The Holy Qur'an invites mankind to acquisition of knowledge

Compiled By: Syed Ali Shahbaz
The holy Qur'an is the Book which is studied every day by a very large number of people all over the world. Millions of Muslims and even many non-Muslims study its texts or translations in different languages.
The holy Qur'an invites mankind to acquisition of knowledge and awareness of the realities of life. The dynamism of its ayahs stimulates the intellect and guides human beings towards perfection. The French thinker Jules Labeume believes that since the holy Qur'an is compatible with the intellect it is the axis for hundreds of millions of people all over the world.
He adds: The Qur'an is like a deep ocean from which the seas of knowledge flow. Certainly the Qur'an is alive forever and in every era the people of knowledge benefit from it as per their degree of comprehension.
This Divine Book focuses on certain facts which are considered among its miracles. Among these is the description of plants and the male and female among them. In Ayah 36 of Surah Ya Seen, we read: “Glory be to Him Who created pairs of all things, of what the earth grows, and of their kind and of what they do not know”
In ayah 3 of Surah Ra’d, we also read: “And He it is Who spread the earth and made in it firm mountains and rivers, and of all fruits He has made in it two kinds”
As could be clear from these ayahs, the males and females among the plant species is a sign of God Almighty. In Surah Zariyaat, ayahs 48 and 49 say: “And the earth, We have made it a wide extent; how well have We then spread (it) out” “And of everything We have created pairs that you may be mindful”
It took over a millennium for Europeans to realize the reality of the gender differences in the plants of the same species, after what the holy Qur’an had specified. In the 18th century, when Swedish botanist Carl von Linné, wrote a book on this reality of the world of vegetation, his book was banned by the Christian church. Today, the scientific community accepts what he had discovered, and which the holy Qur'an had already mentioned over a millennium years ago. The ayahs of the holy Qur'an speak of fertilization in plants and say that plants and trees are fertilized by winds. In ayah 22 of Surah Hijr, the holy Qur'an says: “And We send the winds fertilizing, then send down water from the cloud so We give it to you to drink of”
Man slowly began to discover that if no pollination is carried out from the male to the female tree, there will be no fruits. In some trees and fruits like apricot, spruce, pomegranate, orange, cotton and cereal, fertilization is carried out by winds. In some flowers, pollination is carried out by insects. As we know, fruits are the final product of the plants. The stage before fruit is the flower. Flowers also have male and female organs. When pollen is carried to the flower and fertilization takes place, they begin to bear fruit. The fruit gradually ripens and starts to release seeds. The fact that fruits have gender-specific features is another piece of scientific information indicated in the holy Qur'an.
The issue of equilibrium and balance in the world of creation is another scientific miracle of the holy Qur'an. This balance is also observed in plants. Ayah 19 of Surah Hijr says: “And caused to grow in it of every suitable thing”
This ayah refers to the point that the elements of which a plant is created are balanced in terms of quality and quantity. Every plant which grows on the earth enjoys a specific weight and combination and the precise and calculated law of balance. Recently it has been proved in botany that each type of plants are made up of specific segments that require a determined rate, in a way that if some of its segments decrease or increase it will turn into another form of vegetations. As we said in the previous programs, the scientific miracles of the holy Qur'an reveal many of the world mysteries. At the same time, one should notice that the holy Qur'an is the Book of guidance and its main goal is to make human life meaningful and to show the path of prosperity to him. Nonetheless, the scientific facts of the holy Qur'an indicate that these words stem from the infinite source of divine knowledge. God is All-Knowing, All-Wise, and All-Prudent. As mentioned by ayah 6 of Surah Furqan: “Say: He has revealed it Who knows the secret in the heavens and the earth”