INTRODUCTION

The Holy Qur’an is the only holy scripture revealed by Allah (God) that has remained completely uncorrupted. Our Almighty Lord has revealed, in its own verses, that the Qur’an is a protected Book that can never be corrupted in any way: The Words of your Lord are perfect in truthfulness and justice. No one can change His Words. He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. (Surat al-An’am, 115) It is We Who have sent down the Reminder and We Who will preserve it. (Surat al-Hijr, 9) The first volumne of this book has already referred to some of the miraculous features proving that the Qur’an is the word of Allah. Scientific facts that nobody could have known at the time when the Qur’an was revealed, reports about past times, events described as lying in the future, word repetitions, calculations based on the number 19 and noteworthy dates calculated using numerological analysis are just a few of the miraculous aspects of the Qur’an. In addition to its scientific and mathematical miracles, the Qur’an also possesses the property of being inimitable in terms of style and rhyme. (For detailed information see, Harun Yahya, The Miracles of the Qur’an, expanded 4th edition.) Continuing research since our first work on the miracles of the Qur’an has revealed even more examples of miracles and is still continuing to do so. Since the verses of the Qur’an possess the property of having more than one meaning, many more miracles contained within it will probably come to light in future years. (Allah knows the truth.) As the word of Omniscient Allah, the Holy Qur’an contains much information that people have not understood or are as yet unable to comprehend. Thanks to advances in science and technology, that information comes to light at the time and in the amount determined by Allah, and thus further confirms the miraculous nature of the Qur’an. It is not essential to see such miraculous properties or examples confirming that the Qur’an is compatible with science in order to believe that the Qur’an is the revelation of Allah. The Qur’an is a book that distinguishes between truth and falsehood long before scientific discoveries are made and reflects the infinite knowledge and wisdom of Allah. However, the examples in this book are instrumental in people with little religious belief turning to faith and in Muslims increasing their fervor and depth of faith. In another verse of the Qur’an, our Lord says: We will show them Our Signs on the horizon and within themselves until it is clear to them that it is the truth. (Surah Fussilat, 53) PREFACE Fourteen centuries ago, Allah sent down the Qur'an. This book of guidance and wisdom calls man to the truth and instructs all human beings to adhere to the values which this mighty revelation contains. From the day of its revelation to the Day of Judgement, this last Divine book will remain as the sole guide for humanity. The book of Allah states, “But it is nothing less than a Reminder to all the worlds.” (Qur’an, 68:52) Ever since the Qur’an was revealed, it has possessed an easily understandable language and tone, accessible to all people and in all times. Allah tells us of this style in the Qur’an: “We have made the Qur’an easy to remember...” (Qur’an, 54:22) The perfection of the literary language of the Qur’an, the incomparable features of its style and the superior wisdom contained within it are some of the definitive proofs that it represents the Word of our Lord. In addition, the Qur'an contains within its words many miracles which prove it to be Allah’s Word. One of these attributes is the remarkable number of scientific truths which are contained in the holy book of Islam. In this book which was revealed over fourteen centuries ago to the Prophet Muhammad (saas), there are innumerable examples of information humanity have only been able to uncover by the technology of the 20th and 21st century. Of course, we should not view the Qur'an as a book of science for it is primarily a book of moral and spiritual guidance. However, many scientific facts that are expressed in an extremely concise and profound manner, within the verses of the Qur’an, have only been discovered by scientists with the aid of the technological advancement of the 20th and 21st century. Quite simply, these facts which we now point out to the reader 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 Allah. In order to understand the scientific miracles contained in the Qur'an, we must first look at the level of scientific knowledge which existed at the time when this holy book was revealed. When one understands the context in which the Qur’an was revealed, one can understand more clearly how extraordinary the book of Islam actually is. In the 7th century, when these sacred verses were sent down, Arab society was awash with many superstitious and groundless notions. Lacking the technology to examine the universe and nature, these early Arabs believed in uncorroborated tales inherited from past generations and did not question them. For example, they supposed that mountains supported the sky above. They believed that the earth was flat and that mountains acted as pillars that kept the vault of heaven high above us. Into this atmosphere of legend and myth, the Qur’an came down. It replaced ignorance with knowledge and illogical conjecture with guidance and certainty. One verse of the Qur’an states, "Allah is He Who raised up the heavens without any support..." (Qur’an, 13:2) This verse invalidated the belief that the sky remains above because of support from the mountains. The Qur’an is filled with important facts which were revealed at a point in human history when no man could possibly 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 all of which point to the fact that it is revealed by Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. Some of the subjects explained and dealt with in the Qur’an are: the creation of the universe, the creation and miraculous development of the human being from miniscule embryo to grown adult, the structure of the atmosphere in which we live and the delicate balances that make life on earth possible. In order to understand some of these points more fully, let us look at some of these scientific miracles revealed in the Qur'an together.