Many people think that these numbers are true and that this is one of the miracles of the Quraan, but they do not distinguish between subtleties and miracles. Writing a book which contains a specific number of certain words is something that anyone can do; what is so miraculous about that? The miracle that appears in the Book of Allaah is not like these subtleties, rather it is far deeper and greater than that. It is the fact that the most eloquent and well-spoken of the Arabs could not produce anything like the Quraan, or ten soorahs of it, or even one soorah. It is not like these subtleties that any writer could produce in any book that he writes, or more.

It should be noted that some people have taken this beyond mere statistics. Some of them have used these numbers to foretell when the state of Israel will fall, and others have used them to say when the Day of Judgement will be. One of the latest fabrications against the Book of Allaah is that which they have published saying that the Quraan foretold the explosions in the towers in New York! Based on the number of the verse in al-Tawbah, and the number of the soorah and juz. All of that is toying with the Book of Allaah which is caused by ignorance of the true nature of the miracle of the Book of Allaah.

Secondly:

By examining the statistics presented by those who have published these numbers, we find that they did not get the numbers of some phrases right, and some of them have been selective in the way they counted the words, and that is so that they might reach the conclusion they want and that they think is in the Book of Allaah.

Shaykh Dr. Khaalid al-Sabt said:

Dr. Ashraf Abd al-Razzaaq Qatanah presented a study of the numerical miracles in the Holy Quraan which he published in a book entitled: The Quraan and the Numerical Miracles, a critical study of the numerical miracles of the Holy Quraan. In the conclusion to this book he reviews three other books: (1) Ijaaz al-Raqm 19 (The miracle of the number 19) by Baasim Jaraar; (2) al-Ijaaz al-Adadi fil-Quraan (the numerical miracle in the Quraan) by Abd al-Razzaaq Nawfal; and (3) al-Mujizah (the miracle) by Adnaan al-Rifaai. The author reached a conclusion which he describes as follows:

As the result of my study I reached the idea that the numerical miracle as presented in these books is not real at all, and these books are based on conditions that are sometimes selective , in order to prove the validity of this view in a way that will make the reader accept these preconceived results referred to above. These selective conditions sometimes lead the author to go against that which is proven according to the consensus of the ummah, such as going against the spelling of the Uthmaani Mus-haf, which is not permissible at all; or adopting the spelling of some words which appears in some Mus-hafs and without paying attention to the spellings in other Mus-hafs. It also goes against basic principles of the Arabic language with regard to synonyms and antonyms.

p. 197, Damascus, Manaar lil-Nashr wal-Tawzee, first edition, 1420 AH/1999 CE.

Dr. Fahd al-Roomi said something similar about the selective way in which Dr Abd al-Razzaaq Nawfal chose words in order to reach this numerical balance, such as when he said: The word yawm (day) is mentioned 365 times in the Quraan, the number of days in a year. In order to prove this he counted the words al-yawm and yawman but he ignored words such as yawmukum (your day) and yawmuhum (their day) and yawmaidhin (on that day), because if he had done that, he would have got a different number. The same applies to the word al-istiaadhah which refers to seeking refuge from the shaytaan. He says that it is repeated 11 times, but he includes in that the words aoodhu (I seek refuge) and fastaidh (seek refuge) but not udhtu (I sought refuge) or yaoodhoona (they seek refuge) or ueedhuha (I seek refuge for her) or maaadh Allaah (Allaah forbid).

See: Ittijaahaat al-Tafseer fil-Qarn al-Raabi Ashara (2/699, 700), Beirut, Musasat al-Risaalah, second edition, 1414 AH.

From this well-founded discussion, the answer to the issue of the word yawm and the number of times it appears in the Quraan, which is mentioned in the question, is clear.

With regard to the count (of time) (al-hisaab, mentioned in Yoonus 10:5) that Allaah has mentioned in His holy Book, it is the precise count (of time) that does not differ as the years pass, which is the lunar count (of time).

With regard to the verse (interpretation of the meaning):

And they stayed in their Cave three hundred years, adding nine

[al-Kahf 18:25],

some of the scholars have stated that the number 300 refers to solar years, and that the number 309 refers to lunar years. This view was refuted by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-Uthaymeen, who explained in his refutation that the count (of time) with Allaah is lunar, not solar.

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

adding nine means that they added nine years to three hundred, so they stayed there for three hundred and nine years. It may be said: Why doesnt it just say three hundred and nine?

The answer is that this is what is meant, but the Quraan is the most eloquent of books, and in order for the ends of the verses to match (in Arabic) it says: And they stayed in their Cave three hundred (solar) years, adding nine (for lunar years). It is not as some people think, that the three hundred refers to solar years and the nine was added for lunar years, because we cannot testify that Allaah meant that. Who can testify that this is what Allaah meant? Even if it so happens that three hundred solar years are equal to three hundred and nine lunar years, we cannot testify about Allaah in this way, because the count (of time) with Allaah is one.

What are the signs by which the count (of time) is reckoned with Allaah?

The answer is that they are the new moons; hence we say that the view that three hundred years refers to solar years and adding nine refers to lunar years, is a weak view.

Firstly: because we cannot testify that Allaah meant this.

Secondly: because the number of months and years with Allaah is based on the new moons. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

It is He Who made the sun to be a shining glory and the moon to be a light (of beauty), and measured out stages for it; that ye might know the number of years and the count (of time)

[Yoonus 10:5]

They ask you (O Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about the new moons. Say: These are signs to mark fixed periods of time for mankind and for the pilgrimage

[al-Baqarah 2:189]

Tafseer Soorat al-Kahf.

Reckoning time by the moon and the new moons was well known to the Prophets and their peoples, and reckoning time by the sun was only known to the ignorant followers of false religions, but unfortunately many Muslims follow them nowadays.

Dr Khaalid al-Sabt says, in his refutation of those who say that the verse The building which they built [al-Tawbah 9:11] in al-Tawbah refers to the explosions in America:

5 (the fifth point) These connections are based on the solar calendar, which is a calendar that was inherited from idolatrous nations, and which was of no significance to the Prophets (blessing and peace be upon them). Rather the calendar that counts in shareeah is the calendar that is based on the moon and new moons, which is more precise. This indicates that what was known to the Prophets was the lunar calendar. In the hadeeth of Waathilah ibn al-Asqa (may Allaah be pleased with him) it says that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: The Suhuf of Ibraaheem were revealed to him on the first night of Ramadaan, and the Tawrat (Torah) was revealed on the sixth of Ramadaan, and the Injeel (Gospel) on the thirteenth of Ramadaan, and the Furqaan (Quraan) was revealed on the twenty-fourth of Ramadaan. Narrated by Ahmad (4/107) and by al-Bayhaqi in al-Sunan (9/188).