View source for Scientific Errors in the Quran

{{QualityScore|Lead=2|Structure=4|Content=4|Language=3|References=3}}A common criticism of the [[Quran]], [[Scientific Errors in the Hadith|as with the Hadith]], is that it contains numerous [[Islam and Science|scientific]] and historical errors, with no obvious attempts to differentiate its understanding of the natural world and historical events from the common folklore and misconceptions of the people living in 7<sup>th</sup> century Arabia. Modern responses typically appeal to metaphor, alternative meanings, or phenomenological interpretations of such verses. They also argue that the wording needed to be acceptable to people of its time. Critics typically argue that an all-knowing, perfect communicator would nevertheless have been able to avoid statements in the Quran that reinforced misconceptions of the time, caused future generations to have doubts about its perfection, and on a scale that critics contend is an overwhelming weakness.

==Astronomy==

===Geocentricism===
{{Main|Geocentrism and the Quran|l1=Geocentrism and the Qur'an}}

The Qur'an mentions a few times that the sun and the moon travel in an orbit or sphere/hemisphere (fee falakin فِى فَلَكٍ<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000227.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2443 فَلَكٍ] and [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000228.pdf p. 2444]</ref>), but does not mention once that the Earth does too. This is consistent with an Earth-centered (geocentric) view of the cosmos that places a motionless Earth at the center of the universe and all "heavenly bodies" travel around the Earth. This was the prevailing understanding of the universe prior to the 16<sup>th</sup> century when Copernicus helped explain and popularize a sun-centered (heliocentric) view of the universe. Tellingly, the sun's orbit is almost always mentioned in the context of night and day ({{Quran|13|2}} being the only exception) and is always mentioned with that of the moon (which does in fact orbit the Earth each month), and the sun's orbit likewise appears, to the unaided eye, to traverse the sky each night when it is visible.
{{Quote|{{cite quran|36|37|end=40|style=ref}}|
A token unto them is night. We strip it of the day, and lo! they are in darkness. And the sun runneth on unto a resting-place for him. That is the measuring of the Mighty, the Wise. And for the moon We have appointed mansions till she return like an old shrivelled palm-leaf. It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor doth the night outstrip the day. They float each in an orbit.}}
{{Quran-range|36|37|40}}, occurring in a passage about night and say, right after describing the change from day to night, states that the sun runs on to a resting place for it (لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَا). There are also [[sahih]] [[hadith]] ({{Muslim|1|297}}) that mention the sun's daily cycle using the same Arabic word to mean a resting place, which is underneath Allah's throne, and is where each night the sun prostrates and is asked to go and rise 'from its rising place' (مِنْ مَطْلِعِهَا). This cycle repeats, until one day Allah asks the sun to rise 'from your setting place' (مِنْ َغْرِبِكِ).

The alternative view among exegetes was that this refers to the sun's final resting on the last day. Other verses talk about the sun swimming for a 'term appointed' (using a different Arabic word). Another version of the above hadith probably supports this view (for details of all these things see footnotes [https://wikiislam.net/wiki/Geocentrism_and_the_Quran#Primary_Evidence in the main article]). Whichever interpretation was intended, the sun's movement is nevertheless mentioned right after describing day and night, just as the next verse mentions the different mansions appointed for the moon each night. The whole passage is about day and night and the sun and moon's movement in that context.
{{Quote|{{Quran|21|33}}|And He it is Who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. They float, each in an orbit.}}

A modern vantage point would explain the above Qur'anic description of the sun moving in an orbit as a reference to our sun orbiting the black hole at the center of the milky way galaxy every 225 million years. Critics argue that this is of no relevance to human time scales, and that nothing from the text implies that the sun is orbiting anything other than the Earth. The Quran never in any way differentiates the sun's orbit from that of the moon and consistently implies that they are of a common nature. 

{{Quote|{{Quran|31|29}}|'''Hast thou not seen''' how Allah causeth the night to pass into the day and causeth the day to pass into the night, and hath subdued the sun and the moon (to do their work), each running unto an appointed term; and that Allah is Informed of what ye do?}}
Here the sun running / pursuing its course (يَجْرِىٓ)<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume2/00000051.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 415 يَجْرِىٓ]</ref> is something that the author expects people to have seen (thus posing another challenge for the galactic orbit interpretation). 

{{Quote|{{cite quran|91|1|end=2|style=ref}}|
By the Sun and his (glorious) splendour; By the Moon as she follows him; }}
The word translated as "follow"<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000350.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 313 تَلَىٰ]</ref> is primarily defined as to follow, go or walk behind, follow in way of imitation, of action etc. and was often used for animals like camels following behind each other. The Moon does not actually follow behind the sun's movement, nor does it provide its own light like the sun. The verse is most suggestive of a worldview in which the moon and sun traverse the same or similar paths after one another, which is what a 7th century person might believe from observing the sky. Critics would expect a less suspicious choice of wording in a perfect book if it merely meant the sun and moon appear one after the other. One day instead of following the sun, the moon will by joined with it according to another verse (see the [https://wikiislam.net/index.php?title=Scientific_Errors_in_the_Quran&stable=0#The_similar_size_and_distance_of_the_sun_and_moon Similar Size and Distance of the Sun and Moon] section below).

{{Quote|{{Quran|2|258}}|Abraham said, ‘Indeed Allah brings the sun from the east; now you bring it from the west.’ So the disbeliever was overwhelmed [by astonishment], and Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people.}}
Here the Qur'an quotes a few lines from a debate between Abraham and a disbelieving King, where Abraham replies that Allah 'brings the sun' (''yatee biashshamsi'' يَأْتِى بِٱلشَّمْسِ) from the east. The Arabic verb and preposition indicates that the sun actually moves. The verb means to come<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000052.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 15 يَأْتِى]</ref>, and when it has an object with the bi- preposition it means to bring, as in many other instances in the Qur'an. While the story is quoting a mere human's words, the author apparently believes it to be a good response and sees no problem with it.

===Setting and rising place of the sun===
{{Main|Dhul-Qarnayn and the Sun Setting in a Muddy Spring - Part One}}

In these verses, the author presents a version of a popular legend from the 7th century of a man named Dhu'l-Qarnayn who visits the places where the sun sets and rises.

{{Quote|{{Quran|18|86}}|
 Till, when he reached the setting-place of the sun, he found it setting in a muddy spring, and found a people thereabout. We said: O Dhu'l-Qarneyn! Either punish or show them kindness. }}

{{Quote|{{Quran|18|90}}|
Till, when he reached the rising-place of the sun, he found it rising on a people for whom We had appointed no shelter therefrom. }}

Centuries after Muhammad lived, people with better astronomical knowledge introduced interpretations of these verses such that Dhu'l-Qarnayn only traveled until he reached "the west" or to a spot "at the time" when the sun set and not the "place" where the sun set. However, these alternative interpretations are severely undermined by the [[Dhul-Qarnayn_and_the_Sun_Setting_in_a_Muddy_Spring_-_Part_One#First_interpretation:_He_reached_the_west_and_east|context and Arabic words used in these verses]], which instead point to physical locations where the sun did its setting and rising. A plethora of evidence shows that the early Muslims understood the verse in this straightforward way.

===Earth and heavens created in six days===
{{Main|Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Creation}}

The Qur'an presents the prevailing Middle-Eastern myth that the Earth and heavens were formed in six days. This is in sharp contrast with the findings of modern cosmology which show the Earth to have formed some 9 billion years after the beginning of the universe. 

Unlike the hundreds of other verses where the Arabic word yawm or its plural ayyam (أَيَّامٍ) is understood to mean day or days, when the Quran describes the creation of the world some modern Muslim scholars have appealed to its alternative meaning, 'time period'. The author makes no attempt to convey long time periods or to distinguish his description from the prevailing Middle-Eastern creation myths in this regard (or from his own usage of the term 'yawm' elsewhere in the text), which feature six literal days of creation (for example, the Bible in Genesis 1:5 reads, "Evening came and morning came: The first day.").

Neither the universe nor Earth were formed in six distinct long periods of time. There is likewise apparently no attempt to indicate, even poetically, the vast duration of time in which the universe has developed, (namely, 13.8 billion years).

{{Quote|{{Quran|50|38}}|
We created the heavens and the earth and all between them in Six Days, nor did any sense of weariness touch Us}}

The Earth specifically was created in two days according to the Qur'an, and in four days (on days three and four according to the [[Tafsir|tafsirs]]) were created mountains and the sustenance of the Earth.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|41|9|10}}|Say: Is it that ye deny Him Who created the earth in two Days? And do ye join equals with Him? He is the Lord of (all) the Worlds. He set on the (earth), mountains standing firm, high above it, and bestowed blessings on the earth, and measure therein all things to give them nourishment in due proportion, in four Days, in accordance with (the needs of) those who seek (Sustenance).}}

Mountains nonetheless continue to rise and erode to this day. Similarly, living things and their sustenance continue to evolve, yet the Qur'an says that the creation of mountains and sustenance occurred in a specific period that ended two days before the creation of the universe was completed. See the next section regarding the final two of the six days (from {{Quran-range|41|11|12}}) which immediately follow the verses discussed above.

===Earth created before stars===

The [[w:Abundance of elements in Earth's crust|elements in the Earth's crust]] and core were first formed in stars by [[w:Nucleosynthesis|nucleosynthesis]]. When those stars exploded as [[w:Supernova|supernovas]], they expelled the elements that were used in future solar systems such as Earth's own. Modern radiometric dating of meteorites and rocks from the Earth and Moon show that these bodies were formed at the same time as the sun and its other planets, [[w:Age_of_the_Earth|4.5 billion years ago]]. The Qur'an, on the other hand, describes the Earth as being fully formed before the stars.

{{Quran|41|12}} states that lamps (or more specifically, stars in the similar verse {{Quran|37|6}}) were placed in the nearest of the seven heavens. But before there were seven heavens and while heaven was just smoke, the Earth already existed according to {{Quran|41|11}}, and the Earth's creation and completion in the preceding days is described in the immediately preceding verses {{Quran-range|41|9|10}}, discussed in the previous section above. The creation sequence is thus as follows: 

#Heaven and completed Earth;
#Seven heavens;
#The nearest heaven adorned with stars.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|41|11|12}}|
Then turned He to the heaven when it was smoke, and said unto it and unto the earth: Come both of you, willingly or loth. They said: We come, obedient. '''Then He ordained them seven heavens in two Days''' and inspired in each heaven its mandate; '''and We decked the nether heaven with lamps''', and rendered it inviolable. That is the measuring of the Mighty, the Knower. }}

{{Quran|2|29}} further confirms that heaven was only made into seven heavens when, according to the Quran, everything on Earth had been created.

{{Quote|{{Quran|2|29}}|
He it is Who created for you all that is in the earth. Then turned He to the heaven, and fashioned it as seven heavens. And He is knower of all things.}}

The word lamps (masabeeha مَصَٰبِيحَ) in {{Quran|41|12}} and {{Quran|67|5}} with which Allah adorns (zayyanna زَيَّنَّا) the lowest heaven would need, of course, to include any luminous bodies such as the stars. These are termed as ''kawakib'' (كَوَاكِبِ) in {{Quran|37|6}}, a word that also appears in Joseph's dream ({{Quran|12|4}}) and the destruction of the heavens ({{Quran-range|82|1|2}}).

Some modern Muslim scholars attempt to reconcile the Qur'anic description with modern science by arguing that the word 'Then' in the verses above indicate does not indicate sequence, but that it instead means 'moreover'. This argument collides with the fact that these words (thumma in {{Quran|41|11}} and {{Quran|2|29}}, and fa in {{Quran|41|12}} - all translated as 'then') are generally used to indicate sequence. In other contexts, thumma was sometimes used to mean 'moreover'. This alternative usage, however, would always be unambiguous and clear in context, unlike in the passages quoted above, which evidently describe a stepwise process - the creation of the heavens subsequent to that of the Earth.

In another passage, {{Quran-range|79|28|33}}, the heaven (singular) has already been raised and proportioned as a ceiling before the earth is spread, pastures produced and mountains fixed. Ibn Kathir notes in his tafsir that ibn 'Abbas said the Earth was created first before each of these events and that scholars intepreted the Arabic word dahaha (دَحَىٰهَآ) in verse 79:30 to refer to a specific kind of spreading that occured after everything on Earth had been created.<ref>[https://quranx.com/tafsirs/2.29 Tafsir ibn Kathir 2:29]</ref> However, the passage nevertheless appears to contradict the sequence of {{Quran-range|41|9|12}}, in which the heaven is still "smoke" after Earth's sustinence and mountains have been placed.

====Earth and heavens torn apart====

Modern Muslim scholars generally maintain that the following verse is compatible with and even predictive of the Big Bang theory. According to the Big Bang theory, the Universe was formed 13.8 billion years ago due to a rapid expansion from singularity. The earth was then formed, 4.54 billion years ago, from accretion of debris that surrounded the precursor of the Sun. There was at no stage a "separation" of the "joined" earth and heavens. In cosmic egg myths, an egg-like structure was split into two halves, the lower half forming the earth and the upper half forming the heaven. {{Quran|21|30}} and similar verses assume that listeners are familiar with the basic outlines of this myth which was extremely wide-spread at the time of [[Muhammad]] and his [[Sahabah|companions]].

{{Quote|{{Quran|21|30}}|
Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of creation), before we clove them asunder? We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe? }}

The word translated "joined together" is ratqan (رَتْقًا)<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume3/00000193.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 1027 رَتْقًا] </ref> meaning closed up or sewn up, also used metaphorically in terms of reconciling people, but does not imply a homogenous mass or state.

The separation of the heavens and earth can be read in the context of verses that mention something "between" their fully formed state (which seems to be occupied by the clouds {{Quran|2|164}} and birds {{Quran|24|41}}).

{{Quote|{{Quran|50|38}}|
And verily We created the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, in six Days, and naught of weariness touched Us.}}

There is no scientific theory in which the Earth and heavens were torn apart from each other. The verse states that "We clove them" (dual pronoun 'huma'), not "We clove it", thereby indicating that the Earth and heavens are distinct after the cloving. If one holds that {{Quran|21|30}} describes the big bang, the atomic particles that would later form the Earth would at the beginning would have to be separated from those that would go on to form everything else in the universe. This, however, bears no resemblance to modern scientific cosmology, wherein the material that forms the Earth passed through at least one earlier generation of stars, and more recently was part of various asteroids, comets and planetesimals orbiting the sun (which could all be described as being in the 'heavens') that sometimes collided and merged with each other, sometimes split apart, and gradually coalesced under gravity to form the Earth and other planets.

The very next verse {{Quran|21|31}} speaks of mountains being placed on the Earth. Here, 'the Earth' must mean an actual world, yet modern interpretations of the previous verse hold that 'the Earth' refers merely to atomic particles at the time of the big bang.

====Heaven made from smoke====
{{main|Quran and a Universe from Smoke}}

There is no stage in the formation of the universe that involved smoke (carbon particles suspended as a result of combustion; the word translated smoke is the noun dukhan دُخَانٍ, which means literal smoke of the sort that rises from a fire<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume3/00000027.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 861 دُخَانٍ]</ref>). Similarly, the Earth and heavens did not each "come" as separate entities at any point in time. Rather, the Earth is a part of this universe and has developed within it. 

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|41|11|12}}|
Then turned He to the heaven when it was smoke, and said unto it and unto the earth: Come both of you, willingly or loth. They said: We come, obedient. Then He ordained them seven heavens in two Days and inspired in each heaven its mandate; and We decked the nether heaven with lamps, and rendered it inviolable. That is the measuring of the Mighty, the Knower. }}

Some modern Muslim scholars nevertheless interpret 'smoke' as the primordial state of the universe after the big bang. It is worth noting, however, that the verse indicates a time when heaven alone, but not the Earth, was smoke. This is especially challenging when one considers that the Earth and its mountains are described as already existing in the previous two verses ({{Quran-range|41|9|10}}, discussed above).

===Seven Earths===
{{Main|Cosmology of the Quran|l1=Cosmology of the Qur'an}}

{{Quran|65|12}} plainly states that there exist seven earths. 

{{Quote|{{Quran|65|12}}|
Allah it is who hath created seven heavens, and of the earth the like thereof. The commandment cometh down among them slowly, that ye may know that Allah is Able to do all things, and that Allah surroundeth all things in knowledge.}}

A hadith in [[Sahih Bukhari|Bukhari]] reveals that these seven Earths are stacked above each other.
{{Quote|{{Bukhari|3|43|634}}| The Prophet said, "Whoever takes a piece of the land of others unjustly, '''he will sink down the seven earths''' on the Day of Resurrection.}}

The number, like seven heavens, might have come from a misunderstanding or indigenous interpretation of mythology from classical antiquity in which there were seven moving planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the sun and moon). The number seven, however, does not accord with the findings of modern astronomers, which know there to be eight ordinary planets and five dwarf planets, making for a grand total of thirteen in our solar system. Modern astronomy also has found many thousands of planets in other solar systems and Cosmologists estimate that hundreds of billions of stars and planets exist in the universe at large.

===Seven heavens===
{{Main|Cosmology of the Quran|l1=Cosmology of the Qur'an}}

The universe consists of hundreds of billions of galaxies, each with hundreds of billions of stars. The Quran states that beyond our heaven which contains the stars, there exist another six heavens. The myth of seven heavens was a common idea prevalent in the Middle East during the time when the Qur'an was first recited.

{{Quote|{{Quran|71|15}}|
See ye not how Allah has created the seven heavens one above another}}

Some modern Islamic scholars have argued that these verses refer to the seven layers of the atmosphere. However, {{Quran|37|6}} states that stars occupy the nearest heaven. Additionally, there are 5 rather than 7 principal layers to the [[W:Atmosphere of Earth|Earth's atmosphere]], and likewise only 5 rather than 7 major layers to the [[w:Structure_of_Earth|Earth itself]].

{{Quote|{{Quran|37|6}}| Surely We have adorned the nearest heaven with an adornment, the stars}}

===Similar size and distance of the sun and moon===
{{Main|Geocentrism and the Quran|l1=Geocentrism and the Qur'an}}

In a passage about events on the day of resurrection, the Qur'an implies that the sun and moon are of comparable size and distance. While such a perspective is intuitive for one in seventh century Arabia viewing the sun and moon with their unaided eye and observing eclipses, modern science has revealed that 64.3 million moons could fit in the sun.

{{Quote|{{Quran|75|8}}|And the moon darkens And the sun and the moon are joined,}}

The Arabic word translated as "are joined" is ''jumi'a'', a verb which means to collect together, gather together, bring together.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume2/00000091.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 455 جُمِعَ]</ref>

===Moon split in two===
{{Main|Moon Split Miracle}}

The Qur'an and Hadith State that the moon was miraculously split into two pieces and then, presumably, put back together again. There is, however, no scientific evidence suggesting that the moon was ever been split into two parts. Critics have pointed out that since the moon is visible to half the planet at any given time, there should exist numerous accounts from different parts of the world attesting to the event if it in fact happened. The Romans, Greeks, Egyptians, Persians, Chinese and Indians had avid astronomers who, critics maintain, should have seen this event and recorded it in their histories. The complete absence of any such historical record from other civilizations contemporary to Muhammad is thus presented as a strong indication that the event described in scripture never happened.

{{Quote|{{Quran|54|1-3}}|The hour drew nigh and the moon did rend asunder. }}

{{Quote|{{Bukhari|4|56|831}}|Narrated Anas: "That the Meccan people requested Allah's Apostle to show them a miracle, and so he showed them the splitting of the moon."}}

===Nature of the moon's light===

Modern Muslim scholars have sometimes argued that the Qur'an predicted the realization that the moon does not emit its own light, but simply reflects light coming from the Sun. The Arabic word for reflected (''in`ikaas'') does not appear in the two Qur'anic verses that say the Moon is a "light". Instead, the word ''noor'' (nooran نُورًا) is used, which simply means "a light", and, in another verse, the word ''muneer'' (''muneeran'' مُّنِيرًا) is used, which means "giving light" and is from the same root as ''noor''. Nonetheless, the usage of these words is vague and appears to permit alternative interpretations.

{{Quote|{{Quran|10|5}}|
He it is Who appointed the sun a splendour and the moon a light, and measured for her stages, that ye might know the number of the years, and the reckoning. Allah created not (all) that save in truth. He detaileth the revelations for people who have knowledge.}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|71|16}}|
And hath made the moon a light therein, and made the sun a lamp?}}

''Noor'' appears again (this time as a participle muneeran مُّنِيرًا) in a similar verse about the moon:

{{Quote|{{Quran|25|61}}|
Blessed be He Who hath placed in the heaven mansions of the stars, and hath placed therein a great lamp and a moon giving light!"}}

{{Quran-range|33|45|46}} most clearly displays the meaning of ''noor'' to be "light" rather than "reflected light". A lamp is described as "shining light" with the same Arabic word used in {{Quran|25|61}} (muneeran مُّنِيرًا):

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|33|45|46}}|
O Prophet! Lo! We have sent thee as a witness and a bringer of good tidings and a warner. And as a summoner unto Allah by His permission, and as a lamp '''that giveth light'''.}}

In Lane's Lexicon of classical arabic, the word ''muneer'' (مُّنِيرً) is defined as 'Giving light, shining bright, bright, or shining brightly'.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000120.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2866 مُّنِيرً]</ref> ''Noor'' is defined on the previous page as 'Light; whatever it may be; and the rays thereof'.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000119.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2865 نُورًا]</ref> In reference to {{Quran|10|5}} (quoted above) which describe the moon with this word, Lane writes, 'In the Kur. x. 5, the sun is termed ضياء and the moon نور and it is said that ضياء is ''essential'', but نور is ''accidental'' [light]'. The notion of essential and accidental light and its application to the sun and moon originates not from the Arabs at the time of the Qur'an, but rather from the book ''Kitab al-Manazir'', commonly known as 'Optics', published in 1572 by the great polymath and optics pioneer al-Hazen. Lane goes on to say, citing the highly regarded Taj al-Arus classical dictionary, 'it [light] is of two kinds, the light of the present world and that of the world to come; and the former is either perceived sensibly, by the eye, and this is what diffuses itself from luminous bodies, as the sun and moon and stars, and is mentioned in the Kur. x. 5 referred to above'.

The word ''noor'' is also used in {{Quran|24|35}} to show that Allah is the "light" of the universe. The author does not imply that Allah reflects light from another source, but rather that he is the ultimate source of all light.

{{Quote|{{Quran|24|35}}|
 Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The Parable of His Light is as if there were a Niche and within it a Lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Glass: the glass as it were a brilliant star: Lit from a blessed Tree, an Olive, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scarce touched it: Light upon Light! Allah doth guide whom He will to His Light: Allah doth set forth Parables for men: and Allah doth know all things.}}

===Meteors as stars fired at devils===
{{Main|Mistranslations_of_Islamic_Scripture_(English)#.2867:5.29_Shooting_stars|l1=Mistranslations of Qur'an 67:5}}

The Qur'an states that stars (''kawakib'' ٱلْكَوَاكِبِ) and/or lamps (''masabih'' مَصَٰبِيحَ) adorn the heavens and guard against devils. While stars are giant balls of gas thousands of times larger than the earth, meteors are small rocky masses or grains of debris which burn up after entering the earth's atmosphere. Many ancient people confused the two, as meteors look like stars that are streaking across the sky; this is why they were often called [[w:Meteoroid|shooting stars]] or falling stars. In the following verse, the Qur'an asserts that Allah uses stars as missiles to ward away devils. This draws on an Arab myth that was common at the time the Qur'an was first recited.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|37|6|10}}|
We have indeed decked the lower heaven with beauty (in) the stars, (For beauty) and for guard against all obstinate rebellious evil spirits, (So) they should not strain their ears in the direction of the Exalted Assembly but be cast away from every side, Repulsed, for they are under a perpetual penalty, Except such as snatch away something by stealth, and they are pursued by a flaming fire, of piercing brightness.}}

The same Arabic words are used at the start of {{Quran|67|5}} as in {{Quran|37|6}} (زَيَّنَّا ٱلسَّمَآءَ ٱلدُّنْيَا), except that in {{Quran|67|5}} the word lamps is used instead of stars. The lamps that 'beautify the heaven' refer to stars (and perhaps also the 5 visible planets), which are always there. Meteors, on the other hand, are now known to be distinct from the distant stars. They are often not much larger than grains of sand and only become visible for a second when they burn up, generating light in the Earth's atmosphere.

{{Quote|{{Quran|67|5}}|
And verily We have beautified the world's heaven with lamps, and We have made them missiles for the devils, and for them We have prepared the doom of flame.}}

A hadith in [[Sahih Muslim]] confirms that the 'pursuant flames / missiles' in the two verses refer to meteors which they saw shooting across the sky.

{{Quote|{{Muslim|26|5538}}|'Abdullah. Ibn 'Abbas reported:
A person from the Ansar who was amongst the Companions of Allah's Messenger (pbuh reported to me: As we were sitting during the night with Allah's Messenger (pbuh), a meteor shot gave a dazzling light. Allah's Messenger (pbuh) said: What did you say in the pre-Islamic days when there was such a shot (of meteor)? They said: Allah and His Messenger know best (the actual position), but we, however, used to say that that very night a great man had been born and a great man had died, whereupon Allah's Messenger pbuh) said: (These meteors) are shot neither at the death of anyone nor on the birth of anyone. Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, issues Command when He decides to do a thing. Then (the Angels) supporting the Throne sing His glory, then sing the dwellers of heaven who are near to them until this glory of God reaches them who are in the heaven of this world. Then those who are near the supporters of the Throne ask these supporters of the Throne: What your Lord has said? And they accordingly inform them what He says. Then the dwellers of heaven seek information from them until this information reaches the heaven of the world. In this process of transmission (the jinn snatches) what he manages to overhear and he carries it to his friends. And when the Angels see the jinn they attack them with meteors. If they narrate only which they manage to snatch that is correct but they alloy it with lies and make additions to it.}}

===The sky/heaven as a ceiling===

{{Main|Cosmology of the Quran}}

A common myth at the time of the Quran's composition was that the sky or heavens were held up with pillars, which is also a Biblical motif. While classical Muslim scholars often believed in a dome shaped heaven, some academics have argued that the Quranic heavens are flat, stacked expanses. These heavens are like roofs ({{Quran|2|22}}, {{Quran|21|32}}, {{Quran|40|64}}), in layers ({{Quran|71|15}} and {{Quran|67|3}}, while {{Quran|13|2}} further emphasizes this image by pointing out that, unlike what one would expect with an Arabian tent, the roof that is the sky needs no 'pillars' to hold it up. {{Quran|81|11}} adds that the sky is like a covering that can be 'stripped away', while {{Quran|21|104}} states that it will eventually be rolled or folded up.

{{Quote|{{Quran|2|22}}|[He] who made for you the earth a bed [spread out] and the sky a ceiling and sent down from the sky, rain and brought forth thereby fruits as provision for you. So do not attribute to Allah equals while you know [that there is nothing similar to Him].}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|71|15}}|Do you not consider how Allah has created seven heavens in layers}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|78|12}}|And We have built above you seven strong (heavens)}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|13|2}}|
Allah is He Who raised the heavens without any pillars that ye can see}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|81|11}}|
And when the sky is stripped away}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|21|104}}|The Day when We will fold the heaven like the folding of a [written] sheet for the records. As We began the first creation, We will repeat it. [That is] a promise binding upon Us. Indeed, We will do it.}}

===The sky as a guarded ceiling===

{{Quran|21|32}} relates to the verses about devils chased by shooting stars (meteors) that guard the lowest heaven. {{Quran-range|37|6|10}}, discussed above, which contains a noun meaning "guard" from the same Arabic root (hafiza) as the verb in this verse.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume2/00000237.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 601 حفظ]</ref> Interestingly, modern science has revealed that the things guarding the sky / heaven can also pose a threat to living things on Earth - asteroids and meteorites have penetrated the atmosphere and hit the earth throughout the course of history. This includes the [[w:Chicxulub crater|massive meteorite]] that hit near the [[w:Yucatán Peninsula|Yucatán Peninsula]] 65 million years which killed off numerous species, including most dinosaurs. The guarded ceiling does not, it appears, protect one from these apocalyptic intruders.

{{Quote|{{Quran|21|32}}|
And We made the sky a protected ceiling, but they, from its signs, are turning away.}}

===The sky as something that can fall===

The Quran describes the sky/heaven as a roof held up by Allah that can fall or fragments of which may break off and fall upon unfortunate individuals. This is challenging in light of the modern realization that the sky is simply a conglomeration of various gasses.

{{Quote|{{Quran|52|44}}|And if they were to see a fragment of the heaven falling, they would say: A heap of clouds.}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|34|9}}|See they not what is before them and behind them, of the sky and the earth? If We wished, We could cause the earth to swallow them up, or cause a piece of the sky to fall upon them. Verily in this is a Sign for every devotee that turns to Allah (in repentance).}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|22|65}}|Hast thou not seen how Allah hath made all that is in the earth subservient unto you? And the ship runneth upon the sea by His command, and He holdeth back the heaven from falling on the earth unless by His leave. Lo! Allah is, for mankind, Full of Pity, Merciful.}}

===Heavens to be rolled up===

{{Quran|21|104}} and {{Quran|39|67}} state that the heavens will be 'rolled up' come the day of judgement, implying the corporeality and 'flatness' of space.
{{Quote|{{Quran|21|104}}|The Day when We shall roll up the heavens as a recorder rolleth up a written scroll. }}

{{Quote|{{Quran|39|67}}|No just estimate have they made of Allah, such as is due to Him: On the Day of Judgment the whole of the earth will be but His handful, and the heavens will be rolled up in His right hand: Glory to Him! High is He above the Partners they attribute to Him!}}

===Stars as something that fall===

The Qur'an says that the stars will fall (inkadarat ٱنكَدَرَتْ) as one of many dramatic events surrounding the last day. The word كدر in the form used in this verse (form VII) meant 'to dart down', as is said of a bird or hawk, or to fall and scatter.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume7/00000124.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2596 ٱنكَدَرَتْ]</ref>

{{Quote|{{Quran|81|2}}|And when the stars fall}}

The structure of space-time is such that nothing, not even stars, can move faster than the velocity of light. That is, even if the stars were to move close to light speed across the sky, their apparent motion would be so slight relative to their distance that it would nonetheless be imperceptible to the naked eye. Moreover, as many visible stars are hundreds of light years away (the nearest star is more than four light years away), the light from such events would take years to reach our eyes. Indeed, many stars still visible in the sky ceased to exist centuries ago and it is only their light which is just now reaching the Earth.

===The cause of shadows changing length===
Shadows are produced when the sun's light is obstructed. The Earth's rotation causes these shadows to change size and lengthen. {{Quran-range|25|45|46}} states that the reason shadows fluctuate in size rather than being stationary is because Allah has made the sun their guide. This appears to confirm the geocentric outlook widely evidenced elsewhere in the Qur'an, for it is only on a geocentric view that shadows would be of fixed length if the sun (rather than the Earth) were not made to do something.

{{Quote|{{Quran|25|45-46}}|
Hast thou not turned thy vision to thy Lord?- How He doth prolong the shadow! If He willed, He could make it stationary! then do We make the sun its guide; Then We draw it in towards Ourselves,- a contraction by easy stages.}}

Interestingly, {{Quran|25|46}} follows up by stating that Allah 'draws the shadows towards himself'. The exact meaning of this verse is unclear, but if it regards the retraction of an object's shadow 'back onto itself' - that is, to a state where there is no shadow or the shadow is at its shortest - then perhaps it can be interpreted to describe the gradual 'pointing of the shadow towards heaven' or 'upwards towards Allah'. Even this reading is difficult to justify, however, and the verse is perhaps best regarded as having lost intelligibility beyond the vague spiritual sense in which it may be read.

===Disregard of North and South Poles===
{{Main|The Ramadan Pole Paradox}}

In polar regions, the longevity of day and night vary during summer and winter. The day gets shorter and shorter in winter until there are days or weeks of uninterrupted night. At the poles themselves, day and night alternately last for six months and all phases of the moon occur several times between sunrise and sunset. These circumstances render many of the most important Islamic rituals impracticable and suggest that the author(s) of the Qur'an and hadith, in so far as they aspired to produce a religion of global practicability, were not aware of the extreme distortions to the day length that take place near the poles.

{{Quote|{{Quran|36|40}}|
It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor doth the night outstrip the day. They float each in an orbit. }}

When reading this verse one may also wonder in what sense day and night each have an orbit (See [[Geocentrism and the Quran]]).

See also the [https://wikiislam.net/index.php?title=Scientific_Errors_in_the_Quran&stable=0#Fasting_and_Prayer_Requirements_Near_the_Poles Fasting and Prayer Requirements Near the Poles] section below.

==Biology==

===Evolution===

The Qur'an takes what is perhaps best described as the creationist view of the origins and history of life on earth. This diverges sharply from the overwhelming scientific evidence that humans have evolved from prior life forms, over the course of millions of years and through natural selection.<ref>https://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence</ref> Consequently, while some Muslim scholars reinterpret the Quran in order that they may accept the theory of evolution, most reject it in favor of a creationist world view. Opinion polls show that the majority of Muslims agree Islam and evolution are not compatible. 

====Humans created from clay====
{{Main|Creation of Humans from Clay}}

The Qur’an states that man was created instantaneously from clay (''salsalin'' صَلْصَٰلٍ) / ''mud'' (hamain حَمَإٍ). There is no indication that the author is aware of the evolution of human life over millions of years or our common ancestry with apes and primates. 

{{Quote|{{Quran|15|26}}|
We created man from sounding clay, from mud molded into shape; }}

The Quran also states, in a similar vein, that the first man was created from dust (''turabin'' تُرَابٍ).

{{Quote|{{Quran|3|59}}|
Lo! the likeness of Jesus with Allah is as the likeness of Adam. He created him of dust, then He said unto him: Be! and he is.}}

====Adam and Eve====
{{Main|Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Creation}}

The Qur’an contains stories concerning the 'first humans' which detail, among other matters, how all people are descended from Adam and Eve (called ''Hawa'' in Arabic), the two earliest ancestors. These humans were created in a garden (the word for paradise in Arabic is ''jannah'', which literally means 'garden') and then brought to Earth fully formed (Sahih Hadiths say Adam was 60 cubits - or 90 feet - tall). This view of the origins of human life is directly challenged by overwhelming DNA evidence and the numerous fossils of pre-Homo sapiens species that lived on earth for millions of years prior to the evolution modern humans.<ref>http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence</ref> Powerful DNA evidence that humans have common ancestry with other primates include endogenous retroviruses<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXfDF5Ew3Gc DNA Evidence That Humans & Chimps Share A Common Ancestor: Endogenous Retroviruses] - Youtube.com</ref> and the fusion of chromosomes<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK3O6KYPmEw Professor Ken Miller on DNA fusion events]-  Youtube.com</ref> in the exact same genetic locations.

{{Quote|{{Quran|7|189}}|
"He it is Who created you from a single being, and of the same (kind) did He make his mate,"}}

Another verse describes the literal descent of humanity from one man with reference to the sexual means by which it was achieved (i.e. 'his seed') after Allah had created him out of clay.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|32|7|8}}|Who made all things good which He created, and He began the creation of man from clay; Then He made his seed from a draught of despised fluid;}}
The word translated “seed” in the Pickthall translation is nasl نسل, which means progeny (i.e. descendants).<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000286.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 3032 نسل]</ref>

Some modern Muslim scholars argue that the notion of two ancestral “parents” is consistent with recent scientific findings that show a common female and male ancestor of all modern humans. This results, however, from a confusion with the nicknames (Mitochondrial Eve and Y-chromosomal Adam) by which scientists have referred to human's earliest genetic ancestors. These two individuals, however, are distinct from the Quranic characters as they are simply the last common male and female ancestors of everyone alive today and not of all humans in history. More importantnly, whereas the Qur'an describes Eve as Adam's wife (who, notably, was created ''after'' him), Mitochondrial Eve lived some 50,000 to 80,000 years earlier than Y-chromosomal Adam.<ref>http://biologos.org/blog/does-genetics-point-to-a-single-primal-couple</ref> Genetic evidence also overwhelmingly indicates that humans diverged from earlier species as a population rather than as a single couple.<ref>http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2011/09/18/how-big-was-the-human-population-bottleneck-not-anything-close-to-2/</ref>

===Embryology===
{{Main|Embryology in the Quran|l1=Embryology in the Qur'an}}

The Qur'an contain descriptions regarding bodily fluids and the stages of development of the human embryo. Many of these descriptions are extremely vague and most bear a telling resemblance to [[Greek and Jewish Ideas about Reproduction in the Quran and Hadith|similar descriptions]] found in the [[w:Talmud|Jewish Talmud]] as well as the ideas of ancient Greeks, [[History of Embryology|such as Galen]]. These descriptions do not accord with the findings of modern science and are generally considered unremarkable in the seventh-century Arabian context wherein the Quran was first recited.

====Sperm originating between the backbone and ribs====
{{Main|Quran and Semen Production|l1=Qur'an and Semen Production}}

The Qur'an states, that semen originates from somewhere between the backbone and ribs. While this aligns with the views of the physicians of antiquity, modern science has shown that sperm comes from the [[w:testicle|testicles]] and semen from various glands behind and below the bladder, which is not between the backbone and ribs.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|86|6|7}}|
He is created from a drop emitted- Proceeding from '''between the backbone and the ribs''' }}

====Embryo forming from semen====
{{Main|Greek and Jewish Ideas about Reproduction in the Quran and Hadith}}

The Qur'an describes the initial formation of a human embryo out of fluid emanating from the man (and possibly also of the woman), which is then placed in the womb. This reflects the widespread contemporary view that semen is the material from which the embryo is initially formed, as taught by Hippocrates, Galen, and the Jewish Talmud. By contrast, modern science has shown that semen is the vehicle for the sperm cells, one of which fuses with a woman's [[w:ovum|ovum]] in her [[w:fallopian tube|fallopian tube]], and that the resulting cell divides (rather than the seminal medium) and travels back into the womb for implantation. 

While many English translations mention a "drop of seed", or "drop of sperm", the Arabic word used in the Quran is ''nutfah'', which literally means a small amount of liquid and was a euphemism for semen.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|77|20|22}}|
Did We not create you from a '''liquid disdained'''? And '''We placed it''' in a firm lodging For a known extent.}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|23|13}}|'''Then placed him as''' a drop (of seed) [nutfah] in a safe lodging;}}

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|80|18|19}}|
'''From what thing''' doth He create him? From a drop of seed [nutfah]. He createth him and proportioneth him}}

{{Quote|{{Quran-wi|76|2}}|Indeed, We created man from a sperm-drop mixture [nutfatin amshajin] that We may try him; and We made him hearing and seeing.}}

====Disregard of female ovum====

The Quran's, in all its discussion of human reproduction, does not mention the role of the ovum, implying instead that reproduction is caused simply by storage of the male semen in the female womb. Although visible to the human eye, the female ovum is very small and it's purpose wasn't understood in the 7th century - this appears to explain its omission in the Quran.

{{Quote|{{Quran|86|6}}|He is created from a drop emitted}}

====Humans created from a clot of blood====
{{Main|Embryology in the Quran|l1=Embryology in the Qur'an}}

The Qur'an describes humans as being formed from a clot of blood after an initial semen stage. By contrast, modern science has revealed that there is no stage in embryonic development where the relevant material is a clot of blood. The Quranic description is likely influenced by a simplistic attempt at explaining human reproduction based on unaided-eye observations of an early-term miscarriage and a woman's menstrual cycle. While in modern times some Muslims scholars have advanced alternative meanings for the relevant word, the historical certainty that the word can mean clotted blood (also the unanimous understanding in the classical tafsirs), which has a clear biological meaning, while being used in the Qur'an in the context of a biological description (formation of a baby), renders the modern reinterpretations extremely challenging.

{{Quote|{{Quran|23|14}}|
Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood...}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|96|2}}|
Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: }}

{{Quote|{{Bukhari|4|54|430}}|Narrated 'Abdullah bin Mus'ud: 

“Allah's Apostle, the true and truly inspired said, "(The matter of the Creation of) a human being is put together in the womb of the mother in forty days, and then he becomes a '''clot of thick blood for a similar period''', and then a piece of flesh for a similar period.”}}

====Gender decided at clot stage====
The Qur'an states that an embryo is transformed from semen into a clot, shaped (presumably into a human mold), and then determined into either the male or female sex. Modern genetics, on the other hand, has shown that the sex of a human is decided at the moment of conception.<ref>{{cite book|first=eds.: Anthony S. Fauci [et al.] ; eds. of previous ed.: T. R. Harrison [et al.]|title=Harrison's principles of internal medicine.|date=2008|publisher=McGraw-Hill Medical|location=New York [etc.]|isbn=978-0-07-147693-5|pages=2339–2346|edition=17th ed.}}</ref>

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|75|37|39}}|Was he not a drop of fluid which gushed forth? Then he became a clot; then (Allah) shaped and fashioned And made of him a pair, the male and female.}}

While translators mostly use "And" in verse 39, the Arabic particle is ''fa'', as also in the previous conjunction, which indicates sequence (i.e. 'and then').<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000105.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2321 ف]</ref> Classical tafsirs share this reading, and the same reading is reflected in a sahih hadith found in both Bukhari and Muslim:

{{Quote|{{Bukhari|1|6|315}}|Narrated Anas bin Malik: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "At every womb Allah appoints an angel who says, 'O Lord! A drop of semen, O Lord! A clot. O Lord! A little lump of flesh." Then if Allah wishes (to complete) its creation, the angel asks, (O Lord!) Will it be a male or female, a wretched or a blessed, and how much will his provision be? And what will his age be?' So all that is written while the child is still in the mother's womb."}}

====Bones formed before flesh====
{{Main|Embryology in the Quran|l1=Embryology in the Qur'an}}

The Qur'an states that the bones of a human embryo are formed first and then covered up with flesh. By contrast, modern science has shown that muscles and the cartilage 'models' of the future bones start to form at the same time and in parallel. Muscles have started to form before the cartilage models start to be replaced with actual bone.

{{Quote|{{Quran|23|14}}|
Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood; then of that clot We made a (foetus) lump; then we made out of that lump bones then (not and) clothed the bones with flesh; then we developed out of it another creature. So blessed be Allah, the best to create!}}

The Qur'an again parallels the influential Greek physician Galen, who says:

{{Quote|1=Galen, ''On semen'', p.101|2=And now the third period of gestation has come. After nature has made outlines of all the organs and the substance of the semen is used up, the time has come for nature to articulate the organs precisely and to bring all the parts to completion. Thus it caused flesh to grow on and around all the bones...}}

===All organisms created in pairs===
The Quran states that all beings are created in pairs. However, modern science has revealed that not every creature procreates or reproduces through a male and female sexual relationship. The [[w:Desert grassland whiptail lizard|whiptail lizard]] in the U.S. Southwest, Mexico, and South America, for instance, is an all-females species which reproduces by [[w:parthenogenesis|parthenogenesis]]. [[w:virus|Viruses]] (if considered a life form) reproduce using a host's DNA and are neither female nor male. [[w:Bacteria|Bacteria]] reproduce by cell division. [[w:Fungus|Fungus]] can reproduce either asexually or sexually with thousands of genders. Many species of plants also reproduce either asexually or through [[w:Pollination|pollination]]. Hermaphrodites of all species also do not appear to fit in to this dichotomy. 

{{Quote|{{Quran|51|49}}|
And of '''every thing''' We have created pairs: That ye may receive instruction. }}
{{Quote|{{Quran|36|36}}|
Glory to Allah, Who created in pairs '''all things''' that the earth produces, as well as their own (human) kind and (other) things of which they have no knowledge. }}

===Fetus in three layers of darkness===

The word ''butun'' (بطن) means belly/abdomen/midriff, though some translators have opted to use the more specific (and evocative) word "womb".<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000257.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 220 بطن]</ref> Classical tafsirs interpreted the "three darknesses" as the placenta, womb (uterus), and belly. Modern science has revealed there to be many more such layers in the human body, such as the endometrium, myometrium, perimetrium, peritoneum, besides the cervix uteri, corpus uteri, abdomen (with walls), and placenta (with layers). In terms of extra-embryonic membranes, there is also the allantois, which is a sac-like structure and does not surround the embryo, but becomes part of the umbilical cord and is not in any real sense 'a darkness' viz-a-viz the embryo. The other two membranes, the chorion and amnion, together form the [[w:Amniotic_sac|amniotic sac]], which is quite thin and transparent. The idea of three membranes around the fetus ([[w:Chorion|chorion]], [[w:Allantois|allantois]], and [[w:Amnion|amnion]]) was taught by the highly influential Greek physician, Galen, and the description found in the Quran in all likelihood draws on Galen's widespread influence in the late antique world.

{{Quote|{{Quran|39|6}}|
He created you from one soul. Then He made from it its mate, and He produced for you from the grazing livestock eight mates. He creates you in the wombs of your mothers, creation after creation, within three darknesses. That is Allah, your Lord; to Him belongs dominion. There is no deity except Him, so how are you averted?}}

===Functions of the heart===
The Quran describes the heart as a locus of contemplation, thought, and even decision outside of the brain.

{{Quote|{{Quran|17|46}}|And We place upon their hearts veils lest they should understand it, and in their ears a deafness; and when thou makest mention of thy Lord alone in the Qur'an, they turn their backs in aversion. }}

{{Quote|{{Quran|11|5}}|Lo! now they fold up their breasts that they may hide (their thoughts) from Him. At the very moment when they cover themselves with their clothing, Allah knoweth that which they keep hidden and that which they proclaim. Lo! He is Aware of what is in the breasts (of men). }}

===Source and purity of Milk===
The Qur'an states that milk is produced in the body somewhere between excretions and blood. The mammary glands, where milk is produced and stored, are, however, not located near the intestines, which is where excrement is stored. Many kinds of cattle and goat milk needs processing or pasteurization before they can safely be consumed; the milk is often infected with bacteria and other micro-organisms. A significant number of  humans are lactose intolerant and unable to digest milk without experiencing abdominal bloating and cramps, flatulence, diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. These realities appear to challenge the Qur'anic notion that milk is 'pure' and 'agreeable'.

{{Quote|{{Quran|16|66}}|
And verily in cattle (too) will ye find an instructive sign. From what is within their bodies '''between excretions and blood''', We produce, for your drink, milk, '''pure and agreeable''' to those who drink it. }}

==Geology and meteorology==

===Flat Earth===
{{Main|Flat Earth and the Quran|l1=Flat Earth and the Qur'an}}

====Facing toward Mecca====

The Qur'an instructs Muslims to face the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca when they pray. In consideration of the roundness of the Earth, scholars developed the great circle method to carry out this instruction. However, a number of problems have been suggested: one facing Mecca also necessarily has their back turned to it (a display of disrespect which is roundly prohibited in Islam), and one directly opposite Mecca on the globe may pray in any direction. A similar consideration leads North American Muslims, who live in the hemisphere of this antipode of Mecca, to instead prefer the rhumb-line technique since the great circle method would cause people north and south in the Americas to face away from each as they pray (great circle lines from this antipode diverge cross the continent before they start to converge again when they enter the hemisphere of Mecca). Finally, Astronauts in Earth's orbit or on the Moon and Mars would are essentially unable to follow these instructions (suggesting that the author of the Qur'an did not have such future realities in mind).

{{Quote|{{Quran|2|149}}|
From whencesoever Thou startest forth, turn Thy face in the direction of the sacred Mosque; that is indeed the truth from the Lord. And Allah is not unmindful of what ye do.}}

====Fasting and prayer requirements near the Poles====
{{Main|The Ramadan Pole Paradox}}

The Qur'an instructs Muslims to fast by abstaining from food and drink from sunrise till sunset during Ramadan. In the polar regions there are six months of sunlight and six months of perpetual night during Summer and Winter. Such fasting is not practicable for anyone living in the polar regions, and very easy (depth of Winter) or extremely hard (height of Summer) in places within around 40 degrees latitude of the poles. Various rules have been contrived by Muslim scholars for those at such latitudes to try to accommodate the (here inconvenient) fact that we live on a round Earth.

{{Quote|{{Quran|2|187}}|
...Then strictly observe the fast till nightfall...}}

A similar issue emerges for the five daily prayers. Persons living in the polar region would not be able to make a sunset or sunrise prayer for much of the year. Even in less extreme contextxs, for cities further south like Aberdeen in Scotland, the gap between the night prayer (Isha) and the dawn prayer (Fajr) is still around 4 and a half hours in June, so a person praying five times a day is required to interrupt their sleep around 3.20am, then go back to sleep before getting up for the day. These challenges would likely not have been on the mind of the author of the Quran during the 7th century in Arabia.

{{Quote|{{Quran|17|78}}|
Establish regular prayers - at the sun's decline till the darkness of the night, and the morning prayer and reading: for the prayer and reading in the morning carry their testimony.}}

====Earth as spread out and flat====

The author of the Qur'an mentions that the Earth is 'spread out' and laid flat. The Arabic word here (sataha) was used to describe making the flat top or roof of a house or chamber and making a top surface flat.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume4/00000081.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 1357 سُطِحَ]</ref> Words from the same root mean the flat top surface or roof of a house or chamber, a bounded flat plane in geometry, a level place upon which dates can be spread, a rolling pin (which expands the dough), plane or flat.

{{Quote|{{Quran|88|20}}|And at the Earth, how it is spread out?}}

The Qur'anic commentary of al-Jalalayn agrees with this understanding of the verse saying that legal scholars at his time agree that the earth is flat and not spherical.

{{Quote|1=[http://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=74&tSoraNo=88&tAyahNo=20&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2 Tafsir al-Jalalayn for verse 88:20]|2=And the earth, how it was laid out flat?, and thus infer from this the power of God, exalted be He, and His Oneness? The commencing with the [mention of] camels is because they are closer in contact with it [the earth] than any other [animal]. As for His words sutihat, 'laid out flat', this on a literal reading suggests '''that the earth is flat, which is the opinion of most of the scholars''' of the [revealed] Law, and '''not a sphere as astronomers (ahl al-hay'a) have it''', even if this [latter] does not contradict any of the pillars of the Law.}}

====Earth as like carpet====

The Arabic word (''bisaatan'') used here means a thing that is spread or spread out or forth, and particularly a carpet.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000241.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 204 بِسَاطًا]</ref>

{{Quote|{{Quran|71|19}}|And Allah has made the earth for you as a carpet (spread out)}}

====Earth as like a couch====

The Earth is described using an Arabic word (''firashan'') that means a thing that is spread on the ground to sit or lay upon.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000155.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2371 فِرَٰشًا]</ref>

{{Quote|{{Quran|2|22}}|
[He] who made for you the earth a bed [spread out] and the sky a ceiling and sent down from the sky, rain and brought forth thereby fruits as provision for you. So do not attribute to Allah equals while you know [that there is nothing similar to Him].}}

The same root word for couch in {{Quran|2|22}} is used as a verb in {{Quran|51|48}} in the sense of to spread (the first word translated spread here).

{{Quote|{{Quran|51|48}}|And the earth, '''We have spread it'''; how excellent (are) the Spreaders!}}

====Earth as like a bed====

The Earth is described as a 'bed' (or 'carpet' in the Yusuf Ali translation) in verse {{Quran|20|53}}, and similarly {{Quran|43|10}}. The Arabic word (''mahdan'') suggests something completely flat and spread out on the ground (and not, for instance, 'rolled up' for storage).<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume7/00000267.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2739 مَهْدًا]</ref>  

{{Quote|{{Quran|20|53}}|
Who hath appointed the earth '''as a bed''' and hath threaded roads for you therein and hath sent down water from the sky and thereby We have brought forth divers kinds of vegetation}}

Sometimes the same Arabic word is translated as expanse, as in {{Quran-range|78|6|7}}. Together with the next verse, the Earth is here a thing spread out and pegged down by mountains.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|78|6|7}}|Have We not made the earth as a '''wide expanse''', And the mountains as pegs?}}

The same root word is used as a participle at the end of {{Quran|51|48}}.

{{Quote|{{Quran|51|48}}|And the earth, We have spread it; how excellent (are) '''the Spreaders!'''}}

====Earth stretched out====

In the verse below, as also in {{Quran|13|3}} and {{Quran|50|7}}, the Qur'an uses a verb (''madadna'') that meant to extend by drawing or pulling, stretch out, expand.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume7/00000223.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2695 مدد]</ref>

{{Quote|{{Quran|15|19}}|And the earth We have spread out (like a carpet); set thereon mountains firm and immovable; and produced therein all kinds of things in due balance.}}

====Earth as a level plain====

The Qur'an describes a time in the future when mountains will be removed. {{Quran|18|47}} uses an Arabic word (''baarizatan'') that means "entirely apparent" to describe the Earth at this time.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000224.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 187 بَارِزَةً]</ref> {{Quran|20|106}} uses words (''qa'an'' and ''safsafan'') that mean a level plain.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000248.pdf Lane's Lexicon, Suppliment p. 2994 قَاعًا], [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume4/00000418.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 1694 صَفْصَفًا]</ref> This description implies the Earth is flat and level and that it is the mountains which give it shape.

{{Quote|{{Quran|18|47}}|And (bethink you of) the Day when we remove the hills and ye see the earth emerging, and We gather them together so as to leave not one of them behind.}}

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|20|105|107}}|They will ask thee of the mountains (on that day). Say: My Lord will break them into scattered dust. And leave it as '''an empty plain''', Wherein thou seest neither curve nor ruggedness.}}

===Permanent barrier between fresh and salt water===
When a fresh water river flows into the sea or ocean, there is a transition region in between. This transition region is called an estuary where the fresh water remains temporarily separated from the salt water. However, this separation is not absolute, is not permanent, and the different salinity levels between the two bodies of water eventually homogenize. The Qur'an, by contrast, suggests that the separation between the two types of water is absolute, permanent, and maintained by some sort of divine barrier placed between them. 

{{Quote|{{Quran|25|53}}| It is He Who has let free the two bodies of flowing water: One palatable and sweet, and the other salt and bitter; yet has He made a barrier between them, '''a partition that is forbidden to be passed'''. }}

===Mountains prevent the earth from shaking===
Modern geology has discovered that large plates in the crust of the earth are responsible for the formation of mountains. Called plate tectonics, the slow movement of these massive plates meet and the pressure between them pushes up the crust, forming mountains while also causing earthquakes and faults in the Earth's surface. The formation of mountains and occurance of earthquakes are thus both largely the result of destabilizing tectonic activity. They are part of the same ongoing process and one cannot exist without the other. The Qur'an, by contrast, holds that mountains are like pegs in the ground, stabilizing the Earth which would shake without them.

{{Quote|{{Quran|16|15}}|
And He has set up on the earth mountains standing firm, lest it should shake with you; and rivers and roads; that ye may guide yourselves}}
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|78|6|7}}|Have We not made the earth as a wide expanse, And the mountains as pegs?}}

===Mountains cast upon Earth===

Mountains are usually formed through the movement and collision of lithospheric (tectonic) plates. This is an ongoing process that continues to this day as the plates slowly move. The Quran, by contrast, states that the mountains on Earth's surface were cast upon it by God. The imagery is clear when one considers the above verses which describe the Mountains as 'pegs' which stabilize the Earth (which is itself compared to a carpet and bed roll).

{{Quote|{{Quran|16|15}}|
And He has cast into the earth firmly set mountains, lest it shift with you, and [made] rivers and roads, that you may be guided,}}

The word 'he has cast' is ''alqa'' (lam-qaf-ya), which in this form (Arabic verb form IV) is frequently used elsewhere in the Quran to mean throw or cast. It is the same word as is used in {{Quran|3|44}} when lots are cast using pens (it would be easy to imagine that mountains were similarly scattered), and {{Quran|12|10}} when the prophet Yusuf is cast down into the well, and in {{Quran|20|20}} when Moses casts down his staff, which becomes a snake.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000266.pdf Lane's Lexicon, Suppliment p. 3012 أَلْقَىٰ]</ref>

===Chests contract with altitude===
{{Quran|6|125}} states that a person's chest cavity gets smaller at higher altitude. Modern science, by contrast, has revealed that the opposite is the case.

{{Quote|{{Quran|6|125}}|Those whom Allah (in His plan) willeth to guide,- He openeth their breast to Islam; those whom He willeth to leave straying,- He maketh their breast close and constricted, as if they had to climb up to the skies: thus doth Allah (heap) the penalty on those who refuse to believe.}}

===Earthquakes as a punishment===
The Quran describes Earthquakes, blizzards, hurricanes, and other destructive natural activity as being a sort of punishment for the people they inflict. Research, however, has not found any correlation between civilizations' irreligiosity and their susceptibility to these or other type of natural disaster. 

{{Quote|{{Quran|16|45}}|
Do then those who devise evil (plots) feel secure that Allah will not cause the earth to swallow them up, or that the Wrath will not seize them from directions they little perceive?}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|29|37}}|
But they denied him, and the dreadful earthquake took them, and morning found them prostrate in their dwelling place. }}

{{Quote|{{Quran|17|68}}|
Do ye then feel secure that He will not cause you to be swallowed up beneath the earth when ye are on land, or that He will not send against you a violent tornado (with showers of stones) so that ye shall find no one to carry out your affairs for you}}

===Disregard of evaporation in water cycle===
Some modern Muslim scholars argue that the water cycle is described in the Qur'an. Every verse about rain in the Qur'an implies that rain comes either directly from the sky or from Allah. The crucial step of evaporation of water into the air is never mentioned. That Quran describes a linear process orchestrated by Allah rather than a cyclical process (as with the water cycle) renders these modern reinterpretations challenging.

{{Quote|{{Quran|43|11}}|
That sends down (from time to time) rain from the sky in due measure;- and We raise to life therewith a land that is dead; even so will ye be raised (from the dead)}}

===Mountains of hail in the sky===

Hail forms in cumulonimbus clouds when updrafts raise water droplets to an altitude where they freeze. The Qur'an, by contrast, describes mountain-like masses of hail in the sky / heaven.

{{Quote|{{Quran|24|43}}|
Hast thou not seen how Allah wafteth the clouds, then gathereth them, then maketh them layers, and thou seest the rain come forth from between them; '''He sendeth down from the heaven mountains wherein is hail''', and smiteth therewith whom He will, and averteth it from whom He will. The flashing of His lightning all but snatcheth away the sight.

'''Transliteration:''' wayunazzilu (and he sends down) mina (from) alssamai (the sky) min (from) jibalin (mountains) feeha (in it ['it' is feminine here so must refer to the sky]) min (of) baradin (hail)
}}

Tafsirs such as al-Jalalayn and the one attributed to Ibn Abbas say that this means mountains in the sky.<ref>[https://tafsir.app/jalalayn/24/43 Tafsir al-Jalalayn 24:43]</ref> Ibn Kathir notes two views, that these are literally mountains of hail in the sky, or that they are a metaphor for clouds.<ref>[https://tafsir.app/ibn-katheer/24/43 Tafsir Ibn Kathir 24:43]</ref> Clouds could poetically be described as mountains in the sky, but the verse says "mountains of hail in the sky", which critics would say strongly suggests large masses of ice (in the clouds or otherwise), and it was sometimes understood in this literal way as evidenced in tafsirs.

===Allah smites with thunderbolts===

The Quran describes thunder and lightning in a manner typical of ancient mythology. Allah, in a manner evocative of the legends most famously regarding Zeus, smites persons he wishes to punish with thunderbolts. A hadith, graded hasan (good) by Dar-us-Salam, further states that Muhammad believed the sound of thunder was an angel striking the clouds, which the angel drives along with a piece of fire (evoking the image of a whip of fire).

{{Quote|{{Quran|13|13}}|
And the thunder declares His glory with His praise, and the angels too for awe of Him; and He sends the thunderbolts and smites with them whom He pleases, yet they dispute concerning Allah, and He is mighty in prowess.}}

{{Quote|{{Al Tirmidhi|44|5|44|3117}}|Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:
"The Jews came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said: 'O Abul-Qasim! Inform us about the thunder, what is it?' He said: 'An angel among the angels, who is responsible for the clouds. He has a piece of fire wherever that he drives the clouds wherever Allah wills.' They said: 'Then what is this noise we hear?' He said: 'It is him, striking the clouds when he drives them on, until it goes where it is ordered.' They said: 'You have told the truth.'}}

==Zoology==

===Ants converse and recognize humans===

Ants primarily communicate with each other using pheromones (chemical signals). While scientists have discovered that ants make some noises, nothing has ever indicated that the brains of ants could produce anything approximating complex speech. By contrast, the Qur'an recounts the story of an ant warning her fellow ants of the approach of Solomon's large army of humans. Solomon is able to understand her speech and proceeds, presumably, to leave the ants be. 

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|27|18|19}}|
At length, when they came to a (lowly) valley of ants, '''one of the ants said: "O ye ants, get into your habitations, lest Solomon and his hosts crush you (under foot) without knowing it." So he smiled, amused at her speech;''' and he said: "O my Lord! so order me that I may be grateful for Thy favours, which thou hast bestowed on me and on my parents, and that I may work the righteousness that will please Thee: And admit me, by Thy Grace, to the ranks of Thy righteous Servants." }}

===Four types of cattle===

The Qur'an states that Allah has provided four kinds of cattle (eight including male and female). There exist, however, many more than four species of cattle. The word "cattle" in {{Quran|39|6}} is ''al-ana'ami'', from a root meaning plentiful subsistence and in this form meant pasturing (i.e. grazing) animals.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000289.pdf Lane's Lexicon, Suppliment p. 3035 أَنْعَٰمِ]</ref> The word ''azwajin'' ("kinds" in the translation of 39:6 below) generally means "mate" or "member of a pair".<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume3/00000432.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 1266 أَزْوَٰجٍ]</ref> {{Quran|6|143-144}} clarifies that this refers to male and female pairs of sheep, goats, oxen, and camels, suggesting that the author of the Qur'an was aware of four kinds of grazing animals useful for humans (horses, mules and donkeys are considered a separate category from al-ana'ami, see {{Quran-range|16|5|8}}). This does not include many other types of cattle from the regions outside of Arabia, such as reindeer, which were and remain important to people in northern latitudes. 

{{Quote|{{Quran|39|6}}|
He created you from one being, then from that (being) He made its mate; and He hath provided for you of '''cattle eight kinds'''. He created you in the wombs of your mothers, creation after creation, in a threefold gloom. Such is Allah, your Lord. His is the Sovereignty. There is no Allah save Him. How then are ye turned away}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|6|142-144}}|'''And of the cattle (He produceth) some for burdens, some for food.''' Eat of that which Allah hath bestowed upon you, and follow not the footsteps of the devil, for lo! he is an open foe to you. '''Eight pairs: Of the sheep twain, and of the goats twain.''' Say: Hath He forbidden the two males or the two females, or that which the wombs of the two females contain? Expound to me (the case) with knowledge, if ye are truthful. '''And of the camels twain and of the oxen twain.''' Say: Hath He forbidden the two males or the two females, or that which the wombs of the two females contain; or were ye by to witness when Allah commanded you (all) this? Then who doth greater wrong than he who deviseth a lie concerning Allah, that he may lead mankind astray without knowledge. Lo! Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk.}}

===Horses created as transportation===

After thousands of years of domestication and cross-breeding, horses were domesticated approximately 4,000 years ago in East Europe and Central Asia. Prior to this, horses were wild animals not yet suitably bred for this purpose. Today feral horses are descendants of once domesticated horses that aren't tamed or used for human transportation. By contrast, the Qur'an appears to suggest that horses were created by Allah already prepared to serve human purposes. 

{{Quote|{{Quran|16|8}}|
And (He has created) horses, mules, and donkeys, for you to ride and use for show; and He has created (other) things of which ye have no knowledge.}}

===All animals live in communities===

The Qur'an emphatically states that all animals live in "communities". Many animals, such as the jaguar or leopard, are however well known for being solitary creatures, rarely meeting in pairs and then only to mate. Animals of these kinds do not live in communities and rather tend to resort to violence when their solitude is disturbed (the opposite, some argue, of what it means to live in a community). There also exist species whose young are not raised as family and which lay eggs and abandon them before hatching. Sea Turtles, for instance, bury their eggs on a beach and leave them. When an egg hatches the baby turtle must dig to the surface and make a sprint to the sea or perish. Some reptiles behave similarly. The Carolina anole, which is a lizard species, is another such example. These anoles lay a single egg every 2 weeks, around 10 in total, each taking 5 to 7 weeks to hatch. Anole hatchlings must fend for themselves and are by nature solitary creatures from birth.

One modern translation of the Quran interprets ''umamun'' (community / nation) to mean "genus" (group of species, plural: genera). This interpretation appears difficult, however, for while today we categorize species into genera, families, and other taxonomic ranks within evolutionary tree (phylogenetic) models, such categories are understood as an evolutionary process in which, even now, sub-groups of many species are diverging and gradually evolving into new species.

{{Quote|{{Quran|6|38}}|
'''There is not an animal (that lives) on the earth, nor a being that flies on its wings, but (forms part of) communities like you. Nothing have we omitted from the Book''', and they (all) shall be gathered to their Lord in the end.}}

===Bird flight as a miracle===

Modern science has revealed the aerodynamic properties of birds' anatomy which enable them to fly. Bird flight essentially functions by creating a difference in the air pressure between the lower and upper part of the wing and this creates lift that pushes the bird upward. The wings of birds have evolved over millions of years and have thereby refined birds' flight abilities. By contrast, the Quran states that 'nothing' holds birds in the air, except for the miraculous power of Allah.
  
{{Quote|{{Quran|16|79}}|
Do they not look at the birds, held poised in the midst of (the air and) the sky? Nothing holds them up but (the power of) Allah. Verily in this are signs for those who believe}}
==History==

===Massive wall of iron===
{{Main|Category:Dhul-Qarnayn}}

The Qur'an presents a version of the Syrian legend of Alexander the Great as a great king who helps a tribe of people build a massive wall of iron between two mountains. The Quran then states, along with the hadith, that this wall and the tribes it traps will remain in place until the Day of Judgement.  Modern satellites and near comprehensive exploration of the Earth's surface, however, have yet to reveal any trace of such massive structure.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|18|96|97}}|
"Bring me blocks of iron." At length, when he had '''filled up the space between the two steep mountain-sides''', He said, "Blow (with your bellows)" Then, when he had made it (red) as fire, he said: "Bring me, that I may pour over it, molten lead." Thus were they made powerless to scale it or to dig through it.
}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|21|96}}|Until the Gog and Magog (people) are let through (their barrier), and they swiftly swarm from every hill.}}

===Mary as part of the Trinity===

Mainstream Christian doctrine has never held Mary to be a part of the Trinity. The Qur'an, however, plainly states as much, leading some to conclude that Muhammad misunderstood Christian doctrine.

{{Quote|{{Quran|5|116}}|
And behold! Allah will say: "O Jesus the son of Mary! Didst thou say unto men, '''worship me and my mother as gods''' in derogation of Allah'?" He will say: "Glory to Thee! never could I say what I had no right (to say). Had I said such a thing, thou wouldst indeed have known it. Thou knowest what is in my heart, Thou I know not what is in Thine. For Thou knowest in full all that is hidden}}

This alternative formulation of the trinity is present even more clearly in {{Quran-range|5|72|75}}, which makes no mention of the holy spirit and takes measure to disprove the divinity of Jesus and his mother by pointing out that they, like normal human beings, also ate food.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|5|72|75}}|They surely disbelieve who say: Lo! Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary. The Messiah (himself) said: O Children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. Lo! whoso ascribeth partners unto Allah, for him Allah hath forbidden paradise. His abode is the Fire. For evil-doers there will be no helpers. '''They surely disbelieve who say: Lo! Allah is the third of three'''; when there is no Allah save the One Allah. If they desist not from so saying a painful doom will fall on those of them who disbelieve. Will they not rather turn unto Allah and seek forgiveness of Him? For Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. '''The Messiah, son of Mary, was no other than a messenger''', messengers (the like of whom) had passed away before him. '''And his mother was a saintly woman. And they both used to eat (earthly) food.''' See how We make the revelations clear for them, and see how they are turned away!}}

===Mary as Miriam===
{{main|Mary the sister of Aaron in the Quran}}

Mary the mother of Jesus was born in the first century BCE and was not related to Moses and his family whose story is set 1500 years earlier. Miriam was the sister of Moses and Aaron and daughter of Amram (Imran). The Quran appears to confuse these two characters, as it describes Mary, the mother of Jesus, as the "Sister of Aaron" and her mother as the "wife of Imran" in context where the "Imran" being discussed is evidently Miriam's father. A possible source of this confusion is the fact that both Miriam and Mary had the same name in Arabic, or were at least similar enough sounding for the original distinction to have been lost or neglected (the word used in either case in the Quran is the same and is pronounced ''maryam'').

{{Quote|{{Quran|19|27-28}}|Then she brought him to her own folk, carrying him. They said: O Mary! Thou hast come with an amazing thing. '''O sister of Aaron!''' Thy father was not a wicked man nor was thy mother a harlot.}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|66|12}}|And Mary, '''daughter of 'Imran''', whose body was chaste, therefor We breathed therein something of Our Spirit. And she put faith in the words of her Lord and His scriptures, and was of the obedient.}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|3|33-36}}| Lo! Allah preferred Adam and Noah and the Family of Abraham '''and the Family of 'Imran''' above (all His) creatures. They were descendants one of another. Allah is Hearer, Knower. (Remember) when the '''wife of 'Imran''' said: My Lord! I have vowed unto Thee that which is in my belly as a consecrated (offering). Accept it from me. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Hearer, the Knower! And when she was delivered she said: My Lord! Lo! I am delivered of a female - Allah knew best of what she was delivered - the male is not as the female; and lo! I have named her Mary, and lo! I crave Thy protection for her and for her offspring from Satan the outcast.}}

===Ezra as the son of God in Jewish doctrine===

Historically, Judaism has been a strict form of monotheism. The Quran, by contrast, describes the Jews as practitioners of polytheism by stating that they hold ''Uzair'' (Ezra) to be the son of God. This is compared directly with the Christian doctrine which hold Jesus to be the son of God. This appears to be a confusion resulting from conflating the alternative senses in which Jewish and Christian theologians have employed and understood the word "son".

{{Quote|{{Quran|9|30}}|
The Jews call 'Uzair a son of Allah, and the Christians call Christ the son of Allah. That is a saying from their mouth; (in this) they but imitate what the unbelievers of old used to say. Allah's curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth! }}

===David invented coats of mail===

Historians commonly credited the invention of coat mail (not to be confused with scale armor) to the Celts in the 3rd century BCE.<ref name="books.google.com">Richard A. Gabriel, [http://books.google.com/books?id=HscIwvtkq2UC&pg=PA79 ''The ancient world''], Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007 P.79</ref>. Mail has also been found in a 5th century BCE Scythian grave, and there is a cumbersome Etruscan pattern mail artifact from the 4th century BCE.<ref>Robinson, H. R., [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=BaDMDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA10 ''Oriental Armour''], New York:Dover Publications, 1995, pp.10-12</ref> The nature of coat mail is such that it should persist for several millennia, and such advantageous military technologies would spread rapidly, so it is unlikely that coat mail would have originated much earlier, undiscovered by archaeologists. While, older translations of the Bible mention Goliath and David wearing a "coat of mail" in 1 Samuel 17:5 and 17:38 respectively, this is a well known mistranslation for a word meaning armor in general.

In the Qur'an, by contrast, David in the 10th century BCE is taught by Allah how to make coats of iron chainmail (''sabighatin'' سَٰبِغَٰتٍ) and to measure the chainmail links (''as-sardi'' ٱلسَّرْدِ) thereof.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume4/00000022.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 1298 سَٰبِغَٰتٍ], [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume4/00000071.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 1347 ٱلسَّرْدِ]</ref> Another passage adds that people should be thankful for this knowledge which has since passed down from David.  

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|34|10|11}}| And assuredly We gave David grace from Us, (saying): O ye hills and birds, echo his psalms of praise! And We made the iron supple unto him, Saying: Make thou long coats of mail and measure the links (thereof). And do ye right. Lo! I am Seer of what ye do. }}

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|21|79|80}}| And We made Solomon to understand (the case); and unto each of them We gave judgment and knowledge. And we subdued the hills and the birds to hymn (His) praise along with David. We were the doers (thereof). And We taught him the art of making garments (of mail) to protect you in your daring. Are ye then thankful?}}

===Crucifixions in ancient Egypt===

The first historical reference to crucifixion as a method of execution is from 500 BCE, when the technique began being used in several middle eastern cultures. The Qur'an, by contrast, tells of crucifixions at the time of Moses (approximately 1500 BCE) as well as Joseph (approximately 2000 BCE). 

Ancient Egypt has been subjected to extensive study by archaeologists. While there exists hieroglyphic evidence of people impaled through upright stakes in ancient Egypt, this remains distinct from the Palm-tree crucifixions described in the Quran, as Palm trees are of too great girth to be used to vertically impale an individual.

{{Quote|{{Quran|12|41}}|
O two companions of prison, as for one of you, he will give drink to his master of wine; but as for the other, he will be crucified, and the birds will eat from his head. The matter has been decreed about which you both inquire." }}

{{Quote|{{Quran|21|71}}|
(Pharaoh) said: Ye put faith in him before I give you leave. Lo! he is your chief who taught you magic. Now surely I shall cut off your hands and your feet alternately, and '''I shall crucify you on the trunks of palm trees''', and ye shall know for certain which of us hath sterner and more lasting punishment.}}

===Samaritans in ancient Egypt===

The Qu'ran states that Moses dealt with a Samaritan during his time, however the Samaritans did not exist until well over half a millennium after Moses is supposed to have existed. The term s''amari'' itself comes from the city of Samaria, an archaeologically evidenced city built by King Omri around 870BC, nearly 700 years after Moses is supposed to have existed. The likely source of this confusion is the story in the Bible in Hosea 8:5-6 where there is mentioned a golden calf worshipped by Samaritans after the time of Solomon.

{{Quote|{{Quran|20|85}}|“( Allah) said; ‘We have tested thy people in thy absence: the Samiri has led them astray’.” }}

{{Quote|{{Quran|20|95}}|“( Moses) said, ‘What then is thy case, O Samiri?’”}}

===The singular Pharaoh===

Geographically, the Coptic land of Egypt is adjacent to Arabia. Thus, most Arabs were aware of the preservation method applied by the ancient Egyptian to their pharaohs. Pharaohs were preserved intact using methods such as salt to dry the body (hence, salt in the body of Ramesses II does not suggest that he drowned in the dead sea). There were many pharaohs from numerous dynasties who were preserved in this way. The Qur'an, by contrast, only speaks of "Pharaoh" (''Firaun'') singularly, as a proper noun without the definite article, suggesting that its author was unaware of the multiplicity of pharaohs.
 
{{Quote|{{Quran|10|92}}|
This day shall We save thee in the body, that thou mayest be a sign to those who come after thee! but verily, many among mankind are heedless of Our Signs!" }}

===Noah's worldwide flood===

The Quran contains a version of the worldwide-flood story widespread in ancient near-Eastern mythology and most famously found in the Bible. Since geological evidence suggests such a flood never took place, some modern Muslim scholars have reinterpreted the account in the Quran as referring to a more limited, local flood. Several elements in the tale, however, militate against this rereading. Elsewhere in the Quran whenever the heavens and earth are mentioned together, it means in their entirety. In this story waters are released from both of them. Another such detail is the storage of "two of each kind" of animal aboard the ship, since it is not clear what purpose this would serve if the flood were local. Similarly, the purpose of the boat itself appears unclear in this reading - as with the ample warning time that Noah was given, he and his family could have simply evacuated the area that was to be flooded. The relevant passage also states plainly that nothing, not even a tall mountain, could save an individual from drowning on that day except for Allah - this seems to contradict the idea that individuals and animals could have escaped the flood simply by evacuating the flooded area. Noah is recorded praying to God, "O my Lord! Leave not of the Unbelievers [kuffar], a single one on Earth!" - the flood is an answer to this prayer, which likewise suggests that the flood described is a global flood that drowns all those not chosen by Allah to persist aboard the ark.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|54|11|12}}|Then opened We the gates of heaven with pouring water And caused the earth to gush forth springs, so that the waters met for a predestined purpose.}}{{Quote|{{Quran|11|40}}|At length, behold! there came Our command, and the fountains of the earth gushed forth! '''We said: "Embark therein, of each kind two, male and female''', and your family - except those against whom the word has already gone forth,- and the Believers." but only a few believed with him.}}{{Quote|{{Quran|11|43}}|The son replied: "I will betake myself to some mountain: it will save me from the water." Noah said: '''"This day nothing can save''', from the command of Allah, any but those on whom He hath mercy! "And the waves came between them, and the son was among those overwhelmed in the Flood.}}{{Quote|{{Quran|71|26}}|And Noah, said: "O my Lord! Leave not of the Unbelievers, a single one on earth!}}

===Flood waters boiled from an oven===

The Qur'an further describes the flood waters as boiling from an oven. There is no scientific nor historical evidence for a large flood of this nature. This element is not found even in more ancient versions of the story (Epic of Gilgamesh, Atra hasis, and Ziusudra). Its ultimate origin appears to be a highly tenuous rabbinical exergisis in the Babylonian Talmud, based on a word in an unrelated verse that means heat or wrath.<ref>[https://biblehub.com/lexicon/esther/7-10.htm biblehub.com]</ref>

{{Quote|1=[https://www.sefaria.org/Rosh_Hashanah.12a.4?lang=bi Tracate Rosh Hashanah]|2=The Gemara answers: Even according to Rabbi Eliezer a change was made, in accordance with the statement of Rav Ḥisda, as Rav Ḥisda said: They sinned with boiling heat, and they were punished with boiling heat; they sinned with the boiling heat of the sin of forbidden sexual relations, and they were punished with the boiling heat of scalding waters. This is derived from a verbal analogy. It is written here, with regard to the flood: “And the waters abated” (Genesis 8:1), and it is written elsewhere, with regard to King Ahasuerus: “And the heated anger of the king abated” (Esther 7:10), which implies that the word “abated” means cooled. This indicates that at first the waters of the flood had been scalding hot.}}

Note that in his translation, Yusuf Ali mistranslates the Aramaic loan word for the oven (alttannooru ٱلتَّنُّورُ)<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000355.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 318 تَّنُّورُ]</ref> as "fountains". The Arabic verb translated "gushed forth" (fara فَارَ) means "boiled" in the context of water in a cooking pot<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000241.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2457 فور]</ref>, as well as in the other verse where it is used, {{Quran|67|5}}.

{{Quote|{{Quran|11|40}}|
(Thus it was) till, when Our commandment came to pass '''and the oven gushed forth water''', We said: Load therein two of every kind, a pair (the male and female), and thy household, save him against whom the word hath gone forth already, and those who believe. And but a few were they who believed with him.}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|23|27}}|
Then We inspired in him, saying: Make the ship under Our eyes and Our inspiration. Then, when Our command cometh '''and the oven gusheth water''', introduce therein of every (kind) two spouses, and thy household save him thereof against whom the Word hath already gone forth. And plead not with Me on behalf of those who have done wrong. Lo! they will be drowned.}}

===Noah's ark holding every species===

Part of the legend of Noah's Ark is that a pair of every living species was stored on board. Modern science has revealed, however, that there are over a hundred thousand species of animals including penguins, polar bears, koala bears, and kangaroos that live spread across the entire planet and each of which require different climates, habitats, and diets. These discoveries appear to render the idea that all animals could have been kept on board a single ship impossible.

{{Quote|{{Quran|11|40}}|
(Thus it was) till, when Our commandment came to pass and the oven gushed forth water, We said: Load therein two of every kind, a pair (the male and female), and thy household, save him against whom the word hath gone forth already, and those who believe. And but a few were they who believed with him.}}

===John the Baptist's original name===

The name "John" comes from the Hebrew name ''Yohanan''. Several figures in the Old Testament bore this name. The name has also appeared throughout history. There existed a high priest named Johanan in the 3rd century BCE and a ruler named John Hyrcanus who died in 104 BC. These people existed before John the Baptist, who was a contemporary of Jesus. The Qur'an, by contrast, asserts that nobody before John the Baptist (''Yahya'' in Arabic) bore his name.

{{Quote|{{Quran|19|7}}|(It was said unto him): O Zachariah! Lo! We bring thee tidings of a son whose name is John; '''we have given the same name to none before (him).''' }}

===Supernatural destruction of cities===
The Quran state that outside the vicinity of Arabia there existed cities and tribes destroyed by Allah for rejecting his messengers and Islam. In each specific example presented in the Qur'an (the people of ''A'ad'', ''Thamud'', ''Midian'', [[Lut|''Lut'' (Lot)]], and the Pharoah's army), the destruction of the disbelievers is sudden and total. Archeological research, by contrast, has revealed that historical cities and tribes were only gradually ruined by natural disasters, famine, wars, migration, or neglect, often taking years or decades to unfold. In this respect, the Quran appears to have adopted and adapted contemporary Arabian myths regarding the destruction of neighboring cities, some of which may not have existed.

In the Qur'an, the people of ''Thamud'' are killed instantly by an earthquake {{Quran|7|78}} or thunderous blast {{Quran|11|67}}, {{Quran-range|41|13|17}}, {{Quran|51|44}}, {{Quran|69|5}}. The people of ''A'ad'' are killed by a fierce wind that blew for 7 days {{Quran-range|41|13|16}},{{Quran-range|46|24|35}},{{Quran|51|41}}, {{Quran-range|69|6|7}}. The people of Midian (''Midyan'') are killed overnight by an earthquake {{Quran|7|91}}, {{Quran|29|36}}. The towns of Lot (''Lut'') are destroyed by a storm of stones from the sky {{Quran|54|32}}, {{Quran|29|34}}. The actual locations of these towns or tribes is unknown. Midian in particular was a wide geographical desert region rather than a particular location or city, which makes archeological investigation difficult.

Critics have also asked why it is that various other polytheistic cultures worldwide dis not encounter similar fates as those outlined in the Quran.

{{Quote|{{Quran|22|45}}|And how many a township have We destroyed because it had been immersed in evildoing - and now they [all] lie deserted, with their roofs caved in! And how many a well lies abandoned, and how many a castle that [once] stood high!}}

The suddenness of Allah's punishment is stressed repeatedly in Surah al-A'raf:

{{Quote|{{Quran|7|4}}|How many a township have We destroyed! As a raid by night, or while they slept at noon, Our terror came unto them.}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|7|34}}|And every nation hath its term, and when its term cometh, they cannot put it off an hour nor yet advance (it).}}

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|7|97|98}}|Are the people of the townships then secure from the coming of Our wrath upon them as a night-raid while they sleep? Or are the people of the townships then secure from the coming of Our wrath upon them in the daytime while they play?}}

===Humans lived for hundreds of years===

The oldest verified human life was a little over 120 years. Based on fossil records and testing on human remains, anthropologists have concluded that human life spans are increasing rather than decreasing in both the long- and short- run. By contrast, the Qur'an states that Noah lived for almost 1,000 years. The idea of humans living for hundreds of years in the past is accompanied by the many hadiths, including accounts in Sahih Bukhari, which describe Adam as being 90 feet tall. The general doctrine appears to be that ancient humans were both gigantic as well as long-living.

{{Quote|{{Quran|29|14}}|
We (once) sent Noah to his people, and he tarried among them '''a thousand years less fifty''': but the Deluge overwhelmed them while they (persisted in) sin. }}

===Ancient Mosque in Jerusalem===

Muslim scholars maintain that a long extant, ancient mosque was present in Jerusalem during Muhammad's life time. Historical research has, however, found this not to be the case.

{{Quote|{{Quran|17|1}}|
Glory to (Allah) Who did take His servant for a Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did bless,- in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the One Who heareth and seeth (all things). }}

==Sociology==

===Linguistics===

{{Quote|{{Quran|2|31}}|And He taught Adam the names - all of them. Then He showed them to the angels and said, "Inform Me of the names of these, if you are truthful."}}

The Qur'an, in multiple instances, states that the first humans "Adam and Eve" spoke to each other in some kind of language, and that God told them the names of 'all things'. Modern linguistics has revealed, however, that the type of sentences constructed in the Qur'an were not spoken by humans until over 100,000 years after the first humans evolved. The language of the first humans would be incomprehensible to us and they would not be able to express the kinds of sentences that Adam and Eve do in the Qur'an. The earliest forms of human communication were entirely different in nature from the sorts of languages humans have used in the last several thousands of years.

Some 1.9 million species of plants and animals have been identified and named, out of some 8.7 million that may actually exist<ref name="plos">{{cite journal | author= Mora, C.| title=How Many Species Are There on Earth and in the Ocean?|journal=[[PLoS Biology]]|date=August 23, 2011|url=http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001127 |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.1001127 |pmid=21886479 |pmc=3160336 |volume=9 |pages=e1001127|display-authors=etal}}</ref>. Millions more have become extinct. Far more numerous are the living objects, galaxies, the countless stars and planets of the universe. In light of this, it is not clear what is meant by the idea that Allah taught Adam 'all the names', especially since the first humans do not appear to have been extremely knowledgeable.

===Arabic as eminently accessible===

Fewer than 4% of the world's population grows up speaking Arabic. The Arabic of this 4%, however, is not the Arabic of the Quran and is instead comprised of various regional dialects of modern colloquial Arabic. The text of the Quran is thus directly accessible only to a  small portion of the world's population. Additionally, there are present in the Quran many words, phrases, and references whose original 7th century Arabic meaning, being unrecorded, has been entirely lost to history or, in some cases, has remained subject to inconclusive debates. Consequently, while Muslims are obligated to pray and recite the Quran in Arabic, it is only a small proportion of the Muslim population that can claim to have some sense of what they recite on a daily basis. These circumstances are difficult to reconcile with the Quran's assertion that the Quran was 'revealed in Arabic so that people may understand it'.

{{Quote|{{Quran|43|3}}|
We have made it a Qur'an in Arabic, that ye may be able to understand (and learn wisdom). }}

==Miracles and myths==

===Humans turned apes===

The Qur'an records a miraculous event where Sabbath breakers are transformed into apes. There is, however, no scientific evidence that humans were ever transformed into apes.

{{Quote|{{Quran|2|65}}|
And well ye knew those amongst you who transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath: We said to them: "Be ye apes, despised and rejected." }}

===Mooing statue===

The Qur'an describes a statue of a calf that was capable of mooing.
{{Quote|{{Quran|20|88}}|So he brought forth for them a calf, a (mere) body, which had a mooing sound, so they said: This is your god and the god of Musa, but he forgot.}}

===Hordes trapped by iron wall===
{{Main|Dhul-Qarnayn and the Alexander Romance}}

The Quran states that two massive tribes of beasts (Gog and Magog) were and will continue until the Day of Judgement to be trapped behind a massive wall of Iron erected by Dhul-Qarnayn. According to the Qur'an, these two tribes were trapped by Dhul-Qarnayn behind this metal wall and will only be let free on the day of Judgement. However, no such wall or tribes have ever been found despite the advent of global satellite imagery.

{{Quote|{{Quran|21|96}}|
Until the Gog and Magog (people) are let through (their barrier), and they swiftly swarm from every hill. }}

===Supernatural food===
{{Main|Parallelism Between the Qur'an and Judeo-Christian Scriptures}}

The Qur'an states Mary received food sent down from heaven. There have, however, never been any scientifically verified accounts of food descending from heaven.

{{Quote|{{Quran|5|114}}|
Jesus, son of Mary, said: O Allah, Lord of us! '''Send down for us a table spread with food from heaven, that it may be a feast for us''', for the first of us and for the last of us, and a sign from Thee. Give us sustenance, for Thou art the Best of Sustainers.}}

===Stick turned serpent===
{{Main|Parallelism Between the Qur'an and Judeo-Christian Scriptures}}The Quran states that Moses' staff transformed into a serpent. There is no scientific evidence that suggests such a transformation would be possible.{{Quote|{{Quran|7|107}}|
Then (Moses) threw his rod, and behold! it was a serpent, plain (for all to see)! }}

===Army of genies and birds===

A story in the Qur'an, drawing on Jewish folklore, states that Solomon commanded a massive army comprised of 'Jinns and men and birds'. Solomon is described as speaking with a Hoopoe bird and thereafter desiring to execute the bird when it is tardy to his assembly. The Hoopoe bird, it is then revealed, was only delayed because it had been spying on a beautiful female ruler, Queen Sheba, who Solomon subsequently insists is misguided and must be conquered. At this point, Solomon assigns a Jinn from his assembly the task of stealing Queen Sheba's magnificent throne. There is, however, no scientific evidence that Jinn exist, that birds can be commanded as soldiers, or that birds can engage in elaborate conversations with humans.

{{Quote|{{Quran|27|16-17}}|
And Solomon was David's heir. He said: "O ye people! We have been taught the speech of birds, and on us has been bestowed (a little) of all things: this is indeed Grace manifest (from Allah.)And before Solomon were marshalled his hosts― of Jinns and men and birds, and they were all kept in order and ranks.}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|27|20-22}}|
And he took a muster of the Birds; and he said: "Why is it I see not the Hoopoe? Or is he among the absentees? I will certainly punish him with a severe Penalty, or execute him, unless he bring me a clear reason (for absence).}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|27|23}}|
I found (there) a woman ruling over them and provided with every requisite; and she has a magnificent throne.}}

===Living inside a big fish===

The Quran presents a version of the Biblical tale in which Jonah is swallowed by a whale ('the big Fish') and then lives in the whale for some time while praying. Scientific research, however, suggests that a person could not persist long inside a whale's digestive tract and, if not crushed by the whale or by water pressure, would almost immediately suffocate. 

{{Quote|{{Quran|37|142}}|Then the big Fish did swallow him, and he had done acts worthy of blame. Had it not been that he (repented and) glorified Allah, He would certainly have remained inside the Fish till the Day of Resurrection. But We cast him forth, on the naked shore in a state of sickness}}

===Buraq, the winged horse===
{{Main|Buraq}}

While it took one week to travel from Mecca to Jerusalem (the location of the alleged 'farthest Mosque') by camel, the Qur'an states that a magical winged horse, called the Buraq, transported Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem in a matter of minutes. While creatures like the Buraq were common characters in near Easter myths, scientific research has not found any evidence that flying horses exist.

{{Quote|{{Quran|17|1}}|
Glory to (Allah) Who did take His servant for a Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did bless,- in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the One Who heareth and seeth (all things). }}

===Speaking body parts===

The Quran states that human organs will, on the Day of Judgement, testify against their own persons. Scientific research does not suggest that this is possible.
 
{{Quote|{{Quran|24|24}}|
On the Day when their tongues, their hands, and their feet will bear witness against them as to their actions. }}

===Sea split in half===

The Quran present a version of the story where Moses splits the sea and crosses it with the Israelites. Scientific research does not suggest that this is possible.

{{Quote|{{Quran|2|50}}|
And remember '''We divided the sea for you''' and saved you and drowned Pharaoh's people within your very sight. }}

===Manipulating the wind===

The Quran says that Solomon had the power to control the wind and traditional sources elaborate that Solomon could use this wind to fly upon a gigantic wooden carpet to wherever he pleased. Scientific research does not suggest that this is possible. Historical research also fails to find any real record of a king traveling the earth upon a m flying carpet.

{{Quote|{{Quran|38|36}}|
Then We subjected the wind to his power, to flow gently to his order, Whithersoever he willed  }}

{{Quote|Tafsir Ibn-Kathir on 21:81 | A flying carpet made from wood, on top of which he could carry everything in his kingdom including chairs, to wherever Solomon wants to go, whilst flocks of birds would fly over to give shade }}

===Testimony of a dead man===

The Quran states that Allah instructed a group of people to strike a murdered man with a piece of a heifer (young female cow that has not yet borne a calf) in order to temporarily resurrect him and discover the identity of the murderer. Scientific research does not suggest that this is possible.

{{Quote|{{Quran|2|73}}|
And We said: Smite him with some of it. Thus Allah bringeth the dead to life and showeth you His portents so that ye may understand. }}

===Mountains and birds sing psalms===
The Qur'an states that hills and birds would sing the psalms with David. Scientific research does not suggest that hills can sing, and no birds living the proximity of David were or are capable of imitating human sounds.{{Quote|{{Quran|34|10}}|
And assuredly We gave David grace from Us, (saying): O ye hills and birds, echo his psalms of praise! And We made the iron supple unto him}}

==Other==

===Nonmathematical hereditary laws===

{{Quote|{{Quran|4|11-12}}|
4.11: Allah (thus) directs you as regards your Children's (Inheritance): to the male, a portion equal to that of two females: if only daughters, two or more, their share is two-thirds of the inheritance; if only one, her share is a half. For parents, a sixth share of the inheritance to each, if the deceased left children; if no children, and the parents are the (only) heirs, the mother has a third; if the deceased Left brothers (or sisters) the mother has a sixth. (The distribution in all cases ('s) after the payment of legacies and debts. Ye know not whether your parents or your children are nearest to you in benefit. These are settled portions ordained by Allah; and Allah is All-knowing, Al-wise. 

4.12: In what your wives leave, your share is a half, if they leave no child; but if they leave a child, ye get a fourth; after payment of legacies and debts. In what ye leave, their share is a fourth, if ye leave no child; but if ye leave a child, they get an eighth; after payment of legacies and debts. If the man or woman whose inheritance is in question, has left neither ascendants nor descendants, but has left a brother or a sister, each one of the two gets a sixth; but if more than two, they share in a third; after payment of legacies and debts; so that no loss is caused (to any one). Thus is it ordained by Allah; and Allah is All-knowing, Most Forbearing. }}The shares of inheritance outlined in the Quran do not add up to one, and there is no way to reconcile the shares presented.<ref>http://www.answering-islam.org/Quran/Contra/i001.html</ref> By contrast, the Quran states that the rules it contains are perfect.

*Wife: 1/8 = 3/24,
*Daughters: 2/3 = 16/24,
*Father: 1/6 = 4/24,
*Mother: 1/6 = 4/24,
*'''Total''' = 27/24=1.125

===Lying forelocks===
The Quran describes liars as possessing 'lying, sinful forelocks'. The forelock, however, is not a part of brain and hosts no neural activity. While some Muslim scholars have argued that this is a prophetic reference to the prefrontal cortex, the verse does not appear to be describing the individual's brain, but rather appears to make metaphorical metonymic use of the word 'forelock' to refer to the 'lying, sinful' person themselves. 

{{Quote|{{Quran|96|15-16}}|
Let him beware! If he desist not, We will drag him by the forelock. A lying, sinful forelock.}}

==See Also==

*[[Islam and Science]]

==References==
{{reflist}}\
[[Category:Apologetics]]
[[Category:Islam and Science]]
[[Category:Cosmology]]
[[Category:Criticism of Islam]]
[[Category:Qur'an]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Reproductive sciences]]