Life, The Universe & The Quran
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There are many references in the Quran to describe how Mankind was brought into being. It basically sums up, in different verses, as dust->clay->Adam & Eve->Mankind. The first bit (dust-see point 14 below) is in agreement to modern Cosmology which states that humans, being carbon-based beings, must have originated from matter formed and distributed throughout the galaxy after the death of large stars (which is when they violently explode, emanating the resulting newly formed elements-including carbon-through space). The clay->Adam & Eve->Mankind bit is more difficult to prove or disprove (!). The following points should be noted: 1. Ch2 vs190 “They ask thee, O Prophet, concerning the phases of the moon. Tell them: These alternations are a means of determining time for regulation of people’s affairs and for the Pilgrimage...” 2. Ch3 vs191 “In the creation of the Heavens and the Earth, and in the alternation of the night and the day, there are indeed Signs for people of understanding...”. The phrase ‘People of Understanding/Knowledge’ is used many times in the Quran when a ‘Sign’, or fact, is mentioned (by God). 3. Ch6 vs3 “He it is who created you from clay, and decreed a term for all life, and there is another term fixed for the Universe of which He alone has knowledge. Yet you entertain doubt.”. Whether the expansion of the Universe is going to continue forever or whether gravity is going to be strong enough to pull the Universe back together (the ‘Big Crunch’) is still being debated by the best cosmological minds on Earth at the moment. The ‘term for all life’ could be referring to lifespan or the time until the DOJ. 4. Ch6 vs46 “...All praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of All the Worlds.” Ch68 vs53 “...But the truth is that it (the Quran) is a source of honour for All the Worlds.” (Also Ch37 vs183, Ch10 vs11, Ch32 vs3, etc)-i.e. ‘Worlds’-plural; this is in keeping with today’s knowledge that there are numerous planetary objects in the Universe. However, ‘Worlds’ could arguably also mean ‘countries’ in the 7th century. It could also mean Galaxies or even Universes (-plural) too. 5. Ch6 vs74 “...He it is who created the Heavens and the Earth in accordance with the requirements of wisdom...”. This appears to indicate that God is saying that He created the Universe with definite ‘Laws’- and it is well known in the modern age that everything is governed by Mathematical, Scientific, Quantum, Cosmological, etc Laws. The statement above is also repeated in Ch14 vs20 followed by “If He pleases, He can bring you to naught and replace you with another creation; and this is not at all difficult for Allah.” 6. Ch6 vs97-98 “...He...has made the night for rest and the sun and the moon the means for reckoning time. That is the measure determined by the Mighty, the All-Knowing. He it is who has made for you the stars that you may follow the right direction in the darkness’s of the land and sea. We have expounded the Signs in detail for a people who possess knowledge.”-the phrase ‘the measure’ is also used many times in the Quran when referring to things that are discrete and finite (i.e. a measured amount). The ‘means of reckoning time’ in this verse is probably referring to either daylight hours or/and solar year, and the lunar month respectively. 7. Ch7 vs55-57 “Surely, your Lord is Allah, Who created the Heavens and the Earth in six periods...He has created the sun and the moon and the stars...His is the Creation and it’s regulation. Blessed is Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.” New to note here are the 'six periods'-also mentioned in Ch32 vs5-(not six days as in the modern Bible, although it is said that the original manuscripts of the Bible mentioned six periods) and 'regulation'-the verse states that the regulation of the Universe 'belongs' to God, or is His responsibility. The details of this verse are also repeated in Ch10 vs4. Ch10 vs33 also asks Mankind "...Who regulates the Universe ?" 8. Ch10 vs6 "He it is Who has made the sun a source of light and the moon shedding lustre (reflecting light), and ordained for it stages so that you might learn the method of calculating the years and determining time. Allah has created this system in accordance with truth and wisdom. He expounds the Signs in detail for a people who have knowledge." New to note here is the discrimination of the sun and moon with the former producing light (as it is a star) and the latter a body which can only reflect light. The earliest that this was proven was in the late 10th/early 11th century by an Islamic Astronomer & Physicist, Alhazen. Ch25 vs62 mentions it as "...He... has placed therein an illuminating lamp and a bright moon..." Also note Ch71 vs16-17 "...Allah has... placed the moon therein as a light, and made the Sun as a lamp..." 9. Ch13 vs3 "...He...constrained the sun and the moon to serve you; each planet pursues its course during an appointed term. He regulates it all and expounds the Signs..." -the 'appointed term' for a planet is probably its (planetary) year if 'planet' is indeed the correct translation; perhaps it could also be translated as 'heavenly body' ? 10. Ch15 vs17 "We have indeed appointed stages for planets in the Heaven/s and have adorned it for beholders..."-'stages' could mean stages of evolution in this verse. 11. Ch15 vs86 "We have created the Heavens and the Earth and all that is between the two in accordance with the requirements of truth and wisdom..."-new to note here is 'all that is between the two' (also in Ch19 vs66, Ch37 vs3)- does this mean inter-galactic/planetary material and/or 'dark' ('invisible') matter (-only recently accepted by most cosmologists to account for discrepancies in gravitational effects on visible matter and background radiation e.g. the effects on galactic rotation) and/or dark energy (-only very recently postulated by eminent cosmologists) ?; dark matter is believed to account for 23% of the observable universe, ordinary matter only 4.6% and the rest dark energy). Also note Ch27 vs66 "None save Allah knows the unseen in the Heavens and the Earth..." 12. Ch21 vs17-18 "We created not the Heaven and the Earth and all that is between the two in sport. Had We wished to find a pastime, We would surely have found it in that which is with Us, if at all We would have been inclined in that way."- this verse states that Mankind/the Universe was not made because God was bored (i.e. He doesn't play billiards with the Universe !).
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About the Book
So you think there’s no point in reading Holy Scriptures? -too complicated, probably all made up by humans and time-consuming? Science & Religion at odds with each other? Impossible to figure out the meaning of life? ‘The Grand Design’ by Stephen Hawking all that you need to know? - think again..... Would you believe me if I said that the Quran (written in the 7th century) actually CONFIRMS the immaculate conception of Jesus and that there is a whole chapter devoted to Mary ? Would you believe that the Quran actually CONFIRMS the previous revelations in the original Torah and Gospel/s ? How would you feel if you discovered that there are many astronomical, cosmological, scientific and embryological details in the Quran, and that they are accurate to the present day? And that many of them were written centuries before they were scientifically proven-including the Big Bang and the expansion of the Universe? Furthermore, in the Quran, God actually STATES that He did NOT make the Universe because He was bored and actually mentions the specific reasons why he made Mankind. Allah (God) also states that it is up to the individual to make his/her mind up about His existence and that no-one can be forced to be a believer. The original title for my book was going to be ‘Everything you wanted to know about the Quran but were afraid to ask’ (!) but for such a book I think humour should take second place to a more solid title, especially considering the subject matter. This book is timely in that it looks at what the Quran says about Terrorism and openly, and without bias, discusses all the above and other important topics about the Quran and Islam (-see 'Contents') including questioning some verses of the Quran (with respect). This book is up to date, including scientifically, and no household should be without a copy.
About the Author
Born and brought up as a traditional Muslim to uneducated parents. Became interested in Astronomy, Cosmology, Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, Philosophy, and Theology as a teenager; discovered the Night Sky with binoculars and a telescope (all self-taught). Temporary atheist in late teenage years after studying Cosmology at home, and Physics, Maths, Chemistry & Biology at college. Subsequently went to Medical School where he also decided to read the Quran in his spare time, in English, and also came across a book called ‘The Bible, The Quran and Science’-by Dr Bucaille, which highlighted the scientific, astronomical and embryological details in the Quran. Graduated as a (medical) doctor in 1993. His interests in all of the above continue and he decided to write this book because he feels the world needs to know the truth about the Quran and Islam (i.e. to ‘put the story straight once and for all’) to a world which only sees a very limited (and usually negative) view portrayed by the media. He respects all those who tell the truth and also those in search of the truth-whether scientific or religious.