Science and the Seven Earths: Difference between revisions
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If two of the secondary layers are included in the total count, there is no logically viable reason to exclude the planetary boundary layer (the part of the troposphere that is closest to Earth's surface) or the homosphere and heterosphere (which are contained within all five principle layers). | If two of the secondary layers are included in the total count, there is no logically viable reason to exclude the planetary boundary layer (the part of the troposphere that is closest to Earth's surface) or the homosphere and heterosphere (which are contained within all five principle layers). | ||
Secondly, this claim contradicts the Qur'an. The following verse says that stars are located in the lowermost heaven. | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|37|07}}| We have indeed decked the lower heaven with beauty (in) the stars,- }} | |||
Stars are not located in the lowest layer of the atmosphere i.e. troposphere but are light years away from the earth. | |||
===Seven Layers of the Earth=== | ===Seven Layers of the Earth=== | ||
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{{Quote|{{Tabari|1|pp. 207-208}}|According to Muhammad b. Sahl b. 'Askar-Isma'il b. 'Abd al-Karim-Wahb, mentioning some of his majesty (as being described as follows): The heavens and the earth and the oceans are in the haykal, and the haykal is in the Footstool. God's feet are upon the Footstool. He carries the Footstool. It became like a sandal on His feet. When Wahb was asked: What is the haykal? He replied: Something on the heavens' extremities that surrounds the earth and the oceans like ropes that are used to fasten a tent. And when Wahb was asked how earths are (constituted), he replied: '''They are seven earths that are flat and islands'''. Between each two earths, there is an ocean. All that is surrounded by the (surrounding) ocean, and the haykal is behind the ocean.}} | {{Quote|{{Tabari|1|pp. 207-208}}|According to Muhammad b. Sahl b. 'Askar-Isma'il b. 'Abd al-Karim-Wahb, mentioning some of his majesty (as being described as follows): The heavens and the earth and the oceans are in the haykal, and the haykal is in the Footstool. God's feet are upon the Footstool. He carries the Footstool. It became like a sandal on His feet. When Wahb was asked: What is the haykal? He replied: Something on the heavens' extremities that surrounds the earth and the oceans like ropes that are used to fasten a tent. And when Wahb was asked how earths are (constituted), he replied: '''They are seven earths that are flat and islands'''. Between each two earths, there is an ocean. All that is surrounded by the (surrounding) ocean, and the haykal is behind the ocean.}} | ||
===Seven Universes=== | |||
Another common apologetic claim is that these seven heavens are actually seven universes which we are yet to discover. | |||
{{Quote|{{cite web|url=http://www.understanding-islam.com/q-and-a/miscellaneous-issues/what-about-seven-heavens |title=Understanding-Islam.com |publisher= |author= |date= |archiveurl= |deadurl=no}}|It seems that the huge universe that we live in, the one whose boundaries are not yet known to man, is just one of these heavens (universes) there are seven others, of which we -- with all our scientific developments -- do not know anything about.}} | |||
The following verse contradicts such a claim since it says rain was made to fall from heaven. Certainly, rain does not come from outer space. The word used for heaven here is ''sama'', the same as that for the seven heavens. | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|54|11}}|So We opened the gates of heaven, with water pouring forth. }} | |||
==Conclusion== | ==Conclusion== |
Revision as of 18:43, 22 June 2014
This article analyzes several different apologetic arguments claiming the Qur'an correctly asserts that there are "seven heavens" and "seven earths".
Apologetic Claims
According to Noble Verse 65:12 above, Allah Almighty created 7 Heavens for form the universe. The new scientific discovery had revealed to us that the earth that we currently live on today is also formed from seven layers. The very bottom layer contains most of the uranium and potonium ("sic") and all the materials that we need to create nuclear weapons and energy. Noble Verse 65:12 above does indeed say that the earth was created with seven layers.
. . .
The Seven "Heavens" refers to the layers of our atmosphere.
1. troposphere
2. stratosphere
3. ozone layer
4. mesosphere
5. thermosphere
6. ionosphere
7. exosphere
The Seven "Earths" refer to the layers that literally make up the Earth
1. crust
2. lithosphere
3. upper mantle
4. astenoshpere ("sic")
5. lower mantle
6. outer core
7. inner core
OR they could refer to the "7 Continents" (in the context that "al-ard" means ground)
1. North America2. South America
3. Australia
4. Asia
5. Africa
6. Antarctica
7. Europe
Analysis
Seven Layers of Earth's Atmosphere
The Seven "Heavens" refers to the layers of our atmosphere.
1. troposphere2. stratosphere
3. ozone layer
4. mesosphere
5. thermosphere
6. ionosphere
7. exosphere
There is only one atmosphere, but you can classify this one atmosphere by different criteria. If you partition it by temperature, you get 5 layers. By aerodynamical state 4 layers, by radiophysical state 3 layers and by chemical processes 2 layers. There is no classification into 7 layers.
To reach the needed "seven layers" different criteria are being mix to reach the desired number 7. For example, Earth's atmosphere is commonly divided into five main layers based on temperature. From highest to lowest, these layers are:
- Exosphere
- Thermosphere
- Mesosphere
- Stratosphere
- Troposphere
Within the five principal layers which are largely determined by temperature, several secondary layers may be distinguished by other properties:
- Ozone layer
- Ionosphere
- Homosphere and heterosphere
- Planetary boundary layer[1]
Apologists include all five principle layers in their count, then arbitrarily add the ozone layer (which is contained within the stratosphere) and the ionosphere (which forms the inner edge of the magnetosphere) to reach the desired number 7.
If two of the secondary layers are included in the total count, there is no logically viable reason to exclude the planetary boundary layer (the part of the troposphere that is closest to Earth's surface) or the homosphere and heterosphere (which are contained within all five principle layers).
Secondly, this claim contradicts the Qur'an. The following verse says that stars are located in the lowermost heaven.
Stars are not located in the lowest layer of the atmosphere i.e. troposphere but are light years away from the earth.
Seven Layers of the Earth
2. lithosphere
3. upper mantle
4. astenoshpere ("sic")
5. lower mantle
6. outer core
7. inner core
Note the same dishonest approach taken to assign seven layers of the atmosphere - i.e. the double counting of layers.
The general scientific view is that the earth is composed of four or five major layers depending on whether one splits the mantle or not.[2][3][4]
The five layers are as follows:
- crust
- upper mantle
- lower mantle
- outer core
- inner core
There are two ways to classify the composition of the geosphere - chemically, into crust, mantle, and core, or functionally, in the case of the outer layers (crust and mantle) into lithosphere and asthenosphere.[5][6]
From the evidence above, one can see the apologetic deceit because they double-count the lithosphere/asthenosphere while they also count the crust and upper mantle. Note that this is dishonest because these are alternative classifications. One cannot honestly count all lithosphere, asthenosphere, crust, and upper mantle together as one would be recounting the same rocks.
Recently new scientific hypotheses proposed by J. Marvin Herndon and Prof Xiaodong Song suggest the inner core may be further subdivided into four layers; the inner core, the innermost core, a sub-shell of fission material and decay products, and a subcore of uranium and plutonium forming the georeactor.[7] If this new theory is accepted the number of layers of the earth rises from five to eight.
Seven Continents of the Earth
The same apologists try to hedge their bets by claiming it is either seven layers or seven continents.
1. North America
2. South America
3. Australia
4. Asia
5. Africa
6. Antarctica
7. Europe
The former explanation (seven layers) would seem more accurate as all translations refer to "earth" and not ground. Nevertheless, although the number of continents is traditionally considered seven, some geographers and scientists think there are only six as Europe and Asia are technically a single land mass (i.e. Eurasia) and on the same tectonic plate.[8] Therefore, the traditional number of seven continents is more a cultural bias than an actual geographical/geological fact.
Seven Earths
There are some who claim that Allah created seven earths.[9] This is in fact the correct understanding of verse 65:12 supported by various hadiths and tafsir commentaries. However, we only know of one, our own. To get around this problem, apologists such as Maurice Bucaille claim scientists have just not discovered the other six yet.[10]
To further complicate matters for apologists, Islamic sources state the seven earths being referred to in verse 65:12 are flat islands, one under the other. For example:
Seven Universes
Another common apologetic claim is that these seven heavens are actually seven universes which we are yet to discover.
The following verse contradicts such a claim since it says rain was made to fall from heaven. Certainly, rain does not come from outer space. The word used for heaven here is sama, the same as that for the seven heavens.
Conclusion
The scientific evidence does not support any of the claims concerning the Qur'anic verse 65:12 and its scientific accuracy.
Earth's atmosphere is divided into five main layers based on temperature. Within these five principal layers, several secondary layers may be distinguished by other properties. There is no classification into 7 layers.
Modern geology states that there are only four or five layers of the Earth, or up to eight if the new hypotheses of the subcore georeactor are accepted. Without the double-counting of layers, There is no classification into 7 layers.
The number of continents is traditionally considered seven, but there are only six as Europe and Asia are technically a single land mass (i.e. Eurasia) and on the same tectonic plate. Therefore, the traditional number of seven continents is more a cultural bias than an actual geographical/geological fact.
Furthermore, if one delves a little deeper into the Islamic sources, it is discovered that the seven earths being referred to in verse 65:12 are in fact flat islands, one under the other.
See Also
- Harun Yahya - A hub page that leads to other articles related to Harun Yahya
- Cosmology - A hub page that leads to other articles related to Cosmology
External Links
References
- ↑ "Atmosphere of Earth", Wikipedia, accessed January 2, 2014 (archived), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Earth.
- ↑ Lisa Gardiner - Structure of the Interior of Earth - Windows to the Universe, January 18, 2010
- ↑ Eugene C. Robertson - The Interior of the Earth - U.S. Geological Survey, May 21, 2007
- ↑ Maggi Glasscoe - Structure of the Earth - Southern California Integrated GPS Network (SCIGN), August 14, 1998
- ↑ Dr. Michael Pidwirny - Fundamentals of Physical Geography/ Structure of the Earth - 2nd Edition, 2006
- ↑ The history of life on Earth - Palaeos
- ↑ D. F. Hollenbach, and J. M. Herndon - Deep-Earth reactor: Nuclear fission, helium, and the geomagnetic field - PNAS 2001 vol. 98 no. 20 pp 11085-11090
- ↑ Matt Rosenberg - Continents - About.com
- ↑ Layers of the Earth - Justread.20m.com
- ↑ Dr. Maurice Bucaille - The Bible, The Qur'an and Science/ Confrontation with the data in the Qur'an concerning the creation