Scientific Errors in the Quran: Difference between revisions

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Scientific Errors in the Quran (view source)

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===Chests contract with altitude===
===Chests contract with altitude===
This verse says that your chest cavity gets smaller with higher altitude when in reality the opposite is true.
{{Quran|6|125}} states that a person's chest cavity gets smaller at higher altitude. Modern science, by contrast, has revealed that the opposite is the case.


{{Quote|{{Quran|6|125}}|Those whom Allah (in His plan) willeth to guide,- He openeth their breast to Islam; those whom He willeth to leave straying,- He maketh their breast close and constricted, as if they had to climb up to the skies: thus doth Allah (heap) the penalty on those who refuse to believe.}}
{{Quote|{{Quran|6|125}}|Those whom Allah (in His plan) willeth to guide,- He openeth their breast to Islam; those whom He willeth to leave straying,- He maketh their breast close and constricted, as if they had to climb up to the skies: thus doth Allah (heap) the penalty on those who refuse to believe.}}


===Earthquakes as a punishment===
===Earthquakes as a punishment===
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 Quran describes Earthquakes, blizzards, hurricanes, and other destructive natural activity as being a sort of punishment for the people they inflict. Research, however, has not found any correlation between civilizations' irreligiosity and their susceptibility to these or other type of natural disaster.  


{{Quote|{{Quran|16|45}}|
{{Quote|{{Quran|16|45}}|
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{{Quote|{{Quran|29|37}}|
{{Quote|{{Quran|29|37}}|
But they denied him, and the dreadful earthquake took them, and morning found them prostrate in their dwelling place. }}
But they denied him, and the dreadful earthquake took them, and morning found them prostrate in their dwelling place. }}
===Hurricanes and blizzards as a punishment===
Two of the deadliest blizzards in history happened in Muslim countries. However, the Qur'an regards those natural disasters as violent punishment from God. Weather events are now understood scientifically and can even be predicted in advance.


{{Quote|{{Quran|17|68}}|
{{Quote|{{Quran|17|68}}|
Do ye then feel secure that He will not cause you to be swallowed up beneath the earth when ye are on land, or that He will not send against you a violent tornado (with showers of stones) so that ye shall find no one to carry out your affairs for you}}
Do ye then feel secure that He will not cause you to be swallowed up beneath the earth when ye are on land, or that He will not send against you a violent tornado (with showers of stones) so that ye shall find no one to carry out your affairs for you}}


===No evaporation in water cycle===
===Disregard of evaporation in water cycle===
Some modern perspectives claim that the water cycle is described 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 never mentioned. The Quran seems to describe a linear process orchestrated by Allah as opposed to a cyclical process.
Some modern Muslim scholars argue that the water cycle is described in the Qur'an. Every verse about rain in the Qur'an implies that rain comes either directly from the sky or from Allah. The crucial step of evaporation of water into the air is never mentioned. That Quran describes a linear process orchestrated by Allah rather than a cyclical process (as with the water cycle) renders these modern reinterpretations challenging.


{{Quote|{{Quran|43|11}}|
{{Quote|{{Quran|43|11}}|
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===Mountains of hail in the sky===
===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.
Hail forms in cumulonimbus clouds when updrafts raise water droplets to an altitude where they freeze. The Qur'an, by contrast, describes mountain-like masses of hail in the sky / heaven.


{{Quote|{{Quran|24|43}}|
{{Quote|{{Quran|24|43}}|
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}}
}}


Tafsirs such as al-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 the verse says "mountains of hail in the sky", which critics would say strongly suggests large masses of ice (in the clouds or otherwise), and it was sometimes understood in this literal way as evidenced in tafsirs.
Tafsirs such as al-Jalalayn and the one attributed to Ibn Abbas say that this means mountains in the sky.<ref>[https://tafsir.app/jalalayn/24/43 Tafsir al-Jalalayn 24:43]</ref> Ibn Kathir notes two views, that these are literally mountains of hail in the sky, or that they are a metaphor for clouds.<ref>[https://tafsir.app/ibn-katheer/24/43 Tafsir Ibn Kathir 24:43]</ref> Clouds could poetically be described as mountains in the sky, but the verse says "mountains of hail in the sky", which critics would say strongly suggests large masses of ice (in the clouds or otherwise), and it was sometimes understood in this literal way as evidenced in tafsirs.


===Allah's use of thunderbolts to smite people===
===Allah's use of thunderbolts to smite people===


The author describes thunder and lightning in a way typical of ancient mythology and imagined that they strike those whom Allah wishes to smite.
The Quran describes thunder and lightning in a manner typical of ancient mythology. Allah, in a manner evocative of the legends most famously regarding Zeus, smites persons he wishes to punish with thunderbolts. A hadith, graded hasan (good) by Dar-us-Salam, further states that Muhammad believed the sound of thunder was an angel striking the clouds, which the angel drives along with a piece of fire (evoking the image of a whip of fire).


{{Quote|{{Quran|13|13}}|
{{Quote|{{Quran|13|13}}|
And the thunder declares His glory with His praise, and the angels too for awe of Him; and He sends the thunderbolts and smites with them whom He pleases, yet they dispute concerning Allah, and He is mighty in prowess.}}
And the thunder declares His glory with His praise, and the angels too for awe of Him; and He sends the thunderbolts and smites with them whom He pleases, yet they dispute concerning Allah, and He is mighty in prowess.}}
More light on this verse comes in the following hadith, graded hasan (good) by Dar-us-Salam. Muhammad believed the sound of thunder was an angel striking the clouds, which he drives along with a piece of fire.


{{Quote|{{Al Tirmidhi|44|5|44|3117}}|Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:
{{Quote|{{Al Tirmidhi|44|5|44|3117}}|Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:
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==Zoology==
==Zoology==


===Ants recognize humans and converse===
===Ants converse and recognize humans===


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.  
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.  
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