STAGE 1 THE BIG-BANG
أَوَلَمْ يَرَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓا۟ أَنَّ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ كَانَتَا رَتْقًۭا فَفَتَقْنَـٰهُمَاۖوَجَعَلْنَا مِنَ ٱلْمَآءِ كُلَّ شَىْءٍ حَىٍّ ۖ أَفَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
Do the disbelievers not realize that the heavens and earth were ˹once˺one mass then We split them apart? And We created from water every living thing. Will they not then believe? Surah Anbiya( 21:30)
The word ratqan can be translated into “entity” “sewn to” “joined together” or “closed up”. The meaning of these translations all circulate around something that is mixed and that has a separate and distinct existence.
The word fafa taqna is translated into “We unstitched” “We clove them asunder” “We separated” or “We have opened them”. These meanings imply that something comes into being by an action of splitting or tearing apart.
STAGE 2: TRANSFORMING FROM MATTER AND LOOSE ENERGY INTO PLANETS AND STARS CLUSTERS
۞ قُلْ أَئِنَّكُمْ لَتَكْفُرُونَ بِٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلْأَرْضَ فِى يَوْمَيْنِ وَتَجْعَلُونَ لَهُۥٓ أَندَادًۭا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ رَبُّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِين.( Surah Fussilat 41 )
Ask ˹them, O Prophet˺, “How can you disbelieve in the One Who created the earth in two periods? And how can you set up equals with Him? That is the Lord of all worlds.
(Firstly when it shot away like a fiery ball from the Cosmic matter and secondly, when it cooled off sufficiently to become habitable).
وَجَعَلَ فِيهَا رَوَٰسِىَ مِن فَوْقِهَا وَبَـٰرَكَ فِيهَا وَقَدَّرَ فِيهَآ أَقْوَٰتَهَا فِىٓ أَرْبَعَةِ أَيّ سَوَآءًۭ لِّلسَّآئِلِين( Surah Fussilat 41.10)
He placed on the earth firm mountains, standing high, showered His blessings upon it, and ordained ˹all˺ its means of sustenance—totaling four periods exactly for all who ask.
ثُمَّ ٱسۡتَوَىٰٓ إِلَى ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَهِيَ دُخَانٞ فَقَالَ لَهَا وَلِلۡأَرۡضِ ٱئۡتِيَا طَوۡعًا أَوۡ كَرۡهٗا قَالَتَآ أَتَيۡنَا طَآئِعِ( Surah Fussilat 41 : 11 )
Then He Istawa (rose over) towards the heaven when it was smoke(Dukhan/gas nebulae) and said to it and to the earth: “Come both of you willingly or unwillingly.” They both said: “We come, willingly.”
(“Thumma”) which means “Then”.Whether cosmic bodies enter their orbits voluntarily or involuntarily, it means they have lost their ability to exercise free choice and have been reduced to obeying divine laws.
The first and primordial stage of matter, which existed before the universe formed and was dispersed throughout space in a formless, dust-like state, is represented by the smoke, or dukhaan, that is implied here.
The same thing that modern scientists refer to as nebulae is also how they understand the origin of the universe: prior to creation, the stuff that formed the universe was dispersed into nebulous forms resembling smoke.
فَقَضَىٰهُنَّ سَبْعَ سَمَـٰوَاتٍۢ فِى يَوْمَيْنِ وَأَوْحَىٰ فِى كُلِّ سَمَآءٍ أَمْرَهَا ۚ وَزَيَّنَّا ٱلسَّمَآءَ ٱلدُّنْيَا بِمَصَـٰبِيحَ وَحِفْظًۭا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ ٱلْعَزِيزِ ٱلْعَلِيمِ (Surah Fussilat 41: 12)
So He formed the heaven into seven heavens in two Days, assigning to each its mandate. And We adorned the lowest heaven with ˹stars like˺ lamps ˹for beauty˺ and for protection. That is the design of the Almighty, All-Knowing.”
The earth was created in two days, and the Earth was spread in two days as well, as is explained above. So in a total of four days, the earth and its provisions were completed.
In actuality, there is no distinction between the two days of the creation of the planet and the two days of the creation of the cosmos. If we look at the following passages, we will notice that Allah created the seven heavens in two days after mentioning the creation of the earth and the heavens both together. The entire cosmos is implied by these seven skies, of which our planet is a part.
Then, as this world began to take on the shape of a distinct globe in just two days, just like the innumerable stars and planets in the universe, Allah started preparing it for living things and in four days provided all those provisions that are described in the verse above. Allah has not revealed what advancements were made in the other stars and planets during these four days, nor has He mentioned the man who lived during the time the Quran was revealed—even the man of today is incapable of fully processing and assimilating this knowledge.
From the beginning of creation to the Resurrection, Allah prepared the whole food supply on earth perfectly and precisely to meet the needs and wants of every type of creature that He would create. Numerous types of vegetation can be found both on land and in water, and each type has different nutritional needs from other types. There are innumerable species of living things that Allah has made in the air, on land, and in the sea, and each species has a certain nutritional requirement. Then, apart from all of these is the human species, which needs a variety of foods not only for the growth and feeding of his body but also for the gratification of his taste.
Who, except Allah, could predict how many of the various species would exist on this planet from the beginning of time to the end, when and where they would be born, and how much and what sort of food they would need to survive? In the same way that He had planned the creation of those creatures in His creation blueprint that required sustenance, He likewise prepared all the necessary provisions for food to satisfy their needs.
(20:50) He replied, “Our Lord is He who creates and shapes everything, assigns its role and guides it aright.”
Now reflect on Allah’s method of creation. Smoke was the matter of the universe, dispersed and spread. Allah intended for it to have the current form of the cosmos. He only needed to give the order for the universe he had in His mind to come into being—that is, for the smoke, or diffused matter, to take on the shape of the galaxies, stars, and planets that He wished to create—instead of sitting down like a human artisan and chiseling and molding the earth, moon, sun, and other stars and planets.
This matter lacked the ability to defy Allah’s command. It took no effort on Allah’s part to give it the universe’s shape. As soon as the order was given, matter began to obediently contract, condense, and take on the shape of its Master, preparing the entire universe, including Earth, for its intended purpose.
This same scheme of Allah’s method of creation has been described at several other places in the Quran like this: When Allah decides to do something He only commands it to “Be’ and it is done.
(Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayat 117); (Surah Aal-Imran, Ayats 47, 59); (Surah An-Nahl, Ayat 40); (Surah Maryam, Ayat 35); (Surah YaSeen, Ayat 82), (Surah Al-Mumin, Ayat 68.
UNIVERSE IS EXPANDING
“And the heaven We created with might, and indeed We are (its) expander.” (Quran 51:47)
Surah Adh-Dhariyat
Since no one knew what “space” was at the time the Quran was revealed, people referred to what is above Earth as “heaven.” The known universe and space are referred to as “heaven” in the verse above. The verse highlights the fact that, in accordance with Hubble’s Law, space and the cosmos are expanding.
In 1916, Albert Einstein proposed his General Theory of Relativity, which proposed that the universe could either expand or contract. However, it wasn’t until 1929 that Edwin Hubble, a renowned American astronomer, provided concrete evidence for an expanding universe.
It was discovered via Hubble’s studies that galaxies were not motionless. Hubble discovered that galaxies were not stationary but rather were moving away from one another and from us at velocities that were proportionate to their distances from the earth by measuring redshifts in the light wavelengths that they emitted.
According to Hubble’s Law, this indicated that the cosmos was expanding in all directions. The universe had to be expanding in order to account for this finding. In essence, the cosmos was growing over time.Finally, Einstein theorized it, and Hubble confirmed it—the universe is expanding!
This image of NGC 5468, a galaxy located about 130 million light-years from Earth, combines data from the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes. This is the farthest galaxy in which Hubble has identified Cepheid variable stars. These are important milepost markers for measuring the expansion rate of the universe .NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Adam G. Riess (JHU, STScI).