The Quran: An Eternal Challenge

Author: Muhammad Abdullah Draz
Translator: Adil Salahi
Publisher: Islamic Foundation
Pages: 184
Binding: Softcover
ISBN: 0 86037 341 X

About the Book: A valuable work for gaining a better understanding of the Qur’an. Demonstrates how the Qur’an stands out as a divine work, surpassing all products of the human mind. This book is unique in its approach to the Qur’an. It argues the point that only God could author such a book and that Muhammad could have never produced anything like it. While this objective has been attempted by several Muslim scholars who highlighted one aspect or another of the topics highlighted in the Qur’an, Dr. Draz’s works are perhaps the first that relies totally on the merits of the Qur’anic text for irrefutable proof.

Dr. Draz discusses the arguments made at the time of the Prophet and later on which suggested that the Qur’an was taught to Muhammad by various teachers, and shows how they all collapse at the first test. When he has irrefutably established the fact that the Qur’an could only be a divine revelation, Dr. Draz goes on to analyze the Qur’anic style, showing how it combines merits that could never be found together in any human writing. Equipped with a profound literary sense and a powerful Arabic style, Dr. Draz discusses the main characteristics of the Qur’anic style, as well as the unity of theme that runs through each chapter, or surah. The work is now presented to English readers as it gives students of the Qur’an valuable insight, enabling them to understand the Qur’an better.

About the Author: Muhammad Abdullah Draz was born in 1894 in northern Egypt. His father was an Islamic scholar educated in Al-Azhar, the oldest university in the world. His work included the editing of a remarkable work, Al-Muwafaqat, by Imam Al-Shatibi, which brought a great treasure of former Islamic scholars into the hands of contemporary readers. What Muhammad Abdullah Draz wanted to do was to highlight the Islamic approach to morality as might be derived from the Qur’an, and to look at its theoretical basis and practical implementation. He gained a PHD in France and also taught the history of religion at the University of Cairo, Qur’anic Commentary in Dar Al-Uloom, a teachers’ college which was, at the time, affiliated to Al-Azhar. He also taught Arabic and moral philosophy at Al-Azhar University. Furthermore, he was elected to the membership of Senior Islamic Scholars, i.e. Jamaat Kibar Al-Ulema’ in 1949. He continued in these positions until his death in January 1958, when he was attending a conference in the city of Lahore, Pakistan.