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Scientific Miracles in the Qur'an Debunked

By Aliadiere

• Introduction

I would like to take this opportunity to write about my views of the supposed scientific
miracles that the Qur'an accurately predicted.

Before I start to talk about the supposed miracles, I want to talk about some major issues I
have with this idea.

1. This idea among Muslim's is a very recent phenomenon, not known before the 1970s
and having gained massive popularity through the Internet.

2. I have yet to see a verse in the Qur’an, which clearly contains modern scientific
information. All of the verses, which contain supposed scientific miracles are very vague
and can be taken to mean a number of things, and very often, the supposed scientific
miracle is one of the least likely meanings. People often use a psychological tendency
called "confirmation bias" which means to interpret information to confirm one's
preconceptions and to avoid information and interpretations, which contradict prior beliefs.

”I know this scientific fact to be true, and the Qur'an is written by God and is
therefore infallible, therefore, the Qur'an cannot mean anything else.”

3. To support this concepts, Muslims often state that Mecca at the time of the prophet was
a backwards place with no civilization, full of superstition and with no knowledge of
science. However, Mecca was a centre of trade and goods would pass through Mecca
from Africa, Byzantium and Asia. If all these people were passing through at the time,
certain religious and scientific ideas would pass through Mecca as well.
The "science" in the Qur'an is no more remarkable than the science of the time.

Now, I would like to talk about the actual so called scientific miracles in the Qur'an.

• Big Bang predicted in the Qur'an?

I would like to start at the beginning with the big bang. The Qur'an apparently describes
the big bang with the following verse

21:30 “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?”

This verse clearly does not mention the conditions of the big bang. This states that the
heavens and the earth were two separate entities and they were split apart. The Earth is
actually a part of the universe, not separate from it.
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• Qur'an says the Solar System is Orbiting center of Galaxy ?

Secondly, Dr Zakir Naik claims that the Qur'an states that the sun rotates around the
centre of the galaxy with the following verse

21:33 “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. “

This verse clearly states that the sun and the moon rotate around the Earth, as was
commonly believed at the time which agreed with the Aristotelian model of a geocentric
universe. Why would God refer to the sun rotating around the centre of the galaxy in a
verse about night and day? If that were the case, the verse would not make much sense.

• Qur'an predicted an Expanding Universe?

The following verse is supposed proof that the Qur'an states that the universe is
expanding which has only been discovered in the past one hundred years-

51:47 “With power and skill did We construct the Firmament: for it is We Who create
the vastness of Space.”

However, nowhere in this verse does it say that the Universe is expanding, only that it is
very big!

There are also many other verses, which I will not go into much detail about because they
are debatable, such as whether the Qur'an states that the Earth is flat or round. However,
even if the Qur'an did state that the earth is a sphere that would not be a scientific miracle,
as this fact has been commonly known for more than 2500 years.

• The Seven Heavens

Lastly I would like to talk about the concept of the 7 heavens in the Qur'an.

41:12 "So He completed them as seven firmaments in two Days, and He assigned to
each heaven its duty and command. And We adorned the lower heaven with lights,
and (provided it) with guard."

The idea of the seven heavens is very ancient and was well founded at that time which is
completely contradictory to what we now know. This concept comes from the idea that the
first heaven is the sun, the second heaven is the moon and the third to seventh heavens
are mercury, Venus, mars, Saturn and Jupiter. This verse also states that the stars are
closer to the earth than the moon as they are in the lowest heaven!

I know a Muslim might say that this refers to a different concept of the seven heavens. But
if that was the case, surely God would have explained it further, otherwise people would
just think that it refers to what they already believed. If I were to write a book now, and in it
I would refer to a completely new idea that I had and I called it "the big bang theory", it
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would be required for me to explain it further, otherwise people would just assume I was
talking about what they all know to be the big bang theory.

• Conclusion

In conclusion, if the Qur'an was written by an all knowing, all powerful god as a guide for
people to follow, surely he would not write ambiguous verses that can be taken to mean
anything. Evidence of the divine nature of the Qur'an would be a verse which clearly
referred to scientific knowledge which was not known at the time, was not ambiguous, and
which could not be refuted. However, there are no verses in the Qur’an, which are like
that.

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