The Quran and Modern Science
The Holy Qur’an is the last and final revelation of Allah Subhanu WaTaala, which was revealed to the last and final messenger Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). For any book to claim that It is a revelation from Allah Subhana WaTala - for any book to claim, It is a word of Almighty God, it should stand the test of time - It should prove itself to be the word of God in all the ages. Previously it was the age of Miracles, ‘Moujaza’. A ‘Miracle’ is any unusual event, for which the human beings do not have any explanation. It is any unusual event which is attributed to a Super Natural Power or Almighty God. The Holy Qur’an is the ‘Miracle of Miracles’. But for a modern man to accept any Miracle, he will first analyze and verify it. Alhamdulillah, the Holy Qur’an proved itself to be aword of God 1400 years ago. Even today it can be analyzed and verified, and even in future, and it will always prove It itself to be a word of Almighty God – It is a Miracle of all times. Suppose a person says that he has done a Miracle – I would like to give an example of Baba Pilot who said, ‘that he stayed underwater in a tank, for three days’. And when the reporters, when they wanted to examine, the base of the tank, he said… ‘how can you examine the womb of the mother, which gives birth to the child?’ - And He prevented the reporters, from examining the base of the tank. Will a modern man accept such Miracles? . If such Miracles are the tests, then he has to agree with me, that P. C. Sorcar who happens to be one of the leading magicians of the world, he will be considered as the best god-man alive today. Later on, came the age of literature and poetry - Muslims and non-Muslims alike - they acclaim the Holy Qur’an to be the best Arabic literature available on the face of the earth.
And the Holy Qur’an gives a challenge in Surah Al-Baqara, Ch. No. 2, Verse No. 23, and 24,** where it says And if you are in doubt, as what we have revealed to our servant from time to time then produce a Surah some what similar to it and call forth your witnesses and helpers if there are any besides Allah, but if your doubts are truthful and if ye cannot and of a surety you cannot then fear the fire which is prepared for those who reject faith whose fuel shall be men and stones’.**
For any one to try and accept this challenge - but natural the Surah they produce should be in Arabic. There are certain Surahs which are hardly three verses hardly three sentences. The Surah they produce should be in Arabic - The language should be as divine as that of the Holy Qur’an as noble as the Holy Qur’an. The language of the Holy Qur’an is miraculous, is unsurpassable, intelligible, it has the highest rhetoric and at the same time it is very rhythmic. When any one wants to praise a person or wants to glorify anyone, he deviates away from reality - and the best example you can see is in the Hindi movies when the hero praises the heroine, and he tries to please her and says ‘Main tumhare liye chand tod ke leke aounga, mai tomhare liye sitare tod ke leke aounga’ ‘I will get for you the Moon I will get for you the star’. The more you try and praise a person, the more you deviate away from reality.
Alhamdulillah, though the Qur’an is rhythmic it does not deviate from reality.
There were many people who tried to produce a Surah like the Qur’an, but they failed miserably. No one has been able to do it so far, and no one InshaAllah will be able to do it till eternity. But suppose if I tell you that there is a religious scripture who says in a very poetic fashion that ‘the world is flat’ - Will a modern man today believe?. But natural no, because today is not the age of literature and poetry - Today is the age of science and technology. Let as analyze today the Holy Qur’an and modern science - whether they conflict or conciliate? The Qur’an and modern science whether they contradict or they are compatible? According to the famous physicist, Albert Einstein, who had got the Nobel prize, he said – ‘Science without religion is lame, and religion without science is blind’. I would like to repeat it - Albert Einstein said that ‘Science without religion is lame and religion without science is blind’. I would like to remind you that the Holy Qur’an is not a ‘book of Science’… S-C-I-E-N-C- E; but it’s a book of Signs… S-I-G-N-S; it’s a book of Ayaats - and there are more than 6000 Signs or 6000 Ayats, out of which more than a thousand speak about Science. There are some people who would be satisfied just by acquiring one sign. Some people require 10 signs to accept the truth. Some may require a hundred, while the others even after you produce a thousand signs to them yet they will not accept the truth. As far as my talk today will be concerned, I will only be speaking about those scientific facts which have been established. I will not be speaking about theories which are based on assumptions and hypothesis, because we know very well that many a times science based on theories and hypothesis it takes U-turns.
In the field of Astronomy - if you ask a scientist that how was our universe formed? - How did it come into existence? He will tell you about the Big Bang Theory - that initially the whole universe was one ‘Primary Nebula’. Then there was a secondary separation which gave rise to galaxies, which further split to form things such as our solar system, which gave rise to planets, the Sun and the present earth which we live in. I started my talk by quoting a verse of the Holy Qur’an from Surah Al-Anbiya, Ch. No. 21, Verse No. 30, which says Do not the unbelievers see the heavens and the earth were joined together, and We clove them asunder?’ **
This verse of the Holy Qur’an speaks about the Big Bang Theory, in a nutshell. Imagine, what we came to know today, the Holy Qur’an mentions 1400 years ago.And the Qur’an also says in Surah Fussilat, Ch. No. 41, verse 11, that…‘Moreover, in His design He comprehended the sky, and it had been smoke. And He said to it and the earth, come ye together willingly or unwillingly, and they said we come together in willing obedience’.**
The Arabic word used here is ‘Dukhan’, which means ‘Smoke’. If you ask a scientist, he will tell you that the, universe before it was formed, the celestial matter, it was in the state of ‘gas’, and the Arabic word ‘Dukhan’ which means Smoke, is more scientifically correct than mere ‘gas’. And according to Stephen Hawkins, who is a very famous scientist, he said – ‘the discovery of bridges of matter in the space, is the biggest discovery of this century which gives us indisputable evidence of the creation of the universe and the Big Bang Theory’. Previously the people thought that the world we live in - it is flat - and they were afraid to venture too far, lest they would fall over. It was only in 1597, when Sir Francis Drake - when he sailed around the earth he proved that the world was spherical.
The Qur’an mentions in Surah Luqman, Ch. No. 31, Verse 29"**It is Allah that merges the night unto the day and merges the day into the night’ **Merging is a slow and gradual process. The night slowly and gradually changes to day, and the day slowly and gradually changes to night. This phenomena is only possible if the shape of the earth is spherical – It is not possible if it is flat. If it was flat there will be a sudden change.
The Qur’an says in Surah Al Zumar, Ch. No. 39, Verse No. 5, it says’ It is Allah who has created the heavens and the earth in true proportion and he overlaps and coils the night unto the day and overlaps or coils the day unto the night’.
The Arabic word used is, ‘Kawwara’ which means overlapping or coiling. How you coil a turban around the head - How you overlap a turban around the head. This phenomena of the night overlapping and coiling over the day is only possible if the shape of the earth is spherical. It is not possible if the shape of earth is flat - there will be a sudden change. The Holy Qur’an further says in Surah Naziat, Ch. No. 79, Verse No. 30…. It says And thereafter, We have made the earth egg-shaped The Arabic word ‘Dahaha’ comes from root word ‘Duhya’, meaning an Egg-shape and it does not refer to any normal Egg. It specifically refers to the Egg of an Ostrich - and today we know that the world is not completely round like a ball- It is Geo Spherical. It is slightly flattened from the top and bulging from the centre - It is Geo Spherical. And if you analyze the shape of the Egg of an Ostrich - it too is Geo Spherical, slightly flattened from the top and bulging from the centre. So the Holy Qur’an describes the exact ‘geo spherical earth’ 1400 years ago