Part One
1- The position of stars - 56:75-76
2- Cooling off period before divorce - 2:226-227
3- Iron sent down to earth 57:25
4- Belief at time of death is too late - 10:91-92
5- God named everything -
7- The function of Mountains - 78:7
8- Which comes first, Night or Day - 41:37
9- Is it "on the earth" or "in the earth" - 6:38 - 9:2 - 10:99
10- Men cannot keep their wives against their will - 2:231
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1- The position of stars - 56:75-76
"I swear by the positions of the stars. This is an awesome oath, if you only knew” 56:75-76
The number of stars in our “Milky Way” galaxy is about 200 billion stars; and our galaxy is about average in size with regards to number of stars.
An average galaxy contains between 1011 and 1012 stars. In other words, galaxies on average have between 100 billion and 1 trillion numbers of stars.
100,000,000,000 to 1,000,000,000,000
Astronomers estimate that there are approximately 100 billion to 1 trillion galaxies in the Universe. So if we multiply those two numbers together, we get between 1022 and 1024 stars in the Universe. How many stars? There are between 10 sextillion and 1 septillion stars in the Universe. That's a large number of stars.
From planet earth, we can only see a small number of the stars in our Milky Way galaxy, the ones which are in that part of the galaxy that is nearest us. Most of the galaxy is hidden behind vast clouds of dust and gases. And other galaxies are too far away for most small telescopes to pick out individual stars.
When we come to the positions of stars, we are faced with a momentous different issue.
The gigantic number of stars in the universe makes the exact knowledge of the position of every star a virtual impossibility. But this is only the smaller problem. The bigger problem is that stars are on the constant move. Our own Sun is moving through space at about 30 kilometres per second in the direction of the star Vega.
Other stars are moving along with their galaxies at astronomical speeds. The speed of far away galaxies can be derived from their red shift. It was found that the most distant galaxies are travelling at speeds approaching 80% of the speed of light. This amounts to about 240,000 kilometres per second.
What this means is that the position of any such star in such distant galaxy has actually moved by that vast distance after only one second.
Note that the words in the Quranic verse above speak of the dynamic "positions” of stars rather than the static position. These words relate to the continuously changing positions of all the stars in the universe.
God Almighty knows the exact position of every star at every moment in time.
Can we comprehend why this oath is indeed an awesome one?
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2- Cooling off period before divorce - 2:226-227
God’s way is always the best solution. The Quran offers many solutions for some of today’s most urgent problems.
Divorce rates are on the increase worldwide, and the worst rate of divorce is found in the USA. 50% of all marriages in the United States will end in divorce. 41% - 50% of all first marriages end in divorce, 60% - 67% for second marriages, and 73% - 74% of all third marriages.
Divorce rates are increasing at an alarming rate with the main reason being infidelity. Divorce can also be a result of other social and financial reasons. In many instances, the decision to go through with divorce can be impulsive and hasty.
The Quran regards marriage as a permanent bond between man and woman, and divorce even though not prohibited, yet is discouraged. For that, the Quran imposes a number of restrictions, mainly on the man, before divorce can be executed.
One of the restrictions placed is the cooling off period. By virtue of 2:226-227, if a couple intend to go through with divorce they must wait a period of four months first. If after this period they still want a divorce then so be it, but in many cases this period of time leads to reconciliations.
It is interesting to know that this Quranic solution which is 14 centuries old (Quran revealed in the 7th century), is now being implemented by some countries in their attempts to lower the divorce rate.
<<<<A cooling-off program piloted by the Seoul Family Court since March played a part in lowering the divorce rate in Seoul. Lee Myeong-sook, a lawyer, said that the program, which requires couples who file for divorce to take time to reconsider, may have helped reduce divorce cases where couples wanted to split in a fit of anger.>>>>
source: http://www.divorcereform.org/nonus.html#anchor5599108
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3- Iron sent down to Earth - 57:25
"We sent our messengers supported by clear proofs, and we sent down to them the scripture and the law, that the people may uphold justice. And we sent down the iron, wherein there is strength, and many benefits for the people." 57:25
An interesting matter here is related to the formation of iron. It was found that the amount of energy required to form iron is greater than all the energy that was available in all the solar system when it was formed.
To be precise, it was found that the energy required to form iron was about four times as much as the energy of the entire solar system. For that reason, we can say that iron was not formed in the solar system but was introduced as an extraterrestrial element.
This is in perfect harmony with what the Quran says about this matter in verse 57:25
We note the use of the words “sent down” which are very accurately in line with scientific knowledge.
Further points of interest:
1- It is interesting to know that the majority of the iron on earth lies in the centre of the earth (core). Iron is the main element of the core of the earth. Just the same, the sura called Iron lies exactly in the centre of the Quran. The Quran contains 114 sura’s and the sura named Iron is number 57.
2- The Gematric Value of the chapter’s title (The Iron) “Al-Hadeed” is 57, which matches the chapter number (57).
3- The Gematric Value of the word Iron "Hadeed" is 26, which is Iron’s Atomic Number (26), or its number of protons.
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4- Belief at time of death is too late - 10:91-92
“We delivered the Children of Israel across the sea. Pharaoh and his troops pursued them, aggressively and sinfully. When drowning became a reality for him, he said, "I believe that there is no god except the One in whom the Children of Israel have believed; I am a submitter."
"Too late! For you have rebelled already, and chose to be a transgressor.
"Today, we will preserve your body, to set you up as a lesson for future generations." Unfortunately, many people are totally oblivious to our signs.” 10:90-92
A Quranic truth that is confirmed in a number of verses, is that the human being is given all his life as his chance to accept God and to be a believer. This chance ends when death is upon him. For at the moment of death, all humans know the truth and know that God alone is Supreme. Then they would wish to be returned to earth to do better work:
“When death comes to one of them, he says, "My Lord, send me back. "I will then work righteousness in everything I left." 23:99-100
Once this reality is upon the human, there would be no credit due for accepting God.
The story of Pharaoh in Sura 10 is a fine example of this reality.
The Quran urges every soul to repent and be sincere in their repentance. And along the same lines as the verses above, repentance is not accepted from those who feel death coming, for then it is also too late:
“Not acceptable is the repentance of those who commit sins until death comes to them, then say, "Now I repent." Nor is it acceptable from those who die as disbelievers. For these, we have prepared a painful retribution.” 4:18
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5- God named everything - 2:31
“He taught Adam all the names” 2:31
The truth in the above words is simple and uncomplicated, but it’s implications are significant. What these words really say is that God has actually gave everything it’s name, long before we gave everything their names. It is God who called the tree a tree, and the sea the sea … etc.
The verse above speaks about the names of “everything” … this means that everything in the universe, including our own names, have been decided by God from the very beginning.
This truth has a lot of implications, specially in connection with the fact that the Quran has all the details of the religion (6:114) and that nothing has been left out of the book (6:38).
Some Muslims have the habit of asking questions like:
“How do we know when is the month of Ramadan? If the Quran contains all the details, then where do we know from the Quran when the month of Ramadan comes?”
Some others ask:
“God commanded us to visit the mount of Arafat during hajj, and if the Quran contains all the details, then where in the Quran does it tell us where Arafat is?”
In theory, such questions are not any different from someone asking:
“God commanded us to wash our faces in ablution (wudu), so where in the Quran are we told where to find our faces?”
What the phrase “Quran has all the details” means is that the book contains everything we need to practice the religion.
This phrase does not mean that the Quran has a built in finger that pops out and points to our face so we know where our face is!
Nor is the Quran a calendar that flips its own pages till the month of Ramadan comes then an alarm bell sounds to signal the time for us to fast.
It is here where the verse 2:31 comes into play.
It is God who called the month of fasting as Ramadan, and this knowledge is available to us, so that when the month of Ramadan comes we know when to fast, in the same way that it is God who called our faces as faces, and it is He who also let us know where to find our faces …. This argument may seem naive, but it is only naive because the questions posed by these Muslims are naive in the first place.
To conclude, God named everything and gave us knowledge of these names, so that when God commands us to wash our faces, we know where our faces are, and when God commands to fast during Ramadan, we also know when Ramadan comes.
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6- Universe created out of nothing - 2:117
"He is the Originator of the heavens and the earth" 6:101
“The Initiator of the heavens and the earth” 2:117
Up to the 20th century, and certainly at the time the Quran was revealed in the 7th century, astronomers believed that the universe did not have a beginning, but rather that it has always existed. This theory, known as the Steady State theory, was disproved when Edwin Hubble discovered in 1929 that the universe was expanding and subsequently totally demolished with the discovery of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation in 1964 by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson. Together, these discoveries gave birth to the Big Bang model which in turn put rest to the Steady State theory.
The Big Bang theory states that the entire universe, comprising of matter, time and space, came into existence as a result of a great explosion from a single infinitely small point. The universe was created from nothingness as the result of the explosion of that single point. Before the Big Bang, there was no such thing as matter, space not even time. They were all created at that initial moment.
Speaking to a sold out crowd at the Berkeley Physics Oppenheimer Lecture, Stephen Hawking, the renowned physicist said on the 13th March 2007 that he now believes the universe spontaneously popped into existence from nothing.
This information which is given in the Quran in the verses above is in full agreement with the findings of contemporary science. God is the One who created the universe out of nothing, the Initiator of the universe.
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7- The Function of Mountains - 78:7
According to modern geological findings, mountains emerge as a result of the movements and collisions of massive plates forming the Earth's crust. When two plates collide, the stronger one slides under the other, the one on the top bends and forms heights and mountains. The layer beneath proceeds under the ground and makes a deep extension downward. That means that mountains have a greater portion stretching downwards. In a scientific text, the structure of mountains is described as follows:
"Where continents are thicker, as in mountain ranges, the crust sinks deeper into the mantle." (General Science, Carolyn Sheets, Robert Gardner, Samuel F. Howe; Allyn and Bacon Inc. Newton, Massachusetts, 1985, s. 305)
The most amazing aspect of mountains is that what we see above ground is only about one eigth of the total mountain; seven eigths of the mountain remains underground where, according to the Quranic verse below, they act as pegs that stabilise the earth's crust, much like a tent peg stabilises a tent when it is hammered into the ground. This has been borne out by geological knowledge uncovered during the past century.
In the following verse, this role of the mountains is pointed out by a comparison with "pegs":
"Have We not made the earth as a wide expanse, and the mountains as pegs?" 78:6-7
In the above words we note the similarity of mountains to pegs, not only in their function, but also in their shape. The triangular shape of the mountain that appears above the ground is coupled with an inverted triangular mountain below the ground, just as the shape of a peg.
The stabilising effect of mountains over the earth’s crust helps prevents the movement of the layers that lie below.
This fact was not known by anyone at the time the Quran was revealed. It was in fact brought to light only recently as a result of the findings of modern geology.
The following Quranic verse accurately describes the role of mountains in preventing movement to the layers that lie beneath the Earth’s crust:
"We placed firm stabilisers (mountains) on the earth, so it would not move with them…" 21:31
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8- Which comes first : Night or Day - 41:37
Many have debated the following question:
According to the Quran, which comes first, day or night? The majority of people regard the day to be the beginning of our 24 cycle. They support their view with the fact that the human being starts his/her day upon waking up in the morning, and thus day comes before night. Others claim that our 24 hour cycle starts at sunset. They support their view with the fact that the sighting of the crescent, which is at or shortly after sunset, is described in the Quran as a timer which marks the beginning of the month and thus the beginning of our day.
When we study various Quranic verses we find that this issue can be resolved as follows:
1- In a universal sense, and when God speaks specifically about creation, we find that NIGHT is always mentioned before DAY, examples are:
“Among His proofs are the Night and the Day, and the sun and the moon.” 41:37 (also see 16:12, 21:33 and others).
The reason for this deliberate sequence of placing Night before Day is due to the fact that before any light was created (which comes from stars) there was total darkness. So concerning the creation of the universe, there was darkness before any light existed. It is for the same reason that God mentions darkness before light in the verses which speak of the creation of the universe:
2- However, as far as the human being is concerned, and specifically regarding the order of our salat (prayers), God places our Fajr (dawn) before our Esha (evening). Thus for us humans; our Day comes before our Night.
This is evident in 24:58 where the Dawn Prayer (Fajr) is mentioned before the Night Prayer (Esha):
“O you who believe, permission must be requested by your servants and the children who have not attained puberty (before entering your rooms). This is to be done in three instances - before the Dawn Prayer, at noon when you change your clothes to rest, and after the Night Prayer.”
We also read in 11:114 the Day mentioned before the Night:
“You shall observe the Contact Prayers (Salat) at the ends of the Day, and for the near parts of the Night.”
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9- Is it "on the earth" or "in the earth" - 6:38 - 9:2 - 10:99
Looking at the Arabic words of the Quran (not the translations), we note that all the Quranic verses which speak of living creatures (including human beings) say that they live “in the earth” rather than “on the earth”.
Before looking at some of these verses, it must be mentioned that most translators translated the Arabic words into “on earth” rather than “in the earth” as they were oblivious of the fact that “in the earth” is scientifically more accurate. These translators were also trying to conform to how the phrase would be phrased in English rather than conform to what the scientific knowledge would dictate.
“All the creatures in the earth, and all the birds that fly with wings, are communities like you.” 6:38
“So roam freely in the land for four months ….” 9:2
“Had your Lord willed, all the people in the earth would have believed” 10:99
Normally, we think that all life exists on earth “life on earth”, however this is not correct from a scientific point of view.
As we know, the earth’s atmosphere is a part of the earth. The fact that it is a gas layer does not mean it is not a part of the earth, for matter exists in three forms (solid, liquid and gas). And since we live at the very lowest level of the atmosphere (inside the atmosphere), then we live "in the earth" and not on the earth.
The atmosphere is divided into five layers. It is thickest near the surface and thins out with height until it eventually merges with space.
1- The troposphere: is the first layer above the surface and extends about 10 kilometres above the earth’s surface. This layer contains around 80% of the Earth's atmosphere (in mass). Weather occurs in this layer, and all living creatures live inside the troposphere.
2- The stratosphere: is the second layer extending 50K above the surface, it is where jet planes fly and also where the ozone layer is found.
3- The mesosphere: is the third layer extending 85K above the surface and it is where meteors and rock fragments burn up
4- The thermosphere: is the fourth layer and it extends up to 800K and is the layer where we see the auroras. It is also where the space shuttle orbits.
5- The exosphere: is the fifth layer, it is above 1000k and is where the atmosphere merges into space and is extremely thin. This is the upper limit of our atmosphere.
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10- Men cannot keep their wives against their will - 2:231
“Do not force them to stay against their will, as a revenge.” 2:231
In many countries that still implement a version of Islam which is based on medieval male dominated cultures, we find that the man is given a number of privileges which are not God given. In marriage, it is customary that men are given what is referred to as the “esma”. This means that they alone have the right to divorce their wives. They can divorce their wives instantly and without seeking a court order. However if a wife seeks a divorce she must obtain a court order. But this is very difficult in these countries since their courts are also guided by many male dominated rules that make it virtually impossible for a woman to obtain divorce unless she can prove that her husband is a criminal, a mad man or better still, an alien!
Where did men acquire these non Quranic rights? The obvious answer is not surprisingly from the hadith which was written over 200 years after the death of the prophet and also against his will.
Please see: History of hadith
Many Muslim scholars and Imams claim that the hadith explains the Quran! However in this case, as in hundreds of other cases, it can be shown that the hadith clearly violates a clear Quranic law (2:231). These contradictions go to show that the bulk of these hadith could not have been the true words of the prophet.
Please see: Why the prophet is innocent of the hadith
According to 2:231 a man is prohibited from keeping his wife against her wishes, and must consent to her wishes to end a marriage. Normally he has every right to try to save the marriage and also seek a council from the two families (4:35) but if all attempts fail, he cannot keep his wife against her wishes.
This is the law of God and any person or authority not ruling by God’s law are defined in the Quran as disbelievers:
“Then we revealed to you this scripture (Quran), truthfully, confirming previous scriptures, and superseding them. You shall rule among them in accordance with God's revelations” 5:48
“Those who do not rule in accordance with God's revelations are the disbelievers.” 5:44
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Continued in Part Two