Textual Perfection of the Quran

TEXTUAL PERFECTION OF THE QUR´AN

(A response to John Gilchrist's booklet JAM'AL QURAN raising questions

about the textual perfection of the Glorious Qur'an)

On page 6 of a misleading booklet titled JAM'AL QURAN, a certain Christian scholar named John Gilchrist says concerning the Glorious Qur'an:

"Furthermore, I have no doubt that if a book never was the Word of God in the first place, no amount of proof that it had been perfectly transcribed would make it the Word of God."

This very remark openly reveals his hatred towards the Holy Book of Allah and having such a biased attitude against it really makes me wonder whether my writings will make any difference in changing his views on the only existing Perfect Book of Guidance i.e. the Holy Qur'an. Because of his pride and stubbornness, Allah has sealed his heart from not only accepting the TRUTH but also from even reading and hearing about it.

Nevertheless, it is my duty to inform my fellow Muslim brothers the great injustice which he has committed in quoting only half the information from the various Islamic literature sources. Whether he has done so intentionally or unintentionally is another point of consideration. Since he has done so, he cannot get away so easily. In this article, by Allah's Will and His Guidance, I will reveal the additional facts which he intentionally failed to reveal because they undermine his arguments on the "supposed incompleteness" of the Qur'anic text.

As far as a Muslim's beliefs are concerned, they are firmly rooted in the following verses of the Glorious Qur'an wherein our beloved Allah Almighty says:

SURELY, WE OURSELVES HAVE SENT DOWN THE REMINDER, AND WE WILL, MOST SURELY SAFEGUARD IT. (Surah Al-Hijr: 9)

THIS INDEED IS A NOBLE QUR'AN IN A WELL PRESERVED BOOK. (Al-Waaqi'ah : 78-79)

SURELY THIS IS A GLORIOUS QUR'AN, IN A WELL-GUARDED TABLET.

(Al-Burooj : 22-23)

MOVE NOT THY TONGUE (0 Prophet) IN HASTE. FOR BEHOLD IT IS FOR US TO GATHER IT (i.e. Al-Qur'an) AND TO CAUSE IT TO BE READ. (Surah Al-Qiyamah: 16)

and internal evidence of the Qur'an itself verifies this claim:

WILL THEY NOT THEN MEDITATE UPON THE QUR'AN? HAD IT BEEN FROM OTHER THAN ALLAH THEY WOULD SURELY HAVE FOUND THEREIN MUCH CONTRADICTIONS. (An-Nisaa : 82)

If Allah Almighty has taken over the responsibility of protecting His Revelation, then we Muslims have no doubt whatsoever on the textual perfection of the Glorious Qur'an. To John Gilchrist, we would say that if a Book is indeed the Word of Allah, then no amount of speculation showing its "supposed incompleteness" will make it to be NOT the Word of Allah. Furthermore, whatever decision the third Caliph Uthman (May Allah be pleased with him) had taken to standardize on one version of the Qur'an must have been taken under extreme care and after very careful investigation. He was not a person who had the kind of agnostic mentality to treat such a delicate matter of compiling and standardizing Allah's Final Revelation so lightly as portrayed by John Gilchrist in his booklet. He is projecting on the great personality of the Third Caliph Uthman (May Allah be pleased with him) the kind of mentality prevalent amongst Christian academics who are at liberty to constantly revise and re-issue the frequently changing Bible.

In the first chapter of his booklet JAM'AL QURAN, John Gilchrist says that there are no records as to exactly how much of the Qur'an was reduced to writing during the lifetime of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him, his family and all his companions). There are many Ahaadith (traditions) which prove that whatever was revealed to our