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Since the discovery of the miraculous mathematical code of the Quran in 1974 by Rashad Khalifa, Ph.D., there have been many claims of other codes in other books, especially the Bible, the book of the Mormons, the English Dictionary, etc. The Bible code by Michael Drosnin gained widespread popularity at first, but soon many scientists and researchers found similar codes in other books using the same system Drosnin used. Hence, it is not a miraculous code, as it can be duplicated easily by an person using any book. The inherent flaws in Drosnin’s system will be discussed next. The purpose behind the Bible code was to find hidden messages/codes in the Bible and use these messages to try to prove that the Bible is the word of God. Here is a comparison of the Bible code versus the Quran code:
Bible Code: Truth of Myth
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Comparison |
Bible code |
Quran code |
| 1- The Code employed: | The Bible code as used by Drosnin is based on what is now known as (ELS), short for Equidistant Letter Sequence. It works by eliminating spaces between words. It is a man made idea put into use, but has no mention or support in the Bible itself. After eliminating the space between all the words in the whole Bible, you then conduct a computer search (ELS). In this (ELS) the researcher would program the computer to eliminate the space between words then skip a number of letters, 7 letters, 20, 43, 120 (or any number of letters) to search for a specific name or event that comes in sequence, e.g. Israel. As expected, this (ELS), is entirely up to the researcher and is not restricted by any rules. The researcher then keep trying different ELS values until something comes up. Using every 50th letter in Genesis 1, for example, produces the word Israel somewhere in the text!Using this technique the researcher can produce what he is looking for, specially now with the help of the computer and the free hand in using any (ELS). The researcher has only to keep trying different ELS values until he/she gets what he/she wants. Using this method on Moby Dick, Brendan McKay, an Australian mathematician, was able to predict the assassinations of Gandhi and Somoza (Ben Witherington, (after it already happened), “A Cracked Code,“Christianity Today, July 12, 1999, page 20). | The Quran code is based on a specific given code mentioned by name in the scripture, the Final Testament Quran) and its use and function is specially detailed. This code as mentioned in sura (Chapter) 74 is the prime number 19. This number is described as having the function of proving that the Quran is the word of God (see 74:30-31). This code of the Quran does not depend on eliminating spaces, removing words or letters from the script, but it rather confirms their presence. |
| 2- The Writing of the Scripture : | Hebrew, the original language of the Bible, is written from right to left. However, Drosnin and most of those who claimed the presence of the biblical code worked out the code analysis left to right opposite to the writing of the Hebrew scripture or at least the divine intention of writing it. | Arabic, the original language of the Quran is written from right to left. The miracle and code of the Quran is based on this original direction of writing without any changes to the Scripture.It is also important to know that the code and miracle of the Quran is not based on any translation.
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| 3- Original Text: | The Hebrew Bible has been written and re-written many times and have additions, corrections or commentaries added by pious Rabbis over the years. This means that the claim of Drosnin and others to use a “universally accepted original Hebrew text” as the basis for their studies of no basis. There does not exist an original Hebrew Bible. In other words, Drosnin and others were searching a totally man altered book and not an original scripture of divine nature. | The Quran is a unique scripture because it has been preserved from the first moment of its revelation by both a written text and by memorizing it, one generation after another until this day. The oldest copy of the Quran and other old copies are still available for review. Any controversy in any written text was resolved by resorting to the memorized version. The one Quran we have has been in existence for the last 14 centuries and its memorizers all agree on the same wordings and confirm the correct way of writing it. |
| 4- Added words: | The student of the Bible will find out that there are numerous biblical manuscripts where the order of words is not the same in all documents. In some others an explanation, correction or addition was added by a scribe writing at a later date. It is not unusual to see the remark “was not in the earliest manuscript.” written in in many Bibles. | Since the Quran comes in its original form from the very beginning supported by thousands of people who memorize every word in it generation after another, Quran does not suffer from this “addition” problem. Any attempts made to re-write it in a different format (not a different Quran) was immediately exposed as non-original. |
| 5- Deliberate alterations of translations: | A very important note by Ronald Hendel, about the manipulation used in getting some results in the Bible code shed some light for us. He wrote in Bible Review, August, 1997, that deliberate mistranslations had been used to get desired results. One example Hendel gave was Genesis 25:11 where your Bible will say “After Abraham’s death” Drosnin used “After the death of the Prime Minister.” The Hebrew Abraham was divided to Ab and raham making two words, and the ELS connection was Rabin! | The Quranic code and miracle are not based on any translation, and therefore this problem does not exist.What the code did was expose any attempt to make changes in the writing of the Quran and confirm any doubted material that has historical support but no physical proof until the code was unveiled in 1974.
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The Quran code in addition to its strong relationship to the words, letters, sentences and chapters in the Quran, also exists in an intricate mathematical fashion that is totally independent of the wordings of the book and represents a whole separate miracle in its own right. Some of these miracles also depend on what is known as the geometrical value of the words and alphabets of the Quran, which is pure mathematics based on the numerical value given to the Semitic alphabets, thousands of years ago. For more information on the miracle of the Quran please click here.Before ending this article, I would like to remind the reader of a very interesting historical fact about the Bible code. The actual code of the Bible was described by Rabbi Judah in the 12th century AD in a preserved part of the Old Testament. That code was the same 19-based mathematical code we discovered in the Quran, seven centuries later. The Quran actually refers to this discovery in [46:10].
[Quran 46:10] Say, “What if it is from GOD and you disbelieved in it? A witness from the Children of Israel has borne witness to a similar phenomenon,* and he has believed, while you have turned arrogant. Surely, GOD does not guide the wicked people.
Below is a quote from Studies In Jewish Mysticism.
“The people (Jews) in France made it a custom to add (in the morning prayer) the words: ” �Ashrei temimei derekh (blessed are those who walk the righteous way),” and our Rabbi, the Pious, of blessed memory, wrote that they were completely and utterly wrong. It is all gross falsehood, because there are only nineteen times that the Holy Name is mentioned (in that portion of the morning prayer), . . . and similarly you find the word Elohim nineteen times in the pericope of Ve-�elleh shemot . . . .
“Similarly, you find that Israel were called “sons” nineteen times, and there are many other examples. All these sets of nineteen are intricately intertwined, and they contain many secrets and esoteric meanings, which are contained in more than eight volumes. Therefore, anyone who has the fear of God in him will not listen to the words of the Frenchmen who add the verse ” �Ashrei temimei derekh (blessed are those who walk in the paths of God�s Torah, for according to their additions the Holy Name is mentioned twenty times . . . and this is a great mistake. Furthermore, in this section there are 152 words, but if you add ” �Ashrei temimei derekh” there are 158 words. This is nonsense, for it is a great and hidden secret why there should be 152 words . . .” (Studies In Jewish Mysticism, Joseph Dan, Association for Jewish Studies. Cambridge, Massachusetts: 1978, p 88.)
The Bible code is human-made, whereas