Muslims claim that the Quran contains scientific facts that have only been discovered recently. And because they could not have been known in Muhammad's time then this is proof that the Quran is revealed. But critics of Islam tell us that a close examination shows that the Quranic verses are vague and have been twisted to give these interpretations by bias and imagination.

The answer to this can be given as follows:-

(1) That which we know as science today with its particular procedures and language was not known in the past when the Quran was revealed. Therefore, we can only speak about "facts" in the Quran and not "scientific facts"

(2) The Quran was revealed to people in order that it should be understood and followed. If the scientific language had been used in the Quran it would not have been understood. We must not expect it to describe things scientifically.

(3) The technical literalist language is a recent invention. Like other previous literature, the Quran is written in a language that uses symbolism and idioms and refers mainly to experiences rather than the objects experienced (which of course cannot be known though science pretends that it is speaking about objects).

(4) The language of the Quran is particularly compact and carries multiple meanings, some referring to external phenomena and some to inner psychological ones. For instance, when the Quran speaks about the cosmos being wound up so that only the face of Allah remains, it may be speaking about the end of the Universe, but also about the experiences of the seeker when he becomes absorbed in Allah.

(5) The purpose of the Quran is not to describe facts as such but to create a value system, a way of life and a state of being. It is meant to have a psychological effect, to expand consciousness, conscience and will.

(6) These aims must be such as to conform to reality, otherwise it will be ineffective and lead to destruction. In so far as the purpose of the Quran is to widen consciousness it must describe a wider world. It describes and presents facts only in so far as this aim is facilitated.

(7) The Quran is understood according to the experiences, knowledge and ideas that are current at the times and place and according to the personality type. Things were not understood in the past as they are understood today and vice versa. The coming of scientific knowledge allows a different interpretation and in a different conceptual system.

(8) Though there is (a) something which all human beings have in common by virtue of being human, and (b) there is also something which all experiences must have in common because they are human experiences and (c) because there is also something about the environments in this world which are held in common because they are in this world, there are also differences. It is possible to penetrate from the more superficial differences to the deeper levels which all hold in common.

(9) Different people discern different aspects, relationships and amounts of the world. It is not just a question of knowing facts but of ways of interpreting, describing and organizing them. All human beings knew that things fall to the ground before gravity was described. Someone is always first to see something, but this does not guarantee that others will see it also or in the same way. Therefore, when we speak of advances of knowledge we usually mean that a greater number of people know a greater number of certain things in certain ways. It could be that this knowledge is gained at the expense of other kinds of knowledge. Children who spend their time in schoolrooms learn quite different things than those who spend their time in farms and forests. The information and the way it is organized and presented must serve the purposes one has in mind.

(10) The materials, forces, processes and laws that exist in the Universe and are responsible for the phenomena in it also operate within us. We are more intimately connected with them than by external observation, which is indirect. It is a question of becoming aware of their nature.

(11) There are people who are more conscious and at deeper levels, and some of them also undertake to guide mankind. They are known as Prophets and Messengers of God.

(12) But the interpretation of these experiences and their formulation into words may differ. It is not at all necessary that the same truths should be experienced in the same way or described in the same conceptual system.