Sura 21:30 and 51:47 in the Qur’an describe the big bang 1400 years ago. What is the Christian response?
Question:
My school friend told me: The Big Bang Theory arrived in 1931, but God declared 1,400 years ago by the mouth of an unschooled prophet in Sura 21:30 that “the heavens and the earth were joined together as one mass, then he clove them asunder.” God even said in Sura 51:47 that “he constructed the universe with power and is expanding it”, even though the expansion of the universe was confirmed in 1929. Watch this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Answer:
I looked up Sura 21:30. Here is what it says: Have those who disbelieved not considered that the heavens and the earth were a joined entity, and We separated them and made from water every living thing?
This passage has nothing to do with the big bang model. It is a description of the separation between the land and the water, which is also described in Genesis 1:6. It also makes the false claim that every living thing was made from water. To claim that this is about the big bang is to be dishonest with the text.
Here is Sura 51:7 And the heaven We constructed with strength, and indeed, We are [its] expander.
The word translated as expander can also be translated as builder. I suppose one could construe this as describing the universe expanding, although the reference is not clear, as Allah is described as an expander/builder. I am not sure what that means. Given the false claim in the earlier passage that all living things were made from water, the net effect is that these two passages are a very weak support for the “inspiration” of the Qur’an if indeed they are a support at all. I would argue that the first passage is evidence for the non-inspiration of the Qur’an and the second is perhaps very weak support.
John Oakes
