Science Converges In Stages With The Quranic Description Of The Creation Of The Universe

By Naseer Ahmed, New Age Islam 5 October 2024 Scientists and philosophers believed in a steady-state Universe for a long time – it always was and will always be. Then, modern discoveries of an expanding universe and the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), led to the theory of creation that came to be known as the Big Bang Theory. The Quran is a guide to spiritual and moral truths, but it also contains intriguing descriptions of the universe's creation. Advancements in modern cosmology have led to discoveries strikingly similar to the Quran’s descriptions. The Big Bang Theory is one such with a material difference. In the Big Bang Theory of creation, there is nothing before it – no time, matter or space. In the Quran, the previous universe was brought together before being cloven asunder to create the present Universe. However, recent scientific discussions, including the Big Bounce theory, offer intriguing parallels to Quranic revelations. Considering the limitations of 7th-century vocabulary and the audience's knowledge at the time, could God, the All-Knowing, have communicated great truths that remain meaningful today? Does modern science contradict the Quran, or could they exist in harmony? Representative Photo ------ Flexibility in Quranic Time: Days as Periods In the Quran, time is described in flexible terms that can vary based on context. Two verses provide different measures of a "day": Surah As-Sajda (32:5): "He arranges [each] matter from the heaven to the earth; then it will ascend to Him in a Day, the extent of which is a thousand years of those which you count." Surah Al-Ma’arij (70:4): "The angels and the Spirit will ascend to Him during a Day the extent of which is fifty thousand years." These verses suggest that time, as understood by humans, is relative and not the same as experienced by God or in the cosmic sense. This resonates with modern science, particularly Einstein’s theory of relativity, where time is not an absolute constant but depends on the observer’s frame of reference. This provides a key insight into the "six days" (or periods) of creation mentioned in the Quran. These "days" may not be literal 24-hour days but epochs or phases stretching across billions of years. The Quran’s language allows for such flexibility, suggesting its description of creation can align with modern scientific understandings of time and the universe's development. The Big Bang vs. the Big Bounce: A Qur'anic Perspective Most physicists have historically viewed the Big Bang as the singular event that marked the beginning of everything—time, matter, and space—with nothing existing beforehand. In this model, physical reasoning ceases at the point of singularity. However, this is not necessarily the reality; it is a mathematical model with inherent limitations. More recently, an alternative theory known as the Big Bounce has gained traction among cosmologists. Proponents argue that the Big Bang may have been an inflection point in a larger cosmic cycle. According to the Big Bounce model, the universe expands and contracts cyclically. Some suggest that the universe could have shrunk to a single-point singularity and bounced outward again in an expansion—similar to how a compressed spring releases energy. This concept closely echoes the Quranic description of the heavens and the earth being brought together before being separated (Surah Fussilat 41:11 and Al-Anbiya 21:30). The Quran suggests that something existed before the current universe and was brought together before being "cloven asunder." In fact, this idea is revisited in Quranic descriptions of the future, where the universe will again contract before another transformation (Surah Az-Zumar 39:67 and Surah Al-Anbiya 21:104). In the Big Bounce theory, this cyclical expansion and contraction of the universe aligns with the Quranic notion of both a past and future restructuring of the cosmos, suggesting that the universe might not have emerged from absolute nothingness but rather from a previous, more ordered state. This is a striking parallel to the Quranic view of the universe as an ordered and purposeful creation. The Degree of Order: A Starting Condition Another reason for the rise of the Big Bounce theory lies in the degree of order in the universe, which suggests that the starting conditions were not random. Scientists exploring this theory have observed that despite its apparent complexity, the current universe follows a high degree of orderliness—something unlikely to emerge from an utterly chaotic origin. While helpful in explaining the universe's expansion, the Big Bang model leaves unanswered questions about what caused this order at the point of creation. Physicists wonder if the universe’s order implies a more structured origin not born purely from randomness but from a highly organised precursor. This dovetails with the Quranic perspective that the universe was created with intent and purpose rather than through sheer chance. Conclusion: A Harmonious Relationship Between Science and the Quran While the Quran was revealed when human knowledge of the universe was limited, limiting the vocabulary that could be employed to communicate complex facts, its broad and metaphorical descriptions have remained ahead of science and continue to do so. The Big Bounce Theory is not yet mainstream cosmology. ----- A frequent contributor to NewAgeIslam.com, Naseer Ahmed is an Engineering graduate from IIT Kanpur and is an independent IT consultant after having served in both the Public and Private sector in responsible positions for over three decades. He has spent years studying Quran in-depth and made seminal contributions to its interpretation. 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