Discovering the Quran

miraculous. People see them either as miracles or at best as astronomical happenings, but the truth is that, in the words of the Prophet of Islam, they are God’s great signs. That is why Islam teaches us that at the occurrence of eclipse the believers should worship God. This worship is called salat-e khusuf (prayers said on the occasion of lunar eclipse) and salat-e kusuf (prayers said on the occasion of solar eclipse). Worshipping God at the time of the eclipse is an acknowledgement that the eclipse is a divine phenomenon rather than just an astronomical event. Science is simply another name for the study of the universe. The Quran tells us that the believers are “those who remember God while standing, sitting and (lying) on their sides, and who ponder over the creation of the heavens and the earth, saying, ‘Lord, You have not created all this without purpose.’” (3:191) In this respect, a scientist does the same as the believer does. However, there is a great difference between the two. The actions of the scientist are purely for research while the actions of a believer are for learning lessons. To the scientist, knowledge is for the sake of knowledge, but to the believer, knowledge is for a purpose. A scientist is satisfied with gaining some knowledge, while the believer is satisfied only when his faith increases with knowledge. The Discovery of Noah’s Ark The Prophet Noah belongs to the early age of human history. He was sent to Mesopotamia in Iraq, where he performed the task of conveying the message of God to people, for a long