In 1973, he was appointed the family doctor of the late King Faisal. He practiced medicine from 1945 to 1998 and was a member of the French Society of Egyptology as well as a specialist in gastroenterology.

As King Faisal’s family doctor, the Frenchman got ample opportunities to learn Arabic while visiting the Kingdom regularly. Through friendly discussions with King Faisal, he also learned many things about Islam, as he studied Islam and Arabic.

After a comprehensive study of Islam and the Arabic language, Bucaille wrote his very famous book, “The Bible the Qur’an and Science,” in 1976, which was first published in French and later translated into several languages.

In the book, Bucaille also remembers the late great King Faisal: “The debt of gratitude I owe the late King Faisal, whose memory I salute with deepest respect, is indeed very great. The fact that I was given the signal honor of hearing him speak on Islam and was able to raise with him certain problems concerning the interpretation of the Qur’an in relation to modern science is a very cherished memory.”

“King Faisal’s devotion to Islam and its traditions were hallmarks of his life. The King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies was born out of respect for our father’s strong beliefs and because of the significance we attach to Islamic culture and learning,” stated Prince Turki Al Faisal on the official website.

Bucaille studied the Bible and the Qur’anic verses with a scientific point of view and found that the Holy Qur’an didn’t have a single verse that was connected with science, which contradicted with established modern science. He analyzed Qur’anic verses only with established scientific facts and not with hypothesis, since hypothesis can turn out to be correct or incorrect.

Consider the following verses:

“The heaven, We have built it with power. Verily. We are expanding it.” (Qur’an 51:47)

“The discovery that the universe is expanding was one of the great intellectual revolutions of the 20th century,” from “A Brief History of Time,” by Stephen Hawking.

“Of all fruits (God) placed (on the earth) two of a pair.” (Qur’an 13:3).

Humans did not previously know that plants also have male and female gender distinctions. Botany states that every plant has a male and female gender. Even unisexual plants have distinct elements of both male and female.

For Muslims, the Holy Qur’an is the ultimate source of knowledge and guidance. It is unquestionable, so Muslims do not need the support of science to believe in the Holy Qur’an.

Yet, for many non-Muslims and atheists, science is the ultimate criteria. What modern science tells us today, the Holy Qur’an revealed in the seventh century A.D. Therefore, it is superior to any book of science.

“The Bible the Qur’an and Science,” which does a scientific and unbiased analysis of verses from the Bible and the Qur’an proves without dispute that the Holy Qur’an is a divine revelation.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was a true Messenger of Allah the Almighty. The fact that the Holy Qur’an was revealed unto him should be proof enough for those who attack Islam and its Great Prophet in the name of “Freedom of Speech.”

Bucaille also talks about the era of the upsurge of scientific studies in the Arab world in the height of Islam between eight and 12 centuries A.D. He adds: “We are also greatly indebted to Arabic culture for mathematics (algebra was an Arabic invention), astronomy, physics (optics), geology, botany, medicine (Avicenna) etc.”

The author did not find a single error in the Holy Qur’an. He said he had to ask himself that if a man was the author of the Qur’an, how could he have written facts in the seventh century A.D. that were keeping with modern scientific knowledge without even making an error?

In the works of the great philosophers of antiquity, it is common to find a mixture of valid and invalid ideas. However, from a strictly scientific point of view, Bucaille states: “This is what distinguished them from the Qur’an. In the latter (Qur’an), many subjects are referred to that have a bearing on modern knowledge without one of them containing a statement that contradicts what has been established by present day science.”

In the concluding chapter of his book Bucaille states: “In view of the level of knowledge in Muhammad’s day, it is inconceivable that many of the statements in the Qur’an, which are connected with science could have been the work of a man. It is, moreover, perfectly legitimate, not only to regard the Qur’an as the expression of a Revelation, but also to award it a very special place, on account of the guarantee of authenticity it provides and the presence in it of scientific statements which, when studied today, appear as a challenge to explanation in human terms.”

Librarian Asif Shaikh says that “The Bible the Qur’an and Science” is one of the top bestsellers in books written about Islam in English.

“The sale of the book reaches its peak in Ramadan and Haj. Pilgrims come to the bookstore especially to buy copies of this book, as they ask for it by name. I suspect that it’s maybe not available in their respective countries or perhaps it costs less in the Kingdom,” he said.
 



By Dr. Maurice Bucaille

Dar-us-Salam Publications, SR20