In this chapter, we set the foundation for our book: The Quran is a book of “Signs” (Aayaat) and not a textbook of “Science.” Science changes as we discover new things, but the Quran is a constant truth that accommodates all real facts without being trapped in one single theory.
1. The Goal: “How” vs. “Who”
Science looks at how things work (like the movement of planets), but the Quran tells us Who created them and why.
- The Quran says: “Say, ‘Observe what is in the heavens and earth.'” (Quran, 10:101).
- The Analogy: Imagine you find a beautiful painting. Science tells you about the type of paint and the texture of the canvas. The Quran tells you about the Message of the painting and the Greatness of the Artist.
Scientific Quote: The famous physicist Albert Einstein once said: “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”
2. Flexible Language (The “Stretchable” Truth)
The Quran uses very precise words. A person living 1,400 years ago understood them simply, but a scientist today sees a deeper miracle in the same words.
Example: The Expanding Universe
- The Verse: “And the heaven We constructed with strength, and indeed, We are [its] expander.” (Quran, 51:47).
- The Science: Until the 1900s, scientists (including Einstein) thought the universe was static (staying the same size). Then, Edwin Hubble proved that the universe is actually getting bigger.
- Scientific Quote: Stephen Hawking, the famous cosmologist, said: “The discovery that the universe is expanding was one of the great intellectual revolutions of the 20th century.”
The Quran used the word “Expander” (an active word showing continuous action) long before telescopes were even invented.
3. Constant Revelation vs. Changing Science
Human science makes mistakes before finding the truth.
- The Past: Ancient scientists thought the baby was formed from menstrual blood.
- The Quran: Described specific stages: “Then We made the sperm-drop into a clinging clot, and We made the clot into a lump [of flesh], and We made [from] the lump, bones, and We covered the bones with flesh…” (Quran, 23:14).
- The Evidence: Dr. Keith Moore, a world-renowned expert in anatomy, said: “It is clear to me that these statements must have come to Muhammad from God, because almost all of this knowledge was not discovered until many centuries later.”
4. The Heart and Understanding
For a long time, people thought that when the Quran mentioned the “heart” as a place of understanding, it was just a metaphor (not literal).
- The Verse: “…So have they not hearts with which to understand?” (Quran, 22:46).
- The Hadith: Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “In the body there is a piece of flesh; if it is sound, the whole body is sound… and that is the heart.” (Bukhari & Muslim).
- The Science: Modern science has discovered that the heart has its own “mini-brain” made of about 40,000 neurons. It sends more signals to the brain than the brain sends to the heart, affecting our emotions and logic.
5. A Simple Comparison: The Compass and the Ship
Think of the Quran as a Compass and Science as a Ship. The ship might move left or right, it might get faster or change its engine, but the compass always points to the same truth (the North). Science is our tool to move and understand details, but the Quran is the guide that keeps us moving in the right direction so we don’t get lost in changing theories.
Why do we call them “Signs”? Because if God wrote a complex chemical formula in the Quran, people 1,000 years ago wouldn’t understand it. But He gave us “Signs” that remain true for the farmer, the poet, and the modern scientist.
Summary: The Quran does not follow science. Instead, science is constantly catching up to discover what the Quran mentioned briefly centuries ago.