Scientific Claims in the Qur’an and Hadith
The sun sets in muddy spring (18:86)
Semen comes from between backbone & ribs (86:6-7)
Stars are missiles to shoot devils (67:5)
If a fly lands in your drink, one wing has the cure (Bukhari 3320)
A baby’s sex decided by who climaxes first (Bukhari 3329)
1. **Expanding Universe**: The Quran’s vague mention of the heavens being “built with power” or “expanded” (e.g., Quran 51:47) is not a unique or precise prediction of the Big Bang or cosmic expansion, which were discovered through modern astronomy, not religious texts. 2. **Iron’s Origin**: While science confirms iron was formed in stars, this was known to ancient civilizations (e.g., Egyptians and Mesopotamians) through meteorites, predating the Quran. The Quran’s claim (Quran 57:25) doesn’t provide new scientific insight. 3. **Embryology**: The Quran’s descriptions of human development (e.g., Quran 22:5, 23:12-14) are often interpreted post-hoc to match modern embryology. However, they lack detail and accuracy—e.g., describing stages like “alaqa” (clot) doesn’t align with scientific understanding and reflects 7th-century knowledge. 4. **Fingerprints**: The Quran (e.g., Quran 75:4) mentions preserving individual traits but doesn’t specifically predict the uniqueness of fingerprints, a concept developed scientifically in the 19th century by figures like Sir Francis Galton. These “scientific miracles” are often retrofitted interpretations, not precise predictions, and rely on ambiguous language that can be reinterpreted to fit new discoveries. Many pre-Islamic cultures and texts also had similar observations, undermining the claim of divine origin.