The Science of the
Universe (Cosmology)
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.
Reference: http://www.irfi.org/articles/articles_51_100/cosmology.htm
With thanks from
Mr. Ibrahim B. Syed, Ph. D. President,
Islamic Research
Foundation International,
God bless the
entire humanity
No comments:
Post a Comment