Sources of Islam - Part One

Introduction

It has been a habit for adherents of abrogated religions and man-made creeds to hallow their inherited books, which were written since ancient times and whose authors or translators, or the time of their writing may not really be known. They were just written by some people who used to suffer from what other human beings suffer from like weakness, defect, whimsical desires and forgetfulness.

As for the Quran, it is different from all other books in that, it depends on the true source, which is the Divine Revelation: the Quran and Sunnah. Following is the brief introduction of both:

The Glorious Quran

You have known previously that Islam is the message of Allah, that was why Allah revealed the Quran to His Messenger, Muhammad (PBUH) as a guidance for the pious, a Law for the Muslims, a healing for the disease that is in the hearts of those whom Allah wants to give success. It contains the fundamentals for which Allah sent the messengers.

The Quran was not the first Book to be revealed nor was Muhammad (PBUH) the first Messenger to be sent. Through the archangel Gabriel, God Almighty has revealed the Scriptures to Abraham, Torah to Moses and the Gospel to Jesus (God’s Peace and Blessings Upon All of Them). All these books were revelations from Allah to His Prophets and Messengers, but the contents of most of these Books have been lost and have become extinct, and interpolation and alterations have entered them.

As for the Quran, Allah Himself guarantees its protection and makes it the witness and abolisher of earlier Books. He says while addressing the Prophet (PBUH): “And We have sent down to you the Book (the Quran) in truth, confirming the Scriptures that came before it and as a witness over it.” (Holy Quran 5:48)

• He describes the Quran as an explanation of everything: “And We have sent down to you the Book as an exposition of everything.” (Holy Quran 16:89)

• He calls it guidance and mercy: “So now has come to you a clear proof (the Quran) from your Lord, and a guidance and a mercy.” (Holy Quran 6:157)

• God Almighty describes it as that which guides to uprightness when He says: “Verily, this Quran guides to that which is most just and right.” (Holy Quran 17:9)

The Quran guides mankind to the most righteous path in all aspects of their life. Whoever reflects on how the Quran was revealed and how it was reserved will give the book its due estimation and purify his intention for Allah alone. God Almighty says: “And truly, this (the Quran) is a revelation from the Lord of all the worlds, which, the trustworthy spirit (Jibril) has brought down upon your heart (O Muhammad) that you may be one of the Warners.” (Holy Quran 26:192-194)

So, the One who revealed the Quran is Allah Azzawajal, Lord of all the worlds, and the one who brought it is the trustworthy spirit Gabriel, and the one in whose heart it was revealed is the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

The Quran is an everlasting miracle for Muhammad (PBUH). It contains signs that shall abide till the Day of Resurrection. The signs and miracles of previous Prophets used to end at the termination of the Prophets’ lives, but Allah has made the Quran the everlasting proof. God Almighty challenges mankind to produce ten Surahs like it or even a single Surah that resembles it, and they are unable to do that, despite the fact that it is composed of letters and words and the people on whom it was first revealed were people of eloquence and rhetoric.

Allah says: “Or do they say: (Muhammad) has forged it? Say: Bring them a Surah like unto it and call upon whomsoever you can besides Allah, if you are truthful.” (Holy Quran 10:38)

Among the things that testify to the fact that the Quran is a revelation from Allah is that it contains stories of the past nations, prophesized future events that came to happen as it has prophesied and the fact that it mentions many scientific facts that have not been discovered until recently. Another proof of it being a Divinely revealed Book is that the Prophet on whom it was revealed was unknown with anything similar to that or reported to have known anything similar to the Quran.

“Say (O Muhammad): If Allah had so willed, I should not have recited it to you, nor would He have made it known to you.  Verily, I have stayed amongst you a lifetime before this. Have you then no sense?” (Holy Quran 10:16)

He was rather an illiterate who neither read nor wrote. He did not also visit any Shaykh or men to produce the like of the Quran. The Lord says: “Neither did you (O Muhammad) read any book before it (the Quran) nor did you write any book (whatsoever) with your right hand. In that case, indeed, the followers of falsehood might have doubted.” (Holy Quran 29:48)

This unlettered man who has been described in the Torah and the Gospel that he would not read or write, was visited by Jewish and Christian monks – who had some remnants of the Torah and the Gospel- and asked about issues by which they differed, and they would request for his arbitration in matters in which they contended.

Allah says, explaining the description of Muhammad (PBUH) in the Torah and the Gospel,

“Those who follow the Message, the Prophet who can neither read nor write (Muhammad) whom they find written with them in the Torah and the Gospel, he commands them to do all that is good and forbids them from all that is evil; he allows them as lawful all good things and prohibits them as unlawful all filthy things.” (Holy        Quran 7:157)

Allah also says, while speaking about the question that the Jews and the Christians asked the Prophet (PBUH):

• “The People of the Scripture (Jews) ask you to cause a book to descend upon them from heaven.” (Holy Quran 4:153)

• “And they ask you concerning the Spirit.” (Holy Quran 17:85)

• “And they ask you about Dhul-Qarnayn.” (Holy Quran 18:83)

• “Verily, this Quran narrates to the Children of Israel most of that in which they differ.” (Holy Quran 27:76)

Conclusion

Reverend Abraham Phillips has had a failed attempt, in his doctorate thesis to undermine the Quran. The Quran rather overwhelmed him with its proofs, evidence and signs. The man proclaimed his own weakness, surrendered to his Creator and embraced Islam.

When one of the Muslims presented a translated copy of the meaning of the Noble Quran as a gift to the American doctor, Jeffrey Lang, he found that this Quran was addressing him, answering his questions and removing the barrier between him and his own soul. He said: “It seems that He Who revealed the Quran knows me more than I know myself.” (Struggle in the Cause of Faith by Dr. Jeffrey Lang; Arabic translation by Mundhir Al-Absee p34)

Yes, the One Who revealed the Quran is the Creator of man and He is Allah, may He be Glorified. He says: “Should not He Who has created know? And He is the Most Kind and Courteous, the All-Knower”. (Holy Quran 67:14)

So, the man’s reading of the translation of the meaning of the noble Quran led him to Islam and to the writing of this book from which I am quoting. The Quran is comprehensive to all that man needs. It contains all fundamentals of faith, legislations, interactions and manners. Allah says: “We have neglected nothing in the Book.” (Holy Quran 6:38)