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THE QURANS NUMERICAL MIRACLE

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Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips

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Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips, 1987/1407 AH 2nd Edition 2002

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface 5 Foreword 11 Introduction 13 1 Interpretation out of Context

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2 Letter Count: Totals

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3 Letter Count: Inconsistency

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4 Letter Count: Manipulation

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5 Letter Count: Data Falsification

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6 Word Count: Grammatical Inconsistencies

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7 Word Count: Data Falsification

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8 Soorah Qaf: False Claims

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9 Why Nineteen?

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10 Number 19: A Platform for Deviation

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11 The Prefixed Letters (al-Muqattat)

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12 The Miracle of the Quraan 91 Conclusion 98 Bibliography 101

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PREFACE

ince the publication of my refutation of Rashad Khalifas 19 theory in 1987, some new developments have taken place with regard to his personal claims. However, the arguments for his

miraculous number theory have not changed. Consequently, as Professor Yvonne Haddad put it, The fact remains that Philipss work is generally accepted among Sunni Muslims as the most exhaustive rebuttal of Khalifa.0F1

After three reprints of my refutation, The Qurans Numerical Miracle: Hoax and Heresy, I allowed it to go out of print in the early 1990s due to the steadily decreasing impact of the cults ideas. However, with the arrival of the Internet in the past decade and its subsequent spread, Khalifas ideas have found a new channel by which to spread its falsehood in a number of unsuspecting communities around the world, from India to Nigeria, and Australia to Austria. Thus, every year, there are some people around the world, unaware of my thorough refutation, who become ensnarled by his claims. These claims are vigorously propagated by his cult which operates under the title of the United Submitters International.

From an historical perspective, the most significant development in Khalifas heretical movement since my books publication was his assassination in his temple in Tucson, Arizona on January 31, 1990. When the temple secretary arrived to meet him for morning prayers, she discovered his body in the kitchen, bloody and lying on top of a handgun he carried for his personal protection. 1F2 It is worth noting that following a series of death-threats Khalifa

1 Mission to America, p. 155. 2 Death of a Messenger, Arizona Daily Star, March 4, 1990, p. 2A.

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had claimed in one of the editions of the cults official newsletter, Muslim Perspective, in the late 1980s that since he was a messenger of Allah he would never be assassinated but would die a natural death. Due to many recent requests from Malaysia to Nigeria for

copies of my refutation mentioned on my website, www.bilalphilips.com , I decided to republish it with the this update and a few minor adjustments and additions. The following is a brief history of the false-prophet/messenger, Rashad Khalifa.

Rashad Khalifa was born in 1935 in a small village in Egypt to a father was supposed to be a master of the Shadhili Sufi order. Rashad came to the United States in 1959 and received his doctorate in biochemistry from the University of California at Riverside in the early 1960s. In 1963 he married Stephanie Hoefle, a native of Tucson, and later became a U.S. citizen. In the mid 1970s he was sent as a United Nations agricultural adviser to Libya and from 1980 to 1986 he served as supervising chemist in the pesticides section of the Arizona Commission of Agriculture and Horticulture. Khalifa began working on his interpretation of the Quraans mathematical code from 1968. In 1973 he published his first booklet explaining his theory, Miracle of the Quran: Significance of the Mysterious Alphabets. As a result of that work and of the many talks and lectures he gave on the mathematical composition of the Quraan, he became widely known in Muslim communities in the United States and in English speaking communities in the Islamic world. The first reports of his findings published in Arabic were in Egypt in the middle 1970s. However, there where many Arab Muslim scholars who immediately recognized the inherent deviation in his claims. Consequently, a number of warnings by scholars were published in the Arab media in response to his claims.

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The work that first attracted the attention of an even wider audience was Khalifas 1981 volume The Computer Speaks: Gods Message to the World. In this volume he presented his first claim, cited on page 1, that he had physical, touchable, verifiable and utterly indisputable proof for: (1) the existence of God, (2) a message from God to you, and (3) the exact year when this world will end.2F3 The book itself was written on a Hewlett-Packard HP-1000 E-Series computer and appeared irrefutable at a first glance. In 1981 Khalifa also published his first English translation of the Quran, which he claimed to be the first translation of the sacred scripture of Islam into English by a native speaker of Arabic. He called it: Quran: The Final Scripture. (Two revised translations were published in 1989 and 1992.) In the following year, 1982, the materials already presented in his previous writings were published in a work, initially designed to be shown through a series of photographic slides, entitled Quran: Visual Presentation of the Miracle. In the same year he wrote a vehement attack on the Sunnah entitled Quran, Hadith, and Islam, in which claimed that the whole Muslim world had fallen into idolatry by believing and following the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (). In it, he claimed that the only legitimate hadeeth was the Quraan itself. Subsequently, in his community in Tucson, Arizona, he eliminated the female dress code, segregation of men and women (i.e., men and women prayed side-by-side in his temple called Masjid Tucson). Three years later in 1985, as opposition to his claims among Muslims steadily increased and his popularity had fallen to an all-time low, Khalifa claimed that his 19 code had revealed that there were two false verses in the Quran; the last two verses of Chapter 9. This stirred up a great resentment to him among Muslims in

3 In the year 2280 CE according to his calculations.

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America and caused even some of his own followers to abandon him. Such a claim is unanimously held among Muslims to be a statement of disbelief. In May 1988 he made the ultimate pronouncement of heresy in a special bulletin of Muslim Perspective entitled GOD INSISTS in which he confirmed God has provided powerful, physical proof in support of my mission as His commissioned messenger to the New World. He claimed that America, the new world, had never had a messenger commissioned by God. The time had now come. Khalifa pointed to the physical evidence that he had brought of the miracle of the Quraan as supportive proof for his mission. He concocted nineteen more facts based on his inconsistent numerical system showing that his name Rashad Khalifa was a part of the 19 miracle mentioned in the Quraan. Subsequent issues of Muslim Perspective devoted considerable attention to the reaffirmation of his claim to be a messenger of Allaah. Khalifa affirmed that Prophet Muhammad () was the last prophet (nabi), but claimed that there was no Quranic affirmation that Muhammad () was the last messenger (rasul). This word game, while sounding reasonable to the non-Arab speaker, or the ignorant Arab, is obviously false to the religiously educated Arab speaker3F4. In the same year, Khalifa made another incredible announcement in support of his claim to messengership. He announced that he had encountered the previous prophets who all confirmed his identity as the Messenger of the Covenant. In the September 1988 issue of Muslim Perspectives he stated: On Tuesday, the third day of Zul-Hijja, 1391 (December 21, 1971), I, Rashad Khalifa, the soul, the real person, not the body, was taken

4 Messengers are an elite group of prophets. Consequently, the last prophet who was also a messenger must be, by default, also be the last messenger.

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somewhere in the universe, where I was introduced to all the prophets All of them, one by one, declared that they believe in me as the Apostle of the Covenant. 4F5 In his 1989 revision of his translation of the Quraan Quran: The Final Testament, he rejected the second half of the Muslim declaration of faith: Muhammadur rasoolullaah (Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah) and mention of Prophet Muhammad () in the Athan was removed. He moved toward a kind of universalism, insisting that Islaam was not a name but a description of the act of submitting to God, saying: a Muslim is anyone who submits to God, be they Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, or Buddhists One can be a Muslim Jew, a Muslim Christian, a Muslim Hindu, or a Muslim Muslim.5F6 In the middle of 1989 the name of the bulletin of the Tucson temple was changed from Muslim Perspective to Submission Perspective and then to Submitters Perspective. Since his death in 1990, no new leader has emerged to take his place in the cult. However, Edip Yuksel, a well educated Turk provided religious leadership during the 1990s (His father is a Muslim scholar who has condemned his sons writings.) Followers of Rashad Khalifa are currently located in such places as Phoenix, Arizona; Riverside and the Bay area in California; Vancouver, British Columbia; and other parts of the world. 6F7

5 In appendix 2 to Quran: The Final Testament, he specified that the experience took place when he was on Hajj in Makkah and further elaborated, saying: What I witnessed, in sharp consciousness, was that I was sitting still, while the prophets, one by one, came towards me, looked at my face, then nodded their heads. God showed them to me as they had looked in this world, attired in their respective modes of dress. (p. 639) 6 Muslim Perspective, June 1989. 7 Mission to America, pp. 137-165.

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Dr. Bilal Philips Ajman, August 2002

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FOREWORD

ne hot Fall day in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in the year 1986, one of my students excitedly gave me a video-taped copy of Ahmed Deedats presentation of Dr. Rashad Khalifas theory

of the miraculous numerical code of the Quraan 7F8 and asked my opinion of it. Although a good friend of mine, Abu Bilal Mustafa al-Kanadi, who was doing his M.A. thesis on Numerical Exegesis of the Quraan at that time, had previously mentioned to me that the theory seemed to be based on falsified data, I reserved comment and instead showed the tape to my grade 10, 11 and 12 Islamic Studies classes and asked their opinion about it. Most students were thoroughly convinced of its authenticity, so I made the issue a research project for my grade 10 students and supplied them with a copy of Ahmed Deedats book on it entitled, Al-Quraan The Ultimate Miracle,8F9 as well as facts and figures from Dr. Rashad Khalifas own book on the subject, Quraan: Visual Presentation of the Miracle.9F10 Most of the students enthusiastically embarked on the project of checking the accuracy of the data. Some initially used an IBM program in which the whole Quraan had been loaded, however, the program proved to be unreliable and thus most of the crosschecking and counting had to be done by hand.

Their research uncovered many inconsistencies and errors which raised doubts in their minds about the authenticity of the whole theory. When I confirmed their doubts and informed them of some of Dr. Khalifas heretical claims, most of them concluded that the theory was totally false and that something should be done to

8 The title of the tape was Al-Quraan, A Visual Miracle. 9 Ahmed Deedat, Al-Quraan The Ultimate Miracle, (Durban: The Islamic Propagation Centre, 1st ed. Feb. 1979). 10 Rashad Khalifa, Quraan: Visual Presentation of The Miracle, (Tucson, Arizona: Islamic Productions, 1982).

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inform others. At this point, I considered writing a thorough refutation of the theory, but I was told that a number of articles and booklets had already been written so I gave up the idea.

During this period I also came across a plea written by a reader of the magazine, Islamic Horizons for clarity on Rashad Khalifas claim.10F11 There was a reply in the issue of the magazine, 11F12 however, it did not tackle the core of the claim to my satisfaction. I then set about gathering whatever articles and booklets were in circulation, most of which was from South Africa, but, to my disappointment, I found them to be more emotional than factual. Most dealt with only a few of Dr. Khalifas claims, many had errors in their rebuttals and perhaps the most comprehensive of them all was written in very poor English. Consequently, I decided to make a thorough study of the theory in order to present a comprehensive factual refutation of its claim. At this point, I would like to thank all those who contributed to the preparation of this booklet, especially my grade 10 class of 1986/87 at Manaret ar-Riyadh School. And, of all those who took part in its preparation, I would like to make special mention of Omar al-Musa, Ahmed Qteishat, Ghassan Kashmiri, M. Akif Rahman, Mohammed Tahir Qureshi and lastly Syed Osman of Grade 6A. May Allaah accept this effort as one done solely for His pleasure in defense of His religion, Islaam, and make it reach and benefit those who are in most need of it. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips Riyadh, 30/06/1987

11 Islamic Horizons (Plainfield, Indiana: Islamic Society of North America), Jan-Feb. 1987, Vol. XVI, No. 1-2, p. 8. 12 Ibid., p. 14.

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INTRODUCTION

istory amply demonstrates that deviants desiring to found their own cults among Muslims usually begin their quest by presenting themselves as firm defenders of the faith. This

deception is perpetrated in order to attract followers and gain popularity among the ignorant masses. Furthermore, it should also be noted that even the novel ideas and controversial issues of the cults will often contain some truth, otherwise the errors of the cults would be too obvious to people from the outset. For example, deviant Shiisms call has always been for the protection of the rights of Ahl al-Bait (the Prophets () family) as a guise for excommunicating most of the Prophets companions, defaming his wives and consequently denying the prophetic traditions which they conveyed. Ghulam Ahmed, founder of Qadianism/Ahmadism, initially wrote articles in Indian newspapers in defense of Islaam against Hindu and Christian missionary claims 12F13 before declaring his own prophethood. In America, Elijah Muhammad openly called black Americans to Islaam and the Quraan, but what he actually gave them was a concoction of racist fantasies and fables in which black men became gods and white man were portrayed as devils created by the black gods. Similarly, Dr. Rashad Khalifas stated aim from the time he initially presented the Miraculous 19 Theory in the early 1970s until the mid 1980s was to physically prove two things: 1. that the Quraan is Gods final message to the world, and 2. that the Quraan was perfectly protected from the slightest distortion, addition or loss. 13F14 However, in 1985 he has cancelled the second aim by claiming that the last two verses of Soorah at-

13 Qadtyaniat, pp. 156-7. 14 See the Flyer entitled Computer Discovers a Secret Numerical Code in the Quran and Quran: Visual Presentation of The Miracle, p. 247.

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Tawbah (the ninth chapter) were fabricated, 14F15 and he has interpreted the first aim to mean that only the Quraan alone should be followed and anyone who follows the Sunnah [the compiled sayings and actions of the Prophet ()] he has labeled a pagan, idol worshipper.15F16

The initial presentation of Rashad Khalifas seemingly amazing findings in his book entitled, The Computer Speaks: Gods Message to the World,16F17 took the Muslim world by storm. Most Muslims readily and unquestioningly accepted Khalifas claims as they had the aura of scientific fact about them. Furthermore, his stated aims, to prove the divine origin of the Quraan and the purity of its text, were both among the basic tenets of Islaam. However, many religious scholars who initially heard his claims had serious reservations about accepting them. For example, prior to 1981, a Pakistani scholar by the name of Maulana Abdul-Quddoos Haashimi wrote an article in which he rightly pointed that the pseudo-science of numerology, on which some of Khalifas arguments were based, was a product of ancient mythology and as such had no place in Islaam. He also condemned the widespread use of the number 786 to represent the Quraanic phrase Bismillaahir-

15 Muslim Perspective, March, 1985, p. 11, The computer exposes an historical crime. Tampering with the word of God. Two false verses unveiled in Quraan. And on p. 4 Khalifa states, Nine violations of the Quraan mathematical code were discovered. All nine violations have been found in the last two verses of Sura 9. 16 Quran, Hadith and Islam, p. 88 When we seek religious instruction from Muhammad or any other sources beside God, we support Satan in his claim that God needs a partner. See also Rashad Khalifas mistranslation of the Quraan, Quran: The Final Scripture, p. 191, footnote 17:46, When you exhort the idol worshipper who advocate hadith and sunna to follow the Quran alone as stated in this verse, they run away in aversion. 17 The earlier 200-page edition was entitled, The Perpetual Miracle of Muhammad.

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Rahmaanir-Raheem (In the Name of Allaah, The Beneficent, The Merciful) as well as the use of numerical equivalents of Quraanic verses and chapters in the preparation of amulets commonly known as Taweez. After referring to ancient reverence of 19 and its appearance among deviant Shiite sects like the 9th century C.E. Karamatians, he concentrated on the 19th century Shiite off-shoot, Bahaisim, in which 19 is glorified as the central core of the universe since the founder of Bahaisim, Ali Muhammad Bab, was born in 1819 (1+8+1+9=19). He concluded his article by stating that if 19 has any religious significance, it belongs to Bahai thinking as the Bahai religious calendar has 19 months consisting of 19 days each and the number 19 can found written on walls and even embossed on chairs in all Bahai premises.17F18 On the other hand, the vast majority of common Muslims who heard or read about the theory eagerly and blindly accepted Khalifas discovery. Foremost among them was the internationally known Islamic debater, Ahmed Deedat, who enthusiastically began spreading Rashad Khalifas findings to all corners of the world. In 1979, Mr. Deedat published a 75 page booklet entitled, Al-Quran the Ultimate Miracle, 18F19 in which he presented an emotion-packed summary of Rashad Khalifas data and arguments. One of Mr. Ahmad Deedats public lectures on this topic was also video taped and distributed worldwide under the title, Al-Quraan: A Visual Miracle.19F20

However, Khalifa later began to publicly make heretical statements beginning with his claim that he had calculated the exact

18 Impact International, 9-24 October 1981, p. 14. See also the pamphlet, In Defense of the Quran and Sunnah, pp. 8-11. 19 Sh. Muhammad Ashraf Press reprinted this booklet in Pakistan in 1982 and again in England in 1985. Hundreds of thousands of copies were subsequently printed for free distribution. 20 It used to be no. 11 on the list of Deedat debates distributed by the Islamic Center International, Durban, South Africa.

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date of the Day of Judgment.20F21 Consequently, most of his admirers in the Muslim world, including Mr. Deedat, were forced to denounce him and disassociate themselves from him. Doubts about the correctness of his initial premise of 19 being the mathematical key to the Quraan were then raised and a number of emotional articles were written against both him and his theory. In fact, one of the leading scholars of Saudi Arabia, Shaikh Abdullaah ibn Abdul Aziz ibn Baz, wrote a fatwaa (religious ruling) concerning Khalifas heretical claims in which he declared him an apostate. 21F22

During this period, Rashad Khalifa became firmly entrenched in the U.S.A. He married an American and gave up his Egyptian nationality to become an American citizen. From his base in Tucson, Arizona, he freely distributed copies of his monthly newsletter to all Islamic centers throughout the U.S.A. and Canada. He also built a following among the new Muslim converts, whose Islamic knowledge was limited. Female converts who feel restricted by the Islamic dress code and rules against free-mixing with males were particularly attracted to his ideas by his rulings canceling Islamic dress codes and allowing women to pray beside men in congregational prayer, etc. However, there still remains the question of whether the basis on which Rashad Khalifas theory is built is valid or not, as it continues to attract the unsuspecting and the ignorant. Hence, it is not sufficient to merely discredit Rashad Khalifa based on his many heretical statements, any one of which is sufficient to remove him from the fold of Islam. This controversy has to be laid to rest by a factual dismantling of its foundations.

21 The seven pairs (verse 87, chapter 15) refers to the 14 sets of numbers that add up to 1709, the number of years from the time of this Quranic revelation to the end of the world. See the book, The Computer Speaks, for details. (Quran: The Final Scripture, p. 177, footnote 15: 86-88). 22 An English translation of the Fatwaa can be found in In Defence of the Qur an and Sunnah.

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The following chapters of this book systematically and methodically challenge and disprove the vast majority of the so-called fundamental facts of Rashad Khalifas theory. Furthermore, they clearly expose his deliberate falsification of data and alteration of the Quraanic text in order to bolster his theory of 19 as the miraculous numerical code of the Quraan. This work will demonstrate, without a shadow of a doubt God willing, that the Theory of 19 is a shoddily concocted hoax unable to withstand serious scientific scrutiny. However, before proceeding with the refutation of Dr. Rashad Khalifas claims, the following summary of his theory has been prepared for readers unfamiliar with its core issues.

1. According to Khalifa, there is a miraculous numerical code

to the Quraan based on its first verse (Bismillaahir-Rahmaanir-Raheem) which consists of 19 letters.

2. This miraculous code is supposedly referred to in verse 30 of Chapter 74 (al-Muddaththir) which states Over it are 19.

3. Based on these two premises, Khalifa claimed to have discovered an intricate mathematical pattern involving 19 and its multiples throughout the Quraan and especially in what he calls the Quranic initials which precede 29 chapters (i.e., Alif, Laam, Meem, etc.).

4. From this discovery, Khalifa concluded that the complexity of this mathematical codes pattern in a literary work of the Quraans size is far beyond human capabilities, and that it alone constitutes the only real miracle of the Quraan which proves its divine origin.22F23

5. He further concludes that 19 and its multiples represent the

23 See Rashad Khalifas presentation of his theory in the article Problem of 19 Impact International, 13-26 November, 1981, pp. 14-5.

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key to the correct interpretation of the Quraan and Islaam and the reason why 19 was chosen is that 19, according to him, means God is One which is the message of the Quraan (19 = = one).23F24

In the book, Quran: Visual Presentation of the Miracle, Rashad Khalifa overwhelms the reader with 247 pages of data proving 52 so-called physical facts. Each fact is supported with pages of tables containing additions, multiplications and divisions of letters, words and verses from the Quraan. This book, due to its size alone, is enough to convince the casual reader of its authenticity, as even a few errors would not be enough to counter the apparently extensive body of data to support the theory. However, under closer examination, it becomes evident that the 52 facts are in fact based on a relatively small number of principles that may be grouped together and refuted under the few general headings that I have chosen as chapter titles.

24 Quran: Visual Presentation of The Miracle, pp. 70-73, 243. Note: This calculation is based on the Abjad system of numerology in which the letters of the Arabic alphabet are given numerical values. See chapter 9 for more detail.

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1. INTERPRETATIONS OUT OF CONTEXT

he Quran, like any other text, may be misinterpreted if verses are taken out of their context or out of the context of the text as a whole. While compiling his so-called facts, Rashad Khalifa

freely took verses out of their context in order to interpret them in an unorthodox manner and to create multiples of 19 where they do not exist. For example, when Khalifa presented his interpretation of verse 30 (Over it are nineteen.) of Soorah al-Muddaththir (74) in his book, Quran: Visual Presentation of the Miracle, he mentioned before it some other verses taken at random from various parts of the Quraan. Then he deliberately misinterpreted them in order to build his case. He made the statement: A great Secret will prove the authenticity and divine source of the Quran, then he quoted verses 4-6 of Soorah al-Furqaan (25): The disbelievers said, This is a fabrication by him (Muhammad)

done with the help of others. Indeed, they have produced a blasphemy and a lie. They also said, Tales of the men of old which he has written down and are dictated to him morning and evening. Say, He who knows the Secret of the heavens and the earth has revealed it. Surely, He is forgiving and merciful. 24F25

25 Quran:Visual Presentation of the Miracle, p. 2.

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Following that, he made the statement: This great Quranic secret is to be unveiled at a time subsequent to the era of the prophet Muhammad, and then he quoted verse 20 from Soorah Yoonus (10): They will say, If only a miracle were sent down to him

from his Lord! They say, The future belongs to Allaah. So wait! Indeed, I am waiting with you.25F26

Khalifa then turns to Soorah al-Muddaththir and claims; THE SECRET REMAINED HIDDEN FOR 1400 YEARS described in Chapter 74, entitled AL-MUDDATH-THIR which means THE HIDDEN (SECRET).26F27

Following that misinterpretation of the word muddaththir 27F28, Rashad Khalifa then translated the first seven verses of Soorah al-Muddaththir. However, despite his mistranslation of a number of words,28F29 it is obvious that the verses are referring to a human being29F30 and not an inanimate object like the number 19. His mistranslation is as follows:

26 Ibid, p. 3. 27 Quran:Visual Presentation of the Miracle, p. 5. 28 Al-muddaththir actually means one wrapped in a cloak and refers to Prophet Muhammad () who wrapped himself in his cloak after his first experience with revelation. It does not by any stretch of the imagination mean a heavenly or earthly secret which has been hidden for 1400 years. 29 For example, in verse 4 he translates the verb tahhir as shed when its meaning is purify (the noun tahaarah, purification is derived from it) and he also translates the plural noun thiyaab (sing. thawb) as covers instead of garments or clothes. Hence, the verse should read And purify your garments and not Shed your covers. 30 I.e., Prophet Muhammad ().

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O you hidden secret. Get up and warn. And glorify your Lord. Shed your covers. Avoid falsehood. Do not exceed the limits. And persevere in serving your Lord. 30F31

He then does a verse-by-verse translation of verses 18-30. Following that, he summarizes what he claims to be the five objectives of verse 31, without translating it, and then continues to translate verses 32-35. Khalifa purposely avoids the translation of verse 31 because it provides the contextual meaning for verse 30, proving, without a shadow of a doubt, that number nineteen mentioned in verse 30 refers to none other than the angels guarding the Hellfire and not the miraculous mathematical code, as he claims. Verses 24-30 are as follows: Then he31F32 said, This is only magic from of old; This is

nothing but the word of a mortal! Soon I will cast him into Hellfire!32F33 And what will explain to you what Hellfire is? It leaves nothing and spares nothing. It burns man up. Over it are nineteen.

And verse 31:

31 Quran: Visual Presentation of The Miracle, p. 5. 32 Based on narrations collected by al-Haakim, al-Bayhaqee and others, the reputable commentators (Mufassiroon) of the Quraan unanimously agree that the pronoun he here refers to al-Waleed ibn al-Mugheerah who had initially been touched by the Prophet Muhammads () recitation of the Quraan but was later dissuaded from accepting Islam by Aboo Jahl. (See, Fath al-Qadeer, vol. 5, pp. 326-29, al-Jaami li Ahkaam al-Quraan, vol.19, pp. 70-1, and Jami al-Bayaan an Taweel Ayaa al-Quraan, vol. 29, pp. 152-3. 33 The word used here is Saqar which is another name for the Hell-fire as is clear from Soorah al-Qamar (54): 48 The day they will be dragged through the Fire on their faces (and told), Taste the touch of Saqar (Hell)! But, to escape the obvious implications, Dr.Rashad Khalifa mistranslates it as retribution.

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And We have only appointed angels as guardians of the Fire; and We have only set their number as a stumbling-block for the disbelievers, in order that those who received a Scripture may gain certainty and the believers may increase in faith; and that those given the Scripture and the believers may not doubt; and that those with diseased hearts and disbelievers may say, What does Allaah mean by this symbol? In this way Allaah cause whomsoever He wishes to go astray and guides whomsoever He wishes. No one knows the soldiers of your Lord besides Him and this is nothing but a reminder to mankind.

Khalifa interprets the meaning of verse 30 as: anyone who claims that that Quran is man-made (verse 25), will be proven wrong by means of the number 19 (verse 30).33F34 However, the verse says; Over it are nineteen and not Over Him are nineteen, as he claims. The Quraan uses the attached feminine pronoun haa and thus could not possibly refer back to verse 25 which along with verse 24 says; Then he said, This is only magic from of old; This is nothing but the word of a mortal! Even if Khalifa tried to claim that it refers to the Quraan which is described in verse 24 by the disbeliever as manmade, it would not work because the word Quraan is masculine and the demonstrative pronoun this used to refer to the Quraan is haathaa which is also masculine. The feminine pronoun haa, in fact, refers to the closest preceding feminine noun saqar (Hellfire) mentioned in verses 26-7 and described by two feminine verbs in

34 Quran: The Final Scripture, p.482.

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verse 28 tathar and tubqee and a feminine adjective in verse 29 lawwaahah. 34F35 Another example of misinterpretation can be found in the Quraanic quotes used by Rashad Khalifa to back his claim that the Quraan is the only source of guidance and that seeking guidance from the Prophets () sunnah constitutes idol-worship. Khalifa quoted the following portion of verse 38 of Soorah al-Anaam (6) in Arabic and English in his book Quran, Hadith and Islam, 35F36 We left nothing out of this Book (Quran) Then he stated the following: The Arabic text of this verse consists of 19 letters. The number of this verse is 38 or 19x2. However, the complete text of the verse is as follows:

) (

All animals crawling the earth or flying on wings or communities like you. We have omitted nothing from the Book, and they shall all be gathered to their Lord in the end.

The complete Arabic text contains much more than 19 letters! It should also be noted that the Arabic text does not use the demonstrative pronoun this but merely the definite article the. Hence, from the context of the verse, the Book referred to here is

35 See the book, The Quran and The Fallacy of Computer Concoction, published by Majlis Ulama of South Africa, P.O. Box. 3393, Port Elizabeth, pp.56-8 for a more detailed explanation of this grammatical point. 36 Page 65.

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not the Quraan, but the heavenly Book, al-Lawh al-Mahfooz, in which all things are written.36F37 On the following page Khalifa repeats the same trick by quoting, in both Arabic and English, a piece of verse 114 of the same soorah as God revealed this Book fully detailed, and deceptively states: The Arabic text of this verse consists of 19 letters. The number of this verse is 114; or 19X6.37F38 However, as in the previous case, the complete Arabic text of the verse contains much more than 19 letters as is obvious from the following quote of the complete verse and its translation:

)

( Say, Shall I seek another judge besides Allaah when it

is He who revealed to you the Book explained in detail? Those to whom We have given the Book know full well that it has been sent down from your Lord with truth. So, do not be doubtful.38F39

37 See vol. 6, p. 420 of the 13th century CE classical commentary on the Quraan by Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Qurtubee, al-Jaamili Ahkam al-Quraan, as well as vol. 2, p. 210 of Ismaaeel ibn Katheers (d. 1365 CE) commentary, Tafseer al-Quraan al-Azeem. See also verse 6 of Soorah Hood (11). 38 Quran, Hadith and Islam, p. 66. 39 Soorah al-Anaam, (6): 114.

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2. LETTER COUNT: TOTALS

number of Dr. Khalifas physical facts are based on the total number of letters in a verse, group of verses or a soorah (chapter) being a total of 19 or a multiple of nineteen. For

example, he claims that: i) the opening statement 39F40 of the Quraan consists

of 19 letters ii) the first five verses of revelation consisted of

76 letters (19x4) iii) the first chapter revealed consists of 304

letters (19x16) iv) the first of the last revelation consists of 19

letters 40F41 Such counts would only be valid if the Quraan were divinely revealed in the written form, which is not the case. The Quraan is essentially an oral revelation written down according to the Arabic script known to the Prophets () companions. 41F42 Even the peculiarities of the scribes responsible for transcribing copies of the Quraan made during Caliph Uthmaans reign (644-56 C.E.) have been preserved to this day since Muslim scholars, down through the ages, have unanimously agreed to follow the basic structure of the Uthmaanic transcription when making new copies of the Quraan. 42F43 Consequently, among the peculiarities of the Quraanic script existing to this day are Alifs (), Yaas () and Waaws () written but

40 I.e. The Basmalah: Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem. 41 Quran: Visual Presentation of The Miracle, pp. 244-5. 42 Al-Burhaan fee Uloom al-Quraan, vol.1, pp. 376-80. See also Mabaahith fee Uloom al-Quraan, pp. 146-50. 43 Manaahil al-Irfaan fee Uloom al-Quraan, vol. 1, pp. 377-8.

A

26

not read as well as some which are read but not written. 43F44 For example, the pronounced Alif in the word Kitaab is sometimes written () and at other times not (). 44F45 Similarly the unpronounced Alif in the phrase Bismi is written in some cases () and not in others (). Thus, in the opening statement of the Quraan, Bismilaahi-Rahmaani-Raheem (In the name of Allaah, the Beneficient, The Merciful), there are 3 deleted Alifs, one which is unpronounced in the phrase () and the other two pronounced in the words () and (), which make the actual total of letters 22 and not 19. The same may be said of most of the other facts resulting from letter counts, all of whose totals would become indivisible by 19 if their deleted Alifs were counted.

44 Al-Burhaan fee Uloom al-Quraan, pp.381-407. 45 See Soorah Taa Haa, (20): 52 and Soorah Fussilat, (41): 3.

27

3. LETTER COUNT: INCONSISTENCY

he largest group of Dr. Khalifas physical facts is based on total letter counts with regards to what he calls the Quranic Initials, the letters of the alphabet which appear singly or in

groups before 29 soorahs of the Quraan, for example Alif Lam Mim, Yaa Seen, Saad, etc. In Arabic these letters are referred to as Fawaatih as-Suwar or al-Muqattaaat.

In Fact Number 18 on his flyer entitled, Let The World Know Gods Message To The World, Dr. Khalifa states: It was discovered that the letters of All Quranic initials, without any exceptions, exist in their suras in multiples of 19. Any reader can easily verify this physical fact by counting the letter Qaf in the sura entitled Qaf (Sura 50). He will find that the letter Qaf occurs in this sura exactly 57 times (19 x 3). The only other sura initiated Qaf, namely, Sura 42, also contains the same number of Qaf, 57.

Mr. Ahmed Deedat echoed this claim in his representation of the theory as follows: Count the number of times the initials occur in the Suras and divide them by 19, and without exception, the answer is always an exact multiple of 19!45F46

This statement sounds very impressive, however, based on Rashad Khalifas own data, it is far from being the case. It is merely a sensational claim in which the facts have been grossly exaggerated to impress the reader in a style reminiscent of the news media. A quick review of Dr. Khalifas so-called Intricate Facts46F47, assuming that the totals are correct - which is a big assumption, indicates that

46 Al-Quran The Ultimate Miracle, p. 66. 47 Quran: Visual Presentation of The Miracle, pp. 245-7.

T

28

out of the total 29 soorahs beginning with the Arabic letters, the totals of 12 of them are not multiples of 19 and have to be combined with the totals of up to six other soorahs in order for their grand totals to become multiples of 19. For example, in the figures for the 7Haa Meem ( ) initialed soorahs,47F48 not a single soorahs individual total of Haas () and Meems () adds up to a multiple of 19! In order to get his multiple, Dr. Rashad has to total all 7 soorahs totals for a grand total of 2147 (19 x 113) Details from the visual counting of the letters HH and M in the HH.M. - initialed chapters CHAPTER HH M TOTAL 40.Ghaafir 64 380 444 41.Fussilat 48 276 324 42.Al-Shooraa 53 300 353 43.Al-Zukhruf 44 324 368 44.Al-Dukhaan 16 150 166 45.Al-Jaathiyah 31 200 231 46.Al-Ahhqaaf 36 225 261

Totals 292 1855 2147

2147 = 19 x 113 48F49 But, even this figure is suspect as it includes the total from Soorah ash- Shooraa (42) whose initials are not simply Haa

48 Quran: Visual Presentation of The Miracle, pp. 149-50. 49 Ibid., p. 147.

29

Meem ( ), but Haa Meem Ayn Seen Qaaf ( ), and if its total were removed, the grand total of the 6 soorahs which only begin with Haa Meem is then 1794 which is indivisible by 19! This fact also falsifies another of Dr. Khalifas facts namely Chapter 42 is prefixed with the three initials Ain, Sin, and Qaf, and the total occurrence of these three leters in this chapter is 209 or 19 x 11.49F50 Chapter 42 is in fact prefixed by five letters, as previously mentioned, and not three letters as he falsely claims. Furthermore, if Dr. Khalifas Haa Meem total of 353 for this Surah, is added to his Ayn Seen Qaaf total of 209 it makes a grand total of 562 which is also not divisible by 19! Similarly, Dr. Rashads individual totals for Soorah (20) prefixed by the letters Taa Haa (), Soorah ash-Shuaraa (26) prefixed by the letters Taa Seen Meem (), Soorah al-Qasas (28) also prefixed by the letters Taa Seen Meem and Soorah an-Naml (27) prefixed by the letters Taa Seen (), are all indivisible by 19!50F51 To achieve his illusive multiple, Dr. Rashad not only arbitrarily adds up all four totals of these soorahs whose only uniformly shared characteristic is their contradiction of his sensational claim, but he also includes Haa () from Soorah Maryam (19) which is prefixed by five letter Kaaf Haa Yaa Ayn Saad ()! Chapter H TT S M 19. Mary 175 - - - 20.TT.H. 4B 251 28 - - 26.Al-Shuaraa - 33 94 484

50 Quran: Visual Presentation of The Miracle, p. 246. 51 Ibid., p. 191.

30

27.Al-Naml - 27 94 - 28.Al-Qassass - 19 102 460

Total 426 107 290 944 GRAND TOTAL 51F52 = 426 + 107 + 290 + 944 = 1,767

1,767

=

19

X

93

He cleverly hides the obvious implications of this juggling of figures which he calls Physical Fact Number (37) by presenting it as follows; An interlocking relationship covers the Quranic initials Ha , Ta Ha , Ta Sin , Ta Sin Mim , in chapters 19,20,26,27 and 28. The total occurance of these letters in the five chapters is 1767; 19x93.52F53 But, Haa () by itself is not really a Quraanic initial; it is a part of the five-letter initial Kaaf Haa Yaa Ayn Saad. In fact, when Dr. Khalifas total of 798 for the five letters of Soorah Maryam53F54 is added to his total of 1592 for the four soorahs, Taa Haa, ash-Shuaraa, al-Qasas and an-Naml, it produces a grand total of 2390 which is not divisible by 19. There actually is no logic in his the addition of Haa () to the four-soorah total except to produce the magical multiple by any means necessary. In fact, the Meem () from the letters Alif Laam Meem ( ) preceding Soorah al-Ankaboot (29) has more right to be added to the four-soorah total as it has more in common with the four soorahs than the Haa (). Both Soorah al-Qasas (28) and Soorah ash-Shuaraa (26) have

52 Quran: Visual Presentation of The Miracle, p. 191. 53 Ibid., p. 162.

54 Ibid., p. 161.

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Meems in their initials while only Soorah Taa Haa has a Haa () in its initials. However, the interlocking relationship was not made with Soorah 29 because its total of 344 Meems as counted by Dr. Khalifa54F55 added to his total of 1592 for the initials of the four soorahs in question make a grand total of 1936, which is not divisible by 19. The total number of Saads ( ) in Soorah Saad (38) which has the single Quraanic initial Saad at its beginning is, according to Dr. Khalifas own figures, 29 which is not a multiple of 19. To produce his multiple, Rashad Khalifa adds to it 97 Saads from Soorah al-Araaf (7) which is prefixed by the four letters, Alif Laam Meem Saad ) and 26 Saads from Soorah Maryam (19) which is prefixed by five letters Kaaf Haa Yaa Ayn Saad ( ). Dr. Khalifa presents this contradiction to his premise as follows: The letter Sad as a Quranic Initial is found in 3 chapters, namely, Al-Araaf purgatory (Chapter 7), Mary , (Chapter 19), and Sad (Chapter 38). The total occurrence of the letter Sad in the three chapters is 152; 19 x 8.55F56 Even if such juggling of figures were to be justified by claiming that the miraculous numerical code is based on the individual letters of the Quraanic Initials and not necessarily the groups, such an argument would also not hold up under close study. For example, the letter Haa as a Quraanic Initial is found only in 2 chapters, namely Soorah Taa Haa (20) and Soorah Maryam (19), and the total occurrence of the letter in the two chapters, according to Dr. Khalifas figures,56F57 is 426 which is not a multiple of 19. The same can be said for the letter Kaaf () which, as a Quraanic initial,

55 Quran: Visual Presentation of The Miracle, p. 206. 56 Ibid., p. 92. 57 Ibid., p. 191.

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is only found in Soorah Maryam (19) and its total occurrence in the soorah according to Dr. Khalifas own calculations 57F58 is 137 which is also not a multiple of 19. The Quraanic Initial Ayn () is found only in two soorahs, namely, Soorah Maryam (19) in which it occurs 117 times 58F59 and Soorah ash-Shooraa (42) in which it occurs 98 times making a grand total of 215 which again is not a multiple of 19. In fact, according to Dr. Khalifas totals, more than half of the 14 letters do not make multiples of 19 when added in this fashion.

58 Quran: Visual Presentation of The Miracle, p. 161. 59 Ibid.

33

4. LETTER COUNT: MANIPULATION

f the remaining 17 chapters which have Arabic letters, 13 of them have the letter Alif () in the beginning of their Quranic Initials and Dr. Khalifa claims that in every case their

Initials occur a multiple of 19 times within their own chapters. For example, he claims that i) ii)

Chapter 2 is initialed with the letter A.L.M. and contains 9899 of these letters (19 x 521). Chapters 3,29,30,31 and 32 are also initialed with the letters A.L.M. and the total frequency of occurrence of these letters is 5662 (19 x298), 1672 (19x88), 1254 (19x66), 817 (19x43), and 570 (19x30), respectively.

He makes similar claims for the five chapters prefixed by the letters Alif Laam Raa (), the chapter prefixed by Alif Laam Meem Raa ( ) and for the remaining chapter prefixed by the letters Alif Laam Meem Saad ( ). Why do these 13 chapters fit so nicely into the theory and the previous 12 discussed in chapter three do not by Khalifas own admission? Actually none of these 13 chapters fit the theory, but Dr. Khalifa has managed to make them fit by doctoring the count of the Alifs in every case. He does this by selectively counting the letter Alif which is sometimes written above letters and read in ancient Arabic script as in the case of the Alif above the Laam in the word Allaah. If any are to be counted as Alifs, then all of them should be counted. By counting them where it is convenient, Dr. Khalifa is able to manipulate the totals in these 13 chapters and thereby produce multiples in every case. For example, in verse 8 of Soorah as-Sajdah (32)

O

34

) ( Dr. Khalifa records a total of 2 Alifs 59F60 by counting the raised Alif in the word () which is not written in the Quraanic script. While in verse 7 of the same soorah (32)

) ( he records only 5 Alifs 60F61 thereby excluding the raised Alif in the word () which is not written in the Quraanic script.

Another example can be seen in verse 158 of Soorah Aal-Imraan (3)

) ( Dr. Khalifa finds 4 Alifs 61F62 in it by including the raised Alif in the word () while excluding the raised Alif in the word (). While in verse 41 of Soorah ar-Rad (13), he has counted 16 Alifs, 62F63 by including the Alif in the word ().

) (

The Remaining Four

Based on the refutation in chapter three and what has preceded in this chapter, there remains only four (4) chapters out of the original 29 in which the total occurrence of the prefixed letters could actually add up to multiple of 19 as claimed by Khalifa in Fact Number 18 on his flyer entitled, Let The World Know Gods Message To The World:

60 Quran: Visual Presentation of The Miracle, p. 213. 61 Ibid., p. 213. 62 Ibid., p. 204. 63 Quran: Visual Presentation of The Miracle, p.231.

35

It was discovered that the letters of All Quranic initials, without any exceptions, exist in their suras in multiples of 19. Any reader can easily verify this physical fact by counting the letter Qaf in the sura entitled Qaf (Sura 50). He will find that the letter Qaf occurs in this sura exactly 57 times (19 x 3). The only other sura initiated Qaf, namely, Sura 42, also contains the same number of Qaf, 57. The remaining four chapters are: Soorah Qaaf (50), prefixed by the letter Qaaf (), Soorah al-Qalam (68), prefixed by the letter Noon (), Soorah Yaa Seen (36), prefixed by the two letters Yaa and Seen (), and Soorah Maryam (19), prefixed by the five letters Kaaf, Haa, Yaa, Ayn and Saad (). At this point, it should be noted that even if all the remaining four totals were multiples of 19 - which they are not, such a limited amount of data would not suffice to establish a miraculous numerical code for the whole Quraan and as such could only be considered a minor coincidence.

In the presentations of his theory, Dr. Khalifa always held up Soorah Qaaf (50) as practical evidence supporting his claim because it represents one of the few drops of truth within his ocean of lies. Readers and listeners were urged to count the Qaafs for themselves. 63F64 Once they did so and found the total to be 57 (19 x 3) as Khalifa claimed, they would then assume that all of his other totals were correct, as who had the time to count the total number of Alifs in Soorah al-Baqarah?

The total number of Noons in Soorah al-Qalam (50) is 132 which is not a multiple of 19. His claim that the total is 133 is dealt

64 See, Al-Quran The Ultimate Miracle, wherein Mr. Ahmed Deedat states: It

will take you just a few minutes to count these Qafs...You will feel the mairaculous nature of the Holy Quran. (Page 53).

36

with conclusively in chapter five64F65 of this book where it is exposed as a blatant lie.

The total for the letters of Soorah Yaa Seen is 271 which is not a multiple of 19. 8BSoorah Yaa Seen (36) Total 224 47 271 The total for the five letters of Soorah Maryam is not 798 or (19 x 42)65F66 as Khalifa claims but 670 which is not a multiple of 19. Soorah Maryam (19) 5BTotal 26 104 307 141 122 670

New Totals New Miracles

It should be further noted that there is a vast difference between the figures for the eight soorahs prefixed by Alif, Laam, Meem claimed by Dr. Khalifa in his booklet The Perpetual Miracle of Muhammad (pub. 1976)66F67 and those found in his mistranslation of the Quraan entitled, Quran: The Final Scripture (pub. 1981)67F68 and repeated in his compendium, Quran: Visual Presentation of the Miracle, (pub. 1982)68F69. His 1976 totals for the soorahs was 26,676, a convenient multiple of 19 (19 x 1404), whereas his later figures were not combined to make any claims.

65 Pages 39-40. 66 Quran: Visual Presentation of The Miracle, p. 161. 67 The Perpetual Miracle of Muhammad, p. 15. These figures were faithfully recorded by Ahmed Deedat on page 68 of his book, Al-Quran the Ultimate Miracle, (pub. 1979). 68 Quran:The Final Scripture, p. 480. 69 Quran: Visual Presentation of the Miracle, pp. 192-213.

37

1976-79 Figures 1981-82 Figures Soorahs

Al-Baqarah (2) 2195 3204 4592 2195 3202 4502 Aal Imraan (3) 1251 1885 2578 1249 1892 2521 Al-Araaf (7) 1165 1523 2572 - - - Ar-Rad (13) 260 479 625 - - - Al-Ankaboot (29) 347 554 784 349 554 774 Ar-Room (30) 318 396 545 317 393 544 Luqmaan (31) 177 298 348 173 297 347 As-Sajdah (32) 158 154 268 158 155 257 Totals: 5871 8493 12312 Grand Total: 26,969 (19 x 1404)

When his followers and well-wishers helpfully pointed out obvious mistakes in his totals, which could not be explained away (like those for Meem and Laam), Rashad was obliged to make modifications to retain his credibility. However, he cleverly used it to his advantage.

1976-79 Figures 1981-82 Figures Soorahs

Al-Baqarah (2) 2195 3204 4592 same -2 -90 Aal Imraan (3) 1251 1885 2578 -2 +7 -57 Al-Ankaboot (29) 347 554 784 +2 same -10 Ar-Room (30) 318 396 545 -1 -3 -1 Luqmaan (31) 177 298 348 -4 -1 -1 As-Sajdah (32) 158 154 268 same +1 -11

However, the greatest differences were in the totals of the Alifs. How does Rashad Khalifa account for a difference of 90 Alifs in Soorah al-Baqarah, 57 Alifs in Soorah AalImraan, 11 Alifs in

38

Soorah as-Sajdah and 10 in Soorah al-Ankaboot? He does not. Most of these differences were made by Khalifa, himself in order to set up more imaginary multiples. The differences in Alif totals are nothing but the result of arbitrary juggling, as previously demonstrated, in order to produce more miracles. In the early figures, the miraculous multiple of 19 did not show up in the individual totals for these soorahs. It only appeared in the grand total of all the letters for all seven soorahs. However, in the new figures, the totals for each individual soorah become a multiple of 19!!! Thus, seven new miracles replaced one previous miracle.

1981-82 Figures 69F70 Soorahs

Al-Baqarah (2) 9,899 (19 x 521) Aal Imraan (3) 5662 (19 x 298) Al-Ankaboot (29) 1672 (19 x 88) Ar-Room (30) 1254 (19 x 66) Luqmaan (31) 817 (19 x 43) As-Sajdah (32) 570 (19 x 30)

The figures for both Soorahs 7 and 13 are deliberately not given in either Quran: The Final Scripture or Quran:Visual Presentation of the Miracle. Why? God alone knows what other miracles he had planned.

70 Quran: The Final Scripture, p. 480.

39

5. LETTER COUNT: DATA FALSIFICATION

n a number of instances, Dr. Rashad Khalifa has actually fabricated data in order to artificially create letter totals which are multiples of 19. The falsification of letter count data may be

grouped under two main headings; a) Not counting existing letters and b) Changing the Text of the Quraan The first category is an extension of his letter manipulation, mentioned in the previous chapter, which could be considered errors in calculation and not deliberate doctoring of data except that Khalifas record of figure-juggling and arbitrary letter identification would tend to indicate otherwise. However, the second category in which he actually changes the Quraanic text leaves no room for doubt about the deliberate nature of these errors in the tabulation of his data. A. Existing Letters Ignored

Verse 21 of Soorah ar-Room (30) - prefixed with the letters Alif Laam Meem, contains an example of this type of data falsification. In Dr. Rashads table he calculates the number of Laams as only 7, 70F71 however, there are actually 8 Laams in the verse.

)

(

71 Quran: Visual Presentation of The Miracle, p. 210.

I

40

NO. ARABIC TEXT TRANSLITERATION ENGLISH MEANING

1 0B khalaka He created 2 lakaum For you 3 litaskunoo So you can live 4 ilayhaa With her 5 Jaala He made 6 thaalika that 7 Laaayaatin Indeed signs 8 liqawmin For a people

B. Textual Changes Instances in which the Rashad Khalifa has actually modified the text of the Quraan in order to make the soorahs letter-count conform to his theory are of two basic types: i) changes to increase the letter count and ii) changes to decrease the letter count. Both of these methods contradict the very aim which Dr. Khalifa claimed that the theory of 19 proved; That the Quraan was perfectly protected from the slightest distortion, addition or loss. For, as will be shown, he takes it upon himself to distort the Quraanic text by adding and deleting from its preserved text in order to conjure up his miraculous number 19. i) Additions to The Quraans Text Of the remaining four chapters in which the total occurrence of prefixed letters could add up to a multiple of 19 is Soorah al-Qalam (68), prefixed by the letter Noon (). According to Dr. Khalifa,

41

Chapter 68 is initialed with the letter Nun and contains 133 Nuns; 133 = 19 x 7,71F72

However, the actual number, with the inclusion of a Noon from the Basmalah72F73 (ie., the phrase Bismillaahir-Rahmaanir-Raheem which precedes most chapters) is 132. Faced with this dilemma of being agonizingly one Noon short of his desired total, Dr. Rashad resorted to the heretical act of rewriting the Quraanic text by actually changing the letter Noon (), which prefixes the soorah, to the word (), which is the name of the Arabic letter, thereby introducing another Noon into the text to achieve the desired total of 133 Noons. He did this in spite of writing in the beginning of the Soorah: Chapter 68 is initialed with the letter N, and contains 133 Ns. 133 = 19 x 7

Dr. Khalifas Arabic script

The correct mushaf

72 Ibid., p. 90.

73 It is generally held by scholars of the Quraan that the Basmalah is not a part of the Quraanic revelation, but only a dividing phrase indicating the end of one soorah and the beginning of the next. Thus, the actual total number of noons is 131.

42

Khalifa justified this change on pages 480-1 of the appendix to his mistranslation of the Quraan, Quran: The Final Scripture, as follows: It should be noted that all counts are based on the original Quranic Arabic, as found in Quranic printing strictly adhering to the original. The reader, by now appreciates the fact that the slightest alteration in one word, indeed one letter, utterly destroys this miraculous system. For example, point number 9 of the simple facts listed above states that the first Quranic revelation (19 words) consisted of 76 letters (19 x 4). This first revelation contains two words of , which means the human being. Some printings of the Quran use the conventional Arabic , rather than the Quranic Arabic . The reader who consults a printing that does not conform to the original Quranic Arabic will find that the first revelation consists of 78 letters, which is wrong. Another example is noteworthy. The letter Noon (N) of sura 68, verse 1, is spelled out into three alphabet letters . The printings of Quran have dropped this spelling and usually write down the single letter N. Thus, if the reader consults a Quranic printing that does not spell out the letter N into Noon, (he) will have a deficiency of 1 in the total frequency on Noon in surah 68. It should be noted that this is the only letter that is spelled out in the original. This method of argumentation is a classical example of the deceptive method used by heretics in which truth is mixed with falsehood. The first part of the statement is correct; the word Insaan

is written as , without the Alif, in the oldest

43

manuscripts of the Quraan and also in Quraans printed in the Arab world, while Quraans printed in India and Pakistan include this particular Alif based on their oldest manuscripts. This can easily be verified where prints of the Quraan from both regions are available. However, the second point is an outright lie whose veracity cannot be checked by most people, but, since the first point is verifiably true, people would tend to accept the second as also being true. Ancient manuscripts do not support this false claim in the least nor are there any reputable Quraanic printings that agree with him. In fact the 15th century C.E. Egyptian Quraanic scholar, Muhammad az-Zarkashee stated the following concerning the prefixed letters, Fourthly, they are all written in the Quraan in the form of letters and not in the form of their names. 73F74 Such an aberration can only be found in Dr. Rashads clumsily doctored photocopy of the Quraans text. He was also careful to point out that this peculiarity is limited to Soorah al-Qalam because its uniform application throughout the Quraan would upset most of his other concocted multiples.

ii) Deletion From The Quraans Text As was pointed out earlier, in the case of Soorah Saad (38) which is prefixed by the letter Saad () and which contains only 29 Saads (10 more than 19, and 9 less than 38), Dr. Rashad achieved his multiple of 19 by adding to it 26 Saads from Soorah Maryam and 98 from Soorah al-Araaf since both of these soorahs have the letter Saad in their initials. However, the resulting grand total was 153, agonizingly one more than was necessary to achieve his miraculous multiple of 19. Faced with this problem, Dr. Khalifa simply gave a false total of 28 Saads for Soorah Saad. He then proceeded to point out that the divine wisdom behind writing the

74 al-Burhaan fee Uloom al-Quraan, vol. 1, p. 172.

44

word Bastatan as with a Saad instead of a Seen (), in verse 69 of Soorah al-Araaf was to maintain the intricate mathematical relationship necessary to produce a multiple of 19 in the total number of Saads from the three soorahs. This line of argument was also repeated by Ahmed Deedat in his summary of Dr. Khalifas early presentation of the theory and its supportive data. 74F75

However, it was later pointed out to Dr. Khalifa that his total for Soorah Saad was incorrect which created a new problem for him. He solved this problem in the 1982 edition of his book, Quran: Visual Presentation of the Miracle, by presenting a grand total of 152 Saads (19 x 8) for the three soorahs without indicating their individual totals.75F76 Instead, he included in his book a photocopy of the three chapters with stars indicating the letters to be counted in order to camouflage the changes he had made to the text. However, when his running count was closely scrutinized, it became clear that he had corrected the total for Soorah Saad while simultaneously reducing the total in Soorah al-Araaf from 98 Saads to 97. This was achieved by taking the heretical step of actually deleting a Saad from the Soorah Saad. Dr. Rashad Khalifa rewrote the same word which he had previously held up as evidence of divine intervention in maintaining the miraculous code of 19! He removed the Saad from the word and replaced it with a Seen !

75 Al-Quran the Ultimate Miracle, pp. 60-6. See also Rashad Khalifas 15 page

booklet, The Perpetual Miracle of Muhammad, p. 13. 76 Quran: Visual Presentation of The Miracle, pp. 92 and 117.

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6. WORD COUNT: GRAMMATICAL INCONSISTENCIES

number of the facts used by Rashad Khalifa to establish 19 as the Quraans code are based on passage or chapters from the Quraan wherein the total number of words are claimed to

be 19 or multiples of 19. For example, Dr. Khalifa claims in his books, Quran: Visual Presentation of the Miracle and Quran: The Final Scripture, that:

i) the first Quranic revelation (96:1-5) was exactly 19 words 76F77

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx PHYSICAL FACT NUMBER (3)

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ******************************************************* The first Quranic revelation consisted of 19 words

******************************************************* These famous words are found in the first 5 verses of Chapter 96.

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

14 13 12 11 10 9 8

77 Quran: Visual Presentation of The Miracle, p. 11.

A

46

19 18 17 16 15

ii) The last chapter revealed (ch. 110) consists of 19 words

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

PHYSICAL FACT NUMBER (8) xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ******************************************************* The last Quranic revelation consisted of 19 words

*******************************************************

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

14 13 12 11 10 9 8

19 18 17 16 15

47

iii) The second revelation (68: 1-9) was 38 words; 19 x 2

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

PHYSICAL FACT NUMBER (10) xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ******************************************************* Second revelation (the first 9 verses of Chapter 68) consisted of 38 words, and 38 = 19 x 2 ******************************************************* NO.

ARABIC TEXT

ENGLISH TRANSLITERATION

ENGLISH MEANING

1 NOON ALPHABET (N) 2 WAL-QALAMI & THE PEN 3 WAMA-YASTTUROON & WHAT THEY WRITE 4 MAA-ANTA YOU ARE NOT 5 BINIMATI BECAUSE OF THE MESSAGE 6 RABBIKA OF YOUR LORD 7 BIMAJNOON A MAD MAN 8 WA-INNA & SURELY 9 LAKA YOU WILL RECEIVE 10 LAAJRAN A RECOMPENSE 11 GHAYRA NOT 12 MAMNOON UNDESERVED 13 WA-INNAKA & SURELY YOU ARE 14 LAALAA ENDOWED WITH 15 KHULUQIN CHARACTER 16 AZZEEM THAT IS HONORABLE 17 FASATUBSSIRU YOU WILL FIND OUT

48

18 WAYUBSSIROON & THEY WILL FIND OUT 19 BI-AYYEEKUM WHICH OF YOU 20 AL-MAFTOON IS THE WRONG ONE 21 INNA SURELY 22 RABBAKA YOUR LORD 23 HUWA IS THE ONE 24 ALAMU FULLY AWARE 25 BIMAN OF THOSE 26 DDALLA WHO STRAY 27 AN FROM 28 SABEELIHI HIS PATH 29 WA-HUWA & HE IS THE ONE 30 ALAMU FULLY AWARE 31 BIL-MUHTADEEN OF THE GUIDED ONES 32 FALAA DO NOT 33 TUTTI OBEY 34 AL-MUKADHIBEEN THE DISBELIEVERS 35 WADDOO THEY WISH 36 LAWW THAT 37 TUD-HINU YOU COMPROMISE 38 FAYUD-HINOON SO THEY CAN COMPROMISE 77F78

iv) the third revelation (73:1-10) was 57 words; 19 x 3 78F79 v) the number of words between the two Basmalas. of Sura 27 is 342; 19 x 18.79F80

78 Quran: Visual Presentation of The Miracle, p. 22. 79 Ibid., p. 23. 80 Quran: The Final Scripture, p. 473.

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However, to obtain these multiples, Rashad Khalifa has followed a haphazard system of word identification that totally contradicts both classical and modern rules of Arabic grammar and lexography. For example, he counts the relative pronoun allathee: which as a single word in example (i) word 13 and the negative particle lam: not as a single word 80F81 while elsewhere counting maa lam together as one word in example (i) word 18 when maa is also a relative pronoun equivalent to allathee.

He also counts the conjunction wa: and as a part of the word following it even though it is a separate word. In example (iii), according to Dr. Khalifa, word 3 is made up of the conjunction wa, the relative pronoun maa and the verb yasturoon.

Prepositions like fee: in in example (ii) word 9, alaa: on 81F82 and min: from in example (i) word 8 are all counted as separate words, while the preposition bi meaning in, on, at, and with is not counted as a separate word. Instead it is counted as a part of the word to which it is joined as in example (i) word 2. The same can be said of possessive pronouns like ka meaning your. Dr. Khalifa does not count them as words. For example, word 11 in example (i) is actually composed of the conjunction wa, the noun rabb and the possessive pronoun ka (i.e., wa rabbuka means and your Lord). Hence, when the correct method of identifying words is employed, not a single one of Dr. Khalifas five major facts mentioned above remains a multiple 19.

81 Quran: Visual Presentation of The Miracle, pp. 18. 82 Ibid., p. 40.

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7. WORD COUNT: DATA FALSIFICATION

he last major group of facts used by Rashad Khalifa to prove his miraculous numerical code is the four words which compose the phrase, Bismillahi-Rahmaani-Raheem82F83

(In the Name of Allaah, the Beneficient, the Merciful) which precedes most chapters of the Quraan. Dr. Rashad considers the 19-letter Basmalah the basis of the Quraans numerical code. The fact that the Basmalah is composed of 19 written letters was not first discovered by Dr. Rashad, but has been spoken about by various individuals belonging to secret societies and sects from the early era of Islaam until today. 83F84 From this basic fact, which has no great significance since the Basmalah is actually composed of 22 spoken letters,84F85 Khalifa has attempted to create an aura of numerical mysticism by claiming for the Basmalah a battery of amazing facts. Foremost among these so-called facts are the following:

83 Referred to as the Basmalah. 84 As early as the beginning of the 9th Century C.E., the Ismaili Shiite sect delved into mystical numbers, and the treatise attributed to Ibn Hawshab al-Kufi, was one of the first recorded attempts to use the number 19 to propagate their beliefs. He wrote as follows: The first words of the Quraan are: Bismillahi-Rahmaanir-Raheem. In the name of Allaah (Bismillaah) is written with 7 letters from which 12 others can be derived, and then the 12 letters of - The Merciful, the Compassionate (ar-Rahmaanir-Raheem) - follow. This Surah is known as the Surah of Praise and it is composed of 7 verses. The 7 letters of Bismillaah refer to the 7 Natiqs and the 12 derived letters indicate the fact that every Natiq has 12 Naqibs. Then from the 12 letters of ir-Rahmaanir-Raheem are derived 19 letters referring to the fact that from each Natiq is derived 7 Imams and 12 Hujjahs making 19 altogether. (Translated by Kamil Hussein, Leiden: 1948. quoted in the booklet, Ephemeral Nineteen, p. 1). 85 See Chapter 2, Letter Counts: Totals, for further clarification of this point.

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Taking only one Basmala to represent the 114 Basmalas of the Quran (only the first one, in the first sura, is given a number 85F86), we find that every word in the Basmala is repeated in the whole Quran a number of times that is always a multiple of 19.

i. the word Ism is found in Quran 19 times ii. the second word Allaah is mentioned 2698 times ( 19 x 142) iii. the third word Alrahman is mentioned 57 times (19 x 3) iv. the last word Alraheem is mentioned 114 times (19 x 6)

(Based on this single fact, the respected scientific journal Scientific American proclaimed that this is an ingenuous study of the Koran. See Scientific American, September 1980, pp. 22-24). This fact alone is sufficient to prove the divine source of Quran...)86F87

Although Khalifas claim sounds spectacular and impressive, it is no nearer to reality than any of his earlier sensational claims. However, before examining the facts of Khalifas word count claim, let us examine his claim of scientific verification. In the above-mentioned quote, Khalifa gave the impression that this aspect of his theory was

86 In some printings of the Quraan. 87 See the flyer Let The World Know Gods Message To The World, fact no. 12. See also, Quran: The Final Scripture, p. 472 and Quran: Visual Presentation of The Miracle, pp. 27-69.

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published in the prestigious scientific journal, Scientific American, as an ingenious study of the Koran which is not the case at all. In fact, its mention appeared in a humorous 4-page article called Mathematical Games in which the columnist, Martin Gardner, presents some mathematical curiosities and riddles in story form, replete with fictional characters. In the September 1980 episode, the story is about the authors fictitious encounter in Istanbul with a C.I.A. agent, Dr. Matrix, who has adopted the ludicrous name of Abdul Abulbul Amir, and his half-Japanese daughter Iva who takes the name Fatima. The story is filled with satirical comments and snide remarks about Islam. In a short paragraph on page 22 of the fictitious story, Dr. Matrix gives the author a copy of a 60-page booklet entitled Number 19: A Numerical Miracle in the Koran, mentions the four points about the Basmalah, and says, Its an ingenious study of the Koran... but it would have been more impressive if Khalifa had consulted me before he wrote it. Dr. Matrix then proceeds to discuss some peculiarities of integers and prime numbers. Thus, the scientific establishments recognition of Rashad Khalifas theory is a lie and deliberate deception. The Facts The initial condition of not considering the other 112 Basmalahs when calculating the frequency of occurrence of the words of the Basmalah87F88 is illogical since Dr. Khalifa includes the Basmalah in his entire letter counts for individual soorahs. The fact that it is a verse only in the first soorah as well as in Soorah al-Naml, (27): 30 did not stop him from depending on its letters in the totals for the Quraanic Initials. Hence, if he were consistent in his

88 Khalifa stated the following at the beginning of his claim: Taking only one Basmala to represent the 114 Basmalas of the Quran (only the first one, in the first sura, is given a number)

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calculations by including the 112 Basmalahs in his totals for the four words of the Basmalah, not a single one of them would remain a multiple of 19. However, even if the exclusion of the Basmalahs were allowed, only one of the totals for the four words of the Basmalah is actually a multiple of 19 while the remaining three are a result of rigged data. I. Ism The claim that the first word Ism is found exactly 19 times in the Quraan is incorrect from at least three points of view.

a) It is illogical for Khalifa to consider the first word of the Basmalah to be Ism , because he earlier considered Bism in Soorah al-Alaq (96) to be one word. 88F89 Hence, he should consider the first word to be Bism , which occurs not 19, but only 7 times; 3 times in the shortened form and 4 times with the Alif included . b) If the first word is considered to be Ism and the phrase Bism is excluded from the count, the form Bism with the Alif should also be excluded. If both forms of Bism are excluded, the total occurrence of the word Ism becomes 15 times, which is not a multiple of 19. In order to get his multiple, Khalifa has included the four instances of Bism with the Alif in Soorah 96, and twice in Soorah 56. 89F90 c) Even if the first word were accepted as Ism including the phrase Bism with the Alif and excluding the form without the Alif, the count could not be considered to be 19 because it would include in verse 11 of Soorah al-Hujuraat (49) which does not refer to Allaah. This was his rule used to make

89 Quran: Visual Presentation of The Miracle, p. 11. 90 Ibid, p. 27.

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the total number of Raheems a multiple of 19. Khalifa excluded one instance in which the word was mentioned claiming that it did not refer to Allaah.90F91

Thus, it may be concluded that the first word Ism or

Bism does not occur 19 times or a multiple of 19 in the Quran by any logical system of counting. II. Allaah In his book, Quran :Visual Presentation of The Miracle, Rashad Khalifa included 34 pages of data tabulating the 2,698 (19 x 142) places in the Quraan in which the word Allaah occurs.91F92 This total has been held up as dramatic evidence of how deeply the numerical code of 19 is interwoven in the fabric of the Quraan. The total can be found in his flyers, books and monthly newsletters. However, in the March 1985 issue of his monthly newsletter, Rashad Khalifa admitted that after a revision of his data, his figures for the frequency of occurrence of the word Allaah were off by one! According to the Doctor, the word actually occurs, 2,699 times, which is not a multiple of 19. III. Ar-Rahmaan This is the only one of the four words composing the Basmalah which actually occurs a multiple of 19 times (57 = 19 x 3) in the Quraan. However, it should be remembered that the only way in which even this multiple could be arrived at was by including only the Basmalah preceding the first soorah and excluding the 112 Basmalahs preceding the others soorahs all of which the Doctor conveniently includes in his letter counts. In any case, one word out

91 See point no. iv for a more detailed explanation of this argument. 92 Quran: Visual Presentation of The Miracle, pp. 30-63.

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of four occurring a multiple of 19 times could hardly be considered as proof for a miraculous numerical code intricately interwoven throughout the Quraan. IV. Ar-Raheem Dr. Rashad Khalifa boldly states in his book, Quran: Visual Presentation of The Miracle92F93 that the fourth word in the opening statement is mentioned in the Quraan 114 times (19 x 6) without making any stipulations. However, in appendix I of his mistranslation of the Quraan which he calls, Quran:The Final Scripture, he writes: The fourth word, Al-Raheem = most merciful, is found in the Quran 115 times. This number is not a multiple of 19. But, we note that there is one Al-Raheem word in Quran that refers specifically to the Prophet Muhammad and not to God (verse 128 of sura 9). Since the verse is in the name of God, we must exclude the word referring specifically to the Prophet. Thus the frequency of occurrence of Al-Raheem as an attribute of God is 114. 19 x 6. 93F94

This reasoning sounds logical except that in the case of the first word Ism he included in his contrived total of 19 an instance which does not refer to God: entry no. 10, Chapter 49, the 11th verse. 94F95

) ( .... The worst name is one implying sinfulness after he has believed.

93 Ibid, p.66. 94 Quran: The Final Scripture, p.472. 95 Quran: Visual Presentation of The Miracle, p.27.

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Hence, this qualification, if applied consistently, would only further invalidate the total for the first word as well as the other 8 supposed word-count violations. Dr. Khalifa has also included in his total a mixture of definite forms of the word Ar-Raheem and indefinite forms (),95F96 both of which were excluded in one or another of the totals for the other 8 words found in the last two verses of Soorah at-Tawbah which supposedly violate the code of 19. Thus, in arriving at his desired total, the Doctor follows another incoherent pattern not used in the other 8 supposed violations of the code.

96 Soorah al-Baqarah 2: 173, 182, 192, 218 and 226.

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8. REJECTION OF A PART OF THE QURAAN

n order to cover up the errors in his original calculations for the word Allah , Dr. Khalifa went on the offensive by denying the authenticity of some verses from the Quraan. Khalifa had to

remove a whole word from the Quraan in order to keep his code intact. That major feat of tampering was accomplished by yet another heretical claim. He announced in his newsletter that this contradiction to his theory was clear proof that the Quraan had been tampered with in earlier times! It had not been perfectly preserved and protected from any addition or loss as he had previously claimed that his code proved. He wrote the following in his newsletter:

It is the result of this vast review of the computer data that unveiled the shocking crime of tampering with the Quran. Nine violations of the Qurans mathematical code were discovered by the time the review of data was completed. ALL NINE VIOLATIONS HAVE BEEN FOUND IN THE LAST TWO VERSES OF SURA 9.

VIOLATIONS OF THE QURANS MATHEMATICAL

MIRACLE VIOLATED

WORD Frequency in Quran

Without Removal of 9: 128 and 129

Frequency in Quran After Removal of 9:

128 and 129 Messenger 115 114 (19 x 6) (your) selves 153 152 (19 x 8) Merciful 115 114 (19 x 6) Turn away 20 19 (19 x 1) God 2699 2698 (19 x 142)

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God 96 95 (19 x 5) Trust 58 57 (19 x 3) Lord 970 969 (19 x 51) Throne 20 19 (19 x 1)96F97

His justification for this bold statement of disbelief is based on two main arguments, both of which are false.

a) There existed and still exists doubt about the authenticity of these verses among early and modern scholars of the Quraan.

b) The only nine violations of the code can all be found in the two verses.

Concerning the first argument, Khalifa stated,

Before presenting the physical evidence, it should be pointed out that the last two verses of sura 9 have always been suspect. ALL classic and modern references dealing with the collection and recording of the original Quran have UNANIMOUSLY agreed that these two verses ARE THE ONLY VERSES IN QURAN THAT FAILED TO MEET THE CRITERIA SET BY ABU BAKR, OMAR AND ZEID IBN THABET (the original collectors of Quran). According to these references, the last two verses of sura 9 were never confirmed by the criterion of SOURCE MULTIPLICITY.97F98

97 Muslim Perspective, March, 1985, p. 4. 98 Muslim Perspective, March, 1985, p. 2.

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As proof for this line of argument, Khalifa mentioned the names of five references without quoting anything from any of them, thus the reader is obliged to take his word that they confirm what he claims. Saheeh al-Bukhaaree

The first of the references listed by Rashad Khalifa is the famous hadeeth collection of the 9th century C.E. known as Saheeh al-Bukhaaree. Although Dr. Khalifa had denied the validity of hadeeths much earlier, claiming them all to be forgeries, here he stated that: Sahih Bukhari gives three different accounts regarding this subject. 98F99 The following is the longest and most complete of the three accounts mentioned in Saheeh al-Bukhaaree:

Zayd ibn Thaabit said, Aboo Bakr as-Siddeeq sent for me just after the Battle of Yamaamah in which many of the Prophets companions were killed. When I came to him, I found Umar ibn al-Khattaab sitting with him. Aboo Bakr then said to me, Umar has come and told me that there were many casualties among the Quraan memorizers during the Battle of Yamaamah and he fears that many more of them will die on other battlefields. As a result, much of the Quraan may be lost. So, he has suggested to me that I order that the Quraan be collected in one book. I asked him how he could do something that Allaahs messenger did not do. Umar said that it was good and he kept on urging me to do it until Allaah made me realize the good in it. You (Zaid) are a wise and trustworthy young man, and you are among those who wrote down the revelation of the Quraan for the Messenger of Allaah (), so go and search for the Quraan and collect it. By Allaah! If they had ordered me to

99 Muslim Perspective, March 1985.

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shift a mountain, it would not have been a heavier task than ordering me to collect the Quraan. When I asked Aboo Bakr how he could do what the Messenger of Allaah () had not done, he told me there was good in it and persisted until Allaah made me recognize the benefit in it which he had shown Aboo Bakr and Umar. So I searched for the Quraan and collected it from what was written on the stalks of palm leaves, stone tablets and also from those who had memorized it, until I found the last verse of Soorah at-Tawbah with Aboo Khuzaymah al-Ansaaree and I did not find them with anyone else: Verily a Prophet from among yourselves has come to you. It grieves him that you should be injured or face difficulty... (until the end of the Soorah al-Baraaa99F100. The complete manuscript remained with Aboo Bakr until he died, then with Umar until the end of his life, and then with Umars daughter, Hafsah.100F101 As is obvious from the text of above-mentioned hadeeth, there was no suspicion about the authenticity of the two verses nor is there any mention that they did not conform to any set criteria. The hadeeth only indicates the reason why the Quraan was collected in one book and the efforts made by the Prophets companion, Zayd ibn Thaabit, to gather it from all available sources. Unanimous Agreement of Scholars? The other four references, which were mentioned by Dr. Khalifa as support for his claim, all quote or rely on one or more of the hadeeth narrations from Saheeh al-Bukhaaree and other hadeeth works, and comment on them. For example, Khalifa includes in his list the 16th century classic on Quraanic disciplines, al-Itqaan fee

100 Soorah at-Tawbah, (9): 128-29. 101 Sahih al-Bukhari, vol. 6, pp. 477-8.

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Uloom al-Quraan. Its author, Abdur-Rahmaan as-Suyootee, included in his commentary on the previously mentioned hadeeth collected by Imaam al-Bukhaaree a quote from another great scholar of his time, (Aboo Shaamah) said that their intention was to insure that only that which was written in the Prophets () presence was collected and not only that which was memorized. Because of that, he (Zayd) said the following concerning the end of Soorah at-Tawbah, I did not find it with anyone else. That is, he did not find it written with anyone else, because memory alone was not considered sufficient without written support.101F102

In a more recent work, the Lebanese hadeeth scholar, Dr. Subhee as-Saalih, made the following comment on the account in Saheeh al-Bukhaaree, Zayds statement that he only found the end of Soorah at-Tawbah with Aboo Khuzaymah al-Ansaaree might present a problem for the reader. However, the problem is quickly resolved when the reader learns that Zayd meant that he only found it written with Aboo Khuzaymah, which was sufficient for it to be accepted, as many Companions of the Prophet () had memorized it and so had Zayd. He only wanted to confirm what was memorized by what was written as a precautionary measure. That was also the method that he followed in collecting the rest of the Quraan as requested by Aboo Bakr. There had to be two confirming sources for a verse or group of verses to be accepted: a memorized source and a written source... Zayds statement, I only found it with Aboo Khuzaymah does not in any way imply that a portion of the Quraan

102 Al-Itqaan fee Uloom al-Quraan, vol. 1, pp. 77-8. See also the 15th century Egyptian scholar, Muhammad az-Zarkashees, al-Burhaan fi Uloom al-Quraan, vol. 1, p. 234.

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was recorded on the basis of a single source, because Zayd had heard it before and knew its location...102F103

Hence, Dr. Rashad Khalifas claim that both early and modern scholars who wrote on the collection of the Quraan are unanimously agreed that the last two verses of Soorah at-Tawbah (9) are the only verses in the Quraan that failed to meet the criterion of source multiplicity is totally false. Not only is it not unanimous, but also it is non-existent among authoritative works, past or present, written by Muslim scholars.

Violations of the Code?

As for the second part of his argument concerning the so-called nine violations to his numerical code, it has already been clearly demonstrated in the previous chapters that the so-called miraculous code is no more than a coincidence occurring only in a few rare instance. It is not only violated and contradicted nine times, but innumerable times throughout the Quraan; it is violated not merely in one soorah but in most of the soorahs of the Quraan. However, just