Mention of Existence of Alien life in the Quran

    In this article, I have written about the verse of the Holy Quran which mentions the Existence of Alien life. I have also written views of different Muslim scholars on existence of Alien life.

Translation of Verse 29 of Surah Ash-Shura

And among His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and all living beings(Daabah) He dispersed throughout both. And He is Most Capable of bringing all together whenever He wills.

Explanation 

                       The above-mentioned verse of the Holy Quran very eloquently describes some of the signs of Allah Almighty's power and greatness. One of his signs is the creation of heavens and the earth and all living beings he has spread in both of them. If you read again then there is the Arabic word 'Daabah' which means living creatures. In my last article I explained how this word could mean extra terrestrial life that could be present in the vast expanse of our universe. Some could argue that this word Daabah is only used for living creatures residing in our planet earth. This isn't the case because if you read again then this verse also says 'He spread throughout both' which can mean that this verse talks not only about the Daabah(living creatures) living on our planet but it also talks about living creatures living on other Earths and other Heavens. If you read the Arabic text of this verse then not only will you find the word 'Daabah' but you will also find the words 'As-Samawat' and 'Al-Ard' which means Heavens and Earths respectively.

In one of my previous articles I explained the meanings of the Words 'Al-Ard' and 'As-Samawat'. If you want to read that article then you can click the link of that article given below. 

Meaning of the word 'Al-Ard' and 'As-Samawat'

     In the last part of this verse, Allah Almighty says, 'And He is Most Capable of bringing all together whenever He wills.' This part of the verse is very crucial because it indirectly mentions the Day of Judgement when Allah will bring all his creations together, whether they are in the heavens or on the earth. On the Day of Judgement, each and every one of us will be accountable in front of Allah Almighty for our deeds that we committed in this world. If most of the deeds we commit during our life are good, then with Allah's blessings, we will enter Paradise, and if most of our deeds committed are evil or bad, then we will enter Hell unless Allah forgives us. Since we would be held accountable on the day of Judgement, we should try our best to please Allah Almighty in this world. In order to appease Allah, we should refrain from indulging in those acts which can make Allah angry at us. Instead we should be involved in those acts with which we can please him. We should not follow the path of those people that disobeyed Allah, after which his wrath fell upon them, but we should follow the path of the Prophets and their companions, whom Allah is pleased with. We should read and understand the Quran so that we can fully grasp and act upon the commandments of Allah Almighty. If we act upon these commandments, then Allah would surely be pleased with us, and we will succeed not only in this life but in the life hereafter as well. We as Muslims should have faith in Allah that even if we do not succeed in this life, then Allah, the most merciful, will surely grant us success on the Day of Judgement, and with his blessings, we would enter Paradise on the condition that we act upon his commandments. Another important thing which we should keep in mind is that if we do a misdeed which can cause Allah's displeasure, then that deed would also be held accountable on the day of judgement. If we are not punished for our misdeeds in this life, then we would surely be held accountable for it on the Day of Judgement, so we should fear Allah and constantly seek forgiveness from him for our wrongdoings. We should act upon what Allah has ordered us to do in the Quran and refrain from those acts which could cause his displeasure so he showers his blessings upon us on the Day of Judgement and we would enter Paradise.

Views of Muslim Scholars on Alien life

      Fakharuddin Razi was a 12th century Islamic scholar and scientist who wrote extensively on Physics, Medicine, Cosmology, Theology and Jurisprudence etc. In his classical Exegesis of the Quran 'Al-Tafsir al-Kabir' he wrote "It is not impossible that in the heavens there are species of animals that move just like humans walk on the earth.”

      Allama Husayn Tabatabai (1903-1981) is one of the most prominent scholars in modern Shia Islam and is mostly known for his Exegesis of the Quran Al-Mizan. While interpreting verse 29 of Surah ash-Shura he states: "The apparent meaning of this verse is that there are living creatures (Dawab) in the heavens similar to those on earth…”." (Al-Mizan – Volume 18, Page 58).

    Another modern modern  Shia-Muslim scholar Abdullah Yusuf Ali(1872-1953) was an Indian barrister who wrote multiple books in Islam and an Exegesis of the Quran which is one of the best English translation of the Quran. He while commenting on Verse no.29 of Surah ash-Shura writes that: “Life is not confined to our one little planet. ….it is reasonable to suppose that life in some form or other is scattered through some of the millions of heavenly bodies scattered through space."

   In this article I quoted three Muslim scholars from different eras Fakharuddin Razi who was from the medieval era while Allama Tabatabai and Abdullah Yusuf Ali were from modern eras. It shows that the idea of existence of extraterrestrial life or the possibility of the existence of the extraterrestrial life within the Muslim scholarly class is not new but it has always existed and all of these scholars base these ideas referencing the Holy Quran.

If you want to read my previous article then click the link below.

Mention of the Existence of Life beyond Earth in the Quran

If you want to read my next article than click the link below.

Verse of the Holy Quran in which there is Mention of Atoms and the views of Muslim scholars on atoms

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Relativistic time mentioned in the Quran

    In this blog, I have written about the verse of the Holy Quran in which Allah Almighty talks about the relativity of time.

Translation of verse 5 of Surah As-Sajdah

He conducts(governs) everything from the heavens to the earth, and then everything ascends to him on a day whose length by your reckoning is a thousand years.

Explanation 

            The above-mentioned verse of the Holy Quran talks about a very famous concept in physics, which is the relativity of time, also known as time dilation. Late 19th and early 20th century scientists such as Lorentz, Emil Kuhn, Hermann Minkowski, Albert Einstein and many others theorized this concept, but Einstein made the greatest contribution. Time dilation deals with the fact that time is not absolute but relative. In general, time dilation is defined as how fast or how slow time will pass depending on the reference frame (accelerating/moving or non-accelerating/at rest or speeds much slower than the speed of light). Time is also affected by the pull of gravity on an object. This means that time will pass more slowly for someone moving at or near the speed of light than for someone moving at normal speed or not moving at all. For example, after spending 6 months on the International Space Station (ISS), orbiting the Earth at a speed of about 7,700 m/s, an astronaut's lifespan would be about 0.005 seconds less than that on Earth. This also means that time is also affected by gravity. The greater the gravity, the slower the time. For example, if someone is on the moon, their clock ticks faster because time passes faster for them than for someone on Earth. This is because the Earth's gravity is stronger than the Moon's gravity. In addition to this time could also slow. Down near massive objects such as supermassive blackhole etc. The reason for this is because masaive or heavy object have more gravitational pull which can slow down time.

     Now, if we move back to the verse, in the first part of the verse, there is a mention of Allah conducting every matter from heavens to Earth. These matters refer to the commands of Allah who govern this and all the heavens. Without His command, not even a particle of dust or a leaf can move by itself. It is his command which governs each and everything which is happening around us. With his command, we breathe and live our lives. It is his command with which we come into this world, and with his command, one day we will die as well. This is the glory of Allah. Then in the next part of the verse, it is mentioned that 'all this ascends to him on a day whose length is a thousand years of our reckoning.' The last part of this verse falls under the category of Relativistic time or Time dilation. A thousand years, by our reckoning,, could mean that a thousand years in our frame of reference is equal to one day in Allah's frame of reference. Time could be slower in Allah's frame of reference due to various factors that slow time, which I have mentioned above, such as gravity, mass and size of the throne and Qursi of Allah, and there could be some other factors involved in this as well, and Allah knows best. This verse is one of the many verses of the Holy Qur'an which describe scientific facts so accurately that 1400 years ago when people of that time could not even imagine such a thing. This is clear proof that the Holy Quran is the book of Allah and it has been sent to guide us. One thing to note is that this verse and all other scientific verses of the Quran do not make the Quran a book of science. This is a book of 'signs'. The mention of such signs or such verses is only so that we can ponder upon the greatness and wisdom of Allah Almighty.

      One thing to keep in mind is that there can be various others explanations of this verse and only Allah Almighty knows what is the correct explanation.

Views of Al-Kindi on Relativistic Time

     Al-Kindi (801-873AD) was a famous Muslim scientist who lived during the Islamic Golden Age. He was one of the most esteemed scholars of his time. He worked extensively in fields like medicine, astronomy, physics, mathematics, optics, etc. He was also a pioneer of cryptography and scientific methodology. Al-Kandi is said to have proposed an unproven theory of relativity 1,100 years before Einstein.

     Al-Kindi argued in his book al-Falsafa al-Aula that a person sees an object whose size is small or large according to the vertical movement between the earth and the sky. If a person moves towards the sky, he will see the trees getting smaller and if he moves towards the earth, he will see the trees getting bigger. According to al-Kindi, objects, time, motion and space are not only relative to each other but also to other objects and observers who observe them. He viewed it as an essence of the law of existence.

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Parallel universe mentioned in the Quran

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Mention of the Verse of the Holy Quran which talks about time being relative

Description of the Rotation of the Earth and the mention of the Orbit of the Moon and Sun in the Quran.

     In this blog, I have written about the description of the Rotation of the Earth and the mention of the Orbit of the Moon and Sun in the Quran.

Translation of Verse 5 of Surah Az-Zumar

He created the heavens and the earth for a purpose. He wraps the night around the day, and wraps the day around the night. And He has subjected the sun and the moon, each orbiting for an appointed term. He is truly the Almighty, Most Forgiving.

Explanation 

                      In this verse of Surah, Az-Zumar Allah has told us how night changes into day and how day changes to night. If you look at the sky just around the time of sunset you would perceive it as night wrapping around day and at just around the time of sunrise day wrapping around night. The only 2 ways for this to be possible are that the Earth should rotate along its axis and that the Earth is spherical in shape. Now today we know that Earth takes one day(24 hours) to complete its rotation along its axis and this is how night transforms into day and day transforms into night. In the Muslim world, this fact was scientifically proven by a 10th-century scientist named Al-Buruni(973-1048 CE). Other scientists of the Muslim world such as Ibn Yunus(950-1059 CE) and Nasir al-Din Tusi(1201-1274 CE) also wrote on this but the main credit goes to Al-Biruni. In the West Copperenicus(1473-1573) was the first to prove the rotation of Earth.

          This verse also mentions that the moon and sun are also orbiting. As the moon orbits the earth the sun is also orbiting the earth. The fact that the moon orbits the earth was discovered by a 2nd-century Roman Egyptian astronomer Claudius Ptolemy. However, his model had some errors which were corrected by a 14th-century Muslim scientist Ibn-Shatir who along with many other Muslim scientists had a great influence on Copernicus and other Western scientists. Below is the image of Ibn-Shatir's Lunar model.

   Another thing which this verse mentions is that the sun is also orbiting a supermassive black hole named Sagittarius A which is located at the centre of our home galaxy the Milky Way. The speed with which our sun and solar system orbit the supermassive black hole is around 500,000 miles an hour (800,000 km/hr). The credit for the discovery of these scientific facts can be given to several scientists such as Vera Rubin(1928-2016), Jacobus Kapteyn (1851-1922) and many other such scientists etc. These facts were discovered by scientists just recently while the Quran told these facts 1400 years ago. It is a clear proof that the Quran is the word of Allah. Although it contains many scientific facts with great accuracy but the Quran is not a book of science it is the book of guidance. These scientific facts are mentioned only so that we can ponder upon the greatness of Allah Almighty.

    One thing to keep in mind is that there can be various others explanations of this verse and only Allah  knows what is the correct explanation.

My previous blog

Quran on the Beginning of the Universe

In my next blog, I will write about the mention of the shape of the earth in the Quran.

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Shape of the Earth mentioned in the Quran