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The Islamic Bulletin
Volume XX No. 26
Page 22
QQ
URAN
A
A
ND
S
S
CIENCE
The Noble Quran is filled with scientific statements
and explanations that describe how Almighty Allah (SWT)
describes how He created things on earth and in the Uni-
verse. Subhanallah, all of these scientific statements are in
perfect agreement with our modern-day scientific discover-
ies. Allah Almighty Said:
“We will soon show them Our signs in the Universe
and within themselves, until it becomes quite clear to them
that it is the truth. Is it not sufficient as regards your Lord
that He is a witness over all things?
(Quran 41:53)”
The 20th century was full of discoveries regarding
the celestial phenomena in the universe. Yet Muslims had
all of this glorious knowledge and information at their
fingertips. The following article will relate a few of the great
number of scientific explanations that exist in the Holy
Quran.
BLACK HOLES
One of these entities, which
has only recently been
encountered, is the Black
Hole. Black Holes are
formed when a star, which
has consumed all its fuel,
collapses in on itself and
turns into a black hole with
infinite density and zero
volume with an immensely
powerful magnetic field. We
are unable to see black
holes even with the most
powerful telescope, because
their gravitational pull is so
strong that light is unable to
escape from them. However, such a collapsed star can be
perceived by means of the effect it has on the surrounding
area. Black holes reveal themselves indirectly, by the
tremendous suction which their gravitational force exerts on
other heavenly bodies. As well as depictions of the Day of
Judgement, the verse below may also be pointing to this
scientific discovery about black holes:
When the stars are extinguished.
(Qur’an, 77:8)
Moreover, stars of great mass also cause warps to be
perceived in space. Black holes, however, do not just cause
warps in space but also tear holes in it. That is why these
collapsed stars are known as black holes. This fact may be
referred to in the verse about stars, and this is another
important item of information demonstrating that the Qur’an
is the word of Allah:
[I swear] by Heaven and the Tariq! And what will convey to
you what the Tariq is? The Star Piercing [the darkness]!
(Qur’an, 86:1-3)
PULSARS: PULSATING STARS
[I swear] by Heaven and the Tariq! And what will convey to
you what the Tariq is? The Star Piercing [the darkness]!
(Qur’an, 86:1-3)
The word “Tariq,” name of the Sura 86, comes from the root
“tarq,” whose basic meaning is that of striking hard enough
to produce a sound, or hitting. Bearing in mind the word’s
possible meaning as “beating,” “striking hard,” our atten-
tion may be being drawn in this sura to an important
scientific fact. Before analysing this information, let us look
at the other words employed in the verse to describe these
stars. The term “al-taariqi” in the above verse means a star
that pierces the night, that pierces the darkness, born at
night, piercing and moving on, beating, striking, or sharp
star. Furthermore, the term “wa” draws attention to the things
being sworn on-the heaven and the Tariq.
Through research carried out by Jocelyn Bell Burnell, at
Cambridge University in 1967, a regular radio signal was
identified. Until that time, however, it was not known that that
there was a heavenly
body that could be
the source of regular
pulse or beating
rather like that of the
heart. In 1967,
however, astronomers
stated that, as matter
grows denser in the
core as it revolves
around its own axis,
the star’s magnetic
field also grows
stronger, and thus
gives rise to a mag-
netic field at its poles
1 trillion times
stronger than that of
Earth. They realised
that a body revolving so fast and with such a powerful mag-
netic field emits rays consisting of very powerful radio waves
in a conic form at every revolution. Shortly afterwards, it was
also realised that the source of these signals is the rapid
revolution of neutron stars. These newly discovered neutron
stars are known as “pulsars.” These stars, which turn into
pulsars through supernova explosions, are of the greatest
mass, and are the brightest and fastest moving bodies in the
universe. Some pulsars revolve 600 times a second.
The word “pulsar” comes from the verb to pulse.
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the word
means to pulsate, to beat. Encarta Dictionary defines it as to
beat rhythmically, to move or throb with a strong regular
rhythm. Again, according to the Encarta Dictionary, the word
“pulsate,” which comes from the same root, means to expand
and contract with a strong regular beat. Following that discov-
ery, it was realised that the phenomenon described in the
Qur’an as “tariq,” beating, bore a great similarity to the
neutron stars known as pulsars.
Neutron stars form as the nuclei of super giant stars
collapse. The highly compressed and dense matter, in the
form of a rapidly revolving sphere, entraps and squeezes
most of the star’s weight and magnetic field. The powerful
magnetic field created by these rapidly revolving neutron
stars has been shown to cause the emission of powerful radio
waves observable on Earth.
In the third verse of Surat at-Tariq the term “al-najmu
al-thaaqibu,” meaning piercing, moving on, or opening holes,
indicates that Tariq is a bright star that pierces a hole in the
darkness and moves on. The concept of the term “adraaka” in the
expression “And what will convey to you what the Tariq is?” refers
to comprehension. Pulsars, formed through the compression of
stars several times the size of the Sun, are among those celestial
bodies that are hard to comprehend. The question in the verse
emphasizes how hard it is to comprehend this beating star. (Allah
knows best.)
As discussed, the stars described as Tariq in the
Qur’an bear a close similarity to the pulsars described in the
20th century, and may reveal to us another scientific miracle
of the Qur’an.
THE STRUCTURAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE SUN, THE
MOON AND THE STARS
We built seven firm layers above you. We installed a blazing
lamp
. (Qur’an, 78:12-13)
As we know, the only source of light in the Solar System is the
Sun. With advances in technology, astronomers discovered that
the Moon was not a source of light but that it merely reflects the
light reaching it from the Sun. The expression “lamp” in the above
verse is a translation of the Arabic word “siraaj,” which most
perfectly describes the Sun, the source of light and heat.