Islam Stands the Test of History

Through the efforts of the Prophet and his companions, a unique event took place: starting from scratch, they succeeded in extending their influence to the entire populated world of that age. During this brief period, they not only conquered Arabia but also succeeded in crushing the two great empires of their time—the Roman and the Sassanid. This exceptional phase in history has been almost universally acknowledged by historians. The Quran was revealed prior to the modern age of knowledge, yet fourteen hundred years ago, at the time of revelation, the Quran declared that the proof of its being divine in origin lay in its being in complete accordance with historical facts and in its remaining consistent with discoveries made contemporaneously and at all future times. Advances may be made in human knowledge, but they will never contradict Quranic statements. To a remarkable degree, latter-day history has testified to this. While many statements contained in all the ancient books have been at loggerheads with the latest scientific discoveries, the Quran is unique in steering clear of all such contradictions. As the Quran says: “Do they not ponder on the Quran? Had it been from other than God, they would surely have found therein much discrepancy.” (4:82). (The word “discrepancy” here means inconsistency, that is, a Quranic statement not agreeing with eternal knowledge). Much has been written on this aspect of the Quran in modern times. The French scientist, Maurice Bucaille, has shown in detail in his book, The Bible, the Quran and Modern Science, how the statements contained in the Quran are astonishingly in exact accordance with the discoveries of modern science. This shows that the Quran perfectly comes up to the scientific standards.