''The supposed Quranic scientific miracles (al i'jaz al ilmi) are the first insight via which most Muslims pave the way towards the divine source of Islam.''
The Linguistic and Factual Nature of the So-Called ‘Quranic Scientific Miracles’
The so-called Quranic Scientific Miracles are the result of a fallacious mode of reasoning. The claimers of these miracles base their argumentation on the fact that we have now a new scientific fact, but it is not new, Quran has already been devoted to it. Well, it would not have been new if Quran had it already discovered. And, it wouldn’t be that scientist whom that discovery is named upon, it’d be rather the Quran. What we indeed may deduce is that these claimers keep awaiting new scientific discoveries, ending up somehow reinforcing their relation to the Quran.
Linguistically, the previous reinforcement uses language as its very means. Language is manipulated, having its associated context and interpretation infringed to result in a complete change of meaning, which then reinforces the connotation towards the target scientific fact. Polysemy dominates words’ perception in language. It is the multiplicity of meanings for a single word. Thus, to differentiate between this meaning and the other, context must be taken into consideration as the most essential element in interpretation. Arabic in the Quran as an ancient language contains numerous cases of that phenomenon.
Analysing Reinforced Decontextualisation
Any language is to be perceived within its context – time, place, and semiotic setting – without which it will be but an ungovernable game. But, how can language be a game in the first place? It is so, when meaning is being played with in accordance with one´s personal or subjective associated reaching point. Practically, the trend into which this article is delving implies having a scientific fact and checking for its nearest expression in the Quran. And, as it is more likely that Quran doesn’t refer to any nowadays scientific facts, parts of the Quran are being taken off from their linguistic environments. Thereafter, they are given a new meaning due to the new environment to which the words were attained.
Nonetheless, it is noteworthy that I am not to claim that each word or a couple of words are to signify one only regular meaning. It is Structuralism that imposes this relation between the signifier and the signified, meaning that each utterance or word is to represent a specific object in the real world (Saussure, 1916). On the other hand, there came the deconstruction theory to have that structuralist chain between utterance and its perceived meaning demolished. Deconstructionists state that words can never reach that pure function of transmitting accurate intentioned meaning (Silverman, 1989).
In this sense, this linguistic analysis is based on none of the two views. It rather declares that language can never be completely pure in conveying its associated meaning, meanwhile, with semantic contextualisation, it may head into a kind of purity. We may agree that the word ‘’Congratulations’’ can be meant also negatively, not only positively. However, by grasping the setting within which it was said, one might get if it was positively or negatively meant.
Accordingly, depriving phrases from their contexts, the so-called Quranic scientific miracles are produced.
To exemplify, we shall take the following Quranic verse:
‘’ Even if We had opened a gate for them in heaven, and they had begun to ascend through it higher during day time. They would certainly say: Only our eyes have been covered over, rather we are an enchanted people.’’Directing that verse out of its context, Quranic Miracles claimers argue that it does contain a scientific fact. To analyse the decontextualisation occurring within the latter, we should first expose its claimed overlying axes. Contenders say that modern science discovered – through frequent space travels – that when astronauts leave the earth’s atmosphere, they feel as though their eyes are covered over due to the difference in pressure and gravity rate. Claimers of the previous kind point out that this was referred to in that verse of the Quran.
Nevertheless, any accurate well contextualised perception may refute that. Ibn Abbas and Qatadah as well as any exegeses, considering time and place, state that this verse was to allude to how if even God had a gate opened in heaven, and the disbelievers could ascend to it, they would not have believed in God; they would rather justify their disbelief by claiming that their eyes were enchanted by Prophet Muhammad (Tafsir Al-Qortoby, Tafsir Ibn Kathir). As can be clearly grasped, there is nothing that the verse has to do with describing the status of how would humans feel when out of the earth.
This
fallacious interpretation was, indeed, the outcome of reinforcing the move of
that text from its environment to another. The text simply says that
miracles won’t be useful to convince the disbelievers, because they will feel
that their eyes were enchanted or covered. How may this in any way possibly be
linked to science? It shall never. And, it is that forced change of the
situation in which the discourse is prevailing that executes the meaning aimed
to be understood by the utterance issuer. Anyone can actually correlate that
mentioned verse with any scientific, natural or magical conception, as long as
that verse had its environment unconsidered.
Selective Analysis
This method lies on analysing the Quranic verses, but only those serving to be potentially
linked to any sort of scientific facts. It works on ignoring verses that might
refute the scientific fact they are willing to link and merely highlighting
those serving it. It does also involve cutting off a piece of text from its
complete form. That piece is being taken off as much as needed for the
formulation of these claimed miracles. Additionally, the selective analysis in
this regard tends to often put ‘’Hadith’’ aside.
Hadith is Prophet
Muhammad’s sayings that many of which were to explain numerous Quranic verses.
For sure those explanations provided in Hadith do often construct an obstacle to these claimers. That is because Hadith gives a clear contextualised
time-place-based explanation which cannot be negotiated. An example of this
case may be given by the following verse (that is again claimed to contain a
Quranic Science Miracle):
‘’And the sun
runs [on course] toward its stopping point. That is the determination of the
Exalted in Might, the Knowing’’ (Yā-Sīn: 38)
The Quranic Science
Miracles claimers derive a scientific fact from the verse above, which
may be by turn demolished by Hadith. This verse was claimed to state that the Sun
as well as other planets and stars are moving in space around the galaxy … On
the other hand, there comes Hadith to refute this claim with no needed
additional explanation, as follows:
‘’Once, I was with the Prophet in the mosque at the time of sunset. The Prophet said, "O Abu Dharr! Do thou knowst where the sun sets?" I replied, "Allah and His Apostle know best." He said, "It goes and prostrates underneath (Allah's) Throne, and that is Allah's Statement:'And the sun runs on its fixed course for a term (decreed). And that is the decree of All-Mighty, the All-Knowing....’’ (Sahih al-Bukhari: 4802)
Equitably, examples can be
given regarding cases where verses are ignored in favour of others which are of
a tendency to be related to a certain scientific fact. This implies that there
are, in fact, Quranic verses formulated in a clear detailed way that nobody can
change their significations. Those cannot be utilised by the mentioned
claimers. On the other hand, they are to utilise less clear ambiguous verses
that can be easily manipulated. However, this kind of verses might be, to a certain extent, uncovered through clearer verses. Consequently, the manipulated
ambiguous verses could be discovered via the detailed verses. To illustrate,
let’s take the following verse:
‘’It is He who made the sun radiant, and the moon a light, and determined its phases, so you may know the number of years and the calculation...’’ (Surah Younes: 5)
Again, it is
claimed that there is a scientific Quran miracle in the verse above (attfseer.com).
It is that the difference in describing the sun and the moon, the moon as a
light and the sun as a radiant, refers to the fact that Quran was to first
discover that the moon is merely reflecting the sun’s light and it is not a
lighting body by itself. To support their interpretation, they claim that the
Arabic word ‘’Diyaaضياء:
’’ which was used to describe the sun indicates
a self-lighting object, while the word ‘’Noor: نور’’ used for the moon means a reflected
light.
To refute what precedes, we shall depend on one only Quranic verse. It is verse 35, Surah Al-Noor, in which it was said that Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. In the original Arabic form, Allah was referred to by the word ‘’Noorنور: ’’. So, if we are to follow what they said about ‘’Noor’ being a reflection, God would also be a mere reflection of light, which is against Islamic beliefs.
Claims of Quranic Words Choice Purposefulness
Perhaps the title of this section is quite
ambiguous, it connotes the claims affirming that certain Quranic words were
used rather than others for precise scientific purposes. It is often when
some words are posed in place of their synonyms only for aesthetic use, as one
of the language functions is the aesthetic function (Leech, 1981). The latter
function manifests in words used in the Quran, mainly to complete the verse
with that rime of its neighbouring one. Other times, the aesthetic function
appears in the introductory parts of different Surahs. Moreover, words employed in science-related matters
in the Quran are given a kind of new meaning by these claimers to, accordingly,
assert that the choice of that exact word indicates something particular.
As for the aesthetic use of words in the Quran that was turned to Scientific facts, several occasions may be mentioned and have their underlying arguments refuted. In this current part, light will be shed on Surah Al-Tarik (The night visitant), precisely, the third verse containing the following: ‘’It is the piercing star’’. The latter was to lead up Quranic Scientific Miracles formulators to declare that the piercing star (In Arabic: Al Najem Athaquib النجم الثاقب) was a well-chosen concept alluding to the existence of black holes. And, that it was sworn with by God for its massive power.
Verily, the use of that phrase was to preserve the rhythm followed from the beginning and it was not by any
way purposely utilised for scientific purposes. Piercing stars are to signify extremely shining stars,
as can be seen in all Quranic ancient exegeses (Tafsir Al Qortoby, Tafsir
Ibn Kathir). Additionally, the use of those
two particular words was aesthetically popular in pre-Islamic poetry. It can be observed in numberless poems, like
the following one by Antara Ibn Cheddad:
They, under its
darkness, men’s heads are to fly off,
And, just like piercing
stars, it pounces
(Longing for Sharp Swords,
Antara Ibn Cheddad)
In the preceding verse, as observed, piercing stars in their function and description might be more similar to that of the black holes than the one of the Quran. So, Quran Miracles claimers are to be asked, whether Antara was a prophet of God as well.
Similarly, various
words in Quran are used for no sake, but merely because they had to
syntactically, structurally, or aesthetically be there, yet, they are being
generated as symbols of the Quran’s Science Miracles. Not too far from the
previously mentioned, we can consider the example of Surah Younes. As deduced,
the choice of words in the fifth verse had nothing to do with scientific
accuracy, it was rather syntactically, semantically or aesthetically used. Aside, for the sake of fathomability, this example was mentioned in the first section to clarify how some
verses claimed to contain Scientific facts may be refuted by other verses from
the Quran itself. In this section, we are to clarify the absence of any scientific use of words.
Furthermore, some
Surahs’ initiative words are completely meaningless to any Arabic language
speaker – not to even the prophet Muhammad himself – are being claimed to be
Scientific Quranic Miracles. Those are individual letters gathered in one word,
which is of no known linguistic meaning. Ones like (الم
Aliflamim: it’d be in English: A.L.M); (طسم
Tasim: in English: T.S.M) are claimed to be in a structure that follows a
certain scientific element name (Ex: atoms, etc). However, factually speaking,
any separate letters in one word or acronyms may be given any meaning, if not
explained by their issuer.
Faked Scientific Data
Claimers of this kind might head towards faking scientific data, if the original data cannot be linked by any anner to Quran. This section will be shortened due to the clarity of the axe under analysis. Essentially, some Quranic Scientific Miracles claimers do often modify the content of various scientific papers, yet, if the reader is with a research spirit, he/she/they will easily find out. Examples of these lies are the embryo constructing periods, as well as the Hadith of ‘’Flies’’, etc.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Quranic Scientific Miracles are but an illusion created by some Muslims to catch and compensate for Western development. This trend exploits the internet as its very channel through which these couple of ideas are conveyed. Linguistically, there were various conditions passed unconsidered while formulating arguments for it. These were, essentially, context and environment which were clearly infringed in favour of those miracles. Formulators of this movement were also to read Quran in a limited selective analysis that made it possible for them to cut off verses in accordance with their desired purposes. And, if all that precedes was featured with failure, faking the scientific data is set as their final station.
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Silverman, H. J. (1989). Deconstructing consciousness: Derrida's concept
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Tafsir Al-Qortoby.
Tafsir Ibn Kathir.
Sahih al-Bukhari.
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Leech, G. (1981). Semantics: The study of meaning. Penguin.