Qur'aan & Modern Science

[نشوان العراقي]

 

Introduction



In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Ever since the dawn of human life on this planet, Man has always sought to understand Nature, his own place in the scheme of Creation and the purpose of Life itself. In this quest for Truth, spanning many centuries and diverse civilizations, organized religion has shaped human life and determined to a large extent, the course of history. While some religions have been based on books, claimed by their adherents to be divinely inspired, others have relied solely on human experience.
Al-Quraan, the main source of the Islamic faith, is a book believed by Muslims, to be of completely Divine origin. Muslims also believe that it contains guidance for all mankind. Since the message of the Quraan is believed to be for all times, it should be relevant to every age. Does the Quraan pass this test? Here, I intend to give an ******ive analysis of the Muslim belief regarding the Divine origin of the Quraan, in the light of established scientific discoveries.
There was a time, in the history of world civilization, when miracles, or what was perceived to be a miracle, took precedence over human reason and logic. But how do we define the term miracle? A miracle is anything that takes place out of the normal course of life and for which humankind has no explanation. However, we must be careful before we accept something as a miracle. An article in The Times of India Mumbai, in 1993 reported that a saint by the name Baba Pilot claimed to have stayed continuously submerged under water in a tank for three consecutive days and nights. However, when reporters wanted to examine the base of the tank of water where he claimed to have performed this miraculous feat, he refused to let them do so. He argued by asking as to how one could examine the womb of a mother that gives birth to a child. The Baba was hiding something. It was a gimmick simply to gain publicity. Surely, no modern man with even the slightest inkling towards rational thinking would accept such a miracle. If such false miracles are the tests of divinity, then we would have to accept Mr. P. C. Sorcar, the world famous magician known for his ingenious magical tricks and illusions, as the best God-man.
A book, claiming Divine origin, is in effect, claiming to be a miracle. Such a claim should be easily verifiable in any age, according to the standards of that age. Muslims believe, that the Quraan is the last and final revelation of God, the miracle of miracles revealed as a mercy to mankind. Let us therefore investigate the veracity of this belief.
I would like to thank Brother Musaddique Thanks for his editorial assistance. May Allah reward him for his efforts, Aameen

Dr. Zakir Naik
(Islamic Research Foundation)

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The Challenge Of The Qur'aan

Literature and poetry have been instruments of human expression and creativity, in all cultures. The world also witnessed an age when literature and poetry occupied pride of position, similar to that now enjoyed by science and technology.
Muslims as well as non-Muslims agree that Al-Quraan is Arabic literature par excellence - that it is the best Arabic literature on the face of the earth. The Quraan, challenges mankind in the following verses:
And if ye are in doubt As to what We have revealed From time to time to Our Servant, then produce a Soorah Like thereunto; And call your witnesses or helpers (If there are any) besides Allah, If your (doubts) are true. But if ye cannot And of a surety you cannot. hen fear the Fire Whose fuel is Men and Stones Which is prepared for those Who reject Faith.
[Al-Quraan 2:23-24]
(Al-Quran 2:23-24 indicates Soorah or Chapter No. 2 and Ayaat or Verses 23 and 24.)
The same notation is followed throughout the book. References and translation of the Quraan are from the translation of the Quraan by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, new revised edition, 1989, published by Amana Corporation, Maryland, USA.
The challenge of the Quraan, is to produce a single Soorah (chapter) like the Soorahs it contains. The same challenge is repeated in the Quraan several times. The challenge to produce a Soorah, which, in beauty, eloquence, depth and meaning is at least somewhat similar to a Quraanic Soorah remains unmet to this day. A modern rational man, however, would never accept a religious scripture, which says, in the best possible poetic language, that the world is flat. This is because we live in an age, where human reason, logic and science are given primacy. Not many would accept the Quraans extraordinarily beautiful language, as proof of its Divine origin. Any scripture claiming to be a divine revelation must also be acceptable on the strength of its own reason and logic.
According to the famous physicist and Nobel Prize winner, Albert Einstein, Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind. Let us therefore study the Quraan, and analyze whether The Quraan and Modern Science are compatible or incompatible?
The Quraan is not a book of science but a book of signs, i.e. ayats. There are more than six thousand signs in the Quraan of which more than a thousand deal with science. We all know that many a times Science takes a U-turn. In this book I have considered only established scientific facts and not mere hypotheses and theories that are based on assumptions and are not backed by proof.

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Physics
THE EXISTENCE OF SUBATOMIC PARTICLES
In ancient times a well-known theory by the name of Theory of Atomism was widely accepted. This theory was originally proposed by the Greeks, in particular by a man called Democritus, who lived about 23 centuries ago. Democritus and the people that came after him, assumed that the smallest unit of matter was the atom. The Arabs used to believe the same. The Arabic word dharrah most commonly meant an atom. In recent times modern science has discovered that it is possible to split even an atom. That the atom can be split further is a development of the 20th century. Fourteen centuries ago this concept would have appeared unusual even to an Arab. For him the dharrah was the limit beyond which one could not go. The following Quraanic verse however, refuses to acknowledge this limit:
The Unbelievers say, Never to us will come The Hour: say, Nay! But most surely, By my Lord, it will come Upon you by Him Who knows the unseen From Whom is not hidden The least little atom In the Heavens or on earth: Nor is there anything less Than that, or greater, but Is in the Record Perspicuous. [Al-Quraan 34:3]
(A similar message is conveyed in the Quran in 10:61.)
This verse refers to the Omniscience of God, His knowledge of all things, hidden or apparent. It then goes further and says that God is aware of everything, including what is smaller or bigger than the atom. Thus the verse clearly shows that it is possible for something smaller than the atom to exist, a fact discovered only recently by modern science.

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Geography THE WATER CYCLE In 1580, Bernard Palissy was the first man to describe the present day concept of water cycle. He described how water evaporates from the oceans and cools to form clouds. The clouds move inland where they rise, condense and fall as rain. This water gathers as lakes and streams and flows back to the ocean in a continuous cycle. In the 7th century B.C., Thales of Miletus believed that surface spray of the oceans was picked up by the wind and carried inland to fall as rain. In earlier times people did not know the source of underground water. They thought the water of the oceans, under the effect of winds, was thrust towards the interior of the continents. They also believed that the water returned by a secret passage, or the Great Abyss. This passage is connected to the oceans and has been called the Tartarus, since Platos time. Even Descartes, a great thinker of the eighteenth century, subscribed to this view. Till the nineteenth century, Aristotles theory was prevalent. According to this theory, water was condensed in cool mountain caverns and formed underground lakes that fed springs. Today, we know that the rainwater that seeps into the cracks of the ground is responsible for this. The water cycle is described by the Quraan in the following verses: Seest thou not that Allah Sends down rain from The sky, and leads it Through springs in the earth? Then He causes to grow, Therewith, produce of various Colours. [Al-Quraan 39:21] He sends down rain From the sky And with it gives life to The earth after it is dead: Verily in that are Signs For those who are wise. [Al-Quraan 30:24] And We send down water From the sky according to (Due) measure, and We cause it To soak in the soil; And We certainly are able To drain it off (with ease). [Al-Quraan 23:18] No other **** dating back 1400 years ago gives such an accurate description of the water cycle. WINDS IMPREGNATE THE CLOUDS And We send the fecundating winds, Then cause the rain to descend From the sky, therewith providing You with water (in abundance). [Al-Quraan 15:22] The Arabic word used here is lawqih, which is the plural of laqih from laqaha, which means to impregnate or fecundate. In this con****, impregnate means that the wind pushes the clouds together increasing the condensation that causes lightning and thus rain. A similar description is found in the Quraan: It is Allah Who sends The Winds, and they raise The Clouds: then does He Spread them in the sky As He wills, and break them Into fragments, until thou seest Raindrops issue from the midst Thereof: then when He has Made them reach such Of His servants as He wills, Behold, they do rejoice! [Al-Quraan 30:48] The Quraanic descriptions are absolutely accurate and agree perfectly with modern data on hydrology. The water cycle is described in several verses of the Glorious Quraan, including 3:9, 7:57, 13:17, 25:48- 49, 36:34, 50:9-11, 56:68-70, 67:30 and 86:11.

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Geology

MOUNTAINS ARE LIKE PEGS (STAKES )
In Geology, the phenomenon of folding is a recently discovered fact. Folding is responsible for the formation of mountain ranges. The earths crust, on which we live, is like a solid ****l, while the deeper layers are hot and fluid, and thus inhospitable to any form of life. It is also known that the stability of the mountains is linked to the phenomenon of folding, for it was the folds that were to provide foundations for the relief that constitute the mountains. Geologists tell us that the radius of the Earth is about 3,750 miles and the crust on which we live is very thin, ranging between 1 to 30 miles. Since the crust is thin, it has a high possibility of shaking. Mountains act like stakes or tent pegs that hold the earths crust and give it stability. The Quraan contains exactly such a description in the following verse:
Have We not made The earth as a wide Expanse, And the mountains as pegs? [Al-Quraan 78:6-7]
The word awtad means stakes or pegs (like those used to anchor a tent); they are the deep foundations of geological folds. A book named Earth is considered as a basic reference ****book on geology in many universities around the world. One of the authors of this book is Frank Press, who was the President of the Academy of Sciences in the USA for 12 years and was the Science Advisor to former US President Jimmy Carter. In this book he illustrates the mountain in a wedge-shape and the mountain itself as a small part of the whole, whose root is deeply entrenched in the ground. According to Dr. Press, the mountains play an important role in stabilizing the crust of the earth.
(* Earth, Press and Siever, p. 435. Also see Earth Science, Tarbuck and Lutgens, p. 157.)
The Quraan clearly mentions the function of the mountains in preventing the earth from shaking:
And We have set on the earth Mountains standing firm, Lest it should shake with them. [Al-Quraan 21:31]
The Quraanic descriptions are in perfect agreement with modern geological data.
MOUNTAINS FIRMLY FIXED
The surface of the earth is broken into many rigid plates that are about 100 km in thickness. These plates float on a partially molten region called aesthenosphere. Mountain formations occur at the boundary of the plates. The earths crust is 5 km thick below oceans, about 35 km thick below flat continental surfaces and almost 80 km thick below great mountain ranges. These are the strong foundations on which mountains stand. The Quraan also speaks about the strong mountain foundations in the following verse:
And the mountains Hath He firmly fixed. [Al-Quraan 79:32]
(*A similar message is contained in the Qur'aan in 88:19, 31:10 and 16:15)

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Oceanology

BARRIER BETWEEN SWEET AND SALT WATERS
Consider the following Quraanic verses:
He has let free the two bodies Of flowing water, Meeting together: Between them is a Barrier Which they do not transgress. [Al-Quraan 55:19-20]
In the Arabic **** the word barzakh means a barrier or a partition. This barrier is not a physical partition. The Arabic word maraja literally means they both meet and mix with each other. Early commentators of the Quraan were unable to explain the two opposite meanings for the two bodies of water, i.e. they meet and mix, and at the same time, there is a barrier between them. Modern Science has discovered that in the places where two different seas meet, there is a barrier between them. This barrier divides the two seas so that each sea has its own temperature, salinity and density. Oceanologists are now in a better position to explain this verse. There is a slanted unseen water barrier between the two seas through which water from one sea passes to the other.
(Principles of Oceanography, Davis, pp. 92-93.)
But when the water from one sea enters the other sea, it loses its distinctive characteristic and becomes homogenized with the other water. In a way this barrier serves as a transitional homogenizing area for the two waters. This scientific phenomenon mentioned in the Quraan was also confirmed by Dr. William Hay who is a well-known marine scientist and Professor of Geological Sciences at the University of Colorado, U.S.A. The Quraan mentions this phenomenon also in the following verse:
And made a separating bar between the two bodies Of flowing water? [Al-Quraan 27:61]
This phenomenon occurs in several places, including the divider between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean at Gibralter. But when the Quraan speaks about the divider between fresh and salt water, it mentions the existence of a forbidding partition with the barrier.
It is He Who has Let free the two bodies Of flowing water: One palatable and sweet, And the other salty and bitter; Yet has He Made a barrier between them, And a partition that is forbidden To be passed. [Al-Quraan 25:53]
Modern science has discovered that in estuaries, where fresh (sweet) and salt-water meet, the situation is somewhat different from that found in places where two seas meet. It has been discovered that what distinguishes fresh water from salt water in estuaries is a pycnocline zone with a marked density discontinuity separating the two layers. This partition (zone of separation) has salinity different from both the fresh water and the salt water.
This phenomenon occurs in several places, including Egypt, where the river Nile flows into the Mediterranean Sea.
(Oceanography, Gross, p. 242. Also see Introductory Oceanography, Thurman, pp. 300-301.)
(Oceanography, Gross, p. 244 and Introductory Oceanography, Thurman, pp. 300-301. )
DARKNESS IN THE DEPTHS OF THE OCEAN
Prof. Durga Rao is an expert in the field of Marine Geology and was a professor at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah. He was asked to comment on the following verse:
Or (the Unbelievers state) Is like the depths of darkness In a vast deep ocean, Overwhelmed with billow Topped by billow, Topped by (dark) clouds: Depths of darkness, one Above another: if a man Stretches out his hand, He can hardly see it! For any to whom Allah Giveth not light, there is no light! [Al-Quraan 24:40]
Prof. Rao said that scientists have only now been able to confirm, with the help of modern equipment that there is darkness in the depths of the ocean. Humans are unable to dive unaided underwater for more than 20 to 30 meters, and cannot survive in the deep oceanic regions at a depth of more than 200 meters. This verse does not refer to all seas because not every sea can be described as having accumulated darkness layered one over another. It refers especially to a deep sea or deep ocean, as the Quraan says, darkness in a vast deep ocean. This layered darkness in a deep ocean is the result of two causes:

1. A light ray is composed of seven colours. These seven colours are Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red (VIBGYOR). The light ray undergoes refraction when it hits water. The upper 10 to 15 metres of water absorb the red colour. Therefore if a diver is 25 metres under water and gets wounded, he would not be able to see the red colour of his blood, because the red colour does not reach this depth. Similarly orange rays are absorbed at 30 to 50 metres, yellow at 50 to 100 metres, green at 100 to 200 metres, and finally, blue beyond 200 metres and violet and indigo above 200 metres. Due to successive disappearance of colour, one layer after another, the ocean progressively becomes darker, i.e. darkness takes place in layers of light. Below a depth of 1000 meters there is complete darkness.
   (Oceans, Elder and Pernetta, p. 27. 1 2)
   
2. The suns rays are absorbed by clouds, which in turn scatter light rays thus causing a layer of darkness under the clouds. This is the first layer of darkness. When light rays reach the surface of the ocean they are reflected by the wave surface giving it a shiny appearance. Therefore it is the waves which reflect light and cause darkness. The un-reflected light penetrates into the depths of the ocean. Therefore the ocean has two parts. The surface characterized by light and warmth and the depth characterized by darkness. The surface is further separated from the deep part of the ocean by waves. The internal waves cover the deep waters of seas and oceans because the deep waters have a higher density than the waters above them. The darkness begins below the internal waves. Even the fish in the depths of the ocean cannot see; their only source of light is from their own bodies.

The Quraan rightly mentions: Darkness in a vast deep ocean overwhelmed with waves topped by waves. In other words, above these waves there are more types of waves, i.e. those found on the surface of the ocean. The Quraanic verse continues, topped by (dark) clouds; depths of darkness, one above another.
These clouds as explained are barriers one over the other that further cause darkness by absorption of colours at different levels.
Prof. Durga Rao concluded by saying, 1400 years ago a normal human being could not explain this phenomenon in so much detail. Thus the information must have come from a supernatural source.

[نشوان العراقي]

Biology

EVERY LIVING THING IS MADE OF WATER
Consider the following Quraanic verse:
Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one Unit of Creation), before We clove them asunder? We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe? [Al-Quraan 21:30]
Only after advances have been made in science, do we now know that cytoplasm, the basic substance of the cell is made up of 80% water. Modern research has also revealed that most organisms consist of 50% to 90% water and that every living entity requires water for its existence. Was it possible 14 centuries ago for any human-being to guess that every living being was made of water? Moreover would such a guess be conceivable by a human being in the deserts of Arabia where there has always been scarcity of water?
The following verse refers to the creation of animals from water:
And Allah has created Every animal from water. [Al-Quraan 24:45]
The following verse refers to the creation of human beings from water:
It is He Who has Created man from water: Then has He established Relationships of lineage And marriage: for thy Lord Has power (over all things). [Al-Quraan 25:54]

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Botany

PLANTS CREATED IN PAIRS, MALE AND FEMALE

Previously humans did not know that plants too have male and female gender distinctions. Botany states that every plant has a male and female gender. Even the plants that are unisexual have distinct elements of both male and female.
And has sent Down water from the sky. With it have We produced Diverse pairs of plants Each separate from the others. [Al-Quraan 20:53]
FRUITS CREATED IN PAIRS, MALE AND FEMALE
And fruit Of every kind He made In pairs, two and two. [Al-Quraan 13:3]
Fruit is the end product of reproduction of the superior plants. The stage preceding fruit is the flower, which has male and female organs (stamens and ovules). Once pollen has been carried to the flower, they bear fruit, which in turn matures and frees its seed. All fruits therefore imply the existence of male and female organs; a fact that is mentioned in the Quraan. In certain species, fruit can come from non-fertilized flowers (parthenocarpic fruit) e.g. bananas, certain types of pineapple, fig, orange, vine, etc. They also have definite sexual characteristics.
EVERYTHING MADE IN PAIRS
And of everything We have created pairs. [Al-Quraan 51:49]
This refers to things other than humans, animals, plants and fruits. It may also be referring to a phenomenon like electricity in which the atoms consist of negatively and positively charged electrons and protons.
Glory to Allah, Who created In pairs all things that The earth produces, as well as Their own (human) kind And (other) things of which They have no knowledge. [Al-Quraan 36:36]
The Quraan here says that everything is created in pairs, including things that the humans do not know at present and may discover later.

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Zoology

ANIMALS AND BIRDS LIVE IN COMMUNITIES
There is not an animal (That lives) on the earth, Nor a being that flies On its wings, but (forms Part of) communities like you. [Al-Quraan 6:38]
Research has shown that animals and birds live in communities, i.e. they organize, and live and work together.
THE FLIGHT OF BIRDS
Regarding the flight of birds the Quraan says:
Do they not look at The birds, held poised In the midst of (the air And) the sky? Nothing Holds them up but (the power Of) Allah. Verily in this Are Signs for those who believe. [Al-Quraan 16:79]
A similar message is repeated in the Quraan in the verse: Do they not observe The birds above them, Spreading their wings And folding them in? None can uphold them Except (Allah) Most Gracious: Truly it is He That watches over all things. [Al-Quraan 67:19]
The Arabic word amsaka literally means, to put ones hand on, seize, hold, hold someone back, which expresses the idea that Allah holds the bird up in His power. These verses stress the extremely close dependence of the birds behaviour on Divine order. Modern scientific data has shown the degree of perfection attained by certain species of birds with regard to the programming of their movements. It is only the existence of a migratory programme in the genetic code of the birds that can explain the long and complicated journey that very young birds, without any prior experience and without any guide, are able to accomplish. They are also able to return to the departure point on a definite date.
Prof. Hamburger in his book Power and Fragility gives the example of mutton-bird that lives in the Pacific with its journey of over 15,000 miles in the shape of figure 8. It makes this journey over a period of 6 months and comes back to its departure point with a maximum delay of one week. The highly complicated instructions for such a journey have to be contained in the birds nervous cells. They are definitely programmed. Should we not reflect on the identity of this Programmer?
THE BEE
And thy Lord taught the Bee To build its cells in hills, On trees, and in (mens) habitations; Then to eat of all The produce (of the earth), And find with skill the spacious Paths of its Lord. [Al-Quraan 16:68-69]
Von-Frisch received the Nobel Prize in 1973 for his research on the Behaviour and communication of the bees. The bee, after discovering any new garden or flower, goes back and tells its fellow bees the exact direction and map to get there, which is known as bee dance. The meanings of this insects movements that are intended to transmit information between worker bees have been discovered scientifically using photography and other methods. The Quraan mentions in the above verse how the bee finds with skill the spacious paths of its Lord.
The worker bee or the soldier bee is a female bee. In Soorah Al-Nahl chapter no. 16, verses 68 and 69 the gender used for the bee is the female gender (fasluk and kul), indicating that the bee that leaves its home for gathering food is a female bee. In other words the soldier or worker bee is a female bee. In fact, in Shakespeares play, Henry the Fourth, some of the characters speak about bees and mention that the bees are soldiers and that they have a king. That is what people thought in Shakespearean times. They thought that the worker bees are male bees and they go home and are answerable to a king bee. This, however, is not true. The worker bees are females and they do not report to a king bee but to a queen bee. But it took modern investigations in the last 300 years to discover this.
SPIDERS WEB / HOME IS FRAGILE
The Quraan mentions in Soorah Al-Ankabt,
The parable of those who Take protectors other than Allah Is that of the Spider, Who builds (to itself) A house; but truly The flimsiest of houses Is the Spiders house If they but knew. [Al-Quraan 29:41]
Besides giving the physical description of the spiders web as being very flimsy, delicate and weak, the Quraan also stresses on the flimsiness of the relationship in the spiders house, where the female spider many a times kills its mate, the male spider.
LIFESTYLE AND COMMUNICATION OF ANTS
Consider the following Quraanic verse:
And before Solomon were marshaled His hosts of Jinns and men And birds, and they were all Kept in order and ranks. At length, when they came To a (lowly) valley of ants, One of the ants said: O ye ants, get into Your habitations, lest Solomon And his hosts crush you (Under foot) without knowing it. [Al-Quraan 27:17-18]
In the past, some people would have probably mocked at the Quraan, taking it to be a fairy tale book in which ants talk to each other and communicate sophisticated messages. In recent times, research has shown us several facts about the lifestyle of ants, which were not known earlier to humankind. Research has shown that the animals or insects whose lifestyle is closest in resemblance to the lifestyle of human beings are the ants. This can be seen from the following findings regarding ants:

1. The ants bury their dead in a manner similar to the humans.
2. They have a sophisticated system of division of labour, whereby they have managers, supervisors, foremen, workers, etc.
3. Once in a while they meet among themselves to have a chat.
4. They have an advanced method of communication among themselves.
5. They hold regular markets wherein they exchange goods.
6. They store grains for long periods in winter and if the grain begins to bud, they cut the roots, as if they understand that if they leave it to grow, it will rot. If the grains stored by them get wet due to rains, they take these grains out into the sunlight to dry, and once these are dry, they take them back inside as though they know that humidity will cause development of root systems and thereafter rotting of the grain.

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Medicine

HONEY HAS HEALING PROPERTIES
The bee assimilates juices of various kinds of flowers and fruit and forms within its body the honey, which it stores in its cells of wax. Only a couple of centuries ago man came to know that honey comes from the belly of the bee. This fact was mentioned in the Quraan 1,400 years ago in the following verse:
There issues From within their bodies A drink of varying colours, Wherein is healing for men. [Al-Quraan 16:69]
We are now aware that honey has a healing property and also a mild antiseptic property. The Russians used honey to cover their wounds in World War II. The wound would retain moisture and would leave very little scar tissue. Due to the density of honey, no fungus or bacteria would grow in the wound. A person suffering from an allergy of a particular plant may be given honey from that plant so that the person develops resistance to that allergy. Honey is rich in fructose and vitamin K. Thus the knowledge contained in the Quraan regarding honey, its origin and properties, was far ahead of the time it was revealed.

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Physiology

BLOOD CIRCULATION AND THE PRODUCTION OF MILK
The Quraan was revealed 600 years before the Muslim scientist Ibn Nafees described the circulation of the blood and 1,000 years before William Harwey brought this understanding to the Western world. Roughly thirteen centuries before it was known what happens in the intestines to ensure that organs are nourished by the process of digestive absorption, a verse in the Quraan described the source of the constituents of milk, in conformity with these notions.
To understand the Quraanic verse concerning the above concepts, it is important to know that chemical reactions occur in the intestines and that, from there, substances extracted from food pass into the blood stream via a complex system; sometimes by way of the liver, depending on their chemical nature. The blood transports them to all the organs of the body, among which are the milk-producing mammary glands.
In simple terms, certain substances from the contents of the intestines enter into the vessels of the intestinal wall itself, and these substances are transported by the blood stream to the various organs.
This concept must be fully appreciated if we wish to understand the following verse in the Quraan:
And verily in cattle there is A lesson for you. We give you to drink Of what is inside their bodies, Coming from a conjunction Between the contents of the Intestine and the blood, A milk pure and pleasant for Those who drink it. [Al-Quraan 16:66]
And in cattle (too) ye Have an instructive example: From within their bodies We produce (milk) for you To drink; there are, in them, (Besides), numerous (other) Benefits for you; And of their (meat) ye eat. [Al-Quraan 23:21]
(Translation of this Qur'aanic verse is from the book The Bible, the Quran and Science by Dr. Maurice Bucaille.)
The Quraanic description of the production of milk in cattle is strikingly similar to what modern physiology has discovered.