𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞/ 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐐𝐮𝐫’𝐚𝐧, 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐤𝐞?
Mohamad Mostafa Nassar
Twitter@NassarMohamadMR
Was the Earth created before or after skies?
What is the total number of days the Universe including Earth and Skies were created in six days or eight day?
Did heavens and mountains possess autonomous thoughts of their own accept or reject?
In response to the false claims and cherry-pick methodology in dealing with the Noble Quran verses.
We advise the Christian critics to learn Arabic language since it is the main and only language of the Noble Quran before claiming that they are experts on Qur’anic vocabulary.
The reason behind this advice to learn Arabic is because the Christian critic showed complete ignorance in understanding quite simple Arabic words such as “Thumma” ثم resulting in a big dilemma and starting to wrongly think that there are contradictions between the quoted Quranic verses.
“Thumma” ثم does NOT have to mean “then/afterwards” but can mean coinciding process – for example, a human can do multiple tasks in the time and shift between all of them and use word then to indicate shifting from one task to another does not have to mean, that one task commenced before or after one another.Attached to this article some Quranic Arabic lessons in the form of some videos to learn for free.
An Alleged Contradiction in the Quran is False (Days for Creation)
An Allegation of Contradiction levelled against the Quran: Six or eight days?
The Heavens and Earth were Created in 6 Days, but some Christian Missionaries seem to think the Quran contradicts Itself on this Fact. All these references from the Holy Quran show that the Heavens and the Earth were created in 6 days: 7:54, 10:3, 11:7, 25:59, 32:4, 50:38, 57:4 and 41:9-12.
The Christian missionary (or any other critic) agrees with all these references but one (41:9-12). The critic tries to put this reference forward as a contradiction. After simple analyses we realise the critic is completely wrong and is basing his/her allegation solely on their own inadequate understanding of the verses in question.
The Quran was revealed in the Arabic language and remains in the Arabic language despite it being translated in numerous other languages, English is one of these languages it has been translated in. The most popular English translation of the Quran is by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. Often, Christian missionaries and other critics of Islam utilize this translation when quoting from the Quran.
However, on this occasion the critics do not utilize the Yusuf Ali Translation. This is interesting as this specific translation disproves their claims and clearly shows that there is no contradiction contained within the Quran. The question that needs to be asked is why would the critic of Islam depart from the most popular translation of the Quran on this occasion?
The answer to this question may become apparent to the neutral observer during this refutation. Without further delay allow us to move on to the Quranic verses that the critics allege to be contradictory.
The Quran teaches, in numerous verses, that the Earth was created in 6 days. The critic would agree with this, but they would allege that 41:9-12 teaches it was created in 8 days, they come to this allegation as they incorrectly double count, this is proven within this article.
To highlight the errors of the critic it requires us to quote the English translation of the Quran, We will use Abdullah Yusuf Ali, and this is the translation of each verse (whatever is in the brackets is commentary for clarification purposes from us):
41:9– Say: Is it that ye deny Him Who created the earth in two Days? And do ye join equals with Him? He is the Lord of (all) the Worlds.
This is the initial creation of the Earth and the earlier stage of Creation and it lasted for two days. The next stage of the development of the Earth, as we know it, is mentioned in the next verse of the Quran.
41:10- He set on the (earth), mountains standing firm, high above it, and bestowed blessings on the earth, and measure therein all things to give them nourishment in due proportion, in four Days, in accordance with (the needs of) those who seek (Sustenance).
This is the next (last) stage of the Creation of the Earth and seems more like the finishing touches (i.e., adding’ mountains’, ‘blessings and ‘nourishment’) and this stage took four days while the initial stage took two days.
Simple Mathematics tells us that 4+2=6! Therefore, it is obviously clear that the duration of the Creation of the Earth is 6 days. The next verse is a further reference to the first two days but refers to the Heavens.
41:11– Moreover He comprehended in His design the sky, and it had been (as) smoke: He said to it and to the earth: “Come ye together, willingly or unwillingly.” They said: “We do come (together), in willing obedience.”
This verse refers to the ‘sky’ (Heavens) and teaches us that it was’ as smoke’ before its Creation. It is obviously clear that this verse is referring to a stage of Creation when the Earth had not been completed as the Earth had not ‘come together’ with the sky at this stage.
So, at this stage the Earth had not been finalised (fully created), therefore it is clear that the creation of the Heavens and the Earth are occurring simultaneously. The next verse mentions the Heavens.
41:12- So He completed them as seven firmaments in two Days, and He assigned to each heaven its duty and command. And We adorned the lower heaven with lights, and (provided it) with guard. Such is the Decree of (Him) the Exalted in Might, Full of Knowledge.
The Creation of the Heavens is completed in two days. These two days fall within the 6 days that God used to create the Earth. This is clear as the Earth is not finalised whilst the Heavens were being Created. Therefore, we can safely say that the Earth and the Heavens were created simultaneously. This follows modern scientific knowledge too.
So, it is obviously clear that the Quran teaches 6 days for Creation. However, one may be wondering how the critics claim that the Quran teaches eight (8) days rather than six (6)?
The critic double-counts and confuses himself as he counts the two days that it took for the Creation of the Heavens as extra days, thus adding these two days onto 6 days, therefore the critic wrongly gets a total of 8 days.
The error is committed by the critic as the critic overlooks the fact that the Earth had not been fully formed whilst the heavens were being created (i.e., both were being created at the same time).
In short, the critic does not realise that the Creation of the Heavens and the Earth are Created simultaneously. We hope they realise their errors after reading this article and God-Willing they will correct themselves.
This article does give us the chance to address deceptive methods used by some critics and anti-Islamic websites (mainly produced by Christian missionaries).
As earlier stated in the article; Abdullah Yusuf Ali’s translation of the Quran into the English language is commonly used but for these verses in question (41:9-12) many critics and anti-Islamic websites break from the norm and use alternative translations. They do this as the first word in 41:11 is thumma which can be translated into three different English words:
Thumma does NOT have to mean “then/afterwards” but can mean coinciding process – for example, a human can do multiple tasks in the time and shift between all of them and use word then to indicate shifting from one task to another does not have to mean, that one task commenced before or after one another.
Moreover (Abdullah Yusuf Ali uses this word to translate thumma) Then (the critics tend to use translations that use this word) Simultaneously. It is sad that the critics would use a ‘pick and mix’ methodology and deliberately ignore the best-known translation (Yusuf Ali) to try and further their allegation.
The critic who uses this methodology has been exposed but even the translation of ‘thumma’ to the word ‘then’ rather than ‘moreover’ or ‘simultaneously’ does not strengthen their claim as it is clear from the content of 41:11 that the Earth had not been finalised whilst the Heaven was being created in 2 days.
Therefore, even if they use the word ‘then’, it is still clear that the Earth and Heaven were Created simultaneously so there is no need for the critic to double count!
We are sure that the objective reader would acknowledge that this is a fair explanation and accept that it is NOT a contradiction. However, we are equally sure that the extreme critic (usually tend to be Christian missionaries) will dismiss this explanation and continue down the route of deception. May Allah guide them, ameen.
We would also like to leave you with some food for thought:
Quick Comparison between Creation in the Noble Quran and the Bible: –
As we have discussed the Creation of the Heavens and Earth let us conduct a quick comparison between the Quran and the Bible concerning Creation.
The Quran (50:38) teaches us that God created the Heavens and Earth in 6 days and no fatigue touched God, i.e., God was not tired after Creating the Heavens and Earth but the Bible (Exodus 31:17 KJV) teaches us that God had a ‘rested’ and was ‘refreshed’ on the seventh day.
We ask you which one is correct. The Bible, (which teaches God has rest and refreshment) or the Quran (which teaches that God does not get tired)?
The choice is yours! If a Christian can give us information concerning this then we would be grateful. We want to state that our objective is not to offend or mislead so if a Christian has anything to add to this topic or the article in general then they are more than welcome.
Informational points:
The term ‘Christian missionary’ was used in this article not to tarnish all Christians but merely to highlight the fact that much of the incorrect information about Islam on the internet is being sourced from Christian missionary websites.
So, the Christian missionary will publish it on their website (despite it lacking truth) and bigots (of different faiths, not solely Christianity) would propagate and reproduce that information as it fits their anti-Muslim agenda. These bigots mostly tend to be fundamentalist Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, racists, and militant-atheists.
Of course, not all Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, and atheists take part in such unscholarly activity. We are only speaking about a crazed minority who do not care about the truth but just want to mud-sling and name-call.
* The word days in Arabic (Ayyaam) can mean long periods, i.e., epochs. So, it is not something that must be taken literally.
Regarding Almighty Allah’s throne floated on water before the creation of Earth, the Christian critic indicated to a hadith sahih without even bothering to provide any references, but we are more than happy to quote the hadith and the revenant Qur’anic verse:
“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” Surah Hud (11:7)
(97) Oneness, Uniqueness of Allah (Tawhid)- (19) Chapter: “. To one whom I have created with Both My Hands…”
Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah’s Messenger peace be upon him said, “Allah’s Hand is full, and (its fullness) is not affected by the continuous spending, day and night.” He also said, “Do you see what He has spent since He created the Heavens and the Earth? Yet all that has not decreased what is in His Hand.” He also said, “His Throne is over the water and in His other Hand is the balance (of Justice) and He raises and lowers (whomever He will).” (See Hadith No. 206, Vol. 6)
Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari 7411 In-book reference: Book 97,
Hadith 40 USC-MSA web (English) reference: Vol. 9, Book 93, Hadith 508 (deprecated numbering scheme)
46 The Book of Destiny- (2) Chapter: The Debate Between Adam And Musa (Peace and Blessings of Allah Be Upon Them)
Abdullah b. ‘Amr b. al-‘As reported: I heard Allah’s Messenger peace be upon him as saying: Allah ordained the measures (of quality) of the creation fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth, as His Throne was upon water.
Reference: Sahih Muslim 2653b In-book reference: Book 46, Hadith 27 USC-MSA web (English) reference: Book 33, Hadith 6416 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Now the Christian critic arrogantly confirms without any doubt that before the origin of the universe there was no element. We are not sure now if you are Christian or atheist but let us state what atheism means perhaps that would clear any misconception you might have in saying so without providing any evidence or reference that there was no element before the origin of the universe.
If you are an atheist, atheism is still a belief which effectively means that there was nothing and nothing happened to nothing and then nothing magically exploded for no reason, creating, or evolving to everything, and then, a bunch of everything magically rearranged itself for no reason whatsoever, into self-replicating bits which then turned into dinosaurs, human race, universe etc.
The Qur’anic miracle of cosmic smoke upon creation of new universe- Smoking Supernovae: Astronomers Claim Solution to A Mystery of The Universe: –
God (or Allah in Arabic) mentioned in the noble Quran that the constitution of sky & earth upon creation was smoke.
“Then He turned towards the heaven and it was a smoke. Then He said to it and to the earth, ‘come both of you willingly or unwillingly. They both submitted,’ we have come willingly” Noble Quran (41:11)
From scientific point of view, it has been proved that the so-called cosmic dust (From which the universe created is like smoke rather than dust) Read the following (Cosmic dust consists of tiny particles of solid material floating around in the space between the stars. It is not the same as house dust but more akin to cigarette smoke. It is responsible for blocking half of all the optical light given off by stars and galaxies.
The presence of dust grains around young stars helps them to form, and they are also the building blocks of planets.)
Check the reference link at the end of this article Link (Smoking Supernovae: Astronomers Claim Solution to A Mystery of The Universe). The concept of cosmic smoke was there in Noble Quran for the last 14 centuries long time ago before telescopes.
Horror vacui a term was used as an analogy to the Aristotelian idea that a physical vacuum is impossible, and therefore the idea must be rejected. This was widely believed up to the time of Rene Descartes. We understand that. In physics, horror vacui, or plenism commonly stated as “nature abhors a vacuum“, is a postulate attributed to Aristotle, who articulated a belief, later criticized by the atomism of Epicurus and Lucretius, that nature contains no vacuums because the denser surrounding material continuum would immediately fill the rarity of an incipient void.
He also argued against the void in a more abstract sense (as “separable”), for example the definition of a void, itself, is nothing, and following Plato, nothing cannot rightly be said to exist. Furthermore, insofar as it would be featureless, it could neither be encountered by the senses, nor could its supposition lend additional explanatory power.
Hero of Alexandria challenged the theory in the first century CE, but his attempts to create an artificial vacuum failed. The theory was debated in the context of 17th-century fluid mechanics, by Thomas Hobbes and Robert Boyle, among others, and through the early 18th century by Sir Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz.
How is the origin of the Universe being Smoke and in another verse in the Noble Quran states that Almighty Allah created everything from Water?
Well, as a Christian critic you did not ask this good question, but we are happy to put this question and the answer as well. In answering this question, we assume that you have any basic knowledge of chemistry science and understand that H2O is a gas, so when we say the origin of the Universe is Smoke and water.
There is no contradiction and very possibility scientifically of co-existence as origins of the Universe. The magical connecting word between water, smoke is the main component of water “H2O” is GAS=Smoke. Science tells us that water can be in the form of gas status and sometimes scientists liquidize such gas to turn into water.
As for the creation of everything from water and it contains water and is there a contradiction with other Quranic verses stating that angels were created from light and devils/Jinn were created from flames of fire.
Well again no one asked us this question but as part of our comprehensive approach to cover various angles of questions or potential questions. The General rule is yes everything was created from water and has water UNLESS stated OTHERWISE with a clear Qur’anic verse exempting it. Such as the creation of angels from light and creation of Satan/Jinn from flames of fire.
Christian critics inability to understand the following verses:
“I did not create jinn and humans except to worship Me.” Surah Adh-Dhariyat = Chapter the winnowing Winds (51:56)
In response to these allegations of irrationality, for start this verse explains to people who are already Muslims within the fold of Islam and no one asked you or forced you to believe in it. But the verse explains to us the wisdom behind the creation of Jinn and our creation. In no way it is a matter to be forced upon anyone who is not Muslim. Even if a person is a Muslim it is between them and Almighty Allah who is all seeing and all knowing.
AND
“He placed on the earth firm mountains, standing high, showered His blessings upon it, and ordained ˹all˺ its means of sustenance—totaling four Days exactly—for all who ask. Then He turned towards the heaven when it was ˹still like˺ smoke, saying to it and to the earth, ‘Submit, willingly or unwillingly.’ They both responded, ‘We submit willingly.”
Surah Fussilat=Chapter Explained in Detail (41:10-11)
We have explained earlier that the origin of the Universe was smoke and again we explained the intertwined relationship between smoke and water as everything was created from water bearing in mind the exclusions such as angels created from light and Saran created from flame of fire.
As for the skies, mountains, or anything and whether they possessed an autonomous thought process of their own or not, again it does not mean that you never seen nor heard that it did not happen.
Almighty Allah capable of making the skies, mountains, or anything to possess an autonomous thought process of their own.
Again, you do not have to believe as it is part of unseen parts of the faith. By the way we suggest to you to Google the number of famous western scientists who converted to Islam after seeing verifiable scientific evidence in the Noble Quran and authentic Sunnah= spoken statements, actions and inactions of Prophet Muhammed peace be upon him.
We suggest you do some research on much simpler examples such as plants can see, hear, smell, and respond scientific research conducted by Professor Shultz in the Division of Plant Sciences at the University of Missouri in Columbia and other groups of Scientists- reference link at the end of the article.
Even Modern Sciences related to Artificial Intelligence are currently able to make some types of Robots able to have some form of autonomous thought process of their own.
As for ordained ˹all˺ its means of sustenance—totaling four Days exactly—for all who ask, these matters are Part and parcel of believing in Islam is also believing in what we had been told by our Lord Almighty Allah through Prophet Muhammed peace be upon him, this might include news happened in the past or will happen in the future, as well as descriptions of Almighty Allah names and attributes.
Obviously, the believers believe in all these unknown or unseen after believing that the Prophet himself came up with all evidence to prove his authenticity and show his undisputed credentials and signs of prophethood given to him by Almighty Allah.
We suggest if you are Christian to worry about your paradoxical faith that describes Almighty God of descending to be dragged across the streets, spat on, bashed by his creatures, hung on a cross or a stick, killed by his own creations. To save humanity from himself while Satan outlives him watching God being killed.
We suspect someone on high quality narcotics to come up with such creed. Without forgetting to mention how Jacob wrestled with God and defeated him. If you need more detailed information do not hesitate to ask us for more evidence from your own Bible.
Additionally, we suggest you do some Google search for the following sentences: “10 ways to disprove trinity from the Bible”, 29 Reasons Jesus is not a God or even a son of God. But if you are an atheist, we already provided the definition of atheism that can be found at the top of this article.
As for your last statement that Earth was created before the rest of the cosmos, we suggest that you re-read this article again, we have responded to that earlier in this article up the top. We have noticed that are suggesting that the Noble Qur’an indicated that the Earth is the centre of the universe.
Finally, we will seal this article with some biblical scientific errors. Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones: –
“The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose”.
Ecclesiastes 1:5
The Bible makes it clear that stars are tiny objects in the sky that will fall-down when Jesus comes back:
“And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters” Revelation 8:10
Firmament
The “firmament” is claimed to be a solid “roof” over the world. It is described in Genesis 1:6-8 (KJV). This is obviously untrue, unless all those satellites in orbit are a hoax. Considering the views of flat earthers, someone, somewhere probably thinks this is the case (do not ask them how GPS systems work).
Many Christians believe that this Firmament is what fell from the sky and caused the entire earth to flood, with only Noah and his family surviving. Genesis 7:11 “… and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.”
However, an explanation offered by inerrantists is that the description of the firmament is only what was believed to be true and not necessarily stating that it is literally true. This leaves literalists with the same problem, of course, namely that if part of the Bible is not strictly accurate, how (they feel) can you trust any of it?
Allah knows Best.
References:
Arabic grammar series: Thumma and its meanings Part 1
Arabic grammar series: Thumma and its meanings Part 2
Arabic grammar series: Thumma and its meanings Part 3
Arabic grammar series: Thumma and its meanings Part 4
Arabic grammar series: Thumma and its meanings Part 5
Student question on the particle Thumma (ثُمَّ) and Q41:11
Smoking Supernovae: Astronomers Claim Solution to A Mystery of The Universe
Does the Qur’an say the earth is flat? Islamic scholarship & the multiplicity of readings approach
How the Early Universe Cleared Away the Fog
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2010/11/how-early-universe-cleared-away-fog
Plants can see, hear, smell, and respond to scientific research.
Christian prince got busted while criticizing quran for the same thing he has in the bible
Does a contradiction really exist between Qur’an (10:3) and Qur’an (41?9-12)?
Do the Quran and Bible Teach That the Earth Is Flat?
Do the Quran and Bible Teach That the Earth Is Flat1 ?
Is a day with Allah one thousand years or fifty thousand years?
Christians and the age of the Earth according to the Bible.
The Flat-Earth Bible
Was Prophet Muhammed a pedophile ????
Marriage Age in Christian Lands in the Past.
Our Mother Aisha’s statement “Your Lord hastens in fulfilling your desires” explained
Does Islam allow marriage with prepubescent girls?
Bible: Child Marriage in Ancient Israelite times – Paedophilia?
Minimum Age For Marriage In The Quran
Quran 65:4 – The Child Marriage Claim
Is there a set age for marriage in Islam? Age of Marriage in Islam?
Prepared by Mohamad Mostafa Nassar-
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Arrogance is not only a sign of insecurity, but also a sign of immaturity. Mature and fully realised persons can get their points across, even emphatically without demeaning or intimidating others.