quranspotlight

These are original research articles on topics relating to the often claimed scientific accuracy and mathematical miracles in the Qur’an. See the links page for articles on other websites by people who have examined claims made about the Qur’an.

Dhu’l Qarnayn and the muddy spring in Qur’an 18:86 – New evidence (html)

Also available as a pdf.

Perhaps the most well known controversy about the Qur’an is the claim that it says that the sun has places where it sets and rises, and in particular that the sun sets in a muddy spring. This is a necessarily lengthy article (a summary is available – see below), which thoroughly examines the various claims made concerning verses 18:86 and 18:90 in the Qur’an. It is far more in depth than anything else I have seen and delves into the Arabic words to scrutinize the alternative interpretations with clear conclusions. In fact the vast majority of it consists of new arguments and evidence.

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Dhu’l Qarnayn and the muddy spring: New evidence (Shorter version) (html)

Also available as a pdf.

This is a summary of the previous article. It is only 11 pages in pdf format + endnotes and references. The html version also has links from the endnotes to take you back up to your place in the main text. Well worth a read if you are interested in this most famous of Qur’anic controversies.

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Greek and Jewish ideas about reproduction in the Qur’an and hadith (html)

Also available as a pdf.

Striking new evidence of Talmudic and Galenic influence on the Qur’an, and especially the hadith with regard to comments about semen and reproduction. In addition, Islamic apologist arguments for supposed references to sperm in the Qur’an and hadith are debunked. They are shown to be very weak and even based on completely false evidence.

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Debunking the 6555 sura, 6236 ayat, odd – even mathematical miracle in the Qur’an

This is perhaps the only superficially remarkable “mathematical miracle” claimed to feature in the Qur’an (most others are of a different nature as they rely on many arbitrary exclusions, ignorance of probability etc. and have been well debunked elsewhere). It is also known as the binary or checksum miracle. Nobody has yet written a debunking of this one as far as I can see, so I decided to write one. There’s one (fairly obvious) main problem and I’ve also put some interesting details in there.

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There are a few other topics concerning science in the Qur’an about which I have new observations to contribute. Hopefully I will have time to add them here in the future.