The Quran is the Holy Book of 1.5 billion Muslims on the earth. All Muslims believe that it is the verbatim word of God revealed to Muhammed (571-632), the last Messenger sent to humanity. In this book, we will make an effort to analyze different aspects of the Quran from the perspective of twenty-first-century minds. No doubt that the last quarter of the twentieth century and the twenty-first century are quite different than the rest of human history. The result of thousands of years of technological advancement took a significant turn with the invention of computers and later with the internet in the 1990s.
As the peak of the enlightenment era, the twentieth century was the era of skepticism. The influence of Darwinism on natural sciences, Marxism on humanitarian sciences, and Freudism on the metaphysical belief system kindled an atheist movement that was not seen before in human history.[1] “Enlightened men” started not to believe anything that they don’t see with their eyes. They wanted to test everything in the labs and asked for proof before they believe in anything. Materialism, rationalism, and capitalism/communism defined the last two centuries. The concept of metaphysics has been confined into the theology departments of the universities and behind the walls of temples. Although psychology originally meant the study of the soul, today it is perceived as the study of mind and brain. The concept of soul is long forgotten in academic circles.
The effects of science and technology on the human psyche have been manifesting on the millennials differently. As life expectancy is getting longer, their attention spans are getting shorter. Virtual reality has been replacing reality. Social interactions are on social media more than in person today. Individualism of the last century is transforming to virtualism, religiosity is changing to spiritualism, and rationalism is losing against fantasy. Movie themes are turning into cults. The border between reality and fantasy is disappearing. “More Americans now say they are spiritual but not religious. According to a Pew survey, the ratio of Americans who define themselves as religious but not spiritual decreased from 59% to 48% within five years from 2012 to 2017 and the ratio of the people who describe themselves as spiritual but not religious has risen from 19% to 27%.[2] Internet addiction is just one of the psychological diseases modern lifestyle contributed to contemporary men.
Today the biggest reality of life, the death is hidden from social life. In the past, men lived intimately with death in their daily lives, but today we rarely see and experience death. It is just numbers on the news, statistics in the books, a phone call, or maybe just a condolence for us. Whenever we see actual death around us, we run to the psychologists in order to cope with it, forget it, and keep enjoying our lives. Contemporary men think less about the purpose of life. In schools, colleges, social life, political spheres, we rarely talk about the meaning of existence.
So in this context, what is the relevance of the Quran for the twenty-first-century men? Can a fourteen-hundred-year-old book still be relevant today? Christianity and Judaism have dealt with the problem of relevance through compartmentalization. In the Christian and Judaist believers’ paradigm, matters of science and matters of faith have been separated from each other. However, this pragmatic solution seems not to be working anymore. Today, more and more youth are leaving the church and joining the ranks of atheism or spiritual deism. Where does the Quran stand at the crossroads of rationalism, faith, and spiritualism? What kind of a book is the Quran? To whom does it address?
A Brief Story of the Quran
Islamic sources narrate that the Quran was started to be revealed to Prophet Muhammed in the year of 609 in Mecca when he was forty years old. Mecca was a small city with the major shrine in the Arabian Peninsula, Kaaba. The society was quite backward and barbaric. The only religion was idol worshiping. Kaaba which believed to be built by Prophet Abraham and his son Ishmael was a center for hundreds of tribal idols and a center of pilgrimage for Arabs. In the strictly tribal society, Muhammed was coming from a noble lineage, yet he became an orphan as his father died before he was born, and his mother died when he was six years old. He grew up first with his grandfather and then with his uncle after his grandfather died. He became a successful merchant like all the other wealthy families do and got married at the age of twenty-five with Khadija who was much older than him. Muhammed didn’t follow the religion of his society but individually followed the religion of Abraham. From time to time he used to retreat from society to a nearby cave for several days.
The sources tell us that one night as he was meditating in a cave that sees Mecca, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to him and told him to recite. He said he was illiterate. Yet the Angel repeated the comment three times and then recited him the first five verses of the Quran, “Recite in the name of your Lord who created – Created man from a clinging substance. Recite, and your Lord is the Most Generous – Who taught by the pen – Taught man that which he knew not” (96:1-5). One of the remarkable aspects of the Quran is that although the Quran was the first and the most magnificent written book of the Arabic language, the Prophet was illiterate. This is confirmed by the Quran itself as well as many Prophetic traditions called Hadith collections that were compiled much later after the death of the Prophet. Two verses talk about this, “Those who follow the Messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write (7:157), and “Neither did you (O Muhammad) read any book before it (this Quran), nor did you write any book (whatsoever) with your right hand” (29:48).
In the following 23 years, until shortly before Muhammed’s death, the revelation came down bits by bits. When a group of verses was revealed, he would recite it to the community and the scribes among his followers would record it on different objects available at the time such as parchments, animal skins, wooden tablets, or bones. The order of the verses or chapters were arbitrary, and Prophet would tell the scribes the verse numbers and to which chapter the verses belonged. In a narration, “once the Prophet was asked, ‘O Messenger of God, how does the revelation come to thee?’ He replied, ‘Sometimes it comes like the ringing of a bell, and that is the hardest on me, then it leaves me, and I retain what is said. And sometimes the angle approaches me in a human form and speaks to me, and I retain what he said.”[3] Shortly after his death, all the revelations were compiled as a book according to the verse and chapter order the Prophet provided at the time of revelation. “The unique format of the Quran allows each surah (chapter) to function as an autonomous unit. There are no chronologies or narratives that span multiple surahs. Each surah stands as an independent unit even if the meaning if this or that verse in a particular surah is clarified in another surah with similar verses. This fact is the basis for commenting on the Quran through the text of the Quran, a method used in some well-known commentaries.”
Although, the location, Islam emerged was a remote location in the seventh century Arabia, in the middle of dessert; Quran makes this bold claim that it was a book sent to the entire humanity, “And We have not sent you, (O Muhammad), except as a mercy to the worlds” (21:107). From the very beginning, the message was meant to be for the entire humankind rather than the tribe of Muhammad. “In fact, the Quran addresses entire human beings as ‘Ya ayyuhan Nas’ (O Humankind) directly 306 times and indirectly more than two thousand times in its over 6,000 verses. In contrast, the Quran specifically addresses Muslim men and women, as ‘Ya ayyuhal Muslimun/Muslimat/ Muslimatun/etc’ by name only 49 times.”[5]
For believers or unbelievers, it is obvious that the Quran is not an ordinary book. It is mystical. It is beautiful. It is controversial. It is melodic but not a song. It is poetic but not a poem, nor is it prose. It is very clear and easy to understand but at the same time quite ambiguous and cryptic. It speaks about itself, unlike any other book. It is highly assertive and challenging. It brings the past to the future and future to the past. It addresses not only the believers as its audience but also to the entire humanity. It is very logical and rational but at the same time sentimental. It is a book of guidance, a book of the remembrance, a book of the stories of the previous messengers, a book of law and social justice, a book of inner peace, a book of healing and inspiration, a book of the hereafter, and a book of the visible world and unseen.[6]
The Quran as a Book of Reasoning
The most significant feature of the Quran from the perspective of twenty-first-century intellectuals is its rationality. Probably that is the reason why many well-educated men in the West are intrigued by the Quran. It sounds somewhat ironic for a book of metaphysics that asks for faith to unseen and tells us about life after death. Because, by definition, religious books are associated with dogma and not rationality. Yet the Quran is quite an exception in this regard.
There are more than one hundred verses that demand its readers to reflect, to compare, to contrast, to observe, to question, to test etc. Many other verses ask, “do you not reflect?” (7:184). One of the characteristics of the Quran is that it narrates all sorts of parables including animals and past nations. Those parables generally end with statements like “Such are the similitudes which We propound to men, that they may reflect,” (59:21).
There are dozens of verses that confront its readers to contemplate. Several verses such as “The example of [this] worldly life is but like rain which We have sent down from the sky that the plants of the earth absorb – [those] from which men and livestock eat – until, when the earth has taken on its adornment and is beautified and its people suppose that they have capability over it, there comes to it Our command by night or by day, and We make it as a harvest as if it had not flourished yesterday. Thus, do We explain in detail the signs for a people who give thought. (10:24)” draw readers’ attention to the life cycle and different aspects of nature on the earth and asks for contemplation.
When reading the Quran, one finds himself questioning natural phenomena, arguing with himself and the author, and even testing a hypothesis. In many verses, the Quran poses open-ended questions and challenges its readers to ponder upon it and came up with their own answers. One of the most favorite questions of the twenty-first-century atheists, ‘why has God created evil’ is asked from the mouth of angels in the Quran. “When your Lord said to the angels, “Indeed, I (God) will make upon the earth a successive authority. “They said, “Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood, while we declare Your praise and sanctify You?” (2:30). One expects to get a clear answer to this crucial question, yet Quran leaves it there with an even more intriguing answer, “Allah said, “Indeed, I know that which you do not know.” One automatically asks himself what is it that angels didn’t know, and Allah knew? The following verses give a hint about the purpose of life that Allah wanted to create a being superior to the angles in intellect. The anecdote ends with another interesting statement, “Did I not tell you that I know the unseen [aspects] of the heavens and the earth? And I know what you reveal and what you have concealed” (2:34). Here again one wonders what might be that the angels revealed and what they concealed about the nature of human beings. Jeffrey Lang a math professor from the University of Kansas answers this question in his book from his perspective “Even Angels Asked” as, the angels revealed the evil side of the humankind but they concealed the all the beauty came into existence in the hands and minds of the men, love, compassion, creativity, and his intellect in glorifying God.
The Quran keeps talking about signs. The word ‘ayah’ (verse) in Arabic literally means evidence, sign, or miracle. It equates verses of the Quran to signs and/or miracles from God. It pleads its readers again and again to observe the signs of God in his creation saying “He will show you His Signs and you will recognize them” (27:93). Some of the signs it brings to our attention as evidence for His existence and might are; “the creation of the heavens and earth and what He has dispersed throughout them of creatures”(42:29), “a sign for them is the dead earth” (36:33), “the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colors. Verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge” (30:22). One of the most interesting signs the Quran gives us is “And among His Signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquility with them, and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts): verily in that are Signs for those who reflect” (30:21). This verse tells us about one of the most basic aspects of humans that, human beings are meant to be social.
The Quran Promoting Itself
Another very distinctive feature of the Quran is it promotes itself as if is it is talking about another book. Throughout the Quran, there are hundreds of verses describing, referring, praising, and vouching for the Quran. Probably, among all the other books written since the beginning of human history, the Quran is unique in this regard. Dozens of the chapters start with discussing the origin or the purpose of the Quran. Chapters 2, 7, 10, 13, 31, 32, 36, 39, and 40 are just a few of those chapters. “Jelaleddin Suyuti who is considered one of the greatest scholars of the Quran, in his book Al-Itkan fi Ulumul Quran, provides a list of forty-six titles that the Quran gives itself.”[7]
The second chapter starts with the verse, “This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those conscious of Allah.” Like a preface of a contemporary book, the following verses goes into discussing about who will benefit from it and who won’t, “Who believe in the unseen, establish prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them, And who believe in what has been revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and what was revealed before you, and of the Hereafter, they are certain [in faith]. Those are upon [right] guidance from their Lord, and it is those who are the successful” (2:3-5). In the other chapters, it refers itself as the Book (al-Kitab), a guidance for the ones who are conscious of Allah (Huda lil-Muttaqin), the Clear Book (al-Kitab Mubin), the Wise Book (al-Kitab Hakim), the Criterion (al-Furqan), a guidance and mercy for the doers of good (Rahmat el-lil-Muhsinin), a revelation about which there is no doubt, a Book whose verses are perfected and then presented in detail from [one who is] Wise and Acquainted. The Chapter 14, Ibrahim starts with “[This is] a Book which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], that you might bring mankind out of darknesses into the light by permission of their Lord – to the path of the Exalted in Might, the Praiseworthy.” This argument repeats consistently throughout the Quran as if it strives to convince its readers. If we didn’t know, we could have thought that the publishing company was trying a new marketing strategy for the promotion of their best seller candidate.
Also, there are four verses in the Quran claiming that it is inimitable and challenges its opponents to create something like it. “Say: ‘If all mankind and the jinn would come together to produce the like of this Quran, they could not produce its like even though they exerted all and their strength in aiding one another” (Quran 17:88). “Reflecting upon the inimitability of the Quran has led many to conclude that the nature of the Quranic Arabic is among the greatest miracles of Islam. To those who say it is a human fabrication, the text says, “Then bring a surah like it, if you are truthful.”[8]
Where Does the Quran Stand with Science?
As mentioned above, religious texts are generally texts of metaphysics and they are at odds with the scientific laws and findings. Judaism and Christianity solved this problem with compartmentalizing the two spheres, some sort of dual approach to the issue. That is because there are several verses in the Old Testament that conflict with the scientific findings of the last two centuries. “The description of the creation in the first chapter of the Bible is a masterpiece of inaccuracy from a scientific point of view.”[9]
On the other hand, the Quran claims to be the word of God and the Islamic view of nature is quite similar to the Quran as another manifestation of God’s power.“There are three great and universal things which make known to us our Sustainer. One is the book of the universe. Another is the Seal of the Prophets (Peace and blessings be upon him), the supreme sign of the book of the universe. The other is the Qur’an of Mighty Stature. The Quran is the pre-eternal translator of the mighty Book of the Universe; the post-eternal interpreter of the various tongues reciting the verses of creation; the commentator of the book of the Worlds of the Seen and the Unseen”[10]
Therefore, by default, the Quran claims that there cannot be any conflicts with the proven facts of science and nature. We should also remember that the Quran is not a scientific book. Trying to explain all the verses with scientific themes will be pointless.
There are many books and papers explaining the remarkable harmony of the verses of the Quran and the scientific findings of the twenty-first-century. In this chapter, I will point out just a few verses and explain the most notable aspect of the Quran in this regard. Maurice Bucaille’s The Bible, The Quran and Science is a good reference book in this regard.
The most significant verse that is in conformity with the contemporary science is “And heaven, We built it with might, and We extend it wide (51:47). This verse clearly talks about the expansion of the universe, which is a scientific fact as a result that was discovered in the twentieth century. The Big Bang theory is now the only theory that is proven today in regards to the beginning of the universe and as a result of the initial explosion, the universe is still expanding. Other verses mentioning the initial creation of the universe also confirm the fact that the universe is not eternal and it was established at a certain time frame in the past.
Another very significant conformity of the Quran with modern science is, in the first verses revealed it talks about the embryo as a ‘clinging thing’ in the form of a leech, “He created man from a clinging form” (96:2). Also, another popular example is that of embryonic development, for which (23:12-14) are usually cited as proof of the presence of recently discovered scientific data in the Quran, “And certainly did We create man from an extract of clay. Then We placed him as a sperm-drop in a firm lodging. Then We made the sperm-drop into a clinging clot, and We made the clot into a lump [of flesh], and We made [from] the lump, bones, and We covered the bones with flesh; then We developed him into another creation. So blessed is Allah, the best of creators.”
However, the most outstanding aspect of the Quran’s conformity with science is that as a book that was revealed fourteen centuries ago it doesn’t include any statements that are outdated. It is only natural and expected that a fourteen hundred-year-old book would reflect some beliefs of its time which are false. For example, although it talks about the creation extensively it doesn’t make a statement such as ‘existence is created out of for elements, fire, dirt, light, and air,’ which was the belief for many centuries in human history. Or it doesn’t mention the earth is the center of the universe as most of the historical science books believed.
Universal Values in the Quran
Albeit the Quran was revealed in a remote part of the world in the seventh century Arabia, away from the civilization centers of its time, it contains many universal values that resonate with the problems of the twenty-first century. It is maybe the first book that declares the equality of men regardless of their color, ethnicity, sex, or social status. The verse “O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the noblest of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted” (49:13) clearly states this fact. Also, two other verses “Mankind was one community and Allah sent Prophets with glad tidings and warnings, and with them, He sent the Scripture in truth to judge between people in matters wherein they differed” (2:213) and “The creation of the heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colors. Verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge” (30:22) state that humanity is one before God and the differences in color, tongue, ethnicity, culture, and religion are a just result of Allah’s will and design. The Prophetic tradition which states “All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black, nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action”[11] confirms this universal approach of the Quran.
The view of the Quran on nature and the environment is exceptional by the twenty-first century standards. The philosophers of the enlightenment era envisioned the earth as brute and inert. “If matter exists in a brute and inert form, then the only reason for its existence must be that of its service to man. Robert Boyle, a leading mechanical philosopher elaborated on the view that man was created to possess and to rule over nature. If matter is in itself devoid of value, then we can treat it as an object. We can study it and subject it to the entire range of our analytical apparatus without it making any moral demands.”[12] The Quran also states that the plants, animals, and the entire universe was designed to serve humankind,[13] yet its view of nature and animals are quite different. “There is not a moving (living) creature on earth, nor a bird that flies with its two wings, but are communities like you” (6:38) clearly tells us that animals are also sensitive creatures of the Creator and essential part of the life cycle on the earth. Thus, we have no right to abuse them. Also, the verse “Eat and drink from the provision of Allah, and do not commit abuse on the earth, spreading corruption” (2:60) forbids us to abuse not only animals but also plants and natural resources as well. Many verses in the Quran portray animals as conscious beings such as; ants communicating with each other (27:18), a crow teaching the son of Adam how to bury his brother (5:30), God inspiring honeybee how to build his brilliant dwelling and how to find its way collecting nectar (16:68-69), a bird reporting to Prophet Solomon (27:20) etc. These verses and many Prophetic traditions talking about animal rights are quite relevant in the twenty-first century where animals are reduced to insensible, brute objects by the food industry.
Another aspect of the Quran that distinguishes it from other holy texts is its inclusiveness. Many verses make it clear that Allah’s guidance is universal and not only restricted to the followers of the Prophet Mohammed. “Whosoever believes in God and the Last Day and works righteousness shall have their reward with their Lord. No fear shall come upon them, nor shall they grieve” (2:62, 5:69) repeated twice in the Quran. According to the Quran, any monotheistic religion that is dictating the universal moral values can be described as “Islam.” Prophet’s saying, “Whoever says: there is no god but Allah enters Paradise” also reinforces that notion. The verse “Indeed, the believers, Jews, Sabians, and Christians, whoever truly believes in God and the Last Day and does good, there will be no fear for them, nor will they grieve”(5:69) teaches us there is no reason for us to fight over religion. The Quran also declares that the concepts of good and evil are beyond religion and even the disbelievers will be rewarded for the good they do in their lives.[14]
Today there are several wars and conflicts in the world. Men are shedding blood over who believes in what. The Quran’s approach to religious diversity is most apparent in the verses “There shall be no compulsion in the religion” (2:256) and “To you be your religion and to me my religion” (109:1-6).
This section can be the subject of another book by itself. Among many other approaches of the Quran to contemporary issues, the last one I want to mention in this section is one of the universal maxims of law. Contrary to the original sin concept in the Bible, the Quran clearly declares that no man is responsible for another man’s crime. The verse “No bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another” (39:7) sets one of the basic articles of the Islamic legal system as well as the universal law.
When reading the Quran in the twenty-first century, one will come across some controversial issues. There is a limited number of verses about judicial rulings, women’s rights, and slavery that needs to be understood in the historical context. The first and foremost function of the Quran is calling its audience to submit to God, remind him of the purpose of his creation in the first place, and the meaning of the existence as we know it. Although the Quran is a fascinating book in many aspects, it is not a book that is meant by God to spark a short cut in humanity’s historic struggle and gradual progress. When approaching these verses, we have to consider the fact that the norms of the twenty-first century were not valid for thousands of years since the creation of the men. Yet the Quran does not deny the progress in social issues. In many cases, some of the verses abrogated some of the previous verses and the Prophet and his followers interpreted those verses according to the norms of changing time. Today’s Islamic academia needs to produce updated exegesis of those verses based upon the norms of this age within the holistic philosophy of the Quran.
[1] “Mathematical Challenges to Darwin’s Theory of Evolution,” Steven Myer, David Gelernter, David Berlinski, discussing David Gelernter’s paper Giving Up Darwin, accessed December 20, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noj4phMT9OE&t=11s
[2] “More Americans now say they are spiritual but not religious,” PEW Research Center- FACTANK, accessed December 19, 2019. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/09/06/more-americans-now-say-theyre-spiritual-but-not-religious/
[3] Al-Bukhari 1.2 (no 2); Malik 15.4 (no 479).
[4] Muhammad M. al-Azami, “The Islamic View of The Quran,” quoted from: Joseph Lumbard, Caner Dagli, Maria M Dakake, Seyyid H Nasr, The Study Quran, The Quran in Translation (New York, HarperCollins Publishers, 2015), 1613.
[5] “Quran’s Message for Humanity,” Islamicty.org, accessed December 19, 2019. https://www.islamicity.org/6509/qurans-message-for-humanity/
[6] Ryan Uysaler, “How to Approach Quran?,” The First Paper.
[7] Joseph Lumbard, “What is the Quran According to Quran- Part I,” accessed December 20, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoT7l67V-qI
[8] Jospeh Lumbard, “The Quran in Translation,” quoted from: Joseph Lumbard, Caner Dagli, Maria M Dakake, Seyyid H Nasr, The Study Quran, The Quran in Translation (New York, HarperCollins Publishers, 2015), 1601.
[9] Maurice Bucaille, “The Bible The Quran and Science,” (Paris, Seghers, 1977), 22.
[10] Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, “The Words,” The Nineteenth Word. http://www.erisale.com/?locale=en&bookId=201&pageNo=396#content.en.201.243
[11] “The Farewell Sermon of The Prophet”, from Al-Jahiz in the Kitāb al-Bayān wa-al-Tabyīn.
[12] Wael B. Hallaq, “The Impossible State,” (New York, Columbia University Press, 2013), 77-78.
[13] “We have honored the children of Adam and carried them by land and sea; We have provided good sustenance for them and favored them specially above many of those We have created” (17:70).
[14] “So, whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it, and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it” (Quran 99:7-8).
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