Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 446
! ! 446 wh en the Holy Qur’ān exists? All the poetry in the world remains ineffectual before it. ” There happened to be an atheist poet in Arabia. The King was also an atheist. He said to the poet, “You continuously engage in debates with various Muslims. Why do you not write a verse , which could be presented as an equal to their Holy Qur’ān ?” The poet said, “ W e are in need of food for living , consequently we praise people. If you provide us with food , I can write. ” The K ing asked him what he required. He said, “ I require a garden, serving maids, and everything else which one may require. I will then need respite for six months. ” The K ing waited for six months , pleased that in the meantime, a verse was being created to compete with the Muslims. After six months, he asked if it was ready. The poet said, “No!” The K ing grew furious that after spending thousands on him , it was still not ready. The poet said, “ O my King! It was not for lack of effort. You are welcome to come inside and see for yourself. ” Inside, t he K ing observed a large heap of papers. The poet said, “Whenever I attempted to write something similar to the Holy Qur’ān , my pen would stop. At every step, I felt humilia ted and embarrassed. ” Therefore , the Holy Qur’ān is a book of such elevated stature , because it holds the answer to all human requirements , and it encompasses all necessary directives. Consequently , God Almighty has made the Holy Qur’ān such a blessing , which discusses all human needs. Allah says : n ا ۡﻟ َﻜ ۡﻮ َﺛ َﺮ َا ۡﻋ َﻄ ۡﻴ ٰﻨ َﻚ ِا َّﻧ ۤﺎ (Holy Qur’ān , Ch. 108: V. 2) We have given you everything in abundance. When we were children, we would read the story of ‘ A mar Ayyar [‘ A mar the cunning] , who possessed a bag, which yielded whatever he desired. When he needed food, it would yield the most succulent delectable [food]. When he needed to fight, it would yield an army, elephants, horses, etc. Granted, this was only a story , but there is no doubt that in reality, the Holy Qur’ān is that bag given to the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa , in which no human need or question ,