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Geological
Information In The Qur'an
How
do you present proof of this religion to those who do not speak the language of
the Arabs or know anything about the inimitable eloquence of the Qur'aan?
Is it the only way for them to learn this language of the Arabs and to master
its sciences? The answer, of course, is no. Allah,
may He be Glorified and Exalted, has shown mercy to them and to all other
generations by sending the appropriate evidence to all mankind, irrespective of
their different races, languages, and times.
We have Professor Palmer who is one of the foremost geologists in the United States of America. He headed a committee which organized the Centennial Anniversary of the American Geological Society. When we met him we presented the various scientific miracles in the Qur'aan and Sunnah, he was greatly astonished. I remember a pleasant anecdote when we informed him that the Qur'aan mentions the lowest part of the earth and states that it is near Jerusalem, where a battle took place between the Persians and the Romans.
Allah,
may He be Exalted and Glorified, said in the Qur'aan:
Alif Laam Meem, the Romans have been defeated, in the lowest part of the land (adnal-ardh), but after defeat they will soon be victorious. (Qur'aan 30:1-3)
The
term adna means both nearer and lowest. The commentators of the Qur'aan, May Allah
be pleased with all of them, were of the opinion that adnal-ardh meant the nearest
land to the Arabian Peninsula. However, the second meaning is also there. In
this way, the Glorious Qur'aan gives one word several meanings, as described by
the Prophet Muhammad
(sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) when he said:
I have been given the most comprehensive words. [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
When we investigated the lowest part of the earth, we found that it was exactly the same spot that witnessed the battle in which the Romans were defeated. When we informed Professor Palmer about this, he contested saying that there were many other areas which are lower than the one referred to in the Qur'aanic verse. He gave examples and names of other areas in Europe and in the United States. We assured him that our information was verified and correct. He had with him a topographical globe that showed elevations and depressions. He said that it would be easy with that globe to ascertain which was the lowest spot on earth. He turned the globe with his hands and focused his sign on the area near Jerusalem. To his astonishment, there was a small arrow sticking out towards that area with words: The lowest part on the face of the earth.
Professor Palmer was quick to concede that our information was correct. He proceeded to speak, saying that this was actually the lowest part of the earth.
Professor Palmer: "It took place in the area of the Dead Sea which is up here and interestingly enough the labeling on the globe says “the world’s lowest point.” So it certainly is supported by the interpretation of that critical word."
Professor Palmer was even more astonished when he found that the Qur'aan talks about the past and describes how creation first began; how the earth and heavens were created; how the water gushed forth from the depth of the earth; how the mountains were anchored on land; how vegetation first began; how is earth today, describing the mountains, describes its phenomena, describes the changes on the surface of the earth as witnessed in the Arabian Peninsula. It even describes the future of the land of Arabs and the future of the whole earth. At this, Professor Palmer acknowledged that the Qur'aan is such a wondrous Book which describes the past, the present, and the future.
Like
many other scientists, Professor Palmer was hesitant at first. But soon
later he was forthcoming with his opinions. In Cairo, he presented a research
paper dealing with the inimitable aspects of geological knowledge contained in
the Qur'aan. He said that he did not know what was the state of the art
in the field of science during the days of the Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him). But from what we know about the scanty knowledge
and means at that time, we can undoubtedly conclude that the Qur'aan is a light
of divine knowledge revealed to Muhammad
(peace be upon him). Here are the concluding remarks of Professor
Palmer:
"We
need research into the history of early Middle Eastern oral traditions to know
whether in fact such historical events have been reported. If there is no such
record, it strengthens the belief that Allah
transmitted through Muhammad
bits of his knowledge that we have only discovered for ourselves in recent
times. We look forward to a continuing dialogue on the topic of science in the
Qur'aan in the context of geology. Thank you very much."
As
you have seen, here is one of the giants in the field of geology in our world
today, coming from the United States of America. He does not hesitate to admit
and to come forth with his opinions. But he is still in need of someone to point
the truth out to him. Both westerners and easterners have lived in the midst of
the battle between religion and science. These battles, however, were
inevitable, because all previous messages have been distorted. Thus, Allah
sent the Prophet Muhammad,
(peace be upon him), with Islam in order to correct that which had
been corrupted.
Someone
may ask: ‘How will these people accept what we tell them when we are
materially inferior to them and we do not follow our religion closely?’ My
reply to them is that knowledge increases the awareness of one who acquires it.
People of knowledge care only to look at the facts, not at the outside picture. The
wealth of Islam today is precisely this knowledge and scientific advancement.
Modern science can but bow its head in reverence to the book of Allah
and to the Sunnah of His Prophet
(peace be upon him).
The
primordial nature, Al-Fitrah, in which Allah
created man does not attain tranquility except by means of Islam or eeman
(faith). Those who do not have eemaan (faith) are in a constant state
of uneasiness and confusion. Moreover, the atmosphere of freedom in the West
helps Western scientists to express what they believe without any fear or
timidity. We have heard them in many of these episodes confirming and
recognizing the miracle of this age, the Qur'aan, which will remain
living until the Last Hour.
Likewise in geography, Muslims were able to extend their horizons far beyond the world of Ptolemy. As a result of travel over land and by sea and the facile exchange of ideas made possible by the unified structure of the Islamic world and the hajj which enables pilgrims from all over the Islamic world to gather and exchange ideas in addition to visiting the House of God, a vast amount of knowledge of areas from the Pacific to the Atlantic was assembled. The Muslim geographers starting with al-Khwarazmi, who laid the foundation of this science among Muslims in the 9th century, began to study the geography of practically the whole globe minus the Americas, dividing the earth into the traditional seven climes each of which they studied carefully from both a geographical and climactic point of view. They also began to draw maps some of which reveal with remarkable accuracy many features such as the origin of the Nile, not discovered in the West until much later. The foremost among Muslim geographers was Abu 'Abdallah al-Idrisi, who worked at the court of Roger II in Sicily and who dedicated his famous book, Kitab al-rujari (The Book of Roger) to him. His maps are among the great achievements of Islamic science. It was in fact with the help of Muslim geographers and navigators that Magellan crossed the Cape of Good Hope into the Indian Ocean. Even Columbus made use of their knowledge in his discovery of America.
Source :www.it-is-truth.org
(ICRA)