Scientific Errors in the Quran: Difference between revisions

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→‎Supernatural Destruction of Cities: Focusing the argument on the suddenness of the disasters
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(Got better verses; there are atleast 40 more. Theology isn't above science: either apologists must convince us that this book complies with science or they fail just like Mo failed to prove his claims. Have 1 source for the pre-Islamic myth part as well.)
(→‎Supernatural Destruction of Cities: Focusing the argument on the suddenness of the disasters)
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===Supernatural Destruction of Cities===
===Supernatural Destruction of Cities===
The Qur'an's author thought that outside the vicinity of Arabia there were cities and tribes destroyed by Allah for rejecting his messengers and Islam. He probably acquired this information through hearsay from Arabian folklore as well as other legends. Historical cities and tribes are known to have been destroyed by natural disasters, famine, wars, migration, or neglect. Thanks to today's scientific progress, we know the causes of natural and man-made disasters in detail. But the Qur'an merely repeats a common myth of the ancient Near East whereby these incidents are treated as punishments by God for people's sins.
The author of the Qur'an thought that outside the vicinity of Arabia there were cities and tribes destroyed by Allah for rejecting his messengers and Islam. In each specific example in the Qur'an (A'ad, Thamud, Midian, the people of Lot, Pharoah's army), the destruction of the disbelievers is sudden and total. Thanks to today's scientific progress, historical cities and tribes are known to have been destroyed by natural disasters, famine, wars, migration, or neglect, often taking years or decades to unfold. But the Qur'an merely repeats a common myth of the ancient Near East whereby these incidents are treated as swift and sudden punishments by God for people's sins.


{{Quote|{{Quran|22|45}}|And how many a township have We destroyed because it had been immersed in evildoing - and now they [all] lie deserted, with their roofs caved in! And how many a well lies abandoned, and how many a castle that [once] stood high!}}
{{Quote|{{Quran|22|45}}|And how many a township have We destroyed because it had been immersed in evildoing - and now they [all] lie deserted, with their roofs caved in! And how many a well lies abandoned, and how many a castle that [once] stood high!}}


{{Quote|{{Quran-range|69|3|10}}|And what would make you realize what the sure calamity is! The Samood (Thamud) and Ad people called the striking calamity a lie. Then as to Samood, they were destroyed by an excessively severe punishment. And as to Ad, they were destroyed by a roaring, violent blast. Which He made to prevail against them for seven nights and eight days unremittingly, so that you might have seen the people therein prostrate as if they were the trunks of hollow palms. Do you then see of them one remaining? And Firon and those before him and the overthrown cities continuously committed sins. And they disobeyed the Messenger of their Lord, so He punished them with a vehement punishment.}}
The suddenness of Allah's punishment is stressed many times in Surah al-A'raf:


Similar verses occur more than 40 times in this book.
{{Quote|{{Quran|7|4}}|How many a township have We destroyed! As a raid by night, or while they slept at noon, Our terror came unto them.}}
 
{{Quote|{{Quran|7|34}}|And every nation hath its term, and when its term cometh, they cannot put it off an hour nor yet advance (it).}}
 
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|7|97|98}}|Are the people of the townships then secure from the coming of Our wrath upon them as a night-raid while they sleep? Or are the people of the townships then secure from the coming of Our wrath upon them in the daytime while they play?}}
 
In the Qur'an, the people of Thamud were killed instantly by an earthquake {{Quran|7|78}} or thunderous blast {{Quran|11|67}}, {{Quran-range|41|13|17}}, {{Quran|51|44}}, {{Quran|69|5}}. The people of A'ad were killed by a fierce wind for 7 days {{Quran-range|41|13|16}},{{Quran-range|46|24|35}},{{Quran|51|41}}, {{Quran-range|69|6|7}}. The people of Midian (Midyan) were killed overnight by an earthquake {{Quran|7|91}}, {{Quran|29|36}}. The towns of Lot were destroyed by a storm of stones from the sky {{Quran|54|32}}, {{Quran|29|34}}. The actual locations of these towns or tribes are currently unknown, and Midian was a wide geographical area, so claims about their sudden demise may always be unfalsifiable. Many other polytheist towns throughout the world certainly did not experience any sudden destruction.


===Humans can Live for a Thousand Years===
===Humans can Live for a Thousand Years===
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