# What is the miracle of the number 19 in the Quran?

*The number 19: a claim of divine authorship, and the bismillah debate with a Turkish scholar*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/zmirskjob4o/s/14/
- Date: 2020-06-26 · Kind: discussion · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Prof. Edip Yuksel | Rejecting Hadith, Rashad Khalifa & Realizing '19' | MindTrap with Mufti #27 (1:26:59–1:33:33)
- Status: a view quoted in order to be discussed, not a position held
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmIrskjob4o&t=5219s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/zmirskjob4o/

**Topics:** How to read the Quran; Quran-only movement; Prophethood and miracles

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** The guest says the number 19 proves the Quran is God's word letter by letter and that Muslims otherwise have no objective evidence for its divine origin; he recounts a Turkish scholar insisting the bismillah has twenty-one letters rather than nineteen.

## Longer summary

Mufti Abu Layth asks about the number 19, which the guest holds to be a miracle of the divine in scripture and nature, noting that the Quran mentions nineteen over hell and that the bismillah has nineteen letters. The guest says the subject deserves a session of its own, that it is the message for this time and proves letter by letter that the Quran is the word of God, preserved by a code with an error-correction function. He says Muslims claim the Quran is God's word without even ordinary evidence, since the appeal to literary excellence has no objective standard, and that scholars run from the number 19 like zebras. He recounts a live television debate in Turkey with the former head of religious affairs, Suleyman Ates [?], a Madinah graduate and author of a multi-volume tafsir, who he says fled the studio twice and claimed before millions that the bismillah has twenty-one letters, counting two invisible alifs. Mufti asks whether this is an orthographic question about alifs that are pronounced but not written, such as the one in Rahman; the guest answers that he counts the visible letters and words as written, since pronunciation varies from person to person and only the written text is a physical fact.

## Sources and names cited

- Edip Yuksel
- Quran 74:30 (over it are nineteen): https://quran.com/74/30
- bismillah
- Suleyman Ates [?]
- Running Like Zebras

## Transcript (machine tier, 1:26:59–1:33:33)

[1:26:51] clear words in the Quran gosh that means all the words I'm telling you is no I mean no I accept that I accept all of these now I accept all of these but I'm just saying somebody would ask this question since it's such a big deal why not just say you know that's it do not obtain I'm saying if you read the Quran understand lay the lines abolishment of slavery finished la la la la because it is categorically if you are claiming that you have AB do you have slave you are claiming to be red rub to be God God says lay like

[1:27:30] there is no God besides God but you claim to be God besides God what is your problem this is [ __ ] he's not a small thing so cannot be clear then I get that I get that cool okay right this the this thing moving about the miraculous kind of holistic nature of the Quran professor number 19 this is something that you have authored to be a miracle of the divine not only in nature but also in scripture in fact that's one of the titles I believe of of one of your

[1:28:08] works as well tell us a bit about this what why the number 19 I know in the Quran it does say about the description of hell Ali Hatice after Russia that has 19 on it and being a bit vague what is 19 people say always the angels or guardians of hell or 19 and and then you've highlighted that look even things like bismillah r-rahman Rahim has 19 in how it's written 19 letters and and other miracles numerical miracles in the Quran is this at first of all tell us in

[1:28:46] your words a bit about this well I think it is a topic for whole a new session that we do together on this subject because it's so important it is message for this time and it's very controversial and it proves that the Quran is Word of God it proves that letter by letter it is protected not by a bow fell on evening fell on by God lon according to a code which has error correction function and the same Muslims

[1:29:23] they easily say Quran is Word of God but you ask them why do you note that this word of God or take any chapters from it how do you prove that this word of God it is a extraordinary claim you are making you say it is not a human may well this human language it looks like sounds like any other what what is the what is what is big deal is great the biggest claim that you can make and you don't have even an ordinary evidence forget about it let alone an extraordinary evidence well says it is literally miracle you are a literary

[1:30:01] expert professor of better than ebu jail and a bullhead maria okay tell me tell me what are these miracles what is the standard your literary excellence do you have any objective standard no because I like it well you like some poetry or some book some fiction it doesn't make it word of God you're like is not an extraordinary like it's not in evidence therefore if you ask I challenge all the Muslim scholars we escape from this number 19 like zebras I think I was the name of one of your book isn't it yearning running like a zebras

[1:30:40] and they do and you will see I had a debate with top religious scholar in Turkey it was the former head of who just appears he was graduate of Medina University perhaps allows her this professor has written this much Tessier if you really drop it on someone it will kill a person from volumes of lives inserted in the in between versus Pepsi means I put words in God basically in there in certain volumes of false stuff in the Quran and he escaped in the studio from the studio

[1:31:18] twice it was live debate come on millions of people watch it was the most rated program and you will see this guy it is on YouTube you can see a defeated Suleiman attention and the professor slamming our cash he couldn't handle and he lied in looking in the eyes of millions of people he lied he say bismillah r-rahman r-rahim has no 19 letters it has 21 letters can you imagine you are you know Arabic if you ask Arabic school children elementary kids how many letters in bismillah r-rahman Ryan can't them they will all

[1:31:56] come up with 19 even ask Microsoft Bill Gates is this not the orthographical point though about how it's written in the Quran is that the issue here with 19 and 20 because they don't not writing they're not counting the olives when they're writing them did they add their hallucinations they said there are two invisible a leaves there no but to be fair the one in Rat Man is that is that not the second one because the first ones with ISM and that

[1:32:33] one's silent but I thought the second one would have been with Rahman the stranger is really after me if there was a leaf mean a leaf and then noon would be separate from me yeah but but but we don't read it as Rahman I know it is written listen I'm not counting how you've the vibration coming from your mouth which has really become very difficult how you pronounce we count the letters and the words the visible one and that is the physical fact otherwise the the sound coming from your mouth pronunciation of bismillah

[1:33:12] will be different than the others there will be million different anunciacion kind of if we take the graph of these vibrations or you say all of them are different there is no miracle to be just for people to have a brief understanding now I know you've written a huge amount on this as well and your whole website is actually named after this 19 org but what with what you're saying is that the quran has a code an underlying code which ties in this like a meta structure that ties in with the

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment ZmIrskjob4o/s/14. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/zmirskjob4o/s/14/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.