Islam and Miracles: Difference between revisions

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<metadesc>Summaries of articles: Word Count Miracles in Qur'an, Standing Mosques, Miracle of 19, Praying Tree, 10 Meter Tall Human Skeleton, and more</metadesc>
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IMPORTANT NOTE FOR TRANSLATIONS:
===Miracle of Quran===
{{Main| Miracle of Quran}}


Do not translate this Core article without translating the linked articles first. Please also read the "WikiIslam:Translations" page for suggestions on which articles to translate and which to avoid. If you still have questions, post them on the "WikiIslam:Forum/Translation Project" page. Thank you.  
Al-Qur’an, the main source of the Islamic faith, is a book believed by its followers, the Muslims, to be completely of Divine origin. Muslims also believe that it contains guidance for all  humankind. Since the message of the Qur’an is believed to be for all times, it should be relevant to every age. But does the Qur’an pass this test?
There was a time, in the history of world civilization, when ‘miracles’, or what were perceived to be miracles, took precedence over human reason and logic. Of course, the normal defination of ‘miracle’ is simply, anything that takes place out of the normal course of life and for which humankind has no explanation.
However, we must be careful before accepting something as a miracle. In 1993, ‘The Times of
India’, Mumbai, reported that ‘a saint’ by the name ‘Baba Pilot’ claimed to have stayed continuously submerged under water in a tank for three consecutive days and nights. However, when reporters wanted to examine the bottom of the tank of water in which he claimed to have performed his ‘miraculous feat’, he refused to let them do so. He argued by asking as to how one could examine the womb of a mother that gives birth to a child. Obviously the ‘saint’ had something to conceal! His claim was a gimmick simply to gain publicity.
Surely, no modern person with even the slightest inkling towards rational thinking would accept such a ‘miracle’. If such false miracles are the tests of divinity, then we would have to accept all world famous magicians known for their ingenious magical tricks and illusions, as genuine God-men!
A book, claiming to be of Divine origin, is in effect, claiming to be a miracle. Such a claim should be easily verifiable in any age, according to the standards of that age. Muslims believe, that the Qur’an is the last and final revelation of God, the miracle of miracles, revealed as a mercy to mankind.


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Let us therefore investigate the veracity of this belief.
Muslims throughout the world point to alleged miracles that they claim prove [[Islam]] is from [[Allah]]. This page lists summaries of articles that [[Refutations|refute]] all of their claims.
____________________________________________________________
{{Core}}
1 Al-Qur’an 2:23-24 indicates Surah or Chapter No. 2 and Aayaat or Verses 23 and 24. The same notation is followed throughout this page. References and translation of the Qur’an are from the translation of the Qur’an by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, new revised edition, 1989, published by Amana Corporation, Maryland, USA.
==Qur'anic Miracles==
{{Miracles}}
Many apologists claim that the Qur'an contains information that could not have been known to people at the time the Qur'an was created, and that it contains within its pages many other miracles.  


===Georgics===
{{Main|On the Miraculous Nature and the Divine Origin of Virgils Georgics|l1=Georgics}}
This article argues that the Georgica, written by Virgil in Golden Latin in the year 28 BC, contains many scientific miracles (i.e. scientific foreknowledge). Furthermore, Virgil was an ancient Roman poet and the ancient Romans were polytheists, thus the Roman pantheon of deities exist. Of course this article is written as part satire. It demonstrates very effectively how easy it is to reinterpret any ancient poetry, such as the Qur'an, and reveal so-called scientific miracles.


===Word Count Miracles in the Qur'an===
=== THE CHALLENGE OF THE QUR’AN ===
{{Main|Word Count Miracles in the Qur'an}}
{{ THE CHALLENGE OF THE QUR’AN }}


One of the most popular claims of miracles is that the word yawm (singular of day) is repeated 365 times in the Qur'an, its plural and dual forms "days (ayyam and yawmayn)" together are repeated 30 times, while the number of repetitions of the word "month" (shahar) is 12. The first flaw with this is that the Islamic calendar consists of 355 days, so these apologists are essentially favoring Christianity. Secondly, these counts are manipulated, generally in unstated ways, to produce the striking totals. Most people do not have the time or energy to count so they just assume it is true.
Literature and poetry have been instruments of human expression and creativity, in all cultures. The world also witnessed an age when literature and poetry occupied pride of position, similar to that now enjoyed by science and technology.
Even non-Muslim scholars agree that the Qur’an is Arabic literature par excellence – that it is the best Arabic literature on the face of the earth. The Qur’an challenges mankind to produce the likes of it:
“And if ye are in doubt as to what We have revealed
from time to time to Our servant, then produce a Surah like
thereunto; and call your witnesses or helpers (if there are any) besides Allah,
if your (doubts) are true.
“But if ye cannot – and of a surety you cannot –
then fear the Fire whose fuel is Men and Stones –
which is prepared for those who reject Faith.”
[Al-Qur’an 2:23-24]


===The Miracle of 19===
The challenge of the Qur’an, is to produce a single Surah (chapter) like the Surahs it contains. The same challenge is repeated in the Qur’an several times. The challenge to produce a Surah, which, in beauty, eloquence, depth and meaning is at least somewhat similar to a Qur’anic Surah remains unmet to this day.
{{Main|The Miracle of 19}}
A modern rational man, however, would never accept a religious scripture which says, in the best possible poetic language, that the world is flat. This is because we live in an age, where human reason, logic and science are given primacy. Not many would accept the Qur’an’s extraordinarily beautiful language, as proof of its Divine origin. Any scripture claiming to be a divine revelation must also be acceptable on the strength of its own reason and logic.
According to the famous physicist and Nobel Prize winner, Albert Einstein, “Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind.”
Let us therefore study the Qur’an, and analyze whether the Qur’an and Modern Science are compatible or incompatible?
The Qur’an is not a book of Science but a book of ‘Signs’, i.e. Aayaats. There are more than six thousand ‘Signs’ in the Qur’an of which more than a thousand deal with hard core Science.
We all know that many a times Science takes a ‘U-turn’. In this page I have considered only established scientific facts and not hypotheses and theories based on mere assumptions and not backed by proof.


Some Muslims and Submitters believe that Qur'an 74:30 is proof that the occurrence of observed "19" related facts in Islam is a confirmation of the truth of the religion. However, when we analyze the claims, we find this miracle of 19 is not a miracle. The actual chance of finding this miracle is 1 in 19 which is not an impressive probability at all. Additionally, an equal number of miracles, sometimes more, are found in anti-Islamic texts. Where the Qur'an says, "over it are Nineteen," it was simply talking about the number of angels in Hell. This is also confirmed by Muslim websites. Even Rashad Khalifa, the inventor of 19 'miracles' believes that 19 is the number of Angels in heaven (for him, he sees it as a 'miracle' that everything is 19).
=== ASTRONOMY===
{{ASTRONOMY}}


===Odd-Even Mathematical Miracle===
CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE: ‘THE BIG BANG’
{{Main|Odd-Even Mathematical Miracle}}
The creation of the universe is explained by astrophysicists as a widely accepted phenomenon, popularly known as ‘The Big Bang’. It is supported by observational and experimental data gathered by astronomers and astrophysicists for decades. According to ‘The Big Bang’, the whole universe was initially one big mass (Primary Nebula). Then there was a ‘Big Bang’ (Secondary Separation) which resulted in the formation of Galaxies. These then divided to form stars, planets, the sun, the moon, etc. The origin of the universe was unique and the probability of it happening by ‘chance’ is nil.
The Qur’an contains the following verse regarding the origin of the universe:
“Do not the Unbelievers see
that the heavens and the earth
were joined together (as one unit of Creation), before
We clove them asunder?”
[Al-Qu’ran 21:30]


There is a widely spread claim, circulating on the web at least since 1998, that there is a “mathematical miracle” in the Qur’an concerning the sums of the surah numbers, and the sums of the ayats, or verses. It is sometimes called a binary, odd-even, or checksum miracle. It consists of two apparently remarkable coincidences. Some might imagine the odds of this are thousands to one, but they are not. Both parts of the “miracle” are really just two ways to describe the same single coincidence. And as the article shows, due to various factors, the likelihood of its occurrence by chance is not so low that anyone should be impressed by it and proclaim it a miracle.
The striking similarity between the Qur’anic verse and ‘The Big Bang’ is inescapable! How could a book, which first appeared in the deserts of Arabia 1400 years ago, contain this profound scientific truth?


===Splitting the Moon===
INITIAL GASEOUS MASS BEFORE CREATION OF GALAXIES
{{Main|Moon Split Images}}
Scientists agree that before the galaxies in the universe were formed, celestial matter was initially in the form of gaseous matter. In short, huge gaseous matter or clouds were present before the formation of the galaxies. To describe initial celestial matter, the word ‘smoke’ is more appropriate than gas. The following Qur’anic verse refers to this state of the universe by the word dukhaan which means smoke.
“Moreover, He Comprehended
in His design the sky, and it had been (as) smoke:
He said to it and to the earth:
‘Come ye together, willingly or unwillingly.’
They said: ‘We do come (together), in willing obedience.’”
[Al-Qur’an 41:11]
Again, this fact is a corollary to the ‘Big Bang’ and was not known to anyone before the prophetehood of Muhammad (Peace be upon him)1. What then, could have been the source of this knowledge?


Muslims believe that while Muhammad was in Mecca, Allah split the Moon as a miracle to the Meccans. This claim is made in the Hadith and some say that the evidence for this is on the Moon itself. To back up this claim, they use close-up pictures of the moon taken by NASA as evidence. These images of a "spilt" are actually lunar rilles. Rilles are long and deep gorges resembling canyons. A rille is typically several kilometers wide and hundreds of kilometers in length. Similar formations are found on a number of planets in the solar system, including Mars, Venus, and on a number of moons. Rilles can be found all over the lunar surface and they do not form a belt and therefore do not in anyway support the claim that the moon had been split asunder.


===The Cat's Eye Nebula in the Qur'an===
SHAPE OF THE EARTH IS SPHERICAL
{{Main|Cat's Eye Nebula in the Qur'an}}
In early times, people believed that the earth was flat. For centuries, men were afraid to venture out too far, for fear of falling off the edge! Sir Francis Drake was the first person who proved that the earth is spherical when he sailed around it in 1597. Consider the following Qur’anic verse regarding the alternation of day and night:
“Seest thou not that Allah merges Night into Day and He merges Day into Night?”
[Al-Qur’an 31:29]


Some apologists claim that the Cat's eye nebula was foretold in the Qur'an (55:37-38) “And when the heaven splitteth asunder and becometh rosy like red hide.” As evidence, they provide photographs taken by the NASA Hubble Space Telescope. The pictures are captured in infrared or X-ray spectrum. So, the photos that you see are actually invisible most times to the naked eye (since we cannot see infrared and X-ray as colors). False colors are then added by NASA at the time of releasing the pictures. The way the false color algorithms work is that you can give any color and it will shade the picture accordingly in that spectrum or band. So the explosion is not actually rosy. NASA has given this color to the picture but they could have given it any color, thus the entire argument is baseless.
Merging here means that the night slowly and gradually changes to day and vice versa. This
phenomenon can only take place if the earth is spherical. If the earth was flat, there would have
been a sudden change from night to day and from day to night.


==Pareidolia==
The following verse also alludes to the spherical shape of the earth:
{{Main|Pareidolia}}
“He created the heavens and the earth in true (proportions):
He makes the Night overlap the Day, and the Day overlap the Night.”
[Al-Qur’an 39:5]
The Arabic word used here is Kawwara meaning ‘to overlap’ or ‘to coil’– the way a turban is wound around the head. The overlapping or coiling of the day and night can only take place if the earth is spherical.
The earth is not exactly round like a ball, but geo-spherical, i.e. it is flattened at the poles. The
following verse contains a description of the earth’s shape:


Pareidolia is not miraculous, it is a type of illusion or mis-perception involving a vague or obscure stimulus being perceived as something clear and distinct. Pareidolia is the result of the the human mind’s tendency to pick recognizable imagery out of chaotic forms. Also, different patterns naturally form in different objects in nature. Arabic letters, unlike Latin characters, are very simple and continuous and with a little bit of imagination one can find them naturally occurring everywhere.  
“And the earth, moreover, hath He made egg shaped.”
[Al-Qur’an 79:30]
The Arabic word for egg here is dahaahaa1 which means an ostrich-egg. The shape of an ostrich-egg resembles the geo-spherical shape of the earth. Thus the Qur’an correctly describes the shape of the earth, though the prevalent notion when the Qur’an was revealed was that the earth was flat.


===Animals Marked by Allah===
MOONLIGHT IS REFLECTED LIGHT
{{Main|Animals Marked by Allah}}
It was believed by earlier civilizations that the moon emanates its own light. Science now tells us
that the light of the moon is reflected light. However this fact was mentioned in the Qur’an 1,400 years ago in the following verse:
“Blessed is He Who made Constellations in the skies, and placed therein a Lamp and a Moon giving light.”
[Al-Qur’an 25:61]


Apologists often propagate obscure natural occurrences as "Islamic miracles". One such claim involves the natural markings found on cows and other farm animals. For example, claims that certain cows are marked with "Allah" or "Muhammad" in Arabic. However, the Christian symbol of the Cross has also appeared on a cow and so has the Hindu symbol of Om. Considering the Cross and Om symbols are clearly more distinguishable than the Arabic words "Allah" and "Muhammad", do these markings persuade Muslims of the validity of Christianity or Hinduism? For a Muslim to accept these "miracles" as a sign from Allah, they must become polytheists and accept that Christians and Hindus have also been sent similar signs from Jesus and Brahman.
The Arabic word for the sun in the Qur’an, is shams. It is also referred to as siraaj which means a ‘torch’ or as wahhaaj meaning ‘a blazing lamp’ or as diya which means ‘shining glory’. All three descriptions are appropriate to the sun, since it generates intense heat and light by its internal combustion. The Arabic word for the moon is qamar and it is described in the Qur’an as muneer which is a body that gives noor i.e. reflected light. Again, the Qur’anic description matches perfectly with the true nature of the moon which does not give off light by itself and is an inactive body that reflects the light of the sun. Not once in the Qur’an, is the moon mentioned as siraaj, wahhaaj or diya nor the sun as noor or muneer. This implies that the Qur’an recognizes the difference between the nature of sunlight and moonlight.
The following verses relate to the nature of light from the sun and the moon:
“It is He who made the sun to be a shining glory and the moon to be a light
(of beauty).”
[Al-Qur’an 10:5]


===Allah in the Sky===
“See ye not how Allah has created the seven heavens one above another,
{{Main|Allah and Muhammad in the Clouds#Allah|l1=Allah in the Sky}}
“And made the moon a light in their midst, and made the sun
as a (Glorious) Lamp?”
[Al-Qur’an 71:15-16]


Some Muslims have produced a picture of a cloud formation spelling out "Allah" in Arabic. However, images can easily be doctored by Photoshop or a similar software program. Even if we accept the image is genuine, we have to consider the fact that cloud formations are constantly changing and are therefore limitless in design. The image that is recognized by the viewer is dependent upon the angle and time at which the cloud is being viewed from, and hence the photo. Additionally you can find many images on the internet of what some Christians think are apparitions of the Virgin Mary in clouds.  
The Glorious Qur'an and modern science, are thus in perfect agreement about the differences in the nature of sunlight and moonlight.


===Tomato with Shahadah===
THE SUN ROTATES
{{Main|Trees Tomatoes and Bronchi Saying Shahadah#Tomato|l1=Tomato with Shahadah}}
For a long time European philosophers and scientists believed that the earth stood still in the centre of the universe and every other body including the sun moved around it. In the West, this geocentric concept of the universe was prevalent right from the time of Ptolemy in the second century B.C. In 1512, Nicholas Copernicus put forward his Heliocentric Theory of Planetary Motion, which asserted that the sun is motionless at the centre of the solar system with the planets revolving around it.
In 1609, the German scientist Yohannus Keppler published the ‘Astronomia Nova’. In this he
concluded that not only do the planets move in elliptical orbits around the sun, they also rotate
upon their axes at irregular speeds. With this knowledge it became possible for European scientists to explain correctly many of the mechanisms of the solar system, including the sequence of night and day.
After these discoveries, it was thought that the Sun was stationary and did not rotate about its axis like the Earth. I remember having studied this fallacy from Geography books during my school days.
Consider the following Qur’anic verse:
“It is He Who created the Night and the Day, and the sun and the moon:
All (the celestial bodies) swim along, each in its rounded course.”
[Al-Qur’an 21:33]


According to The Mirror (a UK newspaper), more than 100 Muslims had flocked to a young girls home to view a sliced tomato in her fridge that allegedly contained the words of the Shahadah in it. This is one of the more extreme cases of pareidolia and wishful thinking, thus does not need a written response in order to disprove its claims. View the picture for yourself and see if you can read "La Illaha Illa Alla" and "Muhammad Rasul Allah" in these tomato slices. Because, try as we might, we have not been able to find it. This is not miracles. It is simply a fluke. In nature, different patterns form in different objects. Arabic letters, unlike Latin characters, are very simple and graceful in form, meaning with a little bit of imagination one can find them naturally occurring everywhere.
The Arabic word used in the above verse is yasbahoon . This word is derived from the word
sabaha. It carries with it the idea of motion that comes from any moving body. If you use this word for a person on the ground, it would not mean that he is rolling but would imply that he is walking or running. If you use this word for a person in water, it would not mean that he is floating but would imply that he is swimming.
Similarly, if you use the word yasbah for a celestial body such as the sun, it would not only mean that itis flying through space but would also mean that it is rotating as it goes through space. Most school textbooks have now incorporated the fact that the sun rotates about its axis. The rotation of the sun about its own axis can be proved with the help of equipment that projects the image of the sun on the top of a table, so that one can examine the image of the sun without being blinded. It is noticed that the sun has spots which complete a circular motion once every 25 days i.e. the sun takes approximately 25 days to rotate round its axis.
The sun travels through space at roughly 240 km per second, and takes about 200 million years to
complete one revolution around the centre of our Milky Way Galaxy.


===Allah on a Fish===
“It is not permitted to the Sun to catch up the Moon,
{{Main|Allah Written In or On Various Things#Allah on a Fish|l1=Allah on a Fish}}
nor can the Night outstrip the Day: Each (just) swims along in (its own) orbit (according to Law).”
[Al-Qur’an 36:40]
This verse mentions an essential fact discovered only recently by modern astronomy, i.e. the
existence of the individual orbits of the Sun and the Moon, and their journey through space with their own motion.
The ‘fixed place’ towards which the sun travels, carrying with it the solar system, has been located preirsely by modern astronomy. It has been given a name, the Solar Apex. The solar system is indeed moving in space towards a point situated in the constellation of Hercules (alpha Lyrae) whose exact location is now firmly established.
The moon rotates around its axis in the same duration that it takes to revolve around the earth.
It takes approximately 29½ days to complete one rotation.
One cannot help but be amazed at the scientific accuracy of the Qur’anic verses. Should we not
ponder over the question: “What is the source of knowledge contained in the Qur’an?”


Some Muslims believe the word Abdullah and Muhammad Rasoul Allah are written on the side of this fish. Again, we have not been able to read Muhammad nor Rasoul Allah on this fish. However, we can photoshop images of another fish and claim it's also a sign from Allah.
THE SUN WILL EXTINGUISH
The light of the sun is due to a chemical process on its surface that has been taking place continuously for the past five billion years. It will come to an end at some point of time in the future, when the sun will be totally extinguished, leading to extinction of all life on earth. Regarding the impermanence of the sun’s existence, the Qur’an says:


===Allah in an Egg Plant===
“And the Sun runs its course for a period determined for it; that is the decree of (Him) the exalted in Might, the All-Knowing.”
{{Main|Allah Written In or On Various Things#Allah in an Egg Plant|l1=Allah in an Egg Plant}}
[Al-Qur’an 36:38]


Allah supposedly decided to write his name in an eggplant. If you cut any egg plant as many times as you care to carry on, eventually you will get whatever writings you imagine that would suite your mind. If you look closely at the image, you will also notice the eggplant is browning and turning stale. What sort of a message is the word "Allah" written on an object that will eventually start to rot or die supposed to convey to Islam's followers? Is the message that Allah is rotten or dying? Or maybe that his revealed religion, after a period of growth, will start to die and eventually disappear?
The Arabic word used here is mustaqarr, which means a place or time that is determined. Thus the Qur’an says that the sun runs towards a determined place, and will do so only up to a pre-determined period of time – meaning that it will end or extinguish.


===Right Hand Spells Out Allah===
INTERSTELLAR MATTER
{{Main|Allah Written In or On Various Things#Right Hand Spells Out Allah|l1=Right Hand Spells Out Allah}}
Space outside organized astronomical systems was earlier assumed to be a vacuum. Astrophysicists later discovered the presence of bridges of matter in this interstellar space. These bridges of matter are called plasma, and consist of completely ionized gas containing equal number of free electrons and positive ions. Plasma is sometimes called the fourth state of matter (besides the three known states viz. solid, liquid and gas). The Qur’an refers to the presence of this interstellar material in the following verse:
“He Who created the heavens and the earth and all that is between.”
[Al-Qur’an 25:59]


You can clearly see with the superimposed Arabic lettering that the back of the human right hand does not spell out Allah. Even though Arabic script is quite simple and elegant, it still remains too complex to be the same shape as a hand. If we use the same standards of "likeness" applied here, we could just as convincingly claim the buttocks on a human body, female breasts and the male testicles are also shaped like the Arabic word Allah. Additionally, why would Allah create hands for us? The answer clearly is to eat and hold materials with our hands. We do this with the palm of the hand and not the back of the hand. When Muslims pray, do they have the palms of their hands towards their eyes, or the back of their hands? Does Allah want Muslims to think of him and his name in a distorted way when they pray to him?
It would be ridiculous for anyone to even suggest that the presence of interstellar galactic material
was known 1400 years ago!


===Allah in the Ear===
THE EXPANDING UNIVERSE
{{Main|Allah Written In or On Various Things#Allah in the Ear|l1=Allah in the Ear}}
In 1925, American astronomer Edwin Hubble, provided observational evidence that all galaxies
are moving away from one another, which implies that the universe is expanding. The expansion of the universe is now an established scientific fact. This is what the Qur’an says regarding the nature of the universe:
“With power and skill did We construct
the Firmament: For it is We Who create
the vastness of Space.”
[Al-Qur’an 51:47]


This word (claimed to be Allah) is shown on the ear of a child that is lying down, but how would the word be read if the child is standing up? How was it read when this child was delivered from his mother’s womb? Was it then seen up-side-down? Do Muslims want to say that Allah’s name can be shown first in an ear of a new born baby up-side-down? Muslims celebrating this as a miracle is as silly as Christians celebrating a child born with an ear shaped like an upside-down cross or a Hindu celebrating a child born with an ear shaped like a leg of roast beef. Also according to Sahih hadith (Bukhari 2:21:245), Satan urinates in the ears of those who do not wake up for prayer. Why would Allah put his name where Satan urinates? Or more accurately, why would Muslims claim such a thing?
The Arabic word musioon is correctly translated as ‘expanding it’, and it refers to the creation of the expanding vastness of the universe. One of the greatest astrophysicist Stephen
Hawking, in his book, ‘A Brief History of Time’, says, “The discovery that the universe is expanding was one of the great intellectual revolutions of the 20th century.”
The Qur’an mentioned the expansion of the universe, before man even learnt to build a
telescope! Some may say that the presence of astronomical facts in the Qur’an is not surprising since the Arabs were advanced in the field of astronomy. They are correct in acknowledging the advancement of the Arabs in the field of astronomy. However they fail to realize that the Qur’an was revealed centuries before the Arabs excelled in astronomy. Moreover many of the scientific facts mentioned above, such as the origin of the universe with a Big Bang, were not known to the Arabs even at the peak of their scientific advancement. The scientific facts mentioned in the Qur’an are therefore not due to the Arabs’ advancement in astronomy. Indeed, the  reverse is true: they advanced in astronomy, because astronomy occupies a place in the Qur’an.


==Hoaxes==
=== PHYSICS===
{{Main|Hoaxes}}
{{PHYSICS}}


Among other methods, apologists sometimes use doctored or even entirely faked images to mislead people into believing in Islam. There are numerous well-known and lesser-known Islamic Hoaxes.
ATOMS CAN BE DIVIDED
In ancient times a well-known theory by the name of ‘Theory of Atomism’ was widely accepted. This theory was originally proposed by the Greeks, in particular by a scholar called Democritus, who lived about 23 centuries ago. Democritus and the people that came after him, assumed that the smallest unit of matter was the atom. The ancient Arabs used to believe the same. The Arabic word zarrah most commonly meant an atom. In recent times modern science has discovered that it is possible to split even an atom. That the atom can be split further is a development of the 20th century. Fourteen centuries ago this concept would have appeared unusual even to an Arab. For him the zarrah was the limit beyond which one could not go. The following Qur’anic verse however, refuses to acknowledge this limit:
“The Unbelievers say, ‘Never to us will come
The Hour’: say, ‘Nay! but most surely,
by my Lord it will come upon you –
by Him Who knows the unseen – from Whom is not hidden
the least little atom in the Heavens or on earth:
nor is there anything less than that, or greater, but
is in the Record Perspicuous.’”
[Al-Qur’an 34:3]
A similar message is conveyed in the Qur’an in 10:61.


===Baby with Qur'anic Verses===
This verse also refers to the Omniscience of God, His knowledge of all things, hidden or apparent. It then goes further and says that God is aware of everything, including what is smaller or bigger than the atom. Thus the verse clearly shows that it is possible for something smaller than the atom to exist, a fact discovered only recently by modern Science.
{{Main|Baby with Quranic Verses|l1=Baby with Qur'anic Verses}}


In October 2009, the same newspaper which made the false publicly rejected claim that Michael Jackson had converted to Islam published a story reporting that Qur'anic verses appeared on a baby's skin in Dagestan. However, another story published on the same day provides us with further information. What the tabloid story ignored was the fact that some local doctors believe it is not a miracle from Allah, but a simple case of child abuse. They believe
the parents may have treated his skin with irritants which trigger skin inflammation and leave red traces in the shape of Arabic characters. They also suggested urticarial dermographism (aka. skin writing – a skin disorder that occurs with 5% of the nation’s population) as another possibly explanation, saying "If you draw something on their skin with a little stick, for example, the drawing will later appear." Even if this truly was a miracle from a deity, it is unlikely that this deity would be Allah because his messenger Muhammad had forbidden tattooing when he was alive. This fact has been recorded in multiple sahih hadith. One even states that Allah curses "those who get themselves tattooed".


===Ten Meter Tall Human Skeleton in Saudi Arabia===
=== HYDROLOGY===
{{Main|10 Meter Tall Human Skeleton}}
{{HYDROLOGY}}


The New Nation published a very sensational story in 2004 claiming that a 10 meter tall human skeleton was found in Saudi Arabia. The image that was associated with the news article was doctored. The original image is of an aerial photo of a pit outside of Hyde Park, New York, which was taken on September 16, 2000. The site was excavated by the Paleontological Research Institution and the Cornell Department of Geological Sciences and what they found was the skeleton of a mastodon. So the site does not contain the skeleton of a giant man and it is not in Saudi Arabia. But why then did one of the major publications of Bangladesh report such a deceiving story? The answer is to be found in the hadith and the stories that were told by Prophet Muhammad. According to several hadiths, Adam was 60 cubits (90 feet) tall and humans have been decreasing in size ever since. So that digitally forged photo is an attempt to prove that what Muhammad said was true. Discoveries in paleontology show that humans have been steadily growing in size. Homo habilis who lived 2.4-1.5 million years ago were no more than 150 cm tall. Their ancestors, the Australopithecus, were just about 100 cm tall. Therefore Muhammad’s story of Adam and other ancient people being extremely tall is contrary to science.
THE WATER CYCLE
In 1580, Bernard Palissy was the first person to describe the present day concept of ‘water cycle’. He described how water evaporates from the oceans and cools to form clouds. The clouds move inland where they rise, condense and fall as rain. This water gathers as lakes and streams and flows back to the ocean in a continuous cycle. In the 7th century B.C., Thales of Miletus believed that surface spray of the oceans was picked up by the wind and carried inland to fall as rain.
In earlier times people did not know the source of underground water. They thought the water of the oceans, under the effect of winds, was thrust towards the interior of the continents. They also believed that the water returned by a secret passage or the Great Abyss. This passage is connected to the oceans and has been called the ‘Tartarus’, since Plato’s time.
Even Descartes, a great thinker of the eighteenth century, subscribed to this view. Till the nineteenth century, Aristotle’s theory was still prevalent.
According to this theory, water was condensed in cool mountain caverns and formed underground lakes that fed springs. Today, we have come to know that the rainwater that seeps into the cracks of the ground is responsible for this.
This is described by the Qur’an in the following
verses:
“Seest thou not that Allah sends down rain from the sky,
and leads it through springs in the earth?
then He causes to grow, therewith, produce of various colours.”
[Al-Qur’an 39:21]


===Trees Spell Out Shahadah===
“He sends down rain from the sky
{{Main|Trees Tomatoes and Bronchi Saying Shahadah#Trees|l1=Trees Spell Out Shahadah}}
and with it gives life to the earth after it is dead:
Verily in that are Signs for those who are wise.”
[Al-Qur’an 30:24]


Islamic sites exhibit a "photo" taken of trees in Germany which spell out the Shahadah in Arabic. The picture is actually an oil based painting. None of these sites give you the address of this location and there are no other pictures taken of these trees from any other angles. This is due to the fact that the picture is actually an oil based painting on canvas painted by Dr. Sayed Al-Khudari from Egypt. If you look to the top right corner you can even see the wrinkles of the canvas since it is not stretched properly. The hoax is obvious when you view the oil based painting in its entirety, which is why most Islamic sites just content themselves with the right side of the painting. Additionally, these sites claim that German authorities prevented Muslims from viewing these trees. This is clearly false. Seeing how many Muslims become overly violent over trivial issues, such as cartoons, they would not have remained silent if these trees had really existed and if German authorities had stopped Muslims from viewing them.
“And We send down water from the sky according to (due) measure,
and We cause it to soak in the soil; and We certainly are able to drain it off (with ease).”
[Al-Qur’an 23:18]


===Human Bronchus Resembles Shahadah===
No other text dating back 1400 years ago gives such an accurate description of the water cycle.
{{Main|Trees Tomatoes and Bronchi Saying Shahadah#Bronchi|l1=Human Bronchus Resembles Shahadah}}


The image in question has been posted on several Islamic websites. It is claimed to be a medical drawing of the human air tubes and it reads the Islamic Shahadah. However, the drawing was forged by Muslims. Have a look at the pictures of the human air tubes in any book of anatomy and see if you can find anything resembling the Shahadah. You would think it hard for anyone to believe that this drawing actually represents the real human air tubes, but this hoax has been very effective among Muslims.
EVAPORATION
“By the Firmament which returns (in its round),”
[Al-Qur’an 86:11]


===Shariff Idd, the 5-Year-Old Hafiz===
WINDS IMPREGNATE CLOUDS
{{Main|Shariff Idd - 5-Year-Old Hafiz|l1=Shariff Idd (5-Year-Old Hafiz)}}
“And We send the fecundating winds, then cause the rain to descend from the sky, therewith providing you with water (in abundance).”
[Al-Qur’an 15:22]


According to a huge number of online sources, a five year old Kenyan boy (sometimes he is claimed to be Tanzanian or Nigerian) can recite the entire Qur'an and preach in at least five languages. The boy is alleged to have converted thousands of people all over the world. However, according to many Muslims who have seen him in person, the whole Shariff Idd story is an elaborate hoax or money-making scheme. In reality, he can recite a surah or two. For example, one eyewitness says, "A translator then asked him to recite some suras such as Ar-Rahman, Al-Mulk, etc. and the boy replied, "I don't know that". They then asked him to recite suratul Ala, to which he replied again, "I don't know that". They then asked him to recite suratul Ihklas, he said, "I don't know that". It then became obvious to everyone that the boy knew nothing of the Quran, and was simply fooling everyone with an elaborate and well-conceived con. When the father returned and noticed what was going on, he quickly hustled the boy and his bodyguards out of the auditorium. Many attendees felt betrayed, especially when it was discovered that the boy and his "family" left town soon thereafter and their whereabouts were unknown."
The Arabic word used here is lawaaqih which is the plural of laqih from laqaha, which means
to impregnate or fecundate. In this context, impregnate means that the wind pushes the clouds
together increasing the condensation that causes lightning and thus rain. A similar description is
found in the following verses of the Qur’an:
“Seest thou not that Allah makes the clouds move gently, then joins them
together, then makes them into a heap?–then wilt thou see rain issue forth
from their midst. And He sends down from the sky mountain masses (of clouds) wherein is hail: He strikes therewith whom He pleases and He turns it away from whom He pleases. the vivid flash of His lightning well-nigh blinds the sight.”
[Al-Qur’an 24:43]


===Fake Conversions===
“It is Allah Who sends the Winds, and they raise the Clouds: then does He spread them in the sky as He wills, and break them into fragments, until thou seest raindrops issue from the midst thereof: then when He has made them
{{Main|Fake Conversions}}
reach such of His servants as He wills, behold, they do rejoice!”
[Al-Qur’an 30:48]


Apologists sometimes claim various famous persons have converted to Islam. These stories are tenacious. Even after these conversion stories have been shown to be untrue: they continue to circulate the internet and are retold in newspapers and televisions shows throughout the Islamic world. They do this in order to boost morale, to prove that Islam is the “truth,” and that even rich celebrities from non-Muslim societies can see this. In reality, people are leaving Islam by the millions.
Modern data on Hydrology agrees perfectly with the Qur'anic description on the same subject.
The water cycle is described in several other verses of the Glorious Qur’an, including 7:57, 13:17, 25:48-49, 35:9, 36:34, 45:5, 50:9-11, 56:68-70 and 67:30.


===Praying Tree===
=== GEOLOGY===
{{Main|Praying Tree}}
{{GEOLOGY}}


Various Islamic websites have been touting images of a miraculous "praying" tree in an undisclosed location in Australia, claiming it is facing the Kaaba in Mecca (the direction Muslims all over the world face when in prayer). This tree has clearly been artificially carved over time to give the impression of a human form (tree shaping or arborsculpture is actually a valid art form). There is also no proof whatsoever to suggest this bent trunk does indeed face Mecca. Additionally, trees (like clouds) are limitless in variety and shape. There are many naturally formed trees that resemble many things. For example, trees that appear to be praying as a Christian or Hindu might, trees that appear to have male genitalia, trees that appear to have a female form, and even trees that appear to be engaging in sexual intercourse.
MOUNTAINS ARE LIKE TENT PEGS
In geology, the phenomenon of ‘folding’, is a recently discovered fact. Folding is responsible for the formation of mountain ranges. The earth’s crust, on  which we live, is like a solid shell, while the deeper layers are hot and fluid, and thus inhospitable to any form of life. It is also known that the stability of the mountains is linked to the phenomenon of folding, for it was the folds that were to provide foundations for the reliefs that constitute the mountains.
Geologists tell us that the radius of the Earth is about 6,035 km and the crust on which we live is
very thin, ranging between 2 to 35 km. Since the crust is thin, it has a high possibility of shaking.
Mountains act like stakes or tent pegs that hold the earth’s crust and give it stability. The Qur’an
contains exactly such a description:
“Have We not made the earth as a wide expanse,
and the mountains as pegs?”
[Al-Qur’an 78:6-7]


===Muhammad in the Clouds===
The word awtaad means stakes or pegs (like those used to anchor a tent); they are the deep
{{Main|Allah and Muhammad in the Clouds#Muhammad|l1=Muhammad in the Clouds}}
foundations of geological folds. A book entitled ‘Earth’ is regarded as a basic reference textbook on geology in many universities around the world. One of the authors of this book is
Dr. Frank Press, who was the President of the Academy of Sciences in the USA for 12 years and
was the Science Advisor to former US President Jimmy Carter. In this book, he illustrates the
mountain in a wedge-shape and the mountain itself as a small part of the whole, whose root is deeply entrenched in the ground. According to Dr. Press, the mountains play an important role in stabilizing the crust of the earth.


Some apologists claim that during a speech made by Dr. Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri on the international Mawlid-un-Nabi Conference, the word "Muhammad" appeared near the Moon just as the Shaykh was spelling the name and said "I wish I had a board to write it on". As proof, they provide an image claimed to be from the event. This image clearly shows the clouds in front of the moon spelling out the word "Muhammad". However, when you view the actual video from the event, neither the image nor the words of Dr. Tahir-ul-Qadri match what is claimed. In this article we show how this image could have been artificially made using a graphics program. We also provide our own comparable miracle where Allah is apparently endorsing the message of WikiIslam.
The Qur’an clearly mentions the function of the mountains in preventing the earth from shaking:
“And We have set on the earth
mountains standing firm,
lest it should shake with them.”
[Al-Qur’an 21:31]2
The Qur’anic descriptions are in perfect agreement with modern geological data.


===Bees Spell Out Allah===
MOUNTAINS FIRMLY FIXED
{{Main|Allah Written In or On Various Things#Bees Spell Out Allah|l1=Bees Spell Out Allah}}
The surface of the earth is broken into many rigid plates that are about 100 km in thickness. These plates float on a partially molten region called aesthenosphere.
Mountain formations occur at the boundary of the plates. The earth’s crust is 5 km thick below oceans, about 35 km thick below flat continental surfaces and almost 80 km thick below great mountain ranges. These are the strong foundations on which mountains stand. The Qur’an refers to the strong mountain foundations in the following verse:
“And the mountains hath He firmly fixed.”
[Al-Qur’an 79:32]1
Thus, the information contained in the Glorious Qur'an about the nature of mountains, is in perfect agreement with recent discoveries in geology.


Some apologists claim bees can write in Arabic and have decided to profess their belief in Allah by jointly writing Allah on their hive. The writing is raised above the surface of the bee-wax. This means that it is artificially made by forming the letters manually. The picture can also be interpreted as if the writings are engraved (less likely), still this can be made manually.
=== OCEANOLOGY===
We also provide an equally convincing image of a honey comb where the phrase "Wodan rules" has been photoshopped into the original.
{{OCEANOLOGY}}


===Cactus Spell Out Allah===
BARRIER BETWEEN SWEET AND SALT WATERS
{{Main|Allah Written In or On Various Things#Cactus Spell Out Allah|l1=Cactus Spell Out Allah}}
“He has let free the two bodies of flowing water, meeting together:
Between them is a Barrier which they do not transgress.”
[Al-Qur’an 55:19-20]


This photo of a cactus spelling out Allah illustrates the obvious manipulation needed to produce these miracle photos. Its branches are supposed to resemble the word Allah. However a Muslim had cut a branch from somewhere else to create the loop of "H" at the end of Allah.
In the Arabic text the word barzakh means a barrier or a partition. This barrier, however, is not a
The last branch on the left is attached to the top of the branch next to it in a very acute angle. No plant would grow like this. It is very clear that the last branch on left is stuck to the one next to it, either by glue or tapes on the other side of the branches. No natural growth can produce such an arrangement, but the upright branches can be artificially fixed/stuck to the rest. Now, this picture is an obvious forgery, but the picture we provide of a cactus displaying an "erection" is not.
physical partition. The Arabic word maraja literally means ‘they both meet and mix with each other’. Early commentators of the Qur’an were unable to explain the two opposite meanings for the two bodies of water, i.e. they meet and mix, and at the same time there is a barrier between them. Modern Science has discovered that in the places where two different seas meet, there is a barrier between them. This barrier divides the two seas so that each sea has its own temperature, salinity and density.
Oceanologists are now in a better position to explain this verse. There is a slanted unseen water barrier between the two seas through which water from one sea passes to the other.
But when the water from one sea enters the other sea, it loses its distinctive characteristic and becomes homogenized with the other water. In a way this barrier serves as a transitional homogenizing area for the two waters.


===Allah in a Melon===
This phenomenon is also mentioned in the following verse of the Qur'an:
{{Main|Allah Written In or On Various Things#Allah in a Melon|l1=Allah in a Melon}}
“And made a separating bar between the two bodies of flowing water?”
[Al-Qur’an 27:61]
This phenomenon occurs in several places, including the divider between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean at Gibralter. A white bar can also be clearly seen at Cape Point, Cape Peninsula, South Africa where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Indian Ocean.
But when the Qur’an speaks about the divider between fresh and salt water, it mentions the existence of “a forbidding partition” with the barrier.


Some Muslims claim that a certain melon was a sign from Allah, but the picture provided as evidence has obviously been doctored in Photoshop. The white seen in the middle of the red part looks like the skin of the fruit (minus the green part). This trick can be replicated in even the most basic of photo editing software. Water melons where the skin grows inwards do not exist.
“It is He Who has let free the two bodies of flowing water: one palatable and sweet, and the other salty and bitter; yet has He made a barrier between them, and a partition that is forbidden to be passed.
[Al-Qur’an 25:53]


===Mecca and Medina Glowing from Space===
Modern science has discovered that in estuaries, where fresh (sweet) and salt water meet, the
{{Main|Sunita Williams (Conversion to Islam)}}
situation is somewhat different from that found in places where two salt water seas meet. It has been discovered that what distinguishes fresh water from salt water in estuaries is a “pycnocline zone with a marked density discontinuity separating the two layers.”1 This partition (zone of separation) has a salinity different from both the fresh water and the salt water.
This phenomenon occurs in several places, including Egypt, where the river Nile flows into the
Mediterranean Sea. These scientific phenomena mentioned in the Qur’an was also confirmed by Dr. William Hay, a wellknown marine scientist and Professor of Geological Sciences at the University of Colorado, U.S.A.


Some apologists claim Sunita Williams has converted to Islam after witnessing a miracle whilst on the moon, where the entire earth looked dark, except for Mecca and Medina, which were lit up like "sparks". The images that accompany many of these claims is a top-down picture of the most holiest sites of Islam, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and the Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina, both buildings looking like bright lights surrounded by darkness. These specific images have been circulating among Muslims over the internet from as early as May 2006. Williams launched with her crew on December 9, 2006, and docked with the International Space Station on December 11, 2006, more than six months after the "miracle" images surfaced. The actual source for the original, undoctored, images is spaceimaging.com, and are dated December 1999. Although the Masjid al-Haram and the Masjid al-Nabawi appear quite striking in these images, there is nothing supernatural about their reflective white marble construction, and they are not surrounded by darkness. Watermark-free versions of these images are offered for sale by spaceimaging.com as large 4MB downloads, but whoever was behind this hoax did not purchase them. If you look closely at the doctored images, you can clearly see the watermarking.
DARKNESS IN DEPTHS OF OCEAN
Prof. Durga Rao is a world renowned expert in the field of Marine Geology and was a professor at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah. He was asked to comment on the following verse:
“Or (the Unbelievers’ state) is like the depths of darkness in a vast deep ocean, overwhelmed with billow topped by billow, topped by (dark) clouds: depths of darkness, one above another: if a man stretches out his hand, he can hardly see it! For any to whom Allah giveth not light, there is no light!”
[Al-Qur’an 24:40]
Prof. Rao said that scientists have only now been able to confirm, with the help of modern equipment, that there is darkness in the depths of the ocean.
Humans are unable to dive unaided underwater for more than 20 to 30 metres, and cannot survive in the deep oceanic regions at a depth of more than 200 metres. This verse does not refer to all seas because not every sea can be described as having accumulated darkness layered one over another. It refers especially to a deep sea or deep ocean, as the Qur’an says, “darkness in a vast deep ocean”. This layered darkness in a deep ocean is the result of two causes:
1. A light ray is composed of seven colours seen in the rainbow. These seven colours are Violet,
Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red (VIBGYOR). The light ray undergoes refraction when it hits water. The upper 10 to15 metres of water absorb the red colour. Therefore, if a diver is 25 metres under water and gets wounded, he would not be able to see the red colour of his blood, because the red colour does not reach this depth. Similarly, orange rays are absorbed at 30 to 50 metres, yellow at 50 to 100 metres, green at 100 to 200 metres, and finally, blue beyond 200 metres and violet and indigo above 200 metres. Due to successive disappearance of colour, one layer after another, the ocean progressively becomes darker, i.e. darkness takes place in layers of
light. Below a depth of 1000 meters there is complete darkness.


==Miscellaneous==
2. The sun’s rays are absorbed by clouds which in turn scatter light rays thus causing a layer of
===Standing Mosques===
darkness under the clouds. This is the first layer of darkness. When light rays reach the surface of the ocean they are reflected by the wave surface giving it a shiny appearance. Therefore, it is the waves which reflect light and cause darkness. The unreflected light penetrates into the depths of the ocean. Thus, the ocean has two parts. The surface characterized by light and warmth and the
{{Main|Standing Mosques}}
depth characterized by darkness. The surface is further separated from the deep part of the ocean
by waves. The internal waves cover the deep waters of seas and oceans because the deep waters have a higher density than the waters above them. The darkness begins below the internal waves.
Even the fish in the depths of the ocean cannot  see; their only source of light is from their own
bodies.
The Qur’an describes this aptly:
“Darkness in a vast deep ocean overwhelmed with waves topped by waves”.
In other words, above these waves there are more types of waves, i.e. those found on the surface of the ocean. The Qur’anic verse continues, “topped by (dark) clouds; depths of darkness, one  above another.”
These clouds as explained are barriers one over the other that further cause darkness by absorption of colours at different levels.
Prof. Durga Rao concluded by saying, “1400 years ago a normal human being could not explain this phenomenon in so much detail. Thus the information must have come from a supernatural source”.


When mosques are left standing in natural disasters, Muslims often claim it's a miracle and attribute it to an intervention by Allah. But there is nothing miraculous about strongly built structures with open architecture allowing water and wind to flow through, surviving waves and high winds better than weaker buildings. Nature is indiscriminate about what it damages during natural disasters, and mosques are no exception to this rule. This is proven by the hundreds of mosques which have been destroyed in natural disasters, and by the fact that non-Muslim buildings have also "miraculously" been left unharmed or standing during similar incidents. The "standing mosques" are no more miraculous than Morocco's 2010 "collapsing mosque" which only killed worshipers and left others unharmed. If the former can be used to claim Islam is the true faith, the latter can be used to prove it is a false faith
“It is He Who has Created man from water: then has He established relationships of lineage and marriage: for thy Lord has power (over all things).”
[Al-Qur’an 25:54]
Was it possible 14 centuries ago for any human being to guess that every living being was made from water? Moreover would such a guess be conceivable by a human being in the deserts of
Arabia where there has always been scarcity of water?


===Dog Responds to the Adhan===
{{Main|Dog Responds to the Adhan}}


Some apologists are claiming another animal-related miracle. This time it is a video of a dog in Jerusalem responding (or "singing") to the adhan (the Muslim call to prayer). According to its description, "Every natural being on the planet praises Allah and remembers him. This dog is just one example, and god is all knowing!" The content of the sound (the call to prayer) is not what the dog is actually responding to. This type of howling that dogs do, which is sometimes referred to as "singing" or "talking", is caused when a dog is irritated by something it hears - whether it be because of the volume or the pitch (or a combination of both). This is because a dog's hearing is much more sensitive than our own - what we may find comfortable to listen to (volume or pitch wise) may bother them quite quickly, and they howl in response to it. So what you really witness happening in the video is the opposite of what is being claimed about it. If you watch the dog's ears closely, you can see he is visibly irritated by the noise.
=== BOTANY===
{{BOTANY}}
PLANTS HAVE MALE AND FEMALE
Previously, humans did not know that plants too have male and female gender distinctions. Botany states that every plant has a male and female gender. Even the plants that are unisexual have distinct elements of both male and female.
“‘And has sent down water from the sky.’
With it have We produced diverse pairs of plants each separate from the others.”
[Al-Qur’an 20:53]


===Google Earth Proves Islam===
FRUITS HAVE MALE AND FEMALE
{{Main|Google Earth Proves Islam}}
“And fruit of every kind He made in pairs, two and two.”
[Al-Qur’an 13:3]
Fruit is the end product of reproduction of the superior plants. The stage preceding fruit is the
flower, which has male and female organs (stamens and ovules). Once pollen has been carried to the flower, they bear fruit, which in turn matures and frees its seed. All fruits therefore imply the
existence of male and female organs; a fact that is mentioned in the Qur’an.
In certain species, fruit can come from non-fertilized flowers (parthenocarpic fruit) e.g. bananas, certain types of pineapple, fig, orange, vine, etc. They also have definite sexual characteristics.


==Articles==
EVERYTHING MADE IN PAIRS
These are articles on Islamic miracles.
“And of everything We have created pairs.”
[Al-Qur’an 51:49]
 
This verse lays emphasis on everything. Besides humans, animals, plants and fruits, it may also be referring to electricity in which the atoms consist of negatively – and positively – charged electrons and protons. And many more things!
 
“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.”
[Al-Qur’an 36:36]
The Qur’an here says that everything is created in pairs, including things that the humans do not know at present and may discover later.
 
 
=== ZOOLOGY===
{{ ZOOLOGY}}
 
 
THE FLIGHT OF BIRDS
“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.”
[Al-Qur’an 16:79]
 
Another verse also touches on birds:
“Do they not observe the birds above them, spreading their wings and folding them in? None can uphold them except (Allah) Most Gracious: truly it is He that watches over all things.”
[Al-Qur’an 67:19]
 
The Arabic word amsaka literally means, ‘to put one’s hand on, seize, hold, hold someone back,’
which expresses the idea that Allah holds the bird up in His power. These verses stress the extremely close dependence of the birds’ behaviour on Divine law. Modern scientific data has shown the degree of perfection attained by certain species of birds with regard to the programming of their movements. It is only the existence of a migratory programme in the
genetic code of the birds that can explain the long and complicated journey that very young birds,
without any prior experience and without any guide, are able to accomplish. They are also able to return to the departure point on a definite date.
Prof. Hamburger in his book ‘Power and Fragility’ gives the example of ‘mutton-bird’ that lives in the Pacific with its journey of over 24,000 km in the shape of figure ‘8’. It makes this journey over a period of 6 months and comes back to its departure point with a maximum delay of one week. The highly complicated instructions for such a journey have to be contained in the birds’ nervous cells. They are definitely programmed. Therefore, should we not at least reflect on the identity of this ‘Programmer’?
 
THE BEE AND ITS SKILL
“And thy Lord taught the Bee to build its cells in hills, on trees, and in (men’s) habitations; then to eat of all the produce (of the earth), and find with skill the spacious paths of its Lord.”
[Al-Qur’an 16:68-69]
Von-Frisch received the Nobel Prize in 1973 for his research on the behaviour and communication of the bees. The bee, after discovering any new garden or flower, goes back and tells its fellow bees the exact direction and map to get there, which is known as ‘bee dance’. The meanings of this insect’s movements that are intended to transmit information between worker bees have been discovered scientifically using photography and other methods. The Qur’an mentions in the above verses how the bee with its skill, finds the spacious paths of its Lord.
The gender used for the bee in the above verses is the female gender (fa’slukî and kulî), indicating that the bee that leaves its home for gathering food is a female bee. In other words the soldier or worker bee is a female bee.
In fact, in Shakespeare’s play, ‘Henry the Fourth’, some of the characters speak about bees and mention that the bees are soldiers and that they have a king. That is what people thought in Shakespearean times. They thought that the worker bees are male bees and they go home and are answerable to a king bee. This, however, is not true. The worker bees are females and they do not report to a king bee but to a queen bee. But it took modern investigations in the last 300 years to
discover this.
 
SPIDER’S WEB, THE FRAGILE HOME
“The parable of those who take protectors other than Allah is that of the Spider, who builds (to itself) a house;
but truly the flimsiest of houses is the Spider’s house – if they but knew.”
[Al-Qur’an 29:41]
Besides giving the physical description of the spider’s web as being very flimsy, delicate and weak, the Qur’an also stresses on the flimsiness of the relationship in the spider’s house, where the female spider many a times kills its mate, the male spider.
The parable also has reference to the weakness of such relationship of the people who seek protection for this world and for the hereafter from those other than Allah.
 
LIFESTYLE AND COMMUNICATION OF ANTS
“And before Solomon were marshalled his hosts – of Jinns and men and birds,
and they were all kept in order and ranks.
“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.’”
[Al-Qur’an 27:17-18]
 
In the past, some people would have probably mocked at the Qur’an, taking it to be a book of fairy tales in which ants talk to each other and communicate sophisticated messages. In recent times however, research has shown us several fact about the lifestyle of ants, which were not known earlier to humankind. Research has shown that the animals or insects whose lifestyle is closest in resemblance to the lifestyle of human beings are the ants. This can be seen from the following findings regarding ants:
(a) The ants bury their dead in a manner similar to the humans.
(b) They have a sophisticated system of division of labour, whereby they have managers, supervisors, foremen, workers, etc.
(c) Once in a while they meet among themselves to have a ‘chat’.
(d) They have an advanced method of communication among themselves.
(e) They hold regular ‘markets’ where they exchange goods.
(f) They store grain for long periods in winter and if the grain begins to bud, they cut the roots, as
if they understand that if they leave it to grow, it will rot. If the grain stored by them gets wet due to rains, they take it out into the sunlight to dry, and once dry, they take it back inside as though they know that humidity will cause development of root systems which will cause the grain to rot.
 
=== MEDICINE===
{{MEDICINE}}
 
HONEY: HEALING FOR HUMANKIND
The bee assimilates juices of various kinds of flowers and fruit and forms honey within its body,
which it stores in its cells of wax. Only a couple of centuries ago humans came to know that honey comes from the belly of the bee. But this fact was mentioned in the Qur’an 1,400 years ago in the following verse:
“There issues from within their bodies a drink of varying colours, wherein is healing for human.”
[Al-Qur’an 16:69]
We are only now aware that honey has healing properties and is also a mild antiseptic. The Russians would use honey to cover their wounds in World War II. The wound would retain moisture and would leave very little scar tissue. Due to the density of honey, no fungus or bacteria could grow in the wound.
Dramatic improvements were visible in 22 incurable chest and Alzheimer's disease patients at nursing Homes in England who were treated by Sister Carole, a nun, with propolis, a substance which bees produce to seal hives against bacteria.
 
A person suffering from an allergy of a particular plant may be given honey from that plant so that the person develops resistance to that allergy. Honey is also rich in fructose and vitamin K. The knowledge contained in the Qur’an regarding honey, its origin and properties, was discovered centuries after its revelation.
 
=== PHYSIOLOGY===
{{PHYSIOLOGY}}
 
BLOOD CIRCULATION AND MILK
The Qur’an was revealed 600 years before the Muslim scientist Ibn Nafees described the
circulation of the blood and 1,000 years before William Harwey brought this understanding to the
Western world. Roughly thirteen centuries before it was known what happens in the intestines to
ensure that organs are nourished by the process of digestive absorption, a verse in the Qur’an described the source of the constituents of milk, in conformity with these notions.
To understand the Qur’anic verse concerning the above concepts, it is important to know that
chemical reactions occur in the intestines and that, from there, substances extracted from food pass into the blood stream via a complex system; sometimes by way of the liver, depending on their chemical nature. The blood transports them to all the organs of the body, among which are the milk-producing mammary glands.
In simple terms, certain substances from the contents of the intestines enter into the vessels of
the intestinal wall itself, and these substances are transported by the blood stream to the various
organs. This physiological concept must be fully appreciated if we wish to understand the following verses of the Qur’an:
“And verily in cattle there is a lesson for you.
We give you to drink of what is inside their bodies, coming from a conjunction between the contents of the intestine and the blood, a milk pure and pleasant for those who drink it.”
[Al-Qur’an 16:66]
 
“And in cattle (too) ye have an instructive example: from within their bodies
We produce (milk) for you to drink; there are, in them, (besides), numerous (other) benefits for you; and of their (meat) ye eat.”
[Al-Qur’an 23:21]
 
The 1400 year old Qur’anic description of the production of milk in cattle is strikingly similar to what modern physiology has discovered in recent times
 
 
 
 
=== EMBRYOLOGY ===
{{EMBRYOLOGY}}
 
 
 
EMBRYOLOGY MUSLIMS SEEK ANSWERS
A group of Muslim Scholars, under the direction of an eminent Yemani Scholar, Sheikh Abdul Majid Azzindani, collected information concerning embryology1 and other sciences in the Qur'an andundisputed Hadith2 and translated it into English. They then followed the Qur'anic advice:
“If ye realise this not, ask of those who possess the Message.”
[Al-Qur’an 16:43 & 21:7]
 
All the information from the Qur’an and the undisputed Hadith concerning embryology so
gathered, after being translated into English and presented to Prof. (Dr.) Keith Moore, Professor of Embryology and Chairman of the Department of Anatomy at the University of Toronto, in Canada. At present he is one of the highest authorities in the field of Embryology. He was asked to give his opinion regarding the material presented to him. After carefully examining it, Dr. Moore said that most of the information concerning embryology mentioned in the Qur’an and the undisputed Hadith is in perfect conformity with modern discoveries in the field of embryology and does not conflict with them in any way. He added that there were a few verses however, on whose scientific accuracy he could not comment. He could not say whether the statements were true or false, since he was himself unaware of the information contained therein. There was also no mention of this information in modern writings and studies on embryology. One such verse is:
“Proclaim! (or Read!)
In the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created – Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood.”
[Al-Qur’an 96:1-2]
 
The Arabic word alaq, besides meaning a congealed clot of blood, also means something that clings, aleech-like substance.
Dr. Keith Moore had no knowledge whether an embryo in the initial stages appears like a leech. To check this out he studied the initial stage of the embryo under a very powerful microscope and compared what he observed with the diagram of a leech. He was astonished at the striking resemblance between the two!
In the same manner, he acquired more information on embryology, that was hitherto not known to him, from the Qur’an.
Dr. Keith Moore answered about eighty questions dealing with embryological data mentioned in the Qur’an and Hadith. Noting that the information contained in the Qur’an and Hadith was in full agreement with the latest discoveries in the field of embryology, Prof. Moore said, “If I was asked these questions thirty years ago, I would not have been able to answer half of them for lack of scientific information”.
In 1981, during the Seventh Medical Conference in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, Dr. Moore said, “It has been a great pleasure for me to help clarify statements in the Qur’an about human development. It is clear to me that these statements must have come to Muhammad from God or Allah, because almost all of this knowledge was not discovered until many centuries later. This proves to me that Muhammad must have been a messenger of God or Allah”.
Dr. Keith Moore had earlier authored the book, ‘The Developing Human’. After acquiring new
knowledge from the Qur’an, he wrote, in 1982, the 3rd edition of the same book, ‘The Developing Human’. The book was the recipient of an award for the best medical book written by a single author. This book has been translated into several major languages of the world and is used as a textbook of embryology in the first year of medical studies.
Dr. Joe Leigh Simpson, Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, at the Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, U.S.A., proclaims: “...these Hadiths, sayings of Muhammad (pbuh), could not have been obtained on the basis of the scientific knowledge that was available at the time of the writer (implying in the 7th century). It follows that not only is there no conflict between genetics and religion (implying Islam) but in fact religion (Islam) may guide science by adding revelation to some of the traditional scientific approaches . . . there exist
statements in the Qur’an shown centuries later to be valid which support knowledge in the Qur’an having been derived from God.”
 
DROP EMITTED FROM BETWEEN THE BACK BONE AND THE RIBS
“Now let man but think from what he is created!
He is created from a drop emitted – Proceeding from between the back bone and the ribs.”
[Al-Qur’an 86:5-7]
In embryonic stages, the reproductive organs of the male and female, i.e. the testicles and the ovaries, begin their development near the kidney between the spinal column and the eleventh and twelfth ribs.
Later they descend; the female gonads (ovaries) stop in the pelvis while the male gonads (testicles)continue their descent before birth to reach the scrotum through the inguinal canal. Even in adulthood after the descent of the reproductive organs, these organs receive their nerve supply and blood supply from the Abdominal Aorta, which is in the area between the backbone (spinal column) and the ribs. The lymphatic drainage and the venous return also go to the same area.
 
NUTFAH – MINUTE QUANTITY OF LIQUID
The Glorious Qur’an mentions no less than eleven times that the human being is created from nutfah, which means a minute quantity of liquid or a trickle of liquid that remains after emptying a cup. This is mentioned in several verses of the Qur’an including 22:5 and 23:13.
Science has confirmed in recent times that only one out of an average of three million sperms is required for fertilising the ovum. This means that only 1/3 millionth part or 0.00003% of the quantity of sperms that are emitted is required for fertilisation.
 
SULALAH – QUINTESSENCE OF LIQUID
“And made his progeny from a quintessence of the nature of a fluid despised.”
[Al-Qur’an 32:8]
The Arabic word sulaalah means quintessence or the best part of a whole. We have come to know now that only one single spermatozoon that penetrates the ovum is required for fertilization, out of the several million produced by man. That one spermatozoon out of several million, is referred to in the Qur’an as sulaalah. We have also come to know now that only one ovum is fertilized out of the tens of thousand produced by the female. That one ovum out of tens of thousand is also refered to in the Qur'an as Sulaalah. This word also means gentle extraction from a fluid. The fluid refers to both male and female germinal fluids containing gametes. Both ovum and sperm are gently extracted from their environments in the process of fertilization.
 
NUTFATUN AMSHAAJ – MINGLED LIQUIDS
“Verily We created man from a drop of mingled sperm.”
[Al-Qur’an 76:2]
The Arabic word nutfatin amshaajin means mingled liquids. According to some commentators of the Qur’an, mingled liquids refers to the male or female agents or liquids. After mixture of male and female gamete, the zygote still remains nutfah. Mingled liquids can also refer to spermatic fluid that is formed of various secretions that come from various glands.
Therefore, nutfatin amshaaj, i.e. a minute quantity of mingled fluids refers to the male and female gametes (germinal fluids or cells) and part of the surrounding fluids.
 
SEX DETERMINATION
The sex of a foetus is determined by the nature of the sperm and not of the ovum. The sex of the child, whether female or male, depends on whether the 23rd pair of chromosomes is XX or XY respectively. Primarily, sex determination occurs at fertilization and depends upon the type of sex chromosome in the sperm that fertilizes an ovum. If it is an ‘X’ bearing sperm that fertilizes the ovum, the foetus is a female and if it is a ‘Y’ bearing sperm then
the foetus is a male.
“That He did create
in pairs – male and female,
from a seed when lodged
(in its place).”
[Al-Qur’an 53:45-46]
The Arabic word nutfah means a minute quantity of liquid and tumnaa means ejaculated or planted. Therefore nutfah specifically refers to sperm because it is ejaculated.
 
The Qur’an says:
“Was he not a drop of sperm emitted (in lowly form)?
“Then did he become a clinging clot; then did (Allah) make and fashion (him) in due proportion. “And of him He made two sexes, male and female.”
[Al-Qur’an 75:37-39]
Here again it is mentioned that a small quantity (drop) of sperm (indicated by the word nutfatan min maniyyin) which comes from the man is responsible for the sex of the foetus. Mothers-in-law in the Indian subcontinent, usually prefer having male grandchildren and often blame their daughters-in-law if the child is not a boy. If only they knew that the determining factor is the nature of the male sperm and not the female ovum! If they were to blame anybody, they should rather blame their sons, not their daughters-in-law, since both the Qur’an and Science hold that it is the male fluid that is responsible for the sex of the child!
 
FOETUS PROTECTED BY THREE VEILS
OF DARKNESS
“He makes you,
in the wombs of your mothers,
in stages, one after another,
in three veils of darkness.”
[Al-Qur’an 39:6]
According to Prof. Keith Moore, these three veils of
darkness in the Qur’an refer to:
(i) anterior abdominal wall of the mother
(ii) the uterine wall
(iii) the amnio-chorionic membrane.
 
EMBRYOLOGICAL STAGES
“Man We did create from a quintessence (of clay);
then We placed him as (a drop of) sperm in a place of rest, firmly fixed;
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 and clothed
the bones with flesh; then We developed out of it another creature.
so blessed be Allah, the Best to create!”
[Al-Qur’ an 23:12-14]
 
In this verse Allah states that man is created from a small quantity of liquid which is placed in a place of rest, firmly fixed (well established or lodged) for which the Arabic word qaraarin makeen is used. The uterus is well protected from the posterior by the spinal column supported firmly by the back muscles. The embryo is further protected by the amniotic sac containing the amniotic fluid. Thus the foetus has a well protected dwelling place. This small quantity of fluid is made into alaqah meaning something which clings. It also means a leech-like substance. Both descriptions are scientifically acceptable as in the very early stages the foetus clings to the wall and also appears to resemble the leech in shape. It also behaves like a leech (blood sucker) and acquires its blood supply from the mother through the placenta.
 
The third meaning of the word alaqah is a blood clot. During this alaqah stage, which spans the third and fourth week of pregnancy, the blood clots within closed vessels. Hence the embryo acquires the appearance of a blood clot in addition to acquiring the appearance of a leech. Compare the readily available Qur'anic knowledge with Man's struggle with scientific findings: In 1677, Hamm and Leeuwenhoek were the first scientists to observe human sperm cells (spermatozoa) through a microscope. They thought that a sperm cell contained a miniature human being which grew in the uterus to form a newborn This was known as the perforation theory. When scientists discovered that the ovum was bigger than the sperm, it was thought by scientists like De Graf and others that the foetus existed in a miniature form in the ovum. Later, in the 18th century, Maupertuis propagated the theory of biparental inheritance.
 
The alaqah is transformed into mudghah which means ‘something that is chewed (having teeth marks)’ and also something that is tacky and small which can be put in the mouth like gum. Both these explanations are scientifically correct. Prof. Keith Moore took a piece of plaster seal and made it into the size and shape of the early stage of foetus and chewed it between the teeth to make it into a mudghah. He compared this with the photographs of the early stage of foetus. The teeth marks resembled the ‘somites’ which is the early formation of the spinal column. This mudghah is transformed into bones (izâm). The bones are clothed with intact flesh or muscles (lahm). Then Allah makes it into another creature.
 
Prof. Marshall Johnson who is one of the leading scientists in the USA, and is the head of the Department of Anatomy and Director of the Daniel Institute at the Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia in the USA, was asked to comment on the verses of the Qur’an dealing with embryology. At first he said that the verses of the Qur’an describing the embryological stages cannot be a coincidence. It was probable that Muhammad (pbuh) had a powerful microscope. On being reminded that the Qur’an was revealed 1400 years ago, and microscopes were invented many centuries after the time of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), Prof. Johnson laughed and admitted that the first microscope invented could not magnify more than 10 times and could not show a clear picture.
Later he said: “I see nothing here in conflict with the concept that Divine intervention was involved when Muhammad (pbuh) recited the Qur’an.
” According to Dr. Keith Moore, the modern classification of embryonic development stages which is adopted throughout the world, is not easily comprehensible, since it identifies stages on a numerical basis i.e. stage 1, stage 2, etc. On the other hand, the divisions revealed in the Qur’an are based on distinct and easily identifiable forms or shapes, which the embryo passes through. These are based on different phases of pre-natal development and provide elegant scientific descriptions that are comprehensible and practical. Embryological stages of human development have also been described in the following verses:
“Was he not a drop of sperm emitted (in lowly form)?
Then did he become a clinging clot; then did (Allah) make and fashion (him) in due proportion. and of him He made two sexes, male and female.”
[Al-Qur’an 75:37-39]
 
“Him Who created thee, fashioned thee in due proportion, and gave thee a just bias; in whatever Form He wills, does He put thee together.”
[Al-Qur’an 82:7-8]
 
EMBRYO PARTLY FORMED AND PARTLY UNFORMED
At the mudghah stage, if an incision is made in the embryo and the internal organ is dissected, it will be seen that most of them are formed while the remaining are not yet completely formed.
According to Prof. Johnson, if we describe the embryo as a complete creation, then we are only
describing that part which is already created. If we describe it as an incomplete creation, then
we are only describing that part which is not yet created. So, is it a complete creation or an incomplete creation? There is no better description of this stage of embryogenesis than the Qur’anic description, “partly formed and partly unformed”, as in the following verse:
“We created you out of dust, then out of sperm, then out of a leech-like clot, then out of a morsel of flesh, partly formed and partly unformed that We may manifest
(Our Power) to you.”
[Al-Qur’an 22:5]
 
Scientifically we know that at this early stage of development there are some cells which are
differentiated and there are some cells that are undifferentiated – some organs are formed and yet
others unformed.
 
SENSE OF HEARING AND SIGHT
The first sense to develop in a developing human embryo is hearing. The foetus can hear sounds after the 24th week. Subsequently, the sense of sight is developed and by the 28th week, the retina becomes sensitive to light. The Qur'an explains it thus:
“And He gave you (the faculties of) hearing
and sight and feeling (and understanding).”
[Al-Qur’an 32:9]
“Verily We created man from a drop of mingled sperm, in order to try him:
so We gave him (the gifts), of Hearing and Sight.”
[Al-Qur’an 76:2]
“It is He Who has created for you (the faculties of) hearing, sight, feeling and
understanding: little thanks it is ye give!”
[Al-Qur’an 23:78]
In all these verses the sense of hearing is mentioned before that of sight. Thus the Qur’anic description matches perfectly with the discoveries in modern embryology.
 
 
===GENERAL SCIENCE===
{{GENERAL SCIENCE}}
 
 
FINGERPRINTS
“Does man think that We cannot assemble his bones?
Nay, We are able to put together in perfect order the very tips of his fingers.”
[Al-Qur’an 75:3-4]
 
Unbelievers argue regarding resurrection taking place after bones of dead people have disintegrated in the earth and how each individual would be identified on the Day of Judgement. Almighty Allah answers that He can not only assemble our bones but can also reconstruct perfectly our very fingertips. Why does the Qur’an, while speaking about determination of the identity of the individual, speak specifically about fingertips? In 1880, fingerprinting became the scientific method of identification, after research done by Sir Francis Golt. No two persons in the world can ever have exactly the same fingerprint pattern, not even identical twins. That is the reason why police forces worldwide use fingerprints to identify criminals. Fourteen hundred years ago, who could have known the uniqueness of each human’s fingerprint? Surely it could have been none other than the Creator Himself!
 
PAIN RECEPTORS IN THE SKIN
It was thought that the sense of feeling and pain was dependent only on the brain. Recent discoveries however prove that there are pain receptors present in the skin, without which a person would not beable to feel pain. When a doctor examines a patient suffering from
burn injuries, he verifies the degree of burns by a pinprick. If the patient feels pain, the doctor is
happy, because it indicates that the burns are superficial and the pain receptors are intact. On the
other hand, if the patient does not feel any pain, it indicates that it is a deep burn and the pain
receptors have been destroyed. The Qur’an gives a clear indication of the existence of pain receptors in the following verse:
“Those who reject our signs,
We shall soon cast into the Fire;
as often as their skins are roasted through,
We shall change them for fresh skins,
that they may taste the Penalty:
for Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise.”
[Al-Qur’an 4:56]
 
Prof. Tagatat Tejasen, Chairman of the Department  of Anatomy at Chiang Mai University in Thailand, has spent a great amount of time on research of pain receptors. Initially he could not believe that the Qur’an mentioned this scientific fact 1,400 years ago. He later verified the translation of this particular Qur’anic verse. Prof. Tejasen was so impressed by the scientific accuracy of the Qur’anic verse, that at the 8th Saudi Medical Conference held in Riyadh on the Scientific Signs of Qur’an and Sunnah, he proudly proclaimed in public:
“There is no God but Allah and
Muhammad (pbuh) is His Messenger.”
 
===CONCLUSION===
{{CONCLUSION|l1=CONCLUSION}}
CONCLUSION
To attribute the presence of scientific facts in the Qur’an to coincidence would be against common sense and a true scientific approach. Indeed the scientific accuracy of the Qur'anic verses confirm the Qur'an's open declaration.
“Soon will We show them Our Signs in the (furthest)
regions (of the earth), and in their own souls, until
it becomes manifest to them that this is the Truth
it is not enough that Thy Lord doth witness all things?”
[Al-Qur’an 41:53]
 
The Qur’an invites all humans to reflect on the
Creation of this universe in the verse:
“Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth,
and the alternation of Night and Day –
there are indeed Signs for men of understanding .”
[Al-Qur’an 3:190]
 
The scientific evidences of the Qur’an clearly prove its Divine origin. No human could have produced a book, fourteen hundred years ago, that would contain such profound scientific facts.
The Qur’an, however, is not a book of Science but a book of ‘Signs’. These signs invite Man to realize the purpose of his existence on earth, and to live in harmony with Nature. The Qur’an is truly a message from Allah, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. It contains the same Message of the Oneness of God, that was preached by all prophets, right from Adam, Moses, Jesus to Muhammad (peace be upon them). Several detailed tomes have been written on the
subject of Qur’an and modern science and further research in this field is on. Inshallah, this research will help mankind to come closer to the Word of the Almighty. This page contains only a few of the scientific facts present in the Qur’an. I cannot claim to have done full justice to the subject.
Prof. Tejasen accepted Islam on the strength of just one scientific ‘sign’ mentioned in the Qu’ran. Some people may require ten signs while some may require hundred signs to be convinced about the Divine origin of the Qur’an. Some would be unwilling to accept the Truth even after being shown a thousand signs. The Qur’an condemns such a closed mentality in the verse:
“Deaf, dumb and blind,
They will not return (To the path).”
[Al-Qur’an 2:18]
 
The Qur’an contains a complete code of life for the individual and society. Alhamdulillah (Praise be to Allah), the Qur’anic way of life is far superior to the ‘isms’ that modern man has invented out of sheer ignorance. Who can give better guidance than the Creator Himself? I pray that this humble effort is accepted by Allah, to whom I pray for mercy and guidance (Aameen).


*[[Cosmology of the Quran|Cosmology of the Qur'an]]
*[[Muhammads Miracles|Muhammad's Miracles]]
*[[Witnessing the Moon Splitting Miracle]]


==See Also==
==See Also==
Line 176: Line 623:
'''Articles'''
'''Articles'''


*[[Islamic Prophecies]] ''- This in-depth study refutes false claims of fulfilled Qur'anic prophecies''
{{Hub4|Jeffry Lang: A Professor covert to Islam}}
*[[How Islamic Inventors Did Not Change The World]] ''- This article refutes false claims of inventions attributed to Islamic inventors''
{{Hub4|Yousuf Estes: A priest convert to Islam}}
{{Hub4|Shabbir Alley Debate on Youtube}}
* [[Sheikh Ahmad Deedat]]
 
'''Multimedia'''
 
* [[Videos on Islam: Is Mohammad Last Messenger by Sheikh Ahmad Deedat]]


'''Other Core Articles'''
'''Other Core Articles'''


''Core articles contain an overview of other articles related to a specific issue, and serve as a starting point for anyone wishing to learn about Islam:''
''Core articles contain an overview of other articles related to a specific issue, and serve as a starting point for anyone wishing to learn about Islam:''
* [[Islam and Apostasy]]
 
* [[Islam and Homosexuality]]
* [[The Life of Muhammad]]
* [[Islam and Pedophilia]]
* [[The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World]]
* [[Islam and Propaganda]]
* [[Encyclopedia of Seerah]]
* [[Islam and Science]]
* [[THE MEANING OF THE GLORIOUS QUR'AN]]
* [[Islam and Scripture]]
* [http://d1.islamhouse.com/data/en/ih_books/single/en_The_Quran_and_Modern_Science.pdf]
* [[Islam and the People of the Book]]
* [[The Holy Qur'an]]
* [[Islam and Violence]]
* [[The Bible]]
* [[Islam and Women]]
* [[The Torah]]
* [[The Zaboor]]


==External Links==
==External Links==


*[{{Reference archive|1=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-11-09/varanasi/28067647_1_goat-bakrid-sacrifice|2=2012-11-30}} A Goat Suffering from Birth-Defects Resulting in 6 Legs, 4 Testicles and 3 Penises, Hailed as a Miracle of Islam]
*[http://www.peacetv.tv/en-gb/speakers/yusuf-estes] ''- Yousuf Estes''
*[http://answering-islam.org/Hoaxes/index.html Scrutinizing Rumors And Exposing Hoaxes] ''- [[Answering Islam]]''
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9D1HundH58w] ''- Shabir Ally''
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLqIe7gJFGI]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svXK_pFwMNg]
*[http://www.ipci.co.za/e-books/
*[www.parexcellence.co.za]
*[{{Dictionary of Islam}}]
 
==References==
{{Reflist|30e}}


[[Category:Core Article]]
[[Category:Core Article]]
[[Category:Islamic Propaganda]]
[[Category:Islam]]
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Revision as of 21:20, 5 July 2014

Miracle of Quran

Main Article: Miracle of Quran

Al-Qur’an, the main source of the Islamic faith, is a book believed by its followers, the Muslims, to be completely of Divine origin. Muslims also believe that it contains guidance for all humankind. Since the message of the Qur’an is believed to be for all times, it should be relevant to every age. But does the Qur’an pass this test? There was a time, in the history of world civilization, when ‘miracles’, or what were perceived to be miracles, took precedence over human reason and logic. Of course, the normal defination of ‘miracle’ is simply, anything that takes place out of the normal course of life and for which humankind has no explanation. However, we must be careful before accepting something as a miracle. In 1993, ‘The Times of India’, Mumbai, reported that ‘a saint’ by the name ‘Baba Pilot’ claimed to have stayed continuously submerged under water in a tank for three consecutive days and nights. However, when reporters wanted to examine the bottom of the tank of water in which he claimed to have performed his ‘miraculous feat’, he refused to let them do so. He argued by asking as to how one could examine the womb of a mother that gives birth to a child. Obviously the ‘saint’ had something to conceal! His claim was a gimmick simply to gain publicity. Surely, no modern person with even the slightest inkling towards rational thinking would accept such a ‘miracle’. If such false miracles are the tests of divinity, then we would have to accept all world famous magicians known for their ingenious magical tricks and illusions, as genuine God-men! A book, claiming to be of Divine origin, is in effect, claiming to be a miracle. Such a claim should be easily verifiable in any age, according to the standards of that age. Muslims believe, that the Qur’an is the last and final revelation of God, the miracle of miracles, revealed as a mercy to mankind.

Let us therefore investigate the veracity of this belief. ____________________________________________________________ 1 Al-Qur’an 2:23-24 indicates Surah or Chapter No. 2 and Aayaat or Verses 23 and 24. The same notation is followed throughout this page. References and translation of the Qur’an are from the translation of the Qur’an by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, new revised edition, 1989, published by Amana Corporation, Maryland, USA.


THE CHALLENGE OF THE QUR’AN

Template:THE CHALLENGE OF THE QUR’AN

Literature and poetry have been instruments of human expression and creativity, in all cultures. The world also witnessed an age when literature and poetry occupied pride of position, similar to that now enjoyed by science and technology. Even non-Muslim scholars agree that the Qur’an is Arabic literature par excellence – that it is the best Arabic literature on the face of the earth. The Qur’an challenges mankind to produce the likes of it: “And if ye are in doubt as to what We have revealed from time to time to Our servant, then produce a Surah like thereunto; and call your witnesses or helpers (if there are any) besides Allah, if your (doubts) are true. “But if ye cannot – and of a surety you cannot – then fear the Fire whose fuel is Men and Stones – which is prepared for those who reject Faith.” [Al-Qur’an 2:23-24]

The challenge of the Qur’an, is to produce a single Surah (chapter) like the Surahs it contains. The same challenge is repeated in the Qur’an several times. The challenge to produce a Surah, which, in beauty, eloquence, depth and meaning is at least somewhat similar to a Qur’anic Surah remains unmet to this day. A modern rational man, however, would never accept a religious scripture which says, in the best possible poetic language, that the world is flat. This is because we live in an age, where human reason, logic and science are given primacy. Not many would accept the Qur’an’s extraordinarily beautiful language, as proof of its Divine origin. Any scripture claiming to be a divine revelation must also be acceptable on the strength of its own reason and logic. According to the famous physicist and Nobel Prize winner, Albert Einstein, “Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind.” Let us therefore study the Qur’an, and analyze whether the Qur’an and Modern Science are compatible or incompatible? The Qur’an is not a book of Science but a book of ‘Signs’, i.e. Aayaats. There are more than six thousand ‘Signs’ in the Qur’an of which more than a thousand deal with hard core Science. We all know that many a times Science takes a ‘U-turn’. In this page I have considered only established scientific facts and not hypotheses and theories based on mere assumptions and not backed by proof.

ASTRONOMY

Template:ASTRONOMY

CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE: ‘THE BIG BANG’ The creation of the universe is explained by astrophysicists as a widely accepted phenomenon, popularly known as ‘The Big Bang’. It is supported by observational and experimental data gathered by astronomers and astrophysicists for decades. According to ‘The Big Bang’, the whole universe was initially one big mass (Primary Nebula). Then there was a ‘Big Bang’ (Secondary Separation) which resulted in the formation of Galaxies. These then divided to form stars, planets, the sun, the moon, etc. The origin of the universe was unique and the probability of it happening by ‘chance’ is nil. The Qur’an contains the following verse regarding the origin of the universe: “Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of Creation), before We clove them asunder?” [Al-Qu’ran 21:30]

The striking similarity between the Qur’anic verse and ‘The Big Bang’ is inescapable! How could a book, which first appeared in the deserts of Arabia 1400 years ago, contain this profound scientific truth?

INITIAL GASEOUS MASS BEFORE CREATION OF GALAXIES Scientists agree that before the galaxies in the universe were formed, celestial matter was initially in the form of gaseous matter. In short, huge gaseous matter or clouds were present before the formation of the galaxies. To describe initial celestial matter, the word ‘smoke’ is more appropriate than gas. The following Qur’anic verse refers to this state of the universe by the word dukhaan which means smoke. “Moreover, He Comprehended in His design the sky, and it had been (as) smoke: He said to it and to the earth: ‘Come ye together, willingly or unwillingly.’ They said: ‘We do come (together), in willing obedience.’” [Al-Qur’an 41:11] Again, this fact is a corollary to the ‘Big Bang’ and was not known to anyone before the prophetehood of Muhammad (Peace be upon him)1. What then, could have been the source of this knowledge?


SHAPE OF THE EARTH IS SPHERICAL In early times, people believed that the earth was flat. For centuries, men were afraid to venture out too far, for fear of falling off the edge! Sir Francis Drake was the first person who proved that the earth is spherical when he sailed around it in 1597. Consider the following Qur’anic verse regarding the alternation of day and night: “Seest thou not that Allah merges Night into Day and He merges Day into Night?” [Al-Qur’an 31:29]

Merging here means that the night slowly and gradually changes to day and vice versa. This phenomenon can only take place if the earth is spherical. If the earth was flat, there would have been a sudden change from night to day and from day to night.

The following verse also alludes to the spherical shape of the earth: “He created the heavens and the earth in true (proportions): He makes the Night overlap the Day, and the Day overlap the Night.” [Al-Qur’an 39:5] The Arabic word used here is Kawwara meaning ‘to overlap’ or ‘to coil’– the way a turban is wound around the head. The overlapping or coiling of the day and night can only take place if the earth is spherical. The earth is not exactly round like a ball, but geo-spherical, i.e. it is flattened at the poles. The following verse contains a description of the earth’s shape:

“And the earth, moreover, hath He made egg shaped.” [Al-Qur’an 79:30] The Arabic word for egg here is dahaahaa1 which means an ostrich-egg. The shape of an ostrich-egg resembles the geo-spherical shape of the earth. Thus the Qur’an correctly describes the shape of the earth, though the prevalent notion when the Qur’an was revealed was that the earth was flat.

MOONLIGHT IS REFLECTED LIGHT It was believed by earlier civilizations that the moon emanates its own light. Science now tells us that the light of the moon is reflected light. However this fact was mentioned in the Qur’an 1,400 years ago in the following verse: “Blessed is He Who made Constellations in the skies, and placed therein a Lamp and a Moon giving light.” [Al-Qur’an 25:61]

The Arabic word for the sun in the Qur’an, is shams. It is also referred to as siraaj which means a ‘torch’ or as wahhaaj meaning ‘a blazing lamp’ or as diya which means ‘shining glory’. All three descriptions are appropriate to the sun, since it generates intense heat and light by its internal combustion. The Arabic word for the moon is qamar and it is described in the Qur’an as muneer which is a body that gives noor i.e. reflected light. Again, the Qur’anic description matches perfectly with the true nature of the moon which does not give off light by itself and is an inactive body that reflects the light of the sun. Not once in the Qur’an, is the moon mentioned as siraaj, wahhaaj or diya nor the sun as noor or muneer. This implies that the Qur’an recognizes the difference between the nature of sunlight and moonlight. The following verses relate to the nature of light from the sun and the moon: “It is He who made the sun to be a shining glory and the moon to be a light (of beauty).” [Al-Qur’an 10:5]

“See ye not how Allah has created the seven heavens one above another, “And made the moon a light in their midst, and made the sun as a (Glorious) Lamp?” [Al-Qur’an 71:15-16]

The Glorious Qur'an and modern science, are thus in perfect agreement about the differences in the nature of sunlight and moonlight.

THE SUN ROTATES For a long time European philosophers and scientists believed that the earth stood still in the centre of the universe and every other body including the sun moved around it. In the West, this geocentric concept of the universe was prevalent right from the time of Ptolemy in the second century B.C. In 1512, Nicholas Copernicus put forward his Heliocentric Theory of Planetary Motion, which asserted that the sun is motionless at the centre of the solar system with the planets revolving around it. In 1609, the German scientist Yohannus Keppler published the ‘Astronomia Nova’. In this he concluded that not only do the planets move in elliptical orbits around the sun, they also rotate upon their axes at irregular speeds. With this knowledge it became possible for European scientists to explain correctly many of the mechanisms of the solar system, including the sequence of night and day. After these discoveries, it was thought that the Sun was stationary and did not rotate about its axis like the Earth. I remember having studied this fallacy from Geography books during my school days. Consider the following Qur’anic verse: “It is He Who created the Night and the Day, and the sun and the moon: All (the celestial bodies) swim along, each in its rounded course.” [Al-Qur’an 21:33]

The Arabic word used in the above verse is yasbahoon . This word is derived from the word sabaha. It carries with it the idea of motion that comes from any moving body. If you use this word for a person on the ground, it would not mean that he is rolling but would imply that he is walking or running. If you use this word for a person in water, it would not mean that he is floating but would imply that he is swimming. Similarly, if you use the word yasbah for a celestial body such as the sun, it would not only mean that itis flying through space but would also mean that it is rotating as it goes through space. Most school textbooks have now incorporated the fact that the sun rotates about its axis. The rotation of the sun about its own axis can be proved with the help of equipment that projects the image of the sun on the top of a table, so that one can examine the image of the sun without being blinded. It is noticed that the sun has spots which complete a circular motion once every 25 days i.e. the sun takes approximately 25 days to rotate round its axis. The sun travels through space at roughly 240 km per second, and takes about 200 million years to complete one revolution around the centre of our Milky Way Galaxy.

“It is not permitted to the Sun to catch up the Moon, nor can the Night outstrip the Day: Each (just) swims along in (its own) orbit (according to Law).” [Al-Qur’an 36:40] This verse mentions an essential fact discovered only recently by modern astronomy, i.e. the existence of the individual orbits of the Sun and the Moon, and their journey through space with their own motion. The ‘fixed place’ towards which the sun travels, carrying with it the solar system, has been located preirsely by modern astronomy. It has been given a name, the Solar Apex. The solar system is indeed moving in space towards a point situated in the constellation of Hercules (alpha Lyrae) whose exact location is now firmly established. The moon rotates around its axis in the same duration that it takes to revolve around the earth. It takes approximately 29½ days to complete one rotation. One cannot help but be amazed at the scientific accuracy of the Qur’anic verses. Should we not ponder over the question: “What is the source of knowledge contained in the Qur’an?”

THE SUN WILL EXTINGUISH The light of the sun is due to a chemical process on its surface that has been taking place continuously for the past five billion years. It will come to an end at some point of time in the future, when the sun will be totally extinguished, leading to extinction of all life on earth. Regarding the impermanence of the sun’s existence, the Qur’an says:

“And the Sun runs its course for a period determined for it; that is the decree of (Him) the exalted in Might, the All-Knowing.” [Al-Qur’an 36:38]

The Arabic word used here is mustaqarr, which means a place or time that is determined. Thus the Qur’an says that the sun runs towards a determined place, and will do so only up to a pre-determined period of time – meaning that it will end or extinguish.

INTERSTELLAR MATTER Space outside organized astronomical systems was earlier assumed to be a vacuum. Astrophysicists later discovered the presence of bridges of matter in this interstellar space. These bridges of matter are called plasma, and consist of completely ionized gas containing equal number of free electrons and positive ions. Plasma is sometimes called the fourth state of matter (besides the three known states viz. solid, liquid and gas). The Qur’an refers to the presence of this interstellar material in the following verse: “He Who created the heavens and the earth and all that is between.” [Al-Qur’an 25:59]

It would be ridiculous for anyone to even suggest that the presence of interstellar galactic material was known 1400 years ago!

THE EXPANDING UNIVERSE In 1925, American astronomer Edwin Hubble, provided observational evidence that all galaxies are moving away from one another, which implies that the universe is expanding. The expansion of the universe is now an established scientific fact. This is what the Qur’an says regarding the nature of the universe: “With power and skill did We construct the Firmament: For it is We Who create the vastness of Space.” [Al-Qur’an 51:47]

The Arabic word musioon is correctly translated as ‘expanding it’, and it refers to the creation of the expanding vastness of the universe. One of the greatest astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, in his book, ‘A Brief History of Time’, says, “The discovery that the universe is expanding was one of the great intellectual revolutions of the 20th century.” The Qur’an mentioned the expansion of the universe, before man even learnt to build a telescope! Some may say that the presence of astronomical facts in the Qur’an is not surprising since the Arabs were advanced in the field of astronomy. They are correct in acknowledging the advancement of the Arabs in the field of astronomy. However they fail to realize that the Qur’an was revealed centuries before the Arabs excelled in astronomy. Moreover many of the scientific facts mentioned above, such as the origin of the universe with a Big Bang, were not known to the Arabs even at the peak of their scientific advancement. The scientific facts mentioned in the Qur’an are therefore not due to the Arabs’ advancement in astronomy. Indeed, the reverse is true: they advanced in astronomy, because astronomy occupies a place in the Qur’an.

PHYSICS

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ATOMS CAN BE DIVIDED In ancient times a well-known theory by the name of ‘Theory of Atomism’ was widely accepted. This theory was originally proposed by the Greeks, in particular by a scholar called Democritus, who lived about 23 centuries ago. Democritus and the people that came after him, assumed that the smallest unit of matter was the atom. The ancient Arabs used to believe the same. The Arabic word zarrah most commonly meant an atom. In recent times modern science has discovered that it is possible to split even an atom. That the atom can be split further is a development of the 20th century. Fourteen centuries ago this concept would have appeared unusual even to an Arab. For him the zarrah was the limit beyond which one could not go. The following Qur’anic verse however, refuses to acknowledge this limit: “The Unbelievers say, ‘Never to us will come The Hour’: say, ‘Nay! but most surely, by my Lord it will come upon you – by Him Who knows the unseen – from Whom is not hidden the least little atom in the Heavens or on earth: nor is there anything less than that, or greater, but is in the Record Perspicuous.’” [Al-Qur’an 34:3] A similar message is conveyed in the Qur’an in 10:61.

This verse also refers to the Omniscience of God, His knowledge of all things, hidden or apparent. It then goes further and says that God is aware of everything, including what is smaller or bigger than the atom. Thus the verse clearly shows that it is possible for something smaller than the atom to exist, a fact discovered only recently by modern Science.


HYDROLOGY

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THE WATER CYCLE In 1580, Bernard Palissy was the first person to describe the present day concept of ‘water cycle’. He described how water evaporates from the oceans and cools to form clouds. The clouds move inland where they rise, condense and fall as rain. This water gathers as lakes and streams and flows back to the ocean in a continuous cycle. In the 7th century B.C., Thales of Miletus believed that surface spray of the oceans was picked up by the wind and carried inland to fall as rain. In earlier times people did not know the source of underground water. They thought the water of the oceans, under the effect of winds, was thrust towards the interior of the continents. They also believed that the water returned by a secret passage or the Great Abyss. This passage is connected to the oceans and has been called the ‘Tartarus’, since Plato’s time. Even Descartes, a great thinker of the eighteenth century, subscribed to this view. Till the nineteenth century, Aristotle’s theory was still prevalent. According to this theory, water was condensed in cool mountain caverns and formed underground lakes that fed springs. Today, we have come to know that the rainwater that seeps into the cracks of the ground is responsible for this. This is described by the Qur’an in the following verses: “Seest thou not that Allah sends down rain from the sky, and leads it through springs in the earth? then He causes to grow, therewith, produce of various colours.” [Al-Qur’an 39:21]

“He sends down rain from the sky and with it gives life to the earth after it is dead: Verily in that are Signs for those who are wise.” [Al-Qur’an 30:24]

“And We send down water from the sky according to (due) measure, and We cause it to soak in the soil; and We certainly are able to drain it off (with ease).” [Al-Qur’an 23:18]

No other text dating back 1400 years ago gives such an accurate description of the water cycle.

EVAPORATION “By the Firmament which returns (in its round),” [Al-Qur’an 86:11]

WINDS IMPREGNATE CLOUDS “And We send the fecundating winds, then cause the rain to descend from the sky, therewith providing you with water (in abundance).” [Al-Qur’an 15:22]

The Arabic word used here is lawaaqih which is the plural of laqih from laqaha, which means to impregnate or fecundate. In this context, impregnate means that the wind pushes the clouds together increasing the condensation that causes lightning and thus rain. A similar description is found in the following verses of the Qur’an: “Seest thou not that Allah makes the clouds move gently, then joins them together, then makes them into a heap?–then wilt thou see rain issue forth from their midst. And He sends down from the sky mountain masses (of clouds) wherein is hail: He strikes therewith whom He pleases and He turns it away from whom He pleases. the vivid flash of His lightning well-nigh blinds the sight.” [Al-Qur’an 24:43]

“It is Allah Who sends the Winds, and they raise the Clouds: then does He spread them in the sky as He wills, and break them into fragments, until thou seest raindrops issue from the midst thereof: then when He has made them reach such of His servants as He wills, behold, they do rejoice!” [Al-Qur’an 30:48]

Modern data on Hydrology agrees perfectly with the Qur'anic description on the same subject. The water cycle is described in several other verses of the Glorious Qur’an, including 7:57, 13:17, 25:48-49, 35:9, 36:34, 45:5, 50:9-11, 56:68-70 and 67:30.

GEOLOGY

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MOUNTAINS ARE LIKE TENT PEGS In geology, the phenomenon of ‘folding’, is a recently discovered fact. Folding is responsible for the formation of mountain ranges. The earth’s crust, on which we live, is like a solid shell, while the deeper layers are hot and fluid, and thus inhospitable to any form of life. It is also known that the stability of the mountains is linked to the phenomenon of folding, for it was the folds that were to provide foundations for the reliefs that constitute the mountains. Geologists tell us that the radius of the Earth is about 6,035 km and the crust on which we live is very thin, ranging between 2 to 35 km. Since the crust is thin, it has a high possibility of shaking. Mountains act like stakes or tent pegs that hold the earth’s crust and give it stability. The Qur’an contains exactly such a description: “Have We not made the earth as a wide expanse, and the mountains as pegs?” [Al-Qur’an 78:6-7]

The word awtaad means stakes or pegs (like those used to anchor a tent); they are the deep foundations of geological folds. A book entitled ‘Earth’ is regarded as a basic reference textbook on geology in many universities around the world. One of the authors of this book is Dr. Frank Press, who was the President of the Academy of Sciences in the USA for 12 years and was the Science Advisor to former US President Jimmy Carter. In this book, he illustrates the mountain in a wedge-shape and the mountain itself as a small part of the whole, whose root is deeply entrenched in the ground. According to Dr. Press, the mountains play an important role in stabilizing the crust of the earth.

The Qur’an clearly mentions the function of the mountains in preventing the earth from shaking: “And We have set on the earth mountains standing firm, lest it should shake with them.” [Al-Qur’an 21:31]2 The Qur’anic descriptions are in perfect agreement with modern geological data.

MOUNTAINS FIRMLY FIXED The surface of the earth is broken into many rigid plates that are about 100 km in thickness. These plates float on a partially molten region called aesthenosphere. Mountain formations occur at the boundary of the plates. The earth’s crust is 5 km thick below oceans, about 35 km thick below flat continental surfaces and almost 80 km thick below great mountain ranges. These are the strong foundations on which mountains stand. The Qur’an refers to the strong mountain foundations in the following verse: “And the mountains hath He firmly fixed.” [Al-Qur’an 79:32]1 Thus, the information contained in the Glorious Qur'an about the nature of mountains, is in perfect agreement with recent discoveries in geology.

OCEANOLOGY

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BARRIER BETWEEN SWEET AND SALT WATERS “He has let free the two bodies of flowing water, meeting together: Between them is a Barrier which they do not transgress.” [Al-Qur’an 55:19-20]

In the Arabic text the word barzakh means a barrier or a partition. This barrier, however, is not a physical partition. The Arabic word maraja literally means ‘they both meet and mix with each other’. Early commentators of the Qur’an were unable to explain the two opposite meanings for the two bodies of water, i.e. they meet and mix, and at the same time there is a barrier between them. Modern Science has discovered that in the places where two different seas meet, there is a barrier between them. This barrier divides the two seas so that each sea has its own temperature, salinity and density. Oceanologists are now in a better position to explain this verse. There is a slanted unseen water barrier between the two seas through which water from one sea passes to the other. But when the water from one sea enters the other sea, it loses its distinctive characteristic and becomes homogenized with the other water. In a way this barrier serves as a transitional homogenizing area for the two waters.

This phenomenon is also mentioned in the following verse of the Qur'an: “And made a separating bar between the two bodies of flowing water?” [Al-Qur’an 27:61] This phenomenon occurs in several places, including the divider between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean at Gibralter. A white bar can also be clearly seen at Cape Point, Cape Peninsula, South Africa where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Indian Ocean. But when the Qur’an speaks about the divider between fresh and salt water, it mentions the existence of “a forbidding partition” with the barrier.

“It is He Who has let free the two bodies of flowing water: one palatable and sweet, and the other salty and bitter; yet has He made a barrier between them, and a partition that is forbidden to be passed. [Al-Qur’an 25:53]

Modern science has discovered that in estuaries, where fresh (sweet) and salt water meet, the situation is somewhat different from that found in places where two salt water seas meet. It has been discovered that what distinguishes fresh water from salt water in estuaries is a “pycnocline zone with a marked density discontinuity separating the two layers.”1 This partition (zone of separation) has a salinity different from both the fresh water and the salt water. This phenomenon occurs in several places, including Egypt, where the river Nile flows into the Mediterranean Sea. These scientific phenomena mentioned in the Qur’an was also confirmed by Dr. William Hay, a wellknown marine scientist and Professor of Geological Sciences at the University of Colorado, U.S.A.

DARKNESS IN DEPTHS OF OCEAN Prof. Durga Rao is a world renowned expert in the field of Marine Geology and was a professor at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah. He was asked to comment on the following verse: “Or (the Unbelievers’ state) is like the depths of darkness in a vast deep ocean, overwhelmed with billow topped by billow, topped by (dark) clouds: depths of darkness, one above another: if a man stretches out his hand, he can hardly see it! For any to whom Allah giveth not light, there is no light!” [Al-Qur’an 24:40] Prof. Rao said that scientists have only now been able to confirm, with the help of modern equipment, that there is darkness in the depths of the ocean. Humans are unable to dive unaided underwater for more than 20 to 30 metres, and cannot survive in the deep oceanic regions at a depth of more than 200 metres. This verse does not refer to all seas because not every sea can be described as having accumulated darkness layered one over another. It refers especially to a deep sea or deep ocean, as the Qur’an says, “darkness in a vast deep ocean”. This layered darkness in a deep ocean is the result of two causes: 1. A light ray is composed of seven colours seen in the rainbow. These seven colours are Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red (VIBGYOR). The light ray undergoes refraction when it hits water. The upper 10 to15 metres of water absorb the red colour. Therefore, if a diver is 25 metres under water and gets wounded, he would not be able to see the red colour of his blood, because the red colour does not reach this depth. Similarly, orange rays are absorbed at 30 to 50 metres, yellow at 50 to 100 metres, green at 100 to 200 metres, and finally, blue beyond 200 metres and violet and indigo above 200 metres. Due to successive disappearance of colour, one layer after another, the ocean progressively becomes darker, i.e. darkness takes place in layers of light. Below a depth of 1000 meters there is complete darkness.

2. The sun’s rays are absorbed by clouds which in turn scatter light rays thus causing a layer of darkness under the clouds. This is the first layer of darkness. When light rays reach the surface of the ocean they are reflected by the wave surface giving it a shiny appearance. Therefore, it is the waves which reflect light and cause darkness. The unreflected light penetrates into the depths of the ocean. Thus, the ocean has two parts. The surface characterized by light and warmth and the depth characterized by darkness. The surface is further separated from the deep part of the ocean by waves. The internal waves cover the deep waters of seas and oceans because the deep waters have a higher density than the waters above them. The darkness begins below the internal waves. Even the fish in the depths of the ocean cannot see; their only source of light is from their own bodies. The Qur’an describes this aptly: “Darkness in a vast deep ocean overwhelmed with waves topped by waves”. In other words, above these waves there are more types of waves, i.e. those found on the surface of the ocean. The Qur’anic verse continues, “topped by (dark) clouds; depths of darkness, one above another.” These clouds as explained are barriers one over the other that further cause darkness by absorption of colours at different levels. Prof. Durga Rao concluded by saying, “1400 years ago a normal human being could not explain this phenomenon in so much detail. Thus the information must have come from a supernatural source”.

“It is He Who has Created man from water: then has He established relationships of lineage and marriage: for thy Lord has power (over all things).” [Al-Qur’an 25:54] Was it possible 14 centuries ago for any human being to guess that every living being was made from water? Moreover would such a guess be conceivable by a human being in the deserts of Arabia where there has always been scarcity of water?


BOTANY

Template:BOTANY PLANTS HAVE MALE AND FEMALE Previously, humans did not know that plants too have male and female gender distinctions. Botany states that every plant has a male and female gender. Even the plants that are unisexual have distinct elements of both male and female. “‘And has sent down water from the sky.’ With it have We produced diverse pairs of plants each separate from the others.” [Al-Qur’an 20:53]

FRUITS HAVE MALE AND FEMALE “And fruit of every kind He made in pairs, two and two.” [Al-Qur’an 13:3] Fruit is the end product of reproduction of the superior plants. The stage preceding fruit is the flower, which has male and female organs (stamens and ovules). Once pollen has been carried to the flower, they bear fruit, which in turn matures and frees its seed. All fruits therefore imply the existence of male and female organs; a fact that is mentioned in the Qur’an. In certain species, fruit can come from non-fertilized flowers (parthenocarpic fruit) e.g. bananas, certain types of pineapple, fig, orange, vine, etc. They also have definite sexual characteristics.

EVERYTHING MADE IN PAIRS “And of everything We have created pairs.” [Al-Qur’an 51:49]

This verse lays emphasis on everything. Besides humans, animals, plants and fruits, it may also be referring to electricity in which the atoms consist of negatively – and positively – charged electrons and protons. And many more things!

“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.” [Al-Qur’an 36:36] The Qur’an here says that everything is created in pairs, including things that the humans do not know at present and may discover later.


ZOOLOGY

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THE FLIGHT OF BIRDS “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.” [Al-Qur’an 16:79]

Another verse also touches on birds: “Do they not observe the birds above them, spreading their wings and folding them in? None can uphold them except (Allah) Most Gracious: truly it is He that watches over all things.” [Al-Qur’an 67:19]

The Arabic word amsaka literally means, ‘to put one’s hand on, seize, hold, hold someone back,’ which expresses the idea that Allah holds the bird up in His power. These verses stress the extremely close dependence of the birds’ behaviour on Divine law. Modern scientific data has shown the degree of perfection attained by certain species of birds with regard to the programming of their movements. It is only the existence of a migratory programme in the genetic code of the birds that can explain the long and complicated journey that very young birds, without any prior experience and without any guide, are able to accomplish. They are also able to return to the departure point on a definite date. Prof. Hamburger in his book ‘Power and Fragility’ gives the example of ‘mutton-bird’ that lives in the Pacific with its journey of over 24,000 km in the shape of figure ‘8’. It makes this journey over a period of 6 months and comes back to its departure point with a maximum delay of one week. The highly complicated instructions for such a journey have to be contained in the birds’ nervous cells. They are definitely programmed. Therefore, should we not at least reflect on the identity of this ‘Programmer’?

THE BEE AND ITS SKILL “And thy Lord taught the Bee to build its cells in hills, on trees, and in (men’s) habitations; then to eat of all the produce (of the earth), and find with skill the spacious paths of its Lord.” [Al-Qur’an 16:68-69] Von-Frisch received the Nobel Prize in 1973 for his research on the behaviour and communication of the bees. The bee, after discovering any new garden or flower, goes back and tells its fellow bees the exact direction and map to get there, which is known as ‘bee dance’. The meanings of this insect’s movements that are intended to transmit information between worker bees have been discovered scientifically using photography and other methods. The Qur’an mentions in the above verses how the bee with its skill, finds the spacious paths of its Lord. The gender used for the bee in the above verses is the female gender (fa’slukî and kulî), indicating that the bee that leaves its home for gathering food is a female bee. In other words the soldier or worker bee is a female bee. In fact, in Shakespeare’s play, ‘Henry the Fourth’, some of the characters speak about bees and mention that the bees are soldiers and that they have a king. That is what people thought in Shakespearean times. They thought that the worker bees are male bees and they go home and are answerable to a king bee. This, however, is not true. The worker bees are females and they do not report to a king bee but to a queen bee. But it took modern investigations in the last 300 years to discover this.

SPIDER’S WEB, THE FRAGILE HOME “The parable of those who take protectors other than Allah is that of the Spider, who builds (to itself) a house; but truly the flimsiest of houses is the Spider’s house – if they but knew.” [Al-Qur’an 29:41] Besides giving the physical description of the spider’s web as being very flimsy, delicate and weak, the Qur’an also stresses on the flimsiness of the relationship in the spider’s house, where the female spider many a times kills its mate, the male spider. The parable also has reference to the weakness of such relationship of the people who seek protection for this world and for the hereafter from those other than Allah.

LIFESTYLE AND COMMUNICATION OF ANTS “And before Solomon were marshalled his hosts – of Jinns and men and birds, and they were all kept in order and ranks. “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.’” [Al-Qur’an 27:17-18]

In the past, some people would have probably mocked at the Qur’an, taking it to be a book of fairy tales in which ants talk to each other and communicate sophisticated messages. In recent times however, research has shown us several fact about the lifestyle of ants, which were not known earlier to humankind. Research has shown that the animals or insects whose lifestyle is closest in resemblance to the lifestyle of human beings are the ants. This can be seen from the following findings regarding ants: (a) The ants bury their dead in a manner similar to the humans. (b) They have a sophisticated system of division of labour, whereby they have managers, supervisors, foremen, workers, etc. (c) Once in a while they meet among themselves to have a ‘chat’. (d) They have an advanced method of communication among themselves. (e) They hold regular ‘markets’ where they exchange goods. (f) They store grain for long periods in winter and if the grain begins to bud, they cut the roots, as if they understand that if they leave it to grow, it will rot. If the grain stored by them gets wet due to rains, they take it out into the sunlight to dry, and once dry, they take it back inside as though they know that humidity will cause development of root systems which will cause the grain to rot.

MEDICINE

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HONEY: HEALING FOR HUMANKIND The bee assimilates juices of various kinds of flowers and fruit and forms honey within its body, which it stores in its cells of wax. Only a couple of centuries ago humans came to know that honey comes from the belly of the bee. But this fact was mentioned in the Qur’an 1,400 years ago in the following verse: “There issues from within their bodies a drink of varying colours, wherein is healing for human.” [Al-Qur’an 16:69] We are only now aware that honey has healing properties and is also a mild antiseptic. The Russians would use honey to cover their wounds in World War II. The wound would retain moisture and would leave very little scar tissue. Due to the density of honey, no fungus or bacteria could grow in the wound. Dramatic improvements were visible in 22 incurable chest and Alzheimer's disease patients at nursing Homes in England who were treated by Sister Carole, a nun, with propolis, a substance which bees produce to seal hives against bacteria.

A person suffering from an allergy of a particular plant may be given honey from that plant so that the person develops resistance to that allergy. Honey is also rich in fructose and vitamin K. The knowledge contained in the Qur’an regarding honey, its origin and properties, was discovered centuries after its revelation.

PHYSIOLOGY

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BLOOD CIRCULATION AND MILK The Qur’an was revealed 600 years before the Muslim scientist Ibn Nafees described the circulation of the blood and 1,000 years before William Harwey brought this understanding to the Western world. Roughly thirteen centuries before it was known what happens in the intestines to ensure that organs are nourished by the process of digestive absorption, a verse in the Qur’an described the source of the constituents of milk, in conformity with these notions. To understand the Qur’anic verse concerning the above concepts, it is important to know that chemical reactions occur in the intestines and that, from there, substances extracted from food pass into the blood stream via a complex system; sometimes by way of the liver, depending on their chemical nature. The blood transports them to all the organs of the body, among which are the milk-producing mammary glands. In simple terms, certain substances from the contents of the intestines enter into the vessels of the intestinal wall itself, and these substances are transported by the blood stream to the various organs. This physiological concept must be fully appreciated if we wish to understand the following verses of the Qur’an: “And verily in cattle there is a lesson for you. We give you to drink of what is inside their bodies, coming from a conjunction between the contents of the intestine and the blood, a milk pure and pleasant for those who drink it.” [Al-Qur’an 16:66]

“And in cattle (too) ye have an instructive example: from within their bodies We produce (milk) for you to drink; there are, in them, (besides), numerous (other) benefits for you; and of their (meat) ye eat.” [Al-Qur’an 23:21]

The 1400 year old Qur’anic description of the production of milk in cattle is strikingly similar to what modern physiology has discovered in recent times



EMBRYOLOGY

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EMBRYOLOGY MUSLIMS SEEK ANSWERS A group of Muslim Scholars, under the direction of an eminent Yemani Scholar, Sheikh Abdul Majid Azzindani, collected information concerning embryology1 and other sciences in the Qur'an andundisputed Hadith2 and translated it into English. They then followed the Qur'anic advice: “If ye realise this not, ask of those who possess the Message.” [Al-Qur’an 16:43 & 21:7]

All the information from the Qur’an and the undisputed Hadith concerning embryology so gathered, after being translated into English and presented to Prof. (Dr.) Keith Moore, Professor of Embryology and Chairman of the Department of Anatomy at the University of Toronto, in Canada. At present he is one of the highest authorities in the field of Embryology. He was asked to give his opinion regarding the material presented to him. After carefully examining it, Dr. Moore said that most of the information concerning embryology mentioned in the Qur’an and the undisputed Hadith is in perfect conformity with modern discoveries in the field of embryology and does not conflict with them in any way. He added that there were a few verses however, on whose scientific accuracy he could not comment. He could not say whether the statements were true or false, since he was himself unaware of the information contained therein. There was also no mention of this information in modern writings and studies on embryology. One such verse is: “Proclaim! (or Read!) In the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created – Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood.” [Al-Qur’an 96:1-2]

The Arabic word alaq, besides meaning a congealed clot of blood, also means something that clings, aleech-like substance. Dr. Keith Moore had no knowledge whether an embryo in the initial stages appears like a leech. To check this out he studied the initial stage of the embryo under a very powerful microscope and compared what he observed with the diagram of a leech. He was astonished at the striking resemblance between the two! In the same manner, he acquired more information on embryology, that was hitherto not known to him, from the Qur’an. Dr. Keith Moore answered about eighty questions dealing with embryological data mentioned in the Qur’an and Hadith. Noting that the information contained in the Qur’an and Hadith was in full agreement with the latest discoveries in the field of embryology, Prof. Moore said, “If I was asked these questions thirty years ago, I would not have been able to answer half of them for lack of scientific information”. In 1981, during the Seventh Medical Conference in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, Dr. Moore said, “It has been a great pleasure for me to help clarify statements in the Qur’an about human development. It is clear to me that these statements must have come to Muhammad from God or Allah, because almost all of this knowledge was not discovered until many centuries later. This proves to me that Muhammad must have been a messenger of God or Allah”. Dr. Keith Moore had earlier authored the book, ‘The Developing Human’. After acquiring new knowledge from the Qur’an, he wrote, in 1982, the 3rd edition of the same book, ‘The Developing Human’. The book was the recipient of an award for the best medical book written by a single author. This book has been translated into several major languages of the world and is used as a textbook of embryology in the first year of medical studies. Dr. Joe Leigh Simpson, Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, at the Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, U.S.A., proclaims: “...these Hadiths, sayings of Muhammad (pbuh), could not have been obtained on the basis of the scientific knowledge that was available at the time of the writer (implying in the 7th century). It follows that not only is there no conflict between genetics and religion (implying Islam) but in fact religion (Islam) may guide science by adding revelation to some of the traditional scientific approaches . . . there exist statements in the Qur’an shown centuries later to be valid which support knowledge in the Qur’an having been derived from God.”

DROP EMITTED FROM BETWEEN THE BACK BONE AND THE RIBS “Now let man but think from what he is created! He is created from a drop emitted – Proceeding from between the back bone and the ribs.” [Al-Qur’an 86:5-7] In embryonic stages, the reproductive organs of the male and female, i.e. the testicles and the ovaries, begin their development near the kidney between the spinal column and the eleventh and twelfth ribs. Later they descend; the female gonads (ovaries) stop in the pelvis while the male gonads (testicles)continue their descent before birth to reach the scrotum through the inguinal canal. Even in adulthood after the descent of the reproductive organs, these organs receive their nerve supply and blood supply from the Abdominal Aorta, which is in the area between the backbone (spinal column) and the ribs. The lymphatic drainage and the venous return also go to the same area.

NUTFAH – MINUTE QUANTITY OF LIQUID The Glorious Qur’an mentions no less than eleven times that the human being is created from nutfah, which means a minute quantity of liquid or a trickle of liquid that remains after emptying a cup. This is mentioned in several verses of the Qur’an including 22:5 and 23:13. Science has confirmed in recent times that only one out of an average of three million sperms is required for fertilising the ovum. This means that only 1/3 millionth part or 0.00003% of the quantity of sperms that are emitted is required for fertilisation.

SULALAH – QUINTESSENCE OF LIQUID “And made his progeny from a quintessence of the nature of a fluid despised.” [Al-Qur’an 32:8] The Arabic word sulaalah means quintessence or the best part of a whole. We have come to know now that only one single spermatozoon that penetrates the ovum is required for fertilization, out of the several million produced by man. That one spermatozoon out of several million, is referred to in the Qur’an as sulaalah. We have also come to know now that only one ovum is fertilized out of the tens of thousand produced by the female. That one ovum out of tens of thousand is also refered to in the Qur'an as Sulaalah. This word also means gentle extraction from a fluid. The fluid refers to both male and female germinal fluids containing gametes. Both ovum and sperm are gently extracted from their environments in the process of fertilization.

NUTFATUN AMSHAAJ – MINGLED LIQUIDS “Verily We created man from a drop of mingled sperm.” [Al-Qur’an 76:2] The Arabic word nutfatin amshaajin means mingled liquids. According to some commentators of the Qur’an, mingled liquids refers to the male or female agents or liquids. After mixture of male and female gamete, the zygote still remains nutfah. Mingled liquids can also refer to spermatic fluid that is formed of various secretions that come from various glands. Therefore, nutfatin amshaaj, i.e. a minute quantity of mingled fluids refers to the male and female gametes (germinal fluids or cells) and part of the surrounding fluids.

SEX DETERMINATION The sex of a foetus is determined by the nature of the sperm and not of the ovum. The sex of the child, whether female or male, depends on whether the 23rd pair of chromosomes is XX or XY respectively. Primarily, sex determination occurs at fertilization and depends upon the type of sex chromosome in the sperm that fertilizes an ovum. If it is an ‘X’ bearing sperm that fertilizes the ovum, the foetus is a female and if it is a ‘Y’ bearing sperm then the foetus is a male. “That He did create in pairs – male and female, from a seed when lodged (in its place).” [Al-Qur’an 53:45-46] The Arabic word nutfah means a minute quantity of liquid and tumnaa means ejaculated or planted. Therefore nutfah specifically refers to sperm because it is ejaculated.

The Qur’an says: “Was he not a drop of sperm emitted (in lowly form)? “Then did he become a clinging clot; then did (Allah) make and fashion (him) in due proportion. “And of him He made two sexes, male and female.” [Al-Qur’an 75:37-39] Here again it is mentioned that a small quantity (drop) of sperm (indicated by the word nutfatan min maniyyin) which comes from the man is responsible for the sex of the foetus. Mothers-in-law in the Indian subcontinent, usually prefer having male grandchildren and often blame their daughters-in-law if the child is not a boy. If only they knew that the determining factor is the nature of the male sperm and not the female ovum! If they were to blame anybody, they should rather blame their sons, not their daughters-in-law, since both the Qur’an and Science hold that it is the male fluid that is responsible for the sex of the child!

FOETUS PROTECTED BY THREE VEILS OF DARKNESS “He makes you, in the wombs of your mothers, in stages, one after another, in three veils of darkness.” [Al-Qur’an 39:6] According to Prof. Keith Moore, these three veils of darkness in the Qur’an refer to: (i) anterior abdominal wall of the mother (ii) the uterine wall (iii) the amnio-chorionic membrane.

EMBRYOLOGICAL STAGES “Man We did create from a quintessence (of clay); then We placed him as (a drop of) sperm in a place of rest, firmly fixed; 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 and clothed the bones with flesh; then We developed out of it another creature. so blessed be Allah, the Best to create!” [Al-Qur’ an 23:12-14]

In this verse Allah states that man is created from a small quantity of liquid which is placed in a place of rest, firmly fixed (well established or lodged) for which the Arabic word qaraarin makeen is used. The uterus is well protected from the posterior by the spinal column supported firmly by the back muscles. The embryo is further protected by the amniotic sac containing the amniotic fluid. Thus the foetus has a well protected dwelling place. This small quantity of fluid is made into alaqah meaning something which clings. It also means a leech-like substance. Both descriptions are scientifically acceptable as in the very early stages the foetus clings to the wall and also appears to resemble the leech in shape. It also behaves like a leech (blood sucker) and acquires its blood supply from the mother through the placenta.

The third meaning of the word alaqah is a blood clot. During this alaqah stage, which spans the third and fourth week of pregnancy, the blood clots within closed vessels. Hence the embryo acquires the appearance of a blood clot in addition to acquiring the appearance of a leech. Compare the readily available Qur'anic knowledge with Man's struggle with scientific findings: In 1677, Hamm and Leeuwenhoek were the first scientists to observe human sperm cells (spermatozoa) through a microscope. They thought that a sperm cell contained a miniature human being which grew in the uterus to form a newborn This was known as the perforation theory. When scientists discovered that the ovum was bigger than the sperm, it was thought by scientists like De Graf and others that the foetus existed in a miniature form in the ovum. Later, in the 18th century, Maupertuis propagated the theory of biparental inheritance.

The alaqah is transformed into mudghah which means ‘something that is chewed (having teeth marks)’ and also something that is tacky and small which can be put in the mouth like gum. Both these explanations are scientifically correct. Prof. Keith Moore took a piece of plaster seal and made it into the size and shape of the early stage of foetus and chewed it between the teeth to make it into a mudghah. He compared this with the photographs of the early stage of foetus. The teeth marks resembled the ‘somites’ which is the early formation of the spinal column. This mudghah is transformed into bones (izâm). The bones are clothed with intact flesh or muscles (lahm). Then Allah makes it into another creature.

Prof. Marshall Johnson who is one of the leading scientists in the USA, and is the head of the Department of Anatomy and Director of the Daniel Institute at the Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia in the USA, was asked to comment on the verses of the Qur’an dealing with embryology. At first he said that the verses of the Qur’an describing the embryological stages cannot be a coincidence. It was probable that Muhammad (pbuh) had a powerful microscope. On being reminded that the Qur’an was revealed 1400 years ago, and microscopes were invented many centuries after the time of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), Prof. Johnson laughed and admitted that the first microscope invented could not magnify more than 10 times and could not show a clear picture. Later he said: “I see nothing here in conflict with the concept that Divine intervention was involved when Muhammad (pbuh) recited the Qur’an. ” According to Dr. Keith Moore, the modern classification of embryonic development stages which is adopted throughout the world, is not easily comprehensible, since it identifies stages on a numerical basis i.e. stage 1, stage 2, etc. On the other hand, the divisions revealed in the Qur’an are based on distinct and easily identifiable forms or shapes, which the embryo passes through. These are based on different phases of pre-natal development and provide elegant scientific descriptions that are comprehensible and practical. Embryological stages of human development have also been described in the following verses: “Was he not a drop of sperm emitted (in lowly form)? Then did he become a clinging clot; then did (Allah) make and fashion (him) in due proportion. and of him He made two sexes, male and female.” [Al-Qur’an 75:37-39]

“Him Who created thee, fashioned thee in due proportion, and gave thee a just bias; in whatever Form He wills, does He put thee together.” [Al-Qur’an 82:7-8]

EMBRYO PARTLY FORMED AND PARTLY UNFORMED At the mudghah stage, if an incision is made in the embryo and the internal organ is dissected, it will be seen that most of them are formed while the remaining are not yet completely formed. According to Prof. Johnson, if we describe the embryo as a complete creation, then we are only describing that part which is already created. If we describe it as an incomplete creation, then we are only describing that part which is not yet created. So, is it a complete creation or an incomplete creation? There is no better description of this stage of embryogenesis than the Qur’anic description, “partly formed and partly unformed”, as in the following verse: “We created you out of dust, then out of sperm, then out of a leech-like clot, then out of a morsel of flesh, partly formed and partly unformed that We may manifest (Our Power) to you.” [Al-Qur’an 22:5]

Scientifically we know that at this early stage of development there are some cells which are differentiated and there are some cells that are undifferentiated – some organs are formed and yet others unformed.

SENSE OF HEARING AND SIGHT The first sense to develop in a developing human embryo is hearing. The foetus can hear sounds after the 24th week. Subsequently, the sense of sight is developed and by the 28th week, the retina becomes sensitive to light. The Qur'an explains it thus: “And He gave you (the faculties of) hearing and sight and feeling (and understanding).” [Al-Qur’an 32:9] “Verily We created man from a drop of mingled sperm, in order to try him: so We gave him (the gifts), of Hearing and Sight.” [Al-Qur’an 76:2] “It is He Who has created for you (the faculties of) hearing, sight, feeling and understanding: little thanks it is ye give!” [Al-Qur’an 23:78] In all these verses the sense of hearing is mentioned before that of sight. Thus the Qur’anic description matches perfectly with the discoveries in modern embryology.


GENERAL SCIENCE

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FINGERPRINTS “Does man think that We cannot assemble his bones? Nay, We are able to put together in perfect order the very tips of his fingers.” [Al-Qur’an 75:3-4]

Unbelievers argue regarding resurrection taking place after bones of dead people have disintegrated in the earth and how each individual would be identified on the Day of Judgement. Almighty Allah answers that He can not only assemble our bones but can also reconstruct perfectly our very fingertips. Why does the Qur’an, while speaking about determination of the identity of the individual, speak specifically about fingertips? In 1880, fingerprinting became the scientific method of identification, after research done by Sir Francis Golt. No two persons in the world can ever have exactly the same fingerprint pattern, not even identical twins. That is the reason why police forces worldwide use fingerprints to identify criminals. Fourteen hundred years ago, who could have known the uniqueness of each human’s fingerprint? Surely it could have been none other than the Creator Himself!

PAIN RECEPTORS IN THE SKIN It was thought that the sense of feeling and pain was dependent only on the brain. Recent discoveries however prove that there are pain receptors present in the skin, without which a person would not beable to feel pain. When a doctor examines a patient suffering from burn injuries, he verifies the degree of burns by a pinprick. If the patient feels pain, the doctor is happy, because it indicates that the burns are superficial and the pain receptors are intact. On the other hand, if the patient does not feel any pain, it indicates that it is a deep burn and the pain receptors have been destroyed. The Qur’an gives a clear indication of the existence of pain receptors in the following verse: “Those who reject our signs, We shall soon cast into the Fire; as often as their skins are roasted through, We shall change them for fresh skins, that they may taste the Penalty: for Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise.” [Al-Qur’an 4:56]

Prof. Tagatat Tejasen, Chairman of the Department of Anatomy at Chiang Mai University in Thailand, has spent a great amount of time on research of pain receptors. Initially he could not believe that the Qur’an mentioned this scientific fact 1,400 years ago. He later verified the translation of this particular Qur’anic verse. Prof. Tejasen was so impressed by the scientific accuracy of the Qur’anic verse, that at the 8th Saudi Medical Conference held in Riyadh on the Scientific Signs of Qur’an and Sunnah, he proudly proclaimed in public: “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad (pbuh) is His Messenger.”

CONCLUSION

Template:CONCLUSION CONCLUSION To attribute the presence of scientific facts in the Qur’an to coincidence would be against common sense and a true scientific approach. Indeed the scientific accuracy of the Qur'anic verses confirm the Qur'an's open declaration. “Soon will We show them Our Signs in the (furthest) regions (of the earth), and in their own souls, until it becomes manifest to them that this is the Truth it is not enough that Thy Lord doth witness all things?” [Al-Qur’an 41:53]

The Qur’an invites all humans to reflect on the Creation of this universe in the verse: “Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of Night and Day – there are indeed Signs for men of understanding .” [Al-Qur’an 3:190]

The scientific evidences of the Qur’an clearly prove its Divine origin. No human could have produced a book, fourteen hundred years ago, that would contain such profound scientific facts. The Qur’an, however, is not a book of Science but a book of ‘Signs’. These signs invite Man to realize the purpose of his existence on earth, and to live in harmony with Nature. The Qur’an is truly a message from Allah, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. It contains the same Message of the Oneness of God, that was preached by all prophets, right from Adam, Moses, Jesus to Muhammad (peace be upon them). Several detailed tomes have been written on the subject of Qur’an and modern science and further research in this field is on. Inshallah, this research will help mankind to come closer to the Word of the Almighty. This page contains only a few of the scientific facts present in the Qur’an. I cannot claim to have done full justice to the subject. Prof. Tejasen accepted Islam on the strength of just one scientific ‘sign’ mentioned in the Qu’ran. Some people may require ten signs while some may require hundred signs to be convinced about the Divine origin of the Qur’an. Some would be unwilling to accept the Truth even after being shown a thousand signs. The Qur’an condemns such a closed mentality in the verse: “Deaf, dumb and blind, They will not return (To the path).” [Al-Qur’an 2:18]

The Qur’an contains a complete code of life for the individual and society. Alhamdulillah (Praise be to Allah), the Qur’anic way of life is far superior to the ‘isms’ that modern man has invented out of sheer ignorance. Who can give better guidance than the Creator Himself? I pray that this humble effort is accepted by Allah, to whom I pray for mercy and guidance (Aameen).


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