Author: WhyIChoseIslam

Reason #41: A Prophecy of the Prophet in the Qur’an that came true?

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Did We not expand for you (O Muḥammad) your breast? And removed from you your burden Which had weighed upon your back? And elevated for you your reputation?

[Qur’an 94:1-4]

Verily, We have granted you (O Muhammad) Al-Kawthar (a river in Paradise); Therefore turn in prayer to your Lord and sacrifice (to Him alone). For he who hates you, he will be cut off (from any good).

[Qur’an 108:1-3]

Before we explain these, let’s talk about some history. When Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) was preaching in his birthplace and home of Makkah, Saudi Arabia, it is an understatement to say that times were tough. When we read about his life story, we automatically think of the latter part in Madinah when the Muslims kept increasing in numbers and won many battles. We forget the decade-plus long struggle that happened in Makkah where the Muslims were the minority, persecuted by the elites. The reaction of the people to Islam went from simple dislike in the early periods to hate that resulted in boycotts, physical harm, and even murder in the latter periods.

If you were one of the non-Muslims living in Makkah at the time, it wouldn’t be a surprise if you thought that that the Muslims are just a bunch of annoying people disrupting societal norms and that within a few decades, everyone will forget about them – a footnote in history, if even!

If people were to be remembered, it would have been the elites. It’s common sense for any society. What made things more in the favor of that opinion was that all the sons of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) passed away when the latter Surah above was revealed. In a heavily patriarchal society, one can imagine what having a son meant, not only while alive, but also for one’s legacy. In fact, it is said that when Prophet Muhammad’s (ﷺ) son passed away, the polytheists either made fun of him or at minimum, felt pity that he would be forgotten.

Thus, the latter Surah was revealed by God as a response and a consolation for Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). It did not only say that he would be given what really matters – prizes in Paradise – but also made a prophecy that his enemies will actually be the ones cut off. “Cut off” as scholars of the Qur’an explain, includes being cut off from being remembered. In a situation where not only was everything stacked against the Muslims, but also where everything was in favor of the elites, it is nothing short of a miracle to make such a claim.

Just looking at the statistics today, there are about 2 BILLION Muslims in the world. Billions with a capital “B”! And fun fact, “Muhammad” actually means “the one who is praised” and at any given moment, countless Muslims are sending prayers to the man they call their role model and final Prophet of God. Thus, as the first Surah above mentions, did God not elevate for Prophet Muhammad his reputation?

Reason #40: How did an illiterate person who didn’t like poetry write the Quran?

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You might have heard that Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) was illiterate, but did you know that he did not like poetry nor understand all of its nuances? In fact, God in the Qur’an says,

“We have not taught him poetry, nor is it fitting for him…”

[Qur’an 36:69]

It is strange, in the Arabian world during his time, to have a person who did not appreciate poetry. After all, poetry was the Arabs’ prized possession. They did not have wealth like the Byzantines and Persians did. They did not have natural resources like them either. Oil was only discovered recently. But what they had was a beautiful language. A comprehensive one, where each word can have multiple meanings and a change in a single vowel can change an entire sentence! Thus, one can imagine how much the Arabs cherished their language and respected the poets and their works.

With Prophet Muhammad, it is narrated that his wife, ‘Aishah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهَا), was asked whether he would recite poetry and she replied that poetry was the most despised speech to him. She remarked that once he tried to recite some lines of poetry and ended up reversing the order of its last words. At that point Abu Bakr, her father and the closest companion of Prophet Muhammad, said: “It is not quite like that,” and the Prophet replied, “Indeed, by Allah, I am not a poet and nor is it befitting for me.”

And that’s something that Prophet Muhammad’s opponents could not have an answer for – how can the Qur’an, something full of literary gems, be invented by a person who could not read, write, nor appreciate poetry? They couldn’t counterattack logically and thus, propagated that he was either a fortune-teller, madman, or a magician. However, these claims, Muslims state, are actually proofs for the Qur’an. Instead of a proper response, they made foolish claims that proved futile, and indirectly showed that the Qur’an had to be from God!

As God says,

“You ˹O Prophet˺ could not read any writing ˹even˺ before this ˹revelation˺, nor could you write at all. Otherwise, the people of falsehood would have been suspicious.” 

[Qur’an 29:48]