Scientific Errors in the Quran: Difference between revisions

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{{Main|Geocentrism and the Quran|l1=Geocentrism and the Qur'an}}
{{Main|Geocentrism and the Quran|l1=Geocentrism and the Qur'an}}


The Qur'an mentions numerous times that the sun and the moon travel in an orbit, but does not mention once that the earth does too. This is consistent with a earth-centered (geocentric) view of the cosmos that places a motionless earth at the center of the universe and all "heavenly bodies" travel around the earth. This was the prevailing understanding of the universe prior to the 16<sup>th</sup> century when Copernicus helped explain and popularize a sun-centered (heliocentric) view of the universe.
The Qur'an mentions numerous times that the sun and the moon travel in an orbit, but does not mention once that the earth does too. This is consistent with a earth-centered (geocentric) view of the cosmos that places a motionless earth at the center of the universe and all "heavenly bodies" travel around the earth. This was the prevailing understanding of the universe prior to the 16<sup>th</sup> century when Copernicus helped explain and popularize a sun-centered (heliocentric) view of the universe. Tellingly, the sun's orbit is always mentioned in the context of night and day.


{{Quote|{{Quran|36|38}}|
{{Quote|{{Quran|36|38}}|
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It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor doth the night outstrip the day. They float each in an orbit. }}
It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor doth the night outstrip the day. They float each in an orbit. }}


Some apologists try to explain away the Qur'anic description of the sun moving in an orbit as a reference to our sun orbiting the black hole at the center of the milky way galaxy. This is an [[w:Ad hoc hypothesis|Ad hoc hypothesis]] and nothing from the text implies that the sun is orbiting anything other than the earth. If the author had knowledge of the sun orbiting a black hole then it is conspicuous that he never mentions it explicitly nor in any way differentiates the sun's orbit from that of the moon.
Some apologists try to explain away the Qur'anic description of the sun moving in an orbit as a reference to our sun orbiting the black hole at the center of the milky way galaxy every 225 million years. This is an [[w:Ad hoc hypothesis|Ad hoc hypothesis]], of no relevance to human time scales, and nothing from the text implies that the sun is orbiting anything other than the earth. If the author had knowledge of the sun orbiting a black hole then it is conspicuous that he never mentions it explicitly nor in any way differentiates the sun's orbit from that of the moon.


In the Qur'an, the moon and the sun orbit the earth together. There is no distinction made between the moon, which actually revolves around the earth, and the sun which only appears to revolve around the earth when in fact the suns movement through the sky is a product of the rotation of the earth around its axis.
In the Qur'an, the moon and the sun orbit the earth together. There is no distinction made between the moon, which actually revolves around the earth, and the sun which only appears to revolve around the earth when in fact the suns movement through the sky is a product of the rotation of the earth around its axis.
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<!-- {{Quote|{{Quran|40|64}}|It is God who made for you the earth '''a fixed place''' and heaven for an edifice; And He shaped you, and shaped you well, and provided you with the good things. That then is God, your Lord, so blessed be God, the Lord of all Being.}} -->
<!-- {{Quote|{{Quran|40|64}}|It is God who made for you the earth '''a fixed place''' and heaven for an edifice; And He shaped you, and shaped you well, and provided you with the good things. That then is God, your Lord, so blessed be God, the Lord of all Being.}} -->
===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}}
{{Main|Dhul-Qarnayn and the Sun Setting in a Muddy Spring}}
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