Here I am paraphrasing a lecture which was given by Eng. Ali Mansour Kayali who takes a scientific look as a physicist, on what could possibly cause the end of life on Earth taking in mind the Holy Quran references to this unavoidable event. Quite fascinating. The lecture was conducted in Arabic Language and is posted on several Internet sites, not the least is You Tube.
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I wanted to share with my non-Arabic speaking friends, brothers, and sisters what I believe is the most fascinating aspects of this lecture:
Part I: The beginning: Creation, Matter, Space & Time.
Non-believers wonder: if Allah --High is He-- is the First; nothing is before Him, and the Last; nothing is after Him, the Most High; nothing is above Him and the Most Near; nothing is nearer than Him, as mentioned in Verse (57:3), so from where did this "material" out of which the whole universe is created, came from?
It seems that they have chosen to forget a basic fact in physics which is: "Nothingness" is the whole of physics: Everything that ever was, which *is* (exists) now, and which will *be* (exist) in the future came (was created) from nothingness.
Allah --High and Sublime is He-- said:
(هَلْ أَتَى عَلَى الْإِنْسَانِ حِينٌ مِنَ الدَّهْرِ لَمْ يَكُنْ شَيْئًا مَذْكُورًا (الإنسان:1)
(76:1) Has there not been over man a period of time, when he was not a thing worth mentioning?
Even the minute "electron" is something worth mentioning ... so Man was not even an electron!
Moreover, in the Holy Quran, Allah --High is He-- says, while addressing Zakaraya:
( وَقَدْ خَلَقْتُكَ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَلَمْ تَكُ شَيْئًا (مريم:9 ...)
(19:9) ... Certainly I have created you before, when you had been nothing!"
Consequently The Universe started through the Fistful of The Only Originator --who creates things without any previous example-- Allah --High and Sublime is He. Our masters the scholars says that His order is between two letters: the "B", and the "E". i.e. based on His saying --High and Sublime is He:
(بَدِيعُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَإِذَا قَضَى أَمْرًا فَإِنَّمَا يَقُولُ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ (البقرة:117)
(2:117) The Originator of the heavens and the earth. When He decrees a matter, He only says to it: "Be!" - and it is.
However the fact of the matter is: taken from the pure physics point of view, His order precedes the B and E, because when we pronounce the letter "B" it will take us one second ... during this second light would have travelled three hundred thousand kilometers! Therefore ".. when He intends a thing" ... It is when this Will takes place, the reality of existence manifests itself. That is when we understand better His saying --High is He:
(الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ فَاطِرِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ... (فاطر:1)
(35:1) All the praises and thanks be to Allâh, the (only) Originator (or the (Only) Creator) of the heavens and the earth ...", "It is He Who begins the creation and then will repeat it ...
The universe was created from naught; from nothingness. All the matter of this universe was compressed in a magnificent way! A wall may look to us firm and solid; however this same wall is "empty" as far as many rays and waves are concerned: radio waves, wireless, communication waves, X ray, etc. So if we have the ability to compress matter in a way that the nucleus of each atom touches the nucleus of the other atom, and in accordance to Mendel's table atomic weight and true physical weight, we will get a matter which a single cubic centimeter will be equivalent to One Hundred and fourteen Million Metric Tons! In other words, if we get one billion six hundred and twenty-seven million persons with an average weight of 100 Kg. each, and we compressed them in the same manner as is explained above, they will be compressed in a one cubic cm!
We really think grand of ourselves don't we?! We think that we are something large and big! However, Allah -High is He- is capable of compressing the whole humanity in a space not larger than a single matchbox! Such is "Matter" from which universe is created! If we applied the same concept to Earth, then we would get a sphere with a diameter of 87 Cm only, yet keeping its known weight and gravity.
So all matter from which this universe is created was compressed as above, or perhaps more -- for some physicists think that it was not larger than a single pinhead! Consequently there were no time. Because what is time but the movement of space! Imagine today if we stopped earth rotation on a Friday, then there will be no Saturday! The Holy Quran states this fact clearly --that time comes after space exists in His saying --High is He:
(إِنَّ عِدَّةَ الشُّهُورِ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ اثْنَا عَشَرَ شَهْرًا فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ يَوْمَ خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ ... (التوبة:36)
(9:36) "Verily, the number of months with Allâh is twelve months (in a year), so was it ordained by Allâh on the Day when He created the heavens and the earth; ...". Consequently, time is our feeling of the speed with which space moves. If the speed of Earth's rotation increase then we count more days, and if the speed of Earth's rotation decreases, then we count less days. For example: the nearest celestial body to us is Moon. While Earth counts 30 rotation; i.e. 30 sunrise and 30 sunset moon counts a single rotation at the same time. So if two people were born at the same time, one on Earth and the other on Moon, when the first is 30 Earth days old, the second is only one lunar day old.
So Matter was compacted as explained above, and then Allah --High is He-- permitted this compressed matter to explode (The Big Bang). In the Holy Quran this is mentioned in the following verse:
... أَوَلَمْ يَرَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَنَّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ كَانَتَا رَتْقًا فَفَتَقْنَاهُمَا(الأنبياء: 30)
(21:30) Have not those who disbelieve known that the heavens and the earth were joined together as one united piece, then We parted them? ...
Our universe started at that point, the estimated time is almost sixteen billion years ago since this explosion took place. Since then the universe is continuously expanding taking the shape of an astronomical horn or trumpet! The Holy Quran states that when The End of this universe comes, then "The Trumpet will be blown"!
(وَنُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ فَصَعِقَ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَنْ فِي الْأَرْضِ (الزمر:68)
(39: 68) And the Trumpet will be blown, and all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth will swoon away ...
All theories today estimate the general shape of our universe to be horn-shaped universe, or a trumpet-shaped one.
Our own solar system age is estimated to be four billion and five hundred million years old. Now, if we want to represent this, i.e. the whole time since the Big Bang until today as a "twelve month" calendar, i.e. the Big Bang started at 0:00:01 Jan. 1st; then our solar system; our sun and the planets rotating around it were born during January - February of that theoretical year. Reptiles first appeared on Earth around November of that year. As such Man (our Father Adam) was born on 3:00 PM of December 31st! Consequently we are today living within the final eight hours of this theoretical year!
Contemplating again verse (76:1):
(هَلْ أَتَى عَلَى الْإِنْسَانِ حِينٌ مِنَ الدَّهْرِ لَمْ يَكُنْ شَيْئًا مَذْكُورًا (الإنسان:1)
(76:1) Has there not been over man a period of time, when he was not a thing worth mentioning?
We can understand it now in a different light: for during 99.99% of the days of the existence of time Man did not exist! We arrived quite late, and we are currently living the last moments of this cosmic year.
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Note: All translations of the meaning of The Holy Quran is taken from the transliteration of the meaning of the Holy Quran by Mohammad Khan.
