debate-points, islam, prediction, quran, atheist-perspectiveIts told in Qur’an, that the Pharoah’s body will be preserved until the world ends. So how can a book like this, if it’s not from God, predict something like this? What can I think about this from a atheist point of view?
How come the things written in Qur’an, the predictions, come true?
Just so we know what we’re talking about:
We delivered the Children of Israel across the sea. Pharaoh and his troops pursued them, aggressively and sinfully. When drowning became a reality for him, he said, “I believe that there is no god except the One in whom the Children of Israel have believed; I am a submitter.” – surah 10, 90
Surah 10, verse 91 goes on to say:
Today, we will preserve your body, to set you up as a lesson for future generations.
This miracle is at most a metaphor. Mummification has been done since 3300 BC, as far as we know (the earliest known Mummy, Ginger). And the process is well understood:
Normally, dead bodies are decomposed by bacteria. These bacteria need water, and a specific saltiness of it. The ancient Egyptians knew that through dehydration, this process could be prevented.
Water, and all that floats around in it, serve as a source of energy for the bacteria that decomposes the flesh of the dead body.
Osmosis means that bacteria can’t survive heavily salty atmosphere created by pouring natron over the body. The semi-permeable cell wall regulates the balance of saltiness to that outside of the cell. If the environment is very salty, the cell dies.
The lack of bacteria to decompose the body means that it survives for much longer. Completely dried out, there is not much in the atmosphere to decompose it in that short of a time span.
Further, the Egyptian Museum in Cairo regulates the humidity and temperature to prevent damage to the Mummy.
Now, you assume that the preservation of a body is somehow special. But it can also be viewed as merely a statement of deed. It can be as simple as the Qur’an speaking of some people building a monument, and that monument is still here. That doesn’t mean that this monument is a miracle. It is merely an act of some people, and so is the Mummification of the Pharaoh, that was recorded as an artefact of history (yes, there is some history in the Qur’an).
Consider further:
If the body weren’t preserved today, Qur’an scholars would not call it a prediction. This is called Confirmation Bias
If the body would’ve been destroyed, the Verse would just have to be interpreted less literally
Consider also the overwhelming numbers of predictions that haven’t ‘come true’. The many buildings, cities and deeds the Qur’an speaks of, for which we have no evidence at all. They may have existed or not, but in science,
Keep in mind that, at the time of writing, it may already have been true - we can’t tell
Some predictions came true, because they were predicted. Humans have read the prediction, and strive to make it true (not in this case, I assume). This is called Self-fulfilling prophecy.
Note Borror0’s answer as well:
The oldest Egyptian mummy known, Ginger, dates back to 3400 BCE. On the other hand, the Qur’an was written between 610 and 634 CE. When you put it like that, it’s hardly a prediction.
As far as I can tell; if you understand Mummification, this isn’t at all special. And I even doubt that it’s of great importance to the Muslim faiths.
Disclaimer: I’m not a Muslim. If you want to know how, as a Muslim, you should interpret these verses, talk to your local religious community about it (if there is one). For me, they’re not special or interesting, but they may be viewed otherwise from a religious point of view. You did ask for the atheist point of view. :-)
Note, my citations are taken from one of the many translations of the Qur’an. There are different versions. Some of which call the preservation of the body a ‘sign’, but not all do. I don’t know which version is the more accepted one.
The oldest Egyptian mummy known, Ginger, dates back to 3400 BCE. On the other hand, the Qur'an was written between 610 and 634 CE. When you put it like that, it's hardly a prediction.
It surely must have been common knowledge at the time that a body decays quickly. All it takes, then, is for Muhammad to encounter or to hear of a mummy that does not decay quickly and, considering how close Arabia is to Egypt, that's certainly in the domain of the probable.
I’m going to address your real question. Which is, “How can my holy book know facts about reality if it is not holy?”
If you are really coming down the path to Atheism, the question you should be asking is, “How can my holy book contain things that are not facts, and still be holy?”
Like most books of faith, the Quran is large. It is statistically unlikely that it would get all of the facts wrong. However, getting some things right isn’t the test for a book that claims to be the perfect word of God. The test is in it having anything that is wrong.
I encourage you to read your book and seek out these things. Each one. From the great flood, to Jonah, contain claims that are obviously factually inaccurate. Keep questioning these stories. You already know what the truth is. You just need to separate it from what everyone else is telling you the truth is.
Mummification was known to people for way over 2000 years ago, they knew that mummified bodies hold for long. However, mummies degrade with time, and what is “until the world ends”?
It isn’t any sort of supernatural prediction, but just a way of saying “mummified body will hold for a while”.
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