An Examination of the Alignment of Botanical Topics in Biology Textbooks with the Concepts of Plants in the Quran

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Biology Education, Farhangian University, P.O. Box 14665-889, Tehran, Iran. z.zare@cfu.ac.ir

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Objective: This research aims to determine the degree of alignment between the botanical content of upper secondary school biology textbooks and plant-related concepts in the Holy Quran, with the purpose of enhancing the understanding and learning of plant biology.
Method: The study is comparative in nature and was executed using a descriptive-analytical method. The statistical population comprises the biology textbooks for the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades in Iran's upper secondary education system. The botanical chapters within these books were selected as the statistical sample and were meticulously examined and compared with corresponding Quranic verses.
Findings: The findings reveal a significant alignment between several botanical topics in the textbooks and Quranic verses. Key aligned subjects include the structure of the plant cell, plant pigments and colors, tissue systems and overall plant structure, plant reproduction (including the concept of pairing and pollination), seed germination and growth, and the process of photosynthesis. These topics, respectively covered in the 10th, 11th, and 12th-grade textbooks, demonstrated clear correspondence with specific Quranic verses. For instance, the plant cell’s chlorophyll content aligns with the term “khaziran” (green matter) in Surah Al-An'am, and sexual reproduction in plants reflects the Quranic concept of “zawjiyyah” (pairing).
Conclusion: The study concludes that a number of scientific concepts presented in biology textbooks are demonstrably compatible with Quranic references. This alignment serves as a powerful tool for reinforcing interdisciplinary education, enhancing the learning of biological sciences, and elucidating the profound connection between empirical science and Quranic teachings. Ultimately, this correspondence reveals the scientific miracle (i'jaz) of the Quran, guiding humanity toward a deeper understanding and recognition of the Divine Creator.

Keywords

References

  1. al-Qurʾān al-Karīm (The Noble Qurʾān).
  2. Bābāshpūr Aṣl, Marżiyyah, Giyāhān-i Dārūyī dar Qurʾān-i Karīm wa Kārburd-i Darmānī-yi Ānhā (Medicinal Plants in the Holy Qurʾān and Their Therapeutic Applications), Qurʾān and Medicine, 6(4), 26–39, 1400 SH (2021 CE).
  3. Chalabiyān, Fīrūzah, Zistshināsī-yi Giyāhī (Plant Biology), 4th ed., Tehran: Āyīzh, 1400 SH (2021 CE).
  4. Fayżābādī, Ḥamīdah, and Panāhī, Ḥusayn, Biyūlūzhī dar Qurʾān (Biology in the Qurʾān), 6th ed., Tehran: Fayż Dānish Publications, 1387 SH (2008 CE).
  5. Ḥusayn Fārūqī, Muḥammad Iqtidār, Giyāhān dar Qurʾān (Plants in the Qurʾān), trans. Aḥmad Namāyī, 6th ed., Mashhad: Astan Quds Razavi Publications, 1391 SH (2012 CE).
  6. Ibrāhīmī, Muḥsin, Barresī-yi Āyāt-i Qurʾān-i Karīm kih Nāẓir bar Khilqat-i Insān wa Sāyir-i Jāndārān ast az Manẓar-i Kutub-i ʿUlūm-i Tajribī-yi Mutawassiṭah (An Examination of the Verses of the Holy Qurʾān Concerning the Creation of Human Beings and Other Animals from the Perspective of Secondary School Experimental Science Textbooks), Master’s Thesis, Biology Education, Farhangian University, 1400 SH (2021 CE).
  7. Kāẓimī Māzandarānī, Sayyid Yaḥyā, Nigāhī bar Iʿjāz-i ʿIlmī-yi Qurʾān dar Giyāhān wa Nabātāt (A Perspective on the Scientific Miracles of the Qurʾān Regarding Plants and Vegetation), 1st ed., Qom: Dār al-Fikr Publications, 1397 SH (2018 CE).
  8. Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir, Tafsīr-i Namūnah (The Exemplary Commentary), 15th ed., Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyyah, 1374 SH (1995 CE).
  9. Muṣṭafawī, Ḥasan, Tafsīr-i Rūshan bā Bayān-i Qāṭiʿ az Jihat-i Lughat wa Tafsīr wa Ḥaqāyiq (Rūshan Commentary with Definitive Explanations of Lexical Meanings, Interpretation, and Truths), Vol. 10, 1st ed., Tehran: Markaz-i Nashr-i Kitāb, 1380 SH (2001 CE).
  10. Pīrāwānīniyā, Pegāh, and Pīrāwānīniyā, Pūnah, Taḥlīl-i Muḥtawā-yi Kutub-i Darsī-yi Dawrah-yi Pīshdānishgāhī az Naẓar-i Mizān-i Tawajjuh bih Qurʾān wa Mafāhīm-i Qurʾānī (A Content Analysis of Pre-University Textbooks Regarding Their Attention to the Qurʾān and Qurʾānic Concepts), Qurʾān and Ḥadīth Studies, 3(1), 169–189, 1388 SH (2009 CE).
  11. Ramaḍānī, Ḥasan, Niyāz-i Insān bih Takhaṣṣuṣ-hā-yi ʿIlmī wa Maʿrifatī dar Fahm-i Lāyahā-yi Bāṭinī wa ʿAmīq-i Qurʾān (The Human Need for Scientific and Epistemological Specializations in Understanding the Esoteric and Profound Layers of the Qurʾān), Asrār-i Ḥikmat, 13(2), 5–33, 1400 SH (2021 CE).
  12. Riḍāʾī Iṣfahānī, Muḥammad ʿAlī, Ishārāt-i ʿIlmī-yi Iʿjāz-āmīz-i Qurʾān (Scientific and Miraculous Indications of the Qurʾān), 1st ed., Tehran: Daftar-i Nashr-i Maʿārif, 1383 SH (2004 CE).
  13. Riḍāʾī Iṣfahānī, Muḥammad ʿAlī, Ravish-i Bardāsht-i ʿIlmī az Qurʾān (Method of Scientific Interpretation of the Qurʾān), Qurʾānic Researches, no. 45, 90–127, 1385 SH (2006 CE).
  14. Rustamī, Laylā, Qurʾān wa Shigiftīhā-yi Jahān-i Ṭabīʿat (The Qurʾān and the Wonders of the Natural World), 1st ed., Qom: Mawʿūd-i Islām, 1385 SH (2006 CE).
  15. Tīmūrī, Asadullāh; Mūsawī, Sayyid Yūsuf; Hāshimī KhānʿAbbāsī, Sayyid ʿAlī; and Niʿmatzādah, QurbānʿAlī, Majmūʿah Maqālāt-i Dūmīn Hamāyish-i Millī-yi Pazhūhish-hā-yi Miyān-Rishtah-ī Qurʾān wa Angārah-hā-yi ʿUlūm-i Zistī (Collection of Papers from the Second National Conference on Interdisciplinary Research on the Qurʾān and Biological Science Concepts), Sārī: Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources of Sārī, 1401 SH (2022 CE).
  16. Vakīlī Shahrbābakī, Ḥakīmah Khātūn, Muʿjizah-yi Giyāhān-i Qurʾānī (Giyāhān az Manẓar-i Qurʾān wa ʿIlm) (The Miracle of Qurʾānic Plants: Plants from the Perspective of the Qurʾān and Science), 1st ed., Vakīlī Shahrbābakī, 1391 SH (2012 CE).
  17. Yār Muḥammadiān, Muḥammad Ḥusayn, Uṣūl-i Barnāmah-Rīzī-yi Darsī (Principles of Curriculum Planning), 14th ed., Tehran: Yādwārah-yi Kitāb Publications, 1395 SH (2016 CE).
  18. Zāriʿ, Zahrā, Āmūzish-i Mahārat-hā-yi Āzmāyishgāhī-yi Zistshināsī-yi Giyāhī (Teaching Laboratory Skills in Plant Biology), 1st ed., Tehran: Pazhūhishgar-i Bartar, 1395 SH (2016 CE).
  19. Zāriʿ, Zahrā, Fīziyūlūzhī-yi Giyāhī bā Ruykard-i Āmūzishī (Plant Physiology with an Educational Approach), 1st ed., Tehran: Ṣāliḥiyān, 1398 SH (2019 CE).

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 07 March 2026
  • Revise Date: 03 April 2026
  • Accept Date: 02 May 2026

Share

How to cite

Statistics