Erring Qur'an II

[Nonson]

SECTION FOUR
SCIENCE AND REVELATION
CHAPTER II
NO SCIENTIFIC PROBLEMS (ERRORS?!?)
IN THE QUR'AN


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A. THE EARTH, THE HEAVENS AND THE 6 OR 8 DAYS OF CREATION
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1. MOUNTAINS

On pages 180-182, Dr. Bucaille has a section on "The Earth's Relief" in which he discusses the Quranic verses about mountains and says,


"Modern geologists describe the folds in the Earth as giving foundations to the mountains, and their dimensions go roughly one mile to roughly 10 miles. The stability of the Earth's crust results from the phenomenon of these folds."
The verses under discussion which refer to mountains read as follows,

The Prophets (Al-Anbiya') 21:31, Middle Meccan,


"And We have set on the earth firm mountains, lest it should shake with them..."
The Bee (Al-Nahl) 16:15, Late Meccan,


"And He has cast onto the earth firm mountains lest it should shake with you..."
Luqman 31:10, Late Meccan,


"He has created the heavens without supports that you can see, and has cast onto the earth firm mountains lest it should shake with you..."
The News (Al-Naba') 78:6-7, Early Meccan,


"Have We not made the earth an expanse, and the mountains as stakes." ("as those used to anchor a tent in the ground" - Bucaille p. 182.)
The Overwhelming (Al-Ghashiya) 88:17,19, Early Meccan,


"Do they (the unbelievers) not look...at the mountains, how they have been pitched (like a tent)" (Translation Bucaille p. 181).
These verses say clearly that God placed (threw down) the mountains on the earth like tent pegs to keep it from shaking. Throwing the mountains down onto the earth may be poetry, but to say that mountains keep the earth from shaking is a "difficulty".

Commenting on Dr. Bucaille's statement found at the beginning of this section, Professor of Geology, Dr. David A. Young says,


"While it is true that many mountain ranges are composed of folded rocks (and the folds may be of large scale) it is not true that the folds render the crust stable. The very existence of the folds is evidence of instability in the crust."[1] (emphasis mine)
In other words, Mountains don't keep the earth from shaking. Their formation caused and still causes the surface of the earth to shake.

Geological theories at the present time propose that the hardened crust of the earth is made up of sections or plates which slowly move in relation to each other (about as fast as the growth of a fingernail). Sometimes the plates separate and most geologists believe that this explains the separation of North and South America from Europe and Africa.

At other places on the earth the plates collide, and then they buckle, wrinkle and slid over each other. An example of this method of mountain formation is found in the middle east where the migration of Arabia toward Iran has resulted in the Zagros range. The Atlas mountains in Morocco and the Alps are other examples of fold mountains caused by plate shifts.

In many parts of the world, as one travels along the roads, one sees a hill side where the sand stone layers, which were horizontal when they were deposited in the sea many eons ago, are now sticking up in the air at angles of 30 degrees or 50 degrees or even 90 degrees. Diagram X shows this type of formation.


Ibn Sina' (Avicenna), writing in the Kitab al-Shif', The Book of the Remedy about 412 H/1021 AD observed these layers. He says nothing about the tilting but discusses the layers in the following words,


"It is possible that each time the land was exposed by the ebbing of the sea a layer was left, since we see that some mountains appear to have been piled up layer by layer, and it is therefore likely that the clay from which they are formed was itself at one time arranged in layers. One layer was formed first, then, at a different period, a further layer was formed and piled [upon the first, and so on]..."[2]
Sometimes the plates get caught on each other and stop sliding. During this period great forces are built up. When the forces of friction are overcome, the piece of plate that was stuck lurches forward causing the shock wave of a "thrust quake". In a recent earthquake it was calculated that the Cocos plate in Mexico suddenly jumped forward three meters.

During other quakes whole sections of plate are pushed upward or downward. In 1923 there was an earthquake at Sagami Bay, Japan which laid half of Tokyo in ruins. In a chapter entitled "Mass Mortality in the Sea", Brongersma-Sanders describes the geological changes in these words:


"No other known earthquake has caused such remarkable distortions of the seabed. In the central portion of Sagami Bay `the area of distortion is of vast extent, and the seabed has subsided as much as 460 feet (140 meters) at the northwest end, 590 ft (180 meters) near the center, and 656 and 690 feet (200 and 210 meters) at the southeast end. In the northeast portion, the greatest uplift measured is 820 feet (250 meters) and in the southwest portion 328 feet (100 meters).' (quoted in turn from Davidson 1931, p. 94)"[3]
Ibn Sina', though he thought that earthquakes were caused by winds inside the earth, accurately described the above mentioned effect saying,


"The formation of heights is brought about by (a) an essential cause... when, as in many violent earthquakes, the wind which produces the earthquake raises a part of the ground and a height is formed..."[4]
Another type of mountain is that formed by volcanoes. Lava and ash from inside the earth are thrown out and piled up until a high mountain is formed, even from the bottom of the sea. The Hawaiian group rises from an ocean depth of more than 1.5 km (1 mile) to the crater of Mauna Kea which is 4.2 km (2.6 miles) in the air.

On occasion the volcanoes explode, as happened in the south Pacific at Krakatoa in 1883, when the whole island was blown away, killing 36,000 people. At other times volcanoes are responsible for such severe earthquakes that surrounding towns are completely destroyed. The town of Catania, near Mt. Etna in Sicily, has been destroyed eight times during recorded history. This 3000 meter peak is still active, and in 1983 more than 200 quakes were recorded when it had a prolonged eruption and the lava almost destroyed several villages.

We can conclude from this information that Mountains were formed originally with movement and shaking; and that now, in the present, some earthquakes are caused by their continued formation. When the plates buckle over each other there are earthquakes. When the volcanoes erupt there can be earthquakes.

Dr. Torki also discusses these verses.[5] For the most part his efforts at explanation of difficult texts have been valid efforts, but in relation to the mountains, he too has succumbed to the temptation to quote a verse out of context and then claim concordance between the Qur'an and modern scientific knowledge.

After several paragraphs of discussing the movement of the plates in the crust of the earth (including the fact that this movement is at a speed of a few centimeters a year), he says that this has been foretold by the Qur'an in the Middle Meccan Sura of The Ants (Al-Naml) 27:88, which reads,


"And you will see the mountains which you believe solid, moving as the clouds move." ("Flying with the flight of clouds" - Pickthall)
But when we include the preceding verse as context it clearly has a different meaning. It then reads,


"And the day that the trumpet will be sounded and those in the heavens and the earth will jump with fright... and all will come to Him humbled, and you will see the mountains which you believe solid, moving as the clouds move."
The trumpet sounding, with those in the heavens and the earth jumping with fright, show that these verses are speaking of the terrible cataclysmic events which will surround the day of judgement - events which include sending the mountains flying. That these events have anything to do with modern geological theories, however, seems very unlikely.

It may be that Muslim writers and theologians and scientists will be able to make some basic assumptions concerning mountain formation and the shaking of the earth which will satisfy them in relation to this problem, but it is a problem.

2. SEVEN HEAVENS

The Qur'an speaks in several verses of the "seven heavens". Dr. Torki speaks of these verses and quotes them as follows,

Noah (Nuh) 71:15-16, Early Meccan.


"Do you not see how God has created the seven heavens one above the other, and made the moon a light in their midst, and made the sun as a lamp?"
The Dominion (Al-Mulk) 67:3, Middle Meccan.


"He Who created the seven heavens, one above the other..."
The Believers (Al-Mu'minun) 23:17,86, Late Meccan.


"And We have made above you seven tracts (or roads or paths), and we are never unmindful of the creation." "Say, `Who is Lord of the seven heavens, and Lord of the tremendous throne?'"
Ha Mim Al-Sajda 41:12, Late Meccan.


"And He completed them seven heavens in two days and inspired in each heaven its command..."
The Children of Israel (Bani Isra'il) 17:44, -1 before the Hejira.


"The seven heavens and the earth and all beings therein declare His glory."
The Heifer (Al-Baqara) 2:29, 2 AH.


"He it is Who created for you all that is in the earth, Then turned He to the heaven, and fashioned it as seven heavens. And He is the knower of all things."
One might easily pass over these verses as essentially poetic, but Dr. Torki attempts to show that they agree with modern astronomical knowledge.[6]

Starting with the earth's atmosphere which averages about 40 k ilometers in thickness as the first heaven, he then multiplies this by 10,000 for the dimension of the second, or lunar heaven. Multiplying this by 10,000 gives the third, or solar heaven; and continuing to multiply by 10,000 each time, he proposes "the heaven of the nearest stars", "the galactic heaven" (since it is about the size of our galaxy), "the heaven of the nearest galaxies", and finally "the cosmic heaven".

This scheme gives seven divisions, of course, but on analysis it is not convincing. Calling the earth's atmosphere the first heaven, and everything else the second, might have some validity; but everything else is arbitrary. Outside the earth's atmosphere, space is continuous and qualitatively similar, as Torki himself says.

It is a basic assumption to separate what is continuous space into a lunar and a solar heaven.

It is a basic assumption to separate the sun, which is a star, from the near stars, or from the galaxy which contains it.

It is a basic assumption to call our galaxy one heaven, and other galaxies another heaven.

Even multiplying by 10,000 seems to be a completely arbitrary basic assumption since no scientific reason is given, and it has no relation to any of the spiritual numbers which Dr. Torki has mentioned elsewhere, such as "7" or "19".

Making these basic assumptions is not wrong. The whole reason for writing this chapter is to show that we all do it. But they are not scientifically convincing.

Even more important from the Muslim standpoint, Dr. Torki's hypothesis does not agree with the following verses from the Qur'an,

The Ranks (Al-Saffat) 37:6, Early Meccan.


"We have indeed adorned the lower heaven with the beauty of the stars (kawakib )."
Ha Mim Al-Sajda 41:12, Late Meccan.


And He completed them seven heavens in two days and inspired in each heaven its command; and We adorned the lower heaven with lamps (masabih), and rendered it guarded..."
The Dominion (Al-Mulk) 67:3,5, Middle Meccan.


"He Who created the seven heavens, one above the other... And We have adorned the lowest heaven with lamps (masabih)..."
On page 118, Dr. Torki says that these "lamps", which the Qur'an places in the lowest of the seven heavens, are the stars.[7] Yet, this is in contradiction to his own hypothetical division by which he has placed the stars in the outer five heavens.

The Bible speaks of the heavens in almost 700 different verses, but it mentions more than one heaven only one time. In the Gospel-New Testament Paul writes as follows of a man who was raised up to the third heaven:


"I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know - God knows. And I know that this man... was caught up to Paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell."
2 Corinthians 12:2-4.

This clearly refers to spiritual heavens and has nothing to do with the material creation. But even if Paradise hadn't been mentioned, that would surely have to be the meaning. For otherwise what could it mean to say that this Christian was caught up to some place out in the galaxy?

3. SHOOTING STARS - METEORS AND METEORITES

We considered this a little bit in Chapter II of Section One, but now we shall look at all the verses which the Qur'an gives on the subject.

The Ranks (Al-Saffat) 37:6-10, Early Meccan.


We have indeed adorned the lower heaven with the beauty of the stars and for guard against every defiant devil, so they cannot hear the highest assembly but be cast away from every side - repulsed for theirs is a perpetual torment - except he who snatches something by stealth, and a piercing flame (shihabun thaqibun) pursues him."
The Spirits (Al-Jinn, can be good or evil) 72:8-9, Late Meccan.


A Jinn is speaking and says, And we pried into heaven and we found it full of strong guards and meteors (shuhuban), and we used to sit near it, perched for hearing; but he who listens now will find a flaming fire (shihab) in wait for him."
The Dominion (Al-Mulk) 67:5, Middle Meccan.


"And We have adorned the lowest heaven with lamps (masabih), and We have made them missiles (or stonings - rujuman ) for the devils and for them we have prepared the punishment of fire."
The Rocky Tract (Al-Hijr) 15:16-18, Late Meccan.


"It is We Who have set out the zodiac in the heaven and adorned it for the beholders, and We have guarded it from every cursed devil (stoned satan), except he who steals a hearing and a clear flaming fire (shihab) pursues him."
The Night-visitant (Al-Tariq) 86:2-3, Early Meccan.


"And what will explain to thee what the Night-visitant is? - (it is) the piercing star (al-najm al-thaqib)."
There is not enough information in the context of this last verse to know about what it speaks with certainty, but since it has the adjective "piercing", it has been included for completeness.

Scientifically, what are popularly called "shooting stars", include two main classes of astronomical objects - meteors and meteorites.

a. Meteors, which are by far the more common, are rarely larger than a pin head. When they enter the atmosphere at speeds of about 18.6 miles or 30 km/second, they become white hot from the friction and are burned up. The smallest ones, less than 1/20 of a millimeter in diameter, deaccelerate without burning up and float to earth as micro-meteorites. These have been recovered and some include iron- nickel compounds with up to 60% nickel.

In addition to sporadic meteors, there are also meteor showers during which many meteors may be observed at the same moment. It is quite widely accepted, though not proved, that meteor showers represent the debris of old comets. When the earth passes though this debris the resulting meteors follow parallel paths, even though visually they appear to be spreading out from a common point just over the horizon. According to Robert Hutchison, Curator of Meteorites of The British Museum, these are made up of water as ice, frozen ammonia, methane and carbon dioxide.[8]

In their notes, or by their translations, Yusuf Ali, Pickthall, and Hamidullah have all indicated that the Arabic words used in the above verses refer to meteors.

b. Meteorites are solid lumps of matter which can survive passage through the earth's atmosphere and reach the ground. While passing through the atmosphere the outer layer melts and streams away so that they are seen as a spectacularly bright fire ball of light called a bolide. Perhaps this is what the Qur'an is referring to as the "night-visitant - the piercing star" in Sura 86 quoted above.

There are three principal types of meteorites:
1) the irons made up of nickel-iron;
2) the stones composed of silicates; and
3) the stony-irons made up of a mixture.

Examination of light reflected from meteorite samples, shows it to be very similar to the light reflected from asteroids, as seen by the telescope. This, plus the calculation of the orbits of three meteorites which have been photographed in fall, confirms the current theory that most meteorites come from the asteroid belt.

The difficulty here is obviously not with the science and composition of meteors and meteorites. The difficulty is how to understand what the Qur'an can be talking about. The word "rajm", usually translated as "cursed" in modern translations, comes from the verb meaning "to stone", and Hamidullah translates 67:5 which is quoted above with the words,


"and We have designed them (the lamps) as a means of stoning the devils." (translation from French mine)
What shall we understand when it says that God throws meteors, whether made of carbon dioxide or iron-nickel, at non-material devils who steal a hearing at the heavenly council? And what are we to understand when the meteors come in showers and are traveling in parallel paths? Are we to understand that the devils all lined up in rows at the same moment? These are not easy questions.
4. CONTRADICTIONS IN TIME

a. The Quranic Days of Creation.

In Chapter II of Section I, we talked about the meaning of the word "smoke" in relation to the days of creation. In this section we want to look a little more at the number of days and their order. There are seven references which speak of God creating the heavens and the earth in six days - 7:54, 10:3, 11:7 25:59, 32:4, 50:38, and 57:4. Of these it will be sufficient to quote the Late Meccan Sura of Jonah (Yunus) 10:3, which includes all the information given by the others.


"Indeed, your Lord is God Who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then He mounted on the throne directing all things. There is no intercessor except after his permission. That is God your Lord, so worship Him."
That all sounds very straight forward, but in the Late Meccan Sura of Ha-Mim Al-Sajda 41:9-12, it reads,


"Say, `Do you deny Him Who created the earth in two days? And do you join equals to Him? He is the Lord of the worlds, and He placed therein firm hills rising above it, and blessed it and measured therein its nourishment in four days, according to (the need) of those who ask (for food).
Then He turned equally to the heaven when it was smoke, and said unto it and unto the earth, "Come together willingly or unwillingly."

They both said, "We come obediently."

And He completed them seven heavens in two days and inspired in each heaven its command, and We adorned the lower heaven with lamps and rendered it guarded. That is the decree of the Mighty, the Knower."'

It doesn't take a genius in mathematics to read this an see that it seems to say that God made the earth in two days, and the nourishment according to the needs of each one in four days, which makes a total of six. And after the mountains were formed and nourishment - presumably plants and animals - THEN God made the seven heavens in two days for a total of eight days.

So now we have a contradiction!?

The Qur'an says seven times that God did it in six days, while here it says eight days, so what does one do? According to the rule suggested by Aristotle which was quoted at the end of Section Three, Chapter I, we should give the benefit of the doubt to the author, and not take it to ourselves.

Therefore, it seems logical to make the basic assumption that in Muhammad's understanding some of these days were concurrent and going along together, thus allowing a total of only six days. That still leaves the problem of the earth being formed, cooled, and growing nourishment, before the heavens are formed - a sequence which is also found in the Sura of the Heifer (Al-Baqara) 2:29 which says,


"He it is Who created for you all that is in the earth. Then He turned to the heaven, and fashioned it as seven heavens."
These Quranic statements do not agree at all with modern theories of the beginning of the universe, but I shall allow others to attempt a solution to that.

b. The Biblical Days of Jonah.

Perhaps the reader is asking, "Why so much time on such a minor matter?" It is because Dr. Bucaille uses a whole page[9] to point out a similar time problem in the Gospel-New Testament. He writes,


"The most notable improbability is perhaps to be found in Matthew. It is the most difficult to rationalize of all that... Jesus said. He (Matthew) relates in Chapter 12:38-40 the episode concerning Jonah's sign:
Jesus was among the scribes and pharisees who addressed him in the following terms:


`Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.' But he answered them, `An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign; but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah; for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.'
Jesus therefore proclaims that he will stay in the earth three days and three nights."
Bucaille then goes on to show that by the account of the very same author, Matthew, Jesus was crucified on Friday, stayed in the grave Friday night, Saturday, Saturday night, and rose again early Sunday morning. This gives a part of three days, but only two nights.

Jesus made the prophecy that he would die and be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights sometime in the late winter or early spring of 29 AD just before the Jewish Passover.

About six months later he spoke again of his death in this very detailed prophecy. The account reads,


"From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciple that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life." Matthew 16:21.
A week or ten days later, he repeated the same prophecy (Matthew 17:22-23) and finally about 10 days before the Passover in 30 AD, using his title "the son of man", Jesus again told his disciples,


"We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life." Matthew 20:18-19.
Now for Dr. Bucaille there is no way that the phrase "on the third day" can equal "three days and three nights". Therefore this is a big contradiction!?! Never mind the fact that Jesus prophesied his own death and resurrection. The important thing is that Jesus' calculations were wrong!

But are we so sure that the author of Matthew is wrong? Do we not have to give the benefit of the doubt to the author and ask what Matthew and Jesus and other first century Jews would understood by the term "three days and three nights", as compared with "on the third day"?

According to A.T. Robertson,[10] "The well-known custom of the Jews was to count a part of a day as a whole day of 24 hours... So then the part of Friday would count as one day, Saturday another, and the part of Sunday the third day."

The same custom is still true in North Africa. If I ask a patient, who felt a pain on Saturday night and comes to see me Monday morning, how long he has been ill, he will always answer "three days"; even though it is less than 48 hours. This is exactly parallel to Jesus' words in his Gospel.

Secondly, if Dr. Bucaille would read the Gospel of Matthew carefully, he would find a third phrase which provides the answer. In Matthew 27:62-64 we read,


"The next day (Saturday), the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and Pharisees went to Pilate. `Sir', they said, `We remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, "After three days I will rise again." So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day...'"
Jesus is quoted as saying, "After three days I will rise again". This sounds like saying, "After three periods of 24 hours" or "three days and three nights".

But the author of Matthew uses it as equal to making the tomb secure "until the third day". Therefore linguistically all three of these phrases seem to be used as equal to each other and it is time to give the author "the benefit of the doubt" as Aristotle suggested.

Finally, there is a spiritual truth or argument which is convincing for many Christians. At the beginning of Jesus' ministry near the end of 26 AD or early in 27 AD, he attended a wedding at Cana. Mary, his mother, asked Jesus to help the host who had run out of wine. He did it in a miraculous way, but also answered and said, "My hour has not yet come" (John 2:4).


More than three years later, on Thursday evening just before he was arrested, he said to his disciples, "Enough! The hour is come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners." Mark 14:41.
What hour? Christians understand "the hour" to speak of his suffering and death for our sins. This suffering started on Thursday night when Jesus was arrested, just after he said, "The hour IS COME", and it continued through the beatings, and the torture and death of the cross until his resurrection.

From the time that he said, "My hour is come" on Thursday night, until he rose from the dead with mighty power on Sunday morning, is "three nights and three days".

Whether the reader accepts this last argument, or not, the point should be clear. If "basic assumptions" can be made for the Qur'an so that "eight days" can equal "six days", then certainly linguistic usage and spiritual "basic assumptions" must be allowed for the Gospel-New Testament so that "three days and three nights" can equal "after three days", and "on the third day".



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Notes:
Professor of Geology, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan, personal communication.
A Source Book in Medieval Science, Edward Grant, Harvard University Press, 1974, p. 620.
Treatise on Marine Ecology and Paleocolgy, vol. 1, Geological Society of America, Memoir 67, 1957, p. 976.
(Avicenne) Grant, op. cit., p. 619.
Torki, op. cit. pp. 131-133.
Ibid., pp. 111-114.
Ibid., p. 118.
The Search For Our Beginnings, Hutchinson, Oxford U. Press, 1983.
Bucaille, BQ&S, p. 62
A Harmony of the Gospels for Students of the Life of Christ, Harper and Row, New York, 1922, p. 290.

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X. SOME QUR▓AANIC VERSES ABOUT GEOLOGY
AND THE ORIGIN OF THE EARTH



Professor Alfred Kroner: ┘and that many of the statements made at the time could be proven, but that modern scientific methods are now in a position to prove what Muhammad said 1400 years ago.

We present to you Professor Alfred Kroner who is one of the world▓s most famous geologists. He is a Professor of Geology and the Chairman of the Department of Geology at the Institute of Geosciences, Johannes Gutenburg University, Mainz, Germany. We met him and presented several Qur'aanic verses and Ahadeeth of the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ▒alaihi wa sallam). He studied and commented on them. Then we had a discussion with him.

Professor Kroner said: "Thinking about many of these questions and thinking where Muhammad came from, he was after all a bedouin. I think it is almost impossible that he could have known about things like the common origin of the universe, because scientists have only found out within the last few years with very complicated and advanced technological methods that this is the case."

Professor Kroner chose an example from the Qur'aan which proved to him why the Qur'aan could not have come from Muhammad (sallallahu ▒alaihi wa sallam) himself. The example which Professor Kroner chose is a description in the Qur'aan of the fact that this universe had its beginnings in one single entity. Allah, may He be Exalted and Glorified said: Do not the unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together [ratqan], before we clove them asunder? We made from water every living thing┘ [Qur'aan 21:30]

The meaning of ratqan in this verse, as Ibn Abbas, Mujaahid, and others said, may Allah be pleased with all of them, is that the heavens and the earth were stuck together or blended together, and that they were later separated from each other. Professor Kroner used this as an example to prove that no human being during the time of Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ▒alaihi wa sallam), could have known this.

Professor Kroner: "Somebody who did not know something about nuclear physics 1400 years ago could not, I think, be in a position to find out from his own mind for instance that the earth and the heavens had the same origin, or many others of the questions that we have discussed here."

Professor Kroner, so it seemed to us, has a special talent of being evasive. For example, we asked him to describe the geological conditions of Arabia. ▒Was Arabia full of orchards and rivers?▓ He said: "During the Snow Age." And it is further known that the North Polar icebergs are slowly moving southwards. When those polar icebergs become relatively close to the Arabian Peninsula, the weather will change and Arabia will become one of the greenest and wettest parts of the world. We asked him: ▒Will Arabia become the land of orchards and rivers?▓ He said: "Yes, it is a scientific fact."

This astonished us, and we wondered how he could state this as a scientific fact while it was related to the future and we asked: ▒Why?▓ He said: "Because the new Snow Age has actually started. And we can see the snow crawling once again from the North Pole southwards. In fact, the polar snow is now on the way to get closer to the Arabian Peninsula. We can see the signs of this in the snow blizzards striking the northern parts of Europe and America every winter. Scientists have other signs and information proving the actual beginning of another Snow Age. It is a scientific fact."

So we said to him: ▒What you have just mentioned has only been known to scientists after a long series of discoveries and with the help of specialized instruments. But we have already found this mentioned by the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ▒alaihi wa sallam) 1400 years ago. He said in a hadith transmitted in Saheeh Muslim:

The Last Hour will not come upon us until the lands of the Arabs are once again pasture lands and filled with rivers.

At this point we asked Professor Kroner: ▒Who told the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ▒alaihi wa sallam), that the lands of the Arabs were once filled with orchards and rivers?▓ He immediately replied: "The Romans." This reminded me of Professor Kroner▓s evasive ability. We asked him another question, we said to him: ▒But who informed the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ▒alaihi wa sallam), that the lands of the Arabs would once again become pasturelands and be filled with rivers?▓. Professor Kroner becomes evasive if embarrassed. But whenever he was faced with the truth, he is courageous enough to state his opinion frankly and thus he replied: "This could have been known to him only through revelation from above."

Finally, after our discussions with him, he made the following comments: "If you combine all these and you combine all those statements that are being made in the Qur'aan in terms that relate to the earth and the formation of the earth and science in general, you can basically say that statements made there in many ways are true. They can now be confirmed by scientific methods, and in a way you can say that the Qur'aan is a simple science text book for the simple man, and that many of the statements made in there at that time could not be proven but that modern scientific methods are now in a position to prove what Muhammad said 1400 years ago."

Allah confirms in His Book that:

This is no less than reminder to (all), the worlds. And you shall certainly know the truth of it all after a while. (Qur'aan 38:87-88).




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THE GNAT
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The Qur'an frequently summons people to investigate nature and see the "signs of Allah" therein. All living and non-living beings in the universe are full of signs revealing that they are "made", and they are there to demonstrate the power, knowledge and art of their "maker". Man is responsible of identifying these signs by using his wisdom and revere Allah.

While all living beings bear these signs, there are some animals which the Qur▓an specially refers to. The gnat is one of these animals. The 26th. verse of Surat al-Baqara mentioning the gnat is as below:

"Surely Allah is not ashamed to set forth any parable-- (that of) a (female) gnat or any thing above that; then as for those who believe, they know that it is the truth from their Lord, and as for those who disbelieve, they say: What is it that Allah means by this parable: He causes many to err by it and many He leads aright by it! but He does not cause to err by it (any) except the transgressors"

Mostly considered as an ordinary and insignificant creature, even the gnat is worthy of being examined and pondered on since it bears the signs of Allah. This is why "Allah is not ashamed to set forth any parable-(that of) a gnat or any thing above that".



The main food source of male and female gnats is nectar.




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THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURE OF THE GNAT
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What is generally known about gnats is that they are bloodsuckers and they feed on blood. However, this is not a very correct information, because not all the gnats but only the females suck blood. Besides, the females do not suck blood because of their need for food. Both male and female gnats feed on flower nectar. The only reason why females, unlike males, suck blood is their need for the proteins found in the blood which help their eggs to develop. In other words, the female gnat sucks blood just to secure the perpetuation of its generation.



SPECIAL PINCERS FOR MATING

A male gnat mature enough to mate uses its antennas, i.e. its hearing organs, to find its female. The antennas of male gnats have different functions from those of females. Thin feathers at the end of the antennas are highly sensitive to sounds produced by female gnats.

Right beside the sexual organ of the male gnat are found extensions which help him to grab the female while mating in the air. Male gnats fly in groups seeming like clouds and when a female gnat enters that group, the male who succeeds to grab the female mates with her during flight. Mating does not take too long and the male gnat goes back to his group. From that moment on, the female gnat needs blood for the development of her eggs.

The point to be stressed here is that the above verse points out to the "female gnats". As we have previously mentioned, it is only the female gnats who draw near to the humans and who have the superior features that will be detailed hereafter. Although this importnat detail was unknown at the time the Qur▓an was revealed, it is surely quite considerable that "female" gnats are particularly emphasized in the verse.

The development process is one of the most amazing and admirable qualities of the gnat. The animal transforms from a tiny larva into a gnat after passing through many different phases. The story of this development can be shortly summarised as follows;

Gnat eggs, which are fed by blood and get developed, are laid on damp leaves or dried ponds by the female gnat during summer or fall. Prior to this, the mother initially examines the ground thoroughly, by using the delicate receptors under her abdomen. Upon finding a convenient place, she starts to lay her eggs. Eggs, which are less than 1 mm. in length, are arranged in a row either in groups or one by one. Some species lay their eggs joined to each other forming a raft, some of which may contain about 300 eggs.



In some gnat species, hundreds of eggs are lined up by the female, so as to form a raft.



RESPIRATORY SYSTEM: The respiratory system of the larva is based on breathing air by means of a hollow tube pulled up over the water surface. Meanwhile, larvae are hung upside down under the water. A viscous secretion prevents water from leaking into the openings through which larvae breath.

The carefully placed white eggs soon start to darken and turn completely black in two hours. This dark colour provides protection for the larvae by preventing them to be noticed by other insects and birds.

It takes a winter for the incubation period to be completed. Since eggs are created with a structure that allows them to survive through a long cold winter, they stay alive until spring when their incubation period ends.




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GETTING OUT OF THE EGG
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When the incubation period is completed, larvae start to get out of their eggs almost concurrently. The first egg is immediately followed by the others. After that, all of the larvae start to float in water. The larvae, which feed continuously, grow in a short while. Soon, their skin becomes too tight so as not allowing them to grow any further. This indicates that it is time for the first skin change. The hard and brittle skin easily breaks down. Until the development is completed as a whole, the gnat larva is to change its skin two more times.

The method used for the feeding of the larvae is rather impressive. The larvae make small whirlpools in the water with their two fan-shaped extensions made up of feathers, and thus make bacteria and other micro-organisms flow towards their mouths. The respiration of the larvae is provided by an aerial tube similar to the "snorkel" used by divers. They repose upside down in the water. A viscous secretion secreted by their body prevents water from leaking into the openings through which they breath. Briefly, the animal lives with the cooperation of many delicate balances. If it did not have an aerial tube, it could not survive; if it did not have a viscous secretion, its respiratory tube would be blocked.

In the mean time, most of the larvae change their skin once more. The last skin change is rather different from the others. With this last change, larvae pass onto the final stage of their maturation, the "pupal stage". Now, it is time for the larvae, which are sufficiently grown in the larval skin, to get rid of this shell.

However, such a different creature gets out of the shell that it is indeed hard to believe that these two are different developmental phases of the same being. And this metamorphoses is far too complicated and delicate to be designed neither by the larva itself, nor by the mother or any other living thing...

During this latest stage of metamorphoses, the animal faces the danger of being choked, as its respiratory openings rising above the water through an aerial tube are to be closed. However, from that stage on, respiration is not to be done through these holes, but through two tubes newly emerging on the anterior of the animal. This is why these tubes rise to the water surface firstly prior to skin change. During the three or four days long pupal stage, no feeding takes place.

Now, the gnat within the pupa cocoon is mature enough and has taken its final form. The gnat is ready to fly with all its organs and organelles like antennas, trunks, feet, chest, wings, abdomen and large eyes.



Gnats at their pupal stage

The pupa cocoon is torn at the top. This stage where a complete gnat emerges is the most fatal stage of all. The greatest risk at this stage is the leaking of water into the cocoon. However, the torn top is covered with a viscous liquid preventing the gnat▓s head from contacting water.

The gnat has to get out of its cocoon without having any direct contact with water. Only its feet touch the water surface. This moment is extremely important, as even a soft wind may cause its death. The gnat, which gets out of its cocoon, leaves for its first flight after a rest of about half an hour.

The animal has got out of water without even touching the water...

At this point, we have to ask: How come the first gnat had attained the "ability" to go through such a metamorphosis? Might it be that a larva has "decided" to transform into a gnat after changing skin three times?

Absolutely not; it is quite evident that this tiny animal which Allah gives as an example, has specifically been created as it is.



While the gnat gets out of water, its head should not contact with water at all, because, even one breathless moment may result with the choking of the gnat. Therefore, even a breeze or a tiny roughness on the water surface may be fatal for the gnat.



HOW GNATS PERCEIVE THE OUTSIDE WORLD

Gnats are equipped with extremely sensitive heat receptors. They perceive things around them in different colours depending on their heat as in the picture on the right. As this perception is not dependent on light, it is quite easy for the gnat to spot the blood vessels even in a dark room. The heat receptors of the gnat are sensitive enough to sense heat differences as small as 1/1000 C degrees.

The gnat has nearly 100 eyes. These eyes are placed as compound eyes on the top of its head. In the picture above, the cross-sections of three of these eyes are shown. On the right, it is shown how the image of an object is transmitted to the brain from the eye.




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AMAZING TECHNIQUE OF BLOOD SUCKING
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Sting Sheath

The gnat▓s technique of "blood sucking" is unbelievably amazing.

After the gnat lands on its target, it first detects a spot by using the two devices around its mouth. The syringe-like sting of the gnat is protected with a special sheath, which is stripped off during the blood sucking process.

The gnat does not prick the skin by thrusting its sting into it with pressure as assumed. Here, the duty falls to the upper jaw which is as sharp as a knife, and the mandible on which there are teeth bent backwards. The mandible is moved forwards and backwards like a saw and the skin is cut with the help of the upper jaws. When the sting inserted through this cleavage on the skin reach to the blood vessel, the drilling ends. Now it's the time for the animal to suck blood.

However, as known, in the slightest harm made to the vessels, the human body secretes an enzyme that clots the blood and stops its shedding. This should be a great problem for the gnat, because the body would also react to the tiny hole opened by the gnat, therefore, the blood would be clotted and reparation would start. This means that the animal would not be able to suck any blood.

But the problem is specially eliminated for the gnat. Before the animal starts sucking blood, it leaves a special liquid secreted in its body into the cleavage opened in the human vessel. This liquid neutralises the enzyme that provides for the clotting of the blood. Thus, the gnat sucks the blood it needs without any problem of clotting. The itching and swelling of the spot bitten by the gnat is caused by this liquid which prevents clotting.

This is surely an extraordinary process and it brings the following questions to the mind:

1) How does the gnat know that there is an clotting enzyme in the human body?

2) In order to produce a neutralising secretion in its own body against that enzyme, it needs to know the chemical of the enzyme. How can this be possible?

3) Even if it somehow attains such a knowledge (!), how come can it produce such a secretion in its own body and constitute the "technical rigging" needed to transfer it to its sting?

The answer is obvious; It is not possible for the gnat to perform any of those above. It neither has the required wisdom, nor the chemical knowledge, nor the "laboratory" environment to produce the secretion. What we talk about is only a gnat of several millimetres without any wisdom or consciousness, that's all!┘

It is quite clear that it is Allah, "Lord of the heavens and of the earth, and of all that is between them", who has created both the gnat and the man, and donated the gnat with such extraordinary and marvellous features.

Whatever is in the heavens and on earth,- let it declare the Praises and Glory of Allah: for He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise. To Him belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth: It is He Who gives Life and Death; and He has Power over all things.(Surat al-Hadid, 1-2)

When it is considered that apart from the excellent systems of the gnat such as feeding, reproduction, respiration and blood circulation, this lice also has complex systems and organic functions, the boundlessness of the signs of Allah can better be comprehended.

[kazanova3]

THE EXPANSION OF THE UNIVERSE




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The expansion of the Universe is one of the most imposing discoveries of modern science. Today it is a firmly established concept and the only debate centers around the way this is taking place.
It was first suggested by the general theory of relativity and is backed up by physics in the examination of the galactic spectrum; the regular movement towards the red section of their spectrum may be explained by the distancing of one galaxy from another. Thus the size of the Universe is probably constantly increasing and this increase will become bigger the further away the galaxies are from us. The speeds at which these celestial bodies are moving may, in the course of this perpetual expansion, go from fractions of the speed of light to speeds faster than this.

The following verse of the Qur'an (sura 51, verse 47) where God is speaking, may perhaps be compared with modern ideas:

"The heaven, We have built it with power. Verily. We are expanding it." 'Heaven' is the translation of the word sama' and this is exactly the extra-terrestrial world that is meant. 'We are expanding it' is the translation of the plural present participle musi'una of the verb ausa'a meaning 'to make wider, more spacious, to extend, to expand'.

Some translators who were unable to grasp the meaning of the latter provide translations that appear to me to be mistaken, e.g. "we give generously" (R. Blachere). Others sense the meaning, but are afraid to commit themselves: Ramidullah in his translation of the Qur'an talks of the widening of the heavens and space, but he includes a question mark. Finally, there are those who arm themselves with authorized scientific opinion in their commentaries and give the meaning stated here. This is true in the case of the Muntakab, a book of commentaries edited by the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Cairo. It refers to the expansion of the Universe in totally unambiguous terms.

THE CONQUEST OF SPACE
From this point of view, three verses of the Qur'an should command our full attention. One expresses, without any trace of ambiguity, what man should and will achieve in this field. In the other two, God refers for the sake of the unbelievers in Makka to the surprise they would have if they were able to raise themselves up to the Heavens; He alludes to a hypothesis which will not be realized for the latter. 1) The first of these verses is sura 55, verse 33: "O assembly of Jinns and Men, if you can penetrate regions of the heavens and the earth, then penetrate them! You will not penetrate them save with a Power."
The translation given here needs some explanatory comment:

a) The word 'if' expresses in English a condition that is dependent upon a possibility and either an achievable or an unachievable hypothesis. Arabic is a language which is able to introduce a nuance into the condition which is much more explicit. There is one word to express the possibility (ida), another for the achievable hypothesis (in) and a third for the unachievable hypothesis expressed by the word (lau). The verse in question has it as an achievable hypothesis expressed by the word (in). The Qur'an therefore suggests the material possibility of a concrete realization. This subtle linguistic distinction formally rules out the purely mystic interpretation that some people have (quite wrongly) put on this verse.

b) God is addressing the spirits (jinn) and human beings (ins), and not essentially allegorical figures.

c) 'To penetrate' is the translation of the verb nafada followed by the preposition min. According to Kazimirski's dictionary, the phrase means 'to pass right through and come out on the other side of a body' (e.g. an arrow that comes out on the other side). It therefore suggests a deep penetration and emergence at the other end into the regions in question.

d) The Power (sultan) these men will have to achieve this enterprise would seem to come from the All- Mighty.' There can be no doubt that this verse indicates the possibility men will one day achieve what we today call (perhaps rather improperly) 'the conquest of space'. One must note that the text of the Qur'an predicts not only penetration through the regions of the Heavens, but also the Earth, i.e. the exploration of its depths. 2) The other two verses are taken from sura 15, (verses 14 and 15). God is speaking of the unbelievers in Makka, as the context of this passage in the sura shows:

"Even if We opened unto them a gate to Heaven and they were to continue ascending therein, they would say: our sight is confused as in drunkenness. Nay, we are people bewitched."

The above expresses astonishment at a remarkable spectacle, different from anything man could imagine. The conditional sentence is introduced here by the word lau which expresses a hypothesis that could never be realized as far as it concerned the people mentioned in these verses.

When talking of the conquest of space therefore, we have two passages in the text of the Qur'an: one of them refers to what will one day become a reality thanks to the powers of intelligence and ingenuity God will give to man, and the other describes an event that the unbelievers in Makkah will never witness, hence its character of a condition never to be realized. The event will however be seen by others, as intimated in the first verse quoted above. It describes the human reactions to the unexpected spectacle that travelers in space will see: their confused sight, as in drunkenness, the feeling of being bewitched...

This is exactly how astronauts have experienced this remarkable adventure since the first human space flight around the world in 1961. It is known in actual fact how once one is above the Earth's atmosphere, the Heavens no longer have the azure appearance we see from Earth, which results from phenomena of absorption of the Sun's light into the layers of the atmosphere. The human observer in space above the Earth's atmosphere sees a black sky and the Earth seems to be surrounded by a halo of bluish color due to the same phenomena of absorption of light by the Earth's atmosphere. The Moon has no atmosphere, however, and therefore appears in its true colors against the black background of the sky. It is a completely new spectacle therefore that presents itself to men in space, and the photographs of this spectacle are well known to present-day man.

Here again, it is difficult not to be impressed, when comparing the text of the Qur'an to the data of modern science, by statements that simply cannot be ascribed to the thought of a man who lived more than fourteen centuries ago.

EVOLUTION OF THE HEAVENS
Having called modern concepts on the formation of the Universe to mind, reference was made to the evolution that took place, starting with primary nebula through to the formation of galaxies, stars and (for the solar system) the appearance of planets beginning with the Sun at a certain stage of its evolution. Modern data lead us to believe that in the solar system, and more generally in the Universe itself, this evolution is still continuing.
How can anybody who is aware of these ideas fail to make a comparison with certain statements found in the Qur'an in which the manifestations of divine Omnipotence are referred to. The Qur'an reminds us several times that: "(God) subjected the sun and the moon: each one runs its course to an appointed term."

This sentence is to be found in sura 13, verse 2; sura 31, verse 29; sura 35, verse 13 and sura 39, verse 5. In addition to this, the idea of a settled place is associate with the concept of a destination place in sura 36, verse 38: "The Sun runs its course to a settled place. This is the decree of the All Mighty, the Full of Knowledge."

'Settled place' is the translation of the word mustaqarr and there can be no doubt that the idea of an exact place is attached to it.

How do these statements fare when compared with data established by modern science?

The Qur'an gives an end to the Sun for its evolution and a destination place. It also provides the Moon with a settled place. To understand the possible meanings of these statements, we must remember what modern knowledge has to say about the evolution of the stars in general and the Sun in particular, and (by extension) the celestial bodies that automatically followed its movement through space, among them the Moon.

The Sun is a star that is roughly 4.5 billion years old, according to experts in astrophysics. It is possible to (distinguish a stage in its evolution, as one can for all the stars. At present, the Sun is at an early stage, characterized by the transformation of hydrogen atoms into helium atoms. Theoretically, this present stage should last another 5.5 billion years according to calculations that allow a total of 10 billion years for the duration of the primary stage in a star of this kind. It has already been shown, in the case of these other stars, that this stage gives way to a second period characterized by the completion of the transformation of hydrogen into helium, with the resulting expansion of its external layers and the cooling of the Sun. In the final stage, its light is greatly diminished and density considerably increased; this is to be observed in the type of star known as a 'white dwarf'.

The above dates are only of interest in as far as they give a rough estimate of the time factor involved, what is worth remembering and is really the main point of the above, is the notion of an evolution. Modern data allow us to predict that, in a few billion years, the conditions prevailing in the solar system will not be the same as they are today. Like other stars whose transformations have been recorded until they reached their final stage, it is possible to predict an end to the Sun. The second verse quoted above (sura 36, verse 38) referred to the Sun running its course towards a place of its own.

Modern astronomy has been able to locate it exactly and has even given it a name, the Solar Apex: the solar system is indeed evolving in space towards a point situated in the Constellation of Hercules (alpha lyrae) whose exact location is firmly established; it is moving at a speed already ascertained at something in the region of 12 miles per second.

All these astronomical data deserve to be mentioned in relation to the two verses from the Qur'an. Since it is possible to state that they appear to agree perfectly with modern scientific data.

Acknowledgements: yusuf@mediacity.com


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[kazanova3]

THE QUR'AN AND MODERN SCIENCE

Taken from "The Origin of Man", by Dr. Maurice Bucaille.


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Dr. Maurice Bucaille is an eminent French surgeon, scientist, scholar and author of "THE BIBLE, THE QUR'AN AND SCIENCE" which contains the result of his research into the Judeo-Christian Revelation and the Qur'an. It is a unique contribution in the field of religion and science.

Being an outstanding Scientist, he was selected to treat the mummy of Merneptah (Pharaoh) which he did. During his visit to Saudi Arabia he was shown the verses of the Holy Qur'an in which Allah says that the dead body of the Pharaoh will be preserved as a "Sign" for posterity. An impartial scientist like Dr. Bucaille, who (being also a Christian) was conversant with the Biblical version of Pharaoh's story as being drowned in pursuit of Prophet Moses. He was pleasantly surprised to learn that unknown to the world till only of late, the Holy Qur'an made definite prediction about the preservation of the body of that same Pharaoh of Moses' time. This led Dr. Bucaille to study the Holy Qur'an thoroughly after learning the Arabic language. The final conclusion of his comparative study of Qur'an and the Bible is that the statements about scientific phenomena in the Holy Qur'an are perfectly in conformity with the modern sciences whereas the Biblical narration's on the same subjects are scientifically entirely unacceptable.

FROM THE ORIGIN OF MAN
As most people in the West have been brought up on misconceptions concerning Islam and the Qur'an; for a large part of my life, I myself was one such person. Let me cite one or two specific examples to indicate the kind of inaccurate ideas generally current.

MISCONCEPTIONS
As I grew up, I was always taught that 'Mahomet' was the author of the Qur'an; I remember seeing French translations bearing this information. I was invariably told that the 'author' of the Qur'an simply compiled, in a slightly different form, stories of sacred history taken from the Bible; the 'author' was said to have added or removed certain passages, while setting forth the principles and rules of the religion he himself had founded. There are moreover Islamic scholars today in France whose duties include teaching and who express exactly these views, although perhaps in a more subtle form.

This description of the origins of the Qur'anic text, which is so out of touch with reality, might lead one immediately to assume that if there are scientific errors in the Bible, there must also be errors of this kind in the Qur'an! This is the natural conclusion to be drawn in such circumstances, but it is based on a misconception. We are well aware that at the time of Muhammad - the Qur'anic Revelation took place between 610 and 632 A.D - scientific obscurantism prevailed, both in the Orient as well as in the West.

In France, for example, this period corresponded roughly to the reign of King Dagobert, the last of the Mrovingians. This approach to what was supposedly the Qur'anic text may on first sight seem logical, but when one examines the text with an informed and impartial eye, it becomes clear that this approach is not at all in keeping with reality. We shall see in a moment the truth of this statement, which is obvious from the texts.

Whenever there is textual proof of the existence in the Qur'an of statements that are in agreement with modern knowledge, but which in the Bible are related in a manner that is scientifically unacceptable, the stock response is that, during the period separating the two Scriptures, Arab scientists made discoveries in various disciplines which enabled them to arrive at these supposed adaptations. This approach takes no account whatsoever of the history of the sciences. The latter indicates that the great period of Islamic civilizations, during which, as we know, science made considerable progress, came several centuries after the communication of the Qur'an to the communication of the Qur'an to man.

Furthermore, scientific history informs us that, as far as the subjects dealt with in this present book are concerned, no discoveries were made during, the period separating the Bible from the Qur'an.

When this aspect of the Qur'an is mentioned in the West, however, we are likely to hear it said that while this may indeed be so, nowhere is this fact referred to in the translations of the Qur'an which we possess today, or in the prefaces and commentaries that accompany them.

This is a very judicious remark. Muslim - and indeed non-Muslim -

translators who have produced a French version of the Qur'an are basically men of letters. More often than not, they mistranslate a passage because they do not possess the scientific knowledge required to understand its true meaning. The fact is, however, that in order to translate correctly, one must first understand what one is reading. A further point is that translators - especially those mentioned above - - may have been influenced by notes provided by ancient commentators often came to be regarded as highly authoritative, even though they had no scientific knowledge - nor indeed had anybody else at that time. They were incapable of imagining that the texts might contain allusions to secular knowledge, and thus they could not devote attention to a specific passage by comparing it to other verses in the Qur'an dealing with the same subject - a process that often provides the key to the meaning of a word or expression. From this results the fact that any passage in the Qur'an that gives rise to a comparison with modern secular knowledge is likely to be unreliably translated.

Very often, the translations are peppered with inaccurate - if not totally nonsensical - statements. The only way to avoid such errors is to possess a scientific background and to study the Qur'anic text in the original language.

SCIENTIFIC ERRORS
On the subject of man, as well as the other topics mentioned earlier, it is not possible to find any corresponding data in the Bible. Furthermore the scientific errors contained in the Bible - such as those describing man's first appearance on earth, which, as we have seen, may be deduced from the Genealogies that figure in Genesis are not to be found in the Qur'an. It is crucial to understand that such errors could not have been 'edited out' of the Qur'an since the time they first became apparent: well over a thousand years have elapsed since the most ancient manuscripts and today's texts of the Qur'an, but these texts are still absolutely identical. Thus, if Muhammad were the author of the Qur'an (a theory upheld by some people), it is difficult to see how he could have spotted the scientific errors in the Bible dealing with such a wide variety of subjects and have proceeded to eliminate every single one of them when he came to compose his own text on the same themes. Let us state once again, that no new scientific facts had been discovered since the time the Bible was written that might have helped eliminate such errors.

In view of the above, it is imperative to know the history of the texts, just as it is essential to our understanding of certain aspects of the Bible for us to be aware, of the conditions in which it was written.

As we have noted earlier, experts in Biblical exegesis consider the books of Old and New Testaments to be divinely inspired works. Let us now examine, however, the teachings of Muslim exegetes, who present the Qur'an in quite a different fashion.

When Muhammad was roughly forty years old, it was his custom to retire to a retreat just outside Mecca in order to meditate. It was here that he received a first message from God via the Angel Gabriel, at a date that corresponds to 610 A.D. After a long period of silence, this first message was followed by successive revelations spread over some twenty years. During the Prophet's lifetime, they were both written down and recited by heart among his first followers. Similarly, the revelations were divided into suras (chapters) and collected together after the Prophet' death (in 632 A.D.) in a book: the Qur'an. The Book contains the Word of God, to the exclusion of any human additions. Manuscripts dating from the first century of Islam authenticate today's text, the other form of authentication being the recitation by heart of the Qur'an, a practice that has continued unbroken from the time of the Prophet down to the present day.

UNCORRUPTED NATURE OF THE QUR'AN
In contrast to the Bible, therefore, we are presented with a text that is none other than the transcript of the Revelation itself; the only way it can be received and interpreted is literally. The purity of the revealed text has been greatly emphasized, and the uncorrupted nature of the Qur'an stems from the following factors:

First, as stated above, fragments of the text were written down during the Prophet's lifetime; inscribed on tablets, parchments and other materials current at the time. The Qur'an itself refers to the fact that the text was set down in writing. We find this in several suras dating from before and after the Hejira (Muhammad's departure from Mecca to Medina in 622 A.D.) In addition to the transcription of the text, however, there was also the fact that it was learned by heart. The text of the Qur'an is much shorter than the Old Testament and slightly longer than the New Testament. Since it took twenty years for the Qur'an to be revealed, however, it was easy for the Prophet's followers to recite it by heart, sura by sura. This process of recitation afforded a considerable advantage as far as an uncorrupted text was concerned, for it provided a system of double-checking at the time the definitive text was written down. This took place several years after the Prophet's death; first under the caliphate of Abu Bakr, his first successor, and later under the caliphate of Omar and in particular that of Uthman (644 to 655 A.D.) The latter ordered an extremely strict recension of the text, which involved checking it against the recited versions.

TEXT OF QUR'AN UNCORRUPTED
After Muhammad's death, Islam rapidly expanded far beyond the limits of the area in which it was born. Soon, it included many peoples whose native language was not Arabic. Very strict steps were taken to ensure that the text of the Qur'an did not suffer from this expansion of Islam: Uthman sent copies of his entire recension to the principal centers of the vast Islamic empire. Some copies still exist today, in more or less complete form, in such places as Tashkent (U.S.S.R) and Istanbul. Copies have also been discovered that date from the very first centuries after the Hejira; they are all identical, and all of them correspond to the earliest manuscripts.

Today's editions of the Qur'an are all faithful reproductions of the original copies. In the case of the Qur'an, there are no instances of rewriting or corruption of the text over the course of time.

If the origin of the Qur'an had been similar to those of the Bible, it would not be unreasonable to suppose that the subjects it raised would be presented in the light of the ideas influenced by certain

opinions of the time, often derived from myth and superstition. If this were the case, one might argue that there were untold opportunities for inaccurate assertions, based on such sources, to find their way into the many and varied subjects briefly summarized above. In actual fact, however, we find nothing of the kind in the Qur'an.

But having said this, we should note that the Qur'an is a religious book par excellence. We should not use statements that have a bearing on secular knowledge as a pretext to go hunting after any expression of scientific laws. As stated earlier, all we should seek are reflections on natural phenomena, phrases occasioned by references to divine omnipotence and designed to emphasize that omnipotence in the eyes of mankind throughout the ages. The presence of such reflections in the Qur'an has become particularly significant in modern times, for their meaning is clearly explained by the data of contemporary knowledge. This characteristic is specific to the Qur'an.

UNEXPECTED DISCOVERIES
It was not until I had learnt Arabic and read the Qur'an in the original that I realized the precise meaning of certain verses. Only then did I make certain discoveries that were astounding. With my basic ideas on the Qur'an - which to begin with were inaccurate, just as those of most people in the West - I certainly did not expect to find in the text the statements that I in fact uncovered. With each new discovery, I was beset with doubt lest I might be mistaken in my translation or perhaps have provided an interpretation rather than a true rendering of the Arabic text.

Only after consultations with several specialists in linguistics and exegesis, both Muslim and non-Muslim, was I convinced that a new concept might be formed from such a study: the compatibility between the statements in the Qur'an and firmly established data of modern science with regard to subjects on which nobody at the time of Muhammad - not even the Prophet himself - could have had access to the knowledge we possess today. Since then, I have not found in the Qur'an any support given to the myths or superstitions present at the time the text was communicated to man. This is not the case for the Bible, whose authors expressed themselves in the language of their period.

In 'La Bible le Coran et la Science' (The Bible, the Qur'an and Science), which first appeared in the original French in 1976 and which subsequently appeared in English in 1978, I set forth the main points of these findings. On November 9, 1976, I gave a lecture to the Academia de Medecine (French academy of Medicine) in which I explored the statements of the origins of man contained in the Qur'an; the title of the lecture was 'Donnees physiologiques et embryologiques de Coran'(Physiological and Embryological Data in the Qur'an). I emphasised the fact that these data - which I shall summarize below - formed part of a much wider study. The following are some of the points which arise from a reading of the Qur'an:

* a concept of the creation of the world which, while different from the ideas contained in the Bible, is fully in keeping with today's general theories on the formations of the universe;

* statements that are in perfect agreement with today's ideas concerning the movements and evolution of the heavenly bodies;

* a prediction of the conquest of space;

* notions concerning the water cycle in nature and the earth's relief, which were not proven correct until many centuries later.

All of these data are bound to amaze anyone who approaches them in

an objective spirit. They add a much wider dimension to the problem studied in the present work. The basic point remains the same , however: we must surely be in the presence of facts which place a heavy strain on our natural propensity for explaining everything in materialistic terms, for the existence in the Qur'an of these scientific statements appears as a challenge to human explanations.

That does not mean to say, however, that the statements in the Qur'an - especially those concerning man - may all of them be examined in the light of the findings of modern science. The creation of man as described in both the Bible and the Qu'ran totally eludes scientific investigation of the event per se.

Similarly, when the New Testament or the Qur'an informs us that Jesus was not born of a father, in the biological sense of the term, we cannot counter this Scriptural statement by saying that there is no example in the human species of an individual having been formed without receiving the paternal chromosomes that make up one half of its genetic inheritance. Science does not explain miracles, for by definition miracles are inexplicable, thus, when we read in both the Qur'an and the Bible that man was moulded from the ground, we are in fact learning a fundamental religious principle: Man returns from where he came, for from the place he is buried, he will rise again on the judgment.

Side by side with the main religious aspect of such reflections on man, we find in the Qur'an statements on man that refer to strictly material facts. They are quite amazing when one approaches them for the first time. For example, the Qur'an describes the origins of life in general and devotes a great deal of space to the morphological transformation undergone by man, repeatedly emphasizing the fact that God fashioned him as He willed. We likewise discover statements on human reproduction that are expressed in precise terms that lend themselves to comparison with the secular knowledge we today possess on the subject.

INTEREST TO MEN OF SCIENCE
The many statements in the Qur'an that may thus be compared with modern knowledge are by no means easy to find. In preparing the study published in 1976, I was unable to draw on any previous works known in the West, for there were none. All I could refer to were a few works in Arabic dealing with themes treated in the Qur'an that were of interest to men of science - there was, however, no overall study. Over and above this, research of this kind requires scientific knowledge covering many different disciplines. It is not easy, however, for Islamologists to acquire such knowledge, for they possess a mainly literary background. Indeed, such questions hardly seem to occupy a place in their field of classic Islamology, at least as far as the West is concerned. Only a scientist, thoroughly acquainted with Arabic literature, can draw comparisons between the Qur'anic text - for which he must be able to read Arabic - and the data supplied by modern knowledge.

There is another reason why such statements are not immediately apparent: Verses bearing on a single theme are scattered throughout the Qur'an. The book is indeed a juxtaposition of reflections on a wide variety of subjects referred to one after the other and taken up again later on, often several times over. The data on a precise theme must therefore be collected from all over the Book and brought together under a single heading. This requires many hours' work tracking down verses, in spite of the existence of thematic indexes provided by various translators, for such lists may perhaps be incomplete and indeed, in many cases, they often are.


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