Category: Qur’an Gems

The atmosphere

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

We know from recent scientific discoveries that our atmosphere protects the Earth from not only heat rays from the sun, but also meteorites. When a meteorite enters the atmosphere it burns to ashes from the heat generated. Have a look here.

Allah says in the Qur’an:

“And We made the sky a protected shield, but they, from its signs, are turning away.” [21:32]

There is no way a man living 1400 years ago in a desert knew that the sky was a shield, from anything.

Allah knows best.

Why are letters used to start some surahs in the Qur’an?

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

There are many surahs in the Qur’an which begin with what are seemingly random letters of the Arabic alphabet and do not seem to have any corresponding meaning to the surah. Why is this?

The exact meaning of these words, named “horoof muqata’at” is only known to Allah. There have been scholars in the past who have attempted to decipher the mysterious letters but nothing was confirmed. However, there are some interesting things to note about them.

First, we must understand that the prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) who was reciting the Qur’an to the people of Makkah was illiterate. The community around him (ﷺ) knew that he (ﷺ) did not study any form of literature. Many of the people around him (ﷺ) however, were very skilled in Arabic – they exchanged conversations in what is known as “shi’r”; a kind of poetic speech.

If one is illiterate, then one cannot possibly spell even letters. Think about it. If we could not read or write English, never seen or heard the letters individually, can only speak full words and sentences, we would not know the alphabet ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, etc.

Thus when he (ﷺ) came to them with letters being spelled out through speech, they knew it was not from him (ﷺ), right at the beginning of the surah. Then through the complexity of the Qur’an which was much more advanced than their way of speech, they knew the words were not of this world.

There are many other theories, but one that was mentioned was truly humbling – the fact that we do not know what the letters signify at all. We come to the Qur’an looking for guidance; guidance for things that we have no knowledge of. So Allah right from the start of the Qur’an begins with “aleef, lam, mim”, to let us know that we really do not have knowledge like Allah does.

It is in order to humble our hearts when we come to the book of Allah. If we came to the Qur’an with arrogance, assuming we as human beings know all, then we will not gain the benefits intended by it.

May Allah’s word humble all our hearts.

Allah knows best.

Iron in the Qur’an

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

This was mentioned in a previous post but let us look a little bit more into the miracle of iron.

Allah tells us in the Qur’an:

“We have already sent Our messengers with clear evidences and sent down with them the Scripture and the balance that the people may maintain [their affairs] in justice. And We sent down iron, wherein is great military might and benefits for the people, and so that Allah may make evident those who support Him and His messengers unseen. Indeed, Allah is Powerful and Exalted in Might.” [57:25]

Pay particular attention to the opening phrase “We sent down iron…”

You’ve probably read this verse a hundred times and never thought about it. Allah really did “send down” iron to earth. He uses this same phrase when speaking about rain:

“And We have sent down rain from the sky in a measured amount and settled it in the earth. And indeed, We are Able to take it away.” [23:18]

Just like Allah has sent us rain from above, He has also sent us iron from above, literally from space.

Most of the iron found on earth’s surface, came from meteorites crashing into the earth.🔗

There is no way prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) could have known this during his time.

Interesting: When the Quran was revealed, 14 centuries ago, the numbers known today did not exist. A universal system was used where the letters of the Arabic, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek alphabets were used as numerals. The number assigned to each letter is its “Gematrical Value”, as shown in the table:

The word “حديد” means “iron” which is used in the Qur’an, has a Gematrical value of 26. The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom is defined as the atomic number, which gives the element its characteristics. The atomic number of iron turned out to also be 26. Coincidence? Maybe, or maybe not.

Allah knows best.

Miracle of numbers in the Qur’an

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

Let us first understand the Qur’an was revealed as speech not in written form, and this was done throughout many years. Some surahs and ayahs were years apart. Here are a few numbers in the Qur’an that no human could have possibly brought together in such a manner as shown in this booke.

  • The word “shahr” which means “month” is mentioned 12 times as the number of months in the year.
  • The word “yawm” which means “day” in singular is mentioned 365 times just as the common number of days in a year.
  • The word “ayam” which means “days” in plural is mentioned 30 times just as the common number of days in the year.
  • The word “salawat” which means “prayers” is mentioned 5 times just as the obligatory daily prayers for every Muslim.
  • “al hayat” (life), 145 times → “al mawt” (death), 145 times
  • “al-dunya” (wordly life), 115 times → “al akhira” (the afterlife), 115 times
  • “malaika” (angels), 88 times → “shayatin” (demons), 88 times
  • “ar rajul” (man), 24 times → “al mar’a” (woman), 24 times
  • “ar raghba” (wish), 8 times → “al jauf” (fear), 8 times
  • “as salihat” (good deeds), 167 times → “as sayyi’at” (wrong doings), 167 times
  • “an nafaa” (benefit), 50 times → “al fasad” (corruption), 50 times
  • The word “bahr” meaning “sea” or more broadly “water” is mentioned 32 times while “ard” meaning “land” or “earth” is mentioned 13 times; adding them makes 45. If we take the percentage of water and earth out of their combined number, we get 71% water, and 29% earth → the exact composition of water and earth on our planet.

“Then do they not reflect upon the Qur’an? If it had been from [any] other than Allah, they would have found within it much contradiction.” [4:82]

Let us all ponder over the perfection of Allah’s word.

Allah knows best.

Copper in the Qur’an

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

Allah tells us that Dhul Qarnain was hired by a group of people to help them against a couple of warmongering tribes called Gog and Magog (Yajuj wa Majuj). The Qur’an even gives us some very specific details about the construction of this wall:

“Bring me sheets of iron – until, when he had levelled [them] between the two mountain walls, he said, “Blow [with bellows],” until when he had made it [like] fire, he said, “Bring me, that I may pour over it molten copper.” [18:96]

Just stop a minute and think. Have you ever wondered why this much detail was given to us in the Qur’an? Allah could have just said “Dhul Qarnain built a wall and it kept Gog and Magog out” and that would have been enough for most of us.

We all know that iron is one of the strongest metals on the planet but despite its strength, iron rusts when exposed to water.

Copper on the other hand, is a softer metal, and an excellent conductor of electricity but the most amazing thing about copper is that it does not rust when exposed to water.

Another thing about copper is that it produces a green, protective layer after long exposure to oxygen (oxidisation). The Statue of Liberty in New York City is made of copper. It used to be the reddish colour we all associate with copper but it turned green after a few years of being out in the open.

So Dhul Qarnain built his wall using iron blocks, heated them up until they became one solid wall, and then poured molten copper over it to keep it from rusting. After a few years, the copper exterior turned green and blended in with the natural colour of the earth, making it nearly impossible to find nowadays.

The building of such a perfectly powerful structure was described in the Qur’an 1400 years ago. Subhan’Allah.

Allah knows best.

Do not be forgetful

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

Shaytan has been given the ability to make mankind forget about Allah. This does not necessarily mean that we permanently forget, but he makes us forget in the right moments. Allah says:

“Satan has overcome them and made them forget the remembrance of Allah . Those are the party of Satan. Unquestionably, the party of Satan – they will be the losers.” 58:19

We must be weary of the power of shaytan. We look around the world today, we see many have forgotten or more appropriately, have chosen to forget about Allah. We see people roam the world as if they will live forever and forget that one day they will meet their maker. Let us be of those who constantly remember Allah and the day we shall meet Him.

Allah knows best.