Scientific Errors in the Quran: Difference between revisions

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Scientific Errors in the Quran (view source)

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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 a few times that the sun and the moon travel in an orbit or sphere/hemisphere (fee falakin فِى فَلَكٍ<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000227.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2443 فَلَكٍ] and [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000228.pdf p. 2444]</ref>), but does not mention once that the Earth does too. This is consistent with an 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 almost always mentioned in the context of night and day ({{Quran|13|2}} being the only exception) and is always mentioned with that of the moon (which does in fact orbit the Earth each month), and the sun's orbit likewise appears, to the unaided eye, to traverse the sky each night when it is visible.
The Qur'an mentions a few times that the sun and the moon travel in an orbit or sphere/hemisphere (fee falakin فِى فَلَكٍ<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000227.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2443 فَلَكٍ] and [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000228.pdf p. 2444]</ref>), but does not mention once that the Earth does too. This is consistent with an 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 almost always mentioned in the context of night and day ({{Quran|13|2}} being the only exception) and is always mentioned with that of the moon (which does in fact orbit the Earth each month, and likewise appears, to the unaided eye, to traverse the sky each night when it is visible).
{{Quote|{{cite quran|36|37|end=40|style=ref}}|
{{Quote|{{cite quran|36|37|end=40|style=ref}}|
A token unto them is night. We strip it of the day, and lo! they are in darkness. And the sun runneth on unto a resting-place for him. That is the measuring of the Mighty, the Wise. And for the moon We have appointed mansions till she return like an old shrivelled palm-leaf. It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor doth the night outstrip the day. They float each in an orbit.}}
A token unto them is night. We strip it of the day, and lo! they are in darkness. And the sun runneth on unto a resting-place for him. That is the measuring of the Mighty, the Wise. And for the moon We have appointed mansions till she return like an old shrivelled palm-leaf. It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor doth the night outstrip the day. They float each in an orbit.}}
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#Heaven and completed Earth;
#Heaven and completed Earth;
#Seven heavens;
#Seven heavens and each given its mandate;
#The nearest heaven adorned with stars.
#The nearest heaven adorned with stars and guarded.


{{Quote|{{Quran-range|41|11|12}}|
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|41|11|12}}|
Then turned He to the heaven when it was smoke, and said unto it and unto the earth: Come both of you, willingly or loth. They said: We come, obedient. '''Then He ordained them seven heavens in two Days''' and inspired in each heaven its mandate; '''and We decked the nether heaven with lamps''', and rendered it inviolable. That is the measuring of the Mighty, the Knower. }}
Then turned He to the heaven when it was smoke, and said unto it and unto the earth: Come both of you, willingly or loth. They said: We come, obedient. '''Then He ordained them seven heavens in two Days''' and inspired in each heaven its mandate; '''and We decked the nether heaven with lamps''', and rendered it inviolable. That is the measuring of the Mighty, the Knower. }}


{{Quran|2|29}} further confirms that heaven was only made into seven heavens when, according to the Quran, everything on Earth had been created.
{{Quran|2|29}} further confirms that heaven was only fashioned seven heavens when, according to the Quran, everything on Earth had been created.


{{Quote|{{Quran|2|29}}|
{{Quote|{{Quran|2|29}}|
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{{Quote|{{Quran|21|71}}|
{{Quote|{{Quran|21|71}}|
(Pharaoh) said: Ye put faith in him before I give you leave. Lo! he is your chief who taught you magic. Now surely I shall cut off your hands and your feet alternately, and '''I shall crucify you on the trunks of palm trees''', and ye shall know for certain which of us hath sterner and more lasting punishment.}}
(Pharaoh) said: Ye put faith in him before I give you leave. Lo! he is your chief who taught you magic. Now surely I shall cut off your hands and your feet alternately, and '''I shall crucify you on the trunks of palm trees''', and ye shall know for certain which of us hath sterner and more lasting punishment.}}
===Samaritans in ancient Egypt===
The Qu'ran states that Moses dealt with a Samaritan during his time, however the Samaritans did not exist until well over half a millennium after Moses is supposed to have existed. The term s''amari'' itself comes from the city of Samaria, an archaeologically evidenced city built by King Omri around 870BC, nearly 700 years after Moses is supposed to have existed. The likely source of this confusion is the story in the Bible in Hosea 8:5-6 where there is mentioned a golden calf worshipped by Samaritans after the time of Solomon.
{{Quote|{{Quran|20|85}}|“( Allah) said; ‘We have tested thy people in thy absence: the Samiri has led them astray’.” }}
{{Quote|{{Quran|20|95}}|“( Moses) said, ‘What then is thy case, O Samiri?’”}}


===The singular Pharaoh===
===The singular Pharaoh===
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{{Quote|{{Quran|10|92}}|
{{Quote|{{Quran|10|92}}|
This day shall We save thee in the body, that thou mayest be a sign to those who come after thee! but verily, many among mankind are heedless of Our Signs!" }}
This day shall We save thee in the body, that thou mayest be a sign to those who come after thee! but verily, many among mankind are heedless of Our Signs!" }}
===Samaritans in ancient Egypt===
The Qu'ran states that Moses dealt with a Samaritan during his time, however the Samaritans did not exist until well over half a millennium after Moses is supposed to have existed. The term s''amari'' itself comes from the city of Samaria, an archaeologically evidenced city built by King Omri around 870BC, nearly 700 years after Moses is supposed to have existed.
The likely source of this confusion is the story in the Bible in Hosea 8:5-6 where there is mentioned another golden calf worshipped by Samaritans after the time of Solomon. One modern perspective holds that the Qur'an might be referring to Zimri, son of Salu (Numbers 25:14). However, the Quranic character is referred to three times in {{Quran-range|20|85|88}} as l-sāmiriyu with the definite article, "the Samiri", so this is a descriptive title rather than a proper name.
{{Quote|{{Quran|20|85}}|“( Allah) said; ‘We have tested thy people in thy absence: the Samiri has led them astray’.” }}{{Quote|{{Quran|20|95}}|“( Moses) said, ‘What then is thy case, O Samiri?’”}}


===Noah's worldwide flood===
===Noah's worldwide flood===
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(Thus it was) till, when Our commandment came to pass and the oven gushed forth water, We said: Load therein two of every kind, a pair (the male and female), and thy household, save him against whom the word hath gone forth already, and those who believe. And but a few were they who believed with him.}}
(Thus it was) till, when Our commandment came to pass and the oven gushed forth water, We said: Load therein two of every kind, a pair (the male and female), and thy household, save him against whom the word hath gone forth already, and those who believe. And but a few were they who believed with him.}}


===John the Baptist's original name===
== Sociology ==
 
The name "John" comes from the Hebrew name ''Yohanan''. Several figures in the Old Testament bore this name. The name has also appeared throughout history. There existed a high priest named Johanan in the 3rd century BCE and a ruler named John Hyrcanus who died in 104 BC. These people existed before John the Baptist, who was a contemporary of Jesus. The Qur'an, by contrast, asserts that nobody before John the Baptist (''Yahya'' in Arabic) bore his name.
 
{{Quote|{{Quran|19|7}}|(It was said unto him): O Zachariah! Lo! We bring thee tidings of a son whose name is John; '''we have given the same name to none before (him).''' }}
 
===Supernatural destruction of cities===
The Quran state that outside the vicinity of Arabia there existed cities and tribes destroyed by Allah for rejecting his messengers and Islam. In each specific example presented in the Qur'an (the people of ''A'ad'', ''Thamud'', ''Midian'', [[Lut|''Lut'' (Lot)]], and the Pharoah's army), the destruction of the disbelievers is sudden and total. Archeological research, by contrast, has revealed that historical cities and tribes were only gradually ruined by natural disasters, famine, wars, migration, or neglect, often taking years or decades to unfold. In this respect, the Quran appears to have adopted and adapted contemporary Arabian myths regarding the destruction of neighboring cities, some of which may not have existed.
 
In the Qur'an, the people of ''Thamud'' are 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'' are killed by a fierce wind that blew 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'') are killed overnight by an earthquake {{Quran|7|91}}, {{Quran|29|36}}. The towns of Lot (''Lut'') are destroyed by a storm of stones from the sky {{Quran|54|32}}, {{Quran|29|34}}. The actual locations of these towns or tribes is unknown. Midian in particular was a wide geographical desert region rather than a particular location or city, which makes archeological investigation difficult.
 
Critics have also asked why it is that various other polytheistic cultures worldwide dis not encounter similar fates as those outlined in the Quran.
 
{{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!}}
 
The suddenness of Allah's punishment is stressed repeatedly in Surah al-A'raf:
 
{{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?}}
 
===Humans lived for hundreds of years===
 
The oldest verified human life was a little over 120 years. Based on fossil records and testing on human remains, anthropologists have concluded that human life spans are increasing rather than decreasing in both the long- and short- run. By contrast, the Qur'an states that Noah lived for almost 1,000 years. The idea of humans living for hundreds of years in the past is accompanied by the many hadiths, including accounts in Sahih Bukhari, which describe Adam as being 90 feet tall. The general doctrine appears to be that ancient humans were both gigantic as well as long-living.
 
{{Quote|{{Quran|29|14}}|
We (once) sent Noah to his people, and he tarried among them '''a thousand years less fifty''': but the Deluge overwhelmed them while they (persisted in) sin. }}
 
===Ancient Mosque in Jerusalem===
 
Muslim scholars maintain that a long extant, ancient mosque was present in Jerusalem during Muhammad's life time. Historical research has, however, found this not to be the case.
 
{{Quote|{{Quran|17|1}}|
Glory to (Allah) Who did take His servant for a Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did bless,- in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the One Who heareth and seeth (all things). }}
 
==Sociology==


===Linguistics===
===Linguistics===
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