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Does
the Quran say the Universe is Expanding?
(Dr. Naik)
It was Edvin Hubbel
who discovered that the universe is
expanding. The Qur’an says in Surah Dhariyat, Ch. 51, Verse
No. 47, that…‘We have created the expanding universe’ - The vastness
of space. The Arabic word ‘Mohsiana’ refers to ‘vastness’
– ‘the expanding universe.’
Regarding the topics
on Astronomy, which Dr. William Campbell touched, I will deal in the
rebuttal, InshaAllah.
(Ali Sina) Dr.
Naik claims that the verse
51:47
talks about the expanding universe. This is not so. Muhammad is
simply saying that the universe is vast and not that it is expanding. This
verse reads:
وَالسَّمَاء
بَنَيْنَاهَا
بِأَيْدٍ
وَإِنَّا
لَمُوسِعُونَ
See how this is translated:
YUSUFALI: With power and skill did We construct the
Firmament: for it is We Who create the vastness of pace.
PICKTHAL: We have built the heaven with might, and We it
is Who make the vast extent (thereof).
SHAKIR: And the heaven, We raised it high with power, and
most surely We are the makers of things ample.
The fact that the
universe is vast is prosaic and obvious. There is no mention of expanding
universe in this verse.
Any illiterate man could look around himself and see the world is vast. To the ancient
people even
the Earth looked vast. To us it looks very small. Some modern translators
of the Quran have tried to give a scientific spin to the Quran and have
translated the word continuity stating that the universe is expanding.
This is not true. The word مُوسِعُونَhas
no such connotation
Water Cycle in the Quran?
(Dr. Naik)
In the field of ‘Water
cycle’ that Dr. William Campbell pointed out, certain things. The Qur’an
describes the water cycle in great detail. And Dr. William Campbell
mentioned 4 stages. In his book he mentions 4 (a) and (b) - the last one
he did not mention in the slide - I don’t know why? It says... ‘The
Driplinition’…‘The Water table.’ He missed out here - Maybe
because it was not mentioned in the Bible. He said there is not a
single Verse in the Qur’an, which speaks about ‘evaporation.’
Qur’an says in Surah Al-Tariq, Ch. No. 86, Verse No. 11,
that….(Arabic)…. ‘By the capacity of the heavens to return.’ And
almost all the commentaries of the Qur’an - they said, that this
Verse of Surah Tariq, Ch. No. 86, Verse No. 11, refers to the capacity of
the heavens to return back rain - meaning ‘Evaporation.’
(Ali Sina) I
don’t know which commentator said such a thing but if anyone has, he is
mistaken. Let us read the first part of this Sura:
086.001 By the Sky and the Night-Visitant
(therein);-
086.002 And what will explain to thee what
the Night-Visitant is?-
086.003 (It is) the Star of piercing
brightness;-
086.004 There
is no soul but has a protector over it.
086.005 Now let man but think from what he is
created!
086.006 He is created from a drop emitted-
086.007 Proceeding
from between the backbone and the ribs:
086.008 Surely (Allah) is able to bring him
back (to life)!
086.009 The Day that (all) things secret will
be tested,
086.010 (Man) will have no power, and no
helper.
086.011 By the Firmament which returns (in
its round),
The entire Sura is gibberish. It just makes
so sense. You can hardly find any text as obtuse as this. (unless you look
in the Quran.) Let us use our intelligence and see if we can make
and sense of it.
1) It appears that Muhammad is saying that
each person has a star that protects him. This is fairytale fit for
children.
2) Then he says that man is created from the emitted drop, (semen).
But we now know that 50% of a child’s genes come from her mother.
3) Then
he absurdly claims that semen proceeds from between the backbone and the
ribs. This is also false. Sperms are created in the testicles. This is not
scientific.
4) Then he
gives assurance that after people die and their bodies have become
dust, they will come back to life. This is simply ludicrous.
5) Why they come back
to life?... To be judged and to receive their punishments and rewards. So
Muhammad did not believe in the survival of the soul. He thought the same
bodies that are buried or eaten by animals and worms will come back to life and the punishments and rewards are all
carnal and material.
6) Then he swears “by the Firmament which returns (in
its round)”. Firmament is the stars, the sun and the moon, not vapor and
rain. Muhammad saw that every night the stars are coming back and
every day the Sun is returning. These heavenly objects were known as the
firmament. This verse has nothing to do with evaporation and rain. Please
pay attention how often Dr. Naik twists the meanings of the words to make
his point prevail. The word used is 'sama'. It means sky/heaven and
it can also
be interpreted as firmament but it can't be translated as rain.
All we need to discard the Qur'an as a book
of God is one error. Only in these few verses we found at least six.
(Dr. Naik)
Dr. William Campbell
who knows Arabic, may say…‘Why did not Allah Subhanawa Taala
specifically mention….(Arabic) …. Meaning… ‘The capacity of the
heavens to return back rain.’ Why did not Allah mention specifically?
Now we have came to know why did not Allah do that, in His Divine wisdom.
Because today we have came to know that besides - the Ozonosphere… the
layer above the earth - Besides returning back rain, it even returns back
other beneficial matter and energy of the Earth, which is required by the
human beings. It does not only return back rain - Today we have come to
know, it even returns back waves of Telecommunication, of Television, of
Radio, by which we can see TV, we can communicate, we can hear the radio.
And besides that, it even returns back the harmful rays of the outer
space, back on the other side, and absorbs. For example the sun light…
the ultraviolet rays of the Sun light is absorbed by the Ionosphere. If
this was not done, life on the Earth would have ceased to exist. So Allah
Subhanawataala is far superior and for more accurate, when He says….
(Arabic)…. By the capacity of the Heaven to return.’ And the remaining
things as he mentioned is there in the Qur’an - You can refer to
my Videocassette. The Qur’an describes the ‘Water cycle’ in
great detail.
(Ali
Sina) Wow!
What a great logic. Why the Quran does not talk about the stage of
evaporation? …Because Ozonosphere returns other beneficial matters such
as radio waves too. That is why!
Instead of answering the question, Dr.
Naik tries to distract his audience by talking about red herring and by
introducing non sequitor arguments.
But wait a minute! Didn't
Dr. Naik say that "the Firmament which returns"
is about the capacity of heavens to return back rain? Obviously Dr. Naik could not even convince himself. After
assuring us that "almost all the commentaries of the Qur’an - they said, that this
Verse of Surah Tariq, Ch. No. 86, Verse No. 11, refers to the capacity of
the heavens to return back rain - meaning ‘Evaporation’", he
goes on to give us the reason why Allah did not mention this stage in the
Quran. Come on Doctor! Don't make this too easy for me.
(Dr. Naik)
Regarding what he
said about the Bible, he showed stage 1 and stage 3 in the first
slide, and in the second stage 1, 3, and then 2. ‘That the rain water is
taken up’… he says… ‘and then the rain water comes down on the
Earth.’ This is the philosophy of Phasofmillitas, in 7th
century BC. He thought that the spray of the ocean was picked up by the
wind, and send to the interior as rain. There is no cloud mentioned there.
In
the second quotation Dr. William Campbell gave - First is, according to
him, ‘evaporation’ which we agree. We don’t mind having the
concordance approach with the Bible. ‘…Then rain falls down,
and then are the clouds formed.’ - That is not the complete water cycle.
Alhamdulillah, the Qur’an describes the water cycle in great
detail, in several places. How does the water rise, evaporates, forms into
clouds - the clouds join together, they stalk up, there is thunder and
lightning, water comes down, the clouds move into the interior, they fall
down as rain, and the evaporation of the water table and Alhamdulillah in
great detail. The Qur’an speaks about the water cycle in great
detail, in several places. In Surah Nur, Ch. No. 24, Verse No. 43,
in Surah Rum, Ch. No. 30, Verse 48, in Surah Al-Zumar, Ch. 39, Verse 21,
in Surah Muminun, Ch. 23, Verse 18, in Surah Rum Ch. No. 30, Verse No. 24,
in Surah Al-Hijr, Ch. 15, Verse No. 22, in Surah Araf Ch. No. 7, Verse No.
57, in Surah Rad, Ch. No. 13, Verse No. 17, in Surah Furqan, Ch. 25, Verse
No. 48 and 49, in Surah Fatir, Ch. No. 35, Verse No. 9, in Surah Yasin,
Ch. 36, Verse No. 34, in Surah Jathiya, Ch. 45, Verse No. 5, in Surah Qaf,
Ch. No. 50, Verse No. 9, in Surah Al-Waqiah, Ch. No. 56, Verse No. 68 and
70, in several places, Surah Al-Mulk,Ch. 67, Verse No. 30, the Glorious Qur’an
speaks about the ‘Water cycle’, in great detail.
(Ali
Sina) Here is
where Dr. Naik outperformed himself. His Muslim audience became ecstatic and started applauding and cheering as if
he was a pop singer
performing their favorite number. He said all those verses from memory,
like pulling one rabbit after another out his had. Impressive indeed. Let us quote these verses and see if
there is anything miraculous in them. While you are reading, note how
often Muhammad forgets that the Quran is supposed to be the word of Allah
and Allah should not refer to himself in third person.
024.043
YUSUFALI: Seest thou not that Allah [3rd
person] makes the clouds move gently, then joins them together,
then makes them into a heap? - then wilt thou see rain issue forth from
their midst. And He [3rd person]
sends down from the sky mountain masses (of clouds) wherein is hail: He [3rd
person] strikes therewith whom He pleases and He turns it away from
whom He pleases, the vivid flash of His lightning well-nigh blinds the
sight.
There is nothing in this verse that requires
any knowledge beyond what was possessed by any primitive man. Muhammad is
stating his own observation that was clear to everyone.
030.048
YUSUFALI: It is Allah [3rd
person] Who sends the Winds, and they raise the Clouds: then does
He spread them in the sky as He wills, and break them into fragments,
until thou seest rain-drops issue from the midst thereof: then when He [3rd
person] has made them reach such of his servants as He wills
behold, they do rejoice!-
This is again what anyone can
observe and
one does not need any scientific knowledge to witness such a natural
phenomenon. However, as for rejoicing for rain, this is clearly from the
point of view of those
who don’t see much rain. There are places on this earth that rain most of the year and
people rejoice when there is a day sunshine. This shows these verses are written
by one whose knowledge was
limited to Arab world.
039.021
YUSUFALI: Seest thou not that Allah sends [3rd
person] down rain from the sky, and leads it through springs in the
earth? Then He causes to grow, therewith, produce of various colours: then
it withers; thou wilt see it grow yellow; then He makes it dry up and
crumble away. Truly, in this, is a Message of remembrance to men of
understanding.
Does one need to be a scientist
or a prophet to know that
rain falls from the sky and that the spring waters are from rain? Everyone
knew for millennia that during draughts springs dry out. Everyone also
knew that all vegetations depend on water. Muhammad is explaining the
commonplace and then says it is truly a message of remembrance for men of
understanding. This is nonsense. There is no message in these natural
phenomena. Only those who do not understand the laws of the nature think
there is a message in there.
023.018
YUSUFALI: And We
[1st
person plural] send down water from the sky according to (due)
measure, and We cause it to soak in the soil; and We certainly are able to
drain it off (with ease).
It is quite clear that water falls from the
sky. As for
sending the water in due measure, this is false. Some places on earth get
flooded by excess of rain and other places are parched with draught. Any
farmer knows how to irrigate his land better than Allah. “We cause it to
soak in the soil and we are able to drain it off” are just banal
statements that add nothing to human knowledge.
030.024
YUSUFALI: And among His Signs,
[3rd person] He
shows you the lightning, by way both of fear and of hope, and He sends
down rain from the sky and with it gives life to the earth after it is
dead: verily in that are Signs for those who are wise.
This verse contains no explanation about
what causes the lightening. Muhammad says lightening is to frighten
people and to give them hope. Is this the scientific explanation of
lightening? Then he states the obvious that the rain falls from the sky, which gives life to the earth.
Then he says this is the sign for those
who are wise. No, it is in fact a sign for those who are foolish. Rain is
a natural phenomenon. It is not a sign from anyone. It just happens on its
own thanks to the effect of sun on earth. Fools who have no understanding
of the natural laws think it is as a sign. Further ahead we will see
how Dr. Naik ridicules the Bible for saying that rainbow is a sign from
God and explains how rainbow is formed in a scientific language. So
if rainbow is not a sign how can rain be a sign? Muslims are incapable of
seeing the errors of the Quran, even when they can easily see similar
errors in other books.
015.022
YUSUFALI: And We [1st
person] send the fecundating winds, then cause the rain to
descend from the sky, therewith providing you with water (in abundance),
though ye are not the guardians of its stores.
Is here anything that no one at the time
Muhammad knew?
007.057
YUSUFALI: It is He [3rd
person] Who sendeth the
winds like heralds of glad tidings, going before His mercy: when they have
carried the heavy-laden clouds, We [1st
person] drive them to a land that is dead, make rain to
descend thereon, and produce every kind of harvest therewith: thus shall
We raise up the dead: perchance ye may remember.
There is nothing scientific in this
verse. But we see a false statement. Not all winds carry glad tidings.
Some of them are devastating. Also most of the rains do not fall on
dead land but on very wet lands. Then he makes a non sequitor claim that
like the produce that come out of earth, one day the dead will also be
raised from it. This is absolutely unscientific. Those who choose to
believe in this balderdash do so by faith, not by reasoning and certainly
not because it is scientific. There is no resemblance between a produce
growing out of the earth and dead rising from their tombs. Are we going
to grow on a tree? The whole idea of resurrection is unscientific and
ludicrous. Not only that, it also contradicts the Quran itself. Resurrection
suggests that all the people who are dead are reduced into nothing until
the Judgment Day when they will be raised and will be sent to their
permanent places. However 3.169
says: "Think not of those,
who are slain in the way of Allah, as dead. Nay, they are living. With
their Lord they have provision."
Do people rise from dead to receive
their punishment and rewards on the Last Day or are they living and receive
their rewards and punishment right after their
death? A liar often contradicts himself.
013.017
YUSUFALI: He [3rd
person] sends down water from the skies, and the channels flow,
each according to its measure: But the torrent bears away to foam that
mounts up to the surface. Even so, from that (ore) which they heat in the
fire, to make ornaments or utensils therewith, there is a scum likewise.
Thus doth Allah [3rd person]
(by parables) show forth Truth and Vanity. For the scum disappears like
forth cast out; while that which is for the good of mankind remains on the
earth. Thus doth Allah set forth parables.
Okay, this is just a parable. Nothing
scientific here!
025.048
YUSUFALI: And He [3rd
person] it is Who sends
the winds as heralds of glad tidings, going before His mercy, and We [1st
person plural] send down pure water from the sky,-
025.049
YUSUFALI: That with it We [1st
person plural] may give life to a dead land, and slake the thirst
of things We have created,- cattle and men in great numbers.
More pablum and prosaic banality!
035.009
YUSUFALI: It is Allah [3rd
person] Who sends forth the Winds, so that they raise up the
Clouds, and We [1st person plural]
drive them to a land that is dead, and revive the earth therewith after
its death: even so (will be) the
Resurrection!
036.034
YUSUFALI: And We produce therein orchard with date-palms and vines,
and We cause springs to gush forth therein:
045.005
YUSUFALI: And in the alternation of Night and Day, and
the fact that Allah [3rd person]
sends down Sustenance from the sky, and revives therewith the earth after
its death, and in the change of the winds,- are Signs for those that are
wise.
050.009
YUSUFALI: And We send down from the sky rain charted with blessing,
and We produce therewith gardens and Grain for harvests;
056.068-70
YUSUFALI: See ye the water which ye drink?
Do ye bring it down (in rain) from the cloud or do We?
Were it Our Will, We could make it salt (and unpalatable): then why do ye not give
thanks?
067.030
YUSUFALI: Say: "See ye?- If your stream be some
morning lost (in the underground earth), who then can supply you with
clear-flowing water?"
This is
the list of the Quranic verses about rain that Dr. Naik recited so
triumphantly to a rhapsodic Muslim crowd who muffled his voice with applauses. Is there any hitherto unknown scientific information in these
verses? Note that Dr. Naik confidently assured his audience that the
“Glorious Qur’an speaks about the ‘Water cycle’, in great
detail.” What detail is there? What the Quran describes has
been observable by any primitive man since eons. This is the book that a
billion Muslims think is a miracle. The only miracle is the willingness of
some humans to be fooled. The Quran is a book of asininity and not of
miracles.
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