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Ad Hominem in the Quran

(Dr. Naik) Qur’an calls such people, as in Surah Baqarah Ch. 2, Verse 18…(Arabic)… ‘The deaf, the dumb, the blind, they will not return to the true path.’ The Bible says the same thing in Gospel of Mathew, Ch. No. 13, Verse No. 13… ‘Seeing they see not, hearing they hear not, neither will they understand.’

(Ali Sina) This is called poisoning the well or the famous ad hominem fallacy. The Quran fails to give one solid argument that cannot be successfully refuted. Instead of proof, Muhammad tried to undermine the intelligence and sincerity of those who did not agree with his irrational claims. He did not stop there. He then went  on ordering his demented followers to fight, and wage war against the unbelievers, to crucify them, to cut their fingertips and to slay them wherever they find them. 

 

The Quran vs. the Bible 

(Dr. Naik) And regarding the other parts of ‘Embryology’, I will deal in my rebuttal InshaAllah, if time permits - I have to do justice to the other part also… regarding ‘Bible in the light of science.’ At the outset let me tell you, that Qur’an says in Surah Rad, Ch. 13, Verse. 38, that… ‘We have given several Revelations.’  By name only 4 are mentioned - The Torah, the Zaboor, the Injeel and the Qur’an. The Torah is the ‘Wahi’ the ‘Revelation’, which was given to Prophet Moses, (peace be upon him). The Zaboor is the ‘Wahi’, which was given to David, (peace be upon him). The Injeel is the ‘Wahi’, the ‘Revelation’ which was given to Jesus, (peace be upon him). And Qur’an is the last and final Revelation, which was given to the last and final Messenger Prophet Mohammed, (peace be upon him).

Let me make it very clear to every one, that this Bible which the Christians believe to be the word of God, is not the ‘Injeel’ which we Muslims believe, was revealed to Prophet Jesus, (peace be upon him). This Bible according to us, it may contain the words of God - But it also contains words of Prophets, words of historians, it contains absurdities, obscenity, as well as innumerable scientific errors.

(Ali Sina) Both the Bible and the Quran contain absurdities, obscenities and innumerable scientific errors. However since the thinking Christians and Jews know that the Bible is not the verbatim word of God, but stories written by men who allegedly were inspired but nonetheless fallible, they take their scriptures with a grain of salt. This allows them to adapt to the changing time and let their intelligence be their guide.

Because Muslims think the Quran is the verbatim words of God, they can’t change it. They are stuck in the 7th century and can’t go forward. Other religions are living. They are growing and changing. Islam is fossilized. This will bring the downfall of Islam. Because Islam is unchangeable it is bound to break and fall apart. Precisely because of this reason, other religions have a future, but Islam has none. Other religions will survive this century and many more, but Islam will not. Islam will meet its death, thanks to its own rigidity. It is pathetic for Muslims to point out to the errors of the Bible in response to the errors that exist in the Quran. The  Christians and the Jews can overlook those errors and attribute them to the fallibility of the scribes. The Biblical prophets were humans and they could have erred. This is a luxury that Muslims can't afford. They must either accept the Quran as one package or reject it in its entirety. This claim of authenticity that Muslims think is the strength of the Quran, is actually the cause of its fall.   

Jesus said: "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth". John 16:12 -13 

The spirit of the truth has come. It is the new age of enlightenment. The gates of knowledge and understanding are flung open and new truths are being revealed every day. Christians know that knowledge of God is not limited to what is in the Bible. They know that truth is infinite. They are open to learn new things. Muslims don't know that. Muslims foolishly think God’s knowledge is limited. That everything He wanted to say He has already said it in the Quran and there is nothing more to learn. They think the hands of God are tied and his wisdom is dried out. That is why Christianity, and all other religions that allow change  are alive and Islam is dead. 

 

(Dr. Naik) If there are scientific points mentioned in the Bible - there are possibilities - why not?  It may be part of the word of God, in the Bible. But what about the scientific errors? - What about the unscientific portions? - Can you attribute this to God?  

(Ali Sina) And what about the unscientific portions of the Quran? The Quran is completely unscientific. There is absolutely nothing scientific in this book while everything it says is nonsense. There is not a single scientific statement in the Quran that was unknown at the time of Muhammad.

 

(Dr. Naik)  purpose of my presentation on ‘Bible and science’ is not to hurt any Christian’s feeling. If while presenting, if I hurt your feelings, I do apologize in advance.

(Ali Sina) Dr. Naik is gauging Christians with Islamic yardstick. It’s Muslims who get offended, make riots, burn churches and embassies and kill innocent people if their religion is criticized. Christians have been taking criticisms for a long time and if those criticisms were correct, they have changed their ways and beliefs. That is why I call Christianity a living faith and Islam a dead and fossilized faith. 

 

(Dr. Naik) The purpose is only to point out, that a God’s Revelation cannot contain scientific errors.

(Ali Sina) Well, thank you doctor Naik! We will hold you to your own word and expect you to explain how the Quran with so many errors can be God's Revelation. It’s clear that the Quran is wrong and the adamant denial of Muslims, their riots, hooliganisms and threats do not make it right. Few Muslims will bother to read this rebuttal, but most of those who do will first think how to kill me. Why instead don't you exert an effort to refute me and prove me wrong?

(Dr. Naik) As Jesus Christ, (peace be upon him) said…  ‘Search ye the truth, and the truth shall free you.’ We have the Old Testament, we have the New Testament - Now you should follow the Last and Final Testament, which is the Glorious Qur’an.

As far as Dr. William Campbell is concerned, I can be more liberal with him - Because he has written a book ‘The Qur’an and the Bible in the light of history and science.’ He has given a presentation, and he is a medical doctor - I don’t have to be very formal with him. As far as the other Christian brothers and sisters are concerned, I apologize if I hurt your feelings during the presentation. Let us analyze what the Bible says about modern science –  

Creation of the Universe in the Quran

(Dr. Naik) First we deal with Astronomy. The Bible speaks about the creation of the universe. In the beginning, 1st Book, Book of Genesis, 1st Ch. , it is mentioned - It says… ‘Almighty God created the Heavens and the Earth, in six days and talks about a evening and a morning, referring to a 24 - hour day. Today scientists tell us, that the universe cannot be created in a 24 hour period of six days. Qur’an too speaks about six ‘ayyams’. The Arabic word singular is ‘yaum’ plural is ‘ayyam’. It can either mean a day of 24 hours, or it is a very long period, a ‘yaum’, an epoch. Scientists say we have no objection in agreeing that the universe - it could have been created in 6 very long periods.

(Ali Sina) Here Dr. Naik is vividly revealing the hypocrisy and the double standard that characterizes the Muslim mind. The story of the creation stated in the Quran is borrowed from the Bible. So, logically, what is true about the original version is also true about its copy. What is good for the goose is also good for the gander. However Dr. Naik says that the days stated in the Bible should be interpreted as 24-hours days while the days stated in the Quran should be interpreted as unspecified periods of time - eons. Why this double standard? It is because the Muslim mind is a sick mind, bereft of fairness and commonsense.

This story, whether in its original version stated in the Bible or in its plagiarized version rehashed in the Quran is fairytale. No scientist has ever said that the universe has been created in six phases. Geologists have divided the history of the Earth in several epochs, which have nothing to do with the Biblical and the Quranic version of creation, but the history of the universe is not demarked by phases. This is clearly an error.

Furthermore the Quran contradicts itself in relaying this fairy tale.

Six or eight days of creation?

Sura 7:54, 10:3, 11:7, and 25:59 say that God created "the heavens and the earth" in six days. But this is contradicted in Sura 41:9-12

 

041.009

Say: Is it that ye deny Him Who created the earth in TWO Days And do ye join equals with Him? He is the Lord of (all) the Worlds.  

2 

041.010

He set on the (earth), mountains standing firm, high above it,
and bestowed blessings on the earth, and measure therein
all things to give them nourishment in due proportion, in
FOUR Days, in accordance with (the needs of) those who seek (Sustenance).

4

041.011

Moreover He comprehended in His design the sky, and it had been (as) smoke: He said to it and to the earth: "Come ye together, willingly or unwillingly." They said: "We do come (together), in willing obedience."

 

041.012

So He completed them as seven firmaments in TWO Days,
and He assigned to each heaven its duty and command. And We adorned the lower heaven with lights, and (provided it) with guard. Such is the Decree of (Him) the Exalted in Might, Full of Knowledge

2

 


Total days of creation


8

 

This is a clear contradiction.  Furthermore, verse 7.54 says “Your Guardian-Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in six days, and is firmly established on the throne (of authority): He draweth the night as a veil over , each seeking the other in rapid succession."

This statement can be accepted as poetry but it is not scientific:  Darkness is the absence of light, therefore the cannot be compared to a "veil" drawn over the day.  

Also this account is anachronistic. The Earth is part of the universe. It is a speck floating in a vast ocean of empty space. It could not have been created before the sky.  Even if everything else in the Quran was right, just this gross error is enough to reject this book as a book of God.

(Dr. Naik) Point No.2 - Bible says in Genesis Ch. No. 1 Verses No. 3 and 5,…‘Light was created on the first day.’ Genesis , Ch. , 1 Verses, 14 to 19… ‘The cause of light - stars and the sun, etc. was created on the fourth day’.  How can the cause of light be created on the 4th day - later than the light which came into existence on the first day? - It is unscientific.

(Ali Sina) The Quran says Allah created the Earth in two days. Then he set mountains on it and covered it with vegetation in four days. Then he designed the sky which had been as smoke. (Sky's creation comes after the creation of the Earth) Then he entered into a cute conversation with two inanimate objects – the sky and the earth and told them "Come ye together, willingly or unwillingly." They said: “We do come (together), in willing obedience." This is stuff for children’s fairytale. But it is an embarrassment for grown up adults to believe in this fatuity. “So He completed them as seven firmaments in two days, and He assigned to each heaven its duty and command. And We adorned the lower heaven with lights, and (provided it) with guard.” 

What are these seven firmaments?  Muhammad is talking about the ancient pagan myths. The pre Copernican concept of the universe was geocentric, i.e. they thought that the Earth is flat and is located at the center of the Universe which consisted of solar system only. They believed that the Sun and the Moon along with Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Mercury that are the seven known objects of the heaven are deities. These were the only bright objects people could observe with their naked eyes moving in the sky while the stars appeared to be fixed. 

Pre-Copernican Universe Notion

They believed that each one of these planets/gods had its own sphere or firmament. These layers are not the same as the orbits that we know. The planets did not orbit the Sun but they all revolved around the flat Earth in this order:  

Ancient Egyptians and Greeks both concocted myths about the moon to explain why year length had changed from 360 to 365 days.

Speculation about Archangels quotes the Catholic Encyclopedia as saying 'The name Lucifer originally denotes the planet Venus...'

View a Martian Calendar

There have been at least six different notions about Saturn thru the ages.

Moon 

Mercury

Venus

Sun

Mars

Jupiter

Saturn 

The closest to the Earth was the Moon and the farthest, was the Saturn. Therefore the concept of the 7 layers of heaven is based on ancient astronomy, where each celestial body occupied a crystal sphere, one placed on top of the other like layers of an onion. The stars were tiny lamps attached to the lower sphere and they were there to adorn the sky like Christmas lights and also to be used as missiles thrown at the Jinns to keep them away from climbing the sky and  listening to the conversation of the Exalted Assembly. i.e. the assembly of gods. Reference to this Exalted Assembly is made in 37.8 This is what Muhammad is talking about. This is not science. It is mythology. The Biblical story of creation, from where Muhammad got his information, is also mythology. Dr. Naik, like all Muslims, is capable to see that the story of the creation narrated in the Bible is mythology but he thinks that when Muhammad plagiarized it, the same mythology became science. Muslims are magic thinkers.   

Not only Muhammad believed that the sky has seven layers, which is ludicrous, he also believed that the earth has seven layers too.

065.012 Allah is He Who created seven Firmaments and of the earth a similar number.

Is this scientific? Below is a cross section of the Earth showing its layers. As you can see the Quran is wrong again. 

 

http://www.seismo.unr.edu/ftp/pub/louie/class/100/interior.html

 

(Dr. Naik) Further, the, Bible says Genesis, Ch. 1, Verses 9 to 13… ‘Earth was created on the 3rd day. How can you have a night and day without the earth? The day depends upon the rotation of the Earth Without the earth created, how can you have a night and day? 

(Ali Sina) Good point. But the same absurdity exists in the Quran. As we see in 41:9-12 Allah first created the earth, then he set mountains and vegetations on it. No sun and light so far.  Then he fashioned the sky that up until then was only smoke. Only in the last two days of the creation, i.e. in the seventh and the eighth day he created the firmaments, the sun, the moon and the stars. This order of the creation is also stated in verse 7:54. Is this scientific? All we need is one error. How many we found so far? 

Dr. Naik had problem with the fact that the plants in the Biblical version of the creation remained without sunlight for one day especially if that day is to be interpreted as a long period of time. In the Quran we see that they remain in the dark for more days or as Dr. Naik says eons. The plants are created during the third and sixth day while the Sun and the Moon are the last things created, i.e. in the eighth day. Dr. Naik assures us that days in the Quranic version of creation are epochs. Maybe millions or billions of years. How can plants survive without sunshine for such a long time? 

Furthermore, is this an accurate account of the Big Bang and the creation of the universe? I don't think there is any need to explain how the universe came to be. Every school child knows that. It definitely has no resemblance to this silly story stated in the Quran. According to the Quran the Earth is created first and the sky next. Isn't sky the space in which the earth and all other planets, suns and galaxies float? How can this be logically possible? "All we need is one error", says Dr. Naik. Don't we have enough already?  

 

(Dr. Naik) Point No..4, Genesis , Ch. No. 1 Verses 9 to 13 says… ‘Earth was created on the third day.’  Genesis Ch. No. 1 Verses 14 to 19 says…‘The Sun and the Moon were created on the fourth day.’ Today science tells us… ‘Earth is part of the parent body… the sun.’ It cannot come into existence before the sun – It is unscientific.

(Ali Sina) Yes the Bible is unscientific and so is the Quran that rehashed this fairytale.

 

(Dr. Naik) Point No. 5, the Bible says in Genesis, Ch. No.1, Verse No. 11 to 13…‘The vegetation, the herbs the shrubs, the trees - they were created on the 3rd day And the Sun, Genesis, Ch. No. 1, Verses. 14 to 19, was created on the 4th day. How can the vegetation come into existence without sunlight, and how can they survive without sunlight?

(Ali Sina) The same exact absurdity is stated in in the Quran. How can Dr. Naik see this error in the Bible and he is so blind that he can’t see the same error in the Quran?  

(Dr. Naik) Point No.6, that the Bible says in Genesis, Ch. 1, Verses No.16, that…‘God created two lights the greater light, the Sun to rule the day, and the lesser light the Moon, to rule the night. The actual translation, if you go to the Hebrew text, it is ‘lamps’…‘Lamps having lights of its own.’ And that you will come to know better, if you read both the Verses – Genesis , Ch. No.1, Verse. 16, as well as 17. Verse No.17 says…‘And Almighty God placed them in the firmament, to give light to the earth…  To give light to the earth.’ Indicating, that Sun and the Moon has its own light - which is in contradiction with established scientific knowledge that we have.

(Ali Sina) The same error also exists in the Quran. We will discuss that later.

 

Length of the Days of Creation 

(Dr. Naik) There are certain people who try and reconciliate, and say that the six days mentioned in the Bible, it actually refers to epocs - like the Qur’an long periods - not six, 24 hour day. It is illogical - you read in the Bible, evening, morning - It clearly states 24 hours, it indicates. But even if I use the concordance approach - no problem. I agree with your illogical argument - Yet they will only be able to solve the 1st scientific error of 6 days creation, and second, of first day ‘light’ and 3rd day ‘earth.’ The remaining four, yet they cannot solve. Some further say that… ‘If it is a 24-hour period, why cannot the vegetables survive for one 24 hour day without sunlight?’ I say ‘Fine - If you say that the vegetables were created before the sun, and can survive for one 24-hour day, I have got no objection. But you cannot say the days mentioned are 24 hours as well as epochs - You cannot have the cake and eat it, both. If you say it is long period, you solve Point No.1 and 3, the remaining 4 are yet there. If you say the days are 24 hours day, you solve only Point No.5 - the remaining 5 are yet there - It becomes unscientific. I leave it to Dr. William Campbell, whether he wants to say… ‘It is long period’, and say that there are only 4 scientific errors - or say… ‘It is a 24 hour day’, and say there is only 5 scientific errors in the creation of the universe.

(Ali Sina) In the Quran plants are created between the 3rd and the 6th day and the firmaments i.e. the sky, the sun and the moon are created in the 7th and 8th day. So the same difficulty exists also in the Quran.  

 

Contradictions in the Bible and the Quran

(Dr. Naik) Regarding the concept of Earth, there are various Scientists who have described… ‘How will the world end.’ Hypothesis - Some may be right, some may be wrong. But either the world will perish or the world will live forever. Both cannot take place simultaneously – It is unscientific. But this is exactly what the Bible says. It is mentioned in the Bible, in the book of Hebrews, Ch. No.1 Verses No.10 and 11, and the book of Psalms, Ch. No.102, Verse No.25 and 26, that…‘Almighty God created the Heavens and the Earth, and they will perish.’ Exactly opposite is mentioned in the book of Ecclesiastics, Ch. No.1, Verse No.4, and the book of Psalms, Ch. No.78, Verse No.69, that… ‘The earth will abide forever.’ I leave it to Dr. William Campbell to choose which of the two Verses are unscientific - the first pair or the second pair. One has to be unscientific - Both cannot take place. The world cannot abide forever as well as perish – It is unscientific.  

(Ali Sina) Yes indeed, there are many contradictions in the Bible. But there are even more contradictions in the Quran. I will list a few of them at the end of this paper. Let us mention one of them here. 

22:47 and 32:5 say that Allah's day equal to 1,000 human years. But 70:4 says that it equal to 50,000 years. 

 

Is Sky a Dome?

(Dr. Naik) Regarding ‘the Heavens’, the Bible says in Job, Ch. 26, Verse 11, that…‘The pillars of the Heaven will tremble.’ Qur’an says in Surah Luqman, Ch. 31, Verse No.10, that…‘The Heavens are without any pillars - Don`t you see? Don’t you see the Heavens are without any pillars? -  Bible says heaven have got pillars. Not only do the Heavens have got pillars – Bible says in the first book of Samuel, Ch. No.2 Verses No.8, as well as the book of Job Ch. No.9, Verse No.6, and the book of Psalms Ch. No.75, Verse No.3, that… ‘Even the earth have got pillars.’  

(Ali Sina) In the verses 41:9-12 that we already discussed, Muhammad says that after creating the earth and putting in it the mountains so it does not shake with people and covering it with vegetation then he erected the sky. ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى إِلَى السَّمَاء  

The picture we get here is that the sky is like a dome. First the foundation which is the earth is built and once it is finished Allah turns to the sky and lifts it up, as if it was a tent, and adorns it with stars.

The versed 13.2  and 31.10 do not contradict the Bible. They only state the obvious that these alleged pillars holding the sky in place cannot be seen.

002:022 syas that the sky is bana  وَالسَّمَاء بِنَاء. While in reality sky is just and empty space. See how bana is translated: 

Pickthall Who hath appointed the earth a resting-place for you, and the sky a canopy; 
Yusuf Ali Who has made the earth your couch, and the heavens your canopy
Hilali-Khan Who has made the earth a resting place for you, and the sky as a canopy
Shakir Who made the earth a resting place for you and the heaven a canopy 
Sher Ali WHO made the earth a bed for you, and the heaven a roof,
Khalifa The One who made the earth habitable for you, and the sky a structure
Arberry who assigned to you the earth for a couch, and heaven for an edifice, 
Palmer who made the earth for you a bed and the heaven a dome
Rodwell Who hath made the earth a bed for you, and the heaven a covering
Sale who hath spread the earth as a bed for you, and the heaven as a covering

Biblical cosmology as understood from the Book of Enoch 24  

On the right is a representation of Islamic cosmology as understood from the Quran and hadith. The flat earth is floating in the middle of the ocean surrounded by insurmountable mountains of Qaf and the dome of sky is supported by invisible pillars. The sky has seven layers each layer is a firmament for one planet. The lower layer of the sky is adorned by stars.

Now we can see why Muhammad said mountains are like pegs that prevent the earth from shaking. If the earth is flat and is floating on water, (an idea that was confirmed by the fact that water gushes out when a well is dug out), then if you jump on it, it could rock with you like a small boat. To stop the earth from shaking you need to secure it to the bottom of the ocean and that is the function of the mountains that like pegs, firmly keep the earth from shaking. Dr. Naik assured us that mountains, like icebergs, go deep into the earth and only a small part of them are visible. 

This picture makes everything clear. The function of mountain as pegs is described in the Quran  31:10, 16:15 and 21:31

"And He has set up on the earth mountains standing firm, lest it should shake with you;"  

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