134 Conspiracies against the Quran bp rena fet mesg (2:115) se Ves 223 I Le! ‘“"Whither-so-ever you tum i) ide-9 the goal set forth by Allah 1s before you. He ts the first and the last and the outward and the truward— The Quranic verse Is: eae ee ee 57:3). GeO Sa eisUSTIe “He ta the fat and the lat (le has no beginning and no end. He ts beyond the realm of lume and space). He is all pervading yet unrealisable by experience. (The working of his law {s imperceptible but the resultant creation ts mantfes”. The verse does not carry any mystic sense. Thave breathed into him (man) My spirit (15:29) :- The subject shall soon be discussed in detail while describing “Human self. This is how the western writers misrepresent facts by detaching small pieces of the Quranic verses from the text, without giving due consideration to the preceding and the following words respectively. and betray their ignorance about the Quran by their emphatic declaration of inconsistencies contained in It. It is not possible to pick up the meaning of the Quranic verses without grasping the basic concepts of the Quranic teachings. Now let us discuss in detail the verses 17:1 and 53:1-18, referred to in The Legacy of Islam as the mysterfous passage concerning the night journey and Ascension, in order to make it clear whether they actually carry the same meaning as il Is attributed to them or {s it the outcome of the conjectures of the Muslim traditionalists who have provided a lever to the non-Muslim writers to conspire against the Quran? Is the concept of bodily ascension compatible with the teachings of the Quran, or has It only been borrowed from Judaism? Let us describe first the Sura fi (53:1-18) which Is one of the most captivating, attractive and instructive as well as a lucid piece of the Quranic text, describing the status of Muhammad! It is rather a masterpiece in this respect. The chapter begins as follows: GRE oe le eRe iee epee aut yyp 24, Hye SFE UOGMEGEEG B SSAA OTL GS Ise SSIBEBERI GHB ZG EO Gy Ee EE 0 SUES SUS BIG us UGE GON JOSE iran PENS wag OGM Bielde 55S 0 GEUSZANEKES (53:1-18) “By the atar when tt goce down. Your companion {s neither going astray nor belng misled. ile docs not speak of his own desire. It ts nothing but an inspiration sent down Brorate vhusbsoun!222Mysticism 135 to him. He was taught by One mighty in power, Who is well acquainted with the changing forms of Ife. Ite (Muhammad’) holds a balanced personality. While he was at the highest limit of knowledge, he drew nearer to tt and dived deep into it. After he reached the height of his knowledge, he had the relationship of a close associate (with Allah) or even closer to it. Thus He did convey to His servant what He meant to convey. His (Muhammad's ) mind in no way falsified in what he saw. Will you then dispute in what he saw, for surely he saw it yet another time:‘near the place of highest astonishment: near unto which is the Garden of Abode, When the place of astonishment was shrouded with mystery alround, his sight never swerved, nor did it ‘exceed the Iimit. For surely did he sce the great signs of his sustainer.” EXPLANATION ‘The holy Quran Is instructive and appeals to a man of ordinary intelligence, as well as to a man of highly developed intellect. It was revealed to Muhammad* who belonged to a backward and uneducated community of Idol-worshippers of Mecca, in those dark ages when superstiti¢n dominated the human thought all the world over. In the above-said verses, the holy Quran explained to the Illiterate Arabs as to what Is revelation, what are the characteristics of the receipient of revelation and what is the nature of the task he ts required to accomplish. The verses made It clear that revelation {s not an illusion, it 1s a reality. ‘The particular theme in the opening verse of the Sura is that man also needs guidance by means of the immutable and fundamental laws, like the ones that operate in nature, and that the guidance to the physical world as well as the human world comes from a common source. As stated earlier, the people who were addressed to, were absolutely untouched by any scientific advancement and had even no concept of the laws that operate in nature. Those people lived in the deserts devold of any landmarks, no hills, no rivers or streams, no roads, no trees and not even human habitation for miles around. They were wandering tribes moving from one place to another in the darkness of the nights, as the days were too hot to move about. The Quran impressed upon them that in spite of there being no land mark they seldom lost the track during thelr night journeys. That 1s because they get their guldance from the stars which have never failed them through centuries, they have never misguided them, never deceived them. Thus it is said: (531-2) OG ES eS St Quy by SNS “By the star when it gocs down, your companion is neither astray nor being misled.” ‘The guidance sent down to you through your companion (Muhammad’) comes from the same source, as the one that guides the movements of the stars; it 1s equally trustworthy and free from mistakes, because: peer (53:3-4) OTE BLO YEE “He (Muhammad) does not speak of {his own) desire. It fs nothing but inspiration sent down to him.”136 Conspiracies against the Quran Anything which Is the result of human thought or imagination Is changeable. Man alters his own decisions periodically. A certain thing that appears to be very important In childhood, loses its value afler the same person grows into an adult. The human mental ‘outlook is also affected by environments and emotions etc. Thus all that Is the outcome of human thinking is not permanent. This applies to individuals as well as to nations. Human intellect. therefore, is not capable of establishing Permanent Values. ‘These could only be available from a source that is uninfluenced by the effects of ume, space, environments and personal inclinations, Such a source could only be the revelation. At several other places, the Quran has produced as witness the location of the stars, in support of the truth of revelation, As for example: ws hee MOTTE ee oe ete BS 0 Fas IGGL 5 0 FES HANG (56:75-77) Os “1 call to witness the location of the stars and that fs indeed a mighty witness, ifyou but know, that this fs Indeed the Qurin which benefits humanity by raising its stature without lowering tts dignity.” Thus the sociological laws given to mankind through the messengers of God are the reflections of the fundamental laws that control the movements of the planets. the stars and the galaxies around their respective nuclet; the former being as immutable as the latter and produce results with equally the same precision and proportion. They are given by One Who wellds an unlimited power: ease ergs 53:5) Ogsyali oR onde “Ile (Muhammad"} was taught by One mighty In power,” and Who ts gp yi)9). “Lord of unbreakable might. Every atom or subatomic particle is constantly In motion to accomplish the Programmes set by the Controlling Power according to plan, so that every object in the universe Is able to develop its potentialities. The rains from the sky, the light rays from the sun, the minerals from the soll cooperate with one another in order to play a specific role of developing a sinall seed into a full fledged tree. But the requirements for the growth a.id development of individuals undergo change at each evolutionary stage. ‘Thus the laws controlling development should be compatible with the changing stages, forms, measures and environments. This fact 1s explained by the holy Quran by stating: bat oh (53:6) od “Who ts well acquainted with the changing forms of fe.” So far the verses of the chapter .o#'lyhave described certain characteristics of revelation and of the One Who reveals. Next comes the description of One who was the recipient of “Wahi (Muhammad"). ‘The foremost distinguishing characteristic of the recipient of Wahi as described by Quran Is: