- Table of Contents
- Editor’s Foreword
- Introduction
- Religion & Science
- Authenticity Of Qur’an
- Creation Of The Universe
- Astronomy
- The Sun and Moon.
- Stars and Planets
- Orbits
- The Day and Night
- The Solar Apex
- Expansion of the Universe
- Conquest of Space
- Geology
- Biology
- Embryology
- Fertilization
- Implantation
- Embryo
- Bible, Qur’an And Science
- Creation
- Age of the Earth
- The Flood
- The Pharaoh
EDITOR’S FOREWORD
This booklet by Dr. Maurice Bucaille has been in circulation for the
past nineteen years and has been a very effective tool in presenting
Islam to non-Muslims as well as introducing Muslims to aspects of the
scientific miracle of the Qur’an. It is based on a transcription of a
lecture given by Dr. Bucaille in French.
In this reprint, I decided to improve its presentation by
simplifying the language and editing the text from an oral format to a
pamphlet format. There were also passing references made by the author
to material in his book, The Bible, the Qur’an and Science, which
needed explanation. I took the liberty of including explanatory
portions from his book where more detail was necessary. A few footnotes
were also added for clarity and a hadeeth which the author mentioned
was replaced due to its inauthenticity. There were also some
corrections made to the historical material on the compilation of the
Qur’an.
It is my hope that these slight improvements will make this
excellent work even more effective in presenting the final revelation
of God to mankind.
Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips
Director/Islamic Information Center Dubai
U.A.E.
May, 1995
INTRODUCTION
On the 9th of November, 1976, an unusual lecture was given at the
French Academy of Medicine. Its title was “Physiological and
Embryological data in the Qur’an”. I presented the study based on the
existence of certain statements concerning physiology and reproduction
in the Qur’an. My reason for presenting this lecture was because it is
impossible to explain how a text produced in the seventh century could
have contained ideas that have only been discovered in modern times.
For the first time, I spoke to members of a learned medical society
on subjects whose basic concepts they all knew well, but I could, just
as easily, have pointed out statements of a scientific nature contained
in the Qur’an and other subjects to specialists from other disciplines.
Astronomers, zoologists, geologists and specialists in the history of
the earth would all have been struck, just as forcibly as medical
doctors, by the presence in the Qur’an of highly accurate reflections
on natural phenomena. These reflections are particularly astonishing
when we consider the history of science, and can only lead us to the
conclusion that they are a challenge to human explanation.
There is no human work in existence that contains statements as far
beyond the level of knowledge of its time as the Qur’an. Scientific
opinions comparable to those in the Qur’an are the result of modern
knowledge. In the commentaries to translations of the Qur’an that have
appeared in European languages, I have only been able to find scattered
and vague references to them. Nor do commentators writing in Arabic
provide a complete study of the aspects of the Qur’an that deal with
scientific matters. This is why the idea of a comprehensive study of
the problem appealed to me.
In addition to this, a comparative study of similar data contained
in the Bible (Old Testament and Gospels) seemed desirable. Thus, a
research project was developed from the comparison of certain passages
in the Holy Scriptures of each monotheistic religion with modern
scientific knowledge. The project resulted in the publication of a book
entitled, The Bible, the Qur’an and Science. The first French edition
appeared in May 1976. English and Arabic editions have since been
published.
RELIGION AND SCIENCE
There is, perhaps, no better illustration of the close links between
Islam and science than the Prophet Muhammad’s often-quoted statements:
“Seeking knowledge is compulsory on every Muslim.”
“wisdom is the lost property of the believer.”
“whoever follows a path seeking knowledge, Allah will make his path to paradise easy.”
These statements and many others are veritable invitations to
humanity to enrich their knowledge from all sources. It comes as no
surprise, therefore, to learn that in Islam religion and science have
always been considered as twin sisters and that today, at a time when
science has taken such great strides, they still continue to be
associated. Nor is it a surprise to learn that certain scientific data
are used for the better understanding of the Qur’anic text. What is
more, in a century where, for many people, scientific truth has dealt a
deathblow to religious belief, it is precisely the discoveries of
science that, in an objective examination of the Islamic scripture,
have highlighted the supernatural nature of revelation and the
authenticity of the religion which it taught.
When all is said and done, scientific knowledge seems, in spite of
what many people may say or think, to be highly conducive to reflection
on the existence of God. Once we begin to ask ourselves, in an unbiased
or unprejudiced way, about the metaphysical lessons to be derived from
some of today’s knowledge, (for example our evolving knowledge of the
smallest components of matter or the questions surrounding the origin
of life within inanimate matter), we indeed discover many reasons for
thinking about God. When we think about the remarkable organization
presiding over the birth and maintenance of life, it becomes clear that
the likelihood of it being the result of chance lessens quite
considerably.
As our knowledge of science in the various fields expands, certain
concepts must seem increasingly unacceptable. For example, the idea
enthusiastically expressed by the recent French winner of the Nobel
prize for medicine, that living matter was self-created from simple
chemical elements due to chance circumstances. Then from this point it
is claimed that living organisms evolved, leading to the remarkably
complex being called man. To me, it would seem that the scientific
advancements made in understandithe fantastic complexity of higher
beings provides stronger arguments in favor of the opposite theory:
that the existence of an extraordinarily methodical organization
presiding over the remarkable arrangement of the phenomena of life
necessitates the existence of a Creator.
In many parts of the Book, the Qur’an, encourages this kind of
general reflection but also contains infinitely more precise data which
are directly related to facts discovered by modern science. It is
precisely this data which exercise a magnetic attraction for today’s
scientists.
The Qur’an And Science
For many centuries, humankind was unable to study certain data
contained in the verses of the Qur’an because they did not possess
sufficient scientific means. It is only today that numerous verses of
the Qur’an dealing with natural phenomena have become comprehensible. A
reading of old commentaries on the Qur’an, however knowledgeable their
authors may have been in their day, bears solemn witness to a total
inability to grasp the depth of meaning in such verses. I could even go
so far as to say that, in the 20th century, with its
compartmentalization of ever-increasing knowledge, it is still not easy
for the average scientist to understand everything he reads in the
Qur’an on such subjects, without having recourse to specialized
research. This means that to understand all such verses of the Qur’an,
one is nowadays required to have an absolutely encyclopedic knowledge
embracing many scientific disciplines.
I should like to stress, that I use the word science to mean
knowledge which has been soundly established. It does not include the
theories which, for a time, help to explain a phenomenon or a series of
phenomena, only to be abandoned later on in favor of other
explanations. These newer explanations have become more plausible
thanks to scientific progress. I only intend to deal with comparisons
between statements in the Qur’an and scientific knowledge which are not
likely to be subject to further discussion. Wherever I introduce
scientific facts which are not yet 100% established, I will make it
quite clear.
There are also some very rare examples of statements in the Qur’an
which have not, as yet, been confirmed by modern science. I shall refer
to these by pointing out that all the evidence available today leads
scientists to regard them as being highly probable. An example of this
is the statement in the Qur’an that life has an aquatic origin ( “And I
created every living thing out of water” Qur’an, 21:30 ).
These scientific considerations should not, however, make us forget
that the Qur’an remains a religious book par excellence and that it
cannot be expected to have a scientific purpose per se. In the Qur’an,
whenever humans are invited to reflect upon the wonders of creation and
the numerous natural phenomena, they can easily see that the obvious
intention is to stress Divine Omnipotence. The fact that, in these
reflections, we can find allusions to data connected with scientific
knowledge is surely another of God’s gifts whose value must shine out
in an age where scientifically based atheism seeks to gain control of
society at the expense of the belief in God. But the Qur’an does not
need unusual characteristics like this to make its supernatural nature
felt. Scientific statements such as these are only one specific aspect
of the Islamic revelation which the Bible does not share.
Throughout my research I have constantly tried to remain totally
objective. I believe I have succeeded in approaching the study of the
Qur’an with the same objectivity that a doctor has when opening a file
on a patient. In other words, only by carefully analyzing all the
symptoms can one arrive at an accurate diagnosis. I must admit that it
was certainly not faith in Islam that first guided my steps, but simply
a desire to search for the truth. This is how I see it today. It was
mainly the facts which, by the time I had finished my study, led me to
see the Qur’an as the divinely-revealed text it really is.
AUTHENTICITY OF QUR’AN
Before getting to the essence of the subject, there is a very
important point which must be considered: the authenticity of the
Qur’anic text.
It is known that the text of the Qur’an was both recited from
memory, during the time it was revealed, by the Prophet and the
believers who surrounded him, and written down by designated scribes
among his followers. This process lasted for roughly twenty-three years
during which many unofficial copies were made. An official copy was
made within one year after the Prophet’s death at the instruction of
Caliph Abu Bakr.
Here we must note a highly important point. The present text of the
Qur’an benefited in its original preparation from the advantage of
having its authenticity cross-checked by the text recited from memory
as well as the unofficial written texts. The memorized text was of
paramount importance at a time when not everyone could read and write,
but everybody could memorize. Moreover, the need for a written record
was included in the text of the Qur’an itself. The first five verses of
chapter al-‘Alaq, which happen to constitute the first revelation made
to the Prophet (S), express this quite clearly:
“Read: In the name of your Lord who created. Who created man from a
clinging entity. Read! Your Lord is the most Noble, Who taught by the
pen. Who taught man what he did not know.” Qur’an, 96:1-5
These are surely words in “praise of the pen as a means of human knowledge”, to use Professor Hamidullah’s expression.
Then came the Caliphate of ‘Uthman (which lasted from the twelfth to
the twenty-fourth year following Muhammad’s death). Within the first
two years of Caliph ‘Uthman’s rule, seven official copies were
reproduced from the official text and distributed throughout a large
area of the world which had already come under Islamic rule. All
unofficial copies existing at that time were destroyed and all future
copies were made from the official seven copies.
In my book, The Bible, the Qur’an and Science, I have quoted
passages from the Qur’an which came from the period prior to the Hijrah
(the Prophet’s emigration from Makkah to Madeenah in the year 622) and
which allude to the writing of the Qur’an before the Prophet’s
departure from Makkah.
There were, moreover, many witnesses to the immediate transcription of the Qur’anic revelation.
Professor Jacques Berque has told me of the great importance he
attaches to it in comparison with the long gap separating the writing
down of the Judeo-Christian revelation from the facts and events which
it relates. Let us not forget that today we also have a number of
manuscripts of the first written versions of the Qur’an which were from
a time period very close to the time of revelation.
I shall also mention another fact of great importance. We shall
examine statements in the Qur’an which today appear to merely record
scientific truth, but of which men in former times were only able to
grasp the apparent meaning. In some cases, these statements were
totally incomprehensible. It is impossible to imagine that, if there
were any alterations to the texts, these obscure passages scattered
throughout the text of the Qur’an, were all able to escape human
manipulation. The slightest alteration to the text would have
automatically destroyed the remarkable coherence which is
characteristic to them. Change in any text would have prevented us from
establishing their total conformity with modern knowledge. The presence
of these statements spread throughout the Qur’an looks (to the
impartial observer ) like an obvious hallmark of its authenticity.
The Qur’an is a revelation made known to humans in the course of
twenty-three years. It spanned two periods of almost equal length on
either side of the Hijrah. In view of this, it was natural for
reflections having a scientific aspect to be scattered throughout the
Book. In a study, such as the one we have made, we had to regroup the
verses according to subject matter, collecting them chapter by chapter.
How should they be classified? I could not find any indications in
the Qur’an suggesting any particular classification, so I decided
present them according to my own personal one.
It would seem to me, that the first subject to deal with is
Creation. Here it is possible to compare the verses referring to this
topic with the general ideas prevalent today on the formation of the
Universe. Next, I divided up verses under the following general
headings: Astronomy, the Earth, the Animal and Vegetable Kingdoms,
Humans, and Human Reproduction in particular. Furthermore, I thought it
useful to make a comparison between Qur’anic and Biblical narrations on
the same topics from the point of view of modern knowledge. This has
been done in the cases of Creation, the Flood and the Exodus. The
reason that these topics were chosen is that knowledge acquired today
can be used in the interpretation of the texts.
CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE
From an examination of creation as described in the Qur’an, an
extremely important general concept emerges: The Qur’anic narration is
quite different from the Biblical narration. This idea contradicts the
parallels which are often wrongly drawn by Western authors to emphasize
the resemblance between the two texts. To stress only the similarities,
while silently ignoring the obvious dissimilarities, is to distort
reality. There is, perhaps, a reason for this.
When talking about creation, there is a strong tendency in the West
to claim that Muhammad copied the general outlines mentioned in the
Qur’an from the Bible. Certainly it is possible to compare the six days
of creation as described in the Bible, plus an extra day for rest on
God’s Sabbath, with this verse from chapter al-A‘raaf.
“Your Lord is God who created the heavens and the earth in six days.” Qur’an, 7:54
However, it must be pointed out that modern commentators stress the
interpretation of the Arabic word ayyaam, (one translation of which is
‘days’), as meaning ‘long periods’ or ‘ages’ rather than periods of
twenty-four hours.
What appears to be of fundamental importance to me is that, in
contrast to the narration contained in the Bible, the Qur’an does not
lay down a sequence for creation of the earth and heavens. It refers
both to the heavens before the earth and the earth before the heavens,
when it talks of creation in general, as in this verse of chapter Taa
Haa:
“(God) who created the earth and heavens above.” Qur’an, 20:4
In fact, the notion derived from the Qur’an is one of a parallelism
in the celestial and terrestrial evolutions. There are also basic
pieces of information concerning the existence of an initial gaseous
mass ( dukhaan ) which are unique to the Qur’an. As well as
descriptions of the elements which, although at first were fused
together ( ratq ), they subsequently became separated (fatq). These
ideas are expressed in chapters Fussilat and al-Anbiyaa:
“God then rose turning towards the heaven when it was smoke” Qur’an, 41:11
“Do the disbelievers not see that the heavens and the earth were joined together, then I split them apart?” Qur’an, 21:30
According to modern science, the separation process resulted in the
formation of multiple worlds, a concept which appears dozens of times
in the Qur’an. For example, look at the first chapter of the Qur’an,
al-Faatihah:( “Praise be to God, the Lord of the Worlds.” Qur’an, 1:1
). These Qur’anic references are a11 in perfect agreement with modern
ideas on the existence of primary nebula (galactic dust), followed by
the separation of the elements which resulted in the formation of
galaxies and then stars from which the planets were born. Reference is
also made in the Qur’an to an intermediary creation between the heavens
and the earth, as seen in chapter al-Furqaan:
“God is the one who created the heavens, the earth and what is between them…” Qur’an, 25:59
It would seem that this intermediary creation corresponds to the
modern discovery of bridges of matter which are present outside
organized astronomical systems.
This brief survey of Qur’anic references to creation clearly shows
us how modern scientific data and statements in the Qur’an consistently
agree on a large number of points. In contrast, the successive phases
of creation mentioned in the Biblical text are totally unacceptable.
For example, in Genesis 1:9-19 the creation of the earth (on the 3rd
day) is placed before that of the heavens (on the 4th day). It is a
well known fact that our planet came from its own star, the sun. In
such circumstances, how could anyone claim that Muhammad, the supposed
author of the Qur’an, drew his inspiration from the Bible. Such a claim
would mean that, of his own accord, he corrected the Biblical text to
arrive at the correct concept concerning the formation of the Universe.
Yet the correct concept was reached by scientists many centuries after
his death.
ASTRONOMY
Whenever I describe to Westerners the details the Qur’an contains on
certain points of astronomy, it is common for someone to reply that
there is nothing unusual in this since the Arabs made important
discoveries in the field of astronomy long before the Europeans. But,
this is a mistaken idea resulting from an ignorance of history. In the
first place, science developed in the Arab World at a considerable time
after the Qur’anic revelation had occurred. Secondly, the scientific
knowledge prevalent at the highpoint of Islamic civilization would have
made it impossible for any human being to have written statements on
the heavens comparable to those in the Qur’an. The material on this
subject is so vast that I can only provide a brief outline of it here.
The Sun and Moon.
Whereas the Bible talks of the sun and the moon as two lights
differing only in size, the Qur’an distinguishes between them by the
use of different terms: light (noor) for the moon, and lamp (siraaj)
for the sun.
“Did you see how Allah created seven heavens, one above the other,
and made in them the moon a light and the sun a lamp?” Qur’an, 78:12-13
The moon is an inert body which reflects light, whereas the sun is a
celestial body in a state of permanent combustion producing both light
and heat.
Stars and Planets
The word ‘star’ (najm) in the Qur’an ( 86:3 ) is accompanied by the
adjective thaaqib which indicates that it burns and consumes itself as
it pierces through the shadows of the night. It was much later
discovered that stars are heavenly bodies producing their own light
like the sun.
In the Qur’an, a different word, kawkab, is used to refer to the
planets which are celestial bodies that reflect light and do not
produce their own light like the sun.
“We have adorned the lowest heaven with ornaments, the planets.” Qur’an, 37:6
Orbits
Today, the laws governing the celestial systems are well known.
Galaxies are balanced by the position of stars and planets in
well-defined orbits, as well as the interplay of gravitational forces
produced by their masses and the speed of their movements. But is this
not what the Qur’an describes in terms which have only become
comprehensible in modern times. In chapter al-Ambiyaa we find:
“(God is) the one who created the night, the day, the sun and the
moon. Each one is traveling in an orbit with its own motion.”
Qur’an,21:33
The Arabic word which expresses this movement is the verb yasbahoon
which implies the idea of motion produced by a moving body, whether it
is the movement of one’s legs running on the ground, or the action of
swimming in water. In the case of a celestial body, one is forced to
translate it, according to its original meaning, as ‘to travel with its
own motion.’
In my book, The Bible, The Qur’an and Science, I have given the
precise scientific data corresponding to the motion of celestial
bodies. They are well known for the moon, but less widely known for the
sun.
The Day and Night
The Qur’anic description of the sequence of day and night would, in
itself, be rather commonplace were it not for the fact that it is
expressed in terms that are today highly appropriate. The Qur’an uses
the verb kawwara in chapter az-Zumar to describe the way the night
‘winds’ or ‘coils’ itself around the day and the day around the night.
“He coils the night upon the day and the day upon the night.” Qur’an, 39:5
The original meaning of the verb kis to coil a turban around the
head. This is a totally valid comparison; yet at the time the Qur’an
was revealed, the astronomical data necessary to make this comparison
were unknown. It is not until man landed on the moon and observed the
earth spinning on its axis, that the dark half of the globe appeared to
wind itself around the light and the light half appeared to wind itself
around the dark.
The Solar Apex
The notion of a settled place for the sun is vividly described in chapter Yaa Seen of the Qur’an:
“The sun runs its coarse to a settled place That is the decree of the Almighty, the All Knowing.” Qur’an, 36:38
“Settled place” is the translation of the word mustaqarr which
indicates an exact appointed place and time. Modern astronomy confirms
that the solar system is indeed moving in space at a rate of 12 miles
per second towards a point situated in the constellation of Hercules (
alpha lyrae ) whose exact location has been precisely calculated.
Astronomers have even give it a name, the solar apex.
Expansion of the Universe
Chapter ath-Thaariyaat of the Qur’an also seems to allude to one of
the most imposing discoveries of modern science, the expansion of the
Universe.
“I built the heaven with power and it is I, who am expanding it.” Qur’an,51:47
The expansion of the universe was first suggested by the general
theory of relativity and is supported by the calculations of
astrophysics. The regular movement of the galactic light towards the
red section of the spectrum is explained by the distancing of one
galaxy from another. Thus, the size of the universe appears to be
progressively increasing.
Conquest of Space
Among the achievements of modern science is the “conquest” of space
which has resulted in mans journey to the moon. The prediction of this
event surely springs to mind when we read the chapter ar-Rahmaan in the
Qur’an:
“O assembly of Jinns and men, if you can penetrate the regions of
the heavens and the earth, then penetrate them! You will not penetrate
them except with authority.”
Qur’an,55:33
Authority to travel in space can only come from the Creator of the
laws which govern movement and space. The whole of this Qur’anic
chapter invites humankind to recognize God’s beneficence.
GEOLOGY
Let us now return to earth to discover some of the many amazing
statements contained in Qur’anic reflections about our own planet. They
deal, not only with the physical phenomena observed here on earth, but
also with details concerning the living organisms that inhabit it.
As in the case of everything we have discussed so far, we shall see
that the Qur’an also expresses concepts in the field of geology that
were way ahead of those current at the time of its revelation.
At this point, we must ask ourselves the following question: How
could an uneducated man in the middle of the desert accurately tackle
so many and such varied subjects at a time when mythology and
superstition reigned supreme? How could he so skillfully avoid every
belief that was proven to be totally inaccurate many centuries later?
Water Cycle
The verses dealing with the earthly systems are a case in point. I
have quoted a large number of them in my book, The Bible, The Qur’an
and Science, and have paid special attention to those that deal with
the water cycle in nature. This is a topic which is well known today.
Consequently, the verses in the Qur’an that refer to the water cycle
seem to express ideas that are now totally self-evident. But if we
consider the ideas prevalent at that time, they appear to be based more
on myth and philosophical speculation than on observed fact, even
though useful practical knowledge on soil irrigation was current at
that period.
Let us examine, for example, the following verse in chapter az-Zumar:
“Have you not seen that Allah sent rain down from the sky and caused
it to penetrate the ground and come forth as springs, then He caused
crops of different colors to grow…” Qur’an,39:21
Such notions seem quite natural to us today, but we should not
forget that, not so long ago, they were not prevalent. It was not until
the sixteenth century, with Bernard Palissy, that we gained the first
coherent description of the water cycle. Prior to this, people believed
that the waters of the oceans, under the effect of winds, were thrust
towards the interior of the continents. They then returned to the
oceans via the great abyss, which, since Plato’s time was called the
Tartarus .In the seventeenth century, great thinkers such as Descartes
still believed in this myth. Even in the nineteenth century there were
still those who believed in Aristotle’s theory that water was condensed
in cool mountain caverns and formed underground lakes that fed springs.
Today, we know that it is the infiltration of rain water into the
ground that is responsible for this. If one compares the facts of
modern hydrology with the data found in numerous verses of the Qur’an
on this subject, one cannot fail to notice the remarkable degree of
agreement between the two.
Mountains
In geology, modern science has recently discovered the phenomenon of
folding which formed the mountain ranges. The earth’s crust is like a
solid shell, while the deeper layers are hot and fluid, and thus
inhospitable to any form of life. It has also been discovered that the
stability of mountains is linked to the phenomenon of folding. The
process of mountain formation by folding drove the earth’s crust down
into the lower layers and provided foundations for the mountains.
Let us now compare modern ideas with one verse among many in the
Qur’an that deals with this subject. It is taken from chapter an-Naba’:
“Have We not made the earth an expanse and the mountains stakes?”
Qur’an, 78:6-7
Stakes ( awtaad ), which are driven into the ground like those used
to anchor a tent, are the deep foundations of geological folds.
Here, as in the case of all the other topics presented, the
objective observer cannot fail to notice the absence of any
contradiction to modern knowledge.
BIOLOGY
More than anything else, I was struck by statements in the Qur’an
dealing with living things, both in the animal and vegetable kingdoms,
especially with regard to reproduction. We should really devote much
more time to this subject, but, due to the limited scope of this
presentation, I can only give a few examples.
I must once again stress the fact that it is only in modern times
that scientific progress has made the hidden meaning of some Qur’anic
verses comprehensible to us. Numerous translations and commentaries on
the Qur’an have been made by learned men who had no access to modern
scientific knowledge. It is for this reason that scientists find some
of their interpretations unacceptable.
There are also other verses whose obvious meanings are easily understood, but which conceal
scientific meanings which are startling, to say the least. This is
the case of a verse in chapter al-Ambiyaa, a part of which has already
been quoted:
“Do the unbelievers not realize that the heavens and the earth were joined together,
then I clove them asunder and I made every living thing out of water. Will they still not believe?” Qur’an, 21:30
This is a dramatic affirmation of the modern idea that the origin of life is aquatic.
Botany
Progress in botany at the time of Muhammad (S) was not advanced
enough in any country for scientists to know that plants have both male
and female parts. Nevertheless, we may read the following in the
chapter Taa Haa:
“(God is the One who) sent down rain from the sky and with it brought forth a variety of plants in pairs.” Qur’an, 20:53
Today we know that fruit comes from plants that have sexual
characteristics even when they come from unfertilized flowers, like
bananas. In the chapter ar-Ra‘d we read the following:
“… and of all fruits (God) placed (on the earth) two pairs.” Qur’an, 13:3
Physiology
In the field of physiology, there is one verse which appears
extremely significant to me. One thousand years before the discovery of
the blood circulatory system, and roughly thirteen centuries before it
was determined that the internal organs were nourished by the process
of digestive , a verse in the Qur’an described the source of the
constituents of milk, in conformity with scientific facts.
To understand this verse, it must first be known that chemical
reactions occur between food and enzymes in the mouth, the stomach and
the intestines releasing nutrients in molecular form which are then
absorbed into the circulatory system through countless microscopic
projections of the intestinal wall called villi. Blood in the
circulatory system then transports the nutrients to all the organs of
the body, among which are the milk-producing mammary glands.
This biological process must be basically understood, if we are to
understand a verse in the Qur’an which has for many centuries given
rise to commentaries that were totally incomprehensible.
Today it is not difficult to see why! This verse is taken from the chapter an-Nahl:
“Verily, in cattle there is a lesson for yon. I give you drink from
their insides, coming from a conjunction between the digested contents
( of the intestines ) and the blood, milk pure and pleasant for those
who drink it.” Qur’an, 16:66
The constituents of milk are secreted by the mammary glands which
are nourished by the product of food digestion brought to them by the
bloodstream. The initial event which sets the whole process in motion
is the conjunction of the contents of the intestine and blood at the
level of the intestinal wall itself.
This very precise concept is the result of the discoveries made in
the chemistry and physiology of the digestive system over one thousand
years after the time of Prophet Muhammad (S).
EMBRYOLOGY
There are a multitude of statements in the Qur’an on the subject of
human reproduction which constitute a challenge to the embryologist
seeking a human explanation for them. It was only after the birth of
the basic sciences which contributed to our knowledge of biology and
the invention of the microscope, that humans were able to understand
the depth of those Qur’anic statements. It was impossible for a human
being living in the early seventh century to have accurately expressed
such ideas. There is nothing to indicate that people in the Middle-East
and Arabia knew anything more about this subject than people living in
Europe or anywhere else. Today, there are many Muslims, possessing a
thorough knowledge of the Qur’an and natural sciences, who have
recognized the amazing similarity between the verses of the Qur’an
dealing with reproduction and modern scientific knowledge.
I shall always remember the comment of an eighteen-year-old Muslim,
brought up in Saudi Arabia, commenting on a reference to human
reproduction as described in the Qur’an. He pointed to the Qur’an and
said, “This book provides us with all the essential information on the
subject. When I was at school, my teachers used the Qur’an to explain
how children were born. Your books on sex-education are a bit late on
the scene!”
If I were to spend as long on all the details of reproduction
contained in the Qur’an, as the subject merits, this pamphlet would
become a book. The detailed linguistic and scientific explanations I
have given in The Bible, The Qur’an and Science are sufficient for the
person who does not speak Arabic nor know much about embryology to be
able to understand the meaning of such verses in the light of modern
science in more depth.
It is especially in the field of embryology that a comparison
between the beliefs present at the time of the Qur’an’s revelation and
modern scientific data, leaves us amazed at the degree of agreement
between the Qur’an’s statements and modern scientific knowledge. Not to
mention the total absence of any reference in the Qur’an to the
mistaken ideas that were prevalent around the world at the time.
Fertilization
Let us now isolate, from all these verses, precise ideas concerning
the complexity of the semen and the fact that an infinitely small
quantity is required to ensure fertilization. In chapter al-Insaan the
Qur’an states:
“Verily, I created humankind from a small quantity of mingled fluids.” Qur’an, 76:2
The Arabic word nutfah has been translated as “small quantity”. It
comes from the verb meaning ‘to dribble, to trickle’ and is used to
describe what remains in the bottom of a bucket which has been emptied.
The verse correctly implies that fertilization is performed by only a
very small volume of liquid.
On the other hand, mingled fluids ( amshaaj ) has been understood by
early commentators to refer to the mixture of male and female
discharges. Modern authors have corrected this view and note that the
sperm is made up of various components.
When the Qur’an talks of a fertilizing fluid composed of different
components, it also informs us that human progeny will be formed from
something extracted from this liquid. This is the meaning of the
following verse in chapter as-Sajdah:
“Then He made [ man's ] offspring from the essence of a despised fluid.”
Qur’an, 32:8
The Arabic word translated by the term ‘essence’ is sulaalah which
means ‘something extracted, the best part of a thing’. In whatever way
it is translated, it refers to part of a whole. Under normal
conditions, only one single cell, spermatozoon, out of over 50 million
ejaculated by a man during sexual intercourse will actually penetrate
the ovule.
Implantation
Once the egg has been fertilized in the fallopian tube, it descends
to lodge itself inside the uterus. This process is called the
‘implantation of the egg’. Implantation is a result of the development
of villosities, which, like roots in the soil, draw nourishment from
the wall of the uterus and make the egg literally cling to the womb.
The process of implantation is appropriately described in several
verses by the word ‘alaq, which is also the title of the chapter in
which one of the verses appears:
“God fashioned humans from a clinging entity.” Qur’an, 96:2
I do not think there is any reasonable translation of the word ‘alaq
other than to use it in its original sense. It is a mistake to speak of
a ‘blood clot’ here, which is the term Professor Hamidullah uses in his
translation. It is a derivative meaning which is not as appropriate in
this context.
Embryo
The evolution of the embryo inside the maternal uterus is only
briefly described, but the description is accurate, because the simple
words referring to it correspond exactly to fundamental stages in its
growth. This is what we read in a verse from the chapter al-Mu’minoon:
“I fashioned the clinging entity into a chewed lump of flesh and I
fashioned the chewed flesh into bones and I clothed the bones with
intact flesh.” Qur’an, 23:14
The term ‘chewed flesh’ (mudghah) corresponds exactly to the appearance of the embryo at a certain stage in its development.
It is known that the bones develop inside this mass and that they
are then covered with muscle. This is the meaning of the term ‘intact
flesh’ (lahm).
The embryo passes through a stage where some parts are in proportion
and others out of proportion with what is later to become the
individual. This is the obvious meaning of a verse in the chapter
al-Hajj, which reads as follows:
“I fashioned (humans) a clinging entity, then into a lump of flesh in proportion and out of proportion.” Qur’an, 22:5.
Next, we have a reference to the appearance of the senses and internal organs in the chapter as-Sajdah:
“… and (God) gave you ears, eyes and hearts.” Qur’an, 32:9
Nothing here contradicts today’s data and, furthermore, none of the
mistaken ideas of the time have crept into the Qur’an. Throughout the
Middle Ages there were a variety of beliefs about human development
based on myths and speculations which continued for several centuries
after the period. The most fundamental stage in the history of
embryology came in 1651 with Harvey’s statement that “all life
initially comes from an egg”. At that time, when science had benefited
greatly from the invention of the microscope, people were still arguing
about the respective roles of the egg and spermatozoon. Buffon, the
great naturalist, was one of those in favor of the egg theory.Bonnet,
on the other hand, supported the theory of ‘the ovaries of Eve’, which
stated that Eve, the mother of the human race, was-supposed to have had
inside her the seeds of all human beings packed together one inside the
other.
BIBLE,QUR’AN AND SCIENCE
We have now come to the last subject I would like to present in this short pamphlet: it is the
comparison between modern knowledge and passages in the Qur’an that are also referred to in the Bible.
Creation
We have already come across some of the contradictions between
scripture and science regarding the creation of the universe. When
dealing with that topic, I stressed the perfect agreement between
modern knowledge and verses in the Qur’an, and pointed out that the
Biblical narration contained statements that were scientifically
unacceptable. This is hardly surprising if we are aware that the
narration of the creation contained in the Bible was the work of
priests living in the sixth century BC, hence the term ‘sacerdotal’ (
priestly ) narration is officially used to refer to it. The narration
seems to have been conceived as the theme of a sermon designed to
exhort people to observe the Sabbath. The narration was constructed
with a definite end in view, and as Father de Vaux (a former head of
the Biblical School of Jerusalem) has noted, this end was essentially
legalist in character.
The Bible also contains a much shorter and older narration of
Creation, the so-called ‘Yahvist’ version, which approaches the subject
from a completely different angle. They are both taken from Genesis,
the first book of the Pentateuch or Torah. Moses is supposed to have
been its author, but the text we have today has undergone many changes.
The sacerdotal narration of Genesis is famous for its whimsical
genealogies, that go back to Adam, and which nobody takes very
seriously. Nevertheless, such Gospel authors as Matthew and Luke have
reproduced them, more or less word-for-word, in their genealogies of
Jesus. Matthew goes back as far as Abraham, and Luke to Adam. These
writings are scientifically unacceptable, because they set a date for
the age of the world and the time humans appeared on Earth, which most
definitely contradicts what modern science has firmly established. The
Qur’an, on the other hand, is completely free of dates of this kind.
Earlier on, we noted how perfectly the Qur’an agrees with modern
ideas on the formation of the Universe. On the other hand, the Biblical
narration of primordial waters is hardly, nor is the creation of light
on the first day before the creation of the stars which produce this
light; the existence of an evening and a morning before the creation of
the earth; the creation of the earth on the third day before that of
the sun on the fourth; the appearance of beasts of the earth on the
sixth day after the appearance of the birds of the air on the fifth
day, although the former came first. All these statements are the
result of beliefs prevalent at the time this text was written and do
not have any other meaning.
Age of the Earth
As for the Biblical genealogies which form the basis of the Jewish
calendar and assert that today the world is 5738 years old, these are
hardly admissible either. Our solar system may well be four and a
quarter billion years old, and the appearance of human beings on earth,
as we know him today, may be estimated in tens of thousands of years,
if not more. It is absolutely essential, therefore, to note that the
Qur’an does not contain any such indications as to the age of the
world, and that these are specific to the Biblical text.
The Flood
There is a second highly significant subject of comparison between
the Bible and the Qur’an; descriptions of the deluge. In actual fact,
the Biblical narration is a fusion of two descriptions in which events
are related differently. The Bible speaks of a universal flood and
places it roughly 300 years before Abraham.
According to what we know of Abraham, this would imply a universal
cataclysm around the twenty-first or twenty-second century BC This
story would be untenable, in view of presently available historical
data. How can we accept the idea that, in the twenty-first or
twenty-second century BC, all civilization was wiped off the face of
the earth by a universal cataclysm, when we know that this period
corresponds, for example, to the one preceding the Middle Kingdom in
Egypt, at roughly the date of the first Intermediary period before the
eleventh dynasty? It is historically unacceptable to maintain that, at
this time, humanity was totally wiped out. None of the preceding
statements is acceptable according to modern knowledge. From this point
of view, we can measure the enormous gap separating the Bible from the
Qur’an.
In contrast to the Bible, the narration contained in the Qur’an
deals with a cataclysm that is limited to Noah’s people. They were
punished for their sins, as were other ungodly peoples. The Qur’an does
not fix the cataclysm in time. There are absolutely no historical or
archaeological objections to the narration in the Qur’an.
The Pharaoh
A third point of comparison, which is extremely significant, is the
story of Moses, and especially the Exodus from Egypt of the Hebrews.
Here I can only give a highly compressed account of a study on this
subject that appears in my book. I have noted the points where the
Biblical and Qur’anic narrations agree and disagree, and I have found
points where the two texts complement each other in a very useful way.
Among the many hypotheses, concerning the historical time-frame
occupied by the Exodus in the history of the pharaohs, I have concluded
that the most likely is the theory which makes Merneptah, Ramesses II’s
successor, the pharaoh of the Exodus. The comparison of the data
contained in the Scriptures with archeological evidence strongly
supports this hypothesis. I am pleased to be able to say that the
Biblical narration contributes weighty evidence leading us to situate
Moses in the history of the pharaohs. Moses was probably born during
the reign of Ramesses II. Biblical data. are therefore of considerable
historical value in the story of Moses. A medical study of the mummy of
Merneptah has yielded further useful information on the possible causes
of this pharaoh’s death. The fact that we possess the mummy of this
pharaoh is one of paramount importance. The Bible records that pharaoh
was engulfed in the sea, but does not give any details as to what
subsequently became of his corpse. The Qur’an, in chapter Yoonus, notes
that the body of the pharaoh would be saved from the waters:
“Today I will save your dead body so that you may be a sign for those who come after you.” Qur’an, 10:92
A medical examination of this mummy, has, shown that the body could
not have stayed in the water for long, because it does not show signs
of deterioration due to prolonged submersion. Here again, the
comparison between the narration in the Qur’an and the data provided by
modern knowledge does not give rise to the slightest objection from a
scientific point of view.
Such points of agreement are characteristic of the Qur’anic
revelation. But, are we throwing the Judeo-Christian revelation into
discredit and depriving it of all its intrinsic value by stressing the
faults as seen from a scientific point of view? I think not because the
criticism is not aimed at the text as a whole, but only at certain
passages. There are parts of the Bible which have an undoubted
historical value. I have shown that in my book, The Bible, The Qur’an
and Science, where I discuss passages which enable us to locate Moses
in time.
The main causes which brought about such differences as arise from
the comparison between the Holy Scriptures and modern knowledge is
known to modern scholars. The Old Testament constitutes a collection of
literary works produced in the course of roughly nine centuries and
which has undergone many alterations. The part played by men in the
actual composition of the texts of the Bible is quite considerable.
The Qur’anic revelation, on the other hand, has a history which is
radically different. As we have already seen, from the moment it was
first commto humans, it was learnt by heart and written down during
Muhammad’s own lifetime. It is thanks to this fact that the Qur’an does
not pose any problem of authenticity.
A totally objective examination of the Qur’an, in the light of
modern knowledge, leads us to recognize the agreement between the two,
as has already been noted on repeated occasions throughout this
presentation.
It makes us deem it quite unthinkable for a man of Muhammad’s time
to have been the author of such statements, on account of the state of
knowledge in his day. Such considerations are part of what gives the
Qur’anic revelation its unique place among religious and non-religious
texts, and forces the impartial scientist to admit his inability to
provide an explanation based solely upon materialistic reasoning.
Such facts as I have had the pleasure of exposing to you here,
appear to represent a genuine challenge to human explanation leaving
only one alternative: the Qur’an is undoubtedly a revelation from God.
