Islam and Science, Scientific Notions in the Sunnah
23:46
2 Apr 2014
Astronomy, Miracles / I'jaz
Zaghloul R. M. El-Naggar (An-Najjar)
Zaghloul El-Naggar in this TV episode examines a saying attributed to the Prophet Muhammad that the stars are points of preservation of the firmament (that is, the first firmament, as according to El-Naggar, the others do not contain stars or planets). He then goes on to discuss stars and planets at length.
This is a full episode of “Islam and Science” with Zaghloul El-Naggar, presented on Peace TV. The original air date of the episode is unknown, although the credits appear at the end of the episode.
Evaluation:
While many of the factual details about science and such 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.