Geological Information In The Qur'aan
Professor Alfred Kroner: and that many of the statements made at the time could be proven, but that modern scientific methods are now in a position to prove what Muhammad said 1400 years ago.
We present to you Professor Alfred Kroner who is one of the worlds most famous geologists. He is a Professor of Geology and the Chairman of the Department of Geology at the Institute of Geosciences, Johannes Gutenburg University, Mainz, Germany. We met him and presented several Qur'aanic verses and Ahadeeth of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). He studied and commented on them. Then we had a discussion with him.
Professor Kroner said: "Thinking about many of these questions and thinking whereMuhammad came from, he was after all a Bedouin. I think it is almost impossible that he could have known about things like the common origin of the universe, because scientists have only found out within the last few years with very complicated and advanced technological methods that this is the case."
Professor Kroner chose an example from the Qur'aan which proved to him why the Qur'aan could not have come from Muhammad (peace be upon him) himself. The example which Professor Kroner chose is a description in the Qur'aan of the fact that this universe had its beginnings in one single entity. Allah, may He be Exalted and Glorified said: Do not the unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together [ratqan], before we clove them asunder? We made from water every living thing [Qur'aan 21:30]
The meaning of ratqan in this verse, as Ibn Abbas, Mujaahid, and others (may Allah be pleased with him) said, may Allah be pleased with all of them, is that the heavens and the earth were stuck together or blended together, and that they were later separated from each other. Professor Kroner used this as an example to prove that no human being during the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), could have known this.
Professor Kroner: "Somebody who did not know something about nuclear physics 1400 years ago could not, I think, be in a position to find out from his own mind for instance that the earth and the heavens had the same origin, or many others of the questions that we have discussed here."
Professor Kroner, so it seemed to us, has a special talent of being evasive. For example, we asked him to describe the geological conditions of Arabia. Was Arabia full of orchards and rivers? He said: "During the Snow Age." And it is further known that the North Polar icebergs are slowly moving southwards. When those polar icebergs become relatively close to the Arabian Peninsula, the weather will change and Arabia will become one of the greenest and wettest parts of the world. We asked him: Will Arabia become the land of orchards and rivers? He said: "Yes, it is a scientific fact."
This astonished us, and we wondered how he could state this as a scientific fact while it was related to the future and we asked: Why? He said: "Because the new Snow Age has actually started. And we can see the snow crawling once again from the North Pole southwards. In fact, the polar snow is now on the way to get closer to the Arabian Peninsula. We can see the signs of this in the snow blizzards striking the northern parts of Europe and America every winter. Scientists have other signs and information proving the actual beginning of another Snow Age. It is a scientific fact."
So we said to him: What you have just mentioned has only been known to scientists after a long series of discoveries and with the help of specialized instruments. But we have already found this mentioned by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) 1400 years ago. He said in a hadeeth transmitted in Saheeh Muslim:
Finally, after our discussions with him, he made the following comments: "If you combine all these and you combine all those statements that are being made in the Qur'aan in terms that relate to the earth and the formation of the earth and science in general, you can basically say that statements made there in many ways are true. They can now be confirmed by scientific methods, and in a way you can say that the Qur'aan is a simple science text book for the simple man, and that many of the statements made in there at that time could not be proven but that modern scientific methods are now in a position to prove what Muhammad said 1400 years ago."
Allah confirms in His Book that:
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, MayAllah 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 (peace be upon him) 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 worlds 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.
When we met him, he said to us: "You scholars of religion all over the world should keep your mouths shut forever." I replied: But why Professor? Why? He said: "Because when you speak you cause wars to break out between the people throughout the world." We asked him: Why are the NATO alliance and WARSAW Pact accumulating such massive nuclear arsenals and nuclear weapons in space, sea, overland, and underground. Why this? Is it for religious reasons? He went silent, then we said to him: At any rate we are aware of your attitude towards all religions, but since you do not know much about Islam, then you might as well listen to what we have to say. So we asked him a number of questions in his area of specialization, and we also informed him of the Qur'aanic verses and ahadeeth which mention the phenomena he spoke of. One of these questions was about mountains and whether they were firmly rooted in the earth.
He replied and said: "The fundamental difference between continental mountains and the oceanic mountains lies in its material. Continental mountains are made essentially by sediments, whereas the oceanic mountains are made of volcanic rocks. Continental mountains were formed by compressional forces, whereas the oceanic mountains were formed by extensional forces. But the common denominator on both mountains are that they have roots to support the mountains. In the case of continental mountains, light-low density material from the mountain is extended down into the earth as a root. In the case of oceanic mountains, there is also light material supporting the mountain as a root, but in the case of oceanic mountain this material is not light because the composition is light, but it is hot, therefore expanded somewhat. But from the viewpoint of densities, they are doing the same job of supporting the
mountains. Therefore, the function of the roots are to support the mountains according to the law of Archimedes."
Professor Siaveda described the shape of all mountains whether they are on land or in the sea as being in the shape of a wedge. Could anyone during the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) have known of the shape of these mountains? Could anyone imagine that the solid massive mountain that he sees before him actually extends deep into the earth and has a root as scientists assure? A large number of geography books when discussing mountains, only describe that part which is on the surface of the earth. This is because they are not written by specialists in geology, but modern science informs us about it and Allah says in the Qur'aan: And the mountains as pegs. (Qur'aan 78:7).
We asked Professor Siaveda whether the mountains have a function in establishing the crust of the earth. He said that this has not yet been discovered and established by scientists. In view of the reply we researched and inquired about this and we found out that many geologists gave the same reply, except for a few. Among those few are the authors of this book, entitled The Earth. This book is considered as a basic reference text in many universities throughout the world. One of the authors of this book is Frank Press. He is currently the President of the Academy of Sciences in USA. Previously, he was science advisor to former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. What does he say in his book? He illustrates the mountains in a wedge-like shape where the mountain itself is but a small part of the whole whose root is deeply entrenched in the ground. Dr. Press writes on the functions of the mountains and states that they play an important role in stabilizing the crust of the earth. This is exactly how the Qur'aan described mountains 14 centuries ago.
Yes, what can scientists say? They cannot attribute the knowledge revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) by Allah and contained in the Qur'aan to human beings or to any scientific authority in our times, because all scientists were unaware of all these secrets. Moreover, all humanity could not have any explanation but to attribute that knowledge to some extra-terrestrial force. Yes, it is a revelation from Allah which he sent to his servant, the unlettered Prophet Muhammad , whom Allah has made an everlasting sign escorting humanity until the Last Hour.
One kind of rain cloud is the cumulonimbus cloud associated with thunderstorms (See Figure 18.1). Meteorologists have studied how cumulonimbus clouds are formed and how they produce rain, hail, and lightning. They have found that cumulonimbus cloud go through the following steps to produce rain:
- The clouds are pushed by the wind: Cumulonimbus clouds begin to form when wind pushes some small pieces of clouds (cumulus) to an area where these clouds converge.
- Joining: Then the small clouds join together forming a larger cloud.
- Stacking: When the small clouds join together, updrafts within the larger cloud increase. The updrafts near the center of the cloud are stronger than those near the edges. These updrafts cause the cloud body to grow vertically, so the cloud is stacked up. This vertical growth causes the cloud body to stretch into cooler regions of the atmosphere where drops of water and hail formulate and begin to grow larger and larger. When these drops of water and hail become too heavy for the updrafts to support them, they begin to fall from the cloud as rain, hail, etc.
Cumulonimbus clouds seen from space
This verse may raise a question. Why does the verse say ...its lightning in reference to the hail?
Does this mean that hail is the major factor in producing lightning? Let us see what the book entitled Meteorology Today, says on this. It says that clouds become electrified as hail falls through a region in the cloud of super cooled droplets and ice crystals. As liquid droplets collide with hail, they freeze on contact and release latent heat. This keeps the surface of the hail warmer than that of the surrounding ice crystals.
When the hail comes in contact with an ice crystal, an important phenomenon occurs. Electrons flow from the colder object toward the warmer object. Hence, the hail becomes negatively charged. The same effect occurs when super cooled droplets come in contact with a piece of hail and tiny splinters of positively charged ice break off. These lighter, positively charged particles are then carried to the upper part of the cloud by updrafts. The hail, left with a negative charge, fall toward the bottom of the cloud, thus the lower part of the cloud becomes negatively charged. These negative charges are then discharged to the ground as lightning. We conclude from this that hail is the major factor in producing lightning.