Texas Prison Dawah Project - Qur'an and Science

Pertaining to these works of Dr. Naik

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THE QURAN
&
MODERN SCIENCE
compatible or incompatible

BY DR. ZAKIR NAIK

THE EXPANDING UNIVERSE

In 1925, an American astronomer by the name of Edwin Hubble, provided
observational evidence that all galaxies are receding from one another, which
implies that the universe is expanding. The expansion of the universe is now
an established scientific fact. This is what Al Quran says regarding the nature
of the universe.

“With the power and skill did We construct the firmament: For it is
We Who create the musi’un ‘[expanding] vastness of space”
(51:47)

The Arabic word musi’un is correctly translated as “expanding it”, and it refers to
the creation of the expanding vastness of the universe. Stephen Hawking, in
his book ‘A Brief History of Time’, says “The discovery that the universe is
expanding was one of the great intellectual revolutions of the 20th century”. The
Quran mentioned the expansion of the universe before man even learned to
build a telescope! Some may say that the presence of astronomical facts in the
Quran is not surprising since the Arabs were advanced in the field of
astronomy. They are correct in acknowledging the advancement of the Arabs in
the field of astronomy. However they fail to realize that the Quran was revealed
centuries before the Arabs excelled in astronomy, such as the origin of the
universe with a Big Bang, were not known to the Arabs even at the peak of their
scientific advancement. The Scientific facts mentioned in the Quran are
therefore not due to the Arabs’ advancement in astronomy. Indeed, the reverse
is true. The Arabs advanced in astronomy because astronomy occupies a
place in the Quran.

INTERSTELLAR MATTER

Space outside organized astronomical systems was earlier
assumed to be a vacuum. Astrophysicists later discovered the
presence of bridges of matter in this interstellar space. These
bridges of matter are called plasma and consist of completely
ionized ‘gas’ containing equal numbers of free electrons and positive
ions. Plasma is sometimes called the fourth state of matter
(besides the three known states viz. Solid, liquid and gas). The
Quran mentions the presence of interstellar material in the following
verse

“He Who created the heavens and the earth and all that is
between”
(25:59)

It would be ridiculous for anybody to even suggest that the presence
of interstellar galactic material was known 1400+ years ago in Arabia.

THE EXISTENCE OF SUBATOMIC PARTICLES

In ancient times a well-known theory by the name ‘Theory of Atomism’ was
widely accepted. This theory was originally proposed by the Greeks, in
particular by a man called Democritus, who lived about 23 centuries ago.
Democritus and the people that came after him, assumed that the smallest unit
of matter was the atom. The Arabs used to believe the same. The Arabic word
dharrah most commonly meant an atom. In recent times modern science has
discovered that it is possible to split even an atom. The fact that the atom can
be split further is a discovery of the 20th century. Fourteen centuries ago this
concept would have appeared unusual even to an Arab. For him the dharrah
was the limit, beyond which one could not go. The following Quranic verse
however, refuses to acknowledge this limit:

“The kafirun (unbelievers) say, ‘Never to us will come the hour’: say,
‘Nay! But most surely, By my Lord, it will come upon you-by Him Who
knows the unseen- from Whom is not hidden the least little atom
(dharrah) in the heavens or on earth: Nor is there anything less than
that, or greater, but is in a clear book.”
(34:3)

This verse refers to the Omniscience of Allah (SWT), His knowledge of all
things, hidden or apparent. It then goes further and says that Allah (SWT) is
aware of everything, including what is smaller than the atom. Thus the verse
clearly shows that it is possible for something smaller than an atom to exist, a
fact discovered only recently by modern science.

The atom is the basic unit of matter, made up of a tiny nucleus consisting of
protons (+), and neutrons (neutral charge) surrounded by orbiting electrons (-).
A helium atom consists of 2 protons, 2 neutrons and 2 electrons. A carbon
atom consists of 6 protons, 6 neutrons and 6 electrons. If you take them all
apart you have 8 protons, 8 neutrons and 8 electrons. There is no such thing as
a carbon proton or a helium electron. At the sub atomic level, matter (whether its
oxygen, nitrogen, gold or lead), is not nearly so differentiated.

CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE ‘THE
BIG BANG’

The creation of the universe is explained by astrophysicists with a
widely accepted phenomenon, popularly known as the ‘Big Bang’. It
is supported by observational and experimental data gathered by
astronomers and astrophysicists for decades. According to the ‘Big
Bang’, the whole universe was initially one big mass (Primary Nebula
The “Singularity”). Then there was a ‘Big Bang’ (Secondary
Separation) which resulted in the formation of Celestial matter which
divided and formed into Galaxies composed of stars, planets,
comets, etc. The origin of the universe was unique and the
probability of it occurring by ‘chance’ is zero. The Quran contains the
following verse:

“Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth
were joined together (as one unit of creation), before We
clove them asunder?”
(21:30)

The striking congruence between the Quranic verse and the ‘Big
Bang’ is inescapable! How could a book, which first appeared in the
deserts of Arabia 1400+ years ago contain this profound scientific
truth?

THERE WAS AN INITIAL GASEOUS MASS
BEFORE THE CREATION
OF GALAXIES

Scientists say that before the galaxies in the universe were formed, celestial
matter was initially in the form of a gaseous mass. In short, huge gaseous
matter or clouds were present before the formation of the galaxies. To describe
initial celestial matter, the word “smoke” is more appropriate than gas. The
following Quranic verse refers to this state of the universe by the word dukhan,
which means “smoke”, [or “vapor”].

“Then He turned to the heaven when it was dukhan (smoke/vapor)
and He said to it and to the earth: ‘Come you together, willingly or
unwillingly’. They said ‘we come, in willing obedience.”
(41:11)

Again, this fact is a corollary to the ‘Big Bang’ and was not known to the Arabs
during the time of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). What then, could have been the
source of this knowledge?

THE SPHERICAL SHAPE OF THE EARTH

In early times, people believed that the earth was flat. For centuries,
men were afraid to venture out too far, lest they should fall off the edge.
Sir Francis Drake was the first person who proved that the earth is
spherical when he sailed around it in 1597. Consider [reflect on] the
following Quranic verse regarding the alternation of day and night.

“See you not that Allah merges night into day and He merges
day into night?”
(31:29)

Merging here means that the night slowly and gradually
changes to day and vice versa. This phenomenon can only
take place if the earth is spherical. If the earth were flat,
there would have been a sudden change from night to day
and from day to night. The following verse also alludes to
the spherical shape of the earth.

“He created the heavens and the earth in true (proportions):
He makes the night overlap the day and the day overlap the
night”
(39:5)

The Arabic word used here is kawwara meaning “to overlap”, “to coil”,
the way a turban is wound around the head. The overlapping or coiling
of the day and night can only take place if the earth is spherical. The
earth is not exactly round like a ball, but geo-spherical i.e. it is flattened
at the poles. The following verse contains a description of the earth’s
shape.

“And the earth, moreover, He has made egg-shaped.”
(79:30)

The Arabic word for egg-shaped here is dahaha meaning “an ostrich-
egg” [commonly translated ‘vast expanse’]. The shape of an ostrich-
egg resembles the geo-spherical shape of the earth. Thus the Quran
correctly describes the shape of the earth, though the prevalent notion
when the Quran was revealed was that the earth is flat.

It was believed by earlier civilizations that the moon emanates its own
light. Science now tells us that the light of the moon is reflected light.
However this fact was mentioned in the Quran 1400+ years ago in the
following verse.

“Blessed is He Who made constellations in the skies, and
placed therein a siraaj (torch) and a qamaram-muniraa
(bright moon)”
(25:61)

The Arabic word for sun is shams. It is referred to as siraaj which
means a “lamp”or as a wahhaaj which means a “torch or lamp” or as
diya which means “shining glory”. All three descriptions are
appropriate to the sun, since it generates intense heat and light by its
internal combustion. The Arabic word for the moon is qamar and it is
described in the Quran as munir which is a body that gives noor nature
of the moon, which does not generate light itself and is an inert body
that reflects the light (noor) of the sun. Without sunlight the moon
would not shine. Not once in the Quran is the moon mentioned as
siraaj, wahhaaj or diya nor is the sun mentioned as noor or munir.
This implies that the Quran recognizes the difference between the
nature of sunlight and moonlight. Consider the following verses
related to the nature of light from the sun and the moon.

“It is He Who made the shams (sun) to be a diya (shining
glory) and the qamar (moon) to be a noor (light)."
(10:5)

“See you not how Allah has created the seven heavens one
above another, and made the qamar (moon) a noor (light) in
their midst and made the shams (sun) as a siraaj (blazing
lamp)”
(71:15-16)

THE SUN WILL EXTINGUISH AFTER A
CERTAIN PERIOD

The light of the sun is due to a chemical process on and under its surface that
has been taking place continuously for the past 5 billion years. According to
scientific fact, it will come to an end at some point in the future when its fuel will
be nearly used up, leading to a nova and the extinction of all life on earth.
Regarding the impermanence of the sun’s existence the Quran says:

“And the shams (sun) runs its course for mustaqarr (a period
determined) for it; that the measuring of Al ‘Azeez(The Almighty) Al
“Aleem (The All Knowing).”
(36:38)

The Arabic word used here is mustaqarr, meaning “a place and/or time that is
determined.”. Thus the Quran says that the sun runs towards a determined
place, and will do so only up to a pre-determined period of time- meaning that it
will end or extinguish.

For a long time European philosophers and scientists believed that the earth
stood still in the centre of the universe and every other body including the sun
moved around it. In the West, this geocentric concept of the universe was
prevalent right from the time of Ptolemy in the 2nd century B.C. In 1512,
Nicholas Copernicus put forward his Heliocentric Theory of Planetary Motion,
which asserted that the sun is motionless at the centre of the solar system with
the planets revolving around it. In 1609, The German scientist Yohannus
Keppler published the ‘Astronomia Nova’. In this he concluded that not only do
the planets move in elliptical orbits around the sun, they also rotate upon their
axis at irregular speeds. With this knowledge it became possible for European
scientists to explain correctly many of the mechanisms of the solar system
including the sequence of night and day. After these discoveries, it was thought
that the sun was stationary and did not rotate about its axis like the earth. I
remember having studied this fallacy from Geography books during my school
days. Consider the following Quranic verse:

“It is He Who created the night and the day, and the shams (sun) and
the qamar (moon): All the celestial bodies swim along, each in its
rounded course.”
(21:33)

The Arabic word used in the above verse is yasbahun. The word yasbahun is
derived from the word sabaha which carries the idea of ‘motion that comes from
any moving body’. If you use the word for a man on the ground, it would not
mean that he is rolling but would mean he is walking or running. If you use the
word for a man in water it would not mean that he is floating but would mean
that he is swimming. Similarly, if you use the word yasbah for a celestial body
such as the sun it would not mean that it is only flying through space but would
mean that it is also rotating/moving as it goes through space. Most of the
school text books have incorporated the fact that the sun rotates about its axis.
The rotation of the sun about its own axis can be proven with the help of
equipment that projects the image of the sun on a table top so that one can
examine the image of the sun without being blinded. It is noticed that the sun
has spots which complete a circular motion once every 25 days i.e. the sun
takes approximately 25 days to rotate around its axis. In fact, the sun travels
through space at roughly 150 miles per second, and takes about 200 million
years to complete one revolution around the center of our ‘Milky Way’ Galaxy.

“It is not permitted to the sun to catch the moon nor can the night
outstrip the day: Each swims along in (its own) orbit.”
(36:40)

This verse mentions an essential fact discovered by modern astronomy, the
existence of the individual orbits of the sun and the moon, and their journey
through space with their own motion. The ‘fixed place’ towards which the sun
travels, carrying with it the solar system, has been located exactly by modern
astronomy. It has been given a name, the “Solar Apex”. The solar system is
indeed moving in space towards a point situated in the constellation of Hercules
(alpha layer) whose exact location is firmly established. The moon rotates
around its axis in the same duration that it takes to revolve around the earth. It
takes approximately 291/2 days to complete one rotation. One cannot help but
be amazed at the scientific accuracy of the Quranic ayat (verses/signs).

Regarding the flight of birds the Quran says:

"Do they not look at the birds, held poised in the midst of the
sky? Nothing holds them but the power of Allah Surely in
this there are ayat (signs) for people who have iman
(faith/belief)”
(16:79)

A similar message is repeated in the Quran:

“Do they not observe the birds above them, spreading their
wings and folding them in? None con uphold them except Ar-
Rahman (Most Compassionate), indeed, over all things He is
Baseer (All Seeing).”
(67:19)

The Arabic word amsaka literally means “to put one’s hand on”,
“seize”, “hold [someone back]”, which expresses the idea that Allah
holds the bird up in His power. These verses stress the extremely
close dependence of the birds’ behavior on Divine order. Modern
scientific data has shown the degree of perfection attained by certain
species of birds with regard to the programming of their movements.
It is only the existence of a migratory program in the genetic code of
the birds that can explain the long and complicated journey that very
young birds, without any prior experience and without any guide, are
able to accomplish. They are also able to return to the departure point
on a definite date. Prof. Hamburger in his book ‘Power and Fragility’
gives the example of ‘mutton-bird’ that lives in the Pacific with its
journey of over 15,000 miles in the shape of a figure “8". It makes this
journey over a period of 6 months and comes back to its departure
point with a maximum delay of one week The highly complicated
instructions for such a journey have to be contained in the birds’
nervous cells. They are definitely programmed. Should we not reflect
on the identity of this ‘Programmer’?

Research has shown that animals live in communities, i.e. they
organize, live and work together.

“There is not an animal on the earth, nor a being that flies
on its wings but forms communities like you.”
(6:38)

“And your Rabb (Lord/Ruler) taught an nahl (the bee) to build its
cells in hills, on trees, and in mens habitations; Then to eat of all the
produce (of the earth) and find with skill the spacious paths of its
Rabb (Lord, Ruler, Cherisher).”
(16:68-69)

Von-Frisch received the Nobel Prize in 1973 for his research on the behavior
and communication of bees. The bee, after discovering any new garden or
flower, goes back and tells its fellow bees the exact direction and map to get
there, which is known as the ‘bee dance’. [Also, when a worker bee is finished
traveling a long, winding distance, it takes a direct path (“bee line”) back to the
hive.] The various meanings of this insect’s movements that are intended to
transmit information between worker bees have been discovered scientifically
using photography and other methods.

Allah (SWT) mentions the bee’s skill in the spacious paths of its Rabb. In 16:68-
69 the gender used for the bee is the female gender (fa’sluki and kuli),
indicating that the bee that leaves its home for gathering food is a female bee.
In other words the soldier or worker bee is a female. In fact, in Shakespeare’s
play, “Henry the Fourth”, some of the characters speak about bees and mention
that the bees are soldiers and that they have a king. That is what people thought
in Shakespearean times. They thought that the worker bees were male and that
they were answerable to a ‘king’ bee. This however, is not true. The worker
bees are females and they do not report to a king bee but to a queen bee. But it
took modern investigations in the last 300 years to discover this truth. The bee
assimilates juices from various kinds of flowers and fruit and forms within its
body the honey, which it stores in its cells of wax. Just a couple of centuries ago
man came to know that honey comes from the belly of the bee. This fact was
mentioned further in 16:69.

“There issues from within their bodies a drink of varying colors
wherein is shifaa (healing) for mankind."
(16:69)

We are now aware that honey has a healing property and also a mild antiseptic
property. The Russians used honey to cover their wounds in World War II. The
wound would retain moisture and would leave very little scar tissue. Due to the
density of honey, no fungus or bacteria would grow in the wound. A person
suffering from an allergy of a particular plant may be given honey from that plant
so that the person develops a resistance to that allergy. Honey is rich in
fructose and vitamin K, all of which confirms Quranic references about honey.

“Verily, herein are signs for people who reflect”
(16:69)

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