Science & Technology - Combined Wonders Of Quran And Astrophysics

Besides containing modern details of geography and human creation, the Holy Quran particularly contains astonishing details on astrophysics, many which were discovered in the early 19^th century, when understanding of the Universe was being slowly developed by the use of satellites and space shuttles. Among these which are most prominent (and almost unknown to us) are the stars, the behavior of the Sun and Moon, expansion of the Universe, the concept of plurality of worlds, the length of time during the formation of Universe and the black holes. There are many other subjects that deserve to be elaborated and many which remain a mystery to us. It must be remembered, though, that although we have excelled in technology and science, the real essence and nature of the Universe still remains largely unknown.

�The creation of the heavens and the earth is indeed far greater than the creation of mankind; yet, most of the mankind knows not.� Surah Ghafir, verse 57.

A star is a massive, luminous ball of plasma that is held together by gravity. It is formed when a large amount of gas (hydrogen, mostly) collapses on itself due to its own gravity. As the gas contracts, its atoms gain kinetic energy and start to collide with each other more frequently with greater speeds. Because of this collision, the gas gets heated up. Eventually, the gas becomes so hot that its atoms, instead of colliding with each other, merge together to form Helium (this is called nuclear fusion). The heat released in the nuclear fusion is what makes stars shine. The heat also increases the pressure of the gas in such a way that it balances its gravity and the gas eventually stops contacting. As long as heat is produced in the nuclear fusion balances the star�s gravity, the star remains stable. Eventually, the star will run out of its �fuel�. This is because the more massive the star is, the more hot it needs to be to balance its own gravity. And the hotter it is, the faster it will use its fuel in nuclear reaction. When the star finally reaches the end of its fuel, it collapses under its own gravity, forming a black hole.

The closest star to the Earth is the Sun. The Sun has got enough fuels that will enable it to last for several million years. The Sun is currently about halfway through its main sequence evolution during which nuclear fusion reactions in its core fuse hydrogen into helium. It is estimated that in about 5 billion years, the Sun will enter a red giant phase; its outer layers expanding as the hydrogen fuel in the core is consumed and the core contracts and heats up to a temperature around 100 million K. As a red giant, the Sun will have a radius beyond the Earth's orbit, which means its radius would increase by 250 times. This information (and new research) suggests that Earth will be swallowed by the Sun due the Sun�s expansion. And even if the Earth would escape being incinerated in the Sun, all of its waters (i.e. the oceans) would have boiled away and its ozone layer would escape into space, thus, ending all life. Following the red giant phase, intense thermal pulsations will cause the Sun to throw off its outer layers, leaving an extremely hot stellar core which will slowly cool and fade. Allah Almighty has already given us these fact in the Holy Quran, in Surah Yaseen, �And the Sun, it runs on its fixed course for an appointed term. That is the Decree of the All-Mighty, the All-Knowing.�, and in Surah Al-Najam, �What will tell you what the Morning Star is? A star of piercing brightness!� 1400 years ago, in the age of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.W), no one could have entertained a thought that the sun not only runs on its �fixed course� (a discovery explained in the next example) but its existence is temporary. The fact in this verse matches with the modern data since stars are the known objects in universe that have a lifespan. This verse also confirms the scientific predictions that the Sun will indeed die, which is why it is for an �appointed term�. Secondly, at the time of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.W), people of different religions used to worship the stars, due to the fact that they appeared as beautiful pinpoints of lights (this is because these stars are at millions of kilometers away from us). It was centuries after the death of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.W), in the 19^th century when it was discovered that stars are not the pinpoints of lights as they appear, rather, they are extremely bright and massive in size. They matched then with the knowledge of Quran that the stars are of �piercing brightness�.

It was thought at first that the sun was stationery. It was in its fixed place while the planets orbited around it. In the 1900�s, space shuttles discovered the presence of sunspots on the Sun�s surface (sunspots are the regions of intense magnetic activity). These sunspots were observed to make revolutions. This proved that, while the Sun is fixed in its place, it revolves and rotates in its own axis. It was a discovery; but a discovery that one is not surprised to hear when one reads what Allah Almighty says in the Holy Quran, in Surah Al-Ambiya, �It is Allah who has created the night and the day, the sun and the moon, each one rotating about its own axis.� This appears to be in perfect agreement and it was most certainly not known at the time Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.W) that the Sun rotated, especially given the fact that in the desert of those times, the Sun hurt the eyes when one looked at it directly, thus making it impossible for anyone to study or even observe it!

The Big Bang, made in 1949, is a prevailing cosmological theory that describes the early development of the universe. It states that the universe was initially a gaseous mass composed mostly of hydrogen, helium and lithium that was slowly rotating. Then there was a big �bang� and the gaseous mass split. This splitting resulted in the formation of the galaxies and the stars. The Big Bang Theory received much opposition from scientists. Arthur Eddington, a notable astrophysicist and an expert on the theory of relativity, stated that if the Big Bang had indeed taken place, there must have been radiation surplus that took place right after the explosion. These radiations, now known as cosmic microwave background radiations, must be present uniformly over the universe. Following the statement, in 1964, two scientists, Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, accidently discovered the cosmic microwave background radiations while conducting diagnostic tests on a microwave detector owned by Bell Laboratories, proving the Big Bang Theory. Further evidences confirmed the theory, when observatories space shuttles discovered vast amounts of hydrogen and helium, from the initial explosion that caused the formation of the universe, present uniformly in space. Allah Almighty has given us these facts of the Big Bang Theory very precisely in the Holy Quran, in Surah Al-Ambiya, �Do not the unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together, and then We clove them asunder?�, in Surah Al-Mairaj, �Moreover, (Allah) turned to the heaven when it was smoke and said to it, �Come willingly or unwillingly� and they said �We will come willingly��. These verses present a very accurate description of the initial state of the universe. They mention the initial state of the universe in a gaseous mass composed of fine particles, which is why the word �smoke� (dukan in Arabic) is used. It is an excellent example to use for the initial gaseous state of the Universe since smoke is also made up of a gaseous substrantum and fine particles that may belong either to a solid or a liquid. Furthermore, the verse in Surah Al-Ambiya describes the separation process of the gaseous mass when it was �cloven asunder�. There is nothing in it that is vague or contradictory. This 1400 year old information in the Holy Quran matches perfectly with the modern 19^th century-proposed Big Bang Theory.

At the time of the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.W), the sun and the moon were easily distinguished. The sun was known as the blazing body of the desert, and the moon as the coolness of the night. The Sun, being a star, generates an intense heat of 5505�C and luminosity of 3.846 x 1026 W due to its internal combustions and annihilation of matter and antimatter on its surface while the moon, which does not radiate light (as believed by the people for centuries), is an inert body and only reflects the light it receives from the sun. There is not one word in Surah Al-Furqan that contradicts with the given data or sounds vague at all, �Blessed is He Who has created the constellation and placed therein a lamp and a moon which has reflected light.� In Arabic, the word for reflected light is �nur� and here; it is used specifically for the moon. Moreover, the word �lamp� here is used for the Sun is a simile. As a lamp radiates light and heat, it fits beautifully with the behavior of the Sun.

Specialists in astrophysics consider it highly likely that planets similar to our Earth are present in the Universe. In our Solar System, there is no life found in any of the known planets (except the Earth) as conditions present in them are hostile to any form of life. The reason why it is thought that life other than Earth exists is this; it is thought that our Milky Way galaxy contains 100 billion stars and about half of them must, like the Sun, rotate slowly; a characteristic that suggests that they are surrounded by planetary satellites. These stars are so far away that it makes them unobservable. An undulation in a star�s rotationary path indicates the presence of a planetary satellite. Therefore, it is thought that the Barnard Star (a star located far away in our galaxy) must have at least one planet companion. This planet is estimated to have a mass greater than Jupiter (And Jupiter is the most massive planet known in our Solar System; it is 2.5 times the mass of all the planets combined of our Solar System) with at least two satellites. Earth and the Solar System are, therefore, not unique. All this was completely unknown at the time of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.W). But Allah Almighty has given this information in the Holy Quran, in Surah Shura, 'Allah has created the heavens and the earth and has put creatures between them.', in Surah Ta-Ha, �To Him (Allah Almighty) belongs what is in the heavens, on earth, beneath them and beneath the soil.� In Surah Al-Furqan, �He is the One Who created the heavens, the earth and what is between them in six periods.� In Surah Al-Sajda, �God is the One Who created the heavens, the earth and what is between them in six periods.� Here, these verses speak about three things. Things in the heavens, things inside the Earth�s soil and things between the heavens and the Earth. While we do have ideas about the nature of the heavens and the structure of the Earth, they are not properly understood. There are still many proposed hypothesis that need more elaboration and astrophysicist are still looking for a unification theory that describes the entire Universe.

Another interesting thing to note is the mention that Allah Almighty created the heavens and the earth in six periods. A period is a stretch of time that can either be very long or short. Astrophysicists state that the formation of the Universe took a very long period of time (an epoch). This piece of modern data is in complete harmony with the Holy Quran, since the Holy Quran states that the formations of the heavens and the Earth took six periods; the Arabic word for periods used is �ayyam� (plural for �yaum�) which means either days or very long periods of time.

In 1929, Edwin Hubble observed from his extra powerful telescope the behavior of the different galaxies. He saw that other neighboring galaxies were moving away from our galaxy. He published his findings and stated that the entire universe was expanding. In a way, he also proved that the Universe was not static (i.e. it was not unchanging) as was previously believed by many influential scientists. This is already present in the Holy Quran, in Surah Dhariyat, �The Universe, We have built it with power. Verily, We are expanding it.� The expansion of the Universe is one of the most important discoveries in astrophysics. It was the use of the100-inch telescope that enabled Edwin Hubble to make this discovery. All this information present in the Holy Quran, revealed 1400 years ago, proves that this is all came from a Divine Source. It is impossible to imagine that this information could have come from a human source, especially 1400 years ago, when people thought the Universe to be infinite.

In the Holy Quran, Allah Almighty said about the unbelievers in Makkah, �Even if We opened unto them a gate to the Heaven and they were to continue ascending therein, they would say: �Our sight is confused as in drunkenness. No, we are people bewitched.�� Many translators, when translating this verse, included a question mark at the part of �a gate to the heaven�. According to Syed Mohammad Shuja, a notable Islamic astrophysicist suggests that this �gate to the heaven� refers to the black holes in space. To understand the true meaning of this verse, it is important to understand the behavior of a black hole. As mentioned before, when a star collapses under its own gravity, it forms a black hole (this collapsing of a star is also called �death of a star�).

Black holes are regions in space that have such strong gravitational force that nothing can escape from them, not even light. In a way, they literally �suck� everything in themselves. They can continue to grow by absorbing mass from their surroundings. By absorbing other stars and merging with other black holes, supermassive black holes of millions of solar masses may be formed. Currently, there is strong evidence that there is a supermassive black hole of more than 4 million masses at the center of our Milky Way whose gravitational force is causing our galaxy to spiral. Time slows down near black holes. Due to their strong gravitational pull, they can cause even very distant stars to orbit around them. Unwary astronauts may get trapped in black holes. Due to variation of gravitational force of the black hole, astronauts are torn apart when they come near it.

Many astrophysicists (including Einstein himself) believe black holes to be exits of this Universe and beyond them would lead to the heavens. It is also thought by Islamic astrophysicists that the event of Mairaj, when the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.W) was taken on a Burraq (that travelled at the speed of light) to see the heavens, was closely related to the black hole that is thought to be present in our galaxy. The hypothesis states that it is highly likely that Allah Almighty created an anti-gravitational force that balanced the effects of gravitational force of the black hole and hence, enabled the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.W) to enter the black hole, along with the Angel Hazrat Jibrael (A.S), that lead to the heavens. From there, Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.W) possibly entered more black holes that ultimately, brought him to the Sidra-tul-Muntaha, the final destination (or the final heaven), where the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.W) met Allah Almighty and was presented with the gift of 50 Salat. While this is considered to be strongly likely, it is not proven yet because modern astrophysics still has not fully understood the nature of black holes. This anti gravity force, however, still has its own logic (it was proposed by the famous astrophysicist, Albert Einstein) considering the presence of matter and antimatter in our Universe. It is perfectly possible that anti-gravity could have balanced the gravity of the black hole that allowed the entry of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.W).

More verses that indicate towards the black holes is in the Holy Quran, Surah Rehman, verse 33, �O you assembly of Jinns and Men, if you can penetrate the regions of the heavens and the earth, then penetrate them! You will not penetrate them except with Our Sanction.� Here, Allah Almighty is addressing the Jinns and the humans (Ins). The words used for �penetrate� are nafada followed by its preposition min. If we translate them to English, they mean �to pass right through and come out on the other side of the body�. The verse presents a situation of deep penetrations in the heavens and earth. This, as most Islamic astrophysicists suggest, is referring to the black holes. If black holes are indeed the dimensions to heavens, they would be ideal for the deep �penetration� in the Universe. Islamic astrophysicists, furthermore, argue by pointing to out that Allah Almighty had sent the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W) as a �mercy to all worlds�; they consider that the presence of other worlds like ours are beyond the black holes possible (by this fact, astrophysicists agree). This verse tells us that we can �penetrate� through the regions of the heavens and earth only if Allah Almighty grants us the Authority to perform such deeds. Only by the guidance of the All-Mighty, we are able solve the mysteries of the exotic realms of this Universe.

There are verses in the Holy Quran, Surah Suafaat, �We have indeed adorned the lowest heaven with an ornament, the planets. Plus, a guard against every rebellious evil spirit. So they cannot listen to the supreme council for they are hurled from every side. They are outcast and theirs is a perpetual torment. Except him who tries to eavesdrop, there pursues him a blazing meteorite. � While these verses do harmonize with modern science by confirming the existence of planets, these verses remain a mystery. What is this �lowest heaven�? Where it is located? Could it be an expression for the �Solar System�? It is known that no other star in our galaxy is presently known for having planetary satellites except the Sun. Is it perhaps referring to another star in our galaxy (maybe the Barnard Star?) that is thought to have planetary satellites? And is the �ornament� the star itself?

Are these �rebellious evil spirits� the devils (shayateens) themselves? Some Islamic scholars have stated that the lowest heaven means the galaxy we are living in. If that is so, then how come Iblis himself and the evil Jinns are allowed to roam on our Earth? And what is this �supreme council� that these evil spirits are forbidden to eavesdrop? The verses inform us that a �blazing meteor� chases the spirit who tries to eavesdrop. Can this blazing meteor be the shooting stars we usually see in the skies? And if the lowest heaven really is our galaxy, then why don�t the verses mention the presence of the 100 billion stars in our galaxy? Why only planets?

All these observations seem to lie outside the subject of astrophysics and present human knowledge. Allah Almighty has given us these facts for the sake of completion. Perhaps in future, by His Permission, we could explore more in detail of this subject. Currently, modern science is unable to cast any light on this mystery that goes beyond the human understanding.

How close does one�s heart recline towards Allah Almighty! And by what? By discussing Haquq-ul-Ibad only? By condemning science as worldly and useless for our faith? A human can only unlock the understanding of the Majesty, the Power, and the Glory of Allah Almighty by not only pondering, musing and studying His beautiful and exotic Creations; but by understanding and reflecting on the essence of the miracle of miracles, the Holy Quran. That�s the reason why the present Muslim Ummah is so weak and helpless. The Hadith of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.W) speaks to us, �He who studies the Quran is like the owner of tethered camels. If he attends to them, he will keep hold of them. If he lets them loose, they will go away.� (Bukhari). And no doubt, we have let go of our Holy Quran. By doing so, we have let go of the guidance that is our only hope to survive. We have no one but to blame ourselves for our current predicament. Blaming America and the CIA for the situations of our country, of us will get us nowhere. Why are we so vulnerable to their attacks? How come they are so easily able to hoodwink and attack us? The problem must lie with us.

It is commonly observed that people recite the Holy Quran and learn it by heart and are not at all bothered by its meaning. Simply reciting the Holy Quran does not serve the purpose. It is illogical to do so because Allah Almighty has not ordered us to just read the Holy Quran. Allah Almighty says in Surah Nisa, �Will they not then ponder on the Quran?� Muslims are ordered to study, ponder and reflect on the teachings of Holy Quran and apply it in every moment of their lives. The Holy Quran gives guidance from Allah Almighty to the Muslims. What guidance do we get by just reading the Holy Quran? Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.W) has prophesized that a time would come when the Muslims, though great in number, would be as weak and ineffective as the scum on the surface of flood waters. One can hardly doubt we are living in that age. The only reason is that we have turned our backs on our Creator, Allah Almighty and we have neglected to understand the Holy Quran and we are too busy with our lives without bothering about Islam. Our only hope, now, is forgiveness from our Lord and reforming, actually reforming, our lives and by spreading the message of Allah Almighty, as did His Prophets, with courage, faith and zeal.

�Forgiveness is the only incumbent on Allah towards those who do evil in ignorance, then quickly (in repentance) to Allah. These are they towards whom Allah relents. For Allah is Ever Knower, Wise.� Surah Nisa, the Holy Quran.

A beautiful verse of Surah Fussilat, �Soon We shall show them Our signs in the furthest regions of the horizons and into their souls until it is clear to them that this is the truth.� May Allah Almighty forgive us all, give guidance to every human being, fill our hearts with love for Islam and enable us to serve Islam in the best possible way.