Problems with the “scientific miracles of the Noble Qur’an” narrative – A Layman’s Views

 

Guest Post: Brother Abul Lais - Singapore 

1. Science is a set of tools for discovering mathematical laws/equations that describe the physical/material universe, it’s not a set of dogmatic beliefs that are held rigidly over time.

2. The domain of science is explicitly restricted to the material universe – that part of the cosmos that’s made of matter, atoms and energy, whereas the primary objective of religion is to explain things that are immaterial, spiritual and metaphysical in nature (i.e., things not made of atoms, matter or energy e.g., jinnaat, angels, heaven & hell, life in the grave and ultimately the Being of Allah Ta’ālā).

3. Allah Ta’ālā has largely left the explanation of material phenomenon to humans to discover by themselves, using the great Allah-given bounties of the 5 senses and the intellect. Even in those worldly matters that have some religious significance, the technical details have been left to humans to discover for themselves. For example, attaining taharah (ritual cleanliness/purity) is one of the most important duties of a Muslim, yet the details about how to construct toilets and sewerage systems has been left to mankind.

4. The scientific miracle narrative goes against the fundamental observation that the Noble Qur’an only focuses on critical themes such as monotheism, prophet hood and afterlife, and not secondary or peripheral issues. The best example is the historical narrative of the ancient, perished nations (communities who were obliterated by divine punishment). Often times, the same narrative (such as the destruction of Firawn) is repeated multiple times in various surahs using different words, but very rarely does the narrative deal with historical matters such as which time or place the civilization was located in. That would distract from the fundamental purpose of the Noble Qur’an, which is to serve as a book of divine guidance, and not merely function as an academic research book.

5. Scientific theories change over time, so associating transient theories with the eternal and wise Divine Speech is doing injustice to the Infinite Knowledge of Allah.

6. Many of the words in the Noble Qur’an that describe natural phenomenon have multiple meanings, and insisting on one meaning to the exclusion of the rest is academically dishonest, to say the least.

7. Many people commit logical fallacies while trying to prove scientific miracles in the Noble Qur’an i.e., they do not abide by the principle of logic and rational reasoning while trying to deduce scientific miracles, which ends up doing more harm than good for the purpose of propagating the message of the Noble Qur’an.

8. It may seem far-fetched, but the scientific miracles narrative may even be a plot of the Enemies of Islam, whereby they try to prove that the Noble Qur’an contains scientific miracles, so that people convert to Islam on that basis. Subsequently, they may change the theory which causes people to lose faith in the Noble Qur’an, and the effects may ripple throughout the Muslim Ummah.

9. The scientific miracles narrative is a distraction from the primary message of the Noble Qur’an, which is to get humanity to prepare for the Day of Judgement and the life after death where a reckoning of every person’s deed will be done.

10. The scientific and especially mathematical miracles narrative could even be considered a form of belittlement of the Noble Qur’an as the Noble Qur’an will be viewed as a book of mathematical puzzle/code to be decoded rather than a clear message to all humanity. While it’s definitely possible that the Noble Qur’an contains mathematical miracles, over-emphasizing on this point may convey the misguided notion that the Noble Qur’an is a mathematical code rather than a clear book of moral guidance.

11. The scientific miracles narrative may even be deemed to be against the Noble Qur’an since the Noble Qur’an states that its message is apparent and obvious whereas the scientific miracle narrative uses hidden and obscure interpretations to prove its point.

12. The primary purpose of describing natural phenomenon in the Noble Qur’an is not to be used as fuel to promote the scientific miracles narrative but simply, to describe the greatness of creation which logically leads to the created state of the universe by the Power of a Supreme Being/Almighty Creator.

13. It is conceded that the Noble Qur’an is certainly packed with miracles and every verse is a great miracle of Allah, but the scientific miracle narrative puts the focus of its efforts on a peripheral aspect of the Noble Qur’an rather than its fundamental message.

14. Proving miracle using words of multiple meanings and transient scientific theories is neither doing justice to the Noble Qur’an nor science nor the scientific method.

15. The fundamental Premise upon which the scientific medicals narrative is based is that science is a yardstick of truth which goes against the very message of Islam. It's like using alcohol to attract someone to Islam initially and then eventually telling them that alcohol is forbidden.

16. The scientific miracles narrative is certainly a great intellectual and academic exercise, but it does not solve any practical social problems in real life which is what humanity needs – justice, truth and leading a righteous life.

17. The scientific miracles narrative appeals to the scientific populace, which is a small fraction of the world population, but it perhaps has no relevance at all to most of the humanity that is suffering under the yoke of oppression, tyrannical dictatorship, divine disasters, poverty, hunger and famine. In fact, the scientific miracle narrative may seek to alienate such people by claiming that the Noble Qur’an is only for the scientifically minded people whereas the message of the Noble Qur’an is Universal for all, from the lowest to the highest ranking people in society.

18. The scientific miracles narrative is inadvertently promoting the ideology of scientism, which states that science is the absolute truth, and the sole judge of absolute truth. What happens if a new book is concocted tomorrow which has more supposed scientific miracles than the Noble Qur’an? The same methodology being used to prove the truth/veracity of the Noble Qur’an today will then be used to promote the new fictitious scripture tomorrow.

19. Sometimes, even contradictory theories can both be accommodated in the Noble Qur’an. For example, the flat earth versus round Earth model can both be allegedly supported by Qur’anic verses, although with a lot of scriptural interpretation, extrapolation and stretching of meanings. This would indirectly lend credence to the ideology of atheism because it may create an impression that just about anything can be proven from the Qur’an.

20. The scientific miracles narrative assumes that people will be convinced by miracles, but the Noble Qur’an has repeatedly emphasized in many versus that those who are not interested in accepting the truth will not accept the Noble Qur’an even if they see the greatest miracles. This point is explicitly mentioned in verses in Surah Al-An’ām and examples from past Nations.

21. The fundamental problem with miracles is that the purpose of life in this world is a test. Seeking/probing/looking for miracles is basically challenging the Supreme authority and power of Allah Ta’ālā. If a miracle that is manifestly obvious were to appear in the world today, then after that the doors of repentance may become closed and severe divine punishment may descend upon the deniers.

22. Mathematical miracles are more empirically verifiable i.e., they can be independently checked by any person. However, it is not without its major pitfalls. For instance, sometimes mathematical fraud is committed by over counting or under counting certain letters words in the Noble Qur’an just to fit the mathematical miracle narratives. Also, the use of abjad numerals is highly controversial even among the scholars since its use predates the Noble Qur’an and is more grounded in occult practices (ilmul abjad) rather than Qur’anic sciences.

23. Many a time, the supposed scientific miracles narrative is promoted by people who have absolutely no grounding in traditional Islamic Sciences of Qur’anic interpretation. They may not even be aware of the nuances of Arabic language. In fact, they may not even be Arabic speakers. Trying to extract miracles from the English translation goes against the very import that the divine language is Arabic not English. In fact, trying to find miracles in English translation is itself stretching the interpretation a bit too much since almost never do two translators of the Noble Qur’an translate a particular verse using the exact same words.

24. One major calamity that has plagued the scientific miracles narrative is the almost total abandonment and neglect of the prophetic Sunnah and Hadith. In fact, some of the interpretation given in the scientific miracles narrative explicitly goes against the text of the Hadith. For example, interpreting the 7 heavens to mean 7 layers of atmosphere goes against the Hadith text wherein it’s mentioned that each heaven is several orders of magnitude larger than the one below it. In fact, certain scientific miracles of Qur’an promoters seem to have a disdainful view of Hadith. Could it be because the Hadith will refute some of their outlandish theories?

25. Continuing from the above point, logically speaking it would be easier to prove scientific miracles from the Hadith/Sunnah instead of the Noble Qur’an because the words of the Noble Qur’an are deep and comprehensive in meaning, whereas the words of the prophetic Sunnah are detailed and expounded upon. However, there is a very noticeable absence of books pertaining to scientific miracles in the Sunnah. Why is this the case? Is it because it is easier to twist the words and verses of the Noble Qur’an to promote a particular scientific miracle, but the same flexibility does not exist in the Sunna, in view of the Hadith words being more straightforward and self-explanatory? Logical speaking it would be easier much easier to find scientific miracle in the Sunnah than the Noble Qur’an, especially those things pertaining to health/medicine/nutrition/healthy living/good habits/lifestyle to show that Islam is a comprehensive religion that takes care of every aspect of human life.

26. Another major issue Is that the scientific miracles narrative almost entirely ignores the classical books of Tafsir and does not even quote the text of the classical Tafsir books, wherein are explanations of the Noble Qur’an from the sayings of Rasūlullāh ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam and the noble companions and their successors. Neglecting this mass of evidence is not being academically honest.

27. Mathematical miracles are no doubt much more intellectually rigorous and verifiable. But the main problem it creates is it conveys the impression that the Noble Qur’an is an ancient mystic scripture that needs to be decoded/deciphered by some great academics/intellectuals and is thus not meant for the common masses. Which totally against the all-inclusive and Universal message of the Noble Qur’an for all humanity.

28. Having said all the above, it is not the case that there are no scientific miracles in the Noble Qur’an. There may well be many, waiting to be discovered, but the way the narrative has been presented over the past few decades has been doing no favour in helping propagate the Qur’anic message.

29. It should never be misconstrued that the purpose of the above is to block the Qur’anic message from spreading to all humanity. However, when a person exerts effort in one direction, it takes his valuable time away from other efforts. The best way to promote the Qur’anic message is simply to be direct and focus on the 3 fundamental principles of religion: Tawhid (monotheism), Nubuwwat (prophet hood) and Akhirat (afterlife). This is what every human needs and this message will directly resonate with every type of person regardless of ethnicity, economic status, social background, occupation etc.

30. Further research on the scientific miracles narrative can still be carried out but it should be governed by sound and rigorous Islamic principles of Qur’anic Tafsir (exegesis), and not simply by personal desires to promote one’s name and fame and to curry favour with the Western intellectuals/intelligentsia.

31. The scientific miracles narrative fails to explain the time period before these miracles were discovered. How was the Noble Qur’an being propagated before the 1970s, when books on scientific miracles were very rare, perhaps virtually non-existent? The Muslim Ummah has gone from strength to strength and from weakness to weakness over its 1400-year history, but this strength was never rooted in progress in science, but in firmness of faith.

32. The scientific miracles narrative often promotes many so-called Muslim scientists as torch bearers of scientific research. As is often the case, many of these so-called Muslim scientists held deviant and heretical beliefs of Greek philosophy and may not even have been true Muslims in the first place.

33. The scientific miracles narrative assumes that the Noble Qur’an needs, and is dependent upon modern science, to advance its cause and message. This is belittling the Noble Qur’an by placing science on a pedestal greater than the Qur’an itself.

34. Since science is a study of natural phenomenon, it is possible to deduce these laws even without having any religious faith. By making science the ultimate yardstick of truth, a time may come when scientists may even be regarded as greater than the Ambiyā’ (Messengers).

35. As a scholar once said, where the limits of human knowledge end, that's where the knowledge of Divine Revelation begin. Trying to find compatibility between the Noble Qur’an and science is a bit like trying to feet a square peg in a round hole.

36. One very important point is that science only answers the how and not the why. Let's take gravity as an example. Science says that masses attract each other, and the old theory of classical Newtonian gravity has been improvised and superseded by Einstein's Relativity theory. The main thing that the improvisation has achieved is being able to calculate the numbers more precisely and to calculate new phenomenal that did not work. At no stage does science explain why something happens. And it will never be able to, since Allah alone is the sole cause of every natural and Supernatural phenomenon, and Scientists mostly reject Allah. Science is doing its level best to hide the Qudrat of Allah behind the curtain of scientific terminologies. Using a few examples from the Physics topic of Forces, the act of Allah pulling 2 planets towards each other is deceptively called gravity, whereas the act of Allah preventing objects on sinking into a surface is called Normal contact force. Also, the act of Allah bringing 2 sliding surfaces to a stop is called frictional force, and the act of Allah holding a bird up in the sky is called lifting force of the wings, and the act of Allah stretching a shadow at sunset is called optics. By showing that science proves the Noble Qur’an, we are really furthering the agenda of scientists that science is the ultimate and absolute judge of truth.

37. Lastly, it must be mentioned that science by itself is mainly a set of tools and not a list of dogmatic beliefs. However, the way modern science progressed since the European Renaissance is clearly within an atheist framework. In fact, although it is still a conspiracy theory, many famous scientists of physics chemistry and biology were members of Satan-worshiping secret societies and Cult groups such as the Freemasons and Illuminati. In exchange for selling their soul to the Satan, the latter may have taught some of the scientific and technological knowledge to these devil-worshiping scientists. Is it then ever possible that the terminologies in which they present contemporary scientific theories will be compatible with the Noble Qur’an? Never! Having said that, it must be reiterated that science is mainly a set of tools to discover the world, and not bunch of belief. However, if the founder of a field is opposed to religions due to his Satan-worshiping practices, then the form and way he will present science will always be such that any genuine scientific miracles will be very hard to detect. In short, contemporary secular scientific education and research has been hijacked by the secular materialists/atheists to promote a godless and immoral society, so they’re likely to try their best to hide genuine Qur’anic scientific miracles.

38. Proponents of Qur’anic scientific miracles tend to be sceptical of supernatural and miraculous phenomenon (those events that break the standard laws of nature) since their real ideology is scientism. This is understandable considering that science rejects anything that cannot be explained by material laws and anything that goes against the standard natural laws of the universe. For example, some misguided scientists explain jinn to be a psychological virus in human mind and not a real, living entity that invites towards evil, sin and immorality. It is not unreasonable to speculate that such people may interpret the hereafter (Jannat and Jahannum) in a metaphorical manner as well, since the ancient Muslim falasifah (philosophers) adopted a similar approach in matters pertaining to the unseen and afterlife.

39. Sometimes the proponents of Qur’anic scientific miracles may end up using a Theory that has been proclaimed by the ‘Ulama-e-Haq (orthodox Islamic scholars) to be kufr, example Big Bang hypothesis or theory of evolution.

40. Using Noble Qur’an 21:30 to prove Big Bang involves severe linguistic gymnastics as the fundamental Premise of Big Bang is that the universe arose from a very small point called singularity by itself, without any external agent, so using the Qur’an to prove big bang hypothesis is akin to using a theory of kufr and ends up supporting the cause of atheism more than Islam.

41. Using the Qur’an to support Darwinian evolution is another example of such a layering kufr. Nowadays, some so-called Muslim scientists (Shoaib Ahmed Malik etc.) have even found proof for the theory of evolution in the Islamic Sciences, whereas the Qur’an very explicitly states that Nabī Adam ‘alayhi as-salām and  Hawwa raḍiyallāhu ‘anhā were sent down to earth in a perfectly created and living form, and that all of mankind are his descendants. This basically lands credence to the saying that anything can be justified from the Noble Qur’an if we twist the meaning of the verses hard enough.