The Miracle of the Quran
"Over it is 19. We appointed angels to be guardians of Hell, and we assigned their number to disturb the disbelievers, to convince the Christians and Jews (that this is a divine scripture), to strengthen the faith of the faithful, to remove all traces of doubt from the hearts of Christians, Jews, as well as the believers, and to expose those who harbor doubt in their hearts, and the disbelievers; they will say, "What did God mean by this allegory?" God thus sends astray whoever wills, and guides whoever wills. None knows the soldiers of your Lord except He.
This is a reminder for the people. Absolutely, (I swear) by the moon. And the night as it passes. And the morning as it shines.
This is one of the great miracles.
A warning to the human race. For those among you who wish to advance, or regress." 74:30-37
Presentation
A truly awesome mathematical pattern has been discovered in the Quran in the year 1974. For 14 long centuries Muslims took the challenge presented by God to produce a Sura like it (2:23) to be one primarily related to literacy excellence. But as a result of the new scientific discovery a new meaning for the challenge has surfaced and is astounding mathematicians all over the world.
It was found out that the verses, words, letters and all parameters of the original scripture were coded by means of the prime number 19. The complexity and amazing intricacy of this deliberate structure made it apparent that the phenomenon was superhuman.
The discovery of the miracle established two prime matters:
1- The mathematical structure of the book cannot be duplicated today with the aid of a computer, let alone by a man living in the desert 1400 years ago. This confirms that the book was not written by any human, but is the true word of God.
2- It also confirms that the Quran has been preserved for 14 centuries, without any loss of original text. More important, the code of the Quran proved to be a detector of any addition or alteration to the original text (See : Two False Verses).
The miracle of the Quran was discovered by Dr. Rashad Khalifa in fulfilment of the prophecy contained in the Quran:
"God took a covenant from the prophets, saying, "I will give you the scripture and wisdom. Afterwards, a messenger will come to confirm existing scriptures. You shall believe in him and support him. He said, "Do you agree with this, and pledge to fulfill this covenant?" They said, "We agree." He said, "You have thus borne witness, and I bear witness along with you." 3:81
Numerically Coded Scripture
Before detailing any of the features of the mathematical design, it is first necessary to demonstrate the meaning of a ‘numerically coded book’. Suppose you are asked to write a small book, and that this book must be coded with the number 19 as follows:
- Chapter 1 is to contain exactly 741 of the letter S, (741 = 19 x 39)
- Chapter 2 is to contain exactly 247 K’s and 646 B's (247 = 19 x 13 and 646 = 19 x 34)
- Chapter 3 is to contain 893 of the letters T, N and G combined. (893 = 19 x 47)
- Chapter 4 is to contain 475 of the letters D and F combined (475 = 19 x 25)
- The total number of chapters must be 38 ( 38 = 19 x 2)
- The total number of sentences must be exactly 1254 (1254 = 19 x 66)
Note that all the above numbers are multiples of 19.
The above 6 conditions are a few simple conditions that would render a book to be described as 'numerically coded'. It must be emphasised that the depth and intricacy of the pattern in the Quran is far more complex than these 6 conditions.
Consequently, and being given such conditions, you will then try to write this hypothetical book, carefully counting and keeping track of those letters and the number of sentences in order to conform with the specifications given to you. As you conform to these specifications, you must also write down words and sentences that make sense. If you spend sufficient time, you should be able to come up with a book which satisfies the above conditions.
But what if the conditions required are not only 6 but are a few hundred conditions similar to the ones above, and all containing numbers that are multiples of 19? Could you compose such a book? What if the conditions are in their thousands, could you compose such a book with the aid of the best computers?
Is it possible that such a book containing these thousands of conditions, which are all multiples of 19, was written by a man who lived in the desert 1400 years ago?
The Discovery
For many centuries, Muslim scholars have been trying to understand the significance of 14 letters that are placed at the beginning of 29 chapters (called Sura's in Arabic) of the Quran. These letters of the Arabic alphabet which are placed in two's, three's and larger combinations baffled the scholars. Many came up with some explanation or another, but no one had any concrete or verified explanation.
Finally, an Egyptian scientist and computer expert named Dr. Rashad Khalifa entered the Quran into a computer in an attempt to search for any design that could account for these letters. The result of his extensive research was the discovery of an intricate mathematical system which pervades the whole Quran and governs all its parameters.
This design is so extensive that Dr. Khalifa only discovered the tip of the iceberg. Till this our very day, new discoveries are being unveiled all the time. Some of the features of the pattern are simple and easy for any person without any mathematical skills to see. Equally, some of the aspects of this design require a higher degree of mathematical skills.
The Design
The Simple Facts
1- There are 114 chapters in the Quran, or 19 x 6.
2- The total number of verses in the Quran is 6346 = 19 x 334.
3- There are 30 different numbers mentioned in the Quran (i.e. 1 God, 2 brothers, 7 heavens ... etc.), If we add the 30 numbers we get a total of 162146 = 19 x 8534.
4- The first statement in Quran, "In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful" consists of 19 Arabic letters. Known as the `Basmalah', it prefaces every chapter except Chapter 9.
5- Though missing from Chapter 9, exactly 19 chapters later the Basmalah occurs twice. Chapter 27 has this statement at its beginning and also in verse 30. This makes the total number of times the Basmalah occurs in the Quran 114 = 19 x 6.
6- Since there are 19 chapters between the missing Basmalah and the extra one, the sum of those chapter numbers is a multiple of 19. (The sum of any 19 consecutive numbers is a multiple of 19.) But the total, 342, is also the exact number of words between the two occurrences of the Basmalah in Chapter 27. This number, 342 = 19 x 18.
7- If we look at the four words of the Basmalah separately, we fond that each word occurs in the whole Quran in a number that is a multiple of 19.
8- The very first revelation that was given to the prophet of Islam, Muhammed, consisted of 19 words.
9- The total number of letters making up the 19 words of the first revelation is 76 = 19 x 4.
10- Though they were the first revelation, these verses are placed at the beginning of Chapter 96. This chapter is atop the last 19 chapters.
11- Chapter 96 consists of 304 Arabic letters = 19 x 16.
12- The last chapter revealed (Chapter 110) has 19 words, and its first verse is 19 letters.
13- God's name in Arabic, `Allah,' occurs in the Quran 2698 times = 19 x 142.
14- If you add the numbers of the verses where `Allah' occurs, the total is 118123 = 19 x 6217.
15- The main message in the Quran is that there is only One God. The number of times that the word `one' is used to refer to this concept of One God is 19.
16- The word `Quran' occurs in 38 different chapters = 19 x 2.
17- The word "Quran" occurs in the Quran 58 times, with one of them, in 10:15, referring to "another quran". This particular occurrence, therefore, must be excluded. Thus, the frequency of the occurrence of God's "Quran" is 57 = 19 x 3.
18- Within the 114 chapters of the Quran, 29 of them begin with the Quranic initials discussed earlier. Intermixed between the first initialed chapter (Chapter 2) and the last initialed chapter (Chapter 68) are 38 non-initialed chapters = 19 x 2.
19- In this same group of chapters, from Chapter 2 to Chapter 68, there are 19 alternating sets of initialed and non-initialed chapters.
20- The total number of verses making up this group of chapters is 5263 = 19 x 277.
21- Within this group of chapters there are also 2641 occurrences of the word `Allah' = 19 x 139. Of course, that leaves 57 = 19 x 4, occurrences of that word outside of this group.
22- If you add the chapter and verse numbers of the 57 occurrences of `Allah' outside the initialed section, the total is 2432 = 19 x 128.
23- There has been a large number of discoveries related to the numbers of the chapters and verses. Many of them are very complex and interrelated. One of the simpler examples is: If we add the numbers assigned to all the chapters, plus the numbers assigned to all of the verses, plus the number of verses in the Quran, the total is 346199 = 19 x 19 x 959.
24- If we look at the initialed chapters separately and add the chapter numbers, verse numbers and number of verses, the total is 190133 = 19 x 10007. Of course it follows that the total for the uninitialed chapters, 156066, is also divisible by 19.
These are but a few features of the pattern of the Quran. As said before, there are a great many more features, most of them more complex than the ones presented above. Additional discoveries continue to be made as Dr. Khalifa's work is continued by the believers.
The following extract is taken form Dr. Khalifa's appendix 1 in his translation of the Quran:
Historical Background
In 1968, I realized that the existing English translations of the Quran did not present the truthful message of God's Final Testament. For example, the two most popular translators, Yusuf Ali and Marmaduke Pickthall, could not overcome their corrupted religious traditions when it came to the Quran's great criterion in 39:45.
"When God alone is mentioned, the hearts of those who do not believe in the Hereafter shrink with aversion. But when others are mentioned beside Him, they rejoice." 39:45
Yusuf Ali omitted the crucial word "alone" from his translation, and altered the rest of the verse by inserting the word "(gods)." Thus, he utterly destroyed this most important Quranic criterion. He translated 39:45 as follows:
"When God, the One and Only, is mentioned, the hearts of those who believe not in the Hereafter are filled with disgust and horror; but when (gods) other than He are mentioned, behold, they are filled with joy." [39:45] (according to A. Yusuf Ali)
The expression "When God, the One and Only, is mentioned" is not the same as saying, "When God alone is mentioned." One can mention "God, the One and Only," and also mention Muhammad or Jesus, and no one will be upset. But if "God alone is mentioned" you cannot mention anyone else, and a lot of people - those who idolize Muhammad or Jesus - will be upset. Thus, Yusuf Ali could not bring himself to present the truth of the Quran, if it exposed his corrupted belief.
Marmaduke Pickthall translated "alone" correctly, but destroyed the criterion by inserting his personal belief in parentheses; he translated 39:45 as follows:
"And when Allah alone is mentioned, the hearts of those who believe not in the Hereafter are repelled, and when those (whom they worship) beside Him are mentioned, behold! they are glad." [39:45] (according to Marmaduke Pickthal)
When I saw the truth of God's word thus distorted, I decided to translate the Quran, at least for the benefit of my own children. Since I was a chemist by profession, and despite my extensive religious background - my father was a renowned Sufi leader in Egypt - I vowed to God that I would not move from one verse to the next unless I fully understood it.
I purchased all the available books of Quranic translations and exegeses (Tafseer) I could find, placed them on a large table, and began my translation. The first sura, The Key, was completed in a few days. The first verse in Sura 2 is "A.L.M." The translation of this verse took four years, and coincided with the divine unveiling of "the secret," the great mathematical Miracle of the Quran.
The books of Quranic exegeses unanimously agreed that "no one knows the meaning or significance of the Quranic Initials A.L.M., or any other initials." I decided to write the Quran into the computer, analyze the whole text, and see if there were any mathematical correlations among these Quranic initials.
I used a time-share terminal, connected by telephone to a giant computer. To test my hypothesis, I decided to look at the single - lettered Quranic Initials -"Q" (Qaaf) of Suras 42 and 50, "S" (Saad) of Suras 7, 19, and 38, and "N" (Noon) of Sura 68. As detailed in my first book "Miracle of the Quran: Significance of the mysterious alphabets" (Islamic Productions, 1973), many previous attempts to unravel the mystery had failed.
Quranic Initials
As mentioned before, and despite the numerous efforts to find the significance of the Quran Initials, the secret remained hidden till the year 1974 when the discovery occurred. Now, and looking back, it is plain to see that these initials contained some signs from God. After all, and in many Sura's that start with initialed letters, we read the following words immediately after the initials "These (letters) are the proof of the book".
The first initial to be examined by Dr. Khlalifa was the letter 'Q' (Qaaf).
The Initial `Q.' (Qaaf)
There are several special phenomena having to do with the initial Q. Perhaps it can be seen as standing for Quran. This is especially so since there are two Q-initialed chapters, each with 57 (19 x 3) Q's in them. Thus, the total of Q's in both chapters is 114 (19 x 6), the same number as the number of chapters in the Quran.
The fact that both Q-initialed chapters contain exactly 57 Q's is quite remarkable because the first of them (Chapter 42) is more than twice as long as the second (Chapter 50).
There is another remarkable phenomenon in the sum of the number of each chapter with the number of verses in that chapter. Chapter 42 has 53 verses; 42 plus 53 = 95 = 19 x 5. If we look at the other Q-initialed chapter, 50, it has 45 verses; 50 plus 45 is also 95.
The Initial `N.' (Noon)
(Noon) This initial prefixes only one chapter, number 68. The total number of occurrences of N in this chapter is 133 = 19 x 7.
The Initial `Š.' (Saad)
Š prefixes three different chapters, 7, 19 and 38. The total occurrences of Š in these three chapters taken together is 152 = 19 x 8. Most of the time the initials occur together in sets.
The Initials `Y.S.' (Ya Seen)
These two initials are found at the beginning of Chapter 36. The number of times that these two letters appear in this chapter is 285 = 19 x 15.
The Initials `H.M.' (Haa Meem)
This set of initials is found initializing the seven consecutive chapters 40 through 46. The total occurrence of these two in all of these chapters is 2147 = 19 x 113.
The Initials `Á.S.Q.' (Ayn Seen Qaf)
Chapter 42 is the only chapter with a set of initials (H.M.) in the first verse and another (Á.S.Q.) in verse two. The number of times the letters of this second set of initials are in Chapter 42 is 209 = 19 x 11.
The Initials `Á.L.M.' (Alef Lam Meem)
This set of initials is found in six Sura's. The Sura numbers are 2-3-29-30-31-32. The total occurrances of the three initials in each of the six Suras is a multiple of 19.
Sura 2, total of A + L + M = 9899 (19x521)
Sura 3 = 5662 (19x298)
Sura 29 = 1672 (19x88)
Sura 30 = 1254 (19x66)
Sura 31 = 817 (19x43)
Sura 32 = 570 (19x30)
The Initials `Á.L.R.' (Alef Lam Ra)
This set of initials is found in five Sura's. The Sura numbers are 10-11-12-14-15. The total occurrances of the three initials in each of the six Suras is a multiple of 19.
Sura 10, total of A + L + R = 2489 (19 x 131)
Sura 11 = 2489 (19 x 131)
Sura 12 = 2375 (19 x 125)
Sura 14 = 1197 (19 x 63)
Sura 15 = 912 (19 x 48)
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From this short presentation, it is easy to see that the substitution or removal of any word containing one of the initials in an initialed chapter would break the code in that chapter. As the initials become more complex, the difficulty of writing readable and meaningful sentences increases. In some cases the only way that the code could have been written into the Quran was for the language to have been invented around it!
The patterns exhibited in the initialed chapters, in addition to the simpler parameters discussed earlier, make an awesome network of coding which pervades the very fabric of the Quran. All this clearly required divine control.
Whe 19!
The number 19, which is the 8th prime number, possesses unique mathematical properties
[1] It is a prime number.
[2] It encompasses the first numeral (1) and the last numeral (9), and thus proclaims God's attribute in 57:3 as the "Alpha and the Omega."
[3] It looks the same in all the languages of the Scripture. 1 and 9, are the only numerals that look the same in all the languages of the Scripture (Hebrew, Aramaic and Arabic)
[4] It possesses many peculiar mathematical properties. For example, 19 is the sum of the first powers of 9 and 10, and the difference between the second powers of 9 and 10.
[5] The gematrical value of the word "ONE" in all the scriptural languages - Aramaic, Hebrew, and Arabic is 19.
The number 19, therefore, proclaims the First Commandment in all the scriptures: that there is only ONE God.
Historical Note
The momentous discovery that "19" is the Quran's common denominator became a reality in January 1974, coinciding with Zul-Hijjah 1393 A.H. The Quran was revealed in 13 B.H. (Before Hijrah). This makes the number of years from the revelation of the Quran to the unveiling of its miracle 1393 + 13 = 1406 = 19 x 74. As noted above, the unveiling of the Miracle took place in January 1974. The correlation between 19 x 74 lunar years and 1974 solar years could not escape notice. This is especially uncanny in view of the fact that "19" is mentioned in Sura 74.
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These are the simple features of the miracle as unveiled with God's Will through Dr. Rashad Khalifa. In his 'appendix 1', Dr. Khalifa presented many more features of this awesome miracle. It must also be said that the miracle of the Quran is so intricate and comprehensive that new discoveries are being unveiled every day.
The complete 'appendix 1' can be seen at: Appendix One
More detailed information about the counts of the Initials may be seen at the following pages:
- How the Initials are counted
- The Counts of the ALM and ALR