Embryology
"We placed him as sperm in a place of rest, firmly fixed; Then We made the sperm into a clot of blood; then of that blood clot We made a lump; then we made out of that lump bones and clothed the bones with flesh; then we developed out of it another creature. So blessed be God, the best to create!" (Quran 23:13-14)
- Old Theory: The entire study of human life as mentioned in the Qur'an is not original at all. While Muslims try to claim that Muhammad made these statements before scientists discovered them, they are wrong. Theories of the formation of a child inside the womb was put forth by Aristotle nearly 1,000 years before the Qur'an was written. In fact Aristotle correctly described the function of the umbilical cord, something not mentioned in the Qur'an, showing that earlier philosophers were aware of such things mentioned by Muhammad and more. Every mention of human development in the Qur'an is similar to Roman and Greek theories.
- Wrong: The Qur'an stated that the blood clot was turned to bone and then God "clothed the bones with flesh" (Quran 23:13-14). It is scientific fact that living tissue forms first, and then bones grow at a later time, and continue to gain strength (by building calcium) for many years after birth. Therefore, this is one of many scientific inaccuracies in the Qur'an
- An embryo is not a "clot of thick blood" at any point in human development. Muhammad probably saw a miscarried embryo, and made this incorrect assumption. Incidentally, the clotted blood in a miscarriage is mostly from the mother, not the embryo. Another possible explanation for this error is that Muhammad believed the prevailing Aristotelian common "wisdom" of his day. Aristotle believed that children were conceived from the action of male semen upon female menstrual blood. (Aristotle (English trans. A. L. Peck, Heinemann, 1953), Generation of Animals, 717b)
- This hadith echoes sura 23:14, which mentions the three stages of embryological development (nutfah, alaqa and mudghah) then says the embryo is "another creation". According to this hadith the human foetus was not completely formed until 120 days of gestation, which contradicts what has just been said above.
Male or Female:
In another Hadeeth, "Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam) said: When forty-two nights have passed over the drop (nutfah), Allah sends an angel to it, who shapes it and makes its ears, eyes, skin, flesh and bones. Then he says, "O Lord, is it male or female?" and your Lord decides what he wishes. (Muslim)."
- Old Theory: Hippocrates taught that it took 30 days for the male genitals to form and 42 for the female embryo. No wonder the angel has to wait for forty-two days before it learns the child's sex. In reality, prior to 7 weeks of gestation the ovaries and testes appear identical and the external genitalia only start to diverge around 9 weeks.
- Wrong: Semen CANNOT remain viable in the womb for forty two days. Under ideal circumstances, a male sperm cell can only survive for approximately 7 days in the female reproductive system.
- The gender of a child is determined at the moment of conception, not 42 days after conception.
360 Joints:
Narrated Buraydah ibn al-Hasib: "I heard the Apostle of Allah peace_be_upon_him) say: A human being has three hundred and sixty joints for each of which he must give alms. The people asked him: Who is capable of doing this? He replied: It may be mucus in the mosque which you bury, and something which you remove from the road; but if you do not find such, two rak'ahs in the forenoon will be sufficient for you. (Translation of Sunan Abu-Dawud, General Behavior (Kitab Al-Adab), Book 41, Number 5222)"
- Old Theory: Chinese thinkers (like Lu Pu-wei, Tung Chung-shu), centuries before the advent of Islam, positively asserted that the human body had 360 joints. In fact, this claim is even repeated to this day in certain Kung Fu classes!
- Wrong: The average adult human body has roughly 206 bones, which would mean that the average human body has less than 206 joints. Precise numbers cannot be given because exact bone counts can differ from person to person, though it is nonetheless clear that the figure of 360 is way off.
The Atom:
And you are not (engaged) in any affair, nor do you recite concerning it any portion of the Quran, nor do you do any work but We are witnesses over you when you enter into it, and there does not lie concealed from your Lord the weight of an atom in the earth or in the heaven, nor any thing less than that nor greater, but it is in a clear book [10]
- The scientific Atomic theory have nothing to do with this Quranic Atom. This atom is used in Quran to denote small particle. When Arabs tried to talk about small particle, they could not find a suitable word to describe the atom; only appropriate the word they imagined was "zarah" which mean: the dust particle, and the small ants If Quran really talked scientifically about atom and molecules, then we should have some indication about electrons, protons neutrons. But there is no real indication of it in the whole Quran. If any scientist claim that Quran really talk about Atomic physics, then he must show us where we may get the scientific idea of Nuclear structure, how can one observe Rutherford scattering ? How can one acquire the knowledge of Static properties of nucleus such as angular momentum, parity, size shape, magnetic multiple moments, electric multiple moments etc. Quran can only imagine very ambiguously small particle as dust and the small ants. While Islamic scientists try to prove Quran super-scientific, they usually try to get the words out from it context.
Red Star Nebula:
“And when the heaven splitteth asunder and becometh rosy like red hide.” [55:37-38]
- Wrong: This verse, unfortunately has nothing to do with any Red Star Nebula. Actually in this verse Muhammad was just trying to scare people with tales of blazing fires and dreadful things. The above verse is another one of Prophet's scare mongering verses, when sky opens and becomes red (with fire)
The Big Bang:
Have not those who disbelieve known that the heavens and the earth were of one piece, then We parted them, .... [21]
- Wrong: This verse does not show any kind of explosion at all. So how can it be related with Big-Bang? Big B-A-N-G -the name is self explanatory. But where is the BANG here? Big Bang in Physics refers to the explosion of SPACE-TIME SINGULARITY (not matter). Matter was not even created when Big Bang happened. Earth was formed billions of years after the Big Bang. The above verses are clearly referring to earth and sky being "joined" (Which doesn't even have a common sense or scientific meaning) together and then being split apart (Again no scientific or common sense meaning), forget about comparing it to Big Bang!
Not Expanding Universe but The Flat Earth Theory:
And the earth, We have made it a wide extent; how well have We then spread (it) out. [51]
this quote is commonly used to discribe the expanding universe, rather it establishes century old incorrect Quranic flat earth theory
God made earth like a carpet spread out…[20]
The earth is like a carpet spread out…[43.10]
Allah has spread out the earth…[51]
Allah made the earth a carpet…[71]
Allah made the earth as a wide expanse…[78]
- Old theory: From the above analysis it is clear that nothing in those Qur'anic verses come any close to what an expansion of universe really means. Those who wants to relate the verse with expansion of universe, is just their wishful interpretation. It is based on a dogmatic Catholic theology of that time
- Wrong: proven wrong by many scientist from Copernicus and Galileo Galilei to modern astronomy
Gassy origin of the Universe?
Then turned He to the heaven when it was smoke, and said unto it and unto the earth: Come both of you, willingly or loth. They said: We come, obedient.[41]
- Contradictionary: Allah first created the earth and then filled the earth with mountains and plants (It is quite understandable that mountains and plants could not be made before the earth was made, thus 41:10 follows 41:9 in a quite reasonable order). But then we see that verse 41:11 establishes an undeniable context in which the universe exists as smoke at the same time that the earth already exists, since God "rose over towards the heaven when it was smoke" and spoke to it and to the earth, therefore no Muslim can rationally deny that this verse clearly says the earth existed at the same time as the smoke which is totally irrational and absurd.
Stars and comets are rockets fired by God at devils eavesdropping on Him.
- "We have adorned the lowest heaven with lamps, missiles to pelt devils with." Sovereignity (67) #4.
- "We have decked the heavens with constellations and made them lovely to behold. We have guarded them from every cursed devil. Eavesdroppers are pursued by fiery comets" Al-Hijr 15:~18
- Wrong: Star and comets are celestial bodies, not rockets that shoot jinns who never see it comming. Alltough you can't 'see' jinns, the theology doens't blend in with science... even if supposed so 'jinns' are being hit by suns or commets that are in orbit. Must make these jinns pretty damn stupid for being hit by stones that have a predictable orbit. On top of that, i am not suprised that commets and suns are used in this theology. Since the Ka'aba is to be of a meteorite origin, i have no doubt in my mind. That such fables about jinns being attacked by the flying lamps existed in the pre-islamic era. so it's most likely to be an old theory as well.
Water cycle:
"(God) is the One Who sends forth the winds like heralds of His Mercy. When they have carried the heavy-laden clouds, We drive them to a dead land. Then We cause water to descend and thereby bring forth fruits of every kind. Thus We will bring forth the dead. Maybe you will remember.'' [7] "Have you not seen that God sent water down from the sky and led it through sources into the ground? Then he caused sown fields of different colors to grow.'' [39]
- Old Theory: The water cycle was not fully understood until about 30 B.C. by a Roman engineer named Marcus Vitruvius. Yet every aspect of the water cycle was fully revealed to mankind in 1600 B.C.! The Bible's description is clear, correct and less vague. Eccl 1:6-7;11:3; Job 26:8; Amos 9:6. Vitruvius was 1600 years too late!
- Correct: but not that astonishing, first of all this was allready known. If not not by Marcus Vitruvius or the Bible, Then by another source... does it show special foreknowledge and thereby prove Divine Revelation? The answer must surely be "no''. Every man or woman, even those living in a city, could describe that clouds carry rain refilling wells and springs, and And every person in contact with farmers during a drought will hear them say that their wells and springs have dried up, thus showing common knowledge of that rain is the source and origin of underground water.
Very accurate solar system?
- WRONG: According to Quran our earth is flat and the Earth is bigger then the Sun and the Moon are to be much smaller. They are “lamps” hanging from the ceiling of the sky that is being supported by invisible columns. The Quranic solar system also contains invisible genies. They climb over each other’s shoulders and reach the heaven to eavesdrop the conversation of the “Exalted Assembly”. The stars are used as missiles (shooting stars) to hit them (genies). The moon is supposed to be above the stars. Then sun also must rise from muddy waters and enter in the murky waters just as Dul Qaranain witnessed (sura: 18:86, 18:90). So The Earth is much bigger. There there is also a position for the throne of Allah. But the throne is over the waters and the Sun has to prostrate in front of the throne and ask permission of Allah to rise.
Sperm Comes from between the backbone and the ribs:
"He is created from a drop (of sperm) emitted-- Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs." (Qur'an 86:6-7)
- Old Theory: . Eleven centuries before Muhammad, the Greek physician Hippocrates theorized that sperm passed through the kidneys into the penis. For centuries this was an accepted (and incorrect) belief of the origins of sperm.
- Wrong: for sperm to originate between the back and the ribs would mean that it comes from the kidneys! We now know that semen is produced in the testicles, but people in Muhammad's time did not know this.
- The mention of sperm: This is nothing special. Since the beginning of time man has been aware of the "seed" that is released from the penis during sexual intercourse. The Bible, a text much older than the Qur'an, tells a story of a man who was struck down by God for "spilling his seed on the ground" (Genesis 38:9-10).
There are those who claim Muhammad had no contact with Greeks or Romans. Pre-Islamic Arabia definitely had contact with Byzantium, Syria, Egypt, Persia, and Babylon. There were many Jews and Christians living in the area, and they were familiar with Greek or Roman philosophy. The Christians were connected to Rome. The Jews were connected to Babylon and Persia. It is easy to see how such theories regarding embryonic development may have reached Muhammad.