The “God of the Gaps” fallacy and the Koran


Nur/43-44

Nur/43-44 Seest thou not that Allah makes the clouds move gently, then joins them together, then makes them into a heap? - then wilt thou see rain issue forth from their midst. And He sends down from the sky mountain masses (of clouds) wherein is hail: He strikes therewith whom He pleases and He turns it away from whom He pleases, the vivid flash of its lightning well-nigh blinds the sight. It is Allah Who alternates the Night and the Day: verily in these things is an instructive example for those who have vision!


These verses are quite interesting and should be elaborated a little deeper. We have seen before that the verse Nur/43 explains the phases in the expression “sending down water from the sky”. The verse also includes the phrase “He sends down from the sky mountain masses (of clouds) wherein is hail”… This expression is an elegant way of escaping from a necessity, namely “sending down hail”.

But, there is a conflict among the translators about Nur/43. Here is another translation of the same verse:

Nur/43
Do you not see that God drives the clouds, then He gathers them together, then He piles them upon each other, then you see the soft rain coming out of them? And He sends down hail from the sky from the mountains to afflict whomever He wills, and He diverts it from whomever He wills, the brightness of the snow almost blinds the eyes.

In this translation, we see that the expression is changed into “He sends down hail from the sky from the mountains to afflict whomever He wills, and He diverts it from whomever He wills”.

However, almost all well-known translations stick to the phrase which Yusuf Ali used.

Here, I give the translation of Nur/43-44 in some other well-known interpretations:

Nur/44 (Royal Aal Al-Bayt Institute translation)
Have you not seen how God drives the clouds, then composes them, then piles them up, whereat you see the rain issuing from the midst of them? And He sends down from the heaven out of the mountains that are therein hail, and smites with it whom He will and turns it away from whom He will. The brilliance of its lightning would almost take away the eyes. God alternates the night and the day. Surely in that there is a lesson for those who see.

Nur/44 (Arthur J. Arberry)
’hast thou not seen how God drives the clouds, then composes them, then converts them into a mass, then thou seest the rain issuing out of the midst of them? And He sends down out of heaven mountains, wherein is hail, so that He smites whom He will with it, and turns it aside from whom He will; wellnigh the gleam of His lightning snatches away the sight. God turns about the day and the night; surely in that is a lesson for those who have eyes.

Nur/44 (Pickthall)
Hast thou not seen how Allah wafteth the clouds, then gathereth them, then maketh them layers, and thou seest the rain come forth from between them; He sendeth down from the heaven mountains wherein is hail, and smiteth therewith whom He will, and averteth it from whom He will. The flashing of His lightning all but snatcheth away the sight. Allah causeth the revolution of the day and the night. Lo! herein is indeed a lesson for those who see.

Nur/44 (M. H. Shakir)
Do you not see that Allah drives along the clouds, then gathers them together, then piles them up, so that you see the rain coming forth from their midst? And He sends down of the clouds that are (like) mountains wherein is hail, afflicting therewith whom He pleases and turning it away from whom He pleases; the flash of His lightning almost takes away the sight. Allah turns over the night and the day; most surely there is a lesson in this for those who have sight.

Bakara/164

Bakara-164 Behold! in the creation of the heavens and the earth; in the alternation of the night and the day; in the sailing of the ships through the ocean for the profit of mankind; in the water which Allah Sends down from the skies, and the life which He gives therewith to an earth that is dead; in the beasts of all kinds that He scatters through the earth; in the change of the winds, and the clouds which they trail like their slaves between the sky and the earth;- (Here) indeed are Signs for a people that are wise.


In this verse, the chance, the necessity and the design were used in a way that we expect, namely without falling into the “God of Gaps” fallacy!