Sirri Pasha (rahmatullahi ’alaih), the
Governor of Baghdad, wrote in his book entitled Sirr-i furqân, on the seventy-fifth
page of the first volume of its third edition, which was printed in Istanbul in
A year before writing this book of mine,
on a Friday, in Diyâr-i Bekr[1],
we were sitting with the notables of the city. The famous priest of Kaldânî,
Abd-i Yasű’, well-known for his profound learning of the Arabic language and of
the knowledge of religion, was among us. As I introduced those who were with me
to Mehmed Rashid Pasha, the governer of Mosul, my guest, I said about Abd-i
Yasű: “He is very deep in Arabic literature.” So, eloquence became the major
topic of our conversation. Later, the subject was changed from language to
nationalism. On that occasion, I narrated the conversation which once had taken
place between me and a Christian from Beirut. I said that I had asked him,
“Everybody boasts about the great personalities of his nation. You are of
Arabic origin. If they asked you who was the greatest man of your nation with
respect to knowledge, art, and eloquence in establishing a great state, how
would you answer?” The Christian from Beirut had immediately answered, “We have
to say, Muhammad [alayhissalâm].” Then, turning to Abd-i Yasű’ I asked, “What
would you say if I asked you?”
Abd-i Yasű’ said, “Yes, I agree that he is
the greatest and the most famous man from among the Arabs with respect to
establishing are great state and serving a civilization. But I do not agree
that [Hadrat] Muhammad is the most eloquent of the Arabs because he does not
have a work to demonstrate this. If you should put forward the Qur’ân, well,
you say that the Qur’ân is not his word. That the Qur’ân is
very literary and very eloquent does not mean that he is very literary and
eloquent. Yes, he was literary and eloquent. But there were others, too. For
example, [Hadrat] Alî’s sayings show us the fact that he was like [Hadrat]
Muhammad in possessing literary talent and eloquence. We all know about the
fame of Umruul Qays and Qus bin Sâ’îda before Islâm. Even [Hadrat] Muhammad
liked the khutba performed by Qus bin Sâ’îda.”
Those who listened to his statements began
to talk with one
------------------------------------
[1] A city in southeast Turkey.
another, making some noise. So I got up
and said, “For the time being, I will not ask anybody to help me. Easy,
please.” Everybody was silent. I answered him as follows:
S.P .– At this time, let us put our
religious feelings and our bigotry aside, and talk seriously with knowledge!
What do you say about the Qur’ân! Whose word is the Qur’ân al-kerîm?
A.Y. – Muhammad [alayhissalâm] made the Qur’ân together
with his friends.
S.P. – Recently, after the written order
about my governorship was read, you recited an Arabic prayer. If they tell you
that somebody else wrote that prayer and gave it to you, will you keep silent?
A.Y. – I will not; I will say that I
prepared it.
S.P. – Why?
A.Y. – Because I prepared that prayer.
S.P. – You are right. If a person who
wrote a lyrical poem of only five couplets finds out that one of this couplets
has been stolen, he will want the thief to be punished. Every person boasts
about his own work; isn’t it right?
A.Y. – Yes.
S.P. – Is it possible to make a prayer
better than that of yours?
A.Y. – Yes, it is.
S.P. – Is there a difference between your
prayer and the Qur’ân al-kerîm with respect to literature and
eloquence?
A.Y. – Sure. There is a great deal.
S.P. – Shouldn’t great honor be bestowed
upon those who wrote a Qur’ân with expressions that Arabic men of letters and
all men of knowledge, whether they are friends or enemies, cannot convey as the
Qur’ân al-kerîm
does, though they strive so hard?
A.Y. – Yes, it should!
S.P. – Does the owner of such a superior
work donate it to someone else? Muhammad (alayhissalâm) used to say, “This Qur’ân is the
word of Allah. If you do not believe it, try to express yourself as well as one
of its verses! You cannot!” They were not able to do so,
despite their great enmity and their cooperative efforts. Some of them believed
it as soon as they saw its literary superiority and its eloquence. And some
others admitted it willy-nilly by saying that man could not express it. If
Hadrat Muhammad had done it together with a few persons, the enemies
also would have assembled together and
done the same, for there were literary and eloquent people among the
disbelievers as there were among the Muslims. Furthermore, while challenging
them with it, how can he be said to have silenced his assistants with his
property, rank or government, since he did not have any of these? The Qur’ân al-kerîm was
not put forward as a whole as the Tawrât, the Zabűr, and the ’Injîl
were. Then, how can one say that his assistants could not know that this work
of theirs would be so valuable, and that later they would repent, but it would
be too late? The Qur’ân descended slowly over
twenty-three years. When each verse was revealed everybody admired it. If he
had had assistants, could they have kept silent for twenty-three years while
seeing that their own work won so much fame and honour, no matter how patient,
how devoted they were?”
A.Y. – “The correct statement is that
Muhammad [alayhissâlam] wrote the Qur’ân by himself.”
S.P. – “How do you find the Qur’ân al-kerîm?”
A.Y. – “Very elequent, very literary and
full of great wisdom.”
S.P. – “Then he who wrote it should be a
sage.”
A.Y. – “Yes.”
S.P. – “This means to say that Hadrat
Muhammad was a sage.”
A.Y. – “No doubt, he was.”
S.P. – “Can a liar be a sage?”
A.Y. – “No.”
S.P. – “You say that Muhammad
(alayhisslâm) was a sage, and also say that he who is a sage will tell the
truth. Besides, all Christians must know him as true, because in the big church
named Dair-i Za’faran in one of the villages of Mardin, I read the statement,
‘Everybody called [Hadrat] Muhammad the trustworthy Muhammad before his
prophethood, for he was well-known for being truthful’, in one of the Arabic
copies of The Divine
History of Christians. Here, that trustworthy
Muhammad told us, “The Qur’ân is not a human word. It is the word of Allah.’ What
do you say about that? If you say, ‘No, I do not believe it,’ you will be
disbelieving also the fact that he was a sage. If you abide by your word of
saying that he was a sage, you will have to believe what he said, too.”
A.Y. – “To be more exact, [Hadrat]
Muhammad was the Prophet. But he was the Prophet of the Arabs only.”
S.P. – “Thank you. The clouds of doubt are
slipping away and
the light of the truth is beginning to
shine. You said that he who is divine does not lie. Does a prophet ever lie?
Surely he never does. Then, you have to believe that Hadrat Muhammad is the
Prophet for all people and all nations, for he communicates to us, ‘I am the Prophet
for all human beings and all genies.’ What do you say about
that?”
Pausing for a few seconds, he got up and
went out, and he never came close to me again.
More detailed information about Christianity can be found in the books Herkese Lâzým Olan Îmân (Îmân that is Necessary for Everybody), Islam and Christianity, especially in its chapters under the headings Qur’ân al-kerîm and the Gospels and The Islamic Religion and Other Religions, and in the book Could not Answer.]