Written and collected by Zia H Shah MD

Abstract

Modern science has profoundly influenced how contemporary scholars interpret certain verses of the Quran. This essay explores examples across cosmology, geology, biology, and medicine where new scientific discoveries sparked fresh insights in Quranic commentary. Drawing on Dr. Maurice Bucaille’s landmark work The Bible, The Qur’an and Science (1976), we show how understanding the Big Bang, the expansion of the universe, plate tectonics, the water-based origin of life, and human embryology has illuminated Quranic passages that were once obscure. In the early 20th century, for instance, Edwin Hubble’s discovery of an expanding cosmos led Muslims to reread a verse about God “expanding” the heavens in a new light. We then extend this discussion to cutting-edge physics, illustrating how the quantum revolution – including concepts like extra spatial dimensions and the relativity of time – is providing additional perspectives on Quranic verses. Insights from Dr. Zia H. Shah MD (a contemporary scholar bridging Quran and science) are included, especially his arguments about the Quran hinting at extra dimensions. Through these case studies, we observe a consistent theme: as human knowledge of the natural world deepens, believers often find the Qur’an’s timeless words in remarkable harmony with modern science. We conclude with reflections on the dynamic interplay between scientific discovery and Quranic exegesis, celebrating a faith tradition that invites inquiry and contemplation of the natural world as signs of the divine.

Introduction

In recent decades, Muslim thinkers have increasingly engaged science to inform Quranic exegesis (tafsir). This approach, sometimes called tafseer ilmi (scientific commentary), posits that true scientific facts cannot contradict true revelation. A key catalyst for this trend was Dr. Maurice Bucaille, a French medical doctor, whose comparative study The Bible, The Qur’an and Science argued that the Quran contains numerous statements astonishingly consistent with modern sciencethequran.love. Bucaille famously concluded that while the Bible contained “monumental errors” on scientific matters, he “could not find a single error in the Qur’an”cia.gov. He marveled that a 7th-century text accurately described natural phenomena confirmed only centuries later, forcing him to ask: “if a man was the author of the Qur’an, how could he have written facts in the seventh century A.D. that today are shown to be in keeping with modern scientific knowledge?”cia.gov. The most reasonable explanation, in Bucaille’s view, was the Quran’s divine origin.

Crucially, Bucaille also observed that past commentators often misunderstood certain verses simply because the scientific knowledge needed to grasp their full meaning was unavailable in earlier erascia.gov. He noted that “for centuries commentators…inevitably made errors of interpretation in the case of certain verses whose exact meaning could not possibly have been grasped [until] much later”, when modern science shed light on themcia.gov. Thus, as our scientific understanding evolves, so too can our interpretation of scripture. In the sections that follow, we will examine several Quranic verses across different fields of science where new discoveries have led to new insights in commentary. We begin with cosmology – the origin and expansion of the universe – before turning to geology, biology, and medicine. Finally, we use these examples as a springboard to discuss how even the revolutionary ideas of quantum physics are inspiring fresh theological reflections today. Throughout, we will see how modern Muslim scholars (including Bucaille and Dr. Zia H. Shah) have approached the Quran not as a science textbook, but as a scripture whose remarkably accurate allusions to natural phenomena can deepen a believer’s awe and understanding when read in the light of contemporary knowledgethequran.lovecia.gov.

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