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THE FUSING
AND SEPARATING OF THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH
How do modern scientists
explain the formation of the universe? Dr. Maurice Bucaille explains it
in his book, The Bible, the Qur'an and Science, as follows: "The
basic process in the formation of the universe.
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condensing of material in the primary nebula followed by its division into
fragments that originally constituted galactic masses. The latter in their
turn split up into stars that provided the subproduct of the process, i.e.
the planets" (p. 149). Does the Qur'an say anything about this condensing
and separation of the primary material to result in the formation of our
universe? Let's have a look. |
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The creator,
Allah, says in his final
book: "Do not
the unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were fused together,
then we separated them . . ." (Qur'an 21:30).
Dr. Bucaille sees
this as "the reference to a separation process of a primary single mass
whose elements were initially fused together" (p.143). Thus the Qur'an
gives an accurate account of the formation of the universe to call upon
humankind to recognize the power of their creator.
This raises an
interesting question: How could a man living in the seventh century invent
these ideas which could not be confirmed until modern times? And how could
he in so doing avoid the mythical and fanciful ideas prevalent in human
history? Dr. Bucaille mentions some of these myths for contrast: "When,
as in Japan, the image of the egg plus an expression of chaos is attached
to the above with the idea of a seed inside an egg (as for all eggs), the
imaginative addition makes the concept lose all semblance of seriousness.
In other countries, the idea of a plant is associated with it; the plant
grows and in so doing raises up the sky and separates the heavens from
the earth. Here again, the imaginative quality of the added detail lends
the myth its very distinctive character" (p. 152).
In contrast to
those myths, the Qur'anic statements are "free from any of the whimsical
details accompanying such beliefs; on the contrary, they are distinguished
by the sober quality of the words in which they are made, and their agreement
with scientific data" (p. 152).
It must be that
the Qur'an is not the product of any human or humans, but a revelation
from Allah. The Qur'an says: "The revelation of the scripture whereof
there is no doubt is from the Lord of the Worlds" (Qur'an 32:2).
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.
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