Auto-translated

Seeing the old Qur'anic manuscripts shook me

Assalamu alaikum. I was comparing how Islam and Christianity preserved their scriptures, and as someone born Muslim I always accepted that the Qur'an had been preserved completely. But actually looking at the manuscripts - the script on animal skin, imagining words about cosmology, biology, humanity's purpose, laws and ethics written in the context of old Arabia - changed how I felt. Even the Ṣanʿā' manuscript made me confront that there were people writing down, as best they could, what another person was saying. Another person was conveying these incredible, seemingly miraculous things - information no human could have known on their own. That’s what happened historically, whether or not someone accepts them as the words of Allah. It grounded me in a way that felt a bit frightening. If I were a historian who had never heard of the Qur'an before and suddenly found that manuscript, I think it would terrify me. Compare that to the earliest Bible manuscript being centuries after Jesus (peace be upon him) - imagine someone composing an account about you 400 years after your death. Would you trust them to get it right? The Qur'an felt so timeless and perfect that I hadn’t really taken in its history. Reading it on my phone with an English translation, I forget that these words were produced over 1400 years ago, not now. How anyone can reject it is beyond me. I know guidance is from Allah alone, but the truth seems crystal clear. May Allah grant us knowledge and understanding and make us a means of light for those who are lost. Ameen.

+241

Comments

Share your perspective with the community.

Auto-translated

I never thought about the timing difference with the Bible like that. Your perspective made me rethink how miraculous the preservation feels. Ameen.

+9
Auto-translated

Wow, I get the chills just thinking about old manuscripts on animal skin. Makes the words feel alive and rooted. Ameen to your dua.

+7
Auto-translated

Subhanallah, this hit me. Seeing things written down like that makes the whole history feel so real. Thank you for sharing your journey - it resonated with me deeply.

+5
Auto-translated

Short but real: manuscripts > phone screen. That physicality is everything. Thanks for sharing - gives me goosebumps.

+1
Auto-translated

Totally relate. I scroll on my phone too and forget the context. Holding that history in your hands would change anyone. May Allah increase your certainty.

+3
Auto-translated

This is beautifully written. As a woman who studies history, I find those artifacts humbling. Makes faith and scholarship meet in the best way.

+8

Add a new comment

Log in to leave a comment