ISLAM

PLACE : Mecca

DATE : 611

NAME : The Holy Quran, Surah Al-A’la, verses 4–5

NEWS : He brought forth the green pasture. Then He turned it into dry, black earth.

SCIENCE

PLACE: Belgium

DATE: 1197

NAME: Houilles

NEWS: The use of coal as fuel

Coal, a black, solid fuel with a high carbon content, is the fossilized remains of plants that lived in ancient times. We have no specific information about the use of coal by people in ancient times, except that the Chinese used coal to fire porcelain. In Europe, starting in the 12th century, as difficulties in finding wood began to arise, concerns grew, especially in industrial areas. A Belgian blacksmith named Houilles, due to this difficulty, went up into the mountains and found coal,^[229] thus beginning its use as fuel. They named this black rock “Houil’e” in French. Belgium has been operating coal mines since 1224, England since 1239, France since 1320, and Germany since 1429.

Regarding the words “gusâ” and ‘ahvâ’ in the fifth verse of the surah, “Fece’alehu ğusaen ahva,” the author of Tafsir al-Qur’an al-Asr fi I’lam al-‘Ilm (Tafsir of the Qur’an in the Light of Knowledge) says: “Gusâ: It means the debris that the flowing water collects from the edges of the valley and drags along, mixing together grass, leaves, bark, and similar things and throwing them aside. This word also comes in the form of ”gussâ” with a shaddah. Its plural is “eğsâ.” According to Katade: Vegetables and grass that have dried and turned brown, dark brown, or more blackish in color are called “gusâ.” At the same time, the debris accumulated in the floodplain also falls under this name. Ahvâ: An adjective denoting colors such as black, dark brown, and dark green close to black.^[230]

With this verse, the Holy Quran provides basic information about the existence and formation of coal 586 years before Europe began to use it as a necessity.

[230] Celal Yıldırım, Asr’s Interpretation of the Qur’an in the Light of Science, Anadolu Publications: 13/6719–6722.