Mawsuat al-Ijaz al-Ilmi fi al-Quran wa al-Sunna
- Author died
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- Editions
- Dār al-Maktabī
Mawsuat al-Ijaz al-Ilmi fi al-Quran wa al-Sunna (Encyclopedia of Scientific Inimitability in the Quran and Sunna) is a two-volume contemporary Arabic work by the Syrian scholar Muhammad Ratib al-Nabulsi examining the scientific and cosmic signs found in the Quran and the prophetic traditions.
Premise and Methodology
In the introductory framework of the work, al-Nabulsi defines truth (al-haqq) as the harmonious convergence of four lines: authentic revelation (al-naql al-sahih), clear reason (al-aql al-sarih), sound innate human disposition (al-fitra al-salima), and objective reality (al-waqi al-mawdui). He maintains that God established an orderly universe governed by consistent cause-and-effect relationships to facilitate human knowledge, while miracles (mujizat) serve as supernatural disruptions of these natural laws given to prophets to authenticate their divine messages.
The author argues that while earlier prophets were sent to specific communities with sensory miracles tied to their particular time and place, the final prophet, Muhammad ﷺ, was sent to all humanity, necessitating an enduring, text-based scientific miracle (mujiza ilmiyya nassiyya). According to al-Nabulsi, approximately 1,300 verses in the Quran—nearly one-sixth of the entire text—deal with the cosmos and human creation, calling believers to contemplation (tafakkur). He asserts that the Prophet ﷺ deliberately did not offer detailed scientific interpretations of these cosmic verses in his own time, so that subsequent generations could uncover their inimitability in light of ongoing scientific progress across the ages.
Scope and Contents
The encyclopedia is divided into discussions of cosmic horizons (al-afaq) and living creation (al-anfus), presenting scientific findings and correlating them with relevant Quranic passages and hadiths. Its discussions encompass:
- Cosmology and the Earth: Celestial bodies, galaxies, planetary motion, light speeds, terrestrial geography, mountains, seas, and natural resources.
- Human Biology: Human anatomical and physiological systems, including sensory perception, day-and-night cycles, and the cellular mechanisms functioning as biological clocks near the pituitary gland.
- Flora and Fauna: Biological rhythms and seasonal behaviors in plants and animals, alongside specialized animal faculties such as the acute olfactory abilities of canines.
Publication
The work was published in two volumes in Damascus by Dar al-Maktabi, with a second edition appearing in 1426 AH (2005 CE). Sections of the work have also circulated under related thematic titles, such as Ayat Allah fi al-Afaq (God's Signs in the Horizons).
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