Scientific Errors in the Quran: Difference between revisions

Muslims believe that the [[Qur'an]] contains a message from an all-powerful, all-knowing, infallible being. If this is true then it should not contain any [[Contradictions and Errors|errors, mistakes]], or information that contradicts known facts about the universe. If even one error exists in the text of [[Islam]]'s holy book then the claims of divine authorship and infallibility are not true. An objective evaluation of the Qur’an shows that it contains numerous [[Islam and Science|scientific]] and historical errors and it reflects a pre-scientific, 7^th century view of the natural world.

Some apologists will contest these numerous scientific errors in the Qur'an by appealing to metaphor, alternative meanings, or [[w:Phenomenology (philosophy)|phenomenological]] interpretations of the text. Even if we suppose that alternative explanations were possible in every case, the wording and content of the Qur'anic verses often mimic the popular mythology and unscientific misconceptions of the time in which they were recorded. The author of the Qur’an makes no clear or unambiguous statements that differentiate his understanding of the natural world from the common folklore of the people living in the 7^th century. If the Qur’an was delivered by an all-powerful, all-knowing being then he would have been able to foresee how such ambiguous and misleading statements would be understood by future generations and the doubts and confusions they would cause. This alone should be reason to reject any claims to its divine authorship.

The Qur'an mentions numerous times that the sun and the moon travel in an orbit, but does not mention once that the earth does too. This is consistent with a earth-centered (geocentric) view of the cosmos that places a motionless earth at the center of the universe and all "heavenly bodies" travel around the earth. This was the prevailing understanding of the universe prior to the 16^th century when Copernicus helped explain and popularize a sun-centered (heliocentric) view of the universe.

The author of the Qur'an emphasis that the earth is fixed in place and motionless. He is clearly unaware that the earth is not only revolving around the sun, but also spinning on it's axis.

The Qur'an assume a flat earth which has a fixed place where the sun sets and a fixed place where the sun rises again. Since the earth is a rotating sphere, the sun doesn't set in any particular place and you can never travel to "the spot" where the sun sets nor a place where it rises; the sun appears to set or rise on the horizon no mater where you are on the planet. In these verses, the author propagates a popular legend from the 6th century of a man named Dhul-Qarnayn who visits the places where the sun sets and rises; here he finds the [[Dhul-Qarnayn and the Sun Setting in a Muddy Spring|sun going down into a muddy spring]] and later rising on a tribe with no coverings.

Some Muslim Apologists have come up with creative interpretations of these verse to say that Dhul-Qrnayn only traveled until reached a spot "at the time" when the sun set and not the "place" where the sun set. Unfortunately the [[Dhul-Qarnayn_and_the_Sun_Setting_in_a_Muddy_Spring_-_Part_One#Second_interpretation:_He_reached_.5Ba_place_at.5D_the_time_of_sunset_and_sunrise_or_he_reached_those_times|context and Arabic words]] used in the verse point to a physical location. Again, we must ask why an all-knowing being would use such vague and misleading verses if he was simply trying to relate a time at which a person reached his destination.

The author of the Qur'an does not seem to know the difference between stars (giant balls of gas thousands of times larger than the earth) and meteorites which are small rocky masses of debris which brighten up after entering the earth's atmosphere. Many ancient people confused the two, as meteorites look like stars that are streaking across the sky; this is why there were often called [[w:Meteoroid|shooting stars]] or falling stars. In the following verse, the Qur'an claims that Allah uses stars as missiles to ward away devils. This repeats a common Arab myth at the time the Qur'an was first recited.

The Qur'an claims that the moon is located in the middle of the universe and stars are in the nearest/lowest part of the universe. [[w:List of nearest stars|The nearest star]] to our solar system is 4.24 light years (4x10¹³km) away and over 100 million times further away then the moon. Clearly the Qur'anic author has no idea that the vast majority of stars in the night sky are billions upon billions of light-years away.

The moon does not emit its own light but simply reflects light coming from the Sun. The Arabic word for reflected (in`ikaas) does not appear in this Qur'anic verse that says the Moon is a "light". It instead uses the word "Noor" which is used to denote an entity that emits light

The Qur'an and Hadith claim that the moon was miraculously split into two pieces and then, presumably, put back together again. There is absolutely no scientific evidence whatsoever that the moon has ever been split into two. Since the moon is visible to half the planet at any given time, we should expect to see numerous accounts from different parts of the world attesting to this event if it actually happened. The Romans, Greeks, Egyptians, Persians, Chinese and Indians had avid astronomers who should have seen this event and recorded it in their histories. The absence of historical record from other civilizations, contemporary to Muhammad, is a strong indication that this event never happened.

This verse claims there are seven planets. However, according to astronomers, there are eight ordinary planets and five dwarf planets, which leaves the grand total at thirteen in our solar system. Modern astronomy also has found hundreds of other planets in other solar systems and Cosmologists estimate that hundred of billions of stars and planets exist in the universe. The author of the Qur'an singling out such a small number of celestial objects only reaffirms his ignorance of the makeup of the universe.

The universe consists of hundreds of billions of galaxies, each with hundreds of billions of stars. There is no such thing as seven layers to the universe. This myth of seven heavens was a common idea prevalent in the Middle East during the time when the Qur'an was first recited.

The earth first formed around 9 billion years after the Big Bang. The Qur'an, however, repeats the prevailing middle eastern myth that the earth and universe were formed in six days.

Muslim apologists try and rescue the Qur'an by pointing to an alternative meaning of the Arabic word 'yawm' which typically means 'day' but can sometimes mean 'time period'. However the predominant meaning of the word is day and when a specific number is used, in this case six, the word almost always means a literal 24-hour day. Again, nothing in the context of the verses, nor the Qur'an in general, suggests the universe or earth were formed over long time periods. It would have been trivial for an all-knowing diety to simply state that the universe was first formed over [[w:Age of the universe|13.8 billion years ago]]. However, this information is conspicuously missing.

The author of the Qur'an is also unaware that the [[w:Abundance of elements in Earth's crust|elements in the Earth's crust]] and core were first formed in stars. Modern science has proposed that all the elements that make up the earth (Oxygen, Nitrogen, Carbon, Iron, etc.) was originally formed by [[w:Nucleosynthesis|nucleosynthesis]] in stars and then expelled into the universe when those stars [[w:Supernova|supernova]]. Yet the Qur'an describes the earth being formed before the stars and from "smoke" or material that pre-dates stars. All rocky and gaseous planets in the universe were formed in a similar manner to the earth and the Qur'an singling out the earth only further highlights the authors ignorance of the history of the formation of celestial objects.

This verse suggests that the Sun is flat and can be folded up. The Sun appears as a flat disc from the perspective of a person on earth, but the [[w:Sun|sun]] is in fact almost a perfect sphere. The verse implies the authors ignorance of this fact.

A common myth at the time of the Quran's composition was that the sky or heavens were held up with pillars. Many Bedouin people living in Arabia imagined the sky as a large tent covering, similar to the tents they used. The author repeats this myth by describing the sky as being "raised" above the earth.

Asteroids and meteorites have penetrated the atmosphere and hit the earth throughout the course of history. This includes the [[w:Chicxulub crater|massive meteorite]] that hit near the [[w:Yucatán Peninsula|Yucatán Peninsula]] 65 million years which killed off numerous species including most dinosaurs. There is no guardian, whatsoever, that prevents these types of events form happening.

The Qur'an author thought that the sky is like a ceiling that can fall on someone while the earth can swallow someone too. This is obviously impossible as the earth's atmosphere is simply made of gas.

In polar regions, the longevity of day and night vary during summer and winter. Muhammad didn't know about this and he only repeated earlier geocentric ideas.

The Qur'an presupposes a [[creation|creationist]] view of life on earth. Its understanding of the history of human life is incompatible with the overwhelming scientific evidence that humans have evolved from prior life forms, over the course of millions of years, through natural selection [http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence]. While some Muslims accept the theory of evolution, most reject it in favor of a creationist world view. [[Muslim Statistics - Science#Evolution|Opinion polls]] show that the majority of Muslims agree Islam and evolution are not compatible.

The Qur’an state that humans were created instantaneously from mud or clay. There is no indication that the author is aware of the evolution of human life over millions of years nor our common ancestry with apes and primates.  

The Qur’an and Hadith contains stories concerning the 'first humans' and how all people are descended from these two earliest ancestors. It states that humans were created in a garden (paradise) and then brought to earth fully formed. This view of the origins of human life is clearly contradicted by the numerous fossils of pre-homosapien species that lived on earth for millions of years before modern humans first evolved.[http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence]

Some Muslim apologists will claim the view of two ancestral “parents” is consistent with recent scientific findings that show a common female and male ancestor of all modern humans. They often exploit the confusion caused by scientists referring to these genetic ancestors as [[W:Mitochondrial Eve|Mitochondrial Eve]] and [[W:Y-chromosomal Adam|Y-chromosomal Adam]]. These two individuals bear little resemblance to the Quranic account as they are simply the last common male and female ancestors of everyone alive today, not of all humans in history. The Qur'an clearly states Eve was created later than Adam, however [[W:Mitochondrial Eve|Mitochondrial Eve]] lived some 50,000 to 80,000 years earlier than [[W:Y-chromosomal Adam|Y-chromosomal Adam]].[http://biologos.org/blog/does-genetics-point-to-a-single-primal-couple]  Genetic evidence overwhelmingly indicates that humans diverged from earlier species as a population, not a single couple. [http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2011/09/18/how-big-was-the-human-population-bottleneck-not-anything-close-to-2/].

The author of the Qur'an explicitly states that humans were first created outside of the earth and then only later sent down to live on the planet after being expelled from paradise. We have no evidence that humans ever lived in a terrestrial or extra-terrestrial paradise. In fact, all evidence points to primitive humanoids living in caves for tens of thousands of years before settling into more permanent dwellings. [http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/plaintexthistories.asp?historyid=ab27]

The Qur'an and Hadith contain statements about bodily fluids and the stages of development of the human embryo. Many of these descriptions are vague and unscientific. Most bare a striking resemblance to similar descriptions found in the [[w:Talmud|Jewish Talmud]] and the ideas of ancient Greeks, including their errors.

The Qur'an's author did not mention the role of the ovum in human reproduction and appears to have no knowledge of it. This verse fails to mention the important role of the female egg, or ovum, plays in the reproduction of humankind. It implies that reproduction is caused simply by the male semen. The human ovum is very small, though visible to the human eye, and it's purpose wasn't understood in the 7th century. Again, we are left wondering why an all-knowing deity would omit such information.

The Qur'an and Hadith depict that humans are formed from a clot of blood. There was never a stage in embryonic development where humans are formed into a clot of blood. This description is likely influenced by an unscientific and primitive understanding of human reproduction based on observations from an early-term miscarriage and a woman's menstrual cycle.

Not every creature procreates or reproduces through male and female sexual relationship. The [[w:Desert grassland whiptail lizard|whiptail lizard]] in the U.S. Southwest, Mexico, and South America, is an all-females species which reproduces by [[w:parthenogenesis|parthenogenesis]]. [[w:virus|Viruses]] reproduce using a host's DNA and are neither female nor male. [[w:Bacteria|Bacteria]] reproduce by cell division. [[w:Fungus|Fungus]] can reproduce either sexually or asexually. Many species of plants also reproduce either asexually or through [[w:Pollination|pollination]].  

The word [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000257.pdf butun] (بطن) means belly/abdomen/midriff, though some translators like to use the more specific word "womb". There are many more layers in the human body such as the endometrium, myometrium, perimetrium, peritoneum, besides the cervix uteri, corpus uteri, abdomen (with walls), and placenta (with layers). The idea of three membranes around the fetus (chorion, allantois, and amnion) was taught by the highly influential Greek physician, Galen. It is likely that the Quranic author is simply repeating this erroneous idea.

The Qur'an states that milk is produced, in the body, somewhere between excretions and blood. The mammary glands, where milk is produced and stored, are nowhere near the intestines which is where excrement is stored. Many kinds of cattle and goat milk needs processing or pasteurization before they can safely be consumed; the milk is often infected with bacteria and other micro-organisms. A significant number of  humans are [[Qur'an and Milk|lactose intolerant]] and unable to digest milk without experiencing abdominal bloating and cramps, flatulence, diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. This makes the Qur'anic claim that milk is 'pure' and 'agreeable' to those who drink it dubious.

The Qur'an tells all Muslims to face in the direction of Mecca when they pray. However, this would only be possible on a flat Earth because it is not possible to bow down towards the direction of Mecca when you are on the opposite side of the earth. The author here presupposes a small world, local to Arabia, that is flat. Only in that world view can people everywhere face Mecca.  

The author of the Qur'an sees the earth as a wide plain or expanse. This is often likened to a flat bed, as some translators put it. Again, the author seems unaware of the curvature of the earth or the fact that it is a sphere.

The Qur'an describes a time in the future when mountains will be removed leaving the Earth smooth and level. This description assumes the earth is already flat and level with only the mountains giving it shape. The author here appears to have no knowledge that the earth is curved and not level.

The author of the Qur'an repeats a common view of the 7th century that the earth was a fixed and un-moving object with the stars, sun, and moon revolving around it. The author appears to be unaware that the earth is rotating around its axis and moving through space around the sun.

When a fresh water river flows into the sea or ocean, there is a transition region in between. This transition region is called an [[w:estuary|estuary]] where the fresh water remains temporarily separated from the salt water. However, this barrier is not permanent and the different salinity levels between the two bodies of water eventually homogenize. The Qur'an however erroneously says that the barrier between the two types of water is permanent.  

Modern geology has discovered that large plates in the crust of the earth are responsible for the formation of mountains. Called [[w:Plate tectonics|Plate tectonic]] these massive plates meet and the pressure between them pushes up the crust forming mountains but also causing earthquakes and faults. the Qur'an propagates the idea that mountains are crucial in stabilizing the earth when, in fact, the earth would be much more stable and have less earthquakes if mountains did not exit.

Mountains are usually formed through the movement of lithosphere plates. They were not thrown down into the earth.

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 Qur'anic author perpetuates an unscientific understanding of his phenomena in there verses.

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 patterns follow predictable patterns and are not controlled by a divine being.  

The Qur'an says rainwater is pure, though in some industrial areas rainwater can contain significant amounts of pollution and acidity. Called [[w:Acid Rain|acid rain]] this type of rain causes harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals and buildings.

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 his fellow ants of the approach of a large army of humans, but it recognizes one of the humans as Solomon. How an ant could even see that far or have known the identify of Solomon is never explained. This account of a talking ant is clearly a fanciful legend and not scientific.

Today, engineers and scientists are well aware of the aerodynamic properties of a bird's wing. It functions by creating a difference in the air pressure between the lower and upper part of the wing and this creates lift that pushes the bird upward. The wings of birds evolved over millions of years to acquire this feature. The author of the Qur'an, however, is unaware of these scientific details and says that 'nothing' holds up the bird except the miraculous power of god.

The author of the Qur'an states that there are no flaws in anything. The author fails to mention the numerous defects and imperfections in all species.

A number of sea creatures are deadly and fatal to humans if consumed. This includes the [[w:puffer fish|puffer fish]], [[w:poison dart frog|poison dart frong]], marbled cone snail, [[w:blue ringed octopus|blue ringed octopus]] and [[w:stonefish|stonefish]]. The Qur'an, however, makes no prohibition against eating these types of animals even though it goes into lengthy detail forbidding the consumption of pigs, which are safe for humans to eat.  

Birds and elephants don't fight each other. In fact, African elephants and birds have a symbiotic relationship where the birds eat bugs and lice off of elephants  [http://www.elephant-facts.co.uk/relationship-between-african-elephants-and-birds/]. The Qur'an here depicts a fanciful story of birds being directed to attack elephants and their riders during a battle.

The author of the Qur'an repeats a legendary Christian story of Alexander the Great as a great king who helps a tribe of people build a massive wall of iron between two mountains. Even with satellites and near universal exploration of the world, no archaeologist has ever found even a trace of such a massive structure.

Christians have never worshiped Mary as part of the Trinity. The author of the Qur'an seems to be mistaken in his understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity and the theology of Christians throughout history.

The legend of Noah and the Ark states that two of each kind of animal was placed on an ark. However, there are over a hundred thousand species of animals including penguins, polar bears, koala bears, and kangaroos that live spread across the entire planet and in different climates and requiring specialized diets. There is no way such an event could have occurred.

Historically, Judaism has been a strict form of monotheism. But the author of the Qur'an accuses Jews of polytheism by stating that they call Uzair (Ezra) the son of God in the same way that Christians see Jesus as the son of God. The author of the Qur'an seems to be unaware of the different theological implications of these two terms between Judaism and Christianity.

The Qur'an author thought that outside the vicinity of Arabia there were cities and tribes destroyed by God. He acquired this information through hearsay from Arabian folklore as well as Jewish and Christian legends. Those cities and tribes probably were destroyed by natural disasters, famine, wars, migration or neglect.

The oldest verified human life has been a little over 120 years. Humans cannot live without food and water for more than a few days. However, the Qur'an incorporated a myth from 5th century Christian legends of the [[w:Seven Sleepers|Seven Sleepers of Ephesus] who sleep in a cave for over 300 years and then miraculously awaken in perfect health. There is no historical evidence that this ever happened or could even been scientifically possible.

The oldest verified human life has been a little over 120 years. Based on fossil records and testing on human remains, anthropologists have concluded that human life spans are increasing, not decreasing. Nevertheless, the Qur'an repeats the unsubstantiated myth that Noah lived for almost 1,000 years.

Muhammad was apparently unfamiliar with polar regions in which there are six months without sunlight and six months perpetual night during winter and summer. The Qur'an claims that Muslims should fast from sunrise till sunset, however this is arguably not observable by anyone living in the polar regions.  

A similar issue exists for the five daily prayers. Anyone living in the polar region would not be able to make a sunset or sunrise prayer all year round.

The Qur'an calls non-believers "deaf dumb and blind". However all the technology, medicine, and scientific advancements in the Muslim world are almost exclusively purchased from the non-Muslim countries. Computers, television, space travel, helicopters, media players, nuclear bombs, cameras, satellites, birth control pills, vaccinations, telephones, radios, light bulbs, microchips, games consoles, refrigerators, microwaves, plastic, aluminium, x-rays, antibiotics, heart-transplants, the internet etc., were all invented by non-Muslims.

The story of Dhul-Qarnayn says that a tribe is trapped behind a massive wall of Iron. According to the Qur'an, these two beast tribes concealed themselves behind this metal wall and will only be let free on the day of Judgement. Obviously, no such wall has ever been found nor is there a tribe somewhere on earth trapped behind it.

The Quran repeats a legendary story of Mary receiving food sent down from heaven. There have never been any scientifically verified accounts of fully cooked food falling form the sky.

A human could not live inside a fish and pray. This story, found in the Quran, is again a repetition of ancient Jewish myths.

Then the big Fish did swallow him, and he had done acts worthy of blame. Had it not been that he (repented and) glorified Allah,He would certainly have remained inside the Fish till the Day of Resurrection.But We cast him forth, on the naked shore in a state of sickness}}