In the two previous parts of this topic, we reviewed some astronomical facts and some points about our nature. Through the following lines, you can find out other scientific facts mentioned in the Quran.

Clouds and rain

Scientists have recently come to know that not every cloud is a rain cloud, but certain types of wind and clouds and definite steps are effective for forming rain clouds. They have found that one type of clouds go through the following steps to produce rain [1]. 
The clouds are pushed by the wind. Then, the small clouds join together to form a larger cloud, hence updrafts increase within the large cloud. Some phenomenon cause the cloud to stack up which stretches the cloud body into cooler regions where drops of water and hail form and begin to grow larger [1]. 
When these drops and hail become too heavy, they fall from the cloud as rain, hail, etc. [2]. This phenomenon is described in Surat Al-Nur: “Have you not regarded that Allah drives the clouds, then He composes them, then He piles them up, whereat you see the rain issuing from its midst?” (24:43). 

Deep seas and internal waves

In Surat Al-Nur, it is stated that: “Or like the manifold darkness in a deep sea, covered by billow upon billow, overcast by clouds, manifold [layers of] darkness, one on top of another: when he brings out his hand, he can hardly see it” (24:40). 
The darkness in deep seas mentioned in this verse is found around a depth of 200m and below where there is almost no light. Below a depth of 1000m, there is no light at all [3]. 
The verse states that there are two sets of waves, one above the other. Scientists called the lower waves as internal waves which “occur on density interfaces between layers of different densities” [4]. Since the deep waters of seas and oceans are denser than the waves above them, the internal waves cover them. They act like surface waves and might break just as them. They are not observable by the human eye, but can be detected by studying temperature or salinity changes at a given location [4].

The stages of human embryonic development in The Quran

Human embryonic development are described in the Quran as: “Certainly We created man from an extract of clay. Then We made him a drop of [seminal] fluid [lodged] in a secure abode. Then We created the drop of fluid as a clinging mass (alaqah). Then We created the clinging mass (alaqah) as a fleshy tissue (mudhqah).” (23:12-14). 
The word alaqah has three meanings in Arabic: leech, suspending thing, and blood clot. In comparison to leech, an embryo in the alaqah stage obtains nourishment from mother’s blood, same as the leech which feeds on the blood of others [2]. During the alaqah stage, the embryo is suspended in mother’s womb, hence, the word “suspended thing” fits, too. Finally, during the alaqah stage, due to the presence of relatively large volume of blood present in the embryo, it looks like a blood clot. Besides, the blood does not circulate until the end of the 3rd week, just as a blood clot. Hence, these three meanings describe accurately the embryo at this stage. 
The nest stage is described by the word mudhghah which means “chewed substance”. In fact, the somites at the back of the embryo “somewhat resemble teeth marks in a chewed substance” [5].

The creation in pairs

It has been recently discovered that everything in the universe is created in pair, as do male and female among living things. The parity among living creatures are stated in several the verses of the Quran as: “Immaculate is He who has created all the pairs of what the earth grows, and of themselves, and of what they do not know.” (36:36), “and that it is He who created the mates, the male and the female.” (53:45). And who created all the pairs and made for you the ships and the cattle such as you ride.” (43:12), “In all things We have created pairs so that you may take admonition.” (51:49). These verses mention the parity in things that grow from soil (i.e. plants), in animals, in those have been created from their own selves (i.e. humans), and things we do not know. 

The latter includes every other thing other than living things. The discovery of Paul Dirac known as “Parity”, for which he was awarded the Noble Prize in 1933, confirms this claim by stating that every matter has a pair called anti-matter [6]. 
Although the Quran is not basically a book dedicated to scientific issues, we realized from above that it contains scientific facts that have only been discovered recently through the advancement of technology and scientific knowledge. These scientific facts are a few of many clear signs of Allah Almighty. They prove that the Quran is the word of all-knowing all-wise Allah Almighty and Allah Almighty is the only one that merits to be worshiped.

References:

1. Anthes et al., “The Atmosphere,” pp. 268-269, and Elements of Meteorology, Miller and Thompson, p. 141.
2. The Quran on clouds
3. Oceans, Elder and Pernetta, p. 27.
4. Oceanography, Gross, p. 205.
5. The Developing Human, Moore and Persaud, 5th ed., p. 8.
6. antimatter

“Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but he is the Apostle of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets, and Allah has knowledge of all things” (33:40).

Based on some Islamic narrations, God has sent as many as 124000 prophets to humankind throughout history in different lands; the first of whom was Prophet Adam (AS), and the last divine prophet was Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Why Did God Send Prophets?

What do you think was the primary purpose for which the prophets were raised? God says in the Holy Quran:

“O Prophet! Indeed, We have sent you as a witness, as a bearer of good news and as a warner. and as a summoner to Allah by His permission, and as a radiant lamp” (33:45-46)

“Certainly We sent Our apostles with manifest proofs, and We sent down with them the Book and the Balance, so that mankind may maintain justice;” (57:25)

According to the verses above and many other verses in the Quran [i], prophets were all sent to awaken the inner prophet within each person (i.e. people’s reason), guide them to the right path and invite them to monotheism (worshipping the only One God), which would ultimately lead to their well-being and salvation here in this world and also the hereafter. In fact, no one can deny the effective role prophets had in different aspects of people’s lives in history, as Will Durant puts:

“There is no significant example in history, before our time, of a society successfully maintaining moral life without the aid of religion. France, the United States, and some other nations have divorced their governments from all churches, but they have had the help of religion in keeping social order” [1].

Did Different Prophets Bring Different Religions?

Now you might wonder, “if God is One and all the prophets were sent to bring us closer to Him, then why would He send different religions?”

From the Quranic point of view there is No such thing as different religions, but rather “all Prophets irrespective of the fact whether they had or did not have an independent code of law, had the same mission and preached the same message” [2]. Quran says:

“Indeed, with Allah religion is Islam, and those who were given the Book did not differ except after knowledge had come to them…” (3:19)

So, why would God send as many as 124000 prophets?

The answer is God’s message had to be renewed and developed according to the requirements of the time, the environment and also the people to whom God’s prophets were sent. Based on the stage of human development in each time and environment, a preaching or law-giving prophet [ii] would come to restore the divine message which had previously been changed, destroyed or distorted by people.

Was Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP) The Last Prophet?

As stated above, people’s intellectual immaturity was the main reason why God renewed his message and developed it over time. However, by the advent of Islam and revelation of the holy Quran, humanity had passed the period of its childhood and had become mature enough to preserve its intellectual heritage, i.e., the religion of God. One thing that proves human’s maturity at the time of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP) is that literacy had become more common among people.

That is why the Prophet’s (PBUH&HP) main miracle is not of anything physical, material and time-dependent, instead, it is a book which is made of words understandable for people of all times. In other words, God, then, guides people and shows them His signs using words (Quran) not by events like parting the sea (led by prophet Moses) or healing the blind or the sick (led by prophet Jesus). God’s message, accordingly, was revived through the revelation of the holy Quran and hence, Muhammad (PBUH&HP) was the last prophet of God.

There Is No Need for a New Prophet

It is noteworthy that the majority of divine prophets were the preaching ones who would interpret and spread the teachings of the law-giving prophets. But now that God has provided all requirements for humans to achieve their individual and social perfection giving them His book of guidance and wisdom to think, and people have reached a higher intellectual stage and become mature enough to interpret God’s message [iii], there won’t be a need for a new prophet.

At this age of knowledge, the religious scholars are capable of applying the general principles of Islam to the requirements of the time and place and deducing the rules of religious laws [2]:

“The scholars are the inheritor of prophets” Imam Sadiq [4].

It is clear from what has been discussed above that the intellectual maturity of human has played an essential role in the finality of prophethood in several ways:

It has enabled man to receive his evolutionary program all at once and not by stages,
It has enabled him to keep the celestial Word of God (Quran) unaltered,
It has enabled him to interpret the revealed word of Allah, preach and propagate the teachings of religion and apply the religious principles to all the changing circumstances [2].

The last mentioned task is now performed by religious experts (Mujtahid) and is named Ijtihad meaning striving and making an effort to deduce the divine laws of Islam from the reliable sources and proofs.

Finally, …

The finality of prophethood does not mean that humanity is now able to dispense with religion. It is the need for prophets and the revelation of God that has ceased to exist, which is only because God’s message has been immune to any sort of alteration or distortion since the advent of Islam:

“Indeed We have sent down the Reminder, and indeed We will preserve it” (15:9)

This message is indestructible, and all people of next generations can have a recurring experience when dealing with it, irrespective of time.

However, God has never left the earth devoid of His guidance, and Imams as the successors of the Holy Prophet (PBUH&HP) have played the main part in maintaining humans’ spiritual connection with God from then on.

Notes:

[i] “Certainly We raised an apostle in every nation [to preach:] ‘Worship Allah, and shun fake deities.’ Among them were some whom Allah guided, and among them were some who deserved to be in error. So travel over the land and observe how was the fate of the deniers” (16:36). Also see: (7:59, 7:65, 7:85 and 7:73)

[ii] The messengers of God where either law-giving, who would be sent with a noble message and guidance and whose number did not exceed the fingers of one hand, or preaching who would spread and propagate the teachings of the law-giving ones.

[iii] "We ought to present you with the principles and you ought to arrive at specific conclusions from them." Imam Sadiq (AS) [3]

[iv] the holy Quran, the tradition of the holy prophet and 12 infallible Imams (Sunnah), consensus (Ijma`), and reason (`Aql)

Reference:

1. Mand and Universe
2. Wasail al-Shia, Bab 6, Hadith 51, 52
3. al-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 32, Hadith 2