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Any religious book is to be regarded primarily as a book for guidance and does not need to claim to be an authority on science. Yet, in an age where science is regarded as representing progress and advancement of contemporary modern civilization, some people may want to compare teachings found in these ‘old’ religions with modern scientific findings – either to debunk religion or to add credibility to a particular religion. This reflects the uneasy relationship between science and religion in the West, ever since scientific community positing secular-materialism have claimed to have deposed traditional god of religion (specifically, they refer to Christianity) and installed “Science” in its place[1].
For the case of the Qur’an, Muslims have never had this problem since to us the author of the Book is also the Creator of all creations. Our understanding of empirical science and human discovery in nature is that of the inevitable outcome in man’s reflection of God’s signs[2] in the universe and would not lead to any definitive contradiction in terms of scientific facts.
Yet science, being relative and cannot claim to have absolute certainty, is therefore inadequate to be used as a definitive criteria. There were instances where knowledge of science were insufficient then, to fathom the veracity of facts narrated in the Qur’an (some may even seem to be contrary, as in the case of 1600 CE pre-formation theory in Embryology), but this knowledge (scientific theory) later had to be discarded when new findings were discovered. Thus to try to prove the book’s veracity by agreement with current scientific findings has to be qualified – that it need not always have to be so. For the sake of accommodating the interest in some people who wish to see how the Qur’an fare when subjected with such test, we may agree perhaps, to present some astonishing findings – that if a book was from God, then whatever it stated concerning the physical universe, subsequent discovery of it by man would not render it obsolete but rather it should enhance and confirm some of them, thus showing the omniscience of the author (a Divine attribute). We have provided only a few of these to show that the Qur’an has fulfilled this criterion, although to do justice on this subject alone, whole books can be and has been written about them[3].
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Smallest particle
Even before Muhammad’s time, there already prevailed a well-known theory of atomism advanced by the Greek philosopher, Democritus. He and those after him have assumed that matter consists of tiny, indestructible, indivisible particles called “atoms.” The Arabs too, used to adhere to the same idea in which the word “dzar-rah” was commonly understood as referring to the smallest particle known to man - the atoms. Now modern science has discovered that this smallest unit of matter (i.e. the atom) has yet smallest elements still, and thus atom can be split into its component parts, and new terms given to these elements yet smaller than atoms – protons, neutrons, electrons, photons, quarks etc;. This is a new idea, a development of the 20th century. Yet, we may ask what has the Qur’an to say regarding this. Has it already accepted the notion that an atom was the smallest? It would be interesting to note a statement in the Qur’an:
وَلَا تَعۡمَلُونَ مِنۡ عَمَلٍ إِلَّا ڪُنَّا عَلَيۡكُمۡ شُہُودًا
“We are your witness [from the moment] when you enter upon it: for, not even an atom’s weight [of whatever there is] on earth or in heaven escapes thy Sustainer’s knowledge; and neither is there, anything smaller than that, or larger, but is recorded in [His] clear decree.”
(Qur’an: Yunus: 10: 61)
In this verse, the man’s understanding of “dzar-rah” as the smallest element is differentiated from God’s knowledge (author of the Book, not Muhammad, the man) since it qualifies even further by stating “…anything smaller than that ... is recorded in [His] clear decree.” Thus the possibility of finding of still smaller elements have been implicitly included by the author of the Book, although men (even the Arabs) at that time may not know of the existence of yet smaller elements than atom or “dzar-rah.”
Embryology[4]
The science of embryology was a recent development (circa 1950’s). Previous to this there were theories already held e.g. with regard to the biological explanation whence it was purported that the male sperm had already some formation (too small to be discerned), and when it penetrated the ovum (female egg), would thence forth continue to develop in accordance with its pre-formation into a foetus. This pre-formation theory has been held since the 1600. But, with the development of micro-biology and embryology, knowledge of chromosomes and DNA etc., in the early 20th century, this theory was shattered. Scientists were now able to discern directly human development and this idea of ‘pre-formation’ is proven untenable.
In 1980, Islamic scholars in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia began compiling verses from the Qur’an and Ahadith, of those mentioning the human growth in the womb. They then invited the well-known Canadian Professor of Embryology then, a Dr. Keith L. Moore – author of the text book “The Developing Human”. He was surprised by the accuracy of many Qur’anic descriptions, some of which even made him to re-look and then changed aspects of his textbook. Amongst the verses which cause his astonishment were these:
وَلَقَدۡ خَلَقۡنَا ٱلۡإِنسَـٰنَ مِن سُلَـٰلَةٍ۬ مِّن طِينٍ۬
ثُمَّ جَعَلۡنَـٰهُ نُطۡفَةً۬ فِى قَرَارٍ۬ مَّكِينٍ۬
ثُمَّ خَلَقۡنَا ٱلنُّطۡفَةَ عَلَقَةً۬ فَخَلَقۡنَا ٱلۡعَلَقَةَ مُضۡغَةً۬
فَخَلَقۡنَا ٱلۡمُضۡغَةَ عِظَـٰمً۬ا فَكَسَوۡنَا ٱلۡعِظَـٰمَ لَحۡمً۬ا
ثُمَّ أَنشَأۡنَـٰهُ خَلۡقًا ءَاخَرَۚ
فَتَبَارَكَ ٱللَّهُ أَحۡسَنُ ٱلۡخَـٰلِقِينَ
“We created man from a quintessence (gentle extraction) of clay; We then placed him as a drop (nutfah) in a place of rest firmly fixed; then We made the drop into an “alaqah” (leech-like); and then We change the “alaqah” into “mudghah” (chewed-like substance); then We made out of that “mudghah” bones (‘izam); then We clothed the bones with flesh (‘lahm); then We developed out of it another creation. So blessed be Allah, the best to create.”
(Qur’an : al-Mu’minun : 23:12-15)
Back in Canada, Dr. Moore, in a television presentation mentioned his astonishment that the Qur’an (which appeared 1400 years ago) contains such description concerning stages of growth of a human foetus. In fact regarding the above verse, to him the description was so amazing. He even checked up (for the Arabic word “’alaqah”) how a leech looked like and found the similarity fitting. So too were the ‘chewed-like substance’ (Arabic word “mudghah”) where in the slide at one stage of a foetus he presented, distinct teeth-mark on it can be seen.
Dr. Moore also wrote a book on clinical embryology, and when he presented his findings in Toronto, it caused quite a stir with one newspaper carrying a headline: “Surprising thing found in ancient prayer book!” (This reference to the Qur’an as prayer book - demonstrates the West’s total unfamiliarity with Islam’s Holy Scripture.) When suggested by a reporter that “perhaps the Arabs could have known this things through performing crude dissections and then the information somehow may have gotten into the book!” Dr. Moore immediately pointed out that the reporter had missed the point – that, all the slides of the developing stages of the embryo which he had presented and shown had come from photos taken through a microscope. He said, “It does not matter if someone tried to discover embryology fourteen hundred years ago. They could not have seen it!”
The tectonic plates and geology, hydrology, atmospheric pressure, polarity in the creation etc.
وَأَلۡقَىٰ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ رَوَٲسِىَ أَن تَمِيدَ بِڪُمۡ
وَأَنۡہَـٰرً۬ا وَسُبُلاً۬ لَّعَلَّڪُمۡ تَہۡتَدُونَ
وَعَلَـٰمَـٰتٍ۬ۚ وَبِٱلنَّجۡمِ هُمۡ يَہۡتَدُونَ
“And He has placed firm mountains on earth, lest it sways with you, and rivers and path, so that you may find your way, as well as [various other] means of orientation: for [it is] by the stars that men find their way.”
(Qur’an: an-Nahl: 16: 15-16)
سُبۡحَـٰنَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلۡأَزۡوَٲجَ ڪُلَّهَا
مِمَّا تُنۢبِتُ ٱلۡأَرۡضُ وَمِنۡ أَنفُسِهِمۡ
وَمِمَّا لَا يَعۡلَمُونَ
“Limitless in His glory is He who has created opposites in whatever the earth produces, and in men’s own selves, and in that of which [as yet]they have no knowledge.”
(Qur’an: Ya Sin: 36: 36)
فَمَن يُرِدِ ٱللَّهُ أَن يَهۡدِيَهُ ۥ يَشۡرَحۡ صَدۡرَهُ
ۥ لِلۡإِسۡلَـٰمِۖ وَمَن يُرِدۡ أَن يُضِلَّهُ ۥ يَجۡعَلۡ
صَدۡرَهُ ۥ ضَيِّقًا حَرَجً۬ا ڪَأَنَّمَا يَصَّعَّدُ
فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِۚ
ڪَذَٲلِكَ يَجۡعَلُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلرِّجۡسَ
عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤۡمِنُونَ
وَهَـٰذَا صِرَٲطُ رَبِّكَ مُسۡتَقِيمً۬اۗ
“And whomsoever God wills to guide, his bosom He opens wide with willingness towards self-surrender [unto Him]; and whomsoever He wills to let go astray, his bosom He causes to be tight and constricted, as if he were climbing unto the skies: it is thus that God inflicts horror upon those who will not believe. And undeviating is this thy Sustainer’s way.”(Qur’an: an’am: 6: 125)
Logic – using of and mention of
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ENDNOTES:
[2] References are aplenty in the book where it asked us to ponder with the phrase: “And among His wonders (signs)….” (see for example Qur’an: Surah ar-Rum: 30: 17-29; Surah ar-Ra’ad: 13: 2-4; Surah al-Hijr: 15: 19-22 as well as in Surah aali ‘Imran: 3: 190; etc.)
[3] One such book is “The Bible, The Qur’an and Science (Le Bible, le Coran et la Science)” by Maurice Bucaille, (English version published by North American Trust Publication, 1878)
[4] Recollection of lecture by a visiting Canadian scholar Dr. Gary Miller (Abul Ahad Omar) during his tour of Singapore in 1980’s.
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