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Scientific Errors in the Quran: Difference between revisions
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{{Main|Mistranslations_of_Islamic_Scripture_(English)#.2867:5.29_Shooting_stars|l1=Mistranslations of Qur'an 67:5}} | {{Main|Mistranslations_of_Islamic_Scripture_(English)#.2867:5.29_Shooting_stars|l1=Mistranslations of Qur'an 67:5}} | ||
The Qur'an states that stars (''kawakib'' ٱلْكَوَاكِبِ) and/or lamps (''masabih'' مَصَٰبِيحَ) adorn the heavens and guard against devils. While stars are giant balls of gas thousands of times larger than the earth, meteors are small rocky masses or grains of debris which burn 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. | The Qur'an states that stars (''kawakib'' ٱلْكَوَاكِبِ) and/or lamps (''masabih'' مَصَٰبِيحَ) adorn the heavens and guard against devils. The Qur'an further asserts that Allah has made them flaming missiles to ward away devils. While stars are giant balls of gas thousands of times larger than the earth, meteors are small rocky masses or grains of debris which burn 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. The Quranic concept has a close parallel in [[Pre-Islamic_Arabic_Religion_in_Islam#Shooting_Stars_and_Eavesdropping_Shaytans|an earlier Jewish development from Zoroastrian mythology]]. | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|37|6|10}}| | {{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.}} | 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 {{Quran|67|5}} as in {{Quran|37|6}} (زَيَّنَّا ٱلسَّمَآءَ ٱلدُّنْيَا), except that in {{Quran|67|5}} the word lamps is used instead of stars. The lamps that 'beautify the heaven' refer to stars (and perhaps also the 5 visible planets), which are always there. Meteors, on the other hand, are now known to be distinct from the distant stars. They are often not much larger than grains of sand and only become visible for a second when they burn up, generating light in the Earth's atmosphere. | The same Arabic words are used at the start of {{Quran|67|5}} as in {{Quran|37|6}} (زَيَّنَّا ٱلسَّمَآءَ ٱلدُّنْيَا), except that in {{Quran|67|5}} the word lamps is used instead of stars. The lamps that 'beautify the heaven' must refer to stars (and perhaps also the 5 visible planets), which are always there. Meteors, on the other hand, are now known to be distinct from the distant stars. They are often not much larger than grains of sand and only become visible for a second when they burn up, generating light in the Earth's atmosphere. | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|67|5}}| | {{Quote|{{Quran|67|5}}| | ||
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===The sky/heaven as a guarded ceiling=== | ===The sky/heaven as a guarded ceiling=== | ||
{{Quran|21|32}} | {{Quran|21|32}} says Allah made the sky/heaven a guarded ceiling, and is most likely related to the verses about devils chased by shooting stars (meteors) that guard the lowest heaven. One of those verses, {{Quran-range|37|6|10}} discussed above, contains a noun meaning "guard" from the same Arabic root (hafiza) as the verb in this verse.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume2/00000237.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 601 حفظ]</ref> Interestingly, modern science has revealed that the things guarding the sky / heaven can also pose a threat to living things on Earth - asteroids and meteorites have penetrated the atmosphere and hit the earth throughout the course of history. This includes the [[w:Chicxulub crater|massive meteorite]] that hit near the [[w:Yucatán Peninsula|Yucatán Peninsula]] 65 million years which killed off numerous species, including most dinosaurs. The sky/heavenly ceiling is regularly breached by these apocalyptic intruders. | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|21|32}}| | {{Quote|{{Quran|21|32}}| | ||