Ours is an era of space probes, computer chips, laser surgeries and cloning. If we were to label any book as a revelation from God, we couldn't help but to scrutinize this Scripture using modern scientific knowledge. It could not be that a revelation, proclaiming itself from God, could constitute aspects contradicting established scientific facts. How could we assume otherwise, when God is the one who created the universe and the laws operating within it.
The Quran was revealed 1400 years ago to the last Prophet of God, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as a guidance for all humanity. The entire Quran has been committed to memory by millions of Muslims around the world and has been preserved by God from any interpolations, for continuing guidance. Besides providing guidelines in personal, socio-economic-politico, moral and spiritual spheres of humanity, the Quran touches upon diverse scientific topics like astronomy, geology, embryology, genetics, biology, archeology etc. Some of these are mentioned below to prove the Quran's Divine origin. Dr. T.V.N. Persaud [1], professor of Anatomy, says: "You have an illiterate person (Prophet Muhammad) making profound statements that are amazingly accurate, of a scientific nature...I personally can't see how this could be mere chance, there are too many accuracies and like Dr. Moore, I have no difficulty in my mind reconciling that this is a divine inspiration or revelation which lead him to these statements".
The Big Bang !
Currently, the Big Bang model of the origin of the universe is the cosmological paradigm most widely accepted by astronomers. It holds that about 15 billion years ago the universe began with the explosive expansion of a single, extremely dense matter, the primordial mass. Only after the development of radio telescopes in 1937 that, the necessary observational precision was achieved in order for astronomers to arrive at the above conclusion. What does
the Quran say about our universe's origin?
"Do not the unbelievers see that the Heavens and the earth were joined together, then We split them apart." (21:30)
Expanding Universe:
In 1925, Edwin Hubble (after whom the Hubble Space telescope is named) provided the observational evidence for the expansion of the universe. Stephen Hawking (author of 'A Brief History of Time') states: "The universe is not static, as had previously been thought, it is expanding". So what did God reveal in the Quran,
1400 years ago?
1400 years ago?
"And the firmament, We constructed with power and skill and verily We are expanding it" (51:47)
("We" is the Arabic plural of respect, not the Christian plural of 'trinity")
The Existence of Sun's Orbit:
Ancient people use to believe that the Sun revolves around the earth. Later, Nicholas Copernicus in 1512, laid his Heliocentric Theory of Planetary motion, which placed the sun motionless in the center of the solar system with all the planets revolving around it. Modern science tells us now that the sun too is not still, but is in motion. The sun traveling at roughly 150 miles per second takes about 200 million years to complete one revolution around the center of our Milky Way Galaxy and 25 days to make one complete rotation around its own axis. See how beautifully and accurately God revealed this phenomenon in the Quran:
"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 orbit with its own motion." (21:33)
Earth is constantly bombarded by meteoroids that disintegrate upon the atmosphere and by lethal rays emitted by the sun. This UV radiation is absorbed by the Ozone layer forming the outer fringe of our atmosphere. Thus our atmosphere along with its Ozone layer is a protective covering for us. Life possibly could not have existed without it. How meticulously, does our Lord sustain and protect us against this atmospheric destruction.
"And We have made the atmosphere a protective roof, yet do they turn away from the Signs which these things point to." (21:32)
Embryology:
The Dutch naturalist Anthony van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723) produced lenses powerful enough to prove that many tiny creatures are not spontaneously generated but are produced from eggs. The science of Embryology as we know it today did not discover many of the detailed aspects of human embryonic development until the 1970s, using powerful microscopes, ultra sound and fiber optics technology. See how the Quran described the stages of embryonic development.
"God fashioned man from a small quantity (of sperm)" (16:4) Fertilization takes place with only one sperm among several tens of million produced by man.
"Then We placed him as a drop in a place of rest" (23:13)
Implantation of the blastocyst in the uterus.
"Then We made the drop into a leech like structure..." (23:14)
This resemblance of the human embryo to a leech is an appropriate description of the human embryo from days 7-24, then it clings to the endometrium of the uterus.
"And He (God) gave you hearing and sight and feeling and understanding." (32:9)
The internal ears appear before the eyes, and the brain (the sight of understanding) differentiates last.
Dr. E. Marshall Johnson [2] Professor of Anatomy, concluded after studying verses from Quran:
"The Quran describes not only the development of external form but emphasizes also the internal stages - the stages inside the embryo of its creation and development, emphasizing major events recognized by contemporary science... so I see nothing in conflict with the concept that divine intervention was involved..."
Gender Determination:The concept of "Gender Determination" as being described by geneticists, is one of the outstanding informations revealed to us in the Quran. This information is now a known fact, that sperms are the deciding factors in determining the type of gender (male or female) in the new embryo. This determination through the male sperm is due to the fact that sperms have an X and Y chromosomes, while the female ovum has only X Chromosomes (X, X). Through the Quran, The Almighty informs us that it is the male sperms that determine the type of gender for the new offspring:
"Does man think that he will be left uncontrolled (without purpose)? Was he not a drop of sperm emitted (in humble form)? Then did (God) make and fashion (him) in due proportion. And of him He made two sexes, male and female..." (75:36-40)
We invite all sincere humans to study Islam with an open mind. Don't blindly follow the whims and paganistic influences of the environment around us. God bestowed upon us this superb mind to seek and live the truth; for we all will be accountable on the Day of Judgment for our beliefs and deeds. Don't delay your salvation.
Welcome to Islam!
Manitoba, Canada, received in 1991 the most distinguished award presented in the field of
Anatomy in Canada, the J.C.B. Grand Award.
2) Dr. E. Marshall Johnson, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Anatomy and
Developmental Biology, and the Director of the Daniel Baugh Institute, Thomas Jefferson
University, Philadelphia, USA
3) Dr. Keith Moore, Professor of Embryology, Department of Anatomy, Univ. of Toronto, Canada,
recipient of numerous awards and honors, including in 1984, the J.C.B. Grand Award, which is
the highest honor granted by the Canadian Association of Anatomists.
4) Dr. Maurice Bucaille, French Physician, Author of 'The Bible, the Quran and Science,
Seghers, Paris, 1987.
5) Dr. Joe Leigh Simpson, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and
Gynecology at the Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, and the President of the
American Fertility Society. 6) Dr. Tejatet Tejasen, Professor and Head of Department of
Anatomy, Faculty
of Medicine, University of Chiang, Thailand
