Is the Quran credible?
Besides religious guidance, the Quran contains
hundreds of verses that speak of the universe, its components and phenomena such
as the Earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, mountains, wind, running water,
plants, embryological animals, and the successive stages of development of the
human being. More than 1,000 verses relating to cosmic facts or cosmic phenomena
can be counted in the Quran. During the early days of the Quran, scientific
knowledge of the universe was limited and it was not easy to elaborate on the
verses relating to the universe or its phenomena except within the limitations
of the time. However, we now know about the laws of the universe much more than
before and that is why reviewing the 1,000 or more verses relating to the
cosmos, man and his surroundings can be one of the most obvious miraculous
aspects of the Quran. This is because of the precedence of the Quran, which was
revealed more than 14 Centuries ago, with many of the scientific facts, at a
time when people had no knowledge whatsoever of such facts. The Quran has
addressed so many of these facts in a language that is more precise, accurate
and concise than scientists have ever been able to do. Nothing in the Quran
contradicts any established scientific facts. These cannot be all covered in a
short article and hence I have chosen only five verses that can testify to the
miraculous nature of the Quran from a scientific point of view:
1) The creation of the universe
is explained by
astrophysicists in a widely accepted phenomenon, popularly known as the
“Big Bang.” It is supported by observational and experimental data
gathered by astronomers and astrophysicists for decades. According to
the “Big Bang,” the whole universe was initially one big mass (Primary
Nebula). Then there was a “Big Bang” (Secondary Separation), which
resulted in the formation of Galaxies. These then divided to form stars,
planets, the sun, the moon, etc. The origin of the universe was unique
and the
probability of it occurring by “chance” is zero. The Quran contains
the following verse, regarding the origin of the universe:
Have those who
disbelieved not considered that the heavens and the earth were (once) a joined
entity, then We separated them and made from water every living thing? Then will
they not believe? 
(Quran, 21:30)
The striking congruence between the Quranic
verse and the “Big Bang” is inescapable! How could a book, which first
appeared in the deserts of Arabia 1400 years ago, contain this profound
scientific truth?
2) In 1925 an American astronomer by the name of
Edwin Hubble provided observational evidence that all galaxies are receding from
one another, which implies that the universe is expanding. The expansion of the
universe is now an established scientific fact. This is what the Quran says
regarding the formation of the universe:
And the heaven We constructed
with strength, and indeed, We are [its] expander.
(Quran, 51:47)
Stephen
Hawking, in his book A Brief History of Time, says: “The
discovery that the universe is expanding is one of the great intellectual
revolutions of the 20th century.” The Quran mentioned the expansion of the
universe before man even learnt to build a telescope!
3) Scientists say that before the
galaxies in the
universe were formed, celestial matter was initially in the form of
gaseous
matter. In short, huge gaseous matter or clouds were present before the
formation of the galaxies. To describe initial celestial matter, the
word “smoke” is more appropriate than gas. The following Quranic verse
refers to this state of the universe by the word dukhan which means smoke:
Then
He turned to the heaven when it was smoke...
(Quran, 41:11)
Again, this fact is a corollary to the “Big
Bang” and was not known to mankind during the time of the Prophet Muhammad 
.
What then, could have been the source of this knowledge?
.
What then, could have been the source of this knowledge?
4) It was thought that the sense of feeling and
pain was only dependent on the brain. Recent discoveries prove that there are
pain receptors present in the skin without which a person would not be able to
feel pain. When a doctor examines a patient suffering from burn injuries, he
verifies the degree of burns by a pinprick. If the patient feels pain, the
doctor is happy, because it indicates that the burns are superficial and the
pain receptors are intact. On the other hand if the patient does not feel any
pain, it indicates that it is a deep burn and the pain receptors have been
destroyed. The Quran gives an indication of the existence of pain receptors in
the following verse:
Indeed, those who disbelieve in Our verses (i.e.
signs, proofs) - We will drive them into a Fire. Every time their skins are
roasted through We will replace them with other skins so they may taste the
punishment. Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted in Might and Wise. But those who
believe and do righteous deeds - We will admit them to gardens beneath which
rivers flow, wherein they abide forever.
(Quran, 4:56-57)
Prof. Tagatat
Tejasen, Chairman of the Dept. of Anatomy at Chiang Mai University in Thailand,
had spent a great amount of time on research of pain receptors. Initially he
could not believe that the Quran mentioned this scientific fact 1400 years ago.
He later verified the translation of this particular Quranic verse. Prof.
Tejasen was so impressed by the scientific accuracy of the Quranic verse, that
at a medical Conference in 1985 he proclaimed in public the Shahadah (Islamic
Declaration of Faith), i.e. he embraced Islam.
5) The source of iron (Fe); we read in the Quran:
Indeed, We have sent down iron in which there is great (military) might
and benefits for the people.
(Quran, 57:25)
It has recently been proven that
all iron, not only in our planet but also in the entire solar system, was
obtained from outer space. This is because the temperature of the sun cannot
generate iron. The sun has a surface temperature of 6000 degrees Celsius and a
central temperature of about 20 million degrees Celsius. There exists much
hotter stars, which are known as novae, or super novae where temperatures can
reach 100s of billions of degrees Celsius and it is in these stars that iron is
formed. When the percentage of iron reaches a certain proportion of the mass of
the star it explodes and these exploded-particles travel in space until they are
captured by the gravitational fields of other heavenly bodies. This is how our
solar system all obtained its iron and it is an established fact today that all
the iron in our solar system was not generated or created within the system but
has come to it from outer space.
One wonders why the Quran comments on matters
like these, things that were not known to anyone at the time of revelation or
even for centuries afterwards, unless Allah knows in His eternal knowledge that
the time will come when man will then immediately realize that the Quran is the
word of Allah and that Muhammad
is His last messenger. Allah says in the Quran:
is His last messenger. Allah says in the Quran: We shall show them Our signs in the horizons and within themselves until
it becomes clear to them that it is the truth.
(Quran, 41:53)
Prof. Tejasen accepted Islam on the strength of
just one scientific “sign” mentioned in the Quran. Some people may
require ten signs while some may require hundred signs to be convinced about the
Divine origin of the Quran. Some would be unwilling to accept the Truth even
after being shown a thousand signs. The Quran condemns such a closed mentality:
Deaf, dumb and blind- so they will not return [to the right path].
(Quran, 2:18). Also:
The example of those who disbelieve is like that of the one
who shouts at what hears nothing but calls and cries [i.e. cattle or sheep] -
deaf, dumb and blind, so they do not understand.
(Quran, 2:171). And:
Then do they not reflect upon the Quran, or are there locks upon [their]
hearts?
(Quran, 47:24).
Deaf, dumb and blind- so they will not return [to the right path].
(Quran, 2:18). Also:
The example of those who disbelieve is like that of the one
who shouts at what hears nothing but calls and cries [i.e. cattle or sheep] -
deaf, dumb and blind, so they do not understand.
(Quran, 2:171). And:
Then do they not reflect upon the Quran, or are there locks upon [their]
hearts?
(Quran, 47:24).
