Allah has described the Noble Quran with a number of magnificent characteristics of which Ibn Qudamah mentioned eight in points 27 – 30 of Lum‘atul-I‘tiqad.
They are as follows:
That it is clear (mubin) and makes clear the laws and reports which it contains.
That it is Allah’s firm rope (Hablullah), that is, it is the solid contract which Allah made a reason for reaching Himself and the attainment of success by His Grace.
That it consists of distinct chapters (muhkamat), each distinct from the other, perfected and preserved from any flaws or contradictions.
That it consists of clear verses (ayat bayyinat) which are clear and obvious signs indicating Allah’s unique unity, the perfection of His attributes, and the goodness of His laws.
That it contains clear and obscure verses (ayat muhkamat wa mutashabihat); the clear being that whose meaning is clear and the obscure being those whose meaning is hidden. And this does not contradict point number three above because the clarity there refers to perfection and protection from flaws and contradiction, while here it refers to clarity of meaning. If the obscure is referred back to the clear, all of it will become clear.
That it is the truth (haqq) that cannot be affected by falsehood from any direction.
That it is free from its description by the disbelievers as being poetry, magic or human speech.
That it is a miracle that no one can imitate even with the help of others.
The Hoax of the Numerical Miracle of the Quran
Rashad Khalifa, an Egyptian biochemist educated in the United States claimed to have discovered an intricate mathematical pattern involving 19 and its multiples throughout the Quran and especially in what he calls the Quranic initials which precede 29 chapters (Alif, Laam, Meem, etc.). However, when critics began checking his numbers, they found numerous discrepancies and some outright fabrications in his data
The most famous proponent of this idea was Rashad Khalifa, an Egyptian biochemist educated in the United States. According to Dr. Khalifa, there is a miraculous numerical code to the Quran based on its “first” verse (Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim), which consists of 19 letters. This miraculous code is supposedly referred to in verse 30 of Chapter 74 (al-Muddath-thir) which states “Over it are 19.” Based on these two premises, Dr. Rashad claims to have discovered an intricate mathematical pattern involving 19 and its multiples throughout the Quran and especially in what he calls the Quranic initials which precede 29 chapters (Alif, Laam, Meem, etc.). From this discovery, Dr. Khalifa concludes that the complexity of this mathematical code’s pattern in a literary work of the Quran’s size is far beyond human capabilities, and that it alone constitutes the only real miracle of the Quran which proves its divine origin. He further concludes that 19 and its multiples represent the key to the correct interpretation of the Quran and Islam, and the reason why 19 was chosen is that 19 means “God is One,” which is the message of the Quran.
Many Muslims at first received Khalifa’s theories with uncritical enthusiasm. However, when more rigorous critics began checking his numbers, they found numerous discrepancies and some outright fabrications in his data. His claims were based on the number of times a given letter or word occurs in a given Surah or group of Surahs. It was discovered that he would sometimes treat hamzahs like alifs and sometimes he wouldn’t, depending on the totals he needed in a given Surah to confirm his theory. Sometimes he counted letters that weren’t there, sometimes he failed to count existing letters, sometimes he counted two words as one, sometimes he added to the Quranic text and sometimes he deleted from it, all for the purpose of making the letter and word counts conform to his theory. On top of that, his letter counts changed over time, depending on whether he wanted to establish a pattern for a Surah by itself or as part of a group of Surahs. When confronted with inconsistencies in his data, he began claiming that certain verses had been inserted into the Quran that did not belong there. After this clear statement of disbelief he went on to claim knowledge of the exact date of the Day of Judgment and eventually claimed prophethood for himself. He attracted a group of followers in Tucson, Arizona, but his career was cut short when he was stabbed to death by an unknown assailant in 1990.
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