Christian/Muslim ThreadsScience ... The Bible ... And The Quran?
Astronomial Facts in Quran: CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE: THE BIG BANG The creation of the universe is explained by astrophysicists in 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). Then there was a Big Bang (Secondary Separation) which resulted in the formation of Galaxies. These then divided to form stars, planets, the sun, the moon, etc. The origin of the universe was unique and the probability of it occurring by chance is zero. The Quraan contains the following verse, regarding the origin of the universe: Do not the Unbelievers see That the heavens and the earth Were joined together (as one Unit of Creation), before We clove them asunder? [Al-Quraan 21:30] The striking congruence between the Quraanic 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 gaseous matter. 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 Quraanic verse refers to this state of the universe by the word dhukhan which means smoke. Moreover, He Comprehended In His design the sky, And it had been (as) smoke: He said to it And to the earth: Come ye together, Willingly or unwillingly. They said: We do come (Together), in willing obedience. [Al-Quraan 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 (pbuh). What then, could have been the source of this knowledge? THE SPHERICAL SHAPE OF THE EARTH In early times, people believed that the earth is 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 the following Quraanic verse regarding the alternation of day and night: Seest thou not that Allah merges Night into Day And He merges Day into Night? [Al-Quraan 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 was 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. [Al-Quraan 39:5] The Arabic word used here is Kawwara meaning to overlap or 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 earths shape: The Quraan and Modern Science: Compatible or Incompatible? And the earth, moreover, Hath He made egg shaped. [Al-Quraan 79:30]* (* The Arabic word dahaha has been translated by A. Yusuf Ali as vast expanse, which also is correct. The word dahaha also means an ostrich-egg. Consider the following verses related to the nature of light from the sun and the moon: It is He who made the sun To be a shining glory And the moon to be a light (Of beauty). [Al-Quraan 10:5]) The Arabic word for egg here is dahaha, which means an ostrich-egg. The shape of an ostrich-egg resembles the geo-spherical shape of the earth. Thus the Quraan correctly describes the shape of the earth, though the prevalent notion when the Quraan was revealed was that the earth is flat. THE LIGHT OF THE MOON IS REFLECTED LIGHT 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 Quraan 1,400 years ago in the following verse: Blessed is He Who made Constellations in the skies, And placed therein a Lamp And a Moon giving light. [Al-Quraan 25:61] The Arabic word for the sun in the Quraan, is shams. It is referred to as siraaj, which means a torch or as wahhaaj which means a blazing 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 Quraan as muneer, which is a body that gives nur i.e. light. Again, the Quraanic description matches perfectly with the true nature of the moon, which does not give off light itself and is an inert body that reflects the light of the sun. Not once in the Quraan, is the moon mentioned as siraaj, wahhaaj or diya or the sun as nur or muneer. This implies that the Quraan 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 sun To be a shining glory And the moon to be a light (Of beauty). [Al-Quraan 10:5] See ye not How Allah has created The seven heavens One above another, And made the moon A light in their midst, and made the sun As a (Glorious) Lamp? [Al-Quraan 71:15-16] THE SUN ROTATES 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 second 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 axes 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 Quraanic verse: 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. [Al-Quraan 21:33] The Arabic word used in the above verse is yasbahn. The word yasbahn is derived from the word sabaha. It carries with it 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 as it goes through space. Most of the school textbooks have incorporated the fact that the sun rotates about its axis. The rotation of the sun about its own axis can be proved with the help of an equipment that projects the image of the sun on the 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 up The Moon, nor can The Night outstrip the Day: Each (just) swims along In (its own) orbit (According to Law). [Al-Quraan 36:40] This verse mentions an essential fact discovered by modern astronomy, i.e. 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 29 days to complete one rotation. One cannot help but be amazed at the scientific accuracy of the Quraanic verses. Should we not ponder over the question: What was the source of knowledge contained in the Quraan? THE SUN WILL EXTINGUISH AFTER A CERTAIN PERIOD The light of the sun is due to a chemical process on its surface that has been taking place continuously for the past five billion years. It will come to an end at some point of time in the future when the sun will be totally extinguished leading to extinction of all life on earth. Regarding the impermanence of the suns existence the Quraan says: And the Sun Runs its course For a period determined For it; that is The decree of (Him) The exalted in Might, The All-Knowing. [Al-Quraan 36:38] (** A similar message is conveyed in the Quran in 13:2, 35:13, 39:5 and 39:21.) The Arabic word used here is mustaqarr, which means a place or time that is determined. Thus the Quraan 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. THE PRESENCE OF 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 number 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 Quraan mentions the presence of this interstellar material in the following verse: He Who created the heavens And the earth and all That is between. [Al-Quraan 25:59] It would be ridiculous, for anybody to even suggest that the presence of interstellar galactic material was known 1400 years ago. 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-Quraan says regarding the nature of the universe: With the power and skill Did We construct The Firmament: For it is We Who create The vastness of Space. [Al-Quraan 51:47] The Arabic word msin 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 Quraan mentioned the expansion of the universe, before man even learnt to build a telescope! Some may say that the presence of astronomical facts in the Quraan 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 Quraan was revealed centuries before the Arabs excelled in astronomy. Moreover many of the scientific facts mentioned above regarding 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 Quraan 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 Quraan. Physics facts in Quran: THE EXISTENCE OF SUBATOMIC PARTICLES In ancient times a well-known theory by the name of 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. That the atom can be split further is a development 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 Quraanic verse however, refuses to acknowledge this limit: The 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 In the Heavens or on earth: Nor is there anything less Than that, or greater, but Is in the Record Perspicuous. [Al-Quraan 34:3] (A similar message is conveyed in the Quran in 10:61.) This verse refers to the Omniscience of God, His knowledge of all things, hidden or apparent. It then goes further and says that God is aware of everything, including what is smaller or bigger than the atom. Thus the verse clearly shows that it is possible for something smaller than the atom to exist, a fact discovered only recently by modern science. ^ Top ----------------------------------------------------------- GEOGRAPHY THE WATER CYCLE In 1580, Bernard Palissy was the first man to describe the present day concept of water cycle. He described how water evaporates from the oceans and cools to form clouds. The clouds move inland where they rise, condense and fall as rain. This water gathers as lakes and streams and flows back to the ocean in a continuous cycle. In the 7th century B.C., Thales of Miletus believed that surface spray of the oceans was picked up by the wind and carried inland to fall as rain. In earlier times people did not know the source of underground water. They thought the water of the oceans, under the effect of winds, was thrust towards the interior of the continents. They also believed that the water returned by a secret passage, or the Great Abyss. This passage is connected to the oceans and has been called the Tartarus, since Platos time. Even Descartes, a great thinker of the eighteenth century, subscribed to this view. Till the nineteenth century, Aristotles theory was prevalent. According to this theory, water was condensed in cool mountain caverns and formed underground lakes that fed springs. Today, we know that the rainwater that seeps into the cracks of the ground is responsible for this. The water cycle is described by the Quraan in the following verses: Seest thou not that Allah Sends down rain from The sky, and leads it Through springs in the earth? Then He causes to grow, Therewith, produce of various Colours. [Al-Quraan 39:21] He sends down rain From the sky And with it gives life to The earth after it is dead: Verily in that are Signs For those who are wise. [Al-Quraan 30:24] And We send down water From the sky according to (Due) measure, and We cause it To soak in the soil; And We certainly are able To drain it off (with ease). [Al-Quraan 23:18] No other text dating back 1400 years ago gives such an accurate description of the water cycle. WINDS IMPREGNATE THE CLOUDS And We send the fecundating winds, Then cause the rain to descend From the sky, therewith providing You with water (in abundance). [Al-Quraan 15:22] The Arabic word used here is lawqih, which is the plural of laqih from laqaha, which means to impregnate or fecundate. In this context, impregnate means that the wind pushes the clouds together increasing the condensation that causes lightning and thus rain. A similar description is found in the Quraan: It is Allah Who sends The Winds, and they raise The Clouds: then does He Spread them in the sky As He wills, and break them Into fragments, until thou seest Raindrops issue from the midst Thereof: then when He has Made them reach such Of His servants as He wills, Behold, they do rejoice! [Al-Quraan 30:48] The Quraanic descriptions are absolutely accurate and agree perfectly with modern data on hydrology. The water cycle is described in several verses of the Glorious Quraan, including 3:9, 7:57, 13:17, 25:48- 49, 36:34, 50:9-11, 56:68-70, 67:30 and 86:11. ^ Top ----------------------------------------------------------- GEOLOGY MOUNTAINS ARE LIKE PEGS (STAKES) In Geology, the phenomenon of folding is a recently discovered fact. Folding is responsible for the formation of mountain ranges. The earths crust, on which we live, is like a solid shell, while the deeper layers are hot and fluid, and thus inhospitable to any form of life. It is also known that the stability of the mountains is linked to the phenomenon of folding, for it was the folds that were to provide foundations for the relief that constitute the mountains. Geologists tell us that the radius of the Earth is about 3,750 miles and the crust on which we live is very thin, ranging between 1 to 30 miles. Since the crust is thin, it has a high possibility of shaking. Mountains act like stakes or tent pegs that hold the earths crust and give it stability. The Quraan contains exactly such a description in the following verse: Have We not made The earth as a wide Expanse, And the mountains as pegs? [Al-Quraan 78:6-7] The word awtad means stakes or pegs (like those used to anchor a tent); they are the deep foundations of geological folds. A book named Earth is considered as a basic reference textbook on geology in many universities around the world. One of the authors of this book is Frank Press, who was the President of the Academy of Sciences in the USA for 12 years and was the Science Advisor to former US President Jimmy Carter. In this book he illustrates the mountain in a wedge-shape and the mountain itself as a small part of the whole, whose root is deeply entrenched in the ground. According to Dr. Press, the mountains play an important role in stabilizing the crust of the earth. (* Earth, Press and Siever, p. 435. Also see Earth Science, Tarbuck and Lutgens, p. 157.) The Quraan clearly mentions the function of the mountains in preventing the earth from shaking: And We have set on the earth Mountains standing firm, Lest it should shake with them. [Al-Quraan 21:31] The Quraanic descriptions are in perfect agreement with modern geological data. MOUNTAINS FIRMLY FIXED The surface of the earth is broken into many rigid plates that are about 100 km in thickness. These plates float on a partially molten region called aesthenosphere. Mountain formations occur at the boundary of the plates. The earths crust is 5 km thick below oceans, about 35 km thick below flat continental surfaces and almost 80 km thick below great mountain ranges. These are the strong foundations on which mountains stand. The Quraan also speaks about the strong mountain foundations in the following verse: And the mountains Hath He firmly fixed. [Al-Quraan 79:32] (*A similar message is contained in the Qur'aan in 88:19, 31:10 and 16:15) ----------------------------------------------------------- ^ Top OCEANOLOGY BARRIER BETWEEN SWEET AND SALT WATERS Consider the following Quraanic verses: He has let free the two bodies Of flowing water, Meeting together: Between them is a Barrier Which they do not transgress. [Al-Quraan 55:19-20] In the Arabic text the word barzakh means a barrier or a partition. This barrier is not a physical partition. The Arabic word maraja literally means they both meet and mix with each other. Early commentators of the Quraan were unable to explain the two opposite meanings for the two bodies of water, i.e. they meet and mix, and at the same time, there is a barrier between them. 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. Oceanologists are now in a better position to explain this verse. There is a slanted unseen water barrier between the two seas through which water from one sea passes to the other. (Principles of Oceanography, Davis, pp. 92-93.) But when the water from one sea enters the other sea, it loses its distinctive characteristic and becomes homogenized with the other water. In a way this barrier serves as a transitional homogenizing area for the two waters. This scientific phenomenon mentioned in the Quraan was also confirmed by Dr. William Hay who is a well-known marine scientist and Professor of Geological Sciences at the University of Colorado, U.S.A. The Quraan mentions this phenomenon also in the following verse: And made a separating bar between the two bodies Of flowing water? [Al-Quraan 27:61] This phenomenon occurs in several places, including the divider between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean at Gibralter. But when the Quraan speaks about the divider between fresh and salt water, it mentions the existence of a forbidding partition with the barrier. It is He Who has Let free the two bodies Of flowing water: One palatable and sweet, And the other salty and bitter; Yet has He Made a barrier between them, And a partition that is forbidden To be passed. [Al-Quraan 25:53] Modern science has discovered that in estuaries, where fresh (sweet) and salt-water meet, the situation is somewhat different from that found in places where two seas meet. It has been discovered that what distinguishes fresh water from salt water in estuaries is a pycnocline zone with a marked density discontinuity separating the two layers. This partition (zone of separation) has salinity different from both the fresh water and the salt water. This phenomenon occurs in several places, including Egypt, where the river Nile flows into the Mediterranean Sea. (Oceanography, Gross, p. 242. Also see Introductory Oceanography, Thurman, pp. 300-301.) (Oceanography, Gross, p. 244 and Introductory Oceanography, Thurman, pp. 300-301. ) DARKNESS IN THE DEPTHS OF THE OCEAN Prof. Durga Rao is an expert in the field of Marine Geology and was a professor at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah. He was asked to comment on the following verse: Or (the Unbelievers state) Is like the depths of darkness In a vast deep ocean, Overwhelmed with billow Topped by billow, Topped by (dark) clouds: Depths of darkness, one Above another: if a man Stretches out his hand, He can hardly see it! For any to whom Allah Giveth not light, there is no light! [Al-Quraan 24:40] Prof. Rao said that scientists have only now been able to confirm, with the help of modern equipment that there is darkness in the depths of the ocean. Humans are unable to dive unaided underwater for more than 20 to 30 meters, and cannot survive in the deep oceanic regions at a depth of more than 200 meters. This verse does not refer to all seas because not every sea can be described as having accumulated darkness layered one over another. It refers especially to a deep sea or deep ocean, as the Quraan says, darkness in a vast deep ocean. This layered darkness in a deep ocean is the result of two causes: A light ray is composed of seven colours. These seven colours are Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red (VIBGYOR). The light ray undergoes refraction when it hits water. The upper 10 to 15 metres of water absorb the red colour. Therefore if a diver is 25 metres under water and gets wounded, he would not be able to see the red colour of his blood, because the red colour does not reach this depth. Similarly orange rays are absorbed at 30 to 50 metres, yellow at 50 to 100 metres, green at 100 to 200 metres, and finally, blue beyond 200 metres and violet and indigo above 200 metres. Due to successive disappearance of colour, one layer after another, the ocean progressively becomes darker, i.e. darkness takes place in layers of light. Below a depth of 1000 meters there is complete darkness. (Oceans, Elder and Pernetta, p. 27. 1 2) The suns rays are absorbed by clouds, which in turn scatter light rays thus causing a layer of darkness under the clouds. This is the first layer of darkness. When light rays reach the surface of the ocean they are reflected by the wave surface giving it a shiny appearance. Therefore it is the waves which reflect light and cause darkness. The un-reflected light penetrates into the depths of the ocean. Therefore the ocean has two parts. The surface characterized by light and warmth and the depth characterized by darkness. The surface is further separated from the deep part of the ocean by waves. The internal waves cover the deep waters of seas and oceans because the deep waters have a higher density than the waters above them. The darkness begins below the internal waves. Even the fish in the depths of the ocean cannot see; their only source of light is from their own bodies. The Quraan rightly mentions: Darkness in a vast deep ocean overwhelmed with waves topped by waves. In other words, above these waves there are more types of waves, i.e. those found on the surface of the ocean. The Quraanic verse continues, topped by (dark) clouds; depths of darkness, one above another. These clouds as explained are barriers one over the other that further cause darkness by absorption of colours at different levels. Prof. Durga Rao concluded by saying, 1400 years ago a normal human being could not explain this phenomenon in so much detail. Thus the information must have come from a supernatural source. I have ALOT more interesting facts, if you would like to see them. |
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