Hubble’s Law
For thousands of years, astronomers wrestled with basic
questions concerning the universe. Until the early 1920’s, it was
believed that the universe had always been in existence; also, that the size of
the universe was fixed and not changing. However, in 1912, the American
astronomer, Vesto Slipher, made a discovery that would soon change astronomers’
beliefs about the universe. Slipher, noticed that the galaxies were moving
away from earth at huge velocities. These observations provided the first
evidence supporting the expanding-universe theory.[1]
Before the invention of the telescope in 1608, man could do
little more than wonder about the origin of the universe. (Courtesy: NASA)
In 1916, Albert Einstein formulated his General Theory of
Relativity that indicated that the universe must be either expanding or
contracting. Confirmation of the expanding-universe theory finally came
in 1929 in the hands of the well known American astronomer Edwin Hubble.
By observing redshifts[2] in
the light wavelengths emitted by galaxies, Hubble found that galaxies were not
fixed in their position; instead, they were actually moving away from us with
speeds proportional to their distance from earth (Hubble's Law). The only
explanation for this observation was that the universe had to be expanding.
Hubble’s discovery is regarded as one of the greatest in the history of
astronomy. In 1929, he published the velocity-time relation which is the
basis of modern cosmology. In the years to come, with further
observations, the expanding-universe theory was accepted by scientists and
astronomers alike.
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With the Hooker Telescope, Hubble discovered that the
galaxies were moving away us. Above are photos of known galaxies.
(Courtesy: NASA)
Yet, astonishingly well before telescopes were even invented
and well before Hubble published his Law, Prophet Muhammad used to recite a
verse of the Quran to his companions that ultimately stated that the universe
is expanding.
“And the heaven We created with might, and indeed We are
(its) expander.” (Quran 51:47)
At the time of the revelation of the Quran, the word “space”
was not known, and people used the word “heaven” to refer to what lies above
the Earth. In the above verse, the word “heaven” is referring to space
and the known universe. The verse points out that space, and thus the
universe, happens to be expanding, just as Hubble’s Law states.
That the Quran mentioned such a fact centuries before the
invention of the first telescope, at a time when there was primitive knowledge
in science, is considered remarkable. This is more so considering that,
like many people in his time, Prophet Muhammad happened to be illiterate and
simply could not have been aware of such facts by himself. Could it be
that he had truly received divine revelation from the Creator and Originator of
the universe?
The Big Bang Theory
Soon after Hubble published his theory, he went on to
discover that not only were galaxies moving away from the Earth, but were also
moving away from one another. This meant that the universe happened to be
expanding in every direction, in the same way a balloon expands when filled
with air. Hubble’s new findings placed the foundations for the Big Bang
theory.
The Big Bang theory states that around 12-15 billion years
ago the universe came into existence from one single extremely hot and dense
point, and that something triggered the explosion of this point that brought
about the beginning of the universe. The universe, since then, has been
expanding from this single point.
Later, in 1965, radio astronomers Arno Penzias and
Robert Wilson made a Noble Prize winning discovery that confirmed the Bing Bang
theory. Prior to their discovery, the theory implied that if the single
point from which the universe came into existence was initially extremely hot,
then remnants of this heat should be found. This remnant heat is exactly
what Penzias and Wilson
A microwave map of the leftover from the Big Bang that gave
birth to the universe. (Courtesy: NASA)
It is mentioned in the Quran:
“He (God) is the Originator of the heavens and the earth…”
(Quran 6:101)
“Is not He who created the heavens and the earth Able to
create the likes of them? Yes; and He is the Knowing Creator. His command
is only when He intends a thing that He says to it, ‘Be,’ and it is.” (Quran
36:81-82)
The above verses prove that the universe had a beginning,
that God was behind its creation, and all that God needs to do inorder to
create is to say “Be,” and it is. Could this be an explanation as to what
triggered off the explosion that brought about the beginning of the universe?
The Quran also mentions:
“Have those who disbelieved not considered that the heavens
and the earth were a joined entity, then We separated them, and made from water
every living thing? Then will they not believe?” (Quran 21:30)
Muslim scholars who have explained the previous verse
mention that the heavens and earth were once one, and then God caused them to
separate and form into the seven heavens and Earth. Yet, due to the
limitations of science and technology at the time of the revelation of the
Quran (and for centuries to follow), no scholar was able to give much detail
about how exactly the heavens and earth were created. What the scholars
could explain was the precise meaning of each word in Arabic in the verse, as
well as the overall meaning of the verse.
In the previous verse, the Arabic words ratq and fataq are
used. The word ratqcan 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 verb fataq 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. The sprouting of a seed from the soil is a good example of a
similar illustration of the meaning of the verb fataq.
With the introduction of the Big Bang theory, it soon became
clear to Muslim scholars that the details mentioned with regards to the theory
go identically hand in hand with the description of the creation of the
universe in verse 30 of chapter 21 of the Quran. The theory states that
all the matter in the universe came into existence from one single extremely
hot and dense point; that exploded and brought about the beginning of the
universe, matches what is mentioned in the verse that the heaven and Earth
(thus the universe) where once joined together, and then split
apart. Once again, the only possible explanation is that Prophet Muhammad
had truly received divine revelation from God, The Creator and Originator of
the universe.
Footnotes:
[1] The
First Three Minutes, a Modern View of the Origin of the Universe, Weinberg.
[2] When
the light an object emits is displaced toward the red end of the spectrum.
(http://bjp.org.cn/apod/glossary.htm)
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