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CHAPTER 74  
AL-MUDDATTHIR (THE HIDDEN ONE)  

In the Name of God, Gracious, Merciful 

1. O you (who are) hidden 

2. Come out and warn. 

3. Extol your Lord. 

4. Purify your garment. 

5. Forsake what is wrong. 

6. Be content with your lot. 

7. Steadfastly commemorate your Lord. 

8. Then, when the trumpet is sounded. 

9. That will be a difficult day. 

10. For the disbelievers, not easy. 

11. Let Me deal with one I created as an individual. 

12. I provided him with lots of wealth. 

13. And children to behold. 

14. I made everything easy for him. 

15. Yet, he is greedy for more. 

16. He stubbornly refused to accept our revelations and/or miracles. 

17. I will punish him increasingly. 

18. For he reflected, then decide. 

19. Miserable is what he decided. 

20. Miserable indeed is what he decided. 

21. He looked. 

22. He frowned and whined. 

23. Then he turned away arrogantly. 

24. He said, "This is but impressive (or old) magic! 

25. "This is nothing but word of human." 

26. I will commit him to Saqar. 

27. Do you know what Saqar is? 

28. It is exact and precise. 

29. Succeeding screens (or, obvious) to people. 

30. Over it is nineteen. 

31. We appointed angels to be guardians of Hell, and we assigned their number (1) to disturb the disbelievers, (2) to convince the Christians and Jews, (3) to strengthen the faith of the faithful, (4) to remove all traces of doubt from the hearts of Christians, Jews, as well as the believers, and (5) to expose those who harbor doubt in their hearts, and the disbelievers; they will say, "What did God mean by this allegory?" God thus sends astray whomever He wills, and guides whomever He wills. None knows the soldiers of your Lord except He. It is a reminder for the people. 

32. Absolutely, by the moon. 

33. And the night as it passes. 

34. And the morning as it shines. 

35. This is one of the greatest (miracles). 

Since I read your novel "Contact" three years ago I have been thinking to "contact" you. Recently, your Parading articles* forced me to write this letter and send you my first books in English. 

To create a mutual knowledge of each other I will give headline information about me with segregated phrases. 

The following unsolicited information of snap-shot moments of my life with a grammatically handicapped English (or "literary challenged", if you like!), may send twinkling silly messages for a world-wide famous scientist. But, I bet you like silly things. I know from the conspicuous smile on your face. 

[Personal information omitted] 

Here I enclose two of my first booklets in English. I am planning to complete them with "19 Questions for atheists." 

Please read them, at least the last question (which is almost identical in both). It is about the "miraculous" mathematical structure of the Quran. Please don't reject it without studying it, since it is very easy to confuse it with numerology. How will you react to someone who think that Astronomy is a branch of Astrology? 

I would like to discuss with you on many issues. Just for this reason I'm applying to Cornell university for graduate program in Philosophy. We may end up co-authoring a book together, if you keep alive your diverse curiosity and sparkles in your eyes. 

Edip Yuksel 

*[Here, I refer to Sagan’s article “How Can Games Test Ethics? A New Way To Think About Rules To Live By” published in Parade Magazine, November 28, 1993. There Sagan used empirical evidence to compare some well-known ethical rules. He concluded that the Goldplated Brazen Rule is the most efficient rule. He referred to a Quranic “Brazen” verse quoted by President Clinton at the Israeli/Palestinian peace accords. “If the enemy inclines toward peace, do you also incline toward peace.” (8:61; 4:90). Nevertheless, other verses encouraging forgiveness in the practice of retaliation (such as 2:178) makes the Quranic rule a “Goldplated Brazen Rule”.] 

PS: If you want, I can send some of my short arguments on paranormal phenomena. By the way, I strongly believe that there is life in other parts of the universe, with a probability of being a few intelligent kind. My primary reason for this belief is very different than yours. 

"I remember very well. You think God is a mathematician." 

"Something like that. If what we're told is true. If this isn't a wild-goose chase. If there's a message hiding in pi and not one of the infinity of other transcendental numbers. That's a lot of ifs." 

"You're looking for Revelation in arithmetic. I know a better way." 

"Palmer, this is the only way. This is the only thing that would convince a skeptic. Imagine we find something. It doesn't have to be tremendously complicated. Just something more orderly than could accumulate by chance that many digits into pi. That's all we need. Then mathematicians all over the world can find exactly the same pattern or message or whatever it proves to be. Then there are no sectarian divisions. Everybody begins reading the same Scripture. No one could then argue that the key miracle in the religion was some conjurer's trick, or that later historians had falsified the record, or that it's just hysteria or delusion or a substitute parent for when we grow up. Everyone could be a believer." (Sagan, Carl. Contact. Simon and Schuster. New York: 1985, p 418-419) 

The above excerpts are quoted from CONTACT, a book by Dr. Carl Sagan the famous astronomer and writer. Sagan's CONTACT is a novel expression of philosopher's prime dream: Mathematical evidence for God's existence. 

Mathematics is considered as an a priori, that is knowledge gained independently of experience. Most of the philosophers highly relied on mathematics. Descartes who employed extreme doubt as a method to reach the knowledge (certainty) could not doubt from mathematics. The language of mathematics is universal.  

The Most Controversial Concept  

Hindus believe that he is incarnated in many human beings. Christians pontificate that he has multiple personalities, one of them being sacrificed for humanity. Jews assert that he is Jehovah. Muslims claim that he is Allah. Many question his gender. Millions die for him, millions fight for him, millions cry for him. Clergymen use his name as a trademark for their business, and the very same name motivates many devotees to give away their belongings as charity. Many joyfully sing songs for his love, and others outrageously declare dialectic or scientific wars against him. Some even exclaim that he is no longer alive (Nietzche, p. 275, Vol. 10). 

Volume upon volume of books were published for and against him. Big lies were attributed to him while scientific hoaxes were arranged to deny him. He is in the courts, he is on the money, he is in the schools, he is in the mind of saints and in the mouth of hypocrites. Yes, he is everywhere. And yet, philosophers continuously question his existence. In fact, world religions, with numerous versions of odd gods, have not helped philosophers prove his existence. On the contrary, they created further intellectual problems and logical obstacles for questioning minds who try to reach him.  

The Prime Evidence  

The "prime" evidence comes in the form of a highly sophisticated mathematical code embedded in an ancient document. Computer decoding of this document was originally started by Dr. Rashad Khalifa, a biochemist, in 1969. In 1974, this study unveiled an intricate mathematical pattern based on a prime number. (Having interested with the subject the author, like many others, I examined Dr. Khalifa's findings and assisted him in his further research.) 

With the computer decoding of an ancient document summarized below, the argument for the existence of God gained an examinable physical evidence. Although the document presented here had been in existence for fourteen centuries, its mathematical code remained a secret until computer decoding became possible. As it turned out, the code ranges from extreme simplicity to a complex, interlocking intricacy. Thus, it can be appreciated by persons with limited education, as well as scholars. 

This ancient document is the Quran, revealed to Muhammad of Arabia early in the seventh century as The Final Testament. The following is a condensed summary of this unique literary code. Please note that one does not need to know Arabic, the original language of the Quran, to examine most of the evidences presented below. For some of them one may only need to recognize the 28 letters of the Arabic alphabet.  

The Message For The Computer Generation  

Chapter 74 of the Quran is dedicated to the PRIME number 19. This chapter is titled "Al-Muddassir" (The Hidden Secret). The number 19 is specifically mentioned in that Chapter as a "punishment" for those who state that the scripture is human-made (74:25). This number is also called "One of the greatest portents" (74:35). In 74:31, the purpose of the number 19 is described: to remove all doubts regarding the authenticity of the Quran, to increase the faith of the believers, and to be a scientific punishment for hypocrites and disbelievers. However, the implication of this number as a proof for the authenticity of the Quran remained unknown for centuries. For fourteen centuries, the commentators tried in vain to understand the function and fulfillment of the number 19.  

Before The Secret Was Decoded 

Before the discovery of the 19-based system, we were aware of a symmetrical mathematical wonder in the Quran. For example: 

© The word "month" (shahr) occurs 12 times. 

© The word "day" (yawm) occurs 365 times. 

© The word "days" (eyyam, yawmeyn) occurs 30 times. 

© The words "satan" (shaytan) & "angel" (malak), each occur 88 times. 

© The words "this world" (dunya) and "hereafter" (ahirah), each occur 115 times.  

Simple To Understand, Impossible To Imitate  

The mathematical structure of the Quran, or The Final Testament, is simple to understand, yet impossible to imitate. You do not need to know Arabic, the original language of the Quran to examine it for yourself. Basically, what you need is to be able to count until 19. It is a challenge for atheists, an invitation for agnostics and a guidance for believers. It is a perpetual miracle for the computer generation. Dr. Rashad Khalifa introduces this supernatural message as follows: 

The Quran is characterized by a unique phenomenon never found in any human authored book. Every element of the Quran is mathematically composed-the chapters, the verses, the words, the number of certain letters, the number of words from the same root, the number and variety of divine names, the unique spelling of certain words, and many other elements of the Quran besides its content. There are two major facets of the Quran's mathematical system: (1) The mathematical literary composition, and (2) The mathematical structure involving the numbers of chapters and verses. Because of this comprehensive mathematical coding, the slightest distortion of the Quran's text or physical arrangement is immediately exposed (Rashad Khalifa, Quran The Final Testament, 1989, p. 609). 
  

Physical, Examinable Evidence 

Here is the summary of this historical message: 

© The first verse, i.e., the opening statement "Bismillahirrahmanirrahim", shortly "Basmalah," consists of 19 Arabic letters. 

© The first word of Basmalah, Ism (name), withouth conraction, occurs in the Quran 19 times. 

© The second word of Basmalah, Allah (God) occurs 2698 times, or 19x142. 

© The third word of Basmalah, Rahman (Gracious) occurs 57 times, or 19x3. 

© The fourth word of Basmalah, Rahim (Merciful) occurs 114 times, or 19x6. 

 Although this phenomenon (the opening statement consists of 19 letters, and each word occurs in multiple of 19) represents a minute portion of the code, it was described by Martin Gardner in the Scientific American as "ingenious" (September, 1981, p. 22-24) 

© The multiplication factors of the words of the Basmalah (1+142+3+6) add up to 152 or 19x8. 

© The Quran consists of 114 chapters, which is 19x6. 

© The total number of verses in the Quran including all unnumbered Basmalahs is 6346, or 19x334. If you add the digits of that number, 6+3+4+6 equals 19. 

© The Basmalah occurs 114 times, (despite its conspicuous absence from chapter 9, it occurs twice in chapter 27) and 114 is 19x6. 

© From the missing Basmalah of chapter 9 to the extra Basmalah of chapter 27, there are precisely 19 chapters. 

© The occurrence of the extra Basmalah is in 27:30. The number of the chapter and the verse add up to 57, or 19x3. 

© Each letter of the Arabic alphabet corresponds to a number according to their original sequence in the alphabet. The Arabs were using this system for calculations. When the Quran was revealed 14 centuries ago, the numbers known today did not exist. A universal system was used where the letters of the Arabic, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek alphabets were used as numerals. The number assigned to each letter is its "Gematrical Value." The numerical values of the Arabic alphabet are shown below: 

[the table is omitted] 

A study on the gematrical values of about 120 attributes of God which are mentioned in the Quran, shows that only four attributes have gematrical values which are multiples of 19. These are "Wahid" (One), "Zul Fadl al Azim" (Possessor of Infinite Grace), "Majid" (Glorous), "Jaami" (Summoner). Their gematrical value are 19 , 2698, 57, and 114 respectively, which are all divisible by 19 and correspond exactly to the frequencies of occurrence of the Basmalah's four words. 

© The total numbers of verses where the word "Allah" (God) occurs, add up to 118123, and is 19x6217. 

© The total occurrences of the word Allah (God) in all the verses whose numbers are multiples of 19 is 133, or 19x7. 

© The key commandment: "You shall devote your worship to God alone" (in Arabic "Wahdahu") occurs in 7:70; 39:45; 40:12,84; and 60:4. The total of these numbers adds up to 361, or 19x19. 

© The Quran is characterized by a unique phenomenon that is not found in any other book: 29 chapters are prefixed with "Quranic Initials" which remained mysterious for 1406 years. With the discovery of the code 19, we realized their major role in the Quran's mathematical structure. The initials occur in their respective chapters in multiples of 19. For example, Chapter 19 has five letters in its beginning, K.H.Y.A'.SS., and the total occurrence of these letters in this chapter is 798, or 19x42. 

© To witness the details of the miracle of these initials, a short chapter which begins with one initial, letter "Q", will be a good example. The frequency of "Q" in chapter 50 is 57, or 19x3. The letter "Q" occurs in the other Q-initialed chapter, i.e., chapter 42, exactly the same number of times, 57. The total occurrence of the letter "Q" in the two Q-initialed chapters is 114, which equals the number of chapters in the Quran. The description of the Quran as "Majid" (Glorious) is correlated with the frequency of occurrence of the letter "Q" in each of the Q-initialed chapters. The word "Majid" has a gematrical value of 57. Chapter 42 consists of 53 verses, and 42+53 is 95, or 19x5. Chapter 50 consists of 45 verses, and 50+45 is 95, or 19x5. 

© The Quran mentions 30 different cardinal numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 19, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 99, 100, 200, 300, 1000, 2000, 3000, 5000, 50000, & 100000. The sum of these numbers is 162146, which equals 19x8534. 

© In addition to 30 cardinal numbers, the Quran contains 8 fractions: 1/10, 1/8, 1/6, 1/5, 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, 2/3. Thus, the Quran contains 38 (19x2) different numbers. The total of fractions is approximately 2. 

© If we write down the number of each verse in the Quran, one next to the other, preceded by the number of verses in each chapter, the resulting long number consists of 12692 digits (19x668). Additionally, the huge number itself is also a multiple of 19. 

Similar Phenomenon In Older Documents 

It is significant that the same 19-based mathematical composition was discovered by Rabbi Judah in the 12th century AD in a preserved part of the Old Testament. 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.) 

There are basically four possible explanations: 

1) Manipulation: One may be skeptical about our data regarding the mathematical structure of the Quran. However, one can eliminate this option by spending several hours of checking the data at random. Several books on the subject have been published. Muslim scholars and clerics who have traded the Quran with primitive mediaeval fabrications, that is, Hadith and Sunna, strongly reject this mathematical system, since the mathematical system exposes the corruption of religions by clergymen. Today’s Islam (Submission) has virtually nothing to do with original teaching of Muhammad, that is, the Quran. 

2) Coincidence: This possibility is eliminated by the statistical probability laws. The consistency and frequency of the 19-based pattern is much too overwhelming to occur coincidentally. 

3) Human fabrication: While fabricating a literary work that meets the criteria of the document summarized here is a stunning challenge for our computer generation, it is certainly even more improbable during the time of initiation of the document, namely, 610 AD. One more fact augments the improbability of human fabrication. If a certain person or persons had fabricated this literary work, they would want to reap the fruits of their efforts; they would have shown it to people to prove their cause. In view of the originality, complexity, and mathematical sophistication of this work, one has to admit that it is ingenious. However, no one has ever claimed credit for this unique literary code; the code was never known prior to the computer decoding accomplished by Dr. Khalifa. Therefore, it is reasonable to exclude the possibility of human fabrication. 

The timing of the discovery may be considered another evidence for the existence and full control of the Supreme Being: The mystery of the number 19 which is mentioned as "one of the greatest events" in the chapter 74 (The Hidden Secret) was discovered by Dr. Khalifa in1974, exactly 1406 (19x74) lunar years after the revelation of the Quran. The connection between 19 (the code) and 74 (the number of the chapter which this code is mentioned) is significant in the timing of the discovery.  

4. Super Intelligent Source: The only remaining possibility is that a super intelligent source is responsible for this document; one who designed the work in this extraordinary manner, then managed to keep it a well guarded secret for 14 centuries, for a predetermined time. The mathematical code ensures that the source is super intelligent and also that the document is perfectly intact. 

January 11, 1994 

Mr. Edip Yuksel [address omitted] 

Dear Mr. Yuksel: 

Thanks for your recent letter. In matters of this sort, it is important to distinguish between a priori and a posteriori statistics; and also to remember that there were mathematicians in Muhammad's time and long before. As far as I could follow your argument, it does seem to me very close to numerology. Enclosed is an article I wrote on another bright person who thought he could find a mathematical proof of the existence of God in certain publications. Please tell me what you think. 

With best wishes, 

Cordially, 

(Signature) 

Carl Sagan 

CS:lkp Enclosure 

THROUGHOUT human history there have been attempts to contrive rational arguments to convince skeptics of the existence of a God or gods. But most theologians have held that the ultimate reality of divine beings is a matter for faith alone and is inaccessible to rational endeavor. St. Anselm argued that since we can imagine a perfect being, he must exist—because he would not be perfect without the added perfection of existence. This so-called ontological argument was more or less promptly attacked on two grounds: (1) can we imagine a completely perfect being? (2) Is it obvious that perfection is augmented by existence? To the modern ear such pious arguments seem to be about words and definitions rather than about external reality. 

More familiar is the argument from design, an approach that penetrates deeply into issues of fundamental scientific concern. This argument was admirably summarized by David Hume: "Look round the world contemplate the whole and every part of it; you will find it to be nothing but one great machine, subdivided into an infinite number of lesser machines. . . . All these various machines, even their most minute parts, are adjusted to each other with an accuracy which ravishes into admiration all men who have ever contemplated them. The curious adapting of means to ends, throughout all nature, resembles exactly, though it much exceeds, the production of human contrivance; of human design, thought, wisdom, and intelligence. Since therefore the effects resemble each other, we are led to infer, by all the rules of analogy, that the causes also resemble; and that the Author of Nature is somewhat similar to the mind of man; though possessed of much larger faculties proportioned to the grandure of the work which he has executed." 

Hume then goes on to subject this argument, as did Immanuel Kant after him, to a devastating and compelling attack, notwithstanding which the argument from design continued to be immensely popular—as, for example, in the works of William Paley—through the early nineteenth century. A typical passage by Paley goes: "There cannot be a design without a designer; contrivance without a contrivor; order without choice; arrangement without anything capable of arranging; subserviency and relation to a purpose, without that which could intend a purpose; means suitable to an end, and executing their office and accomplishing that end, without the end ever having been contemplated, or the means accommodated to it. Arrangement, disposition of parts, subserviency of means to an end, relation of instruments to a use; imply the presence of intelligence and mind." 

It was not until the development of modern science, but most particularly the brilliant formulation of the theory of evolution by natural selection, put forth by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace in 1859 that these apparently plausible arguments were fatally undermined. 

There can, of course, be no disproof of the existence of God— particularly a sufficiently subtle God. But it is a kindness neither to science nor religion to leave unchallenged inadequate arguments for the existence of God. Moreover, debates on such questions are good fun, and at the very least, hone the mind for useful work. Not much of this sort of disputation is in evidence today, perhaps because new arguments for the existence of God which can be understood at all are exceedingly rare. One recent and modern version of the argument from design was kindly sent to me by its author, perhaps to secure constructive criticism. 

NORMAN BLOOM is a contemporary American who incidentally believes himself to be the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Bloom observes in Scripture and everyday life numerical coincidences which anyone else would consider meaningless. But there are so many such coincidences that, Bloom believes, they can be due only to an unseen intelligence, and the fact that no one else seems to be able to find or appreciate such coincidences convinces Bloom that he has been chosen to reveal God's presence. Bloom has been a fixture at some scientific meetings where he harangues the hurrying, preoccupied crowds moving from session to session. Typical Bloom rhetoric is "And though you reject me, and scorn me, and deny me, YET ALL WILL BE BROUGHT ONLY BY ME. My will will be, because I have formed you out of the nothingness. You are the Creation of My Hands. And I will complete My Creation and Complete My Purpose that I have Purposed from of old. I AM THAT I AM. I AM THE LORD THY GOD IN TRUTH." He is nothing if not modest, and the capitalization conventions are entirely his. 

Bloom has issued a fascinating pamphlet, which states: "The complete faculty of Princeton University (including its officers and its deans and the chairmen of the departments listed here) has agreed that it cannot refute, nor show in basic error the proof brought to it, in the book, The New World dated Sept. 1974. This faculty acknowledges as of June 1 1975 that it accepts as a proven truth THE IRREFUTABLE PROOF THAT AN ETERNAL MIND AND HAND HAS SHAPED AND CONTROLLED THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD THROUGH THOUSANDS OF YEARS." A closer reading shows that despite Bloom's distributing his proofs to over a thousand faculty members of Princeton University, and despite his offer of a $1,000 prize for the first individual to refute his proof, there was no response whatever. After six months he concluded that since Princeton did not answer, Princeton believed. Considering the ways of university faculty members, an alternative explanation has occurred to me. In any case, I do not think that the absence of a reply constitutes irrefutable support for Bloom’s arguments. 

Princeton has apparently not been alone in treating Bloom inhospitably: "Yes, times almost without number, I have been chased by police for bringing you the gift of my writing . . . Is it not so that professors at a university are supposed to have the maturity and judgment and wisdom to be able to read a writing and determine for themselves the value of its contents? Is it that they require THOUGHT CONTROL POLICE to tell them what they should or should not read or think about? But, even at the astronomy department of Harvard University, I have been chased by police for the crime of distributing that New World Lecture, an irrefutable proof that the earth-moon-sun system is shaped by a controlling mind and hand. Yes, and THREATENED WITH IMPRISONMENT, IF I DARE BESMIRCH THE HARVARD CAMPUS WITH MY PRESENCE ONCE MORE. . . . AND THIS IS THE UNIVERSITY THAT HAS UPON ITS SHIELD THE WORD VERITAS: VERITAS: VERITAS:—Truth, Truth, Truth. Ah, what hypocrites and mockers you are! 

The supposed proofs are many and diverse, all involving numerical coincidences which Bloom believes could not be due to chance. Both in style and content, the arguments are reminiscent of Talmudic textual commentary and cabalistic lore of the Jewish Middle Ages: for example, the angular size of the Moon or the Sun as seen from the Earth is half a degree. This is just l/720 of the circle (360°) of the sky. But 720 = 6! = 6 X 5 X 4 X 3 X 2 X I. Therefore, God exists. It is an improvement on Euler's proof to Diderot, but the approach is familiar and infiltrates the entire history of religion. In 1658 Gaspar Schott, a Jesuit priest, announced in his Magia Universalis Naturae et Artis that the number of degrees of grace of the Virgin Mary is 2256 = 228 H 1.2 X 1077 (which, by the by, is very roughly the number of elementary particles in the universe). 

Another Bloomian argument is described as "irrefutable proof that the God of Scripture is he who has shaped and controlled the history of the world through thousands of years." The argument is this: according to Chapters 5 and 11 of Genesis, Abraham was born 1,948 years after Adam, at a time when Abraham's father, Terah, was seventy years old. But the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70, and the State of Israel was created in A.D. 1948 Q.E.D. It is hard to escape the impression that there may be a flaw in the argument somewhere. "Irrefutable" is, after all, a fairly strong word. But the argument is a refreshing diversion from St. Anselm. 

Bloom's central argument, however, and the one that much of the rest is based upon, is the claimed astronomical coincidence that 235 new moons is, with spectacular accuracy, just as long as nineteen years. Whence: "Look, mankind, I say to you all, in essence you are living in a clock. The clock keeps perfect time, to an accuracy of one second/day! . . . How could such a clock in the heavens come to be without there being some being, who with perception and understanding, who, with a plan and with the power, could form that clock?" 

A fair question. To pursue it we must realize that there are several different kinds of years and several different kinds of months in use in astronomy. The sidereal year is the period that the Earth takes to go once around the Sun with respect to the distant stars. It equals 365.2564 days. (The days we will use, as Norman Bloom does, are what astronomers call "mean solar days.") Then there is the tropical year. It is the period for the Earth to make one circuit about the Sun with respect to the seasons, and equals 365.242199 days. The tropical year is different from the sidereal year because of the precession of the equinoxes, the slow toplike movement of the Earth produced by the gravitational forces of the Sun and the Moon on its oblate shape. Finally, there is the so-called anomalistic year of 365.2596 days. It is the interval between two successive closest approaches of the Earth to the Sun, and is different from the sidereal year because of the slow movement of the Earth's elliptical orbit in its own plane, produced by gravitational tugs by the nearby planets. 

Likewise, there are several different kinds of months. The word "month," of course, comes from "moon." The sidereal month is the time for the Moon to go once around the earth with respect to the distant stars and equals 27.32166 days. The synodic month, also called a lunation, is the time from new moon to new moon or full moon to full moon. It is 29.530588 days. The synodic month is different from the sidereal month because, in the course of one sidereal revolution of the Moon about the Earth, the Earth- Moon system has together revolved a little bit (about one-thirteenth) of the way around the Sun. Therefore the angle by which the Sun illuminates the Moon has changed from our terrestrial vantage point. Now, the plane of the Moon's orbit around the Earth intersects the plane of the Earth's orbit around the Sun at two places—opposite to each other—called the nodes of the Moon's orbit. A nodical or draconic month is the time for the Moon to move from one node back around again to the same node and equals 27.21220 days. These nodes move, completing one apparent circuit, in 18.6 years because of gravitational tugs, chiefly by the Sun. Finally, there is the anomalistic month of 27.55455 days, which is the time for he Moon to complete one circuit of the Earth with respect to the nearest point in its orbit. A little table on these various definitions of the year and the month is shown below. 

Sidereal year 365.2564 mean solar days 

Tropical year 365.242199 days 

Anomalistic year 365.2596 days 

Sidereal month 27.3 2 1 66 days 

Synodic month 29.530588 days 

Nodical or draconic month 27.21220 days 

Anomalistic month 27 55455 days 

Now, Bloom's main proof of the existence of God depends upon choosing one of the sorts of years, multiplying it by 19 and then dividing by one of the sorts of months. Since the sidereal, tropical and anomalistic years are so close together in length, we get sensibly the same answer whichever one we choose. But the same is not true for the months. There are four different kinds of months, and each gives a different answer. If we ask how many synodic months there are in a sidereal year, we find the answer to be 235.00621 as advertised; and it is the closeness of this result to a whole number that Is the fundamental coincidence of Bloom's thesis. Bloom, of course, believes it to be no coincidence. 

But if we were to ask instead how many sidereal months there are in nineteen sidereal years we would find the answer to be 254.00622; for nodical months, 255.02795; and for anomalistic months, 251.85937 251.85937. It is certainly true that the synodic month is the one most strikingly apparent to a naked-eye observer, but I nevertheless have the impression that one could construct equally elaborate theological speculations on 252, 254, or 255 as on 235 

We must now ask where the number 19 comes from in this argument. Its only justification is David's lovely Nineteenth Psalm, which begins: "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge." This seems quite an appropriate quotation from which to find a hint of an astronomical proof for the existence of God. But the argument assumes what it intends to prove. The argument is also not unique. Consider, for example, the Eleventh Psalm, also written by David. In it we find the following words, which may equally well bear on this question: "The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men," which is followed in the following Psalm with "the children of men . . . speak vanity." Now, if we ask how many synodic months there are in eleven sidereal years (or 4017.8204 mean solar days), we find the answer to be 136.05623. Thus, just as there seems to be a connection between nineteen years and 235 new moons, there is a connection between eleven years and 136 new moons. Moreover, the famous British astronomer Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington believed that all of physics could be derived from the number 136 (I once suggested to Bloom that with the foregoing information and just a little intellectual fortitude it should be possible as well to reconstruct all of Bosnian history.) 

One numerical coincidence of this sort, which is of deep significance, was well known to the Babylonians, contemporaries of the ancient Hebrews. It is called the Saros. It is the period between two successive similar cycles of eclipses. In a solar eclipse the Moon, which appears from the Earth just as large (1/2°) as the Sun, must pass in front of it. For a lunar eclipse, the Earth's shadow in space must intercept the Moon. For either kind of eclipse to occur, the Moon must, first of all, be either new or full—so that the Earth, the Moon and the Sun are in a straight line. Therefore the synodic month is obviously involved in the periodicity of eclipses. But for an eclipse to occur, the Moon must also be near one of the nodes of its orbit. Therefore the nodical month is involved. It turns out that 233 synodic months is equal to 241.9989 (or very close to 242) nodical months. This is the equivalent of a little over eighteen years and ten or eleven days (depending on the number of intervening leap days), and comprises the Saros. Coincidence? 

Similar numerical coincidences are in fact common throughout the solar system. The ratio of spin period to orbital period on Mercury is 3 to 2. Venus manages to turn the same face to the Earth at its closest approach on each of its revolutions around the Sun. A particle in the gap between the two principal rings of Saturn, called the Cassini Division, would orbit Saturn in a period just half that of Mimas, its second satellite. Likewise, in the asteroid belt there are empty regions, known as the Kirkwood Gaps, which correspond to nonexistent asteroids with periods half that of Jupiter, one-third. two-fifths, three-fifths, and so on. 

None of these numerical coincidences proves the existence of God—or if it does, the argument is subtle, because these effects are due to resonances. For example, an asteroid that strays into one of the Kirkwood Gaps experiences a periodic gravitational pumping by Jupiter. Every two times around the Sun for the asteroid, Jupiter makes exactly one circuit. There it is, tugging away at the same point in the asteroid's orbit every revolution. Soon the asteroid is persuaded to vacate the gap. Such incommensurable ratios of whole numbers are a general consequence of gravitational resonance in the solar system. It is a kind of perturbational natural selection. Given enough time—and time is what the solar system has a great deal of—such resonances will arise inevitably. 

That the general result of planetary perturbations is stable resonances and not catastrophic collisions was first shown from Newtonian gravitational theory by Pierre Simon, Marquis de Laplace, who described the solar system as "a great pendulum of eternity, which beats ages as a pendulum beats seconds." Now, the elegance and simplicity of Newtonian gravitation might be used as an argument for the existence of God. We could imagine universes with other gravitational laws and much more chaotic planetary interactions. But in many of those universes we would not have evolved—precisely because of the chaos. Such gravitational resonances do not prove the existence of God, but if he does exist, they show, in the words of Einstein, that, while he may be subtle, he is not malicious. 

BLOOM CONTINUES his work. He has, for example, demonstrated the preordination of the United States of America by the prominence of the number 13 in major Ieague baseball scores on July 4, 1976. He has accepted my challenge and made an interesting attempt to derive some of Bosnian history from numerology—at least the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand at Sarajevo, the event that precipitated World War 1. One of his arguments involves the date on which Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington presented a talk on his mystical number 136 at Cornell University, where I teach. And he has even performed some numerical manipulations using my birth date to demonstrate that I also am part of the cosmic plan. These and similar cases convince me that Bloom can prove anything. 

Norman Bloom is, in fact, a kind of genius. If enough independent phenomena are studied and correlations sought, some will of course be found. If we know only the coincidences and not the enormous effort and many unsuccessful trials that preceded their discovery, we might believe that an important finding has been made. Actually, it is only what statisticians call "the fallacy of the enumeration of favorable circumstances." But to kind as many coincidences as Norman Bloom has requires great skill and dedication. It is in a way a forlorn and perhaps even hopeless objective—to demonstrate the existence of God by numerical coincidences to an uninterested, to say nothing of a mathematically unenlightened public. It is easy to imagine the contributions Bloom's talents might have made in another field. But there is something a little glorious, I find, in his fierce dedication and very considerable arithmetic intuition. It is a combination of talents which is, one might almost say, God-given. 

Thank you very much for your letter. I hope we can continue this debate with better understanding of each other’s position. As I have expected, you fell in the common trap and confused my argument with traditional numerology. I don’t blame you, since you are too busy to study a new argument made by an ordinary person. Furthermore, all of us are, more or less, influenced by our preconceived ideas regardless of our age and education. 

I see a big difference between Norman Bloom’s argument and mine. As for Bloom’s argument, I entirely agree with your criticism on it. I am familiar with many such claims. For instance, after the discovery of the code 19, some zealots started to play with numbers. Currently, I am trashing hundreds of those speculations made by enthusiastic "believers" who send their work for evaluation. Certainly, "the fallacy of the enumeration of favorable circumstances," and the "ignorance of mathematical properties and the law of probability" can mislead many naive people to confuse diamonds with pieces of glasses. 

Enclosed are several short articles I wrote on paranormal phenomena, hoping that you will not classify me with those so-called "bright" persons. 

Let me try to clarify the issue in several points: 

1. I don’t claim that the "miraculous mathematical structure" of the Quran "proves" the existence of God or the divine source of the book for sceptics. Rather, I claim that it provides a falsifiable strong evidence for it. The strength of this evidence entirely depends on the initial reaction, approach and objectivity of the audience. If God wanted to prove Himself, He could, by definition, have made everyone a believer instantly. 

2. The purpose of the mathematical evidence is clearly mentioned in Chapter 74, verse 31 (74:31). The number 19 increases the faith of believers and removes their doubts regarding the authenticity of the Quran. Therefore, I don’t expect from an atheist to become a deist by this evidence. Atheists, it seems to me, lack the required objectivity and the intellectual motivation to evaluate and appreciate the evidence. Can you see a 3-D holographic picture with naked eyes if you don’t think the probability for its existence? In order to see them you need to follow the rules and concentrate on them and wait with patience until it appears. On my part, the number 19, as the code of the Quran’s mathematical system, has intellectually convinced me, and related metaphysical experiences in my private life have spiritually satisfied me (Quran: 41:53). 

3. The discovery of the mathematical structure of the Quran was made after a painstaking research without any pre-determined target. When Dr. Khalifa first published the computer data in 1973 he was not aware of the code, that is, the common denominator 19. He had found some interesting relations and correlation among the numbers of the frequency of certain letters. (We have national newspapers, magazines and books to witness this fact.) However, in the beginning of 1974 he discovered that most of those numbers were the multiple of 19 and then he realized the connection of Chapter 74 (Al-Muddathir, The Hidden One) with his discovery. So far, this was based on a priori statistics. 

After the discovery of the code, quite a few people, including me, studied the claim and made further discoveries. However, this empirical study, later lead us to make few changes and modifications. For instance, we all came to the conclusion that the last two verses of Chapter 9 (The Ultimatum) are not from the original Quran. Therefore, both a priori statistics and a posteriori statistics have involved in our study. I should acknowledge that this study is not free of the philosophical problem, i.e., the theory-dependence of observation that stains every scientific research. However, the mathematical system of the Quran is in a unique way precise and objective that can lead independent researchers to the same conclusion. Besides, we have very interesting experiences regarding this research. If you want I can give you some examples. 

4. I am aware of the history of mathematics and mathematicians. (My prime hobby is to read books on mathematics, solve puzzles and entertain with paradoxes.) If you could only spend an hour to study the examples of our argument you probably would not have reminded me of mathematicians in Muhammad’s time. 

This is because the mathematical structure of the Quran involves both mathematics and Arabic. The language of Mathematics is universal and deductive; however, the language of Arabic is special and arbitrary. The Quran integrates these two different languages in a very clear and extensive fashion. I am convinced that no human mathematician and men of literary can ever manipulate language to such extend without sacrificing the meaning. To reach this conviction we do not need to know the Arabic. Just get rid of our prejudices and start evaluating the argument itself. 

5. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to "calculate" the mathematical probability of this kind of phenomena. But you may not need to calculate the statistical probability of it to reach a judgment. Your intuition, most likely, will find it silly to waste time on such a calculation. You will see the evidence so clear and overwhelming that you will become certain without mechanical calculations of probability. 

After this reminder let’s look at the argument in two steps: 

A. Does the Quran has a mathematical structure or not? 

We can discuss this issue. You may claim that our examples are all within the limit of coincidence. Then, I have to provide you with enough examples and reasons that should make you refrain from such a claim. 

B. If we agree that these examples (in case that our counting is accurate) show a deliberate mathematical pattern in the Quran then we can continue and discuss the nature of it: whether is it human or divine. 

If you want I can send a couple of books demonstrating the basic features of the argument. Nevertheless, here I will pick just a set of examples out of hundreds to discuss. Please notice that all the examples are coherent and integrated circuits of a "simple-to-understand-impossible-to-imitate" program. 

The example is the first verse of the Quran, i.e., "Bismillahirrahmanirrahim," (In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful) or shortly, "Basmalah." Please see how the code 19 is consistent in the structure of the verse and its relation with the whole body of the book. And please remember that the number 19 is explicitly mentioned in 74:30 as a response for disbeliever’s claim that it is made up by Muhammad. 

[The Arabic calligraphy is omitted] 

© The first verse, i.e., the opening statement "Bismillahirrahmanirrahim," shortly "Basmalah," consists of 19 Arabic letters. 

© The first word of Basmalah, Ism (name) occurs in the Quran 19 times. 

© The second word of Basmalah, Allah (God) occurs 2698 times, or 19x142. 

© The third word of Basmalah, Rahman (Gracious) occurs 57 times, or 19x3. 

© The fourth word of Basmalah, Rahim (Merciful) occurs 114 times, 19x6. 

© The multiplication factors of the words of the Basmalah mentioned above (1+142+3+6) add up to 152, or 19x8. 

© The total number of verses where the word Allah (God) occurs add up to 118123, and is 19x6217. 

© The Quran consists of 114 chapters, which is 19x6. 

© The total number of verses in the Quran including all Basmalahs is 6346, or 19x334. If you add the digits of that number, 6+3+4+6 equals 19. 

© The Basmalah opens all chapters in the Quran except chapter 9. Yet, despite its conspicuous absence from chapter 9, it occurs twice in chapter 27, so that its total occurrence is still 114, or 19x6. 

© From the missing Basmalah of chapter 9 to the extra Basmalah of chapter 27, there are precisely 19 chapters. 

© It follows that the sum of the chapter numbers from 9 to 27 (9+10+11+12...+26+27) is 342. This total (342) equals the number of words between the two Basmalahs of chapter 27, and 342 is 19x18. 

© Each letter of Arabic alphabet corresponds to a number according to their original sequence in the alphabet. The Arabs used this system for calculations. When the Quran was revealed 14 centuries ago, the numbers as we know today did not exist. A universal system was used where the letters of the Arabic, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek alphabets were used as numerals. The number assigned to each letter is its "Gematrical Value." 

A study on the gematrical values of more than 120 attributes of God that are mentioned in the Quran, shows that only four names have gematrical values that are multiples of 19. These are "Wahid" (One), "Zul Fadl al Azim" (Possessor of Infinite Grace), "Majid" (Glorious), "Jaami" (Summoner). Their gematrical values are 19 , 2698, 57, and 114 respectively, which are all divisible by 19 and correspond exactly to the frequencies of occurrence of the Basmalah's four words. 

If you have confined your judgment with a preconceived assumption that either these are "interesting coincidences," or "the work of a medieval mathematician" then there will be no point to carry our discussion further. By this way, I believe, scientists can handicap themselves from hearing the message of the Supreme Creator of the Universe. 

Sincerely, 

PS: If you are interested, I can send you a list of Quranic verses about the creation and astronomy. You may appreciate them more than anyone else. Remember that the Quran may be the only book in the world where the word "Shahr (month)" is repeated 12 times and the word "Yawm (day)" 365 times. 

Fabruary 17, 1994 

Mr. Edip Yuksel 

[address omitted] 

Dear Mr. Yuksel: 

Thanks for your recent letter, but I don’t think you have understood the distinction I was making between A PRIORI and A POSTERIORI judgements. Let’s take the example you’ve sent me. You have chosen the first verse of the Qur’an to do your numerology, but of course that is an arbitrary decision. You could, for example, have chosen the 19th sura, or any “code” index you wished and then tried to find it repeated throughout the Qur’an. I see many signs of arbitrary decisions in what you consider evidence; for example, why do you count from the missing “basmalah” to the extra “basmalah”, instead of from Chapter 1 to Chapter 9 or from Chapter 27 to the end? With a sufficient computer data base and absolutely no A PRIORI constraints a clever person should be able to find many regularities. If in addition the author and transcribers of the Qur’an consciously inserted a little numerology, I believe that the coincidences you describe can readily be understood. Of course I might be wrong. 

With best wishes, 

 Cordially, 

[signature] 

Carl Sagan 

CS:lkp 

Dear Dr. Sagan, 

The conclusion of your concise letter was a brilliant skeptical hypothesis: "With a sufficient computer data base and absolutely no a priori constraints a clever person should be able to find many regularities. If in addition the author and transcribers of the Qur'an consciously inserted a little numerology, I believe that the coincidences you describe can readily be understood." Nevertheless, you, as a cautious scientist, did not forget to add "Of course I might be wrong." 

Unfortunately or fortunately, I can't reciprocate your humble statement by saying "of course I too might be wrong!" On the contrary, I am obliged to say "of course, Dr. Sagan, you are wrong." I am certain that the mathematical structure of the Quran is the work of the Supreme Mathematician, as you are certain that the planet earth is round and rotates around the sun. I hope you won't get offended if I remind you of the possibility of having some "a priori constraints" that may force you not to see the inimitable signature of the Most Wise. 

Before starting my counter argument, I want to tell you that I am impressed by your meticulousness in spelling the word "Qura'n" (The Book of Recitation) with its accurate transliteration. For convenience I prefer to write "Quran." As for my misunderstanding of "a priori, and a posteriori statistics" I can blame the different implications of this terminology in different fields.  

Arbitrary Decisions  

In order to provide a concrete base for our argument, in my previous letter, I had picked some mathematical patterns related to "basmalah," the opening statement of the Quran. You claim that it is arbitrary to focus on "basmalah". 

I disagree, since I think "basmalah" is the most appropriate candidate among all the options. If you ask people who are familiar with the Quran to choose an idiosyncratic or representative verse, I am sure that a great majority of them will pick the "basmalah" without hesitation. It is not only the first verse of the Quran, it is also the opening statement of every chapter except Chapter 9. Furthermore, it is the most repeated verse in the Quran and the most popular verse among Muslims. We say "Bismi Allahi Rahmani Rahim" (In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful) before eating and drinking, or before starting our cars, etc. It is virtually a sacred password. 

For the sake of argument, let's assume that "basmalah" is not special and we picked it arbitrarily. The probability of finding a verse in the Quran that exhibits ONLY six features of "basmalah" is very low. If you consider the astounding interlocking relation between the number of the occurrences of the words in "basmalah" and the gematrical values of the names of God, then the probability will diminish dramatically. Please note that the relation between "basmalah" and God's names is not arbitrary but a necessity coming from the very meaning of "basmalah." Besides, we have discovered many more mathematical facts just about "basmalah" which eventually reduce the probability to zero. Therefore, neither "arbitrary decisions" nor "a little numerology" nor "coincidences," nor the combination of the three can be candidates for a plausible explanation. 

As another example of "arbitrary decisions" you mention the relation between the missing "basmalah" and the extra "basmalah." You ask: "why do you count from the missing 'basmalah' to the extra 'basmalah', instead of from Chapter 1 to Chapter 9 or from Chapter 27 to the end? "  

I have at least four answers for this objection:  

1. Just look at two adjectives of the "basmalah" you mention in your question: MISSING and EXTRA. Isn't it more logical to look for a relation between the MISSING and EXTRA, instead of the FIRST and MISSING, or the EXTRA and LAST? 

2. The number of chapters from Chapter 1 to Chapter 9 AND from Chapter 27 to the end is also a multiple of 19: 95 (19x5), since the number of all Chapters are multiple of 19. 

3. The author of the Quran obviously has willed to hide the implication of the code 19 in Chapter 74 (The Hidden Secret) until 1974. It is a message reserved for the computer generation. If the missing "basmalah" or the extra "basmalah" had been in Chapter 19, as you suggest, then the code of the Quran could be easily discovered prematurely, since many previous Muslim scholars were aware of the fact that "basmalah" consists of 19 letters. The relation of "basmalah" with another 19 could easily lead them to search for its mathematical function in the Quran. I believe that there are many reasons behind the timing of this discovery. If God Almighty did not want the corrupt Muslim clergymen to discover and abuse this miraculous phenomena, then it is understandable to see why the simple facts of Quran's mathematical system are hidden from oblivious eyes. 

4. Besides, if there was a conscious effort to insert a little numerology in the Quran, as you suspect, then satisfying your suggestions would be very easy. Arranging the Chapter with missing "basmalah" as the 19th chapter and the Chapter with the extra one as the 37th chapter would eliminate at least one objection of skeptics. Why should Muhammad ignore this very simple arrangement while wasting his time and energy on arranging more complicated ones? If you claim that he was not smart enough to do this simple task, you will loose your main argument regarding more clever and complex patterns; because then you cannot say that Muhammad was a clever mathematician etc. 

From your criticism it seems you are not sure whether the claimed mathematical pattern is intentional or not. You seem to want to have it both ways. You have a two-sided judgment ready in your disposal: either it is ENTIRELY coincidence, OR it is semi-conscious and semi-coincidence. This is a very sure way of discarding anything you disagree with. You can jump between these two preconceived judgments whenever you want. For instance, you can refute my answer above in number 4, by claiming that the mathematical structure of the Quran is entirely coincidental. On the other hand, when the word "coincidence" is too improbable to reject my argument, you can seek refuge in the other side of the label by claiming that it is a little deliberate numerology. I think, for a healthier argument you should clarify your position. Refuting a thesis by oscillating between a contradictory disjunction indicates prejudice.  

Is Every Scientific Experiment Arbitrary?  

Narrow Inductive Model of Scientific Investigation requires the following: 

1. Observe and record all facts. 

2. Classify and analyze without prior hypothesis. 

3. Induce generalizations from observed facts. 

But scientists never follow this utopic principles when they conduct their experiments. They do not observe and record all facts. How can they? Their previous observations, reflections and expectations determine the relevant facts and experiments. 

You must be familiar with Newton's "Experimentation Cruces" on the nature of light and colors. A skeptic could object to his findings by claiming that he started his experiment with an a priori hypothesis and with arbitrary decisions: "Why didn't Newton measure the temperature of the room? Why didn't he consider the distance of the source of light? Why did he ignore the role of the type of the mirror? etc...." As you know, Newton had a better intuition than any of his contemporary scientists about which phenomena were relevant and which were not in searching for the nature of light. 

The point is, non-relevant phenomena may seem relevant for an outsider, but a scientist familiar with a particular subject will have clear or vague reasons to decide on the relevancy of observations. We can have a hypothesis as long as they guide our observation but not determine the result of our observation. Why don't you grant the following self-correcting scientific method for the study of the mathematical system of the Quran?:  

Simple Hypothetico-Deductive Model:  

[The graph is omitted] 

Fir Cone Argument  

You know that each term of Fibonacci sequence which runs: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34 . . . , is the sum of the two preceding terms. This numerical sequence appears in nature and plants, such as reproduction of rabbits, fir cones and petals of certain flowers. 

Let's take fir cones. Observers claim that the pattern of scales in fir cones follows the order of Fibonacci series. This claim or phenomenon can be evaluated in two ways. Let's have a hypothetical argument regarding the existence of Fibonacci pattern in fir cones. Simultaneously, we will consider it analogous to our argument on the mathematical pattern of the Quran. 

PROPONENT: There are thousands of other plants where Fibonacci sequence cannot be observed. It is entirely an arbitrary decision to choose fir cones as an example of this so-called pattern. The appearance of Fibonacci sequence in fir cones is only an interesting coincidence. Of course, I might be wrong. 

OPPONENT: Though when other plants are considered, the appearance of Fibonacci sequence in fir cones can be a coincidence but the very pattern in fir cones cannot be coincidence. There must be a reason behind this regularity in fir cones. 

PROPONENT: I was just being sarcastic. I was trying to use your own argument against you. The status of "basmalah" in the Quran is much more prestigious and important than the status of fir cones in plant kingdom, let alone in all of nature. Second, there are many more examples of the 19-based mathematical pattern in the Quran, than the examples of Fibonacci Sequence in nature. 

OPPONENT: You ignore something about fir cones. We can repeat our observation millions of times on millions of different fir cones and come to the same conclusion. The repeated observation of a similar pattern makes a scientist to accept the existence of that pattern. However, you have only one "basmalah" with a pattern. 

PROPONENT: Well, how many fir cones are enough to convince you that Fibonacci sequence exists in the nature of fir cones? 

OPPONENT: I don't know. Probably, ten or twenty observation would be enough. 

PROPONENT: That means, after twenty observation you will generalize your conclusion on billions of fir cones that you haven't observed. Why do you "believe" that the other fir cones also will show the same property? 

OPPONENT: For two reasons: First, all my twenty observations confirmed the pattern without a single exception. Indeed, after several observations we start predicting and each extra observations is a fulfillment of our prediction. Thus, there is no reason to suspect the 21'st fir cone will spoil this coherent orchestra. Second, our previous observations on many other cases have created a very strong belief that apparently similar things share similar internal structures. I mean that our previous observations, say, on mangos or bananas have created a faith in determinism. 

PROPONENT: What if, similarly, my observation on different elements of the Quran has created a faith in the intention and style of its designer. 

OPPONENT: Well, you can select any thing that confirms your faith, and you can ignore or interpret any exception that contradict your expectation. 

PROPONENT: Ironically, I can say the same thing about your scientific method. You observe and predict. If any observation contradict your prediction you will modify your theory or create a new formula. Your prediction can be "certain" only about the objects of your previous observations. However, on new cases you cannot guarantee your prediction, since history is full of failures of scientific predictions. Nevertheless, I believe that the predictive power of science increases with every new observation. It is the same with our observations on the mathematical structure of the Quran. With every new discovery or observation we get much more comprehensive understanding of it. 

OPPONENT: You are undermining the predictive power of science. I can challenge you to bring as many as fir cones and examine their scales. You will find the Fibonacci sequence in all of them. 

PROPONENT: Though I don't think that induction provides us with certainty, nevertheless, I believe that your prediction will be confirmed. But, my question will be this: Based on the observation on fir cones how accurately can you predict the pattern of fir branches, or sunflower petals or corn kernels? 

OPPONENT: Certain things can be observed and therefore predicted for all material objects. However, there are details which we cannot predict with certainty without sufficient observation. 

PROPONENT: That is exactly the same for our observation on the mathematical structure of the Quran. We observe and discover. Each discovery increases our knowledge of the big picture.  

The Accuracy Or The Predictive Nature Of Mathematical Code  

Here I want to give two examples:  

Correcting A Scribal Error  

Three chapters of the Quran, chapter 7, 19 and 38 contains letter "Saad" in their initial letter combination. Curiously, in verse 7:69 we see a word with a unique spelling: "Basstatan ." Over the letter "Saad" is written a small "Sin." This word occurs in the Quran with two different spellings and it makes no difference to the meaning. Just like the English words skeptic or sceptic. Commentaries of the Quran interpret it as an instruction on how to read the word. They claim that though it is written with "Saad" it should be read as if it is "Sin." They narrate three Hadiths (allegedly Muhammad's words) to support this interpretation . 

The total number of "Saad" with this word "Basstatan" becomes 153, and it is not multiple of 19. Therefore, we concluded that the letter "Saad" in the word "Basstatan" is an ortographic error and should be corrected. 

Indeed, when I checked one of the oldest manuscripts of the Quran, I found that our prediction was confirmed. Please see the document below: 

[The copy of the manuscript is omitted]  

Symmetry In The Table Of God's Attributes  

In my second letter I had attached a list of God's attributes with their numerical values and frequencies in the Quran, and the mathematical relation between these names and "basmalah." 

Dr. Cezar Edib Majul, in his book "The Names of Allah in Relation To The Mathematical Structure of Quran" discovered the following two facts: 

**** 1. Only four attributes of God have gematrical (numerical) values that are multiple of 19. 

**** 2. The numerical values of these four attributes exactly correspond to the frequency of the four words of "basmalah," that is, 19, 2698, 57, and 114. 

Here is the table of this observation: 
 

Frequency of:

Gematrical Value of:

Frequency of:

 

While I studied this table I noticed an asymmetry. On the right side of the table there are four names of God, but on the left side there are only three. Obviously, "Ism" (Name) was not an attribute of God. Therefore, I made two predictions. There must be one attribute of God that must have a frequency of 19, and only four names of God must have frequencies of multiple of 19. When I examined the frequency of all the names of God, I found that ONLY four of them are repeated in the Quran as multiple of 19. We already had discovered three of them: Allah (God), Rahman (Gracious), and Raheem (Merciful). The fourth one was "Shaheed" (Witness). This attribute is mentioned in the Quran exactly 19 times and thus fills the empty space corresponding to the numerical value of "Wahed" (One) on the right side of the table. Now we can modify our tables of God's attributes according to the fulfillment of our prediction: 
 

Frequency of:

Gematrical Value of:

Frequency of:

 

Finally, 

Dear Dr. Sagan, I'm enclosing a discovery made by Milan Sulc of Switzerland on the frequency of HH and M letters. They are the initials of 7 chapters. The frequency of HH and M letters in those 7 chapters are 2147, that is 19 x 113. The probability of this fact is 1/19. There are four subgroups whose combinations result in a multiple of 19. This is obviously coincidence, since there are 112 possible combinations. If you add the digits of each frequency (the absolute value of each number) you will end up with 113, which is exactly equal to the multiplication factor. This is valid also for all the subgroups. The probability of this phenomenon for each subgroup is 1/9. Therefore, the combined probability of these phenomena occurring altogether is 1/19 x 9 x 9 x 9 x 9 x 9, or 1/1,121,931. (FN1)Please let me know what you think. 

Is it merely a coincidence? 

Is it a mathematical property? 

Is it a little numerology? 

Is it a combination of the above? 

or 

Is it a great mathematical art? 

 

SURA	HM	M	ADDING THE DIGITS	TOTAL
40	64	380	6 + 4 + 3 + 8 + 0	21
41	48	276	4 + 8 + 2 + 7 + 6	27
42	53	300	5 + 3 + 3 + 0 + 0	11
43	44	324	4 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 4	17
44	16	150	1 + 6 + 1 + 5 + 0	13
45	31	200	3 + 1 + 2 + 0 + 0	6
46	36	225	3 + 6 + 2 + 2 + 5	18
TOTAL	2147	(19X113)	26 + 32 + 16 + 24 + 15	113

 

SURA	HM	M	ADDING THE DIGITS	TOTAL
40	64	380	6 + 4 + 3 + 8 + 0	21
41	48	276	4 + 8 + 2 + 7 + 6	27
42	53	300	5 + 3 + 3 + 0 + 0	11
TOTAL	1121	(19 X 59)	15 + 15 + 8 + 15 + 6	59