On the “Qur’an birth” Controversy

Also published in DAILY TRUST

 

A story recently published in some newspapers in Nigeria, and went viral on the Internet, that a baby was born clutching a copy of the noble Qur’an in his right hand, stirred up a controversy over its authenticity, scientific and religious explanations. Some doctors interviewed about the story rejected it outright on scientific grounds, while many non-Muslims rejected it or at least expressed doubt about it, apparently due to its allusion to the divine validity of the Islamic religion, which by implication necessarily means the invalidity of their religion(s).

Meanwhile, predictably, many Muslims believed the story and regarded it as a miracle confirming the exclusive divinity of Islamic religion.

Anyway, it is pertinent to note that, the attitude of unnecessary obsession with “miracles” to confirm the divinity of Islamic religion, has crept into Muslims’ attitudes from other religions, which, having no sound theological, scientific and philosophical arguments to support their religious’ claims of divinity, resort to superstition, tricks and even magic, which they present to their largely gullible followers as miracles that according to them confirm the validity of their religions.

While as opposed to all other religious books, the Qur’an encourages and indeed challenges people to scrutinize and subject it to whatever theological, scientific, historical, logical and/or philosophical tests, to ascertain its exclusive divinity and everlasting validity, before even believing in it. After all, it is the only religious book that meritoriously boasts of being the exact words of God revealed upon the last apostle of Allah; Mohammad (PBUH).

Moreover, it is the only religious book that not only maintains its intactness over the centuries, but also guarantees its own exactness forever, and even challenges the entire human being to (if they can) identify any theological illogicality, scientific inaccuracy, historical or linguistic inconsistency or any philosophical defect in it.

Incidentally, it has indeed been and is still been subjected to rigorous scientific tests by various reputable mostly non-Muslim scientists and research institutes around the world, only to eventually arrive at precise agreements between all scientifically proven findings and what it had already maintained more than fourteen hundred years ago.

According to Islam, this is the most important and everlasting miracle, which distinguishes the Qur’an from all other religious books, which can’t even methodically prove its very attributions to its purported sources through scientific chain of narrations. This among other things explains its inherent contradictions and inconsistencies even in areas as simple as basic mathematical calculations.

Nevertheless, the claim that a baby was born in a Lagos church clutching a copy of the noble Qur’an is a bizarre lie, to say the least. Though, I know that many gullible people while trying to justify it would argue that, it is possible anyway, because after all, Allah is capable of doing everything. This argument is not only naïve but it disregards the natural rules of life to which Allah the almighty had subjected the circumstances in this world.

It is a fact that, the whole story originated not from the mother of the baby, Mrs. Kikelomo Ilori. Instead it originated from one Mrs Victoria Moses; a midwife, who reportedly handled the birth of the baby, and one Ayomide Akinsoji; Kikelomo’s sister-in-law, who reportedly claimed that, “When the Quran was with the baby, in the baby’s palm, the baby folded his hand in a way that the Quran was not visible. But now, if you put the Quran in the baby’s hand, it is bigger than the baby’s hand because it has become bigger. Maybe as the baby grows, the mini Quran will be getting bigger.”

In any case, their accounts, which form the basis of the whole story, do not seem credible enough to conclude that a copy of the Qur’an was born with the baby. This is because, the midwife did not mention how she concluded that what the baby was said to be clutching was actually a copy of the Qur’an. Also the mother’s sister-in law, though claimed that “the baby folded his hand in a way that the Quran was not visible”, yet she also did not mention how she came to know it was actually a copy of the Qur’an.

Also the story is too superstitious in nature having effectively claimed that, the copy of the Qur’an was initially too small that the baby’s hand could cover it up, only to begin growing afterwards, as the mother’s sister-in law and also the baby’s grand-mother claimed.

Moreover, a copy of the holy Qur’an can never be found naturally soaked in blood amidst other dirty and filthy stuff associated with the process of giving birth. Even laymen amongst Muslims realize how Islam classifies blood as impure i.e. najasa, that one can’t perform a prayer with a blood stained cloth or on a blood stained spot until he cleans it up.  And notwithstanding the exemption of a very tiny blood stain given by some Muslim scholars, Islam classifies blood as a filth that has to be cleaned up under any circumstances.

Interestingly enough, it was perhaps in order to cover up this inconsistency that, the sister-in-law claimed that, “But, at first glance, it looked like it was wrapped in nylon, which made it difficult for anyone to see”, which some apparently misled “Islamic scholars” explained that “the wrapping was to ensure that the mother’s blood did not touch the mini Quran.”

In addition to all these, there are other facts, which can’t be reconciled with the circumstances in that reported incident. For instance, though it is a book, the Qur’an was not given to the apostle of Allah in book form per se or in any other material form for that matter. Instead it was revealed unto him over the period of twenty three years of his mission, through which it was recorded, though not compiled in book form until after his demise when the revelation stopped.

Furthermore, theologically speaking, the Qur’an as it was revealed; being words of Allah the Almighty, is not a creature; instead it represents part of the Divine Attribute of Speech, which is part of the many Exclusive Divine Attributes of Allah the Almighty. Hence, it can’t be naturally associated with anything characteristically not divine in nature. This point is particularly important to note, because the copy of the Qur’an allegedly born with the baby has many non-natural features e.g. the very papers in which it was printed, cover design and other designs and features.