Quran: Accuracy of Scientific, Historic Narratives & Prophecies
“O Prophet, surely We have revealed to you the Book with the truth, for the instruction of Mankind. He who follows the Right Way shall follow it for his own good; and he who goes astray shall do so at his own peril. You are not set up as a guardian over them.” (Qur’an;39:41); “This (The Qur'an) is nothing but a Reminder to all the people of the world.”(Qur’an;68:52).
Introduction:
Allah, the Creator and Sustainer, crated the mankind and instilled guidance in his nature, blessed him with intellect to differentiate between evil and truth. More over He appointed messengers with in the communities and sent revelations as a source of further guidance, in accordance with the environment of respective nation and period: “Every nation was sent a messengers. Once their messengers came, judgment was passed between them with all fairness and they were not wronged in the least.”(Qur’an;10:47), “We sent aforetime our apostles with Clear Signs and sent down with them the Book (Scripture) and the Balance (of Right and Wrong) that men may stand forth in justice…”(Qur’an;57:25).The word ‘Book’ has a comprehensive meaning in ‘Scripture’. Scripture invariably in the New Testament denotes that definite collection of sacred books, regarded (by the Christians) as given by inspiration of God, which we usually call the Old Testament (2Timothy;3:15-16; John;20:9; Galatians;3:22; 2Peter;1:20). It was God's purpose thus to perpetuate his revealed will. From time to time he raised up men to commit to writing the record the revelation he gave. The "Scripture," or collection of sacred writings, was thus enlarged from time to time. The "Scripture," consisting of the Old and New Testaments is available in its distorted form in called Bible and Qur’an is the last scripture still available in its original revealed form.
Scriptures –The Source of Guidance:
The teachings of all the prophets and messengers has been the same, they asked their people to obey and worship One God alone. Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him), Moses, David and Jesus who were , bestowed with a revealed scripture by God, were sent at different times to bring back straying human being who had deviated of the Right path. These scriptures of divine origin were a source of guidance for the people and as a proof against them: “All these Messengers conveyed good news to mankind and admonished them so that, after conveying the message through the Messengers, people should have no excuse to plead against Allah. Allah is Mighty, Wise.”(Qur’an;4:165). The Messengers taught their people wisdom and piety through these books which suited them. All the Messengers came with the same message and the same teachings, as the message of guidance came from one and the same source; the One God, Who requires the people to submit to His will, worship no one but Him alone, do not associate partners with Him and to obey His law (Islam). Allah says in Qur’an: “Indeed We revealed the Torah to Moses, in which there is guidance and light: By its laws, all the Prophets, who had surrendered themselves to the will of God, judged those who call themselves Jews and so did the rabbis and jurists of law. They were entrusted the protection of Allah's Book and they themselves were witnesses. Have no fear of people; fear Me, and do not sell My revelations for a petty price: those who do not judge by the law which Allah has revealed, are indeed unbelievers.”(Qur’an;5:44). “Then in the footsteps of those Prophets, We sent Jesus the son of Mary confirming whatever remained intact from the Torah in his time, and gave him the Gospel (Injeel) wherein was guidance and light, corroborating what was revealed in the Torah; a guidance and an admonition to those who fear God.”(Qur’an;5:46). All the Messengers and Apostles of God, the revealed scriptures, in their original forms are accepted as part of basic Muslim faith. The belief in the Books of Allah (Scriptures) amounts to appreciating Allah's wisdom, mercy and care for His people. The previous scriptures got corrupted, so God revealed Qur’an, the Last Testament to His last messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him), which remains uncorrupted because God has Himself taken responsibility to guard it, God says: “Surely We have revealed the reminder (Qur'an) and We will most certainly guard it (from corruption).”(Qur’an;15:9).
Harmony & Consistency :
It is per sure that what is revealed in Allah's book and in the traditions of His Messenger is the truth. It has harmony and consistency, does not contain any contradiction: Allah says in Qur’an: “Will they not then ponder on the Qur'an? If it had been from other than Allah they would have found therein many inconsistencies.”(Qur’an;4:82).The Author of this sentence said if this book came from someone besides God then you will find in it many Ikhtalafan (inconsistencies-plural). According to the research by Dr.Gary Miller: The word Ikhtilaf (difference, inconsistency a singular) is found many times in the Qur'an. But the word Ikhtalafan is only found once in the Qur'an. So there are not many ‘Ikhtilafan’ in the Qur'an, there is only one - where the sentence is mentioned. So it can be seen that even the words have been put together with the perfection, humanly impossible. It has been suggested to mankind to find a mistake but no one could find any. However some one may be very clever, because this sentence could also mean: Find many ‘Iktilafan’ (the word itself) and so the clever one quickly goes to the index to see if he can find many of them and there is onlyone. Inconsistencies or contradictions in statements falsify them. It is impossible for there to be a contradiction in any statement revealed by Allah and stated by His Messenger (peace be upon him). Whoever claims that there are contradictions in the Qur'an, the prophetic traditions, or between the two must have wicked intentions and a misguided heart. He should repent and quit his sin. If someone imagines that there are some contradictions in the Qur'an, the sayings of the Prophet, or between these two, this must be a result of his little knowledge, inadequate understanding, or lack of deep thinking. Therefore, he should seek knowledge and do his best to reflect upon matters until the truth is clear to him. If, after all of these efforts, the truth is not clear to him, he should leave the whole matter to the One who knows it and should quit his imagination. He should say, as do those who are firmly rooted in knowledge: "- - We believe in it, all is from our Lord" (Qur’an;3:7). He must know that there are neither contradictions nor differences in the Qur'an, the Sunnah, or between the two.
Amazing Internal Evidence: The coherence in Qur’an is amazing that it give evidence to its Divine origin through ‘Internal Evidence’. The Christians argue that Jesus is ‘Son of God’ because he had no father; God gave him life, so he must have been God’s son. The Qur'an reminds the Christian in one short sentence to remember Adam; who neither had father nor a mother; it does not make him son of God. So that the likeness of Adam is the likeness of Jesus, they were nothing and then they became something; the servants of God. Allah says in Qur’an: “Lo! the likeness of Jesus with Allah is as the likeness of Adam. He created him of dust, then He said unto him: Be! and he is.”(Qur’an;3:59). Qur’an invites them to look at the evidence; “Will they not then ponder on the Qur'an?..”(Qur’an;4:82). The pondering on Qur’an logically takes the man to the straight path. In Ayah 3:59 just mentioned, Allah says; “the likeness of Jesus with Allah is as the likeness of Adam.” An equation has been set between Jesus and Adam, the Arabic word (mithel) has been used which means “likeness”, it says Jesus and Adam are equal. In the index of the Qur'an, the name Isa (Isa is Arabic for Jesus) is mentioned 25 times, similarly the name Adam has also been mentioned 25 times. They are equal, through scattered references but 25 for each. [“Isa” (Jesus) is mentioned by name at 25 places in Qur’an at: 2: 87, 136, 253, 3:45, 52, 55, 59, 84, 5:46,78,110,112,114,116, 4:63, 157, 171, 6:85, 19:34, 33: 7, 42:13, 43:63, 57: 27, 61:6, 114. “Adam” is mentioned by name at 25 places in Qur’an at:2:1,33, 34, 35 ,37, 3:33,59, 4:27,5:27, 18:50,7:26,27,31,35,172,17:61,70, 19:58, 20:115,116,117,120,121 & 36:60.] Dr.Gary Miller adds that if this process is followed through, it will be found that in the Qur'an there are 8 places were an Ayah says something is like something else, using this (Mithel), it will be found in every case and take both sides of it whatever that word is look it up in the index and it will be lets say 110 times and lookup the other word and it will be said to be equal to the same 110. That is quite a project of co-ordination even in the present era of computers and high-technology, but impossible to even think of, fourteen hundred years ago for some one unlettered writing a book over 23 years in small and big parts at different timings, places and occasions at times spontaneously in response to some query raised by a believer or non believer! Its amazing, there is no doubt that Qur'an is a living miracle.
QUR’ANIC PROPHECIES FULFILLED:
Predicting the future events through guess work or after thorough deliberations, analysis of the past history, trends, psychology and knowledge of other sciences is not a new phenomenon. However accuracy of such predictions is not always assured. Nonetheless if someone receives information from the One who has complete knowledge of the past, present and future will get it right every time. There are many predictions both in the Qur'an and the authenticated traditions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) which have been fulfilled, proving the Divine origin of Qur’an, some are being mentioned here.
Islam The Universal Faith: Allah says: "Ye shall enter the Sacred Mosque, if Allah wills, secure, heads shaved, hair curt short, and without fear"(Qura’n;8:28). This passage was revealed after the Prophet (peace be upon him) had been stopped by the pagans of Makka from making 'Umrah (the Minor Pilgrimage) and a treaty was concluded between the Muslims and pagans at Hudaybia (628 C.E) From this position of apparent weakness. With in two years the prophesy was fulfilled, Mecca was captured, and the Muslims performed the pilgrimage, shaving their heads, and some cutting their hair.
The Qur'an says: "Allah has promised to those of you who believe, and do good deeds, that He will surely grant them in the land inheritance of power as He granted it to those before them; that He will establish in authority their religion which He has chosen for them. And that He will change their state after fear to one of security and peace. They will worship Me alone and not associate aught with Me; and if anyone rejects faith after this, it is they who are the transgressors.”(Qura’n;24:55); And "When comes the help of Allah and Victory, and you see the people enter Allah's religion in crowds . . ." (Qura’n;110:1-2) and also; "Say to those who deny faith, soon you will be vanquished."(Qura’n;3:12);“They seek to extinguish the Light of GOD with their mouths, but GOD will perfect His Light, much as the unbelievers may dislike it. It is He Who has sent His Messenger with the guidance and the religion of truth, to the end that He make it prevail over all (false) religions, much as the idolaters may dislike it.”(Qur’an;61:8-9); “Truly the religion with GOD (is) The Surrender (to His will and guidance-Islam)…(Qur’an;3:19).The first verse (Qur’an;24:55) was revealed at a time of the Muslim's weakness, promising the righteous victory, and the second predicting the peoples entering into Islam in crowds,(110:1-2), came to pass, after the capture of Mecca, and the third (Qur’an; 3:12 & 61:8-9); were fulfilled with in decades during the period of the ‘Four Rightly Guided Caliphs’ and Companions; Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman and 'Ali. (632-661 C.E) with the defeat of the Persian and Roman empires. This laid the foundations of the subsequent establishment of Muslim rule Spain to the other parts of the world as far as parts of China. This, in part, also fulfilled another prophecy of the Qur'an; “They want to extinguish God’s (guiding) light with their utterances: but God will not allow (this to pass), for He has willed to spread His light in all its fullness, however hateful this may be to all who deny the truth.”(Qur’an;9:32). Christianity, Judaism, paganism and other philosophies have never regained any lasting dominance, physically and intellectually since the emergence of true faith of Islam, as long as its followers adhered to Qur’an and Sunnah. Islam is the fastest growing faith, with the same growth rate; Islam will over take Christianity by 2025 in terms of numbers.
The Special Help of God During Journey of Migration: On the invitation of people of Medina, in 622 C.E Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had to migrate from Makka to Medina, to avoid persecution and oppression. When he left Makka and hid in a cave with his close companion Abu Bakr, they found that they had almost been discovered by their enemies. Abu Bakr was afraid, the Prophet told him, "Relax! Allah is with us, and Allah will save us!". Only a true Messenger of God could be so confident of help of God, which He did provide. It is mentioned in Qur’an: “Allah did help him when the unbelievers drove him out of his town, the second of the two, while the two were in the cave and (the enemy came to the opening of the cave) he said to his companion (Abu Bakr), "Do not worry, Allah is with us." So Allah sent down his serenity on him and strengthened him with forces which you can not see, thus, He made the word of the unbelievers lowest, while words of Allah remain supreme. Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.”(Qura’n;9:40).
Victory of Byzantine Christians over Persians : The Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire suffered a massive defeat at the hands of the Persians who captured Jerusalem in 614 C.E, and after that Egypt and Syria fell, and Constantinople was besieged ("a land close by"). The Muslims were sympathetic towards Roman Christians, having common roots, while the pagan Arabs were sympathetic with the Persians who were idol worshippers. They taunted Muslims that, the way Roman Christians have been defeated, the Muslims will also be ultimately subdued by the idolaters. At this stage it was revealed through the Qur'an: “The Roman Empire has been defeated in a land close by; but they, even after this defeat, will gain victory in a few years. Allah's is the command, in the past and in the future. On that day shall the believers rejoice, with the help of Allah, He helps whom He wills. And He is the mighty and the most Merciful. It is the promise of Allah. Allah never departs from His promise: but most men understand not. They crave for the outer things of life, but of the hereafter they are heedless.” (Qura’n;30:1-7).
When these verses of the Qur’an were sent down, the disbelievers of Makka made great fun of Muslims, because the Romans were defeated in such a way that there was no chance of their recovery what to talk of defeating the Persians in near future. Hence Ubayy bin Khalaf (a pagan notable) bet Abu Bakr ten camels if the Romans became victorious within three years. When the Holy Prophet came to know of the bet, he said, "The Qur’an has used the words bid i sinin, and the word bid in Arabic applies to a number up to ten. Therefore, make the bet for ten years and increase the number of camels to a hundred." So, Abu Bakr spoke to Ubayy again and bet a hundred camels for ten years. By the year 623 C.E, Hercules, the Byzantine Roman Emperor, took to the field and vanquished the Persians in a series of battles, culminating in the battle of Nineveh in 627 C.E. After this no one could have any doubt about the truth of the prophecy of the Qur’an, consequently most of the Arab polytheists accepted Islam. The heirs of Ubayy bin Khalaf (who had died by then), had to give hundred camels to Abu Bakr. He took them before the Holy Prophet, who ordered that they be given away in charity, because by then the gambling had been forbidden by the Shari’a (Islamic Law).
Abu Lahab Will not Accept Islam: Abu Lahab, an uncle of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), was his biggest opponent and the enemy of Islam. He never missed an opportunity to cause harm to the Prophet and Islam. However, about ten years before Abu Lahab died, a little chapter in the Qur'an was revealed about him: “The power of Abu Lahab will perish, and he will perish. His wealth and gains will not exempt him. He will be plunged in flaming fire (in hereafter), And his wife, the wood carrier, Will have upon her neck a halter of palm fiber.”(Qur’an;111:1-5). It distinctly stated that he would go to the fire (i.e., Hell). In other words, it affirmed that he would never become a Muslim and would therefore be condemned forever. For almost ten years all Abu Lahab had to do was say, "I heard that it has been revealed to Muhammad (peace be upon him) that I will never change - that I will never become a Muslim and will enter the Hellfire. Well, I want to become Muslim now.” This would have proved the divine revelations to be wrong. But he never did that. It clearly illustrates that Allah, the Knower of the Unseen, knew that Abu Lahab would never change his ways and accept Islam. Thus Allah dictated that he would be condemned to the Hellfire forever. Such a chapter was both an illustration of Allah's divine wisdom and a warning to those who were like Abu Lahab. If he Muhammad (peace be upon him) was not the true messenger of God, he could not possibly have known for sure that Abu Lahab would fulfill the Qur'anic revelation during ten years which followed. It is because that he was Allah's messenger; for in order to put forth such a risky challenge, one has to be entirely convinced that; he has a divine revelation.
Relationship between the Muslims and the Jews: The Qur'an mentions the relationship between the Muslims, Jews and Christians: “You will find the most violent in enmity to the believers are the Jews and the idolaters (pagan Arabs); and nearest in affection to the believers are those who say: "We are Christians." That is because among them there are men that are priests and monks, who do not behave arrogantly.”(Qur’an;5:82). The verse is careful not to narrow its scope to the relationship between individual members of each religion, but rather, it summarizes the relationship between the two groups of people as a whole. In essence, the Qur'an states that the Christians will always treat the Muslims better than the Jews will treat the Muslims. Indeed, the full impact of such a statement can only be felt after careful consideration of the real meaning of such a verse. It is true that many Christians and many Jews have become Muslims, but as a whole, the Jewish community is to be viewed as an avid enemy of Islam. Additionally, very few people realize what such an open declaration in the Qur'an invites. In essence, it is an easy chance for the Jews to prove that the Qur'an is false - that it is not a divine revelation. All they have to do is organize themselves, treat the Muslims nicely and then say, "Now what does your holy book say about who are your best friends in the world - the Jews or the Christians? Look what we Jews have done for you!" That is all they have to do to disprove the authenticity of Qur’an, yet they have not done it in 1400 years. But, as always, the offer still stands open!
Flood and Ark of Noah: The Qur'an mentions about the ark of Noah: "The Ark came to rest upon Mount Judi" (Qur’an;11:44). Recent archeological research has discovered a boat shaped object with exactly the same dimensions as those of the Ark on Mount Judi. The Bible claims that the Ark came to rest twenty miles away on the Mountains of Ararat. This is not possible, since these mountains are a recent geological formation, and did not exist at the time of Noah. The Qur'an also refers to the flood as a localized event, destroying only Noah's people. The dates and time offered by the Bible for the flood, and its claim that it was a world wide cataclysm, has been proven false by all archeological evidence.
Egyptian King and Pharaoh: The Qur'an describes the ruler of Egypt being addressed as "King" in the time of Joseph, whilst Moses addresses the ruler as "Pharaoh". This is a small but telling accuracy, for in the time of Joseph the rulers were from the Hykos Dynasty, and were Semites. They did not refer to themselves as "Pharaohs". The term was used by the native Egyptian dynasties that supplanted the Hykos, in the time of Moses. The Bible refer to both as "Pharaoh". The Qur'an also correctly describes aspects of the ancient Egyptian religion, in particular the worship of Pharaoh as a god.
Nazarenes: The Qur'an refers to the early followers of Jesus as "Nazarenes". This is historically accurate. The word "Christian" was actually a nick name used by the Romans sometime after Jesus. "The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch." (Acts;11:26).
Iram City: The Qur'an makes reference to a city Iram: “The residents of Iram, the city of lofty pillars,”(Qur’an;89:7). This city was destroyed for the its evil doings of its inhabitants. Until recently there was no record of this city, and it was believed to be only a legend. In 1973, in North-Western Syria, the 4300 year old city of Ebla was excavated. On the cuneiform clay tablets, a record was found of all the cities with whom they used to do business, Iram was among them. It has since been buried by the moving sand dunes of Al-Ahqaf (region between Oman and Hadarmawt, with in the great South Arabian desert of Rub al-Khali). Its traces are reportedly uncovered occasionally by strong winds.
Preserved Body of Pharaoh: Dr. Maurice Bucaille, an eminent French surgeon, scientist, was selected to treat the mummy of Merneptah (Pharaoh). He was surprised to learn that it was mentioned in Qur’an: “We shall save your body this day, so that you may become a sign for the succeeding generations, indeed many among mankind are heedless of Our signs!”(Qur’an;10:92). Dr. Bucaille, who (being a Christian) was conversant with the Biblical version of Pharaoh's story as being drowned in pursuit of Prophet Moses. He was pleasantly surprised to learn that unknown to the world till only of late, the Holy Qur'an made definite prediction about the preservation of the body of that same Pharaoh of Moses' time. This led Dr. Bucaille to study the Holy Qur'an thoroughly after learning the Arabic language. The final conclusion of his comparative study of Qur'an and the Bible is that the statements about scientific phenomena in the Holy Qur'an are perfectly in conformity with the modern sciences whereas the Biblical narrations on the same subjects are scientifically entirely unacceptable. He then wrote his famous book; 'La Bible le Coran et la Science' (The Bible, the Qur'an and Science) in 1976.
The Scientific Facts-Proven Recently:
God says: “Then proclaim: "Praise be to GOD, very soon He will show you His signs and you will recognize them. Your Lord is not unaware of what you do.”(Qur’an;27:93); “Soon shall We show them Our signs in the universe and in their own souls, until it becomes clear to them that this (Qur'an) is indeed the truth. Is it not enough that your Lord is a witness over everything?”(Qur’an;41:53). Islam encourages reasoning, discussions and dialogues. Allah says: “Invite (all) to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for thy Lord knows best who have strayed from His Path and who receive guidance.” (Qur’an;16:125). In the present era, every piece of knowledge or doctrine is put to the scientific tests and rational inquiry before its acceptance or rejection accordingly a true religion should also be able to stand scientific scrutiny. For Muslims, the Qur’an is the ‘Furqaan’ i.e. the criteria to judge right from wrong and it is the ultimate yard stick which is superior to scientific or any other knowledge. However the man of science believes in the scientific knowledge to be the standard test for truthfulness of any doctrine or knowledge. Even by scientific standards, the Qur’an is proved to be the word of Allah. However it may be kept in view that Qur’an is not a book of ‘science’, but a book of ‘signs’ i.e. a book of ayaats. The Qur’an contains more than 6000 ayaats (‘Signs’) out of which more than thousand refer to various subjects of science, such as Astronomy, Physics, Geography, Geology, Oceanology, Biology, Botany, Zoology, Medicine, Physiology, Embryology as well as General Science, mostly un known to humanity fourteen centuries ago. It is found that the Qur'anic information on science does not conflict with any of the established scientific fact. It may go against certain scientific hypothesis or theories, which are not grounded in facts as many times, the science takes U-turns writes Dr. Zakir Naik, the renowned scholar has deliberated on this important issue in his lectures and books. It is common sense that if any one wants to know about the details of some machine or object, the best source of its knowledge is the creator, manufacturer or the designer. Thus if scientific information given in Qur’an is proved to be correct it implies that there exists the Creator who is the source of this scientific information in Qur’an, hence two aspects are proved; firstly the existence of God, and secondly that Qur’an is the word of God.
The Qur’an speaks about hundreds of things that were not known fourteen hundred year ago once Qur’an was revealed; but they have been scientifically proved recently, (details are available in the book ‘Qur’an and Science’ by Dr.Zakir Naik & "The Bible, The Qur'an and Science" by Dr. Maurice Bucaille), some of them are referred here:
The creation of the universe by ‘The Big Bang’: “Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of Creation), before We clove them asunder?” (Qur’an;21:30). Initially there was gaseous mass before creation of galaxies: “Moreover, He Comprehended in His design the sky, and it had been (as) smoke: He said to it and to the earth: "Come ye together willingly or unwillingly." They said: "We do come (together) in willing obedience.”(Qur’an;41:11). The shape of earth; “And the earth, moreover, hath He made egg shaped.” (Qur’an;79:30). Moon has reflected light and sun has its own light; "And (who) made the moon a light (nur, reflected light) in their midst and made the sun as a (Glorious) Lamp(siraja-own light).(Qur’an;71:16). The Sun Rotates:” 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.” (Qur’an;21:33). “It is not permitted to the sun to catch up the moon, nor can the night outstrip the day: Each (just) swims along in (its own) orbit (according to Law).” (Qur’an;36:40). The other examples are: The sun will extinguish;(Qur’an;36:38,13:2). The expanding nature of universe; (Qur’an;51:47).
Atoms can be divided;(Qur’an;10:61). Mountains are like tent pegs firmly fixed providing stability; (Qur’an;78:6-7,21:31,79:32). Darkness in depths of ocean; (Qur’an;24:40). The water cycle;(Qur’an;39:21, 30:24,23:18). Plants & Fruits have male and female; (Qur’an;20:53, 13:3). The bee and its skills; (Qur’an;16:68-69). Lifestyle and communication of ants; (Qur’an;27:17-18). Honey has healing for humankind; (Qur’an;16:69). Creation of man from water;(Qur’an;25:54). Creation of living being;“ We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?” (Qur’an;21:30). Importance of fingerprints: (Qur’an;75:3-4) and the existence of pain receptors in the skin: (Qur’an;4:56). Embryological stages; (Qur’an;23:12-14, 75:37-39,82:7-8). Embryo partly formed and partly unformed; (Qur’an;22:5). First sense of hearing developed then sense of sight; (Qur’an;32:9,23:78). Sex determination factor for child; (Qur’an;53:45-46,75:37-39).
Conclusion:
The logical conclusion is:; the God exists and Qur’an is the word of God!. As the human knowledge increases there will be more and more discoveries and scientific confirmation of the facts already mentioned in Qur’an for Allah says: “.. only those among His servants who possess knowledge fear Allah; surely Allah is All-Mighty, All-Forgiving.”(Qur’an;35;28)
