Author: Dr Sayyed Imran Husnain

Space and the Universe According to Qur’an and AhlulBayt

In the Qur’an, there are a number of verses dealing with the planets and other objects we find in space. There are verses dealing with the creation and destruction of the Earth and space. Also, there are sayings of the Imams of ahlul bayt (the pure ones from the Prophet’s [saw] household) dealing with verses about space. We would like to use this piece to discuss these verses and sayings, and also what science has to say about these topics.

This piece has been authored by me, and also my sister, who has a keen interest in astronomy.

I would like to thank Maulana Sahib and Uncle Ghalib Sahib for reading through the manuscript.

Definition of the Universe

In earlier times, people described the universe from what they could see. They did not realise how big it was. The ancient Egyptians believed that the sun, planets and other objects they saw in the sky were gods. They thought that this universe was everlasting. The ancient Greeks also had similar beliefs about the universe. Their gods were linked to the planets. The Romans were influenced by the Greeks. But, by this time the scientific study of the planets was established [read more]. With the spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire, this view changed and the planets were not thought of as gods or symbols of gods [read more].

The study of this visible universe (space) is called cosmology. Today, cosmology has become a major part of scientific discoveries and theories. Cosmologists (people who study the visible universe) say that there are probably around 100000000000 galaxies (system containing many stars, planets and moons) in the universe. Each galaxy could contain between 10000000 to 1000000000000 stars [read more]. In cosmology, stars are like our sun, and they produce light. Planets are like our planet, Earth, and they do not produce light. They move around (orbit) stars. Then, there are moons, which move around (orbit) planets.

Space contains a wide variety of galaxies. There sheer numbers become obvious when you look at one of the Hubble deep field photographs (an image from the Hubble telescope, which is a special telescope in space):

Star Cluster NGC 290

The Hubble space telescope looks at the same region of sky for days, to detect the faintest objects. The result shows a region of sky which is almost empty of stars, but full of galaxies at different distances from the Earth. The main types are elliptical, spiral and irregular, but there are many further groups such as ventricular and ring galaxies. It is believed that faint dwarf elliptical galaxies are the most abundant.

We live in the milky way galaxy (a spiral galaxy) [read more]:

The halo is a roughly spherical distribution which contains the oldest stars in the Galaxy and the Galactic Center is the center of the galaxy. The disk contains the majority of the stars, including our sun, and virtually all of the gas and dust.

Using Mathematics and the science of Physics, scientists have come up with a complicated mathematical theory called string theory and also superstring theory. These theories try to explain atoms, particles found in atoms and how this creates forces such as magnetic forces (produced by magnets) and gravity. The theory is difficult to prove, so not all scientists agree with it. One interesting point about this theory is that it says that it is possible to have many dimensions. This means that there can be different universes (worlds) around you, but ones that you cannot see. These worlds may have different properties to our universe, like different laws of nature [read more].

The Universe in the Qur’an

The Qur’an has a number of verses dealing with the universe.

“In time we shall make them fully understand our messages in the utmost horizons [furthest extremities] and within themselves, so that it will become clear unto them that this [revelation] is indeed the truth. [Still,] is it not enough [for them to know] that thy Sustainer is witness unto everything?” [Qur’an Surah Fussilat (41), verse 53].

The above verse is taken to mean that Islam will spread all over the world. This is one meaning of the verse. This explanation can be found in some of the translations and commentary of the Qur’an. The other interpretation of this verse is that human beings will start to learn about space and the stars (the furthest [most distant] extremities). They will also learn about the human body (within themselves) and how it works. This will show them that the Qur’an is the word of truth.

There is another verse in the Qur’an that talks about the universe. This is an important verse, and we will come back to it later on.

“AND IT IS We who have built the universe with power; and, verily, it is We who are steadily expanding it” [Qur’an Surah Az-Zariat (51), verse 47].

The first verse (from Surah Fussilat) we mentioned uses the word Afaq which has been translated as horizons. The second verse, from Surah Az-Zariat, uses the word Assamaa, which has been translated as universe by some translators of the Qur’an. Assamaa in Arabic is used for the heavens or sky. It describes one sky. Space is included in the definition of the skies. There is proof of this in the verse below.

“Behold, We have adorned the sky nearest to the earth with the beauty of stars” [Qur’an Surah Saffat (37), verse 6].

The above verse from Surah Saffat uses the word Assamaa to describe the sky (only one sky). The verse tells us two important things. The sky contains stars. Also, this is the sky that is nearest the earth. This means that there must be skies further away. The word used for stars here is kawakib. Some translations of the Qur’an use the word stars when translating this word. Remember that the stars we see in space are like our sun. They produce light, and we can see this in the sky.

We can also see planets that are near us, in our solar system. These planets move around the sun like our planet, Earth. These planets look very beautiful, and they have been studied and glorified by old civilisations (see earlier section). We cannot see some planets that are further away. So, the word kawakib in the above verse is an accurate word to use to describe space, because it is a general word used to describe planets and other objects, as I have explained below.

“And He it is who has set up for you the stars so that you might be guided by them in the midst of the deep darkness of land and sea: clearly, indeed, have We spelled out these messages for people of  knowledge!” [Qur’an Surah An’am (6), verse 97].

This verse from Surah An’am uses the word nujum to describe the stars. It says that these stars are for guidance in the darkness for people who are on land and also for those people who are at sea. This means that they can be used to find directions on a journey at night. Only the stars, which produce light, could be used for finding directions at night. These are like our sun. So, the word nujum is different from the word kawakib, and the things they describe are also different. From this, we learn that the word nujum describes our sun, and other stars (suns). The word kawakib is a general word that describes planets and other bodies in space.

“Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds” [Qur’an Surah Fatihah (1), verse 2].

Another word that is used to describe the universe is alameen. This is the word that most people remember, because it is mentioned in a well known chapter of the Qur’an, Surah Fatihah (see verse above). Here, Allah subhanahu wa tala is described as being the Lord of the worlds. Some translatiors of the Qur’an translate alameen as universe. The word is plural, which means that it describes more than one world or universe. Also, since God is the Lord of the worlds, this means that alameen must describe everything in existence, the world we can see, and other worlds that we can’t see. This is because God is Lord of everything in existence. This information will be found in any good tafseer of Surah Fatihah. If we remember verse 6 of Surah Saffat that was mentioned earlier, we can see that there must be other ‘skies’ beyond the space that we can see. So, there are worlds or ‘skies’ that we can’t see. This seems to support the theory of worlds in other dimensions, which is part of string theory.

The Hidden Worlds

“And God alone comprehends the hidden reality of the heavens and the earth: for, all that exists goes back to Him [as its source]. Worship Him, then, and place thy trust in Him alone: for thy Sustainer is not unaware of what you do.” [Qur’an Surah Hud (11), verse 123].

This verse from Surah Hud is very interesting. It talks about the skies using the word samawat. This is the plural of assamaa. This means that there are things in the skies that are hidden from us. This is another proof that there are other worlds or skies beyond visible space, and we learned earlier that space was the nearest sky to us. Also, the Earth is described in singular and not in plural. So, this verse cannot be talking about different layers or parts of visible space, because there are layers in the Earth but the earth is being described as one and not many.

“AND LO! We caused a group of Jin to incline towards thee, [O Muhammad,] so that they might give ear to the Qur’an; and so, as soon as they became aware of it, they said [unto one another], Listen in silence! And when [the recitation] was ended, they returned to their people as warners” [Qur’an Surah Ahqaf (46), verse 29].

“Indeed, unmindful hast thou been of this [day of judgment]; but now We have lifted from thee thy veil, and sharp is thy sight today!” [Qur’an Surah Qaf (50), verse 22].

The first verse above, from Surah Ahqaf, is talking about a group of Jin who heard the Prophet (saw) reciting the Qur’an. This shows us that the Jin live among us on earth. We all know that we cannot normally see the Jin. So, the Jin have a different type of existence to us. Some scientists also say that if there are worlds in other dimensions, there may be living things there. Verse 22 of Surah Qaf also tells us that there are things that are hidden from us at this moment. They will be made known to us on the day of judgment. So, these two verse show that there are other types of existence and other worlds that are hidden from us for the moment.

“I warn you of the world for it is the abode of the unsteady. It is not a house for foraging. It has decorated itself with deception and deceives with its decoration. It is a house which is low before Allah.” [Sermon 113 Nahjul Balagha].

In the above saying of Imam Ali (as), it is mentioned that this world is a deception (it tricks us). To trick someone, they need to think that this world is something it is not. This means that this world tries to hide the truth from us. To do this, there must be other things that exist but that we cannot see. So, even though we haven’t seen God, or the Prophet or the Imams or even the angels, we know that it is true they exist. It is obvious that some of the other places (or worlds), like heaven, will not deceive us. So these places will not be like this world.

All these proofs tell us that there are worlds beyond our world and space. This does not mean that they are further away from us in terms of distance. They may not have a distance because they may not be like this world at all. Distance might not have any meaning in another world. Remember, that in other dimensions the laws of nature may be different from those in our world.

In summary, there are different types of worlds mentioned in the Qur’an. These worlds are like other dimensions. The Universe talked about in the Qur’an includes all of these worlds together.

Creation of This World

In 1948, scientists discovered proof that the all the matter (planets and other objects) in space was once a compact and very dense mass (all kinds of materials that were tightly packed together). The mass was at a very high temperature and pressure. The mass exploded, and this caused it to scatter into space. This led to formation of planets and stars. This theory is called the big bang theory. The big bang is thought to have occurred about 13700000000 years ago. The proof that this has happened came from the discovery of microwave radiation in the environment that was produced from the big bang [read more]. There is a telescope in space called the Hubble space telescope. It has been used to show that the planets and stars in space are expanding (moving further away) [read more]. Scientists say that this movement must have been started by a force, the force of an explosion.

Scientists think that our solar system (the Earth, the sun, the moon and nearby planets and moons) was made from clouds of dust, rock and gas which came together because of gravity. Scientists have studied the formation of other planets far away from us and they see a pattern in how they are formed. When the Sun began to produce energy (and shine), scientists think that it blew any left over dust and rock away, so no more planets were able to form in our solar system [read more].

When the Earth was formed, scientists know that there was no proper atmosphere (air). Also, there were no oceans. The Earth has three basic layers, the outer layer (crust), the inner layer made of hot liquid rock or lava (mantle) and the deepest layer at the centre of the Earth (core) which is solid. Scientists know this because of studies of shockwaves from Earthquakes, and how much they can penetrate the Earth. The inside of the Earth is hot because of nuclear reactions. Some scientists think that in the beginning, the heavy layer of the Earth sank to the middle, and the lighter layers were left on top. The whole Earth must have been very hot for this to happen. When the Earth cooled down, water and gases which were trapped inside the mantle of the Earth escaped from volcanoes. This led to formation of clouds, rain, and formation of oceans. Also, the gases that escaped made up the atmosphere (air) above the Earth. The gases were held near the Earth by gravity [read more].

“AND IT IS We who have built the universe with power; and, verily, it is We who are steadily expanding it.” [Qur’an Surah Az-Zariat (51), verse 47].

In the above verse, the word translated as universe is Assamaa. So, if you remember what we talked about earlier then this verse refers to one heaven, and this is space. The verse mentions that God has used power to make the universe, and God is making the universe expand (grow wider apart). As we mentioned before, science also shows that space was formed after a powerful and gigantic explosion (the big bang). The universe continues to expand from that day.  

“It is through the strength of Allah's greatness and His subtle power of innovation that He made solid dry earth out of the water of the fathomless, compact and dashing ocean. Then He made from it layers and separated them into seven skies after they had been joined together. So, they became stationary at His command and stopped at the limit fixed by Him.” [Sermon 211, Nahjul Balagha].

The above sermon of Imam Ali (as) mentions that solid Earth (the top layer that can be seen) was made from very deep and violent oceans. As we mentioned before, some scientists think that the Earth was very hot on the outside when it was formed, and that after the lighter layers from inside the Earth rose to the surface and the heavier layers sank, the outside surface cooled down and became solid. The deep (fathomless) and violent (dashing) oceans mentioned here is a good description of the inner liquid rock layer (mantle) of the Earth. This is a good way to describe the inside of the Earth to people who did not know anything about it centuries ago at the time of Imam Ali (as). This is why simple language and familiar words (such as water and oceans) are used. Remember that the skies were made from the gases that escaped from the inside of the Earth (from the mantle). So, Imam Ali (as) said that the sky was separated from the ‘oceans’ or hot lava inside the Earth. Also, the skies stopped at a limit. This means that the gases did not escape into space, because they were held in place by the Earth’s gravity.

“When Almighty created the openings of atmosphere, expanse of firmament and strata of winds, He flowed into it water whose waves were stormy and whose surges leapt one over the other. He loaded it on dashing wind and breaking typhoons, ordered them to shed it back (as rain), gave the wind control over the vigour of the rain, and acquainted it with its limitations. The wind blew under it while water flowed furiously over it.

Then Almighty created forth wind and made its movement sterile, perpetuated its position, intensified its motion and spread it far and wide. Then He ordered the wind to raise up deep waters and to intensify the waves of the oceans. So the wind churned it like the churning of curd and pushed it fiercely into the firmament throwing its front position on the rear and the stationary on the flowing till its level was raised and the surface was full of foam. Then Almighty raised the foam on to the open wind and vast firmament and made therefrom the seven skies and made the lower one as a stationary surge and the upper one as protective ceiling and a high edifice without any pole to support it or nail to hold it together. Then He decorated them with stars and the light of meteors and hung in it the shining sun and effulgent moon under the revolving sky, moving ceiling and rotating firmament.” [Sermon 1, Nahjul Balagha].

The above sermon of Imam Ali (as) is very detailed. There are a few points we would like to mention. The first paragraph is talking about creation of the atmosphere (air) of the Earth. It mentions the firmament (the solid surface of the Earth). If we think of the stormy water as a volcanic eruption then this would make sense. The water would escape as high pressure steam due to the heat. This steam would be part of the dashing wind, because the sermon mentions that it is shed back (returned to the Earth) as rain. So, the dashing wind must contain water. It will also contain gases that will make the atmosphere of the Earth. Then, the steam would cool and turn into water and cause rain to fall back to the Earth (shed it back as rain). This would make the water flow over the Earth. Because the sermon is detailed, there are some parts that are difficult to understand. We have talked about the parts that are clear.

The second paragraph talks about formation of wind. This wind must be different from the wind mentioned in the first paragraph, because it was created afterwards. The wind mentioned before was steam and gas at high pressure escaping from the inside of the Earth. The wind mentioned here is the movement of gases already on the surface of the Earth. Wind can only occur if some air has come to the surface of the Earth. So the points mentioned are in the right order. It mentions that the wind was very violent and raised deep waters, made big waves and foam. We have a theory regarding this point that would fit the description and also agree with scientific facts. Since the point being made is not clear to us, we will avoid doing this. Then, Imam Ali (as) mentions that the seven skies were formed. The word for skies mentioned here is samawat. Earlier, we mentioned that samawat in the Qur’an can mean the skies or worlds that are beyond space. The skies mentioned in Imam Ali’s (as) sermon cannot be the skies that lie beyond space, because it mentions that they are decorated by the light of meteors, the sun and the moon. The meaning of the light of the sun and the moon is clear. The light of meteors can be seen when meteors (pieces of rock in space) fall into the Earth’s atmosphere and burn from friction with the air, producing heat and light. So, it is obvious that the seven skies mentioned here are the seven layers of the Earth’s atmosphere. They are called the troposphere, ozonosphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, ionosphere and exosphere. The lower layer is described as a stationary surge. This is in good agreement with Scientific information about the atmosphere. The Troposphere (the lowest layer) is where there is weather, such as wind and rain. The air here heats up and cools down, and so it is constantly rising and falling (like a surge). The air here cannot mix with higher layers of the atmosphere, so it is ‘stationary’. The upper layers of the atmosphere (the ionosphere and exosphere) protect from effects of the sun [read more]. We learn from this that the word samawat can be used to describe the layers of our atmosphere as well as worlds beyond space. This is also seen in the Qur’an, for example in Surah 71 verse 15, where God asks us if we can see the seven heavens (samawat) created in harmony. These are heavens or skies that we can see or find out about, and so they cannot be hidden from us. They have to be the same type as mentioned in the sermon of Imam Ali (as).

The second important point mentioned in the sermon is that only after the Earth has been made do the Sun and Moon appear. This is in agreement with the scientific theory we mentioned earlier that when the sun produces energy (starts to shine), no more planets can form. If the sun doesn’t shine, we can’t see the moon because the moon reflects the sun’s light. Also, it is mentioned that the sky, ceiling and firmament (Earth) rotate. We know today that the Earth spins round (moving firmament), and the atmosphere spins around with it because of gravity. The upper layer of the atmosphere has been described as a ceiling earlier on in the sermon, so the moving ceiling mentioned at the end must mean the atmosphere. The planets in space are also moving around a fixed central point in our galaxy. This is the revolving (rotating) sky mentioned in the sermon, because the word used here for sky is falak. This is different from the word used for skies (samawat) earlier on in the sermon. So, the sky being talked about here is different from the layers of the atmosphere being described as samawat. Also, falak is singular (it is used to describe one sky and not more than one). This sky must be space, because there is no other sky left to describe and the sermon does not deal with the hidden skies or worlds.

“ARE, THEN, they who are bent on denying the truth not aware that the heavens and the earth were [once] one single entity, which We then parted asunder? – [38] and [that] We made out of water every living thing? Will they not, then, [begin to] believe?” [Qur’an Surah Anbiya (21), verse 30].

The above verse says that the heavens and Earth were together and then they were separated. This could mean that the atmosphere and the earth were together as one, and then they were separated. Because the word for heavens used here is Samawat (the plural of Assamaa), it means skies. Since we have shown that the Qur’an talks about space as being one sky, we think that the above verse is talking about the layers of the atmosphere (seven skies). Some people take this verse to mean that all the matter in space was stuck together and then it was separated by the big bang. We think that this is not the correct meaning because the Earth was not separated, but it was formed from gas and dust in space. Also, the use of the word Samawat does not fit this explanation.

Destruction of the World

There are two ways in which the Earth could be destroyed. The first way is when the Sun runs out of fuel for its nuclear reactions. The Earth will not be able to support life if the Sun stops shining [read more]. The other way is if the expansion of the Universe slows down and stops. Then, gravity will pull it together again. If this happens, the Earth and other planets in our solar system will be pulled closer to other planets in space. There will be collisions with other bodies in space [read more]. Scientists are not sure if this will happen.

“Whereat the heavens might well-nigh be rent into fragments, and the earth be split asunder, and the mountains fall down in ruins!” [Qur’an, Surah Maryam (19), verse 90]

“When the earth shall be shaken to its depths,

And the mountains shall be crumbled to atoms,

Becoming dust scattered abroad.” [Qur’an, Surah Al Waqiah (56), verses 4-6].

“When the stars are put out.” [Qur'an, Surah An-Naba (78), verse 8].

All the above verses talk about destruction of the stars and the Earth. This could happen if the matter in space collapses and comes together. It is not certain if this will happen because there is much about space that we don’t yet know. It may be destroyed in a different way, with the same results described in the verses above.

Recommended Reading

1.                  Nahjul Balagha (Imam Ali alayhis salam) compiled by Syed Ar-Radhi.

2.                  Online books by Harun Yahya dealing with the reality of matter [click here].

3.                  BBC sky at night (online resource about space and astronomy/cosmology) [click here].