Meteors: Establish the truth of the Holy Quran
Epigraph: "We (Allah) have not created the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, but with truth, and for an appointed term; but those who disbelieve turn away from that of which they have been warned." (Al Quran 46:4)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hoba meteorite - the largest meteorite ever found
Written and collected by Zia H Shah MD
CNN reported last week that in February of 2013 a meteor will pass within 14,000 miles of the earth.
They contrasted it with the distance of the moon from the earth, which is 238,900 miles.
They reassured that the inhabitants of the earth have nothing to fear from this encounter. I hope they are right, but worrying minds or at least some in NASA or satellite industry may have a few sleepless nights.
Even if this does not raise any concerns of physical survival, it should raise questions of our spiritual salvation. Why are we here? How do we handle our eventual mortality? What do the scriptures say about these issues? What do the scriptures, more specifically the Bible and the Quran, say about our universe? Do these holy books talk about meteorites?
The mention of meteors is ubiquitous in the present day Western society. A week does not pass when we do not hear in a scientific documentary that the dinosaurs became extinct by a meteor strike some 60 million years ago. But, such familiarity with the meteors was not always the case.
The Holy Quran mentions meteorites not once or twice, but more than a dozen times, by an expression, 'that is between the heaven and the earth.' Here is one example:
And We (Allah) created not the heaven and the earth and all that is between the two in play. If We had wished to find a pastime, We would surely have found it in what is with Us if at all We were to do such a thing. (Al Quran 21:17-18)
By mentioning meteorites in this way the Holy Quran demonstrates to the present day reader that it is not a word of a person, living in the deserts of Arabia, in the seventh century.
The above quoted verses show that in the creation of the universe there is a purpose and a detailed plan. The terms mentioned in these verses and in several other verses of the Holy Quran, 'all that is between the two' may imply meteors, comets and the interstellar gas. The Holy Quran is the only scripture, to my knowledge, which mentions 'all that is between the two' with any degree of precision.
The universe is the creation of God and the Quran is the literal word of God and hence there is harmony and equivalence between the two.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Muslim Times' Editorial team: If you like what you see, please forward it to friends and family. To know more about us: click here.
| 
No comments:
Post a Comment