QURAN & MODERN SCIENCE
(From the talk given by French scientist Dr Maurice Bucaille, French Academy of Medicine, 9th Nov 1976)
In a century where scientific truth has dealt a deathblow to religious belief- it is precisely the discoveries of science, that highlight the supernatural nature of the Quran. I could even go so far as to say, that in the 20th century, with its compartmentalization of ever-increasing knowledge, it is not easy for the average scientist to understand everything he reads in the Quran on such subjects, without having recourse to specialized research. This means that to understand such Quranic verses, one is required to have an absolutely encyclopedic knowledge embracing many scientific disciplines. I have approached the Quran, with the same objectivity that a doctor has, when opening a file on a patient. Only by carefully analyzing the symptoms, can we arrive at an accurate diagnosis. I have divided this subject under the headings:
ASTRONOMY: Stars & Planets: The word ‘star’ in the Quran [86:3] is accompanied by the adjective thaaqib, indicating that it burns and consumes itself as it pierces through the night. It was much later discovered that stars produce their own light. The Quran uses a different word, kawkab, to refer to planets that reflect light, but do not produce their own light: ‘We have adorned the lowest heaven with… planets’ [Quran 37:6]
Orbits: Galaxies are balanced by the position of stars and planets in well-defined orbits, as well as the interplay of gravitational forces produced by their masses and the speed of their movements. The Quran describes this in terms which have only become comprehensible in modern times: ‘The One Who created …the sun and the moon. Each one is travelling in an orbit with its own motion’ [Quran 21:33]. In the case of a celestial body, the verb used is yasbahoon, meaning ‘to travel with its own motion.’ My book Bible, Quran & Science, contains detailed scientific data on celestial bodies.
Day and Night: The Quran describes the day and night sequence, using a highly appropriate verb kawwara to describe how the night ‘coils’ itself around the day, and the day around the night: ‘He coils the night upon the day, and the day upon the night’ [Quran 39:5]. The verb kawwara means to coil a turban around. Yet at that time, the astronomical data necessary to make this comparison were unknown. It is not until man landed on the moon and observed the earth spinning on its axis, that the dark half of the globe appeared to wind itself around the light; and the vice versa.
Solar Apex: ‘The sun runs it’s course to a settled place.’ [Quran 36:38]. ‘Settled place’ indicates an exact place. Modern astronomy confirms that the solar system is moving at a rate of 12 miles per second, towards a precisely calculated exact point, which is situated in the constellation of Hercules (alpha lyrae) called the Solar Apex.
Expansion of Universe: The Quran describes this imposing Astrophysical discovery: ‘We built the heaven with power and it is We, Who are expanding it’ [Quran 51:47]. The regular movement of the galactic light towards the red section of the spectrum is explained by the distancing of one galaxy from another. Thus, we can today see the increasing size of the universe.
BIOLOGY: Numerous Quranic translations have been made by learned men, who had no access to modern science. There are verses whose obvious meanings are easily understood, but conceal startling scientific meanings: ‘We made every living thing out of water.’ [Quran 21:30]. This is a dramatic scientific affirmation that the origin of life is aquatic.
Physiology: 1000 years before the blood circulatory system was discovered; and 1300 years before it was known what happened in the intestine, to ensure organ nourishment by the process of digestive absorption, the Quran described the source of milk constituents, in conformity with scientific facts. To understand this verse, we must know that chemical reactions occur in the intestines; and that from here, substances extracted from food, are passed into the blood stream via a complex system. This releases nutrient molecules, which are absorbed into the circulatory system through countless microscopic projections of the intestinal wall called villi. In the circulatory system the blood transports these nutrients to milk-producing mammary glands. This biological process must be understood, if we are to understand this verse in the Quran: ‘We give you drink from their insides, coming from a conjunction between the digested contents (of the intestines) and the blood- milk pure and pleasant’ [Quran 16:66]. The constituents of milk secreted by the mammary glands are nourished by the process of food digestion brought to them by the bloodstream. The event which sets the whole process in motion is the conjunction of the contents of the intestine and blood, at the level of the intestinal wall itself. This scientific discovery was made over 1000 years after the time of Muhammed.
EMBRYOLOGY: Fertilization: Regarding the fact that a small part of the semen is required to ensure fertilization, the Quran says: ‘He made (man’s) offspring from the best part of a despised fluid’ [Quran 32:8]. The word used sulaalah, means ‘best part.’ Normally, only one single spermatozoon, out of over 50 million ejaculated by a man, actually penetrates the ovule.
Implantation: Once the egg has been fertilized in the fallopian tube, it descends to lodge itself inside the uterus. This process called the ‘implantation of the egg’, is a result of the development of villosities, which like roots in the soil, draw nourishment from the uterus wall while the egg clings to the womb. This implantation process is described by the word alaq: ‘God fashioned humans from a clinging entity’ [Quran 96:2]
Embryo: The evolution of the embryo inside the uterus is accurately described. The words correspond exactly to the fundamental stages in its growth: ‘We fashioned the clinging entity into a chewed-like lump of flesh, and We fashioned the chewed-like flesh into bones, and We clothed the bones with intact flesh’ [Quran 23:14]. The term ‘chewed flesh’ (mudghah) resembles the embryo its development stage. It is known that bones develop inside this mass, and are then covered with muscle. This is the meaning of the term ‘intact flesh’ (lahm).
Throughout the Middle Ages there were a variety of beliefs about human development, based on myths which continued for several centuries after that period. The most fundamental stage in the history of Embryology came in 1651 with Harvey’s statement: ‘All life initially comes from an egg.’ At this time, science had greatly benefited from the invention of the microscope, and scientists were still arguing about the respective roles of the egg and spermatozoon.
At this point, we need to ask ourselves: How could an uneducated man in the middle of the desert accurately tackle so many and such varied subjects, at a time when mythology and superstition reigned supreme? How could he so skilfully avoid every belief that was proven to be totally inaccurate many centuries later? It is unimaginable for a man of Mohammed’s time to have been the author of such statements, on account of the state of knowledge in his day. Such considerations give the Quranic Revelation its unique place among religious and non-religious texts. It truly forces the impartial scientist to admit his inability to explain this. Such facts expose a genuine challenge to human explanation, leaving only one alternative: The Quran is undoubtedly a Revelation from God.