revealed : the Holy Fingerprints {2}

so far, we have read the logic behind the similarities that exist between the Qur'an and the other altered books. however, when a person pays enough attention he will realize that there are many more incompatibilities and differences between them. in addition to the existing resemblances, the Qur'an's dissimilarity with the altered portions of the other divine books and how it corrects these changes is evidence that it is, word for word, a Holy Book.

since the previous divine books have gone through extensive man-made changes and have lost much of their original divine message, they contain conflicting references and logic, and are at times the direct opposite of what is contained in the Qur'an. there are also many variations in their anecdotes compared to Qur'anic ones.

these books have been changed in content and logic as well as style and composition; hence they have been turned into mystical religious history texts rather than divine books. for instance, the first book of the Torah, Genesis, tells the story of Children of Israel from the beginning of creation until the death of the Prophet Joseph. this style of historic expression is dominant in all the other books of the Torah as well.

in the same way, the initial parts of the four official Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) contain the life of the Prophet Jesus as their main topic. the main subject of all of these four Gospels is his life, words and actions.

in contrast, the Qur'an is very different in style. there is an open invitation to religion right from the start with Surat al-Fatihah. overall, the main subject in the Qur'an is declaring God to be free of imperfection and ordering believers to avoid idolatry in order to surrender themselves only to God.

today, in the altered version of the Torah, many imperfections and human attributes have been ascribed to God (God is surely beyond these). for example, the anecdote of the Prophet Noah contains a great deal of far-fetched nonsense about God's attributes. human qualities such as feeling tired or regretful, serenity, and many more it is not appropriate to mention here have been ascribed to God. again, the Torah has greatly slandered God when it describes Him as a human-like entity that walks, fights, and feels anger (God is surely beyond that).

this is the reason why there are clear warnings in the Qur'an against such slanders and lies by the Jews. one such accusation is that God (who is surely beyond that) is parsimonious.

The Jews say, 'God's hand is chained.' Their hands are chained and they are cursed for what they say! No! Both His hands are open wide and He gives however He wills. [QS al-Ma'idah 64]

on the whole, the Qur'an differs again from the Torah since it does not just talk about a single nation but of all civilizations, their rise and fall, as well as holding those whom it has been revealed to responsible for following its verses. these qualities make it unique and universal. since the other books have been changed by people throughout history and have lost their originality, they no longer possess these qualities. some of the basic principles of Christianity that are mentioned in the Bible, which is claimed to be a source of the Qur'an have been openly rejected by the Qur'an. the most important one is that which assumes Prophet Jesus to be the son of God. this belief has been appraised in the Qur'an as a lie against God.

They say, 'The All-Merciful has a son.' They have devised a monstrous thing. The heavens are all but rent apart and the earth split open and the mountains brought crashing down, at their ascription of a son to the All-Merciful! It is not fitting for the All-Merciful to have a son. There is no one in the heavens and earth who will not come to the All-Merciful as a slave... [QS Maryam 88-93]

another such claim the Qur'an entirely opposes is the crucifixion of the Prophet Jesus by the Jews. in the Qur'an, it is stated that the Jews did not kill Jesus, but that is how it was made to look, and it is added that God raised him up to Himself.

in conclusion, if we make a general comparison we will see that the important truth the Qur'an guides human beings toward is the Oneness of God, that there is no other deity but He and His purity from any defects or negative attributes. these important facts are repeated in each Qur'anic anecdote, information and verse. in the same manner, each Qur'anic anecdote carries guidance, warning and information.

all of these prove that the Qur'an is a divine revelation.

revealed : the Holy Fingerprints {1}

the Qur'an is the only divine book that God has sent to all of mankind as a warning as well as guidance, and is valid until the Day of Judgment. mankind has altered the other holy books that were sent before the Qur'an. however, God has protected the Qur'an. this fact is mentioned in verse 9 of Surat al-Hijr: "It is We Who have sent down the Reminder and We Who will preserve it..."

another of the unsound claims widely spread by the unwise is that the Prophet Muhammad was inspired by the Bible (the Torah and the Gospel) and afterwards wrote the Qur'an. at the root of this totally imaginary and baseless claim lie some similarities that exist between the Qur'an and the Bible.

it is quite natural for such similarities to exist because, ultimately (if we were to remove the altered parts of the Torah and the Gospel) they all contain the words of God and their message is one and the same. the main subjects, such as the presence of God, His oneness, His attributes, belief in the Hereafter, the characteristics of believers, hypocrites and those who deny Him, the lives of previous nations, guidance, prohibitions, and moral values, are universal facts and will stay unaltered throughout time. consequently, it is no surprise that these topics mentioned in the previous holy books are similar and parallel to those in the Qur'an. what's more, it is stated in the Qur'an that it confirms the original, unaltered Torah and the Gospel:

And We have sent down the Book to you (O Muhammad) with truth, confirming and conserving the previous Books. So judge between them by what God has sent down and do not follow their whims and desires deviating from the Truth that has come to you. We have appointed a law and a practice for every one of you... [QS al-Ma'idah 48]

the quality of confirming its predecessors is not unique to the Qur'an, but has been given to all the divine books. the Gospel that was sent to the Prophet Jesus confirmed its predecessor the Torah that was revealed to the Prophet Moses. this reality is stated in the Qur'an:

And We sent Jesus son of Maryam following in their footsteps, confirming the Torah that came before him. We gave him the Gospel containing guidance and light, confirming the Torah that came before it, and as guidance and admonition for those who do their duty. [QS al-Ma'idah 46]

we may conclude that there are similar beliefs between the Qur'an and the other divine books, and that this is not only natural but logical. therefore, the presence of these similarities does not in any way show that our Prophet wrote the Qur'an. in fact, quite the opposite; it further emphasizes the truth that the books of all Divine religions come from one source: God. this is a reality stated by the Qur'an and confirmed by reason as well as logic.

God has revealed in His verses that the Qur'an is the book of truth sent by Him and the condition of those who do not believe in this truth:

And this Qur'an is not such as could ever be invented in despite of God; but it is a confirmation of that which was before it and an exposition of that which is decreed for mankind - This Qur'an could never have been devised by any besides God. Rather it is confirmation of what came before it and an elucidation of the Book which contains no doubt from the Lord of all the worlds. Do they say, 'He has invented it'? Say: 'Then produce a chapter like it and call on anyone you can besides God if you are telling the truth.' No, the fact is that they have denied something which their knowledge does not embrace and the meaning of which has not yet reached them. In the same way those before them also denied the truth. See the final fate of the wrongdoers! [QS Yunus 37-39]

moreover, there is another dimension to this subject. the Prophet Muhammad was not someone who collected information and researched either the Torah or the Gospel in his lifetime. the Prophet's fellow tribesmen closely witnessed the fact that he never actually read, wrote, worked on or researched any of these books. no one ever had any doubt concerning this point. furthermore, this characteristic of the Prophet that was so well known by the disbelievers was used in the Qur'an as evidence against them:

You never recited any Book before it nor did you write one down with your right hand. If you had, the purveyors of falsehood would have voiced their doubts... [QS al-'Ankabut 48]