Creation of Universe

Qur'an :" Your Lord is Allah who created the heavens and the earth in six days " (Holy Qur'an 7:54 ). Christians compare this verse with the biblical narration on six day creation in Genesis. But this narration contradicts with Qur'an. 

We must point out straight away that modern commentators stress the interpretation of  AYYAM on translation of which is ' Days' as meaning ' Lon periods' or 'Ages ' rather then periods of 24 hours.

Qur'an does not lat down a sequence for the Creation of the Earth and Heavens. It talks generally. But bible gives a sequence which contradicts with the modern established Scientific facts.

Big Bang theory

  In fact , the notion to be derived from the Qur'an is one of a con - comitance in the  celestial and terrestrial evolutions. There are also absolutely fundamental data concerning the existence of an initial gaseous  mass which is unique and whose elements, although at first fused together  subsequently became separated. This notion  is expressed in the

" God turned to Heaven when it was smoke" (holy Qur'an 41:11 ) And the same is expressed in another place

"Do not Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together, then We clove them asunder"( holy Qur'an 21:30 )

Many Worlds

"Praise be to God, the Lord of the Worlds"       ( holy Qur'an 1:1 )

All this is in perfect agreement with modern ideas on the existence of primary nebula and the process  of secondary separation of the elements that had formed the initial unique mass. This separation resulted in he formation of galaxies and then, when these divided, of stars from which the planets were to be born.

"God is the one, who created the Heavens the earth and what us between them" (holy Qur'an 25:59)

SUN & MOON

Arabs made important discoveries in this field when the West was in the dark  Ages or Ignorance. This is in fact, a singularly mistaken idea resulting from an ignorance of history. In the first place, science was developed in Arabian countries at a time that was considerably after the Qur'anic Revelation had occurred; in the second, the the scientific knowledge prevalent at the highpoint of Islamic civilization would not have made it possible for  a human being to have written statements on the Heavens comparable to those in the Qur'an. 

Qur'an distinguishes between the Sun and The Moon  by the use of different epithets:

Sun     =    -Siraj (torch),    Wahh'aj

Moon  =   - Kamar ( borrowed light) ,   Muneer (Reflected Light)

Bible Question : 

Sun and moon

        "  And God made two great lights ; The greater light to rule the day , and the lesser light to rule the night . .. ". (Genesis Chapter1 : verse 16)

Our Question  :  

 Bible talks of the Sun and moon  as two luminaries differing in size, where Qur'an distinguished by its attributes     

   Lunar Formation  

( by Mohamed Abdur Rahman Khan ,president of the Hyderabad academy and research associate of the institute of meteorites ,university of new Mexico)

The spotted surface of the Moon was a  subject of much speculation by ardent territorial observers. Before the invention of the telescope ,all sorts of fanciful name were given to these formation.

We  know now for certain that these objects are irregularities in the surface of the moon produced by volcanic eruptions or falls of meteorites in ancient times when the moon  was still somewhat plastic. Our  interest in them is due to the fact that mediaeval astronomers have given  them names of past Muslim astronomers.

Over 500 of these formations have  been identified  ad given names of astronomers, kings, etc. Out of this large number thirteen are Muslim names. We describe below their characteristic feature and give brief  accounts of the scientific work of these Muslim philosophers with their  approximate periods.

1. Abulfeda (correct name Isma'il  Abu-al fida) 1273-1331, a descendant  of Sultan Salah-al-din. He is a well known astronomer, geographer and  historian-author  of Mukht-asar- Tarikh  al-Bashan. Abulfeda is fine ring plain 39 miles in diameter with steep lofty  terraced walls on the east rising to 10,000 ft. A remarkable crater valley runs tangentially from the S.E. wall as far as the lunar formation almamon.

2. Albategnius .Albattani  :A fine walled plain  about 80 miles  in diameter containing peaks rising from 10,000 to 14,000 ft. high. The interior contains a number of craters, two large and the  others small. Muhamad bin jabir al-Battani(c.850-929), originally a sabian from Harran, was one of the greatest Muslim astronomers of all times. In spherical astronomy he introduced the use of Sines.

3. Alfraganus. ( Alfarghani ).Name given  to a crater 12 miles in diameter. noted for brightness of its steep walls and surrounding surface. It contains a small  central  peak. Abu al-'Abbas Ahmad Muhammad ibn Kathir  al- Farghani (c 480 ) was from Farghana. He was author of  Elements of  Astronomy and Chronology, and superintended for al-Mutawakkil (caliph of Baghdad 847-61) the erection of a Nilometer in Fustat Egypt in 861.

4. Alhazen: A ring  plain on the western side of Mare Crisum ( Sea of Danger),  which is one of the smallest and conspicuous of the lunar so-called seas, with  well-defined mountain borders. Abu 'Ali al-Hasan ibn Haytham (987-1038) was an  Arab  mathematician and physicist born in Basrah. He was astronomer to the Fatimid al Hakim  at Cairo. Here he wrote his book on Optics, discussed the formation of images by reflection from mirrors and refraction  through plane and curved surfaces..... His  book ,published at Basrah in 1572,served as a foundation fro Kepler's treatise.

5. Almamon : A crater 12 miles is diameter with moderately high walls and a floor containing no notable details. The 'Abbasid Khalifah ,'Abd Allah al-Mamun (813-33) was one of the greatest patrons of science among the Arabs. He was the second son of the famous Harunal-rashid and built at Baghdad his academy of sciences ( called  Bayt-al-Hikmah ) and an observatory ( 829 ). a number of brilliant astronomers carried out at these places continuous observation with instruments similar to Greek but larger and more accurate. They  measured the length of a degree of  latitude on the plain of Sinjar north of the Euphrates and also near Palmyra (arriving at a  length  of 56 ²/₃ Arabic miles, giving nearly correct value in terms of the present English miles). They determined the obliquity of the Ecliptic afresh as 23^o 33'.

6. Alpetragius: A fine massive ring plain 26 miles in  diameter with  complete circular walls rising on the  West to 12,000 ft. above the interior which  contains  a large central mountain. Nur-al-Din Ishaq al-Bitruji ( died c 1204 ) was foremost among the last Spanish-Muslim astronomers. His Kitab al-Hay'ah (translated in to Latin by Michael Scot in 1217 and into Hebrew in 1259)on the configuration of the heavenly bodies is remarkable fort his attempt to improve on the ptolemaic system, which unfortunately proved unsuccessful.

7. Arzechel : A fine massive walled plain more than 60 miles across with regular and much terraced ramparts rising 10,000 to 13,000 ft. above the interior which  contains a number of hills and craters and a fine cleft running at the foot of the West wall. Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Yahya al-Zarqali ( c.1029-1087) was a Spanish - Arab astronomer who constructed the Toledan Tables based on his own observations assisted by a number of Muslim and Jewish observers

8.  Azophi : A companion ring to Abenzra and of about the same size ( 26 miles in diameter ). 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Umar al-Sufi (903-983) was  a Persian astronomer born in Rayy, author of the monumental treatise ( illustrated ) on the fixed stars-Kitab al- Suwar al-Kawakib al-thabit.

9. Geber : A well-defined circular walled plain with bright terraced walls rising from 4,000 to 6,000 ft. above the interior; the floor seems to be free from notable detail.Jabir ibn Aflah ( died c.1145 ) was a Spanish - Arab astronomer who lived in Seville and made importances in Spherical trigonometry  also.

10. Messala :A large area  enclosed by a wall in the north-west corner of the Moon's surface. Masha 'Allah ( died c.815 ) a Jewish  astronomer and surveyor,  became a Muslim and joined the Arab school of scientific  research. He was appointed surveyor of the city of Baghdad in 762. Latin translation of his writing were much valued  from  12th Century onwards

11. Nasireddin : A crater 30 miles in diameter with high towered walls rising  some 99 ft. Nasir al-din Tusi ( 1201-74 ) was a great astronomer and geometer; he prepared with the co-operation of some Muslim and Jewish  observers, the 11-Khanid Tables at Maraghah for Hulagu. He estimated the Precession of the Equinoxes at 51^{o .}

12. Thebit :  A fine distinct ring  shaped plain 30 miles in diameter. The normal circular wall has  been distorted by intrusion of a smaller ring plain, which  latter has a small crater on its extreme flank. It has a very rough interior. Thabit bin Qurrah ( 826-901 ) was  leader of a group of pseudo-sabians of harran ( ancient Carrhe ), who were star-worshippers interested in astronomy and mathematics from the earliest times.

13. Ulugh Beigh : A distinct elliptic ring  close to the lunar limb. Ulugh baig ( 1393-1449 ) was a Mongol prince, grand son of  Timur. He founded a school and built an observatory with a 40 metre quadrant near Samarqand. He prepared a start catalogue based on new observations of ptolemy's stars, with al-Sufi's magnitudes. He drew up planetary tables also that were much used.                                       

     ( Thank you  " The MUSLIM Digest. ".June 1956 )          

Some Early great Astronomers

(a). al-Farghani ( Alfraganus )

        * Celebrated astronomer known for his work ' Elements of Astronomy
'

(b). Thabit ibn Qurrah

        * Theory of Oscillatory motion of equinoxes
        * Addition of ninth sphere to the eight Ptolematic astronomy

(c). al-Battani ( Albategnius )

        * Discovered the increase of the suns apogee
        * responsible for the discovery motion of the solar apsides
        * Best known is ' On the Science of Stars '

(d). al-Biruni

        * Determination of latitudes and longitudes
        * Determination of geodetic measurements

(e). al-Hazen

        * Wrote ' Resume of Astronomy '
        * Described the motion of the planets

(f). ibn Yunus

        * Solved the problems of spherical trigonometry
        * First to study the isometric oscillatory motion of a pendulum

(g). al-Zarqali

        * He was an Andulasian observational astronomer
        * Invented the instrument ' Sahifah "
        * Responsible for the proof of the motion of the apogee of the sun
          with respect to the fixed stars.

(h). ibn Tufail

        * Known to the Occident as Abubacer
        * An authority on the theory of the system of homocentric spheres

(i). Ummar Khayyam

        * Prepared a calender that was more accurate than the Gregorian
          one, in use present day.

Orbit                              

Today it is known how the celestial organization is balanced by the position of stars in a defined orbit and the interplay of gravitational forces related to their mass and speed of movements, each with won motion. But isn't this what the Qur'an describes

" [God is] the One who created the night , the day, the Sun, and the moon. Each one is traveling in an orbit with its own motion" (holy Qur'an 21:33)

Space Mission

There is also the conquest of space. This has been undertaken thanks to remarkable technological progress and has resulted in man's journey to the Moon. But this surely springs so mind when we read the following verse from the holy Qur'an 

" O assembly of jinns and men, if you can penetrate regions of the heavens and the earth, then penetrate them! You will not penetrate them save with [our] Power" (holy Qur'an 21:33)

EARTH

Geography

Likewise in geography, Muslims were able to extend their horizons far beyond the world of Ptolemy. As a result of travel over land and by sea and the facile exchange of ideas made possible by the unified structure of the Islamic world and the hajj which enables pilgrims from all over the Islamic world to gather and exchange ideas in addition to visiting the House of God, a vast amount of knowledge of areas from the Pacific to the Atlantic was assembled. The Muslim geographers starting with al-Khwarazmi, who laid the foundation of this science among Muslims in the 9th century, began to study the geography of practically the whole globe minus the Americas, dividing the earth into the traditional seven climes each of which they studied carefully from both a geographical and climactic point of view. They also began to draw maps some of which reveal with remarkable accuracy many features such as the origin of the Nile, not discovered in the West until much later. The foremost among Muslim geographers was Abu 'Abdallah al-Idrisi, who worked at the court of Roger II in Sicily and who dedicated his famous book, Kitab al-rujari (The Book of Roger) to him. His maps are among the great achievements of Islamic science. It was in fact with the help of Muslim geographers and navigators that Magellan crossed the Cape of Good Hope into the Indian Ocean. Even Columbus made use of their knowledge in his discovery of America.

Contradicting Bible : 

 .   HEAVEN has PILLARS  !!!!

           Job 26 : 11    " Pillar of the Heaven Tremble and astonished his proof " 

           .

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  EARTH has PILLARS

          " Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble  "  .(Job 9:6) , (1^st Samuel 2:8) , ( Psalm 75:3)

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  EARTH is Flat!!

         " Again the devil took him up on an exceedingly high mountain and shoed him all the kingdom of the world and glory ". (Mathew 4:8)

MOUNTAINS

Earth's crust, which is like a solid shell on which we can live, while the deeper layers are hot and fluid, and thus inhospitable to nay form of life. It is also known that the stability of the mountains is linked to the phenomenon of folding, for it was the folds that were to provide foundations for the  relief that constituted the mountain.

" Have We not made the earth an expanse and the mountains stake " (holy Qur'an 78:6-7) 

the stakes( awtad), which are driven to into the ground like those used to anchor a tent, are the deep foundation of geological folds

EVERY THING MADE OF WATER

There are many verses which are more easily understable. but  which conceal a biological meaning that is highly significant.

"Do not the unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together, then  We clove them asunder and We  got every living thing out of WATER , Will they then not believe " (holy Qur'an 78:6-7)

FRUITS

Progress in Botany at the time of Muhammad was in  no country advanced enough for it to be established as a rule that plants have both male and female parts.

" [God is the One who] sent water down from the sky  and thereby We brought forth pairs of plants each separate from the other  " (holy Qur'an 20:53)

Today, we know that fruits comes from plants that have sexual characteristics (even when it comes from unfertilized flowers, like bananas)

"Of fruits [God] placed [on the earth] two pair " (holy Qur'an 13:3)

Bible Question : 

  All Fruits are Eatable

"And God said, Behold. I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat " ( Genesis Chapter1:  verse 29 )                                                                                                          

 Our Question  :  humans cannot eat all fruits because many fruits are poisonous ?