In answer to the video "43 Scientific Mistakes in the Quran"
All the prophet's practices and utterances, outside of the Quran, cannot be automatically assumed as divinely inspired, and the Quran itself sometimes disapproves of some of his deeds and words 66:1,80:1-10.
The same is the case of other prophets, including as eminent as Ibrahim who, despite of being an illustrious example to emulate, immitating him does not include all aspects of his life deeds 60:4.
That is why the Quran repeatedly announces obedience to the messenger instead of 'Muhammad', albeit they are the same person. The 'message' remained connected to the 'messenger' and it was in this capacity of the 'messenger' that Muhammad needed to be obeyed.
The Prophet forbade Muslims to write down anything other than the Quran. And effectively, the traditions weren't compilled until centuries following his death. The reason was that he used to make statements and deal with people in different ways that were the result of particular circumstances, which narrators might believe to be of universal and permanent bearing. From divine knowledge, the prophet Muhammad had only access to what His Lord granted him 6:50,7:203,72:26-7. That knowledge took the form of a divine scripture to
16:64"make clear to them that about which they differ, and (as) a guidance and a mercy for a people who believe".
Muhammad believed
7:158"in Allah and His words (the Quran)"
this is why Allah tells us to
"follow him so that you may be guided".
To follow Muhammad means to follow what was sent to him from signs and/or revelation
7:157"and follow the light which has been sent down with him".
This reflects in the hypothetical scenario of a people not having received a messenger, complaining that had they had one in their midst, then they would have followed God's signs, not necessarily the messenger
28:47,20:134"..O our Lord! Why did You not send to us a messenger so we would have followed YOUR SIGNS (not the messengers) before we were humiliated and disgraced?".
Again with the example of the qiblah, we are told to only follow Muhammad in what Allah has commanded him
2:143"and We did not make the Qiblah that you observed in the past except that We know who follows the messenger from the one who turns back upon his heels".
It is very compelling to read how the Quran says that it is itself the best hadith.
39:23"Allah has revealed the best HADITH, a book conformable in its various parts, repeating, whereat do shudder the skins of those who fear their Lord, then their skins and their hearts become pliant to the remembrance of Allah; this is Allah's guidance, He guides with it whom He pleases; and (as for) him whom Allah makes err, there is no guide for him"
45:6"These are the communications of Allah which We recite to you with truth; then in what HADITH would they believe after Allah and His communications".
Anything besides that best hadith, Allah tells us that the rightly guided are those people who use their brains and reflect over them, following only the best and discarding what is inapplicable or that contradicts the Quran
39:18"Those who listen to the word (qawl or saying), then follow the best of it; those are they whom Allah has guided, and those it is who are the men of understanding".
The Quran contains such warning because
31:6"of men is he who takes instead frivolous hadith to lead astray from Allah's path without knowledge, and to take it for a mockery".
These verses warning to keep the best hadith and discard all frivolous and counterproductive talks, useless and misleading narratives, provide clear evidence that idle tales were even being disseminated at the Prophet's time. If this was then already a problem reaching such levels that the Quran had to correct it, then how much worse did the problem potentially manifest after the prophet's death? It further tells us to investigate thoroughly any information of importance related by an untrustworthy source 49:6. It does not request the outright dismissal of the report based on the unreliability of the source but simply advises utmost caution in the authentication process of the narration itself which doesnt only include reliability of the transmitor but also of the information in light of certain established facts. This opens the way to the possibility that the source might be telling the truth despite its untrustworthiness.
Hadith scholars mostly stress on scrutinizing the narrator and do not give much importance to scrutinizing the content of the report. It should also be noted, a few verses down in 49:12 it warns not to harbour ill thoughts of others who have not shown through their words or deeds any misapropriateness or imorality. People should first and foremost think well of one another, abandon the kind of outright suspicion and ill founded inquisitiveness (with harmful objectives).
In answer to the video "43 Scientific Mistakes in the Quran"
When a prophet of God, the last human capable of willfully sinning, asks for God's mercy not even following a sin, but out of fear of not performing an act of worship to its full extent, then how much more so should the regular believer be conscious of his shortcomings in regards to God?
This is the characteristic of the men of God, who never become complacent and arrogant, whether in their duties towards fellow men or towards God, especially so when they reach the climax of their power and glory and that before that point they were constant and steadfast upon the straight path regardless of their ordeals. Success instead causes them increase in spirituality and far sightedness in their dealings with men and their duties towards God. The prophet, and the Muslims through him, is told to do the following, after seeing the unfolding of the prophecy of entire victory
110:3"Then celebrate the praise of your Lord, and ask His forgiveness; surely He is oft-returning (to mercy)".
In addition to teaching man spiritual humbleness, this also conveys the idea that should one attain some victory, it should not lead to pride and vanity, but to remembrence of God and gratitude, as well as seeking ghafr/covering, protection from sins. Even if the prophecy proved true in the days of Muhammad, and even more so today as Islam is still spreading worldwide, a believer shouldnt be boastful about it as many Muslims usually are when speaking of the spread and success of their religion.
The prophet was therefore certainly not "uswa hasana" in how he ate (with the right hand because the left was used for relieving in cleaning oneself after), slept or saw the nature around him. Anyone is free to imitate his lifestyle and adopt his worldviews as found in extra Quranic writings, if one finds any personal benefits in doing so but that isn't a religious requirement nor relevant to it, and that is explicitly stated in the Quran itself.
With that in mind, when the prophet made deductions as related in the ahadith, pertaining to his natural environement, general causality and basic observation of certain phenomenon, it is only expected from him that they would fit what the ancients of his time would find "plausible". These views however, right or wrong, no matter how extraordinary they might seem in light of our current knowledge, have no bearing on the Quran itself, which is again, pledged to be fully protected. It would have been interesting to have had written records of how the previous prophets saw the world, as we have with Muhammad, and see who among them held the most "unscientific" personal views.
Just as Muhammad was uswa hasana, Ibrahim and the believers in his nations are called uswa hasana 60:4-6 and to follow the prophet 3:31 means to follow the revelation sent to him 6:106,33:2.
Muhammad and the Muslims are told to follow the way of Ibrahim, this can only be achieved through the Quran which is the reminder of his way 16:123,4:125,3:95. It was indeed the Quran that guided Muhammad to the way of Ibrahim 6:161. The Quran also says to follow the pious, humble believers 31:15 and this again only means to follow them in their obedience to Allah's commands, in their belief in His revelation because
6:116"if you obey most of those in the earth, they will lead you astray from Allah's way; they follow but conjecture and they only lie".
The prophetic sunna is thus the manner in which the prophet applied the timeless ordinances of the Quran in his own time and place. It does not necessarily include his personal likes and dislikes, or particular recommendations which in the vast majority of cases the prophet himself never claimed were inspired.
He gently declined eating a roasted lizard out of personal taste, leaving those around him to freely eat as they wished.
Certain of his own standards of body hygiene, like trimming the mustache, letting the beard grow, using the toothstick, sniffing water into the nose, clipping the nails, washing the knuckles, removing hair from the underarms, shaving pubic hair, cleaning the private parts with water, rinsing the mouth etc, or the manner he slept, ate or dressed, all reflected the needs, culture and manners of a specific time in history.
In answer to the video "43 Scientific Mistakes in the Quran"
Of course that the prophet wasnt aware of the latest scientific discoveries. Those who assert the contrary are ignorant of both the Quran and the prophetic traditions.
In the Quran, the prophet is called uswa hasana. As is explicit in the Quran, the divine protection of the carriers of the revelation pertains strictly to the revelation itself. But in everyday affairs, the messengers, who are still humans endowed with freewill and thus the potential, if not to sin due to their heightened level of spiritual awareness, to make mistakes, they are left to their own devices in their everyday lives to fight off the assaults of evil forces. No prophet was in a constant state of communication with the divine realm. The hadith and Quran itself speak of long periods where revelation had stopped, and the subsequent tauntings of his enemies on the issue, the questions of his followers and his anxious anticipation.
The Quran never came to correct the prophet's worldviews in terms of knowledge of nature and general causality, neither of his contemporaries but rather guide him and the rest of humanity through him, to the most complete, advanced human spiritual knowledge. The divine protection therefore only pertained to the Quran which is the source of that perfect spiritual knowledge. The prophet was "uswa hasana" in his application of the Quran, just as following Jesus' way, as he is quoted saying in the NT, meant following his footsteps in his application of the Torah. "The way" of Jesus Jn14:6 is outlined in Lk10:25-28 where he commands strict observance of Jewish laws. In that passage from Luke he is asked about the conditions of salvation and the questionner quotes from 2 passages. The first is Lev19 which details certains laws like the observence of the sabbath and admonishes to
"Keep all my decrees and all my laws and follow them. I am the LORD".
The 2nd passage quoted by the questionner is the second is Deut6 which speaks of loving the One God and obeying His commandements
"keep the commands of the LORD your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. Do what is right and good in the LORD's sight..obey all this law before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness".
As one can clearly see, one is justified before God, not by faith alone but by deeds too. Consequently the Nazarenes, Jesus' early group of small band of followers, observed all Jewish customs outlined in the Torah but differed from Jews in that they recognized Jesus as the Messiah. The Nazarenes grew among the Israelites but persecutions forced them to go into hiding, with Paul playing a central role in their persecution prior to his convertion. After he joined their ranks, he started influencing the group leaders, namely Peter and James, to reach out to Gentiles.
With more non-Jews entering the fold, many Jewish customs were abandonned Acts15:1-29 and the Nazarenes who were centered in Jerusalem gradually became isolated. The main Christian movement started looking up to Paul for leadership, instead of Jesus' brother James, a strict observer of Jewish Law and considered as Jesus' successor in non-canonical Gospels.
With the establishment of Christianity as a state religion in Rome by Constantine in the 4th century, this small original band definetly fled Jerusalem, in the surrounding deserts and managed to survive outside Palestine as they are mentionned by Jerome upto 380AD to have lived in the Syrian desert. Among them the Ebionites (who claimed to descend from the original Jewish disciples led by James) and Elchasites who rejected Paul as a charlatan and his teachings as falsehood, as well as the Zadokites, Essenes, Rechabites, Sabeans, Mandaeans etc. They had their own writing which they considered scripture, composed of an oral tradition attributed to Jesus, and some HB books. Their writings are known, among others as Gospel of the Nazareans, Gospel of the Hebrews and Gospel of the Ebionites. They would later write that Paul was a false apostle who taught heresy based on the fact he was a failed convert who was disappointed with Judaism and therefore motivated to teach against its laws (circumcision, kashrut, etc..). Unfortunately the group that opposed them and their practices gained more converts, obviously as it appealed much more to non-Jews, more particularily the hellenized Romans and Greeks.
The Nazarenes and similar groups were inevitably marginalised while the more and more dominant groups decided what the Church’s organizational structure would be, as well as its official creeds, or which books would be accepted as Scripture. The group that became "orthodox", further sealed its victory, by the pens of early writers like Iraeneus Justin Martyr and Tertullian, claiming that it had always been the majority opinion of Christianity, Jesus and his apostles.
This uswa hasana in no way implies that the prophet was a perfect creation. For example, After describing their outstanding moral and spiritual qualities, the Quran nevertheless asks the prophets to keep seeking istighfar/protection (from sins), for themselves and their followers too 47:19 and several prophets are quoted throughout the Quran asking for ghafr 30:24,35,71:28. This way the Quran teaches an important lesson; when the foremost among God's servants are denied any sense of complacency, then how far should regular believers be from harboring a feeling of perfect righteousness or prideful accomplishment in front of God
53:32"therefore do not attribute purity to your souls; He knows him best who guards (against evil)".
The believer should keep in mind that only God is perfection and as a demonstration of his understanding of such concept, should constantly seek God's forgiveness for any shortcoming as well as protection for future potential flaws and blemishes. This concept is pervasive throughout the Quran, starting with the single most repeated sura, sura fatiha. This type of spiritual humility is requested even from those that perform the most commendable deeds of the religion, so that they never fall into arrogance and self-righteousness 73:1-20. It was under this state of mind that the prophet implored his Lord for ghafr in this world, just as he will do in the hereafter 66:8. Some reports say he used to implore Allah for protection one hundred times every day, as he was commanded by the Quran itself.
And he used to do so even after 48:2 was revealed telling him his past, present and future sins are forgiven. He did so out of humility and to set the standard of modesty in face of divine perfection
"The Prophet used to offer night prayers till his feet became swollen. Somebody said, to him," "Allah has forgiven you, your faults of the past and those to follow." On that, he said, "Shouldn't I be a thankful slave of Allah?"
No human, no matter how close to Allah in terms of revelational experience, will ever be faultless. This verse 48:2 does not say what type of sin, intentional or not, major or minor, was commited by the prophet. No indication of major sins, let alone intentional, are found concerning the prophet, anywhere in the hadith corpus or the Quran. Yet we find the Quran reproaching him even the slightest unfitting action for a man of his standing, actions which none would find problematic.
This is the etiquette that Islam has taught to man. A man might have performed the highest possible service to Allah's Religion, might have offered countless sacrifices in its cause, and might have exerted himself extremely hard in carrying out the rites of His worship, yet he should never entertain the thought that he has fulfilled the right his Lord had on him wholly, the Sustainer who maintains him and the universe at each instant. Rather he should always think that he has not been able to fulfill what was required of him.
This reveals an important point, something the prophets have always been aware of as seen in their constant prayers for forgiveness and protection, the inherent imperfection of humans, their shortcomings in the face of divine perfection. One should therefore never feel self-righteous or self-sufficient in any endeavour.
In answer to the video "43 Scientific Mistakes in the Quran"
Those to whom the verse was primarily addressed, the Arabs, were land and sea travellers. They passed through estuaries and points where a river met the ocean to see both bodies of water mixing. The Arabic "bahr" means a vast water expanse, be it the ocean, a big river or lake. None of the verses 25:53,27:61,55:19 say that a barrier prevents them from mixing. In fact it clearly says that they meet and mix/maraja 55:19.
The verse immediately follows by saying that despite this mixing, there is an unbreakable barrier between the 2 water types referred to earlier. And it is the phenomenon that sustains life on this earth by keeping the water types perpetually appart, salt and sweet, despite their perpetual mixing when they meet. The verse comes in the context of providing evidence of God's bounties, the primary example being exactly this, the constant phenomenon of having 2 distinct water types available, despite their continuous flow and mixing into one another. Had this phenomenon of evaporation and filtration of salt not existed, life as we know it would have been impossible
55:21"Which then of the bounties of your Sustainer will you deny?"
A river meeting the ocean without mixing is not a bounty from God and is irrelevant in stimulating the gratefulness of the reader and audience, which is the whole point of the passage. Another spiritual parallel the verses make with that phenomenon is the existence of 2 types of humans, the spiritually aware and the rest. In this world they mix and mingle on a physical level but will remain separate on the metaphysical sphere. But the Merciful has placed in everyone the potential to thrive spiritually, even the sinner, if he chooses to repent. And so, the verse also states that pearls can be harvested from fresh and saltwater, just as there is spirituality in the righteous as well as the sinner. The imagery is beautiful and uplifting, as opposed to the NT's exclusivist and racist notion of "avoid sharing your pearls with pigs" Matt7. Corals, as a side note, live and grow in seawater but may be found in rivers, such as the massive reef of the Amazon. Corals can also thrive in estuaries, where the 2 bodies of water meet.
Talking about everlasting, unbreakable barrier, the Hebrew Bible in Jer5:22 speaks of the sea as unable to permanently invade and inundate dry land, forcibly kept till the end of times behind the shore, thus also showing ignorance of the phenomenon of tides
"I made sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting ordinance, which it cannot pass, and [its waves] toss themselves, yet they cannot prevail; and its waves roar, but they do not pass it."
In answer to the video "43 Scientific Mistakes in the Quran"
In the Quran, there are physical and spiritual senses. One can have for instance the physical eye to see the material world without the spiritual eye which is necessary to see the spiritul world
7:179,10:42-3,22:46"For surely it is not the eyes that are blind, but blind are the hearts which are in the breasts".
One can have the mind/aql to process material information while being totally unable to deduct the spiritual implications inherent in all material things, because of a hardenned QALB/heart 2:73-4. The Hebrew Bible too is repleat with such references
Ezek12:2,Jer5:13"they have eyes yet they see not, they have ears yet they hear not".
A more striking metaphore for spiritual perception used by the Quran is the phrase
"possessors of hands and vision"
when speaking of some of the most eminent prophets who mastered their selves outwardly with great power (hands) and internally (vision, ie insight) 38:45. These verses speak of spiritual insight, not the material or wordly hearing, vision and deductions. The more one trains his spiritual receptivity the more it becomes aware of spiritual matters and the more God increases its capacity to perceive
91:7-10"And (by) a soul and He Who proportioned it. And inspired it with its wickedness and its virtue. One has succeeded whoever purified it. And one has failed whoever corrupted it".
With the prophet Muhammad, that capacity reached such a high peak that the spiritual vision could perceive the powerful angel of revelation, an entity invisible to the physical eye. The Quran precisely states in 53:12 that it was the heart, not the eye, that "saw". This is how intricately and flawlessly the Quran connects its ideas throughout its passages.
These verses describe the working of spiritual, not intellectual processing in the human body. The spiritual organs, eyes or ears (the list isnt meant to be exhaustive) have their same physical counterpart but do not converge in the same nervous system. While the physical organs like the eyes and ears, converge in the nervous system of the brain, the spiritual nervous system converges in the heart. Hence the often repeated notion that the blinding of the heart causing one to be unable to see and hear the spiritual world.
The physical attributes and the intellect arent enough when it comes to spiritual perception, one needs an open and receptive heart which translates the information gathered from the physical senses into spiritual language. This way one hears and sees both with his physical senses and spiritual senses.
The Quran says the QALB/heart is where spiritual insight and deductions occur, and further locates it in the the SADR 22:46,49:7.
SADR means CHEST, as well as the additional conceptual meaning of container of secrets. The Quran doesnt say that the source of intellectual, material, wordly thought is in the sadr/chest and as shown, one may have the aql/mind but lack the capacity to deduct the spiritual implications because of a hardened heart. Elsewhere the Quran says that the origin of lying and deception is in the forehead region, again pointing to it being aware that intellectual thought processes occur in the head 96:13-16, not the heart.
In answer to the video "43 Scientific Mistakes in the Quran"
23:14"[We] then formed the drop into a clot and formed the clot into a lump and formed the lump into bones and clothed the bones in flesh; and then brought him into being as another creature..."
This embryology verse, read without any preconceived notions and with the correct understanding of each Arabic word is very straightforward. It all starts with a nutfa, or drop. This singular nutfa is connected in 76:2 to the plural "amshajin" denoting it being a blend of components. So until now, we know that embryonic life necessitates, not only the drop, ie the sperm, but the drop to be mixed with other components.
This wasnt revealing to the primary Arab addressees anything they didnt already know in terms of knowledge of nature. They obviously understood that complex life could not simply spring from a drop of sperm, they understood they needed to impregnate a woman. They also knew that impregnation wasnt sometimes enough as women could be infertile. So they knew, just as the verse is saying, that the sperm needs to be mixed with the appropriate female components for the first stages of life to be possible. Hence the statement attributed to the prophet
"man is created from a man's nutfa and a woman's nutfa".
The verse continues, after the "drop" stage, comes the clot. The word used is ALAQA, meaning something that sticks, or attaches to another. The famous poems hanged on the Kaaba in pre-islamic times were called mu-allaqaat. In abstract, it expresses one's emotional attachement. The early embryo shares many concrete features with the alaqa. A blood clot, because it is sticky, is called ALAQA but the term is by no means used exclusively for it. After the "sticky thing" stage comes the mudghata which means a lump of flesh. That lump is elsewhere described with an expression denoting its very primitive state
22:5"formed and unformed".
This evokes the image of the small aggregate of embryonic cells before their complete differentiation. Within this lump, bones are formed and are covered with flesh. At this point the verse doesnt say whether that flesh was shaped before, after or together with the bones. All the passage speaks of is the COVERING of the bones with flesh, not the making of this flesh itself. The particle used to link every stage is called FA isti'nafiya which simply connects 2 statements without indicating sequential order. And even if for argument's sake we take the particle as denoting sequence, it remains irrelevant to the contention that this covering flesh was formed after the bones. This is because, as already noted, the FORMATION of the flesh is nowhere mentionned. This silence does not warrant the arbitrary conclusion that it must have formed after the bones. For that conclusion to be justified one would need an absolute assertion "ALL the lump was made into bones". Also one expects the formation of the flesh to be listed, just as it lists the previous relevant stages in the verse.
Finally, to justify the "flesh after bones" theory, no statement elsewhere in the Quran should allow the possibility that something other than bones could be formed in that lump. But the Quran neither uses absolute terms (all), nor does it list the formation of the flesh among the stages of the fetus. That omission, and the flexible use of words are both highly relevant, testifying to the Quran's surgical precision and internal consistency. Because in fact, there is in 22:5 a statement allowing for the bones and flesh to have formed within the lump, which is a stage prior to the "covering" of the bones with flesh. It says the completed human being is made from the mudgha/lump. This of course includes his bones, flesh and every particle making up his body. At most, what a critic could try arguing is that first the bones were formed, then they were covered with flesh. Obviously, a non-existent entity cannot be covered with flesh. Bones need to first exist or begin their formation for them to be covered with flesh.
In answer to the video "43 Scientific Mistakes in the Quran"
Although revealed in an environement where poetry and oratory speeches were loaded with explicitly lustful and indecent language and allusions, the Quran never departs from its pattern of using respectable language and concepts. This is particularily made clear in sura Yusuf, the "best of stories", when detailing the mistress' attempted seduction of Yusuf.
The Quran beautifully combines in that context, precision in expression with a dignified vocabulary, and despite the fact that it talks about lust, utilizes the principles of piety, morals and respect without being paralysed in the process. When the Quran addresses the themes of sex or sexual organs, its eloquence necessitates that it does not directly speak of testicles, penis or vagina. This is an established Quranic pattern accross several topics.
Contrary to the Bible with its known rude language and unsophisticated imageries, as is amply found in modern pop culture, news, and magazines, the Quran seeks not to flood the imagination with crude details so as to not trivialize certain themes. There are ample examples, such as 2:222 where it refers to sexual intercourse by using the imagery of the farmer cultivating his tilth with tenderness and deep consideration aforehand, or as "touching" the mate 2:236,237,4:43,5:6,33:49etc.
The word for 'touching' is laamastum from the root L-M-S that means skin feeling an object interactively. It is used to mean mainly sex, or at least some form of foreplay. Other terminologies used in the Quran to refer to sexual intercourse is "covering" the mate 7:189 or in the context of refraining from sex it says
"guarding the private parts"
23:5,33:35. In some instances where the Quran refers to women's sexual organs it literaly speaks of
60:12"what lies between their legs and hands"
among other apellations. Now we come to the passage in question which is of interest to this youtuber. 86:5-7 speaks of the fluid "coming out". It doesnt speak of origin or formation, but exiting.
All people know from where seminal fluid exits from. The determination of the location where the fluid is formed is irrelevant to the point of the verse. The verse speaks of man's humble and simple origins despite him growing into a highly complex creature, and how he will inevitably be humbled once again to simple elements then recreated and brought forth to render account. The rejecters of resurrection saw it as a far fetched thing, an impossibility for a human being to be grown back after its death, decay, and return to the earth.
So instead of telling these arrogant people, who see their current state as a highly complex entity impossible to re-create, that they were once a simple fluid that exited from their father's penises, it says they exited
"from between the sulb and the taraaib".
Sulb stems from S-L-B, implying strength, hardness, firmness, uprightness. Words like the backbone or the saleeb/crucifix, because of standing firmly upright, are derived from it.
Taraaib stems from T-R-B, implying some sort of resemblence, uniformity, harmony, symetry. It is used for example for turab/soil or dust, because dust grains are resembling and corresponding.
Elsewhere it denotes how the mates of paradise match oneanother in many aspects 56:37,78:33 and it can similarily describe how certain body parts like the eyes, the hands, the legs, or the ribs etc. are matching. The statement
"exiting from between the sulb/backbone and the taraaib/legs or ribs"
refers to man's sexual organ just like
"what lies between their legs and hands"
subtely alludes to women's sexual parts. Any other propostition would suggest the people back in 7th century Arabia, or whomever the sceptics allege wrote the Quran, were ignorant of the function of testicles. This of course is an untenable assertion. For example, they used to practice castration on animals, and knew of the existence of eunuchs. An equally valid interpretation as noted by the early tafasirs, including Makki ibn abi Talib, al Mahdawi or ibn Atiya, is that yakhruju/exiting may refer to the human being spoken of earlier. This is valid both linguistically and biologically, as the womb is located between the backbone and ribs of the woman. Between, as a side note, does not entail "middle".
In answer to the video "43 Scientific Mistakes in the Quran"
On a general note first, Contrary to Christians who went to such extent in their over-exaltation of their prophet that, in the absence of a birthday for Jesus went searching in the pagan calendar for a date to artificially ascribe as Jesus' birthday, the Muslims do not celebrate their prophet's birth or death. The importance is focused on the message and this is why we celebrate the only month mentioned by name in the Quran, that of Ramadan. We gratefuly fast, which is a symbol of self sacrifice, in remembrance of God's sending in this month, a guiding light for all of mankind, to the heart of His prophet on a night of Ramadan, the Night of Destiny/laylatul Qadr. The root is R-M-Dhad, meaning "heat". RAMADAN was the month of heat because it fell in the heat of the summer.
The pre-Islamic Arabs used a combined Lunar/Solar calendar, and would periodically add a month in order to compensate for the shorter lunar year as opposed to the solar year. This resulted in fixing their rituals, like the yearly pilgrimage, to more convenient times from certain aspects. However, Islam banned the addition of such months 9:36-7. This meant that the month of Ramadan is now rotating through the year in a 33 year cycle. This avoids the convenient fixation of certain religious practices according to human whims, for purely worldly motives, violating God's established sacred months and allowing an ordinary month to be observed as sacred and vice versa.
For example the pre-Islamic Arabs used this practice to avoid the disadvantages for their trade. Banning the intercalary month opens up the way for spiritual improvement, training one to perform his duties at all times of the year and under all circumstances. Also, from the viewpoint of the universality of religion, it is obvious that the periods of fasting and performing Haj cannot satisfy all if they be fixed, always falling in the same season and month in different places-summer or winter or very hot or very cold or rainy or dry or harvesting or sowing-year after year. The Islamic time-keeping system is in fact the most scientifically relevant, because it does not require intercalation and thus making its precise reference point known to the day.
Add to this the fact that the Islamic calendar is the only one that is divested from all elements of overt and parenthetical shirk, such as how the days of the week and the months of the year are named. Fasting is an act of great virtue and piety practiced by nations and prophets long before Muhammad 2:183-187,Ex24:18,Joel2:11-13,Matt4:2,6:16-18etc The abstinence prescribed, from gratifying material desires, satisfying the body's lust and inclinations purges the soul from the love of worldly affairs, focuses the attention on the spiritual realm. It is a period of self-improvement, where Muslims start a spiritual and moral training that shapes their lives for the months ahead, from one Ramadan to the next. It is a command literally aimed at "doing guarding"/laAAlakum tattaqqun 2:183. Often translated "fear", taqwa stems from w-q-w meaning guarding, or protection (see 73:17). In Arabic, as in any language, synonyms have one or more common elements but every synonym on its own carries some sort of specific nuance. For example many words are used in the Quran to denote fear, including khushuaa, Khawf, Hadhr, rawaa, awjas, rahb, ruaab, taqwa etc. The common denominator between these words is fear but every time with a nuance highly meaningful to the context. The specificity of the taqwa type of fear is that it is the fear of future consequences, hence the implicit notion of guarding oneself. The prophet is reported to have stated that
"A person might fast and he gets nothing from his fast but hunger".
That is because he did not do it with taqwa, guarding his spirituality.
So, just as the body must go through physical training to become protected in specific situations, the soul needs the same in order to be guarded from deviations. Fasting, along with all its spiritual implications is one of the means given in the Quran for the achievement of that objective. This taqwa/guarding of the soul happens through consciousness of God in all deeds, by increasing help to the underprivileged members of society, working towards improving social interactions, including strengthening ties of kinship, showing forgiveness and compassion. Fasting also teaches one that if he can abstain from that which is otherwise lawful and a primary need such as food, natural sexual desires and passions, how much more necessary is it that he should abstain from the evil ways which are forbidden by God and are not only unnatural but oppose one's own conscience.
It is made compulsory except on the sick or temporarily incapacitated from travel
"but whoever among you is sick or on a journey".
That person must later redeem himself by fasting the same number of missed days (when the conditions become more favorable for a fast) and in addition must feed a needy person if he can afford it (the pronoun HU in yatiqunahu refers to taam/feeding). In all cases, whether it be to redeem a missed fast or not
"whoever does good spontaneously it is better for him; and that you fast is better for you if you know".
The important point about fasting as said in the passage's opening statement is that it is aimed at increasing piety, God-consciousness. It is thus the responsibility of the one seeking spiritual betterment to make all necessary preparations for the attainment of that objective. This doesnt only apply to fasting but to all other religious practices, like praying, spending for charity, going on pilgrimage or fighting in self-defense when required. All religious rites demand the fulfillment of certain conditions to be valid and so is the practice of fasting, counting among its conditions the witnessing of certain natural phenomena. These phenomena are the start and end of a lunar month
"whoever of you witnesses the month"
and the start and end of a day
"and eat and drink until the whiteness of the day becomes distinct from the blackness of the night at dawn, then complete the fast till night".
The Quran strongly refutes spiritual determinism, the idea that the performance of one's religious duties is solely dependant on circumstantial factors. Things like lifestyle, living area, social atmosphere should all be molded either permanently or temporarily (geographical location suited for fasting for example) to allow the performance of one's spiritual duties, just as one readily sacrifices, among other things, his own health for the attainment of worldly objectives
"A Muhajir (emigrant) is the one who gives up (abandons) all what Allah has forbidden."
Herein lies the whole Quranic concept of hijra, migrating unto God
4:97-100"Surely (as for) those whom the angels cause to die while they are unjust to their souls, they shall say: In what state were you? They shall say: We were weak in the earth. They shall say: Was not Allah´s earth spacious, so that you should have migrated therein? So these it is whose abode is hell, and it is an evil resort. Except the weak from among the men and the children who have not in their power the means nor can they find a way (to escape); So these, it may be, Allah will pardon them, and Allah is Pardoning, Forgiving. And whoever flies in Allah´s way, he will find in the earth many a place of refuge and abundant resources".
When the conditions are such that one has no choice but to remain in an environment that is unfavorable for the performance of the religious duties, then the Quran states to simply act sincerely and with God consciousness
73:20"and Allah measures the night and the day. He knows that you are not able to do it, so He has turned to you (mercifully), therefore read what is easy of the Quran. He knows that there must be among you sick, and others who travel in the land seeking of the bounty of Allah, and others who fight in Allah´s way, therefore read as much of it as is easy (to you), and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate and offer to Allah a goodly gift, and whatever of good you send on beforehand for yourselves, you will find it with Allah; that is best and greatest in reward; and ask forgiveness of Allah; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful".
This is the Quran's supreme realism. The Quran continues, even in those spiritually challenging circumstances, one should never comprise the principles of the religion and its virtues in order to assimilate in an environment devoid of proper morality, no matter how attractive it might be
5:100"The evil and the good are not equal, though the abundance of evil may dazzle you. So be in awe of Allah, O' possessors of intellects, that you may be prosperous".
In answer to the video "43 Scientific Mistakes in the Quran"
It has already been established in previous videos how the Quran draws a parallel between the hospitability of our world for life, and a comfortable and well secured tent.
Then the Quran talks about the mountains as pegs 78:6-7,79:32. Pegs provide stability to the sheltering tent as implied in the imagery. Without these pegs it would fall or be blown away by storm.
The Quran calls the mountains pegs, in the context of drawing a picture of creation. These huge, stabilizing, sheltering objects are part of the system that allows mankind to develop and thrive physically. Just as by their massive presence, they allow human life to physically thrive, they do have their equivalent, on an even more massive scale in the metaphysical realm to allow humans to thrive, this time, spiritually. The revelation, should it descend in our material world, it would instantly shatter the most massive of those mountains by virtue of its spiritual weight
13:31,59:21"Had We sent down this Quran on a mountain, you would certainly have seen it falling down, splitting asunder because of the fear of Allah, and We set forth these parables to men that they may reflect".
In the darkest times of his prophetic mission, towards the beginning, the prophet Muhammad would often retreat in fear and would thus be pulled out from reclusion by revelation. He would be told to rise and through acts of devotion, to prepare himself spiritualy to be able to bear what is about to come down on him from on high
73:5"Surely We will make to light upon you a weighty Word".
The Quran often uses the image of vastness, greatness found in nature and more particularly the mountains when it wants to express the massive importance of a thing, more specifically of this Revelation 14:46,10:22-23,42:33. This kind of imagery is pictured in many places, and is meant at contrasting those whose hearts are more inert and harder to penetrate by divine guidance, than a massive mountain would be. This literary style also serves the purpose of picturing the importance of Revelation as already pointed earlier; it takes a special kind of creature with a special kind of internal disposition to be able to bear it, in addition to bearing the consequences of having to communicate it.
The Israelites begged Moses to be their intermediary with God instead of receiving revelation themselves. The experience at Horeb was so violent and traumatic that they did not want God to speak directly to them anymore, fearing they would die. The word used in sura sharh to describe what kind of burden Muhammad was relieved from through God's expansion of his chest is wizr, used for something nearly unbearable
94:1-3"Have We not expanded for you your breast, And taken off from you your burden, Which pressed heavily upon your back".
What is rendered "pressed heavily" is anqada which actually is used when something is about to break. The prophet Moses at the beginning of his call and prior to his confrontation with Pharao requested from God the same spiritual relief and strengthening 20:25. We see here how the Quran consistently keeps its notions, although scattered all throughout the divine writings, connecting them together.
Back to the mountains as a physical object and the way they affect nature around them. The Arabs were familiar with mountains, considering the landscape around Mecca and Medina. The mountain was a refuge when the earth shook as it absorbs a great deal of the shock. A person would naturally seek refuge by or behind huge, stable and immovable objects, such as mountains, when the earth shook
16:15,81"And Allah has made for you of what He has created shelters, and He has given you in the mountains places of retreat".
As a basic law of physics, even the tiniest piece of rock would dissipate the force somewhat of an earthquake, but it is so minuscule, it would make absolutely no difference to a major earthquake. Shallow earthquakes however do not travel for long distances because the waves are absorbed by loose earth materials. Mountains are the most significant natural earthquake shock absorbers both because of their size and the bedrock underneath. And when those mountains over a significant period of time, become ranges, earthquake force is dissipated even more. The mechanism of mountain formation itself is a stabilizing factor. When 2 earth surfaces collide and the earth's crust bends upward to form a mountain, the energy from the collision is diffused. If the mountains were not formed then the tension would be much higher, continuous, and devastating with no mechanism by which to diffuse the energy from plate collisions. Interestingly, a hadith seems to refer to that situation
"When Allah created the earth, it started shaking/oscillating. So He created the mountains, and said to them: ‘Upon it’ so it began to settle. The angels were amazed at the strength of the mountains.."
The Quran in the context of creation alludes to that mechanism too
21:31,50:7,31:10"He set in/FEE the earth anchors/RAWASI".
FEE primarily means IN or inside. RAWASI linguistically means Anchors. The main word for mountain is jabal, not rawasi (the Quran also uses tur or tawd 26:63 for a very large mountain as seen from its use in preislamic poetry). So although rawasi can sometimes be used for mountains, it does not mean it means mountains in every context. These rawasi fee al ard/anchors in the earth, could be anything including the forces that create the mountains and prevent disasters when two earth plates collide. RAWASI then fits perfectly because the anchors themselves created the mountains and anchored the land plate and the mountain as well. As stated in
41:10"He made in it RAWASI from above it".
The Arabic is difficult to translate and clearly implies an entity from within the earth towering above it.
To corroborate further,
88:19"and the mountains, how they are fixed/erected".
The word nusibat carries both the meanings of raised up and fixed, which correctly describes mountains. 78:7 similarly says
"WALJIBAL ARSAHA/and the mountains, He anchored them".
The Quran in places describes the earth as made to receive these rawasi in it 16:15. Alqa/to receive fits the concept of rawasi fee al ard, as it is a phenomenon which God made to exist within the earth.
In the Arabian peninsula, the mountains are among the most ancient and their surfaces are dense and solid, immune to land-sliding in general. In places like the Himalayas, damage is done primarily because of lightly-packed soil which results in land-slides.
The Quran is simply saying, the mountains provide a stabilizing factor in preventing the land from shaking, so as to take men with them. It doesnt say the mountains stabilize the earth as a whole and completely prevent earthquakes.
Such an assertion predicates that the Arabs, or whomever this youtuber supposes wrote the Quran, believed there was no such thing as earthquakes, or that they never experienced them because the mountains allegedly prevent such phenomena. This of course is absurd considering because Arabs did experience earthquakes. The Hijaz is part of the Great Rift Valley. What the Arabs believed, and what the law of physics are clear on, is that mountains act as a stabilizing force against the shocks of earthquakes, absorbing a great deal of its energy.
So the protection is not absolute. Similarly the sky as a canopy, as per the imagery of the hospitable tent, does not always provide protection when calamities fall from above or bad weather comes, some inhospitable areas of the earth do not conform to the imagery of a carpet spread for honoring guests inside the comfortable tent. These various imageries point out the general benefits man gets from these phenomenons, without giving an absolute description of their functions. There are many such usages in the Quran, for example garments are said to have the purpose of protection from heat 16:81 and this is because the verse's primary addressees were desert dwellers, who also experienced the harsh cold of the night and used these garments for warmth.
As always the Quran, being a book of guidance, whenever it points to a natural phenomenon it isnt solely on account of its material function. It is always trying to make the reader and listener ponder upon these entities and find a link between them and the spiritual realm. Besides their protective and sheltering nature, mountains also serve as a guidance to the traveller, just like Allah sent His prophets to guide mankind towards the ultimate destination, protecting them from the calamities of a mighty Day
21:31"And We have made great mountains in the earth lest it might be convulsed with them, and We have made in it wide ways that they may follow a right direction".
When the Quran refers to the power unleashed on the Day of Judgement, it states these mountains, which are in human psyche the last natural objects one would think could be uprooted, the ultimate shelter one can find, yet it says that through a single blow they will all be thrown from their roots 69:14,20:105, tossed in the sky 52:10, floating like clouds 27:88, ripped appart like carded wool 70:9,101:5 shattered and scattered 73:14,77:10,56:5.
As an interesting linguistic observation here, testimony once more to the Quran's surgical use of words and the way in which its interconnects its statements at different places with great consistency, in these places describing the state of the mountains during the cataclysm of the last day, when it compares them to soft wool beaten and tossed around in the air, it isnt any kind of wool that is meant. It is the type of wool as said in 70:9 above, that is dyed in different colors and this is because elsewhere, in a completely different context, when attracting the reader's attention to the variety in God's creation, it speaks of mountains existing in many different types and colors 35:27. One must keep in mind that the Quran is composed of revelations instantly recited then put to writing and memorized, with several witnesses present everytime, making it impossible for the prophet to retract a statement, go back on it and re-edit any of its contents. And yet, despite it being revealed in public in so many different contexts and situations, over a long period of 23 years, it still manages to connect even the most apparently insignificant details throughout its passages.
In parallel to the obliteration of the mountains, the earth's surface will be smoothed and levelled 18:8,47,20:105-7 therefore striping men from any place of concealment and shelter from the judgement. This day, as is here described through the stripping away of all places of refuge, even the most massive, is a day that will catch men no matter where they hide in the heavens or earth to bring them to account 29:22, and leave men standing in ranks
18:48"as We created you at first"
with only their deeds to shield them from the punishement of that Day.
In answer to the video "43 Scientific Mistakes in the Quran"
The Quran implies the non-solid nature of the various created samawaat/heavens. It firstly says that the primordial sama' was gaseous 41:11. It calls sama' the area where we are, above the ground composed of jaww/air where birds fly, clouds move 16:79,30:48 which is nothing else than the troposphere. There are living creatures WITHIN (not under or upon) the heavens/assamawaat 27:87,29:22,42:29, including ourselves.
"Pieces from the sky" coming down on earth, as the disbelievers repeatedly challenged the prophet 17:92,26:187 does not mean chunks coming off the gaseous atmospheric entity above, but rather simply signifies originating from the region of the sky. This includes any meteorological phenomena such as hail, or stones as occurred with the destroyed town of Lot, or as similarly happened with the invading army of the elephant in Mecca, meteors, asteroids or any other space debris. It even includes clouds, coming down from the sky. In fact the Quran states that when this phenomenon occurs on the resurrection, these disbelievers will think they are invaded by clouds 52:44, yet it will neither be solid pieces nor clouds but a smoke coming from assama'/the sky that will overtake them in such a way they will not find any escape route from it 44:10-11. Had the Quran assumed a solid sky, this would have been the most appropriate place for it to speak of chunks of canopy detaching and falling.
A quiet dreadful image is pictured in 39:16,77:30-4 with the disbelievers on the day of resurrection, told to proceed and advance to what they denied, only to find themselves trapped from their front, left and right, from above and below, with a kind of "shade" that will neither be cooling nor protecting, but rather blazing and sparking.
That shade, which actually is the darkness cast by a thick and burning smoke, will pursue them until hell 56:43-44 -hence the often alluded to blackened and dusty face of the doomed 80:40-2- where they will be trapped from all sides and engulfed by the fire 7:41,29:55.
If the opponent wants to argue that the broad and general word sama' refers in 17:92,26:187,52:44 to the atmosphere, then it still means the Quran is correctly implying it is composed of gases. No solid entities will fall from it. As a side note, the Quran says the sama' is expanding 51:47 and that the sun and moon, which are all in one same sama' with other cosmic bodies like the stars 25:61, all literally swim/yasbahun in it 21:33,36:40,79:3. There is no swimming in a solid entity.
All the samawaat/plural of sama', have been raised high 20:4 (see Bible in Isa55:9). Particular attention is directed at one of these layers and how it was raised 88:18,55:7 with its highest point, which we could interpret as the top of the atmosphere, appearing like a vault above the earth, called the roof/saqf 52:5. The sama' was originally one entity, then perfected into a "good" state, made thick/samk 79:28, into several distinct but harmonious entities as denoted with tabaq/levels/layers 2:29,67:3,71:15. Each layer has its function 78:12 and is firmly secured. Some of these layers offer protection to the earth like a roof does (stratosphere, mesosphere, upwards) 2:22,40:64 which is why many translators rendered binaa'/structure as roof or canopy in these verses. As shown earlier these verses clearly parallel the hospitability of our world to a tent, with its comfortable floor (earth), elsewhere likened to a cradle 20:53,78:6 and its stretched roof providing protection.
The spreading of heavens is a notion found all throughout the Hebrew Bible Ps104:2,Isa42:5,44:24,45:12,Jer10:12, with the added qualification that it is a "hard" entity that could not have been spread other than by the power of God Job37:18. Due to that hardness, the descent of an entity down to earth necessitates the bending and parting of the solid heavens 2Sam22:10,Ps18:10. These heavens also appear like a circular canopy above the earth, on which God "sits" Isa40:22. Nothing even remotely similar appears in the Quran although the metaphors of creation employed in both the HB and the Quran are very close.
The samawaat/heavens are in a state of harmony, they are guarded and remain layered as they are for the maintenance of life on Earth. The massive heavenly components above do not collide nor come down on Earth as to cause complete destruction 21:32,22:65. It is Allah Who upholds all the heavens/samawaat so as to avoid that outcome, without any pillars as we can see 13:2. This verse, meant at striking the reader with the constant necessity for Allah's might and mercy by holding up the complex order of things above at all times without relying on any supports like pillars, would make absolutely no sense if it meant Allah actually relied on invisible pillars to do the job. He does so through His laws of nature which He maintains at each instant 32:5,65:12 making both heavens and earth to subsist by His command 30:25, these laws through which He prevents both heaven and earth from ceasing to function, and which uphold them BOTH
22:65,35:41"upholds the heavens and the earth lest they come to naught".
Allah therefore upholds/yumsik both heavens and earth, not only the heavens or what is above the earth. This gives an additional dimension to the word "upholding", giving it the sense of "sustaining" as well. This passage also demonstrates the delicate balance the Quran makes in its use of general but appropriate words, so as to not confirm nor deny the views of nature of its reader, focusing instead on the spiritual message. By upholding both heavens and earth, the Quran does not depict the earth as "the bottom" of the universe for just as the heavens are upheld, the earth too is upheld by Allah. If one wishes to find "indications" on whether the earth is stationary or not, then one can as well reflect the Quranic depiction of the general motion of all celestial bodies floating in their independent trajectories, as applying to the earth too which is floating in space. A modern reader could then also assume, since this upholding is done without any visible pillars, then it must be done through God establishing an equilibrium between the repelling and attractive forces at play in the universe. These forces by the way are known to be on the thinnest of razor edges, where the slightest variation will throw the entire system into disarray
54:49"Surely We have created everything according to a measure".
In the Hebrew Bible, God causes earthquakes by "touching" the land Amos9:5, which in turn shakes the pillars underneath and above it
Job9:6"He Who causes the earth to quake from its place, and its pillars shudder"
Isa24:18"the foundations of the earth have trembled"
Job26:11"The pillars of the heavens trembled and are astonished from His rebuke".
As stated again in 2Sam22:8, when the earth shakes, the tremor is felt in the heavens too because of the pillars holding them up. God's anger causes this quacking and the mountains are what the writers had in mind when speaking of "pillars" Ps18:7,104:32,114:4,Isa5:25.
To the primitive and imaginative mind, mountains, these huge objects set on the earth with the strength of God Ps65:7, existing since the beginning of the earth's creation Ps104:5-6, appear to be preventing earth and heavens from collapsing into one another. Elsewhere however there is mention of other pillars, holding the world itself up and that are visible at the bottom of the seas 1Sam2:8,2Sam22:16. These are the pillars that keep the land afloat above the waters on which it was established Ps24:2,136:6.
These citations arent meant at disparaging the Bible, rather at showing how different would have the Quran looked, had it represented the views of the ancients people who are supposed to have authored it. The Quran had plenty of occasions to make such statements, as the imageries used are many cases similar with the HB. And yet in not one instance does it even slip so as to betray the hand of its 7th century Arabian scribes.
Back to the Quran, it is God only that preserves the order of the things above us without having recourse to massive structures like pillars, as well as below us. He maintains that order despite man's ungratefulness, and if He would stop upholding them both, nothing -no pillars- would maintain them in order
"and if they should come to naught, there is none who can uphold them after Him; surely He is the Forbearing, the Forgiving".
Linguistically, the negation of a possibility does not necessarily entail its opposite. The statement "without pillars you can see" does not entail "with pillars you cannot see".
The universe, above and below, is thus maintained without disruptions, although cataclysms from heaven may exceptionally descend
22:65"except with His permission".
Until such a time arrives, the sky remains a source of protection to man like a structure just as the earth is a comfortable "couch" or a "cradle" allowing the development of life 2:22,20:53,40:64.
The verse 50:6 directs our eyes to a specific region of the sky; that of the stars where it precisely says that the cosmic bodies literally swim/yasbahun, ie a non-solid area. The verse 67:3 directs us for inspection not only to that same area but to all the heavens. These verses ask the audience and readers to look at all that is above and notice the coherence. There is no break in that coherence because of the regularity and uniformity of the laws working in the universe
"Who created the seven heavens one above another; you see no incongruity/futur in the creation of the Beneficent Allah; then look again, can you see any disorder?".
"Futur" literally means splitting lengthwise, though it also connotes breaking the fast, inconsistency, and corruption. Corruption is the intended sense herein. The blessed Verse is saying that no matter how attentively man studies the world of Creation, he may not find the least defect or disharmony in it. Many natural occurrences whether in the earth when floods, or earthquakes occur, or in the heavens when stars explode and celestial bodies collide, appear as blemishes at the first glance within the order of things. Further observations however reveal that there are significant causes behind them.
These verses come in the context of providing proof for divine justice because just as One Being subjected this world to coherent laws without any sudden break in uniformity, He will subject the hereafter to the same principle of coherence especially in regards to the just reward of good and evil.
In answer to the video "43 Scientific Mistakes in the Quran"
Al-sama' is a general term to mean "what is above". This is established in classical Arabic as well as pre-Islamic literature where the word is used for the roof of a house or the top of a mountain. The Quran refers to the different created heavens being in layers until we reach the furthest point possible which is the real sama'/above, the ultimate above overlooking everything and above which there is nothing. So there might be a sama' above another sama'.
The Quran may refer to all of those entities together with sama', or to one of them specifically with sama' or to one object within any of them as sama'. It is the context of its use that determines the meaning such as 71:11 where the sending of the sama' stands for the sending of the "cloud". It calls sama' the area where we are, above the ground composed of jaww/air where birds fly, clouds move 16:79,30:48. This is speaking of the atmosphere. This atmosphere, which appears like a canopy above the earth is used in the context of imagery where a parallel is made between the hospitability of our world and the tent of the desert nomad, with its comfortable floor (earth), elsewhere likened to a cradle 20:53,78:6 and its stretched roof providing protection 2:22,40:64.
That is why many translators rendered binaa', meaning a structure in these verses, as "roof" or "canopy". The Quran also says, there are seven layered heavens 2:29,67:3. It is a knowledge of creation present among the prophets since at least the time of Noah 71:15. Each heaven is firm and has its distinctions 41:12,78:12. The Quran thus uses the word sama' generically and specifically. When it calls the clouds sama', or the air we breath in which birds fly as sama', it is being generic.
When it speaks of the 7 created, layered, distinguished samawaat, it is being specific. The first of those specific samawaat is sama' addunya, which is outter space. In the story of the prophet's ascent throughout the heavens, it says that he went up from an earthly location until he arrived to sama' addunya, the first heaven where he made a stop. A gate was opened for him, allowing him to enter and ascend within it (the Arabic says . This doorway allowed him to reach the location of the prophet Adam. This was still inside sama' addunya, or outter space. After that point, new realms opened up for him; the 2nd, 3rd, until the 7th heaven
"..Then he took my hand and ascended with me to the nearest heaven, when I reached the nearest heaven, Gabriel said to the gatekeeper of the heaven, 'Open (the gate).'...So the gate was opened and we went over the nearest heaven and there we saw a man..."
Just as it is specific when it speaks of the seven created heaven, the Quran emphatically states, that this earth of ours is created in the same number seven 65:12. These earths may be scattered in the universe that is within our reach or throughout the other created realms. This by the way points to the existence of lifeforms elsewhere in the universe
42:29"And one of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and what He has spread forth in both of them of living beings; and when He pleases He is all-powerful to gather them together".
In 10:66 the entities spread through the heavens are described with the pronoun "man" which is only used for creatures with an intellect, as opposed to "ma" used two verses later that also covers inanimate entities.
Al-sama' is thus a purposefuly chosen broad term, which the Quran uses with great eloquence in order to convey its ideas. By its very nature as a word accepting several meanings in its range the Quran successfully achieves its goal without disrupting nor confirming the natural worldview of its addressees.
The Quran is meant to provide spiritual, not scientific guidance.
The miraculous way of the Quranic speech, its description of the universe and nature made sense to the ancient people all the while maintaining sufficient flexibility and space so that when the intellect and knowledge of men reach its peak, then that same Book becomes a permanent evidence. For example the verses 2:22,20:53,40:64 draw the image of a comfortable and protective tent with a sheltering binaa' above (the word is applied to tents and canopies and the like used by Bedouins). The ancients, just like us today, would firstly understand that the binaa' provides them with protection which in turn would ignite their God-consciousness and gratitude
88:18-20"And the heaven, how it is reared aloft, And the mountains, how they are firmly fixed, And the earth, how it is made a vast expanse".
This is the spiritual intent of the verses and if that is appreciated then the Quran has fully reached its objective. The readers and listeners can then go after the collateral, indirect and ambiguous meanings. They may inject their own erroneous views of nature onto the broad and ambiguous terms by equating binaa' with a solid physical canopy, just like we can blend our current scientific knowledge with the general words, so as to equate binaa'/structure with the protective atmosphere and upwards such as the magnetosphere. The Quran's ambiguous wording on the other hand would neither confirm nor negate any of the 2 interpretations. The only explicit stance of the Quran is as regards the spiritual portent of the verse, which both ancient and modern readers can grasp regardless of their understanding of nature.
Al-sama' just as with the earlier example of binaa' can easily be interpreted in light of our current knowledge. It may refer to the protective layers surrounding the Earth like a complex structure/binaa' 2:22,40:64 well guarded 21:32 by Allah through the laws of physics He established.
In answer to the video "43 Scientific Mistakes in the Quran"
The imagery of creation in the Quran is compared to a bedouin tent (sama' as canopy, earth as carpet, mountains as pegs) because tents are folded up by beduoin dwellers as they move on to their next life and destination. Like a tent, the earth and heavens too will be folded up to usher in a new existence. There is nothing that depicts temporality better than the tent-life of a beduoin.
Also it is in such tents where a traveller seeks shelter, food and hospitality from the generous host. In this case, the host is the Almighty God. The imagery of a tent is well sumarized in
88:17-20"Will they not then consider the camels, how they are created? And the heaven, how it is reared aloft, And the mountains, how they are firmly fixed, And the earth, how it is made a vast expanse?"
The image starts with the high efficiency of the ultimate desert vehicule, the camel. It allows men to travel long distances, without themselves having to carry the burden of travelling by foot. The traveller is then drawn attention to what is above him (al-sama') which is raised much higher than the canopy of his tent, without any pillars he can see ie by Allah Himself. This stresses the awesome power needed to do such a thing 88:18,52:5,55:7. The analogy with a binaa'/structure 2:22,40:64 conveys the idea of a protective roof and whichever direction he looks, this sama' is protecting him.
The imagery of creation compared to a tent, is used in previous scriptures too when drawing attention to the merciful design of creation Ps104:2,Isa40:22,Job26:13. The Quran uses this metaphor in other instances, to convey the opposite image of hospitability, as in 3:112 where the "tent of shame" is pitched over the transgressors, or 18:29 where the fire of hell will envelop those who die in a state of unbelief
"like the walls and roof of a tent".
In sura al-mursalaat the picture painted of the sama' being rent asunder is clearly that of a tent in a strong storm. And again in
21:104,39:67"..and the whole earth shall be in His grip on the day of resurrection and the heavens rolled up in His right hand..".
This is a particularly beautiful analogy with the tent being folded up by the voyager when he leaves his destination just as the Almighty will fold up the universe to take man on a new journey to eternity 21:104. That image of the rolling up of the heavens is employed in Hebrew scriptures in the same sense, in the context of destruction of the wicked nations and ushering of a new order Isa34:4.
Now of course, those devoid of spiritual insight hardly appreciate these eloquent metaphors of creation meant at inspiring one's sense of gratitude and obedience to the merciful Creator. But even to those sceptics, the Quran leaves no chance at distorting its intent and paint it in an erroneous light.
In answer to the video "43 Scientific Mistakes in the Quran"
When the Quran refers to the cosmic bodies moving on to their appointed term/ajalin musamma 13:2,31:29,35:13,39:5 it is referring -as is clear from the contexts- to the Day of Resurrection where all the universe will be destroyed and created anew
"and He made the sun and the moon subservient (to you); each one pursues its course to an appointed time/ajalin musamma; He regulates the affair, making clear the signs that you may be certain of meeting your Lord".
Ajalin musamma refers to the appointed end of a thing 6:2,40:67. In 36:38 it speaks of the sun "running", which is a perfect description of the sun's movement accross the galaxy. The word denotes rapid movement contrary to the perceived motion of the sun. So it cannot be speaking of sunrise and sunset, which certainly arent rapid motions. The sun is "running" to its place of rest, its end point. And the end of its rapid course will be, as with allthings, the day of resurrection. The variant reading attributed to both ibn Abbas and ibn Masud in which they recited 36:38 LAmustaqarrin/no resting place, instead of LImustaqarrin/to its resting place is inauthentic.
In answer to the video "43 Scientific Mistakes in the Quran"
A major theme reiterated in the Quran to provide argument for a single independant cause, is the concept of interconnection in all of creation. For instance although the sun and the moon, the night and day, light and darkness are seemingly opposing to one another as regards their appearance and temperament as well as the effects they cause, yet they are part of a global machinery in which they work in complete harmony with one another
36:40"Neither is it allowable to the sun that it should overtake/tudrika the moon, nor can the night outstrip/sabiqu the day; and all float on in a sphere".
The verse says that if one element or phenomenon oversteps its limits then disorder appears. This sends a message to the creatures endowed with intellect and freewill, that they should respect the bounds set for them to prevent disorder. Tudrika is derived from D-R-K and it means reaching. The Sun is prevented from going out of its way and collide with the Moon.
Similarily the phenomena of nighttime/daytime cannot ever overcome one another, if daytime comes, nighttime cannot impose itself. When a portion of the earth is facing the sun (daytime), the nighttime phenomenon cannot occur on this same area. The concept of harmonious order of entities and phenomena, each being restrained to its divinely decreed function or place, is a recurrent theme in the Quran.
In answer to the video "43 Scientific Mistakes in the Quran"
In 25:45 it tells the reader to look at the shadows' movement, spreading and contracting. It then says the sun is the dalil/proof or indicator of the shadow's movement, not the other way around, with the shadow being an indicator of the sun's movement. This is because without sunlight directly hitting an object, the shadow wouldnt exist and there would be no proof or indication of it spreading or contracting regardless of the earth's movement around the sun. Try standing outside in daytime without sunlight directly hitting you, where is your shadow, do you see it contracting and spreading? You dont, despite the Earth's movement around the sun. Now try again with complete sun exposure. You will see your shadow spreading and contracting, because of its indicator, the sun.
In answer to the video "43 Scientific Mistakes in the Quran"
In 91:2 the moon is said to follow the sun, because obviously when the night comes, the moon is the main celestial body observable in the sky while during the day it was the sun. The moon follows the sun sequentially, not in the sense of tailing it in a line. A 7th century person, just as the one living today would know that the moon's path in the sky almost never is the same as the sun's, especially in certain times of the year such as in winter and summer. So the verse here cannot be said to be reflecting the wrong scientific notions of a 7th century observer. And even if one insists on saying the moon follows the sun, technically, the Sun orbits the galaxy and all cosmic bodies (including the moon) revolving around it "follow" it in its orbit accross the galaxy.
In answer to the video "43 Scientific Mistakes in the Quran"
Stars arent missiles, but other entities are. This Book is part of a Divine Scheme meaning its implementation will be under the direct surveillance of the Almighty Himself. During the time of revelation of the Quran, the Almighty made arrangements so that the purity of the Revelation travels intact from its descent from Heaven to the heart of the prophet Muhammad to the point that evil ones were not allowed near it during the process
26:210-212"No evil ones have brought down this (Revelation), It would neither suit them nor would they be able (to produce it). Indeed they have been removed far from even (a chance of) hearing it".
Pre-Islamic Arabs believed that their soothsayers were inspired by the jinn who would bring them information from heaven, and thus sometimes accused this Quran whose eloquence and impact on the people they could not explain, to have been similarly inspired. To refute this belief, the Quran told them that this sama' ("what is above" more commonly used for the sky), although beautified with constellations to the onlookers, has in addition been provided with protection in the times of revelation 15:16-17 through several systems.
First, the ones charged with :carrying down the exalted and purified Revelation were headed by Gabriel, around whom they are tightly knit and highly dutiful 16:2,2:97,97:1-4,80:13-16. Under his direction, these emissaries, carry the revelation, from heaven down to earth, all the way to the heart of the chosen messenger until it is pronounced to the people 72:27-8.
The carriers of revelation repelled the rebellious among the jinn from every side so they could not understand what the ones high in ranks were saying during their descent 37:8,97:4. The angels did not wait for them to be able to perceive what was being brought down to earth before driving them off from their positions. They were repelled as soon as they managed to steal the slightest hearing, the faintest sound emanating from the delegation
15:18,37:10"Except him who snatches off but once, then there follows him a brightly shining flame/shihab".
These burning objects are identified as shihab, plur. "shuhub". Only 1 type of cosmic body in our sky fits the description of a fast moving object giving its own light; meteors. They are orbiting the earth in outer space at high speeds then light up when they enter earth's atmosphere. It is important noting the Quran does not make distinctions between the cosmic bodies (stars, planets, comets etc). They are referred with names that evoke brightness, manifestation (najm-usually rendered "star"). We apply today the words used in the Quran to describe the celestial bodies depending on their original meaning. For example lamps/masaabih produce light on their own so they cannot be used for planets or comets, but only for stars and meteors.
As already seen in 15:16-17 the Quran makes a distinction between the guarding system provided by these meteors and the shining objects adorning our sky
"We have made constellations in the heaven and we have made it fair seeming to the beholders. AND we guard it against every accursed shaytan".
Sama' addunya means the nearest heaven. The root D-N-W implies nearness. We talk of our world in Arabic as the dunya because it points to the world in which we are currently living in, as opposed to the akhira/hereafter which is far. Sama' addunya, the near or nearest heaven, is near in relation to the earth which includes the atmosphere that the Quran also calls sama' 16:79,30:48. The nearest heaven is thus outer space.
This area, the Quran says, has been adorned with kawaakib/bright lights 37:6 AND/WA guarding/hifthan against the devils 37:7,41:12. The Quran again, as is done in 15:16-17 separates the guarding system and the shining objects decorating the night sky (stars, planets, etc).
The verse 67:5 reiterates how the sama' has been adorned with shining objects
"We have adorned the near heaven with lamps and we have made it projectiles for the shaytan".
Although not very obvious once translated, the grammatical construction accepts in its range of meanings that both the sama' and the shining objects adorning it, as well as each on their own, have been made projectiles against the jinn. This is where the principle of not isolating verses from an established pattern come into play. The Quran as already shown, time after time, distinguishes between the objects adorning the sky on one hand, and the guarding system on another.
The 2 are never confounded.
We then read 67:5 with that established pattern in mind, only keeping the sama' as having been made into projectiles against the jinn. This interpretation was noted by early commentators too, the sama' being a feminine word, thus agreeing grammatically with the feminine particle "ha" in
"jaAAalnaHA/we made it".
The "ha/it" therefore is in reference, not to a thing, but to a location, the sama'/sky which has been turned into a place of pelting for the shayatin/evil beings.
Prior to the scientific era, in the tafsirs of al Suyuti or ibn Kathir, it was never stated that the stars themselves were turned into missiles, the most that they said was that a flame was ejected from the stars towards some of the jinn, while the stars themselves did not move.
Before Revelation started, the jinn sat anywhere they wanted in the sky
72:9"we used to sit in some of the sitting-places thereof to steal a hearing".
This gives us a glimpse into their nature, that they had the ability to fly and float in the skies, waiting to perceive any type of heavenly information. Whatever hearing they could steal, and if they were allowed reaching an individual with it, it became a means of trial to those people who believe in their own abilities to attain to any kind of knowledge of the unseen through the jinn, as well as a trial to the gullible who are deceived by such people
"A stealthy listener (jinn) hears a word which he will convey to that which is below him and the second will convey it to that which is below him till the last of them will convey it to the wizard or foreteller. Sometimes a flame (fire) may strike the devil before he can convey it, and sometimes he may convey it before the flame (fire) strikes him, whereupon the wizard adds to that word a hundred lies. The people will then say, 'Didn't he (i.e. magician) tell such-and-such a thing on such-and-such date?' So that magician is said to have told the truth because of the Statement which has been heard from the heavens".
The prophet here refutes the belief in the occult sciences of pre-Islamic times, and still present today, where entities of the unseen have the ability to extract information that is of any use to humans
"Some people asked Allah's Messenger about the fore-tellers. Allah's Messenger said to them, "They are nothing (i.e., liars)." The people said, 'O Allah's Messenger! Sometimes they tell something which comes out to be true." Allah's Messenger said, "That word which comes to be true is what a jinx snatches away by stealing and then pours it in the ear of his fore-teller with a sound similar to the cackle of a hen, and then they add to it one-hundred lies".
As the Quran states in the context of Solomon's death
34:14"the jinn came to know plainly that if they had known the unseen, they would not have tarried in abasing torment".
The passage refers to Solomon who passed away but whose dead body was held in place by a wooden staff for a while until it disintegrated, eaten by a woodworm. It is only when his inanimate body fell to the ground that the jinn, living under his servitude, realized he was dead. The passage not only shows them as subservient to one of Allah's servants, but they are unable to even fathom something superficially hidden from them, yet very close: how then can they gratify people’s appeals to learn the secrets of the unseen? When speaking of Iblis himself, the Quran says that his pledge to God that he would doubtlessly lead astray a portion of Adam's descendants, was in fact a conjecture and guess. The archetype of jinn has no access to special knowledge, not even of the future. It was just a coincidence that his conjecture and guess became true
34:20"And certainly Iblis found true his conjecture concerning them, so they followed him, except a party of the believers".
The aforementioned hadith describing the jinn's ability to corrupt a true matter of the unseen and then deceive the soothsayer with it, is not speaking of the revelation of the Quran. Rather, of the revelation of decrees to the angels, who then transmit it among themselves. During that process of transmission, the jinn, who were allowed sitting in various locations of the skies prior to the revelation of the Quran, extracted information. Upon that, burning objects of the sky, which are none other than meteors, chased and eventually destroyed them. The traditions therefore do not entail that meteors have the exclusive purpose of chasing the jinn. When the prophet on an occasion introduced that concept, he stated that meteors similar to the one observed, served that function
"As we were sitting during the night with Allah's Messenger, a meteor shot gave a dazzling light. Allah's Messenger said: What did you say in jahiliyya when one like this one was thrown?"
He did not say "when a meteor is thrown" rather when one "like it is thrown". The likeness therefore could be in that both are meteors, but with different purposes.
When revelation of the Quran started descending from the heavens, carried by the angels down to earth, the jinn were prevented from even trying to listen
72:9"but he who would (try to) listen NOW would find a flame lying in wait for him".
Guarding angels filled the atmosphere, besides those descending with revelation 16:2,97:1-4, which further prevented the jinn from their usual sitting places
72:8"And we have sought [to reach] the heaven but found it filled with powerful guards and burning flames".
It had never happened to those jinn contemporaries of the prophet Muhammad, that even as much as trying to rise in the skies resulted in them being pelted by meteors
"So it was with the advent of the Messenger of Allah that they were prevented from their places. So they mentioned that to Iblis – and the stars were not shot at them before that".
Umar once encountered a Muslim who was a fortune teller in pre-islamic times. That person told him of the state of confusion among the jinn folk close to the time the prophet appeared
"Once, while `Umar was sitting, a handsome man passed by him, `Umar said, "If I am not wrong, this person is still on his religion of the pre-lslamic period of ignorance or he was their foreteller. Call the man to me." When the man was called to him, he told him of his thought. The man said, "I have never seen such a day on which a Muslim is faced with such an accusation." `Umar said, "I am determined that you should tell me the truth." He said, "I was a foreteller in the pre-lslamic period of ignorance." Then `Umar said, "Tell me the most astonishing thing your female Jinn has told you of." He said, "One-day while I was in the market, she came to me scared and said, 'Haven't you seen the Jinns and their despair and they were overthrown after their defeat (and prevented from listening to the news of the heaven) so that they (stopped going to the sky and) kept following camel-riders (i.e. 'Arabs)?" `Umar said, "He is right." and added, "One day while I was near their idols, there came a man with a calf and slaughtered it as a sacrifice (for the idols). An (unseen) creature shouted at him, and I have never heard harsher than his voice. He was crying, 'O you bold evil-doer! A matter of success! An eloquent man is saying: None has the right to be worshipped except you (O Allah).' On that the people fled, but I said, 'I shall not go away till I know what is behind this.' Then the cry came again: 'O you bold evil-doer! A matter of success! An eloquent man is saying: None has the right to be worshipped except Allah.' I then went away and a few days later it was said, "A prophet has appeared".
Through that guarding system, the matter became so obscure to the jinn, that they could not but conclude that
72:10"we know not whether evil is meant for those who are on earth or whether their Lord means to bring them good".
So in the time of revelation, as was the case prior, the rebellious jinn who heard something from the angels were chased by meteors. The difference being that when revelation started, they could not be allowed to corrupt the revelation, hence the increased preventive measures
26:210-12"And the devils have not brought the revelation down. It is not allowable for them, nor would they be able. Most surely they are far removed from the hearing of it".
Only those who stole something of a sound, regardless of how negligible it might have been, from the angelic delegation were followed by a meteor 15:18,37:10. The Quran therefore, just as the traditions, nowhere make absolute statements about the function of meteors. Rather, mentions are made of a specific situation with its consequence. On a general note, this "chasing" doesnt entail an odd, erratic trajectory. The object in outer space could be orbiting the earth and then made to descend, as any meteor would, into the atmosphere towards the location of the rebellious jinn, like a laser beam. Every occurrence in the universe is caused by God, and just as He causes space matter to descend into the atmosphere at a time unrelated to the jinns' behaviour, He may cause one of those entities to descend towards a jinn whenever one of them hears, or tries hearing a saying of the angels.
