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Scientific Errors in the Quran: Difference between revisions
→Chests contract with altitude: Have added a quick academic reference to back up claim that this is incorrect.
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===Setting and rising place of the sun=== | ===Setting and rising place of the sun=== | ||
{{Main|Dhul-Qarnayn and the Sun Setting in a Muddy Spring - Part One}} | {{Main|Dhul-Qarnayn and the Sun Setting in a Muddy Spring - Part One|Dhul-Qarnayn and the Sun Setting in a Muddy Spring - Part Two}} | ||
In these verses, the author presents a version of a popular [[Dhul-Qarnayn and the Alexander Romance|Syriac legend]] from the 6th or early 7th century in which a man called Dhu'l-Qarnayn visits the places where the sun sets and rises. | In these verses, the author presents a version of a popular [[Dhul-Qarnayn and the Alexander Romance|Syriac legend]] from the 6th or early 7th century in which a man called Dhu'l-Qarnayn visits the places where the sun sets and rises. | ||
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The number, like seven heavens, might have come from a misunderstanding or indigenous interpretation of mythology from classical antiquity in which there were seven moving planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the sun and moon). The number seven, however, does not accord with the findings of modern astronomers, which know there to be eight ordinary planets and five dwarf planets, making for a grand total of thirteen in our solar system. Modern astronomy also has found many thousands of planets in other solar systems and Cosmologists estimate that hundreds of billions of stars and planets exist in the universe at large. | The number, like seven heavens, might have come from a misunderstanding or indigenous interpretation of mythology from classical antiquity in which there were seven moving planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the sun and moon). The number seven, however, does not accord with the findings of modern astronomers, which know there to be eight ordinary planets and five dwarf planets, making for a grand total of thirteen in our solar system. Modern astronomy also has found many thousands of planets in other solar systems and Cosmologists estimate that hundreds of billions of stars and planets exist in the universe at large. | ||
===Seven | ===Seven Heavens=== | ||
{{Main|Cosmology of the Quran|l1=Cosmology of the Qur'an}} | {{Main|Cosmology of the Quran|l1=Cosmology of the Qur'an|Science and the Seven Earths#Seven_Universes|l2=Science and the Seven Earths - Seven Universes}} | ||
The universe consists of hundreds of billions of galaxies, each with hundreds of billions of stars. The Quran states that beyond our heaven which contains the stars, there | The universe consists of hundreds of billions of galaxies, each with hundreds of billions of stars. The Quran states that beyond our heaven which contains the stars, there exists another six heavens. The myth of seven heavens was a common idea prevalent in the Middle East during the time when the Qur'an was first recited. | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|71|15}}| | {{Quote|{{Quran|71|15}}| | ||
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Some modern Islamic scholars have argued that these verses refer to the seven layers of the atmosphere. However, {{Quran|37|6}} and {{Quran|67|5}} state that stars occupy the nearest heaven. Additionally, there are 5 rather than 7 principal layers to the [[W:Atmosphere of Earth|Earth's atmosphere]], and likewise only 5 rather than 7 major layers to the [[w:Structure_of_Earth|Earth itself]]. | Some modern Islamic scholars have argued that these verses refer to the seven layers of the atmosphere. However, {{Quran|37|6}} and {{Quran|67|5}} state that stars occupy the nearest heaven. Additionally, there are 5 rather than 7 principal layers to the [[W:Atmosphere of Earth|Earth's atmosphere]], and likewise only 5 rather than 7 major layers to the [[w:Structure_of_Earth|Earth itself]]. | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|37|6}}| Surely We have adorned the nearest heaven with an adornment, the stars}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|37|6}}| Surely We have adorned the nearest heaven with an adornment, the stars}} | ||
===Meteors as stars fired at devils=== | ===Meteors as stars fired at devils=== | ||
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If the flaming missiles mentioned by the Quran are to be identified with meteors burning up in the Earth's atmosphere, this would locate the eavesdropping devils (or jinn) in the upper atmosphere too, which leaves no way for the (extremely distant) stars to serve as guards in this process as outlined in the verses. However, these verses would of course fit a relatively small universe as imagined by 7th century Arabs, in which a heavenly firmament is adorned with stars able to pelt shooting stars at any devils or jinn in their vicinity, seeming to cover interstellar distances in a flaming streak across the sky. This is further supported by {{Quran|21|32}} which describes the heaven as a guarded ceiling. | If the flaming missiles mentioned by the Quran are to be identified with meteors burning up in the Earth's atmosphere, this would locate the eavesdropping devils (or jinn) in the upper atmosphere too, which leaves no way for the (extremely distant) stars to serve as guards in this process as outlined in the verses. However, these verses would of course fit a relatively small universe as imagined by 7th century Arabs, in which a heavenly firmament is adorned with stars able to pelt shooting stars at any devils or jinn in their vicinity, seeming to cover interstellar distances in a flaming streak across the sky. This is further supported by {{Quran|21|32}} which describes the heaven as a guarded ceiling. | ||
=== The locations of the stars === | === The locations of the stars === | ||
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===Chests contract with altitude=== | ===Chests contract with altitude=== | ||
{{Quran|6|125}} states that a person's chest cavity gets smaller at higher | {{Quran|6|125}} states that a person's chest cavity gets smaller at higher altitudes; which is an understandable belief for people to have as oxygen decreases as one travels higher, which in turn leads to hypoxemia (lower oxygen levels in the blood) causing the body to take short, shallow, fast breaths<ref>[https://www.healthline.com/health/hypoxemia What Is Hypoxemia?] ''What are the symptoms of hypoxemia?'' | ||
Healthline. Medically reviewed by Avi Varma, MD, MPH, AAHIVS, FAAFP — Written by Jill Seladi-Schulman, Ph.D. — Updated on April 26, 2023</ref> - which feels like the chest is constricted. Modern science, by contrast, has revealed that the opposite is the case.<ref>Callison, W.É., Kiyamu, M., Villafuerte, F.C. et al. ''[https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-13263-5#:~:text=Individuals%20living%20in%20a%20hypoxic,partially%20a%20population%2Dlevel%20adaptation. Comparing high versus low-altitude populations to test human adaptations for increased ventilation during sustained aerobic activity.]'' Sc''i'' Rep ''1''2, 11148 (2022). <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-13263-5</nowiki></ref> | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|6|125}}|Those whom Allah (in His plan) willeth to guide,- He openeth their breast to Islam; those whom He willeth to leave straying,- He maketh their breast close and constricted, as if they had to climb up to the skies: thus doth Allah (heap) the penalty on those who refuse to believe.}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|6|125}}|Those whom Allah (in His plan) willeth to guide,- He openeth their breast to Islam; those whom He willeth to leave straying,- He maketh their breast close and constricted, as if they had to climb up to the skies: thus doth Allah (heap) the penalty on those who refuse to believe.}} | ||
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Geographically, the Coptic land of Egypt is adjacent to Arabia. Thus, most Arabs were aware of the preservation method applied by the ancient Egyptian to their pharaohs. Pharaohs were preserved intact using methods such as salt to dry the body (hence, salt in the body of Ramesses II does not suggest that he drowned in the dead sea). There were many pharaohs from numerous dynasties who were preserved in this way. The Qur'an, by contrast, only speaks of "Pharaoh" (''Firaun'') singularly, as a proper noun without the definite article, suggesting that its author was unaware of the multiplicity of pharaohs. | Geographically, the Coptic land of Egypt is adjacent to Arabia. Thus, most Arabs were aware of the preservation method applied by the ancient Egyptian to their pharaohs. Pharaohs were preserved intact using methods such as salt to dry the body (hence, salt in the body of Ramesses II does not suggest that he drowned in the dead sea). There were many pharaohs from numerous dynasties who were preserved in this way. The Qur'an, by contrast, only speaks of "Pharaoh" (''Firaun'') singularly, as a proper noun without the definite article, suggesting that its author was unaware of the multiplicity of pharaohs. | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|10| | {{Quote|{{Quran|10|90}}|We took the Children of Israel across the sea: Pharaoh and his hosts followed them in insolence and spite. At length, when overwhelmed with the flood, he said: "I believe that there is no god except Him Whom the Children of Israel believe in: I am of those who submit (to Allah in Islam)."}} | ||
===Nabatean rock tombs at al-Hijr as homes and palaces from before the time of Pharaoh=== | ===Nabatean rock tombs at al-Hijr as homes and palaces from before the time of Pharaoh=== | ||