The Spider in Bible vs. Quran vs. Science

The Bible says that the spider is found in kings’ palaces, Locusts have no king and whoever eats the eggs of vipers will die.

The Quran says that the female spider is the one mainly undertaking the building of the house and the spider’s house, from the physical and moral point of view, is the weakest house of all houses

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One of the expanded dogmas of mankind is that the Quran is quoted or borrowed from the Bible.

This creed is established upon studies of many prejudiced intellectual scholars

In this series of articles (1-16), it is obvious that the Quran is quite different from the Bible.

It is also very clear that the Quran preceded the sciences in many aspects. In the present topic of the Spider, the smart reader will answer easily this false dogmatic inquiry: Is the Quran quoted from the Bible. The Bible which says :

1) Four things on earth are small, Ants, Coneys, locusts and a spider,

2) Locusts have no king,

3) The spider is found in kings’ palaces and

4) Whoever eats the eggs of vipers will die. Or the Quran which says

1) The female spider is the one mainly undertaking the building of the house,

2) The spider’s house, from the physical and moral point of view, is the weakest house of all houses and

3) The weakness is in the spider’s house and not in its threads Before dealing with the topic of the Spider in Quran vs. Bible vs. sciences, it is essential to remember that the total words of the Bible are 788,280 while total words of the Quran are 77,473. It follows that, the Bible has the potential of more than 10 times the Quran to talk about the spider word-wise. The spider is mentioned in three verses in the Bible (all are in the Old Testament and never mentioned in the New Testament).

On the other hand, the spider is mentioned in one verse in the Quran. ———————————————————

The Spider in the Bible Proverbs 30 24 “Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise: 25 Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer; 26 Coneys are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags; 27 locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks; 28 a spider can be caught with the hand, yet it is found in kings’ palaces.

In the “Arabic” Bible, the verse 24 says:” the smallest”; this adjective is modified in the modern English version to “small”. However, there are thousands of creatures that are smaller than the Ants, Coneys, locusts and a spider and are wise also as for examples the microbes, protozoa and fungi. Also, why the spider is found in the kings’ places specifically? Again, why the locusts have no king although they have? Job 8 13 Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so perishes the hope of the godless. 14 What he trusts in is fragile; what he relies on is a spider’s web. In this verse, the trust of the hypocrite is compared to the spider’s web or house.

This meaning is a beautiful one. Isaiah 59:5-6 Talking about those who are unjust and lie etc. 5 They hatch the eggs of vipers and spin a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die, and when one is broken, an adder is hatched. 6 Their cobwebs are useless for clothing; they cannot cover themselves with what they make. Their deeds are evil deeds, and acts of violence are in their hands. Herein, Isaiah describes the wicked as those which “weave the spider’s web” i.e., their works and designs are, like the spider’s web, vain and useless. However, scientifically speaking, the one who eat the eggs of vipers will not die. Guaranteed. Even the one who eats the viper itself will not die. I wonder why the Bible put itself in such critical scientific conflicts. ———————————————————

The Spider in the Quran: Surah 29: [39] (Remember also) Qaroun, Pharaoh, and Haman: there came to them Moses with Clear Signs, but they behaved with insolence on the earth; yet they could not overreach (Us). [40] Each one of them We seized for his crime: of them, against some We sent a violent tornado (with showers of stones); some were caught by a (mighty) Blast; some We caused the earth to swallow up; and some We drowned (in the waters): it was not Allah who injured (or oppressed) them: they injured (and oppressed) their own souls. [41] The parable of those who take protectors other than Allah is that of the Spider, who builds (to itself) a house; but truly the flimsiest of houses is the Spider’s house; if they but knew. [42] Verily Allah doth know of (every thing) whatever that they call upon besides Him: and He is Exalted (in power), Wise. [43] And such are the Parables We set forth for mankind, but only those understand them who have knowledge. [44] Allah created the heavens and the earth in true (proportions): verily in that is a Sign for those who believe. N.B.: Qaroun and Haman were the best friends of the Pharaoh of Moses. Qaroun was a very wealthy and powerful Israelite but was pro-Pharaoh. Haman was a top Egyptian official, he was chief of the army and police. Both Qaroun and Haman are not mentioned in the Bible. Back to the Spider, the Surah number 29 is named “Al-Ankaboot” which means the spider.

Naming the Surah with the singular form “Al-Ankaboot” indicates the solitary life of this animal, except at times of mating and egg hatching. This can be compared to the Surah “Al-Nahel” (The Bees) and the Surah “Al-Namel” (The Ants), where the names are plural since these insects live in social groups. The word “Al-Ankaboot” is used for the feminine singular. The verse indicates that the female spider is the one mainly undertaking the building of the house. Accordingly, building the spider’s house is an assignment carried on by the female spiders. It is the female which has in its body the glands for secretion of the silk substance from which the spider’s house is made. The spider’s house, from the physical point of view, is the weakest house of all, because it is made out of a number of very delicate silk threads. These threads are interwoven, leaving large separating spaces at most times. Therefore, they do not protect from the heat of the sun, or the extreme cold. These threads do not form adequate shade, nor protect from the rain, storming winds, or the dangers of attackers.

The Quran is very strict and clear when saying that the weakness is in the spider’s house and not the threads; (the flimsiest of houses). The spider’s house is the flimsiest house, whether physically or morally.

This has been proven by the late studies in zoology. In other words, the Quran preceded the modern scientific findings by more than 1300 years. The threads of the spider’s house are made of very delicate silk. The thickness of one thread is usually one million of the squared inch, or one part of four thousand parts of the thickness of the ordinary human hair. Despite its delicacy, it is the strongest biological substance known to mankind so far. The silk threads which make up the spider’s web are considered stronger than steel, and their strength is surpassed only by the melted quartz. The thin thread stretches to five times its length before it is cut. Therefore, the scientists call it “biological steel” or “bio-steel”. It is twenty times stronger than the ordinary metal steel. Its tolerance measures 300,000 pound for the square inch. Hypothetically speaking, should there be a thick rope of the spider’s threads, in the size of the thumb, it can easily carry a “jumbo” jet. In addition, the spider’s house, morally speaking, is the flimsiest of all houses, because it is deprived of all love and kindness, which are the pillars of any happy home. The female kills the male as soon as the fertilization takes place. Being larger in size and more violent, the female kills the male and eats its body. Also, the female eats its youngsters mercilessly. In some types, the female dies after fertilizing its eggs, which are usually fostered in a silk bag. When the eggs hatch, spider lings come out to find themselves in a very crowded place inside the eggs bag. The siblings then start to fight for food, space or both. The brother kills its brother and sister, and the sister kills its sister and brother, until the fight ends with a few spider lings remaining. These spider lings shed their skin and tear the eggs bag to come out one after the other with unhappy memories. They all then spread in the surrounding environment. Each female starts to build its house. On the road to achieve this goal, some of the spider lings die, whereas those who survive repeat the same tragedy. This makes the spider’s house the most violent and ruthless house, lacking all forms of kinship. Hence, Allah the Almighty sets it as a parable in its weakness and frailty because it lacks the simplest form of kindness between the husband and wife, the mother and her children, the brother and his siblings, and the sister and her siblings. These facts were unknown to any human at the time of revelation, and for long centuries thereafter. They have been discovered after extensive studies of the behavior of the spider by hundreds of scientists, for tens of years, until they were realized in the last decades of the twentieth century. That is why Allah ended the noble verse with His saying “if they but knew”. Some deep meaning of the verse: A- The house of the spider is not merely its dwelling place. Being the sticky net it is, it constitutes a trap for flying insects such as flies and others. These insects are a prey on which the spider feeds. Similarly, those idolaters who revere gods besides Allah, and call people to those revered gods, are in fact calling them to an artful trap which leads them to their death and destruction in this life and the afterlife. B- Warning against those with corrupt invocations who revere others besides Allah, whether money or whim. This warning is issued through indicating their hidden strings with which they hunt their victims. These strings can be money, sex, power, or any other hidden string which destroys the victim once it is trapped. Now, I think it is easy to answer this forged dogmatic question:

Is the Quran quoted from the Bible?

 

Professor Dr. Ibrahim Khalil wrote this article

http://www.articlesbase.com/science-articles/the-spider-in-bible-and-quran-115604.html

Angels in Islam (27) Gabriel conveyed Allah’s message

The great Angel Gabriel conveyed Allah’s message to His entire Prophets.

The event of the first revelation of the Quran is mentioned in the Bible.

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The duties of the Angels are many.

One of their important duties is to convey the revelation from Allah to His Messengers.

The great Angel Gabriel (Jibreel) is the one responsible for handing over Allah’s message to Allah’s Messengers and Prophets.

Gabriel conveyed Allah’s message to some thousands of Prophets which Allah sent.

Although the Quran mentions 25 Prophets by names, however; Allah sent at least one messenger to every nation from Adam up to Muhammad (the last one).

Gabriel conveyed Allah’s message to the Prophets Noah, Hood, Salih, Abraham, Lot, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Shu’aib, Moses, Moses, Aaron, David, Solomon, Elias, Elisha, Jonah, Zachariah, John, Jesus etc.

Allah’s message to His entire Messengers and Prophets is the same that is there is no god but Allah and submit to Him.

Literally, submission to Allah means Islam

The story of the first revelation of the Quran

Essential background:

Muhammad was born and raised in Mecca, he was illiterate.

His family was very big power-wise and authority-wise.

However, he was concerned with the social conflict, injustice, widespread discrimination (principally against women and black people), fighting among tribes and abuse of ancestral authorities dominant in pre-Islamic Arabia. The moral deterioration of his fellow people, and the err religion of worshipping idols.

He never ever worshiped an idol

He used to spend many hours or few days in a cave sitting alone looking for his Creator and feeling sorry about his people who used to worship many different idols.

When He was 40 years and while he was in the cave, Gabriel appeared to him.

Gabriel gave him a piece of paper and commanded him to read what was written in it.

Muhammad said: I cannot read, I am not a reader

Gabriel hugged him powerfully, then left him and commanded him again to read what was written. Muhammad’s reply was the same.

The powerful Gabriel’s hug and his command repeated twice but yielding the same Muhammad’s reply.

Then Gabriel said:

Read! In the name of your Lord and Cherisher, He is the One Who created

He Created man, out of “Alaq”

Read! And your Lord is Most Bountiful,

Who taught man with the use of the pen,-

He taught man that which he knew not.

(The verses 96:1-5)

And this was the first revelation of the Quran.

To whom it may concern

The event of the first revelation of the Quran is mentioned in the Bible (Isaiah 29:12).

Attention: None of the Israelites’ prophets was illiterate!

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Isaiah 29:12

21st Century King James Version

12- And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, “Read this, I pray thee”; and he saith, “I am not learned”.

Common English Bible:

12- And when the scroll is given to one who can’t read, saying, “Read this,” that one will say, “I can’t read.”

American Standard Version

12- And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee; and he saith, I am not learned.

Amplified Bible

12- And when the book is given to him who is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray you, he says, I cannot read.

What President of the American Fertility Society says about the Quran

Professor Dr. Joe Leigh Simpson, the President of the American Fertility Society says: “…that there exist statements in the Quran shown centuries later to be valid, which support knowledge in the Quran having been derived from God.” 

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Professor Dr. Joe Leigh Simpson is the Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Professor of Molecular and Human Genetics at the Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.

Formerly, he was Professor of Ob-Gyn and the Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Tennessee, Memphis, Tennessee, USA.

He was also the President of the American Fertility Society. He has received many awards, including the Association of Professors of Obstetrics and Gynecology Public Recognition Award in 1992.

It happened that Professor Simpson studied the following two sayings of the Prophet Muhammad:
“In every one of you, all components of your creation are collected together in your mother’s womb by forty days…”
“If forty-two nights have passed over the embryo, God sends an angel to it, who shapes it and creates its hearing, vision, skin, flesh, and bones….”
He studied these two sayings (Hadith) of the Prophet Muhammad comprehensively, noting that the first forty days constitute a noticeably distinguishable stage of embryo-genesis.

Joe Leigh Simpson was particularly impressed by the absolute precision and accuracy of those sayings of the Prophet Muhammad.

Then, during one conference, he gave the following judgment:
“It follows, I think, that not only there is no conflict between genetics and religion but, in fact, religion can guide science by adding revelation to some of the traditional scientific approaches, that there exist statements in the Quran shown centuries later to be valid, which support knowledge in the Quran having been derived from God.”

The reader is invited to see how Dr. Joe Leigh Simpson’s comments about the Noble Quran in the following video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMLdm50k2ck

And to see Prof. Prof. Simpson saying that  There is no conflict between Islam and science in the following video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gAPlp5svOw

On the other hand, the Quran prophesized those who will read the Quran and they will realize that the Quran is inspired by the Supreme Almighty Creator, Allah.

No wonder then that the first word revealed in the Quran was “Read”, Just Read.

 

The verse 41:53 in the available translations

QARIB:

We will show them our signs in all the horizons and in themselves, until it is clear to them that it is the truth. is it not sufficient that your lord is witness over everything? ‘

SHAKIR:

We will soon show them our signs in the universe and in their own souls, until it will become quite clear to them that it is the truth. is it not sufficient as regards your lord that he is a witness over all things?

PICKTHAL:

We shall show them our portents on the horizons and within themselves until it will be manifest unto them that it is the truth. doth not thy lord suffice, since he is witness over all things?

YUSUFALI:

Soon will we show them our signs in the (furthest) regions (of the earth), and in their own souls, until it becomes manifest to them that this is the truth. is it not enough that thy lord doth witness all things?

Chapter 6 of the Quran (81) the Amazing Prophecy

The Quran declared an amazing prophecy that is most of the people on Earth are but disbelievers; they unbelieve in Allah, in the Prophet Muhammand and in the Quran. If a Muslim obeys most of those on earth, they will lead him astray.

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In Ayah 6:116 there is an amazing prophecy; it says that most of the people on Earth are but disbelievers!

The Quran has declared this fact plainly; that is most of the people on Earth are but disbelievers; they unbelieved in Allah and they deny the Prophet Muhammand and the Quran.

The Quran says that those unbelievers are following naught but an opinion and supposition; they follow merely guessing, and they are speaking falsehood

Of course, conflicts between those unbelievers and believers would have been expected every mow and then.

 

Ayah 6:116 says:

If you obey most of those on earth, that is, the disbelievers, they will lead you astray from the straight path of Allah because they are merely guessing and speaking falsehood in respect to their faith.

It follows that:

If the Muslims follow the Jews in their belief, the Jews would lead them astray from the straight path of Allah.

If the Muslims follow the Christians in their belief, the Christians would lead them astray from the straight path of Allah.

If the Muslims follow the Buddhists in their belief, the Buddhists would lead them astray from the straight path of Allah.

If the Muslims follow the Atheists in their belief, the Atheists would lead them astray from the straight path of Allah.

If the Muslims follow the idolators in their belief, the idolators would lead them astray from the straight path of Allah, etc.

 

Ayah 6:117 says:

Allah, your Lord knows best those who stray from His straight path.

Allah, your Lord knows best those who the truth.

Allah, your Lord knows well the rightly guided to His religion and believes in Allah oneness, believes in his last prophet Muhammad and believes in the Quran.

Allah, your Lord will requite everyone on the Day of Judgment.

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The verses 6:116-117 in different translations

 

QARIB:

116) if you obeyed most of those on earth, they would lead you astray from the path of Allah. They follow only supposition and they are but conjecturing.

117) your lord knows best who stray from his path and the guided.

 

SHAKIR:

116) and if you obey most of those in the earth, they will lead you astray from Allah’s way; they follow but conjecture and they only lie

117) surely your lord– he best knows who goes astray from his way, and he best knows those who follow the right course

 

PICKTHAL:

116) if thou obeyedst most of those on earth they would mislead thee far from Allah’s way. They follow naught but an opinion, and they do but guess.

117) lo! Thy lord, he knoweth best who erreth from his way; and he knoweth best (who are) the rightly guided.

 

YUSUFALI:

116) wert thou to follow the common run of those on earth, they will lead thee away from the way of Allah. they follow nothing but conjecture: they do nothing but lie.

117) thy lord knoweth best who strayeth from his way: he knoweth best who they are that receive his guidance.

Chapter 6 of the Quran (77) Allah’s steady Law for His Prophets

The Quran declares that what the disbelievers of Mecca have done to the prophet Muhammad was happening through a steady and constant law that Allah put for the relationship between all the Prophets and the devils among mankind and jinn.

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Ayah 6:112 says that what the disbelievers of Mecca have done to the prophet Muhammad is happening through a steady and constant law that Allah put for the relationship of the Prophets and the devils of mankind and jinn.

 

Both mankind and jinn are responsible creatures; they will be asked for their deeds on the Day of Judgment.

In both mankind and jinn, there are those men and jinn who like the truth and they are not many; they are the believers. But, there are those men and jinn who the truth and they are many; they are the unbelievers; they are the devils of mankind and jinn.

 

Assuredly, the conflicts between the believers and the devils unbelievers have to occur.

The top believers walked on the earth are the prophets and their followers.

The most severe conflicts between the believers and the unbelievers had to occur between the prophets and their followers and the devils unbelievers. And this is Allah’ steady and constant law.

 

On the other hand, the devils unbelievers of mankind and jinn use their steady and constant law; they use the varnished speech. They inspire, whisper, fine varnished speech to each other, the falsehood that is disguised as such in delusion, in order to delude them and delude the other. (like the today attacking Islam in the Media, TV, Videos, and Newspapers etc).

Ayah 6:112 says 

 

Allah has appointed the disbelievers of Mecca who sneer as your enemies O Muhammad, so has Allah appointed unto every Prophet an adversaries and enemies, the devils, the rebels, of mankind and jinn who inspire, whisper, fine varnished speech to each other in delusion in order to delude them.

 

Yet, had your Lord willed, they would never have done it, that mutual inspiration.

So leave them, let the disbelievers be, with what they fabricate, of disbelief and otherwise, of what has been adorned for them.

Leave, O Muhammad, those who sneer and their folk with their devising.

Leave, O Muhammad, those who mock their embellishment of words and deception

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The verse 6:112 in different translations

 

QARIB:

As such we have assigned for every prophet an enemy; the satans of humans and jinn, revealing varnished speech to each other, all as a delusion. but had your lord willed, they would not have done so. Therefore leave them and what they invent,

 

SHAKIR:

and thus did we make for every prophet an enemy, the shaitans from among men and jinn, some of them suggesting to others varnished falsehood to deceive (them), and had your lord pleased they would not have done it, therefore leave them and that which they forge

 

PICKTHAL:

Thus have we appointed unto every prophet an adversary – devils of humankind and jinn who inspire in one another plausible discourse through guile. if thy lord willed, they would not do so; so leave them alone with their devising;

 

YUSUFALI:

Likewise did we make for every messenger an enemy,- evil ones among men and jinns, inspiring each other with flowery discourses by way of deception. if thy lord had so planned, they would not have done it: so leave them and their inventions alone.