No Quran Verse Related to Astronomy Disproved with New Scientific Discoveries
This is according to university scholar Sa’dollah Nasiri Qeydari, speaking at a recent forum titled “Astronomy in Quran”. Excerpts from his address to the forum are as follows:
There are 200 verses in the Quran that are related to my field of study, which is astronomy and astrophysics. These verses were revealed to the Holy Prophet (PBUH) some 1,400 years ago at a time when astronomers thought the earth to be the center of the universes and only centuries later found out that the earth revolves in orbit around the sun.
It is my understanding that none of these 200 verses contradict new discoveries in the field of astronomy and astrophysics. Although Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had not attended school and was Ummi (not educated), the verses of the Quran have no contradiction with scientific discoveries, which proves the divine origin of the verses.
One of those verses is in Surah Yunus: “It was He that made the sun a (Dhiya) brightness and the moon a light, and determined it in phases so that you might know the number of years and the reckoning. Allah did not create them except in truth, and distinguishes the verses to a nation who know.” (Verse 5) The word Dhiya means something that emits light and that is what the sun does.
Verse 2 of Surah Ar-Ra’ad says: “It is Allah who raised the heavens without pillars that you see. Then He willed to the Throne and subjected the sun and the moon, each pursuing an appointed course. He directs the affair. He makes plain His verses so that you will firmly believe in meeting your Lord.”
Today we know that the heavens and the celestial bodies like the sun, other stars and galaxies are kept in place with pillars that we cannot see and those pillars are the force of gravity. This has been mentioned beautifully in the Quran, which was revealed 1,400 years ago.
In cosmology it has been proven that the universe is expanding. This was discovered in 1929 but the Holy Quran pointed to it 14 centuries ago. The Quran says in verse 104 of Surah Al-Anbiya: “(This will happen) on the day when We roll up the heavens as if it were a written scroll and bring it back into existence just as though We had created it for the first time. This is what We have promised and We have always been true to Our promise.”
So one can look at the Quran from a scientific and astronomical point of view and learn from its verses whether he is a Muslim like me or a non-Muslim.
