FAQ in the category of Universe

Allah the Almighty, Who is the Maker of the universe and of all beings in it, created the universe for very significant purposes. Quran informs this as follows:

"Not for (idle) sport did we create the heavens and the earth and all that is between." (Anbiyya Surah, 21:16)

"Not without purpose did we create heaven and earth and all between" (Sa Surah, 38:27)

All beings glorify and magnify the Exalted Creator with their languages. They fulfill the tasks with a pleasure and enthusiasm, which are assigned to them. For example, the sun, without falling behind even a second, moves around the orbit, which has been drawn for it. Rivers enthusiastically flow into seas. Animals, which have been given under the command of man, serve him with an absolute obedience.

Besides, if the universe had not been created, the never-ending perfection and beauty of the names and attributes of Allah Almighty would have never been known. This would have only been known by Allah (SWT). By manifesting the spiritual beauties of His names and attributes, Allah Almighty, besides beholding His own Beauty and Perfection on His own works, also wished to give a share to angels, man, and jinn from this honor and bestowal.

Regarding the question of whether to create the beings or not to, Allah (SWT) made His Divine preference for creation, and this preference has become an interminable mercy for all creatures. Or else it is unthinkable that Allahs, one of Whose names is Samed (everything is in need of Him but He is in need of nothing), creation of this universe stems from a necessity.

The meaning of the related verse:

It is not permitted to the Sun to catch up the Moon, nor can the Night outstrip the Day: each (just) swims along in (its own) orbit (according to Law). (Yá-Sín-40).

That the sun moves… It revolves around its own orbit. And this is with the permission of the all powerful and all knowing God.

This is no doubtlessly one of the most evident confirmation of the presence and power of the God. The Quran consolidates the issue with MUSTEKAR AND TERCİ having more than one meaning and shedding light on the works of the scientists. It is because that the word permanent meaning stability indicates to time and place and also it has the infinitive form. Furthermore, that it is used with the letter LAM gives it other meanings and help us draw various inferences. It is such that that part of the clause points to five different meanings and inspire us to contemplate deeper about the system. As for the verb “TERCİ”, it derives from the word occurrence; and is mostly known as flow or circulation.  

As understood from the explanations above, the verse designates some meanings and decrees, and becomes a good sample of telling plenty of meanings with a few words.

a) The sun revolves around its own orbit

b) It keeps its motion till an appointed time within the laws it depends.

c) It moves regularly in a certain area in accordance with the laws to which it bounds.

d) The sun revolves in stability in the domain planned to be allocated for it.

It is worked out from the first interpretation that the sun revolves around its own orbit. From the second one is realized that the sun will continue its motion and provide us energy till an appointed time.

Out of the third commentary is comprehended the sun is not moving in an aimless, arbitrary way or without any purpose but rather it is in action on a regular basis, planned and programmed way and will regularly keep on providing us its light.

The sun, from the last interpretation, is grasped to be in movement between two centers together with other planets that depend on it instead of staying steady at a certain point.

We can figure out from this sublime style of explanation that the Quran has been revealed by a divine source and always leads to the sciences of all ages. While majority of the people in the age the Quran was revealed used to spend their lifetime in an absolute ignorance, some would worship for the idols, some had belief in the sun or moon or other inanimate beings. No sound observation about sun or moon was done. For this reason, some of them assumed the sun as God and some thought the moon as an animate being. Particularly in Arabian Peninsula, there used to be no any school or Islamic theological school. The Arabian people were aggressive, ignorant and depopulator. That the Quran provided to those people such a knowledge which constitutes the basement of the present science and gives light to the ongoing inventions and scientists proves that it is neither the words of a human being nor the work of a human mind but rather all of its verses are Divine.

Thus, the attributes of God All Knowing and Glorious are indicated in the last part of the verse making up our subject. It is such that it is stated the Quran is beyond the power of human being by stressing out that God Almighty is all-powerful and all-knowing.

The stations measured for the moon

“And the Moon,- We have measured for her stations (to traverse) till she returns like the old (and withered) lower part of a date-stalk. (Yasin 39)

The motion, orbit and route of the moon are absolutely different from that of sun. Some stations have been measured for the moon. The station points toward a place to live and a distance to go. Therefore, the Quran says the moon turns not around itself but around both the world and the sun together with the world, the shadow of the world each day comes in a certain rate between the sun and moon sends it to a new station.

That the Quran gave explanations sheding light on the developing science while there was no serious knowledge or reseach about the moon is an obvious proof for the fact that the Quran is divine book and it is, in terms of this feature of it, leading to all ages.

The sun can never catch up the moon

“It is not permitted to the Sun to catch up the Moon”

The moon and sun continue their movements within different orbits. It is not a matter of question to strike and to violate the boundaries of each other. It is because the moon is the satellite of the world and close to it. It is too remote from the sun. It has its own course.

God Almighty, by this means, let us see two major important points and illustrates those who are intending to make scientific investigations by supplying them both basic information and the starting point to begin. First point indicates that there is a distance between moon and the sun, the second points to that the moon and the sun moves within separate courses.

We had better stress out the fact again the Quran giving the clearest and the most dependable data fourteen centuries ago is not a work of man. It is because there was not any sound and clear investigation about the moon and sun in those times. In the Arabian Peninsula, majority of the people leading a tribal life were illiterate.

Thus, we tried to prove the existence, unity and power of God and Muhammad (pbuh) is a true prophet through the verse forming the frame of our topic. At the same time it gives the basic data for those wishing to make scientific searches. It is impossible to claim the otherwise.

“Nor can the Night outstrip the Day”

We know the reason why the day and nighttime came about. And yet Quran gives us the gist with a little explanation by pointing out a very important issue. That is, the earth surface has been maintaining its revolving from east to west since its creation and the daytime is followed by nighttime. Then, it is out of question the night comes before the daytime since the world cannot be thought of turning reverse that is to say it cannot keep on following a course from east to west. By drawing our attentions to this truth, the Quran brings proofs for the fact that it is the words of God Almighty and it points out the truth that Quran goes in front of all civilizations by bringing light on the scientists.

In this sense, at the very beginning of the verse Ya-sin, the topic is discussed by taking oath on the Quran incorporated with science and wisdom and by referring to its qualities. In addition to this, it is designated that Muhammad (pbuh) is a true prophet.

Sources:  Celal Yıldırım, İlmin Işığında Asrın Kur’an Tefsiri, Anadolu Yayınları: 10/5049-5051.

For further information, also you can read the article given bel

39. And the Sun runs unto a resting place: that is the decree of (Him), the Exalted in Might, the All-Knowing.

39. And the Moon,- We have measured for her stations (to traverse) till she returns like the old (and withered) lower part of a date-stalk.

40. It is not permitted to the Sun to catch up the Moon, nor can the Night outstrip the Day: each (just) swims along in (its own) orbit (according to Law)

Quran wants to give its addressees the message that there is a perfect and drawback-free order in the universe. And this order and system related with every aspect of them are verifying the unity of God. One sample of this is the movement of the sun. This movement can be around itself. It can be around the world, it can be as solar system, or it can be in a speed 18 km per second or more within the Milky way which contains the sun. The verse has such a sentence structure that it is possible for it to mean all of these meanings. And yet what important at this point is the idea of order included in all probabilities. The sun which is miraculous, sturdy, tremendous and talented servant of God can not cause any problem or disharmony despite its incredible movements each of which is taking place in various courses.

The word “sun” is the name of a star around which the members of earth and solar system turn and solar system is one of the star systems contained in milky way. And as for Milky way, it is just one of the galaxies whose numbers are almost limitless. The explorations in the field of astronomy say that the sun in terms of both greeatness and brightness is at average, and ordinary one but as it is the closest star to the earth surface, it looks greater and brighter.

The importance of the sun stems from that it is the planet around which our world revolves and it is the source of light and heat necessary for maintanance of life in earth. It is the source of natural gas, petrol and coal like the food all humanity need. The climate cases in the atmosphere, winds and rains all come about thanks to solar energy; the circulation of the water on the ground is possible with solar energy; green plants photosynthesize through it.

As for the moon the single satelite tied to world, it reflects little light that it receives from the sun, by this means it illuminates the darkness of night of the world. Also, both sun and moon are very important in terms of counting the dates and making calender. In short, the importance of both derives from their relevance with the world that is to say with the whole humanity.

The sun and moon have always attracted the attention of mankind due to their being eye catching and their significance in his life, and even they affected the religious systems to such an extend that they had such an impact that some people divinised them.

In the middle age iconography, it is observed that the sun was used as a symbol of Christ. In the Romanesque art, Jesus was associated with time determining sun and described as a sun disc.

The researches about pre-Islamic Arabic history point out that the Arabic people worshipped for the sun in a variety of areas in the Arabic peninsula and this situation extended over before Christ age. And these observations show that the religion of ignorance age was based on the worship for the stars, all of these god names originated from the names “moon father”, “sun mother” and their daughter “Venus”. And the culture of sun used to be common amongst the Arabic people of ignorance age. (Look: Cevâd Ali, el-Mufassalfî târîhi'l-Arab kable'l-İslâm, VI, 50-57) Therefore, this finding can be said to comply with the verse:

37: Among His Sings are the Night and the Day, and the Sun and the Moon. Prostrate not to the Sun and the Moon, but prostrate to Allah, Who created them, if it is Him you wish to serve. Fussilat

While the Quran is touching to the sun and moon, it intends to grip the attentions towards the vastness of God’s knowledge and these are His works of art and His blessings on mankind. Thus, at the end of the 38th verse, this point is emphasized. That almost all the verses discussing the places, movements and significances of both sun and moon in the universe are, according to majority, Meccain show that the main reason about discussion of these subjects are to clear away all false beliefs and to suggest being a good servitude to Almighty God.

While the Quran is touching to the sun and moon, it intends to grip the attentions towards the vastness of God’s knowledge and these are His works of art and His blessings on mankind. Thus, at the end of the 38th verse, this point is emphasized. That almost all the verses discussing the places, movements and significances of both sun and moon in the universe are, according to majority, Meccain show that the main reason about discussion of these subjects are to clear away all false beliefs and to suggest being a good servitude to Almighty God.

The data of the astronomy, astrophysics and solar physics highly improved recently are also important in terms of Quran investigations which have currently gained a new speed, and it strengthens the possibility of reviving the implied two-way improvement. These are good indications of that investigators working in these fields don’t conceal their admirations for the greatness of the book of universe and direct the gazes towards the underlying power of that book and by this, the areas of thoughts and science must be consolidated with a divine book authenticity of which cannot be questioned.  

We can summarize all of these as follows: the sun moves:a) Until an appointed time for it (that is to say till the doomsday)

b) Around a certain fixed position peculiar to itself

c) For the benefit of realm which is the station of it

d) Towards a point determined for it

e) In accordance with a law to which it has been appointed not with randomly or by a blind chance 

f) So as to bring a stability and balance to its own realm,

g) In order to stop and calm down at the end

h) To finalize its daily and yearly movement.

In the illustrations of the doomsday in the Quran and hadiths, it is discussed about the breaking down the present order of the sun and even it will be wrapped, and besides this, it has been confirmed by the scientific researches that each star has got a limited lifetime.

By the verse “It is not permitted to the Sun to catch up the Moon” ( ya-sin:40), it is emphasized that the sun and moon have got so vital impacts both on the mankind and earth, and these cannot go beyond their limits, all are subject to the laws established by the power and wish of the God.

This sentence was commented as “neither of its lights does look like each other” or “once one of its luminosity arises, the other’s light disappears”

The reason here why the verb “to reach” was employed for the sun can be that the moon finishes turning its course within one month and the sun completes its revolving around the world in one year. The interpretation of Razi for the verse “nor can the Night outstrip the Day” means that the night in question stands out the moon, and the daytime represents the sun. The intended meaning here is that might and command of the moon can never outstrip the strength and influence of the sun.

God Almighty appointed some stations for the moon travelling in the heavens. Though the moon receives its light from the sun, the first day it rises, it seems very small then, it gets bigger and then again becomes smaller. While the sun carries out its duty in the daytime, the moon does its task in nighttime.

God All Besought One informs us that the order and harmony in the universe are provided by Him and this is a very evident of His presence and might by stating the functions of the sun and moon are different from each other, and though the day and night follow each other, one never exceeds the other. (Kuran Yolu, interpretations ofthe verse Yasin 38, 39, 40)

Have you ever thought of rain? In what way? We can think several aspects of rain.

Let us have a look at how it rains.

Raindrops are 6 mm. in diameter. They are never any bigger. They never touch one another while raining. Something dropped from above increases its speed due to the effect of gravity; however, a tiny raindrop falls at a fixed speed, virtually challenging gravity. This event has several vital reasons. If a raindrop dropped in accordance with the law of gravity from a few thousand meters, it would fall on earth like a bullet. 

Fast, piercing and destructive…

Leaving aside the hundreds of wise activities in the formation of rain, we want to ask the following questions:

1- Who arranges the size of raindrops? Who prevents them from becoming bigger?

2- Millions of raindrops do not touch one another while falling down toward the earth despite the effect of the wind. Who (What powerful being) prevents them from touching one another?

3- Raindrops fall at a fixed speed despite the law of gravity. Who (What merciful being) do not allow them to fall like bullets?

4- Raining like this necessitates a doer.

Then, who sends down rain wisely and gives life to the earth with rain?

There are creatures outside the world, too. However, those creatures are luminous creatures. In Shari'ah (Islamic law), they are called angels or spiritual beings.

The world or earth’s surface is mentioned as “al-Ard” in the Qur’an and it is also stated that and all prophets beginning with Hazrat Adam were sent to the earth. It is stated in the hadith Mir’aj (ascension) that there are ranks belong to prophets such as Abraham, Idris and Jesus Christ (Isa) at some parts of the heaven. In the verses of Surah al-Isra 44 and at-Talaq 12, it is also mentioned that the earth as well as heavens are seven layers. However, it is not clearly stated that whether those layers consist of seven layers of the earth, seven continents or seven climates.  

However, even if there are planets that are suitable for living other than the world in which we live there are no verses or hadiths about the existence of creatures like human beings who are obliged and responsible.

It is known that there are eight or eleven planets according to the latest information acquired other than the world but there is not any religious or scientific document regarding the existence of such a living species.

On the other hand, there is a truth that should not be ignored; our world, which is an old planet, consists of living creatures that have spirit, intelligence and mind; similarly, there are spiritual creatures living in other planets, stars and heavenly bodies based on the living conditions, structures and locations of those places. Badiuzzaman Said Nursi explains the issue as follows:

The globe of the earth is the home of these infinite numbers of beings endowed with consciousness and spirit, despite its insignificance and density among the lofty heavenly bodies and planets, and even its grossest and most rotten particulars becoming masses of micro-organisms when they cease as sources of life, necessarily, demonstrably, decisively indicates, testifies to and proclaims that infinite space and the majestic heavens with their constellations and stars are full of animate beings, conscious beings, and beings with spirits. The Illustrious Shari‘a of Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) and the Qur’an of Miraculous Exposition call these beings, who are created from fire, light, and even from electricity, and from other subtle flowing matter, “The angels, the jinn, and spirit beings.” (The Words - The Twenty - Ninth Word - First Aim)

It is understood easily that the One who created those worlds do not need His creatures in any way if one thinks with an intention to know Allah and to find the truth sincerely. Such unfounded and imaginary questions arise from not knowing Allah as the Noble Quran describes Him, from considering superficially and confusing the Necessarily Existent Ones Essence and attributes with those of the creatures through a wrong comparison. We will first answer the question briefly in the light of an example and then begin explaining it.

A need cannot be considered for the suns manifestation in the mirrors, its enlightening them and giving radiance to them for neither its essence nor its heat, light and colors in lieu of its attributes. That is, whether the sun manifests in the mirrors or not, its perfection and beauty are like the ones in its essence. Its perfection will not be diminished if there are no mirrors and in the same way, the existence of the mirrors does not increase its beauty and perfection.

All of the benefits and advantages in the suns manifestation of its heat and light belong only to the mirrors. They are in need of the sun in order to attain light and get rid of darkness. Otherwise, there is no difference for the sun between their remaining in the darkness and their being enlightened. That is, as their remaining in the darkness is not a defect for the sun, their lightening does not provide an increase in its perfection, either.

If the mirrors were intelligent and conscious, what could they add to the perfection of the sun and what need of the sun could they provide by knowing, loving and praising it? Or what imperfection could they give the suns reputation by rebelling against it? For example, what benefits could the sun have by its giving light to the plants and the animals? What imperfection could be considered for the sun by not giving them? Of course, both the loss and the benefit are in question for the plants and animals.

Almighty Allah who is the Possessor of Absolute Riches did not create that universe and the beings in it, God forbid, because of His need. An increase in the perfection of His Essence and Attributes cannot be considered by His creation of those; there would be no imperfection in His boundless perfection if he had not created them, either. Yes, all of the perfections, beauties, benefits and fineness emerging by their creation are for those creatures. For example, all benefits in the constructing of the vault of heaven being gilded by countless stars and the adorning of the earth by multicolored flowers under out feet are for us, human beings.

Almighty Allah is not in need of the beings coming into existence from nonexistence, nor the praises of the angels nor worshipping and obedience of the human beings. Whether they exist or not, He is the Absolutely Worshipped One worthy of praise and not having any similar, peers and equals in His Divine Essence.

Let us discuss the details of our answer now:
Let us express right now that at the beginning of the question, although it is accepted that Almighty Allah is not in need of anything, a need is assigned to Allah by asking Why did He create the universe, then? For that reason, we will first explain that Almighty Allah is not in need of anything and He is Self-Sufficient, above any need of anything; and then we will emphasize the reasons of the creation of this universe briefly.

Allah is Self-Sufficient, both with His Divine Essence and with attributes, and is in need of nothing.

There has been no increase in His sublimity and grandeur by His creation of the creatures; if He had not created them, there would have been no decrease in His dignity and perfection.

As the verse: Certainly, Allah stands not in need of any of the Alamin (the worlds). The Quran,The Family of Imran (Aal-Imran); 97 (3: 97) states, Almighty Allah is not in need of any thing of the worlds. There is no degree, stage above his endless perfection, dignity and grandeur that he would –God forbid- attain that degree through creating the worlds.

The absolute existence and the absolute perfection belong to him in pre-eternity. As his perfection is endless in pre-eternity, then his perfection will be endless in post-eternity, too. The pre-eternal and absolute perfection cannot be considered to decrease or increase. It is certainly impossible for Him to gain a perfection from the creatures He has created and He will create and it is certainly impossible for Him to be in need of His creatures; He stands not in need of creating or not creating the being things. Every created being takes its perfection from Him. The perfection of the creatures is a pale shadow in relation to the perfection of His Essence.

As Badiuzzaman states, All the perfections of the Glorious Fashioner, the Beauteous Maker, the Perfect Creator are true perfections; they are essential and what is other than Him cannot affect Him. They can only be recipients.

Certainly, as all of the worlds come into existence by His creation, they also obtain all their needs from His inexhaustible treasure and take all their perfection from His sacred and pre-eternal perfection.

People asking that question are also unaware of the following fact:
The sacred Essence of Almighty Allah is not of the same kind as the universe. The essence of Almighty Allahs existence is necessary and essential and His non-existence is impossible. The existence of the creatures is possible; their existence or nonexistence is under possibility; they have reached to the world of existence by getting out of non-existence through His creation. Then, the entire self-sufficiency is only peculiar to Allah, and the need is for the creatures.

This truth is declared in Risale-i Nur through an eloquent and laconic style:
His existence is essential, it is pre-eternal, it is post-eternal, its non-existence is impossible, its cessation is impossible; it is the most firmly rooted, the most sound, the strongest, and the most perfect of the levels of existence. In relation to His existence, the other levels of existence are like extremely pale shadows. The degree of Necessary Existence is so stable and real, and contingent existence is so insubstantial and pale that many of those who have investigated creation, like Muhyi al-Din al-Arabi, have reduced the other levels of existence to the level of delusion and imagination; they said: There is no existent save Him. That is, it must not be said of other things that they have existence in relation to the Necessary Existence. They stated that they are not worthy of the title of existence.

Like Allahs essence, His attributes are also self-sufficient and free from all kinds of needs. His attributes are essential; they are in endless perfection and absolute. As an increase in the perfection of those attributes by creating the creatures cannot be considered, an imperfection in them cannot be regarded by not creating them.

One of Almighty Allahs attributes is life. The life of that Most Sacred Essence is perpetual, pre-eternal and post-eternal. His life at the present and in post-eternity is just like His life in the pre-eternity. All life levels emerge through the manifestation of His sacred life. Certainly, that Eternally Living and Self-Subsistent cannot be considered to be in need of the living creatures that He has created and has met all their needs and has had them attain perfection.

Another attribute of Allah is knowledge. The knowledge of that One Knowing of All Things is endless and absolute. His knowledge has not attained perfection by creating the universe. The knowledge of that All-Glorious Ruler in the post-eternity is the same of His knowledge in the pre-eternity. All of the plans and programs, wisdoms and benefits, prosperities and abundance are the manifestations of that pre-eternal knowledge. Certainly, that pre-eternal knowledge cannot be considered to be in need of those manifestations.

One of Almighty Allahs attributes is Power. The power of the One Powerful Over All Things has endless perfection. Everything is in need of that pre-eternal power to exist, continue and endure. Creating the creatures or not creating them do not cause any changes in His absolute power. All created beings are under His power and are in need of His power, and He is the ruler over all things and He has the power to do anything.

The other attributes such as Will, Hearing and Sight can be compared to those and it is understood clearly that Almighty Allah is free of all kinds of needs in terms of His attributes.

We have explained to a certain extent in our explanations up to that point that every thing is in need of Almighty Allah and Allah is in need of nothing.
Now, let us answer the question: Why did He create the universe, then?
The wisdoms and secrets in the creation of the universe are innumerable. First of all, let us explain that:

Almighty Allah is self-sufficient, in need of nothing; the existence and non-existence of the universe is equal for Him. Nevertheless, remaining in non-existence and being existent is not the same for the creatures. In other words, it is better for the possible things to come into the world of existence than remaining in non-existence in an infinite degree. Because, non-being is pure evil; and being is pure goodness, honor and perfection. Then, all of the goodness, benefits and profits in the creation of the creatures belong to them. Almighty Allah did not leave them in non-existence for those benefits and profits pertaining to the creatures and brought them into the sphere of existence by His beneficence and generosity. That is, He chose existence, which is good for them, not non-existence which is evil for them.

As for the reasons of the creation of the universe, they can be considered in two aspects:

The first pertains to Almighty Allah, and the second one pertains to the living creatures, especially to the conscious and intelligent ones.

The First Reason:
The most important reason of the creation of the universe is the wish of Allah to see His immaterial beauty and perfection Himself; in other words, His wish to see the wonders of His power, the wideness of His richness, the fruits of His benevolence, the manifestations of His compassion and clemency in the mirrors of the beings in the universe.

Yes According to the fact: It is a most basic rule that infinitely perfect beauty and infinitely beautiful perfection want to behold themselves and show and exhibit themselves, Almighty Allah wanted to behold His infinite beauty and perfection in the mirrors of the beings and wanted to manifest His infinite attributes and His Asma al-Husna (the most beautiful names) and He willed to create this world.

Whether Allahs attributes manifest or not, they are infinitely perfect. However, the perfection of His Asma al-Husna demonstrates itself through the creation of the beings.

Yes, as Almighty Allah has an infinite power, then His Pre-eternal power desires such a magnificent, mighty world for manifestation. Since that All-Glorious Essence has an infinite knowledge, that knowledge necessitates the writing of that book of universe which has thousands of wisdoms and benefits in its every letter, line and page. As all Divine attributes necessitate the creation of that universe, all of the al-Asma al-Husna also necessitate the creation of those beings having distinct beauties, different natures and separate figures. For example, the name of the Creator desires the creation of the creatures, the name of the Giver of Life desires the creation of the living beings, the name of the Provider desires giving sustenance, the name of the Generous desires generosity, and the name of the Gracious desires giving favor.

As Almighty Allah loves His infinitely perfect Essence, His sacred attributes and His Asma al-Husna, He also likes the manifestation of His names, that is, their manifestations over the beings. That necessitates the creation of the universe. As Allahs loving His own Essence, attributes and names is a reality, His desire for the manifestation of His names is also a reality. Certainly, it is more favorable His demonstrating His favor, generosity, bestowal, favor in the universe through creating it than not creating it. For example, the bestowal of a king different kinds of jewels and bounties in his treasure is better than keeping them in his treasure. Like that, it is better for a scholars having others benefit from his knowledge to the sphere of power, making benevolence and bestowals to His creatures and having them behold and observe His beauty and perfection are certainly better than His leaving His creatures in non-existence.

As it is seen, because of that wisdom Almighty Allah created the universe palace and the human species which are guests in it and the saints and the prophets which are the most perfect individuals of it, especially the Most Noble Prophet (pbuh) who fulfilled the task of prophethood in the most perfect form.

Ustad Badiuzzaman states that truth as follows:

Since all God Almightys perfections and qualities and all the degrees in His Beautiful Names are true perfections, they are loved for themselves. The Glorious One, Who is the true beloved, loves His perfections, which are true perfections, and the beauties of His attributes and Names in a manner appropriate to Himself. And He loves the good qualities of His art and creatures, which are mirrors reflecting those perfections. He loves His prophets and saints, especially the Most Noble Beloved, who is the Lord of the Prophets and Prince of the Saints. That is, with His love for His own beauty, He loves His Beloved One, who is the mirror to that beauty. With His love for His own Names, He loves His Beloved One and his brothers who are comprehensive and aware loci of those Names manifestations. With His love for His art, He loves His Beloved One and those like him who are heralds and exhibitors of that art. With His love for His artefacts, He loves His Beloved One and those who follow him who appreciate and admire those artefacts and respond to them saying: What wonders God has willed! How beautifully they have been made. And with His love for the good qualities of His creatures, He loves His Most Noble Beloved One and his followers and brothers in whom are united the finest of moral qualities.

It must not be forgotten that, the love, pleasure and mercy of Almighty Allah is suitable for its sacred Essence and befits its divinity; they are free of being similar to the love and mercy of the creatures.

The Second Reason:
The second aspect of the reasons of the universe pertains to the intelligent and conscious creatures. It can be examined in two points:

The first point is the animate creatures being the recipients of Almighty Allahs grace and bestowal, beneficence and generosity as the declaration of the Sacred Hadith meaning: I have created the creatures so that they would benefit from Me, not that I would benefit from them. He has bestowed all animate creatures a perfection, a pleasure, effulgence and He has adorned them with several instruments to continue their lives and benefit from this world. He has given them different kinds of needs, desires and appetites. He has rendered the face of the earth a table full of several bounties to satisfy them. He has both given them pleasures and provided their continuation and immortality through the bounties in that table. He has adorned the human beings with valuable tools such as intelligence, imagination and memory and He has directed all His bounties towards them.

Allah of Mighty Stature cannot be considered to be in need of His creatures He has created them out of non-existence. If it is considered, such questions should be answered: What profits, workings or ideas of the creatures is He in need of? That is, which task of the Possessor of Absolute Riches do those animate creatures fulfill? Is Almighty Allah in need of their eating or drinking? Is He in need of their birth or death? Which deficiency of the universe do fishes complete by their swimming, birds by their flying, animals by their growing and increasing, humans by their scientific discoveries and progression and which -God forbid!- need of Almighty Allah do they meet? In fact, all living creatures live in His property and receive His beneficence every moment.

The second aspect of the creation of that world pertaining to the living beings and intelligent creatures is conscious creatures knowing of Allah and worshipping Him as the verse I created not jinn and mankind except that they might worship me. the Quran, The Winds that Scatter (Az-Zariyat); 56 (51:56) states.

Human beings acquire closeness to the only One Truly Deserving of Worship and the eternal bliss by fulfilling their duty of worshipping through glorification, exaltation, praise and thanks. Badiuzzaman states that truth as follows:

Be certain of this, that the highest aim of creation and its most important result are belief in God. The most exalted rank in humanity and its highest degree are the knowledge of God contained within belief in God. The most radiant happiness and sweetest bounty for jinn and human beings are the love of God contained within the knowledge of God. And the purest joy for the human spirit and the sheerest delight for mans heart are the rapture of the spirit contained within the love of God. Indeed, all true happiness, pure joy, sweet bounties, and untroubled pleasure lie in knowledge of God and love of God; they cannot exist without them. One who knows and loves God Almighty is potentially able to receive endless bounties, happiness, lights, and mysteries.

As it is seen from those expressions clearly, the sheerest joy and delight can only be obtained through the knowledge and love of Allah. Spiritual closeness to Allah can only be obtained through those. The honor, delight, perfection and benefit obtained by those pertain only to the servants. It is clear that Allah of Mighty Stature is not in need of His servants glorification, exaltation, worship and obedience.

If all beings worshipped Him, His perfection would not increase even the slightest degree and if they rebelled Him, His dignity and perfection would not decrease even a bit.

Let us complete the subject by the great Quranic commentator scholar Elmalili Hamdi Yazirs expression which is a signboard of contemplation and lesson:

Suppose that there are no humans on the earth as there are no humans on the moon. What would decrease from the presence of His sublimity because of that?

Light and heat spread out of His sun, moonlight reflects from his moon, He creates moon-faced beauties from dust, breaths giving roominess to our breasts spill out of His winds, He showers light from stars millions of year far away from the soils you have come from and you will be buried in, He rouses effects in the minute particles by several vibrations, He prepares sustenance from the plants growing at the top of the mountains; He opens chemistry laboratories in your breasts and wisdom sections in your minds, He lets rivers flow through your veins, He weaves several road networks surprising your minds, He hides riches in your muscles, He adorns your bodies by such and such wonders, He establishes the totality of the universe as an orderly machine with a unique harmony and He places power of excite inside you, He depicts necessary plans on your spirits and conscious, He bestows a treasure called mind, a reagent called intelligence, a tool called thought, a key called volition and He also gives you some kinds of sweet and bitter warnings, signs, tendencies, lusts in order to facilitate your using each of them in their proper places in accordance with their creation aims; as a greater blessing of His mercy, He sends instructions by the honest, confirmed, reliable guides openly and finally by operating the machines and showing His tests to you, He delivers the machines in your hands as a trust so that you use it in accordance with their creation aims and benefit from them.

Allah does all of those not because that He needs you, your wills, your assistance but in order to give you endurance by giving you a distinguished position and a particular authority among His creatures.

Do you ever consider your periods and stages of your bodies before you were born and after you were born? Do you ever conceive where you were, what you were in while that globe- where you take shelter, eat and drink, wander and walk around, enjoy yourself and find things which are remedies for your troubles, refuges to your fears, and find means which protect you against hot and cold, hunger and thirst, attacking and tormenting of wild animals and insects- was being built, its stones and earths were being heat-treated in the ovens of creation, its water and air were being distilled from stills in the chemistry laboratories of Power?

Allah the Almighty, Who is the Maker of the universe and of all beings in it, created the universe for very significant purposes. Qur’an informs this as follows:
“Not for (idle) sport did we create the heavens and the earth and all that is between.” (Anbiyya Surah, 21:16)
“Not without purpose did we create heaven and earth and all between” (Sa Surah, 38:27)
All beings glorify and magnify the Exalted Creator with their languages. They fulfill the tasks with a pleasure and enthusiasm, which are assigned to them. For example, the sun, without falling behind even a second, moves around the orbit, which has been drawn for it. Rivers enthusiastically flow into seas. Animals, which have been given under the command of man, serve him with an absolute obedience.
Besides, if the universe had not been created, the never-ending perfection and beauty of the names and attributes of Allah Almighty would have never been known. This would have only been known by Allah (SWT). By manifesting the spiritual beauties of His names and attributes, Allah Almighty, besides beholding His own Beauty and Perfection on His own works, also wished to give a share to angels, man, and jinn from this honor and bestowal.
Regarding the question of whether to create the beings or not to, Allah (SWT) made His Divine preference for creation, and this preference has become an interminable mercy for all creatures. Or else it is unthinkable that Allah’s, one of Whose names is Samed (everything is in need of Him but He is in need of nothing), creation of this universe stems from a necessity.

Further reading on this subject, please click on the link given below.

Why was Man Created? What Should Be His Purpose and Goal?

Alaaddin Başar (Prof.Dr.)

        Prof. Dr. Âdem Tatlı 

A fault does not exist in creation but it exists in the thoughts of atheists.

            Atheist biologists and positivist philosophers claim that man emerged coincidentally as a result of random natural events. According to them, man is not a perfect creature. He is a faulty living thing with some useless organs remaining from low-structured living things. They mean to say that if man were the work of a creator, it would be perfect, not faulty. 

100 years ago, atheist biologists listed about 150 organs that were useless hence, that were inherited from the previous ancestors of man. The appendix, epiphysis, pituitary glands and coccyx were among the most remarkable ones. However, the researches showed that they were not useless organs, on the contrary, they had some very important functions for the health of man; and they were removed from the list of unnecessary organs.[1>

However, some materialist biologists who regarded atheism as their profession continue to explain the existence of man with the positivist philosophy based on atheism. They regard some organs whose functions are not known fully as unnecessary. They cannot understand the existence of some illnesses that man suffers and they use this fact as evidence that there exists no creator and that man emerged coincidentally from low-structured living things. Some of their claims regarding the issue are as follows:

1. Children cannot pass gas for a few months when they are born,

2. The shortness of the Eustachian tube between the inner ear and the mouth in children causes inner ear disorders,

3. Urinary tract diseases are observed due to the shortness of the canal that connects the urinary bladder in children compared to adults,

4. The existence of penis foreskin,

5. Lack of vitamin D in human breast milk,

6. Tooth decay in man and the existence of wisdom tooth,

7. Osteoporosis,

8. Prostatitis observed in old people,

9. Uterine cancer and breast cancer observed in women,

10. Spine diseases,

11. Inguinal hernia observed in some people,

12. Incessant questions like why the Creator did not provide us with more kinds of fruit and vegetables although there are about 400.000 kinds of plants and why he gave us the tomato, peach, apple and orange in the form of wild fruit. 

            The summary of questions like: What is the wisdom and reason why all creatures primarily man was created? Scientific information cannot answer those questions. That is, questions like why man was created, why diseases were created cannot be answered by scientific information, that is, by laboratories, but by heavenly sources.    

Atheist thinkers answer those questions by adding some philosophical interpretations, and they present it as if it is scientific information through the gift of gab. What they do is uttering some theories and interpretations about metaphysics based on their own understanding and belief.  

Here, the fault does not lie in the creation of man but in the thoughts of the atheists, materialist philosophers and evolutionists who do not know Allah and the Prophet and who cannot be friends of Allah.

          Atheist thinkers regard themselves as officials appointed to arrange the world

According to atheist scientists, if there is a creator, diseases and faults like mentioned above and similar ones must not exist. The view that they put forward as “faults in the universe” is not something new. It has a long history. According to this view, if there were a designer that plans the beings in the world, then everything would have to be created faultlessly. However, some things do not take place as the evolutionists think. This view, which is defended by some atheist thinkers and positivist philosophers, is sometimes put on the agenda; some people want to use it as a scientific disguise for the view of denying the existence of divinity.[2>

Atheist thinkers regard themselves as if they are engineers appointed to arrange the structure and shape of the world; they regard systems and arrangements that are not deemed reasonable by their mind and reason as useless and unnecessary. One of them dares to say,

“Why are there not four hundred thousand kinds of fruit although there are four hundred thousand kinds of plants?” If there were four hundred thousand kinds of fruit, this time he would ask, “Why are there four hundred thousand kinds of fruit?” As a matter of fact, that atheist thinker puts forward another question and says, 

“If there is a creator, why does he give the fruit in the form of wild plants? Why does he not improve them?” He talks as if he would accept the existence of a creator if the fruit were as he wanted. You receive the title of a scientist by improving them; what job would you do if he Creator had given the fruit as improved fruit?  You do not ask any body about the arrangements you make in your small garden; why should Allah ask you what and how to do in the universe?

The universe is the property of Allah. He does what He wishes in his property. “Allah doeth what He willeth”[3>.

            Here, the duty of the scientist and scientific information is to study the structures and features of the beings. Questions like, “Who created them?”, “Why did He create them?” and “What is the wisdom behind their creation?” are answered by metaphysical and philosophical views not by scientific information. Here, some scientists present their views that are based on metaphysics and philosophy as scientific information through the gift of gab.  

He who does knows; he who knows talks

Specialization is important in every issue. The expert or the specialist knows an issue best. “He who does knows; he who knows talks.” It is a general principle. The producer or the programmer has the right to speak about the computer.

The report of two qualified engineers is valid for a building, not the view of a thousand doctors. The report of two doctors not the diagnosis of a thousand engineers is valid for a patient. Why? Because they are specialized in their professions. Atheist philosophers, materialist and atheist biologists do not have the right to speak about the aim and targets of creation and life in the hereafter.

Only Allah, who created man, His Messenger, who learned from Him and those who follow the Messenger of Allah can speak about the creation, nature and future of man because they are specialized in the issue.

The main issue underlying the questions above is the claim that the structure of the universe and especially man is not perfect but coincidental and faulty.

Here, the important question is this:

—What is the criterion for faultlessnes?

The perfection or faultiness of a being or tool depends on the aim it is designed for. for instance, the aim of producing a refrigerator is definite. The master that produces the refrigerator knows and informs others why it is produced and what it is designed for. If you think that the purpose of a refrigerator is to wash the laundry and look at it like that, you will find many defects in the refrigerator.

          According to atheist evolutionists, all of the desires and wishes of man, who will decay and disappear when he dies, must be realized in this world. According to them, man must never be ill and he must not have anything missing.   

However, taking into consideration the troubles while studying, taking exams, and in the process of nutrition and accommodation, the evaluation whether education is useful or useless for a student cannot me made while he is still a student because the aim has not been reached yet and it is not time for the fruit of the education yet. The fruit of the troubles experienced during the process of education is the diploma and the benefits brought about by that diploma.

The Creator informs us that He has planned all of the desires and wishes of man based on the life in the hereafter and that the life in this world cannot satisfy his wishes and desires. Therefore, it is wrong to evaluate man based on the life in this world because his talents and abilities in him will develop and their fruit will be received in the hereafter. The hardships, diseases and troubles suffered in this world may save the eternal life of a person. Therefore, the development of some abilities necessitates tests like disease, hunger, richness, poverty, and patience. The result of those tests will be seen in the hereafter.    

Allah reminds us in a verse that the life in the world is a place of play and amusement:

“What is the life of this world but play and amusement? But best is the Home in the Hereafter, for those who are righteous...”[4>

In another verse, He states that the life of the world is deceptive:

 “…The life of this world is but goods and chattels of deception.”[5>

“Then, for such as had transgressed all bounds, And had preferred the life of this world, The Abode will be Hell-Fire.”[6>

That is, the real life in the sight of Allah is the life in the hereafter. All of the feelings in man were given to him to gain the life in the hereafter and they were programmed in accordance with it. It is stated that this world is a place of trial and testing and hence there will be diseases and troubles here.

“And know ye that your possessions and your progeny are but a trial...”[7>

“Every soul shall have a taste of death: and We test you by evil and by good by way of trial.”[8>

“He Who created Death and Life, that He may try which of you is best in deed…”[9>

“Before thee We sent (Messengers) to many nations, and We afflicted the nations with suffering and adversity that they might learn humility.”[10>

“ And when I am ill, it is He Who cures me.”[11>

In a hadith the Prophet says, “Those afflicted with the severest trials are the prophets, then the saints and those like them.” Foremost the Prophet Job (Ayyub) (pbuh) and the other prophets, then the saints, then the righteous, have regarded the illnesses they have suffered as sincere worship, as gifts of Allah; they have offered thanks in patience[12>.

    If those who complain about tooth decay and prostatitis in man do not know Allah, do not fulfill His orders and do not know the Prophet, they have such a spiritual disease that the earth and the sky will tremble at the thought of it if they.

       The reason why man was created

      Allah states the aim of creation of man as worshipping and serving Him:

“I have only created jinn and men, that they may serve Me”[13>.

That is, the wisdom behind man’s being sent to this world is to know his Creator, to believe in Him and to worship Him. However, the aim and purpose of life for the materialists, atheist philosophers and evolutionists is the life in this world.   

According to materialist evolutionists, the aim of the creation of all living things especially human beings is to serve their own selves. However, if the wisdom behind the creation of man regarding himself is one, the wisdom regarding the Creator is ninety-nine.     

The owner of a house has the right to arrange his house however he wishes. He designs his house in a certain way based on some reasons. It is normal that we might not know the reasons why he designs his house in a certain way; similarly, there will be some reasons and aims known by Allah regarding the living things especially human beings that He created. We do not know fully the reasons why someone has made some arrangements in his house; similarly, we do not know the reasons why Allah, who is the Knower of All, the All Powerful, makes certain arrangements in the universe; does the fact that we do not know them mean that the beings in the universe are unattended?  

To regard that the universe is ownerless originates from the state of not knowing it well.

 

---

[1> Richard, M. Shattering the Myths of Darwinism. Trns. İ. Kapaklıkaya. Son Tartışmalar Işığında Darwinizm’in Mitleri. Gelenek Yayıncılık, İstanbul, 2003.

[2> Miller, K. R. Life’s Grand Design. Technology Review, February/March, 1994, p.29-30.

[3> Ibrahim, 27.

[4> al-An’am, 32.

[5> Aal-i Imran, 185.

[6> an-Naziat, 37-39.

[7> al-Anfal,28.

[8> al-Anbiya, 35.

[9> al-Mulk, 2.

[10> al-An’am, 42.

[11> ash-Shuara, 80.

[12> Nursi, B.S. Lem’alar. Sözler Yayınevi, İstanbul, 1976, p. 201.

[13> az-Zariyat, 56.

                                                                                                                                                                                           

According to the Quran, we can study the creation of man in two parts: the creation of Hazrat Adam and the creation of man in the womb. The creation of Eve should be added to the first one and the creation of Jesus should be added to the second one.

The verses in the Quran regarding the creation of Hazrat Adam (pbuh) are as follows: (3)

"Behold thy Lord said to the angels: ‘I will create a vicegerent on earth’." (al-Baqara 30).

"We created man from sounding clay, from mud molded into shape" (al-Hijr 26).

"He created man from sounding clay like unto pottery. (ar-Rahman 14)

"…Are they the more difficult to create, or the (other) beings We have created? Them have We created out of a sticky clay" (as-Saaffat 11)

"He Who has made everything which He has created most Good. He began the creation of man with (nothing more than) clay" (as-Sajda 7)

"Man We did create from a quintessence (of clay)" (al-Mu'minun 12)

"He it is who created you from clay, and then decreed a stated term (for you)" (al-Anam 2).

"From the (earth) did We create you" (Taha 55)

"Among His Signs is this that He created you from dust; and then Behold ye are men scattered (far and wide)!" (ar-Rum 20)

"... Iblis said "Shall I bow down to one whom Thou didst create from clay?" (al-Isra 61, al-Araf 12, Sad 76)

To sum up those verses, "Adam was created from clay" (al-Isra 61, al-Araf 12, Sad 76, as-Sajda 7),

"Them have We created out of a sticky clay" (Saffat 11)

" Man We did create from a quintessence (of clay)" (al-Mu’minun 12)

" We created man from sounding clay, from mud molded into shape " (al-Hjcr 26, ar-Rahman 14). (3).

Adam is a Hebrew word that means a being that emerged from soil; earth, dust; it is stated that Adam was created from mud, that is, a mixture of the soil and water; to put it more clearly, from sounding clay molded into shape; and he revived after the divine spirit was breathed into him:

"He Who has made everything which He has created most Good. He began the creation of man with (nothing more than) clay" (as-Sajda 7)

"But He fashioned him in due proportion, and breathed into him something of His spirit. And He gave you (the faculties of) hearing and sight and feeling (and understanding)" (as-Sajda 9) (3).

In fact, it is known that what constitutes the structure of not only man but also all living beings are the elements in soil and water and that the human organism consists of 30% inorganic and organic matter and 70% water. If that constitution is taken into consideration, it will be seen that the human organism consists mostly of water. Water gives the life. Similarly, plants, animals and everything come from the soil and return to it and become soil.  

The creation of man in the womb is stated as follows in the Quran:

"Has there not been over Man a long period of Time, when he was nothing--(not even) mentioned?― Verily We created Man from a drop of mingled sperm, in order to try him: so We gave him (the gifts), of Hearing and Sight. " (al-Insan,2).

"Then We placed him as (a drop of) sperm in a place of rest firmly fixed" (al-Mu'minun 13).

"Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood; then of that clot We made a (fetus) lump; then We made out of that lump bones and clothed the bones with flesh; then We developed out of it another creature: so blessed be Allah, the Best to create" (al-Mu'minun 14).

" It is He Who has created you from dust, then from a sperm-drop, then from a leech-like clot; then does He get you out (into the light) as a child: then lets you (grow and) reach your age of full strength; then lets you become old " (Ghafir, 67).

" O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise each other) " (al-Hujurat 13)

" That He did create the pairs male and female. From a seed when lodged (in its place); "(an-Najm 45-46)

" He it is Who shapes you in the wombs as He pleases.." (Aal-i-Imran 6)

" He has created man from a sperm― drop " (an-Nahl 4).

"And He has multiplied you through the earth" (al-Mu'minun 79)

" It is We who created you and gave you shape " (al-Araf 11)

" It is He Who has created man from water: then has He established relationships of lineage and marriage " (al-Furqan 54)

" Doth not man see that it is We Who created Him from sperm?" (Yasin 77)

" Seeing that it is He that has created you in diverse stages " (Nuh 14)

" Have We not created you from a fluid (held) despicable? The which We placed in a place of rest, firmly fixed. For a period (of gestation), determined (according to need)? (al-Mursalat 20,21,22)

"Was he not a drop of sperm emitted (in lowly form)? Then did he become a clining clot; then did (Allah) make and fashion (him) in due proportion. And of him He made two sexes, male and female. " (al-Qiyama 37,38,39)

" It is He who hath produced you from a single person " (al-Anam 98)

" From what stuff Hath He created him?  From a sperm-drop: He hath created him, and then moldeth him in due proportions; Then, doth He make His path smooth for him " (Abasa 18,19,20)

" We have indeed created man in the best of molds " (at-Tin 4)

" Proclaim! (or Read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created― Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood. (al-Alaq 1,2) (3).

Those verses, which express the formation of the fetus in the womb, are like the description of the embryological development. The study of the formation of the fetus in the womb and its phases of development determined by Keith Moore, Canada Toronto University Anatomy Professor, through the latest technological methods and comparing them with the verses of the Quran and hadiths is like the proof of the Quranic verses mentioned above and the hadiths of the Prophet of Islam.

A short answer can be given to question as follows: The universe is the property of Allah; incidents occurring in it are His Divine activities. Wherever we look from this point of view, our knowledge increases and we acquire the reward of contemplating.

The answer to the question is all the scholarly treatises written in the knowledge of this realm of living beings that are the manifestations of Divine attributes and names.

We will just give a short explanation here:

Man ponders; his mind focuses on a thought and eventually comes up with a result. The idea springs from the mind and he is the only one knowing it. He wants other people to benefit from his acquired spiritual fruit and so he writes it out. Therefore, the knowledge and the idea represent themselves via ink and paper. People, who are aware that neither both paper nor ink possesses knowledge, decree without hesitation and say this paper is the recipient of knowledge, knowledge can be read on it, each sentence of it gives out information. As a result of that evaluation, people look at him, appreciate, thank and congratulate him.

On the other hand, an impertinent group comes up. Once they read the book, they start to praise the paper. Do not say how it could be! Dont we face hundreds of examples of this occasion in the magazines or in the textbooks every day?
Do the ones who praise the farm by virtue of its products behave differently? Dont the anatomy books present a similar attitude to this example when they explain the subtle wisdoms of the human body in a dull style?
The book originates from knowledge; knowledge is the source, the book is the product.

Worshipping emerges from faith; faith is the source and worshipping is the product.

Charity springs from mercy; mercy is the source, charity is the product.
That vast realm of space originates from power (qudrah); power is the source, realms are the products.

Cells, nuclei, genes, atoms give report from wisdom; wisdom is the source, others are the products.

We can increase the examples and summarize it in a sentence:
Beings are the products, Divine attributes and names are the source s.
All of the scientists are honored by writing out what they have understood from the knowledge and wisdom of which the existing realm is a product; and they win science awards. However, some of them talk about understanding this realm without any inquiry about the source of manifested knowledge on the bloodless and unconscious beings and they are applauded.

However, if they think that they are trying to understand a wisely designed creature like them, and if they think where the meaning and the knowledge on themselves and on that creature come from, they will find the truth and reach the reality.

Rain is mercy and an indication of the manifestation of the divine mercy. Therefore, it can be said that the prayers are answered more at those moments. However, it cannot be said that each prayer will definitely be answered at those moments.

1- "Whenever Muslims plant a tree, they will earn the reward of charity because of the food that comes from it; and likewise what is stolen from it, what the wild beasts eat out of it, what the birds eat out of it, and what people take from it is charity for them" (Tacrid us Sarih trans. VII,122)

2- “If a Muslim plants a tree or grow grains and a bird, a person or an animal eats from it will be counted as a charity for him. (Tacrid us Sarih trans. VII,123)

3- “If any of you have a date sapling on the doomsday he should plant it -if possible.” (Bukhara, Edebu'l-mufred, (thk., Halid Abdurrahman), p. 138, Daru'l-Ma'rife, Beirut, 1966).

4- “Whoever plants a tree is rewarded by Allah as much as the produce grown in that tree.” (Tacrid us Sarih trans. VII,122)

5- Narrated Anas bin Malik: Allah's Apostle said, "There is none amongst the Muslims who plants a tree or sows seeds, and then a bird, or a person or an animal eats from it, but is regarded as a charitable gift for him."

GLOBAL WARMING
It is not right to reduce ayahs and hadiths that mention the signs of the Doomsday to a single subject and limit it. It can be said that those ayahs and hadiths contain lots of issues and may imply calamities like global warming.
The Prophet said in a hadith in which he mentions the features of the end of time:
When the world remains in “harj u marj”, when troubles appear, when the ways are blocked off, when some people attack others… (Kıyamet-Ahiret ve Ahirzaman Alametleri, p. 454)
The meaning of “harj u marj” in dictionary is “turmoil, disorder, unrest” and in the hadith it is said that it won’t be limited in a particular area and will prevail in all parts of the world. Blocking the ways and attacking of some people to others are counted as the signs of the age mentioned in the hadith.
The event mentioned above is mentioned in another hadith similarly. The Prophet who said “The apocalypse draws nearer and “harj” increases” was asked about the meaning of “harj” and he answered as “harj means killings”. (Kur'an ve Sünnette Kiyamet ve Ahiret, p.172)
Other hadiths that came to us about the issue are:
There exists anarchy and disorder days just near apocalypse. (Suyuti, Jami'üs Saghir, 3/211; Ahmad bin Hanbal, Musnad, 2/492)
The Doomsday will not come till these events happen… Deaths and massacres will be common… (Jamiu's-Saghir, 3:211, Musnad, 2:492, 4:391, 392:)
Examining the hadiths above, leads us to an important conclusion. The Prophet, with crashes, disorders and massacres He mentioned, describes the worldwide wars, terrorist attacks and different events about the world and states that these events are signs of apocalypse.
The modern war technology of our time, nuclear, biological and chemical weapons increased the effects of wars to a level that has never been seen in the history. It is also commonly accepted that the World cannot have a third world war because of mass-destruction weapons.
The ayahs about the issue contain lessons we are supposed to learn. Allah says in surah Al-Room that there were disorders in the world because of the actions of people.
Corruption has appeared in the land and the sea on account of what the hands of men have done, that He may make them taste a part of that which they have done, so that they may return. The Quran, the Romans (Ar-room); 41 (30:41)
It is worth to add that there is an important warning in the ayah. The sorrows, grieves and pains resulting from the faults of men are sort of opportunities for them to return from their mistakes.
In short, the time when the world is in “harj u marj” has been exactly lived in our time and a sign of apocalypse has came true in this way. At the same time, this sign has been an important warning for people to live in accordance with moralities of life.
As Doomsday approaches, big cities will be destroyed because of wars and calamities.
One of the pieces of information which The Prophet gave about end of time is: “Big cities will be destroyed as if they did not exist yesterday.” (Kitab-ul Burhan Fi Alamatt-il Mahdiyyil Ahir Zaman, p. 38)
Industry causes global warming which is a harmful and unwanted by-product; the balances in the world atmosphere which is gradually getting warmer and so climate changes take place. Calamities like hurricanes, storms, tornados, typhoons caused destructive damages in many places of the world especially in America. In addition to them, many settlements suffered from floods. Moreover, we did not forget about the damages caused by earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis. As a conclusion, the destruction in big cities caused by all those calamities has been an important sign. The most common definition for 20th century is “the century of calamities” Natural calamities like earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and civil wars, clashes and important sea accidents or plane crashes claimed lots of lives. Cities that were destroyed, people that went out of existence  are among the signs of the apocalypse mentioned in the hadiths. Allah says in the Quran: “Do they wait the Hour to overtake them unawares? Its signs have already come…” (the Quran Muhammad, 18)
The believers who believe in Allah sincerely, conscious of following the destiny, observed the appearance of the signs of the apocalypse with great curiosity and excitement for ages. They contemplated about the signs in ayahs and hadiths, tried to be ready for the instigations and troubles in the first times of the end-of-time and wished to live in the golden age about which they are foretold in advance. The time which we are in is the time in which most signs of apocalypse have fully appeared.  Present time witnesses the appearance of the heavenly signs successively and in accordance with the way they are described and witnesses the events that have never happened before. Without doubt, they are the most important events after the time of the Prophet. The global warming is one of those events. Evaluating those events with prejudice, ignoring or denying them is a great loss for those who think so.
It is clear that 21st century is the beginning of a new era in world history. The promise of Allah is an absolute reality. Nobody can prevent or change His promises. As it is in every issue, the wisest and the most beautiful statement is in the Quran. Allah says:
“And say:  “Praise is only for Allah, who will soon show you His signs so that you will recognize them.”…

People, in the every age and epoch have been always curious about the enormous universe in which we live.  How did it come into existence?  Where is it going?  How do the laws that provide the order and balance work?  For centuries, scientists and thinkers have carried out innumerable researches and produced a lot of theories.

The view that had prevailed till the beginning of the twentieth century was that the universe had infinite dimensions, that it had existed from pre-eternity and that it would exist forever.  According to this concept which is called “The Static Universe Model”, a beginning and an ending for the universe was not in question.    

This concept, which underlies the materialistic philosophy, considers the universe to be a static, stationery and unchangeable sum of substances.  It also negates the being of any Creator.   

While everything, even “the heavens and earths” which had not been created yet, was in one point, they were created with a big bang.  Then, everything was separated from one another, and they formed the current shape of the universe.  Materialism is a system of thought which regards matter as an absolute being, and does not accept the existence of anything except it.  Tracing back to the ancient Greeks, but, spreading especially in the nineteenth century, this system of thought became famous by the dialectical materialism of Karl Marx.    

As earlier noted, nineteenth century’s static universe model had provided ground for the materialistic philosophy.  Relying on this model of universe, the materialist philosopher Georges Politzer claimed in his book Principes Élémentaires de Philosophie, that the universe “had not been created” and said: "If it had been created, then, it would be  necessary that it should have been created by God at a particular time out of nothing."  

While Politzer claimed that the universe had not been created out of nothing, he relied on the nineteenth century’s static universe model and, therefore, thought that he put forward a scientific thesis.  However, the science and technology which developed in the twentieth century eradicated the primitive concepts such as static universe model which provided ground for materialists.  In the present period, the threshold of the twenty-first century, the thesis that the universe had a beginning and that had been created with a big bang out of nothing have been proved by the modern physics through a lot of experiments, observation and calculations. 

In addition to this, it has been demonstrated that the universe is not static or stationery; on the contrary, it is constantly in motion and change, continuously expanding.  Today, these realities have been recognized by all the scientific circles. 

Now, let us mention how these most important truths were discovered by the scientific world:   

In 1929, at California Mount Wilson Observatory, American astronomer Edwin Hubble, while researching the outer space by the means of the huge telescope, found out that the stars, depending on their distance, were spreading reddish beams of light.  This discovery caused a great sensation in the scientific circles because according the established and known physical rules, the spectrum of the beams of the light moving into the point of observation shifts to violet, and that of the beams of the light diverging from the point of observation shifts to red.  However, during the observations of Hubble a shift to red at the beams of stars was observed.  That is to say, the stars were moving away from us constantly.

Hubble, soon afterwards, discovered another important point: the stars and galaxies move away not only from one another but also from us.  In the presence of a universe in which everything moves away from one another, the only result that can be concluded was that the universe is “expanding” constantly.  In order to understand the point better, it is possible to consider the universe as a surface of inflated balloon.  The points on the surface of the balloon move away from each other as the balloon is inflated; similarly, the objects in the universe move away from one another as the universe expands.

“Do the disbelievers not see that the heavens and the earth were one mass, and We tore them apart? And We made from water every living thing. Will they not believe?"(the Prophets, 21/30)

In fact, this reality had been discovered earlier theoretically.  Albert Einstein, who is regarded as the greatest scientist of the century, concluded that the universe is not static after the calculations that he had made in the realm of theoretical physics.  However, in order not to contradict the prevailing static universe model of that period, he set aside his discovery.  Einstein, later, would call his own behavior as “the gravest mistake of his carrier”.  Afterwards, through the observations of the Hubble, the expansion of the universe was proved definitely.  What was the importance of the expansion of the universe as regard to existence of the universe? 

The universe has been and is expanding, accordingly, as we go retrospectively, it has been established that the universe began at a particular point.  The calculations carried out, have shown that “the single point” that included all of the matter of the universe had to have “zero volume” and “infinite density”.  The universe emerged by the explosion of this point which had zero volume.  This explosion marking the beginning of the universe was called “Big Bang” and the theory started to be called “the Big Bang Theory”.   

In fact, zero volume is a theoretical expression form of this issue.  Science can identify the concept of “non-existence” only with the expression of “the point at zero volume” which exceeds the borders of human intellect.  In fact, the point at zero volume connotes “non-existence”.  The universe emerged out of nothing.  In other words, it was created.

This profound fact, which modern physics discovered in the last years of this century, had been informed to us in the Holy Quran fourteen centuries ago as follows:   

"Originator of the heavens and the earth—how can He have a son when He never had a companion?"(the Livestock, 6/101)

As is known, the Big Bang theory has shown that at the beginning all objects in the universe were together and moved away from one another later.  This fact that has been put forward by the Big Bang theory, had been declared in the Holy Quran fourteen centuries ago, when people’s knowledge about the universe was very restricted:   

"Do the disbelievers not see that the heavens and the earth were one mass, and We tore them apart? And We made from water every living thing. Will they not believe?"(the Prophets, 21/30)

That is to say, while everything, even the “heavens and the earth” which had not created yet, was at one single point, they were created with a big bang and then moved away from one another, and their present shapes formed.  When we compare the expressions of the verse with the Big Bang theory, we can observe a full conformity.  However, putting forward of the Big Bang as a scientific theory could be achieved only in the twentieth century.

The expanding of the universe is one of the important proofs of the Big Bang Theory, namely, the creation of the universe out of nothing.  This fact, which has been existent since the creation of the universe was discovered by modern science only in this century.  However, this truth was declared by the Quran some fourteen centuries ago:   

"We constructed the universe with power, and We are expanding it."(the Spreaders, 51/47)

As it is seen clearly, the Big bang theory was proof that the universe was created out of nothing, that is, it was created by God.  With the victory of the Big Bang, the concept of “pre-eternal matter” which underlies the materialistic philosophy vanished, or became obsolete.  Well, what did exist before the Big Bang, and which power did extract the “non-existent” universe and changed it into “existence” with a big explosion, then?  Of course, this question shows the existence of one God.  The well-known atheist philosopher Anthony Flew writes the following regarding the issue:   

"It is said that admitting mistakes heals the human’s soul.  Thus, I will admit something:  The Big Bang model is very embarrassing from the point of view an atheist.  For, science has proved a claim that has been advocated by religious sources: the claim that the universe has a beginning.  We can only defend that the current situation of the universe is an absolute explanation as we assume that the universe does not have a beginning and ending.  I, still do believe in this explanation, yet, I should admit that advocating this view against the Big Bang is not an easy and comfortable stance. “ 

Many scientists who have not conditioned themselves blindly to be atheists accept that there is a Creator who has infinite power in the creation of the universe.  This creator should be a being who both created matter and time; that is to say, a being independent of both of them.  The well-known American astrophysicist Hugh Ross explains this truth as follows:   

"If the time and matter emerged with a bang, then the cause who generated the universe should be entirely independent of time and place in the universe.  This shows us that the Creator is beyond all dimensions in the universe.  This also proves that the Creator is not, as some claim, identical with the universe, that He encompasses, and that He is not only an ordinary power in the universe among others.

As the above-mentioned scientist said, matter and time was brought into existence by a Creator who has infinite power and is independent of all of these concepts.  This Creator is God, the Lord of the heavens and the earth.

First of all, let us define the event that occurred. Craig Venter and his team injected a DNA, whose array they had changed, into a bacterium and the bacterium synthesized that array in the form of a cell. 

In fact, that technique has been practiced all along. However, they have taken that technique more forward.

Viruses are beings even smaller than bacteria. Some of them can live inside bacteria cells. Viruses living inside bacteria have a special name called phage. The single- arrayed DNA of the phage sticking to a bacterium cell is transferred to the bacterium cell. After the DNAs of the phage get into the bacterium, the bacterium biosynthesis mechanism takes service with multiplying the phage. After that, the bacterium’s own chromosome and hence its DNA is destroyed. The all biosynthesis mechanism of the bacterium’s entering into a phage’s service is a very important event.

In the gene technology, that system is made use of. In other words, directing the bacterium mechanism by a DNA array that you have sent from outside is extremely important.

That practice has been made use of for a long time. Genetic structures of some substances like insulin are injected into a bacterium and the synthesis of those substances are supplied. Nowadays, the Venter team cuts some arrays from some parts of the DNA of a random virus and makes some additions to it and so achieves a new DNA with new arrays. When that DNA with new arrays is injected into a bacterium, the genetic code of the bacterium is destroyed and that new DNA is synthesized. When the phage covers form above those DNAs, the bacterium cell is torn and new phages –viruses- appear. Thus, viruses with new genetic arrays are obtained.      

Is it creating a new living-thing?

It is not creating a new living-thing but copying a new living-thing. In one respect, we can liken the study Craig Venter did to grafting. You can graft plum onto the peach tree. In this way, you achieve plums from a peach tree. Another similar way of it is grafting watermelon onto a squash seedling and getting watermelon from a squash plant.

What Venter and his team do is a more sensitive form of the grafting of plants and it can be considered as grafting at the level of molecules.

All we do is preparing the conditions for a different living thing or a fruit to come into existence. It is not creating. It is making something from existing elements or substances. Creating is peculiar to Allah. In order to create a living thing, we have to control the growing up, the developing and the differentiation laws taking place in all of its cells and have to form the atoms and the molecules according to them. Moreover, we have to make the property of vitality or life, which does not exist in elements.  

Everything in the universe is under the knowledge and will of Allah. Through our scientific studies, we are trying to explain and understand His laws and principles He imposed in the universe. As we enter into details at the level of molecules and atoms through our studies about the world, the knowledge we obtain has to be a stage to understand and know His knowledge and power.

It is because, the book of the universe, which is Allah’s work of art, makes Him known.

Otherwise, an approach in a manner like disregarding Allah and asserting godhead by saying “I created”  by relying on some kinds of results that they obtained by their little knowledge compared to Allah’s knowledge and power is only the act of some ignorant people who do not know Allah rightfully. 

May Allah protect scientists from being such ignorant people, amen.

Prof. Dr. Âdem Tatlı

The materials and methods that are used by scientists, whether they are evolutionists or creationists, in order to understand the formation and structure of the universe, the sun and other plants are similar. The biggest difference between them is regarding by whom this life was created? An evolutionist proposes that all living things come into existence coincidentally, without a purpose or aim. On the other hand, people who accept that there should be a creator think that every creation comes into existence according to a plan for a certain cause as an art of God’s knowledge, will and power.

After these explanations, as for the question given above, we can say that no one knows the truth about the formation of the sun so we cannot decide whether it is true or wrong. There are interpretations about the creation of the sun according to the information we have today. It is possible that scientists will abandon their interpretations based on the new data to be obtained in the future and accept new interpretations and views.  

If what is asked in the question is the view of the Quran regarding the formation of the sun, first of all it is necessary to state that the Quran is a book of religion and its essential duty is to inform people about Allah, about their duties toward Allah, themselves and the society and about the hereafter. The following is stated in a verse regarding the issue in the Quran: “Moreover, He Comprehended in His design the sky, and it had been (as) smoke: He said to it and to the earth: ‘Come ye together willingly or unwillingly.’ They said: ‘We do come (together), in willing obedience.’" (Fussilat, 11)

The religion of Islam encourages people to search and examine; it regards the study of the scientists and scholars as worshipping. What Islam rejects is leaving Allah out and attributing creatures to coincidence and causes.
Man has a nature that can be influenced and he is open to suggestions and inculcations. Thus, man is like an empty container. If his heart and brain are not filled with positive thoughts and truths, they will be filled with negative ideologies, superstitions and sophistry.

After a certain period, materialists fill the brains of poor people through continuous and intense inculcations so that they will not accept anything other than materialistic and atheistic thoughts. Then, those people lose their logic and reasoning, becoming like robots.

Although it is certain that even a simple house cannot form without a master, they regard the palace of the universe to have formed without an owner and creator. It is impossible for a letter to form without a writer but they regard the book of the universe to have formed without a writer. They also believe that lifeless, unconscious and will-less nature created all plants, animals and human beings or that they formed on their own. They think that they are aimless, at large and unattended; they are in a terrible deviation.
They cannot see the ugliness and impossibility inside the denial of Allah that lower the value and nature of man from the level of being a diamond to the level of being coal and that eliminates all of his humane characteristics, making him fall down to a level lower than that of animals. The great, comprehensive truths in the universe cannot be explained by unbelief and denial.

The nature of denial involves lies but it also involves accepting the opposite of the truth. For instance, to deny the architect of the Selimiye Mosque is a truthless sophistry and a big lie. When such a magnificent work of art that boggles the mind with its perfect plan, wonderful esthetics and artistic construction exists, it is a great sophistry, a terrifying oppression and a truthless superstition to deny its architect.

Similarly, to deny the creator, owner and director of this magnificent palace of the universe is a much uglier lie, more terrible nonsense and a more terrifying sophistry.

The verses mention many miracles of Hz. Sulayman. Some of them are as follows: using jinn as his servants, understanding the language of animals including ants and giving commands to them, covering a distance of two months in a day by flying, bringing the throne of Balqis, the queen of Sheba, to Jerusalem within the twinkling of an eye, having a palace made of glass, which made Balqis tuck up her skirts, making her think that she was entering a pond.  

a) We should remind this first: It is stated before the verses explaining the miracles mentioned above that Hz Sulayman had exceptional knowledge:

"We gave (in the past) knowledge to David and Solomon: and they both said: ‘Praise be to Allah, Who has favored us above many of His servants who believe.’" (an-Naml, 27/15)

b) The second point we should state is this: They are not the only people who had exceptional knowledge. The verse mentions another person "who had knowledge of the Book" near Hz. Sulayman. Besides, the miracle ofbringing the throne of Balqis, the queen of Sheba, to Jerusalem was realized for Hz. Sulayman by means ofa person "who had knowledge of the Book". The relevant verses are as follows:

He (Sulayman) said (to his own men): "Ye Chiefs! Which of you can bring me her throne before they come to me in submission?" Said an Ifrit of the Jinn: "I will bring it to thee before thou rise from thy Council: indeed I have full strength for the purpose, and may be trusted." Said one who had knowledge of the Book: "I will bring it to thee within the twinkling of an eye!" Then when (Solomon) saw it placed firmly before him, he said: "This is by the grace of my Lord!― to test me whether I am grateful, or ungrateful!...' " (an-Naml, 27/38-40)

We will emphasize a few points that attract our attention in the verse:

1) "It is clear that the person who had knowledge of the Book is not a jinni. For, the following is stated in verse 17 of the same chapter: "And before Solomon were marshalled his hosts― of Jinn and men and birds, and they were all kept in order and ranks." Therefore, the second important group existing in the consultation committee of Hz. Sulayman consists of human beings. They are not angels. Then, the interpreters who hold the view that this person is a human being seem to be right.

2) What is “the book” from which this person obtained knowledge? It should not be a religious book, for instance, the Psalms, which was sent down to Hz. Dawud. For, the knowledge of such a technique is not and cannot be present in religious books.

3) If we understand ilm (knowledge) as definite knowledge based on some laws and rules, we can deduce that there is a book in which the knowledge stated to be given to Hz. Sulayman exists. The following outcome is obtained from those explanations: The miracles given to Hz. Sulayman are based on some scientific principles. These principles were not only written in a book but also taught to some people. Hz. Sulayman executed his rule and activities based on scientific principles with a distinguished group consisting of some people who had a good command of them.    

Another piece of news showing that people who lived in the first ages were savage, ignorant and deprived of technique as the Westerners insistently claimed up to recent times is the one related to the palace that Hz. Sulayman built out of glass. The verse is as follows:  

"She was asked to enter that lofty Palace: but when she saw it, she thought it was a lake of water, and she (tucked up her skirts), uncovering her legs. He said. ‘This is but a palace paved smooth with slabs of glass.’"(an-Naml, 27/44).

This verse states that various sciences and techniques were developed at that age. For, building a construction is a sector that necessitates many sciences and techniques like ironworking, carpentry, glasswork, adorning and decoration, which are products of a developed civilization along with engineering and architecture. It cannot be claimed that such a scientific and technologic level did not exist in a community where a sultan prophet who was stated to be made distinguished by the knowledge given to him was dominant and that he realized all of them with miracles.

A question that can come to mind here is as follows: What did Hz. Sulayman do to this book?  

Very few people might have obtained the knowledge in this book, which is estimated to have existed. As a matter of fact, the history of Sons of Israel is full of incidents showing the material elimination of the Torah, their religious book, repeatedly. On the other hand, even the great Egyptian civilization, which was dominant for more than four thousand years, was forgotten and became unknown for centuries despite their huge pyramids; it started to be enlightened and known beginning from the 19^th century and their books on religion, medicine, literature, education and other subjects were discovered. Besides, wonderful works left by the people living in previous eras have been found all over the world. These works are so extraordinary that some Western authors who still hold the view "There is no civilization except the Western civilization; humanity reached the level of Western civilization from an era of absolute savagery through a straight progress" as we have mentioned before explain those works through giants that descended from the sky. Although it seems strange to us, this is the most reasonable sophistry to which the people who do not believe in prophets and revelation will resort.

The miracles of prophets draw the ultimate limits of science about that issue.  Teleportationis also a law of Allah. If science discovers this law, it can realize teleportation.

İbrahim Canan (Prof.Dr.)

Badiuzzaman Said Nursi states that there are twelve planets in the solar system.  

"American astronomers stated that they discovered two new planets about 150 light years away from the earth. According to the statement made by San Francisco University, the planets that have been discovered are located in an orbit around two stars similar to the sun and they are as big as Jupiter. Along with the 2 planets discovered by the teams of Geoffrey Marcy and Paul Butler, the number of the planets discovered in the solar system since 1995 became 12. 9 of these planets were discovered by Marcy and Butler. Like the other planets that were stated to be discovered, the last two planets were not observed physically. While about 430 stars were being observed by two Keck telescopes located in Mauna Kea, the existence of those two planets was discovered thanks to their effect on the stars that they have been rotating around. A space study published in Nature magazine showed that a planet system formed around two stars near Taurus constellation and in orbits near each other. According to a research done by an international team headed by the Mexican Luis Rodriguez, planets form more often than expected around these pairs of stars, which confirms that there are more planets in the solar system. It is stated that most of the planets are not alone but in groups of two or sometimes three unlike the sun."

If we go back and look at Risale-i Nur Collection written in 1928 after this news, we see the same truth there. For instance, the following is written in the 21st Window of the 33rd Word:

"…the twelve planets including our globe known as the solar system..."

"Now we shall refer to the all-encompassing knowledge of Allah the wonders of the solar system, that is, the twelve planets which are the sun's followers and fruits..."

The following is stated in the last part of Lem'alar (Flashes) called Munajat:

"There is not even one planet among the 12 planets stars that..."

If we think how Badiuzzaman Said Nursi determined this truth, we see many scientific discoveries and karamahs in his works. We quoted some of them from time to time. This is one of them. Besides, its resource is the Quran because there is a simile about the sun, the moon and eleven stars in a verse:

"Behold Joseph said to his father: 'O my father! I did see eleven stars and the sun and the moon: I saw them prostrate themselves to me.'" (Yusuf, 12/4)

The following is stated at the end of the story of Yusuf:

"Then when they entered the presence of Joseph, he provided a home for his parents with himself, and said: 'Enter ye Egypt (all) in safety if it please Allah.' And he raised his parents high on the throne (of dignity), and they fell down in prostration, (all) before him. He said: 'O my father! This is the fulfilment of my vision of old.'"(Yusuf, 12/99-100)

We understand that the moon and the sun in the dream are Yusuf's mother and father. They bring to mind a group and a system out of one thing. 12 brothers including Yusuf means 12 stars, which indicates strongly that there are 12 planets in the solar system.   

We will see what else will take place from the things he stated. If we have a long life, we will see them.

The criterion showing whether something is beautiful or ugly depends on the perfection of that thing. The perfection of something depends on the fact whether that thing functions and serves in accordance with the purpose of its existence. Whether something functions and serves in accordance with the purpose of its existence depends on the fact whether its outward state is orderly or not. Whether something is orderly or not depends on the fact whether it respects the rights of the mass it is located in.

For instance, the perfection of an eye is to see the beings, which is the purpose of its creation. It can see beings only if it obeys the rules of the reflection of the sunlight. Thus, an eye that sees things also indicates the perfection of the sun, the atmosphere and the solar system. For, it is necessary for this system to operate perfectly for the eyes to see properly. The eye needs to have flexibility in the presence of little or much light; in addition, the light waves, the refraction of light and the frequencies of sight need to be adjusted very well for the act of seeing to take place.

Similarly, the perfection of an ear depends on its hearing sounds very well, which is the purpose of its creation. In order to hear sounds, it is necessary for the ears to be in the frequency that will enable them to hear in the atmospheric system they are located in, apart from being created in the available system. Since the system that is available serves to realize this person, it means a perfect system is functioning.

For instance, if it were not for the law of gravity, we would not only face the danger of being thrown into space but also we would not be able to swallow food. That is, the proper operation of our inner system depends on the existence of the law of gravity and on Allah, who created this law. This is perfection. All of the elements and systems of the universe have been functioning perfectly for billions of years. Otherwise, Doomsday would have struck so many times up to now.

The phenomena like beauty and ugliness have two aspects: Firstly, the state that is existent in their own beings; secondly, the position that they have compared to others.

When we look at the universe in accordance with the criteria presented above, we will see that it is a perfect system that operates without any flaws. The greatest evidence for it is the facts found by the present exact sciences as a result of long researches. The conclusion that each one of the present exact sciences has drawn is as follows, as Imam Ghazali puts it:

“It is impossible to have a better system and order than the one that is available.”

As it is expressed in the question, whether something is ugly or beautiful is relative based on the viewpoint of people. A person who is sad will see everybody, even the whole world, crying; a person who is happy will see everybody, even all beings, happy; it is something relative.

Beauty is essential in the universe. Some phenomena that are seen as ugly have been placed here and there among beings in order to show the beauty of the beautiful things; they are also elevated to the rank of relative beauties since they become a means of showing the beauties. The number of ugly things is really small in the ontological mechanism. For instance, the movement of a comet that zigzags can be regarded as deficient / ugly. However, this movement contributes to our understanding of the beauty of the millions of celestial bodies that move regularly on the one hand; and it shows a very nice talent of maneuvering existent in comets on the other hand.

Similarly, a person who looks at the digestive system of man can think that the bends and crooked ways in it are a disorder. However, the experts on the issue know very well that it is not so.

“With Him are the keys of the Unseen, the treasures that none knoweth but He. He knoweth whatever there is on the earth, and in the sea. Not a leaf doth fall but with His knowledge: there is not a grain in the darkness (or depths) of the earth nor anything fresh or dry (green or withered) but is (inscribed) in a Record Clear (to those who can read).”(al-Anam, 6/ 59)

The verse above indicates that the system and design of everything is prepared by Allah’s knowledge and wisdom and therefore, everything will be nice and perfect.

“Mischief has appeared on land and sea because of (the meed) that the hands of men have earned that (Allah) may give them a taste of some of their deeds: in order that they may turn back (from Evil).”(ar-Rum, 30/41)

It is emphasized in the verse above that the most important being that causes the negative incidents in the world is man. This fact, which was emphasized by the verse fifteen centuries ago, has been accepted by experts today and they have rolled up their sleeves to stop this inattention.

In conclusion, we can say that the whole universe reads the following verses with its tongue of disposition and makes those who are conscious read them:

“He Who created the seven heavens one above another; no want of proportion wilt thou see in the Creation of (Allah) Most Gracious. so turn thy vision again: Seest thou any flaw? Again turn thy vision a second time; (thy) vision will come back to thee dull and discomfited, in a state worn out.” (al-Mulk, 67/3-4)

May our Lord make us read them, too.

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It is stated in the Quran that everything is perfect. Was everything really created in the best and perfect form?   

The following is stated in verse 3 of the chapter of al-Mulk: "So turn thy vision again: Seest thou any flaw?" Why does Allah address man like that? Are layers of the sky things that can be seen?

It is a fact that the realm of beings does not consist of the beings that can be perceived through five senses only. Man sees material beings through his sense of sight. He feels the realm of tastes through his tongue, the realm of sounds through his ear and the realm of smells through his nose. In fact, there are so many phenomena like electricity, gravity, magnetic force of pushing and pulling that are neither seen nor heard. However, the existence of these facts is undoubted.

In this old planet of our world, there are so many living beings with spirit, mind and consciousness; similarly, in the other planets, stars and celestial bodies, there are spiritual beings peculiar to the structure and location of those places. Badiuzzaman Said Nursi clarifies the issue as follows:

“The globe of the earth being the home of these infinite numbers of beings endowed with consciousness and spirit, despite its insignificance and density among the lofty heavenly bodies and planets, and even its grossest and most rotten particulars becoming masses of microorganisms when they cease as sources of life, necessarily, demonstrably, decisively indicates to, testifies to and proclaims that infinite space and the majestic heavens with their constellations and stars are full of animate beings, conscious beings, and beings with spirits.

The Illustrious Shari’a of Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace) and the Qur’an of Miraculous Exposition call these beings, who are created from fire, light, and even from electricity, and from other subtle flowing matter, 'The angels, the jinn, and spirit beings'".

(Sözler, Yirmi Dokuzuncu Söz, Birinci Maksat, Birinci Esas) (Words, Twenty-ninth Word, First Aim, First Fundamental Point)

- As far as we know, “aliens” mentioned by earthmen are not real. In the Qur’an’s statements, there is no clarity about aliens or humans or any other living creatures living in other planets. However, the existence of angels and spirits is mentioned there.

- Nevertheless, in addition to the planets in which spirits and angels live, it is not impossible for creatures like humans to live in some stars that have the necessary living conditions.

As a matter of fact, Badiuzzaman Said Nursi mentioned that possibility with the following words:

“...(from the explanation of the verse about seven skies and seven layers of the earth...) with the references of both existence of seven planets similar to our world, and having room for living creatures ( to existence of another world that is suitable for some creatures to live and resembles to the world) it is discovered from the ayah of the Qur’an that with the reference of existence of seven layer, that is, seven worlds, even the world is formed with seven layersalso the seven levels indicating that seven further globes exist resembling our globe, and that they are the dwelling places of living creatures– from these indications it has been understood from verses of the Qur’an that the earth too has seven levels.

It thus becomes clear that the earth has seven sorts of levels that exist in seven ways. The eighth, which is the final meaning, is important from another point of view; it is not included in the seven.”  (Lemalar (Flashes), 65)

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Can you give some information about UFOs (aliens)?

Answer 1:

The heavens and earth were created in six stages one by one. Then, this marvelous universe came into existence.

This manifestation of wisdom in its creation showed itself with the occurrences in it as well. Night did not cover the earth suddenly; and day did not come at once. Dawn replaced the night and it was followed by sunrise. Then it became midday with the further rise of the sun, which was followed by the fertile afternoon and finally dusk.

If the day came all of a sudden, and if the night set in instantly, we could not talk about dawn, midday or afternoon?

This wise creation prevailed in the world of plants too. There is a divine art and wisdom hidden in the seed. The whole program of the large tree was drawn with the pen of fate in the tiny seed. The genetic code in it is so perfect as to astound scientists and again is full of profound mysteries that render them helpless.

The opening of the seed is a further marvel. The manifestation of the name of the Opener (al-Fattah). Despite the gravity, wise, and orderly walking upwards… Then, reaching the stage of sapling. The stages of growing tall and thickening, and then blossoming and yielding fruit… The growing, ripening of each fruit, the soft fruits having hard seeds do not occur suddenly. Everything takes place stage by stage.

The inconceivable happenings whose every stage is conducted with knowledge and wisdom fill the face of the earth with various scenes, and strike the men of contemplation with admiration for these divine arts.

What prevails on earth is wisdom, and in the Hereafter is power. If the world were the land of power, this marvelous universe would have been created all of a sudden in place of in six stages. The trees on it would have grown all of a sudden and have taken on their final form. Then, the divine works of art we have listed above would not have come into existence.

The realm of seeds would have remained in nonexistence and, their blossoming, growing, and sprouting would have not occurred.

If seeds had not existed, eggs and the seminal fluid would naturally have remained in nonexistence, and they would have been deprived of revealing the divine arts that they bear.

If plants had not existed, babies, lambs, calves would not have existed either. Thousands of works of art would have been reduced to one; hundreds of beauties would have disappeared.

The manifestations of the deeds of training and disciplining would not have been seen, only the products of the happenings of starting and inventing would have emerged on earth.

The divine wisdom did not let it happen and wished to construct the universe in six stages instead of constructing it all of a sudden.

Answer 2:

It is written in the Quran that the skies and the earth, that is, the universe, were created in six (6) days. We understand the creation of it in six days as six eras.

Man was created in the womb in six phases; he undergoes six periods in the world and barzakh; he undergoes six periods in a day and moves on to the next day. It is possible to say that everything undergoes six eras: birth, maturity, old age, death, barzakh, oblivion.

As for the issue of the creation of the skies and the earth in six days:

The first creation is the first day and era.
Hz. Adam’s creation is the second day and era.
The sending of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is the third day and era.
The destruction of the world at the beginning of Doomsday is the fourth day and era.
The complete end of this world is the fifth day and era.
The period from Doomsday of the world to the morning of resurrection is the sixth day and era.

Thus, the six (6) days include the time, era and period from the first creation of the universe to the morning of resurrection.

If all that time is supposed to be a week, the six days of that week are spent in this world. The seventh day will start in the morning of resurrection and last forever.

Answer 3:

We can explain the verses about the creation of the universe in six days with a different interpretation as follows:

"Say: Is it that ye Deny Him Who created the earth in two Days? And do ye join equals with Him? He is the Lord of (all) the Worlds." (Fussilat 9)

"He set on the (earth) mountains standing firm, high above it, and bestowed blessings on the earth and measured therein all things to give them nourishment in due proportion, in four Days, in accordance with (the needs of) those who seek (sustenance)." (Fussilat 10)

"So He completed them as seven firmaments in two Days, and He assigned to each heaven its duty and command. And We adorned the lower heaven with lights, and (provided it) with guard. Such is the Decree of (Him) the Exalted in Might, Full of knowledge." (Fussilat 12)

When Allah Almighty willed to create the universe, He produced an indefinite amount of energy by showing His endless power; that energy condensed in time and transformed to gas. Then, it condensed again and transformed to its present solid state. The earth formed in two geological eras and then the sources there were determined; it reached its present state by forming in four geological periods eras based on the plan. The word yawm (day) in the verse means a long period whose beginning and end is not definitely known  (...) The skies formed seven layers together with the earth in seven long periods. They were all in the state of gas. It took them two periods to concentrate and solidify.

According to the analysis of the first sentence, the meaning is He created the earth in two days. When the earth was created, there was no “day” in the sense we know yet; so, day means time, that is, in two periods; Allah knows the best. One of them is the day when the sky was separated from the earth as it is stated in this verse:

"Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of Creation), before We clove them asunder?" (al-Anbiya, 21/30),

and the other is when the crust of the earth started to be placed in the form of a cream layer as it is stated in this verse:

“And it is He Who spread out the earth." (ar-Ra'd, 13/3).

According to the second analysis, the meaning is as follows: He created the earth in two days. In that case, it is not mentioned in how many days the earth was created but its state in two days after it was created is mentioned; it means the two solstices that divide the year into two. The earth was created in a form to cycle between those two periods.  

He pressed onto it; the mountains nail the crust of the earth to its base. That "waw" is used for the beginning; it does not refer to the verb because there is an interval. He brought about abundance in it. He produced good things, and sources of abundance like water sources, mines, plants and animals with their power to be born and die. He ordained their sustenance in it; that is, He determined the amounts of rain and other things that plants and animals needed in order to live and arranged them in the form of earth. He did all of them in four days. Including the previous two, it is four days; there are two meanings in it like the others. One is the creation of the mines and the mountains; the other is the creation of the plants and animals, which amounts to four with the previous two. The other is the state, which shows the four seasons; thus, the previous two are included here. In my humble opinion, this meaning here is more in the foreground and more appropriate in terms of the coherence of the style of the expression. The bounties and sustenance of the earth grow in the four seasons every year. Their number, amount and shape form in them; therefore, attributing them to the deeds may express the same meaning. Then, in terms of that meaning, this sentence becomes clear:  four days equally for all researchers because all of the sustenance of those that seek sustenance grows in those four seasons; even if the sustenance is not equal, the days are equal. The number of the four seasons for each of them is four. It may be thought to mean those who ask about it.

Then, the skies are dealt with and it is stated that they were completed to seven strong skies in two days. One of those two days is for the creation of matter and the other is for the formation of things, which form the two days of the six days stated in the chapter al-Araf. Or, one of them is before the creation of the earth and the other is after that. The creation of some celestial bodies like the moon, Venus, Mercury, etc. is after the creation of the earth.

In my humble opinion, it is probable that one of those two days is the world and the other is the hereafter. He made them strong and completed them. He gave each sky the command related to them in the form of revelation. He gave the angels in each sky the command of the events to take place there, which is included in the completion. Since the evidence of the power of the Creator became manifest and appeared in the creation and completion of them, the subject of the sentence is transformed into the first person singular from the third person singular, and the following is stated:

"We have indeed decked the lower heaven with beauty (in) the stars." (as-Saffat, 37/6) .

And we have protected them. The devils cannot approach them. It is the determination of Allah, al-Aziz (the Mighty and Strong) and al-Alim (the Knower of All).

"Your Guardian-Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days, then He established Himself on the Throne (of authority) …" (al-Araf, 54)

An example of the harmony between the Quran and modern science is the issue of the age of the universe: Cosmologists calculated the age of the universe to be 16-17 billion years. It is stated in the Quran that the whole universe was created in 6 days. There is a surprising harmony between those figures that seem different at first sight. As a matter of fact, both of those figures related to the age of the universe are correct. That is, the universe was created in 6 days as it is stated in the Quran, and that period corresponds to 16-17 billion years in our perception of the time.

In 1915, Einstein put forward that time was relative and that the flow coefficient of time changed based on the place, the speed of the traveling person and the force of gravity at that time. It is seen that the duration of the creation of the universe stated in 7 different verses of the Quran is greatly parallel to the calculations of the scientists when the differences in the flow coefficient of time is considered. We can consider the 6 days mentioned in the Quran as 6 periods. When the relativity of time is taken into consideration, “day” expresses the 24-hour period only as perceived in the world under the circumstances of today. However, in a different place of the universe, at a different time and under a different condition, “day” is a much longer period of time. As a matter of fact, the word ayyam (days) in the phrase “6 days” (sittati ayyamin) also means era, period, duration apart from meaning days in the following verses: (as-Sajda, 4; Yunus, 3; Hud, 7; al-Furqan, 59; al-Hadid, 4; Qaf, 38; al-Araf, 54).

In the first periods of the universe, time flowed much faster than the pace that we are used to today. The reason is this: during the Big Bang, the universe had been condensed into a very small point. The expansion of the universe since that big bang and the tension in the volume of the universe expanded the borders of the universe to billions of light years away. As a matter of fact, the fact that the space has been tensioning since Big Bang has played an important role on the time of the universe.

The energy during the moment of Big Bang slowed down the flow of the time of the universe million by million times (10¹²). When the universe was created, the flow coefficient of the time of the universe, as it is perceived today, was a trillion times bigger, that is time flowed faster. Thus, during the time when we live a trillion minutes in the world, only one minute passes in terms of the time of the universe.

When the period of 6 days is calculated by taking the relativity of time into consideration, it corresponds to 6 trillion.  It is because the time of the universe flows a trillion times faster than that of the world. The number of years corresponding to 6 trillion days is about 16,427 billion. That figure falls into the interval of the estimated age of the universe. 

6.000.000.000.000 days / 365,25 = 16.427.104.723 years

On the other hand, each one of the 6 days of the creation corresponds to different time periods from one another – in terms of our perception of time. It is because of the fact that the flow coefficient of time decreases inversely proportionally to the expansion of the universe. Every time the size of the universe doubled since Big Bang, the flow coefficient of time decreased in half. As the universe got bigger, the doubling speed of the universe slowed down increasingly. That expansion rate is a scientific reality that is explained in the textbooks “the Foundations of Physical Cosmology” and that is widely known all over the world.

When we calculate each day of the creation in terms of the time of the world, the following state appears:

* When the moment that time started is taken into consideration, the 1st day (1st period) of the creation lasted 24 hours. However, that period corresponds to 8 billion years to the time as we perceive in the world. 

* The 2nd day (2nd period) of the creation lasted 24 hours. However, that period lasted half as much as the 1st day, that is, 4 billion years in terms of the time we perceive in the world.

* The 3rd day (3rd period) lasted half as much as the 2nd day, that is, 2 billion years.

* The 4th day (4th period) lasted 1 billion years.

* The 5th day (5th period) lasted 500 billion years.

* And the 6th day (6th period) lasted 250 billion years.

* Conclusion: The 6 days, that is, the 6 periods, of the creation lasted 15 billion 750 million years when they are added in terms of the time of the world. That figure is close to the estimations of today.

That conclusion is the reality found out by science of the 21st century. Science has once again approved the truth expressed by the Quran 1400 years ago. That harmony between the Quran and science miraculously proves that the Quran is the revelation of Allah, Who knows everything and created everything.

Allah created us so that we would worship Him and to make Himself known. Therefore, He also created the teachers and introducers that would introduce Him to us. The most comprehensive and universal ones among those teachers and introducers are the following three:

1. The book of the universe
2. Hz. Muhammad (pbuh)
3. The Quran.

Each of those introducers introduces and describes Allah to us (those who can read). Acting upon this universal rule, we can say that since Allah will introduce us all of His names and attributes through the universe, He will definitely make His names and attributes that include His perfection and beauty manifest in it. Therefore, we can say “all kinds of names and attributes are manifest in the universe”.

What is meant by the universe is not the material realm that we see. The universe means the created realm. Thus, it will be appropriate to understand the universe as the realm of similitude, Lawh al-Mahfuz (the Preserved Tablet), Paradise and Hell and all of the creatures.

“The world is a place of wisdom and the hereafter is a place of power.” That is, wisdom is dominant in this world. “Effects (results)” are obtained from the realm of “causes” predestinated by divine knowledge and created by divine will and power; thus, people are tested through causes whether they can see beyond causes and attribute effects to Allah.

Allah, who is Rahman (All-Compassionate) and Rahim (All-Merciful) creates many conveniences so that man will attain victory in this divine test. They are too many to count. I want to mention a few of them briefly:

Allah creates man in uterus. Mother and father are each a “cause” the child is the “effect”. And Allah is the “Cause of causes”, who creates that child through those causes and sends him to the world.

One of those causes is busy with meeting the needs of the household and the other spends time doing housework. For a while, both of them are unaware of anything. Then, it is understood that the mother is pregnant. There is no difference for the human candidate in the uterus before and after this point of understanding. The mother and father are unaware of it. Everybody spends time by doing their routine for months. At the end of the ninth month, a new guest comes to the world from the realm of ghayb.

Then, neighbors give some wrong news to one another:

“Mrs. such-and-such made a baby.”

You ask, “What part of the baby did she make?” They become astonished and say, “No part of it.” They add, "Allah created all of it."

If the mother could knit a skin as she knits a garment, weave a foot as she weaves a sock and make a head as she makes a skullcap, we could say she made a child. However, the mother is too weak to draw even the exact picture of the child. How can she make a child? The mother is unaware of what is happening inside her and inside the baby. Is it possible to do something by being unaware of it?

They are all a divine convenience for man to pass the test of this world. The child is created in the inner realm of the mother and without the knowledge and will of the mother. Therefore, the phases a human being undergoes in that nine-month period are often mentioned in the Quran so that he will pass the test easily.  

Another convenience:

Very wise creatures are created from unconscious causes and, in general, the result is more excellent than the cause. 

An example:

Tree is created from soil but tree is more excellent than soil. Fruit comes from a tree but fruit is more artistic than the tree. If the opposite happened, for instance, if soil came out of the branches of the tree, we would just say, “They are the waste material of the tree.” However, divine will does not work like that. The tree is created from soil and fruit comes out of the tree.

Fruits are like the children of the tree. The tree is unaware of what is happening inside and fruits appear on it. The tree does not know its fruits, their benefits and who will eat them. The fruit that comes to the world with a flavor suitable for man’s tongue, a color liked by his eye, a size in accordance with his hand and vitamins suitable for his body is created through a tree that is unaware of all those things and that does not know man.

Human body can only produce “hair” as fruit; and man has no share in its production. A thin field is created between his skull and skin; hair is produced there.

Man states clearly that he cannot own his hair by saying, “My hair has grown; my hair has turned grey, etc.”

Man cannot interfere in the production and creation of his hair; how can he claim that the fruit is created by the tree, the fish by the sea, the calf by the cow and the vegetable by the soil? How can he believe that those miraculous works are created by them? Or rather, how can he deceive his soul regarding the issue?

When we think about all causes and the results, fruits that come out of them, we will definitely approve the following statement of decree in Nur Collection:

“All of the apparent causes are only veils; they have no effect on creation.” (Şualar, p. 606)

Attention is attracted to the fact that there is a long spiritual distance between causes and effects in Sözler of Nur Collection and the truth is shown clearly with an excellent example:

“The distance from the cause to the creation of the effect is so great that the hand of the greatest causes cannot reach the creation of the most insignificant effects. Thus, it is within this long distance between cause and effect that the Divine Names each rise like stars. The place of their rising is this distance. To the superficial glance mountains on the horizon appear to be joined to and contiguous with the skirts of the sky, although from the mountains to the sky is a vast distance in which the stars rise and other things are situated; so too the distance between causes and effects is such that it may be seen only with the light of the Qur’an through the telescope of belief.” (Sözler, p. 422)

Causes are very distant from having the power, strength, knowledge, wisdom and mercy to create effects like mountains being far away from stars. In this wonderful simile, it is reminded that the sky, which seems to be touching the peaks of mountains, is actually very distant; thus, attention is attracted to the fact that there is a long distance between the effects that are adjacent to causes and that cause. We are taught that the long distance between peaks of mountains and the sky is full of stars and similarly the manifestations of divine names are hidden in the long distance between cause and effect and it is indicated that they can be read when they are looked at carefully.

For instance, the fruit is adjacent to the branch. There is no material distance between them. However, when it is considered that the tree is away from knowing us, the name “Razzaq (Sustainer)” is read clearly in this spiritual distance between the tree and fruit.  

The long distance between the drug we take and cure tells the name “Shafi (Healer)” to us clearly.

Scientific studies on lifeless and unconscious beings, papers prepared and books published about them utter loudly the names “Alim (Knower of All)” and “Hakim (Perfectly Wise)” for those who are sane.

Examples can be increased.

The following sentences included in another book of Nur Collection shows the long distance between causes and effects in a nice way:

“There is the manifestation of an absolute force within an absolute weakness, and the traces of an absolute power are apparent within an absolute impotence. ...”

“There is the manifestation too of an absolute wealth within an absolute poverty and dryness. ...”

“The sprinklings of an absolute life are also apparent within an absolute lifelessness. ...” (Sözler, p. 663)

We want to remind you another point with importance:

As it is known, things come into being through “ibda (invention, originating)” or “insha (construction, production)”. Causes are in question for “insha” and the most widely seen creation form in this world is insha. However, there are many examples of “ibda”, that is, creation out of nothing and without causes, in this world. For instance, bodies are created through insha but spirits are created through ibda, without causes. That is, mothers and fathers are not used as causes in the creation of spirits.

Bounties, blessings and rewards are created without causes. The creation of an angel that will represent a tasbih we read is through ibda. That is, the air that comes out of the mouth when we read it is not used as a cause in the creation of the angel to represent it. The angel is created directly, without a cause.

It is a different issue that the tasbih is a means for the creation of that angel. When we go to a city by plane, the plane becomes only a means of arriving there; however, the plane is not used as a means in the construction of that city. That is, the city did not come out of that plane as a tree comes out of a seed.

All of the means determined by divine will for the beings created through ibda.

The criterion for something to be beautiful or ugly depends on whether it is perfect or not. The perfection of something depends on whether it serves its purpose of existence or not. Whether something serves its purpose of creation depends on whether its position seen from outside is regular or not. Whether or not something is regular is evaluated based on whether it pays attention to the rights of the mass in which it is located.

For example, the perfection of an eye is to see the beings – which is its purpose of creation. It can see beings if it acts in accordance with the laws of reflection of the sunlight that is available. Accordingly, an eye that sees beings indicates not only its own perfection but also the perfection of the sun, the atmosphere and the solar system. For, this system has to operate perfectly for the eye to be able to see properly. Along with having elastic flexibility in the face of light, it is necessary for the light waves, light refraction laws, the visual frequencies of light to be well adjusted so that seeing will take place.

Likewise, the perfection of an ear depends on hearing sounds, which is its purpose of creation. Along with being created in the existing system, it is necessary for the ear to have a frequency that will enable it to hear sounds. Since the existing system serves this purpose, it means a perfect system is operating.

For example, but for the law of gravity, we would not only face a danger of being thrown into space but also be unable to swallow even a bite of bread. In other words, the proper functioning of our internal system depends on the existence of this law of gravity and, of course, on Allah, who created it. This is perfection. All the elements and systems of the universe have been working in the same perfection for billions of years. Otherwise, Doomsday would have struck so many times.

Things like beauty and ugliness, perfection and deficiency have two aspects. The first is the state that exists in their own beings. The second is the position they take according to others.

When we look at the universe from the viewpoint of the above-mentioned criteria, we will see that it is a perfect and flawlessly functioning system. The greatest witness of it is the facts that were discovered by the current exact sciences as a result of long-term researches. As Imam Ghazali summarizes, the judgment that each of the current sciences made as a result of wonderful research is as follows:

“There cannot be anything more beautiful and more perfect than the existing order and the system.”

As it is stated in the question, whether a view is ugly or beautiful is something relative depending on the viewpoint of people. A person who is sad will see everyone, even the whole world, as if they are crying, and a person who is happy will see everyone, even all beings, happy.

Beauty is essential in the universe. Some of the things seen as ugly are interspersed in other beings to show the beauty of those beautiful things; therefore, they are regarded as relatively beautiful. The number of them in the ontological mechanism is very few. For example, the movement of a comet with zigzags can be seen as ugly. However, this movement does not only contribute to the understanding of the beauty of millions of celestial bodies moving properly but also shows the very good maneuverability that exists in comets that zigzag.

Likewise, people who look at the digestive system of humans superficially may regard the folds and meanders there as irregularities. However, those who have a good command of biology know it very well that this is not the case.

“With Him are the keys of the unseen, the treasures that none knoweth but He. He knoweth whatever there is on the earth and in the sea. Not a leaf doth fall but with His knowledge: there is not a grain in the darkness (or depths) of the earth, nor anything fresh or dry (green or withered), but is (inscribed) in a record clear (to those who can read).”(al-Anam, 6/ 59)

The verse above indicates that the arrangement and design of everything are done by Allah’s knowledge and wisdom and hence everything is beautiful and perfect.

“Mischief has appeared on land and sea because of (the meed) that the hands of men have earned.”(ar-Rum, 30/41)

It is emphasized in the verse above that the greatest cause of the negativities seen on the earth is human beings. This fact, which was emphasized by that verse fifteen centuries ago, is accepted by experts today and people have started to take action against this heedlessness.

In conclusion, we can say that the whole universe reads the following verses with their tongue of disposition and make the beings who have consciousness read them: 

“He Who created the seven heavens one above another: No want of proportion wilt thou see in the Creation of (Allah) Most Gracious. So turn thy vision again: seest thou any flaw? Again turn thy vision a second time: (thy) vision will come back to thee dull and discomfited, in a state worn out.”(al-Mulk, 67/3-4)

May our Lord enable us to read them too! Amin.

We should state that since expressions such as seven, seventy and seven hundred express multiplicity in Arabic, the “seven layers” might also refer to the multiplicity of those layers.

On the other hand, the layers of the sky and the layers of the atmosphere are not the same.

In addition, the first layer of the sky does not consist of the atmosphere and its layers only.

While interpreting such verses, Elmalılı Hamdi Yazır states the following:

“We have indeed decked the lower heaven with beauty (in) the stars. The word ‘dunya’ is the feminine form of ‘adna’, which means ‘the nearest’. The apparent meaning of this statement is that all the stars are in the nearest heaven. Therefore, the nearest heaven mentioned here is not only the orbital sphere of the moon around the earth, nor is it only the realm of the solar system, but it is the sphere of the stars in general, that is, the sphere of three dimensions.” (see the interpretation of as-Saaffat, verse 6)

Accordingly, it is possible to consider all the visible skies as one sky of this world and to understand that there are six other layers of the sky. Different meanings are in question related to the expression about the earth.

The atmosphere, together with its layers, is in the first layer of the sky. The stars are also in the first layer of the sky. The stars are not between the layers of the atmosphere because according to the information given by the science of astronomy, the distance of even the closest star to the Earth is calculated in light years, but the Magnetosphere, the last layer of the atmosphere, reaches up to 64,000 km. The atmosphere surrounds the earth. The stars are much farther away.

There is no single view as to what the layers of the heavens are. It is definitely very difficult to determine what it means. What we say is the information that the Quran describes the heavens as “seven heavens”. What those seven heavens mean is a matter of interpretation. Interpretations can turn out to be right or wrong. Considering the layers of the heavens as layers of the atmosphere is already a matter of debate.

- We can gain a broader perspective by looking at the explanations of Badiuzzaman Said Nursi summarized below:   

About the Globe of the Earth:

- Firstly, the verse’s meaning is one thing and the parts of the meaning and points confirming it, another. The meaning cannot be denied if one of the many parts of the universal meaning is absent. Of the numerous parts of the universal meaning concerning the seven levels of the heavens and seven layers of the earth, seven points confirming it are clearly apparent. The verse does not explicitly state that “the earth has seven layers.” It says, “Allah created the earth like the seven heavens, and made it a dwelling place for His creatures.” It does not say, “I created the earth in seven levels.” Its similarity is in regard to createdness and being the habitation of creatures.

- The globe of the earth is certainly very small in relation to the heavens. However, as the exhibition, display, gathering place and center of countless divine artefacts, as the heart and immaterial center of the vast, endless heavens, it is equivalent to them, like the heart may be seen as equivalent to the body. The earth, which is like the heart of the universe, resembles the heavens in seven ways in terms of the number “seven”:

1. The earth has seven climes, as was supposed from early times.

2. It also has the well-known seven continents, Europe, Africa, Oceania, the two Asias, and the two Americas.

3. It also has, together with the seas, the East, West, North, and South, the well-known seven regions of this face and on the face of the New World.

4. It also has the various, contiguous seven levels from the center to the outer crust, which have been established by science.

5. It has the famous seven universal elements called the “seven levels”, which comprise the seventy simple elements that are the means of perpetuating animate creatures’ lives.

6. It also has the four elements of “water, air, fire, and earth”, together with the “animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms”, making seven levels and realms.

7. It also has the seven realms of the earth verified by those who uncover the secrets of creation and the people of witnessing, who are very numerous, their testimony that they are the worlds and habitations of jinn, demons, and other various sentient and living creatures.

8. The existence of seven further globes, resembling our globe, that are the dwelling places of living creatures and that have the living conditions is understood from the statements of the Quran. (see Lem’alar, On İkinci Lem’a, pp. 64-69)

About the Seven Heavens:

Ancient philosophy conceived of the heavens as being nine in number; accepting in the tongue of the Shari’a the throne of God and seat of God together with the seven heavens, they depicted the heavens in strange manner. The glittering terms of the philosophers held mankind under their sway for many centuries. In fact, many Quranic commentators were compelled to make the apparent meanings of verses conform to their school. In this way the All-Wise Quran’s miraculousness was veiled to an extent.

As for the new philosophy, called modern science, in the face of the excesses of ancient philosophy about the heavens it went to the other extreme and quite simply denied the heavens’ existence. The former went to excess and the latter was deficient; they were unable to portray reality in its entirety.

As for the sacred wisdom of the All-Wise Quran, it left aside such excess and deficiency, and choosing the middle way said that the All-Glorious Maker created the seven levels of the heavens. The planets swim in the heavens like fish and glorify God. It says in a Hadith: “The skies are waves held back.” That is, the heavens are an ocean the waves of which are stationary. (see Lem’alar)

We shall prove this Quranic truth extremely briefly with rules and seven aspects of meaning.

First Rule: It is established by science and philosophy that limitless space is not an infinite vacuum, but is filled with matter called ‘ether’.

The Second: It is established by science and reason, indeed by observation, that a matter which fills space is the bond of the laws governing the heavenly bodies like those of attraction and repulsion, and is the conductor and transmitter of such forces in matter as light, heat, and electricity

The Third: It has been established empirically that while remaining as ether, it has various forms and formations like other matter. Just as there are three states of the same matter, liquid, gas and solid, for instance, steam, water, and ice; so, there is nothing to reasonably prevent ether having seven states or levels; it cannot be objected to in any way.

The Fourth: If the heavenly bodies are studied carefully, it will be seen that there is a difference in the levels. The level that contains the vast nebular sphere called the Milky Way of course does not resemble the level of the fixed stars.

It is as if those stars have ripened and matured like the fruits of summer, while the uncountable stars apparent in the form of a cloud in the Milky Way are constantly emerging and beginning to mature. According to accurate conjecture, the level of fixed stars also appears different to the level of the solar system. And so on. One may adduce seven systems and seven levels which differ from one another.

The Fifth: It is established by conjecture, sense, inductive reasoning, and experience that if a material is given order and form and if other artefacts are made from the material, it is transformed into various levels and forms.

For example, when a diamond mine is worked, from the material, ashes, coal, and diamonds are produced.

And when fire is lit, it separates into the levels of flame, smoke, and embers.

And when water and oxygen are combined, levels like water, ice, and steam are formed.

That is to say, when a single substance is worked, it may separate into levels. In which case, when Creative Power started to work in the substance called ether, in accordance with the verse, فَسَوَّيهُنَّ سَبْعَ سَمٰوَاتٍ “And fashioned them into seven heavens,” it created from it seven sorts of heavens as differing levels.

The Sixth: The above indications necessarily indicate both the existence, and the plurality, of the heavens. Since the heavens are certainly numerous, and the Bringer of Sure News (UWBP) stated in the tongue of the Quran that they number seven, for sure they are seven.

The Seventh: Since in Arabic, terms like seven, seventy, and seven hundred express multiplicity, those universal seven levels may comprise multiple levels.

In short: The All-Powerful One of Glory created the seven heavens from ether, and forming it into levels, ordered it with a truly fine and wondrous order and sowed the stars in it.

Since the Quran of Miraculous Exposition is a pre-eternal address speaking to all the classes of all mankind and the jinn, for sure each of those classes will receive its share from the Quran’s verses and its verses will contain various and numerous meanings, both explicit and implicit, in a way that will satisfy the understanding of each.

Yes, the breadth of the Quranic address and the comprehensiveness of its meanings and indications and its conforming to and flattering all the degrees of understanding from the most uneducated common people to the highest of the elite shows that all its verses have an aspect which looks to each class. (see Lem’alar)

Should Allah have asked man how to create living things?  No matter how He created them, man would ask the same question again. “Why did He create it like this?"

There is not one but thousands of wisdom and reasons in the creation of every living thing. Man should stop objecting to the reasons for their creation and try to understand the characteristics of each species and the purpose of their creation.

Otherwise, it does not fit good manners and the position of man to object by asking, "Why did He create it like this?". Such an objection lowers the spiritual position of a person who has a very high position in the sight of Allah.

The main fallacy here is that living beings are immediately judged as unnecessary without understanding the wisdom and purposes of their creation, without thinking and, most importantly, without research. For, it is a time-consuming and difficult task to investigate the purpose and wisdom of creation of each living being. Therefore, people choose the easy way out and decide that these living beings are useless and unnecessary.

The answer given by the flies to the objection of the Prophet Moses (pbuh) against the abuse of the flies is very striking. This issue is explained in the Risale-i Nur Collection as follows:

“Moses (Upon whom be peace) complained about flies bothering him, saying: ‘O my Sustainer! Why have You made these irritating creatures so very numerous?’, the following answer came to him by way of inspiration: ’You have objected about the flies once while the flies have asked many times: ‘O our Sustainer! This man has a huge head, yet he praises You with only one tongue, and sometimes he neglects to do that. If you had created us out of only his head, there would have been creatures like us praising You with thousands of tongues!’ Moreover, the flies, which thus defended the wisdom in their creation against Moses’ complaint sufficiently powerfully to withstand a thousand such objections, also pursue great cleanliness. These insects continually wash their faces, eyes, and wings as though taking ablutions, and have important duties. The common view is short-sighted; it is still unable to comprehend those duties. (see. The Flashes, Badiuzzaman, The Twenty-Eighth Flash)

There are countless living beings that do not need to eat and drink, air and water. They are angels. They are jinn. They are demons. Only Allah knows the number of the angels. Because they are created from light, light suffices for their food. They constantly mention Allah. Each has his own way of worshipping. Allah creates angels from the air, light, sound, darkness and brightness. With each grain of snow and rain, there is an angel descending to earth.

There is a need for a living group like plants; similarly, there is also a need for a living group in the form of animals. Both are alive, but it is clear how much difference there is between plants and animals.

As for man, he is a kind of living being in the position of a vicegerent above all of them. He benefits from the whole universe, every feature of it, and is also a direct addressee of Allah.

On the other hand, there are also anaerobic living beings that live in an airless and waterless environment. In other words, Allah has created all kinds of creatures.

How do you know that having too much sperm is unnecessary? What research did you do or what studies did you read on this subject? Those who object like this are called ignoramus because they do not know anything. They do not even know what they do not know. They think they know.

The large number of sperm has many wisdoms and purposes. We will point out two of them here:

The first is about the perpetuation of the human race. As is known, one of the sperm must combine with the egg so that the baby will form. Each sperm's ability, nutritional value and strength are different. In order to reach the egg, they must pass through media with very high acidic value and be resistant to a very long journey for them Many of them die in acid environments until they reach the egg. If the environment was not acidic, human life would be in danger due to microbes. Some of them die because the food and energy they have are not enough to complete this long journey. One of the most healthy and robust sperm only can reach the egg.

If one single sperm had been created as you think, you and I would not be alive today. Maybe ninety-five percent of humanity would not be able to set foot on the stage of life. Do you now understand the wisdom of creation of so much sperm?

Another reason for the creation of so much sperm is that each sperm is a mirror to the names of Allah. Just as the reflection of the sun in the mirror shows the seven colors of the sun in it so too do all beings reflect the names of Allah like a mirror.

Every sperm becomes a mirror to the names "Hayy (Alive)" and "Muhyi (Giver of Life)" of God Almighty with their lives, the name "Musawwir (Shaper of Beauty)" with their shaped and neat structures, the name "Hafiz (Preserver)" with having all the genetic characteristics of man, the names “Hakim (Perfectly Wise), Mudabbir (Disposer)” with being planned for a purpose of the creation of man, the names of “Rahman (All Merciful), Rahim (All Compassionate) and Razzaq (Sustainer)” with the preparation of their sustenance, and many other names.

For this reason, the purpose of creation of those sperm is fulfilled by the fact that they become mirrors to many names of Allah. Therefore, it is enough for them to live for a moment and appear on the stage of life.

It is also necessary to look at the presence of tens of seeds in a melon and watermelon from this perspective. Then, the wisdom and purpose of these extra creations will be understood.

In conclusion, there is neither an excess nor a deficiency in the forms, duties and numbers of living beings created by Allah. Everything is calculated down to the smallest details and created in the most beautiful way and in a style that will serve all purposes.

One should take this into account and should not object to the beings created by Allah. He should only search why and how these creatures were created, and the wisdom and purposes in their creation.

Criticizing Allah's works by regarding them as incomplete and unnecessary is contrary to good manners and distance man from the love of Allah, and his rank in the eye of Allah. Those who regard the works of Allah as unnecessary and incomplete should think about these outcomes.

When we view the issue from divine viewpoint, one of the wisdoms behind everything’s being created as oval is to show Allah’s absolute will. The creation of all beings as round based on the same shape is a sign showing the oneness of Allah. For, billions of things having the same shape shows that their creator is the same and one.

Besides, roundness is a special work of art. Everything’s being round shows that they are the works of a master with endless knowledge, power, wisdom and will.

“…There is not a thing but celebrates His (Allah’s) praise…” (al-Isra, 17/44)

The testimonies by the beings with their tongue of state are indicated in the verse above. One of the most important testimonies is that all beings appear in the same shape as round.   

What is essential in matter is inertia and inaction. Everything being in action and round, which is the perfect shape that enables movement easily, is a cosmic and ontological glorification showing that Allah’s knowledge, wisdom and will are free and away from all kinds of imperfection.   

The wisest position of the beings in the cosmic systems that are available for hugging, answering, helping and supporting each other is being round.   

The current perfect system of the solar system known as "the Law of Copernicus” is possible only when the moon, sun, world and other stars, which are the organs of the system, are round. The journeys on the axes, the movements in the orbits, the sun’s operation of the push and pull law toward the other organs of the system, the sun’s giving light to them, the formation of day-night and seasons can be possible only when those bodies are round.

Allah, who created atom when it did not exist, will definitely destroy it and delete it from the visible realm when its end comes. However, even if everything disappears in the ephemeral realm, they will go to eternal realms.

Will you please click on the link given below;

After Doomsday, will the universe, planets, stars, atoms exist as they are today?

Planets and stars are already within the scope of the concept of “sky”. The sky consists of them. The change of the sky means the change of all of them and being made suitable for the realms of eternity.

- Since the smallest part of every being is called an “atom”, no matter what things change, they also have atoms, which are the smallest particles. However, the land of the hereafter is very different from the land of this world. Therefore, it will be wrong to compare everything with this world.

- It is necessary to understand the relevant statements of Nursi in the sense of reviving the memories of the world. We learn from the Quran that everything people desire exists in Paradise. (see Fussilat, 41/31, az-Zukhruf, 43/71)

The statement of Nursi regarding the issue is as follows:

“...You will understand, too, that all of these transient objects have not been created for the sake of annihilation, in order to appear briefly and then vanish. The purpose for their creation is rather briefly to be assembled in existence and acquire the desired form, so that these may be noted, their images preserved, their meanings known, and their results recorded. This is so that, for example, everlasting spectacles might be wrought for the people of eternity, and that they might serve other purposes in the realm of eternity.” (see Sözler, p. 76)

“For example, the people of Paradise will surely wish to recall their adventures in this world and recount them to one another. They will be exceedingly curious to see the images and pictures of those adventures, and they will enjoy it immensely if they can watch them like watching a cinema screen. Consequently, as the verse, عَلَى سُرُرٍ مُتَقَابِلِينَ Joyfully facing each other on thrones of dignity and the verse (The righteous (will be) amid gardens and fountains (of clear-flowing water). Their greeting will be: ‘Enter ye here in peace and security’ indicate, in Paradise, the realm of delight and happiness, worldly adventures and scenes of worldly happenings will be recalled, amid everlasting panoramas. Thus, the beautiful beings of this world appearing for a moment then disappearing, and following on one after the other in succession, appear to be factories and workshops manufacturing the vistas of eternity.” (See Mektubat, Yirmi Dördüncü Mektup, İkinci Makam, p. 294)

May our Lord make us one of those who watch those beautiful scenes in those everlasting places! Amin.

There is no religious objection to looking at shooting stars.

- Are shooting and rising stars related to the births and deaths of people?

In fact, the rising and falling of stars are events that occur within the framework of Allah’s laws in the universe.

“The sun and the moon are not eclipsed for anyone’s life or death. On the contrary, they are signs from among the signs of Allah, signs from among the signs of infinite knowledge, power and wisdom.” (Kanzul-Ummal, h. No: 21554)

That issue is indicated in the hadith above.

The Prophet (pbuh) states the following in another longer hadith:

“...In ancient times, some people used to say that the eclipse of the sun and moon or the shooting of the stars was due to the death of some great people, but it is a lie. They are among the signs of Allah, the signs of His power and wisdom.” (Kanzul-Ummal, h. No: 38818)

That is one aspect of the issue, the aspect emphasizing that the stars, the moon and the sun do not know the birth or death of people and are not arranged accordingly. However, there is also an aspect that they are signs for certain events, that they point to them. For example, there is information that the moon will be eclipsed at the beginning of the same month of Ramadan and the sun will be eclipsed at the end of the same month as a sign of the emergence of Mahdi. The following should be understood from those narrations: The moon and the sun will not be eclipsed in that month of Ramadan because of the emergence of Mahdi. On the contrary, it has divinely been ordained that the moon and the sun will be eclipsed one after the other in that Ramadan, so that the emergence of Mahdi will be a sign for that great event and that some people will learn a lesson from it.

At the beginning of the First World War, the sun was eclipsed and a comet was born; and those rare events were interpreted as harbingers of the catastrophe of war.

It is wrong to evaluate such events in a cause-and-effect determinism. Rather, it is a kind of coming together; it is the occurrence of two events at the same time - in accordance with divine predestination. For example, the comet did not cause the First World War, nor did the First World War cause the birth of the comet. Both events occurred at the same time according to the timetable drawn by Allah’s eternal predestination; and one was revealed to mankind as a sign for the other.

- I wonder what the hidden truths behind the events occurring in the universe are?

One of the clearest examples of the issue can be found in the Fifteenth Word of the Risale-i Nur Collection. Badiuzzaman Said Nursi interprets the following verse of the Quran there:

“And we have, (from of old), adorned the lowest heaven with Lamps, and We have made such (Lamps) (as) missiles to drive away the Evil Ones...” (al-Mulk, 67/5)

According to the expression of the verse, the celestial event, which is popularly called ‘shooting stars’, is in fact the throwing of some missiles and fireballs by the angelic beings at the evil spirits who ascend towards the heavens and try to learn some news from there. Those evil spirits, who can only ascend to the Earthly Sky, that is to say, to the near sky, and not to the inhabitants of the High Community and their conversations, attempt to steal something from this near sky, to steal some news about the future; in response to this attempt, they are hit by fiery catapult cannons and flaming bullets by the inhabitants of the sky. The manifestation of that battle appears as what we call the shooting stars.

According to the explanation above, there is coming and going from the earth to the sky, and there is descent and ascent from the sky to the earth and important necessities for the earth are sent from there; and since good spirits rise to the sky, for sure, imitating the good spirits, evil spirits will also attempt to ascend to the realm of the heavens. For they are light and subtle in regard to their beings. However, they will doubtlessly be repulsed and expelled because they are evil and inauspicious by nature. Moreover, there will doubtlessly be a sign, an indication, in the manifest world of this important exchange, this contest outside the realm of materiality. For human beings have the duty of observation, witnessing, supervision, and acting as a herald in the world. Since man has such a duty, God Almighty, who informs man of spring through rain before spring, will inform him of such an important celestial event through some means and will make and has made him an observer of this celestial struggle.

When the Quran narrates such a cosmic event to us, it informs us of some spiritual events that are actually hidden from our eyes and gives us information on the following three hidden facts that those events bear:

a. That is to say, the struggle between good and evil, which continues on earth in terms of human beings, also takes place in the sky between the evil spirits and the angelic beings.

b. That is to say, just as there are human beings, the inhabitants of the earth, who represent good and are responsible for servitude on earth, so too are there angelic beings, the inhabitants of the stars and planets, who are charged with the same duty in the sky.

c. That is to say, the shooting lights from the sky are not shooting stars with no meaning, but the stoning of the evil spirits who are trying to spy on the news of the sky with purposeful bullets. And when a person witnesses this event, he should not make a wish for it, but rather think about how God Almighty becomes manifest in the universe, on the earth and in the sky with His omnipotence, how He disciplines these evil spirits with missiles, how He informs us of this discipline in accordance with His wisdom and control, and he should say “Ya Mudabbir (O Controller)!” to His control, and “Ya Hakim (O Perfectly Wise)!” to His wisdom, and “Subhanallahi wa Bihamdihi Subhanallahilazim (Glory be to Allah and all praise is due to him, glory be to Allah the great)!” to His discipline that He has revealed through this general struggle.

According to Islam, man cannot know the future or foretell the future; however, one can make predictions about the future based on scientific data and events and take precautions in the light of those data.

In this context, the science of Astronomy, also called Ilm an-Nujum, has an important place among Islamic Sciences. However, in terms of the Islamic Religion, the science of astrology is to dwell on what should happen based on what happens; it is not related to talking about and judging the future (fate) of people and the world through soothsaying. Besides, Islam rejects reasoning and predicting the future through psychics and soothsayers or fortune-telling.

God Almighty states the following in the Quran:

“Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day,- there are indeed Signs for men of understanding.” (Aal-i Imran, 3/190)

“It is He Who made the sun to be a shining glory and the moon to be a light (of beauty), and measured out stages for her; that ye might know the number of years and the count (of time). Nowise did Allah create this but in truth and righteousness. (Thus) doth He explain His Signs in detail, for those who understand.” (Yunus, 10/5)

“The sun and the moon follow courses (exactly) computed.” (ar-Rahman, 55/5)

“Blessed is He Who made constellations in the skies, and placed therein a Lamp and a Moon giving light!” (al-Furqan, 25/61)

“It is not permitted to the Sun to catch up the Moon, nor can the Night outstrip the Day: Each (just) swims along in (its own) orbit (according to Law).” (Yasin, 36/40)

There are signs of the wonderful order in the universe in the verses above and many more verses like them.

There are also expressions about the zodiac signs in the Holy Quran. Chapter 85 of the Holy Quran is called Buruj, the signs of the zodiac. The verses related to the signs of the zodiac are as follows:

“It is We Who have set out the zodiacal signs in the heavens, and made them fair-seeming to (all) beholders.” (al-Hijr, 15/16)

“Blessed is He Who made constellations in the skies, and placed therein a Lamp and a Moon giving light.” (al-Furqan, 25/61)

“By the sky, (displaying) the Zodiacal Signs.” (al-Buruj, 85/1)

As it is seen, the zodiac signs are celestial bodies that Allah has placed in the sky to serve human beings. Zodiac signs are creatures. It is not possible to accept the zodiac signs as creators, nor is it possible to say that because of such and such a sign, this thing happened or will happen. Accepting zodiac signs as creators or organizers of people’s affairs leads man to polytheism.

There is only a similarity of sound and no unity of meaning between the phrase “zodiac sign” in the Holy Quran and the phrase “zodiac sign” used by fortune tellers for fortune telling.

Our religion rejects the understanding of astrology, which is used in the sense of soothsaying, mediumship and fortune-telling, and demands that the words of those who make such claims not be trusted. In other words, it is strictly forbidden to believe the words of soothsayers, fortune tellers and psychics.

The chapter of adh-Dhariyat, verse 47:

"With power and skill did We construct the Firmament: for it is We Who create the vastness of pace."

The main interpretations related to the statement "For it is We Who create the vastness of pace" are as follows:  

a) We have vastness and power; it should not be thought that something decreases from our power when We ensure this magnificence in the sky; if We wish, We can expand it more. The content and style of the verses 255 of the chapter of al-Baqara and verse 38 of the chapter of Qaf evoke this meaning.  

b) We do not need anything; in addition, we grant many boons to people; we eliminate hardships and expand things for those who are in hardship. (1)

c) We expand the universe. This interpretation is generally made in the light of "the theory of expansion" put forward based on the scientific determination that spatial bodies move away from one another and that the distance among them is expanding gradually. (2)

Acting upon the uses of the word sky in the Quran, the thing that is expanded can be interpreted in the sense of "the universe"(3) and "the whole universe except the world"(4). Razi attributes the fact that the sky is likened to a building and the earth is likened to a bed to the fact that there is no change in the main structure of the sky and the fact that the earth is open to changes like expansion and narrowing and seas are open to changes like being transformed into land. (5)

Footnotes:

1. Shawqani, V, 105; Elmalılı, VI, 4542-4543.
2. See Celal Kırca, Kur'ân-ı Kerîm'de Fen Bilimleri, Istanbul, 1984, p. 62-63. In addition, for some explanations of the scholars of previous ages that support this interpretation, see Celâl Yeniçeri, Uzay Âyetleri Tefsiri, p. 110-115.
3. Asad, III, 1070-1071.
4. Celal Kırca, Kur'ân-ı Kerîm'de Fen Bilimleri, Istanbul, 1984, p. 62.
5. Razi, XXVIII, 225-226; about the creation of the earth and skies, see al-Baqara 2/22 ,29.

(see Diyanet Tefsiri, Kur’an Yolu: V/80-82)

Everything was planned like that based on the infinite wisdom of Allah.

"This small mind cannot grasp those high realities,
For, this scale does not weigh such a big weight."

However, this world was created, designed and arranged based on wisdom. Wisdom works by taking into consideration the fine relationships in the network of causes that exist in everything. Therefore, The Sublime Creator based His deeds on this line of wisdom though He has the command “be”. Allah’s will and power virtually remained in the area drawn by the compasses of wisdom and knitted the embroideries of the universe within the hoop prescribed by wisdom.

The following verses of the Quran state that things were created all of a sudden:

“And your creation or your resurrection is in no wise but as an individual soul: for Allah is He Who hears and sees (all things).” (Luqman, 31/28),

“Verily, when He intends a thing, His Command is, "be", and it is!" (Yasin, 36/82)

On the other hand, the following verses state that the universe was built based on precise and fine calculations and that a method of gradualism was used:

“Your Guardian-Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in six days.” (al-A'raf, 7/54),

“(such is) the artistry of Allah, who disposes of all things in perfect order.” (an-Naml, 27/88),

“He Who has made everything which He has created most good” (as-Sajda, 32/7)

We can summarize the views of Badiuzzaman Said Nursi that shed light on the issue as follows:  

"Some of the things in the universe were created with infinite knowledge and wisdom with the principle of gradualism and a fine art. The first creation of things is like that too. The other things are created instantaneously and merely through a command."

"The repetition of creation of things are like that too. Accordingly, some verses in question declare the superior wisdom and fine art in beings in their first creation. The others express the ease and speed in the repetition of creation."

"Thus, there is no contradiction between verses."

"However, since this world is ‘the realm of wisdom’ and the hereafter ‘the realm of power’, numerous divine names like Hakim (All-Wise), Murattib (Arranger), Mudabbir (Disposer), and Murabbi (Nurturer) require that the creation of things in this world is gradual and in the course of time. Verses like 'Your Guardian-Lord is Allah, who created the heavens and the earth in six days, and is firmly established on the throne (of authority)' indicate this wise creation."

"In resurrection, however, power and mercy will be manifested more than wisdom, and there being no need for matter, time, and waiting, things will be made instantaneously.” (see Niyazi Beki, Kur’an’ın Büyük ve Parlak Bir Tefsiri Risale-i Nur)