Journal of Interdisciplinary Qur'anic Studies (مطالعات بین رشته ای قرآن)

Proving the miraculous nature of the Qur’an as one of the methods to believe in the Qur’an as a divine text has always attracted the attention of the researchers of the Qur’an; nevertheless, the published efforts on this subject are facing numerous methodological challenges. This research attempts to introduce a new and original method exempt from the challenges of the present methods by utilizing some of the techniques in mathematical sciences, logic and statistics. This scientific case-based method rates the effective parameters in the recognition of scientific miracle for one case. Accordingly, it will calculate the certainty of each case and proceeds to combine the ratings of various cases of scientific miracle to calculate the degree of certainty of the divine nature of the book based on those results. In combining the ratings, a threshold will be determined based on human belief behavior. An advantage of this method is that it is extra-religious, data driven, quantitative, applicable to all texts, and generalizable to the entire content. 

Hail is an atmospheric rainfall with a complex mechanism. The Greeks were among the pioneers of knowledge in ancient times and they termed “hail” as “frozen rain” (Anaximander) and “instant freezing of water and moisture” (Aristotle, n.d.). These two meanings are inconsistent with current scientific facts. The Noble Qurʼan is the most authentic text to encourage Muslim believers to think about creation and strengthen their faith in the eternal power of the Creator. For instance, the mechanism of hail falling has been expressed in the verse (Q.24:43) with specific and gradual indications. In this research, first, by library method, different explanations of this verse were obtained from valid interpretive sources and then, the scientific findings of meteorologists and climatologists on hail were extracted from reference scientific texts on atmospheric sciences. In the third stage and based on comparative method, the scientific rules were placed next to interpretations to test the novelty and degree of the allusions of this verse. We found that the stages of hail falling included:“invisible water vapor rises from the sea,” “water vapor ascends into the atmosphere,” “reaching the condensation stage,” “cloud formation,” “convergence of ascending currents,” “formation of cumulonimbus cloud,” “growth of hailstones during successive ascents and descents by adsorption and freezing of ice needles,” and finally “their fall down over ground” respectively. Meanwhile, the steps in the Noble Qurʼan are mentioned in verse (Q.24:43) in the following order:“clouds movement slowly,” “clouds convergence,” “clouds accumulation,” “the formation of mountain-like clouds,” and “hail falling from the clouds.” The results also showed that likening cumulonimbus cloud in the verse (Q.24:43) to “mountain” have four respects that were beyond the comprehension of the people at the time of the revelation of the Qurʼan. Nowadays, these features are known to stationary and satellite meteorological instruments. These four characteristics are “cloud layer temperature,” “their constituent phase,” “troughs and ridges inside the cloud” and “cloud height up to the tropopause.” Based on these four characteristics, the Noble Qurʼan considered the cloud of cumulonimbus as similar as “mountains.” Meteorologists divide any cumulonimbus cloud into three floors, including cold at the bottom, super-cold at the top and intermediate in the middle. We find these three floors in the same way in the high mountains. These floors are the current rivers (liquid phase), snow and ice reserves (solid phase) and in the middle region a combination of two liquid and solid phases, namely water and ice. Images from the cumulonimbus from above the atmosphere show dark and deep valleys and light and raised ridges. The fourth feature is to be said, none of the surface phenomena are as high as the mountains. Finally, meteorological findings show that it is the only cumulonimbus that rises from the ground to a height of 12,000 meters and more. 

In the matter of the formation of the universe, the holy Qur’an mentions various phenomena, each playing a special role in the evolution of the universe. In this article, we describe two celestial phenomena that have been discussed in verses (Q.21:30) and 41:11, and we assess the possibility of matching these two verses with new scientific findings. Our approach in this study is that we first examine the plausible meanings of the verses through lexical, morphological, syntactic and interpretive analysis. Then we propose possible scientific phenomena compatible with achieved meanings of the verse and evaluate their conformity. Results of this study show that the reference of the Qur’an to the two phenomena, i.e., “coalescence and separation of the skies and the earth,” and “the formation of the sky from smoke,” can be compatible with the scientific phenomena of the Big Bang, the formation of the solar system and the formation of the earth and its atmosphere. 

In theological debates about the creation of human and the theory of evolution, “the theory of creation” means the creation of human at once by the creator of the universe, and “the theory of evolution” means the natural, normal, and gradual creation of human in the evolutionary cycle of life. The question is whether the Qur’an also views human creation as contradictory to his natural and evolutionary genesis. This study shows that the Qur’anic concepts of creation (khalq) and selection (iṣṭifāʾ) based on the contextual analysis of these vocabularies allow for an evolutionary reading of human creation. Creation means the emergence of phenomena in a natural, time-consuming, step-by-step process with the interference of natural laws supported by God’s command. The meaning of the presence of divine command in all stages of creation is the consciousness of all the objects and their components which is effective in the process of creating an organ along with other factors. Also, the concept of selection of Adam suggests that Adam was chosen among his contemporaries as the first modern human being because of his physical and mental superiority, and his creation was not at once, unnatural and unrelated to previous generations. 

By development of human scientific abilities, more miracle aspects and wonders of the Qur’an have been recognized. Stating the story of Dhu al-Qarnayn and constructing of dam, verses (Q.18:83-98) have pointed some valuable scientific aspects regarding chemistry, physics and metallurgy. The instruction for the structure reveals the non-accidental process, because the precise expected physical, chemical and metallurgical properties. The three-layer structures of dam with dendrite like microstructure in its matrix will guarantee the durable structure against most chemical destructive agent, mechanical damage and thermal threats. Hence the powerful people of Gog and Magog could not overcome the high tensile strength of iron, high ductility of copper and the high toughness of CuFe alloy. The high thermal and temperature resistance are the evidence for more structural power. Such masterpiece of engineering, in technology of alloying, could not be based on the knowledge of common craftsmen of that time, but it must have been based on superhuman wisdom. Consequently, although the Qur’an is a book of guidance, but it reports some original scientific issues, such as the Dhu al-Qarnayn story. These were not known in the age of revelation and after progressing in science, but the truth of considered issues has been proved. However, because of the clear instruction, and the precise prediction of properties, it is possible to use the verses as an excellent idea for scientific advancement, rather than reporting events. 

One of the phrases that has been considered by most commentators with the approach of empirical science is “the darkness of the three (the three veils of darkness)” in the verse (Q.39:6). They have interpreted this combination as the three darknesses of the abdomen, uterus and amnion-chorion. A view has also been put forward by contemporaries, which considers it as the spaces between the abdomen and uterus, the flesh of the uterus and the amnion, the amnion and the fetus, and has considered such an interpretation as an example of the scientific miracle of the Qur’an. In the meantime, another approach can be taken and based on the descriptive-analytical method and with the focus on the interdisciplinary approach, what is the “darkness of the three” is examined. Accordingly, by relying on the symbol of “complete and dense indifference and shapelessness before creation” for “darkness of the three,” this phrase can be considered as the platform for the formation of protein structures (based on genetic information contained in DNA codes), which are the cornerstone of the structure and biological processes of living organisms (without the production of proteins, no biological processes will be formed and no cells and organs will be made). It should be borne in mind that this interpretive possibility is also compatible with the components of the scientific miracle of the Qur’an. 

The true interdisciplinary study needs knowledge and mastery in three levels of epistemological, methodological and linguistic requisites. The linguistic level is one of the most important fundamental levels in science, which needs to be considered in interdisciplinary communication. Two major approaches about the language of the Qur’an are considered by researchers till now: philosophichermeneutics and textual. Muslim researchers are interested in the former approach and orientalists frequently incline to the latter. Although the relation between the language of the Qur’an and the language of science with text-oriented approach is less frequently taken into account. Considering the foresaid approach in this article, the author studies the differences between the language of the Qur’an and the language of science and classifies them into five categories: 1. The use of ambiguity and linguistic amphibology; 2. The use of analogy, metaphor and metonymy; 3. Holism and polysemy; 4. The application of the language of sermon and dialogue; 5. The application of verbal complexity. The use of these five linguistic features of the Qur’an is to a large extent different from their use in science. It thus causes complexity in the relation between the Qur’an and humanism on the one hand and experimental sciences on the other.

One meaning of the word āyah in Qur’anic context refers to a sign, which is a divine miracle as attested in verse (Q.54:15): Certainly We have left it as a sign; so, is there anyone who will be admonished? The verse refers to the story of Noah’s Ark and his nation’s penalty, which is presented as a sign for posterity. There are various perspectives among interpreters about the reference of pronoun it in the verse, depending on whose antecedent, the verse can be considered as one of the verses expressing divine miracles. The present study tries to investigate the aforementioned verse and its miraculous aspects through an interdisciplinary method between the Qur’an and archaeology. Based on conducted studies, the word āyah implies to Noah’s Ark or the Flood phenomenon and rescuing a few of his nation who are the only survivors of humankind. Given archaeological studies, there is no certain evidence yet to confirm the remains of the Noah’s Ark and the verse cannot thus be considered as a scientific miracle. As a result, the miraculous aspect of the verse indicates giving notice of the unseen which is verified in verse (Q.11:49). 

The present semantic research has been performed in order to provide a cognitive and cultural explanation of conceptual metaphors in parts 20 to 30 of the Holy Qur’an. Extraction of ‘types of conceptual metaphors,’ determination of ‘high frequency metaphors,’ ‘source domains’ and ‘target domains’ is the process of conducting research using the conceptual metaphor theory. The variety of concepts of ‘target’ and the functional frequency of ‘source’ concepts indicate what concepts are intended in the holy Qur’an through metaphorical conceptualization. This study provides a basis for further understanding of the worldview presented in the Holy Qur’an and the possibility of determining the behavioral patterns of religion by identifying metaphors. The results of the present study represent a septenary classification of metaphors in the ‘empirical source domain,’ containing: ‘social life,’ ‘needs of the body and its activity,’ ‘image schemas (schema-based),’ ‘elements of nature,’ ‘person,’ ‘body parts,’ and ‘similarity-based metaphors (simile)’; Among which, the highest percentage of metaphorical conceptualization in the source domain is in ‘social life’ and the lowest one is in the domain of ‘person.’ Considering the fact that most of the human knowledge is about the elements and subdomains of ‘social life,’ Qur’anic sources in this domain have played the major role in abstracting the cultural and doctrinal concepts of religion and organizing Islamic religious experiences using the sources of this field and have been used as customary (conventional) and practical models. Accordingly, Qur’anic metaphors lead to the formation of cultural and cognitive patterns, and the ‘monotheistic belief system’ (Qur’anic) directs human bodily experiences in metaphorical conceptualization, and this ‘Qur’anic worldview’ can be seen as an Islamic cultural and cognitive model in the Qur’anic metaphorical schema. 

.The Holy Qur'an introduces the concept of intellect as an instrument for thinking and recognizing the facts and in several verses with different expressions, insists on activating the intellect by human. in order to convey this issue precisely and deeply to the audience, The Qur'an has used many synonymous and close concept to intellect, such as tafakur (thinking), qalb (heart), lubb (heart of the matter), nuhā (understanding), ḥijr (evidence), ḥilm (reason) and fiqh (realization). The authority of the intellect in recognizing facts has been confirmed in the Qur'an and Islamic traditions. One of the most important subject matters that should be identified by the intellect is the domain of beliefs and theology, which also leads to the perception of the prophetic mission and resurrection. Another issue perceived by the intellect is the realm of recognizing moral virtues. According to several verses and traditions, human intellect can discern good and evil, regardless of religious teachings, although some Islamic sects do not believe in this. It can be said that the power of intellect in human is like an intrinsic prophet whose discernment is authoritative and in agreement with the guidance of the prophets. Thus, from the Qur'an's point of view, the realm of intellect in knowing facts is a vast scope which comprises various subjects such as theology, ontology, anthropology and ethics. 

Some exegetic comments narrated from early scholars do not relate neither to the Quranic context, nor to lexicographical and linguistic evidences. As a case, such irrelevance can be observed for the verb faraḍa in the verse (Q.24:1), as well as the verse (Q.28:85). Regarding methodology, this research used both traditional lexicographical and linguistic etymological inquiries. The result of the research is the fact that both verses are speaking of the philosophy of the Quranic surahs being revealed gradually in separate parts appropriate to social occasions and the challenges in prophetic era. 

Panpsychism in philosophy of mind is the view that mentality is fundamental and ubiquitous in the natural world. The view has a long and venerable history in philosophical traditions -both East and West- and has recently enjoyed a revival in analytic philosophy. Thus, in conjunction with the widely held assumption that fundamental things exist only at the micro-level, panpsychism entails that at least some kinds of micro-level entities have mentality, and that instances of those kinds are found in all things throughout the material universe. We can see something like this in Mulla Sadra's Transcendent Philosophy. Mulla Sadra claims that all things enjoy some kind of intelligence and understanding. On the other hand, many verses of the Holy Qur'an either explicitly or implicitly assert the presence of understanding and intelligence in all things. In this article, I will explain all three issues (Panpsychism, Mulla Sadra's view, and relevant verses of the Holy Qur'an), then I will make it clear that Mulla Sadra's view and Qur'anic statements are consistent with at least some versions of the Panpsychism.