Quranic Verses in which the speaker, or the
messenger mentioned, is the Quran itself
By: A. Mohamed
messenger mentioned, is the Quran itself
By: A. Mohamed
A number of Quranic verses speak of the Quran as a messenger from God. Other verses ascribe to the Quran human attributes, such as the ability to speak.
Indeed, the Almighty who makes everything speak, made the Quran speak and utter its message:
They will say to their skins, "Why did you bear witness against us?" They will say, "God made us speak; the One who made everything speak. He has created you the first time, and to Him you are returned." 41:21
And we also read how a book can speak:
And we also read how a book can speak:
This is Our Book uttering the truth about you. We have been recording what you used to do." 45:29
FIRST
O People of the Book, Our messenger has come to you to clarify to you many issues which you were concealing in the Scripture, and to pardon many issues. A light has come to you from God and a clear Book. 5:15
The words "to pardon" tell us that "Our messenger" spoken of in 5:15 cannot be a human messenger since no human being is given the authority to pardon or forgive sins. Such right is exclusive to God:
And who forgives the sins except God? 3:135
During the worldly relations between people, person (A) may pardon/forgive person (B) for something bad he has done. However, the forgiveness of person (A) does not erase the sin of person (B) from his book of deeds on the Day of Judgement. On that Day, every person will account for all his deeds. The only One who can pardon sins and delete them altogether is God (3:135).
During the worldly relations between people, person (A) may pardon/forgive person (B) for something bad he has done. However, the forgiveness of person (A) does not erase the sin of person (B) from his book of deeds on the Day of Judgement. On that Day, every person will account for all his deeds. The only One who can pardon sins and delete them altogether is God (3:135).
The last words in 5:15, "a light" and "clear Book", provide further confirmation that the messenger in 5:15 is the Quran.
SECOND
Say, "If your parents, your children, your siblings, your spouses, your clan, the wealth which you have acquired, a business you fear may decline and the homes you cherish are dearer to you than God and His messenger and striving in His cause, then just wait until God brings about His command." God does not guide the wicked people. 9:24
In 9:24, God coupled the love of God and His messenger together. The words in this verse invite the believers to love God and His messenger more than their parents, children, siblings, and all their possessions put together.
It is necessary here to note that it is not possible to love anyone to that extent without actually worshipping them. The question here is how can God instruct us to love a human messenger more than the whole world, which is nothing short of worshipping, when doing so would clearly violate God's warning in 2:165?
Among the people are those who set up equals to God, loving them as the love of God, but those who believe love God the most. If only the transgressors would witness the punishment, they would realise that all power belongs to God, and that God's punishment is severe. 2:165
In 2:165, a clear warning is given not to love anyone in the same way as the love of God. No human being should be loved in any way that is comparable to the love of God. Yet in 9:24 we find that the love of God and His messenger are spoken of jointly and that the love we should have for both (God and His messenger) should be greater than our love for all our loved ones put together and all our possessions.
To love anyone more than the world and all that is in it, as the words in 9:24 invite, is the greatest love a human can give. And since no love can be greater than such love, the words in 9:24 in fact equate the love of God with the love of His messenger.
If the messenger in 9:24 was a human messenger, there would be a clear contradiction between the instructions of the two verses, 2:165 and 9:24.
The Holy Quran does not contain any contradictions, and this means that the messenger in 9:24 cannot be a human messenger.
The messenger in 9:24 is the Holy Quran. The Quran is the Word of God, which means that the love of God and the love of the Quran are one and the same.
Further evidence that the messenger in 9:24 is the Quran is provided by a keyword in the verse.
The words that follow "dearer to you than God and His messenger" are the words:
"striving in His cause"
The word "His" is singular and it speaks of God alone. If the word "messenger" was a human messenger, then "God and His messenger" would be 2 persons, which would require the words that follow to be "striving in their cause".
The keyword "His" confirms that God and His messenger in 9:24 are one and the same. That can only be so if the messenger in 9:24 is the Holy Quran.
THIRD
They swear by God to you to please you, but it is more fitting for God, and His messenger, that they should please Him, if they are believers. 9:62
The words in 9:62 mention God and His messenger, yet the words "they should please Him" speak of the singular. This is not a grammatical error but a deliberate indication that the messenger spoken of cannot be a human messenger, for then the words would have been (they should please them). The messenger in this verse is the Quran and not a person besides God. The Quran being the Word of God is one entity with God and not two.
FOURTH
A.L.R. A Book whose verses have been perfected, then detailed from One who is Wise, All-Aware. "You shall not worship except God. I am a warner and bearer of news from Him to you. 11:1-2
We note that the speaker in 11:2 saying "I am a warner" is speaking in the first person. The speaker here could not be prophet Muhammad for 2 reasons:
1- The name of Muhammad is not mentioned in these verses
2- In all the Quran, we do not see any verse where Muhammad speaks in the first person. This is because Muhammad is not the author of the Quran.
The "warner and bearer of news" in this verse speaking to us can only be the Quran.
FIFTH
"We do not come down except by the command of your Lord. To Him belongs what is before us, what is behind us, and what is in between. Your Lord is never forgetful." 19:64
Unless God has indicated the identity of the speaker, the only one who speaks in the first person in the Quran is the author of the Quran, and that is God.
Other than the author of the Quran, all the words of others are merely quoted by God in the Quran, the following are such examples:
- And when Moses said to his people, "God commands you to slaughter a cow." 2:67
- And when Abraham said, "My Lord, make this land a safe place, and provide fruits for those among its people who believe in God and the Last Day," 2:126
- The wife of Imran said, "My Lord, I have vowed to you that what is in my womb shall be entirely devoted to You, so accept from me. Indeed, You are the Hearer, the Knowledgeable." 3:35
- The angels said, "O Mary, God has chosen you and purified you. He has chosen you over the women of all the world. 3:42
- The Jews and the Christians said, "We are the children of God and His beloved." 5:18
- Jesus, the son of Mary, said, "O God, our Lord, bring down to us a table from the sky to be a feast for the first and last one of us, and a sign from You, and provide for us. You are the best of providers." 5:114
- The leaders among Pharaoh's people said, "This is a knowledgeable magician. 7:109
- Pharaoh said, "Have you believed in him before I gave you permission? 7:123
- The one from Egypt who bought him said to his wife, "Make for him a kind home. Perhaps he may be of benefit to us, or we may take him for a son." 12:21
- His friend said to him as he conversed with him, "Have you disbelieved in the One who created you from dust, then from a tiny drop, then fashioned you into a man? 18:37
- And so Luqman said to his son, as he advised him, "O my son, do not associate anything with God, for the association of anything with God is a gross transgression indeed." 31:13
- And when it is said to them, "Give from what God has provided for you," those who disbelieve say to those who believe, "Should we feed one whom, if God had willed, He would have fed? You are in nothing other than clear misguidance." 36:47
As can be seen from the verses above, in every verse the identity of the speaker is indicated by God. They do not speak in the Quran in the first person in the Quran, rather, their words are merely quoted by God.
When we read 19:64, we find the matter is different. In that verse, someone is speaking in the first person, yet there is no indication of the identity of the speaker.
The speaker in 19:64 cannot be God Himself, because God would not say:
"To Him belongs what is before us, what is behind us, and what is in between."
These words cannot be spoken by the angels either. If the angels were speaking, God would have said "The angels said", just like 3:42 (above).
This points to only one answer. The speaker who says "We do not come down except by the command of your Lord ....." can be none other than God's revelations (Quranic verses) that were come down, by God's command, over an extended number of years.
The same case, where we find a speaker (identity not mentioned) speaking in the first person, and who can also be none other than the Quran itself is found in 11:1-2 (see point 3 above):
SIXTH
O you who believe, bow and prostrate and worship your Lord, and do good, so that you may succeed. And strive in the cause of God with the striving that is due to Him. He has chosen you and has placed no hardship on you in the religion - the creed of your father Abraham. He has named you Muslims previously, and in this, so that the messenger may serve as a witness over you and you to serve as witnesses over the people. So observe the Salat and give the Zakat and hold fast to God. He is your Master, the best Master and the best Supporter. 22:77-78
The above words address all believers "O you who believe" and not just those at the time of prophet Muhammad. The words continue to say that the "messenger" will "serve as a witness over you (all believers)". Since the words address all believers, of all times, the messenger in 22:78 cannot be a human messenger. The reason is that any human being can only serve as a witness over the people whom he lived amongst. Once he dies, he cannot be a witness over those who follow. This truth is confirmed in the following Quranic narration:
And when God said, "O Jesus, son of Mary, did you say to the people, 'Take me and my mother as two gods besides God?' " He said, "Glory to You, it is not for me to say what I had no right to say. Had I said it, You would have known it. You know what is within myself, while I do not know what is within Yourself. You are the Knower of the unseen.
I have not said to them other than what You commanded me to say, that: 'You shall worship God, my Lord and your Lord.' I was witness over them for as long as I was among them. When You took me back, You were the Watcher over them. You are Witness over all things. 5:116-117
The underlined words, spoken by prophet Jesus, confirm that even the prophets of God can only serve as witnesses over the people whom they lived amongst and not over those who lived after their death.
Since God is addressing all believers in 22:78, the messenger cannot be a human messenger but can only be the Book of God (Quran).
SEVENTH
Such is God's creation, so show me what those besides Him have created! Rather, the transgressors are in clear misguidance. 31:11
Who is the speaker in 31:11 who says "show me"?
"Show me what those besides Him have created"?
In order to understand who is the speaker who says "show me", we need to bear the following considerations in mind:
1- Let us look at the phrase: "Him have created" in 31:11. The word "Him"(capital H) refers to God.
2- What is peculiar about the sentence "show me what those besides Him have created" is that we have the words "me" and "Him" in the same sentence. When such two words appear in the same sentence, they cannot be referring to the same person. The speaker (me) and the spoken of (Him) cannot be the same person.
3- Since there is no dispute that the word "Him" in 31:11 speaks about God, the word "me" cannot be referring to God. So who is saying, "show me"?
4- We know that in this Sura, Luqman speaks to his son and gives him various pieces of advice, so could it be Luqman saying "show me"?
The answer is no, because Luqman was not mentioned in the first 11 verses of this Sura. The first mention of Luqman comes later in verse 12.
5- Equally, the speaker cannot be prophet Muhammad or any named messenger because we do not have mention of any messenger in the first 11 verses of this Sura.
6- If the speaker who says "show me" is not God, nor any named messenger, nor Luqman, the only option left is that it is the Quran speaking to us.
7- Are there any other Quranic occurrences where the Quran speaks to us which could support the above understanding? The answer is yes.
Please revisit the THIRD point above where the Quran speaks saying, "I am a warner". 11:2. Also 45:29 where we read: "Our Book uttering".
The case in 31:11 is not any different. The speaker who says "show me" is none other than the Quran.
EIGHTH
It is not for a believing man or a believing woman to have a choice in their affair when God and His messenger have decreed a matter. Anyone who disobeys God and His messenger has strayed a clear straying indeed. 33:36
1- The key word in this verse that determines the identity of the "messenger" in this verse is the word decreed. Whatever God decrees for His servants is law.
2- We also know that God is the only lawmaker:
Shall I seek other than God as a lawmaker when it is He who has brought down to you the Book fully detailed? 6:114
We also know that the only duty of the human messenger is to deliver God's message but never to legislate religious law:
The sole duty of the messenger is the delivery (of the message), and God knows what you reveal and what you conceal. 5:99
The combined verdicts of 6:114 and 5:99 confirm that the messenger in 33:36 cannot be a human messenger since human messengers are not given the authority to decree laws, but they only deliver God's message.
NINTH
A revelation from the Almighty, the Merciful.
A Book whose verses are detailed; an Arabic Quran for people who know.
A bearer of news and a warner, yet most of them turned away, for they do not hear. 41:2-4
The words bearer of news and a warner are always associated with the messenger. However the words above do not speak of any human messenger. The only mention is of "an Arabic Quran".
It follows that the messenger in 41:4, who is a bearer of news, a warner, is the Quran.
TENTH
So flee to God. I am a clear warner from Him to you.
And do not set up another god with God. I am a clear warner from Him to you.
51:50-51
1- We read many verses in the Quran in which God commands prophet Muhammad to say certain words to the people. They are all preceded by the word, "Say."
2- In contrast, we do not see the word "Say" in the above verses nor any mention of prophet Muhammad. The words above could not have been words that prophet Muhammad was instructed to say to the people.
3- We also note that the words above are spoken in the first person. Muhammad was not the author of the Quran, so he cannot be the one speaking in the first person.
4- Equally, the words "I am a clear warner from Him to you" confirm that the speaker cannot be God. God cannot be a clear warner from Himself.
5- The only option left is that the speaker in the above two verses is none other than the Quran.
ELEVENTH
God has prepared a severe punishment for them. So revere God, O you who possess intelligence and have believed; God has brought down to you a Reminder; a messenger who recites to you God's clear revelations that he may lead those who believe and do good deeds out of the darkness into the light. Anyone who believes in God and does good deeds, He will admit him into Gardens with rivers flowing beneath; therein to forever remain. God has an excellent provision for him. 65:10-11
Here, we will focus on the words:
God has brought down to you a Reminder; a messenger who recites to you God's clear revelations
1- The words "brought down" always refer to the Book of God, human messengers are not brought down, they are "sent" by God. The following is one example:
We have sent messengers before you, and We granted them wives and offspring. It is not for a messenger to produce a miracle except with God's permission; for every period in time there is a decree. 13:38
The messengers spoken of in 13:38 were "sent" by God. They were granted wives and offspring. They were human messengers and not the Book of God.
The messengers spoken of in 13:38 were "sent" by God. They were granted wives and offspring. They were human messengers and not the Book of God.
2- The word "Reminder" (zhikr) always refers to the Book of God (see 3:58, 7:2, 7:63, 15:9, 15:9, 21:50 ). Human messengers remind and warn, but they are not 'reminders' in themselves. No human messenger is called "zhikr" (Reminder) in the Quran.
3- Immediately after the words "brought down" and "Reminder" we find the words "a messenger".
Therefore, the Reminder, which was brought down to us (Quran), is a messenger of God.
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