Did the Quran predict Pulsars?
“By the heaven, and At-Tariq; And what will make you to know what At-Tariq is The star, Ath- Thaqib.” [86:1–3]”
Their Claim:
The Qur’an in chapter 86 speaks about pulsars. How could the Prophet have known this 1400 years ago when pulsars were only discovered in 1967?
https://www.miracles-of-quran.com/pulsars_black_holes.html
https://www.thelastdialogue.org/article/pulsars-mentioned-in-quran/
Our response:
Nothing in the Qur’an suggests the author had any knowledge of pulsars. Rather, it uses the word “At-Tariq” to describe the star as “night comer” since it is coming out and becoming visible at night. ‘Night comer’ is given for At-Tariq, from taraqa, meaning to knock, on account of how at night visitors would knock on the door, whereas during the day it was the habit to leave doors open, and the visitor would simply call out and seek permission to enter. This name for a star existed before Islam and can be found in pre-Islamic history. What star “At-Tariq” is referring to in the Qur’an cannot be determined. Commentators said it may refer to Pleiades, Saturn, or no particular star at all and may be applied to any star. Pulsars do not actually emit any sound but merely electromagnetic radiation and thus do not knock. The sound one can hear in the audio recordings of pulsars are radio signals interpreted as sound; it is created by connecting a radio telescope to a modulator, connected to a computer, connected to speakers. “Ath-Thaqib” merely refers to the light of the star and how its brightness is piercing through the darkness. Tafsir At-Tabari and Al-Qurtubi explain this phrasing in detail by using the sayings of the Arabs, demonstrating that is has no deeper hidden meaning but rather means something mundane.
The fact that a pre-Islamic poet used the same word definitively shows that there is nothing scientific or miraculous in the Quran’s usage of this word. If one were to maintain that there is, then one would have to also say the pre-islamic poets such as Zubara’ had miraculous foreknowledge of science only discovered in the 20th century.
Ibn Kathir writes: “God swears by the sky and the bright stars He has placed in it; That is why he said: (By the sky and the Tariq). (…) Qatadah and others have said, “The star has been named Tariq because it is only seen at night and it is hidden during the day.’’ His view is supported by what has been mentioned in the authentic Hadith that prohibits a man to come to his family Taruq. This means that he comes to them unexpectedly at nighttime. Concerning Allah’s statement, (Ath-Thaqib.) Ibn `Abbas said, “The illuminating.’’ `Ikrimah said, “It is illuminating and it burns the Shaytan’’”
Mufti Muhammad Shafi writes: “The first oath, in the beginning of the Surah, is by the sky and tariq. The word tariq means the ‘Night-Comer’. Stars normally disappear during the day and only appear at night, therefore they are called tariq. The Qur’an itself raises the question: (and what may let you know what the Night-Comer is?…86:2) and then answers the question thus: (The star of piercing brightness!…86:3). The word najm means ‘star’. The Qur’an does not specify any particular ‘star’. Therefore, it may be applied to any star. Some of the commentators say that najm refers to the Pleiades or Saturn, and they quote specimens of Arabic speech to confirm their argument. The word thaqib means ‘piercing brightness’.”
Al-Qurtubi mentions: “It was said: It is Saturn: the planet in the seventh heaven mentioned by Muhammad ibn al-Hasan in his interpretation (…). Ibn Zayd said: It is the Pleiades.”
Tafsir Al-Jalalayn notes: “By the heaven and the night-visitor! (al-tāriq actually denotes any thing that comes by night, including stars, because they come out at night).”
Al-Wahidi and Baghawy mention: “This was revealed about Abu Talib. He once went to visit the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, and the latter offered him bread and milk. As Abu Talib was sitting and eating, a meteor fell, filling everything with fire. Abu Talib was scared. He asked: “What on earth can this be?” The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: “This is a meteor that was thrown and it is one of the signs of Allah”. Abu Talib was amazed, and so Allah, exalted is He, revealed these verses.”
Maududi writes: “On this, an oath has been sworn by the heaven and by every star and planet which appears in the darkness of the night. (Although lexically, an-najm ath-thaqib is singular, it does not imply any one star but the star in the generic sense). The oath signifies that the existence of each of the countless stars and planets that shines in the sky at ‘night, testifies to the fact that there is a Being Who has created it, illuminated it”
“The term /tariq/ is derived from /tarq/ ‘to pound’. And /tariq/ means ‘way’ because the path is pounded by the feet of pedestrians. The term /matraqah/ ‘a sledge hammer’ is used for pounding iron and materials like this. And since the doors are closed at night when people arrive they have to pound on them to gain permission to enter, then, that which comes at night is called /tariq/ ‘the night- visitant’.”
At-Tabari writes: “It is the piercing star, meaning: its light shines and glows.”
Al-Tustari: “And the night-visitor (ṭāriq) is the star of piercing brightness”
Linguistic elaboration on Ath-Thaqib: https://quran.ksu.edu.sa/tafseer/tabary/sura86-aya3.html https://quran.ksu.edu.sa/tafseer/qortobi/sura86-aya3.html#qortobi
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