Proving the Existence of the Creator; The evidence from the horizons
Selections from the Book The Story of The Beginning of Creation and The Creation of Adam, peace be upon him …
Written by Dr. Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi...
Episode (10)
Allah Almighty says: {We will show them Our signs in the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth. But is it not sufficient concerning your Lord that He is, over all things, a Witness?} [Fussilat: 53]. The statement: {We will show them Our signs in the horizons} means the signs of Our Oneness and Power. The term {in the horizons} refers to the regions of the heavens and the earth, such as the sun, the moon, the stars, the night, the day, the winds, the rains, the thunder, the lightning, the lightning bolts, plants, and other wonders of Allah's creation.
In the scientific miracles of the Holy Quran, there are indications of the signs of Allah in the horizons, which include:
1- The Decrease in Oxygen at High Altitudes:
Allah Almighty says: {So whoever Allah wants to guide - He expands his breast to [contain] Islam; and whoever He wants to send astray - He makes his breast tight and constricted as though he were climbing into the sky. Thus does Allah place defilement upon those who do not believe.} [Al-An'am: 125].
This noble verse indicates that when a person ascends into the sky—meaning rises to high altitudes—his chest becomes tight and he feels suffocated. This is a scientific fact because the oxygen level decreases as altitude increases, and atmospheric pressure also decreases. These two factors make a person feel short of breath.
2- The Movement of Stars and Planets in Their Orbits:
People used to believe that the Earth was the center of the universe, with the sun, the moon, and the wandering stars revolving around it. They observed stars that appeared fixed throughout the year and described them as stationary. Then, during the time of Galileo, a new view emerged considering that the Earth revolves around the sun and that the sun is the center of the universe.
The Holy Quran had previously rejected all views suggesting that the universe has a fixed center. Allah Almighty says:{but each, in an orbit, is swimming.} [Ya-Sin: 40], which was a scientific advance for its time. Allah Almighty also says: {Then I swear by the setting of the stars, (75) And indeed, it is an oath - if you could know - [most] great. (76)} [Surah Al-Waqi'ah: 75-76].
Scientists have found that the positions and paths of stars are not arbitrary. A planet is placed in an orbit such that the numerous gravitational forces and the centrifugal forces resulting from rotation do not lead to cosmic disturbances. Its orbit is chosen to achieve balance between these many forces. Scientists have also found that the dimensions of the solar system follow an arithmetic sequence, and that the pre-Islamic Arab, who observed stars scattered across the sky, could have intuitively understood that their positions held great significance.
3- The rotation of the Earth and the mountains:
Allah Almighty says: {And you see the mountains, thinking them motionless, while they will pass as the passing of clouds. [It is] the work of Allah, who perfected all things.} [An-Naml: 88]. In ancient times, people believed that the Earth and its mountains were stationary and used them as examples of stability. The Holy Quran came to challenge what people were accustomed to and talked about a cosmic phenomenon. It described the mountains as moving like the clouds, meaning that just as clouds do not move by themselves unless something pushes them—such as the wind—mountains do not move by themselves because they are the pegs of the Earth. However, they do move, and their movement is linked to the Earth's rotation. If the Earth did not rotate, how would the mountains move and pass like the clouds? This is the work of Allah, who has perfected everything, leading to a certain and fixed belief.
4- A barrier between two salty seas:
Allah Almighty said: {He released the two seas, meeting [one another]; (19) Between them is a barrier so neither of them transgresses. (20) So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? (21) From both of them emerge pearl and coral. (22)} [Ar-Rahman: 19-22].
The noble verses speak of two seas meeting, with a barrier between them, and it appears that they refer to two actual salty seas, not a sea and a river, because it says: {From both of them emerge pearl and coral.} [Ar-Rahman: 22]. Coral is a red bead that only comes from salty waters. Therefore, the verse is discussing a real barrier between two salty seas where they meet. These seas meet in straits; otherwise, if there were no strait, there would be no justification for considering them as two seas, but rather as one sea. This phenomenon, confirmed by the verse, is very surprising to people because the common perception is that meeting waters have no barriers between them. This fact was not known or even imagined until it was discovered in 1962, proving that what the Holy Quran described is an amazing truth.
5- The shaking of the Earth and its increase with rain:
Allah Almighty says: {And you see the earth barren, but when We send down upon it rain, it quivers and swells and grows [something] of every beautiful kind.} [Al-Hajj: 5]. Science confirms that the Earth indeed quivers when rain falls upon it. Seeds, bulbs, tubers, and microorganisms all begin to move and undergo cellular division, absorb water, and break down complex nutrients into simpler, more numerous, and larger units. As the soil pores fill with water, soil particles move, and a remarkable ionization process begins in the soil particles. Earthworms become active, creating burrows and consuming large amounts of compacted soil, which they then excrete in a loosened form. All these activities contribute to the increase in soil volume. We can observe a miniature version of these processes in the fermentation of dough, where the volume increases due to the activity of yeast cells. Similar types of activity occur in the soil. From all this, we see a concordance between what science has discovered and what the Holy Quran describes.
6- The weakest houses:
Allah Almighty says: {The example of those who take allies other than Allah is like that of the spider who takes [i.e., constructs] a home. And indeed, the weakest of homes is the home of the spider, if they only knew.} [Al-'Ankabut: 41]. The statement; {if they only knew} and the subsequent statement; {And these examples We present to the people, but none will understand them except those of knowledge.} [Al-'Ankabut: 43] indicate that the frailty of the spider's web is not apparent or well-known to the general public. This frailty is used as a metaphor for the alliance of disbelievers with one another. What did scientists find when studying spiders? They found that the connections between spiders are extremely weak. The female spider often eats the male after mating, may eat her offspring, and the offspring may consume each other. Thus, the spider's web is a disjointed and collapsing home, akin to the alliances of disbelievers with one another.
Episode references:
- Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi, The Story of The Beginning of Creation and The Creation of Adam, peace be upon him, pp. 85-90.
- The Compendium of the Rulings of the Qur’an, Al-Qurtubi, previous reference, 15/374.
- Reflections on Science and Faith, previous reference, p. 178.
- Scientific Evidence of the Validity of Islamic Doctrine, Abdul Majeed Al-Arjawi, Dar Wahi Al-Qalam for Printing, Publishing and Distribution, 1st ed., 2008, p. 105.
For further information and review of the sources for the article, see:
The Book of The Story of The Beginning of Creation and The Creation of Adam, peace be upon him on the official website of Sheikh Dr. Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi:
