NATURAL PHENOMENA

The Challenge of The Qur’an ~ 353 ~ There were many aspects of the universe about which ancient peoples had only partial knowledge, this having been demonstrated by modern scientific findings, but it should be made clear at this point that the main purpose of the Quran was not to expound scientific theories in order to explain natural phenomena, but to elucidate the divine symbolism of the workings of nature in order that people should be purified in mind and soul and become so imbued with feelings of awe and reverence of God’s will, that a veritable moral revolution would ensue. The Quran was never meant to be just a book about the physical sciences. And had it disclosed totally new and unheard of scientific facts to the people, this would have sparked off unending and quite irrelevant discussions about the nature of these facts, while the real aims of the Quran would have been thrust into the background. It is little short of miraculous that, centuries before science had made such gigantic leaps forward, the Quran clarified for the common people such scientific facts as illustrated the highest moral principles without using terminology which would in any way confuse them or obscure the issue. And it is those very facts that