Islam and Science, The Planet in the Glorious Qur’an
10:37
24 Apr 2011
Miracles / I'jaz, Astronomy
Zaghloul R. M. El-Naggar (An-Najjar)
This video states that God/Allah must have made the planet (and universe) since it is suitable for life. El Naggar presents that “every scientific notion in the Qurʾān is correct”, a major tenet of the i’jaz material.
In addition to discussing the planet from an astronomical perspective, the episode also discusses the chemical composition of the atmosphere, water, and photosynthesis.
This is a partial episode of “Islam and Science” with Zaghloul El Naggar, presented on Peace TV. The original air date of the episode is unknown.
Evaluation:
While many of the factual details about the size of the planet and so on are correct, El Naggar uses the Qurʾān as a starting point from which to understand science, which scientists generally find a misapplication of the scientific method.
The material on Islam conforms to dominant Muslim understandings.
There is insufficient historical material upon which to base an evaluation.
About Zaghloul R. M. El-Naggar (An-Najjar)
Born in 1933 in Egypt, Zaghloul El-Naggar received a PhD in geology in 1963 from the University of Wales in the UK. The majority of his scholarship has focused on i’jāz, the idea that scientific facts may be found in the Qurʾān, proving its miraculous nature. A collection of his videos can be found on the Discovering Islam website.
He was considered a threat by earlier Egyptian governments; he now is the head of the Committee of Scientific Notions in the Qurʾān, Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs in Cairo.
El-Naggar believes that scientific interpretation may only be done with material that may be experienced, unlike references to the soul, jinn, etc, which should be approached with faith alone. However, he also suggests that the Qurʾān may “orient scientists in attaining new ‘cosmic truths’.” (Bigliardi, 103)
Selected Bibliography:
His own web site: http://elnaggarzr.com/en/
The Quran & Science web site: http://www.quranandscience.com/
“Zaghloul El-Naggar” Wikipedia. Accessed 19 April 2015.
Bigliardi, S. (2014). Islam and the Quest for Modern Science: Conversations with Adnan Oktar, Mehdi Golshani, Mohammed Basil Altaie, Zaghloul El-Naggar, Bruno Guiderdoni and Nidhal Guessoum. Istanbul, Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul.
“Dr. Zaghloul Najjar.” Discovering Islam. Discovering Islam, n.d. Web. Accessed 18 June 2015.