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Organization of the Universe
What the Qur'an mentions about the organization of the Universe is important because "these references constitute a new fact of divine Revelation" (The Bible, the Qur'an and Science, p. 153). The Qur'an deals with this matter in depth although this is not dealt with in the previous scriptures.
Dr. Maurice Bucaille also points out the important fact that the Qur'an does not contain "the theories prevalent at the time of the Revelation that deal with the organization of the celestial world" (p. 153). If the Qur'an was authored by any human being, he or she would have naturally included the ideas prevalent at the time.
But many of those ideas were later shown to be inaccurate. How did the author of the Qur'an know enough to exclude those ideas, unless the author is God himself?
Those
who say that Muhammad authored the Qur'an think that the Arabs were very knowledgeable in the field of Science, and Muhammad was or course one of them. But this explanation is based on the incorrect assumption that the Arabs knew Science before the Qur'an was revealed.
As pointed out by Dr. Bucaille, the fact is that Science in Islamic countries came after the Qur'an, not before. "In any case", writes Dr. Bucaille, "the scientific knowledge of that great period would not have been sufficient for a human being to write some of the verses to be found in the Qur'an" (The Bible, the Qur'an and Science, p. 153-154)
Modern astronomers are aware that the stars and planets are kept within ranges of precise distances from each other. Had it not been for this fact, collision between them would be inevitable. The author of the Qur'an was also aware of this. In the Qur'an we read "the sun and the moon (are subjected) to calculations. (Qur'an 55:5).
Again, we read: "For you (God) subjected the sun and the moon, both diligently pursuing their courses" (Qur'an 14:33).
The phrase `diligently pursuing their courses' is a translation of the Arabic term daa'ib which here means `to apply oneself to something with care in a perseverant, invariable manner, in accordance with set habits' (The Bible, the Qur'an and Science, p.155). And that indeed is how the sun and moon behave.
Another verse in the Qur'an says, "the stars are in subjection to His command" (Qur'an 16:12).
Order in the universe is essential for its preservation. God, who subjected them to that order knew about it before any scientist.
Comparing Apples and Oranges
The sun and the moon are different from each other not only in terms of size, but also in terms of function. The sun generates light, but the moon does not. The moon merely reflects the light coming from
the sun. Every high school student today knows this.
A man or woman in the seventh century, however, would not have known about this fine distinction between the sun and the moon. To such a person, the two would appear as a greater light and a lesser light. Such a person would observe that the greater light lights up the day and the lesser light lights up the night. And this indeed is how the sun and the moon were described in previous books.
The Bible, describing the creation, says: "God made two great lights - the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night" (Genesis 1:16).
The author of the Qur'an however, was aware that this comparison between the sun and the moon is not adequate. Therefore the Qur'an does not refer to them as being a greater and a lesser light.
The Qur'an says: "God is the One who made the sun a shine and the moon a light" (Qur'an 10:5).
Commenting on this, Dr.
Bucaille says: "Whereas the Bible calls the sun and moon `lights', and merely adds to one the adjective `greater' and to the other `lesser', the Qur'an ascribes differences other than that of dimesion to each respectively" (The Bible, the Qur'an and Science, p. 156).
Similarly, the Qur'an says: "Blessed is the One Who placed the constellations in heaven and placed therein a lamp and a moon giving light" (Qur'an 25:61).
Here again, the difference between the sun and the moon is noted. The sun is called a lamp, and the moon is called an object giving light. Again in the Qur'an God says that He "made the moon a light" and "made the sun a lamp" (Qur'an 71:15-16). Furthermore, God calls the sun a "blazing lamp" (Qur'an 78:12-13). This term which is used for the sun is never used for the moon in the Qur'an.
In all of these verses, God expresses the notion that the sun and the moon are "not absolutely identical lights" (The Bible, the Qur'an
and Science, p. 156).
Dr. Bucaille draws his conclusions from what he found in the Qur'an about the sun and the moon: "What is interesting to note here is the sober quality of the comparisons, and the absence in the text of the Qur'an of any elements of comparison that might have prevailed at the time and which in our day would appear as phantasmagorial" (The Bible, the Qur'an and Science, p. 157).
In short, "There is nothing in the text of the Qur'an that contradicts what we know today about these two celestial bodies." (The Bible, the Qur'an and Science, p. 157).
The Sun & Moon and Their Orbits
Today we know that the Moon revolves around the earth in approximately 29.5 days. The sun also revolves in its own orbit. To understand the sun's orbit, Dr. Bucaille says that the position of the sun in our galaxy must be considered, and we must therefore call on modern scientific ideas (The Bible, the Qur'an and Science, p. 162).
Our galaxy, the milky way galaxy, includes one hundred billion stars situated in such a formation that the galaxy is shaped like a disc. This disc turns around its centre like a gramaphone record.
Now, it is obvious that when a gramaphone record turns, any point on the disc would move around and come back to its original position. Similarly, every star in the galaxy moves as the galaxy rotates on its axis. Therefore the stars that are away from the centre of the galaxy orbit around the axis. The sun is one of those stars.
Dr. Bucaille explains that modern science has worked out the details of the sun's orbit as follows: "To complete one revolution on its own axis, the galaxy and the sun take roughly 250 million years. The sun travels roughly 150 miles per second in the completion of this" (The Bible, the Qur'an and Science, p. 162).
After describing this, Dr. Bucaille comments: "The above is the orbital movement of the sun that was already referred to
in the Qur'an fourteen centuries ago." (The Bible, the Qur'an and Science, p. 162)
And yet this is a new finding. As Dr. Bucaille says, the knowledge of the sun's orbit is an acquisition of modern astronomy (The Bible, the Qur'an and Science, p. 162).
Two verses in the Qur'an refer to the orbits of the sun and moon. After mentioning the sun and the moon, God says:
"Each one is travelling in an orbit with its own motion" (Qur'an 21:33; 36:40).
How did the author of the Qur'an know of this? Even after the Qur'an was revealed, early commentators could not conceive of the orbits of the sun and moon. The tenth century commentator Tabari could not explain this so he said, "It is our duty to keep silent when we do not know" (XVII, 15 quoted in The Bible, the Qur'an and Science, p. 161).
Dr. Bucaille comments: "This shows just how incapable men were of understanding this concept of the sun's and moon's orbit." (The Bible, the
Qur'an and Science, p. 161).
From this it is clear that if the Qur'an was here expressing an idea already known to the people, the commentators would have easily understood it. But this, as Dr. Bucaille explains was "a new concept that was not to be explained until centuries later" (The Bible, the Qur'an and Science, p. 161)
This confirms what God said to His Prophet, on whom be peace: "This is of the tidings of the Unseen which we inspire in you (Muhammad). Neither you nor your people knew it before this" (Qur'an 11:49).
The Sun & Moon Move With Their Own Motion
The Qur'an makes the following statement about the sun and the moon: "Each one is travelling in an orbit with its own motion" (Qur'an 21:33; 36:40).
Why did the Qur'an say that the sun and moon move with their own motion? And, if that is true, where did the author of the Qur'an get this information? The fact
is that the sun and moon rotate on their axes and are in part animated by this rotating motion.
The phrase "travelling with its own motion" in the verses quoted above is a translation of the arabic verb `yasbahoon'. This could also be translated `they swim.' In that case, the verse would read that the sun and the moon, "Each swim in its own orbit."
Those who translate the verse this way explain that the term swim refers to movement with one's own internally generated force. Furthermore the movement of a swimmer is graceful, measured, and smooth. This is a very fitting description for the movement of the stars and planets including the sun and the moon.
After describing the scientific data concerning the rotation of the sun and the moon, Dr. Bucaille says: "These motions of the two celestial bodies are confirmed by the data of modern science, and it is inconceivable that a man living in the seventh century A.D.
. . . could have imagined them" (The Bible, the Qur'an and Science, p. 163).
It is also amazing that the Qur'an uses a different term for the movement of the clouds and the mountains (see Qur'an 27:88). Obviously, the clouds and mountains are driven by external forces. The cloud is driven by the wind and the mountains move with the rotation of the earth. The sun and moon, however, move with their own motion, and therefore the Qur'an uses a peculiar term "they swim" to refer to their smooth, graceful, self-propelled movement.
How did the author of the Qur'an know enough to make this choice of words that will reflect a modern scientific truth? The Qur'an is no less than a revelation from God.
What Shape is the Earth?
Today we can look at a globe and know that the earth is somewhat like a ball, a sphere. The Qur'an makes certain statements that led Muslim scientists to understand long before their European counterparts that the
earth is spherical. When Europe was in the dark ages thinking that the earth was flat, Muslim students were using globes for studying the earth in Islamic universities.
Since it was not the purpose of the Qur'an to teach science, the Qur'an did not need to state explicitly that the earth is spherical in shape (or more precisely, a geoid). But some of what the Qur'an says stimulates you to think of the world as a globe. Take, for example, the following verse: "Have you not seen how God merges the night into the day and merges the day into the night?" (Qur'an 31:29).
Another verse tells us that God coils the day and night around: "He coils the night upon the day and He coils the day upon the night" (Qur'an 39:5).
The word `coils' in the verse above is a translation of the Arabic verb kawwara which is used in describing the action of coiling a turban around the head. To understand this statement fully, readers of
the Qur'an had to think of the earth as a sphere.
To fully appreciate the above two statements in the Qur'an, try this experiment at home: You need a flashlight and a globe. Take these items into a dark room. Using the flashlight to simulate the light of the sun, shine the light upon the globe. Notice that only one half of the globe is lighted up. The other half is in darkness. Half the world is having day, the other half is having night.
Now, recall that the earth is continuously rotating on its axis and will go around completely in twenty four hours. Slowly turn the globe around to simulate this rotation. Notice that as the globe turns, the day is going around the globe to light up the other half of the world. The night is also going around the globe to give rest to the other half of the world.
The day and night are perpetually coiling around the earth with some degree of interpenetration. This is exactly how it appears to astronauts during their space
flights.
Dr. Bucaille makes the following remark: "This process of perpetual coiling, including the interpenetration of one sector by another, is expressed in the Qur'an just as if the concept of the earth's roundness had already been conceived at the time - which was obviously not the case." (The Bible, the Qur'an and Science, p. 165).
This obviously did not reflect the level of learning of the time, but was helpful in stimulating Muslim scientists to conceive of the earth in its real shape. How could this knowledge get into the Qur'an?
"Soon will We show them Our Signs in the furthest regions of the earth and in their own selves, until it becomes manifest to them that this is the truth. (Qur'an 41:53)
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