Land to water ratio miracle in the Qur'an: Difference between revisions

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==Conclusions==
==Conclusions==
* The water to land ratio is not stated in any verse of the Qur'an. So the claim that the Qur'an describes the ratio is a lie.
* The water to land ratio is not stated in any verse of the Qur'an. So the claim that the Qur'an describes the ratio is a lie.
** How did Muhammad's companions figure out this information about the land to water ratio, when they had no modern scientists to tell them the actual ratio, so that they could find it in the word counts? And if they did various word counts, then how did they know what counting method to choose, when they didn't know which number they want to get?
** How did Muhammad's companions figure out this information about the land to water ratio? If they counted various ratios of word counts, how did they recognize which word count ratio has a significance? And how did they know which counting method to choose, when they didn't know which number they want to get?
*** The Qur'an needs science, so that people can figure out the ratio in the word counts. However science does not need the Qur'an at all to describe the ratio. So which one is more valuable?
* Ratio of word counts does not imply the ratio of occurrences of the meanings of the words in the world. This is ridiculous and not scientific in any way.
* Ratio of word counts does not imply the ratio of occurrences of the meanings of the words in the world. This is ridiculous and not scientific in any way.
** Also the word ''al-bahr'' means "sea" and not water. So it should not include rivers. And the Qur'an talks about rivers (أَنْهَٰرٌ, ''al-anharun'') a lot.
** Also the word ''al-bahr'' means "sea" and not water. So it should not include rivers. And the Qur'an talks about rivers (أَنْهَٰرٌ, ''al-anharun'') a lot.

Revision as of 09:11, 16 November 2016

According to some apologists, the Qur'an describes the ratio of land to water on Earth. That is approximately 71.8% water and 29.2% land [1]. This ratio isn't stated anywhere in the Qur'an, but according to apologists, the ratio is supposed to be hidden in a ratio of word counts.

The counted words are al-barr (ٱلْبَرّ) for "land" and al-bahr (ٱلْبَحْرِ) for "water", but the word al-bahr actually means "the sea".

Al-Barr - land

The trilateral root of the word بَرّ (barr) is برر (b-r-r). From this root we can derive many words. Besides "land", there is the meaning of "righteousness" and "kindness". Al-Barr (The Most Kind) is one of the names of Allah [2]. The word barr consists of only two letters ب (b) and ر (r), but there is a shadda sign above the ر, which makes it double length in pronunciation (رّ - rr). Above the ب is a fatha sign which determines the barr vowel (بَ).

This is the list of all the occurrences of words with the root برر in the Qur'an:

Count Verse Word in Arabic Transliteration Translation
1 2:44 بِٱلْبِرِّ bi-al-birri in righteousness
2 2:177 ٱلْبِرَّ al-birra the righteousness
3 2:177 ٱلْبِرَّ al-birra the righteous
4 2:189 ٱلْبِرُّ al-birru the righteousness
5 2:189 ٱلْبِرَّ al-birra the righteous
6 2:224 تَبَرُّوا۟ tabarroo you do good
7 3:92 ٱلْبِرَّ al-birra the righteousness
8 3:193 ٱلْأَبْرَارِ al-abrari the righteous
9 3:198 لِّلْأَبْرَارِ lil-abrari for the righteous
10 5:2 ٱلْبِرِّ al-birri the righteousness
11 5:96 ٱلْبَرِّ al-barri the land 1
12 6:59 ٱلْبَرِّ al-barri the land 2
13 6:63 ٱلْبَرِّ al-barri the land 3
14 6:97 ٱلْبَرِّ al-barri the land 4
15 10:22 ٱلْبَرِّ al-barri the land 5
16 17:67 ٱلْبَرِّ al-barri the land 6
17 17:68 ٱلْبَرِّ al-barri the land 7
18 17:70 ٱلْبَرِّ al-barri the land 8
19 19:14 وَبَرًّا wa-barran and dutiful
20 19:32 وَبَرًّا wa-barran and dutiful
21 27:63 ٱلْبَرِّ al-barri the land 9
22 29:65 ٱلْبَرِّ al-barri the land 10
23 30:41 ٱلْبَرِّ al-barri the land 11
24 31:32 ٱلْبَرِّ al-barri the land 12
25 52:28 ٱلْبَرُّ al-barru the Most Kind
26 58:9 بِٱلْبِرِّ bil-birri for righteousness
27 60:8 تَبَرُّوهُمْ tabarroo-hum you deal kindly
28 76:5 ٱلْأَبْرَارَ al-abrara the righteous
29 80:16 بَرَرَةٍ bararatin dutiful
30 82:13 ٱلْأَبْرَارَ al-abrara the righteous
31 83:18 ٱلْأَبْرَارِ al-abrari the righteous
32 83:22 ٱلْأَبْرَارَ al-abrara the righteous

The -i ending in al-barri means that the word is in the genitive case.

There is no question about this word count. There are clearly 12 occurrences of this word. They are all exactly the same forms. There are no prefixes, no plural and dual forms, no differences in diacritics, like in word counts for other words. And all other words from the same rott have a totally different meaning. Rarely the word count is so clear.

Al-Bahr - sea (not water)

The root for the word ٱلْبَحْر (al-bahr) is simply بحر (b-h-r). The words land (barr) and sea (bahr) often appear together in a verse.

A list of all occurrences of words with the root بحر in the Qur'an:

Count Verse Word in Arabic Transliteration Translation Number
1 2:50 ٱلْبَحْرَ al-bahra the sea singular
2 2:164 ٱلْبَحْرِ al-bahri the sea singular
3 5:96 ٱلْبَحْرِ al-bahri the sea singular
4 5:103 بَحِيرَةٍ baheeratin Bahirah * singular
5 6:59 وَٱلْبَحْرِ wal-bahri and the sea singular
6 6:63 وَٱلْبَحْرِ wal-bahri and the sea singular
7 6:97 وَٱلْبَحْرِ wal-bahri and the sea singular
8 7:138 ٱلْبَحْرَ al-bahra the sea singular
9 7:163 ٱلْبَحْرِ al-bahri the sea singular
10 10:22 وَٱلْبَحْرِ wal-bahri and the sea singular
11 10:90 ٱلْبَحْرَ al-bahra the sea singular
12 14:32 ٱلْبَحْرِ al-bahri the sea singular
13 16:14 ٱلْبَحْرَ al-bahra the sea singular
14 17:66 ٱلْبَحْرِ al-bahri the sea singular
15 17:67 ٱلْبَحْرِ al-bahri the sea singular
16 17:70 وَٱلْبَحْرِ wal-bahri and the sea singular
17 18:60 ٱلْبَحْرَيْنِ al-bahrayni the two seas dual
18 18:61 ٱلْبَحْرِ al-bahri the sea singular
19 18:63 ٱلْبَحْرِ al-bahri the sea singular
20 18:79 ٱلْبَحْرِ al-bahri the sea singular
21 18:109
22 18:109
23 20:77
24 22:65
25 24:40
26 25:53
27 26:63
28 27:61
29 27:63
30 30:41
31 31:27
32 31:27
33 31:31
34 35:12
35 42:32
36 44:24
37 45:12
38 52:6
39 55:19
40 55:24
41 81:6
42 82:3
  • In the verse 5:103, Bahira is a name for a she-camel. [3]

Conclusions

  • The water to land ratio is not stated in any verse of the Qur'an. So the claim that the Qur'an describes the ratio is a lie.
    • How did Muhammad's companions figure out this information about the land to water ratio? If they counted various ratios of word counts, how did they recognize which word count ratio has a significance? And how did they know which counting method to choose, when they didn't know which number they want to get?
      • The Qur'an needs science, so that people can figure out the ratio in the word counts. However science does not need the Qur'an at all to describe the ratio. So which one is more valuable?
  • Ratio of word counts does not imply the ratio of occurrences of the meanings of the words in the world. This is ridiculous and not scientific in any way.
    • Also the word al-bahr means "sea" and not water. So it should not include rivers. And the Qur'an talks about rivers (أَنْهَٰرٌ, al-anharun) a lot.
    • What other ratios are described this way? Is the moon / earth mass ratio described by the word counts for moon and earth?
  • There are floods, icebergs melting.. the ratio of land to water is always changing. But the ratio of the word counts will never change. So even if the Qur'an described the ratio and it was 100% accurate, then it was wrong somewhere in history and will be wrong in the future. Shouldn't the Qur'an rather describe physical or mathematical facts, that are not changing with time? And preferably describe them in a verse and not in word counts, so that we know this is not a coincidence?

References

  1. ↑ http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/8o.html
  2. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_God_in_Islam
  3. ↑ Muhsin Khan provides an explanation in his translation of this verse (5:103), "Allah has not instituted things like Bahirah (a she-camel whose milk was spared for the idols and nobody was allowed to milk it) or a Sa'ibah (a she-camel let loose for free pasture for their false gods, e.g. idols, etc., and nothing was allowed to be carried on it), or a Wasilah (a she-camel set free for idols because it has given birth to a she-camel at its first delivery and then again gives birth to a she-camel at its second delivery) or a Ham (a stallion-camel freed from work for their idols, after it had finished a number of copulations assigned for it, all these animals were liberated in honour of idols as practised by pagan Arabs in the pre-Islamic period). But those who disbelieve invent lies against Allah, and most of them have no understanding."
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