Summary: What I am going to be talking about , and I’d to actually turn it into more of a conversation than a lecture, is the concept of science in the Quran, but that is sort of abrupt as a topic because it needs a context, so I am going to present that context first, and then we’ll go into some examples of science in the Quran.<br> <br> The Quran in Muslim belief is two things in one. It’s a divine message but at the same time, it is also a miracle. It’s considered a miracle. And when we talk about the word miracle – I mean, the divine message part, I think everybody understands – any people that adhere to a religion or way of life hold certain words to be scripture or to be Holy and this is the case of the Muslims with the Quran. But it’s just important to understand our concept of the word miracle before we go any further, because it is a very specific definition that Islam gives to the word that is not applicable to the word in common language. So even though I am using the word miracle, it’s not necessarily what you would think of usually. Now, I want you to think – where’d you use the word miracle?<br> <br> [Audience – inaudible]<br> You want me to stop? Already?<br> [Audience – inaudible]<br> <br> Ok, they want me to hold on and come back. But I don’t want to waste time, so what I’ll do is…I’ll talk to you about some things, and when other people come in, I’ll start over and I’ll quiz you on what I’ve talked about. Ok? This makes good use of our time. So you’ll signal me, and I’ll restart, no problem. Ok, InshaAllah.<br> <br> So, in common language, nowadays, where’d you use the word miracle. You are watching TV. Who’d use the word miracle?<br> <br> Doctors? Do you use the word miracle?<br> Yeah, sports, definitely. You know, the short clock’s running down, somebody takes a chuck at it from the half-court, and it goes in and everybody screams. It’s a miracle. Right?<br> <br> Basically, also, you call your friends after you’ve really tanked the exam , and then the day of the grades, you go into class and you’ve got a 97, and you say this is…this is a miracle. Haha. Right?<br> <br> Miracles – basically what people think of, when they think of the word miracle, is something really good and unexpected that happens to you or someone else – as a miracle. Somebody’s healed . Right? Or something really great happened. Or something very unexpected happened. Highly unlikely. But not impossible. It is highly unlikely, but not…impossible. That’s the general connotation of the word miracle, in language.<br> <br> But it also has a spiritual sense, among religions in general. And in the spiritual sense, it has nothing to do with experiencing something or that something that can be proven. It rather has to do with something you feel in your heart. So, you can speak to someone of a particular faith and they can say well I believe that such and such religion is a miracle because I felt that miracle in my heart. I feel it. And I can’t give you that feeling – you’ll have to feel it for yourself. Right?<br> <br> So, it’s basically – when we use the word in the spiritual sense, what you are actually saying is that it is not something provable at all. It is not something that can be gauged in scientific terms. It is a personal experience, really, right? So, that’s the second.<br> <br> And thirdly, I want to say something a bit controversial – the word miracle is irrelevant…in the context of science. It’s irrelevant. Why? Because the scientific community in general, whenever they study a phenomena, what is their attempt? Are they trying to figure out if this is a miracle or is there a scientific explanation behind it? What their attempt always? To find a scientific explanation.<br> <br> So, scientifically speaking, there is no such thing as a miracle. It has to have some sort of explanation. If you believe in miracles, then you are not truly a scientist.
