does the qur'an have any scientific miracles part 2 of 2

8142019 Does the Quran Have Any Scientific Miracles Part 2 of 2

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Does the Quran Have any scientific Miracles

10 Top-most Scientific Myths about the Quran

By Avijit Roy

Part 2 of 2

My only wish is to transform friends of God into Friends of man believersto thinkers devotees of prayer into devotees of work candidates of hereafter into students of the world Believers who by their ownadmission are half animal-half angel into persons into whole persons -Ludwig Andreas von Feuerbach (1804-1872)

For quite some time we are bombarded in myriad e-forums web sites videos and books

with the assertion that Islam is a very scientific religion Diehard Islamic scholars areeager to prove that many modern-day scientific discoveries were accurately predicted inthe Quran In fact in recent years soon after Dr Maurice Bucaille and Keith Moores(in) famous book came into limelight a number of Islamic Scientists have claimed thatthere is credible evidence of modern science in Islam as revealed in their miraculousHoly book the Quran

My two-part article has been written to expose the fallacy of that claim In the first part of my article I provided a critique of five contemporary claims that the Quran miraculouslysupports the recent developments in science In this part I will refute five more suchclaims and argue that science makes a strong case against Islamic Science and

miraculous nature of the Holy Quran

I shall start this part with an excerpt from a book written by a famous Bangladeshireligious scientist Professor Shamsher Ali the Chairman of the Committee on Sciencein Al-Quran Islamic Foundation Bangladesh He also teaches in the PhysicsDepartment of the Dhaka University This is what this Bangladeshi scientist says

Anybody having the faith in this absolute truth is welcome to use the Quran as atest for our scientific principle and not vice versa Incidentally it may be mentionedthat Maurice Bucaille in his book The Quran the Bible and Science alreadyasserted There is not a single verse in Holy Quran which is assailable fromscientific point of view Our present work fully support this assertion [1]

This is a real irony--an extraordinary claim from a scientist I must say The author evenbeing one of the renowned celebrities in scientific community in Bangladesh puts theQuran as an authentic tool to test science and NOT vice versa

A true scientist will never follow this approach as he should know science is not faith itaccepts a theory as a tentative truth--only if it explains the observations of reality better compared to the elucidation based on logic and evidence For example if a newscientific hypothesis or theory is put forward it is rigorously scrutinized experiments

1




done observations made and if all the results correspond to the theory it is accepteduntil it is refuted by later observations and tests All the methods lay well within the strictdomain of science No sane person can legitimately claim to test science against areligious holy book

A religious book to be precise preaches absoluteness and infallibility of its claim of the

perceived truth which is nothing but a dogma Dogma does not admit any possibility of its being wrongmdashthus ruling out any revision or correction Then how can a dogma be atool to test science I wonder what our students will learn if such a capricious definitionof science formulated by Dr Shamsher Ali is taught in our Universities This is one of many examples to show how our education system is faltering

Recently another author of Islami-scientific book proclaimed that the Quran itself isenough to reveal the scientific mysteries of nature rest are all redundant andsuperfluous [2]

If we really have such a super-scientific book in our hand who needs Brian Greenes

The Elegant Universe Stephen Hawkings A Brief History of Time or Steven WeinbergsThe First Three Minutes to explore mystery to common people Forget about popular science series why did Newton wrote his famous Principia mdashThis I canrsquot comprehendeither Indeed this claim means every single scientific invention is supposed to be asclaimed in the Quran--and the rest are redundant Does not this mean if the entire roomis illuminated by 1000 watts of light who will look for a candle

Anyway here are some more rebuttals of scientific prophecy of Holy Quran

6 Qurrsquoan tells us ldquothe Sun is the source of light and the Moon a deflectorrdquo

Nowhere in the Quran it is mentioned that the Sun is a source of light and the Moonacts as a deflector The apologists usually quote the following ayat of Sura YUNUS fromQuran to prove their biased argument

Transliteration

Huwa allathee jaAAala alshshamsa diyaan waalqamara nooranwaqaddarahu manazila litaAAlamoo AAadada alssineena waalhisaba makhalaqa Allahu thalika illa bialhaqqi yufassilu al-ayati liqawminyaAAlamoona

English translation

010005 YUSUFALI It is He Who made the sun to be a shining glory and the moonto be a light (of beauty) and measured out stages for her that ye mightknow the number of years and the count (of time) Nowise did Allah createthis but in truth and righteousness (Thus) doth He explain His Signs indetail for those who understand

2




PICKTHAL He it is Who appointed the sun a splendour and the moon alight and measured for her stages that ye might know the number of theyears and the reckoning Allah created not (all) that save in truth Hedetaileth the revelations for people who have knowledge

SHAKIR He it is who made the sun a shining brightness and the moon alight and ordained for it mansions that you might know the computation of years and the reckoning Allah did not create it but with truth He makesthe signs manifest for a people who understand

If a reader reads the above verse carefully he will notice that there is no allusion of source of light or deflector in this verse It simply says the Sun is a shiningbrightness (splendour and glory of brightness) and the Moon a light

From their daily observation right from the ancient period people knew that the Sun hadstrong and bright light and the Moon had cool and softer light that illuminates and helps

in the darkness of the night In Bangla we commonly say and inthe same manner in English we use Sunshine and Moonlight This means ancientBengaliEnglishmen also realized that the Sun is more shinningbrighthot than theappealing Moon just the way an ancient Arab could observe the same phenomena Infact it is so simple even to an infant Here I quote the two words that Quran uses [ 3]

bull (diya) Sun shine

bull

(noor) Moon light

Dr Bucaille however in his book proclaimed loudly [7]

The Sun is a shining glory (diya ) and the Moon a light (nur ) Thistranslation would appear to be more correct than those given by otherswhere the two terms are inverted In fact there is little difference inmeaning since diya belongs to a root (dw ) which according toKazimirskis authoritative ArabicFrench dictionary means to be bright toshine (eg like a fire) The same author attributes to the substantive inquestion the meaning of light

The above explanation of Dr Bucaille may be correct However any rational person canperceive that such an explanation need not pertain to any extraordinary miraculousclaim when we consider the historical context of the ancient Arabs For readersrsquo interestthe next part of the verse is quoted below

3




And the moon a light and ordained for it mansions that you might know thecomputation of years and the reckoning

This portion is not miraculous at all The ancient Arabs used the Sun and the Moon tomeasure location and time Pastoral people quite commonly use the lunar months andthe lunar years Interestingly now a days science has advanced so far that we do notneed to use the Moon to measure time Curiously on this recent development themiraculous Quran could not provide the slightest indication beforehand

7 Qurrsquoan tells us modern scientific fact known as ldquoThe Atomrdquo

Transliteration

Wama takoonu fee shanin wama tatloo minhu min qur-anin walataAAmaloona min AAamalin illa kunna AAalaykum shuhoodan ithtufeedoona feehi wama yaAAzubu AAan rabbika min mithqali tharratin feeal-ardi wala fee alssama-i wala asghara min thalika wala akbara illa feekitabin mubeenun

English Translation

010061YUSUFALI In whatever business thou mayest be and whatever portion

thou mayest be reciting from the Quran- and whatever deed ye (mankind)may be doing- We are witnesses thereof when ye are deeply engrossedtherein Nor is hidden from thy Lord (so much as) the weight of an atom onthe earth or in heaven And not the least and not the greatest of thesethings but are recorded in a clear record

PICKTHAL And thou (Muhammad) art not occupied with any business andthou recitest not a Lecture from this (Scripture) and ye (mankind) performno act but We are Witness of you when ye are engaged therein And notan atoms weight in the earth or in the sky escapeth your Lord nor what isless than that or greater than that but it is (written) in a clear Book

SHAKIR And you are not (engaged) in any affair nor do you reciteconcerning it any portion of the Quran nor do you do any work but We arewitnesses over you when you enter into it and there does not lieconcealed from your Lord the weight of an atom in the earth or in theheaven nor any thing less than that nor greater but it is in a clear book

4




The scientific Atomic theory has nothing to do with this Quranic Atom This atom is usedin the Quran to denote small particles When the Arabs tried to talk about small particlesthey could not find a suitable word to describe them the only appropriate word they

could use was zarah (dharra) which means the dust particle or a mustard seedor the small ant [3]

Particularly Ibn Kathirs tafsir on zarah (Q1061) can be readers interest

Neither you do any deed nor recite any portion of the Quran nor you doany deed but We are Witness thereof when you are doing it And nothingis hidden from your Lord (so much as) the weight of a speck of dust onthe earth or in the heaven Not what is less than that or what is greater than that but is (written) in a Clear Record

If the Quran really talked scientifically about atoms and molecules we should have someindication about electrons protons and neutrons But there is no real indication of themin the whole Quran

If any scientist claims that the Quran really talks about Atomic physics then he mustshow us where we may get the scientific idea of Nuclear structure how can one observeRutherford scattering how can one acquire the knowledge of Static properties of nucleus such as angular momentum parity size shape magnetic multiple momentselectric multiple moments etc and how about the Dynamic properties such as nuclear reaction etc Neither do we get any idea from the Quran about the Strong Interactionmodel and the Weak Interaction model nor can we develop using the Quranic principleany well-established model such as Fermi degenerate gas model Alpha particle modelLiquid drop model Shell model Optical model Collective model or compound nucleus

model

The Quran could only imagine very ambiguously small particles as speck of dust andsmall ants While the Islamic scientists try to prove that the Quran is super-scientificthey usually try to explicate the words out of its context [5]

Again if someones prediction on something implying that that would be an evidence of divine inspiration and an aura of supernaturalism then we must bestow that credit toEpicurus (341-270 BC) who predicted in his poetic summary lsquoDe Rerum Naturarsquo in far less ambiguous terms than anything purportedly present in the Quran the existence of atoms and the molecules (the binding of two atoms to produce a different chemical) [6]

Following the principles of the Islamic scholars should we then consider Epicurus aProphet or his book a divine scripture Even before Epicurus around 440 BCLeucippus of Miletus originated the concept of atom Later he and his pupil Democritus(460-371 BC) of Abdera refined and extended this idea There were five major points totheir atomic theory at that time Epicurus to be precise developed the work of Leucippus and Democritus and had made their ideas widely known

5




From ancient history we also learn that Indian philosophers made significantcontributions Long before Muhammad was born Kanada the founder of the Vaisesikasystem of philosophy expounded that all matters in this universe consists of atoms TheTamil word for atom is ldquoanurdquo (in Bangla we also use the same) which is an ancient wordmentioned in Tamil literatures in 600 AD or even earlier [24] So there is absolutely no

valid reason to claim that the Quran written in later period solely and miraculouslypredicted certain assertions on atom now established by modern science

8 Qurrsquoan reveals accurate information about the solar system

Dr Bucaille in his book states the following about our solar system [8]

The Earth and planets rotating around the Sun constitute an organizedworld of dimensions which to our human scale appear quite colossal The

Earth is after all roughly 93 million miles from the Sun

Dr Bucaille perhaps puts some scientific data about our solar system to make his bookattractive and scholarly However critical review of the Quranic verses indicate a totallyopposite notion It may be fair to mention that at the time the Qurrsquoan was written theChristian world at least was aware of the shape of the earth

The flat earth expounded by the church fathers and monks such as CosmasIndicopleustes was giving in to Ptolemyrsquos sphere-based view [10] In this respect it wouldbe quite natural to find a spherical view of the earth in the Qurrsquoan Nonetheless the factis not a single verse in the Quran supports the spherical view of the earth [ 11 12]--letalone more modern theories such as Copernicuss Heliocentrism etc How can thenQurrsquoan be treated as a divine inspiration --I really wonder

In fact a painstaking search of the entire Qurrsquoan does not show a single verse anywherein it that supports the scientific reality of the rotation of earth [12] According to Allah theearth is motionless--completely static

In Sura An-Naml (2761) it is stated clearly

Is not He (best) Who made the earth a fixed abode and placed rivers inthe folds thereof and placed firm hills therein and hath set a barrier between the two seas Is there any Allah beside Allah Nay but most of

them know notIn the same vein Sura Al-Rum ( 3025 ) Sura Fatir ( 3541 ) Sura Luqman ( 3110 ) Sura

Al-Baqara ( 222 ) Sura An-Nahl ( 1615 ) exhorts the Allahrsquos decree that the earth iscompletely immovable Once in one of my articles I humbly requested an Islamist toshow me a verse just a single verse in the Qurrsquoan that states that the earth movesround the Sun or that the earth rotates on its own axis at the least [12]

6




In Arabic ARD means the Earth and FALAK is rotationmovement Canany one show me any of the verses from the Quran that contains thesetwo words one after another

Some progressive websites duly published that essay and one rationalist site eventhrew a challenge to the fundamentalist Mullahs under the heading lsquoAvijit Roy

challenges the fundamentalistsrsquo This challenge still stands in the cyber world [13] Sofar no Islamic scholar could refute my assertions by citing the appropriate verses fromthe Qurrsquoan

Quranic solar system can be visualized more accurately by the following picture which Iused in some of my previous articles

The picture shown above depicting the Qurrsquoanic concept of our solar system eventhough quite self explanatory misses some very scientific realities and therefore isincomplete in some respect mdashto say the least

According to the Quran our Earth is flat (which I discussed in detail in the 1st Part of thisarticle) and to be more consistent with the Quranic view the picture of the flat Earthmust be much bigger and the Sun and the Moon are to be much smaller As per the

7




Qurrsquoan they are ldquolampsrdquo hanging from the ceiling of the sky supported in turn by invisiblecolumns Allah also described the heaven (sky) made of seven layers and placed(wrongly) the stars in the lowest layer ie lower than the Moon

Q 37 6 rdquoWe have indeed decked the lower heaven with beauty (in) the stars

Q 67 5 ldquoAnd we have (from of old) adorned the lowest heaven with Lamps

The Quranic solar system also contains the invisible Jinns These Jinns according toQuran are made of fire and they climb over each otherrsquos shoulders and reach theheaven to eavesdrop the conversation of the ldquoExalted Assemblyrdquo Let us read thefollowing verses from the Quran

Q378 (So) they should not strain their ears in the direction of the ExaltedAssembly but be cast away from every side

Q 72 8-9ldquoAnd (the Jinn who had listened to the Quran said) We had sought theheaven but had found it filled with strong warders and meteors And weused to sit on places (high) therein to listen But he who listeneth nowfindeth a flame in wait for him

But the most interesting part is that Allah believed that the shooting stars and themeteors are the missiles thrown at the eavesdropping Jinns Here is what the Qurrsquoansays

Q 67 5 and We have made such (Lamps) (as) missiles to drive away the EvilOnes and have prepared for them the Penalty of the Blazing Fire

The universe as envisioned by MuhammadAllah belongs to nothing but on the realm of fairy tales It is not that Mr Bucaille while writing his famous book The Bible the Qurrsquoanand Science was unaware of such nonsensical stories as projectiles for the stoning of lsquodemonsrsquo (5 67) or guard against every rebellious evil spirit referred in verse 21 32and verse 4112 etc however he cleverly tried to avoid the topic saying All theseobservations seem to lay outside the subject of this study [9] for obvious reason

The author also said that scientific data were unable to cast any light on a subject thatwent beyond human understanding but conveniently forgot to tell us which scientific datasatisfied him when the Quran said that the Sun also must arise from the muddy watersand must enter the murky waters just as Dzul Qaranain had witnessed (Q1886 1890 )

There is also a location in sky for the throne of Allah (Q2255 132 2559 324 574 4015 ) that Dr Bucaille seems to forget The throne according to Hadith is over thewaters ( Sahih Bukhari Volume 4 Book 54 Number 414 ) and the Sun has to prostrate in

8




front of the throne and ask the permission of Allah to rise the next day ( Sahih Bukhari Volume 4 Book 54 Number 421 )

In his book Bucaille repeatedly claimed there is nothing in the text of the Quran thatcontradicts what we know today but the above citations from the Quran and Hadithabout modern cosmology reveals the truth which are nothing short of scientific heresies

Despite the desperate attempt of Bucaille and some Muslim apologists [14] to re-interpret and find some esoteric meaning hidden within these vague verses their obvious contrast with science logic and common sense is enough to realize that Quranis not founded by any divine inspiration

9Qurrsquoan foretells about the ldquoWater Cyclerdquo

Dr Bucaille also claimed in his book that the Quran has the foreknowledge of the water cycle by which water

(1) Evaporates from the seas and the earth

(2) Becomes clouds which

(3) Give rain which

(4a) Causes the land to bring forth and

(4b) Replenishes the water table that reveals itself by gushing springs andfull wells

Abul Kasem has already pointed out in one of his article [4]

If one reads Dr Bucailles discourse on these topics it does not takemuch intelligence to note the twisted logic and his clever selection of onlythose verses that serve his purposes One striking point however is that heonly elucidates a natural phenomenon as described in the Qurrsquoan andinterprets that natural phenomenon as the scientific explanation in theQurrsquoan This is absolutely unacceptable to anyone who has the slightestidea what scientific knowledge is all about

Lets see how Dr William Campbell refuted the Quranic science of Bucaille [15]

Dr Bucaille declares that until the late sixteenth century man held totallyinaccurate views on the water cycle and considers that severalstatements in the Quran which reflect a knowledge of the water cyclecould not therefore have come from any human source

9




He quotes verses 509-11 359 3048 757 2548-49 and 455 as theverses which include steps (2) (3) and (4a) above As an example weshall look at the late Meccan Sura of the Heights (Al-A`ruacutef) 757

(God) is the One Who sends forth the winds like heralds of His Mercy When they have carried (2) the heavy-laden

clouds we drive them to a dead land Then we cause (3)water to descend and thereby (4a) bring forth fruits of everykind Thus we will bring forth the dead Maybe you willremember

To demonstrate step (4b) above he brings verses from Suras 2318-191522 and the late Meccan Sura of The Crowds (Al-Zumar) 3921 whichreads

Have you not seen that God sent water down from the skyand led it through (4b) sources into the ground Then he

caused sown fields of different colours to grow

These verses are accurate of course but the question is do they showany special foreknowledge and thereby prove Divine Revelation Theanswer must surely be no Every man or woman even those living in acity could describe steps (2) (3) and (4a) And every person in contactwith farmers during a drought will hear them say that their wells andsprings have dried up thus showing common knowledge of step (4b) thatrain is the source and origin of underground water

But what of step (1) ndash The evaporation as the source of rain clouds Thiswill be more difficult to understand by simple observation only and it could

not be evident to the ancient people when the Quran was revealed Butdoes the Quran have any verse to clarify the evaporation processUnfortunately there is not a single verse to support such claim

It can be pointed out that there is no end to the strange miracles Muslim scholars areclaiming If one visits the prominent Islamic sites [14] one will find hundreds of suchinane arguments

Currently I have no time to rebut all those wild claims and declare myself a victory Thegood news is that many of my skeptic friends working in parallel are doing a wonderful

job in the Net For example Richard Carrier debunked Dr Mansour Hassab-Elnabysclaim on the speed of light [16] Ali Sina refuted Harun Yahyas claim on atmosphericlayers [17] Abul Kasem and Syed Kamran Mirza debunked the claim on mountains [1819] Dr Alamgir Hussain refuted the Quranic prophecies on Pharaohs [25]hellipetc I willrest my case analysing another miracle which has been frequently quoted in Islamicweb-sites in recent days

10




10 Qurrsquoan foretells about ldquoRed Star Nebulardquo

In recent years many Islamicwebsites [20] have been propagating

one particular example of themiraculous scientific knowledge of the Quran supposedly proven by apicture from the NASA Hubble SpaceTelescope on January 11 1995 buthad reached the attention of theMuslims apparently when it was thefeatured image at the NASA web site on October 31 1999 Starting fromthat date some Muslims discoveredthat this may make a good Quranic

miracle They spread the news thatthis phenomenon is tagged with thefollowing verse of the Quran

ldquoAnd when the heaven splitteth asunder and becometh rosy like redhiderdquo (5537-38)

This verse unfortunately has nothing to do with any Red Star Nebula Actually in thisverse Islamic Allah (through his obedient Prophet) was just trying to scare people withtales of blazing fires and dreadful actions The above verse is therefore another example of Prophets scare-mongering verses when we realize that the sentence lsquoskyopens and becomes red (with fire)rsquo does not connote to any scientific miraclewhatsoever

A closer chronological observation of the verses from 5526 to 5538 gives us animpression that the author is trying to frighten people about the so-called Judgment Day [21] Lets quote from the Quran

Everyone that is thereon will pass away There remaineth but theCountenance of thy Lord of Might and Glory Which is it of the favours of your Lord that ye deny All that are in the heavens and the earth entreatHim Every day He exerciseth (universal) power Which is it of the favoursof your Lord that ye deny We shall dispose of you O ye two dependents

(man and jinn) Which is it of the favours of your Lord that ye deny Ocompany of jinn and men if ye have power to penetrate (all) regions of theheavens and the earth then penetrate (them) Ye will never penetratethem save with (Our) sanction Which is it of the favours of your Lord thatye deny There will be sent against you both heat of fire and flash of brass and ye will not escape Which is it of the favours of your Lord thatye deny And when the heaven splitteth asunder and becometh rosy likered hide -Which is it of the favours of your Lord that ye deny - On that

11




day neither man nor jinni will be questioned of his sin

From the citations above these two particular verses could be our interest becauseAllah clearly declares his future motivation to settle our affairs (on the Judgment Day )

055031 YUSUFALI Soon shall we settle your affairs O both ye worldsPICKTHAL We shall dispose of you O ye two dependents (man and jinn)SHAKIR Soon will we apply ourselves to you O you two armies

055039 YUSUFALI On that Day no question will be asked of man or Jinn as to hissinPICKTHAL On that day neither man nor jinni will be questioned of his sinSHAKIR So on that day neither man nor jinni shall be asked about his sin

Thus any rational person can conclude that there is no relation with red star nebula if weconsider the context However Muslim scholars wishfully matched this up with thesubject of astrophysics

We all know that there are many Nebulae very far away from our planet If we look atthem with powerful telescopes they will appear to be red because it is going away fromus All stars are going away from us because the universe is expanding and thereforethey are red This is the famous Red Shift that Hubble discovered We however cannot

see this with our plain eyes we can only see it through the most powerful telescopes

The reddish colour of this particular Nebula shown in the picture above however is notthe cause of expansion of space as explained previously The NASA Hubble SpaceTelescope of the ldquoCatrsquos Eye Nebulardquo an explosion of a supernova that took place 3000years ago took this particular picture This is a glass-hour explosion seen from the topActually NASA took these photographs in infrared or X-ray spectrum In this particular picture NASA added false colours using colour algorithm at the time of releasing NASAallotted the red colour to this picture but they could virtually have given any colour theyliked So the whole argument of relating this with Qurrsquoanic dicta -rosy like red hidebecomes completely meaningless [22]

Aparthib [23] also has written quite a number of articles refuting such Islamic pseudo-scientific claims ie the attempt to relate vague verses of the Quran with scientificinventions I remember in response to an apologistrsquos claim of such vague miracleAparthib once wrote

I see an attempt here to link planetary nebulae with a religious verse Thisis a flawed attempt that is often made by apologetics of all religions somemore than others If one likes to see science in anything they can see it

12




anywhere Some Joe may have said All is relative before Einsteinstheory of relativity By this stretch of imagination that Joe can legitimatelyclaim that he already knew about relativity and claim originality Any vaguephrase pun quote etc by humans scriptures etc can be customized andmade to fit any scientific principle which also have been phrased in a very

general way for popular consumption hiding the underlying precise senseof these principles Its an insult to science and the scientists whosepainstaking research has helped unravel the complex workings of the lawsof nature and reality None of these scientific revelations were inspiredfrom dependent on or utilized any of the religious revelations If religiousrevelations could not and did not lead to any of these scientific truths in astand alone way then by any criterion and logic they cannot be used tocorroborate science There are many unanswered questions in the basicunderstanding of the universe Why cant the verses of scripture throw anylight on them For example we dont at this time know for sure if theuniverse is closed open or flat No body dares to make a prediction basedon any revelation But if it is ever found out by science I am sure one candig out some vague words of a verse from some book of some religion andclaim to see the answer that science has finally managed to find Itrsquosalways AFTER the fact that these semblances are found It has never been found BEFORE the scientific discovery Is that a coincidence

Then Aparthib went on saying -

Nobel laureate Physicist Dr Abdus Salam warned against people trying toexplain Big Bang using verses from Koran saying that the current versionof Big Bang is the best known scientific explanation for the creation of theuniverse What if a better scientific explanation than Big Bang is found

tomorrow Should the verses be changed to accommodate the newscientific view Religion can never vindicate or falsify science

The truth or falsity of a scientific principle lies within science itselfReligious scriptures cannot speak of any scientific principle Religiousrevelations are absolute directives and narratives for humans to follow asfaith unquestioningly Many revelations clearly contradict many acceptedscientific principles No scientist of any repute has ever tried tosubstantiate scientific principles by religious beliefs

Most scientists and theologians would rather not mix faith with objectiveand rational field of science KoranBibleGita etc are not books of science

Any coincidental vague semblance between a verse and a popular phrasing of a complex scientific principle is solely due to the very generaland vague wordings admitting of any interpretation that one chooses toimpose on it

All one needs is some vague reverse fitting argument to connect the twoOne can find Quantum Mechanics in Tagores poems or relativity in theBuddhist Monk Nagarjuns writing Just seeing what one likes to see

13




because of a preset belief in a favoured belief system doesnt make it soby any objective criterion My purpose is not to disrespect religion or itsrevelation but to question the attempt to reconcile the two in an illogicalway They can be irreconcilable and yet can continue and thrive asseparate ways as long as one does not get in the way of the pursuit of the

otherWhile debating in many Bangladeshi Internet forums [26] I have noted that the moderneducated Muslims love to cite many such fuzzy scientific miracles from the holy Quranto promote the divine origin of their faith In this two-part essay I have debunked top tenof these claims I hope my attempt will provide a better understanding that nosupernatural supreme being handed any kind of scientific information to MuhammadThose alleged miracles in the Quran simply fail to offer any reasonable rationalargument to support any claim of divine source for the Qurrsquoan No sensible person or freethinker should be swayed by such phony divine assertion

Reference

[1] Dr Shamsher Ali et al Scientific indication in Holy Quran Islamic FoundationBangladesh page xiv

[2] Momtaj Doulatana Al-Quran ek Moha-biggyan Gyankosh Prokashoni Bangladesh

[3] Athanasios Abdulrahman Responses to the Claims of the Muslimshttpwwwexmuslimcom CroMagnon on FFIhttpmemberslycosnlwhatsthisthenlinkshtml

[4] Abul Kasem How Western Scientists Discovered $cience in Qurrsquoan Mukto-Mona

[5] Interestingly when the freethinkers and skeptics of Islam quote violent verses fromthe holy book such as - Qurrsquoan tells Muslims to kill the disbelievers wherever they findthem ( 2191 ) murder them and treat them harshly ( 9123 ) slay them ( 95 ) fight withthem ( 865 ) to strike off their heads (474 ) strive against them with great endeavor ( 2552 ) etc apologists and Islamic scholars instantly pronounce You have quoted outof context The out of context scenario certainly should now backfire to those Islamicscholars who desperately search modern science in scattered quotes vague verses of Quran

[6] Richard Carrier Predicting Modern Science Epicurus vs Mohammed Secular Web

[7] Dr Maurice Bucaille The Bible the Quran and Science The Holy ScripturesExamined in the Light of Modern Knowledge Tahrike Tarsile Quran 7th ed (2003)

[8] Ibid pp 149

[9] Ibid pp 165

14




[10] Shlomi Tal The Platygaean Qurrsquoan Exposition of the Flat-Earth Cosmology of theQurrsquoan Metaphysical Naturalism Pages

[11] Abul Kasem Allahs Flat earth and His Cosmos Mukto-Mona

[12] Avijit Roy Super-Scientific Religious Scriptures and Does the Noble Quran support

The Earth moves around the Sun theory Mukto-Mona

[13] httpwwwhumanistsnet httprationalthinkinghumanistsnet httpwwwfaithfreedomorg

[14] httpwwwharunyahyacom httpwwwislamicitycomScienceiqs etc

[15] Dr William Campbell The Quran and the Bible in the Light of History amp ScienceMiddle East Resources 2002

[16] Richard Carrier The Koran Predicted the Speed of Light Not really Secular Web

[17] Ali Sina Layers of Heaven FFI[18] Abul Kasem Mountain Building---Allahrsquos Style Mukto-Mona

[19] Syed Kamran Mirza Koran on Mountain Mukto-Mona

[20] httpwwwsubmissionorgmiraclenebulahtmlhttpwwwwideopenwestcom~salamradioNebulahtm httpwwwanswering-christianitycomsci_quranhtm httpwwwnessiaorgartgenaspxid=7 etc

[21] The one all-encompassing theme of the Quran is the inevitability of JudgmentDayKiyamatDoomsday Muslims believe that this world created by Allah will eventuallybe brought to an end by Him and that it will be followed by a new world (so called RojHashorer Moydan) in which all people will be resurrected and brought to account for their deeds

[22] Ali Sina Miracles of Allah FFI

[23] Aparthibs Article Page Mukto-Mona

[24] Dr Jeyam Kannan an Obstetrics and Gynecologist from Chennai wrote a series of articles in a Tamil Magazine called Mangaiyar Malar about the amazing references tohuman embryology in Thirumandiram an ancient Tamil Saiva Siddhanta classic of the6th century AD In July 1999 issue (page 132-134) Dr Kannan refers to some mantrasthat refer to atom

[25] Dr Alamgir Hussain Story of Pharaoh in Koran - A Miracle Mukto-Mona

[26] Mukto-mona Vinnomot NFB banglarnari MuktoChinta etc

15




done observations made and if all the results correspond to the theory it is accepteduntil it is refuted by later observations and tests All the methods lay well within the strictdomain of science No sane person can legitimately claim to test science against areligious holy book

A religious book to be precise preaches absoluteness and infallibility of its claim of the

perceived truth which is nothing but a dogma Dogma does not admit any possibility of its being wrongmdashthus ruling out any revision or correction Then how can a dogma be atool to test science I wonder what our students will learn if such a capricious definitionof science formulated by Dr Shamsher Ali is taught in our Universities This is one of many examples to show how our education system is faltering

Recently another author of Islami-scientific book proclaimed that the Quran itself isenough to reveal the scientific mysteries of nature rest are all redundant andsuperfluous [2]

If we really have such a super-scientific book in our hand who needs Brian Greenes

The Elegant Universe Stephen Hawkings A Brief History of Time or Steven WeinbergsThe First Three Minutes to explore mystery to common people Forget about popular science series why did Newton wrote his famous Principia mdashThis I canrsquot comprehendeither Indeed this claim means every single scientific invention is supposed to be asclaimed in the Quran--and the rest are redundant Does not this mean if the entire roomis illuminated by 1000 watts of light who will look for a candle

Anyway here are some more rebuttals of scientific prophecy of Holy Quran

6 Qurrsquoan tells us ldquothe Sun is the source of light and the Moon a deflectorrdquo

Nowhere in the Quran it is mentioned that the Sun is a source of light and the Moonacts as a deflector The apologists usually quote the following ayat of Sura YUNUS fromQuran to prove their biased argument

Transliteration

Huwa allathee jaAAala alshshamsa diyaan waalqamara nooranwaqaddarahu manazila litaAAlamoo AAadada alssineena waalhisaba makhalaqa Allahu thalika illa bialhaqqi yufassilu al-ayati liqawminyaAAlamoona

English translation

010005 YUSUFALI It is He Who made the sun to be a shining glory and the moonto be a light (of beauty) and measured out stages for her that ye mightknow the number of years and the count (of time) Nowise did Allah createthis but in truth and righteousness (Thus) doth He explain His Signs indetail for those who understand

2










bull

(noor) Moon light




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Transliteration


English Translation





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model




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(3) Give rain which







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Reference








[8] Ibid pp 149

[9] Ibid pp 165

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bull

(noor) Moon light




3







Transliteration


English Translation





4










model




5

















6










7















8











(3) Give rain which







9
















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Reference








[8] Ibid pp 149

[9] Ibid pp 165

14





















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Transliteration


English Translation





4










model




5

















6










7















8











(3) Give rain which







9
















10













11














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13






Reference








[8] Ibid pp 149

[9] Ibid pp 165

14





















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model




5

















6










7















8











(3) Give rain which







9
















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Reference








[8] Ibid pp 149

[9] Ibid pp 165

14





















15

















6










7















8











(3) Give rain which







9
















10













11














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13






Reference








[8] Ibid pp 149

[9] Ibid pp 165

14





















15










7















8











(3) Give rain which







9
















10













11














12













13






Reference








[8] Ibid pp 149

[9] Ibid pp 165

14





















15















8











(3) Give rain which







9
















10













11














12













13






Reference








[8] Ibid pp 149

[9] Ibid pp 165

14





















15











(3) Give rain which







9
















10













11














12













13






Reference








[8] Ibid pp 149

[9] Ibid pp 165

14





















15
















10













11














12













13






Reference








[8] Ibid pp 149

[9] Ibid pp 165

14





















15













11














12













13






Reference








[8] Ibid pp 149

[9] Ibid pp 165

14





















15














12













13






Reference








[8] Ibid pp 149

[9] Ibid pp 165

14





















15













13






Reference








[8] Ibid pp 149

[9] Ibid pp 165

14





















15






Reference








[8] Ibid pp 149

[9] Ibid pp 165

14





















15





















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does the qur'an have any scientific miracles part 2 of 2

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