Quran and Modern Science

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH THE MOST GRACIOUS THE MOST MERCIFUL Quran and Modern Science-PART 1 This article is a result of the so alleged “contradictions “ in the quran by the critics of islam. I will try my level best to clarify them , Since there are many topics, I would concentrate on few topics FOR NOW as I have listed below. 1.BIG BANG THEORY 2.SHAPE OF THE EARTH 3.MOON’S LIGHT IS BORROWED LIGHT 4.FLOATING/ ROTATION OF THE EARTH/SUN WITH RESPECTS TO ITS OWN AXES 5.DOES THE SOLAR SYSTEM (SUN) MOVE? The Holy Qur’an gives a challenge in Surah Al-Baqara, Ch. No. 2, Verse No. 23, and 24, where it says ‘And if you are in doubt, as what we have revealed to our servant from time to time then produce a Surah some what similar to it. and call forth your witnesses and helpers if there are any besides Allah, but if your doubts are truthful and if ye cannot. and of a surety you cannot. then fear the fire which is prepared for those who reject faith whose fuel shall be men and stones’. For any one to try and accept this challenge – but natural the Surah they produce should be in Arabic. There are certain Surahs which are hardly three verses hardly three sentences. The Surah they produce should be in Arabic – The language should be as divine as that of the Holy Qur’an as noble as the Holy Qur’an. The language of the Holy Qur’an is miraculous, is unsurpassable, intelligible and at the same time it is very rhythmic Do they not consider the Qur'an (with care)? Had it been from other than Allah, they would surely have found therein much discrepancy. (Chapter 4 An-Nisa Verse 82). Allah challenges the Arabs to produce similar verses. Nobody took up the challenge so far. This is also a clear proof that Qur'an is from God. Here are the verses from the Qur'an:- And if ye are in doubt as to what We have revealed from time to time to Our servant, then produce a Sura like thereunto; and call your witnesses or helpers (If there are any) besides Allah, if your (doubts) are true. (Chapter 2 Al-Baqara, Verse 23). Or do they say, "He forged it"? say: "Bring then a Sura like unto it, and call (to your aid) anyone you can besides Allah, if it be ye speak the truth!" (Chapter 10-Yunus, Verse 38). Or they may say, "He forged it," Say, "Bring ye then ten suras forged, like unto it, and call (to your aid) whomsoever ye can, other than Allah.- If ye speak the truth! (Chapter 11-Hud, Verse13) Say: "If the whole of mankind and Jinns were to gather together to produce the like of this Qur'an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they backed up each other with help and support. (Chapter 17 Al-Isra, Verse 88) Alhamdulillah, though the Qur’an is rhythmic it does not deviate from reality. There were many people who tried to produce a Surah like the Qur’an, but they failed miserably. No one has been able to do it so far, and no one InshaAllah will be able to do it till eternity. According to the famous physicist, Albert Einstein, who had got the Nobel prize, he said – ‘Science without religion is lame, and religion without science is blind’. . I would like to remind you that the Holy Qur’an is not a ‘book of Science’… S-C-I-E-N-C-E; but it’s a book of Signs… S-I-G-N-S; it’s a book of Ayaats – and there are more than 6000 Signs or 6000 Ayats, out of which more than a thousand speak about Science. There are some people who would be satisfied just by acquiring one sign. Some people require 10 signs to accept the truth. Some may require a hundred, while the others even after you produce a thousand signs to them yet they will not accept the truth. Coming back to the topic, the first we will discuss is the big bang theory 1.BIG BANG THEORY Big Bang Theory – that initially the whole universe was one ‘Primary Nebula’. Then there was a secondary separation which gave rise to galaxies, which further split to form things such as our solar system, which gave rise to planets, the Sun and the present earth which we live in Surah Al-Anbiya, Ch. No. 21, Verse No. 30, which says. ‘Do not the unbelievers see. the heavens and the earth were joined together, and We clove them asunder?’ This verse of the Holy Qur’an speaks about the Big Bang Theory, in a nutshell. And the Qur’an also says in Surah Fussilat, Ch. No. 41, verse 11, that… ‘Moreover, in His design He comprehended the sky, and it had been smoke. And He said to it and the earth, come ye together willingly or unwillingly, and they said we come together in willing obedience’. CRITICS: it is not smoke but it is gas (probably hydrogen/helium) The Arabic word used here is ‘Dukhan’, which means ‘Smoke’. If you ask a scientist, he will tell you that the, universe before it was formed, the celestial matter, it was in the state of ‘gas’, and the Arabic word ‘Dukhan’ which means Smoke, is more scientifically correct than mere ‘gas’. The celestial matter the scientists refer to is the ‘smoke’ 2.SHAPE OF THE EARTH CRITICS: THE Quran says that the earth is a Wide expanse, A spread out carpet WHEN WAS THE EARTH FOUND TO BE SPHERICAL? It was only in 1597, when Sir Francis Drake – when he sailed around the earth he proved that the world was spherical. The Qur’an mentions in Surah Luqman, Ch. No. 31, Verse 29… ‘It is Allah that merges the night unto the day and merges the day unto the night’. Merging is a slow and gradual process. The night slowly and gradually changes to day, and the day slowly and gradually changes to night. This phenomena is only possible if the shape of the earth is spherical – It is not possible if it is flat. If it was flat there will be a sudden change. The Qur’an says in Surah Al Zumar, Ch. No. 39, Verse No. 5, it says ‘It is Allah who has created the heavens and the earth in true proportion and he overlaps and coils the night unto the day and overlaps or coils the day unto the night’. The Arabic word used is, ‘Kawwara’ which means overlapping or coiling. How you coil a turban around the head – How you overlap a turban around the head. This phenomena of the night overlapping and coiling over the day is only possible if the shape of the earth is spherical. It is not possible if the shape of earth is flat – there will be a sudden change. The Holy Qur’an further says in Surah Naziat, Ch. No. 79, Verse No. 30 ‘And thereafter, We have made the earth egg-shaped’. The Arabic word ‘Dahaha’ comes from root word ‘Duhya’, meaning an Egg-shape and it does not refer to any normal Egg. It specifically refers to the Egg of an Ostrich – and today we know that the world is not completely round like a ball- It is Geo Spherical. It is slightly flattened from the top and bulging from the centre – It is Geo Spherical. And if you analyze the shape of the Egg of an Ostrich – it too is Geo Spherical, slightly flattened from the top and bulging from the centre. CRITICS: DAHAHA DOESNT MEAN EGG SHAPED, IT RATHER MEANS A WIDE EXPANSE YES, WE DO KNOW THAT DAHAHA HAS MANY MEANINGS, THE BEST SUITABLE MEANING SHOULD BE APPLIED ACCORDING TO THE CONTEXT, EVEN “FOR THE SAKE OF AGREEMENT “ IF WE AGREE, WE HAVE A LOGICAL AND SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION FOR “WIDE EXPANSE” AND “SPREAD OUT CARPET” EXPLANATION FOR SPREAD OUT CARPET Surah Nur, Ch. 71,verse no. 19 and 20, which says ‘that we have spread out the Earth like a carpet’ But it gives the answer in the next verse verse number 20, ‘So that you may walk and travel in the spacious path’ the Geologists, they tell us today, the earth which we live- on the surface is hardly one to 10 miles, and less than 1% of the total radius of the earth which is 3750 miles. The top layer is a solid shell. The deeper layers are hot and fluid, and inhospitable for existence of life. No where does the Qur’an say, that the earth is flat. It gives a similitude that… ‘We have spread out the Earth like a carpet’. People normally have a misconception that… ‘A carpet can only be spread on a flat surface’. It is wrong – A carpet, can also be spread on a spherical surface. For example imagine that there is big model of the earth, the globe, say about 10 feet in radius – Very big – Very well you can spread a carpet around it – It is possible. But Qur’an is scientifically also speaking, that besides spreading out Carpet is normally spread out on a surface which is not comfortable to walk on. So Science today tells us that if the outer crust was not spread out like a carpet around this spherical earth, we would not be able to live – Because the deeper layers are hot and fluid. So when Qur’an says we have spread out the earth, its referring to the earth’s crust has been spread out like a carpet. And the reason is given… ‘So that you may walk in the spacious path of the Lord’- Qur’an says in other places also that… Qur’an says… in Surah Nabah Ch. 78, Verse No. 6, ‘We have made the Earth as an expanse’. It is referring that… ‘The earth, We have made as wide’- BUT WHY? ANSWER IS GIVEN in Surah Ankabut, Ch. 29, Verse, 56 which says… ‘ We have made the Earth as a wide expanse for you so that you will worship Me and Me alone’. So tomorrow you cannot say that, the situation where I lived in, it was difficult circumstances, therefore I was prevented to do good deeds – So I did evil deeds. Allah says… ‘The earth is a wide expanse for you – it is spacious’. You cannot give the excuse for doing evil deeds , because of your circumstances. Therefore worship Allah, and Allah alone. There is no place in the Holy Qur’an which says…‘The world is flat’. In fact THE Qur’an says in Surah Luqman, Ch. 31, Verse 29, and Surah Al-Zumoor, Ch. 39, Verse No. 5, that… ‘The world is spherical’ and specifically in Surah Naziyath, Ch. 79, Verse No. 30 ‘We have made the Earth thereafter Egg shape…like an Ostrich Egg, which is exactly Geo spherical. THE TWO EASTS AND THE TWO WESTS-(PROOF FOR EARTH TO BE SPHERICAL) Surah Rahman, Ch. 55, Verse No. 17, which says that… ‘Allah is the Lord of two Easts and two Wests’. in Arabic, we have two types of ‘Plural’. One is dual plural …and one is plural, more than two. Here ‘Rabbul Mushrakaine’ is dual plural. That Allah is the Lord of two Easts and Lord of two Wests. Let us see what Science has to say about that… and we know that the Sun rises from the East- it sets in the West. But Science tells us today, that…‘ the Sun rises from the due East only on two days… exactly East. In the other times if you have noticed, this rising… the point of rising of the Sun keeps on varying. It rises exactly due East, only on two days – the two days of Equinox. All the other days it either rises, South or North, of East. Similarly it rises from one extreme of the East in the Summer solstice, and rises from the other extreme of the East in Winter solstice. Similarly the Sun sets in due West , only on two days- On two days of Equinox. All the other days it either sets South or North of due West. It sets in one extreme of West in the Summer solstice , and sets in the other extreme of west in the Winter solstice. So when the Qur’an says that Allah (SWT) is the Lord of two Easts and two Wests, it is referring to the two extreme points of East and two extreme points of west. in Surah Maarij, Ch. No. 70, Verse No. 40, which says that… ‘ Allah is the Lord of East and West’. It is not dual plural – it is plural more than two . The Allah is the Lord of Easts and the Lord of Wests. Therefore Allah is the Lord of all the various points in East. So in short, Allah is the Lord of two extreme points of East, two extreme points of the West and all the points in between – in the West and all the points in between in the East. PROOF (EARTH IS SPHERICAL)(MATHEMATICALLY) WITH TWO EASTS AND TWO WESTS 1. THE EARTH HAS 2 KINDS OF MOVEMENT 1.ROTATIONAL WITH RESPECT TO THE Y AXIS 2.TRANSLATIONAL MOTION ALONG THE X AXIS TOGETHER THE EARTH MOVES FORWARD(X AXES ) and ROTATES WITH RESPECT TO ITS OWN AXIS(Y AXES) FROM THE DIAGRAM http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150444678150481&set=a.10150444678145481.634318.815635480&theater , CONSIDER TWO POINTS A AND B ALONG THE X AXES 1.IF AT THE POINT A, the sun is setting, the sun rises in B indicating that there are 2sun(rising/setting) points OR AN EAST AND A WEST, THE LINE AB CLEARLY MAKES AN ANGLE 180 DEGREES 2.FOR A COMPLETE ROTATION , THE ANGLE REQUIRED IS 360 DEGREES 3.AFTER HALF THE ROTATION THE POINT B BECOMES A AND A BECOMES B ( 180 DEGREES) 4FOR COMPLETE ROTATION (i.e the point A to come to A, it takes 24 hrs or rotates about 360 degrees) 5. No of rising/setting points at a maximum at 2 points diametrically opposite is (180 X 2=360) i.e 2rising/setting points X 2= 4rising/setting points 4 rising/setting point indicates 2 easts and 2 wests (FOR A COMPLETE DAY) 5. HENCE FOR A SINGLE DAY WE PROVED THAT THERE ARE 2 EASTS AND 2 WESTS, WHICH CAN BE IMPLIED TO PROVE THAT FOR EACH 24 HRS THERE ARE 2 RISING AND SETTING POINTS OR 2 EASTS AND 2 WESTS 3.MOON HAS ITS BORROWED LIGHT CRITICS: MOON GIVES LIGHT AS MENTIONED IN THE QURAN as NOOR Previously we thought that the light of the Moon, is its own light. It is recently we discovered, that the light of the Moon is reflected light of the Sun. The Qur’an says in Surah Furqan, Ch. No. 25, Verse No. 61… ‘Blessed is He who has created the constellations in the sky, and placed therein a lamp, and Moon having borrowed light’. The Qur’an says in Surah Yunus, Ch. No. 10, Verse No. 5… ‘It is Allah who has created the Sun as a shining glory and the Moon having a reflection of light’. The similar message is repeated in Surah Nuh, Ch. No. 71, Verse No. 15 to 16. The Arabic word for Sun is ‘Shams’. It’s always described either as ‘Siraj’ meaning a torch, or ‘Wahaj’ meaning a blazing lamp, or ‘Diya’ – ‘meaning a shining glory’. The Moon – the Arabic word is ‘Qamar’. It’s always described as ‘Munir’, meaning borrowed light or ‘Noor’, which is a reflection of light. Nowhere is the moon light described as ‘Siraj’ or ‘Wahaj’ or ‘Diya’ – always as ‘Munir’ or ‘Noor’ – that’s borrowed light or a reflection of light. The Qur’an says in Surah Tariq, Ch. No. 86 Verse No. 3 The Arabic word for the Star is ‘Najm’. It is described as ‘Saqib’ – Its light is described as ‘Saqib’. It pierces the darkness and consumes itself. 4.ROTATION ABOUT THE OWN AXIS CRITICS: THE WORD YASBAHOON MEANS FLOATING the Holy Qur’an says in Surah Al-Anbiya, Ch. No. 21, Verse No. 33. It says: ‘It is Allah who has created the night and the day, the Sun and the Moon, each one travelling in a orbit, with its own motion’. The Arabic word ‘Yasbahoon’, is derived from the word ‘Sabaha’, which describes the motion of a moving body. If I say that a man is doing ‘Sabaha’ on the ground, it will not mean that he is rolling – it will mean he is either walking or running. If I say a person is doing ‘Sabaha’ in the water, it will not mean he is floating – it will mean he is swimming. Similarly, when the Qur’an uses the word ‘Yasbahoon’ – derived from ‘Sabaha’, for a celestial body – it will not mean… it is flying, it will mean, it is rotating about its own axis. THE WORLD “KULLUN FALIKIN” MEANS “EACH IN AN ORBIT “ AND YASBAHOON MEANS “MOVEMENT OF A BODY” , TOGETHER IT MEANS “ROTATING IN AN ORBIT” And today we have come to know with the help of an equipment, we can have the image of the Sun on the table top, and we see there are black spots – and it takes approximately 25 days for these black spots to complete one rotation – indicating that the Sun takes approximately 25 days to complete one rotation. 5 DOES THE SOLAR SYSTEM MOVE? The Holy Qur’an says in Surah Yasin, Ch. No. 36, Verse No. 40… ‘It is not permitted for the Sun to catch up with the Moon, nor the night to outstrip the day. each one travelling in an orbit with its own motion’. What does the Qur’an mean by saying – ‘It is not permitted for the Sun to catch up with the Moon?’ Previously people thought that the orbit of the Sun and the Moon was same. But Qur’an gives the indication – ‘No! the orbit of the Sun and the Moon, is different’. The question of catching up does not arise and each of them, the Sun and the Moon, they rotate as well as revolve. The Qur’an says in Surah Yasin, Ch. No. 36, Verse No. 38 ‘That the Sun is running its course to a place determined, for a period determined’. The Arabic word, ‘Mustakar’, means to a place determined, for a period determined. Today science has come to know that the Sun, along with the Solar system – it is going towards a point in the Universe – which the scientists call as the ‘Solar Apex’. And it’s moving at a speed of 12 miles per second, and it is going to a point – which they call as ‘a point in the constellation of Hercules’. This same message is repeated in Surah Rad, Ch. No. 13, Verse No. 2; in Surah Fatir, Ch. No. 35, Verse No. 13; in Surah Luqman, Ch. No. 31, Verse No. 29; as well as in Surah Al-Zumar, Ch. No. 39, Verse No. 5. It says that… ‘The Sun and the Moon runs its course for a period determined’. WA ALAIKUMUSSALAM WARAHMATHUllAHI WA BARAKATHUHU