dreamtof a car or an aeroplane oreven amachine of any kind.How
doestheQur'ānputsuchahighideatoencouragepeoplenotonlytofly
buttotraveltootherplanetsandheavens?Inmaterialisticthinking,such
ataskisimpossiblebecausetheyclaimthathumanthoughtsarereflec-
tionsofhismaterialenvironment.Thentheonlysolutioninthiscaseisto
believethattheQur'ānisnotaproductofthehumanmind,butisarev-
elation from God. No human being coulddefinitely put forthsuchan
idea even if he were the greatest astronomer or scientist.
Pharaoh's Body:People in our times are proud of their knowledge and the Qur'ān
bafflesthemevennow.Therearesomanyexamplesofverseswhichre-
mainedapuzzleforcommentatorsuntilthediscoveries ofrecenttimes
made their meaning clear. Here is one example:
Speaking about the drowningof Pharaoh, the Qur'ān says:And We
broughtthechildrenofIsraelacrossthesea;andPharaohandhishorse
persuade themwrongfully and aggressively; till,when the calamity of
drowningovertookhim,hesaid,`IbelievethatthereisnoGodbutHein
whomthe childrenof Israel believe,and I am of those whosubmit to
Him.'What!Now!Whileyouweredisobedientbeforethisandwereof
thosewhocreatedisorder(insociety).SothisdayWewillsaveyouin
body only, so that you may be a sign to those who come after
you.(10:91-93)
TheseversesclearlysaythatPharaoh'sbodywasrecoveredanditbe-
camea signof warningto latergenerations.Butthisthingisnot men-
tionedintheBible.StilltheQur'ānclaimedthatthebodyofPharaohwas
recovered;and 1300 yearsafterthisrevelation,excavationshavebrought
intolightthatbodywhichwasmummifiedandpreservedforfuturegen-
erations, andeven after theselong centuries his faceand bodyclearly
show the effect of drowning.
If the Qur'ān wasthe workof a man,how did he know of thisfact
which was not known even to the Jews and the Egyptians of that time?
* * *