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Scientific Miracles in the Quran: Difference between revisions
Scientific Miracles in the Quran (view source)
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In the eyes of historians, the Quran's author(s) almost certainly made no pretensions about predicting modern science. In support of this perspective, there is no Islamic scripture that actually claims that the Quran (or Islamic scripture in general) contain allusions to future scientific discoveries. Consequently, where the Quran makes mention of what are today perceived as topics of scientific interest (such as the wonders of the day and night sky, fauna and flora, or the human spirit), historians suggest that these passages were originally intended to simply inspire awe in their audience by orienting that audience's attention towards the world's many marvels and especially those marvels accessible to individuals living in the harsh, arid, and rocky environment of early 7th century Arabia. | In the eyes of historians, the Quran's author(s) almost certainly made no pretensions about predicting modern science. In support of this perspective, there is no Islamic scripture that actually claims that the Quran (or Islamic scripture in general) contain allusions to future scientific discoveries. Consequently, where the Quran makes mention of what are today perceived as topics of scientific interest (such as the wonders of the day and night sky, fauna and flora, or the human spirit), historians suggest that these passages were originally intended to simply inspire awe in their audience by orienting that audience's attention towards the world's many marvels and especially those marvels accessible to individuals living in the harsh, arid, and rocky environment of early 7th century Arabia. | ||
The most popular Islamic voices who have argued for the existence of scientific miracles in the Quran in the West include [[Harun Yahya]], [[Zakir Naik]], I.A. Ibrahim, and Hamza Tzortzis. Notably, in 2013, Hamza Tzortzis published an essay withdrawing his case for scientific miracles in the Quran and stating that the entire endeavor to prove such miracles "has become an intellectual embarrassment for Muslim apologists" and "has exposed the lack of coherence in the way they have formulated" their arguments, noting that "many Muslims who converted to Islam due to the scientific miracles narrative, have left the religion".<ref>{{Citation|author=Hamza Andreas Tzortzis|url=https://www.hamzatzortzis.com/does-the-quran-contain-scientific-miracles-a-new-approach/|publication-date=8/21/2013|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416194024/https://www.hamzatzortzis.com/does-the-quran-contain-scientific-miracles-a-new-approach/|chapter=Does the Quran contain scientific miracles?}}</ref> Zakir Naik has been banned in India, Bangladesh, Canada, the UK, and Malaysia under anti-terrorism and anti-hate laws.<ref name="lmzn">{{cite web|work=[[Livemint]]|title=Zakir Naik's colourful, controversial past|url=http://www.livemint.com/Politics/nEgC4RcrRkydW33OMxbvdN/Zakir-Naiks-controversial-past.html|accessdate=16 July 2016|date=7 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160710003129/http://www.livemint.com/Politics/nEgC4RcrRkydW33OMxbvdN/Zakir-Naiks-controversial-past.html|archive-date=10 July 2016|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="hp10" /><ref>{{cite web|work=[[NDTV]]|title=Foreign Media On Zakir Naik, 'Doctor-Turned-Firebrand Preacher'|url=http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/foreign-media-on-zakir-naik-doctor-turned-firebrand-preacher-1431875|accessdate=16 July 2016|date=15 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160716133126/http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/foreign-media-on-zakir-naik-doctor-turned-firebrand-preacher-1431875|archive-date=16 July 2016|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="Malaysiaban" /> On January 11th, 2020, Harun Yahya was sentenced to 1,075 years in prison for, among other charges, operating a sex cult, sexual assault, | The most popular Islamic voices who have argued for the existence of scientific miracles in the Quran in the West include [[Harun Yahya]], [[Zakir Naik]], I.A. Ibrahim, and Hamza Tzortzis. Notably, in 2013, Hamza Tzortzis published an essay withdrawing his case for scientific miracles in the Quran and stating that the entire endeavor to prove such miracles "has become an intellectual embarrassment for Muslim apologists" and "has exposed the lack of coherence in the way they have formulated" their arguments, noting that "many Muslims who converted to Islam due to the scientific miracles narrative, have left the religion".<ref>{{Citation|author=Hamza Andreas Tzortzis|url=https://www.hamzatzortzis.com/does-the-quran-contain-scientific-miracles-a-new-approach/|publication-date=8/21/2013|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416194024/https://www.hamzatzortzis.com/does-the-quran-contain-scientific-miracles-a-new-approach/|chapter=Does the Quran contain scientific miracles?}}</ref> Zakir Naik's preaching has been banned in India, Bangladesh, Canada, the UK, and Malaysia under anti-terrorism and anti-hate laws.<ref name="lmzn">{{cite web|work=[[Livemint]]|title=Zakir Naik's colourful, controversial past|url=http://www.livemint.com/Politics/nEgC4RcrRkydW33OMxbvdN/Zakir-Naiks-controversial-past.html|accessdate=16 July 2016|date=7 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160710003129/http://www.livemint.com/Politics/nEgC4RcrRkydW33OMxbvdN/Zakir-Naiks-controversial-past.html|archive-date=10 July 2016|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="hp10" /><ref>{{cite web|work=[[NDTV]]|title=Foreign Media On Zakir Naik, 'Doctor-Turned-Firebrand Preacher'|url=http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/foreign-media-on-zakir-naik-doctor-turned-firebrand-preacher-1431875|accessdate=16 July 2016|date=15 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160716133126/http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/foreign-media-on-zakir-naik-doctor-turned-firebrand-preacher-1431875|archive-date=16 July 2016|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="Malaysiaban" /> On January 11th, 2020, Harun Yahya was sentenced to 1,075 years in prison for, among other charges, operating a sex cult, sexual assault, blackmail, and money laundering.<ref>{{Citation|chapter=Turkish court sentences TV preacher to more than 1,000 years in jail - state media|newspaper=Reuters|publication-date=1/11/2021|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/turkey-court-preacher-idUSL4N2JM23C|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210131004740/https://www.reuters.com/article/turkey-court-preacher-idUSL4N2JM23C|editor=Reuters Staff}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-11/turkey-sex-cult-chief-sentenced-to-more-than-1-000-years-in-jail|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111124141/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-11/turkey-sex-cult-chief-sentenced-to-more-than-1-000-years-in-jail|publication-date=1/11/2021|newspaper=Bloomberg|author=Taylan Bilgic|chapter=Turkey Sex Cult Chief Sentenced to More Than 1,000 Years in Jail}}</ref> | ||
==Methodology of Islamic theologians== | ==Methodology of Islamic theologians== | ||
A variety of theological methods are employed by modern Islamic scholars in making the case for any given scientific miracle in the Quran. These methods include what can be described and categorized as dehistoricization, pseudo-correlation, reinterpretation, disambiguation, elective literalism, elective esotericism, and data mining. While there exist any number of alternative approaches and combinations thereof to making the case for any given scientific miracle, the aforementioned methods are, in roughly descending order, the most common. These methods are not mutually exclusive and tend to employed in conjunction with one another in order to strengthen the case being made. | A variety of theological methods are employed by modern Islamic scholars in making the case for any given scientific miracle in the Quran. These methods include what can be described and categorized as dehistoricization, pseudo-correlation, reinterpretation, disambiguation, elective literalism, elective esotericism, and data mining. While there exist any number of alternative approaches and combinations thereof to making the case for any given scientific miracle, the aforementioned methods are, in roughly descending order, the most common. These methods are not mutually exclusive and tend to employed in conjunction with one another in order to strengthen the case being made. | ||
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'''Daryabadi:''' So when stars are effaced.}}{{Quote|{{quran-range|86|1|3}}|By the Sky and the Night-Visitant (therein);- And what will explain to thee what the Night-Visitant is?- (It is) the Star of piercing brightness;-}} | '''Daryabadi:''' So when stars are effaced.}}{{Quote|{{quran-range|86|1|3}}|By the Sky and the Night-Visitant (therein);- And what will explain to thee what the Night-Visitant is?- (It is) the Star of piercing brightness;-}} | ||
=== | ===The speed of light=== | ||
Some modern Islamic scholars and voices, particularly Dr. Mansour Hassab-Elnaby, have argued that {{Quran|32|5}} contains the information or is in some distinct manner cognizant of the fact that light in one day travels a distance roughly equal to 12,000 lunar orbits. Hassab-Elnaby's case is developed using abstruse mathematical calculations that employ various figures including the thousand-year period described in the verse and the distance the moon could be said to travel about the Earth if the Earth were stationary. Critics have argued that this case is a textbook example of numerological obscurantism whereby any text in existence can be taken and 'shown to be of divine origin' on the basis of various 'rare' numeric patterns which inevitably appear in any sufficiently complex data and limited set (similar techniques when applied to works such as Shakespearean plays and Virgil's Georgics, for instance, have revealed similarly 'dazzling coincidences'). | |||
{{Quote|{{quran|32|5}}|He disposeth every affair from the heaven unto the earth; thereafter it shall ascend unto Him in a Day the measure whereof is one thousand years of that which ye compute.}} | |||
===Seven Heavens and Seven Earths=== | ===Seven Heavens and Seven Earths=== | ||
{{Main|Science and the Seven Earths}} | {{Main|Science and the Seven Earths}} | ||
Some modern Islamic scholars have argued that {{Quran|65|12}} contains a scientifically-sound insight in its statement that there exist seven heavens and seven entities 'like' the Earth. Various interpretations to this effect include the reading of the 'seven heavens' as descriptive of atmospheric layers and the reading of the 'seven earths' as descriptive of the layers of the Earth's surface or the number of continents. Critics have pointed out that no classification of the layers of the Earth's atmosphere holds there to be seven layers, that no classification of the Earth's layers holds there to be seven layers, that the seven-count of continents is moreso a cultural/historical artifact than anything grounded in geographical or geological fact (with Eurasia, for instance, being a more geologically-sound candidate for a continent) , and that the 'seven earths' spoken of in the Quran in all likelihood reference the seven stacked disks of which Earth is the top-most that are described extensively in many places scattered throughout hadith literature and the sayings of Muhammad's companions. | |||
{{Quote|{{quran|65|12}}|Allah (is) He Who created seven heavens and of the earth, (the) like of them. Descends the command between them that you may know that Allah (is) on every thing All-Powerful. And that, Allah indeed, encompasses all things (in) knowledge.}} | |||
===Qur'an and the Descent of Iron=== | ===Qur'an and the Descent of Iron=== | ||
Some modern Islamic scholars and voices, including Harun Yahya, have argued that {{Quran|57|25}} provides a scientifically-sound description of the origin of the iron that is present on Earth. Historians have pointed out that the myth regarding the heavenly-descent of iron vastly predates Abrahamic scriptures and can be found some three millennia prior to the advent of Islam among the ancient Egyptians who describe Iron as '''ba-en-pet''<nowiki/>' or 'metal from heaven'. Similar descriptions have also been found among the even more ancient people of Mesopotamia. | |||
The term | Critics have pointed out that this is a clear case of 'elective literalism'. The term used to describe the 'descent' of Iron is '''anzala''<nowiki/>', which is frequently used elsewhere in the Quran where it describes cattle, garments, food, and even the [[People of the Book|people of the book (Jews and Christians)]] as being 'sent down' by some deity. In all these cases and many others, ''anzala'' is not taken literally. | ||
Some Islamic scholars have also argued that the occurrence of the word 'iron' in the 26th verse of the surah is miraculous, given that Iron's atomic number is 26. Critics have argued that this nothing more than a coincidental product of numerological datamining and have asked why the surah number could not also have been 55 or 56, rather than 57, to also match Iron's atomic weight, which is 55.845. | |||
{{Quote|{{quran|57|25}}|Certainly We sent Our Messengers with clear proofs and We sent down with them the Scripture and the Balance that may establish the people justice. And We sent down [the] iron, wherein (is) power mighty and benefits for the people, and so that Allah may make evident (he) who helps Him and His Messengers, unseen. Indeed, Allah (is) All-Strong All-Mighty.}} | |||
===Qur'an Describes Altitude Sickness (aka Hypoxia)=== | ===Qur'an Describes Altitude Sickness (aka Hypoxia)=== | ||
Many modern Muslims scholars have argued that {{Quran|6|125}} contains a scientifically accurate description of Hypoxia, altitude sickness, or the general phenomenon of lower oxygen levels in the air (thus called 'hypoxic air') at higher altitudes. Critics have pointed out that any Arab living in the general vicinity of Muhammad would have been familiar with the difficulty involved in breathing at higher altitudes, and that Muhammad particularly would have been aware of this phenomenon if accounts of his regularly climbing mountains just prior to proclaiming himself a prophet are to be trusted. Critics have also argued that if one takes the verse literally, the description provided is inaccurate, as the difficulty breathing at higher altitudes is not due to the constriction of one's chest, although this is what one may think based on the sensation of shortened breath which is experienced in hypoxic environments. Indeed, in the lower air pressure of higher altitudes, gasses and air actually expand, and it is also the case that one's chest would expand a very small amount in this environment as there is less atmospheric compression being applied to your body (as opposed to someone, say, at the bottom of the sea, who would instantly be crushed). Persons born and raised in higher at higher altitudes have actually been recorded to have enlarged chests which compensate for the hypoxic environment by allowing the individual to breath in larger quantities of air in order to acquire the necessary quantity of oxygen. | |||
{{Quote|{{quran|6|125}}|So whoever wants Allah that He guides him - He expands his breast to Islam; and whoever He wants that He lets him go astray He makes his breast tight and constricted as though he (were) climbing into the sky. Thus places Allah the filth on those who (do) not believe.}} | |||
===The Qur'an and Mountains=== | ===The Qur'an and Mountains=== | ||