Quran and Modern Science(part 1) by Dr. Zakir Naik
Page: 3/6
(9032 total words in this text)
(1630 reads) 
WINDS IMPREGNATE THE CLOUDS
“And we send the fecundating winds, Then cause the rain to descend From the sky, therewith providing You with water (in abundance).†[AI-Qur’an 15:22]
The Arabic word used here is ‘Lawaqih’ which is the plural of ‘Laqih’ from ‘Laqaha’,
which means to impregnate or fecundate. In this context, impregnate means that
the wind pushes the cloud together increasing the condensation that causes
lighting and thus rain. A similar description is found in the Qur’an :
“It is Allah who sends The Winds, and they raise The Clouds: the does He Spread them in the sky As He wills, and breaks them Into fragments, until thou seest Raindrops issue from the midst Thereof: then when He has Made them reach such Of His servants as He wills; Behold, they do rejoice !†[AI-Qur’an 30:48]
The Qur’anic descriptions are absolutely accurate and agree perfectly with
modern data on hydrology.
The water cycle is described in several verses of the Glorious Qur’an,
including 7:57, 50:9-11, 25:48-49, 13:17, 67:30, 36:34, 56:68-70.
GEOLOGY
MOUNTAINS ARE LIKE PEGS (STAKES)
In ancient times a well-known theory by the name of ‘Theory of Atomism’ was
widely accepted. This theory was originally proposed by the Greeks, in
particular by a man called Democritus, who lived about 23 centuries ago.
Democritus and the people who came after him, assumed that the smallest unit of
matter was the atom. The Arabs used to believe the same. The Arabic word ‘Zarra’
most commonly meant an atom. In recent times modern science has discovered that
it is possible to split even an atom. That the atom can be split up further is a
development of the 20th century. Fourteen centuries ago this concept would have
appeared unusual even to an Arab. For him the ‘Zarra’ was the bottom beyond
which one could not go. The following Qur’anic verse however, refuses to
acknowledge this limit :
Geologists tell us that the radius of the Earth is about 3,750 miles and the
crust on which we live is very thin, it has a high possibility of shaking.
Mountains act like stakes or tent pegs that hold the earth’s crust and give it
stability. The Qur’an contains exactly such a description in the following
verse:
“Have we not made The earth as a wide Expanse, And the mountains as pegs?†[AI-Qur’an 78:6-7]
1 Earth, Press and the Siever p. 435. Also see Earth Science. Tarbuck and
Lutgens. P. 157.
The word ‘awtad’ means stakes or pegs (like those used to anchor a tent);
they are the deep foundations of geological folds.
A book named ‘Earth’ is considered as a basic reference textbook on geology
in many universities around the world. One of the authors of this book is Frank
Press, who is the President of the Academy of Science in the USA and was the
Science Advisor to former US President Jimmy Carter. In this book he illustrates
the mountain in a wedge-shape and the mountain itself as a small part of the
whole, whose root is deeply entrenched in the ground. 1 According to Dr. Press,
the mountains play an important role in stabilising the crust of the earth.
The Qur’an clearly mentions the function of the mountains in preventing the
earth from shaking.
“And We have set on the earth Mountains standing firm, Lest it should shake with them.†[AI-Qur’an 21:31]
The Qur’anic descriptions are in perfect agreement with modern geological
data.
MOUNTAINS FIRMLY FIXED
The surface of the earth is broken into many rigid plates that are about 100
km in thickness. These plates float on a partially molten region called
aesthenosphere.
Mountain formations occur at the boundary of the plates. The earth’s crust is
5 km thick below oceans, about 35 km think below flat continental surfaces and
almost 80 km thick below great mountain ranges. These are the strong foundations
on which mountains stand. The Qur’an also speaks about the strong mountain
foundations in the following verse:
“And the mountains Hath He firmly fixedâ€. [AI-Qur’an 79:32]1
1 A similar message is contained in the Qur’an in 88:19, 31:10 and 16:15
OCEANOLOGY
BARRIER BETWEEN SWEET AND SALT WATERS
Consider the following Qur’anic verses:
“It is He Who has Let free the two bodies Of flowing water: One palpable and sweet, And the other salt and bitter;Yet has He Made a barrier between them, A partition that is forbidden To be passedâ€. [AI-Qur’an 25:53]
“He has let free The two bodies Of flowing water, Meeting together: Between them is a Barrier Which they do not transgress.†[AI-Qur’an 55:19-20]
In the Arabic text the word ‘barzakh’ means a barrier or a partition. This
barrier is not a physical partition. The Arabic phrase ‘Marajal Bahraini Yal
Takiyan’ literally means ‘to meet and mix with each other’. Early commentators
of the Qur’an were unable to explain the two opposite meanings for the two
bodies of water, i.e. they meet and mix, and at the same time, there is a
barrier between them. Oceanologists are now in a better position to explain this
verse. There is a slanted unseen water barrier between the sea’s sweet and salt
water through which water from one sea passes to the other.
But when the water from one sea enters the other sea, it loses its
distinctive characteristic and becomes homogenized with the other. In a way this
barrier serves as a transitional homogenizing area for the two waters.
This scientific phenomenon mentioned in the Qur’an was also confirmed by
Prof. Hay who is a well-known marine scientist in the US.
The Qur’an mentions this phenomenon in the following verse :
“And made a separating bar Between the two bodies Of flowing waterâ€. [AI-Qur’an 27:61]
This phenomenon occurs in several places including:
(One) The Cape area in South Africa where fresh water pools into the salt
water.
(Two) Egypt, where the river Nile flows into the Mediterranean Sea.
(Three) The divider between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean at
Gibralter.
DARKNESS IN THE DEPTHS OF THE OCEAN
Prof. Durga Rao is an expert in the field of Marine Geology and was a
professor at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah. He was asked to comment on
the following verse:
“Or (the Unbelievers’ state) Is like the depths of darkness In a vast deep ocean, Overwhelmed with billow Topped by billow, by (dark) clouds: Depths of darkness, one Above another: if a man Stretches out his hand, He can hardly see it! For any to whom Allah Giveth not light, There is no light!†[AI-Qur’an 24:40]
Prof. Rao said that scientists have only now been able to confirm, with the
help of modern equipment that there is darkness in the depths of the ocean.
Humans are unable to dive unaided underwater for more than 20 to 30 meters, and
cannot survive in the deep oceanic regions at a depth of more than 200 meters.
This verse does not refer to any sea because not every sea can be described as
having accumulated darkness layered one over another. It refers especially to a
deep sea or deep ocean, as the Qur’an says, “darkness in a vast deep ocean.â€
This layered darkness in a deep ocean is the result of two causes :
1. A light ray is composed of seven colors. These seven colors are Violet,
Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red (VIBGYOR). The light ray undergoes
refraction when it hits water. The upper 10 to 15 meters of water absorb the red
color. Therefore if a driver is 25 meters under water and gets wounded, he would
not be able to see the red color of his blood, because the red color does not
reach this depth. Similarly orange rays are absorbed at 30 to 50 meters, yellow
at 50 to 100 meters, green at 100 to 200 meters, and finally, blue, violet and
indigo beyond 200 meters. Due to successive disappearance of color, one layer
after another, the ocean progressively becomes darker, i.e. darkness takes place
in layers of light. Below a depth of 1000 meters there is complete darkness.
1 Oceans. Elder and pernetta. P. 27
2. The sun’s rays are absorbed by clouds which in turn scatter light rays
thus causing a layer of darkness under the clouds. This is the first layer of
darkness. When light rays reach the surface of the ocean they are reflected by
the wave surface giving it a shiny appearance. Therefore it is the waves which
reflect light and cause darkness. The unreflected light penetrates into the
depths of the ocean. Therefore the ocean has two parts. The surface
characterized by light and warmth and the depth characterized by darkness. The
surface is further separated from the deep part of the ocean by waves.
The internal waves cover the deep water of seas and oceans because the deep
waters have a higher density than the waters above them.
The darkness begins below the internal waves. Even the fish in the depths of
the ocean cannot see; their only source of light is from their own bodies.
The Qur’an rightly mentions:
“Darkness in a vast deep ocean overwhelmed with waves topped by wavesâ€.
In other words, above these waves there are more types of waves, i.e. those
found on the surface of the ocean. The Qur’anic verse continues, “topped by
(dark) clouds; depths of darkness, one above another.â€
These clouds as explained are barriers one over the other that further cause
darkness by absorption of colors at different levels
Prof. Durga Rao concluded by saying, “1400 years ago a normal human being
could not explain this phenomenon in so much detail. Thus the information must
have come from a supernatural source.â€
BIOLOGY
EVERY LIVING THING IS MADE OF WATER
Consider the following Qur’anic verse:
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