergoing any change or distortion unlike other holy books because it was protected. It is definite that the following aspects played an important role in its protection: its easy memorability, its inimitable unique nature, and maximum attention in its protection. However, the real reason is that God Almighty undertook its preservation and protection and vowed to maintain it as a miracle in terms of words and meaning until the Day of Judgment. As a matter of fact, the following is stated in the Quran:

“We have, without doubt sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption)....” (al-Hijr, 9).

Today all of the copies of the Quran in the world are the same. There is no difference and change among them. In addition, millions of huffaz have it in their memory; millions of tongues recite it every moment. No other book written by a person has that quality and characteristic; neither does any of the holy books. It is necessary that the last word of Allah, His eternal command that is valid until the Day of Judgment, has such a unique rank and a high honor.

• The Quran approved all of the books that were sent before it but it abrogated some of the decrees they brought and replaced them with new decrees.

It is not enough to believe in the previous holy books to be a believer; it is also necessary to believe in Prophet Muhammad and the Quran, which was sent down to him. That point is repeatedly emphasized in the Quran. (Aal-i-Imran 3/31; an-Nisa 4/47; al-Maida 5/15)

The Quran informs people about many truths about creed, worshipping, ethics, sociology, economy, political science, history, law, man, the universe and beyond the universe. The most important truths that the Quran mentions can be listed as follows:

1. The Quran calls all people to believe in the existence and oneness of Allah, that is, the belief of oneness. It determines and emplaces the power and sublimity of Allah in the minds...

2. The Quran protects people from idolatry and polytheism. It calls people to worship only Allah, Who is one and single, and not to associate any partners with Him. 

3. The Quran leads people to science, knowledge and contemplation. It prohibits man from living heedlessly and unconsciously. It wants people to pay attention to the power and wisdom of Allah and to look at the universe and events in order to draw lessons from them. 

4. The Quran informs people about some of the prophets that were sent to previous nations and how they guided them and conveyed the message to them. It tells us to draw lessons from the situations of the previous nations.

5. The Quran tells people not to be slaves of their souls, not to prefer the world to the hereafter and not to forget that they are always in a process of testing.

6. The Quran advises Muslims to persevere in their religion, to bow down to the truth and to be strong against their enemies.

7. The Quran informs people about the main principles to be followed in the social, economic and political life and the rules of happiness.

8. The Quran advises the moral values like justice, honesty, modesty, love, compassion, goodness, pardoning, good manners, equality to be prevalent among people.

It prohibits people from oppression, betrayal, conceit, misery, the feeling of revenge, hard-heartedness, indecency and forbidden things.

9. The Quran tells people that the laws that Allah imposed regarding the universe will not change and that it is necessary to obey those laws in order to be successful. It also tells us that nothing except the effort and labor of man will be useful for him. 

10. The Quran tells people that those who follow Islam will go to Paradise and those who do not will go to Hell. It also tells people that this world is a place of testing that will earn people the eternal Paradise and bliss in the hereafter.

As Muslims, we believe that Moses, David and Jesus (peace be upon them) were sent the divine books called the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel (Bible) and that those books were true and that they did not have any decrees contrary to the religion of oneness. However, those books were not protected and their originals were lost. 

We cannot say that the books that Jews and Christians have today contain nothing from the revelations sent down to prophets. However, it is a reality that superstitions and wrong beliefs were added to them. Therefore, we act cautiously towards those books. We agree that the decrees that comply with the Quran are revelations. We think that it is probable that the decrees that contradict the Quran were added afterwards. As for the decrees that neither contradict nor comply with the Quran, we do not say anything about them; we keep silent. We neither accept nor deny them because it is probable that they are revelations or not revelations.

Abu Hurayra said the following regarding the issue:

“The People of the Book read the Torah in Hebrew and translated it into Arabic for Muslims. The Messenger of Allah said the following to his companions regarding the issue:

– Neither approve nor deny the words of the People of the Book; say to them,:

“Say ye: "We believe, in Allah and the revelation given to us and to Abraham Isma`il Isaac Jacob and the Tribes and that given to Moses and Jesus and that given to (all) Prophets from their Lord we make no difference between one and another of them and we bow to Allah (in Islam)".” (Bukhari, Tafsir, Surah 2/11; I’tisam, 25)

The Quran is the last holy book that Allah sent down to human beings.

The Quran was sent down to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) by Gabriel (pbuh) through revelation and it was transmitted from him through tawatur (*) and reached today.

—————————

(*) Tawatur: Sound news that has no possibility of containing lies and that is based on a group of people; sound news based on a group of people not an individual. 

The Glorious Quran is a material and spiritual guide for the individual and the society, all ranks of people, the whole human life in all countries and ages. Everybody, from the prime minister and commander to the ordinary citizen and the man in the street, finds in it what is related to him. Everybody receives the necessary information and lesson for their worldly and otherworldly peace and bliss.

The merits and qualities that the Quran has are stated as follows in verses and hadiths:

* “And this is a Book which We have revealed as a blessing: so follow it and be righteous, that ye may receive mercy” (al-An’am, 155).

* “And this is a Book which We have sent down, bringing blessings and confirming (the revelations) which came before it: that thou mayest warn the Mother of Cities and all around her. Those who believe in the Hereafter believe in this (Book), and they are constant in guarding their prayers” (al-An’am, 92).

* “Do they not ponder on the Qur'an (with care)? Had it been from other than Allah, they would surely have found therein much discrepancy.” (an-Nisa, 82).

* “…the Qur'an as a guide to mankind also clear (Signs) for guidance and judgment (between right and wrong)...” (al-Baqara, 185).

* “…a confirmation of what went before and guidance and glad tidings for those who believe” (al-Baqara, 97).

* “(Here is) a Book which We have sent down unto thee, full of blessings, that they may meditate on its Signs, and that men of understanding may receive admonition” (Sad, 29).

• The Quran was not sent down to the Prophet all at once but in 23 years in slow, well-arranged stages gradually. (al-Furqan 25/32)

The reasons why it was sent down in stages are as follows:

- so that it will be memorized more easily

- so that it will be transmitted in a short time

- so that its meaning will be understood more easily

- so that the memories and the minds will understand and get used to the truths in it gradually

- so that Islamic beliefs and values will be strengthened and settled gradually... 

* The following is narrated from Harith bin A’war:

One day, Hazrat Ali said, “I heard from Messenger of Allah: “Soon, there will be fitnah (testing, oppression)”. Thereupon, I asked him, “O Messenger of Allah, how can we get rid of those fitnahs?” He said, “Through the book of Allah, the Quran. (Then, the Prophet explained the qualities of the Quran as follows)

It contains the history of the people that lived before you, the news about people that will come after you and the judgments about the problems among you. It is a definite judgment that discriminates between the truth and the wrong. He who looks for guidance in something other than the Quran will be confused by Allah. It is the unbreakable, sound rope of Allah, strong book of thought and the right path. It is the only reason why minds do not go astray and tongues are not confused. The Quran is a book that scholars cannot have enough of, that does not become old no matter how many times it is read, and whose amazing superiority never ends. It is such a unique book that when the jinn listened to it, they could not help saying, “We have really heard a wonderful Recital! It gives guidance to the Right.” Anyone who speaks based on it tells the truth; anyone who practices it, gains rewards; anyone who judges based on it, serves justice; anyone who calls people to it, becomes on the right path.

* “The Quran is an obvious light, a wise word and the straightest path.”

* “The Quran is the rope of Allah hanging down from the sky to the earth.”

* “The superiority of the Quran to other words is like the superiority of Allah to the beings He created.”

* “Anyone who reads a verse from the book of Allah, it becomes a light for him in the Day of Judgment.”

* “Enlighten and illuminate your homes by performing prayers and reading the Quran.” 

* Names of the Quran:

The Quran lexically means “to put together, to read and to bring together. That name is given by the Quran itself  (See: al-Baqara, 185)

It is stated that it is called the Quran because it brought the verses and chapters together, because it contained the belief, worshipping, ethical, legal, etc principles of Islam, and because it is the most widely read book in the world.

The Quran has many other names. Some of those names are as follows: Kitab (Book), Furqan (Criterion between truth and falsehood), Dhikr (Mentioning), Hukm (Judgment), Hikmah (Wisdom), Shifa (Healing), Huda (Guidance), Rahmah (Mercy), Ruh (Spirit), Bayan (Eloquence), Nimah (Blessing), Burhan (Evidence), Nur (Light), Haqq (Truth)...

A very young man started to learn the Quran from a teacher. The people who noticed that the face of the young man was very pale said to the teacher, “That young man stays awake all night to read the Quran and reads the whole Quran at one night.” Thereupon, the teacher asked the young man:

– I hear that you stay awake all night and read the whole Quran.

When the young man told his teacher that what he heard was right, the teacher said:

– Then, when you read the Quran during the night suppose that I am in front of you and read as if I am listening to you; never forget me. 

The young student said yes to his teacher. The next morning they had the following conversation:

– Did you do what I told you?

– Yes, I did.

– Did you read the whole Quran?

– No, I could read only half of it.

– Then, read the Quran by thinking of a Companion of the Prophet who listened to the Quran from him tonight. Read carefully because the Companions listened to the Quran from the Prophet himself. Therefore, be careful not to make any mistakes.

After saying “yes” the young man read the Quran that night; however, he told his teacher that he could read only one-fourth of it. His teacher told him to read the Quran by thinking about the Prophet himself. When the young man did so, he noticed that he could read only one-thirtieth of it. Eventually, his teacher said to him: 

– Tonight, repent and ask forgiveness from Allah and get ready… Think that you are reading the Quran in the presence of Allah.

The next day, the teacher waited for his student to come but nobody came. He sent someone to his house and found out that he was ill. The teacher went to his student’s house to visit him. He found the young man crying. The young man said to his teacher, 

– O teacher! May Allah give you many rewards. Only last night did I notice that I was reading the Quran wrongly. When I opened the chapter al-Fatiha and started to read the verse “Thee do we worship”, I checked my soul and I did not see that I approved God Almighty by that verse. Therefore, I felt ashamed to say, “Thee do we worship”, that is, to read that verse... I constantly read up to the verse “Master of the, Day of Judgment” but I could not read the verse, “Thee do we worship”. When I bowed down for ruku, the dawn almost broke.

According to the report from Ibn Arabi, that young man died an hour later. When the teacher went to visit the grave of the young man, he heard this coming from the grave:

– O teacher! I am alive near Allah, who is alive. Allah did not question me about anything...

Al-Mamun, an Abbasi Caliph at the end of the second century (Hegira), was a statesman who was open to foreign countries. He showed respect to Muslim-Christians scholars; during his caliphate, science books in the foreign languages were translated into Arabic and there was an exchange of knowledge.

During those studies, Mamun asked a Jewish scholar, who attracted great attention due to his intelligence, the following question:

– Since you can study and examine events so rationally, why do you not embrace Islam? Do you not know the difference between the Quran and the Gospel and the Torah?

The Jewish scholar answered:

– I am studying on the issue. When I finish my study, I will inform you about my decision.

Mamun did not think of pushing the Jewish scholar because he knew that a person could not be a Muslim through compulsion or fear.

Mamun left the Jewish scholar on his own and did not ask him anything about the issue again. One year later, the Jewish scholar started to talk to the other scholars in the presence of Mamun. However, he was not the same person as last year. He had embraced Islam and accepted all of the decrees of the Quran.  

Mamun was surprised to see it:

– I hope everything is all right. What is the difference between the Quran last year and the Quran this year? You did not embrace Islam last year but you embraced it this year.

The Jewish scholar explained:

– There is definitely no difference between the Quran last year and the Quran this year. That is exactly what made me approach Islam and become a believer.

– What is it? The fact that the Quran does not change?

– Yes. Let me tell you how my studies happened and how I became a Muslim. He went on:

– First, I went to my house. I wrote a Gospel for many days. I wrote three copies of the Gospel. In one of them, I deliberately skipped a few lines. The second one was complete. I added a few lines to the third copy. I took those three copies and went to the church with them. I showed them to the priest. The priest examined them. He bought them and congratulated me on what I had done. I returned home. I wrote three copies of the Torah similarly. I did not write some of the verses in the first one. The second one was complete. I added some verses to the third one. I took them to a rabbi. The rabbi examined them and liked them. He bought them and thanked me.

Now, it was time for the Quran. The Quran was too big. I could not write the whole Quran. I wrote only three fascicles of it. I deliberately skipped a few lines in the first fascicle. The second one was complete. I added a few lines to the third copy.

 I went to all of the scholars of Islam with curiosity and attention. I showed them the Quran that I wrote and wanted them to buy it. At first, they all said they would gladly buy it but all of them found the mistakes when they examined it. They said:

– A few lines are missing in this fascicle. This fascicle is complete. These lines are added to this fascicle. There is no word like that in the Quran..

All of them read the Quran from their memory and corrected my mistakes.

I understood that the Quran has been preserved in the same form and content as it was sent down and it keeps its freshness and soundness. There are no missing parts or additions in the Quran. It is the last book that maintains the form when it was sent down exactly. After that, I became a Muslim. That is how my search that made me a Muslim took place.

Imam Suyuti narrates the event like that in his book, “Khasais”.

• What does belief in books express?

Allah sent down books to some of the prophets that He sent to human beings. Allah informed human beings about His commands and prohibitions in those books, and taught them the good and fine things, and showed them the right path.

Those books are called Divine Books, that is, Allah’s books. They are also called heavenly books and holy books.

The religion of Islam orders belief in all of the divine books sent by Allah. This is the essence of belief in books:

Each prophet was sent revelations. Some revelations were collected together and made into a book. The prophets that were not sent books followed the decrees of a book sent before them and told people about the decrees in that book.  

The Quran is the last divine book. It was sent down to last Prophet, Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh). Many prophets are mentioned in the Quran and it is stated that some of those prophets were sent down books. Every believer must believe in the Quran and the holy books mentioned by the Quran. That belief has an important place among the fundamentals of belief. The Quran is a divine book like the other divine books sent down before. Belief in the previous divine books necessitates belief in the Quran; similarly, belief in the Quran necessitates belief in the existence of the previous divine books. 

• The issue of divine books is related to the issue of Allah’s attribute of Kalam (Speech) and divine books are the works of that attribute. They are the concrete form of the divine messages sent by revelation. The reason why those messages are called divine books is that they are the works of Allah’s revelation and there is no human contribution in terms of words and content.

The Quran contains all kinds of belief, deed and ethics principles that will provide mankind with real happiness. It is the greatest and eternal miracle in terms of both its words and meaning.

The Prophet stated the following regarding the issue:

“There was no prophet among the prophets but was given miracles because of which people had security or had belief, but what I was given was the Divine Inspiration which Allah revealed to me. So I hope that my followers will be more than those of any other prophet on the Day of Resurrection.”

Indeed, the miracles of the other prophets ended when their period ended. The miracle of the Quran is abiding until Doomsday.

In various verses of the Quran, it is insistently stated that the Quran is a miracle: 

“Say: "If the whole of mankind and Jinns were to gather together to produce the like of this Qur'an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they backed up each other with help and support.” (al-Isra, 17/88). (See also: al-Baqara 2/23-24; Hud 11/13; at-Tur 52/33-34)

As a matter of fact, nobody has been able to and will never be able to produce something similar to the style and eloquence of the Quran….

Both the meaning and the words of the Quran are miracles.

Our Prophet could not read or write. He did not learn anything from anybody. Therefore, he was regarded as illiterate. However, the book he brought contained the highest truths; 14 centuries ago, it informed us about many scientific truths that science and experience put forward after efforts that lasted for centuries. It shows that the Quran is the direct word of Allah.

For instance, the scientific and archeological discoveries that the sun rotates around itself, that it proceeds toward a fixed point with its planets, and the discovery of the mummies of the Pharaohs in the pyramids were made in the last century. However, the Quran informed us about them and many other truths many centuries ago.

The advancements in the science and social sciences will make it easier to explain and interpret the Quran. As Badiuzzaman said, “As time gets older, the Quran gets younger; the truths that it contains become manifest more brightly.”

Another miraculous sign of the Quran is that it foretold many events that happened later. The events that it foretold happened exactly (the prophecies that the Romans would defeat the fireworshippers, that Makkah would be conquered, etc…)