Answer: I have had the dream of disseminating my personal analytical views about the Al-Qur’an, the only holy book of God believed to be highly authentic without a single change in words or sequence since its revelation in the heart of Muhammad (peace be upon him) who came as the last messenger of God following Jesus (peace be upon him). Professionally being a lecturer and a researcher, I have the routine practice of critically reviewing and writing manuscripts for journals, which often reminds me of my moral obligation to scientifically understand the holy book and share the information with the readers throughout the world. I would like to sincerely welcome you for your valuable comments and suggestions to these efforts which will presumably go step-by-step for years.

Answer: The opening (preface) of Al-Quran is known as ‘Al-Fatihah’, a chapter of 7 verses being the first complete one revealed to the Holy Prophet. This is in fact a prayer divided into two halves with the first half being for God and the remaining half for His servants (human beings). The verses are:

1. In the name of Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful.

2. All praise and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of existence.

3. The most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

4. The owner of the Day of Recompense.

5. You (alone) we worship, and You (alone) we ask for help.

6. Guide us to the straight path.

7. The way of those whom You have granted Your grace, not (the way) of those who earned Your anger, nor of those who went astray.

Verse 1: God wants his servant to utter His name before performing any deed because it will keep him away from evil and help him receive God’s help.

Verse 2-3:

           God deserves all praise and thanks since He created everything in this unimaginable universe composed of billions of stars and planets including the earth and all of its living things like human beings, animals and plants and non-living things, such as, mountains, oceans, rivers and so on. God set the laws to control the movement of the stars and planets in the universe along with its expansion. The quarks, neutrons, protons and electrons of atoms are all created and regulated by God. The sophisticated structures and functional mechanisms of living systems, especially the human body are the reflections of God’s immense creative power which is beyond our imagination. The human’s powers of thinking, interpreting, visualizing, hearing, smelling and communicating are all gifted by God.  Every human discovery and invention till now has actually been facilitated by God. Even one should not be proud of one’s good deed because God has actually permitted one to accomplish the deed based on one’s capability, dedication and so on.  If God willed, He might not have decided a success for that particular effort because God has supreme power over all things. Thus, none of His creation is worthy of praise and none is worthy of worship.

            God created all in the universe including those in earth (mentioned above) for the benefits and sustenance of human beings. The protective layers of earth atmosphere against harmful cosmic rays, the mountains for stabilizing the earth, the water vaporization (from sea) and subsequent rainfall for germinating seeds and providing drinking water are few examples of God’s countless favours towards us. The modern civilization with sophisticated technologies which enabled our lives easier and more enjoyable is the result of the technological revolution masterminded by God.  Human beings are constantly embraced with God’s immense mercy by having the opportunities of inhaling environmental oxygen to produce energy and exhaling harmful carbon dioxide with the help of two life-long super-active machines- lungs and heart.