مطالب

The Holy Qur’an, in addition to its primary purpose of guiding humanity, contains numerous scientific references that were not fully understood at the time of its revelation. Verse 25 of Surah al-Ḥadīd refers to the sending down of iron. The use of the verb anzala (to send down) instead of more commonly used verbs such as khalaqa (to create) and jaʿala (to make) has led to various interpretations of this verse throughout history. This research employs a descriptive-analytical method to examine the concept of the sending down of iron (inzāl al-ḥadīd) and its strong nature (ba's shadīd), as well as its relation to new scientific findings regarding the origin of iron on Earth. Additionally, it investigates whether people at the time of the Qur’an’s revelation had any knowledge of the extraterrestrial origin of iron.Contrary to some extreme approaches to the scientific interpretation and miracles of the Qur’an in recent centuries, this research advocates a balanced perspective that utilizes scientific findings, without any imposition, to better understand the verses of the Qur’an. Recent scientific discoveries indicate that iron is primarily produced in the cores of massive stars, and it cannot be produced in the solar system. Therefore, the use of the verb anzala may allude to the extraterrestrial origin of iron. The results of this research reveal that, from a scientific standpoint, various phenomena are involved in the process of iron's incorporation into Earth that could embody the concept of "sending down," including the production of iron in massive stars and its transfer to Earth through certain cosmic processes, the collision of iron-rich meteorites and asteroids with Earth, and the sinking of iron towards the Earth's core. Regarding the knowledge of people about the extraterrestrial origin of iron at the time of revelation, although it has been claimed that the term used for iron in ancient Egypt means "metal from heaven," the findings of this research indicate that this claim is merely a possibility and, despite extensive research, has not been definitively verified.

The Encyclopedia of the Qur'an, published by Brill, is a product of contemporary research by Western Islamic scholars. According to its editor-in-chief, Jane McAuliffe, it aims to provide a scholarly examination of Qur'anic topics. The entry on Literary Structures, authored by Issa J. Boullata, explores the stylistic and rhetorical devices of the Qur'an and attempts to present a coherent image of the Qur'an. However, the article is open to criticism regarding its academic writing principles and content. This article therefore critically examines the entry using a descriptive-analytical approach. Despite all the positive points that the entry has made about the Qur'an, it introduces a concept called Transtextuality but then discusses other topics in its text, which diminishes the academic credibility of the author and the editor-in-chief of the encyclopedia as the responsible for the articles. This is one of the most important criticisms of this article.