Part 8 – Scientific Errors in the Qur’an

Why “The Final Revelation” Fails the Test of Observable Reality

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Introduction: The Myth of Qur’anic Scientific Miracles

For decades, Muslim apologists have promoted the idea that the Qur’an contains scientific miracles — supposedly advanced knowledge revealed 1,400 years ago that only modern science could verify. This argument has been used aggressively in dawah (Islamic evangelism) to convince both Muslims and non-Muslims that the Qur’an must be divine.

But here’s the problem: the Qur’an not only fails to contain advanced scientific truths — it contains multiple, undeniable, and often laughable scientific errors.

These are not “interpretation problems” or “figurative speech.” They are observable, testable claims that conflict with reality. And in Islam, this is fatal because the Qur’an claims to be perfect, error-free, and the literal word of Allah.

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Section 1 – The Qur’an’s Claims About Its Perfection

Before listing the errors, we must remember what the Qur’an says about itself:

• Surah 4:82:

  “Do they not reflect upon the Qur’an? If it had been from other than Allah, they would have found much contradiction therein.”

• Surah 6:115:

  “The word of your Lord is perfected in truth and in justice. None can change His words…”

• Surah 41:42:

  “Falsehood cannot approach it from before it or from behind it. [It is] a revelation from [He who is] Wise and Praiseworthy.”

This means any factual error — whether historical, scientific, or otherwise — proves it is not from God.

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Section 2 – Major Scientific Errors in the Qur’an

1. Embryology: The “Clot of Blood” Stage

Surah 23:12–14:

“We created man from an extract of clay. Then We placed him as a drop in a safe lodging. Then We made the drop into a clinging clot (‘alaqah), then We made the clot into a lump (mudghah)…”

Problem: The Qur’an describes the embryo as a “clot of blood” in early development.

• Modern embryology (and ultrasound imaging) shows no stage where the embryo is a blood clot.

• The “clot” idea matches ancient Greek medical errors, especially from Galen (2nd century AD), whose works were known in the Middle East long before Islam.

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2. The Sun Sets in a Muddy Spring

Surah 18:86:

“Until, when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it setting in a spring of black mud, and he found near it a people…”

Problem: This is a geographical and astronomical impossibility. The sun does not physically set into the Earth, and certainly not into a muddy spring.

• Muslim apologists often claim this is “from Dhul-Qarnayn’s perspective,” but the Arabic grammar here makes it an objective description, not subjective perception.

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3. The Sun and Moon Each Travel in an Orbit

Surah 36:38–40:

“And the sun runs [on course] toward its stopping point… The sun is not to overtake the moon, nor does the night outstrip the day, but each in an orbit is swimming.”

Problem:

• The Qur’an presents the sun and moon as both orbiting in relation to the Earth — a geocentric model that matches 7th-century cosmology, not modern astronomy.

• The sun does not “swim” toward a “stopping point” — it orbits the center of the Milky Way while the Earth orbits the sun.

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4. The Earth as a Flat or Spread Surface

Multiple verses describe the Earth as spread out like a carpet:

• Surah 78:6: “Have We not made the earth as a bed?”

• Surah 15:19: “And the earth We have spread out…”

• Surah 20:53: “…He who has made the earth for you like a bed…”

Problem: While some claim these are metaphorical, the Qur’anic language matches ancient flat-earth imagery, not a spherical Earth.

• If Allah meant “sphere,” there is a perfectly clear Arabic term for it — kurah — yet the Qur’an never uses it for Earth.

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5. Mountains as Pegs Holding the Earth Steady

Surah 78:6–7:

“Have We not made the earth as a bed, and the mountains as pegs?”

Surah 16:15:

“And He placed on the earth firmly set mountains, lest it should shake with you…”

Problem:

• Mountains do not prevent earthquakes. In fact, most mountains are formed by earthquakes and tectonic activity.

• The idea of mountains as stabilizing “stakes” is consistent with ancient Middle Eastern cosmology, not modern geology.

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6. The Sky as a Solid Dome Holding Back Water

Surah 21:32:

“And We made the sky a protected ceiling…”

Surah 2:22:

“…and sent down from the sky water…”

Problem: The Qur’an’s cosmology reflects the ancient belief in a solid firmament holding back waters above the sky — an idea found in pre-Islamic Jewish and Babylonian sources, but false by modern physics.

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7. Sperm Originating Between Backbone and Ribs

Surah 86:6–7:

“He is created from a fluid, ejected, emerging from between the backbone and the ribs.”

Problem:

• Sperm is produced in the testicles, not between the spine and ribs.

• This matches outdated Greek medical theories, not reality.

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8. The Moon as a Light, Not a Reflector

Surah 71:16:

“And made the moon therein a light and made the sun a lamp.”

Problem:

• The moon does not emit its own light; it reflects sunlight.

• The Qur’an’s distinction between “lamp” and “light” still presents the moon as self-luminous.

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Section 3 – Where Did These Ideas Come From?

Far from being divine revelation, many of these errors trace back to earlier human sources available in Arabia before and during Muhammad’s life:

• Greek Medicine (Hippocrates, Galen): Clot-stage embryology, spinal origin of semen.

• Babylonian Cosmology: Solid dome sky, waters above.

• Ptolemaic Astronomy: Geocentric model of sun and moon.

• Jewish Midrash & Apocrypha: Sun setting into water, flat earth imagery.

These influences show human cultural borrowing, not supernatural insight.

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Section 4 – The Apologetic Tactics

Muslim apologists have developed several strategies to deal with these embarrassing errors:

1. “It’s Metaphorical” – Claiming verses are symbolic rather than scientific. But then the “scientific miracles” argument collapses.

2. “The Arabic Means Something Else” – Reinterpreting words post hoc to fit modern science.

3. “It’s from the Human Perspective” – Subjective descriptions cannot also be evidence of divine omniscience.

4. Selective Quoting of Scientists – Misusing Western scientists’ words to claim they confirm the Qur’an.

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Section 5 – The Fatal Problem for Islam

The Qur’an stakes its divine claim on being error-free. Yet:

• If these verses are literal, they are scientifically false.

• If these verses are metaphorical, the “scientific miracles” argument dies.

• If they are reinterpreted, the Qur’an loses its “clear Arabic” claim (16:103, 26:195).

No matter how you cut it, Islam loses. The same book that claims perfection is shown to reflect the limited knowledge of 7th-century Arabia.

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Section 6 – Conclusion: Why This Cannot Be From God

Science is not the enemy of religion — unless that religion makes testable, physical-world claims that are wrong. The Qur’an does exactly that.

These errors are not trivial:

• They show human ignorance, not divine omniscience.

• They match pre-Islamic sources, not revelations from heaven.

• They cannot be explained away without destroying Islam’s core claims.

The verdict is clear: The Qur’an fails the test of scientific truth.

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Next in series Part 9: Multiple Accounts of Adam’s Creation