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Wednesday 3 January 2024

Responding to Lies about Islam: The Qur'an was revealed to Muhammad (ﷺ) by the Satan

I started writing my blog in 2018 and since then I have been receiving some absurd and baseless comments on my posts. Mostly, these comments have been repeated from the history of early days of Islam when the pagans of Makkah accused Prophet Muhammad ﷺ of being visited by Satan to reveal Qur'an. And non Muslims of today still quote these lies without reading Qur'an to know what has been the Divine answer to all these concocted lies.

Since more and more non Muslims are accepting the reality and truth that Islam provides and embracing Islam, the priests, monks and pastors are hellbent to make look Qur'an doubtful so as to arrest exodus of non Muslims to Islam. In doing so, they forget that it is only Qur'an which remains unadulterated and changed from the days of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ while there are diffent versions of other Divine scriptures

I will start by one of the most laughable and absurd lies against Islam which is about revelation of Qur'an. Since non Muslims, specially those who are also followers of Divine scriptures, do not want to accept the reality of Islam, they continue to spread the lies and those who read these lies straightaway believe and spit venom against Islam and Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. 

The lie against Islam selected for my post today is:  The Qur'an was revealed to Muhammad (ﷺ) by the Satan.

The most interesting thing about this lie is that all earlier three scriptures mention throwing out of Satan from the Court of God, the One true God Muslims call Allah, and was sent to earth along with Adam and Eve.  So obviously Satan could not have by any means any access to the Divine Court and be entrusted with the task of conveying the Divine Revelations to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. This fact alone is a strong rebuttal for those who concocted such a  lie. 

Now, coming over the earlier days of Islam when the pagans of Makkah also invented such lies which were subjected to a very strong Divine rebuttal, as mentioned in Surah 26. Ash-Shu'araa, verses 210 and 212 reproduced herein under:

وَمَا تَنَزَّلَتۡ بِهِ الشَّيٰطِيۡنُ‏ 
(26:210) The satans did not bring down this (Clear Book),
After the positive aspect as stated in vv. 192-193, the negative aspect is being stated that the Qur'an has not been brought down by satans as the enemies of the Truth allege. 

The verses 192 and 193 are about the truth about revelation of the Qur'an, wherein it is made clear that Qur'an has been sent to By Allah through the revered spirit (Angel Gabriel) to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ:
(26:192) Indeed this is a revelation from the Lord of the Universe;
(26:193) which the truthful spirit has carried down

During the early years of his prophetic mission, some of Muhammad's Meccan opponents tried to explain the rhetorical beauty and persuasiveness of the Qur'an by insinuating that he was a soothsayer (kahin) in communion with all manner of dark forces and evil spirits (shayatin).
 
The unbelieving Quraish in their campaign to spread lies and slander against the Holy Prophet were facing a real difficulty. They did not know how to account for the wonderful discourses which were being presented before the people in the form of the Qur'an and which were moving their hearts deeply. They could not stop the Qur'an from reaching the people. The only thing they could do to counteract its effect and influence was to create doubts and suspicions about it in their minds and hearts. Therefore, in their desperation they charged that Muhammad (Allah's peace be upon him) was a sorcerer, who was being inspired by the satans, and they considered this charge of theirs to be the most effective because it could neither be easily verified nor refuted.

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: (The Qur'an was brought down by Jibril, not Shaytan) Allah tells us about His Book, which falsehood cannot approach from before or behind it, sent down by the All-Wise, Worthy of all praise. He states that it has been brought down by the trustworthy Ruh (i.e., Jibril) who is helped by Allah.

(And it is not the Shayatin who have brought it down.) Then He tells us that it could not be the case for three reasons that the Shayatin brought it down. One is that it would not suit them, i.e., they have no desire to do so and they do not want to, because their nature is to corrupt and misguide people, but this contains words enjoining what is right and forbidding what is evil, and light, guidance and mighty proofs. 

There is a big difference between this and the Shayatin, Allah says: (Neither would it suit them) (nor are they able.) meaning, even if they wanted to, they could not do it. 

Allah says: (Had We sent down this Qur'an on a mountain, you would surely have seen it humbling itself and rent asunder by the fear of Allah) (59:21). Then Allah explains that even if they wanted to and were able to bear it and convey it, they still would not be able to achieve that, because they were prevented from hearing the Qur'an when it was brought down, for the heavens were filled with guardians and shooting stars at the time when the Qur'an was being revealed to the Messenger of Allah , so none of the Shayatin could hear even one letter of it, lest there be any confusion in the matter. This is a part of Allah's mercy towards His servants, protection of His Laws, and support for His Book and His Messenger . 

Yusuf Ali Explanation
When anything extraordinary happens, there are always people desirous of putting the worst construction on it, and saying that it is the work of Satans. So when the Qur'an came with its Message in wondrous Arabic, its enemies could only account for its power by attributing it to evil spirits! Such a beneficent message can never suit the purposes of Satans, nor would it be in their power to produce it. In fact Good and Evil are poles asunder, and Evil cannot even hear words of Good, of tender Pity for sinners and Forgiveness for the penitent!

وَمَا يَنۡۢبَغِىۡ لَهُمۡ وَمَا يَسۡتَطِيۡعُوۡنَؕ‏ 
(26:211) nor does it behove them, nor does it lie in their power.
That is, these revelations and themes do not at all suit the satans. Any person who has a little common sense can well understand that the sublime discourses being presented in the Qur'an cannot be inspired by the satans. Never has it happened that the satans might have taught the people through the sorcerers to worship God and fear Him, or forbidden them from shirk and idol-worship, or warned them of the accountability of the Hereafter, or prohibited them from tyranny and sexual and moral evils, and exhorted them instead to act righteously and do good to others. Such works cannot behoove the satans. Their only pastime can be to sow the seeds of discord among the people and to arouse them to mischief and vice. The common observation is that people visit the sorcerers to find out whether they will succeed in their love affairs or not, what move would suit them in gambling, what trick and stratagem would be helpful against the enemy, or who had stolen the camel of so and so. Apart from such affairs and problems, the sorcerers and their patron-saints cannot be expected to worry themselves about matters like reforming the people, teaching them morals and cleansing their lives of vice and evil.

Even if the satans wanted they could not impart Truth and Goodness to the people like a true teacher and reformer as the Qur'an does. Even if to deceive the people, they came out under the guise of a benefactor, their work would not be tree from blemishes, which would betray their ignorance and their hidden satanic nature. Similarly the life and the teachings of a person who poses to be a religious guide, under the influence and inspiration of satans, would inevitably reflect the wickedness of intention and design. Thus the satans can neither inspire others with piety and goodness, nor can those, who have any relation with the satans, become pious and righteous themselves. Then in addition to its high and noble teachings, the Qur'an is a lucid and eloquent Book, which contains the knowledge of Reality. That is why it has over and over again put forward the challenge that human beings and jinns would never be able to produce a book like the Qur'an even if they collaborated with all their energies and capacities. "Declare this: Even if human beings and jinns should cooperate with one another to bring forth a book like the Qur'an, they will never be able to bring anything like it, even though all of them help one another" (Bani Isra'il: 88).

"Tell them: if what you say be true, then produce one Surah like this, and you may call to your assistance anyone you can other than Allah." (Yunus: 38). 

اِنَّهُمۡ عَنِ السَّمۡعِ لَمَعۡزُوۡلُوۡنَؕ‏ 
(26:212) Indeed they are debarred from even hearing it.
That is, "Not to speak of interfering with the revelation of the Qur'an, the satans are not even given a chance to hear the Qur'an any moment from the time Angel Gabriel receives it from Allah till he reveals it to the heart of the Holy Prophet. They are so kept out of its hearing that they cannot get any hint as to its words and contents so as to tell their friends that the Holy Prophet was going to give such and such a message to his followers, or that his address would contain such and such a thing that day. For further details explanation to verse 12 of Al-Hijr, verse 7 of As -Saffat and verses 8-9, 27 of Surah Jinn.

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir:
Allah says: (Verily, they have been removed far from hearing it.) This is like what Allah tells us about the Jinn: (And we have sought to reach the heaven; but found it filled with stern guards and flaming fires. And verily, we used to sit there in stations, to (steal) a hearing, but any who listens now will find a flaming fire watching him in ambush.) until; (or whether their Lord intends for them a right path) ﴿72:8-10﴾.

Javed Ahmad Ghamidi Explanation:
Ie., such pure words, such noble and exalted teachings and such profound knowledge and that too in a very eloquent and moving style can neither emanate from a devil nor can devils snatch it away from its pure origin and bring it down. This is because all paths which reach to the other side of the world were cordoned off as soon as the revelation of the Qur’ān began. At another instance, the Qur’ān has cited this confession from the tongues of the jinn that earlier they were able to find some stations in the heavens to eavesdrop but now with the revelation of the Qur’ān if anyone of them tries to do so, a shooting star pursues him. In other words, the purport is that the content of the Qur’ān itself is negating this silly allegation and they also are negating it with whose reference this allegation is being made. 

This should be enough for those priests and pastors spreading misinformation about Islam to protect their religion which is already finding cracks due to man made insertions and amendments. Let us npt be caught unaware by such misinformation and should be laced with information contained i Qur'an to counter their baseless arguments and lies.
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى‎) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door. 
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ‏ 
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.

Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.

May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.

Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.

You may read more posts on countering / responding to lies / misinformation and disinformation about Islam: The Rebuttal: Countering disinformation being spread about Islam (Reference Page)

For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'anYou may also refer to our Reference Pages  and Understanding Al Qur'an for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.
Photo | Tafsir References: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs of the Qur'ān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that the exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi.  
In order to augment and add more explanation as already provided, additional input has been interjected from the following sources: 
  • Tafsir Ibn Khatir
  • Muhammad Asad Translation
  • Yusuf Ali Translation
  • Translation Javed Ahmad Ghamidi / Al Mawrid
  • Qur'an Wiki
  • Verse by Verse Qur'an Study Circle
  • Towards Understanding the Quran
In addition, references of other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites.

Disclaimer: The material for this post has been collected from the references given above. If anyone differs with the material contained in this post, one may consult the references and their authors.  If someone has more material about the subject, he/she is most welcome to share in the comments box to make the post all encompassing.

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