Scientific Miracles in the QURAN

1. Scientific Miracles in the QURAN Doaa Abdelrahman

2. The Description of Knowledge in the Quran • There are plenty of references to knowledge and the pursuit of knowledge in the Quran [96:1-5] “Read! In the name of your Lord who created - Created the human from something which clings. Read! And your Lord is Most Bountiful - He who taught (the use of) the Pen, Taught the human that which he knew not.”

3. [2:269] “He [Allah] grants wisdom to whom He pleases; and he to whom wisdom is granted indeed receives a benefit overflowing. But none will grasp the Message except men of understanding.” [20:114] “High above all is Allah, the King, the Truth. Do not be in haste with the Quran before its revelation to you is completed, but say, "O my Sustainer! Increase my knowledge." [3:190-191] “Verily in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day - there are indeed signs for men of understanding; Men who remember Allah, standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and contemplate the creation of the heavens and the earth (with the thought) "Our Lord! Not for nothing have You created (all) this. Glory to You! Give us salvation from the suffering of the Fire."

4. More references in the Quran and Sunnah • Describing the value in the sight of Allah of a knowledgeable person as opposed to an ignorant person. [39:9] “...Say: Are those equal, those who know and those who do not know? It is those who are endued with understanding that remember (Allah's Message).” [58:11] “...Allah will raise up to (suitable) ranks (and degrees) those of you who believe and who have been granted knowledge.” • Here are a few of the Prophet's sayings on the subject of knowledge: "Upon a person whom Allah desires good, He bestows the knowledge of faith." - Bukhari and Muslim "A person who follows a path for acquiring knowledge, Allah will make easy the passage to Paradise for him." - Muslim "A Muslim is never satiated in his quest for good (knowledge) till it ends in Paradise." - Tirmidhi

5. Relationship Between the Quran and Modern Science • Modern scientific theory today finds itself quite close to the Quran. • The lack of inconsistencies between the Quran and observable natural phenomena. Science has not been able to produce theories or experiments that fundamentally contradict the Quran. • The remarkable harmony between the Quran and science is due to the presence in the Quran itself of very clear and positive encouragement to contemplate and investigate the world around us. As the verses quoted earlier indicate, Allah has not forbidden man to question, and in fact, it seems He wants us to do so.

6. Topics in the Quran • Origin of the universe • Expansion of the universe • Creation of the Earth and Iron • Human embryonic developments • Cerebrum • Cat’s Eye Nebula • The Sun and the Moon • Time zones • Mountains • Clouds • Seas and Rivers • Deep seas and internal waves • Female bee • The Fly

7. Origin of the universe • [21:30] “Have not those who disbelieved known that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of creation), before We clove them asunder” • The science of modern cosmology clearly indicates that, at one point of time, the whole universe was nothing but a cloud of 'smoke'(an opaque highly dense and hot gaseous composition). This is one of the undisputed principles of standard modern cosmology. Scientists now observe new stars forming out of the remnants of that 'smoke'.' • Because of the earth and the heavens have been formed from this same 'smoke,' we conclude that the earth and the heavenly bodies were one connected entity. Then out of this homogenous 'smoke,' they formed and separated from each other

8. Expansion of the universe • [50:47] "The heaven, We have built it with power. Verily. We are expanding it." Heaven is the translation of the word sama' and this is exactly the extra-terrestrial world that is meant. 'We are expanding it' is the translation of the plural present participle musi'una of the verb ausa'a meaning 'to make wider, more spacious, to extend, to expand'. It was first suggested by the general theory of relativity and is backed up by physics in the examination of the galactic spectrum; the regular movement towards the red section of their spectrum may be explained by the distancing of one galaxy from another. Thus the size of the Universe is probably constantly increasing and this increase will become bigger the further away the galaxies are from us. The speeds at which these celestial bodies are moving may, in the course of this perpetual expansion, go from fractions of the speed of light to speeds faster than this.

9. Creation of the Earth and Iron • [65:12] "Allah is He Who Created seven firmaments and of the earth a similar number. Through the midst of them (all) descends His command: that ye may know that Allah has power over all things, and that Allah comprehends all things In (His) Knowledge.” The new scientific discovery had revealed to us that the earth that we currently live on today is formed from seven layers. The very bottom layer contains most of the uranium and plutonium and all the materials that are need to create nuclear weapons and energy. The Verse above does indeed say that the earth was created with seven layers.

10. Creation of the Earth and Iron (cont.) • [57:25] "We sent aforetime Our messengers with clear signs and sent down with them the Book and the Balance (of right and wrong), that men may stand forth in justice; and We sent down iron, in which is (material for Mighty war), as well as many benefits for mankind, that Allah may test who it is that will help, unseen, Him and His messengers: For Allah is Full of strength, exalted in Might (And able to enforce His Will).”The new scientific discovery had also revealed that the metal iron was not created or formed from earth or earth material at all. Iron was sent by burning stars traveling through space that had collided with earth. When those stars collided with earth and their melted metals cooled down and changed from liquid burned/melted metals to hard solid metals, they formed the metal of what we call today iron. Notice that the verse above, Allah says clearly "We sent down iron...." and He didn't say "We created iron from earth....“. This clearly states that iron was created outside the earth and was brought down by the Will of Allah Almighty for a purpose.

12. Human embryonic developments • In the Holy Quran, Allah speaks about the stages of man’s embryonic development: [23:12-14 ] "We created man from an extract of clay. Then We made him as a drop in a place of settlement, firmly fixed. Then We made the drop into an alaqah (leech, suspended thing, and blood clot), then We made the alaqah into a mudghah (chewed-like substance)...“ • Literally, the Arabic word alaqah has three meanings: (1) leech, (2) suspended thing, and (3) blood clot.

13. Similarities in appearance between a leech and a human embryo at the alaqah stage • The suspension of an embryo during the alaqah stage in the womb (uterus) of the mother

14. When comparing the appearance of an embryo at the mudghah stage with a piece of gum that has been chewed, we find similarity between the two. A) Drawing of an embryo at the mudghah stage. We can see here the somites at the back of the embryo that look like teeth marks. (The Developing Human, Moore and Persaud, 5th ed., p. 79.) B) Photograph of a piece of gum that has been chewed.

15. Cerebrum • Allah has said in the Quran about one of the evil unbelievers who forbade the Prophet Muhammad from praying at the Kaaba: [96:15-16 ] "No! If he does not stop, We will take him by the naseyah (front of the head), a lying, sinful naseyah (front of the head)!" *Why did the Quran describe the front of the head as being lying and sinful? *Why didn’t the Quran say that the person was lying and sinful? *What is the relationship between the front of the head and lying and sinfulness?

16. If we look into the skull at the front of the head, we will find the prefrontal area of the cerebrum. A book entitled Essentials of Anatomy & Physiology says about this area, “The motivation and the foresight to plan and initiate movements occur in the anterior portion of the frontal lobes, the prefrontal area. This is a region of association cortex...” Also the book says, “In relation to its involvement in motivation, the prefrontal area is also thought to be the functional center for aggression....” • So, this area of the cerebrum is responsible for planning, motivating, and initiating good and sinful behavior and is responsible for the telling of lies and the speaking of truth. Thus, it is proper to describe the front of the head as lying and sinful when someone lies or commits a sin, as the Quran has said, “...A lying, sinful naseyah (front of the head)!”  Scientists have only discovered these functions of the prefrontal area in the last sixty years, according to Professor Keith L. Moore.

17. Cat’s Eye Nebula • [55:37 ]"When the sky splits apart, and turns rose-like..."   Compare this statement in the Quran to the NASA picture taken by the Hubble Telescope. The picture captures the "Splitting" of "a" sky.

18. The Sun and the Moon • [10:5] "It is He Who made the sun to be a shining glory and the moon to be a light (of beauty), and measured out stages for her; that ye might know the number of years and the count (of time). Nowise did Allah create this but in truth and righteousness. (Thus) doth He explain His Signs in detail, for those who understand." In arabic, the light from the sun is described by the word “dhiyaa” meaning splendour and glory of brightness. This means that the source of light is coming from the sun itself. On the other hand, the word used to describe the moon’s light is “noor” which is a cool light that illuminates. Scientific discovery has revealed confirmations to these phenomena.

19. The Quran also discusses the sun and the manner in which it travels through space. Again, a person can guess on that subject. When the sun moves through space, there are two options: it can travel just as a stone would travel if one threw it, or it can move of its own accord. The Quran states the latter . [21:33] “It is He Who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon: All (the celestial bodies) swim along, each in its rounded course.” *Now, this is what the Quran affirms, but was it an easy thing to discover? *Can any common man tell that the sun is turning? *Only in modern times was the equipment made available to project the image of the sun onto a tabletop so that one could look at it without being blinded. And through this process it was discovered that not only are there spots on the sun but that these spots move once every 25 days. This movement is referred to as the rotation of the sun around its axis and conclusively proves that, as the Quran stated 1400 years ago, the sun does, indeed, turn as it travels through space.

20. Time zones • The concept that one family is having breakfast as the sun comes up while another family is enjoying the brisk night air is truly something to be marveled at, even in modern time. Indeed, fourteen centuries ago, a man could not travel more than thirty miles in one day, and thus it took him literally months to travel from China to Morocco, for example. And probably, when he was having supper in Morocco, he thought to himself, "Back in China they are having supper right now." This is because he did not realize that, in the process of traveling, he moved across a time zone. Yet, because it is the words of Allah, the All-Knowing, the Quran recognizes and acknowledges such a phenomenon. • In an interesting verse it states that when the Day of Judgement arrives, it will all occur in an instant; and this very instant will catch some people in the daytime and some people at night.

21. Mountains • [78:6-7] “Have We not made the earth as a bed, and the mountains as pegs?” • A book entitled Earth is a basic reference textbook in many universities around the world. One of its two authors is Professor Emeritus Frank Press. He was the Science Advisor to former US President Jimmy Carter, and for 12 years was the President of the National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC. His book says that mountains have underlying roots.These roots are deeply embedded in the ground, thus, mountains have a shape like a peg

22. Mountains also play an important role in stabilizing the crust of the earth. They hinder the shaking of the earth. Allah has said in the Quran: [16:15] "And He has set firm mountains in the earth so that it would not shake with you..." Likewise, the modern theory of plate tectonics holds that mountains work as stabilizers for the earth. This knowledge about the role of mountains as stabilizers for the earth has just begun to be understood in the framework of plate tectonics since the late 1960’s. *Could anyone during the time of the Prophet Muhammad have known of the true shape of mountains? *Could anyone imagine that the solid massive mountain which he sees before him actually extends deep into the earth and has a root, as scientists assert?

23. Clouds • [24:43] “Have you not seen how God makes the clouds move gently, then joins them together, then makes them into a stack, and then you see the rain come out of it.…” Scientists have found that cumulonimbus clouds go through the following steps to produce rain: 1) The clouds are pushed by the wind2) Joining 3) Stacking Meteorologists have only recently come to know these details of cloud formation, structure, and function by using advanced equipment like planes, satellites, computers, balloons, and other equipment, to study wind and its direction, to measure humidity and its variations, and to determine the levels and variations of atmospheric pressure.

24. Seas and Rivers • [55:19-20] “He has set free the two seas meeting together. There is a barrier between them. They do not transgress.” *Modern Science has discovered that in the places where two different seas meet, there is a barrier between them. This barrier divides the two seas so that each sea has its own temperature, salinity, and density. *For example, Mediterranean sea water is warm, saline, and less dense, compared to Atlantic ocean water. When Mediterranean sea water enters the Atlantic over the Gibraltar sill, it moves several hundred kilometers into the Atlantic at a depth of about 1000 meters with its own warm, saline, and less dense characteristics. The Mediterranean water stabilizes at this depth Although there are large waves, strong currents, and tides in these seas, they do not mix or transgress this barrier.

25. But when the Quran speaks about the divider between fresh and salt water, it mentions the existence of “a forbidding partition” with the barrier. Allah has said in the Quran: [25:23] “He is the one who has set free the two kinds of water, one sweet and palatable, and the other salty and bitter. And He has made between them a barrier and a forbidding partition.” *Modern science has discovered that in estuaries, where fresh (sweet) and salt water meet, the situation is somewhat different from what is found in places where two seas meet. It has been discovered that what distinguishes fresh water from salt water in estuaries is a zone with a marked density discontinuity separating the two layers, which has a different salinity from the fresh water and from the salt water . *This information has been discovered only recently, using advanced equipment to measure temperature, salinity, density, oxygen dissolubility, etc. The human eye cannot see the difference between the two seas that meet, rather the two seas appear to us as one homogeneous sea. Likewise, the human eye cannot see the division of water in estuaries into the three kinds: fresh water, salt water, and the partition (zone of separation).

26. Female bee • [16:68] “And thy Lord taught the bee to build its cells in hills, on trees and in habitations.” • The Quran mentions that the female bee leaves its home to gather food. Now, a person might guess on that, saying, "The bee that you see flying around - it could be male, or it could be female. • But it also happens that that was not what most people believed at the time when the Quran was revealed. Can you tell the difference between a male and a female bee? Well, it takes a specialist to do that, but it has been discovered that the male bee never leaves his home to gather food. However, in Shakespeare's play, Henry the Fourth, some of the characters discuss bees and mention that the bees are soldiers and have a king. However, that is not true at all. The fact is that they are females, and they answer to a queen. Yet it took modern scientific investigations in the last 300 years to discover that this is the case.

27. The Fly • [22:73] “O men! Here is a parable set forth! Listen to it! Those on whom, besides God, you call, cannot create (even) a fly, if they all met together for the purpose. And if the fly should snatch away anything from them, they would have no power to release it from the fly. Feeble are those who petition and those whom they petition.” Although some species of fly can bite, the house fly cannot. Its soft, spongy mouthparts are modified into the labella and proboscis. The labella gently dab liquids into its proboscis, which then sucks up the liquid. If the fly encounters suitable solid food, its enzyme-rich saliva digests the food into a liquid outside of the fly's body, which is then ingested.

28. Mathematical basis – an objective approach • It is surprising how authentic the Quran becomes when one assembles what might be referred to as a list of good guesses. Mathematically, it can be explained using guessing and prediction examples. For instance *Two choices: one is right, and one is wrong [1/2] *Two situations: right or wrong about situation number one, and right or wrong about situation number two [1/4] *Three situations: ?? • It must be understood that as the number of situations increase, the chances of being right decrease, for the two phenomena are inversely proportional. • Now applying this example to the situations in the Quran, if one draws up a list of all of the subjects about which the Quran has made correct statements, it becomes very clear that it is highly unlikely that they were all just correct blind guesses. Indeed, the subjects discussed in the Quran are numerous, and thus the odds of someone just making lucky guesses about all of them become practically nil. If there are a million ways for the Quran to be wrong, yet each time it is right, then it is unlikely that someone was guessing.

29. Questions?