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This article analyses the claim that Quran told that universe has been constantly expanding, and it is scientifically accurate, and thus it is is Quranic miracle.

Apologetic Claim

Apologists present the following verse

وَالسَّمَاءَ بَنَيْنَاهَا بِأَيْدٍ وَإِنَّا لَمُوسِعُون

Muhammad Assad: AND IT IS We who have built the universe with [Our creative] power; and, verily, it is We who are steadily expanding it.

Dr. Mohammad Tahir-ul-Qadri: And We built the heavenly universe with great might. And surely, We are expanding (this universe) more and more

Quran 51:47

Zakir Naik writes regarding this verse:

The Arabic word mûsi‘ûn is correctly translated as ‘expanding it’, and it refers to the creation of the expanding vastness of the universe. 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’aan mentioned the expansion of the universe, before man even learnt to build a telescope!

The Quran and Modern Science by Zakir Naik

Criticism

Critics point out that:

This translation of verse 51:47 is not correct.
Only modern apologists started doing this translation, otherwise no earlier translator did this translation.
And none of the Qur'an Mufassirin (i.e. Quran interpreters) of last fourteen centuries ever come to this conclusion from this verse.

Correct translation of verse 51:47

The dispute is only about the last two words of the verse 51:47 (i.e. وَإِنَّا لَمُوسِعُونَ wa-innā lamūsiʿūna)

According to the critics:

وَإِنَّا (wa-innā) means "and indeed, We (Allah)"
And لَمُوسِعُونَ (lamūsiʿūna) means "are the Expander".

Therefore, the correct translation of this verse is:

(Quran 51:47)And the heaven We constructed with strength, and indeed, We (Allah) are [its] expander.

This is clearly a heavily distorted translation of last 2 words of this verse (i.e. وَإِنَّا لَمُوسِعُونَ)

وَإِنَّا means "and indeed, We (Allah)"

لَمُوسِعُونَ means "are the Expander".

Therefore, the correct translation of this verse is:

(Quran 51:47) And the heaven We constructed with strength, and indeed, We (Allah) are [its] expander.

The term “lamūsi‘ūn” in this verse is a "NOUN" and not a "Verb", and it describes "God" and not the "heaven" (i.e. the term “lamūsi‘ūn” means "God is the Expander", and not "the Universe is Expanding".

Word by Word Translation and Grammar provided by Corpus Quran:

Corpus Quran is a Muslim project, where they provided the word by word translation and grammar of Quran. Let us see what they are saying (link):