Word Count Miracles in the Qur'an: Difference between revisions

This article takes a look at alleged word count "miracles" in the Qur'an.

Apologetic Claim

In an attempt to prove the divine origins of Islam, there are many Islamic websites promoting "word count miracles" in the Qur'an. The basic claim here is that certain words in the Qur'an are repeated a specific and in some way miraculous number of times.

The Deceptive Tactics

In general there are two main ways of manipulating data and doctoring a "miracle".

Selective Choice of Words Used

The first one is the selective choice of words to interpret as miracles. If for a certain word there exists a nice number of repetitions, then it is mentioned and included as a miracle. If no nice number of repetitions exist, it is not mentioned and discarded. By only mentioning the instances where there are "nice repetitions" one gets the impression that there is something special about it, while statistically the same probability of finding similar "miracles" exists in all texts.

Selective Choice of Grammatical Forms Counted

The second way of manipulating data is the selective choice of which Arabic grammatical forms are to be counted. Are just singular forms counted? Or also plural forms? Duals? Forms with or without prefix? And so on. By choosing different ways of counting, you get a lot of different results. Of course, those who claim there are "word repetition miracles in the Qur'an" will not tell you that they have chosen a specific way of counting words to get the desired result.

The 365 days Maths Miracle

One of the most popular claims is that the word yawm (singular of day) is repeated 365 times in the Qur'an, its plural and dual forms "days" (ayyam and yawmayn) together are repeated 30 times, while the number of repetitions of the word "month" (shahar) is 12.

Islamic Miracle Using Christian Calendar

The first flaw with this claim is the fact that the Islamic calendar consists of 354 or 355 days a year,^[1] so these apologists are effectively favoring Christianity by their use of the Gregorian calendar, which consists of 365 or 366 days.

Manipulated Data

These counts are manipulated, generally in unstated ways, to produce the desired totals. Most individuals will not take the time needed to count and verify the claim themselves, so they may assume on good faith that it is true.

When you check with word count software, the total "yawm" concordance finds 475 mentions, not 365. However, this includes the dual and plural forms. Of all the different forms of "yawm," 3 are in the dual and 27 are in the plural.^[2] If you have a database program with easy formats you can easily counter this lie too and find out that all forms with suffixes are discarded on Islamic websites.

Furthermore, the word yawm in most of its occurrences in the Qur'an does not mean a 24 hour day. For example, the Day of Judgment is mentioned a very large number of times in different ways.

Burden of Proof

We could claim that the word "Allah" has been mentioned 666 times on WikiIslam and therefore Islam is false (since in some cultures, 666 represents the number of the devil). If we cannot list all the occurrences of the word by showing where it occurs for each of those 666 times, then our claim is unproven. There is not a single website that lists all the occurrences of the word "day" in the Qur'an showing it to be 365 times.

• The actual list of occurrences

Conclusion

There is no miracle to be found here. Apologists have manipulated data and used an un-Islamic method of counting days within a year to make the (unverified) numbers "fit".

But let's say for a moment the 365 occurrences of the word "yawm" is a mathematically sound citation. If this was discovered at a time when people did not know how many days there were in a year then it may be considered a miracle, but calenders have existed since 3000 BC, and the Julian calendar (which consisted of 365 or 366 days) began in 45 BC.^[3]

This is one of the most oft-quoted but there are more such dubious mathematical claims but they are equally deceitful. But putting that aside, even if day or yawm was mentioned 365 times in the Qur'an, would that mean it is from Allah?

"Prayer" mentioned 5 times

One of the supposed "numerical miracles" is that the word salawat (صلوات), which supposedly means "prayer", is mentioned 5 times - which is exactly the number of prayers Muslims are supposed to do every day.

Uthmani or simple script?

There are two versions of the Qur'an and there is a different number of occurences of the word "salawat" in them. Here is a demonstration of the difference:

• Quran 5:6 (English translation): "O you who believe! when you rise up to prayer..."
• Quran 5:6 (Uthmani script): "...(salawat) يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ "
• Quran 5:6 (Simple script): "...(salat) يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى الصَّلَاةِ"

Uthmani script

Let's look at the occurences of the word salawat in the Uthmani script. You can use a search tool to look up the word salawat (ٱلصَّلَوٰة) ^[4] but let's look at some verses with this word here:

• 1) Qur'an 2:43 (1 occurrence) "وَأَقِيمُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتُوا۟ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَٱرْكَعُوا۟ مَعَ ٱلرَّٰكِعِينَ "
• 2) Qur'an 2:238 (2 occurrences, "وَٱلصَّلَوٰةِ" means "and prayer") "حَٰفِظُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلصَّلَوَٰتِ وَٱلصَّلَوٰةِ ٱلْوُسْطَىٰ وَقُومُوا۟ لِلَّهِ قَٰنِتِينَ"
• 3) Qur'an 4:103 (3 occurrences) "فَإِذَا قَضَيْتُمُ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ فَٱذْكُرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ قِيَٰمًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىٰ جُنُوبِكُمْ فَإِذَا ٱطْمَأْنَنتُمْ فَأَقِيمُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ إِنَّ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ كَانَتْ عَلَى ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ كِتَٰبًا مَّوْقُوتًا "
• 4) Qur'an 6:72 (1 occurrence)"وَأَنْ أَقِيمُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَٱتَّقُوهُ وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِىٓ إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ "
• 5) Qur'an 14:40 (1 ocurrence) "رَبِّ ٱجْعَلْنِى مُقِيمَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِى رَبَّنَا وَتَقَبَّلْ دُعَآءِ "
• 6) Qur'an 29:45 (2 occurrences) "ٱتْلُ مَآ أُوحِىَ إِلَيْكَ مِنَ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ وَأَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ إِنَّ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ تَنْهَىٰ عَنِ ٱلْفَحْشَآءِ وَٱلْمُنكَرِ وَلَذِكْرُ ٱللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ "
• ...

We can clearly see that the word salawat (ٱلصَّلَوٰة) is mentioned more than 5 times. This is the script from the oldest manuscripts, so the miracle should have been here.

Simple script

Now let's look at the simple script version of the Qur'an, which is more in line with the modern Arabic. Here the word for prayer is salat (الصَّلَاةِ) and salawat is used for the plural. But the problem is that salawat doesn't always mean prayer. That also explains why Muslims don't show the list of the verses with this word.

• 1) Qur'an 2:157 "أُولَـٰئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَاتٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ ۖ وَأُولَـٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُهْتَدُونَ"
  • Translation (Shakir): "Those are they on whom are blessings (salawatun) and mercy from their Lord, and those are the followers of the right course."
  • So this verse is not talking about prayers Muslims do. If salawat means "prayers", then "salawat min rabbihim" (صَلَوَاتٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ) in this verse would be "prayers from their lord". Is Allah praying? Who is he praying to?

• 2) Qur'an 2:238 "حَافِظُوا عَلَى الصَّلَوَاتِ وَالصَّلَاةِ الْوُسْطَىٰ وَقُومُوا لِلَّهِ قَانِتِينَ"
  • Translation (Shakir) "Attend constantly to prayers (as-salawati) and to the middle prayer and stand up truly obedient to Allah."
  • 1st valid occurence.

• 3) Qur'an 9:99 "وَمِنَ الْأَعْرَابِ مَن يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَيَتَّخِذُ مَا يُنفِقُ قُرُبَاتٍ عِندَ اللَّهِ وَصَلَوَاتِ الرَّسُولِ ۚ أَلَا إِنَّهَا قُرْبَةٌ لَّهُمْ ۚ سَيُدْخِلُهُمُ اللَّهُ فِي رَحْمَتِهِ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ"
  • Translation "And of the dwellers of the desert are those who believe in Allah and the latter day and take what they spend to be (means of) the nearness of Allah and the Messenger´s prayers (wasalawat); surely it shall be means of nearness for them; Allah will make them enter into His mercy; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful."
  • Why do we suddenly count the form "wasalawat" with the wa- (و) prefix? In the 365 days miracle, the word day with this prefix was not counted. But it means prayers so let's count it as 2nd valid occurence.

• 4) Qur'an 22:40 "الَّذِينَ أُخْرِجُوا مِن دِيَارِهِم بِغَيْرِ حَقٍّ إِلَّا أَن يَقُولُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ۗ وَلَوْلَا دَفْعُ اللَّهِ النَّاسَ بَعْضَهُم بِبَعْضٍ لَّهُدِّمَتْ صَوَامِعُ وَبِيَعٌ وَصَلَوَاتٌ وَمَسَاجِدُ يُذْكَرُ فِيهَا اسْمُ اللَّهِ كَثِيرًا ۗ وَلَيَنصُرَنَّ اللَّهُ مَن يَنصُرُهُ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَقَوِيٌّ عَزِيزٌ"
  • Translation: "Those who have been expelled from their homes without a just cause except that they say: Our Lord is Allah. And had there not been Allah´s repelling some people by others, certainly there would have been pulled down cloisters and churches and synagogues (wasalawat) and mosques in which Allah´s name is much remembered; and surely Allah will help him who helps His cause; most surely Allah is Strong, Mighty."
  • Here the word salawat refers to jewish synagogues. What do jewish synagogues have to do with the 5 daily muslim prayers?

• 5) Qur'an 23:9 "وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَلَىٰ صَلَوَاتِهِمْ يُحَافِظُونَ"
  • Translation "And those who keep a guard on their prayers (salawatihim);"
  • If we count the word with -ihim suffix, meaning "their", then this is the 3rd valid occurrence.

Conclusions

• The word salawat in the uthmani script appears more than 5 times.
• If we count all forms of the word salawat in the simple script, we can get 5 occurrences. 3 out of them refer to the plural "prayers", but the other 2 mean "blessings" and "synagogues".
• The claim that the word "prayer" or "prayers" is mentioned 5 times in the Qur'an, is a lie.
• The claim that the Arabic word salawat is mentioned 5 times (and letting people think it means always "prayer"), is misleading.

"Seven heavens" mentioned 7 times

The Qur'an talks much more than 7 times about the seven heavens if we don't require both the words "seven" and "heavens" to be together in the verse. There are dozens of verses with the plural word "heavens", which just don't have the word "seven" in them, like this one:

• Verse 2:107 "Do you not know that Allah´s is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and that besides Allah you have no guardian or helper?"

Here is the list of verses which talk about the seven heavens and explicitly mention the word seven (sabAAa, سبع) in them:

• 1) Verse 2:29 "He it is Who created for you all that is in the earth, and He directed Himself to the heaven, so He made them complete seven heavens (سَبْعَ سَمَٰوَٰتٍ), and He knows all things"
• 2) Verse 17:44 "The seven heavens (ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتُ ٱلسَّبْعُ) declare His glory and the earth (too), and those who are in them; and there is not a single thing but glorifies Him with His praise, but you do not understand their glorification; surely He is Forbearing, Forgiving."
• 3) Verse 23:17 "And certainly We made above you seven heavens (سَبْعَ طَرَآئِقَ); and never are We heedless of creation."
  • Here the word for heavens is taraiqa (طَرَآئِقَ), which literally means "paths" and they are called paths, because heavens are used as paths by the angels. ^[5]
• 4) Verse 23:86 "Say: Who is the Lord of the seven heavens (ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ ٱلسَّبْعِ) and the Lord of the mighty dominion?"
• 5) Verse 41:12 "So He ordained them seven heavens (سَبْعَ سَمَٰوَاتٍ) in two periods, and revealed in every heaven its affair; and We adorned the lower heaven with brilliant stars and (made it) to guard; that is the decree of the Mighty, the Knowing."
• 6) Verse 65:12 "Allah is He Who created seven heavens (سَبْعَ سَمَٰوَٰت), and of the earth the like of them; the decree continues to descend among them, that you may know that Allah has power over all things and that Allah indeed encompasses all things in (His) knowledge."
• 7) Verse 67:3 "Who created the seven heavens (سَبْعَ سَمَٰوَٰتٍ) one above another; you see no incongruity in the creation of the Beneficent Allah; then look again, can you see any disorder?"
• 8) Verse 71:15 "Do you not see how Allah has created the seven heavens (سَبْعَ سَمَٰوَٰتٍ), one above another,"
• 9) Verse 78:12 "And We made above you seven strong ones (سَبْعًا شِدَادًا),"
  • "Seven strong-ones" (sabAAan shidadan, سَبْعًا شِدَادًا) refers to the seven heavens. ^[6]

We can get 7 occurrences if we count only the occurrences where the seven heavens are explicitly called seven "heavens" (samawat, سَمَٰوَٰتٍ) and not "paths" or "strong ones". So we could consider this word count to be valid. But is this really a miracle?

A more important question is: are there 7 heavens in reality? And when we consider that they are one above the other (verse 67:3) and stars are in the lowest heaven (41:12), that means our universe would be the lowest heaven. We can see only this universe, so do we really see all the 7 heavens as the verse 71:15 claims we should?

"Wine" and "intoxication" both mentioned 6 times

What is the significance of the number 6? And what is this supposed to mean? Wine equals intoxication? They are not the same thing.. but let's count them.

Wine (khamr, خمر):

• 1) 2:219 "They ask you about wine (ٱلْخَمْرِ) and gambling. Say, "In them is great sin and [yet, some] benefit for people..."
• 2) 5:90 "O you who have believed, surely wine (ٱلْخَمْرُ) and games of chance, and altars (for idols) and divining (i.e., divination by arrows or in any other way) are only an abomination of Ash-Shaytan's (The all-vicious, the Devil) doing, so avoid it, that possibly you would prosper."
• 3) 5:91 "Surely Ash- Shaytan's (The all-vicious, the Devil) would only (like) to excite enmity and abhorrence among you by means of wine (ٱلْخَمْرِ) and games of chance, (Literally: in wine and games of chance) and to bar you from the remembrance of Allah, and from prayer. Will you then be refraining?"
• 4) 12:36 "And two youths entered the prison with him. One of them said: I saw myself pressing wine (خَمْرًا ). And the other said: I saw myself carrying bread on my head, of which birds ate. Inform us of its interpretation; surely we see you to be of the doers of good."
• 5) 12:41 "O my two mates of the prison! as for one of you, he shall give his lord to drink wine (خَمْرًا ); and as for the other, he shall be crucified, so that the birds shall eat from his head, the matter is decreed concerning which you inquired."
• 6) 47:15 "(This) is the similitude of the Garden which the pious have been promised; therein are rivers of water not staling, and rivers of milk that does not change in taste, and rivers of wine (خَمْرٍ) - a delicious (drink) to the drinkers- and rivers of honey unadulterated..."

Some translations translate khamr as intoxicants to imply more general meaning.

Now let's count intoxication (sakara, سكر):

• 1) 4:43 ": O you who believe! do not go near prayer when you are intoxicated (سُكَٰرَىٰ ) until ..."
• 2) 15:15 "They would only say: "Our eyes have been intoxicated (سُكِّرَتْ ): Nay, we have been bewitched by sorcery.""
• 3) 15:72 "By your life! they were blindly wandering on in their intoxication (سَكْرَتِهِمْ)."
• 4) 16:67 "And of the fruits of the palms and the grapes-- you obtain from them intoxication (سَكَرًا) and goodly provision; most surely there is a sign in this for a people who ponder."
• 5,6) 22:2 "On the day when you shall see it, every woman giving suck shall quit in confusion what she suckled, and every pregnant woman shall lay down her burden, and you shall see men intoxicated (سُكَٰرَىٰ ), and they shall not be intoxicated (بِسُكَٰرَىٰ) but the chastisement of Allah will be severe."
• 7) 50:19 "And the intoxication (سَكْرَةُ ) of death will bring the truth; that is what you were trying to avoid."

Some translations sometimes translate the word as "dazzled" or "drunk" or "stupor", but the basic meaning is the same and the arabic root سكر is the same.

So the words are not both mentioned 6 times.

"Muhammad" and "sharia" both mentioned 4 times

The word Muhammad (مُحَمَّد) appears in 4 verses:

• 1) 3:144 "And Muhammad is no more than a messenger; the messengers have already passed away before him; if then he dies or is killed will you turn back upon your heels? .."
• 2) 33:40 "Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the Last of the prophets; and Allah is cognizant of all things."
• 3) 47:2 "And (as for) those who believe and do good, and believe in what has been revealed to Muhammad, and it is the very truth from their Lord, He will remove their evil from them and improve their condition."
• 4) 48:29 "Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are severe against disbelievers, and merciful among themselves.."

In the next section, a specifically Arabic letter ع (ayn), that has no equivalent in the English alphabet will be transliterated as "AA".

The word "sharia" (شَرِيعَة) appears in one verse:

• 45:18 "Then We put you, [O Muhammad], on an ordained way (شَرِيعَةٍ, shareeAAa) concerning the matter [of religion]; so follow it and do not follow the inclinations of those who do not know."

There are other 3 verses containing words derived from the same trilateral root شرع (sh-r-AA), but they are not "sharia":

• 1) 5:48 ".. So judge between them by what Allah has revealed and do not follow their inclinations away from what has come to you of the truth. To each of you We prescribed a law (شِرْعَةً, shirAAa) and a method. Had Allah willed, He would have made you one nation [united in religion], but [He intended] to test you in what He has given you; so race to [all that is] good.."
  • This word is shirAAa not shareeAAa. Although the meaning is similar, they are not the same words.
• 2) 42:13 "He has ordained (شَرَعَ, SharaAAa) for you of religion what He enjoined upon Noah and that which We have revealed to you..."
  • In this case it is a verb! It is from the same root, but it is not the word (noun) sharia.
• 3) 42:21 "Or have they associates who have prescribed (شَرَعُوا۟, sharaAAoo) for them any religion that Allah does not sanction? .."
  • Again this is a verb and it is not the word sharia.

There is also one occurrence of a word derived from the same root شرع, which however has a totally different meaning:

• 7:163 "And ask them about the town that was by the sea - when they transgressed in [the matter of] the sabbath - when their fish came to them openly (شُرَّعًا, shurraAAan) on their sabbath day, and the day they had no sabbath they did not come to them. Thus did We give them trial because they were defiantly disobedient."

So the word "Muhammad" is mentioned 4 times, but the word "sharia" is mentioned only once.

"The righteous" mentioned 6 times and "the wicked" 3 times

If we count only basic forms of the words al-abrar (the righteous) and al-fujjar (the wicked), we get 5 occurrences of al-abrar:

• 1) 3:193 "Our Lord! surely we have heard a preacher calling to the faith, saying: Believe in your Lord, so we did believe; Our Lord! forgive us therefore our faults, and cover our evil deeds and make us die with the righteous (ٱلْأَبْرَارِ, al-abrar)."
• 2) 76:5 "Surely the righteous (ٱلْأَبْرَارَ, al-abrar) shall drink of a cup the admixture of which is camphor"
• 3) 82:13 "Most surely the righteous (ٱلْأَبْرَارَ, al-abrar) are in bliss,"
• 4) 83:18 "Nay! Most surely the record of the righteous (ٱلْأَبْرَارِ, al-abrar) shall be in the Iliyin."
• 5) 83:22 "Most surely the righteous (ٱلْأَبْرَارَ, al-abrar) shall be in bliss,"

And two occurrences of al-fujjar:

• 1) 82:14 "And most surely the wicked (ٱلْفُجَّارَ, al-fujjar) are in burning fire,"
• 2) 83:7 "Nay! most surely the record of the wicked (ٱلْفُجَّارِ, al-fujjar) is in the Sijjin."

So there is no miracle. However when we count the words with slightly different forms, we get one more occurrence for "the righteous":

• 3:198 "But as to those who are careful of (their duty to) their Lord, they shall have gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding in them; an entertainment from their Lord, and that which is with Allah is best for the righteous (لِّلْأَبْرَارِ, lil-abrar)."

And 3 occurrences for "the wicked":

• 38:28 "Shall We treat those who believe and do good like the mischief-makers in the earth? Or shall We make those who guard (against evil) like the wicked (كَٱلْفُجَّارِ, kal-fujjar)?"
• 71:27 "If You leave them, they will mislead Your slaves, and they will beget none but wicked (فَاجِرًا, fajiran) disbelievers."
• 80:42 "These are they who are unbelievers, the wicked (ٱلْفَجَرَةُ, al-fajarah)."

So this word count is more questionable than miraculous.

Also there are other word count "miracles" where the "bad" word has the same number as the "good" word. Like iman/kufr, paradise/hell. So why suddenly count double word counts?

Other miracles

• The word "month" (al-shahr) appears 12 times in the Qur'an
• The words "man" and "woman" both appear 23 times and 23 is the number of chromosomes
• The words dunya (world) and akhira (paradise) both appear 115 times
• The words "paradise" and "hell" both appear 77 times
• The words "iman" and "kufr" both appear 25 times in the genitive form
• The Qur'an describes the water to land ratio as 71:29.
• The words sun (shams) and light (noor) both appear 33 times.
• The word "mind" and "noor" (light) both appear 49 times.
  • No. Occurrences of the word noor (نور) were already listed in the article Sun and light word count in the Qur'an. This word appears 43 times. There are also 6 occurrences of the word muneer (منير), which is however translated as "enlightening" or "illuminating" most of the time.
  • This word count is in contradiction with the "Sun and light both appear 33 times" miracle.

See Also

• Mathematical Miracles - A hub page that leads to other articles related to Mathematical Miracles

External Links

• An alleged ‘miracle’ in the Holy Quran
• Mathematical Miracles in the Qur'an or the Bible?

References