INTRODUCTION
The expansion of
the Universe is one of the most imposing discoveries of modern
science. Today it is a firmly established concept and the only
debate centers around the way this is taking place.
It was first suggested by the general theory
of relativity and is backed up by physics in the examination of the
galactic spectrum; the regular movement towards the red section of
their spectrum may be explained by the distancing of one galaxy from
another. Thus the size of the Universe is probably constantly
increasing and this increase will become bigger the further away the
galaxies are from us. The speeds at which these celestial bodies are
moving may, in the course of this perpetual expansion, go from
fractions of the speed of light to speeds faster than this.
The following verse of the Qur'an (sura 51,
verse 47) where God is speaking, may perhaps be compared with modern
ideas:
"The heaven, We have built it with power.
Verily. We are expanding it." 'Heaven' is the translation of the
word sama' and this is exactly the extra-terrestrial world that is
meant. 'We are expanding it' is the translation of the plural
present participle musi'una of the verb ausa'a meaning 'to make
wider, more spacious, to extend, to expand'.
Some translators who were unable to grasp the
meaning of the latter provide translations that appear to me to be
mistaken, e.g. "we give generously" (R. Blachere). Others sense the
meaning, but are afraid to commit themselves: Ramidullah in his
translation of the Qur'an talks of the widening of the heavens and
space, but he includes a question mark. Finally, there are those who
arm themselves with authorized scientific opinion in their
commentaries and give the meaning stated here. This is true in the
case of the Muntakab, a book of commentaries edited by the Supreme
Council for Islamic Affairs, Cairo. It refers to the expansion of
the Universe in totally unambiguous terms.
From this point
of view, three verses of the Qur'an should command our full
attention. One expresses, without any trace of ambiguity, what man
should and will achieve in this field. In the other two, God refers
for the sake of the unbelievers in Makka to the surprise they would
have if they were able to raise themselves up to the Heavens; He
alludes to a hypothesis which will not be realized for the latter.
1) The first of these verses is sura 55, verse 33: "O assembly of
Jinns and Men, if you can penetrate regions of the heavens and the
earth, then penetrate them! You will not penetrate them save with a
Power."
The translation given here needs some
explanatory comment:
a) The word 'if' expresses in English a
condition that is dependent upon a possibility and either an
achievable or an unachievable hypothesis. Arabic is a language which
is able to introduce a nuance into the condition which is much more
explicit. There is one word to express the possibility (ida),
another for the achievable hypothesis (in) and a third for the
unachievable hypothesis expressed by the word (lau). The verse in
question has it as an achievable hypothesis expressed by the word
(in). The Qur'an therefore suggests the material possibility of a
concrete realization. This subtle linguistic distinction formally
rules out the purely mystic interpretation that some people have
(quite wrongly) put on this verse.
b) God is addressing the spirits (jinn) and
human beings (ins), and not essentially allegorical figures.
c) 'To penetrate' is the translation of the
verb nafada followed by the preposition min. According to
Kazimirski's dictionary, the phrase means 'to pass right through and
come out on the other side of a body' (e.g. an arrow that comes out
on the other side). It therefore suggests a deep penetration and
emergence at the other end into the regions in question.
d) The Power (sultan) these men will have to
achieve this enterprise would seem to come from the All- Mighty.'
There can be no doubt that this verse indicates the possibility men
will one day achieve what we today call (perhaps rather improperly)
'the conquest of space'. One must note that the text of the Qur'an
predicts not only penetration through the regions of the Heavens,
but also the Earth, i.e. the exploration of its depths. 2) The other
two verses are taken from sura 15, (verses 14 and 15). God is
speaking of the unbelievers in Makka, as the context of this passage
in the sura shows:
"Even if We opened unto them a gate to
Heaven and they were to continue ascending therein, they would say:
our sight is confused as in drunkenness. Nay, we are people
bewitched."
The above expresses astonishment at a
remarkable spectacle, different from anything man could imagine. The
conditional sentence is introduced here by the word lau which
expresses a hypothesis that could never be realized as far as it
concerned the people mentioned in these verses.
When talking of the conquest of space
therefore, we have two passages in the text of the Qur'an: one of
them refers to what will one day become a reality thanks to the
powers of intelligence and ingenuity God will give to man, and the
other describes an event that the unbelievers in Makkah will never
witness, hence its character of a condition never to be realized.
The event will however be seen by others, as intimated in the first
verse quoted above. It describes the human reactions to the
unexpected spectacle that travelers in space will see: their
confused sight, as in drunkenness, the feeling of being bewitched...
This is exactly how astronauts have
experienced this remarkable adventure since the first human space
flight around the world in 1961. It is known in actual fact how once
one is above the Earth's atmosphere, the Heavens no longer have the
azure appearance we see from Earth, which results from phenomena of
absorption of the Sun's light into the layers of the atmosphere. The
human observer in space above the Earth's atmosphere sees a black
sky and the Earth seems to be surrounded by a halo of bluish color
due to the same phenomena of absorption of light by the Earth's
atmosphere. The Moon has no atmosphere, however, and therefore
appears in its true colors against the black background of the sky.
It is a completely new spectacle therefore that presents itself to
men in space, and the photographs of this spectacle are well known
to present-day man.
Here again, it is difficult not to be
impressed, when comparing the text of the Qur'an to the data of
modern science, by statements that simply cannot be ascribed to the
thought of a man who lived more than fourteen centuries ago.
Having called
modern concepts on the formation of the Universe to mind, reference
was made to the evolution that took place, starting with primary
nebula through to the formation of galaxies, stars and (for the
solar system) the appearance of planets beginning with the Sun at a
certain stage of its evolution. Modern data lead us to believe that
in the solar system, and more generally in the Universe itself, this
evolution is still continuing.
How can anybody who is aware of these ideas
fail to make a comparison with certain statements found in the
Qur'an in which the manifestations of divine Omnipotence are
referred to. The Qur'an reminds us several times that: "(God)
subjected the sun and the moon: each one runs its course to an
appointed term."
This sentence is to be found in sura 13, verse
2; sura 31, verse 29; sura 35, verse 13 and sura 39, verse 5. In
addition to this, the idea of a settled place is associate with the
concept of a destination place in sura 36, verse 38: "The Sun
runs its course to a settled place. This is the decree of the All
Mighty, the Full of Knowledge."
'Settled place' is the translation of the word
mustaqarr and there can be no doubt that the idea of an exact place
is attached to it.
How do these statements fare when compared
with data established by modern science?
The Qur'an gives an end to the Sun for its
evolution and a destination place. It also provides the Moon with a
settled place. To understand the possible meanings of these
statements, we must remember what modern knowledge has to say about
the evolution of the stars in general and the Sun in particular, and
(by extension) the celestial bodies that automatically followed its
movement through space, among them the Moon.
The Sun is a star that is roughly 4.5 billion
years old, according to experts in astrophysics. It is possible to
(distinguish a stage in its evolution, as one can for all the stars.
At present, the Sun is at an early stage, characterized by the
transformation of hydrogen atoms into helium atoms. Theoretically,
this present stage should last another 5.5 billion years according
to calculations that allow a total of 10 billion years for the
duration of the primary stage in a star of this kind. It has already
been shown, in the case of these other stars, that this stage gives
way to a second period characterized by the completion of the
transformation of hydrogen into helium, with the resulting expansion
of its external layers and the cooling of the Sun. In the final
stage, its light is greatly diminished and density considerably
increased; this is to be observed in the type of star known as a
'white dwarf'.
The above dates are only of interest in as far
as they give a rough estimate of the time factor involved, what is
worth remembering and is really the main point of the above, is the
notion of an evolution. Modern data allow us to predict that, in a
few billion years, the conditions prevailing in the solar system
will not be the same as they are today. Like other stars whose
transformations have been recorded until they reached their final
stage, it is possible to predict an end to the Sun. The second verse
quoted above (sura 36, verse 38) referred to the Sun running its
course towards a place of its own.
Modern astronomy has been able to locate it
exactly and has even given it a name, the Solar Apex: the solar
system is indeed evolving in space towards a point situated in the
Constellation of Hercules (alpha lyrae) whose exact location is
firmly established; it is moving at a speed already ascertained at
something in the region of 12 miles per second.
All these astronomical data deserve to be
mentioned in relation to the two verses from the Qur'an. Since it is
possible to state that they appear to agree perfectly with modern
scientific data. |