In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

 

Chapter Two

The Noble Qur’an And The Unseen

 

 

Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He, willed that the Noble Qur’an embraces never-ending miracles till the Day of Resurrection. The Noble Qur’an was sent down a miracle in the power of speech to the Arabs who excelled in rhetoric and oratory, therefore the Noble Qur’an came challenging what they excelled in.

 

A Miracle of Allah must challenge what mankind excelled in, for if it challenged things they knew or mastered not, people would claim that if they learned or mastered these things they would be capable of achieving what surpasses the working of the miracle. But Allah, praise be to Him, brought forth to them what they fully knew and mastered and were able to attain in it the summit of civilization during their time. Challenging them thus with a miracle they are powerless against in order to reveal to them their incapacity and weakness before His Might, perhaps they would believe.   

 

The people of Pharaoh were famed for their magic and they excelled in its esoteric arts, so the miracle sent to them came in what they mastered. Also, the people of ÃŽesâ (Jesus, peace be upon him) excelled in medicine, so the miracle of ÃŽesâ (peace be upon him) came in what they excelled. The Arabs were masters in the arts of rhetoric and oratory. They competed in composing poetry and boasted of their poets; setting up marketplaces where people used to convene to witness the poets vying with each other in reciting their poems. Therefore, the Noble Qur’an came challenging what they excelled in. The challenge was even escalated inviting them to try to bring its like, then lessened to only ten verses then humbled to a verse. Bearing on that, Allah, The Truth, all praise and glory be to Him, says (what means):

 

“Or do they say: ‘He (Muhammad SAW) has forged it?’ Say: ‘Bring then a Sûrah (chapter) like unto it, and call upon whomsoever you can, besides Allâh, if you are truthful!’” (Yûnus, 10: 38)

 

Had the Noble Qur’an been limited to a miracle in the power of speech, it would have come to a standstill. But the Muhammadan Message is the last of all the celestial messages and is sent down to humanity at large, to the entire world not only to the Arabs. The linguistic miracle poses as a challenge to the Arabs for the revelation of the Noble Qur’an with their language. As for the non-Arabs Muslims such a challenge would not exist, if the Noble Qur’an were limited only to a linguistic miracle. Therefore, the challenge in the Noble Qur’an is not restricted to the Arabs alone but called to the entire humanity.

 

The Noble Qur’an came withdrawing the shading veils of the Unseen till the Day of Resurrection, revealing a miracle to each generation. The Noble Qur’an lifted the veils of the past, the future and that of space; lifted all the veils screening the Unseen to give us miracles that continue up till now and will continue till the Day of Resurrection.

 

The Noble Qur’an amends what the predecessors have distorted

 

But how has the Noble Qur’an unveiled the past? By bringing the news of the past nations justly corrected to wipe out widespread mistakes, insertions intruded into the Divine Books (save the Noble Qur’an), and lies uttered against the universe Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, has created.

 

Among the first revealed Qur’anic verses were the ones discussing the beginning of creation and how it happened. The Noble Qur’an related to us the story of the first creation; that of Âdam and Hawwâ’ (Adam and Eve, peace be upon them), and how Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, has created everything from a male and a female so that the generation of creatures continue. Then came the modern science – statistics – to bear witness to what the Noble Qur’an had already related.

 

Statistics has proved that as time elapses, the number of creatures multiplies; meaning that the further we sail aback, the lesser grows the number of creatures. If we assumed that mankind currently amounts to thousands of millions, a few centuries ago it was hundreds of millions only and a few centuries before it was tens of millions, and the further we look back the lesser the number grows until it dwindles to a few thousands then to a few hundreds then to dozens then to the origin, a male and a female, Âdam and Hawwâ’.

 

In this way, the Noble Qur’an has unveiled the past regarding creation, relating to us the veracious story of the beginning of creation. The Noble Qur’an has also unveiled the future when it foretold that there would come people who would claim that man descended from an ape!! And the origin of life was in such and such fashion. That they would fabricate false theories so do not listen to them, because such people are misleaders, who wish to lead you astray.

 

In this regard The Truth, Blessed and Exalted be He, says (what means):

 

“I (Allâh) made them (Iblîs and his offspring) not to witness (nor took their help in) the creation of the heavens and the earth and not (even) their own creation, nor was I (Allâh) to take the misleaders as helpers.” (Al-Kahf, 18: 51)

 

The prophecy came true and there appeared misleaders who alleged that the origin of creation was in such and such fashion and they invented lies against Allah. To all those people we simply say that they served to affirm the truthfulness of the Noble Qur’an. Because if they did not bring forth their fallacious theories we would have said that the Noble Qur’an has informed us that there would come misleaders who would dispute about the creation of the heavens and the earth, and that of man, where are then those misleaders foretold by the Noble Qur’an? But they actually came and the lies they invented inspired us to say, â€˜Subhân Rabanâ Al-‘Azhîm’ (All praises be to our Lord, the Most Great). For The Almighty informed us about those misleaders and they actually came and He said that they would dispute about the creation of the heavens and the earth, and that of man, and they did dispute concerning them. In this manner Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, used the disbelievers and misleaders in serving the issue of Faith and proving the veracity of the Noble Qur’an. 

 

The miracle of creation imparted by Allah

 

The Truth, be ever gloried His Majesty and Might, has informed us in the Noble Qur’an that He created everything from a male and a female through the verse saying (what means):

 

“And of everything We have created pairs, that you may remember (the Grace of Allâh).” (Az-Zâriyât, 51: 49)

 

And the verse saying (what means):

 

“And that He (Allâh) creates the pairs, male and female.” (An-Najm, 53: 45)

 

But we have to pay attention to the word ‘pair’ for it does not here mean two, as usually crosses the minds of some people but it means one of two corresponding things, similar in form but different in function.

 

We notice this in all of Allah’s creatures; all the animals and insects are created from a male and a female. No creature can exist from a male without a female or the opposite except in the miracles where Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, wanted to prove His Absolute Power in the universe and in creation. Âdam (peace be upon him) was created from neither a male nor a female; Allah directly created him. Then came the creation of Hawwâ’ (Eve, peace be upon her) from a male only, for she was created from the rib of Âdam. Bearing on that meaning, The Truth, all praise and glory be to Him, says (what means):

 

“O mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person (Adam), and from him (Adam) He created his wife [Hawwa (Eve)], and from them both He created many men and women.” (An-Nisâ’, 4: 1)

 

Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, created Îesâ, (Jesus, peace be upon him), son of Maryam (Mary, may Allah be pleased with her) from a female only, without a male, whereby the four miracles of creation are perfected: creation without neither a male nor a female, creation from a male without a female, creation from a female without a male and creation with the union of both to prove the Absolute Power and Might of Allah, all praise and glory be to Him

 

Everything in the universe is created from a male and a female, hence insemination or pollination must take place for reproduction; a fact finally discovered by modern science. So, if they wanted to completely destroy a certain pest or an insect, they have to destroy either the males or the females, consequently the insect or the pest perishes. If a male or a female remained the pest or the insect would return anew stronger than ever.

 

Casting lots to see who would be the guardian of Maryam

 

The Noble Qur’an has unveiled the Unseen regarding creation. The Noble Qur’an then came to uncover the past by telling us matters nobody would have ever known. Just read how certain verses in the Noble Qur’an are preceded by certain Utterances of The Most Exalted, as those meaning, â€˜(O Muhammad SAW), neither you nor your people knew them before this.’ (Hûd, 11: 49), ‘You were not with them,’ (Âl-‘Imrân, 3: 44) to learn how the Noble Qur’an unveils the Unseen.

 

Regarding this, Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, says (what means):

 

“You were not with them, when they cast lots with their pens as to which of them should be charged with the care of Maryam (Mary); nor were you with them when they disputed.” (Âl-‘Imrân, 3: 44)

 

Meaning, O Muhammad, you were not present when they cast lots to choose who would be the guardian of Maryam (Mary, peace be upon her), offered by her mother to serve His place of worship. After the mother of Maryam gave birth to her, she carried her to the priests in Baitul-Maqdis (Jerusalem) and said that she vowed to dedicate her child to the services of Baitul-Maqdis, worshipping Allah, and being in the services of His place of worship. Zakariyâ (Zachariya, peace be upon him) wanted to be her guardian and be charged with bringing her up but the priests refused as each wished to be her guardian. So, they agreed upon casting lots by throwing their pens and the owner of the drawn pen would become the guardian of Maryam. The pen chosen by lot belonged to Zakariyâ, who became her guardian. Now recite the noble Qur’anic verse in which The Truth, praise be to Him, says (what means):

 

“And you (O Muhammad SAW) were not on the western side (of the Mount), when We made clear to Mûsa (Moses) the commandment, and you were not among those present.” (Al-Qasas, 28: 44)

 

Furthermore, Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, says to His Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) that he was not there when He talked to Mûsâ (Moses, peace be upon him) on the western side of Mount Tûr in Sinai.

 

Also, the noble Qur’anic verse saying (what means):

 

“And you (O Muhammad SAW) were not a dweller among the people of Madyan (Midian), reciting Our Verses to them.” (Al-Qasas, 28: 45)

 

Meaning that you (Muhammad) were not dwelling among the people of Midian to know what happened to Shu‘aib (peace be upon him) and what he said to his people while calling them to the Religion of Allah. The Truth, be ever gloried His Majesty and Might, says (what means):

 

“This is of the news of the unseen which We reveal unto you (O Muhammad SAW), neither you nor your people knew them before this.” (Hûd, 11: 49)

 

Thus, Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, informed His Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) about things he would never have known, neither he nor any of his people to prove that unveiling the past happens only by His Will, all praise and glory be to Him. When Allah unveiled the past to His Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), He revealed to him the matters related to the Divine Law that the predecessors cared to hide. The Almighty, praise be to Him, revealed the truth about the fabricated lies they used to spread against His Prophets; among them were what the rabbis alleged against Sulaimân (Solomon, peace be upon him) that he ruled by magic and what the devils falsely related against the kingdom of Sulaimân.

 

“They followed that which the devils falsely related against the kingdom of Solomon. Solomon disbelieved not; but the devils disbelieved, teaching mankind magic.” (Al-Baqarah, 2: 102)

 

Allah, The Truth, all praise and glory be to Him, revealed to His Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) news that neither he nor his people could ever know, so that a nonbeliever would never dare say that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) received his knowledge from this or that.

 

The Divine Revelation came concerning matters unknown neither to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) nor to his people, with the purpose of emendating the insertions that the rabbis and others have intruded into the Law of Allah. To make it known to all that this emendation is from Almighty Allah Himself to cause the truth to triumph and bring falsehood to nothing, so that none can dare contest it. Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, says what means, â€˜This is of the news of the unseen.’ (Hûd, 11: 49) Meaning, this news appertains to the unseen past that nobody knew, and is conveyed by Allah, be ever gloried His Majesty and Might, to His Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). 

 

Emendation of insertions intruded into previous religions

 

In this way, the Noble Qur’an has unveiled the past to amend the religions that preceded Islam and to show how insertions falsely ascribed to Allah were forced in them.

 

Furthermore, the Noble Qur’an has drawn the veils screening space to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). Recite the noble Qur’anic verse in which The Truth, all praise and glory be to Him, says (what means):

 

“To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth, and all that is between them, and all that is under the soil.” (Tâ-­Hâ, 20: 6)   

 

People must pay heed to the Qur’anic Statement of The Truth, all praise and glory be to Him, saying what means, â€˜And all that is under the soil,’ because we now have discovered that the treasures buried into the depths of the earth exceed those on its surface.

 

Thus, Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He, informed His Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in the Noble Qur’an, that will never be changed or altered till the Day of Resurrection, about what lies in the depths of the earth at a time it was a reality hidden from the whole world. Certainly, a veil shading space, for at the time of the revelation of the Noble Qur’an nobody knew or even imagined that within the earth are enormous treasures to which we should direct our attention.

 

Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, lifted another veil shading space to His Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in the noble Qur’anic verse in which He says:

 

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

}الم {1} غُلِبَتِ الرُّومُ {2} فِي أَدْنَى الْأَرْضِ} 

 

“Alif­Lâm­Mîm. [These letters are one of the miracles of the Qur’ân, and none but Allâh (Alone) knows their meanings]. The Romans have been defeated. In the nearer land (Syria, Iraq, Jordan, and Palestine), and they, after their defeat, will be victorious.” (Ar­Rûm, 30: 1-3)

 

At the time of the revelation of the Noble Qur’an, the word ‘أدنى’ was interpreted (as in the aforementioned translation of the verses) as being nearer the lands of Arabs, then came the geologic maps recently shot through satellites to prove that the region where the final battle was fought near Baitual-Maqdas (Jerusalem) is the lowest region on the entire surface of the earth, exactly as the Arabic word ‘أدنى’ literally means: a place situated most low. So, the Noble Qur’an unveiled another hidden reality of space by stating that the region that witnessed the last battle fought between the Romans and the Persians is the lowest region on the entire surface of the earth, a fact we only knew a few years ago.

 

Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, imparts another miracle of space in the Noble Qur’an. Recite the noble Qur’anic verse in which The Truth, Blessed and Exalted be He, says (what means):

 

“Have not those who disbelieve known that the heavens and the earth were joined together as one united piece, then We parted them? And We have made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?” (Al-Anbiyâ’, 21: 30) 

 

Through this verse the Noble Qur’an informs us about the selfsame origin of the heavens and earth and how they were separated.

 

Maybe we still remember the experiment of man’s landing on the moon and how the scientists dreamt, before finishing the experiment, of finding strange elements on the surface of the moon and how such elements would contain minerals, chemical substances and others items extraordinarily new to the people of the earth. How if they were added to the elements present on earth they would produce substances never known to humanity, and they gave free rein to their fancies about the new discovery that would change the universe. Fantasies soared high and minds were full of dreams, then what happened?

 

Man landed on the moon and walked on its surface. He brought specimens from the rocks on and under its surface and returned to the earth. Afterwards, the labs started working actively and the results came out: the moon’s surface consists from the same elements of the earth’s surface. Moreover, the components of its rocks are the same as those of the earth.

 

The journey ended by the distribution of the moon’s rocks on the celebrities visiting the United States of America.

 

Afterwards, the curtain was dropt on that matter because none of the guests was anxious to get a rock that is already found on the earth and the journeys to the moon ended completely.

 

In fact, those who landed on the moon served to prove that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. They also proved the Miraculousness of the Noble Qur’an and how the Noble Qur’an told them that truth fourteen centuries ago. Indeed, by their landing on the moon they themselves touched the Qur’anic reality.

 

We can go on giving examples on how Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, uncovered to His Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) the veils screening space. Not only did He, praise be to Him, unveil the unseen realities on the earth but He also unveiled it in the heavens and in the depths of the earth and the seas. These are places that humans knew nothing about; they were even unknown worlds to them, then Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He, willed to reveal to mankind from His Knowledge what made part of the Unseen a palpable reality.

 

The Noble Qur’an unveils the human soul

 

The Noble Qur’an has also unveiled the human soul, when Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, told His Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) what is harbored but kept unuttered within the hearts of the hypocrites and the disbelievers. Almighty Allah says (what means):

 

“And say within themselves: ‘Why should Allâh punish us not for what we say?’” (Al-Mujâdilah, 58: 8)

 

This noble Qur’anic verse was revealed with regard to the hypocrites and the disbelievers. The Qur’anic Statement of Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, saying what means: â€˜And say within themselves,’signifies that they kept it secret within themselves and told it to none. If such news about them was untrue: that they truly did not whisper thus within themselves, then the hypocrites and the disbelievers, who were most avid to vilify Islam and destroy it, would have spoken out, saying, ‘Muhammad has brought words he says to be revealed from Allah, claiming that we said within ourselves such and such and we certainly have not uttered these words nor did they cross our minds.’

 

But the revealed Qur’anic verses disclosed what is hidden in their hearts and the reality certainly startled them. They were taken aback by the truth; it did not even occur to them to refute saying thus within themselves, if only by way of deception and lying!!

 

If you read Surat At-Taubah, you would find in it many verses foretelling the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) what is kept within the hypocrites’ hearts. Recite the noble Qur’anic verse in which The Truth, Blessed and Exalted be He, says (what means):

 

“And of them are some who accuse you (O Muhammad SAW) in the matter of (the distribution of) the alms.” (At-Taubah, 9: 58)

 

And the Qur’anic verse in which Allah, praise be to Him, says (what means):

 

“And among them are men who hurt the Prophet (Muhammad SAW) and say: ‘He is (lending his) ear (to every news).’” (At-Taubah, 9: 61)

 

Then, comes the Challenge of Almighty Allah Himself to all what the hypocrites hid and deemed unknown to His Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). The Truth, be ever gloried His Majesty and Might, says (what means):

 

“The hypocrites fear lest a Sûrah (chapter of the Qur'ân) should be revealed about them, showing them what is in their hearts. Say: ‘(Go ahead and) mock! But certainly Allâh will bring to light all that you fear.’” (At-Taubah, 9: 63)

 

Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, unfolded to His Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in the Noble Qur’an what is kept secret within the hypocrites’ hearts and none of them dared to belie what Allah said and revealed in the Noble Qur’an.

 

Allah exposes what is inside the hypocrites’ hearts

 

Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, exposed what the hypocrites concealed within their hearts when they came to the Messenger of Allah  (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) to testify that he is truly the Messenger of Allah. Recite in Surat Al-Munâfiqûn the Qur’anic verse in which Almighty Allah, says (what means):

 

“When the hypocrites come to you (O Muhammad SAW), they say: ‘We bear witness that you are indeed the Messenger of Allâh.’ Allâh knows that you are indeed His Messenger and Allâh bears witness that the hypocrites are liars indeed.” (Al-Munâfiqûn, 63: 1)

 

The hypocrites are liars although they came to testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He, knows that Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is indeed His Messenger, which suggests that the testimony of the hypocrites agreed with the Statement of Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, but though they agreed, The Truth, be ever gloried His Majesty and Might, affirmed in the same Qur’anic verse that the hypocrites are liars indeed.

 

But how could they be liars when they testified same as the Testimony of Allah, be ever gloried His Majesty and Might?

 

They are lairs because the hypocrites uttered their testimony only by their tongues. They bore witness that Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is the Messenger of Allah only in tongues but their hearts remained denying it, disbelieving in Allah and His Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), so Allah bared what is in their hearts and exposed their hypocrisy even when they witnessed for the Divinity of the message conveyed by the Prophet of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).

 

The Noble Qur’an has unveiled the past and amended what the predecessors have distorted in the Books of Allah. The Noble Qur’an has also unveiled the secrets of the human soul and exposed what the disbelievers and the hypocrites hid in their hearts; they were startled and could not answer back. Moreover, the Noble Qur’an unveiled the future and told us things destined to happen after a few days, others after years and others after centuries and they all came true. This signifies that the Noble Qur’an unveiled all the Unseen for us to mind that Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, is The Sayer and The Doer. Indeed, He is The All-Knower of the Unseen, not even the weight of an atom or a small ant or less than that or greater, escapes His Knowledge in the heavens or in the earth.