Mailbag: Islam is the True Path, Part 1
Subject: Religious Beliefs
I feel that it is my duty to urge you to investigate islam as this is the true path. We did not just appear on this planet by accident and science is a clumsy way of explaining our existence. There is a higher power and that is Allah (swt) and we are all accountable to him for our actions and beliefs.
Well, Mohsin doesn't waste any time - right there at the beginning we see the assumption that I, perhaps because I am an atheist, have never "investigated" Islam. Although I see similar claims from Christians, it is my experience that Muslims adopt such an attitude more quickly. It's not true of all, certainly, but an incredibly high percentage seem to be under the impression that no one could possibly reject Islam after having heard about it. This presumption informs a great deal of Muslims' attitudes towards other religions, not to mention those who don't accept any religion at all.
Then we have the very common claim that "science" isn't a very good means for explaining our existence - at this point, Mohsin could easily be a Christian writing to me. In point of fact, science does quite a lot to explain things - physics, chemistry, biology, and more. It is true that science has not yet provided any absolute and final answers about the fundamental nature of existence, but then again neither has religion.
Many religious believers think that they do have absolute and final answers, but in reality these "answers" are sheer speculation at best. In no way can any of these "answers" be tested or verified - and don't forget that with so many religions giving so many different and mutually exclusive "answers," there's simply no basis for preferring one religious "answer" over any other. This is not to say that none of these religious "answers" could possibly be true, but it does mean that we don't have any sound, rational reasons for accepting any of them. Contrast this with the answers offered by science on so many different issues - in those cases, we have ample reason to accept them.
The idea of being "accountable" for beliefs is rather interesting, although it seems to be a common attitude not only among Muslims, but Christians as well. As I have argued quite extensively elsewhere (here is a shorter version), beliefs are not really choices - and if they are not direct choices themselves, then it makes little sense to hold someone morally accountable for their beliefs. This is not to say that people can't be held accountable for the various choices them make which lead them to particular beliefs - but that really is another matter entirely.
Islam is the only true religion. Islam and the teachings of the Quran and the Hadeeth's are non-negotiable. I am only trying to save you from a woeful fate that would befall you if you do not recognise the existence of Allah (swt) and his messenger Muhammad (saw).
Well, at least Mohsin doesn't hide behind pleasant rhetoric - unlike so many other correspondents, Mohsin makes no attempt to hide the belief that all other religions are false and wrong. The question is, what reasons does Mohsin offer for me to actually believe this assertion? None, actually - at least not directly.
Don't forget, Mohsin said at the beginning that I should take the time to "investigate" Islam; it is most likely that Mohsin believes that once I do so, then I will naturally be lead to accept Islam immediately. As I explained above, there are so many Muslims who sincerely believe that no sane and mature person could possible reject Islam once being introduced to it.
This is false, of course - not only do many people reject Islam after learning about it, but in fact there are many people who reject Islam even after being Muslims, whether having been raised that way or having converted to Islam once adults. I have studied Islam quite extensively and I don't have any problem with not accepting it. I can, however, understand why some people might find it attractive in comparison to Christianity. It's theology is relatively simple and it's emphasis on orthopraxy rather than orthodoxy can be a welcome relief.
Note: the second part of this conversation appears tomorrow.
More selections from the Agnosticism / Atheism Mailbag...
Comments
“becoming an Islam”
Typo? I know it seems nitpicky, but the point you’re trying to make is that you have rejected Islam in spite of your investigation of it, and something like this could very well cause a reader unfamiliar with your general writings on Islam believe that you haven’t investigated it as thoroughly as you say you have.
I was recently discussing the adaptability of the Xian meme. Someone noted that in Xianity, although there are fundamentalist groups who condemn other groups, the great majority of Xians have an “agree to disagree” policy of tolerance with other Xians. So, “while _we_ may baptize infants and confirm them later, and you may baptize adults, and you may not baptize at all, the important thing is we all recognize Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior…”
In Islam, there are definitely larger areas of strict interpretations where that sort of leeway isn’t expected or provided.
In years to come, we pondered whether, in order to survive, Islam may not end up being as tolerant as Xianity–if it is to grow and be accepted by a wider audience. Will it’s inflexibility be the death of it? Or will it learn by Xianity’s example and simply morph to fit different audiences? Will Allah become the new “personal god” of the 21st century?
Islam like every other religion is a JOKE! Is-lame is the worst religion of them all today because it is bloody, repressive, and violent religion.
RE the statement:
“Islam is the True Path”
Ummm…By that, one would mean, I assume…
“Psycho Path”!…?
Urm, point of correction, Mr Cline: Moslems DO claim their god to be omnibenevolent (see Huda; she describes Allah as ‘all-compassionate’, as well as ‘all-just’ and ‘all-merciful’, thus fulfilling the defintion of omnibenevolence as given by most religious circles).
This lacks the characteristic of love — you can have compassion and mercy without love, and I tend to see reference to love in the context of omnibenevolence. If you believe that the above fulfills “the definition of omnibenevolence as given by most religious circles,” what are these circles and can you quote the definitions you say they are using?
Sorry, forgot about love. DUH! Yes, I have heard Moslems talk about the love of Allah. Thanks for pointing that little schoolboy howler out for me, by the way!
In case you’re going to demand quotes to support my above assertion that ‘I have heard Moslems talk about the love of Allah’, I heard the Moslem scholar Tariq Ramadan say to John Humphrys in an interview in the BBC series ‘Humphrys in search of God’ that his “relationship to (Allah) was one of love”. Now, it is safe to presume that Mr Ramadan believes that Allah is all-merciful, all-just and all-compassionate (there is a slight chance that he doesn’t). There is the possibility this ‘relationship’ might not be mutual love (i.e. that, in this relationship between Mr Ramadan and his god, the former might invariably be on the giving end of the love and the latter on the receiving). However, I very much doubt that such a relationship based on one-way love would be sustainable. At least, I doubt that a relationship based on one-way love on the part of the human would be sustainable. A relationship based on one-way love on the part of an all-loving god might well be. Although it is often said that if you love a family member, you love them unconditionally, regardless of whether they return that love or not, I doubt if in practice people in general are really able to continue relationships with relatives who have treated them like dog excrement (by that I mean, physical abuse to the point of GBH, sexual abuse, etc) or have murdered another relative, although I know of individuals who can. Similarly, if Tariq Ramadan’s relationship with his god was based on one-way love on his part, I doubt he would have sustained for years as he has done. I certainly doubt that he would give his god the devotion to obey the command to always raise his drinking recepticle with his right hand. There is of course another detail to be taken into consideration, namely the Islamic belief in an afterlife (i.e. Mr Ramadan loves his god in the hope of getting into paradise). However, I think it is an insult to Tariq Ramadan’s grasp of logic to suggest that he would want an afterlife with his god if he didn’t believe his god loved him. Thus, I think I can fairly safely conclude that at least the mainstream of the world’s Islamic community believes in an omnibenevolent god.
Actually, all and perfectly loving would be most appropriate. Best would be citations from the Qur’an or Hadith which either explicitly endorse that or at least provide an obvious and solid foundation for it. A single ambiguous statement from a single scholar isn’t quite sufficient.
Apparently one of the 99 names of Allah is Al Wudud (the loving, the kind one). I know it doesn’t say ‘all-loving’ but that is the nearest I could find.
Give us a break. Allah-the loving??
Sura (2:191-193) - “And slay them wherever ye find them….
Sura (2:216) - “Fighting is prescribed for you, and ye dislike it. But it is possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you….
Sura (3:56) - “As to those who reject faith, I will punish them with terrible agony…
Sura (4:89) -… if they turn renegades, seize them and slay them wherever ye find them…
Sura (4:104) - “And be not weak hearted in pursuit of the enemy; if you suffer pain, then surely they suffer pain as you suffer pain…
Sura (8:12) - “I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them”
Sura (9:5) - “So when the sacred months have passed away, then slay the idolaters wherever you find them…
Sura (9:30) - “And the Jews say: Ezra is the son of Allah; and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah; these are the words of their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved before; may Allah destroy them…
Sura (61:4) - “Surely Allah loves those who fight in His way”
Hadith;-”If anyone insults me, then any Muslim who hears this must kill him immediately.”
Allah is no more loving than his doppelganger, the arch serial killer, Yahweh cum God.
It is I, the one who previously went by the name ‘atheistturneddeist’.
Yes, what we find in the ‘Holy books’ relating to the gods who are supposedly their source COMPLETELY CONTRADICTS the believers’ claim about those gods
Okay. Third time lucky. As I was saying and as Pat has pointed out, the ‘Holy books’ and believers in the religions give inconsistent and self-contradictory impressions of the gods that are supposed to be the sources of the books, on the one hand claiming that these gods are all-merciful, all-just, all-loving, etc, etc, etc, while on the other hand simultaneously claiming that Yahweh/Jehova/Allah or whoever the god may be sends non-followers of the religion in question to hell, effectively suggesting that this VERY SAME, so-called loving god either ordered or personally carried out acts of genocide, etc. (Well done for pointing that out, Pat, by the way! Excellent!)
My point, though, was not that Allah ACTUALLY IS loving, benevolent or anything along those lines. (Indeed, as Pat has vividly illustrated, he IS ANYTHING BUT). Rather, my point was that Moslems CLAIM their god to be omnibenevolent and hence loving. (I know I have still yet to justify any assertion that Moslems claim their god to be ALL-loving yet, so my assertion about Allah’s alleged omnibenevolence remains not quite fully supported. The quotation that I presented to Mr Cline was the best I could manage, short of trapsing through Google and without a copy of the Q’uran at hand.)
CONGRATULATING AN ATHEIST
Normally, when I meet an atheist, the first thing I like to do is to congratulate him and say, ” My special congratulations to you”, because most of the people who believe in God are doing blind belief - he is a Christian, because his father is a Christian; he is a Hindu, because his father is a Hindu; the majority of the people in the world are blindly following the religion of their fathers. An atheist, on the other hand, even though he may belong to a religious family, uses his intellect to deny the existence of God; what ever concept or qualities of God he may have learnt in his religion may not seem to be logical to him.
My Muslim brothers may question me, “Zakir, why are you congratulating an atheist?” The reason that I am congratulating an atheist is because he agrees with the first part of the Shahada i.e. the Islamic Creed, ‘La ilaaha’ - meaning ‘there is no God’. So half my job is already done; now the only part left is ‘il lallah’ i.e. ‘BUT ALLAH’ which I shall do Insha Allah. With others (who are not atheists) I have to first remove from their minds the wrong concept of God they may have and then put the correct concept of one true God.
LOGICAL CONCEPT OF GOD
My first question to the atheist will be: “What is the definition of God?” For a person to say there is no God, he should know what is the meaning of God. If I hold a book and say that ‘this is a pen’, for the opposite person to say, ‘it is not a pen’, he should know what is the definition of a pen, even if he does not know nor is able to recognise or identify the object I am holding in my hand. For him to say this is not a pen, he should at least know what a pen means. Similarly for an atheist to say ‘there is no God’, he should at least know the concept of God. His concept of God would be derived from the surroundings in which he lives. The god that a large number of people worship has got human qualities - therefore he does not believe in such a god. Similarly a Muslim too does not and should not believe in such false gods.
If a non-Muslim believes that Islam is a merciless religion with something to do with terrorism; a religion which does not give rights to women; a religion which contradicts science; in his limited sense that non-Muslim is correct to reject such Islam. The problem is he has a wrong picture of Islam. Even I reject such a false picture of Islam, but at the same time, it becomes my duty as a Muslim to present the correct picture of Islam to that non-Muslim i.e. Islam is a merciful religion, it gives equal rights to the women, it is not incompatible with logic, reason and science; if I present the correct facts about Islam, that non-Muslim may Inshallah accept Islam.
Similarly the atheist rejects the false gods and the duty of every Muslim is to present the correct concept of God which he shall Insha Allah not refuse.
(You may refer to my article, ‘Concept of God in Islam’, for more details)
QUR’AN AND MODERN SCIENCE
The methods of proving the existence of God with usage of the material provided in the ‘Concept of God in Islam’ to an atheist may satisfy some but not all.
Many atheists demand a scientific proof for the existence of God. I agree that today is the age of science and technology. Let us use scientific knowledge to kill two birds with one stone, i.e. to prove the existence of God and simultaneously prove that the Qur’an is a revelation of God.
If a new object or a machine, which no one in the world has ever seen or heard of before, is shown to an atheist or any person and then a question is asked, ” Who is the first person who will be able to provide details of the mechanism of this unknown object? After little bit of thinking, he will reply, ‘the creator of that object.’ Some may say ‘the producer’ while others may say ‘the manufacturer.’ What ever answer the person gives, keep it in your mind, the answer will always be either the creator, the producer, the manufacturer or some what of the same meaning, i.e. the person who has made it or created it. Don’t grapple with words, whatever answer he gives, the meaning will be same, therefore accept it.
SCIENTIFIC FACTS MENTIONED IN THE QUR’AN: for details on this subject please refer to my book, ‘THE QUR’AN AND MODERN SCIENCE – COMPATIBLE OR INCOMPATIBLE?
THEORY OF PROBABILITY
In mathematics there is a theory known as ‘Theory of Probability’. If you have two options, out of which one is right, and one is wrong, the chances that you will chose the right one is half, i.e. one out of the two will be correct. You have 50% chances of being correct. Similarly if you toss a coin the chances that your guess will be correct is 50% (1 out of 2) i.e. 1/2. If you toss a coin the second time, the chances that you will be correct in the second toss is again 50% i.e. half. But the chances that you will be correct in both the tosses is half multiplied by half (1/2 x 1/2) which is equal to 1/4 i.e. 50% of 50% which is equal to 25%. If you toss a coin the third time, chances that you will be correct all three times is (1/2 x 1/2 x 1/2) that is 1/8 or 50% of 50% of 50% that is 12½%.
A dice has got six sides. If you throw a dice and guess any number between 1 to 6, the chances that your guess will be correct is 1/6. If you throw the dice the second time, the chances that your guess will be correct in both the throws is (1/6 x 1/6) which is equal to 1/36. If you throw the dice the third time, the chances that all your three guesses are correct is (1/6 x 1/6 x 1/6) is equal to 1/216 that is less than 0.5 %.
Let us apply this theory of probability to the Qur’an, and assume that a person has guessed all the information that is mentioned in the Qur’an which was unknown at that time. Let us discuss the probability of all the guesses being simultaneously correct.
At the time when the Qur’an was revealed, people thought the world was flat, there are several other options for the shape of the earth. It could be triangular, it could be quadrangular, pentagonal, hexagonal, heptagonal, octagonal, spherical, etc. Lets assume there are about 30 different options for the shape of the earth. The Qur’an rightly says it is spherical, if it was a guess the chances of the guess being correct is 1/30.
The light of the moon can be its own light or a reflected light. The Qur’an rightly says it is a reflected light. If it is a guess, the chances that it will be correct is 1/2 and the probability that both the guesses i.e the earth is spherical and the light of the moon is reflected light is 1/30 x 1/2 = 1/60.
Further, the Qur’an also mentions every living thing is made of water. Every living thing can be made up of either wood, stone, copper, aluminum, steel, silver, gold, oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, oil, water, cement, concrete, etc. The options are say about 10,000. The Qur’an rightly says that everything is made up of water. If it is a guess, the chances that it will be correct is 1/10,000 and the probability of all the three guesses i.e. the earth is spherical, light of moon is reflected light and everything is created from water being correct is 1/30 x 1/2 x 1/10,000 = 1/60,000 which is equal to about .0017%.
The Qur’an speaks about hundreds of things that were not known to men at the time of its revelation. Only in three options the result is .0017%. I leave it upto you, to work out the probability if all the hundreds of the unknown facts were guesses, the chances of all of them being correct guesses simultaneously and there being not a single wrong guess. It is beyond human capacity to make all correct guesses without a single mistake, which itself is sufficient to prove to a logical person that the origin of the Qur’an is Divine.
CREATOR IS THE AUTHOR OF THE QUR’AN
The only logical answer to the question as to who could have mentioned all these scientific facts 1400 years ago before they were discovered, is exactly the same answer initially given by the atheist or any person, to the question who will be the first person who will be able to tell the mechanism of the unknown object. It is the ‘CREATOR’, the producer, the Manufacturer of the whole universe and its contents. In the English language He is ‘God’, or more appropriate in the Arabic language, ‘ALLAH’.
QUR’AN IS A BOOK OF SIGNS AND NOT SCIENCE
Let me remind you that the Qur’an is not a book of Science, ‘S-C-I-E-N-C-E’ but a book of Signs ‘S-I-G-N-S’ i.e. a book of ayaats. The Qur’an contains more than 6,000 ayaats, i.e. ‘signs’, out of which more than a thousand speak about Science. I am not trying to prove that the Qur’an is the word of God using scientific knowledge as a yard stick because any yardstick is supposed to be more superior than what is being checked or verified. For us Muslims the Qur’an is the Furqan i.e. criteria to judge right from wrong and the ultimate yardstick which is more superior to scientific knowledge.
But for an educated man who is an atheist, scientific knowledge is the ultimate test which he believes in. We do know that science many a times takes ‘U’ turns, therefore I have restricted the examples only to scientific facts which have sufficient proof and evidence and not scientific theories based on assumptions. Using the ultimate yardstick of the atheist, I am trying to prove to him that the Qur’an is the word of God and it contains the scientific knowledge which is his yardstick which was discovered recently, while the Qur’an was revealed 1400 year ago. At the end of the discussion, we both come to the same conclusion that God though superior to science, is not incompatible with it.
SCIENCE IS ELIMINATING MODELS OF GOD BUT NOT GOD
Francis Bacon, the famous philosopher, has rightly said that a little knowledge of science makes man an atheist, but an in-depth study of science makes him a believer in God. Scientists today are eliminating models of God, but they are not eliminating God. If you translate this into Arabic, it is La illaha illal la, There is no god, (god with a small ‘g’ that is fake god) but God (with a capital ‘G’).
Surah Fussilat:
“Soon We will show them our signs in the (farthest) regions (of the earth), and in their own souls, until it becomes manifest to them that this is the Truth. Is it not enough that thy Lord doth witness all things?”
[Al-Quran 41:53]
Reference:
http://www.irf.net/irf/comparativereligion/index.htm
Answer: whatever definition the theist I’m talking to happens to be using at that time.
Some did, some didn’t. There was good evidence for it being round for anyone who knew to look.
Not too hard to figure out that water is part of us.
Prove it.
The Miracle and Challenge of the Qur’an
We shall show them Our signs on the horizons and within themselves until it will become clear to them that it is the Truth. Does it not suffice that your Lord is Witness over all things?”
The noble Qur’an, Fussilat(41):53.
Muslims are taught that throughout the ages, Allah Almighty has sent a prophet to every nation as a warner and a bearer of glad tidings.
“Verily! We have sent you (O Muhammad) with the Truth, a bearer of glad tidings and a warner; and there is not a nation but a warner has passed among them,”
The noble Qur’an, Fatir(35):24.
Each prophet was wisely selected by Allah in order to be the best person for the job. He was then provided by Allah with miracles as proof of his truthfulness and his message. These miracles were wisely selected by Allah in order to be in the same field as that which these people excelled in so that they could fully comprehend the magnitude of these miracles.
For instance, the people during the time of Moses excelled at magical trickery. Their rulers used to surround themselves with the most powerful of these wizards as a sign of power. This is why Allah made the miracles of Moses (pbuh) similar to their magical trickery (changing a stick into a snake, parting of the sea… etc.) but of a much greater magnitude than anything they could ever hope to accomplish. For they were not tricks, but actual physical miracles.
The people at the time of the prophet Jesus (pbuh) excelled in matters of medicine. For this reason, his miracles were of a medical nature (raising of the dead, healing of the blind…etc.), but of a degree that they could never hope to imitate. Similarly, one of the major miracles of Islam was a new and unheard-of type of literature similar to the Bedouin’s poetry but far beyond anything they could ever hope to match. Although they did indeed try. This new literature was called “The Qur’an.”
The Arabic language, as can be attested to by any of it’s scholars, is a very rich and powerful language. The Bedouin people of the Arabian desert were, in general, illiterate people of very little scientific knowledge. The thing that set them apart, however, was their mastery of poetry. Spending their days as they did in the desert watching their sheep graze got quite boring. They alleviated their boredom by continually composing and refining poetry. They would spend entire years composing and refining their poetry in anticipation of a yearly face-down of the poetic compositions of their peers from all over the country. The fact that they were illiterate forced them to also train themselves in the memorization of works of literature to such an extent that they were able to memorize complete works from a single recitation. Even in matters of leadership, one of the major criteria for selecting the leaders of the various Bedouin tribes was the individual’s prowess in literary composition and memorization.
The Arabian Bedouins took great pains to make their poetry as compact and picturesque as humanly possible, constantly expanding the language along the way. A single word could convey complete pictures. The Qur’an, however, has put even these great efforts to shame. You will notice that when a Muslim translates a verse of the Qur’an he usually does not say “the Qur’an says so and so” but rather “An approximation of the meaning of what the Qur’an says is so and so.” You really need to know the language to comprehend this.
In the English language, we find that the words: “mustang,” “colt,” “mare,” “pony,” “stallion,” “bronco”… etc. all refer to the same thing; a horse. Each one of these words conveys a slightly different mental picture. The mental picture we get when we hear the word “colt” is slightly different than the picture we get if we hear the word “mare.” In a similar manner, the Arabic language progressed in such a fashion as to make it possible to convey such mental pictures in as concise and picturesque a format as possible. It is not at all uncommon to find over three hundred words that refer to the same thing in the Arabic language. Each one of these words gives a slightly different picture than the others.
Many centuries of this constant refinement eventually lead to a very complex and rich vocabulary, and the primary miracle of Muhammad (pbuh), the Qur’an, was in exactly this field
In the noble Qur’an we find a challenge from Allah to compose a literary work on a par with this Qur’an it is indeed the work of mankind. They could not. The Qur’an continued to reduce it’s challenge until the challenge finally became: “compose only a single verse comparable to this Qur’an and you will have won.” They still could not. This in addition to the fairness, justice, and logic of the Qur’an eventually won them over and slowly more and more people became Muslims.
“Well then, if the Koran were his own [Muhammad’s] composition other men could rival it. Let them produce ten verses like it. If they could not (and it is obvious that they could not), then let them accept the Koran as an outstanding evidential miracle”
Mohammedanism, H. A. R. Gibb, Oxford
University Press, p. 42
“From the literary point of view, the Koran is regarded as a specimen of purest Arabic, written in half poetry, half prose. It has been said that in some cases grammarians have adopted their rules to agree with certain expressions used in it, and though several attempts have been made to produce a work equal to it as far as elegant writing is concerned, none yet has succeeded”
Glimpses of the Noble Qur’an, Muhammad Azizullah, Crescent Publications, pp. 104-105
“In making the present attempt to improve on the performance of my predecessors, and to produce something which might be accepted as echoing however faintly the sublime rhetoric of the Arabic Koran, I have been at pains to study the intricate and richly varied rhythms which - apart from the message itself - constitute the Koran’s undeniable claim to rank amongst the greatest literary masterpieces of mankind… This very characteristic feature - ‘that inimitable symphony,’ as the believing Pickthall described his Holy Book, ‘the very sounds of which move men to tears and ecstasy’ - has been almost totally ignored by previous translators; it is therefore not surprising that what they have wrought sounds dull and flat indeed in comparison with the splendidly decorated original.”
The Koran Interpreted, Arthur J. Arberry, Oxford University Press, 1964, p. x.
“The Koran admittedly occupies an important position among the great religious books of the world. Though the youngest of the epoch-making works belonging to this class of literature, it yields to hardly any in the wonderful effect which it has produced on large masses of men. It has created an all but new phase of human thought and a fresh type of character. It first transformed a number of heterogeneous desert tribes of the Arabian peninsula into a nation of heroes, and then proceeded to create the vast politico-religious organizations of the Muhammadan world which are one of the great forces with which Europe and the East have to reckon today.”
G. Margoliouth, Introduction to J.M. Rodwell’s, The Koran, New York: Everyman’s Library, 1977, p. vii.
“A work, then, which calls forth so powerful and seemingly incompatible emotions even in the distant reader - distant as to time, and still more so as a mental development - a work which not only conquers the repugnance which he may begin its perusal, but changes this adverse feeling into astonishment and admiration, such a work must be a wonderful production of the human mind indeed and a problem of the highest interest to every thoughtful observer of the destinies of mankind … Here, therefore, its merits as a literary production should perhaps not be measured by some preconceived maxims of subjective and aesthetic taste, but by the effects which it produced in Muhammad’s contemporaries and fellow countrymen. If it spoke so powerfully and convincingly to the hearts of his hearers as to weld hitherto centrifugal and antagonistic elements into one compact and well-organized body, animated by ideas far beyond those which had until now ruled the Arabian mind, then its eloquence was perfect, simply because it created a civilized nation out of savage tribes, and shot a fresh woof into the old warp of history.”
Dr. Steingass, quoted in T.P. Hughes’ Dictionary Of Islam, p. 526-528.
Many claims have been made against Muhammad in that day and this. Among them are the claims that he was a lunatic, a liar, or deceived by the devil. If Muhammad was a lunatic or a liar then we have to wonder how all of his prophesies came true?. Further, if he was a deceived by Satan then we are faced with another problem. For we know that all Muslims are taught that when reading the Qur’an they must first begin with the words “I seek refuge in Allah from Satan the stoned* one.” and then follow this up with the words “In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful” So we have to wonder if Satan would “inspire” a man to teach mankind to seek refuge in God from Satan? Indeed this is the exact same accusation which was made against Jesus (pbuh). Let us read how Jesus responded to this claim:
“But some of them (the Jews) said, He (Jesus) casteth out devils through Beelzebub (Satan) the chief of the devils. And others, tempting [him], sought of him a sign from heaven. But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house [divided] against a house falleth. If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub.”
Luke 11:15-18
It has been the case throughout the ages that with all previous prophets, their miracle was separate from their book. Although we may claim that we have the “Torah” of Moses, still, it is not possible now to bring Moses’ (pbuh) staff and see it perform miracles as it did in his time. Similarly it is not possible today to see Jesus (pbuh) raise the dead as he did so many centuries ago.
However, since the message of Islam was the final message of God to mankind, therefore, the book of Islam itself was made the main miracle of Islam and it has continued to renew it’s challenge to mankind throughout the ages.
What does this mean? Nowadays, the number of people who can appreciate the literary content of the Qur’an has dwindled and this challenge no longer has the same impact it did fourteen hundred years ago. However, as we have seen in the verse quoted at the beginning of this chapter, Allah Almighty has promised to continually renew the challenge of the Qur’an throughout the ages. So how will it be renewed?
Recently, a new field of study has opened up to scholars. People nowadays are fascinated with science. This is the age of technology and scientific discovery. For this reason, mankind has begun to study the religious scriptures of mankind from a scientific point of view in order to challenge the scientific claims made in these scriptures. Many works have been published on this topic. In this chapter I will give a brief taste of these matters and then leave it up to the interested reader to learn more from any one of the many books which have been published in this regard (see list at back of this book).
As mentioned previously, Muhammad (pbuh) lived among tribes of people who were for the most part illiterate. He himself was also illiterate. These people used to live extremely simple lives. Some were traders and businessmen, others were farmers, and yet others were nomadic sheepherders who traveled from place to place depending on where they could find grass for their sheep to graze. When Muhammad (pbuh) brought them the Qur’an, the believers found in the Qur’an the command to go out, seek knowledge, and confirm the presence of their Creator by studying His creation. Muslims began to fulfill this command of the Qur’an and this resulted in one of the greatest explosions of scientific advancement mankind has ever seen. All of this was going on during a period that the West calls “The Dark Ages,” wherein the scientists of the West were being persecuted and killed as sorcerers and wizards. During this period, Muslims scholars introduced into the world such things as:
* Mathematical evolution of spherical mirrors
* Rectilinear motion of light and use of lenses
* Refraction angle variations
* Magnifying effects of the plano convex lens
* Introduced the concept of the elliptical shape of cosmological bodies
* Study of the center of gravity as applied to balance
* Measurement of specific weights of bodies
* Rule of algebraic equations
* Solutions to quadratic and cubic equations
* Work on square roots, squares, theory of numbers, solution of the fractional numbers
* Solutions of equations of cubic order
* Wrote on conic geometry elaborating the solution of algebraic equations
* Determined the Trinomial Equation
* Avicenna’s “Canon of Medicine.” He is know as the Prince of Physicians to the West
* Wrote the first description of several drugs and diseases as meningitis.
* Treatment of physiological shocks
* Expertise in psychosomatic medicine and psychology
* Al-Biruni mentions fifty six manuscripts on pharmacology
* Credited for identifying small pox and its treatment
* Use of alcohol as an antiseptic
* Use of mercury as a purgative for the first time
* First to describe the circulation of blood.
* “Holy Abbas” was, after Rhazes, the most outstanding Physician. His works were authoritative till the works of ibn Sina appeared
* Writings on Cosmology, Astrology, Science of numbers and letters
* Proved that the earth is smaller than the sun but larger than the moon.
* Final authorities on Chemistry for many Centuries
* Classified metals into three classifications
* Laid the basis of the Acid Base theory
* Distillation, calcination, crystallization, the discovery of many acids
* Cultivation of Gold - is a continuation of Jabir’s work
* Theory of Oscillatory motion of equinoxes
* Addition of ninth sphere to the eight Ptolematic astronomy
* Discovered the increase of the suns apogee
* Gravitational force
* Responsible for the discovery motion of the solar apsides
* wrote ‘ On the Science of Stars ‘
* Determination of latitudes and longitudes
* Determination of geodetic measurements
* Described the motion of the planets
* Solved the problems of spherical trigonometry
* First to study the isometric oscillatory motion of a pendulum
* Invented the instrument ‘ Sahifah ”
* Responsible for the proof of the motion of the apogee of the sun with respect to the fixed stars.
* authorities on the theory of the system of homocentric spheres
* Prepared a calendar that was more accurate than the Gregorian one in use today.
……………and much, much more.
All of this began with a single illiterate Arab from the desert fourteen hundred years ago. The book that was brought into the world by such a man cries out to be studied from a scientific aspect. We will now give you a glimpse of the results:
“So ask the People of Knowledge if you do not know”
The Qur’an, Al-Anbia(21):7
Example Number 1: Embryology:
Dr. Keith L. Moore is a Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. He is a world renowned scientist and a distinguished researcher in the fields of anatomy and embryology, he has published more than 150 research articles, chapters and books in this field. He is the author of several medical textbooks, such as the widely used and acclaimed “The Developing Human: Clinically oriented Embryology” (now in it’s fifth edition, and translated into eight different languages), “Before We Are Born” and “Clinically Oriented Anatomy.” He has also recently co-authored “Qur’an and Modern Science, Correlation Studies.” Dr. Moore is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including, in 1984, the J.C.B. Grant Award, which is the highest honor granted by the Canadian Association of Anatomists. He has served in many academic and administrative positions, including the President of the Canadian Association of Anatomists, 1968-1970. Let us see what Dr. Moore’s opinion is on the scientific statements regarding embryology to be found in the Qur’an:
Dr. Moore was contacted by a Muslim scholar by the name of Abdul-Majeed Azzindani. He was asked to participate in a three-year study of around twenty-five verses of the Qur’an and the Sunnah (sayings of Muhammad, pbuh) which speak about embryology, and to determine the their correspondence to modern scientific discoveries. Dr. Moore’s conclusion regarding this matter was:
The human fetus in various stages of
development, at six, eight and 14 weeks
“For the past three years, I have worked with the Embryology Committee of King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, helping them to interpret the many statements in the Qur’an and the Sunnah referring to human reproduction and prenatal development. At first I was astonished by the accuracy of the statements that were recorded in the seventh century AD, before the science of embryology was established. Although I was aware of the glorious history of Muslim scientists in the 10th century AD, and of some of their contributions to Medicine, I new nothing about the religious facts and beliefs contained in the Qur’an and Sunnah. It is important for Islamic and other students to understand the meaning of these Qur’anic statements about human development, based on current scientific knowledge. The interpretations of the “verses” in the Qur’an and the Sunnah, translated by Shaikh Azzindani, are to the best of my knowledge accurate.”
From the forward of “The Developing Human: Clinically oriented Embryology,” third edition, by Dr. Keith L. Moore.
The Qur’an and the Sunnah of the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) provide a very detailed description of the microscopic development of the human embryo from a mere sperm drop up to the stage of a completely formed human being. It is well known that microscopes were not developed until the sixteenth century AD, and even at that were very crude in design.
Zacharias Janssen is credited with having invented the compound microscope in about 1590. With it, remarkable scientific discoveries were made in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Dutch naturalist Anthony van Leeuwenhoek produced lenses powerful enough to prove that many tiny creatures are not spontaneously generated but come from eggs.
Before this period, theories on human reproduction ran rampant. Some scientist believed that the menstrual blood itself developed into the fetus. Later on, a new theory was developed wherein the sperm drop was popularly believed to contain a completely developed miniature human (homunculus) which later grew to the size of a baby. The science of embryology as we know it today did not discover many of the detailed aspects of human development which are taken for granted today until only about twenty years ago, or 1973 to be precise.
Now we must ask the question: where did Muhammad (pbuh) get such detailed knowledge of the microscopic development of the human embryo in the 6th century AD without a microscope, technical training, a laboratory of any kind, or even the ability to write his own name? The only logical conclusion is that it came from exactly where he claimed it did. From the one who created mankind, God Almighty!
Prof. Moore has since given numerous lectures on the topic of embryology in the Qur’an. He is quoted in one of these lectures as saying:
“It is clear to me that these statements must have come to Muhammad from God, or Allah, because most of this knowledge was not discovered until many centuries later. This proves to me that Muhammad must have been a messenger of God, or Allah.”
Prof. Moore was so impressed with the Qur’anic classification of the stages of development of the human embryo, that he suggested the adoption of the Qur’anic system in place of the system currently in use by scientists today. Prof. Moore said:
“Because the staging of the human embryo is complex owing to the continuous process of change during development. It is therefore suggested that a new system of classification could be developed using the terms mentioned in the Qur’an and the Sunnah. The proposed system is simple, comprehensive, and conforms with present embryological knowledge.”
When Dr. Moore first presented his findings in Toronto it caused quite a stir throughout Canada. It was on the front pages of some of the newspapers across Canada. One newspaper reporter asked Professor Moore,
“Don’t you think That maybe the Arabs might have known about these things - the description of the embryo, its appearance and how it changes and grows? Maybe there were not scientists, but maybe they did some crude dissections on their own - carved up people and examined these things.”
Professor Morre immediately pointed out to him, however, that he had missed a very important point. All of the slides of the embryo that Dr. Moore had based his study upon had come from pictures taken through a microscope. He said,
“It does not matter if someone had tried to discover embryology fourteen centuries ago, they could not have seen it!.” Dr. Moore taunted, “Maybe fourteen centuries ago someone secretly had a microscope and did this research, making no mistakes anywhere. Then he somehow taught Muhammad and convinced him to put this information in his book. Then he destroyed his equipment and kept it a secret forever?. Do you believe that? You really should not unless you bring some proof because it is such a ridiculous theory.”
When he was asked “How do you explain this information in the Qur’an?” Dr. Moore’s reply was, “It could only have been divinely revealed.”
Example Number 2: The Universe:
Another example of such scientifically accurate statements in the Qur’an can be found in the following analysis:
“And the firmament(sky) We constructed with power and skill and verily We are expanding it”
The noble Qur’an, Al-Thariyaat(51):47.
(Remember: “we” is the Arabic plural of respect, not the Christian plural of “Trinity,” as seen in chapter 14).
“Do not the disbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were fused then We ripped them asunder, and We created from water every living thing, do they not believe?”
The noble Qur’an, Al-Anbia(21):30.
“Then He settled/equilibrated unto the firmament(sky) when it was smoke and said unto it and to the earth: come willingly or unwillingly. They said: we come willingly”
The noble Qur’an, Fussilat(41):11.
Allah Almighty has in these three concise verses answered questions that it has taken some of the greatest physicists and astronomers of history centuries to answer. It was only in this century that they finally found the truth.
Mankind has studied the heavens and the earth for countless centuries. The Greeks were some of the first people to attempt to describe various cosmological phenomena. They gave us many of the very first theories regarding the universe and it’s composition. The major contribution came with the writings of Plato. Plato claimed that the universe was created by what he called “The Demiurge.” According to Plato, the universe was the result of reasoning and planning, it was constructed by the Demiurge upon precise mathematical and geometrical principles. Later on, Aristotle, Plato’s student, adopted his teacher’s basic concept. Aristotelian cosmology was based on the concept of an enclosed cosmos comprising a series of concentric, spheres revolving around a stationary Earth. Motion was provided by the “prime mover” and, once initiated, would remain circular, uniform and eternal.
Both Plato and Aristotle taught that the universe was eternal, with neither beginning nor end. The universe as a whole was considered steady and unmoving, and this was the basis for the later formation of the “steady state theory.” In 1915, Albert Einstein had published the famous general theory of relativity. Soon afterward he proposed a static model of the universe, but he would later declare that it was “one of the greatest mistakes of my career.” Why?, Because in 1925, Edwin Hubble (after whom the Hubble Space telescope is named) provided the observational evidence for the expansion of the universe, or as Stephen Hawking put it “The universe is not static, as had previously been thought, it was expanding.”
Although mankind did not discover these facts till this 20th Century, still, we find that Allah Almighty had provided the answers for mankind 1400 years ago in the Qur’an through the agency of His illiterate Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). During Muhammad’s (pbuh) time, the Greeks were claiming that the cosmos was static and not expanding. So how did he know that the universe was expanding 1300 years before the foremost scientist of the West proved this to be a scientific fact?
However, this is not the only claim that the Qur’an makes with regard to the universe. Let us study the next two verses:
At the present time, the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe is the cosmological model most widely accepted by astronomers. It holds that about 20,000,000,000 years ago the universe began with the explosive expansion of a single, extremely condensed state of matter (”the heavens and the earth were fused then we ripped them asunder”). As mentioned above, a further development of this model, known as “inflationary theory,” describes the original condensed matter as arising from virtually empty space. It was only after the development of radio telescopes in 1937 AD that the necessary observational precision was achieved in order for astronomers to arrive at the above conclusion. Out of the observations of such scientists has arisen the so called “Hubble Constant” (Ho) which is quantity currently used to gauge the rate at which the universe is expanding. In other words, the issue is no longer whether the universe is expanding or not, rather, it is only a question of how fast it is expanding.
The second and third verses presented appear to claim that the heavens and the earth were once a single mass then were “ripped asunder,” The exact root words used in the Qur’an are the words “ra-ta-qa” and “fa-ta-qa,” or “the heavens and the earth were ‘ra-ta-qa’ then we ‘fa-ta-qa’ them”
“Ra-ta-qa” is an Arabic word which has the general meaning of “to fuse, to sew, to mend, to patch up, to repair.” (”Lisan Al-Arab,” by Ibn Mandoor, Vol. 10, Dar Al-Fikr, p. 114, and also “A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic,” Hans Wehr, Librairie du Liban, p. 325)
Similarly, “fa-ta-qa” has the general meaning of “To rip, to undo sewing, to unstitch, to tear apart, to rend, to rip open.” (”Lisan Al-Arab,” by Ibn Mandoor, Vol. 10, Dar Al-Fikr, p. 296, and also “A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic,” Hans Wehr, Librairie du Liban, p. 695)
The verse then goes on to say that Allah Almighty created the heavens and the earth from a celestial “smoke.” Astronomers today have pictures of galaxies being formed by exactly this process, i.e. the condensation of spiraling celestial “mists.” Isn’t it an incredible coincidence that an illiterate man from the desert, without the aid of observatories or satellite imaging was making these claims over 1400 years ago?. Was he just guessing?
Further, the cosmic phenomenon depicted in the following two figures is commonly referred to by astronomists as a cosmic “mist.” However, if we were to read the second verse of the Qur’an presented above we will find that the Qur’an more accurately refers to it as a “smoke.” This is because “mist” implies a cool and tranquil spray of water. However, “smoke” implies a hot gas containing airborne particles. This is indeed another example of the literary miracle of the Qur’an in that it manages to convey to us in a very concise language a very accurate and detailed description of the topic at hand.
Fig. 13 The Spiral Galaxy M100 courtesy of the Hubble Space Telescope
Fig. 14 M100 again. The distance to the swirling grand design spiral M100 is causing quite a stir among astronomers. Many believe that the Hubble Space Telescope’s recent distance measurement to this galaxy accurately calibrates the “Hubble’s constant.” A scientific debate involving the actual value of Hubble’s constant titled “The Scale of the Universe” is scheduled to occur in April 1996 in Washington, DC.
“And those who have been given knowledge know that that which has been revealed to you from your Lord is the Truth”
The noble Qur’an, Saba(34):6
“Do they not consider the Qur’an (with care) or are there locks upon their hearts?”
The noble Qur’an, Muhammad(47):24
Example Number 3: Water and Life:
In the Qur’an we read:
“Do not the disbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together then we split them asunder, and we created from water every living thing, do they not believe?”
The noble Qur’an, Al-Anbia(21):30.
“And Allah has created every trodding creature from water……”
The noble Qur’an, Al-Noor(24):45.
“It is He who created from water a human….”
The noble Qur’an, Al-Furqan(25):54.
Water is the most common substance on Earth, covering more than 70% of the planet’s surface. All living things consist mostly of water; for example, the human body is about two-thirds water (when you cremate a human what happens to him? Why?). Scientist tell us that all forms of life known to humanity today require three basic conditions:
Temperature, the existence of water, and the existence of an atmosphere.
All metabolisms require water to survive, so animals that exist in arid regions have body mechanisms that protect against water loss and make maximum use of water (camels for example). Dehydration in humans results from lack of food, drink, and from sweating, in addition to other factors. This loss eventually affects the proper functioning of the heart, central nervous system, and organs containing smooth muscle. Finally, intercellular water is lost, which upsets vital chemical processes in the cells. If water is not restored to the body, death will usually occur within a few days.
The blood of all living creatures is composed of 55 percent plasma, which in turn is composed of more than 90 percent water. Jan Baptista van Helmont, the first experimental physiologist, around 1640 AD concluded that water is the only soil component required for plant growth. We could go on and on. Again we find ourselves asking the question: How did Muhammad (pbuh) know that all living creatures are created from water centuries before mankind discovered this fact through scientific experimentation? Did he randomly select an element from the countless billions of possible choices? Why did he not claim that mankind was created from air, or from wood, or from light? Why water?
Example Number 4: Deep sea currents:
In the Qur’an we read:
“Or as darkness on a vast, abysmal sea. There covers it a wave, above which is a wave, above which is a cloud. Layer upon layer of darkness.”
The noble Qur’an, Al-Noor(24):40.
Mankind began to build submersibles in the seventeenth century. The first crude craft known to have ventured underwater was built by Cornelis Drebbel, court engineer to James I of England, and was demonstrated on the Thames river in 1620. From then onwards, development of submarines continued until the twentieth century, or 1954 to be exact, when the first nuclear submarine became a reality. With mankind’s study of the sea came the realization that the waters lying underneath the surface waves were not the place of tranquil calmness they were previously envisioned to be. Rather, there were underwater currents called deep sea currents which could at times become such violent storms as to rearrange sediments in the ocean bottom. How did Muhammad (pbuh) know about these underwater currents centuries before mankind invented the tools necessary for underwater exploration?
“Say: It was sent down by He who knows the secrets in the heavens and the earth.”
The noble Qur’an, Al-Furqaan(25):6.
It is worth mentioning here in connection with the above verse that some scientists have interpreted the “layer upon layer of darkness” to be the gradual separation of the light spectrum within the ocean, one color at a time until complete darkness is finally achieved. In other words, at one depth, the yellow bandwidth is suppressed and “yellow darkness” is achieved. At another depth, the red bandwidth is suppressed and “red darkness” is achieved, and so forth.
There are many other scientific statements made in the Qur’an which were only discovered to be scientifically accurate many centuries after Muhammad’s death. Many of them have only been discovered in this century. They range over many fields of science including Anatomy, Chemistry, Astronomy, Geology, Hydrology, and many other disciplines which are only beginning to be addressed by scientists today.
For example, the Qur’an makes reference to the fact that a human’s pain receptors are located in the skin (Al-Nissa(4):56). That the frontal lobes of the brain are responsible for lying and sin (Al-Alak(96):16). That mountains have below them roots that extend deep into the earth’s surface (Al-Naba(78):7). That mountains pin the earth’s crust and prevent it from moving (Al-Nahil(16):15). That there exists a physical barrier between bodies of fresh and salt water (Al-Rahman (55):20). There is also information regarding the formation of milk in cows (Al-Nahi(16):66). And on and on. So where was Muhammad (pbuh) getting all of these scientific facts if not from the Creator of mankind and the universe? Allah Almighty askes:
“Is this sorcery or is it that you do not see?”
The noble Qur’an, Al-Tur (52):15.
Prof. Keith Moore is not the only scholar who has been presented with such verses of the Qur’an. Many other scholars from all over the world have been presented with similar statements from the Qur’an in their field of expertise. Only a few of these people are:
1) 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. Author of over 200 publications. Former President of the Teratology Society among other accomplishments. After studying the verses of the Qur’an he came to the following conclusion:
“The Qur’an 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… If I was to transpose myself into that era, knowing what I do today and describing things, I could not describe the things that were described… I see no evidence to refute the concept that this individual Muhammad had to be developing this information from some place… so I see nothing in conflict with the concept that divine intervention was involved…”
2) Dr. Joe Leigh Simpson. Professor and Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Baylor Collage of Medicine, Houston, Texas. He is the President of the American Fertility Society, and has served in many other professional, national, and international organizations. He has received numerous awards including Association of Professors of Obstetrics and Gynecology Public Recognition Award in 1992. He has published more than 400 chapters and articles in journals and books. He says:
“… these Hadeeths (sayings of Muhammad) could not have been obtained on the basis of the scientific knowledge that was available at the time of the writer’… It follows that not only is there no conflict between genetics and religion (Islam) but in fact religion (Islam) may guide science by adding revelation to some of the traditional scientific approaches… There exist statements in the Qur’an shown centuries later to be valid which support knowledge in the Qur’an having been derived from God.”
3) Dr. T.V.N. Persaud. Professor and Head of the Department of Anatomy, Professor of Pediatrics and Child Health, and Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He is the author and editor of 25 books, has contributed 31 chapters to publications, and has published over 180 scientific papers. In 1991 he received the most distinguished award presented in the field of anatomy in Canada, the J.C.B. Grant Award from the Canadian Association of Anatomists. He says:
“Muhammad was a very ordinary man, he couldn’t read, didn’t know how to write, in fact he was an illiterate… were talking about 1400 years ago, you have some illiterate person 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.”
4) After a study which lasted ten years, the famous French physician Maurice Bucaille addressed the French Academy of Medicine in 1976 and expressed the complete agreement of the Qur’an and established findings of modern science. He presented his study on the existence in the Qur’an of certain statements concerning physiology and reproduction. His reason for doing that was that
“our knowledge of these disciplines is such, that it is impossible to explain how a text produced at the time of the Qur’an could have contained ideas that have only been discovered in modern times.”
5) Dr. Tejatet Tejasen, Head of the Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chiang Mai, Thailand. After his study on the Qur’an passages dealing with embryology:
“From my studies and what I have learnt at this conference I believe that everything that has been recorded in the Qur’an 1400 years ago must be true. That can be proved the scientific way.”
Others include:
6) Dr. Gerald C. Goeringer. Professor and Coordinator of Medical Embryology in the Department of Cell Biology in the Georgetown University school of Medicine. Washington, D.C. He has published numerous articles dealing mainly with the study of teratogenesis.
7) Dr. Alfred Kroner, Professor of Geology, Germany.
8) Dr. Yoshiodi Kozan, Director of the observatory of Tokyo, Japan.
9) Dr. William Hay, Professor of Oceanography, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado.
10) Dr. Pete Palmer, Professor of Geology, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado.
11) Dr. Sayawida, Professor of Marine Geology, Japan.
12) Dr. Armstrong, Professor of Astronomy, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas.
13) Dr. Draga Persaud Rauw, Professor of Marine Geology, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
14) Dr. Schroeder, Professor of Oceanography, Germany.
The response of these scholars when presented with verses of the Qur’an in their field of specialization, varied. One thing however was always constant. They all confirmed the accuracy of the scientific statements made in the Qur’an, and they all could not explain how Muhammad (pbuh) could have known with such accuracy the scientific claims to be found in the Qur’an so many centuries before mankind discovered them to be scientific truths.
Allah Almighty tells us in the Qur’an:
“Allah did not create (all) that except in truth. He details the signs for people of knowledge.”
The noble Qur’an, Yunus(10):5
“And those who were given knowledge see that which was sent down upon you by your Lord is the truth and guides to the path of the ‘Exalted’ (in Might) the ‘worthy of all praise’.”
The noble Qur’an, Saba(34):6.
“Had We sent down this Qur’an upon a mountain, you would surely have seen it humbling itself and rending asunder for fear of Allah. Such are the parables We put forth for mankind that they may reflect.”
The noble Qur’an, Al-Hashr(59):21
“Verily! this Qur’an guides to that which is most upright, and gives glad tidings to the believers who work deeds of righteousness that theirs will be a great reward”
The noble Qur’an, Al-Isra(17):9
“And We have indeed simplified [the comprehension of] this Qur’an for remembrance, so is there any that will remember [and be admonished]?”
The noble Qur’an, Al-Qamar(54):17
Source:
http://www.missionislam.com/quran/challenge.htm