Television Miracle in the Quran

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The Quran says nothing about television. But some Islamic apologists read Arabic incorrectly from left to right and claim to have found the word "television" in the Quran.

The miracle claim

He who possessed knowledge of the Book said, ‘I will bring it to you before your glance returns to you.’ And when he saw it standing firmly in his presence, he said, ‘This is part of my Lord's favor to test me to see if I will give thanks or show ingratitude... (Surat an-Naml, 40)

This verse immediately puts one in mind of teleportation or image transmission (television). Some letters in Surat an-Naml in which this phenomenon is described come together in a mysterious manner to comprise the word “television.”

والإنس والطير

TELEVISION

ن س و ا ل ط

TE LE E VE SE NE

The letters that constitute the word television appear side by side, from left to right, in verse 17 of Surat an-Naml, which refers to the Prophet Solomon (pbuh). The word television is written and pronounced in more or less the same way in Turkish, English, Arabic and other languages.

Looking at the sequence of letters here and the passages cited, we see a miracle that cannot possibly be explained in terms of chance. At the same time, each one of these instances is a sign for those who study the Qur’an that still grater mysteries may lie concealed within it.


The verses

The verses that supposedly predicted telivison:

Said one who had knowledge from the Scripture, "I will bring it to you before your glance returns to you." And when [Solomon] saw it placed before him, he said, "This is from the favor of my Lord to test me whether I will be grateful or ungrateful. And whoever is grateful - his gratitude is only for [the benefit of] himself. And whoever is ungrateful - then indeed, my Lord is Free of need and Generous."


Quran 27:40 (Sahih International)

The author of the Quran is quoting someone else, so how could this be a miracle of the author of the Quran. Even if it was an amazing prophecy , it would be the prophecy of the original author of the quote and not of the author who quoted him.

And the prophecy is talking about their time: "I will bring it to you before your glance returns to you" just means he will bring it quickly. It doesn't mean that thousands of years after Solomon's death, some people will invent television. The classical interpretation is:

(I will bring it to you within the twinkling of an eye!) Meaning, lift your gaze and look as far as you can, and before you get tired and blink, you will find it before you.


Tafsir Ibn Kathir on 27:40

And the little part that supposedly mentions the word television is in a completely different verse. And the verse has nothing to do with television:

And gathered for Solomon were his soldiers of the jinn and men and birds (والإنس والطير, wal-ins wat-tayr), and they were [marching] in rows.


Incorrect extraction of letters

You can copy the Arabic text somewhere and put spaces between the letters yourself.

والإنس والطير

Actual individual letters:

و ا ل إ ن س و ا ل ط ي ر

Letter according to the miracle claim:

ن س و ا ل ط

If the words really consisted of those letters, it would look like:

نس والط

But in reality, the words are:

والإنس والطير


Incorrect names of letters

Letters that supposedly form the words:

ن س و ا ل ط

The supposed names of the letters:

TE LE E VE SE NE

Which is impossible because Arabic doesn't use the sound of "v" at all. Actual names of the Arabic letters:

taa' laam alif waw seen noon

But that is still wrong, because Arabic is from right to left, so the actual sequence is:

noon seen waw alif laam taa'

So the final word is not television, but something like:

Nosewaalat (نسوالط)


At best, it predicted nose-wallet. And since people don't have wallets on their noses, it's a failed prophecy.

See also