|
Coming back to the basic ideas on the Creation of the Universe taken from the Holy Quran and found to be accurate in the light of modern scientific data, it is not irrelevant to make a mention that the existence of an enormous difference between the Biblical description and the data in the Qur'an concerning the Creation refutes the totally gratuitous accusations leveled against Muhammad since the beginnings of Islam to the effect that he copied the Biblical descriptions. As far as the Creation is concerned, this accusation is totally unfounded. How could a man living fourteen hundred years ago have made corrections to the existing description to such an extent that he eliminated scientifically inaccurate material and, on his own initiative, made statements that science has been able to verify only in the present day? This hypothesis is completely untenable as the description of the Creation given in the Quran is quite different from the one in the Bible.
In short, Al-Qur'an is full of reflections on the Heavens indicating the plurality of the Heavens and Earths and an intermediary creation 'between the Heavens and the Earth', that has been duly verified by the modern science. Here are some instances:
Do they not look at the sky above them, how We have built it and adorned it, and there are no rifts in it (50:6)
(God) created the heavens without any pillars that you can see...(31:10)
God is the One Who raised the heavens without any pillars that you can see, then He firmly established Himself on the throne and He subjected the sun and moon (to his Law)! Each one runs (its course) for a term appointed. He doth regulate all affairs, explaining the signs in detail, that ye may believe with certainty in the meeting with your Lord (13:2).
These two verses refute the belief that the vault of the heavens was held up by pillars, the only things preventing the former from crushing the earth.
Seest thou not that God has made subject to you (men) all that is on the earth, and the ships that sail through the sea by His Command? He withholds the sky (rain) from failing on the earth except by His leave: for God is Most Kind and Most Merciful to man (22:65)
It is known how the remoteness of celestial masses at great distance and in proportion to the magnitude of their mass itself constitutes the foundation of their equilibrium. The more remote the masses are, the weaker the force is that attracts one to the other. The nearer they are, the stronger the attraction is that one has to the other: this is true for the Moon, which is near to the Earth (astronomically speaking) and exercises an influence by laws of attraction on the position occupied by the waters of the sea, hence we see the phenomenon of the tides. If two celestial bodies come too close to one another, collision is inevitable. The fact that they are subjected to an order is the sine qua non for the absence of clash and collision.
For you (God) subjected all that is in the heavens and on the earth, all from Him. Behold! In that are signs for people who reflect (45:13)
The sun and moon (are subjected) to calculations (55:5)
For you (God) subjected the sun and the moon, both diligently pursuing their courses. And for you He subjected the night and the day (14:33)
Here one verse completes another: the calculations referred to result in the regularity of the course described by the heavenly bodies in question, this is expressed by the word da'ib, the present participle of a verb whose original meaning was 'to work eagerly and assiduously at something'. Here it is given the meaning of 'to apply oneself to something with care in a perseverant, invariable manner, in accordance with set rules'.
For you (God) subjected the night and the day, the sun and the moon; the stars are in subjection to His Command. Verily in this are signs for people who are wise (16:12)
In the Quran this perfect celestial order is seen particularly from the practical angle and on account of its value as an aid to man's travel on earth and by sea, and to his calculation of time due to the fact that Quran was originally a preaching addressed to men who only understood the simple language of their everyday lives. This explains the presence of the following reflections:
(God) is the One Who has set out for you the stars, that you may guide yourselves by them through the darkness of the land and of the sea. We have detailed the signs for people who know (6:97)
(God sets on the earth) landmarks and by the stars (men) guide themselves (16:16)
God is the One Who made the sun a shining glory and the moon a light and for her ordained mansions, so that you might know the number of years and the reckoning (of the time). God created this in truth. He explains the signs in detail for people who know (10:5)
Black Holes
The Koran is aware of the phenomenon of "black holes", stars that have collapsed under their intense gravitational field, so that even light cannot escape therein. The Koran stated over 1200 years before the concept was stated by John Michell in 1767, and 1400 years before John Archibald Wheeler coined the term "black hole" in 1968:
I swear by the sky and (the phenomena of) Tariq.
And what will explain to you what Tariq is?
It is a star that pierces (or makes a hole). 86:1-3)
| 
