Aliens in the Quran

This will be long, but I promise you it will be worth it.

Blue = Important
Red = Quran verse
Green = Title

Let's get right to it;

In Sura 42,Verse 29 (42:29) of the Quran,we are told, "Among His (God's) signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth,and the living creatures that He has scattered through them :and He has power to gather them together when He wills." Before proceeding further,a point or two must be noted.The word "sama",translated "heavens", is also the Arabic for "sky". One may object that the verse refers to creatures in the sky (which would be birds), not in the heavens. However,birds are mentioned separately from creatures of the heavens in 24:41, "Seest thou not that it is God Whose praise all beings in the heavens and on earth do celebrate,and the birds (of the air) with wings outspread?..." In a note to 42;29, Muhammad Asad states, "In the Quran, the expression "the heavens and earth" invariably denotes the universe in its entirety."

Sura 27:65 commands, "Say: None in the heavens or on earth, except God, knows what is hidden: nor can they perceive when they shall be raised up (for Judgement)." This shows that, like humans, there are other creatures in the universe that will also be raised from the dead. We are told in 19:93-96," Not one of the beings in the heavens and the earth but must come to (God) Most Gracious as a servant. He does take an account of them (all), and hath numbered them (all) exactly. And everyone of them will come to Him singly on the Day of Judgement. On those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, will (God) Most Gracious bestow love." From these verses we learn that there are alien lifeforms that, like us, will also be judged according to the works that they do during their lives. Among them are the believers. Therefore, naturally, there will also be those aliens who are unbelievers. The believers will be rewarded. The lifeforms being described in the above verses can hardly be expected to be microorganisms. The Quran is referring to creatures of a level of development that makes them morally accountable beings.They must be organisms possessing qualities which we would ascribe to intelligent lifeforms.

Where can Aliens be found?

Knowing that aliens,including intelligent lifeforms exist elsewhere, our next question would be, "Where do they live? "Scientists naturally expect them to live on planets. They look for other planets around other stars- planets that have the right conditions to harbour life- in other words, other Earth's. In October 1995, scientists announced the discovery of the first extrasolar planet around the star 51 Pegasi. Since then, there have been a string of discoveries of other planets.

In Sura 65:12, we are informed, "God is He Who created seven heavens and of the earth a similar number..." This verse, although usually translated properly, is very commonly misinterpreted by commentators. They give their interpretation that space is divided into seven zones, and likewise, as Yusuf Ali puts it, "the crust of the earth is built up of geological strata one above another". This interpretation arises due to a misunderstanding of what a "heaven" is as mentioned in the Quran. Before continuing further about the topic of aliens, it is necessary to clear up this confusion. The answer can be deduced from verses in the Quran itself and comparing them with our current scientific knowledge about the universe.

Sura 21:30 asks, "Do not the unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of creation), before we clove them asunder?..." Sura 41:11-12 tell us, "Then turned He to the heaven when it was smoke, and said unto it and unto the earth: come both of you, willingly or loth... Then We ordained them seven heavens... and inspired in each heaven its mandate; and We decked the lowest heaven with lamps..." and Sura 71:15-16,"See ye not how Allah hath created seven heavens in harmony, and hath made the moon a light therein, and made the sun a lamp?" Sura 51:47 informs us, "And it is We who have built the universe with (Our creative) power; and verily, it is We who are steadily expanding it." Asad, comments on the above verses as follows: about 21:30, "...the above unmistakable reference to the unitary origin of the universe- metonymically described in the Quran as "the heavens and the earth"- strikingly anticipates the view of almost all modern astrophysicists that this universe has originated as one entity from one single element, namely, hydrogen, which became subsequently consolidated through gravity and then seperated into individual nebulae, galaxies, and solar systems, with individual parts progressively breaking away to form new entities in the shape of stars, planets and the latter's satellites"; about 41:11, he explains the word "smoke" as, "a gas- evidently hydrogen gas, which physicists regard as the primal element from which all material particles of the universe have evolved and still evolve..." and says about the verse, "explaining this passage, Zamakhshari observes: "The meaning of God's command to the skies (heavens) and the earth to "come"... is this: He willed their coming into being...""; for 41:12, he explains "seven heavens" as,"a multiplicity of cosmic systems"; about 51:47 he says,"the phrase "inna la-musi'un" clearly foreshadows the modern notion of the "expanding universe"- that is, the fact that the cosmos, though finite in extent, is continuously expanding in space." Finally, three more verses need to be referred to- 50:38, "And verily We created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them... and naught of weariness touched us", 21:104, "The Day when We shall roll up the heavens as a recorder rolleth up a written scroll. As We began the first creation, We shall repeat it. (It is a promise binding) upon Us. Lo!We are to perform it" ,and 14:48, "One day the Earth will be changed to a different Earth,and so will be the heavens...".

From the verses above, we learn this from the Quran: a heaven is a material entity which arose from the same material as the earth originated from. Initially, there was one gaseous mass. A cleavage process occured resulting in the making of the "seven heavens" and "all that lies between them". The sun, moon and earth are constituents of a heaven. Therefore, a heaven must be larger than a star (sun). When the end of the universe is at hand, the heavens, which till then were in an expanding universe (51:47) will come together. Then, the way our present universe came into being, in a similar manner, a new creation will come into being, containing other heavens and another earth. Any astronomer reading these verses can tell you that there is only one entity that fits the description of a heaven in the Quran- a "heaven" in the Quran must be referring to a "galaxy". According to modern science,the universe arose from a singularity, at the Big Bang, and has since, been expanding. From a primordial gas cloud arose hugh fragments from which the galaxies and their clusters arose. Today, the galaxies are moving apart from each other in space. They are separated by intergalactic space in which may lurk invisible dark matter, making up to 90% of the total mass of the universe. If there is sufficient dark matter, at some time in the future, the universe will stop expanding and enter a contraction phase in which the galaxies will finally come close together in a Big Crunch marking an end to the present universe. The universe would have returned to a singularity state similar to that from which the present universe arose. Then, once again, scientists predict, a new universe may rebound from the singularity of the Big Crunch, as another Big Bang gives rise to a universe with its own galaxies and planets etc. Verses in the Quran agree amazingly with our current ideas about the universe!

The purpose of our lengthy divergence from the main topic of this article was to prove that the "seven heavens" are not zones into which the universe is divided, but large astronomical entities, the galaxies. Some people have interpreted a heaven as being a solar system. However, while this view may seem appropriate for some verses, it does not tally with all the verses.

The Quran mentions the creation of seven heavens. Asad explains that, "...as regards the "seven heavens", it is to be bared in mind that in Arabic usage... the number "seven" is often synonymous with "several". I have shown that the heavens are the galaxies and we can see that millions of them exist. Even if we assume that the heaven are some other astronomical objects that arose from the primary gas cloud, they definitely are not literally seven in number, but in the millions.

The relevance of this to our discussion on aliens is that the Sura 65:12 tells us that, as God has created "seven Heavens", He has created, "of the earth a similar number..." Therefore, as there are millions of galaxies, God has also created millions of Earth's scattered throughout the universe. Usmani comments on 65:12, "The Earth's as well, He created seven (Usmani thinks literally seven. We know it actually means "many"), as given in the Tradition of Tirmizi etc. It is possible they are not visible, it is possible they are visible ,but people think them to be stars or planets, as the scientists of today have predicted the possibility of life on Mars etc...". An important thing to point out in 65:12 is that God does not use the word "worlds", but specifically, "Earth". An 'Earth' would be a planet that harbours life. Scientists also often speak of looking for other Earth's. They mean not just any planet, but one sustaining or capable of sustaining life. In his book, The Bible, The Quran and Science, Maurice Bucaille writes, "...it comes as no small surprise to the reader of the Quran to find that Earth's such as our own may be found in the Universe...".

We have finally arrived at the Quran's answer as to where aliens can be found. They inhabit the millions of Earth's that God has created among the millions of heavens (galaxies) in the universe. The Quran therefore, gives us a magnificent view of the universe- a universe teeming with life, a place that the late astronomer Carl Sagan described as a "cosmic fugue, with themes and counter- points, dissonances and harmonies, a billion different voices playing the life music."

Will we ever discover Aliens?

So far, we have learnt from the Quran that extraterrestrial life, including intelligent life, exists throughout countless earths in the universe. But this is not sufficient to satisfy our curiosity. We want scientists to actually discover aliens. Only after we have found incontrovertible scientific evidence that aliens exist, will our (unbelieving) hearts see that the Quran was correct all along. Will we see an Alien, face to face?

To get some idea on this matter, we must return to Sura 42:29. We are told over there that the scattering of living creatures in the heavens and the earth is a "sign". What is a sign? Sura 6:104 says,"Momentous signs have come to you from your Lord. He that sees them shall himself have much to gain,but he who is blind to them shall lose much." Sura 6:109,"They solemly swear by Allah that if a sign be given them they would believe in it." Sura 7:73,"A clear proof has come to you from your Lord. Here is Allah's she-camel:a sign for you." Clearly, a sign is something which we can see, or at least, experience with our senses. Otherwise, it would not be a sign. Some signs are those that God showed to humans in the past. Other signs remain for God to show us in the future- "Soon we will show them Our Signs in the (furthest) regions,and in their own souls,until it becomes manifest to them that this is the Truth" (41:53).

THERFORE, SURA 42:29 CONTAINS A PROPHESY THAT A TIME WILL INDEED COME IN THE FUTURE WHEN HUMANS WILL DISCOVER ALIENS.

In Sura 55:33-34, we are addressed, "O ye assembly of Jinn and men! If it be you can pass beyond the regions of the heavens and the earth, pass ye! Not without authority will ye be able to pass! Then which of the favours of your Lord will ye deny?" Why does God ask us to go into space? There must be some purpose. Maybe it be for us to fulfil some grand destiny in store for our species- maybe to become a galactic race, a respectable part of the galactic community of civilizations. Maybe, it is our travels in space that may lead to our encounter with aliens and fulfil the prophesy in 42:29. Only time will tell. In anticipation of the time when we become space-travellers, we are told in Sura 29:22, "Neither on earth nor in heaven shall you be beyond reach:nor have you any guardian or helper besides Allah."

To reach other civilizations, we must be capable of feasible interstellar transport. Might we one day be capable of undertaking such a voyage? Sura 16:8 says, "And (it is He Who creates) horses and mules for you to ride... and He will yet create things of which (today) you have no knowledge." The latter part of this verse is often translated in the present tense but as Asad points out, "The use in this context, of the aorist "yakhluqu" implies the future tense ("He will create"). Since this reference to God's continuing creation comes immediately after a mention of primitive means of transport, it obviously relates to other- as yet unknown- things of the same category: that is to say, to new means of transport which God unceasingly creates through the instrumentality of the inventiveness with which He has endowed man's mind." Therefore, it is possible that we may one day make the spacecraft required for interstellar travel. After all, God Himself has encouraged us to, "pass beyond the regions of the heavens".