Miracles of The Qur'an

We mentioned earlier that the greatest miracle given to our Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is the Qur'an. The Qur'an was sent to mankind 1,400 years ago, but there are some facts related in the Qur'an whose meanings we have only been able to uncover recently.

From the planets to the stars, human beings to animals, Allah created everything in the universe. Our Lord already knows everything we have not discovered so far and He informs us about some of that in the Qur'an. We can only learn these things when Allah permits us, and then we realise that they are miracles of Allah.

The Qur'an contains many scientific miracles. Here, we will deal with only some of the scientific miracles of the Qur'an. (For further information, you can refer to the book, Miracles of the Qur'an.)

How The Universe Came Into Existence

The origin of the universe is described in the Qur'an in the following verse and in many others:

He created the heavens and the earth from nothing… (Surat al-An'am: 101)

In the first section of the book, we described in detail how the universe came into existence from nothing 15 billion years ago. In other words, the universe suddenly came into existence from nothing.

Only the science of the twentieth century enabled us to attain scientific evidence of this great event. Therefore, it was impossible to know this scientifically 1,400 years ago. But, as is also mentioned in the previous verse, Allah told us this fact when the Qur'an was first revealed. This is a miracle of the Qur'an and one of the pieces of evidence that it is the Speech of Allah.

We have built the Firmament with might: and We indeed have vast power. (Suret-ul Zariyat , 47)

The Seas' Not Mingling With One Another

One of the properties of seas that has only recently been discovered is related in a verse of the Qur'an as follows:

He has let loose the two seas, converging together, with a barrier between them they do not break through. (Surat ar-Rahman: 19-20)

This property of the seas, that they come together yet do not mingle with one another at all, has only very recently been discovered by oceanographers. Because of the physical force called "surface tension," the waters of neighbouring seas do not mix. Caused by the difference in the density of their waters, surface tension prevents them from mingling with one another, just as if a thin wall were between them.

The interesting side to this is that during a period when people had no knowledge of physics, surface tension or oceanography; this was revealed in the Qur'an.

Orbits

Many of you know that our world and the other planets have orbits. In fact, not only do the planets in our Solar System have orbits, but also all heavenly bodies in the universe have their separate orbits. That is, they all move in very precisely computed paths. This scientific truth that scientists have only recently uncovered was revealed 1,400 years ago:

It is He Who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. They swim along, each in an orbit. (Surat al-Anbiya: 33)

As is also seen in this verse, Allah informs us about a scientific fact which was only discovered recently. At the time the Qur'an was revealed, people did not know that heavenly bodies moved in constant orbits. But Allah knows everything and tells what He wills to His slaves.

That is Allah, your Lord, the Creator of everything. There is no god but Him—so how have you been perverted? (Surah Ghafir: 62)

The Roundness of the Earth

The understanding of astronomy of the time, when the Qur'an was revealed, perceived the world differently. It was then thought by some that the earth was flat, and others had different theories. But the fact that the earth was round was not then generally known. However, from the Qur'an it was understood by implication that the shape of the world is round. The relevant verse reads:

He has created the Heavens and the Earth for Truth. He wraps the night up in the day, and wraps the day up in the night… (Surat az-Zumar: 5)

The Arabic word "takwir" is translated as "to wrap" in the above verse. In English it means "to make one thing lap over another, folded up as a garment that is laid away." The day and the night wrapping over each other can be true only if the earth is round. But, as mentioned above, the Arabs who lived 1,400 years ago thought that the earth was flat. This means that the roundness of the world was hinted at in the Qur'an, which was revealed in the seventh century. That is because Allah teaches the truth to mankind. This matter, indicated in the Book revealed by Allah, was verified only centuries later by scientists.

Since the Qur'an is Allah's word, the most correct words were used in it when describing the universe. It is unlikely that a human could know and choose these words. But because Allah knows everything, He can make these facts available to man at any time He wills.

Fingerprints

While it is stated in the Qur'an that it is easy for Allah to bring man back to life after death, Allah draws attention in particular to peoples' fingertips:

Does man imagine We will not reassemble his bones? Yes, We are able to put together in perfect order the very tips of his fingers. (Surat al-Qiyama: 3-4)

Bringing an utterly decayed human body back to life is very easy for Allah. Now, examine your fingertips. Everyone's fingerprints are unique to himself. If you had a twin, his/her fingerprints would also be different. Every person who is alive or who has ever lived in this world has a unique set of fingerprints. That is why they are almost as unique as the identity of a person.

Allah the Almighty can re-create us, down to all these fine details. Meanwhile, we need to keep in mind that the significance of fingerprints and that the fact that every person has a set of fingerprints peculiar to himself was only discovered in the nineteenth century. But Allah drew attention to the tips of the fingers 1,400 years ago in the Qur'an.

There are several other issues miraculously indicated by the Qur'an. We have only discussed a few of them here. These alone suffice to make clear that the Qur'an is the Speech of Allah. (For further information, you can refer to the book, Miracles of the Qur'an by Harun Yahya.)

Allah informs us the following about the Qur'an:

Will they not ponder the Qur'an? If it had been from other than Allah, they would have found many inconsistencies in it. (Surat an-Nisa: 82)

As is also evident from the verse above, the Qur'an provides accurate information. With advances in science, more of the miracles mentioned in the Qur'an are being revealed. These miraculous attributes of the Qur'an prove that it is a revelation from Allah. At this point, it is our job to learn and practise the commands of the Qur'an meticulously.

Allah commands us to adhere to the Qur'an in many verses. Some of them are as follows:

And this is a Book We have sent down and blessed, so follow it and do your duty so that hopefully you will gain mercy. (Surat al-An'am: 155) …Truly it is a reminder, and whoever wills pays heed to it. (Surah 'Abasa: 11-12)