Science and Islam

Thank you for your quick reply. It is a shame that you couldn't have responded to my final contention. Hopefully, you will be able to do so in the next round. For the sake of debate, I'll accept your observations.I. THE QUR'AN AND ASTRONOMYA. THE SETTING OF THE SUNI have quoted 18:86 to show that the Qur'an does have an error as the sun does not set in a pool of murkey water. My partner has attempted a rebuttal by the following statements: The Quran speaks from the PoV from another person; The word Maghrib used for "sunset" also means "the time of the sunset"; Even if the word is meant as "place of the sunset," the fact remains that it only "appeared to" Duhl-Qarnayn because it does appear as if it sets. First, let's look to the Hadith which I have cited, my partner says it is inauthentic. This, of course, requires evidence. Upon what evidence is there that the Hadith is inauthentic. Second, let's look at some comentaries on this verse. It is not meant by reaching the rising or setting of the sun that he reached its body and touched it because it runs in the sky around the earth without touching it and it is too great to enter any spring on earth. It is so much larger than earth. But it is meant that he reached the end of populated land east and west, so he found it – according to his vision – setting in a spring of a murky water like we watch it in smooth land as if it enters inside the land. That is why He said, ‘he found it rising on a people for whom we had provided no covering protection against the sun.’ (Holy Qur’an 18:90) and did not mean that it touches or adheres to them; but they are the first to rise on. Probably this spring is a part of the sea and the sun sets behind, with or at it, so the proposition takes the place of an adjective and God knows best. [1] When Zul-Qarnayn reached the furthest west and no populated land was left, he found the sun as if it sets in a dark spring, but it is not in reality. The same when sea traveler sees the sun as if it sets in the sea if he cannot see the shore while in reality it sets behind the sea. [1] WHAT DOES WAJADAHA MEAN? My partner states that Wajada is a term that means "to appear as" so a correct translation would be "when he arrived at the time of sunset, it appeared (to him) over a muddy spring, and he found a people thereabout." Here is what I found in the Lexicons. He found it; lighted on it; attained it; obtained it by searching or seeking; discovered it; perceived it; saw it; experienced it, or became sensible of it. [2] The finding, &c., by means of any one of the five senses: as when one says وَجَدْتُ زَيْدًا [I found, &c., Zeyd]: and وَجَدْتُ طَعْمَهُ, and رَائِحَتَهُ, and صَوْتَهُ, and خُشُونَتَهُ, [I found, or perceived, &c., its taste, and its odour, and its sound, and its roughness]. Also, The finding, &c., by means of the faculty of appetite, [or rather of sensation, which is the cause of appetite:] as when one says وَجَدْتُ الشِِّبَعَ [I found, experienced, or became sensible of, satiety]. [2] Next, there are at least several words that could not have been used if it was a mere perception. From WikiIslam: "If verse 18:86 did not mean he actually discovered some fact about the sun, it could have instead said that Dhu’l Qarnayn saw (as in 6:78) it setting in a spring of murky water (as P. Newton points out),[14] or quoted Dhu’l Qarnayn’s speech directly (“He said, ‘I found it setting in…’”) as in 18:87-88, 18:95-18:96 and 18:98. Let us look at the two verses below: Falamma raa alshshamsa bazighatan…When he saw the sun rising in splendour… Qur'an 6:78 Watara alshshamsa itha talaAAat…Thou wouldst have seen the sun, when it rose… Qur'an 18:17 The verb raa meaning “he saw” is used at the start of both verses in reference to the sun (“watara” means “And you will see”). If verses 18:86 and 18:90 had used raaha (“he saw it”) instead of wajadaha, perhaps there would be a slight case for claiming that a mistaken perception or an opinion of what it looked like is meant, and certainly if it was then followed by a correction as in this verse: …watara alnnasa sukara wama hum bisukara……thou shalt see mankind as in a drunken riot, yet not drunk… Qur'an 22:2 The Qur’an has many similes, in which the prefix ka- is added to a noun to which something is being compared to create the meaning “like”. Ka- combined with anna, which means “that” as in “I think that” is used to mean “as if”. The word kaannaha, meaning “as if it”, could have been used with raaha in 18:86 in a similar way to verses 27:10 and 28:31, which both have the phrase: …raaha tahtazzu kaannaha jannun……he saw it moving (of its own accord) as if it had been a snake… In another example we have: …walla mustakbiran kaan lam yasmaAAha kaanna fee othunayhi waqran…”…he turns away in arrogance, as if he heard them not, as if there were deafness in both his ears… Qur'an 31:7 If this pattern had been used in verse 18:86 it would have meant a mere appearance. It could have had something like the phrase, “raaha kaannaha taghrubu fee AAaynin hamiatin” (“he saw it as if it set in a spring of murky water”). It is already clear that the actual words used do not have this meaning" [3] IS IT SIMPLY BEING TOLD FROM DHU'L QARNAYN'S POV?An interesting concept Mirza pointed out is that it is possible that it is just from his PoV and hence no error (correct me if I'm misinterpreting). I'm already running out of room, so I'll deal with the rest later.B. THE SUN AND THE MOON My partner is confused at how there is an error at hand. Let's re-examine the verse:"It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor doth the night outstrip the day. They float each in an orbit." (36.40)Where is the error? The Qur'an is implying that the moon travels in a similar orbit around the sun whereas the earth is the one that is being orbited -- obviously wrong.II. BIOLOGY Rebuttals coming next round. ________________References 1. al-Qurtubi (died 671 AH/1273 CE) Al-Game’ Le Ahkam-el-Qur’an; al-Razi d. 606 AH (1149-1209 CE) Tafsir al-Kabir both quoted in WikiIslam. URL: http://tinyurl.com...; 2. Lane’s Lexicon: Volume 8/ 178 from http://tinyurl.com...;3. http://tinyurl.com...;