The Quran and Modern Scientific Discoveries
There is no doubt that the Quran is not a book of natural sciences, medicine, psychology or mathematics. It is a book of guidance and a human-maker, and it does not hold anything back in this path. We should not expect the Quran to be an encyclopedia of various sciences. We should, however, seek faith, guidance, piety, self control, humanity, morality, law and order from it.
The Quran contains all of these. But in order to reach these objectives, it has pointed to some scientific matters, mysteries of creation, and wonders of the universe. Particularly in the discussions pertaining to monotheism and the universal order as proof for Gods existence, it has removed the veil from the mysteries of the universe. It revealed matters that were unknown at that time, even to scientists.
These types of Quranic illuminations form a collection which we refer to as the scientific miracles of the Quran. Here we will refer to several of these scientific miracles:
Quran and the law of gravity
Before Isaac Newton, no one had discovered the universal law of gravity. It is well-known that when Newton was sitting underneath an apple tree, an apple broke off from the tree and fell onto the ground. This simple event got him thinking. He was so moved by it that he thought about it for years: What power is this that pulled the apple towards the ground? Why didnt it go towards the sky? After years of research and study, he was able to discover the law of gravity, which states, All masses attract each other along the line joining their center of masses.
Due to the discovery of this law [the answer to the following questions] were proved. Where does the order of the solar system come from? Why do these large planets revolve around the sun on their axes? Why do they not come together? What force causes them to move on a precise orbit in this endless space, not exceeding even as much as the tip of a needle?
Certainly, Newton discovered that the rotation of a body becomes the cause of its moving away from the center, and gravity is the cause of its attraction to the center. Whenever the body of mass and space brings about an equal level of attraction to the repulsion brought about by its rotation, it results in a complete balance of these two forces. And when these forces are completely balanced, it allows these bodies of masses to constantly remain in orbit.
However, the Holy Quran mentioned this reality over 1,000 years before Newton. It states,
اللّهُ الَّذِي رَفَعَ السَّمَاوَاتِ بِغَيْرِ عَمَدٍ تَرَوْنَهَا ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْشِ وَسَخَّرَ الشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ كُلٌّ يَجْرِي لأَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى يُدَبِّرُ الأَمْرَ يُفَصِّلُ الآيَاتِ لَعَلَّكُم بِلِقَاء رَبِّكُمْ تُوقِنُونَ (الرعد: ۲)
God is He who raised the (the planets in) the heavens without any pillars that you can see, then He governed over the throne (entire universe) and subjected the sun and moon to you, each one running its course to its appointed term. He regulates all of the affairs of the universe and explains His signs for you so that you may find conviction in the meeting with your Lord. (13:2)
We read in a saying from Imam Ridha
about this very verse that he said, Does not God say without a pillar that you can see? In reply the narrator says, I said, yes. The Imam replied, Therefore, a pillar does exist but you cannot see it.
Can a clearer and simpler phrase be found in Arabic literature to describe the force of gravity on a level that ordinary people can under stand than unseen pillar?
We also read in a saying from Imam Ali
where he says, These stars that are in the heavens are cities like the cities of earth. Each city is linked with another city by a pillar of light; meaning that each star is linked to another star by a pillar of light.
Todays scientists believe that among the stars in the heavens, millions of inhabited stars exist with living and intelligent beings although its details are not yet clear to us.
Discovery of the earths rotation and revolution
It is well-known that the first person to discover that the earth rotates around its axis was Galileo. He lived approximately four centuries ago. Prior to that, scholars and scientists followed Ptolemys astronomy and believed that the earth is the center of the universe and all other heavenly bodies revolve around it.
Galileo was excommunicated by the church for the crime of this discovery. He was only able to save his life by outwardly showing regret about this discovery. However, other scientists eventually followed his views and today this subject is accepted as a clear matter. It has even been proved by empirical studies that the earth rotates on its axis. This was witnessed with space travel.
In short, the notion that the earth is the center of the universe was proven wrong and this was the mistake of human senses. The movement of the earth was mistaken as movement by other planets and stars. We are constantly moving and imagine that the stars and planets are moving around us.
At any rate, Ptolemys idea had cast a dark shadow over the minds and thoughts of scientists and scholars for over fifteen hundred years. During the time of the Qurans revelation, no one had the courage to dispute that false notion. However, when we refer to the verses of the Quran, we see that it clearly contains facts about the earths movement.
In one verse it says,
وَتَرَى الْجِبَالَ تَحْسَبُهَا جَامِدَةً وَهِيَ تَمُرُّ مَرَّ السَّحَابِ صُنْعَ اللَّهِ الَّذِي أَتْقَنَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ إِنَّهُ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَفْعَلُونَ (النمل:۸۸)
You see the mountains and imagine that they are still and fixed in place while they are in movement like the clouds. This is the creation of God who has made everything based on correct methods, and verily He is aware of what you do. (16:88)
This verse clearly speaks about the movement of the mountains although we all imagine them to be still and fixed in place. The comparison of their movement to the movement of clouds points to the speed, softness and quietness by which they move.
If we see that instead of saying the movement of the earth it says mountains, it is to make the greatness of the matter more apparent. It is clear that the mountains do not have any movement without the movement of the land around them. The movement of the mountains is the same as the movement of the earth around its axis or the sun, or both.
Now think, that in a time when the entire scientific community of the world as well as all ordinary people believed that the earth was fixed in place and the sun and all others heavenly bodies revolved around it, the Qurans information about the earths movement with such clarity is nothing less than a miracle. With the fact that this news came from someone who was clearly untaught and unschooled, who arose from a backwards environment where scientific, intellectual and cultural learning did not exist, is it not clear proof for the legitimacy of this heavenly book?
Think and answer
1. What is meant by scientific miracles of the Quran?
2. Who was the first person to discover the law of gravity? When did he live?
3. In which verse and with what wording does the Quran talk about the universal law of gravity?
4. Who formed the idea of the earth being fixed and how long did it rule over peoples thoughts.
5. In which verse and with what wording does the Quran speak about the movement of the earth?
There is no doubt that the Quran is not a book of natural sciences, medicine, psychology or mathematics. It is a book of guidance and a human-maker, and it does not hold anything back in this path. We should not expect the Quran to be an encyclopedia of various sciences. We should, however, seek faith, guidance, piety, self control, humanity, morality, law and order from it.
The Quran contains all of these. But in order to reach these objectives, it has pointed to some scientific matters, mysteries of creation, and wonders of the universe. Particularly in the discussions pertaining to monotheism and the universal order as proof for Gods existence, it has removed the veil from the mysteries of the universe. It revealed matters that were unknown at that time, even to scientists.
These types of Quranic illuminations form a collection which we refer to as the scientific miracles of the Quran. Here we will refer to several of these scientific miracles:
Quran and the law of gravity
Before Isaac Newton, no one had discovered the universal law of gravity. It is well-known that when Newton was sitting underneath an apple tree, an apple broke off from the tree and fell onto the ground. This simple event got him thinking. He was so moved by it that he thought about it for years: What power is this that pulled the apple towards the ground? Why didnt it go towards the sky? After years of research and study, he was able to discover the law of gravity, which states, All masses attract each other along the line joining their center of masses.
Due to the discovery of this law [the answer to the following questions] were proved. Where does the order of the solar system come from? Why do these large planets revolve around the sun on their axes? Why do they not come together? What force causes them to move on a precise orbit in this endless space, not exceeding even as much as the tip of a needle?
Certainly, Newton discovered that the rotation of a body becomes the cause of its moving away from the center, and gravity is the cause of its attraction to the center. Whenever the body of mass and space brings about an equal level of attraction to the repulsion brought about by its rotation, it results in a complete balance of these two forces. And when these forces are completely balanced, it allows these bodies of masses to constantly remain in orbit.
However, the Holy Quran mentioned this reality over 1,000 years before Newton. It states,
اللّهُ الَّذِي رَفَعَ السَّمَاوَاتِ بِغَيْرِ عَمَدٍ تَرَوْنَهَا ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْشِ وَسَخَّرَ الشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ كُلٌّ يَجْرِي لأَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى يُدَبِّرُ الأَمْرَ يُفَصِّلُ الآيَاتِ لَعَلَّكُم بِلِقَاء رَبِّكُمْ تُوقِنُونَ (الرعد: ۲)
God is He who raised the (the planets in) the heavens without any pillars that you can see, then He governed over the throne (entire universe) and subjected the sun and moon to you, each one running its course to its appointed term. He regulates all of the affairs of the universe and explains His signs for you so that you may find conviction in the meeting with your Lord. (13:2)
We read in a saying from Imam Ridha
Can a clearer and simpler phrase be found in Arabic literature to describe the force of gravity on a level that ordinary people can under stand than unseen pillar?
We also read in a saying from Imam Ali
Todays scientists believe that among the stars in the heavens, millions of inhabited stars exist with living and intelligent beings although its details are not yet clear to us.
Discovery of the earths rotation and revolution
It is well-known that the first person to discover that the earth rotates around its axis was Galileo. He lived approximately four centuries ago. Prior to that, scholars and scientists followed Ptolemys astronomy and believed that the earth is the center of the universe and all other heavenly bodies revolve around it.
Galileo was excommunicated by the church for the crime of this discovery. He was only able to save his life by outwardly showing regret about this discovery. However, other scientists eventually followed his views and today this subject is accepted as a clear matter. It has even been proved by empirical studies that the earth rotates on its axis. This was witnessed with space travel.
In short, the notion that the earth is the center of the universe was proven wrong and this was the mistake of human senses. The movement of the earth was mistaken as movement by other planets and stars. We are constantly moving and imagine that the stars and planets are moving around us.
At any rate, Ptolemys idea had cast a dark shadow over the minds and thoughts of scientists and scholars for over fifteen hundred years. During the time of the Qurans revelation, no one had the courage to dispute that false notion. However, when we refer to the verses of the Quran, we see that it clearly contains facts about the earths movement.
In one verse it says,
وَتَرَى الْجِبَالَ تَحْسَبُهَا جَامِدَةً وَهِيَ تَمُرُّ مَرَّ السَّحَابِ صُنْعَ اللَّهِ الَّذِي أَتْقَنَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ إِنَّهُ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَفْعَلُونَ (النمل:۸۸)
You see the mountains and imagine that they are still and fixed in place while they are in movement like the clouds. This is the creation of God who has made everything based on correct methods, and verily He is aware of what you do. (16:88)
This verse clearly speaks about the movement of the mountains although we all imagine them to be still and fixed in place. The comparison of their movement to the movement of clouds points to the speed, softness and quietness by which they move.
If we see that instead of saying the movement of the earth it says mountains, it is to make the greatness of the matter more apparent. It is clear that the mountains do not have any movement without the movement of the land around them. The movement of the mountains is the same as the movement of the earth around its axis or the sun, or both.
Now think, that in a time when the entire scientific community of the world as well as all ordinary people believed that the earth was fixed in place and the sun and all others heavenly bodies revolved around it, the Qurans information about the earths movement with such clarity is nothing less than a miracle. With the fact that this news came from someone who was clearly untaught and unschooled, who arose from a backwards environment where scientific, intellectual and cultural learning did not exist, is it not clear proof for the legitimacy of this heavenly book?
Think and answer
1. What is meant by scientific miracles of the Quran?
2. Who was the first person to discover the law of gravity? When did he live?
3. In which verse and with what wording does the Quran talk about the universal law of gravity?
4. Who formed the idea of the earth being fixed and how long did it rule over peoples thoughts.
5. In which verse and with what wording does the Quran speak about the movement of the earth?
