[[File:Noahs-Ark-Edward-Hicks.jpg|right|thumb|275px|"Nuhun gəmisi" (1846), rəssam Edvard Hiks. Qurandakı bu hekayə həm tarixi, həm də elmi faktlarla bağlı suallar doğurur.]]{{Developing}}
Həm Quran, həm də hədislərlə bağlı irəli sürülən ümumi bir tənqid ondan ibarətdir ki, bu mətnlərdə çoxsaylı elmi və tarixi xətalar mövcuddur. Tənqidçilərə görə, mətndə təbiət dünyası və tarixi hadisələrlə bağlı anlayışları 7-ci əsr Ərəbistanında yaşayan insanların folklorundan və yanlış təsəvvürlərindən fərqləndirmək üçün heç bir aşkar cəhd göstərilməmişdir. Müasir cavablarda adətən bu növ ayələrin izahı üçün metaforalara, alternativ mənalara və ya fenomenoloji şərhlərə müraciət edilir. Həmçinin iddia olunur ki, istifadə olunan ifadələr o dövrün insanları üçün anlaşılan və qəbul edilən formada olmalı idi. Tənqidçilər isə əksinə, hər şeyi bilən və mükəmməl ünsiyyət quran bir varlığın Quranda o dövrün yanlış təsəvvürlərini gücləndirən və gələcək nəsillərdə onun mükəmməlliyinə dair şübhə yaradan ifadələrdən qaçınmalı olduğunu müdafiə edirlər. Onların fikrincə, bu vəziyyət Quranın doğruluğuna xələl gətirən ciddi bir zəiflikdir.

== Astronomiya ==

=== Geosentrizm ===
Quranda bir neçə dəfə günəşin və ayın bir orbit və ya kürə/yarımkürə boyu hərəkət etdiyi qeyd olunur (fî fələkin فِى فَلَكٍ).<ref name="LLFalak">[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000227.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2443 فَلَكٍ] and [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000228.pdf p. 2444]</ref> Bu, hərəkətsiz Yeri kainatın mərkəzinə qoyan və bütün "səma cisimlərinin" Yer ətrafında fırlandığını iddia edən Yer mərkəzli (geosentrik) kainat dünyagörüşü ilə üst-üstə düşür. Bu, 16-cı əsrdə Kopernikin günəş mərkəzli (heliosentrik) kainat modelini izah etməsinə və populyarlaşdırmasına qədər hakim olan kainat anlayışı idi. Maraqlıdır ki, günəşin hərəkəti demək olar ki, həmişə gecə və gündüz kontekstində xatırlanır (yeddi dəfə; [https://quran.az/13/2 Quran 13:2] yeganə istisnadır) və həmişə ayın hərəkəti ilə birlikdə qeyd olunur (hansı ki, ay həqiqətən də hər ay Yer ətrafında dövr edir və sıravi müşahidəçi üçün göründüyü hər gecə səmanı keçirmiş kimi təəssürat yaradır).{{Quote|{{Quran-range|36|37|40}}|Gecə də onlar üçün (Allahın qüdrətini göstərən) bir dəlildir. Biz gündüzü ondan sıyırıb çıxardarıq və bu zaman onlar qaranlıqda qalarlar. Günəş də özü üçün təyin olunmuş yerdə axıb gedir. Bu, yenilməz qüvvət sahibi və hər şeyi bilən Allahın qoyduğu nizamdır. Ay üçün də mərhələlər təyin etdik. Nəhayət, o, xurma ağacının qurumuş əyri budağına bənzər bir hala (hilal şəklinə) düşər. Nə günəş aya çata bilər, nə də gecə gündüzü keçə bilər. Hər biri öz orbitində üzər.}}[https://quran.az/36 Quran 36]:37-40 ayələrində, gecə və gündüzdən bəhs edilən bir hissədə, gündüzün gecə ilə əvəzlənməsi təsvir edildikdən dərhal sonra günəşin özü üçün müəyyən olunmuş bir yerdə (istirahət yerinə) doğru axıb getdiyi bildirilir (''li-mustaqarrin lahā'' لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَا). Bununla bağlı faydalı dilçilik sübutu bir hədisdə ({{Muslim||159a|reference}}) tapılır; burada günəşin gündəlik dövriyyəsindən bəhs edilərkən eyni ərəb sözündən istifadə olunur. Hədisə görə, günəşin qərarigahı Allahın ərşinin altındadır və günəş hər gecə orada səcdə edərək "çıxdığı yerdən" (''min matli'iha'' مِنْ مَطْلِعِهَا) yenidən doğmaq üçün icazə istəyir. Bu dövriyyə o vaxta qədər davam edir ki, bir gün Allah günəşə "batdığın yerdən" (''min mağribiki'' مِنْ مَغْرِبِكِ) doğmağı əmr edir.

İbn Kəsir (v. 1373) kimi klassik təfsirçilər tərəfindən qeyd edilən, Qatadə ibn Diama (v. 735) tərəfindən irəli sürülən və bu gün bir çox müsəlman alim tərəfindən dəstəklənən alternativ bir yanaşma isə budur ki,<ref>[https://quranx.com/tafsirs/36.38 Tafsir ibn Kathir for 36:38]</ref> bu ifadə günəşin sonuncu gündə (qiyamətdə) tamamilə "dayanmasına" işarə edir. Digər ayələrdə də günəşin "müəyyən edilmiş müddətə" qədər üzməsi barədə bəhs edilir (lakin burada fərqli bir ərəb sözündən istifadə olunur).

Hansı şərhin nəzərdə tutulmasından asılı olmayaraq, günəşin hərəkəti gecə və gündüzün təsvirindən dərhal sonra qeyd olunur; necə ki, növbəti ayədə ay üçün hər gecə təyin edilmiş müxtəlif mənzillərdən bəhs edilir. Bütün bu hissə gecə-gündüz və bu kontekstdə günəşlə ayın hərəkəti haqqındadır.{{Quote|1={{Quran|21|33}}|2=Gecəni, gündüzü, günəşi və ayı yaradan Odur. Hər biri öz orbitində hərəkət edir.}}Müasir bir baxış bucağı, Qurandakı günəşin bir fələk (yuxarıdakı qeydə baxın) daxilində hərəkət etməsi təsvirini günəşimizin hər 225 milyon ildən bir Samanyolu qalaktikasının mərkəzindəki qara dəlik ətrafında dövr etməsinə bir işarə kimi izah edərdi. Tənqidçilər isə iddia edirlər ki, bunun insan zaman miqyası ilə heç bir əlaqəsi yoxdur və mətndə günəşin Yerdən başqa hər hansı bir şeyin ətrafında dövr etdiyinə dair heç bir eyham yoxdur. Quran heç bir şəkildə günəşin orbitini ayın orbitindən fərqləndirmir və onları ardıcıl olaraq birlikdə qeyd edir. Həmçinin mətndə Yerin öz hərəkəti barədə də heç nə deyilmir.{{Quote|{{Quran|31|29}}|Allahın gecəni gündüzə, gündüzü də gecəyə qatdığını '''görmədinmi'''?! O, günəşi və ayı da (sizə) ram etmişdir. Onların hər biri müəyyən bir vaxta qədər (öz orbitində) irəliləyir. Həqiqətən, Allah sizin etdiklərinizdən xəbərdardır.}}Burada günəşin öz axarı ilə hərəkət etməsi (yəcri يَجْرِىٓ)<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume2/00000051.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 415 يَجْرِىٓ]</ref> müəllifin insanların gördüyü və ya ən azından bildiyi bir hadisə kimi təqdim etdiyi bir məqamdır (bu isə qalaktik orbit təfsiri üçün növbəti bir çətinlik yaradır).{{Quote|{{Quran-range|91|1|2}}|And olsun günəşə və onun işığına (günəşin qalxdığı vaxta); And olsun (günəşin) ardınca çıxan aya;}}"Ardıca çıxan"<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000350.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 313 تَلَىٰ]</ref> kimi tərcümə olunan söz əsasən izləmək, arxasınca getmək və ya yerimək, təqlid edərək ardınca getmək kimi mənaları ifadə edir və tez-tez dəvələrin bir-birinin ardınca getməsini təsvir etmək üçün istifadə olunurdu. Ay əslində günəşin hərəkətini izləmir və günəş kimi öz işığını saçmır. Bu ayə, ay və günəşin bir-birinin ardınca eyni və ya oxşar yollarla hərəkət etdiyi bir dünya görüşünə daha çox işarə edir; bu isə 7-ci əsrdə yaşamış bir insanın göy üzünü müşahidə edərkən inana biləcəyi bir şeydir. Tənqidçilər hesab edirlər ki, əgər mükəmməl bir kitabda sadəcə günəş və ayın bir-birinin ardınca göründüyü nəzərdə tutulsaydı, daha az şübhə doğuran ifadələr seçilərdi. Başqa bir ayəyə görə isə, bir gün ay günəşi izləmək əvəzinə onunla bir araya gətiriləcək (aşağıdakı "Günəş və Ayın Eyni Ölçüdə və Məsafədə Olması Ehtimalı" bölməsinə baxın).{{Quote|{{Quran|2|258}}|Allah İbrahimə hökmranlıq verdiyinə görə Rəbbi barəsində onunla (İbrahimlə) mübahisə edən şəxsi (Nəmrudu) görmədinmi? O zaman İbrahim demişdi: “Mənim Rəbbim dirildir və öldürür”. O da: “Mən də dirildir və öldürürəm”, – demişdi. İbrahim: “Şübhəsiz ki, Allah Günəşi şərqdən gətirir. Sən də onu qərbdən gətir!” – demiş, həmin vaxt o kafir donub qalmışdı. Allah zalım qövmü doğru yola yönəltməz!}}Burada Quran, İbrahim ilə kafir bir kral arasındakı mübahisədən bir neçə sətir gətirir; burada İbrahim Allahın günəşi şərqdən "gətirdiyini" (yatee biashshamsi يَأْتِى بِٱلشَّمْسِ) cavabını verir. Ərəb dilindəki bu feil və önlük günəşin həqiqətən göy üzü boyu şərqdən qərbə doğru hərəkət etdiyini göstərir. Feil "gəlmək"<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000052.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 15 يَأْتِى]</ref> mənasını verir və "bi-" önlüyü ilə bir tamamlıqla işləndikdə, Qurandakı bir çox digər nümunələrdə olduğu kimi, "gətirmək" mənasını ifadə edir. Hekayədə sadəcə bir insanın sözlərindən sitat gətirilsə də, müəllif görünür bunu yaxşı bir cavab hesab edir və burada heç bir problem görmür.

=== Günəşin çıxdığı və batdığı yer ===
Bu bəndlərdə müəllif, eramızın 6-cı əsrinin ortalarına (əvvəllər mənbələrdə 7-ci əsrin əvvəli kimi göstərilirdi) aid olan məşhur bir Süryani əfsanəsinin versiyasını təqdim edir. Həmin əfsanədə Makedoniyalı İsgəndərin günəşin batdığı yerə səfər etdiyi bildirilir və günəşin doğduğu yer Qurandakı təsvirə bənzər şəkildə qeyd olunur. Daha sonra o, Yəcuc və Məcuclun qarşısını kəsmək üçün sədd inşa edir ki, bu da digər məqamlarla yanaşı qeyd olunan mühüm oxşarlıqlardan biridir.{{Quote|{{Quran|18|86}}|Nəhayət, günəşin batdığı yerə gəlib çatanda onu palçıqlı bir gölməçədə batan gördü. Gölməçənin yanında da bir qövm gördü. Biz: “Ey Zülqərneyn! Ya (onlara) əzab verməli, ya da onlar barəsində yaxşılıq yolunu tutmalısan!” – dedik.}}{{Quote|{{Quran|18|90}}|Nəhayət, günəşin doğduğu yerə çatanda onu bir qövmün üzərində doğarkən gördü. Biz onlar üçün günəşə qarşı heç bir örtük yaratmamışdıq.}}Məhəmmədin yaşadığı dövrdən əsrlər sonra, daha təkmil astronomik biliklərə sahib olan təfsirçilər bu ayələrə yeni şərhlər gətirdilər. Bu şərhlərə görə, Zülqərneyn günəşin faktiki batdığı və doğulduğu yerlərə deyil, sadəcə "qərbə" və "şərqə" və ya günəşin batdığı və doğulduğu "vaxtda" müəyyən nöqtələrə qədər səyahət etmişdir. Bundan əlavə, bu təfsirlərdə Quranın sadəcə günəşin həmin mənzillərdə necə "göründüyü" barədə şərh verdiyi iddia edilir. Lakin bu alternativ şərhlər, ayələrdə istifadə olunan ərəb sözləri və kontekst tərəfindən ciddi şəkildə şübhə altına alınır; çünki bu ifadələr günəşin batdığı və doğulduğu fiziki məkanlara işarə edir. Şeirlərdən, hədislərdən və Quran təfsirlərindən əldə olunan çoxsaylı sübutlar göstərir ki, ilk müsəlmanlar bu ayələri məhz bu cür birbaşa mənada başa düşüblər.

=== Yer və cənnətlər altı günə yaradıldı ===
Quran, Yer kürəsinin və göylərin altı gündə yaradıldığına dair o dövrün Yaxın Şərqində geniş yayılmış mifi təqdim edir. Bu, Yer kürəsinin kainatın yaranmasından təxminən 9 milyard il sonra formalaşdığını göstərən müasir kosmologiyanın elmi nəticələri ilə kəskin ziddiyyət təşkil edir.

Yaxın Şərqdə geniş yayılmış yaradılış mifləri altı həqiqi gündən ibarət yaradılış prosesini təsvir edirdi (məsələn, Müqəddəs Kitabın [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%201&version=NIV "Yaradılış" bölməsi, 1:5]-də belə deyilir: "Axşam oldu, səhər oldu: Birinci gün"). Oxşar şəkildə, Qurandakı yaradılış hekayəsində ərəbcə "gün" mənasını verən "yəvm" sözü işlədilir (bu söz Bibliyadakı "yôm" sözü ilə eyni kökdəndir) və Quranın digər yüzlərlə ayəsində də məhz "gün" mənasında istifadə olunur. Lakin bu məqamda bir çox müasir müsəlman alimləri "yəvm" sözü üçün "zaman kəsiyi" və ya "dövr" kimi alternativ mənalara müraciət edirlər. Onlar Allah qatında bir günün min ilə bərabər olduğunu ([https://quran.az/22/47 Həcc surəsi, 47]; [https://quran.az/32/5 Səcdə surəsi, 5]) və ya mələklərin əlli min illik bir gündə yüksəldiyini ([https://quran.az/70/4 Məaric surəsi, 4]) bildirən ayələri əsas gətirirlər. Oxşar motivə Müqəddəs Kitabın "Zəbur" bölməsində də rast gəlinir ([https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2090&version=NIV Məzmur 90:4]).<ref>Julien Decharneux (2023), Creation and Contemplation: The Cosmology of the Qur’ān and Its Late Antique Background, Berlin: De Gruyter, p. 165</ref>

Buna baxmayaraq, nə kainat, nə də Yer kürəsi altı müəyyən zaman kəsiyində formalaşmamışdır. Yaradılış ayələrində kainatın inkişaf etdiyi o nəhəng zaman müddətini (yəni 13.8 milyard ili) hətta poetik bir şəkildə belə göstərməyə dair heç bir cəhd yoxdur.{{Quote|{{Quran|50|38}}|Həqiqətən, Biz göyləri, yeri və onların arasındakıları altı gündə yaratdıq və Biz heç bir yorğunluq hiss etmədik.}}Qurana görə, Yer kürəsi məhz iki gündə yaradılmışdır; dağlar və yerin ruzisi isə dörd gündə (təfsirlərə görə, üçüncü və dördüncü günlərdə) xəlq edilmişdir.{{Quote|{{Quran-range|41|9|10}}|De: “Siz yer üzünü iki gündə yaradanı inkar edib Ona şəriklər qoşursunuz?! O, aləmlərin Rəbbidir. O, yerin üstündə möhkəm dağlar yaratdı. Oranı bərəkətləndirdi və orada istəyənlər üçün ruzilərini tam dörd gündə müəyyən etdi.}}Buna baxmayaraq, dağlar bu gün də yüksəlməyə və aşınmaya davam edir. Eynilə, canlılar və onların ruziləri (qidalanma mənbələri) təkamül etməkdədir, lakin Quranda dağların və ruzinin yaradılmasının altı günlük yaradılış prosesinin müəyyən bir dövründə baş verdiyi bildirilir. Yuxarıda müzakirə olunan ayələrdən dərhal sonra gələn altı günün son iki günü ([https://quran.az/41 Fussilət surəsi], 11-12) və bu ardıcıllığı təsdiqləyən digər ayə üçün növbəti bölməyə baxın.

=== Dünya ulduzlardan əvvəl yaradılıb ===
Yer qabığındakı və nüvəsindəki elementlər ilk olaraq ulduzlarda, nüvə sintezi (nukleosintez) vasitəsilə formalaşmışdır. Həmin ulduzlar supernova kimi partladıqda, Yer kürəsi də daxil olmaqla, gələcək günəş sistemlərinin yaranmasında iştirak edən elementləri kosmosa yaymışdır. Meteoritlərin, Yer və Ay süxurlarının müasir radiometrik tarixləndirilməsi göstərir ki, bu göy cisimləri Günəş və digər planetlərlə eyni vaxtda — 4.5 milyard il əvvəl formalaşıb. Quran isə, əksinə, Yerin ulduzlardan daha əvvəl tam şəkildə formalaşdığını təsvir edir.

[https://quran.az/41/12?t=4 Fussilət surəsi, 12-ci] ayədə qeyd olunur ki, yeddi göyün ən yaxın olanına çıraqlar (və ya oxşar ayə olan [https://quran.az/37/6 Saffat surəsi, 6-da] daha dəqiq ifadə ilə ulduzlar) yerləşdirilmişdir. Lakin hələ yeddi göy mövcud olmazdan əvvəl və göy sadəcə tüstüdən ibarət ikən, [https://quran.az/41/11 Fussilət surəsi 11-ci] ayəyə görə, Yer artıq mövcud idi. Yerin yaradılması və tamamlanması isə yuxarıdakı bölmədə müzakirə olunan [https://quran.az/41 Fussilət] surəsi 9-10-cu ayələrdə təsvir edilir. Beləliklə, yaradılış ardıcıllığı aşağıdakı kimidir:
# Göy və tamamlanmış Yer;
# Yeddi göy və hər birinə verilmiş öz vəzifəsi;
# Ulduzlarla bəzədilmiş və qorunan ən yaxın göy.
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|41|11|12}}|Sonra duman halında olan səmaya yönəldi. Ona və yerə: “Könüllü ya da könülsüz olaraq gəlin!” - dedi. Onlar: “Könüllü olaraq gəldik!” – dedilər. '''Beləliklə, Allah onları iki gündə yeddi göy olaraq yaratdı''' və hər bir göyə öz vəzifəsini vəhy etdi. '''Ən yaxın göyü də qəndillərlə bəzədik və qoruduq.''' Bu, qüdrətli və hər şeyi bilən Allahın hökmüdür.}}[https://quran.az/2/29 Bəqərə surəsi, 29-cu] ayə də təsdiq edir ki, Qurana görə, göy yalnız Yerdəki hər şey yaradıldıqdan sonra yeddi göy şəklində nizamlanmışdır:{{Quote|{{Quran|2|29}}|Yer üzündə nə varsa, hamısını sizin üçün yaradan, sonra səmaya yönələrək onu yeddi qat göy halında tənzimləyən Odur. O, hər şeyi biləndir.}}[https://quran.az/41/12?t=4 Fussilət surəsi 12-ci] və [https://quran.az/67/5 Mülk surəsi 5-ci] ayələrdə Allahın ən aşağı göyü bəzədiyi (zəyyənnə زَيَّنَّا) "çıraqlar" (məsabiha مَصَٰبِيحَ) sözü, təbii ki, ulduzlar kimi bütün işıq saçan cisimləri ehtiva etməlidir. [https://quran.az/37/6 Saffat surəsi 6-cı] ayədə isə eyni məzmunda "kəvakib" (كَوَاكِبِ) sözü işlədilmişdir; bu söz həmçinin Yusifin yuxusunda ([https://quran.az/12/4 Yusif surəsi, 4]) və göylərin dağılması təsvirində də ([https://quran.az/82 İnfitar surəsi], 1-2) qarşımıza çıxır.

Bəzi müasir müsəlman alimləri yuxarıdakı ayələrdə keçən "Sonra" sözünün ardıcıllıq deyil, "həmçinin" və ya "bundan əlavə" mənasına gəldiyini iddia edərək, Quran təsvirini müasir elmlə uzlaşdırmağa çalışırlar. Lakin bu arqument, həmin sözlərin ([https://quran.az/41/11 Fussilət surəsi 11] və [https://quran.az/2/29 Bəqərə surəsi 29-dakı] "summa" (ثُمَّ), həmçinin [https://quran.az/41/12 Fussilət surəsi 12-dəki] "fə" (فَ) hərfi — hər ikisi "sonra" kimi tərcümə olunur) ümumiyyətlə ardıcıllıq bildirməsi faktı ilə ziddiyyət təşkil edir. Başqa kontekstlərdə "summa" sözü bəzən "həmçinin" mənasında işlədilmişdir. Lakin bu alternativ istifadə, yuxarıda sitat gətirilən və aydın şəkildə mərhələli prosesi — göylərin Yerdən sonra yaradılmasını təsvir edən keçidlərdən fərqli olaraq, kontekst daxilində həmişə birmənalı və aydın olur. Hər bir halda, bu üç ayədən sonuncusunda işlədilən ərəb hissəciyi "fə", birmənalı olaraq ardıcıllığı ifadə edir.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000105.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2321 ف]</ref>

Digər bir mətndə, [https://quran.az/79 Naziat surəsi], 27-33-cü ayələrdə göy (tək halda) artıq ucaldılmış və tavan kimi nizamlanmışdır; Yer isə bundan sonra döşənmiş, otlaqlar yaradılmış və dağlar yerləşdirilmişdir. İbn Kəsir öz təfsirində qeyd edir ki, İbn Abbasın fikrincə, Yer bütün bu hadisələrdən əvvəl yaradılmışdır və alimlər 79:30-cu ayədəki ərəbcə "dəhaha" (دَحَىٰهَآ) sözünü Yerdəki hər şey yaradıldıqdan sonra baş verən xüsusi bir "yayılma/döşənmə" növü kimi şərh etmişlər.<ref>[https://quranx.com/tafsirs/2.29 Tafsir ibn Kathir 2:29]</ref> Buna baxmayaraq, bu hissə [https://quran.az/41 Fussilət] surəsi, 9-12-ci ayələrdəki ardıcıllıqla ziddiyyət təşkil edir; çünki orada Yerin ruzisi və dağlar yerləşdirildikdən sonra belə, göy hələ də "tüstü" halında təsvir olunur.

==== Yer və göylərin bir-birindən ayrılması ====
Müasir müsəlman alimləri ümumiyyətlə aşağıdakı ayənin Böyük Partlayış nəzəriyyəsi ilə uyğun gəldiyini, hətta onu öncədən xəbər verdiyini müdafiə edirlər. Böyük Partlayış nəzəriyyəsinə görə, Kainat 13,8 milyard il əvvəl sinqulyarlıqdan sürətli genişlənmə nəticəsində yaranmışdır. Yer kürəsi isə daha sonra, 4,54 milyard il əvvəl, Günəşin sələfini əhatə edən qalıqların akkretsiyası (bir-birinə yapışaraq toplanması) nəticəsində formalaşmışdır. Heç bir mərhələdə "birləşmiş" yer və göylərin "ayrılması" baş verməmişdir.

Bu qədim konseptin izləri göyün yerdən ayrıldığı [https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/epic/hd_epic.htm Mesopotamiya yaradılış miflərinə] qədər gedib çıxır. [https://quran.az/21/30 Ənbiya surəsi, 30-cu] ayə və bənzər ayələr, dinləyicilərin Məhəmməd və səhabələrinin dövründə son dərəcə geniş yayılmış olan bu mifologiyanın əsas cizgiləri ilə tanış olduqlarını fərz edir.{{Quote|{{Quran|21|30}}|İnkar edənlər göylər və yer bitişik ikən Bizim onları ayırdığımızı və hər bir canlını sudan yaratdığımızı görmədilərmi?! Hələ də iman gətirmirlərmi?}}"bitişik" kimi tərcümə edilən "ratqan" (رَتْقًا)<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume3/00000193.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 1027 رَتْقًا]</ref> sözü, qapalı və ya tikilmiş mənasını verir; həmçinin məcazi olaraq insanların barışdırılması mənasında da istifadə olunur, lakin bu, homojen bir kütlə və ya vəziyyət, xüsusən də bir sinqulyarlıq mənasına gəlmir. "(Yaradılışın bir vahidi)" sözləri isə tərcüməçinin özünə məxsus təfsir qeydidir.

Buna bənzər digər ifadə isə "fataqnāhumā" ("onları ayırdığımızı") sözüdür; bu sözün kökü "ratqan" ilə qafiyələnir və kəsmək, parçalamaq, bölmək, sökülmək mənalarını ifadə edir.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000115.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2331 فتق]</ref>

Göyün və yerin bir-birindən ayrılması, onların tam formalaşmış vəziyyətləri arasında "nəsə" olduğunu (görünən odur ki, bura buludlar — [https://quran.az/2/164 Bəqərə 2:164] və quşlar — [https://quran.az/24/41 Nur 24:41] daxildir) və göyün "uca" bir tavan ([https://quran.az/52/5?t=2 Tur 52:5]) olduğunu qeyd edən ayələr çərçivəsində oxuna bilər.{{Quote|{{Quran|50|38}}|And olsun ki, Biz göyləri, yeri və onların arasında olanları altı gündə yaratdıq və Bizə heç bir yorğunluq da üz vermədi.}}Yer və göylərin bir-birindən qoparılaraq ayrıldığını iddia edən heç bir elmi nəzəriyyə mövcud deyil. Ayədə "Biz onu yardıq" deyil, "Biz onları (iki obyekti nəzərdə tutan 'huma' əvəzliyi) yardıq" ifadəsi işlədilir ki, bu da yarılma prosesindən sonra Yer və göylərin ayrı-ayrı varlıqlar olduğunu göstərir. Əgər kimsə [https://quran.az/21/30?t=2 Ənbiya surəsi 30-cu] ayənin Böyük Partlayışı təsvir etdiyini müdafiə edərsə, bu o demək olardı ki, sonradan Yeri formalaşdıracaq atom hissəcikləri lap başlanğıcda kainatın qalan hissəsini formalaşdıracaq hissəciklərdən ayrılmalı idi. Lakin bu yanaşma müasir elmi kosmologiya ilə heç bir oxşarlıq təşkil etmir. Belə ki, müasir elmə görə, Yeri formalaşdıran maddə ən azı bir neçə nəsil ulduzun mərhələlərindən keçmiş, daha yaxın keçmişdə isə Günəş ətrafında dövr edən müxtəlif asteroidlərin, kometlərin və planetesimalların (bunların hamısı "göylərdə" olan cisimlər kimi təsvir edilə bilər) tərkib hissəsi olmuşdur. Bu cisimlər zaman-zaman bir-biri ilə toqquşaraq birləşmiş, bəzən parçalanmış və nəticədə qravitasiya qüvvəsinin təsiri ilə tədricən birləşərək Yeri və digər planetləri yaratmışdır.

Dərhal sonrakı ayədə ([https://quran.az/21/31?t=2 Ənbiya surəsi 21:31]) Yer üzərində dağların yerləşdirilməsindən bəhs edilir. Burada "Yer" ifadəsi real, mövcud olan bir dünyanı ifadə etməlidir; halbuki əvvəlki ayənin müasir təfsirləri iddia edir ki, "Yer" ifadəsi sadəcə Böyük Partlayış dövründəki atom hissəciklərinə işarə edir.

==== Səma tüstüdən yaranıb ====
Kainatın yaranmasında heç bir mərhələdə tüstü (yanma nəticəsində asılı qalan karbon hissəcikləri; "tüstü" kimi tərcümə olunan söz ''duxan'' (دُخَانٍ) ismidir ki, bu da mənaca oddan qalxan həqiqi tüstü deməkdir<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume3/00000027.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 861 دُخَانٍ]</ref>) iştirak etməmişdir. Eynilə, Yer və səmalar zamanın hər hansı bir anında ayrı-ayrı varlıqlar kimi "meydana gəlməmişdir". Əksinə, Yer bu kainatın bir hissəsidir və onun daxilində inkişaf etmişdir.{{Quote|{{Quran-range|41|11|12}}|Sonra duman halında olan səmaya yönəldi. Ona və yerə: “Könüllü ya da könülsüz olaraq gəlin!” - dedi. Onlar: “Könüllü olaraq gəldik!” – dedilər. Beləliklə, Allah onları iki gündə yeddi göy olaraq yaratdı və hər bir göyə öz vəzifəsini vəhy etdi. Ən yaxın göyü də qəndillərlə bəzədik və qoruduq. Bu, qüdrətli və hər şeyi bilən Allahın hökmüdür.}}Buna baxmayaraq, bəzi müasir müsəlman alimləri "tüstü"nü Böyük Partlayışdan sonrakı kainatın ilkin vəziyyəti kimi şərh edirlər. Bununla belə, qeyd etmək yerinə düşər ki, müvafiq ayə Yerin deyil, yalnız səmanın tüstü halında olduğu bir vaxta işarə edir. Yerin və dağların əvvəlki iki ayədə (yuxarıda müzakirə olunan [https://quran.az/41 Quran 41]:9-10) artıq mövcud olduğu təsvir edildiyini nəzərə alsaq, bu yanaşma xüsusilə çətinlik yaradır.

Akademik tədqiqatlar bu müəmmalı ayələr üçün Son Antik dövr xristian moizələrində bir nümunə aşkar etmişdir. Kapadokiyanın Kesariya Mazaka (indiki Kayseri) şəhərindən olan Böyük Vasil (v. 379-cu il) Müqəddəs Kitabdakı İşaya 51:6 ayəsini göyün ilkin olaraq tüstüyə bənzər bir maddədən yaradıldığı şəklində başa düşmüşdür (o, göyün tüstü kimi [ὡς καπνός] möhkəmləndiyini [ἐστερεώθη] bildirən Septuaginta yunan tərcüməsindən istifadə etmişdir, halbuki ivrit dilindəki ayədə göyün tüstü kimi yox olduğu deyilir).<ref>[https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/32011.htm Hexaemeron, Homily 1:8] - New Advent church fathers website</ref><ref>Julien Decharneux (2023), Creation and Contemplation: The Cosmology of the Qur’ān and Its Late Antique Background, Berlin: De Gruyter, pp. 128-9</ref>

=== Yeddi Yer ===
Quranda yeddi yerin olduğu bildirilir. Akademik tədqiqatlar qeyd edir ki, yeddi yer və yeddi səma anlayışı e.ə. və b.e. birinci minilliyində Yaxın Şərqdə mövcud olmuşdur.{{Quote|{{Quran|65|12}}|Yeddi göyü və yerdən də bir o qədərini yaradan Allahdır. Onun əmri onların arasında nazil olur ki, Allahın hər şeyə qadir olduğunu və Allahın hər şeyi elmi ilə əhatə etdiyini biləsiniz.}}Buxari tərəfindən nəql olunan hədisdə bu yeddi yerin bir-birinin üzərində yerləşdiyi bildirilir.{{Quote|{{Bukhari|||2454|darussalam}}|Peyğəmbər buyurmuşdur: "Hər kəs haqsız yerə başqasının torpağından bir parça götürərsə, Qiyamət günü '''yeddi qat yerin dibinə batırılar.'''"}}Bu nömrə, yeddi səma kimi, klassik antik dövrdə yeddi hərəkət edən planetin (Merkuri, Venera, Mars, Yupiter, Saturn, Günəş və Ay) mövcud olduğu mifologiyanın yanlış anlaşılmasından və ya yerli təfsirindən qaynaqlana bilər. Lakin yeddi rəqəmi, günəş sistemimizdə səkkiz adi planet və beş cırtdan planet olmaqla cəmi on üç planetin olduğunu müəyyən edən müasir astronomların tapıntıları ilə üst-üstə düşmür. Müasir astronomiya digər ulduz sistemlərində də minlərlə planet aşkar etmişdir və kosmoloqlar kainatda ümumilikdə yüz milyardlarla ulduz və planetin mövcud olduğunu təxmin edirlər.

=== Yeddi Səma ===
Kainat hər birində yüz milyardlarla ulduz olan yüz milyardlarla qalaktikadan ibarətdir. Quranda bildirilir ki, ulduzların yer aldığı bizim səmamızdan başqa daha altı səma mövcuddur. Yeddi səma mifi Quranın ilk dəfə nazolunduğu dövrdə Yaxın Şərqdə geniş yayılmış bir fikir idi.{{Quote|{{Quran|71|15}}|Allahın yeddi göyü (bir-biri üstündə) qat-qat necə yaratdığını görmədinizmi?!}}Buna baxmayaraq, bəzi müasir İslam alimləri bu ayələrin atmosferin yeddi qatına işarə etdiyini iddia edirlər. Lakin [https://quran.az/37/6?t=4 Quran 37:6] və [https://quran.az/67/5?t=4 Quran 67:5]-ci ayələrdə ulduzların ən yaxın səmada yerləşdiyi bildirilir. Bundan əlavə, Yer atmosferinin yeddi deyil, 5 əsas qatı var; eyni şəkildə Yerin özü də yeddi deyil, yalnız 5 əsas təbəqədən ibarətdir.{{Quote|{{Quran|37|6}}|Şübhəsiz ki, Biz ən yaxın göyü ulduzlarla bəzədik.}}

=== Meteoritlərin şeytanlara atılan ulduzlar olması ===
Quranda bildirilir ki, ulduzlar (kəvakib ٱلْكَوَاكِبِ), çıraqlar (məsabih مَصَٰبِيحَ) və böyük ulduzlar/bürclər (büruc بُرُوجًا) səmaları bəzəyir və şeytanlardan qoruyur.

Quran daha sonra bildirir ki, Allah onları (ulduzları/çıraqları), səmavi yığıncaqlara (Ali Məclis kimi tanınan) qulaq asmağa çalışan şeytanları (və ya bəzi ayələrdə cinləri) qovmaq üçün alovlu mərmilər etmişdir. Qurandakı bu anlayış [[Quran və son antik dövr Yəhudi-Xristian ədəbiyyatı arasındakı paralellər|Zərdüştlük mifologiyasından qaynaqlanan daha əvvəlki yəhudi inkişafı ilə yaxın paralellik]] təşkil edir. Bu cür miflər gecə səmasında sürətlə hərəkət edən meteorların adi fenomenini izah etmək üçün müasir dövrdən əvvəlki cəhdlər kimi daha yaxşı başa düşülür.

Ulduzlar Yerdən minlərlə dəfə böyük olan nəhəng qaz kürələri olduğu halda, meteoroidlər Yer atmosferinə daxil olduqdan sonra yanan kiçik qayalı kütlələr və ya qalıq hissəcikləridir. Bir çox qədim xalqlar bu ikisini bir-biri ilə qarışdırırdılar, çünki meteorlar səmada sürətlə hərəkət edən ulduzlara bənzəyir; bu səbəbdən onlara tez-tez "axan ulduzlar" və ya "düşən ulduzlar" deyilirdi. Yerin orbiti bir sıra kometlərin (və ya bəzi hallarda asteroidlərin) ardınca buraxdıqları hissəcik və qalıq axınından keçdikdə, hər il proqnozlaşdırıla bilən bir cədvəllə meteorların sayında böyük artımlar baş verir. Ən çox görünəni, adətən, avqust ayında baş verən illik [https://az.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perseidl%C9%99r Perseid] meteor yağışıdır.{{Quote|{{Quran-range|37|6|10}}|Şübhəsiz ki, Biz ən yaxın göyü ulduzlarla bəzədik. Və onu hər bir asi şeytandan '''qoruduq'''. Onlar (mələklərə məxsus olan) ən ali məclisə qulaq asa bilməzlər və hər tərəfdən qovularlar. (Oradan) qovulub atılarlar. Onlar üçün daimi bir əzab vardır. Ancaq (mələklərin məclisindən bir söz dinləyib) çırpışdıran olarsa, dərhal alovlu bir ulduz onu təqib edər.}}[https://quran.az/67/5?t=2 Quran 67:5]-in əvvəlində [https://quran.az/37/6?t=4 Quran 37:6]-dakı eyni ərəb sözləri (زَيَّنَّا ٱلسَّمَآءَ ٱلدُّنْيَا) işlədilmişdir, yalnız o fərqlə ki, Quran 67:5-də "ulduzlar" sözünün əvəzinə "çıraqlar" sözü istifadə olunmuşdur. "Səmanı gözəlləşdirən" bu çıraqlar mütləq şəkildə həmişə orada olan ulduzlara (və bəlkə də görünən 5 planetə) aid edilməlidir. Digər tərəfdən, artıq meteorların uzaq ulduzlardan fərqli olduğu məlumdur. Onlar çox vaxt qum dənəsindən böyük olmurlar və yalnız Yer atmosferində yanaraq işıq saçdıqları zaman bir saniyəlik görünürlər.{{Quote|{{Quran|67|5}}|And olsun ki, Biz dünya səmasını (yerə ən yaxın olan göyü) qəndillərlə (ulduzlarla) bəzədik, onları '''şeytanlara atılan mərmilər etdik''' və onlar (şeytanlar) üçün yandırıb-yaxan alovlu atəş əzabı hazırladıq.}}"Mərmi" kimi tərcümə olunan söz ''rucuman'' (رُجُومًا) ismidir ki, bu da atılan şeylər, xüsusilə də daşlar deməkdir.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume3/00000214.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 1048 رُجُومًا]</ref>

Hədis təsdiq edir ki, hər iki ayədəki "izləyən alovlar / mərmilər" dedikdə, hazırda meteor olaraq bildiyimiz hadisələr nəzərdə tutulur. {{Muslim||2229a|reference}} və {{Al Tirmidhi||5|44|3224}}-də Məhəmməd və səhabələrinin gecə vaxtı bir ulduz axmasını gördükləri hadisə nəql olunur. O, səhabələrinə izah edir ki, mələklər bu mərmiləri Allahın səmada ötürülən əmrləri haqqında məlumat oğurlamağa çalışan cinlərə atırlar.

Digər müvafiq Quran ayələri bunlardır: [[Quran.az/55|Quran 55]]:33-35 (alovlu atəş və tüstü, lakin bir qədər fərqli kontekstdə), [https://quran.az/15 Quran 15]:16-18 və [https://quran.az/72 Quran 72]:8-9.{{Quote|{{Quran-range|55|33|35}}|Ey cin və insan tayfası! Əgər göylərin və yerin hüdudlarını keçib getməyə gücünüz çatırsa, keçin! Qüdrətiniz olmadan əsla keçə bilməzsiniz. Elə isə Rəbbinizin hansı nemətlərini inkar edə bilərsiniz?! Sizin üstünüzə oddan bir alov və tüstü göndərilər və siz bir-birinizə kömək də edə bilməzsiniz.}}{{Quote|{{Quran-range|15|16|18}}|Həqiqətən, Biz göydə bürclər yaratdıq və seyr edənlər üçün onları bəzədik. Onları daşlanaraq qovulmuş hər bir şeytandan qoruduq. Ancaq xəlvətcə qulaq asanlar istisnadır. Onu da dərhal yandırıb-yaxan bir ulduz təqib edər.}}{{Quote|{{Quran-range|72|8|9}}|Biz (cinlər) göyə qalxıb onu yoxladıq, onun güclü gözətçilərlə və yandırıb-yaxan ulduzlarla dolu olduğunu gördük. Biz qulaq asmaq üçün onun (göyün) bəzi yerlərində otururduq. Ancaq indi kim qulaq asmaq istəsə, yandırıb-yaxan bir ulduzun (pusquda) onu gözlədiyini görər.}}Əgər Quranda qeyd olunan alovlu mərmilər Yerin atmosferində yanan meteorlarla eyniləşdirilirsə, bu, gizlicə qulaq asan şeytanların (və ya cinlərin) də atmosferin yuxarı qatlarında yerləşdiyini göstərərdi. Bu halda ayələrdə təsvir olunduğu kimi, (hədsiz dərəcədə uzaq olan) ulduzların bu prosesdə keşikçi rolunu oynamasına yer qalmır. Lakin bu ayələr, VII əsr ərəblərinin təsəvvür etdiyi nisbətən kiçik bir kainat modelinə uyğun gəlir; burada ulduzlarla bəzədilmiş səma qübbəsi yaxınlıqdakı şeytanlara və ya cinlərin üzərinə "axan ulduzlar" atmağa qadirdir və bu alovlu izlər sanki ulduzlararası məsafələri qət edirmiş kimi görünür. Bu fikir göyün "qorunan bir tavan" olduğunu bildirən [https://quran.az/21/32 Quran 21:32] ayəsi ilə də dəstəklənir.

=== Bütün səmanın öz gecəsi və gündüzü var ===
Quranın kosmos qavrayışı, müəllifinin göy üzü haqqında vizual qavrayışı ilə üst-üstə düşür; hətta [https://quran.az/79 Quran 79]:28-29ayələrində gecə və gündüz bütün səmanın bir xüsusiyyəti kimi səhv başa düşülür (yuxarıda müzakirə edildiyi kimi, başqa yerlərdə ən aşağı səmanın ulduzlarla bəzədildiyi deyilir və burada söhbətin məhz həmin səmadan getdiyi aydın olur). Bu ayələrdə gecənin qaranlığı və səhərin işıqlığı, Allahın göyü və yeri yaradarkən inşa etdiyi (banāhā), bir tavan kimi yüksəltdiyi (rafaʿa/samkahā) və nizam verdiyi (fasawwāhā) səmanın (l-samāu) bir atributu (xüsusiyyəti) kimi qeyd olunur.{{Quote|{{Quran-range|79|27|30}}|Sizi yaratmaq daha çətindir, yoxsa göyü?! Allah onu inşa etdi, Qübbəsini yüksəltdi və onu nizamladı. Gecəsini qaranlıq, gündüzünü isə aydınlıq etdi. Bundan sonra yer üzünü döşədi.}}Laylahā (onun gecəsi) və ḍuḥāhā (onun səhər nuru) sözlərindəki mənsubiyyət bildirən "hā" şəkilçisi gecə və gündüzü bütövlükdə səma ilə əlaqələndirir. Reallıqda isə bizim yaşadığımız gecə və gündüz, Yerin öz oxu ətrafında fırlanmasının bir xüsusiyyətidir. Yerdəki gecə və gündüzün (hansı ki, eyni vaxtda baş verir) daha geniş kosmosa şamil edilməsinin heç bir məntiqi əsası yoxdur.

Bu ayələrin təfsirini (izahını) təsdiqləmək üçün mühüm sözlərin Quranda başqa yerlərdə necə işləndiyinə baxmaq vacibdir. "Gecə" sözü Quranda çox yayılmış bir kəlmədir; səhər nuru (duha) isə [https://quran.az/93 Quran 93]:1-2 və [https://quran.az/93/1 Quran 91:1] ayələrində də eyni kontekstdə istifadə olunur (həmçinin bax: [https://quran.az/79/46 Quran 79:46]).

Həqiqətən də, Quran 91:1-6 ayələri Quran 79:27-30 ayələri ilə bir çox eyni ərəb sözlərinə malikdir: "onun səhər nuru" (bu dəfə günəşə aid edilir), "gecə" və Allah tərəfindən "inşa edilmiş" (tək halda olan) "səma". Hər iki keçidi bir araya gətirdikdə belə görünür ki, Quran müəllifi intuitiv olaraq gecənin və günəşin səhər nurunun bütün görünən səmaya aid olan xüsusiyyətlər olduğuna inanırdı.

Digər ayələr də bu kontekstdə "səma" (tək halda) dedikdə nəyin nəzərdə tutulduğunu təsdiqləməyə kömək edir. [https://quran.az/2/29 Quran 2:29] ayəsində bildirilir ki, Allah göyə (səmaya) yönəldi (is'tawā) və onları yeddi göy olaraq düzəldib nizama saldı (fasawwāhunna). Bunlar yuxarıdakı mətndə, [https://quran.az/79/28 Quran 79:28] ayəsində "nizam verdi" kimi tərcümə olunan eyni ərəb felinin iki fərqli formasıdır.{{Quote|{{Quran|2|29}}|Yer üzündə nə varsa, hamısını sizin üçün yaradan, sonra səmaya yönələrək onu yeddi qat göy halında tənzimləyən Odur. O, hər şeyi biləndir.}}Quran 79:28 ayəsindəki "yüksəltdi" sözü, oxşar şəkildə [https://quran.az/88/18 Quran 88:18] ayəsində səmanın (tək halda) və yerin yaradılması üçün, [https://quran.az/13/2 Quran 13:2] ayəsində isə göylərin (cəm halda) görünən dirəklər olmadan yüksəldilməsi üçün istifadə olunur.

27-ci ayədəki "onu inşa etdi" (banāhā) sözü [https://quran.az/50/6 Quran 50:6] ayəsində də keçir; orada səma (tək halda) haqqında deyilir ki, Allah "onu inşa etdi" və "onu bəzədi" (wazayyannāhā). Bu "bəzəmək" sözü digər ayələrdə ən aşağı səmanı bəzəyən ulduzlara aid edilir (yuxarıdakı "Yerin ulduzlardan əvvəl yaradılması" bölməsində müzakirə olunduğu kimi [https://quran.az/37/6 Quran 37:6], [https://quran.az/41/12 Quran 41:12] və [https://quran.az/67/5 Quran 67:5] ayələrinə baxın).

==== Gecə və gündüz hərəkət edən varlıqlar kimi ====
Yuxarıdakı bölmədə izah edildiyi kimi, Quranda gecə və gündüz Yerin öz oxu ətrafında fırlanması və Günəş ətrafında dövr etməsi nəticəsində yalnız onun səthində baş verən xüsusi bir fenomen deyil, bütün səmanın xüsusiyyəti kimi təqdim olunur. Quranın təsvirinə görə, gecə gündüzü örtür/bürüyür və onu sürətlə təqib edir ([https://quran.az/7/54 Quran 7:54]). Həmçinin, Allah gündüzü gecədən "soyub çıxarır" ([https://quran.az/36/37 Quran 36:37]). Gündüz və gecənin bir-birinin üzərinə ardıcıl şəkildə dolandığı ([https://quran.az/39/5 Quran 39:5]) və ya bir-birinin daxilinə girdiyi ([https://quran.az/35/13 Quran 35:13], [https://quran.az/3/27 Quran 3:27], [https://quran.az/22/61 Quran 22:61] və [https://quran.az/57/6 Quran 57:6]) bildirilir. [https://quran.az/10/27 Quran 10:27] ayəsində isə deyilir ki, pis işlər görənlərin üzləri sanki gecənin zülmət parçaları ilə örtülmüş kimi qara olacaqdır.

Bundan əlavə, Quran 21:33 və Quran 36:40 ayələrində təkcə günəş və ay deyil, həm də gecə və gündüzün hər birinin (yəni "hamısı" mənasını verən Kullun<ref>[https://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000256.pdf Lane's Lexicon supplement p. 3002 كُلّ]</ref>) bir orbit/sfer/yarımkürə daxilində (fī falakin<ref name="LLFalak" />) üzdüyü/hərəkət etdiyi bildirilir.{{Quote|{{Quran|21|33}}|Gecəni, gündüzü, günəşi və ayı yaradan Odur. Hər biri öz orbitində hərəkət edir.}}{{Quote|{{Quran|36|40}}|Nə günəş aya çata bilər, nə də gecə gündüzü keçə bilər. Hər biri öz orbitində üzər.}}

=== Səma/göy tavan kimi ===
Quranın tərtib edildiyi dövrdə geniş yayılmış miflərdən biri də göyün və ya səmaların dirəklər üzərində dayanması idi ki, bu həm də Bibliya motivlərinə xas olan bir xüsusiyyətdir. Klassik müsəlman alimləri tez-tez qübbəşəkilli səmaya inansalar da, bəzi akademik tədqiqatçılar Quran səmalarının yastı, üst-üstə yığılmış qatlardan ibarət olduğunu müdafiə edirlər (əsas məqaləyə baxın). Bu səmalar dam (saqf — [https://quran.az/21/32?t=4 Quran 21:32], [https://quran.az/52/5 Quran 52:5]), bina/tikili/çadır (bināan — [https://quran.az/2/22 Quran 2:22], [https://quran.az/40/64 Quran 40:64]), tavan (samk — [https://quran.az/79/28 Quran 79:28]) və ya təbəqələr halında ([https://quran.az/71/15 Quran 71:15] və [https://quran.az/67/3 Quran 67:3]) təsvir olunur. [https://quran.az/13/2 Quran 13:2] ayəsində isə əlavə edilir ki, göylər görünən dirəklər olmadan yüksəldilmişdir (bu ifadə bəlkə də qəsdən qeyri-müəyyən formada işlədilmişdir).

İkiölçülü təsviri daha da gücləndirən [https://quran.az/81/11 Quran 81:11] ayəsində göyün "soyulub çıxarıla" bilən bir örtük kimi olduğu bildirilir. [https://quran.az/21/104 Quran 21:104] ayəsində isə göyün sonda bir tumar (parşament) kimi büküləcəyi və ya qatlanacağı, [https://quran.az/39/67 Quran 39:67]-də isə göylərin həmin vaxt Allahın əlində tutulacağı qeyd olunur. Bu hadisələr göy yarıldıqdan (furijat — [https://quran.az/77/9 Quran 77:9]; eyni ərəb sözü [https://quran.az/50/6 Quran 50:6] ayəsində də işlənir və burada dinləyicilərin səmanın heç bir yarığı olmadığına diqqət yetirməsi gözlənilir ki, bu da "çadır örtüyü" metaforasını gücləndirir), buludlarla parçalandıqdan ([https://quran.az/25/25 Quran 25:25]) və yarıldıqdan sonra (inshaqqat — [https://quran.az/55/37 Quran 55:37], [https://quran.az/84/1 Quran 84:1], [https://quran.az/69/16 Quran 69:16]; bu zaman mələklər göyün kənarlarında görünəcəkdir — [https://quran.az/69/17 Quran 69:17]) baş verəcəkdir. Səma qapılara çevriləcəkdir ([https://quran.az/78/19 Quran 78:19], bu ehtimala [https://quran.az/15 Quran 15]:13-15 ayələrində də işarə edilir).{{Quote|{{Quran|2|22}}|O Allah sizin üçün yer üzünü döşədi, göyü də tavan olaraq yaratdı. O, göydən yağış endirdi və onunla sizin üçün ruzi olan müxtəlif meyvələr yetişdirdi. Elə isə, bilə-bilə Allaha şərik qoşmayın!}}{{Quote|{{Quran|71|15}}|Allahın yeddi göyü (bir-biri üstündə) qat-qat necə yaratdığını görmədinizmi?!}}{{Quote|{{Quran|78|12}}|Üstünüzdə yeddi möhkəm göy inşa etdik.}}{{Quote|{{Quran|13|2}}|Gördüyünüz göyləri dirəksiz ucaldan, sonra ərşə istiva edən (dünya və axirət işlərini nizamlayan), günəşə və aya boyun əydirən Allahdır. (Onların) hər biri müəyyən vaxta qədər dövr edir. O, işləri belə tənzimləyir. Ayələri müfəssəl izah edir ki, bəlkə Rəbbinizə qovuşacağınıza qəti şəkildə iman gətirəsiniz.}}{{Quote|{{Quran|81|11}}|Göy sıyrılaraq qopardılacağı zaman,}}{{Quote|{{Quran|21|104}}|O gün Biz göyü yazılmış səhifənin büküldüyü kimi bükəcəyik. İlk dəfə yaratdığımız kimi onu təkrar əvvəlki halına salacağıq. Biz vədimizi mütləq yerinə yetirəcəyik.}}{{Quote|{{Quran|25|25}}|O gün göy ağ buludlarla yarılacaq və mələklər bölük-bölük endiriləcəkdir.}}{{Quote|{{Quran-range|69|15|17}}|Məhz o gün qiyamət qopacaqdır. Göy yarılacaq və o gün dağılmağa üz tutacaqdır. Mələklər də göyün ətrafında olacaqlar. O gün Rəbbinin ərşini səkkiz mələk daşıyacaqdır.}}

=== Səma/göy qoruyucu tavan kimi ===
[https://quran.az/21/32?t=1 Quran 21:32] ayəsində bildirilir ki, Allah göyü/səmanı qorunan bir tavan etmişdir (lakin səmanın özü bir qoruyucu və ya mühafizə vasitəsi deyil, bu çox vaxt rast gəlinən yanlış oxunuşdur). Bu, böyük ehtimalla ən aşağı səmanı qoruyan və "axan ulduzlar" (meteorlar) tərəfindən qovulan şeytanlar haqqındakı ayələrlə əlaqəlidir. Yuxarıda müzakirə olunan həmin ayələrdən biri, [https://quran.az/37 Quran 37]:6-10, bu ayədəki feillə eyni ərəb kökündən (hafiza) gələn və "keşikçi/mühafizə" mənasını verən bir isimdən ibarətdir.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume2/00000237.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 601 حفظ]</ref>{{Quote|{{Quran|21|32}}|Göyü mühafizə olunan bir tavan etdik. Onlar isə oradakı dəlillərimizdən üz çevirirlər.}}Maraqlıdır ki, müasir elm göyün/səmanın qorunduğu deyilən vasitələrin həm də Yerdəki canlılar üçün təhlükə yarada biləcəyini ortaya qoymuşdur — tarix boyu asteroidlər və meteoritlər atmosferə daxil olaraq Yerə çırpılmışdır. Buraya 65 milyon il əvvəl Yukatan yarımadası yaxınlığına düşən və əksər dinozavrlar da daxil olmaqla çoxsaylı növlərin məhvinə səbəb olan nəhəng meteorit də daxildir.

Daha yaxın tarixdə, 2013-cü ildə Rusiyanın Çelyabinsk şəhərində ev ölçüsündə bir meteoroid saniyədə 11 mildən (18 kilometr) çox sürətlə atmosferə daxil olmuş və Yer atmosferinə nüfuz edərək yerdən 14 mil (23 kilometr) hündürlükdə parçalanmışdır. Partlayış təxminən 440,000 ton TNT-yə bərabər enerji ayırmış və 200 kvadrat mildən (518 kvadrat kilometr) çox sahədə pəncərələri sındıran və binalara zərər vuran şok dalğası yaratmışdır. Partlayış nəticəsində, əsasən sınıq şüşə qırıntıları səbəbindən 1,600-dən çox insan yaralanmışdır.<ref>[https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/asteroids-comets-and-meteors/meteors-and-meteorites/in-depth/ Meteors & Meteorites] - NASA website</ref>

=== Göy/səma düşə/yıxıla bilən varlıq kimi ===
Quran göyü/səmanı Allah tərəfindən saxlanılan bir dam kimi təsvir edir ki, o, yıxıla bilər və ya onun parçaları qoparaq bədbəxt insanların üzərinə düşə bilər. Səmanın sadəcə müxtəlif qazların toplusu olduğuna dair müasir elmi dərketmə işığında bu təsvir (elmi cəhətdən) olduqca çətindir.{{Quote|{{Quran|52|44}}|Əgər onlar göy parçalarının düşdüyünü görsələr: “Bulud topasıdır!”– deyərlər.}}{{Quote|{{Quran|34|9}}|Məgər onlar göydə və yerdə qarşılarına və arxalarına baxmırlarmı? Əgər istəsək, onları yerə batırar və yaxud göyün bir parçasını onların başına endirərik. Şübhəsiz ki, bunda tövbə edib (Allaha) qayıdan hər bir qul üçün ibrət vardır.}}{{Quote|{{Quran|22|65}}|Məgər Allahın quruda olanları və Öz əmri ilə dənizdə üzən gəmiləri sizə ram etdiyini görmürsənmi? Göyü də Öz izni olmadan yerə düşməsin deyə O tutub saxlayar. Həqiqətən, Allah insanlara Şəfqətlidir, Mərhəmətlidir.}}

=== Göylərin bükülməsi ===
[https://quran.az/21/104?t=1 Quran 21:104] və [https://quran.az/39/67?t=1 Quran 39:67] ayələrində qiyamət günü göylərin "büküləcəyi" bildirilir ki, bu da onların maddiliyini və ikiölçülü formasını ehtiva edir.{{Quote|{{Quran|21|104}}|O gün göyü yazılı səhifələrin büküldüyü kimi bükəcəyik. (Məxluqatı) ilk dəfə yaratdığımız kimi yenə əvvəlki halına qaytaracağıq. Biz vəd vermişik. Sözsüz ki, Biz onu yerinə yetirəcəyik.}}{{Quote|{{Quran|39|67}}|Onlar Allahı layiqincə qiymətləndirmədilər. Halbuki Qiyamət günü yer bütünlüklə Onun Ovcunda olacaq, göylər isə Onun Əli ilə büküləcəkdir. O, pakdır, müqəddəsdir və onların (Ona) qoşduqları şəriklərdən ucadır.}}

=== Göyün/səmanın qapıları ===
Quranda bir çox ayədə göylərin/səmaların qapılarının olduğu bildirilir (bax: [https://quran.az/7/40?t=1 Quran 7:40], [https://quran.az/15/14?t=1 Quran 15:14], [https://quran.az/78/19?t=1 Quran 78:19], [https://quran.az/54/11?t=1 Quran 54:11]). [https://quran.az/42/12?t=1 Quran 42:12] ayəsinə görə, bu qapıların açarları yalnız Allahdadır və həmin qapılar ən azı suyun oradan Yerə tökülməsi və Nuhun təbliğindən sonra dünyanı su basması üçün kifayət qədər yaxınlıqdadır.{{Quote|{{Quran|54|11}}|Biz göyün qapılarını leysan yağışı ilə açdıq.}}

=== Göydəki cığırlar/keçidlər ===
Digər qədim Yaxın Şərq və Qərbi Asiya kosmoqoniyalarına bənzər şəkildə, göy qübbəsi də ''sabab'' (tək halda) və ya ''asbab'' (cəm halda)<ref>van Bladel, Kevin, ''"[https://islamspring2012.voices.wooster.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/192/2018/09/van-Bladel_heavenly-cords.pdf Heavenly cords and prophetic authority in the Qur’an and its Late Antique context]", pp. 223-224.'' Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 70 (2): 223-246, 2007. <nowiki>https://www.jstor.org/stable/40379198</nowiki></ref> adlanan cığırlar və ya keçidlərlə təchiz edilmişdir.<ref>Sinai, Nicolai. ''Key Terms of the Qur'an: A Critical Dictionary (p. 412).'' Princeton University Press. Kindle Edition.</ref> Bu keçidlər hərfi mənada müəyyən növ kəndirləri və ya ipləri xatırladır ki, bunlar da səmanın uca tikilisini dəstəkləyir və ya onun boyunca uzanır. İnsanlar bu yollara çatdıqları təqdirdə, onları fiziki olaraq qət edə bilərlər. [https://quran.az/38/10 Quranın 38:10]-cu ayəsinə aid erkən təfsirlərdən biri nisbət edilən Əl-Rəbi ibn Ənəs (v. 756) qeyd edir: "Əsbablar tükdən daha incə, dəmirdən isə daha möhkəmdir; onlar görünməz olsalar da, hər yerdədirlər."<ref>van Bladel, Kevin, ''"[https://islamspring2012.voices.wooster.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/192/2018/09/van-Bladel_heavenly-cords.pdf Heavenly cords and prophetic authority in the Qur’an and its Late Antique context]", pp. 237.'' Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 70 (2): 223-246, 2007. <nowiki>https://www.jstor.org/stable/40379198</nowiki></ref>{{Quote|{{Quran|40|36-37}}|Firon dedi: “Ey Haman, mənim üçün elə bir hündür qüllə tik ki, mən onunla çata bilim yollara - Göylərə gedən yollara və Musanın ilahını görüm. Həqiqətən, mən onun yalançı olduğunu düşünürəm”. Beləcə, Firona pis əməli gözəl göstərildi və haqq yoldan çıxarıldı. Fironun hiyləsi, əlbəttə, boşa çıxdı.}}{{Quote|{{Quran|38|10}}|Yaxud göylərin, yerin və onların arasındakıların hakimiyyəti onlardadırmı? Elə isə, müxtəlif yollarla göyə qalxsınlar görək.}}Kosmik tədqiqatların və teleskopların mövcudluğuna baxmayaraq, bunlar hələ də aşkar edilməmişdir.

=== Ulduzlar düşən bir şey kimi ===
Quranda ulduzların son günlə bağlı baş verəcək çoxsaylı dramatik hadisələrdən biri kimi töküləcəyi (inkədarət - ٱنكَدَرَتْ) bildirilir. Bu ayədə istifadə olunan kəlmənin kökü olan كدر (VII forma) quşun və ya qırğı kimi yırtıcı quşun şığıyaraq enməsi, yaxud düşüb səpələnməsi mənasını ifadə edir.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume7/00000124.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2596 ٱنكَدَرَتْ]</ref>{{Quote|{{Quran|81|2}}|Ulduzlar sönüb töküləcəyi zaman,}}Fəza-zamanın strukturu elədir ki, heç nə, hətta ulduzlar belə işıq sürətindən daha sürətli hərəkət edə bilməz. Ulduzlar səma boyu işıq sürətinə yaxın bir templə hərəkət etsələr belə, onların məsafələrinə nisbətdə görünən hərəkəti o qədər cüzi olardı ki, insan gözü ilə bunu görmək qeyri-mümkündür. Üstəlik, görünən ulduzların çoxu yüzlərlə işıq ili uzaqlıqda yerləşdiyi üçün (ən yaxın ulduz dörd işıq ilindən daha uzaqdadır), belə hadisələrdən gələn işığın gözümüzə çatması illər çəkərdi. Həqiqətən də, hazırda səmadə görünən bir çox ulduz əsrlər əvvəl mövcudluğunu dayandırıb və bizim gördüyümüz sadəcə onların indi Yerə çatan işığıdır.

Eyni şəkildə, qiyamət günündə ulduzların dağılıb-səpələnəcəyi (intəthərət - انْتَثَرَتْ) bildirilir ki, klassik şərhlərdə də bu, yuxarıda qeyd olunan 81:2 ayəsi ilə yanaşı, Yer üzünə dağılmaq/düşmək kimi əlaqələndirilmişdir.<ref>''[https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Abbas/82.2 Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs Verse 82.2]''. Ibn Abbas. Unknown date.</ref><ref>''[https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Jalal/82.2 Tafsir Al-Jalalayn Verse 82.2.]'' Jalal al-Din al-Mahalli (d. 864 ah / 1459 ce) and his pupil Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 911 ah / 1505 ce).</ref><ref>''[https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Kathir/82.1 Tafsir ibn Kathir Verse 82.2.]'' Ibn Kathir <abbr>c.</abbr> 1300 – 1373.</ref><ref>''[https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Abbas/81.2 Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs Verse 81.2]''. Ibn Abbas. Unknown date.</ref><ref>''[https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Jalal/81.2 Tafsir Al-Jalalayn Verse 81.2.]'' Jalal al-Din al-Mahalli (d. 864 ah / 1459 ce) and his pupil Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 911 ah / 1505 ce).</ref>{{Quote|{{Quran|82|2}}|Ulduzlar saçılacağı zaman,}}

=== Ayın ikiyə bölünməsi ===
Quranda (ümumi şərhə əsasən) və bir hədis rəvayətində Ayın möcüzəvi şəkildə iki yerə bölündüyü, sonra isə ehtimal ki, yenidən birləşdirildiyi bildirilir. Lakin Ayın iki hissəyə bölündüyünə dair heç bir elmi sübut yoxdur. Tənqidçilər qeyd edirlər ki, Ay istənilən vaxt planetin yarısı üçün görünən olduğundan, bu hadisə həqiqətən baş veribsə, dünyanın müxtəlif yerlərindən bunu təsdiqləyən çoxsaylı tarixi qeydlər olmalı idi. Romalıların, yunanların, misirlilərin, farsların, çinlilərin və hindlilərin həvəsli astronomları var idi və tənqidçilərin fikrincə, onlar bu hadisəni müşahidə edib öz tarixlərində qeyd etməli idilər. Məhəmmədin dövründə yaşamış digər sivilizasiyalarda belə bir tarixi qeydin tamamilə olmaması, bu səbəbdən, müqəddəs mətnlərdə təsvir olunan hadisənin heç vaxt baş vermədiyinə dair güclü bir işarə kimi təqdim olunur.{{Quote|{{Quran-range|54|1|3}}|Qiyamət yaxınlaşdı və ay yarıldı. Əgər onlar bir möcüzə görsələr, ondan üz çevirib: “Bu, davam edən bir sehrdir!” - deyərlər. Onlar (Quranı) yalanladılar və öz nəfslərinin arzularına uydular. Halbuki hər bir işin (Allah tərəfindən) qərarlaşdırılmış bir vaxtı vardır.}}{{Quote|{{Bukhari|||4864|darussalam}}|İbn Məsuddan rəvayət olunur: 
Allah Rəsulunun (ﷺ) sağlığında ay iki yerə bölündü; bir hissəsi dağın üzərində qaldı, digər hissəsi isə dağın arxasına keçdi. Bunun üzərinə Allah Rəsulu (ﷺ): "Bu möcüzəyə şahid olun",— dedi.}}Bəzi müasir İslam alimləri və akademik tədqiqatçılar ayın parçalanması haqqındakı ayəni esxatoloji (axirət zamanı ilə bağlı) bir peyğəmbərlik kimi şərh edirlər. Bunun səbəblərindən biri odur ki, ənənəvi təfsir Məhəmmədin möcüzələrlə göndərilmədiyi, yalnız insanlara bu mesajla xəbərdarlıq etmək üçün göndərildiyi barədə təkrar olunan iddialarla ziddiyyət təşkil edir (həmçinin bax: [https://quran.az/6/109 Quran 6:109] və [https://quran.az/11/12 Quran 11:12]):{{Quote|{{Quran|13|7}}|Kafirlər: “Rəbbindən ona bir möcüzə endirilməli deyildimi?” - deyirlər. Sən yalnız xəbərdar edənsən. Hər qövmün doğru yolu göstərən bir rəhbəri vardır.}}

=== Ay işığının təbiəti ===
Müasir müsəlman alimləri bəzən iddia edirlər ki, Quranın Ayın öz işığını yaymadığını, sadəcə Günəşdən gələn işığı əks etdirdiyini öncədən bildirib. Quranda Ayın "işıq" olduğunu deyən iki ayədə "əks olunmuş" (in`ikaas) sözü işlədilmir. Bunun əvəzinə, sadəcə "bir işıq" mənasını verən ''nur'' (nuran نُورًا) sözündən, digər bir ayədə isə "işıq verən" mənasını daşıyan və ''nur'' sözü ilə eyni kökdən gələn ''munir'' (munirən مُّنِيرًا) sözündən istifadə olunur. Buna baxmayaraq, bu sözlərin istifadəsi qeyri-müəyyəndir və alternativ şərhlərə imkan verən görünüşə malikdir.{{Quote|{{Quran|10|5}}|Günəşi işıqlı, ayı parlaq edən, illərin sayını və hesabı bilməyiniz üçün aya mənzillər təyin edən Odur. Allah bunları haqq olaraq yaratdı. O, bilib düşünən bir qövm üçün ayələri açıq şəkildə izah edir.}}{{Quote|{{Quran|71|16}}|Onların içində ayı bir nur, günəşi də bir çıraq etmişdir.}}''Nur'' sözü (bu dəfə feli sifət kimi ''munirən'' مُّنِيرًا şəklində) Ayla bağlı oxşar bir ayədə yenidən istifadə olunur:{{Quote|{{Quran|25|61}}|Göydə bürclər yaradan, orada bir çıraq (günəş) və nurlu ay xəlq edən Allah çox ucadır!}}[https://quran.az/33 Quran 33]:45-46 ayələri ''nur'' sözünün "əks olunan işıq" deyil, məhz "işıq" mənasına gəldiyini ən aydın şəkildə nümayiş etdirir. Burada lampa/çıraq, [https://quran.az/25/61 Quran 25:61] ayəsində istifadə olunan eyni ərəb sözü (munirən مُّنِيرًا) ilə "işıq saçan" kimi təsvir edilir:{{Quote|{{Quran-range|33|45|46}}|Ey Peyğəmbər! Həqiqətən, Biz səni şahid, müjdəçi və xəbərdar edən bir elçi olaraq göndərdik. Həm də Allahın izni ilə Onun yoluna dəvət edən və nur saçan bir çıraq olaraq göndərdik.}}"Lane's Lexicon" (Klassik ərəb dili lüğəti) əsərində ''munir'' (مُّنِيرً) sözü "işıq verən, parlayan, parlaq və ya gur işıq saçan" kimi təsvir edilir.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000120.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2866 مُّنِيرً]</ref> ''Nur'' sözü isə bir əvvəlki səhifədə "İşıq; bu nə olursa olsun; və onun şüaları" şəklində müəyyən edilir.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000119.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2865 نُورًا]</ref> Ayın bu sözlə təsvir edildiyi Yunus surəsi 5-ci ayəyə (yuxarıda sitat gətirilmişdir) istinad edərək, Leyn yazır: "[https://quran.az/10/15 Quranda (10:5)] Günəş ''ziya'', Ay isə ''nur'' adlandırılır və qeyd olunur ki, ''ziya'' əsas (zati), ''nur'' isə arızi (əks olunan) işıqdır". Zati və arızi işıq anlayışı və onun Günəş ilə Aya tətbiqi Quranın nazil olduğu dövrdəki ərəblərə deyil, daha çox böyük alim və optika elminin banisi İbn əl-Heytəmin 1572-ci ildə nəşr olunan "Kitab əl-Mənazir" (Optika) əsərinə dayanır. Leyn, yüksək nüfuzlu "Tac əl-Arus" klassik lüğətinə istinad edərək sözünə belə davam edir: "O [işıq] iki növdür: dünya işığı və axirət işığı; birincisi isə duyğu orqanları ilə, gözlə qəbul edilir və bu, Günəş, Ay və ulduzlar kimi işıq saçan cisimlərdən yayılan işıqdır ki, yuxarıda qeyd olunan Quran ayəsində də (10:5) məhz bu nəzərdə tutulur".

''Nur'' sözü həmçinin [https://quran.az/24/35 Nur surəsi 35-ci] ayədə Allahın kainatın "nuru" olduğunu göstərmək üçün işlədilir. Müəllif bununla Allahın başqa bir mənbədən gələn işığı əks etdirdiyini deyil, əksinə, Onun bütün işığın ali mənbəyi olduğunu nəzərdə tutur.{{Quote|{{Quran|24|35}}|Allah göylərin və yerin nurudur. Onun (möminlərin qəlbində olan) nuru, içində çıraq olan bir taxçaya bənzəyir; o çıraq şüşənin içindədir, şüşə isə, sanki inci kimi bir ulduzdur. O (çıraq) təkcə şərqə və ya təkcə qərbə aid edilməyən (daim günəş şüaları altında qalan) mübarək zeytun ağacından yandırılır. Onun yağı özünə od toxunmasa da, sanki işıq saçır. (Bu), nur üstündə nurdur. Allah dilədiyini Öz nuruna yönəldir. Allah insanlar üçün misallar çəkir. Allah hər şeyi Biləndir.}}

=== Günəş və Ayın təxminən eyni ölçüdə və məsafədə olması ===
Qiyamət günü baş verəcək hadisələrlə bağlı bir keçiddə bəzi tənqidçilər iddia edirlər ki, Quran Günəş və Ayın müqayisə edilə bilən ölçüdə və məsafədə olduğuna işarə edir. Artıq qeyd edildiyi kimi, Quranda Ayın Günəşi "izlədiyi" ([https://quran.az/91 Quran 91]:1-2) və "Nə günəş aya çata bilər, nə də gecə gündüzü keçə bilər." ([https://quran.az/36/40 Quran 36:40]) deyilir. [https://quran.az/75/9 Quran 75:9] ayəsi isə əlavə edir ki, sonuncu gündə Günəş və Ay bir araya gətiriləcəkdir. Belə bir baxış bucağı yeddinci əsr Ərəbistanında Günəş və Ayı çılpaq gözlə seyr edən və tutulmaları müşahidə edən biri üçün intuitiv olsa da, müasir elm Günəşin içinə 64.3 milyon Ayın sığa biləcəyini üzə çıxarmışdır.{{Quote|{{Quran-range|75|8|9}}|Ay tutulduğu zaman, Günəş və ay bir yerə gətirildiyi zaman,}}"Birləşdirildi" kimi tərcümə olunan ərəbcə "jumi'a" (cumiə) sözü; toplamaq, bir araya gətirmək və ya cəm etmək mənasını verən bir feldir.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume2/00000091.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 455 جُمِعَ]</ref> Tənqidçilər qeyd edirlər ki, bu, Yerin ətrafında fırlanan və Günəşdən 93 milyon mil uzaqda olan Ayın, özündən 400 dəfədən çox geniş olan yerli ulduzumuzla (Günəşlə) bir araya gətirilməsi deməkdir. Tənqidçilərin fikrincə, belə bir ssenaridə bu dərəcədə qeyri-mütənasib obyektlərin bir araya gətiriləcəyini (jumi'a) demək çətin ki, uyğun olsun və bu, olduqca qəribə bir apokaliptik hadisədir. Əksinə, bu təsvir kosmosun qədim anlayışına daha yaxşı oturur; hansı ki, bu anlayışa görə Günəş və Ayın Yer üzərindəki səmada təxminən bərabər olan iki göy cismi olduğu fərz edilirdi.

Qeyd etmək yerinə düşər ki, 8-ci ayədə Ayın "tutulması" (qaranlıqlaşması) üçün istifadə olunan ərəb sözü hədislərdə Ay və ya Günəş tutulmasına (bu halda Ay tutulmasına) işarə edir. Lakin Ay tutulmasının baş verməsi üçün (Yerin kölgəsi Ayın üzərinə düşdükdə) Günəş və Ay Yerin əks tərəflərində olmalıdırlar və buna görə də onlar heç bir mənada "bir araya gətirilmiş" sayılmırlar. 9-cu ayədəki "bir araya gətirilmə" ifadəsi Günəş tutulmasına (Ayın kölgəsi Yer üzərinə düşdükdə) istinad kimi də uyğun gəlmir. Ayın Günəşi tuta bildiyi ayın müəyyən hissəsində Ay görünməz olur, çünki o, Yerin gün işığı düşən tərəfində olmalıdır; buna görə də Ay müşahidəçilərlə Günəş arasından keçərkən özü qaranlıqlaşmır və ya tutulmur (ayə 8), əksinə onun silueti görünür.

=== Kölgələrin uzunluğunun dəyişməsinin səbəbi ===
Kölgələr Günəş işığının qarşısı kəsildikdə yaranır. Yerin öz oxu ətrafında fırlanması bu kölgələrin ölçüsünün dəyişməsinə və uzanmasına səbəb olur. [https://quran.az/25 Quran 25]:45-46-cı ayələrdə kölgələrin sabit qalmaq əvəzinə ölçülərinin dəyişməsinin səbəbi kimi Allahın Günəşi onlara bələdçi etməsi göstərilir. Bu, Quranda başqa yerlərdə də geniş şəkildə sübut edilən geosentrik (yer mərkəzli) dünyagörüşünü təsdiqləyir; çünki yalnız geosentrik baxış bucağına görə, əgər Günəşə (Yerin əvəzinə) nəsə etdirilməsəydi, kölgələr sabit uzunluqda qalardı.{{Quote|{{Quran|25|45-46}}|Məgər Rəbbinin kölgəni necə uzatdığını görmürsənmi? Əgər O, istəsəydi, onu hərəkətsiz halda saxlayardı. Sonra Biz günəşi onun bələdçisi etdik. Sonra o kölgəni yavaş-yavaş Özümüzə tərəf çəkdik.}}Maraqlıdır ki, [https://quran.az/25/46 Quran 25:46]-cı ayə Allahın kölgələri "Özünə tərəf çəkdiyini" bildirməklə davam edir. Bu ayənin dəqiq mənası aydın deyil, lakin əgər bu, bir obyektin kölgəsinin "öz üzərinə" geri çəkilməsinə — yəni kölgənin olmadığı və ya ən qısa olduğu vəziyyətə — aiddirsə, bəlkə də bunu kölgənin tədricən "səmaya doğru" və ya "yuxarıya, Allaha doğru yönəlməsi" kimi şərh etmək olar. Bununla belə, hətta bu oxunuşu əsaslandırmaq çətindir və ayə, yəqin ki, oxuna biləcəyi qeyri-müəyyən mənəvi mənadan kənarda anlaşıqlılığını itirmiş kimi qəbul edilə bilər.

=== Şimal və Cənub qütblərinin nəzərə alınmaması ===
Qütb bölgələrində gündüz və gecənin uzunluğu yay və qış aylarında dəyişir. Qışda gündüzlər getdikcə qısalır və nəhayət, günlər və ya həftələrlə davam edən fasiləsiz gecələr yaşanır. Qütblərin özündə isə gündüz və gecə növbə ilə altı ay davam edir və günəşin doğması ilə batması arasındakı müddətdə Ayın bütün fazaları bir neçə dəfə təkrarlanır. Bu hallar ən vacib İslam rituallarının bir çoxunu qeyri-mümkün edir və göstərir ki, Quran və hədislərin müəllif(lər)i, qlobal miqyasda tətbiq edilə biləcək bir din yaratmağa çalışdıqları müddətcə, qütblərə yaxın yerlərdə baş verən ekstremal gün uzunluğu dəyişikliklərindən xəbərsiz idilər.{{Quote|{{Quran|36|40}}|Nə günəş aya çata bilər, nə də gecə gündüzü keçə bilər. Hər biri öz orbitində üzər.}}Bu ayəni oxuyarkən insan həm də gecə və gündüzün hər birinin hansı mənada orbitə malik olması barədə düşünə bilər.

== Biologiya ==

=== Təkamül ===
Quran, yer üzündə həyatın mənşəyi və tarixinə dair bəlkə də ən yaxşı şəkildə "kreatsionist" (yaradılışçı) baxış kimi xarakterizə edilən mövqedə dayanır. Bu, insanların milyonlarla il ərzində və təbii seçmə yolu ilə əvvəlki həyat formalarından təkamül etdiyinə dair böyük elmi sübutlardan kəskin şəkildə fərqlənir.<ref>https://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence</ref> Nəticə etibarilə, bəzi müsəlman alimləri təkamül nəzəriyyəsini qəbul edə bilmək üçün Quranı yenidən şərh etsələr də, əksəriyyət bunu rədd edərək yaradılışçı dünya görüşünə üstünlük verir. Rəy sorğuları göstərir ki, müsəlmanların əksəriyyəti İslam və təkamülün bir-birinə uyğun gəlmədiyi fikri ilə razıdır.

==== İlk insanlar gildən yaradılıb ====
Quranda ilk insanın palçıqdan (salsal - صَلْصَٰلٍ / həmi - حَمَإٍ) dərhal yaradıldığı qeyd olunur. Müəllifin insan həyatının milyonlarla il ərzində təkamülü və ya meymunlar və primatlarla ortaq əcdadımız barədə məlumatlı olduğuna dair heç bir işarə yoxdur. Bəzi alimlər təkamülü hərəkətə gətirən mexanizmlərin detalları üzərində mübahisə etsələr də, ümumi əcdaddan törəməyin (common descent) sübut olunmuş bir fakt olduğu ilə razılaşırlar.{{Quote|{{Quran|15|26}}|Biz insanı başqa şəklə düşmüş qara palçıqdan, (toxunduqda saxsı kimi) səs çıxaran quru gildən yaratdıq.}}{{Quote|{{Quran|55|14}}|O, insanı saxsı kimi quru gildən yaratdı,}}{{Quote|{{Quran-range|38|71|76}}|Bir zaman sənin Rəbbin mələklərə belə demişdi: '''“Mən palçıqdan bir insan yaradacağam. Mən ona surət verib Öz ruhumdan üfürdüyüm zaman ona səcdə edin!”''' Mələklərin hamısı birlikdə səcdə etdi, yalnız İblisdən başqa! O təkəbbür göstərdi və kafirlərdən oldu. (Allah) dedi: “Ey İblis! Sənə '''Mənim iki əlimlə yaratdığıma''' səcdə etməyə mane olan nə idi? Təkəbbür göstərdin, böyüklərdənmi olmuşdun?” (İblis) dedi: “Mən ondan daha xeyirliyəm. '''Çünki Sən məni oddan, onu isə palçıqdan yaratdın!”'''}}

==== Adəm və Həvvadan törəyən ====
Quranda "ilk insanlar" haqqında bəhs edən və digər məsələlərlə yanaşı, bütün insanların ən erkən əcdadlar olan Adəm və Həvvanın nəsli olduğunu təfərrüatlandıran hekayələr mövcuddur. Bu insanlar bir bağda yaradılmış (ərəbcə cənnət sözü hərfi mənada "bağ" deməkdir) və daha sonra tam formalaşmış şəkildə Yerə gətirilmişlər (Səhih hədislər Adəmin boyunun 60 dirsək, yəni təxminən 27 metr olduğunu bildirir). İnsan həyatının mənşəyinə dair bu baxış, möhkəm DNT sübutları və müasir insanların təkamülündən milyonlarla il əvvəl Yer kürəsində yaşamış çoxsaylı ''Homo sapiens'' öncəsi növün qalıqları ilə birbaşa ziddiyyət təşkil edir.<ref>http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence</ref> İnsanların digər primat ailələri ilə ortaq əcdada sahib olduğuna dair güclü DNT sübutlarına, müvafiq genomlarımızda tamamilə eyni genetik mövqelərdə yerləşən endogen retroviruslar<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXfDF5Ew3Gc DNA Evidence That Humans & Chimps Share A Common Ancestor: Endogenous Retroviruses] - Youtube.com</ref> və insanların 2-ci xromosomunun yaranmasına səbəb olan iki primat xromosomunun birləşməsi daxildir.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK3O6KYPmEw Professor Ken Miller on DNA fusion events] - Youtube.com</ref>{{Quote|{{Quran|7|189}}|Sizi tək bir candan xəlq edən, ünsiyyət bağlayıb rahatlıq tapsın deyə ondan onun zövcəsini yaradan Odur. (Adəm) zövcəsini ağuşuna aldıqda o, yüngül bir yüklə yükləndi (hamilə oldu) və (bir müddət) onu (bətnində) gəzdirdi. (Zövcəsi) ağırlaşdığı zaman hər ikisi özlərinin Rəbbi olan Allaha: “Əgər bizə sağlam bir övlad versən, əlbəttə, şükür edənlərdən olarıq”(– deyə) dua etdilər.}}Yuxarıdakı ayədə cinsi əlaqə və hamiləliyə edilən poetik işarə, həmçinin cütlüyün Allaha dua etməsi, ilk cümlənin Adəmdən gələn ümumi nəsilə aid olduğuna şübhə yeri qoymur (bənzər ayələrdə bu daha az aşkar şəkildə ifadə olunur). Bütün klassik təfsirçilər bu "tək bir varlıq" (نَّفْسٍ وَٰحِدَةٍ) ifadəsinin Adəmə aid olduğunu bildirirlər. Həm klassik Sünni, həm də Şiə təfsirləri bunu təsdiqləyir və hətta bütün insanların Adəmdən törədiyini bildirən mütəvatir hədis rəvayətləri (kütləvi şəkildə ötürülən xəbərlər) mövcuddur.

Digər bir ayədə isə Allahın həmin ilk insanı palçıqdan yaratmasından sonra, bəşəriyyətin bir nəfərdən törəməsi, bu prosesin nail olunduğu cinsi vasitəyə ("dəyərsiz bir mayeyə", yəni nütfəyə) istinad edilərək hərfi mənada təsvir olunur.{{Quote|{{Quran-range|32|7|8}}|Hansı ki, yaratdığı hər şeyi gözəl biçimdə yaratmış, insanı ilk olaraq palçıqdan xəlq etmiş, sonra onun nəslini bir damla dəyərsiz sudan əmələ gətirmiş,}}Piktal öz tərcüməsində "toxum" kimi tərcümə olunan söz ərəbcə "nəsil" (nəsl - نَسْل) sözüdür ki, bu da nəslin davamı, yəni törəmələr mənasını verir.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000286.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 3032 نسل]</ref>

Digər ayələr bəşəriyyətə ''bəni-Adəm'' ("Adəm övladları") kimi müraciət edir; buna ilk cütlüyü "valideynləriniz" kimi təsvir edən [https://quran.az/7/27?t=1 Quranın 7:27]-ci ayəsi də daxildir. Həmçinin, [https://quran.az/17/70 Quranın 17:70] və [https://quran.az/4/1 4:1]-ci ayələrinə də baxın.

Bəzi müasir müsəlman alimləri iddia edirlər ki, iki əcdad "valideyn" anlayışı, bütün müasir insanların ortaq bir qadın və kişi əcdada sahib olduğunu göstərən son elmi kəşflərlə uzlaşır. Lakin bu, alimlərin insanların ən qədim genetik əcdadlarını adlandırmaq üçün istifadə etdikləri ləqəblərin (Mitoxondrial Həvva və Y-xromosomlu Adəm) yanlış başa düşülməsindən irəli gəlir. Bu iki fərd Qurandakı personajlardan tamamilə fərqlidir, çünki onlar tarixdəki bütün insanların deyil, sadəcə bu gün yaşayan hər kəsin ən son ortaq kişi və qadın əcdadlarıdır. Daha da önəmlisi, Quran Həvvanı Adəmin arvadı (xüsusilə qeyd etmək lazımdır ki, o, Adəmdən sonra yaradılmışdır) kimi təsvir etdiyi halda, Mitoxondrial Həvva Y-xromosomlu Adəmdən təxminən 50.000-80.000 il əvvəl yaşamışdır.<ref>[http://biologos.org/blog/does-genetics-point-to-a-single-primal-couple Adam, Eve, and Human Population Genetics: Responses to Popular Arguments] - Biologos website</ref> Genetik sübutlar da insanların digər növlərdən bir cüt şəklində deyil, bir populyasiya kimi ayrıldığını aşkar şəkildə göstərir.<ref>[http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2011/09/18/how-big-was-the-human-population-bottleneck-not-anything-close-to-2/ How big was the human population bottleneck? Another staple of theology refuted.] - Why Evolution is True website by Professor Jerry Coyne</ref>

=== Genetika ===

==== Nuhun gəmisi və insan populyasiyasının daralması effekti ====
Quranda bir çox qədim Yaxın Şərq və Mesopotamiya mədəniyyətləri üçün ortaq olan, Müqəddəs Kitabdakı (Bibliya) ümumdünya tufanı hekayəsi yer alır; burada Nuh peyğəmbər ailəsi (dağa çıxaraq tufandan qaçmağa çalışan inkarçı bir oğlu istisna olmaqla)<ref>Reynolds, G. S. (2017). ''[https://eurasia.org.uk/docs/academic/biblical-character/Noahs_Lost_Son_in_the_Quran.pdf Noah’s Lost Son in the Qurʾān]. Arabica, 64 (2), 129-148.'' <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1163/15700585-12341452</nowiki></ref> və hər canlıdan bir cüt götürərək gəmi vasitəsilə xilas olur. Quranda qeyd olunmasa da, bəzi rəvayətlərə görə gəmidə onunla birlikdə,<ref>E.g. Tafsir Ibn Kathir on [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Kathir/11.40 Q11:40] who mentions this report comes from Ibn Abbas</ref> aralarında qırx kişi və qırx qadın olmaqla, cəmi səksən nəfər var idi. Əsas təfsirlərin əksəriyyəti bildirir ki, Bizanslılar, Türklər və Farslar kimi müasir fərqli xalqların hamısı Nuhun sağ qalmış müxtəlif oğullarının nəslindən törəmişdir.<ref>E.g. Tafsir Al-Jalalyan on [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Jalal/11.40 Q11:40]</ref><ref>E.g. see many English translated classical commentaries/tafsirs on [https://quranx.com/tafsirs/37.77 Q37:33].</ref>{{Quote|{{Quran|11|40}}|Nəhayət, əmrimiz gəlib yer üzünü su basdığı zaman Nuha dedik: “Heyvanların hər birindən bir cüt, (boğulacaqlarına dair) hökm verilmiş kimsələr istisna olmaqla, '''ailəni və iman gətirənləri gəmiyə mindir!'''” Onunla birlikdə çox az insan iman gətirmişdi.}}Bu hadisəyə uyğun gələ biləcək, gözlənilən heç bir populyasiya daralması (bottleneck) haqqında genetik sübut yoxdur.<ref>''David Reich. 2018. Biz kimik və bura necə gəlib çıxdıq: Qədim DNT və insan keçmişinin yeni elmi (Who We Are and How We Got Here: Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human Past).'' Müasir insanların tarixini, o cümlədən bu hekayəyə (Nuhun tufanı) uyğun gəlməyən mühüm populyasiya daralmalarını genetik baxış bucağından əhatə edir. [1-ci fəsildən 4-cü fəslə qədər olan hissə qədim humanoidlərin müasir insana çevrilmə mənşəyini əhatə edir və faktiki olaraq Adəm və Həvva hekayəsini də təkzib edir.]</ref> Bunlara daxildir (lakin bunlarla məhdudlaşmır): Genetik müxtəliflik analizi (o cümlədən, azalmış heteroziqotluq və nadir allellərin itirilməsi), genomda homoziqotluq sahələri (ROH), adi allellərə üstünlük verən və nadir olanların yayılmasını azaldan meyilli paylanma göstərən allel tezliyi spektrinin (AFS) analizi və statistik modelləşdirmə vasitəsilə tədqiqatçılar müşahidə olunan allel tezliklərini müxtəlif demoqrafik ssenarilər altında nəzəri gözləntilərlə müqayisə edə bilərlər. Həmçinin Mitoxondrial və Y-Xromosom DNT-sinin soy izləmə (Lineage Tracing) ilə analizi, genetik xətləri ortaq əcdadlara qədər izləmək üçün koalesent modellərlə şəcərələrin yenidən qurulması, aşağıdakıları göstərən genetik nişanələrin mövcudluğu: Azalmış effektiv populyasiya ölçüsü (Ne) və/və ya İlişikli qeyri-tarazlıq (LD) (fərqli lokuslardakı allellər azalmış populyasiya ölçüsü və məhdud rekombinasiya hadisələri səbəbindən gözləniləndən daha yüksək korrelyasiya (genlərin assosiasiyası) göstərə bilər), üstəgəl qədim DNT-ni (aDNA) müasir DNT ilə təhlil edib birbaşa müqayisə etmək və əlavə simulyasiya və modelləşdirmə, məsələn, ən ehtimal olunan tarixi hadisələri müəyyən etmək üçün müxtəlif demoqrafik ssenarilər altında genetik məlumatları simulyasiya edən Beyes (Bayesian Inference) hesablama metodlarından istifadə - BEAST və msprime kimi proqramlar xüsusi olaraq bunun üçün yaradılmışdır.<ref name=":0">Some academic papers discussing these methods for both humans (and ancient pre-human hominins as in the first article) and animals include for example: ''"[https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37651513/ Genomic inference of a severe human bottleneck during the Early to Middle Pleistocene transition]"'' Authors: Wangjie Hu, Ziqian Hao, Pengyuan Du, Fabio Di Vincenzo, Giorgio Manzi. Published in: Science, 2023 ''[https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2202.08394 Dynamical phases in growing populations: understanding recovery from bottlenecks].'' Emanuele Crosato, Jeffrey N. Philippson, Shashi Thutupalli, Richard G. Morris. 2022. <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2202.08394</nowiki> ''[https://academic.oup.com/jhered/article-abstract/107/5/392/2622901?redirectedFrom=fulltext Genetic Evidence of a Population Bottleneck and Inbreeding in the Endangered New Zealand Sea Lion],'' Osborne AJ, Negro SS, Chilvers BL, Robertson BC, Kennedy MA, Gemmell NJ. Phocarctos hookeri. J Hered. 2016 Sep;107(5):392-402. doi: 10.1093/jhered/esw015. Epub 2016 Mar 19. PMID: 26995741. Li H, Roossinck MJ2004. [https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jvi.78.19.10582-10587.2004 ''Genetic Bottlenecks Reduce Population Variation in an Experimental RNA Virus Population'']. J Virol78:.<nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1128/jvi.78.19.10582-10587.2004</nowiki> Lucena-Perez M, Kleinman-Ruiz D, Marmesat E, Saveljev AP, Schmidt K, Godoy JA. [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/eva.13302 ''Bottleneck-associated changes in the genomic landscape of genetic diversity in wild lynx populations.''] Evol Appl. 2021 Oct 8;14(11):2664-2679. doi: 10.1111/eva.13302. PMID: 34815746; PMCID: PMC8591332.</ref>

==== Heyvanlar və bitkilər ====
Nuhun gəmisi əfsanəsinin bir hissəsi də hər canlı növdən bir cütün gəmidə saxlanılmasıdır. Eynilə, nə heyvan genetikasında (və eyni zamanda bütün növlərdə və insan populyasiyasında),<ref name=":0" /> nə də bitkilərdə (İbn Kəsir kimi əksər ənənəvi İslam alimlərinin bu cütlərin bir hissəsi hesab edilməsi ilə razılaşdığı) <ref>Tafsir Ibn Kathir on [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Kathir/11.40 ''verse 11:40'']</ref>belə bir daha kəskin, iki canlı cütdən ibarət daralma tapılmamışdır; halbuki biz iki heyvandan ibarət nəzərəçarpacaq dərəcədə qəfil və kəskin bir daralmanın baş verməsini, həmçinin növün uzunmüddətli sağ qalması üçün lazım olan təhlükəsiz səviyyədən qat-qat aşağı olan yaxın qohum nikahlarının (inbreeding) yaranmasını görməyi gözləyərdik.<ref>Pérez-Pereira, N., Wang, J., Quesada, H. et al. ''[https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10531-022-02456-z Prediction of the minimum effective size of a population viable in the long term]. Biodivers Conserv 31, 2763–2780 (2022).'' <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-022-02456-z</nowiki></ref>

Bu, belə bir vəzifənin praktik problemlərini qeyd etmədən belə bəllidir. Məhəmmədin və ya 7-ci əsrin konkret ərəblərinin tam olaraq neçə heyvandan xəbərdar olduqlarını bilməsək də, onların Ərəbistandakı yerli mal-qara, quşlar və görünən həşəratlardan və s. xəbərdar olduqlarını fərz etmək olar — burada hər cütdən ikisini toplamaq çətin olsa da, qeyri-mümkün bir tapşırıq deyildi. Lakin müasir elm indiyədək bütün taksonomik qruplar üzrə 2,1 milyondan çox növün müəyyən edildiyini üzə çıxarıb. Bura bütün planetə yayılmış, hər biri fərqli iqlim, yaşayış mühiti və qidalanma tələb edən 1 milyondan çox müəyyən edilmiş həşərat növü, 110 000 hörümçəkkimilər, 11 000 quş, 11 000 sürünən və 6 500 məməli daxildir; hələ kəşf edilməmiş olanlar da daxil olmaqla, ümumi quru növlərinin sayına dair geniş yayılmış təxmin isə 6,5 milyondur.<ref>[https://ourworldindata.org/how-many-species-are-there#:~:text=Species%20that%20we%20have%20identified,million%20species%20on%20the%20planet How many species are there?] - Our World in Data website</ref> Bundan əlavə, bir çox heyvan gəmidəki insanlar üçün ciddi təhlükə yaradır (məsələn, ağ ayılar), onları dünyanın müxtəlif yerlərindən, o cümlədən təcrid olunmuş adalardan toplamaq və digərlərini gətirərkən qalanlarını sağ saxlamaq mahiyyətcə qeyri-mümkündür; həmçinin bir çoxu bir-birinin yırtıcısıdır, buna görə də biri digəri tərəfindən yeyilsəydi, ekosistem tezliklə məhv olardı və s.<ref>Many practical issues of the account are covered in this article on Talk Origins by Mark Isaak ''<nowiki/>'[https://talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-noahs-ark.html Problems with a Global Flood]''', focusing on the biblical version of the story - but with most applicable to the Qur'anic version.</ref>

Bu kəşflər bütün heyvanların tək bir gəmidə saxlanıla bilməsi ideyasını qeyri-mümkün hesab etməyə əsas verir.

== İstinadlar ==
<references />
[[Category:Azərbaycanca (Azerbaijani)]]

Qurandakı elmi xətalar

2026-04-05T15:34:05Z

Qorqud: /* Adəm və Həvvadan törəyən */

Qurandakı elmi xətalar

2026-04-05T15:14:32Z

Qorqud: /* İlk insanlar gildən yaradılıb */

Qurandakı elmi xətalar

2026-04-05T15:10:11Z

Qorqud: /* Təkamül */

Scientific Errors in the Quran

2026-04-05T15:10:10Z

Qorqud: /* First humans created from clay */

{{#seo:
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[[File:Noahs-Ark-Edward-Hicks.jpg|right|thumb|275px|"Noah's Ark" (1846) painted by Edward Hicks. The Quranic story raises questions of historical as well as scientific fact.]]
{{QualityScore|Lead=4|Structure=4|Content=4|Language=4|References=4}}A common criticism of the [[Quran]], [[Scientific Errors in the Hadith|as with the Hadith]], is that it contains numerous [[Islam and Science|scientific]] and [[Historical Errors in the Qur'an|historical errors]], with no obvious attempts to differentiate its understanding of the natural world and historical events from the common folklore and misconceptions of the people living in 7th century Arabia. Modern responses typically appeal to metaphor, alternative meanings, or phenomenological interpretations of such verses. They also argue that the wording needed to be acceptable to people of its time. Critics typically argue that an all-knowing, perfect communicator would nevertheless have been able to avoid statements in the Quran that reinforced misconceptions of the time, caused future generations to have doubts about its perfection, and on a scale that critics contend is an overwhelming weakness.

==Astronomy==

===Geocentricism===
{{Main|Geocentrism and the Quran|l1=Geocentrism and the Qur'an}}

The Qur'an mentions a few times that the sun and the moon travel in an orbit or sphere/hemisphere (''fee falakin'' فِى فَلَكٍ<ref name="LLFalak">[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000227.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2443 فَلَكٍ] and [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000228.pdf p. 2444]</ref>). This is consistent with an Earth-centered (geocentric) view of the cosmos that places a motionless Earth at the center of the universe and all "heavenly bodies" travel around the Earth. This was the prevailing understanding of the universe prior to the 16th century when Copernicus helped explain and popularize a sun-centered (heliocentric) view of the universe. Tellingly, the sun's movement is almost always mentioned in the context of night and day (seven times; {{Quran|13|2}} is the sole exception) and is always mentioned with that of the moon (which does in fact orbit the Earth each month, and for the casual observer appears to traverse the sky each night when it is visible).
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|36|37|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.}}
{{Quran-range|36|37|40}}, occurring in a passage about night and day, right after describing the change from day to night, states that the sun runs on to a resting place for it (''li-mustaqarrin lahā'' لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَا). Useful linguistic evidence is found in a hadith, ({{Muslim||159a|reference}}) which mentions the sun's daily cycle using the same Arabic word to mean a resting place, which is underneath Allah's throne, and is where each night the sun prostrates and is asked to go and rise 'from its rising place' (مِنْ مَطْلِعِهَا). This cycle repeats, until one day Allah asks the sun to rise 'from your setting place' (مِنْ مَغْرِبِكِ).

An alternative view cited by classical exegetes such as Ibn Kathir (d. 1373 CE), attributed to Qatada ibn Di'amah (d. 735 CE),<ref>[https://quranx.com/tafsirs/36.38 Tafsir ibn Kathir for 36:38]</ref> and which is favoured by many Muslim scholars today, was that this refers to the sun's final 'resting' on the last day. Other verses talk about the sun swimming for a 'term appointed' (though using a different Arabic word).

Whichever interpretation was intended, the sun's movement is nevertheless mentioned right after describing day and night, just as the next verse mentions the different mansions appointed for the moon each night. The whole passage is about day and night and the sun and moon's movement in that context.
{{Quote|{{Quran|21|33}}|And He it is Who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. They float, each in an orbit.}}

A modern vantage point would explain the above Qur'anic description of the sun moving in a ''falak'' (see note above) as a reference to our sun orbiting the black hole at the center of the milky way galaxy every 225 million years. Critics argue that this is of no relevance to human time scales, and that nothing from the text implies that the sun is orbiting anything other than the Earth. The Quran never in any way differentiates the sun's orbit from that of the moon and consistently mentions them together. Nor does it ever mention the Earth's own movement.

{{Quote|{{Quran|31|29}}|'''Do you not see''' that Allah causes the night to enter the day and causes the day to enter the night and has subjected the sun and the moon, each running [its course] for a specified term, and that Allah, with whatever you do, is Acquainted?}}
Here the sun running / pursuing its course (يَجْرِىٓ)<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume2/00000051.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 415 يَجْرِىٓ]</ref> is something that the author expects people to have seen or at least know about (thus posing another challenge for the galactic orbit interpretation).

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|91|1|2}}|By the sun and its brightness And [by] the moon when it follows it}}
The word translated as "follow"<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000350.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 313 تَلَىٰ]</ref> is primarily defined as to follow, go or walk behind, follow in way of imitation, of action etc. and was often used for animals like camels following behind each other. The Moon does not actually follow behind the sun's movement, nor does it provide its own light like the sun. The verse is most suggestive of a worldview in which the moon and sun traverse the same or similar paths after one another, which is what a 7th century person might believe from observing the sky. Critics would expect a less suspicious choice of wording in a perfect book if it merely meant the sun and moon appear one after the other. One day instead of following the sun, the moon will by brought together with it according to another verse (see the [[Scientific_Errors_in_the_Quran#Implied_similar_size_and_distance_of_the_sun_and_moon|Implied Similar Size and Distance of the Sun and Moon]] section below).

{{Quote|{{Quran|2|258}}|Abraham said, ‘Indeed Allah brings the sun from the east; now you bring it from the west.’ So the disbeliever was overwhelmed [by astonishment], and Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people.}}
Here the Qur'an quotes a few lines from a debate between Abraham and a disbelieving King, where Abraham replies that Allah 'brings the sun' (''yatee biashshamsi'' يَأْتِى بِٱلشَّمْسِ) from the east. The Arabic verb and preposition indicates that the sun actually moves from East to West across the sky. The verb means to come<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000052.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 15 يَأْتِى]</ref>, and when it has an object with the bi- preposition it means to bring, as in many other instances in the Qur'an. While the story is quoting a mere human's words, the author apparently believes it to be a good response and sees no problem with it.

===Setting and rising place of the sun===
{{Main|Dhul-Qarnayn and the Sun Setting in a Muddy Spring - Part One|Dhul-Qarnayn and the Sun Setting in a Muddy Spring - Part Two}}

In these verses, the author presents a version of a popular [[Dhul-Qarnayn and the Alexander Romance|Syriac legend from the mid 6th century]] (which used to be dated to the early 7th) in which Alexander the Great visits the place where the sun sets and also describes its rising place in a similar way to the Quran. Later he builds a wall to block Gog and Magog among other close similarities.

{{Quote|{{Quran|18|86}}|
Till, when he reached the setting-place of the sun, he found it setting in a muddy spring, and found a people thereabout. We said: O Dhu'l-Qarneyn! Either punish or show them kindness. }}

{{Quote|{{Quran|18|90}}|
Till, when he reached the rising-place of the sun, he found it rising on a people for whom We had appointed no shelter therefrom. }}

Centuries after Muhammad lived, commentators with better astronomical knowledge introduced interpretations of these verses such that Dhu'l-Qarnayn only traveled until he reached "the west" and "the east", or to spots "at the time" when the sun set and rose and not the places where it actually did so. Additionally, in these interpretations the Quran merely comments on how the sun ''appeared'' to set and rise at those destinations. However, these alternative interpretations are severely undermined by the [[Dhul-Qarnayn_and_the_Sun_Setting_in_a_Muddy_Spring_-_Part_One#First_interpretation:_He_reached_the_west_and_east|context and Arabic words used in these verses]], which instead point to physical locations where the sun did its setting and rising. An abundance of evidence from poems, hadiths and Quranic commentaries show that the early Muslims understood the verses in this straightforward way.

===Earth and heavens created in six days===
{{Main|Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Creation}}

The Qur'an presents the prevailing Middle-Eastern myth that the Earth and heavens were formed in six days. This is in sharp contrast with the findings of modern cosmology which show the Earth to have formed some 9 billion years after the beginning of the universe.

Prevailing Middle-Eastern creation myths featured six literal days of creation (for example, the Bible in [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%201&version=NIV Genesis 1:5] reads, "Evening came and morning came: The first day"). Similarly, in the Quranic creation account the Arabic word for day, ''yawm'' is used (cognate to the Biblical yôm), which means day in the hundreds of other verses where it occurs. In this case, however, many modern Muslim scholars appeal to an alternative meaning for yawm, 'time period', and point to verses stating that, with Allah, a day is like a thousand years ({{Quran|22|47}} and {{Quran|32|5}}), or that angels ascend in a day like fifty thousand years ({{Quran|70|4}}). A similar motif occurs in [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2090&version=NIV Psalm 90:4] in the Bible.<ref>Julien Decharneux (2023), Creation and Contemplation: The Cosmology of the Qur’ān and Its Late Antique Background, Berlin: De Gruyter, p. 165</ref>

Nevertheless, neither the universe nor earth were formed in six distinct periods of time, and there is no attempt in the creation verses to indicate, even poetically, the vast duration of time in which the universe has developed (namely, 13.8 billion years).

{{Quote|{{Quran|50|38}}|
We created the heavens and the earth and all between them in Six Days, nor did any sense of weariness touch Us}}

The Earth specifically was created in two days according to the Qur'an, and in four days (on days three and four according to the [[Tafsir|tafsirs]]) were created mountains and the sustenance of the Earth.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|41|9|10}}|Say: Is it that ye deny Him Who created the earth in two Days? And do ye join equals with Him? He is the Lord of (all) the Worlds. He set on the (earth), mountains standing firm, high above it, and bestowed blessings on the earth, and measure therein all things to give them nourishment in due proportion, in four Days, in accordance with (the needs of) those who seek (Sustenance).}}

Mountains nonetheless continue to rise and erode to this day. Similarly, living things and their sustenance continue to evolve, yet the Qur'an says that the creation of mountains and sustenance occurred in a specific period during the six days of creation. See the next section regarding the final two of the six days ({{Quran-range|41|11|12}}) which immediately follow the verses discussed above, and another verse which confirms this sequence.

===Earth created before stars===

The [[w:Abundance of elements in Earth's crust|elements in the Earth's crust]] and core were first formed in stars by [[w:Nucleosynthesis|nucleosynthesis]]. When those stars exploded as [[w:Supernova|supernovas]], they expelled the elements that were used in future solar systems such as Earth's own. Modern radiometric dating of meteorites and rocks from the Earth and Moon show that these bodies were formed at the same time as the sun and its other planets, [[w:Age_of_the_Earth|4.5 billion years ago]]. The Qur'an, on the other hand, describes the Earth as being fully formed before the stars.

{{Quran|41|12}} states that lamps (or more specifically, stars in the similar verse {{Quran|37|6}}) were placed in the nearest of the seven heavens. But before there were seven heavens and while heaven was just smoke, the Earth already existed according to the previous verse, {{Quran|41|11}}, and the Earth's creation and completion in the preceding days is described in the verses immediately preceeding that one, {{Quran-range|41|9|10}} discussed in the previous section above. The creation sequence is thus as follows:

#Heaven and completed Earth;
#Seven heavens and each given its mandate;
#The nearest heaven adorned with stars and guarded.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|41|11|12}}|
Then turned He to the heaven when it was smoke, and said unto it and unto the earth: Come both of you, willingly or loth. They said: We come, obedient. '''Then He ordained them seven heavens in two Days''' and inspired in each heaven its mandate; '''and We decked the nether heaven with lamps''', and rendered it inviolable. That is the measuring of the Mighty, the Knower. }}

{{Quran|2|29}} further confirms that heaven was only fashioned seven heavens when, according to the Quran, everything on Earth had been created.

{{Quote|{{Quran|2|29}}|
He it is Who created for you all that is in the earth. Then turned He to the heaven, and fashioned it as seven heavens. And He is knower of all things.}}

The word lamps (masabeeha مَصَٰبِيحَ) in {{Quran|41|12}} and {{Quran|67|5}} with which Allah adorns (zayyanna زَيَّنَّا) the lowest heaven would need, of course, to include any luminous bodies such as the stars. Stars are termed as ''kawakib'' (كَوَاكِبِ) in the very similar verse {{Quran|37|6}}, a word which also appears in Joseph's dream ({{Quran|12|4}}) and the destruction of the heavens ({{Quran-range|82|1|2}}).

Some modern Muslim scholars attempt to reconcile the Qur'anic description with modern science by arguing that the word 'Then' in the verses above does not indicate sequence, but that it instead means 'moreover'. This argument collides with the fact that these words (thumma in {{Quran|41|11}} and {{Quran|2|29}}, and fa in {{Quran|41|12}} - all translated as 'then') are generally used to indicate sequence. In other contexts, thumma was sometimes used to mean 'moreover'. This alternative usage, however, would always be unambiguous and clear in context, unlike in the passages quoted above, which evidently describe a stepwise process - the creation of the heavens subsequent to that of the Earth. In any case, the Arabic particle ''fa'' in the latter of these three verses unambiguously indicates sequence.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000105.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2321 ف]</ref>

In another passage, {{Quran-range|79|27|33}}, the heaven (singular) has already been raised and proportioned as a ceiling before the earth is spread, pastures produced and mountains fixed. Ibn Kathir notes in his tafsir that Ibn 'Abbas said the Earth was created first before each of these events and that scholars interpreted the Arabic word dahaha (دَحَىٰهَآ) in verse 79:30 to refer to a specific kind of spreading that occurred after everything on Earth had been created.<ref>[https://quranx.com/tafsirs/2.29 Tafsir ibn Kathir 2:29]</ref> However, the passage nevertheless appears to contradict the sequence of {{Quran-range|41|9|12}}, in which the heaven is still "smoke" after Earth's sustenance and mountains have been placed.

====Earth and heavens torn apart====

Modern Muslim scholars generally maintain that the following verse is compatible with and even predictive of the Big Bang theory. According to the Big Bang theory, the Universe was formed 13.8 billion years ago due to a rapid expansion from singularity. The earth was then formed, 4.54 billion years ago, from accretion of debris that surrounded the precursor of the Sun. There was at no stage a "separation" of the "joined" earth and heavens.

The ancient concept can be traced back to [https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/epic/hd_epic.htm Mesopotamian creation myths] in which heaven was separated from earth. {{Quran|21|30}} and similar verses assume that listeners are familiar with the basic outlines of this myth which was extremely wide-spread at the time of [[Muhammad]] and his [[Sahabah|companions]].

{{Quote|{{Quran|21|30}}|
Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of creation), before we clove them asunder? We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe? }}

The word translated "joined together" is ratqan (رَتْقًا)<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume3/00000193.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 1027 رَتْقًا] </ref> meaning closed up or sewn up, also used metaphorically in terms of reconciling people, but does not imply a homogenous mass or state, let alone a singularity. The words "(one unit of creation)" are the translator's own exegetical note.

Mirroring this is the word fataqnāhumā ("we clove them asunder"), whose root rhymes with ratqan and means to slit, rent asunder, divide, unstitch.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000115.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2331 فتق]</ref>

The separation of the heavens and earth can be read in the context of verses that mention something "between" their fully formed state (which seems to be occupied by the clouds {{Quran|2|164}} and birds {{Quran|24|41}}), and that the heaven is a roof "raised high" ({{Quran|52|5}}).

{{Quote|{{Quran|50|38}}|
And verily We created the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, in six Days, and naught of weariness touched Us.}}

There is no scientific theory in which the Earth and heavens were torn apart from each other. The verse states that "We clove them" (dual pronoun 'huma'), not "We clove it", thereby indicating that the Earth and heavens are distinct after the cloving. If one holds that {{Quran|21|30}} describes the big bang, the atomic particles that would later form the Earth would at the beginning would have to be separated from those that would go on to form everything else in the universe. This, however, bears no resemblance to modern scientific cosmology, wherein the material that forms the Earth passed through at least one earlier generation of stars, and more recently was part of various asteroids, comets and planetesimals orbiting the sun (which could all be described as being in the 'heavens') that sometimes collided and merged with each other, sometimes split apart, and gradually coalesced under gravity to form the Earth and other planets.

The very next verse {{Quran|21|31}} speaks of mountains being placed on the Earth. Here, 'the Earth' must mean an actual world, yet modern interpretations of the previous verse hold that 'the Earth' refers merely to atomic particles around the time of the big bang.

====Heaven made from smoke====
{{main|Quran and a Universe from Smoke}}

There is no stage in the formation of the universe that involved smoke (carbon particles suspended as a result of combustion; the word translated smoke is the noun dukhan دُخَانٍ, which means literal smoke of the sort that rises from a fire<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume3/00000027.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 861 دُخَانٍ]</ref>). Similarly, the Earth and heavens did not each "come" as separate entities at any point in time. Rather, the Earth is a part of this universe and has developed within it.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|41|11|12}}|
Then turned He to the heaven when it was smoke, and said unto it and unto the earth: Come both of you, willingly or loth. They said: We come, obedient. Then He ordained them seven heavens in two Days and inspired in each heaven its mandate; and We decked the nether heaven with lamps, and rendered it inviolable. That is the measuring of the Mighty, the Knower. }}

Some modern Muslim scholars nevertheless interpret 'smoke' as the primordial state of the universe after the big bang. It is worth noting, however, that the verse indicates a time when heaven alone, but not the Earth, was smoke. This is especially challenging when one considers that the Earth and its mountains are described as already existing in the previous two verses ({{Quran-range|41|9|10}}, discussed above).

Academic scholarship has identified a late antique Christian homilitic precedent for these enigmatic verses. Basil the Great of Caesarea Mazaca in Cappadocia (d. 379 CE) understood Isaiah 51:6 in the Bible to mean that the heaven was initially made from a smoke-like substance (he used the Septuagint Greek translation which says the heaven as smoke [ὡς καπνός] was made firm [ἐστερεώθη], whereas the Hebrew verse says vanished like smoke).<ref>[https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/32011.htm Hexaemeron, Homily 1:8] - New Advent church fathers website</ref><ref>Julien Decharneux (2023), Creation and Contemplation: The Cosmology of the Qur’ān and Its Late Antique Background, Berlin: De Gruyter, pp. 128-9</ref>

===Seven Earths===
{{Main|Cosmology of the Quran|Science and the Seven Earths}}

The Quran states that there exist seven earths. Academic scholarship has noted that this concept of seven earths, along with seven heavens, was present in the near east in the first millennia BCE and CE (see [[Cosmology of the Quran]]).

{{Quote|{{Quran|65|12}}|
Allah it is who hath created seven heavens, and of the earth the like thereof. The commandment cometh down among them slowly, that ye may know that Allah is Able to do all things, and that Allah surroundeth all things in knowledge.}}

A hadith in [[Sahih Bukhari|Bukhari]] reveals that these seven Earths are stacked above each other.
{{Quote|{{Bukhari|||2454|darussalam}}| The Prophet said, "Whoever takes a piece of the land of others unjustly, '''he will sink down the seven earths''' on the Day of Resurrection.}}

The number, like seven heavens, might have come from a misunderstanding or indigenous interpretation of mythology from classical antiquity in which there were seven moving planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the sun and moon). The number seven, however, does not accord with the findings of modern astronomers, which know there to be eight ordinary planets and five dwarf planets, making for a grand total of thirteen in our solar system. Modern astronomy also has found many thousands of planets in other solar systems and Cosmologists estimate that hundreds of billions of stars and planets exist in the universe at large.

===Seven Heavens===
{{Main|Cosmology of the Quran|l1=Cosmology of the Qur'an|Science and the Seven Earths#Seven_Universes|l2=Science and the Seven Earths - Seven Universes}}

The universe consists of hundreds of billions of galaxies, each with hundreds of billions of stars. The Quran states that beyond our heaven which contains the stars, there exists another six heavens. The myth of seven heavens was a common idea prevalent in the Middle East during the time when the Qur'an was first recited.

{{Quote|{{Quran|71|15}}|
See ye not how Allah has created the seven heavens one above another}}

Some modern Islamic scholars have argued that these verses refer to the seven layers of the atmosphere. However, {{Quran|37|6}} and {{Quran|67|5}} state that stars occupy the nearest heaven. Additionally, there are 5 rather than 7 principal layers to the [[W:Atmosphere of Earth|Earth's atmosphere]], and likewise only 5 rather than 7 major layers to the [[w:Structure_of_Earth|Earth itself]].

{{Quote|{{Quran|37|6}}| Surely We have adorned the nearest heaven with an adornment, the stars}}

===Meteors as stars fired at devils===
{{Main|Shooting Stars in the Quran|Mistranslations of Islamic Scripture (English)}}

The Qur'an states that stars (''kawakib'' ٱلْكَوَاكِبِ), lamps (''masabih'' مَصَٰبِيحَ) and great stars/constellations/zodiac signs (''burūj'' بُرُوجًا) adorn the heavens and guard against devils.

The Qur'an further asserts that Allah has made them (the stars/lamps) flaming missiles to ward away devils (or in some verses, jinn), who attempt to listen in on heavenly meetings (known as the Exalted Assembly). The Quranic concept has a close parallel in [[Pre-Islamic_Arab_Religion_in_Islam#Shooting_Stars_and_Eavesdropping_Shaytans|an earlier Jewish development from Zoroastrian mythology]]. Such myths are best understood as pre-modern attempts to explain the common phenomenon of meteors streaking across the night sky.

While stars are giant balls of gas thousands of times larger than the earth, meteors are small rocky masses or grains of debris which burn up after entering the earth's atmosphere. Many ancient people confused the two, as meteors look like stars that are streaking across the sky; this is why they were often called [[w:Meteoroid|shooting stars]] or falling stars. Large increases in meteors occur on a predictable schedule each year as the Earth's orbit passes through the stream of particles and debris left in the wake of a number of comets (or in a few cases, of asteroids). The most visible is usually the annual [[w:Perseids|Perseid meteor shower]] in August.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|37|6|10}}|
Indeed, We have adorned the nearest heaven with an adornment of stars '''And as protection''' against every rebellious devil [So] they may not listen to the exalted assembly [of angels] and are pelted from every side, Repelled; and for them is a constant punishment, Except one who snatches [some words] by theft, but they are pursued by a burning flame, piercing [in brightness].}}

The same Arabic words are used at the start of {{Quran|67|5}} as in {{Quran|37|6}} (زَيَّنَّا ٱلسَّمَآءَ ٱلدُّنْيَا), except that in {{Quran|67|5}} the word lamps is used instead of stars. The lamps that 'beautify the heaven' must refer to stars (and perhaps also the 5 visible planets), which are always there. Meteors, on the other hand, are now known to be distinct from the distant stars. They are often not much larger than grains of sand and only become visible for a second when they burn up, generating light in the Earth's atmosphere.

{{Quote|{{Quran|67|5}}|
And verily We have beautified the world's heaven with lamps, '''and We have made them''' missiles for the devils, and for them We have prepared the doom of flame.}}

The word translated "missiles" is rujūman (رُجُومًا), which are things that are thrown, especially stones.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume3/00000214.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 1048 رُجُومًا]</ref>

A hadith confirms that the 'pursuant flames / missiles' in the two verses were understood to mean what we now know are visible meteors. {{Muslim||2229a|reference}} and {{Al Tirmidhi||5|44|3224}} recount an occasion when Muhammad and his companions saw a shooting star at night. He explains to his companions that angels throw these at Jinn when they try to steal information about Allah's commands passed down through the heavens.

Other relevant Quran verses are {{Quran-range|55|33|35}} (flame of fire and smoke, though a slightly different context), {{Quran-range|15|16|18}}, and {{Quran-range|72|8|9}}.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|55|33|35}}|O company of jinn and mankind, if you are able to pass beyond the regions of the heavens and the earth, then pass. You will not pass except by authority [from Allah].
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? There will be sent upon you a flame of fire and smoke, and you will not defend yourselves.}}{{Quote|{{Quran-range|15|16|18}}|It is We Who have set out the zodiacal signs in the heavens, and have beautified it for the beholders; And (moreover) We have guarded them from every cursed devil: But any that gains a hearing by stealth, is pursued by a flaming fire, bright (to see).
}}
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|72|8|9}}|And we have sought [to reach] the heaven but found it filled with powerful guards and burning flames. And we used to sit therein in positions for hearing, but whoever listens now will find a burning flame lying in wait for him.}}

If the flaming missiles mentioned by the Quran are to be identified with meteors burning up in the Earth's atmosphere, this would locate the eavesdropping devils (or jinn) in the upper atmosphere too, which leaves no way for the (extremely distant) stars to serve as guards in this process as outlined in the verses. However, these verses would of course fit a relatively small universe as imagined by 7th century Arabs, in which a heavenly firmament is adorned with stars able to pelt shooting stars at any devils or jinn in their vicinity, seeming to cover interstellar distances in a flaming streak across the sky. This is further supported by {{Quran|21|32}} which describes the heaven as a guarded ceiling.

===The entire heaven has a night and day===
The Qur'anic conception of the cosmos accords with its author's visual perception of the sky, even to the extent that in {{Quran-range|79|28|29}} night and day is mistaken as a feature of the entire heaven (the lowest heaven is elsewhere said to be adorned with stars, as discussed above, and it will become clear that this is the heaven being referred to). In these verses the night and morning brightness are said to be an attribute of the heaven (l-samāu) which Allah built (banāhā) and raised (rafaʿa) as a ceiling (samkahā) and ordered it (fasawwāhā) when he created the heaven and earth.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|79|27|30}}|Are ye the harder to create, or is the heaven that He built? He raised the height thereof and ordered it; And He made dark the night '''thereof''', and He brought forth the morn '''thereof'''. And after that He spread the earth,}}

The possessive hā suffix in laylahā (its night) and ḍuḥāhā (its morning light) relates night and day to the heaven in its entirety. In reality, the night and day we experience is a feature of the earth's rotation on its axis. There is no sense in which the earth's night and day (which happen at the same time) apply across the wider cosmos.

In order to confirm the interpretation of these verses it is important to look at how the significant words are used elsewhere in the Quran. "The night" is a very common word in the Quran, and the morning light is used in the same context in {{Quran-range|93|1|2}} and {{Quran|91|1}} (see also {{Quran|79|46}}).

Indeed, {{Quran-range|91|1|6}} has many of the same Arabic words as {{Quran-range|79|27|30}}: "its morning light" (this time of the sun), "the night", and "the heaven" (singular) "built" by Allah. Putting the two passages together, it seems that the author of the Quran intuitively believed that the night and the sun's morning light were features pertaining to the entire visible heaven.

Other verses are helpful to confirm what is meant by the heaven (singular) in this context. {{Quran|2|29}} states that Allah turned (is'tawā) to the heaven and fashioned them (fasawwāhunna) seven heavens. These are two forms of the same Arabic verb as is translated "ordered" in {{Quran|79|28}} in the above quote.

{{Quote|{{Quran|2|29}}|He it is Who created for you all that is in the earth. Then turned He to the heaven, and fashioned it as seven heavens. And He is knower of all things.}}

The word "raised" in {{Quran|79|28}} is similarly used for the creation of the heaven (singular) and earth in {{Quran|88|18}} and the heavens (plural) raised without visible pillars in {{Quran|13|2}}.

The word "he built it" in v. 27 (banāhā) also occurs in {{Quran|50|6}}, which says regarding the heaven (singular) that Allah "built it" and "adorned it" (wazayyannāhā), a word which in other verses refers to the stars adorning the lowest heaven ({{Quran|37|6}}, {{Quran|41|12}} and {{Quran|67|5}}, as discussed in the [[Scientific_Errors_in_the_Quran#Earth created before stars|Earth created before stars]] section above).

====Night and day as moving entities====
As the above section explains, night and day in the Quran are a property of the entire heaven rather than a specific phenomena only occurring on the surface of the Earth as it rotates and orbits the sun. The Qur'anic description extends to the night covering/veiling the day, chasing it rapidly ({{Quran|7|54}}). And god 'strips' the night of the day ({{Quran|36|37}}). The day and night are also said to successively overlap ({{Quran|39|5}}) or enter into each other ({{Quran|35|13}}, {{Quran|3|27}}, {{Quran|22|61}}, and {{Quran|57|6}}). {{Quran|10|27}} says the faces of evil doers will be dark, as though covered by pieces of the night.

In addition, not only the sun and moon, but the day and night too are each (Kullun, which means "all"<ref>[https://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000256.pdf Lane's Lexicon supplement p. 3002 كُلّ]</ref>) floating/swimming in an orbit/sphere/hemisphere (fee falakin<ref name="LLFalak" />) in Q. 21:33 and Q. 36:40.
{{Quote|{{Quran|21|33}}|And He it is Who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. They float, each in an orbit.}}{{Quote|{{Quran|36|40}}|It is not allowable for the sun to reach the moon, nor does the night overtake the day, but each, in an orbit, is swimming.}}

===The sky/heaven as a ceiling===

{{Main|Cosmology of the Quran}}

A common myth at the time of the Quran's composition was that the sky or heavens were held up with pillars, which is also a Biblical motif. While classical Muslim scholars often believed in a dome shaped heaven, some academic scholars have argued that the Quranic heavens are flat, stacked expanses (see main article). These heavens are like roofs (saqf {{Quran|21|32}}, {{Quran|52|5}}), a building/edifice/tent (binaan {{Quran|2|22}}, {{Quran|40|64}}), a ceiling (samk {{Quran|79|28}}), in layers ({{Quran|71|15}} and {{Quran|67|3}}), while {{Quran|13|2}} adds that the heavens were raised without visible pillars (perhaps phrased with deliberate ambiguity).

Reinforcing the 2 dimensional imagery, {{Quran|81|11}} adds that the sky is like a covering that can be 'stripped away', while {{Quran|21|104}} states that it will eventually be rolled or folded up like a parchment and {{Quran|39|67}} says that the heavens will then be held in Allah's hand. This will occur after it has been slit (furijat {{Quran|77|9}}; the same Arabic noun is used in {{Quran|50|6}} where the listeners are expected to notice that the heaven has no slits, reinforcing the canopy metaphor), rent asunder with clouds ({{Quran|25|25}}), split (inshaqqat {{Quran|55|37}}, {{Quran|84|1}}, {{Quran|69|16}} with angels appearing at its edges {{Quran|69|17}}).
The heaven will become as gateways ({{Quran|78|19}}, a possibility also alluded to in {{Quran-range|15|13|15}}).

{{Quote|{{Quran|2|22}}|[He] who made for you the earth a bed [spread out] and the sky a ceiling and sent down from the sky, rain and brought forth thereby fruits as provision for you. So do not attribute to Allah equals while you know [that there is nothing similar to Him].}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|71|15}}|Do you not consider how Allah has created seven heavens in layers}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|78|12}}|And We have built above you seven strong (heavens)}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|13|2}}|
Allah is He Who raised the heavens without any pillars that ye can see}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|81|11}}|
And when the sky is stripped away}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|21|104}}|The Day when We will fold the heaven like the folding of a [written] sheet for the records. As We began the first creation, We will repeat it. [That is] a promise binding upon Us. Indeed, We will do it.}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|25|25}}|The Day the heaven shall be rent asunder with clouds, and angels shall be sent down, descending (in ranks),-}}

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|69|15|17}}|Then on that Day, the Resurrection will occur, And the heaven will split [open], for that Day it is infirm. And the angels are at its edges. And there will bear the Throne of your Lord above them, that Day, eight [of them].}}

===The sky/heaven as a guarded ceiling===

{{Quran|21|32}} says Allah made the sky/heaven a guarded ceiling (but is not itself a guard or protection, which is a common misreading). This is most likely related to the verses about devils chased by shooting stars (meteors) that guard the lowest heaven. One of those verses, {{Quran-range|37|6|10}} discussed above, contains a noun meaning "guard" from the same Arabic root (hafiza) as the verb in this verse.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume2/00000237.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 601 حفظ]</ref>

{{Quote|{{Quran|21|32}}|
And We made the sky a protected ceiling, but they, from its signs, are turning away.}}

Interestingly, modern science has revealed that the things by which the sky / heaven is said to be guarded can also pose a threat to living things on Earth - asteroids and meteorites have penetrated the atmosphere and hit the earth throughout the course of history. This includes the [[w:Chicxulub crater|massive meteorite]] that hit near the [[w:Yucatán Peninsula|Yucatán Peninsula]] 65 million years which killed off numerous species, including most dinosaurs.

More recently in 2013, in Chelyabinsk, Russia, a house-sized meteoroid entered the atmosphere at over 11 miles / 18 kilometers per second and blew apart 14 miles / 23 kilometers above the ground, having penetrated the Earth's atmosphere. The explosion released the energy equivalent of around 440,000 tons of TNT and generated a shock wave that blew out windows over 200 square miles (518 square kilometers) and damaged buildings. More than 1,600 people were injured in the blast, mostly due to broken glass.<ref>[https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/asteroids-comets-and-meteors/meteors-and-meteorites/in-depth/ Meteors & Meteorites] - NASA website</ref>

===The sky/heaven as something that can fall===

The Quran describes the sky/heaven as a roof held up by Allah that can fall or fragments of which may break off and fall upon unfortunate individuals. This is challenging in light of the modern realization that the sky is simply a conglomeration of various gasses.

{{Quote|{{Quran|52|44}}|And if they were to see a fragment of the heaven falling, they would say: A heap of clouds.}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|34|9}}|See they not what is before them and behind them, of the sky and the earth? If We wished, We could cause the earth to swallow them up, or cause a piece of the sky to fall upon them. Verily in this is a Sign for every devotee that turns to Allah (in repentance).}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|22|65}}|Hast thou not seen how Allah hath made all that is in the earth subservient unto you? And the ship runneth upon the sea by His command, and He holdeth back the heaven from falling on the earth unless by His leave. Lo! Allah is, for mankind, Full of Pity, Merciful.}}

===Heavens to be rolled up===

{{Quran|21|104}} and {{Quran|39|67}} state that the heavens will be 'rolled up' come the day of judgement, implying their corporeality and two dimensional form.
{{Quote|{{Quran|21|104}}|The Day when We shall roll up the heavens as a recorder rolleth up a written scroll. }}

{{Quote|{{Quran|39|67}}|No just estimate have they made of Allah, such as is due to Him: On the Day of Judgment the whole of the earth will be but His handful, and the heavens will be rolled up in His right hand: Glory to Him! High is He above the Partners they attribute to Him!}}

===The gates of the sky/heaven===
The Quran states in many verses that there are gates in the sky/heavens (see: {{Quran|7|40}}, {{Quran|15|14}}, {{Quran|78|19}}, {{Quran|54|11}}), of which Allāh alone holds the keys to {{Quran|42|12}}, and are at least close enough for water to fall to the Earth from, and flood it after Noah's preaching.
{{Quote|{{Quran|54|11}}|Then We opened the gates of the sky with pouring waters}}

===The sky-ways/cords of the heavens===
{{Main|Cosmology of the Quran}}
Similar to other ancient Near-East and West Asian cosmologies, the sky/heavens are equipped with pathways or conduits, called sabab (singular) asbāb (plural),<ref>van Bladel, Kevin, ''"[https://islamspring2012.voices.wooster.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/192/2018/09/van-Bladel_heavenly-cords.pdf Heavenly cords and prophetic authority in the Qur’an and its Late Antique context]", pp. 223-224.'' Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 70 (2): 223-246, 2007. <nowiki>https://www.jstor.org/stable/40379198</nowiki></ref> that are some kind of ropes or cords (as per their literal meaning)<ref>Sinai, Nicolai. ''Key Terms of the Qur'an: A Critical Dictionary (p. 412).'' Princeton University Press. Kindle Edition. </ref> that support or run along the high edifice of the heaven, which can be traversed physically by people who arrive at them. Al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas (d. 756), to whom is attributed an early Quran commentary on verse Q38:10 notes: "The asbāb are finer than hair and stronger than iron; it [sic] is in every place although it is invisible.<ref>van Bladel, Kevin, ''"[https://islamspring2012.voices.wooster.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/192/2018/09/van-Bladel_heavenly-cords.pdf Heavenly cords and prophetic authority in the Qur’an and its Late Antique context]", pp. 237.'' Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 70 (2): 223-246, 2007. <nowiki>https://www.jstor.org/stable/40379198</nowiki></ref>
{{Quote|{{Quran|40|36-37}}|And Pharaoh said, "O Haman, construct for me a tower that I might reach the ways (asbāb) - The ways (asbāb) into the heavens - so that I may look at the deity of Moses; but indeed, I think he is a liar." And thus was made attractive to Pharaoh the evil of his deed, and he was averted from the [right] way. And the plan of Pharaoh was not except in ruin.}}
{{Quote|{{Quran|38|10}}|Or is theirs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and what is between them? Then let them ascend through [any] ways (asbāb) of access}}
Despite the existence of space exploration and telescopes these have not been found.

===Stars as something that fall===

The Qur'an says that the stars will fall (inkadarat ٱنكَدَرَتْ) as one of many dramatic events surrounding the last day. The word كدر in the form used in this verse (form VII) meant 'to dart down', as is said of a bird or hawk, or to fall and scatter.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume7/00000124.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2596 ٱنكَدَرَتْ]</ref>

{{Quote|{{Quran|81|2}}|And when the stars fall}}

The structure of space-time is such that nothing, not even stars, can move faster than the velocity of light. Even if the stars were to move close to light speed across the sky, their apparent motion would be so slight relative to their distance that it would nonetheless be imperceptible to the naked eye. Moreover, as many visible stars are hundreds of light years away (the nearest star is more than four light years away), the light from such events would take years to reach our eyes. Indeed, many stars still visible in the sky ceased to exist centuries ago and it is only their light which is just now reaching the Earth.

Similarly the stars are said to disperse/scatter (intatharat انْتَثَرَتْ) on judgement day, which classical commentaries have also linked to dispersing/falling on Earth,<ref>''[https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Abbas/82.2 Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs Verse 82.2]''. Ibn Abbas. Unknown date.</ref> <ref>''[https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Jalal/82.2 Tafsir Al-Jalalayn Verse 82.2.]'' Jalal al-Din al-Mahalli (d. 864 ah / 1459 ce) and his pupil Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 911 ah / 1505 ce).

</ref> <ref>''[https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Kathir/82.1 Tafsir ibn Kathir Verse 82.2.]'' Ibn Kathir <abbr>c.</abbr> 1300 – 1373.</ref> along with the above verse 81:2.<ref>''[https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Abbas/81.2 Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs Verse 81.2]''. Ibn Abbas. Unknown date.</ref><ref>''[https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Jalal/81.2 Tafsir Al-Jalalayn Verse 81.2.]'' Jalal al-Din al-Mahalli (d. 864 ah / 1459 ce) and his pupil Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 911 ah / 1505 ce).</ref>

{{Quote|{{Quran|82|2}}|when the stars are scattered,}}

===Moon split in two===
{{Main|Moon Split Miracle}}

The Qur'an (according to a common interpretation) and a hadith tradition state that the moon was miraculously split into two pieces and then, presumably, put back together again. There is, however, no scientific evidence suggesting that the moon was ever been split into two parts. Critics have pointed out that since the moon is visible to half the planet at any given time, there should exist numerous accounts from different parts of the world attesting to the event if it in fact happened. The Romans, Greeks, Egyptians, Persians, Chinese and Indians had avid astronomers who, critics maintain, should have seen this event and recorded it in their histories. The complete absence of any such historical record from other civilizations contemporary to Muhammad is thus presented as a strong indication that the event described in scripture never happened.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|54|1|3}}|The Hour has come near, and the moon has split [in two]. And if they see a miracle, they turn away and say, "Passing magic." And they denied and followed their inclinations. But for every matter is a [time of] settlement. }}

{{Quote|{{Bukhari|||4864|darussalam}}|Narrated Ibn Masud:

During the lifetime of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) the moon was split into two parts; one part remained over the mountain, and the other part went beyond the mountain. On that, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Witness this miracle."
}}Some modern Islamic scholars and academic scholars interpret the moon splitting verse as an eschatological prophecy. One reason is that the traditional interpretation contradicts the repeated claims that Muhammad was not sent with miracles, but only to warn people with the message (see also {{Quran|6|109}} and {{Quran|11|12}}):
{{Quote|{{Quran|13|7}}|The unbelievers say, "Why has God not sent him, (Muhammad), some miracles." (Muhammad), you are only a warner. For every nation there is a guide.}}

===Nature of the moon's light===

Modern Muslim scholars have sometimes argued that the Qur'an predicted the realization that the moon does not emit its own light, but simply reflects light coming from the Sun. The Arabic word for reflected (''in`ikaas'') does not appear in the two Qur'anic verses that say the Moon is a "light". Instead, the word ''noor'' (nooran نُورًا) is used, which simply means "a light", and, in another verse, the word ''muneer'' (''muneeran'' مُّنِيرًا) is used, which means "giving light" and is from the same root as ''noor''. Nonetheless, the usage of these words is vague and appears to permit alternative interpretations.

{{Quote|{{Quran|10|5}}|
He it is Who appointed the sun a splendour and the moon a light, and measured for her stages, that ye might know the number of the years, and the reckoning. Allah created not (all) that save in truth. He detaileth the revelations for people who have knowledge.}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|71|16}}|
And hath made the moon a light therein, and made the sun a lamp?}}

''Noor'' appears again (this time as a participle muneeran مُّنِيرًا) in a similar verse about the moon:

{{Quote|{{Quran|25|61}}|
Blessed be He Who hath placed in the heaven mansions of the stars, and hath placed therein a great lamp and a moon giving light!"}}

{{Quran-range|33|45|46}} most clearly displays the meaning of ''noor'' to be "light" rather than "reflected light". A lamp is described as "shining light" with the same Arabic word used in {{Quran|25|61}} (muneeran مُّنِيرًا):

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|33|45|46}}|
O Prophet! Lo! We have sent thee as a witness and a bringer of good tidings and a warner. And as a summoner unto Allah by His permission, and as a lamp '''that giveth light'''.}}

In Lane's Lexicon of classical arabic, the word ''muneer'' (مُّنِيرً) is defined as 'Giving light, shining bright, bright, or shining brightly'.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000120.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2866 مُّنِيرً]</ref> ''Noor'' is defined on the previous page as 'Light; whatever it may be; and the rays thereof'.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000119.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2865 نُورًا]</ref> In reference to {{Quran|10|5}} (quoted above) which describe the moon with this word, Lane writes, 'In the Kur. x. 5, the sun is termed ضياء and the moon نور and it is said that ضياء is ''essential'', but نور is ''accidental'' [light]'. The notion of essential and accidental light and its application to the sun and moon originates not from the Arabs at the time of the Qur'an, but rather from the book ''Kitab al-Manazir'', commonly known as 'Optics', published in 1572 by the great polymath and optics pioneer al-Hazen. Lane goes on to say, citing the highly regarded Taj al-Arus classical dictionary, 'it [light] is of two kinds, the light of the present world and that of the world to come; and the former is either perceived sensibly, by the eye, and this is what diffuses itself from luminous bodies, as the sun and moon and stars, and is mentioned in the Kur. x. 5 referred to above'.

The word ''noor'' is also used in {{Quran|24|35}} to show that Allah is the "light" of the universe. The author does not imply that Allah reflects light from another source, but rather that he is the ultimate source of all light.

{{Quote|{{Quran|24|35}}|
Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The Parable of His Light is as if there were a Niche and within it a Lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Glass: the glass as it were a brilliant star: Lit from a blessed Tree, an Olive, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scarce touched it: Light upon Light! Allah doth guide whom He will to His Light: Allah doth set forth Parables for men: and Allah doth know all things.}}

===Implied similar size and distance of the sun and moon===
{{Main|Geocentrism and the Quran|l1=Geocentrism and the Qur'an}}

In a passage about events on the day of resurrection, some critics argue that the Qur'an implies that the sun and moon are of comparable size and distance. As already noted, the Quran says that the moon "follows" the sun ({{Quran-range|91|1|2}}), and "It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor doth the night outstrip the day." ({{Quran|36|40}}). Verse {{Quran|75|9}} adds that on the last day the sun and moon will be brought together. While such a perspective is intuitive for one in seventh century Arabia viewing the sun and moon with their unaided eye and observing eclipses, modern science has revealed that 64.3 million moons could fit in the sun.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|75|8|9}}|And the moon darkens And the sun and the moon are joined,}}

The Arabic word translated as "are joined" is ''jumi'a'', a verb which means to collect together, gather together, bring together.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume2/00000091.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 455 جُمِعَ]</ref> Critics note that this would involve our moon, which orbits the Earth 93 million miles away from the sun, being brought together with our local star which is over 400 times wider. To say that such mismatched objects will be brought together (jumi'a) in such a scenario would hardly be apt, critics argue, and a very odd apocalyptic event. Rather, the description sits comfortably in the ancient understanding of the cosmos, whereby the sun and moon were assumed to be two roughly equivalent celestial bodies in the sky above the Earth.

It is worth noting that the "darkening" of the moon in verse 8 is an Arabic word which in hadiths refers to a lunar or solar eclipse (in this case lunar). However, for a lunar eclipse to occur (when the earth's shadow is cast upon the moon) the sun and moon are on opposite sides of the earth and thus are not in any sense "brought together". Nor does brought together in verse 9 work as a reference to a solar eclipse (when the sun occasionally casts a shadow of the moon on the earth). The moon is invisible during the portion of a month when it can eclipse the sun since it must be on the daylit side of the earth, and hence the moon does not "darken" or itself become eclipsed (verse 8) as it passes between observers and the sun but rather its silhouette becomes visible.

===The cause of shadows changing length===
Shadows are produced when the sun's light is obstructed. The Earth's rotation causes these shadows to change size and lengthen. {{Quran-range|25|45|46}} states that the reason shadows fluctuate in size rather than being stationary is because Allah has made the sun their guide. This appears to confirm the geocentric outlook widely evidenced elsewhere in the Qur'an, for it is only on a geocentric view that shadows would be of fixed length if the sun (rather than the Earth) were not made to do something.

{{Quote|{{Quran|25|45-46}}|
Hast thou not turned thy vision to thy Lord?- How He doth prolong the shadow! If He willed, He could make it stationary! then do We make the sun its guide; Then We draw it in towards Ourselves,- a contraction by easy stages.}}

Interestingly, {{Quran|25|46}} follows up by stating that Allah 'draws the shadows towards himself'. The exact meaning of this verse is unclear, but if it regards the retraction of an object's shadow 'back onto itself' - that is, to a state where there is no shadow or the shadow is at its shortest - then perhaps it can be interpreted to describe the gradual 'pointing of the shadow towards heaven' or 'upwards towards Allah'. Even this reading is difficult to justify, however, and the verse is perhaps best regarded as having lost intelligibility beyond the vague spiritual sense in which it may be read.

===Disregard of North and South Poles===
{{Main|The Ramadan Pole Paradox}}

In polar regions, the longevity of day and night vary during summer and winter. The day gets shorter and shorter in winter until there are days or weeks of uninterrupted night. At the poles themselves, day and night alternately last for six months and all phases of the moon occur several times between sunrise and sunset. These circumstances render many of the most important Islamic rituals impracticable and suggest that the author(s) of the Qur'an and hadith, in so far as they aspired to produce a religion of global practicability, were not aware of the extreme distortions to the day length that take place near the poles.

{{Quote|{{Quran|36|40}}|
It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor doth the night outstrip the day. They float each in an orbit. }}

When reading this verse one may also wonder in what sense day and night each have an orbit (See [[Geocentrism and the Quran]]).

See also the [[Scientific_Errors_in_the_Quran#Fasting_and_prayer_requirements_near_the_Poles|Fasting and prayer requirements near the Poles]] section below.

==Biology==

===Evolution===
{{Main|Evolution and Islam}}

The Qur'an takes what is perhaps best described as the creationist view of the origins and history of life on earth. This diverges sharply from the overwhelming scientific evidence that humans have evolved from prior life forms, over the course of millions of years and through natural selection.<ref>https://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence</ref> Consequently, while some Muslim scholars reinterpret the Quran in order that they may accept the theory of evolution, most reject it in favor of a creationist world view. Opinion polls show that the majority of Muslims agree Islam and evolution are not compatible.

====First humans created from clay====
{{Main|Creation of Humans from Clay|Evolution and Islam}}

The Qur’an states that the first man was created instantaneously from clay (''salsalin'' صَلْصَٰلٍ) / ''mud'' (hamain حَمَإٍ). There is no indication that the author is aware of the evolution of human life over millions of years or our common ancestry with apes and primates. While some scientists argue over the detailed mechanisms driving evolution, they agree that common descent is an overwhelmingly proven fact.

{{Quote|{{Quran|15|26}}|
We created man from sounding clay, from mud molded into shape; }}

{{Quote|{{Quran|55|14}}|
He created man from clay like [that of] pottery.}}

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|38|71|76}}|[So mention] when your Lord said to the angels, "'''Indeed, I am going to create a human being from clay. So when I have proportioned him and breathed into him of My [created] soul, then fall down to him in prostration.'''" So the angels prostrated - all of them entirely. Except Iblees; he was arrogant and became among the disbelievers. [Allah] said, "O Iblees, what prevented you from prostrating to '''that which I created with My hands?''' Were you arrogant [then], or were you [already] among the haughty?" He said, "I am better than him. '''You created me from fire and created him from clay.'''"}}

====Descent from Adam and Eve====
{{Main|Evolution and Islam|Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Creation}}

The Qur’an contains stories concerning the 'first humans' which detail, among other matters, how all people are descended from Adam and Eve (called ''Hawa'' in Arabic), the two earliest ancestors. These humans were created in a garden (the word for paradise in Arabic is ''jannah'', which literally means 'garden') and then brought to Earth fully formed (Sahih Hadiths say Adam was 60 cubits - or 90 feet - tall). This view of the origins of human life is directly challenged by overwhelming DNA evidence and the numerous fossils of pre-Homo sapiens species that lived on earth for millions of years prior to the evolution modern humans.<ref>http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence</ref> Powerful DNA evidence that humans have common ancestry with other primate families includes endogenous retroviruses in the exact same genetic locations of our respective genomes<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXfDF5Ew3Gc DNA Evidence That Humans & Chimps Share A Common Ancestor: Endogenous Retroviruses] - Youtube.com</ref> and the fusion of two primate chromosomes to become chromosome 2 in humans<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK3O6KYPmEw Professor Ken Miller on DNA fusion events] - Youtube.com</ref> (for more detail see the main article).

{{Quote|{{Quran|7|189}}|
It is He who created you from one soul and created from it its mate that he might dwell in security with her. And when he covers her, she carries a light burden and continues therein. And when it becomes heavy, they both invoke Allah, their Lord, "If You should give us a good [child], we will surely be among the grateful."}}

In the above verse the poetic allusion to sex and pregnancy and the couple's invocation to Allah leaves no doubt that the first sentence is a reference to common descent from Adam (in similar verses this is less explicit). All the classical exegetes state that this “single being” (نَّفْسٍ وَٰحِدَةٍ ) refers to Adam. Both classical Sunni and Shia Tafsirs confirm this and there are even mutawatir hadith narrations (mass transmitted reports) implying that all humans descend from Adam (for details, see [[Evolution_and_Islam|Evolution and Islam]]).

Another verse describes the literal descent of humanity from one man with reference to the sexual means by which it was achieved ("despised fluid" i.e. semen) after Allah had created that first man out of clay.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|32|7|8}}|Who made all things good which He created, and He began the creation of man from clay; Then He made his seed from a draught of despised fluid;}}
The word translated “seed” in the Pickthall translation is nasl نسل, which means progeny (i.e. descendants).<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000286.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 3032 نسل]</ref>

Other verses address humanity as banī ādama ("children of Adam"), including {{Quran|7|27}} which describe the first couple as "your parents". See also {{Quran|17|70}} and {{Quran|4|1}}.

Some modern Muslim scholars argue that the notion of two ancestral “parents” is consistent with recent scientific findings that show a common female and male ancestor of all modern humans. This results, however, from a confusion with the nicknames (Mitochondrial Eve and Y-chromosomal Adam) by which scientists have referred to human's earliest genetic ancestors. These two individuals, however, are distinct from the Quranic characters as they are simply the last common male and female ancestors of everyone alive today and not of all humans in history. More importantly, whereas the Qur'an describes Eve as Adam's wife (who, notably, was created ''after'' him), Mitochondrial Eve lived some 50,000 to 80,000 years earlier than Y-chromosomal Adam.<ref>[http://biologos.org/blog/does-genetics-point-to-a-single-primal-couple Adam, Eve, and Human Population Genetics: Responses to Popular Arguments] - Biologos website</ref> Genetic evidence also overwhelmingly indicates that humans diverged from earlier species as a population rather than as a single couple.<ref>[http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2011/09/18/how-big-was-the-human-population-bottleneck-not-anything-close-to-2/ How big was the human population bottleneck? Another staple of theology refuted.] - Why Evolution is True website by Professor Jerry Coyne</ref>

===Genetics===
====Noah's ark human population bottleneck====
''Main Article: [[Historical Errors in the Quran#Noah's%20worldwide%20flood|Historical errors in the Qur'an - Noah's worldwide flood]]''

The Qur'an contains the Biblical worldwide flood story, common to many ancient Near-East and Mesopotamian cultures, whereby Noah escapes on an ark with his family (bar a disbelieving son who attempts to hide up a mountain to avoid the flood),<ref>Reynolds, G. S. (2017). ''[https://eurasia.org.uk/docs/academic/biblical-character/Noahs_Lost_Son_in_the_Quran.pdf Noah’s Lost Son in the Qurʾān]. Arabica, 64 (2), 129-148.'' <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1163/15700585-12341452</nowiki></ref> and a pair of all living things. Though not mentioned in the Qur'an, some traditions put eighty people with him,<ref>E.g. Tafsir Ibn Kathir on [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Kathir/11.40 Q11:40] who mentions this report comes from Ibn Abbas</ref> including forty men and women.<ref>E.g. Tafsir Al-Jalalyan on [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Jalal/11.40 Q11:40]</ref> The majority of prominent tafsirs say founders of all contemporary different nations such as the Byzantines, Turks and Persians etc. are descended from a different one of Noah's surviving sons.<ref>E.g. see many English translated classical commentaries/tafsirs on [https://quranx.com/tafsirs/37.77 Q37:33].</ref>{{Quote|{{Quran|11|40}}|[So it was], until when Our command came and the oven overflowed, '''We said, "Load upon the ship of each [creature] two mates and your family''', except those about whom the word has preceded, and [include] whoever has believed." But none had believed with him, except a few.}}There is no genetic evidence for a population bottleneck that could match this event whatsoever, of which we would expect.<ref>''David Reich. 2018. Who We Are and How We Got Here: Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human Past.'' Covers the history of modern humans from a genetic POV including notable population bottlenecks - of which none match this story.

[''Chapters 1 to 4'' covers the origins of ancient humanoids into modern humans, effectively debunking Adam and Eve too.]</ref>Including (but not limited to): Genetic diversity analysis (inc. reduced heterozygosity and the loss of rare alleles), runs of homozygosity (ROH) in the genome, the allele frequency spectrum (AFS) showing a skewed distribution: favoring common alleles and reducing the prevalence of rare ones, and with statistical modelling, researchers can compare observed allele frequencies with theoretical expectations under different demographic scenarios. As well as analyzing Mitochondrial and Y-Chromosome DNA with Lineage Tracing, reconstructing genealogies with coalescent models to trace genetic lineages back to common ancestors, the presence of genetic signatures showing; Reduced effective population size (Ne) and/or Linkage disequilibrium (LD) (alleles at different loci may show higher correlations (association of genes) than expected due to the reduced population size and limited recombination events), plus analyzing and directly comparing ancient DNA with modern Ancient DNA (aDNA), and further simulation and modelling, such as using Bayesian Inference Computational methods simulate genetic data under various demographic scenarios to identify the most likely historical events - software such as BEAST and msprime have been made specifically for this.<ref name=":0">Some academic papers discussing these methods for both humans (and ancient pre-human hominins as in the first article) and animals include for example:

''"[https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37651513/ Genomic inference of a severe human bottleneck during the Early to Middle Pleistocene transition]"'' Authors: Wangjie Hu, Ziqian Hao, Pengyuan Du, Fabio Di Vincenzo, Giorgio Manzi. Published in: Science, 2023

''[https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2202.08394 Dynamical phases in growing populations: understanding recovery from bottlenecks].'' Emanuele Crosato, Jeffrey N. Philippson, Shashi Thutupalli, Richard G. Morris. 2022. <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2202.08394</nowiki>

''[https://academic.oup.com/jhered/article-abstract/107/5/392/2622901?redirectedFrom=fulltext Genetic Evidence of a Population Bottleneck and Inbreeding in the Endangered New Zealand Sea Lion],'' Osborne AJ, Negro SS, Chilvers BL, Robertson BC, Kennedy MA, Gemmell NJ. Phocarctos hookeri. J Hered. 2016 Sep;107(5):392-402. doi: 10.1093/jhered/esw015. Epub 2016 Mar 19. PMID: 26995741.

Li H, Roossinck MJ2004. [https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jvi.78.19.10582-10587.2004 ''Genetic Bottlenecks Reduce Population Variation in an Experimental RNA Virus Population'']. J Virol78:.<nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1128/jvi.78.19.10582-10587.2004</nowiki>

Lucena-Perez M, Kleinman-Ruiz D, Marmesat E, Saveljev AP, Schmidt K, Godoy JA. [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/eva.13302 ''Bottleneck-associated changes in the genomic landscape of genetic diversity in wild lynx populations.''] Evol Appl. 2021 Oct 8;14(11):2664-2679. doi: 10.1111/eva.13302. PMID: 34815746; PMCID: PMC8591332.</ref>

====Animals and plants====
Part of the legend of Noah's Ark is that a pair of every living species was stored on board. Similarly none of this even more extreme bottleneck of two living pairs has been found in animal genetics either (and at the same time across all species and the human bottleneck),<ref name=":0" /> (nor plants, which most traditional Islamic scholars such as Ibn Kathir agree are considered part of these pairs)<ref>Tafsir Ibn Kathir on [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Kathir/11.40 ''verse 11:40'']</ref> of which we would expect to see a notable sudden and extreme bottleneck of two animals, also causing inbreeding being far below the safe level needed for long-term species survival.<ref>Pérez-Pereira, N., Wang, J., Quesada, H. et al. ''[https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10531-022-02456-z Prediction of the minimum effective size of a population viable in the long term]. Biodivers Conserv 31, 2763–2780 (2022).'' <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-022-02456-z</nowiki></ref>

This goes without mentioning the practical problems of such a task. While we do not know exactly how many animals Muhammad, or specific 7th century Arabs were aware off, it can be assumed they were aware of local cattle, birds and visible insects etc. in Arabia - where gathering two of every pair was a difficult, but not certainly not impossible task. Modern science has, however, revealed over 2.1 million species identified so far across all taxonomic groups. This includes over a million identified insect species, 110,000 arachnids, 11,000 birds, 11,000 reptiles and 6,500 mammals that live spread across the entire planet and each of which require different climates, habitats, and diets, while a widely cited estimate for the total number of terrestrial species including those as yet undiscovered is 6.5 million.<ref>[https://ourworldindata.org/how-many-species-are-there#:~:text=Species%20that%20we%20have%20identified,million%20species%20on%20the%20planet How many species are there?] - Our World in Data website</ref>Furthermore many animals are a severe risk to the humans on board (e.g. polar bears), gathering them across different parts of the world including isolated islands and keeping the rest alive whilst getting others is essentially impossible, and many are predators of each other so would soon have destroyed the ecosystem if one was eaten by another etc.<ref>Many practical issues of the account are covered in this article on Talk Origins by Mark Isaak ''<nowiki/>'[https://talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-noahs-ark.html Problems with a Global Flood]''', focusing on the biblical version of the story - but with most applicable to the Qur'anic version.</ref>

These discoveries appear to render the idea that all animals could have been kept on board a single ship impossible.

===Embryology===
{{Main|Embryology in the Quran|l1=Embryology in the Qur'an}}

The Qur'an contain descriptions regarding bodily fluids and the stages of development of the human embryo. Many of these descriptions are extremely vague and most bear a telling resemblance to [[Greek and Jewish Ideas about Reproduction in the Quran and Hadith|similar descriptions]] found in the [[w:Talmud|Jewish Talmud]] as well as the ideas of ancient Greeks, [[History of Embryology|such as Galen]]. These descriptions do not accord with the findings of modern science and are generally considered unremarkable in the seventh-century Arabian context wherein the Quran was first recited.

====Semen originating between the backbone and ribs====
{{Main|Quran and Semen Production|l1=Qur'an and Semen Production}}

The Qur'an states that semen originates from somewhere between the backbone and ribs, though Muslim scholars have proposed a wide range of alternative interpretations. The word for backbone here is ''sulb'' (صلب), meaning the back, particularly the lumbar / loins portion of it.<ref>
[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume4/00000436.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 1712 - صلب]</ref>. Other verses and hadiths too suggest a reproductive function for the backbone. While this aligns with the views of the physicians of antiquity, modern science has shown that sperm comes from the [[w:testicle|testicles]] and semen from various glands behind and below the bladder, which are not between the backbone and ribs.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|86|6|7}}|
He is created from a drop emitted- Proceeding from '''between the backbone and the ribs''' }}

We see this concept also in another verse using another Arabic word for a man's back, ''thahr'' (ظهر, translated below as loins<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume5/00000212.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 197 - ظهر]</ref>) whereby a man's future progeny are somehow in his back before conception, a notion also found in hadiths discussed in the main article.

{{Quote|{{Quran|7|172}}|And [mention] when your Lord took from the children of Adam - from their loins - their descendants and made them testify of themselves, [saying to them], "Am I not your Lord?" They said, "Yes, we have testified." [This] - lest you should say on the day of Resurrection, "Indeed, we were of this unaware."}}

====Embryo formed from semen====
{{Main|Greek and Jewish Ideas about Reproduction in the Quran and Hadith}}

The Qur'an describes the initial formation of a human embryo out of fluid emanating from the man, which has been placed in the womb (and possibly mixed with a female fluid). This reflects the widespread contemporary view at that time that semen is the material from which the embryo is initially formed, as taught by Hippocrates, Galen, and the Jewish Talmud. It is also very evident in hadiths. By contrast, modern science has shown that semen is the vehicle for the sperm cells, one of which fuses with a woman's [[w:ovum|ovum]] in her [[w:fallopian tube|fallopian tube]], and that the resulting cell divides (rather than the seminal medium) and travels back into the womb for implantation.

While many English translations mention a "drop of seed", or "drop of sperm", the Arabic word used in the Quran is ''nutfah'', which literally means a small amount of liquid and was a euphemism for semen.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|77|20|22}}|
Did We not create you from a '''liquid disdained'''[ma-in maheenin]? And '''We placed it in a firm lodging''' For a known extent.}}

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|23|13|14}}|'''Then We placed him''' as a sperm-drop [nutfatan] '''in a firm lodging.''' Then We made the sperm-drop [nutfata] into a clinging clot […]}}

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|80|18|19}}|
From what substance [shay-in, which means “thing”] did He create him? From a sperm-drop [nutfatin] He created him and destined for him;}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|76|2}}|Indeed, We created man from a sperm-drop mixture [nutfatin amshajin] that We may try him; and We made him hearing and seeing.}}

====Disregard of female ovum====

The Quran, in all its discussion of human reproduction, does not mention the role of the ovum, implying instead that reproduction is caused simply by storage and mingling of the male semen in the female womb. Although visible to the human eye, the female ovum is very small and unknown in the 7th century - this appears to explain its omission in the Quran.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|86|6|7}}|He was created from a fluid, ejected, Emerging from between the backbone and the ribs.}}

====Humans created from a clot of blood====
{{Main|Embryology in the Quran|l1=Embryology in the Qur'an}}

The Qur'an describes humans as being formed from a clot of blood after an initial semen stage. By contrast, modern science has revealed that there is no stage in embryonic development where the relevant material is a clot of blood. The Quranic description is likely influenced by a simplistic attempt at explaining human reproduction based on unaided-eye observations of an early-term miscarriage and a woman's menstrual cycle. While in modern times some Muslims scholars have advanced alternative meanings for the relevant word, the historical certainty that the word can mean clotted blood (also the unanimous understanding in the classical tafsirs), which has a clear biological meaning, while being used in the Qur'an in the context of a biological description (formation of a baby), renders the modern reinterpretations extremely challenging.

{{Quote|{{Quran|23|14}}|
Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood...}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|96|2}}|
Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: }}

{{Quote|{{Bukhari|||3208|darussalam}}|Narrated 'Abdullah bin Mus'ud:

“Allah's Apostle, the true and truly inspired said, "(The matter of the Creation of) a human being is put together in the womb of the mother in forty days, and then he becomes a '''clot of thick blood for a similar period''', and then a piece of flesh for a similar period.”}}

====Gender decided at clot stage====
The Qur'an states that an embryo is transformed from semen into a clot, shaped (presumably into a human mold), and then determined into either the male or female sex. Modern genetics, on the other hand, has shown that the sex of a human is decided at the moment of conception.<ref>{{cite book|first=eds.: Anthony S. Fauci [et al.] ; eds. of previous ed.: T. R. Harrison [et al.]|title=Harrison's principles of internal medicine.|date=2008|publisher=McGraw-Hill Medical|location=New York [etc.]|isbn=978-0-07-147693-5|pages=2339–2346|edition=17th ed.}}</ref>

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|75|37|39}}|Was he not a drop of fluid which gushed forth? Then he became a clot; then (Allah) shaped and fashioned And made of him a pair, the male and female.}}

While translators mostly use "And" in verse 39, the Arabic particle is ''fa'', as also in the previous conjunction, which indicates sequence (i.e. 'and then').<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000105.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2321 ف]</ref> Classical tafsirs share this reading, and the same reading is reflected in a sahih hadith found in both Bukhari and Muslim:

{{Quote|{{Bukhari|||318|darussalam}}|Narrated Anas bin Malik: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "At every womb Allah appoints an angel who says, 'O Lord! A drop of semen, O Lord! A clot. O Lord! A little lump of flesh." Then if Allah wishes (to complete) its creation, the angel asks, (O Lord!) Will it be a male or female, a wretched or a blessed, and how much will his provision be? And what will his age be?' So all that is written while the child is still in the mother's womb."}}

====Bones formed before flesh====
{{Main|Embryology in the Quran|l1=Embryology in the Qur'an}}

The Qur'an states that the bones of a human embryo are formed first and then covered up with flesh. By contrast, modern science has shown that muscles and the cartilage 'models' of the future bones start to form at the same time and in parallel. Muscles have started to form before the cartilage models start to be replaced with actual bone.

{{Quote|{{Quran|23|14}}|
Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood; then of that clot We made a (foetus) lump; then we made out of that lump bones then (not and) clothed the bones with flesh; then we developed out of it another creature. So blessed be Allah, the best to create!}}

The Qur'an again parallels the influential Greek physician Galen, who says:

{{Quote|1=Galen, ''On semen'', p.101|2=And now the third period of gestation has come. After nature has made outlines of all the organs and the substance of the semen is used up, the time has come for nature to articulate the organs precisely and to bring all the parts to completion. Thus it caused flesh to grow on and around all the bones...}}

===All organisms created in pairs===
The Quran states that all beings are created in pairs. However, modern science has revealed that not every creature procreates or reproduces through a male and female sexual relationship.

The [[w:Desert grassland whiptail lizard|whiptail lizard]] in the U.S. Southwest, Mexico, and South America, for instance, is an all-females species which reproduces by [[w:parthenogenesis|parthenogenesis]].

[[w:virus|Viruses]] (if considered a life form) reproduce using a host's DNA and are neither female nor male. [[w:Bacteria|Bacteria]] reproduce by cell division.

[[w:Fungus|Fungus]] can reproduce either asexually or sexually with thousands of genders.

Many species of plants also reproduce either asexually or through [[w:Pollination|pollination]].

Those who are [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersex intersex] (including those people with both male and female sexual organs and body types) and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermaphrodite hermaphrodites] of all species also do not appear to fit in to this dichotomy. This has led to discriminatory rulings from Islamic scholars, not allowing those with ambiguous sexes to get married for example, due to the unknowingness of breaking a gender-based rule.<ref>See for example rulings from sheiks and scholars listed on IslamQA in response to the question: ''[https://islamqa.info/en/answers/114670/ruling-on-marrying-a-man-who-is-intersex-or-impotent-and-the-difference-between-them Ruling on marrying a man who is intersex or impotent, and the difference between them]'' </ref>

{{Quote|{{Quran|51|49}}|
And of '''every thing''' We have created pairs: That ye may receive instruction. }}
{{Quote|{{Quran|36|36}}|
Glory to Allah, Who created in pairs '''all things''' that the earth produces, as well as their own (human) kind and (other) things of which they have no knowledge. }}{{Quote|{{Quran|92|3}}|by Him who created the male and the female:}}{{Quote|{{Quran|75|39}}|Then He made of him two kinds, the male and the female.}}

===Fetus in three layers of darkness===

The word ''butun'' (بطن) means belly/abdomen/midriff, though some translators have opted to use the more specific (and evocative) word "womb".<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000257.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 220 بطن]</ref> Classical tafsirs interpreted the "three darknesses" as the placenta, womb (uterus), and belly. Modern science has revealed there to be many more such layers in the human body, such as the endometrium, myometrium, perimetrium, peritoneum, besides the cervix uteri, corpus uteri, abdomen (with walls), and placenta (with layers). In terms of extra-embryonic membranes, there is also the allantois, which is a sac-like structure and does not surround the embryo, but becomes part of the umbilical cord and is not in any real sense 'a darkness' viz-a-viz the embryo. The other two membranes, the chorion and amnion, together form the [[w:Amniotic_sac|amniotic sac]], which is quite thin and transparent. The idea of three membranes around the fetus ([[w:Chorion|chorion]], [[w:Allantois|allantois]], and [[w:Amnion|amnion]]) was taught by the highly influential Greek physician, Galen, and the description found in the Quran in all likelihood draws on Galen's widespread influence in the late antique world.

{{Quote|{{Quran|39|6}}|
He created you from one soul. Then He made from it its mate, and He produced for you from the grazing livestock eight mates. He creates you in the wombs of your mothers, creation after creation, within three darknesses. That is Allah, your Lord; to Him belongs dominion. There is no deity except Him, so how are you averted?}}

===Functions of the heart (cardiocentrism)===
The Quran describes the literal heart as a locus of contemplation and thought, an ancient concept known as [[w:Cardiocentric hypothesis|cardiocentrism]], as opposed to the modern scientific understanding of our brain controlling thought, memory and emotion (alongside other physical processes).<ref>''[https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/anatomy-of-the-brain Brain Anatomy and How the Brain Works.]'' Brain, Nerves and Spine. Home. Health. Conditions and Diseases. Johns Hopkins Medicine.</ref>

The concept of the heart as the seat of the intellect, spiritual contemplation, and the eye of the heart/mind/soul was a common one in East-Syriac Christianity in the centuries before Islam, seen in the writings for example of Pseudo-Macarius, Issac of Nineveh, and Ephrem,<ref>Julien Decharneux (2023), ''[https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110794083/html?lang=en Creation and Contemplation: The Cosmology of the Qur’ān and Its Late Antique Background]'', Berlin: De Gruyter, pp. 95 -102</ref> in contrast to certain scholars more closely influenced by Greek philosophy which associated the mind with the brain (encephalocentrism).<ref>Enrico Crivellato, Domenico Ribatti, ''[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S036192300600298X Soul, mind, brain: Greek philosophy and the birth of neuroscience]'', Brain Research Bulletin, Volume 71, Issue 4, 2007, Pages 327-336, ISSN 0361-9230, <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainresbull.2006.09.020.(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S036192300600298X)</nowiki></ref>

{{Quote|{{Quran|22|46}}|So have they not traveled through the earth and '''have hearts by which to reason''' and ears by which to hear? For indeed, it is not eyes that are blinded, but blinded are '''the hearts which are within the breasts'''.}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|11|5}}|Lo! now they fold up their breasts that they may hide (their thoughts) from Him. At the very moment when they cover themselves with their clothing, Allah knoweth that which they keep hidden and that which they proclaim. Lo! He is Aware of what is in the breasts (of men). }}

{{Quote|{{Quran|7|179}}|And We have certainly created for Hell many of the jinn and mankind. '''They have hearts with which they do not understand''', they have eyes with which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear. Those are like livestock; rather, they are more astray. It is they who are the heedless.}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|17|46}}|And We place '''upon their hearts veils lest they should understand''' it, and in their ears a deafness; and when thou makest mention of thy Lord alone in the Qur'an, they turn their backs in aversion. }}

===Characteristics of Milk===
The Qur'an states that milk is produced in the body somewhere between excretions and blood. The mammary glands, where milk is produced and stored, are not, however, located near the intestines, which is where excrement is stored. Sometimes cattle and goat milk needs processing or pasteurization before it can safely be consumed; the milk is often infected with bacteria and other micro-organisms. A significant number of humans are [[w:Lactose_intolerance|lactose intolerant]], especially in some regions of the world, and are unable to digest much milk without experiencing abdominal bloating and cramps, flatulence, diarrhoea, nausea, or vomiting. This occurs in adults who lack genes for lactase enzyme persistance which maintains lactose tolerance beyond childhood and is a relatively recent evolutionary development. These realities challenge the Qur'anic notion that milk is 'pure' and 'agreeable' to anyone who drinks it.

{{Quote|{{Quran|16|66}}|
And verily in cattle (too) will ye find an instructive sign. From what is within their bodies '''between excretions and blood''', We produce, for your drink, milk, '''pure and agreeable''' to those who drink it. }}

==Geology and meteorology==

===Flat Earth===
{{Main|Islamic Views on the Shape of the Earth}}The Qur'an assumes and describes a flat-Earth cosmography according to multiple academic studies. The later idea that Islamic scriptures themselves indicated a spherical Earth was a creative act of reinterpretation when Islamic scholars encountered advances in astronomy. Attempts to explain Quranic verses about the Earth only in terms of local flatness at a human level, non-literal readings, and/or by ignoring context, are often challenged by critics, as discussed in the [[Islamic Views on the Shape of the Earth|main article]], which also contains further evidence and verses beyond those listed here.

====Fasting and prayer requirements near the Poles====
{{Main|The Ramadan Pole Paradox}}

The Qur'an instructs Muslims to fast by abstaining from food and drink from sunrise till sunset during Ramadan. In the polar regions there are six months of sunlight and six months of perpetual night during Summer and Winter. Such fasting is not practicable for anyone living in the polar regions, and very easy (depth of Winter) or extremely hard (height of Summer) in places within around 40 degrees latitude of the poles. Various rules have been contrived by Muslim scholars for people at such latitudes to try to accommodate the (here inconvenient) fact that we live on a round Earth.

{{Quote|{{Quran|2|187}}|
...Then strictly observe the fast till nightfall...}}

A similar issue emerges for the five daily prayers. Persons living in the polar region would not be able to make a sunset or sunrise prayer for much of the year. Even in less extreme contexts, for cities further south like Aberdeen in Scotland, the gap between the night prayer (Isha) and the dawn prayer (Fajr) is still around 4 and a half hours in June, so a person praying five times a day is required to interrupt their sleep around 3.20am, then go back to sleep before getting up for the day. These challenges would likely not have been on the mind of the author of the Quran during the 7th century in Arabia.

{{Quote|{{Quran|17|78}}|
Establish regular prayers - at the sun's decline till the darkness of the night, and the morning prayer and reading: for the prayer and reading in the morning carry their testimony.}}

====Facing toward Mecca====

The Qur'an instructs Muslims to face the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca when they pray. In consideration of the roundness of the Earth, scholars developed the great circle method to carry out this instruction. However, a number of problems have been suggested: one facing Mecca also necessarily has their back turned to it (a display of disrespect which is roundly prohibited in Islam), and one directly opposite Mecca on the globe may pray in any direction.

Another issue leads many North American Muslims, who live in the hemisphere of this antipode of Mecca, to instead prefer the rhumb-line technique (i.e. a straight line on a standard Mercator flat map projection). This is in disagreement with those who follow the great circle method, which causes people north and south in the Americas to face away from each as they pray (great circle lines from this antipode diverge cross the Americas before they start to converge again when they enter the hemisphere of Mecca), and requires much of North America to pray northwards, which to many people feels awkward. Finally, Astronauts in Earth's orbit or on the Moon or Mars are essentially unable to follow these instructions (suggesting that the author of the Qur'an did not have such future realities in mind).

{{Quote|{{Quran|2|149}}|
From whencesoever Thou startest forth, turn Thy face in the direction of the sacred Mosque; that is indeed the truth from the Lord. And Allah is not unmindful of what ye do.}}

====Earth as spread out and flat====

The author of the Qur'an mentions that the Earth is 'spread out' and laid flat. The Arabic word here (sataha) was used to describe making the flat top or roof of a house or chamber and making a top surface flat.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume4/00000081.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 1357 سُطِحَ]</ref> Words from the same root mean the flat top surface or roof of a house or chamber, a bounded flat plane in geometry, a level place upon which dates can be spread, a rolling pin (which expands the dough), plane or flat.

{{Quote|{{Quran|88|20}}|And at the Earth, how it is spread out?}}

Despite Muslim encounters with Greek astronomy in the 8th century CE (see [[Islamic Views on the Shape of the Earth]]), a flat earth interpretation persisted for many more centuries in some circles.

For example, the Qur'anic commentary of al-Jalalayn (composed by the two “Jalals”; Jalal al-Din al-Mahalli (d.1459 CE) and his pupil Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d.1505 CE) - i.e. the 15th/16th century) agrees with this understanding of the verse, saying that legal scholars at his time agree that the earth is flat and not spherical.

{{Quote|1=[https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=74&tSoraNo=88&tAyahNo=20&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2 Tafsir al-Jalalayn 88:20] (See [https://tafsir.app/jalalayn/88/20 here] for the Arabic)|2=And the earth how it was laid out flat? and thus infer from this the power of God exalted be He and His Oneness? The commencing with the mention of camels is because they are closer in contact with it the earth than any other animal. '''As for His words sutihat ‘laid out flat’ this on a literal reading suggests that the earth is flat which is the opinion of''' most [the word "most" is not included in the original Arabic: "وعليه علماء الشرع"; see citation for full text] '''of the scholars of the revealed Law and not a sphere as astronomers ahl al-hay’a have it''' even if this latter does not contradict any of the pillars of the Law.}}

====Earth as like carpet====

The Arabic word (''bisaatan'') used here means a thing that is spread or spread out or forth, and particularly a carpet.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000241.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 204 بِسَاطًا]</ref>

{{Quote|{{Quran|71|19}}|And Allah has made the earth for you as a carpet (spread out)}}

====Earth as like a couch====

The Earth is described using an Arabic word (''firashan'') that means a thing that is spread on the ground to sit or lay upon.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000155.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2371 فِرَٰشًا]</ref>

{{Quote|{{Quran|2|22}}|
[He] who made for you the earth a bed [spread out] and the sky a ceiling and sent down from the sky, rain and brought forth thereby fruits as provision for you. So do not attribute to Allah equals while you know [that there is nothing similar to Him].}}

The same root word for couch in {{Quran|2|22}} is used as a verb in {{Quran|51|48}} in the sense of to spread (the first word translated spread here).

{{Quote|{{Quran|51|48}}|And the earth, '''We have spread it'''; how excellent (are) the Spreaders!}}

====Earth as like a bed====

The Earth is described as a 'bed' (or 'carpet' in the Yusuf Ali translation) in verse {{Quran|20|53}}, and similarly {{Quran|43|10}}. The Arabic word (''mahdan'') suggests something completely flat and spread out on the ground (and not, for instance, 'rolled up' for storage).<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume7/00000267.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2739 مَهْدًا]</ref>

{{Quote|{{Quran|20|53}}|
Who hath appointed the earth '''as a bed''' and hath threaded roads for you therein and hath sent down water from the sky and thereby We have brought forth divers kinds of vegetation}}

Sometimes the same Arabic word is translated as expanse, as in {{Quran-range|78|6|7}}. Together with the next verse, the Earth is here a thing spread out and pegged down by mountains.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|78|6|7}}|Have We not made the earth as a '''wide expanse''', And the mountains as pegs?}}

The same root word is used as a participle at the end of {{Quran|51|48}}.

{{Quote|{{Quran|51|48}}|And the earth, We have spread it; how excellent (are) '''the Spreaders!'''}}

====Earth stretched out====

In the verse below, as also in {{Quran|13|3}} and {{Quran|50|7}}, the Qur'an uses a verb (''madadna'') that meant to extend by drawing or pulling, stretch out, expand.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume7/00000223.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2695 مدد]</ref>

{{Quote|{{Quran|15|19}}|And the earth We have spread out (like a carpet); set thereon mountains firm and immovable; and produced therein all kinds of things in due balance.}}

====Earth as a level plain====

The Qur'an describes a time in the future when mountains will be removed. {{Quran|18|47}} uses an Arabic word (''baarizatan'') that means "entirely apparent" to describe the Earth at this time.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000224.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 187 بَارِزَةً]</ref> {{Quran|20|106}} uses words (''qa'an'' and ''safsafan'') that mean a level plain.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000248.pdf Lane's Lexicon, Suppliment p. 2994 قَاعًا], [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume4/00000418.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 1694 صَفْصَفًا]</ref> This description implies the Earth is flat and level and that it is the mountains which give it shape.

{{Quote|{{Quran|18|47}}|And (bethink you of) the Day when we remove the hills and ye see the earth emerging, and We gather them together so as to leave not one of them behind.}}

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|20|105|107}}|They will ask thee of the mountains (on that day). Say: My Lord will break them into scattered dust. And leave it as '''an empty plain''', Wherein thou seest neither curve nor ruggedness.}}

===Permanent barrier between "the two seas" of fresh and salt water===
{{Main|A Barrier Between Two Seas and the Cosmic Ocean}}
When a fresh water river flows into the sea or ocean, there is a transition region in between. This transition region is called an estuary where the fresh water remains temporarily separated from the salt water. However, this separation is not absolute, is not permanent, and the different salinity levels between the two bodies of water eventually homogenize. The Qur'an, by contrast, suggests that there is a separation between two seas, one salty and one fresh water, maintained by some sort of divine barrier placed between them.

Furthemore, {{Quran|55|20}} quoted below states that coral emerge from both seas. However, coral are found only in salt water oceans, and exposure to freshwater leads to coral bleaching.<ref>[https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/invertebrates/corals-and-coral-reefs Corals and Coral Reefs] - Smithsonian Institution website</ref>

{{Quote|{{Quran|25|53}}| It is He Who has let free the two bodies of flowing water: One palatable and sweet, and the other salt and bitter; yet has He made a barrier between them, '''a partition that is forbidden to be passed'''. }}

{{Quote|{{Quran|27|61}}|Is He [not best] who made the earth a stable ground and placed within it rivers and made for it firmly set mountains and placed between the two seas a barrier? Is there a deity with Allah? [No], but most of them do not know.}}

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|55|19|22}}|He released the two seas, meeting [side by side]; Between them is a barrier [so] neither of them transgresses. So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? From both of them emerge pearl and coral.}}

Another reference to "the two seas" (bahrayn) is found in the story of Moses and his servant.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|18|60|61}}|And [mention] when Moses said to his servant, "I will not cease [traveling] until I reach the junction of the two seas or continue for a long period." But when they reached the junction between them, they forgot their fish, and it took its course into the sea, slipping away.}}

The story of Moses and his servant is one of four stories in Surah al-Kahf. Modern academic scholarship has identified antecedants of each story in the lore of late antiquity. This particular story is almost unanimously considered to derive from a legend about Alexander the Great and his search for the water of life. For details see the section on the four stories in Surah al-Kahf in the article [[Parallels Between the Qur'an and Late Antique Judeo-Christian Literature]].

It may further be compared to the ancient Akkadian myth of the Abzu, the name for a fresh water underground sea that was given a religious quality in Sumerian and Akkadian mythology. Lakes, springs, rivers, wells, and other sources of fresh water were thought to draw their water from the Abzu underground sea, while the Ocean that surrounded the world was a saltwater sea. This underground sea is called Tehom in the Hebrew Bible. For example, Genesis 49:25 says, "blessings of the heavens above, and Tehom lying beneath".<ref>Wensinck, Arent Jan (1918). "The Ocean in the Literature of the Western Semites". Verhandelingen der Koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen te Amsterdam. Afdeeling Letterkunde. Nieuwe reeks. dl. 19. no. 2. page 14</ref> Wensinck explains, "Thus it appears that the idea of there being a sea of sweet water under our earth, the ancient Tehom, which is the source of springs and rivers, is common to the Western Semites".<ref>ibid. page 17</ref> Similarly in Greek mythology, the world was surrounded by Oceanus, the world-ocean of classical antiquity. Oceanus was personified as the god Titan, whose consort was the aquatic sea goddess Tethys. It was also thought that rainfall was due a third ocean above the "Firmament of the Sky" (a vast reservoir above the firmament of the sky is also described in the Genesis creation narrative).

Whether the two seas mentioned in the Qur'an referred to these mythological seas or a more general inviolable barrier between bodies of salt and fresh water, critics argue that the verse in question is scientifically wrong.

===Mountains as pegs which prevent the earth from shifting===
{{Main|The Quran and Mountains}}
Modern geology has discovered that large plates in the crust of the Earth are responsible for the formation of mountains. Called plate tectonics, the slow movement of these massive plates meet and the pressure between them pushes up the crust, forming mountains while also causing earthquakes and faults in the Earth's surface. The formation of mountains and occurance of earthquakes are thus both largely the result of destabilizing tectonic activity. They are part of the same ongoing process and one cannot exist without the other.

The Qur'an, by contrast, holds that mountains are like pegs in the ground. Mountain formation can involve a thickening of the continental crust beneath them, which some modern Muslim scholars attempt to compare as peg-like, though mountains form in various other ways too (see main article for details and for many further problems with this claim).

The Qur'an further claims that mountains were created to prevent the Earth from shifting or swaying with its inhabitants. This is most commonly interpreted by modern Islamic scholars as a reference to earthquakes.

However, in early or pre-Islamic poetry mountains are mentioned in terms of stopping the Earth as a whole swaying/convulsing. This seems to support a more straightforward reading of the Quranic verses, backed also by a hadith - that shifting/convulsing (tamīda<ref>تَمِيدَ tamīda [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume7/00000274.pdf Lane's Lexicon] page 2746</ref>) does not refer to earthquakes, which have occured throughout history including in Muhammad's era and whose seismic waves can actually be amplified in certain locations by mountains, but rather to a movement of the entire Earth (see main article for details on all of these points and criticism of a few other interpretations).

{{Quote|{{Quran|16|15}}|
And He has cast into the earth firmly set mountains, lest it shift with you, and [made] rivers and roads, that you may be guided,}}
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|78|6|7}}|Have We not made the earth as a wide expanse, And the mountains as pegs?}}

===Mountains cast upon Earth===
{{Main|The Quran and Mountains}}
Mountains are usually formed through the movement and collision (or in the case of fault-block mountains, separation) of lithospheric (tectonic) plates, as well as by a number of other processes (see main article). This is an ongoing process which continues to this day as the plates slowly move. The Quran, by contrast, states that the mountains on Earth's surface were cast upon it by God. Other verses state that creation of mountains occurred during the first four days, as discussed in the section above on creation of earth and heaven in six days. The imagery is clear when one considers the above verses which describe the Mountains as 'pegs' which stabilize the Earth (which is itself compared to a carpet and bed matt in other verses).

{{Quote|{{Quran|16|15}}|
And He has cast into the earth firmly set mountains, lest it shift with you, and [made] rivers and roads, that you may be guided,}}

The word 'he has cast' is ''alqa'' (lam-qaf-ya), which in this form (Arabic verb form IV) is frequently used elsewhere in the Quran to mean throw or cast.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000266.pdf Lane's Lexicon, Suppliment p. 3012 أَلْقَىٰ] See paragraph number 4 for the form IV verb definition.</ref> It is the same word as is used in {{Quran|3|44}} when lots are cast using pens (it would be easy to imagine that mountains were similarly scattered, though perhaps it should not be taken too literally in this context), and {{Quran|12|10}} when the prophet Yusuf is cast down into the well, and in {{Quran|20|20}} when Moses casts down his staff, which becomes a snake. The implication of such verses is that mountains were a special act of creation rather them being a byproduct of a larger and ongoing process (tectonic plate movement).

===Chests contract with altitude===
{{Quran|6|125}} states that a person's chest cavity gets smaller at higher altitudes; which is an understandable belief for people to have as oxygen decreases as one travels higher, which in turn leads to hypoxemia (lower oxygen levels in the blood) causing the body to take short, shallow, fast breaths<ref>[https://www.healthline.com/health/hypoxemia What Is Hypoxemia?] ''What are the symptoms of hypoxemia?''

Healthline. Medically reviewed by Avi Varma, MD, MPH, AAHIVS, FAAFP — Written by Jill Seladi-Schulman, Ph.D. — Updated on April 26, 2023</ref> - which feels like the chest is constricted. Modern science, by contrast, has revealed that the opposite is the case.<ref>Callison, W.É., Kiyamu, M., Villafuerte, F.C. et al. ''[https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-13263-5#:~:text=Individuals%20living%20in%20a%20hypoxic,partially%20a%20population%2Dlevel%20adaptation. Comparing high versus low-altitude populations to test human adaptations for increased ventilation during sustained aerobic activity.]'' Sc''i'' Rep ''1''2, 11148 (2022). <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-13263-5</nowiki></ref>

{{Quote|{{Quran|6|125}}|Those whom Allah (in His plan) willeth to guide,- He openeth their breast to Islam; those whom He willeth to leave straying,- He maketh their breast close and constricted, as if they had to climb up to the skies: thus doth Allah (heap) the penalty on those who refuse to believe.}}

===Earthquakes as a punishment===
The Quran describes Earthquakes, blizzards, hurricanes, and other destructive natural activity as being a sort of punishment for the people they inflict. Research, however, has not found any correlation between civilizations' irreligiosity and their susceptibility to these or other type of natural disaster.

{{Quote|{{Quran|16|45}}|
Do then those who devise evil (plots) feel secure that Allah will not cause the earth to swallow them up, or that the Wrath will not seize them from directions they little perceive?}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|29|37}}|
But they denied him, and the dreadful earthquake took them, and morning found them prostrate in their dwelling place. }}

{{Quote|{{Quran|17|68}}|
Do ye then feel secure that He will not cause you to be swallowed up beneath the earth when ye are on land, or that He will not send against you a violent tornado (with showers of stones) so that ye shall find no one to carry out your affairs for you}}

===Disregard of evaporation in water cycle===
Some modern Muslim scholars argue that the water cycle is described in the Qur'an. Every verse about rain in the Qur'an implies that rain comes either directly from the sky or from Allah. The crucial step of evaporation of water into the air is never mentioned. That Quran describes a linear process orchestrated by Allah rather than a cyclical process (as with the water cycle) renders these modern reinterpretations challenging.

{{Quote|{{Quran|43|11}}|
That sends down (from time to time) rain from the sky in due measure;- and We raise to life therewith a land that is dead; even so will ye be raised (from the dead)}}

===Mountains of hail in the sky===

Hail forms in cumulonimbus clouds when updrafts raise water droplets to an altitude where they freeze. The Qur'an, by contrast, describes mountain-like masses of hail in the sky / heaven.

{{Quote|{{Quran|24|43}}|
Hast thou not seen how Allah wafteth the clouds, then gathereth them, then maketh them layers, and thou seest the rain come forth from between them; '''He sendeth down from the heaven mountains wherein is hail''', and smiteth therewith whom He will, and averteth it from whom He will. The flashing of His lightning all but snatcheth away the sight.

'''Transliteration:''' wayunazzilu (and he sends down) mina (from) alssamai (the sky) min (from) jibalin (mountains) feeha (in it ['it' is feminine here so must refer to the sky]) min (of) baradin (hail)
}}

Tafsirs such as al-Jalalayn and the one attributed to Ibn Abbas say that this means mountains in the sky.<ref>[https://tafsir.app/jalalayn/24/43 Tafsir al-Jalalayn 24:43]</ref> Ibn Kathir notes two views, that these are literally mountains of hail in the sky, or that they are a metaphor for clouds.<ref>[https://tafsir.app/ibn-katheer/24/43 Tafsir Ibn Kathir 24:43]</ref> Clouds could poetically be described as mountains in the sky, but the verse says "mountains of hail in the sky", which critics would say strongly suggests large masses of ice (in the clouds or otherwise), and it was sometimes understood in this literal way as evidenced in tafsirs.

===Allah smites with thunderbolts===

The Quran describes thunder and lightning in a manner typical of ancient mythology. Allah, in a manner evocative of the legends most famously regarding Zeus, smites persons he wishes to punish with thunderbolts. A hadith, graded hasan (good) by Dar-us-Salam, further states that Muhammad believed the sound of thunder was an angel striking the clouds, which the angel drives along with a piece of fire (evoking the image of a whip of fire).

{{Quote|{{Quran|13|13}}|
And the thunder declares His glory with His praise, and the angels too for awe of Him; and He sends the thunderbolts and smites with them whom He pleases, yet they dispute concerning Allah, and He is mighty in prowess.}}

{{Quote|{{Al Tirmidhi|44|5|44|3117}}|Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:
"The Jews came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said: 'O Abul-Qasim! Inform us about the thunder, what is it?' He said: 'An angel among the angels, who is responsible for the clouds. He has a piece of fire wherever that he drives the clouds wherever Allah wills.' They said: 'Then what is this noise we hear?' He said: 'It is him, striking the clouds when he drives them on, until it goes where it is ordered.' They said: 'You have told the truth.'}}

==Zoology==

===Ants converse and recognize humans===

Ants primarily communicate with each other using pheromones (chemical signals). While scientists have discovered that ants make some noises, nothing has ever indicated that the brains of ants could produce anything approximating complex speech. By contrast, the Qur'an recounts the story of an ant warning her fellow ants of the approach of Solomon's large army of humans. Solomon is able to understand her speech and proceeds, presumably, to leave the ants be.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|27|18|19}}|
At length, when they came to a (lowly) valley of ants, '''one of the ants said: "O ye ants, get into your habitations, lest Solomon and his hosts crush you (under foot) without knowing it." So he smiled, amused at her speech;''' and he said: "O my Lord! so order me that I may be grateful for Thy favours, which thou hast bestowed on me and on my parents, and that I may work the righteousness that will please Thee: And admit me, by Thy Grace, to the ranks of Thy righteous Servants." }}

===Four types of cattle===

The Qur'an states that Allah has provided four kinds of cattle (eight including male and female). There exist, however, many more than four species of cattle. The word "cattle" in {{Quran|39|6}} is ''al-ana'ami'', from a root meaning plentiful subsistence and in this form meant pasturing (i.e. grazing) animals.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000289.pdf Lane's Lexicon, Suppliment p. 3035 أَنْعَٰمِ]</ref> The word ''azwajin'' ("kinds" in the translation of 39:6 below) generally means "mate" or "member of a pair".<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume3/00000432.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 1266 أَزْوَٰجٍ]</ref> {{Quran|6|143-144}} clarifies that this refers to male and female pairs of sheep, goats, oxen, and camels, suggesting that the author of the Qur'an was aware of four kinds of grazing animals useful for humans (horses, mules and donkeys are considered a separate category from al-ana'ami, see {{Quran-range|16|5|8}}). This does not include many other types of cattle from the regions outside of Arabia, such as reindeer, which were and remain important to people in northern latitudes.

{{Quote|{{Quran|39|6}}|
He created you from one being, then from that (being) He made its mate; and He hath provided for you of '''cattle eight kinds'''. He created you in the wombs of your mothers, creation after creation, in a threefold gloom. Such is Allah, your Lord. His is the Sovereignty. There is no Allah save Him. How then are ye turned away}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|6|142-144}}|'''And of the cattle (He produceth) some for burdens, some for food.''' Eat of that which Allah hath bestowed upon you, and follow not the footsteps of the devil, for lo! he is an open foe to you. '''Eight pairs: Of the sheep twain, and of the goats twain.''' Say: Hath He forbidden the two males or the two females, or that which the wombs of the two females contain? Expound to me (the case) with knowledge, if ye are truthful. '''And of the camels twain and of the oxen twain.''' Say: Hath He forbidden the two males or the two females, or that which the wombs of the two females contain; or were ye by to witness when Allah commanded you (all) this? Then who doth greater wrong than he who deviseth a lie concerning Allah, that he may lead mankind astray without knowledge. Lo! Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk.}}

===Horses created as transportation===

After thousands of years of domestication and cross-breeding, horses were domesticated approximately 4,000 years ago in East Europe and Central Asia. Prior to this, horses were wild animals not yet suitably bred for this purpose. Today feral horses are descendants of once domesticated horses that aren't tamed or used for human transportation. By contrast, the Qur'an appears to suggest that horses were created by Allah already prepared to serve human purposes.

{{Quote|{{Quran|16|8}}|
And (He has created) horses, mules, and donkeys, for you to ride and use for show; and He has created (other) things of which ye have no knowledge.}}

===All animals live in communities===

The Qur'an emphatically states that all animals live in "communities". Many animals, such as the jaguar or leopard, are however well known for being solitary creatures, rarely meeting in pairs and then only to mate. Animals of these kinds do not live in communities and rather tend to resort to violence when their solitude is disturbed (the opposite, some argue, of what it means to live in a community). There also exist species whose young are not raised as family and which lay eggs and abandon them before hatching. Sea Turtles, for instance, bury their eggs on a beach and leave them. When an egg hatches the baby turtle must dig to the surface and make a sprint to the sea or perish. Some reptiles behave similarly. The Carolina anole, which is a lizard species, is another such example. These anoles lay a single egg every 2 weeks, around 10 in total, each taking 5 to 7 weeks to hatch. Anole hatchlings must fend for themselves and are by nature solitary creatures from birth.

One modern translation of the Quran interprets ''umamun'' (community / nation) to mean "genus" (group of species, plural: genera). This interpretation appears difficult, however, for while today we categorize species into genera, families, and other taxonomic ranks within evolutionary tree (phylogenetic) models, such categories are understood as an evolutionary process in which, even now, sub-groups of many species are diverging and gradually evolving into new species.

{{Quote|{{Quran|6|38}}|
'''There is not an animal (that lives) on the earth, nor a being that flies on its wings, but (forms part of) communities like you. Nothing have we omitted from the Book''', and they (all) shall be gathered to their Lord in the end.}}

===Bird flight as a miracle===

Modern science has revealed the aerodynamic properties of birds' anatomy which enable them to fly. Bird flight essentially functions by creating a difference in the air pressure between the lower and upper part of the wing and this creates lift that pushes the bird upward. The wings of birds have evolved over millions of years and have thereby refined birds' flight abilities. By contrast, the Quran states that 'nothing' holds birds in the air, except for the miraculous power of Allah.

{{Quote|{{Quran|16|79}}|
Do they not look at the birds, held poised in the midst of (the air and) the sky? Nothing holds them up but (the power of) Allah. Verily in this are signs for those who believe}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|67|19}}|Do they not see the birds above them with wings outspread and [sometimes] folded in? None holds them [aloft] except the Most Merciful. Indeed He is, of all things, Seeing.}}

The same verb for holding (amsaka) appears in {{Quran|22|65}} and {{Quran|35|41}} with regard to Allah holding the sky from falling to earth. As so often with the Quran, modern academic scholarship has found a close parallel in 6th century CE Syriac literature. Joseph of Sarugh (d. 521 CE) similarly stated that only the action of God held up the sky and repeatedly used birdflight as another illustration of the same divine action in words very similar to the Quranic verse. For details, see [[Parallels_Between_the_Qur'an_and_Late_Antique_Judeo-Christian_Literature#Allah_keeps_the_heavens_and_the_birds_from_falling|Parallels Between the Qur'an and Late Antique Judeo-Christian Literature]].
==History==
{{Main|Historical Errors in the Quran}}
Below are a selection of historical errors found in the Quran, a more complete list is located in the article dedicated to [[Historical Errors in the Quran|historical errors in the Quran]].

===Massive wall of iron built to trap Gog and Magog until judgement day===
{{Main|Dhul-Qarnayn and the Alexander Romance}}

The Qur'an states that two dangerous tribes, Gog and Magog, were trapped behind a massive wall of Iron erected by Dhu'l-Qarnayn and will only be let free on the day of Judgement. However, no such wall or tribes have ever been found despite the advent of global satellite imagery.

{{Quote|{{Quran|18|96-101}}|Bring me pieces of iron!’ When he had levelled up between the flanks, he said, ‘Blow!’ When he had turned it into fire, he said, ‘Bring me molten copper to pour over it.’
So they could neither scale it, nor could they make a hole in it. He said, ‘This is a mercy from my Lord. But when the promise of my Lord is fulfilled, He will level it; and my Lord’s promise is true.’
That day We shall let them surge over one another, the Trumpet will be blown, and We shall gather them all, and on that day We shall bring hell into view visibly for the faithless.
Those whose eyes were blind to My remembrance and who could not hear.}}

The trumpet blowing in {{Quran|18|99}} is referred to many other times in the Qur'an as happening on judgement day (see {{Quran|27|87}}, {{Quran|69|13}} and {{Quran|39|68}}), with the word 'yawm' يوم being used in Q18:99 and 18:100, meaning on that ''day''<ref>[http://arabiclexicon.hawramani.com/search/%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%85?cat=50 Lane's Lexicon dictionary - يوم]</ref> specifically. Another passage confirms that this wall was supposedly still intact and that its future opening will be associated with other apocalyptic events.

{{Quote|{{Quran|21|95-97}}|But there is a ban on any population which We have destroyed: that they shall not return,
Until the Gog and Magog (people) are let through (their barrier), and they swiftly swarm from every hill.
Then will the true promise draw nigh (of fulfilment): then behold! the eyes of the Unbelievers will fixedly stare in horror: "Ah! Woe to us! we were indeed heedless of this; nay, we truly did wrong!"}}

===Mary as part of the Trinity===

Mainstream Christian doctrine has never held Mary to be a part of the Trinity. The Qur'an, however, apparently implies as much, leading many to conclude that Muhammad misunderstood Christian doctrine.

{{Quote|{{Quran|5|116}}|
And behold! Allah will say: "O Jesus the son of Mary! Didst thou say unto men, '''worship me and my mother as gods''' in derogation of Allah'?" He will say: "Glory to Thee! never could I say what I had no right (to say). Had I said such a thing, thou wouldst indeed have known it. Thou knowest what is in my heart, Thou I know not what is in Thine. For Thou knowest in full all that is hidden}}

This alternative formulation of the trinity is present even more clearly in {{Quran-range|5|72|75}}, which makes no mention of the holy spirit and takes measure to disprove the divinity of Jesus and his mother by pointing out that they, like normal human beings, also ate food.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|5|72|75}}|They surely disbelieve who say: Lo! Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary. The Messiah (himself) said: O Children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. Lo! whoso ascribeth partners unto Allah, for him Allah hath forbidden paradise. His abode is the Fire. For evil-doers there will be no helpers. '''They surely disbelieve who say: Lo! Allah is the third of three'''; when there is no Allah save the One Allah. If they desist not from so saying a painful doom will fall on those of them who disbelieve. Will they not rather turn unto Allah and seek forgiveness of Him? For Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. '''The Messiah, son of Mary, was no other than a messenger''', messengers (the like of whom) had passed away before him. '''And his mother was a saintly woman. And they both used to eat (earthly) food.''' See how We make the revelations clear for them, and see how they are turned away!}}

A common interpretation advocated by Muslim scholars today is that this refers to a fringe Arab Christian sect known as the Collyridians. However, this sect were only mentioned in a 4th century CE book on heresies. The most plausible interpretation proposed so far by academic scholars interprets these verses as a response to a Byzantine theological dispute and contemporary war propaganda (or a misunderstanding thereof, in the view of critics). For details, see the Qur'anic Trinity section of the article [[Parallels Between the Qur'an and Late Antique Judeo-Christian Literature]].

For further Christology in the Quran, see [[Qur'anic Christology]] and [[Isa al-Masih (Jesus Christ)]].

===Mary as Miriam===
{{main|Mary the sister of Aaron in the Quran}}

Mary the mother of Jesus was born in the first century BCE and was not related to Moses and his family whose story is set 1500 years earlier. Miriam was the sister of Moses and Aaron and daughter of Amram (Imran). The Quran appears to confuse these two characters, as it describes Mary, the mother of Jesus, as the "Sister of Aaron" and her mother as the "wife of Imran" in context where the "Imran" being discussed is evidently Miriam's father. A possible source of this confusion is the fact that both Miriam and Mary had the same name in Arabic, or were at least similar enough sounding for the original distinction to have been lost or neglected (the word used in either case in the Quran is the same and is pronounced ''maryam'').

{{Quote|{{Quran|19|27-28}}|Then she brought him to her own folk, carrying him. They said: O Mary! Thou hast come with an amazing thing. '''O sister of Aaron!''' Thy father was not a wicked man nor was thy mother a harlot.}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|66|12}}|And Mary, '''daughter of 'Imran''', whose body was chaste, therefor We breathed therein something of Our Spirit. And she put faith in the words of her Lord and His scriptures, and was of the obedient.}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|3|33-36}}| Lo! Allah preferred Adam and Noah and the Family of Abraham '''and the Family of 'Imran''' above (all His) creatures. They were descendants one of another. Allah is Hearer, Knower. (Remember) when the '''wife of 'Imran''' said: My Lord! I have vowed unto Thee that which is in my belly as a consecrated (offering). Accept it from me. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Hearer, the Knower! And when she was delivered she said: My Lord! Lo! I am delivered of a female - Allah knew best of what she was delivered - the male is not as the female; and lo! I have named her Mary, and lo! I crave Thy protection for her and for her offspring from Satan the outcast.}}

"Wife of 'Imran" is here im'ra-atu ʿim'rāna, literally woman of Imran, though the same construction certainly means "wife" a few verses later ({{Quran|3|40}}), and in several other verses.

Some modern academic scholars cite evidence that this could be a case of typology (deliberate literary allusion between characters - see main article). This may be the best explanation, although the verses would still be misleading as historical statements. {{Muslim||2135|reference}} seeks to explain the coincidence based on alleged customary forms of address (to explain "sister of Aaron") or naming customs (to explain why Imran named his daughter Mary), depending on interpretation of the hadith. Either interpretation only reduces part of the coincidence. Even if a naming custom could increase the odds that this father-daughter pair would share names with some earlier biblical family, a further coincidence would still be required if her father happened to be named the same as the father (Imran) in the particular biblical family alluded to when his daughter is addressed customarily as "sister of Aaron". Another attempted explanation is that this Imran actually had a son called Aaron as well as a daughter named Mary.

==='Uzayr as the son of God in Jewish doctrine===

Historically, Judaism has been a strict form of monotheism. The Quran, by contrast, describes the Jews as calling a certain ''ʿUzayr'' as the son of God. This is compared directly with the Christians calling Jesus the son of God.

{{Quote|{{Quran|9|30}}|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?}}

ʿUzayr has traditionally been interpreted as the Biblical Ezra. Academic scholarship has tended to concur, noting that Ezra was held in high esteem (though not the "son of god") in the Talmud.

More recent academic work in 2025 found a more likely identification of ʿUzayr as the 2nd century CE Rabbi, Eliezar ben Hurcanus. For details see [[Historical_Errors_in_the_Quran#'Uzayr_as_the_son_of_God_in_Jewish_doctrine|Historical Errors in the Quran]]. To critics, the Quran appears to misunderstand the reverence in which R. Eliezar was held in rabbinic circles since god describes him as "Eliezer, my son" in certain texts, language which is actually common in the Hebrew Bible and is applied to multiple rabbis in the Talmud.

===David invented coats of mail===

Historians commonly credited the invention of coat mail (not to be confused with scale armor) to the Celts in the 3rd century BCE.<ref name="books.google.com">Richard A. Gabriel, [http://books.google.com/books?id=HscIwvtkq2UC&pg=PA79 ''The ancient world''], Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007 P.79</ref>. Mail has also been found in a 5th century BCE Scythian grave, and there is a cumbersome Etruscan pattern mail artifact from the 4th century BCE.<ref>Robinson, H. R., [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=BaDMDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA10 ''Oriental Armour''], New York:Dover Publications, 1995, pp.10-12</ref> The nature of coat mail is such that it should persist for several millennia, and such advantageous military technologies would spread rapidly, so it is unlikely that coat mail would have originated much earlier, undiscovered by archaeologists. While older translations of the Bible mention Goliath and David wearing a "coat of mail" in 1 Samuel 17:5 and 17:38 respectively, this is a well known mistranslation for a word meaning armor in general.

In the Qur'an, by contrast, David in the 10th century BCE is taught by Allah how to make long coats of mail (''sabighatin'' سَٰبِغَٰتٍ<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume4/00000022.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 1298 سبغ]</ref>) after Allah made the iron (''al hadid'' ٱلْحَدِيدَ) malleable for him and told him to measure the chainmail links (''as-sardi'' ٱلسَّرْدِ) thereof.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume4/00000022.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 1298 سَٰبِغَٰتٍ], [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume4/00000071.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 1347 ٱلسَّرْدِ]</ref> A second passage adds that people should be thankful for this knowledge which has been passed down since David and protects them today.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|34|10|11}}| And assuredly We gave David grace from Us, (saying): O ye hills and birds, echo his psalms of praise! And We made the iron supple unto him, Saying: Make thou long coats of mail and measure the links (thereof). And do ye right. Lo! I am Seer of what ye do. }}

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|21|79|80}}| And We made Solomon to understand (the case); and unto each of them We gave judgment and knowledge. And we subdued the hills and the birds to hymn (His) praise along with David. We were the doers (thereof). And We taught him the art of making garments (of mail) to protect you in your daring. Are ye then thankful?}}

Chainmail seems to have been familiar to the early Muslims. Muhammad is narrated as using a metaphor of two coats of iron (junnataani min hadeedin جُنَّتَانِ مِنْ حَدِيدٍ), one owned by a generous person and the other by a miser in whose coat every ring (halqat حَلْقَةٍ<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume2/00000265.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 629 حلقة]</ref>) becomes close together ({{Muslim||1021c|reference}}). Ibn Kathir [https://quranx.com/tafsirs/34.11 in his tafsir for 34:11] has narrations in which Mujahid and Ibn Abbas use that same arabic word meaning rings (الحلقة) to explain the Quranic verse<ref>[https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=7&tSoraNo=34&tAyahNo=11&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1 Tafsir of Ibn Kathir for 34:11 (Arabic)]</ref>.

===Crucifixions in ancient Egypt===

The first historical reference to crucifixion as a method of execution is from 500 BCE, when the technique began being used in several middle eastern cultures. The Qur'an, by contrast, tells of crucifixions at the time of Moses (approximately 1500 BCE) as well as Joseph (approximately 2000 BCE).

{{Quote|{{Quran|12|41}}|
O two companions of prison, as for one of you, he will give drink to his master of wine; but as for the other, he will be crucified, and the birds will eat from his head. The matter has been decreed about which you both inquire." }}

{{Quote|{{Quran|20|71}}|
(Pharaoh) said: Ye put faith in him before I give you leave. Lo! he is your chief who taught you magic. Now surely I shall cut off your hands and your feet alternately, and '''I shall crucify you on the trunks of palm trees''', and ye shall know for certain which of us hath sterner and more lasting punishment.}}

Ancient Egypt has been subjected to extensive study by archaeologists. While there exists hieroglyphic evidence of people impaled by upright wooden stakes through their torsos in ancient Egypt, this remains distinct from crucifixions "on the trunks of palm trees" described in the Quran, as palm trees are of too great girth to be used to vertically impale an individual. Nor is there any evidence that the Arabic verb for crucifixion (salaba) could also mean "to impale".<ref>salaba [https://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume4/00000435.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 1711-1713 - صلب]</ref>

The same verb for crucifixion is used in {{Quran|4|157}} regarding Jesus. It appears again in {{Quran|5|33}} which lists killing and crucifixion as distinct punishments, probably as the latter is a long, drawn out death (impalement would not be). Two other verses, {{Quran|38|12}} and {{Quran|89|8}}, use another word to call Pharaoh "owner of the pegs" or "stakes". Sometimes this is claimed to refer to impalement and even mistranslated as such. However, the context in {{Quran-range|89|6|11}} shows that it refers to unspecified and lasting rock-hewn monuments (most likely columned temples, obelisks or possibly even the pyramids).

Moreover, there is no ancient Egyptian evidence of cross amputation (punitive removal of a single hand and foot on opposite sides). It seems that here again a contemporary punitive practice has been transferred in the Quran to ancient Egypt. A parallel using the same Arabic words occurs in {{Quran|5|33}}, which commands crucifixion or cross amputation among a range of punishment options (both of which became part of Islamic jurisprudence). In the exceptionally cruel combination of both punishments put in the mouth of Pharaoh in 20:71 quoted above (see also {{Quran|7|124}} and {{Quran|26|49}}), the victim would need to be fastened to the palm tree by what remains of their limbs. In Roman crucifixion, ropes were typically used, though nails were sometimes driven through the heel bones and perhaps between the ulnar and radius above each wrist. Sometimes a crossbeam (patibulum) was added, though other times just a tree or upright post (''crux simplex'', or ''stipes''), which is likely what the Quranic author had in mind.<ref>[https://www.tastesofhistory.co.uk/post/dispelling-some-myths-crucifixion Dispelling Some Myths: Crucifixion] - Tastes of History, March 31, 2024 ([https://web.archive.org/web/20250619085601/https://www.tastesofhistory.co.uk/post/dispelling-some-myths-crucifixion archive])</ref>

===Pharaoh as the name of a single Egyptian ruler===

One of the most prominent characters in the Quran is Pharaoh (fir'awn) in the story of Moses. Historically, Pharaoh was a title held by many rulers of Egypt and there are two in the Biblical Moses story (the first during his infancy). The Quran in contrast has a single character throughout the story and consistently uses it as his name rather than a title. According to academic scholars this is evident from the fact that fir'awn is grammatically an Arabic diptote, like all other personal names in the Quran, and never appears with the definite article (unlike for example al-malik, "the King"), even in construct. For a more detailed discussion see [[Historical Errors in the Quran]].

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|28|8|9}}|And the family of Pharaoh picked him up [out of the river] so that he would become to them an enemy and a [cause of] grief. Indeed, Pharaoh and Haman and their soldiers were deliberate sinners. And the wife of Pharaoh said, "[He will be] a comfort of the eye for me and for you. Do not kill him; perhaps he may benefit us, or we may adopt him as a son." And they perceived not.}}

===Nabatean rock tombs at al-Hijr as homes and palaces from before the time of Pharaoh===

The Qur'an frequently lists destroyed peoples of the past, particularly the peoples of Noah, Lot, Pharaoh's army, Midian, Aad and its successor, Thamud. The destruction of Thamud after they disbelieved their prophet Salih is mentioned many times, either by an earthquake {{Quran|7|78}} or a thunderous blast (for example {{Quran|54|31}}).

Its destruction is also alluded to by a believer from the family of Pharaoh:

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|40|28|31}}|And a believing man from the family of Pharaoh who concealed his faith said [...] And he who believed said, "O my people, indeed I fear for you [a fate] like the day of the companies - Like the custom of the people of Noah and of 'Aad and Thamud and those after them. And Allah wants no injustice for [His] servants.}}

The companies / factions (l-aḥzābu) is a term used collectively for the list of destroyed cities also in {{Quran-range|38|12|14}}.

[[w:Thamud|Thamud]] is a term used by experts for a people or peoples of a particular region over a number of centuries (8th century BCE to the 4th century CE), but the Qur'an speaks only of a particular destruction of Thamud after the warnings of their prophet Salih went unheeded. It describes them as the builders of well known palaces and homes, skillfully carved from the mountains, clarified in the Quran and hadith as a place in Arabia known as al Hijr (the rocky tract), or Mada'in Salih today.

The errors in the Quran here are two-fold: It is now known that these were actually elaborately carved tombs, not homes or palaces, and that they were made by the Nabateans from the 2nd century BCE to the 2nd century CE, not before the time of the Pharaohs<ref>[https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1293 Hegra Archaeological Site (al-Hijr / Madā ͐ in Ṣāliḥ) - unesco.org (includes many photographs of the tombs)]</ref>. Petra in Jordan was the Nabateans' more famous city before al Hijr and both share a common style of construction and carving. There are over 100 tombs at al-Hijr, some very large, and many of them small, believed even by a 14th Century CE Arab traveller to contain the bones of the people of Thamud in their houses.<ref>[https://whc.unesco.org/document/168945 al-Hijr UNESCO nomination document] p.36 (includes detailed site description)</ref>. Nabatean inscriptions forbid opening the tombs, reusing them or moving the bodies. The town of al-Hegra where the people lived some distance from the surrounding rock tombs was built of mud-brick and stone.<ref>[https://www.arabnews.com/node/350178 History and mystery of Al-Hijr, ancient capital of the Nabateans in Arabia] - Arabnews.com</ref>

The Quran says Thamud carved palaces from its plains, and homes from its mountains:

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|7|73|74}}|And to the Thamud [We sent] their brother Salih. He said, "O my people, worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him. There has come to you clear evidence from your Lord. This is the she-camel of Allah [sent] to you as a sign. So leave her to eat within Allah 's land and do not touch her with harm, lest there seize you a painful punishment. And remember when He made you successors after the 'Aad and settled you in the land, [and] '''you take for yourselves palaces from its plains and carve from the mountains, homes [ buyūtan بُيُوتًا <ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000317.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 280 بيوت ]</ref>]'''. Then remember the favors of Allah and do not commit abuse on the earth, spreading corruption."}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|26|149}}|And you carve out of the mountains, homes [ buyūtan بُيُوتًا ], with skill.}}

These ruins were well known to Muhammad's listeners:

{{Quote|{{Quran|29|38}}|And [We destroyed] 'Aad and Thamud, and it has become clear to you from their [ruined] dwellings [ masākinihim مَّسَٰكِنِهِمْ <ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume4/00000118.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 1394 مسكن]</ref>]. And Satan had made pleasing to them their deeds and averted them from the path, and they were endowed with perception.}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|89|9}}|And [with] Thamud, who carved out the rocks in the valley?}}

Al-Hijr is widely accepted as this location. It is also mentioned once by name in {{Quran-range|15|80|83}} ("the companions of al-Hijr") and its description and destruction matches that for Thamud.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|15|80|83}}|And certainly did the companions of Thamud [ al-Hijr ٱلْحِجْرِ ] deny the messengers. And We gave them Our signs, but from them they were turning away. And they used to carve from the mountains, houses [ buyūtan بُيُوتًا ], feeling secure. But the shriek seized them at early morning.}}

Al-Hijr is also identified in hadiths as the "al Hijr, land of Thamud" (al hijr ardi Thamudi الْحِجْرِ أَرْضِ ثَمُودَ):

{{Quote|{{Bukhari|||3379|darussalam}}|Narrated `Abdullah bin `Umar:

The people landed at the land of Thamud called Al-Hijr along with Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and they took water from its well for drinking and kneading the dough with it as well. (When Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) heard about it) he ordered them to pour out the water they had taken from its wells and feed the camels with the dough, and ordered them to take water from the well whence the she-camel (of Prophet Salih) used to drink.}}
===Samarians in ancient Egypt===
The Qu'ran states that Moses dealt with a Samarian during his time. However the Samarians did not exist until well over half a millennium after Moses is supposed to have existed.

Oxford Bibliographies (an academic website) says the following:

{{Quote|[https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195393361/obo-9780195393361-0176.xml Oxford Bibliographies - Samaria/Samaritans]|Samaria (Hebrew: Shomron) is mentioned in the Bible in 1 Kings 16:24 as the name of the mountain on which Omri, ruler of the northern Israelite kingdom in the 9th century BCE, built his capital, naming it also Samaria. After the conquest of the Northern Kingdom by the Assyrians in 722/721 BCE, the district surrounding the city was likewise called Samaria (Assyrian: Samerina). The Bible presents an etiology or folk etymology when it claims that the city was named after Shemer, the original owner from whom Omri bought the hill. It is more likely that the name is derived from the root šmr, to “watch, to guard”; that is, the hill was a point from which particularly the north–south route could be watched and guarded.}}

The likely root of the Quranic confusion is the story in the Bible, [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hosea%208&version=NIV Hosea 8:5-8] or [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Kings%2012&version=NIV 1 Kings 12:25-29] where there is mentioned a golden calf (or two of them) created in Samaria after the time of Solomon. One modern perspective holds that the Qur'an might be referring to Zimri, son of Salu (Numbers 25:14). However, the Quranic character is referred to three times in {{Quran-range|20|85|88}} as l-sāmiriyu with the definite article, "the Samiri", so this is a descriptive title rather than a proper name.

{{Quote|{{Quran|20|85}}|“( Allah) said; ‘We have tested thy people in thy absence: the Samiri has led them astray’.” }}{{Quote|{{Quran|20|95}}|“( Moses) said, ‘What then is thy case, O Samiri?’”}}

===Noah's worldwide flood===

''Main article: [[Historical Errors in the Quran#Noah's worldwide flood|Historical Errors in the Quran - Noah's worldwide flood]]''

The Quran contains a version of the worldwide-flood story widespread in ancient near-Eastern mythology and most famously found in the Bible. Since geological evidence suggests such a flood never took place, some modern Muslim scholars have reinterpreted the account in the Quran as referring to a more limited, local flood. Several elements in the tale, however, militate against this rereading. Elsewhere in the Quran whenever the heavens and earth are mentioned together, it means in their entirety. In this story waters are released from both of them. Another such detail is the storage of "two of each kind" of animal aboard the ship, since it is not clear what purpose this would serve if the flood were local. Similarly, the purpose of the boat itself appears unclear in this reading - as with the ample warning time that Noah was given, he and his family could have simply evacuated the area that was to be flooded. The relevant passage also states plainly that nothing, not even a tall mountain, could save an individual from drowning on that day except for Allah - this seems to contradict the idea that individuals and animals could have escaped the flood simply by evacuating the flooded area. Noah is recorded praying to God, "O my Lord! Leave not of the Unbelievers [kuffar], a single one on Earth!" - the flood is an answer to this prayer, which likewise suggests that the flood described is a global flood that drowns all those not chosen by Allah to persist aboard the ark.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|54|11|12}}|Then opened We the gates of heaven with pouring water And caused the earth to gush forth springs, so that the waters met for a predestined purpose.}}{{Quote|{{Quran|11|40}}|[So it was], until when Our command came and the oven overflowed, We said, "Load upon the ship of each [creature] two mates and your family, except those about whom the word has preceded, and [include] whoever has believed." But none had believed with him, except a few.}}{{Quote|{{Quran|71|26}}|And Noah, said: "O my Lord! Leave not of the Unbelievers, a single one on earth!}}{{Quote|{{Quran|11|43}}|The son replied: "I will betake myself to some mountain: it will save me from the water." Noah said: '''"This day nothing can save''', from the command of Allah, any but those on whom He hath mercy! "And the waves came between them, and the son was among those overwhelmed in the Flood.}}

===Countable currency in ancient Egypt===
Surah Yusuf mentions that the caravan that rescued the eponymous prophet from the pit sold him to an Egyptian "for a low price, a few dirhams". Leaving aside the fact that dirham coins did not exist in ancient Egypt, a more fundamental problem is that the price is indicated as having been some kind of discreetly countable currency: darāhima maʿdūdatin ("dirhams counted"). The word maʿdūdatin occurs throughout the Quran denoting something discreetly numbered, for example "[Fasting for] a limited number of days" in {{Quran|2|184}}. Thus, it is not describing a weight of valuable material, but a countable currency. Such a thing did not exist in ancient Egypt. Rather, there were stone weights, particularly the denben, for measuring amounts of precious metals and to price other goods that could be barter traded, but not itself nor units of metal used as a means of exchange.<ref>[https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1079/trade-in-ancient-egypt/ Trade in ancient Egypt] - World History Encyclopedia</ref>

{{Quote|{{Quran|12|20}}|And they sold him for a reduced price - a few dirhams - and they were, concerning him, of those content with little.}}

==Sociology==

===Linguistics===

{{Quote|{{Quran|2|31}}|And He taught Adam the names - all of them. Then He showed them to the angels and said, "Inform Me of the names of these, if you are truthful."}}

{{Quran-range|55|3|4}} states that Allah created man and taught him clear speech, while {{Quran|2|31}} quoted above states that Allah taught Adam the names of everything. Adam and his wife are both spoken to and speak articulate sentences with complex symbolic thought, for example {{Quran|7|23}}, and their sons have a fully articulate conversation in {{Quran-range|5|27|31}}.

While the species Homo sapiens arose c. 300,000 years ago, the [[w:Origin_of_language|earliest use of language]] is extremely uncertain and may even predate this. However, the earliest evidence for symbolic thought (necessary for complex utterances) dates to c. 100,000 years ago, consisting of very simple engraved markings on pieces of orche and egg shells,<ref>Tylén, K. et al. (2020) [https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1910880117 The evolution of early symbolic behavior in Homo sapiens] Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 117, Issue 9, p.4578-4584</ref> and an explosion of symbolic thought occured around 40,000 years ago.<ref>[https://www.amnh.org/explore/videos/humans/symbolic-thinking Thinking in Symbols] American Museum of Natural History website, 2012</ref>

Some 1.9 million species of plants and animals have been identified and named, out of some 8.7 million that may actually exist<ref name="plos">{{cite journal | author= Mora, C.| title=How Many Species Are There on Earth and in the Ocean?|journal=[[PLoS Biology]]|date=August 23, 2011|url=http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001127 |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.1001127 |pmid=21886479 |pmc=3160336 |volume=9 |pages=e1001127|display-authors=etal}}</ref>. Millions more have become extinct. Far more numerous are the living objects, galaxies, the countless stars and planets of the universe. In light of this, it is not clear what is meant by the idea that Allah taught Adam 'all the names', especially since the first humans do not appear to have been extremely knowledgeable.

Incidentally, the element in the Quranic verse in which the angels could not name animals after Adam had done so was a tale invented by a Rabbi. See the relevant section on that topic in the article [[Parallels_Between_the_Qur%27an_and_Late_Antique_Judeo-Christian_Literature#The_angels_could_not_name_animals_when_Adam_was_created|Parallels Between the Qur'an and Late Antique Judeo-Christian Literature]].

===Arabic as eminently accessible===

Fewer than 4% of the world's population grows up speaking Arabic. The Arabic of this 4%, however, is not the Arabic of the Quran and is instead comprised of various regional dialects of modern colloquial Arabic. The text of the Quran is thus directly accessible only to a small portion of the world's population. Additionally, there are present in the Quran many words, phrases, and references whose original 7th century Arabic meaning, being unrecorded, has been entirely lost to history or, in some cases, has remained subject to inconclusive debates. Consequently, while Muslims are obligated to pray and recite the Quran in Arabic, it is only a small proportion of the Muslim population that can claim to have some sense of what they recite on a daily basis. These circumstances are difficult to reconcile with the Quran's assertion that the Quran was 'revealed in Arabic so that people may understand it'.

{{Quote|{{Quran|43|3}}|
We have made it a Qur'an in Arabic, that ye may be able to understand (and learn wisdom). }}

===The people of Lot as the first homosexuals===
{{Main|Lut}}

Despite the overwhelming evidence (listed in the main article) that homosexuality occurs naturally in all populations, the Quran claims the first people to commit the act were in a town to which the prophet Lut was sent.

This is set long after the first humans (who appeared ~300,000 years ago),<ref>[https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/essential-timeline-understanding-evolution-homo-sapiens-180976807/ An Evolutionary Timeline of Homo Sapiens] - Smithsonian Institution magazine - 2 February 2021</ref> with the town described in the story being too advanced for a [[w:Hunter-gatherer|hunter-gatherer]] tribe society, so at the earliest is set after the first [[w:Neolithic_Revolution|Agricultural Revolution]] in the following [[w:Neolithic|Neolithic]] period where these kind of settlements began to occur, beginning ~12,000 years ago.<ref>[https://www.history.com/topics/pre-history/neolithic-revolution Neolithic Revolution] - History.com</ref> Yet we are told:
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|7|80|81}}|And [We had sent] Lot when he said to his people, "Do you commit such immorality as no one has preceded you with from among the worlds? Indeed, you approach men with desire, instead of women. Rather, you are a transgressing people."}}

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|29|28|29}}|And [mention] Lot, when he said to his people, "Indeed, you commit such immorality as no one has preceded you with from among the worlds. Indeed, you approach men and obstruct the road and commit in your meetings [every] evil." And the answer of his people was not but they said, "Bring us the punishment of Allah, if you should be of the truthful."}}

===The witness of a woman is worth half that of a man===
''Main Articles: [[Islam and Women|Islam and Women - WikiIslam]] and [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Women]]''

There is no proof that women lie more than men. In fact, to the contrary there is research showing that while dishonesty or intelligence is not caused by the sex of a person, certain studies suggest that men tend to lie more on average as a group than women.<ref>''[https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.820923 Frontiers | Face-to-Face Lying: Gender and Motivation to Deceive (frontiersin.org)]''. Pekka Santtila. Judee K Burgoon. Norah E. Dunbar. 2022. Front. Psychol., 22 March 2022 Sec. Forensic and Legal Psychology Volume 13 - 2022 | <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.820923</nowiki>

This research article written and reviewed by three university professors covers previous academic studies on this topic, they quote e.g. a meta-analysis on honesty where men were 4% more dishonest than women (Gerlach et al., 2019), and see the General Discussion section for an overview of their findings (confirming men lie more on average) on this topic and it's nuances. </ref> Men also commit crime in much higher rates than women across the world,<ref>''[https://www.encyclopedia.com/law/legal-and-political-magazines/gender-and-crime Gender and Crime | Encyclopedia.com].'' Gender and Crime. Law. Legal and political magazines.

Article written by Professors Darrell Steffensmeier and Emilie Allan.</ref> and this is not just limited to violent crime.<ref>E.g. Fraud: [https://www.statista.com/statistics/461354/distribution-of-perpetrators-of-fraud-cases-by-gender/ ''Distribution of perpetrators of fraud cases worldwide in 2020 and 2021, by gender'']. Statica. Einar H. Dyvik, Aug 5, 2022.

And white collar crime inc. corporate fraud: [https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-do-men-commit-more-crimes-than-women-prof-k-jaishankar-ps45c ''Why do men commit more crimes than women?''] Prof (Dr.) K Jaishankar. Principal Director & Professor of Criminology - IIJPS. Jan 13 2024.</ref> Women are also not less intelligent than men.<ref>E.g. There is no difference between men and women in general intelligence: Hunt, Earl B. (2010). [https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Human_Intelligence/DwO4TtKAiCoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA389&printsec=frontcover ''Human Intelligence''.] Cambridge University Press. p. 389. ISBN <bdi>978-1139495110</bdi>.

Similarly ''<nowiki/>'"there are both differences and similarities in the cognitive abilities of women and men, but there is no data-based rationale to support the idea that either is the smarter or superior sex."''' Halpern, Diane F. (2001). "[https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Encyclopedia_of_Women_and_Gender_Two_Vol/guzbKF8vTVcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA964&printsec=frontcover ''Sex Difference Research – Cognitive Abilities'']". In Worell, Judith (ed.). Encyclopedia of Women and Gender. Elsevier Science. p. 964. <nowiki>ISBN 0080548490</nowiki>. ''For a summary see pp 963 - 967.''

Women consistently beat men on average in grades at school: [https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/09/why-girls-get-better-grades-than-boys-do/380318/ ''Why Girls Tend to Get Better Grades Than Boys Do''] - The Atlantic. Education. Enrico Gnaulati. 2014
</ref> The Quran, however, rules that two women are needed to substitute for a man when witnessing financial contracts (a hadith, {{Bukhari|||304|darussalam}}, explains this as a deficiency in the intelligence of women).
{{Quote|{{Quran|2|282}}|O you who have faith! When you contract a loan for a specified term, write it down. Let a writer write with honesty between you, and let not the writer refuse to write as Allah has taught him. So let him write, and let the one who incurs the debt dictate, and let him be wary of Allah, his Lord, and not diminish anything from it. But if the debtor be feeble-minded, or weak, or incapable of dictating himself, then let his guardian dictate with honesty, and take as witness two witnesses from your men, and if there are not two men, then a man and two women—from those whom you approve as witnesses—so that if one of the two defaults the other will remind her. The witnesses must not refuse when they are called, and do not consider it wearisome to write it down, whether it be a big or small sum, [as a loan lent] until its term. That is more just with Allah and more upright in respect to testimony, and the likeliest way to avoid doubt, unless it is an on-the-spot deal you transact between yourselves, in which case there is no sin upon you not to write it. Take witnesses when you make a deal, and let no harm be done to the writer or witness, and if you did that, it would be sinful of you. Be wary of Allah and Allah will teach you, and Allah has knowledge of all things.}}
Apologists typically argue that the scope of the rule is limited and contextualise it to the needs of women in 7th century Arabia, or argue that this is a command from God, and so human ideas of logic or fairness may not apply, making it not an 'error'. Critics contend that the verse reveals a misogynistic view of women, evidence of its human authorship from a highly patriarchal society of 7th century Arabia, rather than an all-knowing and just God.

==Miracles and myths==
{{Main|Magic, Miracles, and the Supernatural in the Qur'an}}
While miracles by definition are supposed to defy the laws of nature and scientific explanation, the examples of myths and legends briefly listed in this section illustrate the pre-scientific worldview with which the Quran was composed.

===Humans turned apes===

The Qur'an records a miraculous event where Sabbath breakers are transformed into apes.

{{Quote|{{Quran|2|65}}|
And well ye knew those amongst you who transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath: We said to them: "Be ye apes, despised and rejected." }}

===Mooing statue===

The Qur'an describes a statue of a calf that was capable of mooing.
{{Quote|{{Quran|20|88}}|So he brought forth for them a calf, a (mere) body, which had a mooing sound, so they said: This is your god and the god of Musa, but he forgot.}}

===Supernatural food===
The Qur'an states that Jesus received a feast sent down from heaven.

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|5|114|115}}|
Jesus, son of Mary, said: O Allah, Lord of us! '''Send down for us a table spread with food from heaven, that it may be a feast for us''', for the first of us and for the last of us, and a sign from Thee. Give us sustenance, for Thou art the Best of Sustainers. Allah said: Lo! I send it down for you. And whoso disbelieveth of you afterward, him surely will I punish with a punishment wherewith I have not punished any of (My) creatures.}}

===Stick turned serpent===
The Quran states that Moses' staff transformed into a serpent.

{{Quote|{{Quran|7|107}}|
Then (Moses) threw his rod, and behold! it was a serpent, plain (for all to see)! }}

===The existence and attributes of Jinn===
{{Main|Jinn}}

The Quran, Hadith and Sira all support the existence of supernatural, generally invisible creatures known as Jinn (جن‎ ''ǧinn'', singular جني ''ǧinnī'' ; variant spelling ''djinn'') living among us. In the [[Qur'an]], satan/devil(s) are also jinn ({{Quran|18|50}}), which like humans are sent prophets and have (at least some: ''see [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Predestination]]'') free-will and will be judged accordingly alongside mankind ({{Quran|6|130}}). They can interact with us ({{Quran|6|128}}) and even possess humans ({{Quran|2|275}}) (which the main article elaborates on), and cause people to forget things ({{Quran|18|63}}). As well as create buildings/structures ({{Quran|34|12-13}}). There is no evidence that these exist.

{{Quote|{{quran|72|1}}|Say, [O Muhammad], "It has been revealed to me that a group of the jinn listened and said, 'Indeed, we have heard an amazing Qur'an.}}

===Solomon's Army of jinn and birds===

A story in the Qur'an, drawing on Jewish folklore, states that Solomon commanded a massive army comprised of 'Jinns and men and birds'. Solomon is described as speaking with a Hoopoe bird and thereafter desiring to execute the bird when it is tardy to his assembly. The Hoopoe bird, it is then revealed, was only delayed because it had been spying on a beautiful female ruler, Queen Sheba, who Solomon subsequently insists is misguided and must be conquered. At this point, Solomon assigns a Jinn from his assembly the task of stealing Queen Sheba's magnificent throne. There is, however, no scientific evidence that Jinn exist, that birds can be commanded as soldiers, or that birds can engage in elaborate conversations with humans.

{{Quote|{{Quran|27|16-17}}|
And Solomon was David's heir. He said: "O ye people! We have been taught the speech of birds, and on us has been bestowed (a little) of all things: this is indeed Grace manifest (from Allah.)And before Solomon were marshalled his hosts― of Jinns and men and birds, and they were all kept in order and ranks.}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|27|20-23}}|
And he took a muster of the Birds; and he said: "Why is it I see not the Hoopoe? Or is he among the absentees? I will certainly punish him with a severe Penalty, or execute him, unless he bring me a clear reason (for absence). But the Hoopoe tarried not far: he (came up and) said: "I have compassed (territory) which thou hast not compassed, and I have come to thee from Saba with tidings true. I found (there) a woman ruling over them and provided with every requisite; and she has a magnificent throne.}}

===The existence of magic and sorcerers===
''Main article: [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Witchcraft and the Occult]]''

No evidence has ever proven that magic is real. However, {{Quran|113|4}} ("evil of those who blow on knots") is reported in commentaries as referring to those who practice magic.<ref>[https://quranx.com/tafsirs/113.4 Tafsirs for Quran 113:4]</ref> Knots were commonly associated with magic in antiquity.<ref>Day, C. L. (1950). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1520741 Knots and Knot Lore. Western Folklore], 9(3), 229–256</ref> The next verse, {{Quran|113|5}} ("evil of the envious when he envies), is said to refer to a superstitious belief known as 'The Evil Eye', a physical and mental supernatural condition that affects those who envy. For further explanation see the [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Witchcraft and the Occult|main article]].
{{Quote|{{Quran|113|1-5}}|1. Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of the dawn 
2. From the evil of what He has created 
3. And from the evil of the utterly dark night when it comes 
4. And from the evil of those who blow on knots 
5. And from the evil of the envious when he envies}}

At least once, humans are taught magic by satans (believed to be jinn) and angels ([[w:Harut and Marut|Harut and Marut]] are named in this verse):
{{Quote|{{Quran|2|102}}|and they follow what the Satans recited over Solomon's kingdom. Solomon disbelieved not, but the Satans disbelieved, teaching the people sorcery, and that which was sent down upon Babylon's two angels, Harut and Marut; they taught not any man, without they said, 'We are but a temptation; do not disbelieve.' From them they learned how they might divide a man and his wife, yet they did not hurt any man thereby, save by the leave of God, and they learned what hurt them, and did not profit them, knowing well that whoso buys it shall have no share in the world to come; evil then was that they sold themselves for, if they had but known.}}

===Living inside a big fish===

The Quran presents a version of the Biblical tale in which Jonah is swallowed by a whale ('the big Fish') and then lives in the whale for some time while praying. Scientific research, however, suggests that a person could not persist long inside a whale's digestive tract and, if not crushed by the whale or by water pressure, would almost immediately suffocate.

{{Quote|{{Quran|37|142}}|Then the big Fish did swallow him, and he had done acts worthy of blame. Had it not been that he (repented and) glorified Allah, He would certainly have remained inside the Fish till the Day of Resurrection. But We cast him forth, on the naked shore in a state of sickness}}

===Buraq, the winged horse===
{{Main|Buraq}}

While it took one week to travel from Mecca to Jerusalem (the location of the alleged 'farthest Mosque') by camel, the Qur'an states that a magical winged horse, called the Buraq, transported Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem in a matter of minutes. Creatures like the Buraq were common characters in near Easter myths.

{{Quote|{{Quran|17|1}}|
Glory to (Allah) Who did take His servant for a Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did bless,- in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the One Who heareth and seeth (all things). }}

===Speaking body parts===

The Quran states that human organs will, on the Day of Judgement, testify against their own persons.

{{Quote|{{Quran|24|24}}|
On the Day when their tongues, their hands, and their feet will bear witness against them as to their actions. }}

===Sea split in half===

The Quran present a version of the Biblical story where Moses splits the sea and crosses it with the Israelites. There is no historical or other evidence that such an event occured.

{{Quote|{{Quran|2|50}}|
And remember '''We divided the sea for you''' and saved you and drowned Pharaoh's people within your very sight. }}

===Manipulating the wind===

The Quran says that Solomon had the power to control the wind and traditional sources elaborate that Solomon could use this wind to fly upon a gigantic wooden carpet to wherever he pleased.

{{Quote|{{Quran|38|36}}|
Then We subjected the wind to his power, to flow gently to his order, Whithersoever he willed }}

{{Quote|Tafsir Ibn-Kathir on 21:81 | A flying carpet made from wood, on top of which he could carry everything in his kingdom including chairs, to wherever Solomon wants to go, whilst flocks of birds would fly over to give shade }}

===Testimony of a dead man===

The Quran states that Allah instructed a group of people to strike a murdered man with a piece of a heifer (young female cow that has not yet borne a calf) in order to temporarily resurrect him and discover the identity of the murderer.
{{Quote|{{Quran|2|73}}|
And We said: Smite him with some of it. Thus Allah bringeth the dead to life and showeth you His portents so that ye may understand. }}

===Mountains and birds sing psalms===
The Qur'an states that hills and birds would sing the psalms with David.
{{Quote|{{Quran|34|10}}|
And assuredly We gave David grace from Us, (saying): O ye hills and birds, echo his psalms of praise! And We made the iron supple unto him}}

==Other==

===Unmathematical inheritance laws===
{{Main|Contradictions in the Quran}}

{{Quote|{{Quran|4|11-12}}|
4.11: Allah (thus) directs you as regards your Children's (Inheritance): to the male, a portion equal to that of two females: if only daughters, two or more, their share is two-thirds of the inheritance; if only one, her share is a half. For parents, a sixth share of the inheritance to each, if the deceased left children; if no children, and the parents are the (only) heirs, the mother has a third; if the deceased Left brothers (or sisters) the mother has a sixth. (The distribution in all cases ('s) after the payment of legacies and debts. Ye know not whether your parents or your children are nearest to you in benefit. These are settled portions ordained by Allah; and Allah is All-knowing, Al-wise.

4.12: In what your wives leave, your share is a half, if they leave no child; but if they leave a child, ye get a fourth; after payment of legacies and debts. In what ye leave, their share is a fourth, if ye leave no child; but if ye leave a child, they get an eighth; after payment of legacies and debts. If the man or woman whose inheritance is in question, has left neither ascendants nor descendants, but has left a brother or a sister, each one of the two gets a sixth; but if more than two, they share in a third; after payment of legacies and debts; so that no loss is caused (to any one). Thus is it ordained by Allah; and Allah is All-knowing, Most Forbearing. }}
In a variety of situations, the shares of inheritance outlined in the Quran leave ambiguities or add up to more than one.<ref>http://www.answering-islam.org/Quran/Contra/i001.html</ref>

*Wife: 1/8 = 3/24,
*Daughters: 2/3 = 16/24,
*Father: 1/6 = 4/24,
*Mother: 1/6 = 4/24,
*'''Total''' = 27/24=1.125

To deal with situations where the total shares exceed one, Caliph Umar innovated the [https://www.islamweb.net/en/fatwa/222526/the-origion-of-awl-in-inheritance-law post-Quranic 'awl system] whereby the shares are all reduced by the same proportion so that they add up to one. This is often falsely presented in online discourse as the agreed solution for all such scenarios.

In fact, yet another post-Quranic approach was invented when there are no children and the share for the spouse in verse 12 and for the parents in verse 11 was thought to exceed one.

If the deceased is survived only by a spouse and both parents, the spouse receives their full Quranic share (a quarter for a widow, or a half for a widower). Then the shares for the deceased's parents are calculated from the remainder of the estate (a third of the remainder for the mother, two thirds of the remainder for the father). This procedure too is credited to Umar and is used in online inheritance calculators.

Some companions such as Ibn Abbas and Ali advocated a different approach in this scenario: both the spouse and the mother receive their full Quranic shares of the original estate (a quarter / half, and a third, respectively). Then the remainder after that goes to the father. This was rejected by the majority, who assumed the father cannot inherit less than the mother and interpreted the inheritance for parents in verse 11 as though the word "only" was present (seen in brackets in the above translation).<ref>A. Hussain, ''The Islamic Law of Succession'', Maktaba Dar-us-Salam, 2005, pp. 169-173</ref>

Critics also note that an inheritance contradiction occurs between the above verses and {{Quran|4|176}}, a verse oddly appended to the end of the surah (see discussion at end of the main article).

==See Also==

*[[Islam and Science]]
*[[Scientific Miracles in the Quran]]

==References==
{{reflist}}\
[[Category:Apologetics]]
[[Category:Islam and Science]]
[[Category:Cosmology]]
[[Category:Criticism of Islam]]
[[Category:Qur'an]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Reproductive sciences]]
[[ar:أخطاء_علمية_في_القرآن]]