The Universe, A Reflection (1)
"I will continue my own journey, o young man. Will you be okay?" said the coachman while they reached the yard of an observatory. The young wayfarer replied, "I'm good. Thank's for taking me to this place!"
A man came out from the observatory door, apparently he was an observer. The coachman said, "Well, young man, see you again, soon!" Then he clucked loudly, the chariot began to move slowly.
The man, who actually was an observer from observatory, said, "Welcome young man, finally, you arrived!" The young wayfarer smiled, "How are you uncle?" The obeserver said, "I'm find , come in, I'll take you to see around."
A few moments later, "O young man, the heavens are more splendid in their structure and in the subtlety of their building than man's body; all the wonders of the earth are little compared to those of the heavens, " said the observer, then he said, "You know what! The Qur'an often mentions the planets, the sun, the moon, and ail the wonders of their creation, of which men can but discern a small part. Time and again, the Qur'an would swear by these bodies, such in Surah Ash-Shams[91]:1-1, "By the sun and its brightness, and [by] the moon when it follows it."
Allah uses certain creations of His as signs that speak of His Lordship and Oneness. When Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala swears by any of His creations, he does that on account of the significance and wonder that object represents, pointing to His power. The more remarkable and compelling as a sign, the more a particular creation is used as an object of oath in comparison with other creations. The wording of the oath will also be emphatic in this case.
Allah compliments, in His Book, those who contemplate the creation of the heavens and the earth, while He reviles those who fail to do that. Now, let us then consider the handiwork of Allah in creating the heavens, their loftiness, roundness, and vastness; the excellence of their structure; the wonders of the sun, the moon, and planets; their dimensions and shapes; the variety of their risings and settings. No atom separates from a mass without there being wisdom in it. The heavens are more splendid in their structure and in the subtlety of their building than man's body; all the wonders of the earth are little compared to those of the heavens."
The young wayfarer said, "Wait uncle, I wonder, what was created first?" The observer said, "O young man, fear Allah! knowing that you shall not truly fear Allah and attain religious knowledge until you believe in Allah Unique and in predestination both good and bad. According to at-Tabari, the first thing created by God is the Pen. He refers to the statement of Ibn 'Abbas that Allah was on His Throne upon the water before He created anything, and the first (thing) that Allah created was the Pen. According to Ibn 'Abbas, "The first thing created by Allah is the Pen. Allah said to it: Write!, whereupon the Pen asked: What shall I write, my Lord? Allah replied: Write what is predestined! He continued. And the Pen proceeded to (write) whatever is predestined and going to be to the Coming of the Hour. Then, Allah lifted up the water vapor and split the heavens off from it.
According to Ibn Kathir, the opinion of the majority of scholars. according to what has been transmitted by Al-Hafiz Abul 'Ala 'Al-Hamdani and others, is that the Throne was created before, and this is what was narrated by Ibn Jareer at-Tabari via Ad-Dahhak, on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas, as proven by the hadeeth narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh, in which it was reported on the authority of 'Abdullah Ibn 'Amr Ibn AI-'As ~ that he said : I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Allah ordained the measures of the creation fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the Earth - while His Throne was over the waler." They said that this taqdeer was His writing of the measures with the Pen . This hadeeth proves that this took place after the creation of the Throne, so it is confirmed that the creation of the Throne preceded that of the Pen, with which the measures were written - and this is the opinion of the majority of scholars.
The hadeefh of the Pen must therefore be understood to mean that it was the first of the created things in this world, and this is supported by the narration of AI-Bukhari, on the authority of Imran Ibn Husain that he said: The people of Yemen said to the Messenger of AlIah (ﷺ) , "We have come to you to leam the Religion and to ask you about the beginning of this universe." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "There was Allah and nothing else before Him." In another narration, he said, "There was nothing else with Him ... " In a narration transmitted elsewhere, it was reported that he said, "His Throne was over the water and He wrote everything in the Record: and He created the heavens and the Earth." In another version, it was reported that he said. "Then He created the heavens and the Earth." They asked him about the beginning of the creation or the heavens and the Earth and that is why they said: "We have come to you ... to ask you about the beginning of this universe." So he (ﷺ) answered only what they had asked, which is why he did not inform them about the creation of the Throne.
According to Ibn Kathir, the word 'Arsh (Throne) in Arabic refers to the throne of a king, and so it is a seat, which has legs that are borne by the angels and it is like a dome over the world and the ceiling of creation. AI-Hafiz Ibn AI-Hafiz Muhammad Ibn 'Uthman Ibn Abi Shai bah wrote in his book "The Descriplion of the Throne on the authority of one of the Salaf, "The Throne was created from a red ruby and the distance betwcen its two sides would take fifty thousand years to traverse."
The distance between the Throne and the seventh Earth would take fifty thousand years to traverse and its breadth is also fifty thousand years. It has been established in an authentic hadeth in Saheeh Al-Bukhari from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) that he said: "When you ask Allah for Paradise, ask for AI-Firdaus, because it is the highest and best place in Paradise and above it is the Throne of the Most Beneficent."
It has also been reported in one tradition that "The inhabitants of AI-Firdaws listen to the groaning of the Throne and it is its glorification and extolling of Allah ." And th at can only mean that they are near to it. Abu Dawood narrated on the authority of Jabir Ibn 'Abdullah that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: "1 was permitted to speak about one of the angels of Allah, the Almighty, the All-Powerful, who is one of the bearers of the Throne and (to tell you) that the distance between his earlobe and his shoulder is a journey of seven hundred years." It was also narrated by Ibn Abi 'Asiim with this wording, "(The distance is) like that of a bird flying for seven hundred years."
And it is reported on the authority of Ibn ' Abbas and Sa'eed Ibn Jubair that they said regarding the Words of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala in Surah Al-Baqarah[2]:255, "His Kursi extends over the heavens and the Earth. and He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them. And He is the Most High, the Most Great." It means, 'His Knowledge.' But what is known from Ibn ' Abbas is that he said, as reported by AI-Hakim in Al-Mustadrak (authentic, though mawqoof), "The Kursi is the Footstool and no one is able to properly estimate the Throne except Allah, the Almighty, the All-Powerful."
In authentic hadeeth reported by Ibn Jareer At-Tabari in his Tafseer, Ibn Zaid said, "My father told me that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, " In respect to the Kursi, the heavens and the Earth are no more than seven dirhams thrown into a shield."
Abu Dharr said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying, "The Kursi in relation to the Throne is no more than a ring of iron thrown into an open desert on Earth."
The young wayfarer asked, "O uncle, what about the creation between the heaven and the earth?" The observer said, "O young man, I am faqir of the knowledge of Allah, I convey according to what I have heard and not for debate, all of these should be strengthen our faith. What I am conveying is incomplete, therefore ask the competent scholars." The young wayfarer said, "Tell me what you have heard!" The observer said, "According to Ibn Kathir, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta 'ala says in Surah Az-Zumar 39:62, "Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is, over all things, Disposer of affairs." So everything besides Allah was created by Him, is under His Dominion and His Disposal, and was brought into being, having previously not existed. The Throne, which is the ceiling of all created things, including everything that lies beneath the Earth and all that exists between it and the Throne - whether animate or inanimate - all of it is His Creation, His Kingdom, His slaves and all are under His Subjugation and His Power and they are subject to His Disposal and His Will. And He, Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says in Surah Al Hadid[57]:4, "It is He who created the heavens and earth in six days and then established Himself above the Throne. He knows what penetrates into the earth and what emerges from it and what descends from the heaven and what ascends therein; and He is with you wherever you are. And Allah, of what you do, is Seeing." Scholars of tafseer hold two different opinions regarding the measure of these six days: The majority holds that they are like our (earthy) days. It is reported on the authority of lbn 'Abbas, Mujahid, Ad-Dahhak and Ka'b Al-Ahbar that: "Every day of them is equivalent to a thousand years of your reckoning. "
Ibn Jareer also reported sayings relating to the first days. He narrated, on the authority of Muhammad Ibn Ishaq, that he said, "The followers of the Torah say that Allah began the creation on Sunday, while the followers of the Injeel say that Allah began the creation on Saturday while we Muslims, according to what has come to us from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) hold that Allah began the creation on Saturday." It was reported in a hadeeth on the authority of Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Allah created the soil (or clay) on Saturday."
The Earth was created before the heavens, because it is like a foundation for the structure, Allah says in Surah Fussilat[41]:9-12, "Say, "Do you indeed disbelieve in He who created the earth in two days and attribute to Him equals? That is the Lord of the worlds. And He placed on the earth firmly set mountains over its surface, and He blessed it and determined therein its [creatures'] sustenance in four days without distinction - for [the information] of those who ask. Then He directed Himself to the heaven while it was smoke and said to it and to the earth, "Come [into being], willingly or by compulsion." They said, "We have come willingly. And He completed them as seven heavens within two days and inspired in each heaven its command. And We adorned the nearest heaven with lamps and as protection. That is the determination of the Exalted in Might, the Knowing." And Allah also says in Surah Ghafir[40]:64, "It is Allah who made for you the earth a place of settlement and the sky a ceiling and formed you and perfected your forms and provided you with good things. That is Allah, your Lord; then blessed is Allah, Lord of the worlds." And Allah know best!"
Now, reflect then on the greatest of roofs, the heaven, and its solidity, strength and cohesiveness, despite its being mere smoke, or water vapour. Look, then, at that sublime structure, strong and overarching, raised by the Lord to such a lofty place, and adorned by the most spectacular adornment, and abounding with so many wonders and signs. All this was first begun from water vapour which rose like smoke.
He did lay down for His creatures various landmarks, and erected for them compelling signs, and made clear for them the most evident of pointers, so that those who are destined to perish should perish by clear proof of His sovereignty, and those who survive should survive by clear evidence; for Allah is the Hearer, the Knower.
Look, then, afresh at the sky. See its planets in their orbiting, rising and setting; its sun and moon, and diverse rising points and setting points, their tireless unceasing progress, without slowing down their movement or deflecting from their orbits. They run along their predestined orbits exactly as was designed for them, until the day their Maker wills to call them back. Notice the great number of stars and planets, their dimensions and their colours; some reddish, some whitish, and some greyish.
Look now at the progress of the sun in its orbit during a year, and its rising and setting every day along a route that its Lord determined for it, so that it will never exceed it or fail short of it. Had it not been for its rising and setting we would not have known day from night, nor would it be possible for us to know time. There would be permanent darkness over the world, or there would be eternal light; it would not be possible to assign a time for sleep and rest and another time for work.
Then, think of the moon and its amazing wonders: how Allah exhibits it first as a narrow thread, then its light increases gradually, and it waxes night by night, until it waxes into a full moon, when it reaches its maximum phase; then it begins to decrease in size until it reaches its first phase. In all this, there are diverse benefits for humans in their living, worship and rituals; it is the basis for calculating months and years. Mankind has used it to organize things, besides many other benefits that no one but Allah can keep count of.
In general, no star or planet is created by Allah without many good reasons: its particular dimensions, colour and location in the heavens, its proximity or remoteness from the zenith of the sky, its proximity or remoteness to the star or planet next to it are all determined for precise purposes. To have a sense of that in general, compare the facts of the sky to the organs of your body: the diversity, the difference in structure of the adjacent organs, and the distance of the far ones; their shapes, dimensions, and variety of benefits and functions, contrasting all that with the enormity of the sky and hugeness of its stars and planets and signs! Astronomers are agreed that the sun is more than a hundred and sixty times bigger than the earth, that many of the stars that we see are at least as big as the earth, which is enough to imagine their remoteness and height.
(Part 2)
