THE WORD OF GOD

Nay, I swear by the setting of the stars—and, indeed, that is a most mighty oath, if you only knew—that this is indeed a noble Quran, in a well-guarded preserved Book, which none can touch except the purified. It is a revelation sent down from the Lord of the worlds. How can you regard this discourse with disdain? Do you make its denial your means of livelihood? (56:75-82) The snow on mountain peaks, the water flowing in rivers would all have been extremely salty. In spite of the vast stores of water on the earth, the non-availability of fresh water would have presented an insurmountable problem for humanity. If man gave this matter consideration, his heart would be full of praises for God. The word ‘mawaqi’ is the plural of ‘mauqa’a’. Its meaning is the place of falling. Here, the mawaqi of stars probably means the orbits of stars. In this universe, there are countless big stars. They are revolving in their respective orbits with extreme precision. This is a happening so great as to be awesome. A person who gives serious consideration to this system functioning in space, will be compelled to admit that the Creator of this universe is unimaginably Mighty. Then the Book coming from such a Creator should also be certainly great, and the Quran is undoubtedly such a great Book. The Quran reached the Prophet through the angels in exactly the same condition as it was in the preserved tablet (lawh mahfudh) and it is still intact in that same condition today. There is no other book of ancient times which has been so perfectly preserved. This in itself is proof of the Book’s (the Quran’s) greatness. The misfortune of one who does not obtain guidance from such a book is incalculable. Verse 79 of Chapter 56 needs further elaboration as it is often misconstrued. It is invariably brought as a proof by those who claim that a person must make ablutions before touching the Quran. In fact, regarding the pure ones referred to in the verse, a renowned commentator of the Quran Ibn Kathir says: “They are the angels; this was believed by a few Companions of the Prophet. The Pagans of Quraysh alleged that the Quran was brought down by devils and so God informed them that none touches it except the pure as mentioned in another verse of the Quran in chapter 26: verses 210-211. It was not the devils who brought down the Quran; neither are they worthy of it, nor are they capable of it.” o