101 Reasons Why We Left Islam – Chapter 3: Islam and Science – Reason 21
Is it correct to say that we have ‘seven heavens above’ us? A person on the opposite side of the globe will say that heaven is above them as well – but really where is heaven in relation to us? The Quran is talking about the universe beyond the Earth, then it is all around us. On a spherical Earth, we are floating in Heaven. Heaven is not above us or under us but we are swimming in the universe. To claim Allah created seven heaven is above us and seven earths under us is not only a scientific error but adds to the reason mentioned earlier of Quran (The Prophet) believing we are on a flat Earth. But before you start making excuses, read the verses:
Quran 23:17 – https://quran.com/23/17
And indeed, We created above you seven levels ˹of heaven˺. We are never unmindful of ˹Our˺ creation.
Quran 65:12 – https://quran.com/65/12
Allah is the One Who created seven heavens ˹in layers˺, and likewise for the Earth….
Quran 78:12 – https://quran.com/78/12
and built above you seven mighty ˹heavens˺,
For context, let us see what the Hadith adds on this subject:
Bukhari: 2454 – https://sunnah.com/bukhari:2454
- Narrated Salim’s father (i.e. `Abdullah): The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Whoever takes a piece of the land of others unjustly, he will sink down the seven earths on the Day of Resurrection.”
This aligns with earlier beliefs that hell is under us and heaven is above us. But here we talk about seven Heavens and seven Earths. Moreover, the Quran makes the case that each of these layers have their own heavenly bodies including the Sun and the Moon when it says:
Quran 36:40 – https://quran.com/36/40
It is not for the sun to catch up with the moon, nor does the night outrun the day. Each is travelling in an orbit of their own.
The concept of the number seven heavens is linked to misinterpretation of ancient science. Around the 7th century, people observe only seven heavenly bodies: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the Sun, Moon, and the collection of stars. We see the reference to stars being in the ‘lower heaven’ explicitly mention in Quran 67:5 where we discuss Reason #32. So, the number seven heavens have come from the four planets that were visible at times, the Sun, Moon, and then collection of stars. We now know that our solar system actually comprises eight ordinary planets and five dwarf planets, totaling thirteen. Furthermore, modern astronomy has identified thousands of planets in other solar systems, while cosmologists estimate that the universe contains hundreds of billions of stars and planets. As much as Islamic scholars have tried to reconcile the fact the Quran says seven and this number does not align with anything that is factual, they moved towards saying it corresponds to layers of air. But again, they failed as the number of atmospheric layers are five. For the layers of Earth, also their attempts failed. Depending on the perspective, the Earth layers differ by categories from four to nine. But what we get from both these examples is the key term that you need to remember here: Confirmation Bias.
Confirmation bias is a process whereby people with predefined set of beliefs will look at a whole body of facts and select what they want to believe. If they see something that does not confirm with that belief, they simply ignore it.
Understanding how this process works combined it with critical thinking, and all the scientific miracles claims of the Quran are exposed as lies.
Issue 21.1: The Quran has made a clear scientific error in assuming that the heaven is above us as you can clearly see in verses 23:17 and 78:12. On a floating Earth, Heaven is all around us. We are swimming in that Heaven. If this book was written by an all-knowing God, one small word tweak could have hinted of His knowledge. For example, it could have easily removed the ‘above’ word from the verses and the verse meanings would not have been affected at all:
Quran 23:17 – “And indeed, We created above you seven levels ˹of heaven˺. We are never unmindful of ˹Our˺ creation.”
Quran 78:12 – “and built above you seven mighty ˹heavens˺,”
We examined the Arabic words used for above as being ‘Foukakoum’ (Above you) in both verses. Removing these would not have changed the meaning but made them more accurate.
Issue 21.2: The Quran repeats ancient beliefs of the cosmos that is well documented from that time. We do not have to provide any links; it would take you less than 5 mins to research this. It points to the evidence we mentioned all along. The author of the Quran is no other than a seven-century desert dweller who was repeating what he had heard and reflecting what is around him.
Apologist Excuses:
Issue 21.1: It is a mistake to treat every word in the Quran as if it is a book of science. It is a book of signs meant to be a source of spirituality. When the Quran says that heaven is above us, it is talking from the prospective of any person standing on Earth. Since the sky is above us, then by that, it means the heaven is above us. In fact, you cannot define heaven without saying it is above us. Allah is all around us, but when we pray, we turn to the sky because that is where heaven is. In both cases, that is correct. Removing the word or leaving it does not make a difference.
>> Our response: It makes a big difference. A person floating on the International Space Station has Heaven all around them. In what direction will heaven be for a person landing on the Moon or Mars? The Quran had a chance to be accurate but it failed.
Issue 21.2: Again, it is a mistake to treat every word in the Quran as if it is a book of science. It is a book of signs meant to be a source of spirituality. What is classified as heaven based on heavenly bodies is also relative to human definitions. At one point we said there was nine until we decided Pluto is not a planet. Had the Quran stated that there are 12 heavens (for nine planets, Sun, Moon, and Stars) at the time, it would have been ridiculed for being wrong as at the time people could only count seven. The number is not necessarily important but rather the ability to rejoice in Allah’s creation is what matters.
>> Our response: These are just excuses having not found any valid explanation. The Quran could have been ground-breaking by suggesting that the number of Heavens and Earths go beyond what ‘you people’ can see. One place where the number seven is linked to the seven heavens is the number of circumambulate around the Kaaba for Hajj. It is meant to be suggesting the the Kaaba is the centre of the universe and each circumambulation is for a planet! Now we know the number is eight or could be thirteen – are Islamic scholar going to admit Allah got it wrong? The need to mention the number in the eternal book of Islam, written before time started, and by an all-knowing God with a clear error is simply unforgiveable mistake.
Final Thought:
Very important takeaway from this reason for leaving Islam is to spot the common tactics of Islamic dawah and scholars who look for “confirmation bias” facts. In an ever desperation to prove that the knowledge in the Quran does not come from a 7th century knowledge but from an all-knowing God, they will keep trying to suggest miraculous findings that ‘no one could have known this at the time’. However, when we point the mistakes that could have been easily avoided – suddenly we are confronted with excuses that the ‘Quran is not a book of science!’ anymore.