Astronomical Correspondence in the Quranic Text: A Computational Analysis of the Lunisolar Coordinate Index and Occurrence-Based Metonic Cycle Encoding
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: This paper presents two structurally independent computational analyses of the Quranic text using the Tanzil Uthmani corpus (v1.0.2). Finding 1 (Lunisolar Coordinate Index, LCI): the four Quranic verses in which the nominal lexemes Shams (sun), Qamar (moon), and Ard (earth) co-occur yield a coordinate sum (surah + verse) of 61 + 40 + 90 + 44 = 235 — the Metonic cycle constant (19 tropical years = 235 synodic months), robust across all five historical verse-enumeration traditions. Finding 2 (Occurrence-Based Rank): scanning the corpus in canonical order without reference to verse numbering, Shams reaches its 19th occurrence and Qamar its 12th at the third co-occurrence verse (Q.29:61); these integers satisfy 19 × 12 + 7 = 235, the full multiplicative decomposition of the Metonic cycle. The joint probability is p ≈ 6.3 × 10⁻⁶ (4.4σ); Bonferroni-corrected over 17 astronomically meaningful integers: p ≈ 1.07 × 10⁻⁴ (3.7σ). A permutation test (N = 50,000) confirms p < 2 × 10⁻⁵. Internal controls (16 word-pair combinations) and a Hebrew Pentateuch negative control are reported. Python scripts and full occurrence lists are included. This deposit contains the English-language manuscript (Journal of Quantitative Linguistics submission) and the Turkish-language manuscript (İhya Uluslararası İslam Araştırmaları Dergisi submission). Version 2 (June 2026) — Revised Turkish manuscript (REVv2) included. New findings added: (1) Ko-1 full Metonic parameter encoding: at Q.7:54 (first triple co-occurrence), occurrence ranks N_Shams=4 and N_Qamar=3 generate all four Metonic parameters via elementary arithmetic — 4+3=7 (intercalary months), 4x3=12 (months/year), 4x3+7=19 (Metonic years); Ko-3 then yields 19x12+7=235 (synodic months), completing the full cycle. (2) Structural corpus property (Shams-Qamar-Ard indivisible triple): in all 6236 Quranic verses, Shams+Ard co-occurs in exactly 4 verses, all of which contain Qamar; Qamar+Ard co-occurs in exactly 4 verses, all of which contain Shams — zero exceptions (verified on Tanzil v1.0.2). (3) Systematic lunisolar cycle scan: all major cycles (Trieteris 37m, Octaeteris 99m, Metonic 235m, Saros 223m, Callippic 940m, Inex 358m) tested across all 18 Shams+Qamar co-occurrence points; only Ko-3 yields a known cycle (Metonic 235). (4) Exploratory observation (post-hoc, pre-registration required): Q.36:40 — the only verse in the Quran explicitly describing orbital independence (Shams+Qamar+Falak) — has LCI = 36+40 = 76 = Callippic cycle in years. (5) Pre-registration timeline confirmed: pre-registration uploaded 9 March 2026 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.18920705); corpus computations April-May 2026.
Author: Teker, Onur
Institution: Information Physics Institute
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7160505838
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