There are proofs supporting the belief that the Quran is from Allah

= = = = => Rebuttals <= = = = = My opponent's sources Ibn Warraq heavily relies on 19th century orientalist works. In his works, he hardly refers back to the earliest sources for the biography of Muhammad (seerah) (peace and blessings be upon him) and does not refer to classical and early muslim scholars (Muslim, Bukhari, Hanbali, Ahmed etc). How can one take his work seriously? It appears it cannot. 1.Wording of the Quran My opponent seems to have problems stating that if the word “say” was put at the start of the surah then it would be from Allah. I'm pretty sure “In the name of Allah most Gracious most merciful” is quite synonomous with “say”. Also Allah sent this down to show us correct prayer. I fail to see what is so contradictory/wrong with this chapter of the Quran. It is somewhat like the lord's prayer in the bible. ==Gospel of Matthew Chapter 6 Verses 9-13== “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” 2. Foreign vocabulary of the Quran My opponent says that the word Quran is syriac. What does he base his claim upon? Ibn Warraq. Ibn Warraq has a poor knowledge of Arabic since instead of using the various detailed Quranic commentaries and explanations of the verses and his own knowledge of Arabic, he relies upon a readily available and simple english translation of the Quran, Yusuf Ali. What kind of authority does Ibn Warraq have to state that the word Quran is syriac? Absolutely none. The Quran means recitation as shown in the following verse: ==Surah Al Qiyamah Chapter 75 Verse 18== “But when We have promulgated it, follow thou its recital (as promulgated).” The word in arabic for recital is Quran (قُرْءَانَهُ). Also the Encyclopædia of Britannica confirms Quran means recitation [1]. I encourage my opponent to look at sources outside of Ibn Warraq. 3. Verses missing Verses added My opponent claims that there was a punishment of stoning for fornication and says that there is stoning for fornication today. My opponent then says that today Islamic Law demnads stoning for fornication. Let us keep in mind that fornication is premarital sex between two people who are not married. First, my opponent gives no evidence for his claims. Second, Islamic law comes from the Quran and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). What does the Quran say for the punishment for fornication, lashes. ==Surah An Noor Chapter 24 Verse 4== “And those who launch a charge against chaste women, and produce not four witnesses (to support their allegations),- flog them with eighty stripes; and reject their evidence ever after: for such men are wicked transgressors;.” Quran says lashes for fornication not stoning. Stoning is for adultery. My opponent then says that a man contributed to the Quran. I would wholeheartedly agree that if any man contributed to the Quran it would be fatal and impossible to believe it is the full word of Allah. However, there is no factual proof for such a weak claim. My opponent talks about Abdullah Sarh and how he apostasized after knowing the Quran was altered by him. He doesn't specify which chapter or verse of the Quran has been altered but he is most likely referring to Chapter 23 of the Quran and relies on this source at section #4 (biased) [2]. The simple reason why it cannot be said Sarh contributed to the Quran is because the alleged tainted Chapter was revealed while Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was in Mecca and Sarh embraced Islam and became a scribe when Muhammad (pabbuh) migrated to Medina. These are two different times and as such the claim contradicts the known facts. = = = = => Contentions <= = = = = Since my opponent's argument was rather short, I can expand upon my previous contentions 1. Historical Accuracies in the Quran The Lost City of Iram The Quran says: ==Surah Al Fajr Chapter 89 Verses 6-8== “Seest thou not how thy Lord dealt with the 'Ad (people). Of the (city of) Iram, with lofty pillars. The like of which were not produced in (all) the land?” In these verses, only the Quran mentions a city by the specific name of Iram which has been considered fiction because of the complete lack of historical evidence for it. It was considered non-existent by most historians throughout the centuries for these reasons. However, recent archeological discoveries provide proof for the city mentioned in the Quran. In the December 1978 edition of the National Geographic, the discoveries of the Ebla tablets have revealed much information about the ancient city. What was astonishing was the mention of another ancient city in the tablets by the name of Iram. It says in the article: “The names of cities thought to have been founded much later, such as Beirut and Byblos, leap from the tablets. Damascus and Gaza are mentioned, as well as two of the Biblical cities of the plain, Sodom and Gomorrah. Also included is Iram, an obscure city referred to in Sura 89 of the Koran.” [3] This lends credence to the historical Iram which is only mentioned in the Quran. 2. Scientific accuracies in the Quran Biology ==Surah Ya sin Chapter 36 Verse 36== “Glory to Allah, Who created in pairs all things that the earth produces, as well as their own (human) kind and (other) things of which they have no knowledge.” ==Surah An Najm Chapter 53 Verse 45== “That He did create in pairs,- male and female.” The Quran mentions that the plants and vegetation the earth produces come in pairs and compares it with the human beings. We now know that human beings have genders, male and female which is being compared with plants. This would strongly suggest that the Quran mentions that plants and vegetation have female and male characteristics which has been confirmed by science in recent times. If my interpretation seems to be stretching in order to fit with science in this case then consider the second verse which says pairs for human beings and then says male and female. This is what the Quran is referring to when it says pairs in the first verse, male and female. ==Surah Al Anbiya Chapter 21 Verse 30=="Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of creation), before we clove them asunder? We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?" The Quran mentions that every living organism is made up and comprised of water. This is a fact as the human cell which is mostly cytoplasm, has 80% water. This is not something which could have have been observed or even known during the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). 3. High Quality Literature Precise wording of the Quran ==Surah As Saffat Chapter 37 Verses 140-144== “When he ran away (like a slave from captivity) to the ship (fully) laden." The arabic word for running away/fleeing is abaqa which is used specifically for a runaway slave as shown in the brackets in the verse. This opens up a profound meaning. These verses talk about Prophet Yunus (Jonah) (peace be upon him) and how he ran away from his duty as a Prophet because of how people ignored and paid no attention to him. He did not wait for Allah to tell him to stop his prophetic duties but stopped of his own accord. Prophet Jonah (peace be upon him) is not a slave in the usual sense (of a human master), but a slave and follower of Allah and he is running away from the duties and commands Allah has given him as a Prophet. This precise wording has moral and spiritual implications as well as the obvious physical implication. Sourceshttp://www.debate.org...