Baby with Qur'anic Verses
This article discusses the alleged miracle of Qur'anic verses appearing on a baby's skin.
Contents
Original Source
In October 2009, the same newspaper which made the false publicly rejected claim that Michael Jackson had converted to Islam published a story reporting that Qur'anic verses appeared on a baby's skin in Dagestan. Here is the original news story in full.
The parents of nine-month-old Ali Yakubov were stunned when the word Allah appeared on his chin soon after his birth.
Since then scores of writings in Arabic script have emerged on his back, arms, legs and stomach.
Amazingly his family claim the old markings vanish before the new words arrive — twice a week.
Medics say they cannot explain his mysterious condition — but deny that the marks are from someone writing on the child's skin.
His mother, Madina, said that she and her husband were not religious until the words started appearing on his skin.
Initially they did not show anyone the unexplained scribbles, but eventually revealed them to their doctor.
Now the boy has become a focus of Muslim homage in his troubled home province of Dagestan, close to war-ravaged Chechnya in the south of Russia.
Local MP Akhmedpasha Amiralaev said: "This boy is a pure sign of God. Allah sent him to Dagestan in order to stop revolts and tension in our republic."
The tot's mother said: "Normally those signs appear twice a week - on Mondays and on the nights between Thursdays and Fridays.
"Ali always feels bad when it is happening. He cries and his temperature goes up.
"It's impossible to hold him when it's happening, his body is actively moving, so we put him into his cradle. It's so hard to watch him suffering."Lee Cain, The Sun, October 19, 2009
Most Likely Explanation
Skin Treated with Irritants
Another story published on the same day provides us with further information. What the tabloid story ignored was the fact that some local doctors believe that it is not a miracle from Allah, but a simple case of child abuse:
Medics do not believe in religious miracles, of course. Ludmila Luss, a local doctor, believes that the story with the inscriptions is masterminded by the boy’s parents, Utro.ru website wrote.
“They might have treated his skin with irritants, such as pepper and salt, or medications, which trigger skin inflammation and leave red traces in the shape of Arabic characters,” she said.Pravda, October 19, 2009
Devotion towards anything can blind a person, even a loving mother, into causing her child unnecessary suffering if it will help in validating or furthering her focus of devotion. Another possible explanation behind her motivation could be the Munchausen by proxy syndrome.
Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome (MBPS)
About MBPS
In MBPS, an individual — usually a mother — deliberately makes another person (most often his or her own preschool child) sick or convinces others that the person is sick. The parent or caregiver misleads others into thinking that the child has medical problems by lying and reporting fictitious episodes. He or she may exaggerate, fabricate, or induce symptoms. As a result, doctors usually order tests, try different types of medications, and may even hospitalize the child or perform surgery to determine the cause.KidsHealth, The Nemours Foundation
Other Possible Explanations
Dermatographic Urticaria (Skin Writing)
Local doctors also suggested urticarial dermographism as another possibly explanation.
“Some people suffering from gastric pathologies have extremely sensitive skin. If you draw something on their skin with a little stick, for example, the drawing will later appear,” Ludmila Luss [a local doctor] said.
Pravda, October 19, 2009
Images of Skin Writing
Appearance of the word "Dermatographia" on a human arm 15 minutes after the letters have been traced with a blunt object on the skin.
Henna
Wikipedia
Images of Henna Burns
Henna Burn
Image of Bart Simpson on the skin
Reasons Why This Miracle is Not From Allah
Tatooing Forbidden by Muhammad
Even if this truly was a miracle from a deity, it is unlikely that this deity would be Allah because his messenger Muhammad had forbidden tatooing when he was alive. This fact has been recorded in multiple sahih hadith. One even states that Allah curses "those who get themselves tattooed".
Modified Qur'anic Verses
Another point that Muslims seem to have overlooked is the fact that these verses are written in modern Arabic script, not Qur'anic (Classical) Arabic. The Qur'an was originally revealed without any vowels/diacritical marks. Therefore it is blasphemous for a Muslim to say that Allah would tattoo a baby with these modified Qur'anic verses.
Conclusion
One wonders why the parents of this miracle child do not place him under scientific observation. Surely if they were not abusing the child by placing irritants on his skin or if he was not suffering from dermatographic urticaria they would have no qualms in doing so and proving the validity of their faith. Regardless, we have shown that even if this were a miracle, it is most certainly not an Islamic miracle.
See Also
- Hoaxes - A hub page that leads to other articles related to Hoaxes
