Modern day science and the Koran – part three

Recap Part one

Some time ago I read a pamphlet on science in the Koran and it was aimed at the young Islamic students. The problem I found with the claims that selected verses in the Koran were expanded to suit the needs of the Cleric’s of the Islamic group that published the indoctrination Pamphlet. Over the years I have seen new claims on the meanings of other selected verses.

http://www.quranmiracles.com/.

I am an atheist that respects the religious but queries the beliefs and the indoctrination, I do try to be fair and balanced of which I mean to illustrate here in this article.

 Seemingly some years ago a group of clerics thought that the Koran should be at one with modern science and uses that oneness to prove God exists and the great knowledge given to Muhammad a simple desert merchant and trader, the first claim.

 

 

Recap Part two

 

I established that Mohammad friends were also his advisors the man guy being Umar ibn al-Khattāb was Muhammad’s companion, military advisor and a very intelligent man that had consulted with various scholars and analyzed the Roman and Persian societies closely. Umar could of course have knowledge of Greek philosophy and science known by the Romans and Persians. Muhammad even though he was illiterate was a very clever man and like many of his original elitist companions and advisors gain much knowledge concerning the civilized World mainly centered around the Mediterranean whilst traveling as a merchants. One love these guys had was poetry; intriguingly the Koran is a book of poetry as well as a religious oracle.       

 

36- Glory be to the One, who created in pairs all things that the earth produces, as well as themselves, and other things they do not know.

36-Ya-Seen, 36

The Arabic word “azvaj” is the plural of “zavj” meaning “pairs,” “matches,” “partners.” There are three sorts of pairs in the Creation as described in the verse:

a- Pairs that grow from the earth, i.e., plants that have species of differentiated sex;
b- Human pairs, males and females. Also some included human characteristics like bravery / cowardice; love / hate; generosity / stinginess, etc.
c- Pairs unknown: men did not know anything about the creation in pairs at the time of the descent of the Quran. In this section we shall be dealing with the latter in particular.

THE DISCOVERY THAT WON THE NOBEL PRIZE AWARD

The atom lies at the basis of all matter in the universe. A study of this smallest piece of matter may give an idea about the creation of everything in pairs (partners). As research conducted on the structure of the atom gained momentum, it became clear that the constituents of elementary particles were not limited to protons, neutrons and electrons and that their compositions were of a more complex nature and an unerring precision. Creation in pairs is also valid for elementary particles.

4- To Him ascend the angels and the spirit in a day the measure of which is fifty thousand years.

70-The Heights, 4


5- He regulates all affairs from the heaven to the earth. Then they ascend to Him in a day, the measure of which is a thousand years as you count.

32-The Prostration, 5

Throughout history, “time” was assumed to apply equally in every imaginable spot in the universe and in every medium. If we consider this conception, we can see the radical change that the above verses brought. The Quran said that, according to circumstances, the “day” concept might equal even up to fifty thousand years. These verses which must have encountered objections have been elucidated in the twentieth century and shed light on important truths.

The theory of relativity is Einstein’s best known discovery. However, many people whose interests are not in any way related to physics are at a loss to understand what this theory signifies. The Quran had already touched on these facts 1400 years ago. Einstein’s theory of relativity has two main divisions, namely the special theory of relativity and the general theory of relativity.

38- And the Sun moves on to its destination. That is the ordinance of the Mighty, the Knower.
36-Ya-Seen, 38

For a long time in the past men thought that the earth was stationary and that the sun revolved around the earth. Later Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo postulated the theory that the sun was stationary and that the earth revolved about the sun. It was even later, thanks to sophisticated telescopes and the accumulation of cosmological data, that it was concluded that the sun was moving as well and the earth revolved about the sun in motion. Despite the fact that it took science this long, this motion of the sun had already been told 1400 years ago in the Quran. Contrary to the assertion that the sun traced a vicious circle about the earth or that it was stationary, the 38th verse of the sura Ya-Seen stated correctly that it moved on to its destination. As in other subjects, in this one also the Quran is the source that gave a correct account of the sun’s motion.

5- It is He who made the sun to be a radiant and the moon to be a light ...
10-Jonah, 5

The sun as a nuclear reactor is our world’s source of light and heat. The quantity of radiation reaching our world from the sun that warms our world in the cold of space is two per billion of the sun’s total quantity of radiation. The moon is not a source of heat and light like the sun. This difference between the sun and the moon finds its description in the Quran, i.e., the sun’s light is expressed by the Arabic word “ziya” (radiant) and the moon’s light is expressed by the word “noor” (light). The word “ziya” meaning radiation has the connotation of light and heat, while “noor” does not have such a connotation. Other attributes of the sun in the Quran are similes such as “seraj” (torch) or “wahhaj” (lamp). Both “seraj” and “wahhaj” emit heat and light through the fire burning within them. The fact that such attributes are not used for the light of the moon shows how refined the
style of the Quran is.

39- And the moon. We have measured for it mansions. Till it returns like an old curved palm tree branch.
36-Ya-Seen, 39

In comparison with other satellites of the solar system, the moon is a very large one. Competing theories have been developed regarding the formation of the moon. According to the one most widely accepted, the earth must have collided with a celestial body, the impact parceling out a big mass from the earth’s crust that was eventually to turn into the moon. Although this may not be the true story, recent data obtained - with the help of the Lunar Prospector, the American probing instrument - seem to corroborate this theory. There are, in the Quran, many references to the moon and its movements. The data provided by modern scientific findings demonstrated how necessary the moon is for life on earth. The moon with its great volume, a well-designed distance in terms of proportions of a satellite, fixes the earth’s center of rotation. This makes possible the climatic conditions of our planet, creating the ideal medium for life on it. This situation has been going on for millions of years. There are scientists who contend that the core of our world preserves its liquid form thanks to the gravity exerted by the moon. This protects our planet’s magnetic field (We shall come back to this in Chapters 18 & 19). Had there been no magnetic field, the cosmic radiation would destroy life on the earth. Had it not been for the moon, it is estimated that the earth would have rotated about its axis in ten hours, which would seriously affect the life on earth. The moon’s exerting its attraction on oceans slowed down its rotation.