Friday, July 27, 2012

Rotating Earth (mountains that move) miracle claim debunked


Quranmiracles.com is a despicable site but one that perfectly illustrates the lies, half-truths and fact-bending that Muslim miracle seekers are willing to commit to persuade the gullible and desperate that the Qur'an is divine in origin. Here is a miracle claim which is not commonly rebutted that illustrates perfectly what I mean .


The claim (that Allah is informing us that the Earth rotates by telling us that mountains move as clouds do) appears to be not totally unreasonable when we read the verse, as given at Quranmiracles.com:
When you look at the mountains, you think that they are standing still. But they are moving like clouds. Such is the artistry of God, who disposes of all things in perfect order. He is indeed fully aware of what you do.27:88
And this is how quranmiracles.com interprets the verse: 
The mountains’ features seem to make them the most stationary components of the earth’s surface. The idea of the unattainability of mountains led certain primitive mentalities to believe in polytheism and fancy that the mountains were the abode of divinities. The idea of mountain peaks being beyond man’s reach was an illusion, as was also their stationary aspect. The verse refers to this illusion and speaks of the motion of mountains like clouds. If the mountains that had a stationary aspect did move, it would follow that the earth itself also moved. The verse thus dismisses the idea of a fixed world entertained as a consequence of false perception, and informed the public of the time of the movement of mountains, likening them to clouds. 
Except that it doesn't. The verse has NOTHING to do with telling mankind that the Earth rotates instead of being stationary.

How can we be so sure? Because if we look at the verse which comes immediately before this one, we can understand better the intentions of the author. (Note to quranmiracles.com - this is called PUTTING THE VERSE IN CONTEXT)

And on that Day the trumpet [of judgment] will be sounded, and all [creatures] that are in the heavens and all that are on earth will be stricken with terror, except such as God wills [to exempt]: and in utter lowliness all will come unto Him. 27:87
From this it becomes clear that the author is detailing what will happen on Judgement Day (hence the reference to "trumpet [of Judgement]". On Judgement Day frightening things happen.. like the seas boiling, the heavens opening and ... mountains flying around like clouds.

Now let's look at some other (more accurate?) translations of the verse.
And thou wilt see the mountains, which [now] thou deemest so firm, pass away as clouds pass away: a work of God, who has ordered all things to per­fection! Verily, He is fully aware of all that you do! (M Asad)
Thou seest the mountains and thinkest them firmly fixed: but they shall pass away as the clouds pass away: (such is) the artistry of Allah, who disposes of all things in perfect order: for he is well acquainted with all that ye do. (Yusuf Ali)
And thou seest the hills thou deemest solid flying with the flight of clouds: the doing of Allah Who perfecteth all things. Lo! He is Informed of what ye do. (Pickthall)
Hmm - seems that the wonderfully clear Qur'an is open to misunderstanding. And how does an Islamic  Qur'an search engine site interpret this verse?
  "Topics discussed in this Verse: [Allah's artistry] [Allah's attributes:Aware (Well_acquainted)] [Mountains:destroyed _ made into dust]"
So the mountains will be turned into dust on Judgement Day. That's it. No mention of the Earth rotating. Has  islamicity got it wrong, then? I don't think so.

Let's read the two verses, together with the one immediately following. Thus we will read the verse sandwiched between the one before and the one after...presumably as was intended and as one would hear it were it being recited. I think it now becomes totally clear what is meant.
And on that Day the trumpet [of judgment] will be sounded, and all [creatures] that are in the heavens and all that are on earth will be stricken with terror, except such as God wills [to exempt]: and in utter lowliness all will come unto Him. And thou wilt see the mountains, which [now] thou deemest so firm, pass away as clouds pass away: a work of God, who has ordered all things to per­fection! Verily, He is fully aware of all that you do!  If any do good, good will (accrue) to them therefrom; and they will be secure from terror that Day. 27:87-89
So we have the verse before referring to "on that Day" and the verse after referring to "on that Day". No-one, not even desperate miracle seekers, can maintain the lie that this is a miraculous reference to the rotation of the earth or the Earth's movement through space.

Will quranmiracles.com remove the claim? What do you think?


One final question. If the Qur'an truly is the uncreated word of God, full of scientific miracles, why do Muslim miracle seekers need to lie to their readers to convince them of the fact? Do any Muslims reading this ever wonder about that? And if you do, why don't you get these cowboys off the web?

(And just in case you thought no-one would be stupid enough to fall for this gunk - here's a comment that some poor sap has left at the end of the article:
Very informative article May Allah shower his bounties and blessings on the persons who are sharing this article regarding the Creator ALLAH
Actually, I'd have thought Allah would be mighty pissed off that his words were being used to hoodwink people. Instead of showering the authors of islamicmiracles.com with praise, he ought to be reserving a special tub of hot oil for them.

Thank goodness he doesn't exist, then.

Makes me want to weep...)






17 comments:

  1. Allah have prepared a painful punishment for you in hell .

    But anyways , great work Spinoza. You are dangerous for miraculous quran. Stay safe :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Are you sure that your Allah is himself not rotting in hell for allowing Muhammad to rape a 9 year old Girl ,among other crimes ,named Aayesha ? To any neutral mind it appears that Allah was the great Satan and Muhammad was his true Messenger.

      Delete
  2. Just checked - the claim is still there. Surprise...
    Enjoying the blog - good work and keep at it!
    Recent ex.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great Debunking! When I show the Muslims I argue with the actual context of the verse, they then go on to justify their quote-mining. Here is the worst excuse I've heard so far from a Muslim;

    "Verse 87 and 89 specifically mention the "day of judgment" while 88 does not ... Therefore, 87 and 89 are talking about the end of days while 88 is a general statement describing nature"

    How thick one has to be to think in such manner I have no idea.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks, Captain. I have yet to raise this one with my friend. He's getting a bit cagey about discussing the miracles now - perhaps he's beginning to realise they are all, without exception, predicated upon misreadings, twistings and out-right lies.

    ReplyDelete
  5. "why do Muslim miracle seekers need to lie to their readers to convince them of the fact?"


    Typical atheist perspective! I could say:" why do atheists need to take everything in the Qur'an as a lie to disprove the Qur'an and the existence of a creator?" My answer would be :"to believe the Qur'an is a big lie and devoid of any future scientific knowledge will make them sleep comfortably knowing no One will ever judge them for their disbelief in a creator as they are wiling to do anything, you name it, other than believing in their Creator, Allah"

    ReplyDelete
  6. Why is proving a claim to be false a "typical atheist perspective"?
    Isn't it rather simply a rational perspective?
    What in the above debunking do you disagree with?
    Please refer me to a genuine miracle in the Qur'an and I'll reconsider my position.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What is your view on Islam's signs of Judgement day?

    ReplyDelete
  8. You can read the verses 38:31 to 38:33 (SAD).

    Allah correct the story that the Jews and Christians fake for Joshua which is : stopping the sun.

    This story had been happened with David upon his wars against the heathen Philistines, not Joshua
    When [the sun] was hidden in the veil, David spoke to the Mountains to rotate in the opposite direction to bring the Sun back.
    You can Check the relation between the mountains and David in the holy Quran.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Typical reading out of context drama …
    If you had just read the couple of versus before this one, you would have clearly noticed that this was describing the events on the judgment day.
    Peace

    ReplyDelete
  10. Im afraid , d author of this page s interested in islam thn his own religion, wishing gud luck bro , hope ull change ure name to muhammed hamid after reading n crosschecking the holy quran n other reference books

    ReplyDelete
  11. Since these plates move therefore the mountains created by them and sitting on top of them do also move. There's also a vertical movement since scientists have discovered that mountains grow by 4mm every year which correlates with the slow movement of the clouds.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Verse 27:88 does not imply earth rotation, you are right. Islamicity.com and quranmiracles.com are mistaken in their interpretation. They were probably too eager to show a scientific miracle at a place there was none and quoted out of context.

    They should be rectifying their mistake and put things in the right perspective. Also an appeal to muslim brothers and sisiters to be more careful before asserting claims. Study deeper and do extensive research so as not impute errors to Quran.

    Mountains will move like clouds on the last day when there earth will be destroyed and the gravitational forces will be disrupted, and not because the earth is actually rotating.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hello people,i am a simple human answering 9ne question in the comments about some accurate miracle in quran,so i would simply answer: barriers between seas,positions of the stars,nowadays polution and distruction of the earth, sun,moon and earth in their orbits,origin of the semen,rounding day over night and night over day(poves that earth is round) crossing DNA and blood prohibitation,delay of breast feeding,prohibitation of alcohol(which studies show that even the drop of it is extremly bad for health),time relativity,prediction of the electricity use,the base creation of han body(clay)=ground+water=clay (since the human body is mostly.minerals and water exactly as clay),prediction of triumph of rome against persia shortly after 11 Y Abraham respondió: Porque dije para mí: Ciertamente no hay temor de Dios en este lugar, y me matarán por causa de mi esposa.

    12 Y a la verdad también es mi hermana, hija de mi padre, mas no hija de mi madre, y la tomé por esposa.rome was won over by persia.. hmm should i really write all? How about iron?(Fr) that it was send down and not belongs to earth as first creation...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The op is pathetic ignorant moron,i'll refute your false claim easily :THE VERSE 27:88 INDEED REFERS TO THE ROTATION OF THE EARTH,NOT ONLY THAT IT INDICATES THE DIRECTION OF ROTATION.THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT OF THE MAIN CLOUD MASSES AT 3.500-40.00 METRES HIGH IS ALWAYS FROM WEST TO EAST,THAT IS WHY IT IS GENERALLY THE STATE OF OF THE WEATHER IN THE WEST WHICH IS LOOKED AT INMETEOROLOGICAL FORECAST IT.THE MAIN REASON WHY CLOUD MASSES ARE PULLED FROM WEST TO EAST IS THE DIRECTION IN WHICH THE EARTH ROTATES,AS WE KNOW,OUR EARTH SPINS FROM WEST TO EAST. IF YOU WANT TO READ THE VERSE REGARDING THE MOUNTAINS ON THE JUDGEMENT DAY THERE ARE MANY VERSES IN THE QUR'AN SPEAKS SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE MOUNTAINS ON THE THE JUDGEMENT DAY I QUOTE TWO OF THEM "SO WHEN THE STARS ARE MADE TO LOSE THEIR LIGHT,AND WHEN THE HEAVEN IS RENT ASUNDER AND WHEN THE MOUNTAINS ARE CARRIED AWAY AS DUST (77:8-10) "ABASING (ONE PARTY),EXALTING (THE OTHER) WHEN THE EARTH SHALL BE SHAKEN WITH A (SEVERE) SHAKING.AND THE MOUNTAINS SHALL BE MADE CRUMBLE TO CRUMBLE WITH (AN AWFUL) CRUMBLE SO THAT THEY SHALL BE AS SCATTERED DUST (56:1-6) so i'm telling you atheists no matter how hard you try to slander islam,you will fail and be preppared cause islam will destroy atheists and the hell is waiting for you

      Delete
  14. YOU PATHETIC IGNORANT MORON. I'LL REFUTE YOUR BASELESS CLAIM EASILY : THE HOLY QUR'AN 27:88 ABOVE EMPHASES THAT THE EARTH NOT ONLY ROTATES BUT THAT IT HAS ALSO HAS A DIRECTION OF ROTATION.THE DIRECTION OF THE MOVEMENT OF THE MAIN CLOUD MASSES AT 3.500-40.00 METRES HIGH IS ALWAYS FROM WEST TO EAST,THAT IS WHY IT IS GENERALLY THE STATE OF THE WEATHER IN THE WEST WHICH IS LOOKED AT IN METEOROLOGICAL FORECAST IT. THE MAIN REASON WHY CLOUD MASSES ARE PULLED FROM WEST TO EAST IS THE DIRECTION IN WHICH THE EARTH ROTATES,AS WE KNOW,OUR EARTH SPINS FROM WEST TO EAST..IF YOU WANT TO READ THE MOUNTAINS ON THE JUDGEMENT DAY,THERE ARE MANY VERSES SPECIFICALLY REFERS TO THE MOUNTAINS ON THE JUDGEMENT DAY,I QUOTE TWO OF THEM "SO WHEN THE STARS ARE MADE TO LOSE THEIR LIGHT,AND WHEN THE HEAVEN IS RENT ASUNDER AND WHEN THE MOUNTAINS ARE CARRIED AWAY AS DUST (77:8-10) "WHEN THE GREAT EVEN COMES TO PASS,THERE IS NO BELYING ITS COMING TO PASS -ABASING (ONE PARTY),EXALTING (THE OTHER) WHEN THE EARTH SHALL BE SHAKEN WITH A (SEVERE) SHAKING.AND THE MOUNTAINS SHALL BE MADE TO CRUMBLE WITH (AN AWFUL) CRUMBLING SO THAT THEY SHALL BE AS SCATTERED DUST (56:1-6) I'M TELLING YOU HEY ATHEIST IDIOT,NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY TO SLANDER ISLAM AND MOCK GOD, ISLAM WILL DESTROY YOU AND THE HELL IS WAITING FOR YOU,,SO ENJOY YOUR LIFE IN THIS SHORT TIME AND BE PREPARED TO SCREAM AND FEEL PAIN

    ReplyDelete