درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

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. 

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). 

This current study is an attempt for some scientific insights about the verse 45 of Surah Al-kahf. In this verse, God said, “And present to them the example of the life of this world, like water which we send down from the sky, and the vegetation of the earth mingles with it and [then] it becomes broken, scattered by the winds”. In common interpretations, the pronoun in the statement “it becomes broken, scattered by the wind” has been directed to plants not to water. However, in my new approach to interpreting this verse, the pronoun will refer to water, not plants, which is also linguistically acceptable. The purpose of this paper is to show that, despite the common interpretation of this verse, an alternative interpretation can be provided that is both linguistically and scientifically plausible. The results show that based on this new interpretation, it can be said that in this verse, the comparison of the scenario of life in relation to humans to the scenario of water in relation to plants is in good harmony with scientific findings about what happens for water in the plant. When water enters the plant, it can go through two pathways; transpiration or photosynthesis, in both of which a type of breakdown occurs for water. In the first pathway, i.e. transpiration, hydrogen bonds of water molecules are broken so that water is transformed from liquid to gas. In the second pathway, i.e. photosynthesis, the water molecules are broken into oxygen, protons and electrons. The products resulted (water vapor and oxygen) are scattered by external winds. Protons and electrons contribute to the electrochemical potential driving ATP and NADPH formation, or in another words, they are scattered by internal wind. Therefore, it can be said that referring to the phenomena of water breakdown in the plants and then its dispersion, in the verse, is an accurate expression that is also confirmed by science.