by Dr. Ali Shehata
Modern Science and the Quran
The faith of Islam continued to grow century after century, until it eventually reached the age of modern science, namely the 20th century. It was in this era that a new miracle of the Quran began to shine forth when scientific discoveries began to confirm many of the scientific passages of the Quran.
Although the Quran has most recently distinguished itself in the arena of scientific knowledge, it must be still remembered that it is not a book of science—it is a book of guidance. So the unique way in which God, through His revealed verses in the Quran, uses scientific facts and concepts to call the reader to the worship of the One and Only God is quite interesting. For example, in illustrating the guarantee of the resurrection of humanity on the Day of Judgment, God states:
O people! If you are in doubt about the Resurrection, then surely We created you from dust, then from a small seed, then from a clot, then from a lump of flesh, partly formed and partly unformed, that We may make it clear to you.
And We cause what We please to stay in the wombs till an appointed time, then We bring you forth as babies, that you may then attain maturity and full strength. Then, some of you are called to die, and some are sent back to the feeblest old age, so that they know nothing after having known much.
And you see the earth barren and lifeless, but when We send down rain to it, it is stirred to life, it swells, and it puts forth every kind of beautiful growth in pairs.
This is so, because God is the Reality and it is He Who gives life to the dead, and it is He Who has power over all things. And verily the Hour will come—there can be no doubt about it, or about the fact that God will indeed raise up all who are in the graves. {22:5-7}
So in these verses, God uses the current scientific understanding of embryology (The study of the development of the human from embryo to fetus in the womb of the mother) in detailed and descriptive terms that were only discovered in the late twentieth century with the advent of electron and high amplification microscopy. God relates these stages to us, not for us to build scientific knowledge, but to instead confirm for us that the promise of the Day of Judgment is indeed a reality.
The only One who could say this with surety is none other than the Creator Himself. He is the only One who could detail to us the stages of human development over one thousand years before we could even imagine these stages ourselves with modern scientific instrumentation. God does indicate to us the spiritual value of these scientifically laden passages when He says:
We will show them Our signs in the horizons, and within themselves, until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth. But is it not sufficient, concerning your Lord, that He is, over all things, a Witness? {41:53}
Hence, it is clear how this Book repeatedly appeals to you to think, reason, and understand why we believe what we believe. Furthermore, it forbids you to believe blindly without reflection and reasoning.
In fact, the word for faith in the Arabic language is emaan, which comes from the root amn, which means safety, security and trust—those very things that can only be established in a heart after something has proven itself worthy. For example, if you met a stranger on the street and he asks you to get into his car, would you trust him? Of course not, because he hasn’t proven himself trustworthy. But if your best friend saw you and asked you if you wanted a ride, that would be a totally different story because you know that person and you trust them. Thus, God provides these and other examples in the Quran so that you can get a glimpse into His infinite knowledge and power, thereby giving you a good and solid reason to trust Him and to trust His Message to you. And when you realize how all these things are true, then the unseen things, like: Heaven, Hell, the Day of Judgment, etc. must also be true. Now, let us take a look at some more examples of the amazing science found in the Quran, and see how God uses these verses to call people to His worship.
The Dynamic Expansion of the Universe
Up until the early twentieth century, the field of astronomy held the belief that the universe was something static, or fixed in place. Scientists theorized that when the universe came into existence that it didn’t significantly change its dimensions afterwards. This theory though, was effectively proven false in the early 1900’s.
In 1925, Edwin Hubble (after whom the Hubble Space telescope is named) provided the first observational evidence for the expansion of the universe. This means that since its coming into existence, the universe’s boundaries have been expanding. The late Stephen Hawking (one of the top astrophysicists of recent times and author of the book, A Brief History of Time) states, “The universe is not static, as had previously been thought. It is expanding.” (Hawking, S.W. (1988). Origin of the Universe. Retrieved from: http://www.ralentz.com/old/astro/hawking-1.html )
So, what did God say in the Quran, almost 1300 years before this discovery and almost 1400 years before the Hubble telescope?
And the heavens We constructed with strength, and indeed, We are expanding them. {51:47}
Mountains are Like Stakes in the Earth
Geology is the study of the Earth—its properties, formation and behavior as seen through earthquakes, geysers, and tectonic plate movement, amongst other things. Among the more recent discoveries of modern geology, there is a phenomenon called isostasy, which essentially states that mountains have deep roots under the earth’s crust into the mantle.
Sir George Biddell Airy, the British Astronomer Royal, in 1855, was the first to propose the theory of isostasy, that mountain ranges must have root structures of lower density, proportional to their height, in order to maintain isostatic equilibrium. This existence of these root structures has since been confirmed by seismic and gravitational data. (Tarbuck, E.J. and Lutgens, F.K. (1982). Earth Science. 3rd ed. Columbus: Charles E. Merril Publishing Company)
The Quran contains exactly such a description in the following verses, as God reminds humanity of His great favors to them and how they should be thankful to Him and worship Him alone as opposed to the worship of the false gods they invent:
Have We not made the earth as a wide expanse, and the mountains as stakes? {78:6-7}
Once again, the Qur'anic descriptions are in complete agreement with modern geological data and observation, with the exception that the Quran contained these statements over a millennium before today’s geologists were even able to theorize what they currently describe. Will you then still disbelieve in this powerful and miraculous message?
Levels of Darkness in the Oceans
One of the truly fascinating verses in the Quran describes the layers of darkness in the oceans, comparing them to different levels of disbelief in God and Islam.
Or they are like layers of darkness within an unfathomable sea which is covered by waves, upon which are waves, over which are clouds—layer upon layer of darkness. When one puts out his hand therein, he can hardly see it. And he to whom God has not granted light, for him there is no light. {24:40}
The darkness in deep seas and oceans is now known to come in layers. Between the water’s surface and a depth of about 100-200 meters (300-600 feet) gradual separation of the light spectrum occurs, one color at a time until near darkness is attained.( https://manoa.hawaii.edu/exploringourfluidearth/physical/oceandepths/light-ocean).
To explain further, at a certain depth, the red wavelength is completely blocked (absorbed)—below that depth, the color red can no longer be appreciated. At another depth, the green wavelength is completely blocked, and the same phenomenon happens to all the other seven color wavelengths in the visible light spectrum.
Furthermore, after 200 meters (600 ft), depending on the location of the body of water in question, there is almost no light because almost all the color wavelengths, with the exception of blue, have been fully blocked at this point. Complete and absolute darkness though, occurs only after exceeding a depth of 1000 meters (over half a mile down!), as reported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/light_travel.html). Though records continue to be broken, human beings are not thought to be able to dive more than about 250 meters (On June 6, 2012, Herbert Nitsch, a free diver, descended 253 meters in Greece.) (750 feet) without the aid of submarines or special SCUBA equipment due to the enormous incremental increases in pressure that work to compress the lungs and the available air supply. (In 2014, expert diver and scientist, Ahmed Gabr, set the deep dive record of 1082 feet (332 meters) At a depth of 330 meters, the pressure on the human body is estimated at 485 pounds/square inch (PSI)).
Yet, the development of special diving gear and submarines in the last century has finally allowed oceanologists and other scientists to be able to dive to depths never before experienced by man. And only then, were they able to describe this light absorption and gradual darkness phenomenon after having experienced it firsthand! Therefore, the Quranic description of "layer upon layer of darkness" is once again perfectly in tune with the above mentioned observable facts of gradual light separation to the point where almost no light exists (the 200m depth), where as God mentioned, “When one puts out his hand therein, he can hardly see it;” and then on to absolute darkness where God mentions, “And he to whom God has not granted light, for him there is no light”.
Internal Waves in the Oceans
Another recently discovered phenomenon in the study of oceans is that of internal ocean, or deep sea, waves. In the middle portion of the above mentioned passage from the Quran, “Covered by waves, upon which are waves, over which are clouds,” the deep waters of seas and oceans possess waves, and above these waves are other waves. It appears that the second set of waves mentioned are the surface waves that are commonly observed by the human eye, because the passage mentions that above the second waves, there are clouds. So what then are the first set of waves?
Interestingly, recent studies of oceans have shown the presence of internal waves which “occur on density interfaces between layers of different densities” (Massel, S.R. (2015). Internal Gravity Waves in the Shallow Seas. Retrieved from: https://www.springer.com/cda/content/document/cda_downloaddocument/9783319189079-c2.pdf?SGWID=0-0-45-1516574-p177380738). In English, this means that these internal waves can be found between different temperature and salt concentration zones of the ocean. Most of us who have gone swimming in the ocean before have discovered certain areas where the water feels nice and warm, but surprisingly going just a little deeper the water suddenly becomes much colder. This is one of the interfaces mentioned above which has its own set of scientifically observed waves. Internal waves cannot be seen by the human eye, but they can be detected by studying temperature or salt concentration changes at different depths of water.
Of course, the above mentioned scientific principles are no doubt intriguing, but as was mentioned before, this Message to humanity isn’t meant to be a science lesson. It is meant to be a means of guiding the souls of mankind to the worship of the One God alone. And in these verses, the message can be no clearer.
The darkness of the ocean is likened to the condition of the souls of those who deny and reject this Quran. Of course, some people are further astray than others and hence the different layers, or depths, of darkness. It gets to the point where some souls are so deep into the darkness of denial, as if they are blind; not with their eyes, but with their souls. They can no longer distinguish between right and wrong, truth and falsehood. And it concludes by making it clear that light, meaning guidance that clarifies the difference between right and wrong, is not only singular (as opposed to the levels of darkness which are many), but also, comes only from God. You will never be guided aright if you don’t turn humbly to Him and seek that guidance.
As evidence, there are well known authors in science who have declared publicly that this Quran could have come only from God, but they have refused to submit to Him. They know that anyone who thinks that Muhammad pbuh wrote the Quran is only proving his own ignorance and foolishness. Such an idea means that Muhammad pbuh would have had to travel back in time to witness the Big Bang and describe it for us, then observe the expansion of the universe from his intergalactic vantage point and tell us about it and then travel deep into the earth’s molten core to describe the “roots” of the mountains.
Not finished, this Super-Prophet would then be off to the deep oceans where he would dive where no human could survive unaided and observe the light and wave principles described above, and still have some time left over to describe for us in amazing detail the formative stages of human development in the womb with eyes more powerful than a modern day electron microscope. Who would believe such tales and ignore the power and ability of the Creator who is able to tell us all this information, and more besides it? As foolish as that may sound, there are many among mankind who have deceived their own souls in this manner. Thus, once again we are reminded, “And he to whom God has not granted light, for him there is no light.”
Numerical Miracles in the Quran
Another fascinating miracle of the Quran involves its numerical code or structure. This area of Quranic study is one of the most recent, as it depends greatly on computer analysis of the verses to detect patterns. Accordingly, there are many interesting findings, Glory be to God.
Similar to the scientific verses discussion above, there are far too many mathematical miracles to discuss in this short chapter, so I will be forced to limit the discussion to only one amazing point. Before I begin detailing it, I want to caution the reader, because there are a number of people who have been led astray as a result of their belief that everything comes down to numbers or some code.
One such group which has been led astray follow a man who popularized the idea of the number nineteen being the key to some patterns in the Quran. Afterwards though, he unfortunately declared himself a prophet of God, and then began trying to change Islam and the Quran to match his ideas. God being the ultimate Protector of His religion, this man and others like him in the past have failed, and indeed any others who attempt such foolhardy tactics in the future will no doubt meet the same result.
Once again, the miracle of the Quran is not in scientific facts, numbers, eloquence or history—but the miracle of the Quran is how it raises up righteous people who worship God as He should be worshipped, standing strong for justice and morality. The side points are beneficial to consider, but don’t make the mistake of taking them as the primary message or goal of the Quran.
With this in mind, the mathematical miracle of the Quran herein presented relates to Jesus. As the scientific miracles were not revealed for science, but for the guidance of humanity, these mathematical findings in the Quran present the same goal—guidance. God has stated:
With Allah, the example of Jesus is like that of Adam. He created Him from dust, then He said to him, "Be," and he was. {3:59}
So, looking at this interesting passage in mathematical terms, one could state that Jesus = Adam, as far as God is concerned, because both of them were the result of the Creative word of God. Adam was created from dust, without father or mother, when God said to him, “Be,” and similarly Jesus was immaculately conceived from a woman without any involvement of a man when God said “Be,” and Jesus came into existence.
If some argue that Jesus is God, or the son of God, because of the Immaculate Conception, then God reminds them that Adam was also born miraculously. In fact, Adam was born without either a father or mother. As far as our physical bodies are concerned, they are all merely dust. In God's sight then, Jesus was dust, just as Adam was. These are the main religious lessons that comes from this passage. So where then is the miracle?
First Mathematical Point
If one was to go through the whole Quran, he would discover that the name "Jesus" is found in twenty-five places. Similarly, he would also find that the name "Adam" is also found in twenty-five places. Hence, the similarity of Adam and Jesus is not only in their nature, but also mathematically in the number of their times each is mentioned.
Second Mathematical Point
Taking it a step further, the above mentioned passage (3:59) is the only place where the two names are mentioned together. Counting the number of times each Prophet’s name has been mentioned from the start of the Quran, amazingly we discover that this is the 7th time each one is mentioned, and counting from the back of the Quran, this verse also represents the 19 time each Prophet is mentioned. Once again, they are equal in more ways than one.
Third Mathematical Point
The 19th time "Adam" is mentioned, and the 19th time that "Jesus" is mentioned, also both occur in the 19th Chapter (Surah Mariam). In comparison with the second mathematical point mentioned above, we can note that it is also the 7th occasion of their mention counting from the end of the Quran.
Fourth Mathematical Point
The 19th time that the name "Jesus" is mentioned is found in chapter 19, verse 34. Whereas the 19th time that the name "Adam" is mentioned is found in chapter 19, verse 58. And from verse 34 to verse 58, there are 25 verses (counting verse 34 as the 1st verse of the 25), and as we know the number 25 is the number of times both are mentioned in the Quran.
This is just one example of the mind-boggling mathematics found in the Quran, and this is only concerning one passage! But again, God shows us through the Quran that not only are Jesus and Adam similar in their miraculous origins of creation by God’s creative word, but that this similarity also holds true throughout the Quran in mathematical terms.
No comments:
Post a Comment