Creation of Universe and Miracle Claims

It is often claimed by Islamic apologists that Quran explains the "creation" of Universe in a miraculously correct manner. Muslims often claim that Quran explains the Big Bang theory correctly despite being written over 1400 years ago. This is one of the most commonly cited "Scientific miracles of the Quran". However, a careful look at the verses of the Quran shows something entirely different. Apart from the fact that it doesn't explain the big bang, the Quran also appears to contradict it, and makes claims that go against basic scientific knowledge of the universe.

The following verse is the base of the Islamic claim:

21:30 - Have not those who disbelieve known that the heavens and the earth were joined together as one united piece, then We parted them? And We have made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?

This is allegedly referred to as an explanation of the big bang. The fact is though that apart from claiming that Earth and "heavens" (it is claimed that the heavens refers to the rest of the universe) were together, there is nothing that remotely matches big bang here. The verse also inaccurately claims that the Earth was "separated" or "parted" from the heavens. This is a troublesome claim because the Earth didn't even exist until BILLIONS of years after the big bang. Imagine how grossly inaccurate the verse is. But of course the apologists don't give up just like that. They say that the verse doesn't really claim the Earth existed in its current form when the separation happened. This doesn't sound convincing at all and if that was a description of the big bang, then it is the worst possible description I have ever read. Let's look at another part of the Quran to see some more claims it makes about the universe.

41:9 - Say (O Muhammad SAW): "Do you verily disbelieve in Him Who created the earth in two Days and you set up rivals (in worship) with Him? That is the Lord of the 'Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists).

41:10 - He placed therein (i.e. the earth) firm mountains from above it, and He blessed it, and measured therein its sustenance (for its dwellers) in four Days equal (i.e. all these four 'days' were equal in the length of time), for all those who ask (about its creation).

41:11 - Then He Istawa (rose over) towards the heaven when it was smoke, and said to it and to the earth: "Come both of you willingly or unwillingly." They both said: "We come, willingly."

41:12 - Then He completed and finished from their creation (as) seven heavens in two Days and He made in each heaven its affair. And We adorned the nearest (lowest) heaven with lamps (stars) to be an adornment as well as to guard (from the devils by using them as missiles against the devils). Such is the Decree of Him the All-Mighty, the All-Knower.

Look at the order of creation here. First Allah made the Earth, then he placed mountains and things for sustenance of life. Then he rose towards the heaven when it was nothing but a puff of smoke. Then he shaped them into seven heavens and made stars to decorate and "guard" the lowest heaven. These verses clearly claim that the Earth was formed before the stars, no matter how you look at it. This is in direct conflict with science. Science tells us that stars were formed billions of years before the formation of Earth.

CONCLUSION: The Quran makes huge scientific errors in its verses describing the universe and the claim of "scientific miracle" is an absolute joke. These are things that should become clear to anyone who has a basic understanding of what big bang and science tells us about the timeline of universe.

Religious Warfare and Promise of Paradise

The emphasis that Islam places on religious warfare, killing and getting killed in the battlefield to attain paradise makes it dangerous when these commands are taken seriously. What makes things worse is that the violent verses of the Quran are said to be revealed later on, compared to the relatively peaceful verses earlier on. The chapter 9 for example is the second last chapter of the Quran (and the last major chapter), and filled with violent commands.

9:5 - Then, when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever ye find them, and take them (captive), and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush. But if they repent and establish worship and pay the poor-due, then leave their way free. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (9:5) - In the Two Sahihs, it is recorded that Ibn `Umar said that the Messenger of Allah said, (I have been commanded to fight the people until they testify that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establish the prayer and pay the Zakah.) This honorable Ayah (9:5) was called the Ayah of the Sword, about which Ad-Dahhak bin Muzahim said, "It abrogated every agreement of peace between the Prophet and any idolator, every treaty, and every term.'' Al-`Awfi said that Ibn `Abbas commented: "No idolator had any more treaty or promise of safety ever since Surah Bara'ah was revealed. The four months, in addition to, all peace treaties conducted before Bara'ah was revealed and announced had ended by the tenth of the month of Rabi` Al-Akhir.''

Here is the hadith referenced by the Tafsirs:

Sahih al-Bukhari 25: Narrated Ibn 'Umar: Allah's Messenger said: "I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight against the people until they testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah's Messenger, and offer the prayers perfectly and give the obligatory charity, so if they perform that, then they save their lives and property from me except for Islamic laws and then their reckoning (accounts) will be done by Allah."

9:29 - Fight those who do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth from those who were given the Scripture - [fight] until they give the jizyah willingly while they are humbled.

The verses that follow 9:29 explain the reason for fighting:

9:30 to 9:32 - The Jews say, "Ezra is the son of Allah", and the Christians say, "The Messiah is the son of Allah." That is their statement from their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved [before them]. May Allah destroy them; how are they deluded? They have taken their scholars and monks as lords besides Allah , and [also] the Messiah, the son of Mary. And they were not commanded except to worship one God; there is no deity except Him. Exalted is He above whatever they associate with Him. They want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah refuses except to perfect His light, although the disbelievers dislike it.

The Tafsirs confirm the purpose of the Jizyah tax - humiliation, degradation and disgrace of the unbelievers.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (9:29) - Allah said, (until they pay the Jizyah), if they do not choose to embrace Islam, (with willing submission), in defeat and subservience, (and feel themselves subdued.), disgraced, humiliated and belittled. Therefore, Muslims are not allowed to honor the people of Dhimmah or elevate them above Muslims, for they are miserable, disgraced and humiliated. Muslim recorded from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said, (Do not initiate the Salam to the Jews and Christians, and if you meet any of them in a road, force them to its narrowest alley.) This is why the Leader of the faithful `Umar bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, demanded his well-known conditions be met by the Christians, these conditions that ensured their continued humiliation, degradation and disgrace.

8:38 to 8:39 - Say to those who have disbelieved [that] if they cease, what has previously occurred will be forgiven for them. But if they return [to hostility] - then the precedent of the former [rebellious] peoples has already taken place. And fight them until there is no fitnah and [until] the religion, all of it, is for Allah. And if they cease - then indeed, Allah is Seeing of what they do.

2:192 to 2:193 - And if they cease, then indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. Fight them until there is no [more] fitnah and [until] worship is [acknowledged to be] for Allah. But if they cease, then there is to be no aggression except against the oppressors.

The meaning of the word "Fitnah" in context is disbelief and polytheism according to some translators and persecution according to some others. What is clear anyway, is that the polytheists are to be fought until two things are achieved: (1) Fitnah is no more (2) Religion is for Allah alone. Looking at the Tafsirs, it seems that the earliest scholars and companions understood Fitnah as "Shirk" meaning polytheism. It seems to be a never ending war that is not to be stopped till Islam triumphs over the whole world.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (2:193) - Allah then commanded fighting the disbelievers when He said: (...until there is no more Fitnah) meaning, Shirk. This is the opinion of Ibn `Abbas, Abu Al-`Aliyah, Mujahid, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, Ar-Rabi`, Muqatil bin Hayyan, As-Suddi and Zayd bin Aslam. Allah's statement: (...and the religion (all and every kind of worship) is for Allah (Alone).) means, `So that the religion of Allah becomes dominant above all other religions.' It is reported in the Two Sahihs that Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari said: "The Prophet was asked, `O Allah's Messenger! A man fights out of bravery, and another fights to show off, which of them fights in the cause of Allah'. The Prophet said: (I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight the people until they proclaim, `None has the right to be worshipped but Allah'. Whoever said it, then he will save his life and property from me, except for cases of the law, and their account will be with Allah.)

We have already seen the repeated calls to engage in warfare for the sake of Islam. Let's examine a few more Quran verses:

9:111 - Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties [in exchange] for that they will have Paradise. They fight in the cause of Allah, so they kill and are killed. [It is] a true promise [binding] upon Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur'an. And who is truer to his covenant than Allah? So rejoice in your transaction which you have contracted. And it is that which is the great attainment.

4:74 - So let those fight in the cause of Allah who sell the life of this world for the Hereafter. And he who fights in the cause of Allah and is killed or achieves victory - We will bestow upon him a great reward.

4:95 - Not equal are those believers remaining [at home] - other than the disabled - and the mujahideen, [who strive and fight] in the cause of Allah with their wealth and their lives. Allah has preferred the mujahideen through their wealth and their lives over those who remain [behind], by degrees. And to both Allah has promised the best [reward]. But Allah has preferred the mujahideen over those who remain [behind] with a great reward.

2:216 - Fighting has been enjoined upon you while it is hateful to you. But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah Knows, while you know not.

And the following is how Muslims are encouraged to act in the battlefield:

8:12 to 8:13 - [Remember] when your Lord inspired to the angels, "I am with you, so strengthen those who have believed. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieved, so strike [them] upon the necks and strike from them every fingertip." That is because they opposed Allah and His Messenger. And whoever opposes Allah and His Messenger - indeed, Allah is severe in penalty.

According to these verses:

1). The best way to attain paradise is to kill and get killed in warfare for the sake of Islam.

2). Even if you attain paradise by other means, it is those who die in religious warfare who get the best treatment by far in paradise.

3). Religious warfare is something Muslims should engage in even if they dislike it, because God has ordained it.

The puzzle is not complete without a look at what Islam offers the pious Muslims in paradise:

78:31 to 78:34 - Verily, for the Muttaqun, there will be a success (Paradise); Gardens and grapeyards; And young full-breasted (mature) maidens of equal age; And a full cup (of wine).

In other words, Islam offers Muslims in afterlife the pleasures that it forbids in the real life. It is a well-engineered ideology to control human minds and direct it to achieve religious supremacy.

Sun Revolves Around the Earth

The author of the Quran clearly seems unaware of the fact that Sun doesn't actually orbit the Earth, and the apparent orbit is an illusion caused by Earth's rotation.

36:37 to 36:40 - A token unto them is night. We strip it of the day, and lo! they are in darkness. And the sun runneth on unto a resting-place for him. That is the measuring of the Mighty, the Wise. And for the moon We have appointed mansions till she return like an old shrivelled palm-leaf. It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor doth the night outstrip the day. They float each in an orbit.

As you can see, Quran mentions the orbit or course of the Sun in context with the onset of night. It never mentions the fact that Earth rotates - which is the actual cause of night. This leaves us with only one logical explanation: The Sun orbits the Earth according to Quran. We can also note the weird motion of the sun which involves a resting place during night time. Muslims defend these verses arguing that Sun’s rotation about its own axis or its revolution around galaxy is being talked about here. However this is logically absurd as there is no need to mention the day and the night in context with Sun’s rotation or its revolution around galaxy. The statement: "It is not allowed for sun to overtake the moon" would be meaningful only if the orbits are in a similar path and is a clear proof for the scientific error.

But if that's not enough evidence for you, check out this Sahih Hadith for Muhammad's statement which again clearly proves that the motion of the Sun mentioned here is neither about Sun's rotation nor its revolution around galaxy - but about sunset and sunrise - which are related to the apparent orbit of sun around earth. The silly story about sun taking rest at night is seemingly supported here as well.

Sahih al-Bukhari 3199 - Narrated Abu Dharr: The Prophet asked me at sunset, "Do you know where the sun goes (at the time of sunset)?" I replied, "Allah and His Apostle know better." He said, "It goes (i.e. travels) till it prostrates Itself underneath the Throne and takes the permission to rise again, and it is permitted and then (a time will come when) it will be about to prostrate itself but its prostration will not be accepted, and it will ask permission to go on its course but it will not be permitted, but it will be ordered to return whence it has come and so it will rise in the west. And that is the interpretation of the Statement of Allah (36.38): And the sun runneth on unto a resting-place for him. That is the measuring of the Mighty, the Wise.)