My partner and I reverted about a month ago and then with a case of the flu the honeymoon ended and we've drifted back to our former ways. However, I at least wonder if leaving was the right decision, I at times wonder if I gave Islam enough time or if perhaps I was hasty in making my Shahada, but perhaps this is for another post.
I received in the mail a book entitled, "A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam," from Islam-guide.com and it reviews the scientific miracles that are supposedly given in the Qur'an and it covers human embryonic development, mountains etc., and these are areas where I, as a student of English Literature and Writing, am not an expert nor do I know Arabic and so I do not know if they are tweaking definitions so that the verses and text reflect what they believe.
If it is true that the human embryo does look like a leech and if that is what is contained in Surah 23:12-14 amongst others then I would have no other choice but to reconsider my decision to leave Islam.
So, I guess what I am wondering is has anyone ever looked into the miracles that are supposedly contained in the Qur'an and if so did you find it to be hype or is there actually some scientific claims to them.
Scientific Miracles in the Qur'an: factual or hype?
By mike79 - Posted on May 30th, 2009
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Human development is fascinating; an embryo does go through stages where it looks more like a chewed piece of gum, or even a leech, than anything human.
Some of the Qur'an's "claims" are more a matter of creative interpretation than anything else, but this one, at least, has been substantiated.
Not to mimimize the claims of the Qur'an on what a human embryo or fetus looks like, but let's not forget that since there have been human women giving birth on the planet, there have been opportunities to see exactly what human embryos and fetuses look like first hand at every stage of development. Sadly, this phenomena is called "miscarriage."
Diagnosing early pregnancy was rather difficult until the 20th century, and even today, pinpointing the exact age of an embryo or fetus is very difficult. Not to mention the fact that without a microscope, describing the earlier stages of development is quite difficult- some stages described in the Qur'an would be of an embryo smaller than an poppy seed. So while it's possible that some of the stages of pregnancy could be described accurately by humans in antiquity, much of the early bits would be deemed nothing more than a clot passed during a somewhat late menstruation.
Mike79: are you a Raveler? Your username is familiar.
Then is it possible that the Prophet might have saw the remains of a miscarriage(s) and then added them into the book?
Also, if there's no compulsion in religion why then is it stated that a person who leaves is to be killed? I might be naive but that doesn't sound like a religion based on peace.
And to answer your question, I am a Raveler.
What's a "Raveler"?
I'm ummzak* on Ravelry, formerly known as mrsberts. ( Cypress: Ravelry is like Facebook for knitters/crocheters, and Ravelry members are called Ravelers.)
Much of the misinformation about Islam stems from conflating the policy of Muslim governments with theology or canon. Apostasy in the form we'd be familiar with is not the same as what would be a considered a capital offense in the early days of what would become Muslim empires. The offense that would earn one a death penalty was a form of treason that included apostasy- merely leaving the faith would have certain consequences involving family law, for instance, but the choice was not Islam or death, unless you decided to act against the state while ceasing to be Muslim.
And to your miscarriage question: it's not terribly likely that casual observation of miscarriages could result in the knowledge contained in the Qur'an about human development- the stages described involve very small embryos, which would have to be cleaned and carefully examined to detect those features. And if a woman is having a miscarriage in an ancient desert, it's not likely that a man will be invited to observe, nor is it likely that enough water will be available to clean the remains for examination. Yes, it's possible, but not terribly likely.
* Ummzak is short for Umm Zakaria, an Arabic courtesy title meaning "mother of Zakaria". Zakaria is my new son.
O hai FM, nice to hear from you again! We miss you.
Sometimes, albeit more often then not I am not the most concise person when it comes to phrasing questions.
However, thank you for explaining both points. I wished that the book I received mentioned the difference between apostasy then and now, rather then making it sound as if it was still that way today--although I do acknowledge that in some places it might be.
Congratulations on the birth of your son.
I wasn't actually meaning that the specific stage of the pregnancy could be determined and articulated in such terms, but that no doubt people, women, observed the infortunate remains that they identified at least as the remains of infants at many different poins of development, enough to understand the rudimentary elements of theprocess.
Also, if there's no compulsion in religion why then is it stated that a person who leaves is to be killed? I might be naive but that doesn't sound like a religion based on peace.
>>>>
I suspect that if you are attempting to reconcile all these formula and the words of a book that was revealed fourteen hundred years, and like it or not, undergone translation and a reduction from historical context, and use that reconciliation as a rational and material justificaton for accepting Islam, then you are trying to get into a house where there is no door. Islam has many doors and those doors fit all kinds of people, all kinds. That's the beauty of it. One beauty of it. If you desire Islam, truly, and it's your nature, you will find the right door for you. When you find the right door, none of the others matter, because you are too busy exploring and being happy with what you found for yourself. Some doors lead to hidden chambers and glorious mysteries, some doors lead to traps and trials. Consider the 99 Beautiful Names of Allah, all of them. And see how this might be so.
Regarding my comment, "if there's no compulsion in religion why then is it stated that a person who leaves is to be killed? I might be naive but that doesn't sound like a religion based on peace." I didn't type exactly what I meant...I was hoping for an explanation--if there's no compulsion where exactly did this idea of killing someone come from. A book I read said that the Prophet let non-Muslims co-exist in the towns/villages they took over so the idea of stating that someone should be killed doesn't seem to make sense.
I'll have to Google the 99 Names because I don't know them.
I don't mean to sound flippant, but most people spend an entire lifetime working through the issues of religion, the details of revelation and the historicity of Prophets and their books. Different people arrive at vastly different messages. Take myself and Osama bin Laden for example. We've each considered islam and its messages and teachings and come to quite different conclusions and apply those understandings in different ways in our lives. The same goes for all 1.8 billion of the rest of the Muslim population although there are some pockets where required interpretations are put into motion. If you are thinking that you might find someone who can explain it all out into a neat and easily understood package that makes perfect sense, then you are either on your way to becoming what al-Ghazali calls "a mindless follower" or a fundamentalist. Maybe that's the same thing. Most people aren't that though. Find what fits or leave it. Some might disagree with me, but I say leave it before deciding to become a mindless follower of anything. And don't let anyone but God pour unquestioned meanings into your head and heart. No path on the planet is meant to be fully understood and embraced and practiced in its final form after a month. Unless you're a fundamentalist who just spray paints on a religion and lets others do the thinking and the directing for them. Just sayin is all ... (as someone else on this board says.) I converted to Islam 34 years ago and it's constantly changing and growing and evolving as my understanding deepens. The same for everyone who has a deep committment to their faith and gives themselves over to it and not just practices some stuff, tries not to do some other stuff and memorizes some strange sounding words. That's not what it's meant to be. That would be like getting a really neat big gift wrapped package for your birthday and then just carrying it around grooving on the pretty wrapper all your life.
Ibn al-Sakit once asked Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha, the 8th Shi'a Imam:
"Why did the Almighty and Exalted God send Mousa (Moses) ibn Imran (A.S.) with a miraculous cane and white hand and the tool of sorcery, Isa (Jesus, AS) with miraculous medicine, and Muhammad (A.S.) with miraculous speech and oratory?"
The Imam replied:
"When the Almighty and the Exalted God sent Moses (A.S.), sorcery dominated the minds of people of his time, so he brought them from the Almighty and the Exalted something which they never had, nor could they bring about anything like it, thus rendering their sorcery void and proving his argument against them.
When the Almighty and the Exalted God sent Jesus during a period when chronic diseases became widespread and people were in dire need of a cure. Jesus (A.S.) brought them from God the Almighty and the Exalted something they never had, bringing the dead back to life, curing those born blind and the lepers by the Will of God, proving his argument against them.
And when the Almighty and Exalted God sent Muhammad (S.A.W.) during the time when speeches and oratory (and I think he said with poetry, too), he brought them the Book of the Almighty and the Exalted God and with pieces of wisdom and counsel thereby he voided their arguments."
Ibn al-Sakit asked:
"By God I have never seen anyone like you! What is the argument against people these days, then?"
Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha answered:
"Reason. Through it can you come to know who tells the truth about God and you believe in him, and who tells lies about God and you disbelieve in him."
Ibn al-Sakit said:
"This, by God, is the right answer..."
Fadlallah discusses (at some length) the implications of the Imam 'Ali Ibn Musa al-Ridha's views. Forgive the length of the quote, but I think it pertinent:
'A miracle is a supernatural thing which the ordinary individual is unable to perform due to his limited energies and motivational powers. Miracles are different from sorcery. Sorcery is not an actual supernatural act but a swift movement which causes the viewer to see the realities turned upside down, or changes the visible picture into its contrary. This may take place by subjecting the viewer to obscure effects which veil from his sight a certain colour or a certain picture. What leads us to that conclusion is the statement of the Almighty in the context of narrating how Moses (A.S.) fared with the wizards from the descendants of Israel, saying:
"So their ropes and their canes seemed to him, because of their sorcery, as though they were crawling." [Qur'an, 20:66]
Sorcery, then, is nothing more than stimulating the imagination, making things look different than they are, and causing one to fall under a magical spell. As regarding what a miracle is, it is an actual result of a supernatural deed intended to win the argument against people in the process of proving one's true prophethood and mission, and it is an act which God causes to happen. It is different from sorcery because it is not subjected to psychological effects, or complications in the movement, but a broadening of the energy which affects matters viewed by man due to the effect of the Might of God. In narrating the story of Moses (A.S.), the Almighty stated:
"And (appoint him) an apostle to the children of Israel, (with this message): `I have come to you, with a Sign from your Lord, in that I make for you out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, and I breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by God's leave; and I heal those born blind, and the lepers, and I bring the dead back to life by God's leave.'" [Qur'an, 3:49]
And the Almighty has also said:
"And it was never the part of an apostle to bring a Sign except as God permitted. For each period is a Book (revealed)." [Qur'an 13:38]
Every one of the Prophets had a miracle which distinguished him from other prophets and messengers and which was in harmony, in its own particular way, with the common phenomena which prevailed upon the social condition of the time so that the psychological effect caused by its miraculous effect would become a reality, as the Imam (A.S.) meant in the tradition above. The miracles of prophets, according to the contexts of the verses and narratives, were not the result of the effect of a natural human energy; rather, they were the results of a creative energy whereby God distinguished His Prophets for the purpose of establishing the superiority of their argument when such a miracle was necessitated by the mission...
We have said that the miracle is the supernatural phenomenon which in its own particular way agrees with the general phenomena which dominated the social reality of its time, and the common phenomenon which enjoyed a clear priority during the time of the Imams was knowledge; therefore, it is mandatory that their miracles proving their Imamate should be supernatural knowledge whereby they rise above all other levels of their contemporary folks. Imam al-Rida (A.S.) was asked about the phenomenon whereby an Imam could be identified as an Imam when his time comes as an accurate indication of his Imamate, and he answered by saying, "It is knowledge, and God's response to his plea."
In a tradition regarding the distinctions of an Imam, Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha, the 8th Imam, said:
"His indications are in two attributes: knowledge and God's answer to his plea, and all the events which he foretold before their occurrence, for that is according to a promise made to him by the Messenger of God (S.A.W.) which he inherited from his forefathers, peace be upon them, which in turn would be among matters told to the Prophet (S.A.W.) through Gabriel from God, the Knower of the Unseen and the Unknown, Glory be to Him."
This statement of the Imam (A.S.) leads us to realize that the miracle should be in harmony with the phenomenon of the time, thus proving the argument. Each of the two requirements mentioned by the Imam were actually satisfied in him and in all other Imams; through them, their supernatural miracle is completed, without the need to prove their Imamate, or to prove its authenticity by other miracles the truth about many of which we may not have a way to prove.'
Muhammad Jawad Fadlallah, "Imam al-Rida - Historical and Biographical Research", [nd], at http://www.al-islam.org/al-rida/