Science and the Qur'an

Insights into the source of the Qur'an. . . based on scientific discoveries since 1998

---

In recent years, Muslims have begun to proclaim that the Qur'an contains scientific observations only discovered in the 20th and 21st centuries. For example, Muslims (in the 21st century) now believe that the Qur'an reveals that the universe will expand to a limit, stop its expansion, then collapse into itself. Several Qur'anic verses are used to support this Islamic view of the universe. Below are modern translations of the Qur'an found on the Internet on some Islamic websites. These Islamic web sites describe both the expanding universe and the collapse of the universe. Let's begin with the expanding universe interpretation of the Qur'an.

"...We have constructed the heaven with might, and verily, it is We who are steadily expanding it.... " (Surah 51:47).

Muslims acknowledge that only English translations of the Qur'an (in the late 20th century) use the word "expanding" (click on this pop-up to review earlier English translations of the Qur'an that did not use the word "expanding" in their rendition of Surah 51:47).

Since the earlier English translations of Surah 51:47 do not use the word "expanding," it is important to acknowledge that the most recent translations are hypothetical. Therefore, it is appropriate to question the translation that uses the word, "expanding."

Nevertheless, some Muslims will insist that the Qur'an does support using the word "expanding" for translation into English. Therefore, let's assume that the Qur'an does contain the "expanding universe" as a scientific observation written into its texts. Would this verify that the Qur'an comes from God?

This is the most important question to answer with logic and available evidence. Let's begin with the method that humans have used to make scientific observations. To make scientific observations, humans simply observe, then write their observation(s) on paper. A systematic collection of observations is usually made. And as humans have become capable of making precise measurements, better conclusions can be made of the observations using applied physics and math.

Now it is true that in the 7th century, humans were not capable of knowing that the universe was expanding. We must ask, "Who would have been capable of scientific observations in the 7th century?"

To begin, scientific observations are made by created beings, not the Creator (i.e.: Allah). We can easily reason that spiritual beings of all types would be capable of scientific observations of the universe. For example, a list of spiritual beings capable of scientific observations would include angels, archangels (Gabriel), demons, Satan, jinn, and others (the list could even contain spiritual beings that we don't know exist, or even ETs). Therefore, it is logical that a spiritual being could be the source of scientific observations that Muslims have only recently come to believe (hypothecate is a better word) are in the Qur'an.

Is this a good assessment? If it is true, then what does it mean?

All Muslims acknowledge that Muhammad believed that the words spoken to him duringspiritual experiences came only from the Archangel Gabriel. Therefore, Muslims accept that the Archangel Gabriel could make scientific observations of the universe. But did the Archangel Gabriel get the words from the Creator? Or was the Archangel Gabriel that spoke to Muhammad (as opposed to Daniel the prophet, who also heard from the Archangel Gabriel) a spirit that deceived Muhammad?

"The answer to "Who is Gabriel?" based on physical evidence (for example, ancient artifacts like the dead sea scrolls, ossuaries, etc...) and logic can be discovered on the "Spiritual Technology" web site by reading the entire web site analysis. A math based conclusion is possible due to physical evidence related to spiritual ideas."

---

The Big Crunch in the Qur'an
(Collapse of the Universe)

Modern day Muslims now believe that the Qur'an reveals that in the distant future, the universe will stop expanding due to gravity. Then the universe will collapse back to a small point (smaller than a hand) to start a new creation. Let's review the collapsing universe interpretation of the Qur'an.

"That Day We will fold up heaven like folding up the pages of a book. As We originated the first creation so We will regenerate it. It is a promise binding on Us. That is what We will do." (Surah 21:104).

This Muslim author then refers to a second Qur'anic verse that supports the universe will collapse:

"They do not measure Allah with His true measure. The whole earth will be a mere handful for Him on the Day of Rising the heavens folded up in His right hand. Glory be to Him! He is exalted above the partners they ascribe!" (Surah 39:67).

The English translation given above is very similar to earlier English translations of the Qur'an. All English translations use a similar phrase that infers the universe will roll back together like a scroll before a new creation occurs. (click on this pop-up to review earlier English translations of the Qur'an that agree the universe will collapse before a new creation is done).

Since all English translations of the Qur'an agree that the universe will be rolled back together, it appears that almost all people would agree that the Qur'an takes this position. However, the evidence of science does not support the concept that the universe will collapse. Since 1998, scientists have concluded that the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate. The universe will never collapse as recorded in the Qur'an. Consider the historic evidence supporting this conclusion that have been released to the public worldwide since 1998.

In the year 1998, after 10 years of intense research and observing distant supernova, two independent scientific teams (the Supernova Cosmology Project and the High ZSupernova Search Team Project) came to the same conclusion that the rate at which the universe is expanding is accelerating (getting bigger at a faster and ever faster rate). This idea was totally unexpected and is typically called the Accelerating Universe.

In 2002 to 2006, analysis of data collected from the NASA WMAP Satellite has permitted scientists to conclude that the universe is accelerating. Here is a quote from a NASA website with scientific conclusions. "For the theory that fits our data, the universe willexpand forever!"

The conclusion that the universe will expand forever at an accelerating rate is based on the analysis of more than 800 Cepheid Variable Stars, more than 80 Type 1A Supernova, and more than 3 years of continuous data collection from the NASA WMAP Satellite. Due to the large amount of data involved in this analysis, the conclusion that the universe will expand forever at an accelerating rate is done at a high confidence level. The probability of this conclusion being wrong due to random error is extremely small.

The previous three paragraphs with credible offsite links verify that three independent scientific teams using two independent scientific methods agree. The universe will expand forever at an accelerating rate.

However, the Qur'an proclaims that the universe will collapse. And Muslims on various Islamic web sites state that the Qur'an records that the universe will collapse. Therefore the Qur'an is in grave contradiction with scientific data as well as the conclusions of scientists. This requires us to make a very serious statement about the Qur'an and its source.

Scientific data supports that the universe will expand forever at a high confidence level. Therefore, any so-called "holy book" that claims the opposite is wrong at a high confidence level. Since the Qur'an is obviously wrong, we must ask, "Who is the source of the Qur'an?"

---

Gabriel Who?
(Do Muslims really know the spiritual source of the qur'an?)

Please Note: Physical evidence and logic are used on this web site to compare Gabriel's words to Daniel the prophet versus Gabriel's words to Muhammad, the prophet of Islam. Since each prophet claims to have received words from the same spiritual being (Gabriel), then the words should agree when the same subject is being presented. However, we find that the words are diametrically opposed. Therefore, simple logic requires us to conclude that either Daniel or Muhammad is without doubt a false prophet.

Based on physical evidence of the dead sea scrolls, ancient ossuaries, the Pontius Pilate inscription, and many other artifacts, the "Spiritual Technology" web site concludes that Gabriel did in fact foretell the future through Daniel the prophet at the 99% confidence level. Who then is the spiritual being that contradicts Daniel the prophet as recorded in the Qur'an through Muhammad?

People who believe Muhammad received words from Gabriel do so on complete "blind faith," even those who were direct witnesses of Muhammad's spiritual experiences. It is impossible for those present to discern the subjective nature of Muhammad's spiritual experiences.

Please Note: If you have an open mind and will take the time to study in-depth the information on this web site, you can begin to discern that Muhammad did not speak with a spiritual being capable of foretelling the future. To state this another way, only the Creator (Who exists outside the limits of time-space) can accurately and consistently foretell the future random human events. Muhammad did not achieve this necessary requirement (scientific observations recorded in a so-called "holy book" are not future random events since they are simply observations). Therefore, it is logical to ask, "Who is the spiritual being that spoke to Muhammad?"

---

Scientific Observations
in so-called "Holy Books"
(Discern the Source, Be Very Careful of Your Conclusion)

We can also conclude that any other so-called "holy book" that reveals scientific observations of the universe does not mean that the source is from the Creator.

On a postive note, we can conclude that scientific observations in any so-called "holy book" infers that there is a spiritual level related to the universe. In turn, this infers that a Creator did create the one and only universe that humans have observed to date.

---

The Archangel Gabriel
(Spoke to Daniel the Prophet)

Daniel the prophet is the only other human being (as a prophet) that claims to have spoken directly with the Archangel Gabriel. This is important since it permits us to compare the book of Daniel to the Qur'an using math (Same spiritual source should have similar view when a specific subject is being presented). And the Dead Sea Scrolls confirm that the book of Daniel has not been changed. Based on physical evidence, we can have confidence that Daniel the prophet did in fact speak with the Archangel Gabriel. Since Muhammad presents views that are diametrically opposite of those taken by Daniel (on the same subject), we can conclude that Muhammad the prophet of Islam appears to have been deceived (at a high confidence level) by a being that claimed to be the Archangel Gabriel. Who is this spiritual being?

In the near future, I will update the site to address other modern Islamic views that the Qur'an contains scientific observations (For example, Muslims believe that the Qur'an contains scientific observations related to embryology). You can book mark this page and check back as I begin to revise the Spiritual Technology web site.

INTRODUCTION

The expansion of the Universe is one of the most imposing discoveries of modern science. Today it is a firmly established concept and the only debate centers around the way this is taking place.

It was first suggested by the general theory of relativity and is backed up by physics in the examination of the galactic spectrum; the regular movement towards the red section of their spectrum may be explained by the distancing of one galaxy from another. Thus the size of the Universe is probably constantly increasing and this increase will become bigger the further away the galaxies are from us. The speeds at which these celestial bodies are moving may, in the course of this perpetual expansion, go from fractions of the speed of light to speeds faster than this.

The following verse of the Qur'an (sura 51, verse 47) where God is speaking, may perhaps be compared with modern ideas:

"The heaven, We have built it with power. Verily. We are expanding it." 'Heaven' is the translation of the word sama' and this is exactly the extra-terrestrial world that is meant. 'We are expanding it' is the translation of the plural present participle musi'una of the verb ausa'a meaning 'to make wider, more spacious, to extend, to expand'.

Some translators who were unable to grasp the meaning of the latter provide translations that appear to me to be mistaken, e.g. "we give generously" (R. Blachere). Others sense the meaning, but are afraid to commit themselves: Ramidullah in his translation of the Qur'an talks of the widening of the heavens and space, but he includes a question mark. Finally, there are those who arm themselves with authorized scientific opinion in their commentaries and give the meaning stated here. This is true in the case of the Muntakab, a book of commentaries edited by the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Cairo. It refers to the expansion of the Universe in totally unambiguous terms.

THE CONQUEST OF SPACE

From this point of view, three verses of the Qur'an should command our full attention. One expresses, without any trace of ambiguity, what man should and will achieve in this field. In the other two, God refers for the sake of the unbelievers in Makka to the surprise they would have if they were able to raise themselves up to the Heavens; He alludes to a hypothesis which will not be realized for the latter. 1) The first of these verses is sura 55, verse 33: "O assembly of Jinns and Men, if you can penetrate regions of the heavens and the earth, then penetrate them! You will not penetrate them save with a Power."

The translation given here needs some explanatory comment:

a) The word 'if' expresses in English a condition that is dependent upon a possibility and either an achievable or an unachievable hypothesis. Arabic is a language which is able to introduce a nuance into the condition which is much more explicit. There is one word to express the possibility (ida), another for the achievable hypothesis (in) and a third for the unachievable hypothesis expressed by the word (lau). The verse in question has it as an achievable hypothesis expressed by the word (in). The Qur'an therefore suggests the material possibility of a concrete realization. This subtle linguistic distinction formally rules out the purely mystic interpretation that some people have (quite wrongly) put on this verse.

b) God is addressing the spirits (jinn) and human beings (ins), and not essentially allegorical figures.

c) 'To penetrate' is the translation of the verb nafada followed by the preposition min. According to Kazimirski's dictionary, the phrase means 'to pass right through and come out on the other side of a body' (e.g. an arrow that comes out on the other side). It therefore suggests a deep penetration and emergence at the other end into the regions in question.

d) The Power (sultan) these men will have to achieve this enterprise would seem to come from the All- Mighty.' There can be no doubt that this verse indicates the possibility men will one day achieve what we today call (perhaps rather improperly) 'the conquest of space'. One must note that the text of the Qur'an predicts not only penetration through the regions of the Heavens, but also the Earth, i.e. the exploration of its depths. 2) The other two verses are taken from sura 15, (verses 14 and 15). God is speaking of the unbelievers in Makka, as the context of this passage in the sura shows:

"Even if We opened unto them a gate to Heaven and they were to continue ascending therein, they would say: our sight is confused as in drunkenness. Nay, we are people bewitched."

The above expresses astonishment at a remarkable spectacle, different from anything man could imagine. The conditional sentence is introduced here by the word lau which expresses a hypothesis that could never be realized as far as it concerned the people mentioned in these verses.

When talking of the conquest of space therefore, we have two passages in the text of the Qur'an: one of them refers to what will one day become a reality thanks to the powers of intelligence and ingenuity God will give to man, and the other describes an event that the unbelievers in Makkah will never witness, hence its character of a condition never to be realized. The event will however be seen by others, as intimated in the first verse quoted above. It describes the human reactions to the unexpected spectacle that travelers in space will see: their confused sight, as in drunkenness, the feeling of being bewitched...

This is exactly how astronauts have experienced this remarkable adventure since the first human space flight around the world in 1961. It is known in actual fact how once one is above the Earth's atmosphere, the Heavens no longer have the azure appearance we see from Earth, which results from phenomena of absorption of the Sun's light into the layers of the atmosphere. The human observer in space above the Earth's atmosphere sees a black sky and the Earth seems to be surrounded by a halo of bluish color due to the same phenomena of absorption of light by the Earth's atmosphere. The Moon has no atmosphere, however, and therefore appears in its true colors against the black background of the sky. It is a completely new spectacle therefore that presents itself to men in space, and the photographs of this spectacle are well known to present-day man.

Here again, it is difficult not to be impressed, when comparing the text of the Qur'an to the data of modern science, by statements that simply cannot be ascribed to the thought of a man who lived more than fourteen centuries ago.

EVOLUTION OF THE HEAVENS

Having called modern concepts on the formation of the Universe to mind, reference was made to the evolution that took place, starting with primary nebula through to the formation of galaxies, stars and (for the solar system) the appearance of planets beginning with the Sun at a certain stage of its evolution. Modern data lead us to believe that in the solar system, and more generally in the Universe itself, this evolution is still continuing.

How can anybody who is aware of these ideas fail to make a comparison with certain statements found in the Qur'an in which the manifestations of divine Omnipotence are referred to. The Qur'an reminds us several times that: "(God) subjected the sun and the moon: each one runs its course to an appointed term."

This sentence is to be found in sura 13, verse 2; sura 31, verse 29; sura 35, verse 13 and sura 39, verse 5. In addition to this, the idea of a settled place is associate with the concept of a destination place in sura 36, verse 38: "The Sun runs its course to a settled place. This is the decree of the All Mighty, the Full of Knowledge."

'Settled place' is the translation of the word mustaqarr and there can be no doubt that the idea of an exact place is attached to it.

How do these statements fare when compared with data established by modern science?

The Qur'an gives an end to the Sun for its evolution and a destination place. It also provides the Moon with a settled place. To understand the possible meanings of these statements, we must remember what modern knowledge has to say about the evolution of the stars in general and the Sun in particular, and (by extension) the celestial bodies that automatically followed its movement through space, among them the Moon.

The Sun is a star that is roughly 4.5 billion years old, according to experts in astrophysics. It is possible to (distinguish a stage in its evolution, as one can for all the stars. At present, the Sun is at an early stage, characterized by the transformation of hydrogen atoms into helium atoms. Theoretically, this present stage should last another 5.5 billion years according to calculations that allow a total of 10 billion years for the duration of the primary stage in a star of this kind. It has already been shown, in the case of these other stars, that this stage gives way to a second period characterized by the completion of the transformation of hydrogen into helium, with the resulting expansion of its external layers and the cooling of the Sun. In the final stage, its light is greatly diminished and density considerably increased; this is to be observed in the type of star known as a 'white dwarf'.

The above dates are only of interest in as far as they give a rough estimate of the time factor involved, what is worth remembering and is really the main point of the above, is the notion of an evolution. Modern data allow us to predict that, in a few billion years, the conditions prevailing in the solar system will not be the same as they are today. Like other stars whose transformations have been recorded until they reached their final stage, it is possible to predict an end to the Sun. The second verse quoted above (sura 36, verse 38) referred to the Sun running its course towards a place of its own.

Modern astronomy has been able to locate it exactly and has even given it a name, the Solar Apex: the solar system is indeed evolving in space towards a point situated in the Constellation of Hercules (alpha lyrae) whose exact location is firmly established; it is moving at a speed already ascertained at something in the region of 12 miles per second.

All these astronomical data deserve to be mentioned in relation to the two verses from the Qur'an. Since it is possible to state that they appear to agree perfectly with modern scientific data.