Why Do Muslims Believe in the Qur'an?

From: http://forums.islamicawakening.com/f20/why-do-muslims-believe-in-the-quran-14186/ This should create an interesting discussion inshAllah!....Muslims do not have the concept of blind faith or belief without justification. The Quran engages the human mind by constantly encouraging thought and investigation. For example the Quran states: “Then is he who creates like the one that creates not?” Q16:1 “Have they not considered the things that God has created?” Q16:48 Hence the Quran rejects speculation and belief based upon assumptions. Following on from this the Quran itself is not afraid of debate, dialogue and interrogation. Not only does it encourage thought and reflection but it also probes humanity to think about the Quran and its central question of authorship. Is it from the divine or is it not? The Quran expresses this quite clearly, for example: “Have they not considered the Quran carefully? If was from other God there would have been many contradictions in it” Q4:82What makes the Quran stand out from any other divine text, or any other text for that matter, is that it challenges humanity to disprove its claim of being from the divine; a form of falsification test. The Quran states: “And if you are in doubt about that which we have sent down to our servant then bring one chapter like it and call on your supporters and helpers apart from God If you are indeed truthful” Q2:23 According to classical and modern Muslim and Non-Muslim scholarship, this challenge confronts mankind to compose at least three lines of Arabic that copy the style and structure of the Quran. In 1400 hundreds years, since the revelation of the Quran, no one has been able to challenge it. This historical and modern fact forms the basis of the Quranic miracle; if humans cannot challenge the Quran then who is it from? Muslims say it can only be from God. The Quran achieves this unique and matchless expression of the Arabic language by developing its own literary form, unique genre and employing an abundance of rhetorical features unmatched by any text, past or present. Furthermore, the Quran chooses the most perfect word, word order, particle, pronoun and rhythm to enhance the intended effect. This however is not understood or felt by non-Arab readers. To appreciate the miracle of the Quran, one needs to reflect upon its history. The Arabic spoken 1400 years ago was at its most pure, so if the people at the time were challenged, and they failed – then who is the author? This is confirmed by western scholarship too, Professor Bruce Lawrence states “Quranic signs are expressive of an inexhaustible truth, they signify meaning layered within meaning, light upon light, miracle after miracle”The conviction that Muslims have regarding the nature and divine source of the Quran is increased by the fact that the Quran addresses human problems in a unique way. The Quran deals with matters related to politics, spirituality, society and economics in such a way that the application of the Quran in Islamic history is still regarded as a period that is can only be described as unparalleled.For more information please see www.hamzatzortzis.blogspot.com