Thursday, January 14, 2010

Debunking Qur'anic Science: Was Everything Created in Pairs and do Plants have Gender? If so is this Another Miraculous Prediction in the Qur'an?

Harun Yahya has made the claim that the Qur’an predicts the modern concept of the universe, that every details within it are made in pairs; I am referring to this website below:

http://www.harunyahya.com/miracles_of_the_quran_p1_05.php

Here Harun Yahya writes:

DUALITY IN CREATION

Glory be to Him Who created all the pairs: from what the earth produces and from themselves and from things unknown to them (Qur’an 36: 36)

While "male and female" is equivalent to the concept of "pair," "things unknown to them," as expressed in the Qur'an, bears a broader meaning. Indeed, we encounter one of the meanings pointed to in the verse in the present day. The British physicist Paul Dirac, who discovered that matter was created in pairs, won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1933. This finding, known as "parity," revealed the duality known as matter and anti-matter. Anti-matter bears the opposite characteristics to matter. For instance, contrary to matter, anti-matter electrons are positive and protons negative. This fact is expressed in a scientific source as follows:

... every particle has its antiparticle of opposite charge… [T]he uncertainty relation tells us that pair creation and pair annihilation happen in the vacuum at all times, in all places.47

Indeed the Scientific claim of modern science might in a number of cases be correct. On the other hand the claim that everything is in pairs is not entirely correct; check out this article of Jochen Katz that refutes such misconceptions

http://www.answering-islam.org/Quran/Contra/qe015.html

Its a fact also as Jochen Katz points out that Harun’s interpretation might be reading fairly too much information into the passage than originally belongs there. Indeed Sura 36: 36 states that everything the earth produces derives in pairs, however the matters unknown to them does not necessarily refer to anything outside our earthly globe such as matter and anti-matter, unless the Qur’an specifically makes such a statement.

But lets assume here that Harun’s claim is correct and that every detail in the universe is based upon pairs and that the Qur’an refers to this cosmological system; are we then to perceive the Qur’an as miraculous in its prediction?

Interestingly sources that predate Islam, include this assumed prediction of modern scientists about the universe and its pairs; not only from what grows and lives on earth but as a system that encompasses the entire cosmological dimension; interestingly these sources are more explicit than the Qur’an.

The Jewish Talmud states:

One the verse ‘Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God, the Lord is one,’ the comment is made: The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, ‘My children, everything that I created in the Universe is in pairs—e.g. heaven and earth, the sun and moon, Adam and Eve, this world and the World to Come; but I am one and alone in the Universe (Deut. R. II. 31)’ Dr. A. Cohen, Everyman’s Talmud, London: J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd: 1949: 4

Hence if the Qur’an is accurate in this matter, Harun fails to tell his readers that this was a common concept that existed among the Jews and other groups prior to Islam; hence the Qur’anic statement is not miraculous but merely a reference to the knowledge that existed in Muhammad’s time and prior to Islam.

But it does not end here, Harun Yahya continues by claiming that the Qur’an is miraculous in its statement about the pairs or sex of plants; he states:

Another example of duality in creation is plants. Botanists only discovered that there is a gender distinction in plants some 100 years ago.48 Yet, the fact that plants are created in pairs was revealed in the following verses of the Qur'an 1,400 years ago:

It is Allah Who created the heavens with no support-you can see them-and cast firmly embedded mountains on the earth so that it would not move under you, and scattered about in it creatures of every kind. And We send down water from the sky and make every generous plant grow in it, in pairs. (Qur'an, 31:10)

It is He Who made the earth a cradle for you and threaded pathways for you through it and sent down water from the sky by which We have brought forth diverse pairs of plants. (Qur'an, 20:53)

Osama Abdallah elaborates enormously on this claim; he writes:

‘Previously, humans did not know that plants too have male and female gender distinctions. Botany states that every plant has a male and female gender’.

(I refrain from posting a link to this article of Osama as the McFee system on my computer recently warned me from accessing his website)

Again this claim is greatly exaggerated; I suggest that the reader reads another excellent article of Jochen Katz that refutes this claim:

http://www.answering-islam.org/Quran/Contra/sexy_fruits.html

But let’s just assess this claim in the light of pre-Islamic concepts; firstly if the Muslim claim would be solely accurate would this render the Qur’anic statement miraculous? Secondly, is Osama correct in his claim that humans prior to the modern scientific discovery did not know about the male and female gender distinctions in plants?

In fact both statements are wrong:

I welcome you to the worlds of Anaxagoras and Empedocles:

http://history.han

De Plant. i.; 815 a 16. Anaxagoras and Empedokles say that plants are moved by desire, and assert that they have perception and feel pleasure and pain. . . .Empedokles thought that sex had been mixed in them. (Note 817 a 1, 10, and 36.) (p. 200)

over.edu/texts/presoc/emp.htm

And we continue:

‘Trees first of living beings sprang from the earth, before the sun was unfolded in the heavens and before day and night were separated; and by reason of the symmetry of their mixture they contain the principle of male and female; and they grow, being raised by the warmth that is in the earth (v. 26; 440) (p. 230)’.

Hence let it be declared, here and now that we have completely debunked these claims of Harun Yahya and Osama Abdallah.

The Qur’anic reference to pairs in the universe and plants were concepts that existed prior to Islam and hence the Qur’an does not reveal itself miraculous by conveying to its readers either of these concepts.

24 comments:

aussie christian said...

Well as a jurno once said, "never let the truth get in the way of a good story". and seeing as you quoted osama abdulla this quote is perfectly correct. our poor osama has yet let the truth stand between him and one of his awesome fairy tales.

but then again, can you blame them, because after all, their mohummad the devil whisperer stated quite clearly, when your building up islam lie lie lie!!!

As long as we have to suffer islam, you really cant take anything these people say as being anything but a good story based in untruth lies deseption and fairyland tales.

But personally I really hope they keep it up, I need the laugh.

Peace and Love.

Fernando said...

Now, really, who can beliebe is such claims as the scientific miracles in the qur'an? in whiche planet must someone live to believe in such thing? whiche weed must someone smoke in order to beliebe in such a bunch off false claims?

can any muslim friend educate us all? thankes in advance...

Unknown said...

Yet another great piece, I have a question it is off topic:

Did Christians pay less taxes then muslims when they lived under Islamic rule?

akhter said...

Find your answers in detail and authority here.


http://www.answering-christianity.com/quransearch.htm

Hogan Elijah Hagbard said...

akhter,

It was answering-Christianity and Harun Yahya I was debunking; answering-Christianity does not even consider the details I brought up.

The conclusion is: 1) not everything is in pairs; 2) not all plants have gender; 3) the assumption of the Qur'an is pre-islamic and hence not a miracle even if correct.

Hence the Qur'an is in error here; yet even if it's statement about this matter was correct, it would still not present a miracle but only the common knowledge of Muhammad's time.

But maybe you could educate us from Abdallah's website where I am mistaken.

Fernando said...

Who, who, who in his sane spirit off minde goes to answering-christianity.com to lear anythingue?... please, please, please, you all muslims: either become serious, or become inteligent...

minoria said...

Hello:

I always like to add new info.I have been reading the 2008 book by ALAN DERSHOWITZ "The Case Against Israel's Enemies".I believe he is reliable.In pages 198-200 he talks about the GRAND MUFTI of JERUSALEM,the leader of the Palestinian Muslims.

He gave new info about him I didn't know.He was even worse than I thought:

NUMBER OF JEWS KILLED BY HIM

1.He personally stopped 4,000 JEWISH CHILDREN,accompanied by 500 adults,from leaving Europe and had them sent to AUSCHWITZ and gassed.

2.He prevented another 2,000 Jews from leaving Romania and another 1,000 from leaving Hungary,and they were later killed.

3.He organized the killing of 90% of Bosnian Jews recruiting an SS Muslim group.Several thousand more deaths by the Grand Mufti.

HE KNEW ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST

On Sept 21,1944,in a RADIO broadcast from BERLIN,he said "the ELEVEN MILLION Jews of the WORLD."

SO?

He knew that in 1939 there were 17 MILLION JEWS in the WORLD,not 11 million.How did he know there were 6 MILLION LESS Jews 5 years later?At the time they thought it was a slip of the tongue,or script error.No.He was a friend of Hitler and Eichmann,he knew 6 million Jews had been killed.

Osama Abdallah said...

Hogan Elijah,

Since you made the challenge directly to me, then I have the right to respond to it on this board, and silence your blasphemy, if the owner of this board is not a liar.


Your nonsense is debunked in great details in my new article that I wrote especially for you at: http://www.answering-christianity.com/of_everything_pairs_are_created.htm.

Islam remains the Divine Truth from GOD Almighty, and your false religion of "CONJECTURE" (http://www.answering-christianity.com/warning.htm) as Allah Almighty declared it to be in Noble Verses 4:156-159 remains a man-made false religion.

Note to the reader:

1- I am not brother MuslimPhantom. May Allah Almighty bless him.

2- I am not trying to make a come back to this site. I just felt compelled to respond, and I did.

Osama Abdallah
www.answering-christianity.com

aussie christian said...

Yay, osama is back with his great comedy routine, woot!!! Go osama!!

But hey, if your stupid enough and gullible enough to believe anything written by the dictates of satan (the koran in this instance) then you likely to believe almost anything.

osama, I had a good long look at all your website's claims, and I must say that apart from the fact you spend nearly all your posts being rude crude and abusive, there is not one single piece of truth in any of those articles.

But as I said of you islamic polmatics, you never let truth get in the road of your points. thus anything you think you have to say is simply debunked from the point of view that as your attempting to increase islam you are lieing. Well I think here lieing is probable a bit harsh as I feel osama actually beilieves that either A/ lieing to increase islam is totaly acceptable therefore he is not commiting a sin, or B/ he has no real knowledge and regergitate anything put out by other islamic polmatics, therefore he is just gullible and a sad case.
either way, not much weight can be placed in anything osama has to say.

Oh I so hope the goodly people who run this blog will allow osama to respond to this, I havnt had a good muslim abuse thrown at me in over a month.

Peace and Love.

Adam said...

Peace to All in the mighty name of Lord Jesus Christ.


Dear People

One of Ahmad Deedat fan keeps on posting spam msg on youtube channel of many Lay Christians.
-"Is there any Christian who can read Ezekiel chapter 23 in the meeting hall? I will book the hall for you and you can invite your people and I will invite my people in the hall. I dare you come in the meeting hall and read Ezekiel chapter 23 in front of all the people. Send me message."-

I challenged him, this was his reply. As I am in India, can any one of you in Ontario Canada make it for the debate.



O People of the Book

In order to debate you have provide the answer of my question on my channel in the hall. The question is below:

Is there any Christian who can read Ezekiel chapter 23 in the meeting hall? I will book the hall for you and you can invite your people and I will invite my people in the hall. I dare you come in the meeting hall and read Ezekiel chapter 23 in front of all the people. Send me message.

Will you ready to answer my above question?

????

Where in ontario?

The city Toronto Ontario Canada and the Airport is Pearson Inernational Airport.

The cost of the Hall?

You do not need to pay this cost

Who is our opponent

You opponent is Ashfaq Mohammad

It is require that you come to Toronto Ontario Canada then I will take you to hall where you will read Ezekiel Chapter 23 in front of all the people.

Thanks
http://www.youtube.com/user/ayuzma

Fernando said...

Dear Osama Abdallah... glad to see you arounde here... I mustte say thate I believe thate you, iff wrotte a declaration off intention to change some more harsh way off acting to professor Wood, he woulde defenetelly allow you back on...

may our commun God, teh Holy Trinity, bless you and your family...

Hogan Elijah Hagbard said...

Osama,

This is becoming more and more funny. This is the second time I respond to the same response on this particular post.

So here we go, once again:

Your rebuttal is not even dealing with the point I raised in my post.

I raised the point that you have claimed that these scientific assumptions were unknown to the people prior to Islam.

This is a complete lie!

As I have pointed out: that everything created in pairs and gender in plants were concepts flourishing among the Jews and Greek prior to Islam. I even posted the references.

This is was the point of my post.

I did not argue whether every detail in the universe functiones in pairs or whether plants have gender; if you read my post again you will notice that I emphasised:

if these are facts of science, is the Qur'an then presenting us with a miracolous statement?

The answer is no, since these concepts existed prior to Islam.

Hogan Elijah Hagbard said...

Did you write that article especially for me?

I am honoured!

But it does not deal with the issues I have been raising.

Hogan Elijah Hagbard said...

Also referring to my post as nonsense is somehow rude, considering that you have not even considered the content of it.

Why don't you read it again, and you will notice that I back up my claim with pre-islamic sources.

Hogan Elijah Hagbard said...

To your information Osama, I have not even started yet, there is a lot more coming and I intend to spread this information over the entire internet.

Obviously, the world and millions of deceived Muslims need to be informed that this whole enterprise of the Qur'an and modern science is based upon a lie.

akhter said...

debunking who???

http://www.quranmiracles.com/articles.asp?id=28.

Hogan Elijah Hagbard said...

akhter,

Could you be more specific, rather than just posting a website, tell us in what way we have not debunked Osama Abdallah.

Osama claimed that the references in the Qur'an to the gender issue in the nature was virtually unknown prior to Islam.

Osama's claim is wrong (surpise surprise) and we have proved him wrong, hence he has been refuted; its as simple as that.

The Qur'anic references to what you presume to be modern science, are often not reference to modern science at all, rather the typical and interpretations are commonly read into the passages; this approach to Qur'anic exegesis is literally absurd.

Furthermore, so called Qur'anic science flourished prior to Islam, hence the author of the Qur'an simply plagiarized this information.

Fernando said...

Hi akhter...

coulde you present here, withoute trying to redirect us all to other sites, ANY supposed qur'anic scientifical miracle?

thankes in advance...

Fernando said...

Hi all... our dear kunde presented a 9 comment answer (?!?) to brother Hogan in a January 7 post... He is indeed a bery polite person and is really trying to make some sense... unfortunatelly he misses all the points and goes around like a snail slippering in his own slime; this is so sad: he has a good taste for ties...

Unknown said...

LOL HILARIOUS. First, if Muhammad(saw) borrowed miracles then please tell me the person he borrowed it from and please produce a chapter from the Quran.

Zaira said...

GRAVE MISTAKES IN THE ARTICLE....WORTH PONDERING...

referring to this article all that the author is trying to prove is that gender in plants or fruits is no mirale people before the period when Quran was revealed knew bot it....fine let's agree...but who told you that Almighty claimed it to be a miracle unknown before...Quran doesn't say that...rather Almighty is showing His signs so that people may recognize Him..some signs which v know of and witness everytime and others which we don't know. or even if v do is a recent discovery.
like finger printing technique.
embryology
composition of cell...u can search for your self.
Almighty shows us these signs so that we may obey Him as the world today enjoys the bounties of their creator but little thanks do they give.


moreover for your very kind information before refuting Quranic verses you should have done a little investigation on the introduction of Islam....Islam is an arabic word which in eng means ''submission to One creator''.and this act of submission was done by all the prophets ..thus we can say all the prophets followed an act of submission''ISLAM'' all were Muslims''the one who submits''....prophet Muhammad( peace be upon him) is not the founder of islam.before him many messenger had come with the message from the same creator...like jesus(peace be upon him)., Moses(peace be upon him) etc...Quran is the final revelation not the first book sent by the creator...every prophet had warned his people to be obedient to the comming prophet same was said by Jesus (peace be upon him)

''I have so many things to tell you but you cannot bare them now when the spirit of truth shall come he shall guide you to truth''.

Muslims did follow Jesus(peace be upon him) but christians the lovers of christ didn't...how strange...

similarities bw Quran and earlier revelations are not because they have have been copied from each other..rather it's because they have common source ( The Almighty God) ALLAH.

Unknown said...

Funny is that your are trying to refut the quran while ur bible still tells you that star falls on earth and rains fall by god tipping of jars of water and sky contains water above to add up the flat earth with corners and earth and plants created before sun enormous amout of non sense and even bot only with science but even self contradicting with it ownself you ppl are actually too funny to argue with...

Amin said...

Are all organisms created in pairs?
http://aqtthq.blogspot.com.es/2017/01/are-all-organisms-created-in-pairs.html

Ben Seven said...

Hey ZAIRA...
//but who told you that Almighty claimed it to be a miracle unknown before// - Check the Muslim apologetics websites that talk about this. They claim that this is a miracle.
//Almighty is showing His signs so that people may recognize Him// - "Signs" are just vague things that anyone can make up. Its an argument a Muslim apologist uses when he is losing a debate. He changes the claim from "Koran has science" to "Koran has signs". I can bring any number of things and call it signs. You need direct and specific miracle in your book to prove it is from God. Not vague verses.

//like finger printing technique// - Where is fingerprinting technique mentioned in Koran? Which verse specifically says that every finger print is unique?

//embryology// - Embryology? You mean the Koran embryology that does not even mention Ovum or fertilization? LOL

//composition of cell// - Where?

//Almighty shows us these signs// - Did he show evolution too? Because we did not come from 2 people through incest.


//and this act of submission was done by all the prophets ..thus we can say all the prophets followed an act of submission// - "IF YOU CAN'T BEAT THEM, JOIN THEM".. Classic move. When anyone claim that Koran copied the Bible and Torah, you claim that everything was by Allah, so that you can justify plagiarism.

//similarities bw Quran and earlier revelations are not because they have have been copied from each other..rather it's because they have common source// - I can write a book copying Koran verses and call it divine too. The latest holy book!!