CREATION IN THE WORDS OF IMAM SAJJAD AND SCIENCE

Elaborating on the rich contents of Sahifeh Sajjadieh, Professor Hossein Ansarian,  in the first volume of his book “ The land of lovers” – an exposition on Imam Sajjad Supplications- interprets the story of creation from different point of views, above all the view of Imam Sajjad and that of Science.the present text is a part of the book(The land of lovers).

The Amazing Story of The Creation

The phenomenon of creation, its start and, in Imam Sajjad’s words, its initiation and the invention of the world, is among the mysteries which are not resolved up to this juncture of time; that is why we hear different views on this issue from scholars.

What is unanimously agreed upon is the fact that there should be a beginning for this gigantic and vast arena of mysteries which is termed creation. There was a time when nothing of this mysterious event called “creation” was known. There was only God. It was He Who with His Determination decided to create the creatures. There was no precedent or sample around for creation. There was only God. How did creation occur? Nobody knows.

مَا أَشْهَدْتُهُمْ خَلْقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَلَا خَلْقَ أَنفُسِهِمْ وَمَا كُنتُ مُتَّخِذَ الْمُضِلِّينَ عَضُدًا.

“I did not make them witnesses of the creation of the heavens and the earth, not of the creation of their own souls. 18:51”

In the book called “The Beginning and the Death of the Sun,” we will read “The issue of the appearance of matter is beyond the scope of useful research. We should assume the presence of matter and then start delving into the matters of creation.”

What we get from the Holy Quran and strong narrations and from the statements of the scholars is the following: the world was composed of the particles of gas. But how did gases come into being. God knows. Nobody know its secrets.

But in the Holy Quran, we will read:

ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى إِلَى السَّمَاءِ وَهِيَ دُخَانٌ فَقَالَ لَهَا وَلِلْأَرْضِ اِئْتِيَا طَوْعًا أَوْ كَرْهًا قَالَتَا أَتَيْنَا طَائِعِينَ.

“Then He directed Himself to the heaven and it is a vapor, so He said to it and to the earth: Come both, willingly or unwillingly. They both said: we come willingly. 41:11”

But in the narrations, we will read: Imam Ali (s) in the first sermon of Nahjolbalaqa says:

فَرَفَعَهُ في هَواءٍ مُنْفَتِقٍ، وَجَوٍّ مُنْفَهِقٍ، فَسَوّى مِنْهُ سَبْعَ سَماواتٍ...

“Then that foam raised the steam into the immense space and after purifying it, He created the seven skies.”

Imam Ali (s) in the sermon 90 says:

وَناداها بَعدَ إذْ هِيَ دُخانٌ فَالتَحَمَتْ عُرى أشراجها

“Then He ordered the skies whose substance were steam and smoke to put together their split portions”

Beharol Anvar reports in the books called Elalol Sharaye’ and Oyun Akhbar Reza and Khesal that a Syrian man asked Imam Ali (s) about the original matter of the sky of the world. Imam answered: The original matters were gases and water(Behar, Vol 58, P 88).

The Commentators of Nahjolbalaqa and Imam Ali’s expression have said: without doubt, what Imam Ali (s) meant by “water”, was not the usual water with which we are familiar. It was a liquid substance out of which the heavenly and earthly materials could have been produced.

عَن حَبّةَ العُرنى قالَ: سمعت علياً عليه السلام ذات يَومٍ يْحلِفْ: والذي خَلَقَ السّماء مِنْ دْخانٍ وماء.

Habba Orni says: I heard once Imam Ali (s) was swearing in this way: I swear to God Who created the sky out of gases and water(Op Cit, P 104).

Abdollah Ibn Salam asked the Prophet (s): What is the sky created of? He answered: From the foamed wave. He asked: what is the foamed wave? He answered: It is a still, stagnant water which was previously steam and vapor. He replied: you are right, O Mohammad (s)( Islam and Astronomy, P 260).

In the Commentary of Qommi, it is written:

“Then the smoke became frozen by God’s command.”

But in The Scientific Sources:

The matter started from gases which were spread in the space. Then from the concentration of these gases, sodium (or thin fog) was produced(The Appearance and Death of the sun).

Dr Gamoff, the professor of Natural sciences of the Washington University, writes: the universe at its beginning was filled with gases in the space. The concentration and the temperature of these gases are beyond our imagination("Quran and Nature" reported from Alnojum Fi Maselekaha).

The world is filled with Helium, Hydrogen, nitrogen, Argon, CO2. neon, Krypton, and kezenon gases, all of which are ready to serve God(Nur Danesh, P 37.).

The astronomical documents indicate the fact that the infinite numbers of stars and the sky and our sun, as well, could not have been permanent. But most probably two milliard years ago they were created out of burning gases which were spread all over the Universe(The story of the Earth, P 2).

The stars at the beginning of their genesis, were globes of thin and cold gases, but later on, due to their concentration they became warmer.

At the dawn of the genesis of the universe the density of stars must have been so thin that they could fill all the space around them. In this way, they produced concentrated gases(The Appearance and the Death of the sun, P 188).

Fifteen centuries ago, in the first sermon of Nahjolbalaqa Imam Ali (s) referred to the movement of the smoke and gases and to their change into the seven skies, in accordance with the latest scientific in formation we have today:

“Then the Almighty God with His new initiation opened up the dark and gloomy atmospheres gradually into bright and thin gases.”

George Gamoff, in his precious book called “One, two, three, the infinite”, writes: Whites Ziker has shown that the particles of the thin dusts which were spread at the places where the planets occupy to day within one hundred million years came together (concentrated) and produced the limited planets we know today(One, two, three, the Infinite, P 323).

Sibork in the book “The Elements of the Universe” writes: Our solar system is composed of the gas concentration with which wind movement and the rotation of the planets and the sun is the remnant of the initial spinning movement(The Elements of the Universe, P 178 ).

George Gamoff in last chapter of “The Appearance and the Death of the sun”, says: The story of the evolution of the universe starts from the space which was filled with a matter the heat and density of which were unbelievable. And in this matter the change of the nucli of the elements was as easy as the boiling of an egg in the hot water. In this pre-historic kitchen of the universe, the amount of the different elements and their proportion was determined. That is why there are abundant sources of Iron and oxygen and very little amount of gold and silver.

Under immense pressures this concentrated hot gas contracted into matters of heavy density, losing its heat gradually.

At specific phases of this expansion, the gas was cut into regular shapes and sizes, changing into the globe-like substances now present i.e., the stars of today(The Appearance and the Death of the sun, P 224).

On the basis of both Islamic documents and the scientic records which rely on experimentation, we have learned that the original matter of the Universe was a mass of gas or dusts or in the terminology of the Holy Quran “smokes”.

According to the Holy Quran and in accordance with the first sentence of the first invocation of Sahifeh Sajjadieh,

اِبْتَدَعَ بِقُدْرَتِهِ الخَلْقَ اِبْتِداعاً واخْتَرَعَهُم على مَشِتَّتِهِ اِخْتِراعاً.

And also based on reliable scientific views, this matter was dependant upon the Determination of the Almighty God whose power and might on everything is evident and the beautiful word الله represents him elegantly.

The wise scientists and the conscientious scholars who have carefully studied cosmology, advanced mathematics, physics and astronomy are all humble in the presence of Allah and knowingly admit His Existence. Since these scholars have realized that the whole universe is run through mathematical and scientific formulas and rules; they naturally conclude that these pieces of the existence are put next to one another through a wise One, that is Allah. He is the one who has put together the pieces of existence:

ابتَدَعَ بِقُدْرَتِهِ الخَلْقَ ابْتِداعاً ...

For this reason Einstein said:

“There would not exist any foundations or science if we did not believe in the power which manages the universe. This conviction leads us to the scientific discoveries.”

He continues to say: “Without any doubt any precise scientific discussions is based on a religion-like opinion. That convictions is this: the universe is created on the basis of wisdom and this wisdom is understandable by us.”

He used to say, as well:

“The Gnostic sensation is the most elegant and the deepest of all sensations. It is He who implants the seeds of genuine sciences in our hearts. One who is unaware of this sensation, the one who may not get excited by great surprises, and the one who can not get amazed, is a dead person. We should know that there exists something the depth of which is unknown to us. He manifests Himself in the form of the loftiest virtues and in the most amazing elegance. While our senses and skills are limited to comprehend only the simplest forms of these shapes and forms, we should go after this sensation and knowledge in our genuine faith(The way to perfection, Vol 2, P 118).

In these profound sentences of Einstein, there are three fundamental issues:

1. This Universe is created on the basis of wisdom;

2. Man with all his rational capacities is just bewildered in front of the grandeur of Allah;

3. It would be impossible for anybody to comprehend the deep side of that sacred Being.

It seems as if Einstein had deeply studied the Islamic texts since what he has got through his searches in physics and mathematics and due to his thinking we have them explicit reported in the Holy Quran, in the narrations and in the invocations:

In nearly one thousand occasions, the Holy Quran has invited our wisdom to pay heed to the amazing process of creation so that we may reach the truth that the creation of the Universe is firmly based upon the Determination of the Absolute wisdom and on the Infinite Knowledge.

At the beginning of the second part of Aminollah Invocation, which consists of the most delicate issues, we will read:

اللّهُمَّ اِنَّ قُلُوبَ المُخْبِتِينَ إلَيكَ وَالِهَةٌ.

O God! The hearts of those who are humble in front of Your Grandeur are filled with awe and reverie towards You.

It is written in the Islamic distinguished sources and narrations that it is not advisable to think too much about God’s Entity and Depth since this will only lead to our amazement, awe, reverie and bewilderment.

We should recognize that Clean and Majestic one only through His sacred Names, and Attributes. This will lead us to prosperity both Here and in the Hereafter.

John Alder, one of the great authors of the twentieth century writes in his valuable book called “Believing in God in the Twentieth century”:

“Not only will the principle of the truth of the creation, but also the details of creation, if they are studied carefully, lead us towards the belief in Allah.

For instance, look at the phenomenon of life on the Earth. Where did it come from, and where did it start?

The findings of numerous geologists have shown, beyond doubt, that there had not been any sign of life on the earth for long historical time. The deep layers of the archeological remnants lacked any signs of life. Only upon the upper layers, which have been studied in some centuries ago, did the investigators find the remnants of life. On the other hand, the volcanoes were active and their lava used to cover the surface of the earth, letting the surface of the earth be too hot for life to begin. That extreme heat made life impossible. It took the earth millions of years to cool down and to let creatures come into being. But where did these living creatures come from, anyhow?

To answer the above question, there are three hypotheses: According to the first hypothesis, the origin of life was the earth.

The second hypothesis says that life started automatically, without any external agent.

According to a third hypothesis life was created by the Eternal Initiator or Allah.

The first hypothesis is rejected on the basis of the fact that it is against all criteria and principles of nature. At every phase of the world of creation, an entity could create something, but that something may not create the originator. For instance, a carpenter creates a table, a man brings about a child, or a bird can create a nest; but the reverse is not true: A table may not create a carpenter, a child may not create a man, nor does a nest create a bird. Although the creation of life by a super might is in accordance with the laws and principles of nature, the creation of higher layers of life by materials which lack action and reaction power such as earth and stones is completely irrational. Furthermore, the features of the things which lacked the power of action and interaction have been studied by researchers. In none of them could the investigators find any sign of life.

This will lead us to the second hypothesis according to which life came into being automatically. Well-known researchers have concluded that life could not have been existent in this manner. Life could bring about life.

Then we will come to the third and the last hypothesis: Where did life come from and who is the creator? We mentioned above that life could not have been created automatically; neither was it created by material items. There is only one hypothesis in front of us: life was brought about by a Higher, and Invisible Creator Who is all around us and everywhere. This Initiator is called Allah.

When we observe that life as such is invisible, it will not be hard to imagine that the creator or initiator of life is Invisible, as well.

We could see living thing, but not their life. In the same way, when a person is dying we can not see his soul coming out of his body. His body, five minutes before death, is like his body five minutes after his death. Nevertheless, we are aware that his life has left. We are aware that his life has left him. So this is a right assumption: as the life itself is invisible, so is its creator.”( Believing in God in the twentieth century, P 16.).

It would be needless to explain more than this. We are aware that the Islamic sources, especially the Holy Quran, say that the initial substance of creation was an immense mass of gases and millions of years of changes in these gases led to the creation of this mysterious and bewildering act of creation, which took place in accordance with the principles of logic and most systematically, was the sacred Being of Allah, the Almighty, who is well introduced through the endeavors of the Prophets, the Infallible ones (s), the great Islamic Gnostics and the heavenly bibles, especially the Holy Quran. They all have revealed Allah’s commands which will make man to prosper.