Reflection 81 – The REAL Miracle

The Quran is made up of surahs and each surah in turn is made up of ayat. The interesting thing about the meaning of ayah in Arabic is that it means a miracle. Therefore, whenever we read any ayah we must internalize the fact that it’s a miracle in its own self even if we don’t fully understand it. So, when Allah talks about the different stages of an embryo in the mother’s womb, then all the facts presented are miracles. And this applies to every other phenomenon such as the universe, mountains, water, and so on. In fact, Allah challenged the non-believers in several instances throughout the Quran to come up with something similar to the Quran; and they never did! Yes, there were some silly attempts to try to imitate the Quran but everyone knew that they were hoax. But let’s assume for a second that someone was able to come up with something like the Quran. Would this mean that they won the challenge? Of course, not! And this will take me to what I mean by the REAL miracle. So, here we go.
First, the miracles of the Quran are endless. Probably the major one that paralyzed the Arabs was its linguistic eloquence that was unparalleled. And although I believe that this is a major dimension to look at, I would like to shed some light on something else that is rarely discussed and which I heard from Nouman Ali Khan a while back. If we look at any major transformation in human history, for example the French Revolution, we can see the following. It definitely made certain terms and values popular between people at that time and even afterwards. But did it change, for example what people eat, how husbands treated their wives, how children are raised, how divorce issues are to be dealt with?! As far as I know, NO. The REAL miracle of the Quran is that it totally transformed EVERY bit of the lives of the companions and billions to follow. It highlighted to people what they can and cannot eat, how do they deal with their parents, spouses, children, relatives, strangers and even enemies, how do they clean themselves, how do they get intimate with their spouses, and I can go on forever! This is unheard of anywhere else in human history. If you bring a Muslim Chinese and a Muslim American, they will give you the exact same answers on different issues related to the religion.
If you really try to internalize this fact thoroughly, you will be left bewildered. Just imagine the extent of unity and uniformity across Muslims and across time, it is something that does not compare to any other culture or civilization. Thus, the real challenge is not just to come up with a similar text (which is already impossible), but rather to come up with another system that can unite and transform the lives of billions.
Good Luck!!!