The Qur'an as the Miraculous Source of the Erroneous Islamic Science

” Harun Yahya and the supposed scientific miracles of the Qur’an”

By Masud Masihiyyen

It is almost impossible these days not to be familiar with Muslim commentators and writers whose realm is demonstrating the harmony between newly discovered scientific facts and some selected verses of the Qur’an. Harun Yahya¹ is one such Islamic writer whose goal it is to convince both Muslims and non-Muslims of the divine origin of the Qur’an through the promotion of the overall theory that the Islamic scripture contains several ciphered scientific and historic messages. Yahya, who seems to have dedicated himself to discovering hidden mysteries in the Qur’an and proclaiming its miracles to ignorant infidels, has a website (*) that classifies the alleged miracles of the Qur’an into six sections. One of those sections has plenty of examples for the so-called scientific miracles of the Islamic scripture (*).

All of Yahya’s theories and arguments about the divine origin of the Qur’an can be readily refuted without needing to debunk every single claim, for what enables Yahya to multiply the number of his allegations is the peculiar strategy he follows in adapting the Qur’an to some scientific facts and vice versa. Below are given some of the major methods used by Harun Yahya and other Islamic commentators in the propagation of the supposed miraculous nature of the Qur’an:

- Drawing conclusions from some haphazard linguistic structures (casual word choices) and recurring patterns of the Qur'an
- Ascribing some features of the Arabic language to the Qur’an
- Taking the literal sense of some idiomatic terms and expressions in the Qur'an
- Changing the meaning of some terms through translation
- Ignoring the context of a Qur’an verse

In this study I shall analyze two of Harun Yahya’s allegations and illustrate how he bases his arguments on the systematization of casual word choice in the Qur’an as well as the far-fetched signification of some basic repetitions (the first item on the list above).

THE SEQUENCE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN ORGANS:

Yahya quotes the following verses to substantiate his claim that the scientific teaching concerning the order of the development of some human organs is miraculously compatible with the statements of the Qur’an (*):

It is He Who has created hearing, sight and minds for you. What little thanks you show! (Qur'an, 23:78)

Allah brought you out of your mothers' wombs knowing nothing at all, and gave you hearing, sight and minds so that perhaps you would show thanks. (Qur'an, 16:78)

Say: "What do you think? If Allah took away your hearing and your sight and sealed up your hearts, what god is there, other than Allah, who could give them back to you?"… (Qur'an, 6:46)

We created man from a mingled drop to test him, and We made him hearing and seeing. (Qur'an, 76:2)

According to Yahya, these verses talk of the human senses of hearing, sight, feeling and understanding, all of which are given in the Qur’an in this same specific sequence with the aim of making a point. In support for his argument, Yahya later makes a reference to a scientist named Keith Moore:

In a paper published in the Journal of the Islamic Medical Association, Dr. Keith Moore states that during the development of the foetus, the eye begins to form after the inner² ear has assumed its first form. He says the brain, the centre of feeling and understanding, begins its development after the ear and the eye.

Yahya finally combines the scientist’s remarks with what he infers from those Qur’an verses:

The foetus' ears begin to develop as early as the twenty-second day of pregnancy and become fully functional in the fourth month. After that, the foetus can hear sounds in its mother's womb. For that reason, the sense of hearing forms before the other vital functions for a new-born baby. The order set out in the Qur'an is striking from that point of view.

It must be noted in the first place that the English translation used by Harun Yahya relies on the interpretation of the word “heart” in the original language of the Qur’an as “brain” and the relevant interchangeable use of these two words in Surah 23:78 and 16:78. Some commentators, however, avoid replacing the word “heart” with “brain” in their translation:

He it is Who hath created for you ears and eyes and hearts. Small thanks give ye! (Surah 23:78 in Pickthall)

And Allah has brought you forth from the wombs of your mothers-- you did not know anything-- and He gave you hearing and sight and hearts that you may give thanks. (Surah 16:78 in Shakir)

What apparently enables Harun Yahya to change the actual word “heart” in the text to the word “mind” (brain) is the idiomatic signification of the heart as the seat of intelligence and conscience in Semitic languages³. Nonetheless, the scientific facts Yahya refers to are not affiliated with this metaphorical usage as the embryonic development is about the formation and development of physical organs rather than abstract entities or faculties. Yahya considers himself at liberty to take some words literally and some others metaphorically because this is the only way he can make science fit the so-called miracles of the Qur’an. A closer look at the stages of the embryonic development actually exposes the reason for Yahya’s reluctance to use the word “heart” as a physical organ in his argument. According to the facts of embryology, the first organ to form and function in the fetus is the heart rather than the ear or eye⁴.

Harun Yahya’s peculiar translation of Surah 6:46 also reveals his tendency make a great contribution to the revelation of a scientific miracle of the Qur’an, but again fails to explain how the formation of the brain as a concrete organ can be considered equal to the creation of intelligence and emotion, which are mere abstractions. Even if one allows the substitution of the heart for brain only out of respect for Yahya’s zeal, the order by which ears and eyes are introduced in the Islamic scripture has nothing to do with the stated embryonic development because the supposed specific sequence repeated in the Qur’an is the result of a purely casual usage with no theological or scientific implications. What Harun Yahya somehow forgets is that there are various verses in the Qur’an that refer to ears, eyes, and hearts by either disregarding the notion of order or turning the sequential pattern upside down:

Have you then considered him who takes his low desire for his god, and Allah has made him err having knowledge and has set a seal upon his ear and his heart and put a covering upon his eye. Who can then guide him after Allah? Will you not then be mindful? (Surah 45:23)⁵

And who is more unjust than he who is reminded of the communications of his Lord, then he turns away from them and forgets what his two hands have sent before? Surely We have placed veils over their hearts lest they should understand it and a heaviness in their ears; and if you call them to the guidance, they will not ever follow the right course in that case. (Surah 18:57)

Allah has set a seal upon their hearts and upon their hearing and there is a covering over their eyes, and there is a great punishment for them. (Surah 2:7)

And We have placed coverings on their hearts and a heaviness in their ears lest they understand it, and when you mention your Lord alone in the Qur’an they turn their backs in aversion. (Surah 17:46).

Although these verses are related to the notion of punishment instead of the formation/creation of some organs, they perfectly illustrate that the authors of the Qur’an recurrently referred to one’s ears, eyes, and heart as prominent organs while making theological points. In accordance with this, Yahya sees nothing wrong with adding into his allegations Surah 6:46, which is about the possible loss of these organs rather than their creation. After all, Yahya does not deem it necessary to thematically categorize the verses that refer to ears, eyes, and heart and thus confine the sequence to the creation of these organs. Did we make such a thematic distinction, Yahya would not be able to quote Surah 6:46 in support for his argument. This would leave him with two verses (Surah 16:78 and 23:78) as Surah 76:2 does not have the word “heart”. Consequently, it would be more difficult for Yahya to convince us that the sequence of the organs in the two similar verses of the Qur’an is not a mere repetition.

According to the Islamic scripture, humans are not the only creatures that have ears, eyes, and hearts. A verse in the Qur’an claims that jinni also have hearts, eyes, and ears in the same way as men do, which impels one to ask the question if the sequence present in this verse indicates a similar scientific fact (overlooked by Yahya) with regard to the embryonic development of the jinni:

And certainly We have created for hell many of the jinn and the men; they have hearts with which they do not understand, and they have eyes with which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear; they are as cattle, nay, they are in worse errors; these are the heedless ones. (Surah 7:179)

Frankly, the sequence given in the verse above is amazingly compatible with the scientific facts in sharp contrast to the other Qur’an verses quoted by Yahya! It is rather tragic that the specific verses talking about the development of the human fetus do not follow the same sequential pattern used for the embryonic development of jinni!

Harun Yahya also chooses to ignore another Qur’an verse where the repetitive pattern concerning the order of some organs is modified through the replacement of the word “skin” with “heart”:

And you did not veil yourselves lest your ears and your eyes and your skins should bear witness against you, but you thought that Allah did not know most of what you did. (Surah 41:22)

Likewise, another verse inviting people to ponder over creation gives priority to the eyes and omits both the ears and the heart, replacing them with “lips” and “tongue”. This is the verse that overtly betrays the appraised consistency in the order of some organs and brings Yahya’s efforts to naught:

Does he think that no one sees him? Have We not given him two eyes, and a tongue and two lips, and pointed out to him the two conspicuous ways? (Surah 90:7-10)

Surah 76:2, where Yahya drops the number of the organs to two by omitting the heart from his sequential list, has a few counterparts in the Qur’an that maintain the same order of the faculties. For instance, the following verse makes a comparison between the true God and the deities of the idolaters and surprisingly repeats the faculties of hearing and sight in the same sequence in order to illustrate the weakness of the fake gods:

And those whom you call upon besides Him are not able to help you, nor can they help themselves. And if you invite them to guidance, they do not hear; and you see them looking towards you, yet they do not see. (Surah 7:197-198)

Identically, the God of the Qur’an boasts of his hearing and seeing attributes and follows the same order of the organs without the slightest association with embryonic formation or creation:

The Originator of the heavens and the earth; He made mates for you from among yourselves, and mates of the cattle too, multiplying you thereby; nothing like a likeness of Him; and He is the Hearing, the Seeing. (Surah 42:11)

These last examples prove that the Islamic scripture has several repetitions that do not necessarily aim to reveal cryptic messages or hidden scientific facts. Actually, it is a logical fallacy to argue that the repetition of certain words or other linguistic structures in the Qur’an has a particular intended meaning. If every time the Qur’an repeats something one inserts an order of time or importance into the various parts of the sentence, the outcome is total nonsense. For example, in the words “Mighty, Wise” are repeated six times in the same order in the second Surah alone!

Our Lord! and raise up in them an Apostle from among them who shall recite to them Thy communications and teach them the Book and the wisdom, and purify them; surely Thou art the Mighty, the Wise. (Surah 2:129)

But if you slip after clear arguments have come to you, then know that Allah is Mighty, Wise. (Surah 2:209)

On this world and the hereafter. And they ask you concerning the orphans Say: To set right for them (their affairs) is good, and if you become co-partners with them, they are your brethren; and Allah knows the mischief-maker and the pacemaker, and if Allah had pleased, He would certainly have caused you to fall into a difficulty; surely Allah is Mighty, Wise. (Surah 2:220)

And the divorced women should keep themselves in waiting for three courses; and it is not lawful for them that they should conceal what Allah has created in their wombs, if they believe in Allah and the last day; and their husbands have a better right to take them back in the meanwhile if they wish for reconciliation; and they have rights similar to those against them in a just manner, and the men are a degree above them, and Allah is Mighty, Wise. (Surah 2:228)

And those of you who die and leave wives behind, (make) a bequest in favor of their wives of maintenance for a year without turning (them) out, then if they themselves go away, there is no blame on you for what they do of lawful deeds by themselves, and Allah is Mighty, Wise. (Surah 2:240)

And when Ibrahim said: My Lord! show me how Thou givest life to the dead, He said: What! and do you not believe? He said: Yes, but that my heart may be at ease. He said: Then take four of the birds, then train them to follow you, then place on every mountain a part of them, then call them, they will come to you flying; and know that Allah is Mighty, Wise. (Surah 2:260)

The same sequential pattern occurs in many other verses of the Qur’an (*). The adaptation of Harun Yahya’s assertions about the sequence of the embryonic development to these verses leads one to the conclusion that the way these two words are given in the Qur’an has a particular meaning. We should conclude that either Allah’s wisdom is inferior to his might or Allah’s might preceded his wisdom. The pursuit of Yahya’s strategy in attaching meaning to the order of some basic repetitions of the Qur’an motivates one to draw ridiculous conclusions from various verses repeated in the same form and order. Thus, someone reading the following verses and walking in Yahya’s footsteps may claim that in Islamic creed Allah always bestows his favor on children before the parents:

So he smiled, wondering at her word, and said: My Lord! grant me that I should be grateful for Thy favor which Thou hast bestowed on me and on my parents, and that I should do good such as Thou art pleased with, and make me enter, by Thy mercy, into Thy servants, the good ones. (Surah 27:19)

And We have enjoined on man doing of good to his parents; with trouble did his mother bear him and with trouble did she bring him forth; and the bearing of him and the weaning of him was thirty months; until when he attains his maturity and reaches forty years, he says: My Lord! grant me that I may give thanks for Thy favor which Thou hast bestowed on me and on my parents, and that I may do good which pleases Thee and do good to me in respect of my offspring; surely I turn to Thee, and surely I am of those who submit. (Surah 46:15)

Another question that must be posed at this point is why Harun Yahya jumps into the conclusion that the order of the three organs is crucially related to a temporal sequence, for the order does not always connote a chronological process. Actually, the Qur’an always only lists the three senses or organs without ever connecting them with a word that indicates temporal sequence, like “thumma” (then). If temporal sequence had been intended, it would have been very easy for the authors of the Qur’an to insert a “thumma” to make this clear.

Ironically, one of the verses presented by Yahya as the hard evidence for Qur’an’s knowledge of the order of the formation of some organs backfires because it implies that the ears, eyes, and the heart were somehow created after one’s birth as separate entities:

And Allah has brought you forth from the wombs of your mothers-- you did not know anything—and He gave you hearing and sight and hearts that you may give thanks. (Surah 16:78)

Yet this is not the only verse leading one to think that the creation of these organs took place after man’s creation had been completed. It should be noted that the following verse talks of the creation of the three organs after the completion of the creation, which is apparent due to the repeated use of the word “thumma” for the expression of a chronological order:

Who made good everything that He has created, and He began the creation of man from dust. Then He made his progeny of an extract, of water held in light estimation. Then He made him complete and breathed into him of His spirit, and made for you the ears and the eyes and the hearts; little is it that you give thanks. (Surah 32:7-9)

All these verses make it impossible to hold the view that the repetitive and particular sequence of some organs or senses manifests the Qur’an’s perfect harmony with scientific facts related to the development of the fetus. Harun Yahya seems to have invented a new so-called scientific miracle by selecting a few verses that repeat the same sequence with no intention of making a theological point or generalization⁶. As we have seen, the Qur’an also has many verses that deviate from the sequence highlighted by Yahya. This proves that the authors of the Qur’an were unaware of the order of the development of certain organs and exposes Yahya’s weird efforts to accommodate some scientific facts to the Islamic scripture.

SUB-ATOMIC PARTICLES

One of the several supposed scientific miracles of the Qur’an deciphered by Harun Yahya is related to the realm of the structure of matter (*). Before presenting this specific miracle of the Islamic scripture Yahya deems it necessary to give a brief lecture on atoms and the history of humans’ evolving knowledge of them:

Following the development of the atomic theory of the Greek philosopher Democritus, people used to believe that matter consisted of minute, indivisible and indestructible particles known as atoms. However, advances in the study of atoms have refuted this notion. At the present time, modern science has revealed that the atom, previously regarded as the smallest particle, can actually be split. This fact only emerged in the last century, but was revealed in the Qur'an 1,400 years ago:

… He is the Knower of the Unseen, Whom not an atom's weight eludes, either in the heavens or in the earth; nor is there anything smaller or larger than that which is not in a Clear Book. (Qur'an, 34:3)

… Not even an atom's weight eludes your Lord, either on earth or in heaven. Nor is there anything smaller than that, or larger, which is not in a Clear Book. (Qur'an, 10:61)

Yahya’s contention is that the two verses quoted by him, which are almost identical in form as a result of a repetition, illustrate the Qur’an’s familiarity with the smaller particles of an atom:

This verse refers to "atom" and smaller particles still.

To elaborate on Yahya’s allegation, the quoted verses talk not only of an atom, but also of things that are smaller than an atom. The occurrence of the comparative phrase “smaller or greater than that” in association with the weight of an atom drives Yahya to the conclusion that the Qur’an was aware of the sub-atomic particles (smaller things than an atom) 1400 years ago! In order to understand whether Yahya’s peculiar assertion stems from an inaccurate translation of the Qur’an, it is necessary to have a look at the same two verses in different English translations. Let’s begin with Shakir’s:

And you are not (engaged) in any affair, nor do you recite concerning it any portion of the Qur’an, nor do you do any work but We are witnesses over you when you enter into it, and there does not lie concealed from your Lord the weight of an atom in the earth or in the heaven, nor any thing less than that nor greater, but it is in a clear book. (Surah 10:61)

And those who disbelieve say: The hour shall not come upon us. Say: Yea! by my Lord, the Knower of the unseen, it shall certainly come upon you; not the weight of an atom becomes absent from Him, in the heavens or in the earth, and neither less than that nor greater, but (all) is in a clear book. (Surah 34:3)

Apparently, the comparative phrase in these verses is maintained in Shakir’s translation although the word “less” is preferred to “smaller” occurring in Yahya’s translation. Pickthall’s translation also uses the word “less”:

And thou (Qur’an) art not occupied with any business and thou recitest not a Lecture from this (Scripture), and ye (mankind) perform no act, but We are Witness of you when ye are engaged therein. And not an atom's weight in the earth or in the sky escapeth your Lord, nor what is less than that or greater than that, but it is (written) in a clear Book. (Surah 10:61)

Those who disbelieve say: The Hour will never come unto us. Say: Nay, by my Lord, but it is coming unto you surely. (He is) the Knower of the Unseen. Not an atom's weight, or less than that or greater, escapeth Him in the heavens or in the earth, but it is in a clear Record. (Surah 34:3)

In the light of this comparison, it becomes obvious that Harun Yahya prefers the comparative form of the qualifier “small” in the translation of these verses in order to support his fundamental claim that the existence of sub-atomic particles (“smaller” things than an atom) are foreknown by the Qur’an. Still, it is not possible to dismiss Yahya’s allegation at this point of the analysis solely because of the diction in his translation although deliberate word choices may illustrate an author’s desire to manipulate the scripture and mislead the reader. The real question that should be posed here is whether the writers of the Qur’an had a special purpose for using the word “less” in the same context as an atom (formerly presumed to be the smallest particle). First, it should be noted that there is another Qur’an verse where the same phrase of comparison (less than that) appears to indicate God’s omniscience:

Do you not see that Allah knows whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth? Nowhere is there a secret counsel between three persons but He is the fourth of them, nor (between) five but He is the sixth of them, nor less than that nor more but He is with them wheresoever they are; then He will inform them of what they did on the day of resurrection: surely Allah is Cognizant of all things. (Surah 58:7)

Through the use of the phrase “nor less than that nor more” this verse lays emphasis on the doctrine that nothing can have a positive or negative effect on Allah’s ability to know secrets as Allah’s knowledge is independent of the number of people having a secret counsel. The verses talking of the weight of an atom convey the same idea of Allah’s omniscience through the usage of the same phrase. It is highly probable that the authors of the Qur’an benefited from this phrase three times for the sake of stressing their teaching that Allah’s knowledge had no boundaries. Even though those authors did not directly connect the word “less” to the word “atom”, their casual writing style gave some readers (Harun Yahya is one of them) the wrong impression that the possibility of sub-atomic particles had been attested.

Further, it is not always reasonable to look for a scientific miracle in a sentence that implies the probability of an improbable thing, for languages have a figure of speech named hyperbole (*) for the better and more effective expression of certain ideas. In the New Testament St Paul resorts to a hyperbole when he designates himself as “less than the least of all the saints” (Ephesians 3:8). Someone who is not familiar with literary figures might mistakenly conclude that St Paul hinted at the existence of sub-atomic particles when he said that even the least of something had something lesser or smaller. This would make the Qur’an’s supposed scientific miracle about the sub-atomic particles inferior to the miracles of the Christian scripture. Yahya must be happy that no Christian apologist approaches the New Testament in the way he approaches the Qur’an.

Should we answer the question whether every Qur’an verse talking of an atom attaches to it the phrase “less than that”, we can also answer the question whether this specific usage stemmed from the intentional word choice of the authors of the Qur’an. The occurrence of the following verses in the Islamic scripture means bad news for Yahya and his theories:

Surely Allah does not do injustice to the weight of an atom, and if it is a good deed He multiplies it and gives from Himself a great reward. (Surah 4:40)

Say: Call upon those whom you assert besides Allah; they do not control the weight of an atom in the heavens or in the earth nor have they any partnership in either, nor has He among them any one to back (Him) up. (Surah 34:22)

He who has done an atom's weight of good shall see it. And he who has done an atom's weight of evil shall see it. (Surah 99:7-8)

These verses surprisingly do not refer to something smaller than an atom, marking the weight of an atom as the smallest or least of all the things compared. This suffices to cast some doubt on Yahya’s allegations about the foreknowledge of the sub-atomic particles in the Qur’an. The following verses, however, debunk Yahya’s assertion since they replace an atom with a grain of a mustard seed without referring to its smaller particles:

And We will set up a just balance on the day of resurrection, so no soul shall be dealt with unjustly in the least; and though there be the weight of a grain of mustard seed, (yet) will We bring it, and sufficient are We to take account. (Surah 21:47)

O my son! surely if it is the very weight of the grain of a mustard-seed, even though it is in (the heart of) rock, or (high above) in the heaven or (deep down) in the earth, Allah will bring it (to light); surely Allah is Knower of subtleties, Aware. (Surah 31:16)

A reader interpreting these verses in association with Surah 10:61 and 34:3 may argue that the Qur’an considered a grain of a mustard seed smaller even than sub-atomic particles! What a paradox for the so-called scientific miracles of the Islamic scripture! Above all, the following verse is the closest one to Surah 10:61 and 34:3 in both form and content as it extols Allah’s infinite wisdom and talks of a clear book:

And with Him are the keys of the unseen treasures-- none knows them but He; and He knows what is in the land and the sea, and there falls not a leaf but He knows it, nor a grain in the darkness of the earth, nor anything green nor dry but (it is all) in a clear book. (Surah 6:59)

Despite the similarity, this verse is different from 10:61 and 34:3 in that it replaces a grain with an atom and does not use the phrase “less than that”, which once more supports the supposition that a grain was regarded as something smaller than sub-atomic particles when Yahya’s arguments are taken into consideration. It is clear that Harun Yahya’s theories cause more trouble and degradation for the Qur’an than a benefit and praise. Being unaware of this fact, Yahya works a sub-miracle from his alleged miracle about the Qur’an’s knowledge of the atoms:

Another point worthy of note is that these verses draw particular attention to the weight of the atom. The word "mithqal," in the expression "mithqali tharratin" (an atom's weight) in the above verses, means weight. In fact, it has been discovered that the protons, neutrons and electrons which form the atom are also compounds which give the atom its weight. Therefore, it is yet another scientific miracle of the Qur'an that attention is drawn instead to the weight of the atom and not its size or any other feature.

Yahya’s smaller miracle is based on a casual word choice in the Qur’an again. Nevertheless, he does his best to make that causal usage deliberate and meaningful. His claim that the Qur’an has a special purpose for using the word “mithqal” (weight) whenever referring to an atom is refuted when one checks the bolded words of the following verses:

And We will set up a just balance on the day of resurrection, so no soul shall be dealt with unjustly in the least; and though there be the weight of a grain of mustard seed, (yet) will We bring it, and sufficient are We to take account. (Surah 21:47)

O my son! surely if it is the very weight of the grain of a mustard-seed, even though it is in (the heart of) rock, or (high above) in the heaven or (deep down) in the earth, Allah will bring it (to light); surely Allah is Knower of subtleties, Aware. (Surah 31:16)

The authors of the Qur’an use the same notion of weight (mithqal) even with regard to a grain of mustard seed. Could this be another scientific miracle ignored by Harun Yahya?

Apparently, Yahya’s allegations concerning the supposed foreknowledge of the sub-atomic particles in the Qur’an are condemned to rebuttal since they are derived from the casual writing style peculiar to the authors of the Islamic scripture. The analysis of all the verses making a reference to an atom illustrates how Yahya’s hasty conclusions are fallacious as they are based on a few selected verses deliberately isolated from the rest of the Qur’an. In some cases it is true that the human writers of the Islamic scripture produce puzzling sentence structures not fitting a context, but this does not mean that all such baffling phrases pertain to a hidden scientific mystery. Ironically, the more Yahya focuses on the weird phrases of the Qur’an for the sake of fabricating a miracle, the more the haphazard writing style of the Qur’an’s authors is highlighted.

Footnotes
¹ Harun Yahya is the pen name of Adnan Oktar, a Turkish writer, cf. Wikipedia
² Yahya somehow forgets that the distinctive phrase “inner ear” (as remarked by Dr Moore) does not appear in any of the Qur’an verses.
³ This metaphorical substitution of the heart for brain is scientifically inaccurate no matter how common its usage is. To one’s surprise, Yahya seems unaware of the fact that the interchangeable use of the words “heart” and “brain” is peculiar to Semitic culture and literature, being unrecognized by science as a fact.
⁴ E.g., http://www.bio-medicine.org/biology-news/UT-Southwestern-researchers-find-gene-mutation-that-leads-to-broken-hearts-3150-1/
⁵ Unless otherwise stated, the Islamic scriptural quotations in this analysis are taken from Shakir’s English translation of the Qur’an (here).
⁶ Most of these repetitions can be considered rather natural when the Qur’an’s poetic style and the methods of its recital are taken into account.

Source: http://answering-islam.org/authors/masihiyyen/rebuttals/yahya/embryo_atoms.html

IHS