THE SCIENTIFIC MIRACLES OF THE QUR'AN

THE HELIO-CENTRIC SYSTEM
THE OZONE LAYER AT THE POLES AS THE SUN RISES
HEART MASSAGE
THE CLONING OF LIVING THINGS
THE SUN WILL EXPIRE AFTER SOME TIME
THE PULLING MOTION THAT FACILITATES BIRTH
THE EXPANDING EARTH
QUASARS AND THE GRAVITATIONAL LENS EFFECT
SCIENTIFIC FACTS IN THE STORY OF THE FLOOD OF NUH
THE EARTH’S GRAVITATIONAL FORCE
BIOMIMETICS: DRAWING INSPIRATION FROM THE DESIGN IN LIVING THINGS
LOCUSTS MOVING IN SWARMS
ANT COMMUNICATION
THE FOOD CYCLE
THE EARS ARE ACTIVE DURING SLEEP
THE IMPORTANCE OF MOVEMENT IN SLEEP
REDUCED MOVEMENT AT NIGHT
CHEST CONTRACTION WITH INCREASING HEIGHT
AERODYNAMIC FORCES AND THE FLIGHT PROGRAMMED IN BIRDS

THE HELIO-CENTRIC SYSTEM

He created the heavens and the Earth with truth. He wraps the night around the day and wraps the day around the night, and has made the Sun and Moon subservient, each one running for a specified term. Is He not indeed the Almighty, the Endlessly Forgiving? ( Surat az-Zumar, 5)

In the above verse the movement of the Earth is described by the word “yukawwiru,” which comes from root verb “takwir,” meaning “to cover up a spherical body,” in the way that the rotation of the Earth gives rise to night and day, like the winding of a turban. In addition to the spherical shape of the Earth the word is also the most accurate expression of its movement around the Sun.  Because of the Earth’s spherical shape and its movement around the Sun, the Sun always illuminates one side of the Earth while the other is in darkness. The side in shadow is shrouded by the darkness of night, to be replaced by the brightness of day when the Sun rises. The positions of the Sun and Earth are revealed as follows in Surah Ya Sin:

And the Sun runs to its resting place. That is the decree of the Almighty, the All-Knowing. And We have decreed set phases for the Moon, until it ends up looking like an old palm spathe. It is not for the Sun to overtake the Moon nor for the night to outstrip the day; each one is swimming in a sphere. (Surah Ya Sin, 38-40)

The movements of the Sun and Moon in verse 40 of Surah Ya Sin are described by the Arabic word "yasbahoona," meaning “flowing, passing or swimming.” This word refers to an action performed by someone on their own. Someone acting according to this verb continues to perform it alone, with no intervention from anyone else. The above verses may therefore be referring to the Sun’s independent movement in the universe, independent of any other celestial body. (Allah knows the truth.) It is impossible for us to see or follow the movement of the Sun with our own eyes. It is only possible to determine that movement using special technological equipment. As stated in verse 39 of Surah Ya Sin, in addition to rotating around its own axis once every 26 days, the Sun also moves through its own course.

The verse also reports that the Sun is not allowed to “overtake the Moon,” and the Qur’an thus states that the Sun and Moon do not revolve around the same body, as astronomers put it. At the same time, the verse makes it clear that there is no connection between the motion responsible for night and day and the movement of the Sun and Moon. (Allah knows the truth.)

Until the 16th century it was thought that the Earth was the center of the universe. This view is known as the “geo-centric model,” from the Greek words  geo (Earth) and centron (center). This belief was questioned by the famous astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus in 1543 in his book De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium (Of the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres), in which he suggested that the Earth and the other planets revolve around the Sun.  But as a result of observations using a telescope performed by Galileo Galilei in 1610, it was scientifically established that the Earth revolves around the Sun. Since it had hitherto been thought that the Sun revolved around the Earth, most scholars of the time rejected Copernicus’ theory.  The famous astronomer Johannes Kepler's views setting out the movements of the planets confirmed the helio-centric model in the 16th and 17th centuries. In this model, whose name comes from the words Helios (Sun) and centron (center), the Sun is the center of the universe, rather than the Earth. Other heavenly bodies also revolve around the Sun. Yet this was all revealed 1400 years ago in the Qur’an.

By saying that the Earth was the center of the universe, the ancient Greek astronomer Ptolemy was responsible for the geo-centric idea of the universe that prevailed for hundreds of years. For that reason, at the time of the revelation of the Qur’an, nobody knew that the Earth-centered model that accounted for the formation of day and night in terms of the movement of the Sun was incorrect. On the contrary, all the stars and planets were regarded as revolving around the Earth. Despite these prevalent errors of the time, the Qur’an contains many expressions that agree with the scientific facts regarding day and night:

By the Sun and its morning brightness, and the moon when it follows it, and the day when it displays it, and the night when it conceals it (Surat ash-Shams, 1-4)

As set out in the above verse, day, the brightness of the Sun, is the result of the movement of the Earth. It is not the movement of the Sun that is responsible for night and day. In other words, the Sun is immobile in terms of night and day.  The information in the Qur’an refutes the thesis that the Earth is fixed while the Sun revolves around it.  The Qur’an is clearly descended from the presence of our Lord, He Who is unfettered by space and time. As science and technology advance more and more examples of the compatibility between the Qur’an and science are coming to light. This is set out in another verse from the Qur’an:

There is instruction in their stories for people of intelligence. This is not a narration which has been invented but confirmation of all that came before, a clarification of everything, and a guidance and a mercy for people who believe. (Surah Yusuf, 111)

The above manuscript dating from the 1750s shows the geo-centric (Earth-centered) model of the universe. It took many years for this to be abandoned and replaced by the helio-centric model.

The model below is the helio-centric (solar-centered) one that has been proved today, while the model on top is the geo-centric (Earth-centered) model that was thought to be true for many hundreds of years.

THE OZONE LAYER AT THE POLES AS THE SUN RISES

Until he reached the rising of the sun and found it rising on a people to whom We had not given any shelter from it. (Surat al-Kahf, 90)

The Arabic word “sitran” in verse 90 of Surat al-Kahf means “cover, shelter, curtain or screen.” The term "lam najAAal lahum min dooniha sitran" describes an environment devoid of any shelter or protection against the Sun. In the light of present-day knowledge, this is suggestive of the ozone layer that protects living things against harmful solar rays.

The area where the ozone layer around the Earth is thinnest, where it protects least against solar radiation, is the poles.1 Scientific research has established a severe thinning of the ozone layer at the North Pole at the moment the Sun rises 2 and this scientific discovery has been described as Sunrise Ozone Destruction (SOD) 3.

As a matter of fact, during their research, American scientists determined a rapid decrease in ozone concentration at the moment of sunrise – when there was no sign of any before.4 This phenomenon is particularly encountered in the North Pole (Arctic) region, and there is a serious loss of ozone for a few hours immediately after sunrise.5

The Arabic word “matlia” in this verse, meaning the “rising place” of the Sun, may well be a reference to this scientific discovery about the ozone layer. (Allah knows the truth.) The fact that this information, obtained with 20th century high technology, also appears in such a compatible form in the Qur’an, is yet more proof that the Qur’an is the revelation of our Lord, the One and Only Owner of science and technology.

Sunrise at the North Pole.

1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone_depletion
2 L. A. Barrie, J. W. Bottenheim, R. C. Schnell, P. J. Crutzen, R. A. Rasmussen, "Ozone destruction and photochemical reactions at polar sunrise in the lower Arctic atmosphere", Nature, 14 July 1988, Vol. 334, pp 138-141; http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v334/n6178/abs/334138a0.html
3 I. Nagao, K. Matsumoto, H. Tanaka "Sunrise Ozone Destruction Found in the Sub-Tropical Marine Boundary Layer", Geophysical Research Letters, 1999, Vol. 26, no. 22, pp. 3377–3380; http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/1999/1999GL010836.shtml
4 Jagir S. Randhawa, "A Balloon Measurement of Ozone Near Sunrise"; http://www.stormingmedia.us/31/3147/0314707.html
5 I. Nagao, K. Matsumoto, H. Tanaka "Sunrise Ozone Destruction Found in the Sub-Tropical Marine Boundary Layer", Geophysical Research Letters, 1999, Vol. 26, No. 22, pp. 3377–3380; http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/1999/1999GL010836.shtml

HEART MASSAGE

Many miraculous features of the Qur’an prove it is the word of Allah. Facts are revealed in the verses through the scientific facts, the descriptions of the past and the mathematical codes, that could never have been known to anyone at the time. In addition, developments that could never have been learned with the level of knowledge and technology of the time were also indicated in the verses of the Qur’an before the event. The fact that some scientific facts we only attained with 20th and 21st-century technology were revealed in the Qur’an 1400 years ago is clear evidence that the Qur’an cannot be the work of any human being.

One of the verses that may be referring to the future is verse 73 of Surat al-Baqara:

Remember when you killed someone and violently accused each other of it, and Allah brought out what you were hiding. We said, ‘Hit him with part of it!’ In that way Allah gives life to the dead and He shows you His Signs so that hopefully you will understand. (Surat al-Baqara, 72-73)

Among the meanings of the Arabic term “biba’diha,” translated as “with part of it” in the above verse, is “someone or some people.” In the context of that meaning, the verse may be a reference to heart massage, striking the chest from above, which makes it possible to restart the heart if it has stopped beating. (Allah knows the truth.) 

The person to whom the massage is administered has the characteristics of a dead body; loss of consciousness, and the cessation of respiration and heartbeat. With our present-day knowledge, heart massage can be applied to someone whose heart has stopped, enabling heartbeat and vital functions to resume. Pressure is applied to the rib cage at specific intervals during heart massage, and the rhythmic contraction required for it to continue pumping blood is thus established. 

In that context, the striking of a dead body in such a way as to restore it to life, as stated in the verse, may be suggestive of the heart massage technique. The Qur’an is the word of Almighty Allah, He Who creates all things from nothing, Whose knowledge enfolds all things, and Who is unfettered by time and space. Every verse of the Qur’an therefore contains information revealed with the wisdom of our Almighty Lord. In one verse, Allah refers to the Qur’an itself as follows:

... 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)

THE CLONING OF LIVING THINGS

[Satan said:] “I will lead them astray and fill them with false hopes. I will command them and they will cut off cattle’s ears. I will command them and they will change Allah’s creation.” Anyone who takes satan as his protector in place of Allah has clearly lost everything.” (Surat an-Nisa’, 119)

The above verse contains the expression “yubattikunna,” which derives from the verb "battaka” meaning ”to cut off or break off.” The term “yughayyirunna” in the verse derives from the verb “ghayyara,” meaning “to change, alter, impair a thing’s original form.” At the end of both verbs appears the confirmatory letter ”nun.” With these expressions, verse 119 of Surat an-Nisa’ may, in one aspect, be pointing to the scientific activity of copying or cloning of organisms. (Allah knows the truth.) That is because cloning experiments are generally conducted with cells taken from an animal’s ear. To put it another way, a replica living thing is produced with the taking of cells from tissue samples “cut from animals’ ears,” just as described in the verse.

A report by the German Federal Agricultural Research Center provides the following information:

The tissue collection phase is short and simple. Once an animal has been located and restrained, a tissue sample like an ear clipping can be collected within seconds. Furthermore, somatic cells can be collected from all species. … For cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, camelids and llamas, a unified and identical procedure can be used by obtaining a tissue sample from the ear using notchers which are also used for setting earmarks… Clearly, for all species lymphocytes could be used, but somatic cells from ear clippings will be much easier to obtain and are therefore preferable. 1

Some reports concerning organisms cloned by taking samples from ear tissue include:

- According to a report by Reuters dated 1 May, 2002, a research veterinarian at the University of Sao Paolo in Brazil, Jose Visintin, produced cloned embryos for the first time in the country by using cells taken from the ear of an adult cow.2

- According to a BBC report, South Korean scientists cloned a dog called Snuppy from cells taken from a 3-year-old Afghan hound. Researchers at the Seoul National University extracted genetic material from the cells taken from the ear and placed it into an empty egg cell. An embryo was then obtained by stimulating the cell to divide.3

- Another BBC report said that a new clone had been produced using ear cells from an adult cow in research carried out by Dr. Jean-Paul Renard et al. at the Institute National de la Recherche Agronomique in France.4

- According to information of the official Human Genome Project website, in February 2002, scientists from the Advanced Cell Technologies (ACT) biotechnology company carried out experiments on cloning a cow embryo using the skin cell of the donor cow’s ear.5

- A report by Associated Press, dated 24 January, 2000, announced that Japanese scientists had cloned the clone of a bull for the first time. In the re-cloning, skin tissue samples from the first generation cloned bull’s ear were taken when it was four months old. These cells were then fused with an unfertilized egg from which the nucleus had been removed.6

The way that changes in the creation of living things are referred to in the Qur’an and the expression “cutting off cattle’s ears,” at a time when no branches of science such as genetics or embryology existed, shows that the Qur’an has come down from the Sight of our Lord, Allah, Who is unfettered by time. We are also told at the end of the verse that these people will be disappointed when they alter what Allah has created. The verse may therefore be indicating that cloning will give rise to various problems for human beings. (Allah knows the truth.) Indeed, statements from the Genetic Science Learning Center of the University of Utah provide the following information:

When we hear of cloning successes, we learn about only the few attempts that worked. What we don't see are the many, many cloning experiments that failed! And even in the successful clones, problems tend to arise later, during the animal's development to adulthood.7

Information from the Human Genome Project website take this form:

Dolly, the first mammal to be cloned from adult DNA, [died on] Feb. 14, 2003. Prior to her death, Dolly had been suffering from lung cancer and crippling arthritis. … More than 90% of cloning attempts fail to produce viable offspring. … In addition to low success rates, cloned animals tend to have more compromised immune function and higher rates of infection, tumor growth, and other disorders. Japanese studies have shown that cloned mice live in poor health and die early. … Appearing healthy at a young age unfortunately is not a good indicator of long term survival. Clones have been known to die mysteriously. For example, Australia's first cloned sheep appeared healthy and energetic on the day she died, and the results from her autopsy failed to determine a cause of death.8

In general terms, the risks arising from cloning experiments are as follows:

1) A high failure rate: The level of success is just 0.1%-3%. That means a failure rate of 970-999 for every 1000 experiments.9

2) Problems during development: Cloned animals that do survive generally have abnormally larger organs compared to the originals. This may lead to respiration and circulation difficulties, unhealthy kidneys and brain, and an impaired immune system.

3) Abnormal gene expression patterns: Although clones have the same DNA sequences as the originals, the cell nucleus in the clone does not have the same program as that in a natural embryo. To put it another way, the DNA cannot express the right set of genes essential for the development of the clone at the right time. For example, cells of all kinds, nerve, bone, blood or skin for example, all have different programs but the genetic programs in the clone embryo do not work as healthily as those in a natural embryo.

4) Telomeric differences: Chromosomes are shortened as cells divide. The reason for this is that DNA sequences at both ends of a chromosome, known as telomeres, are shortened during each DNA replication. As an animal grows older, the telomeres shorten as part of that aging. Therefore, the copied life form has shortened chromosomes from the moment it is born, just as if it were actually older.

Genetic material taken from living cells is used in cloning experiments, but fertilization takes place artificially. The reproduction mechanism created by Allah is thus impaired with these methods, and unidentified diseases, developmental deficiencies and early deaths are encountered. The way that it was reported 1400 years ago that scientists would engage in cloning and that the problems awaiting people therefrom are emphasized, clearly reveals that the Qur’an is a Divine scripture.

In the cloning process, DNA from a cell of the living thing planned to be copied is placed under the microscope and placed into an egg cell from another member of the same species. The DNA of the animal intended to be copied is used for this. An electric shock is then applied, which stimulates the egg cell to start dividing. The embryo continues to divide and is placed into the womb of a member of the species, and is then left to develop and be born.

THE SUN WILL EXPIRE AFTER SOME TIME

And the sun runs to a fixed resting place. That is the decree of the Almighty, the All-Knowing. (Surah Ya Sin, 38)

The Sun has been emitting heat for around 5 billion years as a result of the constant chemical reactions taking place on its surface. At a moment determined by Allah in the future, these reactions will eventually come to an end, and the Sun will lose all its energy and finally go out. In that context, the above verse may be a reference to the Sun’s energy one day coming to an end. (Allah knows the truth.)

The Arabic word "mustaqarrin" in the verse refers to a particular place or time. The word “tajree,” translated as “runs,” bears such meanings as “to move, to act swiftly, to move about, to flow.” It appears from the meanings of the words that the Sun will continue in its course in time and space, but that this motion will continue until a specific, predetermined time.  The verse " When the Sun is compacted in blackness " (Surat at-Takwir, 1) which appears in descriptions of Doomsday, tells us that such a time will be coming. The specific timing is known only to Allah.

The Arabic word "taqdeeru," translated as “decree” in the verse, includes such meanings as “to appoint, to determine the destiny of something, to measure.” By this expression in verse 38 of Surah Ya Sin we are told that the life span of the Sun is limited to a specific period, one ordained by Allah. Other verses of the Qur’an on the subject read:

Allah is He Who raised up the heavens without any support – you can see that – and then established Himself firmly on the Throne. He made the Sun and Moon subservient, each running for a specified term. He directs the whole affair. He makes the Signs clear so that hopefully you will be certain about the meeting with your Lord. (Surat ar- Ra‘d, 2)

He makes night merge into day and day merge into night, and He has made the Sun and Moon subservient, each one running until a specified time. That is Allah, your Lord. The Kingdom is His. Those you call on besides Him have no power over even the smallest speck. (Surah Fatir, 13)

He created the heavens and the Earth with truth. He wraps the night around the day and wraps the day around the night, and has made the Sun and Moon subservient, each one running for a specified term. Is He not indeed the Almighty, the Endlessly Forgiving? (Surah az-Zumar, 5)

The use of the word "musamman" in the above verses shows that the life span of the Sun will run for a “specified term.” Scientific analysis regarding the end of the Sun describes it as each second, 4 million tons of matter are converted into energy 1, and says that the Sun will die when that fuel has all been consumed. 2 The heat and light emitted from the Sun is the energy released as matter is consumed as hydrogen nuclei turn into helium in the nuclear fusion process. The Sun’s energy, and therefore its life, will thus come to an end once this fuel has been used up. (Allah knows the truth.) A report titled “The Death of the Sun” by the BBC News Science Department says:

...The Sun will gradually die. As a star's core crashes inwards, it eventually becomes hot enough to ignite another of its constituent atoms, helium. Helium atoms fuse together to form carbon. When the helium supply runs out, the centre collapses again and the atmosphere inflates. The Sun isn't massive enough to fully re-ignite its core for a third time. So it goes on expanding, shedding its atmosphere in a series of bursts... The dying core eventually forms a white dwarf - a spherical diamond the size of the Earth, made of carbon and oxygen. From this point on the Sun will gradually fade away, becoming dimmer and dimmer until its light is finally snuffed out. 3

A documentary, also called “The Death of the Sun,” broadcast by National Geographic TV, provides the following description:

It generates heat and sustains life on our planet. But like humans, the sun has a limited lifespan. As our star ages, it will become hotter and expand, evaporating all of our oceans and killing all life on planet Earth... The sun will get hotter as it ages and burns fuel faster. Temperatures will increase, eventually wiping out animal life, evaporating our oceans and killing all plant life... the sun will swell and become a red giant star, swallowing up the nearest planets. Its gravitational pull will lessen and perhaps allow Earth to escape. By the end, it will shrink into a white dwarf star, emitting a week glow... 4

Scientists have only recently unravelled the structure of the Sun and discovered what goes on inside it. Before that, nobody knew how the Sun obtained its energy or how it emitted heat and light. The way that such a giant mass of energy would one day consume all its energy and expire was revealed 1,400 years ago in the Qur’an shows the presence of a sublime knowledge. That knowledge belongs to our Lord, Whose knowledge enfolds all things. Another verse of the Qur’an reveals:

"... My Lord encompasses all things in His knowledge so will you not pay heed?” (Surat Al-An‘am, 80)

1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun
2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun
3 http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/stars/death/index.shtml
4 "Death of the Sun", National Geographic Channel, 20 March 2006, director: Rabinder Minhas,part no. 25, season 3.

THE PULLING MOTION THAT FACILITATES BIRTH

The pains of labor drove her to the trunk of a date-palm. She said, “Oh if only I had died before this time and was something discarded and forgotten!”
A voice called out to her from under her, “Do not grieve! Your Lord has placed a small stream at your feet. Shake the trunk of the palm towards you and fresh, ripe dates will drop down onto you.” (Surah Maryam, 23-25)

Modern-day medicine shows that pulling an object facilitates the baby’s downward passage through the birth canal. The muscles used during pulling are the same as those that propel the baby outside the womb. Various methods are employed to achieve this, such as pulling on a cord suspended from the ceiling or on arms attached to the two sides of the bed or else holding onto and squeezing someone’s hand.1

A U-shaped bar, known as a "squat bar," mounted onto the bed during labor is used for that end. Pulling on this bar facilitates the baby’s leaving the womb, shortens the length of the birth canal, widens the mouth of the womb and reduced the need for many other devices and techniques during labor.2

This bar helps the mother’s squatting motions as she pulls herself up and down on it. It also means the mother remains immobile as the baby emerges.3 In this position, the muscles needed to move the baby down the birth canal expend the minimum amount of energy. In addition, with the expansion of the pelvic bone, 30% more room is made available for the baby to pass through. With the expansion and pulling motion, the body’s propulsive force is raised to the highest level and the baby is able to move smoothly during the birth process.4

There is great wisdom in the way that, by means of Allah’s angels, Hazrat Maryam shook the branches of the date-palm tree toward her. The Arabic word “Wahuzzee” means “to shake fast, to move or to rock.” In addition to dates facilitating birth and having nutritious poperties, pulling the branches toward one to shake them and then letting them pull back in another movement that facilitates birth. This technique, applied in our own day, is one of the proofs that Allah supported Hazrat Maryam with His compassion and that the Qur’an is the word of our Lord, the Omniscient.

1 http://www.mother-care.ca/rebozo.htm
2 http://pregnancy.about.com/cs/laborbasics/a/squatting.htm
3 http://parenting.ivillage.com/pregnancy/plabor/0,,midwife_8swr,00.html?iv_arrivalSA=1&iv_ cobrandRef=0&iv_arrival_freq=1&pba=adid=16657989
4 http://www.unhinderedliving.com/squatting.html?cfA3F3B2C5=bmVuNjE4Mzpnb29keWV hcl9lbWVhX2ludGVybmV0Ogcdo6IntkWnwjS4RfAX00c=

THE EXPANDING EARTH

It is He who stretched out the earth and placed firmly embedded mountains and rivers in it and made two types of every kind of fruit. He covers over day with night. There are Signs in that for people who reflect. (Surat Ar-Ra‘d, 3)

The Arabic term “madda al-arda,” translated as “stretched out” in the above verse, means “to be covered, spread out, stretched, pulled out, expanded or opened.” The use of this word in the context of the earth in referring to the formation of mountains and rivers is exceedingly wise. Because looking at the scientific explanation of the formation of the earth, it does appear that mountains and rivers formed through the stretching and expansion of the earth.

Modern science says that the earth had a very different appearance in the very earliest times to that which it has now. In his 1915 book Die Entstehung der Kontinente und Ozeane (The Origin of the Continents and Oceans) the famous German scientist Alfred Lothar Wegener proposed that all the continents had originally been one single land mass.  This great land mass later came to be known by the Greek name Pangaea, meaning “all continents.”1 According to Alfred Wegener's theory of “continental drift,” put forward in 1912, the continents at the two ends of the Atlantic Ocean are still moving away from one another. This theory assumed its latest, present-day state with the development of the field of science known as the plate tectonics: Continents do not move away from one another by sliding over the ocean floor. The ocean floor together with the continents float over a layer of liquid magma under great heat and pressure and known as the “astenosphere” or “upper mantle.” Therefore, both the land continents on Earth visible from the outside and also the crust under the sea are both in motion together.2

Because the plates that bear the continents move in a manner described as contraction and expansion, or stretching, the continents are today moving away from one another at a rate of 3 cm a year.3 The most evident expansion taking place on the sea bed is that between Arabia and Africa, where the continents are moving away from one another three or four times faster. When the expansion takes place on and, rather than on the sea bed, the result is constantly widening valleys such as the Great Rift Valley in the East Africa-Arabia regions. 

The Great Rift Valley is a geographical and geological formation stretching some 6000 km, from Sudan in North Africa to Mozambique in the east. The valley ranges from 30-100 km in width and is several thousand kilometers deep.4 This deep valley brought such formations as Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya into being as Africa and the Arabian Peninsula moved away from one another over a process lasting millions of years. The eastern part of valley consists of the River Jordan, the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. It then extends southward along the Red Sea and various lakes in Kenya. Most of these lakes are very deep and below sea-level.5

The Book The Expanding Earth describes how it is not only mountains, but also certain riverbeds that formed due to the “stretching out” of the earth:

In all cases the greatest stress occurred at the location of the Earth's major rivers. This development suggests that the major riverbeds came into existence as a result of expansion rather than random erosion. Since the continents were fixed on an expanding surface, it may be logically deduced that expansion caused the land masses to stretch and, at the points of greatest tension, to break, thus forming the rivers. 6

In statements regarding the continent of America, the Utah Geological Survey says:

The ranges and basins have been forming for the past 10 to 20 million years in response to east-west stretching of the earth's crust. Stretching creates tension that is released by slow continuous movement or sudden movement along a fault (a break in the earth's crust), which causes earthquakes. During an earthquake, the mountains rise while the valleys drop along the faults. The stretching continues today.7

Facts such as the stretching out of the earth can only be established by comprehensive research and common data from various contemporary branches of science. For example, photographs taken by satellite, the product of 20th century technology, have confirmed the view that the continents were once complementary to one another. Highly accurate measurements have revealed that the expansion in the earth’s crust is continuing at a slow but specific rate. The presence in the Qur’an of such special information at a time when nobody could determine anything about the continents and, what is more, about formations that took millions of years to develop, once again shows that it is the word of Allah. The way that the Qur’an, revealed 1,400 years ago, contains such profound information about the formation of the Earth, is one of its scientific miracles.

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Lothar_Wegener
2. http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/wegener.html
3. http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/gsfc/service/gallery/fact_sheets/spacesci/lageos.htm
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Rift_Valley
5. http://www.answers.com/topic/great-rift-valley; http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9031748/Great-Rift-Valley
6. The Expanded Earth, Benchmark Publishing & Design, Canada, 1996; http://www.wincom.net/earthexp/n/rivers.htm
7. Utah Geological Survey, Geologic Streching; http://geology.utah.gov/teacher/tc/tc12-96.htm
8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Southeastern_Mediterranean_panorama_STS040-152-180.jpg
9. http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/tectonics/pangaeabig.gif

QUASARS AND THE GRAVITATIONAL LENS EFFECT

Allah is the light of the heavens and the Earth. The metaphor of His light is that of a niche in which is a lamp, the lamp inside a glass, the glass like a brilliant star, lit from a blessed tree, an olive, neither of the east nor of the west, its oil all but giving off light even if no fire touches it. Light upon light. Allah guides to His light whoever He wills and Allah makes metaphors for mankind and Allah has knowledge of all things. (Surat an-Nur, 35)

Quasar is the name given to extremely dense and bright bodies that look like stars and emit radio waves in space. Quasars are the brightest known bodies in the universe. The brightness of the brightest quasar in the universe is more than 2 trillion times greater than that of the Sun (2x10¹²); it is approximately 100 times greater than the total light emitted by a galaxy such as the Milky Way.1

The word "noor" in the verse means “light, brightness, daylight, shining, illumination.” The light referred to in the verse is suggestive, in terms of its brightness, of these celestial bodies known as quasars. Because other expressions in the verse describe the visibility of quasar light and the source of that light in the very wisest terms. (Allah knows the truth.)

The word “durriyyun”, meaning “bright,” in the expression "kaannaha kawkabun durriyyun” in the verse, itself meaning “like a brilliant star,” is highly compatible with the scientific description of quasars as “bright, stellar bodies”.2 In addition, the verse speaks of “giving off light even if no fire touches it.” It is probable that this is a reference to the way quasars burn without fire - nuclear fusion. Since oxygen is not naturally present in space, there can be no question of the brightness of quasars having anything to do with fire. The burning taking place here does so as hydrogen atoms are compressed and produce helium. The energy released during this process then illuminates space.

The expression “light upon light” in the verse may well be a reference to the “gravitational lens effect” in astronomy. (Allah knows the truth.) Many astronomers investigating the sources of light in the universe will easily understand this description in the verse. The effect in question refers to the way light from a source behind a body with a very dense mass, such as a black hole, departs under the effect of that dense body and reaches us. It appears that there is therefore more than one source of light of the images we see. Due to this “gravitational lens effect,” an object appears to be somewhere different to where it actually is, and in greater numbers.

The term “a niche in which is a lamp” in the verse may be interpreted as the niche being the area of gravitational lens effect of a black hole. (Allah knows the truth.) It is significant that in describing the effect that arises, NASA scientists use the analogy of the effect of a drinking glass:

The gravitational effect of the galaxy on the distant quasar was similar to the lens effect of a drinking glass on a distant street light – it created multiple images lenses here too.3

In his book The Whole Shebang, regarded as one of the leading books of the 20th century by the New York Times, the science writer Timothy Ferris clarifies the subject as follows:

As light from a Quasar travels towards us… it may pass through either side of an intervening cluster of galaxies. The warped space surrounding the cluster can act as a lens, with a result that we see two images of what is (or was) actually one quasar.4

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope caught a single quasar in space producing images of five separate stars for the very first time. Bodies with a high density – a group of galaxies here – produce more than one image by giving rise to the gravitational lens effect, bending the light from objects behind them, in this case quasars.

The illustration shows a quasar appearing to be in four separate places due to the gravitational lens effect. The images, obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope (Chandra), represent a distance of 11 billion light years.

The reference in the verse to “light on light” may be a description of reflected light forming more than one image. In addition, the term “neither of the east nor of the west” in the verse is in all likelihood a reference to the uncertainty of the light’s source. (Allah knows the truth.)

Quasars are the brightest objects in the universe, and are the nuclei of growing galaxies with the black holes in their center. Black holes, that arise as the result of the contraction of stars and gasses belonging to galaxies, are the source of quasar energy. Quasars’ brightness is spread by stars falling into the black holes at the centers of galaxies.5 Thinking of the “lamp” in the verse as a quasar, the “niche” may well be a reference to the “black hole” that feeds the quasar. (Allah knows the truth.)

Einstein suggested that due to the effect described as the “gravitational lens,” bodies in space could bend light and that it was possible for an observer to see several images from one single source.6 However, this effect was only observed for the first time in the quasar known as the “Twin Quasar” in 1979. Quasars were first discovered in 1963, 14 centuries after the revelation of the Qur’an. The status of the heavenly bodies described in verse 35 of Surat an-Nur is in surprising agreement with our current scientific knowledge. This and a great many other scientific miracles are clear proof that the Qur’an is the revelation of our Omniscient Lord, the Creator of all things.

If a star is immediately behind the black hole, as in the illustration, the star will appear to be both to the right and to the left of the black hole.

Gravitational lens effect

1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quasar
2 http://www.thefreedictionary.com/quasar; http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951022.html
3 http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950711.html
4 Timothy Ferris, The Whole Shebang, 1997, p. 61.
5 http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0028790.html; http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/quasars.html
6 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitational_lensing

SCIENTIFIC FACTS IN THE STORY OF THE FLOOD OF NUH

We sent Nuh to his people and he remained among them for fifty short of a thousand years; yet the Flood engulfed them while they were wrongdoers. (Surat al-‘Ankabut, 14)

The Prophet Nuh (as) spent many years advising the people to whom he was sent as a prophet to put an end to ascribing partners to Allah and to abandon their improper behavior. Even though he warned his people about the wrath of Allah several times, they still did not believe the Prophet Nuh (as) and continued in their polytheism. At this, Allah told the Prophet Nuh (as) that He would punish those who denied Him by drowning them, but that believers would be saved. The destruction of the people of Nuh and the salvation of those who believed is described as follows in the Qur’an:

But they denied him so We rescued him and those with him in the Ark. And We drowned the people who denied Our signs. They were a blind people. Surat al-A‘raf, 64)

The events that took place when the time for Allah’s promised punishment came are described thus:

So when Our command came, and water bubbled up from the earth, We said, “Load into it a pair of every species, and your family – except for those against whom the Word was preordained – and all who believe.” But those who believed with him were only few. (Surah Hud, 40)

The beginning of the punishment is described as when “water bubbled up from the earth.” The Arabic word translated as “tannoor” is “alttannooru.” This describes a kind of oven made by digging a hole in the ground, and therefore refers to the volcanic fire inside a mountain.  (Allah knows the truth.) The Arabic word “wafara” in the verse means “burned strongly, produced bubbles, boiled up, boiled over, produced a foam.” Therefore, the reference in the verse would seem to be to the flowing, molten lava in the mountain.

In another verse, the time for the Prophet Nuh (as) to board the Ark is described as “when water bubbles up from the earth” in another verse. This may also be a reference to hot steam or smoke rising from a volcano immediately before an eruption: 

We revealed to him: “Build the ship under Our supervision and as We reveal. When Our command comes and water bubbles up from the earth, load into it a pair of every species, and your family – except for those among them against whom the word has already gone ahead. And do not address Me concerning those who do wrong. They shall be drowned. (Surat al-Muminun, 27)

The molten lava flowing in the wake of the eruption may have caused the ice on the mountain to melt; intense steam caused by the combination of heat and cold as the molten lava flowed into the sea may have given rise to intense rains. Flooding was the result of these phenomena, and sources of water on land may also have overflowed as a consequence of the severe rains: (Allah knows the truth.)

So We opened the gates of heaven with torrential water and made the earth burst forth with gushing springs. And the waters met together in a way which was decreed. We bore him on a planked and well-caulked ship, (Surat al-Qamar, 11-13)

Apart from those who boarded the Prophet Nuh’s (as) Ark were drowned, including the prophet’s son who imagined he could escape by seeking refuge on a mountain nearby:

It sailed with them through mountainous waves, and Nuh called out to his son, who had kept himself apart, “My son! Come on board with us. Do not stay with the unbelievers!” He said, “I will take refuge on a mountain; It will protect me from the flood.” He said, “There is no protection from Allah’s command today except for those He has mercy on.” The waves surged in between them and he was among the drowned. (Surah Hud, 42-43)

When the floodwaters finally receded, the Ark settled on al-Judi as stated in the Qur’an, meaning a very high place:

It was said, “Earth, swallow up your water!” and, ‘Heaven, hold back your rain!” And the water subsided and the affair was concluded and the Ark came to land on al-Judi. And it was said, “Away with the people of the wrongdoers!” (Surah Hud, 44)

When the mountains shortly after stopped churning forth lava, the waters resumed their former equilibrium as the air cooled down and withdrew back underground; some of it may also have risen into the air as water vapor. The water level returned to normal. Allah’s command to the earth to “swallow!” and to the sky to “hold back!” revealed in the Qur’an, summarized this very concisely.  The Arabic word “belea,” which appears in the verse in the form “iblaAAee,” means “swallow up and eliminate, pull back.” The reference to the earth swallowing up its water notes the formation of subterranean water sources as the water on the surface retreats underground again. The Arabic verb "aklaa," which takes the form "aqliAAee" in the verse, means “the dispersal of clouds, rain stopping, or abandoning a matter or course of action.” The description is thus in a way, the cooling down of the air as lava stops flowing, the stopping of rain as a result of the water vapor level in the air returning to normal, and the dispersing of the remaining water vapor in the clouds into the air. (Allah knows the truth.)

This chain of events, in complete agreement with the scientific facts, is indicated in the wisest possible terms in the Qur’an. It is just one of the proofs that the Qur’an, which contains such information, comprising many branches of science, such as geography, geology and meteorology, is in complete harmony with science.

THE EARTH’S GRAVITATIONAL FORCE

Did we not make the earth a receptacle? (Surat al-Mursalat, 25)

The Arabic word “kifatan,” translated as “receptacle” in the above verse, means “living things being gathered together and protected in their dwellings, places where living or inanimate things are gathered together; on which things are piled; place where things are collected.” “Kifatan” comes from root word “kafata,” which means “to collect, gather toward one, close embrace.”

With its gravitational force, the earth pulls the human beings and everything else on it, living or inanimate, toward its center. It is very likely that the use of a verb meaning “to pull toward one” refers to this force of gravity. (Allah knows the truth.)

It is thanks to the force of gravity that pulls the animals, plants, human beings and everything else on earth toward itself, that people are able to walk on the ground, stay where they are without flying off into the air, and orbit the earth without flying off into space, and that the rain is able to fall.

Sir Isaac Newton, regarded as one of the greatest scientists ever, investigated this feature of the earth and and made one of the greatest scientific discoveries of all time by speaking of gravity in his book Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), first published in 1687. The Latin word "attraere" Newton used in discussing gravity also means “to attract, bring together.” The reference in the Qur’an to one of the earth’s four great forces, only described in the 17th century, is just one of the proofs that the Qur’an was sent down from the presence of Allah.

BIOMIMETICS: DRAWING INSPIRATION FROM THE DESIGN IN LIVING THINGS

There is instruction for you in cattle. From the contents of their bellies, from between the dung and blood, We give you pure milk to drink, easy for drinkers to swallow. (Qur'an, 16:66)

And there is certainly a lesson for you in your livestock. We give you to drink from what is in their bellies and there are many ways in which you benefit from them, and some of them you eat; and you are conveyed on them and on ships as well. (Qur'an, 23:21-22)

Before scientists and research and development experts embark on new projects, they usually look for models in living things and imitate their systems and designs. In other words, they see and study the designs created in nature by Allah and, inspired by these, go on to develop their own new technologies.

This approach has given birth to biometrics, a new branch of science that seeks to imitate living things. In recent times, this branch of science has come to be widely applied in the world of technology. The use of the word "ibratan," (to learn from, advice, importance, important thing, or model) in the above verses is most wise in this regard.

Biomimetics refers to all of the substances, equipment, mechanisms, and systems that people produce in order to imitate the systems present in nature. The scientific community currently feels a great need for the use of such equipment, particularly in the fields of nanotechnology, robot technology, artificial intelligence, medicine, and the military.

Biomimicry was first put forward by Janine M. Benyus, a writer and scientific observer from Montana. This concept was later analysed by many other people and began to find applications. Some of the comments made regarding biomimicry are as follows:

The theme of "biomimicry" is that we have much to learn from the natural world, as model, measure, and mentor. What these researchers have in common is a reverence for natural designs, and the inspiration to use them to solve human problems.146

David Oakey, product strategist for Interface Inc., a company that uses nature to increasing product quality and productivity, says:

Nature is my mentor for business and design, a model for the way of life. Nature's system has worked for millions of years … Biomimicry is a way of learning from nature.147

Scientists who began to favour this rapidly spreading idea accelerated their studies by using nature's incomparable and flawless designs as models. These designs represent models for technological research, for they provide the maximum productivity for the least amount of materials and energy, and are self-maintaining, environmentally friendly, silent, aesthetically attractive, resistant, and long-lasting. The High Country News newspaper described biomimetics as "a scientific movement" and made the following comment:

By using natural systems as models, we can create technologies that are more sustainable than those in use today.148

Janine M. Benyus, who believed that models in nature should be imitated, gave the following examples in her book, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature (Perennial: 2002):

• Hummingbirds cross the Gulf of Mexico on less than 3 grams (one tenth of an ounce) of fuel,
• Dragonflies outmanoeuvre our best helicopters,
• Heating and air-conditioning systems in termite mounds are superior in terms of equipment and energy consumption to those made by human beings,
• A bat's high-frequency transmitter is more efficient and sensitive than our own radar systems,
• Light-emitting algae combine various chemicals to illuminate their bodies,
• Arctic fish and frogs freeze solid and then spring to life, having protected their organs from ice damage,
• Chameleons and cuttlefish change the pattern of their skin to blend instantly with their surroundings,
• Bees, turtles, and birds navigate without maps, and
• Whales and penguins dive without scuba gear.

These astonishing mechanisms and designs in nature, of which we have cited only a few, have the potential to enrich technology in a wide range of fields. This potential is becoming ever more obvious as our accumulated knowledge and technological means increase.

All animals possess many features that amaze human beings. Some have the ideal hydrodynamic shape that allows them to move through water, and others employ senses that appear very foreign to us. Most of these are features that researchers have encountered for the first time, or, rather, that they have only recently discovered. On occasion, it is necessary to bring together prominent scientists from such fields as computer technology, mechanical engineering, electronics, mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology in order to imitate just one feature of a living thing.

Scientists are amazed when confronted with the incomparable structures and systems they are discovering with every passing day, and use that amazement to inspire themselves to produce new technologies for humanity's benefit. Realising that the existing perfect systems and extraordinary techniques applied in nature are far superior to their own knowledge and intellect, they became aware of these matchless solutions to existing problems and are now resorting to the designs in nature to resolve problems that have eluded them for years. As a result, they will perhaps achieve success in a very short time. Moreover, by imitating nature, scientists are making very important gains with regard to time and labour and also to the targeted use of material resources.

Today we see the developing technology gradually discovering the miracles of creation and using the extraordinary designs in living things, as in the case of biomimetics, in the service of humanity. Benyus has stated that "'Doing it nature's way' has the potential to change the way we grow food, make materials, harness energy, heal ourselves, store information, and conduct business."149 The following are just a few of the many scientific papers to have considered such subjects:

"Science is Imitating Nature,"150

"Life's Lessons in Design,"151

"Biomimicry: Secrets Hiding in Plain Sight,"152

"Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature,"153

"Biomimicry: Genius That Surrounds Us,"154

"Biomimetics: Creating Materials from Nature's Blueprints,"155 and

"Engineers Ask Nature for Design Advice."156

In the nineteenth century, nature was imitated only in aesthetic terms. Artists and architects of that time were influenced by nature and used examples of the structures' external appearances in their works. Yet the realisation of nature's extraordinary designs and that these could be used to benefit human beings only began in the twentieth century with the study of natural mechanisms at the molecular level. Scientists today are learning from living things, as revealed in the Qur'an 1,400 years ago.

LOCUSTS MOVING IN SWARMS

They will emerge from their graves with downcast eyes, like swarming locusts. (Qur'an, 54:7)

This verse describes all people's situation in the Hereafter as one resembling swarming locusts. There is great wisdom in this simile.

A great deal of information was obtained about locusts in the twentieth century by conducting wide-ranging studies using micro-cameras. Locust swarms contain huge numbers of individual locusts that behave as a single body. Coming together in swarms that are kilometres long and wide, they look just like a dark cloud. It has been established, for instance, that a single swarm of desert locusts can cover 1,200 square kilometres (460 square miles) and contain between 40 and 80 million locusts per square kilometre.157

In addition, they deposit their eggs in sandy soils like seeds and, after the larvae have remained underground for a long period of time, they all emerge together. After digging a 10-15 cm-long tunnel in the ground, a female locust lays 95-158 eggs at once. Females can lay eggs at least three times in their lifetime. When the larvae have matured after 10-65 days, depending on the air temperature, they emerge in a large group. Up to 1,000 egg pods have been found in one square metre. Locust swarms are large enough to cover several hundred square kilometres, with the number of adult locusts per square kilometre varying from between 40 to 80 million.158 Their long underground existence and sudden emergence in vast numbers all at the same time may resemble the resurrection of human beings on the Day of Judgement. (Allah knows best.)

Today, locusts are being studied by special units, which employ remote control imaging systems. Even NASA satellite data are used to identify areas in Africa where desert locust colonies have developed. Thanks to satellite data, it is possible to carry out wide-ranging research on land and in space over an 18 million square kilometre area.

As we have seen, the fact that the Qur'an made such a comparison at a time when these technologies did not exist is one of the proofs that it is the revelation of the Omniscient Allah.

ANT COMMUNICATION

The Qur'an indicates, when recounting Prophet Sulayman's (as) life, that ants have a communication system:

Then, when they reached the Valley of the Ants, an ant said: "Ants! Enter your dwellings, so that Sulayman and his troops do not crush you unwittingly." (Qur'an, 27: 18)

Scientific research into ants has revealed that these tiny animals have very organised social lives and that, as a requirement of that organisation, they also have a very complex communication network. For example, National Geographic reports that:

Huge and tiny, an ant carries in her head multiple sensory organs to pick up chemical and visual signals vital to colonies that may contain a million or more workers, all of which are female. The brain contains half a million nerve cells; eyes are compound; antennae act as nose and fingertips. Projections below the mouth sense taste; hairs respond to touch.159

Even if we are not aware of it, ants use a variety of methods to communicate, thanks to their very sensitive sensory organs. They use these organs at all times, from finding prey to following one another, and from building their nests to waging war. With 500,000 nerve cells squeezed into their 2-3 mm bodies, they possess a communications system that astonishes human beings.

The reactions in their communications have been divided into several specific categories: alarm, recruitment, grooming, exchange of oral and anal liquid, group effect, recognition, caste determination…160 Ants, which establish an ordered society by means of these reactions, live a life based on the mutual exchange of information. To bring about this exchange, they sometimes exhibit more flawless communication in areas that human beings often cannot resolve through speech, such as coming together, sharing, cleaning, and defence.

Ants mainly communicate on the chemical level. These semiochemicals, known as pheromones, are chemical compounds that are perceived by smell and secreted by internal glands. In addition, they play the most important role in organising ant societies. When an ant secretes a pheromone, the other ants receive it by means of smell or taste and duly respond. Research into ant pheromones has revealed that all signals are emitted according to the needs of the colony. Moreover, the intensity of the pheromone emitted also varies according to the urgency of the situation at hand.161

As we have seen, ants require a profound knowledge of chemistry to do what they do. The fact that the Qur'an emphasized this fact 1,400 years ago, a time when there was no such knowledge about ants, is another one of its scientific miracles.

THE FOOD CYCLE

Allah splits the seed and kernel. He brings forth the living from the dead, and produces the dead out of the living. That is Allah, so how are you misguided? (Qur'an, 6:95)

In the above verse, our attention is drawn to a food cycle of which people at the time of the Qur'an's revelation could have known nothing.

When a living thing dies, micro-organisms quickly cause it to decompose. The dead body is thus divided up into organic molecules that mix with the soil and form the basic source of food for plants, animals, and, ultimately, humanity. Were it not for this nutritional cycle, life would not be possible.

Bacteria are responsible for meeting all living things' mineral and food needs. Plants and some animals, which remain almost dead (hibernation) throughout the winter, revive in the summer and meet all of their mineral and food requirements through the activities of bacteria during the winter. Throughout the winter, bacteria separate organic wastes (i.e., dead plants and animals) and turn them into minerals.162 Thus, when living things reawaken in spring, they find food ready and waiting for them. Thanks to bacteria, a "spring cleaning" has been carried out in their environment and the necessary amount of food has been prepared for nature as it returns to life in the spring.

As we have seen, dead creatures play a vital role in the emergence of new ones. This transition, indicated in the Qur'an as "He brings forth the living from the dead, and produces the dead out of the living," is carried out in the most perfect manner. This is one of the proofs that the Qur'an is the Word of Allah.

THE EARS ARE ACTIVE DURING SLEEP

So We sealed their ears [with sleep] in the cave for a number of years. (Qur'an, 18:11)

The original Arabic of the phrase "We sealed their ears" in the Qur'an is the verb daraba. This bears the metaphorical meaning of "We have made them sleep." Used in reference to the ears, daraba means "preventing the ears from hearing." The fact that only the sense of hearing is mentioned here is very significant.

According to recent scientific discoveries, the ear is the only sensory organ active while a person is sleeping. This is why we need an alarm clock to wake up.163 The wisdom of the phrase "We sealed their ears" is, in all probability, that Allah closed the hearing of the young people in question, for which reason they remained asleep for many years.

THE IMPORTANCE OF MOVEMENT IN SLEEP

You would have supposed them to be awake, whereas in fact they were asleep. We moved them to the right and to the left, and, at the entrance, their dog stretched out its paws. If you had looked down and seen them, you would have turned from them and run, and have been filled with terror at the sight of them. (Qur'an, 18:18)

The above verse refers to the People of the Cave, who remained asleep for hundreds of years. In addition, Allah also reveals that He moved their bodies to the left and right. The wisdom of this was only discovered in recent times.

People who remain lying down in the same position for long period of time encounter serious health problems, such as circulation difficulties, sores, and blood clotting in that part of the body in contact with the surface on which they lie.164

The resulting sores are known as "bed sores" or "pressure sores." Due to the constant pressure on one part of the body when one is not moving for a long period of time, the blood vessels become constricted and can close altogether. As a result, the oxygen and other nutrients carried by the blood fail to reach the skin, and the skin begins to die. This leads to the appearance of sores on the body. Unless these sores are treated, fat and muscles can also die.165

These sores, which form under the skin or tissue, can assume serious dimensions unless treated. If they become infected, they can even lead to death. The healthiest thing to do, therefore, is to change the position of the body every 15 minutes in order to reduce this pressure. Patients who cannot move themselves therefore receive special care and are moved every 2 hours by other people.166 The fact that these medical facts, only discovered in the last century, are referred to in the Qur'an is yet another of its miracles.

REDUCED MOVEMENT AT NIGHT

He splits the sky at dawn, and appoints the night as a time of stillness and the Sun and Moon as a means of reckoning. (Qur'an, 6:96)

The Arabic word sakanan, which appears in the original of the above verse, means "repose, rest, time to withdraw to rest, time for a break." As indicated by Allah, night is the time when human beings rest. The hormone melatonin, secreted at night, prepares the body for sleep by slowing down peoples' physical movements, making them sleepy and tired, and functioning as a natural tranquilliser that eases their minds.167 During sleep, heartbeat and respiration rhythms slow down and blood pressure falls. In the morning, the production of the hormones stops and the body is stimulated to awaken.168

At the same time, sleep allows the body's muscles and tissues to repair themselves and the body to replace old or dead cells. Since energy expenditure is reduced during sleep, the body stores energy throughout the night. Several chemicals vital for the immune system and growth hormones are also secreted during sleep.169

In the event that people fail to get enough sleep, therefore, the immune system is immediately affected and the body becomes more susceptible to sickness. If people are unable to sleep for two nights, they will find it harder to concentrate and their error levels will rise. If they are deprived of sleep for three nights, they will begin to hallucinate and be unable to think logically.170

Night is as much a time for rest for other living things as it is for human beings. This situation, referred to by Allah in the verse "the night as a time of stillness," indicates a fact that cannot be observed by the naked eye: Many activities that take place during the day slow down and rest during the night. In plants, for instance, perspiration in leaves and photosynthesis begin to rise when the sun rises. In the afternoon, the situation is reversed. In other words, photosynthesis slows down and respiration increases, because perspiration is accelerated as the temperature rises. At night time, as the temperature falls, perspiration slows down and the plant rests. Most plants would die if just one night failed to take place. From that point of view, night means rest and reinvigoration for plants, just as it does for human beings.171

Movement at the molecular level also declines at night. The radiation emitted by the Sun during the day activates the atoms and molecules in Earth's atmosphere and causes them to achieve higher energy levels. As darkness falls, the atoms and molecules fall to lower energy levels and start to give off radiation.172

These facts are, in all probability, indicated Surat al-An'am 96 and reveal yet another of the Qur'an's countless miracles. (Allah knows best.)

CHEST CONTRACTION WITH INCREASING HEIGHT

Human beings need oxygen and air pressure in order to live. Breathing is made possible by the oxygen in the atmosphere reaching the air sacs in our lungs. As elevation rises, however, atmospheric pressure goes down as the atmosphere becomes thinner. Therefore, the amount of oxygen entering the blood stream declines and it becomes harder to breathe. As the air sacs grow narrow and contract, we feel as if we cannot breathe.

If the amount of oxygen in the blood is less than the body needs, several symptoms emerge: extreme fatigue, headaches, dizziness, nausea, and loss of judgement. When a certain height is reached, it finally becomes impossible for a human being to breathe at all.173 This is why we need oxygen bottles and special clothing in order to survive at such elevations.

Someone at 5,000-7,500 metres (16,500-24,500 feet) above sea-level may faint and go into a coma because of breathing difficulties. That explains the presence of oxygen equipment in airplanes. There are also special systems that regulate air pressure when planes fly at 9,000-10,000 metres (29,500-33,000 feet) above sea-level.

Anoxia occurs when oxygen fails to reach the tissues. This oxygen deficiency occurs at heights of 3,000-4,500 metres (10,000-15,000 feet). Some people even lose consciousness at such elevations, but can be saved by immediate oxygen treatment.

In the comparison made in the verse below, this physical truth, the changes that take place in the chest with increasing height, is indicated in these terms:

When Allah desires to guide someone, He expands his breast to Islam. When He desires to misguide someone, He makes his breast narrow and constricted as if he were climbing up into the sky. That is how Allah defiles those who have no faith. (Qur'an, 6:125)

AERODYNAMIC FORCES AND THE FLIGHT PROGRAMMED IN BIRDS

Do they not see the birds suspended in mid-air up in the sky? Nothing holds them there except Allah. There are certainly signs in that for people who believe. (Surat an-Nahl, 79)

Due to the force of gravity, all bodies left in the air will eventually fall to earth, either fast or slowly. Everything, living or otherwise, is subject to gravity. But as a miracle of Allah (God) birds are able to resist this force and fly upward and downward in the air. They maneuver in the air, and sometimes even fold their wings and glide through it. All details in birds, from their feathers to their lungs, from the arrangement of their feathers to the shape of their wings, are equipped with a special feature and order intended to enable them to fly. A chick totally unaware of the act of flight and the laws of aerodynamics is born with the ability to fly. The chick launches itself downwards and begins to fly, just as if it knew its body was created for flight. This is not information that is taught subsequently or that a bird learns by trial and error. The way a bird knows it has the body structure needed to fly, finds the courage to launch itself into the air and then flies without hitting the ground all happens through Allah’s inspiration.

The Arabic word “yumsikuhunna” translated as “holds” in verse 79 of Surat an-Nahl means “not letting them go, taking them, catching them, or holding them.” The word is the present tense of the verse “amsaka,” meaning “to catch with the hand, hold and pull back.”  With this word, our Almighty Lord reveals that He holds the bird in the air and that it flies by His command. Bird flight is still the subject of wide-ranging research by scientists. Having observed the perfection in bird flight, scientists use the avian body and avian flight as direct models in producing such vehicle as airplanes and jets.

Verse 79 of Surat an-Nahl may in one way be indicating the way that birds comply with the aerodynamic laws created by Allah as they fly. (Allah knows the truth.) The science of aerodynamics studies the behavior of solid bodies in a fluid environment such as air. For example, as a plane moves through the air, various forces emerge that affect that movement. In order for the plane to move as planned and not to run into any unexpected forces or resistance, the plane is tested beforehand against the resistance exhibited by the air. Its movement is planned as a result of lengthy calculations, measurements and experiments.

The way that birds comply with the principles of aerodynamics continues to astonish scientists. Using no form of trial and error, they cope with the laws of aerodynamics in the most perfect manner. The use of the word " musakhkharatin" (suspended) in the verse to describe bird flight is exceedingly wise. Because it suggests that they have been “encouraged to a specific end, have had to do something, have submitted or bowed their heads, have bound themselves to Allah or have submitted to His laws”.  In that way, the verse may be indicating the way that aerodynamic laws have a determining influence on bird flight. (Allah knows the truth.)

At first sight there would appear to be nothing to make it difficult for birds to fly. But according to aerodynamics, any object flying in the air is subject to various different forces. The best-known of these are gravity, propulsion, drag and lift. In order for meaningful flight to take place, these forces have to be balanced. For example, if gravity is stronger than the other forces, the bird will fall to earth. That is why the word in the verse is the best possible expression of birds’ condition as they are subjected to these forces.  The presence in the Qur’an of expressions containing such information at a time when no science of aerodynamics or mechanics existed, once again reveals that the Qur’an is a divine text.

The illustration shows the main forces acting on a bird during flight.
Lift
Drag
Weight
Propulsion
(http://www.drbonesshow.com/page6.html)

The tops of birds’ wings are curved, the bottoms flat. This shape produces lower pressure on the top compared to the bottom. This difference in air pressure produces a lift force that enables the bird to rise in the air by beating its wings upward. (right)  (1) The air moving rapidly around the bird’s wings produces the lift force.  (2) The bird bends its wings in order to obtain greater lift force. The air flowing over the wings is thus accelerated. (3) If it inclines its wings upward at a very steep angle, air cannot easily flow to the upper parts of the wings and the bird loses speed and stalls. Through Allah’s inspiration, birds make use of the principles of aerodynamics as they fly. (From the book Birds and the Origin of Flight)

In addition to the aerodynamic perfection in bird flight, scientists are also researching the migrations of thousands of kilometers that they make. Ornithologists have today concluded that these are literally programmed in them. The way that young birds are able to undertake long and arduous journeys with no guide or previous experience is the most obvious example of this. The Arabic word “musakhkharatin" in the verse quoted above implies “being encouraged toward a specific target, being taken under command, being taken under submission,” clearly revealing that birds obey the instructions they are given when following the directions set out for them. There is no possibility of birds, which are devoid of intellect and consciousness, managing to make their own calculations as they fly along.  Scientists today are agreed that these extraordinary abilities in birds are “pre-programmed” in them. This is set out in an article in the journal Science:

There is good evidence that young birds are equipped with endogenous migratory programs, which tell them roughly how many days and/or nights that they must fly, and in what direction. (Rudiger Wehner, "Bird Navigation—Computing Orthodromes", Science, 12 January 2001, vol. 291, no. 5502, pp. 264–265.)

In his book La Puissance et la Fragilité, Prof. Pierre Jean Hamburger from René Descartes University describes the extraordinary 24,000-kilometer journey made by the shearwater that lives in the Pacific Ocean:

It sets out from the coast of Australia. From there it flies straight southward to the Pacific. Then it turns north and flies along the coast of Japan until reaching the Bering Sea where it can rest for a while. Following that break it sets off again, and this time heads south. Crossing the western coast of America, it arrives in California. It then crosses the Pacific to return to its starting point. The route and timing of this 15,000-mile (24,000-kilometer) figure ‘8’ journey it makes every year never change. The journey in question lasts a whole six months, always coming to an end in the third week of September on the island it left six months before, at the nest it left six months before. What comes next is even more astonishing; after their return, the birds clean their nests, mate, and lay a single egg over the last 10 days of October. The chicks hatch out two months later, grow very fast and are cared for over three months until their parents set out on that stupendous journey. Two weeks later; around the middle of April, it is time for the young birds to take wing on their own journey. They follow exactly the same route as that described above, with no guide. The explanation is so obvious: These birds must have all the directions for such a journey within the inherited characteristics passed on within the egg.  Some people may claim that birds navigate by the Sun and stars or follow the winds prevailing along their route on this journey out and back. But it is clear that these factors cannot determine the journey’s geographical and chronological accuracy. (Pierre Jean Hamburger, La Puissance et la Fragilité, Flammarion Pub., Paris, 1972.)

Prof. Peter Berthold is a famous ornithologist who has investigated bird migration for 20 years and president of the Max Planck Institute Ornithological Research Center in Germany. He says the following about bird migration:

Every year an estimated 50 billion birds make migratory journeys, cealong a network of routes that encompasses the whole world. Sometimes travelling tens of thousands of kilometers, crossing continents and oceans, migratory birds have become so well adapted to this task that they can traverse the largest deserts and seas, the highest mountains and expanses of ice... migratory birds have comprehensive, detailed, innate spatio-temporal programs for successful migration. Such programs evidently enable even young, inexperienced birds to migrate alone, with no adult guide, to the species- or population-specific winter quarters that they have never seen before. As will be explained further below, they do this by "vector" navigation: referring to a vector composed of a genetically predetermined migratory direction and to a time-plan, also genetically predetermined, for the course of migration... It follows that the departure time is programmed by genetic factors... But how do birds "know" the direction in which to migrate, so that they will reach their specific winter quarters? Here, again data have been obtained that point to direct genetic control mechanisms. It has long been suspected that migration directions are innate... when displaced from the normal starting point, and still more crucially, when tested in orientation cages, migratory birds showed directional preferences practically identical to the normal ones, even if they had never migrated before. Now a number of experiments have provided evidence of the genetic determination of migration direction... Even these directional changes are evidently programmed endogenously to a great extent... With an innate pattern of migratory activity, the birds possess a genetically determined migration schedule. In combination with genetically determined migratory directions, as mentioned above, it guides even inexperienced individuals, migrating for the first time, "automatically" to their previously unknown winter quarters (vector navigation, using a vector composed of a time- and a direction-plan). (Peter Berthold, "Bird Migration: Introductory Remarks and Overall Perspective", Torgos, 1998, Vol. 28, pp. 25-30; http://www.birds.org.il/show_item.asp?itemId=1211&levelId=811&template=209)

In conclusion, although scientists are unable to fully account for it, scientists still agree that migration is pre-programmed behavior that birds possess from birth. Journeys lasting thousands of kilometers, the preparations made for these flights and bird’s ability to find their way and navigate during flight all take place by our Lord’s choosing, as expressed in the above verse. The accuracy of all the information provided in the Qur’an is important evidence that this information has all been revealed by Allah.