Considering that our imagination is made up of subatomic particles Imam Ibn Arabi said “He who does not know (yarif) the ontological status (martaba) of imagination (how it is connected with the rest of the universe) has no knowledge whatsoever”, it is then important to know what Islam says about the subatomic world.
If we keep in mind that all the particles and atoms of space are the ink Allah used to create the Universe, and the space which we see in the night sky is just the outer most layer of subatomic space, the prophet (saws) said, “The first thing Allah created was the pen, then He created the ‘Nun’ (space) which is an inkwell (for particles). This is what Allah stated (in sura 68:1) ‘Nun and the Pen.’ And He said to it, ‘Write’. So the pen wrote all that will be until judgment day. Then Allah created the Nun (outer most part of space) above the waters (the subatomic depths, waters is a simile for a sea of particles in space) and He pressed the earth into it’s back (the Earth bends space around it which is why the prophet (saws) said pressed into it’s back). He (Allah) then said to the pen ‘Write.’ The pen asked ‘What shall I write?’ Allah replied, ‘Write what was and what will be until judgment day; whether deed, reward, consequence and punishment- until judgment day.’ Thus the pen wrote what shall be until judgment day. Allah then placed a seal over the pen and it will not talk until judgment day. Then Allah created the mind (of living things) and said, ‘By my Glory, I will establish you in those whom you love and I will take you away from those whom you despise.’” (Imam Qurtubi gave the following chain, Narrated by Al-Walid Ibn Muslim, narrated by Malik Ibn Ans, narrated by Sumay son of Abu Bakir, narrated by Abu Salih Al-Samaan, narrated by Abu Hurayrah who heard the prophet (saws))
It is important to understand all this if we want to understand Imam Ibn Arabi’s words because He uses this knowledge to discuss the cosmology of the universe. In modern terms Imam Ibn Arabi is more accurately the ancient worlds version of a Quantum physicist and most of what He says relates to quantum mechanics, but he takes this a step further and discusses the entire structure of the universe, how man through his physiology is connected to it through the subatomic world and how both man and the universe relate to Allah. Physicist on the other hand deal mainly with the laws of the universe and speak little about the bigger picture and how everything fits in together, in modern science this field is called cosmology, it is the study of large scale properties of the universe as a whole, it endeavours to understand the origin, evolution and fate of the entire universe.
Western academics often call Ibn Arabi a philosopher which is a mislabel, but they tend to call every islamic scholar a philosopher even those vehemently against philosophy which most where, such is the case with Imam Ghazali for example who wrote the famous “Incoherence Of The Philosophers” that dealt a death blow to philosophy in Islamic lands, this is because philosophy has never been accepted in Islam as it states truths based on theory and conjecture and asks little in the way of evidence to prove itself, to Islamic scholars who invented the scientific method this was unacceptable.
Imam Qunawi, one of the most important figures in understanding Imam Ibn Arabi and his student “differentiates Ibn ‘Arabi’s position from that of falsafa (philosophy) and scholastic theology (Kalam) by calling it mashrab al-tahqiq, “the school of realization”. Tahqiq is indeed the cornerstone of Ibn ‘Arabi’s vast corpus, so it is important to have a sense of what it means. The word is derived from the same root as haqq and haqiqa (reality). Haqq means true, real, right, worthy, and appropriate, haqiqa means reality and truth.”(The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Imam Ibn Arabi, based on the science of his time, was trying to describe the cosmology of the universe it’s reality, this is more accurately what mashrab al tahqiq, realization is, because our reality is simply what Allah created in the Universe he wasn’t attempting philosophy, today the names of these sciences have simply changed and we use terms like physics and quantum mechanics. Scholars in the ancient world were often qualified in multiple fields of science so they frequently drew the bigger picture of life from the science they knew, Imam Ibn Arabi connected man’s physiology, his self and the universe together because Allah spoke of this in the Quran, surah al shams (91) is the perfect example of this, Allah explains in the surah how the celestial bodies of space along with earth and it’s atmosphere influence mans self from the subatomic level, this is multiple fields of science being mentioned in one surah to draw the bigger picture of life.
It is only the modern education system that isolates the various fields of science into departments and forces scientists to only look at one field they are specialised in, so rarely does any one today talk about the larger picture of life and how we fit into it.
The Nun is described as an inkwell by the prophet (saws), an inkwell holds ink used to write so physical space is the container for the smaller particles in subatomic space which is the ink Allah used to create life and the universe. The labels found in ahadith are just simile’s for the role these things play so that Arabs 1400 years could understand what they did, this should be kept in mind when reading the following Ahadith that show how Allah and the prophet (saws) spoke about subatomic space.
Ibn Abbas (r.a) said “Allah is He who created seven heavens, and of the earth the like thereof” (65:12) as “Seven earths: In every earth is a prophet like your Prophet, an Adam like your Adam, a Nuh like your Nuh, an Ibrahim like your Ibrahim and an ‘Isa like your ‘Isa” (Hakim, Suyuti and others), in short this is referring to creatures on other planets each species like mankind was sent a prophet like our prophet, had an Ibrahim like our Ibrahim etc this is a reference to there roles amongst their people, what is significant about this is what is meant by seven earths…Once we understand the scholars explanation the translation should read “Allah is He who created seven heavens (layered on top of each other), and of this earth the like thereof (it is similarly layered)” (65:12) as “Seven earths (each layer can sustain life, it is a type of earth): In every planet (in space) is a prophet like your Prophet, an Adam like your Adam, a Nuh like your Nuh, an Ibrahim like your Ibrahim and an ‘Isa like your ‘Isa”
The prophet (saws) said “Whoever usurps even one span of the land of somebody, his neck will be encircled with it down the seven earths.” (Bukhara, Muslim) It was understood by the scholars that seven earths doesn’t mean seven planets, it means seven regions or strata of the earth just like Heaven has seven levels each with it’s own name and people living in it.
It is mentioned in Ajwiba li ‘l-As’ilah by Al-Zurqani: Questions 45 and 46; Does the earth have seven strata (layers) like heaven, and are there creations of Allah therein? Answer: Allah said, “and of the earth the like thereof” and He said in another verse, “Do you not see how Allah created seven heavens in strata?” (71:15), so it is understood that it is the strata that are meant in the first verse, even if they are not mentioned [explicitly], so the likeness of the earth is in this [manner].
It is mentioned in the tafsir of Muhammad ibn ‘Ali al-Shawkani called Fath al-Qadir that Al-Dahhak said that they are layered one on top of the other without separation unlike the heavens. “The command descends between them” (65:12), the commands are the Laws of the Universe and revelation. Mujahid said: the command descends from the seven heavens to the seven earths.
The commands of Allah are the laws of physics for the universe and what He decrees for us, if we were to ask were is gravity this may give us a better idea of what is meant by “The command descends between them” (65:12) it is a reference to subatomic space, seven earths (strata) is a term used for the regions just before we reach the Atom because we are talking about earth not space, they sustain other life forms like the Jinn who are made from thermal energy (a smokeless fire).
It is mentioned in Hawashi Tafsir al-Baydawi by Al-Shihab al-Khafaji: His statement, “and of the earth the like thereof” in number, is an indication that the earth, like heaven, has seven separate strata, and this is well-known in the sahih hadiths. It was said they are seven regions.
To understand what is meant by strata which means layers or levels, we have to look at the existence of the Jinn on this earth and where they exist, we are in the lowest state of matter, the physical state and they are created from energy so they are a step above it in a higher strata (layer) of matter sharing the same earth. The Jinn are made of fire which is thermal energy not physical matter like the human body, we can imagine them like the wind blowing around us but made of finer (quantum) particles, they live close to the subatomic part of the universe the strata they live in is the closest to us.
So what is meant by strata is that Allah has created creatures like the Jinn that exist in higher levels or strata of the planets in space, they live closer to subatomic space than the Jinn, like the buraq the prophet (saws) rode on during his night journey, and there are seven higher layers or strata that creatures can exist in seperate from the Angels who exist entirely in subatomic space.
Seven earths refers to seven strata that can sustain life forms this is why each strata is called an earth the label is descriptive, they live on other planets in space like mars or venus which Ahadith indicate the prophet (saws) was taken to and He (saws) made Dawah to their inhabitants, the life forms are lesser than Angels, which can live in cold space and the deepest levels (strata) of the subatomic universe, all the way to the depths of sidrat al muntaha (53:14), which is the furthest and deepest limit of the universe that Allah mentions in the Quran.
These are the creatures who live in different depths of the universe, the prophet (saws) in a language the Arabs could understand said they where living on top of the universe, while we are living in it, physical matter and what we are made from is in the universe while small particles that fly through everything ignoring gravity which all the other creatures are made from live on it.
The prophet (saws) said that after the universe ends “The earth will be changed to another earth and so will be the heavens. Then He will unfold, even out, spread, and then extend it, like the extending of tanned leather… You will see therein nothing crooked or curved. Then Allah will drive out (resurrect) the creation with one driving (resurrection), and they will be like they were the first time: whoever was inside of it will be inside of it (this is mankind), and whoever was on it will be on it.”(Ibn Kathir)
“The command descends between them” (65:12) This is probably the clearest answer and indication of what the seven earths are, because the levels of Jannah (heaven) are in the depths of subatomic space one above the other ending with the Arsh (throne) of Allah which is the furthest limit to the Universe. Before the command of Allah reaches the physical world it passes the seven (strata) earths, or the seven layers that other life forms can exist in.