It is the disease of all ages. In order to glorify his own holy book, to increase the number of his followers, he bent and twisted things that the book did not actually say or mean, and finally said “he said” and got out of the business.
This method can actually bring results according to the cycle. For example, when I was a child, I read a book called “From the Qur’an to Inventions” in the 1980s, and at that time I thought that “The Qur’an predicted almost all modern inventions”.
It took a long time, long readings and painful years to realize that the Qur’an is not a scientific book.
Indeed, in the discussion of an atheist and a person who says he is a Muslim, the subject necessarily comes down to the verses that are claimed to be scientific. In the Qur’an, it is stated that the bee’s chromosome number is found, the atomic number of iron is found, historical data can be accessed from the abjad account, fingerprints are indicated, the world is round, etc. etc. many issues are put forward and the “existence of God” is tried to be proven in this way.
In fact, the main reason for all these efforts is the claim, belief and error that the Qur’an is universal. In this article, I will not talk about whether the Qur’an is universal or not, or what it is. That subject is an important issue that should perhaps be discussed in detail in another article…
Let’s go back to the claim of science. First, let’s make this distinction. There is a difference between a book containing statements that can be associated with science and a book being a science book. Because, as you know, explaining a subject with a competence that can be called “scientific” is a completely different event. That is, if you, for example, explain what a chromosome is and give examples from the number of chromosomes in living things, it can be assumed that at least this passage of yours points to a scientific issue. However, starting from the same example, if it is suggested from a text in which the word “chromosome” is not even mentioned, that the sura number of the Nahl sura indicates the chromosome number of the bee, this time the addressee looks for similar information in the “Baqara” sura, which means “cow”. Or, he searches for and cannot find similar information in the sura “Enam” meaning “farm animals” and “Ankebut” meaning “female spider”. So as soon as this information is not found, your assumption is broken.
For example, starting from a similar example, if the judgment that the difference of fingerprints is emphasized is taken from the verse “…we are able to bring even your fingertips together” (Kiyame, 4), the verse “…the most rotten / unstable house is the spider’s house” (Ankebut, 41). It should be concluded that the spider thread emphasizes that it is very resistant, which is not scientific data at all. Because the thread that the spider weaves is the most durable and strongest thread known according to its thinness.
As it can be seen, although these examples that “prove the existence of God” (!) are pleasing to our minds surrounded by modern and scientific knowledge, they are fundamentally wrong and even extremely dangerous for those who are trying to spread a religion…
The original of the Qur’an has nothing to do with all this. The Qur’an consists of a “reading” that came out of Muhammad’s mouth 1400-odd years ago. It is a book of faith that deals with Allah, faith, morality, previous prophets, the Last Day, and sometimes the legal issues of the age, and whose main purpose is to do or not do something.
None of the living interlocutors of that period removed the “chromosome number of the bee” from the chapter of Nahl. No one had such a goal. Good, strange to the people of that period, “ships flowing over the waters”, “day and night succession”, “sky standing in the air without pillars”, “stars set”, “rain-laden clouds resurrecting the dead earth”, “milk from the belly of animals”. It has been referred to issues such as “creating a fire from a green tree”, “the thunder of the sky”, “birds can stand in the air”, “seeds breaking through the ground” and similar topics, and Allah is pointed out as the root cause of every unknown. All these narrations were made according to the minds of the current, ready and alive interlocutors of that day, and they were asked to “deeply think” on these issues.
Even on these issues that appealed to the current mind of that day, instead of pointing to an issue that we can call “scientific” today, it was emphasized that the power and wisdom behind all these works is Allah. Neither the people of that time nor the Qur’an had such a goal.
Contrary to popular belief, the Qur’an; He also does not give “history” information when talking about previous prophets. Therefore, you cannot follow the traces of any prophets. In addition, the chronology (ordering of events according to the date of their occurrence) in the stories that seem to describe a historical issue, as discussed in the book titled “The Art of Narration in the Qur’an” by Muhammed Ahmed Halefullah, is considered in the eyes of the Qur’an, it is not actually a historical issue. will also be understood. In the art of narration of the Qur’an, everything seen around, every known story, every idiom used is considered as a material and it is asked to draw a conclusion from all of them. The result of the entire narrative in the Qur’an is the main idea that Allah is the Creator of everything and that people will be held to account for their actions.
Therefore, the Qur’an is not a science book. It is not a history book. Geography, astrology, medicine etc. It’s not a book either. It’s not a fairy tale book either. The Quran is the Quran.
It is not impossible, but quite possible, and perhaps even necessary, for a statement of superhuman power to refer to, exemplify, or even contain some ciphers about something that can be considered secret or overtly scientific. However, these references, information, passwords are never the goal. All these are a tool used by the Qur’an to say what it has to say.
It would be a more correct and appropriate attitude for those who will research, think, inspire and even criticize to base their aims rather than the means.
Peacefully…
Ali Aksoy – 04.10.2019
(Translated with google translate)
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