CAIRO: For the first time, Al Azhar University s faculty of science granted a doctorate degree to a dissertation on the scientific miracles in the holy Quran. Dr Karam El Zawahri received his PhD from a college that does not normally grant doctorate degrees on matters dealing with religion. The lengthy 536-page paper examined miracles in the Quran, focusing on the presence of miracles in the creation of the heavens and earth. The topic was a challenge for El Zawahri, a geologist with a PhD from London University, whose extensive study in the field inspired him to trace geological findings in the Quran. "This is a very sensitive subject, not only because it attempts to track down scientific facts in the Holy Quran long before they were discovered by man, but because [people] remain divided on the issue, said El Zawahri. "You have the typical sheikhs who refuse to let scientists dabble in the Quran, fearing they will come up with faulty conclusions that would reflect badly on the book, he said. "Another group does not believe the Holy Quran should be credited with such [findings]. One group remains doubtful, while others dismiss the subject out of sheer ignorance - they have never read or thought about it and are only interested in attacking those who support [such research]. El Zawahri had to deal with all these issues before he could delve into the core of his research, resulting in an unusually lengthy introduction. "The research was submitted to a science college and I couldn't assume that each member knew about the subject just by virtue of being a Muslim, he explained, "I addressed a group of scientists who are not necessarily versed in religion. According to El Zawahri, the introduction spoke of the Quran and gave a detailed explanation of how the holy book calls for studying natural phenomena using Quranic and non-Quranic sources. The third part of the introduction focused on the ongoing debate about scientific miracles in the Quran as well as the methodology that should be followed by anyone researching the topic. "There are measures, ethics and limits that [researchers] should be acquainted with, noted the geologist. The final section of his introduction dealt with the pros and cons of the previous research on the topic as well as highlighting research currently being conducted all over the world. Taking on this kind of research was no simple task, especially when the topic is as big as heaven and earth. "I picked all the words appearing in the verses that spoke about the creation of the heavens and earth and then looked them up in linguistic and Quranic dictionaries. Having verified the linguistic aspect, I referred to Quranic interpreters and scientists before deducing the miraculous aspect in each verse. He added: "There are signs [in the Quran] of scientific miracles in the heavens and earth. But this was not all - I also studied the verses that denoted the end of the universe. "Scientists have proposed the Big Bang Theory to explain the creation of the universe. And after analyzing the Quranic verses, one can conclude that the end [of the world] would come as a result of what geologists call 'The Big Crunch.' "The universe is expanding infinitely. One day, it will reach its limit and would have to contract quickly and strongly - this is what we call 'The Big Crunch.' Think about a [rubber] band. What happens when you stretch it and then suddenly let go? It goes back to its normal size faster than you can imagine. El Zawahri quoted Quranic verse 104 of Surat Al-Anbiaa as well as verse 67 of Surat El-Zumr, which explain that the end will mirror the start of creation. "The scientific theory of relativity has also reached that conclusion. If you bring two magnetic poles and keep them at a long distance from each other, you would observe repulsion rather than attraction. But once the attraction takes place it would materialize quickly. This is what will happen at the end.
