Physics of the Holy Qur'an
Over recent years, scientists, astronomers, oceanographers and the like
have been able to discover important phenomenon with the advance of
science and technology. Yet the Holy Qur'an, revealed over fourteen
hundred years ago, remarkably uncovered these now
scientifically-established facts at a time when telescopes and similar
technological advancements were not even heard of. Amazingly, the
overwhelming agreement of its verses with science and modern-day
scientific discoveries continues to be proven to this day.
Below are
but a few examples that allow us to conceive Allah’s infinite power and
knowledge clearly manifest in His miraculous book, the Holy Qur'an.
The Barriers Between Adjacent Seas
Recently,
oceanographers have discovered that when two neighboring or different
seas meet, there is a barrier between them such that they do not mix,
with each sea having its own temperature, salinity, and density. For
example, the Mediterranean Sea water is warm, saline, and less dense in
comparison to the Atlantic Ocean water. Due to the difference in the
density of the waters, the force of surface tension prevents the seas
from intermixing, regardless of all the large waves, strong currents,
and tides that they encounter.
As the human eye cannot
differentiate between two adjacent seas, this scientific finding was
only made possible with the use of advanced scientific equipment.
Amazingly, the Quran told mankind of the barrier between two seas long
before the invention of such equipment:
He has let loose the two seas, converging together, with a barrier between them they do not break through. (Qur'an, 55:19-20)
Formation of Rain
Meteorologists
have recently determined the details of cloud function and rain
formation with the aid of advanced equipment such as satellites, planes,
and computers. They have found that cumulonimbus clouds go through
three stages to produce rain: the clouds are pushed along by the wind,
the small clouds then join together forming a larger cloud, and these in
turn gradually stack up vertically due to updrafts in the center of the
cloud pushing upwards. The vertical growth results in the cloud
stretching into cooler regions, where water droplets and hail begin to
formulate. When these water drops and hail become too heavy for the
cloud to carry, they fall to the ground as rain/hail.
We learn this process of rain formation from science today, yet Allah the Almighty enlightened us over 14 hundred years ago:
Have
you not seen how Allah drives along the clouds, then joins them
together, then makes them into a stack, and then you see the rain come
out of it? (Qur'an, 24:43)
Hail and Lightning
Allah has further said in the Holy Qur'an:
And
He sends down from the sky mountain masses [of clouds] with cold hail
in them, striking with it anyone He wills and averting it from anyone He
wills. The brightness of His lightning almost blinds the sight. (Qur'an, 24:43)
Meteorologists
have found the cumulonimbus clouds that shower hail, which stack
vertically as previously mentioned, generally reach a height of 25,000
to 30,000 feet (and beyond) like "mountains", as the verse indicates.
The verse also confirms modern science's general claim that hail storms
are associated with the generation of lightning – yet another relatively
new discovery by mankind.
Darkness of Deep Seas and Internal Waves
Allah tells us:
Or
[the unbelievers' state] is like the darkness of a fathomless sea,
which is covered by waves above which are waves above which are clouds,
layers of darkness, one upon the other. If he puts out his hand, he can
scarcely see it. (Qur'an, 24:40)
Today we know that some
hundreds of meters in a deep sea there is indeed darkness, such that
below1000 meters, there is no light at all. As humans cannot descend to
the deep, dark depths of the seas without the aid of submarines or other
special equipment, the discovery of the darkness of deep seas was only
found when the necessary equipment became available in recent years.
By
stating that the deep waters of seas and oceans are "covered by waves
upon which are waves upon which are clouds", Allah also tells us of the
existence of internal waves that are not actually visible on the
surface. It is clear the second set of waves mentioned are the surface
waves we do see, because as mentioned in the verse, above these waves
are clouds. Indeed, scientists find today there are internal waves
occurring on density interfaces, between layers of different density
waters (deeper water has greater density than waters above it). These
internal waves could only be discerned by scientists with the aid of
advanced, powerful equipment that can detect temperature and/or salinity
changes at a given location in the sea – clearly not possible during
the time the Qur'an was sent down!
The Sky as a Protected Roof
And we made the heaven/sky a well-protected roof, yet still they turn away from Our Signs. (Qur'an, 21:32)
Without
us realizing it, the protective nature of the atmosphere allows us and
all other living things to survive in safety. Amongst other things, our
atmosphere protects life on Earth by warming the surface through heat
retention (the greenhouse effect), reducing temperature extremes between
day and night, and destroying the millions of meteors as they approach
the Earth. If the atmosphere did not exist, these meteors would fall
through and certainly make the Earth an inhabitable place.
We
also now know of the ozone layer (discovered only in 1913), which is a
layer of gas of the Earth's atmosphere surrounding it some 15 to 35 km
above its surface. This 20 km wide layer acts as a natural filter,
allowing only harmless and useful rays of light to pass through while
absorbing 93-99 percent of the sun's harmful high-frequency
ultraviolet rays
which, if passed through to the Earth, would be extremely damaging to
life. However, near-ultraviolet rays are particularly important for the
photosynthesis of plants and thus, remarkably, are partially let in by
the atmosphere to allow for their survival.
The amazing
attributes of this protective and protected atmosphere that Allah has
created for us has been established through scientific research
centuries after the revelation of the Qur'an.
The Expansion of the Universe
Allah describes the expansion of the universe in the following verse:
And it is We who have constructed the heaven with might, and verily, it is We who are steadily expanding it. (Qur'an, 51:47)
The
word "heaven" is used in various other places in the Qur'an, referring
to outer space and the wider universe. Today, modern science has
confirmed that the universe is indeed constantly expanding; however, it
is a discovery established only in the 20th century. Until then, even
the greatest of minds such as Albert Einstein claimed the universe
either a) had its confines, or b) was in an infinite space. The third
alternative (the actual truth) of a dynamically expanding universe,
realised by scientists after much research and deliberation and only
after the invention of the telescope, was incredibly revealed to us by
Allah over fourteen centuries ago!
The Holy Qur'an is filled
with numerous such scientific statements articulated in a very succinct
yet profound manner, which, due to the extremely low level of scientific
and technological knowledge, could never have been known to man during
the time of its revelation. As science continues to progress, the verses
of the Qur'an continue to reveal the miracles of this divine book.
Indeed it is the truth, the word of the Almighty Lord, who is the
Originator of everything, and the One who encompasses all with His
infinite knowledge.