Scientific Errors in Quran

[Uzair Ahmed]

I made this topic so here we can discuss the things which critics bring so called "Scientific errors in Quran". It's hard to find any rebuttal or an article in this site (answering-christianity.com) which refutes the claim made by critics that Quran contain Scientific errors. From time to time when everything will be cleared. I will post things on my website.

CRITICS QUOTE = RED QUOTE

# Problem 1 / Does Sun revolves around Earth ?


Critics claim that, Sun revolves around the earth and there is no verse which claims that earth revolves around the sun, They bring the verse

"It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor doth the night outstrip the day. THEY FLOAT EACH IN AN ORBIT."  Qur'an 36:40

"And He it is Who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. They float, each in an orbit." Qur'an 21:33

Faique Mushtaq you're so naive. Read the Quran.
It says earth is flat.
Sky is like a dome (tent).
Sky can fall down on people.
Seven Heavens.
Sky can be rolled up.
and many other absurdities.

How should i refute this? Please help, also please read the passage below by Islamic Research Foundation ( Dr Zakir Naik ) which can be found here http://sunnahonline.com/library/the-majestic-quran/430-quran-and-modern-science-compatible-or-incompatible-the

For a long time European philosophers and scientists believed that the earth stood still in the center of the universe and every other body including the sun moved around it. In the West, this geocentric concept of the universe was prevalent right from the time of Ptolemy in the second century BC. In 1512, Nicholas Copernicus put forward his Heliocentric Theory of Planetary Motion, which asserted that the sun is motionless at the centre of the solar system with the planets revolving around it.

In 1609, the German scientist Yohannus Keppler published the 'Astronomia Nova'. In this he concluded that not only do the planets move in elliptical orbits around the sun, they also rotate upon their axes at irregular speeds. With this knowledge it became possible for European scientists to explain correctly many of the mechanisms of the solar system including the sequence of night and day.

After these discoveries, it was thought that the Sun was stationary and did not rotate about its axis like the Earth. I remember having studied this fallacy from Geography books during my school days. Consider the following Qur'anic verse: "It is He Who created The Night and the Day, And the sun and the moon: All (the celestial bodies) Swim along, each in its Rounded course." [Al-Qur'an 21:33]

The Arabic word used in the above verse is yasbahun . The word yasbahun is derived from the word sabaha. It carries with it the idea of motion that comes from any moving body. If you use the word for a man on the ground, it would not mean that he is rolling but would mean he is walking or running. If you use the word for a man in water it would not mean that he is floating but would mean that he is swimming.

Similarly, if you use the word yasbah for a celestial body such as the sun it would not mean that it is only flying through space but would mean that it is also rotating as it goes through space. Most of the school textbooks have incorporated the fact that the sun rotates about its axis. The rotation of the sun about its own axis can be proved with the help of an equipment that projects the image of the sun on the table top so that one can examine the image of the sun without being blinded. It is noticed that the sun has spots which complete a circular motion once every 25 days i.e. the sun takes approximately 25 days to rotate around its axis.

In fact, the sun travels through space at roughly 150 miles per second, and takes about 200 million years to complete one revolution around the center of our Milky Way Galaxy.

"It is not permitted to the Sun to catch up the Moon, nor can the Night outstrip the Day: Each (just) swims along in (its own) orbit (according to Law)." [Al-Qur'an 36:40]

This verse mentions an essential fact discovered by modern astronomy, i.e. the existence of the individual orbits of the Sun and the Moon, and their journey through space with their own motion. The 'fixed place' towards, which the sun travels, carrying with it the solar system, has been located exactly by modern astronomy. It has been given a name, the Solar Apex. The solar system is indeed moving in space towards a point situated in the constellation of Hercules (alpha Layer) whose exact location is firmly established.

The moon rotates around its axis in the same duration that it takes to revolve around the earth. It takes approximately 29½ days to complete one rotation. One cannot help but be amazed at the scientific accuracy of the Qur'anic verses. Should we not ponder over the question: "What was the source of knowledge contained in the Qur'an?"

I can't understand the paragraph above by Islamic Research foundation so can i send this paragraph to critic? is this reliable? Does it refute ?


Waiting for answer,
Brother Uzair Ahmed.

[QuranSearchCom]

As'salamu Alaikum dear brother Uzair,

This article thoroughly demonstrates the different Noble Words that speak about the orbit and traveling of the sun in space:

http://www.answering-christianity.com/swimming_in_space_miracle.htm

Please read the article and feel free to ask any question.  You'll also find the following important video in the article:



http://www.answering-christianity.com/is_earth_the_center_of_the_universe.wmv

Take care,
Osama Abdallah

[ThatMuslimGuy]

AsalamuAlaikum,

Does the Quran say the Sun orbits the Earth?
Many verses of the Quran speak about the orbit of the Sun. For example:



21:33

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21:33
Sahih International
And it is He who created the night and the day and the sun and the moon; all [heavenly bodies] in an orbit are swimming.
Muhsin Khan
And He it is Who has created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon, each in an orbit floating.


36:38

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36:38
Muhsin Khan
And the sun runs on its fixed course for a term (appointed). That is the Decree of the All-Mighty, the All-Knowing.
Yusuf Ali
And the sun runs his course for a period determined for him: that is the decree of (Him), the Exalted in Might, the All-Knowing.

None of the verses in the Quran state that the Sun orbits the Earth. All the Quranic verses simply detail two things:

1. That the Sun is moving.
2. That it has an orbit.

These two statements are what match with scientific facts.
The Sun is currently traveling through the Local Interstellar Cloud (near to the G-cloud) in the Local Bubble zone, within the inner rim of the Orion Arm of the Milky Way. Of the 50 nearest stellar systems within 17 light-years from Earth (the closest being a red dwarf named Proxima Centauri at approximately 4.2 light-years away), the Sun ranks fourth in mass. The Sun orbits the center of the Milky Way at a distance of approximately 24000–26000 light-years from the galactic center, completing one clockwise orbit, as viewed from the galactic north pole, in about 225–250 million years. [1]
Although many people quote these Quranic verses, they contain no references to the Sun orbiting the Earth.

References:
[1] Wikipedia article. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun

http://www.quran-errors.blogspot.co.uk/#!http://quran-errors.blogspot.com/2014/03/does-quran-say-earth-orbits-sun.html

ThatMuslimGuy
www.quran-errors.com

[submit]

"It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor doth the night outstrip the day. THEY FLOAT EACH IN AN ORBIT."  Qur'an 36:40

"And He it is Who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. They float, each in an orbit." Qur'an 21:33


We have events of eclipse during the time of the prophet as prophet ascribe to perform prayers during such event, which means if they read verse 36:40 in sense of sun and moon revolving around earth not overtaking each other, then certainly sun have overtaken moon.
This means suns appointed course is not revolving around earth (Qur'an 36:38).
While moon's appointed course is mentioned to be in returning phases that is around earth (Qur'an 36:39)

It says earth is flat.
Sky is like a dome (tent).
Sky can fall down on people.
Seven Heavens.
Sky can be rolled up.
and many other absurdities.

surface of earth is acceptably spread out flat if compared to moon
sky is like a dome due to protection from Creator for His creation to inhabit earth
if God does not permit protection towards earth, things from space will fall down on earth frequently and make earth less habitable
human  can only theorize condition at farthest edge of universe, knowledge of space is still largely unknown

[Uzair Ahmed]

2 - Earth is flat according to Noble Quran?

http://irf.net/faq/faq2_08.html

The Qur’an mentions the actual shape of the earth in the following verse:
 
“And we have made the earth egg shaped”. [Al-Qur’an 79:30]
The Arabic word Dahaha means egg shaped. It also means an expanse. Dahaha is derived from Duhiya which specifically refers to the egg of an ostrich which is geospherical in shape, exactly like the shape of the earth. Thus the Qur’an and modern established science are in perfect harmony.

Did Zakir Naik made a mistake? ^
The critics claim that Dahaha means expanse and it is not derived from the word Duhiya and even if it is derived then it means the place where Ostrich lay eggs not the egg itself. Plus Earth is geoid while egg is ovoid.

The article on answering-christianity.com also says that earth is egg shaped http://www.answering-christianity.com/egg-shaped_earth.htm

ThatMuslimGuy also posted the same thing on his site, http://quran-errors.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/does-quran-teach-that-earth-is-flat.html

Now, the very first expression in the series, dahaha, is noticeably distinctive and different in genre from the rest. Watt, following many other previous translators, renders it as "spread out". But the exact and correct meaning of the term, keeping in view its root, rather provides a very positive Qur'anic evidence in support of the spherical shape of the earth. For daha means to "shape like an egg", its noun being dahiyah, which the Arabs still use to mean an egg. [13]

Q Also what does it mean that earth is spread out or expanse?
Q Critics also claim that a believer always reinterupt their scriptures to fit the modern science because the word contains two meanings like Daha.


Waiting for answers.

[QuranSearchCom]

As'salamu Alaikum akhi Uzair,

Did you read the link that I gave you above?  It also gives you the link and details of the article that goes into great details about Earth in the Glorious Quran, and all of the Noble Verses and Noble Words that speak about the earth's place in space.  The Holy Quran speaks about:

1-  Earth rotating around itself or its own axle.
2-  Is traveling in space.
3-  Is running in space or going fast.
4-  Earth is spherical.

By the way, Dahaha is derive from Dah.  It means round, and it means rolling down.  This is where you get the Arabic word DAHraja, which means to roll down as you roll down a barrel from the top of the hill.  Daha also refers to something that is spherical.  Here are some of the definitions that I posted from Lisan Al-Arab and other encyclopedic dictionaries:

Daha دحا means:

دحا   (daha):  دفعه و رمى به (dafa'aahu wa ramaa bih) Caused it to move, pushed it, or threw it.

ويقذفون من كل جانب دحورا ولهم عذاب واصب  (The Noble Quran, 37:8-9)   And they're cast away from every side, repulsed, for they are under a perpetual penalty.
 
دحا الصبي المِدحاةَََ أي دفع الصبي المِدحاةَََ   Daha the boy the rolling toy, means the boy pushed the rolling toy.
 
دحرجَ  (dahraja):  to roll, roll along, to roll down.

   

دحا   (daha):  و في حديث أبي رافع: كنت أُلاعب الحسن و الحسين, رضوان الله عليهما, بالمداحي, هي احجار أمثال القِرصة 

In the Hadith of Abi Rafiaa':  I used to play with Al-Hasan and Al-Hussein, may Allah Almighty be pleased with them, with AL-MADAAHI, which means STONES that look like AL-QIRASAH.

دحا   (daha):  المداحي هي احجار أمثال القِرصة   Al-madaahi are stones that resemble AL-QIRASAH.


So what does Al-Qirasah mean?

According to Lisan Al-Arab dictionary [1], Book 4, Page 516

القِرصة (al-qirasah):  قرِّصي العجين أي سوِّيه قِرصة  Cut the dough into small round pieces.
 
القِرصة (al-qirasah):  قرص الشمس اي عينها    The qurs of the sun means the eye of the sun, which is round.
 

المدحرج (al-mudahraj):  المُدوَّر  what is round or circular.

دحا   (daha):  دحّ في الثّرى بيتاً إذا وسعه  He expanded the house.

دحى  (daha):   الدُّحُحْ (al-duhuh), which is plural of  دحى  daha, which means: الارضون الممتدّة   expanded earths.
دحا   (daha):  مدحوحاّ أي مُسوّى    evened, balanced, equaled, leveled.

دحا   (daha):  الدّواح أي العظيم الشديد العلو   al-dawwah is something that is great, extremely powerful, and exalted.

دحا   (daha):  الدِّحْية هو رئيس الجُند, و به سمِّي دِحية الكلبي   Al-dihya is the leader of the soldiers, and from this was named Dihya Al-Kalbay, who was one of Prophet Muhammad's close Companions.

الدِّحْية هو رئيس القوم و سيدهم  Al-dihya is the chief of the tribe or the group and the BEST AMONG THEM و سيدهم.
 
Planet earth is indeed the best planet in our Solar System.  It is the only planet that has water, life and Paradise-like Scenic Views.  The others are dead planets with no life like that of earth's exists on them.  See my notes about this below.
 

دحا   (daha):   ROUND and SPHERICAL:

إندحَّ بطنه إندحاحاّ اي إتّسع  His tummy became round and bigger.
 
In Prophet Muhammad's Hadith: كان لأسامة بطننٌ مُندحٌ اي متسع   Osama had a round and big tummy.
 
و بطنٌ مُنداحُ أي خارخٌ مُدوّر  His tummy is mun-daahun means it is OUT THERE AND ROUND مُدوّر.
 
و رجلٌّ دحدحُ اي قصير غليظ البطن    A man is dahda-hun which means he is short, stocky and has a big and fat tummy.
 
الدحداح هو المستدير الململم    The dahdaah is the person who is ROUND and STOCKY.
 
الدِردِحة من النساء التي طولها و عرضها سواء  Al-dir-dihati from the women is the one whose height and width look the same!  SHE LOOKS ROUND, and the by the way, the distance between the earth's north and south poles is approximately only 45 miles shorter than the earth's width.
 
دحا   (daha): الدوحة أي المظلة العظيمة  Al-Doha, as in Qatar's capital,  means a big umbrella. 


Please visit:

http://www.answering-christianity.com/egg-shaped_earth.htm
http://www.answering-christianity.com/swimming_in_space_miracle.htm

Take care,
Osama Abdallah

[submit]

By the 10th century, scholars like Ibn Hazm began supporting the view that the Earth was a sphere, and he is known to have started his debate by stating verses from the Quran: "He makes the Night overlap the Day, and the Day overlap the Night" (Zumar;5)- the word "to make [something] overlap" here, in Arabic kawwara ( كَوَّرَ ), is derived from kura( كُرَة ), which means "ball" or "sphere". And after detailed studies using celestial globes he concluded proof, and the now astronomer Ibn Hazm stated publicly that: "the Sun is always vertical to a particular spot on Earth". Ibn Hazm's proof inspired generations later on including the geographer al-Idrisi, who depicted the world as a globe.

[Tarek Habbal]

"He makes the Night overlap the Day, and the Day overlap the Night" (Zumar;5)

This is only possible if the earth is ROUND.

Google image "earth night and day" and see how the night overlaps the day and the day overlaps the night" as the Aya states..Subhan Allah. A picture speaks a thousand words...

There are 0, ZERO, scientific errors in the Quran.

[Uzair Ahmed]

Thanks Brother Osama you created a very nice article. I Didn't understood the article but now i understand. This what i came to conclusion.

Daha has several meanings ROUND OR SPHERICAL AND EXPANSE OR SPREAD OUT and both are right because our earth is expanding and it is changing the shape. Earth shape was not the same has million years ago and it was quit difference this is the WISDOM of ALLAH ALMIGHTY that he used the word which has two different meaning. According to the statement from CNN, Earth also look like a Pumpkin and many eggs do resemble Pumpkins ( It varies in shape and sizes ) AGAIN just like eggs our earth is changing and is not different that was million years ago. We should also note that Quran does not mention a specific egg because all varies in size and shape.

Thanks if you don't mind, can i make the article short and simple so that i can add on my website?

[QuranSearchCom]

Thanks Brother Osama you created a very nice article. I Didn't understood the article but now i understand. This what i came to conclusion.

Daha has several meanings ROUND OR SPHERICAL AND EXPANSE OR SPREAD OUT and both are right because our earth is expanding and it is changing the shape. Earth shape was not the same has million years ago and it was quit difference this is the WISDOM of ALLAH ALMIGHTY that he used the word which has two different meaning. According to the statement from CNN, Earth also look like a Pumpkin and many eggs do resemble Pumpkins ( It varies in shape and sizes ) AGAIN just like eggs our earth is changing and is not different that was million years ago. We should also note that Quran does not mention a specific egg because all varies in size and shape.

Thanks if you don't mind, can i make the article short and simple so that i can add on my website?

As'salamu Alaikum dear brother Uzair,

Your most welcome akhi.  May Allah Almighty strengthen your faith and protect you.  Ameen.

As to rewriting the article, my dear brother please do not let me get in the way between you and spreading Islam.  Do as you see best, my dear brother.  You don't even have to ask me.

May Allah Almighty bless you!  Ameen.

Take care,
Osama Abdallah