The Qur'an Has Scientific Errors

- Pro makes the claim that ‘Sura 36:38 doesn't sound accurate either…’ without supporting it in any way. I don’t see any argument from Pro that I need to refute. Nevertheless, I will proceed with falsifying Pro’s claim, regardless of his reasons behind it. - Pro is contesting to the assertion that the Sun prostrates under Allah’s Throne offered in this narration: * Narrated Abu Dharr: Once I was with the Prophet in the mosque at the time of sunset. The Prophet said, "O Abu Dharr! Do you know where the sun sets?" I replied, "Allah and His Apostle know best." He said, "It goes and prostrates underneath (Allah's) Throne; And that is the interpretation of the Statement of Allah: "And the sun Runs its fixed course For a term (decreed). that is The Decree of (Allah) The Exalted in Might, The All- Knowing." - & so, the Hadith is apparently an interpretation of this verse: * ”And the sun Runs its fixed course For a term (decreed).” (36:38) > By this verse: * “Do you not see that to Allah prostrates whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth and the sun, the moon, the stars [. . .]” (22:18) Rebuttals: - Now let’s see what does this interpretation stand for, let's first start by checking other narrations & verses: * “See you not how Allah has created the seven heavens one above another” (71:15) * Narrated Sa’id Ibn Jubayr: A man came to Ibn ‘Abbas (companion of the Prophet) and asked him about “the seven heavens”, He (Ibn ‘Abbas) said: “they are wrapped (multawiyat) one over the other” [^al-Fasl fil-Milal #2/80] <<< Meaning: the seven heavens are contained one in the other, where the above contains & encloses the lower. * “And We have certainly beautified the lowest heaven (as-Samaa ad-Dunya) with stars” (67:5) <<< The lowest heaven (Dunya) thus indicate the observable Universe, for it contains the stars. * The Prophet said: “Indeed, this world (Dunya) in comparison to the Hereafter (Akhira) is that if anyone of you should dip his finger into the ocean: let him then see what he brings forth.” [^Ibn Majah #4108] <<< The lowest heaven is extremely insignificant compared to what is above it. * “His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth” (2:255) <<< The Kursi, likewise, encompasses the seven heavens. * The Prophet said: “Do you know how great Allah is? His Throne is above the heavens (thus indicating with his fingers like a dome over him)” [^Abu Dawud #4726] <<< The Throne encloses & englobes the seven heavens. * Narrated Abu Darr: “The likeness of the Kursi in comparison to the Throne of Allah is but a mere ring in the midst of a desert” [^Ibn Hiban #213] /// Another version (weak narration): “O! Abu Darr, the seven heavens and the Kursi in comparison to the Throne are but a more ring in a desert land” [^Ibn Asakir #23/277] <<< The seven heavens are insignificant compared to the Kursi, & the latter is insignificant compared to the Throne. * It was reported in an Atar (report by a companion) “The Earth in the lowest heaven is like a ring in a desert, similarly for the lowest heaven in comparison to the one above it, and so on to the seventh heaven, and the latter relative to the Kursi is like a ring in a desert, as is the Kursi relatively to the Throne of Allah” [^al-Allusi #9/129] <<< Well, you pretty much get the idea. * “All (heavenly bodies) each in an orbit.” (21:33) >>> Back to our narration: * Narrated Abu Darr: I asked the Prophet about the Statement of Allah: “And the sun runs on fixed course for a term (decreed)” (36.38) He said, "Its course is underneath Allah's Throne." [^al-Bukhari #4803] => Commentary: Prostration of Sun, trees, stars. . . mentioned in Qur'an and Hadith does not mean like our prostration (in its literal sense) but it means that these objects are obedient to their Creator (Allah) for what they have been created for. >>> Thus we have two assertions: ”And the sun Runs its fixed course For a term (decreed).”, & ”Its course is underneath Allah's Throne." => Considering all the verses & narrations I have cited, it becomes crystal clear that, according to the Qur’an, the Sun, heavenly bodies, whatever is in the heavens & the Earth, all are in a state of obedience following the Decree of Allah in the course that He has set for them: “And to Allah prostrates [in obedience] whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth of creatures, and the angels [as well]” (16:49). & all are in that state of obedience under the Throne of Allah. => Therefore, there is nothing scientifically inaccurate about such interpretation, on the contrary, such interpretation is to be expected since the Qur’an is clear in the affirmation of absolute predestination: * "Allah is the Creator of every thing and He has charge over every thing." (39:62). * Actions: "And Allah created you and whatever you do." (37:96) * Will: "And you do not will except that Allah wills - Lord of the worlds." (81:29) * Choice: "Your Lord does create and choose as He pleases. In no way do they have the choice. All Extolment be to Allah, and Supremely Exalted be He above whatever they associate (with Him)." (28:68) * Dominion: "Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth is exalting Allah. To Him belongs dominion, and to Him belongs all praise, and He has power over all things." (64:1) * Pre-destiny: "Indeed, all things We created with predestination -in proportion and measure-." (54:49) ==>> We’ve thereby cleared the right meaning of the Hadith, & thus the contention of Pro is invalidated. Nonetheless, I am gonna take this argument even further to leave no room for doubt: Argument 1: * “He created the heavens and earth in truth. He wraps the night over the day and wraps the day over the night and has subjected the sun and the moon, each running [its course] for a specified term.” (39:5) > Transliteration: * “yukawwiru allayla ‘ala annahari wa yukawwiru annahara ‘ala allayli” > Yukawwiru, from the root verb Kawwaru, which literally means: make into a globe or a circle. > In the Arabic Dictionary: ‘Kawwara’ applied onto a turban means: encircle it. => Commentary: the night is wrapped over the day encircling it, & the day is wrapped over the night encircling it. => Thus, the Earth MUST be a glob for such a scenario to take place. * “It is not allowable for the sun to reach the moon, nor does the night overtake the day, but each, in an orbit, floating.” (36:40) => Commentary: the duration of one night & one day is fixed, & one is not allowed to overtake the other. => The ‘wrapping’ of the day over the night on the Glob is such that the duration of the full cycle (of encircling day night) is fixed, which indicates a steady speed of rotation. * “He merges the night into the day, and He merges the day into the night.” (35:13) => Commentary: the decreased hours of the night are added to the hours of the day, & the decreased hours of the day are added to the hours of the night. ==>> All these verses provide accurate descriptions of the shape & cycle of the Earth. Argument 2: * “All (heavenly bodies) each in an orbit, floating.” (21:33) > Transliteration: * “kullun fee falakin yasbahoon” > Falakin = arc, orbit, circle, circular shape, round shape => Commentary: Narrated Ibn ‘Abbas (companion to the Prophet): " 'falakin' like the round shape of a spinning wheel " [^Tafsir at-Tabari, Yasin p.521] ==>> The Qur’an assert that heavenly bodies float in - round - orbits. ===>>> Conclusion: we can assert with absolute certainty that the Sunset mentioned in (18:86) MUST be a description of the scenery as witnessed by Thul-Qarnayn, & thus, can not be an explanation of the Sunset itself & its location! Otherwise, we would find ourselves contradicted by the Qur’an itself through the verses mentioned above. Argument 3: - Al-Marwazi (d. 869) the first muslim to provide a fairly accurate estimation of the diameter of the Earth: 10,323km. He also made estimations of the diameter of the Sun to: 56,777km (which makes the Sun at least 170 bigger than the Earth), of the Moon: 3,036km, of the average distance Moon-Earth: 308,000km, of the average distance Sun-Earth: 6,245,547km. - Ibn Hazm (d. 1064) “None of the great Scholars, who deserve the degree of Imamah (authority in Scholarship), may allah bless them, contested the round shape of the Earth.” [^al-Fasl fil Milal #2/78] - Abu al-Husein Ibn al-Munadi (d. 947) “There is no difference of opinion between the Scholars that the Sky is round shaped, and they all agreed that the Earth, land and sea, is in the shape of a globe” [^Majmu’ al-Fatawa #25/195] - Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 1328) “The planets are round shaped according to the Scholars of Islam [. . .], many have stated the consensus on this subject, such as Ibn Hazm and Ibn al-Jawzi, and they reported narrations to that affect from the Companions & their Successors with know chains of transmissions, and their brought proofs from the Qur’an and the Sunnah on top of mathematical proofs and astronomical proofs. And I am not aware of any know Scholar who has contested this position, with the exception of few who did not succeed in providing proof for the contrary” [^al-Fatawa #6/586] Conclusion: I think I’ve established decisively & thoroughly that the description of the Sun-Earth relationship in the Quranic worldview conforms with the reality of it, & thus no statement in the Qur’an concerning that subject is in contradiction with the established facts, thus far, invalidating Pro's resulotion. Sources: http://library.islamweb.net... http://shamela.ws... http://en.wikipedia.org...