Prolegomena to the Quraan Lesson one

1. Prolegomena to the QuraanLesson one The Great Grand Ayatollah ALSYED ABO ALQASIM ALKHOEI

2. Chapter 1The Inimitability of the Qur’an Meaning of Inimitability (EJAAZ) Every Prophet must present a Miracle Miracle is above the best art of time A divine Miracle An eternal Miracle Forms of knowledge in the Qur’an

3. Meaning of Inimitability (EJAAZ) • Linguistic: it has several meanings such as FOUT or missing, lapse, elapsing. And other meaning making it difficult for others, or disablement, or incapacitation, making others unable to do a certain thing. • So making it difficult on others is letting them miss the ability to perform a similar act. Or cause them to be incapable of bringing such act. • Idiomatic or conventional meaning is: That a person who claims the divine appointment proves the truthfulness of his claim by doing things that go beyond the laws of nature and that others cannot accomplish. • Two factors of a miracle being witness to the truthfulness of the one who claims it: • Logical possibility, it can not prove the testimony of some one who claims that he is God. • Religious possibility, so it can not prove that there is a Prophet after Mohammad (s), because the religious possibility does not exist. In the case where situation is against these possibilities, God does not need to expose the falsehood ness of the claim.

4. Musaylama spat in a dilapidated well to increase the water, but it dried instead. • He passed his hand on a the heads of children to give them blessing, they became bald. • Magical tricks are not miracle, any one learns magic can perform it. • Scientific discoveries are not miracles, because it can be done by any one who learn how to control the natural laws. • It is absurd that God supports a wrong person with the miraculous power.

5. Every Prophet must perform a Miracle • The logical demonstrations have proved that God exists, and by looking at the perfect creation, one can conclude that God is perfect, therefore he is one and just. • One thing which was created in perfection was brought down to imperfection for being tested, and that is the soul of human being, which God wants the human by them self to work for bringing it up towards perfection. • If God is just, kind and generous, then he needs to send the Infallibles (AS) and just or pious to guide the human towards perfection. • If he sends the Prophets (AS) it becomes obligated on him to support them and their claim. • Such support can only be done by the power of miracle, by which the true Prophet is distinguished from the false one. Other wise it will be God support to the wrong person.

6. Problem of ASHA-ERA • They said: The intellect cannot distinguish the beauty of the good and the ugliness of the bad, so for them there is not ugly if God supports the false person with a miracle, nothing is ugly or beautiful for God. • Based on that a Prophet (AS) can not distinguished by a miracle, because it can happen to a false person too. • Justification of ROOZ BAHAAN the ASHARI: That is true, but God’s practice shows that he always support the true Prophet and not the false.

7. Respond to ROOZ BAHAN • The Practice of God can not be sensed by one of the 5 senses, it can only be perceived by the intellect, and since in the view of ASHAERA the intellect does not posses the ability to distinguish between good and bad, then there is no way to confirm this type of Practice of God, who knows may be he did go against his practice, without our knowledge. • This practice if correct can only be proven to those who believe in the truth of the previous messages, what about the ones who deny the previous messages. • What is the guaranty that God will not change his practice, he is the master and he can change his practice any time and support a false person with the miracle. • The practice becomes stable and is considered a practice if it is repeated in the same way for a specific amount of time, so how can we prove the first prophecy, at the time where this practice was not yet stabilized.

8. Miracle is above the best art of time • The Properties of a miracle: • It challenges the most advanced arts of the time. • The specialists are the ones who distinguish the power of the miracle before the lay and ignorant people. Therefore when they see the specialists believe in the miracle they follow them. The magic in the time of prophet Mosa (AS), his miracle challenged it. The medicine in the time of ESA (AS), his miracle challenged it. The Arabs in the time of Prophet Mohammad (S) were intelligent in the art of speech, language and eloquence, therefore the holy Qur’an challenged it. They hanged the seven best long poetries said on the holy Kaba after writing it with ink of Gold. They used to compete in the poetries, and they realized that Qur’an can not be challenged.

9. The Qur’an is a divine Miracle • The Prophet (S) had other miracles besides the Qur’an, and some one might creates doubts that it was magic, but no one can deny the miraculous power of the Qur’an, God challenged the people, first to bring similar to the whole Qur’an, when they couldn’t, they were asked to bring 10 fabricated chapters, and finally to bring one chapter, and they couldn’t. Instead they wasted their lives and wealth to wipe out Islam, rather than responding to the challenge which was easier and cheaper. • Some one might say there may be some one who responded to the challenge but it disappeared due to the length of time. Respond: If such was true, then they would have spent a great deal of wealth to spread and publicized it, but nothing like such has been recorded. • If a person practice's an art, he becomes expert, and there were many in the Arabs who were very well known strong experts in this field, could not bring something like the Qur’an, even the form of the words of Prophet (S) if different than the Quraan.

10. An eternal Miracle • The previous Prophets miracles were specific and were limited for their times, and it was known to others by uninterrupted transmission (tawator), but for the eternal legislation the miracle needs to be eternal, therefore: • Qur’an has superiority over all other miracles of the Prophet (S) and the previous Prophets miracles (AS). Its inimitability continues until the end of the world. • The previous legislations have ended because the effects of their miracles have ended. But for the Qur’an its miraculous power continues so does its legislation. • Qur’an is not just a miracle but a book of guidance and knowledge, which changed the status of Arabs from the darkness to the light of faith.

11. Forms of knowledge in the Qur’an • The Qur’an is a great source of knowledge which over whelmed the minds of philosophers and baffled the thinkers in the East and the West. Such great knowledge from a person who did not learn how to read or write, who lived in a community of mere ignorant, and a society which had the lowest level of civilization which worshiped idols and had belief in delusions. • Some claim that he took his knowledge form the contemporaries and from the old testaments and other sources. • But the fact is Qur’an is different from the delusive imagination and myth the testaments, it opposes them and corrects those books from such wrong ideologies. • There are many concepts in the Qur’an which were not know in the time it was descended, not in any civilizations nor in any religion.

12. Qur’an opposes and rejects the existing wrong beliefs and ideologies in the time of the Prophet (S) • Such as: • God is one , and He is the creator of every thing from the heavens to the earth and whatever is in it, He raised the heavens with unseen force. • He is the master of the command (KON FA YA KOON), master of every legislation, He does not need any helper, nor any associate nor any partner, he does not sleep or become fatigued. • The most merciful and the most compassionate, one should not worship any deity except Him, he is worth of every praise, He has the knowledge of every thing, He is aware of every thing, He is ascribed with all the positive attributes which suits Him and is refrained from every negative qualities which does not suit Him. • Every thing glorifies Him and He is all mighty and all wise.