I would like to take this opportunity to write about my views of the supposed scientific miracles that the Qur'an accurately predicted.
Before I start to talk about the supposed miracles, I want to talk about some major issues I have with this idea.
1. This idea among Muslim's is a very recent phenomenon, not known before the 1970s and having gained massive popularity through the internet.
2. I have yet to see a verse in the Qur'an which clearly contains modern scientific information. All of the verses which contain supposed scientific miracles are very vague and can be taken to mean a number of things, and very often, the supposed scientific miracle is one of the least likely meanings. People often use a psychological tendency called "confirmation bias" which means to interpret information to confirm one's preconceptions and to avoid information and interpretations which contradict prior beliefs.
I know this scientific fact to be true, and the Qur'an is written by God and is therefore infallible, therefore, the Qur'an cannot mean anything else.
3. To support this concepts, Muslims often state that Mecca at the time of the prophet was a backwards place with no civilization, full of superstition and with no knowledge of science. However, Mecca was a center of trade and goods would pass through Mecca from Africa, Byzantium and Asia. If all these people were passing through at the time, certain religious and scientific ideas would pass through Mecca as well.
The "science" in the Qur'an is no more remarkable than the science of the time.
Now, I would like to talk about the actual so called scientific miracles in the Qur'an.
I would like to start at the beginning with the big bang. The Qur'an apparently describes the big bang with the following verse
21:30 Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of creation), before we clove them asunder? We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?
This verse clearly does not mention the conditions of the big bang. This states that the heavens and the earth were two separate entities and they were split apart. The Earth is actually a part of the universe, not separate from it.
Secondly, Dr Zakir Naik claims that the Qur'an states that the sun rotates around the centre of the galaxy with the following verse
21:33 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.
This verse clearly states that the sun and the moon rotate around the Earth, as was commonly believed at the time which agreed with the Aristotelian model of a geocentric universe. Why would God refer to the sun rotating around the center of the galaxy in a verse about night and day? If that was the case, the verse would not make much sense.
The following verse is supposed proof that the Qur'an states that the universe is expanding which has only been discovered in the past one hundred years-
51:47 With power and skill did We construct the Firmament: for it is We Who create the vastness of pace.
However, nowhere in this verse does it say that the Universe is expanding, only that it is very big!
There are also many other verses which I will not go into much detail about because they are debatable, such as whether the Qur'an states that the Earth is flat or round. However, even if the Qur'an did state that the earth is a sphere, that would not be a scientific miracle as this fact has been commonly known for more than 2500 years.
Lastly I would like to talk about the concept of the 7 heavens in the Qur'an.
41:12 "So He completed them as seven firmaments in two Days, and He assigned to each heaven its duty and command. And We adorned the lower heaven with lights, and (provided it) with guard."
The idea of the seven heavens is very ancient and was well founded at that time which is completely contradictory to what we now know. This concept comes from the idea that the first heaven is the sun, the second heaven is the moon and the third to seventh heavens are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter. This verse also states that the stars are closer to the earth than the moon as they are in the lowest heaven!
I know a Muslim might say that this refers to a different concept of the seven heavens. But if that was the case, surely God would have explained it further, otherwise people would just think that it refers to what they already believed. If I was to write a book now, and in it I would refer to a completely new idea that I had and I called it "the big bang theory", it would be required for me to explain it further, otherwise people would just assume I was talking about what they all know to be the big bang theory.
In conclusion, if the Qur'an was written by an all knowing, all powerful god as a guide for people to follow, surely he would not write ambiguous verses that can be taken to mean anything. Evidence of the divine nature of the Qur'an would be a verse which clearly referred to scientific knowledge which was not known at the time, was not ambiguous, and which could not be refuted. However, there are no verses in the Qur'an which are like that
Before I start to talk about the supposed miracles, I want to talk about some major issues I have with this idea.
1. This idea among Muslim's is a very recent phenomenon, not known before the 1970s and having gained massive popularity through the internet.
2. I have yet to see a verse in the Qur'an which clearly contains modern scientific information. All of the verses which contain supposed scientific miracles are very vague and can be taken to mean a number of things, and very often, the supposed scientific miracle is one of the least likely meanings. People often use a psychological tendency called "confirmation bias" which means to interpret information to confirm one's preconceptions and to avoid information and interpretations which contradict prior beliefs.
I know this scientific fact to be true, and the Qur'an is written by God and is therefore infallible, therefore, the Qur'an cannot mean anything else.
3. To support this concepts, Muslims often state that Mecca at the time of the prophet was a backwards place with no civilization, full of superstition and with no knowledge of science. However, Mecca was a center of trade and goods would pass through Mecca from Africa, Byzantium and Asia. If all these people were passing through at the time, certain religious and scientific ideas would pass through Mecca as well.
The "science" in the Qur'an is no more remarkable than the science of the time.
Now, I would like to talk about the actual so called scientific miracles in the Qur'an.
I would like to start at the beginning with the big bang. The Qur'an apparently describes the big bang with the following verse
21:30 Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of creation), before we clove them asunder? We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?
This verse clearly does not mention the conditions of the big bang. This states that the heavens and the earth were two separate entities and they were split apart. The Earth is actually a part of the universe, not separate from it.
Secondly, Dr Zakir Naik claims that the Qur'an states that the sun rotates around the centre of the galaxy with the following verse
21:33 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.
This verse clearly states that the sun and the moon rotate around the Earth, as was commonly believed at the time which agreed with the Aristotelian model of a geocentric universe. Why would God refer to the sun rotating around the center of the galaxy in a verse about night and day? If that was the case, the verse would not make much sense.
The following verse is supposed proof that the Qur'an states that the universe is expanding which has only been discovered in the past one hundred years-
51:47 With power and skill did We construct the Firmament: for it is We Who create the vastness of pace.
However, nowhere in this verse does it say that the Universe is expanding, only that it is very big!
There are also many other verses which I will not go into much detail about because they are debatable, such as whether the Qur'an states that the Earth is flat or round. However, even if the Qur'an did state that the earth is a sphere, that would not be a scientific miracle as this fact has been commonly known for more than 2500 years.
Lastly I would like to talk about the concept of the 7 heavens in the Qur'an.
41:12 "So He completed them as seven firmaments in two Days, and He assigned to each heaven its duty and command. And We adorned the lower heaven with lights, and (provided it) with guard."
The idea of the seven heavens is very ancient and was well founded at that time which is completely contradictory to what we now know. This concept comes from the idea that the first heaven is the sun, the second heaven is the moon and the third to seventh heavens are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter. This verse also states that the stars are closer to the earth than the moon as they are in the lowest heaven!
I know a Muslim might say that this refers to a different concept of the seven heavens. But if that was the case, surely God would have explained it further, otherwise people would just think that it refers to what they already believed. If I was to write a book now, and in it I would refer to a completely new idea that I had and I called it "the big bang theory", it would be required for me to explain it further, otherwise people would just assume I was talking about what they all know to be the big bang theory.
In conclusion, if the Qur'an was written by an all knowing, all powerful god as a guide for people to follow, surely he would not write ambiguous verses that can be taken to mean anything. Evidence of the divine nature of the Qur'an would be a verse which clearly referred to scientific knowledge which was not known at the time, was not ambiguous, and which could not be refuted. However, there are no verses in the Qur'an which are like that
