This purpose of this article is to answer the claims of Mr Sina who writes on the homepage of his website "the Quran is replete with scientific heresies". This article will attempt to show that the claims made by Mr Sina are of someone who is totally ignorant of the Holy Quran, although he has stated he had been reading it his whole life. Some people are quick to grab something and present it as a contradiction from the Holy Quran, hoping to demonstrate to others that the Quran is not from God, but:
 
 “He it is who has sent down to thee the Book; in it there are verses that are firm and decisive in meaning - they are the basis of the Book - and there are others that are susceptible of different interpretations. But those in whose hearts is perversity pursue such thereof as are susceptible of different interpretations, seeking to cause discord and seeking wrong interpretations of it. And none knows it except Allah and those who are firmly grounded in knowledge; they say, `We believe in it; the whole is from our Lord.' - And none take heed except those gifted with understanding” (3:8)
 
Read for yourself and discover the so-called scientific “heresies” within the Holy Quran.
 
INTRODUCTION

1400 years ago, a man was born in Mecca in Saudi Arabia. The man’s name was Muhammad. His contemporaries living in the same city knew him well and said he was illiterate but was also trustworthy and righteous.
 
The place were he lived was not known well known and did not play much of a part in civilisation. The study of science was unheard of instead these early Arabs believed in legends inherited from past generations. They supposed, for example, that mountains supported the sky above. They believed that the earth was flat and that there were high mountains at its both ends. It was thought that these mountains were pillars that kept the vault of heaven high above. People worshipped idols, buried their daughters alive and indulged in all sorts of evil in this darkest part of the world. But beside that, they had a very beautiful language.
 
That man said he was sent to them and to all mankind as a messenger from their creator God (Allah in Arabic) to warn them, give glad tidings to them and show them the straight path to God. This illiterate man supported his claims by words he said were from God:
 
“This is a Book which We have revealed to thee, full of excellences, that they may reflect over its verses, and that those gifted with understanding may take heed” (38:30)
 
“O mankind! The Messenger has indeed come to you with truth from your Lord; believe therefore, it will be better for you. But if you disbelieve, verily, to Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and in the earth. And Allah is All-Knowing, Wise” (4:171)
 
“It teaches that you should worship none but Allah - I am to you a Warner; and a bearer of glad tidings from Him” (11:3)
 
 “And We sent not as Messengers before thee but men to whom We sent revelation - so ask those who possess the reminder, if you know not” (16:44)

 “With clear Signs and Scriptures. And We have sent down to thee the Reminder that thou mayest explain to mankind that which has been sent down to them, and that they may reflect” (16:45)
 
 
Many of his contemporaries refused to believe him, calling him a liar. They resisted his message and even sought to kill him because he was requesting them to end the worship of idols. With time it appeared to them he was truly a messenger from their Creator, for the matchless style of the Quran, the superior wisdom in it and the integrity of the messenger were definite evidences for them that the words he was saying were the words of God and could not be coming from him or any other human. They believed and submitted to God as they were commanded and became Muslims (believers in the oneness of God and all his messengers)
 
His people whose language was very beautiful, were dazzled and could not give an explanation as to how an illiterate man could bring forth such beautiful and intense words which spoke of God, the past, the present, the future and setting a complete new way of life for them based on justice, kindness, righteousness and high moral conducts.

 “And this Quran is not such that could be produced by anyone other than God (Allah). On the contrary, it fulfils that revelation which is before it and is an exposition of the perfect Law. There is no doubt about it that it is from the Lord of all the worlds” (10:38)
 
People were and still are challenged to bring some of what is in this book, but they could not.

 “Do they say, `He has forged it ?' Say, `Bring then a chapter like unto it, and call for help on all you can, apart from Allah, if you are truthful” (10:39)
 
“Do they say, `He has forged it ?' Say, `Then bring ten chapters like it forged, and call on whom you can apart from Allah, if you are truthful” (11:14)

They could not take up the challenge and so the book remains unchallenged and forever. If Mohammed is the author of this book, then from where did he get such a confidence that the Quran could not be challenged? Now, this very same book is with us. It says it’s author is the creator of the heavens and the earth and all that is in between, including the human beings and all other living and non-living things:

 “And We have not created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, but with an eternal purpose and for an appointed term, but those who disbelieve turn away from that of which they have been warned” (46:4)

“Do they not realize that Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth and was not wearied by their creation, has the power to bring the dead to life? Yea, verily, HE has the power over all things” (46:34)

“It is HE Who has created you, but some of you are disbelievers and some of you are believers. And Allah sees what you do” (64:3)
 
In the Quran, the author says he knows even what people conceal in their hearts “And surely thy Lord knows what their bosoms conceal and what they disclose” (27:75)

It is not a human characteristic to know "what others conceal in their hearts". Life would be very difficult, if not impossible, if that was the case. If this creator is able to know what people conceal in their hearts, he should also know that:

• Sometime in the future, people would make savage claims such as "The Quran is a hoax, and Mohammed lied so loudly and so forcibly that the ignorant people around him believed in him."
• Some will say Mohammed copied it from previous scriptures.
• Some will say people helped Mohammed produce it.

After all, He is God, the best of planners, a form of existence not limited by time and space, able to know all things, past, present and future. Therefore he should have put in his book proofs strong enough to destroy the above claims to support his messenger and his religion. Therefore we would expect to find in his book words to the effect of:

• No, Mohammed cannot be the author of this book.
• These facts are not in other scriptures.
• No, no one had a previous knowledge of these facts because they were totally new and revolutionary compared to what was circulating in these ages.

As we know the Quran is full of statements which already answered the claims of the likes of Mr Sina, though amazingly these are disregarded as "Mohammed's insecurity". This is where the polemics begin to contradict themselves: Prophet Mohammed if he was the originator of the Quran must have seriously doubted himself if he had already answered the anti-Islamic claims of today, yet according to Mr Sina: "Mohammed lied so loudly and so forcibly" - are these really the signs of a doubter?

The author of the Quran says no other book will be revealed again, as he says Mohammed is his last messenger to mankind. “Mohammed is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Messenger of Allah, and the seal of the Prophets and Allah has full knowledge of all things” (33:41)
 
If Mohammed was the last messenger of the author of the Quran to mankind, and now that he passed away long time ago, who will prove to people coming after him, not knowing Arabic that the book he brought is from God the creator of all? By sending his last messenger to mankind, the author of the book knows very well that the Quran is his last message too, therefore it should be good enough for people of any era, people should find divine inspiration in it regardless of the era in which they exist.  
 
Some people believe the Quran is from God the creator simply by reading it, they find enough self-evidence that shows that. This is especially true for those who already believe in God the creator. Reading the Quran is for them sufficient enough to convince them of it’s origin.
 
The author of the Quran should be omniscient and have an infinite knowledge, and should know that a time will come people will be more inclined to believe in scientific facts. He should have put in his book some proofs of that sort, strong enough showing that what he revealed to his messenger 1400 years ago could not have a human origin.
 
Let’s look if we can find such proofs, which show clearly that a man living in the 7th century could not be the author of the Quran.
 
The proofs or facts should touch all human environment since the author of the Quran says:

“He it is who created for you all that is in the earth; then He turned towards the heavens, and He perfected them as seven heavens; and He has perfect knowledge of all things” (2:30)
 
CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE
 
If the author of the Quran is the creator of the universe, then he certainly knows how this universe was created. When we say “created” we mean originated from nothing, otherwise we cannot talk about creation. We appreciate this comes across as a logical absurdity to our humanist friends, but they too are nothing short of a logical absurdity though it depends on how far into time they wish to go!
 
The questions of how the universe originated, where it leads to, and how the laws maintaining its order and balance work have always been topics of interest. Scientists and thinkers have thought about this subject endlessly and have produced quite a few theories. The prevailing thought until the early 20th century was that the universe had infinite dimensions, that it had existed since eternity, and that it would continue to exist forever. According to this view, called the ‘static universe model’, the universe had neither a beginning nor an end. Laying the groundwork for the materialist philosophy, this view denied the existence of a Creator while it maintained that the universe is a constant, stable, and unchanging collection of matter. Materialism is a system of thought that holds matter to be an absolute being and denies the existence of anything but matter. Having its roots in ancient Greece and gaining ever-increasing acceptance in the 19th century, this system of thought became famous in the shape of the dialectical materialism of Karl Marx.

As we have stated earlier, the static universe model of the 19th century prepared the grounds for the materialist philosophy. In his book Principes Fondamentaux de Philosophie, George Politzer stated concerning the basis of this universe model, that "the universe was not a created object", and added:

"If it were, then it would have to be created instantaneously by God and brought into existence from nothing. To admit creation, one has to admit, in the first place, the existence of a moment when the universe did not exist, and that something came out of nothingness. This is something to which science cannot accede."

When Politzer asserted that the universe was not created out of nothingness, he was relying on the static universe model of the 19th century, and thinking that he was posing a scientific claim. However, the 20th century’s developing science and technology demolished primitive concepts such as the static universe model that laid the grounds for the materialists.
 
Today, on the brink of the 21st century, modern physics has proved with many experiments, observations and calculations that the universe had a beginning and that it was created out of nothing with a big explosion. That the universe had a beginning means that the cosmos was brought into being out of nothing, that is, that it was created. If a created thing exists (which did not exist beforehand), then it certainly should have a Creator. Being from non-being is something inconceivable by the human mind. (Man cannot practically conceive it since he has no chance of experiencing it.) Therefore, being from non-being is very different from bringing objects together to form a new object (such as works of art or technological inventions).
 
The coming of the universe into being from non-being is the greatest proof possible that it has been created. Consideration of this fact will change a lot of things. It helps people understand the meaning of life and review their attitudes and purposes. This is why many scientific communities have tried to disregard the fact of creation, which they could not fully comprehend, even though its evidence was clear to them. The fact that all scientific evidence points to the existence of a Creator has compelled them to invent alternatives to create confusion in the minds of people. Nevertheless, the evidence of science itself puts a definite end to these theories. Now, let us take a brief look at the scientific developmental process through which the universe came about.

THE EXPANSION OF THE UNIVERSE

In 1929, in the California Mount Wilson observatory, an American astronomer by the name of Edwin Hubble made one of the greatest discoveries in the history of astronomy. While he observed the stars with a giant telescope, he found out that the light from them was shifted to the red end of the spectrum and that this shift was more pronounced the further a star was from the earth. This discovery had an electrifying effect in the world of science, because according to the recognized rules of physics, the spectra of light beams traveling towards the point of observation tend towards VIOLET while the spectra of the light beams moving away from the point of observation tend towards RED. During Hubble’s observations, the light from stars was discovered to tend towards RED. This meant that they were constantly moving away from us.
 
Before long, Hubble made another very important discovery: Stars and galaxies moved away not only from us, but also from one another. The only conclusion that could be derived from a universe where everything moves away from everything else is that the universe constantly ‘expands’.
 
In fact, this had been theoretically discovered even earlier. Albert Einstein, who is considered the greatest scientist of the century, had concluded after the calculations he made in theoretical physics that the universe could not be static. However, he had laid his discovery to rest simply not to conflict with the widely recognized static universe model of his time. Later on, Einstein was to identify his act as ‘the greatest mistake of his career’. Subsequently, it became definite by Hubble’s observations that the universe expands.

What importance, then, did the fact that the universe expands have on the existence of the universe? The expansion of the universe implied that if it could travel backwards in time, the universe would prove to have originated from a single point. The calculations showed that this ‘single point’ that harboured all the matter of the universe should have ‘zero volume’ and ‘infinite density’. The universe had come about by the explosion of this single point with zero volume. This great explosion that marked the beginning of the universe was named the ‘Big Bang’ and the theory started to be so called.

It has to be stated that ‘zero volume’ is a theoretical expression used for descriptive purposes. Science can define the concept of ‘nothingness’, which is beyond the limits of human comprehension, only by expressing it as ‘a point with zero volume’. In truth, ‘a point with no volume’ means ‘nothingness’. The universe has come into being from nothingness. In other words, it was created.
 
The Big Bang theory showed that in the beginning all the objects in the universe were of one piece and then were parted. This fact, which was revealed by the Big Bang theory, was stated in the Quran 14 centuries ago, when people had a very limited knowledge about the universe:

“Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of creation), before We clove them asunder? We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?” (21:30)

The above verse states also that every living thing is made of water. The fact that all life originated from water would not have been an easy thing to convince people of fourteen centuries ago. Indeed, if 1400 years ago you had stood in the desert and told someone, "All of this, you see (pointing to yourself), is made up of mostly water," no one would have believed you. Proof of that was not available until the invention of the microscope. They had to wait to find out that cytoplasm, the basic substance of the cell, is made-up of 80% water. From were Mohammed got this information, which needed a microscope to be known? Could he be honestly the author of the Quran?

As stated in the verse, everything, even the ‘heavens and the earth’ that were not yet created, were created with a Big Bang out of a single point, and shaped the present universe by being parted from each other. When we compare the statements in the verse with the Big Bang theory, we see that they fully agree with each other. However, the Big Bang was introduced as a scientific theory only in the 20th century.
 
The expansion of the universe is one of the most important pieces of evidence that the universe was created out of nothing. Although this fact was not discovered by science until the 20th century, the author of the Quran has informed us of this reality 1,400 years ago:

“It is We who have built the universe with (Our creative) power, and, verily, it is We who are steadily EXPANDING IT”. (51:47)

Knowing that until recently, the universe was thought to be static, could honestly, a man living in the 6th century be the author of the Quran?
As clearly seen, the Big Bang theory proved that the universe was ‘created from nothing’, in other words, that it was created by the author of the Quran God (Allah). For this reason, astronomers committed to the materialist philosophy continued to resist the Big Bang and uphold the steady-state theory. The reason for this effort was revealed in the following words of A. S. Eddington, one of the foremost materialist physicists:

"Philosophically, the notion of an abrupt beginning to the present order of Nature is repugnant to me."

Sir Fred Hoyle was one of those who were disturbed by the Big Bang theory. In the middle of the century, Hoyle championed a theory called the steady state, which was similar to the ‘constant universe’ approach of the 19th century. The steady-state theory argued that the universe was both infinite in size and eternal in duration. With the sole visible aim of supporting the materialist philosophy, this theory was totally at variance with the ‘Big Bang’ theory, which held that the universe had a beginning. Those who defended the steady-state theory opposed the Big Bang for a long time. Science, however, was working against them. Some scientists, on the other hand, looked for ways to develop alternatives. In 1948, George Gamov came up with another idea concerning the Big Bang. He stated that after the formation of the universe by a big explosion, a radiation surplus should have existed in the universe left over from this explosion. Moreover, this radiation ought to be uniformly diffused across the universe. This evidence which ‘ought to have existed’ was soon to be found.

MORE EVIDENCE: COSMIC BACKGROUND RADIATION

In 1965, two researchers by the name of Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson discovered these waves by chance. This radiation, called the ‘cosmic background radiation’, did not seem to radiate from a particular source but rather pervaded the whole of space. Thus, it was understood that the heat waves that were radiated uniformly from all around space were left over from the initial stages of the Big Bang. Penzias and Wilson were awarded a Nobel Prize for their discovery. In 1989, NASA sent the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite into space to do research on cosmic background radiation. It took only eight minutes for the sensitive scanners on this satellite to confirm the measurements of Penzias and Wilson. The COBE had found the remains of the big explosion that had taken place at the outset of the universe.
 
Defined as the greatest astronomic discovery of all times, this finding explicitly proved the Big Bang theory. The findings of the COBE satellite, which was sent into space confirmed also the calculations based on the Big Bang.
 
Another important piece of evidence for the Big Bang was the amount of hydrogen and helium in space. In the latest calculations, it was understood that the hydrogen-helium concentration in the universe complied with the theoretical calculations of the hydrogen-helium concentration remaining from the Big Bang. If the universe had no beginning and if it had existed since eternity, its hydrogen constituent should have been completely consumed and converted to helium. All of this compelling evidence caused the Big Bang theory to be embraced by the scientific community. The Big Bang model was the latest point reached by science concerning the formation and beginning of the universe.
Prof. George Abel from the University of California also states that currently available evidence shows that the universe originated billions of years ago with the Big Bang. He concedes that he has no choice but to accept the Big Bang theory.

With the Big Bang’s victory, the concept of ‘eternal matter’ that constituted the basis of the materialist philosophy is thrown into the trash-heap of history. What, then, was before the Big Bang and what was the power that brought the universe into ‘being’ with this big explosion when it was ‘non-existent’? This question certainly implies, in Arthur Eddington’s words, the ‘philosophically unfavourable’ fact for the materialists, that is, the existence of a Creator who happens to be the author of the Quran since HE is the one WHO informed us about it. The renowned atheist philosopher Antony Flew comments on the issue:

"Notoriously, confession is good for the soul. I will therefore begin by confessing that the Stratonician atheist has to be embarrassed by the contemporary cosmological consensus. For it seems that the cosmologists are providing a scientific proof of what St. Thomas contended could not be proved philosophically; namely, that the universe had a beginning. So long as the universe can be comfortably thought of as being not only without end but also without beginning, it remains easy to urge that its brute existence, and whatever are found to be its most fundamental features, should be accepted as the explanatory ultimate. Although I believe that it remains still correct, it certainly is neither easy nor comfortable to maintain this position in the face of the Big Bang story."

Many scientists who do not blindly condition themselves to be atheists have admitted the role of an almighty Creator in the creation of the universe. This Creator must be a being Who has created both matter and time, yet Who is independent of both. Well-known astrophysicist Hugh Ross has this to say:

"If time’s beginning is concurrent with the beginning of the universe, as the space-theorem says, then the cause of the universe must be some entity operating in a time dimension completely independent of and pre-existent to the time dimension of the cosmos. This conclusion is powerfully important to our understanding of who God is and who or what God isn’t. It tells us that God is not the universe itself, nor is God contained within the universe."

Matter and time are created by the Almighty Creator who is independent of all these notions. This Creator is Allah (The-God) the author of the Quran, Who is the Lord of the heavens and the earth.

DELICATE BALANCES IN SPACE

In truth, the Big Bang caused much greater trouble for the materialists than the above confessions of the atheist philosopher, Antony Flew. For the Big Bang not only proves that the universe was created out of nothing, but also that it was brought into being in a very planned, systematic and controlled manner.

The Big Bang took place with the explosion of the point, which contained all the matter, and energy of the universe and its dispersion into space in all directions with a terrifying speed. Out of this matter and energy, there came about a great balance containing galaxies, stars, the sun, the earth and all other heavenly bodies. Moreover, laws were formed called the ‘laws of physics’, which are uniform throughout the whole universe and do not change. All these indicate that a perfect order arose after the Big Bang. Explosions, however, do not bring about order. All of the observable explosions tend to harm, disintegrate, and destroy what is present. For example, the atom and hydrogen bomb explosions, fire-damp explosions, volcanic explosions, natural gas explosions, solar explosions: they all have destructive effects. If we were to be introduced to a very detailed order after an explosion - for instance, if an explosion under the ground gave rise to perfect works of art, huge palaces, or imposing houses - we might conclude that there was a ‘supernatural’ intervention behind this explosion and that all the pieces dispersed by the explosion had been made to move in a very controlled way.

The quote from Sir Fred Hoyle, who accepted his mistake after many years of opposition to the Big Bang Theory, expresses this situation very well:

"The big bang theory holds that the universe began with a single explosion. Yet as can be seen below, an explosion merely throws matter apart, while the big bang has mysteriously produced the opposite effect - with matter clumping together in the form of galaxies".

While stating that the Big Bang’s giving way to order is contradictory, he surely interprets the Big Bang with a materialistic bias and assumes that this was an ‘uncontrolled explosion’. He, however, was in reality the one who became self-contradictory by making such a statement simply to dismiss the existence of a Creator. For if a great order arose with an explosion, then the concept of an ‘uncontrolled explosion’ should have been set aside and it should be accepted that the explosion was extraordinarily controlled.
 
Another aspect of this extraordinary order formed in the universe following the Big Bang is the creation of a ‘habitable universe’. The conditions for the formation of a habitable planet are so many and so complex that it is almost impossible to think that this formation is coincidental. Paul Davies, a renowned professor of theoretical physics, calculated how ‘fine tuned’ the pace of expansion after the Big Bang was, and he reached an incredible conclusion. According to Davies, if the rate of expansion after the Big Bang had been different even by the ratio of one over a billion times a billion, no habitable star type would have been formed:

"Careful measurement puts the rate of expansion very close to a critical value at which the universe will just escape its own gravity and expand forever. A little slower and the cosmos would collapse, a little faster and the cosmic material would have long ago completely dispersed. It is interesting to ask precisely how delicately the rate of expansion has been ‘fine-tuned’ to fall on this narrow dividing line between two catastrophes. If at time I S (by which time the pattern of expansion was already firmly established) the expansion rate had differed from its actual value by more than 10-18, it would have been sufficient to throw the delicate balance out. The explosive vigour of the universe is thus matched with almost unbelievable accuracy to its gravitating power. The big bang was not, evidently, any old bang, but an explosion of exquisitely arranged magnitude. The laws of physics that emerged together with the Big Bang did not change at all over a period of 15 billion years. Furthermore, these laws stand on calculations so scrupulous that even a millimetre’s variation from their current values can result in the destruction of the whole structure and configuration of the universe."

The famous physicist Prof. Stephen Hawking states in his book A Brief History of Time, that the universe is set on calculations and balances more finely tuned than we can conceive. Hawking states with reference to the rate of expansion of the universe:

"Why did the universe start out with so nearly the critical rate of expansion that separates models that re-collapse from those that go on expanding forever, so that even now, ten thousand million years later, it is still expanding at nearly the critical rate? If the rate of expansion one second after the big bang had been smaller by even one part in a hundred thousand million million, the universe would have re-collapsed before it ever reached its present size."

Paul Davies also explains the unavoidable consequence to be derived from these incredibly precise balances and calculations:

"It is hard to resist the impression that the present structure of the universe, apparently so sensitive to minor alterations in the numbers, has been rather carefully thought out… The seemingly miraculous concurrence of numerical values that nature has assigned to her fundamental constants must remain the most compelling evidence for an element of cosmic design."

The author of the Quran, the creator, refers to His creation:

“He it is Who has created the heavens and the earth with truth, and on the day He says: Be, it is. His word is the truth” (Surat al-An’am, 73)
 
This matchless plan and order in the universe certainly proves the existence of a Creator with infinite knowledge, might and wisdom, Who has created matter from nothing and Who controls and manages it incessantly. This Creator is Allah, the author of the Quran, the Lord of the heavens, the earth and all that is in between.

“Allah - there is no god save Him, the Living, the Self-Subsisting and All-Sustaining. Slumber seizes him not, nor sleep. To Him belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth. Who is he that dare intercede with him save by his permission? He knows what is before them and what is behind them; and they encompass nothing of His knowledge, except what He pleases. His knowledge extends over the heavens and the earth; and the care of them wearies Him not; and He is the High, the Great” (2:256)
 
All these facts also show us how the claims of the materialist philosophy, which is simply a 19th century dogma, are invalidated by 20th century science. By exposing the great plan, design and order prevalent in the universe, modern science has proved the existence of a Creator Who has created and rules all beings: that is, Allah.
 
Holding sway over a great number of people for centuries and having even disguised itself with the mask of ‘science’, materialism, by deeming everything to consist of nothing but matter, has made a great mistake and denied the existence of Allah, Who created and ordered matter from nothing. One day, materialism will be remembered in history as a primitive and superstitious belief opposing both reason and science.
 
The creation of the universe from a big bang and it’s expansion are scientific facts known until recently:

1.) People at the time of Mohammed did not know of such a things because they did not have the technology to make such discoveries, so he could not have taken this knowledge from them.
2.) There is no mention of them in the previous scriptures so he could copy from them.
3.) Mohammed himself did not have the capacity to state such important things he cannot know for sure he will not be contradicted.
 
The statement in the Quran (1400 years ago) that the creation of the universe was created from a single point and that it expands after the explosion, are facts strong enough to demonstrate that the author of the Quran cannot be someone else other than the creator of the universe himself, implicitly it demonstrates that Mohammed is the messenger of this creator and that the creator exists and cannot be denied.

THE BIRTH OF MAN

Many diverse subjects are mentioned in the Quran in the course of inviting people to believe. Sometimes the heavens, sometimes the animals, and sometimes the plants are shown as evidence to man by the author of the Quran Allah. In many of the verses, people are called upon to turn their attention to their own creation. They are often reminded how man has come into the world, which stages he has passed through and what his essence is:

It is We Who have created you. Why, then, do you not accept the truth? Have you ever considered that (seed) which you emit? Is it you who create it? Or are We the Creator? (56:57-59)

The creation of man and the miraculous aspect of this, is stressed in many other verses. Some bits of information within these verses are so detailed that it is impossible for a person living in the 7th century to have known them. Some of them are as follows:

1.) Man is not created from the complete semen, but from a very small portion of it (sperm).
2.) It is the male that determines the sex of the baby.
3.) The human embryo adheres to the uterus of the mother like a leech.
4.) The human develops in three dark regions in the uterus.

People living in the age when the Quran was revealed, to be sure, knew that the basic substance of birth was related to the semen of the male emitted during sexual intercourse. And the fact that the baby was born after a nine-month period was obviously an observable event not calling for any further investigation. However, the bits of information quoted above were far above the level of learning of the people living in that period. These could only be verified by 20th century science.

Now, let us go over them one by one.

A Drop of Semen

During sexual intercourse, 250 million sperm cells are emitted from the male at a time. The sperms undertake an arduous 5-minute journey in the mother's body until they make it to the ovum. Only a thousand out of 250 million sperms succeed in reaching the ovum. The ovum, the size of half a grain of salt, will let only one of the sperms in. That is, the essence of man is not the whole semen but only a small portion of it. This is explained in the Quran:
 
Does man think that he will be left uncontrolled, (without purpose)? Was he not a drop of sperm emitted (in lowly form)? (75:36-37)

As we have seen, the Quran informs us that man is made not from the complete semen but only a small part of it. That the particular emphasis in this statement announces a fact only discovered by modern science is evidence that the statement is of divine in origin.
 
The Mixture in the Semen

The fluid called semen does not consist of sperms alone. On the contrary, it is made up of a mixture of different fluids. These fluids have functions such as containing the sugar necessary for providing energy for the sperms, neutralizing the acids at the entrance of the uterus and creating the slippery environment for the easy movement of the sperms. Interestingly enough, when semen is mentioned in the Quran, this fact, which is discovered by modern science, is also referred to and the semen is defined as a mixed fluid:

Verily We created Man from a drop of mingled sperm, in order to try him: So We gave him (the gifts), of hearing and sight. (76:2)

In another verse, the semen is again referred to as a mixture and it is stressed that man is created from the "essence" of this mixture:

He Who has made everything which He has created most good: He began the creation of man with clay, and made his progeny from a quintessence of the nature of a fluid despised. (32:7-8)

The Arabic word "sulala", translated as "quintessence", means the essential or best part of something. By either implication, it means "part of a whole". This shows that the Quran is the word of a Will that knows the creation of man down to its slightest detail. This Will is the Creator of man.
 
Determining a Baby's Sex

Until fairly recently it was thought that a baby's sex was determined by the male and female genes together. The improving disciplines of genetics and microbiology proved in the 20th century that the female has no role in the process. Two of the 46 chromosomes that determine the structure of a human being are the sex chromosomes. These chromosomes are called "XY" in males and "XX" in females, because the shapes of the chromosomes resemble these letters. The Y chromosome is the one that carries all the specifically male genes. The formation of an infant starts by the uniting of two chromosomes: one from the father and one from the mother. Because a female only has X chromosomes, her reproductive cells (ova) will contain only those. Males on the other hand, have both X and Y chromosomes, so half of their reproductive cells (sperms) will be X and the other half Y. If an ovum unites with a sperm containing an X chromosome, the offspring is female; if it unites with one containing a Y chromosome, the offspring is male.

In other words, a babies sex is determined by which (X or Y) chromosome from the male unites with the chromosome from the female. None of this was known until the discovery of genetics in the 20th century. Indeed, in many cultures it was believed that a baby's sex was determined by the condition (health, etc.) of the mother's body. That was why women were blamed when they had girls. This primitive belief is still common amongst Hindu's in India. The burying of baby girls was one of the customs The Prophet came to abolish:

To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. He creates what He wills. He bestows female children to whomever He wills and bestows male children to whomever He wills. (42:49)

When news is brought to one of them of the birth of a female child, his face darkens and he is filled with inward grief. With shame does he hide himself from his people because of the bad news he has had! Shall he retain her on contempt or bury her in the dust? Ah! what an evil they decide on? (16:59)

14 centuries before the genes were discovered, the Quran, however, revealed information that condemned the Pagan Arabs. In a verse it is stated that maleness or femaleness is created from a drop of semen: that is, the source of the sexes is not the woman but the man.

... He did create in pairs, male and female, from a drop of sperm as it is poured forth. (53:45-46)

The clot clinging to the uterus

When the sperm of the male unites with the ovum of the female as described above, the essence of the baby to be born is formed. This single cell, known as the "zygote" in biology, will instantly start to reproduce by dividing and eventually become a "piece of flesh". The zygote, however, does not spend its developmental period in a void. It clings to the uterus just like roots that are firmly fixed to the earth by their tendrils. Through this bond, the zygote can obtain the substances essential to its development from the mother's body. Such a detail could not have been known without a sound knowledge of medicine. It is obvious that no one possessed such knowledge 14 centuries ago. Interestingly enough, Allah always refers to the zygote developing in the mother's womb as "a clot of blood" in the Quran:

Read! In the name of your Sustainer, who has created man from a clot. Read – for your Sustainer is the Most Bounteous. (96:1-3)

Does man think that he will be left uncontrolled, (without purpose)? Was he not a drop of sperm emitted (in lowly form)? Then he became a clot; then Allah made and fashioned him in due proportion. And made of him a pair, the male and the female. (75:36-39)

The Arabic meaning of the word "clot" is "a thing that clings to some place". The word is literally used to describe leeches that cling to a body to suck blood. It is obviously the best word possible to describe the zygote that clings to the wall of the uterus and absorbs its sustenance from it.
The Quran has more to disclose about the zygote. Perfectly clinging to the uterus, the zygote starts to develop. The uterus of the mother, meanwhile, is filled with a fluid called the "amnion liquid" that surrounds the zygote. The most important feature of the amnion liquid in which the baby develops is to protect the baby against blows coming from outside. In the Quran, this fact is revealed as follows:

Did We not create you from a base fluid which We placed in a safe place, firmly fixed? (77:20-21)
 
Man We did create from a quintessence of clay. Then We placed him as (a drop of) sperm in a safe place of rest. Then We made the drop a clot; then of that clot We made a lump of flesh; then we made out of that lump of flesh bones and clothed the bones with flesh; then we brought this into being as a new creation. So blessed be Allah, the best to create! (23:12-14)
 
All the information about creation of human above:

- Was not known at Muhammad’s time so he could not have "copied" it.
- Does not exist in the scriptures that came before him that he can also copy it from there.
- Needed techniques and instruments not existing in Mohammed's time.
 
Therefore, we can say without the slightest doubt that the author of the Quran is the same one who created man and sent Mohammed as a messenger to mankind.
 
“And thou didst not recite any Book before the Quran, nor didst thou write one with thy right hand; in that case the liars would have had cause to doubt” (29:49)

“Nay, it is a collection of clear Signs in the hearts of those who are given knowledge. And none but the wrongdoers deny Our Signs” (29:50)
 
“Verily in the heavens and the earth, are signs for those who believe. And in the creation of yourselves and the fact that animals are scattered (through the earth), are signs for those of assured faith. And in the alteration of night and day, and the fact that Allah sends down sustenance from the sky, and revives therewith the earth after its death, and in the change of the winds, - are signs for those that are wise. Such are the signs of Allah, which we rehearse to thee in truth: then in what exposition will they believe after Allah and his signs? (45:3-6)
 
“And when Our clear Signs are recited unto them, those who hope not for the meeting with Us say, `Bring a Quran other than this or change it.' Say, `It is not for me to change it of my own accord. I only follow what is revealed to me. Indeed, I fear, if I disobey my Lord, the punishment of an awful day” (10:16)
 

Based on the works by Harun Yahya.

Part 2