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Quran and Modern Science; From Innovation to Annihilation of the Universe

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اؽز ـ اـ اؽز ﴾١﴿ثك

In the name of Allah (God), Most Gracious, Most merciful

Dedicated to: The precious, virtuous and touching memories

of my beloved parents, my courageous late mentor and every

truth seeking soul

Naser M. Oria

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I was working as a physician in the beautiful Pacific Northwest Seattle, Washington. We have three wonderful children and they were five, four and one year old at that time. My wife and I always intended to live in a locale where the children grow up in an environment that the circle of friends, share common moral, ethical and cultural values. On a dear friend‘s suggestion and insistence my family and I moved to Texas where I got a permanent job as a physician. The family adjusted to the new town, environment and friends fairly quickly. At a welcome party at my friend‘s he handed me a book titled ―Qur‘an and modern Science‖. It was precisely the kind of book that I was in search of and was long overdue. A remarkable book with such a fascinating subject matter that I could not let go without reading it cover to cover. I read the book over and over and the more I read it the more stunning and thought provoking it became. The book was in Dari language which was limiting its readers more or less to a specific geographical region. I thought the availability of its English version will serve a larger group of inquisitive and curious minds facing such challenging questions on very intriguing and complicated topics from a very unique and peculiar perspective. After communication with the compiler and writer of the book, I decided to translate this incredibly essential and inspiring book into English in the current format with some modifications and additions. I emphatically believe that this will shed some light on certain miraculously stated facts that has been challenging mankind for generations that have been inadvertently or deliberately ignored by billions. I am sure that the book, particularly on such a touchy and sensitive topic, is far from perfect and I wholeheartedly welcome, value and appreciate any constructive criticism, critique and comments.

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I greatly value the immense support and encouragement that I have always enjoyed from my virtuous and superb wife and children including the accomplishment of this mission.

Naser M. Oria, M.D, M.S

naseroria@yahoo.com

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First things first:

The following English translations of the meaning of the Holy Qur‘an are used in the English version of this book. Here is a very brief introduction of their authors:

Abdullah Yusuf Ali (AYA): The English translation of the meaning of the holy Qur‘an by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. Mr. Ali, (14 April 1872 – 10 December 1953) was an Indian scholar who translated the meaning of the Holy Qur‘an into English. His translation of the Qur‘an ranks alongside the translation of Marmaduke Pickthall (An English Muslim Scholar) as one of the most widely-known and used worldwide. Ali was born in Gujarat in ―British India‖ to a wealthy merchant family. As a child, he received religious education and, eventually became a Hafiz (memorizer of Qur'an). He was fluent in both Arabic and English languages. He studied English literature and attended several European universities, including the University of Leeds. He concentrated his efforts on the Qur'an and studied the Qur'anic commentaries beginning with those written in the early days of Islamic history. Yusuf Ali's best-known work is his book The Holly

Qur’an: Text, translation and Commentary, begun in 1934. While on tour to promote his translation, Ali helped to open the Al-Rashid Mosque, the third mosque in North America, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, in December 1938. Ali was an outspoken supporter of the Indian contribution to the Allied effort in World War I. He was a respected intellectual in India and Sir Mohammad Iqbal recruited him to be the principal of Islamia College in Lahore, ―British India‖. Later in life, he again went and lived in England where he died in London in 1953. He is buried in England at the Muslim cemetery at Brookwood, Surrey, near Woking, not far from the burial place of Mr. Pickthall).

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1. Marmaduke (Mohammed) Pickthall (MP); April 7, 1875 – May 19, 1936, was a Western Islamic scholar, noted as translator of the meaning of Qur‘an into English. A revert from Christianity, Pickthall was a novelist, esteemed by D. H. Lawrence, H. G. Wells, and E. M. Forster as well as a journalist, headmaster, and political and religious leader. He declared his Islam in a dramatic fashion after delivering a talk on ‗Islam and Progress' on November 29, 1917, to the Muslim Literary Society in Notting Hill, West London. He was also involved with the services of the Woking Muslim Mission in the absence of its founder, Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din).

2. Sahih International (SI): English translation of the meaning of the Holy Qur‘an by a team of three American ladies from Minnesota, California and Florida.

The Sahih International Team:

In 1989 three American converts (or more appropriate term reverts) to Islam joined together to form the Sahih International team. Initially established to edit and typeset Islamic literature in English submitted by authors to Dar Abul-Qasim of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Shortly thereafter the group began to translate and author material of its own as well. Their most notable work was published in 1997 – a translation of the meaning of Qur‘an (Sahih

International) which is considered by many one of the most accurate translations of the meaning of Qur‘an available in English. Another highly acclaimed book by Sahih International team is Clear Your Doubts About Islam: 50 Answers to Common Questions, which is now being used as part of the da‗wah training program at GainPeace.com in the USA.

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Director: Amatullah J. Bantley who holds a degree in Business Management was born in Rochester, Minnesota in 1966. She embraced Islam at the age of 20. In 1995 she founded The Path

to Knowledge, which held exclusive distributorship for Dar Abul-Qasim publications in the USA for five years. During that time she also oversaw the donation of copies of Qur‘an and Islamic books to educational institutions throughout the United States including public and private universities, prison libraries, and Islamic schools. When the previous owner closed Dar Abul-Qasim in 2005 due to poor health, Amatullah wished to reopen it in hope of sharing the knowledge she had learned while working with the publisher. After overcoming many obstacles, she obtained its ownership in 2007 and now hopes to bring Dar Abul-Qasim into the international arena, concentrating on authentic, well-written Islamic reading material. She also hopes to establish a charitable foundation to provide books to libraries and Islamic institutions with limited financial resources.

Translator: Umm Muhammad, Aminah Assami was born in southern California in 1940 who embraced Islam in 1974 in Syria after completing intensive Arabic language courses. In 1981 she moved to Saudi Arabia, and teaches Tafseer (commentary on Qur‘an) and basic Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) at the Islamic Cultural Center in Jeddah since 1991. She has authored and/or revised more than 70 Islamic books in English, mostly for Dar Abul-Qasim. Her precise translation skills and effective writing style has gained her an impressive reputation appreciated by a dedicated reading audience. Some of her bestselling titles are The Global Messenger, Realities of Faith, The Path to Prayer, The Marriage Procedure in Islam, The Forty Hadith of al-Iman an-Nawawi (in which each Hadith is accompanied by explanatory notes), and From the Guidance of Surah Al-Yaseen.

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English Editor: Mary M. Kennedy was born in Orlando, Florida in 1965 and graduated from Florida State University in 1986 with an English/Business Pre-Law major. She embraced Islam in 1985. Her expertise in the English language has been a valuable asset to the team‘s production of appealing literature. Having been on leave for several years, she returned at the beginning of 2009 to continue her work with Sahih International Team.

3. “The Message of the Qur’an” a translation of the meaning of the Holy Qur‘an by Muhammad Asad (MA) formerly known as Leopold Weiss. Muhammad Asad (1900–1992), an Austrian Jew who reverted to Islam, was a 20th century thinker, journalist, writer, social critic, linguist, reformer, diplomat, political theorist, translator and scholar. He was one of the 20th century's most influential European Muslims. In 1947, Asad was given Pakistani citizenship by the newly established Muslim state of Pakistan and was appointed as the Director of the Department of Islamic Reconstruction by the Government of Pakistan where he made recommendations on the drafting of Pakistan's first Constitution. In 1949, he joined Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs as head of the Middle East Division and, in 1952 he was appointed Pakistan's Minister Plenipotentiary to the United Nations in New York. Muhammad Asad is famously known for his two publications - "The Road to Mecca", a biographical account of his life up to the age of 32, his conversion to Islam from Judaism and his journey to Mecca and his magnum opus, "The Message of the

Qur'an", a translation and commentary of the sacred book of Islam, the Qur‘an.

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Contents:

Preface

Is interpretation of science in light of Qur‘anic Verses permissible?

Chapter One:

The universe

Creation of the universe or the big bang theory

The history of the Big Bang theory

Few words about Quran and Big Bang

Initially the Universe was full of smolder or smoke

The Expanding Universe

Hubble's solid Evidences

The Hidden Force of Matter

The robust and form columns of the universe

The columns of the systems

The invisible columns of Milky Ways

The invisible columns of the entire Universe as a whole

The sun (example of a star)

Nuclear interactions

The volume of stars

History of solar system

The fate of solar system (fire and destruction)

Black hole

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Quasars

Magnitude and enormity of the universe

Telescope, a window towards ancient history

The age of the universe

Beyond the universe and its relation to human beings

The fate of the universe (fire and destruction)

The colossal collapse of the universe

Chapter Two:

The earth

Pivotal movement of the earth

Is earth the only planet hosting life

Atmosphere of the earth

The significance of atmosphere of the earth

Descent of iron to the earth

Descent of water to the earth

Oceans, the largest reservoir of water

The significance of oceans for the earth

Formation of oceans and continents

Invisible membranes between oceanic water

Darkness of the deep oceans

Mountains and their formation

The significance of mountains

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Chapter three:

Moon and its characteristics

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Preface (from Dari language compiler): All glory and praise is due to Allah, the sustainer and cherisher of the heavens and the earth and salute to his last and final messenger, Mohammad Mustafa Peace Be Upon Him (PBUH). The Holy Qur‘an is neither a Book merely descriptive of science, nor this Book is sent to describe history, geography or philosophy. In fact, Qur‘an is the ultimate, authentic and valid divine Book sent for guidance of the whole of mankind, which will shine till the day of resurrection. As God reminds us in Surah Al-Baqara; Ayahs1-2:

غه اىزبة ب ؼت ﴾١﴿امل زمني ف ﴾٢﴿عي A.L.M., This (Qur‘an) is the Book; in it is guidance sure, without doubt, to those who regard (righteous people) Allah. (2; 1-2) AYA The purpose of the revelation of Qur‘an is intellectual as well as practical guidance of mankind. This could be in the form of individual, societal or scientific guidance for the advancement and progress of humanity. As God says in the Qur‘an, Surah Al-Ibrahim (Abraham); Ayah 1:

اؽ بد إ اىؼ ثئغ اف ـ ه زطؽج اب إ وزبة ؤؿبع صؽاغ امؿؿ اس إ ﴾١﴿ؼثه

A.L.R. A Book which We have revealed unto thee, in order that thou mightiest lead mankind out of the depths of darkness into light-by the leave of their Lord-to the way of (Him) the Exalted in Power, worthy of all Praise! (14; 1) AYA

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Surah Al-Hadid; Ayah 9:

بد إ اف آبد ثبد طؽخى لجع ى اػ ؿي ل اىؼ ؽءوف ؼز اـ ثى ﴾٩﴿وإ

He is the One Who sends to His Servant manifest Signs, that He may lead you from the depths of Darkness into the Light and verily, Allah is to you most kind and merciful. (57; 9) Abdullah Yusuf Ali

According to the abovementioned Ayahs (Verses), by revelation of Qur‘an, God guides mankind from darkness towards light. Some interpreters of the Qur‘an think that Qur‘an always mentions the word darkness in the plural and light in singular form for the reason that darkness includes various kinds of darkness. After the revelation of Qur‘an there is only one path of light or truth and that is the one that is pointed out by the Qur‘an and it is submission of one‘s will to God Almighty and no one else. Greediness, egocentricity, hatred, profiteering and worst of all repression, deception and infidelity are the various aspects of social and individual evils (darkness). Ignorance, in both of its explicit and implicit forms, is one of those evils that have broken the backbones of societies. For that reason, one of the numerous tasks of Quran is extermination of various kinds of ignorance. The first words revealed by God to Prophet Mohammad Peace Be

Upon Him was none other than ―Iqra‖ (الؽؤ) which mean ―read or

recite‖. Surah Al-Alaq Ayah 1:

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ؼثه اػ ضك ﴾١﴿الؽؤ ثبق Proclaim! (Read) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created (96; 1) AYA This direction to read or recite and learning in fact commands to the crushing of the magic spell of ignorance, the mother of all evils. There for it is concluded that knowledge, science and understanding are considered the core values and principle parts of the holy Qur‘an. There are about one thousand Ayahs (Verses) in the Holy Qur‘an describing scientific facts. The purpose of these Ayahs is to direct and lead mankind to discovery of intriguing scientific facts in light and guidance of the Qur‘an. Regrettably, in the last three centuries Muslims, due to their political, economical and scientific fall down distanced themselves from the teachings of Qur‘an while on the contrary, non-Muslim western scientists have made amazing discoveries in light of such Qur‘anic Ayahs. Keep in mind that the addressees of the Holy Qur‘an are not exclusively Muslims but the entire humanity. Therefore, whoever contributes to any discoveries or inventions in light of this divine Book, the Qur‘anic objectives are fulfilled. There are still many of the Qur‘anic Ayahs, which scholars are researching and cannot come up with the precise interpretation. Some scholars and interpreters of Qur‘an believe that since Qur‘an is the last and final of all of the divine Books and will be explaining newly discovered facts of each era till the day of judgment, if all of the Verses were interpreted it would have lost its attractiveness and novelty for the coming generations in the distant futures. Of the science-related Ayahs of Qur‘an, each one of them is explainer of a new fact at any given time. It is the above

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miraculous and mysterious nature of the Qur‘anic Ayahs that has astonished Islamic and non-Islamic scholars alike.

For a long time I was in search of a book regarding interpretation of science-related verses of Qur‘an in Dari language. Unfortunately, I did not come across such a book in Dari. To this day, I am not sure whether such a book has been written or published in Afghanistan. Eventually, I decided to put together such information in a book format. Initially, it seemed an extremely challenging task since I do not claim to be an expert on either science or Qur‘an. In spite of my apprehension, I was determined to start this project with the help of God. I thought to myself since this lofty objective is for a good cause then why panic?

I compiled most of the basic scientific information about the universe, solar system, earth, moon, plants, animals and embryology, using Encyclopedia Encarta, internet and some other books and materials listed in the bibliography of the book. I was cross matching these materials against Encyclopedia Encarta in order to prevent any potential errors or misunderstandings.

For compilation of science-related Ayahs (Verses) of Qur‘an, I used the Dehlawi Shikh Shah Waliullah‘s * translation of the meaning of Qur‘an and Abdullah Yusuf Ali‘s translation of the meaning and interpretation of Qur‘an with assistance from my brother, Engineer Samiullah Faiz who reviewed the Holly Qur‘an cover to cover and outlined all the Ayahs that were directly or indirectly related to science. Although the number of such Ayahs exceeded hundreds, I chose only the right to the point, science-related Ayahs, directly related to the universe and earth in order to prevent the book from becoming too voluminous. I intentionally avoided science-related Ayahs regarding plants, animals,

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creation, embryology and human development as I plan to compile these in a different book format under the title of ―Qur‘an and biology‖ if time permits.

(* Shah Waliullah Muhaddith Dehlvi [February 21, 1703 – August 20, 1762] was an Islamic scholar and reformer. He worked for the revival of Muslim rule and intellectual learning in South Asia, during a time of waning Muslim power. He despised the divisions and deviations within Islam and its practice in India and hoped to "purify" the religion and unify all Indian Muslims under the "banner of the truth". He is also thought to have anticipated a number of progressive, social, economic and political ideas of the modern era such as social reforms, equal rights, labor protection, welfare entitlement of all to food, clothing, housing, etc. Shah Waliullah is a descendent of the Quraish tribe of Arabia and his genealogy can be traced back to the second Khalifa of Islam, Omar Ibni Khatab on his paternal side. He was born in Phulat, a town in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India on February 21, 1703).

Praise and thanks to Allah (God Almighty), that the first edition of this book, in spite of its imperfection and some clerical errors, was welcomed by Afghans both inside and outside the country alike. This encouraged me to present, the second edition with some minor modifications and additions, to the truth seekers.

In the second edition, I have tried my best to preclude the clerical and grammatical errors of the first edition. Obviously this edition is not flawless either. In order to improve and avoid future mistakes,

I request and expect all the interested readers for their constrictive criticism and input.

In the second edition some other science-related Ayahs are added and with some additional explanations of scientific facts in

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a very simple manner in order to answer some basic questions for the beginners of the Qur‘anic studies.

Once again, I request all the readers and interested parties to send their proposals, comments, opinions, constructive criticism and critiques (vis-à-vis the Dari version of this book) to my email address listed at the end of this preface for improvement and needed corrections in future prints of this book.

I want to inform my Pashto-speaking sisters and brothers that the Pashto translation of this book will be available in the near future and its English translation in the distant future.

At the end, I want to thank my sister, my brothers and my wife for their cooperation and assistance in the compilation of some of the related material and their encouragement.

I request that Allah (God Almighty) grant any spiritual rewards this book may deserve, to the soul of my beloved late mother who with her untimely departure from this world on my brother‘s wedding day put us all to yet a tougher test of patience and endurance. A dedicated mother who always put others first and who offered her family a wonderful bride on the day of her departure from this world.

God bless her soul.

Sincerely, Khalilullah Faiz Sawr 10th 1386 (2007) Khalil_faiz@yahoo.com

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Is interpretation of science in light of the Qur’anic

Ayahs (Verses) permissible?

The purpose of science-related Ayahs (Verses) in Qur‘an is academic and intellectual guidance of mankind from God. So mankind after contemplation, pondering and thinking, in light of such Ayahs can discover new scientific facts at different periods of time.

The majority of these discoveries and innovations in light of Qur‘an have taken place by non-Islamic than Islamic scholars.

As Professor Mohammad Iqbal Lahori says in one of his Mathnawis:

ز,صد جاى بالیست درلرآى

ادر آیاتص یکی خد را بسز

دا آى صحرا طیاى کاضتد

حاصل اش افرگیاى برداضتد

―Although the foundations of the modern science and civilization were laid out by Islamic scholars, regrettably as soon as they distend themselves from the teachings of Qur‘an, the westerners took advantage of all the harvest of their hard work‖.

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(Sir Dr. Muhammad Iqbal [عالمہ محمد اقبال, November 9, 1877 - April 21, 1938], was a Muslim poet, philosopher and politician in

1 This is the meaning of 4 of 74verses of a Mathnawi of Mohammad Iqbal Lahori that was written for Zahir Shah to wake him up.

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―British India‖. He wrote his works in Persian and Urdu languages. After studying in Cambridge, Munich and Heidelberg, Iqbal established a law firm, but concentrated primarily on writing scholarly works on politics, economics, history, philosophy and religion. He is best known for his poetic works, including Asrar-e-Khudi - for which he was knighted – Rumuz - e - Bekhudi, and the Bang - e - Dara, with its enduring patriotic song ―Taran-e-Hind‖. In India, he is widely regarded for the patriotic song that every Indian knows by heart, ―Saare Jahan Se Achcha Hindostan Hamara‖. Iqbal was a strong proponent of the political and spiritual revival of Islamic civilization across the world, but specifically in South Asia. A series of famous lectures that he had delivered to this effect were published as The Reconstruction of Religious Thoughts in Islam. As one of the most prominent leaders of the All India Muslim League, Iqbal encouraged the creation of a "state in northwestern India for Muslims" in his 1930 presidential address. Iqbal encouraged and worked closely with Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and he is known as Muffakir-e-Pakistan ("The Thinker of Pakistan"), Shair-e-Mashriq ("The Poet of the East"), and Hakeem-ul-Ummat ("The Sage of the Ummah"). He is officially recognized as the National Poet of Pakistan. The anniversary of his birth (یوم والدت محمد اقبال ) is on November 9, and is a national holiday in Pakistan).

One can say that science-related Qur‘anic Ayahs are geared towards guidance for discoveries of scientific facts and not just to prove the miracles of Qur‘an in accordance with modern science.

The purpose of according science with Qur‘anic Ayahs is not to prove the miracle of Qur‘an in light of science. Science is of no value before the word of God (Qur‘an) in order to understand Qur‘an in its light. The only purpose is that we accept any

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scientific theory in light of Qur‘an but reject and throw away any so called ―scientific theory‖ that is not in accordance with Qur‘an.

Science is the outcome of mankind‘s efforts discovering a fact after going through so many failures, disappointments and contradictory theories. But Qur‘an which is the ultimate word of God leaves no room for errors or mistakes. So mankind should read and contemplate upon Qur‘an and seek knowledge and guidance in light the Qur‘anic Ayahs. As God mentions in Surah Al-Saad Ayah 29:

وزػوؽ ؤوى اإجبة جبؼن عثؽوا آبر ه إ ﴾٢٩﴿وزبة ؤؿب

[All this have we expanded in this] blessed divine writ which We have revealed unto thee [O Mohammad] over its messages, and that those who are endowed with insight may take them to heart, (38; 29) MA Aside from science-related Qur‘anic Ayahs, there are tens of proven Qur‘anic miracles. For example; the astonishing literature and artistic aspects of Qur‘an is one of its amazing miracles. Another miracle of the Qur‘an is that it cannot be meddled with or manipulated. Practically speaking, there is no book more than three century old that has not been tampered with. Hafiz‘s (Khwaja Shamsulddin Mohammad Hafiz Shirazi 1325–1389

الدیي هحود حافع شیرازی خىاجه شوس , one of the greatest Islamic/Persian poets and mystics known by his pen name Hafiz [memorizer of Qur‘an] was one of the greatest Islamic poets and spiritualists) anthology that was published in Delhi two centuries ago is different from the one that is published in Iran today. The entire collection of Robiat (a form of poem) of Omar Khayyam does not contain more than twenty Rubaie but the number of Robiat

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attributed to Omar Khayyam today are more than fifty which is more than twice of the real number. (Omar Ghiathulddin Khayyam ,AD, a Muslim philosopher, mathematician 1131 – 1048 [عمر خیام]astronomer, physician, poet who at a young age moved to Samarkand (Uzbekistan) and obtained his education there, afterwards he moved to Bukhara (Uzbekistan) and became established as one of the major mathematicians and astronomers of the medieval period. He was recognized as the author of the most important treatise on algebra before modern times as reflected in his Treatise on Demonstration of Problems of Algebra giving a geometric method for solving cubic equations by intersecting a hyperbola with a circle. He contributed to the calendar reform and may have proposed a heliocentric theory). Torahs (Taorat was the original Divine Book revealed to Prophet Moses PBUH) and Bibles (Ingile was the original Divine Book revealed to Prophet Jesus PBUH) spread throughout Europe are much different than Torahs and Bibles spread in the continent of Africa (of course we are talking about the Torahs and Bibles that are manipulated and tampered). In order to avoid these discrepancies scholars are trying to find the original scripts (which there are none) but even among those scholars there is no harmony and agreement. On the contrary there are no inconsistencies in the Qur‘an whatsoever. All Qur‘anic scriptures in any country and on any continent are similar. Today‘s Qur‘an is exactly as the Qur‘an of one, five or ten century ago. Matter of fact, today‘s Qur‘an is exactly letter by letter and word by word the same as the authentic and original Qur‘an that was sent from God through Archangel Gabriel (Jabriel) to Prophet Mohammad PBUH. There is no Islamic or un-Islamic scholar, including those who have written extensively against Qur‘an, who can claim that the existing Qur‘an today is any different than its original script. This unique characteristic of Qur‘an is more astonishing than its science-related Ayahs. Qur‘an has been revealed over a period of almost 23 years according to related occasion and from the

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moment of revelation of each and every Ayah it was written and memorized by the Qur‘an Hefaaz (people dedicated to memorization of the entire Qur‘an cover to cover). The tradition of memorization of Qur‘an and training of Hefaaz (memorizers of Qur‘an) continues to this day. Although the tradition of memorization of Qur‘an is a superb technique but the real reason of preservation of Qur‘an is something else, and it is a promise from God Almighty. As God mentions in Surah Al-Haaqa; Ayahs 43-46:

ني ؼة امب ﴾٤٣﴿رؿ ب ثمط اإلبو ﴾٤٤﴿وى رمىي لني ثب اىرني ﴾٤٥﴿إضػب مؽمب ﴾٤٦﴿ث

[It is] a revelation from the sustainer of all the worlds. Now if he [whom we have entrusted with it] had dared to attribute some [some of his own] sayings onto Us, We would have seized him by his right hand, and would indeed would have cut his life-vein. (69; 43-46) MA

As God would not have allowed his prophet and messenger to tamper with his book, Qur‘an, how could anyone else be authorized or allowed to do so? God indisputably declares in Surah Al-Hijr; Ayah 9:

سبففى ؿب اػوؽ وإب ﴾٩﴿إب س We have, without doubt, sent down the message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption). (15; 9) AYA Surely, the abovementioned Ayah (Verse) is the main reason that nobody has been able to tamper with the Holy Qur‘an. As God

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Almighty has guaranteed that He Himself will protect the Book that is sent by Him. God has not made such a promise about his previously revealed divine Books. The abovementioned miracle of Qur‘an is way more significant than science-related Ayahs. Up until the first part of the twentieth century science was mostly based on a series of shallow and ambiguous theories and science was in its infancy and of course some of such unfounded ―scientific‖ theories were in contradiction with Qur‘an. Therefore, some Islamic scholars were not in agreement with the idea of according science with Qur‘an. Similarly, some scholars under the influence of inaccurate ―science‖ of the time were making improper interpretation of the Qur‘anic Ayahs. For instance; Dr. Israr Ahmad (April 26, 1932 – April 14, 2010, born in ―British India‖, he graduated from King Edward Medical College [Lahore] in 1954 and later received his Master‘s degree in Islamic Studies from the University of Karachi in 1965) an Islamic scholar in a round table discussion with American, Indian, Egyptian and Turkish scholars regarded Sir Said Ahmad Khan one of such people. (Sir Said Ahmad Khan, October 17, 1817 – March 27, 1898, was an Indian educator, politician, Islamic reformer and modernist who pioneered modern education for the Muslim community in India by founding the Muhammedan Anglo-Oriental College, which later developed into the famous Aligarh Muslim University). Sir Said Ahmad Khan an Indian scholar and Qur‘an interpreter turn out to be one of those influenced by inaccurate ―science‖ of Newtonian theory. According to Newtonian theory ―anything that cannot be sensed with one of the five senses does not exist‖. At the beginning of the twentieth century that theory was rejected as erroneous by science. Sir Said Ahmad Khan was thinking that this theory of Newton is absolutely accurate and flawless and was trying to interpret and explain the existence of Ginn and Shaitan (Satan) that are intangible or non sensible with one of the five senses. He believed that Ginn may mean delusion (Wahm وهن & Guman گواى ) and Shaitan may mean our bad

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deeds. Such inaccurate analysis and misinterpretations based on one‘s own opinion is a clear astray. Even Ahadith (sayings attributed to Prophet Mohammad PBUH) or Sunah (deeds attributed to the Prophet) that do not accord with Qur‘an has no validity leave alone perception of a scholar or individual. As Prophet Mohammad PBUH emphasized:

―Verify my Ahadith (sayings of Prophet Mohammad) with the Holy Qur‘an and if they are not in accordance with Qur‘an then beware that these are not authentic but made up Ahadith, as I have never said anything that will contradict the Holy Qur‘an‖. To prevent such misinterpretations, some Islamic scholars of that time where science was still in its infancy, were strongly rejecting accordance of science with Qur‘an. Maulana Ashraf Ali, a renowned Indian thinker is one of such scholars who wrote in one of his books titled (Entibhat al Mufida, Ishtibahat al Jadida or Useful Notions, Contemporary Errors): ―… Another mistake which some people commit is that they are trying to accord Qur‘an with inaccurate and unfounded ―science‖. As soon as any Western scientist proposes any theory, no matter how baseless it might be, these people would try to find a verse to correlate it with that theory. Such people assume that they have done Islam a favor and are proving a miracle of Qur‘an while unbeknown to them that they have made a huge mistake…‖ In fact, such inaccurate interpretations and attempts to correspond erroneous theories with Qur‘an are not only playing games with the Qur‘anic Ayahs but they are doing a disservice to Islam as well. At the turn of the twentieth century, particularly its second half, an enormous advancement took place in the world of science and

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technology. New and advanced technology enabled scientists to differentiate between erroneous and authentic theories to a certain degree. Science produced a number of evidences for substantiation of some and refutation of other theories. It was only then that the erroneous theories, contradicting Qur‘an, were refuted and the accurate theories were proven to be in accordance with Qur‘an. According a great majority of Islamic scholars, in this advancement of science, scientists took utmost advantage of the Qur‘anic Ayahs in these discoveries but unfortunately they do not admit to it. With passage of time and scientific advancements of mankind, antagonism of science and Qur‘an diminished and presently science is a part of Qur‘an. Contemporary scholars and scientists believe that even though the purpose of the Qur‘anic science-related Ayahs is guidance of present and future generations but reconciliation of established scientific concepts with Qur‘an is completely permissible.

Despite the fact that in today‘s world Muslims are in a dreadful situation politically, economically, militarily and scientifically, Islam is one of the fastest growing religions in the world and is growing much faster than previous centuries. There are numerous reasons for that growth which existence of scientific miracles in Qur‘an is one of the major motives, particularly among Americans and Europeans. When a knowledgeable and well-versed person reads Qur‘an meticulously and analytically, s/he finds issues discussed in Qur‘an that were not acknowledged by science up until the second half of the twentieth century and some that are unknown to this day, then s/he realizes that this book is based on God‘s commands. Nowadays, a significant number of people revert to Islam in America every day and an even larger number in Europe, Africa and Asia, which 66% of them are women.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Th8PSKzaAOc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhPloat5suc&feature=fvst

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An amazing twist of events changed the life of a famous American rap star known as Loon. Born as Chauncey Lamont Hawkins, on June 20th 1975 in Harlem, New York, Loon was part of P. Diddy's Bad Boy Records, where he released his self-titled debut album, Loon. He also made many guest appearances on songs of the R&B and hip hop genre. He is best known for his role in P. Diddy's 2001 Hits "I Need A Girl Pt. 1". In 2004, Loon left Bad Boy to start his own label, Boss Up Entertainment. Loon has also been featured in two movies. Loon, now Amir Junaid Muhadith, recently converted to Islam. Watch and listen to Loon's story in his own words: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZFueqQnops&feature=related We will only name some of the famous ones: Professor Tagatat Tejasen of Chiang Mai University in Thailand, who has done extensive research in the field of pain receptors, is one of such scholars. The fact that pain, particularly burn pain is perceived by skin and not flesh is an interesting and relatively new discovery. If a burn is superficial (first degree burn) the pain is felt very intensely and if the burn is deeper (second, third, fourth degree burn) the pain cannot be perceived because the skin is destroyed and flesh cannot sense pain. One of professor Tejasen‘s colleagues pointed out to him that the issue of pain receptors has been alluded to in Qur‘an more than fourteen hundred years ago as following: Surah Al-Nissa; Ayah 56:

ب عدذ خىظ بؼا و وفؽوا ثأبرب قىف صه اػ إب ػولىا خىظا غؽ ب امػاةثعب لؿؿا زى اـ وب إ

﴿٥٦﴾

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For, verily, those who are bent on denying the truth of Our messages We shall, in time, cause to endure fire: [and] every time their skins are burnt; We shall replace them with new skins, so that they may taste suffering [in full]. Verily, God is almighty, wise. (4; 56) MA The reality of Hill fire is not known to anyone but God Almighty. Whether it is a physical or spiritual state is an entirely separate subject. The scientific fact hidden in this Ayah is that pain can only be felt through pain receptors of the skin, not the flesh. This mysterious Ayah that pointing to a scientific fact in a set of religious believes amazed professor Tejasen. He later studied Qur‘an thoroughly and carefully which inspired his sole so much so that left him with no choice but to wholeheartedly accept Islam. In the eighth conference of the Qur‘anic miracles in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in front of all attendees of the conference and live TV audiences he declared Shahada (declaration that there is none worthy of worship but Almighty God) and reverted to Islam. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_Xek3DGrao&feature=related

Dr. Keith Moore (A professor emeritus in the division of anatomy, former chair of anatomy from 1974 to 1984 and associated dean for Basic Medical Science [Faculty of Medicine] at the University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada) a renowned Canadian scholar and physician who has a done a great deal of research in the field of embryology and has written a book ―The Developing Human‖ explaining the specifics of embryo in the mother‘s womb. He was fascinated particularly by Ayah 1 and 2 of Surah Al-Alaq after some Muslim students presented a number of Qur‘anic Ayahs such as:

ؼثه اػ ضك لك ﴾١﴿الؽؤ ثبق ﴾٢﴿ضك ائكب

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Proclaim! (Recite or read) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created. (Who) created man, out of a leech-like clot. (96; 1, 2) AYA

In the above verse the word Alaq (congealed clot) or blood sucking or (leech-like worm) attracted Dr. Moore‘s attention. He studied the primary phase of the developing embryo with very sophisticated microscopes to investigate whether there is any resemblance between the primary phases of embryo and leech-like worm. After his insightful observations he was astonished by such peculiar similarities between these two. Dr. Moore discovered with his observations that a 23 day old embryo which has a length of about 3 millimeters was incredibly analogous to a leech-like worm. He was further intrigued to Qur‘an and outlined and analyzed all Qur‘anic Ayahs related to embryology such as Surah 86; Ayahs 5-7, Surah 22; Ayah 5, Surah 23; Ayah 13, Surah 32; Ayah 8, Surah 76; Ayah 2, Surah 53; Ayahs 45 and 46, Surah 75; Ayahs 37-39 etc. He also gathered and analyzed the valid Ahadith (authentic sayings of the Prophet) vis-à-vis embryo. In 1981, Dr. Keith Moore announced in The Seventh Medical Conference in Daman, Saudi Arabia that after scrutiny of the Qur‘anic verses and authentic Ahadith he came to the conclusion that these Ayahs could not be Mohammad‘s (PBUH) words but these are Lord‘s commands that are introduced to mankind through his Prophet. After revision of his book ―The Developing Human‖ in light of the Qur‘anic verses and Ahadith, Dr. Moore made some alterations and republished his book in 1982 which was named the best medical book of the year written by a single author in the world. He renamed his book, ―The Developing Human, Islamic Edition‖. (Dr. Moore‘s on you tube in his own words) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhJYxI2dlGQ&feature=related

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Dr. Joe Leigh Simpson the chief of the department of obstetrics at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, USA, said in one of his lectures that all Qur‘anic Ayahs and authentic Ahadith regarding science specially embryology are analogous to or superior to what modern science knows today and the Qur‘anic Ayahs are God‘s guidance for discovery of scientific facts and must acknowledge that these are not Mohammad‘s words but commands and words of God Almighty (please check this out on you tube in his own words).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMLdm50k2ck&feature=related

Professor Joe Leigh Simpson

Yusuf Estes is a famous American scholar who was born in the state of Ohio in 1944 and moved to Texas in 1949 while in grade school. He completed his higher education in Houston, Texas. Mr.

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Estes belonged to a profoundly religious Christian family. Besides his education and music he was a devoted Christian missionary who by arranging conferences was attracting people to Christianity. In addition to his official job he was running a business with his father too. Mr. Estes was totally in the dark about Islam and his perception of Islam was entirely opposite of what Islam really is. He knew nothing about Islam and believed that ―Muslims do not believe in God and that they hate Bible and Jesus‖. In 1991, his father told him that we would have an Egyptian business partner by the name of Mohammad. Mr. Estes was stunned and asked his father that how can he get along with a Muslim? He further believed that ―Muslims are nonbelievers, hate Jesus Christ and kiss the ground five times a day and many other horrible things‖. His father suggested that nonetheless I will introduce him to you and if you did not like him we will re-evaluate and disregard. From the moment of his introduction, Mr. Estes was impressed with Mohammad‘s character and without any discussion about their business he asked Mohammad lots of questions about the true philosophy of Islam. After months of lengthy discussions, Mr. Estes realized that Muslims do believe in God and the concept of God in Islam is far superior to any other believe system. He found out that Muslims do believe that all true prophets are God sent and respect them all. They do not discriminate among any of the prophets. Not only that they do not hate Jesus (Peace Be Up on Him) but they revere and hold very high respect for him and his mother than Christians. Matter of fact, there is a whole chapter named after Mary, mother

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of Jesus. He also found out that they do not kiss the ground five times a day but prostrate to God Almighty. Mr. Estes advised his father to make Mohammad a business partner and was discussing religion (Deen), objectives of Islam, objectives of creation specially creation of mankind, intention of sending messengers etc. with him daily. Eventually, with Mohammad‘s encouragement he studied Qur‘an and authentic Ahadith (the sayings of the Prophet). He was amazed with what he read and realized that Muslims love and respect Jesus more than anyone else. He also recognized that how exalted God is after studying Qur‘an and authentic Ahadith. In a short time, Qur‘an and Ahadith provided satisfactory answers to all of his questions. Science-related Ayahs regarding universe and embryo attracted and amazed him so much so that he would leave work for days and spend time studying Qur‘an. He was conveying all that newly learned knowledge to his wife, father, stepmother and children as well.

After a lot of contemplation, thoughts and plenty of readings, one day he invited Mohammad and in his presence declared Shahada (announcing that there none worthy of worship but Allah [God Almighty] and that Mohammad (PBUH), is the servant and the final messenger of God along with all other prophets including Jesus, Moses, etc. and embraced Islam. Then his wife embraced Islam and a few months later his father reverted. His stepmother has become very closer to Islam but has not officially declared Islam yet. (This fascinating story of his conversion is available on You tube in his own words).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tpd-Ek1-RRc&feature=related

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Yousuf Estes taught Islam to all his children and today they all have profound understanding of Islam. Mr. Estes himself have done a lot of research about Islam and nowadays is considered one of the great Islamic scholars. I am sure that those who are familiar with Peace TV have watched his lectures about Islam on that channel, You Tube or so many of his own websites on the internet. He has been traveling to most of the European, African, American and Asian countries and has been holding numerous conferences in those countries for propagation of Islam. He recently launched a TV channel called ―Guide us TV‖. http://www.guideus.tv/

Dr. Maurice Bucaille (19 July 1920 - 17 February 1998) was a renowned French scholar, scientist and physician who was born in Paris, France. After completion of his education Dr. Bucaille was assigned as director of surgical clinic at Paris University. He was an expert physician and King Faisal of Saudi Arabia in his final years of his life was under the treatment of Dr Bucaille. Dr. Bucaille was a deeply religious Christian as well. (Dr. Maurice Bucaille, 19 July 1920 Pont-L'Eveque, France - 17 February 1998, son of Maurice and Marie (James) Bucaille, was a French medical doctor, member of the French Society of Egyptology and an author. Bucaille practiced medicine from 1945-82 and was a specialist in gastroenterology. In 1973, Bucaille was appointed family physician to King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. Another group of his patients at the time included members of the family of President of Egypt Anwar Sadat.

In 1976, he published his book, The Bible,The Quran and Science which argued that the Qur‘an contains no statements that contradict established scientific facts. In 1991, another book by Dr. Bucaille, Mummies of the Pharos: Modern Medical

Investigations, was published in English.

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In his book, The Bible, The Qur‘an and Science, Bucaille aims to prove the Qur‘an is in agreement with scientific facts, while the Bible is not. He claims that in Islam, science and religion have always been ―twin sisters‖. According to Bucaille, there are monumental scientific errors in the Bible and not a single error in the Qur'an, whose descriptions of natural phenomena make it compatible with modern science. Bucaille concludes that the Qur‘an is the reliable word of God.

Bucaille argues that the Old Testament should have been distorted because of numerous translations and corrections as it was transmitted orally. He highlights, in his words, ―numerous disagreements and repetitions‖, in the Old Testament and the Gospels. In his analysis, Dr. Bucaille claims he makes use of many propositions of Biblical criticism, such as the documentary hypothesis.

With regard to Qur‘an, Bucaille however followed the Islamic tradition that the Qur'anic scrolls are said to be collected during Muhammad‘s lifetime and were deemed accurate by the Archangel Gabriel himself. Some references claimed that he is not a Muslim. However, according to an interview at the Islamic Bulletin Website, he declared "Qur'an was the Word of God revealed to his Last Prophet Mohammed". He said that he did devote himself to discuss all problems from purely academic angle, to be treated by the world as an academician rather than a theologian.)

You tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crkq8HVvdm8

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Dr. Maurice Bucaille

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Before his acquaintance with King Faisal, the government of Egypt invited Dr. Maurice Bucaille and a team of researchers to Cairo, Egypt to examine the body of the pharaoh (Ramses II). During the body exam, one of Dr. Maurice Bucaille‘s Egyptian colleagues drew his attention to Surah Al-Yunus; Ayah 92:

فه آخ ض ده ثجعه زىى فبى ـ ل اب وثريا وإ ﴾٩٢﴿آبرب غبفى

―This day shall We save thee in thy body, that thou mayest be a Sign to those who come after thee! But verily, many among mankind are heedless of Our Signs!‖ (10; 92) AYA After reading this Qur‘anic Ayah Dr. Bucaille said that: Pharaoh‘s corpse was discovered by researchers in the ninetieth century then how could Mohammad (PBUH) predict this fourteen hundred years ago? ―This is perplexing and puzzling!‖ His Egyptian colleague responded that Mohammad is not the author of Qur‘an but he is the final messenger of God who sent his last and final book through him to mankind. Dr. Maurice Bucaille was amazed and fascinated by the abovementioned Qur‘anic Ayah (Verse) and when he returned to France he studied the French translation and interpretation of the Qur‘an. The world of his thoughts, perceptions and beliefs was entirely changed once he read the Qur‘an. He announced that indeed, Mohammad is not the author of Qur‘an but it is truly the word of God sent to humanity through Mohammad. In order to comprehend Qur‘an from his own perspective, he learned Arabic language at the age of fifty in Saudi Arabia.

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In 1976, Dr. Maurice Bucaille held a conference in France and announced that: ―Sadly, we Christians are very much uninformed about Qur‘an. After studying the Qur‘an myself, I firmly believe that the Holy Qur‘an is the word of God and Mohammad is the last and final messenger of God. I read scientific subjects in Qur‘an about the universe, earth and embryo that we did not know few years ago and some we still do not know. In addition to its numerous other objectives, Qur‘an is a scientific guide as well. Although Qur‘an was sent during the era of ignorance in Arabia, this book should be the norm for future human advancements‖. Afterward Dr. Bucaille wrote a book under the title of ―The Bible, The Qur’an and Science‖ (La Bible, Le Coran et Science). In that book he has spelled out scientific errors of the tampered Bible (not the original Bible called in Qur‘an ―Ingeel‖ which is the true word of God sent to Jesus Christ Peace Be Upon Him) and interpreted scientific miracles of Qur‘an. Publication of this book revolutionized the Christian world and hundreds of Christians embraced Islam. Later this book was translated into English, Arabic, German, Hispanic, Russian, and Indian languages. The legendary English rock star and songwriter, Cat Stevens with his miraculous story is another fascinating character that attracts everyone‘s attention (Yusuf Islam, born Steven Demetre Georgiou; 21 July 1948 in Marylebone, London, England), originally and commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English musician. He is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam. His early 1970s record albums Tea for the Tillerman and Teaser and the Firecat were both certified as Triple Platinum by the RIAA in the United States; his 1972 album Catch Bull at Four sold half a million copies in the first two weeks of release alone and was Billboard‘s number-one LP for three consecutive weeks.

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He has also earned two ASCAP songwriting awards in consecutive years for ―The First Cut Is the Deepest"", which has been a hit single for four different artists. Stevens converted to Islam at the height of his fame, in December 1977, and adopted his Muslim name, Yusuf Islam, the following year. In 1979, he auctioned away all his guitars for charity and left his music career to devote himself to educational and philanthropic causes in the Muslim community. He has been given several awards for his work in promoting peace in the world, including 2003's World Award, the 2004 Man for Peace Award and the 2007 Mediterranean Prize for Peace. In 2006, he returned to pop music with his first album of new pop songs in 28 years, entitled An Other Cup. He now goes professionally by the single name Yusuf. His newest album, Road singer, was released on 5 May 2009 (Cat Stevens to Yusuf Islam (Biography) part 1 on you tube, also his story from VH1 cable Chanel). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yV460jyubzI

Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam

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With this brief introduction of some of the world‘s celebrities and well-known scholars who reverted to Islam fascinated by the scientific miracles of Qur‘an, we conclude that although the main purpose of science-related Ayahs of Qur‘an is guidance of mankind in the field of science, meanwhile corresponding the Qur‘an with accurate and established science could be a helpful tool in that regard as well. At the end, we hope that Muslims, in the bright shining light of Qur‘an, this criterion Book, be able to contribute to new scientific discoveries and not be satisfied with just to accord the discoveries made by non-Islamic scholars with the Qur‘an.

Maulana Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi (Romi), Mathnawi the Third Volume:

ى را بداى که ظا هریستآحرف قر

زیر ظاهر با طي بس قاهریست

زیر آى باطي یکی بطي سىم

که در او گردد خردها جوله گن

بی خىد کس دید جسبطي چهارم

جس خدای بیظیر بی دید

هبیيتى ز قرآى ای پسر ظاهر

دیى آدم را بید جس که طیي

آدهیست قشظاهر قرآى چى

ستقىشش ظاهر و جاش خفیکه

هرد را صد سال عن خال او

یک سر هىی بید حال او

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(Jalaluddin Moḥammad Balkhi [Dari محمد‌الدین‌جالل بلخی ], and popularly known as Mawlana but known to the English-speaking world simply as Rumi (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273), was a 13th-century Muslim poet, jurist, theologian, and Sufi mystic. Rumi is a descriptive name meaning "the Roman" since he lived most of his life in an area called Rum (then under the control of Saljuqi Dynasty) because it was once ruled by the Eastern Roman Empire.

He was born in Balkh (a province in present-day Afghanistan), and in the year Rumi was born, his father was an appointed scholar there.

His father decided to migrate westwards due to quarrels between different dynasties of that time who were considered devious by Baha ud-Din Walad (Rumi's father), or fear of the impending Mongol cataclysm. Rumi's family traveled west, first performing the Hajj and eventually settling in the Anatolian city Qunia (capital of the Seljuqi Sultanate of Rum, in present-day Turkey). This was where he lived most of his life.

He lived most of his life under the Sultanate of Rum, where he produced his works and died in 1273 AD. Rumi's importance transcend national and ethnic borders, although he was born and raised in Balkh, Afghanistan and died in Qunia, Turkey.

His poems have been widely translated into many of the world's languages and transposed into various formats. In 2007, he was described as the "most popular poet in America.")

Qur‘an mentions in Surah Al-Fussilat; Ayah 53 as following:

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آبرب ف اأفبق وف ؤفكه اسكقؽه ؤ ه زج زز ؤوء شهع ش و ل ﴾٥٣﴿ىف ثؽثه ؤ

Soon will We show them Our Signs in the (furthest) regions (of the earth), and in their own souls, until it becomes manifest to them that this is the Truth. Is it not enough that Thy Lord doth witness all things? (41; 53) AYA

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CHAPTAR ONE THE UNIVERSE

For centuries mankind has been trying to uncover the truth and mystery of the universe. The universe, this gigantic creature, has always been at the center of attention of scholars. Following are some of the numerous questions that cross everyone‘s mind: Which part of the universe are we located in? Where is the universe itself located as a whole? Is the universe eternal or created? Is the universe finite or infinite? How is the earth created? And finally how is mankind created? Throughout history, various theories have been proposed by scientists, philosophers and poets. Up until the last part of the nineteenth century, majority of these theories were contradictory as none of them were based on any proven facts. They were merely based on a series of inadequate observations from their restricted point of view. In this chapter, a limited amount of information about the universe and approval of that info by Qur‘anic Ayahs, is gathered which hopefully will answer some of the abovementioned questions.

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Creation of the universe (or the Big Bang theory): Up until the beginning of the twentieth century scientists entirely relied on the Newtonian theories. These theories considered the universe and the space to be stationary, infinite and eternal. The idea was that the spread out molecules of matter eternally existed in that stationary and infinite space and were evolving and this evolution was considered part of the innate nature of the matter. Based on these groundless assumptions and hypotheses materialist scientists believed that matter preceded intellect. They speculated that after lengthy processes and evolutions, the scattered matter in the infinite outer space, based on the laws of matter resulted in creation of the galaxies, stars and planets and in some of these planets such as earth life came into existence. Materialist philosophers such as Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, although not scientists themselves, made the abovementioned theories essential pillars of their theories because it considered matter to precede intellect which ultimately served their objectives. Some of Einstein‘s relativity formulas and the approved theories of the twentieth century scientists turned the state upside down and put an official end to materialism which the Big Bang Theory of creation of the universe is one of such theories. According to the Big Bang Theory, this universe did not exist at all, about 14 – 20 billion years ago. There were no galaxies such as the Milky Way Galaxy, no stars such as the Sun, no planets such as the earth and no moons such as the Moon of our earth. There were no celestial bodies, no shooting stars, no smolder, no molecules and none of the elements of the periodic table. No Helium, no Hydrogen, no Carbon, no Radium and no other elements, none, zip, nil. Neither atoms, the building blocks of the

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element, nor particles of atom (proton, neutron, electron) or even smaller particles existed. Time, Place, Echo or Color, none existed. If we think that nothing existed but an empty and dark space we have committed another mistake. Even space did not exist. As Maulana Nouroddin Abdulrahman Jami ([عبدالرحوي جاهی ىرالدیي], August 18, 1414 – November 19, 1492, was one of the greatest Islamic philosophers and poets of the 15th century who was born in present-day Afghanistan) puts it in meaningful words as following:

در آى خلىت که هستی بی شاى بىد

عالن هاى بىد, به کج یستی

وجىد هطلق از قید هظاهر

بر خىیش ظاهر, به ىر خىیشتي Then the question arises that how did this colossal universe, that light has not been able to reach its far corners over thousands of millions of years, came into existence? The Holy Qur‘an repeatedly insists on creation out of nothing, which up until the end of the nineteenth century seemed contrary to science of that time. Science of that time considered creation from nothing impossible. Scientists such as Newton were adamant that the changes and transformations of matter with time due to gradual evolution caused creation. On the contrary, modern science regards creation out of nil or nothing a necessary issue. Based on one of the relativity formulas of Albert Einstein, the energy of gravity has negative charge and the energy of mass has positive charge which both are equivalent then the origin of matter converges to zero which is nil.

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George Gamow (March 4, 904 – August 19, 1968 a Russian born theoretical physicist and cosmologist who discovered alpha decay via quantum tunneling and worked on radioactive decay of the atomic nucleus, star formation, stellar nucleosynthesis, big bang nucleosynthesis, cosmic microwave background and genetics), a Russian/American scientist mentions of his discussion with Einstein (14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) in his book (My World Line) as following: ―In 1940, Einstein and I were walking on a street in Princeton City which I mentioned to him that one of my colleagues concludes that based on one of Einstein‘s relativity theory formulas the stars are created of nothing since the negatively charged gravity energy of the stars is equivalent to the positively charged mass energy of stars! Einstein was so stunned by hearing the conclusion of one of his own formulas that he stopped in the middle of the street and the cars started honking to warn us to get out of their way‖.

George Gamow Albert Einstein, 1921

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This formula, which later got seal of approval of the majority of scientists, is applicable to all particles of the universe especially in creation of the universe itself. In 1970, Edwan Tryon, a professor of the City University of New York, announced that according to Quantum Theory, the universe as a whole must have started from nothing. Qur‘an states in Surah 2; Ayah 117:

بواد واإؼض ثعك اك و فىى ب مىي ؽا فئ ؤ وإغا لع﴿١١٧﴾

The Originator of the heavens and the earth, when He decreeth a matter, He saith to it ―Be‖, and it is. (2; 117) AYA God intended to create the universe and created the tiny particle by order of ―Be‖. Scientists call this particle the bud of the universe or primitive universe. Science does not understand how this primitive universe was created. Science only accepts it by some formulas. A crossing of two straight lines may be!? Where? How? It is unknown. In fact all these have happened before the existence of time and place. Science accepts facts before the existence of time and place but it cannot do practical researches. Since this tiny particle was created out of nothing they called it Free Lunch. This primitive universe was so small that it was thought of as a drop in the ocean in comparison to its present-day volume. Later, scientists realized that the size of the primitive universe was much smaller than what they initially thought. Einstein estimated the size of the origin of the universe smaller

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than an atom. Although scientists considered that estimation of Einstein to be exaggerated but eventually, all the scientists agreed that the tiny particle of the primitive universe was much smaller than an atom, even smaller than the nucleus of an atom, 10

-32 mm. (1/100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 of

one millimeter). That means that the primitive universe was smaller than a proton, a part of the nucleus of an atom, so tiny and small about 10

-20

[1/100,000,000,000,000,000,000] of a proton. This mass of the primitive universe was equivalent to current day gigantic universe. Then one can say that this was an ultimately tiny universe, smaller than an atom, a tremendously hot universe with temperature above hundreds of billions of degree of centigrade. As its mass was equivalent to the current day universe, it was ultimately compressed and compact with unimaginably high density. The particles of the universe were not matter but it was pure energy with one united force. What kind of force? It is unknown. There are four types of known forces in the present-day universe: weak nuclear force, strong nuclear force, electromagnetic force and gravitational force. All scientists agree that all particles of the current universe, the earth, the space, the Sun and other stars, the Moon and other satellites, the Milky Way Galaxy, all other galaxies, space particles, Place and Time, even you and me, existed in that tiny particle or primitive universe. Not in the current form but in the form of pure energy, different than all known forms of existing energies today. It will not be very accurate to say that all the particles of the present-day universe including space and time were placed in that particle. It is more appropriate to say that this Minute particle contained so much energy that made all the particles of the universe and the universe itself.

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A universe tinier than an atom, but billions of times hotter than the Sun and infinitely concentrated and condensed which must expand to create Time and Place. This development started with a rupture, a gigantic rupture which scientists called The Big Bang. Amazingly, the Holy Qur‘an mentions (The Big Bang theory in a nut shell) in Surah Al-Anbiyaa; Ayah 30 as following:

وفؽوا ؽ اػ بؤو بواد واإؼض وبزب ؼرمب ففزمب اك ؤ بء و ا ب وخم ء ز ﴿ ش ى ب ؤ ﴾٣٣ؤف

Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one Unit of Creation), before we clove them asunder? We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe? (21; 30) AYA The closed universe split opened or ruptured instantaneously and the particles of the universe started to expand and spread out equally in all directions and in fact the expansion of the universe began. This colossal explosion or big bang was not similar to a bomb explosion that the particles will spread in the outer space because space did not exist at the time, but it was an internal dazzling explosion that instigated the expansion of the universe. The expansion of the universe was much faster than the speed of light. As we know, the speed of light is 300,000 kilometer per second, which means that light moves so fast that it can travel circumference of the earth seven and a half times in one second. But the expansion of the universe, after the Big Bang, took much less time than a fraction of a second. It took 10

-43 second (which

means gazillions of times less than a second) for the universe to

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expand 1056

or 1 with 56 zeros in front of it or (100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) times. This is an amazingly fast speed, much faster than the speed of light. Light travels 300,000 kilometers in one second or in other words light travels one centimeter in one 30

th billion of one second. The universe on the other hand

expanded in (15 x 10-33

second) or less than fraction of trillionth of a second about 10 centimeters. In this case the expansion of the universe was trillions of times faster than the speed of light. According to Einstein‘s relativity theory, nothing can travel faster than the speed of light in the universe. Then the question arises that how could the universe itself at the first moments of its creation expanded in a speed that was way faster than the speed of light? This theory that nothing in the universe can travel faster than the speed of light is applicable only to the universe itself. Expansion of the universe does not obey the innate rules of the universe. The universe and the galaxies are expanding in a setting that is entirely different than the space and scientific/physical laws of the universe are applicable only within the universe but not beyond the universe where this expansion takes place. The reason of that speedy expansion of the universe was that in a fraction of the first moment of creation, 10

-43 second (Planck

time), the gravitational force escaped and at 10-35

second, the nuclear force escaped. After the escape of these two key forces, there was no deterrent to restrain the expanding universe. If these two crucial forces have not escaped for a short period of time (less than one billionth of a fraction of a second), the universe would not have expanded and after the explosion it would have collapsed or recoiled on itself and would have gotten back to nil or nothing. If these two critical forces of the universe escape today the entire universe including its minute and tiny particles would

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explode. According to scientific laws, it is impossible for these two essential forces to escape, so how did these two forces escape at the initial fraction of moment of creation? Escape of these two vital forces was contrary to all established scientific laws, but at that instant when the Lord intended creation of the universe with the order of Be and it is; Surah Al-Baqarah; Ayah 117:

و فىى ب مىي ؽا فئ ؤ بواد واإؼض وإغا لع ثعك اك﴾١١٧: ﴿اجمؽح

The Originator is He of the heavens and the earth: and when He wills a thing to be, He but says onto it, ―Be‖,-and it is. (2; 117) MA

One should keep in mind that at the first fraction of second of creation of the universe, despite of incomprehensibly speedy expansion, nevertheless the universe was very small, hot and condensed. Space, atom, element or in general matter had not formed and the universe was packed with energy with a grand unified force. In those first fractions of second of creation of the universe an immense battle started in the universe, a battle between the particles for and against the creation of matter. In this battle opposing forces were trying to wipe out each other. This process of elimination was generating warm energy. As a conclusion of this battle the temperature of the universe became extremely high. The temperature of the universe went as high as (366,166,239,472,720,615,159,282,314,170.6) degrees of centigrade. This is an extremely high temperature beyond imagination and incomparable to anything. The temperature of the hottest part of the Sun, its nucleus, is only 15,000,000 degree of centigrade.

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This was the first battle of the truth and the falsehood in the universe. If the anti-matter forces had prevailed in that war, that very first explosion would have been the end of the universe as well and today the space, time, place including its components: the universes, the stars, the planets etc. would not have existed. Once God Almighty had intended the creation of the universe then could the anti-matter forces do anything? The Big Bang was constructive, not a destructive process. Science does not know the exact reason of take-over and victory of the pro-matter forces over anti-matter forces. Some scientists believe that the number of pro-matter particles was a billion times more than the anti-matter particles, so the anti-matter particles were eliminated before the end of the first second of creation. At that moment, matter was still not created and space was not formed because the universe was still condensed and hot. After the defeat of the anti-matter the position of the universe became firmer. Extremely high temperature and condensation of the universe was the mere reason that matter did not form until that time. With lapse of each fraction of the first second of creation of the universe the dimension of the universe was expanding while the condensation and temperature of the universe was diminishing. At 10

-8 of the first second of creation of the universe, although the

temperature significantly dropped, it was still 36,609,921,288 degree of centigrade. At the first second of the creation of the universe the temperature of the universe was still billions of times hotter than the Sun. At such a high temperature elements or space were not created because the universe was still jam-packed with condensed energy. After the first second of creation the temperature declined adequately and the volume of the universe was bigger than the size of the Sun or even bigger than the solar system, much bigger.

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After the first second of the creation of the universe, some light elements were formed but the space still did not exist. With additional expansion of the universe the temperature declined further and particles that later became building blocks of matter and life in the universe, such as Baryons, electrons and Quark came into existence. Heavy particles such protons and neutrons were not formed as the temperature was still pretty high. When the temperature of the universe cold off to 10,982,976,383 degree of centigrade, still billions of times hotter than the Sun, compound particles such as protons and neutrons called Hadrons paved the way for the formation of matter. But due to extremely high temperature matter was still not formed. Although some light compounds such as Leptons were formed initially due to very high temperature they could not combine with particles of Hadrons to form complex matter. After the first moment of the creation of the universe Lepton particles could combine with Hadrons particles and formed various kinds of matter. One to three minutes after the creation of the universe, proton and neutron combined and formed Deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen. Deuterium or in other words heavy hydrogen obtained another neutron and formed Tritium and immediately proton was added to that compound and formed the nucleus of Helium. Scientists believe that in the first three minutes of the creation of the universe, there were ten protons against each nucleus of Helium. After further decline of temperature and further expansion of the universe these extra protons were able to capture electrons and form normal hydrogen. That is the reason that in the universe today there are ten to eleven atoms of hydrogen for each atom of helium. Hours to days after the creation of the universe, particles of matter distanced from each other so much so that vacuum came into existence. It is that very wide and dark space that continues to expand. The first generation of stars formed from immediate interaction of hydrogen and helium. All of these stars, which were many times bigger than the contemporary stars, exploded after a while. Elements such as carbon, oxygen, silicon, sulfur, and iron

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were formed in the nucleuses of these very stars and after their explosion these elements were spread throughout the universe. In an extremely high temperature electrons of the iron nucleus bombarded its own nucleus and a small portion of the iron transformed into gold. With passage of time most of the elements were formed. There is still not enough information about how some of the heavy elements were formed. A group of scientists believe that in the future, information about the formation of all the elements at the first moments of creation of the universe may be discovered, while others believe that it may never be fully understood.

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The History of the Big Bang Theory: Although the basis of the Big Bang Theory was one of the relativity formulas of Albert Einstein but he cannot be considered the founder of this theory. Initially, Einstein himself did not accept this theory and he accepted it only after discovery of solid evidences by other scientists. For the first time, Sir Arthur Stanley Eddingtion (28 December 1882 – 22 November 1944) a renowned British astrophysicist and Georges Lemaitre (1894 - June 20, 1966, professor of physics and astronomer who proposed what became known as the Big Bang theory of the origin of the Universe which he called ‗his hypothesis of the primeval atom) a Belgian astronomer, introduced this theory based on Einstein‘s relativity formula which surprised the scientific world.

Sir Arthur Edington Georges Lemaitre

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Modern scientists bestow the honor of the discovery of this theory to Edwin Powell Hubble (November 20, 1889 - September 28, 1953) a world renowned American astrophysicist. With the help of very advanced telescopes, Edwin Hubble was able to prove expansion of the universe which became one of the established evidences of this theory.

The 100-inch (2.5 m) Hooker telescope at Mount Wilson Observatory that Hubble used to measure galaxy distances and a value for the rate of expansion of the universe.

―Whatever we hear or read we should research and whatever we see we should confirm‖. These are Mr. Hubble‘s words that he presented at a conference for proof of the theory of expansion of the universe. More details will be presented later in this book.

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In 1964, additional evidences were discovered by Robert Wilson (born January 10, 1936, an American astronomer and 1978 Nobel laureate in physics) and Arno Allan Penzias (another American physicist, born April 26 1933). They discovered the cosmic microwaves background radiation (CMB) while working on a new type of antenna at Bell Labs in Holmdel, New Jersey. They accidentally discovered a voice that was spreading in all directions and was not related to the earth at all. This is the voice of the particles of the galaxies located at the outermost edges of the Universe. In other words this is the voice of the particles of the Universe spreading from one point split by the Big Bang. In short, this is the voice left from the Big Bang. With this discovery, the Big Bang was acknowledged by the majority of the scientists.

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In 1992, after further observations by a group of NASA scientists led by George Fitzgerald Smoot III [(born February 20, 1945, an American astrophysicist and cosmologist who along with john C. Mather won the Nobel Prize in physics in 2006 for their work on COBE that led to the measurement of ―the black body form and anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation‖. This work further helped the Big Bang theory using the Cosmic Background Explorer Satellite (COBE)] the Big Bang theory was accepted as an obvious fact by the scientific community. A statement of one of the leaders of this group about the big bang theory after his expedition to the space, ―It‘s like looking at God‖ became news headline all over the world, especially London Times and New York Times. Leon Max Lederman (July 15, 1922), an American experimental physicist and Nobel Prize laureate in physics, wrote in one of his books [―The God Particle: If the Universe Is the Answer, What Is the Question?], about The Big Bang Theory as following: ―In the very beginning there was a void – a curious form of vacuum – a nothingness containing no space, no time, no matter, no light, no sound. Yet the laws of nature were in place and this curious vacuum held potential. Like a giant boulder perched at the edge of a towering cliff… Wait a minute. Before the boulder falls, I should explain that I do not really know what I am talking about. A story logically begins at the beginning. But this story is about the universe and unfortunately there are no data for the Very Beginning. None, zero. We don‘t know anything about the universe until it reaches the mature age of a billionth of a trillionth of a second – that is some very short time after creation in the Big Bang. When you read or hear anything about the birth of the universe, someone is making it up. We are in the realm of philosophy. Only God knows what happened at the Very Beginning‖.

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This book became extremely popular for the above few paragraphs.

A few remarks about Qur’an and the Big Bang: After the introduction of the Big Bang theory and presentation of strong evidences on the subject of the Big Bang theory, Surah Al-Anbiyya Ayah 30 came to the center of attention of both Islamic and non-Islamic scholars. This Ayah (Verse) very clearly talks about this matter (the Big Bang) in a nutshell.

وفؽوا ؤ ؽ اػ ب ؤو بواد واإؼض وبزب ؼرمب ففزمب اك ء ز ش بء و ا ب وخم ى ب ؤ ﴾٣٣﴿ؤف

Do not the unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of creation), before we clove them asunder? We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe? (21; 30) AYA

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Following are few points that are worth mentioning: Point number one: In the process of the big explosion, the stack together universe was opened or split by the command of God Almighty. Up until three centuries ago, scientists, astronomers and astrologists were not considering planet earth as part of the universe. At that time any proposed theory about the universe did not include the earth as part of the universe. The earth was considered as a huge and discrete body that the entire universe was rotating around it. The Qur‘an specifically mentions earth along with the universe in order to avoid that misconception. By mentioning the earth besides the universe Qur‘an is insisting that everything, the entire universe (earth and anything non-earth, related to the universe included) were closed in one spot, but not in the current form but in the form of pure energy which ruptured or split opened instantaneously. Martin John Rees (born 23 June 1942 ), a prominent English cosmologist and astrophysicist, in famous book, ―Our Cosmic Habitat‖, insists on the point that everything, the earth and all its components, and everything non-earth, the entire universe, space and time included, were stuck at one unique location and writes as following: ―Our universe was stuck together in one extremely minute spot. Therefore everything and everybody on earth, on other planets related to the Andromeda Galaxy, or anywhere in the entire Universe, even you and me should realize that our origin is from that very tiny spot‖. Sir Martin Rees mentions not only the earth and its components but he even includes you and me in this as well.

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Point number two: The Holy Qur‘an, centuries ago and modern science recently have implied that the Universe developed from one origin or in other words the Bag Bang theory in a nutshell. The difference is only in wordings. Qur‘an uses the word splitting or opening and scientists use the word explosion. The difference is only in terminology, not in theory itself. Isn‘t it possible that science may have chosen incorrect wording? Historically, if there have ever been any discrepancies between Qur‘an and science, after advancement of knowledge these differences have been resolved which shows that science is still in its primitive stages and cannot be flawless. In this particular instance, even the difference in wording deserves scrutiny. In recent years scientists proposed that the word explosion for the Big Bang theory is not the appropriate choice because it gives the reader the falls impression of as if the space already existed and this blazing particle exploded in that preexisting space and resulted in the creation of the universe.

Recently, scientists have chosen a new terminology for that theory: The Big Split theory. It seems that even in wordings science is coming to the same terminology as that of the Qur‘an. ―The closed universe split or opened‖. Another interesting misnomer in chemistry is the term ―Atom‖. Atom is a Latin word which means the smallest particle that cannot be cut-down any further. Later science proved that there is no such thing as the ―smallest‖. Atom can be cut down into minute particles and those tinier particles could be cut to even further tiny minuscule particles and so on and so forth. Look at the

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flabbergasting world of nuclear energy that would have been non-existing if Atom were still considered ―atom‖ (indivisible particle). The universe as a whole was smaller than an atom or even smaller than the nucleus of an atom but with an almost infinite mass and density. The fact about particles smaller than an atom is pointed to in Qur‘an as following:

وفؽوا ب رإرب اكبلخ ولبي اػ لب وؼث زإرى ث لبواد وب ف اإؼض وب ثمبي غؼح ف اك ب مؿة ل اغت جني ﴿٣﴾ غه وب ؤوجؽ إب ف وزبة ؤصغؽ The Unbelievers say, ―Never to us will come the Hour‖: say, ―Nay! But most surely, by my Lord, it will come upon you; by Him Who knows the unseen - from Whom is not hidden the least little atom in the Heavens or on earth: nor is there anything less than that (the atom), or greater, but is in the Record Perspicuous. (34; 3) AYA

Not only atom could be cut down but even particles of atom.

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Initially the Universe was full of smolder or smoke: What happened after the Big Bang or at the initial phase of creation of the universe? We learned that within the first three minutes of creation of the universe all the currently existing elements came into being. Hydrogen and Helium made up the largest portion of the elements. The majority of contents of the Sun and other stars are made up of these two elements and it is because of the interactions of these two elements that all the stars including our Sun are illuminating and shinning. At the initial stages of the Big Bang, after an adequate quantity of space was formed all the elements which hydrogen and helium made up the majority of them were in the form of huge masses of gas. At that time none of the celestial bodies such as galaxies, stars, planets, satellites etc existed. The universe was relatively smaller comparing to the present-day universe, in the form of slowly moving colossal masses of cloud. These huge masses of gas were spreading away rapidly from each other as the universe was expanding and it still is. The Qur‘an states in Surah Al-Fussilat; Ayah 11:

ظضب بء و اقزىي إ اك ث Then He turned to the sky, and it had been (as) smoke. (41; 11) AYA At the beginning of the twentieth century, scientists resembled this phase of the development of the universe to cloud or gas while the Qur‘an resembled these huge masses to smoke as seen in the abovementioned Ayah or Verse. Modern scientists admitted

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the inaccuracy of this terminology as well. As the majority of these gases consisted of hydrogen and helium, then the combination of these two gases should be warm gases such as smoke not like cool gases such as cloud or fog. Combination of hydrogen and helium in their condensed form result in the formation of fiery bodies such as the Sun or stars. As at the initial phases, these gases were not that much condensed, they existed in the form of warm gases. Then it is logical to resemble warm gases to smoke rather than cloud or fog which are cool gases. In a scientific lecture in 1930, George Lemaitre changed the term ―gas‖ or ―fog‖ to ―smoke‖. The sentence ―the universe looked full of gas or fog‖ was changed to ―the universe looked full of smoke‖ instead. Later, these gigantic masses of smoke, according to the laws of matter mentioned earlier, formed galaxies which each galaxy consists of tens of billions of stars, hundreds of billions of planets and thousands of billions of satellites and other celestial bodies. In other words all the galaxies, stars, planets, satellites etc, due to the laws of matter, which God‘s intention was behind it were formed from transformation of these smoke-like masses.

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After analysis of the above text one can conclude: A. For a while, after the Big Bang and formation of hydrogen,

helium and other elements, the universe was full of smoke-like gases.

B. These scattered smoke-like elements, after a long period of development, which God‘s intention was behind it, resulted in the creation of earth and all components of the universe.

Now we review the entire verse, as it verbalizes both of these issues:

ب إؼض ائزب ؼىلب ؤو وؽ فمبي هب و ظضب بء و اقزىي إ اك ثب ؼبئمني ﴾١١﴿لبزب ؤر

Then He turned to the sky, and it had been (as) smoke. And He said to it and the earth: ―come ye together, willingly or unwillingly.‖ They said: ―We do come (together), in willing obedience.‖ (41; 11) AYA

The above Ayah (verse) clearly declares that earth and the universe, all were formed from that smoke… Scientists, using highly sophisticated telescopes watching sites, billions of light years away from our earth observing masses of scattered smoke of billions of years ago in the process of formation of galaxies. Light travels 300,000 Kilometer per second. One light year is a distance that light travels in one year. Light travels a distance of (9,467,280,000,000 Kilometer) in one year. This is such a long

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distance that mankind will never be able to travel. Modern day space ships with their ultimate speed cannot travel this distance in thousands of years.

Timeline of the expansion of the universe with the

inflationary epoch represented.

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The Expanding Universe

The Holy Qur‘an states in Surah Al-Zariyat; Ayah 47:

ىقمى ب ثإع وإب ب بء ث ﴾٤٧﴿واك And the havens We constructed with strength, and indeed We are [its] expander. (51; 47) SI Is the universe an infinite space or it has specific boundaries? In other words; is the Universe finite or infinite? For the last several centuries this question has been the subject of debates and discussions of philosophers, thinkers, astrologists, cosmologists, scientists and others. Until the beginning of the twentieth century, all matters related to that issue were based

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merely on unsubstantiated theories and observations. Subsequently with the revelation of the Big Bang theory at the turn of the twentieth century, some of these ambiguous issues begin to be clarified. Until the beginning of the twentieth century, these theories were generally based on Newtonian theory. Theory of General Relativity of Einstein put an end point to Newtonian theory and Einstein‘s formulas crushed the basis of Newtonian theories one by one. Sir Isaac Newton (4 January 1643 - 31 March 1727, an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist and theologian) believed that the universe is eternal and infinite. He believed that the universe has no history, no beginning, no end, no limits and will exist eternally and forever.

Sir Isaac Newton

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As stated in the abovementioned Ayah (verse) of Qur‘an, not only that the universe is not infinite but it is expanding which means its dimensions are limited and it has boundaries. According to the Newtonian theory the infinite universe must be static because infinite is incapable of movement. But a limited universe is dynamic because it is capable of contraction and expansion. Based on one of Einstein formulas, Alexander Friedman (Russian cosmologist and mathematician, June 16, 1888 - September 16, 1925) stated that the universe can expand or contract very easily. Based on Einstein formulas, both, Arthur Eddington an English scientist and George Lemaitre a Belgian scientist expressed that the universe began from explosion of a particle and continues to expand. It is very fascinating that scientists made all these discoveries based on Einstein formulas, but initially Einstein himself was not acknowledging these theories. Einstein in his book, ―Cosmological Constant‖, was considering the universe an absolute constant. The use of the word ―Constant‖ was against his relativity theory. In a conference, Einstein said that ―the universe is constant and George Lemaitre cannot refute his theory‖. Expression of the theory that the universe is still expanding revolutionized the world of science, as it was contradicting the theories of all the philosophers. In fact this theory was the interpretation of Surah Al-Zariyat; Ayah 47.

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ىقمى ب ثإع وإب ب بء ث ﴾٤٧﴿واك

And the havens We constructed with strength, and indeed We are [its] expander. (51; 47) SI Although this discovery was based on Einstein‘s formulas, but he was looking for better and additional evidences, until Edwin Hubble, a renowned American scientist resolved this predicament. Using highly advanced and sophisticated telescopes, he presented very solid evidence and proclaimed that the universe is truly expanding. Hubble sent his evidence in the form of pictures to Einstein and asked him to reconsider his theory that was considering the universe to be stationary and static. Einstein meticulously reviewed Hubble‘s observations and later on Mr. Hubble‘s recommendation, Einstein looked at the universe using Hubble‘s sophisticated telescope. Eventually, the results of his own formulas and Hubble‘s observations convinced Einstein that the universe is really expanding. In a press conference, Albert Einstein confessed that the universe is in fact dynamic and expanding and his disagreement with Mr. Lemaitre was unsubstantiated and wrong. He rejected his own book, Cosmological Constant, and declared that his previous theory that the universe is static was one of his colossal scientific mistakes. We should point out that these debates and discussions were taking place among scientists before the discovery of the Big Bang theory. First the expansion of the universe was questionable and afterwards the Big Bang theory was revealed.

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Hubble’s solid evidences:

How did Hubble, a famous American scientist, proved the expansion of the universe? On a dark night when the sky was totally clear, Hubble was very carefully observing all the visible galaxies around earth and accidentally discovered that the universe is expanding. For instance, we are waiting in a bus station and cars are passing by. If we watch and listen to one car very carefully, we will find out that the voice or noise of the car approaching us is entirely different than when that very car is going away from us. This is called the ―Doppler Effect‖ which means that the noise of a moving object is different when that object comes towards us than when it goes away from us. This very rule is applicable to light as well. During night time in a desert, looking at a source of light, the source of light can be either moving or static. If the source is moving, it is either coming towards us or going away from us. If the source of light is static, light will equally distribute to all directions around the source of light. If the source of light is getting closer to us, the waves of light appear to one direction or short tail which ends with blue color which is called blue shift. If the source of light is going away from us, the light forms long waves, called red-shift. This rule of physics is observed easier in objects located further away because the space between the eye and the source of light plays the role of a lens.

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With his sophisticated telescope, Hubble observed that all the galaxies have light tails with long waves and are red shift. According to the law of ―Doppler Effect‖, this red tail or red shift is indicative of the fact that all the galaxies are speedily getting away from the earth. He further observed that relative to the direction of their tails, not only they move away from the earth but move away from each other as well. Earth which is part of the Milky Way Galaxy should also move away from other galaxies.

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Observing the length of the red shift, Hubble realized that the speed of moving away of the galaxies is directly related to its distance from the earth. The galaxies twice as distanced from earth move twice as fast and those ten times distanced move ten times as fast from the earth. According to the laws of expansion, closer particles moves away slower and distanced objects move away faster from each other.

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For explanation and proof of this law, Hubble inflated a balloon till it took a spherical shape. He then attached coins in equal distances from each other on the balloon. Hubble called the balloon the Universe and the coins galaxies, as galaxies are disc shaped. He color-coded one coin and named it the Milky Way Galaxy. Then he inflated the balloon further till the volume of the balloon doubled. Hubble showed that the coins located closer to the color-coded coin have distanced to a lesser degree and coins located far away from the color-coded coin have distanced to a larger degree from the color-coded coin while in fact all the coins have distanced with the same speed from the center of the balloon.

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All the particles located in the circumference of an expanding sphere distance from its center with similar speed but the circumference relative to distance from one and other distance at different speeds from each other. This does not mean that each galaxy moves separately but it means that the galaxies collectively move away from each other due to the expansion of the Universe. If the galaxies were individually moving haphazardly and irregularly in different directions, collisions would have occurred. While in fact, all the galaxies move equally at opposite direction away from each other. According to this discovery, if we suppose the whole universe spherical shape like a balloon, all the galaxies are located at the surface of the Universe (balloon), not inside the balloon. The distance between the stars, planets, celestial bodies inside the galaxies and the distance between the galaxies is space. Then what is the interior part of the Universe or balloon? Vacuum, may be?! What is the diameter of the Universe?

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Einstein called the radius of the Universe-Time. According to this theory, the fourth dimension of the Universe is called Time. This discovery of Mr. Hubble also answered another complicated question. That why despite the existence of the gravity force and strong nuclear force, the Universe does not collapse? This very speedy expansion, as an escaping force, has prevented the collapse of the universe otherwise it would have collapsed due to gravitational and nuclear forces long ago. The Qur‘an, Surah Al-Rahman; Ayah 7:

ؿا بء ؼفمهب ووظك ا ﴾٧﴿واك And the firmament has He raised high, and He has set up the Balance (of justice), (55; 7) AYA In this raised up Heaven, scale which is the symbol of balance and regulation was also descended. If such balance and scale did not exist the organization and orderliness of the universe would have fallen apart.

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The hidden force of matter God Almighty reminds us in the Holy Qur‘an at the beginning of Surah Al-Zariyat that He created the universe with a force and He is expanding it. The word force at the beginning of this Ayah (Verse) has a deeper meaning. The majority of commentators of the Qur‘an have interpreted this force as the power of God which is absolutely correct as God Almighty created the Universe and is expanding it to this day and will continue to expand for a certain time.

ىقمى ب ثإع وإب ب بء ث ﴾٤٧﴿واك

And the havens We constructed with strength, and indeed We are [its] expander. (51; 47) SI Creation of the Universe took place with an extraordinary force. This creation initiated with an enormous explosion by a Grand Unified Fore. This is the force that is located at the nucleus of the atom. The nuclear force of the atom has caused creation and the development of matter. If the nuclear force of atom is omitted the Universe will collapse all at once. The basis of the force of the Universe is nuclear force. One of Einstein‘s formulas, which is also one of the most important formulas of physics explains that very unified nuclear force:

E = mc² Energy = (mass) (square of light speed) Stephen William Hawking (born 8 January 1942, is an English theoretical physicist and cosmologist) in his famous book, ―A brief History of Time‖, writes that just this formula of Einstein is enough in physics, because this formula explains the main Unified Force.

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The basis of all creation is one Unified Force and the Universe as a whole is created on the bases of a Unified Force.

The Big Bang was contrary to the law of condensation of matter. If the Sun becomes so condensed that its volume equals to an atom, it will never have the ability to explode as the internal gravity force will become tremendously big. The Universe was condensed in a volume much smaller than an atom and yet it did explode! For that reason the existence of an extraordinarily mysterious force is absolutely necessary. It is obvious that the word ―force‖ at the beginning of this Ayah (Verse) has broad dimensions, indeed.

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The robust and firm columns of the Universe: When we construct a building it must be built on a strong foundation or columns otherwise the building will collapse on itself. Is it possible that this inconceivably enormous Universe, which light has not been able to reach its far edges and ends, operate without such strong foundations or columns? The answer is clear. Surah Al-Luqman Ayah 10 states:

ع رؽوهب ضك ؽ ل بواد ثغ ﴾١٣﴿ اك He created the heavens without any pillars that ye can see; (31; 10) AYA Also in Surah Al-Ra‘ad; Ayah 2:

ع رؽوهب ؽ ل بواد ثغ اقزىي ل اـ اػ ؼفك اك ثؽ امؽل ف وام وقطؽ اش ك دؽ إخ عثؽ و

رىلى مبء ؼثى اأبد مى ث ؽ فص ﴾٢﴿اإ Allah is He Who raised the heavens without any pillars that you can see; then He established Himself on the Throne. He has subjected the Sun and the moon! Each one runs (its course) for a term appointed. He doth regulate all affairs, explaining the signs in detail, hat ye may believe with certainty in the meeting with your Lord. (13; 2) AYA This Qur‘anic Ayah (Verse) has two main components:

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First: God states that Havens are lifted up without visible columns. This Ayah does not reject columns of the Universe but nullifies their visibility. Second: The Ayah continues ―the Sun and the Moon were subdued‖ and afterwards instead the word ―both‖, the word ―all‖ is used which points to all celestial bodies including the Sun and the Moon. Which means that all the celestial bodies, Sun and Moon included, are rotating in their certain orbits. From a scientific point of view, both the invisible columns of the Universe and the movement of the celestial bodies including the Sun, the moon and the earth in a certain orbit, have a fundamental connection as movement and column in the Universe are totally synonymous. In general there are three categories of invisible columns in the Universe: A. Columns that prevent collapse of the systems, such as the

Solar System.

B. Columns that prevent collapse of the galaxies.

C. Columns that prevent collapse of the Universe in general. All of these columns do exist but they are invisible!

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A. The Columns of the systems, such as the solar

system: The Sun, a middle size star, is in the center of the solar system. A system that eight (The exact number of the planets of the solar system is not determined) planets are rotating around it in certain orbits and satellites around the planets. Similarly, all stars have multiple planets and most planets have at least one or more satellites. The age of the solar system is more than 6.45 billion years. In this long period of time, without an external cause or reason, no satellite had fallen into a planet and no planet has fallen into the center of the solar system, the Sun. Why? What are these columns that prevent this collapse? Isaac Newton called these invisible columns, the forces of attraction and repulsion. How Newton discovered the gravity force is not the subject of this discussion and the story of Newton sleeping under an apple tree and apple falling on his forehead is pretty popular. The Sun at the center of the solar system with a very vigorous attraction force controls the planets of the solar system and keeps them in their specific orbits so they cannot run away. If it were not for the attraction force of the sun, planets of the solar system including the earth would have run away from the center of the solar system and the solar system would have fallen apart. As none of the planets of the solar system can exist autonomously, each one of them including the earth would have been destroyed. The attraction force of the Sun is one of the forces that controls the solar system and is invisible.

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The force of repulsion also exists in the solar system. If it were not for the force of repulsion all the planets of the solar system including the earth would have fallen into the center of the solar system, the Sun. The force of propulsion is the result of speedy movement. If we through a stone for instance; as long as the stone is moving it will not fall but the moment it stops moving it will immediately fall to the ground. An airplane does not fall as long as it is in motion but it will fall to the ground momentarily after it stops. The earth which is one of the planets of the solar system moves in a speed of 29.4 Kilometer per second in its certain orbit around the Sun. This is a relatively fast movement. If a plane could travel with such a speed it will reach Washington from Kabul in less than 13 minutes. It is this fast movement (but not too fast to neutralize or cancel out the force of attraction) that prevents the earth from falling out of its orbit. If the earth stops moving for a one moment, this will be the end of the earth and it will fall down into the fiery belly of the Sun. Similarly, planets control their satellites and this law is the same in all stars, planets and satellites. Albert Einstein explains these invisible columns somewhat differently. For the first time, Einstein found some difficulties with attraction and repulsion theory of Newton. Einstein believed that stars, the Sun for instance; in its location due to its huge volume forms a curve in the space and creates an almost circular bowel. The Sun is located in the center of the bowel and the planets of the solar system are rotating in appropriate speeds on the edges of the bowel. The closer planets are rotating near the lower parts of the edge of the bowel and the

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far away planets such as Neptune are rotating in the far away and upper parts of the edges of the bowel.

The reason that the planets are not escaping the Sun is that curve of the bowel and the reason that the planets of the solar system are not falling into the burning Sun is their appropriate movement in their orbits.

Similarly, the earth and other planets form their smaller curves that their satellites are rotating around the planet in their orbits in these smaller bowel shape curves. Einstein insisted that the speed of rotational movement of the planets around the stars or the Sun and rotational movement of the satellites around the planets (such as the moon around the earth) are very meticulous and balanced. If the speed was faster the planets and the satellites would have escaped the curves of the bowels and they would have vanished and destroyed and if

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the speed was slower they would have fallen into the fiery bellies of the Sun or their associated stars.

Surah Al-Zumar; Ayah 5 states:

بواد واإؼض ثبسك ل اهبؼ وىىؼ اهبؼ ضك اك ىىؼ ا ؽ ل ا ف وام وقطؽ اش ك دؽ إخ ؤب و

﴾٥﴿ى امؿؿ اغفبؼ He created the heavens and the earth in true (proportions): He makes the night overlap the day, and the day overlap the night: He has subjected the Sun and the moon (to His law): each one follows a course for a time appointed. Is not He the Exalted in Power - He Who forgives again and again? (39; 5) AYA

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This theory of Einstein disturbed lots of scientists as they considered the basis of Newtonian theory so unwavering and strong that they believed if there is one reliable and dependable scientific law that would be that very Newtonian law. Additionally, scientists were considering space ―nothing‖ so it was argued that according to which scientific law in that space the Sun, the stars and the planets can form the curves. But Einstein did not consider space ―nothing‖ and instead he considered the space a transparent and invisible fabric. This problem remained unresolved till another theory of Einstein, ―the String theory‖ proved that closer to reality. Lee Smolin, a well know American physicist in his famous book ―Three Roads to Quantum Gravity‖, published in 2001 suggested that: ―space is formed of strings or fibers similar to a piece of cloth made of threads. The smallest piece of space, even 10

-35 meter is

as such‖. Sir Martin Rees, a professor at Cambridge University in England in his book ―Our Cosmic Habitat‖ writes: ―According the new theories, there is no such thing as empty space even to the least amount. May be this is vibration of complex of fibers and strings‖. Paul Davies, a physicist and professor at Arizona State University in his book ―The Edge of Infinity‖ states that: the discovery of woven but invisible space is one of the most significant discoveries of the twentieth century.

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Surah Al-Zariyat; Ayah 7 states:

بء غاد اسجه ﴾٧﴿واك By the Sky with (its) numerous paths (51; 7) AYA

The word ―Hubuk زجه‖ has several meanings which its main

meaning is woven. The Arabs used to compare very delicate and fine fabrics to

―Hubuk زجه‖.

The abovementioned Ayah, besides expression of other facts, alludes to the strings of the space as well and it is one of the Ayahs that have flabbergasted scientists.

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B. The Invisible columns of the galaxies: A galaxy is a conglomerate of tens of billions of stars, hundreds of billions of planets and thousands of billions of satellites and countless smaller celestial bodies and atomic gases such as hydrogen, complicated compounds such as hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, silicon etc. This colossal body looks like a coin or computer disk in the universe. All the components of a galaxy mentioned above are rotating around one center. Most of the stars are located so far away from each other that their attraction forces do not have that much effect on and other. For instance; the distance between the Sun and the closest star to the earth, Proxima Centauri (Latin: proxima: meaning 'next to' or 'nearest to' is a red dwarf star about 4.2 light-years distant in the constellation of Centaurus. It was discovered in 1915 by Robert Innes, the Director of the Union Observatory in South Africa, and is the nearest know star to the Sun, although it is too faint to be seen with the naked eye) is so huge that thirty million Suns can fit in that space. Then which invisible force has kept this colossal body united and organized and what will happen if that invisible force or column did not exist? The system and rule of the galaxies would have broken, the path of the movement of the stars would have changed and the stars would have collided with each other if such a coordinating force did not exist. What is this robust column that has kept this body so well organized? Before discussing anything about these columns, first we should know our location in the universe. The earth is part of the solar system which the Sun is its centerpiece. The solar system is a very small particle in the Milky Way galaxy which is one of the thousands of millions of the galaxies of the universe.

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The Milky Way galaxy which our earth is part of it consists of more than one hundred billion stars (some predicts that number to be two hundred thousand million stars) which each star has its own planets, satellites and celestial bodies. The Milky Way galaxy has the form of a round disk that stars are spread throughout it. The diameter of the Milky Way galaxy is about one hundred thousand light year which means that it will take for the light about one hundred thousand years to cross the diameter of the Milky Way Galaxy. Thus the radius of the Milky Way Galaxy is fifty thousand light years and its circumference is three hundred and fourteen thousand light years.

The solar system is located in a part of the Milky Way Galaxy that has thirty thousand light years distance from its center and twenty thousand light years from its circumference. The stars that we can observe in a clear starry night all belong to the Milky Way

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galaxy and only the ones very close to our solar system. All the stars of the Milky Way galaxy are rotating around a certain unified center. The solar system including our earth is moving in a longitudinal orbit around the center of the galaxy. The solar system moves in a speed of 220 Kilometer per second (some scientists believe it moves in a speed of 20.1 Kilometer per second) in an orbit in the space. This is an extremely high speed and if an airplane could move in such a high speed, it will take less than one and a half minute to get from Kabul to Washington. Despite this high speed it takes the solar system 250 million years to complete one turn around the center of the galaxy. It will take 188,571 years for light to cross this distance. This shows the magnitude and enormity of one of the thousands of millions of galaxies. To this date, the solar system has traveled eighteen times around that center and currently we are in the nineteenth round and about one hundred million years of the nineteenth round have also been left behind. The light that has exited from the Sun during the life time of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) to this day has crossed less than 1.5% of the diameter of the Milky way galaxy. The Milky Way galaxy is a middle size galaxy, and some galaxies of the Universe are thirteen times larger than our galaxy. The distance between each galaxy on average is about one million light years and scientists estimate the minimum number of galaxies of the universe to be about one hundred twenty five thousand million. The subject of our discussion was the robust columns of the galaxies, or in Qur‘anic terms the invisible columns, that to this day have prevented the collapse of the galaxies.

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Up until the beginning of the twentieth century scientists believed that matter is something that could be sensed with at least one of the five senses. But new science acknowledges and identifies a matter that cannot be sensed with any of the human senses. A matter that cannot be seen, heard, touched, nothing but with very strong intangible and invisible effects. Modern science named it ―Dark Matter‖. Initially it was named ―Missing Matter‖ but later scientists came to the opinion that the matter is not missing but its light is missing, so the name ―Dark Matter‖ was accepted by scientists. The Dark Matter makes up about 90% of all the matter of the Universe. The subject of our discussion is not to discuss all of the functions of the Dark Matter in the universe but only one principle job of the Dark Matter is worth mentioning. It is that Dark Matter that serves as an invisible column that prevents the collapse of the galaxies.

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The Dark Matter is spread out homogeneously among all the galaxies, which keeps all the components of the galaxies around a unified center. It is due to the very strong effects of this dark but invisible matter that in the Milky Way galaxy for instance; has kept more than one hundred thousand million stars in such a harmony that despite the passage of thousands of millions of years none of the stars, without any external effects, has discoursed from its determined path. All the stars with their associated planets and satellites are in their constant move and the Dark Matter has kept them in their certain orbits. If this Dark Matter did not exist, the coordination of the galaxies would have disturbed and the stars would have collided with each other. Moreover, the Dark Matter provides some energy for the stars as well otherwise all the stars aged more than three billion years would have been destroyed. It should be kept in mind that most of the energy of the stars and the Sun is produced inside them by nuclear reactions.

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C. The invisible columns of the universe as a whole:

According the law of matter, mentioned earlier, the universe as a whole should collapse. That means that space, time, place including the earth, the Sun, the Moon and as a whole all the galaxies ought to collapse in one spot but it has not happened yet! The reasons why the systems such as the solar system and the galaxies have not collapsed yet were discussed to some extent earlier. Now, we will discuss that the universe as a whole, which consists of more than one hundred twenty five thousand million galaxies, has been alive and what kind of invisible columns prevented that colossal collapse from happening? As mentioned earlier, stars associated to one galaxy are so far away from each other that do not affect each other‘s attraction forces and it is the Dark Matter that keeps all the stars in their determined orbits. On the contrary, as a whole the galaxies relative to their huge diameters are not so distanced from each other. The closest neighboring galaxy, Andromeda, is about two million light years away from the earth, which less than twenty Milky Way galaxies can fit in that distance. So the galaxies have deep relation to each other.

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The Andromeda Galaxy Our galaxy, the Milky Way galaxy, is one of the 30 galaxies that belong to a group, called ―the Local Group‖. We should bear in mind that with the passage of every moment, due to the general expansion of the Universe, the distance between the galaxies is increasing. On the other hand the distance between the stars and planets within the galaxy remains stable as with the expansion of the galaxies the distance between the galaxies is increasing but within the galaxy due to the presence of the Dark Matter the steadiness is maintained and the minimal expansion of the solar system by no means is related to the expansion of the Universe. All the galaxies are spacing away from each other but the force of attraction and the strong nuclear force is trying to counteract this expansion. If the expansion of the universe stops only for a moment, that will cause the disappearance of the entire universe. The universe as a whole will collapse and space, time and place

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will equate to zero. Then what hidden force and invisible column has prevented such a collapse to this day? Despite the internal forces such as gravitational force and strong nuclear force that constantly try to stop the expansion and cause the collapse of the universe, what force is resisting and nullifying these forces? Scientists call this invisible force or column, ―the Dark Energy‖. This dark energy is located between the galaxies, which causes repulsion among the galaxies and expansion of the Universe. If these columns get destroyed, the expansion of the Universe stops and the Universe will centrally collapse into one spot. How long will this force, ―the Dark Energy‖ which plays the role of an invisible column and prevents the collapse of the Universe, be able to continue this task? Now that we talked about the invisible columns of the solar system, the galaxies and the Universe we can conclude that movement and life are synonymous words or in other words move means life. Everything must stay dynamic in order to stay alive and from a minute atom to the gigantic universe all are pulsating and lively. An atom is alive as long as its electrons are moving around its nucleus. The pen on your disk is made of tiny particles and these minute particles in addition to movement around the earth and the rest of the solar system planets must turn around itself and the Sun as well in order to remain alive. The Sun and all the stars are rotating around the center of the universe otherwise they will vanish. Finally, all the galaxies must stay dynamic otherwise they will collapse and will be no more.

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Similarly, every individual, every people and every nation must stay dynamic or their names will disappear from the pages of history for good. Surah Al-A‘raf Ayah; 54 states:

ك ؽ وادى ف وام واش ؽ ؽ طؽاد ثإ ك واإ اط ؤب ني ﴾٥٤﴿رجبؼن اـ ؼة امب ’

…And the sun, the moon and the stars (all) are subservient by His command. Verily His are the creation and the command Blessed be Allah the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds! (7; 54) AYA The Almighty has designed rules for the physical world and subjected everything to these rule so the universe will be up and running based on these rules and laws till the moment He Himself terminates and brings to an end all of these laws.

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The Sun, a prototype and example of a star: The Sun is just a star but the closest and the most critical one for the earth. The Sun is the center of the solar system which along with its eight planets (the number of the planets of the solar system is not known for sure. Pluto is omitted from the list of the planets of the solar system and three planets are newly discovered in the solar system) rotates around the center of the Milky Way galaxy in a very long orbit. Up until four centuries ago, scientists believed that the earth is completely static and the Sun along with the Moon and all other stars are rotating around it. This impression stemmed from observation of the sunrise and sunset as if the Sun rises from the east and sits in the west. They also believed the earth to be the center of the Universe. Later, Galileo and other scientists considered the Sun to be static and the earth to be rotating around it and afterward they believed the Sun to be the center of the universe. This was an evolution of human mind that at least considered the Sun to be the center of the universe rather than the earth. This intellectual controversy over what is static and what is dynamic continued for years till it was proven that nothing is static but all the celestial bodies are in a constant move in certain orbits and none of the planets or stars could be the center of the universe. The Holy Qur‘an states in Surah Al-Anbiy; Ayah 23:

ى ؽ و ف وام واهبؼ واش اػ ضك ا ه كجسى ف ف و﴿٣٣﴾

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It is He Who created the Night and the Day, and the sun and the moon all (the celestial bodies) swim along, each in its rounded course. (21; 33) AYA Surah Al-Isrra; Ayah 44:

بواد اكج اك ﴾٤٤﴿واإؼض كركجر

The seven Heavens and the earth, and all beings therein declare His glory. (17; 44) AYA

In the above Ayah, the word ―Sabah‖ (قجك) & ( ‖Yasbahoon― (كجسى

also implies movement in orbit. The movement of the earth, the Sun, the moon and all of the celestial bodies are mentioned in multiple Ayahs (Verses), such as Surah AL-Yassin; Ayah 40, etc. The Sun along with the entire solar system including the earth, in addition to longitudinal movement in their orbits around the center of the galaxy, is in motion along with the galaxy due to the expansion of the universe as well. Surah Al-Yassin; Ayah 38 states:

كزمؽ هب ف ردؽ غه ر واش ﴾٣٨﴿معؽ امؿؿ ام And the Sun runs unto a resting place, for him: that is the decree of (Him), the Exalted in Might, the All-Knowing. (36; 38) AYA After it was proven that the earth is rotating in an orbit around the Sun, all of the scientists believed that the Sun is stationary. This

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Ayah (Verse) that the Sun is dynamic and moves in a path towards its resting place completely rejects the opinion of the scientists of that era. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, Sir Fredrick William Herschel (15 November 1738 – 25 August 1822, a German/British astronomer technical expert, and a composer, Herschel became famous for the discovery of the planet Uranus in addition to its two major moons. He also discovered two moons of Saturn and infrared radiation) a renowned cosmologist and chemist, declared that: ―the Sun is traveling through Space‖.

Sir Fredrick William Herschel

In the twentieth century more reliable evidences were found that the Sun along with the solar system rotates around the center or the galaxy and together with the galaxy is moving toward an unknown direction due to the expansion of the Universe. The age of the Sun and the solar system is estimated to be about 4.65 billion years. The power of the energy of the Sun light is 3.38 x 10

26 watts. The oceans store the Sun energy during the day

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time and distribute it during the night time. For that reason, despite of lack of the Sun light during the night the weather on earth is suitable for life. The diameter of the Sun is 1,391,016 Km which is 109 times that of the diameter of the earth. The volume of the Sun is one million and three hundred thousand times larger than the earth. In other words more than one million earths can fit inside the Sun.

The mass of the Sun is 1.989 x 1027

ton which is only 333,000 times that of the mass of earth. The mass of the Sun relative to its volume is less. So the density of the Sun is four times less than that of the density of earth. The temperature at the surface of the Sun is 5,510 degrees of Celsius but the temperature of the core of the Sun is about 15 million degrees of Celsius. The distance of the Sun from earth is 149,500,000 Kilometers which light crosses this distance in 8 minutes and 17 seconds.

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Nuclear Fusions: Up until the beginning of the twentieth century scientists believed that the Sun and other stars are like fire balls that their internal materials burns gradually to the last part, their nucleuses. For instance; when coal burns, initially the external part is burning while the internal part is not and after a while the fire moves inward and the coal turns into ashes from outside in till nucleus or the last part of the coal burns out. They were applying the same rule to the Sun and the stars but at the beginning of the twentieth century, Einstein‘s famous formula (E=mc2) rejected these beliefs. (Energy = (Mass) x (Square of the Speed of Light). Contrary to the burning coal, the core of the Sun is millions of times hotter than its surface. The energy and the light generated by the Sun, the stars and the quasars are due to their internal nuclear and innate fusions and these colossal bodies are not simply put on external fire. These are the nuclear fusions that generate the light, the heat and the energy. Surah Al-Nour; Ayah 35 states:

جبؼوخ ؾزىخ ب شؽلخ شدؽح ىلع اؿخبخخ وإهب وىوت ظؼ بؼ كك ر ﴾٣٥﴿ وب غؽثخ ىبظ ؾزهب عء وى

…the glass as if it were a pearly [white] star lit from [the oil] of a blessed oil tree, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil will almost glow even if untouched by fire… (24; 35) SI This is one of those Ayahs that every commentator of Qur‘an, depending on their background and point of view has his/her own

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interpretation. We will further review this Ayah in detail in section on Quasars. The subject of our discussion at this time is not what this Ayah is explaining but the point is that what this Ayah alludes to is the nuclear fusions in the Sun, other stars and the quasars.

―Bright star, lit from a blessed olive tree‖, which means that stars such as the Sun get some energy (Oil) from the blessed tree (Universe) that help the nuclear fusions. Scientists are intrigued by the analogy of the universe to a ―blessed Tree‖ and symbolically the universe and tree are pretty synonymous. All the stars spread out but yet connected like fruits of a tree to the tree of the Universe. A very interesting point is that at the end of the Ayah says that it is illuminating without connection to any fire. The Sun and the stars are not blazed on fire as there is not enough oxygen around them but all this heat, light and energy is the result of nuclear fusions between hydrogen and helium inside the Sun and other stars.

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The volume or size of stars: The Sun is an ordinary star and any laws applicable to the Sun are also applicable to all the stars. The only difference is that the Sun is the closest and the most essential star for our earth.

The Sun is a mid size star and most stars are either three or more times larger or three times smaller than the Sun. There are still small stars that are smaller than the earth or smaller the Kabul City (the capital of Afghanistan). Some of these small stars have a diameter of about 20 Kilometers and are called Neutron Stars (Neutron stars are compact objects that are created in the cores of massive stars during supernova explosions. The core of the star collapses, and crushes together every proton with a corresponding electron turning each electron-proton pair into a neutron. The neutrons, however, can often stop the collapse and remain as a neutron star). There are no nuclear fusions in these small stars. In fact, these are extremely old and gigantic stars that

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after prolonged nuclear fusions their nucleus has turned into iron and after the internal collapse the nucleus has not shattered.

Neutron stars were first introduced by Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (October 19, 1910 – August 21, 1995 an Indian-born American astrophysicist, Nobel Prize 1983) in 1930. Some of the present-day gigantic stars many times larger than our Sun, after the end of their nuclear fusions and internal collapse, will turn into small neutron stars as long as their internal iron does not disintegrate after their explosion.

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At the Milky Way galaxy which comprises more than one hundred thousand million stars, there are some mammoth stars which are hundreds or even thousands of times larger than the Sun. These stars are called Giant stars. Similarly, in this galaxy there are stars that are millions of times larger than our Sun which are called Super Giant stars.

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Size of the Sun in comparison to some of the giant stars

The largest star of the Milky Way galaxy is so big that if it is plugged in place of our Sun it will cover planets Mercury, Venous, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. This is a super giant star that is incredibly huge.

Surah Al-Waqiah; Ayahs 75 & 76:

ىالك ادى ث ب ؤلك ﴾٧٥﴿ف لف ى ى رم مك ﴾٧٦﴿وإ

Then I swear by the sitting of the stars, and indeed, it is an oath – if you could know – [most] great. (56, 76 &76) SI

According to some commentators the ( ىالك ث ادى ) or sitting of the

star in the above Ayah is hinting to the magnitude of the stars.

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Some commentators of the Qur‘an like the late Abdullah Yusuf Ali

has interpreted ( ىالك ث ادى ) to disappearance of giant stars which

change into black holes which really has huge mass and gravity. These Ayahs (Verses) explain many other issues as well.

Up until mid eighteenth century astronomers were considering all of the stars to be smaller than the Sun or even smaller than the earth.

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The History of the solar system The Sun is at the center of the solar system and its planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto (Pluto, due to its small size, has been omitted from planets of the solar system) are rotating around it. In 2005, a team of American scientists led by Michael E. Brown (born June 5, 1965, a professor of planetary astronomy at Caltech) has discovered three new planets each rotating around the Sun. there is no consensus yet among scientists whether to consider them planets.

Sun is the most important entity in the solar system and none of the solar system planets can exist independent of the Sun. Earth which is the third planet of the solar system is located in such a meticulously calculated position that has the ability to sustain life. Sun is among the Second Generation stars. All of the First Generation stars which formed right after the Big Bang have already exploded and elements such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and iron were produced in these primary stars.

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Approximately seven thousand million years ago (scientists do not agree on this figure) a giant star, multiple times larger than the Sun, exploded in the location where the solar system is located at presently. After its explosion this star transformed to a colossal mass of smoke which is called Solar Nebula. According to the law of matter this smoky mass was rotating around a unique center. Due to the law of matter these scattered particles were attracting each other and joining together until thousands of millions of year later, approximately 4.65 billion years ago, the center of this mass transformed into the Sun and its margins transformed into the planets of the solar system which earth is one of those planets.

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Ayah 11 of the Surah Al-Fussilat, studied earlier, also point towards creation of the solar system:

ب إؼض ائزب ؼىلب ؤو وؽ فمبي هب و ظضب بء و اقزىي إ اك ثب ؼبئمني ﴾١١﴿لبزب ؤر

Moreover He comprehended in His design the sky, and it had been (as) smoke: He said to it and to the earth: come ye together ―willingly, or unwillingly.‖ They said: we do come (together) in willing obedience.‖ (41; 11) AYA

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The Future of the solar system (Looming Fire and

Destruction) Will the Sun shine eternally? Will the earth which is a small component of the solar system live forever? The fate and of the solar system is tied tightly to the destiny of the Sun. If the Sun shines perpetually, the solar system will live forever but if the Sun dies none of the planets or satellites of the solar system will survive. Surah Al-Ahqaaf; Ayah 3 states:

ب إب ثب ه ب ث بواد واإؼض و ؤسك وب ضمب اك ك خ مؽظى ب ؤػؼوا وفؽوا ل ﴾٣﴿واػ

We created not the heavens and the earth and all in between them but for just ends, and for a Term Appointed: but those who reject Faith turn away from that whereof they are warned. (46; 3) AYA The point of our interest in the abovementioned Ayah is that there is an obvious clue to mankind that not only the solar system but the universe in its entirety not eternal. How will the entire universe perish will be discussed in future sections but the subject of our discussion for the time being is the process that the solar system will come to an end.

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Surah Al-Ra‘ad; Ayah 2 states:

ؽ ف وام وقطؽ اش ك دؽ إخ ﴾٢﴿ و He has subjected the sun and the moon (to his law)! Each one runs (its course) for a term appointed. (12; 2) AYA Likewise, ―determined term‖ for the Sun, the moon and the earth has been mentioned in Surahs: AL-Faater, Ayah 13, Al-Zumaar; Ayah 5 as well. To this day, the Sun shines due to nuclear fusions. Helium and hydrogen make up major parts of the Sun. Nuclear fusions of these two elements keep the Sun shining and alive. Helium enters the nucleus of the Sun which is full of hydrogen with an extreme speed and equal amount of hydrogen exits the nucleus of the Sun which transforms into helium. Energy, light and heat are produced due to this process of entrance of helium into the nucleus of the Sun and exit of hydrogen and its transformation into helium. The Sun is alive to this day for two reasons: A. If it were not for the strong nuclear force and gravity force, the

Sun would have exploded like a Hydrogen Bomb.

B. If there were no nuclear fusions, the Sun would have collapsed inside itself and would have died.

The nuclear fusions inside the Sun will continue as long as there is enough hydrogen in its nucleus.

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The Sun consumes or in other words loses 700,000,000 ton of hydrogen per second which results in generation of light, energy and heat. How much hydrogen does the Sun uses up in a minute, an hour and a day? You do the math. Up to date, the Sun has used up 37% of its hydrogen and when major portions of hydrogen are lost the destruction of the Sun or solar system will begin.

After a certain but extremely long period of time the majority of the hydrogen of the core of the Sun will be transformed into helium and an enormous tribulation will begin in nuclear fusions. At that time despite of the shortage of hydrogen the Sun wants to stay alive and the only way to continue is to accelerate the process of nuclear fusions. Helium enters the nucleus with higher speed but finds lesser amount of hydrogen and exit the nucleus with extreme speed. The process of nuclear fusions gets faster as the amount of hydrogen gets scarce in the nucleus. The speedy movement of the hydrogen and fast nuclear fusions causes the temperature of the Sun to goes higher. With passing of every moment the Sun will get hotter and the living conditions on earth will become unbearable. Due to the hot environment on earth, the north and south poles glaciers along with snows of tall mountains which are the sources of water will start to melt and will result in rise (currently the glaciers of north and south poles are temporarily melting due to transient climate change on earth and is totally unrelated to the Sun) in the level of water in rivers and oceans which will cause devastating flooding and overflows. Water will invade dry land and coastal regions will be inundated and obliterated.

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Suarh Al-Infitar; Ayah 3 states:

﴾٣﴿وإغا اجسبؼ فدؽد

And when the seas burst beyond their bounds, (82; 3) MA The Sun will gradually get hotter and most of the pressure will be on helium. Due to speedy but unusual nuclear fusions the volume of the Sun will get larger and its color will turn bright-red. At that time the atmosphere of the earth will turn red and explosions will start due to unusually high heat. Surah Al-Rahmaan; Ayahs 35 – 37 state:

ب رزصؽا ـ ف بؼ وسب ب شىاؾ ى ل آبء ﴾٣٥﴿ؽق فجإ ب رىػثب ﴾٣٦﴿ؼثى ب بء فىبذ وؼظح وبع فئغا اشمذ اك

﴿٣٧﴾

There will be sent upon you a flame of fire and smoke and you will not defend yourselves. So which of the favors of your lord you deny? And when the heaven is split open and becomes rose -colored like oil - (55; 35 – 37) SI Due to extreme heat the underground and the under mountains volcanoes will become so hot that the pressure of their steams will rupture the earth and bizarre volcanic activities and powerful and unprecedented earth quakes will start off.

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Surah Al-Zilzal; Ayah 1 states:

﴾١﴿إغا ؾؿذ اإؼض ؾؿاهب When the earth is shaken to (her) final earthquack, (99; 1) MP First Vol of Mathnawai; Maulana Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi:

الها این زمین باشد گواه حالهایوم دین که زلزلت زلز To prevention the explosion of the Sun, the gravity force of the Sun will get stronger. This strong gravity force of the Sun will cause vigorous oceanic tidings which will result in submersion and inundation of more territories under water. The temperature of the Sun will go so high that all the forests will burst into flames and terrifying explosions will start all over the earth. Why don‘t we hear the noises of the solar explosions on earth? Part of the space void of any kind of gases is called the vacuum. Light, heat and energy can travel much easier in vacuum while on the contrary sound does not cross through the vacuum. There is a vacuum between the Sun and the earth where the sounds of the explosions are stopped and reflected back towards the Sun. If it were not for this vacuum the terrifying sounds of Sun explosions would have shaken the earth so vigorously that even the strong pinnacles of the mountains would have fallen down. At that time due to the expansion of the Sun and the solar wind this vacuum will be filled and these terrifying sounds of the solar explosions will reach the earth. These will be such vigorous and

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loud vibrations that will demolish not only the strong and high rise buildings but the mountains as well. Surah Al-Muzamil; Ayah 14 states:

هب رؽخف اإؼض وادجبي ووبذ ادجبي وثجب ﴾١٤﴿ى On Day the earth and the mountains will be in violent commotions, and the mountains will be as a heap of sand poured out and flowing down. (73; 14) AYA Along with expansion of the Sun, its gravity goes up as well. Mercury, the closest planets to the Sun, will plunge into the Sun and all of a sudden Moon, the closest satellite to the Sun will disappear and plummet into the fiery belly of the Sun. Sounds of solar explosions from the Sun, explosions from earth, everything on fire and smog, assaults of water waves on land and submersion of the land, disappearance of the moon, red colored sky and a lost and destitute mankind…! Surah Al-Qayama; Ayahs 7 – 12:

ؽ ﴾٧﴿فئغا ثؽق اجصؽ ؽ ﴾٨﴿وضكف ام ف وام ك اش وخ

فؽ ﴾٩﴿ ا ئػ ؤ ى ﴾١١﴿وب ب وؾؼ ﴾١٣﴿مىي ائكب إكزمؽ ئػ ا ﴾١٢﴿ؼثه ى

At length, when the site is dazed, and the moon is buried in darkness, and the sun and moon are joined together, - That day

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will man say: ―where is the refuge?‖ By no means, no place of safety! Before thy Lord (alone), that day will be the place of rest. (75; 7 - 12) AYA Where can man flee? This dilemma will not be limited to Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Chechen or Lebanon. On the contrary this fire, flood, storm and roaring of the Sun will be all over. The temperature will gradually go so high that waters of the oceans and land will boil and evaporate. The temperature of the atmosphere will increase so much that due to extreme heat, the atmosphere will lose its ability to transform these vapors into cloud. Surah Al-Takwair; Ayah 6 states:

﴾ ٦﴿وإغا اجسبؼ قدؽد

When the oceans boil over with a swell; (81; 6) AYA The earth will turn into a hot and dry body, without water, forests, plants, animals or humans.

The Sun will swell up so much that it will swallow Venus, the second planet of solar system. The Sun will transform into a colossal red body scientists call, Red Giant. Surah Al-Takwair; Ayah 1 states:

ف وىؼد ﴾١﴿إغا اش When the sun (with its spacious light) is folded up; (81; 1) AYA

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The expanding Sun and endangered earth

The temperature of earth will go up two thousand times and in such a heat stones and mountains will melt down and will be flowing as fire flood till the surface of the earth comes to a boil and melts away. Surah Al-Takwair; Ayah 3 states:

﴾٣﴿وإغا ادجبي قؽد

When the mountains vanish (like a mirage); (81; 3) AYA

Second vol. Mathnawi; Mawlana Jalaludin Mohammad Balkhi:

شده چون پشم نرم نیست گشته این زمین نرم و گرم کوها بینی

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Some scientists believe that is the time that the Sun will collapse internally but other scientists believe that the Sun will continue expanding. The Sun will expand so much that will take over most of the earth atmosphere and its margins will gradually get closer to earth and eventually earth too will be doomed to the destiny of the Mercury and Venus. With plummeting of earth into the fiery belly of the Sun, one of the most intriguing tales of the universe will come to an end. The angry and roaring Sun will continue to expand and wants to swallow the next planet but before it swallows Mars its columns will collapse. With lack of hydrogen, helium will lose its ability to continue nuclear fusions. Gravity force will prevail and the Sun will collapse inside itself with amazing force and speed called Solar Collapse. In this solar collapse all components of the Sun will collide inside its hollow nucleus very forcefully and swiftly. Such a strong explosion that will shake other solar planets and subsequently Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and three other planets related to the solar system along with their satellites will dislodge from their orbits and will escape. The Sun will transform into a smaller pale body with the size of present-day earth with a density and mass multiple times higher which scientists call this phase, White Dwarf. Some scientists believe that the size of the Sun will remain as the size of the earth but it will lose its light and will turn into Black Dwarf. A minority of scientists believe, that due to the lack of nuclear fusions, the Sun will continue to shrink but its mass and density

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will remain stable. The Sun will get smaller than the Moon, a soccer ball, the eye of a needle, the tip of a needle and ultimately its volume will get equal to zero but its gravity and mass will stay intact. Scientists call this strange phenomenon, Black Hole.

An Artist's conception of the evolution of our Sun (left), through

the red giant stage (center) and onto a white dwarf (right).

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Black Hole Black hole is a strange phenomenon first introduced by Karl Schwarzschild a German scientist in 1916. The basis of his theory was Einstein‘s relativity theory but at that time none knew the location of black hole. In section of ―The Future of the Solar System‖ it was discussed that after the exhaustion of its hydrogen the Sun will expand for a while and then collapse and gradually its volume will reach zero but its mass and gravity will remain intact. That is the destiny of most of the stars and many stars have had this fate in the past that have caused formation of Black Hole. A black hole is a region of space from which nothing, not even light can escape. The relativity theory predicts that an amply compact mass will deform space time to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is an undetectable area called an event horizon that marks the point of no return. It is called "black" because it absorbs all the light that hits the horizon, reflecting nothing. The ―event horizon‖, is so strong that any thing that gets close to that area is swallowed and nothing even light can escape it. Suarah Al-Tariq; Ayah 1-4 states:

بء واؽبؼق ب اؽبؼق ﴾١﴿واك ب ؤظؼان اثبلت ﴾٢﴿و ادهب زبفؿ ﴾٣﴿ ب ل فف ﴾٤﴿إ و

By the Sky and the Night-Visitant (therein); And what will explain to thee what the Night-Visitant is?-(It is) the Star of piercing

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brightness; There is no soul but has a protector over it. (86;1-4) AYA One of the meanings of the Arabic word ―thaqib‖ (‌ اقب is to (الثpierce or to perforate. And at the end of the Ayah, ―there is no one without Guardian Angel‖ alluding to tremendously strong gravity of the black hole and that nothing can be in that zone. But as angel is not of the world of physics and material the laws of the universe are not applicable to angles. Martin Rees professor of Cambridge University in his book ―Our Cosmic Habitat‖ writes:

The universe is already pierced by formation of the black hole. A black hole is a very condensed zone with extreme gravity which has gathered the fabric of time and space into one spot and ends with a very tiny and narrow lower end. A black hole is a zone in the space which has totally separated itself from the rest of the universe and none of the scientific laws are applicable in that zone.

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If earth for instance; get caught in that zone it will contract in less than a second to a degree that could go through a the eye of a needle and would be gulped down at the spot and would conclude to zero. Surah Al-Araaf; Ayah 40 states:

بء وب ؤثىاة اك وػثىا ثأبرب واقزىجؽوا لهب ب رفزر ه اػ إ اطبغ ف ق ح اد ادخ زز ووػه دؿ عضى

ني دؽ ﴾٤٣﴿ا Indeed, those who deny Our verses and are arrogant towards them – the gates of Heavens will not be opened for them, nor will they enter Paradise until a camel enters into the eye of a needle. And thus do We recompense the criminals. (7; 40) SI

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We are not going to discuss what facts and mysteries the abovementioned Ayah explains but we are going to focus on two points related to our subject of discussion in this Ayah: Doors of the heavens: scientists consider the resemblance of black hole to the doors of the heavens the best analogy. Black hole is a path that is connected to beyond the universe. Needle hole is symbolic of the smallness of this hole and crossing of the camel through that hole is expressive of the extreme power of its gravity. According to Einstein‘s relativity theory extreme condensation of matter creates a dip in the space which condenses time and space. Then black hole is the most condensed spot of the universe which truly creates a big dip in the universe and cuts it off from the rest of the universe. Some of the black holes are not created due to collapse of the stars but these black holes are formed in between a large collection of stars, for instance; the black hole in the center of each galaxy which all the stars of the associated galaxy are orbiting around it. According to Stephan Hawking, famous English physicist, a primordial black hole formed during the phenomenon of Big Bang. A black hole is not visible due to the fact that its gravity force is so strong that light cannot be reflected from the black hole. We can see things on earth if they have their innate light that can reach the earth such as the Sun or other nearby stars or things that have the ability to reflect light such as the Moon or some nearby planets such as Venus, Mars or Mercury.

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Scientists have located the position of some of the black holes according to their strong gravity force effects on the nearby stars. The very first black hole (Cygnus x – 1) was discovered in 1971.

Cygnus X-1 - possible black hole draws gases from a companion star

Two black holes that are turning around each other were discovered in 2002. These two black holes are located in the galaxy of NGC240 and are three thousand light years away from each other and are moving closer towards each other with a speed of 35,415 Kilometer per hour.

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A graphic of the structure of a theorized wormhole (NASA)

The mass of each one of these black holes is one hundred million times larger than the Sun. These two black holes will get very close to each other after one hundred million years and the speed of their movement towards each other will get equal to the speed of light till they collide with each other in an extraordinary manner and the shock waves and vibrations generated from this collision will spread to the entire universe.

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Quasars Quasars are strange phenomena of the universe and for the first time, a quasar was observed by a telescope in 1950. Initially scientists considered it a star as with a simple telescope quasar looked like a star so the scientists named it quasar.

From the earth we can only observe those stars of the Milky Way galaxy that are located closer to earth. Stars of other galaxies are invisible to us on earth as the closest galaxy is located about two and half million light years away from us.

Using very sophisticated telescopes scientists were able to observe very bright quasars with red tail (Red shift) beyond the Milky Way galaxy. Red Shift indicates that quasars are going away or taking distance from us which implies that they are not related to our

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galaxy. Later it was observed that the tail of the quasar is indicative of a huge distance from the earth. The closest quasar has a Red Shift of five (Red shift = 5) and this number means that the distance of the closest quasar from earth is about twelve thousand million light years. It means that light with its amazingly fast speed will reach the closest quasar after twelve thousand million years. After the determination of the distance of the closest quasar from earth scientists discovered the fact that this illuminating body is not a star. Then what is this illuminating body? Using very sophisticated modern telescopes scientists observed and studied a quasar in 1963 and after very precise studies they discovered that these illuminating bodies are not stars but they are the nucleuses or centers of active primary galaxies. This means that a quasar is a conglomerate of thousands and thousands of millions of stars gathered around the nucleus of a galaxy and is disseminating very robust light, energy, heat and radioactive waves and it is for that reason that despite of their billions of light year distance they are still visible from earth.

The location of quasars is the cores of active primary galaxies that the rest of the stars related to that galaxy are located around it. The stars located around a quasar are not visible but the collective gravity of all the stars around that quasar and the gravity of the quasar itself causes the formation of a lens-like clear cover around that quasar. Observing a quasar with a telescope gives us the impression as if the quasar is located in a glass jar and the pictures of the quasar are reflected in this glassy sheet which instead of one quasar it perceived as multiple quasars.

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Quasar - a massive black hole blazes in the core of a distant galaxy

After their observations, NASA astrophysicists wrote: The effect of the gravity force of a galaxy, that quasar is located in its center, is like the effect of a lens. It functions like a glass of water in front of a post light which causes formation of numerable picture‖. When light moves towards us from the quasar, meanwhile light spreads to all directions in the universe and the region around the quasar plays the role of a lens. As a result we see two pictures while in reality it is only one quasar. A quasar gets its energy from the center of the nucleus or the black hole and the black hole gets augmented from swallowing of the stars and condensed matter of the surrounding environment

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of the black hole. In general the universe gives energy to the black hole and the black hole to quasars.

Until 1990 about ten thousand quasars were observed. In 1998 scientists of Washington University observed a quasar which its energy force, light and radioactive waves were thirty thousand times more than the energy and light of all the stars of the Milky Way galaxy combined.

Surah Al-Nour; Ayah 35 although a very complex Ayah which besides explanation of numerous facts and mysteries also obviously points to location and character of quasars:

بواد واإؼض صجبذ اـ ىؼ اك شىبح فهب و ىؼ ثصجبذ ف ؾخبخخ شدؽح ا ىلع اؿخبخخ وإهب وىوت ظؼ

كك ر جبؼوخ ؾزىخ ب شؽلخ وب غؽثخ ىبظ ؾزهب عء وى ىؼ بؼ شبءهع اـ ىؼ ىؼ ل وعؽة اـ

ـ ثبي ب اإ ء ل ش ﴾٣٥﴿واـ ثى

Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The example of His light is like a niche within which is a lamp, the lamp is within glass, the glass as if it were pearly [white] star lit from [the oil of] a blessed olive tree, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil will almost glow even if untouched by fire. Light upon light. Allah guides to His light whom He wills. And Allah presents examples for the people, and Allah is Knowing of all things. (24; 35) SI

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An illuminating light which shines like a star which indicates that in reality it is not a star but shines like a star (quasar) and that light located in a niche. Scientists‘ analogy of that niche is the galaxy which the quasar is located in its core (light in the glass) and quasars are located in a transparent and delicate jar and this jar is the concave lens-like configuration formed by forces of gravity of the stars around the galaxy (which is lit by the magnanimous fig tree). The quasars are furnished by the black hole of the associated galaxy. Galaxies are really the magnanimous trees that despite passage of thousands of millions of years still provide energy ―oil‖ for the black hole. ―The oil provides light although it is not in contact with fire‖, which is pointing to nuclear fusions. Light, energy, heat radio waves are generated due to their innate nuclear fusions and not of outside pressure. ―Light up on light‖ which this part of the Ayah is pointing to pictures of quasars inside the ―glass jar‖ which due to effects of gravity looks like multiple stars instead of one.

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A quasar looks like one star but in reality it is a conglomerate of

Billions of stars around a black hole

At the end of the Ayah it is mentioned that God Almighty gives examples for explanation and clarification of a fact.

This very complex and sophisticated Ayah indirectly points to characteristics and locations of quasars and like most Qur‘anic Ayahs (Verses) contain lots of concealed facts and mysteries in it and various commentators of the Holy Qur‘an interprets it from their own perspective. This Ayah also points to some of the attributes of God Almighty which one of them is God‘s self sustenance. All the creatures depend on a cause but God Almighty is self sustained.

―Allah is the light of Heavens and the earth…………..‖

In the abovementioned Ayah God gives the analogy or likeness of light to Himself. Light means guidance and direction and God Almighty guides us in the heavens and on earth. Then prophets and divine revelations and His last and final prophet Mohammad

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(PBUH) and the final divine book, the Holy Qur‘an are also part of God‘s light and guidance for mankind until the day of judgment. At the beginning of the Ayah God has called Himself Light (Nour) but light is not self-sufficient. Afterwards He explains the likeness of His light like a lamp in a glass. By this example He not only draws an analogy between Himself and light but also the reflector of the light and then the glass or an illuminating star (the source of light). This means that He has given His likeness to light, reflector of light and eventually the source of light. At the end the Ayah goes ―illuminating without being in touch with fire‖. This part of Ayah insists more on self-sustenance of God Almighty. God is the whole truth Who is self-sustained and for avoiding the possible error that no one should imagine God to be light or star He mentions that: ―God brings examples for clarifications for mankind‖.

The abovementioned Ayah also is pointing to and explaining the Unity and individuality of God which is one of His main and principle attributes. He is One and an obvious fact and truth.

Throughout history some scholars contrary to the Qur‘anic Ayahs and God‘s attributes consider God as an ambiguous and undetermined power that controls and maintains the universe and beyond and do not believe in Oneness and Individuality of God. According to Professor Iqbal Lahori, such scholars have committed an error, despite clear guidance of the Qur‘anic Ayahs and Prophetic Ahadith to the contrary. Oneness and climax of individuality is of the attributes of God and imagining God as a power spread in the Universe and beyond is contrary to the attribute of Oneness of God.

Some scholars in order to explain the magnanimity of God believe that God is present everywhere at the same time even in an atom or smaller than atom particles both at the universe and beyond.

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According to some credible Islamic scholars this belief is such a grievous error that comes close to associating partners with God as this belief is against the oneness of God. Instead why not say as God say in Surah Al-Sabaa; Ayah 3:

اغت لب وؼث زإرى ث ثمبي غؼح ف ل ب مؿة لجني غه وب ؤوجؽ إب ف وزبة بواد وب ف اإؼض وب ؤصغؽ اك

﴿٣﴾

Say, ―Nay! But most surely, by my Lord, it will come upon you;-by Him Who knows the unseen, from Whom is not hidden the least little atom in the Heavens or on earth: Nor is there anything less than that, or greater, tut is in the Record Perspicuous….. (34; 3) AYA

The above Ayah insists that God has created all the creatures and He is in charge of all and aware of each atom or even smaller than atom but not that He Himself is present in all of His own creation. Throughout history both some Islamic and some non-Islamic scholars have tried to prove Unity and Oneness of God by examples. One of such non-Islamic scholars is Mr. Henri Bergson a French philosopher which Mr. Iqbal Lahori has mentioned about him in his book (The Reconstruction of Religious thought in Islam). Mr. Bergson writes about the Unity and oneness of God as following:

―When we talk about characteristics of Oneness, in the world of liveliness, reproduction takes the opposite side of Oneness. The climax of Oneness is that none of its particles can exist independently which in that case reproduction becomes

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impossible. Reproduction is not but part of a living organism which lives independently and takes a new form. Then Oneness provides a safe haven or sanctuary for its antagonist in its own home‖.

Professor Iqbal agrees to a certain degree with this definition of Oneness by Mr. Bergson as this is the best thing a philosopher can say about Oneness. If we really want to know about God‘s Oneness and its characteristics we should refer to Qur‘an as it gives a seemingly simple but a very miraculous definition as in Surah Al-Ikhlas, or the touch stone of Oneness and Unity of God:

ى اـ ؤزع ع ﴾١﴿ل ﴾٢﴿اـ اص ع و ﴾٣﴿ىع وفىا ؤزع ى ﴾٤﴿و

Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begotten not, nor is He begotten; And there is none unto like Him. (112; 1-4) AYA

Hakim Abul Majd Majdood Ben-i-Adam Saniie, Ghazanwi: تو‌زن‌و‌جفت‌نداری‌‌تو‌خور‌و‌خفت‌نداری‌‌‌‌‌احد‌بی‌زن‌و‌جفتی‌ملک‌کامروا‌ئی‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌

To this day some commentators believe that this Surah was revealed only to reject the belief of some Christians who claim Isa or Jesus Christ Peace of God Be Upon Him to be the son of God. One cannot refute this interpretation but professor Iqbal believes that this Surah has much more extensive dimensions which proclamation of Oneness of God is only one aspect of it.

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Some scholars consider God Light and the reason is one of the

complex Ayah (بواد واإؼض God is the Light of the― (ـ ىؼ اك

Heavens and the earth‖.

Once professor Iqbal had a seminar under the subject of (The Concept of Allah) and another thinker by the name of Farnell also had a conference on the same subject. In that conference Mr. Farnell considered the likeness of God to light the best and closest analogy to the truth and for verification of his interpretation he mentioned that very same Ayah (Verse). But professor Iqbal rejected this interpretation and expressed in his seminar that Mr. Farnell has just studied a small part of Surah Al-Nour 35, and if he had studied the whole Ayah his conclusion would have been different.

―Allah is the light of the Heavens and the earth………….‖

In the first part of the Ayah, ―Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth‖ God has given the example of likeliness of Himself to the light, a light spread in heavens and on earth which does not represent the utmost of oneness and unlikeness. But right after that analogy He has explained likeness of himself to light in a manner that the subject becomes the opposite and God claims the utmost uniqueness, unity and form for Himself, which means

that the example of Light (Nour ىؼ) similar to a lamp which

individualize Himself and ―the lamp in a glass and illuminating in a niche‖ indicates insistence on individuality. Resemblance to a star not only is expressive of absolute oneness but also indicates a ―form‖ for Himself as well.

According to Attributes of Allah and Qur‘anic Ayahs the One and Unique God is not only the utmost authority but is One void of any flawed and a certain form. What form?? We that have no

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knowledge about the truth of the form of our own spirit, what can we say about the truth of the form of God???

The reason that God has given examples of the likeness of Himself to that of light is that mankind can understand examples of things known to them in the material and physical world and is completely unaware of the unseen world. The Qur‘anic explanations of things of the unseen world are in terms of things in the physical and material world so it could be readily understandable to mankind.

God has given the example of His likeness to light for two reasons:

A. By example of His likeliness to light God is insisting on His absoluteness as in the physical world light is relatively absolute.

B. Light (Nour ىؼ) and guidance are identical words which

convey the same message. Light is the guide and God by sending prophets and divine Books and finally revelation of Qur‘an guides mankind as mentioned at the end of the Ayah that ―He guides with His light whoever he chooses to‖.

In order to avoid any misunderstanding that God is not like light of a star or the Sun, He mentions at the end of the Ayah: ―And Allah presents examples for the people, and Allah is knowing of all the things‖. (24; 35) SI An example helps explain or clarify things but it not necessarily exactly that thing.

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The next question that crosses one‘s mind is that if God is absolutely One and unique then isn‘t that against the infinity of God?

The concept of infinity of God should neither be considered from the perspective of place nor from a spiritual point of view of immensity. Determination of vastness and enormity is only possible in the world of fictions and creation. In the world of creation nothing is infinite, even the space. While all of the phenomena are related to each other and the concept of time is a reflection of these interrelated events. In other words time and place are interpretations of creative actions of God and without creative actions of God there is no time or place that can become barrier between the Creator and Its creation. The Absolute Being should neither be considered infinite from a perspective of place nor like creatures is dependent on time and space. The infinity of The Absolute Being is from the perspective of activity and power of creation. The Absolute Being that this humongous and mindboggling universe is a very small aspect of His creative power. Undoubtedly the infinity of God is His absolute power that has caused creation of an infinite series but He Himself is not part of the series.

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The magnanimity of the Universe Surah Al-Rahmaan; Ayah 7 states:

ؿا بء ؼفمهب ووظك ا ﴾٧﴿واك

And the firmament has He raised high. (55; 7) AYA

Surah Al-Raad; Ayah 2:

بواد ﴾٢﴿اـ اػ ؼفك اك Allah is He Who raise the heavens… (13; 2) AYA According to the abovementioned and many other Ayahs, Qur‘an insists on vastness, magnificence and magnanimity of the universe. Magnificence and enormity of the universe has been in the center of attention of astrologists and scientists for centuries. Scientists have expressed various opinions regarding enormity and magnificence of the universe. Until the second half of the twentieth century scientists did not realize the true vastness and enormity of the universe but an intriguing subject is the fact that none of the Qur‘anic Ayahs referred to the universe as infinite. The universe is huge, vast and magnificent. So incredibly huge and magnanimous that mankind cannot even imagine but yet it is not infinite. As mentioned earlier, Newton a famous English scientist believed in an infinite and stationary universe. This was the ruling theory till the beginning of the twentieth century when

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the general relativity theory rejected this theory one by one. From the beginning of the twentieth century after a long series of discussions and deep observations scientists finally could initially prove the expansion of the universe and later creation of the universe from an extremely small, hot and condensed origin (the Big Bang theory). Discovery of the expansion of the universe and the Big Bang theory put a formal end to the theory of an infinite, stationary and eternal universe. In some places to this day the word infinite is heard in discussions about the universe. One of the main reasons that some people still consider the universe infinite is what is taught in schools. School curriculum and text Books are reprinted without meticulous revisions and needed corrections. Limited or finite universe is not contrary to the magnanimity of the universe. The universe is limited but really magnanimous and incredibly big. Scientists do not use the standard of kilometer for measuring distances between stars and galaxies as measurement with Kilometer will give numbers that will not fit in one line of a book. The unit of measurement used for measuring distances in the universe is the speed of light. The distance between two neighboring stars is on average one light year. Light year is selected as measuring unit for distances in astronomy. As mentioned previously light has the fastest speed in the universe and nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. Matter will lose its characteristic or nature and will transform into energy even if it travels one hundredth of the speed of light. Then according to the law of matter space ship rockets will vanish and disappear even in a speed one hundred times less than the speed of light.

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Sun is the closest star to earth with 8 minutes and 17 second light distance. This means that light travels the distance between the Sun and the earth in 8 minutes and 17 seconds. If a space rocket with its maximum speed is launched from earth towards the Sun it will take more than four years to reach the Sun nonstop. It should be kept in mind that light travels in straight line while space rockets are traveling in curved and spiral lines so it will take even longer time than that for the space ship to reach the this target. After the Sun, Proxima or Proxima Centauri (Latin proxima: meaning 'next to' or 'nearest to') is a red dwarf star about 4.2 light-years (3.97 × 10

13 km) distant in the constellation of Centaurus. It

was discovered in 1915 by Robert Innes, the Director of the Union Observatory in South Africa, and is the nearest known star to the Sun, although it is too faint to be seen with the naked eye) is the closest star to earth and is roughly 4.22 light years or 270,000 times more distant than the Sun. Proxima is located 43,549,488,000,000 kilometer away from earth.

Proxima Centauri

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If the most advanced modern day space rockets with maximum speed are launched from earth today it will reach Proxima after 81,000 years nonstop. This is the closest star to earth after the Sun so you can guess the distance of other stars. Each and every system, star, planet, satellite and celestial body is associated with one of the billions of galaxies and the solar system including earth is related to the Milky Way galaxy. Milky Way galaxy (which earth is part of it) is a mid size galaxy which in comparison to the universe is like a drop in the ocean. It contains at least one hundred billion stars and each star has planets and satellites, rotating in their certain orbits, and the average distance between each star is about one light year. This disk-like galaxy has a huge diameter that light can cross that distance in one hundred light years. For instance; if the most advanced space-rocket with maximum speed is launched today it will take two thousand million years to cross only the diameter of the Milky Way galaxy. The closest galaxy to earth is Andromeda which has a distance of two and a half million light years from earth. If the most advanced space-ships could cross this distance it will take them 50 thousand million years while the age of the universe collectively from creation to annihilation is less than 50 thousand million years. Keep in mind that the examples of modern day space-ships crossing the distances in our galaxy are mentioned so we can somewhat guess the dimensions and vastness of just only one galaxy. For expression of the vastness of the universe it is not possible to find the proper words as the number of such galaxies in the Universe is more than 125 thousand million.

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How long a space-ship with a bunch of astronauts can travel in the space? The space-ship energy will end, oxygen reservoirs will exhaust and space-ship will stop moving but the astronauts would have not even gotten out of the solar system. Our solar system is like a drop in the ocean in comparison to the Milky Way galaxy and the Milky Way galaxy is like a drop in the ocean in comparison to the universe so for research and study of far away planets of the solar system unmanned space-ships are launched. Some people might wish that there was a huge space-ship with enough energy that could travel for thousands of years. In such a big space-ship a large number of people both male and female could travel and as a human age is limited they could breed in that space-ship and there was enough food, water and oxygen for the residents of the space-ship who could travel generation after generation inside the Milky Way galaxy. People who have such a dream should not worry as their wish has come true. At this moment while reading this subject you are traveling in our galaxy in such a space-ship with a speed faster than that of the modern day space-rockets. Yes, this huge space-ship is the planet earth which along with the solar system travels around the center of the galaxy. This is a really long voyage which one round of it takes 250 million years. A question might cross one‘s mind that if earth is really moving with a speed faster than space-rocket in the galaxy then how come the location of the stars in the galaxy is stable and fixed? This question crosses anyone‘s mind knowledgeable about this subject. Because not only earth but also all the systems, stars, planets and satellites are rotating around the center of the galaxy each with various speeds then there should be changes in location of the stars.

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Despite the fast movement of earth and solar system around the center of the galaxy the distance that is traveled in the duration of one year, one century or even a millennium is so minute comparing to the vastness of the galaxy that it is unnoticeable. Hundreds of thousands or even millions of years are needed to notice a slight deference in the location of the stars of the galaxy. For instance; if we travel in a space-ship and as it takes distance from the earth and as long as the earth is visible it will look spherical like the Moon. After the earth becomes invisible we perceive that we are totally stationary and immobile in the universe even if the space-ship is traveling hundreds of times faster than a plane and that is the reason that we do not see any change in the location of the stars with passage of years or even centuries. Milky Way galaxy which contains more than one hundred billion stars is one of the billions of galaxies and some big galaxies contain up to 1.3 trillion stars. There are numerous stars in the universe. Although determination of the number stars of the universe is very difficult as the number of stars in each galaxy is differs but scientists estimate the minimum number of stars to be (1x10

22). In other words the

minimum number of stars in the universe is around 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 and the number of planets and satellites is much higher than that and all these stars, planets and satellites belong to one of the galaxies. This number shows the minimum number of stars in the universe is a really big number. Some beginners of mathematics may consider this number big but not to its real meaning. For such people a couple of examples will be helpful.

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How long will it take to count from one to one hundred? If we count nonstop a minute, may be! If we count nonstop from 1 to 1000 it may take 10 – 15 minutes. Now, how long will it take if we count from 1 to 1x10

22 which shows the minimum number of stars

in the universe? Some might say it will take days to count from 1 to this number and some might say that it may take years or even centuries. In reality time needed to count from 1 to 1x10

22 is more

than the age of the solar system and even more than the age of the entire universe. The time needed to count from 1 to 1x10

22 is

more than 300 trillion years. The second example: if we can collect wheat grains equal to this number [1x10

22], how much wheat grain should be collected?

If all the wheat grains from all over the world including grains from farms, silos, homes, stores, etc be collected it will not be enough to make even one percent of this number.

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With these two examples the magnitude of this number which shows the minimum number of stars of the universe is somewhat imaginable. From earth, in a clear starry night one can observe about 5,000 stars. But with the use of a simple telescope one can see millions and with a modern day advanced telescope one can observe billions of stars. All the stars that are observable belong to the Milky Way galaxy. Stars belonging to other galaxies are not observable. Not observable even with a telescope as individual stars but exploding giant stars of other galaxies are visible with telescope. Stars located relatively close to earth are visible individually. Distant stars of the Milky Way galaxy are invisible but collectively their light could be seen as a huge cloud on a clear starry night.

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The Milky Way galaxy Relatively nearby galaxies could be seen like a star or a coin with the help of a telescope. Some might think of this observable phenomena by telescope as a star while in reality it is a collection of tens of billions of stars and hundreds of billions of planets, satellites, etc. some millions and some billions of light years away from earth. These narratives about the magnanimity of the universe though not enough but when one deeply thinks about it while looking up in a clear starry sky probably will make one so astonished that one might laugh out loudly realizing one‘s smallness. An amazing point is that the entire universe is regulated and run by one unique common law. From our galaxy to the last galaxy, all are run by the same regulations and from the Sun to the most remote stars are shining according to one nuclear law. All the stars of each galaxy are rotating around the center of its associated galaxy under definitive regulations and looking close, far away and deep space no flawed could be found. Surah Al-Mulk; Ayahs 3 – 4 states:

بواد ؼجبلب اػ ضك قجك ق ـ ك اؽز ب رؽي ف ض فؽىؼ رفبود رؽي ﴾٣﴿فبؼخك اجصؽ اؼخك اجصؽ وؽر ث

ى زكري ه اجصؽ ضبقئب و ﴾٤﴿مت إ

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(And) Who created seven heavens in layers. You do not see in the creation of the Most, Merciful any inconsistency. So return [your] vision [to the sky]; do you see any breaks? Then return your vision twice again. [Your] vision will return to [you] humbled while it is fatigued. (67; 3 – 4) SI Intriguingly with all that magnanimity of the universe God Almighty has created an even more magnanimous creature although apparently very small and frail and that is the reality of creation of human, a real human. As Maulana of Balkh says:

ظاهرش‌را‌پشۀ‌آرد‌به‌چرخ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌باطنش‌باشد‌محیط‌هفت‌چرخ

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Telescope, a window towards ancient history Is it possible to look at the past? Well, some might say yes. For instance; we can see scenes from World War II, defeat of USA in Vietnam and heroic Jihad of Afghans again the Soviet Union Aggression on most documentary films. If one is asked that: can we see the realities that happened before the twentieth century or thousands of years ago? The answer will be definitely negative as invention of camera, especially movie camera, is a reality of the twentieth century. An astounding fact is that the answer to the second question is positive as well. Yes, we can see the realities and events that took place hundreds or thousands of years ago. With the help of a telescope we can see events that happened in the universe millions or even billions of years ago. The question is, how? Any process that is happening in the universe or on earth ―light‖ brings it to us. As mentioned earlier light has the fastest speed in the universe. Light travels 300,000 Kilometer per second, 1,080,000,000 Kilometer per hour and about 9.5 trillion Kilometer in one year. The speed of light though unbelievingly fast but is not infinite. It is that limitation of the speed of light that makes it possible that events that are happening in the universe reach us later. In reality by looking at the universe we can look at the past. For example; in a rainy day thunder storm and lightening happen simultaneously which lightening is visible right away but thunder is heard few moments later. Why?

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If the cloud where thunder storm and lightening happens is three kilometer away from us lightening is visible in 1/100,000,000 of a second but roaring is audible after a few seconds. In this example the light and roar is so fast that it is very difficult for human senses to differentiate but still not infinite. Light brings us the news of any developments happening on earth in such a speed that it is almost impossible for us to sense any delay but even light is not able to bring us the news of transformations and developments occurring beyond earth immediately without any delay which is a sign of vastness of the universe. When we look at the universe on clear starry night, we are not looking at the universe as it is, but we look at the universe as it was. If for whatever reason the Moon explodes at this moment we can watch the pieces of moon scattering to all directions after 1.3 seconds but the sound of the explosion will not be heard until after more than two weeks. That means that ―light‖ will bring the view of the explosion after 1.3 seconds and sound will bring us the noise of the explosion after weeks as the speed of sound relative to speed of light is much slower. (The speed of sound is the distance traveled during a unit of time by a sound wave propagating through an elastic medium. In dry air at 20 °C (68 °F), the speed of sound is 343.2 meters per second [1,126 ft/s]. This is 1,236 kilometers per hour [768 mph], or about one kilometer in three seconds or approximately one mile in five seconds). If Proxima, the closest star to the solar system which has a distance of 4.3 light years from earth, loses its light and heat at

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this moment we on earth will see that star shining without any change for the next 4.3 years. This is because what you are looking at today is the state of the star 4.3 years ago and not what it looks like today. You will be able to see what is going on today on that star 4.3 years from today. Andromeda, the closest galaxy to ours, is 2.5 million light years away, and if that galaxy disappears today it will still be visible from earth for the next 2.5 million years as the galaxy that you look at today tell us of its status 2.5 million years ago not today.

A visible light image of the Andromeda Galaxy

By looking at the sky and the universe in reality we are looking at the past. With modern day telescopes such as the ―Hubble telescope‖ one can observe the form and characteristics of the primitive galaxies. As mentioned in the section of quasars that

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what looks like a star located in the center of primitive galaxies in reality is not a star but a conglomerate of billions of stars around the center of a galaxy. Such galaxies that a ―star‖ is located in their center are located at least 12,000 million light years away from us.

Why such galaxies are called primitive galaxies? They are called primitive galaxies because we see the very primitive form and state of that galaxy. As a result the primitive galaxy has gone through its evolution billions of years ago and today there is no quasar but we see thousands of quasars with telescope. In June of 2006, NASA scientists using very sophisticated telescopes observed a star during its explosion which was 150 times larger than our Sun and was shining 50 billion times brighter than the Sun. This star was located 240 million years away from earth. In fact this exploding star that the scientists observed had exploded 240 million years ago which the news of its explosion reached the earth in 2006. This was in the group of first generation stars which all of them have already vanished. By looking at the Andromeda galaxy scientists are studying the state of the universe 2.5 million years ago and by looking at very far away galaxies they are studying the universe billions of years ago. Scientists living in the planets of Andromeda galaxy (if there are any) can study the status of our galaxy 150 million years ago. And those who are living in galaxies located at least 12,000 million years away from us can observe a quasar in the center of our galaxy while in reality for the last 10,000 million years there is no quasar in the center of our galaxy. When we are looking at a quasar in fact we are looking at the form and character of a phenomenon which at that time not only earth but even the solar system did not exist. If the speed of light was infinite the

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phenomenon that we were looking at with eyes or a telescope would have been right at the time that it was happening. But it is not as such and the speed of light although incredibly fast but still not infinite.

The galaxies formed billions of years ago after development and transformation of huge smoke-like masses. How did the scientists discover these facts? Were these based on certain formulas or mere guesses? We can observe and study these facts that happened few billion years ago with the help of a sophisticated telescope. Using such a sophisticated telescope we can precisely observe and study in deep space how the primitive galaxies were forming from large smoke-like masses billions of years ago.

The above mentioned secrete is the foundation of the knowledge that scientists know the characteristics of the universe in each phase of time.

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The age of the universe

Determination of the exact age of earth, the solar system and the universe as a whole is very difficult and to this day scientists are faced with that dilemma. Before the science of geology came into existence, scientists believed the age of the earth or universe not to be more than a few thousand years. With the help of the science of geology after a series of simple but fundamental experiments and observations the age of the earth was estimated to be about one hundred million years and this theory was acceptable till the late eighteenth century.

The science of biology, although not directly related to geology, significantly helped in this field. In the nineteenth century biology scientists claimed that the formation of simple and primitive plants and their development to primitive organisms begin on the edges of the oceans. Their gradual evolution and development to more complex oceanic creatures and later to reptiles, birds and finally to complex mammals was a complicated process that took hundreds of millions of years so how could the age of the earth be only a few hundred million years? These theories of biology-scientists amazed geology-scientists and they were obliged to revise their observations once again.

After observations and studies of stones from old mountains with modern techniques especially DNA methods scientists found out that their age is few thousand million years and thus they got somewhat closer to ascertain the real age of the earth. Finally,

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with the help of the science of cosmology the age of the earth and solar system was determined to be 4.65 billion years.

As far as the age of the universe is concerned scientists have not concurred on one specific number on the age of the universe and the age of the universe has been estimated between 14 – 20 billion years. Before the big bang theory and creation of the universe by a big explosion scientists were considering the universe to be eternal. But today science considers the explosion and expansion of a particle much smaller than an atom (with a mass equal to that of the present-day universe) to be the origin of time, place and creation of the space and its contents, the universe.

If the universe is spherical it has a diameter which Einstein called that diameter time. The universe expanded from an extremely small spot, smaller than an atom, and reached the amazing present-day size and with each moment hundreds of thousands of kilometers is added to its diameter. So, determination of the beginning of the moment of the expansion of the universe (in other words its diameter) is the age of the universe.

As previously mentioned, with the expansion of the universe all the galaxies are taking distance from each other. The speed of their distancing from each other is directly related to their distance.

The galaxies that are twice as much away from us are distancing twice as fast and those ten times away from us are distancing ten times as fast. According to the law of expansion the nearby particles are moving away slower and the faraway particles are moving away faster from each other. Based on that law scientists

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came up with a formula that can estimate the age of the universe to some degree.

Determination of the components of this apparently simple-looking formula is still faced with some dilemmas. The distance of one of the galaxies from earth (x) ________________________________________ = age of the universe (T) The speed of distancing of that galaxy from the earth (y)

For example; taking into account the distance and speed of one of the galaxies using this formula one can determine the age of the universe. The age of the universe (T) =? (The distance of one of the galaxies from earth) X = 4.6 x 10

26 cm

(The speed of taking distance from earth) Y = 1 x 10

9 cm/sec

4.6 x 10

26 cm

______________ = 4.6 x 1017

sec 1 x 10

9 cm/sec

According to the above formula the age of the universe is equal to 4.6 x 10

17 or simply the age of the universe based on that formula

would be 460,000,000,000,000,000 second.

If we convert this number into minutes, hours … eventually years the age of the universe would come to a little more than 14 billion years.

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The result of the formula will be the same no matter what planet or galaxy we are in or any given galaxy that we are studying because as the distance increases the speed will increase respectively. So, according to the law of fraction if a number is added, divided, subtracted or multiplied to both the nominator and denominator the result or outcome will still be the same.

Singularity

There are still some problems in this formula and one of them is that the speed of the expansion of the universe throughout its existence has been variable. Initially right after the Big Bang the speed of expansion was billions of times faster than the speed of light and gradually the speed of expansion diminished. Recently after careful observations and studies scientists have found out that the speed of the expansion of the universe has increased

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again. For that reason the speed of expansion of the universe and distancing of the galaxies though out its existence has not been constant so the result of that formula could not be one hundred percent accurate but it could 80% reliable.

Due to these kinds of problems after accurate observations and studies scientists have estimated the age of the universe to be between 14 – 20 billion years. Another point is that scientists do not have that much problem in determining the distance of the galaxies but each scientist according to his/her observations has difference of opinion in the distancing of the galaxies. Those who speculate the speed of expansion to be slower estimate the age of the universe between 17 – 20 billion years and those who consider the speed of expansion of the universe to be faster estimate it between 14 - 15 billion years but none of the scientists have estimated the age of the universe less than 10 or more than 20 billion years.

As scientists have difficulties determining the age of the universe similarly Qur‘anic commentators and interpreters face similar challenges finding Ayahs regarding the age of the universe.

According to some Ayahs, God Almighty created the universe in

six Yawm (ى ) and this is mentioned in multiple places in Qur‘an

such as Surah Al-Araaf; Ayah 54, Surah Al-Younus; Ayah 3, Surah Al-Houd; Ayah 7, Surah Al-Furqaan; Ayah 59 and somehow in Ayahs 9 – 12 of Surah Al-Fusilat.

It should be mentioned that these Ayahs are totally unrelated to the age of the universe. These Ayahs are regarding the time of creation not the age of the universe. For instance; Alexander the Great established the cities of Herat in Afghanistan and Alexandria in Egypt in a span of a few months but these cities are in the process of evolution and development for more than two thousand years.

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According to the Qur‘anic Ayahs the universe took its form in six

Yawm (ى ) and its evolution and transformation will continue to a

certain yet limited period of time. The universe has not reached its perfection but it continues the process of expansion, transformation and development.

Before discussing whether there is any reference to the age of the universe in Qur‘an or not, lets analyze concepts of the Qur‘anic

commentators about the six Yawm ( which refers to the time of (ى

the creation of the universe.

The word Yawm ( has various meaning in Arabic language (ى

similar to the word (Time) in English language. As the word (Time) has multiple meanings such as time, moment, era, age,

period, phase, and turn similarly the word Yawm ( also has (ى

numerous meanings:

A. On earth Yawm ( implies a period of time from one sunrise (ى

to the next or 24 hours or a day and night.

B. The other meaning of Yawm ( .is a phase, epoch or a period (ى

Now, we will see which meaning of the word ―Yawm‖ ( is more (ى

suitable and appropriate in the aforementioned Ayahs. If the

purpose of Qur‘an from the word ―Yawm‖ ( is a day and night (ى

(24 hour day) it is not surprising.

For the creation of the universe, God Almighty created a minute particle with the order of ―Be‖ or (و), and immediately expanded

this tiny particle with a speed that of faster than the speed of light.

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According to Leon Lederman a contemporary American physicist and Noble prize winner ―the Universe reached its maturity in a time less than one billionth, trillionth of a second‖ then six day is more than enough time.

In a span of one second the Universe went through critical and decisive phases and the big battle of the particles of the universe started and ended to the advantage of pro-matter particles with in the first second. Creation of the matter initiated and in a span of only three minutes the majority of the elements were created. In a span of only a few hours space was also formed to some degree. In less than one week after formation and combination of helium and hydrogen first generation stars were formed and the universe took its independent character but the developments and transformations continue to this day and will continue till a determined time.

One important point is that the addressee of the Qur‘an is mankind who lives on earth. For mankind, the most intriguing and important phases of creation begins when the solar system, earth and finally mankind were created. It seems that the intent of the

Qur‘an from six ―Yawm‖ ( ى ) of creation is from the origin of the

universe to creation of intelligent man as all above Ayahs mention

that the earth and the heavens were created in six ―Yawm‖ ( .(ىTherefore the intent of the Qur‘an from six ―Yawm‖ ( is not the (ى

earth days but its intention is the Universal Time. So in the

aforementioned Ayahs the other mean of ―Yawm‖ ( which is (ى

phase or epoch seems more appropriate according to modern Qur‘anic interpreters and commentators. Thus one can say that God created the universe till the creation of mankind in six

―Yawm‖ ( .(ى

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First phase: From the creation of the origin of the universe till the creation of all the elements (matter) and formation of space. Second phase: Creation of the galaxies which Milky Way galaxy is one of them where 4.6 billion years ago the solar system was formed.

Third phase: formation of earth and its satellite, the Moon. Fourth phase: descend of water and iron and formation of mounts and valleys and preparation of atmosphere of the earth for substance of life. Fifth phase: formation of plants after prolonged processes near the sea shores which consequently resulted in creation of more complex forms of life and animals. Sixth phase: creation of mankind and the most important phase.

It is noticeable that in the above phases, two of the phases of creation are related to beyond earth and four phases are related to creation of the earth. It is worth mentioning that phases of creation of the earth are not longer than that of the heavens. While earth is going through phases of creation the phases of creation of the heavens were not in a standstill but it continued harmoniously and simultaneously with the development of the earth. The reason that there is more focus on the phases of creation of the earth is that earth is one of the most important planets for mankind and as the Qur‘an is revealed to mankind so more emphasis is put on the phase of creation of the earth.

Most interpreters and commentators of the Qur‘an have not mentioned anything about the age of the universe but some modern commentators of the Qur‘an using some combination of

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the Qur‘anic Ayahs have anticipated the age of the universe more than 18 billion years which is a pretty precise number.

A deep look at Surah Al-Muarij; Ayahs 3-4:

مبؼج اـ غ ا ﴿٣﴾ وب ف ى بئىخ واؽوذ إ رمؽج اكني ؤف قخ ض ﴾٤﴿معاؼ

(It is) from Allah owner of the ways of ascent. The angels and the Spirit will ascend to Him during a day the extent of which is fifty thousand years. (70; 3-4) Sl

The above Ayah is one of the Mutashabihat (زشبثهبد ) Ayahs which

each Qur‘anic commentator has interpreted it from his/her stand

point. Mutashabihats (زشبثهبد ) are Ayahs that in each time and era

can accommodate to any new facts till the last day.

In the aforementioned Ayah the word ―Yawm‖ (ى ) refers to a long

time or epoch. Some interpreters of the Qur‘an consider ascension of the angels to God the time of resurrection and to the day of judgment but the contemporary commentators interpret the ascension of spirit and angels towards God a reference to a long period of time which alludes to the age of the universe. Besides other facts, the above mentioned Ayah also refers to the age of the universe. Then in that case is the age of the universe fifty thousand years? This question will definitely cross our minds that fifty thousand years is a short time for the age of the universe as even the age of civilization of mankind is longer than that. Then how come the age of the universe could be so short?

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The following Ayah of Surah Al-Hajj answers this question:

ب رمعو ب لع ؼثه وإف قخ ى ﴾٤٧﴿وإ

Verily a Day in thy sight of the Lord is like a thousand years of your reckoning. (22; 47) AYA According to the first Ayah the age of the universe is fifty thousand years. One year is 365.25 day then fifty thousand years (50,000 x 365.25) is equal to 18,262,500 days. From the perspective of Qur‘an one day is equal to 1,000 years. So the age of the universe could be written as following: 18,262,500 x 1,000 = 18,262,500,000 years. That means that the age of the universe is more than eighteen thousand million days while each day according to the last Ayah is 1,000 years. Then the age of the universe is more than 18 billion years which is a pretty reasonable number. It should be kept in mind that the aforementioned Ayahs are expressive of many other facts answerable to new facts of each time and ear as well.

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Beyond the Universe and its relation with mankind Till the time that scientists were considering the universe infinite the question of ―beyond the universe‖ was not crossing anyone‘s mind. If the universe is infinite the light cannot cross even a small percentage of the diameter of the universe. In other words the terms ―beyond the universe, the diameter of the universe, the mass of the universe, history of the universe…‖ all lose their meaning if the universe is infinite. When the universe is considered infinite then the universe becomes the surrounding of the universe and the whole of the universe. But at the beginning of the twentieth century with new discoveries, the Big Bang theory and discovery of the expanding universe when the idea of an eternal and infinite universe was refuted and scientists considered the universe to have a history and limited dimensions then the question of ―beyond the universe‖ crossed the thought of anyone who was thinking of an incredibly magnanimous yet limited universe. If the universe is limited then what is beyond the universe? If the answer to this question is ―nothing‖ then what does ―nothing‖ mean? If we say ―nothing‖ is an absolutely dark and empty space the answer is wrong, as space is a phenomenon of the universe and assumption of ―beyond the universe‖ as space is a mistake. Some scientists believe that the assumption of ―beyond the universe‖ is not permissible as such an assumption yields nothing but disturbance, confusion, defeat and depression. Some scientists believed that ―beyond the universe‖ is really ―nothing‖ and thinking about ―nothing‖ without doubt is nothing. We live in the universe and our intelligence, senses and thoughts belong to this universe

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and this reality will continue as long as we live in this universe and death is the only way out of this universe and unfortunately there is no point of return once we leave the universe. Another fundamental and profound question in this regard is that, if the universe is expanding and beyond the universe is ―nothing‖, not even vacuum then where does the universe expand into? For instance; a balloon expands into the environment that surrounds it after being inflated. After exhaustion of the sources of hydrogen in its nucleus the Sun expands into its surrounding environment. The balloon and the Sun would not have been able to expand if they did not have a surrounding environment. If beyond the universe is ―nothingness‖ then where does the expansion happen? Initially the universe was so minuscule, way smaller than an atom then ―what‖ was that environment before which was later occupied by the universe after the Big Ban? The answer of some scientists to such questions is that the universe is a unique reality which does not need a place. According to its innate law the universe can expand and contract without need for place and space. But the Sun also will expand according to its innate rules but still needs an external environment and space. Such defective answers were mostly rather philosophical than scientific. Throughout history not only philosophy been unable to provide answers to such questions but has created further questions and bogged down mankind deeper into the swamp of unrealistic imaginations. The bases of philosophical theories are assumptions and probabilities while the basis of science is logical experiments in search of the truth. As Maulana Jalaluddin Balkhi, in his third volume of Mathnawai makes the differentiation between science and assumption:

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پر‌است‌کعلم‌را‌دو‌پر‌گمان‌را‌ی آمد‌ظن،‌به‌پرواز‌ابتر‌است‌ناقص پر‌زود‌افتد‌سرنگون‌کی‌مرغ فزون‌ابر‌پرد‌دوگامی‌ی‌باز مرغ‌گمان‌رود‌می‌زانو‌خی‌افت

انآشی‌دی‌پر‌بر‌امیکی‌با ز‌ظن‌وا‌رست،‌علمش‌رو‌نمود‌چون پر‌پر‌گشود‌کدو‌پر‌آن،‌مرغ‌ی‌شد لجبرئی چون‌پرد‌دو‌پر‌بر‌می‌با لو‌قی‌قال‌بی‌مگر،‌و‌بی‌گمان‌یب

To better answer such questions a new scientific theory or (Quantum theory) has been proposed which has a wide range of applicability and has offered new theories regarding the universe. According to this theory the universe cannot expand or contract without an external factor. As there is always a cause and effect how could the universe as a whole can expand without a cause and external environment? In that case existence of a much bigger environment which the universe itself is located in it is essential. According to the Quantum theory the three dimensional (3D) universe is located in an extremely larger four dimensional (4D) environment and is expanding. One should bear in mind that the beyond the universe, extremely large, four dimensional environment has no similarities to the universe and it is not space or vacuum and none of the scientific laws are applicable in that environment. We accepted the idea of existence of an environment beyond the universe but thoughts about its quality, form, appearance and so on and so forth of such an environment is futile and useless as it is beyond thoughts, intelligence and imaginations of mankind. Our intelligence and senses are limited to the universe or the physical

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world of matter and we cannot even imagine the form or quality of something beyond the universe, we only accept. This theory answered some questions about beyond the universe to some extent. But a newer theory (Inflation Theory) has gone a step further and offered some more concepts in that regard. This Inflation Theory not only accepts the concept of a larger environment beyond our universe but it deems the existence of thousands of trillions of other universes beyond ours a must. Our universe is not a united body but it is one of the trillions of the universes but the form, character, age etc. of these universes are one hundred percent different from each other and the scientific laws are only applicable to our universe. All the universes are located in an environment entirely different than the vacuum and space of our universe. The galaxies, stars, planets, satellites, celestial bodies, atmosphere, space, vacuum, fire, water, atom, etc. are realities related only to our environment and carry no bearing beyond our universe. Even if space exists in other universes it would be totally different than the one in our universe. There are many reasons indicating that beyond the universe is entirely different than the universe which speed of light is one of them. The fastest thing in the universe is the speed of light and according to the theory of relativity nothing can move faster than the speed of light in our universe but beyond the environment of the universe speed does not have any limits. The universe was extremely tiny, smaller than an atom but in less than a minute expanded so much that ―light‖ cannot cross such at distance in centuries. That means that the universe is located in an environment completely different than space and is compatible with any kind of speed. Currently the universe is expanding speedily but matter does not transform into light because the universe as a whole is not

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expanding in space but in an environment beyond and other than space. Then according to the above mentioned two theories [Quantum Theory and Inflation Theory] we can conclude: A. Our universe is not the whole of the creation but is a fraction of

it.

B. Beyond the universe is not ―nothingness‖. Existence of an environment beyond the universe is necessary which is completely different than space and imagination about is futile.

C. Our universe is not a united body but is one of the trillions of the universes which are entirely different from each other and our scientific laws are applicable and restricted only to our universe.

D. The universe is located in an environment other than what is

known to us as space. Our universe in spite of its vastness and magnanimity is less than a drop in the ocean of creation. According to professor Iqbal one of the distinguished thinkers of Islam ―the power of creativity of God is infinite and the limited universe is a small reflection of such a magnificent power‖ Andrei Dmitiyevich Linde (born March 2, 1948 in Moscow, USSR is a Russian-American theoretical physicist and professor of physics at Stanford University who is best known for his work on the concept of the inflationary universe) who has done valuable work, especially regarding Inflation Theory, expresses the minuteness of the universe in comparison to God‘s creation as following: ―Our universe is not all of the creation. The whole of the

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creation is like an infinite ocean and if we consider that ocean infinite it is ok. The contents of that ocean are neither water nor air. No one can imagine what the contents of that ocean are, neither me and you nor anyone else. In that unlimited ocean there are unlimited holes which are different from each other. Some of these holes have rules which will live forever and some of them will vanish after a certain period of time and our universe is one of those holes that will disappear‖.

This unlimited ocean which the universe is a tiny fragment of it is yet limited and is nothing in comparison to the absolute power of God.

In Qur‘an there are direct and indirect references to ―beyond the universe‖ as previously mentioned in the section of (Black Hole) Surah 7; Ayah 47:

وػثىا ثأبرب اػ بء وب إ ؤثىاة اك واقزىجؽوا لهب ب رفزر ه اطبغ ف ق ح اد ادخ زز ووػه دؿ عضى

ني دؽ ﴾٤٣﴿ا To those who reject Our signs and treat them with arrogance, no opening will there be of the gates of heaven, nor will they enter the garden, until the camel can pass through the eye of the needle: such is Our reward for those in sin. (7; 40) AYA In the above mentioned Ayah, Qur‘an mentions doors for the heavens (the universe) which are clearly suggestive of the reality of beyond the universe as the purpose of gate or door is relation with outer environment.

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Maulana Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi, Shams Book:

‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌الخیاط ‌سم ‌چون ‌است ‌تنگ ‌حق ‌راه ‌یکتا ‌ ‌رشته ‌ ‌مثال میرویم‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌ما‌‌‌ Another noticeable fact in the above mentioned Ayah is that The Heaven is a separate reality than the universe as after passage from the gates of the universe the name of the Heaven is mentioned. In many Ayahs it is clearly mentioned that the universe is not eternal and even the manner of its annihilation is mentioned but Qur‘an has insisted on eternity of the Heaven many times which is indicative of the fact that the Heaven is totally separate from the universe and is beyond the universe.

In addition to heavens the words Throne ―Arsh‖ (لؽل) and ―Kursy‖

( وؽق ) are also mentioned in Qur‘an in many Ayahs; Surah Al-

Mominoon; Ayah 86:

بواد اكجك وؼة امؽل امف ؼة اك ﴾٨٦﴿ل Say: ―Who is the Lord of the seven heavens and Lord of the great Throne?‖ (23; 86) AYA

In the abovementioned Ayah the word ―Sabaha‖ (قجك) is used for

the number ―seven" and also used to show ―multiplicity‖ and means ―several‖. From the perspective of some credible interpreters of the Qur‘an such as Dr. Morris Bucaille the French

scholar, (بواد اكجك or Seven Heavens in Qur‘an means several (ق

universes which means that God of numerous universes.

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Some might assume that the words ―Kursy‖ ( ‖and ―Arsh (وؽق

are realities related to the universe while in fact these two (لؽل)

realities (Kursi & Arsh) are way magnanimous then the universe. Some very credible commentators of the Qur‘an such as Ibn-i-Kathir and Mr.Yusuf Estes (A Texan American scholar) explain

the magnanimity of the ―Kursy‖ ( ‖or the Throne and ―Arsh (وؽق

in light of the Qur‘anic Ayahs and authentic prophetic (لؽل)

Ahadith as following:

―This great universe in comparison to ―Kursy‖ ( or the Throne (وؽق

is like a ring in a big desert and the ―Kursy‖ ( in comparison (وؽق

to the magnanimous ―Arsh‖ (لؽل) is like another ring in a larger

desert. Then the likeness of the universe in comparison to ―Arsh‖ is less than a drop in an ocean.‖ The cherisher of the worlds is eternal while the universe did not exist at most more than twenty billion year ago and will not exist at most more than twenty billion years from now. So one can say that before the creation of the universe creature and realities existed that were unrelated to our universe and after the annihilation of the universe creatures will exist that have no relation to the universe. Ayah 5 of Surah Al-Mulk; Ayah 5, also points to realities beyond the universe:

ب شبؼني ب ؼخى ب صبثر وخم بء اعب ث وؤلزعب ومع ؾب اك لػاة اكمري ﴾٥﴿ه

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And We have certainly beautified the nearest heaven with stars and have made [from] them what is thrown at the devils and have prepared for them the punishment of the Blaze. (67; 5) SI In the abovementioned Ayah there is a clear reference that the nearby or lowest heaven is adorned with stars. All the stars visible to eyes belong to the Milky Way galaxy but beyond the Milky Way galaxy there are more and more and many more galaxies. The universe as a whole is a collection of galaxies and galaxies are conglomerates of stars, planets, satellites, celestial bodies, quasars, etc. The closest part of the universe to the earth, the Milky Way galaxy which earth belongs to it, is decorated with stars and similarly the farthest part of the universe belonging to a different galaxy is decorated with stars as well. Then in the abovementioned Ayah the lowest heaven means this universe. That means that the shiny stars are one of the realities of this universe and in further away heavens (other universes) stars do not exist. As mentioned earlier, modern science is of the opinion that space, stars, planets and anything that pragmatic research is done about it are realities of the universe. The realities of ―beyond the universe‖ are totally different then the realities of the universe. In the above Ayah the lowest heaven does not mean the space closer to earth but the lowest heaven adored with lamps or stars means the universe as a whole. In order to realize that Qur‘an has more references to ―beyond universe‖ we will pay more attention to the following issues: Mankind has two fundamental dimensions, one dimension is the world of command or directive and the other dimension is world of creation. In the world of creation God put confinement or limit of

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time and for creation and evolution time (days, years, centuries…) and place is determined. But in the world of command limits do

not exist and a mere command of ―Be‖ (و) from God is all what is

needed. Mawlana Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi: Mathnawi, First Vol:

پیش‌چوگان‌های‌حکم‌کن‌فکان می‌دویم‌اندر‌مکان‌و‌ال‌مکان

For instance; in the section of ―creation of the universe with a big bang‖ it was noticed that the seed of the primary universe was created without any pause with the order of ―Be‖ and it was. After the Big Bang the material world was with the ―limit‖ of time and place to it is in the process of development and evolution to this day. In simpler terms in the world of command God creates things from nothing without limit of time (or any other limits) but in the world of creation things are created through the process of gradual development and evolution. As Dr. Israr Ahmad expressed in a round table discussion with some international scholars: ―Before the creation of the universe (Pre-Big Bang) when the universe including space did not exist, God created a light. A light that was entirely different than the light existing in the universe. A non-beating, non-waving and non-moving light that was exceptionally delicate, simple and static. Creation of this light was not related to the universe as it happened prior to the creation of the universe. This light which was created without the limit of time with the order of ―Be and it was‖ and from that light, angels, spirit of mankind and all intelligent beings that might be living in other planets, were created.‖

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Afterwards the cherisher of the worlds brought together all of these spirits and addressed them as mentioned in Surah Al-Araaf; Ayah 172:

ؤكذ ثؽثى شهعب لبىا ث خ إب وب ل امب ؤ رمىىا ىـػا غبفني ﴿١٧٢﴾

―Am I not your Lord (Who cherishes and sustains you)?‖-They said: ―Yea! We do testify!‖ (This), lest you should say the Day of Judgment: ―Of this we were never mindful‖ (7; 172) AYA Mawlana Jalaludin Mohammad Balkhi; Shams Book:

یوستیم‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌پباز‌‌,ما‌همه‌از‌الست‌همدستیم‌‌‌‌‌‌‌عاقبت‌شکر Afterwards all the souls were ordered to go to sleep and wait till a place is created for them. This sleep in reality was the first death of mankind and then with the order of ―Be‖ the seed of the primary universe was created and exploded without any delay and the material world or the universe that is related to the world of creation came into being. In shores of Africa from compounds of mud and its ingredients with water unicellular creatures came into existence which through a very lengthy and complex process over hundreds of millions of years these cells initiated formation of plants, oceanic life, reptiles, birds and animals.

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Surah Al-Anbiya; Ayah 30:

ء ز ش بء و ا ب وخم ى ب ؤ ﴾٣٣﴿ؤف We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe? (21; 30) AYA Surah Al-Furqaan; Ayah 54:

بء ثشؽا ا ى اػ ضك و It is He who has created man from water (25; 54) AYA Then the body of man including his/her intelligence and senses is related to the world of creation. It was after the blowing the spirit of God into its body angels were ordered to prostrate to Adam peace be upon him. Without that spirit mankind did not deserve prostration of angels. Intelligent man without spirit was another animal just dominant and smarter. After inspiration of the spirit the chosen Man becomes Adam Peace Be Up on Him and a new and fundamental page was opened in the history of earth. So the principle dimension of mankind (the spirit) is related to beyond universe (world of command) and its physical dimension is related to earth and beyond earth. As Mirza Abdul Qader Baidel one on the greatest Arefs of Afghanistan says:

بست‌نقش‌ادمی‌‌‌‌‌ای‌بهار‌نیستی‌از‌قدر‌خود‌هشیار‌باش‌‌‌‌هر‌دو‌عالم‌خاک‌شد‌تا‌

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Before the blow of spirit into Adam, Qur‘an calls it ―Bashr‖ (ثشؽ) or

Human Being which was not fit for angels‘ prostration yet. Surah Saad; Ayah 71:

ؼني بئىخ إ ضبك ثشؽا ﴾٧١﴿إغ لبي ؼثه

[So mention] when your Lord said to angels, ―Indeed, I am going to create a human being from clay‖. (38; 71) SI

In the above mentioned Ayah the word ―Bashr‖ (ثشؽ) or Human

Being is plural. This means that after a prolong process of development, cognizant intelligent Human was created which the spirit was not blown into it yet. The angels were not ordered to prostrate to the spiritless Man or ―Bashr‖. It is essential to know that spirit has no relation to life. Then when were the angels ordered to prostrate to Adam (PBUH)?

قبخع ؼوز فممىا وفطذ ف ﴾٧٢﴿فئغا قىز

So when I have proportioned him and breathed into him of my [created] soul, then fall down to him in prostration. (38; 72) SI Then the spirit of Adam to his last offspring, were created even before the creation of the universe and were blown into their bodies. Dr. Israr Ahmad believed that: ―spirit is not like an electrical sparkle but it is a body. How this spirit merges with human physical body, no one knows. No one knows as this is of the divine‘s domain‖

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As Mawlana Jalaludin Mohammad Balkhi says in Mathnawi Manawi first volum:

نیـسـتتـن‌زجـان‌و‌جـان‌زتـن‌مسـتـور‌ لـیـک‌کـس‌را‌دیـد‌جـان‌دســتـور‌نیـسـت

After death, human physical body which through the process of development is formed of dust and continents of earth goes back to earth and its spirit which is the essential dimension of mankind is trying to get back to its origin and root which is beyond universe. Mawlana Jalaludin Mohammad Balkhi, first chapter of Mathnawi:

هر‌کسی‌کو‌دور‌ماند‌از‌اصل‌خویش باز‌جوید‌روزگاری‌وصل‌خویش

Then mankind has two deaths; the first death was the sleep in the ―world of command‖ beyond the universe and the second one happens on earth. In reality death is a developmental step in human beings advancement towards a higher status. And with each death a human being ascends to a higher developmental step. Mawlana Jalaludin Mohammad Balkhi in light of the Qur‘anic Ayahs explains this human development in the world of creation in his third volume of Mathnawi very nicely as bellow:

از‌جمادی‌مردم‌و‌نامی‌شدم وز‌نما‌مردم‌به‌حیوان‌بر‌زدمممردم‌از‌حیوانی‌و‌آدم‌شد

پس‌چه‌ترسم‌کی‌ز‌مردن‌کم‌شدم

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The above verses are related to the science of biology and probably Mawlana means the development and evolution of

―Bashr‖ (ثشؽ) which means that after each death human being

elevates to a higher level and position. Anyhow, the focus of our attention is the following verses of Maulana, which points towards the after death development. After death human being will further develop which will continue eternally.

از‌بشر‌رمبمی‌گردی‌ۀحمل تا‌برآرم‌از‌مالئک‌بال‌و‌پر‌

هالک‌اال‌وجهه‌ءجستن‌زجو‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌کل‌شی‌دمملک‌هم‌بای‌وز

آن‌شوم‌داز‌ملک‌پران‌شوم‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌آنچه‌اندروهم‌نای‌گردی‌بار

راجعون‌هکانا‌الی‌دمعدم‌گردم‌عدم‌چون‌ارغنون‌‌‌‌‌‌گوی‌پس

Then the main and fundamental development is the after death one, a development that will continue to eternity. The ultimate goal of development is reaching God and after each death we get a step closer to Him and our realization of the truth improves. And because the purpose of development is complete divine closeness and reaching God so it will continue to eternity and will not stop. Mawlana Jalaludin Mohammad Balkhi; Shams Book:

هلل‌استپی‌اله‌‌ال‌اله‌اندر همچو‌ال‌ماهم‌به‌اال‌میرویم خوانده‌ای‌اناالیه‌راجعون تا‌بدانی‌که‌کجا‌ها‌می‌رویم

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Therefore death is not extermination or the end of human being but it is a developmental step from one phase to another. After death the development will not be on earth or in this universe but in a place way beyond our imaginations or thoughts with entirely different laws. Mawlana Jalaludin Mohammad Balkhi; Shams Book:

وز‌ملک‌افزونتریم,‌خود‌ز‌فلک‌برتریم !!!زین‌دو‌چرا‌نگذریم؟‌منزل‌ما‌کبریاست

A question arises that will only people of Heaven go through the after death development? Will people of Hill remain in Hill eternally and will they be deprived of after death development? Although some are of the believe that people of Hill will be deprived of after death development and nearness to God forever while on the contrary scholars such as Mawlana Hafiz ibni Qayum, Mawlana Sulaiman Nadwi, Professor Iqbal Lahori, Dr. Israr Ahmmd in light of some Qur‘anic Ayahs and valid Ahadith (sayings of the prophet) consider Hill a transitory phase of the development for those who are not qualified for Heaven. Professor Iqbal Lahori believed that: ―Hill is NOT a place of torture or revenge of God from renegades, violators, polytheists… but it is a transit phase that burns to improve and qualify such people for development and perfection. The purpose of Hill is not merely to torture but its purpose is justice and fairness. The goal is to improve not to revenge. The people of Hill are not qualified for entering heaven and development right away. But after a period in Hill, it will burn them to develop till they reach the level of others to be qualified and in the meantime justice will be served as well‖

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This development will continue. Some will be ahead in the line and some behind. Eventually everyone will follow the crowd of the blessed ones and the leader of that procession will be Prophet Mohammad Peace and Mercy of God Be Upon Him. People of Hill will not be in complete despair either and will be soliciting and praying to God as mentioned in the Qur‘an Surah Al-Ghafir; Ayah 11:

ضؽوج إ فبلزؽفب ثػىثب فه زب اثز وؤز زب اثز لبىا ؼثب ؤ ﴾١١﴿قج

They will say: ―Our Lord! Twice thou hast made us without life and twice thou hast given us life! Now have we recognized our sins: is there any way out (out of this)?‖ (40; 11) AYA

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The future of the universe (Conflagration And Firestorm) As the universe has a beginning it also has an end. It is not eternal and will eventually be annihilated and this gigantic reality will finally get back to zero. When we speak of annihilation of the universe it is not just obliteration of the galaxies and their contents but this is extermination of the space as well. After eradication of the universe there will remain no space, time, place, galaxies and their contents (stars, planets, satellites….), matter or atom. The universe and its contents will be obliterated to its nonexistence phase similar to before its creation. There are multiple Ayahs in Qur‘an clearly indicating that the univers will finally come to an end. For instance; in Surah Al-Ahqaaf; Ayah 3, a definite timeline is mentioned for the universe alluding that the universe is not everlasting and has a certain age.

ك ب إب ثبسك وؤخ ه ب ث بواد واإؼض و ب ضمب اك مؽظى ب ؤػؼوا وفؽوا ل ﴾٣﴿واػ

We created not the heavens and the earth and all between them but for just ends, and for a Term Appointed: but those who reject Faith turn away from that whereof they are warned. (46; 3) MP The glorious Qur‘an not only alludes that the universe will finally be exterminated but one Ayah clearly explains the process that the universe will come to an end. Before mentioning the Ayah which talks about the way that the universe will end let‘s see what

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did science believe in the past and what science believes today about the future of the Universe. As previously discussed the universe has invisible columns, columns of the systems, columns of the galaxies and columns of the universe as a whole. As we are discussing the extermination of the universe it would be worthwhile to briefly review columns of the universe. The universe as whole will live as long as it continues to expand. We went through what causes the expansion of the universe which the Big Bang was one of them which its effects still persist. Another fundamental factor is the existence of the Dark Energy which has filled the spaces between the galaxies and the galaxies that are located at the margins of the universe and causes their expansion. The Dark Energy does not exist inside the galaxies and if it did the galaxies would have expanded and the solidarity between the stars and planets would have disappeared and all the stars would have vanished. In the meantime the opposing internal gravity force of the universe is trying to prevent and halt the expansion of the universe. Thus there is an ongoing struggle for survival of the universe between the internal gravity of the universe and Dark Energy. The Dark Energy is resisting the force of gravity while with passage of time the Dark Energy gradually loses its counteracting ability and if the expansion of the universe stops for a moment it will be the beginning of the end and the universe will start to collapse. Will the internal gravity force of the universe be capable enough to prevent the expansion of the universe? Or on the contrary will the Dark Energy be able to resist the internal gravity force where

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the galaxies will expand to a point that the gravity force be canceled out and the universe will live forever? If the amount of matter in the universe is not enough that its gravity be able to prevent the expansion of the universe such a universe is called Open Universe which will expand perpetually. On the other hand if the universe contains enough amount of matter, its gravity force will be able to prevent its expansion and such a universe is called Closed Universe. And in such a universe the gravity force will finally be able to stop its expansion and the universe as a whole will collapse. To determine whether enough matter exists in the universe that its gravity could prevent its expansion scientists are trying to find out the main density of the universe. ―The critical density of matter in the universe that separates the two possibilities can be calculated from Einstein‘s theory. It is now approximately 10

-10 grams per cubic centimeter. However small

this value maybe, it separates two entirely different futures for the universe‖. The question rises that what is the main density of the universe? The future of the universe depends on the question whether the universe is eternal or perishable? Is the main density of matter in the universe equal to, les than or more then the critical density? To answer this question an accurate formula is drafted as bellow: (Destiny of the universe) Ω = main density/critical density

An important parameter in the theory of the density of the universe is the density parameter, Omega (Ω), defined as the average matter density of the universe divided by a critical value

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of that density. This selects one of three possible geometries depending on whether Ω is equal to, less than, or greater than 1. These are called, respectively, the flat, the open and the closed universes. The Closed universe: If Ω >1, then the geometry of the space is closed like the surface of a sphere. The sum of the angles of a triangle exceeds 180 degrees and there are no parallel lines; all lines eventually meet. The geometry of the universe is, at least on a very large scale, elliptic. In a closed universe lacking the repulsive effect of dark energy, gravity eventually stops the expansion of the universe, after which it starts to contract until all matter in the universe collapses to a single point; a final singularity termed the "Big Crunch", by analogy with the Big Bang.

The Open universe: If Ω<1, the geometry of space is open, i.e., negatively curved like the surface of a saddle. The angles of a triangle sum to less than 180 degrees, and lines that do not meet are never equidistant; they have a point of least distance and otherwise grow apart. The geometry of such a universe is hyperbolic. Even without the dark energy, a negatively curved universe expands forever, with gravity barely slowing the rate of expansion. With dark energy, the expansion not only continues but accelerates. The ultimate fate of an open universe is either universal heat death (the "Big Freeze"), or the "Big Rip", where the acceleration caused by dark energy eventually becomes so strong that it completely overwhelms the effects of the gravitational, electromagnetic and weak binding forces. The Flat universe:

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If the average density of the universe exactly equals the critical density so that Ω=1, then the geometry of the universe is flat: as in Euclidean geometry, the sum of the angles of a triangle is 180 degrees and parallel lines continuously maintain the same distance. Absent dark energy, a flat universe expands forever but at a continually decelerating rate, with expansion asymptotically approaching a fixed rate. With dark energy, the expansion rate of the universe initially slows down, due to the effect of gravity, but eventually increases. The ultimate fate of the universe is the same as an open universe. In any case the relativity theory of Einstein is approved but scientists after Einstein to this day are trying to determine the precise result of the formula whether it is equal to one, less than or more than one. Up until recent years scientists were thinking the result to be <1 and were of the belief that although the universe has a beginning but it will last forever. Many scientific facts were not discovered at that time as they are now and science was aware of only the visible matter at that time. The visible matter in the universe is a collection of all the stars like the Sun, planets like earth, satellites such as moon, various celestial bodies, celestial rocks, nebulas… According to these observations the result of the formula was calculated not only less than one but many times less than one. As a result scientists proclaimed that the universe though has a beginning but will last eternally. Although such theories have been refuted and proven wrong but it would not hurt to see what would have been the future of the universe like, if such a theory was true?

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In that case the universe would have expanded eternally and the galaxies would have gradually taken distance from each other and the deep gravitational relation between galaxies would have weakened and finally disappeared. A time would have come that the distance between neighboring galaxies would have reached beyond billions of light years. No one could watch stars or galaxies other then stars of the galaxy that they live in. The space would have gradually become darker, cooler and thinner and finally each galaxy in a universe much bigger than the present-day universe would have stayed alive independently for a while. Everything would have lost its light, heat and energy and due to the low temperature new stars and new galaxies wouldn‘t have formed. Gradually nuclear fusions of the stars due to lack of hydrogen would have faced difficulties and stars would have died one by one and the density of the universe would have diminished so much which would have been close to zero in comparison to the space so larger than the current day‘s one. Black holes would have lost their characteristics and the universe would have become completely dark, cold and thin. Subsequently all the contents of the universe (matter) would have disappeared, molecules would have split and elements would have divided into their molecules. All atoms would have split into their components till volume of matter gotten close to zero but the space would have expanded indefinitely which that in and of itself would have been a death of the universe. But all that was mentioned above has been proven wrong as science, especially theories such as Quantum Theory and Inflation Theory suggest that omega is neither equal to nor less than one and it is bigger than one and the universe will not expand for ever but will expand for a certain amount of time and then the big collapse and contraction will start.

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The Big Crunch Theory With the establishment of new theories mentioned earlier the condition totally changed. In 1988 after very accurate studies of exploded stars or supernovae (the explosion of a star, possibly caused by gravitational collapse, during which the star's luminosity increases by as much as 20 magnitudes and most of the star's mass is blown away at very high velocity, sometimes leaving behind an extremely dense core) cosmologists realized that the expansion of the universe has become faster which is not indicative that the energy of Dark Matter has increased but it has become weaker.

Any entity of the universe that feels nearing its death will try to hasten its expansion for provisional survival. Similarly dark energy which is the invisible column of the universe is in the process of getting weaker. Many facts were not discovered at the time when omega was considered to be less than one.

A. In fact it is the gravity of matter that is needed to evade expansion of the universe not the matter itself. Then the existence of thousands of billions of black holes should not be overlooked. The attraction gravity of each black hole is thousands of times more than that of a star. In that case the main density of the universe goes up.

B. Scientists were calculating the mass of each star according to the magnitude of radiation of its light. For instance; two stars that are located in equal distance from earth, if both stars radiate the same amount of light then their masses were considered similar and equal. While in reality some of the very condensed stars

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radiate less light but their mass and gravity is thousands of time larger, then again the main concentration goes up too.

C. Initially scientists were taking into account only the visible matter while 90% of matter is in the form of Dark or invisible matter which was not accounted for. Dark matter is invisible but has very strong gravity and effects. It was the discovery of the dark matter which increased the value of omega or Main Density to ten times.

Due to the above three reasons it was concluded that the result of the formula is not only above one but is multiple times higher than one which is indicative of eventual extermination of the universe with a big contraction. The privilege of this discovery goes to Andrei Linde a Russian-born American scientist. ―On a superficial look it seems that although the universe has a beginning it should be eternal and everlasting but this will be a very shallow judgment. In reality, as the universe has a beginning it will have an end too.‖ These are the words of Mr. Andrei Linde who presented all his documents alluding to the eventual extermination of the universe in a conference and won the Dirac Medal 2002 for that intriguing discovery. (The Dirac Medal of the ICTP is given each year by the International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in honor of physicist P.A.M. Dirac. The award, given each year on August 8 (Dirac's birthday), was first granted in 1985).

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In reality the universe is not but a black hole, a gigantic black hole. Then what will be the fate of life in this black hole? The colossal collapse of the universe will begin 10 to 20 billion years from now. Interestingly we live on earth in the middle of the age of the universe. Again the question arises that what is the purpose of the big collapse of the universe? Will the universe collapse as a building collapses on itself after a strong earthquake or a demolition?

If the universe is thought to be spherical and all the galaxies located on the surface of the sphere which in that case none of the galaxies will have a specific position. All the stars, planets, satellites, black holes, celestial bodies etc. belong to one of the galaxies and earth along with the solar system also belong to one of these galaxies then the attraction/gravity of the universe is owing to all of the galaxies.

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The dark matter that is dispersed between the galaxies constitutes the invisible columns of the universe. A time will come that the dark matter with its strong attraction force along with other gravity forces will put the universe at risk of collapse.

The dark energy in the spaces between the galaxies has been able to expand the universe with its full force and prevent collapse of the universe to this day but how long will that energy last? In the universe anything that gives energy finally exhausts and wears out. The attraction force of the universe is resisting against that energy and the gravity of matter will remain intact in one form or another. For instance; if the Sun after termination of its nuclear fusions vanishes, its gravity will be preserved. Any entity in the universe after any transformation, explosion, etc. does not lose its gravity force.

As a general rule one can say that the attraction/gravity force of the universe is preserved and conversely the dark energy is getting weaker and fades away. Finally after a very long period of time, perhaps 10 to 20 billon years, according to Inflation theory the dark energy will fail against the attraction/gravity force of the universe and will not be able to resist against the attraction/gravity force and the dark energy will gradually lose its ability and will get equal to zero.

The moment the dark energy gets equal to zero the expansion of the universe will stop for a short moment and the process will then reverse and the gravity/attraction force will cause the contraction of the universe. With the beginning of the contraction the big collapse of the universe will begin.

Although at that time mankind and the solar system would have already disappeared but those who live on other planets of Milky

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Way galaxy or other galaxies will observe bizarre transformations and developments. At the beginning of the contraction of the universe no one in none of the galaxies will be at danger and after a very long period of time light will bring the news of contraction of the universe to all. After a prolonged period of time scientist in all galaxies will notice that the tails of the nearby galaxies that used to show red shift will be inverted to blue shift which this shift is indicative of a fearsome and terrifying reality which means that the galaxies are not moving away from each other but they are converging. Scientists of all the planets of every galaxy will proclaim that the great contraction of the universe has started but the real danger is still far away. With passage of each moment the speed of contraction or collapse of the universe will get faster as the density of the universe will go higher and denser and the distance between the galaxies gets closer and the main danger gets closer. Nowadays, with an advanced telescope such as Hubble‘s telescope thousands of galaxies could be observed with red tails (red shift) but when the contraction starts scientists in any galaxy or planets will be able to observe millions of galaxies with blue tails (blue shift) moving closer to each other. This intriguing and terrifying reality could be seen similarly in each galaxy. The universe is done and there is no energy lift that could prevent the collapse and contraction.

With further contraction the universe goes denser and the space will gradually get limited. It should be that it is the space between the galaxies that is getting smaller and smaller but the space between the stars inside each galaxy is still intact and the real danger has not started. At that time anyone anywhere at any galaxy will notice strange phenomena and during night time will observe blue tails in stars of

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the related galaxy and other galaxies other galaxies as well. In reality these phenomena are indicative of the fact that the great and imminent danger is getting closer and the tale of the universe is coming to an end.

After a period the galaxies will get so close to each other that some of them could be visible even during day time. Those who are unaware of these facts will suppose that the universe is getting prettier. Colorful disk like phenomena with various colors of violet, pink, orange and each galaxy depending on its distance, will be visible. The speed of contraction of the universe will gradually get faster, even faster than the speed of light and after a while the distance of the galaxies will get so close that the reality of night will disappear and it will be constantly day light. Before the distance between the galaxies get to zero, stars and planets that are located on the outskirts of each galaxy will become shaky and unstable which will affect the gravity of its adjacent galaxy. Finally the universe will contract and the distance between the galaxies will disappear and the great collision will begin. None of the galaxies will be secure from this collision and all the galaxies will collide with each other at one moment and the reality of space will vanish. Such a tremendous and whole universe-inclusive collision is called the Big Crunch theory. After the start of the collision with passage of each moment as a whole in the entire universe trillions of stars, planets, satellites, etc. will be destroyed and the stars located at the edges of the galaxies will be obliterated first. The temperature of the universe will rise up to an incredibly high degree and those located in the center of the galaxies will vanish from too much heat. The dark matter will lose its character and the remaining stars as a whole will break away from

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their orbits and will scatter in different directions and the temperature will go higher than the temperature of the Sun.

The universe will become unbelievably smaller than its current size but would become incredibly hot, extremely concentrated, moving, wavy and wandering.

Shams Book; Mawlana Jalaludin Mohammad Balkhi:

ضد "ال"ز یبت دریا, عالن و دریا ضد

گر خیص با آدم ضد, آدم واد آدهی

ی خلك هاد ی هلک, ددی بر آید ازفلک

زاى دد ا گ آتطی بر گبد اعظن زد

Finally the universe will become as small as a single galaxy and the stars and planets will be wandering with such a speed that will transform into pure energy and the temperature of the universe will exceed billions of degrees of centigrade.

Matter, space, and everything will transform into energy trying to condense into one single point (singularity). The universe will become extremely condensed and hot to the size of the Sun, then smaller than earth, smaller than the moon, smaller than a ball, smaller than the eye of a needle, then smaller than the tip of the needle, then smaller than an atom, nucleus of an atom, proton and finally zero and the strange and intriguing tale of universe will come to an end. Surah Al-Qisas 28; 88:

به إب وخه ء ش و Every thing (that exists) will perish except His own Face. (28; 88) AYA

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Hakim Abul Majd Majdood ibni Adam Sanaie Ghaznawi:

بد خلك ت باضی, بد ایي خلك ت بدی

لوي الولک ت گئی ک هر آرا ت سسایی

After the tale of the universe comes to an end, matter, time space place and everything in between will disappear through these transformations.

The following Ayaha of Surah Al-Anbyia explains this reality in clear and simple words:

ىزت اكد بء وؽ ؽى اك ى ك مع ب ثعؤب ؤوي ض وب ﴾١٣٤إب وب فبلني ﴿ ولعا ل

The Day when We will fold the heaven like the folding of a [written] sheet for the records. As We began the first creation, We will repeat it. That is a promise binding upon Us. Indeed, We will do it. (21:104) SI

In the above Ayah the termination of the universe and the way it will end is mentioned very clearly. The universe was created from nothing. It was a closed entity and got opened and unwrapped and after a certain period of time will be rewrapped and closed. This is a promise from God and will be fulfilled, indeed. In the world of law and orders He has set up meticulous laws and rules that govern and serve these purposes.

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Another very remarkable point about the Al-Anbyia Surah is the fact that at the initial part (Ayah 30) it tells about the story of creation of the universe that the universe was closed and was opened or ruptured (Big Bang) and at the final part of the Surah, Ayah 104 clearly explains that the opened universe will be closed and wrapped up reversely just the way it was unwrapped (Bing Crunch).

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Chapter Two

The earth:

Earth is one of the most beautiful and significant average size planets of the solar system. Distance wise it is the third planet from the Sun and volume wise it is the fifth planet of the solar system. The distance of earth from the center of the solar system (Sun) is about 149,500,000 kilometer and earth is the only planet of the solar system capable of sustaining life while some of the other planets of the solar system containing water and atmosphere but lack capability of sustaining life.

The earth is not completely spherical but rather elliptical. The vertical diameter of earth is 42 kilometers less than its horizontal diameter. As 42 kilometer is not a significant amount of length earth looks completely round from the moon or faraway space.

The earth along with the entire solar system is traveling in a very long orbit in the Milky Way galaxy with a speed of 220 kilometers per second while simultaneously the earth along with its moon is orbiting around the Sun on an orbit of about 938,900,000 kilometer. The speed of orbiting of the earth around the Sun is 106,000 kilometer per hour (29.4 Km/second) which no airplane is capable of flying with such a fast speed.

The earth consists of five main parts:

1. Atmosphere which consists of various gases and its height is about 1,100 kilometer and without atmosphere life is impossible on earth.

2. Hydrosphere, which consists of waters of oceans, lakes, rivers etc. Oceanic waters cover about 70.8% of the surface of earth.

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3. Lithosphere a very important part of the earth which is more than 100 kilometer thick and the crust of the earth make up 50 kilometer of it.

4. Cover of the mantle which encircles the nucleus of the earth. 5. Nucleus or core of the earth which is the hottest and most

condensed part of the earth.

The age of the earth and solar system is about 4.65 billion years. The earth and the solar system are made of combination and condensation of gases left from explosion of a very huge star. Initially the earth was homogeneous but after descent of heavy metals such as iron its temperature went up to a point that brought the earth to boil which consequently the above five layers or strata were formed that rendered the earth more valuable and habitable.

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The mass of the earth is about 594 x 1019

metric/ tons which makes its density higher than that of the Sun and Jupiter. The volume of the earth is one million and three hundred thousand times less than the Sun which means that the Sun can accommodate more than a million earths inside it. The radius of the earth is about 6,375 kilometer and according to the (P=2 π r) formula, the circumference of the earth is about 40,071 kilometer. If an airplane takes off from Kabul westward after a flight of 40,071 kilometers will reach Kabul from the east side because of the spherical shape of the earth.

All the above mentioned characteristics make earth one of the most important planets of the solar system. We can state that because of 63 years of life of a very special human being which God has called him ―Mercy to the Worlds‖, the earth is really a very valuable, unique and significant planet of the entire universe.

The earth and its satellite (the Moon)

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Rotational or Axial or pivotal movement of the earth

The earth is spinning around itself which brings about day and night. The earth completes one axial movement in 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4.1 seconds.

Only few centuries ago if someone suggested that the earth turns around its axis and the day and night is the result of its axial rotation, not the movement of the Sun, certainly he/she would have been mocked and laughed at. Up until the beginning of the 17

th century

even scientists believed that day and night is the result of the movement of the Sun from east to west. They considered earth to be totally stationary and further more they believed the earth to be the center of the universe and the entire universe including the Sun and the moon are turning around the earth. Nobody could even envision the notion of axial movement of the earth while Qur‘an very mysteriously explains the axial movement of the earth very beautifully in Suarah Al-Zummr; Ayah 5:

بواد واإؼض ثبسك ل اهبؼ وىىؼ اهبؼ ضك اك ىىؼ ا ل ا

He created heavens and the earth in true (proportions): He makes the Night overlap the Day, and the Day overlap the Night (39; 5). AYA

In the above Ayah the word (ر .means to overlap and wrap (ی كوSimilarly this word is used for wrapping turban around the head. This Ayah is insistent on the fact that the reality of the day and night is unrelated to the movement of the Sun because night turns into day and day turns into night. Day and night is the outcome of spinning of the earth and not from the movement of the Sun. This Ayah miraculously explains that the axial movement is the main

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reason behind the reality of day and night and for further clarification points in Surah Aal Imran; Ayah 27:

ف اهبؼ ورىح اهبؼ ف ا رىح ا

―Thou causest the night to gain on the day, and thou causest the day to gain on the night…‖ (3; 27) AYA

The abovementioned Ayah again has not included the Sun in the reality of day and night.

Similarly in Surah Al-Nour; Ayah 44:

واهبؼ ف غه مجؽح مت اـ ا ﴾٤٤﴿إو اإثصبؼ إ

It is Allah Who alternates the Night and the Day: verily in these things is an instructive example for those who have vision! (24; 44) AYA

The abovementioned Ayah similar to other Ayahs again explains that the main and only cause of the reality of existence of day and night is the axial movement of earth.

Again in Surah Al-Yunus; Ayah 40:

قبثك اهبؼ ؽ وب ا ف جغ هب ؤ رعؼن ام ف فه ب اش وو ﴾٤٣﴿كجسى

It is not permitted to the Sun to catch up the Moon, nor can the Night outstrip the Day: each (just) swims along in its own orbit (according to Law). (36; 40) AYA

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The usage of the word (‌ ل all) at the second part of the Ayah ;ك

indicates that everything in the universe is in a dynamic and moving state either axial or transitional movement. And in this movement once more the axial movement of the earth is insisted up on which explains the fact of day and night. The Sun, the moon, day and night (the axial movement) and everything and all things are in a movement (‌ون .(یسبح

The movement of the Sun is not visible but technology has proven that the Sun completes its axial movement in 26 days and its transitional movement takes millions of years as mentioned earlier.

The first part of the above Ayah mentions that the Sun can not catch up with the Moon and right after that mentions that nor can the night outstrip the day which again insists on the fact that the movement of the Sun or the Moon has nothing to do with creation of the day and night on earth and these are two separate issues.

Pay close attention to the following Ayah which is alluding to the axial movement of the earth. Surah Al-Shams; Ayah 1-4:

ب ف وظسب ب ﴾١﴿واش ب ؽ إغا ر ب ﴾٢﴿وام ﴾٣﴿واهبؼ إغا خبب إغا غشب ﴾٤﴿وا

By the Sun and his (glorious) splendor; By the Moon as she follows him; By the Day as it shows up (the Sun‘s) glory; By the Night as it conceals it; (91; 1-4) AYA

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This Ayah very clearly explains that in fact where ever we are located on the surface of the earth, it is day when we can see the Sun and it is night that covers the Sun. This means that it is not the movement of the Sun that brings about day and night. It is day where the side of the earth is exposed to Sun and it covers during the night, indicative of axial movement of earth. For instance; we live in a specific location on earth, during night that part hides from the Sun. According to this Ayah we turn towards the Sun during the day. It is not the Sun that hides or exposes itself but it is that side of the earth that hides from the Sun or turn towards it. This Ayah very explicitly and miraculously explains the axial movement of earth. Similarly Surah Al-Luqmaan; Ayah 9, Suarh Al-Hadeed; Ayah 6, Surah Al-Yaseen; Ayah 37 besides many other facts explain the axial movement of earth. Even Newton, ―the father of gravity‖ had no idea about the axial movement of earth, Sun, moon etc. The axial movement of earth was first scientifically introduced to the world of science by Einstein in 1912.

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Is earth the only planet capable of sustaining life? According to the latest research among the planets of the solar system earth is the only planet capable of sustaining life. It is the following specific characteristics that make earth unique and distinguished from other planets of the solar system: 1. Earth has a very meticulously calculated mass. If the mass of the

earth was one percent more or less it would have not been able to sustain life.

2. If the gravity of the earth, which is also related to its mass, was one percent more, gases would have not ascended and cloud, rain and snow would have not formed. On the other hand if its gravity was one percent less, the steams and gases would have escaped atmosphere of the earth and in both cases earth would not have been habitable.

3. The distance of earth from Sun is very precise. If it were one percent closer to the Sun it would have been too hot and if it were one percent far from it, it would have been too cold and in both cases would have been impossible to accommodate life.

4. The descent of water on earth from beyond earth. Otherwise

earth initially did not have water.

5. Formation of the Moon after creation of the earth with the right

proportions and precise distance. If the moon were one percent closer tide of the oceans would have been too strong and if it were one percent farther away, oceanic tides would not have existed which in both cases marine life would have been impossible. As life initially started on seashores and later

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propagated to land, hence today there would have been no life on land or in the oceans.

6. Surah Al-Rome; Ayah 21:

ء ز ش بء و ا ب وخم We made from water every living thing (21; 30) AYA

7. Descent of iron from beyond the earth. Without iron creation and development of living creatures would have been impossible.

8. The speed of axial movement of the earth.

9. The meticulous speed of revolutionary movement (earth revolving

around the Sun) of the earth.

10. The axis of earth, which the earth spins around it, is tilted 23.5 degree which is the culprit of different seasons on earth. If such a tilt did not exist there would have been only one season. Some regions would have always been freezing cold and some regions would have always been burning hot. One season is not enough for existence and development. Along the equator the temperature would have exceeded hundreds degrees of centigrade while parts of the earth bellow and above the equator would have gradually gone dead due to cold weather.

11. Formation of mountains, especially in cold regions, which functions as reservoirs of snow and are the sources and origins of all rivers.

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12. The precise percentage of elements specially oxygen and carbon dioxide of earth‘s atmosphere. A change of one percent in atmospheric carbon dioxide will make life impossible on earth.

13. The existence of electromagnetic barrier around the globe which to some degree prevents entrance and fall of celestial debris on earth.

14. The existence of a protective layer approximately 50

kilometers above earth, called Ozone layer, which safeguards the earth from hazardous and harmful Sun rays.

15. As there are both male and female genders in animals similarly there are male and female in plants as well which brings about reproduction and proliferation. The male gender produces pollens that are carried by winds to the female and pollination takes place. The point here is not the mechanism of how pollination or fertilization takes place in plants but the importance of existence of winds and breezes which in their absence the plants would not have been able to develop. Since the origin of animals is also through plants so no living creatures would have existed. Surah Al-Hajjr; Ayah 22:

بء بء اك ب اؽبذ ىالر فإؿب وؤؼق And We send the fecundating winds, and then cause the rain to descend from the sky (15; 22) AYA The blowing winds condense and cool the clouds which bring about rain, snow and hail. Most interpreters of Qur‘an including Shahwaliullah Dehlawi attributes impregnation by winds to impregnation of the clouds but the majority of the contemporary

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interpreters while confirming that, also add that the purpose of this Qur‘anic Ayah is that one of the functions of the winds is impregnation, be it impregnation of the clouds or plants. Although bugs and insects also play a role in the process of impregnation of the plants however 98% of that is done by winds. This is a relatively new discovery in the world of plants and scholars such as Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Dr. Ghulam Murtaza… lean more towards the second interpretation. In the abovementioned Ayah, right after impregnation rain is mentioned, alluding to the fact that for the survival of the plants only wind is not enough but rain (water) is also necessary and vital. As winds merely impregnate the plants while water is a must for their growth, development and survival.

16. The very precisely designed atmospheric pressure of earth: the lower part of atmosphere is denser but very meticulously balanced otherwise human and other animals would not have been able to walk on earth comfortably and smoothly.

17. Collision of a number of asteroids approximately 65 million years

ago caused the extinction of 76% of living creatures on earth. In that presumably destructive event giant creatures such as dinosaurs and super crocodiles were entirely wiped out. In case of the existence of those gigantic carnivores, animals such as birds, vertebrates… and human beings would not have been able to thrive and survive. At that period the continents were not that far away from each other so they all suffered equally. One of these asteroids with a size of about 10 kilometers hit Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and created a 10 kilometer deep crater with a diameter of 180 kilometer which exists to this day with the asteroid buried underneath the dirt.

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Seemingly these impacts brought about the beginning of the end of living creatures on earth while in reality this was the beginning of creation of birds, animals, vertebrates… and mankind and right after this destruction the development of birds and vertebrates began.

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These and hundreds of other reasons, give the earth specific characteristics that, makes it a common habitat for all living creatures for a certain time. These specific characteristics of earth do not exist in any of the other planets of the solar system but without doubt in the Milky Way galaxy and other galaxies which each one of them contains hundreds of billions of planets there are planets with similar characteristics that could be home to living creatures and probably there are many of such planets. There is the possibility that in each galaxy there are many planets that are home to living creatures but unfortunately mankind will not be able to reach such planets. The closest planet to earth outside the solar system is so far away that reaching to such planet with the fastest spaceships will take thousands of years. What is the life span of a human being and how much energy can a spaceship reserve, is well known to all. Whether the closest planets to the solar system are home to living creatures is a different issue. So far scientists have been able to study only twenty planets beyond the solar system. The twentieth planet was observed by telescope in the year 2007 with a mass that is five times bigger than the earth and is revolving around a Red Giant Star by the name of Gliese 581. NASA scientists suggest that considering its characteristics this planet may be home to living creatures but cannot say for certain. One should realize that most of the western science fiction movies which predict the future of human civilization and showing human beings interacting or fighting extraterrestrial aliens are mostly exaggerations.

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Some of the Qur‘anic Ayahs have direct or indirect references to the existence of life on other planets. For instance; Surah Al-Nahel; Ayah 49:

بئىخ و ظاثخ وا ب ف اإؼض بواد و ب ف اك وـ كدع ﴾٤٩﴿ب كزىجؽو

And to Allah prostrates whoever is in the heavens and on the earth of creatures, and the angels [as well], and they are not arrogant. (19; 49) SI

Surah Al-Anbyia; Ayah 4:

بء واإؼض امىي ف اك لبي ؼث م ك ام ى اك ﴾٤﴿و

The Prophet said, ―My lord knows whatever is said throughout the heavens and earth, and He is the Hearing and Knowing.‖ (21; 4) SI

Surah Al-Shora; Ayah 29:

ب ثث بواد واإؼض و ك اك ض آبر ظاثخو ب فه ى ل و إغا شبء لعؽ مه ﴾٢٩﴿خ

And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and earth and what He has dispersed throughout them of creatures. And He, for gathering them when He wills, is competent. (42; 29) SI

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Surah Al-Namel; Ayah 87:

ف اإؼض إب بواد و ف اك فص ف اصىؼ ففؿق وى شبء اـ ظاضؽ ؤرى ﴾٨٧﴿وو

And [warn of] the Day the Horn will be blown, and whoever is in the heavens and however on the earth will be terrified except whom Allah Wills. And all will come humbled. (27; 87) SI

The above mentioned Ayahs give clear references to the existence of life on other planets. Information about the appearance or conditions of living creatures on other planets is not and probably would not be available in the future either due to lack of communication.

An artist's rendering depicts Gliese 581 c, a newly discovered Earthlike planet, in orbit around its parent star. Astronomers say the planet is 5 times larger than Earth—making it the smallest planet yet found outside the solar system—and likely contains liquid water.

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Atmosphere of the earth Atmosphere is a combination of gases kept by gravity around the earth. The percentage of gases of atmosphere is various. For instance; nitrogen 78%, oxygen 21%, argon 0.9%, carbon dioxide 0.03% and remaining 0.07% is comprised of hydron, ozone, methane, carbon monoxide, helium, neon, krypton, xenon...

In the initial stages of creation of earth the percentage, quality and quantity of atmospheric gases were different and earth was not

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ready to sustain life. Less than a billion years ago the precisely designed and appropriate amount of gases to accommodate life were prepared. For instance; percentage of oxygen, the most important atmospheric element was formed from combination and reaction of carbon dioxide and oceanic water. About 570 million years ago the atmospheric condition and percentage of oxygen became appropriate for development of plants and marine animals. The precise percentage of oxygen for breathing of animal on land was prepared about 400 million years ago. The thickness of the atmosphere of earth is 1,100 kilometers which is very precisely calculated height for accommodating life. Surah Al-Anbyia; Ayah 32:

ـب سفى بء قمفب ب اك وخم And We made the sky a protected ceiling (21; 32) SI Atmosphere of earth truly functions as a ceiling as without it we would have not lived on land but in the space where without special suits and supplemental oxygen life is impossible even for a moment.

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The significance of atmosphere

1. The percentage of vital and essential gases such as oxygen and carbon dioxide is very exact and precise in the atmosphere. The condensation of atmospheric gases is higher in the lower layers and lesser in the upper layers. For instance; the higher we go in the atmosphere the percentage of oxygen diminishes. This is a well know fact to people who fly in the hot-air balloons high in the atmosphere as respiration gets difficult and they feel a discomfort in their chest and lungs. The fact that respiration is more difficult at higher levels of atmosphere is a relatively recent discovery that was not known fourteen hundred years ago. Before the 16

th century the

common assumption was that probably the higher we go in atmosphere the easier it will get to breathe because till that time oxygen and condensation of atmospheric gases were not discovered.

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Surah Al-Anaam; Ayah 125:

ئقب شؽذ صعؼ ؽظ اـ ؤ هع ف ؽظ ؤ ع و ظمب زؽخب وإ صعؼ بءدم ب صمع ف اك

So whoever Allah wants to guide – He expands his breast to [contain] Islam; and whoever He wants to misguide He makes his breast tight and constricted as though he were claiming into the sky. (6; 125) SI The abovementioned Ayah clearly compares chest tightness to ascending up in the air above the earth. 2. If the earth atmosphere did not exist or the thickness of

atmosphere was smaller the earth would have been shelled and bombarded by small and large debris daily and no plants or animals would have been left alive.

3. The atmosphere of the earth is like an apparatus that keeps the

temperature at a certain degree in each season for continuation of life.

4.The earth atmosphere controls the movement of clouds that are formed from condensation of steams. It moves clouds to different directions so that most parts of the earth get watered and irrigated and be ready for sustenance of life and survival.

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Surah Al-Nour; Ayah 43:

ب فزؽي ؼوب دم ث ؤف ث اـ ؿخ قسبثب ث رؽ ؤ ؤ ضب اىظق طؽج Do you not see that Allah drives clouds? Then He brings them together, then He makes them into a mass, and you see the rain emerge from within it. (24; 43) SI Surah Al-Fater; Ayah 9:

ب ذ فإز ع ث إ اؽبذ فزثري قسبثب فكمب واـ اػ ؤؼقىرهب اإؼض ثمع ﴾٩﴿وػه اشىؼ ث

And it is Allah, who sends winds, and they stir the clouds, and We drive them to the dead land and give live thereby to the earth after lifelessness. Thus is the resurrection. (35; 9)

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5. No sound or voice could have been heard if the atmosphere did not exist. Contrary to light, sound cannot be conducted through vacuum. So if the earth atmosphere did not exist no voice could have been audible.

6. Without atmosphere there will be no air pressure and without air

pressure blood will explode out of human body. Astronauts who travel beyond the earth atmosphere in addition to carrying supplemental oxygen, wear specially designed suits that keep the proper air pressure and are resistant against exotic rays.

7. The atmosphere of earth functions like a very sensitive mirror that reflects back all beneficial things that are trying to escape. For instance;

A. Earth atmosphere at a specific level condenses the escaping water

steams (cloud) and resends them back as rain towards the earth.

B. The atmosphere also resends the escaping red ray that is very essential for keeping the earth‘s warmth and heat secure.

C. The atmosphere reflects all telecommunication waves in a manner that has made invention of radio, television, telephone, fax… possible.

Surah Al-Tariq; Ayah 11:

بء غاد اؽخك ﴾١١﴿واك

By the sky which returns [rain] (86; 11) SI

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8. At about fifty kilometer height of the atmosphere there is a layer called ozone which plays the role of a protective ceiling in terms of eliminating hazardous rays of the Sun. If the ozone layer did not exist life would have been impossible on earth. If for whatever reason the integrity of this layer is compromised the life of plants, animals and mankind will be in dire danger.

Surah Al-Kahf; Ayah 90:

إغا ث زز دم ه لى ب رؽك ل ف وخع ؽك اش غ ﴾٩٣﴿ظوهب قزؽا

Until, when he came to the rising of the Sun, he found it rising on a people for whom We had provided no covering protecting against the Sun. (18; 90) This Ayah points to the lack of a barrier layer between the Sun and that particular group of people, a layer that is protective for plants, animals and human beings. Apparently there is no visible layer between the Sun and the earth while in reality there is a protective ozone layer that repels the hazardous rays and allows the useful rays to reach earth. Air pollution by emission from numerous factories, deforestation and its replacement with greenhouse gasses, countless cars and other vehicles and as a whole the out of controlled modern civilization has caused so many damages to the protective atmospheric layer that if no effective measures are taken to control these irregularities and deforestation more tribulations and diseases will threaten the very existence of mankind.

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Descend of Iron on Earth Suarah Al-Hadeed; Ayah 25:

ـ اب مى ؿا اىزبة وا مه ب ؼقب ثبجبد وؤؿب مع ؤؼق ثبمكػ اـ ـ وم بفك ب ـ شعع و ثإ وؤؿب اسعع ف

ثبغت وؼق لؿؿ صؽ اـ لى ﴾٢٥﴿إ We have already sent Our messengers with clear evidences and sent with them the scripture and the balance that the people may maintain [their affairs] in justice. And We sent down iron, wherein is great military might and benefits for the people, and so that the Allah may make evident those who support Him and His messengers unseen. Indeed Allah is Powerful and Exalted in Might. (57; 25) SI This Ayah actually talks about social justice, but with a bit of scrutiny, one notices that there is an interesting and significant scientific fact hidden as well. In this Ayah and throughout Qur‘an the

word send (ب or We sent) is used for prophets which means that ؤؼق

all the prophets are chosen by God from among the people and are sent to the people. In the abovementioned Ayah the word descend

is used for the divine Books. In Qur‘an this (We descended ؤؿب)

word is used when talking about something or a fact that is not initially from earth but is descended from beyond earth. For instance; Qur‘an is not authored by anyone on earth and it is the last and final divine Book sent from God Almighty through Archangel Gabriel (Jebrail) over a span of about 23 years to Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) for guidance of mankind.

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The purpose of assigning prophets and messengers and sending divine Books is advocacy of fairness and social justice. But the science-related point of our interest in this Ayah is about iron or Arabic word (الحدید). If we ponder, in this Ayah for iron the word descend (أنزلنا) is used which is indicative of a very fascinating subject. Iron too is not of earth origin and is descended to the earth from beyond earth. In this Ayah the following subjects need scrutiny and deliberation: a. Iron has descended to earth from beyond the earth and is not of

the earth origin.

b. If this Ayah is regarding fairness, social justice and balance, then what is the purpose of mentioning of iron here?

c. Insistence and assertion on extraordinary power and importance of iron in this Ayah. Iron is a metal (Latin: Ferric) with atomic number of 26 and atomic weight of 55.847 or 56. The color of this chemical element is silver white and melts at 1535 degree of Celsius and boiling point of 2750 degree of Celsius. Our main purpose here is to discuss the subject of how iron came to existence on earth. Till the later part of the second half of the twentieth century scientists believed that iron, like many other phenomena and elements is a product of the earth. They believed that iron is created on earth as a result of actions and reactions in an extremely high temperature. One of their reasons was that most of the iron is located in the core of the earth. Iron is one of the

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most abundant elements on earth which makes about 35% of the mass of the earth. Iron makes only 5.6% of the crust of the earth. Most of the iron of earth is located in the nucleus of earth which mankind has no access to it but the importance of iron is more than what one can imagine. Scientists believed that iron is the product of chemical reactions of earth but modern science after a series of pragmatic experiments proved that the reality is completely opposite. Iron can be formed in an enormously high temperature. Earth‘s temperature has been diverse ever since its creation and its nucleus has the highest temperature which gets cooler as it goes towards the surface. The hottest temperature of earth has not exceeded above few thousand degrees of centigrade while for formation of iron even few hundred thousand degrees of temperature is not enough leave alone few thousand. Formation of iron requires an exceptionally high temperature that such a high temperature on earth has never been and never will be possible. Now we go to the remote pasts. More than 4.65 billon years ago, the Sun along with the earth and all of the solar system planets and satellites were one united body but not in their current form but in the form of a hot smoke which scientists call solar nebula. Some believed that iron may have formed at that phase and later after separation of earth and other planets each one might have obtained its proportional amount of iron but it is not like that either as the temperature of the solar nebula was less than the temperature of the existing Sun. currently the temperature of the surface of the Sun is less than 6,000 and the temperature of its core which is considered it‘s the hottest part of the sun is about (15,000,000) fifteen million degrees of centigrade. The core or nucleus of the Sun is really hot, hotter than one can imagine but even that temperature is not near enough for the formation of iron.

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If that was the case, the proportions of iron would have been the same in all planets of the solar system while proportions of iron in each one of these planets is different. Jupiter, the largest planet of the solar system contains less iron than the earth. If it is argued that because earth is closer to the center of the solar system than Jupiter so it has a higher proportion iron, this argument does not hold water either because the proportion of iron is lesser in Mercury and Venus while they are closer to the center of the solar system than the earth. According to modern science, even if the energy of the Sun and the entire solar system is quadrupled, formation of even one atom of iron cannot take place which concludes that iron of earth and the whole solar system is not their product. Then the question arises that where has all that iron and in such an enormous quantity has come from and positioned in the center of the earth? If we go back in time, way back to the time of creation of the universe (the Big Bang), the temperature of the universe at that time was exceeding trillions of degrees of centigrade. If one assumed that iron was formed at the time of the creation of the universe, this assumption is not true either. During the Big Bang, the temperature of the universe was so high that at the first moments only light elements such as hydrogen and helium were formed. Heavy metals such as iron could not have form in such a high temperature and even if it did, today iron would have been as abundant as helium and hydrogen in the universe. Iron exists only in the nucleuses and surfaces of some planets and nucleuses of some big stars. Although iron is one of the abundant elements on earth the amount of iron as a whole in the universe is very small. Moments after the Big Bang the temperature of the universe became optimal for the formation of iron which did not last for more than a few seconds while for the formation of iron in a

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certain temperature few seconds, few minutes, centuries and even thousands of years is not enough. Science agrees that iron formed neither at the time of the creation of the universe or solar system, nor this heavy element is a product of the planets themselves but it has descended from beyond the planets to the planets at various quantities but how? Stars play the role of an oven or a manufacturing factory that produce some of the elements. Production of helium does not require a whole lot of energy and heat. Only 5,000,000 degrees of centigrade is enough to transform hydrogen to helium while formation of carbon through nuclear reactions requires at least one billion degrees of centigrade. Average-size stars are never capable of production of heavy metals such as iron or heavier metals even when at the end of the life of these stars their temperature goes way up. Even then these stars are not capable of formation of such elements. In larger stars (stars that are at least ten times larger than the Sun) as a result of nuclear reactions hydrogen is transferred to helium and later transformed into oxygen, silicon, sulfur, and finally iron. Production of iron in such giant stars increases towards the final stages of their existence. With the beginning of the formation of iron in the nucleuses of the stars, the nuclear reactions stop in those parts until so much iron accumulates in the nucleus that interrupts the nuclear reactions. When such giant stars begin to expand, there is plenty of iron at the nucleus, and eventually collapses internally with terrifying explosions. As there is a tremendous amount of iron and as a consequence the iron explodes under this collapse and the iron is thrown away in all directions (rarely, the iron of such giant stars remain intact after explosion and such stars turn into small neutron stars). As a result of the explosions of such stars, the iron is absorbed by the stars and planets located in the vicinity.

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The following can be deduced from the above explanation: At the beginning of creation of the solar system, a giant star with the abovementioned characteristics has exploded near the solar system and the contents of its nuclear iron were dispersed to all directions and part of its iron after a long journey of probably billions of kilometers reached the solar system. Portions of that iron were absorbed by the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and portion of it descended to the earth. At that time the earth was nothing but a dead and dirt planet without potential of further development. All of its contents from the core to the surface were dirt. The current day five layers did not exist at that time the earth was a planet not viable to sustain life. All of a sudden something seemingly disastrous but in reality a mercy descended upon earth from beyond the solar system. Pieces of iron with a very high temperature bombarded earth for days. The intensity and severity of this assault was so much that brought this dead planet to a boil and its temperature exceeded thousand of degrees of centigrade. The previously light and low density earth became condensed. The speed and order of its axial movement became regular. The ashes came to a boil and most of the particle of iron, according to the law of concentration, gradually moved towards the nucleus of the earth. After this bombardment the temperature gradually decreased and a small portion of iron remained on the surface and lower layers. The second subject of our discussion is that the theme of the revelation of Ayah is explanation of justice and fairness and balance (scale). This means that the divine books and the prophets are sent for assurance of justice, balance and fairness. Reference to iron in this Ayah is also very precise as iron too is descended for balance and scale. If iron did not exist in the nucleus of the earth, its axial movement would have been

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irregular and so fast that day would have turned into night and night would have turned into day in a matter of minutes. For instance; Jupiter, the largest planet of the solar system, has a mass 318 times larger than the earth but its volume is hundreds of times bigger than earth. In Jupiter the percentage of iron is so trivial relative to its volume. Therefore, its axial movement is so fast that it completes it in less than ten hours. If iron did not exist in the nucleus of earth its axial movement would have been so fast and irregular that earth would not have been a suitable place for plants, animals and human beings. As the mission of the prophets and divine books is assurance of justice, fairness and balance of mankind, similarly the function of iron besides many others is the equilibrium and balance of the earth. If iron is omitted from the nucleus of earth its gravity would have decreased and water steams would have escaped its atmosphere and after a while earth would have turned into a dry and dead mass. In the absence of iron from nucleus of the earth the protective layer of atmosphere would have not existed and earth would have been the target of bombardment of asteroids and celestial debris. If iron did not exist in the nucleus of earth the protective layer against hazardous Sun rays (Ozone) would not have existed and in the absence of ozone layer no development would have taken place and earth would have been lifeless. If iron did not exist on the surface of the earth, plants would have never formed and as plants are the origin of life, so animal would have not existed either. If iron disappeared from earth, human beings and animals would have suffered from various diseases as iron is an essential part of blood at a certain amount. In case of lack of iron all the planets would annihilate and consequently the earth would turn into a dead body similar to the moon. These are just a few

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benefits besides many other functions of iron. For that reason Qur‘an has insisted so much on iron in this Ayah. Modern technology is entirely dependent on iron. In manufacturing of machinery, weapons, factories, vehicles…iron plays a prominent direct or indirect role. Without iron, modern technology would have depended on some very primitive tools, such as Stone Age. So the mention of iron next to the divine books and prophets is very precise and remarkable. The number of Surah and Ayah are also very significant and noteworthy. Some people do not consider ― الرحمن الرحیم هللا بسم ‖ (In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious and Most Merciful) which comes at the beginning of each Qur‘anic Surah as an independent Ayah while very reliable scholars consider it to be the first Ayah of each Surah which in that case that Ayah will be Ayah number 26 of Surah Al-Hadeed and the Atomic number of iron is also 26. Some people consider Surah Al-Fateha " هوره الفاتحس ― to be the first Surah of the Holy Qur‘an while in reality Surah Al-Baqarah is the first Surah of Qur‘an and Surah Al-Fateha is a prelude and introduction to the Holy Qur‘an and is a synopsis of the whole of the Qur‘an. In that case Surah Al-Hadeed would be Surah number 56 and the atomic weight of iron is also about 56. The number of Ayah is same as the atomic number of iron and the number of Surah is same as the atomic weight of iron.

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Descendent of water on earth Water (H2O) is the most important and vital molecule for life on earth. Initially scientists considered water an element but after a series of scientific experiments they discovered that water is not an element but it is a molecule formed from combination of the elements of hydrogen and oxygen. H2 + O H2O Without water earth is a dry and lifeless planet that could never sustain life. The quantity of water on earth is very specific and the existing amount of water is exactly the same as it was millions of years ago. Depending on the temperature water has taken various forms but its amount has neither decreased nor increased from day one to this day. Water freezes at Zero and boils at 100 degrees of centigrade. Water transforms from liquid to steam, from steam to cloud, from cloud to rain, snow and hail and plays a crucial role in the maintenance of life on earth. The total amount of water on earth is 1.4 billion Km

3. The amount of water on earth is so much that if

the country of the United States of America is dug 160 kilometers deep, the water of earth will fit in it. Oceanic waters comprise a little more than 97% of earth‘s water and only less than 3% of earth‘s water exists in the form of clouds, rivers, underground waters, snow, glaciers, etc. Due to its salt and toxic minerals contents, pollutions from boats and marine animals, oceanic water is not utilizable but its existence is unimaginably significant and vital.

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The total amount of fresh and clean water on earth is 36 million Km

3 of which 28 million Km

3 is in the form of frozen glaciers in the

north and south poles and only 8 million Km3 of it is available for

usage by living creatures on earth. It is fair to say that only less than 1% of available water on earth is directly available for use and the rest of more than 99% remains of utmost value indirectly. The subject of water and its creation is still a matter of debate among scientists but one issue is clear that water too, is not formed through actions and reactions of earth itself and it is descended from beyond earth. There is no disagreement about that among scientists but research is on going about the method of its descent. There are many Ayahs in Qur‘an about wind, rain, the importance of rain and phases of circulation of water. For instance; Surah 6; Ayahs 68 – 70, Surah 24; Ayah 43, Surah; 36 Ayah 34, Surah 39; Ayah 21, Surah 13; Ayah 17, Surah 25; Ayahs 48 & 49, Surah 15; Ayah 22, Surah 35; Ayah 9, Surah 30; Ayah 48 and Surah 7; Ayah 57 but the following Ayah 18 of Surah Al-Momenoon hints to the descend of water on earth:

ف اإؼض بء ثمعؼ فإقىب بء اك وؤؿب بة ث غ وإب ل ﴾١٨﴿مبظؼو

And We have sent down rain from the sky in a measured amount and settled it in the earth. And indeed, We are able to take it away. (23; 18) SI

According to the abovementioned Ayah, water has descended upon earth and will finally flee earth again.

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There are two theories regarding descend of water on earth at a certain amount. Some scientists hypothesize that at the beginning of its creation earth was a dry and dead planet. At that time a planet with plenty of water for some unknown reason deviated from its orbit and fell into the solar system and exploded near earth and Mars and major portions of its water fell onto the earth. Then all the water on earth at its various forms (ice, water, cloud, steam, fog, snow, rain, etc.) is from that exploded planet. Other scientists have a different theory about creation of water on earth. They believe that at the beginning of its creation earth‘s atmosphere was very concentrated and condensed. Hydrogen was abundant and very highly concentrated around earth. In fact, plentiful of hydrogen exists all over the universe as it is one of the very early created elements. Although the percentage of oxygen in the universe relative to hydrogen is very little but earth‘s atmosphere contained plenty of oxygen as well. The temperature of earth was different from its present-day temperature. At a certain temperature combination of hydrogen and oxygen formed H2O and formation of steams began in earth‘s atmosphere. At a certain height these steams condensed and formed colossal clouds which were way more concentrated and condensed than present-day‘s clouds which brought about severe and long rains which lasted for years and centuries and made lifeless and dead earth alive. Then all of the present-day waters are the product of those long rains that exist to this day at different forms. Initially earth surface did not have many ups and downs and was almost leveled and even. Furthermore, the water was just in the liquid form so most parts of the earth were covered with water and earth was a watery globe, totally different from present-day earth. Almost all of the earth, except a very small amount of land, was covered with water. Earth‘s atmosphere was also full of condensed clouds and severe rains. Then at that phase of

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creation, it was water upon water on both the earth and its atmosphere. Surah Al-Houd; Ayah 7:

بء ل ا لؽش ووب

- and His Throne had been upon water- (11; 7) SI

Afterwards, for a certain amount of time the water was absorbed to the ground. How that did that absorbed water came out to the surface again will be discussed later. Both of the theories are in agreement that water has descended upon earth and is not the product of actions and reactions of the earth itself. Modern science considers the second theory closer to reality.

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ؾؼلب رإو بء إ اإؼض ادؽؾ فطؽج ث ؽوا ؤب كىق ا ؤو وؤفكه ه ؤمب ب جصؽو ﴾٢٧﴿ؤف

Have they not seen that We drive the water [in clouds] to barren land and bring forth thereby crops from which their livestock eat and [they] themselves? Then do they not see? (23; 27) SI

According to Surah Al-Momenoon; Ayah 18, water will not stay on earth forever and a day will come that water will transform into steam and will get out of the atmosphere of earth which was previously discussed in the topic of ―the future of the solar system‖.

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Oceans, the largest reservoir of water

Oceans contain about 97% of water of the earth which covers about 71% of the earth‘s surface. The circumference of oceans is about 361,000,000 Km

2 with a total volume of 1,347,000,000 Km

3.

The mass of the oceans is approximately 1.35 Quintillion metric tons or (1.35 x 10

18). The average depth of oceans is about 3,794

meter. Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans are the large and popular oceans with borders with continents. Oceans in both north and south poles are completely frozen. Seas and large lakes such as the Red Sea between Arabia and Egypt, Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Africa and Persian Sea between Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait and Iran are part of the oceans as well. The temperature of oceans ranges from (-14) to (26) degrees of centigrade. Oceanic waters are warmer at the surface to the depth of 100 meters and from 100 to 1,000 meters the temperature reaches to 5 degrees of centigrade. Although it looks like oceans are of no benefits for the land while in reality oceans are of importance beyond our imaginations for sustenance of life on earth. Without oceans life would not have started and without oceans life would not have continued. There are many Qur‘anic Ayahs which directly or indirectly allude to the importance of oceans. For instance; Surah 14; Ayah 32, Surah 16; Ayay 14, Surah 21; Ayah 31, Surah 55; Ayahs 19 – 24, Surah 36; Ayahs 41 – 44, Surah 25, Ayah 52 and Surah 25; Ayah 12……

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The importance of oceans for the earth Superficially, it looks like oceans are not of so much value as oceanic waters are salty and not fresh, clean and useable while in reality it is not so. The amount of oceanic water, their depth, and so on and so forth are so precisely designed that are absolutely necessary and essential for life on earth.

1. Oceanic waters evaporate, condense and form clouds at a certain level of the atmosphere which then moves towards continental lands and water the dry and thirsty lands. During winter time in regions with cooler climates these clouds come

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down in the form of snow which become the resources and supply centers of rivers from the mountains.

Surah Al-Nour; Ayah 43:

ثؽظ فصت ث خجبي فهب بء اك وؿي شبء وصؽف شبء ت ثبإثصبؼ ل ػ ﴾٤٣﴿ىبظ قب ثؽل

And He sends down from the sky, mountains [of cloud] within which is hail, and He strikes with it whom He wills and averts it from whom He wills. The flash of its lightening almost takes away the eyesight. (24; 43) SI

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There are mentions of water steams in the form of clouds, down flow of water-streams… in many Qur‘anic Ayahs.

2. Oceanic waters reserve heat of the Sun during the day which keeps the land warm at night time. If oceans did not exist night time temperature would have fallen so low that life especially in cold climates would have been impossible. Atmospheric nitrogen too, carries similar function to some degree.

3. For centuries oceans have been an easy path for transportation

of goods by boats and ocean liners from continent to continent. Contemporary giant cargo ships carry hundreds of times more goods than the airplanes, which transportation of such large amount of commodities without oceans would have been extremely difficult if not impossible.

Surah Al-Isra; Ayah 66:

فع ه ف اجسؽ زجزغىا اف اػ ؿخ ى ؼثى وب إب ؼز ﴾٦٦﴿ثى

Your Lord is He Thateth make the ship go smoothly for you in the sea, in order that ye may seek of His Bounty. For He is onto you most merciful. (17; 66) AYA The density of water is higher than wood, air, plastic… and if water was created with a lower density nothing would have been able to float on the surface of water and everything including wood would have drowned. Modern ocean liners and big boats have huge reservoirs of air that keep them afloat on the surface of water.

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4. Life originated on the oceanic shores which later became the origin of life for plants, marine and land animals. Without oceans life would not have existed. There are many Ayahs pointing out that the origin of life is from water or oceans. For instance; Surah Al-Qur‘an; Ayah 21:

ء ز ش بء و ا ب ﴿ وخم ى ب ؤ ﴾٣٣ؤف

…, and made from water every living thing? Then will they not believe? (21; 30) SI

5. Marine animals especially fish are delicious and beneficial food

for human beings which are found abundantly in the oceans.

6. Plenty of minerals such as magnesium, bromine and salts are

obtained and extracted from the oceans. Additionally precious stones and metals are found in oceans in large quantities. About 10 billion ton of gold exists in the oceans but the technology is

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not advanced enough to excavate that gold and probably one day mankind will take maximum advantage of that gold. Surely, oceans have much more values that mankind is not even aware of them yet.

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Formation of oceans and continents As discussed previously, God Almighty descended water on earth through formation of very dense and large clouds from combination and reaction of hydrogen and oxygen and continuous rains which created all of the waters on earth. At a time when density of the earth was much less and the five firm layers were not formed yet and the mountains, the continents, troughs and hills on earth did not exist, water was gradually absorbed and the surface of earth dried up again. Long periods after descend of iron, the temperature of earth dwindled down and according to the law of precipitation, heavy elements such as iron and nickel mostly concentrated towards the center and light elements such as granites and oxides mostly concentrated towards the crust of the earth. After further decrease of temperature the layers beneath the crust turned from liquid into solid and bulges and bumps appeared on the surface of the earth. These lumps and bumps included pyramid-shaped mountains. After decline of earth‘s temperature bellow100 degrees of centigrade the underground waters that were absorbed to earth gradually came out to the surface and the deep parts of earth were filled with water which formed oceans. The fact that water was locked up inside the earth and later came out and formed oceans as mentioned in Qur‘an in Surah Al-Naziat; Ayah 31:

ب ؽلب ب و بء هب ﴾٣١﴿ؤضؽج He extracted from it its water and its pasture. (79; 31) SI

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An intriguing and note worthy subject is that at the beginning there was only one continent. The areas with lower heights were all drowned under oceanic waters and only one region with a considerable height stood up which its circumference was equal to area of all the current day continents combined. In short, all of the existing continents: Asia, Africa, Europe, North and South America including Greenland, Australia and Antarctica all were connected as one piece until 300 million years ago. The crust of the earth is constantly floating and moving, with an extremely slowly pace of about one inch in ten years. According to this law this pieces of this giant continent, which geography scholars call Pangaea or All lands, gradually moved away from each other which resulted in the formation of present-day distinct continents.

As before, today too, the continents continue to transform and move. In the future, millions of years from now Alaska will join Siberia again and North American will separate from Central America. The Mediterranean Sea will vanish and the continents of

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Africa and Europe will join together again and many other transformations.

Surah Al-Anbaa; Ayah 6:

هبظا اإؼض دم ﴾٦﴿ؤ Have We not made the earth a resting place? (78; 6) SI

Subsequently, after coming out of water the deep parts turned into oceans and the high lands turned into continents. The liquid

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inner part underneath the continents transformed into solids which formed pyramid-shaped mountains and valleys. Waters started flowing down from the heights to lower parts and rivers and waterfalls were formed. Evaporation of steams caused formation of clouds and rivers of water flowing from the heights to lower lands providing water for plants and animals. Portions of water absorbed at a certain level brought about formation of springs which later human beings dug canals, rivers, wells, aqueducts … for their survival.

Surah Al-Raad; Ayah 3:

وؤهبؼا فهب ؼواق ع اإؼض وخم ى اػ ؽاد و اث و و اث فهب ؾوخ اهبؼ خم غش ا ف غه أبد مى إ

﴾٣﴿زفىؽو

And it is He who spread the earth and placed therein firmly set mountains and rivers; and from all of the fruits He made therein two mates; He causes the night to cover the day. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought (13; 3) SI The surface of the ocean is even and flat similar to liquid inside any utensil with even or uneven base. Similarly, the surface of oceanic water is flat and even but obviously the bottoms of the oceans are uneven.

The highest point on dry land is the Mountains of Himalaya in the northeast parts of Afghanistan and regions of Kashmir while some geologists consider the highest point on earth a mountain in northern Canada which climbing that mountain there is still very difficult.

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According to the most recent research the lowest point on dry land is the shore of the Dead Sea, (The Dead Sea [Arabic: البحر المیت, also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east and Palestine/the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are 422 meters {1,385 ft} below sea level, the lowest elevation on the earth's surface on dry land) a land between Palestine and Jordan, 18 m (1,371 ft) below sea level.

It is not that difficult to ascertain the highest point on land because for centuries there have been theories and work done in that regard but determination of the lowest point of land needed advanced technology while Qur‘an has pointed that out many centuries before science did. Surah Al-Rome; Ayahs 2 & 3:

﴾٢﴿غجذ اؽو قغجى ثمع غجه ﴾٣﴿ف ؤظ اإؼض و

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The Byzantines have been defeated in the lowest land. But, they after their defeat, will overcome. (30; 2 & 3) SI

According to history the Romans were defeated in the region between Palestine and Jordan. This region according to this Qur‘anic Ayah and the most recent research in 1996 is the lowest or deepest part of land.

World's lowest (dry) point, Jordan, 1971

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The invisible barriers between oceanic waters

زمب ﴾١٩﴿ؽج اجسؽ ب ثؽؾش ب جغب ه آبء ﴾٢٣﴿ث فجإ ب رىػثب ﴾٢١﴿ؼثى

He released the two seas [meeting side by side]; between them is a barrier [so] neither of them transgresses. So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? (55; 19 – 21) SI

The Arabic word Maraj (ؽج ) in the above Ayah means to touch

and mix and the word Barzakh (ثؽؾش) means partition, barrier and

divider. The two oceans or two waters are mixed but still there is an invisible barrier between them. This is one of the peculiar Ayahs that have flabbergasted modern day scientists. This is one of those mysteries that despite of advanced technology modern science could not unveil until recently.

Modern science after a series of pragmatic research discovered that in some parts of the oceans two waters merge but there is an invisible barrier or layer between them and each side keeps its distinctive concentration and temperature.

There is another intriguing point in this Ayah as well that science after countless experiments found out its interpretation. The fact that the two parts of water despite of barrier intermingle then what is the principle role of this barrier? And if the two waters blend than what does the barrier mean?

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Scientific explanation for this miracle is that these two waters mingle but after passage through the barrier the water loses its quality and uniqueness and gain the quality and characteristics of the water of the other side of the barrier.

Dr. William Hay who is a well-known marine scientist and Professor of Geological Sciences at the University of Colorado states that: ―I find it very interesting that this sort of information is in the ancient scripture of the Holy Qur‘an and I have no way of knowing where they would come from but I think it is extremely interesting that they are there and this work is going on to discover the meaning of some of the passages. Well I would think it must be of the divine being‖. You can watch comments of Dr. Hay in his own words on you tube in that regard. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te4CQ0fIzXk

Surah Al-Namel; Ayah 61:

ضبهب اإؼض لؽاؼا وخم خم ؤ ث وخم هب ؼواق ؤهبؼا وخم زبخؿا ك اـ اجسؽ ـ ؤإ ى ب م ؤوثؽ ﴾٦١﴿ث

Is He [not best] who made the earth a stable ground and placed within it rivers and made for it firmly set mountains and placed between the two seas a barrier? Is there a deity with Allah? [No], but most of them do not know. (57; 61) SI

This fact of barriers between waters exists in places such as Gibraltar between Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean near Spain and other places where salty and fresh waters mix. (In

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reality it is not Gibraltar but it is Gibal Al-Tariq [جبل طارق] named after the famous conqueror Tariq Ben-i—Ziad, which simply means the mountain of Tariq. Tariq ibn Ziyad or Taric bin Zeyad, 15 November 689 – 11 April 720, was a great Muslim military general who led to the conquest of Visigoth Hispania in year 711 under the orders of the Umayyad Caliph Al Walid I).

فی سختچ بر کار ادلس سطارق

خطاست ب گا خرد گفتد کار ا

درین از ساد طي باز چى رسین

ری ضریعت کجا راست ترک سبب ز

خدید دست خیص ب ضوطیر برد گفت

هلک هاست ک هلک خدای هاست - ر هلک

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ر ؤخبج وخم ـػا ـػا لػة فؽاد و ؽج اجسؽ ى اػ وسدىؼا ب ثؽؾضب وزدؽا ه ﴾٥٣﴿ث

And it is He who has released [simultaneously] the two seas, one fresh and sweat and one salty and bitter, and He placed between them a barrier and prohibiting partition. (25; 53) SI

The following part (from *A to *B) is a direct copy:

*A

Figure above: The Mediterranean Sea water as it enters the Atlantic over the Gibraltar sill with its own warm, saline, and less dense characteristics, because of the barrier that distinguishes between them. Temperatures are in degrees Celsius (C°). (Marine Geology, Kuenen, p. 43, with a slight enhancement. Although there are large waves, strong currents, and tides in these seas, they do not mix or transgress this barrier.

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The Holy Quran mentioned that there is a barrier between two seas that meet and that they do not transgress. (55:19-20). But when the Quran speaks about the divider between fresh and salt water, it mentions the existence of ―a forbidding partition‖ with the barrier. God has said in the Quran: "He is the one who has set free the two kinds of water, one sweet and palatable, and the other salty and bitter. And He has made between them a barrier and a forbidding partition." (Quran, 25:53) One may ask, why did the Quran mention the partition when speaking about the divider between fresh and salt water, but did not mention it when speaking about the divider between the two seas? Modern science has discovered that in estuaries, where fresh (sweet) and salt water meet, the situation is somewhat different from what is found in places where two seas meet. It has been discovered that what distinguishes fresh water from salt water in estuaries is a ―pycnocline zone with a marked density discontinuity separating the two layers.‖ This partition (zone of separation) has a different salinity from the fresh water and from the salt water (see figure 14).

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Figure: Longitudinal section showing salinity (parts per thousand ‰) in an estuary. We can see here the partition (zone of separation) between the fresh and the salt water. (Introductory Oceanography, Thurman, p. 301, with a slight enhancement.) This information has been discovered only recently, using advanced equipment to measure temperature, salinity, density, oxygen dissolubility, etc. The human eye cannot see the difference between the two seas that meet rather the two seas appear to us as one homogeneous sea. Likewise, the human eye cannot see the division of water in estuaries into the three kinds: fresh water, salt water, and the partition (zone of separation). taken from A Brief Illustrated Guide To Understanding Islam, Muslims, and the Quran *B First Volume of Mathnawi of Mawlana Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi:

بحر‌تلخ‌و‌بحر‌شیرین‌در‌جهان در‌میان‌شان‌برزخ‌الیبغیان

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Darkness of the depth of the oceans Human beings have been traveling in the seas and oceans for centuries and shipbuilding dates back to thousands of years. With evolution and development of human intelligence the primitive and ancient wooden boats gradually evolved into modern day sophisticated and giant ocean liners. On the other hand traveling into the depth of the seas and oceans is an entirely new reality. Human cannot swim deeper than 10 – 20 meters into the depth of oceans therefore these mysteries remained unrevealed till the beginning of the twentieth century. For centuries mankind dreamed to travel into the depth of oceans but due to the lack of advanced technology they could not accomplished that objective. Human beings were making up stories and legends about oceanic animals but nobody knew what was really going on in the depth of oceans. We will mention a couple of reasons among many that why human beings cannot go deep under the oceans: First, respiration under water is not possible and the second reason is that the density of water is many times higher than that of the air and the deeper we go under water the pressure of water on human body increases and after a few meters down under it will result in death. For those reasons among others man‘s knowledge of deep oceans was mostly based on untrue and made up stories. After the discovery of oxygen and special suits to control water pressure, human beings could go a bit deeper in the oceans, but it was still not deep enough to uncover the true mysteries of the deep oceans.

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The dreams of journey into the deep oceans occupied the thoughts of marine scientists for generations. Between1920 -1930, Dr. William Beebe, the director of the Zoology Society of New York at the time, was among those who were obsessed with dreams of deep oceanic journeys. He had many oceanic journeys and introduced many new and previously unknown marine animals along with discovering new realities about marine animals and enriching his knowledge. Despite all of that, Dr. Beebe knew in his heart that he has not achieved the knowledge that he is really after and has not fulfilled his dreams of travelling into deep oceans yet. In order to achieve his goal of underwater journeys he designed devices consist of multiple floating columns but before the initiation of his journey he realized that this is impossible for these devices to endure that much of water pressure. About 6.804 kilogram of pressure will be added to each square inch of the columns with each 33 feet depth under water and at the depth of half a mile under water this pressure will be more than one ton on each square inch. He felt very disheartened when he thought that he will never be able to achieve his ambitions but finally with the help and cooperation of Dr. Barton, Dr. Beebe was able to do what he was trying to accomplish. By the year 1930, Dr. Barton was able to do some fundraising and attract attention and cooperation of a huge marine construction company. Similar to Dr. Beebe, Dr. Barton too, was interested in marine discoveries as well. Dr. Barton believed that spherical shape devices are more resistant to water pressure than devices of any other shape. Both of them decided to embark on something that human being have not attempted before.

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With the help of a large marine construction company they built a spherical shaped three eyed crab-like device "Bathysphere". This steel-made device had a diameter of five feet and thickness of one inch where two people could hardly fit inside it.

On Wednesday, August 15, 1934, William Beebe and Otis Barton made themselves world famous by descending in their "Bathysphere" 3,028 feet beneath the ocean surface. 2009 marked the 75th anniversary of William Beebe and Otis Barton's historic Bathysphere dive.

In order to find out whether this world‘s very first submarine of its kind, can survive the dreadful pressure of water they threw this steel ball without anyone on boar inside water tied to chains aboard a simple boat with assistance of their team of nineteen coworkers near the Nonesuch Island in Bermuda. After the sphere went down into the ocean they quickly realized that due to

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some mechanical errors in tightening of some screws the water has entered inside the sphere with such a strong pressure that if they have not unscrewed it pretty quickly this steel ball would have exploded like a grenade. After many experiments and multiple checks and fixes eventually they both decided to go under deep oceanic water inside that steel ball. They entered the steel ball through a small entrance carrying enough oxygen and some chemicals. The three-eyed steel ball "Bathysphere", with two very dedicated scientists on board, gradually descended into the deep water which opened a new page in the history of human civilization. None of the boat crew knew whether these two scientists will return alive or not? Some crew members were weeping as they were not sure if they will ever see these two scientists alive again. Water pressure, lack of oxygen and hundreds of other possible dangers were threatening them. The purpose of both of these scientists was detection of marine animals in the meanwhile they discovered a reality that was much more important than any marine animal. What was this marine mystery? That mystery was the discovery of the darkness of deep oceans. They were not thinking they are on earth. They were thinking that they are traveling in the dark space of the universe. Traveling in a completely dark universe full of water instead of empty space and the deeper they were going the darker it was getting. A dark space with shining and illuminating fish instead of shining stars. In deep oceanic waters they both were observing that large and small fish with various and intriguing colors were swimming, colors totally different than colors that one sees on land. Places where there is no light the colors are different than colors on land.

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On land it is the reflection of light that determines the color. A beautiful red flower will look white or yellow 20 meters under ocean water because after the depth of 20 meters water will absorb the red color and no red color will be reflected. So any fish they were looking at would have had a different color if it was brought on land. The world of ocean was transformed into a world of magic and mystery full of wonderful scenes and colorful fish with illuminating lights passing them by. Have these fish supplied themselves with sparkling radiant lights as the deep oceanic waters are dark? Both scientists were astonished by these amazing miracles of God Almighty. At the depth of more than 50 meters Dr. Beebe saw an odd looking fish with green light shining from its sides which neither him nor anyone else have ever seen before. In the depth of more than 55 meters they were watching scenes resembling wandering lights coming together and then spreading away like an explosion which in reality they were sparkling bright fish coming together and then dispersing to all directions. They also saw fish without light of their own. The small and large fish were swimming so comfortably in deep oceans as if the water pressure did not exist. Dr. Beebe wished he could get out of the steel ball and could swim like these fish and though if the reality of water pressure exists than how can the fish survive in this depth of water? But he did not do that as he knew that even if a tiny hole could open into the steel ball that was carrying the two scientists even before drowning their bodies will be pierced by water drops that will enter like bullets. They realized that if they go any deeper the steel ball will not be able to resist water pressure and will shatter into pieces. He sent the secret code to his coworkers up on the surface to pull the chains up.

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Their coworkers in the boat started dancing as they saw them alive. They were asking questions about the mysteries of deep oceans and were getting amazing answers. It is worth mentioning that this was not the world‘s first submarine. Submarines with sophisticated engines were built before and were extensively used by Germans in World War One in 1914 but all the submarines could go down in water only a few meters deep but these two scientists went 923 meter deep into the oceans and discovered new mysteries. Modern technology enabled scientists to build submarines that can readily move deep inside oceans and they could photograph and film marine animals. As science can have its negative aspects as well, submarines were built and used for destruction of other submarines and wars. The advanced submarines built by technologically advanced countries since World War II could never undermined the important work of these two gentlemen as they were the pioneers who with a simple steel ball braved the dangers and paved the way for very valuable future discoveries.

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Beebe (left) and Otis Barton with the bathysphere

The purpose of mentioning this story is not the discoveries of marine animals or the structure of the ―Bathysphere‖ but the aim of mentioning the above story is the discovery of the two scientists that deep ocean waters are completely dark and the deeper one goes the darker it gets. Before this event took place or before the beginning of the twentieth century mankind thought that light can pass through water as it does through air similar to when one looks at the bottom of a swimming pool and it is visible but this is not true in deep ocean waters. The Bathysphere answered this question that light can pass through water but not more than the depth of a few meters. We have been informed of this fact more than fourteen centuries ago as in Surah Al-Nour; Ayah 40:

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قسبةؤو و فىل ىج فىل ىج غشب بد ف ثسؽ د فب ىع ؽا بد ثمعهب فىق ثمط إغا ؤضؽج ع ـ دم و

ىؼ ب ىؼا ف ﴾٤٣﴿اـ

Or (the Unbelievers‘ state) is like the depths of darkness in a vast deep ocean, overwhelmed with billow topped by willow, topped by (dark) clouds: depths of darkness, one above another: if a man stretches out his hand, he can hardly see it! For any to whom Allah giveth not light, there is no light. (24; 40) AYA This Ayah not only mentions of the darkness of deep waters but also mentions its reasons as well which is the thickness of water and layer upon layer of waters. Science too considers the reason of the darkness to be the thickness of water or in detail it could be explained as following: Light consists of violet, blue, green, yellow, orange and red colors. Light rays go through water without any change up to the depth of 10 meters. After the depth of 10 – 15 meters red color is neutralized and if a red color fish is looked at in depth of more than 15 meters it will look like a different color. In depth of 30 - 50 meters orange color is neutralized, in depth of 50 – 100 meters yellow color, in depth of 100 – 200 meters green color, in depth of more than 200 meters blue color and finally in depth of more than 300 meters blue and violet colors totally neutralize and after that depth the oceanic waters are dark or in Qur‘anic words ―layers upon layers which causes darkness upon darkness in the deep oceans‖. In depth of more than 1,000 meters the oceanic water is completely dark. Even the highly sophisticated submarines of the 21

th century cannot travel deeper than 500 meters. The light seen

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in documentary movies of marine animals is artificial light that is used during filming. Modern technology is used in filming near coastal regions of continents and islands but nobody has been able to film the deepest parts of oceans. To this day no submarine has been able to set on floor of either Atlantic or Pacific Ocean.

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Mountains and their formation

A height of more than 200 meters on land is considered a mountain. There are thousands of series of mountains on land. The height of a mountain is measured from the surface of ocean to its highest peak. Generally, mountains are formed as groups in some parts of the land. For instance; in central Afghanistan, northeast Afghanistan, high mountains of Kashmir, mountain series of northern Pakistan, mountain series of Canada and some condensed series of mountains in South Africa and west of North America. After plenty of research scientists were able to gather enough information about the mechanism of formation of mountains. According to the most recent geological theories, more than 90% of mountains are formed due to perpetual movement of the crust of the earth or Plate Tectonic.

The general location of the Himalayas mountain range

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It was mentioned in the chapter of Formation of Continents that about 300 million years ago all of the continents were joined together at one part of the globe. The crust of the earth is floating or moving continuously. Due to the movement of the crust of the earth, the giant continent or Pangaea separated and the spaces between them were filled with water which resulted in the formation of existing lakes, seas and oceans. For instance; the eastern part of South America (Brazil) was connected with western African which after their separation Atlantic ocean was formed and Mediterranean Sea was formed after separation of Africa from Europe. During these transformations and movements of the earth‘s crust, parts of the crust that were moving against each other head on, resulted in condensation and bulges. For instance; current day India was hidden between southern parts of current day Asia and east of current day Africa. After extensive movements over a period of millions of years, the northwestern parts of India collided with parts of central Asia with a tremendous amount of pressure, and gradual condensation took place which resulted in the formation of Himalayan mountain series and similarly the Alp mountain series in Europe, etc.

The Alps

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Thus most mountain series of the world especially extended ones, are formed due to perpetual but extremely slow movements of earth‘s crust over a period of millions of years. Mankind is not witness to such events because these processes take tens of millions of years.

The crust of the earth is moving currently as well and after millions of years there will be very considerable changes in comparison to today. Siberia will be connected to Alaska and a series of mountains will form between them. The continents of Africa and Europe are moving closer to each other and the Mediterranean Sea is in the process of disappearance and so are the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea of course with a pace that will take tens of millions of years. South America is in the process of separation from Central America. Then one can tell that the

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continents including their huge mountains are in a state of constant movement.

ؽ اكسبة ؽ ر عح و صك اـ ورؽي ادجبي رسكجهب خبء ش و اػ ؤرم ب رفمى ضجري ث ﴾٨٨﴿إ

And you see the mountains, thinking them rigid, while they will pass as the passing of clouds. [It is] the work of Allah, who perfected all things. Indeed He is acquainted with that which you do. (27; 88) SI Formation of mountains, from movement of the crust of the earth or expansion of the earth from one giant continent to smaller continents, is alluded to in the following Ayah as well:

وؤهبؼا فهب ؼواق ع اإؼض وخم ى اػ و And it is He who spread the earth and placed therein firmly set mountains and rivers. (13; 3) SI In the abovementioned Ayah firstly the subject of expansion of the earth is explained immediately thereafter the formation and creation of mountains and rivers is mentioned which means that creation of mountains and rivers are directly related to expansion or movement of the crust of the earth, Plate Tectonic.

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Three types of plate boundary

A certain but smaller number of mountains are formed by volcanic activities such as Mount Rainier in Pacific North, USA and according to some geologists Mount Aasmaye in Kabul, etc. Such mountains are not very tall and continuously threaten their surroundings as the volcano is still in their root and the possibility of its reactivation is always there. A minority of mountains are formed from melting and boiling of rocks such as the Adirondack Range in the state of New York.

Mt. Rainier Seattle, Washington

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There are many Qur‘anic Ayahs regarding the importance, formation and other characteristics of mountains. For instance; Surah 88; Ayah 20, Surah 78; Ayahs 6 & 7, Surah 79; Ayah 32, Surah 31; Ayah10, Surah 21; Ayah 31…

The importance of mountains Mountains are of extraordinary significance. In fact all means of life were prepared before the creation of life on earth. Some might think of mountains as an impediment and obstacle to transportation but the importance of mountains is much more than one can imagine. Following are a brief mention of some of the values of mountains:

1. Mountains are important reservoirs of water for plants, animals and humans. Mountains are the origins and sources of all the rivers and no rivers would have existed specially in cold climates in the absence of mountains. If there were no rivers, plants and marine life would have existed in coastal regions and sea shores only. Earth steams and especially oceanic steams along with oceanic moisture are brought to dry lands by storms. Atmosphere and winds condense them which in warm climates come down in the form of rain and in mountainous and cold climates come down in the form of snow and hail. Tall mountains of cold climates reserve them in the form of glaciers which throughout the year even during Summer time supply the rivers and sustain life.

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Surah Al-Nour; Ayah 43:

دم ث ؤف ث اـ ؿخ قسبثب ث رؽ ؤ ب فزؽي اىظق ؤ ؼوب ثؽظ فصت ث خجبي فهب بء اك وؿي ضب طؽج

شبء ل ت ثبإثصبؼ شبء وصؽف ػ ﴾٤٣﴿ىبظ قب ثؽل

Do you not see that Allah drives clouds? Then He brings them together, then He makes them into a mass, and you see the rain emerge from within it. And He sends down from the sky, mountains [of clouds] within which is hail and He strikes with it whom He wills and averts it from whom He wills. The flash of its lightening almost takes away the eyesight. (24; 43) SI 2. Mountains, specially tall and continuous mountains, help to make storms cyclical. Such mountains alter the path of these powerful and destructive storms and transform them into cyclic form and slow them down and change them into slow winds and breezes that are essential for survival of plants. Himalayan mountains in India, Sierra Nevada in USA, the Andes Ranges in South Africa and Hindu Kush Ranges in Afghanistan are examples of such mountains.

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3. Mountains are essential for agriculture and forests as both

depend on water and that source is none other than the mountains.

4. As discussed previously, the earth‘s crust is in perpetual and irregular movement and also mentioned that all continents were initially attached, which separated due to these movements and oceanic waters penetrated in between them which resulted in the formation of lakes, seas and oceans between the continents. Initially these movements were relatively fast but currently they are so slow that the changes could not be observed even over a course of thousands of years. The reason of this sluggishness in the movement of the crust of the earth is the existence of mountains. The thickness of the crust of the earth is 50 to 65 kilometers on dry land and about 5 kilometers beneath the oceans. Underneath this layer is a melted and semi-fluid layer and in fact the crust of the earth is moving over this semi-fluid layer but the roots of the mountains are way deeper than the crust layer. The roots of the mountains cross the crust and enter into the next layer as a peg or nail which to some degree slowed down the movement of the crust of the earth. If mountains did not exist the movements of the crust would have been faster and volcanic eruptions and other undesired and unusual movements would have been more common. The slow movements of the crust are essential for prevention of volcanic reactions and mountains are helping to slow down but not stop them.

Surah Al-Nahel; Ayah 15:

رهزعو ب مى وؤهبؼا وقج ع ثى ؤ ر ف اإؼض ؼواق وؤم﴿١٥﴾

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And He has cast into the earth firmly set mountains, lest it shift with you, and [made] rivers and roads that you may be guided… (16; 15) SI

Notice that the word ( ع ثى in the above Ayah does not mean (ر

earthquake but it implies the slow movement of the curst of the earth, Plate Tectonic. Construction engineers use Pile Foundations for buildings that are built on soft grounds. These Pile Foundations enter the soft ground like stakes and prevent any unusual movements of the buildings.

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5. In regions where there are no mountains the terrains are very

unstable and rivers in those areas are in the process of continuous change and disappearance.

6. The level of water in non-mountainous regions continuously

goes down which eventually turn these areas into wilderness and barren lands such as Bakwa Desert in Afghanistan, Desert of Baluchistan, Sinai Desert in Egypt and other deserts in some Arabic countries.

In non-mountainous regions of oceanic coasts, waters little by little and gradually, swallow down the lands step by step.

First volume of Mathnawi of Mawlana Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi (Rumi):

و ؾ عؽؽة حمزبج کى گؽ جىظی أفؽعی پؽ شکى

7. Mountains are the reservoirs of metals, precious stones, coal, salt and other valuable elements which mankind has been extracting throughout history to this day. About 99% of metals of the world are extracted from mountains.

From a strategic and geopolitical point of view mountains are strong defensive trenches against aggressors that Afghan Soviet War where Afghan Mujahedin scored decisive victories against international communism could be mentioned as an example.

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Chapter three

Moon and its characteristics

Most planets of the solar system have one or more satellites including earth that has one, the Moon.

The distance of the Moon from the earth is 1.3 light second. The new unmanned space rocks can travel this distance in 9 hours. The radius of Moon is 1,740 Kilometer which is four times smaller than the radius of the earth and its volume is approximately fifty times smaller than earth. The mass of the Moon is 81 times smaller than the earth and the density of the Moon is 0.6 or 3/5 of the earth. The gravity of the Moon is 6 times less than that of the earth. If a 70 kilogram adult lands on the Moon, his weight will be reduced to 11.6 kilogram. In other words the weight of an adult will be equivalent to the weight of a one year of child.

Moon is without atmosphere and there is no water in the liquid form on the Moon. According a group of American scientists in 1996, there is about 8,000 Km

2 frozen- ice in the south pole of the

Moon.

Water on the moon, NASA's LCROSS Mission Finds Frozen Water on the Moon

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The following (A* to B*) is taken from NASA Web Site, Mission News:

(A* The M3 team found water molecules and hydroxyl at diverse areas of the sunlit region of the moon's surface, but the water signature appeared stronger at the moon's higher latitudes.

"With our extended spectral range and views over the north pole, we were able to explore the distribution of both water and hydroxyl as a function of temperature, latitude, composition, and time of day," said Jessica Sunshine of the University of Maryland. Sunshine is Epoxi's deputy principal investigator and a scientist on the M3 team. "Our analysis unequivocally confirms the presence of these molecules on the moon's surface and reveals that the entire surface appears to be hydrated during at least some portion of the lunar day." B*)

From an analysis of data from a spacecraft LCROS, intentionally crashed into the permanently shadowed crater on the moon‘s South Pole, it is evident and now officially announced by NASA that moon has significant amount of water. Scientists have been waiting for this discovery for many years since they got some signs of buried ice and hydrogen on moon.

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NASA‘s Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) had made an impact into Cabeus crater (Cabeus is a lunar crater that is located about 100 km from the south pole of the Moon) near the south pole of Moon on 9th October 2009 and had kicked up debris as high as one mile. Scientists have analyzed the plume of the debris and concluded that it was frozen water. It seems quite a significant quantity of water was thrown up when LCROSS crashed into the crater.

The Moon does not have atmosphere or liquid water so that it could balance the heat of the Sun as the earth does. The deference of day and night temperature on the Moon is tremendous. The night temperature is extremely cold (- 173 degrees of Celsius) and the day time temperature is extremely hot (+ 127 degrees of Celsius). An interesting point is that during the day time although the surface of the moon is bright but the space that surrounds the Moon is night dark. While on earth, it is the earth‘s atmosphere and its precisely designed percentage of elements especially Neon that keeps the surrounding space of the earth bright and illuminating. The blue color of the earth‘s atmosphere is due to the reflection of the oceanic waters a reality that does not exist on the Moon.

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The Moon rotates around the earth with a speed of 3,700 Km per hour. It travels that distance in 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 2.8 seconds. The transitional and axial movement of the Moon is set up in a way that we on earth can see only one side of the Moon and the other side of the Moon is still a mystery to scientists to this day.

There are different theories regarding the creation of the Moon but generally modern science considers one theory to be closer to reality.

One theory about creation of the Moon was that, before the creation or descendent of water and iron, the earth‘s density was so light and its axial movement was so fast which consequently a piece of the earth was separated and thrown away which formed the Moon. Modern science rejects this theory as the axial movement of the earth was fast but not so fast to cause separation of a part of the earth and if such was true the whole earth would have fallen to pieces and would have disintegrated.

The second theory was that when the solar system was in its gas and smoke form after long periods of time its center turned into the Sun and the margins into planets with some planets with satellites around them. But this theory was rejected as well. The scientific research of astrologists shows that the ingredients of the Moon and the earth are very similar so there must be a direct correlation between them.

The newly proposed scientific theory that scientists agree on almost universally:

About four billion years ago a planet with a volume of 2.5 – 3 times that of Mars, named fugitive planet entered the solar system and eventually collided with the earth. After this terrifying collision

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parts of the earth and the burning hot planet were thrown into the space and the destruction was so quick and fast that some parts escaped the gravity zone. After some time these fugitive parts were absorbed together which formed the Moon which rotates on a certain orbit of 384,403 Kilometer around the earth.

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Although some Ayahs about the Moon were mentioned in previous chapters, the following Ayahs regarding characteristics of the Moon are also significant.

خ اإ ـ واسح كإىه ل ىالذ ب ل

They ask you, [O, Mohammad], about the new moons. Say, ―They are measurements of time for the people and the Hajj.‖ (2; 189) SI

Mankind has used the Moon as a benchmark for time calculation right from the beginning.

ؽ ىؼا ف ظبء وام اش ى اػ خم

It is He who made the Sun a shining light and the moon a derived light (10; 5) SI

مشف ؼا لؽآ ظب ضىاع ای پكؽ

وا لؽ ؼا ىؼ ضىاع ا ؼاگؽ

In this Ayah, a very significant scientific point is disclosed. In

Arabic language the word ―Zia‖ (ظبء) is used for anything that is

the source of light and anything that takes its light form another

source is called ―Noran‖ (ىؼا). For instance; the light bulb is the

source of light but the room is bright as it acquires its light from the source of light.

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The above Ayah has used the word ―Zia‖ (ظبء) for the Sun and

the word ―Noran‖ (ىؼا) for the Moon while until three centuries

ago the Moon was considered to be the source of light as well. It was thought that the Moon like the Sun has its own light but a smaller one. In reality the Moon gets its light from the Sun and reflects it so the Moon has reflected light while the Sun is the source of light.

The following Ayah further clarifies this matter, Al-Furqan; 61:

ؽ فهب قؽاخب ول بء ثؽوخب وخم ف اك ريا رجبؼن اػ خم ا ﴿٦١﴾

Blessed is He who has blessed in the sky great stars and placed there in a [burning] lump and a luminous moon. (25; 61) SI

The above Ayah again used the word ―Sirajan‖ (قؽاخب) which

points to the source of light and the word ―Munir‖ (ريا ) which

indicates that the Moon has reflected light.

Additionally, there are more Ayahs about the Moon:

Surah 32, Ayah 29; Surah 71, Ayahs 15 & 16; Surah 25, Ayah 61; Surah 16, Ayah 12; Surah 14, Ayah 33; Surah 6, Ayah 97; Surah 55, Ayah 5 …etc.

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ؽو بواد واإؼض آخ ف اك ووإ مؽظى لهب هب و ﴾١٣٥﴿ل

And how many a sign in the heavens and the earth do they pass over while they, there from, are turning

away. (Surah Yusuf, 12; 105) SI

May 29 2011

01:13 AM, Texas

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www.geologlink.com

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www.amazon.com

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www.nasa.gov/vision/universe

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Abdullah Yusuf Ali; translation and commentary of Qur‘an

Shawaliullah Dehlawi; Translation and commentary of Qur‘an

Sahih International: translation of Qur‘an by three American Women

The Message of the Qur‘an by Mohammad Asad (formerly Leopold Weiss); Translation of Qur‘an by a revert Jew

Marmaduke Pickthall (English revert); Translation of Qur‘an

Also lectures and interviews from scholars like: Doctor Israr Ahmed, Doctor Ghulam Murtaza, Doctor Zakir Naik, Shaikh Ahmed Deedat, Shaikh Yusuf Estes …

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