Praised
be Allah, The Lord of all human kinds, The One who said in His Holy
Book: ‘ And We have sent down on thee the book to be a demonstration for
everything and a guidance and a mercy and a good news for those who
submit’, and peace and prayers may be upon His prophet (saas), the mercy
and the interceder for the believers, and on his family and companions.
Some
believes that the miracles of the Koran are in its eloquence, language
and fluency, not in its numbers! Therefore, some readers will question
about the accuracy of the books that deal with the numeric miracles of
Koran, and how much exacts are the results these books give?
Nevertheless, what is astonishing is that some people completely deny
the numeric miracle of Koran.
But
why do scholars put away maths from Koran? And are there any
misconceptions built around this science only because some errors were
made by Rashad Khalifa ( the first to deal with this subject for the
passing 25 years) and others?
Concerning
these confusions, we are going to stop at the answering of the many
questions and critics the numeric miracles face nowadays. Moreover, we
have to make it clear and understandable how important this new field
is, and what are the things any researcher should respect and the others
they should avoid.
We
are going to expose objectively all the critics and answer them
frankly; therefore, the motive behind this paper is our love and fear
for the protection of Koran and the demonstration of the truth and the
reality. Then we have to pray the Lord for sincerity and knowledge.
Now, we have to start with this question:
Who is Rashad Khalifa?
Since
hundreds of years, Muslim scholars have looked for the numeric miracles
of the Koran. They counted its verses, its chapters, its letters and
its words. Yet, their calculations often faced some inaccuracies because
of the difficulty of the matter.
If
we follow the writings, which deal with this subject, produced since
Ibn Araby and the counting of the ‘ letters for numbers’ ( djummal), up
to the era of Rashad Khalifa and his hypothesis concerning the number
19, we ultimately find a lot of errors and misinterpretations that are
far from being logically scientific.
This
man has taken some numeric realties found in the Koran as a favour,
that of the number 19, and he has considered that Koran is built all in
all on this number. However, what he has claimed has been wronged and
his results have been denied. Thus, the numbers he has chosen for his
book The Miracle of the Koran are not exact at all.
Some
of the most important examples he has mentioned in his research is
about the first verse: ‘ in the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most
Merciful’ ( the Bassmalah) being repeated in the Koran 19 times. This
saying is not accurate.
He
says the first word ‘ bism’ ( in the name of), instead of ‘ism’ (
name), was mentioned 19 times, yet it was mentioned 22 times ( it is not
a multiple of 19).
He
says that the word ‘Allah’ was repeated 2698 (19*142), but this number
is not exact too! ‘Allah’ was repeated 2699 (not a multiple of 19).
However, what he has mentioned about the word ‘ arrahmane’ (the
Gracious), being repeated 57 times, is true.
‘Arrahim’
(the Merciful), he said, is repeated 114. It is not true! It was
mentioned 115. Therefore, Khalifa has given only one number out of four.
This is how he deals with the other numbers he exposes. What he does is
only mingling one true number with many wrong ones to give the idea of
the truthfulness of his saying. Thus his hypothesis can be considered as
a wrong theory.
What about the others?
Most
of the researchers who consider 19 as a basis of their researches have
fallen in a big trap even if it is unintentionally, either because of
the wrong counting of the letters or in the way they counted them. Yet,
we have not to deny the existance of some agreements based on the number
19. Truly, this number represents another numeric miracle Koran
contains, and this has to do with the 30th verse of ‘ Almudathir’
chapter ((30)Over it are Nineteen), and we are to see some of the
wonders this verse represents in the Koran.:
The number of chapters is 114 ( a multiple of 19)
The number of the letters of the first verse in the Koran ( basmalah) is 19
The number of /q/ letter in ‘Qaf’ chapter is 57 (3*19)
The number of /q/ letter in ‘ Ashuraa’ chapter is 57, and both chapters start with this letter.
The number of ‘yaâ’ and ‘sine’ in ‘Yassine’ chapter is 285 ( a multiple of 19)
In
addition to these agreements, we have many numbers, which make alike
agreements as the number 7 ( the most frequent number in the Koran after
n° 1). Allah has created 7 havens and this expression: “seven heavens,
seven earths) has been mentioned exactly 7 times. Likewise, the word
‘qiblah’ ( the orientation or direction of prayer) has been repeated 77
times, and we know that the turning around the Kaâbah in Hadj and Omra
is about seven times. Then we know that Allah has created seven doors to
the hell-fire and the mentioning of the latter is about seven.
Another
numeric miracle is the one concerning months; the word ‘month’ is
repeated 12 times ! it is the number of months of the year. The word
‘day’ is also mentioned 365 times which equals the number of days in the
year. ‘Dunia’ or the world of this life and ‘alakhirah’ ( the
hereafter), both are mentioned 115 exactly.
However,
we can say that most of the researchers, nowadays, are sincere,
inchaâllah, even if they are wronged from time to time ( either for some
errors or for some false counting) because of the difficulty of the
researches in the numeric miracles, and because of the absence of
references concerning this field. So, we hope they will try their best
to look for the most reliable and logic way in their researches together
with the strong proofs (and numeric results) to strengthen their
hypothesis.
What about the ‘counting of letters’ (hissab aljumal)?
A lot of researchers have worked hard to use this counting while looking for the numeric miracles in Koran, so what is it about?
It
is a very old way people have used to find some numeric miracles in
Koran. It is based on the substitution of each letter by a corresponding
number: ‘alif’ for 1, ‘baâ’ for 2, ‘jim’ for 3…according to the ABC of
Arabic.
Consequently,
I would like to ask this question for all those who have used this
method: is it a scientific method? And I do not think I will have a
logic answer for which I understand why ‘alif’ has been given the number
1 and ‘baâ’ for 2 and why wouldn’t it be for 4 for example?
This
method has given no miraculous result, even if it sometimes gives some
agreements. Yet, using this method to look for the Koran’s miracles is
something illegal and may not please God. This is why it is better to
avoid such method and all that concerns numeric symbols for Koranic
letters, which may not be logic nor scientific, and may even be banned,
till we prove its accuracy.
What are the benefits behind the numeric miracles of the Koran?
May
some people say: “what is good about the study of the language of
numbers of the Koran mainly if we do have other fields of study as
‘fiqh’, science of worships, rules, interpretations…which are more
important.
First
of all we have to look for what makes people ( among which we have
scholars) tend to disdain the study of numeric miracles though we know
how important the language of numbers is nowadays as long as this
language has taken over everything around us. And because Koran is the
book of all times and all places, it is necessary to find such a
relationship with which we challenge the world with in this day and age.
Then
those who think it useless to study numbers in the Koran, are only far
away from the evolutions of this era, and almost are not specialised in
maths, but what is confusing is that how come that a man who knows
nothing about maths would criticize a mathematic miracle found in the
Koran?
The
numeric miracle is a new way through which we have to deal with the
book of Allah nowadays, and the aim of it is to increase our faith (‘and
the Believers may increase in Faith’ 31 al mudathir chapter).
This
miracle is also a means the believers use to strengthen their belief
with and increase their certainty in the book of their Lord with; this
is how they would never doubt or be disturbed about this last divine
message: ‘that no doubts may be left for the People of the Book and the
Believers’ 31 al mudathir chapter. So, the one who does not believe in
this Koran and does not respect its numeric miracles, what do you think
his reaction would be? Allah has informed us about his reaction: ‘and
that those in whose hearts is a disease and the Unbelievers may say
"What symbol doth Allah intend by this?" Thus doth Allah leave to stray
whom He pleaseth and guide whom He pleaseth 31 al mudathir.’ This is the
state of being of the disbelievers; they are astray till they meet
their Lord.
Some exaggerations we need to get away from:
It
is noticed that most of the researchers in this field do base their
intention in their researches on the numbers, and so they greaten their
the results they have reached; then they ignore other miracles,
linguistic ones, ruling ones… so don’t you think that this is a serious
exaggeration we need to avoid?
This
remark does really exist, and it has its reasons! The looking for a
numeric miracle in the book of Allah, the Koran which does contain no
single equation or number only those of the verses and chapters, is
about a very difficult procedure. It requires that the researcher has to
spend all his time and effort searching and inquiring. Moreover, no
sources or references are available.
Yet,
I am so sure that the miracles of the Koran are all interrelated. The
numeric miracle is originated in the linguistic miracle Koran contains,
and both are based on the letters and the numbers. May the meaning of
some verses leads us to discover some numeric miracles. This is, for
instance, what the story of ‘the people of the cave’ contains. The verse
gives us how many years the young men have stayed in the cave: 309
years. The story starts by Allah’s saying: “(10) Behold the youths
betook themselves to the Cave: they said "Our Lord! Bestow on us Mercy
from Thyself and dispose of our affair for us in the right way!” and
finishes with His saying: “(25) So they stayed in their Cave three
hundred years and (some) add nine (more)”, and if we count the words
from the first word to the last one, we find exactly 309 word (=the
number of the years they stayed in the cave).
Anyway!
Any researcher, who is trying to look for the numeric miracles, needs
to be interested in other koranic miracles, and he has to be sure that
the numeric miracles are only one drop of the great ocean of the koranic
miracles.
Do the numeric miracles lead the believer away from the meaning and the significance of the verses?
Some
Muslim scholars see that being interested in counting the letters and
the words of the Koran may lead the believer away from the meaning and
the significance of the verses, which guides him to the path of His God!
This
is also a wrong understanding! How come that the Omnipotent, the Great
Creator would put in His book something that can lead the people away
from the understanding of its verses?!!
Every
single letter of the Koran contains a linguistic and a numeric miracle
that needs a great comprehension and thinking. And because this book
comes from Allah (swt), everything it contains is from God. Therefore,
the true believer needs not to reject this miracle claiming that he is a
righteous believer; on the contrary, he has to have a strong faith and
believe in everything that is divine: "We believe in the Book; the
whole of it is from our Lord" (Al Imrane, 7).
To
meditate on the words of the Koran, its verses and its letters from the
numeric side, gives the believer more chance to learn by heart the
verses and remember them easily, and this is out of a long experience of
ten years of looking after the koranic numeric miracles. Nevertheless,
though I spend a long time searching and studying the numeric miracles
of the Koran, I have never been astray from the significance of its
verses; quite the reverse, I acquired something new, that of the good
reciting of the verses, and the conserving of each letter, then never to
add or cut another.
Then,
the true believer, who loves Allah and His prophet (saas) and who has
chosen the Koran ‘a prospectus’ for his life, should not be away from
the new scientces and technological innovations. Thus, the believer is
always running to look after everything new about his sacred book, the
Koran, and everything that would strengthen the word of Allah and His
religion. As for the errors and some of the misinterpretations many
researchers have made ( unintentionally) would never stop us from
studying this new field, yet they might be a motivation for us to know
more errors to be avoided.
Can humankinds bring similar miracles?
May
some people, those who know nothing about nothing about the counting of
the Koranic words, say: “isn’t it easy for a human being to construct
sentences in which the repetition of words is calculated? So what is
miraculous about what you are talking about?
When
dealing with the book of Allah, we are in front of two parameters:
linguistic and numeric. Then we cannot find any difference or
disturbance in the language of the Koran and its eloquence from A to Z ;
the same is true for the numeric feature. It is a perfect numerically
and linguistically. The temptation of limiting the Koran within numbers
would perturb its linguistic side; this is how none of us can ever
produce similar book eloquent and balanced, then at the same time
numerically arranged. There will be always something missing in people’s
saying, and this is a divine law no person can break.”Do they not
consider the Qur'an (with care)? Had it been from other than Allah they
would surely have found therein much discrepancy “ (Annissaâ, 82); this
verse proves that what we have said is true. You see! This calls us to
think about the beautiful arrangements the word of Allah contains, and
which makes it different from people’s sayings. Isn’t it an indirect
sign to look for the numeric arrangements and the linguistic ones?
Are the numeric miracles reliable for the ten readings?
Numbers
in the Koran constitute a point of disagreement between scholars and
researchers because there are ten readings of the Koran; the latter can
differ in the number of verses of some chapters, so how can we claim
that these verse contain an assured reality as long as they can differ
from one book (Mushaf) to another?
The
answer of this question is found in the saying of Allah: ”Do they not
consider the Qur'an (with care)? Had it been from other than Allah they
would surely have found therein much discrepancy “ (Annissaâ, 82). Then,
there is no difference in the book of Allah; it is only about some
differences in the way the Koran is read, and others that concern
numbers. Yet this variation represents in itself a variation of
miracles, and gives more miracles. Thus I can say that the numeric
miracles concern all the readings, all the verses, all the chapters, all
the letters and all the numbers of the Koran; even a punctuation has a
miraculous system in the Koran.
Nevertheless,
the researchers about the numeric miracles limit their research on the
reading of ‘Hafs for Assam’ which is the most spread in the Islamic
world, and that we have in hands nowadays. Then, if we look for another
numeric miracle for the other readings, we have to make a comparative
study concerning numbers, but what is certain is that for each reading
there is a miracle, and the wisdom behind this variation is to add more
miracles and challenges that no human being can bring. Allah says: “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” (Alissraâ, 88).
However,
these readings, we have to know it, are similar apart from some letters
and some ways of spelling that change from one reading to another to
make it easy for the people. Accordingly, we can say that these numeric
miracles are reliable for all readings. Then, every believer be certain
about how arranged this book is, in its meaning and significance, in its
numbers of words and letters… may this variation of readings hide a
great linguistic or numeric miracle, yet being unable to catch it does
not mean it exists not, but it means that perception and understanding
as human beings are very limited.
Is there a numeric miracle in the spelling the Koranic words?
There
is an important question we can raise: ‘to what extent do the
researchers in the numeric miracles consider the spelling of the Koranic
words as long as we know that Koran has been sent down read and not
written?
I
have been interested in this question long time ago, and after a long
thinking and searching I came to know that there is something in the
Koran hides behind it a great miracle. Any one who reads the Koran
notices that the number of the written letters is not equal to the one
of the spelled letters, which means a variation in the
numbers. Moreover, this variation can increase if we read
continuously the verse or word by word, and there are some letters,
which are read and not written; others are written and not read.
Accordingly,
I have made a research on ‘ The Opening’ chapter (Seven Oft-Repeated
verses) and I found that there is a numeric construction based on n°7,
to write these words the way they are written in Koran, and another
construction based on 7 but concerning the spelling of words. Thus, we
can conclude that the miracle includes tha written form as well as the
spoken (spelled) form! This is what gives more miracles and it is enough
to know that the Opening chapter contains 14 geminated letters (7*2)
letters are written once but read twice.
Can we know the unseen by the means of the numeric miracles?
There
is some people who exaggerate in their researches about the numeric
miracle; they link Koranic numbers with political events and historical
ones as the collapse of Israel’s government and the 11th of September
events, and the prediction of the coming of ‘Last Day’, don’t you think
it’s a deviation?
Such
exaggerations are found in all sciences, even in the interpretations of
Koran. We may have in scholars’ opinions some disagreements about
interpretations, and we may have some contrast in others as well as
wrong interpretations.
The
numeric language is the language we use to express the past and the
future. We express dates by numbers; we express some of our deeds by
numbers ( as travelling, Hadj, Ramadhan…) “We have made the Night and
the Day as two (of Our) Signs: the Sign of the Night have We obscured
while the Sign of the day We have made to enlighten you; that ye may
seek Bounty from your Lord and that ye may know the number and count of
the years: all things have We explained in detail” (Israa 12).
Nowadays,
astronomers can predicate the exact time of the sun’s and moon’s
eclipses, and this is not forbidden. It is true that the unseen is in
the hands of God, but there are things we can know through calculations
like the black holes which can’t be seen but can be calculated by the
means of their distance, gravity and how fast the are moving.
Then,
the problem is not in numbers, but the use of them in a scientific way.
Any one who claims that he has got from Koran some futuristic dates or
events, has to bring a scientific proof. Yet, we better avoid talking
about the unseen without proofs and just remember: (59)With Him are the
keys of the Unseen the treasures that none knoweth but He. He knoweth
whatever there is on the earth and in the sea. Not a leaf doth fall but
with His knowledge: there is not a grain in the darkness (or depths) of
the earth nor anything fresh or dry (green or withered) but is
(inscribed) in a Record Clear (to those who can read) Alanaâm.
What are the conditions the researcher in this field should respect?
Scientific
research is about three elements: data, plan of studying and results.
Moreover, it should be within the boundaries of religion and its rules,
for it can be accepted logically and religiously.
The
data: it must be from Koran itself, and we have to be careful not to
include things Allah will not be pleased with. This is what can make
many researches lose their accuracy. If we substitute Allah’s name with
n°66 ( ABC for 123…) where ‘alif’ is for 1 and the first lam is for 30
as the second and the haâ for 5, to get 1+30+30+5=66, who ever said that
this number represents Allah’s name?!!
This
is why it is necessary to get all numbers from Koran, as the number of
verses, chapters, letters…in a way that convinces both the believer and
the disbeliever. For instance, saying that the number of verses of the
Opening is 7 is true and exact because it exists in Koran and you can
count it.
The
way we have to deal with this data: it must be based on a scientific
and a religious pillar. It is forbidden to use non-scientific methods
because Koran, as Allah has perfectly created and sustained this
universe, is also perfectly arranged: (1)Alif Lam Ra. (This is) a Book
with verses basic or fundamental (of established meaning) further
explained in detail from One Who is Wise and Well-Acquainted (with all
things) Hud. Some researchers follow non-scientific methods; sometimes
they add number of verses; others they subtract numbers of letters or
add or divide …for they can have a previous result they thought about.
Some others try to convince the readers with a hypothesis they have
already put in their brains. This is not scientific at all only if they
would prove it.
The
results: they must represent a true miracle; any researcher needs to
find an accurate, not by hazardous, result using the law of
probabilities. Moreover, he has to be aware that numeric miracles is a
means to perceive the numeric construction of Koran and not an aim!
He
has to stay away from predictions which are in the hands of God, and
never relates events and dates with numbers. We do not deny that Koran
contains all sciences and all times but we need to be ware and patient
before claiming any result, if not we are going to help our enemies to
deny the miracles of this book.
Words have to be said…
Any
new science would face errors at the beginning till it reaches exact
knowledge. And this is absolutely normal for numeric miracles because
the latter are hard to discover, and need thousands of researchers to
work on though some have fallen in errors. However, true believers who
fear for their religion should correct these errors to have Allah’s
reward.
Even
if some see it useless to study numbers of the Koran, it has no
scientific proof or raison to avoid that. Yet all technological
evolutions nowadays have proved how important the numeric language is
and challenge the ones who deny the truthfulness of this book with it.
Because the numeric language is the language of modern sciences, what
makes it impossible to find it in the Koran? And what is bad about the
publications that may give more importance to the word of Allah and
challenge the materialists with the language they master?
This
is how the true believer should not reject this miracle; he needs to
think over Koran and look after its miracles; Koran will be his
interceder on the day of judgement when being alone. So look for what
you have done for the book of Allah and His religion?
O Lord! Make us see the right every where and follow it… And make us see the false and avoid it !!!
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