islam - Miracles of Qur'an
Introduction
God supported His last Prophet Muhammad (pbuh - peace be upon him) with many miracles and much evidence which proved that he is a true Prophet sent by God. Also, God supported His last revealed book, the Holy Qur'an, with many miracles that prove that this Qur' an is the literal word of God, revealed by Him, and that it was not authored by any human being. This chapter discusses some of this evidence.
The Qur'an is the literal word of God, which He revealed to His Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) through the Angel Gabriel. It was memorized by Muhammad (pbuh) who then dictated it to his Companions. They, in turn, memorized it, wrote it down, and reviewed it with the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) Moreover, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) reviewed the Qur'an with the Angel Gabriel once each year and twice in the last year of his life. From the time the Qur'an was revealed, until this day, there has always been a huge number of Muslims who have memorized all of the Qur'an, letter by letter. Some of them have even been able to memorize all of the Qur'an by the age of ten. Not one letter of the Qur'an has been changed over the centuries.
God, revealed by Him to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and that the Qur'an was not authored by Muhammad (pbuh) or by any other human being. This also proves that Muhammad (pbuh) is truly a prophet sent by God. It is beyond reason that anyone fourteen hundred years ago would have known these facts discovered or proven only recently with advanced equipment and sophisticated scientific methods. Some examples follow.
The Qur'an on Human Embryonic Development:
In the Holy Qur'an, God speaks about the stages of man's embryonic development:
<< We created man from an extract of clay. Then We made him as a drop in a place of settlement, firmly fixed. Then We made the drop into an alaqah (leech, suspended thing, and blood clot), then We made the alaqah into a mudghah (chewed-like substance)... >> (Qur'an, 23:12-14)
Literally, the Arabic word alaqah has three meanings: (1)leech, (2) suspended thing, and (3) blood clot. In comparing a leech to an embryo in the alaqah stage, we find similarity between the two. Also, the embryo at this stage obtains nourishment from the blood of the mother, similar to the leech, which feeds on the blood of others.3 The second meaning of the word alaqah is "suspended thing." the suspension of the embryo, during the alaqah stage, in the womb of the mother.
The third meaning of the word alaqah is "blood clot." We find that the external appearance of the embryo and its sacs during! the alaqah stage is similar to that of a blood clot. This is due to the presence of relatively large amounts of blood present in the- embryo during this stage. Also during this stage. the blood in the embryo does not circulate until the end of the third week. Thus, the embryo at this stage is like a clot of blood.
So the three meanings of the word alaqah correspond accu rately to the descriptions of the embryo at the alaqah stage. The next stage mentioned in the verse is the mudghah stage. The Arabic word mudghah means "chewed-like substance." If one were to take a piece of gum and chew it in his or her mouth and then compare it with an embryo at the mudghah stage, we would conclude that the embryo at the mudghah stage acquires the appearance of a chewed-like substance. This is because of the somites at the back of the embryo that "somewhat resemble, teethmarks in a chewed substance
How could Muhammad (pbuh) have possibly known all this 1400 years ago, when scientists have only recently discovered this using advanced equipment and powerful microscopes which did not exist at that time? Hamm and Leeuwenhoek were the first scientists to observe human sperm cells (spermatozoa) using an improved microscope in 1677 (more than 1000 years after Muhammad 9pbuh)). They mistakenly thought that the sperm cell contained a miniature preformed human being that grew when it was deposited in the female genital tract.
Professor Emeritus Keith L. Moore is one of the world's most prominent scientists in the fields of anatomy and embryology and is the author of the book entitled The Developing Human, which has been translated into eight languages. This book is a scientific reference work and was chosen by a special committee in the United States as the best book authored by one person. Dr. Keith Moore is Professor Emeritus of Anatomy and Cell Biology at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. There, he was Associate Dean of Basic Sciences at the Faculty of Medicine and for 8 years was the Chairman of the Department of Anatomy. In 1984, he received the most distinguished award presented in the field of anatomy in Canada, the J.C.B. Grant Award from the Canadian Association of Anatomists. He has directed many international associations, such as the Canadian and American Association of Anatomists and the Council of the Union of Biological Sciences.
In 1981, during the Seventh Medical Conference in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, Professor Moore said, "It has been a great pleasure for me to help clarify statements in the Qur'an about human development. It is clear to me that these statements must have come to Muhammad from God, because almost all of this knowledge was not discovered until many centuries later. This proves to me that Muhammad must have been a messenger of God."
Consequently, Professor Moore was asked the following question, "Does this mean that you believe that the Qur'an is the word of God?" He replied, "I find no difficulty in accepting this.
During one conference, Professor Moore stated, "....Because the staging of human embryos is complex, owing to the continuous process of change during development, it is proposed that a new system of classification could be developed using the terms mentioned in the Qur'an and Sunnah (what Muhammad (pbuh) said, did, or approved of). The proposed system is simple, comprehensive, and conforms with present embryological knowledge. The intensive studies of the Qur'an and hadeeth (reliably transmitted reports by the Prophet Muhammad's (pbuh) companions of what he said, did, or approved of) in the last four years have revealed a system for classifying human embryos that is amazing since it was recorded in the seventh century A.D. Although Aristotle, the founder of the science of embryology, realized that chick embryos developed in stages from his studies of hen's eggs in the fourth century B.C., he did not give any details about these stages. As far as it is known from the history of embryology, little was known about the staging and classification of human embryos until the twentieth century. For this reason, the descriptions of the human embryo in the Qur'an cannot be based on scientific knowledge in the seventh century. The only reasonable conclusion is: these descriptions were revealed to Muhammad from God. He could not have known such details because he was an illiterate man with absolutely no scientific training."
The Qur'an on Mountains
A book entitled Earth is a basic reference textbook in many universities around the world. One of its two authors is Professor Emeritus Frank Press. He was the Science Advisor to former US President Jimmy Carter, and for 12 years was the President of the National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC. His book says that mountains have underlying roots. These roots are deeply embedded in the ground, thus, mountains have a shape like a peg.
This is how the Qur'an has described mountains. God has said in the in the Qur'an:
<< Have We not made the earth as a bed, and the mountains as pegs? ) (Qur'an, 78:6-7) >>
Modern earth sciences have proven that mountains have deep roots under the surface of the ground and that these roots can reach several times their elevations above the surface of the ground. So the most suitable word to describe mountains on the basis of this information is the word 'peg,' since most of a properly set peg is hidden under the surface of the ground. The history of science tells us that the theory of mountains having deep roots was introduced only in the latter half of the nineteenth century.
Mountains also play an important role in stabilizing the crust of the earth. They hinder the shaking of the earth. God has said in the Qur'an:
<<^ And He has set firm mountains in the earth so that it would not shake with you... ) (Qur'an, 16:15) >>
Likewise, the modem theory of plate tectonics holds that mountains work as stabilizers for the earth. This knowledge about the role of mountains as stabilizers for the earth has just begun to be understood in the framework of plate tectonics since the late 1960's.
Could anyone during the time of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) have known of the true shape of mountains? Could anyone imagine that the solid massive mountain which he sees before him actually extends deep into the earth and has a root, as scientists assert? A large number of books of geology, when discussing mountains, only describe that part which is above the surface of the earth. This is because these books were not written by specialists in geology. However, modern geology has confirmed the truth of the Qur'anic verses.
The Qur'an on the Origin of the Universe
The science of modem cosmology, observational and theoretical, clearly indicates that, at one point in time, the whole universe was nothing but a cloud of 'smoke' (i.e. an opaque highly dense and hot gaseous composition).' This is one of the undisputed principles of standard modern cosmology. Scientists now can observe new stars forming out ot the remnants ot that smoke. The illuminating stars we see at night were, just as was the whole universe, in that 'smoke' material. God has said in the Qur'an:
<< Then He turned to the heaven when it was smoke... (Qur'an, 41:11>>
Because the earth and the heavens above (the sun, the moon. stars, planets, galaxies, etc.) have been formed from this same 'smoke,' we conclude that the earth and the heavens were one connected entity. Then out of this homogeneous 'smoke,' they formed and separated from each other. God has said in the Our' an: <<Have not those who disbelieved known that the heavens and the earth were one connected entity, then We separated them?... ) (Qur'an,21:30)>>
Dr. Alfred Kroner is one of the world's renowned geologists. He is Professor of Geology and the Chairman of the Department of Geology at the Institute of Geosciences, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany. He said, "Thinking where Muhammad(pbuh) came from ... I think it is almost impossible that he could have known about things like the common origin of the universe because scientists have only found out within the last few years, with very complicated and advanced technological methods, thai this is the case." Also he said, "Somebody who did not know something about nuclear physics fourteen hundred years ago could not, I think, be in a position to find out from his own mind, for instance, that the earth and the heavens had the same origin.
The Qur'an on the Cerebrum
God has said in the Qur'an about one of the evil unbelievers who forbade the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) from praying at the Kaaba: <<No! If he does not stop. We will take him by the naseyah (front of the head), a lying,sinful naseyah (front of the head)!) (Qur'an, 96:15-16) >> |
Why did the Qur'an describe the front of the head as being lying and sinful? Why didn't the Qur'an say that the person was lying and sinful? What is the relationship between the front of the head and lying and sinfulness?
If we look into the skull at the front of the head, we will find the prefrontal area of the cerebrum . What does physiology tell us about the function of this area? A book entitled Essentials of Anatomy & Physiology says about this area, "The motivation and the foresight to plan and initiate movements occur in the anterior portion of the frontal lobes, the prefrontal area, This is a region of association cortex..." Also the book says, "In relation to its involvement in motivation, the prefrontal area is also thought to be the functional center for aggression...."
So, this area of the cerebrum is responsible for planning. motivating, and initiating good and sinful behavior and is respon- sible for the telling of lies and the speaking of truth. Thus, it is proper to describe the front of the head as lying and sinful when someone lies or commits a sin, as the Qur'an has said, "...A lying, sinful naseyah (front of the head)!"
Scientists have only discovered these functions of the prefron- tal area in the last sixty years, according to Professor Keith L. Moore.
The Qur'an on Seas and Rivers:
Modern Science has discovered that in the places where two different seas meet, there is a barrier between them. This barrier divides the two seas so that each sea has its own temperature, salinity, and density.2 For example. Mediterranean sea water is warm, saline, and less dense, compared to Atlantic ocean water. When Mediterranean sea water enters the Atlantic over the Gibraltar sill, it moves several hundred kilometers into the Atlantic at a depth of about 1000 meters with its own warm, saline, and less
Although there are large waves, strong currents, and tides ii these seas, they do not mix or transgress this barrier. The Holy Qur'an mentioned that there is a barrier between two seas that meet and that they do not transgress. God has said: <<He has set free the two seas meeting together. There is a barrier between them. They do not transgress. (Qur'an, 55:19-20)>>
But when the Qur'an speaks about the divider between fresh and salt water, it mentions the existence of "a forbidding partition with the barrier. God has said in the Qur'an: << He is the one who has set free the two kinds of water, one sweet and palatable, and the other salty and bitter. And He has made them a barrier and a forbiddingt.(Quran, 25:53)>>
One may ask, why did the Qur'an mention the partition when speaking about the divider between fresh and salt water, but did not mention it when speaking about the divider between the two seas?
Modern science has discovered that in estuaries, where fresh (sweet) and salt water meet, the situation is somewhat different from what is found in places where two seas meet. It has been discovered that what distinguishes fresh water from salt water in estuaries is a "pycnocline zone with a marked density discontinuity separating the two layers." This partition (zone of separation) has a different salinity from the fresh water and from the salt water
This information has been discovered only recently, using advanced equipment to measure temperature, salinity, density, oxygen dissolubility, etc. The human eye cannot see the difference between the two seas that meet, rather the two seas appear to us as one homogeneous sea. Likewise, the human eye cannot see the division of water in estuaries into the three kinds: fresh water, salt water, and the partition (zone of separation).
God supported His last Prophet Muhammad (pbuh - peace be upon him) with many miracles and much evidence which proved that he is a true Prophet sent by God. Also, God supported His last revealed book, the Holy Qur'an, with many miracles that prove that this Qur' an is the literal word of God, revealed by Him, and that it was not authored by any human being. This chapter discusses some of this evidence.
The Qur'an is the literal word of God, which He revealed to His Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) through the Angel Gabriel. It was memorized by Muhammad (pbuh) who then dictated it to his Companions. They, in turn, memorized it, wrote it down, and reviewed it with the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) Moreover, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) reviewed the Qur'an with the Angel Gabriel once each year and twice in the last year of his life. From the time the Qur'an was revealed, until this day, there has always been a huge number of Muslims who have memorized all of the Qur'an, letter by letter. Some of them have even been able to memorize all of the Qur'an by the age of ten. Not one letter of the Qur'an has been changed over the centuries.
God, revealed by Him to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and that the Qur'an was not authored by Muhammad (pbuh) or by any other human being. This also proves that Muhammad (pbuh) is truly a prophet sent by God. It is beyond reason that anyone fourteen hundred years ago would have known these facts discovered or proven only recently with advanced equipment and sophisticated scientific methods. Some examples follow.
The Qur'an on Human Embryonic Development:
In the Holy Qur'an, God speaks about the stages of man's embryonic development:
<< We created man from an extract of clay. Then We made him as a drop in a place of settlement, firmly fixed. Then We made the drop into an alaqah (leech, suspended thing, and blood clot), then We made the alaqah into a mudghah (chewed-like substance)... >> (Qur'an, 23:12-14)
Literally, the Arabic word alaqah has three meanings: (1)leech, (2) suspended thing, and (3) blood clot. In comparing a leech to an embryo in the alaqah stage, we find similarity between the two. Also, the embryo at this stage obtains nourishment from the blood of the mother, similar to the leech, which feeds on the blood of others.3 The second meaning of the word alaqah is "suspended thing." the suspension of the embryo, during the alaqah stage, in the womb of the mother.
The third meaning of the word alaqah is "blood clot." We find that the external appearance of the embryo and its sacs during! the alaqah stage is similar to that of a blood clot. This is due to the presence of relatively large amounts of blood present in the- embryo during this stage. Also during this stage. the blood in the embryo does not circulate until the end of the third week. Thus, the embryo at this stage is like a clot of blood.
So the three meanings of the word alaqah correspond accu rately to the descriptions of the embryo at the alaqah stage. The next stage mentioned in the verse is the mudghah stage. The Arabic word mudghah means "chewed-like substance." If one were to take a piece of gum and chew it in his or her mouth and then compare it with an embryo at the mudghah stage, we would conclude that the embryo at the mudghah stage acquires the appearance of a chewed-like substance. This is because of the somites at the back of the embryo that "somewhat resemble, teethmarks in a chewed substance
How could Muhammad (pbuh) have possibly known all this 1400 years ago, when scientists have only recently discovered this using advanced equipment and powerful microscopes which did not exist at that time? Hamm and Leeuwenhoek were the first scientists to observe human sperm cells (spermatozoa) using an improved microscope in 1677 (more than 1000 years after Muhammad 9pbuh)). They mistakenly thought that the sperm cell contained a miniature preformed human being that grew when it was deposited in the female genital tract.
Professor Emeritus Keith L. Moore is one of the world's most prominent scientists in the fields of anatomy and embryology and is the author of the book entitled The Developing Human, which has been translated into eight languages. This book is a scientific reference work and was chosen by a special committee in the United States as the best book authored by one person. Dr. Keith Moore is Professor Emeritus of Anatomy and Cell Biology at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. There, he was Associate Dean of Basic Sciences at the Faculty of Medicine and for 8 years was the Chairman of the Department of Anatomy. In 1984, he received the most distinguished award presented in the field of anatomy in Canada, the J.C.B. Grant Award from the Canadian Association of Anatomists. He has directed many international associations, such as the Canadian and American Association of Anatomists and the Council of the Union of Biological Sciences.
In 1981, during the Seventh Medical Conference in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, Professor Moore said, "It has been a great pleasure for me to help clarify statements in the Qur'an about human development. It is clear to me that these statements must have come to Muhammad from God, because almost all of this knowledge was not discovered until many centuries later. This proves to me that Muhammad must have been a messenger of God."
Consequently, Professor Moore was asked the following question, "Does this mean that you believe that the Qur'an is the word of God?" He replied, "I find no difficulty in accepting this.
During one conference, Professor Moore stated, "....Because the staging of human embryos is complex, owing to the continuous process of change during development, it is proposed that a new system of classification could be developed using the terms mentioned in the Qur'an and Sunnah (what Muhammad (pbuh) said, did, or approved of). The proposed system is simple, comprehensive, and conforms with present embryological knowledge. The intensive studies of the Qur'an and hadeeth (reliably transmitted reports by the Prophet Muhammad's (pbuh) companions of what he said, did, or approved of) in the last four years have revealed a system for classifying human embryos that is amazing since it was recorded in the seventh century A.D. Although Aristotle, the founder of the science of embryology, realized that chick embryos developed in stages from his studies of hen's eggs in the fourth century B.C., he did not give any details about these stages. As far as it is known from the history of embryology, little was known about the staging and classification of human embryos until the twentieth century. For this reason, the descriptions of the human embryo in the Qur'an cannot be based on scientific knowledge in the seventh century. The only reasonable conclusion is: these descriptions were revealed to Muhammad from God. He could not have known such details because he was an illiterate man with absolutely no scientific training."
The Qur'an on Mountains
A book entitled Earth is a basic reference textbook in many universities around the world. One of its two authors is Professor Emeritus Frank Press. He was the Science Advisor to former US President Jimmy Carter, and for 12 years was the President of the National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC. His book says that mountains have underlying roots. These roots are deeply embedded in the ground, thus, mountains have a shape like a peg.
This is how the Qur'an has described mountains. God has said in the in the Qur'an:
<< Have We not made the earth as a bed, and the mountains as pegs? ) (Qur'an, 78:6-7) >>
Modern earth sciences have proven that mountains have deep roots under the surface of the ground and that these roots can reach several times their elevations above the surface of the ground. So the most suitable word to describe mountains on the basis of this information is the word 'peg,' since most of a properly set peg is hidden under the surface of the ground. The history of science tells us that the theory of mountains having deep roots was introduced only in the latter half of the nineteenth century.
Mountains also play an important role in stabilizing the crust of the earth. They hinder the shaking of the earth. God has said in the Qur'an:
<<^ And He has set firm mountains in the earth so that it would not shake with you... ) (Qur'an, 16:15) >>
Likewise, the modem theory of plate tectonics holds that mountains work as stabilizers for the earth. This knowledge about the role of mountains as stabilizers for the earth has just begun to be understood in the framework of plate tectonics since the late 1960's.
Could anyone during the time of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) have known of the true shape of mountains? Could anyone imagine that the solid massive mountain which he sees before him actually extends deep into the earth and has a root, as scientists assert? A large number of books of geology, when discussing mountains, only describe that part which is above the surface of the earth. This is because these books were not written by specialists in geology. However, modern geology has confirmed the truth of the Qur'anic verses.
The Qur'an on the Origin of the Universe
The science of modem cosmology, observational and theoretical, clearly indicates that, at one point in time, the whole universe was nothing but a cloud of 'smoke' (i.e. an opaque highly dense and hot gaseous composition).' This is one of the undisputed principles of standard modern cosmology. Scientists now can observe new stars forming out ot the remnants ot that smoke. The illuminating stars we see at night were, just as was the whole universe, in that 'smoke' material. God has said in the Qur'an:
<< Then He turned to the heaven when it was smoke... (Qur'an, 41:11>>
Because the earth and the heavens above (the sun, the moon. stars, planets, galaxies, etc.) have been formed from this same 'smoke,' we conclude that the earth and the heavens were one connected entity. Then out of this homogeneous 'smoke,' they formed and separated from each other. God has said in the Our' an: <<Have not those who disbelieved known that the heavens and the earth were one connected entity, then We separated them?... ) (Qur'an,21:30)>>
Dr. Alfred Kroner is one of the world's renowned geologists. He is Professor of Geology and the Chairman of the Department of Geology at the Institute of Geosciences, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany. He said, "Thinking where Muhammad(pbuh) came from ... I think it is almost impossible that he could have known about things like the common origin of the universe because scientists have only found out within the last few years, with very complicated and advanced technological methods, thai this is the case." Also he said, "Somebody who did not know something about nuclear physics fourteen hundred years ago could not, I think, be in a position to find out from his own mind, for instance, that the earth and the heavens had the same origin.
The Qur'an on the Cerebrum
God has said in the Qur'an about one of the evil unbelievers who forbade the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) from praying at the Kaaba: <<No! If he does not stop. We will take him by the naseyah (front of the head), a lying,sinful naseyah (front of the head)!) (Qur'an, 96:15-16) >> |
Why did the Qur'an describe the front of the head as being lying and sinful? Why didn't the Qur'an say that the person was lying and sinful? What is the relationship between the front of the head and lying and sinfulness?
If we look into the skull at the front of the head, we will find the prefrontal area of the cerebrum . What does physiology tell us about the function of this area? A book entitled Essentials of Anatomy & Physiology says about this area, "The motivation and the foresight to plan and initiate movements occur in the anterior portion of the frontal lobes, the prefrontal area, This is a region of association cortex..." Also the book says, "In relation to its involvement in motivation, the prefrontal area is also thought to be the functional center for aggression...."
So, this area of the cerebrum is responsible for planning. motivating, and initiating good and sinful behavior and is respon- sible for the telling of lies and the speaking of truth. Thus, it is proper to describe the front of the head as lying and sinful when someone lies or commits a sin, as the Qur'an has said, "...A lying, sinful naseyah (front of the head)!"
Scientists have only discovered these functions of the prefron- tal area in the last sixty years, according to Professor Keith L. Moore.
The Qur'an on Seas and Rivers:
Modern Science has discovered that in the places where two different seas meet, there is a barrier between them. This barrier divides the two seas so that each sea has its own temperature, salinity, and density.2 For example. Mediterranean sea water is warm, saline, and less dense, compared to Atlantic ocean water. When Mediterranean sea water enters the Atlantic over the Gibraltar sill, it moves several hundred kilometers into the Atlantic at a depth of about 1000 meters with its own warm, saline, and less
Although there are large waves, strong currents, and tides ii these seas, they do not mix or transgress this barrier. The Holy Qur'an mentioned that there is a barrier between two seas that meet and that they do not transgress. God has said: <<He has set free the two seas meeting together. There is a barrier between them. They do not transgress. (Qur'an, 55:19-20)>>
But when the Qur'an speaks about the divider between fresh and salt water, it mentions the existence of "a forbidding partition with the barrier. God has said in the Qur'an: << He is the one who has set free the two kinds of water, one sweet and palatable, and the other salty and bitter. And He has made them a barrier and a forbiddingt.(Quran, 25:53)>>
One may ask, why did the Qur'an mention the partition when speaking about the divider between fresh and salt water, but did not mention it when speaking about the divider between the two seas?
Modern science has discovered that in estuaries, where fresh (sweet) and salt water meet, the situation is somewhat different from what is found in places where two seas meet. It has been discovered that what distinguishes fresh water from salt water in estuaries is a "pycnocline zone with a marked density discontinuity separating the two layers." This partition (zone of separation) has a different salinity from the fresh water and from the salt water
This information has been discovered only recently, using advanced equipment to measure temperature, salinity, density, oxygen dissolubility, etc. The human eye cannot see the difference between the two seas that meet, rather the two seas appear to us as one homogeneous sea. Likewise, the human eye cannot see the division of water in estuaries into the three kinds: fresh water, salt water, and the partition (zone of separation).
