- Responding to so called "Scientific Errors" in the Glorious Qur'an from WikiIslam.
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) the Lord of the World's!
Sadly, a little website - with a large fan base, named WikiIslam has apparently managed to disprove the Glorious Qur'an by showing that it contains "scientific errors". I will be God Willing, refuting these errors - by summarizing when possible and then just linking to full responses when needed. So without a further ado, let's begin! Allahu Akbar!
The Astronomy Section
Claimed error #1 - Geocentrism
Wiki Islam says, "The Qur'an mentions numerous times that the sun and the moon travel in an orbit, but does not mention once that the earth does too." And this is a lie, in Brilliant Surah 39 - Surah Az-Zumar Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) says:
This verse shows that the Glorious Qur'an does not take a geocentric view of the universe as the Glorious Qur'an is referencing ALL MOVING: not only the sun and moon but also Earth. In Arabic grammar there is difference between the singular (one), binary (two) and plural (three or more). The Glorious Quran said "Kullon yajree كل يجري" referring to the plural (three or more). So what does this tell us? It tells us that the Glorious Qur'an states that the Earth, the Moon, and the Sun are ALL MOVING! Not Geocentric! And not heliocentric!
Some may ask, "But why hasn't the Qur'an made it more clear?", and the answer is that The Glorious Qur'an has been sent to mankind! It has to be sent so that men can understand what's going on. So the Glorious Qur'an talks in the perspective of us, as humans on the Earth - the knowledge that we will have for the most part is included. For more than 80% of the Glorious Qur'an's time on the earth people had thought that the sun orbited the earth, if the Qur'an clearly said otherwise then people would think the Glorious Qur'an was wrong, and so the Glorious Qur'an talks in man's perspective so man can understand the best. Obviously if the Qur'an talked about the Earth in the perspective of an Alien, us - Man would simply not understand what the Glorious Qur'an was trying to mention. And think about the Knowledge of God, and how much we actually wouldn't be able to understand if it was spoken from His Amazing perspective, so Alhamdulillah for Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) making the Glorious Qur'an simple and clear!
Claimed error #2 - Setting and Rising Place of the Sun
Muslims have already responded to this, as they note. And Arab speakers have already responded to this, as they note. It is clear that the verse is talking about reaching the furthest place west, and seeing the sun set in the muddy water there, such as in this picture (click here), which would make sense if this was referencing the west of Africa - Morocco, when the Islands where forming.
ibn Kathir (r) [d. 774 A.H.] states in his tafsir of the verse:
Here's a longer more detailed response to this: http://quran-errors.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/did-sun-set-in-muddy-pool-according-to.html
Claimed error #3 - Stars are Missiles Shot at Devils
I don't understand this, it is true that stars move in space, in fact our star - the Sun is moving at around 720,000 km/h around the galaxy - quite fast for a flaming ball of fire. Considering that those verses are talking about the Heavens, you can imagine that Shaytan cannot leave Earth because it's looking at the sky and it sees these burning balls of fire everywhere moving very fast. So they would shoot down the devils in space.
For example, they quote this verse:
The Devils will enter the Heavens, and from there - listen to the angels, they cannot do this if there are stars that are moving at high speeds. Jinn are part of the unseen universe so it's not really an issue.
And even if it referenced meteorites, I do not see how that would be a problem. The Glorious Qur'an was revealed in a language we could understand, I'm sure that the arabs would not know what a 'meteorite' was, so it would use whatever phrase people could understand instead.
Claimed error #4 - Moon Emits Light
This error is reffuted very nicely by my fellow brothers here, insh'Allah http://quran-errors.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/re-wikiislam-scentific-error-in-quran.html
Claimed error #5 - The Moon was Split
I refuted this in my post, "How could the Prophet (as) split the moon?"
Firstly, Allah (glorified be He) actually split the moon, not the Prophet Muhammad. It seems irrational to me for people to assume that the creator of the universe can't split the moon in two, especially since I can talk to someone who lives all the way in Mexico (me, living in the UK) and see the actions they perform milliseconds after they execute them. But nonetheless, there is a very logical viewpoint of this event attributed to Imam Al Ghazali (r) that might shed some light Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) willing.
"As for the splitting of the moon, it was a nighttime sign that occurred while people were asleep and unaware. It only occurred for a moment and so it was only witnessed by those of Quraysh with whom the Prophet (as) and whom he directed to look at it. Furthermore, only a piece of it broke off from it, and then it returned whole in a moment. How many times will a star fall or an earthquake or frightening matters like wind or lightning strike occur at night and only select individuals will realize it. Furthermore, this will only be known to the one who was told to look at it and then it split after his being told and after the challenge. As for the one who did not know of that and his eyes happened to see it, he might think a delusion that quickly disappeared, or a star that was beneath the moon and then the moon cleared it, or a fragment of a cloud that covered up a piece of the moon."
Finally, since this event is narrated by many righteous sahabah - some of whom also narrated that saying a lie about the Prophet (as) would send you to hell, it seems daft to think that they would lie - they worked a lot into Islam and believed in it so why would they narrate a false event? And attribute a lie to the Prophet (as) when they knew the risks? In addition reading Surah Qamar, you can see that the moon splitting wasn't even an issue, the problem was that the people thought that it was just magic - this shows how valid it actually was.
You may listen to Surah Qamar here: http://quran.com/54
Claimed error #6 - Sun, Moon and Stars are Created for a Purpose
Here the Author of this post is assuming that he knows the thoughts of the Creator of the Universe, the Sun and the Stars could indeed have been created for a purpose - so what is the issue? If you don't know the thoughts of God The Great, then there is no argument here. Also, for something to be created previously does not change anything - land was created before humans etc.
Claimed error #7 - Night is a veil
Since the Glorious Qur'an is a book that has come to succeed the poetry of all the arabs at the time, which it had accomplished, it is expected to also use poetic techniques such as metaphors. This is clearly a metaphor. If I told you that you were the light of my life you wouldn't consider that a scientific error, so please do not do the same with the Glorious Qur'an - especially when there is a motive for such linguistic devices.
This may be explained to you better in this Noble Verse:
"We have made the Night and the Day as two (of Our) Signs: the Sign of the Night have We obscured, while the Sign of the Day We have made to enlighten you; that ye may seek bounty from your Lord, and that ye may know the number and count of the years: all things have We explained in detail." - From the Beautiful Surah Al-Isra (17:12)
Claimed error #8 - Seven Planets in the Universe
This is reffuted beautifully by one of my brothers here: http://quran-errors.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/re-wikiislam-quran-scientific-error-how.html
Claimed error #9 - Seven Heavens
The author is stating that the term "Seven Heavens" is wrong because there aren't 7 Heavens. He needs to prove this, I want him to actually go to the far ends of the universe and prove this, or get out of this universe and prove this. Until he is omniscient and knows everything about the Universe he can't prove this. The Seven Heavens can be anything, we do not know about them - the words to describe them are just similar to ours however they are very different.
Claimed error #10 - Stars are located in the Nearest Heaven
The Author states there is no such things as the nearest heaven or layer. The Author has likely never left the Milky Way Galaxy to make such a claim, and as I've said we have no clue what the Seven Heavens are to be honest.
Claimed error #11 - Earth Created in Six Days
Some people seem to have some trouble with the some ayah in the Noble Qur'an, these ayah state that the Heavens and the Earth were created in six "days" and Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) willing you'll see these doubts end.
Now to first answer this allegation, we should look at the real word used for "day". Muhammad Asad writes in the footnotes of his translation of the Glorious Quran: "The word yawm , commonly translated as “day” – but rendered above as “aeon” – is used in Arabic to denote any period, whether extremely long (“aeon”) or extremely short (“moment”): its application to an earthly “day” of twenty-four hours is only one of its many connotations." In fact the word yawm can mean a day, an age, an era, time, a period, a cycle, an event, a stage or an epoch. So already this can mean that God Almighty created the heavens and the earth in six periods.
In addition to this, the Glorious Qur'an uses this word to mean this in several other places, e.g. when talking about The Day of Judgment:
Now some may say that this verse should mean 6 days because it must be referring to the account in the Bible. However the Muslim response here would simply be that the Qur'an is not the Bible, if the Glorious Qur'an wanted to reference that account in the Bible it would surely refer to more than just the six periods, it could mention much more information given - and it could have no problem doing this. But it doesn't. For all Muslims are concerned that part of the Bible could have been added in by others and not part of the original Book given to Prophet Moses (as).
Some others may say that this verse must be referring to Allah (subhana wa ta'ala)'s power, so it must mean day. And the answer here is simple if God Almighty was referencing His power solely, then He could have stated that the Heavens and the Earth were created in only one day: there is no need for six. However there is clearly a sign of order being shown here, six days shows pattern, construction, and order. Furthermore, considering that this would mean that there are around 5.5067656e+65 atoms - a number my calculator can't even begin to define - for every second of creation since the beginning of time for our OBSERVABLE universe, this doesn't seem like a hard feat. And what's more amazing than God Almighty setting up laws and letting the universe follow His will?
Claimed error #12 - Earth created before stars
This is responded to here: http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/alleged_contradiction_between_qur__n__2_29__and_astronomy__by_islamtoday
The author also states that "the author of the Qur'an is also unaware that the elements in the Earth's crust and core were first formed in stars.", even though the Glorious Qur'an states that Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) "We sent down iron, wherein is great military might and benefits for the people, and so that Allah may make evident those who support Him and His messengers unseen. Indeed, Allah is Powerful and Exalted in Might." in the Great Surah Al-Ĥadīd (Verse 25)
Claimed error #13 - Earth and the Heavens were Ripped Apart
Firstly, the point that the Author makes that the Glorious Qur'an states that the Earth is the lower half of the Universe would be false since the Qur'an says repeatedly that the Sun orbits the Earth - and that the Stars are in the Heavens.
Secondly, the Author states that "Earth wasn't created before this" and so this is false: the answer to this is simple. I would like you to put your two hands into fists, the left hand can be resembling the Earth, and the right resembling the Heavens. Now split them apart. Do you see a gap in between them? Try and find me the gap in the universe please. It is clear that the Glorious Qur'an is more likely referencing the Big Bang - since whatever was the Earth is being referenced - it is referencing the singularity - which is why it says joined together (basically whatever material is here is the heaven or the earth, previously they were joined and then they became split - we can "see" this now by looking at the redshift).
Claimed error #14 - Universe was made from smoke by contraction
This is mostly responded to here:
http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/alleged_contradiction_between_qur__n__2_29__and_astronomy__by_islamtoday
But I'll like to add, just because the Glorious Qur'an uses the word "smoke" does not mean that it cannot reference things such as nebulas, as it probably can and does. There was no word for these things, and so a word similar to whatever the meaning in arabic at the time allowed you would expect would have been used by the Almighty in His Glorious Speech.
Claimed error #15 - The Cause of Shadows
He, God, says that He extends the shadows, the poster has a problem with the second half of the verse. A tafseer form Maududi states about this verse "The word dalil has been used in the sense of the "pilot", who is a person trained to take ships safely in or out of a harbor, or along a waterway. The sun has been trade the pilot of the shadow because the lengthening out of the shadow and it's being rolled up depends on the rising, declining and setting of the sun." The Sun's position facing the Earth does affect shadows, just take a torch and shine it directly on an object and then diagonally to an object and you will see how the torch is in a sense - piloting it. So this is true.
Claimed error #16 - Sun is a Flat Disk
This is answered by Brother Ijaz Ahmed from calling christians, and in fact it is a miracle of the Glorious Qur'an, read here:
Claimed error #17 - The similar size and distance of the sun and moon
I dont understand this problem, it just means that the the sun hits the moon and they hit - so they join. I don't see it at all as an error.
Claimed error #18 - Sky is a tent or dome
The poster has not given any information that states that the pagan arabs believed such a thing, the Glorious Qur'an refutes many of their beliefs - the whole of Islam refutes the pagan beliefs! This website needs to be consistent, they think that the Arabs knew about embryology, and were the masters at many arts but apparently they didn't know the greek teachings of the planet earth being spherical, and more?
The first verse, the sky is called a bināan - a canopy, and can simply mean a ceiling as in something protecting the earth and separating it from the heavens.
In the second verse, isn't Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) talking about the miniscule ness of our creation. We - humans - need pillars to build, and yet God doesn't need you to even see the pillars - referring to whatever is keeping the Universe up and everything joined and not flying away.
I really don't understand how the third verse is an error it's just talking about the world at it's end.
Claimed error #19 - Sky Guards the Earth
Yes it is a fact that the sky protects the Earth, the sky protects us from lethal UV rays, traps heat protecting us from the cold of space etc. If you disagree, try and survive on a planet without an atmosphere.
Claimed error #20 - Sky can Fall Down of People
Or it's referring to things in space falling on them.
Claimed error #21 - Sky can be rolled up
The translation they provided says heavens, which many people beleive references the whole universe. As the universe is flat, this is no problem as flat objects can be rolled up.
Claimed error #22 - North and South Poles
Tafsir from Maududi:
[35] This sentence can have two meanings and both are correct:
[36] Nor does this happen either that the night should approach before the appointed period of the day comes to an end, and should start spreading its darkness suddenly during the time when the day is meant to spread its light.
[37] The word falak in Arabic is used for the orbit of the planets, and it gives a different meaning from the word sama' (sky). The sentence, "Each is gliding in its own orbit," points to four realities:
These verses are not intended to describe the realities of astronomy, but are meant to make man understand that if he looks around himself, with open eyes, and uses his common sense, he will find countless and limitless proofs of the existence of God and His Unity, and he will not come across a single proof of atheism and shirk. The vastness of the solar system in which our earth is included is such that its parent body, the sun, is 300,000 times bigger than the earth, and its farthest planet Neptune is at least 2,793 million miles distant from the sun. However, if Pluto is taken as the farthest planet, it revolves 4,600 million miles away round it. Notwithstanding this vastness, the solar system occupies a very insignificant part of a huge galaxy. The galaxy which includes our solar system has about 3,000 million suns in it, and its nearest sun is so distant from our earth that its light takes about four years to reach us. Then this galaxy also is not the whole universe. According to the investigations made so far, it has been estimated that it is one of about 2,000,000 spiral nebulae, and the nearest nebula is about a million light years away from the earth. As for the farthest celestial bodies which arc visible through the modern instruments, their light reaches the earth in about 100 million years. Even now it cannot be claimed that man has seen the whole universe. It is a small part of the Kingdom of God which man has yet been able to observe. It cannot be predicted how far and deep man will yet be able to see with greater and more efficient means of observation at his disposal.
All the information that has been gathered so far about the universe proves that this whole world is trade up of the same substance of which our tiny earthly world is made, and the same law is working in the universe which is working in the world of our earth; otherwise it was not at All possible. that man should have made observations of the very distant worlds from the earth, measured their distances and estimated their movements. Is it not a clear proof of the fact that this whole universe is the creation of One God and the Kingdom of One Ruler? Then from the order and the wisdom and the excellence of workmanship and the deep relationships which are found in the hundreds of thousands of the galaxies and in the millions and billions of the stars and planets revolving in them no sensible person can imagine that all this has come about automatically. Is it possible that there should be no administrator behind this order and system, no sage behind this wisdom, no designer behind this design and work of art, and no planner behind this planning?
All praise is due to Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) the Lord of the World's!
Sadly, a little website - with a large fan base, named WikiIslam has apparently managed to disprove the Glorious Qur'an by showing that it contains "scientific errors". I will be God Willing, refuting these errors - by summarizing when possible and then just linking to full responses when needed. So without a further ado, let's begin! Allahu Akbar!
The Astronomy Section
Claimed error #1 - Geocentrism
Wiki Islam says, "The Qur'an mentions numerous times that the sun and the moon travel in an orbit, but does not mention once that the earth does too." And this is a lie, in Brilliant Surah 39 - Surah Az-Zumar Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) says:
- "He created the heavens and earth in truth. He wraps the night over the day and wraps the day over the night and has subjected the sun and the moon, each running [its course] for a specified term. Unquestionably, He is the Exalted in Might, the Perpetual Forgiver."
This verse shows that the Glorious Qur'an does not take a geocentric view of the universe as the Glorious Qur'an is referencing ALL MOVING: not only the sun and moon but also Earth. In Arabic grammar there is difference between the singular (one), binary (two) and plural (three or more). The Glorious Quran said "Kullon yajree كل يجري" referring to the plural (three or more). So what does this tell us? It tells us that the Glorious Qur'an states that the Earth, the Moon, and the Sun are ALL MOVING! Not Geocentric! And not heliocentric!
Some may ask, "But why hasn't the Qur'an made it more clear?", and the answer is that The Glorious Qur'an has been sent to mankind! It has to be sent so that men can understand what's going on. So the Glorious Qur'an talks in the perspective of us, as humans on the Earth - the knowledge that we will have for the most part is included. For more than 80% of the Glorious Qur'an's time on the earth people had thought that the sun orbited the earth, if the Qur'an clearly said otherwise then people would think the Glorious Qur'an was wrong, and so the Glorious Qur'an talks in man's perspective so man can understand the best. Obviously if the Qur'an talked about the Earth in the perspective of an Alien, us - Man would simply not understand what the Glorious Qur'an was trying to mention. And think about the Knowledge of God, and how much we actually wouldn't be able to understand if it was spoken from His Amazing perspective, so Alhamdulillah for Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) making the Glorious Qur'an simple and clear!
Claimed error #2 - Setting and Rising Place of the Sun
Muslims have already responded to this, as they note. And Arab speakers have already responded to this, as they note. It is clear that the verse is talking about reaching the furthest place west, and seeing the sun set in the muddy water there, such as in this picture (click here), which would make sense if this was referencing the west of Africa - Morocco, when the Islands where forming.
ibn Kathir (r) [d. 774 A.H.] states in his tafsir of the verse:
- Until, when he reached the setting place of the sun,) means, he followed a route until he reached the furthest point that could be reached in the direction of the sun’s setting, which is the west of the earth. As for the idea of his reaching the place in the sky where the sun sets, this is something impossible, and the tales told by storytellers that he travelled so far to the west that the sun set behind him are not true at all. Most of these stories come from the myths of the People of the Book and the fabrications and lies of their heretics.
- (he found it setting in a spring of Hami’ah) meaning, he saw the sun as if it were setting in the ocean. This is something which everyone who goes to the coast can see: it looks as if the sun is setting into the sea but in fact it never leaves its path in which it is fixed… [Source]
Here's a longer more detailed response to this: http://quran-errors.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/did-sun-set-in-muddy-pool-according-to.html
Claimed error #3 - Stars are Missiles Shot at Devils
I don't understand this, it is true that stars move in space, in fact our star - the Sun is moving at around 720,000 km/h around the galaxy - quite fast for a flaming ball of fire. Considering that those verses are talking about the Heavens, you can imagine that Shaytan cannot leave Earth because it's looking at the sky and it sees these burning balls of fire everywhere moving very fast. So they would shoot down the devils in space.
For example, they quote this verse:
The Devils will enter the Heavens, and from there - listen to the angels, they cannot do this if there are stars that are moving at high speeds. Jinn are part of the unseen universe so it's not really an issue.
And even if it referenced meteorites, I do not see how that would be a problem. The Glorious Qur'an was revealed in a language we could understand, I'm sure that the arabs would not know what a 'meteorite' was, so it would use whatever phrase people could understand instead.
Claimed error #4 - Moon Emits Light
This error is reffuted very nicely by my fellow brothers here, insh'Allah http://quran-errors.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/re-wikiislam-scentific-error-in-quran.html
Claimed error #5 - The Moon was Split
I refuted this in my post, "How could the Prophet (as) split the moon?"
Firstly, Allah (glorified be He) actually split the moon, not the Prophet Muhammad. It seems irrational to me for people to assume that the creator of the universe can't split the moon in two, especially since I can talk to someone who lives all the way in Mexico (me, living in the UK) and see the actions they perform milliseconds after they execute them. But nonetheless, there is a very logical viewpoint of this event attributed to Imam Al Ghazali (r) that might shed some light Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) willing.
"As for the splitting of the moon, it was a nighttime sign that occurred while people were asleep and unaware. It only occurred for a moment and so it was only witnessed by those of Quraysh with whom the Prophet (as) and whom he directed to look at it. Furthermore, only a piece of it broke off from it, and then it returned whole in a moment. How many times will a star fall or an earthquake or frightening matters like wind or lightning strike occur at night and only select individuals will realize it. Furthermore, this will only be known to the one who was told to look at it and then it split after his being told and after the challenge. As for the one who did not know of that and his eyes happened to see it, he might think a delusion that quickly disappeared, or a star that was beneath the moon and then the moon cleared it, or a fragment of a cloud that covered up a piece of the moon."
Finally, since this event is narrated by many righteous sahabah - some of whom also narrated that saying a lie about the Prophet (as) would send you to hell, it seems daft to think that they would lie - they worked a lot into Islam and believed in it so why would they narrate a false event? And attribute a lie to the Prophet (as) when they knew the risks? In addition reading Surah Qamar, you can see that the moon splitting wasn't even an issue, the problem was that the people thought that it was just magic - this shows how valid it actually was.
You may listen to Surah Qamar here: http://quran.com/54
Claimed error #6 - Sun, Moon and Stars are Created for a Purpose
Here the Author of this post is assuming that he knows the thoughts of the Creator of the Universe, the Sun and the Stars could indeed have been created for a purpose - so what is the issue? If you don't know the thoughts of God The Great, then there is no argument here. Also, for something to be created previously does not change anything - land was created before humans etc.
Claimed error #7 - Night is a veil
Since the Glorious Qur'an is a book that has come to succeed the poetry of all the arabs at the time, which it had accomplished, it is expected to also use poetic techniques such as metaphors. This is clearly a metaphor. If I told you that you were the light of my life you wouldn't consider that a scientific error, so please do not do the same with the Glorious Qur'an - especially when there is a motive for such linguistic devices.
This may be explained to you better in this Noble Verse:
"We have made the Night and the Day as two (of Our) Signs: the Sign of the Night have We obscured, while the Sign of the Day We have made to enlighten you; that ye may seek bounty from your Lord, and that ye may know the number and count of the years: all things have We explained in detail." - From the Beautiful Surah Al-Isra (17:12)
Claimed error #8 - Seven Planets in the Universe
This is reffuted beautifully by one of my brothers here: http://quran-errors.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/re-wikiislam-quran-scientific-error-how.html
Claimed error #9 - Seven Heavens
The author is stating that the term "Seven Heavens" is wrong because there aren't 7 Heavens. He needs to prove this, I want him to actually go to the far ends of the universe and prove this, or get out of this universe and prove this. Until he is omniscient and knows everything about the Universe he can't prove this. The Seven Heavens can be anything, we do not know about them - the words to describe them are just similar to ours however they are very different.
Claimed error #10 - Stars are located in the Nearest Heaven
The Author states there is no such things as the nearest heaven or layer. The Author has likely never left the Milky Way Galaxy to make such a claim, and as I've said we have no clue what the Seven Heavens are to be honest.
Claimed error #11 - Earth Created in Six Days
Some people seem to have some trouble with the some ayah in the Noble Qur'an, these ayah state that the Heavens and the Earth were created in six "days" and Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) willing you'll see these doubts end.
Now to first answer this allegation, we should look at the real word used for "day". Muhammad Asad writes in the footnotes of his translation of the Glorious Quran: "The word yawm , commonly translated as “day” – but rendered above as “aeon” – is used in Arabic to denote any period, whether extremely long (“aeon”) or extremely short (“moment”): its application to an earthly “day” of twenty-four hours is only one of its many connotations." In fact the word yawm can mean a day, an age, an era, time, a period, a cycle, an event, a stage or an epoch. So already this can mean that God Almighty created the heavens and the earth in six periods.
In addition to this, the Glorious Qur'an uses this word to mean this in several other places, e.g. when talking about The Day of Judgment:
- The angels and the spirit ascend unto him in a Day the measure whereof is (as) fifty thousand years:
Now some may say that this verse should mean 6 days because it must be referring to the account in the Bible. However the Muslim response here would simply be that the Qur'an is not the Bible, if the Glorious Qur'an wanted to reference that account in the Bible it would surely refer to more than just the six periods, it could mention much more information given - and it could have no problem doing this. But it doesn't. For all Muslims are concerned that part of the Bible could have been added in by others and not part of the original Book given to Prophet Moses (as).
Some others may say that this verse must be referring to Allah (subhana wa ta'ala)'s power, so it must mean day. And the answer here is simple if God Almighty was referencing His power solely, then He could have stated that the Heavens and the Earth were created in only one day: there is no need for six. However there is clearly a sign of order being shown here, six days shows pattern, construction, and order. Furthermore, considering that this would mean that there are around 5.5067656e+65 atoms - a number my calculator can't even begin to define - for every second of creation since the beginning of time for our OBSERVABLE universe, this doesn't seem like a hard feat. And what's more amazing than God Almighty setting up laws and letting the universe follow His will?
Claimed error #12 - Earth created before stars
This is responded to here: http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/alleged_contradiction_between_qur__n__2_29__and_astronomy__by_islamtoday
The author also states that "the author of the Qur'an is also unaware that the elements in the Earth's crust and core were first formed in stars.", even though the Glorious Qur'an states that Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) "We sent down iron, wherein is great military might and benefits for the people, and so that Allah may make evident those who support Him and His messengers unseen. Indeed, Allah is Powerful and Exalted in Might." in the Great Surah Al-Ĥadīd (Verse 25)
Claimed error #13 - Earth and the Heavens were Ripped Apart
Firstly, the point that the Author makes that the Glorious Qur'an states that the Earth is the lower half of the Universe would be false since the Qur'an says repeatedly that the Sun orbits the Earth - and that the Stars are in the Heavens.
Secondly, the Author states that "Earth wasn't created before this" and so this is false: the answer to this is simple. I would like you to put your two hands into fists, the left hand can be resembling the Earth, and the right resembling the Heavens. Now split them apart. Do you see a gap in between them? Try and find me the gap in the universe please. It is clear that the Glorious Qur'an is more likely referencing the Big Bang - since whatever was the Earth is being referenced - it is referencing the singularity - which is why it says joined together (basically whatever material is here is the heaven or the earth, previously they were joined and then they became split - we can "see" this now by looking at the redshift).
Claimed error #14 - Universe was made from smoke by contraction
This is mostly responded to here:
http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/alleged_contradiction_between_qur__n__2_29__and_astronomy__by_islamtoday
But I'll like to add, just because the Glorious Qur'an uses the word "smoke" does not mean that it cannot reference things such as nebulas, as it probably can and does. There was no word for these things, and so a word similar to whatever the meaning in arabic at the time allowed you would expect would have been used by the Almighty in His Glorious Speech.
Claimed error #15 - The Cause of Shadows
He, God, says that He extends the shadows, the poster has a problem with the second half of the verse. A tafseer form Maududi states about this verse "The word dalil has been used in the sense of the "pilot", who is a person trained to take ships safely in or out of a harbor, or along a waterway. The sun has been trade the pilot of the shadow because the lengthening out of the shadow and it's being rolled up depends on the rising, declining and setting of the sun." The Sun's position facing the Earth does affect shadows, just take a torch and shine it directly on an object and then diagonally to an object and you will see how the torch is in a sense - piloting it. So this is true.
Claimed error #16 - Sun is a Flat Disk
This is answered by Brother Ijaz Ahmed from calling christians, and in fact it is a miracle of the Glorious Qur'an, read here:
- http://callingchristians.com/2011/12/24/scientific-miracle-in-the-quraan-sun-dying/
Claimed error #17 - The similar size and distance of the sun and moon
I dont understand this problem, it just means that the the sun hits the moon and they hit - so they join. I don't see it at all as an error.
Claimed error #18 - Sky is a tent or dome
The poster has not given any information that states that the pagan arabs believed such a thing, the Glorious Qur'an refutes many of their beliefs - the whole of Islam refutes the pagan beliefs! This website needs to be consistent, they think that the Arabs knew about embryology, and were the masters at many arts but apparently they didn't know the greek teachings of the planet earth being spherical, and more?
The first verse, the sky is called a bināan - a canopy, and can simply mean a ceiling as in something protecting the earth and separating it from the heavens.
In the second verse, isn't Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) talking about the miniscule ness of our creation. We - humans - need pillars to build, and yet God doesn't need you to even see the pillars - referring to whatever is keeping the Universe up and everything joined and not flying away.
I really don't understand how the third verse is an error it's just talking about the world at it's end.
Claimed error #19 - Sky Guards the Earth
Yes it is a fact that the sky protects the Earth, the sky protects us from lethal UV rays, traps heat protecting us from the cold of space etc. If you disagree, try and survive on a planet without an atmosphere.
Claimed error #20 - Sky can Fall Down of People
Or it's referring to things in space falling on them.
Claimed error #21 - Sky can be rolled up
The translation they provided says heavens, which many people beleive references the whole universe. As the universe is flat, this is no problem as flat objects can be rolled up.
Claimed error #22 - North and South Poles
Tafsir from Maududi:
[35] This sentence can have two meanings and both are correct:
- The sun does not have the power that it should draw the moon into itself, or enter its orbit and collide with it; and
- The sun cannot appear in the times which have been appointed for the rising and appearing of the moon. It is not possible that the sun should suddenly appear on the horizon when the moon is shining at night.
[36] Nor does this happen either that the night should approach before the appointed period of the day comes to an end, and should start spreading its darkness suddenly during the time when the day is meant to spread its light.
[37] The word falak in Arabic is used for the orbit of the planets, and it gives a different meaning from the word sama' (sky). The sentence, "Each is gliding in its own orbit," points to four realities:
- That not only the sun and the moon but all the stars and planets and celestial bodies are moving;
- The falak, or orbit, of each one of them is separate;
- That the orbits are not moving with the stars in them, but the stars are moving in the orbits; and
- That the movement of the stars in their orbits is similar to the floating of something in a fluid.
These verses are not intended to describe the realities of astronomy, but are meant to make man understand that if he looks around himself, with open eyes, and uses his common sense, he will find countless and limitless proofs of the existence of God and His Unity, and he will not come across a single proof of atheism and shirk. The vastness of the solar system in which our earth is included is such that its parent body, the sun, is 300,000 times bigger than the earth, and its farthest planet Neptune is at least 2,793 million miles distant from the sun. However, if Pluto is taken as the farthest planet, it revolves 4,600 million miles away round it. Notwithstanding this vastness, the solar system occupies a very insignificant part of a huge galaxy. The galaxy which includes our solar system has about 3,000 million suns in it, and its nearest sun is so distant from our earth that its light takes about four years to reach us. Then this galaxy also is not the whole universe. According to the investigations made so far, it has been estimated that it is one of about 2,000,000 spiral nebulae, and the nearest nebula is about a million light years away from the earth. As for the farthest celestial bodies which arc visible through the modern instruments, their light reaches the earth in about 100 million years. Even now it cannot be claimed that man has seen the whole universe. It is a small part of the Kingdom of God which man has yet been able to observe. It cannot be predicted how far and deep man will yet be able to see with greater and more efficient means of observation at his disposal.
All the information that has been gathered so far about the universe proves that this whole world is trade up of the same substance of which our tiny earthly world is made, and the same law is working in the universe which is working in the world of our earth; otherwise it was not at All possible. that man should have made observations of the very distant worlds from the earth, measured their distances and estimated their movements. Is it not a clear proof of the fact that this whole universe is the creation of One God and the Kingdom of One Ruler? Then from the order and the wisdom and the excellence of workmanship and the deep relationships which are found in the hundreds of thousands of the galaxies and in the millions and billions of the stars and planets revolving in them no sensible person can imagine that all this has come about automatically. Is it possible that there should be no administrator behind this order and system, no sage behind this wisdom, no designer behind this design and work of art, and no planner behind this planning?