Jamaica: Down the way where the nights are gay….

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1. The Qur’an and Science: Do They Agree?

   By Paul Martin

   Introduction: Issues in Islam.
   The Qur’an is to Muslims the infallible word of God
   that they assert has been perfectly preserved on a
   tablet in heaven. They believe these words were given
   to Muhammad their prophet by the angel Gabriel. See
   Qur’an 10:15, 37; 56:77-79; 69:44-48; 85:21-22. It is
   unchangeable, inerrant, and many Muslims believe in
   the implementation of Islamic shariah law because of
   their view that it is God’s unchangeable word.

   The Qur’an teaches hand amputation for petty theft
   (Qur’an 5:38), that a man can own and have sex with
   slave girls (2:221; 4:3, 24-28; 23:5-6; 33:50-52;
   70:30), allows child marriages (65:4-5, see N.J.
   Dawood’s footnote in his translation), and calls for
   war to be made on Jews and Christians until they are
   either defeated or subjected to humiliating lowliness
   (9:29).

   Since the Qur’an makes some very high claims to
   infallibility, then a single error would render the
   whole dogmatic position as fallacious. When the Qur’an
   is held up to the scrutiny of science it does not fare
   very well, because the Qur’an and science give two
   very descriptions of the earth. Much of the style of
   the Qur’an also, is not written like symbolic
   descriptions one would find in the Bible’s Psalm or
   Job about the earth, but is supposedly God’s clear
   revelations to Muhammad for his instruction about the
   world around him.

   But what further complicates this issue is the claim
   by numerous Muslim apologists that the Qur’an is full
   of scientific miracles and insights long before they
   were discovered, which is proof that the Qur’an is
   God’s word. Numerous people have converted to Islam
   after reading these misleading booklets and videos.
   Even some secular scientists (or so we are told) have
   been quoted by the Muslims on their amazement on the
   ‘scientific accuracy’ of the Qur’an.

   Miscellaneous errors.
   The Qur’an has many miscellaneous scientific errors on
   a number of different issues.

   Qur’an 2:261 tells us that every ear of corn has 100
   grains. This has not been proven scientifically and is
   more than obviously false. It brings into question the
   scientific accuracy of the Qur’an and whether the
   Qur’an is really addressing scientific issues.

   Qur’an 27:18, tells the story of a talking ant in the
   time of King Solomon. Ants do not communicates with
   words, but with scent and smell, etc. This is a
   scientific error, regarding nature.

   Muslims, have responded to Christians by saying that
   the Bible is even more absurd where Daniel saw a
   vision of some talking horns on a beast. There is a
   difference, however. Daniel was looking at a symbolic,
   apocalyptic vision that is not meant to be taken
   literally. The Qur’an 27:18, however, is talking about
   an historical incident involving, Solomon, whom the
   Muslims believe was a real prophet in a real event.

   These are not the only absurdities of talking in the
   teachings of Muhammad. In the Hadith (traditions of
   what Muhammad said and did), we find more. We are told
   that stones talked to Muhammad (Bukhari 1, p. vii),
   that food talked to Muhammad while he was eating it
   (Bukhari 4:779) and a tree cried because Muhammad
   would not preach near it (Bukhari 2:41; 4:783). After
   Muhammad comforted the tree, it stopped crying (ibid).
   For this to be true, stones, trees and food would have
   to have at least lungs, a respiratory system, vocal
   cords and a tongue. One has to wonder if you could be
   more absurd than this?

   The Qur’an 5:6, says that if there is no water to
   clean oneself with, you should use sand as a
   substitute for water. Firstly this is very unhygienic,
   since sand is full of dust and is unclean. Even if the
   God of the Qur’an had not been addressing scientific
   issues, one would wonder why he would not know that
   sand is unhygienic and dangerous for one’s health,
   thus warning them against it.

   Genetic myths.
   The Qur’an has many genetic myths about how humans are
   born, etc. The Qur’an 86:6-7 says that semen comes
   from between a man’s backbone and ribs. We know today
   from biology studies that semen comes from the male
   genitalia, so once again, a very inaccurate statement
   coming from the Qur’an.

   In the Hadith, Muhammad was given a revelation from
   the angel Gabriel as to why a child resembles the
   father sometimes, and other times the mother. The
   angel told him that it depends on which parent reaches
   their sexual climax first during conception (Bukhari
   4:546). This has been disproved by genetics.

   The Qur’an also tells us that the prophet Jesus was
   created from dust (3:59) in Mary’s womb (19:20-23).
   Why she did not get tuberculosis with the dust in her
   body seems even more miraculous.

   Miscellaneous errors.
   The Qur’an has other errors of nature, where 51:49,
   says of life in creation, “And of everything we have
   created pairs that ye may reflect” (see also 43:12;
   50:7). So for all animals they are created in pairs.
   This is an obvious denial of the fact that numerous
   species produce asexually, not in pairs.

   The Qur’an also contains scientific anachronisms of
   longevity. The Qur’an 18:25 tells the story of some
   men who slept in a cave for 309 years. Why they did
   not die very soon due to dehydration and lack of
   sunlight is not explained.

   The Qur’an 37:143-144 also talks of how the prophet
   Jonah was swallowed by the fish, this god in the
   Qur’an says, “Had it not been that he repented and
   glorified Allah, he would certainly have remained
   inside the fish till the day of resurrection.” We know
   from scientific, biological studies, that the fish
   (had it not vomited him up) would have digested Jonah,
   which would have seen him dead and defecated out of
   the fish. As for the fish, long before the day of
   resurrection it would have been well and truly dead
   and rotted away.

   Sick myths.
   In the Hadith, Muhammad explains the cause of fever
   and the reason for high body temperatures – they come
   from the fire of hell (Bukhari 4:483, 486). From
   today’s medical studies, we know the real cause of
   fevers.

   The most common cause of fevers is viral infections
   like influenza, as seen in a cold or sore throat. Most
   other fevers (in temperate climates) are from
   bacteria, which affect the respiratory system, bowels,
   urinary tract and intestines. Fevers in tropical
   climates are caused by protozoa (parasites larger than
   bacteria).

   The earth is spread out like a carpet.
   The Qur’an 20:53, talks of God who has, “…made the
   earth for you like a carpet spread out…” (see also
   71:19). This could hardly be a clearer way of
   describing the earth as flat. The Qur’an repeatedly
   refers to how the earth is “wide” or “spread out”
   (Qur’an 13:3; 15:19; 18:7; 19:6; 21:30; 35:40; 41:10;
   43:10; 50:7; 51:48; 55:10; 78:6; 79:30; 88:20), which
   is not the language used to describe a round sphere.

   Heavy mountains hold the earth in place.
   Just as one might use some bricks to hold the corners
   of a sheet on the ground in place on a windy day, so
   we are told of the role that mountains play in keeping
   the earth stable. The Qur’an 21:31, “And we have set
   on earth mountains standing firm, lest it should
   shake…”

   So far we are the told that the earth is spread out
   like a carpet with heavy mountains to hold it in
   place.

   But further evidence opens up that the Qur’an is
   indeed talking about a flat earth. Qur’an 18:47 says,
   “On that day we shall remove the mountains, and thou
   wilt see the earth as a level stretch…” (see also
   20:104-107). In other words 18:47 & 20:107 are saying
   that once the mountains are removed, we will see to
   the end of the world, which is flat.

   The sky could fall on our heads!
   This god also reassures us in the Qur’an 22:65, that
   “He witholds the sky from falling on the earth except
   by his leave: for Allah is most kind and most merciful
   to man.” The Qur’an is saying that the sky is a hard
   opaque object that could fall and injure/kill us. This
   is certainly how it appeared to ancient people, but
   not what we know from scientific evidence. Perhaps
   this god knew that the earth’s atmosphere was just
   thin air and a mixture of gasses. But this would make
   him into a deceiving god, making an empty threat and
   telling blatant lies!

   The Qur’an 19:90 also says that in regard to
   blasphemies against Islam, the skies are about to
   burst. The Qur’an 34:9 this god says of the pagans,
   “If we wished, we could cause the earth to swallow
   them up, or cause a piece of the sky to fall upon
   them” (see also 52:44). The concept of a hard sky is
   also seen in the way it is described as a canopy
   (Qur’an 2:22; 21:32; 40:64; 79:28), that will one day
   be ripped apart (Qur’an 55:37; 69:16; 73:18; 78:19;
   82:1).

   The Qur’an 70:8 tells us that one day the sky will be
   like molten brass. And one day the sky will be rolled
   up (21:104; 39:67).

   Then the Qur’an unlocks to us a mystery about how the
   heavens and earth were made. In a rhetorical challenge
   to the pagans who rejected Islam, this god says, “Do
   not the unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth
   were joined together (as one unit of creation), before
   we clove them asunder?”

   So far we are told that the earth is flat, the sky is
   hard and these two hard, opaque objects were once
   joined together, but this god pulled them apart, which
   explains the distance between the earth and sky. This
   is similar to the creation myths of the Australian
   Aborigines and New Zealand Maoris.

   The sun moves around the earth.
   The Qur’an talks of the earth in terms as if it were
   stationary, with the sun and stars moving around the
   earth (Qur’an 2:258; 21:33; 36:40; 52:49; 53:1). “It
   is he who created the night and the day, and the sun
   and the moon: all (celestial bodies) swim along, each
   in it’s rounded course” (21:33). We know today that
   the sun is far bigger than the earth, and is drawing
   the round earth in it’s orbit.

   Where does the sun set?
   Even more conclusive evidence arrives that the Qur’an
   teaches a flat earth, because the sun is very small (a
   lot smaller than the earth), and it rises and sets on
   our flat earth!

   The Qur’an 18:83-98 tells the story of a pious Muslim,
   Zulqarnain (whom many Muslim commentators think is
   Alexander the Great). One day while traveling along,
   we find that, “Until, when, he reached the setting of
   the sun, he found it to set in a spring of murky
   water” (18:86). So Zulqarnain found the sun sets in a
   spring of murky water. This is saying that the earth
   is flat and the sun is very small.

   This is an error of astronomical proportions. Shall I
   belabor the obvious? The sun is far bigger than the
   earth and if it were any closer we would all burn up.
   Many Muslims interpret this to mean that he merely
   looked at the sun from the angle of it setting past a
   pond of murky water, but this is not what the text
   says.

   Why Zulqarnain did not go blind or suffer serious eye
   damage is not explained, because he still enough
   eyesight to travel to the other end of the world. He
   traveled, “Until, when he came to the rising of the
   sun, he found it rising on a people for whom we had
   provided no covering protection against the sun”
   (18:90). In other words he found the sun rising on a
   scorched people, because they were nearer to the sun
   than anyone else! This is a clear denial of the round
   earth, where for every morning for everyone on the
   whole earth, the sun’s rays are closer at midday than
   the morning!

   In the Hadith, Muhammad asked some people, “”Do you
   know where this sun goes?” I said, “Allah and his
   Apostle know best.” He said, It goes and asks
   permission to prostrate, and it is allowed, and one
   day it, as if being ordered to return whence it came,
   then it will rise from the west.”” (Bukhari 9:520). He
   is erroneously describing the ‘rising’ and ‘setting’
   of the sun as supernatural phenomena. Not only that,
   he tells us that the sun actually asks this god for
   permission to rise and set! Furthermore, in this
   context, Muhammad was not reciting poetry, but was
   giving the Muslims clear instruction on how the sun
   rises and sets.

   This concept is further supported by the Qur’an
   telling us, “And the sun runs into a resting place…”
   (Qur’an 36:38). We know today from science and
   astronomy that it is the earth that spins, not the
   sun.

   Pray facing Mecca.
   The flat-earth concept is seen in the fact that
   Muslims have to pray five times a day facing Mecca. To
   pray with you back to Mecca, would be sacrilegious.
   They are not allowed to even go to the toilet facing
   Mecca, either (Bukhari 1:146-151). From a flat-earth
   viewpoint, this makes sense. But we know today, being
   on a spherical globe, that if you pray facing Mecca,
   you have your back to Mecca at the same time (and
   vice-versa).

   Mountainous myths.
   As if we have not come across enough absurdities
   already, the Qur’an and Hadith teach some monumental
   errors of science that any Muslim would be
   hard-pressed to defend. These scientific errors make a
   mountain out of a molehill.

   In the Hadith, Muhammad referred to the growth of a
   baby horse: “…as anyone of you brings up a baby
   horse, till it becomes like a mountain” (Bukhari
   9:525B). Muhammad is talking plain nonsense and may
   have been hallucinating.

   We are also told that when Muhammad saw the mountain
   of Uhud, he said, “This is the mountain that loves and
   is loved by us” (Bukhari 9:433). Muhammad taught that
   mountains have feelings, emotions and personality. We
   know today that they are dead, senseless rock and
   mineral formations pushed up through continental drift
   and shaped often by volcanoes.

   The Qur’an tells us that once the hills praised his
   god (Qur’an 38:18), and that the mountains were afraid
   (33:72). It talks of the mountains as if they were
   hollow and will one day collapse in Qur’an 19:90;
   56:5; Bukhari 9:75.

   The Qur’an also has some very shady myths about
   clouds. The Qur’an 30:24, says that this god breaks
   the clouds into fragments so that rain can fall. We
   know from science and meteorology that clouds are
   actually water droplets formed through evaporation and
   not hard objects. In 41:11, the clouds also talked to
   this god and said, “We do come together, in willing
   obedience.”

   Astronomical errors.
   From astronomical studies, we know more about the
   universe than ever before. There are billions of stars
   in countless galaxies, of which more are being
   discovered all the time. The closest start is 4.5
   light years away and the furtherest stars and galaxies
   are countless billions of light years away. Some these
   stars are very small (such as the white dwarf which is
   roughly the size of the earth), while others are
   massively larger than the sun.

   If these big stars were closer to earth, they would
   drag probably our whole solar system into their orbit,
   and the heat would destroy life on earth. Our very
   survival depends on these stars keeping their
   distance.

   Let us examine, then, what the Qur’an tells us about
   the stars and where they are in distance from the
   earth. We are told that above the earth there are
   seven heavens/firmaments, each above the other (Qur’an
   2:29; 37:6-7; 67:3; 71:15). But we are then told that
   the sun and the stars are inside the lowest heaven
   (37:6-7; 67:5; 78:12-13)!

   The Qur’an is telling us that the stars are very
   small, and they are inside the sky, or at least the
   equivalent distance that the sun is from the earth.
   The lowest heaven means the closest part to the earth.

   Nevertheless, the Qur’an’s reference to seven heavens
   has been hailed by numerous Muslims as a great
   scientific insight. Harun Yahya, a popular Muslim
   apologist well known for his creationist,
   anti-evolution booklets and assertions that the Qur’an
   has scientific miracles, looks at this. In his
   Miracles of the Qur’an, he claims that the Qur’an is
   giving us insightful scientific instruction on what
   scientists only discovered in the 20th century: that
   the earth’s atmosphere has seven layers (i.e., the
   stratosphere, ionosphere, exosphere, etc). However,
   Yahya completely ignores that the Qur’an also says, to
   be consistent with such a claim, that stars we see are
   to be found in the lowest levels of our atmosphere!

   But we find even more errors regarding stars that
   ought to be of interest to astronomers. We read that
   this god has, “…set out constellations in the
   heavens… And moreover we have guarded them from
   every accursed Satan. But any that gains a hearing by
   stealth, is pursued by a fiery comet…” (Qur’an
   15:16-19; see also 37:6-7; 67:5). The Qur’an is
   telling us that stars and comets chase after evil
   spirits. It seems strange in any case, that these evil
   spirits (that Islam teaches are there to cause man
   mischief) are also millions of light years away,
   letting themselves be chased by enormous stars and
   comets, when they could be perfectly safe on earth.

   The Qur’an tells us about the prophet Abraham. Like
   Jews and Christians, they believe he was an historical
   character. Muslims assert that the Qur’an is the most
   accurate historical record of all prophets. After
   telling us that Abraham survived the flood that was in
   Noah’s time (Qur’an 37:79-83), we read that, “Then did
   he cast a glance at the Stars, and he said, “I am
   indeed sick at heart.” So they turned away from him
   and departed” (37:88-90). Because Abraham felt sick,
   the stars all fled from his presence.

   Is the moon made of green cheese?
   The Qur’an says that moon was cut in half (54:1). The
   Hadith confirms this fairytale, by repeatedly telling
   us that Muhammad cut the moon in half (Bukhari
   4:830-832; 5:208-211; 6:387-390). How Muhammad
   actually did this, we are not told. Why no one else in
   the world saw it we are not told. How he managed to
   cut through hundreds of miles of solid rock we are not
   told. How it put it together again, we are not told.
   Personally, I find it easier to believe that a cow
   jumped over the moon.

   Are their Scientific insights in the Qur’an?
   Harun Yahya confidently shows numerous alleged
   scientific insights, which annulled by the fact that
   other parts of the Qur’an contradict him, or he is
   going beyond what the Qur’anic text is actually
   saying. He quotes the Qur’an 27:88, which says that
   just as clouds pass away, so will mountains. Yahya
   then asserts that the Qur’an is teaching continental
   drift and mountains being pushed upwards – but this is
   not what the text is saying.

   He quotes the Qur’an 75:4, where this god says in
   regard to the resurrection, “Nay, We are able to put
   together in perfect order the very tips of his
   fingers.” He then thinks that the Qur’an is giving
   insight into what was discovered centuries later –
   that we all have unique fingerprints, with no two
   alike. But is this really what the text is actually
   saying?

   Can you stomach this?
   In a debate against Christianity, Islamic apologist,
   Ahmed Deedat asserted that Muslims were the most
   hygienic people on earth. Perhaps they are today, but
   their founder was not, and should be considered
   neither a role model nor an example of being hygienic.

   Muhammad said that camel’s urine should be drank as
   medicine for those who are feeling sick (Bukhari
   1:234). He sometimes spat on his clothes (1:242). He
   let people catch his own spit and then rub it on their
   faces and skin (3:891). To someone else, he ejected a
   mouthful of water on them (1:188). After washing
   himself, Muhammad would give his dirty water to his
   followers to drink and smear themselves with
   (1:187-188).

   Conclusion.
   The Qur’an gives a challenge to those who would refute
   it: “Do they not ponder on the Qur’an? Had it been
   from other than Allah, they would surely have found
   therein much discrepancy” (4:82).

   As regarding science, as well as history, we find
   therein much discrepancy. Both contradictions within
   the Qur’an, as well as scientific errors bring into
   question that really wrote it. What could not
   necessarily be refuted in Muhammad’s time has been
   refuted in our age of science and advanced knowledge.

   Further online reading:
   http://www.bible.ca/islam/islam-myths-embryology.htm
   Refutes the myth of scientific insights regarding
   embryology in the Qur’an.
   http://answering-islam.org.uk/Quran/Contra Gives a
   list of errors, internal contradictions as well as
   scientific errors in the Qur’an.
   http://answering-islam.org.uk/BehindVeil/btv6.html
   Reveals that even in modern times, numerous Muslims
   have defended the flat-earth theory, based on what the
   Qur’an says.
   http://thriceholy.net/ A Trinity defense site, with a
   thorough section on Islam doing a critical study of
   the Qur’an and its textual errors.
   http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/denis_giron/islamsci.html
   Denis Giron, an atheist, takes a hard critical look at
   scientific errors in Islam.
   http://atheism.about.com/cs/islamandthekora/ A
   critical, scholarly examination of the Qur’anic text.
   Sources:
   Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Meaning of the Illustrious
   Qur’an. New Dehli, India: Kitabbhavan, 2000.
   Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan, The Translation of the
   Meanings of Sahih Al-Bukhari (nine volumes). Islamic
   University, Medina Al-Munawarra. Dar AHYA Us-Sunnah,
   Al-Nabawiya.
   Harun Yahya, Miracles of the Qur’an, video production.
   Birmingham, UK: IPC, Islamic Vision.
   William Campbell, The Qur’an and the Bible in light of
   history and science, 2nd edition. Upper Darby: Middle
   East Resources, 2002.
   Translation Note:
   There are several translations of the Qur’an, most of
   whom are by Muslims with a certain degree of trying to
   translate embarrassing passages to cover over errors.
   For example Yusuf Ali’s translation (which I have been
   using for the article) frequently adds words in
   brackets, which are not found in the text. Where the
   Qur’an recommends that men should “beat them” [their
   wives], Yusuf Ali translates “beat them (lightly)”
   which is not in the text, etc.

   The best translation that is the most open-minded is
   N.J. Dawood’s The Koran, published by Penguin
   Classics. He has helpful footnotes that explain
   problems with the Qur’an (aka Koran), and avoids the
   deceptive bias found in most other translations

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