Iron Sent Down from Space
The Quran states iron was "sent down" - matching the scientific discovery that iron originates from supernovae.
وَأَنزَلْنَا الْحَدِيدَ فِيهِ بَأْسٌ شَدِيدٌ وَمَنَافِعُ لِلنَّاسِ
Wa anzalnal-ḥadīda fīhi ba'sun shadīdun wa manāfi'u lin-nās
“And We sent down iron, wherein is great military might and benefits for the people.”
610-632 CE
The verse describing this phenomenon was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
Time Gap
1,320+ years
Before scientific confirmation
1950s-1960s CE
Nuclear astrophysics research confirmed: Extraterrestrial Origin of Iron
The Quran uses the specific word "anzalna" (sent down) when referring to iron, rather than "ja'alna" (made) or "khalaqa" (created) which are used for things formed on Earth. This precise terminology matches the scientific discovery that iron originated in space.
Iron is formed in the cores of massive stars through nuclear fusion. When these stars explode as supernovae, they scatter iron and other heavy elements across the universe. Earth received its iron through meteorite bombardment approximately 4 billion years ago.
Interestingly, ancient peoples knew that some iron came from meteorites - King Tutankhamun's tomb contained a dagger made of meteoritic iron. However, the Quran's statement that iron was "sent down" as a general principle (not just meteoritic iron) was only scientifically verified in the 20th century.
Phenomenon
Extraterrestrial Origin of Iron
Discovered By
Nuclear astrophysics research
Year Discovered
1950s-1960s
Time Gap
1,320+ years
Modern astrophysics confirms that iron is not native to Earth - it could not have formed here because the temperatures required for iron fusion (several hundred million degrees Celsius) far exceed those found in our planet or even our Sun.
Iron (specifically iron-56) is produced through stellar nucleosynthesis in massive stars, and then scattered across the universe when these stars explode as supernovae. Earth's iron was delivered through meteorite bombardment during the early formation of our solar system.
The word "anzalna" (sent down) accurately describes this extraterrestrial origin. The chapter containing this verse is named "Al-Hadid" (The Iron), and remarkably, the verse number (25) corresponds to iron's atomic number (26, with the Bismillah counted).
Sources & References
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