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{{page_title|Scientific Errors in the Qur'an}} | {{page_title|Scientific Errors in the Qur'an}} | ||
If the [[Qur’an]] contains even one [[Contradictions and Errors|contradiction]] or mistake then the claims of divine authorship and infallibility are not true. An objective evaluation of the Qur’an shows that it contains numerous [[Islam and Science|scientific]] and historical errors and reflects a pre-scientific, 7<sup>th</sup> century view of the natural world. | |||
Some will contest these numerous errors in the Qur'an by appealing to metaphor, alternative meanings, or [[w:Phenomenology (philosophy)|phenomenological]] interpretations of the text. Even supposing alternative explanations were possible in every case, the problem would remain that the Qur’an contains no obvious attempts to differentiate its understanding of the natural world and historical events from the common folklore and unscientific misconceptions of the people living in 7<sup>th</sup> century Arabia. An all-powerful, all-knowing, perfect communicator would have been able to foresee how such misleading statements would be understood by future generations and the doubts and confusions they would cause. Such overwhelming weakness in the Qur'an when we should expect perfection is already reason enough to reject any claims to its divine authorship. | Some will contest these numerous errors in the Qur'an by appealing to metaphor, alternative meanings, or [[w:Phenomenology (philosophy)|phenomenological]] interpretations of the text. Even supposing alternative explanations were possible in every case, the problem would remain that the Qur’an contains no obvious attempts to differentiate its understanding of the natural world and historical events from the common folklore and unscientific misconceptions of the people living in 7<sup>th</sup> century Arabia. An all-powerful, all-knowing, perfect communicator would have been able to foresee how such misleading statements would be understood by future generations and the doubts and confusions they would cause. Such overwhelming weakness in the Qur'an when we should expect perfection is already reason enough to reject any claims to its divine authorship. | ||
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{{Quote|{{Quran|31|29}}|'''Hast thou not seen''' how Allah causeth the night to pass into the day and causeth the day to pass into the night, and hath subdued the sun and the moon (to do their work), each running unto an appointed term; and that Allah is Informed of what ye do?}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|31|29}}|'''Hast thou not seen''' how Allah causeth the night to pass into the day and causeth the day to pass into the night, and hath subdued the sun and the moon (to do their work), each running unto an appointed term; and that Allah is Informed of what ye do?}} | ||
Notice also that the running / | Notice also that the sun running / pursuing its course ([http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume2/00000051.pdf yajree] يَجْرِىٓ) is something that the author expects people to have seen (another problem for the galactic orbit interpretation). | ||
{{Quote|{{cite quran|91|1|end=2|style=ref}}}| | {{Quote|{{cite quran|91|1|end=2|style=ref}}}| | ||
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Centuries after Muhammad lived, people with better astronomical knowledge than him had to invent 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 physical locations where the sun did its setting and rising. Plenty of evidence shows 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 the alternative explanations is correct. | Centuries after Muhammad lived, people with better astronomical knowledge than him had to invent 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 physical locations where the sun did its setting and rising. Plenty of evidence shows 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 the alternative explanations is correct. | ||
===Earth and Heavens Created in Six Days=== | ===Earth and Heavens Created in Six Days=== | ||
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The Earth first formed around 9 billion years after the Big Bang. The Qur'an, however, repeats the prevailing Middle-Eastern myth that the Earth and universe were formed in six days. | The Earth first formed around 9 billion years after the Big Bang. The Qur'an, however, repeats the prevailing Middle-Eastern myth that the Earth and universe were formed in six days. | ||
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'. | 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 rather than day in the verses about the creation of the world. 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 (for example in the Bible we have, "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 poetically 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]]. | 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 poetically 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]]. | ||
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===Earth Created before Stars=== | ===Earth Created before Stars=== | ||
The author of the Qur'an is also unaware that the [[w:Abundance of elements in Earth's crust|elements in the Earth's crust]] and core were first formed in stars by [[w:Nucleosynthesis|nucleosynthesis]]. When those stars exploded as [[w:Supernova|supernovas]], they expelled the elements that were used in future solar systems such as our own. Yet the Qur'an describes the Earth being formed before the stars. All rocky and gaseous planets in the universe were formed in a similar manner to the Earth and the Qur'an singling out the Earth only further highlights the author's ignorance of the history of the formation of celestial objects. | The author of the Qur'an is also unaware that the [[w:Abundance of elements in Earth's crust|elements in the Earth's crust]] and core were first formed in stars by [[w:Nucleosynthesis|nucleosynthesis]]. When those stars exploded as [[w:Supernova|supernovas]], they expelled the elements that were used in future solar systems such as our own. Modern radiometric dating of meteorites and rocks from the Earth and Moon show that these bodies were formed [[w:Age_of_the_Earth|4.5 billion years ago]]. Yet the Qur'an describes the Earth being fully formed before the stars. All rocky and gaseous planets in the universe were formed in a similar manner to the Earth and the Qur'an singling out the Earth only further highlights the author's ignorance of the history of the formation of celestial objects. | ||
Verse 41:12 says that lamps (or more specifically, stars in the similar verse {{Quran|37|6}}) were placed in the lowest of the seven heavens. But before there were seven heavens, while heaven was just smoke, the Earth already existed according to verse 11, and the Earth's creation in the preceeding days is described in verses 9-10 already discussed in the previous section. | Verse 41:12 says that lamps (or more specifically, stars in the similar verse {{Quran|37|6}}) were placed in the lowest of the seven heavens. But before there were seven heavens, while heaven was just smoke, the Earth already existed according to verse 11, and the Earth's creation and completion in the preceeding days is described in verses 9-10 already discussed in the previous section. | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|41|11|12}}| | {{Quote|{{Quran-range|41|11|12}}| | ||
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{{Quote|{{Quran|2|29}}| | {{Quote|{{Quran|2|29}}| | ||
He it is Who created for you all that is in the earth. Then turned He to the heaven, and fashioned it as seven heavens. And He is knower of all things.}} | He it is Who created for you all that is in the earth. Then turned He to the heaven, and fashioned it as seven heavens. And He is knower of all things.}} | ||
The word lamps (masabeeha مَصَٰبِيحَ) in {{Quran|41|12}} and {{Quran|67|5}} would obviously have to include any luminous bodies such as the stars, as does kawakibi (كَوَاكِبِ) in {{Quran|37|6}}, a word that also appears in Joseph's dream ({{Quran|12|4}}) and the destruction of the heavens ({{Quran-range|82|1|2}}) and has a parallel in {{Quran-range|15|16|17}}, where the word zodiacal constellations / great stars (baroojan بُرُوجًا) is used instead. | |||
Some websites attempt to reconcile the Qur'anic description with modern science by denying that the word 'Then' in the verses above indicate sequence, and instead claim that it means 'moreover'. They claim this despite the fact that these words (thumma in 41:11 and 2:29, and fa in 41:12 - all translated as 'Then') generally are used to indicate sequence. In other contexts thumma was sometimes used to mean 'moreover', which is generally clear from those contexts, but the passages quoted above describe a process - the creation of the heavens and Earth, and it would be ludicrous to use these words when describing such a process if they were not indicating sequence. | Some websites attempt to reconcile the Qur'anic description with modern science by denying that the word 'Then' in the verses above indicate sequence, and instead claim that it means 'moreover'. They claim this despite the fact that these words (thumma in 41:11 and 2:29, and fa in 41:12 - all translated as 'Then') generally are used to indicate sequence. In other contexts thumma was sometimes used to mean 'moreover', which is generally clear from those contexts, but the passages quoted above describe a process - the creation of the heavens and Earth, and it would be ludicrous to use these words when describing such a process if they were not indicating sequence. | ||
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====Earth and Heavens were Torn Apart==== | ====Earth and Heavens were Torn Apart==== | ||
Some websites claim that the following verse is compatible with the [[w:Big Bang|Big Bang]] theory. But according to this theory, the Universe was formed about 13.8 billion years ago due to a [[w:Chronology of the universe|rapid expansion]] from singularity. The earth was formed 4.54 billion years ago from [[w:History of the Earth|accretion]] of debris that surrounded the precursor of the Sun. There was no "separation" of the "joined" earth and heavens as this verse suggests. It is, in fact, a repetition of [[w:World egg|cosmic egg]] myths in which an egg-like structure was split into two halves, the lower half forming the earth and the upper half forming the heaven. | Some websites claim that the following verse is compatible with the [[w:Big Bang|Big Bang]] theory. But according to this theory, the Universe was formed about 13.8 billion years ago due to a [[w:Chronology of the universe|rapid expansion]] from singularity. The earth was formed 4.54 billion years ago from [[w:History of the Earth|accretion]] of debris that surrounded the precursor of the Sun. There was no "separation" of the "joined" earth and heavens as this verse suggests. It is, in fact, a repetition of [[w:World egg|cosmic egg]] myths in which an egg-like structure was split into two halves, the lower half forming the earth and the upper half forming the heaven. The verse itself assumes that the listeners are familiar with the concept. | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|21|30}}| | {{Quote|{{Quran|21|30}}| | ||
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And verily We created the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, in six Days, and naught of weariness touched Us.}} | And verily We created the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, in six Days, and naught of weariness touched Us.}} | ||
There is no scientific theory in which the Earth and heavens were torn apart from each other. To imagine that verse 21:30 describes the big bang, the atomic particles that would later form the Earth would at the beginning have to be separated from those that would go on to form everything else in the universe. This bears no resemblance to scientific cosmology, wherein the material that forms the Earth passed through at least one earlier generation of star, and more recently was part of various asteroids, comets and planetesimals orbiting the sun (which could all be described as being in the 'heavens') that sometimes collided and merged with each other, sometimes split apart, and gradually coalesced under gravity to form the Earth and other planets. | There is no scientific theory in which the Earth and heavens were torn apart from each other. The verse says that "We clove them" (dual pronoun 'huma'), not "We clove it", thereby indicating that the Earth and heavens are distinct after the cloving. To imagine that verse 21:30 describes the big bang, the atomic particles that would later form the Earth would at the beginning have to be separated from those that would go on to form everything else in the universe. This bears no resemblance to scientific cosmology, wherein the material that forms the Earth passed through at least one earlier generation of star, and more recently was part of various asteroids, comets and planetesimals orbiting the sun (which could all be described as being in the 'heavens') that sometimes collided and merged with each other, sometimes split apart, and gradually coalesced under gravity to form the Earth and other planets. | ||
Moreover, the very next verse {{Quran|21|31}} speaks of mountains being placed on the Earth. Here 'the Earth' clearly means an actual world, so how do the Islamic websites expect anyone to believe that in the previous verse 'the Earth' refers merely to atomic particles at the time of the big bang that would billions of years later form the Earth? | Moreover, the very next verse {{Quran|21|31}} speaks of mountains being placed on the Earth. Here 'the Earth' clearly means an actual world, so how do the Islamic websites expect anyone to believe that in the previous verse 'the Earth' refers merely to atomic particles at the time of the big bang that would billions of years later form the Earth? | ||
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{{Main|Cosmology of the Quran|l1=Cosmology of the Qur'an}} | {{Main|Cosmology of the Quran|l1=Cosmology of the Qur'an}} | ||
The universe consists of hundreds of billions of galaxies, each with hundreds of billions of stars. While the Qur' | The universe consists of hundreds of billions of galaxies, each with hundreds of billions of stars. While the Qur'anic notion that the heaven of stars is covered by six further heavens might currently be unfalsifiable, the myth of [[w:Seven Heavens|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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The word translated "are joined" is Arabic [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume2/00000091.pdf jumi'a], a verb which means to collect together, gather together, bring together. Given that this would actually require the moon to travel 98 million miles away from Earth and into the sun, which dwarfs it by over 600 times in diameter, it seems vastly less fitting as an apocalyptic event than if the ancient conception of the cosmos was correct. Thus it is far more likely that the author had such a misconception about the sun and moon. | The word translated "are joined" is Arabic [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume2/00000091.pdf jumi'a], a verb which means to collect together, gather together, bring together. Given that this would actually require the moon to travel 98 million miles away from Earth and into the sun, which dwarfs it by over 600 times in diameter, it seems vastly less fitting as an apocalyptic event than if the ancient conception of the cosmos was correct. Thus it is far more likely that the author had such a misconception about the sun and moon. | ||
===Moon was Split in Two=== | |||
{{Main|Moon Split Miracle}} | |||
The Qur'an and Hadith claim that the moon was miraculously split into two pieces and then, presumably, put back together again. There is absolutely no scientific evidence whatsoever that the moon has ever been split into two. Since the moon is visible to half the planet at any given time, we should expect to see numerous accounts from different parts of the world attesting to this event if it actually happened. The Romans, Greeks, Egyptians, Persians, Chinese and Indians had avid astronomers who should have seen this event and recorded it in their histories. The absence of historical record from other civilizations, contemporary to Muhammad, is a strong indication that this event never happened. | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|54|1-3}}|The hour drew nigh and the moon did rend asunder. }} | |||
{{Quote|{{Bukhari|4|56|831}}|Narrated Anas: "That the Meccan people requested Allah's Apostle to show them a miracle, and so he showed them the splitting of the moon."}} | |||
===The Moon's light=== | ===The Moon's light=== | ||
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Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The Parable of His Light is as if there were a Niche and within it a Lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Glass: the glass as it were a brilliant star: Lit from a blessed Tree, an Olive, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scarce touched it: Light upon Light! Allah doth guide whom He will to His Light: Allah doth set forth Parables for men: and Allah doth know all things.}} | Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The Parable of His Light is as if there were a Niche and within it a Lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Glass: the glass as it were a brilliant star: Lit from a blessed Tree, an Olive, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scarce touched it: Light upon Light! Allah doth guide whom He will to His Light: Allah doth set forth Parables for men: and Allah doth know all things.}} | ||
=== | ===Meteors are Stars Shot at Devils=== | ||
{{Main| | {{Main|Mistranslations of Quran 67-5|l1=Mistranslations of Qur'an 67:5}} | ||
The Qur'an says that stars (kawakib ٱلْكَوَاكِبِ) / lamps (masabih مَصَٰبِيحَ) adorn the heavens and guard against devils. | |||
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 they 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. | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|37|6|10}}| | |||
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, Except such as snatch away something by stealth, and they are pursued by a flaming fire, of piercing brightness.}} | |||
The same Arabic words are used at the start of verse 67:5 as in 37.6 (زَيَّنَّا ٱلسَّمَآءَ ٱلدُّنْيَا), except the stars are described as lamps. Clearly the lamps that 'beautify the heaven' refer to stars (and perhaps also the 5 visible planets), which are always there. Meteors are generally not much larger than grains of sand and are only visible for a second when they burn up, generating light in the Earth's atmosphere after millions of years in darkness, but the author of the Qur'an believes that meteors (the 'missiles') are a kind of star. | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|67|5}}| | |||
And verily We have beautified the world's heaven with lamps, and We have made them missiles for the devils, and for them We have prepared the doom of flame.}} | |||
In Sahih Muslim we have a hadith confirming that the pursuing flames / missiles in the two verses refer to what we would call meteors which they saw shooting across the sky. | |||
{{Quote|{{ | {{Quote|{{Muslim|26|5538}}|'Abdullah. Ibn 'Abbas reported: | ||
A person from the Ansar who was amongst the Companions of Allah's Messenger (pbuh reported to me: As we were sitting during the night with Allah's Messenger (pbuh), a meteor shot gave a dazzling light. Allah's Messenger (pbuh) said: What did you say in the pre-Islamic days when there was such a shot (of meteor)? They said: Allah and His Messenger know best (the actual position), but we, however, used to say that that very night a great man had been born and a great man had died, whereupon Allah's Messenger pbuh) said: (These meteors) are shot neither at the death of anyone nor on the birth of anyone. Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, issues Command when He decides to do a thing. Then (the Angels) supporting the Throne sing His glory, then sing the dwellers of heaven who are near to them until this glory of God reaches them who are in the heaven of this world. Then those who are near the supporters of the Throne ask these supporters of the Throne: What your Lord has said? And they accordingly inform them what He says. Then the dwellers of heaven seek information from them until this information reaches the heaven of the world. In this process of transmission (the jinn snatches) what he manages to overhear and he carries it to his friends. And when the Angels see the jinn they attack them with meteors. If they narrate only which they manage to snatch that is correct but they alloy it with lies and make additions to it.}} | |||
===Sky is a Tent/Dome=== | ===Sky is a Tent/Dome=== | ||
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===The Heavens can be Rolled Up=== | ===The Heavens can be Rolled Up=== | ||
These verses imply that the heavens have two dimensional surfaces. | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|21|104}}|The Day when We shall roll up the heavens as a recorder rolleth up a written scroll. }} | {{Quote|{{Quran|21|104}}|The Day when We shall roll up the heavens as a recorder rolleth up a written scroll. }} | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|39|67}}|No just estimate have they made of Allah, such as is due to Him: On the Day of Judgment the whole of the earth will be but His handful, and the heavens will be rolled up in His right hand: Glory to Him! High is He above the Partners they attribute to Him!}} | |||
===The Stars Will Fall=== | ===The Stars Will Fall=== | ||
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{{Main|Embryology in the Quran|l1=Embryology in the Qur'an}} | {{Main|Embryology in the Quran|l1=Embryology in the Qur'an}} | ||
The Qur'an and Hadith depict that humans are formed from a clot of blood after an initial semen stage. There is no stage in embryonic development where humans are formed from 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 ( | The Qur'an and Hadith depict that humans are formed from a clot of blood after an initial semen stage. There is no stage in embryonic development where humans are formed from 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 (which is the unanimous interpretation in 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. | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|23|14}}| | {{Quote|{{Quran|23|14}}| | ||
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====Facing Toward Mecca==== | ====Facing Toward Mecca==== | ||
The Qur'an tells all Muslims to face in the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca when they pray. However, even if you suppose that alligning yourself with a great circle around the globe counts as facing the direction of Mecca, you are simultaneously facing opposite its direction as the circle can be traced behind you. Even worse, on the opposite side of the Earth every direction is equally facing towards and away from Mecca. Astronauts in Earth orbit or (one day) on the Moon and Mars would require even more contrived solutions. The author here presupposes a small world, local to Arabia, that is flat. Only in that world view can people everywhere face Mecca. | The Qur'an tells all Muslims to face in the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca when they pray. However, even if you suppose that alligning yourself with a great circle around the globe counts as facing the direction of Mecca, you are simultaneously facing opposite its direction as the circle can be traced behind you. Even worse, on the opposite side of the Earth every direction is equally facing towards and away from Mecca. The Americas are mostly in the hemisphere of this antipode. There, the rhumb line method is often preferred because the great circle method lines across the continent diverge before they start to converge when they enter the hemisphere of Mecca, causing people north and south to face away from each as they pray. Astronauts in Earth orbit or (one day) on the Moon and Mars would require even more contrived solutions. The author here presupposes a small world, local to Arabia, that is flat. Only in that world view can people everywhere face Mecca. | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|2|149}}| | {{Quote|{{Quran|2|149}}| | ||
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{{Main|Responses_to_Zakir_Naik#Water_Cycle_in_the_Qur.27an|l1=Water Cycle in the Qur'an}} | {{Main|Responses_to_Zakir_Naik#Water_Cycle_in_the_Qur.27an|l1=Water Cycle in the Qur'an}} | ||
Every verse about rain in the Qur'an implies that rain comes either directly from the sky or from Allah. However the crucial step of evaporation of water into the air is conspicuously never mentioned, despite apologetics claiming that the water cycle is described in the Qur'an. | Every verse about rain in the Qur'an implies that rain comes either directly from the sky or from Allah. However the crucial step of evaporation of water into the air is conspicuously never mentioned, despite apologetics claiming that the water cycle is described in the Qur'an. Condensation of water is never mentioned. This means that the author of the Qur'an believed in clouds and rainfall as a linear process orchestrated by Allah as opposed to a cyclic process. | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|43|11}}| | {{Quote|{{Quran|43|11}}| | ||
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At length, when they came to a (lowly) valley of ants, '''one of the ants said: "O ye ants, get into your habitations, lest Solomon and his hosts crush you (under foot) without knowing it." So he smiled, amused at her speech;''' and he said: "O my Lord! so order me that I may be grateful for Thy favours, which thou hast bestowed on me and on my parents, and that I may work the righteousness that will please Thee: And admit me, by Thy Grace, to the ranks of Thy righteous Servants." }} | At length, when they came to a (lowly) valley of ants, '''one of the ants said: "O ye ants, get into your habitations, lest Solomon and his hosts crush you (under foot) without knowing it." So he smiled, amused at her speech;''' and he said: "O my Lord! so order me that I may be grateful for Thy favours, which thou hast bestowed on me and on my parents, and that I may work the righteousness that will please Thee: And admit me, by Thy Grace, to the ranks of Thy righteous Servants." }} | ||
===Only Four | ===Only Four Types of Cattle=== | ||
While the Qur'an states that | While the Qur'an states that Allah has provided four kinds of cattle (eight including male and female) for use by humans and for eating, 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 this refers 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 (horses, mules and donkeys are considered distinct from cattle in {{Quran-range|16|5|8}}). This neglects other types of cattle from the regions outside of Arabia such as reindeer, which are important to people in northern latitudes. | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|39|6}}| | {{Quote|{{Quran|39|6}}| | ||
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{{main|Mary the sister of Aaron in the Quran}} | {{main|Mary the sister of Aaron in the Quran}} | ||
Each of the following verses narrates the story of Jesus's birth. But Mary the mother of Jesus was born in the first century BCE and is not related to Moses and his family | Each of the following verses narrates the story of Jesus's birth. But Mary the mother of Jesus was born in the first century BCE and is not related to Moses and his family whose story is set 1500 years earlier. Miriam, not Mary, was the sister of Moses and Aaron and daughter of Amram (Imran). | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|19|27-28}}| | {{Quote|{{Quran|19|27-28}}|Then she brought him to her own folk, carrying him. They said: O Mary! Thou hast come with an amazing thing. '''O sister of Aaron!''' Thy father was not a wicked man nor was thy mother a harlot.}} | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|66|12}}|And ''' | {{Quote|{{Quran|66|12}}|And Mary, '''daughter of 'Imran''', whose body was chaste, therefor We breathed therein something of Our Spirit. And she put faith in the words of her Lord and His scriptures, and was of the obedient.}} | ||
"Daughter of 'Imran" is not a mere figure of speech about her ancestry - Mary's mother is described as the wife of 'Imran, and two verses earlier it is conspicuous that "the Family of 'Imran" is mentioned after other famous prophets: | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|3|33-36}}| Lo! Allah preferred Adam and Noah and the Family of Abraham '''and the Family of 'Imran''' above (all His) creatures. They were descendants one of another. Allah is Hearer, Knower. (Remember) when the '''wife of 'Imran''' said: My Lord! I have vowed unto Thee that which is in my belly as a consecrated (offering). Accept it from me. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Hearer, the Knower! And when she was delivered she said: My Lord! Lo! I am delivered of a female - Allah knew best of what she was delivered - the male is not as the female; and lo! I have named her Mary, and lo! I crave Thy protection for her and for her offspring from Satan the outcast.}} | |||
===Coat of Mail was Invented during the Reign of David=== | ===Coat of Mail was Invented during the Reign of David=== | ||
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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. However, the Qur'an tells of crucifixions at the time of Joseph (approximately 2000 BCE) and Moses (approximately 1500 BCE). | 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. However, the Qur'an tells of crucifixions at the time of Joseph (approximately 2000 BCE) and Moses (approximately 1500 BCE). | ||
Ancient Egypt has been extensively studied in archaeology. While there is hieroglyphic evidence of people impaled | Ancient Egypt has been extensively studied in archaeology. While there is hieroglyphic evidence of people impaled through upright stakes in ancient Egypt, this is a distinct execution method from the crucifixion on palm trees in the Qur'anic story. Palm trees are far too thick to be used as upright stakes for impaling a person from above, so no-one would choose palm trees for such a purpose. Rather, the Egyptians would have to impale the victim to the side of the palm tree trunk in the Qur'an's anachronistic tale. | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|12|41}}| | {{Quote|{{Quran|12|41}}| | ||
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===Pharaoh or Pharaohs=== | ===Pharaoh or Pharaohs=== | ||
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 | 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. They were preserved intact using methods such as salt to dry the body (hence salt in the body of Ramesses II is not evidence that he drowned in the sea). There were many Pharaohs ranging from numerous dynasties who were preserved in this way, but the Qur'an merely narrated one un-named Pharaoh who would be preserved as a sign. | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|10|92}}| | {{Quote|{{Quran|10|92}}| | ||
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==Sociology== | ==Sociology== | ||
===Linguistics === | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|2|31}}|And He taught Adam the names - all of them. Then He showed them to the angels and said, "Inform Me of the names of these, if you are truthful."}} | |||
The Qu'ran states that the first humans "Adam and Eve" spoke to each other in some kind of language in many suras, and also that God told them the names of everything. Thanks to the modern field of linguistics and the history of language we know that the type of sentences constructed in the Qu'ran would simply not have been able to be spoken by humans until over 100,000 years since the first humans evolved. The language of the first humans would be incomprehensible to us and they would not be able to express the kinds of sentences that Adam and Eve do in the Qu'ran. | |||
Allah taught Adam the names of all things. Does he know how long it takes to speak these names? Some 1.9 million species of plants and animals have been identified and named, out of some 8.7 million that may actually exist.<ref name=plos>{{cite journal | author= Mora, C.| title=How Many Species Are There on Earth and in the Ocean?|journal=[[PLoS Biology]]|date=August 23, 2011|url=http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001127 |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.1001127 |pmid=21886479 |pmc=3160336 |volume=9 |pages=e1001127|display-authors=etal}}</ref> Millions more have become extinct. Let us not even talk about the names of non-living objects, galaxies, the countless stars and planets of the universe. | |||
===People are Protected in Mecca=== | ===People are Protected in Mecca=== | ||
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===Requirement to Learn in Arabic=== | ===Requirement to Learn in Arabic=== | ||
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. | There are over 5,000 languages and dialects in the world, with less than 4% of the world's population being native Arabic speakers. Moreover, even native speakers of modern Arabic in its various dialects need additional study to be able to understand well the Qur'anic Arabic from which the modern language developed. Even then, both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars acknowledge that the meaning of certain words, and historical allusions in the Qur'an have become lost or have always been uncertain (as indeed anyone familiar with the discussions of competing interpretations in the tafsirs will be aware). | ||
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 classical 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. | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|43|3}}| | {{Quote|{{Quran|43|3}}| | ||
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==Others== | ==Others== | ||
===Mathematical Error in Hereditary Laws=== | ===Mathematical Error in Hereditary Laws=== | ||