The Quran contains many prophecies that have been fulfilled, but in this discussion, we will limit ourselves to only five.[1] The first two prophecies are noteworthy: unlike any other world scripture, the Quran prophesizes its own preservation under divine care, and we will demonstrate how it actually occurred.
The Protection of the Quran from Corruption
The Quran makes a claim no other religious text makes, that God Himself will keep its text safe from alteration. God says:
"Behold, it is We Ourselves who have gradually revealed this reminder, and, behold, it is We who shall truly guard it [from all corruption]." (Quran 15:9)
The Ease of Memorizing the Quran
God has made the Quran easy to memorize:
"And in truth We have made the Quran easy to remember; who, then, is willing to take it to heart?" (Quran 54:17)
The ease with which Quran is memorized is inimitable. There is not a single scripture or religious text in the world that is as easy to memorize; even non-Arabs and children commit it to memory easily. The entire Quran is memorized by almost every Islamic scholar and hundreds of thousands of ordinary Muslims, generation after generation. Almost every Muslim has some portion of the Quran memorized to read in his prayers.
The Twofold Prophecy
Before the rise of Islam, the Romans and the Persians were two competing superpowers. Romans were led by Heraclius (610–641 CE), a Christian Emperor, whereas the Persians were Zoroastrians led by Khosrow Parviz (reigned 590–628 CE), under whom the empire achieved its greatest expansion.
In 614, the Persians conquered Syria and Palestine, taking Jerusalem, destroying the Holy Sepulcher and the ‘True Cross’ carried to Ctesiphon. Then, in 619, they occupied Egypt and Libya. Heraclius met them at Thracian Heraclea (617 or 619), but they sought to capture him, and he rode madly back to Constantinople, hotly pursued.[2]
The Muslims were grieved by the Roman defeat as they felt spiritually closer to Christian Rome than Zoroastrian Persia, but the Meccans were naturally buoyed up by the victory of pagan Persia. To Meccans, the Roman humiliation was a sinister omen of the defeat of the Muslims at pagan hands. At the time God’s prophecy comforted the faithful:
"The Romans have been defeated - in a land close by; but they, (even) after (this) defeat of theirs, will soon be victorious- within ten years. With God is the Decision, in the past and in the future: on that Day shall the believers rejoice with the help of God. He helps whom He will, and He is the Mighty, the Most-Merciful." (Quran 30:2-4)
The Quran made a prophecy of two victories:
(i) The future Roman victory within ten years over Persians, something unimaginable at the time
(ii) The joy of the faithful on a victory over the pagans
Both of these prophecies actually occured.
In 622, Heraclius left Constantinople as prayers rose from its many sanctuaries for victory over the Persian Zoroastrians and the reconquest of Jerusalem. He devoted the next two years to campaigns in Armenia. In 627, he met the Persians near Nineveh. There, he killed three Persian generals in single combat, killed the Persian commander, and scattered the Persian host. A month later, Heraclius entered Dastagird with its stupendous treasure. Khosrow was overthrown by his son, who made peace with Heraclius. Returning to Constantinople in triumph, Heraclius was hailed as a hero.[3]
Also, in the year 624 AH, Muslims defeated the Meccans in the first and decisive Battle at Badr.
In the words of an Indian scholar:
"…a single line of prophecy was related to four nations and the fate of two great empires. All this proves the Holy Quran to be the Book of God."[4]
The Prophecy of Pagan Defeat
The Quran predicted the defeat of unbelievers in Mecca while Prophet Muhammad and his followers were still being persecuted by them:
"Or do they (the Meccan disbelievers) say: ‘We are a great multitude, and we shall be victorious?’ Their multitude will be defeated, , and they shall turn their backs [in flight]!" (Quran 54:45)
The prophecy was revealed in Mecca, but was fulfilled at the Battle of Badr, two years after the Prophet’s migration to the city of Medina.
The Fate of Specific Individuals
Waleed ibn Mugheera was a staunch enemy who openly ridiculed the Quran:
"Then said he: "This is nothing but magic, derived from of old; this is nothing but the word of a mortal!" (Quran 74:24-25)
The Quran prophesized he will never accept Islam:
"Soon will I cast him into Hell-Fire! And what will explain to thee what Hell-Fire is? It leaves naught nor does it spare aught." (Quran 74:26-28)
Waleed died in a state of disbelief as prophesized by the Quran.
Also, concerning Abu Lahab, a fiery opponent of Islam, the Quran foretold he will die opposing the religion of God:
"May the hands of Abu Lahab perish, and [indeed] he has perished. His wealth and gains will not profit him. He will be plunged in flaming Fire." (Quran 111:1-3)
Specifically, three prophecies were made about Abu Lahab:
(i) The conspiracies of Abu Lahab against the Prophet would not succeed.
(ii) His wealth and children would not benefit him.
(iii) He would die opposing God’s religion and enter the Fire.
Abu Lahab also died in a state of disbelief as prophesized by the Quran. Had Waleed or Abu Lahab accepted Islam even outwardly, they would have disproved its prophecies and thus its heavenly source!
In addition, Abu Lahab had four sons, two of whom died at a young age during his lifetime. The other two sons and a daughter embraced Islam and frustrated his hopes! Finally, he died of a plague; people would not touch his body out of fear of contamination and dumped mud and stones on him where he died to make it his grave.
A key foundation to believing that a scripture is actually a revelation of God is internal truth, whether it be in regards to occurrences in the past, to come in the future, or in contemporary ages. As one can see, there are many prophecies mentioned in that which is to come, some of which were fulfilled in the Prophet’s lifetime, or have been fulfilled since his death, while others are yet to appear.
The Quran is not only unique in the way in which it presents its subject matter, but it is also unique in that it is a miracle itself. By the term “miracle,” we mean the performance of a supernatural or extraordinary event which cannot be duplicated by humans. It has been documented that Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, challenged the Arabs to produce a literary work of a similar caliber as the Quran, but they were unable to do so in spite of their well-known eloquence and literary powers. The challenge to reproduce the Quran was presented to the Arabs and mankind in three stages:
l. The Whole Quran
In the Quran, God commanded the Prophet to challenge all of creation to create a book of the stature of the Quran:
“Say: ‘If all mankind and the jinn would come together to produce the like of this Quran, they could not produce its like even though they exerted all their strength in aiding one another.’” (Quran 17:88)
2. Ten Chapters
Next, God made the challenge ostensibly easier by asking those who denied its divine origin to imitate even ten chapters of the Quran:
“Or do they say that he has invented it? Say (to them), ‘Bring ten invented chapters like it, and call (for help) on whomever you can besides God, if you are truthful.” (Quran 11:13)
3. One Chapter
This final challenge was to produce even a single chapter to match what is in the Quran, whose shortest chapter, al-Kawthar, consists of only three verses:
“And if you all are in doubt about what I have revealed to My servant, bring a single chapter like it, and call your witnesses besides God if you are truthful.” (Quran 2:23)
These challenges were not just empty words with no one caring to prove them wrong. Prophet Muhammad’s call to monotheism, to the abolition of idolatry in all its forms, and to the equality of slaves and their masters threatened the whole socio-economic framework of Mecca society in general, and the position of the ruling Quraishee tribe from which the Prophet came in particular. Mecca, the trading center of Arabia, as well as its spiritual center, desperately wanted to stop the spread of Islam. Yet all that the Prophet’s opponents had to do to crush the movement was to make up a single chapter like any one of those which the Prophet and his followers were reciting to the people. A number of Quraishee orators and poets tried to imitate the Quran, but they failed. They then resorted to offering him vast amounts of wealth, the position of king over them, and the most noble and beautiful of their women in exchange for his promise to stop inviting people to Islam. He responded to them by reciting the first thirteen verses of Chapter Fussilat, until they asked him to stop.[1] The Quraish also resorted to torturing their slaves and relatives who had embraced Islam in a vain attempt to cause them to revert to paganism. Later they organized an economic boycott against the Prophet, his followers and the members of his clan, Banoo Haashim, in an attempt to starve them into submission. But even this plan eventually failed. Finally, they plotted to kill him in his home by sending armed young men from each of the clans of Quraish in order that the guilt of his murder be shared by all the clans, making revenge by the Prophet’s clan impossible.
However, God enabled the Prophet and his followers to flee Mecca and join a new band of converts who had arisen among the tribes of a city to the north called Yathrib. Islam spread rapidly through the clans of Yathrib, and within a year Muslims became the city’s majority. Prophet Muhammad was then made the ruler, and the name of the city was changed to Madinatun-Nabee (The City of the Prophet), which was then shortened to “Medina.” Over the next eight years, the clans of Mecca and its neighboring lands mounted a series of unsuccessful battle campaigns against the emerging Muslim state in Medina, which ended with the Muslim invasion of Mecca itself.
All of this bloodshed could have been avoided if only the Quraish and their allies had been able to produce a mere three lines of poetry or flowing prose similar to the shortest chapter of the Quran. Hence, there can be no doubt about the inimitability of the Quran’s literary style, about the miracle of its rhyme and the marvel of its rhythm.
It has been suggested that the inimitability of the Quran is not necessarily unique, for great English poets like Shakespeare, Chaucer, or great poets in any language tend to have distinctly unique styles which set them apart from their contemporaries. However, if, for example, some leading poet of today were to make an in-depth study of Shakespeare’s writings and write a sonnet in Shakespeare’s style in old ink and on old paper, then claim that he had discovered a lost poem of Shakespeare’s, the literary world would probably accept this claim, even after careful study. Thus, even the greatest of poets could be imitated, no matter how unique his style was, just as the famous painters have been imitated. [In fact, some English scholars consider much of what has been attributed to Shakespeare to have been written by his contemporary, Christopher Marlowe.] The Quran, however, is way above this level, as attempts to forge chapters have been made throughout the ages, yet none has withstood close scrutiny. And, as was mentioned before, the incentive to imitate the Quran was more intense during the time of its revelation when literally skills were at their peak than at any other time, yet there was no successful attempt.
