5.2.1 INTRODUCTION

There are ultimate questions about the universe that are beyond human intellect. They can only be answered by revelation. They are start of creation, end of creation, purpose of creation, and the ultimate destiny of the human. Several human attempts to answer the questions without the aid of revelation have not given satisfactory answers. These included metaphysics (understanding ultimate reality by reason), various religious beliefs, folklore, and empirical science.

5.2.2 START OF THE UNIVERSE

Human intellect cannot work out the start and the end of the universe. Human anthropometric arrogance has made them reject creation by Allah and theorized that the universe arose by chance or was created by humans. The driving force behind this curiosity is to understand the present and predict the future by knowing the origins. Scientific theories assert that the earth and the sun started as gases and dust that shrunk and clamped to become the solid we call earth. The earth melted, heavy metal settled at the bottom and lighter ones floated to the top. With time the earth cooled enough so that rainwater could settle down without evaporation. Atheistic scientists have theorized that life started on earth by chance and that various forms of life appeared by chance natural selection. Muslims believe in the Qur’anic account of creation. Allah preceded and created the universe. The pen was created first and it wrote a complete record of what would happen in the universe. Then fog and water were created. The throne was then created and floated on water. The earth was then created followed by mountains, plants, and animals. Next the sky was created. It was vapor at the beginning and was joined to the earth but was later separated. Different things were created at different times. Adam was the last creation being created de novo from basic elements of water and soil. All humans are descended from Adam. Human creation came at the end because all other creations had to be subservient to and serve humans (taskhiir).

5.2.3 END OF THE UNIVERSE

The end of the universe is easier to grasp than the beginning. It is common human experience that everything has a beginning and an end. The end usually signifies destruction and disappearance with or without replacement. The physical laws of entropy are a summary of the concept that every system must eventually self-destruct and come to and end. This should logically also apply to the universe. It is only Allah who is eternal and everlasting. He has no beginning and no end. The human mind cannot fully grasp concept infinity associated with Allah. Human life will come to end when the physical universe on which it depends comes to an end. Humans will however have extra-corporeal existence until they are resurrected in a physical form. Time will disappear when the sum used for measuring time is folded up.

5.2.4 PURPOSE OF CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE

The purposes of creation of the earths and heavens are several-fold as told by the Qur’an. There may be other purposes known only to Allah. First of all it was Allah’s will to create them. He does what He wants and cannot be questioned. He is under no obligation to reveal reasons for His actions. Secondly the earths and heavens were created to submit to Allah and worship Him. Everything in the universe worships Allah in its own way even what are perceived by humans as being non-living such as stones, mountains, and rivers. The inter-dependence in the ecosystem required creation of various components for example plants were created to provide food for animals, and the plants need animal waste products. The earth was created as a test for the human. It has many signs and bounties from Allah. The successful will see them and submit to the creator.

5.2.5 THE EXPANDING/CONTRACTING UNIVERSE and HUMAN DESTINY

Cosmologists, scientists who study the origin and nature of the universe, have observed phenomena of the cosmos appearing to expand with its various components rapidly moving away from one another. They do not know if the universe is an open or closed system. If open it will go on expanding until all matter is converted into heat energy, a phenomenon called black holes. This is the heat death of the universe. If closed it will stop expanding and fall back in a big bang creating a new universe. In either case there will be destruction. The Qur'an has taught that on the last day the universe as we know it today will be physically destroyed. All humans and all living things will die. Humans only among the living things will be resurrected into a new physical life that may be in jannat or jahannam.