In the name of Allāh,
the Beneficent, the Merciful.
Peace and Blessings of Allāh on Mohammad.
DEDICATED TO
Allāh–the Glorious and the High,
Lord of the worlds
AND TO
Mohammad–who brought the world
to our feet and eternity to our arms
*

CONTENTS:
1. Qur’an is poor science
2. Atheism an insult to intellect
3. Allah refers to people as cattle
4. Mohammad says to kill dogs
5. Writing a chapter like that of the Qur’an

                                      P R E A M B L E
One individual on the Internet calling himself “Apostate Prophet” says the Qur’an is a Book of “poor science.” He takes verses (or pieces of verses) of the Qur’an out of context and seem ignorant, or not care, that not all the verses of the Qur’an are of literal meaning; some are literal others are allegorical which includes parables and metaphors/figurative expressions:
“He (Allāh) it is Who has revealed the Book to thee; some of its verses are decisive — they are the basis of the Book — and others are allegorical. Then those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part of it which is allegorical, seeking to mislead, and seeking to give it (their own) interpretation. And none knows its interpretation save Allāh, and those firmly rooted in knowledge. They say: We believe in it, it is all from our Lord. And none mind except men of understanding”–(Qur’an 3:7).
The verses of the Qur’an that are applicable to our practice of Islam –for our moral, social, intellectual and spiritual upliftment– through which we will achieve a life of peace and bliss in the Hereafter are of literal meaning and are clearly expressed.
Verses of allegorical meaning are understood by people of advanced learning  (much like a legal document requires people of higher knowledge to interpret).

In his translation of the Qur’an, Muhammad Ali has given a background to verses of the Qur’an and also explains Arabic words/terms and verses. And in his preliminary notes he has given the history of the Qur’an including the collecting and arrangement of verses –his preliminary notes is a King Solomon’s mine of information. His translation of the Qur’an can be viewed/downloaded www.muslim.org.

The Qur’an is not a story-book like a novel or other book that narrates details in sequence. The Qur’an extols the power, mercy, greatness and grandeur of Allāh; it restates the message given to past prophets, answers questions and gives guidance for our moral, social, intellectual and spiritual advancement. And it repeats the same teaching in more than one place which serves as a reminder. (This is why the first-time reader might find the Qur’an confusing. More on this at the end).
Also some verses are directed mainly to people of the time –such as the irrationality of polytheism, the futility and degradation of idolatry; abomination of female infanticide (burying daughters alive); taking women against their will and inheriting your father’s wife/wives–
-verses about Allāh’s favor to Jews and their breaking their covenant with God;
-verses about Christians straying from Jesus’ clear teaching (that he was sent wholly and solely to the Children of Israel) and conferring Divinity onto Jesus and his mother, Mary (Mariolatry);
-and verses directed to future generations –such as Allāh saving Pharaoh’s drowned body from corruption as a sign (Qur’an 10:90-92)- and teachings on science that no human in Mohammad’s time could have known, proving that the Qur’an could only have emanated from a Divine source.

Muslims are not to be overwhelmed by Apostate Prophet, and by Christians and other critics. They are vast on text and void on substance. If you do not understand verse(s) of the Qur’an and/or Hadith leave it aside.
Critics are so dedicated to misleading Muslims, they have produced a “Fake American Qur’an” which they dumped in Kuwait and parading online as The True Furqan. They adulterate their Book of God left, right and centre and fumble the Qur’an. The anti-Islam deception is depthless, desperate and depraved. And Divinely doomed: “He (Allāh) it is Who has sent His Messenger (Mohammad) with the guidance and the Religion of Truth (Islam) that He may make it prevail over all religions, though the polytheists are averse”–(Qur’an 9:33; 48:28; 61:9. This Divine decree is already realized. Islam has more adherents than any other religion. See Christianity does not exist). Fourteen hundred years and the haters of truth are yet trying to put out the Light of Allāh.

Without doubt, critics’ objective is to have Muslims apostatize from Islam though they cannot prove their own religion (or any other religion, including atheism) superior to, or equal with, Islam!
******************************************************

        1. POOR SCIENCE IN THE QUR’AN
                                 (See also see Qur’an is perfectly preserved).
Whereas Apostate Prophet charges that Qur’anic statements on science are “poor,” Maurice Bucaille, a French medical doctor, in his book The Bible The Qur’an And Science observes that the Qur’anic teachings on Science are in “perfect agreement” with today’s science. As well as the Authenticity of the Qur’an, The Creation of the Heavens and the Earth, Astronomy in the Qur’an, The Earth, The Animal and Vegetable Kingdoms and Human Reproduction. (The Bible, The Qur’an And Science, pp.110-210; obtainable from https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=the+bible+the+ qur%27an +and+ science &ref=nb_sb_noss
What needs to be borne in mind is that the Qur’an is not a treatise on any subject. It only highlights certain truths for our elucidation.

The most notable of these claims by Apostate Prophet are (1) the Qur’an says the earth is flat (2) the sun sets in a muddy pool (3) Allāh splitting the moon (4) embryology in the Qur’an is wrong (5) sperm comes from between backbone and ribs (6) cow produce milk between blood and excretion (7) all things created in pairs (8) plants and fruits in pairs (9) barrier between salt and fresh water and (10) only eight types of livestock in creation. Which I will address first. (In the following AP refers to this “Apostate Prophet”).
PLEASE NOTE: When checking Qur’anic references please check a few verses before or after the one(s) noted, as numbering varies among translators. Thank you.

1. FLAT EARTH: AP notes Qur’an 13:3; 15:19; 2:22; 20:53; 88:20; 55:17; 71:19.

ANSWER:
Earth spread out like a carpet. From a human perspective the earth does appear spread out and flat (and very comfortable). However, since the Earth’s “substrata are very hot” to life, this “carpet”, a “solidified shell”, is the “Earth’s crust” to enable us to live–(Maurice Bucaille, The Bible The Qur’an And Science, pp.181-182).

 That the Qur’an teaches the earth is SPHERICAL: Allāh says He is the “Lord of the two Easts, and Lord of the two Wests”–(Qur’an 55:17).  “The two Easts and the two Wests signify the different points of the horizon at which the sun rises and sets at the summer and winter solstice. In modern terminology, the two Easts are the near or the Middle East and the Far East; the two Wests are Europe and America”–(M. Ali comm.). There could only be “two” rising points of the sun and “two” setting points of the sun if the earth is spherical.

Again, Allah says He is “The Lord of every point at the rising of the sun” and  “The Lord of all points in the East and the West”–(Qur’an 37:5; 70:40).  
As the earth rotates every new point on it gains light (becomes day) while every corresponding point loses light (becomes night). Thus every point is an “east” and a “west” giving many “easts” and many “wests”. The sun could only have several points of rising (and setting) if the earth is spherical.

   The sun is 93 million miles away from the earth and almost 110 times the size of the earth; thus its light is diffused over a wide expanse of space.
Conduct this experiment. Place a book (flat earth) on a table. Hold a lighted flashlight (the sun) some distance away from the table and slowly raise it (simulating sunrise).You will see that light is spread over the entire top of the book (because it is a flat surface). Now place a ball (spherical earth) on top of the table and repeat the “sunrise” motion of the flashlight. You will see that only the portion of the ball facing the light is lighted (because it is a sphere). Now have someone slowly rotate the ball. You will see that, at the two extremities of the light on the ball, every point that was dark becomes lighted and correspondingly every point that was lighted becomes dark. Thus every new point that is lighted is a new “east” and every new point that becomes dark is a new “west.” Thus we have numberless Easts and Wests, confirming the fact that the Qur’an teaches that the earth is a sphere.  (Christopher Columbus was convinced the earth was spheroid when he saw the globe at a University in Muslim Spain).

2. SUN SETS IN MUDDY POOL: AP notes Qur’an 18:86.

ANSWER:
Sura 18:83-90 states Dhul-qarnain “reached the setting-place of the sun, he found it going down into a black sea….he reached the (land of) the rising sun, he found it rising on a people to whom We have given no shelter  from it”.  And the Prophet said the sun sets in a spring of water.
   It is fatuous to take the setting and rising place of the sun literally; seeing Allāh reveals the sun and moon floats in orbits–(Qur’an 21:33; 36:40). Though the sun does not rise and set; one would certainly say the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. And if a mountain should be at the point where the sun descends, one would say he saw the sun setting behind the mountain. (Allāh only recounts what Dhul-qarnain saw).
All the verse is saying is that at evening Dhul-qarnain going west (“setting-place of the sun”) came to a sea/body of water. –(Muhammad Ali has detailed Dhul-qarnain; his translation of the Qur’an can be viewed/downloaded at: www.muslims.org. Please read it).

It is puerile to cerebrate that Allāh would try to have the Arabs believe in Him by telling them that the sun actually sets in a sea/lake when the Arabs could see it set in the sand/desert and without any sign of water.  (Instead of gaining believers Allah would be gaining rejecters. And the rabid opponents of Islam/Mohammad would reap a bonanza convincing the idolaters/polytheists that Mohammad was “mad”).
Moreover, that the Arabs did not question Mohammad as to how is it that the sun goes down into the water and is not doused –and they could tell it is a body of fire because of its heat, and day in and day out– and not even lose its heat but that they have to daily suffer ninety-plus degrees temperature. Especially on the day when Mohammad scripted them for the expedition to Tabuk –to stem the threat of a Roman attack– complaining to Mohammad that it was “hot.”
Evidently, the unsophisticated idolaters/polytheists understood the correct/proper import of the verse.
It is even beneath childishness for “intellectuals” to take this setting of the sun in a “muddy pool” literally.

All prophets of God obeyed the laws of God. They were thus, Muslims. If Alexander was a prophet or followed the teachings of the prophets, he also would be obedient to the laws of God, and would be a Muslim. Whether Dhul-qarnain was a Muslim or not is of no consequence. What is significant is that the incidents recounted in the Qur’an should prove to be historically accurate.

If the Qur’an was not all Divine revelation, it must be the “Mother” of all miracles that this Seventh-century, unschooled, “insincere” and “self-deluded” denizen of the desert taught the highest ideals in matters moral, social, spiritual and intellectual; gave accurate prophecies that manifested in his own lifetime; and made unerring scientific pronouncements that are in keeping with Twentieth-century discoveries.
Yusuf Ali has devoted an impressive five-page Appendix to this topic at the end of chapter 18.

3. SPLITTING MOON: AP says if this was a fact people in certain parts of the world would have seen it; but there is no record of it anywhere in the world.

ANSWER:
But this presupposes that people in other parts of the world were out watching the moon at that specific time and that the splitting was for a prolonged while. Also whereas in our time we have rapid communication, in the Seventh Century it took people perhaps weeks or months for international communication to verify others had seen this phenomenon. Or perhaps those who saw it thought their eyes were playing tricks on them. However.

   The disbelievers wanted to see a sign. So the Prophet split the moon–(Qur’an 54:1-2. Bokhari Vol. 6, #’s 387-390).
In all likelihood splitting of the moon was a vision to the skeptics –as in the vision Allāh showed the Prophet and the disbelievers in the Battle of Badr (Qur’an 3:12; 8:43-44). It does not seem reasonable Allāh would fracture the moon to impress a few skeptics into accepting Him as their God –these Idolaters probably heard of the many miracles Moses and Christ performed and yet did not accept Moses and/or Christ; but consider the miracles as “enchantment” which they consider the splitting of the moon to be: “And if they see a sign, they turn away and say: Strong enchantment”–(Qur’an 54:2).

   However, arguably, if God can take Elijah in a chariot of fire into heaven and can still the sun and moon for Joshua and for almost a “whole day” (which would cause everything to fly off the earth, including Joshua)–(2 Kings 2:11; Joshua 10:12-13) –and nowhere in the world is it recorded the sun and moon ever stood still and this was a more dramatic event than moon-splitting– surely Allāh can split the moon for a fraction, without any aberration of physics, for the critics to see.

4. AP notes Qur’an 23:14 embryology (Qur’an says flesh formed after bones).

ANSWER:
As stated the Qur’an is not a treatise on any subject. Verses dealing with the same topic do not always give every detail in every instance or list the stages in sequence. Verses on this topic are Qur’an 22:5; 40:67; 75:36-39; 82:7-8.

  Qur’an 22:5 reads: “We created you from dust, then from a small life-germ, then from a clot, then from a lump of flesh, complete in make and incomplete…”
Qur’an 23:12-14 states: “Man We did create from a quintessence (of clay); then We placed him as (a drop of) sperm in a place of rest, firmly fixed; Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood; Then of that clot (alaqa) We made a (foetus) lump (mudgha); then We made out of that lump (mudgha) bones and clothed the bones with flesh (lahm); then We developed out of it another creature.”

   The sperm (and ovum) are in a state of “congealed blood” (a “clot” or somewhat jelled substance), then the “congealed blood” is transformed into another substance (not yet flesh) which looked like something chewed (“mudgha”) which would reflect Qur’an 22:5 that the “clot” is made into a “lump of flesh complete in make and incomplete” (i.e. in being “complete in make and incomplete” it is in a state between “clot” and “flesh”); then bones are developed in this “mudgha,” followed by the bone skeletal clothed with “flesh” (“lahm”) which the “mudgha” was transformed into. (The Arabic word “lahm” means “flesh”).

   In summary, the clot is transformed into a state between clot and flesh (mudgha), then the nucleus of the bones is formed in this state (between clot and flesh, “mudgha”) then the skeletal is clothed with flesh (“lahm”) which the clot has been fully transformed into. This Qur’anic teaching of the development of the fetus is in accordance with modern findings. (See Maurice Bucaille The Bible, The Qur’an And Science  obtainable from Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=the+bible+the+qur%27an +and+ science&ref=nb_sb_noss
   (Notably the word ‘alaq in the verse (Qur’an 23:12-14) which is rendered “congealed blood” (and also rendered as “blood clot” and as “adhesion” by some translators), is an incorrect translation, the correct translation of ‘alaq as noted by Maurice Bucaille is “something which clings”–(Ibid; p.204).

Allāh also tells us that the fetus in the womb is covered in three layers of darkness–(Qur’an 39:6). These three layers of darkness in which the fetus are enclosed are the decidua (a membrane “which lies between the wall of the uterus and the developing embryo”), the amnion (“a membrane forming a fluid-filled cavity (the amniotic sac) that encloses the embryo”) and the chorion (the outermost membrane of the embryo”) (see Ency. Britannica for full descriptions).
Whereas materials by Aristotle and Hippocrates are assumptions. The Qur’an is definitive –naming “sperm”; quantity required to fertilize; “mingled liquids” (sperm and ovum); a thing that “clings;” a thing “chewed”; stages of fetal development; fetus covered in “three veils”. Which are only modern discoveries and which could not have been seen with the naked eye –and the microscope was invented only around 1590. How then it is claimed the Qur’an borrowed from Greek Embryology?

                            5. AP notes Qur’an 86:6-7 sperm comes from between  the backbone and ribs.

ANSWER
The common translation of Qur’an 86:6-7 is “He (man) is created of water pouring forth, Coming from between the back and the ribs”.
Muhammad Ali points out: “The expression between the back and the ribs is a euphemism.” And Maurice Bucaille explains: “Spermatic liquid is formed by various secretions which come from the following (he gave details on) “the testicles,” “the seminal vesicles,” “the prostate gland,” and “the glands annexed to the urinary tract.” (p. 202).

The Arabic sulb indicates “sexual area” of man and tara’ib the “sexual area” of woman. The proper translation of Qur’an 86:6-7 would seem to be: “(Man) was fashioned from a liquid poured out. It issued (as a result) of the sexual area of the man and the sexual area of the woman” Thus, man is created from water pouring forth from the “sexual area” of man and the “sexual area” of woman–(See Maurice Bucaille, The Bible, The Qur’an And Science, p.208):
Questions for AP and all atheists: Who design the seed/sperm that you emit? Who grow the seed you sow? Who bring from the cloud the water that you drink? Who produce the trees for your fire?–(Qur’an 56:58-72).

6. AP notes Qur’an 16:66, cows produce milk between blood and excretion.

ANSWER
Maurice Bucaille points out that the Qur’anic statement should rightly be translated that milk comes from a “conjunction between the contents of the intestines and the blood”; that the Qur’anic teaching on milk production is in keeping with modern discoveries in “chemistry and physiology”–(The Bible, The Qur’an And Science, pp. 195-197).

7. AP notes Qur’an 51:49, All things created in pairs (What about asexual).

ANSWER
Allāh revealed: “Glory be to Him Who created pairs of all things, of what the earth grows, and of their kind and of what they know not!”–(Qur’an 36:36). That the Qur’an does not mention/detail everything then the Qur’an/Allāh is lacking is infantile. If all the trees were pens, and the sea with seven more seas added to it were ink, to write the words of Allāh, they would be exhausted before the words of Allah would be exhausted–(Qur’an 31:27; 18:109).
As noted in the next item. There are “two methods” of generating, sexual and asexual.
Sexual is the producing from a male and a female of a new item with individual genetic make-up.
Asexual is not a producing of a new item from a pair, it is duplication/fragmentation of self and has no individual genetic make-up, and thus not regarded as reproduction.

Maurice Bucaille explains in his book The Bible The Qur’an And Science: “One must bear in mind that there are two methods of reproduction in the vegetable kingdom: one sexual, the other asexual. It is only the first which in fact deserves the term ‘reproduction’, because this defines a biological process whose purpose is the appearance of a new individual identical to the one that gave it birth.” “Asexual reproduction is quite simply multiplication. It is the result of the fragmentation of an organism which has separated from the main plant and developed in such a way as to resemble the plant from which it came. It is considered by Guilliermond and Mangenot to be a ‘special case of growth’.” (p. 188).

8. AP notes Qur’an 13:3; 36:36 plants and fruits in pairs (Asexual in fruits, no male and female fruit)

ANSWER
There are “two methods” of generating in plants, sexual and asexual. Sexual is the producing of a new item from a pair. Asexual is not a producing of a new item from a pair it is duplication/fragmentation of self. (Notably, seeds results from “sexual reproduction”).
Some fruits like bananas, figs and oranges can come from both “non-fertilized flowers” as well as from plants with “sexual characteristics”.  Teachings of the Qur’an on Reproduction in the Vegetable Kingdom are in “perfect agreement with modern science”–(Maurice Bucaille The Bible, The Qur’an And Science  obtainable from Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=the+bible +the+qur%27an +and+ science&ref=nb_sb_noss).

9. AP notes Qur’an 55:19-20; 25:53; 27:61, barrier between seas, one salt water one sweet water.

ANSWER
The verses read: “He (Allāh) has made the two seas to flow freely – they meet : Between them is a barrier which they cannot pass”–(Qur’an 55:19-20).
It is ludicrous to assert that this barrier could be a land mass between two bodies of water. This could hardly be regarded as a phenomenon. And moreover, as the verse says they flow “freely” and they “meet”; it would be pointless to say they “meet” if there was a land barrier between them.
The phenomenon of salt and fresh water not mixing refers to their “immediate mixing” –at the “estuary”. This mixing of the two waters usually occur “far out at sea.” As distance lengthens and volume increases and turbulence ensues, mixing is inevitable.
What is most significant is, whether the barrier between these two waters is ten feet or a thousand feet long, for an unschooled Seventh Century dweller of the desert to make such accurate statement, and without aerial aid, this is not remarkable: this is miracle!

Allāh also tells us that deep seas have internal waves: “(The state of the disbelievers) is like the darkness in the deep sea –there covers him a wave, above which is a wave, above which is  cloud– (layers of) darkness one above the other –when he holds out his hand, he is almost unable to see it” –Qur’an 24:39-40).
This is another modern discovery by scientists using “special equipment and submarines”–(A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam, pp. 20-21. www.islam-guide.com).

10. AP notes Qur’an 39:6; 6:143-144, Qur’an teaches about only eight types of livestock.

ANSWER
The Arabic word an-am means cattle. These verses are not about the entire cattle kingdom. Section 17 of chapter 6 is about the Idolaters self-imposed prohibition against eating certain animals in certain cases. Verses 143-144 condemn this as superstition. The eight types (actually four, counting males and females) are the cow, camel, sheep and goat. These eight types of cattle are mentioned in particular because, seemingly, they are the most useful to man.
Camel is eaten in many countries today; its meat is said to be high in polyunsaturated fats and its milk contains “sufficient levels of insulin” to “help prevent” and “perhaps treat”, both types 1 and 2 diabetes.

11. AP notes Qur’an 37:6; 67:5; 41:12, Stars are adornment.

ANSWER:
Aren’t the stars objects of beauty; especially on a dark summer night?
Qur’an 37:6 reads planets instead of stars. It is possible “lowest heaven” means “solar system.” Commenting on “lowest heaven” mentioned in several verses, seemingly, there is not enough “scientific data” to shed light on a subject that “goes beyond human understanding”–(Maurice Bucaille, The Bible The Qur’an And Science, pp. 157-158. Very informative comment. The Bible, The Qur’an And Science: https://www.amazon.ca/s?k =the+ bible+the+qur%27an+and+ science&ref=nbsb_noss).
Perhaps the entire starry creation is the “lower heaven.” (More on this in item #14 dealing with the seven heavens).

Notably,  Allah also tells us about the expansion of the universe  (Qur’an 51:47).
“The expansion of the Universe is the most imposing discovery of modern science….‘Heaven’ is the translation of the word samā’ and this is exactly the extra-terrestrial world that is meant, ‘We are expanding it’ is the translation of the plural present participle musi’ūna of the verb ausa’a meaning ‘to make wider, more spacious, to extend, to expand’”–(Maurice Bucaille, The Bible, The Qur’an And Science, pp. 166-167).
MB also points that some translators unable to grasp the meaning of the verse gave erroneous translations. That there were some who sensed the true meaning but were “afraid to commit themselves”; one speaks of the expansion of  heavens and space “but includes a question mark”; while there are those with “authorized scientific opinion” who give the correct meaning. And that the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Cairo, refers to the expansion of the Universe in “totally unambiguous terms.”

12. AP notes Qur’an 67:5-7; 37:6-10; 15:17-18, Stars are missiles thrown at devils (which is ridiculous, silly). (Shooting stars are actually meteorites, comets, asteroids.

ANSWER:
Don’t even knowledgeable people onto this day refer to these comets, asteroids as shooting stars?
And how do you know this “brightly shining flame” that follows the devil are “meteorites, comets, asteroids”? Do you not know that verses of the Qur’an are not all of literal meaning?
Devils/spirits are unseen beings. Throwing physical objects at them would be like throwing rocks at the wind.

Muhammad has commented on these verses: “In speaking of the divinations as being followed by a visible flame, it is indicated that they meet with failure and disappointment. The description of spiritual truths in words relating to physical laws prevailing in the world is of common occurrence in the Holy Qur’an.” (Emphasis added).
MA also notes about Qur’an 52:38:
“This verse shows that the Arab astrologers and diviners pretended that they could listen to the secrets of the future, but their conjectures about the future failed to make any impression, as they did not turn out true. The word used here is sullam, which I translate as means. It signifies primarily a ladder, the Arabs believing that their diviners could ascend to the higher regions, and there obtain news of the future (R). This throws light upon the statements made in 15:17, 37:8, 67:5, 72:8. From what is said further on in v. 41, and elsewhere, challenging them to put down their pretended knowledge of the unseen in writing, a challenge repeatedly given but never accepted, it is clear that the diviners themselves knew that what they said was no more than mere conjecture.”

13. AP notes Qur’an Stars are near Qur’an 25:61, Stars are near; Will fall on Day of Judgment, Qur’an 81:2 but stars can’t fall because there is no gravity in space.

ANSWER:
Qur’an 25:61 states: “Blessed is He Who made the stars in the heavens and made therein a sun and a moon giving light!”
   Qur’an chapter 81 is about Doomsday/Judgment. 81:2 states: “And when the stars are dust-coloured.”
Perhaps at Doomsday stars/objects will not need gravity to fall as everything will be destroyed. Or the verse may be a euphemism for stars failing in, or losing, their function to produce light. For, as the sun collapses  “Almost all the stars we now see would either be so dim as to be invisible or appear as faint points in a sea of blackness.” (James  Trefil, The Dark Side of the Universe, p.190).

14. AP notes Qur’an 65:12; seven heavens and seven earths, which is an old Sumerian myth.

ANSWER:
Allāh raised messengers among all people, thus, if the Sumerians and Qur’an teach the same things they are not myths (nor can it be said the Qur’an borrowed from the Sumerian; a younger sibling who is given the same instructions as his older sibling was given by their parents, the younger cannot be said to borrow from the older).

As supposed in item #11, perhaps the entire starry creation is the “lower heaven.” Regarding “seven heavens and seven earths.” Muhammad Ali comments on Qur’an 2:29:

“….it should be noted that the word sab’a, which signifies the number seven, is also used in a vague manner, as meaning seven, or more, several or many (LL). According to LA, the Arabic equivalents of the numbers seven, seventy, and seven hundred are all used to indicate a large number by the Arabs:  “The mention of seven and seventy and seven hundred is frequent in the Qur’an and the sayings of the Holy Prophet, and the Arabs used them to signify a large number and multiplicity”.   Similarly Az explains the word sab’ina, meaning seventy, as occurring in 9:80, as being “used to signify a large number and multiplicity, not indicating exactness in number” (LA). Hence the seven heavens may signify a large number of heavens.

Secondly, the significance of the word sama’, which means only what we see above us, should not be lost sight of. R makes the meaning very clear when he says: “Every sama’, i.e. heaven, is a heaven in relation to what is beneath it and an earth in relation to what is above it”.

Thirdly, in 65:12 it is affirmed that as there are seven heavens so there is a like number of earths, which corroborates the conclusion drawn above.

Fourthly, the seven heavens are on one occasion called the seven ways (23:17), and in this sense the orbit of a planet may be called its heaven. In fact, this interpretation makes the significance of 65:12 very clear, for each of the seven earths will thus have a heaven for it. The seven earths together with our earth would thus make up the eight major primary planets of the solar system. Or, the seven heavens may be taken to apply to the whole starry creation, and the reference may in this case be to the seven magnitudes of the stars which may be seen by the naked eye.
One point more may be noted here. The sama’ or the heaven is plainly called dukhan, i.e. smoke or vapour, in 41:11”. (Muhammad Ali’s translation of the Qur’an can be viewed/downloaded at www.muslim.org).

15. AP notes Qur’an 2:258 Abraham said God bring the sun from east and asked the disbeliever to bring it from the west.

ANSWER:
Allāh is only recounting what Abraham said; they are not revelations to Abraham. Much like Allāh relating the account between Pharaoh and his magicians–(Qur’an 7:123-126).

16. AP notes Qur’an 36:37-40 sun runs towards stopping point…..

ANSWER:
This does not mean the sun and moon chase each other. These verses state:
   “And a sign to them is the night: We draw forth from it the day, then lo! they are in darkness;
   And the sun moves on to its destination. That is the ordinance of the Mighty, the Knower.
And the moon, We have ordained for it stages till it becomes again as an old dry palm-branch.
Neither is it for the sun to overtake the moon, nor can the night outstrip the day. And all float on in an orbit.”
It is obvious that the sun moving to its “stopping point” or “destination” only means its point of set hours of daylight time.

17. AP notes Qur’an 91:1-2 moon follows sun

ANSWER:
Verses 1 to 4 are about the changing from day to night. After the day (sun) comes the night (moon) or the moon/night follows the sun/day.

18. AP notes Qur’an 36:40 says it is not allowable for sun to reach moon, nor does night overtake the day. (Prophet prayed at time of eclipse).

ANSWER
Qur’an 36:39-40 states: “And the moon, We have ordained for it stages till it becomes again as an old dry palm-branch. Neither is it for the sun to overtake the moon, nor can the night outstrip the day. And all float on in an orbit.”
This is clearly saying that the sun/day and moon/night has its own length of operation (respective length of time) that cannot be altered/breached: “The sun and the moon (run their courses) according to a fixed reckoning”–(Qur’an 55:6).
For example, the length of daylight and darkness are the same today, say, November 18, 2020, as they were on November 18, 1920. One cannot be overtaken (made longer than the other). As Allāh rightly says that the sun and moon are for computing time:
“He is the Cleaver of the daybreak; and He has made the night for rest, and the sun and moon for reckoning (time). That is the measuring of the Mighty, the Knowing”–(Qur’an 6:97).
The sun and moon can only be used for computing time if their length of time are standard/fixed. One cannot “outstrip” the other.
That heavenly bodies float on in an orbit is an observation “beyond the ken” of a denizen of the desert 1400 years ago.

That the Prophet urged his followers to pray at the time of an eclipse. This was not because of superstition. At the death of the Prophet’s son, Ibrahim, there was a solar eclipse. The Arabs attributed it to the death of the Prophet’s son, Ibrahim. The Prophet informed them that eclipses do not occur because of a person’s birth or death, but that it is a phenomenon of nature: “The sun and the moon are two signs among the signs of Allāh; they do not eclipse on the death and life of anyone. So when you see the eclipse, remember Allāh and say Takbir (Allaho Akbar), pray and give Sadaqa (voluntary charity)”–(Bokhari Vol. 2, #153-156).

19. AP notes Qur’an 75:9, sun and moon will join.

ANSWER:
According to NASA the moon is moving away from the earth at a rate of 1.5 inches a year.  Eventually the moon will “fall in the Sun.” Evidently, science considers the Doomsday of the Earth as “an accepted reality”. As scientific knowledge increases the Qur’an’s knowledge on science “is dawning upon us.” (Bashir-Ud-Din Mahmood, Doomsday and Life after Death, pp. 133, 134, 113; 19).

20. AP notes Qur’an 75:8 moon will darken; Qur’an 10:5; 71:16; 25:61, sun a torch and moon a light; thus moon can never go dark on Day of Judgment because it will have light from sun (Moon, like earth, by default is dark)

ANSWER:
Moon will become dark, Qur’an 75:8, is about the dissolution of the present system. As noted in item #19, according to NASA the moon is moving away from the earth at a rate of 1.5 inches a year.  Eventually the moon will “fall in the Sun.”
   As the sun burns itself out it may become so bloated “the inner planets will have been engulfed” and “solid rocks melted or even vaporized”–(See Paul Davies, God and the New Physics, p.200).

22.  AP notes Qur’an 54:1 moon split in two.

ANSWER:  (See #3)

23. AP notes Qur’an 7:54 night covers day chasing it rapidly

ANSWER:
Allāh having the night covering the day is a general statement. It does not cater to specific people that have perpetual daylight.

24. AP notes Qur’an 31:29 night enters day, day enters night.

ANSWER
Any sensible person knows that all this means is the gradual changing from one state to the other.
Qur’an 31:29 states “Seest thou not that Allāh  makes the night to enter into the day, and He makes the day to enter into the night” and Qur’an 39:5 states: “He makes the night cover the day and makes the day overtake the night.”
Maurice Bucaille notes from R. Blachère that the correct translation of the Arabic verb kawwara is “To coil” or “to wind”, like winding a “turban around the head”, which motion is “preserved in all the other senses of the word”.
And that “American astronauts” in their spaceships at great altitudes above the earth “have seen and photographed” this constant rotation of night and day as described in the Qur’an. (The Bible The Qur’an And Science, pp. 163-164),

25. AP notes Qur’an 13:3 night covers day.

ANSWER
Night covering day means darkness replaces the period of light.

26. AP notes Qur’an 91:1-4; day displays the sun and night covers it (but brightness of sun causes the day; night and day are not objects).

ANSWER
These four verses state: “By the sun and his brightness! And the moon when she borrows light from him! And the day when it exposes it to view! And the night when it draws a veil over it!”
The first two verses are self-explanatory –the sun is the source of light and moon is a reflector of the sun’s light. The last two verses: And the day when it exposes it to view! And the night when it draws a veil over it!  Seems to convey that sunlight “exposes” or brings the world into view/light, and night covers the world into darkness (draws a veil over it).

27. AP notes Qur’an 6:94; 10:5; 17:12 night for rest, sun and moon for calculation.

ANSWER
Allāh created night/darkness as the period for sleeping/resting and the sun and moon are to be used for calculating/reckoning time.

28. AP notes Qur’an 18:90 rising place of the sun (Qur’an believes in literal rising of the sun).

ANSWER:  (See item #2).

29. AP notes Qur’an 36:38 sun runs towards its resting place (Prophet says sun prostrates under Allāh’s throne.  Sun will rise in the West).

 ANSWER
The sun, like everything, has a final destination (resting place).
As the sun burns itself out it “will swell up, turning into the sort of star that astronomers call a red giant”; and will end up as a “black dwarf star.” (Paul Davies, God and the New Physics, pp. 200, 201).
“Existing for about 4 and a half billion years, it has burnt up about half of the hydrogen in its core. This leaves the Sun’s life expectancy to 5 billion more years, at which time, the Sun’s elements will “swell” up, swallow Earth, and eventually die off into a small white dwarf.” (http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/istp/ outreach/workshop/thompson/facts. html

• The heaven will look like molten copper; red hide: (Qur’an 70:6-8; 55:37, respectively). In its final “phase” of burning itself out, “the sun’s central temperature will have risen steadily towards a billion degrees.” (Paul Davies, God and the New Physics, p. 201). Thus under this tremendous heat of “a billion degrees” the heavens will likely appear as liquid metal –molten copper or red hide, as the Qur’an says.
• Ocean will boil: (Qur’an 81:6; 82:3) As the sun burns itself out, it “will appear to fill half the sky. At that time, the oceans will boil and any life left here will perish” (James Trefil, The Dark Side of the Universe, (p. 190).
  And, as the sun burns itself out it “may have become so distended that the inner planets will have been engulfed, the Earth’s atmosphere stripped away and the solid rocks melted or even vaporized” (Paul Davies, God and the New Physics, p. 200).

That the sun will rise in the west.  At the dissolution of our system, mountains will be uprooted; this can only be so when the earth reverses direction.  Some interpret this to mean that Islam (the sun) will gain ascendancy in the West (western nations).
Throne signifies Allāh’s Power.

Sun prostrating under Allāh’s Throne: This simply means that it is operating under the law assigned to it by Allāh. There are two orders of laws to which man is subjected (1) the law for his moral and spiritual guidance which he is at liberty to follow or not, and (2) the law of which he has no choice –like our five senses which we cannot dictate to: “And to Allāh submits whoever is in the heavens and the earth willingly or unwillingly, and their shadows, too, at morn and eve”–(Qur’an 13:15; also 22;18). In this vein everything and everyone in creation, including atheists, “prostrate” to Allāh.

It is also worth noting:
“Yes, the Sun -in fact, our whole solar system- orbits around the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. We are moving at an average velocity of 828,000 km/hr. But even at that high rate, it still takes us about 230 million years to make one complete orbit around the Milky Way! The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy.” (Does the Sun move around the Milky Way?? – StarChild – NASA).

“Everything’s orbiting something it seems. The Moon goes around the Earth, and the Earth orbits the Sun. But did you know that the Sun orbits the Milky Way galaxy?
Astronomers have calculated that it takes the Sun 226 million years to completely orbit around the center of the Milky Way. In other words, that last time that the Sun was in its current position in space around the Milky Way, dinosaurs ruled the Earth. in fact, this Sun orbit has only happened 20.4 times since the Sun itself formed 4.6 billion years ago.
Since the Sun is 26,000 light-years from the center of the Milky Way, it has to travel at an astonishing speed of 782,000 km/hour in a circular orbit around the Milky Way center. Just for comparison, the Earth is rotating at a speed of 1,770 km/h, and it’s moving at a speed of 108,000 km/h around the Sun.
It’s estimated that the Sun will continue fusing hydrogen for another 7 billon years or so. In other words, it only has another 31 orbits it can make before it runs out of fuel.
Are you interested in more articles about the Sun? We have written plenty for Universe Today. Here’s an article that shows how some stars take an erratic journey around the Milky Way, and another article about a ring of stars orbiting the Milky Way.(http://www.universetoday.com/18028/sun-orbit/#).
Yes, AP, everything, even the sun has an end point/destination.

30. AP notes Qur’an 18:86 sun sets in a muddy spring.

ANSWER:  (See item #2).

31. AP notes Qur’an 25:45-46; 16:48; shadows (are only an effect or light; what is the Qur’an talking about?); 13:15 shadows (non-objects) prostrate to Allāh.

ANSWER
Qur’an 13:15: “And whoever is in the heavens and the earth makes obeisance to Allāh only, willingly and unwillingly, and their shadows, too, at morn and eve.” Shadows prostrating/ making obeisance to Allāh only means they follow Divine laws.
Chapter 16:41-50 deals with the “Doom of the opponents” against Divine truth. This seems to be the allusion that man is like a shadow that increases until he reaches full growth then declines into nothingness. Here are the three verses:

“See they not everything that Allāh has created? Its (very) shadows return from right and left, making obeisance to Allāh, while they are in utter abasement.    And to Allāh makes obeisance every living creature that is in the heavens and that is in the earth, and the angels (too) and they are not proud.   They fear their Lord above them and do what they are commanded”–(16:48-50).
Whereas even inanimate things obey the laws of their Lord, the  opponents do not fear their Lord and turn around and follow Him.
There is “no contradiction” between how the Qur’an describes the shadow and our knowledge of “this phenomenon in modern times.” (Maurice Bucaille, The Bible The Qur’an And Science, p. 184).

32. AP notes Qur’an 17:78, establish prayer at decline of the sun and at darkness of the night and at dawn. Qur’an 2:187 start fasting at dawn until sunset (but some regions have very long days, North pole has perpetual sunlight).

ANSWER
Never heard of Ijtihad? Allāh reveals in the case of Fasting that He “desires ease for you, and He desires not hardship for you”–(Qur’an 2:185). The hours of fasting can be shortened in regions in which days are very long, according to a report by the Prophet–(AD 36:13; M. Ali comm. to Qur’an 2:187).
Ijtihad –reasoning or the exercise of judgment– is the third source from which laws of Islam are drawn, when there is no expressed direction in the Qur’an or Sunnah/Tradition of the Prophet. Laws gleaned through Ijtihad are to be in consonance with the teachings of the Qur’an.

33. (AP does not list any verse but says) sky has no crack no rifts.

ANSWER
This only means there is no flaw in the heavenly creation.

34. AP notes Qur’an 2:22; 21:32, sky a ceiling/canopy.

ANSWER
Whereas there is no actual sky. The space above us is regarded as sky:
Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary (1976) defines “sky” as “the upper atmosphere that constitutes an apparent great vault or arch over the earth : FIRMAMENT 2 : HEAVEN 2  3 a : weather in the upper atmosphere b : CLIMATE”.
And Canadian Oxford Dictionary (2004) defines “sky” as “1 the region of the atmosphere and outer space seen from the earth, 2 the weather or climate evidenced by this.”
The sky is a ceiling/canopy in that its ozone layer in the stratosphere shades/shields us from the sun’s deadly ultraviolet rays.

35. AP notes Qur’an 31:10; 13:2, heavens without pillars as you can see.

ANSWER
These pillars are the forces/laws of gravitation that man cannot see.

36. AP notes Qur’an 81:11 sky will be stripped away from earth.

ANSWER
This is referring to the Doomsday. As the sun burns itself out it “may have become so distended that the inner planets will have been engulfed, the Earth’s atmosphere stripped away and the solid rocks melted or even vaporized” (Paul Davies, God and the New Physics, p. 200). (See item #29).

37. AP notes Qur’an 52:44; 34:9, if disbelievers see pieces of the sky falling.

ANSWER
The verse reads: “See they not what is before them and what is behind them of the heaven and the earth? If We please, We can make them low in the land or bring down upon them a portion of heaven. Surely there is a sign in this for every servant turning (to Allāh).” The disbelievers are told their opposition to the spread of Divine truth is like their inability to prevent a piece of the sky/heaven from falling on them.
One needs to understand Qur’anic expressions. Muhammad Ali’s commentaries are most helpful. His translation of the Qur’an can be viewed/downloaded at www.muslim.org.

38. AP notes Qur’an 21:104; 39:67 folding up of the sky/heaven.

ANSWER
These are figurative expressions referring to the dissolution of our system at Doomsday:
“The day when We roll up heaven like the rolling up of the scroll of writings. As We began the first creation, We shall reproduce it. A promise (binding) on Us. We shall bring it about”–(21:104).
“And they honour not Allāh with the honour due to Him; and the whole earth will be in His grip on the day of Resurrection and the heavens rolled up in His right hand. Glory be to Him! and highly exalted is He above what they associate (with Him) –(39:67).

39. AP notes Qur’an 21:30, heavens and earth were joined together.

ANSWER
Allāh says He created the heavens and the earth simultaneously: “So He said to it (heaven) and to the earth: Come BOTH, willingly or unwillingly. They BOTH said: We come willingly”–(Qur’an 41:11-12).
   Whether the heavens and earth were created through a “Big Bang” blast is not needed to substantiate the existence of Allāh. Allāh has proven His existence through the Qur’an –its material on science, prophecies that manifested during the life of the Prophet, and the inimitability of the Qur’an–(Qur’an 2:23; 10:38; 11:13; 17:88; 52:33).

   Some thirteen hundred years ago Hazrat Ali, the fourth Caliph of Islam, explained the creation of the heavens and the earth:

“Out of a stupendous swirling, sweeping, extremely disturbed and turbulent mass of nebulous material which was rolling and rotating in piles, upon piles. He (Allāh, God) solidified a dry and practically steady and motionless earth (when compared to the turbulent condition of the nebulous mass).  Over this earth He created envelops over envelops of gases, which are seven in number and which are separated one from the other. These gaseous envelops though overlap each other; yet each one is forced to occupy its own space, as if they are fixed in their places.  This solid earth is so created that it is covered by a bluish green mass of water –and it looks as if it floats on the huge volume of water.…On this earth He (Allāh) created solid mountains and fixed them in such a way that some of them are so high that their peaks pierce the upper layers of atmosphere and some of them have their bases planted in the deepest parts of the oceans, i.e. these mountains are raised higher than the surrounding lands around them and also reach deep into the bosom of the earth. These apparently sky scraping mountains act as pivots, and with their help the slipping movement (floating of the continents) was brought under control.  Thus the earth (the continents of the earth) after passing through many upheavals and jolts steadied itself into its present form. This was necessary so that the solid mass of the land may not leave its place or may not tilt carrying into sea the inhabitants living upon it. (1)”

“(1) The continents may not float towards deep oceans and may not disappear into them –Refer Modern geophysics and geodesic theories of
i. Causes of volcanoes and volcanic regimes
ii. Margins and land side portions of continents on                                           the  sides of oceans, and
 iii. Causes of the poles changing their places”–                                                 (NahjulBalagha, sermon 216).                                                                

40. AP notes Qur’an 2:29; 41:10-12 Allāh created everything on earth then heaven.

ANSWER
This shows that the earth and heavens were formed simultaneously, then Allāh first furnished the earth and afterwards He completed the heavens.
What is to be borne in mind is that the Qur’an does not give every detail of an item in every verse that speaks of it and also that it does not usually list the sequence in order of development.

41. AP notes Qur’an 31:10; 78:7, mountains placed as pegs in earth. Qur’an 16:15, mountains prevent earth from shaking.

ANSWER
Allāh does not say mountains prevent earthquakes. Earth shaking and earthquakes is not the same thing. An earthquake can be caused by human fracturing/tunneling underground and/or by underground volcanic activity or by rocks/plates underground moving/shifting along fault lines. Mountains acts as pegs/nails to hold the earth together; this process is known as “isostasy”.
These “folds”/pegs ensure the “stability of the Earth’s crust”–(Maurice Bucaille, The Bible The Qur’an And Science, pp.181-182).
(This is another modern scientific discovery the “ancient”  Mohammad has taught us. Glory be to Allāh!)

42. AP notes Qur’an 20:105-107; 18:47 Allāh will scatter/move mountains

ANSWER
This is referring to Doomsday. After the dissolution, earth will be leveled flat: “And they ask thee about the mountains. Say: My Lord will scatter them, as scattered dust, Then leave it a plain, smooth, level….”

43. AP notes Qur’an 55:33, man cannot pass through regions of earth and heavens.

ANSWER
The verse states: “O assembly of jinn and men, if you are able to pass through the regions of the heavens and the earth, then pass through. You cannot pass through but with authority.” This verse refers to the future and travels in space, through “intelligence and ingenuity” God will give man –Allāh’s “authority”.
   Qur’an 15:14-15 states: “And even if We open to them a gate of heaven, and they keep on ascending into it, They would say: Only our eyes have been covered over, rather we are an enchanted people.” This verse is directed to the Makkans of the day. Their eyes being “covered over” and they being “enchanted” would be so because of the “remarkable spectacle” that travelers in space observe –a “black sky” and the Earth seemingly encircled by a “halo of bluish colour”–(Maurice Bucaille has explained these verses in detail in his book The Bible, The Qur’an And Science, pp. 167-169; obtainable from https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=the+bible +the+qur%27an+and+science&ref=nbsb_noss).

44. AP notes Qur’an 6:125, Allāh make chest narrow and tight.

ANSWER
Qur’an 6:125 states: “So whomsoever Allāh intends to guide, He expands his breast for Islam, and whomsoever He intends to leave in error, He makes his breast strait (and) narrow as though he were ascending upwards….”
   It is a fact that at high altitude breathing becomes difficult due to less oxygen in the air, resulting in tightening of blood vessels. The chest feels congested –strait and narrow.

45. AP notes Qur’an 24:43, Allāh drives clouds, brings them together.

ANSWER
This is only stating that objects/forces of nature operate under Divine laws.

46. AP notes Qur’an 25:48, Allāh sends winds as good tidings before His (mercy) rain. (What about hurricane and flooding? Wind does not come before all rain).

ANSWER
Wind as good tidings refers to the formation of rain clouds –wind taking droplets from seas/oceans/lakes/rivers to form rain clouds to fall as rain: “Allāh is He Who sends forth the winds, so they raise a cloud, then He spreads it forth in the sky as He pleases, and He breaks it, so that you see the rain coming forth from inside it….”–(Qur’an 30:48).
   About hurricane and flooding. What about them? Some areas of the world are prone to certain extremes. Instead of warring and wasting, man can make devises to store the “flooding” for when it becomes drought or to irrigate arid lands.
That wind does not come before all rain. When the water in clouds cools and condenses to rain, the heat released from the transition from vapor to liquid is pushed ahead of the falling rain, causing wind.  You may not feel it but there is wind.

47. AP notes Qur’an 25:48; 43:11; 2:22, Allāh sends water/rain from sky. The Hadith of the Prophet shows that downpour can be devastating this is why he prayed for beneficial downpour not over abundant). And that rain water is pure.

ANSWER
Sky a ceiling. Whereas there is no actual sky. The space above us is regarded as sky:
Websters Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary (1976) defines “sky” as “the upper atmosphere that constitutes an apparent great vault or arch over the earth : FIRMAMENT 2 : HEAVEN 2  3 a : weather in the upper atmosphere b : CLIMATE”.
And Canadian Oxford Dictionary (2004) defines “sky” as “1 the region of the atmosphere and outer space seen from the earth, 2 the weather or climate evidenced by this.”
Thus, atmosphere/region includes clouds and planets etc. Thus rain falling from the sky is fact/truth.

Rain water pure: Whereas today in some parts of the world rain water may be contaminated in what was called “acid rain” because of chemicals from industrial emissions. It is doubtful rain in Seventh Century Arabia was contaminated. In fact, according to Twenty-first century finding rainwater is considered the “purest form of water.” (Internet).

48. AP notes Allāh sends mountains of hail and smites whom He will.

ANSWER
Qur’an 24:43 states: “Seest thou not that Allāh drives along the clouds, then gathers them together, then piles them up, so that thou seest the rain coming forth from their midst? And He sends down from the heaven (clouds like) mountains, wherein is hail, afflicting therewith whom He pleases and turning it away from whom He pleases……”
   Allāh sends rain wherever and on whomever and likewise sends hail wherever and on whomever. What is the problem? Allāh also sends us all manner of fruits and vegetables wherever and on whomever.

49. AP notes Qur’an 13:13 Allāh sends thunderbolts/lightning smites disputers about Allāh.

ANSWER
The verse states: “And the thunder celebrates His praise, and the angels too for awe of Him. And He sends the thunderbolts and smites with them whom He pleases, yet they dispute concerning Allāh, and He is Mighty in prowess.”
 Allāh is saying whereas He is the Controller of the thunderbolts/ lightning to direct on whom He wills yet man who has no power dispute about Him.

50. AP notes Qur’an 16:79 Allāh holds birds up in the air.

ANSWER
Allāh holding up birds is not restricted to giving them wings. It also includes the “migratory programme  in the genetic code” of some birds which affords them to journey for thousands of miles and return to their point of “departure” on a “prescribed date”, such as the “‘mutton bird’” that lives in the Pacific”–(Maurice Bucaille, The Bible, The Qur’an And Science, pp. 194-195).

Incidentally, Allah also tells us about bees: “And thy Lord revealed (programmed) to the bee: Make hives in the mountains and in the trees and in what they (man) build, Then eat of all the fruits and walk in the ways of thy Lord submissively (carry out His commands?) There comes forth from their bellies a beverage of many hues, in which there is healing for men. Therein is surely a sign for people who reflect”–Qur’an 16:68-69).
   Aside from bees making honey in their bellies (which seems to have been a post-Qur’an discovery) and that honey has healing properties, “there is a remarkable nervous organization supporting their behavior”, and the “pattern” of their dance is a “means of communication to other bees” informing about the “direction and distance” of nectar-rich flowers. (Ibid; pp. 192-193).
Bees use the “sun” as a “reference” point to navigate. Some bees have special eyes that allow them to navigate “the forest during night, dawn or dusk.” (Internet).
Clearly, these features in creatures could hardly be the product of chance/accident.  (See Atheism, Creation or Evolution).

51. AP notes Qur’an 17:66 Allāh steers ships.

ANSWER
Qur’an 17:66: “Your Lord is He Who speeds the ships for you in the sea that you may seek of His grace. Surely He is ever  Merciful to you.” This conveys that such achievement is possible only through Allāh’s mercy in giving man knowledge.

52. AP notes Qur’an 55:19-20; 25:53; 27:61, barrier between seas.

ANSWER (See item #9).

53.  AP notes Qur’an 6:38 all creatures live in communities.

ANSWER
That some animals live alone and die alone. There are also humans who live alone and die alone but they are still part of the larger human community. The same with animals, they are yet members of the community; how then can they mate/reproduce?

54. AP notes Qur’an 16:66, milk is pure and agreeable. (But people suffer from lactose intolerance. Milk needs to be pasteurized).

ANSWER
Many people prefer raw cow’s milk than pasteurized. It is doubtful the Arabs of the time “pasteurized” their milk (which would make them pre-empting Louis Pasteur -1822-1895- who discovered pasteurization): wonder how many Arabs suffered lactose intolerance).
People also suffer from allergy to peanuts and even die from it, does this mean that peanuts are not good/agreeable to people? The milk of human mothers also contains lactose; does this mean her milk is not good/agreeable for anyone?

   The verse says: “And surely there is a lesson for you in the cattle: We give you to drink of what is in their bellies — from betwixt the faeces and the blood — pure milk, agreeable to the drinkers.” The words agreeable to the drinkers show that it is good for those who do not have adverse reaction to it.
The lesson in this statement is Allāh’s system of producing milk from a conjunction of what we eat and our blood; much like Allāh’s system of producing sperm and ovum in our bodies when we reach a certain age/state for propagating; and Allāh’s system of extraction and evacuation –extracting nourishment from our food and removing the waste– which are factors for the atheist to ponder, if such systems can come by chance/accident or from a Master Designer, God.  (See Atheism, Creation or Evolution).

55. AP notes Qur’an 16:66, milk produced between blood and excretion.

ANSWER (See item #6).

56. AP notes Qur’an 86:6-7 sperm comes from between the backbone and ribs.

ANSWER (See item #5).

57. AP notes Qur’an 23:13; 75:37 man is made from sperm alone.

ANSWER
Qur’an 23:12-13.: “And certainly We create man of an extract of clay, Then We make him a small life-germ in a firm resting-place.”
   Qur’an 75:37: “Was he (man) not a small life-germ in sperm emitted?”
Qur’an 86:6-7: “(Man) was fashioned from a liquid poured out. It issued (as a result) of the sexual area of the man and the sexual area of the woman.”
Qur’an 49:13: “O mankind, surely We have created you from a male AND a female.”
 Qur’an 76:2: “Verily We created man from sperm mixed (with ovum)”.
Qur’an 4:1: “O people, keep your duty to your Lord, Who created you from a single being and created its mate of the same (kind), and spread from THESE TWO many men and women”

As we are created from a “mixture” of sperm and ovum reason would tell us that both parents provide genetic material to the child. How then “AP” charges that the Qur’an teaches man is created from sperm alone?   Whereas creation (sperm) begins in the man, conception and fruition takes place in the woman.

That Allah created us/man from sperm: (Qur’an 75:37-38; 76:2). “Was he (man) not a small life-germ in sperm emitted? Then he was a clot; so He created (him)” “Surely We have created man from sperm  mixed  (with ovum).”  (Also 18:37; 35:11; 36:77; 40:67; 80:19).
During the time of the Prophet no one knew about sperm which was discovered a thousand years after the Qur’an. The microscope was invented around 1590. 
And to know, critics charge that Mohammad was an “impostor” and he wrote the Qur’an.  If  a numbskull as I was to make such a statement it might be snickered at and overlooked.
But coming from people who are  hailed as “intellectuals” one cannot help but wonder which end these critics were sitting  on when they penned such stupidity about Mohammad/Islam. Or what they must have been smoking. Loco-weed perhaps!  

58. AP notes Qur’an 75:37, gender determination.

ANSWER
Qur’an 75:37-39: “Was he not a small life-germ in sperm emitted? Then he was a clot; so He created (him), then made (him) perfect. Then He made of him two kinds, the male and the female.”  Man, generally, is created either male or female. And Allah knows what is in the wombs -male or female.

Prophet Mohammad taught: “if a man’s discharge preceded that of the woman, then the child resembles the father, and if the woman’s discharge preceded that of the man, then the child resembles the mother”–Bokhari Vol. 6, #7.
Notably, the Prophet speaks about the child’s “RESEMBLANCE” not the child’s SEX which is determined by the chromosomes. The woman provides an “X” chromosome, the man either an ”X” or “Y”. Two “X’s” result in a girl child, an “X” and “Y” results in a boy child. Thus it is the man’s contribution that determines the sex of the child.

59. AP notes Qur’an 23:14; 96:2, sperm becomes blood.

ANSWER
As noted in item #4, the word ‘alaq in Qur’an 23:12-14 which is rendered “congealed blood” (and also rendered as “blood clot” and as “adhesion” by some translators), is an incorrect translation, the correct translation of ‘alaq is “something which clings”.

60. AP notes Qur’an 23:14 embryology (Qur’an says flesh after bones. Flesh and muscles don’t form after bones, flesh and bones form simultaneously, bones are formed after the flesh).

ANSWER (See item #4).

61. AP notes Qur’an 39:6; 6:143-144, eight types of livestock.

ANSWER (See item #10).

62. AP notes Qur’an 13:3; 15:19; 2:22; 20:53; 88:20; 55:17; 71:19, flat earth.

ANSWER (See item #1).

63. AP notes Qur’an 68:1, Nun by the pen and what they inscribe.

ANSWER
Significantly, Nun is not an abbreviation, but a word meaning inkstand. There is the authority of the earliest commentators that the letter nun here stands for the word nun, for both Hasan and Qatadah regard it as meaning inkstand, while I‘Ab considers the meaning to be fish. The context, which mentions the pen and writing, clearly favours the former interpretation. Rodwell’s note here, that “the meaning of this, and of the similar symbols throughout the Qur’an, was unknown to the Muhammadans themselves even in the first century”, shows a lamentable ignorance on the part of a translator of the Holy Qur’an. The abbreviations in the beginning of chapters are in many cases explained by the companions of the Holy Prophet, Ibn ‘Abbas being the chief authority. But here the Holy Qur’an itself, in the very first abbreviation used in it, gives us a clue to the significance of the abbreviations used in it by giving an abbreviation nun, which is also a significant word.”

Qur’an 68:1-2 states: “(By) the inkstand and the pen and that which they write!  By the grace of thy Lord thou art not mad.”
   These verses are saying that whatever charges are laid against the Prophet, the teachings of the Qur’an proves that he is not “mad”. A “mad” person would not be able to give such lofty and sublime doctrines. Some of which (prophecies) have manifested in his own lifetime, and some (on science) are verified today. Aside from these, Prophet Mohammad taught about

-the irrationality of polytheism;
-the degradation and futility of idolatry and the phantasm of superstition;
-the evil of profligacy –leaving innocent children abandoned and with the stigma of “bastard” in its trail and perhaps broken homes/marriages and families;
-the insanity of female infanticide –the world needs both sexes to perpetuate;
-the indignity of drunkenness –drunks stagger and fall, kids make fun of them and dogs are known to spray on them as they lay on the roadside.
And women sometimes fall into uncompromising situations which they would not when sober (and may even become pregnant; and become pregnant unwittingly if they are taken advantage of if unconscious; and may even be violated by more than one man. She may not know whose child she is having.  And the man may not know who is having his child).
Alcohol also causes impotence. Children born to women who drink during pregnancy may give birth to children with defects/problems. Alcohol also cause deaths.

Wine may gladden the heart as the Psalmist says (Psalm 104:15). Wine also saddens the liver, dulls the head, deadens the loins, harms the fetus and bequeaths life-long bereavement to families (over their beloved ones cut down by wretched drunk drivers).

With regards to other abbreviations in the Qur’an, Muhammad Ali explains about Qur’an 2:1 Alif Lam Mim:
“The original words are alif, lam, mim. Translations of the Holy Qur’an generally leave abbreviations, like the one occurring here, untranslated. The combinations of letters or single letters occurring at the commencement of several chapters, 29 in all, are called muqatta‘at, and according to the best received opinion these letters are abbreviations standing for words. The Arabs used similar letters in their verses. Abbreviations are known to all languages, the only peculiarity of their use in Arabic literature being that the letters carry different meanings in different places, and the meaning is decided in each case by the context. Such is the opinion of I‘Ab (AH). Both he and IMsd agree in interpreting alif, lam, mim, occuring here as well as at the commencement of the 3rd, 29th, 30th, 31st and 32nd chapters of the Holy Qur’an as meaning I, Allāh  am the best Knower, alif standing for ana, lam for Allāh, and mim for a‘lam (AH, IJ), being respectively the first, the middle and the last letters of the words for which they stand. Others regard them as contractions for some Divine attribute. That they may also serve as the names of chapters is no ground for supposing that they carry no significance. The strange suggestion of Golius that alif, lif, mim stands for amr-li-Muhammad, which is said to mean at the command of Muhammad, is not only devoid of authority but is also grammatically incorrect. Rodwell’s statement, made in his comment, on the significance of the letter nun, occurring in the beginning of chapter 68, that “the meaning of this, and of the similar symbols throughout the Qur’an, was unknown to the Muhammadans themselves even in the first century”, is equally devoid of truth. The significance of these letters can in most cases be traced to the Companions of the Holy Prophet, and hence the suggestion that these were “private marks” or initial letters attached by their proprietor to the copies furnished to Zaid, when effecting his recension of the text under ‘Uthman, is not even worthy of consideration. It is further opposed to the surest historical testimony, which proves beyond all doubt that these letters were recited as parts of the chapters in the time of the Prophet himself.”

64. AP notes Qur’an 11:7 Allāh’s Throne upon the waters.

ANSWER
Allāh’s “Throne” refers to His Authority; “waters” refers to His “creations.”

Which other Book that claims Divine Revelation has given any teaching remotely close to these given by the Qur’an?
For the Qur’anic teachings on planets, space, galaxies, universe, heavens, earth, solar system, and more please see Maurice Bucaille The Bible, The Qur’an And Science, “The Creation of the Heavens and the Earth”, pp. 133-184. This book is obtainable from https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=the+bible+the+qur%27an+and +science&ref=nbsb_noss).

Instead of trying to find non-existent flaws in Islam the atheist is to prove that “atheism” is truth. But as he cannot prove “atheism” the atheist is to know that Islam is not opposed to evolution; in fact, evolution was taught for the first time, 1400 years ago, in Islam: Atheism, Creation or Evolution.
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As mentioned, the Qur’an does not narrate in sequence or give all details of the same event in all relative verses. From the panoramic pen of the prolific Maulana Abul A’la Mawdudi:

“The Qur’an is a complete and the most perfect code of life and provides human-being with a comprehensive and unerring intellectual and practical guidance. It offers the best way of life to be established here in this world and guarantee the success and affluence in the life Hereafter.”

“Unlike conventional books, the Qur’an does not contain information, ideas and arguments about specific themes arranged in a literary order. That is why a stranger to the Qur’an, on his first approach to it, is baffled when he does not find the inunciation of its theme or its division into chapters and sections or separate treatment of different topics and separate instructions for different aspects of life arranged in a serial order. …He finds that it deals with creeds, gives moral instructions, lays down laws, invites people to Islam, admonishes the disbelievers, draws lessons from historical events, administers warnings gives good tidings, all blended together in a beautiful manner. The same subject is repeated in different ways and one topic follows the other without any apparent connection. Sometimes a new topic crops up in the middle of another without any apparent reason. The speaker and the addressees, and the direction of the address change without any notice. ”

“The reader may be saved from all these difficulties, if he is warned before-hand that “The Book he is going to study is the only book of its kind in the whole world: that its literary style is quite different from that of all other books: that it’s theme is unique and that his pre-conceived notion of a book cannot help him understand the Qur’an”.

“The SUBJECT it deals with is MAN: it discusses those aspects of his life that lead either to his real success or failure.

The CENTRAL THEME that runs throughout the Qur’an is the exposition of the Reality and the invitation to the Right Way based on it. It declares that Reality is the same that was revealed by Allah Himself to Adam at the time of his appointment as vicegerent, and to all the Messengers after him, and the Right Way is the same that was taught by all the Messengers. It also points out that all theories contradictory to this Reality, invented by people about Allah, the universe, man and his relations with Allah and the rest of His creation, are all wrong and that all the ways of life based on them are erroneous and lead to ruinous consequences.

The AIM and OBJECT of the revelations is to invite man to that Right Way and to present clearly the Guidance which he has lost because of his negligence or has perverted by his wickedness.

If the reader keeps these three basic things in mind, he will find that in this Book there is no incongruity in the style, no gap in the continuity of the subject and no lack of inter-connection between its various topics. As a matter of fact, this Book is not irrelevant anywhere with regard to its Subject, its Central Theme and its Aim. From its very beginning to its end, the different topics it deals with are so intimately connected with its Central Theme that they may be likened to the beautiful gems of the same necklace, despite their different colours and sizes. The Qur’an keeps the same object in view, whether it is relating the story of the creation of the earth or of the Heavens or of man or is referring to the manifestations in the universe or stating events from human history. As the aim of the Qur’an is to guide man and not to teach nature study or history or philosophy or any other science or art, it does not concern itself with these latter subjects. The only thing with which it is concerned is to expound the Reality, to remove misunderstandings and misconceptions about it, to impress the Truth upon the minds, to warn them of the consequences of wrong attitudes and to invite humanity to the Right Way. The same is true of the criticism of the creeds, of the moral systems, of the deeds of men and communities and of its discussions of the problems of metaphysics etc.  That is why it states or discusses or cites a thing only to the extent relevant to its aims and objects and leaves out unnecessary and irrelevant details and turns over and over again to its Central Theme and to its invitation round which every other topic revolves. When the Qur’an is studied in this light, no doubt is left that the whole of it is a closely reasoned argument and there is continuity of subject throughout the Book.” (An Introduction To The Qur’an, Foreword, pp. 1, 2, 3, 6, 7. Emphasis added).

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                                             2. ATHEISM
“It would be foolish to deny that many of the traditional religious ideas about God, man and the nature of the universe have been swept away by the new physics. But our search has turned up many positive signs too. The existence of mind, for example, as an abstract, holistic, organizational pattern, capable even of disembodiment, refutes the reductionist philosophy that we are all nothing but moving mounds of atoms.” -(Paul Davies, God And The New Physics, p. 229).
“Everything we see in the sky, like everything on earth, happens in a rational, orderly way.” -(James Trefil, The Dark Side Of The Universe, p. 8).
Twentieth Century sophisticated scholars discover what the Seventh Century tent-dweller, Mohammad, taught (1400 years ago): “Glorify the name of thy Lord, the Most High! Who creates, then makes complete, And Who measures, then guides”–(Qur’an 87:1-3; Also 25:2; 54:49).  Subhān Allāh/Glory to Allah!  Indeed.

Whereas Christians try to denigrate Allāh/Islam to have Muslims apostatize from Islam because Christians know Islam is the only Divinely revealed religion, that Islam exposes religious falsehoods and that Islam supersedes Christianity.
Atheists try to denigrate Allāh/Islam to have Muslims apostatize from Islam because atheists know Islam is the only religion that refutes atheism.
Prophecies by Prophet Mohammad which manifested during his lifetime and the statements on science that are in keeping with modern scientific findings is proof that the Qur’an could not have emanated from a human brain, but issued from a Divine source.

Atheism is an insult to intellect! Atheism slaughters reason on the stone of accident/chance.
That man evolved by accident/chance from a microscopic cell that programmed itself to develop sight through fat, hearing through a bone, speech through a lump of flesh, faculties of reasoning, systems for consuming, nourishing and evacuating, two hands, legs, head with hair; intricate networks of vessels and blood; fingers and toes and with a unique set of prints, never duplicated, and nails to strengthen them; limbs having joints that not only swivel but are locked in place and with precision and smoothness; furnished with a set of wondrous teeth, and varied for cutting, tearing and grinding food, a self-propelling heart for up to a hundred years and more; instilled with emotions and carnal passion to ensure the need for companionship, equipped with complimentary genitals and reproductive systems and seed/sperm/ ovum for propagating and with mammary glands and milk.

That such a magnificent engineering marvel of beauty, symmetry and excellence came by accident/chance, such cerebration is beneath senselessness. For all their backwardness and barbarity, the tent-dwelling idolatrous Arabs of Seventh-century Arabia exhibited more sense than the Twentieth-century high-rise atheists. This remarkable creature could only be the handiwork of the Master Designer called God.

Accident/Chance would also have to equip the bat with sonar, viper with venom, porcupine with quills, skunk with spray, spider with web; provide varieties of fruits and flowers; instill in plants the system of photosynthesis to purify the air.
Such capabilities cannot be a chance/accident happening: they could only be acquired through the design of a Super Power–God.

   Accident/Chance would also have to create spirits –and there must be billions. Jesus pulled two thousand from one man alone–(Mark 5:2-13).
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          3. ALLĀH REFERS TO HUMAN AS CATTLE
Allāh is also condemned for likening people who do not utilize their “reason” to cattle.
ANSWER:
Whether non-Jews utilize their “reason” or not Jesus refers to them as “dogs” and “swine”–(Matthew 7:6; 15:26). And whereas Allāh gives His guidance clearly to ALL, including the “cattle” and AP, and forgives them of ALL of their past sins–(Qur’an 34:28; 39:53), Jesus excluded “Gentiles and the Samaritans” from his message and moreover he preached in parables so these “dogs” and “swine” would not understand and be forgiven and get into heaven–(Matthew 10:5-6; John 4:21; Mark 4:9-12).

If reason is the factor that separates us from, and elevates us above, the lower animals our judgment is to be based on reason. If our judgment it is not based on reason then we have degraded ourselves lower than the beast as they do not have the capacity to reason whereas we have this capacity and do not utilize it.
It is the Divine requirement that we govern ourselves by reason:

“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool”–(Isaiah 1:18);
   “Call to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and goodly exhortation and argue with them in the best manner. Surely thy Lord knows best him who strays from His path, and He knows best those who go aright”–(Qur’an 16:125).
Evidently, whatever goes against reason could not be Divine. Thus, those who do not use their faculty of reasoning are, rightly, compared to cattle:

   -“And the parable of those who disbelieve is as the parable of one who calls out to that which hears no more than a call and a cry. Deaf, dumb, blind, so they have no sense”–(Qur’an 2:171); “Surely the vilest of beasts, in Allāh’s sight, are the deaf, the dumb, who understand not”–(Qur’an 8:22);
-“Or thinkest thou that most of them hear or understand? They are but as the cattle; nay, they are further astray from the path”–(Qur’an 25:44). “They have hearts wherewith they understand not, and they have eyes wherewith they see not, and they have ears wherewith they hear not. They are as cattle; nay, they are more astray”–(Qur’an 7:170);
Which is similar to Jesus upbraiding his inattentive followers (Mark 8:18): “Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not?”

Allāh has given all kinds of examples and arguments for creationism, and though man has no argument against Allāh’s exposition yet man stubbornly/arrogantly reject the Divine Message. Is man then any better than “the deaf (and) the dumb who understand not”? How aptly, Allāh questions: “In what announcement after this (Qur’an) will they then believe?”–(Qur’an 7:185; 77:50).
Allāh does not demean man. By not governing according to reason, man denigrates/ridicules himself.   

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                  4. MOHAMMAD SAYS KILL  DOGS
Critics try to malign the Prophet Mohammad for giving instructions to kill dogs. However one hadith clarifies which dog is to be killed. The hadith notes that when attention was brought to the Prophet that Muslims were killing dogs indiscriminately the Prophet forbade this killing and said that only a certain type of dog is to be killed: “It is your duty to kill the jet-black (dog) having two spots (on the eyes), for it is a devil”–(Muslim Vol. 3, #3813). 

The explanation to the hadith states:
“The hadith gives us an idea why the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) commanded to kill dogs. There must have been an excess of stray dogs and thus the danger of rabies in the city of Medina and its suburbs. The Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him), therefore ordered to kill them. Later on when it was found that his Companions were killing them indiscriminately, he forbade them to do so and told them that only the ferocious beasts which were a source of danger to life should be killed. The word “devil” in the hadith clarifies the point. Here devil stands for ferocious. See also Kitab-al-Taharah, p.166, note 486” (i.e. Vol. 1, note 486). 
And Kitab-al-Taharah, p.166, note 486” states in part: “Islam has declared the dog to be an unclean beast because its saliva has the germs of rabies in it.
The writer of the article on “dog” in the Encyclopaedia Britannica  says: “It [rabies] is more common in dogs than in any other animal” (Vol. VII, p. 497). The dog is also responsible for the spread of “Canine Plague”. The virus causing this disease is airborne and affects the other dogs very quickly.”

The Prophet did not forbid the keeping of dogs. Dogs could be trained for hunting and guarding–(Muslim Vol. 3, #3812). In fact, the Prophet taught that a person who gave dog to drink will enter Paradise–(Bokhari Vol. 1, #174, Vol. 3, #551, 646).

While critics try to denigrate Mohammad for killing the “devil” dog. There are videos on the Internet showing wild dogs running rampant in Russia and even riding on subways. Also there are videos showing dogs attacking humans in Russia, London, and the U.S. And one shows a group of dogs attacking another dog, killing it. (There are feral dogs –dogs that were domesticated and abandoned– running wild in packs in the U.S. causing fear among people).
It is not surprising then that America, Britain, and Canada have, in part(s) of the country, banned or restricted certain breeds of dogs –as many as “75 breeds” according to the Internet. Obviously these laws were instituted to make the community safe from “potentially dangerous” or “violent” dogs.
Which Mohammad did for his community –which had no dart guns or pepper spray or animal nets or medicine to put them to “sleep” or rabies vaccine.
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                   5.  WRITING A CHAPTER LIKE THE QUR’AN
Whereas a person can pen an account of an incident; to use this as proof that he/she has written a chapter like the Qur’an is amusing at best.
The Qur’an was written between 610-632 AC (After Christ). It contains 114 chapters with each chapter having a title and begins with the benediction “In the Name of Allah the Beneficent the Merciful.” 
In Qur’an 2:23 (also 10:38; 11:13) Allah invites the doubters of the Qur’an: “And if you are in doubt as to that (Qur’an) which We have revealed to Our servant (Mohammad), then produce a chapter LIKE IT (like that of the Qur’an) and call on your helpers besides Allah if you are truthful.”
One who wants to meet this invitation/challenge is to choose one of these 114 chapters of the Qur’an and write an original chapter “LIKE IT”  (in Qur’anic Arabic, diction and style)  giving their chapter a title and benediction.

The atheists and Christians attempt to discredit the authenticity of the Qur’an is useless. If atheists and Christians can prove that Mohammad made prophecies and statements on science of his own accord 1400 years ago and wrote Qur’an; they would have debunked the Qur’an as Divine revelation. Prove it! (See Qur’an-science).
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(See also: 
Qur’an-comments & errors;
Qur’an–contradictions in Qur’an).