From the very first moment I opened a translation of the Qur’an and began reading Surah Al-Fatihah till the very end of Sura An-Nas, not one ayah, not one word, not one iota of the Revelations screamed out “science!” Rather, every utterance appeared to be referencing common sense observations, the life of the Prophet (ﷺ) and his companions, or stories from previous scriptures. I have literally never read the Qur’an in this fashion. In fact, it never occurred to me that there was science therein to begin with. You see, it never occurred to me that the Qur’an was miraculous because it revealed scientific truths. And in those moments I feel like my religion has been cheapened completely undermined by superficial appeals to modern sensibilities. ![]() Now, to be fair, I never saw these impromptu orations as ill-intended – quite the contrary – but they always brought to mind an unfortunate reality that many Muslims believe that science is the measure of the Qur’an’s divine nature, and that nothing else about the Qur’an really matters. I give them a puzzled look and a frank response: “No, nothing of the sort.” The subsequent reaction to my comment is usually a mix between stunned confusion and an incredulous smile a foreshadowing of an inevitable lecture on the Qur’an’s “scientific miracles” to relieve me of my ignorance. For the over a decade now, my answer has remained the same. “Was it the Qur’an mentioning the Big Bang? Was it when the Qur’an mentioned embryology? Was it when it mentioned the boundary between fresh and salt water?” are inquiries I often receive from Muslims regarding my reversion to Islam. But it was the Qur’an which eventually brought my doubts to rest through the clarity and beauty of its message. It certainly assisted me in reconciling many doubts I had about the conception of a triune god, the divinity of Jesus, and the authority of the Church. My degree was all about critical thinking and rationally assessing the thoughts of man. And although my degree wasn’t necessarily the reason for my apostasy, it was beneficial in my journey to Islam. I would compare his state of being to my thoughts on religion at the time – when I started to lose my faith in Christianity. If anything, the contradiction of virtue and drunkenness put a smile on my face. I never partook in these disoriented conversations but noticed them from afar. I recall him greeting the students with red cheeks and hearty laughs while he discussed the finer details of Christian theology in our local student cafeteria. It was a highly academic institution, yet tranquil and devout – minus the occasional tipsy monk who would wander on to the school grounds. ![]() At the time I was attending a private Catholic University run by a local Benedictine monastery. The first time I read the Qur’an was sometime back in 2008 when I was still completing my undergraduate degree in philosophy. VII. Appendix (Addressing Common or Potential Responses) Introduction V. Adam, Eve, and the Beauty of the Qur’an III. Formative and Classical Interpretations Based on intertextual and extratextual evidence it is argued that the phrase “between the backbone and the ribs” should be interpreted as a euphemism for sexual relations between parents and as an allusion to humanity’s first parents, Adam and Eve. This paper argues both these approaches erroneous as neither conform to the scope of the Qur’an’s intended message nor to the classical scholarly tradition of Quranic exegesis. Many contemporary Muslim apologists reference these verses as evidence of the Qur’an’s miraculous scientific nature, while many anti-Islam polemicists believe it proof of its scientific inaccuracy. Special consideration is given to Surah 86:5-7, which discusses the genesis of mankind through reproductive fluids emitted from “between the backbone and the ribs”. Abstract: This paper examines contemporary arguments attempting to justify or discredit the scientific credibility of the Qur’an.
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