| Part VI Unveiling of the 'Unseen' by the Quran—A Historic Perspective  UMAN KNOWLEDGE is surrounded on all sides by a limitless expanse of the 'unseen'. What man knows of his past, present and future is like a tiny spot of light no bigger than the pulsating tail of a firefly hung in the midst of a vast ocean of utter darkness. Although he seems to have extended the horizon of his knowledge to the very edges of the universe with the help of astrophysics and higher mathematics, the factual evidence that has just started to reach him from the edge of the universe is through signals which were emitted around eighteen to twenty billion light years ago. What may have happened there since or what may be happening there now, is only a matter of conjecture.
Let alone the past and the future, even the knowledge of the present lies mostly beyond the scope of human awareness. What does man truly know of the events taking place beyond his house, his street, his township and the country where he resides? All the news media put together cannot convey to him even a billionth of what is going on in the world around him. But that is not all. What does man really know of the people he seems to know among his friends and closest relatives? To penetrate across the human visage and to read what actually lies behind, is sometimes a more difficult exercise than watching the surface of a muddy pond in an attempt to see what hides beneath. In both cases, one merely sees the images reflected on the surface, the difference being that ponds cannot act, they cannot pose, they cannot wilfully create unreal impressions. Depending on the weather and the day of the year, ponds are almost monotype; humans are not. The complications of human psyche, the vagaries of human moods and conduct, varying standards of morality and personal philosophies, the aptitudes and different qualities of head and heart, the depth or the shallowness of their conduct are some of the innumerable variables which are not shared by ponds. Even what passes within humans themselves lies very often beyond the reach of their own grasp. Yet few among men learn the lesson in humility. Seldom do they realize that the ultimate source of Truth and the fountainhead of Absolute Knowledge can only be the Creator. It is He alone Who knows the secrets of His own creation. It is He alone Who is All-Seeing, All-Knowing, the Great, the Supreme. Knowledge is the most essential prerequisite of creation, be it Divine or human, great or little. Without an in-depth knowledge of what is intended to be created, no creative objective can be achieved. Hence no one knows the intricacies and complexities of creation like the Creator Himself and this is why Omniscience is a prerogative of God. A perfect all-embracing knowledge of things is termed Omniscience with reference to God to the exclusion of all others. If it is the same Omniscient, Omnipresent God who authored the Quran, then all Quranic revelations with reference to the past, the present and the future must invariably be affirmed by verified facts when they come to light. It is exactly this that the following exercise is all about. With the help of incontrovertible facts, we strongly hope to prove the case in point. We have already discussed at some length the role of the Quranic revelation in bringing to light some of the most ancient events of creation. It begins with the beginning of the time when the universe suddenly erupted from a black hole. According to the Quran it only split asunder at the command of an Almighty Creator. The Quranic coverage of the history of creation ends with the end of time when the universe will plunge once again into yet another black hole. As for the origin of life, the Quranic account is likewise amazingly comprehensive and precise. It covers all the important stages of organic and biotic evolution of 4.5 billion years of evolution's history until the time when it culminated in the creation of man. From that point onwards the Quran takes up the account of human history in relation to the development of society, religion and civilization. It also mentions the possibility of the ultimate extinction of the human species which may be replaced by a better and more highly evolved form of life. All that we have briefly mentioned above has been elaborately discussed in the relevant chapters of this book, demonstrating how Divine revelation can effectively transfer parts of the unknown into the realm of the known. Now in this chapter we shall demonstrate how the Quran unveils some of the important events of history which lay buried in an obscure past. We shall also demonstrate how it reveals many future events to which no one during the age of Quranic revelations could have had any access. We shall specifically illustrate how the Quran precisely predicts great future scientific achievements of man destined to transform the entire style of human life.  E BEGIN HERE with the account of an event of great historical importance with a religious significance of common interest to Jews, Christians and Muslims. It relates to the Exodus of Mosesas and what happened to the pursuing army of Pharaoh and his hosts when Mosesas and his people had safely waded across the treacherous delta of the Nile.
There are many other examples of the Judaeo-Christian history of the same period covered by the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Holy Quran. But we have carefully selected only the event of the Exodus for the present discussion because it concisely demonstrates the Divine nature of Quranic revelation. The Biblical account, though it records contemporary history, is evidently shallow and superficial by comparison. From the vantage point of a follower of the camp of Mosesas, the most that he could observe and record was the drowning of Pharaoh and his host, quashed between two mountain-like waves inundating them. What happened to Pharaoh himself before he was drowned? What passed between Pharaoh and God during his drowning moments? What was it he begged of Him, if anything at all, during his dying moments? These are things which lie absolutely beyond the reach of any human observer looking across from the dry shore. Hence, all that the Bible mentions of Pharaoh and his pursuing army is that each of them was drowned without exception. 'Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained.
But the children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea...' 1 Evidently, according to this Biblical statement, all bodies were claimed by the sea, Pharaoh being no exception. The rout was total. As against this, the following is the statement of the Quran referring to the same event. The difference is so obvious: And We brought the children of Israel across the sea; and Pharaoh and his hosts pursued them wrongfully and aggressively, till, when the calamity of drowning overtook him, he said, 'I believe that there is no God but He in Whom the children of Israel believe, and I am of those who submit to Him.' What! Now! While thou wast disobedient before this and wast of those who create disorder. So this day We will save thee in thy body alone that thou mayest be a Sign to those who come after thee. And surely, many of mankind are heedless of Our Signs. 2 It should be especially noted here that contrary to this Quranic statement, the Biblical account does not as much as hint at the possibility of the retrieval of Pharaoh's body: '... not so much as one of them remained.' Hence, till the time the Quran mentions the saving of Pharaoh's body with the purpose that the posterity may learn their lesson from it, no human source of history had ever referred to it. When the Quran was revealed, the tombs of the Egyptian kings lay buried deep under layer upon layer of desert sand. Little was known of the science of mummification to the people of that age, certainly not to the Arabs. No books or tradition, religious or otherwise, had ever hinted at the rescue of Pharaoh's body let alone mention its subsequent preservation. This account of the Quran is unique also in the sense that it does not merely reveal some past events which were till then unknown to the rest of the world, but it also prophesises that the future would testify to the truth of the Quranic statement. It was implausible enough to conceive that the body of Pharaoh having drowned in the conditions described by the Bible, could be retrieved. The phenomenon of such a body, even if retrieved, would present no small problem for the purpose of mummification. Yet, this is what the Quran claims. No man could have dreamt of making such a statement contrary to the available historical evidence at the time of the revelation of the Quran. All that man knew was that the body of Pharaoh had been devoured by the sea, lost forever. Even the Egyptian plunderers of the tombs had no notion whatsoever as to which, if any, of the Pharaohs were buried in the Valley of the Kings. What made the Prophetsa of Islam make this unique statement if he were the author of the Quran? It could serve him no purpose anyway; if anything it could be counter-productive. If challenged, the Prophetsa could not have produced any evidence to support his contentions. The only purpose it would serve was to compromise the truth of the Quran. It was many centuries after the revelation of the Quran that the earth began to throw up its secrets. The mummified bodies of all the Pharaohs which can claim to be the Pharaohs of the time of Mosesas have been retrieved.
Whether it was Rameses II or another Pharaoh is a question
still debated, but the fact that one of the mummies recovered from the Valley
of the Kings is that of the Pharaoh who confronted Moses is no longer debatable.
The only conclusion therefore, one is left to draw, is that against the verdict
of the entire world history it is the verdict of the Quranic revelation alone
which is proved correct: So this day We will save thee in thy body alone… 3  .
This is the verdict of the Quran which has now become the verdict of world
history.
One possible meaning of this address by God to Pharaoh is that
the time for saving his life was over, hence it would be only his dead body
which would be saved. The other possible meaning would be that the time for
the acceptance of his faith had expired, hence his soul would not be redeemed.
In this case, only his body would be saved to live on like that of a zombie
without a soul. To our understanding it is the latter meaning which is intended
by the Quran. To support our inference further, we cite the Quranic style in
which this episode is narrated. Of particular interest is the expression: We
will save thee in thy body alone.3 
Now Pharaoh was evidently concerned for his survival here on earth, rather than the retrieval of his corpse. If neither his spiritual nor his physical life was to be saved, what would this promise mean? Evidently Pharaoh was not praying for the rescue of his dead body. If his prayer was accepted even partially, as is evident from the Quran, then to cause him to die both physically and spiritually seems out of the question. It is tantamount to a total denial of what he begged for. His profession of faith in the God of Israel must have been made for fear of his life. Hence it was justifiably rejected as meaningless. All that is promised is that only his body would be redeemed but not his soul. But most Muslim scholars insist that his plea was totally rejected and the promise of saving the body referred only to the recovery of his corpse from the sea. That too, according to them, is no small miracle under the conditions described both in the Bible and the Quran. Even the promise of the retrieval of his corpse was in fact a great favour to the drowning Pharaoh. The Pharaohs, they argue, were an extremely proud dynasty. Even the mere assurance that his body would be preserved must have brought some comfort to his dying moments. The purpose of God, however, was not to satisfy his vanity alone. The real purpose was to provide posterity with a great sign of multiple significance from which they could possibly benefit. Whatever the outcome of this controversy— whether it is established that the Pharaoh in question died from drowning, only his body being retrieved, or whether he was rescued from a state of near death while drowning, the miracle of the Quranic statement is in no way obscured. The body of that Pharaoh was indeed preserved and this fact was brought to the knowledge of posterity exactly as the Quran had predicted. Incidentally the scholars who believe that Pharaoh was already dead when his body was retrieved, also believe that it was Merneptah, the successor of Rameses II and not Rameses himself. This implies that Mosesas lived under the reign of two Pharaohs instead of one. He was born while Rameses II was already a king and was raised in his palace by one of his God-fearing wives, who they believe was the youngest. As she had no issue herself, her desire to adopt a son is understandable. If this proposition is accepted then Mosesas must have left Midian to return to Egypt after the death of Rameses II when Merneptah had already been enthroned. They quote the Bible in their support that Mosesas was informed by God during his exile in Midian that the Pharaoh in whose reign he had committed manslaughter was dead.
This scenario seems to be logical and acceptable but only apparently.
The death of a king does not absolve anyone of any crime he may have committed.
There is no logic in that whatsoever. That is why God does not even remotely
hint at the death of any Pharaoh to dispel Moses'sas fears. Instead he is told
not to fear because God would protect him and his brother. This is far more
sensible. Again the problem is that according to the archaeological evidence
of his mummy's condition, Rameses II who died at the ripe old age of ninety
years had spent the last thirty years of his life as a bedridden, senile, tottering
old man probably suffering from an extreme case of arteriosclerosis. This state
could be a direct consequence of his near-drowning, resulting in an insufficient
supply of oxygen to the brain for an extended period.
Now the exile of Mosesas to Midian and his entire stay there lasted only eight to ten years by the end of which period Rameses II could not be more than forty to fifty years old. Hence, the Biblical statement that God was only waiting for Pharaoh's death to commission Mosesas as a prophet and command him to return to Egypt is unacceptable. Incidentally according to the Quran, the Pharaoh to whom Mosesas returned did accuse him of murder but appeared to be hesitant to take action against him because of the Divine signs which Mosesas had displayed. Evidently, his escape from punishment was certainly not due to the death of one Pharaoh and the enthronement of another. Again the life of Mosesas and Aaronas after their return to Egypt is described by the Quran and the Bible as very eventful and their confrontation with Pharaoh seems so drawn out that it must have taken a decade or so to come to its final conclusion. All the signs narrated could not have been packed in the mere short space of a year or two. As against this the historians estimate that the entire reign of Merneptah from the day of his crowning to the day of his death is reported to have lasted only eight years or less. Moreover, history describes Merneptah as a warrior king who repeatedly attacked the Palestinians year after year, while both the Quran and the Bible are absolutely silent about the Pharaoh of Mosesas having carried out such expeditions into the land of Israelites. But this is not the place perhaps for a full in-depth discussion on the issue. Nor is it necessary in any way to prove which of the two Pharaohs, Rameses II or Merneptah was the one who was the Pharaoh of the Exodus. As long as their mummies remain preserved, either of the two will always testify to the truth of the Quranic prophecy. Their names are of no real consequence.  he Prophecies Relating to the Immediate or Distant Future
Having dealt at some length with certain important events of Egyptian history during the age of Mosesas which had remained concealed until the revelation of the Quran, we now turn to some prophetic Quranic revelations in relation to many other events. They relate to different areas of human interest comprising social, religious and political developments as well as epoch-making scientific advancements which were to change the face of the earth.
Some of these prophecies also cover significant ecological and environmental changes to be brought about by future scientific inventions and proliferation of industry. There is a long list of such prophecies contained mostly in the last few Surahs of the Holy Quran but not exclusively so. The discussion is by no means exhaustive. Some of these Quranic prophecies have been explained and enlarged upon by many traditions of the Holy Prophetsa. We have only selected some specimen prophecies belonging to different categories. The prophecies relating to the new modes of travel and their wide impact will be discussed at the end of the chapter at some greater length because of their global importance. To maintain chronological order we begin with the prophecies which were fulfilled within the lifetime of the Holy Prophetsa. A few of them relate to his return to Mecca after his forced exile. All such verses were revealed even before his migration to Medina thus simultaneously prophesying both his departure and subsequent return. The following verse belongs to a Surah (Al-Qasas) which was revealed before Hijra (the Prophet'ssa migration from Mecca to Medina). Most surely He Who had made the teaching of the Quran binding on thee will bring thee back to thy place of return. Say, 'My Lord knows best who brings the guidance, and who is in manifest error.' 4 To predict his return to Mecca before his migration to Medina is in fact a twofold prophecy. In view of the constantly worsening situation which made life progressively impossible for him and his followers in Mecca, migration may seem to some readers a mere logical conclusion. But it should not be forgotten that the element of surprise and wonder in this part of the prophecy is not about the suggestion of migration. The element of wonder is in the open defiance to the will and might of the Meccans who would not permit the predicted migration to take place. Again the ever hardening determination of the Meccans not to permit the Prophetsa to escape are the factors which highlight the unlikelihood of such a prophecy to have been made by the Prophetsa himself in his state of utter helplessness. Another Divine promise that he would most certainly return to Mecca with manifest truth was vouched to him in the following verse: And say, 'O my Lord, make my entry a good entry and then make me come forth with a good forthcoming...' 5 The third example of how his ultimate victorious return to Mecca was predicted even before the actual migration took place, is taken from the first few verses of Surah Al-Rum (Chapter 30), which by the unanimous verdict of scholars was revealed before Hijra: The Romans have been defeated, In the land nearby, and they, after their defeat, will emerge victorious. (This will happen) within a few years. And to Allah belongs the command before and after that. And that will be the day when the believers will rejoice, With the succour from Allah. He helps whomsoever He pleases; and He is the Mighty the Merciful. 6 These verses refer to a partial territorial defeat which the Romans suffered at the hands of the Persians. The verses clearly prophesied that the Persian victory would prove only short-lived and in a few years' time the defeat of the Romans will turn into victory. 'That will be the day when the believers will (also) rejoice with the succour they would receive from Allah.' The implication of this prophecy in relation to the fate of the believers was all too obvious. When shortly after this revelation the Muslims lost their homes and property to the idolaters of Mecca, like the Romans had done to the idol worshippers of Persia, the consensus among the companions was that soon after the Romans' victory, the Muslims would also regain their territory—Mecca. This understanding was unanimous among all the companions of the Holy Prophetsa. The only difference was regarding the period in which the prophecy would be fulfilled. This controversy stemmed from the expression 'bid'ai Sineen' ( ). Literally, it means a period extending from three to nine years. Some companions of the Holy Prophetsa in their eagerness bet with some others that they would certainly return soon after the expiry of three years. But others reminded them that their return could be delayed by as much as nine years which is the upper limit of the term 'bid'ai Sineen' (). The events as they unfolded themselves, proved the latter opinion to be right. Thus, in this sense both the promises were fulfilled in letter and in spirit. First it was the Romans who regained their lost territory within the prescribed limit and then it was the turn of the Muslims to return to Mecca in glory before the end of the eighth year. Another category of the prophecies which was manifestly fulfilled during the lifetime of the Holy Prophetsa relates to the repeated attacks on the Muslims in Medina by the Meccans and their confederates from among the nomad tribes. The first of these prophecies as mentioned in the following verses clearly portrayed the events of the Battle of Badr. During this first serious encounter of the Muslims with a formidable, professionally organized army of Meccans, the invading hosts were completely routed and put to a most humiliating flight by a comparatively much smaller body of Muslim defenders. Do they say, 'We are a victorious host?' The hosts shall soon be routed and will turn their backs in flight. Aye, the Hour is their appointed time; and the Hour will be most calamitous and most bitter. 7 The devastating defeat inflicted upon the Meccan army was clearly predicted in the verses quoted above. The last of these verses highlights for them the bitterness of the Hour. The very pick of the chieftains, the sworn enemies of Islam, who were also renowned for their hatred of the Holy Prophetsa, fell one after the other and were made to bite the dust in the field of Badr. Abu-Jahl was slain by two young Muslim lads, so also Shaibah and 'Utbah met their fated hour and were put to sword within a few hours. The night fell upon the gloomy hearts of the Meccans like Doomsday. They were put to flight in utter disarray. It is this humiliating defeat which is referred to in the following verse of Surah Al-Anfal: And remember the time when Allah promised you one of the two parties that it should be yours, and you wished that one without sting should be yours, but Allah desired to establish the truth by His words and to cut off the root of the disbelievers. 8 he Battle of The Ditch
Among other encounters with the enemies of Islam which occurred precisely as they were foretold, the Battle of the Ditch ( ) is of outstanding importance. It was during this battle that some other great historic victories were also predicted at a time when the very survival of the Muslims themselves was at stake. The prediction of the Battle of the Ditch was first made in Surah Sad which was definitely revealed in Mecca and according to most scholars, during the early period of the Prophet'ssa ministry. Following is the verse: They are a host of the confederates which shall be routed here. 9 It is to this prophecy that the Holy Quran refers: And when the believers saw the confederates, they said, 'This is what Allah and His Messenger promised us; and Allah and His Messenger spoke the truth.' And it only added to their faith and submission. 10 Of all the battles fought during the lifetime of the Holy Prophetsa of Islam, the Battle of the Ditch stands out for the maximum possible dangers and extreme trials of adversity which it brought to the Muslims in Medina. There was many a time when the odds were heavy against the survival of the Muslims. The Quran describes their state as follows: When they came upon you from above you, and from below you, and when your eyes became distracted, and your hearts reached to the throats, and you thought diverse thoughts about Allah.
There and then were the believers sorely tried, and they were shaken with a violent shaking. And when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts was a disease said, 'Allah and His Messenger promised us nothing but a delusion.' And when a party of them said, 'O people of Yathrib (Medina), you have possibly no stand against the enemy, therefore turn back.' And a section of them even asked leave of the Prophet, saying, 'Our houses are exposed and defenceless.' And they were in truth not exposed. They only sought to flee away. 11
This battle has earned the title The Battle of the Ditch, because when the news reached Prophet Muhammadsa that almost all the Arab tribes had colluded to invade Medina for a final conclusive encounter to finish off Islam once and for all, the building of a barrier on the open side of Medina became an absolute must. The number of Muslims in Medina at that time, by comparison to the invading hosts, was so small that it was absolutely impossible for them to prevent the enemy from entering Medina in an open battle. Hence, after consultation it was decided that the digging of a ditch was the only option. A one mile long ditch was required to be dug in extremely difficult rocky terrain. The estimate as to the number of Muslims involved in this task differ. The minimum mentioned is seven hundred and the maximum three thousand. According to our estimate it was around one thousand eight hundred at the most, because the one thing on which the authorities are agreed is that to every group of ten persons, ten yards of the ditch were allocated. As it was not longer than one mile, the number of Muslims could not have been more than one thousand seven hundred and sixty. The task was hard and exacting. An overall state of poverty and deprivation further compounded the problems of the Muslim camp. At times they had to work for days on end on empty stomachs. It was during this state of extreme adversity that the Holy Prophetsa was once informed that despite the best efforts of the sappers, a hard rock stubbornly refused to yield. The Prophetsa proceeded forthwith to visit the troubled spot. Having reached there he took up the pickaxe in his own hands and struck the rock three times before it yielded and broke into fragments. Each time he struck, sparks flew from the rock and he exclaimed out loud Allah-o-Akbar! (Allah is the Greatest). At the end the Companions inquired from him why he had shouted Allah-o-Akbar! with such a triumphant note. The Holy Prophetsa answered: 'In the sparks which flew at the first strike, I saw the Syrian palaces of the Byzantine Empire and their key was given to me. The second time I was shown the illuminated palaces of Persia at Madain and to me the key was handed. Again I was granted the key of the palaces of San'a as they appeared in the sparks when I struck the rock for the third time.' History bears witness that this is exactly what followed but the wonder lies not in their fulfilment alone. The very making of these prophecies at the time they were made is in itself a miracle.12 Seldom can history present such examples of a defending few, as powerless and vulnerable as the Muslims were while they were engaged in the digging of the trench, day in and day out, borne down with hunger and fatigue. That was the time when the adversity of the Muslim cause could sink no further. It was then that Muhammadsa spoke the historic words which history could not create, they created history. To predict such victories at a time such as this could either be the ravings of a madman or the proclamation of God from the lips of a great Prophetsa. He was the wisest of all the wise that ever lived, 'mad' he was certainly not. If ever a prophet was blessed to be a Divine oracle, it was he. His was the mouth and his were the lips which shaped destinies and pronounced decrees as God spoke to him and he spoke for God. As has been pointed out earlier the purpose of this exercise is not to present an exhaustive study of all the prophecies of the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophetsa. We are only attempting to present to the reader some specific prophecies with wider impact. Having discussed some of them which related to the lifetime of the Holy Prophetsa and the period which immediately followed, we now turn to another category of prophecies which relate to a comparatively distant future. It is difficult to decide where to begin but perhaps it would not be inappropriate to begin with the discovery of the Americas and the extension of the known world. The following are the relevant verses: And when the earth will spread out, And will cast out all that she contains and become empty; And will give ear to her Lord—and this will be incumbent upon her. 13 The prophecy contained in verse 4 above was manifestly realized with the discovery of the 'New World' by the end of the fifteenth century, when on 12 October 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on an island in the Bahamas. That was the beginning of the end for the native Americans. But a new seemingly endless beginning was made for the Americans to rise and dominate the rest of the old world. This is clearly implied in the prophecy contained in the next verse which speaks of the earth throwing up all its secrets and emptying itself. The same issue is taken up again and further elaborated in some other chapters as well. For instance, verses 2 and 3 of Surah Al-Zilzal read: When the earth is shaken with her violent shaking, And the earth throws up her burdens. 14 It is predicted that the earth will go through a mighty shaking and will throw up its heavy metals and man will begin to wonder what indeed is happening to it. The word athqal ( ) refers to everything which is heavy, so the throwing up by the earth of its heavy metals will not be a forced extension of its meaning. Again it can also be translated as 'the earth will throw up its hidden treasures'. The tremendous scientific advancements which we have witnessed in this age could not become possible without the discovery of new minerals which the earth has thrown up as predicted. Count them out and the wheel of scientific advancement will turn back a full circle. No modern invention of any significance can be conceived without the discovery of coal, petroleum, uranium, plutonium etc. The chronological order of the two prophecies mentioned above also has a message to deliver. The prophecy of the extension of the old world is followed immediately by the discovery of new minerals and this is exactly the sequence in which the prophecies were fulfilled.
REFERENCES - The
Holy Bible (1982) The New King James Version. Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Exodus 14:28–29
- Translation of 10:91–93 by Maulawi Sher Ali.
- Translation of 10:93 by Maulawi Sher Ali.
- Translation of 28:86 by Maulawi Sher Ali.
- Translation of 17:81 by Maulawi Sher Ali.
- Translation of 30:3–6 by the author.
- Translation of 54:45–47 by Maulawi Sher Ali.
- Translation of 8:8 by Maulawi Sher Ali.
- Translation of 38:12 by the author.
- Translation of 33:23 by Maulawi Sher Ali.
- Translation of 33:11–14 by Maulawi Sher Ali. (Note: We have added 'Medina' in brackets).
- Fat-hul-Bari—The Commentary of Sahih Al-Bukhari by Hafiz Ahmad bin 'Ali Hajar Al-'Asqalani (773–852). Kitab Al-Maghazi Babo Ghazwah Al-Khandaq Al-Ahzab. Vol.VII p.397.
- Translation of 84:4–6 by the author.
- Translation of 99:2–3 by the author.
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