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A Process of Elimination Aldrich says, “What you say is convincing. I won’t deny it. But how do I know the Prophet didn’t author the Quran himself? That is what lots of secular academics say.” You reply with a proposal: “Can we agree to be fair? I’ll consider everything you say if you consider everything I say.” Aldrich replies by saying: “That sounds very fair. Actually, I have never seen a religious person seriously consider atheist and secular positions, and I’m really impressed that you’re doing this.” You say: “The secular claim will be something like, ”I don’t know what the Quran says and who the Prophet was, but it’s a convenient way for him to gain power. All prophets are impostors because there is no God.” Does that sound right? Aldrich agrees. You continue. “Okay, so the first thing is that he doesn’t know what the Quran says and who the Prophet was. So that’s a problem because if he sees what the Quran says and who the Prophet was, he will know that it is impossible for him to have written it himself. Aldrich seems very intrigued and asks, “Why is it impossible for him to have written it himself?” How will you answer? “It was miraculously eloque

• “It was miraculously eloquent. It also had Bible and Torah stories that the Prophet couldn’t know because they were unknown to the ancient Arabians at the time and he had no access to the ancient scriptures. You don’t even need to read the whole Quran to understand this. This was so clear to everyone around him that even his enemies acknowledged that the Quran was not from him.”
• “The Prophet never had any ambition to be in power. Therefore, he could not have written the Quran because he did not recite poetry or have any pretensions of religious or political power.”

Aldrich says, “I see what you’re saying, and I understand why maybe Muhammad couldn’t have written the Quran himself. But Muhammad was a very clever and eloquent person. Do you have any more reasons that show that he couldn’t have done it?” How will you respond?

• “Yes, of course. The Prophet was not known to recite any type of poetry before the Quran. It is impossible to produce the most eloquent words anyone has ever heard suddenly.”
• “The style of the Quran differs from the style of the Prophet’s speech (that includes even his speech after he claimed that the Quran was a revelation from God). Also, the Prophet would undergo physical changes such as increased temperature and intense sweating. In addition, he would gain “weight” so camels buckled underneath him when he was receiving revelation. This is a mass-transmitted historical fact.”

Aldrich acknowledges that your point is convincing, but he continues his questions. He asks, “How about the last part of the secular argument – how do we know if he didn’t make it up to gain influence?” How will you answer?

• “Well, what I’ve said shows that he couldn’t have made it up at all. So that means that he couldn’t have made it up to gain influence. But there’s even more. He behaved completely differently from an impostor who was lying to gain influence: The Quran addresses the Prophet as a slave. If an impostor made it up, he would have given referred to himself as a great leader who must be obeyed. This is what all false prophets do. So when you look at the secular argument in light of all that, you can see that it’s completely false.”
• “Yes, the Prophet was called “Al-Amin”, this means the trusted one. This is because he was famous for his honesty. He never told a lie in his life.”

The Prophet Muhammad Was Taught the Quran by Someone Else Aldrich blurts out, “Okay, Muhammad didn’t make it up. I can see that now. But did anyone teach him? Perhaps one of the Ancient Arabians?” How will you answer?

• "If that were the case, everybody would know it, and no one would say that the Quran is a miracle. It would have been reported throughout Arabia that someone taught Muhammad ﷺ."
• “No, that is not possible. The time before Islam in Arabia was actually called “The Age of Ignorance.” The Ancient Arabians could not read and hence couldn’t access the Jewish and Christian scriptures. But the Quran contains knowledge of Jewish and Christian scriptures. the Prophet could not have learned that from the ancient Arabians.”

Aldrich asks another question. “Could it have been a Christian or a Jew, then perhaps?” How will you answer?

• "The Christians and the Jews were literate because that is how they accessed their religious scripture. But it is established that the Prophet ﷺ never learned from any of them. Also, he could not read or write, so he could not access those scriptures himself."
• "It would have been much more like a Christian book if that were the case. This would mean that most of the Christians and Jews in the ancient Arab world would have become Muslim straight away."

Aldrich raises his hands and smiles. “Could it have been anyone else?” How will you answer?

• "There was a preposterous claim that it was a blacksmith slave. This was because he was a Christian. But he didn’t even speak Arabic properly. The Arabic of the Quran is of the highest level."
• "I suppose he had as much chance as anybody but is that more likely than it being a miracle?"

Aldrich asks, exasperated, “So who was it then?” How will you answer?

• "Well, the Prophet ﷺ always claimed to have a teacher. It was the Angel Gabriel. As I have just shown you, rational elimination of all the others options shows that this is the only remaining possibility."
• "The Prophet ﷺ had many teachers. He learned from everyone and everything. That is what made him the most amazing person who had ever lived."