Is the Translation “Atoms” Correct in the Quran or Does It Have Another Meaning?
Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch
Question
In the Quran, some verses are translated to refer to “atoms.” How did the Prophet and his Companions understand this term? Is there evidence it refers to atoms, or could it be a mistranslation influenced by modern science?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
The Arabic word “Dharra,” commonly translated in modern Arabic as “atom,” meant – at the time of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) – the smallest possible thing.
Some gave examples like the smallest-sized ant or the particles of dust that cling to the hand when one touches the ground and looks at their hand. [Qurtubi, al-Jami‘ li Ahkam al-Quran]
Modern Context
Being that the meaning of “Dharra” is the smallest possible thing, it is certainly correct to translate it as “an atom” or if discovered, something smaller.
Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Shaykh Yusuf Weltch teaches Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom Seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences.
He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he studied for three years in Dar al-Mustafa under some of the most outstanding scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib.
In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Quran and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.
