Scientific Miracles in the QURAN

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Scientific Miracles in the QURAN

• Doaa Abdelrahman

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The Description of Knowledge in the Quran

• There are plenty of references to knowledge and
  the pursuit of knowledge in the Quran
• 961-5 Read! In the name of your Lord who
  created - Created the human from something which
  clings. Read! And your Lord is Most Bountiful -
  He who taught (the use of) the Pen, Taught the
  human that which he knew not.

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2269 He Allah grants wisdom to whom He
pleases and he to whom wisdom is granted indeed
receives a benefit overflowing. But none will
grasp the Message except men of understanding.
20114 High above all is Allah, the King,
the Truth. Do not be in haste with the Quran
before its revelation to you is completed, but
say, "O my Sustainer! Increase my knowledge."
3190-191 Verily in the creation of the
heavens and the earth, and the alternation of
night and day - there are indeed signs for men of
understanding Men who remember Allah, standing,
sitting, and lying down on their sides, and
contemplate the creation of the heavens and the
earth (with the thought) "Our Lord! Not for
nothing have You created (all) this. Glory to
You! Give us salvation from the suffering of the
Fire."
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More references in the Quran and Sunnah

• Describing the value in the sight of Allah of a
  knowledgeable person as opposed to an ignorant
  person.
• 399 ...Say Are those equal, those
  who know and those who do not know? It is those
  who are endued with understanding that remember
  (Allah's Message).
• 5811 ...Allah will raise up to (suitable)
  ranks (and degrees) those of you who believe and
  who have been granted knowledge.
• Here are a few of the Prophet's sayings on the
  subject of knowledge
• "Upon a person whom Allah desires good, He
  bestows the knowledge of faith." - Bukhari and
  Muslim
• "A person who follows a path for acquiring
  knowledge, Allah will make easy the passage to
  Paradise for him." - Muslim
• "A Muslim is never satiated in his quest for
  good (knowledge) till it ends in Paradise." -
  Tirmidhi

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Relationship Between the Quran and Modern Science

• Modern scientific theory today finds itself quite
  close to the Quran.
• The lack of inconsistencies between the Quran and
  observable natural phenomena. Science has not
  been able to produce theories or experiments that
  fundamentally contradict the Quran.
• The remarkable harmony between the Quran and
  science is due to the presence in the Quran
  itself of very clear and positive encouragement
  to contemplate and investigate the world around
  us. As the verses quoted earlier indicate, Allah
  has not forbidden man to question, and in fact,
  it seems He wants us to do so.

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Topics in the Quran

• Origin of the universe
• Expansion of the universe
• Creation of the Earth and Iron
• Human embryonic developments
• Cerebrum
• Cats Eye Nebula
• The Sun and the Moon
• Time zones
• Mountains
• Clouds
• Seas and Rivers
• Deep seas and internal waves
• Female bee
• The Fly

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Origin of the universe

• 2130 Have not those who disbelieved known
  that the heavens and the earth were joined
  together (as one unit of creation), before We
  clove them asunder
• The science of modern cosmology clearly indicates
  that, at one point of time, the whole universe
  was nothing but a cloud of 'smoke'(an opaque
  highly dense and hot gaseous composition). This
  is one of the undisputed principles of standard
  modern cosmology. Scientists now observe new
  stars forming out of the remnants of that
  'smoke'.'
• Because of the earth and the heavens have been
  formed from this same 'smoke,' we conclude that
  the earth and the heavenly bodies were one
  connected entity. Then out of this homogenous
  'smoke,' they formed and separated from each other

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Expansion of the universe

• 5047 "The heaven, We have built it with power.
  Verily. We are expanding it."
• Heaven is the translation of the word sama' and
  this is exactly the extra-terrestrial world that
  is meant. 'We are expanding it' is the
  translation of the plural present participle
  musi'una of the verb ausa'a meaning 'to make
  wider, more spacious, to extend, to expand'. It
  was first suggested by the general theory of
  relativity and is backed up by physics in the
  examination of the galactic spectrum the regular
  movement towards the red section of their
  spectrum may be explained by the distancing of
  one galaxy from another. Thus the size of the
  Universe is probably constantly increasing and
  this increase will become bigger the further away
  the galaxies are from us. The speeds at which
  these celestial bodies are moving may, in the
  course of this perpetual expansion, go from
  fractions of the speed of light to speeds faster
  than this.

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Creation of the Earth and Iron

• 6512 "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 new scientific discovery had revealed to us
  that the earth that we currently live on today is
  formed from seven layers. The very bottom layer
  contains most of the uranium and plutonium and
  all the materials that are need to create nuclear
  weapons and energy. The Verse above does indeed
  say that the earth was created with seven
  layers.

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Creation of the Earth and Iron (cont.)

• 5725 "We sent aforetime Our messengers with
  clear signs and sent down with them the Book and
  the Balance (of right and wrong), that men may
  stand forth in justice and We sent down iron, in
  which is (material for Mighty war), as well as
  many benefits for mankind, that Allah may test
  who it is that will help, unseen, Him and His
  messengers For Allah is Full of strength,
  exalted in Might (And able to enforce His
  Will).       The new scientific discovery had
  also revealed that the metal iron was not created
  or formed from earth or earth material at all.
  Iron was sent by burning stars traveling through
  space that had collided with earth. When those
  stars collided with earth and their melted metals
  cooled down and changed from liquid burned/melted
  metals to hard solid metals, they formed the
  metal of what we call today iron. Notice that
  the verse above, Allah says clearly "We sent down
  iron...." and He didn't say "We created iron from
  earth..... This clearly states that iron was
  created outside the earth and was brought down by
  the Will of Allah Almighty for a purpose.

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Human embryonic developments

• In the Holy Quran, Allah speaks about the stages
  of mans embryonic development
• 2312-14 "We created man from an extract of
  clay. Then We made him as a drop in a place of
  settlement, firmly fixed. Then We made the drop
  into an alaqah (leech, suspended thing, and blood
  clot), then We made the alaqah into a mudghah
  (chewed-like substance)...
• Literally, the Arabic word alaqah has three
  meanings (1) leech, (2) suspended thing, and (3)
  blood clot.

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• Similarities in appearance between a leech and a
  human embryo at the alaqah stage
• The suspension of an embryo during the alaqah
  stage in the womb (uterus) of the mother

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• When comparing the appearance of an embryo at the
  mudghah stage with a piece of gum that has been
  chewed, we find similarity between the two.
• A) Drawing of an embryo at the mudghah stage. We
  can see here the somites at the back of the
  embryo that look like teeth marks. (The
  Developing Human, Moore and Persaud, 5th ed., p.
  79.)
• B) Photograph of a piece of gum that has been
  chewed.

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Cerebrum

• Allah has said in the Quran about one of the evil
  unbelievers who forbade the Prophet Muhammad from
  praying at the Kaaba
• 9615-16  "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)!"
• Why did the Quran describe the front of the
  head as being lying and sinful?
• Why didnt the Quran say that the person was
  lying and sinful?
• What is the relationship between the front of
  the head and lying and sinfulness?   

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• If we look into the skull at the front of the
  head, we will find the prefrontal area of the
  cerebrum. 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... Also the book says, In
  relation to its involvement in motivation, the
  prefrontal area is also thought to be the
  functional center for aggression....
• 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)!   Scientists have
  only discovered these functions of the prefrontal
  area in the last sixty years, according to
  Professor Keith L. Moore.

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Cats Eye Nebula

• 5537 "When the sky splits apart, and turns
  rose-like..."  
• Compare this statement in the Quran to the NASA
  picture taken by the Hubble Telescope. The
  picture captures the "Splitting" of "a" sky.

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The Sun and the Moon

• 105 "It is He Who made the sun to be a shining
  glory and the moon to be a light (of beauty), and
  measured out stages for her that ye might know
  the number of years and the count (of time).
  Nowise did Allah create this but in truth and
  righteousness. (Thus) doth He explain His Signs
  in detail, for those who understand."
• In arabic, the light from the sun is described
  by the word dhiyaa meaning splendour and glory
  of brightness. This means that the source of
  light is coming from the sun itself. On the
  other hand, the word used to describe the moons
  light is noor which is a cool light that
  illuminates. Scientific discovery has revealed
  confirmations to these phenomena.

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• The Quran also discusses the sun and the manner
  in which it travels through space. Again, a
  person can guess on that subject. When the sun
  moves through space, there are two options it
  can travel just as a stone would travel if one
  threw it, or it can move of its own accord. The
  Quran states the latter .
• 2133 It is He Who created the night and the
  day, and the sun and the moon All (the celestial
  bodies) swim along, each in its rounded course.
• Now, this is what the Quran affirms, but was it
  an easy thing to discover? Can any common man
  tell that the sun is turning?
• Only in modern times was the equipment made
  available to project the image of the sun onto a
  tabletop so that one could look at it without
  being blinded. And through this process it was
  discovered that not only are there spots on the
  sun but that these spots move once every 25 days.
  This movement is referred to as the rotation of
  the sun around its axis and conclusively proves
  that, as the Quran stated 1400 years ago, the sun
  does, indeed, turn as it travels through space.

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Time zones

• The concept that one family is having breakfast
  as the sun comes up while another family is
  enjoying the brisk night air is truly something
  to be marveled at, even in modern time. Indeed,
  fourteen centuries ago, a man could not travel
  more than thirty miles in one day, and thus it
  took him literally months to travel from China to
  Morocco, for example. And probably, when he was
  having supper in Morocco, he thought to himself,
  "Back in China they are having supper right now."
  This is because he did not realize that, in the
  process of traveling, he moved across a time
  zone. Yet, because it is the words of Allah, the
  All-Knowing, the Quran recognizes and
  acknowledges such a phenomenon.
• In an interesting verse it states that when the
  Day of Judgement arrives, it will all occur in an
  instant and this very instant will catch some
  people in the daytime and some people at night.

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Mountains

• 786-7 Have We not made the earth as a bed,
  and the mountains as pegs?
• A book entitled Earth is a basic reference
  textbook in many universities around the world.
  One of its two authors is Professor Emeritus
  Frank Press. He was the Science Advisor to former
  US President Jimmy Carter, and for 12 years was
  the President of the National Academy of
  Sciences, Washington, DC. His book says that
  mountains have underlying roots.These roots are
  deeply embedded in the ground, thus, mountains
  have a shape like a peg

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• Mountains also play an important role in
  stabilizing the crust of the earth. They hinder
  the shaking of the earth. Allah has said in the
  Quran
• 1615 "And He has set firm mountains in the
  earth so that it would not shake with you..."
• Likewise, the modern theory of plate tectonics
  holds that mountains work as stabilizers for the
  earth. This knowledge about the role of mountains
  as stabilizers for the earth has just begun to be
  understood in the framework of plate tectonics
  since the late 1960s.
• Could anyone during the time of the Prophet
  Muhammad have known of the true shape of
  mountains? Could anyone imagine that the solid
  massive mountain which he sees before him
  actually extends deep into the earth and has a
  root, as scientists assert?

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Clouds

• 2443 Have you not seen how God makes the
  clouds move gently, then joins them together,
  then makes them into a stack, and then you see
  the rain come out of it.
• Scientists have found that cumulonimbus clouds
  go through the following steps to produce rain
  1) The clouds are pushed by the wind2) Joining
• 3) Stacking
• Meteorologists have only recently come to know
  these details of cloud formation, structure, and
  function by using advanced equipment like planes,
  satellites, computers, balloons, and other
  equipment, to study wind and its direction, to
  measure humidity and its variations, and to
  determine the levels and variations of
  atmospheric pressure.

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Seas and Rivers

• 5519-20 He has set free the two seas meeting
  together. There is a barrier between them. They
  do not transgress.
• Modern Science has discovered that in the
  places where two different seas meet, there is a
  barrier between them. This barrier divides the
  two seas so that each sea has its own
  temperature, salinity, and density.
• For example, Mediterranean sea water is warm,
  saline, and less dense, compared to Atlantic
  ocean water. When Mediterranean sea water enters
  the Atlantic over the Gibraltar sill, it moves
  several hundred kilometers into the Atlantic at a
  depth of about 1000 meters with its own warm,
  saline, and less dense characteristics. The
  Mediterranean water stabilizes at this depth
  Although there are large waves, strong currents,
  and tides in these seas, they do not mix or
  transgress this barrier.

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• But when the Quran speaks about the divider
  between fresh and salt water, it mentions the
  existence of a forbidding partition with the
  barrier. Allah has said in the Quran
• 2523 He is the one who has set free the two
  kinds of water, one sweet and palatable, and the
  other salty and bitter. And He has made between
  them a barrier and a forbidding partition.
• Modern science has discovered that in
  estuaries, where fresh (sweet) and salt water
  meet, the situation is somewhat different from
  what is found in places where two seas meet. It
  has been discovered that what distinguishes fresh
  water from salt water in estuaries is a zone with
  a marked density discontinuity separating the two
  layers, which has a different salinity from the
  fresh water and from the salt water .
• This information has been discovered only
  recently, using advanced equipment to measure
  temperature, salinity, density, oxygen
  dissolubility, etc. The human eye cannot see the
  difference between the two seas that meet, rather
  the two seas appear to us as one homogeneous sea.
  Likewise, the human eye cannot see the division
  of water in estuaries into the three kinds fresh
  water, salt water, and the partition (zone of
  separation).

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Female bee

• 1668 And thy Lord taught the bee to build its
  cells in hills, on trees and in habitations.
• The Quran mentions that the female bee leaves its
  home to gather food. Now, a person might guess on
  that, saying, "The bee that you see flying around
  - it could be male, or it could be female.
• But it also happens that that was not what most
  people believed at the time when the Quran was
  revealed. Can you tell the difference between a
  male and a female bee? Well, it takes a
  specialist to do that, but it has been discovered
  that the male bee never leaves his home to gather
  food.
• However, in Shakespeare's play, Henry the
  Fourth, some of the characters discuss bees and
  mention that the bees are soldiers and have a
  king. However, that is not true at all. The fact
  is that they are females, and they answer to a
  queen. Yet it took modern scientific
  investigations in the last 300 years to discover
  that this is the case.

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The Fly

• 2273 O men! Here is a parable set forth!
  Listen to it! Those on whom, besides God, you
  call, cannot create (even) a fly, if they all met
  together for the purpose. And if the fly should
  snatch away anything from them, they would have
  no power to release it from the fly. Feeble are
  those who petition and those whom they petition.
• Although some species of fly can bite, the house
  fly cannot. Its soft, spongy mouthparts are
  modified into the labella and proboscis. The
  labella gently dab liquids into its proboscis,
  which then sucks up the liquid. If the fly
  encounters suitable solid food, its enzyme-rich
  saliva digests the food into a liquid outside of
  the fly's body, which is then ingested.

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Mathematical basis an objective approach

• It is surprising how authentic the Quran becomes
  when one assembles what might be referred to as a
  list of good guesses. Mathematically, it can be
  explained using guessing and prediction examples.
  
• For instance
• Two choices one is right, and one is wrong
  1/2
• Two situations right or wrong about situation
  number one, and right or wrong about situation
  number two 1/4
• Three situations ??
• It must be understood that as the number of
  situations increase, the chances of being right
  decrease, for the two phenomena are inversely
  proportional.
• Now applying this example to the situations in
  the Quran, if one draws up a list of all of the
  subjects about which the Quran has made correct
  statements, it becomes very clear that it is
  highly unlikely that they were all just correct
  blind guesses. Indeed, the subjects discussed in
  the Quran are numerous, and thus the odds of
  someone just making lucky guesses about all of
  them become practically nil. If there are a
  million ways for the Quran to be wrong, yet each
  time it is right, then it is unlikely that
  someone was guessing.

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Questions?