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In the Qur’an, which was revealed fourteen centuries ago at a time when the science of astronomy was still primitive, the expansion of the universe was described in the following terms:
And it is We Who have constructed the heaven with might, and verily, it is We Who are steadily expanding it. (Qur’an, 51:47)
The word “heaven,” as stated in the verse above, is used in various places in the Qur’an. It is referring to space and the wider universe. Here again, the word is used with this meaning, stating that the universe “expands.” The Arabic word “moosiaaoona” in the term “inna lamoosiaaoona,” translated into English as “it is We Who are steadily expanding it”, comes from the verb “evsea,” meaning “to expand.” The prefix “la” emphasises the following name or title and adds a sense of “to a great extent.” This expression therefore means “We expand the sky or the universe to a great extent.” This is the very conclusion that science has reached today.
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Until the dawn of the 20th century, the only view prevailing in the world of science was that “the universe has a constant nature and it has existed since infinite time.” However, modern research, observations, and calculations carried out by means of modern technology have revealed that the universe in fact had a beginning and that it constantly “expands.”
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Russian physicist Alexander Friedmann and the Belgian cosmologist Georges Lemaitre theoretically calculated that the universe is in constant motion and that it is expanding.
This notion was confirmed by the use of observational data in 1929. While observing the sky with a telescope, Edwin Hubble, the American astronomer, discovered that the stars and galaxies were constantly moving away from each other. This discovery is regarded as one of the greatest in the history of astronomy. During these observations, Hubble established that the stars emit a light that turns redder according to their distance. That is because according to the known laws of physics, light heading towards a point of observation turns violet, and light moving away from that point assumes a more reddish hue. During his observations, Hubble noted a tendency towards the colour red in the light emitted by stars. In short, the stars were moving further and further away, all the time. The stars and galaxies were not only moving away from us, but also from each other. A universe where everything constantly moves away from everything else implied a constantly expanding universe. The observations carried out in the following years verified that the universe is constantly expanding.
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In order to gain a clearer understanding of this, let us imagine the universe to be the surface of a balloon being inflated. In the same way that the more the balloon is inflated, the further away the points on its surface move from one another, celestial bodies also move away from one another as the universe expands. This was theoretically discovered by Albert Einstein, regarded as one of the greatest scientists of the 20th century. However, in order to avoid violating the “static universe model” that was generally accepted at that time, Einstein laid that discovery aside. He would later describe this as the greatest blunder of his life.
This fact was explained in the Qur’an in a time when telescopes and similar technological advancements were not even close to being invented. This is because the Qur’an is the Word of Allah: the Creator and Ruler of the entire universe.
(For further reference, please see, Miracles of the Qur’an, by Harun Yahya)
1. S. Waqar Ahmed Husaini, The Quran for Astronomy and Earth Exploration from Space 3rd ed. (New Delhi: Goodword Press: 1999), 103-108.
2. www.time.com/time/time100/scientist/profile/hubble.html
4 Comments
October 23, 2006 at 5:46 PM
I’m going to have to disagree with you on this. Re-read over the verses to see what it is talking about:
“And it is We who have built the universe with power; and, verily, it is We who are steadily expanding it.”
“We built the heaven with might, and We are able to expand it.”
“And the heaven with its regions, spheres and realms of space did We skillfully, powerfully and
authoritatively construct and We are expanding the universe.”
The Qur’an’s original language is Arabic, and the meaning is clear in Arabic. Read again what Bucaille says regarding translations:
Also, it must be remarked that the language of Prophet Jesus, (peace be upon him), is Aramaic, and the oldest New Testament is in Greek.
According to Bart D. Ehrman:
To show you what we’re talking about, here’s another variation of the verse in the Bible that talks of the expanding universe. It’s from the New International Version.
Psalm 104
1 Praise the LORD, O my soul.
O LORD my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendor and majesty.
2 He wraps himself in light as with a garment;
he stretches out the heavens like a tent
Your version used “curtain”, and this version uses “tent”. Two different types of imagery. So, again, in order to grasp a true meaning of the Bible you need to read it in Hebrew and Greek, because those were the Bible’s original languages. It is the same with the Qur’an; it must be read in Arabic in order to grasp its complete meaning. A translation can only give you a part of that meaning.
What is amazing about the Qur’an, however, is that the science it talks of had not been discovered until the 19th-20 century. For example:
God turned to Heaven when it was smoke. (Qur’an 41:11)
This is perfectly compatible with 21st century science, which says that the universe began in a gaseous state. Again, here is another that describes the Big Bang Theory:
Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together, then We clove
them asunder and We got every living thing out of water. (Qur’an 21:30)
And this verse, which describes the water cycle, something not discovered until the 16th century.
Seest thou not that Allah sends down rain from the sky, and leads it through springs in the
earth? Then He causes to grow, therewith, produce of various colours (Qur’an 39:21)
And regarding the mountains:
Have We not made the earth as a bed, and the mountains as pegs? (Qur’an 78:6-7)
Geologists have recently discovered the mountains have roots underneath the earth shaped as pegs. Here is another verse talking of a sinful person:
Let him beware! If he desist not, We will drag him by the forelock,-
A lying, sinful forelock! (Qur’an 96:15-16)
Now it may seem strange that the Qur’an is referring to a person’s forehead as being sinful, but here is what the book Essentials of Anatomy & Physiology has to say about it:
And also:
Again, how can someone from the 7th Century have known this? There is also more, regarding the oceans and seas:
He is the one who has set free the two kinds of water, one sweet and palatable, and the other
salty and bitter. And He has made between them a barrier and a forbidding partition. (Qur’an
55:19-20)
Interesting, considering that modern science has revealed that fresh water and salt water are partitioned from each other, even when they reside in the same ocean. They keep to their zones and don’t merge.
The Qur’an also talks of the stages of the human embryo, which is much too deep to get into here. But here is an article by Keith Moore, a Professor of Anatomy, who goes into detail about the Qur’an and the embryo. It’s quite amazing, considering this information could not have been known until the microscope was invented.
When Ghazali talked about 500 clear verses, he was talking about legal verses, (where scholars make rulings out of). This is perhaps true, but it refers only to legal verses, so that’s far from being the entire Qur’an. You can read more info here, though it may be a little hard to understand since it deals in Islamic legal terms
However, that would only show that the Qur’an is a very spiritual book, and that it is not only concerned with legal aspects as some people claim.
I haven’t got around to it yet, but I definitely will. However, you must realize that all Muslims believe in the previous scriptures of the Old and New Testament, just that they are not in their original forms so we do not follow them. Therefore, I have no doubt that there is a lot of truth, even scientific truth, in the Bible. I found a lot of truths in the Book of James that were compatible with my Islamic beliefs.
Thank you Renee. It is a pleasure to exchange ideas and thoughts with you. We appreciate your visits and continuing to read; and we hope you will continue to ask questions if you have any. We believe Christians and Muslims have a lot in common, and that in areas of differences, we can communicate in a friendly and intelligent manner.
May God bless you and your family also
Peace.
October 23, 2006 at 7:57 AM
Thank-you. May I add a few comments?
The meaning of the text you presented can hardly be taken to refer to the expansion of the universe. A text with such wide variation of interpretation, in any language, is not helpful in revealing a precise physical phenomenon.
To go back to a text to tweak its meaning to fit a new discovery serves no purpose. How will that help anyone’s eternal destiny? Will that really help someone who is searching for truth, for God?
Here are some examples of Holy Scriptures that stand loud & clear in their meaning, and need no explanation. These were written hundreds & thousands of years before these scientific phenomena were confirmed. They stand as a testimony that the Writer is omniscient & truthful, that He writes from beyond space & time:
The earth hangs in empty space:
He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing. (Job 26:7 KJV)
The universe is expanding:
Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honor and majesty. Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:
(Psa 104:1-2 KJV)
Time is finite:
who did save us, and did call with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, that was given to us in Christ Jesus, before the times of the ages,
(2Ti 1:9 Young’s Literal Translation). This is the literal translation.
The science of hydrology:
The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
(Ecc 1:6-7 KJV)
The science of oceanography:
The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
(Psa 8:8 KJV)
Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters;
(Isa 43:16 KJV)
God says:
Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
(Isa 46:9-10 KJV)
This is one way in which we can know He is god, because only He can tell the end from the beginning.
The great Muslim Scholar, Ghazaly, said about the Koran: The number of clear verse is 500.”
This is why the Koran says to ask “the People of the Remembrance” or “those who possess the Message” when something is not clear. Surah 21:7)
I challenge you to read the following brief article about how the tracing of human history through DNA perfectly reflects the creation account as told in the Bible:
http://www.khouse.org/articles/2006/670/
It is a pleasure to dialogue with you. Your site is very nicely put together. I trust we can maintain a friendly discussion.
God bless you & your families.
October 22, 2006 at 2:33 PM
Here are various translations of this particular verse. Many of them are actually saying the same thing. Arabic is very different from English and one word in Arabic can have various meanings.
Unfortunately we could not find this particular translation of the verse but we found similar translations to it.
Muhammad Asad Translation of the Verse:
“And it is We who have built the universe with power; and, verily, it is We who are steadily expanding it.”
Abdal Hakim Murad, Mostafa Badawi, and Uthman Hutchinson Translation of the Verse:
“We built the heaven with might, and We are able to expand it.”
Al-Muntakhab Translation of the Verse:
“And the heaven with its regions, spheres and realms of space did We skillfully, powerfully and authoritatively construct and We are expanding the universe.”
M. Sarwar Translation of the Verse:
“We have made the heavens with Our own hands and We expanded it.”
Dr. Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din Al Hilali & Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan Translation of the Verse:
“With power did We construct the heaven. Verily, We are Able to extend the vastness of space thereof.”
Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall Translation of the Verse:
“We have built the heaven with might, and We it is who make the vast extent (thereof).”
Dr. Maurice Bucaille explains this verse in The Expansion of the Universe:
The expansion of the Universe is the most imposing discovery of modern science. Today it is a firmly established concept and the only debate centres around the way this is taking place.
It was first suggested by the general theory of relativity and is backed up by physics in the examination of the galactic spectrum; the regular movement towards the red section of their spectrum may be explained by the distancing of one galaxy from another. Thus the size of the Universe is probably constantly increasing and this increase will become bigger the further away the galaxies are from us. The speeds at which these celestial bodies are moving may, in the course of this perpetual expansion, go from fractions of the speed of light to speeds faster than this.
The following verse of the Qur’ an (sura 51, verse 47) where God is speaking, may perhaps be compared with modern ideas:
“The heaven, We have built it with power. Verily. We are expanding it.”
‘Heaven’ is the translation of the word sama’ and this is exactly the extra-terrestrial world that is meant.
‘We are expanding it’ is the translation of the plural present participle musi’una of the verb ausa’a meaning ‘to make wider, more spacious, to extend, to expand’.
Some translators who were unable to grasp the meaning of the latter provide translations that appear to me to be mistaken, e.g. “we give generously” (R. Blachère). Others sense the meaning, but are afraid to commit themselves: Hamidullah in his translation of the Qur’an talks of the widening of the heavens and space, but he includes a question mark. Finally, there are those who arm themselves with authorized scientific opinion in their commentaries and give the meaning stated here. This is true in the case of the Muntakab, a book of commentaries edited by the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Cairo. It refers to the expansion of the Universe in totally unambiguous terms.
Click here for more info on science in the Qur’an.
I highly recommend that you download Qur’an Viewer. I also recommend downloading extra translations for this program. Just right click on the Download link, save the link as, and open through Qur’an Viewer.
Thank you for the question, I hope this helps.
October 22, 2006 at 1:10 PM
I have looked at 2 English translations of the Koran & they say nothing about “expanding” the heavens. What I have read does not imply that at all.
Please explain.