i.3 Outline of Islamic Astronomy and Cosmology

In the Quran, the World is used to refer to the Cosmos, but it includes all physical and metaphysical creations, and that is why it is usually used in the plural form; thus right at the very beginning of its first chapter, the Quran says: (Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds) [Quran, 1:2]. Therefore, Islamic cosmology deals with all the visible and invisible worlds, including for example: jinns and angels, and not only the physical world of planets and stars. The entire Cosmos is often categorized into two domains: the Unseen Universe, which is not directly perceptible to mankind in general, and the Observable Universe, which is perceptible through the five senses; so the Quran says: (Allah is He, Who is the only God, the Knower of the Unseen and the Observed, He is the All-Gracious and the All-Merciful) [Quran, 59:22]. Therefore, the Cosmos is defined by the Brethren of Purity as all the spiritual and material beings who populate the immensity of the skies, who constitute the reign of multiplicity which extends to the spheres, the stars, the elements, their products and to man [20, p. 53].

There are several verses in the Quran which some scholars have interpreted as foreshadowing fundamental modern cosmological theories. In dealing with his conception of physics and the physical world, al-Razi (1149 1209) criticizes the idea of the Earth s centrality within the Universe, and explores the notion of the existence of a multiverse. In his commentary on the above opening Quranic verse [1:2], he argues that this implies either the existence of many parallel Universes, or other multiple worlds within this single Universe, but he strongly rejected the Aristotelian and Avicennian view of a single world. This rejection arose from his affirmation of atomism, as advocated by the Ashaarite school of Islamic theology, which entails the existence of vacant space in which the atoms move, combine and separate. Thus he also discussed in greater detail the void, the empty space between stars and constellations in the Universe, and he argued that there exists an infinite outer space beyond the known world, and that God has the power to fill the vacuum with an infinite number of Universes [8].

Quran is the primary source of cosmological knowledge in Islam, as it provides the general principles and the principal facts for studying the Cosmos. Additionally, since the Quran gives only compact and primary facts, there are many prophetic narrations that are authentically attributed to Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, in which he gives more detailed accounts on the formation and configuration of the spheres of the Cosmos. Together with the Quranic principles, these narrations are then elaborated and expounded by many Muslim scholars and philosophers, including, for example, al-Farabi (d. 950), Ibn Sina (d. 1037), the Ikhwan al-Safa (the Brethren of Sincerity, or Loyal Friends, a secret society of Muslim philosophers in the 10th century CE.), al-Ghazali (d. 1111), and Mulls Sadra (d. 1641).

In the medieval Islamic world, cosmology was studied extensively during what is known as the Islamic Golden Age from the 7th to 15th centuries. The Quran states that Allah created Seven Heavens, and of the earth like them [Quran, 65:12], and that He created the Heavens and the Earth in six days and then established Himself above the Throne. He covers the nighttime with the daytime, chasing it rapidly; and the Sun, the Moon, and the stars, are subjected by His Command. Unquestionably, His is the Creation and the Command; blessed is Allah, the Lord of the worlds. [Quran, 7:54], while specifying in another verse more details of this creation process: (Say: Do you indeed disbelieve in He Who created the earth in two days and attribute to Him equals? That is the Lord of the worlds. And He placed on it firmly set mountains over its surface, and He blessed it and determined therein the sustenance in four complete days for those who require it. Then He directed Himself to the Heaven, while it was smoke, and said to it and to the Earth, Come [into being], willingly or by compulsion. They said, We have come willingly. Thus He completed them as Seven Heavens within two days, and inspired in each Heaven its affair. And We adorned the nearest Heaven with lamps and as protection. That is the determination of the Exalted in Might, the Knowing.) [Quran, 41:9-12].

However, such insightful verses are not so easily understood in terms of scientific theories, especially at the times when no sophisticated experimental and analytical tools were available beyond the usual astronomical observations and theoretical and philosophical analysis. As we have shown in previous two Volumes, the days in these verses are the levels of time, and the Seven Heavens and earths are the main quantum states in the four fundamental fields which resemble the classical elements, as we shall describe further in this book.