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Scientific Miracles in the Quran: Difference between revisions
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→Methodology of Islamic theologians: Have added a small section I believe is definitely worth calling out, on simply mistranslations being used to claim miracles
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===Methodology=== | ===Methodology=== | ||
While modern Islamic theologians have employed the various methods discussed here in order to develop cases of scientific miracles in the Quran, philosophical and/or religious justification for the employment of these methods has been scant if at all forthcoming. Critics who have pointed out the problems inherent in the use of some/all of these methods have generally not been responded to or taken seriously by establishment theologians. | While modern Islamic theologians have employed the various methods discussed here in order to develop cases of scientific miracles in the Quran, philosophical and/or religious justification for the employment of these methods has been scant if at all forthcoming. Critics who have pointed out the problems inherent in the use of some/all of these methods have generally not been responded to or taken seriously by establishment theologians. | ||
==== Mistranslations ==== | |||
In many cases the scientific miracles simply involve mistranslations from Arabic to English, or from Classical Arabic to Modern Arabic. For example, the claim that daḥā/daḥāhā دَحَا /دَحَاهَا means ostrich-egg-shaped, used to make the claim that the author of the Qur'an knew the state the Earth is an oblate sphere, showing it's divinity - when it actually means 'spreading' the earth out, and can also be used for the (flat spread-out) place where an ostrich makes a nest in the ground, but not it's eggs<ref>Lane's Lexicon dictionary on [https://ejtaal.net/aa/#hw4=h328,ll=900,ls=h5,la=h1338,sg=h375,ha=h210,br=h325,pr=h55,aan=h185,mgf=h296,vi=h142,kz=h686,mr=h221,mn=h391,uqw=h509,umr=h357,ums=h289,umj=h236,ulq=h696,uqa=h130,uqq=h102,bdw=h298,amr=h220,asb=h280,auh=h558,dhq=h175,mht=h276,msb=h79,tla=h48,amj=h229,ens=h1,mis=h633 daḥā دَحَا]</ref> (''the shape of an ostrich egg is also not like that of the earth, see: [[Islamic Views on the Shape of the Earth]])''. Or that yasbaḥoona / يَسْبَحُونَ means 'rotating on it's own axis' (applied to the sun in e.g. verse 21:33), of which there is no such meaning (it simply means 'swimming').<ref>[https://quranx.com/Dictionary/Lane/%D8%B3%D8%A8%D8%AD Yasbahoona / سبح] Lane's Lexicon Classical Arabic Dictionary (quranx.com)</ref> Or that sulb / ﺻُﻠﺐ (which means backbone)<ref>[https://quranx.com/Dictionary/Lane/%D8%B3%D8%A8%D8%AD sulb ' ﺻُﻠﺐ] - Lane's Lexicon Classical Arabic Dictionary</ref> or tara'ib / تَّرَآئِب (rib or other chest bones)<ref>[https://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000338.pdf Tara'ib تَّرَآئِب] - Lane's Lexicon Classical Arabic Dictionary</ref> means sexual areas of the man or women as to not contradict modern embryology (''see: [[Semen Production in the Quran]]''). | |||
====Dehistoricization==== | ====Dehistoricization==== | ||
The most common practice in making the case for a scientific miracle in the Quran is dehistoricization. Dehistoricization is the process whereby a historical event (in this case a verse of the Quran) is removed from its historical context. Since no Islamic scripture claims to be predictive of modern science, the great majority of scientific miracle cases require a degree of dehistoricization. [[Muhammad]] did not, after all, appeal directly to his companions by telling them he could forecast scientific discoveries that would be made more than a thousand years hence, in a future they would not live to see. Similarly, Muhammad did not appeal to his companions by forecasting historical events would be uncovered by future | The most common practice in making the case for a scientific miracle in the Quran is dehistoricization. Dehistoricization is the process whereby a historical event (in this case a verse of the Quran) is removed from its historical context. Since no Islamic scripture claims to be predictive of modern science, the great majority of scientific miracle cases require a degree of dehistoricization. [[Muhammad]] did not, after all, appeal directly to his companions by telling them he could forecast scientific discoveries that would be made more than a thousand years hence, in a future they would not live to see. Similarly, Muhammad did not appeal to his companions by forecasting historical events would be uncovered by future archaeological research. If he had done either, the miracle would have been ineffective and gone over the heads of his contemporaries who would not have known what Muhammad was talking about. Indeed, if his contemporaries could have verified the scientific or historical remark made by Muhmmad, it would not have been a miracle (as this would mean that Muhammad could also have learned of the fact through similar means). | ||
As a result, verses have to be dehistoricized and subsequently reframed as forecasts of future scientific (or | As a result, verses have to be dehistoricized and subsequently reframed as forecasts of future scientific (or archaeological) discoveries. For instance, when the Quran states the Earth has been 'spread out' as a 'bed' and that mountains have been cast down upon the Earth as stabilizing 'stakes', it intends to inspire its contemporary audience's awe by directing its attention to a common mythological notion that this audience held to be true. Islamic theologians thus take this and similar verses and reframe them as predictions. | ||
In cases where the scientific or historical fact to which Muhammad is alluding is described accurately, modern Islamic theologians are required to engage in a double dehistoricization: firstly, the description must be reconceived as a prediction, and, secondly, the possibility of Muhammad acquiring the relevant fact through other than divine means must be precluded. | In cases where the scientific or historical fact to which Muhammad is alluding is described accurately, modern Islamic theologians are required to engage in a double dehistoricization: firstly, the description must be reconceived as a prediction, and, secondly, the possibility of Muhammad acquiring the relevant fact through other than divine means must be precluded. | ||
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*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyUGc8SGBfQ Hassan Radwan - The Qu'ran's Miracle of Haman] - ''YouTube video'' | *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyUGc8SGBfQ Hassan Radwan - The Qu'ran's Miracle of Haman] - ''YouTube video'' | ||
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS1Mn90T2Bc CaptainDisguise: Miracle of the Pharaoh & Maurice Bucaille - Why do we laugh at Dawahgandists? #Dawahganda] - ''YouTube video'' | *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS1Mn90T2Bc CaptainDisguise: Miracle of the Pharaoh & Maurice Bucaille - Why do we laugh at Dawahgandists? #Dawahganda] - ''YouTube video'' | ||
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9Voh0xLLUw islamwhattheydonttellyou164 - Waters that Never Mix: The Honest Truth] - ''YouTube | *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9Voh0xLLUw islamwhattheydonttellyou164 - Waters that Never Mix: The Honest Truth] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-w3Nxh-r8c&t=1360s The Quran and Science] - ''YouTube videos'' | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||