The Qur’an - A Statement That Reflects Itself

Asking Allah for refuge from the accursed Satan. Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim. Jazakum Allahu khayran for taking a moment to read. In my limited ability, I want to share something that, by Allah’s will, might be of benefit. Allah alone guides, and my aim is simply to invite reflection and discussion. Thinkers like Gödel, Kant, and Wittgenstein pointed to limits of reason and language: some truths can’t be proved from inside a system; the mind only grasps appearances; what can’t be said marks the edge of meaning. Turn your attention to this verse. The Qur’an - Surah Al-Kahf (18:22) (English translation) “They will say, ‘[There were] three, the fourth of them their dog’; and they will say, ‘[There were] five, the sixth of them their dog,’ guessing at the unseen; and they will say, ‘[There were] seven, and the eighth of them was their dog.’ Say, ‘My Lord is most knowing of their number. None knows them except a few. So do not argue about them except with obvious argument, and do not inquire about them among [the speculators] from anyone.’” That translation is beautiful, but I want to offer a paraphrase that tries to catch some of the Arabic’s symmetry and depth in simple English. Paraphrase: People keep turning every question into something their gut says can’t really be answered, while everything really turns around an Answer their gut won’t even dare to question. Pause for a moment and feel that. The line folds back on itself like a mirror, balanced so your intuition senses it’s coherent even before your mind can fully explain why. That immediate sense of a truth you can’t fully prove is similar to what Gödel talked about: truths that escape proof from within the system that recognizes them. Now imagine such words revealed fourteen centuries ago in the Arabian desert to our Prophet (peace be upon him), who could not read or write, yet recited verses of overwhelming beauty and meaning. In pure Bedouin Arabic, each verse opens into symmetry, rhyme, rhythm, mirrored phrases, and measured tones that touch the ear like logic woven into poetry. The Qur’an conveys meaning and design at the same time. What I’ve tried to capture here is only a glimpse of that beauty in my imperfect English. Think of what the whole Qur’an must encompass. There is no power but Allah. May Allah guide us all to Him.