Quran and a Universe from Smoke

Prominent apologists such as Harun Yahya and I. A. Ibrahim have claimed that the Qur'an contains an accurate account of the formation of stars and early phases of the Universe. This claim has been widely disseminated and repeated on numerous websites without any critical examination. The basis of the claim is a verse found in Surah Fussilat (Signs Spelled Out), the 41^st Surah of the Qur'an which says that the "heavens" were once smoke. Apologists argue that this information about the early universe could not have been known in 7^th century Arabia and has only come to light in the 20^th and 21^st centuries through modern scientific investigation.

Modern Cosmology

Before evaluating the claim of a miracle, it is important to have an accurate understanding of modern cosmology. In the 20^th and 21^st century, theoretical physicists and cosmologists have given detailed models for the formation of the early universe, stars, galaxies, and planets. These models, often referred to as the Big Bang theory and the Nebular hypothesis, are widely supported by the scientific community.^[1][2]

In the initial expansion of the early Universe, all that existed was a dense, hot, mass of energy. As the Universe rapidly increased in size, light chemicals like hydrogen and helium began to form. For the first 380,000 years, the intense heat made it too hot for light to shine. Atoms would bump into each with enough force to break up into a dense, opaque plasma of protons, neutrons and electrons; this dense mass prevented any photons from escaping. After this phase, the universe expanded and cooled enough for electrons to combine with protons to form the first real elements. At this point, photons could move freely, and the first light could be seen.^[3]

This smooth, nearly featureless plasma of hydrogen and helium continued to cool and expand until small imperfections formed. Then gravity drew the particles together to form the earliest stars. This evolution of the universe continued to increase the contrast of the matter distribution to create the intricate collection of galaxies, stars, and nebulae observed in the night sky today.^[4]

In the hot and dense cores of stars, heavier elements such as carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and iron formed. When these stars would novae (i.e. explode) they would scatter these heavier elements as debris across vast stretches of inter-stellar space. Eventually, gravity from other stars would pull this debris together to form planets like the ones in the solar system today.^[5]

Definition of Smoke

Since the entire argument rests on the Qur'anic description of the "heavens" as "smoke", it is claimed this word is the best possible way to describe the early Universe:

This claim is based on a logical fallacy; a false equivalence between "smoke" and their definition of the early universe: "an opaque highly dense and hot gaseous composition" or just "hot gas". There is no such thing as 'cosmic smoke' as stated by Harun. The actual definition of smoke is presented below:

There is no similarity between the early universe and smoke. There was no burning of material, especially of organic compounds in the early universe. Organic molecules would not exist for another 10 billion years. Even carbon did not exist at this stage and it would not exist for millions of years until it was first fused in the center of giant stars. The early universe was extremely dense and smoke is not dense at all; in fact smoke is completely vaporous. Smoke can be hot, but often is not. It is the hot gas close to the burning material that can make smoke hot, but the carbon particles that linger in the air can be quite cool.

(Separately the apologist's claim also relies on the word for the sky/heaven(s) (al-samaa السماء) meaning our Universe, which is itself highly problematic; see the analysis in: Science and the Seven Earths#Seven Universes).

Single-Word Description

The claim presupposes that the Qur'anic author must describe the earliest phase of the universe using a single word. However, no one would be convinced if a scientist, purporting to be an expert in cosmology, put together a paper on the formation of stars and only described it in a single word. Even apologists realize that a single-word description is not adequate to convey such a complex topic, which is why they use multiple words to describe this state of the universe and even a short paragraph to make their point. One has to wonder why the Qur'anic description is so sparse and inadequate given how easy it would have been for Allah to have conveyed such information.

This lack of detail is further highlighted by the depth and number of words used by the author of the Qur'an on other topics. The author explains in detail who you can and cannot marry and how an inheritance can be divided. The Qur'an also retells stories multiple times. Based on these facts, it is difficult to rationalize why such sparse details were used to describe something as complex as the formation of the universe, especially when such information could have validated the authenticity of the Qur'anic message.

Nebulea and Milky Way

The claim then makes use of images of distant nebulae only visible through the aid of modern telescopes. These wispy, red and pink clouds of hydrogen gas are supposed to provide a visual connection to smoke. In the absence of other imagery, one might make the mental connection. However,  smoke is a thick, billowing substance that is always black, gray, or white.  Given this fact, another image of the night sky is far more reminiscent of smoke than the distant nebulae above, and it can be seen with the naked eye right here on earth. It does not require divine revelation nor advanced scientific instruments to imagine the Milky Way as a cloud of smoke in the night sky. It is easy to see how someone in the 7^th century looking up from the desert could have invented this myth.

Qur'anic Verse in Context

After a description of the hot, dense, plasma of the early universe as "smoke" and the use of images of distant nebulae, it is then shown that the Qur'an is describing this early phase of the universe:

However, the entire Qur'anic verse nor any of the surrounding verses are quoted. Here is the verse, in its proper context:

In verses 9-10, the Qur'an states that Allah created the earth before he created the heavens. It provides a clear chronological account of the earth being formed first and then the hills and sustenance are created upon it. Only after the earth has been created does he look toward the heaven to create the stars. This is made apparent in the second half of verse 11 when Allah speaks to both the heaven and the earth; unless the earth had been created first, how could he speak to it? It is known from radiometric dating that the earth formed about 4.5 billion years ago, almost 9 billion years after the Universe first expanded.^[7] The author of the Qur'an was not aware of this fact and claims that the earth and this "smoke" were in existence at the same time. In verse 12, the Qur'an says it is only then that the stars are created.

The Qur'an also describes the process of creation of both the 'heavens', stars, and the Earth and its sustenance as one with continuous active participation from God (i.e., not just for the creation of existence itself), rather than a natural consequence of the rules of physics once the initial universe was created, contrary to modern scientific theories which have mapped out the process (based on physics) from the Big Bang to the present moment.^[8][9]

These verses also states the 'lamps, which are stars, were created/put in the closest heaven after the Earth was already in existence, contrary to scientific consensus that the stars were created first (and are continuously being destroyed and created naturally), with our own sun considered to be a third generation star.^[10] In fact the majority of elements that make up Earth are believed to come from stars.^[11] There is also no differentiation in the process between the creation stars and planets (which formed similarly and at a cosmically similar time to Earth in our solar system) which were both believed to make up the lamps in the sky, as planets were believed to simply be moving stars.^[12]

Correct Arabic Word

The Arabic word for "gas" is gaz or ghaz (غاز), not dukhan. It is this word which should have been used to describe the state of the universe if the above verse were correct.

Support from Scientists

The final piece of evidence is the claim that a renowned geologist supports the view that the information in the Qur'an could not have been of human origin:

While Dr. Alfred Kroner was a geology professor in Germany, he never endorsed the Qur'an as being an accurate source of scientific information. A video interview conducted with Kroner in 2011 confirms that his comments from the 80s were taken out of context.^[13] He currently does not endorse the Qur'anic view of creation nor did he at the time of the original interview. He affirms that parts of the Qur'an are not supported by modern scientific evidence and are completely unscientific and mythical.

The entire argument rests on the Qur'anic description of the "heavens" as "smoke"; a claim which in-turn rests on a false equivalence made between smoke and the makeup of the early universe. It also presupposes that the Qur'anic author must describe something as complex as the earliest phase of the universe using only a single word. A presupposition that makes little sense and is far from convincing when you consider how such information could have validated the authenticity of the Qur'anic message.

The attempt to show that the Qur'an correctly describes the formation of stars (by quoting a portion of Qur'an 41:11) and then the earth (by quoting Qur'an 21:30) is shown to be disingenuous. When the whole of verse 41:11 and its surrounding verses are read in context, it provides a clear chronological account of the earth being formed first and then the hills and sustenance are created upon it. Only after the earth has been created does Allah create the stars. The entire account in the Qur'an is not an accurate reflection of the formation of the Universe.

Then there is the use of images of distant nebulae only visible through the aid of modern telescopes that are meant to provide a visual connection to smoke. However, it does not require divine revelation nor advanced scientific instruments to imagine the Milky Way, something that can be seen with the naked eye right here on earth, as a cloud of smoke in the night sky.

Finally, in an attempt to provide some much needed credibility, the apologist makes an appeal to authority by claiming that a renowned geologist supports their views, when in fact he has never endorsed the Qur'an as being an accurate source of scientific information and was simply quote mined.

Creation of the Earth

In many of these verses, along with the creation of the heavens, the Quran also describes the creation of the Earth as a process in which it was 'spread out' in a number of different ways. Other than describing a flat earth (see: Islamic Views on the Shape of the Earth), this is also at odds with the scientific view on the creation/formation of the earth.

See also Quran 20:53, Quran 15:19, and Quran 13:3.

The current scientific consensus is when the solar system settled into its current layout about 4.5 billion years ago, Earth formed when gravity pulled swirling gas and dust in to become the third planet from the Sun.^[14]

The Earth, like all the other planets in the solar system, started out its life as a disc of dust and gas orbiting the young sun. The dust particles were brought together by the forces of drag to form clumps of rock that grew into what scientists call “planetesimals,” which are tens to hundreds of miles across, and then to Mars-sized “protoplanets” by colliding with each other. Earth grew to its final size through one last major collision with another Mars-sized object. This last collision, also known as the “moon-forming impact,” was so large that—in addition to adding lots of material to the Earth—there was enough energy to vaporize some of the rock and metal from both the proto-Earth and the impacting object. This vapor formed a disc around the Earth that eventually cooled and clumped together to become the moon.^[15]

Therefore this coming together of dust and rock pieces smashing into each other to grow in size and form the Earth, does not match the various descriptions of 'spreading' in the Quran.

• Scientific Miracles in the Quran
• Creation

• Does Science really prove the Quran? Heavens created as 'Smoke' - Answer-Islam (archived), http://www.answer-islam.org/Smoke.html 
• Islamic Astronomical miracles - The Islam Issue