Praise be to Allah (SWT) who sent his Book that is full of miracles at the same time a guidance to the path of righteousness and a fortifier to our faith. Peace and blessings of Allah (SWT) be on His Prophet (SAW) who went through a lot of difficulties while explaining the messages of the source of Guidance, the Holy Qur’an. Greetings to all brothers who presented the Qur’anic era to mankind and at the same time tried to establish the Islamic civilization.
I am continuing from where I left of with the evidences of Qur’an being the word of Allah (JJ). The teachings of Qur’an about the future is also one of its miracles and evidences that it’s the word of Allah (SWT). Because it’s not possible for anyone else but Allah (SWT) to know what the future has in store for us. Time had always proved uncountable fortunetellers wrong. They had end up being disgraced and diminished to the lowest level in their society. It would have been concluded that Qur’an is not the word of Allah (SWT) if even a single statement of the Qur’an had been proved to be wrong. This would have gone a long way to shake the very foundation of Islamic faith. To the contrary the teachings of the Qur’an had always been proved right and this had made Islamic faith go from strength to strength.
In Ad-Duha Surah of the Holy Qur’an, Allah (SWT) said “And verily, your Lord will give you (all i.e. good) so that you shall be well-pleased”1. This glad tiding was given to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) soon after he had started preaching the good news. They were being persecuted by the people of Mecca and the population of the Muslims at that time was not more than the number of fingers on our hands. This revelation came at the time when there was not even the thinnest sign to show that the future was going to be bright for the Muslims. If this message hadn’t been sent from Allah (SWT), it would have been very hard to believe it. Didn’t this prophecy materialize later? Didn’t Islam become stronger and conquered several lands in later days? In the last three to four years of his life, didn’t the Prophet (SAW) conquer the entire Arabic Peninsula (an area three to four times the size of Turkey)? Didn’t the boundaries of Islamic Empire reach the Byzantine Empire’s Syria boundaries on the North and the Iranian Empire’s Iraq boundaries to the South? Didn’t all the areas from the bay of Basra in the East to the Red Sea in the West become part of the Islamic Empire? Wasn’t ‘Kalema Shahadat’ the only thing heard from Arabia and the Hejaz region? Neither the “people of the book” nor the “Polygamists” were able to stop the rise of Islam. Even after the death of the Prophet (SAW), didn’t his revolutionary movement continued spreading towards Asia, Africa and the majority of Europe? Didn’t Islam become dominant in these regions? According to the narrations of Imam Bayhaqi and Imam Tabarani, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said “after me, the lands that are going to be conquered by my Ummah has been made known to me and this has made me happy, soon afterwards the ayah “And verily, your Lord will give you (all i.e. good) so that you shall be well-pleased.” was revealed. That is to say, “all your wishes will come true and you will be given victories until your heart becomes satisfied”. Didn’t this materialize?
One of the verses of Ash-Sharh surah stated that “And We have exalted your remembrance for you”2. This Surah was also revealed at a time when there were only a few believers in Mecca and the Muslims had almost no power. During the Hajj periods Pagans and polytheists of Mecca were trying very hard to keep people away from listening to the Prophet (SAW) by claiming that, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was a dangerous magician and that he was causing sedition among his people. Contrary to their aim Allah (SWT) said in the Holy Qur’an that “Did We not exalt thy fame”? All types of punishment are matched with a corresponding deed. This is because when the pagans and the polytheists were trying to soil the name of the prophet, Allah (SWT) rather raised his honor. Though the original ayah was constructed with past tense, it was foretelling the future. The past tense meant the will of Allah (SWT) mentioned in that ayah has been done already. Didn’t these foretold miracles materialize? Don’t we mention the name of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) at least five times daily all over the world during Azan (call for prayers)? Don’t we mention his blessed name in Friday sermons every week? Don’t we send praises to him in prayers?
Once again, in Al-Kawthar Surah Allah (JJ) said “BEHOLD, We have bestowed upon thee good in abundance”3. This surah has been sent down at a time when our Prophet’s older son Kasim had passed away, followed by the passing away of his smaller son Abdullah. His uncle Abu Jahl run to the other non-believers out of joy, saying that “tonight the lineage of prophet Muhammad (SAW) has been terminated. There will be nobody to continue with his teachings after his death”.According to the narrations of Ibn Ishak, a Meccan tribe leader in the person of Âs b. Vâil-i Sahmî said “Don’t heed to the sayings of that man, he has no one to ensure the survival of his family tree. He has no sons left anymore. If he dies, there won’t be anybody to even remember his name”. Ukbe b. Abu Muayt also made similar speeches against Prophet Muhammad (SAW).” Therefore, Allah (SWT) sent down this verse as a condolence and to console His prophet as well. When there was no one to comfort and give condolences for his losses, Allah (SWT) did that for his prophet with this Surah. And He made it clear to the prophet that [Kawthar] ‘good in abundance’ has been given to him. [Kawthar] is not just the name of a stream in Heaven but also meant; 1- The prophetic honor, 2- A very large ummah, 3 – Scholars from the ummah to be descendants of the Prophet and, 4 – He will have a lot of offspring. Kawthar means a variety of glad tidings will be given to the prophet. The Surah also mentions that the enemies of Prophet (SAW) will have their family lineage terminated. A few years later, majority of the pagans and the polytheists Arabs were killed in the war of Bedir and six to seven years after Bedir war, Mecca was conquered. The entire Arabic Peninsula came under the control of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). People all over started coming to swear their allegiance to the Prophet. These made the enemies of the prophet secluded. Their names and tales have been eradicated from the face of the earth ever since. No one remembers their off springs today even if they existed. In contrast, billions of Muslims, even those that are not direct descendants of the Prophet (SAW), are honored for being his ummah. Today, on the face of earth there are hundreds of thousands sayyids (Grandchildren of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW)) but Abu Jahls and Abu Lahabs are nowhere to be found. Aren’t all these manifestations proofs that Qur’an is Allah’s (JJ) words. Allah (SWT) first gave the prophet Kawthar and then informed him that the clans of his enemies will be terminated and verily this has come to pass.
A verse in Al-Masad surah reads “May the hands of Abu Lahab perish, may he be ruined” 4. This ayah is both a curse and prophecy. The past tense used in the original verse implies that the intended action is certain to take place. The words “Perish” and “ruin” in the ayah were used metaphorically to mean defeat and wretched death. Six to seven years after the revelation of this surah, the war of Bedir took place. Most of the tribal pagan leaders like Abu Jahl were killed in this battle. After getting the news about this battle, Abu Lahab went into frenzy and as a result, died seven days later. His death was so disgusting, in that, lethal pox developed all over his body. His family deserted him for fear of getting infected with the pox virus as well. He eventually died. No-one dared to touch his dead body for three days after his death. The body of Abu Lahab started getting decomposed and pungent smells was all over the place. When everyone started jeering Abu Lahab’s sons, they hired a few slaves and tasked them with the duty of burying the semi decomposed body belonging to their father. These slaves dug a hole and used long sticks to toss the body over into the hole and covered it up. The news given by the Qur’an about the unknown has materialized one more time. If Abu Lahab had chosen to be a Muslim before his death or had died in a very normal way, doubts would have been casted in the minds of some Muslims on whether Qur’an was actually the word of Allah (JJ). It is something unheard of for people condemned by Qur’an to become Muslims later in their lives. Furthermore, Qur’an had never used such ayahs on unbelievers who will become Muslims in the future. These are all because Qur’an is the word of Allah (JJ) and it knows the beginning and the end of everything be it hidden or in the open.
A verse in the Isra surah said “these men are bent on removing you from this land. They will force you out of this place. If they do that, they will not be able to remain on the very land they expel you from”5. The people of Mecca never thought that such a destiny is in store for them when this ayah was revealed. The ayah clearly threatened that the Meccan pagans themselves would not be able to continue staying in Mecca once the prophet leaves and these were glad tidings to the Muslims. Barely one and a half years later the prophet was forced out of Mecca. Seven or eight years after that, the prophet came back and conquered Mecca. The pagans and the polytheists were not only driven out of Mecca but from the whole of Arabian Peninsula. Didn’t the foretelling of the future by the holy Qur’an comes true one more time?
Al-Qamar surah stated that “Their multitude will be put to flight, and they will show their backs”6. This ayah was revealed five years prior to the hijra. Some Muslims were compelled to migrate to Ethiopia (Abyssinia) due to the harsh livelihood they were made to go through in Mecca. Those left behind were under a very harsh embargo and suppression by the Quraish tribe. Barely seven years later at the battle Bedir, the unbelievers in the Quraish tribe were forced to run away from the battle field. Prophet Muhammad then read this verse from the Holy Qur’an “All that Qur’an foretold had materialized…”.
To be continued in the next issue.
1- Ad-Duha, 5
2- Ash-Sharh, 4
3- Al-Kawthar, 1
4- Al-Masad, 1
5-Al Isra, 72
6- Al-Qamar, 45
