Top 10 Unscientific Quran Verses

I'jaz / Miracles, Biology

In this video blog (vlog), “Nate” selects verses from the Qurʾān to illustrate his presentation that the Qurʾān is unscientific.  In a few cases he seems to draw the worst possible understanding of the material.  For instance, in his presentation about how ships float, the verses seem to refer to the manner of sea travel (smooth, across the oceans) rather than merely the ability of boats to float, which had long been understood by the seventh century.  However, some of the other verses are commonly used by Muslims when attempting to discuss scientific miracles in the Qurʾān (iʿjāz ʿilmi).

The material covered is (Qurʾānic source):

     #10  Where milk comes from (Q16.66)

     #9  How birds fly (Q16:79)

     #8  How ships float (Q17.66, 34.31)

     #7  Bring back the dead (Q2.71. 2.73)

     #6  Dead birds can fly (Q2.260)

     #5  The moon emits light (Q71.16)

     #4  The moon was split in two (Q54.1, Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, v4, book 56, #831)

     #3  The sun sets on Earth (Q18.86)

     #2  The shape of the Earth (Q20.53, 71.19)

     #1  Where semen comes from (Q86.5-7)

“Nate” closes the video by logically connecting the perfection ascribed to God within Islam to the Qurʾān, the word of God.  He suggests that with the errors he has shown, perhaps it is not the work of any god.

Evaluation:

Although “Nate” provides Qurʾānic verses for all the material he presents, he makes no effort to understand it in context, and frequently makes fun of it.  In much the same way as presenters of iʿjāz ʿilmii cherry-pick the verses that present positive representations of science and Islam, Nate has cherry-picked verses that fail to conform with science as he presents it.  The conclusion “Nate” drawn about the Qurʾān not being the word of any god is likely to be offensive to many Muslims.

There are no problems with the science presented here, although there is little effort to present science.

There is insufficient historical material on which to base an evaluation.  This lack is especially apparent in the non-presentation of the history of the science of buoyancy, which was understood and practiced long before the time of Muḥammad.