Home > Arguments for the Qur'an's excellence
"The Qur'an contains the miracle of the number 19, a stunning pattern Allah placed within it. It says, ‘Over it are nineteen' (Surah Al-Muddathir, 74:30), referring to the angels guarding Hell, and this number weaves through the text—19 letters in the Bismillah, 114 chapters (a multiple of 19), and other counts scholars have found. It's a sign of divine precision, beyond human design.
Jesus (peace be upon him) brought the Injeel—‘We gave him the Injeel, in which was guidance and light' (Surah Al-Ma'idah, 5:46)—but no such intricate miracle marks the Bible today. The Qur'an declares, ‘The Messiah, son of Mary, was no more than a messenger' (Surah Al-Ma'idah, 5:75). The 19's are Allah's signature, proving the Qur'an's origin, reinforcing Jesus' true role, and calling us to worship Allah alone with a wonder no man could craft."
The argument for the Quran's divinity based on the "Miracle of the 19" is a classic case of numerology—a desperate attempt to find objective proof in subjective patterns. This is akin to arguing that a supermarket receipt is divinely inspired because the prices occasionally add up to the number of aisles. Numerical coincidence is not divine revelation.
1. The Gospel's Proof is Objective, Not Abstract
We are asked to believe that God's definitive signature is a complex counting game involving the letter count of the Bismillah and multiples of 19. How convenient for a revelation to require advanced mathematics to prove its own legitimacy! The Christian faith, conversely, relies on manifest, objective, and salvific acts of God in history.
The Bible's proof is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)—a public, physical miracle that changed history. Furthermore, the Bible's prophetic unity (2 Peter 1:20-21)—hundreds of specific prophecies fulfilled over centuries, all pointing to Christ—is a verifiable, macro-level miracle of structure far superior to any hidden number code.
2. A Distraction from the Core Claim
The focus on the number 19 is a calculated distraction from the substance of the Gospel: the divinity and atonement of Christ. The opponent uses this numerical curiosity to reinforce the diminished view of Christ as "no more than a messenger" (Surah Al-Ma'idah, 5:75). We dismiss this claim. The Living Miracle is Jesus Christ Himself—the Word made flesh (John 1:1, 14)—whose resurrection stands as the singular, irrefutable evidence that His message and the Scriptures about Him are utterly true. We choose the verifiable work of the Saviour over abstract, convoluted counting exercises.