My rebuttal to Avijit Roy's "Does the Quran support the Earth moves around the Sun theory" response.

My rebuttal to Avijit Roy's "Does the Quran support the Earth moves around the Sun theory" response:

Response to answering-christianity.com
Re: Does the Noble Quran support "The Earth moves around the Sun" theory?

By Avijit Roy

I mentioned about a challenge of mine (made couple of years ago) in one of my recently published article (regarding one of those so-called scientific miracles in holy Qur’an). I see this has created some turmoil over the Net recently.

Your challenge had created no turmoil. It was one article that I had, by the Will of Allah Almighty, debunked at: Does the Noble Quran support "The Earth moves around the Sun" theory?. Your article contained good points in them, and for that I decided to refute it. No turmoil was created by you. You seem like you were dying to gain some attention, and you finally got it after couple of yours from writing your article.

My challenge has a little history. Let me tell you this briefly. Over the last decade, a growing numbers of Muslims have declared the Qur'an to be a book filled with alleged scientific miracles. Many educated Bangladeshi Muslims in blithely discovered ‘Big-Bang’, ‘expansion of the universe’, ‘theory of evolution of human species’, science of ‘atoms and molecules’, ‘milky-way, ‘constellation’, ‘white dwarf’, ‘black-holes, ‘embryology’, ‘theory of relativity’, ‘theory of super string’... and what not in their holly scripture (Qur’an). Numerous web sites, books and videos have been produced that proclaim Islam to be truly a religion of divine origin having perfect compatibility with modern science.

I have listed a good number of the Scientific Miracles that exist in the Noble Quran backed by Western Scientists discoveries at: www.answering-christianity.com/sci_quran.htm. For the reader's convenience, here are the links:

Very Important Discovery:
ch1-1-c-img1.jpg (12269 bytes)

A new star forming out of a cloud of gas and dust (nebula), which is one of the remnants of the "smoke" that was the origin of the whole universe. (The Space Atlas, Heather and Henbest, page 50)
Allah Almighty said: "Then He turned to the heaven when it was smoke...(The Noble Quran, 41:11)"
The Noble Quran on the Origin of the Universe
Only Islam claims that the universe was originated from Dust and Hot Gas, or Smoke.

1- Life originated from water in the Noble Quran.
2- The Earth's rotation, formation, and Oceanology.
3- The Universe, Astronomy, UFOs and Space Shuttles.
4- Embryology, Human Anatomy, Formation, and Creation from the time of sexual intercourse to
the time of birth.
5- The number 19 code in the Noble Quran.
6- Medicine, Insects and Animals.
7- Psychology.
8- Great Web Sites.
9- Rebuttals.
10- Prophecies.

The Noble Quran on the Origin of the Universe. This article has pictures and quotes from Western scientific books that accurately confirm the astronomical claims of the Noble Quran. The Noble Quran was the only book that claimed that the universe originated from Hot Gas or Smoke. Science proved that this claim is true.

Embryology, Human Anatomy, Formation and Creation from the time of sexual intercourse to the time of birth:

The Miracle of the number 19 in the Noble Quran. Yes, the number 19 is miraculous in the Noble Quran and was proven to be essential in many of the Scientific Theories and Discoveries. But it doesn't at all support Rashad Khalifa's removal of two Noble Verses from the Noble Quran, and his claim to be GOD Almighty's Messenger.

http://www.it-is-truth.org/ This is an awesome web site that has Western scientific information that accurately confirms the Noble Quran's claims about astronomy, biology, geology and other sciences.

The Bible, the Quran and Science. Written by Dr Maurice Bucaille. In his work, Dr. Baucille proves that the Quran correctly stated scientific facts unknown at the time of the Prophet - showing its divine origin!

Please visit The Noble Quran section, and read the "Prophecies" sub section to see the great Prophecies that were fulfilled only in the Noble Quran. The Noble Quran also made mention and promised the discovery of lost ancient cities and people's bodies, and these promises were all fulfilled today.

Even though Muslim world today is thousand miles behind compared to the scientific development done by Jews/Christian, they ridiculously claim through their inspiring discoveries that their holy book is indeed ‘super scientific'!

What does the current political status of the Muslim world have anything to do with the Noble Quran's claims and their confirmation by scientists' discoveries? You know Mr. Roy, you are NOT as smart as I thought you were. You seem to be very stupid and shallow-minded, because you not only relied on using your ridiculous comment above, but also you forgot that the Muslims contributed a great deal to Mathematics and other areas of Science such as Physics and Chemistry in the past.

Take "Algebra" for instance. Did you know that it was named after the Muslim scientists, Al-Jabir? He was the one who discovered or invented (call it as you wish) Algebra.

But our common sense suggests that the ancient religious scriptures of all prevalent religions were composed at a time when the humanity had a very limited understanding of scientific knowledge. One cannot legitimately expect to find the complex theories of ‘Big-Bang’, Super String, Relativity of Einstein etc. in the pages of those outdated Holy Books. In reality, the contents of those primitive books reflected the sheer backwardness prevalent in the contemporary society; their thoughts, belief, hopes and despair; nothing more nothing less. Let me illustrate with an example: when the holy Qur’an was composed, the eminent scientists like Galileo, Bruno, Copernicus et.al were not even born. How could the people of that primeval period even think of an earth, revolving around our sun?

But Allah Almighty did say: "When you look at the mountains, you think that they are standing still. But they are moving, like the clouds. Such is the manufacture of GOD, who perfected everything. He is fully Cognizant of everything you do. (The Noble Quran, 27:88)"

Why did Allah Almighty say in the Noble Quran that the mountains pass like the clouds in the sky do? We all know that to humans, the earth doesn't really move. Everything is standing still, except during the times of earth quakes.

So what is the purpose from Allah Almighty telling us that the mountains are moving? By the way, the "mountains" here is not just limited to mountains, but rather it includes the whole ground we're standing on, since like I said, to us humans, the earth doesn't move, except during the times of earth quakes. And the mountains are obviously connected with the ground.

By the way, clouds never really move away. They only rotate around the earth and travel above the earth; above land to land. So if the mountains (the whole ground of earth since the mountains are part of earth) are "moving, like the clouds", then this means that the earth is also moving in circle around its axle.

So, why didn't Allah Almighty just say so? Allah Almighty 1500 years ago did not want to make irrational and CRAZY statements that would've been refused and considered as absurd and utter nonsense to the people who lacked a great deal of knowledge about astronomy and geology. The Miracle of the Noble Quran is that while Allah Almighty made the statement in Noble Verse 27:88 acceptable to the people back then, He also included the scientific claim in it for us today, and told us that the earth does indeed move around its axle.

"And the earth We have spread out; set thereon mountains firm and immovable; and produced therein all kinds of things in due balance. (The Noble Quran, 15:19)"

"He created the heavens [sky] without any pillars that ye can see; He set on the earth mountains standing firm, lest it should shake with you; and He scattered through it beasts of all kinds. we send down rain from the sky, and produce on the earth every kind of noble creature, in pairs. (The Noble Quran, 31:10)"

"And He has set up on the earth mountains standing firm, lest it should shake with you; and rivers and roads; that ye may guide yourselves, and marks and signposts and by the stars (men) guide themselves. (The Noble Quran, 16:15-16)"

The mountains, like pegs, have deep roots embedded in the ground. (Anatomy of the Earth, Cailleux, p. 220)
Allah Almighty said: "Have We not made the earth as a bed, and the mountains as pegs? (The Noble Quran, 78:6-7)"
He the Almighty also said: "And He has set firm mountains in the earth so it would not shake with you....(The Noble Quran, 16:15)"

So, why did Allah Almighty say in the Noble Quran 1500 years ago that the earth is moving like the clouds?

"The day is defined to be the time between one dawn (or noon) and the next' i.e., the day is defined with respect to the position of the Sun in the sky. Now, the earth revolves around the sun in the sky and so the time taken for the Sun to come to the same position in the sky is longer than the time taken for the Earth to rotate once around itself. You can convince yourself about this by drawing a picture of the Earth in orbit around the Sun and rotating around itself at the same time.

So, the Earth's rotation period is actually 4 minutes less than what we call as one day. As a result of this, the Sun's position in the sky at noon is roughly fixed, but the stars slowly drift apart. So, the stars which are overhead at midnight today will slowly move in the sky until they will be overhead at noon 6 months apart.

If instead we defined a day to be the time taken by the Earth to rotate round itself exactly once, then as you mention, the Sun will be overhead on some day at midnight."

"It is He Who created the Night and the Day, and the sun and the moon: all (the celestial bodies) swim along, each in its rounded course. (The Noble Quran, 21:33)"

"Seest thou not that God merges Night into Day and he merges Day into Night; that He has subjected the sun, and the moon (to his Law), each running its course for a term appointed; and that God is well-acquainted with all that ye do? (The Noble Quran, 31:29)"

"And the sun runs his course for a period determined for him: that is the decree of (Him), the Exalted in Might, the All-Knowing. (The Noble Quran, 36:38)"

"He created the heavens and the earth in true (proportions): He makes the Night overlap the Day, and the Day overlap the Night: He has subjected the sun and the moon (to His law): Each one follows a course for a time appointed. Is not He the Exalted in Power - He Who forgives again and again? (The Noble Quran, 39:5)"

The following article clearly explains the above Noble Verses, especially Noble Verse 21:33. It shows how early Muslim scholars all agreed that the Earth was round. It is only the later Muslim scholars in the 1500s that deviated from this belief.

Ibn Taymiyah (d. 728 H / 1328 CE), may Allah be merciful with him, in his famous treatise, ar-Risalah al-'Arshiyah, refutes the position of the neo-Platonic philosophers who identified Allah's Throne with the ninth celestial sphere (Majmu'ul-Fatawa, Vol. 6, pp. 546-ff). In the course of his response, Ibn Taymiyah discusses the question of the earth is it round or flat? He writes:

[That] celestial bodies are round (istidaaratul-aflaak) - as it is the statement of astronomers and mathematicians (ahlul-hay'ah wal-hisab) - it is [likewise] the statement of the scholars of the Muslims; as Abul-Hasan ibn al-Manaadi, Abu Muhammad ibn Hazm, Abul-Faraj ibn al-Jawzi and others have quoted: that the Muslim scholars are in agreement [that all celestial bodies are round]. Indeed Allah - taala - has said: And He (i.e., Allah) it is Who created the night and the day, the sun and the moon. They float, each in a falak (The Noble Quran, 21:33). Ibn Abbas says: A falaka like that of a spinning wheel.

Ibn Taymiyah continues: The [word] falak [in the Arabic language] means that which is round. From which is the statement [of the Arabs]: <<The young girl's breasts have ta-fa-la-ka when they become round.>> (Vol. 6, pp. 566-567)

In an earlier passage (Vol. 6, pp. 565-566), Ibn Taymiyah discusses why those on the other side of the earth are not below us, just like we are not below them. He writes:

As for the other side of the earth it is surrounded by water. [Note: Admittedly, Ibn Taymiyah - as all Muslim scholars of his day- were not aware of the Americas and believed that the Old World was encompassed by an ocean.] There are no human beings or anything like that [on that side]. Even if we were to imagine that people were on that side of the earth, such individuals would still be on the face of the earth. Those on that side of the earth are not below those who are on this side; just like those on this side are not below those on that side. For as all spherical bodies surround a center point (markaz), no one side of a spherical body is under the other, nor is the north pole under the south [Note: Unlike Western maps, Muslim cartographers (map-makers) would draw the world with the south-side up.] or vice versa.

In another passage (Vol. 5, p. 150) Ibn Taymiyah clearly states the earth is spherical.

Significantly Abu Ya'la in his work Tabaqatal-Hanabilah (Biographical Entries of the Hanabali Scholars) quotes the unanimous consensus (ijma) of all Muslim scholars that the earth is round.

This consensus was mentioned by the scholars of the second generation (the students of the Prophet's Companions) and was based upon Ibn Abbas' explanation to 21:33 (previously cited) and other evidences.

The later belief of Muslim scholars, like as-Suyuti (died 911 AH / 1505 CE) that the earth is flat represents a deviation from this earlier opinion.

Obviously they could never comprehend this, as they were familiar only with the sun rising in the east and then setting in the west; the rising of the moon at the onset of night. These are the phenomena they have observed since their birth. God controls these heavenly objects, they thought. That certain laws of physics govern the progress of these celestial bodies, they could never comprehend. This is what is accurately reflected in many verses of the Qur’an, Hadis, Vedas and the Bible. Consider this verse from Sura Luqman (31:29) from the holy Qur’an :

PICKTHAL: Hast thou not seen how Allah causeth the night to pass into the day and causeth the day to pass into the night, and hath subdued the sun and the moon (to do their work), each running unto an appointed term; and that Allah is Informed of what ye do?

In this verse Allah clearly says that he is the one who converts the day into night and vice versa; subjected the sun and the moon to follow a fixed orbit. We find many similar verses elsewhere in the Qur’an as well. Here are a few samples: Sura Ya-Sin (36:38), Sura Az -Zumar (39:5), Sura Al-Rad (13:2), Sura Al-Anbiya ( 21:33 ), Sura Al-Baqara (2:258), Sura Al-Kahf (18:86), Sura Ta-Ha (20:130), just to name a few. However, even a thorough, painstaking search of the entire Qur’an does not show a single verse anywhere in it that supports the scientific reality of the rotation of earth. According to Allah, the earth is motionless, completely static. Period.

Is not He (best) Who made the earth a fixed abode, and placed rivers in the folds thereof, and placed firm hills therein, and hath set a barrier between the two seas? Is there any Allah beside Allah? Nay, but most of them know not!

In the same vein, Sura Al-Rum (30:25), Sura Fatir (35:41), Sura Luqman (31:10), Sura Al-Baqara ( 2:22 ), Sura An-Nahl ( 16:15 ) exhorts the Allah’s decree that the earth is completely immovable.

Since the Islamic scholars are absolutely certain that the Qur’an contains all the scientific principles, with due respect, I earnestly requested them to show me a verse, just a single verse in the Qur’an that states that the earth moves round the sun; or that the 'earth rotates' at the least. The Arabic word for earth is ‘Ard’ and the Arabic word for rotation is ‘Falak’. If someone could show me just a single verse in the Qur’an that uses the two words ‘Ard’ and ‘Falak’ side by side’, I would accept my defeat.

Since then no scholar could show me a single verse to that effect. One author (Osama Abdallah) in his website (www.answering-christianity.com) tried to refute me through a lengthy response:

Mr. Roy said: "However, even a thorough, painstaking search of the entire Qur’an does not show a single verse anywhere in it that supports the scientific reality of the rotation of earth. According to Allah, the earth is motionless, completely static. Period."

"When you look at the mountains, you think that they are standing still. But they are moving, like the clouds. Such is the manufacture of GOD, who perfected everything. He is fully Cognizant of everything you do. (The Noble Quran, 27:88)"

As I mentioned above, why did Allah Almighty say in the Noble Quran that the mountains pass like the clouds in the sky do? We all know that to humans, the earth doesn't really move. Everything is standing still, except during the times of earth quakes.

"And the earth We have spread out; set thereon mountains firm and immovable; and produced therein all kinds of things in due balance. (The Noble Quran, 15:19)"

So, why did Allah Almighty say in the Noble Quran 1500 years ago that the earth is moving like the clouds?

If instead we defined a day to be the time taken by the Earth to rotate round itself exactly once, then as you mention, the Sun will be overhead on some day at midnight."

I would like to give a response to only those portions which is relevant to my article and deserves author's merit.

Even though he is not a Jew nor a Christian, he starts his article by a quote from a Bangladeshi apostate woman:....

I must admit that I could not fathom author's logic (if there is any) here. Why I have to be a Jew or a Christian to quote a Bangladeshi apostate woman (Taslima Nasrin, in this case)?

She did convert to Christianity, didn't she? She was influenced by Christian Missionaries wasn't she? Therefore, she didn't really leave Islam due to her *outstanding* discoveries about false scientific claims in the Noble Quran, but rather because she was influenced by a false religion. Anyway, I apologize for not being clear. I probably should not have said that quote. But anyway, let's move on...

The Quranic and Islamic teaching does not insist nor directly claim that the sun moves around the earth, as I will clearly prove it in this article.

Well, there are plenty of verses in Qur’an that depict that the movement of the sun; and again there are few of verses that clearly represent that earth is fixed (unmovable). It is not hard to reach the logical conclusion if one really wishes too. Let's see how "clearly" you "prove" your baseless assumption.

There are Noble Verses where Allah Almighty talks about the things that appear to us as is. No one is disputing that. There are Noble Verses, however, that show Divine Knowledge of Astronomy. I have already presented Noble Verse 27:88 above with elaborations that clearly prove my point.

To see the accurate scientific claims in the Noble Qur’an and Islam from the "Big Bang Theory and the Cosmic Crunch", to "Iron was sent down to earth through asteroids and wasn't formed by earth materials as other metals were", to "The Universe is expanding", to "The Human formation", to "Life originated from water", etc..., please visit:....

Also Mr. Roy, you have utterly failed to address the "iron was sent from space", "the expanding universe", and "life originated from water"!

Also, to the topics that you addressed, you have purposely presented partial number of Noble Verses while purposely ignoring the important ones to deceive the reader. I invite everyone to read your article and my response to it to see how untruthful you truly were.

Well, without being biased nor try to answer away any error in Islam, but the Bible and the Pagan Gita, the Mohabharat and the Vedas clearly and DIRECTLY claim that the earth doesn't move and that the sun rotates around it:

From the Bible: "He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved. (From the NIV Bible, Psalm 104:5)"

However, no where in the Noble Qur’an or any Saying (Hadith) from Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him do you see a straight forward and DIRECT claim about the sun rotating around the earth and that the earth doesn't move.

Muslim apologists are fond of claiming that ONLY the Qur’an miraculously predicted the findings of modern science, and that all of its factual scientific claims are flawless whereas other scriptures are all nonsense. I reject the Qur’an like any other religious scriptures, only because it is fallible, primitive work of a bygone age, and inappropriate for our times. Please take a look on the two verses from Bible and Qur’an:

"He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved. (From the NIV Bible, Psalm 104:5)"

Is not He (best) Who made the earth a fixed abode, and placed rivers in the folds thereof, and placed firm hills therein, and hath set a barrier between the two seas? Is there any Allah beside Allah? Nay, but most of them know not! An-Naml (27:61)

I did not find much difference between these two. Both emphasizes that the earth is fixed and motionless. To be frank a humanly-written text would be expected to reflect the state of such knowledge as it stood during its time. But while Bible focuses the "earth can never be moved" it appears to OA that the earth is indeed motionless and thus completely unscientific, but in the breath, while Qur’an says in the exactly similar way, "Who made the earth a fixed abode..", it does not appear to them as the same motionless earth. This kind of thinking of course satisfies only a Muslim apologist but no rational person will give any importance to it.

Again, Allah Almighty in the Noble Quran did talk about the things that appear to us. To you, these Noble Verses appear to be contradicting to science. But however, Allah Almighty did also say:

"And the earth We have spread out; set thereon mountains firm and immovable; and produced therein all kinds of things in due balance. (The Noble Quran, 15:19)"

So, why did Allah Almighty say in the Noble Quran 1500 years ago that the earth is moving like the clouds?

If instead we defined a day to be the time taken by the Earth to rotate round itself exactly once, then as you mention, the Sun will be overhead on some day at midnight."

The Qur’an is unashamedly of its time. According to Qur’an our Earth is flat and both the sun and the moon run across it. They are “lamps” hanging from the ceiling of the sky that is being supported by invisible columns. The Quranic solar system also contains invisible genies. They climb over each other’s shoulders and reach the heaven to eavesdrop the conversation of the “Exalted Assembly”. The stars are used as missiles (shooting stars) to hit them (genies). The moon is supposed to be above the stars. Then sun also must rise from muddy waters and enter in the murky waters just as Zul Qaranain witnessed (sura: 18:86, 18:90). There is also a position for the throne of Allah. But the throne is over the waters and the Sun has to prostrate in front of the throne and ask permission of Allah to rise. If you want to sell these non-sense as "scientific", I have nothing much to say.

I have already addressed all of these points and gave detailed Arabic analysis to each and every Noble Verse you gave at: Does the Noble Quran support "The Earth moves around the Sun" theory? My article is lengthy because it is a rebuttal to your lengthy article. Unfortunately, it is not possible for me to answer all of the points you just mentioned in a paragraph or two.

Your rebuttal is supposed to be a detailed response to my rebuttal to you. You obviously had failed to do that, and just sufficed in giving general remarks without substance of proofs.

I want to comment on the translation "The earth like a carpet Spread out", which is "Al-ard MAHDA". "Al-ard" means "the earth" and "mahda" means "to straighten" or "to make straight", or "to comfort (as in mahdi, the comfortor)" or "alleviate". For instance, When workers build streets, they comfort (mahd) or alleviate the land for us to be able to drive our cars on it. Again, the Noble Verse doesn't suggest that the earth is flat. It says that Allah Almighty alleviated the land for us "to go about therein by roads".

1- Allah Almighty said that the earth is "egg-shaped".

2- The earth had gone through different stages and shapes since it was first

created.

3- The roundness of the earth in the Noble Qur’an.

- The Arabic word "dahaha". ...

If we have any doubt about what Allah really thought of the shape of the Earth, we can read the following verse carefully:

The “expanse” gives an idea of something flat. The Arabic word used in the Qur’an is Mehad, (bed). All the beds that I have seen so far were flat. None of them were spherical. I have never seen any spherical carpet also :-)

But you do walk on a flat earth, while at the same time it is round like an egg! So what is exactly your point here?

The author also quoted the verse 79:30 which, according to him it is stated that the Earth is egg shape. The author suggested Eggs are spherical so as earth.

But the author is completely wrong in two ways. First, our earth is not egg-shape. Our earth’s shape can be described as an oblate spheroid, more like orange – slightly flattened at the poles and slightly bulging at the equator shape. Even school going children know these facts. And secondly the term "egg-shape" is also a unique invention of Muslim apologists, I must say. The verse (79:30) actually does not deal with egg.

079.030

YUSUFALI: And the earth, moreover, hath He extended (to a wide expanse);

PICKTHAL: And after that He spread the earth,

SHAKIR: And the earth, He expanded it after that.

Dahaha is not egg. Egg in Arabic is “al baiza”. That is why the above three translators did not put any egg inside. I have confirmed it with many Arabic-speaking people. I also once e-mailed to Dr. Ali Sina, the founder of FFI. He also confirmed that the translation of the above verse by three most reliable interpreters is correct.

First of all, the earth is not quite round like an orange. It's roundness is shaped more like an egg. Oranges tend to be closer to perfect circles. The earth is not a perfect circle or ball. You yourself said "more like orange – slightly flattened at the poles and slightly bulging at the equator shape." That seems to be closer to an egg. You must be thinking only chicken eggs. But what about ostrich's egg. That egg seems to perfectly fit your description.

As to the meaning of the word "egg" in Arabic, it is not "al baiza". The modern word is "Al-Baida" or "Al-Bayda", which is derived from the word "Abyad", which means "white". "Al-Bayda" or "Al-Baida" is not the original root word for "egg".

As to the "egg-shaped" invention, there is no invention. According to Tafseer ul-Jalalayn or Al-Jalalein, the earth is egg-shaped or round like a ball or any other similar object:

"At the earth how it is spread out(*) (Arabic: sutihat): meaning it was stretched, so they can see in it a sign for the power of Allah ... and his saying sutihat makes it obvious that the earth is flat, and this is certified by Ulama' ash-shar'a (the shari'a theologians), not a globe as it is said by ahlul-hay'a (the laymen)." (Tafseer Al-Jalalein. printed in Damascus 1964. Al-Mallah Printshop and Bookstore)"

As to why many Muslims never understood the word "dahaha" as "made egg-shaped" is because the original Noble Quran Arabic is very complex. Modern Arabic speaking people do not fully understand it. Only specialized people in Arabic literature, laws and grammar can fully understand certain words.

The Tafseer (interpretation) Al-Jalalein above is one of the most used tafseers in the Muslim world. It is well recognized and considered very authentic and original.

- Muslim scientists in the 14th century concluded that the earth is round
from the Noble Quran.
- The "two Easts and two Wests" in the Noble Quran and the roundness
of the earth.

This article was taken from multiple Islamic web sites. I added some coloring to help the reader see the most important points.

The earth literally has two sun rising points and two sun setting points! Noble Quran and Science agree on this:

Before we look at the Noble Verses, it is important to know when the sun rises on one half of the earth, it is at the same time setting on the other half, and when it sets on one half of the earth, it is at the same time rising on the other half. This clearly means that the earth literally has two sun rising points (mashriqayn) and two sun setting points (maghribayn)!

The Arabic words "mashriqayn" and "maghribayn" were translated as "two Easts" and "two Wests" respectively. It is important to know that Noble Verses 55:10-25 are speaking about the earth and the some of the Creations that exist on it.

The two root Arabic words "Sharq" and "Gharb", which mashriqayn and maghribayn are derived from respectively, can also literally mean the rising point of the sun, and the setting point of the sun.

Important Note: "two Easts" would've be an accurate translation if the word was "Sharqayn" and NOT "mashriqayn". As I said above, "Sharq" means "East", and "Sharqayn" is two easts. But "Mashriqayn" is a plural of "Mashriq", which is used for referring to sun rising as in "Mashriq Al-Shams" (the rising of the sun).

*** The same for "two Wests" and "Gharbayn". This is the literal and accurate meaning for "two Wests". "Maghribayn" is plural of "Maghrib", which is used for referring to sung setting as in "Maghrib Al-Shams" (the setting of the sun).

The fact that Allah Almighty chose to use "Mashriqayn" and "Maghribayn" as opposed to "Sharqayn" and "Gharbayn" is a clear proof that Noble Verse 55:17 is referring to the two sun's rising and setting, and not to east and west.

Here is another interpretation to the "two Easts" and "two Wests" of planet earth in the Noble Quran:

Lord of the two Easts, and Lord of the two Wests.
Which then of the bounties of thy Lord will you deny?

In the verse, Lord of the two Easts, and Lord of the two Wests, there is sure evidence that the earth is round because two Easts and two Wests can come about only when the earth is round; for when the sun rises over one region it sets in another, and when it sets in one sphere it rises in another. Thus the actuality of two Easts and two Wests can clearly be seen.

Now let us look at the inner or spiritual world of man. It is an established fact in the physical world that the reason for the rising and setting of the sun is that, in the course of the earth’s revolution, whichever half of the earth faces the sun gets the sunrise and becomes bright. Similarly, the other half of the earth which is turned away from the sun, or which, in a manner of speaking, has its back to the sun, experiences the setting of the sun and its consequent darkness.

The same thing happens in the spiritual world. Any nation that turns its face towards guidance finds that the sun of guidance and progress begins to shed its rays on it, and this is so whether the enlightenment is physical or spiritual. In other words, to whatever kind of education a man directs his attention, the sun of that kind of guidance shines on him.

On the other hand, if a nation turns its face away from guidance it will be enveloped in the darkness of decadence and perdition. Thus, there is one East that pertains to the physical growth and perfection and another East that relates to spiritual advancement and perfection, and these are the two Easts mentioned in the verse above. Similarly, there are two Wests — one pertaining to physical decline and decay and the other to spiritual degradation and deviation from the true path. These conditions overtake nations in turns and this is so because of people’s own deeds.

From another vantage point, we find that today, too, the world is divided into two Easts — a near East and a far East — and two Wests — a near West, referring to Europe, and a far West, meaning America.

In short, these verses tell us that Allah is the complete Lord of both Easts and both Wests. As proof of His physical Providence, His physical sun shines on people in the East as well as those in the West. Similarly, why should His spiritual Providence not allow the Holy Quran, His spiritual sun, to illuminate the nations of the East and the West as well? And why should the East and the West not live under the same spiritual law? This comprises the second East and the second West.

In fact, these verses contain a prophecy that although at this time the sun of the Holy Quran shines on the Eastern nations, yet a time will come when that light will also irradiate the people of the West. But this has a resemblance to the physical system, that is, just as when the physical sun sets on the East it rises in the West, so, too, this spiritual sun of the Holy Quran will rise in the West just when the people of the East turn their backs on the Holy Quran, and because of this abandonment of the Book all kinds of misery and darkness will overtake them. When this happens, this spiritual sun will rise over the Western nations who will then bow their heads before the verities of the Holy Quran and will be illuminated by its splendour. This is the meaning of the prophecy recorded in the Hadith that before the Day of Resurrection the sun shall rise in the West. Thus, there is a remarkable prophecy hidden in this verse that the sun of the Holy Quran which now shines through the grace of the Holy Prophet (sas) in the East will one day illumine the Western world. And why should this not be so when Allah is not only the Lord of both East and West but the Lord of both kinds of Easts and Wests, that is, the physical and the spiritual East and West, and His Providence encompasses the physical as well as the spiritual kingdoms? If the physical sun gives light to both the East and the West, why should the spiritual sun of the Holy Quran not illumine both East and West? Thus, how unjust it is to deny these marvellous bounties of the Almighty!

That article tried to use Ibn Taymeyya as a reliable reference who thought "Chemistry is Evil Magic". I like to leave it to the readers to judge how much reliable Taymeyya's resource is in our scientific debate. Some people indeed dig their own grave!

Anyway, let's come to the point directly. The verse 21:33 in that article does not even mention about earth, let alone about its roundness or flatness. Here is the exact translation:

PICKTHAL: And He it is Who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. They float, each in an orbit.

The verse under discussion talks only about the movement of sun and moon. There is no mention of earth; neither directly nor indirectly. I would like to request the author to refrain himself from twisting the fact. The author (OA) has mentioned the same verse in some other places in his article to "prove" earth's rotation. I will explain the inaccuracy, falsehood and deception of the explanation more elaborately on that occasion.

A good slap on the face? Before I translate the above quote and respond to the comment, let us first learn briefly about Ibn Taymiyya:

"Taqiyy ad-Din Ahmad Ibn Taymiyya[ibn tImE�yu] Pronunciation Key, 1263–1328, Muslim theologian and jurist. He lived in Damascus after the collapse of the central caliphate to the Mongol invasion from the East, and during the continuous threat of Christendom from the North and West. Influenced by Ibn Hanbal, he was unyielding in his political and religious positions, and was frequently persecuted and imprisoned. A prolific writer, Ibn Taymiyya advocated a doctrine of conservative reformism, stressing the need for communal solidarity. He remains one of the lasting influences on contemporary political Islam, notably on Wahhabiya and Salafiyyah."

Now in regards to the comment above, let me first translate the above Arabic quotes, word for word, so we can all see the real Truth:

"Ibn Taymiyya says in the verdicts about his opinion on Chemistry: What the people of Adam make from gold and silver and other metals and jewelry, and other things from what Allah created; similar to what they make from pearls, precious stones, grape, rose water and other things, these things are not like what Allah created, but it is an imitation to it in looks only, and it is not equal in quality and reality. All of that is prohibited in Islam without dispute between the Muslim Jurists (or Scholars) who know the Truth of such mater. And whoever declares that the fake gold as real gold then his words are false in perception and the religion of Islam. And he (Ibn Taymiyya) continues: And the Truth of Chemistry is that it is creates imitations of the creation, and that is wrong in perception, and Allah Almighty has no imitation to Him: Not in His self nor in His Characteristics or Actions. And everything that Chemistry had created is a violation to Allah's creation, and therefore, it is prohibited. (The Verdicts, the book of Fiqh, Selling, the Door of Choice, Matter: The work of Chemistry, is it lawful to the common sense and Religion?. 1st Edition: Book 29, page. 368)".

"And Ibn Taymiyya says about the Chemist, Jabir bin Hayyan: And in regards to Jabir bin Hayyan, the inventor of popular chemistry work and invention, he is ignored, not known, and has no admission among the Scientists and Scholars. (The same section, page 369)".

"We cannot but invite attention to a fact that Jabir bin Hayyan (103/721-200/815), known as Geber, the father of modern chemistry, worked with the materials gathered by Jafar Sadik in Medina, who referred to his Lord in his writings as "My Master" and "A mine of wisdom." The intellectuals in Renaissance in Europe greatly took benefits from the treatises of Jabir bin Hayyan, and these were translated into Latin, German, French and English. He is world-famed as the father of Arabic Alchemy. The word al-kimiya is usually said to be derived from the Egyptian kam-it or kem-it (the black), or some have thought, from the Greek chyma (molten metal).

According to "The Cultural Atlas of Islam" (New York, 1986, p. 328) by Ismail al-Faruqi and Lois al-Faruqi that, "In response to Jafar al-Sadik's wishes, he invented a kind of paper that resisted fire, and an ink that could be read at night. He invented an additive which, when applied to an iron surface, inhabited rust and when applied to a textile, would make it water repellent." Jabir bin Hayyan defined chemical combination as union of the elements together in small particles too small for the naked eyes to see without loss of their character, as John Dalton (1766-1844), the English chemist and physicist was to discover ten centuries later. He was however first to describe the processes of calcination and reduction, improved the methods of evaporation, sublimation, melting and crystallisation; prepared acetic acid, sulphric acid, nitric acid and the mixture of the last two, in which gold and silver could be dissolved; discovered several chemical compounds, and separated antimony and arsenic from the sulphides......." (http://ismaili.net/histoire/history03/history384.html)

"With the farman and guidance from Imam Jaaferus Sadiq, Jabir bin Hayyan who is known in Islamic History as the father of chemistry, discovered fire-proof writing paper and luminous ink. Jabir is also an author of some 80 volumes of books on chemistry." (http://www.bohra.net/archive/noble.html)

The opinion of Ibn Taymiyya about Chemistry had Truth and errors in it. He was right about the imitation of Allah Almighty's creation and fooling people and claim that has an equal quality and value. A fake gold can never be equal to real gold even if they look similar. Ibn Tymiyya was absolutely right about that.

What unfortunately he went wrong on was his generalization against Chemistry and his unqualified criticism and degradation to the great Chemist, Jabir bin Hayyan. If Ibn Taymiyya disapproved of some of Jabir's work, then he should've specified that and made it more clear, rather than just give a general comment to all of Jabir's outstanding work.

But the point here still remains: Mr. Avijit Roy did not give a slap on the face to any Muslim who quotes Ibn Taymiyya's Noble Quran's interpretation about the earth's roundness. Ibn Taymiyya's interpretation of all celestial bodies (including earth) being round, and Allah Almighty's mentioning of the "two easts and two wests" that exist on earth clearly and irrefutably prove that the Noble Quran did claim that the earth is round just like all other planets.

Tell us Mr. Roy, what other object beside a spherical one would have two easts and two wests, and why do you think Allah Almighty said "two easts and two wests" in the Noble Quran?

In fact, as I proved above, Allah Almighty Said that the earth has two sun rising points and two sun setting points, which perfectly agrees with Science today.

Actually what Mr. Avijit Roy doesn't see in these Noble Verses and in Geology is that it's been scientifically proven that the mountains and the hills do actually help the earth to stay balanced during it's rotation around itself. If we didn't have those mountains and hills, the earth would be in a constant shake because of the high speed in rotation.

I think this “mountain story for stabilizing earth from shaking” is perhaps one of the lies of Dr. Maurice Bucaille revealed in his (in)famous book -"The Bible, the Qur'an and Science", which is comprehensively refuted by Dr. William Campbell in his "The Qur'an and the Bible in the Light of History & Science". Commenting on author's statement, "If we didn't have those mountains and hills, the earth would be in a constant shake because of the high speed in rotation.", I would quote Professor of Geology, Dr. David A. Young - "While it is true that many mountain ranges are composed of folded rocks (and the folds may be of large scale) it is not true that the folds render the crust stable. The very existence of the folds is evidence of instability in the crust." In other words, Mountains don't keep the earth from shaking. Their formation caused and still causes the surface of the earth to shake. But the ancient Arab people did not have that much knowledge to know the correct reason.

Secondly, consider the earthquake zones of earth. Earthquakes happen 'all the time' and they are concentrated along specific zones, in which mountainous areas are also concentrated. Therefore, claims that mountains are firm and immovable, and that mountains prevent the earth from shaking are in-correct & un-scientific.

First of all, no ever said that mountains prevent earth quakes! I never made such claim, and I doubt if any Muslim scholar ever made such claim either. Here are some facts from SOME non-Muslim Western Geology books about mountains preventing the entire earth from shaking while it is rotating around its axle:

The amazing creation of earth and its relationship with mountains - Mountains prevent the earth from shaking and the Noble Quran made the same exact claim!

1- The amazing creation of earth and its relationship with mountains.
2- Scientific facts and evidence with pictures about mountains preventing the earth from shaking.

While I was watching the "Al-Jazeera" Arabic news channel through my satellite dish, I saw a documentary program explaining how the mountains were formed/created on earth, and what's their effect on the earth's geology.

Let us look at Noble Verse 31:10 "He created the heavens [sky] without any pillars that ye can see; He set on the earth mountains standing firm, lest it should shake with you; and He scattered through it beasts of all kinds. we send down rain from the sky, and produce on the earth every kind of noble creature, in pairs."

Let us look at Noble Verses 16:15-16 "And He has set up on the earth mountains standing firm, lest it should shake with you; and rivers and roads; that ye may guide yourselves, and marks and signposts and by the stars (men) guide themselves."

Let us look at Noble verses 21:30-31 "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?

And We have set on the earth mountains standing firm, lest it should shake with them, and We have made therein broad highways (between mountains) for them to pass through: That they may receive guidance."

Let us look at Noble Verses 13:1-4 "Alif Lam Mim Ra. These are the signs of the book: that which hath been revealed unto thee from they Lord is the truth; but most men believe not.

Allah is He Who raised the heavens [sky] without any pillars that ye can see; then He established Himself on the throne (of Authority); He has subjected the sun and the moon (to His Law)! Each one runs (its course) for a term appointed. He doth regulate all affairs, explaining the signs in detail, that ye may believe with certainty in the meeting with your Lord.

And it is He Who spread out the earth, and set thereon mountains standing firm, and (flowing rivers: and fruit of every kind He made in pairs, two and two: He draweth the night as a veil O'er the day. Behold, verily in these things there are Signs for those who consider!

And in the earth are tracts (diverse though) neighbouring, and gardens of vines and fields sown with corn, and palm trees growing out of single roots or otherwise: watered with the same water, yet some of them We make more excellent than others to eat. Behold, verily in these things there are signs for those who understand!"

Let us look at Noble Verse 15:19 "And the earth We have spread out; set thereon mountains firm and immovable; and produced therein all kinds of things in due balance."

Let us look at Noble Verses 50:6-9 "Do they not look at the sky above them? How We have made it and adorned it, and there are no flaws in it?

And the earth We have spread it out, and set thereon mountains standing firm, and produced therein every kind of beautiful growth (in pairs)

And We send down from the sky rain charged with blessings, and We produce therewith gardens and grain for harvests;"

Let us look at Noble Verses 78:4-8 "Verily, verily they shall soon (come to) know!

Let us look at Noble Verse 27:61 "Or, Who has made the earth firm to live in; made rivers in its midst; set thereon mountains immovable; and made a separating bar between the two bodies of flowing water? (can there be another) god besides God? Nay, most of them know not."

Let us look at Noble Verse 50:7 "And the earth- We have spread it out, and set thereon mountains standing firm, and produced therein every kind of beautiful growth (in pairs)-"

We can clearly see from the above Noble Verses (13:1-4,15:19,16:15-16, 21:30-31, 31:10, 50:6-9, 78:4-8, 27:61 and 50:7) that Allah Almighty created the mountains to stand firmly on earth, and to stabilize the earth and not let it shake or get out of balance (15:19,16:15-16, 21:30-31 and 31:10).

According to the scientific discovery that I saw on T.V., geologists discovered that for every curved object' height that is above the earth's surface (such as mountains and hills) it is expanded 10 to 15 times more inside earth.

For for instance, if a mountain's height is 4,000 feet, then its expansion inside the earth is approximately 40,000 to 60,000 feet.

This expansion inside the earth, according to what they (the geologists) claim, keeps the earth together while its revolving in a high speed around itself, and prevents it from getting out of balance and shaking while revolving.

If mountains and hills didn't exist today, then the earth's incredible fast rotation around itself would be shaky and we would be having earth quakes every minute of our lives.

It is quite amazing that we find such valuable information revealed very accurately in the Noble Quran, a Holy Scripture that was revealed from GOD Almighty more than 1400 years ago.

Scientific facts and evidence with pictures about mountains preventing the earth from shaking:

The following article was taken from http://www.islam-guide.com/frm-ch1-1-b.htm, and is also from "A Brief Illustration Guide To Understanding Islam" book that I recently bought, www.islam-brief-guide.org, library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 97-67654, ISBN: 9960-34-011-2.

The Quran on Mountains:

A book entitled Earth is a basic reference textbook in many universities around the world. One of its two authors is Professor Emeritus Frank Press. He was the Science Advisor to former US President Jimmy Carter, and for 12 years was the President of the National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC. His book says that mountains have underlying roots. [1] These roots are deeply embedded in the ground, thus, mountains have a shape like a peg (see figures 7, 8, and 9).

Figure 7: Mountains have deep roots under the surface of the ground. (Earth, Press and Siever, p. 413.)

Figure 8 (Click here to enlarge)

Figure 8: Schematic section. The mountains, like pegs, have deep roots embedded in the ground. (Anatomy of the Earth, Cailleux, p. 220.)

Figure 9 (Click here to enlarge)

Figure 9: Another illustration shows how the mountains are peg-like in shape, due to their deep roots. (Earth Science, Tarbuck and Lutgens, p. 158.)

Have We not made the earth as a bed, and the mountains as pegs? (Quran, 78:6-7)

Modern earth sciences have proven that mountains have deep roots under the surface of the ground (see figure 9) and that these roots can reach several times their elevations above the surface of the ground. [2] So the most suitable word to describe mountains on the basis of this information is the word ‘peg,’ since most of a properly set peg is hidden under the surface of the ground. The history of science tells us that the theory of mountains having deep roots was introduced only in the latter half of the nineteenth century. [3]

Mountains also play an important role in stabilizing the crust of the earth. [4] They hinder the shaking of the earth. God has said in the Quran:

And He has set firm mountains in the earth so that it would not shake with you... (Quran, 16:15)

Likewise, the modern theory of plate tectonics holds that mountains work as stabilizers for the earth. This knowledge about the role of mountains as stabilizers for the earth has just begun to be understood in the framework of plate tectonics since the late 1960’s. [5]

Could anyone during the time of the Prophet Muhammad

have known of the true shape of mountains?

Could anyone imagine that the solid massive mountain which he sees before him actually extends deep into the earth and has a root, as scientists assert? A large number of books of geology, when discussing mountains, only describe that part which is above the surface of the earth. This is because these books were not written by specialists in geology. However, modern geology has confirmed the truth of the Quranic verses.

(1) Earth, Press and Siever, p. 435. Also see Earth Science, Tarbuck and Lutgens, p. 157.

Lastly, citing the mountains as "immovable" in some Quranic verses (015.019, 027.061 etc) also deserve severe criticism. The mountains are part of a continental plate which is moving and are attached to a rotating (moving) Earth; The Earth itself is revolving about the Sun; Sun and its planets are revolving about our Milky Way galaxy; The Milky Way galaxy is again moving around the center of the Local Group of Galaxies.... etc. So mountains cannot be considered as "immoveable" as the whole universe is moving. So if I were God, I would write the verse in a following way (thanks to Farside):

015.019 And the earth We have spread out (like a carpet); set thereon mountains firm and moving through the cosmic void.

You obviously lack a great deal of knowledge about the Noble Quran since you missed the following Noble Verse about mountains:

"When you look at the mountains, you think that they are standing still. But they are moving, like the clouds. Such is the manufacture of GOD, who perfected everything. He is fully Cognizant of everything you do. (The Noble Quran, 27:88)"

"And the earth We have spread out; set thereon mountains firm and immovable; and produced therein all kinds of things in due balance. (The Noble Quran, 15:19)"

So, why did Allah Almighty say in the Noble Quran 1500 years ago that the earth is moving like the clouds?

If instead we defined a day to be the time taken by the Earth to rotate round itself exactly once, then as you mention, the Sun will be overhead on some day at midnight."

[OA]

Here the rising and the setting of the sun have nothing to do with the earth's or the sun's rotations, nor does it say that there is a hole in the earth that the sun sets in. In Noble Verses 18:86 and 90, it was talking about the morning and the evening times, and in Noble Verse 20:130, Muslims are commanded to praise and glorify Allah Almighty before dawn and after sun set.

Even today we still use phrases like "sun rise" and "sun set", despite the fact that we know that the earth rotates around the sun. The Noble Verses above do not make any DIRECT claim about the sun rotating around the earth, nor do they suggest that the sun rises from a hole and sets in another hole on earth.

Until when he reached the setting of the Sun, he found it set in a spring of murky water. Near it he found a People. We said: "O Zul-qarnain! (Thou hast authority,) either to punish them or to treat them with kindness." (Q. 18:86)

Does the above verse speak of the Sun setting or does it speak of the place where the Sun sets? If the above verse speaks about seeing the Sun setting and no more, we have to ask, "But the Sun rises every day and on every nation. Why was that day and that place singled out in the life of Zul-Qarnain to be described in the words 'Until when he reached the setting of the Sun, he found it sets in a spring of murky water. Near it he found a People."? The only sense we can make out of the Qur'anic verse is that after so many sunrises and so many sunsets Zul-Qarnain finally "reached the setting of the Sun" and he found that "it set in a spring of murky water" near which he found a People."

If all that Zul-Qarnain experienced was a daily sunrise and a daily sunset, why was he singled out by the Qur'an as the person who reached both the place of the rising and setting of the Sun? Zul-Qarnain is not the only person who saw the sun rise and set, we have all had this experience. The only sense that could be made of these verses is that Zul-Qarnain alone had this unique experience of reaching the place of the sunrise and the sunset. To read more you can visit the following link: http://debate.domini.org/newton/spring.html

If the above verses only depict "sun rise" and "sun set" that is being used in our normal daily life, then what is so "scientific" and "miraculous" about the book? Anyone have no or minimal scientific knowledge can come up with such "miraculous" hocus-pocus.

"Until, when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it set in a spring of murky water: Near it he found a People: We said: 'O Zul-qarnain! (thou hast authority,) either to punish them, or to treat them with kindness.' (The Noble Quran, 18:86)"

"Until, when he came to the rising of the sun, he found it rising on a people for whom We had provided no covering protection against the sun. (The Noble Quran, 18:90)"

1- The sun had always risen from the east and set in the west in a constant circular motion. To our human perspective, the sun had always rose from the east, and set in the west, and then goes under the earth to rise back from the east and so on.

2- The sun could not physically set on a lake or Spring, because that area of water could not have space or hole under it where the sun would go through it to then go under the earth so it would rise back up again from the east.

3- Not a single Muslim scholar interpreted this Noble Verse as the SUN SETTING INSIDE THE Mercy spring water.

4- On the contrary in point #3, the Muslim scholars were the first to recognize earth as a spherical globe.

5- If the verses were to be taken literally, then the sun would have to set in the west, and would have to then rise back from the west, and then set in the east and then rise back from the east and so on.

Did the sun ever bounce back and forth between the east and the west in its rising and setting?

6- If we take the above Noble Verses LITERALLY, then this means that the sun would have to bounce back and forth between the west and the east.

7- While the Noble Verses above don't give specific timing on how long it took Zul-Qarnayn to roam through the lands, but people back then were believed to be huge. It was much easier for people to roam through the lands on foot than what we can do today. This means that a person could walk through a great area of land before he/she tires out.

8- Clearly, the setting of the sun, is a figurative speech indicating that he reached a town with a spring or lake in it, and he meditated through the beautiful view of the setting of the sun on that town.

9- Some might say that the Noble Verse meant to say that the sun set on a place or through a hole near that Spring. In this case, this interpretation had refuted their "Literal Speech" interpretation, because they now had NULLIFIED their point and fixed position about the sun setting exactly in that mercy lake or spring. Since they now agree that it doesn't NECESSARILY mean that the sun literally set on the water, then the "setting through a hole near the water" claim is only and interpretation without clear cut certainty and proofs.

Having established point #9, we now can indisputably say that the Speech in the above Noble Verses is Figurative and not Literal. Otherwise, we are left with the explanation of why the sun never rose from the west. Not even once!

The Noble Verses are clearly explained below. They do not suggest any scientific fact. They are poetical, and the place of the Murkey water and sun setting upon it had been already discovered.

The following commentary regarding the Noble Verses above was copied from Appendix 6, page 738, from the Noble Quran's Commentary (The Meaning of the Holy Qur'an, Abdullah Yusuf Ali, ISBN- 0-91597-59-0, Appendix 6, Page 738).

Note: Please pay attention to the dark green bolded sections below. By the way, the two Iron Gates that the Noble Quran mentioned were discovered.

"We now come to the Iron Gate which corresponds exactly to the Quranic description, and has the best claim to be connected with Alexander's story. It is near another Derbend in Central Asia, Hissar District, about 150 miles southeast of Bukhara. A very narrow defile, with overhanging rocks, occurs on the main route between Turkestan and India: latitude 38 degrees N; longitude 67 degrees E. It is now called in Turkish-Buzghol Khana (Goat- house), but was formerly known as the Iron Gate (Arabic, Bab al Hadid; Persian, Dar-i-ahani; Chinese Tie-men-kuan). There is no iron gate there now, but there was one in the seventh century, when the Chinese traveler Hiouen Tsiang saw it on his journey to India. He saw two folding gates cased with iron hung with bells. Nearby is a lake named Iskandar Kul, connecting the locality with Alexander the Great.

We know from history that Alexander, after his conquest of Persia and before his journey to India, visited Sogdiana (Bukhara) and Maracanda (Samarqand). We also know from al Maqdis, the Arab traveler and geographer; who wrote about A.H. 375 (A.C. 985-986) that the Abbasi Caliph al Wathiq (842-846 A.C.) sent out mission to Central Asia to report on this Iron Gate. They found the defile 150 yards wide: on two jambs, made with bricks of iron welded together with molten lead, were hung two huge gates, which were kept closed. Nothing could correspond more exactly with the description in (Noble Verses) 18:95-96.

If, then, the Barrier in 18:95-98 refers to the Iron Gate near Bukhara, we are able to proceed to a consideration of the Gog-Magog people with some confidence. They were the Mongol tribes on the other side of the Barrier, while the industrious men who did not understand Dhu al Qarnayn's language were the Turks, with their agglutinative language, so different from the languages then spoken in Western Asia.

The Barrier served its purpose for the time being. But the warning that the time must come when it must crumble to dust has also come true. It has crumbled to dust. Long since, the Mongols pushed through on their westward journey, pushing the Turks before them, and the Turks became a European Power and still have a footing in Europe. We need not bother about the legends of the Gog and Magog people. They were reputed to be giants, and two tiny hills in flat Cambridgeshire are derisively called the Gog-Magog hills! Similarly the statues of Gog and Magog in the Guildhall in London, which M.M.A. takes so seriously, only remind us how legends are apt to grow and get transported to strange places.

In the Alexander legends of medieval Europe, Gog and Magog are said to have come with 400,000 men to the help of Porus whom Alexander defeated, and to have fled after that defeat. They fled to the mountains, and Alexander built a wall with brass gates to prevent their irruptions. See Paul Meyer, Alexandre le Grand dans la literature francaise du Moyen Age: Paris, 1886; Vol. 2, pp. 386-389.

Personally, I have not the least doubt that Dhu al Qarnayn is meant to be Alexander the Great, the historic Alexander, and not the legendary Alexander, of whom more presently. My first appointment after graduation was that of Lecturer in Greek history. I have studied the details of Alexander's extraordinary personality in Greek historians as well as in modern writers, and have since visited most of the localities connected with his brief but brilliant career.

Few readers of Quranic literature have had the same privilege of studying the details of his career. It is one of the wonders of the Quran, that, spoken through an Ummi's (illiterate) mouth, it should contain so many incidental details which are absolutely true. The more our knowledge increases, the more we feel this. There are little touches which need not have been mentioned. They come in incidentally like the incidental remarks of a person full of knowledge, who does not intend to put forward these points but whose fullness of knowledge brings them in inevitably.

One such point occurs in the mention of Alexander's westward journey (18:86). He saw the sun set in a piece of murky water which is described as "Spring". Most commentators have understood the "Spring" to be the sea, and the "murky water" to be its dark-blue water. Nizami, in his Romance of Alexander, takes Alexander right west along North Africa to Andalusia and the Atlantic Ocean. There is no historic proof that Alexander ever reached the Atlantic. But he was of course familiar with the deep-blue waters of the Mediterranean.

The Mediterranean interpretation may pass if we had not a closer explanation. Alexander's first exploits were when he was a mere boy, in the reign of his father Phillip. The region of Illyricum was due west of Macedonia, and Macedonia's first expansion was in that direction. The town of Lychnis was annexed to Macedonia and thus the western frontier of Macedonia was secured. The northern frontier towards the Danube had already been secured, and the lesson he subsequently gave no Thebes secured him against attack from the Greek States to the south, and prepared the way for his great march east against the Persian Empire.

To the west of the town of Lychnis is a lake170 square miles in area, fed by underground springs that issue through limestone rocks and give out murky water. Both town and lake are now called Ochrida, about 50 miles west of Monastir. The water is so dark that the river which forms the outlet of the lake to the north is called the Black Drin. Looking at the sunset from the town, the observer would see the sun set a pool of murky water (18:86). It was a question before the boy Alexander -- the dreamy, impulsive, fearless rider -- whether he would put the barbarous Illyricans to the sword or show them mercy. He showed true discrimination and statesmanship. He punished the guilty but showed kindness to the innocent, and thus consolidated his power in the west. This I construe to be the meaning of (Noble Verses) 18:86-87; otherwise these verses do not seem to be perfectly clear.

Another point may be noted. The three episodes mentioned are the journey to the west, the journey to the east, and the journey to the Iron Gate. The journey to the west I have just explained. The journey to the east was to the Persian Empire. Here he found a people who lived in the open and wore little clothing. This might apply to people who live in an inland place in the latitude of Persepolis or Multani. He left them alone as they were (18:91).

He was not warring against populations: he was warring against the proud but effete Persian Empire. He left them as they were, with their local institutions, and under their local chiefs. In feeling, he treated them as his own, not as aliens. In some things, he himself adopted their ways. His followers misunderstood him. But Allah understood, for He approves of all things that lead to Unity among mankind.

The direction of the third journey is not mentioned. The Commentators suggest the north, but they might with better reason have suggested the south, as Alexander visited Egypt. But the visit to the Iron Gate was to the East -- a continuation of his journey east. That is why the direction is not mentioned again. Here his mission was different. He had to protect, against turbulent and restless invaders. He helped them to protect themselves, but warned them that all human precautions, though good and necessary, are vain without Allah's help.

Each of the episodes mentioned is historical. But the pomp and glitter of military conquest are not mentioned. On the contrary, spiritual motives are revealed and commended. We need not know or learn any history or geography or science or psychology or ethics to understand them. But the more real knowledge we have, the more completely shall we understand them and the lessons to be drawn from them. The earthly journeys are treated as mere symbols to show us the evolution of a great and noble soul which achieved so much in a short earthly life.

His career was so extraordinary that it impressed his contemporaries as a world event. It undoubtedly was on of the greatest world events in history. Legends began to grow up round his name. In many cases the legends overlaid the history. Today the world is thrilled by Sir Ayrel Stein's identification of Aornos, a very small geographical detail in a great career full of lessons, in political, ethical, and religious wisdom.

But the generations immediately following Alexander's period wrote the transmitted all sorts of wonderful legends that passed current in East and West. The philosopher Kallisthenes had been with Alexander in Asia. Under his name was produced a Greek book in Alexandria some time before the second century of the Christian era. It was translated into Latin in the third century. Translations were subsequently made into most of the European languages. In Chaucer's time (1340-1400) these Alexander legends were known to every "weight that hath discrecion" (The Monk in Canterbury Tales).

Alexandria was a focus of Christian and Jewish learning for some centuries. The Christians also made Alexander a saint. The Jews carried the Alexander cycle into the East. Our Persian poet Jami (A.H. 535-599, A.C. 1141-1203) worked it up into his epic the Iskandar-nama. He is careful to show the historical or semi-historical and the ethical parts separately. The one relates to action or exploits (Iqbal) and the other to wisdom (Khirad). He had the advantage of the Quranic story before him. That story mentions three historical episodes incidentally, but draws our attention to matters of the weightiest spiritual significance, and that is the chief thing to note in the story."

Allah Almighty claims in the Noble Qur’an that life originated from water. He created every living creature from water. So when earth was originally a body of water and then Allah Almighty created land and creatures from it which by the way it's been scientifically proven to be true , then Allah Almighty's claim about Him making the earth "firm" in Noble Verse 27:61 is true.

Indeed Noble Qur’an has many noble inventions. Qur’an ambiguously asserts many common-sensually meaningless statements about such an elementary matter of formation of life. For examples sometimes it tells that we are created from earth (11:61), sometimes it claims from dry clay (15:26,28,33, 17:61, 32:7), sometimes "from nothing" (19:67), sometimes "NOT from nothing" (52:35), sometimes from wet earth (23:12), or from mire (38:71), sometimes from water (25:54, 21:30, 24:45), sometimes from dust (3:59, 30:20, 35:11) or even sometimes from dead (30:19, 39:6). So which one is true? Those contradictory and ambiguous statements actually do not reveal any scientific facts regarding either how we created or what exactly we are made of. Please check this link: http://www.humanists.net/avijit/article/10_myths_about_Quran.htm

You obviously lack a great deal of knowledge about the Noble Quran. Allah Almighty did created everything from water. Water is the beginning of all creations on earth. This had been scientifically confirmed in the link that I provided and which you have failed to read. Again, please visit: Life originated from water in the Noble Quran.

Now as to the creation of man from earth, clay, and nothing, these are not contradictions. Man was created from dust. Dust is sand from earth. So when Allah Almighty says in some Noble Verses that man was created from dust and in other Noble Verses man was created from clay, He did not contradict Himself in anyway. It is you who has the difficulty to comprehend even simple sentences.

As to Allah Almighty creating us from "nothing", this is metaphoric, and it was Allah Almighty's response to the arrogants in the Noble Quran. He was telling them: what do you see in yourselves that is so mighty high when you were all created from nothing.

Again, your difficulty of comprehending simple sentence is what's causing you to not understand.

Also Mr. Avijit Roy, you still have not responded to the fact that life did originate from water, and Allah Almighty did make that claim in the Noble Quran. Show us where do you object to the Noble Quran's claim when science had confirmed its Truthfulness.

If one thinks Qur’an is unique based on foretelling life originated from water, s/he is dead wrong! Hindu Religious book Veda' (8000 B. C.) described origin of Earth and life from WATER of the SEA long before Qur’an came in picture with such assertion. The Great Greek Philosopher and Scientist THALES (640-546 B. C.) was the first Humankind who theorized that, everything in this Universe was created from WATER OF THE SEA. Problem was, Thales could not provide any scientific proof. After that, ARISTOTLE (384-322 B.C. the pupil of Plato and Tutor of Alexander the Great) concluded: "Because of the fact that, Plants & Animal body contains plenty of WATER and life needs WATER that was why THALES thought WATER WAS THE ORIGIN OF LIFE". Therefore, Mankind did not have to wait until 7th Century for Allah to say importance of WATER for life. You can check Syed Kamran Mirza's article for details:

That's all fine, except that Muhammad, who was a Bedouin in the desert who lived almost an isolated life with the Arabs from other civilizations 1500 years ago did not know about these philosophers' claims. So in reality, it is the Noble Quran that confirmed the Truthfulness of their claims or should I say "wild guesses". As I provided in the many links above, there are ample unique claims in the Noble Quran where they had been scientifically confirmed. Just because you might find a claim that existed before the Noble Quran's Revelations doesn't automatically mean that Muhammad copied from those prior sources, especially when knowing that he had no access to such sources.

This Noble Verse doesn't make any scientific claim about the earth not moving. The word "stand" is "taqooma", which literally means "stand", "stand up", "stand to", "stand for", "continue to do something or work (as in "She is still taking care of her parents", "hiya ma tazal taqoom bi walidayha")".

I have refuted such misinterpretation regarding "fixed" earth many times. I hate to repeat same stuff again and again. Please check:

I am getting impatient and tired of giving line by line response of such humdrum. Better move to my challenge section:

In Arabic "ARD" means the Earth and "FALAK" is rotation/movement. Can you show me any of the verses from the Qur'an that contains these two words one after another ?

You have proven nothing! Here is the section where I responded to the above point in good details:

Let us look at the Noble Verses that Mr. Avijit Roy raised and some of the details and analysis about them:

"Who has made the earth your couch, and the heavens your canopy; and sent down rain from the heavens; and brought forth therewith Fruits for your sustenance; then set not up rivals unto God when ye know (the truth). (The Noble Quran, 2:22)"

There are no false scientific claims in this Noble Verse. No where here do we see Allah Almighty claiming that the earth is set and can never move.

"And He has set up on the earth mountains standing firm, lest it should shake with you; and rivers and roads; that ye may guide yourselves; (The Noble Quran, 16:15)"

"He created the heavens without any pillars that ye can see; He set on the earth mountains standing firm, lest it should shake with you; and He scattered through it beasts of all kinds. We send down rain from the sky, and produce on the earth every kind of noble creature, in pairs. (The Noble Quran, 31:10)"

This Noble Verse was addressed in good details above. I will paste what I already wrote about it and about Noble Verses 18:90 and 20:130 for the reader's convenience:

"Until, when he came to the rising of the sun, he found it rising on a people for whom We had provided no covering protection against the sun. (The Noble Quran, 18:90)"

3- Not a single Muslim scholar interpreted this Noble Verse as the SUN SETTING INSIDE THE Mercy spring water.

Did the sun ever bounce back and forth between the east and the west in its rising and setting?

6- If we take the above Noble Verses LITERALLY, then this means that the sun would have to bounce back and forth between the west and the east.

Here the rising and the setting of the sun have nothing to do with the earth's or the sun's rotations, nor does it say that there is a hole in the earth that the sun sets in. In Noble Verses 18:86 and 90, it was talking about the morning and the evening times, and in Noble Verse 20:130, Muslims are commanded to praise and glorify Allah Almighty before dawn and after sun set.

Important Note: Given our advanced astronomical knowledge today, if a person wanted to describe two events where the first one occurred after he saw the sun rise while looking at the big sea at dawn, and the second one occurred after he saw the sun set on the big sea at evening, how different today would he say it from Noble Verses 18:86 and 90?

The weakness that the critics of the Noble Quran and Islam have is that: No where in the Noble Quran do we see any direct scientifically wrong claim about anything in astronomy as we clearly see it in the Bible and the Hindu pagan books in Psalm 104:5 and Ecclesiastes 1:5, and Rik Veda and Rik Veda 10-173-4 respectively as clearly shown above in the article.

No where in the Noble Quran nor any Saying of our Prophet does it say nonsense like "the earth is set on foundations and it can never move" or "the sun hurries back to where it rises", etc...

"Or, Who has made the earth firm to live in; made rivers in its midst; set thereon mountains immovable; and made a separating bar between the two bodies of flowing water? (can there be another) god besides God? Nay, most of them know not. (The Noble Quran, 27:61)"

Again, in this Noble Verse there are no false scientific claims. The Arabic word that was translated as "firm" in "Qarara", which also means "solid" or "compressed". This is all normal and scientifically fine, because Allah Almighty claims in the Noble Quran that life originated from water. He created every living creature from water. So when earth was originally a body of water and then Allah Almighty created land and creatures from it which by the way it's been scientifically proven to be true , then Allah Almighty's claim about Him making the earth "firm" in Noble Verse 27:61 is true.

No where does the Noble Verse suggest that the earth can never move as the Bible and the Hindu Rik Veda falsely claim.

"And among His Signs is this, that heaven and earth stand by His Command: then when He calls you, by a single call, from the earth, behold, ye (straightway) come forth. (The Noble Quran, 30:25)"

And her taking care of her parents means also that she is standing up for them. This is the relationship between the words "stand" and "continue to do something" in the word "taqoom" or "taqooma" in Arabic.

So Noble Verse 30:25 could also read as "And among His Signs is this, that heaven and earth CONTINUE TO WORK by His Command...."

The words "by His Command" clearly prove that Allah Almighty means that everything in the heaven and the earth works and continues to work only under His Command and as He desires. This is verified in the Noble Verse after 30:25:

"To Him belongs every being That is in the heavens And on earth: all are Devoutly obedient to Him. (The Noble Quran, 30:26)"

"It is God Who sustains the heavens and the earth, lest they cease (to function): and if they should fail, there is none - not one - can sustain them thereafter: Verily He is Most Forbearing, Oft-Forgiving. (The Noble Quran, 35:41)"

Again, this Noble Verse doesn't make any scientific claim about the earth not moving. Just because Allah Almighty is supporting the heavens and the earth by "sustaining" them, it doesn't mean that He is DIRECTLY claiming that the earth is standing still and it can never move as the Bible and the Hindu Rik Veda DIRECTLY claim.

The support that Allah Almighty is providing the earth is preventing it from ceasing to function. Only Him can sustain it: "if they should fail, there is none - not one - can sustain them thereafter". It is Allah Almighty that makes sure that we always have enough Oxygen to breath, have enough food to eat, have enough water to drink, have reasonable temperature on earth to enable us to survive, have lesser natural disasters that could wipe us all out in a heart beat such as volcanoes and harocains and earth quakes, etc....

I don't see any scientific errors in this Noble Verse or in any of the ones above so far.

Even though the Muslims were able to conclude that the earth was round from the Noble Qur’an many centuries before Christopher Columbus, but it is arguable to say that Allah Almighty in the Noble Qur’an used the words "falak" and "ard" together in one Noble Verse. He certainly used the words "falak" and "all (celestial bodies)" in one Noble Verse, but never "earth (ard)" and "falak":

"It is He Who created the Night and the Day, and the sun and the moon: all (the celestial bodies) swim along, each in its rounded course. (The Noble Qur’an, 21:33 )"....

Here the author mentioned the verse from AL-ANBIYA (THE PROPHETS) 21:33 to "prove" the movement of earth. Let us have a detailed discussion on this important verse. Here is the transliteration:

Dear Readers, please enlighten me - where is the mention of "earth" in that verse? I didn't find any other celestial bodies except sun and moon. But like other Muslim apologists the author OA "miraculously" figured out the movement of the earth in that verse. Keeping aside our emotion and blind belief, let's judge with a free mind how much accurate the claim is. Readers might have noticed (check Arabic Transliteration again) that an a word "Kullun" is used in this verse. The meaning of the word is all, both, each or every. The word can be used as singular or plural. In the above mentioned verse "Kullun" has been used just after sun and moon. So the translation of "waalqamara kullun fee falakin yasbahoona" stands as - "all swim along, each in its rounded course". In this sentence "all" indicates only towards sun and moon, nothing else. Some Bucaille lovers are coming with an assertion that "all" indicates the "all celestial bodies" of the universe. I have no objection in accepting that all celestial bodies of the universe are moving, but does the above-mentioned verse resembles the fact? It will clarify our confusion if we discuss on a similar type of sentences as stated below:

An infant too will understand that here the word They/all/each is pointing towards Joe and Jim only. But if one interpreter comes with an interpretation saying that the sentence is actually indicating Joe, Jim, John, Jack, Lisa, Ram, Rahim all - I wonder whether it will be an honest interpretation. This hypocrisy they understand quite easily for Joe and Jim, but in case of Qur’an they all are suffused with great mystic wonders and astonish. To avoid such misinterpretation, some translator used "both" to indicate sun and moon in their translation. For example, our Bengali Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi translated the verse as "Both (sun and moon) float, each in its rounded course”. Pickthal also translated as -"They float, each in an orbit" It is quite clear that "They" indicates sun and moon, nothing else. It is to be noted that the word "kullun" has been used not only in Sura Al-Anbiya, but also in Ya-Sin , Sura Az -Zumar, Sura Al-Rad, Sura Fatir and Sura Luqman. For each and every case, it has been used after Sun and moon, nowhere after the earth. For example, let's dig out now how "wakullun fee falakin yasbahoona" has been used in Ya-Sin:

La alshshamsu yanbaghee laha an tudrika alqamara wala allaylu sabiqu alnnahari wakullun fee falakin yasbahoona

036.040

YUSUFALI: It is not permitted to the Sun to catch up the Moon, nor can the Night outstrip the Day: Each (just) swims along in (its own) orbit (according to Law).

PICKTHAL: It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor doth the night outstrip the day. They float each in an orbit.

SHAKIR: Neither is it allowable to the sun that it should overtake the moon, nor can the night outstrip the day; and all float on in a sphere.

Here we again see that the word kullun (each/ they/all) has been used only after Sun and Moon and Day and Night. Day and night are not celestial bodies, so there is no question of rotation for these two. It is not very hard to comprehend that "sun cannot overtake the moon, nor does the night outstrip the day" are very old-fashioned way of seeing our nature by ancient Arabs; they couldn't even relate diurnal motion of earth with the apparent westward motion of the sky over the course of a day or night even in their wildest dreams.

The word "kullun" which means "all" or "everyone" (usually referring to at least 3) is derived from the root word "kull" which means "all" or "everyone". The "un" in the end of "kullun" is a grammatical punctuation.

If you wanted to refer to only two objects, then the proper word to use is "kilahuma", which literally means "both".

Important Note: Notice that in most of the translations you provided above, the word "all" was used and not "both".

You might then say that "all" here includes the sun, moon, day and night, which is four entities, and therefore, the word "kullun" (all) is only referring to them. While this might be true, but Allah Almighty in other places in the Noble Quran did give us hints about the earth being round and moving:

The earth literally has two sun rising points and two sun setting points! Noble Quran and Science agree on this:

Here is another interpretation to the "two Easts" and "two Wests" of planet earth in the Noble Quran:

Lord of the two Easts, and Lord of the two Wests.
Which then of the bounties of thy Lord will you deny?

And Allah Almighty made the Noble Quran be for every time and every place, that no matter how much we advance, we will always find the Noble Quran steps ahead of us. Allah Almighty didn't give the knowledge to Prophet Muhammad to explain every scientific thing in the Noble Quran, because they were impossible to be comprehended by people at that time. Take the following examples: The Miracle of the number 19 in the Noble Quran, Life originated from water in the Noble Quran, The Earth is round according to Islam, The amazing creation of earth and iron in the Noble Quran, The amazing creation of earth and mountains in the Noble Quran, What does the sun orbit?....

The way the author tried to “find” science in his holy scripture is not only funny, but also distasteful and notorious. I could have refuted each and every so-called “scientific miracles” that the author mentioned in his article, but it would only lengthen my essay. The basic point is, if one likes to see science in anything they can see it anywhere; Qunatum mechanics in Rabindranath Tagore’s “Shonar Tori”, theory Relativity in Buddhist Monk Nagarjun's writing, Embryology in Shakespeare’s Hamlet or Time Dilation in Vagbat Gita. Aparthib has already mentioned this clever and dexterous act played by apologists in some of his articles in Mukto-mona. Some “X” may have said "All is relative" 10 or 20 years before Einstein's theory of relativity; By this stretch of imagination that ‘X’ can legitimately claim that he already knew about relativity and claim originality. Any vague phrase, pun, quote etc by humans, scriptures etc can be customized and made to fit any scientific principle which also have been phrased in a very general way for popular consumption hiding the underlying precise sense of these principles. Its an insult to science and the scientists whose painstaking research has helped unravel the complex workings of the laws of nature and reality. Adopting the author’s same logic if someone comes with a claim- “Shakespeare Predicted the Big Bang and Dark matter!!!” with his famous quote –“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” (Hamlet Act I, scene v), what will be his answer?

As I mentioned before, Allah Almighty as I said above gave headlines for science in the Noble Quran. The Noble Quran is not a scientific book! However, it is fascinating that a Bedouin who lived in the desert 1500 years ago could come up many claims that had been scientifically proven to be Truthful.

As Dr. Alfred Kroner, one of the world's renowned geologists, said: "Thinking where Muhammad came from . . . I think it is almost impossible that he could have known about things like the common origin of the universe, because scientists have only found out within the last few years, with very complicated and advanced technological methods, that this is the case."

Mr. Roy said that we can find scientific claims from pretty much any religious or non-religious text books. While this might be true if you are looking for weak and not-so-clear claims, but the case is different with the Noble Quran. Allah Almighty did not make weak claims in the Noble Quran. The claims of Allah Almighty are strong and full of confidence. Let me share few of them:

The Universe:
"Then He turned to the heaven when it was smoke...(The Noble Quran, 41:11)"

"A new star forming out of a cloud of gas and dust (nebula), which is one of the remnants of the "smoke" that was the origin of the whole universe. (The Space Atlas, Heather and Henbest, page 50)"

Iron came from space:
"We sent aforetime Our messengers with clear signs and sent down them the Book and the Balance (of right and wrong), that men may stand forth in justice; and We sent down iron, in which is (material for) Mighty war, as well as many benefits for mankind, that Allah may test who it is that will help, unseen, Him and His messengers: For Allah is Full of strength, exalted in Might (And able to enforce His Will). (The Noble Quran, 57:25)"

"Iron: This is the most regularly encountered meteorite. The most common material (90%) is iron, with a smaller amount of nickel mixed in. An example of the meteorites that were irons were the ones that fell at Barringer, Arizona, and Wolf Creek, Australia."

"Stony Irons: These are the final major class of meteorite. They contain small pieces of stone fixed in a body of iron."

"Upon closer examination most meteoritic samples fall into predominately nickel-iron alloy called siderites or more commonly iron meteorites; the predominately rocky-silicates called aerolites or stony meteorites. In between these extremes are those which are generally an even mixture of silicate minerals and nickel-iron alloy which are called siderolites, or stony-iron meteorites. There are other sub-classes which will be discussed later."

"Generally, the finds are of the iron variety because they do appear different. However, many meteorites have been seen to fall, thus the "falls" are excellent sources of meteoritic samples (of course, it takes two simultaneous viewings from different points to pinpoint the location of the fall)."

"The largest individual iron is the Hoba meteorite from southwest Africa which has a mass of about 54,000 kg."

Mountains prevent earth from shaking while rotating around its axle:
"Have We not made the earth as a bed, and the mountains as pegs? (The Noble Quran, 78:6-7)"
"And He has set firm mountains in the earth so it would not shake with you....(The Noble Quran, 16:15)"

"The mountains, like pegs, have deep roots embedded in the ground. (Anatomy of the Earth, Cailleux, p. 220)"

"Likewise, the modern theory of plate tectonics holds that mountains work as stabilizers for the earth. This knowledge about the role of mountains as stabilizers for the earth has just begun to be understood in the framework of plate tectonics since the late 1960’s. (The Geological Concept of Mountains in the Quran, p. 5.)"

The darkness of oceans and disappearance of light:
"Or (the Unbelievers' state) is like the depths of darkness in a vast deep ocean, overwhelmed with billow topped by billow, topped by (dark) clouds: depths of darkness, one above another: if a man stretches out his hands, he can hardly see it! for any to whom God giveth not light, there is no light! (The Noble Quran, 24:40)"

"Or, Who guides you through the depths of darkness on land and sea, and Who sends the winds as heralds of glad tidings, going before His Mercy? (Can there be another) god besides God?- High is God above what they associate with Him! (The Noble Quran, 27:63)"

"The darkness in deep seas and oceans is found around a depth of 200 meters and below. At this depth, there is almost no light. Below a depth of 1000 meters there is no light at all. (Elder, Danny; and John Pernetta, 1991, Oceans, London, Mitchell Beazley Publishers, p. 27)"

"Scientists have recently discovered that there are internal waves, which "occur on density interfaces between layers of different densities." These internal waves cover the deep waters of seas and oceans because deep water has a higher density than the water above it. Internal waves act like surface waves. They can break, just like surface waves. Internal waves cannot be seen by the human eye, but they can be detected by studying temperature or salinity changes at a given location. (Gross, M. Grant; 1993, Oceanography, a View of Earth, 6. edition, Englewood Cliffs, Prentice-Hall Inc., p. 205)"

This quote supports Noble Verse 24:40's layers of darkness; one above another: "depths of darkness, one above another"

"Smith, in Alvin's tiny cockpit, was accompanied by an experienced pilot and another biologist in addition to a host of monitors, switches, gauges, and other equipment, including the hyperspectral imager. After the long, spiraling descent to the ocean floor, Smith and the others had five hours in total darkness to locate the vents and to conduct a variety of experiments, many of them for scientists anxiously waiting on the surface. Because the battery-powered Alvin has a dive duration of six to 10 hours, Smith had only about an hour to conduct his own experiments, which included obtaining spectra of the unique biological communities at the vents. (http://record.wustl.edu/archive/2000/12-15-00/articles/deepsea.html)"

The Expanding Universe:
"And the firmament, We constructed with power and skill and verily We are expanding it. (The Noble Quran, 51:47)"

"The universe starts with a Big Bang, expands to a maximum dimension, then recontracts and collapses (to the Big Crunch); no more awe-inspiring prediction was ever made." Quotation from Charles W. Misner, Kip S. Thorne and John A. Wheeler in "Gravitation", W. H. Freeman, San Francisco, 1973, page 1196.

"At the beginning of the 20th century, the Russian physicist Alexander Friedmann and the Belgian cosmologist Georges Lemaitre theoretically calculated that the universe is in constant motion and that it is expanding. (http://www.evidencesofcreation.com/miracles_01_02.htm)"

"From the moment of the big bang, the universe has been constantly expanding at a great speed. Scientists compare the expanding universe to the surface of a balloon that is inflated. (http://www.evidencesofcreation.com/miracles_01_02.htm)"

The healing honey:
"And thy Lord taught the Bee to build its cells in hills, on trees, and in (men's) habitations; There issues From within their bodies A drink of varying colours, Wherein is healing for men. (The Noble Quran, 16:68-69)"

"A 10-year detailed clinical study carried out on 345 patients at Bannerji Biomedical Research Centre in West Bengal, using honey on different and complicated wounds has proved that honey is capable of healing various kinds of wounds. (http://www.pharmabiz.com/article/detnews.asp?articleid=105&sectionid=1)"

"Benefits of using honey are. Honey will heal all stomach ulcers and if applied on skin will heal skin ulcers. Applied on skin burns will help healing and infection. Honey will heal all burns better then available medication. Honey contains anti oxidants, multi-vitamins and demonstrates antiviral, antibacterial properties. Honey is great medicine for the skin. It is now showing great promise as a skin moisturizer. Not only does it help retain moisture, it resembles the skin's natural moisturizing factor. (http://www.apachesystems.com/altm.htm)"

"When they finally got their own hands on honey, they discovered that it not only tasted great, but it healed their bee stings and other cuts, too. The women used it on their faces. Taken for colds, it soothed sore throats. Given to children in the evening, honey was found to keep many an animal skin dry by morning. (http://www.findarticles.com/m1279/1999_Feb/53682877/p1/article.jhtml)"

"But not all of us think to put honey under that Band-Aid or bandage. Results of a three year clinical trial at the University Teaching Hospital in Calabar, Nigeria, showed that unprocessed honey can heal wounds when more modern dressings and antibiotic treatments fail. (http://www.findarticles.com/m1279/1999_Feb/53682877/p1/article.jhtml)"

There are many other Noble Verses and scientific discoveries and claims that perfectly match them. I can provide them all, but I think the above are sufficient enough.