Volume 5, Issue 9 , November 2014, , Pages 115-131
Abstract
Modern science has established that the sun’s rise and set are only apparel and that the sun’s apparel motion is the effect of the earth’s rotation around the sun and not the sun’s motion round the earth. Yet in an atmosphere where people could not imagine anything except the ...
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Modern science has established that the sun’s rise and set are only apparel and that the sun’s apparel motion is the effect of the earth’s rotation around the sun and not the sun’s motion round the earth. Yet in an atmosphere where people could not imagine anything except the sun’s motion around the earth, the Qur’an stated that the sun is moving on a circular path. Today’s science has proved that the sun moves around the center of the milky way, but it will be wrong to claim that what the Qur’an says about the sun’s motion refers to this moving around the center of galaxy. The reason why such an assumption is wrong is that a wise and eloquent speaker would not say something which is improbable to be grasped by the immediate audience. Furthermore, if the Qur’an was referring to a motion other than the sun’s apparel motion, it would then make clear cases in order to clarify the point for the audience. Therefore it is plausible to argue that when the Qur’an speaks of the sun’s motion it is referring to its apparel motion, yet this point will raise no controversy between science and the Qur’an. The reason is that the Qur’an is not trying to explain a physical reality about the sun and is not referring to the sun’s motion as if explaining a scientific issue. But rather it aims to create an image which will increase faith and will draw their attentions to the creator.
Abstract The present research studies three samples of asserted conflicts between the Qur’an and science. Assuming the earth to be motionless, falling hails from mountains in the sky and pertaining science about fetus to God are among instances referred by claimants of conflict between the Qur’an ...
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Abstract The present research studies three samples of asserted conflicts between the Qur’an and science. Assuming the earth to be motionless, falling hails from mountains in the sky and pertaining science about fetus to God are among instances referred by claimants of conflict between the Qur’an and science such as Kāmil Najjār in the book “Qirā’at Munhajjīah lil-Islam”. The present article attempts to reveal the flaws in the said claims by analyzing the verses related to these three topics and providing reasons by empirical knowledge. So, the paper states that it cannot be inferred from the lack of explicit referral to the movement that the Qur’an assumes it to be motionless. Also attribution of qarār (fixity) to the earth is solely evidence of common immovability. Similarly, denial of zawāl (destruction) for arz (Earth) in Qur’an describes protection of the earth from the movement that leads to transformation and destruction, not preserving it from absolute movement. As regards the falling hail from the mountains, the comment jibāl fi ha men barad (mountains containing ice in them) refers to the mountains of ice clouds in the sky. Also, according to meteorology, cold and ice clouds are the origin of various rainfalls. As for the science about the fetus, the phrase wa ya’lam mā fel arhām ([He] knows what is in the wombs of mothers) solely considers the comprehensive and absolute knowledge of embryology to be excusive to God. This is not incompatible with the fact that humans know about some characteristics of the fetus.
