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The Quran and Mountains: Difference between revisions
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The [[Qur'an|Quran]] has a particular conception of the nature of mountains, their formation, and the geological role they play that is is referenced in multiple verses and several [[Hadith|hadiths]]. In recent times, many Islamic scholars have argued that this conception is both scientifically sound and and instance of [[Scientific Miracles in the Quran|miraculous scientific foreknowledge]] on the part of the Quran which, they argue, could not have arrived at the conception it holds without divine insight. Individuals key to the popularization of this idea include the [[Apologists|apologists]] I. A. Ibrahim and [[Zakir Naik]], Professor Zaghloul Raghib El Naggar (a geologist specializing in biostratification), and the Saudi-financed surgeon [[Bucailleism|Dr. Maurice Bucaille]]. | The [[Qur'an|Quran]] has a particular conception of the nature of mountains, their formation, and the geological role they play that is is referenced in multiple verses and several [[Hadith|hadiths]]. In recent times, many Islamic scholars have argued that this conception is both scientifically sound and and instance of [[Scientific Miracles in the Quran|miraculous scientific foreknowledge]] on the part of the Quran which, they argue, could not have arrived at the conception it holds without divine insight. Individuals key to the popularization of this idea include the [[Apologists|apologists]] I. A. Ibrahim and [[Zakir Naik]], Professor Zaghloul Raghib El Naggar (a geologist specializing in biostratification), and the Saudi-financed surgeon [[Bucailleism|Dr. Maurice Bucaille]]. | ||
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In addition to the arguments presented by the critics themselves, critics point out that key authorities in the Islamic interpretive tradition have explicitly identified the word ''tameeda'' and the verses it is used in as describing earthquakes of the sort that are experienced by human beings. One such key classical authority, a specialist in the interpretation of the Quran, was Ibn Kathir. | In addition to the arguments presented by the critics themselves, critics point out that key authorities in the Islamic interpretive tradition have explicitly identified the word ''tameeda'' and the verses it is used in as describing earthquakes of the sort that are experienced by human beings. One such key classical authority, a specialist in the interpretation of the Quran, was Ibn Kathir. | ||
{{Quote|1=[http://www.tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=21&tid=32959 In everything there is a Sign of Him, showing that He is One]<BR>Tafsir Ibn Kathir|2=(And We have placed on the earth firm mountains,) means, mountains which stabilize the earth and keep it steady and lend it weight, lest it should shake with the people, i.e., move and tremble so that they would not be able to stand firm on it -- because it is covered with water, apart from one-quarter of its surface.}} | {{Quote|1=[http://www.tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=21&tid=32959 In everything there is a Sign of Him, showing that He is One]<BR>Tafsir Ibn Kathir|2=(And We have placed on the earth firm mountains,) means, mountains which stabilize the earth and keep it steady and lend it weight, lest it should shake with the people, i.e., move and tremble so that they would not be able to stand firm on it -- because it is covered with water, apart from one-quarter of its surface.}}A final point critics have made in this vein is that if it is the case that the phenomenon described as ''tameeda'' occurs on geological timescales imperceptible to humans, then it is difficult to see how mountains, which repeatedly form and disappear on geological timescales, could be responsible for the sustained stabilization of the planet's surface (the Earth having existed for some 4.5 billion years). Moreover, they close, if some such phenomenon was taking place on a geological timescale unbeknownst to humans, why would the Quran mention this? Surely, God would not intentionally speak of things that are incomprehensible to humans, as that would be absurd. At the very least, if the phenomenon described exists but is unknowable, and the Quran is not here making a simple scientific error in its assertions, then what these verses contain cannot be verified as a scientific miracle, for humans, in this case, have no way of verifying what the verses speak of. | ||
===Mountains Stabilize the Earth's Rotation About its Axis=== | ===Mountains Stabilize the Earth's Rotation About its Axis=== | ||