The earth is flat, and anyone who disputes this claim is an atheist who deserves to be punished. [Fatwa, 1993]

Sheik Abdel-Aziz Ibn Baaz

(The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, 1993-1999)

Weird Science

Muslims are always keen to bring up the myth that there is somehow science in the Qur'an. All varieties of spurious concoctions and word jugglery are used to try and align the seventh century book with modern science.

The strange phenomenon however is that only after science makes a discovery, Muslims suddenly find out that Muhammad mentions such knowledge in the Qur'an. For over a thousand years the Qur'an supposedly had scientific information about the big bang, embryology, dying stars and mountain formation but no Muslim has ever been able to understand them until Western scientists made the discoveries without even the help of any prophet of God.

Is it that Allah could not write clearly and hence his words cannot be understood until scientists reveal the facts to allow Muslims to re-interpret their scripture? Or is just that Muslim sholars asiduously attempt to relate the current knowledge and world views to vague passages of the Qur'an in an attempt create a semblance of credibility albeit false?

The fact that Muhammad believed that the sun orbited the earth is ample proof that he had no scientific knowledge and definitely no connection with a being who may have created the universe. The story told by Muhammad of a prophet arriving late for a plunder, being able to request Allah to stop the sun so that he could win his battle and capture his booty before nightfall, as described in Sahih Muslim 19:4327, clearly shows that science could never have been impacted upon by Islamic scriptures.

SM 19:4327 – The Messenger of Allah said: “One of the Prophets made a holy war.” So he (Allah’s Messenger) marched on and approached a village at about the time of the Asr (evening) prayers. He said to the sun: “Thou art subservient to Allah and so am I. O Allah, stop it for me a little.” The sun was stopped for him until Allah granted him victory.

The so-called Golden Age of Islam (8th to 13th centuries CE) where contributions to science is boasted about from every minaret around the globe, could hardly be considered as Islam's contributions, but rather the culmination of knowledge from the conquered territories. This knowledge was however well assimilated by intellectuals mostly from Persia and Iraq who were essentially not religious, nor used Islam to formulate their science. At the time such scientists were referred to as Mu'tazila (deserters of Islam) by the Islamic clergy. Today their achievements are hailed as Islamic science.

Resorting to false claims of science in scripture is one of the only hopes that Islam has, based on its dogma, to gain acceptance in the twenty first century, in an era where it can longer rely on the sword.

Using the begining of life as our starting point for critically examining Islamic science, an analysis of Muhammad's account of embryology, clearly demonstrates the manner in which religious scholars distort scripture to project an alignment with modern science. Embryology in the Qur'an is scientifically inaccurate, woefylly vague and blatantly plagiarissed from earlier works by Greek philosophers and scientists such as Galen, Hippocrates and Aristotle or Indian theses on the subject by Charaka and Susruta.

To start with 'nutfah' (semen) as mentioned in verse 86:7 says that the fluid issues from between the backbone and ribs, not, as we know today, from the testicles. This reflects the mistaken view of Hippocrates still prevalent at the time of Muhammad.

Qur'an verse 23:12-14 says God created man from "wet earth, then placed him as (a drop of) sperm (nutfah) in a safe lodging; then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood (alaqa); then out of that clot We made a lump (mudghah), then We made out of that lump bones and clothed the bones with flesh; then We developed out of it another creature."

Nowhere in this description is the female egg mentioned. It says the sperm is made into a blood clot, then into a lump; hardly scientific. Out of the lump bones are formed and then on the bones flesh is placed. In reality the flesh and muscles form prior to the bones. Muhammad's conception of embryology is so sadly out of synch with today's knowledge that the attempts to claim otherwise are rather farcical.

This account directly follows the four stages described by the Greek physician Galen, writing around 150 CE. It should also be noted that one of Muhammad's companions, Harith ben Kalada, studied at the school of Jandi-Shapur in Persia and would have been well acquainted with the teachings of Aristotle, Hippocrates, and Galen.

But how is man created? In the Qur'an there are many contradictory accounts. For example sometimes it tells us that we are created from earth (11:61), sometimes from dry clay (15:26,28,33, 17:61, 32:7), sometimes from nothing (19:67), sometimes not from nothing (52:35), sometimes from wet earth (23:12), or from mire (38:71), sometimes from water (25:54, 21:30, 24:45), sometimes from dust (3:59, 30:20, 35:11) or even sometimes from the dead (30:19, 39:6). They cannot all be true and which is evidence that Muhammad was making things up as he went along. The beauty of such multifaceted philosophy is, no matter what scientists discover, Muslims will have a verse to refer to, which might verify the miraculous science of the Qur'an.

Sahih Bukhari 54:430 has Muhammad saying, "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." That is a total of 120 days before becoming a foetus twice as long as we now know it to be. The foetus never becomes a clot of blood, a grave misunderstanding of the time because menstrual blood misled people of the time into thinking blood was a key component of the foetus.

In Sahih Muslim 33:6395 Muhammad says, "The semen stays in the womb for forty nights, then the angel, gives it a shape and decides whether he would be male or female. Then the angel says: Would his limbs be full or imperfect? And then the Lord makes them full and perfect. Then he says: My Lord, what about his livelihood, and his death and what about his disposition? And then the Lord decides about his misfortune and fortune."

So according to Muhammad, an angel comes down forty days after the semen enters the womb and decides on the gender of the child and whether it should be deformed in anyway and Allah will decide on the future fortunes of the child. There is no science in any of this and is clearly based on seventh century myths and superstitions.

A common related claim of Qur'anic divinity is its knowledge that the gender of a child is determined by the chromosomes of the sperm, a fact unknown to the people of the time. Using verse 53:45-46 scholars draw their dubious conclusion:

Q53:45-46 And that He created pairs, the male and the female from a drop (of seed) when it is poured forth

Muhammad was only aware of what was physically perceivable to any person at that time. Not able to perceive the existence of an egg in the woman he states the obvious, that male and female were created from a drop of fluid poured into the female. If there was mention of X and Y chromosomes and the fertilisation of an egg by a particular type of sperm then one could give credit where credit was due. Furthermore, we know from writings of the ancient Egyptians, thousands of years before Muhammad, that they were also aware that sex was determined by the male sperm (Pyramid Text 1248-49).

To counter the assertion that Muhammad was unaware of the female egg, scholars point to Qur'an 76:2 Verily We created man from a drop of mingled sperm. With this verse the claim is made that the use of the word mingled denotes that the sperm mingles with the egg in the fertilisation process.

The use of 'mingled' could just as easily be referring to the merging of sperm and menstrual blood as theorised by Aristotle, or the two sperm hypothesis of Hippocrates and Galen, or even the easily observed mingling of semen and vaginal discharge during sexual intercourse. If a God is determined to provide knowledge in a particular area and he cannot explicitly state that there is an ovum that is penetrated by spermatozoa then in essence, it is pointless conveying information about mingling sperm.

In Qur'an 2:223 we are informed by Allah that Your women are a tilth for you to cultivate, go to your tilth as ye will.

Clearly this verse which compares women to the earth that needs tilling and planting, implies that the man simply plants his seed and the woman provides the environment for the growth of the progeny. The earth contains no egg for the planted seed to germinate from. It only contains the necessary nutrients and water. Therefore using this analogy, Muhammad's concept of the sperm mingling could only imply that it comes together with the woman's nutrients to allow growth.

A great deal is made of the apparent thoroughness of embryology provided in the Qur'an. However if we look objectively are the subject matter and the method of presentation it becomes apparent that Muhammad not only stated the obvious for that time, but his presentation of the topic was not systematic. Looking at the verses that do discuss 'embryology' we can see that they are spread randomly all over the Qur'an appearing between verses that have no relevance to the issue and providing no logical progression of the actual process. Below is a list of verses and their placement in the Qur'an:

Q13:8 Allah doth know what every female (womb) doth bear, by how much the wombs fall short (of their time or number) or do exceed. Every single thing is before His sight, in (due) proportion.

Q22:5 We created you from dust, then from a small seed, then from a clot, then from a lump of flesh, complete in make and incomplete, that We may make clear to you; and We cause what We please to stay in the wombs till an appointed time, then We bring you forth as babies, then that you may attain your maturity; and of you is he who is caused to die,

Q23:13-14 Then We made him a small seed in a firm resting-place, Then We made the seed a clot, then We made the clot a lump of flesh, then We made (in) the lump of flesh bones, then We clothed the bones with flesh, then We caused it to grow into another creation

Q32:8 Then He made his seed from a draught of despised fluid;

Q39:6 He has created you from a single being, then made its mate of the same (kind), and He has made for you eight of the cattle in pairs. He creates you in the wombs of your mothers, a creation after a creation, in triple darkness

Q46:15 With trouble did his mother bear him and with trouble did she bring him forth; and the bearing of him and the weaning of him was thirty months....

Q53:45-46 And that He created pairs, the male and the female from a drop (of seed) when it is poured forth

Q75:37-39 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.

Q76:2 We created Man from a drop of mingled sperm, in order to try him: So We gave him hearing and sight.

Q80:19 From a sperm-drop: He hath created him, and then mouldeth him in due proportions

Q82:7-8 Him Who created thee. Fashioned thee in due proportion, and gave thee a just bias. In whatever Form He wills, does He put thee together

Q86:6-7 He is created from a drop emitted proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs

These randomly scattered, vague verses comprise the sum total of the so-called detailed embryology provided by Allah in the Qur’an, claimed by Muslims to present scientific details 1,300 years before they were known to man. With much inventive word jugglery, alternate translations to fit today's knowledge and deceptive analogies, Muslims have deceived the gullible into believing that these verses convey science at its best.

The Big Bang theory is another favourite for Muslims. Qur'an 21:30 is used to claim that Allah revealed knowledge about the Big Bang; Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together, before we clove them asunder? According to this verse, the earth was part of heaven but then was separated by Allah. Does this really depict the big bang theory? Let us look at some other verses that will place this into its proper context.

Q21:31-32 And We have set on the earth mountains standing firm, lest it should quake with them, and We have made therein broad highways between mountains for them to pass through. And we have made the sky a roof withheld from them.

Q13:2 Allah raised the heavens without any pillars that ye can see; He is firmly established on the throne; and has subjected the sun and the moon each one to run its course for a term appointed.

Q18:86 Until, when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it set in a spring of murky water: Near it he found a People.

Reading these verses together provide the image of a very primitive understanding of the cosmos. A heaven that is raised with pillars which we cannot see, a sky put as a roof above our heads, mountains placed as pegs to hold the earth down to minimise the occurrence of earthquakes, a sun that sets in a muddy spring with people living nearby; all truly nonsensical concepts having no correlation with modern science, yet perpetuated as divine revelation. There is no description of a great explosion and the formation of solar systems with orbiting planets around centric stars, no black holes, no corona, no ionosphere or quasars, but a heaven on invisible pillars!

The Qur'an 2:29 and 41:9-12 provides the sequence of events that constituted the creation. First the earth was created in two days, then the mountains and vegetation and then two days for the heavens, placing stars in the lower heaven. According to the big bang theory, the earth could not have been created first nor could it have taken the same length of time to create as did the rest of the universe, the extent of which is still beyond man's comprehension.

The idea that God separated earth from His abode is simply archaic religious logic that we are disconnected from Him and need to follow the dictates of a man who claims to have some divine link and conduit to get back to Him. Muhammad clearly had no clue about the big bang theory or the formation of galaxies and solar systems and attempting to link this verse with science is simply disingenuous.

In a similar vein we supposedly have the Qur'an telling us about the idea of an expanding universe. In this case though, the original verse is drastically distorted to suggest a link to recent scientific discoveries. Today verse 51:47 of the Qur'an is often presented as follows:

Q51:47 It is We Who have built the universe with (Our creative) power, and, verily, it is We Who are steadily expanding it.

Analysing this verse would convince any sceptic that Muhammad was aware of the universe and its expanding nature. However when we read official accurate translations, traditionally accepted as authentic, we come across a very different understanding of the latter part of the verse:

- With power and skill did We construct the Firmament: for it is We Who create the vastness of pace. (Yusuf Ali)

- We have built the heaven with might, and We it is Who make the vast extent (thereof). (Pickthal)

- And the heaven, We raised it high with power, and most surely We are the makers of things ample (Shakir)

In the true rendering of the Arabic, which differs from the tailored version, there is no universe - just heaven, and no expanding but simply a depiction of its vastness. The Arabic word moosi'oon means vast not expanding. This verse is certainly not talking about an expanding universe. If it was, Muslims would have been telling us about it for the last fourteen hundred years. However we had to wait until 1929 for Edwin Hubble to discover the occurrence.

Still on the subject of cosmology is the claim that the Qur'an 41:11 informs us of the gaseous origins of the universe.

Moreover He comprehended in His design the sky, and it had been as smoke: He said to it and to the earth: "Come ye together, willingly or unwillingly." They said: "We do come together, in willing obedience."

The claim essentially is that the smoke referred to in the verse is related to the gaseous environment at the time of creation.

The only problem with this assumption is that the universe did not commence as a primordial gaseous soup, but with pure energy. From this energy plasma and electromagnetic radiation were created and on cooling, from the plasma, gasses were formed.

The Qur'an speaks of none of these stages or components. It uses the word dukhan or smoke. Smoke is made of ash comprising mostly carbon and is derived from burning or oxidation of materials. It is not a gas formed out of the condensation of plasma.

Furthermore in this section of the Qur'an we have Allah outlining the creation process. In verse 41:9 Allah says he created the earth in two days. In the next verse he puts mountains and vegetation onto it. After this, in 41:11 he designed the sky which was as smoke and He spoke to the earth and sky telling them to come together. By this time, according to the Qur'an, the earth with mountains and vegetation had already been created. This is definitely not the scenario that would have played out during formation of the universe. All that these verses do is expose an extremely naive understanding of the universe we live in.

Apparently the Qur'an is also supposedly a scientific textbook on the water cycle, according to many Islamic scholars. In a few places of the Qur'an Muhammad speaks of rainfall and this has led scholars to deduce divine revelations about the water cycle prior to its scientific formulation. One occurrence of its description is verse 7:57 It is He Who sendeth the winds like heralds of glad tidings, going before His mercy: when they have carried the heavy-laden clouds, We drive them to a land that is dead, make rain to descend thereon, and produce every kind of harvest therewith: thus shall We raise up the dead: perchance ye may remember.

What Muhammad describes here are the obvious stages of the water cycle, ones that are readily observable even to a child and well documented thousands of years earlier. Wind blowing laden clouds, rain falling, and harvests growing. However the Key unobservable stage of the cycle, the Qur'an does not mention. The first stage of the water cycle is the evaporation of waters from earth to clouds. Nowhere in the Qur'an is this first critical stage, later to be understood by science, mentioned.

One of the more popular scientific claims made of the Qur'an is the supposed miracle of iron being sent down to earth from outer space. Today it is known that iron on earth originated mainly from meteorites and less frequently from asteroids colliding with our planet over billions of years. Quran 57:25 according to the translation by Yusuf Ali sates: …and We sent down Iron, in which is material for mighty war, as well as many benefits for mankind, that Allah may test who it is that will help, Him and His messengers.

Firstly it should be noted that most elements here on earth were originally formed by stars and entered our atmosphere/planet over time. Iron from meteorites was being used for thousands of years prior to Muhammad's assertion. Iron from meteorites is much easier to obtain than iron from rocks in the earth. Hence civilisations in Egypt, India and Anatolia have been using meteorite iron for thousands of years prior to the Qur'an. The Egyptians named it "bia-n-pet" which meant "ore of the heavens". It was a very valuable commodity, and as Muhammad states in this verse, its worth is hinged on it usefulness for weapons of war. Hence in the 7th century CE, to say that "Iron is sent down" is far from being miraculous.

Secondly, of the three main English translations of the Qur'an why does only Yusuf Ali's version use the term "Sent down"?

Pickthal - ' and He revealed iron'

Shakir - ' and We have made the iron,'

Looking at the original Arabic text we notice the word 'anzalna' used. This word is also used in Qur'an 7:26 where Ali translates it as 'revealed' - Q7:26 O Children of Adam! We have revealed unto you raiment to conceal your shame...

Raiment, clothing, was not sent down from space, but according to Muhammad was provided to the people by Allah. Similarly Iron in this context was provided by Allah with which to make war against the infidels. The main purpose of the verse is nothing scientific but rather concerned with whipping up fervor among his men to use the mighty iron which Allah has provided them, to help Him defeat the enemy. This warring of course was a test of their faith.

Ali - ..and We sent down Iron, in which is material for mighty war ...that Allah may test who it is that will help

Pickthal - ..and He revealed iron, wherein is mighty power ...that Allah may know him who helpeth Him

Shakir - ..and We have made the iron, wherein is great violence and advantages to men, and that Allah may know who helps Him

Another common claim is that the Qur'an recognized the fact that The Sun is a light source and the Moon a reflector of this light. What does the book actually say?

Q10:5 It is He Who made the sun to be a shining glory and the moon to be a light (of beauty), and measured out stages for her; that ye might know the number of years and the count (of time).

Q71:16 And hath made the moon a light therein, and made the sun a lamp?

Because the light of the moon and that of the sun are described differently in the Qur'an, scholars are now quick to pounce on this and claim that one of the lights is a source and the other a reflection. But what do these verses actually say?

Well more importantly what do they not say? They say nothing about reflection. For the sun, the word siraj is used. This literally means lamp. The sun is easily perceived to be like a big lamp that provides light and heat. For the moon on the other hand, which does not look like a lamp, Muhammad uses noor which literally translates to light. Chapter twenty four of the Qur'an is titled Al Noor which is always translated as The Light. Never has a Qur'an referred to this chapter as The Reflected Light. Verse 24:35 says Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth.Here also noor is used for light. Does this mean that Allah is a reflected light? Therefore using noor to describe the light of the moon in no way classifies it as being reflected.

There was a time when Muslims clerics would establish fatwas against those claiming the earth to be spherical. Although the Qur'an describes a flat earth we find Muslims today adamant that the Qur'an portrays a round earth. However no verse exclaiming this planet is round can be found in the Qur'an.

Instead today we have apologists changing the words of the Qur'an to conform to modern science. We are now informed that the Qur'an says the earth is egg shaped in verse 79:30 He made the earth egg-shaped. Firstly the earth is not egg-shaped and secondly the Arabic word dahaha used here, means spread out or extended. It does not mean egg. The Arabic word for egg is al baiza. That is why when we look at the three traditionally accepted authorised English translations of the Qur'an, this verse (Q79:30), is rendered without any eggs included:

- And the earth, moreover, hath He extended (Yusuf Ali)

- And after that He spread the earth (Pickthal)

- And the earth, He expanded it after that (Shakir)

To now suddenly change the entire meaning to suit emerging knowledge is deceit to the highest degree.

The evidence for the flat nature of the earth can be easily obtained from other Qur'anic verses:

Q15:19 And the earth We have spread out like a carpet; set thereon Mountains firm and immovable;

Q20:53 Who hath appointed the earth as a bed and hath threaded roads for you therein

Q50:07 And the earth have We spread out?

These and similar other verses, speaking of an earth like a carpet or bed that is a wide expanse, spread out and immovable, do not describe the planet as we have come to know it, but as a flat stationary surface. Which carpet spread out attains the shape of a sphere? Which bed can be considered to be spherical? No Muslim ever conceptualised the notion of a spherical earth until recent times. Why? Because the Qur'an says nothing of the sort.

The following verses depict a flat geocentric earth with the sun moving over it, Q18:86 Until, when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it set in a spring of murky water: Near it he found a People. And, Q18:90 Until, when he came to the rising of the sun, he found it rising on a people for whom We had provided no covering protection against the sun.

Here Muhammad describes a travelling servant of Allah who traversed from one end of the earth to the other. Seeing on one end where the sun rests in the evening and on the other where it rises. Apparently the people there must be close to the sun therefore Muhammad says they have no protection from the heat. Only on a flat earth would such a scenario be possible; people who are close to the place where the sun rises and sets. On a spherical earth, orbiting the sun, there would be no need for places of setting or rising, there would be no people closer to where it sets or rises and no matter how far and wide you travelled you would not come to such places where setting and rising is observed any differently.

A verse used earlier in disproving the big bang theory is also applicable to the flat earth understanding provided by the Qur'an:

Q13:2 Allah raised the heavens without any pillars that ye can see; He is firmly established on the throne

Traditionally the heavens were the abode of God, his prophets and the resting place of believers after judgement day. Heaven was always considered to be above; in other words over the earth. Here Muhammad confirms his belief that heaven is raised above the earth on pillars invisible to the human eye. If this is the case, the people of the southern hemisphere would not see the heavens when they look up, for it would be above the North Pole supported on pillars. For all living things to see the heavenly bodies the earth would have to be flat.

Every living thing is made from water, so says the Qur'an: 21:30 ...and we made every living thing of water? Of course today we know that all living beings comprise a relatively high percentage of water. Muslims ask how Muhammad could know this, fourteen hundred years ago, unless it was divinely inspired.

The easiest response would be to state that Galen, in the second century, had already elaborated on the idea that the body is composed of a balance between the four elements present on earth- fire, earth, water, and air. In addition the Hindu scripture, Bhagavad-gita, preceding the Qur'an by 3,500 years provides even greater details on the composition of bodies of material living beings. BG 7:4 Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego, all together these eight constitute My separated material energies.

Even the speed of light is supposedly mentioned in the Qur'an according to some rather creative scholars. Verse 32:5 states He regulates the affair from the heaven to the earth; then shall it ascend to Him in a day the measure of which is a thousand years of what you count. From this verse Muslims claim the speed of light can be calculated. Apparently the affairs mentioned here is 'light' that travels in one day the distance that will take the Moon, 1,000 years to span. It is quite an imagination that is required to extract light, moon and distance from this seemingly vague meaningless verse to calculate the speed of light.

Verse 10:61 is one that is now used to claim Muhammad described Atomic Theory long before its scientific discovery, ...Nor is hidden from thy Lord the weight of an atom on the earth or in heaven... The word atom here is used to denote a small particle. The word used here, zarra, literally means dust particle or mustard seed, but as the verse is intended to indicate that Allah knows even the smallest details, translators today use the word atom. The tafsir (commentary) of this verse by Ibn Kathir states: And nothing is hidden from your Lord (so much as) the weight of a speck of dust on the earth or in the heaven. Making it patently clear that no concept of nuclear physics with electrons, nucleus and molecules, was ever intended by Muhammad.

There are many more such scientific claims made by Muslims in their attempt to add value to their 'holy' book. However each and every one can be easily dismissed by either exposing the deception of twisted translations, revealing the trickery in implying assumptions not actually there or simply showing the previous existence of such knowledge.

A book that claims stars are lamps created to beautify the sky, which are used as missiles against devils to prevent them eavesdropping on the angels in heaven, can hardly be construed as a manual of scientific evidence for describing the laws of the universe. Verse 67:5 has Allah telling us, 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. Such nonsensical assertions could never qualify as being science but rather ignorant superstitions.

In an age of prolific scientific enlightenment, it would be a great disservice to future generations should the powers that be continue to play into the hands of religious zealots who demand the teaching of concepts such as Creationism from these archaic scriptures alongside standard science textbooks in the guise of choice and multiculturalism.