The Qur’an allegedly contains “scientific errors”. But, to me, it seems like these “scientific errors” are forced upon the Qur’an by people who probably have no idea how to read it.
To properly appreciate the rich meanings contained in the Qur’an, there are a number of important aspects to consider, the most fundamental of which is language. One needs to be well versed in the sciences of the Arabic language, which includes not only nahw (grammar) and sarf (morphology), but also balagha (rhetoric). For example, the Qur’an conveys meanings in different degrees of clarity. Sometimes it would use direct speech and sometimes it would use metaphors. One of the branches of balagha, known as Ilm al-Bayan, deals with this particular aspect of the Qur’anic language. Therefore, being unaware of how the Qur’an employs literal and figurative speech, can easily lead one to come up with problematic interpretations of the Qur’an. And Ilm al-Bayan is but one aspect of the study of balagha.
Now, the critic may retort, “Even if we don’t know Arabic, we can still refer to translations of the Qur’an”.
Herein, lies the problem. A lot of the meaning is actually lost in translation. This is true not only for the Qur’an, but for any text. But it is especially true for the Qur’an given the richness of its language.
Let alone translations, even synonyms from the same language don’t always convey the same meaning. One of my English teachers gave me this very simple example: a synonym for “enough” is “sufficient”. Yet one can meaningfully say “Enough is enough”, whereas “Sufficient is sufficient” actually sounds quite absurd!
Some commendable efforts have been made by some Muslims to refute these criticisms and to prove that the Qur’an and science are compatible. However, I have discussed elsewhere the ideological nature of modern science which is important for us to understand so we don’t take science as an absolute benchmark by which to measure Islam. Therefore, whether the Qur’an and science are compatible is a secondary question to me. I feel that the more fundamental issue is to realise that these “scientific” criticisms are based on a very sloppy reading of the Qur’an, completely disregarding the proper method of studying it and lacking the intellectual rigour and reflection needed to adequately understand it. Without delving much into the meaning of any of the verses in question, let me very briefly point out some of the superficialities in these “scientific” criticisms from a language perspective:
1. The Qur’an apparently says that the earth is flat in verse 30 of Surah An-Naziat. Someone once shared with me a screenshot from a, possibly, atheist or agnostic source making the above claim. Ironically, the author got the reference wrong. The translation was in Bangla, yet the author was bold enough to authoritatively insert the Arabic word “دحا” (“daha”) in brackets (albeit transliterated in Bangla), as if he/she really knew what the word meant. Does “daha” literally and unequivocally mean to “flatten”? Can it not refer to round objects? Let me give you a funny example. It is actually possible to use the word “daha” referring to a big tummy:
دحا البطن: “The belly was, or became, large, and hanging down.” [Lane’s Lexicon]
Now, we all know the difference between a flat, blocky six-pack and a round, bulging one-pack! If the word “daha” can refer to round surfaces, how can one decisively make the claim that the Qur’an describes the entire earth (and not just the surface as it appears to us) as flat? Again, I’m not going into what the verse actually means, or what the exegetes say about the verse. I’m just asking the question how do the critics reconcile the different meanings of the word “daha” in order to conclude that the Qur’an describes the earth as flat.
2. The Qur’an allegedly says that bees eat from every fruit whereas they supposedly don’t. This claim is based on the below verse:
“Then, eat from all the fruits, and go along the pathways of your Lord made easy for you.” [An-Nahl:69]
A very basic thing to note in the above verse is that it is in the imperative form, not the informative one – it uses the command verb, fi’l amr, كلي (“eat”). The two sentences below can help us differentiate between these two types of sentences:
- “Close the door!” (Imperative)
- “The door is closed.” (Informative)
Sentence 2 is actually informing us of a fact whereas sentence 1 is not. Therefore, if the relevant part of the above verse is not an informative sentence, i.e. it is not stating any facts, how can one claim that the verse contains factual errors? I know other questions can potentially be raised but I am not going to preempt them yet as the critics need to deal with this issue first.
3. “Surely, it is Allah with whom rests the knowledge of the Hour; and He sends down the rain, and He knows what is in the wombs. No one knows what he will earn tomorrow, and no one knows in which land he will die. Surely, Allah is All Knowing, All Aware.” [Luqman:34]
Science purportedly proves the Qur’an wrong because, with modern technology, even we can know the gender of the child.
Firstly, where does the verse preclude the possibility of humans acquiring some knowledge of the child’s gender after a certain stage of its development in the womb? Even so, sometimes we get the gender wrong despite the advancements in medical technology. Quite clearly the critics have ignored the difference between Allah’s eternal, uncreated and perfect knowledge and the human’s limited, created and imperfect knowledge. Also, where exactly did the verse specify gender? Can it not also be referring to the child’s lifespan, rizq, his/her fate in the hereafter and every single minute detail of his/her life which science has no way of foretelling?
4. The Qur’an apparently says that the sun sets in murky waters:
“Until when he reached the point of sunset, he found it setting into a miry spring, and found a people near it.” [Al-Kahf:86]
This is a very good example of how the Qur’an is far superior than science in capturing direct human experience and evoking powerful imagery through its language that we can directly relate to. That is not to say science is useless. But it has its limitations.
Imagine trying to scientifically explain to someone who was born blind what it is like to view the sunset from the beach. Let us assume that the person is well versed in science and can understand a scientific explanation very well. You can give him as much detail as you want about the rotation of the earth, the wavelengths of light rays, the particles in the atmosphere that “scatter” the light producing majestic colours etc. Yet he would still not be able to appreciate what it is like to directly see the sun “descend” through the sky and “sink” into the sea while the sky is “painted” with a glorious red and orange in the process.
The sun may not actually “descend” or “sink” in reality, and the sky may not actually be “painted” with colours, but these expressions depict our direct experience of the sunset in a way that science can never do. Strictly speaking, the sun does not actually ever “set”. It’s just our perception of it, and it is important that we are able to describe it in language the way we experience it. Interestingly, as Hesham Azmy notes in his article on this topic, the exegetes actually point out that the Qur’an is describing the sunset from the point of view of Dhul Qarnayn. That’s why it says “he found it setting”, not “it sets”.
Understanding the Qur’an takes time and effort. If someone wants to criticise it, they should at the very least make some effort to understand it first. The points that I mentioned above are merely to demonstrate, very briefly, that a lot of the criticisms that are made against the Qur’an are not based on a careful study of it. Ironically, I’ve seen some of these critics claiming to be “free thinkers” as opposed to us, supposedly, blind followers of Islam. Their “thinking” may (or may not) be “free”, but it is definitely devoid of depth and intellectual rigour. As such, I wonder if I’m just better off in my blind belief.
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