Unveiling the chemical miracles of the Holy Quran and exploring the Quranic insights into Copper, Iron and the Secrets of Electrochemistry

The Quran is a book of wisdom, guidance, law, and indicative of many research findings in the fields of Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Geography, and more. In this article, I will discuss how the Holy Quran teaches us Chemistry and how the modern research findings in Chemistry were already mentioned in this holy book. Let me start with one of the most important blessings of Almighty Allah to mankind, i.e., iron and copper. The mention of iron (Fe) and copper (Cu) in the Holy Quran can be considered a sign of its significant importance for human life. The fact that copper was mentioned several times, either in its pure form or alloyed with iron, might be a sign that this metal is so useful for us, and without it, human civilization would not progress. Verses, or “Ayat,” written in the Holy Quran are full of meanings and words that need to be deeply managed and checked for understanding. The interpreters have begun to explain these meanings and words for thousands of years. However, as is well known, the Qur’an has a lot of secrets that make it renewed and parallel to every age.
In view of modern scientific discoveries, many of the words of the Holy Quran have potential aspects of interpretation that are useful in understanding the purpose of these words. Therefore, most scholars have many scientific ideas and terms that explain the interpretation of the verses of the Quran and some of the Qur’anic terms from a scientific perspective that illustrates the scientific miracles in the Holy Quran.
Copper in the Holy Quran
Copper is the chemical element with atomic number 29, symbol Cu. The simple copper body is a metal, an element of group 11, period 4, and a d-block element in the periodic table. Naturally present in the earth’s crust, copper (in low doses) is essential for the development of all life. It is mainly used by humans in the form of metal. We also find copper in alloy forms, metals that have copper as their principal component, and have high resistance against corrosion.
“Bring me blocks of iron. At length, when he had filled up the space between the two steep mountain-cliffs, he said, “Blow,” then when he had made it as fire, he said, “Bring me gitr to pour over it.” Al-Kahf: Verse 96. According to the interpretation of Jami’ Al-Bayaan fi Tafsir Al-Quran, Al-Tabari, Allah, the Almighty, says that Du Al-Qarnain told those who asked him to “pour tar over it.” Tar here means copper. This explanation was equally accepted by the scholars of the Holy Quran. Some linguists in Basra, however, said that tar means “molten iron,” and the following verse of poetry is cited to support the use and meaning of the term: “A sword as white as salt, whose iron is crystal clear; Very sharp, of molten and spotless iron made.”
Copper and its high copper alloys tend to passivate in humid air, forming an oxide layer (patina), which protects copper and its alloys from further corrosion processes. From this verse, we can clearly see how an electrochemical concept was applied because if Du Al-Qarnain made the wall from pure iron, then after a certain period of time, the iron rusts so that a loss of matter will occur. Hence, we can see the great importance of coating iron with copper to protect the iron from corrosion and guarantee the wall’s persistence. The modern method of coating iron with copper involves a crucible containing chloride of copper upon which the iron to be coated is placed. The crucible is then submitted to a red heat, and the chloride of copper gets fused, depositing a coating of copper on the iron. So, we can conclude that 1400 years ago, the Quran revealed the secret of chemistry (Electrochemistry), the secret of copper, and how we can use it to protect some iron-based material from corrosion.
“There will be sent against you both smokeless flames of fire and copper, and you will not be able to defend yourselves.” Ar-Rahman: Verse 35. From this verse, it’s clear that humans cannot defend themselves against the smokeless flame of fire mixed with copper. But why? In Nuclear Physics and Chemistry, Copper is the unique element that, when bombarded with high-energy protons (Smokeless flame), emits an antiparticle, which is a type of Standard Model particle of mass and spin equal to those of the corresponding particle but of opposite quantum numbers, which is an antiproton. So, we will have a neutralization between the particle (proton) and its antiparticle (antiproton), and that’s what we call Annihilation. When a proton encounters its antiparticle (and more generally, if any species of baryon encounters the corresponding antibaryon), the reaction is not as simple as electron–positron annihilation. Unlike an electron, a proton is a composite particle consisting of three “valence quarks” and an indeterminate number of “sea quarks” bound by gluons. Thus, when a proton encounters an antiproton, one of its quarks, usually a constituent valence quark, may annihilate with an antiquark (which more rarely could be a sea quark) to produce a gluon. After that, the gluon, together with the remaining quarks, antiquarks, and gluons, will undergo a complex process of rearrangement (called hadronization or fragmentation) into a number of mesons (mostly pions and kaons), which will share the total energy and momentum. The newly created mesons are unstable, and unless they encounter and interact with some other material, they will decay in a series of reactions that ultimately produce only photons, electrons, positrons, and neutrinos. This type of reaction will take place between any baryon (particle consisting of three quarks) and any antibaryon consisting of three antiquarks, one of which corresponds to a quark in the baryon.
Iron in the Holy Quran
Iron (chemical symbol Fe) has the atomic number 26, signifying that it possesses 26 protons (this number is stable along all the variants of Iron). Iron possesses several isotopes, with the most plentiful isotope being Fe-56 (56 is the approximate atomic weight of this isotope). Isotope Fe-57 is one of the four stable isotopes, placing it in the middle position between the three most stable isotopes, with the 4th less stable isotope being Fe-54. The fact that there is a Chapter named “Al-Hadid” (Iron) in the Holy Quran can be considered a sign of its significance. The truth that there is not a Chapter called “adh-Dhahab” (Gold) might be a sign that iron is more vital than gold, since life would go on if gold did not exist, but it would not be easy to mention human civilization without iron. Iron is (1) the essential of all the arts, (2) the source of human development and progress, and (3) in the center of the strength of man. Due to its functions mentioned above and similar ones, the following is stated in the Holy Quran: “… and We sent down Iron, in which is (material for) mighty war, as well as many benefits for mankind…”. Al-Hadid: Verse 25. Iron is more essential to life than other metals. It is the accumulation of iron in the center of a star which activates a supernova explosion and the subsequent scattering of the vital atoms of life throughout the cosmos. It is molten iron in the center of the earth which, acting like a gigantic dynamo, generates the earth’s magnetic field, which in turn creates the Van Allen radiation belts that shield the earth’s surface from destructive high energy cosmic radiation and protect the crucial ozone layer from cosmic ray destruction. Without the iron atom, there would be no carbon-based life in the cosmos; no supernovae, no heating of the primitive earth, no atmosphere or hydrosphere. There would be no protective magnetic field, no Van Allen radiation belts, no ozone layer, no metal to make hemoglobin (in human blood), no metal to tame the reactivity of oxygen, and no oxidative metabolism. The fascinating and intimate relationship between life and iron, between the red color of blood and the dying of some distant star, not only indicates the relevance of metals to biology but also the biocentricity of the cosmos.
Conclusion
Nothing that Allah has created is without purpose. Whether living or non-living, everything was made to benefit us. It is only now that science backs up everything that we have already been told about through our Holy Quran. Day after day, the Holy Quran still reveals scientific facts that scientists have not yet discovered. Humankind must be connected to the Holy Quran and follow its guidelines since it is revealed by the Creator of the Universes.
The writer is a Lecturer in Chemistry, BHSS Arihal Pulwama. He can be reached at [email protected]

Dr Nisar Farhad