Who wrote the Quran? Evidence of its Divine Origin


Who wrote the Quran? It is one of the most searched questions about Islam, asked by curious non Muslims, by students of religion, and by Muslims who want to strengthen their faith with reason. Muslims believe the Quran is the word of Allah, revealed to the Prophet Muhammad صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ over twenty three years through the Angel Jibril. But faith in Islam is not meant to be blind. The Quran itself invites people to think, examine and judge. In this article, we look at the evidence the Quran offers about its own origin, and let reason weigh it.


The Quran’s own claim


The Quran states clearly that it is not the work of any human being:



تَنزِيلُ الْكِتَابِ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ مِن رَّبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ (Surah As Sajdah 32:2)
The revelation of the Book, about which there is no doubt, is from the Lord of all the worlds.

A bold claim needs strong evidence. Let us look at the evidence.


1. An Unlettered Prophet


The Prophet Muhammad صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ could not read or write. He had no formal schooling, no teachers of scripture, and no tradition of poetry or literature before the age of forty. The Quran points to this directly:



وَمَا كُنتَ تَتْلُو مِن قَبْلِهِ مِن كِتَابٍ وَلَا تَخُطُّهُ بِيَمِينِكَ ۖ إِذًا لَّارْتَابَ الْمُبْطِلُونَ (Surah Al Ankabut 29:48)
You did not recite any scripture before it, nor did you write one with your right hand. Otherwise, the falsifiers would have had cause for doubt

Yet this unlettered man brought a book that became the foundation of Arabic language, law, ethics and spirituality, and that is still regarded as the highest standard of Arabic expression.


2. A Challenge that has never been met


The Quran openly challenged its opponents, the masters of Arabic poetry and speech, to produce something like it:



وَإِن كُنتُمْ فِي رَيْبٍ مِّمَّا نَزَّلْنَا عَلَىٰ عَبْدِنَا فَأْتُوا بِسُورَةٍ مِّن مِّثْلِهِ (Surah Al Baqarah 2:23)
And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down to Our servant, then produce a single surah like it.


The shortest surah is only three verses long. The Prophet’s opponents were proud, eloquent and determined to defeat him. They chose war, boycott and persecution, which cost them dearly, rather than meeting a challenge that would have ended the matter with a few lines of

speech. Their choice itself is telling.


3. A Book without Contradictions


The Quran was revealed over twenty three years, in Makkah and Madinah, in times of persecution and power, war and peace, joy and grief. Human writing over such a long period, in such changing circumstances, naturally shows shifts and contradictions. The Quran invites its readers to look for them:



أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ ۚ وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ عِندِ غَيْرِ اللَّهِ لَوَجَدُوا فِيهِ اخْتِلَافًا كَثِيرًا (Surah An Nisa 4:82)
Do they not reflect upon the Quran? If it had been from anyone other than Allah, they would have found many contradictions in it.


4. The Character of the Messenger


Before Islam, the people of Makkah called the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ “Al Amin”, the trustworthy. Even his enemies left their valuables with him. A man who never lied about people is unlikely to begin lying about God. And he gained no worldly reward for his message: he lived simply, slept on a mat, and often went days without a cooked meal.


5. A Style Unlike the Prophet’s Own Words


The sayings of the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ, preserved as Hadith, are eloquent and wise, but their style is clearly different from the Quran. Scholars of Arabic have long noted this difference. If both came from the same human mind, such a clear and consistent difference in style over twenty three years would be very hard to explain.


6. Prophecies Fulfilled in History


The Quran made predictions that came true. When the Roman (Byzantine) Empire suffered a crushing defeat by the Persians, the Quran declared:



غُلِبَتِ الرُّومُ ۝ فِي أَدْنَى الْأَرْضِ وَهُم مِّن بَعْدِ غَلَبِهِمْ سَيَغْلِبُونَ ۝ فِي بِضْعِ سِنِينَ (Surah Ar Rum 30:2 to 4)
The Romans have been defeated in the nearest land, but after their defeat they will be victorious within a few years.

At the time, a Roman recovery seemed impossible. Within a few years, the Romans defeated the Persians, exactly as the Quran had said.


Reason Points in One Direction


Each of these points alone invites reflection. Together, they make a powerful case. An unlettered man brought a book that no one could imitate. It contains no contradictions across twenty three years, corrects its own messenger, differs in style from his own words, and foretold events that came true. The most reasonable conclusion is the one the Quran itself gives: it is from the Lord of all the worlds.


Read the Quran for Yourself


The best way to judge the Quran is to read it. If you do not read Arabic, begin with a reliable translation and study it with a teacher in our Quran Translation course. If you want to read it in its original language, start with our Quran Reading course (including Noorani Qaida), then move on to Tajweed and Hifz ul Quran.

At Sirat Islamic Academy, Muslims and non Muslims alike are welcome to learn, in one to one live classes with expert male and female teachers, for every age, with a 3 day free trial. Children learn through slides and modern, engaging methods.


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A Final Word


Who wrote the Quran? The question deserves an honest answer, and the Quran welcomes honest inquiry. Read it, reflect on it, and test it with your reason. Millions who did so before you found what the Quran describes itself to be: a guidance with no doubt in it, from the Lord of all the worlds.