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Quran and miracles

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Muslims consider the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam, as the word of God and a miracle.[1]. The Qur'an claims that it has been created in miraculous way as a revelation from Allah (God), as a perfect copy of what was written in heaven and existed there from all eternity.[2] Therefore the verses of the book are referred to as ayat, which also means "a miracle" in the Arabic language.[3] Muslims also believe that the Qur'an, as we know it today, is the same as was revealed 1400 years ago.

The Qur'an itself gives an open challenge for anyone who denies its claimed divine origin to produce a text like it. [Quran 17:88][Quran 2:23][Quran 10:38]. Some critics believe that Muhammad was influenced by older Jewish and Christian traditions, and therefore included many of the wonders known from the Bible in the Qur'an. [4]

The miracles in the Qur’an can be classified into three distinct categories: literary miracles, scientific miracles and prophecies.

Literary miracle

The Qur'an states that Muhammad was ummi (interpreted as illiterate in Muslim tradition) and neither read a book nor wrote a book ([Quran 7:157], [Quran 29:48]) and that he did not know about past events nor could he have possibly known the hidden facts that are mentioned in the Qur'an.([Quran 3:44], [Quran 11:49], [Quran 28:44])[5]. On the other side, some argue with that; according to Watt, the meaning of the qur'anic term ummi is unscriptured rather than illiterate as Muslim tradition has concluded. Watt argues that certain amount of writing was necessary for Muhammad to do his commercial purposes though it seems certain that he had not read any scriptures. [6]
Also, Islamic scholars claim that Qur'an is written in a perfect inimitable style (as far elegant writing is concerned), they believe that no human endeavour can match it, and that though several attempts have been made to produce a work equal to it, none has as yet succeeded. [7]

Scientific miracles

Some scholars relate some verses in the Qur'an to some modern scientific facts.[8] The miraculous nature of these claims lies in the fact that the Qur'an was developed years before advanced scientific knowledge was available in particular fields; as such, the relation of these verses to certain scientific theories would reinforce the belief of many in the Qur'an's divine origin. The scholars, like Zaghloul Elnaggar and Maurice Bucaille, give evidences that modern scientific discoveries and theories were already mentioned in the Qur'an; for example that the Big Bang theory was mentioned in Sura 21 [Quran 21:30] and that the Big Crunch theory was mentioned in the same Sura [Quran 21:104]. [9] [10]

Prophecies

Islamic studies claim that the Qur'an mentions events which were yet to come (at the time of its creation). These studies argue that such prophecies show another proof of the divine origin of Qur'an. For example, some Islamic scholars claim that the Qur'an had predicted the eventual defeat of the Persians by the Romans.[11] However, the view of the outcome of this centuries-long conflict between the two nations varies- some do not perceive a Roman victory, and some do not see a clear victor within the conflict at all.[12][citation needed]

Responses

Many classical Muslim commentators and scientists, notably al-Biruni, assigned to the Qur'an a separate and autonomous realm of its own and held that the Qur'an "does not interfere in the business of science nor does it infringe on the realm of science."[13] These medieval scholars argued for the possibility of multiple scientific explanation of the natural phenomena, and refused to subordinate the Qur'an to an ever-changing science.[13]

Praises from scientists

Dr. T. V. N. Persaud, the former Chairman of the Department of Anatomy at the University of Manitoba , received the most distinguished award presented for anatomy in Canada, the J.C.B Grant Award in 1991. He stated, in reply to what he thought of scientific miracles in the Qur'an, "You have someone illiterate making profound pronouncements and statements and that are amazingly accurate about scientific nature. And I personally can't see how this could be a mere chance. There are too many accuracies and, like Dr. Moore, I have no difficulty in my mind that this is a divine inspiration or revelation which led him to these statements."[14]

Dr. E. Marshall Johnson Emeritus was a chairman of the Department of Anatomy at Thomas Jefferson University, director of the Daniel Baugh Institute and president of the Teratology Society. He said in presenting his research paper, "Summary: The Qur'an describes not only the development of external form, but emphasizes also the internal stages, the stages inside the embryo, of its creation and development, emphasizing major events recognized by contemporary science." He also said, "As I gave the example before, if I were to transpose myself into that era, knowing what I knew today and describing things, I could not describe the things which were described. I see no evidence for the fact to refute the concept that this individual, Muhammed, had to be developing this information from some place. So I see nothing here in conflict with concept that divine intervention was involved in what he was able to write."[15]

Dr. William W. Hay, a well-known marine scientist, was formally the Dean of the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the [[University of Miami ]]. On the issue of the Qur'an's mentioned recently discovered facts on seas, he said, "I find it very interesting that this sort of information is in the ancient scriptures of the Holy Qur'an." In response to where he thought the source of the Qur'an is he said, "Well, I would think that it must be the divine being."[16]

Dr. Gerald C. Goeringer, who is the Course Director of Medical Ebryology at the Department of Cell Biology in Georgetown University, said, in presenting his research paper, "In a relatively few aayahs (Qur'anic verses) is contained a rather comprehensive description of human development from the time of commingling of the gametes through organogenesis. No such distinct and complete record of human development, such as classification, terminology, and description antedates by many centuries the recording of the various stages of human embryonic and fetal development recorded in the traditional scientific literature."[17]

Dr. Yoshihide Kozai, who was a director of the National Astronomical Observatory in Japan, said, "I am very much impressed by finding true astronomical facts in (the) Qur'an". He also said that "by reading the Qur'an and by answering to the questions, I think I can find my future way for investigation of the universe".[18]

Professor Tejatat Tejasen is the Chairman of the Department of Anatomy and a former dean of faculty of medicine at Chiang Mai University in Thailand. After examining the Qur'an's statements on embryology and the skin, he converted to Islam and said, "Since the [[Prophet Muhammed]] could neither read nor write, Muhammed must be a messenger who relayed this truth, which was revealed to him as an enlightenment by the one who is eligible (as the) creator."[19]

Dr. Maurice Bucaille, in regard to writing his book "The Bible, The Quran and Science", said, "My reason for doing this was that our knowledge of these disciplines is such, that it is impossible to explain how a text produced at the time of the Qur'an could have contained ideas that have only been discovered in modern times" and "There is indeed no human work prior to modern times that contains statements which were equally in advance of the state of knowledge at the time of they appeared and which might be compared to the Qur'an."[20]

Dr. Alfred Kroner, a world-renown geologist, is the Chairman of the Department of Geology at the Institute of Geosciences, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany. He said, concerning the Quran's alleged statements about the Big Bang, "I think it is impossible that he (Muhammed) could have known about things like the common origin of the universe, because scientists gave only found out within the last few years, with very complicated and advanced technological methods, that this is the case. Somebody who did not know something about nuclear physics fourteen hundred years ago could not, I think, be in a position to find out from his own mind, for instance, that the earth and the heavens had the same origin."[21]

Criticism

Dr. William F. Campbell criticizes Bucaille and his conclusions extensively in his book The Qur'an and the Bible in the Light of History & Science. Campbell argues that many of the supposed miracles in the Qur'an are simply forced interpretations; he asserts that Bucaille and others read their own desired conclusions into the text, and he accuses Bucaille specifically of being particularly inventive and disingenuous in his study of the Qur'an.[22] Campbell points out many of what he perceives as scientific inaccuracies in the Qur'an; additionally, he notes several pagan writings which offer information which he argues is more detailed and accurate than the presentation in the Qur'anic verses compiled centuries later, even though those writings claim no divine origin. Lastly, he argues that several of the allegedly miraculous verses described in the Qur'an are actually proceeded by Biblical verses from which he believes the Qur'anic verses are directly derived.[23]

Notes

  1. ^ F. Tuncer, "International Conferences on Islam in the Contemporary World", March 4-5, 2006, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, U.S.A., p. 95-96
  2. ^ Wilson, Christy: "The Qur'an" in A Lion Handbook The World's Religion, p. 315
  3. ^ Wilson, ibid.
  4. ^ Wilson, p. 316
  5. ^ F. Tuncer, ibid
  6. ^ William Montgomery Watt, "Muhammad's Mecca", Chapter 3: "Religion In Pre-Islamic Arabia", p. 26-52
  7. ^ http://www.miraclesofthequran.com/perfection_01.html
  8. ^ [1]
  9. ^ Islam Online - The Big Bang
  10. ^ [2]
  11. ^ [3]
  12. ^ [4]
  13. ^ a b Ahmad Dallal, Encyclopedia of the Qur'an, Quran and science
  14. ^ Ibrahim, p.27
  15. ^ Ibrahim, p.29
  16. ^ Ibrahim, p.29-30
  17. ^ Ibrahim, p.30
  18. ^ Ibrahim, p.30
  19. ^ Ibrahim, p.31
  20. ^ [http://www.submission.org/Q-science.html The Quran and Modern Science]
  21. ^ Ibrahim, p.14,16
  22. ^ Campbell, page 184.
  23. ^ Campbell, William F. The Qur'an and the Bible in the Light of History & Science. Second Edition. Middle East Resources, 2002. ISBN 1-881085-03-01

References

  • A Lion Handbook The World's Religion. Lion Publishing plc. 1993. ISBN 0-85648-187-4.
  • Ibrahim, I.A (1997). A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam. Darussalam. ISBN 9960-34-011-2.

See also

External links

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