Page 20 The Islamic Bulletin Issue 18 Little Quiz 88% of kindergarten students got this one within 5 minutes, while only 17% of Stanford seniors did. See how you do! What is greater than God? More evil than Satan? Poor people have it? Rich people need it? If you eat it you will die! Look at the bottom for the answer if you must! Crossword Clues Taken from “The Origin of Man” by Dr. Maurice Bucaille Dr. Maurice Bucaille is an eminent French surgeon, scientist, scholar, and author of “THE BIBLE, THE QUR’AN AND SCIENCE” which contains the result of his research into the Judeo-Christian Revelation and the Qur’an. It is a unique contribution in the field of religion and science. Being an outstanding Scientist, he was selected to treat the mummy of Merneptah (Pharaoh) which he did. During his visit to Saudi Arabia he was shown the verses of the Holy Qur’an in which Allah says that the dead body of the Pharaoh will be preserved as a “Sign” for posterity. An impartial scientist like Dr. Bucaille, who (being also a Christian) was conversant with the Biblical version of Pharaoh’s story as being drowned in pursuit of Prophet Moses. He was pleasantly surprised to learn that unknown to the world till only of late, the Holy Qur’an made definite prediction about the preservation of the body of that same Pharaoh of Moses’ time. This led Dr. Bucaille to study the Holy Qur’an thoroughly after learning the Arabic language. The final conclusion of his comparative study of Qur’an and the Bible is that the statements about scientific phenomena in the Holy Qur’an are perfectly in conformity with the modern sciences whereas the Biblical narration’s on the same subjects are scientifically entirely unacceptable. Also watch the video The Book of Signs, which is based on Dr. Maurice Bucaille: “The Bible, The Quran and Science” and “What is the Origin of Man.” FROM THE ORIGIN OF MAN As most people in the West have been brought up on misconceptions concerning Islam and the Qur’an; for a large part of my life, I myself was one such person. Let me cite one or two specific examples to indicate the kind of inaccurate ideas generally current. MISCONCEPTIONS As I grew up, I was always taught that ‘Mahomet’ was the author of the Qur’an; I remember seeing French translations bearing this information. I was invariably told that the ‘author’ of the Qur’an simply compiled, in a slightly different form, stories of sacred history taken from the Bible; the ‘author’ was said to have added or removed certain passages, while setting forth the principles and rules of the religion he himself had founded. There are moreover Islamic scholars today in France whose duties include teaching and who express exactly these views, although perhaps in a more subtle form. This description of the origins of the Qur’anic text, which is so out of touch with reality, might lead one immediately to assume that if there are scientific errors in the Bible, there must also be errors of this kind in the Qur’an! This is the natural conclusion to be drawn in such circumstances, but it is based on a misconception. We are well aware that at the time of Muhammad - the Qur’anic Revelation took place between 610 and 632 A.D - scientific obscurantism prevailed, both in the Orient as well as in the West. In France, for example, this period corresponded roughly to the reign of King Dagobert, the last of the Mrovingians. This approach to what was supposedly the Qur’anic text may on first sight seem logical, but when one examines the text with an informed and impartial eye, it becomes clear that this approach is not at all in keeping with reality. We shall see in a moment the truth of this statement, which is obvious from the texts. Whenever there is textual proof of the existence in the Qur’an of statements that are in agreement with modern knowledge, but which in the Bible are related in a manner that is scientifically unacceptable, the stock response is that, during the period separating the two Scriptures, Arab scientists made discoveries in various disciplines which enabled them to arrive at these supposed adaptations. This approach takes no account whatsoever of the history of the sciences. The latter indicates that the great period of Islamic civilizations, during which, as we know, science made considerable progress, came several centuries after the communication of the Qur’an to the communication of the Qur’an to man. Furthermore, scientific history informs us that, as far as the subjects dealt with in this present book are concerned; no discoveries were made during, the period separating the Bible from the Qur’an. Across 1. If Allah wishes 6. Learned Muslim 8. It’s on the camel’s back 10. Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) mother 12. Sura 36 (XXXVI) 14. Surrounds a castle 15. No (Arabic) 17. In the name of Allah 19. The Islamic way of life 20. Islam’s first Qibla 23. Not on 24. Soul (Arabic) Down 1. Late evening prayer 2. European country, once ruled by Muslims 3. All praise is due to Allah 4. Covers your teeh 5. Permissible (Arabic) 7. Muezzin’s tower 9. Pilgrim’s host 11. Lives in Kuala Lumpur 13. Great North African Desert 16. Eleventh Islamic month 19. Memorises Qur’an, Persian poet 22. Say (Arabic) Answer: Nothing
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