Scientific Facts in the Qur’an
22:53
23 Jul 2013
Miracles / Ijaz, Cosmology
Abdur Raheem Green
Abdur-Raheem Green presents material interpreted from the Qurʾān that he suggests demonstrates the divine origin of the text (a form of iʿjāz). Green uses hadith in addition to the Qurʾān. He specifically mentions Zakir Naik and Keith Moore, suggesting that Moore converted to Islam. He also quotes a “Professor Rao” at a university in Saudi Arabia.
Topics included here are embryology (including the sex of the fetus), cosmology (expansion of the universe and the Big Bang, specifically mentioning verses 51:42 and 21:30 from the Qurʾān), background radiation and the “smoke” of the universe, and hydrology (quoting from verses 39:21, 24:40). These topics are among the most common among those who present these ideas. He also suggests that atheists are “lost” and “confused”.
Videos on the Portal which present some of the scientific and historical problems with this material (although not critiquing this particular video) may be found here and here.
The undated video, shot on a sound stage behind a desk, is part 1 of a 2-part segment, and was presented on Peace TV and includes Arabic subtitles.
Evaluation:
The material on Islam is within the bounds of what Muslims have historically understood as acceptable. However, the use of science to “prove” the divine source of the Qurʾān is questioned by Muslims as well. See this video on the Portal for one such perspective. In addition, the verses from the Qurʾān used here are not necessarily using interpretations that conform with contemporary interpretations.
The scientific material here on fetal development generally conforms with scientific understanding, although scientists would not agree that an angel is in the womb doing the shaping of the fetus. The application of this scientific material as proof of the divine origin of the Qurʾān is generally not an accepted approach by scientists or many religious scholars.
The presentation of historical facts here is generally not what scholars of the history of science would consider accurate. For instance, stages of human fetal development were well known long before the nineteenth century; early medical scholars like Galen (2nd century CE) already included discussions.
About Abdur Raheem Green
Born in 1962 in Tanzania to a British father and a Polish mother, Abdur Raheem Green was raised as a strict Roman Catholic. His father was employed as a colonial administrator in the former British Empire, and as such attended both Roman Catholic Monastic schools and various boarding schools growing up, including St. Martin’s Ampleforth and Ampleforth College. He went on to pursue a degree in history at the University of London; however, he never finished as he became embittered with the British educational system and its Eurocentric focus and teaching style.
In 1987, after struggling with his Roman Catholic upbringing and a brief stint practicing Buddhism, Abdur Raheem Green began his journey to Islam, and in 1988 officially converted. He soon became a fixture at the infamous ‘Speakers Corner’ in Hyde Park, London where he practiced dawah (calling to Islam) on a regular basis. Through this, Green became well known and began to deliver talks amongst various universities, eventually reaching international platforms such as the Peace Conference in Mumbai, India. He also went on to co-found the Islamic Education and Research Academy (iERA), and may now be found as a regular presenter on Peace TV.
As he grew in fame, however, Abdur Raheem Green’s life and work did not come without controversy. He was once barred from boarding a flight that had a stopover in Australia as he holds a place on their ‘movement alert list’. In addition, Green was barred from giving a lecture at Concordia University in Canada and from the Arsenal Football Club’s Emirates owned stadium. Green and his organization iERA have been criticized for holding extreme views about the coexistence of Muslims and westerners, the treatment of wives by their husbands, Jews, and terrorist acts.
Green maintains a blog (last updated October 2014), as well as more frequently updated Facebook and Twitter feeds.
Select Bibliography:
“Abdur Raheem Green.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Accessed 13 May 2015.
“Abdurraheem Green.” IERA. Islamic Education and Research Academy, n.d. Accessed 13 May 2015.
“Sheikh Abdur-Raheem Green.” Islam Events. Islam Tomorrow, n.d. Accessed 13 May 2015.