Page 15 - Taking the Qur'an as a Guide

Allah Promised to Protect the Qur'an

of Surat ar-Rum (the Byzantine Empire) state that the
Byzantine Empire would suffer a great defeat, but nevertheless
would be victorious shortly thereafter, as follows:
Alif, Lam, Mim. The Romans have been defeated in the
lowest land, but after their defeat they will be victorious
in a few years' time. The affair is Allah's from the begin-
ning to the end. (Surat ar-Rum: 1-4)
These verses were revealed around 620, almost 7 years after
the idolatrous Persians vanquished the Christian Byzantines.
In fact, Byzantium had been so severely defeated that its very
survival was in question. Thus its predicted victory seemed
impossible to many, including the Arab polytheists.
In December 627, the Byzantine and Persian empires fought
a decisive battle at Nineveh. This time, the Byzantines unex-
pectedly defeated the Persians. A few months later, the
Persians had to make an agreement with Byzantium, which
obliged them to return Byzantine territory. At the end, "the vic-
tory of the Romans" that Allah promised miraculously came
true. This one example alone provides evidence that the
Qur'an is the Word of Allah.
Another attribute of the Qur'an is that it contains key facts
about many subjects (e.g., astronomy, physics, and biology), at
a time when people knew very little about such things. The
Qur'an was revealed to the inhabitants of seventh-century
Arabia, whose society contained many superstitious and
groundless beliefs that were considered "scientific." Lacking
the technology to examine the universe and nature, they be-
lieved in legends inherited from past generations. For exam-
ple, they thought that the mountains supported the sky, that

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