Islam and Evidence

God, the All-Mighty, Merciful and Compassionate, revealed in the Qur'an that He is close to man and will answer people when they pray to Him. One of the relevant verses is as follows:

If My servants ask you about Me, I am near. I answer the call of the caller when he calls on Me. They should therefore respond to Me and believe in Me so that they will be guided aright. (Surat al-Baqara: 186)

As stated in the verse above, God is close to everybody. He has knowledge of everyone's wishes, feelings, thoughts, every word uttered, anything whispered and even what is concealed deep in one's thoughts. Consequently, God hears and knows everyone who turns to Him and prays to Him. This is God's blessing on mankind, and a manifestation of His mercy, grace and infinite power. 

Glory be to Him Who created all the pairs: from what the earth produces and from themselves and from things unknown to them. (Qur'an, 36:36)

While "male and female" is equivalent to the concept of "pair," "things unknown to them," as expressed in the Qur'an, bears a broader meaning. Indeed, we encounter one of the meanings pointed to in the verse in the present day. The British physicist Paul Dirac, who discovered that matter was created in pairs, won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1933. This finding, known as "parity," revealed the duality known as matter and anti-matter. Anti-matter bears the opposite characteristics to matter. For instance, contrary to matter, anti-matter electrons are positive and protons negative. This fact is expressed in a scientific source as follows: 

... every particle has its antiparticle of opposite charge... [T]he uncertainty relation tells us that pair creation and pair annihilation happen in the vacuum at all times, in all places.48 

Another example of duality in creation is plants. Botanists only discovered that there is a gender distinction in plants some 100 years ago.49 

Yet, the fact that plants are created in pairs was revealed in the following verses of the Qur'an 1,400 years ago:

It is Allah Who created the heavens with no support-you can see them-and cast firmly embedded mountains on the earth so that it would not move under you, and scattered about in it creatures of every kind. And We send down water from the sky and make every generous plant grow in it, in pairs. (Qur'an, 31:10)

It is He Who made the earth a cradle for you and threaded pathways for you through it and sent down water from the sky by which We have brought forth diverse pairs of plants. (Qur'an, 20:53)

In the same way, fruits, are of two types: male or female. As the Qur'an proclaims: 

He stretched out Earth and placed firmly embedded mountains and rivers in it, and made two types [male and female] of every kind of fruit. He covers over day with night. There are signs in that for people who reflect. (Qur'an, 13:3)

The word "zawjayni," translated as "two types," comes from "zawj," meaning "one of a pair." As we know, fruits are the final product produced by ripening plants. The stage before fruit is the flower. Flowers also have male and female organs. When pollen is carried to the flower and fertilization takes place, they begin to bear fruit. The fruit gradually ripens and starts to release seeds. The fact that fruits have gender-specific features is another piece of scientific information indicated in the Qur'an. 

48. Henning Genz, "Nothingness: The Science of Empty Space," 205,

www.2think.org/nothingness.shtml

49. "Wanna C A Miracle: Quran: The Living Miracle," The Revival 5, Issue 2,

www.therevival.co.uk/Revival_issue/vol5_iss2_quran_miracle.htm

As we have already seen, there were people with varying characters and ideas that surrounded the Prophet (saas). Throughout his life, however, he showed an interest in each and every one, warned them about their mistakes and failings, and tried to educate them in all matters, from cleanliness to matters of faith. That compassionate, loving, understanding and patient attitude of his was the means by which many peoples' hearts warmed to Islam and developed a genuine love for the Prophet (saas). 

The outer layer of the earth's atmosphere consists of a great many gases, particularly oxygen. However, energy explosions on the sun cause some of these gases to disperse into space. Researchers have obtained its first concrete evidence thanks to the NASA spacecraft. It was first observed that the Earth experiences a loss of matter from its outer layers on September 24 and 25th 1998. In other words, this occurred 14 centuries after this information was imparted in the quran.  

Don't they see how We come to the land eroding it from its extremities? (Surat al-Anbiya':44)

These verses may also be referring to the loss of land on Earth in another regard. At the present time, the polar ice caps are melting and the water level in the oceans is rising. As coastal areas come underwater, the land surface, or total amount of land is decreasing. The expression eroding it from its extremities in the verses may well be pointing to coastal areas being covered by water. God knows best.

Throughout the period of his mission, the Prophet Muhammad (saas) experienced all manner of difficulty. Deniers and polytheists, from among his own people, insulted him most terribly, even calling him a magician or a madman. Others wanted to kill him and even schemed to do so. Despite all that, the Prophet (saas) tried to teach people of all backgrounds and cultures about the Qur'an, and therefore about proper morality and good behaviour.

As is revealed in the verses of the Qur'an, some people had not the slightest idea of the basics of good manners, for which reason it never entered their minds that they might appall someone who possessed superior morality. The Prophet (saas) displayed the greatest patience in this circumstances, turning to Allah and asking for His help in all situations and encouraging believers to patience and submission.

In many verses in the Qur'an, Allah advises the Prophet (saas) to be patient despite the words of unbelievers: 

So be patient in the face of what they say and glorify your Lord with praise before the rising of the sun and before it sets. (Surah Qaf: 39)

Do not be grieved by what they say. All might belongs to Allah. He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. (Surah Yunus: 65)

We know that your breast is constricted by what they say. (Surat al-Hijr: 97) 

Perhaps you are leaving aside part of what has been revealed to you and your breast is constricted by this because they say, "Why has treasure not been sent down to him or an angel not accompanied him?" You are only a warner and Allah is Guardian over all things. (Surah Hud: 12) 

Believers must remember the kind of things Allah's Messenger (saas) was patient for, and take him as a model when dealing with their own difficulties. Those who despair at the slightest problem, who are unable to bear the smallest objection, who stop preaching the religion of Allah, or who lose hope when their business dealings go wrong, must be aware that such behaviour is incompatible with Allah's holy book and the sayings and deeds of the Prophet (saas). Believers must always be patient, take Allah as their helper and give thanks to Him, adopt the superior morality of the Prophet (saas), and hope for the mercy, compassion and Paradise of our Lord.