Surah 1-2 - YasSarNal QuR'aN

Al-Baqarah (The Cow) | THE SACRED MONTHS, FIGHTING AND PILGRIMAGEclearly see that this [revelation] is the truth.” (41: 53) This is a clear call to study closelyand absorb what science discovers of God’s signs and to use them to expand themeaning and application of the Qur’ānic injunctions, without undermining ordemeaning the immutability and integrity of the Qur’ān.This may be illustrated further by the following examples:The Qur’ān says: “And He created all things and ordained them in due proportion.” (25:2) Scientific observation also has led to the conclusion that there are inherentharmony, very intricate interactions and consonances within the structure of theuniverse. The earth’s shape and distance from both the sun and the moon, its sizerelative to theirs, its speed and axis of rotation, and countless other factors combineto make life on earth possible and sustainable. None of this may be attributed tochance or coincidence, or can be said to be without purpose.These observations no doubt are useful in gaining a better understanding of theQur’ānic statement. This is quite legitimate and should be encouraged. But here areother examples that are neither legitimate nor scientifically correct.The Qur’ān says: “We created man from an extraction of clay.” (23: 12) Centuries later,scientists such as Charles Darwin, proposed a theory of evolution which purportsthat life began in water as a single cell, and that human beings are the result ofmillions of years of evolution. Now, it would be pointless, indeed wrong, to attemptto show that this is precisely what the Qur’ān says.To begin with, the theory is not conclusive and, within a century, it underwentseveral amendments and changes that have made it almost unrecognizable. Therewere flaws in the original theory, which was conceived at a time when nothing wasknown of the genes which carry hereditary properties and distinguish one speciesfrom another. Several aspects of Darwin’s theory have since been disproved, andmany others are still a matter of debate.The Qur’ānic statement is conclusive as it establishes the origin of man withoutgiving any details of the process involved. It does not aim at more than that andcarries no other connotations or meaning.The Qur’ān tells us: “And the sun runs towards its resting place.” (36: 38) This is astatement of fact concerning the movement of the sun. Science has shown that thesun is indeed moving relative to other stars nearby and is part of a galaxy whichitself is moving. Furthermore the speeds at which the sun and the galaxies move aremeasured. Such observations, relative and inconclusive as they are, do not affect thetruth of the Qur’ānic statement, which is final.The Qur’ān says: “Are the unbelievers unaware that the heaven and the earth were onceone single entity, which We then parted asunder?” (21: 30) Some have tried to reconcile222