بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Surat Ar-Raĥmān (The Beneficent) - سورة الرحمن
- The Most Merciful
- Taught the Qur'an,
- Created man,
- [And] taught him eloquence.
- The sun and the moon [move] by precise calculation,
- And the stars and trees prostrate.
- And the heaven He raised and imposed the balance
- That you not transgress within the balance.
- And establish weight in justice and do not make deficient the balance.
- And the earth He laid [out] for the creatures.
The Quran (English pronunciation: /kɒˈrɑːn/ kor-AHN; Arabic: القرآن al-qurʾān, IPA: [qurˈʔaːn],[variations] literally meaning "the recitation"), also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Al-Coran, Qur'an, Coran, Kuran, and Al-Qur'an, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God[1] (Arabic: الله, Allah).
The Quran is composed of verses (Ayah) that make up 114 chapters (suras) of unequal length which are classified either as Meccan (المكية) or Medinan (المدينية) depending upon their place and time of revelation. Muslims believe the Quran to be verbally revealed through angel Jibrīl (Gabriel) from God to Muhammad
gradually over a period of approximately 23 years beginning in 610 CE,
when Muhammad was 40, and concluding in 632 CE, the year of his death.
Muslims regard the Quran as the main miracle of Muhammad, the proof of his prophethood and the culmination of a series of divine messages that started with the messages revealed to Adam, regarded in Islam as the first prophet, and continued with the Suhuf Ibrahim (Scrolls of Abraham), the Tawrat (Torah or Pentateuch) of Moses, the Zabur (Tehillim or Book of Psalms) of David, and the Injil (Gospel) of Jesus. The Quran assumes familiarity with major narratives recounted in Jewish and Christian scriptures,
summarizing some, dwelling at length on others and in some cases
presenting alternative accounts and interpretations of events.
The Quran describes itself as a book of guidance, sometimes offering
detailed accounts of specific historical events, and often emphasizing
the moral significance of an event over its narrative sequence.
The word qurʾān appears about 70 times in the Quran itself, assuming various meanings. It is a verbal noun (maṣdar) of the Arabic verb qaraʾa (قرأ), meaning “he read” or “he recited.” The Syriac equivalent is qeryānā,
which refers to “scripture reading” or “lesson”. While most Western
scholars consider the word to be derived from the Syriac, the majority
of Muslim authorities hold the origin of the word is qaraʾa itself. In any case, it had become an Arabic term by Muhammad's lifetime.[1] An important meaning of the word is the “act of reciting”, as reflected in an early Quranic passage: “It is for Us to collect it and to recite it (qurʾānahu)”.
Islamic tradition relates that Muhammad received his first revelation in the Cave of Hira
during one of his isolated retreats to the mountains. Thereafter, he
received revelations over a period of twenty-three years. According to hadith and Muslim history, after Muhammad emigrated to Medina and formed an independent Muslim community, he ordered a considerable number of the sahabah
to recite the Quran and to learn and teach the laws, which were
revealed daily. Companions who engaged in the recitation of the Quran
were called Qari. Since most sahabah
were unable to read or write, they were ordered to learn from the
prisoners-of-war the simple writing of the time. Thus a group of sahabah gradually became literate. As it was initially spoken, the Quran was recorded on tablets, bones and the wide, flat ends of date palm fronds. Most chapters were in use amongst early Muslims since they are mentioned in numerous sayings by both Sunni and Shia
sources, relating Muhammad's use of the Quran as a call to Islam, the
making of prayer and the manner of recitation. However, the Quran did
not exist in book form at the time of Muhammad's death in 632.
Sahih Bukhari narrates Muhammad describing the revelations as, "Sometimes it is (revealed) like the ringing of a bell" and Aisha
reported, "I saw the Prophet being inspired Divinely on a very cold day
and noticed the sweat dropping from his forehead (as the Inspiration
was over)". The Islamic studies scholar Welch states in the Encyclopaedia of Islam
that he believes the graphic descriptions of Muhammad's condition at
these moments may be regarded as genuine, because he was severely
disturbed after these revelations. According to Welch, these seizures
would have been seen by those around him as convincing evidence for the
superhuman origin of Muhammad's inspirations. However, Muhammad's
critics accused him of being a possessed man, a soothsayer or a magician since his experiences were similar to those claimed by such figures well known in ancient Arabia.
Welch additionally states that it remains uncertain whether these
experiences occurred before or after Muhammad's initial claim of
prophethood.
The Quran states that Muhammad was ummi, interpreted as illiterate in Muslim tradition. According to Watt, the meaning of the Quranic term ummi is unscriptured rather than illiterate.
Muslims believe the Quran to be the book of divine guidance and direction for humanity and consider the text in its original Arabic to be the literal word of God, revealed to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel over a period of twenty-three years and view the Quran as God's final revelation to humanity.
Wahy in
Islamic and Quranic concept means the act of God addressing an
individual, conveying a message for a greater number of recipients. The
process by which the divine message comes to the heart of a messenger of
God is tanzil (to send down) or nuzul
(to come down). As the Quran says, "With the truth we (God) have sent
it down and with the truth it has come down." It designates positive
religion, the letter of the revelation dictated by the angel to the
prophet. It means to cause this revelation to descend from the higher
world. According to hadith, the verses were sent down in special
circumstances known as asbab al-nuzul. However, in this view God himself is never the subject of coming down.
The Quran frequently asserts in its text that it is divinely
ordained, an assertion that Muslims believe. The Quran – often referring
to its own textual nature and reflecting constantly on its assertion of
divine origin – is the most meta-textual, self-referential religious
text.[citation needed] The Quran refers to a written pre-text that records God's speech even before it was sent down.
The issue of whether the Quran is eternal or created was one of the crucial controversies among early Muslim theologians. Mu'tazilis believe it is created while the most widespread varieties of Muslim theologians consider the Quran to be eternal and uncreated. Sufi philosophers view the question as artificial or wrongly framed.
Muslims maintain the present wording of the Quranic text corresponds
exactly to that revealed to Muhammad himself: as the words of God, said
to be delivered to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel. Muslims consider
the Quran to be a guide, a sign of the prophethood of Muhammad and the
truth of the religion. They argue it is not possible for a human to
produce a book like the Quran, as the Quran itself maintains.
Therefore an Islamic philosopher introduces a prophetology to explain how the divine word passes into human expression. This leads to a kind of esoteric hermeneutics that seeks to comprehend the position of the prophet
by mediating on the modality of his relationship not with his own time,
but with the eternal source his message emanates from. This view
contrasts with historical critique of western scholars who attempt to
understand the prophet through his circumstances, education and type of
genius.
Muslims believe that the Quran is different from all other books in
ways that are impossible for any other book to be, such that similar
texts cannot be written by humans. These include both mundane and
miraculous claims. The Quran itself challenges any who disagree with its
divine origin to produce a text of a miraculous nature.
Scholars of Islam believe that its poetic form is unique and of a
fashion that cannot be written by humans. They also claim it contains
accurate prophecy and that no other book does.
The text of the Quran consists of 114 chapters of varying lengths, each known as a sura. Chapters are classed as Meccan or Medinan, depending on when (before or after Hijra)
the verses were revealed. Chapter titles are derived from a name or
quality discussed in the text, or from the first letters or words of the
sura. Muslims believe that Muhammad, on God's command, gave the
chapters their names.[1]
Generally, longer chapters appear earlier in the Quran, while the
shorter ones appear later. The chapter arrangement is thus not connected
to the sequence of revelation. Each sura except the ninth starts with the Basmala,
an Arabic phrase meaning (“In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most
Merciful”). There are, however, still 114 occurrences of the basmala in
the Quran, due to its presence in verse 27:30 as the opening of
Solomon's letter to the Queen of Sheba.
Each sura is formed from several ayat (verses), which
originally means a sign or portent sent by God. The number of verses
differ from chapter to chapter. An individual verse may be just a few
letters or several lines. The verses are unlike the highly refined
poetry of the pre-Islamic Arabs in their content and distinctive rhymes and rhythms, being more akin to the prophetic utterances marked by inspired discontinuities found in the sacred scriptures of Judaism and Christianity.
The actual number of ayat has been a controversial issue among Muslim
scholars since Islam's inception, some recognizing 6,000, some 6,204,
some 6,219, and some 6,236, although the words in all cases are the
same. The most popular edition of the Quran, which is based on the Kufa school tradition, contains 6,236 ayat.[1]
There is a crosscutting division into 30 parts of roughly equal division, ajza, each containing two units called ahzab, each of which is divided into four parts (rub 'al-ahzab). The Quran is also divided into seven approximately equal parts, manazil, for it to be recited in a week.[1]
The Quranic text seems to have no beginning, middle, or end, its nonlinear structure being akin to a web or net.[1]
The textual arrangement is sometimes considered to have lack of
continuity, absence of any chronological or thematic order, and presence
of repetition.
Fourteen different Arabic letters form 14 different sets of “Quranic Initials” (the "Muqatta'at",
such as A.L.M. of 2:1) and prefix 29 suras in the Quran. The meaning
and interpretation of these initials is considered unknown to most
Muslims.
In 1974, Egyptian biochemist Rashad Khalifa claimed to have discovered a mathematical code based on the number 19, which is mentioned in Sura 74:30
of the Quran. This code only manifests itself in a version of Quran
that Khalifa published himself and which differs from the one accepted
by most Muslims. It is the basis for the beliefs of United Submitters International, a religious group that Khalifa founded.
Quran and Miracles
Muslims consider the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam, as the word of God and a miracle.[1] According to Islamic Faith, the Qur'an was revealed miraculously to Muhammad from Allah (God) through angel Jibrīl (Gabriel), as a perfect, verbatim copy of what was written in heaven and existed there from all eternity.[2] Therefore the verses of the book are referred to as ayat, which also means "a sign" in the Arabic language. Some muslims therefore believe that the Qur'an is the same as was revealed to Muhammad in the year 610. In the Qur'an is stated an open challenge for anyone who denies its claimed divine origin to produce a text like it. [Quran 17:88][11:12–13][2:23][5]
The Qur'an states that Muhammed was illiterate and neither read a book nor wrote a book [Quran 29:48] and that he did not know about past events [Quran 3:44][11:49][28:44].[6] However Critics believe that Muhammad was influenced by older Jewish and Christian traditions, and therefore included many of the wonders known from the Bible in the Qur'an.
Some Muslims believe that Quran is a "a miracle of eloquence" rather
than a source of scientific revelation; they consider scientific
miracles as pseudoscience.
The claimed miracles in the Qur’an can be classified into three
distinct categories: inimitability, scientific miracles and prophecies
The belief that Qur'an had prophesied scientific theories and
discoveries has become strong and widespread in the contemporary Islamic
world; these prophecies are often provided as a proof of the divine
origin of the Qur'an.
The claim is that scientific facts exist in the Qur'an in many
different subjects, including creation, astronomy, human reproduction,
oceanology, embroyology, zoology, the water cycle, and many more.
"a time is fixed for every prophecy; you will come to know in time".[Quran 6:67] Islamic scholar Zaghloul El-Naggar thinks that this verse refers to the scientific facts in the Qur'an that would be discovered by the world in modern time, centuries after the revelation.
This belief is, however, arguable in the Muslim world. While most believe and support it, some Muslim scholars oppose the belief, claiming that the Qur'an is not a book of science; al-Biruni, one of the most celebrated Muslim scientists of the classical period, assigned to the Qur'an a separate and autonomous realm of its own and held that the Qur'an "does not interfere in the business of science nor does it infringe on the realm of science." ] These scholars argued for the possibility of multiple scientific explanations of the natural phenomena, and refused to subordinate the Qur'an to an ever-changing science.
"a time is fixed for every prophecy; you will come to know in time".[Quran 6:67] Islamic scholar Zaghloul El-Naggar thinks that this verse refers to the scientific facts in the Qur'an that would be discovered by the world in modern time, centuries after the revelation.
This belief is, however, arguable in the Muslim world. While most believe and support it, some Muslim scholars oppose the belief, claiming that the Qur'an is not a book of science; al-Biruni, one of the most celebrated Muslim scientists of the classical period, assigned to the Qur'an a separate and autonomous realm of its own and held that the Qur'an "does not interfere in the business of science nor does it infringe on the realm of science." ] These scholars argued for the possibility of multiple scientific explanations of the natural phenomena, and refused to subordinate the Qur'an to an ever-changing science.
Quran and Science
Islam and science describes the relationship between Muslim communities and science in general. From an Islamic standpoint, science, the study of nature, is considered to be linked to the concept of Tawhid (the Oneness of God), as are all other branches of knowledge.[1] In Islam,
nature is not seen as a separate entity, but rather as an integral part
of Islam’s holistic outlook on God, humanity, and the world. This link
implies a sacred aspect to the pursuit of scientific knowledge by
Muslims, as nature itself is viewed in the Qur'an as a compilation of
signs pointing to the Divine.[2]
It was with this understanding that the pursuit of science was
tolerated in Islamic civilizations, specifically during the eighth to
sixteenth centuries, prior to the colonization of the Muslim world.[3]
According to theoretical physicist Jim Al-Khalili, the modern scientific method was pioneered by Arab scientist Ibn Al-Haytham (known to the west as “Alhazen”) whose contributions are likened to those of Isaac Newton.[4] Alhazen helped shift the emphasis on abstract theorizing onto systematic and repeatable experimentation, followed by careful criticism of premises and inferences.[5] Robert Briffault, in The Making of Humanity, asserts that the very existence of science, as it is understood in the modern sense, is rooted in the scientific thought and knowledge that emerged in Islamic civilizations during this time.
Muslim scientists and scholars have subsequently developed a spectrum of viewpoints on the place of scientific learning within the context of Islam, none of which are universally accepted. However, most maintain the view that the acquisition of knowledge and scientific pursuit in general is not in disaccord with Islamic thought and religious belief.[1] Physicist Taner Edis argues this is because some Muslims are reading into the metaphorical language of the Holy books what is not there, including recent scientific discoveries.
According to theoretical physicist Jim Al-Khalili, the modern scientific method was pioneered by Arab scientist Ibn Al-Haytham (known to the west as “Alhazen”) whose contributions are likened to those of Isaac Newton.[4] Alhazen helped shift the emphasis on abstract theorizing onto systematic and repeatable experimentation, followed by careful criticism of premises and inferences.[5] Robert Briffault, in The Making of Humanity, asserts that the very existence of science, as it is understood in the modern sense, is rooted in the scientific thought and knowledge that emerged in Islamic civilizations during this time.
Muslim scientists and scholars have subsequently developed a spectrum of viewpoints on the place of scientific learning within the context of Islam, none of which are universally accepted. However, most maintain the view that the acquisition of knowledge and scientific pursuit in general is not in disaccord with Islamic thought and religious belief.[1] Physicist Taner Edis argues this is because some Muslims are reading into the metaphorical language of the Holy books what is not there, including recent scientific discoveries.
In the history of science, science in the muslim world refers to the science developed under Islamic civilization between the 8th and 16th centuries,[11] during what is known as the Islamic Golden Age.[12] It is also known as Arabic science since the majority of texts during this period were written in Arabic, the lingua franca of Islamic civilization. Despite these terms, not all scientists during this period were Muslim or Arab,
as there were a number of notable non-Arab scientists (most notably
Persians), as well as some non-Muslim scientists, who contributed to
scientific studies in the muslim world.
A number of modern scholars such as Fielding H. Garrison,[13] Abdus Salam and Hossein Nasr consider modern science and the scientific method to have been greatly inspired by Muslim scientists who introduced a modern empirical, experimental and quantitative approach to scientific inquiry. Some scholars, notably Donald Routledge Hill, Ahmad Y Hassan,[14] Abdus Salam,[15] and George Saliba,[16] have referred to their achievements as a Muslim scientific revolution,[17] though this does not contradict the traditional view of the Scientific Revolution which is still supported by most scholars.[18][19][20]
It is believed that it was the empirical attitude of the Qur'an and Sunnah which inspired medieval Muslim scientists, in particular Alhazen (965-1037),[21][22] to develop the scientific method.[23][24][25] It is also known that certain advances made by medieval Muslim astronomers, geographers and mathematicians was motivated by problems presented in Islamic scripture, such as Al-Khwarizmi's (c. 780-850) development of algebra in order to solve the Islamic inheritance laws,[26] and developments in astronomy, geography, spherical geometry and spherical trigonometry in order to determine the direction of the Qibla, the times of Salah prayers, and the dates of the Islamic calendar.[27]
The increased use of dissection in Islamic medicine during the 12th and 13th centuries was influenced by the writings of the Islamic theologian, Al-Ghazali, who encouraged the study of anatomy and use of dissections as a method of gaining knowledge of God's creation.[28] In al-Bukhari's and Muslim's collection of sahih hadith it is said: "There is no disease that Allah has created, except that He also has created its treatment." (Bukhari 7-71:582). This culminated in the work of Ibn al-Nafis (1213–1288), who discovered the pulmonary circulation in 1242 and used his discovery as evidence for the orthodox Islamic doctrine of bodily resurrection.[29] Ibn al-Nafis also used Islamic scripture as justification for his rejection of wine as self-medication.[30] Criticisms against alchemy and astrology were also motivated by religion, as orthodox Islamic theologians viewed the beliefs of alchemists and astrologers as being superstitious.[31]
Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (1149–1209), in dealing with his conception of physics and the physical world in his Matalib, discusses Islamic cosmology, criticizes the Aristotelian notion of the Earth's centrality within the universe, and "explores the notion of the existence of a multiverse in the context of his commentary," based on the Qur'anic verse, "All praise belongs to God, Lord of the Worlds." He raises the question of whether the term "worlds" in this verse refers to "multiple worlds within this single universe or cosmos, or to many other universes or a multiverse beyond this known universe." On the basis of this verse, he argues that God has created more than "a thousand thousand worlds (alfa alfi 'awalim) beyond this world such that each one of those worlds be bigger and more massive than this world as well as having the like of what this world has."[32] Ali Kuşçu's (1403–1474) support for the Earth's rotation and his rejection of Aristotelian cosmology (which advocates a stationary Earth) was motivated by religious opposition to Aristotle by orthodox Islamic theologians, such as Al-Ghazali.[33][34]
According to many historians, science in the muslim civilization flourished during the Middle Ages, but began declining at some time around the 14th[35] to 16th[11] centuries. At least some scholars blame this on the "rise of a clerical faction which froze this same science and withered its progress."[36] Examples of conflicts with prevailing interpretations of Islam and science - or at least the fruits of science - thereafter include the demolition of Taqi al-Din's great Istanbul observatory of Taqi al-Din in Galata, "comparable in its technical equipment and its specialist personnel with that of his celebrated contemporary, the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe." But while Brahe's observatory "opened the way to a vast new development of astronomical science," Taqi al-Din's was demolished by a squad of Janissaries, "by order of the sultan, on the recommendation of the Chief Mufti," sometime after 1577 AD.[36][37]
The belief that the Qur'an had prophesied scientific theories and discoveries has become a strong and widespread belief in the contemporary Islamic world; these prophecies are often offered as evidence of the divine origin of the Qur'an;[45] see scientific foreknowledge in sacred texts for further discussion of this issue.
Taner Edis wrote An Illusion of Harmony: Science and Religion in Islam.[46] Edis worries that secularism in Turkey, one of the most westernized Muslim nations, is on its way out; he points out that Turkey rejects evolution by a large majority. To Edis, many Muslims appreciate technology and respect the role that science plays in its creation. As a result, he says there is a great deal of Islamic pseudoscience attempting to reconcile this respect with other respected religious beliefs. Edis maintains that the motivation to read modern scientific truths into holy books is also stronger for Muslims than Christians.[8] This is because, according to Edis, true criticism of the Qur'an is almost non-existent in the Muslim world. While Christianity is less prone to see its Holy Book as the direct word of God, fewer Muslims will compromise on this idea - causing them to believe that scientific truths simply must appear in the Qur'an. However, Edis opines that there are endless examples of scientific discoveries that could be read into the Bible or Qur'an if one would like to.[8] Edis qualifies that 'Muslim thought' certainly cannot be understood by looking at the Qur'an alone - cultural and political factors play large roles.[8]
Russel Glasser (Skeptic on The Atheist Experience TV show with Matt Dillahunty and Jeff Dee) argues that interpreting the Qur'an like this is cherry picking and risks simply confirming the biases of the investigator.[47]
The Quran contains many verses describing creation of the universe; God created heavens and earth in six heavenly days[7:54] the earth was created in two days[41:9], and in two other days (into a total of four) God furnished the creation of the earth with mountains, rivers and fruit-gardens [41:10]. Then heavens and earth formed from one mass which had to be split [21:30], the seven heavens were created from smoke [41:11], forming layers, one above the other [67:3]. The angels inhabit the seventh heavens. The lowest heaven is adorned with lights [41:12], the sun and the moon (which follow a regular path) [71:16][14:33], the stars [37:6] and the constellations of the Zodiac [15:16].[50]
Interpretation and Meaning (Tafsir)
The Quran has sparked a huge body of commentary and explication (tafsir), aimed at explaining the "meanings of the Quranic verses, clarifying their import and finding out their significance."[69]
Tafsir is one of the earliest academic activities of Muslims. According to the Quran, Muhammad was the first person who described the meanings of verses for early Muslims.[70] Other early exegetes included a few Companions of Muhammad, like Ali ibn Abi Talib, Abdullah ibn Abbas, Abdullah ibn Umar and Ubayy ibn Kab. Exegesis in those days was confined to the explanation of literary aspects of the verse, the background of its revelation and, occasionally, interpretation of one verse with the help of the other. If the verse was about a historical event, then sometimes a few traditions (hadith) of Muhammad were narrated to make its meaning clear.[71]
Because the Quran is spoken in classical Arabic, many of the later converts to Islam (mostly non-Arabs) did not always understand the Quranic Arabic, they did not catch allusions that were clear to early Muslims fluent in Arabic and they were concerned with reconciling apparent conflict of themes in the Quran. Commentators erudite in Arabic explained the allusions, and perhaps most importantly, explained which Quranic verses had been revealed early in Muhammad's prophetic career, as being appropriate to the very earliest Muslim community, and which had been revealed later, canceling out or "abrogating" (nasikh) the earlier text (mansukh).[72][73] Other scholars, however, maintain that no abrogation has taken place in the Qur'an.[74]
A number of modern scholars such as Fielding H. Garrison,[13] Abdus Salam and Hossein Nasr consider modern science and the scientific method to have been greatly inspired by Muslim scientists who introduced a modern empirical, experimental and quantitative approach to scientific inquiry. Some scholars, notably Donald Routledge Hill, Ahmad Y Hassan,[14] Abdus Salam,[15] and George Saliba,[16] have referred to their achievements as a Muslim scientific revolution,[17] though this does not contradict the traditional view of the Scientific Revolution which is still supported by most scholars.[18][19][20]
It is believed that it was the empirical attitude of the Qur'an and Sunnah which inspired medieval Muslim scientists, in particular Alhazen (965-1037),[21][22] to develop the scientific method.[23][24][25] It is also known that certain advances made by medieval Muslim astronomers, geographers and mathematicians was motivated by problems presented in Islamic scripture, such as Al-Khwarizmi's (c. 780-850) development of algebra in order to solve the Islamic inheritance laws,[26] and developments in astronomy, geography, spherical geometry and spherical trigonometry in order to determine the direction of the Qibla, the times of Salah prayers, and the dates of the Islamic calendar.[27]
The increased use of dissection in Islamic medicine during the 12th and 13th centuries was influenced by the writings of the Islamic theologian, Al-Ghazali, who encouraged the study of anatomy and use of dissections as a method of gaining knowledge of God's creation.[28] In al-Bukhari's and Muslim's collection of sahih hadith it is said: "There is no disease that Allah has created, except that He also has created its treatment." (Bukhari 7-71:582). This culminated in the work of Ibn al-Nafis (1213–1288), who discovered the pulmonary circulation in 1242 and used his discovery as evidence for the orthodox Islamic doctrine of bodily resurrection.[29] Ibn al-Nafis also used Islamic scripture as justification for his rejection of wine as self-medication.[30] Criticisms against alchemy and astrology were also motivated by religion, as orthodox Islamic theologians viewed the beliefs of alchemists and astrologers as being superstitious.[31]
Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (1149–1209), in dealing with his conception of physics and the physical world in his Matalib, discusses Islamic cosmology, criticizes the Aristotelian notion of the Earth's centrality within the universe, and "explores the notion of the existence of a multiverse in the context of his commentary," based on the Qur'anic verse, "All praise belongs to God, Lord of the Worlds." He raises the question of whether the term "worlds" in this verse refers to "multiple worlds within this single universe or cosmos, or to many other universes or a multiverse beyond this known universe." On the basis of this verse, he argues that God has created more than "a thousand thousand worlds (alfa alfi 'awalim) beyond this world such that each one of those worlds be bigger and more massive than this world as well as having the like of what this world has."[32] Ali Kuşçu's (1403–1474) support for the Earth's rotation and his rejection of Aristotelian cosmology (which advocates a stationary Earth) was motivated by religious opposition to Aristotle by orthodox Islamic theologians, such as Al-Ghazali.[33][34]
According to many historians, science in the muslim civilization flourished during the Middle Ages, but began declining at some time around the 14th[35] to 16th[11] centuries. At least some scholars blame this on the "rise of a clerical faction which froze this same science and withered its progress."[36] Examples of conflicts with prevailing interpretations of Islam and science - or at least the fruits of science - thereafter include the demolition of Taqi al-Din's great Istanbul observatory of Taqi al-Din in Galata, "comparable in its technical equipment and its specialist personnel with that of his celebrated contemporary, the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe." But while Brahe's observatory "opened the way to a vast new development of astronomical science," Taqi al-Din's was demolished by a squad of Janissaries, "by order of the sultan, on the recommendation of the Chief Mufti," sometime after 1577 AD.[36][37]
The belief that the Qur'an had prophesied scientific theories and discoveries has become a strong and widespread belief in the contemporary Islamic world; these prophecies are often offered as evidence of the divine origin of the Qur'an;[45] see scientific foreknowledge in sacred texts for further discussion of this issue.
Taner Edis wrote An Illusion of Harmony: Science and Religion in Islam.[46] Edis worries that secularism in Turkey, one of the most westernized Muslim nations, is on its way out; he points out that Turkey rejects evolution by a large majority. To Edis, many Muslims appreciate technology and respect the role that science plays in its creation. As a result, he says there is a great deal of Islamic pseudoscience attempting to reconcile this respect with other respected religious beliefs. Edis maintains that the motivation to read modern scientific truths into holy books is also stronger for Muslims than Christians.[8] This is because, according to Edis, true criticism of the Qur'an is almost non-existent in the Muslim world. While Christianity is less prone to see its Holy Book as the direct word of God, fewer Muslims will compromise on this idea - causing them to believe that scientific truths simply must appear in the Qur'an. However, Edis opines that there are endless examples of scientific discoveries that could be read into the Bible or Qur'an if one would like to.[8] Edis qualifies that 'Muslim thought' certainly cannot be understood by looking at the Qur'an alone - cultural and political factors play large roles.[8]
Russel Glasser (Skeptic on The Atheist Experience TV show with Matt Dillahunty and Jeff Dee) argues that interpreting the Qur'an like this is cherry picking and risks simply confirming the biases of the investigator.[47]
The Quran contains many verses describing creation of the universe; God created heavens and earth in six heavenly days[7:54] the earth was created in two days[41:9], and in two other days (into a total of four) God furnished the creation of the earth with mountains, rivers and fruit-gardens [41:10]. Then heavens and earth formed from one mass which had to be split [21:30], the seven heavens were created from smoke [41:11], forming layers, one above the other [67:3]. The angels inhabit the seventh heavens. The lowest heaven is adorned with lights [41:12], the sun and the moon (which follow a regular path) [71:16][14:33], the stars [37:6] and the constellations of the Zodiac [15:16].[50]
Interpretation and Meaning (Tafsir)
The Quran has sparked a huge body of commentary and explication (tafsir), aimed at explaining the "meanings of the Quranic verses, clarifying their import and finding out their significance."[69]
Tafsir is one of the earliest academic activities of Muslims. According to the Quran, Muhammad was the first person who described the meanings of verses for early Muslims.[70] Other early exegetes included a few Companions of Muhammad, like Ali ibn Abi Talib, Abdullah ibn Abbas, Abdullah ibn Umar and Ubayy ibn Kab. Exegesis in those days was confined to the explanation of literary aspects of the verse, the background of its revelation and, occasionally, interpretation of one verse with the help of the other. If the verse was about a historical event, then sometimes a few traditions (hadith) of Muhammad were narrated to make its meaning clear.[71]
Because the Quran is spoken in classical Arabic, many of the later converts to Islam (mostly non-Arabs) did not always understand the Quranic Arabic, they did not catch allusions that were clear to early Muslims fluent in Arabic and they were concerned with reconciling apparent conflict of themes in the Quran. Commentators erudite in Arabic explained the allusions, and perhaps most importantly, explained which Quranic verses had been revealed early in Muhammad's prophetic career, as being appropriate to the very earliest Muslim community, and which had been revealed later, canceling out or "abrogating" (nasikh) the earlier text (mansukh).[72][73] Other scholars, however, maintain that no abrogation has taken place in the Qur'an.[74]
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