Does the Qur'an contain
any prophecies about the future? Have any of these proved true?
Yes, the Qur'an contains many prophecies
about the future. Many of these have already proved true, and we
confidently expect that the others will also come to pass in due time. In
addition, no statement in the Qur'an has ever proved to be
false.
Let us see some examples of Qur'anic prophecies that has
already been fulfilled. One example is a prophecy that occurs in Surah 30
of the Qur'an. In the first six verses Allah promised that the Romans who
had just been defeated in the year 615 C.E. would turn around and win a
decisive victory within nine years. At the time this statement was made,
no human could envision how it could come to pass. The Romans had been so
soundly defeated that no hope was left that they could make a comeback
within such a short period of time. The disbelievers mocked at the Muslims
over this passage in the Qur'an because they thought the prophecy would
surely fail. One man, Ummayah bin Khalaf by name, even placed a bet of a
hundred camels that the prophecy would fail. Abu Bakr, the closest
follower of the prophet, on whom be peace, took up that challenge because
he was sure that the word of God could never fail. True enough, within the
specified period, in the year 624 CE, the Romans confronted the Persians
in battle at a place called Issus. The Romans won their decisive victory
exactly as prophecised in the Qur'an, and Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased
with him, won the bet of one hundred camels. In the meantime, however,
revelation from Allah had prohibited gambling, so the prophet directed Abu
Bakr to give away the camels to the poor and needy.
So the prophecy
was fulfilled. But there is more to this. The same verses contain yet
another prophecy. It says that while the Romans are winning their victory,
the believers in the Qur'an will rejoice in the victory granted by Allah.
We know from history that in that very year the Muslims were threatened
with total annihilation, but Allah rescued them. The Muslims had been
driven out of Mecca, their hometown. Now they found safe haven in Medina.
But the unbelievers could not rest knowing that the Muslims were free to
practice their faith somewhere else. So they marched against the Muslims
with an army of one thousand men fully equipped for battle. The Muslims
mustered the best defense they could, a mere 313 men lacking suitable
equipment for battle. From a human point of view, the greater force would
win, but the help of Allah was with the small group of believers.
Miraculously, the believers won, and the Qur'anic prophecy was fulfilled
despite all odds. The unfolding of this double prophecy proves beyond
doubt that the Qur'an could not have been authored by any human
being.
Another prophecy occurs in Surah 111 of the Qur'an. That
Surah states that a certain man and his wife will perish as unbelievers.
This was uttered at a time when no one but God could say who will or will
not become believers later on. Many of the most severe opponents in the
early days became devoted followers in later days. But not this couple.
They tried everything to oppose, ridicule, and disprove the Qur'an. One
would expect that they would also pretend to become believers just to
throw doubt on the accuracy of the Qur'an. But they did not apply this
obvious strategy. What prevented them, if not the power of God and the
truth of His word? In this way many prophecies were fulfilled, and not
one has ever failed. This gives us every reason to place our full
confidence in the book of God. |