Scientific Errors in the Quran: Difference between revisions

Centuries after Muhammad lived, people with better astronomical knowledge than him started to come up with creative interpretations of these verses to say that Dhu'l-Qrnayn only traveled until he reached "the west" or to a spot "at the time" when the sun set and not the "place" where the sun set. Unfortunately, these alternative interpretations are severely undermined by the [[Dhul-Qarnayn_and_the_Sun_Setting_in_a_Muddy_Spring_-_Part_One#First_interpretation:_He_reached_the_west_and_east|context and Arabic words]] used in these verses, which instead point to a physical location. There is plenty of evidence showing that the early Muslims understood the verse in this straightforward way. Again, we must ask why an all-knowing being would use such misleading verses that mimic the misconceptions and legends prevalent at the time if one of these alternative explanations is correct.

The author of the Qur'an does not seem to know the difference between stars (giant balls of gas thousands of times larger than the earth) and meteors which are small rocky masses of debris which brighten up after entering the earth's atmosphere. Many ancient people confused the two, as meteors look like stars that are streaking across the sky; this is why there were often called [[w:Meteoroid|shooting stars]] or falling stars. In the following verse, the Qur'an claims that Allah uses stars as missiles to ward away devils. This repeats a common Arab myth at the time the Qur'an was first recited.

We have indeed decked the lower heaven with beauty (in) the stars, (For beauty) and for guard against all obstinate rebellious evil spirits, (So) they should not strain their ears in the direction of the Exalted Assembly but be cast away from every side, Repulsed, for they are under a perpetual penalty,Save him who snatcheth a fragment, Except such as snatch away something by stealth, and they are pursued by a flaming fire, of piercing brightness.}}

In the hundreds of other Qur'anic verses where the Arabic word 'yawm' appears, everyone understands it to mean day. Yet Islamic websites try and rescue the Qur'an by pointing to an alternative meaning of yawm, which almost always means 'day', but can sometimes mean 'time period'.  Curiously, and rather conveniently, yawm is only claimed to mean time period in the verses about the creation of the world. Clearly, the predominant meaning of the word is day and when a specific number is used, in this case six, the word almost always means a literal day. Again, nothing in the context of the verses, nor the Qur'an in general, suggests awareness that the universe or Earth were formed over long time periods. The author makes precisely zero attempt to distingish his description from the prevailing Middle-Eastern creation myths in this regard, which feature six literal days of creation ("Evening came and morning came: The first day." - Genesis 1:5).  

Secondly, neither the universe nor Earth were formed in six distinct long periods of time. It would have been trivial for an all-knowing diety to have indicated the vast duration in which the universe has developed, which has taken place over the past [[w:Age of the universe|13.8 billion years]].

The universe consists of hundreds of billions of galaxies, each with hundreds of billions of stars. There is no such thing as seven layers to the universe. This myth of seven heavens was a common idea prevalent in the Middle East during the time when the Qur'an was first recited.

Some Islamic websites claim that these are seven layers of the atmosphere, despite the fact that verse 37:6 (see next section) says that stars are in the nearest heaven. There are only 5 not 7 principal layers to the [[W:Atmosphere of Earth|Earth's atmosphere]], and likewise only 5 not 7 major layers to the Earth itself.

 

 

Stars are spread throughout the Universe and there is no such thing as the "nearest" heaven or layer. Also, this verse is in keeping with the author's claim (Quran 71:15 as described above) that the seven heavens are arranged one above the other.

The Qur'an states, incorrectly, that semen originates from a spot between the backbone and ribs. Today we know sperm comes from the [[w:testicle|testicles]] and semen from various glands behind and below the bladder, which is not between the spine and ribs.

The author of the Qur'an describes the initial formation of a human embryo out of fluid emanating from the man (and possibly also of the woman), which is stored in the womb. This reflects the contemporary, but incorrect, view that the material for the embryo is initially formed out of semen, as taught by Hippocrates, Galen, and the Jewish Talmud. In fact, semen is the vehicle for the sperm cells, one of which fuses with a woman's [[w:ovum|ovum]] in her [[w:fallopian tube|fallopian tube]], and the resulting cell divides and travels back into the womb for implantation.  

The Qur'an and Hadith depict that humans are formed from a clot of blood. There was never a stage in embryonic development where humans are formed into a clot of blood. This description is likely influenced by an unscientific and primitive understanding of human reproduction based on observations from an early-term miscarriage and a woman's menstrual cycle. While in modern times some Muslims seek to use alternative meanings for the relevant word, the mere fact that it certainly can mean clotted blood (as also is the consensus of the classical tafsirs), in a passage about a biological process (formation of a baby), is a major weakness in what should be a perfect description.

The Qur'an says that an embryo is transformed from a sperm to a clot, then it is shaped, and then the male or female sex is determined. Modern genetics has shown that the sex of a human is decided at the moment of conception.<ref>{{cite book|first=eds.: Anthony S. Fauci [et al.] ; eds. of previous ed.: T. R. Harrison [et al.]|title=Harrison's principles of internal medicine.|date=2008|publisher=McGraw-Hill Medical|location=New York [etc.]|isbn=978-0-07-147693-5|pages=2339–2346|edition=17th ed.}}</ref>

===Only Four / Eight Types of Cattle===

While the Qur'an states that there are eight kinds of cattle for use by humans, In fact there are more than a dozen kinds of cattle. The word "cattle" in 39:6 is [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000289.pdf al-ana'ami], meaning pasturing (i.e. grazing) animals. The word [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume3/00000432.pdf azwajin] ("kinds" in the translation of 39:6 below) generally means mate or member of a pair. {{Quran|6|143-144}} clarifies that these refer to male and female pairs of sheep, goats, oxes and camels, so in fact the author of the Qur'an is aware only of four kinds of cattle useful for humans. This neglects other types of cattle from the regions outside of Arabia such as reindeer, which are important to people in northern latitudes.  

There is no evidence that Coats of mail existed during the time of David (10th century BCE). The earliest example of a coat of mail was Celtic and its invention is commonly credited to the Celts in the 3rd century BCE.<ref name="books.google.com">Richard A. Gabriel, [http://books.google.com/books?id=HscIwvtkq2UC&pg=PA79 ''The ancient world''], Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007 P.79</ref>. Mail has also been found in a 5th century BCE Scythian grave, and there is a cumbersome Etruscan pattern mail artifact from the 4th century BCE.<ref>Robinson, H. R., [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=BaDMDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA10 ''Oriental Armour''], New York:Dover Publications, 1995, pp.10-12</ref> Such artifacts would have been easily preserved and found by archeologists if they had existed much earlier.

There are no references from any culture anywhere in the world to crucifixion as a method of execution before 500 BCE, where they started to appear in several middle eastern cultures, and it is not clear that their crucifixions were the same as what we know (the Roman crucifixion)/they are the same type. Ancient Egypt has been extensively studied in archaeology as well. However, the Qur’an tells of crucifixions at the time of Joseph (approximately 2000 BCE) and Moses (approximately 1500 BCE).

Not only that, but crucifixions are often mentioned in a very casual way in the Qu'ran, so the practice must have been widespread enough to be understood by common people, as common people are being addressed in these suras.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|7|123|124}}|

Said Pharaoh: "Believe ye in Him before I give you permission? Surely this is a trick which ye have planned in the city to drive out its people: but soon shall ye know (the consequences). Be sure I will cut off your hands and your feet on opposite sides, and I will cause you all to die on the cross."  }}

Geographically, the Coptic land of Egypt was adjacent to Arabia. Thus, most Arabs were aware of the preservation method applied by the ancient Egyptian to their Pharaohs. There were so many Pharaohs ranging from numerous dynasties, many of them were preserved intact. But the Qur'an merely narrated one Pharaoh that was preserved.

There are over 5,000 languages and dialects in the world, with less than 4% of the world's population being native Arabic speakers. However, it is incumbent upon Muslims to pray in Arabic, recite the Qur'an in Arabic, and understand commentaries and the traditions of Muhammad in Arabic. We are left wondering why an all-knowing being would not provide a more efficient way to send his message to all people on earth and why he does not account for the immense diversity of languages.

===Tribe Trapped Behind a Wall===

The story of Dhul-Qarnayn says that a tribe is trapped behind a massive wall of Iron. According to the Qur'an, these two beast tribes concealed themselves behind this metal wall and will only be let free on the day of Judgement. Obviously, no such wall has ever been found nor is there a tribe somewhere on earth trapped behind it.

{{Quote|{{Quran|5|115}}|

{{Quote|Ibn-Kathir | A flying carpet made from wood, on top of which he could carry everything in his kingdom including chairs, to wherever Solomon wants to go, whilst flocks of birds would fly over to give shade }}