Scientific Errors in the Quran: Difference between revisions

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{{Quote|{{Quran|25|53}}| It is He Who has let free the two bodies of flowing water: One palatable and sweet, and the other salt and bitter; yet has He made a barrier between them, '''a partition that is forbidden to be passed'''. }}
{{Quote|{{Quran|25|53}}| It is He Who has let free the two bodies of flowing water: One palatable and sweet, and the other salt and bitter; yet has He made a barrier between them, '''a partition that is forbidden to be passed'''. }}
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|55|19|22}}|He released the two seas, meeting [side by side]; Between them is a barrier [so] neither of them transgresses. So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? From both of them emerge pearl and coral.}}


Another reference to "the two seas" (bahrayn) is found in the story of Moses and his servant.
Another reference to "the two seas" (bahrayn) is found in the story of Moses and his servant.
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{{Quote|{{Quran-range|18|60|61}}|And [mention] when Moses said to his servant, "I will not cease [traveling] until I reach the junction of the two seas or continue for a long period." But when they reached the junction between them, they forgot their fish, and it took its course into the sea, slipping away.}}
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|18|60|61}}|And [mention] when Moses said to his servant, "I will not cease [traveling] until I reach the junction of the two seas or continue for a long period." But when they reached the junction between them, they forgot their fish, and it took its course into the sea, slipping away.}}


The story of Moses and his servant is one of four stories in Surah al-Kahf. Modern academic scholarship has identified antecedants of each story in the lore of late antiquity. This particular story is almost unanimously considered to derive from a legend about Alexander the Great and his search for the water of life. For details see [[Parallels Between the Qur'an and Late Antique Judeo-Christian Literature]].
The story of Moses and his servant is one of four stories in Surah al-Kahf. Modern academic scholarship has identified antecedants of each story in the lore of late antiquity. This particular story is almost unanimously considered to derive from a legend about Alexander the Great and his search for the water of life. For details see the section on the four stories in Surah al-Kahf in the article [[Parallels Between the Qur'an and Late Antique Judeo-Christian Literature]].


It may further be compared to the ancient Akkadian myth of the Abzu, the name for a fresh water underground sea that was given a religious quality in Sumerian and Akkadian mythology. Lakes, springs, rivers, wells, and other sources of fresh water were thought to draw their water from the Abzu underground sea, while the Ocean that surrounded the world was a saltwater sea. This underground sea is called Tehom in the Hebrew Bible. For example, Genesis 49:25 says, "blessings of the heavens above, and Tehom lying beneath".<ref>Wensinck, Arent Jan (1918). "The Ocean in the Literature of the Western Semites". Verhandelingen der Koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen te Amsterdam. Afdeeling Letterkunde. Nieuwe reeks. dl. 19. no. 2. page 14</ref> Wensinck explains, "Thus it appears that the idea of there being a sea of sweet water under our earth, the ancient Tehom, which is the source of springs and rivers, is common to the Western Semites".<ref>ibid. page 17</ref> Similarly in Greek mythology, the world was surrounded by Oceanus, the world-ocean of classical antiquity. Oceanus was personified as the god Titan, whose consort was the aquatic sea goddess Tethys. It was also thought that rainfall was due a third ocean above the "Firmament of the Sky" (a vast reservoir above the firmament of the sky is also described in the Genesis creation narrative).
It may further be compared to the ancient Akkadian myth of the Abzu, the name for a fresh water underground sea that was given a religious quality in Sumerian and Akkadian mythology. Lakes, springs, rivers, wells, and other sources of fresh water were thought to draw their water from the Abzu underground sea, while the Ocean that surrounded the world was a saltwater sea. This underground sea is called Tehom in the Hebrew Bible. For example, Genesis 49:25 says, "blessings of the heavens above, and Tehom lying beneath".<ref>Wensinck, Arent Jan (1918). "The Ocean in the Literature of the Western Semites". Verhandelingen der Koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen te Amsterdam. Afdeeling Letterkunde. Nieuwe reeks. dl. 19. no. 2. page 14</ref> Wensinck explains, "Thus it appears that the idea of there being a sea of sweet water under our earth, the ancient Tehom, which is the source of springs and rivers, is common to the Western Semites".<ref>ibid. page 17</ref> Similarly in Greek mythology, the world was surrounded by Oceanus, the world-ocean of classical antiquity. Oceanus was personified as the god Titan, whose consort was the aquatic sea goddess Tethys. It was also thought that rainfall was due a third ocean above the "Firmament of the Sky" (a vast reservoir above the firmament of the sky is also described in the Genesis creation narrative).
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===Mountains cast upon Earth===
===Mountains cast upon Earth===
{{Main|The Quran and Mountains}}
{{Main|The Quran and Mountains}}
Mountains are usually formed through the movement and collision of lithospheric (tectonic) plates. This is an ongoing process that continues to this day as the plates slowly move. The Quran, by contrast, states that the mountains on Earth's surface were cast upon it by God. The imagery is clear when one considers the above verses which describe the Mountains as 'pegs' which stabilize the Earth (which is itself compared to a carpet and bed roll).
Mountains are usually formed through the movement and collision of lithospheric (tectonic) plates. This is an ongoing process that continues to this day as the plates slowly move. The Quran, by contrast, states that the mountains on Earth's surface were cast upon it by God. Other verses state that creation of mountains occurred during the first four days, as discussed in the section above on creation of earth and heaven in six days. The imagery is clear when one considers the above verses which describe the Mountains as 'pegs' which stabilize the Earth (which is itself compared to a carpet and bed matt in other verses).


{{Quote|{{Quran|16|15}}|
{{Quote|{{Quran|16|15}}|
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