14 centuries ago, God revealed the Qur’an to humanity as a book of wisdom. He asked us to follow it to the letter of the law. From the day it was revealed to the day of judgment, this final divine book will be the only guide for mankind.
The incomparable style of the Quran and the profound wisdom in it are proof enough that it is God’s word. The Qur’an also has many miracles that prove that it is a revelation from God.
One of these miracles is that many scientific truths that we are only able to discover through the 20th century’s technology were declared in the Qur‘an 12,000 years ago.
All these superstitions were refuted by the Qur’an. In verse 2 of Sura Sad: “He is He who lifted up the heavens above us without any support.” (The Qur’an 38:2)
This verse refuted the superstition that the sky remained above because of mountains.
Let’s now take a closer look at some of the scientific wonders found in the Qur’an.
1 – Embryology in the Quran
Human Embryo Development (HED) is a scientific fact that was mentioned in the Quran before scientists could prove it.
According to the Quran, the conceptus is made up of a mixture of elements; the first embryo attaches to the uterine wall; develops into a ball; develops into a bony structure covered with skin; and gives birth to the soul within the body.
2 – Shape Of The Earth
The Earth is round. Many scientists and hundreds but not thousands of people dispute this fact, with some saying that the Earth is flat and others saying that it is round. Therefore, the proof that the Earth is round comes from the word of God Almighty.
3 – The Big Bang
One hundred years ago, most of the world’s leading scientists believed the universe was always there, that it didn’t need a Creator, and that’s where Einstein came in.
His ‘field equations’ showed that the universe expanded like a balloon, and the Belgian priest and mathematician, George Lemaitre, realized that this expansion must have originated from somewhere, that it must have originated from an initial dense point, and that’s how the Big Bang came to be.
Today, the Big Bang is the foundation of our understanding of the universe’s origins.What most people don’t know is that the Quran accurately describes the Big Bang 1400 years before our time.
4 – Tectonic Plates
One of the most significant scientific breakthroughs of the 21st century was the finding that the continents of the Earth are not solid.
In verses like these, the Holy Quran says that the Earth is spread out. It’s hard to make sense of this verse unless you look at it in the light of science.
Today, we know that the tectonic plates form in a process literally known as the spreading of the seafloor. This process takes place at the middle of the ocean ridges where magma erupts from the Earth to form the oceanic crust.
This process also creates volcanoes at the bottom of the ocean, which turn into seamounts, also known as rāwasiya.
But there’s more to it than that. The Earth’s crust isn’t just built on top of the seafloor, it’s built on top of it. Tectonic plates are also built on top of each other. They were once one giant supercontinent called Pangaea. But now they’re spread out all over the planet to create the Earth we live on.
The Quran talks about the shifting ground we walk on, and it links it to the seamounts. It’s a testament to the power of the Quran for our modern age.
5 – Rain – Coming Down In Decided Proportion
Have you ever asked yourself why sometimes it rains and sometimes it doesn’t rain? Some of us think it just happens by accident while others think it’s because of Allah’s command.
16 million tons of water are vaporized from the Earth every second, which means that the same amount of water must be replaced by rain.
This balance is maintained by Allah (صله و تصالى), who not only decides the amount of rain but also how quickly it falls. You can see the difference in speed when it rains in a storm and when it drizzles in a drizzle.
When it rains heavily, it causes destruction and loss of life and property. When it rains lightly, nothing is damaged. This is why the Prophet taught us to pray to Allah for good rain.
Bernhard Palissy discovered the water cycle in 16th century, but it wasn’t until the 19th century that German physicist Philipp Lenard found a connection between the speed of rain and the size of the raindrop.
Here are some duas and sunnahs to perform when it rains.
6 – Sky – A Protective Covering
Until the 20th century, scientists didn’t even know that the sky is a protective dome.
Not only is the sky beautiful to behold, but it plays a vital role in our survival as well. The Sun emits energy in different wavelengths, and the shorter the wavelengths, the more likely it is to cause harm. However, some of this energy is needed for essential functions like photosynthesis in plants and Vitamin D production in human beings.
God has designed a mechanism to ensure that only harmless rays reach the earth. This mechanism is known as the ‘ozone layer’. Scientists discovered this layer in 1913.
The atmosphere around us keeps a certain temperature that is suitable for us to live in. Without it, temperatures would drop down to as low as -270°C, freezing us to death.
The sky acts as our protective shield, keeping the heavenly bodies from falling upon us. If there was no sky, and the stars and sun did not stay at their places as they should, what would happen? Things would fall over our heads? Everyday life would become problematic.
Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) says in the Quran:
7 – Frontal Lobe
In the story of Abu Jahl, who was a cruel and oppressive tribal leader during the time of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) in Surah Al-Ablah, Allah revealed a verse that says:
According to a book called ‘Essentials Of Anatomy And Physiology’, the forehead or frontal region of the brain is said to be responsible for motivation and foresight for planning and initiating movements.
All of this occurs in the prefrontal region of the brain. It is said that if you don’t stop moving, the part of your brain that controls movement and planning is going to seize up. Other studies have shown that it is the prefrontal region that controls the function of lying.
The most significant thing to bear in mind is that the concept of knowledge in Islam (Al-ILM) is the guiding light (Huda), which distinguishes the good from the bad (Al furqan).
So, just as the sun gives us light to see the universe around us, so does Al-ILm give us guidance to see Allah’s signs (SWT).
8 – What Lies Beneath Mountains
Mountains are one of the most impressive features of the earth’s landscape. What’s under the mountain’s surface has remained a mystery until modern technology came into being. The Quran, however, gave us clues more than a thousand years ago.
Here mountains are referred to as al-jibāl. Awtādan is a root which means pegs. Amazingly, in modern geology, mountains have roots that run deep into the crust of the earth.
9 – Reviving the Dead Heart
In surah al-baqarah, we see a case in which a man is killed, but the killer is not known. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) instructs hitting the person’s heart with a piece of a cow.
Again, Allah (صلبه و صلبه) says, “Use your intellect to understand His signs and the wonders of the Quran.”
While this is an exceptional case, with the aim of finding the murderer, it suggests massaging or striking the chest to revive a stopped heart.
This is very similar to resuscitation, which is a medical procedure to bring someone back to life from unconsciousness or near death.
In resuscitation, pressure is placed on the rib cage at regular intervals to cause rhythm in the heart.
It’s hard to believe that so many of today’s greatest scientific breakthroughs, from the discovery of complex biological processes in embryoological development to the unraveling of the Big Bang and cosmological expansion, were predicted fourteen hundred years ago in the holy book.
Without divine intervention, how could an illiterate man in the middle of the Arabian desert dream such things, much less predict them with such incredible precision? We say, no, and we take this as proof that the holy book wasn’t the word of man but the word of God.
10 – The Depth of the Waves
Remarkably, oceanographic experts have asserted that contrary to the common perception of waves occurring solely on the ocean’s surface, internal waves transpire beneath the water’s surface. These waves, imperceptible to human vision, require specialized equipment for detection.
