In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Beneficent
Are the unbelievers unaware that the Heaven and the Earth were once one single entity, which We then parted asunder? We have indeed made out of water every living thing. Will they not, then, believe?
We have also set firm mountains on Earth, lest it sway with them, and We have cut out there broad paths, so that they might find their way, and We have set up the sky as a well-secured canopy. Yet they stubbornly turn away from all its signs.
It is He who has created the night and the day and the sun and the moon: each moves swiftly in its own orbit. (The Prophets: 21: 31-33)
We commented briefly last week on the first of these verses, pointing out that the more advances astronomical science makes, its theories tend more and more to confirm what the Qur’an says about the Heavens and the Earth being originally one single whole before they were ripped asunder. We also said that, as believers, we do not try to interpret a Qur’anic statement in terms of a theory which is far from certain. It may be accepted today but rejected tomorrow. Therefore, we do not even try to find a meeting area between Qur’anic statements and scientific theories. The latter are different from true scientific facts which can be tried and tested, such as the fact that metals stretch out when heated, or that water evaporates or becomes frozen in severely cold weather. Such scientific facts are different from theoretical assumption.
The Qur’an is not a book of scientific theories. Its field is not applied science. It is a constitution that regulates man’s whole life. Its method is to set the human mind on the right track, so that it may function and be free within the limits set for it. It also sets society on the right lines so that it allows the mind to work and be free, without going into any purely scientific details. This area is left for the human mind to work with after it has been set free.
The Qur’an may refer to some universal facts, like the one stated here: "The Heaven and the Earth were once one single entity, which We then parted asunder." We accept this as an absolute certainty simply because it is mentioned in the Qur’an. We certainly do not know how the Heavens and the Earth were parted, or ripped one from the other. We accept astronomical theories which are not in conflict with this general fact mentioned in the Qur’an. What we will not do is to take up the Qur’anic text and try to fit it to any theory of astronomy. We do not seek an endorsement of the Qur’an through human theories, when it is an absolute certainty. The most we can say is that the astronomical theory accepted today is not in conflict with the general import of this Qur’anic statement revealed many generations before it.
The next sentence in this verse says: "We have indeed made out of water every living thing." This short sentence states a great fact which scientists place as highly important. Indeed, they shower praise on Darwin for pointing it out, saying that water was the first environment where life began.
It is indeed a fact that should capture all attention. That it is mentioned in the Qur’an neither fills us with wonder nor increases our belief in the truth of the Qur’an. Our belief in the absolute truth of everything it states is based on our unshakable belief that it is God’s revelation, not on its being confirmed by scientific discoveries or theories. The most that can be said here also is that on this particular point, Darwin’s evolutionary theory is not in conflict with what the Qur’an states.
For fourteen centuries, the Qur’an has drawn the attention of unbelievers to the great marvels God has placed in the universe, wondering how could they deny them when they see them everywhere in the universe: "Will they not, then, believe?" How could they persist in their disbelief when everything around them in this universe inevitably leads to faith in God, the creator, the wise who conducts all affairs?
The Surah continues to point out awesome scenes of the universe: "We have also set firm mountains on Earth, lest it sway with them." The Qur’an, then, states that the mountains, firm as they are, maintain the balance of the Earth so that it does not sway or shake.
The balance could be maintained in various forms, such as setting a balance between the external pressure on the face of the Earth and the internal one inside it, which varies from one place to another. Or it may be that the height of a mountain in its place is counterbalanced by a deep valley in another. Whatever the case may be, this statement confirms that the mountains are directly related to the balance and stability of the Earth. It is the natural domain of scientific study to identify and prove how this stability and balance are achieved. We take from the Qur’anic text its fine touch inviting us to contemplate the facts.
Let us now follow the magnificent aspects of God’s creation in the wide universe: "We have cut out there broad paths, so that they might find their way." The pathways made in the mountains in the shape of depression between its high barriers and adding their usefulness in finding a traveler’s way describes what actually takes place. However, it has another subtle implication that refers to faith. It may be that they will find their way to accepting the faith just as they find their way in mountain paths.
"And We have set up the sky as a well-secured canopy." In Arabic, the sky refers to everything that is above us. We see above us something like a ceiling. The Qur’an states that the sky is a well-secured canopy. It is secure from letting in any defect in the fine and elaborate arrangement of the universe, and secured from being contaminated with impurity, since it symbolizes the height from which God’s revelations are bestowed. But "they stubbornly turn away from all its signs."
Finally, a reference is made to time and place phenomena that are very close to man and his life on Earth: "It is He who has created the night and the day and the sun and the moon: each moves swiftly in its own orbit."
We will be discussing this statement next week, God willing.