The relationship between the Al-Quran and science is a prominent topic in Islamic theology, focusing on how a text revealed 1,400 years ago aligns with modern scientific discoveries. While the Quran is primarily a book of spiritual guidance and ethics, it contains numerous verses describing natural phenomena that mirror contemporary understandings of cosmology, embryology, and geology.
Islamic scholarship generally classifies the intersections of the Quran and science into several major categories.
There is no human work in existence that contains statements as far beyond the level of knowledge of its time as the Qur’an. Scientific opinions comparable to those in the Qur’an are the result of modern knowledge.
Human Embryology
One of the most heavily analyzed areas of correlation is the description of human prenatal development found in Surah Al-Mu'minun (23:12-14).
Science has only proved this with the help of the latest technology. It is Professor Emeritus Keith L. Moore who is one of the world’s most well-known scientists in the fields of anatomy and embryology, who said that “It is clear to me that these statements must have come to Muhammad from God, because almost all of this knowledge was not discovered until many centuries later.”
- Nutfah: The initial stage is described as a drop of mixed fluid, corresponding to the fertilization process and zygote formation. (Surah Al-Hajj 22:5)
- Alaqah: The embryo is next described as a "clinging substance" or "leech-like" structure, which matches the physical appearance and function of the blastocyst implanting into the uterine wall. (Surah Al-Hajj 22:5)
- Mudghah: The next stage translates to a "chewed lump," closely resembling the somite-stage embryo which takes on a segmented, indented appearance. (Surah Al-Hajj 22:5)
- Sulalatin min Tin: Extract of clay - often interpreted as the physical, chemical components of humanity.
- Qararin Makin : Secure Place - the uterus where implantation occurs.
- Izam & Lahm: Bones & Fresh - the formation of the skeleton (week 5-6) followed by muscle tissue formation (weeks 7-8).
- Khalqan Akhar : New creation - the transition to a distinct human fetus.
BIOLOGY
The Al-Quran contains numerous verses that touch upon biological concepts, many of which aligh closely with modern scientific discoveries in embryology, botany, zoology and physiology.
- Animal Societies: Surah Al-An'am (6:38) - Animal & birds live in highly sturctured and social sytems, complete with hierarchies and communication lines > "There is not and animal upon the earth nor a bird tht flies with its wing but that they are communities like you. "
- Female Honeybee: Surah An-Nahl (16: 68-69) > the Arabic verbs used for the bee building its hive and gathering food are in the female singular form (itakhidhi, sukuli). Entomologists later discovered that worker bees, which perform all the building and foraging, are exclusively female.
- Biological Origins: Surah At-Tariq :5-7 > The Quran directs humanity to contemplate its humble biological origins as proof of God's power to resurrect the dead - "Let people then consider what they were created from! They were created from a spurting fluid (Sperm), stemming from between the backbone and the ribcage.”
- The Skin - Pain receptors : Surah An-Nisa (4:56) - "We shall send those who reject our revelations to the (hell) fire. When their skins have been burned away, We shall replace them with new ones so that they may continue to feel the pain.: - It has been discovered that there are pain receptors present in the skin. Without these pain receptors, a person would not be able to feel pain.
Divine Creation & Natural Science
- Surah Al-Anbiya (21:30) - "Do the disbelievers not realize that the heavens and earth were ˹once˺ one mass then We split them apart? And We created from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?" - Origin of life and the "Big Bang Theory".
- Water: Surah Al-Furqan (25:54): "And He is the One Who creates human beings from water, then establishes for them bonds of kinship and marriage. For your Lord is Most Capable."
- Human Reproduction:
- Az-Zumar (39:6) : Biological development within the womb > "He created you from one soul. Then He made from it its mate, and He sent down for you from the cattle eight mates. He creates you in the wombs of your mothers, creation after creation, within three darknesses. That is Allah, your Lord; to Him belongs dominion. There is no deity except Him, so how are you turned away?"
- Surah At-Tariq (86:5-7) - “Let people then consider what they were created from! They were created from a spurting fluid, stemming from between the backbone and the ribcage.” - Spurting Fluid refers contextually to reproductive fluids containing semen and sperm.
- Surah Al-Hajj (22:5) - “O humanity! If you are in doubt about the Resurrection, then ˹consider that˺ We surely created you from dust, then from a drop of fluid (nutfah), then from a clinging clot (’alaqah), then from a lump of flesh (mudghah)—partly formed and partly unformed—so that We may make ˹Our power˺ clear to you...”
- Surah As-Sajdah (32:8-9) : "Then He made his posterity from an extract of a liquid disdained." "Then He proportioned him and breathed into him from His soul and made for you hearing and vision and hearts [i.e., intellect]; little are you grateful.">the reproduction of mankind occurs through a humble, extracted fluid.
- Surah An-Najm (53:45-46): "And that He creates mates - the male and the female. From a spem-drop when it is emitted." >highlights that gender determination and the initiation of human life occur when a drop of fluid is emitted.
- Surah Al-Hujurat (49:13): "O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted." > human diversity in gender, race and nationality is a deliberate divine design intended for mutual recognition, not conflict.
- Surah Al-Hijr (15:26-27) - "An indeed, We created humanity from sounding clay moulded from black mud. As for the Jinn, We created them earlier form smokeless fire."
- Surah As-Saffat (37:11) : "Then inquire of them, [O Muḥammad], 'Are they a stronger [or more difficult] creation or those [others] We have created?' Indeed, We created them [i.e., men] from sticky clay." > human beings were originally created from sticky clay (teenin laazib) to humble those who reject the concept of resurrection. The verse serves as a direct rhetorical argument against the disbelievers by comparing human frailty to the vast, complex wonders of the universe
- Surah Ar-Rahman (55:14-15) - "He created man from sounding clay like pottery, and He created the Jinn from a piercing flame of fire. "
- Surah Al-Insan (76:2) : "Indeed, We created man from a sperm-drop mixture that We may try him; so We made him hearing and seeing." > human being are created from a mixed drip of fluid (nuftatin Amshaj) to test their obedience.
- Surah An-Nisaa (4:1): "O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer." - despite variations in race, color, nationality or status, everyone originates from the exact same human root that is Adam and Eve.
- Surah Nuh (71:14) "While He has created you in stages?" > human creations did not happen all at once, but rather developed in progressive stages.
- Surah Al-A'raaf (7:12) - "Allah asked, What prevented you from bowing when I commanded you" He (Iblis) replied, 'I am better than he is : You created me form fire and him from clay.".
- the description of human prenatal development found in Surah Al-Mu'minun (23:12-14).
Breastfeeding
- Surah Al-Baqarah (2:233) : "Mother may breastfee their children for two complete years for whoever wishes to complete the Nursing."
- Surah Luqman (31:14): "and his weaning is in two years. "
The Quran describes the production of milk in nursing animals, pointing directly to the interaction between the digestive and circulatory systems.
- The Verse: "And indeed, for you in grazing livestock is a lesson. We give you drink from what is in their bellies - between excretions and blood - pure milk, palatable to a drinker." (Surah An-Nahl 16:66).
- Scientific Parallel: Nutrients from digested food are absorbed through the intestinal walls into the bloodstream. The mammary glands then filter these nutrients directly from the blood to synthesize milk, a precise sequence captured by the phrasing "between excretions (intestine contents) and blood".
Astronomy & Cosmology
The Quran contains several verses describing the origin, expansion, and mechanics of the universe that align closely with modern astrophysics.
- The Big Bang: Surah Al-Anbiya (21:30) describes the heavens and the earth as being a "joined-together mass" before being cloven asunder, resembling the singularity model of cosmology.
- The Big Crunch: Surah Al-Anbiya (21:104) : "The Day when We will fold the heaven like the folding of a (written) sheet for the records.. As We began the first creation, We will repeat it (That is) a promise binding upon Us. Indeem We will do it." - This fit in with the theory of Big Crunch which talks about how the universe will be pulled back into the black holes and again form a tiny mass.
- Expanding Universe: Surah Adh-Zhariyat (51:47) states, "And the heaven We constructed with strength, and indeed, We are [its] expander," mirroring modern discoveries regarding cosmic expansion. According to Stephen Hawking in his book "A Brief History of Time", the discovery that the universe is expanding was one of the great intellectual revolutions of the 20th century.
- Stars and Planets: The word "Star"(Najm) in the phrase "An-najm ath-Thaqib". Surah As-Saffat (37:6) - describes the lowest heaven adorned with kawakib, often interpreted as planest or shining celestial bodies.
- Solar Apex: surah Yasin (36:38) : “The sun runs its coarse to a settled place That is the decree of the Almighty, the All Knowing.”
- Orbits: Surah Al-Anbiya (21:33) - “(God is) the one who created the night, the day, the sun and the moon. Each one is traveling in an orbit with its own motion.”
- Celestial Orbits: Surah Al-Anbiya (21:33) notes that the sun and the moon swim along their own defined, self-propelled orbits.
- Sun and Moon:Surah Nuh (71:15-16) - “Did you see how Allah created seven heavens, one above the other, and made in them the moon a light and the sun a lamp?”
Earth Sciences & Geology
The text frequently references
natural terrestrial mechanisms, urging readers to observe environmental processes.
- Earth:
- Surah Al Baqarah (2:22) : "Who has made the earth a resting place (bed/couch) for you...."
- Surah Al Baqarah : 2:29 - Allah created everyting on the Earth for humanity before fashioning the heavens > "He is the One Who created everything in the earth for you.Then He turned towards the heaven, forming it into 7 heavens. And He has perfect knowledge of all things."
- Surah Al-Imran (3:190-191) > the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and day are signs for those of understanding(Ulul Albab).
- Surah Thahaa (20:6) : "To Him belongs whatever is the heavens and whatever is on the earth and whatever is in between and whatever is underground." Similar verses in the Quran : Al Furqan (25:2), Al-Maaidah (5:17) Al-Anbiya (21:16), and At-Talaw (65:12).
- Surah Ash-Syura (42:29) : "And among His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and all living beings He dispersed throughout both. And He is Most Capable of bringing all together whenever He wills."
- Surah Az-Zukhruf (43:10) - Allah describes the Earth as a cradle or resting place equipped with pathways to guide humanity. " > “[He is the One] Who has made for you the earth a bed and made for you upon it roads that you might be guided.”
- Surah Abasa (80:26) - Allah describes the biological and geological preparation of the Earth's soil, specifically how it splits open to let plant life sprout." - "And meticulously split the earth open (for sprouts). "
- Surah Al-Ghaasyiyah (88:20) : "and the earth - how it was levelled out?" > the earth is obviously outstretched and made suitable for human life and its full and varied range of activities.
- Surah Ar-Ra'd (13:3) - Allah transtitions from the signs in the heavens to the interconnected natural systems of the Earth, detailing how geology, water, vegetaton and time work together. > "And He is the One Who spread out the earth and placed firm mountains and rivers upon it, and created fruits of every kind in pairs. He covers the day with night. Surely in this are signs for those who reflect.”
- Creation of Earth : Fussilat (41:9-12) : The most detailed, sequential accout of 6-day creation is found in this surah verses 9-12.
- Verses 9 : "Say, 'Do you indeed disbelieve in He who created the earth in two Days and attribute to Him equals?'"
- Verses 10: : "And He placed on the earth firmly stabilizing mountains above it, and blessed it and determined therein its provisions in four Days...". (Note: Classical scholars clarify that these four days include the initial two days of the earth's creation).
- Verses 11-12: "Then He directed Himself to the heaven while it was smoke and said to it and to the earth, 'Come [into being], willingly or by compulsion.' They said, 'We have come willingly.' So He completed them as seven heavens in two Days and inspired in each heaven its command."
- Nebula Rose: Surah Ar-Rahman (55:37) > "How horrible will it be when the heavens will split apart, becoming rose-red like 'burnt' oil!" In recent decades, this verse gained massive global attention when NASA released Hubble Space Telescope images of planetary nebulae—specifically the Cat's Eye Nebula and the Rosette Nebula.
- Allah created the Earth in 6 days:
- Surah Al-A'raf (7:54)
- Surah Yunus (10:3)
- Surah Al-Furqan (25:59)
- Surah As-Sajdah (32:4)
- Surah Qaf (50:38)
- Surah Al-Hadid (57:4)
- Cosmic Creation : Surah Fussilat :9-12 - provide the most granular, step-by-step breakdown of cosmic creation.
- Verses 9 mentioned Allah created the earth in 2 days.
- Verses 11: describes an early stage of cosmis reaction where heavens existed as smoke (Dukhan) > “Then He turned towards the heaven when it was smoke, saying to it and to the earth, 'Submit, willingly or unwillingly.' They both responded, 'We submit willingly.'”
- The Role of Mountains:
- Surah An-Naba (78:6-7) refers to mountains as "pegs" (awtad), which aligns with the geological discovery of continental crustal roots that anchor tectonic plates deep within the earth's mantle.
- Surah Al-Ghasiyah : 17-20 - Allah dirests human attention to four specific signs in nature : including mountains-to prove His ultimate creative power and the inevitability of the Day of Judgement > "Do they not look at the camels—how they are created? And at the sky—how it is raised? And at the mountains—how they are erected? And at the earth—how it is spread out?"
- Origin of Water: The absolute reliance of all organic life on water is explicitly highlighted in Surah Al-Anbya (21:30), matching modern biological and astrobiological criteria for life. >"We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?"
- Water Cycle in Surah Az-Zumar (39:21) - "Do you not see that Allah sends down rain from the sky—channeling it through streams in the earth—then produces with it crops of various colors, then they dry up and you see them wither, and then He reduces them to chaff? Surely in this is a reminder for people of reason."
- Rain:
- Surah Az-Zukhruf (43:11) - "And ˹He is the One˺ Who sends down rain from the sky in perfect measure, with which We give life to a lifeless land. And so will you be brought forth ˹from the grave˺."
- Atmospheric Protection: Surah Al-Anbya (21:32) describes the sky as a "protected ceiling," corresponding to the protective functions of the Earth's atmosphere and magnetosphere against harmful solar radiation.
- The Star:
- Surah At-Taqwir (81:2) :describes the chaotic events taking place at the end of the universe and the beginning of the Day of Judgement > "And when the stars fall, losing their lustre (or disperse)."
- Surah At-Taqwir (81:15-16) > "So I sweat by the retreating stars (al-khunnas), those that move swiftly (al-jawari), and sweep/hide away."
- Surah Waqiah (56:75-76) : "Then I swear by the setting place of the stars. "
- Surah Al-A'raaf (7:54) : mentions the sun, the moon and the stars to illustrate God's complete ownership, control and ordering of the universe > "and (He created) the sun, the moon and the stars, subjected by His command. "
- Surah Al-Nahl (16:16) : highlights how humanity uses the cosmos for physical travel and navigation across the Earth > "And landmarks. And by the stars they are guided."
- Surah At-Tariq (86: 1-3) > "By the heaven and the nightly star ! And what will make you realize what the nightly star is? The star of piercing brightness."
- Black Holes: Modern science shows that black holes form at the end of a massive star's life cycle. Surah Al-Mursalat (77:8) > "When the stars are extinguished."
- The Sun :
- Chapter 91 of the Quran is named Surah Ash-Shams meaning "The Sun". Verses 1 : "By the sun and its brightness."
- Surah An-Naba (78:13) : "and placed in them a shining lamp (Sun)."
- Surah Nuh (71:15-16) : "Do you not see how Allah created seven heavens, one above the other, and placed the moon within them as a reflected light (Noor), and the sun as a radiant lamp (Siraaj)?"
Surah Hud (11:7) - Allah created the heavens and the earth in six days (or periods) while His Throne (Ars) was over the water, explicity establishing that the primary purpose of this creation is to test humanity's deeds > "He is the One Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days—and His Throne was upon the waters—in order to test which of you is best in deeds. And if you ˹O Prophet˺ say, “Surely you will ˹all˺ be raised up after death,” the disbelievers will certainly say, “That is nothing but pure magic!”
- Surah Fatir : 9 - Water cycle to illustrate the reality of the Resurrection > "And it is Allah Who sends the winds, which then stir up vapour, forming clouds, and then We drive them to a lifeless land, giving life to the earth after its death. Similar is the Resurrection."
- The Sky:
- Surah An-Nazi'at : 27-30 - highlights the grandeur of the sky and the universe as a direct proof of God's creative power " Which is harder to creat: you or the sky? He built it, raising it high and formint it falwlessly. He dimmed its night, and brought forth its daylight. As for the Earth, He spreat it out as well."
- Surah Al-Anbiya (21:32) : "And We made the sky a protected ceiling, but they, from its signs, are turning away." - It is a scientific fact that the sky, with all of its gasses, protectd the earth and life that is present on it from the harmful rays of the sun. If there was no protective layer, life on earth would cease to exist as the temperature on earth would be freezing at 270.556 degree celcius, the same as the temperature in space.
- Night and Day:
- Surah Az-Zumar (39:5) - "He created the heavens and the earth for a purpose. He wraps the night around the day, and wraps the day around the night."
- Surah Luqman (31:29) - "Do you not see that Allah causes the night to merge into the day and the day into the night., and has subjected the sun and the moon, each orbiting for an appointed term."
- Orbits: Surah Al-Anbiya (21:33) - “(God is) the one who created the night, the day, the sun and the moon. Each one is traveling in an orbit with its own motion.”
Oceanography: The Barrier Between Seas
The Quran describes specific physical dynamics of marine environments that were only fully understood after the advent of modern marine science.
"He released the two seas, meeting [side by side]; Between them is a barrier [barzakh] so neither of them transgresses."
— Surah Ar-Rahman (55:19-20)
In Surah An-Nur (24:40), Allah (SWT) has revealed: “Or [they are] like darknesses within an unfathomable sea which is covered by waves, upon which are waves, over which are clouds – darknesses, some of them upon others. When one puts out his hand [therein], he can hardly see it. And he to whom Allah has not granted light – for him there is no light”.
Incredibly, oceanographers have stated that unlike the belief that waves only occur on the surface, there are waves that take place internally in the oceans, below the surface of the water. Invisible to the human eye, these can only be detected through special equipment.
- Scientific Context: In physical oceanography, when two different bodies of water meet (such as the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean), they do not immediately mix.
- The Mechanism: Because of differences in salinity, temperature, and density, a distinct physical barrier or transition zone forms between them, maintaining the unique characteristics of each body of water.
Botany: The Dual Nature of Plant Life
The text references the reproductive structures of plants, highlighting a fundamental biological rule.
Progress in botany at the time of Muhammad (S) was not advanced enough in any country for scientists to know that plants have both male and female parts.
"Glory be to Him Who created all pairs, from what the earth grows and from themselves and from that which they do not know."
— Surah Ya-Sin (36:36)
“(God is the One who) sent down rain from the sky and with it brought forth a variety of plants in pairs.” Qur’an,"
-Taa Haa (20:53)
“… and of all fruits (God) placed (on the earth) two pairs.” Qur’an,Ar-Raad: 13:3
"And We cause every noble pair (of plants) to grow therein" - Quran Surah Luqman (31:10)
"And We caused to grown therein every kind of beautiful pair. - Quran Surah Qar (50:7).
Fertilizing : "And We have sent the fertilizing winds, and sent down water from the sky and given you drink from it. And you are not its retainers." : Quran Surah Al Hijr : 22
- Scientific Context: For centuries, reproduction in the plant kingdom was poorly understood. Modern botany confirms that plants possess male and female parts (stamen and pistil) necessary for reproduction.
- The Mechanism: Even in monoecious plants (where both sexes live on the same plant), the distinct male and female components function as "pairs" to achieve pollination and produce fruit.
Physics: Subatomic Particles
Classical physics once held that the atom was the absolute smallest, indivisible unit of matter. The Quran implies a deeper layer of physical reality.
- Surah Yunus (10:61) : "And not absent from your Lord is any [part] of an atom's weight within the earth or within the heaven or [anything] smaller than that or greater but that it is in a clear register."
- Surah Az-Zalzalah (99:7) - "So whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it"
- Surah Saba (34:3) - "But those who disbelieve say, 'The Hour will not come to us.' Say, 'Yes, by my Lord, it will surely come to you. [Allah is] the Knower of the unseen.' Not absent from Him is an atom's weight within the heavens or within the earth or [what is] smaller than that or greater, except that it is in a clear register."
- Iron with Meteorites: Surah Al-Hadid (57:25) - "We sent down Iron with its great inherent strength and its many benefits for humankind" - According to M.E. Wairath, iron is not natural to the earth. Scientists state that billions of years ago, the earth was struck by meteorites. It was this meteorites that iron was present and due to explosion on earth, we now have iron available to uas.
- Scientific Context: The Arabic word used here is Zharrah, historically translated by scholars as an ant or a tiny speck, and later used to mean an "atom."
- The Mechanism: The explicit mention of something "smaller than that" directly mirrors the 20th-century discovery of subatomic particles, including protons, neutrons, electrons, and quarks.
Theological Perspectives
Scholars and thinkers approach these parallels through three main intellectual frameworks:
- Concordism (I'jaz Scientific): The belief that these verses represent literal scientific miracles meant to validate the divine origin of the Quran to later generations equipped with advanced technology.
- Non-Concordism: A cautionary approach emphasizing that science shifts constantly based on new theories, whereas the Quran is timeless. Tying the text too tightly to modern science might undermine it if those scientific theories change.
- Integrationism: A middle path asserting that while the Quran is not a textbook of science, it actively commands humanity to use reason, observation, and scientific inquiry to understand the universe.
References:
- The Muslim Vibes: 13 Scienctific Facts in the Holy Quran.
- Why Islam: The Quran and Modern Science.
- Al Hakam: Quran and Science: Evolution, Big Bang, Embryology, ET Life and Beyond.
Hj Zulheimy Maamor
10 August 2026: 9.42 p.m