An Encounter with a Minister
About seven years ago, I had a minister over to my home. In the particular
room which we were sitting there was a Quran on the table, face down, and so the
minister was not aware of which book it was. In the midst of a discussion, I pointed
to the Quran and said, “I have confidence in that book.” Looking at the Quran but not
knowing which book it was, he replied, “Well, I tell you, if that book is not the Bible,
it was written by a man!” In response to his statement, I said, “Let me tell you
something about what is in that book.” And in just three to four
minutes, I related to him a few things contained in the Quran. After just those three or four minutes, he
completely changed his position and declared, “You are right. A man did not write
that book. The Devil wrote it!” Indeed, possessing such an attitude is very
unfortunate - for many reasons. For one thing, it is a very quick and cheap excuse. It is an instant exit out of an uncomfortable situation.
As a matter of fact, there is a famous story in the Bible that mentions how one
day some of the Jews were witnesses when Jesus,
peace be upon him, raised a man from the dead. The man had been dead for four days, and when Jesus arrived, he
simply said, “Get up!” and the man arose and walked away. At such a sight, some of
the Jews who were watching said disbelievingly, “This is
the Devil. The Devil helped him!” Now this story is rehearsed very often in churches all over the world, and
people cry big tears over it, saying, “Oh, if I had been there, I would not have been as
stupid as the Jews!” Yet, ironically, these people do exactly what the Jews did when
in just
three minutes you show them only a small part of the Quran and all they can
say is, “Oh, the Devil did it. The Devil wrote that book!” Because they are truly
backed into a corner and have no other viable answer, they resort to the quickest and
cheapest excuse available.
The Source of the Quran
Another example of people’s use of this weak stance can be found in the
Makkans’ explanation of the source of Muhammad’s message. They
used to say, “The devils bring Muhammad that Quran!” But just as with every suggestion made,
the Quran gives the answer. One passage (Chapter Al-Qalam 68: 51-52) in
particular states:
“...and they say, ‘Surely he is possessed,’ but it [i.e., the
Quran] is not except a reminder to the worlds.”
Thus it gives an argument in reply to such a theory. In fact, there are many
arguments in the Quran in reply to the suggestion that devils brought Muhammad
his message.
For example, in the 26th chapter God, clearly affirms:
“No evil ones have brought it [i.e., this revelation] down. It
would neither be fitting for them, nor would they be able. Indeed
they have been removed far from hearing
it.” (Quran26:210-212)
And in another place (Surah an-Nahl 16:98) in the Quran, God instructs us:
“So when you recite the Quran seek refuge in God from Satan, the cursed.”
Now is this how Satan writes a book? He tells one, “Before you read my book,
ask God to save you from
me?” This is very, very tricky. Indeed, a man could write
something like this, but would Satan do this? Many people clearly illustrate that they
cannot come to one conclusion on this subject. On one hand, they claim that Satan
would not do such a thing and that even if he could, God would not allow him to; yet,
on the other hand, they also believe that Satan is only that much less than God. In
essence they allege that the Devil can probably do whatever God can do. And as a
result, when they look
at the Quran, even as surprised as they are as to how amazing
it is, they still insist, “The Devil did this!”
Praise be to God, Muslims do not have that attitude. Although
Satan may have some abilities, they are a long
way separated from the abilities of God. And no Muslim
is a Muslim unless he believes that. It is common
knowledge even among non-Muslims that the Devil can
easily
make mistakes, and it would be expected that he would
contradict himself if and when he wrote a book. For indeed, the Quran states (Surah
an-Nisa 4:82):
“Do they not
consider the Quran? Had it been from other than
God, they would surely have found therein much discrepancy.”
Mythomania
In conjunction with the excuses that non-Muslims advance in futile attempts to
justify unexplainable verses in the Quran, there is another attack often rendered
which seems to be a combination of the theories that Muhammad was crazy and a
liar. Basically, these people propose that Muhammad was insane, and as a result of
his delusion, he lied to and misled people. There is a name for this in psychology. It is referred to as myth
mania. It means simply that one tells lies and then believes
them. This is what the non-Muslims say Muhammad suffered from. But the
problem with this proposal is that one suffering from myth
mania absolutely cannot deal with any
facts, and yet the whole Quran is based entirely upon facts. Everything contained in it can be researched and established as true.
Since facts are such a problem for a myth
maniac, when a psychologist tries to treat one suffering
from that condition, he continually confronts him with facts.
For example, if one is mentally ill and claims, “I am the king of England ,” a
psychologist does not say to him “No you aren’t. You are crazy!” He just does not do
that.
Rather, he confronts him with facts and says, “O.K., you say you are the king of
England .
So tell me where the queen is today. And where is your prime minister? And
where are your guards?” Now, when the man has trouble trying to deal with these
questions, he tries to make excuses, saying “Uh... the queen... she has gone to her
mother’s. Uh... the prime minister... well he died.” And eventually he is cured because
he cannot deal with the facts. If the psychologist continues confronting
him with enough facts, finally he faces the reality and says, “I
guess I am not the king of England .”
The Quran approaches everyone who reads it in very much the same way
a psychologist treats his myth
mania patient. There is a verse in the Quran (SurahYunus 10:57) which states:
“O mankind, there has come to you an admonition [i.e., the
Quran] from your Lord and
a healing for what is in the hearts - and guidance and mercy for the believers.”
At first glance, this statement appears vague, but the meaning of this verse is
clear when one views it in light of the aforementioned example. Basically, one is
healed of his delusions by reading the Quran. In essence, it is therapy. It literally
cures deluded people by confronting them with facts.
A prevalent attitude throughout the Quran is one which says, “O mankind, you say such and such about
this; but what about such and such? How can you say this when you know that?” And
so forth. It forces one to consider what is relevant and what matters while
simultaneously healing one of the delusions that facts presented to mankind by God
can easily be explained away with flimsy theories and excuses.
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