Exposing Dr Zakir Naik & Harun Yahya The Big Bang
10:47
30 April 2011
Cosmology, Miracles / Ijaz
TheRationalizer
Zakir Naik
The Rationalizer in this vlog (video blog) offers a critique of the representation of both the Big Bang and an expanding universe as read from the Qurʾān. He includes clips from a video of Zakir Naik talking about the Big Bang and quotes from online written works from Harun Yahya as sources to critique.
As part of this presentation, he sets up a 3-stage criteria for demonstrating that something is a miracle in the Qurʾān. (See mins 1:29-2:00.) He then applies these criteria to each of three Qurʾānic verses: 21:30, 51:47 and 41:10-11.
He suggests that none of the verses are miraculous, as two of them do not (in his estimation) accurately reflect reality. He notes that there is a simpler explanation for all of them, in that they seem close to the Genesis 1 creation narratives.
The clip of Zakir Naik is taken from his 2011 Oxford Union address, which was filmed and broadcast from a Peace TV soundstage.
Evaluation:
Islam: The Rationalizer does not hide that he does not believe in the scriptural material he discusses, but this video limits his scorn to statements that do not have a sound basis. His analysis includes well-known Muslim tafsīrs (Qurʾānic exegeses) like Ibn Kathir, and his addendum, written nearly three years later, includes a discussion of the relevant Arabic.
Science: The scientific material is accurate.
History: Although historical material does not play a large role in this video, the Rationalizer at the end of the video suggests that since the theory of the expanding universe was known during the lifetimes of the two individuals who wrote the translations he uses, they should have revised their translations if this were an idea that had been known to them. What he does not consider is when, relative to the end of their lives (the dates he gives), the translators did their work. Pickthall, for instance, completed his translation before World War I, more than a decade before the theory, much less the proof, of an expanding universe was propounded.
About TheRationalizer
The Rationalizer is the user name for an anonymous vlogger (videos on YouTube since 2010) who began learning about Islam after he started learning Arabic in the UK. Raised by agnostic and atheist parents, he also attended a school with required Christian assemblies, which provided a grounding in religious beliefs. For a time as an adult he investigated Islam with a view to converting, but the claims for miracles in the Qurʾān (iʿjāz) led him to learn more about science and ancient beliefs, which ultimately led him down the path of becoming an atheist.
He works in the information technology industry as a business analyst and programmer.
To date (May 2015) he has created 25 videos about Islam, generally discussing errors in internet videos, often those associated with iʿjāz. (The ones addressing science and Islam may be found on the Portal using the search feature in the upper right corner of the site.)
In addition to his YouTube account, the Rationalizer is active on social media such as Twitter and the forums at CouncilOfExMuslims.com.
About Zakir Naik
Dr. Zakir Naik is a Muslim preacher and international orator from India. He was born in Mumbai on October 18th, 1965 and studied medicine at Topiwala National Medical College and the University of Mumbai. He has a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS). In 1991 he turned away from practicing medicine to found the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), a non-profit charitable trust in Mumbai, whose operations were closed down by the Indian government in November 2016. The IRF serves to promote dawah, or the proselytization of Islam. He has additionally founded the Islamic International School, which is managed by the IRF, and is the founder and president of the Islamic educational television network Peace TV.
As a speaker Naik has achieved recognition and awards within India as well as internationally. He was honored with the 2013 Islamic Personality of the Year Award presented in Dubai. He has additionally been recognized twice by Indian news publication Indian Express as one of the “100 Most Influential People in India” and four times by George Washington University’s “500 Most Influential Muslims in the World,” most recently in 2014.
Naik’s subject matter, style and platform have all contributed to his prominence as a fairly well-known and fairly controversial preacher. Naik promotes a strict, literalist version of Islam, and is famous as a preacher for extensively quoting from the Qurʾān. He has been called an exponent of the Salafi ideology, although he himself does not use this label as he rejects any form of Islamic sectarianism. He has maintained that the only absolute authority is the Qurʾān itself, and has made a name for himself with his Qurʾānic knowledge and memory.
Naik also holds the dubious distinction of being the speaker on science and Islam most commonly spoofed. One may occasionally find videos using his name in the title in an effort to draw viewers, even if he does not appear in the video.
In July 2016, Naik was linked to bombers in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and the Indian government began investigating him. The IRF in India has closed (including its web sites), and Naik has remained out of the country to avoid arrest. It has been reported that Naik has taken citizenship in Saudi Arabia. He continues to give lectures outside of India.
For a longer discussion of Naik, click here.
Select bibliography:
“Dr. Zakir Naik.” Islamic Research Foundation. Islamic Research Foundation, n.d. Accessed 18 Nov. 2014.
“King Salman grants Dr. Zakir Naik Saudi citizenship.” The Siasat Daily, 19 May 2017. Accessed 4 July 2017.
“Zakir Naik.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Nov. 2014. Accessed 18 Nov. 2014.
Biswas, Shreya. “Who Is Zakir Naik? Were the Dhaka Attack Terrorists ‘Inspired by Him’?” India Today, 6 July 2016. Accessed 13 Sep. 2016.
Hassan, Rashid. “Ban on Peace TV Will Be Lifted Soon: Zakir Naik.” Arab News. Arab News, 6 July 2014. Accessed 18 Nov. 2014.