Did the Qur'an predict an expanding universe 1300 years before Edwin Hubble?

Question

There is a verse in the Qur'an that goes:

The heavens, We have built them with might. And verily, We are expanding it (51:47)

Some Islamic scholars say that this is an indication of the universe constantly expanding, which wasn't known by the science until it was discovered by Edwin Hubble and others in the 1920s:

• Harun Yahya

The expansion of the universe is one of the most important pieces of evidence that the universe was created out of nothing. Although this fact was not discovered by science until the 20th century, God has informed us of this reality in the Qur'an revealed 1,400 years ago:

It is We who have built the universe with (Our creative) power, and, verily, it is We who are steadily expanding it. (The Qur'an, 51:47)

• Ask A Muslim:

Yet, astonishingly well before telescopes were even invented and well before Hubble published his Law, Prophet Muhammad used to recite a verse of the Quran to his companions that ultimately stated that the universe is expanding.

Were there any scientific research about 1450 years ago and prior that talk about this?

Answer 1

Before we reach for the miraculous, we must first consider the mundane.

What are the odds the Quran is coincidentally right?

Pretty good.

Consider there's only three options here:

1. Expanding.
2. Contracting.
3. Static.

If picked at random the odds are 1-in-3; not bad.

But it isn't random. Consider "The heavens, We have built them with might. And verily, We are making them smaller." It's unlikely a holy text will glorify creation by saying it's contracting.

That leaves us with expanding or static. Expanding is an expression of power and might and awe. Static is an expression of constancy, reliability, and unending power. Either seems likely.

So about 50/50.

This is before considering that we're combing through the text to find verses which match modern scientific understanding while discarding those which do not.

Interpreting holy texts literally.

As always with reading of holy texts literally, there are other interpretations with different implications.

For example, I have a copy of a translation by M. H. Shakir which interprets it as an expression of the Lord's power to create.

And the heaven, We raised it high with power, and most surely We are the makers of things ample.

But I'm no expert. Let's take this interpretation at face value.

What else does the Quran say about the heavens?

If we're going to interpret this one verse of the Quran as God informing us of the reality of the universe, we have to examine the other parts of the Quran that speak of the "the heavens" and see how they match reality. Otherwise we'd be cherry picking.

There are seven heavens and they were made in two days.

So He formed the heaven into seven heavens in two Days, assigning to each its mandate. And We adorned the lowest heaven with ˹stars like˺ lamps ˹for beauty˺ and for protection.

41:12

Then He turned towards the heaven, forming it into seven heavens.

2:29

The heavens have soldiers.

We did not send any soldiers from the heavens against his people after his death, nor did We need to.

36:28

Stars are for decoration and protection from eavesdroppers.

We have adorned the lowest heaven with the stars for decoration and ˹for˺ protection from every rebellious devil. They cannot listen to the highest assembly ˹of angels˺ for they are pelted from every side, ˹fiercely˺ driven away. And they will suffer an everlasting torment.

37:6,9

And indeed, We adorned the lowest heaven with ˹stars like˺ lamps, and made them ˹as missiles˺ for stoning ˹eavesdropping˺ devils

67:5

The seventh heaven has a tree.

at the Lote Tree of the most extreme limit ˹in the seventh heaven˺—

53:14

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The Quran refers to the heavens as a physical place which was made in two days and needs protection from eavesdroppers. It has soldiers, seven levels, and a tree. In this context, the verse is referring to expanding that creation.

Whether you believe that place exists is up to you, but it bears little resemblance to our modern astrophysics.

Answer 2

Quran:

وَٱلسَّمَآءَ بَنَيْنَـٰهَا بِأَيْي۟دٍۢ وَإِنَّا لَمُوسِعُونَ

Quran.com translation:

The heavens, We have built them with might. And verily, We are expanding it

The translation is not quite accurate, especially for the last word "expanding it/expanders" for "مُوسِعُونَ".

Let's see what the top most revered muslim exegetes of all time say:

• Baghaway (10th century): one who has power/capacity (ذو سعة). rich (أغنياء) ...etc.
• Qurtubi (12th century): rich and powerful (أغنياء قادرون)
• Tabari (9th century): one who has power/capacity (ذو سعة) or extended/contained it (أوسعها).
• Ibn kathir (14th century): we extended/contained its edges without pillars until it stabilized as it is (قد وسعنا أرجاءها ورفعناها بغير عمد ، حتى استقلت كما هي)

Source: https://quran.ksu.edu.sa/tafseer/baghawy/sura51-aya47.html#baghawy

Interestingly and as noted by Baghaway and Tabari (cf source), The Quran itself uses the singular form of "مُوسِعُونَ" in another verse ("مُوسِع"):

عَلَى ٱلْمُوسِعِ قَدَرُهُۥ وَعَلَى ٱلْمُقْتِرِ قَدَرُهُۥ

If we go to the source of your translation (quran.com) and check now the translation of its singular form (2-236):

the rich according to his means and the poor according to his

https://quran.com/al-baqarah/236

In order to have a more faithful translation, let's start with a word-to-word translation (mine):

And_the_sky (وَٱلسَّمَآءَ) we_built_it (بَنَيْنَـٰهَا) with_hands (بِأَيْي۟دٍۢ) and_we_are (وَإِنَّا) powerful (لَمُوسِعُونَ).

I translated the last word مُوسِعُونَ as "powerful", I could have chosen a more elegant word such as "omnipotents", but I'll stick to a literal translation and avoid the shakespearian style translations that target westerners.

If the author meant "expanders" instead of "powerful", he would have chosen another word: "مُوَسِّعُونَ" instead of "مُوسِعُونَ". These two words might look identical to you, but they are not: notice the small " ّ" above "سـ" and the " َ" above "و".

The final translation would give:

And the sky, we built it firmly. Indeed we are powerful.

General advice: if you want to have a good interpretation of the quran without a concordist bias, stick to the old exegesis.