by
Dr.
Ibrahim B. Syed
Islam
is a religion (way of life) based on nature, and there is nothing in science
that could contradict Islam. We in our limited knowledge often doubt this
assertion about Islam, only to be proved wrong by a new discovery. Many things
that modern science is discovering today were mentioned in the Qur'an more than
1,400 years ago. In this article we will concentrate on modern cosmology
and the Qur'an. Cosmology is the study of the birth and evolution of the
cosmos, or heavenly bodies, and the universe.
The
earth has plenty of water with only one-fourth-land area. The temperature on
earth varies between freezing point and boiling point of water with an average
temperature that keeps water liquid. Scientists say that life evolved on earth
because the environment and conditions were conducive to its existence.
However, one can propose an odd or counter argument that the presence of life
on earth accounts for the exceptionally hospitable environment and conditions
on the planet earth. The fact is that the real universe does harbor intelligent
observers. In order to achieve this goal certain constraints were placed on the
diversity of ways the universe could have begun. Similarly, constraints were
placed on the physical laws that could have governed the development of the
universe. If the universe were allowed to evolve in a random or accidental
fashion, it would have been impossible for any intelligent life to come into
existence. This argument is called the modern cosmological principle or
anthropological principle.
Any
theory, which rises to reconstruct the initial conditions of the universe and
the corresponding laws of nature, should show that those conditions and laws
give rise to an inhabited universe. The high point of the modern cosmological
principle is that the universe we live in is the only conceivable universe,
which harbors intelligent life. The earth has a privileged position because
intelligent life is present on this planet.
DIMENSIONLESS
NUMBERS
In
1937 P.A.M. Dirac (who died in Florida in 1984), a Nobel Prize winner in
Physics, noted certain curious numerical relations among the dimensionless
numbers that play an important role in physics and astrophysics.
The
first quantity is a dimensionless form of the gravitational
coupling constant, which is a measure of the strength of the gravitational
force and has a value of roughly 10-40. The inverse of this becomes
1040. The second dimensionless number is the age of the universe expressed in nuclear units.
Professor Dirac defined it as the ratio of the Hubble age to the time required
for light to travel a distance equal to the radius of a proton. This ratio has
a value of roughly 1040. The third dimensionless quantity is the number of massive particles or
nucleons (protons and
neutrons) in the visible region of the universe. This number is estimated to be
1080 and the square
root of this number is 1040. One can see that a relationship exists
between these three constants, which are strongly constrained by the conditions
necessary for the existence of man. Hence Dr. Dirac's numerical relations apply
not to any possible evolutionary universe, but only to the universe humans
observe that today. Evolution of a habitable star system depends
sensitively on the value of the gravitational coupling constant. In a universe
where the gravitational coupling constant is an order of magnitude large, then
the sun evolves into a Blue giant, which dies too soon. On the other hand in a
universe where the gravitational coupling constant is an order of magnitude small,
then the sun evolves into a red dwarf that exists for an extremely long time
but radiates little energy. The emergence of life demands two things of a star.
First, it must live long enough for living organisms to evolve. Second, it must
radiate enough energy to warm a habitable region of space, that is, a region
where a planet could have a stable orbit. Neither a blue giant nor a red dwarf
satisfies both conditions, hence could sustain life. The anthropological
principle asserts that the presence of life on earth explains why the sun is at
the division between the blue giants and the red dwarfs and hence why the
gravitational constant has the value it is observed to have.
It
explains why the earth is 93 million miles (1 Astronomical Unit = AU = 93 X 106 miles) away from the sun. If the
earth was close to or farther away from the sun compared with the present
location then life would not exist. Stephen Hawking, Professor of
Astrophysics and Cosmology at Oxford University who is called the greatest
genius alive today, has concluded after many extensive calculations and the
analyses that galaxies were not formed by a random process or chance after the
Big Bang but were formed when recessional velocity was exactly equal to the
escape velocity of matter. Professor Hawking concluded that since "the
existence of galaxies would seem to be a necessary precondition for the
development of any form of intelligent life." The fact that we have
observed the universe to be isotropic is therefore only a consequence of our
existence.
The
Qur'anic Statements
The
Qur'an talks about the foundation of the anthropological principle in these
words:
He has created the heavens and
the earth for just ends. (Surah al-Nahl, 16:3 & Surah al-Hijr, 15:85)
Yusuf Ali, commenting on the
above verses, says: "Everything
in God's creation has use and purpose, and fits into a design. It is true sense
of the word and it is good and just. Not for sport, or fortuitously and without
design. God's creation is all for a true, just and righteous
purpose."
The
fate of the earth is intimately linked with the fate of the sun.
Astrophysicists estimate that the sun's nuclear fuel will be depleted in
another Five billion years. Already the sun is four and a half billion years
old. The Qur'an says:
Lo! In the creation of the
heavens and the earth and (in) the difference of night and day are token (of
His sovereignty) for men of understanding. Those who remember God while
standing, sitting, and (tying) on their sides and contemplate on the creation of
the heavens and the earth. (Surah Al-i-Imran, 3:190-191)
It
further says:
He draweth the night as a veil
over the day, each seeking the other in rapid succession; He created the sun,
the moon and the stars, (all) governed by laws under His command. (Surah
al-A'RAF, 7:54)
ACCIDENTAL
UNIVERSE?
Was
the universe created by chance or by an accident?
Let us
consider how our sun (a star) was created. Paul Davies, formerly a
Professor of Astrophysics at Cambridge University, and now living in
Australia, says: If the primeval material was churned about random, it
would have produced black holes rather than stars, because the black holes,
being so much more disordered, can be produced in a vastly greater number of
ways. For every star that formed, countless billions of more easily achieved
black holes should have accompanied it. The chances against the sun, rather
than the black hole, emerging from a purely random process will be one in 1020 (or the probability is 10-20 which is pretty improbable by any
standards."
If the
same argument is applied to the entire universe, the chances of getting a
starry cosmos with the present-day orderliness with no chaos are one in 1030.
This is like trying to shoot a one-square inch target at the other end of the
universe at a distance of 10 billion light years away. (A light year is the
distance light travels for one year at the rate of 186,000 miles per second.)
Therefore the conclusion is we live in a world of astronomical
unlikelihood." Theologically one can infer that God caused against all
odds the primeval matter to escape annihilation from an overwhelming array of
universes dominated by black holes, and arranged it into life supporting stars
such as our sun. It is quite clear from the above that it is highly improbable
for a life-supporting star such as our sun to evolve by random processes. When
the argument is extended to the entire universe, then the creation of the
universe by random process becomes astronomically
unlikely.
