THE SHAPE OF THE EARTH

THE SHAPE OF THE EARTH

 سورة الرعد آية 41

Have they not seen how we come to the land

diminishing it in its extremities?  God

judges; none repels His judgment; He is swift

at the reckoning. ^[36]

God also says:

سورة النازعات آية 30

"And the earth-after that He spread it out"

But here is a more accurate translation:

"And the earth moreover has He made almost spherical." ^[37]

The word "dahaha" in the second verse means in Arabic: shaped like an egg, which is the true shape of the earth.

These verses state that the earth was gradually diminished along its axes, a highly scientific fact which scientific researches have proved it to be true; we notice that The Holy Qur'an has stated this fact in a simple and a straightforward way; while scientists have acquired this knowledge through strenuous efforts, and the most complicated theories of mathematics, physics and astronomy.

If we want a sign that the earth revolves around its axis, we may read the following verse:

 سورة النمل آية 88

and thou shalt see the mountains, that thou supposed fixed,

passing by like clouds- God's handiwork, who has created

everything very well. He is aware of the things you do. ^[38]

This verse states clearly that the earth is almost round and rotates around its axis. We can see the movement of the clouds, but we cannot see the movement of the mountains. Strangely enough, God compares what appeals to the senses to what is hidden from our limited senses.

But, with the progress of science which God has advocated all through The Holy Qur’an, and which God has subjected to serve His great Book and which help in explaining the cosmic verses in it we come to know that both move in the same way. That is to say, the mountains as part of the earth move with it, and the clouds move around the earth simply because they are surrounded, as the earth is, with the atmospheric cover that surrounds the earth. This atmospheric cover, God's great gift to the earth, hinders the clouds, by God's mercy, from fleeing into the outer space and dissolving in this limitless space.

    The following verses are evidence that the earth is round and revolves around its axis. They show that there is always a day and a night prevailing over the earth at the same time, which implies this scientific fact concerning the movement and the shape of the earth:

 سورة يونس آية 24

Our command comes upon it

by night or day." ^[39]

 سورة الزمر آية 5

 wrapping the night about the day, and

wrapping the day about the night ^[40]

    

 سورة آل عمران آية 27

Thou makes the night enter into the day

and thou makes the day to enter into the night, ^[41]

 سورة يس آية 40

It behoves not the sun to overtake the moon, neither

does the night outstrip the day?

each swimming in a sky ^[42]

            

 سورة الزمر آية 5

He created the heavens and the earth in truth,

wrapping the night about the day, and

wrapping the day about the night:

and He has subjected the sun and the moon,

each of them running

to a stated term

is not He the All mighty, the All-forgiving? ^[43]

The word "wrap" or "surround", dose not give the true meaning in Arabic, which is "يكور  " for it is a derivative of the word "كره  " which means "ball". The word "ball" implies that the world is round, or the day and night would not have wrapped about each other. This image indicates that when the night prevails over one half of the earth, the day prevails over the other half. A fact, which was only discovered after the discovery of America; and after the progress of science and Man's ascension to outer space where he could see the earth half illuminated with daytime and the second half is dark, exactly as God has informed us more than 1400 years ago.

  

سورة الحجر آية 19

And the Earth- We stretched it forth, and cast

on it firm mountains,

and We caused to grow therein of every thing

justly weighed ^[44]

Sheikh Shaarawy, in his book "The Materialistic Proofs of God", explains this verse in a very witty way. He says that God does not denote a particular land, but land in general. This means that wherever you go, any place in the world, you find the earth stretched out, and this could not have happened if the earth was not really round. If the earth were rectangular or of any other geometrical shape you would have reached its edge; while the round shape is the only shape which has no edge, therefore whenever you go you find it stretched. This is the miraculous nature of the Holy Qur’an, it gives you an expression in one word suits the appearance of things and at the same time, it indicates a scientific fact.

سورة الغاشية الآيات 17-20

What, do they not consider how the camel was created,

how heaven was lifted up,

how the mountains were hoisted

how the earth was outstretched? ^[45]

  

God the Almighty, in this verse, and others, attracts our attention to the different signs of His power in His creation. God, in this verse, tells us is it not amazing that the earth is outstretched! We could not fully understand what is amazing about this fact and the implication of it until the age of science, when we came to know that the earth was round. Is it not amazing to find that this rounded earth is outstretched for our benefit! That is to say, what we have taken for granted is but one of His great signs.

---

[36] Chapter 13 verse 41

[37] chapter 79 verse 30

[38] chapter 27 verse 88

[39]  chapter 10 verse 24

[40]  chapter 39 verse 5

[41]  chapter 3 verse 27

[42] chapter 36 verse 40

[43] chapter 29 verse 5

[44]  chapter 15 verse 19

[45]  chapter 88 verse 17-20

THE SUN AND THE MOON

THE SUN AND THE MOON

سورة يونس آية 5

It is He who made the sun radiance

and the moon a light. (Chapter 10- verse 5)

سورة النبأ آية 13

And we appointed a blazing lamp.

(Chapter 78- verse 13)

سورة نوح آية 16

And set the moon therein for a light

and the sun for a lamp.

(Chapter 71- verse 16)

سورة الفرقان آية 61

Blessed be He

who has set  in heaven constellations, and has set

among them a lamp, and

an illuminating moon.

(Chapter 25-verse 61)

The sun is "the only self-luminous body in the entire Solar System. Moonlight results from the reflection of the sunlight back to space by the surface of the moon.”^[24]

The sun is compared to a lamp because it illuminates and heats the earth. Solar radiation decreases gradually on entering the earth's atmosphere because of "the scattering of light, or the scattering by air particles and other small ones floating in the air, and the absorption by the atomic oxygen in high altitudes and by the ozone gas, which is found at altitudes ranging from 15 to 45 kilometers.” ^[25]

But if we go through the earth's atmosphere up to the universal space, we will find it dark in spite of the sun's "appearance in one of the sky's corners.” That is to say the universal space is dark while half the earth is illuminated. This beautiful and awe-inspiring image reflects what is pictured in The Holy Qur’an. It pictures the day as if it is snatched from the night. In (Chapter 36 -verses 37- 38) God says:

سورة يس الآيات 37-38

And a sign for them is the night; We strip it of the

day and lo, they are in darkness.

And the sun- it runs to a fixed resting -place;

that is the ordaining of the All- mighty, the All-knowing.

Dr. El- Fandy says, "Originally, space is dark and daytime is nothing but an incidental matter…. This process does not occur except in the atmosphere of the earth and other similar planets" ^[26] God, in The Holy Qur’an, makes it very clear that darkness is the prevailing phenomenon in the universe which should be blocked out to give way to day-light. This universal fact is pictured in The Holy Qur’an in chapter 17 verse 12

سورة الاسراء آية 12

We have appointed the night and the day

as two signs’ then We have blotted out

the sign of the night, and made the sign

of the day to see, and that you may seek

bounty from your Lord, and that you may know

the number of the years and the reckoning;

and everything We have distinguished very distinctly.

In (chapter 36) verse 40, God informs us that each planet or star swims in its own orbit, and following a very accurate system:

سورة يس آية 40

                                   

It behoves not the sun to overtake the moon; neither

does the night outstrip the day,

each swimming in a sky.

   

The sun and the other members of the solar system must have an appointed time to cease. Dr. Maurice Bucaille in his book says:

The sun is a star that is roughly 4 ½ billion years old according to experts in astrophysics. It is possible to distinguish a stage in its evolution, as one can for all the stars. At present, the sun is at an early stage, characterized by the transformation of hydrogen atoms into helium atoms. Theoretically, this present stage should last another 5½ billion years according to calculations that allow a total of 10 billion years for the duration of the primary stage in a star of this kind.

It has already bean shown, in the case of these other stars, that this stage gives way to a second period characterized by the completion of the transformation of hydrogen into helium, with the resulting expansion of its external layers and the cooling of the sun. In the final stage, its light is greatly diminished and density considerably increased; this is to be observed in the type of stars known as a "white dwarf." ^[27]

He goes on adding,

…… the violent implosion of certain stars has been observed so that they become veritable “corpses”

In chapter 31 verse 29 God states this scientific theory in a very simple way:

سورة لقمان

Hast thou not seen how that God makes the night to enter into the day

and makes the day to enter into the night

and He has subjected the sun and the moon each of them running

to a stated term,

and that God is aware of what you do

And in chapter 35 verse (13) God says:

He makes the night to enter into the day

and makes the day to enter into the night

and He has subjected the sun and the moon , each of them running

to a stated term.

That is God your Lord; to Him belongs the Kingdom;

and these you call upon , apart from Him, possess

Not so much as the skin of a date – stone.

To the infinity of the universe, God says:

سورة الواقعة الآيات 75 – 78

No! I swear by the falling of stars  ^[28]

(and this is indeed a mighty oath, did

you but know it)

it is surely a noble Qur’an

in a hidden book

(chapter 56 verses 75-78)

In order to know the power of this oath we have to know something about the immensely vast universe with its galaxies and stars. Dr. Mahgary ^[29] says that there are billions of galaxies and in each galaxy billions of stars. In our galaxy there are 500 billion stars.

All these billions of stars move in a fixed system and in an assigned orbit around the center of the galaxy. They move with different speeds, which increase as they approach the center of the galaxy. Dr. El Mahgary adds that in spite of this great number of stars it is very rare that a star collides with another.

To what extend is this oath a great one, one must refer also to the unimaginable distances between galaxies. Dr. M. Hassab El Naby, in his book "The Glorious Qur’an and Modern Science”, says that “The diameter of ‘our’ galaxy may span  100,000 light years.” If this is the case with one galaxy, so what could be the distance of the whole universe, when we know that it includes billions of galaxies!!!

He says in the same book that “the 200 – inch mirror telescope at Mount Palomar can now photograph countless galaxies (islands of stars) lying beyond a distance of 300 million light years!”

No wonder, therefore that God Almighty swears by the location or the sites of stars, that The Holy Qur’an is but His Noble Book.

The order of the universe is always in flawless motion. The birth and death of stars occupy quite a large part in The Holy Qur’an. God swears by the falling star, in order to prove that prophet Mohammed “is not astray, neither errs.” Now in the (21^st we, have come to know the extent of this oath and how mighty it is.

God also swears by the falling of stars that prophet Mohammed did not err..

سورة النجم الآيات 1 – 5

By the star  when it plunges,

your comrade is not astray, neither errs,

nor speaks he out of caprice.

This is naught but a revelation revealed,

taught him by one terrible in power,

very strong; (chapter 53 – 1 –5)

He also swears by the heaven and the “piercing star”, and when God swears by something it should be as great and as important as the oath itself:

سورة الطارق الآيات 1-4

By heaven and the night-star!^[30]

And what shall teach thee what is the night-star?

The piercing star!

Over every soul there is a watcher.

Chapter 86 (1-4)

We have to deal with these two verses together as they denote the same natural phenomenon i.e. the death of stars.

The primary elements in a star like our sun, or even bigger are hydrogen and helium. When the hydrogen expires it indicates that the big star is passing from the stage of youth to old age. In order to die, this big star passes through different stages: A Red Giant, a White Dwarf, a Neutron star, then in the final stage it becomes a Black Hole in the dark sky.

The falling star is but a Red giant that collapses on itself. Dr. M. H. El Naby in his book “The Glorious Qur’an and Modern Science”, says that the red giant stage of our sun will appear as God describes in chapter 55 verses 36 – 37.

O which of your Lord’s bounties will you and you deny?

And when heaven is split asunder,

and turns crimson like red leather

He goes on, to say:

Here the red color may point to the red giant’s hot surface which will raise the temperature of the earth to about 4000 C causing seas to boil, explode and evaporate. Moreover the water vapor may be analyzed into hydrogen and oxygen, causing fire due to rapid ignition of hydrogen-oxygen mixture! This may explain the following verses:

سورة الإنفطار الآيات 1-3

When heaven is split open,

when the stars are scattered,

when the seas swarm over, (exploded)

chapter 82 (verses 1-3)

when the seas shall be set boiling

Chapter 81 verse 6

A Red Giant is a large Red Star at least ten times the diameters of the sun. Stars like the sun when they grow old swell up into Red giants.

When the nuclear reaction in the center of the star stops, with the formation of iron, the source of energy disappears. Then the balance of the matter inside the star becomes imbalanced and the star contracts and shrinks under the power of its gravity, and its diameter becomes a few thousand kilometers, whereas it previously measured billions of kilometers. Consequently its density increases greatly and it dwindles and becomes a White Dwarf.

During the quick shrinking process, the White Star’s power of movement is transformed into energy. So, its temperature increases and becomes one hundred thousand (absolute degree). The star starts to radiate white faint beams until its energy and its temperature drop gradually. Then it contracts greatly until it becomes a Neutron star whose diameter does not exceed twenty kilometers. Its density is unbelievably great to the extent that a neutron ball as big as a football weights fifty thousand billion tons.

Dr. El. Mahgary goes on to say that the first Neutron star was discovered in 1968, when an American student was able to register radio signals from outer space, by a radio telescope, which was capable of registering radio signals from huge distances. In the seventies astronomers were able to register several stars that send regular radio signals in the form of “Peep, Peep, Peep. “ They called them “Pulsars”, but later discovered that they were but Neutron Stars. Pulsars spin rapidly and every time they spin, give out rapid flashes of radiation like lighthouse beams. Do you not agree with me that these “pulsars” beat the vacuum with their “Peep, Peep, Peep”?

Neutron stars also dwindle and contract into Black Holes in the dark sky. Its gravity becomes immensely great to the extent that nothing can escape from it not even light.

Dr.El. Mahgary compares finding a Black Hole in the dark sky to trying to find a black cat in a pitch black room. No one can find it unless it mews.

He goes on to say, that the first thread that led scientists to find Black Holes were screams for help which energy releases on approaching a Black Hole. When energy comes closer to a Black Hole its temperature increases greatly and its cries reach us in the form of X-rays. We can see that Black Holes pierce the vacuum and our atmosphere with X-rays. The second thread that leads us to Black Holes is their immense gravity. Naturally they affect, nearby bodies. So astronomers registered several stars rotating around something which could not be seen and which they could identify as Black Holes.

Dr. Mansour Hassab El Naby in his book “The Glorious Qur’an and Modern Science” says that Black Holes are “a case of complete gravitational collapse”.

God swears in chapter 81 verse 15 by the running sweepers:

سورة التكوير الآية 15

No! I swear by the slinkers^[31]

The runners, the sinkers ^[32]

God here compares Black Holes to the “running sweepers” i.e. they sweep the space within their gravitational range. ”They are actually cosmic vacuum cleaners” as called in astrophysics.”

According to The Holy Qur’an and science the inhabitants of the earth will witness only the first stage in the death of our sun i.e. the Red Giant stage. This is because it will expand, as mentioned before, that it will reach our moon and devour it. Hence its extremely hot temperature will reach our earth making any kind of life impossible.

The cracking of the moon is scientifically expected "in the far future. The tidal forces between the earth and the moon play an important role in the earth-moon system. If the moon approaches the earth, under certain expected conditions, then the difference in gravitation on both sides of the moon can be sufficient to cleave or crack it." ^[33]

سورة القمر آية 1، 2

In chapter 54 verse 1&2 God says:

The Hour has drawn nigh: the moon is split

yet if they see a sign they turn away, and they say

‘A continuous sorcery!’

The sun is the central body in the solar system and it controls the motion of all the bodies in the system. The solar system maintains its common features as long as the sun "remains in equilibrium and does not explode." ^[34]

Dr. El - Fandy goes on adding:

   

Astronomically speaking, the earth and the solar system are not

eternal. The whole matter will come to an end when the sun

suddenly expands or explodes such that its outer

atmosphere ( * 6,000 degrees absolute) fills the whole space

extending up to the orbit of the earth and its moon.

Such phenomenon is observed taking place in heavens. ^[35]

When the sun catches the moon, the earth's temperature will exceed 100° C, a matter that makes life on earth impossible. In chapter 75 verses 6-10 God informs us about doomsday. He says:

سورة القيامة الآيات 6 – 10

Asking, "when shall be the Day of resurrection?"

But when the sight is dazed

and the moon is eclipsed,

and the sun and the moon are brought together,

upon that day man shall say, "whither to flee?"

No indeed:  not a refuge!

Dr. Mansour Hassab El Naby in his book “The Glorious Qur’an and Modern Science”, says apart from the sun the moon undoubtfully influences the earth:

As water ebbs and flows in the shallow seas, it drags against the sea floor. The ocean bulges lying on either side of the Earth act as a pair of huge brake shoes on the rotating solid planet beneath.

He goes on to say that this effect is so slow to the extent that the day on earth 4500 million years ago was only four hours!! But now due to the tidal effect, it has become 24 hours.

On the other hand the moon itself will be greatly affected by the earth’s gravitation. He says:

The tidal force plays an important part in the Earth – Moon system. As the Earth rotates, friction between the seabeds and the water in them not only slows it down, but also pulls the tidal bulges slightly ahead of the Earth-Moon line. As a result, the Moon feels a slight extra tug in a forward direction from the gravitation of the displaced tidal bulges, which results in a gradual increase in its orbit, it is very slowly spiraling away from us! The rate is again small,… Thus the energy lost by the rotating Earth is transferred to the moon’s orbital energy. The day and the lunar month are thereby lengthening at different rates and the state of affairs in the remote past and in the remote future has been recently calculated giving information that the moon will approach the Earth in the future so that the difference of gravitation on both sides of the moon will be sufficient to cleve it asunder!

It is true that according to scientific calculation the cleavage of the moon will take place in the remote future yet, "other factors, such as a probable change in the universal gravitation, may reinforce and accelerate its occurrence”. This is a sign of the approach of “The HOUR” “and a pre-incident of the total disruption of the whole Universe!”

Dr. M. Hassab El Naby in his book "The Universe, and Scientific Miracles in the Qur’an" says that practical scientific news is not encouraging. Scientists nowadays examine a riddle called neutrino. This neutrino implies that the sun has stopped its nuclear reaction. As a result neutrino in the expected quantity, which results from nuclear fusion   inside the sun, does not reach us. The writer wonders whether the sun has stopped its nuclear reaction as a step towards stellar evolution before becoming a Red Giant? Or, is the sun passing – at the present time – through a very dusty area which when colliding with the sun’s surface raises its temperature? That could be why it has stopped, temporarily its nuclear reaction. No one knows the secret of that riddle. What unravels this riddle is what he writes in his book "The Glorious Qur’an and Modern Science”.

Some astronomers such as John Brandt in his book "New Horizons in Astronomy " (1972) says that humanity must prepare enough space-ships before the Red Giant stage  of the sun is reached, to enable all the people to escape from the earth to another planet that is far away from the sun!!

What modern scientists here have acknowledged reminds me of the verse in The Holy Qur’an

Asking “when shall be the Day of Resurrection?”

But when the sight is dazed

and the moon is eclipsed,

and the sun and the moon are brought together,

upon that day man shall say,” whether to flee”?

No indeed not a refuge!

---

[24]  "Islam and Science "book -VI

[25]  "Cosmic Verses in The Qur'an" by Dr. M.J. El-Fandy

[26] "Cosmic Verses in The Qur'an" by Dr. M.J. El-Fandy

[27] “The Bible, the Qur’an and Science”, by Dr. Maurice Bucaille.

[28] The translation is totally wrong (مواقع النجوم ())  means location, position or sites of stars.

[29] “Qur’anic Verses in the Light of Science “ by Dr. Yehya Said El Mahgary.

[30] الطارق means knocking or beating – pulsating

[31]  Hidden or concealed.

[32] the correct translation in this verse is “the running sweepers” the verb “يكنس” means to sweep

[33]  “Islam and Science”, book VI

[34]  “Islam and Science”, book VI

[35] “Islam and Science”, book VI

* N.B. Inside the sun the temperature exceeds 20 million degrees!!

THE SKY

THE SKY

The "sky" as used in The Holy Qur’an is the atmosphere that surrounds our earth and the blue dome, which we see above us. While the word "skies" or "heavens” denotes what surrounds all heavenly bodies in the universe.

The sky as mentioned in The Holy Qur’an beside its charm and the beautiful sight we always watch day and night has multiple scientific benefits for man. As for the benefits of day and night they are known to everybody nowadays. But, how this day and night happens to be, is one of God's wonders and signs.

Dr. M.G. El-Fandy says that The Holy Qur’an (1) "quotes the (facts) that reflect on the glory of organization, grandeur of creation, precision, supreme cohesion of purpose, proof of Divine, unique intelligence and elimination of the so-called "accidental ^[19] creation" God states in "Chapter 21" verse 32:

سورة الأنبياء الآية 32

And we set up the heaven as a roof

well- protected; yet still from our signs

they are turning away.

Dr. El-Fandy in the same book says:

    

The earth’s roof is its atmosphere. It is composed of a mixture of gases, which are preserved and not allowed to escape into space due to the relatively large gravity of the earth. This condition could not be realized on the moon, which lost its roof and thus became roofless, due to its relatively small gravitational force. In this way the moon soon lost the water of its oceans and seas. It evaporated into the vast space.

The earth's atmosphere or roof provides vital services to all living creatures on earth:

1)    It contains oxygen  necessary for the life of both the animals and the plant kingdoms, as well as Man’s   

2)    It carries water vapour from the earth’s surface up to the upper layers of the atmosphere where clouds form   and give rain. This process involves the source of fresh water on earth.

3)    It contains the carbon dioxide gas, which is absorbed by plants receiving sunlight by day to form sugar, starch, oil ……

4)    Sound waves propagate through the air, thus we can hear the voice of each other. This is not the case on the moon.

5)    Daylight is due to the scattering and diffuse reflection of sunrays in the thin air layer extending from the earth's surface up to 200 kilometers and facing the sun. This layer may be referred to as the (skin-layer). The rest of the atmosphere and space are dark and dim. As the earth rotates the skin-layer keeps facing the sun and appears as though it is flayed from the body of the atmosphere. ^[20]

Thus we can see that the scattering of sunlight is the reason behind daytime on earth. If we ascend outside the atmosphere of the earth, we find that the universal space is dark in spite of the fact that the sun is there. This means that the light is snatched from the night. In this respect God says in "chapter 36" verse 37:

 سورة يس آية 37

And a sign for them is the night; we strip it of the

day and lo, they are in darkness.

                 

And in "chapter17" verse 12 God states:

 سورة الإسراء آية 12

We have appointed the night and the day

as two signs; then we have blotted out

the sign of the night, and made the sign

of the day to see, and that you may seek

bounty from your Lord, and that you may know

the numbers of the years, and the reckoning;

and everything we have distinguished

very distinctly.

These two verses show that night is the original phenomenon in the universe and daylight is not but the scattering of sunrays in the lowest layer of the atmosphere.  "This means that the blue sky at day time is but an optical phenomenon."

God has, in The Holy Qur’an, described the atmosphere that surrounds the earth in a very simple, but highly scientific way. In (chapter 13) verse 2 God states clearly that:

سورة الرعد آية 2

God is He who raised up the heavens

without pillars you can see,

      

And in (chapter 31) verse 10, God repeats the same idea saying:

سورة لقمان آية 10

He created the heavens without pillars

you can see, and He has cast on earth

firm mountains, lest it shake with you,

Is not the atmosphere that surrounds the earth (and other heavenly bodies) is raised without pillars which we can see; but which we can identify now as the earth's gravity? The word "heavens" here means the entire universe with all its planets, stars and galaxies where each swims in its own orbit. In (chapter 21) verse 33, God says, "All revolve in orbits", and in "Chapter 36" verse40, God says” each swims along/in (its own) orbit."

These divine verses include accurate scientific meanings:

1)      All celestial bodies run in orbits and are bound by gravity. And they keep “their relative positions by centrifugal force and universal gravity”.

2)      By God's will and mercy, He has built an atmospheric belt or cover that surrounds the earth to protect it from cosmic rays and bands of meteorites which run at a very high "speed of about 45 miles per second ". Dr. El -Fandy in his book “Cosmic Verses in The Qur'an", adds "Although the size of such a meteorite will not exceed at all the size of one particle of sand, it causes direct injury, in case it collides with a human body no less in damage than any resulting form a direct fire shot”. He goes on adding that thousands of millions of meteorites fall "every day down to the upper atmosphere of the earth, when the latter penetrates their path. But these meteorites soon evaporate or burn out…. The atmospheric cover protects us from their dangers. The same happens to meteors, but because of the big size of some of them, meteors sometimes reach the earth." The most famous ones are: The big Siberian Meteor (1908) and the one that fell down on Arizona.   

If this is the image of the outside universe, it is but natural that space travelers should be in great danger and must be very cautious. To this danger God says in chapter 72 verses 8-9

سورة الجن الآيات 8 – 9

And we stretched towards heaven, but we

found it filled with terrible guards and meteors.

We would sit there on seats to hear; but

any listening now finds a meteor in wait

for him.

And in (chapter 55) verses 33-35 God says:

سورة الرحمن الآيات 33 – 35

O tribe of jinn and of men, if you are able to

pass through the confines of heaven and earth,

pass through them! You shall not pass through

except with an authority. ^[21]

O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny?

against you shall be loosed

a flame of fire, and molten

brass: and you  shall not be helped.       

These two verses show the following:

1)      The "universal space is not an absolute vacuum"

2)      That " around the earth there are complete bands or belts containing big assemblies of electronic kept in space under the effect of the earth's magnetic field. These electrons are ejected from the sun with great energy. No living body can expose itself to such bands nor penetrate them without great    precautions ….. Here, again, the atmospheric cover of the earth hinders such rays from reaching us". ^[22]

3)      To overcome such danger scientists only in this century discovered what is called the geometry of space. Concerning this point Dr. El- Fandy says "according to the general theory of Relativity, the geometry of space is affected by the presence of matter in it, and travelling in space is thus accomplished in curved lines”. The Holy Qur’an miraculously introduces the verb "Ya  a ruj" which means to move in curved lines and not in straight ones.

Now, we know that in the geometry of space, there are no straight lines; and The Holy Qur’an as always has been ahead of time and science, says in (chapter 70) verses 3-4.

المعارج الآيات 3 – 4

From God, the Lord of the Stairways/Ma'arig/

To him the angels and the spirit mount up in a day /yaaruj/

whereof the measure is fifty thousand years.

And in (chapter 34) verse 2 God says:

 سورة سبأ آية 2

He knows what penetrates into the earth, and

what comes forth from it

what comes down from heaven and what goes up to it/ya’aruj/

He is the All-Compassionate, the All-forgiving.

Controversies take place everywhere as to whether there is any sort of life outside our planet or not. And ,I think there must be  other creatures whether more or less intelligent than us. I  say this, because God has not created this infinite universe with its billions of galaxies only for the benefit of a gang of unthankful human beings. In many verses, The Holy Qur’an, speaks about those in the heavens" and those on "earth". In "chapter 3" verse 83 God says:

  سورة آل عمران آية 83

Seek they then other than Allah's religion? And

to Him submitted whoever in the heavens and

the earth.

And in "Chapter 16" verse 49 God says:

 سورة النحل آية 49

To God bows everything in the heavens, and every

creature crawling on the earth, and the angels.

they have not waxed proud ……

Here is another translation from book IV "Islam and Science" it reflects The Holy Qur’an more correctly:

And to Allah makes obedience every living creature

that is in the heavens and that is in the earth and

the angels(too) and they are not proud

In "chapter 17" there are two verses 44 & 55 that deal with the same idea:

سورة سبأ آية 44 ، 55

The seven heavens and the earth, and whosoever

in them is extol Him …….. (verse 44)

 

And thy Lord knows very well all

who are in the heavens and the earth; (verse 55)

And in "Chapter 27" in verses 65&87 God says:

سورة النمل آية 65

Say : none knows the Unseen in the heavens and earth

except God.

and they are not aware

when they shall be raised;

"verse 65"

 سورة النمل آية 87

On the day the Trumpet is blown, and terrified is whosoever

is in the heavens and the earth, excepting whom God wills,

and every one shall come to Him, all utterly abject;

(The Ant- verse 87)

  

In Chapter 42 God makes it possible that those on earth and those in heaven could meet. In verse 29 God says :

 سورة الشورى آية 29

And of His signs

is the creation of the heavens and the earth

and the crawling things He has scattered abroad in them;

and He is able to gather them whenever He will

We can detect from the previous verses the following:

1)      The existence of beings outside our planet.

2)      To those who might say that angels inhabit heavens, God differentiates very clearly between angels and other creatures in chapter 16 verse 49.

3)      At God’s will, the encounter between the inhabitants of the earth and other planets could happen.

Here is an Islamic challenge to scientists and astronauts to try very hard to explore and find those inhabitants before more intelligent creatures could find us.

Dr. M. Hassab El Naby has an interesting interpretation of some verses in the Holy Our’an and which enriches and adds to what is written previously. He says that:

The conquest of space is hinted at directly without any trace of ambiguity in the following verses:

 سورة الرحمن الآيات  33 - 35

O tribe of Jinn and of men if you are able to

pass through the confines of heaven and earths,

pass through them! You shall not pass through

except with an authority

O which of your Lord’s bounties will you and you deny?

Against you shall be loosed

a flame of fire, and molten

brass and you shall not be helped.

Chapter 55 verses 33 – 35

Here the Jinns and men are addressed collectively indicating that they cannot possibly escape out of the Zones of the earth and heavens without power from God.  They should, therefore, be grateful to God for the chances of the conquest of space, He the exalted gas given them!^[23]

He goes on proving that God in The Holy Qur’an has hinted at space travel. He illustrates it with two verses.(Chapter 36 verses 41 – 44):

سورة يس الآيات 41 - 44

And a sign for them is that We carried their seed

in the laden ship,

and We have created for them the like of it

whereon they ride;

and if We will, We drawn them,

then none have they to cry to

neither they are delivered

save as a mercy from Us, and enjoyment for a while

Is it by chance that scientists call the machine that carries them through space a “ship”, and is it by mere coincidence that God says “and We have created for them the like of it / whereon they ride;” What completes this images is what God says in chapter 84 verses 16 – 19. He says:

   سورة الإنشقاق الآيات 16 - 19

No I swear by the twilight

and the night and what it envelopes

and the moon when it is at full,

you shall surely ride stage after stage

Dr. M. Hassab El Naby refers to science in explaining these two verses, he says:

…. In the Apollo II trip, Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins at 9.32 am, July 16, 1969, were launched on a mission that will be long remembered in history. The vehicle was the mighty Saturn 5 rocket, one of the most awe - inspiring machines ever made. As tall as a 35-story skyscraper, the rocket produced is thrust of about 3800 tons and it carried at its top the Apollo II spaceship, in which the lunar lander and the mother ship were included. A speed of nearly 7 miles per second (2500 miles per hour) has been attained by the spacecraft to escape from the earth’s gravitation and to travel a distance of about 240,000 miles to reach the moon. The lunar lander carried Armstrong and Aldrin to the surface of the moon while Collins waited for them in the mother ship in orbit around the moon. In the return trip the lunar lander approached the mother ship… the moon walkers transferred to the command module and all three astronauts headed for home! Such Apollo trips to the moon from stage to stage and from vessel to vessel are hinted at in the Glorious Qur’an

He goes on giving us the different meanings of the Arabic word "طبق". It could mean a stage or a layer of heaven or just a vessel. Actually the word means them all:

This new comment is scientifically accurate because the spacecraft had to ascend through the atmospheric layers, mainly troposphere, ozonosphere, thermosphere and exosphere. In this case the Arabic word (tabag) may be translated as “layer”. It may also be translated as vessel, because the astronauts had to ride a vessel after vessel either in the form of the five-stages rockets or in the form of the spaceship which includes the Lunar lander and the mother ship as explained before.

Dr. M. Hassab El Naby says that the trip to the moon is within our reach. But it is impossible for man to travel to most distant “planets of other stars”. He goes on explaining that:

…the nearest star (Alpha Centauri) is 4.2 light years i.e. 39.9 million km, indicating that it is impossible for us to reach. Moreover there are many dangers in space such as astroid belt, cosmic rays…and other unknown dangers.

……………………………….

No one knows the safety range in the heavens, yet the Glorious Qur’an points to a certain danger which may, in my point of view, indicate a nuclear reaction between copper and fast protons producing the antiprotons or antimatter, which in case of collision with matter causes annihilation! (refer to chapter 55 verses 33-35)

سورة الرحمن الآيات 33 - 35

O tribe of Jinn and of men if you are able to

pass through the confines of heaven and earths,

pass through them! You shall not pass through

except with an authority

O which of your Lord’s bounties will you and you deny?

Against you shall be loosed.

A flame of fire, and molten

brass and you shall not be helped.

---

[19] Islam and Science"  book Ш, Prof. Dr.M.G. El - Fandy

[20] Islam and Science"  book Ш, Prof. Dr.. M.G. El - Fandy

[21] The authority of God.

[22] “On cosmic verses in the Qur’an”, Dr. M.J. El Fandy

[23] "The Glorious Qur'an and Modern Science.” By Dr. M. Hassab el Naby.