About 90% of Muslims do not bother to read Quran with its translation. But still, they believe that Quran is a “miracle” of Allah. If Muslims ever bother to study Quran with an understanding of its meaning and an objective mind, they will find absurdities, hate verses,contradictions, Pseudo science, stolen stories of bible, stories of Mohammed’s wives, stories of his companions, abrogated verses, satanic verses, grammatical errors, dreams of heaven, torture of hell, Allah’s anthropomorphic face, non Arabic words, inequalities, badly copied biblical verses, humor, vulgar language ,Mohammed’s nervousness, his anger, his feelings, his hatred for Jews, his lust, his marriage with daughter in law, his atrocities, his lootings, his pedophilia, his hallucinations, his broken oaths, his broken treaties, misogynist verses, scriber’s wording and many other “miraculous” things. And they will never find any wording for peace except of some ayats of Mecca when Mohammed was weak and a poor shepherd. But they will not get the idea of missing verse of stoning, lashing and list of missing verses and the Quran which is hidden to Muslim “ummah”. Only Shia Imam has “hidden” knowledge about that part of “miraculous“ Quran.
It is a common belief amongst Muslims that the Quran is a treasure-trove of miracles and all kinds of sciences. They universally believe that Westerners get all their sciences from the Quran. It is as much their fault as of some Western (pseudo)scientists, who find all kinds of "$cience in Quran”. Yet, they do not accept Islam, which makes it obvious that they do these to be fattened with petrodollars from the rich Saudi princes.
Read the book at:
We, ex-Muslims, have debunked all the deceptive claims of Quranic Sciences over the past years. But they are spread in the form of pieces in FFI forum. I have collected all the data regarding “miracles of the Quran” in this E-Book.
Many authors have contributed to forking out the information contained in this book and credit should go mostly to them. The following main contributors deserve a special mention:
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Amaar Khan
A Pakistani-born Ex-Muslim
Index
QURAN AND EMBRYOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
There are propagations of the Quranic ‘so-called’ Embryology by such luminaries as Dr Keith Moore and Dr Maurice Bucaille. These works are aped by such Islamic scholars as Dr Al Zeiny, Dr Zakir Naik, Dr Ibrahim Syed, Dr. Sharif Kaf Al-Ghazal, and the ubiquitous Harun Yahya aka Adnan Oktar. A good additional material is provided by Dr Omar Abdul Rehman in which he goes into even greater detail in his attempt to validate the Quranic ‘human reproduction’ verses with modern scientific facts. http://www.aquaire.clara.co.uk/
There are many excellent debunkings of the Quranic Embryology Pseudoscience (“QEP”). A short list would include these:
This article attempts to add to this debate, concentrating solely on the Quranic verses, because inclusion of the hadiths would clearly show up the stupidity of the QEP (see the list above).
THE ISLAMIST CLAIM
Dr Omar Abdul Rehman’s article is clearly the most detailed, and I will use it as the basis for rebuttal as it includes all the QEP nonsense of Drs Keith Moore and Maurice Bucaille.
A summary of his claims is contained herein:
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Thus the order and rate of development is similar in the two surahs.
(2) The first and second stages (Nutfah and 'Alaqah) : These two stages are congruent in Al-Mu'minun and AI-Qiyamah and the conjunction "thumma" has been used in both. No mention of these two stages is made in AI-Infitar. (3) The third stage (Mudghah) "Mudghah" (a noun) was used in AI-Mu'minun to describe the stage which follows the "'Alaqah". This noun is indicative of the shape. In "Al-Qiyamah" text, the verb "Khalaqa" has been used. This verb indicates the events which take place in "Mudghah" stage. "Khalaqa" is thus taken to correspond to the beginning of the development of the various organs during the "Mudghah' stage. As the outer appearance of the embryo alters with the changes taking place inside it, then the verb "sawwa" in "AI-Qiyamah" is taken to indicate that the "Mudghah" stage is over. The "Mudghah" has no bones or muscles and therefore does not have the human shape. Thus the stage of straightening and making the surface of the embryo more even mentioned in "AI-Qiyamah" must therefore, come after "Mudghah" stage. The order of events in "AI-Mu'minun" and "AI-Qiyamah is the same. Thus it is taken that the straightening in "Al-Oiyamah" follows immediately after the "Mudghah" i.e. corresponding to the bones "Izam" stage in "AI-Mu'minun "Mudghah" has been described by the verb "Khalaqa" in "AI-Qiyamah" describing the events which take place in it. Thus the process of creation is a particular feature of the "Mudghah" while terms like Nutfah and 'Alaqah have been used in the previous stages. In "Surah Al-Haj" the "Mudghah" is again described as formed and unformed. This indicates that the process of formation and initiation of various organs is a prominent characteristic of this stage. Furthermore, by comparing the texts in "Al-Qiyamah" and "AI-Infitar", we find that "Khalq" and straightening are in congruent sequence in both texts. This also indicates that "AI-Infitar" text has also started with the Mudghah stage by using the verb "Khalaqa" which is an important characteristic of this stage as explained in the above paragraph. (4) The fourth stage: As explained in the third stage the beginning of the bones 'Izam" stage corresponds to the stage of straightening, Furthermore, Al-Infitar shows that the stage of straightening does not include modification "Ta'dil" as this is stated to follow upon; straightening. Modification occurs by approaching the human appearance which cannot occur at the stage of bones without the presence of the muscle. It can therefore be concluded that the modification stage starts with the beginning of the clothing with flesh (muscle) stage i.e. it follows the stage of the bones which corresponds to the straightening stage. This is indicated by the order of events stated in "AI-Mu'minun" on one hand and both "AI-Qiyamah" and 'AI-Infitar" on the other. The Qur'an has therefore used the noun 'bones' to indicate shape in the first instance and a verb "sawwa" in both the latter surahs to describe an event. The embryo at this stage becomes more straight after having been bent (C-shape) and its surface more smooth after having been uneven during the "Mudghah" stage. (5) The fifth stage: In the above discourse it has been mentioned that the beginning of the stage, clothing with flesh, corresponds to the beginning of the modification stage in "AI-Infitar". This latter stage must correspond to the statement:
"and We made from it the male and female" in "AI-Qiyamah" because both are preceded by the straightening stage. Therefore, the beginning of male and female differentiation corresponds to the stage of clothing with flesh in Al-Mu'minun. This is in fact what actually takes place. There is differentiation of the genital ridge into either an ovary or a testis at this stage.
(6) The sixth stage and the continuation of the fifth: In surah AI-Mu'minun the conjunction "thumma" was used between the stage of clothing with flesh and the stage of Nash'ah. However, in "AI-Qiyamah" and "AI-Infitar" no sixth stage is mentioned. This indicates that male and female sex differentiation continues to its completion and this is what actually happens. The external genital organs differentiate between the 11th and 12th weeks Similarly "Ta’dil" or modification of the organs and acquiring of human proportions of the body continues to a late stage of pregnancy.
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ANALYSIS
1. The Islamist Debating Technique
A good summary of the Islamist debating technique is given here:
I think it is a waste of time to argue such imponderables of whether the ‘alaqa’ is a leech, or a leech-like thing, a clinging thing, or a clot. I will accept each and every one of these Islamist definitions because such arguments are futile. Both sides would merely be agreeing to disagree.
A further Islamist miracle is that words like alaqa can have several meanings, and each of these meanings applies at the same time. Thus, an alaqa is a leech, looks like a leech if viewed in a certain angle or a clot in another angle, or clings to the endometrium. Truly the Quran is miraculous.
Therefore, my opinion is that the best method of debunking the QEP is by questioning every Islamist claim as to their validity, and to make the Islamist justify every claim. This would include why they chose to make a choice when there are several other equally valid possibilities, why they chose to ignore clearly nonsensical phrases, and why they assume certain phrases to be metaphorical while others to be literal.
In this way, I will show the QEP to be the patent nonsense that it is.
I will also ignore the obvious similarities between the embryology prevailing at the time the Quran was written and the QEP, notwithstanding Dr Omar Abdul Rehman’s excellent article. This is because Muhammad’s plagiarizing of ancient Greek and Indian embryology can never be proven one way or the other. Therefore, I will concentrate solely in showing that the QEP is made up of incorrect or illogical or unproven assertions.
2. The role of the Female Gamete
The Quran never explicitly claims that the female parent contributes genetic material. It is merely the assumption, and an assumption only, of the Islamists that 'nutfatun amshaajin' (mixed drop or mingled sperm) includes the female gamete.
"Verily WE created Man from a drop of mingled sperm." (76:2)
The term ‘nutfatun amshaajin’ could just as easily refer to the sperm-menstrual blood union of Aristotle and the ancient Indian embryologists, or the two sperm hypothesis of Hippocrates and Galen, or even the readily observed mingling of semen and vaginal discharge during sexual intercourse. In other words, the fact the Quran does not explicitly state that ‘nutfatun amshaajin’ contains the ovum, together with the existence of other possible explanations, means that it is illogical to assume the former and not the latter.
The insistence by Islamists that it explains the former is pure conjecture devoid of evidence, and constitutes the logical fallacy of equivocation, and its adoption is merely wishful thinking or the Islamist art of the ‘reinterpretation after the fact.’
One might contend that the Quran does not claim a role for the ovum at all, or is even ignorant of its existence.
The Islamists claim that the Quran correctly states that the sex of the progeny is determined by the sperm from the male parent, based on verses 53:45-46.
Pickthall: And that He createth the two spouses, the male and the female, From a drop (of seed) when it is poured forth;[Transliterated Arabic: Waannahu khalaqa alzzawjayni alththakara waal-ontha Min nutfatin itha tumna]
There are only two logical explanations of nutfatin itha tumna; that it is the sperm emitted, or the blastocyst (i.e. zygote) implanted. If it is the latter, the Islamists have no case to argue that the Quran correctly states that gender is determined by the sperm of the male parent. Hence, nutfatin itha tumna must refer to the sperm emitted.
It is possible the Quranic verses 53:45-46 state that the male and female progenies, and not merely the genders, are created from the sperm. This is a possibility totally discounted by Islamists without evidence and suggests a biased interpretation of the verses in light of modern facts. For where is the mention of the ovum? Not in these verses nor anywhere else in the Quran.
In fact, the Quran itself provides the evidence of its doctrinal omission or rejection of the role of the ovum in procreation, for verse 2:223 states that wives are merely tilth. This is saying they are like the earth receiving the zygote (i.e. seed) from the male.
Pickthall 2:223: Your women are a tilth for you (to cultivate) go to your tilth as ye will, and send (good deeds) before you for your souls, and fear Allah, and know that ye will (one day) meet Him. Give glad tidings to believers, (O Muhammad).
Therefore, if read in the context of verse 2:223, ‘nutfatun amshaajin’ cannot contain the ovum because tilth does not contribute genetic material to the development of the seed (i.e. zygote), and must mean the semen mingled with some unspecified non-genetic material-contributing female secretion.
In light of these facts, backed by the Quranic verses, it is apparent that the Quran’s view of human conception and reproduction is that the male parent contributes the diploid seed (nutfatin itha tumna) and the female parent, as tilth, merely contributes the environment and nutrients for the growth and development of this diploid seed.
3. The Dust Stage
These verses form the basis for the QEP.
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| Pickthall 22:05: O mankind! if ye are in doubt concerning the Resurrection, then lo! We have created you from dust, then from a drop of seed, then from a clot, then from a little lump of flesh shapely and shapeless, that We may make (it) clear for you. And We cause what We will to remain in the wombs for an appointed time, and afterward We bring you forth as infants, then (give you growth) that ye attain your full strength. And among you there is he who dieth (young), and among you there is he who is brought back to the most abject time of life, so that, after knowledge, he knoweth naught. And thou (Muhammad) seest the earth barren, but when We send down water thereon, it doth thrill and swell and put forth every lovely kind (of growth). Transliterated Arabic: Ya ayyuha alnnasu in kuntum fee raybin mina albaAAthi fa-inna khalaqnakum min turabin thumma min nutfatin thumma min AAalaqatin thumma min mudghatin mukhallaqatin waghayri mukhallaqatin linubayyina lakum wanuqirru fee al-arhami ma nashao ila ajalin musamman thumma nukhrijukum tiflan thumma litablughoo ashuddakum waminkum man yutawaffa waminkum man yuraddu ila arthali alAAumuri likayla yaAAlama min baAAdi AAilmin shay-an watara al-arda hamidatan fa-itha anzalna AAalayha almaa ihtazzat warabat waanbatat min kulli zawjin baheejin Pickthall 23:12-14: Verily We created man from a product of wet earth; Then placed him as a drop (of seed) in a safe lodging; Then fashioned We the drop a clot, then fashioned We the clot a little lump, then fashioned We the little lump bones, then clothed the bones with flesh, and then produced it as another creation. So blessed be Allah, the Best of creators! Transliterated Arabic: Walaqad khalaqna al-insana min sulalatin min teenin Thumma jaAAalnahu nutfatan fee qararin makeenin Thumma khalaqna alnnutfata AAalaqatan fakhalaqna alAAalaqata mudghatan fakhalaqna almudghata AAithaman fakasawna alAAithama lahman thumma ansha/nahu khalqan akhara fatabaraka Allahu ahsanu alkhaliqeena |
These verses clearly delineate the stages of the QEP as thus:
The Islamists all conveniently ignore the first stage which is ‘DUST’. What does it correspond to in the modern Embryology? I know some Islamists would claim the dust to be metaphorical. Where is the evidence for that? If the dust is metaphorical, then the other stages should also be metaphorical, in the absence of evidence to differentiate between metaphorical and literal phrases.
The evidence that ‘dust’ is not metaphorical is the word ‘then’ or ‘thumma’ linking dust and sperm. This is the same word linking various stages in the QEP sequence of events. To arbitrary assume that this word now no longer means an immediate follow-on to the next stage is disingenuous and devoid of explanatory evidence.
Some Islamists will argue that the dust refers to the catalytic stage of clay in the first stage of abiogenesis. However, this is in error because there are numerous, literally eons length, steps between this clay-catalysis stage and the creation of humans. Secondly, the verse implies that man was made FROM clay, giving the impression clay was a building block and not a catalytic compound. Therefore, this clay-catalysis notion is nonsensical and debunked.
4. The Missing Stages
Most QEP proponents either conveniently omit the embarrassing verse 40:67 or dishonestly quote only the fragment supporting their case.
Pickthall 40:67: He it is Who created you from dust, then from a drop (of seed) then from a clot, then bringeth you forth as a child, then (ordaineth) that ye attain full strength and afterward that ye become old men - though some among you die before - and that ye reach an appointed term, that haply ye may understand.Transliterated Arabic: Huwa allathee khalaqakum min turabin thumma min nutfatin thumma min AAalaqatin thumma yukhrijukum tiflan thumma litablughoo ashuddakum thumma litakoonoo shuyookhan waminkum man yutawaffa min qablu walitablughoo ajalan musamman walaAAallakum taAAqiloona
Those QEP proponents who omit this verse are Keith Moore, Maurice Bucaille, Sharif Kaf Al-Ghazal, Nadeem Arif Najmi and Omar Abdul Rehman. Only Ibrahim Syed quotes the verse, but only up to the alaqa stage. Zakir Naik references it in a footnote, glossing over the ‘missing stages’, while Sulayman Gani quotes the verse in full, but glosses over the missing stages.
This shows that the Quran can’t even get its embryology stages correct. Some might view 40:67 to ‘contradict’ the other embryology verses as it states clearly and plainly that the child is formed straight after the alaqa stage.
5. The Formation of Bone
There is a clear mistake in the QEP idea of the formation of bone. Drs Needham and Needbeer of freethoughtmecca explain this well and I defer to their expertise.
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While we will return to the issue of mudgha below, we should now move on to the issue of izhaam (bones). As was noted above, after the alaqa is turned into a mudgha, the Qur'an states fa-khalaqnaa al-mudghata izhaaman, or "then we formed the morsel into bones." Moore and his cohort try to change the translation to "out of the mudgha we formed bones," so as to give the impression that the bones are forming inside the embryo, rather than the entire object becoming bones. This brings to light the duplicitous nature that these people are taking to the text.
Consider that word khalaqnaa ("we created/formed") appears in three times in Soorat al-Moominoon 23:14: (1) khalaqnaa al-nutfata alaqatan - "we formed the nutfa into an alaqa"; (2) khalaqnaa al-alaqata mudghatan - "we formed the alaqa into a mudgha"; (3) khalaqnaa al-mudghata izhaaman - "we formed the mudgha into bones." So the question that needs to be asked is how one properly interprets the logical structure khalaqnaa X,Y. As will be noted below, proponents of this polemic want izhaam to not actually be a reference to bone, but rather cartilaginous precursors to bone, thus we see that there are two possible (and rather different) usages of the logical structure khalaqnaa X,Y being employed. Does the logical structure mean "we formed the X into a Y," or does it mean "we caused a precursor to Y to form inside the X"? No person to put forth the polemic has ever explained which is the correct interpretation, or if both are possible how they know to use one and not the other. The reality is that khalaqnaa X,Y means "we formed the X into a Y," and there is no implication that the Y (much less something other than Y!) is only forming inside the X. When we reach izhaam we find another problematic part of the verse. Consider that the text reads: khalaqnaa al-mudghata izhaaman, fa-kasawnaa al-izhaaman laHman. First note that khalaqnaa is past tense, and the pre-fix fa means "then." So the verse reads: "we formed the morsel into bones, then we clothed the bones with flesh." Thus, it implies bone forms before soft tissue, which is a blatant error, not to mention one that parallels Galen. As was alluded to above, there is an argument put forth by those who push this polemic that the "bones" are actually a reference to cartilaginous models that will later ossify. Of course, the text has izhaam, which only means bone - there is no reference to cartilage (Arabic: ghudhroof), so we see that the champions of this deceptive polemic are importing things. Furthermore, as was noted in the previous paragraph, the text has a past tense conjugation followed by the word "then" (fa), thus the logic of the text is that the bones were completed, finished, and then they were clothed with flesh. This does not square with the actual process that some wish to correlate the text with, where cartilaginous skeletal models ossify while muscle forms around them simultaneously. |
Unless and until an Islamist can adequately explain why the syntax of stage transformation is somehow different in the izhaam stage compared to all the other stages, one must logically conclude that the Quran is in error in believing that the mudgha turned totally into izhaam.
The Islamist would simply say that the syntax allows both interpretations, i.e. khalaqna can mean made into or made within. However, I’m still to see an Islamist provide proof of this assertion. It is easy to make assertions. Backing them up with evidence is another matter. Therefore, in the failure of evidence otherwise, the conclusion must be that the syntax of verse 23:12-14 must reveal the QEP to be in error.
Secondly, the Islamist has to explain why the author(s) of the Quran was deficient in their language and forgot to mention cartilage (ghudhroof) but bone (izhaam).
Thirdly, muscle and bone (or their precursors) develop contemporaneously, although muscle begins developing before cartilage and bone. Therefore, there is no scientific basis for the QEP proposition of a stage in which bone is later covered with flesh after its own formation. Muscles begin developing in week four. There are 40 pairs of developing muscles in the five-week embryo, and they begin to move by week six when the skeletal system is still totally cartilage which forms in week five or six. By week seven, the muscles and nerves begin work together, when ossification (i.e. bone formation) begins.
It can be argued that since cartilage does not begin forming until week five or six and muscles begin forming in the fourth week, the Quranic verse 23:14 got the embryology completely reversed, and therefore, incorrect.
Here is the scientific evidence for the contemporaneous development of cartilage/bone and muscles:
Ossification (in upper limb) occurs at the end of the 7th week. - The Developing Human, 6th Edition Clinically Oriented Embryology Keith L. Moore, Ph..D., FIAC, FRSM T.V.N. Persaud, M.D., Ph.D., D.Sc., FRCPath W.B. Saunders Company (Philadelphia), 1998 p. 96
According to Rugh in Conception to Birth Roberts Rugh, Ph.D., Landrum B. Shettles, Ph.D., M.D. Harper & Row, (New York), 1971, muscles appear in pelvis by 6th week (p 43). Movement of the muscles is being controlled by the nervous system by the 6th week (p 34). All of the muscle blocks have appeared by day 36 after conception (p 46).
Thus bone appears after muscles have formed.
Even if we were to accept that the Quran was only referring to precursors of bone and not bone itself, even though it used the Arabic word for bone, izhaam, the embryology is still wrong.
Muscle precursors begin developing into muscle soon after mesenchymal (skeletal) condensation [see here and here].
Looks like muscle forms contemporaneously with cartilage formation and is not delayed until bone had formed. Muscle development starts on Day 28 [see link].
Building blocks are present for 40 pairs of muscles, which are located from the base of the skull to the bottom of the spinal column. Day 28 after conception Rugh, p 35
Muscles appear in the pelvic region. Day 31 after conception Rugh, p 43
All of the muscle blocks have appeared. Day 36 after conception Rugh, p 46
Muscular layers of the stomach, esophagus, and intestines begin to proliferate. Day 56 after conception Rugh, p 53
The first indication of limb musculature is observed. 7th week of development Sadler, 7th edition, p 168
Muscles appear in the pelvic region. Day 31 after conception Rugh, p 43
All of the muscle blocks have appeared. Day 36 after conception Rugh, p 46
Muscular layers of the stomach, esophagus, and intestines begin to proliferate. Day 56 after conception Rugh, p 53
The first indication of limb musculature is observed. 7th week of development Sadler, 7th edition, p 168
Cartilage first appears in week 5 [see here]
But the cartilage skeleton begins forming by week 6 [see here].
Thus, when the bone precursors were developing, muscles were also developing at the same time. The cartilage model of the skeleton begins developing by week 6 (see above) and is only developed by the 7th week (link).
Mesenchymal models of the bones in the limbs undergo chondrification to form hyaline cartilage. Week 6 (Moore: The Developing Human, 6th ed., p. 420, fig. 15-15D).
At this time, all the muscle blocks have already appeared. [Rugh p. 46]
Thus, Keith Moore is wrong. Muscles do not take their positions around the bone forms at the end of the seventh week and during the eighth week. All the muscle blocks have already appeared around the developing skeleton by day 36—i.e. early week 5. Bone and Muscle develop contemporaneously. In fact, muscle appears BEFORE bone and around the same time as the cartilage precursor.
This diagram shows that the week 6 embryo (Carnegie Stage 16) already has musculature when the cartilage is forming.
6. The End of Cell Differentiation
Proponents of the QEP state that mudgha stage in which the phrase “partly formed and partly unformed” or “shaped and shapeless” refers to the incomplete cell differentiation observed in this stage.
Quote:
Yusuf Ali 22:05: … We created you out of dust, then out of sperm, then out of a leech-like clot, then out of a morsel of flesh, partly formed and partly unformed…
Sadly for the Islamists, some of whom are embryologists and medical doctors and so should know better, this claim is not backed by the scientific evidence.
Remembering that this mudgha stage occurs before the izham stage, it must occur before week six, when the progeny is still in the “embryo” stage. However, modern embryologists know that cell differentiation occurs well before the ‘mudgha’ stage and well into the “fetal” stage. Hence the QEP claim must be incorrect.
7. The Beginning of the Fetal Stage
Islamists claim that the Quran correctly denotes the start of the Fetal stage by referring to the creation of ‘another creation’ after the izham/lahm (bone clothed with flesh) stage which supposedly occurs at week eight.
Pickthall 23:12-14: …We the clot a little lump, then fashioned We the little lump bones, then clothed the bones with flesh, and then produced it as another creation.
An experienced embryologist would know that the delineation of the embryo and fetal stages is arbitrary.
However, the 8-week dividing line is still arbitrary, since a firm scientific basis for the transition to the fetal stage is lacking (link).
8. The Least Period of Conception
Some Islamists claim that the Quran correctly states that the least period of conception is 6 months. They base this claim on two verses.
Pickthall 46:15: And We have commended unto man kindness toward parents. His mother beareth him with reluctance, and bringeth him forth with reluctance, and the bearing of him and the weaning of him is thirty months, till, when he attaineth full strength and reacheth forty years, he saith: My Lord! Arouse me that I may give thanks for the favour wherewith Thou hast favoured me and my parents, and that I may do right acceptable unto Thee. And be gracious unto me In the matter of my seed. Lo! I have turned unto Thee repentant, and lo! I am of those who surrender (unto Thee).Pickthall 31:14: And We have enjoined upon man concerning his parents. His mother beareth him in weakness upon weakness, and his weaning is in two years. Give thanks unto Me and unto thy parents. Unto Me is the journeying.
Dr Omar Abdul Rehman claims that ‘the two texts taken together leave only six months (22 weeks i.e., five and half Gregorian months are equal to about six lunar months. of pregnancy).’ Here, Dr Abdul Rehman’s sleigh of hand to fit 22 weeks into six lunar months is ludicrous as each lunar month consists of four weeks, while five and a half Gregorian months consist of about 23.8 weeks.
Dr Al-Ghazal also claims that according to ‘scientific facts’ the least period of conception is 22 weeks.
Even assuming the arbitrary claim by Drs Al-Ghazal and Abdul Rehman of 22 weeks, being the ‘most cases’ scenario (patently false according to medical statistics – see below), one is left with the conclusion that the Quran is still in error as six lunar months is 24 weeks, not 22 weeks.
This two-week difference is very important to the development and survivability of the fetus. Hence, it should not be summarily dismissed and rounded to the nearest month. If anything, it should be rounded to five lunar months, not six.
Regardless, the claim of six lunar months or 22 weeks as the least period of conception or ‘minimum period for fetal viability’ is unsupported by modern medical science.
A fetus is defined as being viable if it has the ability to "potentially able to live outside the mother's womb [that is, can survive], albeit with artificial help." In the fifties viability was reached about 30 weeks after conception. Modern medical technology changed that to 25 weeks in the seventies. Now viability continues to be pushed further and further back in the pregnancy and is now as early as 19 weeks.
21 and 22 week premature babies are now supported routinely, and have a good chance of survival. By 24 weeks after conception, premature babies have a 40% chance of reaching adulthood without any major complications. By 28 weeks, the chance is 90%. By 29 weeks, survival is almost definite. (Note: These percentages are from reports written during the late 1980s. Current survival rates are most likely much higher.)
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Thus, it can be seen that the minimum period of fetal viability has changed, at least in recent history. It was never 22 weeks or 6 lunar months prior to the era of modern medicine, being likely to have been at least 30 weeks. Now, it has shrunk to only 19 weeks in countries with advanced pediatric medicine. I would suggest the minimum period of fetal viability in many third-world countries would still be around 30 weeks. Thus, the QEP proposition of the least period of conception is false.
CONCLUSION
The Quranic Pseudoscience Embryology can be seen to be false due to the following points:
1. The Quran itself omits mention of the ovum in human reproduction, with doctrinal evidence that it regards the progeny to be the resulting union between the seed from the male parent and the female parent as tilth. As tilth do not provide genetic material to the seed, it is abundantly clear that the Quran regards the nutfah (sperm) as the diploid seed.
1. The Quran itself omits mention of the ovum in human reproduction, with doctrinal evidence that it regards the progeny to be the resulting union between the seed from the male parent and the female parent as tilth. As tilth do not provide genetic material to the seed, it is abundantly clear that the Quran regards the nutfah (sperm) as the diploid seed.
- 2. The Quran includes an initial dust stage that cannot be reconciled with modern embryology.
- 3. The missing stages of verse 40:67 contradict the other embryology verses.
- 4. The stage of bone formation is in error, even assuming that izhaam means both bone and cartilage.
- 5. The Quranic view of cell differentiation at the Mudgha stage is incorrect, as modern embryology has discovered cell differentiation occurring before and after the putative ‘Mudgha’ stage.
- 6. The QEP claim that Quran correctly predicted the beginning of the fetal stage is debunked because the transition between the embryo and the fetus is arbitrary.
- 7. The QEP claim that the Quran correctly states the least period of conception at 24 weeks is in error, as according to modern medical knowledge this period is closer to 21-22 weeks or even less with advanced medical science, and at least 30 weeks without modern medical assistance.
Seven Layers of the Atmosphere
Islamists claim that the Quran has mentioned the layers of atmosphere, which is a miracle of Quran. Here is the full claim:
One fact about the universe revealed in the verses of the Qur'an is that the sky is made up of seven layers.
"It is He Who created everything on the earth for you and then directed His attention up to heaven and arranged it into seven regular heavens. He has knowledge of all things." [The Qur'an, 2:29]"Then He turned to heaven when it was smoke. In two days He determined them as seven heavens and revealed, in every heaven, its own mandate." [The Qur'an, 41:12]
The word "heavens", which appears in many verses in the Qur'an, is used to refer to the sky above the Earth, as well as the entire universe. Given this meaning of the word, it is seen that the Earth's sky, or the atmosphere, is made up of seven layers.
The Earth has all the attributes that are needed for life. One of them is the atmosphere, which serves as a shield protecting living things. Today, it is an established fact that the atmosphere is made up of different layers lying on top of one another. Just as it is described in the Qur'an, the atmosphere is made up of exactly seven layers. This is certainly one of the miracles of the Qur'an.
Indeed, today it is known that the world's atmosphere consists of different layers that lie on top of each other. Furthermore, it consists, just as is described in the Qur'an, of exactly seven layers. In a scientific source, the subject is described as follows:
Fourteen centuries ago, when the sky was believed to be one unified body, the Qur'an miraculously stated that it consisted of layers, and what is more, "seven" layers. Modern science, on the other hand, discovered the fact that the atmosphere surrounding the Earth is made up of "seven" basic layers only very recently.
The above claim was made by Harun Yahya inhis site, but after I published the following rebuttal he removed that page from his site. You can still find what he wrote in this Islamic site.
Rebuttal
The pre Copernican concept of the universe was geocentric, i.e. they thought that the Earth was flat and was located at the center of the universe. They believed that the Sun and the Moon along with Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Mercury that made the seven known objects of the heaven were deities. These were the only objects people could observe with their naked eyes moving in the sky while the stars appeared to be fix.
They believed that these planets or “gods” each had its own sphere. These layers are not the same as the orbits that we know. The planets did not orbit the Sun but they all revolved around the flat Earth in this order:
| Moon | Mercury | Venus | Sun | Mars | Jupiter | Saturn |
The closest to the Earth was the Moon and the farthest, was the Saturn. Therefore the concept of the 7 layers of heaven is based on ancient astronomy, where each celestial body occupied a crystal sphere one placed on top of the other like layers of an onion...
Both Judaism and Christianity make reference to these layers of heaven. For example Dante in his Divina Comedia refers to it and Paul the apostle, in 2 Corinthians 12:2 says: “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.”
The heaven was the physical world above. The concept of a spiritual heaven is a new concept. In the mind of the ancient man the distinction between physical heaven (sky) and spiritual heaven was fuzzy. For example “cielo” in Spanish still means both sky and heaven.
Not only the Heaven had seven layers, the Earth also had seven layers and it represented the underworld or the Hell. Dante, for example on visiting the lowest level of Hell meets two men with their bodies split and he learns that they were Muhammad and Ali. He describes his encounter with these two wretched men graphically:
“Truly cask, by losing mid-board or cross-piece, is not so split open as one I saw cleft from the chin to where the wind is broken: between his legs were hanging his entrails, his inner parts were visible, and the dismal sack that makes ordure of what is swallowed. Whilst all on seeing him I fix myself, he looked at me, and with his hands opened his breast, saying, "Now see how I rend myself, see how mangled is Mahomet. Ali goeth before me weeping, cleft in the face from chin to forelock; and all the others whom thou seest here were, when living, sowers of scandal and of schism, and therefore are they so cleft.”
The number seven was so engrained in the mind of the ancient man that you can find it everywhere.
Seven planets or gods had been identified and the phases of the moon changed every seven days. The Bible states that God rested on the seventh day after he completed his Creation. And every seventh year was sabbatical and that the seven times seventh year ushered in the Jubilee year.
The Pagans divided their weeks in seven days each day representing a deity.
Saturday which was the first day of the week (as it still is in Islamic countries) was dedicated to Saturn (Dies Saturni),
- Sunday to Sun (Dies Solis),
- Monday to Moon (Dies Lunae),
- Tuesday to Mars (Dies Martis),
- Wednesday to Mercury (Dies Mercurii),
- Thursday to Jupiter (Dies Jovis), and
- Friday to Venus (Dies Veneris). [1]
Out of this order come the familiar seven Archangels which include Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Raguel, Sariel, and the fallen Lucifer.
The pagan concept of the seven layer of Heaven crept into Judaism and the number seven can be found in Judaism more than anywhere else. Why? Because Midrash teaches, there are seven layers of Heaven, obviously an influence of Paganism in Judaism.
“When Adam sinned, the Shechinah departed to the First Heaven. The sin of Kayin forced it to the Second Heaven; the Generation of Enosh to the Third; the generation of the Flood to the Fourth; The generation of the Dispersion to the Fifth; Sodomites, to the Sixth; Egypt of Avraham's day, to the Seventh ... (Bereishis Rabbah 19:7)”[2]
According to Judaic scriptures, creation took 7 days; Naaman had to wash 7 times in the Jordan to be cleansed from leprosy; the Israelites had to march around Jericho 7 days and 7 times on the 7th day; they had to set aside one day in 7 for rest and worship. There was a 7-armed lampstand in the temple, etc. In the last book, Revelation, we find mentioned 7 spirits, 7 lampstands, 7 churches, 7 stars, 7 seals, 7 trumpets, 7 vials, 7 thunders, 7 plagues, 7 mountains and 7 kings. The tribulation period is to be 7 years being the last "week of years" of Daniel's 70 weeks (Dan 9:24 ff).[3]
Muhammad did not invent the concept of the seven layers of Heaven. He merely parroted it without understanding the Pagan origin of this idea. He wrote:
“So He ordained them seven heavens in two periods, and revealed in every heaven its affair; and We adorned the lower heaven with brilliant stars… “(Fussilat 41: 12)
This verse has nothing to do with layers of the atmospheres as claimed by the charlatan Harun Yahya. It has to do with the geocentric concept of the universe that was prevalent at the time of Muhammad. Note also that according to Muhammad, stars are lamps that are affixed to the ceiling of the lower layer of the Heaven for adornment purposes. The lower level is the sphere of the Moon. Obviously stars are not in the same layer where Moon is and neither the Moon nor the stars are in the lower atmosphere of the Earth.
In fact the concept of the layers of heaven as mentioned in the Quran is so unrelated to the layers of the atmosphere that the Islamic site, www.understanding-islam.com, tries to give a completely mystical significance to that verse and claims that it talks about the "spiritual heavens" which the soul will encounter after the death. [4]
“The reference to the fact that God has created seven heavens has generally been given in the Qur’an, in reply to the skepticism shown by the disbelievers regarding the possibility of life after death. … it refers to the vastness of His creation. It says that God has not just created one sky -- i.e., one universe, but seven such skies -- or seven universes.It seems that the huge universe that we live in, the one whose boundaries are not yet known to man, is just one of these heavens (universes) there are seven others, of which we -- with all our scientific developments -- do not know anything about. Certain verses of the Qur’an clearly indicate that the whole huge mass of space around us is just one of these universes...”
The Islamic site www.pakistanlink.com quotes Maududi, the renowned Muslim scholar and the interpreter of the Quran, who says:
“It is difficult to explain precisely what is meant by the ‘seven heavens’. In all ages man has tried, with the help of observation and speculation to conceptualize the ‘heavens’, i.e. that which lies beyond and above the earth. As we know the concepts that have thus developed have constantly changed. Hence it would be improper to tie the meaning of these words of the Qur’an to any one of these numerous concepts. What might be broadly inferred from this statement is that either Allah has divided the universe beyond earth into seven distinct spheres, or that this earth is located in that part of the universe which consists of seven different spheres." [5]
From the Ahadith (especially the Hadith of Mi’raj) we learn that the first heaven is the one that is closest to the earth. So the order begins from the earth and the highest heaven is the seventh heaven [6].
As one can see the real scholars of Islam are unable to explain the meaning of the seven heavens mentioned in the Quran and try to give esoteric significance to it. If we had to believe that the seven heavens is an allusion to the seven layers of the atmosphere then we have to assume that stars must be no more than eleven kilometers above the Earth, because as the verse 41:12 says the lower heaven is adorned with brilliant stars. The Troposphere ends at about eleven kilometers above the surface of the Earth.
Not only Muhammad, like other men of his time, believed that the sky had seven layers, he also thought that the Earth was made of seven layers too.
“Allah is He Who created seven Firmaments and of the earth a similar number…” [Quran 65.12]
In this verse the number of the earths is not in question. It assumes that everyone agrees that there are seven earths. The emphasis is on the claim that Allah is the creator of these seven earths. The reason is because just like the seven heavens, the ancient people had agreed that there were also seven layers of earth. Muhammad was simply stating what seemed to be obvious to the people of his time but of course he was dead wrong according to the modern science.
What are these seven earths that Muhammad was talking about? If there were seven continents on Earth, the Muslim apologists would not waste time to claim this verse is a miracle. But we do not have seven continents. Muhammad is talking about the seven layers of Earth. He is talking about the same layers that were described by Dante in his Inferno. Several hadith make this clear. Here is one:
Allah's Apostle said, "Whoever usurps the land of somebody unjustly, his neck will be encircled with it down the seven earths (on the Day of Resurrection). "[7]
Down the seventh earth is allusion to the bottom of the Hell, where Dante found Muhammad and Ali with their bodies torn asunder. It is interesting to note that both Muhammad and Ali raided innocent people killed them or exiled them and usurped their lands unjustly. Fadak was a beautiful village with many gardens that Muhammad usurped from the Jews of Khaibar after annihilating them and gave it to his daughter Fatima the wife of Ali. I am surprised Dante did not see Fadak around the neck of Muhammad and Ali when he saw them in Hell. Isn't this another proof that even their description of Hell was wrong?
The detailed description of these seven earths is given by Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah al-Kisa'i:
“... There are seven earths. The first is called Ramaka, beneath which is the Barren Wind, which can be bridled by no fewer than seventy thousand angels. With this wind God destroyed the people of Ad. The inhabitants of Ramaka are a nation called Muwashshim, upon whom is everlasting torment and divine retribution. The second earth is called Khalada, wherein are the implements of torture for the inhabitants of Hell. There dwells a nation called Tamis, whose food is their own flesh and whose drink is their own blood. The third earth is called Arqa, wherein dwell mulelike eagles with spearlike tails. On each tail are three hundred and sixty poisonous quills. Were even one quill placed on the face of the earth, the entire universe would pass away. The inhabitants thereof are a nation called Qays, who eat dirt and drink mothers' milk. The fourth earth is called Haraba, wherein dwell the snakes of Hell, which are as large as mountains. Each snake has fangs like tall palm trees, and if they were to strike the hugest mountain with their fangs it would be leveled to the ground. The inhabitants of this earth are a nation called Jilla, and they have no eyes, hands or feet but have wings like bats and die only of old age. The fifth earth is called Maltham, wherein stones of sulphur hang around the necks of infidels. When the fire is kindled the fuel is placed on their breasts, and the flames leap up onto their faces, as He hath said: The fire whose fuel is men and stones (2:24), and Fire shall cover their faces (14:50). The inhabitants are a nation called Hajla, who are numerous and who eat each other. The sixth earth is called Sijjin. Here are the registers of the people of Hell, and their works are vile, as He hath said: Verily the register of the actions of the wicked is surely Sijjin (83:7). Herein dwells a nation called Qatat, who are shaped like birds and worship God truly. The seventh earth is called Ajiba and is the habitation of Iblis. There dwells a nation called Khasum, who are BLACK and short, with claws like lions. It is they who will be given dominion over Gog and Magog, who will be destroyed by them…[8]
It is not hard to see these tales are nonsense. These are fairy tales that even children today would laugh at.
As it has been proven time and again, Quran is wrong in almost all its assertions. One error would have been enough to prove Muhammad was not a messenger of God but a liar. We have shown that there are hundreds of errors in the Quran. Yet Muslims desperately keep looking for “miracles” to fool themselves and find validation for their belief.
- To understand why this order was chosen see this link: http://www.12x30.net/origin.html
- (Towards Understanding the Qur’an, translated by Zafar Ishaq Ansari, vol. 1, p.58 note no. 34.) From the Ahadith (especially the Hadith of Mi’raj) http://www.pakistanlink.com/religion/2000/03-31.html)
- Ibid
- [Bukhari Volume 3, Book 43, Number 63. see also: Volume 3, Book 43, Number 633: and Volume 3, Book 43, Number 634:
- Tales of the Prophets-Qisas al-anbiya, trans. Wheeler M. Thackston Jr.
[Great Books of the Islamic World, Inc., Distributed by Kazi Publications; Chicago, IL 1997], pp. 8-9)” taken from: http://answering-islam.org.uk/Quran/Science/seven_earths.html
Speed of Light in the Qur'an?
Muslims are hard at work trying to find miracles in the Qur'an and each day they "find" something new. They gloat about it and pump themselves, spread the glad tiding across the Internet, publish it in their newspapers, and challenge others to disprove that miracle, until someone shows their error and deflates them like a punctured balloon. This does not slow them. Since they are eager to find miracles, and since there is no end to human gullibility, especially when one WANTS to believe, they find a new miracle every day.
The Claim
In an article published in Islamicity.com, Dr. Mansour Hassab-Elnaby claims the verse 32.5 reveals that light in one day travels a distance equal to 12,000 lunar orbits, and upon calculating that distance we find the exact speed of light.
Here is verse 32:5 translated by Shakir:
“He regulates the affair from the heaven to the earth; then shall it ascend to Him in a day the measure of which is a thousand years of what you count..”
According to Dr. Hassab-Elnaby, "affairs" mentioned in this verse is "light." So this verse reveals that light can travel in one day the distance that will take the Moon, 1000 years to span.
It takes a Muslim's imagination to think this verse has anything to do with the speed of light. There is no mention of moon, light or even distance in this verse. However, let us agree with this assumed interpretation for now and see whether Dr. Hassab-Elnaby has his math right.
Rebuttal
The rebuttal is divided into 7 parts.
1. Wrong Calculation
The average center-to-center distance from the Earth to the Moon is 384,403 km.
The orbit of the Moon is nearly circular. (That is why we see the Moon always with the same size)
This means for the Moon to go a full circle around the Earth it must travel a distance of 2,415,273 km (Circumference of the lunar orbit = 2r π = 2 x 384,403 x 3.14159)
To orbit the earth 12,000 times the Moon must travel 28,983,278,898 km (2.415,273 x 12,000). This is how much the moon travels in 1000 lunar years.
Light travels at a constant speed of 299,792.458 km. per second
There are 86,400 seconds in one day (60x60x24)
In 24 hours, light travels a distance of 25,902,068,371 km (299,792.458 x 86,400).
These two numbers are not the same. They are not even close. There is a difference of 3,081,210,527 km (28,983,278,898 - 25,902,068,371) between the distance traveled by the Moon in 1000 lunar years and the distance traveled by light in one day.
This difference is over twenty times the distance between the Earth and the Sun. So clearly Dr. Hassab-Elnaby got it wrong. The two numbers do not match.
That is not all. There is a difference between lunar month (phases) and lunar orbit. The Moon makes a complete orbit around the Earth every 27.3 days, (siderial month) while the periodic variations in the geometry of the Earth–Moon–Sun system are responsible for the lunar phases that repeat every 29.5 days (synodic month). There is a difference of 2.2 days between the lunar month and the lunar orbit. (Wikipedia)
In one lunar year the Moon revolves around the Earth 12.967 times (29.5 x 12 / 27.3) and not 12 times. So the distance that the Moon travels in 1000 lunar years is actually 32, 045,078,461 km (12,967 x 2,4715,273).
The difference between this distance and the distance traveled by light in one day is 6,143,010,090 km (32, 045,078,461 - 25,902,068,371). It would take light, another 5 hours 41 minutes to travel this extra distance.
Alternatively we can say that the Moon revolves around the Earth 10,724 times to cover the distance that the light travels in 24 hours. (Distance traveled by light in one day 25,902,068,371 km / The orbit of the Moon 2,415,273 km).
It takes only 827 lunar years for the Moon to go this distance and not 1000 lunar years. (10,724 revolutions of the Moon around the Earth x 27.3 days that takes for each revolution / 354 days that exist in each lunar year).
No matter how you look at it Dr. Hassab-Elnaby's calculations are wrong. The distance traveled by the Moon in 1000 years and the distance traveled by light in one day are NOT the same.
We are not even considering the orbit of the Earth around the Sun, which inevitably the Moon must also thread. Taking that into account Dr. Hassab-Elnabi's calculations are 36.6 times off.
2. Wrong Translation
Which part of this verse talks about light or its speed? Dr. Hassab-Elnany writes: "Thus we conclude that the cosmic affair, mentioned in the previous Quranic verse, is identical to LIGHT and all similar cosmic affairs travelling in vacuum with this maximum speed such as: all types of electro magnetic waves propagating between the heavens and the earth, the expected Gravitational waves spreading all over the universe, and all particles travelling in this cosmic greatest spead such as neutrinos."
What a load of nonsense! All Muhammad is saying in this verse is that a day of Allah is 1000 years long. This is his way of saying Allah is big, everything about him is big, and even his days are big. Muhammad repeated the same thing in the verse 22.47
“Verily a day in the sight of thy Lord is like a thousand years of your reckoning.”
There is no mention of affairs going up and down, light, magnetic waves, particles and neutrinos in this verse.
The length of the day is determined by how fast a planet revolves around its axis and it has nothing to do with the size of its inhabitants. All we can understand from this verse is that the creator of the world lives in a very slow revolving planet.
Just to show the absurdity and the confusion in the Qur'an let us see the verse 70:4:
“The angels and the spirit ascend unto him in a Day the measure whereof is (as) fifty thousand years.”
This verse has a similar content of the verse 32:5, but here it says that the length of the day of God is 50,000 years. This is a clear contradiction. Is a day of God 1000 years or is it 50,000 years? Does it mean that it takes 50,000 years for angels and spirits to reach God? That is awfully slow. Then how could Angel Gabriel take Muhammad to heaven and back in one night? The Qur'an is replete with contradictions and absurdities. Muhammad had found a gullible audience who gobbled everything he told them uncritically. He never thought one day his words will be scrutinized by people smarter than his benighted followers and his lies will be exposed.
3. Wrong Parameters
I am not done yet! There is still more problem with this claim. The speed of light is constant while the rotation of the Earth, thanks to losing its kinetic energy, is slowing down. Therefore, the days of the Earth are becoming longer. Also the Moon is getting away from the Earth and its orbit is widening. To orbit the Earth, the Moon has to travel a little more each time. This means that the length of the lunar months are increasing. How can one measure something that is constant with things that are variable?
Scientists believe that when the Earth was young, it span ten times faster around its axes than it is spinning today. Since the speed of light has remained the same all along, 4.5 billion years ago, in one day light traveled one tenth of the distance that it travels today.
There are nearly 4.5 million thousand years since the Moon is orbiting the Earth. As the Moon distances from the Earth it is slowing down. Since each millennium the orbit of the Moon and the Length of the day change, in which one of these 4.5 million millennia the Moon traveled the same distance that the light travels in one day? The claim is wrong, but even if true, only one time out of 4.5 million times the two numbers could match. Then again even a broken watch is right twice every day.
The very notion of measuring the speed of light with the orbit of the Moon or the length of the day is a fallacy, that is because the yardstick is constantly changing. Such an error only reveals the lack of understanding of Dr. Hassab-Elnaby of the basic principles of science.
4. Wrong Interpretation
The verse talks about the “affairs of God” being sent to Earth and then ascending to Him in one day, the length of which is 1000 years. How on Earth this educated slave of Allah has determined that "affairs" means light? The word used in Arabic is Amr. It means commandment, order, cause, and affair. This is an allusion to God’s religion and not to light. Amrullah means the Cause of God. A more accurate translation of this verse is, God sends his Cause to Earth, which will return to Him, i.e. it will be revoked in one day, the length of which is equal to 1000 years.
This is how Sheikh Ahmad Ahsai (1753–1826), founder of Shiite Sheikhieh school and his disciple Seyyed Kazim-i-Rashti (1792–1843) interpreted this verse. They claimed Islam does no longer meet the needs of the time and since it does not allow reform, it must be abrogated. However, since no one can abrogate the word of God but God himself, this task rests on the shoulders of the awaited Mahdi, the Promised One of the Shiites. Ahsai and Rashti said the end of Islam and the appearance of Mahdi has already been foretold in the Hadith and the Qur'an, and verse 32:5 gives the exact date.
According to these eminent scholars, Amrullah, the cause of God, was completed when the last intermediary between God and Mankind, Imam Hassan Askari died. Hassan Askari died in the lunar year 260 Hijra. Ahsai believed that since, according to the verse 32:5, one thousand years after the communication between God and mankind is interrupted the cause of God (Islam) would be revoked: يَعْرُجُ إِلَيْهِ ,
Mahdi should manifest himself in the year 1260 Hijra (1844 EC)
Seyyed Kazem Rashti died one year before the expected year. He, was so sure that Mahdi would manifest himself in the coming year that he did not appoint any successor. He dissolved the Sheikhieh school ordering his disciples to scatter around Persia to find him. It was in this heightened atmosphere of expectation that the 26 year old Seyyed Ali Mohammad, native of Shiraz, claimed to be the Bab, the Gate to divine understanding, the Promised One. Thanks to his sincerity and Christ like innocence he attracted most of the students of Seyyed Kazem and in a short time the Babi movement became so popular that it took the country by storm. The amazing success of the Babis in converting the Iranians was seen as a threat by the clergy who instigated the young and inexperienced king, Nasereddin Shah to execute the Bab. They started a brutal campaign of persecution of Babis and subsequently Bahais that has lasted till this day.
I am not an apologist for Babism. I do not believe in Islam and do not think the Qur'an contains any prophecy. Anyone can interpret the Qur'an in anyway he pleases. I do not believe the Bab was a messenger of God. According to this author, that young man suffered from temporal lobe epilepsy, the evidence of that is in his prolific, verbose, and incoherent writings. He certainly believed in his cause and refused to recant in order to save his life. In all fairness, one can see that Ahsai and Rashti have given a much more logical interpretation to the Quranic verse 32:5 than Dr. Hassab-Elnaby, with his ludicrous claim that the verse reveals the speed of light.
5. Stolen Miracle
The funny thing is that the verse 32:5 is plagiarized from the Bible. Here are the original Biblical verses:
For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. [Psalm 90:4]
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.[2 Peter 3:8]
When the Psalmist says a thousand years for God is like a watch in the night, he means God is timeless. In those days people used sundials to measure the time. It only worked in sunshine. This is a beautiful poetic way to say time does not exist for God. This thousand years should be taken allegorically and not literally.
Peter understood that. He said with Lord not only a thousand years is like one day, also one day is like a thousand years. What that humble fisherman was saying is that Time is irrelevant for God. Compare that with the pathetic attempt of Muslim doctors and scholars who take this allegory literally and try to find scientific equations in it. Taken poetically, this example is beautiful; taken literally, it is asinine.
Assuming there is a miracle in this allegory, shouldn't the credit go to the Bible? Isn't it interesting that neither the Jews nor the Christians make the claim that these verses reveal scientific information, but Muslims make that claim even though the verse is stolen from the Bible? What this tells us about the state of the mind of Muslims? Doesn't this show they are insecure and desperate to validate their illogical faith by clinging to any straw?
6. Does the Qur'an distinguish synodic and siderial months?
Dr. Mansour Hassab-Elnaby claims, "Quranic verse (10:5) discriminates between the synodic period for knowing the number of years and the real sidereal period for reckoning in scientific calculations." Here is the verse in question:
It is He Who made the sun to be a shining glory and the moon to be a light [wrong. Moon is not a source of light], and measured out stages for her; that ye might know the number of years and the count. 10:5
This verse in no way discriminates between synodic and siderial months. Dr. Hassab-Elnaby is engaging in wishful thinking.
7. The Islamic Divine Comedy
In their quest to find miracles in the Qur'an, Muslims unwittingly make, not only Islam, but the entire Divine system look like a joke. Our good doctor says, "The verse begins with a reference to a certain "cosmic affair" which GOD creates and commands. This affair travels, permanently through the whole universe between the heavens and the Earth, so speedily that it crosses in ONE DAY a maximum distance in space equivalent to that which the moon passes during ONE THOUSAND LUNAR YEAR (i.e. during 12000 Sidereal months)."
This erudite Muslim is wrong again. Arabs count the synodic months that are 29.5 days and not the siderial months that are 27.3 days. The Qur'an is clear that these thousand years are of what you count.
" Only synodic months can be observed and counted. Siderial months are not observable and as the doctor himself rightly points out they are "for reckoning in scientific calculations." As I showed in section 1, in 1000 lunar years the Moon orbits the Earth 12,967 times and not 12,000 times. Dr. Hassab-Elnaby makes many deliberate errors to doctor his miracle.
"Affairs traveling permanently through the whole universe at speed of light?" Is he talking about UFOs? Now, when it comes to the Universe, the speed of light is not really that fast. It is a very slow way for God to run his affairs. These "cosmic affairs" traveling at the speed of light take one full day to reach the Earth. If you are in peril, forget about asking Allah for help. By the time he sends you his succor, a day is passed and that is often too late.
Consider yourself lucky because Allah is only one light day away from the Earth (I thought Muhammad said he is closer to us than our jugular vein). He lives just around the corner of our solar system. Think of other poor creatures that live hundreds or thousands light years away, or those who live in galaxies that are millions or billions light years away from God. How can God run his affairs in those galaxies when the communication is so slow? For all intent and purposes, as far as those far away galaxies are concerned God does not exist. Just as their light hardly reach us, and when it does it is after millions of years the "affairs of Allah" can hardly reach them. In his zeal to ascribe miracles to the prosaic book of Muhammad, Dr. Hassab-Elnaby throws out of the window the concept of omnipresence of God altogether. The maker of the Universe, according to this Muhammadan, depends on the speed of light to manage his affairs.
It is pathetic that in this day of science and enlightenment, over a billion otherwise normal people, many of whom doctors and educated, should still follow an ignoramus of the seventh century and waste their time trying to find meaning and even miracles in his asinine balderdash. This should tell you everything you need to know about Muslim intelligentsia. The fact that Islamicity.com, arguably the most prestigious Islamic site has published this gobbledygook proves the intellectual bankruptcy of the ummah.
Islam is a joke. It is an irony that so many smart people have reduced themselves into jokers and laughing stocks for mankind. The more Muslims try to make Islam look logical and scientific the more ridiculous THEY look.
FEMALE BEES PRODUCE HONEY
Islamists claim that it is mentioned in quran that only female bees can produce honey. Which is miracleous.Here is full claim:
"And Your lord inspired the bee, to build your dwellings in hills, on trees, and in (human’s) habitations. Then, to eat of all the produce and follow the ways of your Lord made easy. There comes forth from their bodies a drink of varying colour, wherein is healing for men: Verily, in this is a sign for those who give thought." (The Quran, 16:68-69)The imperative "build" above is the translation of the Arabic word "attakhithi", which is the feminine form (Arabic grammar unlike English, differentiates between the sexes). The feminine form is used when all of those it refers to are female, whereas the masculine is used when a group consists of at least 1 male.Therefore the Quran is in fact saying "build, you female bees.."A swarm of bees , which collect honey and build the hive, are female only.Thus, the phrasing of this command is in agreement with the scientific fact that male bees do not partake in the construction of the hive.Microscopes were not invented until 1610, when Galileo invented one of the first microscopes almost a thousand years after Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). It is only Allah, the Creator of all things, who revealed such details over 1,423 years ago. This one word of the Quran is sufficient to prove that Quran is from non other than Allah! (source)
Rebuttal
The belief that worker bees are female existed at least from a time dating back to Aristotle and perhaps much before him.
Describing the various theories about the bees prevalent in his time, Aristotle wrote: “Others, again, assert that these insects copulate, and that the drones are male and the bees female.” [History of Animals, Book 5, Ch. 21]
Aristotle observed that the brood of drones appears even when there is no ruler bee in the hive. This is an accurate observation. As we know today, unfertilized female workers can lay eggs in the absence of a queen, but the eggs develop into drones. Aristotle gave a fairly accurate description of the bees with only few mistakes like confusing the gender of the Queen and calling it King.
Aristotle lived in 350 BC or 1000 years before Muhammad. Therefore, the concept of bees being female was not an invention of Muhammad. In fact the word bee in Arabic
What Muhammad said about bees?
”And thy Lord taught the Bee to build its cells in hills, on trees, and in (men's) habitations;” [Q 16.068]
That is all the information there is in the Quran about the bees. There is nothing ground breaking in what we see in this verse. This is something that not only people, but also the bears and the birds know. So Muhammad states something obvious known to everyone including animals. What is the miracle in this verse? The “miracle” as Muslims claim is that Muhammad refers to bees in female gender.
The word bee in Arabic is nahla. This word was not invented by Muhammad. This is an Arabic word used by everyone who speaks Arabic. The word is feminine. In Arabic some words are feminine some are masculine. The fact that Muhammad uses an Arabic word that happens to be feminine is no indication that he was the first who discovered bees are female. In fact not all bees are female.
The gender of the worker bees was already known to everyone at least for 1000 years before Muhammad. All Arabs used the same word even before Muhammad. Why Muhammad should be called a miracle-maker and they who taught Muhammad the word should be called "ignorant", as Muhammad disparagingly referred to all those who lived before him?
QURAN PREDICTED BLACK HOLES AND PULSARS
INTRODUCTION
Harun Yahya makes many claims of Quranic Science. This article seeks to debunk two such claims, namely that the Quran predicted black holes and pulsars.
I will show the absurdity of the black hole claim, while showing the pulsar claim to be conjectural and devoid of factual basis. In doing so, I will also show Harun Yahya’s self-contradiction as he used the same Quranic verse to ‘prove’ both the black hole and the pulsar. Now, even to the uninitiated, it would seem impossible for something to be both a black hole and a pulsar. However, Islamists do not appear to be inhibited by such constraints of logic.
ANALYSIS
| Quote: |
http://www.harunyahya.com/
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This verse doesn’t say anything about a collapsed star. Only the position of the stars. It is the conjecture of the Islamist that the verse refers to collapsed stars. In fact, some translations allude to shooting or falling stars, i.e. meteors.
Khalifa: I swear by the positions of the stars.Yusuf Ali: Furthermore I call to witness the setting of the Stars,-Pickthall: Nay, I swear by the places of the stars -Shakir: But nay! I swear by the falling of stars;Sher Ali: Nay, I cite as proof the shooting of the stars -"Progressive Muslims": I swear by the positions of the stars.
This surah does not speak about black holes at all, but about the Day of Decision (aka Day of Judgment). Therefore, it cannot possibly refer to black holes which were formed and continue to be formed long before this specific day.
Shakir:
77:0 In the name of Allah, tho Beneficent, the Merciful.77:1 I swear by the emissary winds, sent one after another (for men's benefit),77:2 By the raging hurricanes,77:3 Which scatter clouds to their destined places,77:4 Then separate them one from another,77:5 Then I swear by the angels who bring down the revelation,77:6 To clear or to warn.77:7 Most surely what you are threatened with must come to pass.77:8 So when the stars are made to lose their light,77:9 And when the heaven is rent asunder,77:10 And when the mountains are carried away as dust,77:11 And when the apostles are gathered at their appointed time.77:12 To what day is the doom fixed?77:13 To the day of decision.
He further claimed:
“Moreover, stars of great mass also cause warps to be perceived in space. Black holes, however, do not just cause warps in space but also tear holes in it. That is why these collapsed stars are known as black holes. This fact may be referred to in the verse about stars, and this is another important item of information demonstrating that the Qur'an is the Word of Allah:[I swear] by Heaven and the Tariq! And what will convey to you what the Tariq is? The Star Piercing [the darkness]! (Qur'an, 86:1-3)”
The verse actually refers to Tariq, a specific star. Some say it is the morning star (Pickthall and Sher Ali). Firstly, a star that pierces the darkness (or has piercing brightness) cannot be a black hole.
Secondly, if the reference by Pickthall and Sher Ali is correct, the Tariq or morning star is Venus, a planet and not a star [link].
Even some Islamists believe that the Tariq could be Saturn or the Pleiades. [link]
Therefore, it would appear Harun Yahya's claim, that the Quran speaks about black holes, cannot be supported by either the reading of the entire surah, or by the scientific facts about black holes.
In fact, Harun Yahya contradicts himself because he used the same Quranic verse to 'prove' Tariq is a pulsar, as opposed to a black hole. Truly the miracles of the Quran know no bounds!
Quote:
PULSARS: PULSATING STARS
[I swear] by Heaven and the Tariq! And what will convey to you what the Tariq is? The Star Piercing [the darkness]! (Qur'an, 86:1-3)Pulsars are the remains of extinguished stars which emit very powerful, pulse-like radio waves and which revolve very rapidly around their own axes. It has been calculated that there are more than 500 pulsars in the Milky Way, of which our Earth is a part.The word "Tariq," name of the Sura 86, comes from the root "tarq," whose basic meaning is that of striking hard enough to produce a sound, or hitting. Bearing in mind the word's possible meaning as "beating," "striking hard," our attention may be being drawn in this sura to an important scientific fact. Before analysing this information, let us look at the other words employed in the verse to describe these stars. The term "alttariqi" in the above verse means a star that pierces the night, that pierces the darkness, born at night, piercing and moving on, beating, striking, or sharp star. Furthermore, the term "waal" draws attention to the things being sworn on-the heaven and the Tariq.Through research carried out by Jocelyn Bell Burnell, at Cambridge University in 1967, a regular radio signal was identified. Until that time, however, it was not known that that there was a heavenly body that could be the source of regular pulse or beating rather like that of the heart. In 1967, however, astronomers stated that, as matter grows denser in the core as it revolves around its own axis, the star's magnetic field also grows stronger, and thus gives rise to a magnetic field at its poles 1 trillion times stronger than that of Earth. They realised that a body revolving so fast and with such a powerful magnetic field emits rays consisting of very powerful radio waves in a conic form at every revolution. Shortly afterwards, it was also realised that the source of these signals is the rapid revolution of neutron stars. These newly discovered neutron stars are known as "pulsars." These stars, which turn into pulsars through supernova explosions, are of the greatest mass, and are the brightest and fastest moving bodies in the universe. Some pulsars revolve 600 times a second.50The word "pulsar" comes from the verb to pulse. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the word means to pulsate, to beat. Encarta Dictionary defines it as to beat rhythmically, to move or throb with a strong regular rhythm. Again, according to the Encarta Dictionary, the word "pulsate," which comes from the same root, means to expand and contract with a strong regular beat.Following that discovery, it was realised that the phenomenon described in the Qur'an as "tariq," beating, bore a great similarity to the neutron stars known as pulsars.Neutron stars form as the nuclei of super giant stars collapse. The highly compressed and dense matter, in the form of a rapidly revolving sphere, entraps and squeezes most of the star's weight and magnetic field. The powerful magnetic field created by these rapidly revolving neutron stars has been shown to cause the emission of powerful radio waves observable on Earth.In the third verse of Surat at-Tariq the term "alnnajmu alththaqibu," meaning piercing, piercing and moving on, or opening holes, indicates that Tariq is a bright star that pierces a hole in the darkness and moves on. The concept of the term "adraka" in the expression "And what will convey to you what the Tariq is?" refers to comprehension. Pulsars, formed through the compression of stars several times the size of the Sun, are among those celestial bodies that are hard to comprehend. The question in the verse emphasizes how hard it is to comprehend this beating star. (Allah knows best.)As discussed, the stars described as Tariq in the Qur'an bear a close similarity to the pulsars described in the 20th century, and may reveal to us another scientific miracle of the Qur'an.
Harun Yahya's howlers:
1. Pulsars are hard to comprehend.
Not really. Their structure is as well understood as many other celestial bodies.
2. Pulsars are the brightest bodies in the universe.
Not really. Pulsars are weak optical emitters. Only a few pulsars can be seen with an optical telescope, and only one pulsar is bright enough to be seen reasonably well. In fact, it was not until 1967 that pulsars were discovered on radio emissions, not optically. (link)
It is not pulsars but quasars that are the brightest objects in the universe. (Ref)
Are pulsars the strongest radio emitters? Not really. The infrared star NML Cygni sat 1612 megahertz is the strongest radio emission line yet detected. Other strong radio emitters include radio galaxies such as Cygnus-A, quasars and gas clouds.
3. Pulsars are the fastest moving bodies in the universe.
Not proven. There appears some confusion between neutron stars and pulsars. Whilst it is true that all pulsars are neutron stars, not all neutron stars are pulsars. The fastest moving stars are neutron stars, such as RX J185635-3754, Barnard’s star or SGR1900+14. (ref. 1, ref. 2)
4. The term "alttariqi" means a star that pierces the night, that pierces the darkness, born at night, piercing and moving on, beating, striking, or sharp star.
The Islamist gave the definition of the root “tarq” as beat or strike hard. Nowhere is there the implication of ‘moving on’. So, we’re left with only a star that pierces. But does this mean that the Tariq is a pulsar? This tafsir defines tariq as way, not a pulsar.
Quote: The term / tariq / is derived from / tarq / 'to pound'. And / tariq / means 'way' because the path is pounded by the feet of pedestrians. The term /matraqah/ 'a sledge hammer' is used for pounding iron and materials like this.
And since the doors are closed at night when people arrive they have to pound on them to gain permission to enter, then, that which comes at night is called /tariq/ 'the night-visitant'.
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Here is another definition giving the meaning, ‘night visitor’ from the root of ‘knock’ing of the door. (ref)
Muhammad Asad reads Taraqa to mean beat something or knock at something.
Quote: * Some commentators assume that what is described here as at-tariq ("that which comes in the night") is the morning-star, because it appears towards the end of the night; others - like Zamakhshari or Raghib - understand by it "the star" in its generic sense. Now if we analyze the origin of this noun, we find that it is derived from the verb taraqa, which primarily means "he beat [something]" or "knocked [at something]"; hence, taraqa 'l-bab, "he knocked at the door". Tropically, the noun signifies "anything [or "anyone"] that comes in the night", because a person who comes to a house by night is expected to knock at the door (Taj al-Arus). In the Qur'anic mode of expression, at-tariq is evidently a metaphor for the heavenly solace which sometimes comes to a human being lost in the deepest darkness of affliction and distress; or for the sudden, intuitive enlightenment which disperses the darkness of uncertainty; or, finally, for divine revelation, which knocks, as it were, at the doors of man's heart.. and thus fulfils the functions of both solace and enlightenment. (For my rendering of the adjurative wa as "Consider", see surah 74, first half of note 23.)
Does beat, strike, knock, pound, pierce mean pulse? It seems a stretch of the imagination to suggest that. Hence I contend that the definition of Tariq of beat, pierce, strike, knock, and pound does not suggest the pulsing characteristics of a pulsar.
In terms of piercing the darkness, it would appear pulsars are neither the brightest, nor the strongest radio emitters in the Universe.
Regardless, it would appear that at Tariq refers to a singular star, not a collective of pulsars. If it is a single pulsar, which one is it? Sadly, the Quran doesn’t say, leaving the logical conclusion, due to its singular noun, that it refers to something the 7th Century Arabs knew about.
CONCLUSION
The claim that the Quran predicted the modern understanding of Black Holes is not backed by the scientific evidence.
The claim that the Quran predicted the modern understanding of pulsars is conjectural and not supported by the scientific evidence.
It can also be seen that a black hole cannot possibly also be a pulsar. Thus it appears that Harun Yahya has refuted himself.
Cat’s Eye Like Nebula
The verse you brought is:
"And when the heaven splitteth asunder and becometh ROSY LIKE PAINT - (The Noble Quran, 55:37)"
In Arabic (55:37:
فَإِذَا
انشَقَّتِ
السَّمَاء
فَكَانَتْ
وَرْدَةً
كَالدِّهَانِ
Transliteration: Faithainshaqqati ssamao fakanat wardatan kaalddihan
The literal translation is "when the skies split asunder and becomes rosy red or rosy paint like"
What does this say exactly? It says about something that will happen in the future. was Muhammad pointing to rosy explotions ? Not at all, because all you want to do is just read the whole chapter focusing especially on the verses before and after 55:37
What this specific chapter has in common is a pop up verse like “Which is it, of the favors of your Lord that ye deny?”
This verses repeating in the chapter many times. Chapter itself is very much poetic.
Now let’s read a few verses before and after verses 55:37 (that means in context).
We shall settle your affairs, O you two classes (djinns and men)! (55:31) (Sanafrukhu lakum ayyuhal thaqlan)
God, the alleged author of Quran speaks of a day, when he will settle the matters of djinns and men. God’s two classes of creatures.
Then which of the Blessings of your Lord will you both (djinns and men) deny?
(55:32) (Fabi ayyi aalai rabbikuma tukazziban)
No need to interpret this verse..; God asks mankind and djinns how they are going to deny his blessings. That’s all.
O assembly of djinns and men! If you have power to pass beyond the zones of the heavens and the earth, then pass (them)! But you will never be able to pass them, except with authority (from Allah)! (55:33) [Ya ma’aashara aljinni walinsi ini istataa’tum an tanfuthoo min aqtari assamawati waalardi faonfuthoo la tanfuthoona illa bisultan]
Again see; god addresses both djinns and human beings. He alerts none of his creatures can pierce through heaven and earth except with his authority. To understand this well, one will have to read the verses following.
Then which of the Blessings of your Lord will you both (djinns and men) deny? (55:34)There will be sent against you both, smokeless flames of fire and (molten) brass, and you will not be able to defend yourselves. (55:35) Yursalu alaykuma shuwatun min narin wanuhasun fala tantasiran
See the beginning of this verse. It is in future tense.
“Yursalu= Will be sent"
That signifies of something that is going to happen in future. Not in past or present, but in future. Okay let’s move on.
Then which of the Blessings of your Lord will you both (djinns and men) deny? (55:36)Then when the heaven is rent asunder, and it becomes rosy or red like red-oil, or red hide. (55:37) (Faitha inshaqqati assamao fakanat wardatan ka’ddihan)
This is it. God will split the heaven and it will become rosy red. Again something that is going to happen in a certain period. Move again:
Then which of the Blessings of your Lord will you both (djinns and men) deny? (55:38)So on that Day no question will be asked of man or jinn as to his sin, (55:39)(Fayawmaithin la yusalu an thanbihi insun wala jan)
Here it is:
The day neither man nor djinns will be asked of their sins. But god will settle the matters in between djinns and human beings. (As said in verse 55:31)
But which is that day? This present living period? Not at all, because nobody has seen djinns so far. So, the day is yet to occur. It hangs about in the belly of future. A certain day. To make more clear, continue reading…
Then which of the Blessings of your Lord will you both (djinns and men) deny? (55:40)The Mujrimun (polytheists, criminals, sinners, etc.) will be known by their marks (black faces), and they will be seized by their forelocks and their feet. (55:41) (Yua’rafu almujrimoona biseemahum fayukhathu binnawasee wal’aqdam)
Got it…! It is the Day of Judgment.
Mujrimun= sinners, criminals
It denotes infidels who aren’t believed in Allah and his religion. They will be known by their marks and will be seized by their forelocks and their feet. This happens in the Day of Judgment.
QURAN AND ALL CREATION IN PAIRS
INTRODUCTION
It is my observation that some Islamists, particularly those who are Western-educated, strive to prove the validity of the Quran through supposed scientific miracles enclosed therein. Typically, they quote ‘vague’ verses amenable to multiple interpretations and then choose the few interpretations to suit their aims. Some of these are even quite convincing, particularly when articulated by knowledgeable Islamists and where absolute proof is impossible due to the nature of the question.
This article seeks to debunk just one of these claims, which is the claim that Allah created all creatures in pairs, male and female.
Quran 13.3
Yusuf Ali: And it is He who spread out the earth, and set thereon mountains standing firm and (flowing) rivers: and fruit of every kind He made in pairs, two and two: He draweth the night as a veil o'er the Day. Behold, verily in these things there are signs for those who consider!Pickthal: And He it is Who spread out the earth and placed therein firm hills and flowing streams, and of all fruits He placed therein two spouses (male and female). He covereth the night with the day. Lo! herein verily are portents for people who take thought.Shakir: And He it is Who spread the earth and made in it firm mountains and rivers, and of all fruits He has made in it two kinds; He makes the night cover the day; most surely there are signs in this for a people who reflect.Sher Ali: And HE it is Who spread out the earth and made therein mountains and rivers, and of fruits of every kind HE made therein two sexes. HE causes the night to cover the day. Therein, verily, are Signs for a people who reflect.[Wahuwa allathee madda al-arda wajaAAala feeha rawasiya waanharan wamin kulli alththamarati jaAAala feeha zawjayni ithnayni yughshee allayla alnnahara inna fee thalika laayatin liqawmin yatafakkaroona]
Quran 36.36
Yusuf Ali: Glory to God, Who created in pairs all things that the earth produces, as well as their own (human) kind and (other) things of which they have no knowledge.Pickthal: Glory be to Him Who created all the sexual pairs, of that which the earth groweth, and of themselves, and of that which they know not!Shakir: Glory be to Him Who created pairs of all things, of what the earth grows, and of their kind and of what they do not know.Sher Ali: Holy is HE Who created all things in pairs, of what the earth grows and of themselves, and of what they know not.[Subhana allathee khalaqa al-azwaja kullaha mimma tunbitu al-ardu wamin anfusihim wamimma la yaAAlamoona]
Quran 043:012:
Yusuf Ali: That has created pairs in all things, and has made for you ships and cattle on which ye ride,Pickthal: He Who created all the pairs, and appointed for you ships and cattle whereupon ye ride.Shakir: And He Who created pairs of all things, and made for you of the ships and the cattle what you ride on,Sher Ali: And Who has created pairs of all things, and has made for you ships and cattle whereon you ride,[Waallathee khalaqa al-azwaja kullaha wajaAAala lakum mina alfulki waal-anAAami ma tarkaboona]
Quran 051.049:
Yusuf Ali: And of every thing We have created pairs: That ye may receive instruction.Pickthal: And all things We have created by pairs, that haply ye may reflect.Shakir: And of everything We have created pairs that you may be mindful.Sher Ali: And of everything have WE created pairs that you may reflect.[Wamin kulli shay-in khalaqna zawjayni laAAallakum tathakkaroona]
Please note that due to the ‘richness of the Arabic language’ and because Allah made the Quran 'clear and easy to understand', some Islamists may try to argue that at least some of these verses do not convey the message that ‘ALL CREATURES’ are created in pairs, taking the literal or metaphorical sense whichever and whenever suits them best.
For example, a disingenuous Islamist may claim that verse 13:3 refers only to FRUITS, or that verse 36:36 refers only to things grown from the Earth (i.e. plants). However verses 43:12 and 51:49 make it absolutely clear that Allah created ALL CREATURES in pairs. There is no ambiguity.
I will ignore the following verses, recognizing the possibility of relevance solely to humans. Further, their inclusion does not detract from my arguments.
"That He did create in pairs,- male and female, (The Noble Quran, 53:45)""And of him He made two sexes, male and female. (The Noble Quran, 75:39)""By (the mystery of) the creation of male and female; (The Noble Quran, 92:3)"
The Islamists Case
PAIRS IN LIVING THINGS (Ref.)
One of the most recent of all scientific discoveries is that everything in the universe exists in pairs such as male and female among living things. Now we find that rock crystals also have pairs.
The Qur'an says: And of everything We have created pairs: That ye may receive Instruction.
Surah Zariyat, 51: 49 A. Yusuf All in note 5025 item (3) says,
"All things are in twos: sex in plants and animals, by which one individual is complementary to another; in the subtle forces of nature. Day and Night, positive and negative electricity, forces of attraction and repulsion: and numerous other opposites, each fulfilling its purpose, and contributing to the working of God's Universe; and in the moral and spiritual world. Love and Aversion, Mercy and Justice, Striving and Rest, and so on;-all fulfilling their functions according to the Artistry and wonderful Purpose of God. Everything has its counterpart, or pair, or complement. God alone is One, with none like Him, or needed to complement Him. These are noble things to contemplate. And they lead us to a true understanding of God's Purpose and Message."
http://www.science4islam.com/html/sci-04e.html…we find in the following verse more generalizations where Allah Says; (And of everything we have created pairs, that ye may receive instruction). The word “thing we together with the people who preceded us have understood it to be inclusive to contain humans, plants and animals. Since the Quran has included them all in this verse and told us that all creatures were made up of males and females.
PLANTS CREATED IN PAIRS, MALE AND FEMALE (Ref)
Previously humans did not know that plants too have male and female gender distinctions. Botany states that every plant has a male and female gender. Even the plants that are unisexual have distinct elements of both male and female. “‘And has sent Down water from the sky.’ With it have We produced Diverse pairs of plants Each separate from the others.” [Al- Qur’aan 20:53]
FRUITS CREATED IN PAIRS, MALE AND FEMALE
“And fruit Of every kind He made In pairs, two and two.” [Al-Qur’aan 13:3]
Fruit is the end product of reproduction of the superior plants. The stage preceding fruit is the flower, which has male and female organs (stamens and ovules). Once pollen has been carried to the flower, they bear fruit, which in turn matures and frees its seed. All fruits therefore imply the existence of male and female organs; a fact that is mentioned in the Qur’aan.
In certain species, fruit can come from non-fertilized flowers (parthenocarpic fruit) e.g. bananas, certain types of pineapple, fig, orange, vine, etc. They also have definite sexual characteristics.
EVERYTHING MADE IN PAIRS
“And of everything We have created pairs.” [Al-Qur’aan 51:49]
This refers to things other than humans, animals, plants and fruits. It may also be referring to a phenomenon like electricity in which the atoms consist of negatively – and positively – charged electrons and protons.
“Glory to Allah, Who created In pairs all things that The earth produces, as well as Their own (human) kind And (other) things of which They have no knowledge.” [Al-Qur’aan 36:36]
The Qur’aan here says that everything is created in pairs, including things that the humans do not know at present and may discover later.
MATTER AND ANTIMATTER
Some Islamists claim the mere existence of antimatter complements to matter, without regard to their relative abundance (matter dominates in our universe after the first second post the Big Bang) proves the validity of the ‘creation in pairs’ verses, particularly 43:12, 51:49, and especially 36:36 (as in “pairs of things unknown to them”). The ‘things unknown to them’ part supposedly refers to our modern understanding of particle physics.
The British physicist Paul Dirac, who discovered that matter was created in pairs, won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1933. This finding, known as "parity," revealed the duality known as matter and antimatter. Antimatter bears the opposite characteristics to matter. For instance, contrary to matter, antimatter electrons are positive and protons negative.
An Islamist making this sort of claim is Osama Abdallah of Answering-Christianity. (Ref)
Rebutting the Islamists Case
The case against the Quran and the Islamists is really very simple. All one has to do is to show that not all creatures are ‘created’ in pairs. My opinion is that Muhammad, being the camel-riding, scimitar-wielding, raping & pillaging desert bandit that he was, didn’t have access to a microscope or a good Level 1 biology textbook. Therefore, he couldn’t have known about asexual organisms, parthenogenetic organisms, or hermaphrodites.
It was all too easy for Muhammad to observe male and female humans, camels, dogs, and even devils, jinns, and angels. But as he had no idea about micro-organisms and herpetology he was unaware that he was mistaken in his belief that all creatures came in males and females.
The alternative theses are also interesting: either Allah forgot He created asexual, parthenogenetic, and hermaphroditic organisms; Allah forgot to tell Jibreel; Jibreel didn’t listen to Allah; or Jibreel forgot to tell Muhammad.
Given this glaring mistake that all creatures are created in (male-female) pairs it is clear that Muhammad made up the Quran.
1. The Quran leaves out asexual organisms. (Ref)
Asexual reproduction is found in the majority of living organisms, including most plants, protists (e.g. bacteria, protozoans, and unicellular algae and fungi), and many lower invertebrates such as tapeworms.
Other examples of asexual reproductive organisms are hydrae and many lower plants (e.g. ferns). Some organisms are also capable of regeneration, a specialized form of asexual reproduction, for example starfish, polyps, zebrafish, flatworms, newts, and salamanders. Many plants are capable of total regeneration. Among animals, the lower the form, the more capable it is of total regeneration; no vertebrates have this power (except artificially in the lab). Regeneration is closely allied to vegetative reproduction, the formation of a new individual by various parts of the organism not specialized for reproduction. The highest animals that exhibit vegetative reproduction are the colonial tunicates (e.g. sea squirts), which, much like plants, send out runners in the form of stolons, small parts of which form buds that develop into new individuals.
(Note that hydra and jellyfish and many primarily asexual organisms are also capable of sexual reproduction – however many simple organisms like bacterial, yeasts and Fungi Imperfecti are totally asexual).
2. The Quran leaves out hermaphrodites.
Some creatures, including plants, are totally hermaphrodites. For example, sponges, snails, the slug-like sea hare, and some kinds of deep-sea arrow worms are hermaphrodites, that is, they have both sexes in one body.
Some creatures also change their sex during their life-cycles: Quahogs (hard-shell clams) are born and grow up male, but later half of them turn female. Slipper shells and cup and saucer shells do this too; they commence every season as males, but nearly all of them later pass through a phase of ambisexuality and turn into adult females. Some species change sex depending on their environment, such as the marine worm Ophryotrocha, if the portly young females are later underfed they revert back into males again. Some fish can also change sex spontaneously, for example some groupers and guppies.
(Ref.)
Some Islamists may try to claim that hermaphrodites are actually a male-female pair as both sexes are included in the one organism. It may be that in a population some hermaphrodites act as males while others act as females. This Islamist claim, of course, would be totally dishonest as a hermaphrodite, by definition, is both male and female at once, even if performing one of its sexual functions at the one time.
3. The Quran leaves out parthenogenetic organisms.
Parthenogenesis is a form of reproduction in which the ovum develops into a new individual without fertilization. Natural parthenogenesis has been observed in many lower animals (it is characteristic of the rotifers), especially insects, e.g., the aphid. In many social insects, such as the honeybee and the ant, the unfertilized eggs give rise to the male drones and the fertilized eggs to the female workers and queens.
Note that the aphids, bees and ants are not true parthenogenetic organisms as they are also capable of sexual reproduction.
However, Muhammad apparently didn’t know about the 15 species of whiptail lizard (genus Cnemidophorus) that are wholly parthenogenetic, for example Cnemidophorus tigris (Western whiptail) and C. neomexicanus, nor did he know about the Ambystomids, the unisexual hybrid salamanders.
He also didn’t know about the Island or Brahminy Blind Snake, Ramphotyphlops braminus, the only parthenogenetic snake in the world which happens to originate from the Pacific Islands (lands unknown to Arabs in Muhammad’s time).
4. The Chinese Yin-Yang duality concept
Islamists claim the Quran’s ‘creation in pairs’ verses, especially 36:36 refers to our modern understanding of matter antimatter complements. Some critics respond by highlighting the relative paucity of antimatter compared to matter, particularly as most antimatter was destroyed in the first second after the Big Bang. (Ref.)
Nevertheless, some Islamist might claim that the mere fact that antimatter exists proves the Quranic ‘creation in pairs’ verses to be miraculous as how could a seventh century bandit know about matter antimatter?
Unfortunately for the Islamist polemicists, the ancient Chinese already believed in the duality of all creation. This duality principle is known as ‘Yin and Yang’, part of the Taoist belief system. The date of origin of the Yin-Yang duality principle is unknown, however all reasonable estimates predate Islam by at least two thousand five hundred years. {Note the Yin-Yang symbol dates back to at least 400BC and was present in ancient Shang Dynasty Bronze but the Yin-Yang principle dated much earlier.}
| The Yellow Emperor, legendary Chinese emperor and cultural hero ruling from 2698 BC to 2598 BC and considered to be the ancestor of the Han Chinese, said “The principle of Ying and Yang is the foundation of the entire universe. It underlies everything in creation. It brings about the development of parenthood; it is the root and source of life and death… |
These quotes about Yin-Yang show that it may be extended to matter antimatter complements:
| Counterparts and conflicting opposites, they complemented each other in the formation of a creative force whose products were heaven and earth with its fruits. |
| According to the theoretical physics developed in the twentieth century the principle of Yin Yang and the use of paradox persist; when there is matter there must also be antimatter. |
Thus, it is hardly miraculous for the Quran to claim ‘creation in pairs’ of all things known and unknown when the ancient Chinese already believed in a remarkably similar duality principle at least two thousand years before Islam.
4. The Rig Veda.
Islamists are not unique among religious polemicists who reinterpret ancient scriptures in the light of modern science. Dr Raja Ram Mohan Roy, a physical scientist, in “VEDIC PHYSICS: Scientific Origin of Hinduism; Golden Egg Publishing” makes such a claim that the Rig Veda already presaged the modern scientific understanding of matter antimatter complements.
| Thus the contracting universe is "Martanda", the living universe Vivasvana, the first pair of particle and anti-particle (matter and antimatter) are "Yama" and "Manu", the early part of the universe when the surface tension was the most important force constraining the expansion of the universe the battle between these two forces is the immortalized epic battle of Indra and Vrtra. |
It is also claimed that the Purusha sukta from Yajuraranayaka (3:13, 33& 34) alluded to antimatter, dark matter and black holes. (Ref.)
CONCLUSION
Therefore, based on the existence of asexual, hermaphroditic and parthenogenetic organisms, the Quranic verses about Allah creating ALL CREATURES in pairs (male and female) is debunked. The ancient Chinese Yin-Yang duality principle proves that the any spurious Islamist claim of ‘creation in pairs’ to mean matter antimatter complements to be unremarkable. Besides, some Hindus make similar claims about the Rig-Veda as the Islamists make about the Quran about scriptural allusions to matter and antimatter.
CREATION OF HUMAN BEINGS FROM CLAY
Many Christians and Muslims use the recent scientific hypothesis of clay particles as catalysts for abiogensis as evidence of the veracity of their scriptures, for example:
| Clay's matchmaking could have sparked life 19:00 23 October 2003 NewScientist.com news service Philip Cohen Two of the crucial components for the origin of life - genetic material and cell membranes - could have been introduced to one another by a lump of clay, new experiments have shown. The study of montmorillonite clay, by Martin Hanczyc, Shelly Fujikawa and Jack Szostak at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, revealed it can sharply accelerate the formation of membranous fluid-filled sacs. These vesicles also grow and undergo a simple form of division, giving them the properties of primitive cells. Previous work has shown that the same simple mineral can help assemble the genetic material RNA from simpler chemicals. "Interestingly, the clay also gets internalised in the vesicles," says Leslie Orgel, an origin of life expert at the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences in San Diego, California. "So this work is quite nice in that it finds a connection between the mechanism that creates RNA and encloses it in a membrane." Inherit, mutate, evolve The genesis of genetic material and the emergence of cell structure are hot areas of research, but until now the two had not connected. The birth of genetic material was clearly crucial for life to take on its unique abilities to inherit, mutate and evolve. And membranes were key to the physiology of cells because they protect their contents, concentrate chemicals to promote reactions and isolate successful genes from unsuccessful ones. "It's clear you really need both these elements to get evolution off the ground and running," says Szostak. Research has already shown that some of building blocks for RNA-like molecules and membranes are spontaneously created by chemical reactions in outer space and in conditions that may have existed on the primordial Earth. But how these subunits were then assembled is still debated. For RNA, one popular theory revolves around the unusual properties of montmorillonite clay. The negatively charged layers of its crystals create a sandwich of positive charge between them. This turns out to be a highly attractive environment for RNA subunits to concentrate and join together into long chains. 100-fold acceleration Szostak wondered whether montmorillonite could also help the assembly of vesicles from simple fatty acid precursors. He remembers the day his colleagues Hanczyc and Fujikawa ran into his office to show him their first results: the clay caused a 100-fold acceleration of vesicle formation. "It was pretty amazing," he says. Once formed, the vesicles often incorporated bit of clay and were able to grow by absorbing more fatty acid subunits. His team also showed the clay could hold RNA and form vesicles at the same time. Fluorescently-labelled RNA attached to the clay ended up assembled into vesicles after the reaction. And the researchers were able to get these "protocells" to divide by forcing them through small holes. This caused them to split into smaller vesicles, with minimal loss of their contents. Szostak admits that in a natural setting the vesicles would rarely be forced to divide in this way. So now his group is searching for different mixtures of membrane-forming molecules that might divide spontaneously when they reach a certain size. Journal reference: Science (vol. 302, p 618 ) |
The scientific hypothesis postulates that the clay merely 'match-makes' RNA and membrane vesicles - and therefore does not form a building block. This is contrary to the Abrahamic Faith postulate that human beings were created FROM clay, implying clay was a building block.
Notwithstanding this key distinction, are the Abrahamic Faiths the only religions who postulated the creation of human beings from clay? The answer is no. Many religions pre-dating (and some post-dating) the Abrahamic Faiths also carry this 'creation of human beings from clay' myth. The earliest are the pre-cursors of the Abrahamic Faiths - namely the early Mesopotamian religions.
Reference: Christopher B. Siren (1999) based on John C. Gibson's Canaanite Mythology and S. H. Hooke's Middle Eastern Mythology rtfm.mit.edu at /pub/usenet/news.answers/assyrbabyl-faq.
| Assyro-Babylonian Aruru (Ninmah, Nintu, Ninhursaga, Belet-ili, Mami) -She is the mother goddess and was responsible for the creation of man with the help of Enlil or Enki. She is also called the womb goddess, and midwife of the gods. On Ea's advice, she acted on his direction and mixed clay with the blood of the god Geshtu-e, in order to shape and birth seven men and seven women. These people would bear the workload of the Igigi. She also added to the creation of Gilgamesh, and, at Anu's command, made Enkidu in Anu's image by pinching off a piece of clay, throwing it into the wilderness, and birthing him there. Ea called her to offer her beloved Ninurta as the one who should hunt Anzu. She does so. Canaan-Ugaritic (Gibson p. 68) men are considered made of 'clay'. Sumerian According to Samuel Noah Kramer (Tablets of Sumer, Colorado,1956) Nammu and Ninmah, assisted by deities who are the 'good and princely fashioners', mixed clay which was 'over the abyss' and brought man into existence. Gods were having difficulty in finding food, and their problems have increased when the later born goddesses joined them. Enki the water god - he was the god of wisdom and in a position to help them - was fast asleep in the sea and did not hear their complaints. Enki's mother Mother of all Gods Nammu brought the tears of the complainants to Enki and told him in their presence: "O! my son, get off your bed... do what is wise. Give shape to (make some) servants to gods. Let them make their own copies.(?)" Enki thinks, decides to head the 'union of good and bright modelists' and says to Nammu: 'O! mother, the creature you have mentioned exists: Put the image of gods(?) on him. Shape his heart from the clay on the surface of the Bottomless Deep. Good and bright modelists will thicken this clay. You make its organs; Ninmah (Goddess of Earth) will work in front of you. While you are making a model…goddesses of birth will be with you. O! mother decide on the faith of the newborn, let Ninmah put the image of gods on it: This is the human." "Enki and Ninmah" She is the mother goddess and, as Ninmah, assists in the creation of man. Enki, having been propted by Nammu to create servants for the gods, describes how Nammu and Ninmah will help fashion man from clay. Prior to getting to work, she and Enki drink overmuch at a feast. She then shapes six flawed versions of man from the heart of the clay over the Abzu, with Enki declaring their fates. Enki, in turn also creates a flawed man which is unable to eat. Ninmah appears to curse him for the failed effort. (Kramer 1963 pp. 149-151; Kramer 1961 pp. 69-72) |
Other faiths that postulate the 'creation of human beings from clay' myths include the ancient Egyptians, some African tribes and the Incas. [Reference: Mythology: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Ed. Richard Cavendish. Silverdale Books. 1992. ISBN 1-85605-794-1]
Ancient Egyptian
|
The ancient Greeks believed Prometheus and Athena created humans from mud. (Ref.)
| Prometheus shaped man out of mud, and Athena breathed life into his clay figure. |
South Californian Amerindians also believe humans were created from clay. (ref.)
| Chinigchinich then formed man, both male and female, out of white clay found upon the borders of a lake. |
This reference shows that ‘creation of humans from clay’ myths are common throughout the world, including far-flung places like Australia and the Pacific Islands which were not in contact with the Abrahamic Faiths until recent times. (Ref)
Asia:
| Thus the Karens of Burma say that God "created man, and of what did he form him? He created man at first from the earth, and finished the work of creation. He created woman, and of what did he form her? He took a rib from the man and created the woman." The aborigines of Minahassa, in the north of Celebes, say that two beings called Wailan Wangko and Wangi (created humans from earth). Said Wailan Wangko to Wangi, "Return and take earth and make two images, a man and a woman." The Dyaks of Sakarran in British Borneo say that the first man was made by two large birds. At first they tried to make men out of trees, but in vain. Then they hewed them out of rocks, but the figures could not speak. Then they moulded a man out of damp earth and infused into his veins the red gum of the kumpang-tree. After that they called to him and he answered ; they cut him and blood flowed from his wounds, so they gave him the name of Tannah Kumpok or "moulded earth. The supreme god of the Island of Nias, Luo Zaho, took a handful of earth as large as an egg, and fashioned out of it a figure like one of those figures of ancestors which the people of Nias construct. Having made it, he put it in the scales and weighed it; he weighed also the wind, and having weighed it, he put it on the lips of the figure which he had made ; so the figure spoke like a man or like a child, and God gave him the name of Sihai. The Bila-an, a wild tribe of Mindanao, one of the Philippine Islands, relate the creation of man … (by) a certain being named Melu. He fashioned them accordingly in his own likeness out of the leavings of the scurf whereof he had moulded the earth, and these two were the first human beings. The Bagobos, a pagan tribe of South-Eastern Mindanao, say that in the beginning a certain Diwata made the sea and the land, and planted trees of many sorts. Then he took two lumps of earth, shaped them like human figures, and spat on them; so they became man and woman. The Kumis, who inhabit portions of Arakan and the Chittagong hill tracts in eastern India, told Captain Lewin the following story of the creation of man. God made the world and the trees and the creeping things first, and after that he made one man and one woman, forming their bodies of clay. According to the Korkus, an aboriginal tribe of the Central Provinces of India: Thereupon the god (Mahadeo aka Shiva) repaired to the spot, and taking a handful of the red earth he fashioned out of it two images, in the likeness of a man and a woman. A like tale is told, with a curious variation, by the Mundas, a primitive aboriginal tribe of Chota Nagpur. They say that the Sun-god, by name Singbonga, first fashioned two clay figures, one meant to represent a man and the other a woman. (According to) the Santals of Bengal… Some say ' she (Malin Budhi) made them (humans) of a kind of froth which proceeded from a supernatural being who dwelt at the bottom of the sea, but others say she made them of a stiff clay. |
Australia:
| Thus the Australian blacks in the neighborhood of Melbourne said that Pund-jel, the Creator, cut three large sheets of bark with his big knife. On one of these he placed some clay and worked it up with his knife into a proper consistence. He then laid a portion of the clay on one of the other pieces of bark and shaped it into a human form ; first he made the feet, then the legs, then the trunk, the arms, and the head. Thus he made a clay man on each of the two pieces of bark; and being well pleased with his handiwork, he danced round them for joy. Next he took stringy bark from the eucalyptus tree, made hair of it, and stuck it on the heads of his clay men. Then he looked at them again, was pleased with his work, and again danced round them for joy. He then lay down on them, blew his breath hard into their mouths, their noses, and their navels ; and presently they stirred, spoke, and rose up as full-grown men.1 |
Pacific Islands:
| The Maoris of New Zealand say that a certain god, variously named Tu, Tiki, and Tane, took red riverside clay, kneaded it with his own blood into a likeness or image of himself, with eyes, legs, arms, and all complete, in fact, an exact copy of the deity ; and having perfected the model, he animated it by breathing into its mouth and nostrils, whereupon the clay effigy at once came to life and sneezed. "Of all these things," said a Maori, in relating the story of man's creation, "the most important is the fact that the clay sneezed, forasmuch as that sign of the power of the gods remains with us even to this day in order that we may be reminded of the great work Tu accomplished on the altar of the Kauhanga-nui, and hence it is that when men sneeze the words of Tu are repeated by those who are present"; for they say, "Sneeze, O spirit of life." 1 So like himself was the man whom the Maori Creator Tiki fashioned that he called him Tiki-ahua, that is, Tiki's likeness.2 A very generally received tradition in Tahiti was that the first human pair was made by Taaroa, the chief god. They say that after he had formed the world he created man out of red earth, which was also the food of mankind until bread-fruit was produced. Further, some say that one day Taaroa called for the man by name, and when he came he made him fall asleep. As he slept, the Creator took out one of his bones (ivi) and made of it a woman, whom he gave to the man to be his wife, and the pair became the progenitors of mankind. In Nui, or Netherland Island, one of the Ellice Islands, they say that the god Aulialia made models of a man and a woman out of earth, and when he raised them up they came to life. He called the man Tepapa and the woman Tetata.5 The Pelew Islanders relate that a brother and sister made men out of clay kneaded with the blood of various animals, and that the characters of these first men and of their descendants were determined by the characters of the animals whose blood had been mingled with the primordial clay. According to a Melanesian legend, told in Mota, one of the Banks' Islands, the hero Qat moulded men of clay, the red clay from the marshy riverside at Vanua Lava. The inhabitants of Noo-hoo-roa, in the Kei Islands, say that their ancestors were fashioned out of clay by the supreme god, Dooadlera, who breathed life into the clay figures. The Marindineeze, a tribe who occupy the dreary, monotonous treeless flats on the southern coast of Dutch New Guinea, not far from the border of the British territory: They say that one day a crane or stork (dik) was busy picking fish out of the sea. He threw them on the beach, where the clay covered and killed them. So the fish were no longer anything but shapeless lumps of clay. They were cold and warmed themselves at a fire of bamboos. Every time that a little bamboo burst with a pop in the heat, the lumps of clay assumed more and more the shape of human beings. |
Europe:
| The Cheremiss of Russia, a Finnish people, tell a story of the creation of man which recalls episodes in the Toradjan and Indian legends of the same event. They say that God moulded man's body of clay and then went up to heaven to fetch the soul, with which to animate it. |
The Americas:
| …the Eskimo of Point Barrow, in Alaska, tell of a time when there was no man in the land, till a certain spirit named á sê lu, who resided at Point Barrow, made a clay man, set him up on the shore to dry, breathed into him, and gave him life.1 Other Eskimo of Alaska relate how the Raven made the first woman out of clay, to be a companion to the first man ; he fastened water-grass to the back of the head to be hair, flapped his wings over the clay figure, and it arose, a beautiful young woman.2 The Acagchemem Indians of California said that a powerful being called Chinigchinich created man out of clay which he found on the banks of a lake ; male and female created he them, and the Indians of the present day are the descendants of the clay man and woman.3 The Maidu Indians of California the first man and woman were created by a mysterious personage named Earth-Initiate, who descended from the sky by a rope made of feathers. His body shone like the sun, but his face was hidden and never seen. One afternoon he took dark red earth, mixed it with water, and fashioned two figures, one of them a man and the other a woman. The Diegueño Indians or, as they call themselves, the Kawakipais, who occupy the extreme south-western corner of the State of California, have a myth to explain how the world in its present form and the human race were created…. Tcaipakomat took a lump of light-colored clay, split it partly up, and made a man of it. The Hopi or Moqui Indians of Arizon… Thereupon the eastern goddess took clay and moulded out of it first a woman and afterwards a man ; and the clay man and woman were brought to life just as the birds and beasts had been so before them. The Pima Indians, another tribe of Arizona, allege that the Creator took clay into his hands, and mixing it with the sweat of his own body, kneaded the whole into a lump. Then he blew upon the lump till it began to live and move and became a man and a woman.2 A priest of the Natchez Indians in Louisiana told Du Pratz " that God had kneaded some clay, such as that which potters use, and had made it into a little man ; and that after examining it, and finding it well formed, he blew upon his work, and forthwith that little man had life, grew, acted, walked, and found himself a man perfectly well shaped." The Michoacans of Mexico said that the great god Tucapacha first made man and woman out of clay. The Lengua Indians of Paraguay believe that the Creator, in the shape of a beetle, inhabited a hole in the earth, and that he formed man and woman out of the clay which he threw up from his subterranean abode. |
It is apparent that folkloric tales about the creation of humans from clay/earth/mud is very common. So, does the modern Scientific hypothesis of the role of clay in abiogenesis prove the validity of the religions of the ancient Mesopotamians, the ancient Egyptians, the African peoples of Silluk and Pangwe, the Amerindians, the Karens of Burma, or the Incas?
Is Khnum the true god? Or Nammu, Viracocha, Juok, Chinigchinich or Pund-jel? Why do the Christians and Muslims believe Yahweh or Allah to be the true god as 'suggested' by the clay abiogenesis hypothesis? It could well be the ram-headed Elephantine god Khnum who really did create human beings from clay.
DARKNESS IN THE SEAS AND INTERNAL WAVES
Another “miracle” that has dumbfounded our Muslim friends is the verse 24:40:
Or [the unbelievers' state] are like the darkness of a fathomless sea which is covered by waves above which are waves above which are clouds, layers of darkness, one upon the other. If he puts out his hand, he can scarcely see it. Those Allah gives no light to, they have no light. (Qur'an, 24:40)
Muslims claims that in deep seas and oceans, the darkness increases and since human beings are not able to dive to a depth of more than 70 meters without the aid of special equipment, the above verse indicates that Muhammad had divine knowledge.
This is an obvious self deluding fallacy. Anyone who has dived only a few meters in the sea can see that the light decreases with depth, especially if there layers of clouds blocking the sunlight. Since antiquity Arabs used to dive into the Red Sea to harvest coral. Claiming that only Muhammad knew that in deep seas there is little light is preposterous when this can be observed by anyone diving into the sea.
Such claims only prove the desperation of the Muslims to fabricate miracles for a book that contains nothing but absurdities and nonsense.
But that is not all. Muslims also see another miracle in this verse. They say the part that says "...like the darkness of a fathomless sea which is covered by waves above which are waves above which are clouds…" is another another miracle of the Qur'an because:
"Scientists have only recently discovered that there are sub-surface waves, which "occur on density interfaces between layers of different densities." These internal waves cover the deep waters of seas and oceans because deep water has a higher density than the water above it. Internal waves act like surface waves. They can break, just like surface waves. Internal waves cannot be discerned by the human eye, but they can be detected by studying temperature or salinity changes at a given location."
We can clearly see that Muhammad in this verse is not talking about any internal and underwater waves. His language is confused. That is why Muslims try to interpret his words in any way that please. How difficult was for him to be specific and say that in the sea there are internal ways? But he is talking about waves over wave as experienced by a person that is being drowned in the sea.
I am always amazed to see the desperation of the Muslims to find miracles in the most banal statements of the Quran.
This verse is not trying to explain to the readers how the deep oceans look but it is exemplifying the state of the unbeliever with something that is already known to the reader. This shows that people who read this verse already knew that the dept of ocean is dark (just as anyone knows today) and with this example Muhammad tried to make them visualize the state of the unbeliever. If they did not know that the deep waters are dark then the verse would not express what it intends to express. If I tell you my tie is the color of my hat, when you do know know what color is my hat, you would not understand what color is my tie and I would not be speaking clear to you. Remember, clarity is one of the claims of the Quran. But if I say my tie is red like cherry, you’ll soon know what color I am talking about because you have seen cherries and you are familiar with their color.
Furthermore Muhammad is not talking about “deep oceans”. In deep oceans you do not need to “stretch your hand” as Muhammad says, in order not to see it. You cannot see anything.
The Egg-Shaped or Flat Earth?
Quran 15.019:
YUSUFALI: And the earth We have spread out (like a carpet); set thereon mountains firm and immovable; and produced therein all kinds of things in due balance.[Waal-arda madadnahawaalqayna feeha rawasiya waanbatnafeeha min kulli shay-in mawzoonin]
وَالارضَ مَدَدْنَهَا
مَدَدْ = madad = protract, reach, elongate, extend, draw out, lengthen, stretch out, spread out, sprawl, dilate, reach, range, unwind, outstretch, pervade, lengthen (Dictionary)
Quran 20.053:
YUSUFALI: "He Who has, made for you the earth like a carpet spread out; has enabled you to go about therein by roads (and channels); and has sent down water from the sky." With it have We produced diverse pairs of plants each separate from the others.Allathee jaAAala lakumu al-ardamahdan wasalaka lakum feeha subulan waanzala mina alssama-imaan faakhrajna bihi azwajan min nabatinshatta
الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمْ الْأَرْضَ مَهْدًا
مَهْدًا = mahdan = (Noun) cradle.or bed, (verb) flatten, smoothen, smooth, level, cement, grade, ram, plane, roll, flat, level off (dictionary).
Quran 43.010:
YUSUFALI: (Yea, the same that) has made for you the earth (like a carpet) spread out, and has made for you roads (and channels) therein, in order that ye may find guidance (on the way);[Allathee jaAAala lakumu al-ardamahdan wajaAAala lakum feeha subulan laAAallakum tahtadoona]
الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمْ الْأَرْضَ مَهْدًا
مَهْدًا = mahdan = (Noun) cradle or bed, (verb) flatten, smoothen, smooth, level, cement, grade, ram, plane, roll, flat, level off (dictionary)
Quran 50.007:
YUSUFALI: And the earth- We have spread it out, and set thereon mountains standing firm, and produced therein every kind of beautiful growth (in pairs)-[Waal-arda madadnahawaalqayna feeha rawasiya waanbatnafeeha min kulli zawjin baheejin]
وَالارضَ مَدَدْنَهَا
مَدَدْ = madad = protract, reach, elongate, extend, draw out, lengthen, stretch out, spread out, sprawl, dilate, reach, range, unwind, outstretch, pervade, lengthen (dictionary)
Quran 51.048:
YUSUFALI: And We have spread out the (spacious) earth: How excellently We do spread out![Waal-arda farashnahafaniAAma almahidoona]
وَالْأَرْضَ فَرَشْنَهَا فَنِعْمَ الْمَهِدُونَ
فَرَشَْ = farasha = provide with furniture, flatten, outspread, pervade, circulate, cement, grade, unwind, stretch, expand, flat, range, reach, ram, spread out, lengthen, sprawl, unfold, level off, roll out, level (dictionary)
الْمَهِدُونَ from مَهِدُ = flatten, smoothen, smooth, level, cement, grade, ram, plane, roll, flat, level off (dictionary)
Quran 71.019:
YUSUFALI: "'And Allah has made the earth for you as a carpet (spread out),[WaAllahu jaAAala lakumu al-ardabisatan]
وَاللَّهُ جَعَلَ لَكُمْ الْأَرْضَ بِسَاطًا
بِسَاطًا = bisaatan = drugget , carpet , rug
from the verb بسط = outspread, flatten, flat, even, ram, grade, level off, outstretch, pave, level, smoothen, roll, cement (dictionary)
from the verb بسط = outspread, flatten, flat, even, ram, grade, level off, outstretch, pave, level, smoothen, roll, cement (dictionary)
Quran 78.006:
YUSUFALI: Have We not made the earth as a wide expanse,Alam najAAali al-arda mihadan
أَلَمْ نَجْعَلِ الأرْضَ مِهَادًا
مهاد = flat land, flat, plain, ramming (dictionary)
Quran 79.030:
YUSUFALI: And the earth, moreover, hath He extended (to a wide expanse);[Waal-arda baAAda thalika dahaha]
In this verse some muslims suggests that the Koran says that the earth is egg-shaped. They claim that dahaha = eggshaped, but this is not true at all.
وَالأرْضَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ دَحَاهَا
دَحَا = daha=spread out, level off level. The last ha = هَا in dahaha means this. So dahaha actually means spread out this, level off this, level this. (dictionary)
Quran 88.020:
YUSUFALI: And at the Earth, how it is spread out?[Wa-ila al-ardi kayfa sutihat]
وَإِلَى الْأَرْضِ كَيْفَ سُطِحَتْ
Notice the word سَطَّحَ ? If you do a word search in an Arabic Qur'an text file you will find the word سطحت , feminine for سَطَّحَ
سَطَّحَ = outspread, unfold, unroll, roll, lengthen, level, range, pave, pervade, circulate, grade, reach, even, level off, spread out, prostrate, plane, outstretch, flat, flatten, even, smoothen. (dictionary)
Quran 91.006:
YUSUFALI: By the Earth and its (wide) expanse:
PICKTHAL: And the earth and Him Who spread it,
SHAKIR: And the earth and Him Who extended it,Waal-ardi wama tahaha
وَالأرْضِ وَمَا طَحَاهَا
Further proof that the earth is flat
Quran 2.022:
YUSUFALI: Who has made the earth your couch, and the heavens your canopy; and sent down rain from the heavens; and brought forth therewith Fruits for your sustenance; then set not up rivals unto Allah when ye know (the truth).
Here is the verse in Arabic.
الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ
الأَرْضَ فِرَاشاً وَالسَّمَاء بِنَاء وَأَنزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَخْرَجَ
بِهِ مِنَ الثَّمَرَاتِ رِزْقاً لَّكُمْ فَلاَ تَجْعَلُواْ لِلّهِ أَندَاداً وَأَنتُمْ
تَعْلَمُونَ[Allathee jaAAala lakumu al-arda firashan waalssamaa binaan waanzala mina alssama-i maan faakhraja bihi mina alththamarati rizqan lakum fala tajAAaloo lillahi andadan waantum taAAlamoona]
I found an error in this translation. The word translated as canopy is binaa or binaan (بِنَاء). This is what the word means in Arabic (dictionary).
As you can see the word binaa or binaan ( بِنَاء ) means "building". The heavens are as a multi-story building over the earth. There are seven layers or stories to this building called the heavens. The heavens are built on a "flat" foundation called "the earth".
The Tafsir Ibn Kathir says the same thing:
| These Ayat indicate that Allah started creation by creating earth, then He made heaven into seven heavens. This is how building usually starts, with the lower floors first and then the top floors, |
Also this verse on the setting of the sun in murky water supports that the earth is flat in the koran.
Quran 18.086:
YUSUFALI: Until, when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it set in a spring of murky water: Near it he found a People: We said: "O Zul-qarnain! (thou hast authority,) either to punish them, or to treat them with kindness."
In this next verse we are told that its only the mountains who disrupt the earth from being completly flat.
Quran 18.047:
YUSUFALI: One Day We shall remove the mountains, and thou wilt see the earth as a level stretch, and We shall gather them, all together, nor shall We leave out any one of them.
Another very strong argument is how the ramadan gets all f..cked up because of today's time-zones. A flat earth would NOT have time-zones.
See this thread.
See this thread.
Muslim Defence
"Seest thou not that Allah merges Night into Day And He merges Day into Night?" [31:29]"He created the heavens And the earth In true (proportions): He makes the Night Overlap the Day, and the Day Overlap the Night." [39:5]"That is because Allah merges the night into the day, and He merges the day into the night. And verily, Allah is All-Hearer, All-Seer. [22:61]"
Muslim claim: "Merging here means that the night slowly and gradually changes to day and vice versa. This phenomenon can only take place if the earth is spherical. If the earth was flat, there would have been a sudden change from night to day and from day to night."
This claim is false, the gradual shift from day to night and vice versa would still happen on a flat earth model. The only diffrence is that the flat earth model would be lit up at the same time, there would be no timezones just the same night and day for everyone.
You can do the experiment yourself. All you need is a dark room a table and an flashlight. Then simply let the flashlight rise slowly above the egde of the table, just like a sunrise, and you will see gradual change from darkness to light. So verse 31:29, 39:5 and 22:61, tells us nothing of the earths shape they are just mere observations any man can do.
Muslim claim: "Verse 79:30 decribes the earth as eggshaped, more precisely the egg of an ostrich, because of the word dahaha"
This claim is very popular among muslims, but its very wrong. Lets take a look at verse 79:30.
Waal-arda baAAda thalika dahahaوَالأرْضَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ دَحَاهَا
دَحَا
= daha=spread out , level off , level. The last ha = هَا
in dahaha means this. So dahaha actually means spread out this, level off this, level this. (dictionary)
Does "Dahaha" really mean egg-shaped?
In Arabic, each word must be derived from its root. The root usually consists of three letters that can be manipulated, by adding vowels, prefixes and suffixes in order to produce different words with different meanings.
For example, "ka-ta-ba" (to write) is the root for many words such as kitab (book), maktaba (library), katib (author), maktoob (written), kitabat (writings) etc...
For example, "ka-ta-ba" (to write) is the root for many words such as kitab (book), maktaba (library), katib (author), maktoob (written), kitabat (writings) etc...
Let's now take the word you mentioned to mean egg of an ostrich, "Duhiya". This word is NOT a root. It is a noun and is derived from "da-ha-wa", the same root that the verb "dahaha" comes from.
Furthermore, Duhiya doesn't even mean the egg of an ostrich! This is what the most respected dictionaries have to say on this subject:
From Lisan Al Arab:
| الأُدْحِيُّ و الإدْحِيُّ و الأُدْحِيَّة و الإدْحِيَّة و الأُدْحُوّة مَبِيض النعام في الرمل , وزنه أُفْعُول من ذلك , لأَن النعامة تَدْحُوه برِجْلها ثم تَبِيض فيه وليس للنعام عُشٌّ . و مَدْحَى النعام : موضع بيضها , و أُدْحِيُّها موضعها الذي تُفَرِّخ فيه .ِ |
Translation: "Al-udhy, Al-idhy, Al-udhiyya, Al-idhiyya, Al-udhuwwa:The place in sand where an ostrich lays its egg. That's because the ostrich spreads out the earth with its feet then lays its eggs there, an ostrich doesn't have a nest."
As for the meaning for the verb "dahaha", it's unanimously agreed on by all Arabic dictionaries:
Al Qamoos Al Muheet:
| (دَحَا): الله الأرضَ (يَدْحُوهَا وَيَدْحَاهَا دَحْواً) بَسَطَها |
"Allah daha the Earth: He spread it out."
Al Waseet:
| دَحَا الشيءَ: بسطه ووسعه. يقال: دحا اللهُ الأَرض |
"To daha something: means to spread it out. For example: Allah daha the Earth."
Lisan Al Arab:
| الدَّحْوُ البَسْطُ . دَحَا الأَرضَ يَدْحُوها دَحْواً بَسَطَها . وقال الفراء في قوله والأَرض بعد ذلك دَحاها قال : بَسَطَها ; قال شمر : وأَنشدتني أَعرابية : الحمدُ لله الذي أَطاقَا بَنَى السماءَ فَوْقَنا طِباقَا ثم دَحا الأَرضَ فما أَضاقا قال شمر : وفسرته فقالت دَحَا الأَرضَ أَوْسَعَها ; وأَنشد ابن بري لزيد بن عمرو بن نُفَيْل : دَحَاها , فلما رآها اسْتَوَتْ على الماء , أَرْسَى عليها الجِبالا و دَحَيْتُ الشيءَ أَدْحاهُ دَحْياً بَسَطْته , لغة في دَحَوْتُه ; حكاها اللحياني . وفي حديث عليّ وصلاتهِ , اللهم دَاحِيَ المَدْحُوَّاتِ يعني باسِطَ الأَرَضِينَ ومُوَسِّعَها , ويروى ; دَاحِيَ المَدْحِيَّاتِ . و الدَّحْوُ البَسْطُ . يقال : دَحَا يَدْحُو و يَدْحَى أَي بَسَطَ ووسع |
"To daha the earth: means to spread it out."
Then it mentions a couple of Arabic poems that confirm this meaning. I won't translate the rest but anyone who can read Arabic will find this to be the definitive proof that Daha means to spread out.
Also, Ibn Kathir agrees with me in his commentary on the Quran: "(30. And after that He spread the earth,)"
Conclusion:
While verse 015.019, 020.053, 043.010, 050.007, 051.048, 071.019, 078.006, 079.030, 088.020 and 091.006 ALL clearly states that the earth is flat. And not a single verse in the koran tells or even hints us that the shape of the earth is anything else than flat, the conclusion is clear; according to the Koran the earth is flat as a pancake.
QURAN DESCRIBES GENDER DETERMINATION BY SPERM
INTRODUCTION
Various Islamists make the usual Islamic polemic about how Quran can be proved by modern scientific knowledge, using the old canard about how the Quran is the only ancient book that states that gender is determined by the sperm. In this, they may point out the ignorance of the Greeks who thought gender was determined by the relative strengths of sperm from the male and female parents as Hippocrates imagined. (ref)
This article does not seek to prove that the ancient Egyptians shared some aspects of our modern understanding of gender determination and reproduction. It merely aims to show that the Quran was not the first religious text to suggest that gender is determined by the semen of the male parent.
THE ISLAMIST CLAIM
An example of the Islamists making the claim that the Quran is the only ancient book that correctly outlines gender determination is Dr Al Zeiny, Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Evansville.
Quote:
Until fairly recently, it was thought that a baby's sex was determined by the mother's cells. Or at least, it was believed that the sex was determined by the male and female cells together. The Quran is the only ancient book that states that sex is determined by the sperms."He has created both sexes, male and female from a drop of a sperm which has been ejected." (The Qur'an, 53:45-46)
This is repeated by Dr. Zakir Naik of the Islamic Research Foundation.
Quote:
SEX DETERMINATIONThe sex of a fetus is determined by the nature of the sperm and not the ovum. The sex of the child, whether female or male, depends on whether the 23rd pair of chromosomes is XX or XY respectively. Primarily sex determination occurs at fertilization and depends upon the type of sex chromosome in the sperm that fertilizes an ovum. If it is an ‘X’ bearing sperm that fertilizes the ovum, the fetus is a female and if it is a ‘Y’ bearing sperm then the fetus is a male. “That He did create In pairs – male and female, From a seed when lodged (In its place).” [Al-Qur’aan 53:45-46]The Arabic word nutfah means a minute quantity of liquid and tumnâ means ejaculated or planted. Therefore nutfah specifically refers to sperm because it is ejaculated. The Qur’aan says: “Was he not a drop of sperm emitted (In lowly form)? “Then did he become A clinging clot; Then did (Allah) make And fashion (him) In due proportion. “And of him He made Two sexes, male And female.” [Al-Qur’aan 75:37-39]Here again it is mentioned that a small quantity (drop) of sperm (indicated by the word nutfatan min maniyyin) which comes from the man is responsible for the sex of the fetus.Mothers-in-law in the Indian subcontinent, by and large prefer having male grandchildren and often blame their daughters-in-law if the child is not of the desired sex. If only they knew that the determining factor is the nature of the male sperm and not the female ovum! If they were to blame anybody, they should blame their sons and not their daughters-in-law since both the Qur’aan and Science hold that it is the male fluid that is responsible for the sex of the child!
ANALYSIS
The question is: Are the Islamists correct in asserting that the Quran is the only ancient book that states that gender is determined by the sperm of the male parent?
I think not. At least some of the ancient Egyptians clearly believed that the gender of progeny is determined by the sperm of the male parent. (ref)
Quote:
Atem is he who masturbated in Iunu (On, Heliopolis). He took his phallus in his grasp that he might create orgasm by means of it, and so were born the twins Shu and Tefnut. [Pyramid Text 1248-49]
Shu was the god of dry air, wind and the atmosphere, while Tefnut was the lunar goddess of moisture, humidity and water who was also a solar goddess connected with the sun and dryness (more specifically, the absence of moisture).
Some ancient Egyptians also believe that Shu and Tefnut were the children of Ra and the Hathor, goddess of love, beauty and happiness. [ref.]
While others believed Shu and Tefnut were progeny of Ra alone.
Quote (Ref):
Shu and his female counterpart Tefnut may be considered together, at all events in the texts of the later periods. The name Shu appears to be derived from the root shu, "dry, parched, withered, empty," and the like, and the name Tefnut must be connected with tef, or teftet, "to spit, be moist," and the like; thus Shu was a god who was connected with the heat and dryness of sunlight and with the dry atmosphere which exists between the earth and the sky, and Tefnut was a personification of the moisture of the sky, and made herself manifest in various forms. The oldest legend about the origin of the gods is contained in the text of Pepi I., wherein it is said {line 465} that once upon a time Tem went to the city of Annu and that he there produced from his own body by the irregular means of masturbation his two children Shu and Tefnut. In this circle form the myth is probably of Libyan origin, and it suggests that its inventors were in a semi-savage, or perhaps wholly savage, state when it was first promulgated. In later times, as we have already seen the Egyptians appear to have rejected certain of the details of the myth, or to have felt some difficulty in believing that Shu and Tefnut were begotten and conceived and brought forth by Tem, and they therefore assumed that his shadow, khaibit, acted the part of wife to him; another view was that the goddess Iusaaset was his wife.
Therefore, in the fully developed myth, Ra (aka Atum aka Tem) contributed sperm which determine the sex of Shu and Tefnut, in conjunction with Iusaaset (or Hathor) as his wife.
Now, there is a clear mistake in that Iusaaset (or Hathor) does not seem to contribute anything more than a womb for incubation. However, I contend this is no different from Quranic embryology in that the Quran never explicitly claims that the female parent contributes genetic material. It is merely the assumption, and an assumption only, of the Islamists that 'nutfatun amshaajin' (mixed drop or mingled sperm) includes the female gamete.
"Verily WE created Man from a drop of mingled sperm." (76:2)
The term ‘nutfatun amshaajin’ could just as easily refer to the sperm-menstrual blood union of Aristotle and the ancient Indian embryologists, or the two sperm hypothesis of Hippocrates and Galen, or even the readily observed mingling of semen and vaginal discharge during sexual intercourse. In other words, the fact the Quran does not explicitly state that ‘nutfatun amshaajin’ contains the ovum, together with the existence of other possible explanations, means that it is illogical to assume the former and not the latter.
The insistence by Islamists that it explains the former is pure conjecture devoid of evidence, and constitutes the logical fallacy of equivocation, and its adoption is merely wishful thinking or the Islamist art of the ‘reinterpretation after the fact.’
One might contend that the Quran does not claim a role for the ovum at all, or is even ignorant of its existence. Verses 53:45-46 are strikingly similar to the Ra’s masturbation text.
Pickthall: And that He createth the two spouses, the male and the female, From a drop (of seed) when it is poured forth;Yusuf Ali: That He did create in pairs, - male and female, From a seed when lodged (in its place);Shakir: And that He created pairs, the male and the female From the small seed when it is adaptedSher Ali: And that HE creates the pairs, male and female, From a sperm drop when it is emitted;Khalifa: He is the One who created the two kinds, male and female from a tiny drop of semen.Palmer: and that He created pairs, male and female, from a clot when it is emitted;Sale: and that he createth the two sexes, the male and the female, of seed when it is emitted;Rodwell: And that He hath created the sexes, male and female, From the diffused germs of life,[Transliterated Arabic Waannahu khalaqa alzzawjayni alththakara waal-ontha Min nutfatin itha tumna]
There are only two logical explanations of nutfatin itha tumna; that it is the sperm emitted, or the blastocyst (i.e. zygote) implanted. If it is the latter, the Islamists have no case to argue that the Quran correctly states that gender is determined by the sperm of the male parent. Hence, nutfatin itha tumna must refer to the sperm emitted.
It is possible the Quranic verses 53:45-46 state that the male and female progenies, and not merely the genders, are created from the sperm. This is a possibility totally discounted by Islamists without evidence and suggests a biased interpretation of the verses in light of modern facts. For where is the mention of the ovum? Not in these verses nor anywhere else in the Quran.
In fact, the Quran itself provides the evidence of its doctrinal omission or rejection of the role of the ovum in procreation, for verse 2:223 states that wives are merely tilth. This is saying they are like the earth receiving the zygote (i.e. seed) from the male.
Pickthall 2:223: Your women are a tilth for you (to cultivate) go to your tilth as ye will, and send (good deeds) before you for your souls, and fear Allah, and know that ye will (one day) meet Him. Give glad tidings to believers, (O Muhammad).
Therefore, if read in the context of verse 2:223, ‘nutfatun amshaajin’ cannot contain the ovum because tilth does not contribute genetic material to the development of the seed (i.e. zygote), and must mean the semen mingled with some unspecified non-genetic material-contributing female secretion.
In light of these facts, backed by the Quranic verses, it is apparent that the Quran’s view of human conception and reproduction is that the male parent contributes the diploid seed (nutfatin itha tumna) and the female parent, as tilth, merely contributes the environment and nutrients for the growth and development of this diploid seed.
Hence it can be seen that the fully developed ancient Egyptian Ra-Hathor-Shu-Tefnut myth of gender determination and the contribution of the female parent in reproduction is very similar, if not identical, to that described by the Quran.
CONCLUSION
It is apparent that some of the ancient Egyptians believed that gender is created by the sperm from the male parent, and reproduction is via male and female union. This belief predated the Quran by about 2,900 years as evidenced by the pyramid text of Pharaoh Pepi I, 2332-2283 BCE.
QURAN AND THE DESCENT OF IRON MIRACLE
INTRODUCTION
Many Islamists propagate the hilarious ‘iron sent down from heaven miracle’ pseudoscience. This is totally devoid of logic and scientific fact. Such Islamist claims may impress the gullible but elicit nothing but laughter among those with even minimal scientific education. A chief proponent of this Islamist pseudoscience is Harun Yahya. (Ref)
DISCUSSION
Harun Yahya wrote:
THE MIRACLE OF IRONIron is one of the elements highlighted in the Qur'an. In Surat al-Hadid, meaning Iron, we are informed:
And We also sent down iron in which there lies great force and which has many uses for mankind… (Qur'an, 57:25)Iron ingotThe word "anzalna," translated as "sent down" and used for iron in the verse, could be thought of having a figurative meaning to explain that iron has been given to benefit people. But, when we take into consideration the literal meaning of the word, which is, "being physically sent down from the sky," as in the case of rain and Sun rays, we realize that this verse implies a very significant scientific miracle. Because, modern astronomical findings have disclosed that the iron found in our world has come from giant stars in outer space.38
This is an illogical premise. The word anzalna/anzala is used 88 times in the Quran. It is also used for:
- cattle: 39:06
- garments: 7:26
- food/sustenance: 10:59; 45:05; 2:57; 7:160
- people of the book: 33:26
- water/rain: 20:164; 16:10; 35:27; 14:32; 22:05; 25:48; 6:99; 16:65; 39:21; 20:53; 41:39; 31:10; 13:17; 22:63; 2:22; 27:60; 23:18; 78:14
None of these things come from outer space or heaven. Does it mean that cattle, garments, food, and the people of the book also come from supernovae? No, it doesn’t. So, why assume that surah 57:26 literally states that iron came from outer space? Why assume the literal meaning with respect to iron but the figurative meaning when referring to everything else? The only logical explanation for the use of the term ‘anzalna’ that is consistent with all its occurrences in the Quran is to denote something provided by a deity, mechanism unknown. To selectively assign ‘origination from supernovae’ to iron but not to cattle, garments, food, and the people of the book, without evidence as to why one should use the literal versus the figurative interpretation is mere supposition, or special mystical interpretation, and thus utter nonsense.
One cannot overstate that it is intellectually dishonest to assign a literal interpretation to a certain case but figurative interpretations in every other case without the evidence to support such distinction.
The truth is that most such Islamist claims are made by Islamists ignorant of prior knowledge by other peoples. The ‘iron sent down from heaven’ proposition is not distinct to Islam nor was the Islamic version the earliest. The ancient Egyptians referred to iron as ‘iron from heaven’. (Ref)
Thus the concept of iron from outer space/heaven/sky was already known to humanity thousands of years before Islam.
The Egyptians called iron 'the metal of heaven' or ba-en-pet, which indicates that the first specimen employed were of meteoric origin; the Babylonian name having the same meaning. It was no doubt on account of its rarity that iron was prized so highly by the early Egyptians, while its celestial source would have its fascination.
Certainly the ancient Egyptians were aware of meteoritic iron, but uncomfortably for the archaeologists, the evidence suggests that by a very early date in their history they were already sophisticated enough to differentiate between different types of iron. Loadstones were called `res mehit ba', meaning `north-south iron', and Plutarch quotes Manetho as differentiating loadstones from non-magnetic iron, calling the former `Bone of Osiris', and the latter `Bone of Typhon', (being the Greek version of Set).3Robert H O'Connell in 1983 translated the coffin text Spell 148, which refers to meteoritic impact as being integral to the conception of Horus. `…the blast of a meteorite such that gods fear, Isis awoke pregnant by the seed of her brother Osiris!….5 Even earlier, in 1911, Wallis Budge translated a text from the time of Pepi II (circa 2278- 2184 BC) which speaks of `the iron which came from Set, and was in the forearm of Set; it transferred to the deceased the power of the eye of Horus'.6 As the constellation of the Great Bear was considered to be the abode of Set, we can reasonably conclude that at least one iron-bearing meteorite came from this direction early in the Old Kingdom. And if we were to conclude that the ascension of Horus came about during the unification of the two lands, we would be able to postulate that this unification came about during a period of meteoritic activity.The evidence then, seems to support the notion that the ancient Egyptians were aware of iron, and probably viewed it as a heavenly substance.
As stated previously, this belief is also shared by the Mesopotamians.
The supreme god Anu personified a planet which had exploded; hence the fact that his name meant ‘Heaven’, and hence the fact that meteoritic iron was known in Sumer as ‘the essence of Anu’.
Not only the iron on earth, but also the iron in the entire Solar System, comes from outer space, since the temperature in the Sun is inadequate for the formation of iron. The sun has a surface temperature of 6,000 degrees Celsius, and a core temperature of approximately 20 million degrees. Iron can only be produced in much larger stars than the Sun, where the temperature reaches a few hundred million degrees. When the amount of iron exceeds a certain level in a star, the star can no longer accommodate it, and it eventually explodes in what is called a "nova" or a "supernova." These explosions make it possible for iron to be given off into space.39One scientific source provides the following information on this subject:There is also evidence for older supernova events: Enhanced levels of iron-60 in deep-sea sediments have been interpreted as indications that a supernova explosion occurred within 90 light-years of the sun about 5 million years ago. Iron-60 is a radioactive isotope of iron, formed in supernova explosions, which decays with a half life of 1.5 million years. An enhanced presence of this isotope in a geologic layer indicates the recent nucleosynthesis of elements nearby in space and their subsequent transport to the earth (perhaps as part of dust grains).40
This is the logical fallacy of the red herring. All elements heavier than helium (and small quantities of lithium) cannot be produced on the earth and must have originated from supernovae.
The material blown off by a supernova explosion ultimately scatters throughout space, and some of it is incorporated in clouds of dust and gas which later form new suns and planets. All elements on Earth heavier than helium (except, possibly, a small amount of lithium) must have arrived that way: products of nuclear burning in some pre-solar star, released or created in the explosion accompanying its final collapse. Our bodies are made of star stuff--carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and the rest have all been produced by nuclear fusion.
Thus the fact that iron was produced in supernovae does not prove anything. Almost every element on earth was also produced in supernovae.
Harun Yahya wrote:
Surat al-Hadid is the 57th in the Qur’an. The numerical value of the word “al-Hadid” in Arabic is 57. The numerical value of “hadid” on its own is 26. As can be seen from the periodic table to the side, 26 is the number of the iron atom. With the verse revealed in Surat al-Hadid Almighty Allah indicates how iron formed, and with the mathematical code contained in the verse He reveals to us a scientific miracle.All this shows that iron did not form on the Earth, but was carried from Supernovas, and was "sent down," as stated in the verse. It is clear that this fact could not have been known in the 7th century, when the Qur'an was revealed. Nevertheless, this fact is related in the Qur'an, the Word of Allah, Who encompasses all things in His infinite knowledge.
This is mere coincidence. The atomic mass of iron is 56, not 57, even though the atomic number is 26. Fe-56 is the most common isotope and the Quran is out by one, if we were to accept this ludicrous Islamist line of thinking. Let’s examine how the Quran refers to other metals, using lead and copper as examples to show how this Islamist line of thinking is inappropriately selective and flawed.
Lead (Pb-207 atomic number 86) is referred to in surah 18:29. Copper (Cu-63 atomic number 29) is referred to in surahs 18:96, 34:12, 44:45, 55:35 and 70:08. There is no correlation between the surah references and these metals. It is therefore illogical to then infer that there is some ‘miraculous’ association between surah 57:26 and iron, without explaining why there is no similar association between the surah references and other metals.
Harun Yahya wrote:
Astronomy has also revealed that other elements also formed outside the Earth. In the expression "We also sent down iron" in the verse, the word "also" may well be referring to that idea.
Please refer to lead and copper which show absolutely no association between surah references and their atomic numbers.
Harun Yahya wrote:
However, the fact that the verse specifically mentions iron is quite astounding, considering that these discoveries were made at the end of the 20th century. In his book Nature's Destiny, the well-known microbiologist Michael Denton emphasizes the importance of iron:Of all the metals there is none more essential to life than iron. It is the accumulation of iron in the center of a star which triggers a supernova explosion and the subsequent scattering of the vital atoms of life throughout the cosmos. It was the drawing by gravity of iron atoms to the center of the primeval earth that generated the heat which caused the initial chemical differentiation of the earth, the outgassing of the early atmosphere, and ultimately the formation of the hydrosphere. It is molten iron in the center of the earth which, acting like a gigantic dynamo, generates the earth's magnetic field, which in turn creates the Van Allen radiation belts that shield the earth's surface from destructive high-energy-penetrating cosmic radiation and preserve the crucial ozone layer from cosmic ray destruction…Without the iron atom, there would be no carbon-based life in the cosmos; no supernovae, no heating of the primitive earth, no atmosphere or hydrosphere. There would be no protective magnetic field, no Van Allen radiation belts, no ozone layer, no metal to make hemoglobin [in human blood], no metal to tame the reactivity of oxygen, and no oxidative metabolism.The intriguing and intimate relationship between life and iron, between the red color of blood and the dying of some distant star, not only indicates the relevance of metals to biology but also the biocentricity of the cosmos…41
This is so ludicrous as to defy belief. Michael Denton, an anti-evolutionist (thus Harun Yahya’s co-traveller) turned evolutionist, is not a cosmologist and therefore, does not seem to know that more than half the planets in the solar system contain iron cores, just like the earth. In fact, four moons, including our own, also contain iron cores. Not only that but iron-containing asteroids and meteorites strike all the planets.
Iron may be a precondition of life as we know it, but it is not the only precondition as other planets also contain iron but do not support life. It is thus fair to say that conditions for life must all be present for life to occur. Take out one element and life will fail to result. Therefore, to overplay the role of iron in the creation of life as Harun Yahya and Michael Denton seem to be doing is the logical fallacy of ‘slanting’.
For evidence of iron cores in terrestrial planets and four moons (as presently known) (ref):
The inner worlds of our solar system are highly dense, made mostly of iron and rock.
Mercury has a density of 5.43 g/cm3. If we look at the materials listed above, no single material has a density of 5.4 g/cm3. However, the density of iron is higher, and basalt has a lower density. If you average the two together it comes out to about 5.5 g/cm3, which is pretty close to the density of Mercury. This suggests Mercury is made mostly of iron and rock.
Venus has a density of 5.2 g/cm3. This also lies between the densities of iron and rock, indicating Venus is probably composed of these two substances as well.
Earth has a density of 5.52 g/cm3, which again is about halfway between the densities of iron and basalt. Earth is mostly made of iron and rock, even though the Earth's surface is covered with rock and water.
The Moon has a bulk density of 3.34 g/cm3, almost exactly the same density as basalt. We believe this means the Moon is almost entirely made of rock, and it has a very small iron core.
This indicates Mars has a higher content of lighter materials than Venus or Earth, but it is heavy enough to make us believe it has an iron core larger than the Moon's iron core.
This indicates that Mercury's dense iron core is relatively larger than Earth's, probably comprising the majority of the planet.
Jupiter's volcano-pocked moon Io has been found by NASA's Galileo spacecraft to have a giant iron core that takes up half its diameter, scientists report in today's issue of Science magazine. (Ref)
We believe that Jupiter has a core of rocky silicate-composition material and a deeper iron core just like Earth and perhaps of about the same size as Earth. (Ref)
Saturn – (small) Iron core, encased in ice, and topped with a deep layer of liquid nitrogen. (Ref)
Saturn Composition: Small rocky iron core. (Ref)
We suspect the presence of iron because a small relic B-field associated with Ganymede was discovered by the Galileo probe. (Ref)
Iron cores of Io, Europa and Ganymede, but not Callisto.
Some scientists now believe that even the sun possess an iron core. (Ref)
Sun's Iron Core May Be Cause Of Solar FlaresDr. Oliver Manuel, a professor of nuclear chemistry, believes that iron, not hydrogen, is the sun's most abundant element."We think that the solar system came from a single star, and the sun formed on a collapsed supernova core," Manuel explains. "The inner planets are made mostly of matter produced in the inner part of that star, and the outer planets of material that formed out of the outer layers of that star."
Thus, iron cores are common occurrences in the solar system. The earth’s iron core is not the largest in absolute terms – that honor belongs to Jupiter. Nor is it the largest in proportion – that honor belongs to Mercury. Six of the nine planets possess iron cores – therefore, to lack an iron core is the exception rather than the rule. Also, our present understanding is that four moons possess iron cores. Following the Islamist’s line of thinking, do they suggest Allah ‘sent down’ iron to the moon for the benefit of American astronauts? Do Islamists suggest Allah ‘sent down’ iron to Mars and Jupiter’s moons for the benefit of American robotic probes? It is apparent that no deity ‘sent down’ iron to any part of the solar system for the benefit of humans. The presence of iron in various planet and moons has nothing to do with divine will but is merely the result of how the solar system was formed.
According to the latest scientific theory, the solar system was formed as a result of a collapsed supernova; the more volatile elements were thrown out further to form the outer planets, while the less volatile elements, including iron, coalesced to form the sun, the inner planets and some of the moons. (ref)
In short, there is nothing miraculous about the presence of planetary iron cores, terrestrial crust iron depositions, or iron in meteoritic/asteroid strikes.
Harun Yahya wrote:
This account clearly indicates the importance of the iron atom. The fact that particular attention is drawn to iron in the Qur'an also emphasises the importance of the element. In addition, there is another hidden truth in the Qur'an which draws attention to the importance of iron: Surat al-Hadid 25, which refers to iron, contains two rather interesting mathematical codes."Al- Hadid" is the 57th sura in the Qur'an. The abjad of the word "Al-Hadid" in Arabic, when the numerological values of its letters are added up, is also 57. (For abjad calculations see the section on Numerological Calculations (Abjad) in the Qur'an.)The numerological value of the word "hadid" alone is 26. And 26 is the atomic number of iron.
This is patent nonsense. Iron’s atomic number is 26, not 25, thus surat al-Hadid 25 is out by one. The atomic mass of the most common iron isotope is 56, not 57, thus al-hadid is also out by one.
The rest of Harun Yahya’s merely states some of iron’s usefulness. However, this is nothing miraculous as other metals are also useful to humans. Secondly, iron is a common element in our solar system, and possibly in other solar systems. There are no humans except on earth to use this iron. Or did Allah also ‘sent down’ iron on the moon for American astronauts to use?
Some Islamists also make the ludicrous claim that there is not enough energy in the sun to create even a single iron atom, implying a divine provenance.
Nadir Ahmed wrote:
Scientists today tell us that after studying the element of iron, that iron could not have been created on earth. And not only that, they say iron could not have been even created in our universe. They say that in calculating the energy required to form one atom of iron, it was found to be about four times as much energy of the entire solar system, just to create one atom of energy. Scientists go on to tell us that this kind of energy is not observable in our sun, our planets, in our solar system combined. So, what they are telling us is that iron could not have been formed on earth, neither in our solar system; rather, it should have come from some external source. That is the only place where iron could have come from.
This is totally false. Islamists make grandiose claims to fool the gullible, but a simple calculation shows these claims to be utter nonsense.
The total energy in an atom of iron can be calculated using the Einstein’s famous equation E=mc2.
1 mole of Fe-26 = 55.847 gAvogadro’s number = 6.0221415*10^231 atom of Fe-26 = 0.055847 kg / (6.0221415*10^23)Speed of light = 299,792,458 m/sE = 0.055847 kg / (6.0221415*10^23) * (299,792,458)^2 = 8.33 * 10^-9 Joules.
If we only calculate the nuclear binding energy of a single atom of iron, then we must use the following calculation:
1. Calculate the mass defect:
Fe-56 has 26 protons and 30 neutrons. The mass of a proton is 1.00728 amu and a neutron is 1.00867 amu. The combined mass is 56.449 amu.
Therefore, the mass defect is 56.449 amu – 55.918amu = 0.53128 amu.
Fe-56 has 26 protons and 30 neutrons. The mass of a proton is 1.00728 amu and a neutron is 1.00867 amu. The combined mass is 56.449 amu.
Therefore, the mass defect is 56.449 amu – 55.918amu = 0.53128 amu.
2. Convert the mass defect into kg.
(0.53128 amu/nucleus)(1.6606 x 10^-27 kg/amu) = 8.8224 x 10^-28 kg/nucleus
(0.53128 amu/nucleus)(1.6606 x 10^-27 kg/amu) = 8.8224 x 10^-28 kg/nucleus
3. Convert this mass into energy using DE = Dmc2.
E = (8.8224 x 10^-28 kg/nucleus) * (299,792,458 m/s)^2 = 7.9291 x 10^-11 J/nucleus
E = (8.8224 x 10^-28 kg/nucleus) * (299,792,458 m/s)^2 = 7.9291 x 10^-11 J/nucleus
4. Convert Joules to MeV using 1.602 * 10^-13 Joules per MeV
7.9291 x 10^-11 J/nucleus * 1.602 * 10^-13 Joules per MeV = 8.8384 MeV per nucleon.
7.9291 x 10^-11 J/nucleus * 1.602 * 10^-13 Joules per MeV = 8.8384 MeV per nucleon.
If that is four times the amount of energy in the solar system we’re all in big trouble. The amount of energy typing this article far exceeds what is contained in one atom of iron.
These numbers aren't very big at all. The Fermilab accelerator is capable of 2 Terra eV.
Fermilab wrote:
The Fermilab Tevatron provides proton-antiproton collisions at the world's highest energy of 2 trillion electron-volts (TeV) as the collision’s center of mass per particle in the proton and antiproton beams.
One eV is about 1.602*10^-19 Joules. Therefore 1 TeV is 1.602*10^-7 Joules.
So, the total energy of Fe-26 is a mere 0.0526 TeV, and the nuclear binding energy is only 494.95MeV or 0.00049495 TeV. That's TINY compared to what they routinely see at Fermilab.
Finally, the more hilarious Islamist claim is the following:
Nadir Ahmed wrote:
Scientists today tell us that after studying the element of iron, that iron could not have been created on earth. And not only that, they say iron could not have been even created in our universe.
One would suggest only Islamists could make such a preposterous claim. No credible scientist would claim this. It is obvious that our universe contains the supernovae that produce iron. After all, that’s how these supernovae were discovered – by Western kafir astronomers studying our universe.
Perhaps Islamists think that iron was produced in some parallel universe. How the iron arrived in our universe can only be answered by the black hole that is Islamist pseudoscience.
CONCLUSION
There is nothing miraculous about surah 57:26 describing iron being ‘sent down’ by some deity. The ancient Egyptians already derived that concept three thousand years before Islam. They called iron “ba-en-pet” or ‘metal from heaven’. This concept was also shared by the ancient Mesopotamians.
The term ‘anzala’ used to describe iron being ‘sent down’ is also used to describe cattle, garments, food, and the people of the book being ‘sent down’ by some deity. There is nothing to suggest that these too were not created in supernovae and sent down to earth. It is intellectually dishonest to assign a literal interpretation when referring to iron but figurative interpretations when referring to everything else without the evidence to distinguish when to use the literal as opposed to the figurative interpretation.
There is nothing miraculous about the surah reference and the atomic number of iron. This is mere coincidence as other metals are also mentioned in the Quran and their atomic numbers bear no relation to their surah references. To selectively assign miracles based on coincidence (since godly design is unproven) is a logical fallacy.
Iron is common in the solar system. The majority of the planets and at least four moons contain iron cores. Some scientists believe that even the sun contains an iron core. Therefore, there is nothing miraculous about iron. In fact, all inner planets contain iron cores. It would be a surprise to find the earth an exception. Earth does not contain the largest iron core in absolute or relative terms. Iron is only the second most abundant metal on earth after aluminum and it is the fourth most abundant element in the crust.
Meteoritic iron has been of use since at least 3,000 BC. The fact that iron is of great use to humanity is no surprise. This knowledge has been with us for thousands of years before Islam. Pliny the Elder (23-79AD), the Roman naturalist and writer wrote, "Iron mines bring man a most splendid and most harmful tool. It is by means of this tool that we cut into the ground, plant bushes, cultivate flourishing orchards and make grape vines with grapes. By this same tool we build houses, break stones and use iron for all such purposes. But it is also with the help of iron that we fight and battle and rob. And we do it not only at close quarters, but giving it wings, we hurl it far into the distance, now from embracers, now from powerful human hands, now from bows in the form feathered darts. This, I think, is the most infamous invention of the human brain. For in order to enable death to catch up with man faster, it has given it wings and armed iron with feathers. For that many the blame rest with man and not with the nature."
Thus there is nothing miraculous about surah 57:26 and the ‘descent’ of iron. The claims Islamists make in this regard have either been known many centuries before Islam or are patent scientific nonsense.
QURAN PREDICTED LAND DECREASING
INTRODUCTION
Dr Al Zeiny, PhD, claims a ‘so-called’ proof of Quranic Science by positing the proposition that the Quran correctly predicted the geological fact that land is decreasing due to the movements of tectonic plates. He cites verses 13:41 and 21:44 as evidence.
ANALYSIS
Dr. Al Zeiny, Ph.D. in Civil Engineering
Koranic School Graduate
Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering
University of EvansvilleLand is decreasing due to the movements of tectonic plates.Don’t they See that We gradually reduce the land from its outlying boundaries? Where God commands, there is none to put back His command (Quran 13:41)Indeed we gave the good things of this life to these men and their fathers until the period grew long for them; don’t they see our ability in reducing the land from its outlying borders? Is it then they who will win? (Quran 21:44)
The presumption is that continental land is decreasing due to convergence of tectonic plates, leading to either subduction or continental collision. What Dr Zeiny neglects to mention is that, according to the Theory of Plate Tectonics, convergence must equal divergence. This is particularly true if the size of the earth is constant (though some earth scientists believe an expanding earth hypothesis). (Ref)
Secondly, the tectonic plate map shows that subduction is by far the more common convergence phenomenon (compared to continental collision). Subduction occurs only with oceanic lithosphere as only oceanic lithosphere is dense enough to be subducted. Therefore, in subduction the colliding continental crust is not significantly reduced, and may increase due to subduction-related volcanic activity. (Ref)
In fact, partial melting of the subducting lithosphere leads to the production of andesite, which is the major building block of continental crust.
In other words, continental crust was produced by subduction activity.
Thirdly, while continental collision may reduce land surface due to elevation of the continental crust on impact, it is unclear whether this leads to overall reduction in land surface area if rift activity is taken into account.
Therefore, in theory, convergence of tectonic plates may not reduce land surface area. Further, Dr Zeiny also forgot other geological processes including erosion, sedimentation, sea-level fluctuations due to climactic changes, and volcanism due to mantle plumes. These also affect the continental land area.
How does the theory match practical observations?
Some scientists claim that the supercontinent Pangea covered about a quarter of the earth’s surface by the end of the Permian Period about 200 million years ago. (Ref)
Contrast this to the fact that at present 29.1% of the total earth’s surface area is land.
Therefore it seems the ‘land’ is not decreasing after all, or has not changed much in surface area in the past 200 million years (with some fluctuations due to ice ages etc.)
Here is further scientific proof that land has not been decreasing at all over the past billion years. (Ref)
In the geological record, there are indications that the relative proportion of land and ocean, and the average depth of the world's oceans, has remained relatively constant for at least the last one billion years of the Earth's history. This is inferred from the fact that the maximum thickness of undisturbed marine sedimentary deposits has remained essentially the same, around 50,000' [~15 km], for that span of time.
The explanation for the relative constancy of the earth’s land surface area is given as follows:
Plate Tectonics is now generally recognized as the ultimate cause of orogeny (mountain building). Orogeny, by whichever mechanism, represents a process of thickening continents vertically. If the volume of continental material is to remain constant, vertical thickening must represent a reduction in their surface area. If the surface area of continents is reduced, then the area covered by oceans must increase, which, if ocean volume is also constant, represents a lowering of sea levels. Over the long span of geological time, this shift in area from land to ocean is balanced by the forces of erosion.
How did Allah get this geological fact WRONG? Therefore, it would seem that the Quran cannot be divine because it contains patently false information.
CONCLUSION
Alas for Dr Zeiny, the geological facts do not support his case that land is decreasing as the Quran supposedly suggests.
In fact, I'd like to thank Dr Zeiny for helping to prove the Quran incorrect in asserting that land is decreasing, and thereby also prove that the Quran is false and therefore man-made. By extension, Dr Zeiny has also proven that Allah is also false and therefore man-made.
QURAN AND MOUNTAINS
INTRODUCTION
Many people have already demolished this canard that the Quran is validated by the geological science about mountains. I'd like to add to this demolition by addressing several new points that Islamists are adopting to 'justify' their so-called Quranic Science or to 'squirm' from the scientific truths provided against this 'Quranic Science' by sceptics.
It has been my privilege to witness the Islamist argument of “Mountains as Pegs Stabilizing the Earth”. Due to Allah making the Quran ‘clear and easy to understand’ and the ‘richness of the Arabic language,’ Islamists have been able to use the ‘vague’ interpretations of several Quranic verses in their attempt to prove the scientific validity of the Quran. In this, they are backed by a Muslim geologist specializing in biostratification, Professor Zaghloul Raghib El Naggar, and a Western surgeon, Dr Maurice Bucaille.
It is also my observation that the tactics of the Islamists are as follows:
- If a word has multiple meanings or translations, they will choose the one that suits them best at the time, ignoring all the rest as if they never existed.
- If unable to come up with a valid response, the Islamists will claim that only a genuine intimacy with Classical Arabic will enable the proper understanding of a given verse and then, rather ironically, proceed to argue in the English language.
- They will add complexity to an otherwise ‘simple’ verse without explanation nor justification. An example is the extension from ‘peg’ to ‘isostacy’ to ‘stabilize the crust/lithosphere/earth’.
- They will switch from the ‘literal’ to ‘metaphorical’ case whenever convenient. A sure sign of loss will be when they claim that the Quran is not a book of Science but Scripture, despite previously or concurrently promulgating the validity of ‘Quranic Science’.
Here are the relevant verses:
31:10
Pickthall: He hath created the heavens without supports that ye can see, and hath cast into the earth firm hills, so that it quake not with you; and He hath dispersed therein all kinds of beasts. And We send down water from the sky and We cause (plants) of every goodly kind to grow therein.
Yusuf Ali: He created the heavens without any pillars that ye can see; He set on the earth mountains standing firm, lest it should shake with you; and He scattered through it beasts of all kinds. We send down rain from the sky, and produce on the earth every kind of noble creature, in pairs.
Shakir: He created the heavens without pillars as you see them, and put mountains upon the earth lest it might convulse with you, and He spread in it animals of every kind; and We sent down water from the cloud, then caused to grow therein (vegetation) of every noble kind.
Sher Ali: HE has created the heavens without any pillars that you can see, and HE has placed in the earth firm mountains that it may not quake with you, and HE has spread therein all kinds of creatures; and WE have sent down water from the clouds, and have caused to grow therein of every fine species.
Khalifa: He created the heavens without pillars that you can see. He established on earth stabilizers (mountains) lest it tumbles with you, and He spread on it all kinds of creatures. We send down from the sky water to grow all kinds of beautiful plants.
Palmer: He created the heavens without pillars that ye can see, and He threw upon the earth firm mountains lest it should move with you; and He dispersed thereon every sort of beast; and we send down from the heavens water, and we caused to grow therein of every noble kind.
Sale: He hath created the heavens without visible pillars [to sustain them], and hath thrown on the earth [mountains] firmly rooted, lest it should move with you; and he hath replenished the same with all kinds of beasts: And we send down rain from heaven, and cause every kind of noble [vegetable] to spring forth therein.
Rodwell: Without pillars that can be seen hath He created the heavens, and on the earth hath thrown mountains lest it should move with you; and He hath scattered over it animals of every sort: and from the Heaven we send down rain and cause every kind of noble plant to grow up therein.
“Progressive Muslims”: He created the heavens without pillars that you can see. And He placed in the earth firm stabilizers so that it would not tumble with you, and He spread on it all kinds of creatures. And We sent down water from the sky, thus We caused to grow all kinds of good plants.
[Transliterated Arabic: Khalaqa alssamawati bighayri AAamadin tarawnaha waalqa fee al-ardi rawasiya an tameeda bikum wabaththa feeha min kulli dabbatin waanzalna mina alssama-i maan faanbatna feeha min kulli zawjin kareemin]21:31
Khalifa: And we placed on earth stabilizers, lest it tumbles with them, and we placed Pickthall: And We have placed in the earth firm hills lest it quake with them, and We have placed therein ravines as roads that haply they may find their way.
Yusuf Ali: And We have set on the earth mountains standing firm, lest it should shake with them, and We have made therein broad highways (between mountains) for them to pass through: that they may receive Guidance.
Shakir: And We have made great mountains in the earth lest it might be convulsed with them, and We have made in it wide ways that they may follow a right direction.
Sher Ali: And WE have placed in the earth firm mountains lest it should quake with them; and WE have made therein wide pathways, that they may be rightly guided.
Khalifa: And we placed on earth stabilizers, lest it tumbles with them, and we placed straight roads therein, that they may be guided.
Palmer: And we placed on the earth firm mountains lest it should move with them, and He made therein open roads for paths, haply they may be guided!
Sale: And we placed stable [mountains] on the earth, lest it should move with them; and we made broad passages between them for paths, that they might be directed [in their journeys]:
Rodwell: And we set mountains on the earth lest it should move with them, and we made on it broad passages between them as routes for their guidance;
“Progressive Muslims”: And We made on the earth stabilizers so that it would not tumble with you, and We made in it wide paths that they may be guided.
[Transliterated Arabic: WajaAAalna fee al-ardi rawasiya an tameeda bihim wajaAAalna feeha fijajan subulan laAAallahum yahtadoona]16:15
Pickthall: And He hath cast into the earth firm hills that it quake not with you, and streams and roads that ye may find a way.
Yusuf Ali: And He has set up on the earth mountains standing firm, lest it should shake with you; and rivers and roads; that ye may guide yourselves;
Shakir: And He has cast great mountains in the earth lest it might be convulsed with you, and rivers and roads that you may go aright,
Sher Ali: And HE has placed in the earth firm mountains lest it quake with you and rivers and routes that you may find the way to your destination.
Khalifa: And He placed stabilizers (mountains) on earth, lest it tumbles with you, as well as rivers and roads, that you may be guided.
Palmer: And He has cast firm mountains on the earth lest it move with you; and rivers and roads; haply ye may be guided.
Sale: And he hath thrown upon the earth [mountains] firmly rooted, lest it should move with you, and [also] rivers, and paths, that ye might be directed:
Rodwell: And He hath thrown firm mountains on the earth, least it move with you; and rivers and paths for your guidance,
“Progressive Muslims”: And He has cast into the earth stabilizers so that it does not sway with you, and rivers, and paths, perhaps you will be guided.
[Transliterated Arabic: Waalqa fee al-ardi rawasiya an tameeda bikum waanharan wasubulan laAAallakum tahtadoona]78:6-7
Pickthall: Have We not made the earth an expanse, And the high hills bulwarks?
Yusuf Ali: Have We not made the earth as a wide expanse, And the mountains as pegs?
Shakir: Have We not made the earth an even expanse? And the mountains as projections (thereon)?
Sher Ali: Have WE not made the earth as a bed, And the mountains as pegs?
Khalifa: Did we not make the earth habitable? And the mountains stabilizers?
Palmer: Have we not set the earth as a couch, and the mountains as stakes,
Sale: Have we not made the earth for a bed, and the mountains for stakes [to fix the same]?
Rodwell: Have we not made the Earth a couch? And the mountains its tent-stakes?
“Progressive Muslims”: Did We not make the earth a resting ground? And the mountains as pegs?
[Transliterated Arabic: Alam najAAali al-arda mihadan Waaljibala awtadan]15:19
Pickthall: And the earth have We spread out, and placed therein firm hills, and caused each seemly thing to grow therein.
Yusuf Ali: And the earth We have spread out (like a carpet); set thereon mountains firm and immovable; and produced therein all kinds of things in due balance.
Shakir: And the earth -- We have spread it forth and made in it firm mountains and caused to grow in it of every suitable thing.
Sher Ali: And the earth have WE spread out, and set therein firm mountains and cause every thing to grow therein in proper proportion.
Khalifa: As for the earth, we constructed it, and placed on it stabilizers (mountains), and we grew on it a perfect balance of everything.
Palmer: And the earth we have stretched out and have thrown on it firm mountains, and have caused to grow upon it of everything a measured quantity.
Sale: We have also spread forth the earth, and thrown thereon stable [mountains]; and we have caused every kind of [vegetable] to spring forth in the same, according to a determinate weight:
Rodwell: And the Earth have We spread forth, and thrown thereon the mountains, and caused everything to spring forth in it in balanced measure:
“Progressive Muslims”: And the land We have stretched, and placed stabilizers in it, and We have planted in it everything in balance.
[Transliterated Arabic: Waal-arda madadnaha waalqayna feeha rawasiya waanbatna feeha min kulli shay-in mawzoonin]
The relevant Arabic terms are: awtad for pegs/bulwarks/stabilizers/ projections[1]; rawasiya for mountains, and tameeda for tumble/shake/quake/convulse/sway etc.[2]
Wehr translates this word as unshakable mountains. The Munjid says (al-jibal al-thawabat al-ruwasikh) firmly established, fixed mountains. The word comes from the root (arsa), the same root used for the Arabic word for anchor. To throw out or cast the anchor is (alqa almirsah). So instead of "cast the anchor to keep the ship from moving", we have "cast the mountains to keep the earth from shaking"[2]
Naik translated awtad as stakes or pegs (like those used to anchor a tent). [1]
The most pertinent verse is 16:15 transliterated as follows:
Waalqa fee al-ardi rawasiya an tameeda bikum waanharan wasubulan laAAallakum tahtadoona.
Waalqa fee al-ardi rawasiya an tameeda bikum waanharan wasubulan laAAallakum tahtadoona.
Note the verse uses the word 'ard' which can be used to describe the Earth, its surface, or the ground in general, an example of Islamist language vagueness – meaning that it can refer to anything from the Earth, the crust, the lithosphere, the mantle or any combination of the above that suits the Islamist argument at the time.
Also note that the word ‘tameeda’ is claimed to refer to shaking or disturbance, as opposed to ‘zalzala’ which means ‘earthquake.’ A further dissection of this term will be given later.
Other interpretations of verse 21:31 are as follows:
Bewley: We placed firmly embedded mountains on the Earth so it would not move under them...Daryabadi: And We have placed in the Earth firm mountains lest it should move away with them...Hilali & Khan: And We have placed in the Earth firm mountains lest it should shake with them...
Al-Muntakhab: And We furnished the Earth with firm stays, mountains placed in a certain setting, fixed as with an anchor, to stabilize it lest it should sway you from side to side or in all directions...Sarwar: We placed firm mountains on Earth lest it would shake them away...Asad: And We have set up firm mountains on Earth lest it sway with them...
There is another verse that may suggest that Mountains have roots, but only when Islamists choose to use a certain definition in a typically vague verse:
20:105
Pickthall: They will ask thee of the mountains (on that day). Say: My Lord will break them into scattered dust.
Yusuf Ali: They ask thee concerning the Mountains: say, "My Lord will uproot them and scatter them as dust;
Shakir: And they ask you about the mountains. Say: My Lord will carry them away from the roots.
Sher Ali: And they ask thee concerning the mountains. Say, `My Lord will break them into pieces and scatter them as dust;
Khalifa: They ask you about the mountains. Say, "My Lord will wipe them out.
Palmer: They will ask thee about the mountains; say, 'My Lord will scatter them in scattered pieces,
Sale: They will ask thee concerning the mountains: Answer, my Lord will reduce them to dust, and scatter them abroad;
Rodwell: And they will ask thee of the mountains: SAY: scattering my Lord will scatter them in dust;
"Progressive Muslims": And they ask you about the mountains, say: "My Lord will annihilate them completely."
[Transliterated Arabic: Wayas-aloonaka AAani aljibali faqul yansifuha rabbee nasfan]
Many translations translate the word 'yansifuha' as wipe out, break, carry away, annihilate, destroy, and crush, but Islamists will prefer the meaning, ‘uproot’, as the Yusef Ali and Al-Muntakhab versions have done.
DISCUSSION
Islamists believe the geological facts about Mountains validate the Quran. A summary of their case is as follows:
A. Mountains have deep roots thus they resemble ‘pegs’.
(Anatomy of the Earth, Cailleux, p. 220)
On the ‘surface’ (excuse the pun), the Islamists have a point here. Verse 78:6-7 says, “Have We not made the earth as a wide expanse, And the mountains as pegs?”
Islamists point to the fact of isostacy where the bulk of the mountain extends into the upper mantle as proof that Muhammad couldn’t have known that mountains were ‘pegs’ staking the crust to the upper mantle unless Allah told him.
Sounds convincing? Herein lies the genius of the Quran – to make definitions so vague as to provide the Islamists sufficient ‘wriggle room’.
Rebuttal:
These pictures from Islamist sites resemble ‘very blunt’ pegs. In fact, they resemble pegs only with imagination.
The observation here is that Islamists equate ‘deep mountain roots’ with ‘pegs’. There are several difficulties with this interpretation in that not all mountains have peg-like roots. An analysis of mountain formation reveals the fact that not all mountains have peg-like roots, for example volcanoes; those formed by extension and faulting (e.g. the Nevada Basin and Range); thrust and fold belts (e.g. Appalachians, Eastern Bolivian Andes, Zagros Mountain, the Calcareous Alps).
A cross-section of the collisional Himalayas reveals a broad ‘wedge’ rather than Cailleux’s schematic ‘peg’ diagram (ref):
As do the Pyrenees (ref):
Therefore it appears likely that the Islamists are mistaken when they claim that Mountains are Pegs in the literal sense. They base their claims on a single schematic diagram and not from a more comprehensive survey of mountain types and genuine geological data.
For these reasons, I will concede that Mountains are Pegs only in the metaphorical sense, but definitely not in the literal sense.
Muslims also seem incredulous that Muhammad should have known that mountains have 'roots', arguing that since the bulk of the mountain is below ground it is unobservable. Muhammad could only have referred to mountain roots (like pegs) from a divine source. Unfortunately this may not be true since ancient people already knew mountains have roots. For example, the ancient Hebrews seemed to have acquired this knowledge.
Jonah 2 To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God.
***
***
B. Islamist’s claim: Deep roots stabilize the earth (or mountain roots act as pegs).
The role of mountains as stabilizers for the Earth's crust can be clearly seen in their very deep roots, and can be justified by the fact that the motions of the lithospheric plates only come to halt when a continent collides with another, producing a collisional type mountain, which is believed to be the last phase in mountain-building. Without mountains, the movement of lithospheric plates would have been much faster and their collision more drastic. Even though mountains do act as retarders for the plate movements, they should not be understood to be an independent force or factor, because they are the very product of this motion in the first place.[3]
and
"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."
Rebuttal:
The Islamist author of this proposition seems to have confused Cause with Effect. In his example of continental-collisional type mountains, he failed to see that mountains are caused by tectonic plate collision and do not effect plate stabilization.
It is possible that the reason why lithospheric plates come to a (slow) halt is not due to mountains but due to the opposing plates. The Islamist proposition is akin to saying that in an automobile collision, the crushed engine compartment stabilizes the car during the crash. In reality, the crushed engine compartment (analogy = mountain) is the effect of the crash (analogy = tectonic plate collision). It does not stabilize the car during the collision.
In short, there is no scientific evidence that continental-collisional type mountains stabilize tectonic plates. All assertions to this effect are mere opinion without scientific foundations.
C. Islamist’s Claim:Mountains stabilize the earth because plate movements are impeded by their formation.
The sea-deep roots stabilize the continental masses (or plates), as plate motions are almost completely halted by their formation, especially when the mountain mass is finally entrapped within a continent as an old craton.[4]
Rebuttal:
In his enthusiasm to validate the Quran with modern geology, Professor El Naggar also seems to have confused Cause and Effect. Plate motions are almost completely halted not by collisional-type mountain formation (effect) but by the opposing plates.
Further, this seems merely Professor El Naggar’s opinion – a search of the good professor’s CV has singularly failed to find refereed scientific proof of his assertion. In fact, El Naggar’s scientific career is built on the study of biostratification, not on the evidence that mountains stabilize continental masses. The only references to Professor El Naggar on mountains are un-refereed Islamic conferences on supposed Islamic Science. http://www.elnaggarzr.com/CV-E.htm
Therefore, I assert that El Naggar’s opinion is merely a classical example of the logical fallacy of Argumentum Ad Verecundiam.
If one were to accept such argumentum ad verecundiam, one would also have to accept Professor David A. Young’s opinion.
"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]
In other words, mountains don't keep the earth from shaking. Their formation caused and still causes the surface of the earth to shake.
D. Islamist claim: Mountain stabilize the lithospheric plates by sinking into the asthenosphere.
The stabilization of lithospheric plates by mountains is effected by their sinking deeply into the zone of weakness of the Earth (the asthenosphere) as wooden pegs sink into the ground to stabilize the corners of a tent. Such a process of stabilization cannot take place without the presence of a viscous, plastic material under the outer rocky cover of the Earth, into which the mountains "roots" can float. In as much as the ship casts its anchor into the anchorage of a port to avoid the dangers of rolling and swaying by winds and waves, the Glorious Quran uses the term "Rawasi" (=moorings or firm anchors) to describe mountains. Such firm anchors do not only stabilize the lithospheric plates, but also the whole planet in its spinning around its own axis (nutation, recession, etc.). [4]
Rebuttal:
Again, this is Professor El Naggar’s opinion and a confusion of cause and effect. I await an Islamist to provide the scientific evidence derived by Professor El Naggar or anyone else to prove Mountains actually stabilize the lithospheric plates.
Actually, the scientific evidence is that the continental plates are stabilized by craton keels. These are deep (60-300km) extensions of cratons into the mantle (far deeper than mountain roots). The formation of these craton roots or keels are unrelated to mountain formation. (Jordan, T. H., Nature, 1978, 274, 544–548; Elasser, W. M., in The Application of Modern Physics to Earth and Planetary Interiors (ed. Runcorn, S. K.), Interscience, New York, 1969, pp. 223– 240; Morgan, W. J., J. Geophys. Res., 1968, 73, 1959–1970).
In fact, cratons are stable regions of the earth's crust that are no longer subject to mountain building processes. http://www.rexmining.com/rdmc/Linksandinfo/glossary.htm
These craton roots or keels were formed by depletion of basaltic elements into the asthenosphere, leading to less dense material that sinks deeper into the mantle due to the lower buoyancy (i.e. isostacy {of the crust, not mountains} at work). [Taken from Sankaran, A.V., CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 81, NO. 9, 10 NOVEMBER 2001 pp. 1158-1160]
E. Islamist’s claim: Mountains prevent earthquakes.
Rebuttal:
As early as the 1920s, scientists noted that earthquakes are concentrated in very specific narrow zones (Wadati-Benioff zones). In 1954, French seismologist J.P. Rothé published this map showing the concentration of earthquakes along the zones indicated by dots and cross-hatched areas. Note how the earthquakes originate mainly from the edges of tectonic plates, including collisional mountain ranges and ocean trenches and ridges, thus suggesting that mountains do not stabilize the crust or the earth.
Further evidence is provided by a detailed look at the Himalayan mountain range which shows that it is closely associated with earthquakes, thus proving mountains do not prevent earthquakes.
Why do earthquakes happen here?
The Indian subcontinent lies upon the Indian Plate. This plate is moving northward at about 5 centimetres per year and in doing so, collides with the Eurasian Plate. Upon the Eurasian Plate lie the Tibet plateau & central Asia. Due to this mammoth collision, the Himalayas are thrust higher and very many earthquakes are generated in the process. This is the cause of earthquakes from the Himalayas to the Arakan Yoma. The same process, though involving the Indian Plate and the Burmese Micro-plate results in earthquakes in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Sometimes earthquakes of different magnitudes occur within the Indian Plate, in the peninsula and in adjoining parts of the Arabian Sea or the Bay of Bengal. These arise due to localized systems of forces in the crust sometimes associated with ancient geological structures such as in the Rann of Kachchh. http://asc-india.org/menu/seismi.htm
Therefore it seems the collision of tectonic plates causes mountains to form and this collision also causes earthquakes.
Strong and damaging earthquakes have been felt in all parts of the Indian Sub-continent. The most seismically active areas are those in the Himalayan regions of the sub-continent and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands due to the peculiar tectonic nature of these regions. http://asc-india.org/menu/gquakes.htm
Scientists have also proven that other mountain ranges to be earthquake zones, including theAndes and the African mountains.
Does the Islamist claim that mountains prevent earthquakes stand up to scientific evidence? The answer is a resounding “NO”. In fact, the largest earthquakes, particularly the largest 2, ever recorded are associated with mountainous regions. http://asc-india.org/gq/world10.htm
No. 1: The great Chilean earthquake occurring 140 kms SSW of Concepción (Biobio), Chile, registered 9.5Mw – the largest earthquake ever recorded. The Andes mountain range did nothing to prevent or stabilize this earthquake.
No. 2: The Prince William Sound earthquake occurring 33.2 kms SE of Mt. Goode (Alaska), U.S.A., registered 9.2Mw - the second biggest earthquake recorded in the 20th century. Mt Goode didn't stabilize this earthquake.
No. 6: The Ecuador earthquake occurring 138 kms W of Tortuga (Esmeraldas Province), Ecuador, registered 8.8Mw. The nearby Andes mountain range did not prevent or stabilize this earthquake.
No. 8: The Arunachal Pradesh occurring 20.7 kilometers NW of Tajobum (Arunachal Pradesh), India registering 8.6Mw. This is in the Assam hills and 'caused landslides in the mountains.
Let’s examine the case of the largest earthquake ever recorded. Chilean Earthquake of 1960:
Chile
1960 May 22 19:11:14 UTC
Magnitude 9.5
The Largest Earthquake in the World
More than 2,000 killed, 3,000 injured, 2,000,000 homeless, and $550 million damage in southern Chile; tsunami caused 61 deaths, $75 million damage in Hawaii; 138 deaths and $50 million damage in Japan; 32 dead and missing in the Philippines; and $500,000 damage to the west coast of the United States.
The Andes Mountains didn't seem to prevent or stabilize this earthquake. In fact, it is the collision between the Nazca and South American tectonic plates that causes these earthquakes and raises the Andes mountains.
This is a convergent plate boundary, the plates move towards each other. The amount of crust on the surface of the earth remains relatively constant. Therefore, when plates diverge (separate) and form new crust in one area, the plates must converge (come together) in another area and be destroyed. An example of this is the Nazca plate being subducted under the South American plate to form the Andes Mountain Chain.
Hence the Islamist proposition that mountains prevent earthquakes is patently false.
E. Islamist’s claim:Mountains stabilize the earth through isostacy.
Rebuttal:
This is a classical misconception of George Airy’s model of Isostacy and the logical fallacy of “Composition” (i.e. generalization of the specific case to the general). Just because the mountains are themselves stabilized by isostacy does not mean that the mountains stabilize the earth or the crust by isostacy. Every element in the earth’s crust is governed by the same physical laws – in fact the crust ‘floats’ on the upper mantle and is thus self-stabilizing according to its own isostacy, not that of mountains.
Isostacy, which says that any vertical column of the earth above some deep level of "compensation" must have the same mass. This has to do with bouyancy forces and with the tendency of deep materials (the asthenosphere, for example) to flow in response to pressure differences. (Ref)
Therefore, isostacy stabilizes mountains. Isostacy also stabilizes the earth's crust.
However, mountains do not stabilize the crust through isostacy. The crust stabilises itself through its own isostacy. Therefore, the stability of the crust, through 'crustal' isostacy, has nothing to do with mountains. It is the Islamists' foolishness and wishful thinking that makes them extend this 'mountain-specific' isostacy to the crust (which has its own isostacy) because isostacy is an independent 'force or phenomenon' acting on the mountains as it independently does on the crust.
However, mountains do not stabilize the crust through isostacy. The crust stabilises itself through its own isostacy. Therefore, the stability of the crust, through 'crustal' isostacy, has nothing to do with mountains. It is the Islamists' foolishness and wishful thinking that makes them extend this 'mountain-specific' isostacy to the crust (which has its own isostacy) because isostacy is an independent 'force or phenomenon' acting on the mountains as it independently does on the crust.
F. Islamist’s claim: The term ‘tameeda’ does not refer to earthquakes but to shaking or disturbances.
When shown evidence that collisional-type mountains are associated with earthquakes some Islamist will then claim that the Quranic verses do not refer to earthquakes at all. They will claim that tameeda also means stagger, roll, sway, or tilt, and that there's significant difference between them and the short sharp shock of an earthquake (i.e. tameeda refers to some phenomenon, assumed to be associated with geological timescale, that is presently unknown to and undefined by our present understanding of geological science).
Rebuttal:
The relevant verses are as follows:
Sura Luqman 31:10 "He has created the heavens without supports that you can see, and has cast (alqa) onto the earth firm mountains (rawasiya) lest it should shake with you (tamida bikum **) ..."In the Prophets (Al-Anibiya') 21:31 "And We have set on the earth firm mountains (rawasiya), lest it should shake with them (tamida bihim**)."In the Bee (Al-Nahl) 16:15 "And He has cast onto the earth firm mountains (rawasiya) lest it should shake with you… (tamida bikum**) "
The phrase "tamida bi" from mada, yamidu, is only used in the above three Quranic verses which are marked **. Hans Wehr's "Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic" gives the meaning of the verbal phrase "mada bi" as: to shake something violently. "Mada bi" is the very form used in these verses.
It is clear that the term ‘tameeda’ is associated with people (i.e. less it should shake with YOU). Thus, tameeda cannot possibly refer to shaking in a geological timescale as people do not live in geological timescales. For this reason I suggest tameeda and zalzala are synonyms, just as the English terms, seismic activity and earth tremors are synonyms for earthquakes.
Even some Islamists do not consider tameeda to mean shaking in geological timescale.
(And We have placed on the earth firm mountains,) means, mountains which stabilize the earth and keep it steady and lend it weight, lest it should shake with the people, i.e., move and tremble so that they would not be able to stand firm on it -- because it is covered with water, apart from one-quarter of its surface. {Tafsir Ibn Kathir}
Admittedly Ibn Kathir was not a geologist, but he certainly knew Classical Arabic and his reading of the relevant verses suggests that tameeda is not associated with a geological timescale.
G. Islamist’s claim: The word, ‘stabilize’ does not mean ‘prevent earthquakes.’
The stabilization is over a geological timescale because of the term ‘tameeda’ as opposed to ‘zalzala’.
Rebuttal:
For the same reason as F, the term ‘stabilize’ must mean ‘prevent earthquakes’ as tameeda cannot be associated with geological timescales.
CONCLUSION
This article refutes the Islamist claim that the Quran had foreshadowed the scientific knowledge about Mountains as Pegs stabilizing the crust or even the earth. There are two elements to this ‘Quranic Science’ claim:
A. Mountains are Pegs.
This is untrue as not all mountains have peg-like roots.
This is untrue as not all mountains have peg-like roots.
B. Mountains stabilize the crust or the earth.
This is unproven. There is no scientific evidence for this assertion, therefore the Quran cannot be validated by scientific evidence that does not exist. The mere fact of isostacy is NOT proof that mountains stabilize the crust or the earth. The mere fact that collision-type mountains are formed at the edges of tectonic plates is NOT proof that mountains stabilize the plates. The mere fact that mountains have deep roots is NOT proof that mountains stabilize anything.
This is unproven. There is no scientific evidence for this assertion, therefore the Quran cannot be validated by scientific evidence that does not exist. The mere fact of isostacy is NOT proof that mountains stabilize the crust or the earth. The mere fact that collision-type mountains are formed at the edges of tectonic plates is NOT proof that mountains stabilize the plates. The mere fact that mountains have deep roots is NOT proof that mountains stabilize anything.
Lastly, is the Quran really the first scripture to make the assertion that Mountains stabilize the earth? Well, some Christians don’t think so, and the Bible predates the Quran by at least 400 years.
Genesis 1:9-13 DAY 3
Pillars of the Earth-----------------------------------The Bible also talks about the pillars of the earth. In Job 9 it says, "Who shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars (ydwmu) tremble." The LXX says, "Who shakes the earth under heaven from its foundations and its pillars (stuloi) totter." In Psalm 75:3 it says, "The earth and all its inhabitants are melting away; I set firm its pillars (ydwmu)." The LXX says, "I have strengthened its pillars (stuloi)." In I Samuel 2:8 it says, "For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s and he had set the world upon them." The Hebrew word for pillar is yqxm. The root is qx meaning "to melt" (BDB 1980, 848). Therefore, yqxm means, "a molten like pillar." The only other place it occurs is in I Samuel 14:5 referring to a mountain. Probably the pillars of the earth are the same thing as the foundations of the earth which were mountains.In Ugaritic we have seen that there are two mountains, trgzz and trmg that bind the earth. Gibson says that these twin mountains were founded in the earth-encircling ocean, and held up the firmament, and also marked the entrance to the underworld (1978, 66). The mountains are said to bind the earth. This may indicate that the mountains surrounded, and supported the earth as well as confine the netherworld. The mountains were seen as the foundations of the earth, and the support pillars for the heavens. The Hebrews probably held a very similar view as the verses above indicate, as well as later Hebrew writings. So the phrase "pillars of heaven" and "pillars of earth" are referring to the same mountains. One emphasizes the height of the mountains holding up heaven, the other emphasizes the depth of the mountains that hold the earth firm.
THE SEAS NOT MINGLING WITH ONE ANOTHER
Muslims claim that the verses 55:19-20 are proof of the scientific miracle of the Quran
"He has let loose the two seas, converging together, with a barrier between them they do not break through."
The popular site of Harunyahya claims,
"This property of the seas, that is, that they meet and yet do not intermix, has only very recently been discovered by oceanographers. Because of the physical force called "surface tension," the waters of neighbouring seas do not mix. Caused by the difference in the density of their waters, surface tension prevents them from mingling with one another, just as if a thin wall were between them.It is interesting that, during a period when there was little knowledge of physics, and of surface tension, or oceanography, this truth was revealed in the Qur'an.""There are large waves, strong currents, and tides in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Mediterranean Sea water enters the Atlantic by Gibraltar. But their temperature, salinity, and densities do not change, because of the barrier that separates them."Was the knowledge that waters of different salinity, density and temperature do not mix unknown to anyone prior to Muhammad? Not really. A thousand years before Muhammad Aristotle wrote the following:“The drinkable, sweet water, then, is light and is all of it drawn up: the salt water is heavy and remains behind,” [Meteorology, Book 2, Chapter 2]
It is clear that at the time of Aristotle, people knew that waters of different density and salinity do not mix.
Obviously the sailors navigating in that sea must have noticed the difference of color between the waters.
Also it seems that Muslims do not understand the phenomenon at all. The sill of Gibraltar, the barrier that separates the Atlantic from Mediterranean is not responsible for not letting the two waters to mix. The waters do not mix because of the difference in their density, salinity and temperature.
Furthermore the separation of these waters are not permanent. The waters of various densities, salinities and temperatures eventually mix. The phenomenon is short lived and is observerabe only when the two bodies of water meet. It is like pouring milk in the cup of coffee. At first one can see that milk creates a current inside the coffee but eventually they mix.
Is Muhammad talking about the Waters of Atlantic and Mediterranean sea? No! There is no such mention in the Quran. It could be any two bodies of water. Was this phenomenon unknown to people at the time of Muhammad? No! This is quite an observable phenomenon. Anyone who has seen a delta where rivers carrying colored sediments enter the sea or where two rivers of different colors or two seas meet, can see that for a long distance the two waters keep apart. Muhammad had not been to many seas. But there is no reason to believe that he had not heard of this curious phenomenon from those who had been. The knowledge was known to all seamen and people loved to share the stories of their adventures. Therefore this verse is not a miracle. It is a casual statement of a curious phenomenon that he had heard and was impressed by it but without understanding the physics behind it. He thought it is the work of a deity called Allah that keeps the waters apart.
As the verse 25:53 makes it clear, Muhammad is talking about two seas one with sweet and palatable and the other with salty and bitter water.
"And He it is Who hath given independence to the two seas (though they meet); one palatable, sweet, and the other saltish, bitter; and hath set a bar and a forbidding ban between them." [Pickthal translation].
The water in both Atlantic and Mediterranean are salty. Therefore this verse does not refer to any two seas but to the waters at estuary where an arm of the sea extends inland to meet the river. In this case there is no “forbidding partitions” between the waters as Muhammad said and they eventually mix. On one side we have the fresh waters of the river running into the sea and on the other side we have the salty water of the sea being pushed away. In between the two we have a mixture of the two waters. The Islamic sites claim this water in between, acts as the barrier. This statement is simply asinine to say the least. The waters eventually keep mixing until all the salt water and sweet water become one. The mixed water between the two waters is not the barrier but the reverse. It is the mixture of the two.
One
Muslim insisted that despite the fact that the phenomenon was known, at that time it is still a miracle because Muhammad was illiterate and he could not have known this and he insisted that I prove that Muhammad had heard this from someone.
I find this quite absurd. If I write the theory of relativity and claim this is revealed to me and I never heard of Einstein, it is not up to you to prove I have heard of him. It is up to me to prove I have not.
Here what we did is prove that this knowledge existed prior to Muhammad. People knew that waters of different density do not mix and they could observer it. Despite that Muhammad assumes that the waters never mix. Which is obviously incorrect. De states that there is a barrier between the waters, which is of course untrue. These verses point to Muhammad’s ignorance and they are no miracles at all.
QURAN AND SEMEN PRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Several Islamists promulgate the Quranic Pseudoscience of Semen Production from between the sulb and the tara’ib. There are at least seven distinct classes of Islamist explanations, all of these can be proven false.
There are excellent articles debunking these Islamist assertions, for example those of Dr William Campbell (also Ref 2), Sam Samoun.
Here is Pickthall’s translation of relevant verses 86:5-7 from Surah At-Tariq.
So let man consider from what he is created. He is created from a gushing fluid That issued from between the loins and ribs.
Falyanthuri al-insanu mimma khuliqa Khuliqa min ma-in dafiqin Yakhruju min bayni alssulbi waalttara-ibi
This article aims to summarize the case against the various Islamist claims so that a comprehensive review can be made of this important issue.
The seven Islamist explanations are as follows:
- Drs Maurice Bucaille and A.K. Giraud – sulb and tara’ib refer to the sexual areas of the man and woman.
- Ahmed A. Abd-Allah – accepts and extends Bucaille’s assumption, and claims that all the acknowledged translations and tafsirs are in error, as sulb and tara’ib do not mean a man’s backbone and ribs, but a man’s “hardening” (i.e. penis) and a woman’s erogenous zones (not including the vagina).
- Dr Zakir Naik – sulb and tara’ib refer to the backbone and ribs of both sexes, however the verses refers only to the gonads in the embryonic stage, and not to adults in the act of sexual reproduction.
- Dr Jamal Badawi – the verses refer not to semen production but to the blood of the aorta as the ‘gushing fluid poured forth’.
- Ibn Kathir – sulb refers to the man’s backbone, and tara’ib refers to the woman’s chest.
- Muhammad Asad – sulb refers to the man’s loins and tara’ib refers to the woman’s pelvic arch.
- Moiz Amjad, the “Learner”, makes three claims; a) sulb and tara’ib refer to the blood supply of the testes emanating from between the man’s back and ribs, b) the embryonic gonads originate in the area as per Dr Zakir Naik, and c) the sulb and tara’ib region is an euphemism for the male sexual organ.
ANALYSIS
"Two verses in the Qur'an deal with sexual relations themselves...When translations and explanatory commentaries are consulted however, one is struck by the divergences between them. I have pondered for a long time on the translation of such verses (In plain English that means there is "an improbability or a contradiction, prudishly called a `difficulty'" ), and am indebted to Doctor A. K. Giraud, Former Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Beirut, for the following:`(Man was fashioned from a liquid poured out. It issued (as a result) of the conjunction of the sexual area of the man and the sexual area of the woman.'"The sexual area of the man is indicated in the text of the Qur'an by the word sulb (singular). The sexual areas of the woman are designated in the Qur'an by the word tara'ib (plural)."This is the translation which appears to be most satisfactory."
While there is evidence that sulb can mean “hardening” and thus, the penis, there is no evidence that tara’ib can mean the vagina. Bucaille and Giraud appear to have assumed that tara’ib means the ’sexual areas of the woman’, without providing supporting evidence. Even if tara'ib means what Bucaille and Giraud want it to mean, the term, 'sexual areas of the woman' is too vague to be meaningful. To assume that it means the vagina is merely an assumption, and may constitute the logical fallacy of equivocation.
Therefore, Bucaille is debunked.
2. Ahmed A. Abd-Allah
Abd-Allah extends Bucaille’s proposition, providing dictionaries and tafsirs to support his case that sulb means ‘hardening’ and tara’ib means the sexual areas of the woman.
I am indebted to Abd-Allah for his definition of sulb.
Note that 'sulb' is *singular*. In the dictionary by Wehr you cite below, you will see that its meaning of backbone is *only* when we take the *plural* word of sulb (aslaab). In its singular form, it means hardening.
I do find it surprising that almost all the commonly available translations of the Quran refer to sulb as the backbone, though some refer to loins. Even Ibn Kathir accepts backbone. Is Wehr a more authoritative and knowledgeable authority on the Arabic language than Ibn Kathir? This is difficult to believe. Truly the Quran is miraculous.
Regardless, Abd-Allah’s proposition collapses with his own definitions of tara’ib. He failed to show that his tafsirs and dictionaries explain tara’ib to mean vagina. Instead, tara’ib is defined as breasts, eyes, legs and chest. Any sexually-experienced man (unlike a juvenile like Abd-Allah) would know that while erogenous zones are important in foreplay, the sexual act really must be consummated through the vagina.
Further Abd-Allah’s reference to Ibn Kathir’s tafsir is disingenuous as he only mentioned the half of the description that supports his case (i.e. tara’ib refers to the woman), while leaving out the other half that debunks his case (i.e. tara’ib is the woman’s ribs). This selective quoting may be construed by many readers to be deceptive and deceitful.
3. Dr Zakir Naik
MAN CREATED FROM A DROP EMITTED FROM BETWEEN THE BACK BONE AND THE RIBS“Now let man but think From what he is created! He is created from A drop emitted – Proceeding from between The back bone and the ribs.” [Al-Qur’aan 86:5-7]In embryonic stages, the reproductive organs of the male and female, i.e. the testicles and the ovaries, begin their development near the kidney between the spinal column and the eleventh and twelfth ribs. Later they descend; the female gonads (ovaries) stop in the pelvis while the male gonads (testicles) continue their descent before birth to reach the scrotum through the inguinal canal. Even in the adult after the descent of the reproductive organ, these organs receive their nerve supply and blood supply from the Abdominal Aorta, which is in the area between the backbone (spinal column) and the ribs. Even the lymphatic drainage and the venous return goes to the same area.
Firstly, Dr Naik’s embryology is a little askew as the original position of the cells destined to develop into spermatogonia (sperm producing cells) is not ventro-medial to the kidneys (where they undoubted develop) but in the wall of the yolk sac.
Testes and ovaries are derived from the mesodermal epithelium (mesothelium) lining the posterior abdominal wall, the underlying mesenchyme and the primordial germ cells.The primordial germ cells form in the wall of the yolk sac during week 4 ( The Developing Human, 6th ed., p. 323, fig. 13-28 ). They later migrate into the developing gonads at week 6 and differentiate into the definitive germ cells (oogonia / spermatogonia). (Ref)
Even if we accept Dr Naik’s assertion that the verse refers to the embryonic testes, it is unclear whether the gonads are located where he claims, i.e. between the spinal column and the eleventh and twelfth ribs. This cross-sectional diagram of the human embryo shows the gonads at or around the level of the placenta.
Thus, it is not strictly true that the embryonic testes is located specifically between the spinal column and the eleventh and twelfth ribs as the gonadal or genital ridge (precursor of the gonads) is commonly believed to lie medial to the lower part of the mesonephros while the adult kidney actually develops from the metanephros.
It is incorrect to assume the position of the embryonic gonads from the position of the adult kidneys because the embryonic positions of gonads and kidneys are not the same as their adult positions. Gonads descend while kidneys enlarge and ascend. It should also be noted that the developing gonads are ventro-medial to the mesonephros (i.e. the embryonic kidney) and not the metanephros (which would develop into the adult kidney). Hence it would seem that Zakir Naik does not know the embryology of the urogenital system and cannot differentiate between the mesonephros and the metanephros.
Even if we were to accept Naik’s implied association between embryonic and adult anatomical positions, he is also wrong because in the condition of cryptorchidism where the testes is undescended, the highest position of the undescended testes is BELOW the kidney. (Ref)
Note that the inferior pole of the kidney lies around L3 (the third lumbar vertebra), thus the embryonic testes must be BELOW L3. The 12th rib does not extend below L2. Since the testes are BELOW the kidneys, there is no possibility that the testes were ever between the ribs and the backbone either in the embryonic or the adult (as with cryptorchidism) stage.
Further, it seems disingenuous to interpret a ‘drop emitted, proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs’ to mean the embryonic development of the testes, as the ‘drop emitted’ suggests a fully developed and functional testes, rather than an embryonic structure. Embryonic testes do not emit, ejaculate, gush forth, pour forth, spurt or ejaculate any substance; only the peri- and post-pubertal testes do.
Lastly, Naik’s explanation of the nerve, blood and lymphatic circular from the abdominal aorta is irrelevant and constitutes the logical fallacy of the red herring. This is because verses 85:6 speak about ‘a drop emitted’, commonly taken to mean semen and semen only as this drop is directly responsible for human reproduction, something which cannot be claimed for nerve signals, blood or lymph. Further, circulation and nerve supply do not correlate with embryonic origin. For example, the blood supply, lymphatics and nerve supply of the lower limbs originate in the abdomen and pelvis. Does that mean the lower limbs embryonically originated in the abdomen and pelvis? No.
Badawi must assume that "gushing fluid poured forth" refers to the aorta which according to a book cited by him, Clinical Anatomy, supplies the testes and ovaries with the necessary nutrients and this is what the Quran refers to.
Dr Badawi’s proposition is debunked with the same explanation given for Naik’s blood circulation proposition.
5. Ibn Kathir
Yakhruju min bayni as-sulbi w'at-tara'ibProceeding from between the backbone and the ribsThis concludes the description started in ayah 5. The following is an excerpt of commentary on this passage, from Tafsir Ibn Kathir:Referring to the creation of man from a drop of fluid gushing forth from between the backbone and the ribs, Allah emphasizes the inherent weakness of man... Allah says that man has been created from a mix of seminal fluid of man which gushes forth from the backbone and the yellowish fluid of woman that flows from her ribs.
Modern medical science suggests that semen does not emanate from a man’s backbone, nor do a woman’s sexual secretions emanate from her ribs.
(5) LET MAN, then, observe out of what he has been created:
(6) he has been created out of a seminal fluid
(7) issuing from between the loins [of man] and the pelvic arch [of woman].* The plural noun tara'ib, rendered by me as "pelvic arch", has also the meaning of "ribs" or "arch of bones"; according to most of the authorities who have specialized in the etymology of rare Quranic expressions this term relates specifically to female anatomy (Taj al-'Arus).
Even if we accept Muhammad Asad’s definition of sulb as the male loins, it is a stretch of the imagination to accept that sexual reproduction is the consequence of a union between the male loins and the female pelvic arch. Note that the tafsir does not claim tara’ib means the pelvis, but the pelvic arch which is a specific part of the pelvis. This suggests that a claim of euphemism cannot apply due to the specificity of the description.
7. Moiz Amjad
The “Learner”, makes three claims;
a) sulb and tara’ib refer to the blood supply of the testes emanating from between the man’s back and ribs,
This is debunked as for Dr Naik.
a) sulb and tara’ib refer to the blood supply of the testes emanating from between the man’s back and ribs,
This is debunked as for Dr Naik.
b) the embryonic gonads originate in the area, as per Dr Zakir Naik,
This is debunked as for Dr Naik.
This is debunked as for Dr Naik.
c) the sulb and tara’ib region is an euphemism for the male sexual organ.
Amjad’s hilarious attempt to show this by drawing lines on pictures of a human skeleton is unworthy of formal refutation due to its patent absurdity. Any line can enclose any human organ if that line is drawn on the surface of the body.
Amjad’s hilarious attempt to show this by drawing lines on pictures of a human skeleton is unworthy of formal refutation due to its patent absurdity. Any line can enclose any human organ if that line is drawn on the surface of the body.
CONCLUSION
The various Islamists attempts to show that the Quran correctly describes semen production are not supported by modern scientific knowledge.
These Islamist propositions are frequently conflicting, for instance, Ibn Kathir refers to tara’ib as a female organ, while other tafsirs claim it belongs to the man. (Ref)
Another conflict is the definition of sulb to mean either the backbone or the ‘hardening’ or the loins. Truly the Quran is miraculous.
A point often missed, though alluded to by Dr Campbell, is the phrase “min bain” which literally means “from between”. If this interpretation is accepted, which seems to be from a reading of the commonly available translations, then one must also note that semen emanates FROM the penis, and not FROM BETWEEN the penis and the vagina. To be strictly correct, semen emanates FROM the penis INTO the vagina. This point seems to rule out tara’ib as being anything to do with the female sexual partner.
EARTH MADE OF SEVEN LAYERS
INTRODUCTION
Islamists come up with some real doozies sometimes, including the claim that modern Science proves the Quran correct in asserting the earth is made of 7 layers.
"Allah is He Who Created seven firmaments and of the earth a similar number. Through the midst of them (all) descends His command: that ye may know that Allah has power over all things, and that Allah comprehends all things In (His) Knowledge. (The Noble Quran, 65:12)"According to Noble Verse 65:12 above, Allah Almighty created 7 Heavens for form the universe. The new scientific discovery had revealed to us that the earth that we currently live on today is also formed from seven layers. The very bottom layer contains most of the uranium and potonium ("sic") and all the materials that we need to create nuclear weapons and energy. Noble Verse 65:12 above does indeed say that the earth was created with seven layers.The Seven "Earths" refer to the layers that literally make up the Earth
1. crust
2. lithosphere
3. upper mantle
4. astenoshpere ("sic")
5. lower mantle
6. outer core
7. inner coreOR they could refer to the "7 Continents" (in the context that "al-ard" means ground)
1. North America
2. South America
3. Australia
4. Asia
5. Africa
6. Antarctica
7. Europe
Note how the dishonest Islamist had tried to hedge his bets. It is now either seven layers or seven continents. I suggest the former explanation is correct as all translations I have read refer to earth and not ground. Nevertheless, although the number of continents is traditionally considered 7, some geographers and scientists think there are only 6 as Europe and Asia are technically a single land mass (i.e. Eurasia) and on the same tectonic plate. (Ref)
Therefore, I suggest the traditional number of 7 continents is more a cultural bias than an actual geographical/geological fact.
There are Islamists who claim that Allah created 7 earths - but we only know of 1, our own, but no doubt future science will reveal the remaining 6. (Ref)
If I'm not mistaken, this is another of the absurd pseudo-scientific claims of the champion ofQuranic Pseudo Science, Maurice Bucaille.
Some evidence of the Quranic 7 earths creation is also given in this link.
ANALYSIS
This article seeks to show the error of the Islamist claim that verse 65:12 shows the earth composed of 7 layers. I note the same dishonest approach taken to assign 7 layers of the atmosphere - i.e. the DOUBLE COUNTING OF LAYERS.
The general scientific view is that the earth is composed of 4 or 5 major layers depending on whether one splits the mantle or not.
5 layers
1. crust
2. upper mantle
3. lower mantle
4. outer core
5. inner core
1. crust
2. upper mantle
3. lower mantle
4. outer core
5. inner core
http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/10h.html
http://www.palaeos.com/Earth/Geosphere/structure.htm
http://www.palaeos.com/Earth/Geosphere/structure.htm
There are two ways to classify the composition of the geosphere - chemically, into crust, mantle, and core, or functionally, in the case of the outer layers (crust and mantle) into lithosphere and asthenosphere.
From the evidence above, one can see the Islamists' deceit because they double-count the lithosphere/asthenosphere while they also count the crust and upper mantle. Note that this is dishonest because these are alternative classifications. One cannot honestly count all lithosphere, asthenosphere, crust, and upper mantle together as one would be recounting the same rocks.
Recently new scientific hypotheses proposed by J. Marvin Herndon and Prof Xiaodong Song suggest the inner core may be further subdivided into four layers; the inner core, the innermost core, a sub-shell of fission material and decay products, and a subcore of uranium and plutonium forming the georeactor. If this new theory is accepted the number of layers of the earth rises to eight.
CONCLUSION
The scientific evidence do not support the Islamists' claim that the Quranic verse 65:12 foretold the scientific accuracy of the 7 layers of the earth when modern geology states that there are only 4 or 5 layers, or up to eight if the new hypotheses of the subcore georeactor are accepted.
-----
References:
Deep-Earth reactor: Nuclear fission, helium, and the geomagnetic field
D. F. Hollenbach*, and J. M. Herndon PNAS 2001 vol. 98 no. 20 pp 11085-11090
D. F. Hollenbach*, and J. M. Herndon PNAS 2001 vol. 98 no. 20 pp 11085-11090
QURAN AND THE LYING SINFUL PREFRONTAL CEREBRUM
INTRODUCTION
Several Islamists promulgate Professor Keith L. Moore's Quranic Pseudoscience of the lying sinful prefrontal area of the cerebrum (here referred to as the prefrontal cerebrum). The reader may want to check out the following site to follow a discussion as to whether the Quran actually mentions the prefrontal cerebrum or not as there is some doubt as to the meaning of the term naseyah. (Ref)
Nevertheless, for the sake of debunking Keith Moore yet again, I will accept for the sake of argument that naseyah refers to the prefrontal cerebrum as Moore seems to suggest.
D) The Quran on the Cerebrum:God has said in the Quran about one of the evil unbelievers who forbade the Prophet Muhammad from praying at the Kaaba:No! If he does not stop, We will take him by the naseyah (front of the head), a lying, sinful naseyah (front of the head)! (Quran, 96:15-16)Why did the Quran describe the front of the head as being lying and sinful? Why didn’t the Quran say that the person was lying and sinful? What is the relationship between the front of the head and lying and sinfulness?If we look into the skull at the front of the head, we will find the prefrontal area of the cerebrum (see figure 12). What does physiology tell us about the function of this area? A book entitled Essentials of Anatomy & Physiology says about this area, “The motivation and the foresight to plan and initiate movements occur in the anterior portion of the frontal lobes, the prefrontal area. This is a region of association cortex...”1 Also the book says, “In relation to its involvement in motivation, the prefrontal area is also thought to be the functional center for aggression....”2Figure 12: Functional regions of the left hemisphere of the cerebral cortex. The prefrontal area is located at the front of the cerebral cortex. (Essentials of Anatomy & Physiology, Seeley and others, p. 210.) (Click on the image to enlarge it.)So, this area of the cerebrum is responsible for planning, motivating, and initiating good and sinful behavior and is responsible for the telling of lies and the speaking of truth. Thus, it is proper to describe the front of the head as lying and sinful when someone lies or commits a sin, as the Quran has said, “...A lying, sinful naseyah (front of the head)!”
Other web sites copy-pasting this proposition include:
A search of the internet reveals that ALL the Islamist claims that the cerebrum is responsible for lying and sin comes from the SAME source, i.e. from Keith Moore.
Dr Moore has defined the prefrontal cortex as the naseyah. However, his illustration highlights an area (colored tan) that is known as Brodman’s Areas 9, 10 and 11. It is this brain region that we will concentrate our analysis.
ANALYSIS
1. Islamist Non-Evidence
The Islamist 'so-called' evidence that the prefrontal cerebrum is responsible for lying and sin is thus:
A book entitled Essentials of Anatomy & Physiology says about this area, “The motivation and the foresight to plan and initiate movements occur in the anterior portion of the frontal lobes, the prefrontal area. This is a region of association cortex...”1 Also the book says, “In relation to its involvement in motivation, the prefrontal area is also thought to be the functional center for aggression....”2
A rational reader would see that planning and initiation of movement are not lying and sin. Though they may be required for its execution, they are not identical. Planning and initiation of movement can just as easily be required for truth and good deeds. In other words, movement control is not the process of lying which is a decision-making process and not a motor function. Thus, this line of thinking is false.
Secondly, aggression is not the same as lying and sin. One can just as easily lie and sin without aggression. Also one can be aggressive, as in self-defense, without being considered deceptive or sinful. Thus, the Islamist claim of evidence is clearly false.
2. Is the Prefrontal Cerebrum Really Responsible for Lying?
Modern science has investigated the brain processes required for lying and deception. This field has achieved great advancement from the invention (by kaffirs, naturally) of the Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging technology (fMRI). The key scientific teams include those led by Associate Professor Jia-Hong Gao; Professor Scott H. Faro, M.D; Assistant Professor Daniel Langleben; Dr Frank Andrew Kozel, M.D.; and Professor Stephen Kosslyn.
I choose only the issue of lying and not sin because much medical science has been conducted on lying. Sin is a broader issue and encompasses the subset of lying/deception.
The thesis is that if the Quran is wrong about the prefrontal cerebrum and lying, then there is no need to prove the more general case about the prefrontal cerebrum and sin as I would immediately prove the Quranic Pseudoscience a load of rubbish.
Here is a summary of the modern scientific findings:
A) Associate Professor Jia-Hong Gao, University of Texas Health Science Center.
The imaging data revealed four principle areas of brain activation — in the prefrontal and frontal, parietal, temporal and sub-cortical regions.
Professor Gao’s experiment is a feigned memory test – which means that the brain areas involved in both feigning (i.e. lying) and memory will be activated. From his experiment, it can be seen that other parts of the cerebrum and the sub-cortical regions are responsible for lying, thus debunking the Islamist case that the prefrontal cerebrum is responsible for lying. The prefrontal cerebrum may only be partly responsible (i.e. for the memory component of the feigned memory experiment) and to assign it the prominent or sole role in lying is incorrect and/or deceptive. In fact, to be strictly correct, the decision-making processes for lying reside in the sub-cortical regions and not in the prefrontal region which is merely responsible for working memory functions, not the executive function of lying.
A detailed examination of the specific brain areas activated in the process of lying is provided by Lee et al., in “Lie Detection by Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging”, Human Brain Mapping 15:157–164(2002).
In summary, the various functions of the brain areas in the lying process are as follows:
1. Prefrontal (BA 10, BA 9/46) - goal setting, cognitive-balancing and working memory functions.
2. Frontal (BA 6) - motor planning/decision processing.
3. Parietal (BA 40) - mental calculation of numerical problems.
4. Temporal (BA 21) – visual stimulation.
5. Sub-cortical {caudate and posterior cingulate} (BA 23) - inhibition of previously learned rules and self monitoring of random errors.
Lee et al. suggest the sub-cortical region is important in the decision-making process of lying, while the rest of the prefrontal-frontal-parietal-temporal-sub-cortical circuit mainly deals with the cognition and mechanics of the process.
Maguire et al. [1999] suggest that an important role for the posterior cingulate region is in the linking of incoming information with a repository of activated knowledge and thereby form a coherent representation of discourse. The conjoint activation of the anterior medial parietal/posterior cingulate region, therefore, reflects the online incorporation of information into a preset mental framework.
Here Lee et al. suggest the role of the posterior cingulate region in formation of the coherent representation of discourse into the preset mental framework (i.e. lying).
Activation of the caudate region reflects performance monitoring, just as Semrud-Clikeman et al. [2000] observed that the intact structure of the caudate correlates with performance on measures of inhibition (of the usual, i.e. previously learned responses).
Here Lee et al. suggest the role of the caudate cingulate region in the performance monitoring of the lying process.
Thus, the caudate and posterior cingulate regions together form and monitor the decision-making process of lying. These regions are in the sub-cortical area and not in the prefrontal cortex.
B) Professor Scott Faro, Functional Brain Imaging Center and Clinical MRI at Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia.
These areas (i.e. engaged in lying) were located in the frontal (medial inferior and pre-central), temporal (hippocampus and middle temporal), and limbic (anterior and posterior cingulate) lobes. During a truthful response, the fMRI showed activation in the frontal lobe (inferior and medial), temporal lobe (inferior) and cingulate gyrus.
Here, Professor Faro's team found that the prefrontal cerebrum has no major part to do with lying. That the prefrontal cerebrum was not found to be involved is entirely due to the experimental design. Professor Faro’s experiment did not involve the use of memory, unlike Professor Gao’s feigned memory experiment.
This is why Professor Faro found that the prefrontal cerebrum does not play a role in the neurological process of lying.
C) Frank Andrew Kozel, the Medical University of South Carolina and the Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Charleston, South Carolina.
These areas (responsible for lying) included the right inferior frontal, right orbitofrontal, right middle frontal, left middle temporal and right anterior cingulated areas.
Dr Kozel's team found more evidence that the prefrontal cerebrum is not responsible for lying. His experiment involved finding the brain areas activated when the subjects lied as opposed to when they told the truth. Thus, only the areas involved in lying were highlighted, removing the influence of other cognitive functions such as goal-setting, cognitive-branching, and working memory retrieval.
D) Assistant Professor Daniel Langleben, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
When the subjects were lying, the scientists found significantly increased activity in both the anterior cingulate cortex, a section of the brain that has been linked to monitoring of errors and attention, and the prefrontal and premotor cortices, areas involved in the initiation of voluntary movement.
Here is more evidence that the prefrontal cerebrum is not responsible for lying. The prefrontal cortex is found to be responsible for the initiation of voluntary movement, not lying.
E) Professor Stephen Kosslyn. Pychology Dept. Harvard University. (Ref)
Harvard psychology professor Kosslyn also focuses on the brain in his study of deception, but he uses brain-scanning equipment to see what areas receive intense blood flow during questioning.While his work has not yet been completed, preliminary results show that different regions of the brain light up when people tell the truth or lie. Further, he believes different regions are activated depending on the type of lie.His data so far, he said, show the anterior cingulate, located near the front of the brain and associated with conflict resolution, is often activated during lies.
Admittedly Professor Kosslyn’s work is incomplete, but it does back up the work of others.
CONCLUSION
Modern medical research utilizing fMRI conduct brain scans has revealed that the prefrontal cerebrum is not responsible for lying.
Other brain regions are responsible, particularly the anterior cingulate gyrus which lies in the medial part of the brain in the frontal-parietal area and not in the prefrontal cerebrum (pictured above in grey).
The key evidence is provided by Lee et al., (i.e. Dr Gao’s team) who suggest that the sub-cortical regions are responsible for the main decision-making processes of lying, while the prefrontal region is mainly responsible for goal setting, cognitive-balancing, and memory retrieval and manipulation (i.e. part of the cognition and mechanics of the lying process).
Thus, the scientific evidence does not support the Islamist's pseudoscientific claim that the Quran correctly asserts that the prefrontal region is responsible for lying as it is not the region responsible for the decision-making process of lying. Other regions, for example the anterior cingulate gyrus, the parietal lobe, other regions of the frontal lobe, and sub-cortical regions (i.e. the caudate and posterior cingulate), are required for the brain processes of lying.
Muhammad's Splitting of Moon
Muslims believe that while Muhammad was in Mecca, Allah split the Moon as a miracle to the Meccans. This claim is made in the Quran.
Surah 54 of the Quran is called “The Moon.” It starts by saying (54:1-3):
The hour drew nigh and the moon did rend asunder.And if they see a miracle they turn aside and say: Transient magic.And they call (it) a lie, and follow their low desires; and every affair has its appointed term.
The great Muslim scholar Maududi explains:
The amazing and wonderful phenomenon of the splitting of the Moon was a manifest sign of the truth that the Resurrection, of which the Holy Prophet was giving them the news, could take place and that it had approached near at hand. The great sphere of the Moon had split into two distinct parts in front of their very eyes. The two parts had separated and receded so much apart from each other that to the on-lookers one part had appeared on one side of the mountain and the other on the other side of it. Then, in an instant the two had rejoined.[1]
However, there are several problems with this story.
The main problem is that it contradicts the Quran itself. In various places Muhammad admitted that he could not have or did not have to perform miracles to prove himself. When asked to perform miracles his response was:
Glory be to my Lord; am I aught but a mortal messenger? [Qur'an 17:93]
In another place Muhammad put the following words in the mouth of Allah:
And those who disbelieve say: Why has not a sign been sent down upon him from his Lord? You are only a warner. [Qur'an 13:7]
Muhammad insisted that even though other prophets had miracles, his only miracle is the Quran. So when Muslims claim that Muhammad performed miracles, they are going against the Quran itself.
The other problem with this claim is that such a phenomenon should have been observed not just in Mecca but also all over the world. Many cultures have recorded even eclipses, why there is no mention of such a thing that for sure would have been the most amazing phenomenon?
Moiz Amjad, one scholar that answers questions for Understanding-Islam.com site says, “I have not yet come across any historical accounts of other nations, which refer to the incident.” He thinks this is “a sign of the promised hour.”
Curiously the same site contradicts itself and claims that in fact a certain king of India observed the splitting of the Moon <page cannot open> and he sent his son to Mecca who converted to Islam and upon returning he died in Yemen.
This story is of course another fabrication of Muslims. Muslims are fond of fabricating stories to attribute Miracles to their prophet. They do it all the time. One such ridiculous fabrication was the claim that the astronauts who landed on Moon heard the adhan (Muslim call to prayer) being chanted there. There are thousands more.
First of all there is no record that any King of India ever visited Muhammad. This is not mentioned in any biography of Muhammad.
Secondly the splitting of the Moon should have been observed by everyone all over the world and not just by one king. Where is the record of such a phenomenon?
Thirdly, assuming that this Indian king saw splitting of the Moon, how could he interpret this alleged cosmic phenomenon as the sign that there has appeared a new prophet in Mecca? Muslims claim that Indian scriptures contain predictions about the coming of a messenger from Arabia. This is bull. There is no mention of Muhammad in any sacred book of any religion.
Many Muslims are convinced that this phenomenon has indeed happened. They are shown these close-up pictures of the Moon taken by NASA as the evidence and as gullible as they naturally are, they believe without any hesitation.
These are called Lunar Rilles. Rilles are long and deep gorges resembling canyons. A rille is typically several kilometers wide and hundreds of kilometers in length. Similar formations are found on a number of planets in the solar system, including Mars, Venus, and on a number of moons. See below.
How these rilles are formed is still not known with certainty. Theories include erosion at some point in the stellar body's history, collapsed lava tubes, and tectonic activity/stresses.
There are three types of rilles on the lunar surface:
- Sinuous rilles meander in a curved path like a river, and are commonly thought to be the remains of collapsed lava tubes or extinct lava flows. They usually begin at an extinct volcano, then meander and sometimes split as they are followed across the surface.
- Arcuate rilles have a smooth curve and are found on the edges of the dark lunar maria. They are believed to form when the lava flows that created a mare cools, contracts, and sinks.
- Straight rilles follow long, linear paths and are believed to be grabens. That is, a section of the crust that has sunk between two parallel faults. These can be readily identified when they pass through craters or mountain ranges.
Rilles can be found all over the lunar surface and they do not form a belt and therefore do not in anyway support the claim of Muslims that the Moon had been split asunder. Here are a few pictures that should dismiss this Islamic wishful thinking. To understand how rilles scar the surface of the Moon, we have to take a look at pictures showing the moon from farther up.
Big Bang Miracle
The Basic Claim
Islamic apologists attempt to claim that the “Big Bang” is actually described by the Qur’an in one of many miraculous displays of scientific precocity in text. Here, in a representative example of the claim, the Turkish apologist Adnan Oktar (writing under the pseudonym Harun Yayha) tells us:
Haroon Yahya wrote:
The expansion of the universe is one of the most important pieces of evidence that the universe was created out of nothing. Although this was not discovered by science until the 20th century, Allah has informed us of this reality in the Qur’an revealed 1,400 years ago:It is We Who have built the universe with (Our creative) power, and, verily, it is We Who are steadily expanding it. (Surat adh-Dhariyat: 47)Another important aspect revealed in the Qur'an fourteen centuries before the modern discovery of the Big Bang and findings related to it is that when it was created, the universe occupied a very tiny volume:Do those who are disbelievers not see that the heavens and the earth were sewn together and then We unstitched them and that We made from water every living thing? So will they not have faith? (Surat al-Anbiya': 30)There is a very important choice of words in the original Arabic whose translation is given above. The word ratk translated as ‘sewn to’ means ‘mixed in each, blended’ in Arabic dictionaries. It is used to refer to two different substances that make up a whole. The phrase "we unstitched" is the verb fatk in Arabic and implies that something comes into being by tearing apart or destroying the structure of ratk. The sprouting of a seed from the soil is one of the actions to which this verb is applied.
The First Refutation
This is a refutation of the claim that the speed of light can be obtained from the Qur'an as described at http://islam.speed-light.info/relativity_quran.htm. The webmaster of this site is one Raef Fanous.
The verse:-
[Quran 32.5] (Allah) Rules the cosmic affair from the heavens to the Earth. Then this affair travels to Him a distance in one day, at a measure of one thousand years of what you count.
is interpreted as follows:-
Allah is saying that angels travel in one day the same distance that the moon travels in 12000 lunar orbits.
Read the two quotes again. Now read them a third time, slowly. Is there any mention in the verse from the Qur'an about the Moon, or the distance it travels? If you're not sure read them again, a fourth and a fifth time.
However many times you read it you cannot find any mention of the Moon or the distance it has traveled.
This completes this refutation, however, let us assume, for a moment, that the interpretation is correct, and that angles fly at the speed of light.
Allah must, thereore, be located at the distance that light (or angels) can travel in one day. This is approximately 25.9 billion kilometers or 173.1 astronomical units (1 a.u. is approximately the mean distance between the Earth and the Sun).
For comprison, Pluto orbits the Sun at an average distance of 39.5 a.u.
So Allah is approximately 4.38 times further away than Pluto.
Do muslims believe this? See the article "Where is Allaah?" by Mahmud Murad athttp://www.sunnahonline.com/ilm/aqeedah/0039.htm. Let me quote from the conclusion:-
He who asserts that Allaah is not outside the universe, not only denies the existence of Allaah, but he worships a non-existent god.
So all those we claim that the speed of light is in the Qur'an worship a non-existent god.
The Second Refutation
This is a refutation of the claim that the speed of light can be obtained from the Qur'an as described at http://islam.speed-light.info/relativity_quran.htm
The verse:-
[Quran 32.5] (Allah) Rules the cosmic affair from the heavens to the Earth. Then this affair travels to Him a distance in one day, at a measure of one thousand years of what you count.
Is interpreted as saying that light travels the same distance in one day as the Moon travels in 1000 years.
However, the author does not use a solar year:-
Those people back then followed the lunar calendar and counted 12 lunar months each year. These months are related to the moon and not related to the sun. Since this verse is referring to distance, then Allah is saying that angels travel in one day the same distance that the moon travels in 12000 lunar orbits.
The calculations that follow from this statement all use the siderial lunear month (the time taken for the Moon to return to the same position with respect to the stars), which is 27.3 days long.
The 7th centuary arabians, however, measured the lunar month from new Moon to new Moon. On average, this will give a month of 29.53 days which is the synodic lunar month (the time taken for the Moon to return to the same position with respect to the Sun).
This lunar month is still used today in the Hijra calendar, which the Muslims use to calculate the dates for Ramadan, Hajj and other Islamic festival.
So "one thousand years of what you count" should be 12,000 months of 29.53 days. This however, would make angels fly at a speed approximately 8.1% faster than the speed of light.
The use of the sierial lunar month in the calculation is completely arbitrary and unjustified and the claim that the speed of light can be deduced from the Qur'an is refuted
The Third Refutation
This is a refutation of the claim that the speed of light can be obtained from the Qur'an as described at http://islam.speed-light.info/relativity_quran.htm.
[Quran 32.5] (Allah) Rules the cosmic affair from the heavens to the Earth. Then this affair travels to Him a distance in one day, at a measure of one thousand years of what you count.
This verse from the Qur'an is interpreted as saying that light (or angels) travel the same distance in one day as the Moon travels in 12000 lunar month. This is converted into the following formula:-
C t = 12000 V T
where 'C' is the speed of light, 't' is one siderial day, 'V' is the velocity of the Moon and 'T' is one siderial lunar month.
Note: In my previous post I commented on the arbitrary and unjustified use of the siderial lunar month, rather than the synoptic lunar month. I have since realised that they are also using the siderial day (23 hr, 56 min, 4.0906 sec) rather than the solar day of 24 hours. This is, needless to say, equally arbitrary and unjustified.
Even with these arbirtary choices for the lengths of day and month, substituting the mean speed of the Moon (3682 km/hr) for V' will give you a value for C which is approximately 12% too high.
This discrepancy is explained as follows:-
According to the theory of general relativity, an observer standing outside gravitational fields (in vacuum) looks at events inside gravitational fields and sees them in slow motion. When he steps inside those gravitational fields he sees them in normal speeds. But now he looks back at where he was outside gravitational fields and sees the events there in fast motion. In our case the event is the moon orbiting Earth. When an observer in stronger gravitational fields, near a black hole for example, looks at the Earth-moon system he does not see the moon orbiting Earth once every month; instead he sees the moon orbiting Earth once every few seconds.Not only observers in different gravitational fields will not agree on the time period for a lunar orbit but also they will not agree on the distance traveled by the moon (thus they will all disagree on the velocity of the moon). If you remove the Earth-moon system from the gravitational field of the sun they will all see the speed of light outside gravitational fields to be equivalent to 12000 lunar orbits/ Earth day; but they will never agree on a value in km/sec. To get them all agree on the value of 299792.458 km/s they will all have to step out of their respective gravitational fields.Since we are comparing an event with the speed of light for observers outside gravitational fields, therefore for any meaningful comparison we have to remove the event itself from gravitational fields as well before comparing them.
If this reasoning is correct, we should use General Relativity to calculate the speed of the Moon and the length of its orbit in the absence of the Sun's gravity. The formula for time dilation due to gravity is:-
T0 = T sqrt(1 - 2 G M / R c^2 )
where T is the time interval measured by a clock at "infinity" and T0 is the time interval measured by a clock at distance R from a mass, M. G is the gravitational constant. (Ref.)
If we use the mass of the Sun (1.9891e30 kg) for M and the mean distance from the Earth to the Sun (1.496e11 m) for R, we get the following (approximate) result:-
T0 = 0.99999999 * T
This means that a clock on the Earth (or Moon) would go 1 part in 10^8 (100 million) faster if the Earth was removed from the Sun' s gravitational field.
The equivalent formula for length is :-
L0 = L / sqrt ( 1 - 2 G M / R c^2 )
where L is the distance measured by an observer at infinity and L0 is the distance measured by an observer at distance R from a mass, M. (This discussion has been simplified for greater clarity.)
Again using the mass of the Sun for M and the Earth/Sun distance for R, we get the relationship:-
L0 = 1.00000001 L
So, if an local observer (eg. on the Earth) sees a body moving at velocity V0 = L0/T0, we can deduce the following:-
V0 = L0 / T0 = 1.00000001 L / 0.99999999 T = 1.00000002 L / T
therefore
V0 = 1.00000002 V
where V is the velocity as seen by an observer at infinity.
Thus, if the Earth/Moon system was removed from the Sun's gravitational field, a distant observer would see the Moon's orbital speed increase by a factor of 1.00000002, or 0.000002%.
Given that the error in the calculation of the speed of light which we were trying to correct for, was 12%, we can see that moving the Earth/Moon system outside the Sun's gravitational field will not produce the correct result.
Once again, we have demonstrated that the speed of light cannot be correctly calculated from the Qur'an.
Note: There is a further, and perhaps more obvious fallacy in the article's derivation of the speed of light. Having argued, using General Relativity, that the Moon's velocity should be calculated in the absence of the Sun's gravitational field, the article then derives a (spurious) correction factor using Newtonian physics! This is clearly contradictory.
Looking a Little Deeper:
The first important point to consider is the actual statements of the Qur’an, and whether they have been honestly presented. Oktar quotes the Qur’an as saying in 51:47 “It is We Who have built the universe with (Our creative) power, and, verily, it is We Who are steadily expanding it.”
Is that a fair translation of the aya in question?
Well, not according to the three most highly regarded English translations generally available. Their versions are:
In Al-Qur'an 051.047, Muhammad (or somebody) wrote:
YUSUFALI: With power and skill did We construct the Firmament: for it is We Who create the vastness of space.
PICKTHAL: We have built the heaven with might, and We it is Who make the vast extent (thereof).
SHAKIR: And the heaven, We raised it high with power, and most surely We are the makers of things ample.
Not one of them contains the idea of an ongoing expansion of the universe. In fact, none of them refers to the “universe” at all, but to the heavens or firmament, in contrast to the aya immediately following which discusses the earth:
Al-Qur'an 051.048, Muhammad (or somebody) wrote:
YUSUFALI: And We have spread out the (spacious) earth: How excellently We do spread out!
PICKTHAL: And the earth have We laid out, how gracious is the Spreader (thereof)!
SHAKIR: And the earth, We have made it a wide extent; how well have We then spread (it) out.
The dualism of the heaven and the earth is a recurring theme in the Qur’an, and to ancient Arabs they together would have been considered the entire universe. And generally, when one is referred to, the other marches right along with it in the repetitive pattern of most Arabic poetry.
The problem here is that since the identical verb forms and grammar are used, to include tense, how can Oktar claim the first aya refers to an ongoing, continuing expansion of the heavens, without also concluding that the second must also refer to an ongoing, continuing spreading of the earth?
Qur’anic cosmology is firmly geocentric, with the earth at the center of the universe surrounded by seven solid spheres (the “seven heavens”) within which orbited the stars, planets, sun and moon.
But here Oktar has deliberately and deceptively altered the meaning of 51:47 in three ways.
He has mistranslated “heaven” as “universe” in the attempt to make the Qur’an sound conceptually more sophisticated than it really is, and to provide a stronger basis for his second and more significant distortion.
He then not only translates the Arabic noun for “a vastness” into a verb meaning “expanding,” but he then adds the entirely superfluous adverb “steadily” in an attempt to insert into the Qur’an additional ideas that are not actually there. With these three translational liberties, Oktar has completely changed the meaning of this aya from a simple description of Allah’s creation of the heavens into a scientific statement of Hubble’s expanding universe that is not actually contained in the Qur’an.
Oktar’s misuse and abuse of al-Qur’an 21:30 is no more legitimate than his mutilation of 51:47 although at least his translation is more loyal to the original. In this case his primary tool for distortion comes from the decision to take this single aya completely out of context, and so disguise its actual (and obvious) meaning.
Here is the single verse as quoted by Oktar. In his own translation of Al-Qur'an 21.30, Oktar wrote:
Do those who are disbelievers not see that the heavens and the earth were sewn together and then We unstitched them and that We made from water every living thing? So will they not have faith?
How convenient for his argument that he has not included the next two ayaat. Here are (again) the three most highly regarded translations of the three ayaat in question:
In Al-Qur'an, Muhammad (or somebody) wrote:
21.30
YUSUFALI: Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of creation), before we clove them asunder? We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?
PICKTHAL: Have not those who disbelieve known that the heavens and the earth were of one piece, then We parted them, and we made every living thing of water? Will they not then believe?
SHAKIR: Do not those who disbelieve see that the heavens and the earth were closed up, but We have opened them; and We have made of water everything living, will they not then believe?21.31
YUSUFALI: And We have set on the earth mountains standing firm, lest it should shake with them, and We have made therein broad highways (between mountains) for them to pass through: that they may receive Guidance.
PICKTHAL: And We have placed in the earth firm hills lest it quake with them, and We have placed therein ravines as roads that haply they may find their way.
SHAKIR: And We have made great mountains in the earth lest it might be convulsed with them, and We have made in it wide ways that they may follow a right direction.21.32
YUSUFALI: And We have made the heavens as a canopy well guarded: yet do they turn away from the Signs which these things (point to)!
PICKTHAL: And we have made the sky a roof withheld (from them). Yet they turn away from its portents.
SHAKIR: And We have made the heaven a guarded canopy and (yet) they turn aside from its signs.
Now that we have returned the verse to its actual context, let’s take a moment to contrast Oktar’s argument with what the Qur’an is actually describing. He claims that this is a description of the scientific fact that “when it was created, the universe occupied a very tiny volume.” In fact, there is no description all in this verse that could be interpreted at referring to volume in any sense.
But more importantly, Oktar is claiming that the “unstitching” of heaven and earth described here is a reference to the “Big Bang,” or the primordial creation of the universe. If this were the case, then the “earth” mentioned here can not refer to the planet Earth, as its creation was still billions of years in the future from the event Oktar claims is being described.
In other words, Oktar is implying (and many Muslim web sites and publications claim explicitly) that “earth” here means “matter,” and not the planet Earth itself.
But the very next verse proves that this cannot be true. For in that very next verse Allah is setting on that same “earth” mountains and highways. How could this be if the “earth” in these ayaat meant anything OTHER than the planet Earth? When you further consider that the next aya after that concerns the “heaven” as a “canopy” or “roof” to that same planet earth, then the idea that this verse is a description of the “big bang” becomes completely impossible.
These verses are exactly what they appear to be; they are a description of Allah’s creation of the planet Earth and the heavens above it, NOT a description of the creation of the universe as understood by modern science.
The idea that the heavens and earth were once joined and then separated by the activity of Gods and Goddesses was actually quite common among pagans of the Middle East. Among the Egyptians for example, it was the involuntary separation of Geb (the earth god) from his wife and sister Nut (the sky goddess) that was responsible for the division of the earth from the sky. The Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh likewise describes the moment “when the heavens had been separated from the earth, when the earth had been delimited from the heavens” as a result of the separation of a sky God (An) from a earth Goddess (Ki). If you remove the pagan references, you have the same story as found in the Qur’an.
Remember that in Muhammad’s day, the heavens and the earth WERE the entire universe. All the celestial bodies that could be observed were believed to reside within the concentric spheres of the “seven heavens.” The stars were even contained in the closest sphere to Earth in ignorance of the fact that their tiny size was simply an illusion caused by their great actual distance.
This truncated understanding of the universe is responsible for the fact that there is no actual discussion of the creation of a “universe” in the Qur’an at all. The Qur’an is completely silent on the “big bang” because it clearly has no awareness whatsoever of a universe that preexisted the creation of the planet Earth, or extended outwards into infinite space. It has no understanding of galaxies, or clusters of galaxies, or quasars or pulsars... any of the OTHER things that could have easily been mentioned by an omniscient Allah, and left us no room for quibbling.
And Muslim claims of miraculous scientific information in the Qur’an are shown to be, yet again, in error.
Copied miracle
The cosmological theory described in Quranis actually very primitive and mohammed have copied that from bible. Let's look at what the Bible said over a millennium prior:
Book of Zechariah wrote:
The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
Book of Isaiah 40:22 wrote:
It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
Book of Isaiah 44:24 wrote:
Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;
Book of Jeremiah 10:12 wrote:
He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.
The City of Iram
1st Refutation
Another “miracle of the Quran” claimed by Muslims is the verse 89.7
It reads:
"Of the (city of) Iram, with lofty pillars,"
What is so miraculous about this? Muslims say it is the mentioning of the name Iram in this verse that is a miracle. Why?… Because, as they say, Iram was a city of Arabia that was destroyed in an earthquake and no one knew about it except Muhammad and it was only in the second half of the 20th century that it was discovered by archeologists. So they ask, “how Muhammad knew this when no other text mentions the name Iram?
Muslims love to live in self-delusion. How come a city was destroyed and no one knew about it? Isn’t this an absurdity? The destruction of a city is a big event. It is obvious that people will talk about it and tell its tales to their children. Write poetries about it and it enters in their legends and folklore. Pompeii , Sodom and Gomorrah had similar fates. Although the actual cities were lost, they remained in people's lore. Who said no books prior to Muhammad mentioned Iram? It makes no sense that Arabs forget completely about a city destroyed thus.
The fact is however, that Muhammad and his followers destroyed all the books that belonged to the pre Islamic era that they decried as “jahiliyyah”. If no other book prior to Muhammad mentions this city it is because Muslims destroyed those books. The tales of Iram with its lofty pillars must have been in the lore of the Arabs and the way Muhammad casually mentions it with no further explanation is clear that his audience already knew what he is taking about.
Muhammad gives no hint as to the whereabouts of that city. Had he given the geographic coordinates or some indication as to where is that city and if this was unknown to everyone in his time then one could make such claim that he had access to some hidden knowledge. But mere stating a name of the city and its lofty pillars is no miracle at all. It is obvious that people of his time knew what Iram is and had heard the sale tales that Muhammad had heard. The question is what happened to the books mentioning Iram?
From the time of the pre-Islam very little books are left. The Egyptian scholar Taha Hussain, in his book Fi al-Adab al-Jaheli contended that:
The vast quantity of what is called pre-Islamic poetry has nothing to do with the pre-Islamic literature, but it is fabricated after Islam. ... Thus our research will lead us to a very strange conclusion; that this poetry can not be used in interpreting the Qur'an. http://debate.domini.org/newton/inventions.html.
Paul Newton the Christian scholar on Islam states:
"Need is the mother of invention" is a saying that is true in many areas but in particular it is true to what is called the science of the Qur'an.
“When the Muslims found themselves in the need to protect what they believed to be the miraculous nature of the Qur'an they invented:
1. Pre-Islamic poetry. And
2. They invented non-Hijazi and foreign words
3. They invented grammatical rules. And it goes without saying that
4. They invented a huge amount of Hadith.
He proves each and every one of his claims in an article available here:
According to Taha Hussain Muslims destroyed all pre Islamic books and then fabricated poetries and words to justify the errors of the grammar of the Quran. The proof is convincing. One evidence presented by Taha Hussain is that all those poetries are in Quraysh dialect when in reality the Arabs spoke many different dialects and it is highly unlikely that these Arabs who were so tribalists would compose poetries in the dialect of the Quraysh instead of their own. Muslims went even as far as to compose poetries and attributed them to Adam.
First of all Qur'an never said that Iram was a city. Here is the verse is Arabic.
89:07
إِرَمَ ذَاتِ الْعِمَادِ
إِرَمَ
= Iram
ذَاتِ
= dhaat = possessors
الْعِمَادِ
= el Imad-e = of the pillars
Iram was mentioned in the Bible before the Qur’an.
إِرَمَ
(= Iram ) transliterated into Hebrew characters appears as
ארם
in the Hebrew Old Testament, and it is pronounced as Aram.
According to the Old Testament Aram was the son of Shem and the grandson of Noah. Aram was supposedly the ancestor of the Arameans or the Syrians. The language that the Syrians spoke was Aramaic and Aram was also the name of the Syrian Nation. Therefore The Qur’an did not mention a city that was forgotten by men during Mohammed’s time and then discovered 1400 years later.
Why do Muslims who take a scientific approach in interpreting the Qur’an and discover imagined miracles ignore the Tafsir of early Islamic Scholars?
For example Ibn Kathir wrote:
They were the descendants of `Ad bin Iram bin `Aws bin Sam bin Nuh. This was said by Ibn Ishaq.
Notice Ibn Ishaq’s genealogy differs from that of Genesis in the Old Testament in only one detail by adding the name ‘Aws. In the O T Noah(Arabic Nuh) was father of Shem( Arabic Sam) father of Aram. And Aram was Iram according to Ibn Katheer and Ibn Ishaq.
Mr Nadir Ahmed’s miracle is not a miracle at all. If he doesn’t remove his Iram debate from his website then his miracle should be declared a hoax.
Geographical Miracle of the Quran?
Another so called Miracles of the Quran claimed by Muslims is the
verse 30:2 and 30:3 It reads:
30.2:The Roman Empire has been defeated-30.3YUSUFALI: In a land close by; but they, (even) after (this) defeat of theirs, will soon be victorious-PICKTHAL: In the nearer land , and they, after their defeat will be victoriousSHAKIR: In a near land , and they, after being vanquished, shall overcome,
These Muslims claim that the word near
أَدْنَى
can also be translated as lower and hence the above could be read: The Roman Empire was defeated in the lowest land… Then they claim that since the Black Sea is it the lowest point on earth (1300 ft bellow sea level) then Muhammad has said something that no one could have known.
This is of course wishful thinking of deluded believers and the absurdity of that is self-evident. The Romans were not defeated in the Red Sea but in Jerusalem and Jerusalem is above sea level. If we had to take this arbitrary translation and disregard the obvious meaning of the word as was understood by all the translators of the Quran, this verse would have become yet another blunder of Muhammad.
However all the interpreters of the Quran have translated the verse correctly. If Muhammad really wanted to impress his readers about his knowledge of geography, he could have easily said that the Red Sea is the lowest land on Earth. Note that the verse is mentioning land and not sea. Muhammad is taking about the Jerusalem and not about the Red Sea.
The Miracle of 19
Some Muslims believe that the Quranic verse Qur'an 74:30 is the proof that the occurrence of observed "19" related facts in Islam is a confirmation of the truth of Islam:
Over it is nineteen
These are actually the number of angels in Hell, as the next Quranic ayat 74:31 demonstrates:
And We have set none but angels as Guardians of the Fire; and We have fixed their number only as a trial for Unbelievers
The Bismillah 'Miracle'
Muslims like to refer to the fact that the bismillah, a very important phrase in Islam with the translation of "In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful" has magical meanings due to its many 19-related facts (see Muslim website about this). Here we will demonstrate that any other "bismillah" can also produce the proof of a 'miracle'. An example of another bismillah is:
بسم الله الخَبِيث الوَحْشِيّTranslation: In the name of Allah, the Evil, the Savage
Total ANV (Arabic Numerical Value) - 1666
Fact 1: 19 letters - 19 = 19 x 1
Fact 2: Sum of Individual ANV digits (1666) = 1 + 6 + 6 + 6 = 19
Fact 3: One verse, ANV - 1 1666 = 19 x 614
Fact 4: Sequence number, Word Size - 1 3 2 4 3 6 4 6 = 19 x 19 x 36686
Fact 5: Sequence number, Local letter number, Individual ANV Value - 1 1 2 2 60 3 40 2 1 1 2 30 3 30 4 5 3 1 1 2 30 3 600 4 2 5 10 6 500 4 1 1 2 30 3 6 4 8 5 300 6 10 = 19 x 59084389584858068659 53279136864479289495 327913939631900
Fact 6: Sequence number, Cumulative number of letters - 1 3 2 7 3 13 4 19 = 19 x 69858601
Fact 7: Conjoined letter numbers, added - 150426287722 = 19 x 7917173038
Fact 8: Letter number, Sequence number - 1231 45672 89101112133 1415161718194 = 19 x 64813512047900590174 42903248326
Fact 9: Num Words, Num letters, Total ANV - 4191666 = 19 x 220614
Fact 10: 1 sentence, 19 letters, lengths of words - 1193466 = 19 x 19 x 19 x 174
Fact 11: Sequence number, Word Size, Word ANV - 1 3 102 2 4 66 3 6 1143 4 6 355 = 19 x 689591928216544545
Fact 12: Sequence number, Word Size, Word ANV Series - 1 3 26040 2 4 130305 3 6 130600210500 4 6 1306830010 = 19 x 69791591647529137529 47479210769108857900
Fact 13: Sequence number, Word Size, Individual ANV Value - 1 3 2 60 40 2 4 1 30 30 5 3 6 1 30 600 2 10 500 4 6 1 30 6 8 300 10 = 19 x 69791591647529137529 47479210769108857900
Fact 14: Sequence number, Word ANV Series, Letter number - 1 26040 123 2 130305 4567 3 130600210500 8910111213 4 1306830010 141516171819 = 19 x 66336906954226602985 85821063710573211111 64954246473737586927 2201
Fact 15: Sequence number, Cumulative number letters, Word ANV - 1 3 102 2 7 66 3 13 1143 4 19 355 = 19 x 68959350691112811545
Fact 16: Sequence number, First&Last ANV Values, Local letter number - 1 42 1 2 3 2 6 1 2 3 4 3 501 1 2 3 4 5 6 4 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 = 19 x 74801716439131638076 653217024
Fact 17: Sequence number, Local letter number, Word ANV Series - 1 1 2 3 26040 2 1 2 3 4 130305 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 130600210500 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 1306830010 = 19 x 59118968532811212133 22287164768432131600 649769108857900
Fact 18: Sequence number, Local letter number, Individual ANV Value - 1 1 2 2 60 3 40 2 1 1 2 30 3 30 4 5 3 1 1 2 30 3 600 4 2 5 10 6 500 4 1 1 2 30 3 6 4 8 5 300 6 10 = 19 x 59084389584858068659 53279136864479289495 327913939631900
Fact 19: One verse, ANV, 19 characters - 1 1666 19 = 19 x 61401
As we can see, 19 miracles have been found about this new bismillah "In the name of Allah, the Evil, the Savage". This is just a start. If we experiment more, we will undoubtedly come up with more miracles. Our new bismillah also is miraculous according to Islamic standards. One problem with the phenomena of the 19 miracle is that there are no defined rules as to what constitutes a miracle and what doesn't. Without the lack of any rules, we can see that the "miracle" of nineteen can exist in any phrase, even anti-Islamic.
More examples
Here is another 'miraculous' Arabic phrase:
Translation: The Pig, the Great, the Handsome
8 facts were found in the preliminary analysis about this phrase:
Fact 1 : 19 letters - 19 = 19 x 1
Fact 2 : Individual ANV, letter number - 11 302 6003 504 75 106 2007 18 309 7010 90011 1012 4013 114 3015 316 4017 1018 3019 = 19 x 59487370265658453687 99110368994742684863 22691737648231668957 001
Fact 3 : Individual ANV, letter number, Sequence number - 1 1 30 2 600 3 50 4 7 5 10 6 200 7 1 1 8 30 9 70 10 900 11 10 12 40 13 2 1 14 30 15 3 16 40 17 10 18 30 19 3 = 19 x 59487370265658453687 95700510583684794802 11221654218587579847 464747
Fact 4 : Sequence number, Word Size, Cumulative number letters - 1 7 7 2 6 13 3 6 19 = 19 x 932954401
Fact 5 : Sequence number, Word ANV Series, Cumulative ANV - 1 13060050710200 898 2 130709001040 1949 3 1303401030 2063 = 19 x 59505289847474156954 24784216001025954228 42647477
Fact 6 : Sequence number, Cumulative number letters, Local letter number - 1 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 2 13 1 2 3 4 5 6 3 19 1 2 3 4 5 6 = 19 x 90123456427959713852 17024
Fact 7 : Sequence number, First&Last ANV Values, Cumulative ANV - 1 201 898 2 41 1949 3 31 2063 = 19 x 6325780216815437477
Fact 8 : Sequence number, Individual ANV Value, Cumulative ANV - 1 1 30 600 50 7 10 200 8982 1 30 70 900 10 40 19493 1 30 3 40 10 30 2063 = 19 x 59505289847474156954 24784216001025954228 42647477
As we can see this phrase The Pig, the Great, the Handsome (compare to In the name of Allah, the beneficient, the merciful) is also miraculous and we have not even tried other combinations of words and calculations, or we would find more similiar bismillah related miracles.
Questions to Submitters (believers of the 19 miracle)
1. Can the Quran be corrupted?
2. Has it been corrupted before?
3. How do you explain the fact that:
i. Rashid's translation is the only one to include his own name within the Quran itself, at least 8 times, whereas no other translation in the entire history of Islam, makes even a hint let alone a mention of anyone (even a messenger) to come after Muhammad?ii. Why are there so many Quran's, including the Arabic ones, that do not include Rashid in them?
4. Why are there extra verses in the other translations whereas Rashid cut them out (e.g. 9:128 & 129)?
Here are some possible conclusions:
1. Khalifa's translation is an innovation of the Quran and of Islam. This was warned about in the hadith, but since you don't accept them you wouldn't know about that. He added his own name in there (in brackets) for his own gain; changing the implied meaning of the Quran, and you are all following an innovation of Islam and the Quran.
This means that the Quran was not corrupted; only Khalifa's translation is wrong. The Quran's claims of incorruptibility stand, and Khalifa and his innovative translation must be rejected.
2. The Quran was "corrupted" in that ayahs were added to it. Khalifa was merely returning the Quran to its 'original state'. However this still does not explain the addition of his own name (inserted in brackets 8 times).
If you cannot change the Quran's existing words, but you can add to them (as some interpretations go) then it is equally conceivable that Rashid has removed the verses he did not require, and added his own name in brackets as innovation. ie. He changed the implied meaning of those verses in order to include himself as a vital part of Islam.
Doesn't it strike you as extremely convenient that Khalifa rejects the majority of the hadith (in which it is CLEAR that Muhammad is the final messenger/prophet to be sent, and that innovation of Quran/Islam will not be accepted) and Khalifa conveniently has his translation of the Quran that mentions him by NAME?
Seriously you can't have your cake and eat it too. The Quran was corrupted whichever way you look at it; by either everyone but Khalifa, or by Khalifa himself. Which do you think is more likely?
Adding to the Quran is corrupting it.
Anti-Islamic phrases demonstrating the 'miracle' of 19 and other holy numbers
Here are some english phrases which also show miracles and are thus truthful by Islamic standards:
"Islam is not from God":
IANVAdd: 209 = 19 x 11
"Allah is an imagination of the mind of Muhammad"
IANV = 378
PNV = 180
378 180 = 99 x 3820
378 - 180 = 198 = 99 x 2
3+7+8= 18 = 9 + 9
1+8+0 = 9
99 is 9 written twice
Muslim phrase: "Ninety-Nine beautiful Names of Allah"
IANV= 333
PNV = 135
333135 = 99 x 3365
333 - 135 = 198 = 99 x 2
3+3+3 = 9
1+5+3 = 9
99.
Anti-Islamic phrase: "Ninety-Nine Nasty Names of Allah"
IANV= 315
PNV = 117
315117 = 99 x 3183
315 - 117 = 198 = 99 x 2
3+1+5 = 9
1+1+7 = 9
99.
Arabic: Allah Al-Moqoof (Lie)
ANV's: 66 + 257 = 323 = 19 x 17.0000
257-66=191
Arabic: Al Quran Al-Mukr(Deception) Al-Moqoof (lie)
ANV's combined: 383 + 291 + 257 = 931 = 19 x 49.0000
257 383 291 = 19 x 13546489.0000
931-257 = 674
931-383 = 548
931-291 = 640
674 548 640 = 19 x 35502560.0000
"Allah is not a God"
PNVAdd: 57 = 19 x 3
"Nineteen is not a miracle"
PNVadd: 99 = 99 x 1
"Muhammad was a very evil person"
IANVadd: 323 = 17 x 19
"There is no Allah"
PNV Add: 66
Same as ANV for 'Allah'
"One hundred and fourteen phony nasty chapters of Quran"
PNVAdd: 228 = 19 x 12
IANVAdd: 570 = 19 x 30
PNVadd: 228 = 114 x 2
"Allah is a false God, a figment of Mohammed's imagination. God may exist, but He is not any god mentioned in any religion"
PNVAdd: 456 = 19 x 24
PNVadd: 456 = 114 x 4
Conclusion
This "miracle" of 19 is not a miracle. The actual chance of finding this 'miracle' is 1 in 19 which is not an impressive probability at all.
Equal number of miracles, sometimes more are found in anti-Islamic texts.
What was Quran talking about when it said "over it are Nineteen"? It was simply talking about the number of Angels in Hell. This is also confirmed by Islamic websites (e.g. [1]). Even Rashad Khalifa, the inventor of 19 'miracles' believes that 19 is the number of Angels in heaven (for him, he sees it as a 'miracle' that everything is 19)
Rashad Khalifa changed or 'corrupted' the Quran to highlight the 'miracles' of 19.
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