GOD’S WORDS OR AN uneducated HUMAN’S WORD

INITIAL GASEOUS MASS BEFORE CREATION OF GALAXIES

Scientists agree 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 Qur�anic verse refers to this state of the universe by the word dukhaan 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-Qur�an 41:11]

Again, this fact is a corollary to the �Big Bang� and was not known to anyone before the prophetehood of Muhammad (Peace be upon him)1. What then, could have been the source of this knowledge?

MOONLIGHT 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 Qur�an 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-Qur�an 25:61]

The Arabic word for the sun in the Qur�an, is shams. It is also referred to as siraaj which means a �torch� or as wahhaaj meaning �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 Qur�an as muneer which is a body that gives noor i.e. reflected light. Again, the Qur�anic description matches perfectly with the true nature of the moon which does not give off light by itself and is an inactive body that reflects the light of the sun. Not once in the Qur�an, is the moon mentioned as siraaj, wahhaaj or diya nor the sun as noor or muneer.

This implies that the Qur�an recognizes the difference between the nature of sunlight and moonlight.

The following verses relate 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-Qur�an 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-Qur�an 71:15-16]

The Glorious Qur'an and modern science, are thus in perfect agreement about the differences in the nature of sunlight and moonlight.

According to the famous physicist and Nobel Prize winner, Albert Einstein, �Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind.�

Let us therefore study the Qur�an, and analyze whether the Qur�an and Modern Science are compatible or incompatible?

The Qur�an is not a book of Science but a book of �Signs�, i.e. Aayaats. There are more than six thousand �Signs� in the Qur�an of which more than a thousand deal with hard core Science.

HOW CAN A BOOK WHICH APPEARED IN A DESERT 1400 YEARS AGO CONTAIN SUCH A FACT

surely it can be no ones words except the creator himself!!!

THE SUN WILL EXTINGUISH

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 sun�s existence, the Qur�an 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-Qur�an 36:38]1

The Arabic word used here is mustaqarr, which means a place or time that is determined. Thus the Qur�an 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.

According to the famous physicist and Nobel Prize winner, Albert Einstein, �Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind.�

Let us therefore study the Qur�an, and analyze whether the Qur�an and Modern Science are compatible or incompatible?

The Qur�an is not a book of Science but a book of �Signs�, i.e. Aayaats. There are more than six thousand �Signs� in the Qur�an of which more than a thousand deal with hard core Science.

HOW CAN A BOOK WHICH APPEARED IN A DESERT 1400 YEARS AGO CONTAIN SUCH A FACT

surely it can be no ones words except the creator himself!!!

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 Qur�an refers to the presence of this interstellar material in the following verse:

�He Who created the heavens  and the earth and all that is between.�[Al-Qur�an 25:59]

HOW CAN A BOOK WHICH APPEARED IN A DESERT 1400 YEARS AGO CONTAIN SUCH A FACT

surely it can be no ones words except the creator himself!!!

THE EXPANDING UNIVERSE

In 1925, American astronomer Edwin Hubble, provided observational evidence that all galaxies are moving away from one another, which implies that the universe is expanding. The expansion of the universe is now an established scientific fact. This is what the Qur�an says regarding the nature of the universe:

�With power and skill did We construct the Firmament: For it is We Who create the vastness of Space.� [Al-Qur�an 51:47]

The Arabic word Musioon is correctly translated as �expanding it�, and it refers to the creation of the expanding vastness of the universe.

 One of the greatest astrophysicists 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 Qur�an mentioned the expansion of the universe, before man even learnt to build a Telescope!

HOW CAN A BOOK WHICH APPEARED IN A DESERT 1400 YEARS AGO CONTAIN SUCH A FACT

surely it can be no ones words except the creator himself!!!

DARKNESS IN DEPTHS OF OCEAN

Prof. Durga Rao is a world renowned 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-Qur�an 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 metres, and cannot survive in the deep oceanic regions at a depth of more than 200 metres. 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 Qur�an says, �darkness in a vast deep ocean�. This layered darkness in a deep ocean is the result of two causes:

1. A light ray is composed of seven colours seen in the rainbow. These seven colours are Violet,

1 Oceans, Elder and Pernetta, p. 27.

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.1

2. The sun�s 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 unreflected light penetrates into the depths of the ocean. Thus, 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 ownbodies.

The Qur�an describes this aptly: �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 Qur�anic 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�.

1

�It is He Who has Created man from water: then has He established relationships of lineage and marriage: for thy Lord has power (over all things).� [Al-Qur�an 25:54]

Was it possible 14 centuries ago for any human being to guess that every living being was made from water? Moreover would such a guess be conceivable by a human being in the deserts of Arabia where there has always been scarcity of water?

THE FLIGHT OF BIRDS

�Do they not look at the birds, held poised in the midst of (the air and) the sky? Nothing holds them up but (the power of) Allah.

Verily in this are Signs for those who believe.�[Al-Qur�an 16:79]

Another verse also touches on birds:

�Do they not observe the birds above them, spreading their wings

and folding them in?

None can uphold them except (Allah) Most Gracious:truly it is He that watches over all things.� [Al-Qur�an 67:19]

The Arabic word amsaka literally means, �to put one�s hand on, seize, hold, hold someone back,� which expresses the idea that Allah holds the bird up in His power. These verses stress the extremely close dependence of the birds� behaviour on Divine law. Modern scientific data has shown the degree of perfection attained by certain species of birds with regard to the programming of their movements.

It is only the existence of a migratory programme in the genetic code of the birds that can explain the long and complicated journey that very young birds, without any prior experience and without any guide, are able to accomplish.

 They are also able to return to the departure point on a definite date. Prof. Hamburger in his book �Power and Fragility� gives the example of �mutton-bird� that lives in the Pacific with its journey of over 24,000 km in the shape of figure �8�. It makes this journey over a

period of 6 months and comes back to its departure point with a maximum delay of one week. The highly complicated instructions for such a journey have to be contained in the birds� nervous cells. They are definitely programmed. Therefore, should we not at

least reflect on the identity of this �Programmer�?

NUTFAH � MINUTE QUANTITY OF LIQUID

The Glorious Qur�an mentions no less than eleven times that the human being is created from nutfah, which means a minute quantity of liquid or a trickle of liquid that remains after emptying a cup.

This is mentioned in several verses of the Qur�an including

22:5 and 23:13.1 Science has confirmed in recent times that only one out of an average of three million sperms is required for fertilising the ovum. This means that only 1/3

millionth part or 0.00003% of the quantity of sperms that are emitted is required for fertilisation.

SULALAH � QUINTESSENCE OF LIQUID

�And made his progeny from a quintessence of the nature of a fluid despised.�[Al-Qur�an 32:8]

The Arabic word sulaalah means quintessence or the best part of a whole. We have come to know now that only one single spermatozoon that penetrates the ovum is required for fertilization, out of the several million produced by man. That one spermatozoon out of several million, is referred to in the Qur�an as sulaalah. We have also come to know now that only one ovum is fertilized out of the tens of thousand produced by the female. That one ovum out of tens of thousand is also refered to in the Qur'an as Sulaalah. This word also means gentle extraction from a fluid. The fluid refers to both male and female germinal fluids containing gametes. Both ovum and sperm are gently extracted from their environments in the process of fertilization.

FOETUS PROTECTED BY THREE VEILS OF DARKNESS

�He makes you, in the wombs of your mothers, in stages, one after another,in three veils of darkness.�[Al-Qur�an 39:6]

According to Prof. Keith Moore, these three veils of darkness in the Qur�an refer to:

(i)                    anterior abdominal wall of the mother

(ii)                  (ii) the uterine wall

(iii) the amnio-chorionic membrane.

Surely it can be no one's words except the creator himself.

Scientists' comments regarding the holy Quran.