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The
Scientific Miracles of the Qur'an
Fourteen centuries
ago, God sent down the Qur'an to mankind as a book of guidance.
He called upon people to be guided to the truth by adhering to
this book. From the day of its revelation to the day of judgement,
this last divine book will remain the sole guide for humanity.
The matchless style of the Qur'an
and the superior wisdom in it are definite evidence that it is
the word of God. In addition, the Qur'an has many miraculous attributes
proving that it is a revelation from God. One of these attributes
is the fact that a number of scientific truths that we have only
been able to uncover by the technology of the 20th century were
stated in the Qur'an 1,400 years ago. Of course the Qur'an is not a book
of science. However, many scientific facts that are expressed
in an extremely concise and profound manner in its verses have
only been discovered with the technology of the 20th century.
These facts could not have been known at the time of the Qur'an's
revelation, and this is still more proof that the Qur'an is the
word of God. In order to understand the scientific
miracle of the Qur'an, we must first take a look at the level
of science at the time when this holy book was revealed. In the 7th century, when the Qur'an
was revealed, Arab society had many superstitious and groundless
beliefs where scientific issues were concerned. Lacking the technology
to examine the universe and nature, these early Arabs believed
in legends inherited from past generations. They supposed, for
example, that mountains supported the sky above. They believed
that the earth was flat and that there were high mountains at
its both ends. It was thought that these mountains were pillars
that kept the vault of heaven high above. However all these superstitious
beliefs of Arab society were eliminated with the Qur'an. In Sura
Sad, verse 2, it was said: "God is He who raised up the heavens
without any support..."(The Qur'an, 38:2). This verse invalidated
the belief that the sky remains above because of the mountains.
In many other subjects, important facts were revealed at a time
when no one could have known them. The Qur'an, which was revealed
at a time when people knew very little about astronomy, physics,
or biology, contains key facts on a variety of subjects such as
the creation of the universe, the creation of the human being,
the structure of the atmosphere, and the delicate balances that
make life on earth possible. Now, let us look at some of these
scientific miracles revealed in the Qur'an together. THE COMING OF
THE UNIVERSE INTO EXISTENCE The
origin of the universe is described in the Qur'an in the following
verse: "He is the Originator
of the heavens and the earth."(The Qur'an, 6:101) This information given in the Qur'an
is in full agreement with the findings of contemporary science.
The conclusion that astrophysics has reached today is that the
entire universe, together with the dimensions of matter and time,
came into existence as a result of a great explosion that occurred
in no time. This event, known as "The Big Bang" proved
that the universe was created from nothingness as the result of
the explosion of a single point. Modern scientific circles are
in agreement that the Big Bang is the only rational and provable
explanation of the beginning of the universe and of how the universe
came into being. Before the Big Bang, there was
no such thing as matter. From a condition of non-existence
in which neither matter, nor energy, nor even time existed, and
which can only be described metaphysically, matter, energy, and
time were all created. This fact, only recently discovered by
modern physics, was announced to us in the Qur'an 1,400 years
ago.
The sensitive sensors on board
the COBE space satellite which was launched by NASA in 1992, captured
evidentiary remnants of the Big Bang. This discovery served as
evidence for the Big Bang, which is the scientific explanation
of the fact that the universe was created from nothing. The Expansion
of the Universe
In
the Qur'an, which was revealed 14 centuries ago at a time when
the science of astronomy was still primitive, the expansion of
the universe was described like this: "And
it is We who have constructed the heaven with might, and verily,
it is We who are steadily expanding it." The word "heaven", as
stated in this verse, is used in various places in the Qur'an
with the meaning of space and universe. Here again, the word is
used with this meaning. In other words, in the Qur'an it is revealed
that the universe "expands". And this is the very conclusion
that science has reached today.
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". The research, observations, and calculations carried
out by means of modern technology, however, 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 fact was proved also by 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. 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. This fact was explained in the Qur'an when that was
still unknown to anyone. This is because the Qur'an is the word
of God, the Creator, and the Ruler of the entire universe.
The Splitting
Asunder of "The Heavens and The Earth" Another
verse about the creation of the heavens is as follows: "Do not the
Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together
(as one unit of creation), before We clove them asunder, and We
made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?" The word ratq translated
as "sewn to" means "mixed in each, blended"
in Arabic dictionaries. It is used to refer to two different substances
that make up a whole. The phrase "we unstitched"
is the verb fataqa in Arabic and implies that something
comes into being by tearing apart or destroying the structure
of ratq. The sprouting of a seed from the soil is one of
the actions to which this verb is applied. Let us take a look at the verse
again with this knowledge in mind. In the verse, sky and earth
are at first subject to the status of ratq. They are separated
(fataqa) with one coming out of the other. Intriguingly,
when we remember the first moments of the Big Bang, we see that
a single point included all the matter in the universe. In other
words, everything, including "the heavens and earth"
which were not created yet, were included in this point in a condition
of ratq. This point exploded violently, causing its matter
to fataqa and in the process created the structure of the
whole universe. When we compare the expressions
in the verse with scientific findings, we see that they are in
perfect agreement with each other. Interestingly enough, these
findings were not arrived at until the 20th century.
While
referring to the Sun and the Moon in the Qur'an, it is emphasized
that each moves in a definite orbit. "It is He Who
created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. They
swim along, each in an orbit. " It is mentioned in another verse,
too, that the Sun is not static but moves in a definite orbit: "And the sun
runs to its resting place. That is the decree of the Almighty,
the All-Knowing. " These facts communicated in the
Qur'an have been discovered by astronomical observations in our
age. According to the calculations of experts on astronomy, the
Sun is traveling at the enormous speed of 720,000 kilometers an
hour in the direction of the star Vega in a particular orbit called
the Solar Apex. This means that the sun travels roughly 17,280,000
kilometers a day. Along with the Sun, and all planets and satellites
within the gravitational system of the Sun also travel the same
distance. In addition, all the stars in the universe are in a
similar planned motion. That the entire universe is full
of paths and orbits such as this one, is written in the Qur'an
as follows: "By the sky
full of paths and orbits."
There are about 200 billion galaxies
in the universe, consisting of nearly 200 billion stars in each.
Most of these stars have planets, and most of those planets have
satellites. All of these heavenly bodies move in very precisely
computed orbits. For millions of years, each has been "swimming"
along in its own orbit in perfect harmony and order with all the
others. Moreover, many comets also move along in the orbits determined
for them.
Surely at the time the Qur'an was
revealed, mankind did not possess today's telescopes or advanced
observation technologies to observe millions of kilometres of
space, nor the modern knowledge of physics or astronomy. Therefore,
at that time, it was not possible to determine scientifically
that space is "full of paths and orbits" as stated in
the verse. However, this was openly declared to us in the Qur'an
that was revealed at that time:-because the Qur'an is the word
of God.
The Roundness
of the Earth
"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." In the Qur'an, the words used for
describing the universe are quite remarkable. The Arabic word
that is translated as "to wrap" in the above verse is
"takwir". In English, it means "to make one thing
lap over another, folded up as a garment that is laid away".
(For instance, in Arabic dictionaries this word is used for the
action of wrapping one thing around another, in the way that a
turban is put on.) The information given in the verse
about the day and the night wrapping each other up includes accurate
information about the shape of the world. This can be true only
if the earth is round. This means that in the Qur'an, which was
revealed in the 7th century, the roundness of the world was hinted
at. It should be remembered, however,
that the understanding of astronomy of the time perceived the
world differently. It was then thought that the world was a flat
plane and all scientific calculations and explanations were based
on this belief. The verses of the Qur'an, however, include information
that we have learned only in the past century. Since the Qur'an
is God's word, the most correct words were used in it when it
comes to describing the universe. The Protected
Roof
In
the Qur'an, God calls our attention to a very interesting attribute
of the sky: "We made the
sky a preserved and protected roof yet still they turn away from
Our Signs.." This attribute of the sky has been
proved by scientific research carried out in the 20th century. The atmosphere surrounding the
earth serves crucial functions for the continuity of life. While
destroying many meteors big and small as they approach the earth,
it prevents them from falling to earth and harming living things. In addition, the atmosphere filters
the light rays coming from space that are harmful to living things.
Interestingly, the atmosphere lets only harmless and useful rays-
visible light, near ultraviolet light, and radio waves pass through.
All of this radiation is vital for life. Near ultraviolet rays,
which are only partially let in by the atmosphere, are very important
for the photosynthesis of plants and for the survival of all living
beings. The majority of the intense ultraviolet rays emitted from
the sun are filtered out by the ozone layer of the atmosphere
and only a limited-and essential-part of the ultraviolet spectrum
reaches the Earth. The protective function of the
atmosphere does not end here. The atmosphere also protects the
earth from the freezing cold of the space, which is about minus
270° C.
It is not only the atmosphere that
protects the Earth from harmful effects. In addition to the atmosphere,
the Van Allen Belt, a layer caused by the magnetic field of the
Earth, also serves as a shield against the harmful radiation that
threatens our planet. This radiation, which is constantly emitted
by the Sun and other stars, is deadly to living things. If the
Van Allen belt did not exist, the massive outbursts of energy
called solar flares that frequently occur in the Sun would destroy
all life on Earth. Dr. Hugh Ross has this to say on
the importance of Van Allen Belts to our lives: In fact, the Earth
has the highest density of any of the planets in our Solar System.
This large nickel-iron core is responsible for our large magnetic
field. This magnetic field produces the Van-Allen radiation shield,
which protects the Earth from radiation bombardment. If this shield
were not present, life would not be possible on the Earth. The
only other rocky planet to have any magnetic field is Mercury
- but its field strength is 100 times less than the Earth's. Even
Venus, our sister planet, has no magnetic field. The Van-Allen
radiation shield is a design unique to the Earth.(1)
In short, a perfect system is at
work high above the Earth. It surrounds our world and protects
it against external threats. Scientists only learned about it
recently, yet centuries ago, God informed us in the Qur'an of
the world's atmosphere functioning as a protective shield. The Returning
Sky
The
verse 11 of Sura Tarik in the Qur'an, refers to the "returning"
function of the sky. "By Heaven with
its cyclical systems." This word interpreted as "cyclical"
in Qur'an translations also has meanings of "sending back"
or "returning". As known, the atmosphere surrounding
the Earth consists of many layers. Each layer serves an important
purpose for the benefit of life. Research has revealed that these
layers have the function of turning the materials or rays they
are exposed to back into space or back down to the Earth. Now
let us examine with a few examples of this "recycling"
function of the layers encircling the Earth. The troposphere, 13 to 15 kilometers
above the Earth, enables water vapor rising from the surface of
the Earth to be condensed and turn back as rain. The ozone layer, at an altitude
of 25 kilometers, reflects harmful radiation and ultraviolet light
coming from space and turns both back into space. The ionosphere, reflects
radio waves broadcast from the Earth back down to different
parts of the world, just like a passive communications satellite,
and thus makes wireless communication, radio, and television broadcasting
possible over long distances. The magnetosphere layer turns
the harmful radioactive particles emitted by the Sun and other
stars back into space before they reach the Earth. The fact that this property of
the atmosphere's layers, that was onlt demonstrated in the recent
past was announced centuries ago in the Qur'an, once again demonstrates
that the Qur'an is the word of God.
One
fact about the universe revealed in the verses of the Qur'an is
that the sky is made up of seven layers. "It is He Who
created everything on the earth for you and then directed His
attention up to heaven and arranged it into seven regular heavens.
He has knowledge of all things." "Then He turned
to heaven when it was smoke. In two days He determined them as
seven heavens and revealed, in every heaven, its own mandate." The word "heavens", which
appears in many verses in the Qur'an, is used to refer to the
sky above the Earth, as well as the entire universe. Given this
meaning of the word, it is seen that the Earth's sky, or the atmosphere,
is made up of seven layers.
Indeed, today it is known that
the world's atmosphere consists of different layers that lie on
top of each other. Furthermore, it consists, just as is described
in the Qur'an, of exactly seven layers. In a scientific source,
the subject is described as follows:
Scientists have found that the
atmosphere consists of several layers. The layers differ in such
physical properties as pressure and the types of gasses. The layer
of the atmosphere closest to Earth is called the TROPOSPHERE.
It contains about 90% of the total mass of the atmosphere. The
layer above the troposphere is called the STRATOSPHERE.
The OZONE LAYER is the part of the stratosphere where absorption
of ultraviolet rays occurs. The layer above the stratosphere is
called the MESOSPHERE. The THERMOSPHERE lies above
the mesosphere. The ionized gases form a layer within the thermosphere
called the IONOSPHERE. The outermost part of Earth's atmosphere
extends from about 480 km out to 960 km. This part is called the
EXOSPHERE. (2) If we count the number of layers
cited in this source, we see that the atmosphere consists of exactly
seven layers, just as stated in the verse. 1.
Troposphere Another important miracle on this
subject is mentioned in the statement "(He) revealed,
in every heaven, its own mandate.", in verse 12 of Sura
Fussilet. In other words, in the verse, God states that He assigned
each heaven its own duty. Truly, as seen in previous chapters,
each one of these layers has vital duties for the benefit of human
kind and all other living things on the Earth. Each layer has
a particular function, ranging from forming rain to preventing
harmful rays, from reflecting radio waves, to averting the harmful
effects of meteors. One of these functions, for example,
is stated in a scientific source as follows: Earth's atmosphere
has 7 layers. The lowest layer is called troposphere. Rain, snow
and wind only take place in the troposphere.(3) It is a great miracle that these
facts, which could not possibly be discovered without the technology
of the 20th century, were explicitly stated by the Qur'an 1,400
years ago.
The Function
of Mountains
The
Qur'an draws attention to a very important geological function
of mountains. "We placed firmly
embedded mountains on the earth, so it would not move under them…"
As we have noticed, it is stated
in the verse that mountains have the function of preventing shocks
in the Earth.
This fact was not known by anyone
at the time the Qur'an was revealed. It was in fact brought to
light only recently as a result of the findings of modern geology. According to these findings, mountains
emerge as a result of the movements and collisions of massive
plates forming the Earth's crust. When two plates collide, the
stronger one slides under the other, the one on the top bends
and forms heights and mountains. The layer beneath proceeds under
the ground and makes a deep extension downward. That means that
mountains have a portion stretching downwards, as large as their
visible parts on the Earth. In a scientific text, the structure
of mountains is described as follows:
Where continents are
thicker, as in mountain ranges, the crust sinks deeper into the
mantle.(4) In a verse, this role of the mountains
is pointed out by a comparison with "pegs": "Have We not
made the earth as a bed and the mountains its pegs?" Mountains, in other words, clench
the plates in the Earth's crust together by extending above and
beneath the Earth's surface at the conjunction points of these
plates. In this way, they fix the Earth's crust, and prevent it
from drifting over the magma stratum or among its plates. Briefly,
we may liken mountains to nails that keep pieces of wood together. This fixing function of the mountains
is described in scientific literature by the term "isostasy".
Isostasy means the following: Isostasy: general
equilibrium in the Earth's crust maintained by a yielding flow
of rock material beneath the surface under gravitational stress.(5) This vital role of mountains, that
was discovered by modern geology and seismic research, was revealed
in the Qur'an centuries ago as an example of the supreme wisdom
in God's creation. "We placed firmly
embedded mountains on the earth, so it would not move under them..." The Movement
of Mountains
In
one verse, we are informed that mountains are not motionless as
they seem, but are in constant motion. "You will see
the mountains you reckoned to be solid going past like clouds." This motion of the mountains is
caused by the movement of the Earth's crust that they are located
on. The Earth's crust 'floats' over the mantle layer, which is
denser. It was at the beginning of the 20th century when, for
the first time in history, a German scientist by the name of Alfred
Wegener proposed that the continents of the earth had been attached
together when it first formed, but then drifted in different directions,
and thus separated as they moved away from each other. Geologists understood that that
Wegener was right only in the 1980s, 50 years after his death.
As Wegener pointed out in an article published in 1915, the land
masses on the earth were joined together about 500 million years
ago. As Wegener pointed out in a 1915 article, the land masses
of the earth were joined together some 500 million years ago,
and this large mass, called Pangaea, was located in the
South Pole. Approximately 180 million years
ago, Pangaea divided into two parts, which drifted in different
directions. One of these giant continents was Gondwana,
which included Africa, Australia, Antarctica and India. The second
one was Laurasia, which included Europe, North America
and Asia, except for India. Over the next 150 million years following
this separation, Gondwana and Laurasia divided into
smaller parts. These continents that emerged after
the split of Pangaea have been constantly moving on the
Earth's surface at several centimetres per year, in the meantime
changing the sea and land ratios of the Earth. Discovered as a result of the geological
research carried out at the beginning of the 20th century, this
movement of the Earth's crust is explained by scientists as follows:
The crust and the
uppermost part of the mantle, with a thickness of about 100 kms.,
are divided into segments called plates. There are six major plates,
and several small ones. According to the theory called plate tectonics,
these plates move about on Earth, carrying continents and ocean
floor with them. Continental motion has been measured at from
1-5 cm per year. As the plates continue to move about, this will
produce a slow change in Earth's geography. Each year, for instance,
the Atlantic Ocean becomes slightly wider.(6) There is a very important point
to be stated here: God has referred to the motion of mountains
as a drifting action in the verse. Today, modern scientists also
use the term "Continental Drift" for this motion.
(7) Unquestionably, it is one of the
miracles of the Qur'an that this scientific fact, which has recently
been discovered by science, was announced in the Qur'an.
Iron
is one of the elements highlighted in the Qur'an. In Sura Hadid,
meaning Iron, we are informed: "…And We sent
down iron in which there lies great force and which has many uses
for mankind...." The word "sent down,"
particularly used for iron in the verse, could be thought of having
a metaphorical meaning to explain that iron has been given to
benefit people. But when we take into consideration the literal
meaning of the word, which is, "being physically sent down
from the sky", we realize that this verse implies a very
significant scientific miracle.
This is because modern astronomical
findings have disclosed that the iron found in our world has come
from the giant stars in outer space. The heavy metals in the universe
are produced in the nuclei of big stars. Our solar system, however,
does not possess a suitable structure for producing iron on its
own. Iron can only be produced in much bigger stars than the Sun,
where the temperature reaches a few hundred million degrees. When
the amount of iron exceeds a certain level in a star, the star
can no longer accommodate it, and eventually it explodes in what
is called a "nova" or a "supernova". As a
result of this explosion, meteors containing iron are scattered
around the universe, and they move through the void until attracted
by the gravitational force of a celestial body. All this shows that iron did not
form on the Earth, but was carried from exploding stars in space
via meteors, and was "sent down to earth", in
exactly the same way as stated in the verse: It is clear that
this fact could not have been scientifically known in the 7th
century, when the Qur'an was revealed.
The Pairs in
Creation
The Relativity
of Time
Today,
the relativity of time is a proven scientific fact. This was revealed
by Einstein's theory of relativity at the early years of the 20th
century. Until then, people did not know that time was a relative
concept, and that it could change according to the environment.
Yet, the great scientist Albert Einstein openly proved this fact
with the theory of relativity. He showed that time is dependent
on mass and velocity. In the history of humanity, no one had expressed
this fact clearly before. With one exception though; the
Qur'an included information about time's being relative! Some
verses about the subject read: "They ask you to hasten
the punishment. God will not break His promise. A day with your
Lord is equivalent to a thousand years in the way you count."
"He directs the whole affair
from heaven to earth. Then it will again ascend to Him on a Day
whose length is a thousand years by the way you measure."
In some verses, it is indicated
that people perceive time differently and that sometimes people
can perceive a very short period of time as a very lengthy one.
The following conversation of people held during their judgement
in the Hereafter is a good example of this: "He will say,
'How many years did you tarry on the earth?' They will say, 'We
tarried there for a day or part of a day. Ask those able to count!'
He will say, 'You only tarried there for a little while if you
did but know!" The fact that the relativity of
time is so clearly mentioned in the Qur'an, which started to be
revealed in 610, is another evidence that it is a holy book.
One
of the items of information given in the Qur'an about rain is
that it is sent down to Earth in due measure. This is mentioned
in Sura Zukhruf as follows; "It is He who
sends down water in due measure from the sky by which We bring
a dead land back to life. That is how you too will be raised (from
the dead)."
Even a minor deviation in this
equilibrium would very soon give rise to a major ecological imbalance
that would bring about the end of life on Earth. Yet, this never
happens, and rain keeps falling every year in exactly the same
quantity just as revealed in the Qur'an.
How
rain forms remained a great mystery for a long time. Only after
weather radar was invented was it possible to discover the stages
by which rain is formed. According to this, the formation
of rain takes place in three stages. First, the "raw material"
of rain rises up into the air with the wind. Later, clouds are
formed, and finally raindrops appear. The Qur'an's account of the formation
of rain refers exactly to this process. In one verse, this formation
is described in this way: "It is God Who
sends the winds which stir up clouds which He spreads about the
sky however He wills. He forms them into dark clumps and you see
the rain come pouring out from the middle of them. When He makes
it fall on those of His slaves He wills, they rejoice" Now, let us examine these three
stages outlined in the verse more technically. FIRST STAGE: "
It is God Who sends the winds..." Countless air bubbles formed by
the foaming of the oceans continuously burst and cause water particles
to be ejected towards the sky. These particles, which are rich
in salt, are then carried away by winds and rise upward in the
atmosphere. These particles, which are called aerosols, function
as water traps, and form cloud drops by collecting around the
water vapour themselves, which rises from the seas as tiny droplets. SECOND STAGE: "....
which stir up clouds which He spreads about the sky however He
wills. He forms them into dark clumps..." The clouds are formed from water
vapour that condenses around the salt crystals or dust particles
in the air. Because the water droplets in these clouds are very
small (with a diameter between 0.01 and 0.02 mm), the clouds are
suspended in the air, and spread across the sky. Thus, the sky
is covered in clouds.
THIRD STAGE: "…and
you see the rain come pouring our from the middle of them" The water particles that surround
salt crystals and dust particles thicken and form raindrops, so,
drops that become heavier than the air leave the clouds and start
to fall to the ground as rain. As we have seen, every stage in
the formation of rain is related in the verses of the Qur'an.
Furthermore, these stages are explained in exactly the right sequence.
Just as with many other natural phenomena on the Earth, God gives
the most correct explanation of this phenomenon as well, and made
it known to people in the Qur'an centuries before it was discovered. In another verse, the following
information is given about the formation of rain: "Have you not
seen how God drives along the clouds, then joins them together,
then makes them into a stack, and then you see the rain come out
of it? And He sends down from the sky mountain masses (of clouds)
with cold hail in them, striking with it anyone He wills and averting
it from anyone He wills. The brightness of His lightning almost
blinds the sight."
Scientists studying cloud types
came across surprising results regarding the formation of rain
clouds. Rain clouds are formed and shaped according to definite
systems and stages. The formation stages of cumulonimbus, one
kind of rain cloud, are these: 1.STAGE, Being driven along:
Clouds are carried along, that is, they are driven along, by the
wind. 2.STAGE, Joining: Then,
small clouds (cumulus clouds) driven along by the wind join together,
forming a larger cloud.(9)
3.STAGE, Stacking: When
the small clouds join together, updrafts within the larger cloud
increase. The updrafts near the centre 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.(10) We must remember that meteorologists
have only recently come to know these details of cloud formation,
structure and function, by using advanced equipment like planes,
satellites, computers etc. It is evident that God has given us
a piece of information that could not have been known 1,400 years
ago.
The Fecundating
Winds
In
one verse of the Qur'an, the "fecundating" characteristic
of the winds, and the formation of rain as a result are mentioned. "And We send
the fecundating winds, then cause water to descend from the sky,
therewith providing you with water in abundance." In this verse, it is pointed out
that the first stage in the formation of rain is wind. Until the
beginning of the 20th century, the only relationship between the
wind and the rain that was known, was that the wind drove the
clouds. However, modern meteorological findings have demonstrated
the "fecundating" role of the wind in the formation
of rain. This fecundating function of the
wind works in the following way: On the surface of oceans and seas,
countless air bubbles form because of the water's foaming action.
The moment these bubbles burst, thousands of tiny particles, with
a diameter of just one hundredth of a millimeter, are thrown up
into the air. These particles, known as "aerosols",
mix with dust carried from the land by the wind, and are carried
to the upper layers of the atmosphere. These particles carried
to higher altitudes by winds come into contact with water vapour
up there. Water vapour condenses around these particles and turns
into water droplets. These water droplets first come together
and form clouds, and then fall to the Earth in the form of rain. As seen, winds "fecundate"
the water vapour floating in the air with the particles they carry
from the sea, and eventually help the formation of rain clouds. If winds did not possess this property,
water droplets in the upper atmosphere would never form, and there
would be no such thing as rain. The most important point here is
that this critical role of the wind in the formation of rain was
stated centuries ago in a verse of the Qur'an, at a time when
people knew very little about natural phenomena…
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." 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 neighboring 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.(11) 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.
"Or (the unbelievers'
state) are like the darkness of a fathomless sea which is covered
by waves above which are waves above which are clouds, layers
of darkness, one upon the other. If he puts out his hand, he can
scarcely see it. Those God gives no light to, they have no light." The general environment in deep
seas is described in the book named Oceans: The darkness in deep
seas and oceans is found around a depth of 200 meters and below.
At this depth, there is almost no light. Below a depth of 1000
meters there is no light at all.(12) Today, we know about the general
structure of the sea, the characteristics of the living things
in it, its salinity, as well as the amount of water it contains,
its surface area and depth. Submarines and special equipment,
developed with modern technology, enable scientists to obtain
this information. Human beings are not able to dive
more than 40 meters down without the aid of special equipment.
They cannot survive unaided in the deep, dark parts of the oceans,
such as at a depth of 200 meters. For these reasons, scientists
have only recently been able to discover these detailed pieces
of information about seas. However, the statement of "darkness
in a deep sea" was used in Sura Nur 1,400 years ago. It is
certainly one of the miracles of the Qur'an that such information
was given at a time where no equipment to enable man to dive into
the depths of the oceans was available.
In addition, the statement in verse
40 of Sura Nur "…like the darkness of a fathomless sea which
is covered by waves above which are waves above which are clouds…"
draws our attention to another miracle of the Qur'an.
Scientists have recently
discovered that there are internal waves, which "occur on
density interfaces between layers of different densities."
These internal waves cover the deep waters of seas and oceans
because deep water has a higher density than the water above it.
Internal waves act like surface waves. They can break, just like
surface waves. Internal waves cannot be seen by the human eye,
but they can be detected by studying temperature or salinity changes
at a given location.(13) The statements in the Qur'an run
absolutely parallel to the above explanation. Without research,
one can only see the waves on the surface of the sea. It is impossible
for one to know about the internal waves beneath the sea. Yet,
in Sura Nur, God draws our attention to another type of wave that
occurs in the depths of the oceans. Certainly, this fact, which
scientists has discovered very recently, shows once again that
the Qur'an is the word of God. The Region That
Controls Our Movements
"No indeed!
If he does not stop, We will grab him by the forelock, a lying,
sinful forelock." The expression "the lying,
sinful forelock" in the above verse is most interesting.
Research carried out in recent years revealed that the prefrontal
area, which is responsible for the management of particular functions
of the brain, lies in the frontal part of the skull. Scientists
only discovered the functions of this area, which the Qur'an pointed
out 1,400 years ago, in the last 60 years. If we look inside the
skull at the front of the head, we will find the frontal area
of the cerebrum. A book entitled Essentials of Anatomy and
Physiology, which includes the results of the latest research
on the functions of this area, says: The motivation and
the foresight to plan and initiate movements occur in the anterior
portion of the frontal lobes, the prefrontal area. This is a region
of association cortex…(14)
In relation to its
involvement in motivation, the prefrontal area is also thought
to be the functional center for aggression…(15) So, this area of the cerebrum is
responsible for planning, motivation, and initiating good and
sinful behaviour, and is responsible for telling lies and the
truth. It is clear that the statement
"the lying, sinful forelock" corresponds completely
to the above explanations. This fact, which scientists have only
discovered in the last 60 years, was stated by God in the Qur'an
long years ago.
The Birth of
a Human Being
Many diverse subjects are mentioned
in the Qur'an in the course of inviting people to believe. Sometimes
the heavens, sometimes animals, and sometimes plants are shown
as evidence to man by God. In many of the verses, people are called
upon to turn their attention to their own creation. They are often
reminded how man came into the world, which stages he has passed
through, and what his essence is: "It is We Who
have created you. Why, then, do you not accept the truth? Have
you ever considered that (seed) which you emit? Is it you who
create it? Or are We the Creator?" The creation of man, and the miraculous
aspect of this, is stressed in many other verses. Some items of
information within these verses are so detailed that it is impossible
for anyone living in the 7th century to have known them. Some
of these are as follows: 1. Man is not created from the
entire semen, but only a very small portion of it (sperm). People living when the Qur'an was
revealed, to be sure, knew that the basic substance of birth was
related to the semen of the male emitted during sexual intercourse.
And the fact that the baby was born after a nine-month period
was obviously an observable event not calling for any further
investigation. However, the items of information just quoted were
far above the level of learning of the people living at that time.
These were verified by 20th century science. Now, let us go over them one by
one. A Drop of Semen During sexual intercourse, 250
million sperms are emitted from the male at a time. The sperms
undertake an arduous journey in the mother's body until they make
it to the ovum. Only a thousand out of 250 million sperms succeed
in reaching the ovum. At the end of this five-minute race, the
ovum, half the size of a grain of salt, will let only one of the
sperms in. That is, the essence of man is not the whole semen,
but only a small part of it. This is explained in the Qur'an: "Does man reckon
he will be left uncontrolled (without purpose)? Was he not once
a drop of ejected semen?" As we have seen, the Qur'an informs
us that man is made not from the entire semen, but only a small
part of it. That the particular emphasis in this statement announces
a fact only discovered by modern science is evidence that the
statement is divine in origin.
The Mixture in the
Semen The fluid called semen, which contains
the sperms, does not consist of sperms alone. On the contrary,
it is made up of a mixture of different fluids. These fluids have
different functions, such as containing the sugar necessary for
providing energy for the sperms, neutralising the acids at the
entrance of the uterus, and creating a slippery environment for
the easy movement of the sperms. Interestingly enough, when semen
is mentioned in the Qur'an, this fact, which was discovered by
modern science, is also referred to, and semen is defined as a
mixed fluid: "We created
man from a mingled drop to test him, and We made him hearing and
seeing." In another verse, semen is again
referred to as a mixture, and it is stressed that man is created
from the "extract" of this mixture:
The Arabic word "sulala",
translated as "extract", means the essential or best
part of something. By either implication, it means "part
of a whole". This shows that the Qur'an is the word of a
Will that knows the creation of man down to its slightest detail.
This Will is God, the Creator of man. The Sex of the Baby Until fairly recently, it was thought
that a baby's sex was determined by the mother's cells. Or at
least, it was believed that the sex was determined by the male
and female cells together. But we are given different information
in the Qur'an, where it is stated that masculinity or femininity
is created out of "a drop of sperm which has been ejected". "He has created
both sexes, male and female from a drop of semen which has been
ejected."
The developing disciplines of genetics
and molecular biology have scientifically validated the accuracy
of this information given by the Qur'an. It is now understood
that sex is determined by the sperm cells from the male, and that
the female has no role in this process.
Chromosomes are the main elements
in determining sex. Two of the 46 chromosomes that determine the
structure of a human being are identified as the sex chromosomes.
These two chromosomes are called "XY" in males, and
"XX" in females, because the shapes of the chromosomes
resemble these letters. The Y chromosome carries the genes that
code for masculinity, while the X chromosome carries the genes
that code for femininity. The formation of a new human being
begins with the cross combination of one of these chromosomes,
which exist in males and females in pairs. In females, both components
of the sex cell, which divides into two during ovulation, carry
X chromosomes. The sex cell of a male, on the other hand, produces
two different kinds of sperm, one that contains X chromosomes
and the other Y chromosomes. If an X chromosome from the female
unites with a sperm that contains an X chromosome, then the baby
is female. If it unites with the sperm that contains a Y chromosome,
the baby is male. In other words, a baby's sex is
determined by which chromosome from the male unites with the female's
ovum. None of this was known until the
discovery of genetics in the 20th century. Indeed, in many cultures,
it was believed that a baby's sex was determined by the female's
body. That was why women were blamed when they gave birth to girls. Thirteen centuries before human
genes were discovered, however, the Qur'an revealed information
that denies this superstition, and referred to the origin of sex
lying not with women, but with the semen coming from men. The Clot Clinging
to the Uterus If we keep on examining the facts
announced to us in the Qur'an about the formation of human beings,
we again encounter some very important scientific miracles.
When the sperm of the male unites
with the ovum of the female, the essence of the baby to be born
is formed. This single cell, known as a "zygote" in
biology, will instantly start to reproduce by dividing, and eventually
become a "piece of flesh" called an embryo. This of
course can only be seen by human beings with the aid of a microscope. The embryo, however, does not spend
its developmental period in a void. It clings to the uterus just
like roots that are firmly fixed to the earth by their tendrils.
Through this bond, the embryo can obtain the substances essential
to its development from the mother's body.(16) Here, at this point, a very significant
miracle of the Qur'an is revealed. While referring to the embryo
developing in the mother's womb, God uses the word "alaq"
in the Qur'an: "Recite: In
the name of your Lord Who created man from alaq. Recite: And your
Lord is the Most Generous." The meaning of the word "alaq"
in Arabic is "a thing that clings to some place". The
word is literally used to describe leeches that cling to a body
to suck blood. Certainly, the use of such an appropriate
word for the embryo developing in the mother's womb, proves once
again that the Qur'an is a revelation from God, the Lord of all
the Worlds. The wrapping of
muscles over the bones Another important aspect of the
information given in the verses of the Qur'an is the developmental
stages of a human being in the mother's womb. It is stated in
the verses that in the mother's womb, the bones develop first,
and then the muscles form which wrap around them. "(We) then formed
the drop into a clot and formed the clot into a lump and formed
the lump into bones and clothed the bones in flesh; and then brought
him into being as another creature. Blessed be God, the Best of
Creators!"
Embryology is the branch of science
that studies the development of the embryo in the mother's womb.
Until very recently, embryologists assumed that the bones and
muscles in an embryo developed at the same time. For this reason,
for a long time, some people claimed that these verses conflicted
with science. Yet, advanced microscopic research conducted by
virtue of new technological developments has revealed that the
revelation of the Qur'an is word for word correct. These observations at the microscopic
level showed that the development inside the mother's womb takes
place in just the way it is described in the verses. First, the
cartilage tissue of the embryo ossifies. Then muscular cells that
are selected from amongst the tissue around the bones come together
and wrap around the bones. This event is described in a scientific
publication titled Developing Human in the following words: During the seventh
week, the skeleton begins to spread throughout the body and the
bones take their familiar shapes. At the end of the seventh week
and during the eighth week the muscles take their positions around
the bone forms.(17)
In short, man's developmental stages
as described in the Qur'an are in perfect harmony with the findings
of modern embryology. Three Stages of
the Baby in the Womb In the Qur'an, it is related that
man is created in a three-stage process in the mother's womb. "... He creates
you stage by stage in your mothers' wombs in a threefold darkness.
That is God, your Lord. Sovereignty is His. There is no god but
Him. So what has made you deviate?" As will be understood, it is pointed
out in this verse that a human being is created in the mother's
womb in three distinct stages. Indeed, modern biology has revealed
that the baby's embryological development takes place in three
distinct regions in the mother's womb. Today, in all the embryology
textbooks studied in faculties of medicine, this subject is taken
as an element of basic knowledge. For instance in Basic Human
Embryology, a fundamental reference text in the field of embryology,
this fact is stated as follows: "The life in the uterus
has three stages: pre-embryonic; first two and a half weeks, embryonic;
until the end of the eight week, and fetal; from the eight week
to labor."(18) These phases refer to the different
developmental stages of a baby. In brief, the main characteristics
of these developmental stages are as follows: - Pre-embryonic stage - Embryonic Stage - Fetal stage
Mother's Milk
The Identity
in the Fingerprint
While
it is stated in the Qur'an that it is easy for God to bring man
back to life after death, peoples' fingerprints are particularly
emphasized: "Yes, We are
able to put together in perfect order the very tips of his fingers."
The emphasis on fingerprints has
a very special meaning. This is because everyone's fingerprint
is unique to himself. Every person who is alive or who has ever
lived in this world has a set of unique fingerprints. That is why fingerprints are accepted
as a very important proof of identity, exclusive to their owner,
and are used for this purpose around the world. But what is important is that this
feature of fingerprints was only discovered in the late 19th century.
Before then, people regarded fingerprints as ordinary curves without
any specific importance or meaning. However in the Qur'an, God
points to the fingertips, which did not attract anyone's attention
at that time, and calls our attention to their importance-an importance
that was only finally understood in our day.
INTRODUCTION
The Victory
of Byzantium
"Elif, Lam,
Mim. The Romans have been defeated in the lowest land, but after
their defeat they will themselves be victorious in a few years'
time. The affair is God's from beginning to end."
These verses were revealed around
620 AD, almost seven years after the severe defeat of Christian
Byzantium at the hands of the idolater Persians. Yet it was related
in the verses that Byzantium would shortly be victorious. In fact,
Byzantium had then suffered such heavy losses that it seemed impossible
for it even to survive, let alone be victorious again. Not only
the Persians, but also Avars, Slavs and Lombards posed serious
threats to the Byzantine Empire. The Avars had reached as far
as the walls of Constantinople. The Byzantine Emperor Heraclius
had ordered the gold and silver in churches to be melted and turned
into money in order to meet the expenses of the army. When these
proved insufficient, even bronze statues were melted down to be
turned into money. Many governors had revolted against Emperor
Heraclius, and the empire was on the point of collapse. Mesopotamia,
Cilicia, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and Armenia, which had earlier
belonged to Byzantium, were invaded by the idolater Persians.(20)
Around seven years after the revelation
of the first verses of Sura Rum, in December 627 AD, a decisive
battle between Byzantium and the Persian Empire was fought at
Nineveh. And this time the Byzantine army unexpectedly defeated
the Persians. A few months later, the Persians had to make an
agreement with Byzantium, which obliged them to return the territories
they had taken from it.(21)
At the end, "the victory of
the Romans," proclaimed by God in the Qur'an, miraculously
came true. Another miracle revealed in these
verses is the announcement of a geographical fact that could not
have been known by anyone at that time. In the third verse of Sura Rum,
we are informed that the Romans had been defeated in the lowest
region of the Earth. This expression, "Adna al Ard"
in Arabic, is interpreted as "a nearby place" in many
translations. Yet this is not the literal meaning of the original
statement, but rather a figurative interpretation of it. The word
"Adna" in Arabic is derived from the word "deni",
which means "low" and "ard", which means "world".
Therefore the expression "Adna al Ard" means "the
lowest place on the Earth". Most interestingly, the crucial
stages of the war fought between the Byzantine Empire and the
Persians, when the Byzantines were defeated and lost Jerusalem,
had really taken place at the lowest point on earth. This specified
region is the Dead Sea basin, which is situated at the intersection
point of the lands belonging to Syria, Palestine, and Jordan.
The "Dead Sea", lying 395 meters below sea level, really
is the lowest region on Earth. This means that the Byzantines
were defeated at the lowest part of the world, just as stated
in the verse. The most interesting point lies
in the fact that the altitude of the Dead Sea could only be measured
with modern measurement techniques. Before that, it was impossible
for anyone to know that it was the lowest region on the surface
of the Earth. Yet, this region was stated to be the lowest point
on the Earth in the Qur'an. Hence, this provides further evidence
that the Qur'an is divine revelation.
PART
THREE: THE HISTORICAL MIRACLES OF THE QUR'AN
The Word "Haman"
in the Qur'an
The
information given in the Qur'an about ancient Egypt reveals many
historical facts that had remained undisclosed until recent times.
These facts also indicate to us that every word in the Qur'an
has been revealed by sure wisdom. Haman is a character whose name
is mentioned in the Qur'an, along with the Pharaoh. He is recorded
in six different places of the Qur'an as one of the closest men
to the Pharaoh. Surprisingly the name of Haman
is never mentioned in those sections of the Torah pertaining to
the life of Moses. However, the mention of Haman can be found
in the last chapters of the Old Testament as the helper of a Babylonian
king who inflicted many cruelties on the Israelites approximately
1,100 years after Moses.
Some non-Muslims, who claim that
the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) wrote the Qur'an by copying
from the Torah and the Bible, also assert that during the process,
he transferred some of the subjects related in these books into
the Qur'an incorrectly. The absurdity of these claims was
demonstrated only after the Egyptian hieroglyphic alphabet had
been deciphered, approximately 200 years ago, and the name "Haman"
discovered in the ancient scripts. Before these discoveries, the writings
and inscriptions of ancient Egypt could not be understood. The
language of ancient Egypt was hieroglyphic, which survived through
the ages. However, with the spread of Christianity and other cultural
influences in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, Egypt forsook its
ancient beliefs as well as hieroglyphic writing. The last known
example of the use of hieroglyphic writing was an inscription
dated 394 AD. Then that language was forgotten, leaving nobody
who could read and understand it. And that was the situation until
some 200 years ago… The mystery of ancient Egyptian
hieroglyphics was solved in 1799 by the discovery of a tablet
called the "Rosetta Stone" dating back to 196 B.C. The
importance of this inscription was that it was written in three
different forms of writing: Hieroglyphics, demotic (a simplified
form of ancient Egyptian hieratic writing) and Greek. With the
help of the Greek script, the ancient Egyptian writings were decoded.
The translation of the inscription was completed by a Frenchman
named Jean-Françoise Champollion. Hence a forgotten language and
the events related in it were brought to light. In this way, a
great deal of knowledge about the civilization, religion and social
life of ancient Egypt became available. Through the decoding of hieroglyph,
an important piece of knowledge was revealed: the name "Haman"
was indeed mentioned in Egyptian inscriptions. This name was referred
to in a monument in the Hof Museum in Vienna.(22) In the dictionary of People
in the New Kingdom, that was prepared based on the entire
collection of inscriptions, Haman is said to be "the head
of stone quarry workers".(23) The result revealed a very important
truth. Unlike the false assertion of the opponents of the Qur'an,
Haman was a person who lived in Egypt at the time of Moses, who
had been close to the Pharaoh, and had been involved in construction
work, just as imparted in the Qur'an. Furthermore, the verse in the Qur'an
describing the event where the Pharaoh asked Haman to build a
tower is in perfect agreement with this archaeological finding: "Pharaoh said,
'Council, I do not know of any other god for you apart from Me.
Haman, kindle a fire for me over the clay and build me a lofty
tower so that perhaps I may be able to climb up to Moses' god!
I consider him a blatant liar.'" In conclusion, the existence of
the name Haman in the ancient Egyptian inscriptions not only rendered
the fabricated claims of the opponents of the Qur'an worthless,
but also confirmed one more time the fact that the Qur'an comes
from God. In a miraculous way, the Qur'an conveys to us historical
information that could not have been possessed or understood at
the time of the Prophet. Titles of Egyptian
Rulers in the Qur'an
Moses
was not the only prophet who lived in the lands of Egypt in the
history of ancient Egypt. The Prophet Joseph had lived in Egypt
long before the time of Moses. We encounter a certain parallel
while reading about the stories of Moses and Joseph. While addressing
the Egyptian ruler at the time of Joseph, the work "malik"
(the King) is used in the Qur'an: "The King (malik)
said, 'Bring him (Joseph) to me straight away! so I may draw him
very close to me.' When he had spoken with him, he declared, 'Today
you are trusted, established in our sight.'" In contrast, the ruler at Moses'
time is referred to as the "Pharaoh": "We gave Moses
nine Clear Signs. Ask the tribe of Israel about when he came to
them and Pharaoh said to him, 'Moses, I think you are bewitched.'"
Therefore the miraculous nature
of the Qur'an is manifested here once again: Joseph lived at the
time of the Old Kingdom, and hence the word "malik"
was used for the Egyptian ruler rather than "pharaoh".
On the contrary, since Moses lived at the time of the New Kingdom,
the ruler of Egypt is addressed as "pharaoh". There is no doubt that one has
to have a knowledge of the history of Egypt in order to make such
a distinction. However, the history of Ancient Egypt was completely
forgotten by the 4th century, as hieroglyphics could no longer
be understood, and was not rediscovered until the 19th century.
Therefore, there was no in-depth knowledge of Egyptian history
available when the Qur'an was revealed. This fact is yet another
one of countless pieces of evidence proving that the Qur'an is
the word of God. CONCLUSION The Qur'an is
the Word of God All
that we have seen so far shows us one clear fact: the Qur'an is
such a book that all the news related in it has proved to be true.
Facts about scientific subjects and the news given about the future,
facts that no one could have known at the time, were announced
in its verses. It is impossible for this information to have been
known with the level of knowledge and technology of the day. It
is clear that this provides clear evidence that the Qur'an is
not the word of man. The Qur'an is the word of the Almighty God,
the Originator of everything and the One Who encompasses everything
with His knowledge. In one verse, God says on the Qur'an "If
it had been from other than God, they would have found many inconsistencies
in it." (The Qur'an, 4:82) Not only are there no inconsistencies
in the Qur'an, but every piece of information it contains reveals
the miracle of this divine book more and more each day. What falls to man is to hold fast
to this divine book revealed by God, and receive it as his one
and only guide. In one of the verses, God calls out to us: "And this is
a Book We have sent down and blessed, so follow it and have fear
of God so that hopefully you will gain mercy." In His other verses, God remarks: "Say: 'It is
the truth from your Lord. Let anyone who wishes to, believe, and
let anyone who wishes to, disbelieve.'" "No
indeed! Truly it (the Qur'an) is a reminder, and whoever wills
pays heed to it."
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The orbits in the universe do not only belong to celestial bodies.
The galaxies also travel at enormous speeds in computed, planned
orbits. During these movements, none of these celestial bodies
cuts across another's path, or collides with another.
Like many other comets in the universe, Halley's comet,
seen above, also moves in a planned orbit. It has a specific
orbit and it moves in this orbit in a perfect harmony with
other celestial bodies.
The energy transmitted in just one of these bursts detected in
recent years was calculated to be equivalent to 100 billion atomic
bombs similar to the one dropped on Hiroshima. Fifty-eight hours
after the burst, it was observed that the magnetic needles of
compasses displayed unusual movement and 250 kilometers above
the earth's atmosphere, the temperature suddenly increased to
2,500° C.
"The angels and the Spirit ascend to Him in a day whose
length is fifty thousand years."
This measured quantity in rain has again been discovered by modern
research. It is estimated that in one second, approximately 16
million tons of water evaporates from the Earth. This figure amounts
to 513 trillion tons of water in one year. This number is equal
to the amount of rain that falls on the Earth in a year. This
means that water continuously circulates in a balanced cycle,
in a "measure". Life on Earth depends on this water
cycle. Even if people used all the available technology in the
world, they would not be able to reproduce this cycle artificially.
The book also says:
"He who has created all things in the best possible way.
He commenced the creation of man from clay; then He made his progeny
from an extract of discarded fluid."
Information on the development in the mother's womb became available
only after observations with modern devices. Yet, just like many
other scientific facts, these pieces of information are imparted
in the verses of the Qur'an in a miraculous way. The fact that
such detailed and accurate information was given in the Qur'an
at a time when people had scarce information on medical matters
is clear evidence that the Qur'an is not the word of man, but
the word of God.
In short, everyone was expecting the Byzantine Empire to be destroyed.
But right at that moment, the first verses of Sura Rum were revealed,
announcing that Byzantium would triumph in a few years' time.
This victory seemed so impossible that Arab polytheists had gone
so far as to make fun of these verses. They thought that the victory
announced in the Qur'an would never come true.
Historical records available today show us the reason for the
different nomenclature of these rulers. The word "pharaoh"
was originally the name given to the royal palace in ancient Egypt.
The rulers of the old dynasty did not use the title. The use of
the word pharaoh as the title of the ruler did not start until
the "New Kingdom" era of Egyptian history. This period
started with the 18th dynasty (1539-1292 BC), and by the 20th
dynasty (945-730 BC) the word "pharaoh" was adopted
as title of respect.
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