Conditions of the Interpretation of Scientific Miracles in the Quran Fatwa No: 389698
- Fatwa Date:7-1-2019
I am sending this question again after receiving a mail. My previous Question Number: 2700642. Muslims are trying to discover scientific miracles from quran. a man proved that, earth moves because 'mahada' means cradle. (78:6) sadly, he found all mufassirs against him. some are inventing miracle instead of discovering. mirja tahir ahmed proved that, jinns are bacteria. (15:28) to stop misinterpretation, please provide a list of rules to interpret quran based on science.
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.
The issue of interpretation of the Quran and the scientific miraculous aspects of the Quran are amongst the issues over which the contemporary scholars have famous differences. Some exaggerated about it; some refuted it, while some others are moderate about it.
Many of those who adopted the issue of the scientific miraculous aspects of the Quran, spoke about the book of Allah without knowledge, and made the Quran –which was revealed to be a book of guidance that makes people know their Lord so that they would worship Him – they made it a book of natural sciences and its theories!
In a criticisms of deviated methodologies of those dealing with scientific miraculous aspects of the Quran, Dr. Mussaa’id At-Tayyaar mentioned rules for the acceptance of contemporary interpretations [of the Quran] in general and what is mentioned about the scientific miracles in the Quran:
The first condition: the statement by which a verse is interpreted should be true in itself, and not merely a theory that is subject to rejection or change.
The second condition: The verse should be probable to mean this new interpretation: this condition is very important, as the interpretation may be true in regard to its existence in reality, but the deficiency lies in the validity of linking it to the verse.
The third condition: it must not refute the statement of the Salaf (righteous predecessors); this means that if the contemporary interpretation that is based on cosmic or experimental sciences totally refutes the statement of the Salaf and goes against it, then it is wrong.
The fourth condition: He [i.e. the contemporary interpreter] should not confine the meaning of the verse to what it appears to him to be the interpretation of the incident. This is because confining it to the new interpretation would suggest that it is true and that the previous statements [i.e. of the Salaf] is invalid, and this is a wrong method in interpretation.
For more benefit, please refer to Fataawa 91361, 354688 and 307540.
Allah knows best.