al-Furqan fi Bayan Ijaz al-Quran
- Author died
- 1445 AH
- Editions
- Without publisher (Cataloging of King Fahd National Library - Riyadh)
al-Furqan fi Bayan Ijaz al-Quran (Arabic: الفرقان في بيان إعجاز القرآن, lit. 'The Criterion in Clarifying the Inimitability of the Quran') is a theological treatise by Abu Muhammad Abd al-Karim ibn Salih al-Humayd (d. 1445 AH / 2024 CE) that critiques the contemporary movement of "scientific inimitability" (al-i‘jaz al-‘ilmi) of the Quran .
Background and Purpose
The book was first published in 1423 AH (2002 CE) with cataloging by the King Fahd National Library . In the introduction, al-Humayd affirms that the inimitability (i‘jaz) of the Quran is a fundamental tenet of Islamic belief, established at the time of its revelation through its unseen prophecies of the past, present, and future, as well as the divine challenge to produce even a single chapter like it . He states that early Muslim scholars (al-salaf) adequately detailed these traditional aspects .
Al-Humayd writes that the explicit purpose of his book is to scrutinize the modern trend of scientific i‘jaz—which he characterizes as an attempt to conform Quranic verses to contemporary scientific hypotheses and empirical theories—by weighing these claims against scriptural principles . He argues that forcing scripture into alignment with modern secular and natural sciences distorts the intended meanings of revelation and departs from the interpretive methodology of the companions and early generations .
Key Themes and Critiques
The treatise engages with various cosmological, physical, and interpretive topics, arguing against modern scientific consensus and contemporary theological interpretations:
- Critique of Scientific I‘jaz Proponents: The author criticizes figures who popularized scientific i‘jaz literature, such as Abd al-Majid al-Zandani, author of Tawhid al-Khaliq (The Oneness of the Creator), arguing that their approach mirrors the speculative errors of early scholastic theologians (ahl al-kalam) by relying on extra-scriptural premises rather than revelation .
- Universal Gravitation and Astronomy: Al-Humayd rejects Isaac Newton's law of universal gravitation and the concept of the solar system, maintaining that gravity is not an intrinsic property of all mass attracting other bodies, but rather a unique divine property bestowed specifically upon the Earth so that creatures may remain settled on it . He argues that celestial bodies such as the Sun, Moon, and stars were created for specific functions—as ornaments, signs for navigation, and timekeeping—rather than possessing gravitational pulls over one another .
- Geocentrism and the Earth's Stability: The book rejects the heliocentric model and the rotation of the Earth, asserting based on scriptural texts that the Earth is stationary, fixed at the center and base of the lower world, and that the celestial spheres revolve around it, referencing his earlier works Hidayat al-Hayran fi Mas'alat al-Dawaran and al-Ard wa-Dawaranuha . He refutes the linguistic argument used by some modernists claiming that the Quranic word دَحَاهَا denotes rolling or rotation, citing classical exegetical authorities such as Ibn Kathir and Ibn Abbas who defined it as spreading and leveling the Earth .
- Interpretation of Creation Verses: Al-Humayd criticizes modern writings, including Risalat al-Ridwan, that interpret Quranic verses describing the creation of man from dust and clay as referring to chemical elements composing all living humans; he maintains that these verses refer exclusively to the physical creation of Adam, while his descendants are created from semen .
Answer updated