“Qur’an Has Said It 1400 Years Ago”

While mistakenly comparing Qur’an with science (how could you compare a part with a whole?) and pointing out some of the scientific discoveries in the recent past we very often hear “Qur’an has said it 1400 years ago.” We derive a lot of satisfaction from the above statement. We happily name all those branches of science that we can presently recall wherein the non-Muslim scientists have discovered things which the Qur’an had already hinted at – long ago.

On the one hand we give an impression that the non-Muslim scientists haven’t done anything big. And we comfortably and most ungratefully take away all due credit from them. On the other hand we give an unmistakable impression – without realizing it – that our eemaan has certainly gotten stronger after the valuable efforts of those very scientists. (This unmistakable impression raises many serious questions, though.) We repeat the above sentence – almost as a natural reflex – numberless times. I am, however, not sure what do we want to prove by it.

But I am sure that we are not sure about what we should do next and what plans we have in place to achieve that unknown objective. We repeat that “Qur’an has said it 1400 years ago” and then leave the discussion right there. I always wonder that since Qur’an had already given basic information or provided some clue about the said sciences or discoveries, it would have been far easier for the upholders of this Book to discover those Signs. But then why should we learn right lessons from right stories while there is still an opportunity to learn the wrong lessons.

There are numberless Signs of Him in the Universe. But instead of discovering them we may later (only) say, “Qur’an has said it 1400 years ago”. Without realizing the fact that “1400 years” is not 1400 anymore. Does it mean that if the non-Muslim scientists will discover many more Signs and it will prove that Qur’an had hinted at them 1500/1600/1700 years ago then we will be even happier as the gap will be bigger? If this is the case then imagine the level of our delight when we will be able to say “2800 years ago”!

The fact that “Qur’an has said it 1400 years ago” should actually be a cause of serious concern – and not a reason for rejoicing. We should think many times over before uttering this one sentence. We should, in fact, lament on the “1400 years” rather than feeling happy about it. On the other hand, we should be thankful to those scientists who carried out that task which was actually primarily expected from those who already knew the Book and believed in it, too.

“Qur’an has said it 1400 years ago” is fervently repeated by the ‘traditionally’ and the ‘modern’ educated alike. They both are far from critical and scientific thinking and from the complete picture – with only varying degrees. They both are the incomplete products of a faulty education system and the mistaken notion of knowledge. The incompleteness, however, is not that big a problem as is the lack of realization of this incompleteness. The painful separation of the two streams is at the crux of it.

What to do now onwards about “the Qur’an has said it 1400 years ago”? After hearing this sentence we should seek the answer of “What do we learn from this and what do we conclude?” We should ask “What next?” after “1400 years ago”. We should curiously seek further enlightenment. This curiousness and questioning is a must for changing the discourse and for moving to the next stage.