Holy Quran and Science (Part 1)

 

The non-muslim world especially Christians and Jews accuse that Hazrat Muhammad (Peace be upon him) wrote Quran by himself by copy/ pasting or altering the texts of Bible and Taurat. Various Muslim scholars have addressed this subject and conclusively proved that Quran is word of Allah, not a human being by citing scientific evidence.

In part 1, I shall present exerpts of a speech “Islam and 21^st century” by Dr. Zaik Naik which he delivered to prestigious Oxford Union, Oxford University, UK on 12^th February 2011.

Dr. Zakir Naik (from India) does not need any introduction. He is the foremost Muslim scholar of our time who has amazing memory and knowledge. He has won many debates against scholars of other religions and thousands of persons have accepted Islam after listening to his arguments.  His arguments are based on the fact that Quran had already described many scientific facts in great detail long before modern science could be able to understand these phenomena.

In part 2, I will write about the work of Dr. Maurice Bucaille, who wrote a revolutionary book “Bible, The Qur’an and Science”. The sale of this book was in hundreds of thousands. I had the honor to personally meet him when I was a student in Japan. 

Excerpts from Dr. Zaik Naik Oxford Union address

“Islam and 21^st century” 12^th Feb 2011

Note:   My contribution is to complete some Quranic quotes and Modern Science references which were

            incomplete in details in the speech.

Astronomy

1. Big Bang:

In 1978, Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson won Nobel prize for Big Bang theory which states that there was a Primary nebula, then a Big Bang occurred and as a result galaxies and stars were formed.

Quran described Big Bang 1400 years ago in:

          Surah Anbiya Ch 21 Verse 30

            “Cannot the disbelievers see that heaven and earth were joined together and we separated them.”

2. Earth is spherical:

In 1577, Sir Francis Drake proved that the world is spherical. Prior to that, world was thought to be flat.

However, Quran clearly states that the earth is round:

         Surah Naziaat Ch 79 Verse 30

        “And hereafter we made the earth egg shaped.”

Quran uses the worf “dahaha” which specifically means ostrich egg. Only the ostrich egg and no other egg is                  geospherical in shape like the earth, i.e, flattened at top and bottom and circumference greatest in the middle.

3. Light of the moon 

Nearly 500 years ago, Leonardo Da Vinci declared that moon shines by the borrowed light from sun and it does           not have its own light.

Quran clearly states this fact in:

Surah Furkan Ch 25 Verse 61:

         “He who has placed a constellation in the sky and placed sun and moon.”

Word siraj is used for sun which means a lamp, i.e., it produces its own light

Word muneer is used for moon which indicates borrowed or reflected light.

4. Rotation of sun

Although Heinrich Schwabe a German gave the idea of sun rotating around its axis in  1843, it did not become            common knowledge till 1980’s when it was known that sun rotates and take 27 days to complete one rotation.

Quran clearly stated this fact in:

        Surah Anbiya Ch 21 Verse 33

        “It is He who has created night and the day, the sun and the moon each one traveling in orbit with its own                       motion.”

Hydrology 

      Water cycle

In 1580, Sir Bernard Palissy described water cycle for the first time. He said that it has five components:                        evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation, and runoff.

Quran describes the water cycle in great detail in different chapters, e.g.,

Surah Al Zumar Ch 39 Verse 21

          “Did you not see that Allah sent water from heavens which created springs in earth and from this water He                     raised different crops which die and become yellow, and are turned into dust. These are signs for wise                              persons.”

and  Surah Room Ch 30 V Verse 24

         “One of His signs is lightening which frightens but also give hope for rain which puts life in dead soil. These are             signs for wise persons.” 

Oceanography

In Surah Al Furqan Ch 25 Verse 53, Quran says:

            “He has led two bodies of flowing water one sweet and palatable, other salty and bitter. Though they meet,                      they do not mix. There is a barrier that is prohibited to be trespassed.”

Modern science has understood this phenomenon only recently and describes it as “transitional                                       homogenizing area”. It can be observed at Cape point, South Africa and many other places in the world                         where two water bodies of different color run side by side but never mix.

Biology

Quran says in Surah Anbiya Ch 21 Verse 30

            “We have created every living thing from water.”

Modern science tells us that cytoplasm of a cell has 80% water, and every living creature has 50-90% water                  in its makeup.

There is also complete agreement that life started in oceans.

Botany

The discovery of sexes in plants is credited to Camerarius (1694), and Koelreuter (1761).

But in Surah Taha Ch 20 Verse 53, Quran clearly says:

              “It is He who sends down water from the sky and with it brings diverse pairs of plants each separate from the                 other.”

The word “Azwaj” is used for pair of male and female. In Arabic, this world is commonly used for husband                    and wife.

Zoology

1. All animals live in communities:

In Surah Al An’ aam Ch 6 Verse 38, Quran says:

      “It is He who has made every animal that walks on the earth and every bird that flies in the air to live in                            communities like human beings.”

Now we know that indeed all animals live in communities.

2. Life style of the bee:

There is complete description in Surah Nahal Ch 16 Verse 68-69:

        “And your Rab ordered the bee to make home in mountains, trees and roofs, and eat from every type of fruit                 and follow the orders of the creator. And they produce a product of different colors which is beneficial for                      health. This is a sign for those who ponder.”           

Medicine

Quran talks about honey in Surah Nahal Ch 16 Verse 68-69:

          “From belly of the bee We give you a drink of varying colors in which there is healing for mankind.”

Now we know that honey has mild antiseptic properties and has been successfully used for cure of wounds.

It has also been established that beside different shades of yellow, honey can also be red or blue-green.

Physiology

In Surah Nahal Ch 16 Verse 66, Quran hints towards blood circulation and production of milk.

             “No doubt you have to take lesson from cattles. We give milk to you which is so delicious from a place in their                 belly between blood and excreta.”

Six hundred years after revelation of Quran,  Ibn Nafees described blood circulation and production of milk;                and 400 hundred years after Ibn Nafees, Willaim Harvey revealed these phenomena to Western world. He is                given the credit. Nobody talks about Ibn Nafees.

Embryology

In Surah Momenoon Chapter 23 Verses 12-14, Quran describes in great detail the development of embryo.

           “There is no doubt that We made humans from selected clay. Then we developed them from a drop of water                  (nutfa) placed in a strong compartment. Then we converted it into a clot of blood (alaqa), and this clot of                        blood into a piece of flesh (mudgha), and this piece of flesh into bones, and then covered the bones with flesh,             and finally gave a distinct look. Allah is the best creator.”

In Arabic “Alaqa” also means a leach like substance. There is general concensus that no better reference than a             leach could be given regarding human embryo in its early stages; the way it clings to the womb and extract                   nutrition.

When this verse was shown to Dr. Keith Moore, Head of Department University of Toronto in 1980s, who was              considered the highest authority in the field of anatomy and embryology at that time, he said: “The description            of Quran is far superior to modern description.”

He further added: “It was not possible for a human being to mention these things in Quran, so Quran has to              be the word of God and I have no objection in accepting Prophet Muhammad as messenger of Almighty God.”

Forensic science:

It was in 1880 that Sir Francis Galton discovered the finger printing method. He said that no two fingerprints               even in millions of people are identical.

But Quran had already mentioned it 1400 years ago in Surah Qiyaama Chapter 75 Verses 3-4:

          “When the unbelievers say how the Almighty God will be able to reconstruct our bones after we are dead,                        buried and bones have disintegrated? Tell them that Almighty God can not only reconstruct the bones, He                    can even reconstruct in perfect order the very tip of the fingers.”