101 Reasons Why We Left Islam – Chapter 3: Islam and Science – Reason 36
This is basic and we are sure you know the answer. But does the Quran know the answer?
In the first version (Surah 79:27-30), the Earth is created after the creation of the sky, which some Islamic scholars claim the context of this verse means the universe was created and then the Earth. But they have a problem. If the Quran uses the word “sky” as our atmosphere, then that is wrong because our atmosphere happened after the creation of the Earth. What is more, sky in Arabic has only one word: ٱلسَّمَآءُ ۚ Sama’a. There is not a single other Arabic word for the sky other than this word. For the heavens or universe, the most common term is ‘Seven heavens’ to refer to skies beyond our sky. So, when scholars try to stretch the meaning of sky to mean heavens or universe, they are actually extending the word beyond its actual meaning. You will learn next why they do this.
Leading to Quran 2:29 are details about how Allah created everything on Earth including the mountains, the trees, the animals…etc. THEN Allah turned to the sky and created the seven heavens! Unlike the earlier verse, this is definitely a reference to the universe.
Quran 2:29
“He is the One Who created everything in the Earth for you. Then He turned towards the heaven, forming it into seven heavens. And He has ˹perfect˺ knowledge of all things.”
And if you thought, oh but this could be an isolated case. Hold on because the Quran also repeats the same claim in verses 41:9-12.
First, the verse sets out to explain to people how Allah create the universe. You will find that the verses make the same mistake as Surah 2:29. It starts by suggesting that Allah created the Earth first, with mountains, plants, and another ordinance in four days and THEN turned to the sky and created the seven heavens in two days then called on them all to submit. So, the timeline is actually in the verses, and you are welcomed to read it yourself.
41: 9 “Ask ˹them, O Prophet˺, “How can you disbelieve in the One Who created the Earth in two Days? And how can you set up equals with Him? That is the Lord of all worlds.”
41:10 “He placed on the Earth firm mountains, standing high, showered His blessings upon it, and ordained ˹all˺ its means of sustenance—totalling four Days exactly—for all who ask.”
41:11 “Then He turned towards the heaven when it was ˹still like˺ smoke, saying to it and to the earth, ‘Submit, willingly or unwillingly.’ They both responded, ‘We submit willingly.’”
41:12 “So He formed the heaven into seven heavens in two Days, assigning to each its mandate. And We adorned the lowest heaven with ˹stars like˺ lamps ˹for beauty˺ and for protection. That is the design of the Almighty, All-Knowing.”
As you can see, the Quran gets the sequence completely wrong. This is one of the things that science has settled long time ago. The universe definitely started before the Earth. It is estimated that the universe started 13.8 billion years ago and the Earth formed some 4.5 billion years ago. When the Earth first formed, it was nothing but a floating molten rock, we did not have an atmosphere – similar to how Mercury ended up without an atmosphere.
In short, the author of the Quran did not know and simply applied the same geocentric view of the universe by suggesting the Earth is the starting point of everything. Trying to twist the word sky to mean (universe) when we can see Quran refer to the ‘beyond skies’ as seven heavens, we come back with the fact we have two firm artifacts from the Quran that clearly describe the sequence and use the term ‘Then’ to describe the sequence.
Issue 36.1: In the most important Chapter of the Quran (Surah Al Baqarah: Chapter 2:29), the Quran asserts that the Earth was created first and ‘then’ Allah turned to the sky and created the seven heavens. In another verses, specifically focusing on the creation of the universe, again the Quran clearly says the sequence in which it ends with ‘then’ Allah created the universe. This is a clear contradiction to what is established as the facts about the start and creation of the Earth and the universe.
Islamist Excuses:
Issue 36.1: The Quran is speaking here in metaphorical way. It is speaking about the chaos that followed the start of the universe. If we are to believe the science that says the universe started from the Big Bang, then the Quran is correct. What followed was great cloud from which the universe (seven skies) and later on the Earth was created. In that timeline, the Quran maybe referring after all this was created, Allah called on both to submit. There are no issues here. Also, science could be mistaken and maybe in the future we will discover that the sequence is different or parallel. Finally, the word then or ثُمَّ has several meanings and could be mis-translated. There are suggestions that the word could also mean ‘moreover’ or “also”. Therefore, the Quran could be suggesting the creations were happening in parallel rather than in sequence. This is consistent with the view that the universe and the Earth were developing at same footing. A time difference is nothing in Allah’s grand view.
Our response: Unless Allah wanted to confuse His readers in what we were told is the perfect message from the perfect god, the word ثُمَّ means ‘then’ and this is what the absolute majority of translators agree.
https://myislam.org/surah-baqarah/ayat-29/ https://myislam.org/surah-fussilat/ayat-11/The only translator not to use ‘Then’ Is Yusuf Ali. Yusuf Ali is known for not translating the Quran word for word but paraphrasing the meanings. He operated in a period of time where word for word translation of the Quran was forbidden in Islam.
But in case you disagree, let us see what the Tafsir says. As detailed by all of the classic Islamic writers and summarised up by Ibn Kathir, the Quran sees that Earth was created before the Heaven. And it was after that, that Allah created the seven heavens.
https://quran.com/2:29/tafsirs/en-tafisr-ibn-kathir
I particularly draw your attention the clear statement Ibn Kathir says in his analysis when he states: “(And made them seven heavens) meanings, one above the other…This Ayah testifies to the fact that the earth was created before heaven…” and Ibn Kathir points more evidence in other verses.
Final Thoughts:
The only way to make this work is to reject all the facts that you can see in Quran 2:29 and 41:11, the translations, and the Tafsirs. And instead draw from verse 79:27-30 that requires twisting of the term sky to mean something else. In other words, you need to lie to yourself!
If people did not try to use Quran 79:27-30 as evidence “miracle of the Quran” whereby they twisted the term sky to mean heavens/universe, then no one would have paid attention to that verse. We can see the Quran refers to heavens/universe when it uses the term seven heavens. And classic scholars of the Tafsir agreed that the Quran claims the Earth was created first and that is settled. Our hypothesis is that Islamic scholars saw a problem and decided to deflect by saying: “Just look here. Do not look there. And do not ask questions!” the oldest trick in the book.