Qur’anic Teachings about Satan and about Morality

Some claim that the Qur’an was the work of the devil.[1] Let us examine how  much sense (or non-sense) this allegation makes. If he authored or inspired the Qur’an, why would Satan curse himself and call himself the worst enemy of man (Qur’an, Surah Al-Fatir, 35:6; Surah Ya-Sin, 36:60)?  Why would Satan command that before reciting the Qur’an, one must first say: “…I seek refuge in God from Satan the accursed.” (Qur’an, Surah An-Nahl, 16:98)

How could Satan so vehemently condemn himself? Is it really acceptable to common sense to hold the view that Satan would ask people to do good, to be moral and virtuous, to worship none but God, to not follow Satan or his whispers, and to avoid and struggle against evil?

To hold such a view is clearly repugnant to reason, as Satan has only under-mined himself through this means if he is the author. Even the Bible attests: “And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end.” (Mark 3:26)[2]

This argument applies to any “Satanic forces”, be they “evil spirits”, “deceitful aliens”, etc.

The Qur’an’s Factual Contents and Scientific Information:

Within the Qur’an are recorded facts about ancient times that were unknown to Muhammad’s contemporaries and even to historians in the first half of the 20th century.

In scores of verses, we also find references to scientific wonders, some only recently discovered or confirmed, regarding the universe, biology, embryology, astronomy, physics, geography, meteorology, medicine, history, oceanography, etc. Below are some examples of modern scientific discoveries mentioned in the Qur’an.

• The Lost City of Iram. (Qur’an, Surah Al-Fajr, 89:7)

• Worker bees being female. (Qur’an, Surah An-Nahl, 16:68)

• Mountains as “stakes” and stabilizers. (Qur’an, Surah An-Naba', 78:6-7)

• The spherical shape of the Earth. (Qur’an, Surah Al-A’raf, 7:54; Surah Ya-Sin, 36:37; Surah Luqman, 31:29)

• The expanding universe. (Qur’an, Surah Adh-Dhariyat, 51:47)

• The “Big Bang”. (Qur’an, Surah Al-Anbiya', 21:30)

• That at one point in time, the whole universe was nothing but a cloud of “smoke”. (Qur’an, Surah Fussilat, 41:11)

• The Qur’anic description of the development of the human embryo. (Qur’an, Surah Al-Mu'minun, 23:12-14)

Readers who are interested in further examples, are referred to “The Bible, the Qur’an and Science” by Maurice Bucaille,[3] “Struggling to Surrender” p.33-38, by Jeffery Lang,[4] “The Qur’anic Phenomenon” by Malik Bennabi,[5] “The Developing Human”, 3rd edition, by Keith L. Moore,[6] “A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam”, by I. A. Ibrahim,[7] “The Sources of the Qur’an” by Hamza Mustapha Njozi,[8] “The Basis of Muslim Beliefs”[9] and “The Amazing Qur’an” by Gary Miller,[10] etc.

How many well trained modern scientists and geniuses with the aid of hi-tech equipment, satellites, telescopes, microscopes and computers were required to discover the scientific facts mentioned in the Qur’an, and over what time span?

Is it even conceivable that any human being over 1,400 years ago could have produced a scripture with such information in it, let alone a person who had never been educated?

Although the inability of man to encompass all the mysteries and complexity of creation is mentioned in the Qur’an (Surah Al-Mulk, 67:3-4), the revelation nevertheless seems to point to various natural phenomena as if urging human beings to enquire and verify what is said – again, with such an attitude of confidence that one can only assume the author is indeed challenging our disbelief. To be generous to the skeptic, perhaps one or two of the scientific revelations were the result of nothing more than a good guess or coincidence, but how probable could it have been that they all were?

Comparing Qur’anic statements that deal with the physical universe with certain scientific notions leads us to discover profound similarities. But, more notably, as Dr. Maurice Bucaille observes, the Qur’an is distinguished from all other works of antiquity that describe or attempt to explain the workings of nature in that it avoids mistaken concepts. For in the Qur’an, many subjects are referred to that have a bearing on modern knowledge without a single statement contradicting what has been established by present-day science.[11]

Dr. Bucaille goes as far as to conclude his study with the following remark: “In view of the level of knowledge in Muhammad’s day, it is inconceivable that many statements in the Qur’an which are connected with science could have been the work of a man. It is, moreover, perfectly legitimate, not only to regard the Qur’an as an expression of Revelation, but also to award it a very special place, on account of the guarantee of authenticity it provides and the presence in it of scientific statements which, when studied today, appear as a challenge to explanation in human terms.”[12]

Conclusions

In examining the possible source of the Qur’an we have covered the following points:

• Muhammad’s being unlettered

• Muhammad’s integrity

• The Style of the Qur’an

• Discrepancies between the Qur’an and the Bible

• Qur’anic teachings about Satan and about morality, and

• The Qur’an’s factual contents and scientific information

These points were presented to aid us in our “elimination process” of unacceptable sources or authors of the Qur’an, as follows:

Muhammad: We might start by eliminating Muhammad from the list of possible authors of the Qur’an. There is just no way, that he could have authored the Qur’an in view of points 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 presented above.

Other Arab Poet(s), Scholar(s), etc.: We can also eliminate any other Arab from the list of possible authors in view of points 2, 3 and 6 (at least).

Some non-Arab: The reasons for the elimination of any Arab from the list also eliminate any non-Arab scholar, poet or religious personality.

Christian Monks or Jewish Rabbis (i.e. Judeo-Christian sources): This alternative source of the Qur’an is unreasonable in view of points 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6.

Satan (or other deceitful spirits or aliens, or anyone on his side, etc.): This option is also unacceptable in view of the points discussed, especially under 5.

God: In the absence of any more acceptable alternative as source and author of the Qur’an, one is more or less forced by reason to accept the Qur’an for what it claims to be – revelation from God through His Prophet Muhammad, may the blessing and mercy of God be upon him, This position seems reasonable not just because it is the only option that cannot be objectively eliminated, but because it is only reasonable to expect that a book with such qualities and contents would come from man’s Creator and Guide. Of all the possible sources of the Qur’an, it is also only the last alternative – God – who even claims in the Qur’an itself to be the author of the scripture.

The position, therefore, which holds that God is the author of the Qur’an still stands, and the challenge (or falsification test, Qur’an, Surah An-Nisa’, 4:82) remains open to any-one to disprove the Qur’an’s claim to being revelation from God.  Having undertaken this task ourselves, the Muslim’s contention that the Qur’an is the Word of God appears not just a product of blind faith but, in fact, a product of very sound and reasoned judgment in light of all the available evidence. Indeed, after having assessed the evidence, it would be blind faith to contend otherwise!

Note: The evidence for the Divine Authorship of the Qur’an is also evidence for the existence of the Divine. God must exist, unless a more reasonably acceptable author of the Qur’an can be produced!