I Am Enjoying Being A Muslim
We do claim that the Quran is the ultimate miracle of Allah. The proof of Islam. So there has to be some basis that has to be explored; on what basis do we make this claim? And why Allah changed the direction of the miracles? He didn't make it something for the eyes to see.
When people saw the water parting, they told their children about it, then their children told their children, until it passed down to us and we tell our children at religious schools. It's just a story now. For the people who were there, was it just a story? No, it was a miracle. But for the people after them, it's just a matter of faith, it's not a miracle to them. Because a miracle is something you could see, experience, and taste.
So the Atheist comes to the believer and says:
- "Do you believe Jesus brought the dead person back to life?"
- "Yes"
- "Why?"
- "Because the Scripture says so"
- "Were you there when it happened?"
- "It's in my heart"
That's all the believer had to say. But the same Atheist comes to the Muslim:
- "Do you believe the Quran is from Allah?"
- "Yeah"
- "Did you see the Angel come down?"
- "No, I didn't"
- "So how do you know it's the word of Allah?"
- "Well, let's come study the Quran, let me show you why this can't be human"
That part "let me show you" is what we need to know. We need that part for ourselves and for others. We really need it for ourselves because there's no boost in faith like the boost you get when you experience a miracle of Allah. There's nothing like it. We need that also to be able to illustrate it to others. It's the thing we need to revive, to appreciate.
I'll just give you one example of the Quran as a profound miracle, from the literally point of view. You have taken literature classes. You have taken Shakespeare, the Plato's Republic, you have read the Odyssey .. etc. These are the landmarks of world literature, the ultimate products of the human mind.
However, our belief is that the Quran is the ultimate literature, compared to any language. But that's a subjective thing. For instance, you say you like this poem, I say I don't like it. You say that painting is beautiful, I say it's ugly. It's subjective. So you could argue that literature is subjective.
Allah says that the Quran is a means of communication. And the purpose of communication is to influence the audience. So we will judge what is better literature by its influence, by what impact does it have on the world? What change does it cause? How does it change people? How does it influence behavior? How does it command over people? That would be the judge, that is a practical judge of the power of any speech/ literature.
Historically, no society went through a transformation based on a single text the way in which the Muslims went through with the Quran! No society in human civilization. Never! And in how many years that society get transformed? 23 years. This is even orientalists agreed.
In 23 years this man- one person starts single-handedly. And after 23 years, what change have these words and this man, this speaker, this speech and this style of speech, what have they influenced?
It changed the way people eat, the way they sleep, the way they deal with their family, the way they schedule their day, the way they speak to each other, the way they do business, the way they dress, and even the way they go to the bathroom.
The Question isn't what changed? But what didn't change? It changed everything!
Whenever there's "revolution" in society, it's either economic or it's political. But the way people live on day to day basis, that doesn't change. They don't change the way they deal with their families depending on the government changing or a new system coming into power, that's still the same, they still the same person.
This change that the Quran brought is unparalleled in human history! What exactly changed wasn't just societal, or on the macro level. It even changed the way people think! [b]It changed everything from the very individual level to the collective level, and every spectrum in between[/b]. This in itself is an evidence of the unparalleled power of the Quran!
When people saw the water parting, they told their children about it, then their children told their children, until it passed down to us and we tell our children at religious schools. It's just a story now. For the people who were there, was it just a story? No, it was a miracle. But for the people after them, it's just a matter of faith, it's not a miracle to them. Because a miracle is something you could see, experience, and taste.
So the Atheist comes to the believer and says:
- "Do you believe Jesus brought the dead person back to life?"
- "Yes"
- "Why?"
- "Because the Scripture says so"
- "Were you there when it happened?"
- "It's in my heart"
That's all the believer had to say. But the same Atheist comes to the Muslim:
- "Do you believe the Quran is from Allah?"
- "Yeah"
- "Did you see the Angel come down?"
- "No, I didn't"
- "So how do you know it's the word of Allah?"
- "Well, let's come study the Quran, let me show you why this can't be human"
That part "let me show you" is what we need to know. We need that part for ourselves and for others. We really need it for ourselves because there's no boost in faith like the boost you get when you experience a miracle of Allah. There's nothing like it. We need that also to be able to illustrate it to others. It's the thing we need to revive, to appreciate.
I'll just give you one example of the Quran as a profound miracle, from the literally point of view. You have taken literature classes. You have taken Shakespeare, the Plato's Republic, you have read the Odyssey .. etc. These are the landmarks of world literature, the ultimate products of the human mind.
However, our belief is that the Quran is the ultimate literature, compared to any language. But that's a subjective thing. For instance, you say you like this poem, I say I don't like it. You say that painting is beautiful, I say it's ugly. It's subjective. So you could argue that literature is subjective.
Allah says that the Quran is a means of communication. And the purpose of communication is to influence the audience. So we will judge what is better literature by its influence, by what impact does it have on the world? What change does it cause? How does it change people? How does it influence behavior? How does it command over people? That would be the judge, that is a practical judge of the power of any speech/ literature.
Historically, no society went through a transformation based on a single text the way in which the Muslims went through with the Quran! No society in human civilization. Never! And in how many years that society get transformed? 23 years. This is even orientalists agreed.
In 23 years this man- one person starts single-handedly. And after 23 years, what change have these words and this man, this speaker, this speech and this style of speech, what have they influenced?
It changed the way people eat, the way they sleep, the way they deal with their family, the way they schedule their day, the way they speak to each other, the way they do business, the way they dress, and even the way they go to the bathroom.
The Question isn't what changed? But what didn't change? It changed everything!
Whenever there's "revolution" in society, it's either economic or it's political. But the way people live on day to day basis, that doesn't change. They don't change the way they deal with their families depending on the government changing or a new system coming into power, that's still the same, they still the same person.
This change that the Quran brought is unparalleled in human history! What exactly changed wasn't just societal, or on the macro level. It even changed the way people think! [b]It changed everything from the very individual level to the collective level, and every spectrum in between[/b]. This in itself is an evidence of the unparalleled power of the Quran!