bayezid: Saying what is in the Koran is not proof that what is said is right

Submitted by Plato (India), Dec 23, 2008 at 11:20

bayezid, you wrote:

>>yes yes we know you are a gifted typist. but where exactly is the proof? here we have me who is simply saying what is in the quran and there you are escaping the challenge. prooooove it . <<

What do you want me to prove? That I am a gifted typist? I suspect you want me to show that I can prove the Koran wrong about it being inimitable. Okay, here goes:

Can you find a Surah in the Koran comparable in beauty to the Lord's Prayer in the Bible. The closest I can think of is Surah Fatiha. But it is spoiled by the fact that it is full of self-praise.

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,

the power and the glory,

for ever and ever.

Amen

(King James Bible AD 1611)

Al Fatiha:

YUSUFALI: In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds;
Most Gracious, Most Merciful;
Master of the Day of Judgment.
Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek.
Show us the straight way,
The way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace, those whose (portion) is not wrath, and who go not astray.

Can you find for me a Surah in the Koran comparable in beauty to the creation hymn in the Rig Veda? The closest I could find is Surah, ‘The Most High' (87) but Allah spoils it by revealing his merciless nature by talking about flinging people into the fire and the hereafter (death) being better than life.

There was neither non-existence nor existence then.
There was neither the realm of space nor the sky which is beyond.
What stirred?
Where?
In whose protection?
Was there water, bottlemlessly deep?

There was neither death nor immortality then.
There was no distinguishing sign of night nor of day.
That One breathed, windless, by its own impulse.
Other than that there was nothing beyond.

Darkness was hidden by darkness in the beginning,
with no distinguishing sign, all this was water.
The life force that was covered with emptiness,
that One arose through the power of heat.

Desire came upon that One in the beginning,
that was the first seed of mind.
Poets seeking in their heart with wisdom
found the bond of existence and non-existence.

Their cord was extended across.
Was there below?
Was there above?
There were seed-placers, there were powers.
There was impulse beneath, there was giving forth above.

Who really knows?
Who will here proclaim it?
Whence was it produced?
Whence is this creation?
The gods came afterwards, with the creation of this universe.
Who then knows whence it has arisen?

Whence this creation has arisen
– perhaps it formed itself, or perhaps it did not –
the One who looks down on it,
in the highest heaven, only He knows
or perhaps He does not know.

Translation by Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty. From the Book "The Rig Veda - Anthology"

Koran: Al Ala:
YUSUFALI: Glorify the name of thy Guardian-Lord Most High, Who hath created, and further, given order and proportion;
Who hath ordained laws. And granted guidance;
And Who bringeth out the (green and luscious) pasture,
And then doth make it (but) swarthy stubble.
By degrees shall We teach thee to declare (the Message), so thou shalt not forget,

Except as Allah wills: For He knoweth what is manifest and what is hidden.
And We will make it easy for thee (to follow) the simple (Path).
Therefore give admonition in case the admonition profits (the hearer).
The admonition will be received by those who fear (Allah):
But it will be avoided by those most unfortunate ones,
Who will enter the Great Fire,

In which they will then neither die nor live.

But those will prosper who purify themselves,
And glorify the name of their Guardian-Lord, and (lift their hearts) in prayer.
Day (behold), ye prefer the life of this world;
But the Hereafter is better and more enduring.
And this is in the Books of the earliest (Revelation),-
The Books of Abraham and Moses.

Now proooove to me that these quotes from other scriptures are not better than the Koran verses I have compared them with. Remember they are also translations, like the Koranic verses I have quoted, into English from the original languages.

Regards

Plato

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