The claim: the Qur'an has statements against science: the sun sets "in a muddy spring" (18:86); semen issues "from between the backbone and the ribs" (86:6-7); the earth is "spread out / flattened" (15:19; 88:20; 79:30) — a flat-earth/geocentric error.
On closer look
- 18:86 (the sun's setting): the verse says Dhul-Qarnayn "found / saw (wajadahā)" the sun setting there — it is an account of observation / horizon, not a cosmological ruling. It describes the view at the traveller's horizon.
- 86:6-7 (semen): "between the backbone and the ribs" points to the body region from which the reproductive structures develop embryologically, or the notion of "ṣulb" (loins/lineage); the verse does not claim to describe the anatomical exit duct of semen in modern terms.
- The earth "spread out" (15:19; 88:20; 79:30): "spreading / daḥw" is the earth being made habitable / laid out for humans; it does not mean "flat." The same Qur'an says the sun and moon swim in orbits (21:33) and the heaven is expanding (51:47).
An honest limit
The Qur'an is not a science textbook; it speaks in its audience's idiom, often phenomenologically (as observed). The honest stance avoids both extremes: neither "every verse foretells modern science" (overreach) nor "these are plain scientific errors" (ignoring context). The aim here is not to prove a miracle but to break the objection's claim of certainty: linguistically and contextually, these verses do not compel the verdict "error."
Source: Qur'anic verses (M. Okuyan meal). Presented soberly and respectfully, with a text/interpretation distinction.