Prophet Muhammad and the Quran

If one assumes that the Quran is the product of a man’s mind, then one would expect it to reflect some of what was going on in the mind of the man who “composed” it.  In fact, certain encyclopedias and various books claim that the Quran was the product of hallucinations that Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, underwent.  If these claims are true - if it indeed originated from some psychological problems in Muhammad’s mind - then evidence of this would be apparent in the Quran.  Is there such evidence? In order to determine whether or not there is, one must first identify what things would have been going on in his mind at that time and then search for these thoughts and reflections in the Quran.

It is common knowledge that Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, had a very difficult life.  All of his daughters died before him except one, and he had a wife of several years who was very dear and important to him, who not only proceeded him in death but died at a very critical period of his life.  As a matter of fact, she was quite a woman because when the first revelation came to him, he ran home to her, afraid.  Certainly, even today one would have a hard time trying to find an Arab who would tell you, “I was so afraid that I ran home to my wife.” They just aren’t that way.  Yet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, felt comfortable enough with his wife to be able to do that.  That’s how influential and strong woman she was.  Although these examples are only a few of the subjects that would have been on Muhammad’s mind, they are sufficient in intensity to prove my point.

The Quran does not mention any of these things - not the death of his children, not the death of his beloved companion and wife, not his fear of the initial revelations, which he so beautifully shared with his wife - nothing; yet these topics must have hurt him, bothered him, and caused him pain and grief during periods of his life.  Indeed, if the Quran was a product of his psychological reflections, then these subjects, as well as others, would be prevalent or at least mentioned throughout.

Scientific Approach to the Quran

A truly scientific approach to the Quran is possible because the Quran offers something that is not offered by other religious scriptures, in particular, and other religions, in general.  It is what scientists demand.  Today there are many people who have ideas and theories about how the universe works.  These people are all over the place, but the scientific community does not even bother to listen to them.  This is because within the last century the scientific community has demanded a test of falsification.  They say, “If you have theory, do not bother us with it unless you bring with that theory a way for us to prove whether you are wrong or not.”

Such a test was exactly why the scientific community listened to Einstein towards the beginning of the century.  He came with a new theory and said, “I believe the universe works like this; and here are three ways to prove whether I am wrong!” So the scientific community subjected his theory to the tests, and within six years it passed all three.  Of course, this does not prove that he was great, but it proves that he deserved to be listened to because he said, “This is my idea; and if you want to try to prove me wrong, do this or try that.”

This is exactly what the Quran has - falsification tests.  Some are old (in that they have already been proven true), and some still exist today.  Basically it states, “If this book is not what it claims to be, then all you have to do is this or this or this to prove that it is false.” Of course, in 1400 years no one has been able to do “This or this or this,” and thus it is still considered true and authentic.

Falsification Test

I suggest to you that the next time you get into dispute with someone about Islam and he claims that he has the truth and that you are in darkness, you leave all other arguments at first and make this suggestion.  Ask him, “Is there any falsification test in your religion? Is there anything in your religion that would prove you are wrong if I could prove to you that it exists - anything?”  Well, I can promise right now that people will not have anything - no test, no proof, nothing! This is because they do not carry around the idea that they should not only present what they believe but should also offer others a chance to prove they’re wrong.  However, Islam does that.

A perfect example of how Islam provides man with a chance to verify its authenticity and “prove it wrong” occurs in the 4th chapter.  And quite honestly, I was very surprised when I first discovered this challenge.  It states (Quran 4:82):

“Do they not consider the Quran?  Had it been from any other than Allah, they would surely have found therein much discrepancy.”

This is a clear challenge to the non-Muslim.  Basically, it invites him to find a mistake.  As a matter of fact, the seriousness and difficulty of the challenge aside, the actual presentation of such a challenge in the first place is not even in human nature and is inconsistent with man’s personality.  One doesn’t take an exam in school and after finishing the exam, write a note to the instructor at the end saying, “This exam is perfect.  There are no mistakes in it.  Find one if you can!” One just doesn’t do that.  The teacher would not sleep until he found a mistake! And yet this is the way the Quran approaches people.