Scientific Errors in the Quran: Difference between revisions

{{page_title|Scientific Errors in the Qur'an}}

A message from an all-knowing being should not contain any [[Contradictions and Errors|errors, mistakes]], or information that contradicts known facts about the universe. If even one error exists in the text of [[Islam]]'s holy book then the claims of divine authorship and infallibility are not true. An objective evaluation of the [[Qur’an]] shows that it contains numerous [[Islam and Science|scientific]] and historical errors and reflects a pre-scientific, 7^th century view of the natural world.

Some will contest these numerous errors in the Qur'an by appealing to metaphor, alternative meanings, or [[w:Phenomenology (philosophy)|phenomenological]] interpretations of the text. Even supposing alternative explanations were possible in every case, the problem would remain that the Qur’an contains no obvious attempts to differentiate its understanding of the natural world and historical events from the common folklore and unscientific misconceptions of the people living in 7^th century Arabia. An all-powerful, all-knowing, perfect communicator would have been able to foresee how such misleading statements would be understood by future generations and the doubts and confusions they would cause. Such overwhelming weakness in the Qur'an when we should expect perfection is already reason enough to reject any claims to its divine authorship.

=== Geocentricism===

The Qur'an mentions a few times that the sun and the moon travel in an orbit (falak - a rounded course), but does not mention once that the Earth does too. This is consistent with an Earth-centered (geocentric) view of the cosmos that places a motionless Earth at the center of the universe and all "heavenly bodies" travel around the Earth. This was the prevailing understanding of the universe prior to the 16^th century when Copernicus helped explain and popularize a sun-centered (heliocentric) view of the universe. Tellingly, the sun's orbit is almost always mentioned in the context of night and day (13:2 is the only exception) and is always mentioned with that of the moon, which does in fact orbit the Earth each month, and to a naive observer seems to traverse the sky each night when it is visible.

 

 

This is in a passage about night and day. Right after describing the change from day to night, it says that the sun runs on to a resting place for it (لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَا). There are also sahih hadith ({{Muslim|1|297}}) that mention the sun's daily cycle using the same Arabic word to mean a resting place, which is underneath Allah's throne, and is where each night the sun prostrates and is asked to go and rise 'from its rising place' (مِنْ مَطْلِعِهَا). This cycle repeats, until one day Allah asks the sun to rise 'from your setting place' (مِنْ َغْرِبِكِ).

 

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

Some try to explain away the above Qur'anic description of the sun moving in an orbit as a reference to our sun orbiting the black hole at the center of the milky way galaxy every 225 million years. This is an [[w:Ad hoc hypothesis|Ad hoc hypothesis]], of no relevance to human time scales, and nothing from the text implies that the sun is orbiting anything other than the Earth. If the author had knowledge of the sun orbiting a black hole then it is conspicuous that he never mentions it explicitly nor in any way differentiates the sun's orbit from that of the moon.  

Notice also that the running / floating of the sun is something that the author expects people to have seen (another problem for the galactic orbit interpretation).

{{Quote|{{cite quran|91|1|end=2|style=ref}}}|

The [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000350.pdf Arabic word] translated "follow" is primarily defined as to follow, go or walk behind, follow in way of immitation, of action etc. and was often used for animals like camels following behind each other. Yet the Moon does not actually follow behind the sun's movement, nor does it provide its own light like the sun. The verse is most suggestive of a worldview in which the moon and sun traverse the same or similar paths after one another, which is what a 7th century person might believe from observing the sky. A less suspicious choice of word would have been better for a supposedly perfect book if it merely meant the sun and moon appear one after the other. One day instead of following the sun, the moon will by joined with it according to another verse (see the [https://wikiislam.net/index.php?title=Scientific_Errors_in_the_Quran&stable=0#The_similar_size_and_distance_of_the_sun_and_moon Similar Size and Distance of the Sun and Moon] section below).

Here the Qur'an quotes a few lines from a debate between Abraham and a disbelieving King, where Abraham replies that Allah 'brings the sun' (yatee biashshamsi يَأْتِى بِٱلشَّمْسِ) from the east. The arabic verb and preposition indicates that the sun actually moves. The verb means [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000052.pdf to come], and when it has an object with the bi preposition it means to bring, as in many other instances in the Qur'an. While the story is quoting a mere human's words, the author clearly believes it to be a good response and sees no problem with it.

===Setting and Rising Place of the Sun===

{{Main|Dhul-Qarnayn and the Sun Setting in a Muddy Spring}}

The Qur'an assumes a flat earth which has physical places into which the sun sets and rises from. Since the earth is a rotating sphere, the sun does not set in any particular place and you can never travel to "the spot" where the sun sets nor a place where it rises; the sun appears to set or rise on the horizon no matter where you are on the planet. In these verses, the author propagates a popular legend from the 7th century of a man named Dhu'l-Qarnayn who visits the places where the sun sets and rises; here he finds the sun going down into a muddy spring and later rising on a tribe with no coverings.  

Centuries after Muhammad lived, people with better astronomical knowledge than him had to invent creative interpretations of these verses to say that Dhu'l-Qrnayn only traveled until he reached "the west" or to a spot "at the time" when the sun set and not the "place" where the sun set. Unfortunately, these alternative interpretations are severely undermined by the [[Dhul-Qarnayn_and_the_Sun_Setting_in_a_Muddy_Spring_-_Part_One#First_interpretation:_He_reached_the_west_and_east|context and Arabic words]] used in these verses, which instead point to physical locations where the sun did its setting and rising. Plenty of evidence shows that the early Muslims understood the verse in this straightforward way. Again, we must ask why an all-knowing being would use such misleading verses that mimic the misconceptions and legends prevalent at the time if one of the alternative explanations is correct.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

===Earth and Heavens Created in Six Days===

The Earth first formed around 9 billion years after the Big Bang. The Qur'an, however, repeats the prevailing Middle-Eastern myth that the Earth and universe were formed in six days.  

In the hundreds of other Qur'anic verses where the Arabic word 'yawm' appears, everyone understands it to mean day. Yet Islamic websites try and rescue the Qur'an by pointing to an alternative meaning of yawm, which almost always means 'day', but can sometimes mean 'time period'.  Curiously, and rather conveniently, yawm is only claimed to mean time period rather than day in the verses about the creation of the world. Clearly, the predominant meaning of the word is day and when a specific number is used, in this case six, the word almost always means a literal day. Again, nothing in the context of the verses, nor the Qur'an in general, suggests awareness that the universe or Earth were formed over long time periods. The author makes precisely zero attempt to distingish his description from the prevailing Middle-Eastern creation myths in this regard, which feature six literal days of creation (for example in the Bible we have, "Evening came and morning came: The first day." - Genesis 1:5).  

Secondly, neither the universe nor Earth were formed in six distinct long periods of time. It would have been trivial for an all-knowing diety to have poetically indicated the vast duration in which the universe has developed, which has taken place over the past [[w:Age of the universe|13.8 billion years]].

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

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

===Earth Created before Stars===

The author of the Qur'an is also unaware that the [[w:Abundance of elements in Earth's crust|elements in the Earth's crust]] and core were first formed in stars by [[w:Nucleosynthesis|nucleosynthesis]]. When those stars exploded as [[w:Supernova|supernovas]], they expelled the elements that were used in future solar systems such as our own. Yet the Qur'an describes the Earth being formed before the stars. All rocky and gaseous planets in the universe were formed in a similar manner to the Earth and the Qur'an singling out the Earth only further highlights the author's ignorance of the history of the formation of celestial objects.

Verse 41:12 says that lamps (or more specifically, stars in the similar verse {{Quran|37|6}}) were placed in the lowest of the seven heavens. But before there were seven heavens, while heaven was just smoke, the Earth already existed according to verse 11, and the Earth's creation in the preceeding days is described in verses 9-10 already discussed in the previous section.

The verse below further confirms that heaven was only made into seven heavens when the Earth already existed according to the Qur'an.

Some websites attempt to reconcile the Qur'anic description with modern science by denying that the word 'Then' in the verses above indicate sequence, and instead claim that it means 'moreover'. They claim this despite the fact that these words (thumma in 41:11 and 2:29, and fa in 41:12 - all translated as 'Then') generally are used to indicate sequence. In other contexts thumma was sometimes used to mean 'moreover', which is generally clear from those contexts, but the passages quoted above describe a process - the creation of the heavens and Earth, and it would be ludicrous to use these words when describing such a process if they were not indicating sequence.

====Earth and Heavens were Torn Apart====

Some websites claim that the following verse is compatible with the [[w:Big Bang|Big Bang]] theory. But according to this theory, the Universe was formed about 13.8 billion years ago due to a [[w:Chronology of the universe|rapid expansion]] from singularity. The earth was formed 4.54 billion years ago from [[w:History of the Earth|accretion]] of debris that surrounded the precursor of the Sun. There was no "separation" of the "joined" earth and heavens as this verse suggests. It is, in fact, a repetition of [[w:World egg|cosmic egg]] myths in which an egg-like structure was split into two halves, the lower half forming the earth and the upper half forming the heaven.

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

There is no scientific theory in which the Earth and heavens were torn apart from each other. To imagine that verse 21:30 describes the big bang, the atomic particles that would later form the Earth would at the beginning have to be separated from those that would go on to form everything else in the universe. This bears no resemblance to scientific cosmology, wherein the material that forms the Earth passed through at least one earlier generation of star, and more recently was part of various asteroids, comets and planetesimals orbiting the sun (which could all be described as being in the 'heavens') that sometimes collided and merged with each other, sometimes split apart, and gradually coalesced under gravity to form the Earth and other planets.

Moreover, the very next verse {{Quran|21|31}} speaks of mountains being placed on the Earth. Here 'the Earth' clearly means an actual world, so how do the Islamic websites expect anyone to believe that in the previous verse 'the Earth' refers merely to atomic particles at the time of the big bang that would billions of years later form the Earth?

====Universe was Made from Smoke====

Looking once again at the verses discussed above, it is worth pointing out that there was no stage of formation of the Universe that involved smoke (carbon particles suspended as a result of combustion; the word translated smoke is the noun [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume3/00000027.pdf dukhan] دُخَانٍ, which literally means smoke, as from a fire). Nor did the Earth and heavens each "come" as separate entites at any point of time. Earth is a part of this Universe and has developed within it.  

Apologetics that try to reinterpret 'smoke' as the primordial state of the universe after the big bang should notice (aside from their poor grasp of science) that the Qur'an indicates a time when just the heaven, but not Earth is smoke. Furthermore, the Earth and its mountains are clearly mentioned as already existing in the previous two verses ({{Quran-range|41|9|10}} discussed above).

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

This verse claims there are seven Earths.  

A hadith reveals that these are seven Earths stacked above each other.

The number, like seven heavens, might have come from a misunderstanding of mythology from classical antiquity in which there were seven moving planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the sun and moon). If instead we take it to mean seven actual planets the Qur'an is still wrong. According to astronomers, there are eight ordinary planets and five dwarf planets, which leaves the grand total at thirteen in our solar system. Modern astronomy also has found thousands of other planets in other solar systems and Cosmologists estimate that hundreds of billions of stars and planets exist in the universe. The author of the Qur'an singling out such a small number of celestial objects only reaffirms his ignorance of the makeup of the universe.

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

The universe consists of hundreds of billions of galaxies, each with hundreds of billions of stars. While the Qur'anic notion that the heaven of stars is covered by six further heavens might currently be unfalsifiable, the myth of [[w:Seven Heavens|seven heavens]] was a common idea prevalent in the Middle East during the time when the Qur'an was first recited.

Some Islamic websites claim that these are seven layers of the atmosphere, despite the fact that verse 37:6 says that stars are in the nearest heaven. There are only 5 not 7 principal layers to the [[W:Atmosphere of Earth|Earth's atmosphere]], and likewise only 5 not 7 major layers to the Earth itself.

===The similar size and distance of the sun and moon===

The Qur'an has statements about the end of the world that are much as one would expect if the author believed the sun and moon to be of similar size and a similar distance from Earth.

{{Quote|{{cite quran|75|8|end=9|style=ref}}|And the moon darkens And the sun and the moon are joined,}}

The word translated "are joined" is Arabic [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume2/00000091.pdf jumi'a], a verb which means to collect together, gather together, bring together. Given that this would actually require the moon to travel 98 million miles away from Earth and into the sun, which dwarfs it by over 600 times in diameter, it seems vastly less fitting as an apocalyptic event than if the ancient conception of the cosmos was correct. Thus it is far more likely that the author had such a misconception about the sun and moon.

===The Moon's light===

A popular claim is that the Qur'an has knowledge that the moon does not emit its own light, but simply reflects light coming from the Sun. The Arabic word for reflected (in`ikaas) does not appear in the two Qur'anic verses that say the Moon is a "light". It instead uses the word "noor" (nooran نُورًا) which simply means a light, and in another verse, muneer (muneeran مُّنِيرًا), which means giving light and is from the same root as noor. This is vague enough to be interpreted either way, so is not necessarily an error, but nor can any special knowledge be claimed.

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

Perhaps the best example of a verse showing the noor simply means light and not reflected light can be found in 33:45-46 in which a lamp is shining light with the exact same Arabic word as in 25:61 above (muneeran مُّنِيرًا):

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

The word "Noor" is also used in this verse to show that Allah is the "light" of the universe. Clearly the author is not implying that Allah reflects light from another source but is the source of the light.

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

===Moon was Split in Two===

{{Main|Moon Split Miracle}}

The Qur'an and Hadith claim that the moon was miraculously split into two pieces and then, presumably, put back together again. There is absolutely no scientific evidence whatsoever that the moon has ever been split into two. Since the moon is visible to half the planet at any given time, we should expect to see numerous accounts from different parts of the world attesting to this event if it actually happened. The Romans, Greeks, Egyptians, Persians, Chinese and Indians had avid astronomers who should have seen this event and recorded it in their histories. The absence of historical record from other civilizations, contemporary to Muhammad, is a strong indication that this event never happened.

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

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

===Sky is a Tent/Dome===

A common myth at the time of the Quran's composition was that the sky or heavens were held up with pillars. Many Bedouin people living in Arabia imagined the sky as a large tent covering, similar to the tents they used. The author repeats this myth by describing the sky as being "raised" above the earth.

{{Quote|{{Quran|2|22}}|

Who has made the earth your couch, and the heavens your canopy}}

===Sky is a guarded canopy===

This verse seems to relate to the verses about devils chased by shooting stars (meteors) that guard the lowest heaven. See for example {{Quran-range|37|6|10}} discussed above, in which we find a noun meaning guard from the same Arabic root ([http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume2/00000237.pdf hafiza]) as the verb in this verse). Somewhat ironically, the things supposedly guarding the sky / heaven can actually pose a threat to living things on Earth.

Asteroids and meteorites have penetrated the atmosphere and hit the earth throughout the course of history. This includes the [[w:Chicxulub crater|massive meteorite]] that hit near the [[w:Yucatán Peninsula|Yucatán Peninsula]] 65 million years which killed off numerous species including most dinosaurs.

And We have made the heaven a guarded canopy and (yet) they turn aside from its signs.}}

===Sky can Fall Down on People===

The Qur'an author thought that the sky/heaven is like a ceiling held up by Allah that can fall to earth or fragments break off and fall on someone. This is obviously impossible as the earth's atmosphere is simply made of gas and outer space is not a solid object.

{{Quote|{{Quran|34|9}}|Hast thou not seen how Allah hath made all that is in the earth subservient unto you? And the ship runneth upon the sea by His command, and He holdeth back the heaven from falling on the earth unless by His leave. Lo! Allah is, for mankind, Full of Pity, Merciful.}}

===The Heavens can be Rolled Up===

This verse implies that the heavens have two dimensional surfaces.

===The Stars Will Fall===

The Qur'an says that the stars will fall ([http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume7/00000124.pdf inkadarat] ٱنكَدَرَتْ) along with other dramatic events surrounding the last day. The author clearly had no idea of the size and distance of the stars. The word كدر in the form used in this verse (form VII) meant to dart down as is said of a bird or hawk, or to fall and scatter.

The structure of space-time is such that nothing, not even stars, can move faster than the velocity of light. Even if stars were to somehow move close to light speed across the sky their motion would be imperceivable to the naked eye as many visible stars are hundreds of light years away. Neither would we be able to see anything that the stars are doing recently (when we see a star 100 light years away, we are seeing it as it was 100 years ago).

===The Cause of Shadows Changing Length===

Shadows are produced when the sun's light is blocked by an obstacle. It is the Earth's rotation that causes these shadows to change size and lengthen. However, verse 25:45 seems to say that the reason that shadows lengthen rather than being stationary is because Allah has made the sun their guide. Yet if the Earth did not rotate (so shadows were stationary) and then the Earth was made to rotate (so that they could lengthen and draw in) the sun would not need to be made to do anything different in either case. Thus the most likely explanation is that the verse represents a geocentric worldview where the sun moves across the sky, guiding the shadows.

Then the next verse, 25:46, says that shadows are drawn towards Allah which has no scientific meaning.

===Ignorance of the North and South Poles===

In polar regions, the longevity of day and night vary during summer and winter. The day gets shorter and shorter in winter until there are days or weeks of uninterrupted night. At the poles themselves, day and night alternately last for six months and all phases of the moon occur several times between sunrise and sunset. The author of the Qur'an did not know about this and he only repeated earlier geocentric ideas. See also the [https://wikiislam.net/index.php?title=Scientific_Errors_in_the_Quran&stable=0#Fasting_and_Prayer_Requirements_Near_the_Poles Fasting and Prayer Requirements Near the Poles] section below.

Furthermore, when reading this verse one should wonder in what sense day and night each have an orbit. See [[Geocentrism and the Quran]] regarding that question.

The Qur'an presupposes a [[creation|creationist]] view of life on earth. Its understanding of the history of human life is incompatible with the overwhelming scientific evidence that humans have evolved from prior life forms, over the course of millions of years, through natural selection [http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence]. While some Muslims accept the theory of evolution, most reject it in favor of a creationist world view. [[Muslim Statistics - Science#Evolution|Opinion polls]] show that the majority of Muslims agree Islam and evolution are not compatible.  

====Human Creation from Clay====

The Qur’an states that man was created instantaneously from clay (salsalin صَلْصَٰلٍ) / mud (hamain حَمَإٍ). There is no indication that the author is aware of the evolution of human life over millions of years nor our common ancestry with apes and primates.  

Similarly, it says that the first man was created from dust (turabin تُرَابٍ).

====First Humans: Adam and Eve====

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

The Qur’an and Hadith contains stories concerning the 'first humans' and how all people are descended from these two earliest ancestors. It states that humans were created in a garden (paradise) and then brought to earth fully formed. This view of the origins of human life is clearly contradicted by DNA evidence and the numerous fossils of pre-homosapien species that lived on earth for millions of years before modern humans first evolved.[http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence]

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

Another verse is clear on literal descent of humanity from one man by sexual means (i.e. semen) after Allah had created him out of clay.

The word translated “seed” in Pickthall’s translation is [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000286.pdf nasl] نسل, which means progeny (i.e. descendants).

Some Muslim creationists will claim the view of two ancestral “parents” is consistent with recent scientific findings that show a common female and male ancestor of all modern humans. They often exploit the confusion caused by scientists referring to these genetic ancestors as [[W:Mitochondrial Eve|Mitochondrial Eve]] and [[W:Y-chromosomal Adam|Y-chromosomal Adam]]. These two individuals bear little resemblance to the Quranic account as they are simply the last common male and female ancestors of everyone alive today, not of all humans in history. The Qur'an clearly states Eve was created later than Adam, however [[W:Mitochondrial Eve|Mitochondrial Eve]] lived some 50,000 to 80,000 years earlier than [[W:Y-chromosomal Adam|Y-chromosomal Adam]].[http://biologos.org/blog/does-genetics-point-to-a-single-primal-couple]   Genetic evidence overwhelmingly indicates that humans diverged from earlier species as a population, not a single couple. [http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2011/09/18/how-big-was-the-human-population-bottleneck-not-anything-close-to-2/].

The Qur'an and Hadith contain statements about bodily fluids and the stages of development of the human embryo. Many of these descriptions are vague and unscientific. Most bear a striking resemblance to [[Greek and Jewish Ideas about Reproduction in the Quran and Hadith|similar descriptions]] found in the [[w:Talmud|Jewish Talmud]] and the ideas of ancient Greeks [[History of Embryology|such as Galen]], including their errors.

====Sperm Originates Between the Backbone and Ribs====

The Qur'an states, incorrectly, that semen originates from somewhere between the backbone and ribs. Today we know sperm comes from the [[w:testicle|testicles]] and semen from various glands behind and below the bladder, which is not between the backbone and ribs.

====Embryo is Initially Formed from Semen====

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

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

Did We not create you from a '''liquid disdained'''? And '''We placed it''' in a firm lodging For a known extent.}}

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

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

====No Mention of Female Ovum====

The Qur'an's author did not mention the role of the ovum in human reproduction and appears to have no knowledge of it. This verse fails to mention the important role of the female egg, or ovum, plays in the reproduction of humankind. It implies that reproduction is caused simply by the male semen. The human ovum is very small, though visible to the human eye, and it's purpose wasn't understood in the 7th century. Again, we are left wondering why an all-knowing deity would omit such information.

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

====Humans Created from a Clot of Blood====

The Qur'an and Hadith depict that humans are formed from a clot of blood after an initial semen stage. There is no stage in embryonic development where humans are formed from a clot of blood. This description is likely influenced by an unscientific and primitive understanding of human reproduction based on observations from an early-term miscarriage and a woman's menstrual cycle. While in modern times some Muslims seek to use alternative meanings for the relevant word, the mere fact that it certainly can mean clotted blood (as also is the consensus interpretation in the classical tafsirs), in a passage about a biological process (formation of a baby), is a major weakness in what should be a perfect description.

====Gender of a Baby is Decided After it Becomes a Clot====

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

While translators mostly use "And" in verse 39, the Arabic word is [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000105.pdf fa], as also in the previous conjunction, which indicates sequence (i.e. 'and then'). The tafsirs also take this view, and it is very much reflected in a sahih hadith found in Bukhari and Muslim:

Narrated Anas bin Malik:

 

====Bones are Formed before Flesh====

The Qur'an explains that the bones of a human embryo are formed first and then covered up with flesh. Modern scientific studies and research have shown that the cartilage models and muscles start to form at the same time and in parallel. Muscles have started to form before the cartilage models start to be replaced with bone.

===All Organisms are Created in Pairs===

{{Main|Quranic Claim of Everything Created in Pairs|l1=Qur'anic Claim of Everything Created in Pairs}}

Not every creature procreates or reproduces through male and female sexual relationship. The [[w:Desert grassland whiptail lizard|whiptail lizard]] in the U.S. Southwest, Mexico, and South America, is an all-females species which reproduces by [[w:parthenogenesis|parthenogenesis]]. [[w:virus|Viruses]] reproduce using a host's DNA and are neither female nor male. [[w:Bacteria|Bacteria]] reproduce by cell division. [[w:Fungus|Fungus]] can reproduce either sexually or asexually. Many species of plants also reproduce either asexually or through [[w:Pollination|pollination]].

Glory to Allah, Who created in pairs '''all things''' that the earth produces, as well as their own (human) kind and (other) things of which they have no knowledge. }}

 

===Fetus is in Three Layers of darkness===

The word [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000257.pdf butun] (بطن) means belly/abdomen/midriff, though some translators like to use the more specific word "womb". Tafsirs interpreted the "three darknesses" as the placenta, womb (uterus) and belly. There are in fact many more layers in the human body such as the endometrium, myometrium, perimetrium, peritoneum, besides the cervix uteri, corpus uteri, abdomen (with walls), and placenta (with layers). The idea of three membranes around the fetus ([[w:Chorion|chorion]], [[w:Allantois|allantois]], and [[w:Amnion|amnion]]) was taught by the highly influential Greek physician, Galen. Perhaps the Qur'anic author is simply repeating this idea, which applies only to the embryonic membranes.

The allantois is a sac-like structure which becomes part of the umbilical cord, hardly a 'a darkness' for the embryo. The other two membranes, the chorion and amnion, together form the [[w:Amniotic_sac|amniotic sac]], which is quite thin and transparent.

===Functions of the Heart===

In several verses, the Qur'an ascribes understanding and thinking to the heart instead of the brain.

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

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

{{Main|Qur'an and Milk}}

The Qur'an states that milk is produced, in the body, somewhere between excretions and blood. The mammary glands, where milk is produced and stored, are nowhere near the intestines which is where excrement is stored. Many kinds of cattle and goat milk needs processing or pasteurization before they can safely be consumed; the milk is often infected with bacteria and other micro-organisms. A significant number of humans are [[Qur'an and Milk|lactose intolerant]] and unable to digest milk without experiencing abdominal bloating and cramps, flatulence, diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. This makes the Qur'anic claim that milk is 'pure' and 'agreeable' to those who drink it dubious.

==Geology and Meteorology==

===The Earth is Flat===

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

 

 

 

====Fasting and Prayer Requirements Near the Poles====

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

A similar issue exists for the five daily prayers. Anyone living in the polar region would not be able to make a sunset or sunrise prayer for much of the year. Even for cities further south like Aberdeen in Scotland, the gap between the night prayer (Isha) and the dawn prayer (Fajr) is around 4 and a half hours in June, so anyone following these rules has to interupt their sleep around 3.20am, then go back to sleep before getting up for the day. Such issues would not have crossed the mind of a 7th century man in Arabia, who believed that everyone experiences sunrise and sunset when he does, and where it would be perfectly natural to arise at dawn any time of the year.

====Earth is Spread Out and Flat====

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

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

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

====The Earth is a carpet====

The arabic word ([http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000241.pdf bisaatan]) used here means a thing that is spread or spread out or forth, and particularly a carpet.

====Earth is Like a Couch====

The Earth is described using an arabic word ([http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000155.pdf firashan]) that means a thing that is spread on the ground to sit or lay upon.

 

 

The same root word for couch in 2:22 is used as a verb in 51.48 in the sense of to spread (the first word translated spread here).

====Earth is a Bed====

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

Sometimes the same Arabic word is translated as expanse as in this verse. Together with the next verse, the Earth is a thing spread out and pegged down by mountains.

The same root word is used as a participle at the end of 51.48

====The Earth was stretched out====

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

====Earth is a Level Plain====

The Qur'an describes a time in the future when mountains will be removed. Verse 18:47 uses an arabic word ([http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000224.pdf baarizatan]) that means "entirely apparent" to describe the Earth at this time. Verse 20:106 uses words ([http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000248.pdf qa'an] and [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume4/00000418.pdf safsafan]) that mean a level plain. This description assumes the Earth is already flat and level with only the mountains giving it shape. The author here appears to have no knowledge that the Earth is round and not level.

===Permanent Barrier between Fresh and Salt Water===

{{Main|Meeting of Fresh and Salt Water in the Quran}}

When a fresh water river flows into the sea or ocean, there is a transition region in between. This transition region is called an [[w:estuary|estuary]] where the fresh water remains temporarily separated from the salt water. However, this separation is not absolute (thus cannot be described as a "barrier"), is not permanent, and the different salinity levels between the two bodies of water eventually homogenize. The Qur'an however erroneously says that the seperation between the two types of water is absolute and permanent.

{{Main|The Quran and Mountains|l1=The Qur'an and Mountains}}

Modern geology has discovered that large plates in the crust of the earth are responsible for the formation of mountains. Called [[w:Plate tectonics|Plate tectonic]] these massive plates meet and the pressure between them pushes up the crust forming mountains but also causing earthquakes and faults. the Qur'an propagates the idea that mountains are crucial in stabilizing the earth when, in fact, the earth would be much more stable and have less earthquakes if mountains did not exist.

And He has set up on the earth mountains standing firm, lest it should shake with you; and rivers and roads; that ye may guide yourselves}}

===Mountains Cast into the Earth===

 

Mountains are usually formed through the movement of lithosphere plates. They were not thrown down into the earth.

And He hath cast into the earth firm hills that it quake not with you, and streams and roads that ye may find a way }}

The word he has cast is [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000266.pdf alqa] (lam-qaf-ya), which in this form means to throw or cast down and is the same word used in 12:10 when Yusuf is cast down into the well, and in 20:20 when Moses casts down his staff, which becomes a snake.

===Chest Contracts with Altitude===

{{Main|Quran Describes Altitude Sickness|l1=Qur'an Describes Altitude Sickness}}

This verse says that your chest cavity gets smaller with higher altitude when in reality the opposite is true.

===Earthquakes are a Punishment from God===

{{Main|Accidents and Natural Disasters in the Muslim World}}

 

Some of the highest death tolls from natural disasters in the last decade were in Muslim countries. In fact, natural disasters do not differentiate between Muslim or non-Muslim nations nor are they controlled by a divine being. Earth quakes are extremely common along tectonic fault lines and are not a punishment for human behavior but the byproduct of natural forces. The Qur'anic author perpetuates an unscientific understanding of his phenomena in there verses.

===No Evaporation in Water Cycle===

{{Main|Responses_to_Zakir_Naik#Water_Cycle_in_the_Qur.27an|l1=Water Cycle in the Qur'an}}

 

Every verse about rain in the Qur'an implies that rain comes either directly from the sky or from Allah. However the crucial step of evaporation of water into the air is conspicuously never mentioned, despite apologetics claiming that the water cycle is described in the Qur'an.

===Mountains of Hail in the Sky===

Hail forms in cumulonimbus clouds when updrafts raise water droplets to an altitude where they freeze. However, the Qur'anic author seems to have imagined mountain-like masses of hail in the sky / heaven.

Tafsirs such as Jalalayn and the one attributed to Ibn Abbas say that this means mountains in the sky. Ibn Kathir notes two views, that these are literally mountains of hail in the sky, or that they are a metaphor for clouds. Clouds could poetically be described as mountains in the sky, but for the verse to literally say "mountains of hail in the sky" strongly suggests large masses of ice (in the clouds or otherwise), and we can see it being understood in this literal way as evidenced in tafsirs.

===Allah Uses Thunderbolts to Smite People===

The Qur'anic author was superstitious about thunder and lightning and imagined that they strike those whom Allah wishes to smite.

===Ants Recognize Humans and Speak with Each Other===

Ants typically communicate with each other using pheromone which are a chemical signal. While scientists have also discovered that ants make some noises, nothing has ever indicated that the brains of ants could produce such complex communication as is depicted in the Quranic story of Solomon and the ants. However, the Qur'an tells us that not only does an ant warn her fellow ants of the approach of a large army of humans, but it recognizes one of the humans as Solomon. Then, he also understands her speech. How an ant could even see that far or have known the identify of Solomon is never explained. This account of a talking ant is clearly a legend and not scientific.

===Only Four Types of Cattle===

While the Qur'an states that Allah has provided four kinds of cattle (eight including male and female) for use by humans and for eating, in fact there are more than a dozen kinds of cattle. The word "cattle" in 39:6 is [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000289.pdf al-ana'ami], meaning pasturing (i.e. grazing) animals. The word [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume3/00000432.pdf azwajin] ("kinds" in the translation of 39:6 below) generally means mate or member of a pair. {{Quran|6|143-144}} clarifies that this refers to male and female pairs of sheep, goats, oxes and camels, so in fact the author of the Qur'an is aware only of four kinds of cattle useful for humans (horses, mules and donkeys are considered distinct from cattle in {{Quran-range|16|5|8}}). This neglects other types of cattle from the regions outside of Arabia such as reindeer, which are important to people in northern latitudes.  

===Horses Created as Transportation===

It took thousands of years of domestication and cross-breeding before horses were domesticated approximately 4,000 years ago in East Europe and Central Asia. Prior to this, horses were wild animals though the Qur'an neglects to mention this important fact. Even today [[w:Feral horse|feral horses]] are descendants of once domesticated horses that aren't tamed or used for human transportation.  

===All Animals Live in Communities===

The Qur'an is emphatic that ''all'' animals live in communities. Some animals such as the jaguar or leopard are well known for being solitary creatures, rarely meeting in pairs and only to mate. They do not live in communities and routinely fight each other over territory.

 

One translation attempts to interpret umamun (community / nation) to mean genus (group of species, plural: genera). Even supposing this to be the correct interpretation, it would represent the pre-scientific understanding in which every creature can be neatly categorised, ignorant of the on-going process in which sub-groups of many species are diverging and gradually evolving into new species.

===Bird Flight is a Miracle===

Today, engineers and scientists are well aware of the aerodynamic properties of a bird's wing. It functions by creating a difference in the air pressure between the lower and upper part of the wing and this creates lift that pushes the bird upward. The wings of birds evolved over millions of years to acquire this feature. The author of the Qur'an, however, is unaware of these scientific details and says that 'nothing' holds up the bird except the miraculous power of Allah.

===Birth Defects and Imperfections===

The author of the Qur'an states that there are no flaws in anything. The author fails to mention the numerous defects and imperfections in all species.

{{Quote|{{Quran|67|3}}|

Who hath created seven heavens in harmony. Thou (Muhammad) canst see no fault in the Beneficent One's creation; then look again: Canst thou see any flaw?}}

{{Main|Dhul-Qarnayn}}

The author of the Qur'an repeats the Syrian legend of Alexander the Great as a great king who helps a tribe of people build a massive wall of iron between two mountains. Even with satellites and near universal exploration of the world, no archaeologist has ever found even a trace of such a massive structure.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|18|96|97}}|

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

}}

===Christians Worship Mary as Part of the Trinity===

Christians have never worshipped Mary as part of the Trinity. The author of the Qur'an seems to be mistaken in his understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity and the theology of Christians.

Further evidence that the author believed Mary was part of the Christian trinity appears in Surah Al-Ma'idah when the subject of the trinity is explicitly addressed:

It is particularly noteworthy that no other entity is mentioned (i.e. the holy spirit, which is the 3rd member of the trinity in actual Christian doctrine). Verse 75 even uses the statement that the Messiah and Marium both ate food to demonstrate that they are normal humans and not a part of a divine trinity with Allah.

=== Samaritans existing in ancient Egypt ===

The Qu'ran claims that Moses dealt with a Samaritan during his time, however they did not exist until over half a millennium after this even supposedly occurred. The term Samari itself comes from the city of Samaria, an archaeologically confirmed city which was built by King Omri in around 870BC, nearly 700 years after Moses is supposed to have existed.

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

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

These verses concern the story of the golden calf in the time of Moses. It seems that Muhammad may have been confused because there is another Biblical passage in Hosea 8:5-6 about a much later golden calf that the Samaritans worshipped after the time of Solomon.

{{main|Mary the sister of Aaron in the Quran}}

Each of the following verses narrates the story of Jesus's birth. But Mary the mother of Jesus was born in the first century BCE and is not related to Moses and his family that existed 1500 years before. Miriam, not Mary, was the sister of Moses and Aaron and daughter of Amram (Imran).

{{Quote|{{Quran|19|27-28}}|At length she brought the (babe) to her people, carrying him (in her arms). They said: "O Mary! truly an amazing thing hast thou brought! '''O sister of Aaron!''' Thy father was not a man of evil, nor thy mother a woman unchaste!" }}

{{Quote|{{Quran|66|12}}|And '''Mary, the daughter of 'Imran''', who guarded her chastity; and We breathed into (her body) of Our spirit; }}

Hence the claim that Mary's mother is the wife of Imran is also false.

{{Quote|{{Quran|3|35-36}}| Behold! '''a woman of 'Imran''' said: "O my Lord! I do dedicate unto Thee what is in my womb for Thy special service: So accept this of me: For Thou hearest and knowest all things." When she was delivered, she said: "O my Lord! Behold! I am delivered of a female child!"- and Allah knew best what she brought forth- "And no wise is the male Like the female. I have named her Mary, and I commend her and her offspring to Thy protection from the Evil One, the Rejected." }}

The fact that two different people are given the exact same name despite supposedly living over 1000 years apart in communities which spoke completely different languages (ancient paleo-hebrew and then syriac-aramiac), with different alphabets, also casts serious doubt on the precise historicity of the Qu'ranic account.

===Coat of Mail was Invented during the Reign of David===

There is no evidence that coats of chainmail (as distinct from scale armour) existed during the time of David (10th century BCE). The earliest example of a coat of mail was Celtic and its invention is commonly credited to the Celts in the 3rd century BCE.<ref name="books.google.com">Richard A. Gabriel, [http://books.google.com/books?id=HscIwvtkq2UC&pg=PA79 ''The ancient world''], Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007 P.79</ref>. Mail has also been found in a 5th century BCE Scythian grave, and there is a cumbersome Etruscan pattern mail artifact from the 4th century BCE.<ref>Robinson, H. R., [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=BaDMDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA10 ''Oriental Armour''], New York:Dover Publications, 1995, pp.10-12</ref> Such artifacts would have been easily preserved and found by archeologists if they had existed much earlier. Some older translations of the Bible mention Goliath and David wearing a "coat of mail" in 1 Samuel 17:5 and 17:38 respectively. This is a [http://myarmoury.com/feature_mail.html#Origins well known mistranslation] for a word meaning armour in general.

In the Qur'an, David is taught by Allah how to make coats of iron chainmail ([http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume4/00000022.pdf sabighatin] سَٰبِغَٰتٍ) and to measure the chainmail links ([http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume4/00000071.pdf as-sardi] ٱلسَّرْدِ) thereof. It says people should be thankful for this knowledge which has been passed down from him.   

===Crucifixions in Ancient Egypt===

There are no references from any culture anywhere in the world to crucifixion as a method of execution before 500 BCE, where they started to appear in several middle eastern cultures. However, the Qur'an tells of crucifixions at the time of Joseph (approximately 2000 BCE) and Moses (approximately 1500 BCE).

Ancient Egypt has been extensively studied in archaeology. While there is hieroglyphic evidence of people impaled through upright stakes in ancient Egypt, this is a distinct execution method from the crucifixion on palm trees in the Qur'anic story. Palm trees are far too thick to be used as upright stakes for impaling a person from above, so no-one would choose palm trees for such a purpose. Rather, the Egyptians would have to impale the victim to the side of the palm tree trunk in the Qur'an's anachronistic tale.

{{Quote|{{Quran|21|71}}|

Islamic websites try to escape the embarrassment that the Qur'an contains an un-historical, world-wide flood story as found in the Bible and ancient near-Eastern mythology. They claim instead that the textual evidence supports nothing more than a regional flood in the Qur'anic story of Noah. There are many severe weaknesses in this claim.