1. oNJ",ol
~I)I .....I,.,.iJ!-
THE
THE
QUR'AN
QUR'AN AND
AND
MODERN
MODERN
SCIENCE
SCIENCE
BY
BY
DRMAURICE BUCAII,LE
DR MAURICE BUCAILLE
(FRENCH ACADEMY OF MEDIClNI:1
IFIENCH ACADEMY OF MEDTNE'
ll^r^l. :s. u.u-Jl.itlL JIJ t .L,
3. THE
THE
auR'AN
QUR'AN
AND
AND
MODERN
MODERN
SCIENCE
SCIENCE
BY
BY
DRMAURICE BUCAILIE
DR MAURICE BUCAILLE
(FREHCH ACAI}EMOFMEDICIT{E}
Y
(FRENCH ACADEMY OF MEDICINE)
4. t4thr
WHAT THIS BOOK IS ALL ABOUT
WHAT THIS BOOK I$ ALL ABOUT
In this book, Dr. Bucaille nuntes his encounter with tbc
bool, Dr. Bucrillc nrrrrtc cncounter with tbe
Qur'an. colt is not a faith in Islam," says Dr. Bucaille, cothet first
Qur'rn. "It is r frith Isllmr" seys Dr. Buceilh, "thlt lirst
guided my stcps, but simple research for the truth. This is how I
guidcd stGF, simplc rc*rrch thc truth.
see it today. It WIS mainly Cact which, by the time I had finished
sae todry. It wrs meinly frct thc timc hrd linirhcd
my study, had led me to see in the Qur'an a text revealed to Ir
snrdy, hed lcd me see Qur'en r tcrt rirreded
prophet." Whit led him to this conviction w~ the fact it would bc
propha." Vhrt lcd wrs thc frct be
unthinkable ufor a man of Muhammad's time to have becn thc
unthintrblc "for r men of Muhrmmrd's timc hrvc been the
author of such statements on account of the state of knowledge in
ruthor of strtemcnts tccount of strtc of hnowledge
his days."
his drys."
For the purpose of his !ltudy: Dr. Bucaille grouped such
thc Furpoce of his study, Bucrillc
drtr undcr gencrd ~dings
Qur'anic verses containing scientific data under general hcedings
Qur'rnic vcrscs contrining
IS Creation, Astronomy, the Eanh, etc.
rs Crcrtion, Egrth, etc.
Touching on ("..reation, he refutes the age old Western notioo
Touching Crcetion, he rge Vestcrn notion
(delibcretc
(deliberate or through ignorance) that Muhammad only copied
igrromnce) thrt Muhrnrnrd copicd
thc gcncrd outlines
the general ('utlines of the Bible. He compares the version of tbc
comprres thc vcrsion of tbe
Bihle and that ofthe Qur'an and concludes that the Bible version is
Bihlc rnd thrt ofthc Qur'rn rnd concludcs thrt thc Biblc vercion
scientifically unacceptable, whereas the Qur'anic version, not only
scientificdly unrcoeptrblc, whcrcrs thc Qur'rnic vercion,
rgrccs pcrfcctly with thc &tr dis<.overcd rnodern scicne but
agrees perfectly with the data discovered by modern science but
also is remarkably free from the erroneous notions of the tim.
rlso is remrrkebly frce erroneous of thc time.
How crn *'e thcn, hc rsks,
Hnw can we then, he asks, imagine that a man who drew hir
thrt r men drcw his
inspiration from the Bible could have been the author of thc
inspirrrion thc Biblc hrve becn ruthor of tbe
Qur'rn, rnd,
Qur'an, and, of his own accord, have corrected the Biblical text to
lccord, have corrccted Biblicd tcxt
rrrivc et r generd conept conccrning thc formrtion of the
arrive at a general concept concerning the formation of thc
Univcrsc, whcn formcd until ccnturics efter
Universe, when this concept was not formed until centuries after
concept wrs
his death?
derth?
aonteinse precious nrcssqgc todny's scientists
This book contains a precious message for today's scientists in
peniculrr rnd modcrn mrn gcncral,
panicular and modern man in general, but it should not bc be
forgottcn, rs thc suthor himsclf wrrns, thet
forgotten, as the author himself warns, that the Qur'an is not
interested to be a scientific book but it is religious book, par
intcrcstcd be r
cxccllarce,Thc Qur'en's purpose inviting mrrr rcflect
exctl/mu. The Qur'an's purpose in inviting man to reflect upon
the neturd pbcnomcnr is strcss Divinc Omnipotcncc. Thc frcr
the natural phenomena is to stress Divine Omnipotcoce. The fact
thrt, thctc rcflcrtions, ure cen dusions
that, in these reflections, we can find alusions to dati connected
drtr connectcd
knowlcdgc is surcly rnothcr of Crod's
with scientific knowledge is surely another of God's gifts whocc
whose
vrfuc must shinc this age materidistic rthicsm.
value must shine out in this age of materialistic athiesm.
5. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
ACKNOWLEDGEI}tENT
'lhe
The Muslim Convens' Association of Singapore wishes to th.nh
C-onvens'Associetion Singeporewishes thank
The)slamic Academy of Science (20B Jdan Daud) Kg. Bahru,
The Islamic Accdcmy Scicnce (20B ja)8O Daud, Behru,
Kuala Lumpur) Malaysia) for giving the consent to publish this
Kuaia Lumpur, Melaysir) thi consent pu-blish
book.
book.
6. THE QUR'AN AND MODERN SCIENCE
THE QUR'AN AND MODERN SCIENCE
ON 9 NOVEMBER 1976, an unusu<ll lecture was given at the
NOVEMBER 1976, en unu3u.l lccrure wes givcn rr rhc
Frcnch Acedqqr of Medicinc. titlc sas 'Phyriologicel
french Academl of Medicine. Its title was 'Physioiosicai and end
Embryololical data in the Qur' an. I presented my ltudy on the
Embryologicel dete Qur'en. prescntcd mt rhrJy rbc
existence in the Qur'an of certain statements concerninl physio-
eristence thc Qur'ln of certain stetcment3 concerning phytio-
10lY and reproduction. My reason for doing this was that our
logy reproduction. My rcason doing wes ther
knowledge of these disciplines is such, that it is impossible to ex·
lnowledge of disciplincs thet impossible er-
plain how a text produced at the time of the Qur'an could have
plein r tert produced .t of rhe Qur'en could
contained ideas that have only been discovered in modern times.
contained idcas that heve only bcen discovered modern times.
There is indeed no human work prior to modern times that
indecd humen worl prior modern timcs thet
contains statements which were equally in advance of the state of
conteins statcmcnts equelly advancc rhe stete
knowledge at the time they appeared and which might be com-
et thcy eppeered mighr
pared to the Qur'an.
percd Qur'en.
In addition to this, a comparative study of datil of a similar
eddirion ro r comprrrtive of darr similrr
kind contained in the Bible (Old Testament and Gospels) seemed
containcd Tesrament sccmed
desirable. This is how the project was formed of a confrontadon
dcsirable. confronrelion
between modern knowledge and certain passages in the Holy
modcrn end passages lloly
Scriptures of eacb monotheistic religion. It resulted in the publica·
Scripturcs eech nronotheistic rcligion. publice.
tion of a book under the title, The Bible, the Qur'a,. and Science.
The Bible, the Qur'an Science.
The first French edition appeared in May 1976. (Seglers, Paris).
Frerrch 1976. (Seglers,
English· and Arabic editions have now been published..
English' and Arebic cditions have now been published
It comes as no surprise to learn thar Religion ilnd Science
rs rhar and Scicnce
h.l·e always been considered to be twin sisters by Islam and that
have always been considered to be twin sisters by lslam end thet
toJ,,)., art a time when science has taken such greatt strides,, the'y
tocle; a time when science has taken such grea stridcs they
still continur- to be associated, and furthermore certain scientific
continue bc associeted, furthcrmore cerrain
data are used for the bener understanding of the Qur'anic text.
data are used for thc betrer understanding of rhe Qur'anic tert.
What is more,, in a cenrury where. for many., scientific truth has
Whet is more in century wherc, for many scicntific truth has
dealt a deathblow' to religious belief. it is precisely the discoveries
e deathbloy belief,
of science that, in an objective examination of the Islamic Revelat-
science exeminarion rhe lslamic Revclet-
ion, have highlighted the supernatural characrer of certaill aspects
highlightcd :he supernetural character of certein espccrr
of the Revelation.
Reveletion.
When all is said and done, generally speaking. scientific
Whcn ell spcaking. scicntific
knowledge would seem,
hnowledge would seem. in spite of what people mey say. to be may
highly conducive reflection
highly conducivc to reflection on the existence of God. of
'Publirhed
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by Am~rican Trurr Publicerions. S. Medrron
Trusr Publicarions. ?216 Madison Avc.,
7216 S. Aye.,
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Indianapolis, Ind. 46227, USA.
Ind, USA.
7. Once we belin to ask ourselves in an unbiased or unpreju-
Once wc bcgin erl ourselvcs en unbiescd
diced way about the meraphysicallessons to be derived from some
diccd wey ebout the mctephysicallessons be dcrivcd from somc
of today's knowJedle. (for example our knowledge of the infinitely
todey'r lnorlcdgc. cremple knowledge thc
small or the problem of life). we indeed discover. many reasons for
rmell thc problem !ife), wc indeed discover meny rersons for
thinhiry rlong thesc lincs. When we ehout thc rcmarleble
thinanl alona these Jines. When we think ahout the remarkable
orlanisatioD presidins over the birth and maintenance of life. 'it
or3eniitioo prcsiding oyer thc end maintenance life, it
being the result
surely becomes dear that the likelihood of it being the result of
rurcly bccomcr clcrr thet the lilelihood
chance lets less ~d less. as our knowledge and progres~ in this
chencc ger lcrr and less. es knowledge end progress rhis
field expand. Certain concepts must appear to be increasingly un-
lield crprnd. Certain conceptsmust epperr increesingly un-
acceptable; for example. the one put forward by the French
rcccptrblc; eremple, rhe onc forward the Frcnch
thc Nobcl priae ro gct people
winner of the Nobel prize for Medicine who tried to get people to
uinner Medicinc who
admit that living matter was self-created as the result of fortui-
edmit thet mrttcr ses self-creeted as thc result
tous circumstances .under the effect of c~rtain outside influences
toul circumrtrnccs ,undcr thc effcct ccrtein outside influences
usinl simple chemical elements as their base. From this it is
ufinl rirnplc chcmicel elcrnenrs rs thcir bese. From this
chimed thrt thc
claimed that living orlanisms came into beins. leading to the re-
orgenisms came being, leeding
markable complex called man. To me, it would seem that the
merleble conrplex celled men. me, would 3cem th.t thc
scientific prolress made in undclStanding the fantastic comple-
rientilic protrcs$ made understanding the fentestic comple-
xity of hi.her beinss provides strona arguments in favour of the
xiry hfher bcingr strong rrtument3 fevour thc
opposite theory: in other words, the existence of an extraordinari-
opporitc thcory: othcr vords, the eristence en cxtreordineri-
methodicelorgeniretion presiding over the remerkablc arrenge-
ly methodical oraanization presiding over tf,e remarkable arrange-
rhe phenomcna
ment of the phenomena of life.
rnrny perts the Bool, the Qur'en leeds. simple terml,
In many paus of the Book. the Qur'an leads. in simple termi.
generel reflection. Brrr elso conteins infinitcly
to this kind of seneraJ reflection. But it also contains infinitely
thfu lind
more precite dete vhich ere direcdy rclercd facts discovercd
more precise data which are directly rdated to facts discovered by
modern lcience: there rre whet erercise a rnegnetic attrection for
modern science: these are what exercise a masnetic attraction for
today's scientists.
todry's rcientirtr.
ENCYCLOPEDIA KNOWLEDGE NECESSARY
ENCYCLOPEDIA KNOWLEI}GE NECESSARY
TO UNDF..RSTANP nlE QVR'AN
UNDERSTAND TTIE QUR'AN
For mrny ccnturies, man w.s unable tb study rhem, beceuse
For many centuries, man was unable to study -them, because
he did not possess sufficient scientific means. Ids only today thet
hc posscsssufficicnt scicntific mcrns. lt'is only todey that
numcroui yerscs the Qur'ln dealing neturel phenonicne
numerous verses of the Qui' an dealinK with natural phenomena
comprehcnsibie. shouldcycn go so es 3.y
have become fully comprehensible. I should even So so far as to say
hrve becornc
that, in the 20th century. with its compartmentalization of ever-
thrt. thc 2fth ccntury. irs comprrtmcntelizetion ever-
incrcesing hnowlcdgc, not elways easy fot
inereasins knowleqe. it is not always easy for the average scien-
evcrege tcicn-
tist.ro unJerrtend eicrythirrg he reads thc (]ur'en on such sub-
tist 010 unders.and everything he reads in th~ Qur' an on !Ouch sub-
jects. without heving fccourseto specieirzed restlrch. This mctns
;eus. without having recourse to speciahzeJ research. This means
understand ell such verscs the Qt . :.* - - - it todey re-
that to understand all such verses of the Ql;•. :"." - - - is today re-
thet
quired heve en ebsolutely encyclopeedicknowledge, which
quired to have an absolutely encyclopaedic knowledge. by whkh I
mean. OM which embraces very many discipline'S.
m?rn. onc which embtecesvcry mrny discipliner.
2
8. I usc word 'science'
1 use the word 'science' to mean knowledge which hal beea
mc.n knorledgc rhich hu bcca
soundly established. It does not include the theories which, for a
roundly establishcd. includc thc rheorhr rhich, r
time, help to explain a phenorpenon or a series of phenomena.
time, help erplein phcnorpcnon serics of pbcnonrcnr,
only to be abandoned later on in favour of explanations which ha..e
only ro ebendoned lercr favour of cxplenethnr rhich hrvc
become more plausible thanks to scientific progress. I ba~ic.U1
becorne pleusible thenks scientific protrcrr. bericrlly
only intend to deal with comparisons between statements in the
intcnd dcal with comperisons strremcntr thc
Qur'an and knowledge which is not likely to be subject to further
Qur'rn knowledge which likely ro subjcct furthcr
discussion. Wherever J introduce scientific facts which are not IGt
discursion. Whcrever I inrroducc scientific fects which .rc yet
l000f0 estabHshed, I shall, of course, make this quite clear.
l0O% esteblished, shell, meLe quite clcer. .
There are also some very rare examples of statements in the
Therc arc elso sonre vcry rere eremplcs of stetcmcntt thc
Qur'an which have not, as yet, been confirmed by modem
Qur'en which hlvc .s confirmed nrodcru
science: I shall refer to these by pointing out that all the evidence
scicnce: refer pointing rhar ell rhc cvidcoce
leads scientists to r~gard them as being highly probable. An
lcads icientists regerd rhem es being highly probrblc. An
example of this is the statement in the Qur'an that life is of aquatic
errmple this statemcnt Qur'en that life of equ*ic
origin; and another is that somewhere in the Universe theTe are
origin; end enother rhet somcwherc Universe thete ere
earths similar to our own.
eerths ro own,
These scientific considerations should not, however, make us
Thcse scicntific consideretions shorrld hor?vcr, male ur
forget that the Qur'an femains a religious book par excellenre and
forget thet Qur'en remains e rcligious booh pin' cxccllcnre td
thet crnnor, of bourse, expected heve e 'scientific' purpose
that it cannot, of course, be expected to have a 'scientifiC' purporc
per se. Whenever man is invited to reflect upon the works of creat-
per se. Whenever invitcd reflect upon thc rorlc of crcat-
ion and the numerous natural phenomena he :an observe, the ob-
end numcrous nerural phenomena cen obrcrve, thc
·..ious intention, in using such examples; is to stre~s Dirine
vious intention, exrmples, ro strcrs Divine
Omnipotence. The fact that, in these r~nections, we can find allus-
Omnipotence. Thc lact thet, thesc rcflections, crn find ellur-
ions to data connected with scientific knowledge is surely another
dete connected with scientific knowlcdgc surcly anorhcr
of God's gifts whose value must shine out in an age where scien-
shinc our rge
tifically based m~teri~nstic atheism seeks to gain control at the eJ(-
tificelly besed meterirfistlc etheism seels ro gein et thc ex-
pensc
pense of the t;>elief in God.
rhe belief
Throughout my research I have constantly tried to remain
Throughout t constently tried remein
tot all}' objective. I believe I have succeeded in approaching the
totelly heve srrccceded epproeching rhc
study of the Qur'an with the same objectivity that a doctor has
Qur'an u,ith rhe seme thet ber
when he opens a file on a patient: In other words, by carefully con-
cercfully
froruing all the symptoms he can find to arrive at a diagnosis. I
frorrting errive et e diegnosir.
must admit that it was certainly not a faith in, Islam chat first
edrnit thet cerrainly in lslem thet firrt
guidC'd my step.., but simple research for the fruth. This is how I
guided steps, reseerch rruth. hor
see it today. It was mainly fact which, by the time I had finished my
see roday. wes mairrly thc timc finishcd my
study. had led me to see in the Qur'an a text rC'vealed co a prophet.
srudy, lcd see Qur'en e rert rcveeled to e prophet.
We shall examine statements in the Qur'an which appear to-
llle exemine stetcmenrs rhe Qur'an rppcar ro-
day mt'rely to record scientific truth, but which men in former
mercly ro scicntific trurh, formcr
times were only able to grasp the apparent meaning of. How IS it·
rhe apperent meening How rs it'
possible to imagine that, were thele any subsequent alterations to
possiblc imegine thlt, there alteretions
the t('xts, these obscure passages scattered throughout the teJ(t of
terts, these passagcs scarrered throughout thc tert of
the Qur'an were able to e!icaOe human manipulation? The stiaht -
Qur'an ablc tc erraoe hurnen menipuletion? rlight-
3
9. est aheration to the text would automatically have destroyed the
crt .ltcr.tion thc tcri would .utom.ticelly heve dcstroyed
remarkable coherence which is characteristic of them, and preven-
rcmerleblc cohcrcnce vhich charauirisric them, prcven-
ted us from establishina their conformity with modern Jtnowledae.
tcd from crteblishing their conformity with modern tnowledgc.
The presence of these statements spread throuahout the Qur' an
Thc prcscnce of thcsc srrtcments rpread throughout Qur'en
looks to the impartial observ~tlike an obvious hallmark of authen-
lools thc impertiel observcrlike en obvious hellmarl authen-
ticity.
ticity.
The Qur'an is a preachina which was made known to man in
Thc Qur'err e preaching mrde hnown men
the course of ill Reveiallon which lasted roughly twenty years. It
coursc of e Reveiatpn which lestcd roughly twcnty yeers.
spanned two periods of equal length on either side of the Heaira.
spenncd tulo pcriods cqual thc Hegira.
In view of this, it was natural for reflections having a scientific
ln vicw wrs neturel e
aspect to be scattered throughout the Book. In the case of a study
.spcct be scertered throughout cese of study
such as the one we-have made, we had to regroup them according
ruch ls onc we-hlve mlde, ro rcgroup them eccording
to subject, tollecting them sura by sura.
ro rubjcct, collecting them sure
How should they be classified? I ,,,uld not find any indicat-
How rhould rhey clessified? could indicat-
ions in the Qur'an suggesting any particular classification. So I
ionr Qur'en suggesting eny perticular clessificetion. So
have decided to present them according to my own personal one.
havc dccided prescnt eccording personel
It would seem to me. that the first subject to be .leah with is
would secm me, rhe first bc dcalt wirh
the Creation. Here it is possible to compare the verses referring to
Crearion. Here possible compere referring
th.is topic with the general ideas prevalent today on the formation
ths vith rhe general idees prevelent todey formetion
dl the Universe. Next. I have divided up verses under the follow-
of thc Universc. Next. havc divided ycrses under thc follow-
ins aeneral headinas: Astronomy, the Earth, the Animal and
ing generel hcedings: Asrronomy, thc Earth. Animel end
Vesetable Kingdoms. Man, and Human Reproduction in parti-
Yegcteble Kingdoms. Man, Humen prrti-
cular; the latter is a subject which, in the Qur'an. is alloted a very
culer; thc e Qgr'an, elloted I vcry
important place. To these general headings it is possible to add
importent plecc. generel heedings edd
sub-headings.
rub-heedings.
Furthermore, I thought it useful to malte a ,comparison be-
Furthermorc, thought ir useful make .comparison
tween Qur'anic and Biblical narrations from the point of view of
tuecn Qur'enic end nerrations vrew
modern knowledae. This has been done in the case of such sub-
nrodcrn Lnowledgc. This thc cese of
jcctr as the Creation. the Flood and the ~xodus.
jects ar thc Creation, end f xodus.
CREAnON OF mE UNIVERSE
CREATION OF TTIE UNIVERSE
Let us first examine the Creation as described in the Qur'Qn.
Let first examine the Creetion as described Qur'an.
An ~xtremely important general idea emerges: this is its
An errremely importanr tcneral cmerges: irs
dissimilarity with the Biblical narration. This idea contradicts the
dissimilerity with rhe narration, idee
parallels which are often, and wrongly. drawn by western authors
parellcls uhich ere end wrongly, dra*'n euthors
to underline solely the resemblances between the two texts.
underline rolely resemblanccs terts.
When talking of the Cre.ation, as of other subjects, there is a
lVhcn telhing Creetion, as
strona tendency in the West to claim that Muhammad only copied
Itrong tcndency thet Muhemmad
the aeneral outlines of the Bible. It is indeed possible to compare
generel outlincs lt comprre
the six days of th~ Creation as described in the Bible, plus an extra
thc cir deys the es describcd en ertra
{
4
10. drl of rG$ dr God'r rrbbrth, rith rbir from nur Al A'r.rll
(7:l{1. "crrc
tl
ttt(! I
,i;5ra.b'I(J;:U
.4$l--r',i
Your Lord il Allah Who created the heayens and the earth ill . .
ir Alhh lVho crerted rhc hervcnr rnd rhc cuth b dr
daYI.
dryr.
We mUlt point out sttaisht away that modern commentatan
Wc murt orrt rtrright etty rher modcm cdnorcntrt(rl
Itrest the interpretation o( 4)')'4m, one translation of which is
rtrcrf intcrprctrtion ol ayyam, olrc tnndetion thict ir
'dlyt', u rnerning 'long periodl' or 'ales' rather than perirdr of
'days', a.meaninl 'lonl periodr' 'rger' nther thrn periods
twenty-four hour•.
trcnty-fow lrourr.
lf,het
What to me appears to be of funclamental importance is th$,
mc rppcrrt bc of fundrmcntrl importraoc fu that,
in conttalt tb the narration contined in tbe Bible, the Qur'... cIoa
contrut rhc nerretion conJincd tbc Biblc, Qnr'rn docr
not lay down a sequence (or the Creation of the Earth and Hcr-
nor lry dorn r requcncc for rhe Crertbn Eertb rnd Hea-
Yens. It refer. both to the Heavens before the Earth aDd the Earth
renr. rcfctr Heercns bcfore thc Eerth rnd thc Brtd
before the Heavens, when it t~lks o( the Creation in .eneral... ill
bcforc rhc Hcevcnr, then telb of rhc Creetbn Jeacrd, er b
this yerse of the sura Tah4 (20:4) .
rhir verre thc rute Tehe (20:{).
.~~~~..:.J~
-. "~' '. ·~~t~.::'itS;·~·':
~,. ~
(fulrhocrcrtcd
(God) who created the earth and the hilh heavens.
the eenh rnd rhc hith hcevenr.
In (act, the notion to be deriveetfrom the Qur'... is one ofa
fecr, thc dcrivcf frorn thc Qrrr'rn ir onc of r
con-eomitance in the celestial and terrestrial evohatioDa. 11wre are
con-conritence rhc celcrtirl end tcrrcrtrid cvolstiqlr. lterc rtc
also absolutely fundamental data CODCeminl the ealtenee of ...
rbo rbrolutcly fundrmentd drtr coacerning thc erirtcncc u
inirid Sucorr rnrrr f&llanJ rhich ir uniquc rnd rholc cb.
initial laseoul masl (tlwltha") which is unique and whOle ele-
rncntr, dthurgh et firrt fuscd togethet (ratq) rubrequcntly b*
mentl, althouSh at first fused toaetber (ralq) subsequently be-
crmc rcprtrried (fatq). Thir ir crpterrcd
came separated Ulllq). This notion il expressed in .the sun .tbc rcn
hnil|rit (f l:ll).
Pel...,., (41:11).
.'nt*hjri-F,Jt #f
God turned to Heayen when it wa. smoke.
God rurned llervcn rhcn rer rmolc.
thc rrnc ir crprerred thc rure rll rtnbiyc'(2t:t0l.
And the same i. expressed in the sura Al AnbiY4' (21 :30).
tfi,rrt6,tV;l,(6WAfiS;#
~-: ~ ~'t~ •.,..,~,~-r,,~t-'(. '~(('''' ~'~
L:A,;.~-'<fJ~..Y'- U~~~~r'-'
11. ( L a',i , 2-!'
• ~ t'
""J "".. """""" t "'",,
.. ... -_-:
. .3^
Fr+lrt t"~...)
ul*,
1>0 not the Unbelievers see that ehe heavens and the earth were
Do not the Unbclicvcrs scc thet the heevens end rhc certh
joined tOlecher, then We dove them asunder?
joined to3erhct, rhcn clovc thcm esunder?
The separation proce~s resulted io ehe formation of multiple
Thc rcperetion proccss resulted in rhc formation of nrulriplc
dozcns times in
worlds, a notion which crops up dozens of eimes li ehe Qur'an.
e th* Qur'en,
unce it has formed the firse verse in the sura Al Fal.laa (1: I).
uncc hes formcd thc first vcrse rhc sure rll Farihu (t:l).
.r. 1. r ! _/ t I t /r-/
.c4JL--*lt.-r;*5 v -11
Puise be to God, the Lord of ehe Worlds.
Praisc bc God. Lotd the
All this is in perfect agreement with modern ideas on the ex-
rgreement modcrn cn cr-
istence of primary nebula and the process of secondary separation
primery nebule end proccss secondery scparetion
of ehe elements that had formed the initial unique mass. This se-
thc elcmcnts thet hed forrncd initiel Thic sc-
patation resulted in the formation of galaxies and then, when
paretion rcsultcd formation of galexics then, when
these divided. of sears from which the planets were to be born.
thesc dividcd, sters thc werc
Refer~nce is also made in the Qur'an to an intermediary
Refercncc elso madc Qrrr'an en interrnediary
Creation between the Heavens and the Earth, as in the sura ,r|l
Crcetion thc Earrh, es rure A'
FlI'qoJn (25:59). .
Furqan (25:59)
4W.6,#iyS+#,cr;iti
t/.
;?f fu
,LF;,j. rsrrrt6IL fr,q,
God is ehe one. Who created the heavens. the earth end whet is -
the lilho creeted t:anh and whae is.
between them..
between them
Ie would seem that this intermediary Creation corresponds to
It seern inrcrmediary conesponds
ehe modern discovery of bridges of matter which are present out-
thc ntodern bridges of nrarter rrc
side organised astrollomical systems
orgenised astroromicel s1rstenrr
This survey certainly c;hows us how modern date and state-
certeinly shows modern data statc-
ments in the Qur'an agree on a large number of points. Wc have
Qur'en agrec number of points. We
€ome e
come a long way from tlre Diblicel tcrt with its successivc pheses
wey the Biblical tellt with successive phases
ere rotelly uneccepteble; espccielly
that are totally unacceptable; e"speciany the one placing the Crca-
placing Crea-
rion of tht Eerth (on thc lrd drylbefore that of
tion of the Earth (on the 3rd day) before rher of the Hcevens (on the
Heavens (on the
6
12. 4th day), when it is • known fact that our planet comes from it.
rth dey), rhcn it ir r Lnorn fecr that our planct cotncs from itr
own 5tar, the Sun. In sUCh circumstances, how can we ima,ine
oun lirar, the Sun. ln such circumstences. hor ctn tc irneginc
that a man who drew his inspiration from the Bible could have
rhet e men rho drc* hir inspiretion from thc Eible could hevc
brrn the author of the Qur'an, and, of his own accord, have
been the ruthor of thc Qur'rn, end, of his own eccord, heve
corrected the Biblical text to arrive a general concept concern-
correcred the Biblicrl text to lrrivc at . gcncrrl concept concetn-
ing the formation of Universe, when this concept was not to br
ing the formetion of the Universe, when this conccpt wes not to bc
formed until centurics rftet his deeth?
formed until centurirs aftel his death?
ASTRONOMY -
ASTRONOMY UGHT AND MOVEMENT
LIGHT AND MOVEf,IENT
Let us rlOUI turn to t',e subject of Astronomy.,
Lct trou' tur.a the subject of Astronoray.,
Whenever I de5cribe the deteils the Qur'en contlins on cer-
Whenever dcscribe thr Jetails thr Qur'an contains
tain points of ao;tronomy to westernets, it is unusuel for someonc
tein of estronomy westerners, unusual for someone
not to reply that there is nothing special.in this. considering the
ther nothing spt'ciat. this, considering
Arabs made important discoveries in this field long before :he
Arebs made important discoveries this field long before the
Europeans..
Europeens
This is, in fact, ~ singularly mistaken idee regulting from en
e singularly idea re$ulting from an
ignorance of history. In the ficst place, scienu wes dcvclopcd in
ignorencc histor.y. first science was developed
Arabian countries at a time that wes considerably after the
Arebien ri e timc was considerebly after
Qur'anic Revelation had occurred; in the second, the scientific
Qur'enic Revehtion scientific
knowledge prevalent at the highpoint of IsI...mic civilizetion wotrld
lcnowledgc prevelent ri highpoint of Islamic civilization would
not have made it possible fat a human being to have written
hevc for r hrrmen being written
!IItatements on the Hea"ens comparable to those in the Qur'an.
5trtements Heavens comperable thc Qur'en.
Here again, the subject is so wide that I can only provide an
agein, so cen provide rn
outline of it.
tffherees
Whereas the Bible talks of the Sun and the Moon as tvo Moon es two
luminaries differing in size, the Qur'an distinguishes between
lumineries differing size, Qur'an distinguishcs
them by the use of different epithets: light (nur) for the Moon,
thenr thr use different fnur/ Moon,
torch (siraj) for the Sun. The first is an inert body which reflects
fsirajl first inerl which reflects
light. the second a celestial f"rmation in a state of permanent
light, thc second a formation e permenent
combustion, and a source of light and heat.
e source end hcat.
The wotd 'ster' fnajra/
The word 'star' (na}m) is accompanied by another qualifying
accompanied enother quelifying
it which indicates that it burns and consumes itself as it pierces
it which irrdicetes thet end es
through the shadows of the night: it is the word thalrib.
through shadows the thalib.
In the Qur'an, the Jrawlrab definitely seems to mean the pta-
ln the Qur'en, laurlab secms mcln thc ple-
nets which are celestial formations that reflect and do not produce
nets which ere celestial thet rcflect
light like the Sun.
light lilce thc Sun.
Today it is known how the celestial organisation is balanced
Today it is known how the cclestiel orgenisetion belenced
by th~ position of stars in a defined orbit and the interplay of
by the position of sters in e defined orbit interpley o[
8ravitational forces related to their mass and speed of move-
gravitetionel forces related mass end spced
ment, each with' its own motion. But isn't this what the Qur'an
ment, eech with'itg own motion. isn't whet Qur'rn
describes, in terms which have only become comprehensible in
describes, in terms vhich heve only become cornprchensiblc
7
13. our ovn dey, uhcn mentions rhc foundetion thir belrncc in
our own day, when it mentions rhe- foundation of this balance in
thr sure Anbip'(21 :t3).
the sura AI Anbi,,,' (21 :33).
.;' ff~ZJ.~ .j)~;J~;
.~~~~V:i'y:J~~~;
(God isl the One Who cruted the night, the day, tht' sun and the
lcod creered rhc nighr, dey. rhe end rhc
moon. Eech one rravelling
mOOn. Each one- is trave-lling in an orbit with irs own motion.
an orbir wirh morion.
The Arabic word which expresses this movement is a verb
Thc Arebic erpresse$ rhir e
sabaha (yasbahun
sab"laa (yasbc11ulrI in tht' te-Xl); it carries wi.h it Ihe ide-a of a
the terr); cerries wirh rhe idca e
motion which comes from any moving body, be it cht." movemc,'nt of
motion vhich frorn rny moving b",ly, ir rhc nrovement o[
one's legs as one runs on the ground, or tht' action of swimminl in
oat's er onc thc lclion swimming
water. In the case o( a celt'5.ial l boo)',, ont' is (orcc.'d 10 transla.e itt in
wrter. In the ceseof e celestia body ont is forct d ro rrenslete i in
'to trlrrel wirh ont"s (!wn nlotion'.
rhe orilin.al sense. that is, 'ro ara",e1 with ont"s l'Wn motion'.
the originrl rensc, thet
The description of tht' s("quenl"t~ o( day .md night would, in
thc scquence of da.v .rnd would.
itself, be rather commonplace were it noc (or the fa('r that, in the
itsell, rether commonplecc not for thc fecr thet, rhe
Qur'an, it is expressed in terms that tod.,y arc.' highty significant.
lQul'ln. erpressed tcrms thet todr.y ert highly significorrt.
This is because it uses .he verb kIlIC'"'''''' in the sura Al Zum",
beceuse uses thc l,rrlr,,rrd /l Zunar
(J9:5 to describe the wey rhe night 'winds' or 'coils itself ebou
(39;5)) to describe the way thc.- night 'winds' or '('oils'' itself aboutr
tht' day and the day aboutr the nighl,. just as, in the originall
the dry rnd thc dey ebou the nighr jusr rs. in thc origine
muning of the verb, a mrban is wound aroulli the head. This is a
mcening verb. e rurban uround e
totally valid comparison;; ye-tr at the time.' the Qur'an was rnealc.-d,.
totelly velid comparison ye lt the rimt rhe Qur'en was reveeled
the astronomical data necessary to draw ir were unknown.
ertronomicel dete neccssary it unlnown.
The evolution of the.' Heavens ilnd the nOlion of a settled place
cvolution thr. end nolion e serrled
'fhey
for the Sun are also desnibcd. They au' in agrc."c.'ment wilh highly
elso describcd. are. agrr.rmenr wirh highly
detalled moder.n ideas. The Qur'an also St't'ms to have alluded to
detliled modern Qur'an sccrrrs elluded
the expansion orthe Univc.-fSe.
erpension of the Universe.
There is also the conquest o( space.-. This has been undertaken
elso of spece. undertelen
thanks to remarkable techllological progr....ss and has rrsulted in
thenlr temerleble technological progrerrs end hls resutred
man's journey to the Moon. Rur this surel)' springs to mind when
dnen's journey thc Moorr. Bur surely ro mind
rure AI ltahmatr (55:ll).
we read the sura AI lI"ftma" (55:33) .
*c rced
glii rtWri,).rr );9..
#;6_
5$3 13,,,b)y 5tJ3,
; ura;J i,
''ltbf '*9;4:#
•
14. o assembly of jinns and men. if you can penetrate resions of the
O euembly of jinnr rnd mcn, if you can pcnctrete regions of the
heevenr rnd rhe ?ilth, thar Facurre thcm! You
heavens and the earth. theft penetrate them! You will not pene-
nil pcnc-
trrt? thcrn sevc rith lourl Povcr.
trate them save with (our) Power.
Thir powcr comer from the All-Mighty. end rhe subjcct rhe
This power comes from the All-Mighty. and the subject of the
rholc sure is an invitetion to rccognirc God's Bcneficencero m.n.
whole sura is an invitation to recosnize God's Beneficence to man.
THE EARTII
11IE EARnf
'0
I.et us now relur|, Earth.
I.rl "s now ret"". to Earth.
Lct us eltmirre, for eremple, rhis versc in the sure
Let us examine. for nample, this verse in the sura AI Z"rita,.
Zunar
(39:212). ) .
(3e; 1
Hast thou not seen that God sent water down from the sky and led
Hesr nor s?en rher scnr urerer thc end lcd
it throulh source's into the ground? Then He' caused sown Eidds of
rhrough rourccs rhe groundl Thcn He ceused sosn fields of
differenr
different colours to grow.
Such notions seem quite natulal tl us today, but we, should
$uch scem nerurel ro rodry, bur wc
not foraet that Ihey were not prevalent lana ago It was nor unril
forget rhetrhey nor prcvelent long ego lt wes not until
thc sirteenth cenrurl'. with Bcrnerd Pelissy, that lained the
the sixteenth century. with Bernard Palissy. rher we geincd thc
first coherent d~scription of the water cycle. Prior ro this, peoplc
cohercnt description of rhe wrter cyclc. to Ihis, prople
talked about the theory whereby the weter of the occrns, under
talled ebout rhc urhereby rhe water of oceans, under
the effect of winds. were thrust towards the inrerior of rhe conri-
effecr werc rhrusr towrrds interior of the conti·
nents. The)' then returned to the oceans vie thc greer abyls,
ncnts. They rhen rerurned rhe ocerns via the great abyss,
which, since' Plato's time, has been celled rhc Tarrerus. ln rhe
rince Pleto's time. hes caned the Tanarus. In the
sennteenth century, a great thinkcr such es Descertes belicved in
scvcntcenth century. r grerr thinker as Descartes believed
it. and even in the nineteenth cenrury thcre wes still rell of Aristo-
end ttre nineteenth century there was still talk of AriSlo-
tlc'r theory. eciording
rle's tht'ory, according to which *1"r., wes condensed in coot
which 'outer was cool
rnountlin clvcrnt end formed underlround lakes that fed sprinls,
mountain caverns and formed undcrground lekcs thet fed rprings.
'fodey.
Today, we know thet ir is rhe infilrretion of reinwerer thet is res-
tholt it the infiltration of rainwater that
ponsible for this. lf one comprrcs lhc frcts of modern hydrology
If compares the facts of modern hydrology
sirh rhc dete to be found in numerou3 verscr of thc Qur'en ou rhit
with the data numerous verses of the Qur'an on this
rubject, one cannot fail ntltice the remarkable degree of alree-
subject. onc clnnot feil to notice the remerl,eble degrcc of egrec.
mcnt betrecn the two.
ment between
ln 3eology. r fect of recently rcquired Lnowledgc is rhc
In geololY' a fact of recently acquired knowledle is the
phenomenon of folding, which wes ro form rhc mountein rrnfcr,
phenomenon of folding. which was to form the mountain ranle•.
9
15. the F.erth'scrustr is lile a solid rhcll on
The same is true of the Earth's crust, which is like a solid shell on
The seme
the decper laycrs ere hot and fluid. end
which we can live, while the deeper layers are hot and fluid, and
which uc c.n livc,
lifc. tr is elso hrcun thet thc cte-
thus inhospitable to any form of life. It is also known that the sta-
thus inhospiteble any
thc mounteins linled ro thc phenomenoo folding.
bility of the mountains is linked to the phenomenon of foldina, for
bility
wes thc foldr thet foundations relicfs thet
it was the folds that were to provide foundations for the reliefs that
ro
constitutedthe mounteins.
constituted the mountains.
Let us now compar~ modern ic~as with one verse amons
Lct us now compera modern iC.:as vith one vctsc amont
many in the Qur'~n that deals with this subject. It is taken from
meny the Qur'en thet dcels this subjcct. lt tekcn from
the sure Naba'(78;6-7).
the sura Al Naba' (78:6·7).
.tr1i,iiljt3+"i;ri,#F,
Ha"e We not made the earth an, expanse and the mountains
Hevc medc rhe an.expansc thc rnountlins
stakes?
stelcs?
stekes (awtad),
The stakes (awradJ, which are driven into the ground like
ere inro
those used to anchor a tent, are the deep foundations of geological
tcnt. foundetions of gcological
folds.
Here, as in the case of other ropics, the objective observer
Herc, es of othcr topics. objcctive observer
cannot fail to notice the absence of any contradiction with modern
cennot feil eny contradiction *.ith modcrn
lr.nowledae.
knowledge.
But more than anything else, I was struck. at first. by state-
then enything else, wes struck, et first, state-
ments in the Qur'an dealina with livina things. both in the animal
Qur'en deeling with living enimel
and veaetable kinadoms. especially with regard to reproduction.
end vegetebla kingdoms. with regerd rcproduction.
I must once aaain ~tress the fact, that it is only since modern
must egein strcss rhe fect. only modern
times, that scientific prolress has made the content of many such
timcs, that scientific progrcss lres madc content of meny
ycrscs more,comprehensible
verSes more 'comprehensible to us. There arc also other verses
Tltere ere elso
which are more easily understandable. hut which conceal a bio-
which rre morc cesily understendeblc, but which bio-
logical meanina that is highly significant. This is the case o( the
logical mcrning thet highly significant. This cese of
sura AI Anbiya', a part of which has already been quoted:
sure r{l Anbiya', prrt of which hes already quoted:
,r.r!, r,,l'! .t - r/. rr Lirti( ,
,( | t,
.uj2}yYg,ql,ef
-rr
:1-1t5rt.I{f
unbclicycri sce thet thc heevcns end thc eerth were
Do not the unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were
asunder end lrllc tot cvcry
jotncd together, then We clove them asunder and We lot every
joined togcther, thcn lVc clovc
Jivi~S thins out of the water. Will they then not believe: (21 :30)
ii"itrg thing our rhc eltcr. thcy then not belicve: (21:30)
Thir ir en effirmetion origin lifc
This is an affirmation of the modern idea that the oriain of life
thc modcrn idee
ir equetic.
is aquatic.
lo
10
16. Progrcrr in botrny er the drne of Muhammed ras in no Goun-
Pr0lress in botany at the time of Muhammad was in DO coun-
try edvenccd enough for it ro bc esnblished cs a nde thei plentr
try advanced enoulh {or it to be established as a ",Ie that plants
heve both mele and fernelep.rrs. Neverthcless, mey reed thc
have both male and female parts. Nevertheless, we may read the
we
followingin the sure7bf,a(20:53).
following in the sura 1'aha (20:53).
··~r- w,IJ,i(frfr,{5f
~k;·ti8I ....~ ~ ''''~ .1~'(t-tl.b ~~t,
~~~ ~'" . ';IJ
r.. .
"'~,... ~-: .... ' ' - -:J' ...
.......,,,.,,
,gt[iirh,qAT',.L1t(il",^'J{S
'-'/ •~ <.. · ·
• <II
t"L.A~'A
,
,......
."." ...
,UJ'L:,.J<~·
.... ,~~ ...
'-":'-t!./,:.,
.
.*-F+#'
to' .......
.''--iI".
A..wJul.-j
, •
....~""
(God is thc One Who) sent werer
(God is the One Who) sent water down from the sky and thereby
rhe
We broughtt forth pairs of plants each separate from the other..
We brough forth pairs of plants each separatefrom the other
Today, we know that fruit comes from plams that have
Today, we know thar conres planrs
sexual characteristics (even when it comes from unfertilized
serual unfertilizcd
flowers., like banana'». . In the sura ,AI RtJr'd (13:3)) we read::
flowers like bananes) ln rhe sura {l tt, 'd {13:3 wc read
,#."*i*;;L;j-J4+F,y#
j(furi+fr
Of all fruits [God] pleced [on the earrhl rwo oi e peir.
Reflections on reproducron in the animal kingdom werc
reproduction animOlI kingdom were
linked
linked to those on humen reproduction. We shalt eximine them
human reproduction. We shall examine them
presently.
presently.
In the field of physiology, thcre is one vrrse which, ro me,
In the of physiology, there verse which. to me.
appears ertrcmel)r significant: one rhousand years before the dis-
appears extremely significam: thousand years before the dis-
covcry of the circulerion of the blood, and roughly thirteen centu-
covery of circulation of blood. and roughly thirteen centu-
ries before it wes Lnown whet heppened in the intestine ro ensure
ries before it was known what happened in the intestine to ensure
thet the ortans werc nourished by rhe process of digestive absorp-
that the organs were nourished by the process of digestive absorp-
tion. a verse in thc Qtrr'an describes the source of tlrc consti-
tion. in the Qur'an describes the source of the consti-
tucnts of milk, in conformity with thcse notions.
tuents of milk. in conformity with these notions.
To understend rhis verse, we have to know that chemical
To understand this verse, we have to know that chemical
rcactions occur in the intcstine end that, from rhere, substances
reactions occur in the intestine and that, from there, subStances
ertracted from food pess into rhc bloodsrrerm vie e complex
extracted from food pass into the bloodstream via a complex
system, sometimes by way of the liver, dcpending on their che-
system. sometimes by way of the liver. depending on their che-
II
il
17. micrl neturc.
mical nature. The blood transports them to all the or,ans of the
trrmpont rhcm ro ell rhe ortrnr rhc
body. amonl which are the milk-producinl mamma" II.nets.
body, ilnong ere rhc rnilt-producing mrmmrtt glrndr.
Without enterinl into detail. let UI jurt lay that. buicall,.
entering dcteil, lct ur jUlt rry thrt, bukdly,
there is the arrival of certain substanccs (rom the contentl'of ehe
therc thc errivel ccrtein lub$encel from contentrof tlrc
intestines into the vessels of the intestinal wall itself, and the
intestines inro rhc vcsiels intertinel rell itrclf, rnd thc
rrrnsport.tion
transponatio'; of these substances by the bloodstream.
there subltencer thc bloodrtrcrm.
Thir conccpt muu bc rpprecirted,
This concept must be fully appreciated. if we are to under-
wc rrc 30 undcr-
rtand this ycrsc rhe Qur'en Al Nehl(16:661.
IJIand this verse in the Qur'an AI N4IIh/(16:66).
pAh+
,:+Flq
verily. cnrlc rhcre e leron fior yon. we givc trou drint ol
Verily, in nule there is a lesson for you. We live you to drink of
whlt inridc thcir bodier, coming from a cJnjuncrion bctrccn
what is in.ide their bodies, cominl from a conjunction between
rhe tonrenrc cf rhe interriner errd thc blood. rnilt
thr tontents :)( the intestines and the blood, ia milk pure and
rnd
plesanrfor those sho drinl
pleunt (or those who drink it.
THE CREATIOT{
mE CREA.TION OF MAN
MAI{
the Qur'en
In the Qur'an the subject of human reproduction leads to a
subject humen reproduction lcrdr r
multitudc of statements which constitute e challcngc
multitude o( statements whic"h constitute a challenle to the rhc
f'mbryologist seeking a human explanation to them. It was only
embryologist secling a human erplenation rc rhcm. lt rer
thc besic scienceswhich w€rc te conributc te
after the birth of the basic sciences which were to contribute to
after
our knowlege biology, and cspecielly aftcr the inyention of thc
our knowlege of biology, and especially after the invention or the
microscope,
microscope, that man was able to understand such Itatements. It
men wes eble underrtrnd tuch rtrtementr. lt
was impossible for a mrn
was impossible (or a man living in the early seventh century to
the eerly sevcnth cenrury ro
havc erpressed suclr idcas. There is nothing ro indicrte rhrt, tt
have expressed such ideas. There is nothing to indicate that. at
thir time, men thc Middlc East end Arebie lncw rnything morc
this time. men in the Middle East and Arabia knew anythinl more
about this subject than men living in Europe or anywhere else.
ebout thir rubject then men Europe enyrherc cbc.
Today, there are many Musiims with a thorou,h knowledJe of the
Todey, there ere mrny e thorough knoelcd3c thc
Qur'ln and neturel scicnces
Qur'an and natural sciences who have clearly recolnised the com-
hevc clerrly rccognircd thc com-
parisons be mede between thc verses
parisons to be made between the verses of the Qur'all dealinl
the Qur'eq dcding
with reproduction and human knowledge. 1 shall always remem-
reproducrionrnd humen lnowlcdge. I shell elweyr rcmcrn-
ber thc comment en eighteenyc.r old Muslim, btought
ber the comment of an eighteen year old Muslim. broulht up in
Saudi Arabia. replyins to a reference to the quc.·stion of reproduct-
Seudi Arebia, replying e rcferencero thc quesrion reproducr-
ion as described the Qur'an. Pointing ro ir, he srid, 'But thir
ion as described in the Qur'an. ~ointing to it. he s"'d, 'But this
book provides us
book provides us with all the essential information on the subject.
rhc essentielinformetion on thc rubjcct.
When I· was at schoof they used the Qur'an to explain to me how
When l'ves et rchool they urcd the Qur'en crplrin ro hor
r2
12
18. children were born; your books on sex-education are a bit late on
children werc born; your scr-cducetion e bit lete
the scene!''
rhe scene!
It is on this point in particular, that a comparison between the
It point particular, thel comparison betwecn thc
beliefs current at the time of'the Qur'an, that were full of supenn·
beliefs current et time of thc Qur'ln, thet full of supcrrtr.
tions and myths. and the contents of the Qur'an and modern data,
myths, contents of thc Qur'en end modcrn dlre,
leaves us amazed at the degree of concordance between the latter
emezed et degrec of concordance betwecn letter
and the absence of any reference in the Qur'an to the mistaken
thc absencc of referencc Qur'an mistakcn
ideas that were prevalent at the time,
thet wese prcvrlent et thc time.
Let us now isolate. from an these verses, precise ideas con-
isolate, from ell rhese vetses, idees
cerning the complexity of the fertilizing liquid and the fact that an
complexiry of fcrtilizing liquid rnd thet en
infinitely sman quantity is required to ensure fertilization. its
infinirely small quantity fertilitation,
quintjssen6s' - if
quinte'ssence' - if I may so translate the Arabic word 'swlala',
trenslete Arabic 'sulala'.
The implantation of the egg in the female genital organ is
implantation thc cgg fcmele genitel orgen
wotd 'Alaq,
perfcltly described in several verses by the word 'Alaq, whioh is
perfectfy
also the title ofthe sura in which it appears:
titlc of thc appears:
,.,."
~.
, ~I.J
,/
. ,/.
~~, ~1=--
_yv-;Jfj.;,
/.~
,/./.'
-jt1 .
God fashioned man (rom something which clings (96;2)..
God fashioned man from somerhing which clings (96:2]
1 do not think there is any reasonable translation of the word
I rhink of
'.{l.rq other than to use its origina sens"
'.1lcll./ other than to use its originall sense..
The evolution of the embryo inside the ma:ernal uterus is
embryo maternel
only briefly described, but the description is accurate, because the
accurate, bccruse
simple words referring to it correspond exactly to fundamental
referring errctly fundamentel
stagess in its growth. This is what we read in a verse from the sura
stage in its growth. This is what we read in verse from the sura
AI Mit ''mimm (23:14) ) .
AI Mu minun{23:la .
•W e folshioneddthe thing which clings into a chewed lump of flesh
' W t! f a s h i o r r e t h e t h i n g w h i c h c l i n g s i n t o
chewed lump of flesh
and We fashioned the chewed flesh into bones and We clothed the
feshioned end clothcd rhc
bones with intactt flesh'' .
bones with intac flesh
t3
13
19. 'chcred llcsh' (mudgal cofrcsponds crecdy
The term 'chewed flesh' (mlAago} cotresponds exactly to the
appearance of the embryo at a certain stage in its development.
rppc.r.ncc thc cmbryo lt e certain stege devclopment.
It is known that the bones develop inside this mass and that
lno*rr thet thc boner dcvclop insidc mers end thet
they are then covered with muscle. This is the meaninl of the
rhey ere covercd uirh muccle. meaning thc
rcrm'intrct flcsh' (Iahml.
term 'intact flesh' (Iohm).
Thc p.sicr e stagc where somc plrts erc
The embryo passes through a stage whert' some parts are in
proportion and others out of proportion with what is later to be-
and othcrs vith whet letcr bc-
come the indi~dual. Maybe this is tht: meaninl of a verse in the
comc the indifiduel. Meybe this is tlic mcening e verse the
sura Al Hojj (22:5) which reads as follows:
wt AI Hajj{32:5) whichrcedses follows:
#:,;i#i1*,u'{,rc?*.
.i:'{i'441#UF
something which clings into r
We fashioned [man) into something which clings into. lump of
Wc farhioned [manl
flesh in proportion .and out of proportion.
end
Next, we have a reference to the appearance of the senses
Nelt, we heve e refcrence the epperrrnce the scnscs
end visceree the cure,{l fuida (32:9}.
and viscerae in the sura .41 S4jda (32:9).
.'i3!{,i,tu;u5'jJJr,:Ftrt
for you thc senses hcaring,sight end thc vis'
[God} appointed for you the senses of hearing, silht and the vis·
llrt'"l"nn"inted
rerae.
Nothing here-contradicts today's data and, furthermore. none
Nothing herscontradicts today's deta end, furthernrore,
of the mistaken ideas of the time has crept into the Qur' an .
of rhe misrrlen idces of thc time hes crept into Qur'en
QVRAN AND BIBLE
QURAN AND BIBLE
Wt' have now come to the laSit subject; it is the confrontation.
We heve nou comc thc lest subject; confrontation,
with modern knowledle. of passases in the Qur'an that are also
rith modern lnorlcdge, of pess.ges Qur'en thet erc elso
referred to in the Dible.
rcfcrrcd in rhc lliblc.
We have already caught a llimpse of the pr"blem when talk-
Wc heve dtcedy ceughr e glimpse of thc problcrn when tell-
ing of the Creation. ~arlier I stress!."d the perfe~t agreemetlt be-
ing of thc Crcetion. Earlier stress*d pcrfe.:t agreemerrr
14
t4
20. tween modern knowledge and verses in the Qur'an, and pointed
rwecn knowlcdge rnd verses Qur'ln,
out that the Biblical narration contained statt'mcms that wcrc
thet Biblicel nerrrtiun conrained statemcnts thet were
scienlifically unacceptable. This is hardly surprising when re
scienrificelly surprising when we
know that the great narration of the Creation com<lined in the
rhet rhc greet nerration C-reation conteined
Bible was the work of priests living in the sixlh cemury BC, hence
Biblc *orh living si.rth century
-Sacerdotel' narration.
the term 'Sacerdotal' narralion. This s«ems mainly to h,ne been
seems mainly heve
conceived as Ihe th«me of a preaching designed 10 exhort people
conccived as the theme to exhort
10 observe the sabbath. The narration was constructed with a de-
to sebberh. with
finite end in view, and, as Father de Vaux (a former head of rhc
rnd, as Fathcr dc Veux (e former of the
Biblical School of Jt>fusalem) has nOled, this end was essentially
Iliblicel School Jerusalem) hes noted,
legalist in c-haracter.
lcgalist cheracter.
The Bible also contains a much shorter and older narration of
Thc e rnuch end narration of
Crcetion, so-called 'Yahvist'
the Creation, the so-called 'Yahvist' version, which approaches
which epproeches
the subject from a completely different angle.
subjcct completcly different engle.
They are both taken from Genesis, the first book of thc Pen-
They both fronr first o[ the
tateuch or Taurah: Moses is suppost'd to have been its author, but
reteuch Teurah: supposed authot, but
the text we have today has, as we know, undergone mrny
*'e as undergone many
'changes. .
'changes
Thr Sacerdotal narration of Genesis is famous for its whim-
The Sacerdotel narration uf lsmous whim-
sical genealogies, that go back to Adam, and ....-hich nobody tekes
sicel gcncalogies, thet beclc ro Adem, which takes
very seriously. N('verthe1ess, such Gospel authors as'Mauhew
Ntverthcless, eutbors as Metthew
and Luke have rl"produ..ed them, more or less verbatim, in rhcir
end reprodured them. morc verbatim. their
genealogies of Jesus. Matthew goes back as rar as Abraham, and
gcnealogies .fesus. Metrhew goes as fer es Abreham, end
luke 10 Ad.mt.. 1111 rht'see wrilings, are scientificallyy unacceptable,.
Ltrle to Adanr All rhes writings, are scientificall unaccepteblc
because they sel a figure on the age of the world and the time man
beceusc set figurc thc *orld end time
appurd on Earth, "'hieh is most definitely OUI of keeping with
appeerd Flarth, uhich definitely out of leeping with
what has today been cst:iblished with certainty. The Qur 'an, on
whet has trrday cst:rblished with Qut'rn. 6n
the otherr hand,. is complcldy frel:" of dara of this kind..
rhe orhe hand is complctely free o[ data of this kirrd
Earlier on,, we alsl> noted how perfectlyy th~ Qur'an agrees
liarlier on we alro noted how pcrfectl. the Qur'arr attecs
w i t h g e n e r e l m o d e r n i d e a s o n t h e f o r m a t i o n o f t h e Universe.
with general., modern ideas on the form ..tion of the U n i v e r s e ,
whereass the Biblicall narration stands in contradiction to them;; t h c
w h e r e a t h c B i b l i c e n a r r a t i o n s t e n d s i n c o n t r a d i c t i o n t o t h e n r the
a l l e g o r . of t h e p r i m n r d i a l w a t e r s i s h e r d l y t e n a b l e n o r i s the c r e a
allegory yo f the primordial walers i.. hardly tenabll:",, nor is t h e crt"a·.
tion o i l iliRht on the firstt day,, before Iht> creation of the stars w h i c h
t i o n of g h r o n t h e f i r s d a y b e f o r e t h e c r e a t i o n o [ t h e s t a r s which
produce this light; the existence of an evening and a morning b r -
p r o d u c e t h i s l i g h t ; t h e e x i s t e n c e o f a n c v r n i n g a n d m o r n i n g be-
f'lre the creation of the Eanh; the creation of the Earth on the
fore E,arrh; Eerth
third day befor~ that of the Sun on the fourth; the appearance o[
belbre fourth: appeerencc of
beasts of the Earth on the sixth day after the appearance of rhe
bcests thc rhe epperrrnce the
birds of the air on the fjfth day, although the former came first: all
fifrh alrhough ceme first, ell
these statements are the result of beliefs prevalent al the time thrr
these starements ere rhe belicfs prcvalcnt et time thiS
text was wrilten and do nott have any other meaning..
tert wrs writtcn and do no have any other meaning
t5
21. As for the genealogies cC'ntained in the Bible, which form the
Ac for the gencelogies conreined in the Bible. which form rhc
basis of the Jewish calendar and assert that today the world is
beris of thc Jewish celendar end asserr that today
S?J8 years old, thesr. are hardly admissible either. Our solar
97tt years old, thcsc erc herdly edmissible eithcr. soler
system may well be .. Va billion years old, and the appearance on
system mey well be 1r/t billion years old, and eppearence
Earth of man, as we know him today, may be estimatr.d in tens of
Eerth of men, .s we Lnow him roday. mey esrimeted
.housand~ of years, if not mor~.
rhotrsrnds of ycers, it more. "0'
It is absolutely essential, therefore, to note that the Qur'an
It is ebsolutely esrentiel, rhercfore, nore thet Qur'en
does not cont~in any such indications as to date, and that these are
doer not conltin any such indicarions as end thet rre
specific to the Biblical text.
rpccific to thc Bibliceltext.
There' i~ a second, highly significant, subject of comparison
There is e second, highly significent, subjcct comperison
betwcen rhe Biblc end (fur'enr
between the Bible and the Qur'an: this is the Flood. In actual fact, Flood. ln
the Biblinlnarratioo is a fusion of two descriptions in which
thc Biblical .nerratioo ie e rwo descriprions
event5 arc- related differendy. The Bible speaks of a universal
eycnts erc relatcd differenrly. sperks e univcrsal
flonct and place!'> it roughly 300 years before Abraham. According
llood end pleces ir 300 Abrahem.
to what we know ot' Abraham, this would imply oJ universal cata-
ro whet *,e Lno*'of Abrahem, rhis imply e cara-
clysm around tht' twc.'nty-first or twenty-second century Be. This
thr rwenty-first rwenry-second BC.
would be untenahle, in view of historical data.
unrenahle, deta.
lIow can we ..ccept the idea that, in the twenty-first or
llow cen rcccpt idee twenty-first
twrnty-second century BC, all civilization was wiped off the face
twrniy-second BC. ell civilizetion off rhe face
of the Earth by a univt"rsal C'iltaclysm, when we know that this pe-
rhe Eerth a universal cetaclysm, lnow rhis
riod corresponds, for example. to the one preceding rhe Middle
erample, the Middle
Kingdon, in F~ypr. at roughly the datc of the first lnr.:rmediary
Kingdonr tlgvpr. date firsr Int~rmediary
period L('(or(' the dt'vc.'nth dynas&y?
before clrvcnrh dynasry?
Nunr of thc' prl'ct'ding st"'tements is acceptablee aC'C'ording t o
N u n e o f t h e P r c c e d i n g s t r t e m e n t s i s a c c e p t a b l a c c o r d i n g to
modl'rnnItnowlt'dfte..
rnodr.r knowledge
Fronlr this pOilU r of view, we can m e e s u r e t h e ? n o r n r o u s g a p
t : r o n t h i s p o r r r o f v i c w . w c c a n measure the rnormous gap
5ep.muingg,ht" Diblt' from the Qu,'an.
seperatirt rhe tliblr from rhc Qur'an.
Inr cum,,,,tt tt". t th·:. Rihle,, the narration c o n t a i n e d iin t l r u q r r r '·...n
f t c u n t r i r , t r h r B i i r l e t h e n a r r a t i o n contained n the Qur t r n
drOlls "'irh a c.u.,d.vsm r,hatt is limited r o N o a h ' s p e o p l t ' . lTht'~' w c r t
d r l l s w i t h l c ; r t i l c l v s n r h a i s l i n r i t e d to Noah's pcoplc.'. ' h c v wcrt'
puaished fcr thl'lf sins.
pUI1isht'd for th.'rr sins, as were othcr Lngo<tl-v peopl1.5. Thc other ~ngodh' pt'oplc:s. The
'fhere
Qur'ow d~~ nor IOC'3H' thc cereclysm in timt". Thc.·;e ,rr.. .rbs'olurely
Q.rr':trr doesnor locate the cataclysm arl' ,lbs~lu,ely
no hisforiC'a1 or .uchaeoJogicaJ gbjccrions ro rhc narretion in rhe
na hirtoricel erchaeologicel Qbjections to thr narration the
Qur'' ..n..
Qtrr an
A t h i r d p o i n r o f c o m p a r i s o n whiC'h s cxtrerndy significant. s
A third roint of comparison., w h i c h iis c x t r e r n t ' l v s i g n i f i c a n t . iis
lhc ..tory of Mosr.s, end especially rhe Exodus from Eg-vpr of rhe
rhe' story of Mosl's. and c."specially th(" from egypt of the
Ht'hrew!'lrnsJaved to the Pharaoh. Here I can olll" ~ive .ol highl)'
Hehrew* ensleved to rhe Pharaoh. Here I carr orrlv givc e highty
romptessed acCOunt of
('ompressed .ccount of the study of this sub;ecr rh:rt .rppt ,rrr in mv
of subject Ihat .lppl',lt', my
b o o l r , I h a v e n o r e d r h e p o i u r s w h e r e r h t lBiblical land e u r ' a n i c
book. I have noted thr points whert' rhl' l i b h c u l n r l Qur'aniC'
natrations etrcc and disegree, end, for sorne deririls. I have found
narrations agrre disagree. and, Stlrnc.' dC-l'li/s, I found
points where the two terr$ compl'ement eirch other in a very uselul
')(Jints where two texts comprem("nt e'1l"h aver)' ust"ful
rrry. Anrong rhc mlny hvporheses concerrring the posirion
WoJ)'. Anaong thr m.IIlY hypotht'st's concerning tht' position
l6
16
22. occupied by the Exodus in history of the pharaohs, I have con-
occupied by the Exodus in the history of thc phareoht, I have con'
cluded that rhe most likely rhe theory which makes Merneptah,
cluded that the most likely is the theory rhich makcr Mcrnepteh,
R",meses II's successor, the pharaoh of the Exodus. The con-
Rrmeses ll's successor, the pharaoh of thc Erodur. Thc con-
frontation uf the data contained in the Scriptures with archaeolosi-
frontation of the date contained in thc Scriptures with erchecologi-
evidence speaks stongly in favour of this hypotheses. am
cal evidence speeks stongly in fevour of this hypothcres. I un
plrased able ro say that the Biblical narrarion contributes
pleased to be eblc to sry that the Biblicel nrrretion con3ributet
weighty evidence leading situate Moses in the history of the
weighty evidence leeding us to situete Moses in the history of thc
pharaohs: born during reign of Rlimeses II. Bibli-
phereohs: Moses was born during the reign of Ramescr IL Bibli-
data are therefore of considerable historical value in the story
cal dara ere therefore of considereblc historicel velue in the rtory
of Moses.
of Moses.
The medical study of mummy of Merneptah has yielded
The medical study of the murnrny of Mernepteh her yieldcd
further information causes of pharaoh's
furrher useful informetion on the possible causet of this pharaoh'r
dUlh.
dearh.
The 'act thar today possess the mummy of this pharaoh,
The fact that we today posscss thc mummy of thie phereoh,
which, to be exact, was discovered in 1898, is one of paramount
1898, of paramount
i,"portance. The Bible records that it was engulfC'!d in rhe sea, but
irnportance. Thc engulfed rca. but
does nor give any details as to what subsequently bccrme of the
does no: subsequcntly became of
bodv, The Qur'an, in the sura Yunus, notes that the lrcdy of the
bodv. Qrrr'an, Yunus, body of rhc
wes to damned, ~aved
pharaoh, who was ro be damnc:-d, would be seved from the waters.
urtcrl.
8#;i6
E {iitr'i ;F,;i+1,1
tai
.|ih69 C.' *' furi'ti+{Jb
This day We save thee in rhy body so that thou mayest be a Si,n
This thce e Sign
for tho!'>e who come after thee (10:92).
those (10:92).
A medical examination of this mummy, has, moreover, shown
examination mummyr hes, morcover, sholn
that the body could not have stayed in the water for long, because
that thc nor watcr beceurc
does deterioration duc prolonged submerr'
it does not show signs of deterioration due to prolonled submers·
ion..
ion
Here ag.in, the confrontation of the narration in the Qur'an
llere egain, rhc nerration thc Qur'en
provided modern lnowledge docs give
with the data provided by mode-rn knowledle does not live rise to
the slightest objecrion from a scientific point uf view.
sliglrtrst objection from a scientific point of view'
lirerery vorlc
The Old Testament constitutes a collection of literary works
Testement conititutes a
produced in tlre course of tougbly nine centuries rnd which hes
produ(c:-d in the course of toughly nine centuries and which has
unll~"rgone many alternations. The part played by Inan in the
undetgonc meny elternations. The pert pleycd by rnen in rhe
actual composition of lht.' texts of the Bible is quite considerable.
ectuat-composirion of rhc rcxrs of thc Biblc is qrritc considcreblc.
l7
17
23. The Qur'anic Revelationn has a history which is radically dif--
The Qur'anic Revelatio has a history which is radically dif
ferent.. from the moment itt was firstt communicated to man,, itr was
feient From the momcnr i was firs communicared to man i was
learntt by heanr and written down during Muhammad's own life--
learn bv hear and written down during Muhammed's own life
time.. It is thanks to thiss thatt the Qur'an doess notr pose any pro--
time lt is thanks to rhr tha rhe Qur'en doe no pose eny pro
hlem of aurhenricity
hlt'm of authenticity. .
A totally obje~tivt' examination of it, in the light of modern
totall.y objccrive ir, rhe
knowlt'dge,. leads us to recognisee the agreementr between the two,,
k n o w l e d g e l ea d s u s t o r e c o g n i s t h e a g r e e m e n b e t w e e n t h e t w o
as has already been noted on repcated occasions lt makes us
;IS has alrt'ady been noted on repeated occasions. . It makes us
deem r quire unthinkable fo e nran of Muhammad's time ro have
dt't'm itt quite unthinkable forr .. man of Muhammad's timt' to have
been the authorr of' such statements,. on account t of the state of
been the autho ol such stltemeurs on accoun of the state of
knowledge in his day.. Such considerationss arc partt of whatt gives
knowlcdge in his day Such consideration are lrar of *'ha gives
the Qur'anic Revelation its umque place,. and f{fcess the impartiall
the Qur'anic Rcvelation its unrqur place and force the rmpartia
scie.'ntiSIt to admitt his inability to pt:ovidee an explanation which
scitntis to admi his inability to pqovid an explanarion which
calls solelvv upon nuterialisticc reasoning. .
calls solel upon nleterialisti reasoning
It
18
24. TIlE LIGHT OF REVELATION
TIIE LIGHT OF R,EVELATION
INTRODUCTION
INTR,ODUCTION
WHAT IS LIFE.
WHAT IS LIFE.
Man's ezist(:nc(: in this world and th(: creation of this entire universe
Man's eristence in this world end rhc crertion of this entire universc
rre not mere rccidcnts or products of r fonuitous nrturc, This ruriversc,
are not mere accidents or products of a fonuitous natur(:. This universe,
every singlc etom of ir, menifests rnd poinrs us to thc rcelizrrion
ever)' single atom of it, manifests and points us to th(: realization of a r
Loving, Mcrciful end All-powerful Crearor. tFithour e Crector nothin3
Loving, Merciful and All-powerful Creator. Without a Creator nothinc
can exist. Every single ~oul knows that he is existing and that his
cen exist. Evcry single soul krows rher hc is cxisting end thet his
cristcnct is dcpendent on e Creltor - he lnows
existence is de~ndenl on a Creator - he knows for sur(: that he cannot
sure thet he ctnnot
create him~e1f. Therefore it is his duty to know his master creator ~ God.
creatc himrelf. Thercforc it rs his dutv ro his miLstcrcrcrtor - God.
MANKIND.
MANKIND.
Mrn is r uniquc crc.rurc.
Man is a unique creature. God establishes man as His Represen-
estrblishes man rs Rcprc*n-
trtivc or to govcrn ovcr rll othcr cr€uurtt
tative or Deputy to govern over all other creatures in this world. He is
Hc
endowcd thc frculry
endowed with the faculty of REASON, which differentiates him from aU
REASON, differcntirres ell
other enimels. Thc Prophct seys:
other animals. The Prophet says:
"God has not created anything ~tter lhan Reason or anything more
"Cod has nor cretred enyrhing hetter then Reason
perfcct rnorc bcauriful rhen Reason
perfect or more beautiful than Reason ..
Togethcr this frculty
Together with this faculty to discriminate and discern, Men is given
discriminrte and disccrn, Man
thc freedom (frec-will) chmse
the freedom (free-will) to choo'(: for himsclf a way of lifc worrhy of his
himself of life worthy of
~ition as God's Representativ~ or ro fell lowcr tl.en thc lowcst of dl
trosition es Reprcsenrativecr to fall lower t'.an the lowest of aU
animrls crcrtions. Men is
animals or creations. Man is born purc and sinless.He is givcn rhc frec
pure and sinless. H(: is giv(:n the free
will to do righteous deeds or indulge in sins.
righteousdeeds indulge sins.
DIVINE GUTDANCE.
DIVINE GUIDANCE.
God,out of his abundrnr Lovc rnd Merca for mrntind has not lcft us
God,out of abundant Love and Mercy mankind has left us
in drrkness to discover rhe right path by trial rnd error elonc. Couplcd
darkness discover th(: trial and alone. Coupled
with our intcllecturl capebiliry ro rcason,God bcstowcd upon us DI-
intellectual capability to reason, bcstow(:d DI-
VINE Gt ltp4lralE rhet ourhnc thc Crirerion for trurh rnd rhe know-
VINE GUIDANCE that outline the Criterion truth and the know-
ledge end rcrlity of our existence in this world end rhe Hcrcrfrer.
ledge and reality of (:xistence and the Hereafter.
REVELATIONS.
REVELAnONS.
From the bcginning of manlind God scnr Prophcts to convcy his
From beginning of mankind God sent Prophets to convey his
REVEI-ATION end ro invire to rhe puh of TRUE PEACE rrd
REVELATION and to invite to the path of TRUE PEACE and
I19
9
25. OBEDIENCE ro orrc truc God. Thfu is ISLAM. This mcssrgewa.~
OBEDIENCE to One true God. This is ISLAM. This mcs511e wer
onveycd to lumrivc gerrcrrtions mrn through diffcrent Prophcts,
conveyed sucx:essive Jf'nerations of man through different Prophen,
of
dl inviting mmtind to tbc trmc pth.
aU invitina mankind the same path.
Hwever rll ttrc crrlier mesrrter or rrvcletions from God wcrr
However all the: earlier messllCl revelations were
dbtottcd by pcopleof lrtcr gcncrtions. As a rcsuh,pure Rcrrclrtionfrom
distorted people oflatcr generations. result, Revelation
God wu
Crodwu polluted with nyths, supcrstitious.idol worship rnd irrrtirnd
with lIlyths, superstitious. and irratiooal
pttitcopti,crt idcok;ic. The rcliginn of Crodws lct in r phhon of
philosophical ideolocies. religion of God wu lost • plethon of
rclfknr.
rei.....
Hurnrn hirtory ir r chronic,lc of mrn's drift bctwen light rnd
Human history is a ebronide of man's drift between and
drtlnar3, but God oirt of His Abundrnt Love for mrntind hrs ru
darkness, out of Abundant mankind has not
fOI'SIbn us.
fcr*ca ru.
FINAL REVELA.nONs.
FINAL NEVBL/ITTONS.
Whcn mmtind wrs iri thc &ptb of thc Drrk A3cr, Crodsent thc (mal
When mankind wu ini the depth the Dark Aces, God rcnt the linrl
Mcrcrgcr, Plophct Muhlamrd (May pc*c be upon him) to rtdcem
Mnsenacr, Prophet Muhammad (Mry peace bc upon redeem
hunrnity. Thc rcvchrion to ProPhct Muhmrmrd rcprcscntt thc ulti'
hUlUnity. The revelation Prophet Muhammad represenu the ulti·
nrte rnd Frmrncnt tounoE guidrne menlind.
mate and PCr1MDCDt source of guidance for mankind.
CRITERIA FOR TRUTH.
Cn|TERIA FON. TRUTH.
Hos do rrctmwtbet rrcvclrtbn lihtthc Qurm is the uord ofCrod?
How do we know that a revelation like the Quran ill the word ofGod?
Thc <ritcrir crn be crrily uudtnnnrt dl:-
1be ,Titeria for truth can be eMily understand by a11:-
l. RATIONAL TEACHINGS: Sina God bcttowcd rct-sonrnd
I. RAnONAL TEACHINGS: Since God bestowed reason and in-
rcllcct mmlind, ir ow duty urc distingubh trudr from
tellect to mankind, it is our duty to usc it to distinguish' trodt from
frbcbood. Tnc undbtortcd rcvclrtion from fu must bc ntiond
raJscobood. True undistorted revelation from God must be rational
dl urrbirs minds.
and can be reasoned out by all unbias minds.
md cn bc rcrroncd out
2. PERFECTION; Sincc (H is dl perfcct, Hir rcvchtion must bc
2. PERFECnON: Since God is all perfect, His revelation must be
perfcct rnd rerrnj3, fite fium misr*cr, omirsionsinterpoletionsend
perfect and KCUJ'lte, free from mistakes, omissions interpolations and
nuttiptictty of vcrnions.It thould bc free from gontrdictbru in i13
multiplicity of venions. It should be free from ~ntradietions in its
narration.
nrrrrtho.
3. NO MYTHS OB SUPERSTITION$ True rcrrchtion fron Ctodis
3. NO MY11IS OR SUPERSnnONS: True revelation fro", God is
free fronr myths or supcrstitionsthlt dcgndc thc dignity or God or
free from myths or superstitions thlt degrade the dignity or God or
man.
tnrn.
{. $CENTIFICT Sincc God ir tlre crtetor of rll hnorvlcdgc' rnr
4. SCIENTIFIC: Since God is the creator of all knowledge, true
rwchtion ir sckntific rnd crn withstrnd thc chellcngcof scicnccet rll
revelation is scientific and can withstand the challenge ofscience at all
times.
tinrcc.
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26. 5. PnOPHEGT;Crod ir thc l(mrcr of thc pcr, pttt tr rnrl futrrn.
5. PROPHECY: God is the KDowcr of the pat. praeat lad future.
Thur Hb uord ot propbccicr in Hb rcyclrtin will bc fuUillcd
Thus His word of propbecia in His revelation will be fulfilled •I
prophuicd.
prophrsied.
6. UN·IMITABLE BY MAN: True revelation from God is iD-
6. UN.IIiITABLE BY MANr Truc rrvchtioa frorn God b iD-
ClDible IDd cannot be imitlte<! by 1DIn. God", true melldon is Ir
frlliblc rad clmot bc irainted by nrn. God'r tnrc rcvtlrtirn b
Liviq minde. In open book chllieftlinc III IDIIIkiDd to see IIId
Uvnt nirulc, rrr opct bot chdlerUiry dl Elrtind to rcc md
provc for thsurlvcr.
prove for themselves.
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2l
27. Dear R~ader,
Dcer Rcarlcr,
There is no compulsion for man to accepl the TRUTH. But it is
Thcrc is compulsion man acceptthe TRLffH. is
ccrtrinly e shameupon the human intcllctt when mrn is
certainly a shame upon the human intellect when man is not even
cven
interested in finding out as to whet is the TRUTH!
intcrestcd as whet is the TRUTH!
Islem teaclrcsthet has given mrn thc frculty
Islam teaches that God has given man the faculty of reason and
reasonend
therefore expects man to rea~on things out objectively and sys-
therefore expccts men rearon things obiectively rnd sys-
tematicrlly reflcct and question rnd
tematically for himself. To reOect and to question and to reflect.
himself. reflect.
Nobo-ly should pressyou to makee hastydccision scrept rny
Nobody should press you to make a hasty decision to accept any of
the teachings of Islam, for Islam teaches that man should be given
thc teachings Islam, lslam terchesthet mrn should bc given
the freedom chooae.Even when man is facedn ith the TRUTH,
the freedom to choose. Even when man is faced with the TRUTH,
thcrc is
there is no compulsion upon man to embrace it.
compulsion upon man embrace
But before you begin to form an opinion about Islam, ~k yourself
bcfore you bcgin an about lslam. askyoursclf
whether your existi~g knowledge of Islam thorough enough. Ask
whethcr your existirg knowledge Islam rhoroughcnough.Ask
yourself whether thet knowlcdgc hrs bccn obtsined
yourself whether that knowledge has been obtained through oon-non-
party sourceswho themselves have probably bccn
Muslim third party sources who themselves have probably been
exposed only rendom glimpses lslamic writings and hrve yet
exposed to only random glimpses of Islamic writings and ha....e yet
to
to reason on Islam objectively and systematically themselves.
to reason ur Islam obiectively and systematicdlythemsclves.
It is fair that one !lhould form an opinion about the taste of a
is frir that one should en about the taste a
particular dish just hy heresay from others who may themselves
particular dish just hcresay othcrs who mey themsclves
hevetestcd thc dish yet? Similarly you should
not necessarily have tasted the dish yet? Similarly you should find
necessarily
yourself ebout islam
out for yourself about Islam from reliable sources and not only
rcliablc sourcesand not
an opinion. Thst u'ould
taste it, but digest it wdl before you form an opinion. That would
tastc bur digcst wcll bcforc you
be an intellect apprC'dch to Islam.
be en intellect rpprcach to Islam.
It is up to you to make the next move.
is you mekc thc ncxt move.
meking !'our move, Islam continuouslyrcassures thrt y'our
you
In making your move, Islam continuously reassures you that your
rights
rights to freedom of choice and freedom to use that God-given
freedom choicc and frecdom usc thrt God-given
faculty of thought and reason will be respel,.'"ted. Every man has
faculty thought and reason tre resper,red. Every mrn hes
thet individual wiU.
that individual wiU. No one else can take away that will and force
one elsecan takeaweythrt end force
you surrenderto the
you to surrender to the will of God. You have to find Ollt aud make
God. You haveto find orrtarrdmake
that decision yourself.
that dccision yoursclf.
May your intellectual journcy towards the TR L'TH be a pleasant
Illay intellectual journey towards rhe TRLI"I'H be a pleasrnt
one.
one.
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