A CONCISE GUIDE TO THE QURAN: Answering Thirty Critical Questions E-Book

Dr. A. M. Awal PhD

• Herausgeber: BookRix
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

 Investigating the authenticity of the Koran from a mathematical standpoint and a numerical point of view, to scientifically and historically verify whether Mohammed wrote the Koran. 

Leseprobe

Dr. A. M. Awal PhD

A CONCISE GUIDE TO THE QURAN: Answering Thirty Critical Questions

About the Author Dr. Muhammad Abdul Awal was educated in Germany and USA, and has 17+ years of Industrial and R&D experience at AT&T Bell Laboratories (NJ), and 16+ years of Academic Teaching experience during his 35+ years of professional career in a very broad and diverse national and international environment (mostly USA, UK, Middle East and South Asia). Currently (March 2022): Dr. Awal is the Asst Professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering, City College of NY, Department of Electrical and Telecommunication Engineering, NYC College of Technology of the CUNY, Dept of Physics, Hunter College, CUNY and the School of Business (Technology Management), and School of Engineering Technology (Law Enforcement Technology) SUNY-Farmingdale. BookRix GmbH & Co. KG81371 Munich

A CONCISE GUIDE TO THE QURAN: Answering Thirty Critical Questions

 A book.

Numbers and Astonishing Mathematical Secret Codes in the Koran

Compiled by:

Dr. Muhammad Abdul Awal

About the Author

Dr. Muhammad Abdul Awal was educated in Germany and USA, and has 17+ years of Industrial and R&D experience at AT&T Bell Laboratories (NJ), and 16+ years of Academic Teaching experience during his 35+ years of professional career in a very broad and diverse national and international environment (mostly USA, UK, Middle East and South Asia). Currently (March 2022): Dr. Awal is the Asst Professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering, City College of NY, Department of Electrical and Telecommunication Engineering, NYC College of Technology of the CUNY, Dept of Physics, Hunter College, CUNY and the School of Business (Technology Management), and School of Engineering Technology (Law Enforcement Technology) SUNY-Farmingdale. His major past research contributions are in the area of optical and wireless communications, opto-electronic IC, Ultra-thin opto-electronic materials growth and device fabrication and characterization, system engineering and concurrent engineering, commercialization of technologies, system analysis, High Tech Manufacturing, optimization of global supply chain network, Technology Economic modeling, Management of technology and innovations, business and network performance modeling, and current interest in the area of  technologies/innovations, Nano Technology, Voice over LTE, academy-industry-government liaison, and next generation wireless technology driven services and  products (IoT) involving 5G technology.

He had studied in various colleges and universities worldwide, including earned a PhD in Applied Physics from the City University of New York, New York, USA, and a Vor-Diplom in Physics and Mathematics from University of Halle, Germany.

Dr. Muhammad Abdul Awal has also earned a mini-MBA from the Bell-Labs Learning and Performance Center, Piscataway, NJ, and is enthusiastic about writing books and researching science.

Introduction

The nature of science is that it continuously evolves.

This makes scientists, like myself, doubly enthusiastic about the researches we conduct, because there is always a possibility of change. In science, the inherent rule of thriving is always the same. New learning replaces old learning. For men of science, this gives us fallibility, and the changing nature of science does not necessarily make the process of our earthly learning unreliable, but makes it doubly useful.

For any scientist, this very possibility of change makes science interesting and profitable to our realm. For example, as a physicist, I study the solar system from this little earth, and the things we see beyond the horizon are considered true and real, and we make hypothesis, observation and theories based on what we see. One example of obvious science in Physics is the famous theory of expanding universe. For thousands of years, astronomers wrestled with basic questions concerning the universe. Until 1920, it was believed that the universe had always been in existence and that the size of the universe was fixed and not changing. The idea of a static universe was not only popular but believed unquestionably, presumably backed by science. However, in 1912, the American astronomer, Vesto Slipher, made a discovery changed other astronomers’ beliefs about the universe.  Slipher noticed that the galaxies were moving away from earth at huge velocities.  These observations provided the first evidence supporting the expanding-universe theory. Before the invention of the telescope in 1608, man could do little more than wonder about the origin of the universe.

In 1916, Albert Einstein formulated his General Theory of Relativity that indicated that the universe must be either expanding or contracting.  Confirmation of the expanding-universe theory finally came in 1929 in the hands of the well-known American astronomer Edwin Hubble. By observing redshifts in the light wavelengths emitted by galaxies, Hubble found that galaxies were not fixed in their position; instead, they were actually moving away from us with speeds proportional to their distance from earth. This extraordinary fact came to be known as the infamous Hubble's Law, and it was Hubble’s discoveries that had elated me as a boy, and gave me the lifelong aspiration to become a physicist.

Using the Hooker Telescope, Edwin Hubble discovered that the galaxies were indeed moving away us. Edwin Hubble observed that the only explanation for this phenomenon was that the universe had to be expanding. Indeed, Hubble’s discovery was and is still regarded as one of the greatest in the history of astronomy. After he published his paper about the velocity-time relation in 1929, the expanding-universe theory was accepted by scientists and astronomers alike.

However, the expanding universe theory was mentioned only in one other ancient document prior to Edwin Hubble. I was fairly astonished to find that well before telescopes were even invented and thousands of years before Hubble published his Law, the Moslem propjet Muhammad used to recite a verse of the Koran to his companions that ultimately stated that the universe is expanding.

“And the heaven We created with might, and indeed We are expanding it.” (Koran 51:47)

At the time of the revelation of the Koran, the word “space” was not known, and people used the word “heaven” to refer to what lies above the Earth.  In the above verse, the word “heaven” is referring to space and the known universe.  The verse points out that space, and thus the universe, happens to be expanding, just as Hubble’s Law states.

The second part which is doubly disconcerting about the Expanding Universe theory is that just as we had abruptly discovered this, future generations might regress into primitive minded ness and conclude, as they had for thousands of years, that the universe is static. This was explained with a wealth of details by Brian Greene, who was a professor of physics and mathematics at Columbia University. Professor Greene told the students who attended his lecture that if the world should somehow face a great disaster, and all technology got destroyed, and all the text books were reduced to rubble, and the universe continued to expand for another fifty billion years, then the humans who managed to survive all the disasters would glance up at the night sky and find no blue or red shift there, and would have to conclude that the universe is not expanding at all. Naturally, they would be wrong because that is the nature of science. As scientists, we are allowed to make errors, change our theories, and come up with news hypothesis each year. However, Brian Greene added that is one of the students left behind a paper, with a note, saying that the universe is actually expanding, and the only reason they are being unable to see any red shift from receding stars is because the billions of stars that surrounded this galaxy have travelled too far away, much farther than the capacity of human vision.

Professor Greene’s words hit close to home, and I too wondered how mankind would ever know the absolute truth of this universe. What shall be our source of undeniable facts? How will people, a billion years later, ever find out that the universe they are living in is actually expanding steadily?

Such questions perplexed me and brought me back to the Moslem holy book. That the Koran mentioned such a fact centuries before the invention of the first telescope, at a time when there was primitive knowledge in science, seemed remarkable to me, so with the curiosity ingrained in me as a scientist, I decided to delve deeper into the study of the booklet which Moslems call the Koran, their Holy Scripture. I found that like many people of his time, Muhammad, the man upon whom Koran was revealed, happened to be illiterate and simply could not have been aware of such facts by himself.  Could it be that he had truly received divine revelation from the Creator and Originator of the universe? Or was there some clandestine mission roaming around the earth? The possibilities which I considered were endless, so I decided to begin at the basic. As a math-person, I started to look into the pages of the Koran, and attempted to apply my mathematical formulas there, hoping to find a pattern or theory about how this specific piece of information came to be. 

This book would have been incomplete without the generous contribution of Benumed Etikue, whose lectures and researches offered many of the knowledge imparted here. A considerable amount of the information in this work is based on the findings of the researchers at the Research and Studies center.  

The author and publisher are in no way liable for any misuse of the material contained within this book. 

The Astonishing Discoveries

THE MIRACLE OF IRON

Iron is one of the elements highlighted in the Koran. In the chapter known Al-Hadeed, meaning Iron, we are informed: “And We also sent down iron in which there lies great force and which has many uses for mankind…” (Koran 57:25)

The word “anzalna,” translated as "sent down" and used for iron in the verse, could be thought of having a metaphorical meaning to explain that iron has been given to benefit people. But, when we take into consideration the literal meaning of the word, which is, "being physically sent down from the sky, as this word usage had not been employed in the Koran except literally, like the descending of the rain or revelation, we realize that this verse implies a very significant scientific miracle. Because, modern astronomical findings have disclosed that the iron found in our world has come from giant stars in outer space.

Not only the iron on earth, but also the iron in the entire Solar System, comes from outer space, since the temperature in the Sun is inadequate for the formation of iron. The sun has a surface temperature of 6,000 degrees Celsius, and a core temperature of approximately 20 million degrees. Iron can only be produced in much larger stars than the Sun, where the temperature reaches a few hundred million degrees. When the amount of iron exceeds a certain level in a star, the star can no longer accommodate it, and it eventually explodes in what is called a "nova" or a "supernova." These explosions make it possible for iron to be given off into space.

One scientific source provides the following information on this subject: “There is also evidence for older supernova events: Enhanced levels of iron-60 in deep-sea sediments have been interpreted as indications that a supernova explosion occurred within 90 light-years of the sun about 5 million years ago. Iron-60 is a radioactive isotope of iron, formed in supernova explosions, which decays with a half-life of 1.5 million years. An enhanced presence of this isotope in a geologic layer indicates the recent nucleosynthesis of elements nearby in space and their subsequent transport to the earth (perhaps as part of dust grains).

All this shows that iron did not form on the Earth, but was carried from Supernovas, and was "sent down," as stated in the verse. It is clear that this fact could not have been known in the 7th century, when the Koran was revealed. Nevertheless, this fact is related in the Koran, the Word of God, Who encompasses all things in His infinite knowledge.

The fact that the verse specifically mentions iron is quite astounding, considering that these discoveries were made at the end of the 20th century. In his book Nature’s Destiny, the well-known microbiologist Michael Denton emphasizes the importance of iron: “Of all the metals there is none more essential to life than iron. It is the accumulation of iron in the centre of a star which triggers a supernova explosion and the subsequent scattering of the vital atoms of life throughout the cosmos. It was the drawing by gravity of iron atoms to the centre of the primeval earth that generated the heat which caused the initial chemical differentiation of the earth, the outgassing of the early atmosphere, and ultimately the formation of the hydrosphere. It is molten iron in the centre of the earth which, acting like a gigantic dynamo, generates the earth’s magnetic field, which in turn creates the Van Allen radiation belts that shield the earth’s surface from destructive high-energy-penetrating cosmic radiation and preserve the crucial ozone layer from cosmic ray destruction…

“Without the iron atom, there would be no carbon-based life in the cosmos; no supernovae, no heating of the primitive earth, no atmosphere or hydrosphere. There would be no protective magnetic field, no Van Allen radiation belts, no ozone layer, no metal to make haemoglobin [in human blood], no metal to tame the reactivity of oxygen, and no oxidative metabolism.

“The intriguing and intimate relationship between life and iron, between the red colour of blood and the dying of some distant star, not only indicates the relevance of metals to biology but also the bio centricity of the cosmos This account clearly indicates the importance of the iron atom. The fact that particular attention is drawn to iron in the Koran also emphasizes the importance of the element.

Moreover, iron oxide particles were used in a cancer treatment in recent months and positive developments were observed. A team led by Doctor Andreas Jordan, at the world famous Charité Hospital in Germany, succeeded in destroying cancer cells with this new technique developed for the treatment of cancer—magnetic fluid hyperthermia (high temperature magnetic liquid). As a result of this technique, first performed on the 26-year-old Nikolaus H., no new cancer cells were observed in the patient in the following three months.

This method of treatment can be summarized as follows:

In this treatment it is only the cancer cells that are affected by the magnetic field, since only they contain the iron oxide particles. The spread of this technique is a major development in the treatment of this potentially lethal disease. Iron has also been found to be a cure for people suffering from anaemia. In the treatment of such widespread diseases, the use of the expression “iron in which there lies great force and which has many uses for mankind” (Koran, 57:25) in the Koran is particularly noteworthy. Indeed, in that verse, the Koran indicated the benefits of iron even for human health.

 KORAN ON SEAS AND RIVERS:

Barriers between various types of water are found in nature: a fact mentioned in the Koran and expounded by science. MODERN SCIENCE HAS DISCOVERED THAT IN THE PLACES WHERE TWO DIFFERENT SEAS MEET, there is a barrier between them. 

This barrier divides the two seas so that each sea has its own temperature, salinity, and density. For example, Mediterranean Sea water is warm, saline, and less dense, compared to Atlantic Ocean water.  When Mediterranean Sea water enters the Atlantic over the Gibraltar sill, it moves several hundred kilometres into the Atlantic at a depth of about 1000 meters with its own warm, saline, and less dense characteristics.  The Mediterranean water stabilizes at this depth.

The Mediterranean Sea water enters the Atlantic over the Gibraltar sill with its own warm, saline, and less dense characteristics, because of the barrier that distinguishes between them. 

Although there are large waves, strong currents, and tides in these seas, they do not mix or transgress this barrier. The Holy Koran mentioned that there is a barrier between two seas that meet and that they do not transgress.  God has said: “He has set free the two seas meeting together.  There is a barrier between them.  They do not transgress.” (Koran 55:19-20)

But when the Koran speaks about the divider between fresh and salt water, it mentions the existence of “a forbidding partition” with the barrier.  God has said in the Koran: “He is the one who has set free the two kinds of water, one sweet and palatable, and the other salty and bitter.  And He has made between them a barrier and a forbidding partition.” (Koran 25:53)

We may wonder, why did the Koran mention the partition when speaking about the divider between fresh and salt water, but did not mention it when speaking about the divider between the two seas?

Modern science has discovered that in estuaries, where fresh (sweet) and salt water meet, the situation is somewhat different from what is found in places where two seas meet.  It has been discovered that what distinguishes fresh water from salt water in estuaries is a “pycnocline zone with a marked density discontinuity separating the two layers.”  This partition (zone of separation) has a different salinity from the fresh water and from the salt water.

This information has been discovered only recently, using advanced equipment to measure temperature, salinity, density, oxygen dissolubility, etc.  The human eye cannot see the difference between the two seas that meet, rather the two seas appear to us as one homogeneous sea.  Likewise, the human eye cannot see the division of water in estuaries into the three kinds: fresh water, salt water, and the partition (zone of separation).

Mathematical Miracles of the Koran

Brief Historic Summary

The Moslem prophet Muhammad (GOD’S GLORY AND MERCY BE UPON HIM) said, “The best amongst you are those who learn the Koran and teach it.”[1] This certainly revolves around memorizing the Koran, learning its explications (meanings), and teaching others to memorize it (and properly recite it)—and by no means does this book intend to equate the value of Koran mathematics with the more important Koranic disciplines. 

Yet the Koran is a book for all ages and peoples. 

Early Muslims were best positioned to be shocked by its linguistic miracles, which we continue to study and be amazed by. Then when science became a dominant global force, people began to take interest in the verses of the Koran which clearly state or point to facts that have only become measurable or discoverable using advanced scientific methods and technology. These are often referred to as the scientific miracles of the Koran, but for technical nuanced issues, I prefer not to use the word “miracles,” except in a very loose sense. 

Today we live in the computer age, and therefore it is natural for the people of our time to also be moved and amazed by the mathematical code of the Koran. In fact, it is primarily due to computers that researchers are now able to research the mathematics of the Koran. 

Having said that, the first recorded instance of using mathematics in relation to the Koran actually goes back to the age of the Sahabah—Prophet Muhammad’s (Allah’s mercy, blessing and Glory be upon him) companions—may Allah be pleased with them.

The Beauty of the Koran:

The Koran has often been called a miracle.

Why do we call the Koran a miracle? The Koran has certain features which make it unique and of inimitable quality. This inimitability is known as the ‘miraculous nature’ of the Koran.

It is impossible to be inimitable. In technical language, it means the inimitable and unique nature of the Koran which leaves its opponents powerless or incapable of meeting the challenge which the revelation poses to them.

Abu Huraira reported: The Prophet Muhammad said “Every prophet was given miracles because of which people believed but what I have been given is divine inspiration which Allah has revealed to me so I hope that my followers will outnumber the followers of the other prophets on the Day of Resurrection.”

So, what are the unique miracles of the Koran?

No one else apart from Allah, the Maker of the world, is able to do it.

In its fineness, it breaks the usual norms and differs from the laws of human nature.

The Koran serves as proof for the truth and claim of the messenger.

The revelation and Koranic events happen through the messenger and no one else.

Why is it significant that the Koran was revealed to Muhammad?

The first miracle is that Muhammad was an unlettered man but proclaimed a recited message. The challenge God put forth to others to imitate the Koran has been posed by the revelation itself on various occasions and in various ways: “Say: Then bring ye a book from God which is a better guide than either of them that I may follow it if ye are truthful!” (28: 49).

However, the Koran declares that no one could possibly bring such a book, not even if man and spirits combined their efforts. (See verse 17: 90).

This challenge is repeated more than once: the enemies of the Prophet should produce ten verses if their disbelief was justified: “If you are in doubt as to what We have revealed from time to time to Our servant, then produce a chapter like thereunto and call your witnesses or helpers besides God if your (doubts) are true but if ye cannot and of surety you cannot! Then fear the fire, whose fuel is men and stones!” (2:23-4)

This challenge posed by the Koran has never been met, precisely because of the reason the Koran itself gives: that it cannot be done. Among the manifold attacks which have been, and are still being launched against Islam, none has been able to produce a similar chapter.

Al-Qurtubi in his commentary on the Koran indicated the following ten aspects of the Koran:

The Koran’s language excels all other Arabic language.

The Koran’s style excels all other Arabic style.

The Koran’s comprehensiveness cannot be matched.

The Koran’s legislation cannot be surpassed.

The Koran’s narrations about the unknown can only result from revelation.

The Koran’s lack of contradiction with the sound natural sciences.

The Koran’s fulfilment of all that it promises, both good tidings and threat.

The Koran’s knowledge it comprises (both legal and concerning the creation).

The Koran’s fulfilment of human needs.

The Koran’s effect on the hearts of men.

Al Baqillani discussed the following three aspects:

Prophet Muhammad (Allah’s mercy, blessing and Glory be upon him) has been called unlettered. Some say that Muhammad could neither read nor write at all, but it may also mean that he belonged to an uneducated people. He was not a scholar and not a historian, neither was he a philosopher nor a priest and the common view is that he did not even read or write but he proclaimed the Koran and recited its many verses in which he informed about the earlier prophets, earlier scriptures and earlier events, all in spite of his belonging to an uneducated people, in one of the most remote parts of the world and far away from the centres of civilisation and culture.

Another aspect of the miraculous nature of the Koran are the prophesies it contains which are only possible with knowledge of the unseen world. The best-known such prophecy concerns the historical victory of the Romans over the Persians, shortly after the Romans had been defeated by the Persians and this prophecy was fulfilled during the Prophet’s lifetime, when the enemies of Islam could themselves be witnesses to it:

The Koran says: “The Roman Empire has been defeated in a land close by; but they (even) after (this) defeat of theirs will soon be victorious within a few years.” (30: 2-3) The defeat of the Romans had taken place in 614/15, when Jerusalem was taken by the Persians, while the defeat of the Persians began only seven years later, when the Romans won the battle at Issus in 622.

There are no contradictions in this scripture. The message of the Koran which was revealed over a period of 23 years in both short and longer parts, on numerous occasions and in a variety of circumstances is nevertheless free of any contradictions. If the Koran had been written by a human being, then certainly some contradiction would be there and could be discerned.

The Koran has pointed out this fact: “Do they not consider the Koran? Had it been from other than God they would surely have found therein much discrepancy.” (4: 82).

The Impressive Literary Aspect

Many scholars have pointed out that there does not exist a piece of literature that can match the Koran, with respect either to style and form or to content.

The Koran and a its Numbers and Computer Study

In Koran 74: 30 the following verse has often perturbed the interpreters: “Over it are 19!” A computer study made in the U.S.A. by many scientists revealed that the figure 19 is of some significance to the composition of the text. The computer data reportedly revealed that the numbers of certain letters in various chapters are always multiples of 19, like the chapter Qaf, which contains the letter Qaf 57 times which is a multiple of 19 (3 times 19), and that the formula Bismillah is composed of 19 letters and that this formula occurs 114 times in the Koran which is 19 times 6 (namely in front of each Surah except Sura 9 (= 113) but one more time in Chapter 27: 30 (= 113 plus 1)), and that each of the four words in the formula occurs in multiples of 19 in the Koran.

Koran explained that all life originated from water (21: 30).

That the universe was in the shape of a fiery gas (which the Koran calls dukhan) (41: 11).

That matter is made up of minute particles (10: 62).

That the oxygen content of the air is reduced at higher altitudes (6: 125).

That in nature everything consists of complementary elements, not only man and animals, but also plants and even inorganic matter (36: 36).

That the embryo in the womb is enclosed by three coverings (39: 6).

That fertilisation of certain plants is done by the wind (15:22).

That microscopic organisms exist that are not visible to the naked eye, such as spermatozoon (96: 1).

That each human being has permanent individual fingerprints. (75:4).

These are just a few of many examples of the amazing facts and discoveries in the Koran. All these matters which are in agreement with scientific findings could not have been known to any human being at the time of the revelation of the Koran. They were only discovered many centuries later after intense scientific research. Hence their inclusion in the Koran shows the heavenly origin of the book. This heavenly origin is further corroborated, the argument continues, by the correctness of the description of the scientific facts.

But the real question many people pose, is that how reliable is the Science and how authentic in the Scientific Koran?

If a scientific fact which is held to be valid, since it presents the latest result of scientific research, is in agreement with the Koran today and if one is convinced solely by this argument of the heavenly origin of the Koran, what will be one’s attitude, when or if, after more intensive research, the very same scientific fact is seen in a new light and perhaps differs from what one previously accepted as the Koran’s position on the matter? Should this discrepancy then convince us of the human origin of the Koran, and so refute its heavenly origin? In other words, until very recently, very many scientific facts were in utter disagreement with today’s scientific truths, and if today’s scientific truths are in agreement with the Koran, this means that perhaps a few decades or a century ago no believer in science could have been convinced of the heavenly origin of the Koran. Similarly, a few decades or a century from now, science, which is after all the human perspective on the true nature of things, might describe its findings entirely differently from the way it presents its ‘truths’ today.

I am reminded of the phenomenon of the expanding universe, which has been discovered by the American astronomer Edwin Hubble via the powerful telescopes which indicated that the Blueshift and the redshift on the heavens prove that stars are rushing away from each other, proving that the universe in truly expanding. However, millions of years later, the universe will have expanded to such a degree that all the stars floating overhead will have gone too far away for even the most powerful telescopes to perceive it, and that will prove a conundrum. The scientists of our future earth will find it impossible to understand that the universe is expanding, and should they read the verses of the Koran which indicate that the universe is indeed steadily expanding, then they would conclude that the test had been mistaken, because from their human and very limited perspective, the universe will seem to be static. 

Science and scientific truths, therefore, cannot be generally accepted as criteria for the genuineness or non-human origin

of the Koran, although at this point in time there are perhaps many good examples to be cited for the concordance between science and the Koran on certain questions. However, the Koran is a book of guidance for mankind and not a book of science nor a manuscript of cryptic notes on mathematical formulas and scientific facts. Believers believe the Koran to be guidance from Allah, while science is a human endeavoured field, and we believe the Koran to be guidance from Allah under any circumstances irrespective of whether science, which changes continuously, seems to be in support of it or not.

One of the rare early references to Koran mathematics was recorded by Al-Fakher Al-Razi. Al-Razi recorded that Prophet Muhammad’s (GOD’S GLORY AND MERCY BE UPON HIM) great companion, Umar (RA), had discussed the Night of Decree with Ibn Abbas, who was known as the greatest scholar of the Koran. In brief, amongst what Ibn Abbas mentioned are two things of relevance to mathematics in the Koran—one of which is how the number seven appears often. After stating some examples, he said that these observations pointed to the Night of Decree being the 27th night of Ramadan, meaning the seventh night of the last ten days of Ramadan. Of more consequence is what he stated about the letter count of the mentions of this night in Surah Al-Qadr, the chapter of the Koran which is specifically about the Night of Decree. We will cover this topic in greater detail later in this book (see chapter entitled “The Night of Decree and 27”).

For many centuries after the above, no real research or any relevant mention of the mathematics of the Koran appears in history. To complicate matters, the first person in the modern era to take some interest in this (1974) was a delusional, corrupt individual whose name is not important here. He eventually went against even the most basic teachings of the Koran and Prophet Muhammad (Allah’s mercy, blessing and Glory be upon him), and even declared himself a prophet! 

Due to this individual’s delusional character and the falseness of many of his claims, the Muslim world became extra sensitive about the topic of mathematics in the Koran and turned away from this field. Even today, some well-intentioned scholars’ first reaction to any mention of mathematics in the Koran is a warning to stay away from such things based on what they know about this unfortunate story. For the most part, however, once they are properly presented with the discoveries and reminded that the greatest companions and early scholars mentioned mathematics in the Koran, they acknowledge that the tool is innocent of the actions of those who use it for either good or evil.  

The real breakthrough came when Sheikh Bassam Jarrar, a credible scholar with a history of work in the explication of the Koran, began to research the mathematics of the Koran and find stunning discoveries. He was soon followed by Abdullah Jalghoum, Eng. Abduldaem Al-Kaheel, Eng. Adnan Al-Rifai, and Ubaid Al-Juaidi. People rapidly became interested and took notice, which led to many others making their own contributions to this type of research as well.[2]

The shocking mathematics of the Koran is undeniable, as will become evident. Because it is a very new field, however, it is important for such a book to be written in order to establish both the foundations for it as well as the red lines, which, from an Islamic perspective, should not be crossed. For example, the Koran’s meaning is primarily derived through a linguistic and historically contextual understanding and should not be subject to its mathematical code. 

The astounding findings contained within this book are proof that the Koran is an endless, timeless miracle for every age. For centuries, many embraced Islam just by hearing the Koran, because they could immediately tell that its language was beyond human capacity. Then, with scientific advances, many were moved by what some call scientific miracles, observing how the Koran presents and highlights matters that have only recently been discovered.

The Koran is a beautiful reminder that guides us along the peaceful path of success, and in studying this miraculous book, I often think about the great prophets that are mentioned in the noble Koran, and one of the great men mentioned in Job, or the Prophet Ayyub. I remember Prophet Ayyub when the world gets too much to bear. To go back to prayer and trust in Allah even when things seem bleak, hard and dark. Calm and align my heart thinking about the mountains of pain he must have felt when he lost all of his children.

And I often remember the prophet Muhammad, who spent his childhood, mourning a dead mother, and his adulthood in bitter pain and poverty, mourning his uncle and grandfather. Indeed, Allah addressed Muhammad (peace be upon him) as Madathir, and asked him to teach humankind the message of Truth, and said, stand up now, and warn them, invite them, call them! How much should one call others to Allah? How much should you invite them? What must you tell them? Tell them of the greatness of Allah! Tell them of the majesty, of Allah! Tell them of the glory of Allah! Tell them of the bounties of Allah! Tell them of the favours of their Allah- To Allah belongs everything in the heavens, everything in the earths, everything between the heavens and the earth and everything beneath the earth. Every cell in our bodies, every atom in our universe belongs to Allah! Everything in the heavens, everything in this earth belongs to Allah! It is existing on the orders of Allah! It was non-existent. Allah brought it into existence. Once it comes into existence, it cannot benefit, it cannot harm, and it cannot move. Every moving thing cannot stop moving without the command of Allah. Everything that is still cannot start moving, and everything that is not existing cannot come into existence, and what is in existence cannot harm, or cannot benefit without the permission of Allah. This entire creation cannot benefit, cannot harm, cannot give life, cannot give death, cannot be resurrected, without the permission, without the power, without the will of One Allah! Allah does as He Wills! Allah creates what He wants, and Allah guides whom He wills, Allah deviates whom He wants. Wealth, affluence, nobility and status, has nothing to do with degrees, nothing to do with dollars, pounds or gold, nothing to do with universities, nothing to do with intelligence, nothing to do with education, nothing to do with shops, jobs, economies, armies or governments. Wealth and affluence are given to whom Allah wants to give. Poverty, want, need, hunger, is in the hands of Allah. One Allah controlling everything. Respect, dignity, honour, status, and recognition is in the hands of Allah. Disgrace, downtrodden, and humiliation is in the hands of Allah. Happiness is in the hands of Allah. Sadness is in the hands of Allah! Death is in the hands of Allah! Life is in the hands of Allah! Only that happens which Allah wants, in the time Allah wants, in the manner Allah wants, not more than that which Allah wants, not less than that which Allah wants, not before Allah wants, not after Allah wants, and that which Allah does not want, let all the forces of this world get together, all the technologies, all the armies, and they will not be able because it will never, ever happen. One controller, One Creator, One Nourisher, One Sustainer, One Maker, One Breaker! Hearken! Creation belongs to Allah, Decree belongs to Allah alone! And this great and majestic Allah gifted His very auspicious Words to us in the form of this Holy Book, the Koran, which is abound with miracles and astonishing scientific and mathematical codes.      

Numbers, Miracles and Sciences:

Now in the age of computers and programming, we have gained awareness of this miraculous mathematical code, which is likewise way beyond human capacity. In fact, I find Koran mathematics, if properly done, to be far less debatable or objectionable than what people refer to as scientific miracles. This is because science changes and develops, and what is once believed to be true turns out to be only partly true, or even false. Koran mathematics, on the other hand, cannot be changed. This is especially true for the straightforward observations. For example, the number of times Noah (Allah’s mercy, blessing and Glory be upon him) is mentioned by name in the Koran is not something that will change, nor will the rules of simple mathematics ever change. 

So, is everything outlined here a mathematical miracle? Of course not. Some observations simply highlight the mathematical harmony of the code, and only collectively do they become miraculous. Other observations, both alone and collectively, clearly display the miraculous and are simply beyond human capacity.         

The Keys to the Koran’s Numerical Code

As with every code or map, the mathematics of the Koran involves knowledge of several main keys. Researchers working tirelessly in this new field have highlighted many of these keys in their findings. Due to the rapid pace of developments taking place in this relatively unchartered field, however, it is still premature to presume that this is the best approach, or that certain methodologies should be prioritized over others. Naturally, any words cited in this book are intended as they appear in the Koran in their original Arabic forms, because Arabic is the language of the Koran, a fact clearly stated in the Koran itself. Translations of the Koran are not the Koran. 

Words: Certain words have repeatedly been observed to be prominent keys in the mathematics of the Koran. Their locations, both within the Koran in general, as well as within specific chapters or verses, along with the number of times they appear, all play an important role in the harmony of the mathematical code and highlight threads of interest to follow. Furthermore, if a specific word is repeatedly highlighted, it often means that we should count the number of times its letters appear in relation to certain chapters and verses, as will become clear. Unique words that appear rarely in the Koran, or only appear once, tend to have strong mathematical correlations with respect to their locations, the number of letters they contain, and so on.

Some words are only highlighted within a specific chapter, and their role seems to be as a key in that chapter alone, unless a strong relationship is found between that chapter and another, or even between a group of verses and another related group of verses. Chapter (Surah) names fall under this category, as will become clear. 

It is important to note that words are counted “as written,” including any prefixes. This becomes more complex with the Arabic letter W, as detailed below (see chapter entitled “Counting Methodologies”). This letter appears at the beginning of Arabic words, sometimes as part of the word, and sometimes as a prefix which is equivalent to the English word “and.” Almost all methods count the W as part of the word, but some have apparently uncovered interesting findings by counting the specific instances in which it means “and” as a separate word. This goes to show that the Koran is beyond our efforts to place it within limited boundaries. The written Koran, however, presents the letter W as part of the word, and most researchers count all appearances of the letter at the start of a word as part of the word, which is also the approach taken by this book. 

Some of the Koran’s “key” words are general, such as “Allah,” “Koran,” “Muhammad” (God’s Glory and Mercy be upon him), “Moses” (God’s Glory and Mercy be upon him) and “Jesus” (God’s Glory and Mercy be upon him). Others are only relevant to their counterparts, as will be seen, such as both the words “coolness” (cold) and “heat” (hot) being mentioned a total of four times each in the whole Koran. These key words, whether they are general “main” keys that have significant, recurrent roles throughout the Koran, or specific ones related to certain chapters, verses, or themes, have several numerical applications. We have already mentioned the number of times such words appear, but we can also apply this methodology to their letters. For example, a chapter that specifically highlights the revelation of the Koran may yield significant mathematical revelations when we count the number of times the letters that spell out the word “Koran” appear within it.

Phrases: Most of what applies to words also applies to key phrases, so long as they are clearly highlighted, or are indeed the main topic within a chapter or verse. For example, the phrase “Night of Decree” plays a key role in Chapter 97 of the Koran (Surah Al-Qadr), which is basically entirely about this night. 

Letters: There are four main ways to approach letters in Koran mathematics. The first involves the “numerical values” of letters in the Arabic language. The practice of assigning numerical values to letters in Semitic languages dates back to at least sixteen centuries before Islam. In brief, each letter in Arabic has a numerical value, which then gives words numerical values based on the letters that make them up. In this system, the letters follow what is called the “Abjadi” alphabetic order. The below chart shows each letter with its corresponding English equivalent or sound along with its numerical value:

Figure 1: Abjadi Numerical Letter Values Chart, used to calculate the numerical values of letters and words. The word “Abjadi” is derived from the names of the first four letters used in this system (A, B, J, D).

The second method uses the common Hija’i alphabetic order and the numbers associated with it. This does not give the “numerical” value of words or letters but rather the “order” number of each letter in the alphabet. The below chart shows the order number for each letter according to this system: 

Figure 2: Common Hija’i Alphabetic Order Letter Numbers

Note: The mark displayed above the first letter above is not a dot; it is called a “hamza” and may appear above certain other letters as well as between letters. More about this later, when we address methodologies.

The third important issue with respect to letters involves the unique separated letters that some of the Koran’s chapters start with. They are called the “separated” letters (Al-Hurouf Al-Muqata’a) in Arabic, because they are read and pronounced as “nouns,” meaning that the name of the letter itself is pronounced. For example, if the three Arabic letters A (Alif), L (Lam), and M (Meem) are written together (as a single unit), they would normally be read as a single word (“Alm”), but when these letters appear at the start of a chapter, these “opening” letters, as they are also known, are read as “Alif, Lam, Meem,” which are the names of the three letters. In total, there are 14 of these “separated” letters found in the Koran:

Figure 3: The Koran’s 14 Unique Separated “Opening” Letters

These 14 letters appear in 14 forms at the start of 29 different chapters of the Koran. As explained above, they are not words but are rather pronounced as separate letters. Scholars have written much about Al-Hurouf Al-Muqata’a, but that goes way beyond the scope of this book. The following chart shows the forms in which these letters appear, and in which chapters:

Figure 4: The 14 Forms of the Koran’s Separated “Opening” Letters  

The fourth point regarding letters has to do with “letter dots” (the dots which appear above or below certain letters of the Arabic alphabet). Surprisingly, researchers using what I refer to as “Approach A” in this book have made clear and evident observations which show that even the letter dots are part of the mathematics of the Koran. The reason this is surprising is because the letter dots were only added later as Islam expanded and it became necessary to help new Muslims, especially non-Arabs, to distinguish between the letters. This clearly displays Divine foreknowledge and the fact that time is but a mere creation totally subservient to Allah’s will and decree. This also finds support from Prophet Muhammad’s (God’s Glory and Mercy be upon him) teachings, in which he clarified that the Muslim Nation will never reach a consensus upon a falsehood.[3] 

Scholars are in agreement with respect to the number of letter dots used for each of the relevant letters of the Arabic alphabet, and there is no Muslim scholar—or even an Arabic speaker with expertise in the Arabic language—who disagrees with this consensus. In the end, there remains room for discussion regarding the use of the letter dots in the Koran, but the findings are nonetheless surprising and speak louder than words. 

The letter dots are counted based on which letters normally have them. For example, the Arabic letter Y has two dots below it, but there are a few instances in which they are not physically added in print. In such cases, they are still counted, and no one disputes that this letter should be counted as having two dots. This is because the method that does consider the dots (Approach A) is based on Arabic grammar rules, as will be detailed. 

I was once traversing by a cemetery, and the awe of life and the fear of death made me think deeply about my God and King. The graves are full of people who were great conversationalists, talented writers, illustrious cooks, and fashion idols. It is stunning to think that they all met the same end. Somehow what shade of lipstick matches your outfit doesn't seem to matter when you walk those lone pathways. Somehow your sharp mind that often wins word-wars with others doesn't seem to be able to bring itself to say a word as you touch the soil beneath your feet, the soil above their heads. Somehow the expensive shoes that are covered with the dust of that hushed graveyard don't seem so valuable anymore.

What is the ultimate truth of life in this world?

Everyone who existed died. Everyone who exists will die. The breath in your chest as it rises and falls is an indication that time is passing. Every moment gone is a piece of your one chance, gone.

At death you will not wonder what would my life have been like if I had more things? You will not wish to have made more money or been more fashionable. You will not wish you had more degrees to your name.

You will only wish that you had worshiped Allah better. Only that, nothing else.

The angel of death stands by unbeknownst to you as your life comes to an end by the moment.

The angel of death hovers near you as your time nears its end. The angel of death makes mourners of merry people. He obeys the orders of Allah without fail, without choice in the matter.

One day it will be me under soil. One day it will be my loved ones wiping their tears and walking with hushed words away from where I am. One day I will wish that I had worshiped Allah better. I will only wish that, nothing else.

That day it will be just me and my deeds. And perhaps I will not have done enough. Perhaps the angel of death will take me before I am ready to meet my Lord, before I have given away my money to those who had a right to it... before I had decided to give up everything that leads me away from The Path of Truth.

And so, restlessness is what I seek. Tired eyes and worked hands. I seek until the day I am deposited into the graveyard, to never rest until I have given everything I can, and worshiped Allah with every limb of my body and carried others through their difficulties.

Indeed, restlessness in this life is what I seek. The time for rest will come soon! Now, it is by the Koran and its miracles that we seek enlightenment.

The Miraculous numbers in the Quran:

Numbers: Certain numbers are main keys in Koran mathematics. Other numbers are more specific to certain chapters and extend to other verses outside these chapters when an external connection becomes evident. These numbers are by no means random and are tightly-knit in a harmonious and amazing mathematical code. The Koran’s main numerical keys are 19, 7, 27, 5, 114, and 63 (see Figure

5).

Other key numbers are highlighted within the mathematics of each chapter or group of related verses. The number 10, for example, is clearly highlighted in the Koran’s shortest chapter, as will be seen. Observing where such numbers appear, it becomes evident that they are indeed being highlighted, and their paths reveal amazing and miraculous mathematical connections that we are still discovering. 

Figure 5: The Main Numerical Keys of the Koran’s Mathematical Code

Another number worthy of mentioning is 23. It is the number of years in which the Koran was revealed as well as the number of human chromosomes in the DNA helix.

Prime Numbers: Prime numbers have baffled mathematicians for centuries, and much can be said about them. In the mathematics of the Koran, we are mainly concerned with the “order” number associated with each prime number and what this information reveals of mathematical harmony—and the findings are surprising. For example, a chapter may revolve entirely around two numbers; then to top off all of the findings within the given chapter, we then find that one of the two numbers is a prime number, while the second is its order number among prime numbers.

The Mercy of Allah:

Allah calls out to those whose nights were spent in sinning, whose days were spent in sinning, and yet, Allah calls out in the most affectionate manner: O my beloved slaves! O my beloved Slaves!

What does Allah want to say to us? What is your Allah telling you?

“Never, ever lose hope in the mercy of your Allah!”

 The kings may have abandoned you; the governments may have abandoned you, your family may have abandoned you, and the society may not be even prepared to look at you, but the door of your Allah is still open. Come back to your Allah! How much longer are you going to wage war with your Allah?

Allah is most Forgiving, most Merciful!

When a worshipper of Bani Israel announced to his sinning comrades that Allah will not forgive him. However, in the day of Judgement, Allah will call him and say:

Don’t you know that I am the most Merciful? 

Didn’t you know my Mercy is greater than my Anger?

So merciful, yet, in which home today is the order of Allah is found?

Which one of us lowers our gaze when sinful item comes before us? Which houses are not inviting the wrath of Allah? Allah says: I am Allah, there is no deity besides Me, there is no system or government that can bring you higher or lower. When my slaves will obey Me, I will turn the hearts of humanity towards them with mercy.

Even if the rocks or stones had eyes, they would weep seeing the condition of the people. And still the same sins going on, the same culture of sin.

Make your connection with your Allah.

Link your heart with Allah.

Come under the umbrella of Allah.

Come under the friendship of Allah.

Come back to your Allah.

Allah says, I will look after them. 

How much longer is it going to be empty Repentance?

From the bottom of our hearts, we have to weep and repent to Allah?

Which homes are those elderly parents found whose children are praying and fasting for Allah?

What didn’t our Prophet Muhammad do for us? Which stone did he left unturned?

The most beloved of Allah, Muhammad, the son of Abdullah, was stoned and pelted with rocks and boulders, stone upon stone, the pagans pelted him, and he fell repeatedly, until his lips burst open, and blood starts pouring out. When he could no longer walk, the heathens picked him up to force him to walk on, so they could stone him even more, and for three miles, under the blazing heat of the desert, Muhammad bled and fainted, suffering from hunger and thirst. This orphan shepherd gave his blood and flesh for his people.

Have we forgotten the pelting of Taif?

Have we forgotten Muhammad’s tears when he cried for the people who were yet to come?

Have we forgotten his days and nights when he starved, and tied rocks to his stomach to appease hunger?

Have we forgotten his days and nights, when he cried, O my Allah! My people?

What must we do to ensure we live according to the lifestyle of Prophet Muhammad?

We should try to increase our prayers and fast more often.

If you fast, your prayers will be answered:

The Prophet said: There are three prayers that are not rejected: the prayer of a father for his child, the prayer of the fasting person and the prayer of the traveller.

Fasting is a protection from the Hellfire.

The Prophet said: Indeed, anyone who fasts for one day for Allah’s Pleasure, Allah will keep his face away from the (Hell) fire for (a distance covered by a journey of) seventy years.

The World is a Transit:

The world is a bridge, and a bridge should not be taken as a home...we forget this and every time we get attached to temporary things and then wonder why our happiness never lasts! We forget Allah has promised that the hereafter will be far better than this world. When your heart breaks again and again, you will realize how imperfect this Donya is.... perfection is in living for the Hereafter only...

Each day, we must invite Allah in our heart, and allow Him to fill the heart with His love and mercy. For indeed, His love never depletes, nor fails us. It is never difficult to cope with any losses when one places his hope in Allah and seeks peace and comfort through Him. Allah is indeed the comforter of hearts. The changer of hearts. The giver of hope and mercy. Narrated Abu Huraira, the Prophet said: “Allah says, ‘I have nothing to give but Paradise as a reward to my slave!”

Counting Methodologies of Koran

There are two main methodologies in use for counting words and letters for the purpose of Koran mathematics research. Both methodologies agree on the main points but have nuanced differences that may affect the word and letter counts of some verses. 

How the Koran was recorded and preserved is a relevant topic worthy of elaboration but not the focus of this book. To keep things simple so that we may move on rapidly to the main topic of concern here, we will simply address the main points of importance regarding the counting methodologies. 

Both methodologies depend on what is called “Al-Rasm AlUthmani” (the orthography of the Uthmanic “mus-haf” or codex) in reference to the physical appearance of the written Koran, named as such because it was distributed throughout the Muslim world as the written Koran during the reign of Uthman bin Affan as caliph. It is the Koran agreed upon by the consensus of Prophet Muhammad’s (Allah’s mercy, blessing and Glory be upon him) companions. Despite knowing every letter by heart and how to pronounce each one properly, they still put extremely strict rules into place for preserving the Koran in writing and prepared the Koran in its complete written form according to these rules.

Skipping the history lesson, the Uthmanic mus-haf is the official manuscript of the authentic written Koran. The numbers of the verses (ayat) follow what is called “Kufic” numbering, for a total 6,236 verses. 

Prophet Muhammad (Allah’s mercy, blessing and Glory be upon him) taught his companions several authentic recitations of the Koran as revealed to him by Allah through the Angel Gabriel. These recitations differ very slightly in the pronunciations of certain specific letters, and the Prophet (God’s Glory and Mercy be upon him) told them (according to authentic hadith) that these were the authentic recitations of the Koran. 

These recitations enrich the Koran, and millions of people have them memorized today through unbroken chains of student-to-teacher, all the way back to Prophet Muhammad (God’s Glory and Mercy be upon him). The most common recitation, and the one referenced by both methodologies for counting, is the “Hafs from Aasim” narration of the Koran, which is what the vast majority of the Muslim world is accustomed to. Scholars specialized in the miraculous mathematics of the Koran have far more than they can handle with just this one narration and have not yet begun to fully engage with the other authentic narrations with respect to the mathematically miraculous. 

By “other narrations,” I mean the same Koran (there is only one!), but a few letters were provided by the Prophet (God’s Glory and Mercy be upon him) as authentic in more than one pronunciation, thus allowing a single word to impart a richer meaning. For example, the Prophet (Allah’s mercy, blessing and Glory be upon him) taught two narrations for a short two-letter word when pronounced specifically in the verse about the birth of Prophet Jesus (God’s Glory and Mercy be upon him) explaining that both were pronunciations revealed by Allah. One recitation of this verse pronounces it as “min,” while another recitation pronounces it as “men.” As a result, in one recitation of the Koran, the verse means that Mary, Mother of Jesus (God’s Glory and Mercy be upon him), was called “from (the location)” below her, while in the other recitation, the verse means that she was called “from (the person)” below her, with both meanings reinforcing and enriching each other. One specifies the person and indirectly hints at his position, while the other specifies his position while indirectly hinting at his location. Together, both the position (or relative location) and the person are confirmed using the same two letters, but with a different official (authentic) pronunciation of the first letter (see Koran 19:24).

Having explained the above, here are the basic rules agreed upon by both methodologies:

As for specifics, most findings requiring letter and word counts in this book are based on the first of the two approaches (which I call “A” and “B”) described below. Yet this does not mean that findings from one approach are not found in the other, because the calculations arising from each often differ very little, or even not at all.