As a Muslim, we have faith in God. However this isn't blind faith. This faith rests upon common sense, rationale, logic and, the topic for today, science.
Now most people think that religions are just about faith, and all they do is basically say something, such as "believe this book is from God", and then, just because the teachings in the book are quite wise, expect you to believe in it.
Now Islam says you have faith, but this goes hand in hand with proof. What proofs can there be in a book 1400 years ago that we, the enlightened/scientific age could possibly accept? well here we go: (I've copy pasted a lot here :) )
Quran and science
1) star formation
A new star forming out of a cloud of gas and dust (nebula), which is one of the remnants of the "smoke" that was the origin of the whole universe. (The Space Atlas, Heather and Henbest, page 50)
Allah Almighty said: "Then He turned to the heaven when it was smoke...(The Noble Quran, 41:11)"
2) Only Allah could do this without a telescope!
"And when the heaven splitteth asunder and becometh ROSY LIKE RED HIDE - (The Noble Quran, 55:37)" (look at picture)
3) The Big Bang
"Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of creation), before we clove them asunder? We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe? (The Noble Quran, 21:30)"
The Arabic word for "sky" in Noble Verse 41:11 above is "samaa", which is the same word used for "heaven" and "Universe". Since the 7 heavens didn't exist yet (because the seven firmaments or heavens were mentioned in the next Noble Verse 41:12), then this CLEARLY MAKES the "samaa" be referring to the Universe, since the heaven was the entire Universe when GOD Almighty "comprehended in His design the sky". He then later divided it into seven firmaments or heavens.
Anyway, as we clearly see above in the Noble Verses, Allah Almighty initially created the Universe or the "samaa" with smoke (Dukhan). Dukhan in Arabic refers to the smoke coming from fire, which is always HOT GAS.
4) The expansion of the universe is now a commonly known fact...old hat for the Muslims:
"And the firmament, We constructed with power and skill and verily We are expanding it. (The Noble Quran, 51:47)"
5) we discover nowadays that there are 7 layers of the atmosphere....the Quran says it to a bunch of arabs in a desert 1400 years ago:
Do you not see how He created seven heavens in layers?
[Al-Quran, 71:15]
He Who created the seven heavens in layers…
[Al-Quran, 67:3]
But don't take my word for it:
Earth's atmosphere is composed of several layers having distinct chemical and electrical properties. (1)
The atmosphere consist of several layers. (2)
The atmosphere of the Earth may be divided into several distinct layers. (3)
(1) http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/space/ATMO_PHYSICS.HTML
(2) http://pss.fit.edu/gpl/allskycam/skyhome.htm
(3) http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/earth/atmosphere.html
6) The sun in an orbit
We didn't know about this amazing fact until very recently, how the sun is infact orbiting around the center of our Galaxy, the Milky Way.
and I shall assume everyone accepts that infact the moon is in an orbit. ;)
7) The fact that the sperm decide our sex
The female sex cell has XX, and the sperm has XY. (Now this means that the male sperm decides what the sex of the child is going to be....the Quran tells us:
"Now let man but think From what he is created! He is created from A drop emitted -- Proceedings from between the backbone and the ribs: Surely (Allah) is able To bring him back (To life)! The Day that (All) things secret Will be tested, (Man) will have No power, And no helper. (The Noble Quran, 86:5-10)"
"Verily We created Man from a drop of mingled sperm, In order to try him: So We gave him (the gifts), Of Hearing and Sight. (The Noble Quran, 76:2)"
8) All life originated from water
Now scientists have discovered that infact all life did start off from water , but again the Quran mentions this 1400 years ago!
"Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of creation), before we clove them asunder? We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe? (The Noble Quran, 21:30)"
"It is He Who has created man from water: then has He established relationships of lineage and marriage: for thy Lord has power (over all things). (The Noble Quran, 25:54)"
"And God has created every animal from water: of them there are some that creep on their bellies; some that walk on two legs; and some that walk on four. God creates what He wills for verily God has power over all things. (The Noble Quran, 24:45)"
9) The fact in the Quran that everyones fingertips were unique and were used in the Quran as a way to differentiate between people.
"Does man think that WE Cannot assemble his bones? Nay, WE are able to put Together in perfect order The very tips of his fingers."
[AL-QUR'AN 75:3-4]
10) The Quran mentions the fact that plants have 2 sexes and are produced in pairs. we have only recently discovered this but again its mentioned without the aid of a microscope, revealed to some of the most backward people on earth at that time, to an illiterate man - and the words revealed to him carry this incredible, nay - mind-boggling knowledge in them.
“(God is the One who) sent down rain from the sky and with it brought forth a variety of plants in pairs [azwajan min nabatin shatta].” {Quran, 20:53}The Arabic word "Azwajan" is literally derived from the root word "Zawj", which literally means "pair".
Also, in Arabic a husband and a wife are called "Azwaj", "Azwajan" and/or "Zawjan", which is another similar word that is derived from "Zawj".
Conclusion
These and a huge number of other amazing scientific facts can be found at http://www.answering-christianity.com/sci_quran.htm
(This is the site ive used for this blog)
(among the ones not mentioned are: the internal waves within an ocean, Embryo development in detail mentioned in the Quran, a barrier between two seas of different salinities and temperatures etc, mixing and flowing into one another, among others)
Basically once you keep in perspective that the Quran was revealed 1400 years ago to someone who couldnt possibly have guessed, never mind known, this whole list of recent scientific discoveries ( he was illiterate and the society he lived in was a tribal desert society which had little to no scientific knowledge), you have to conclude that this book must be from the all-knowing creator: Allah.
The Quran mentioning this means that it must be from God, as the other options are irrational, namely: Muhammad got extremely lucky while "making up" the Quran, or that this was added in later on after these discoveries.
The first we have already dealt with, the second is also not true, as once you look into the history of the Quranic compilation (see previous posts) and the history of the Muslim empire during the first few 100 years, you realise that the Quran we have today, is exactly the same Quran Muhammed (Peace Be Upon Him) recited 1400 years ago. And that no additions or subtractions ever took place right from the start, never mind 100s of years after when the scientists properly started researching and discovering information (not the info mentioned above though-other information).
The reason being that with 100,000 of people who knew the entire Quran of by heart, walking around, at that point, plus there only being one version of the Quran available meant that it was impossible for anyone to dupe others by additions into the text.
Even these early Muslim scientists didn't discover stuff such as the Big Bang idea, the embryo development cycle, all the other facts in the Quran - the majority of which didn't get discovered over the last 50-100 years!
So to really conclude, Islam, along with all its beautiful teachings of worshipping the One all-powerful God, living a healthy life and aiming to go to Paradise, also gives Muslims the security that their religion doesn't contradict science(unlike others), rather it adds to it. This all contributes to the stronger faith (Eman) of the Muslim, making him a better practising Muslim as he really believes in God (Allah) and he really believes that the Quran is the Word of God.
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