What Did Jesus Really Say ? - The miracle and challenge of the Qur'an
Chapter 13: The miracle and challenge of the Qur'an
"We shall show them Our signs on the horizons and within themselves
until it will become clear to them that it is the Truth. Does it not suffice
that your Lord is Witness over all things?"The noble Qur'an, Fussilat(41):53.
Muslims are taught that throughout the ages, Allah Almighty has sent
a prophet to every nation as a warner and a bearer of glad tidings."Verily! We have sent you (O Muhammad) with the Truth, a bearer
of glad tidings and a warner; and there is not a nation but a warner has passed
among them," The noble Qur'an, Fatir(35):24.
Each prophet was wisely selected by Allah in order to be the best
person for the job. He was then provided by Allah with miracles as proof of his
truthfulness and his message. These miracles were wisely selected by Allah in
order to be in the same field as that which these people excelled in so that
they could fully comprehend the magnitude of these miracles.
For instance, the people during the time of Moses
excelled at magical trickery. Their rulers used to surround themselves with the
most powerful of these wizards as a sign of power. This is why Allah made the
miracles of Moses (pbuh) similar to their magical trickery (changing a stick
into a snake, parting of the sea... etc.) but of a much greater magnitude than
anything they could ever hope to accomplish. For they were not tricks, but
actual physical miracles.
The people at the time of the prophet Jesus (pbuh) excelled in
matters of medicine. For this reason, his miracles were of a medical nature
(raising of the dead, healing of the blind...etc.), but of a degree that they
could never hope to imitate. Similarly, one of the major miracles of Islam was
a new and unheard-of type of literature similar to the Bedouin's poetry
but far beyond anything they could ever hope to match. Although they did indeed
try. This new literature was called "The Qur'an."
The Arabic language, as can be attested to by any of it's scholars,
is a very rich and powerful language. The Bedouin people of the Arabian desert
were, in general, illiterate people of very little scientific knowledge. The
thing that set them apart, however, was their mastery of poetry .
Spending their days as they did in the desert watching their sheep graze got
quite boring. They alleviated their boredom by continually composing and
refining poetry. They would spend entire years composing and refining their
poetry in anticipation of a yearly face-down of the poetic compositions of
their peers from all over the country. The fact that they were illiterate
forced them to also train themselves in the memorization of works of literature
to such an extent that they were able to memorize complete works from a single
recitation. Even in matters of leadership, one of the major criteria for
selecting the leaders of the various Bedouin tribes was the individual's
prowess in literary composition and memorization.
The Arabian Bedouins took great pains to make their poetry
as compact and picturesque as humanly possible, constantly expanding the
language along the way. A single word could convey complete pictures. The
Qur'an, however, has put even these great efforts to shame. You will notice
that when a Muslim translates a verse of the Qur'an he usually does not say
"the Qur'an says so and so" but rather "An approximation of the
meaning of what the Qur'an says is so and so." You really need to know the
language to comprehend this.
In the English language, we find that the words:
"mustang," "colt," "mare," "pony,"
"stallion," "bronco"... etc. all refer to the same thing; a
horse. Each one of these words conveys a slightly different mental picture. The
mental picture we get when we hear the word "colt" is slightly
different than the picture we get if we hear the word "mare." In a
similar manner, the Arabic language progressed in such a fashion as to make it
possible to convey such mental pictures in as concise and picturesque a format
as possible. It is not at all uncommon to find over three hundred words that
refer to the same thing in the Arabic language. Each one of these words gives a
slightly different picture than the others.
Many centuries of this constant refinement eventually lead to a very
complex and rich vocabulary, and the primary miracle of Muhammad (pbuh), the
Qur'an, was in exactly this field
In the noble Qur'an we find a challenge from Allah to compose a
literary work on a par with this Qur'an it is indeed the work of mankind. They
could not. The Qur'an continued to reduce it's challenge until the challenge
finally became: "compose only a single verse comparable to this Qur'an and
you will have won." They still could not. This in addition to the
fairness, justice, and logic of the Qur'an eventually won them over and slowly
more and more people became Muslims.
"Well then, if the Koran were his own [Muhammad's] composition
other men could rival it. Let them produce ten verses like it. If they could
not (and it is obvious that they could not), then let them accept the Koran as
an outstanding evidential miracle" Mohammedanism, H. A. R. Gibb, Oxford University Press, p. 42
"From the literary point of view, the Koran is regarded as a
specimen of purest Arabic, written in half poetry, half prose. It has been said
that in some cases grammarians have adopted their rules to agree with certain
expressions used in it, and though several attempts have been made to produce a
work equal to it as far as elegant writing is concerned, none yet has
succeeded" Glimpses of the Noble Qur'an, Muhammad Azizullah, Crescent
Publications, pp. 104-105"In making the present attempt to improve on the performance of
my predecessors, and to produce something which might be accepted as echoing
however faintly the sublime rhetoric of the Arabic Koran, I have been at pains
to study the intricate and richly varied rhythms which - apart from the message
itself - constitute the Koran's undeniable claim to rank amongst the greatest
literary masterpieces of mankind... This very characteristic feature - 'that
inimitable symphony,' as the believing Pickthall described his Holy Book, 'the
very sounds of which move men to tears and ecstasy' - has been almost totally
ignored by previous translators; it is therefore not surprising that what they
have wrought sounds dull and flat indeed in comparison with the splendidly
decorated original." The Koran Interpreted, Arthur J. Arberry, Oxford University Press,
1964, p. x."The Koran admittedly occupies an important position among the
great religious books of the world. Though the youngest of the epoch-making
works belonging to this class of literature, it yields to hardly any in the
wonderful effect which it has produced on large masses of men. It has created
an all but new phase of human thought and a fresh type of character. It first
transformed a number of heterogeneous desert tribes of the Arabian peninsula
into a nation of heroes, and then proceeded to create the vast
politico-religious organizations of the Muhammadan world which are one of the
great forces with which Europe and the East have to reckon today."G. Margoliouth, Introduction to J.M. Rodwell's, The Koran, New York:
Everyman's Library, 1977, p. vii."A work, then, which calls forth so powerful and seemingly
incompatible emotions even in the distant reader - distant as to time, and
still more so as a mental development - a work which not only conquers the
repugnance which he may begin its perusal, but changes this adverse feeling
into astonishment and admiration, such a work must be a wonderful production of
the human mind indeed and a problem of the highest interest to every thoughtful
observer of the destinies of mankind … Here, therefore, its merits as a
literary production should perhaps not be measured by some preconceived maxims
of subjective and aesthetic taste, but by the effects which it produced in
Muhammad's contemporaries and fellow countrymen. If it spoke so powerfully and
convincingly to the hearts of his hearers as to weld hitherto centrifugal and
antagonistic elements into one compact and well-organized body, animated by
ideas far beyond those which had until now ruled the Arabian mind, then its
eloquence was perfect, simply because it created a civilized nation out of
savage tribes, and shot a fresh woof into the old warp of history." Dr. Steingass, quoted in T.P. Hughes' Dictionary Of Islam, p.
526-528.Many claims have been made against Muhammad in that day and this.
Among them are the claims that he was a lunatic, a liar, or deceived by the
devil. If Muhammad was a lunatic or a liar then we have to wonder how all of
his prophesies came true?. Further, if he was a deceived by Satan then we are
faced with another problem. For we know that all Muslims are taught that when
reading the Qur'an they must first begin with the words "I seek refuge in
Allah from Satan the stoned* one." and then
follow this up with the words "In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate,
Most Merciful" So we have to wonder if Satan would
"inspire" a man to teach mankind to seek refuge in God from Satan?
Indeed this is the exact same accusation which was made against Jesus (pbuh).
Let us read how Jesus responded to this claim:
"But some of them (the Jews) said, He (Jesus) casteth out devils
through Beelzebub (Satan) the chief of the devils. And others, tempting [him],
sought of him a sign from heaven. But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto
them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a
house [divided] against a house falleth. If Satan also be divided against
himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils
through Beelzebub." Luke 11:15-18
It has been the case throughout the ages that with all previous
prophets, their miracle was separate from their book. Although we may claim
that we have the "Torah" of Moses, still, it is not possible now to
bring Moses ' (pbuh) staff and see it perform miracles as it did in
his time. Similarly it is not possible today to see Jesus (pbuh) raise the dead
as he did so many centuries ago. However, since the message of Islam was the
final message of God to mankind, therefore, the book of Islam itself was made
the main miracle of Islam and it has continued to renew it's challenge to
mankind throughout the ages.
What does this mean? Nowadays, the number of people who can
appreciate the literary content of the Qur'an has dwindled and this challenge
no longer has the same impact it did fourteen hundred years ago. However, as we
have seen in the verse quoted at the beginning of this chapter, Allah Almighty
has promised to continually renew the challenge of the Qur'an throughout the
ages. So how will it be renewed?
Recently, a new field of study has opened up to scholars. People
nowadays are fascinated with science. This is the age of technology and
scientific discovery. For this reason, mankind has begun to study the religious
scriptures of mankind from a scientific point of view in order to challenge the
scientific claims made in these scriptures. Many works have been published on
this topic. In this chapter I will give a brief taste of these matters and then
leave it up to the interested reader to learn more from any one of the many
books which have been published in this regard (see list at back of this book).
As mentioned previously, Muhammad (pbuh) lived among tribes of
people who were for the most part illiterate. He himself was also illiterate.
These people used to live extremely simple lives. Some were traders and
businessmen, others were farmers, and yet others were nomadic sheepherders who
traveled from place to place depending on where they could find grass for their
sheep to graze. When Muhammad (pbuh) brought them the Qur'an, the believers
found in the Qur'an the command to go out, seek knowledge, and confirm the
presence of their Creator by studying His creation. Muslims began to fulfill
this command of the Qur'an and this resulted in one of the greatest explosions
of scientific advancement mankind has ever seen. All of this was going on
during a period that the West calls "The Dark Ages ,"
wherein the scientists of the West were being persecuted and killed as
sorcerers and wizards. During this period, Muslims scholars introduced into the
world such things as:
* Mathematical evolution of spherical mirrors* Rectilinear motion of light and use of lenses* Refraction angle variations* Magnifying effects of the plano convex lens* Introduced the concept of the elliptical shape of cosmological
bodies* Study of the center of gravity as applied to balance* Measurement of specific weights of bodies* Rule of algebraic equations* Solutions to quadratic and cubic equations* Work on square roots, squares, theory of numbers, solution of the
fractional numbers* Solutions of equations of cubic order* Wrote on conic geometry elaborating the solution of algebraic
equations* Determined the Trinomial Equation* Avicenna's "Canon of Medicine." He is know as the Prince
of Physicians to the West* Wrote the first description of several drugs and diseases as
meningitis.* Treatment of physiological shocks* Expertise in psychosomatic medicine and psychology* Al-Biruni mentions fifty six manuscripts on pharmacology * Credited for identifying small pox and its treatment* Use of alcohol as an antiseptic* Use of mercury as a purgative for the first time* First to describe the circulation of blood.* "Holy Abbas" was, after Rhazes, the most outstanding
Physician. His works were authoritative till the works of ibn Sina appeared* Writings on Cosmology, Astrology, Science of numbers and letters* Proved that the earth is smaller than the sun but larger than the
moon.* Final authorities on Chemistry for many Centuries* Classified metals into three classifications* Laid the basis of the Acid Base theory* Distillation, calcination, crystallization, the discovery of many
acids* Cultivation of Gold - is a continuation of Jabir's work* Theory of Oscillatory motion of equinoxes* Addition of ninth sphere to the eight Ptolematic astronomy* Discovered the increase of the suns apogee* Gravitational force* Responsible for the discovery motion of the solar apsides* wrote ' On the Science of Stars '* Determination of latitudes and longitudes* Determination of geodetic measurements* Described the motion of the planets* Solved the problems of spherical trigonometry* First to study the isometric oscillatory motion of a pendulum* Invented the instrument ' Sahifah "* Responsible for the proof of the motion of the apogee of the sun
with respect to the fixed stars.* authorities on the theory of the system of homocentric spheres* Prepared a calendar that was more accurate than the Gregorian one
in use today.
...............and much, much more.
All of this began with a single illiterate Arab from the desert
fourteen hundred years ago. The book that was brought into the world by such a
man cries out to be studied from a scientific aspect. We will now give you a
glimpse of the results:
"So ask the People of Knowledge if you do not know"
The Qur'an, Al-Anbia(21):7
Example Number 1: Embryology:Dr. Keith L. Moore is a Professor of
Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. He is a world
renowned scientist and a distinguished researcher in the fields of anatomy and
embryology, he has published more than 150 research articles, chapters and
books in this field. He is the author of several medical textbooks, such as the
widely used and acclaimed "The Developing Human: Clinically oriented Embryology
" (now in it's fifth edition, and translated into eight different
languages), "Before We Are Born" and "Clinically Oriented
Anatomy." He has also recently co-authored "Qur'an and Modern
Science, Correlation Studies." Dr. Moore is the recipient of numerous
awards and honors, including, in 1984, the J.C.B. Grant Award, which is the
highest honor granted by the Canadian Association of Anatomists. He has served
in many academic and administrative positions, including the President of the
Canadian Association of Anatomists, 1968-1970. Let us see what Dr. Moore's
opinion is on the scientific statements regarding embryology to be found in the
Qur'an:
Dr. Moore was contacted by a Muslim scholar by the name of
Abdul-Majeed Azzindani. He was asked to participate in a three-year study of
around twenty-five verses of the Qur'an and the Sunnah (sayings of Muhammad,
pbuh) which speak about embryology, and to determine the their correspondence
to modern scientific discoveries. Dr. Moore's conclusion regarding this matter
was:
Fig. 12 The human fetus in various stages of
development, at six, eight and 14 weeks
"For the past three years, I have worked with the Embryology
Committee of King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, helping them to
interpret the many statements in the Qur'an and the Sunnah referring to human
reproduction and prenatal development. At first I was astonished by the
accuracy of the statements that were recorded in the seventh century AD, before
the science of embryology was established. Although I was aware of the glorious
history of Muslim scientists in the 10th century AD, and of some of their
contributions to Medicine, I new nothing about the religious facts and beliefs
contained in the Qur'an and Sunnah. It is important for Islamic and other
students to understand the meaning of these Qur'anic statements about human
development, based on current scientific knowledge. The interpretations of the
"verses" in the Qur'an and the Sunnah, translated by Shaikh
Azzindani, are to the best of my knowledge accurate." From the forward of "The Developing Human: Clinically oriented
Embryology," third edition, by Dr. Keith L. Moore
.The Qur'an and the Sunnah of the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) provide a
very detailed description of the microscopic development of the human embryo
from a mere sperm drop up to the stage of a completely formed human being. It
is well known that microscopes were not developed until the sixteenth century
AD, and even at that were very crude in design. Zacharias Janssen is credited
with having invented the compound microscope in about 1590. With it, remarkable
scientific discoveries were made in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Dutch
naturalist Anthony van Leeuwenhoek produced lenses powerful enough to prove
that many tiny creatures are not spontaneously generated but come from eggs.Before this period, theories on human reproduction ran rampant. Some
scientist believed that the menstrual blood itself developed into the fetus.
Later on, a new theory was developed wherein the sperm drop was popularly
believed to contain a completely developed miniature human (homunculus) which
later grew to the size of a baby. The science of embryology as we know it today
did not discover many of the detailed aspects of human development which are
taken for granted today until only about twenty years ago, or 1973 to be
precise.
Now we must ask the question: where did Muhammad (pbuh) get such
detailed knowledge of the microscopic development of the human embryo in the
6th century AD without a microscope, technical training, a laboratory of any
kind, or even the ability to write his own name? The only logical conclusion is
that it came from exactly where he claimed it did. From the one who created
mankind, God Almighty!
Prof. Moore has since given numerous lectures on the topic of
embryology in the Qur'an. He is quoted in one of these lectures as saying:
"It is clear to me that these statements must have come to
Muhammad from God, or Allah, because most of this knowledge was not discovered
until many centuries later. This proves to me that Muhammad must have been a
messenger of God, or Allah."Prof. Moore was so impressed with the Qur'anic classification of the
stages of development of the human embryo, that he suggested the adoption of
the Qur'anic system in place of the system currently in use by scientists
today. Prof. Moore said:"Because the staging of the human embryo is complex owing to the
continuous process of change during development. It is therefore suggested that
a new system of classification could be developed using the terms mentioned in
the Qur'an and the Sunnah. The proposed system is simple, comprehensive, and
conforms with present embryological knowledge."
When Dr. Moore first presented his findings in Toronto it caused
quite a stir throughout Canada. It was on the front pages of some of the
newspapers across Canada. One newspaper reporter asked Professor Moore,"Don't you think That maybe the Arabs might have known about
these things - the description of the embryo, its appearance and how it changes
and grows? Maybe there were not scientists, but maybe they did some crude
dissections on their own - carved up people and examined these things."Professor Morre immediately pointed out to him, however, that he had
missed a very important point. All of the slides of the embryo that Dr. Moore
had based his study upon had come from pictures taken through a microscope. He
said,"It does not matter if someone had tried to discover embryology
fourteen centuries ago, they could not have seen it!."
Dr. Moore taunted, "Maybe fourteen centuries ago someone secretly had a
microscope and did this research, making no mistakes anywhere. Then he somehow
taught Muhammad and convinced him to put this information in his book. Then he
destroyed his equipment and kept it a secret forever?. Do you believe that? You
really should not unless you bring some proof because it is such a ridiculous
theory."When he was asked "How do you explain this information in the
Qur'an?" Dr. Moore's reply was, "It could only have been
divinely revealed."Example Number 2: The Universe:Another example of such scientifically accurate statements in the
Qur'an can be found in the following analysis:
"And the firmament(sky) We constructed with power and skill and
verily We are expanding it" The noble Qur'an, Al-Thariyaat(51):47.
(Remember: "we" is the Arabic plural of respect
, not the Christian plural of "Trinity, " as seen in
chapter 14).
"Do not the disbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were
fused then We ripped them asunder, and We created from water every living
thing, do they not believe?" The noble Qur'an, Al-Anbia(21):30.
"Then He settled/equilibrated unto the firmament(sky) when it
was smoke and said unto it and to the earth: come willingly or unwillingly.
They said: we come willingly" The noble Qur'an, Fussilat(41):11.
Allah Almighty has in these three concise verses answered questions
that it has taken some of the greatest physicists and astronomers of history
centuries to answer. It was only in this century that they finally found the
truth.
Mankind has studied the heavens and the earth for countless
centuries. The Greeks were some of the first people to attempt to describe
various cosmological phenomena. They gave us many of the very first theories
regarding the universe and it's composition. The major
contribution came with the writings of Plato . Plato claimed that
the universe was created by what he called "The Demiurge." According
to Plato, the universe was the result of reasoning and planning, it was
constructed by the Demiurge upon precise mathematical and geometrical
principles. Later on, Aristotle, Plato's student, adopted his teacher's basic
concept. Aristotelian cosmology was based on the concept of an enclosed cosmos
comprising a series of concentric, spheres revolving around a stationary Earth.
Motion was provided by the "prime mover" and, once initiated,
would remain circular, uniform and eternal.
Both Plato and Aristotle taught that the universe
was eternal, with neither beginning nor end. The universe as a whole was
considered steady and unmoving, and this was the basis for the later formation
of the "steady state theory." In 1915, Albert Einstein had
published the famous general theory of relativity. Soon afterward he proposed a
static model of the universe, but he would later declare that it was "one
of the greatest mistakes of my career." Why?, Because in 1925,
Edwin Hubble (after whom the Hubble Space telescope is named) provided the
observational evidence for the expansion of the universe, or as Stephen Hawking
put it "The universe is not static, as had previously been thought, it was
expanding."
Although mankind did not discover these facts till this 20th
Century, still, we find that Allah Almighty had provided the answers for
mankind 1400 years ago in the Qur'an through the agency of His illiterate
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). During Muhammad's (pbuh) time, the Greeks were
claiming that the cosmos was static and not expanding. So how did he know that
the universe was expanding 1300 years before the foremost
scientist of the West proved this to be a scientific fact?
However, this is not the only claim that the Qur'an makes with
regard to the universe . Let us study the next two verses:
At the present time, the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe
is the cosmological model most widely accepted by astronomers. It holds that
about 20,000,000,000 years ago the universe began with the explosive expansion
of a single, extremely condensed state of matter ("the heavens and the
earth were fused then we ripped them asunder"). As mentioned
above, a further development of this model, known as "inflationary
theory," describes the original condensed matter as arising from
virtually empty space. It was only after the development of radio telescopes in
1937 AD that the necessary observational precision was achieved in order for
astronomers to arrive at the above conclusion. Out of the observations of such
scientists has arisen the so called "Hubble Constant" (Ho) which is
quantity currently used to gauge the rate at which the universe is
expanding. In other words, the issue is no longer whether the universe is
expanding or not, rather, it is only a question of how fast it is
expanding.
The second and third verses presented appear to claim that the
heavens and the earth were once a single mass then were "ripped
asunder," The exact root words used in the Qur'an are the words
"ra-ta-qa" and "fa-ta-qa," or "the heavens and the
earth were 'ra-ta-qa' then we 'fa-ta-qa' them"
"Ra-ta-qa" is an Arabic word
which has the general meaning of "to fuse, to sew, to mend, to patch up,
to repair." ("Lisan Al-Arab," by Ibn Mandoor, Vol. 10, Dar
Al-Fikr, p. 114, and also "A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic,"
Hans Wehr, Librairie du Liban, p. 325)
Similarly, "fa-ta-qa" has the general meaning of
"To rip, to undo sewing, to unstitch, to tear apart, to rend, to rip
open." ("Lisan Al-Arab," by Ibn Mandoor, Vol. 10, Dar Al-Fikr,
p. 296, and also "A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic," Hans Wehr,
Librairie du Liban, p. 695)
The verse then goes on to say that Allah Almighty created the
heavens and the earth from a celestial "smoke." Astronomers today
have pictures of galaxies being formed by exactly this process, i.e. the
condensation of spiraling celestial "mists." Isn't it an incredible
coincidence that an illiterate man from the desert, without the aid of
observatories or satellite imaging was making these claims over 1400 years
ago?. Was he just guessing?Further, the cosmic phenomenon depicted in the following two figures
is commonly referred to by astronomists as a cosmic "mist." However,
if we were to read the second verse of the Qur'an presented above we will find
that the Qur'an more accurately refers to it as a "smoke." This is
because "mist" implies a cool and tranquil spray of water. However,
"smoke" implies a hot gas containing airborne particles. This is
indeed another example of the literary miracle of the Qur'an in that it manages
to convey to us in a very concise language a very accurate and detailed
description of the topic at hand.
Fig. 13 The Spiral Galaxy M100 courtesy of the Hubble Space
Telescope
Fig. 14 M100 again. The distance to the swirling grand design
spiral M100 is causing quite a stir among astronomers. Many believe that the
Hubble Space Telescope's recent distance measurement to this galaxy accurately
calibrates the "Hubble's constant." A scientific debate involving the
actual value of Hubble's constant titled "The Scale of the Universe"
is scheduled to occur in April 1996 in Washington, DC.
"And those who have been given knowledge know that that
which has been revealed to you from your Lord is the Truth"
The noble Qur'an, Saba(34):6
"Do they not consider the Qur'an (with care) or are there
locks upon their hearts?"
The noble Qur'an, Muhammad(47):24
Example Number 3: Water and Life:In the Qur'an we read:
"Do not the disbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were
joined together then we split them asunder, and we created from water every
living thing, do they not believe?" The noble Qur'an, Al-Anbia(21):30.
"And Allah has created every trodding creature from
water......" The noble Qur'an, Al-Noor(24):45.
"It is He who created from water a human...." The noble Qur'an, Al-Furqan(25):54.
Water is the most common substance on Earth, covering more than 70%
of the planet's surface. All living things consist mostly of water; for
example, the human body is about two-thirds water (when you cremate a human
what happens to him? Why?). Scientist tell us that all forms of life known to
humanity today require three basic conditions: Temperature, the existence of
water, and the existence of an atmosphere.
All metabolisms require water to survive, so animals that exist in
arid regions have body mechanisms that protect against water loss and make
maximum use of water (camels for example). Dehydration in humans results from
lack of food, drink, and from sweating, in addition to other factors. This loss
eventually affects the proper functioning of the heart, central nervous system,
and organs containing smooth muscle. Finally, intercellular water is lost,
which upsets vital chemical processes in the cells. If water is not restored to
the body, death will usually occur within a few days.
The blood of all living creatures is composed of 55 percent plasma,
which in turn is composed of more than 90 percent water. Jan Baptista van
Helmont, the first experimental physiologist, around 1640 AD concluded that
water is the only soil component required for plant growth. We could go on and
on. Again we find ourselves asking the question: How did Muhammad (pbuh) know
that all living creatures are created from water centuries before mankind
discovered this fact through scientific experimentation? Did he randomly select
an element from the countless billions of possible choices? Why did he not
claim that mankind was created from air, or from wood, or from light? Why
water?Example Number 4: Deep sea currents:In the Qur'an we read:"Or as darkness on a vast, abysmal sea. There covers it a wave,
above which is a wave, above which is a cloud. Layer upon layer of
darkness." The noble Qur'an, Al-Noor(24):40.
Mankind began to build submersibles in the seventeenth century. The
first crude craft known to have ventured underwater was built by Cornelis
Drebbel, court engineer to James I of England, and was demonstrated on the
Thames river in 1620. From then onwards, development of submarines continued
until the twentieth century, or 1954 to be exact, when the first nuclear
submarine became a reality. With mankind's study of the sea came the
realization that the waters lying underneath the surface waves were not the
place of tranquil calmness they were previously envisioned to be. Rather, there
were underwater currents called deep sea currents which could at times become
such violent storms as to rearrange sediments in the ocean bottom. How did
Muhammad (pbuh) know about these underwater currents centuries before mankind
invented the tools necessary for underwater exploration?"Say: It was sent down by He who knows the secrets in the
heavens and the earth." The noble Qur'an, Al-Furqaan(25):6.
It is worth mentioning here in connection with the above verse that
some scientists have interpreted the "layer upon layer of darkness"
to be the gradual separation of the light spectrum within the ocean, one color
at a time until complete darkness is finally achieved. In other words, at one
depth, the yellow bandwidth is suppressed and "yellow darkness" is
achieved. At another depth, the red bandwidth is suppressed and "red
darkness" is achieved, and so forth.
There are many other scientific statements made in the Qur'an which
were only discovered to be scientifically accurate many centuries after
Muhammad's death. Many of them have only been discovered in this century. They
range over many fields of science including Anatomy, Chemistry, Astronomy,
Geology, Hydrology, and many other disciplines which are only beginning to be
addressed by scientists today.
For example, the Qur'an makes reference to the fact that a human's
pain receptors are located in the skin (Al-Nissa(4):56). That the frontal lobes
of the brain are responsible for lying and sin (Al-Alak(96):16). That mountains
have below them roots that extend deep into the earth's surface
(Al-Naba(78):7). That mountains pin the earth's crust and prevent it from
moving (Al-Nahil(16):15). That there exists a physical barrier between bodies
of fresh and salt water (Al-Rahman (55):20). There is also information
regarding the formation of milk in cows (Al-Nahi(16):66). And on and on. So
where was Muhammad (pbuh) getting all of these scientific facts if not from the
Creator of mankind and the universe ? Allah Almighty askes:
"Is this sorcery or is it that you do not see?"
The noble Qur'an, Al-Tur (52):15.
Prof. Keith Moore is not the only scholar who has been presented
with such verses of the Qur'an. Many other scholars from all over the world
have been presented with similar statements from the Qur'an in their field of
expertise. Only a few of these people are:
1) Dr. E. Marshall Johnson, Professor and Chairman of the Department
of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, and the Director of the Daniel Baugh
Institute, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, USA. Author of over 200
publications. Former President of the Teratology Society among other
accomplishments. After studying the verses of the Qur'an he came to the
following conclusion:"The Qur'an describes not only the development of external form
but emphasizes also the internal stages - the stages inside the embryo of its
creation and development, emphasizing major events recognized by contemporary
science... If I was to transpose myself into that era, knowing what I do today
and describing things, I could not describe the things that were described... I
see no evidence to refute the concept that this individual Muhammad had to be
developing this information from some place... so I see nothing in conflict
with the concept that divine intervention was involved..."
2) Dr. Joe Leigh Simpson. Professor and Chairman of the Department
of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Baylor Collage of Medicine, Houston, Texas. He
is the President of the American Fertility Society, and has served in many
other professional, national, and international organizations. He has received
numerous awards including Association of Professors of Obstetrics and
Gynecology Public Recognition Award in 1992. He has published more than 400
chapters and articles in journals and books. He says:"... these Hadeeths (sayings of Muhammad) could not have been
obtained on the basis of the scientific knowledge that was available at the
time of the writer'... It follows that not only is there no conflict between
genetics and religion (Islam) but in fact religion (Islam) may guide science by
adding revelation to some of the traditional scientific approaches... There
exist statements in the Qur'an shown centuries later to be valid which support
knowledge in the Qur'an having been derived from God."3) Dr. T.V.N. Persaud. Professor and Head of the Department of
Anatomy, Professor of Pediatrics and Child Health, and Associate Professor of
Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of Manitoba,
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He is the author and editor of 25 books, has
contributed 31 chapters to publications, and has published over 180 scientific
papers. In 1991 he received the most distinguished award presented in the field
of anatomy in Canada, the J.C.B. Grant Award from the Canadian Association of
Anatomists. He says:"Muhammad was a very ordinary man, he couldn't read, didn't know
how to write, in fact he was an illiterate... were talking about 1400 years
ago, you have some illiterate person making profound statements that are
amazingly accurate, of a scientific nature... I personally can't see how this
could be mere chance, there are too many accuracies and like Dr. Moore, I have
no difficulty in my mind reconciling that this is a divine inspiration or
revelation which lead him to these statements."
4) After a study which lasted ten years, the famous French physician
Maurice Bucaille addressed the French Academy of Medicine in 1976 and expressed
the complete agreement of the Qur'an and established findings of modern
science. He presented his study on the existence in the Qur'an of certain
statements concerning physiology and reproduction. His reason for doing that
was that"our knowledge of these disciplines is such, that it is
impossible to explain how a text produced at the time of the Qur'an could have
contained ideas that have only been discovered in modern times."
5) Dr. Tejatet Tejasen, Head of the Department of Anatomy, Faculty
of Medicine, University of Chiang Mai, Thailand. After his study on the Qur'an
passages dealing with embryology:"From my studies and what I have learnt at this conference I
believe that everything that has been recorded in the Qur'an 1400 years ago
must be true. That can be proved the scientific way."
Others include:
6) Dr. Gerald C. Goeringer. Professor and Coordinator of Medical Embryology
in the Department of Cell Biology in the Georgetown University school of
Medicine. Washington, D.C. He has published numerous articles dealing mainly
with the study of teratogenesis.
7) Dr. Alfred Kroner, Professor of Geology, Germany.8) Dr. Yoshiodi Kozan, Director of the observatory of Tokyo, Japan.
9) Dr. William Hay, Professor of Oceanography, University of
Colorado, Boulder, Colorado.
10) Dr. Pete Palmer, Professor of Geology, University of Colorado,
Boulder, Colorado.
11) Dr. Sayawida, Professor of Marine Geology, Japan.12) Dr. Armstrong, Professor of Astronomy, University of Kansas,
Lawrence, Kansas.
13) Dr. Draga Persaud Rauw, Professor of Marine Geology, King
Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
14) Dr. Schroeder, Professor of Oceanography, Germany.The response of these scholars when presented with verses of the
Qur'an in their field of specialization, varied. One thing however was always
constant. They all confirmed the accuracy of the scientific statements made in
the Qur'an, and they all could not explain how Muhammad (pbuh) could have known
with such accuracy the scientific claims to be found in the Qur'an so many
centuries before mankind discovered them to be scientific truths.
Allah Almighty tells us in the Qur'an:
"Allah did not create (all) that except in truth. He details
the signs for people of knowledge."
The noble Qur'an, Yunus(10):5
"And those who were given knowledge see that which was sent
down upon you by your Lord is the truth and guides to the path of the 'Exalted'
(in Might) the 'worthy of all praise'."
The noble Qur'an, Saba(34):6.
"Had We sent down this Qur'an upon a mountain, you would surely
have seen it humbling itself and rending asunder for fear of Allah. Such are
the parables We put forth for mankind that they may reflect."The noble Qur'an, Al-Hashr(59):21
"Verily! this Qur'an guides to that which is most upright, and
gives glad tidings to the believers who work deeds of righteousness that theirs
will be a great reward"The noble Qur'an, Al-Isra(17):9
"And We have indeed simplified [the comprehension of] this
Qur'an for remembrance, so is there any that will remember [and be
admonished]?"The noble Qur'an, Al-Qamar(54):17To obtain a more in-depth analysis of these matters including video
tapes containing interviews with many of these pioneering Western scholars,
contact one of the following (ask for the video tape titled "It is the
Truth"):1) Islamic Academy for Scientific Research.8150 West 111 StreetPalos Hills, IL 60465U.S.A.Phone: (708) 974-9151
2) Islamic Society of North America (ISNA)P.O. Box 38Plainfield, Indiana, 46168U.S.A.Phone: (317) 839-8157
3) Academy for the Miracles of Science in the Qur'an and the SunnahP.O. Box 5736Makkah Al-MukarramahSaudi ArabiaPhone: (2) 545-1519
Also look for the books:
"The Bible, the Qur'an and Science," by Dr. Maurice
Bucaille
"The Qur'an and Modern Science," by Dr. Maurice Bucaille
"An Introduction to Understanding the Qur'an," by Syed
Abdul A'ala Maudoodi
"The Sources of the Qur'an: A Critical Review of the Authorship
Theories," by Hamza Mustafa Njozi
"Muhammad's Prophethood: An Analytical View," by Dr. Jamal
Badawi
Muslim-SA@acsu.buffalo.eduLast modified: Mon Nov 18 14:18:24 EST 1996
