Creation of the universe. Part1.The big bang explained in the holy Quran. The universe is not eternal; it is created.

 

Holy Qur'an is the words of Allah, the Creator of the universe, as a guidance to the mankind. The Holy Qur'an is the last among the holy books, revealed to the last Prophet, Muhammad (peace be upon him). The Qur'an has existed without any change for more than fourteen hundred years.

The Holy Qur'an teaches that only Allah, the Lord of the worlds, is to be worshiped, it gives glad tidings to those who believe and do good deeds about the Paradise and warn the transgressors about the Hell. Qur'an is neither a science textbook nor is it meant to teach us science. But, since the Qur'an was revealed by Allah, the Lord of the worlds, there can be no scientific error in it. Strictly speaking, there should be nothing in the Qur'an that contradicts the scientific facts proven by science. 

This is a simple attempt to understand the verses of the Qur'an related to the origin of the universe and to examine its scientific accuracy.

Since ancient times, man has been trying to figure out how and when the universe had begun. Many wise men like Aristotle, thought about the universe as something without a beginning or an end. 

 The 'Steady state theory' was a scientific theory developed in 1948 by Fred Hoyle, Thomas Gold, and Hermann Bondi. Proponents of this theory have argued that the universe has no particular beginning or end. This theory was later proved wrong on the basis of clear evidences against it. 

The Big Bang theory is the theory accepted today by the scientific community, regarding the origin of the universe. Today, the Big Bang theory is more than a theory, it's a scientifically proven fact. 

The universe came to existence about 13.8 billion years ago. There was nothing before that. No earth, no stars, no space, no matter, no energy. It can not even be called emptiness, because there is no place for emptiness. An explosion in this state of nothingness is only a quantum mechanics possibility. In ordinary language it is not easy to explain. But scientists remind us not to expect things like the origin of the universe to be understood in terms of our everyday experiences.

The Big Bang is the beginning of the creation of the universe and time. There is no space-time before the Big Bang. The Big Bang is when the universe has suddenly begun to form out of nothing. 

That is what the Holy Qur'an stated 1400 years back.

بَدِيعُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ وَإِذَا قَضَىٰٓ أَمْرًۭا فَإِنَّمَا يَقُولُ لَهُۥ كُن فَيَكُونُ

To Him is due the primal origin of the heavens and the earth: When He decreeth a matter, He saith to it: "Be" and it is.

(Surat:2, Verse:117). 

The Arabic word bada' means to make something new that did not exist before. The word bid'ah, بدعة which is familiar among Muslims, is derived from this same root word bada'. Bid'ah is the creation of something new that is not in religion.

 The Arabic phrase "badi'u samawati wal ardh " بَدِيعُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ' literally means Samavat and Ardh were created out of nothing. Samavat ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ is the plural form of Sama' ٱلسمآء. 

In translations it is usually translated as sky or heaven. In the language of the science, the word sama' means the universe or space-time or the cosmos.

 Chapter 67 of the Holy Qur'an states in the fifth verse of Surah Al-Mulk. 

ولقد زينا ٱلسمآء ٱلدنيا بمصبيح 

We have adorned the nearest (Sama') heaven with some lamps (stars) 

(Surat: 67, Verse: 5)

The Qur'an describes the nearest Sama' as being adorned with stars. The Qur'an refers to this universe of stars as the first heaven or Sama' dunya ٱلسَّمَآءَ ٱلدُّنْيَا. This refers to the observable universe. So according to holy Quran the earth and the lowest heaven which is adorned with stars is the observable universe we know. 

To be continued in sha Allah..