We can ask when did the prophet (saws) learn about subatomic particles and subatomic space because there isn’t anything in the Quran or ahadith that speaks about them, the short answer to this is that this is incorrect because it was Allah in the Quran in the verse of light (24:35) who taught him about subatomic particles, Allah then showed the prophet (saws) on his night journey the universe and took him to Sidrat al Muntaha, the furthest subatomic limit to the universe so He (saws) could see Allah with His eyes.
Lets first begin with the prophets (saws) knowledge of space before looking at His (saws) knowledge of it’s subatomic parts: Abu Dharr al Ghifari related, “I walked hand in hand with the prophet around evening until the sun was about to set. We did not stop looking at it until it had set. I asked the Messenger of Allah where does it set?…
The Prophet (saws), in a lengthy answer, said about the movement of the sun and its path in space… “Every day and night the sun has a new place where it rises and a new place where it sets. (The prophet understood the earth was round and how the sun travels around it as well as what space looked like. He intrinsically said that the sun doesn’t set in the same place on the horizon it moves from one end to the other over the year, its orbit around the earth is always changing. Then referring it’s path as it orbits which creates the summer and winter solstice, said) The interval between them from beginning to end is longest for the day in summer and shortest in winter. This is (meant by) Allah’s word: “The Lord of the two easts (marking the two extremes on the horizon were the sun rises from in winter and summer) and the lord of the two wests (marking the two extremes on the horizon were the sun sets, changing it’s path daily)”(55:17), meaning the last (position) of the sun here (on one side of the horizon were it starts) and the last there (on the other side of the horizon were it finishes at the end of the year)… (referring now to the stars which he understood were other suns, said) All the other stars are suspended (floating) from Heaven (space) as lamps are from mosques (meaning there is more space above them, like the ceiling above the lamp), and circulate together with the heaven praising and sanctifying Allah with prayer (prayer is obedience to Allah, hence their orbit is their obedience and prayer, this is a common expression).
The Prophet then said: If you wish to have this made clear, look to the circulation of the sphere alternately here and there. It is the circulation of Heaven (The circulation of our Galaxy in the greater Universe) and the circulation of all the stars together with it except those five (it is significant that the prophet (saws) not only understood the stars move and orbit but the heavens (space) as well). Their (referring to space and the stars) circulation today is what you see and that is their prayer (their following the Laws of physics is prayer to Allah, this is in contrast to the stars that don’t and end up in black holes as was explained to the prophet Idris (as)). Their circulation to the day of resurrection (the day when the Universe will end) is as quick as the circulation of a mill because of the Dangers and tremors of the Day of Resurrection (here the prophet (saws) ties their circulation and speed to the expansion of the Universe and it’s eventual end. This has deeper scientific implications relating to the expansion of the universe which causes the circulation, He (saws) understood this because the Quran mentioned the expansion specifically). This is meant by Allah’s word: “On a day when the heaven sways to and fro and the mountains move (the day when the end of the Universe will first begin, its sway refers to the circulation of the stars on that day and hence the expansion will alter and stop, the mountains will move when all the fundamental forces of the universe like gravity, holding all matter together will begin to wane and cease to exist, physics explains that these forces only exist because of the Universes expansion). Woe on that day unto those who declare false (the Devine message). (52:9-11). (History of al Tabari vol 1, Pg 235-236).
It was because not every person was capable of understanding science that the prophet (saws) said, “We prophets were ordered to communicate with everyone according to his ability to understand.” This is why this knowledge is rare in the hadith literature, a man asked Ibn Abbas about the verse, “Allah is He who created seven heavens, and of the earth the like thereof” and Ibn ‘Abbas said, “what will save you from disbelieving if I inform you?” how do you explain quantum mechanics to desert Arabs in a world that didn’t know science yet.
The verse of light talks about how the Atom comes into existence… “Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The example of His light is like a niche within which is a lamp (the particles Atoms are made from), the lamp is within glass (the Atom), the glass as if it were a pearly [white] star lit (created) from [the oil or forces of] a blessed olive tree (the universe), [it’s Olive is] neither of the east nor of the west (it comes from subatomic space), whose oil (forces) would almost glow (react) even if untouched by fire (they don’t require feul). (The Atom is) Light upon light (this is it’s continuous depth, particles within particles). Allah guides to His light whom He wills. And Allah presents examples for the people, and Allah is Knowing of all things”. (Qur’an 24:35)
Our book “The Light Of Allah In The Heavens and The Earth” explains this verse in greater detail.
When the prophet (saws) was asked about these matters He gave a reply in the form of a simile that person could comprehend, it then shouldn’t be difficult to understand that multiple simile’s exist describing the same thing.
Allah’s Messenger (saws) was asked “what is below the earth, and he said “water”; it was said “then, what is below water?” He said “darkness”; it was said “what is below the darkness?” He said “wind”; it was said “what is below the wind?” He said “soil”; it was said “what is below soil?” He said “knowledge of creatures discontinues at the knowledge of the Creator.”
Most scholars in the ancient world took these words literally, some didn’t wish to comment like Ibn Abbas (ra) and others understood something deeper from them like Imam Ibn Arabi who lived in a time when science was more advanced than the earlier generations.
Imam Tabari dedicates the first volume of his history to what the prophet (saws) said regarding the creation of the universe, it becomes very clear after studying His (saws) words, and understanding that the unseen world, ghayb, is the subatomic part of the universe, that these terms, water, wind and darkness are smilies for the strata and subatomic depths of space, deeper than the strata on earth, the Question “what is below” misguides people because under us means down, but in the context of subatomic space this can also mean what is deeper.
Gravity is most certainly one of the smallest particles in existence, when space is squashed into a small space by a planet or sun or blackhole, its force manifests because its particles are becoming more closely packed, it is the most micro of particles that rules the macro world entirely, it is certainly the soil mentioned in the narration above the soil that gives life to all things and the closest analogy to what creates rocks, planets and matter!
Water is the sea of space, darkness is the depth of subatomic space, wind is the forces subatomic space and soil the foundation of all things in the universe, Gravity!
If the Angels don’t even know then we can never be talking about a physical depth in this earth or beneath it in space, rather what the prophet (saws) meant by the simile of soil is the subatomic region that reaches and includes the Arsh (throne) of Allah, because only after the Arsh does the Angels knowledge of the universe end. In fact, soil is probably the simile for the Arsh because the aim of the hadith is to describe these depths in functional and common terms. From the other narration’s found in Imam Tabari’s History (and elsewhere) we can draw a clearer picture because the prophet (saws) uses descriptive terms that have better scientific relevance in our time.
Imam Qurtubi related that Mujahid related that the ‘Nun’ is the whale that is underneath the seventh earth. He stated that the ‘Pen’ is what was used to write ‘Al-Dhikir’ (The Remembrance – Quran). Likewise, it was also narrated by Mukatil, Murrah Al-Hamdani, Ata’ Al-Kharasani, Al Suddi and Al-Kalbi who all said, “Nun is the whale upon which all the earths are placed.”
In some narrations the prophet (saws) says Earth is on the back of a fish or whale and this whale is swimming in the water, a simile for the earth floating in space. So Here we have an explanation for what the fish or whale is, it is the Nun or space the earth is upon, we also have an explanation to the seven strata of the earth because space is after the seventh strata of earth, and we have a unique statement saying every planet in the universe is one the back of the whale, meaning they are all floating in space.
Muhyi al-Sunnah al-Baghawi said in Ma’alim al-Tanzil: Ibn ‘Abbas said, “Indeed the earths are on the back of a fish, and the fish is in the sea, and the sea is on a green rock, which is on the horn of a bull, and the bull is upon soil and what is below the soil is not known but to Allah.”
Swimming in water is the equivalent of the earth floating in space, the fish is what is carrying it or making it swim, and the equivalent of space on earth are the oceans we know. In fact Allah in the Quran uses a similar simile and says the earth is like a Ship sailing in the seas. But because from here on in the narration we are talking about a subatomic depth the next part is more difficult and can only be known with science, the prophet (saws) knew all this and explained it for later generations of muslims, the prophet (saws) in his last sermon said “All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly. Be my witness O! Allah that I have conveyed your message to your people.”
The fish is then gravity (or for physicists space bent around the Earth, which is why gravity is the fish and water is space and it’s subatomic depths), if we look at the prophets (saws) multiple descriptions, He said earlier “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 literally bends space around it this is how the earth is “pressed” into space.
From here in the narration the depths of the subatomic universe begin; it was said “then, what is below water?” He said “darkness” the darkness of the space we see is the simile for the depths of the subatomic universe; it was said “what is below the darkness?” He said “wind” a simile for the different particle fields (the niche in the wall mentioned in the verse of light) that exist one on top of the other subatomicly at different depths; it was said “what is below the wind?” He said “soil” which is the last depth of the known Universe and this is the Arsh, throne of Allah; it was said “what is below soil?” He said “knowledge of creatures discontinues at the knowledge of the Creator.”
The Hadith in it’s simile is telling us about the role of the different depths in subatomic space, the Arsh is called soil because like soil is the ground beneath our feet, so the Arsh is the ground for the universe, this is because the Arsh is the outer limit of all that exists, for us if the ground disappeared we would be lost in space and so for the universe if the Arsh disappeared the universe would disappear into nothingness. This end to the universe Allah alludes to in the Quran often, when the trumpet is blown the forces holding the universe will dissolve over time and disappear, the universe will then disintegrate and slowly dissolve to nothingness “Allah is the One who holds the heavens and the Earth, lest they cease to exist” (35:41), the only thing keeping Atoms as Atoms are the forces that create them.
This is a technical note that may become more relevant later in this work; When Allah created the Universe He created time as well so the flow of time must then be reliant on what is occurring inside the universe.
Becouse of this it was understood that Space and Time are interwoven together, we have to think of time like a substance rather than just the ticking of the clock, basically the universe creates time as it expands and the universe is just made up of particles, physicists now call space, space-time because this is more accurate.
On earth the speed of gravity is 9.8 meters/second, gravity IS the bending of the outer most layer of space by the earth. The earth as it floats because of it’s mass bends space around it, the amount of bending that occurs causes gravity to be a specific speed on earth, ‘the earth is on the back of a fish (gravity) which is in water (space)’. On the moon gravity is 1.6 m/s, it is less than 9.8 m/s because the moon has a different mass than earth so it bends the outer most layer of space less than earth does.
When scientists realized space and time are intertwined they said, then time must flow differently in space because the earth bends space and time with it’s mass and this bending is a distortion of the flow of time, they then sent a satellite into space to measure the flow of time in comparison to earth and found that it was slightly different. It was then understood that the Gravity created by each of the planets and suns, slows time down, so they realized that time flows faster in space the farther you are from a source of gravity like a planet or sun.
It was recently discovered that there is something in the universe they named the Higgs field (after it’s discoverer) it is an energy field that exists everywhere in space at the deepest subatomic depth that scientist have discovered so far. The field is made from particles called the Higgs Boson, this field uses this particle to continuously interact with all other larger particles in space, as larger particles pass through the field they are given Mass, in plain words this field decides the mass of subatomic particles, and the mass of an object dictates how it moves and behaves in space, so ultimately this field decides what kind of Atoms are formed, all of this is relevant to understanding the similes being used in Ahadith.
Most of the mass of the atom is the confined kinetic and binding energy of quarks, the Prophet of Allah (saws) metaphorically called this the little rock of subatomic space;
in the following Hadith we see how the prophet (saws) taught the companions about, subatomic space, the universe and its creation.
Abdallah ibn. Masud and some (other) companions of the messenger of Allah said commenting on: “He is the one who created for you all that is (physical) on earth (solid matter). then he stretched out straight toward the heaven and fashioned it into seven heavens (the first appearance of solid matter shaped subatomic space which then shaped life).” Allah’s throne (the outermost part of the universe, and the deepest part of subatomic space) was upon the water (a simile for a sea of particles it surrounded on all sides). he had not created anything except what he created before the water (no life or vegetation). when he wanted to create the creation (the universe we know after it cooled from this initial phase), he brought forth smoke from the water (evaporation of water, this is a simile for the process particles were undergoing when the Universe was being created, the simile is of steam coming from water being used to create space). the smoke rose above the water and hovered loftily over it (particles were forming other particles, the seven regions/depths of subatomic space with all their different particles), he therefore called it “heaven”(space), then he dried out the water (solidified it), and thus made it one earth (the planets).
He split it and made it into seven earths on sunday and monday (He created the microscopic regions of this world after it was created, each has its own lifeforms). He created the earth upon a (big) fish (swimming in an ocean, this is a metaphor for space bending around a planet creating gravity, this metaphor is well known from other narrations), that being the fish (nun) mentioned by Allah in the Quran: “nun. by the pen.” (Nun is the most outer layer of space) the fish was in the water (space), the water was upon the back of a rock, (this is a simile for something monolithic made of one or few types of material like a rock, this is a reference to quarks, Atoms are made from electrons and protons and other particles and all these particles are made from smaller particles called quarks which are almost monolithic like a rock in comparison to what Atoms are made from, this is where most of the Mass comes from like the rock of the universe).
The rock was upon the back of an angel (the metaphor of the angel is that they govern the Universe and carry out what Allah decrees, this simile to that, so this region is responsible for many of the major Laws the Universe relies on, it is a reference to Boson particles, that the Higgs field comes from as well as the photon particle that is responsible for all life, electricity, magnetism, chemistry and physics).
The angel was upon a (bigger) rock (something larger that is also monolithic, this is beyond the Higgs field which science has not discovered yet, it is most likely responsible for the ability of the Higgs field to give particles Mass, it is made almost of one type of substance. For the Higgs particle to exist it needs something to stabilize it otherwise it only exists temporarily, this bigger rock may be similar to quarks in some way and stabilizes the Higgs particle and field).
The big rock – the one mentioned by luqman (in the Quran) was in the wind, neither in heaven nor on the earth (because it is a reference to subatomic space which isn’t in either but within. “O my son!” (said Luqman), “If there be (but) the weight of a mustard-seed (of the ramifications of your deeds) and it were (hidden) in a rock (in subatomic space), or (anywhere) in the heavens or on earth (so here we have three separate locations for the rock), Allah will bring it forth: for Allah understands the finest (most subtle) mysteries, (and) is well-acquainted (with them).”31:16, the wording in this verse is identical to every other verse that mentions an atoms weight of good or an atoms weight of evil, the ramifications of our deeds on the universe impact the world to this extent).
The fish (the bending of space around earth) moved and became agitated (gravity was affecting the earth after it was first created). as a result, the earth quacked (had many earthquakes soon after it was created), whereupon He firmly, anchored the mountains on it, and it was stable (here is a reference to gravity affecting the earth then mountains were formed to stabilize it from Gravities effects, as modern geology states). This is stated in Allah’s word that he made for the earth “firmly anchored (mountains), lest it should shake you up.” (the history of al-tabari: Volume 1, pp. 218-220)
Understand The Metaphors Of The Prophet Of Allah (saws) And You Will Understand The Universe And The Quran; “In time We shall make them fully understand Our messages [through what they perceive] in the utmost horizons [of the universe] and within themselves [the microscopic and subatomic], so that it will become clear unto them that this [revelation] is indeed the truth.” [Qur’an 41:53]
Ibn Abbas said that the prophet (saws) said “the first thing created by Allah is the pen, Allah then asked it to write, whereupon the pen asked; What shall i write, My lord? Allah replied write what is predestined! He continued. And the Pen proceeded to (write) whatever is predestined and going to be to the coming of the hour. Allah then lifted up the water vapour and split (or created) the heavens off from it. Then Allah created the fish (Nun or inkwell) and the earth was spread out (placed) upon upon it’s back. The Fish became agitated with the result that the earth was shaken up. It was steadied by means of mountains, for they indeed proudly (tower) over the earth. (Some types of mountains act as pegs in the earths crust). Ibn Abbas then recited “Nun by the pen and what they write”(68:1), (History of Tabari vol.1)
Ibn ‘Abbas said, “Indeed the earths are on the back of a fish, and the fish is in the sea, and the sea is on a green rock, which is on the horn of a bull, and the bull is upon soil and what is below the soil is not known but to Allah.”
There are number of things we have to consider about this hadith, it is according to the understanding of Ibn Abbas about what the prophet (saws) said, and some simile’s are culturally sensitive and time dependant, they have more relevance 1400 year ago than today. The last thing we have to consider is that some of these ahadith have a weak grading, what that means is that they may generally be correct, but they may contain mistakes or missing somethings because of the people who narrated them after the prophet (saws).
It starts of with the planets being on top of the bending of space (the fish or gravity) it is in the sea (the first depths of subatomic space) which is on a green rock (something monolithic) the first monolithic region in subatomic space is quarks that electrons and protons (which make up atoms) are made from, the colour green could be a reference to the fact there are different kinds of Quarks but they all have the same general name, there are many kinds of rocks but this one is green another is a different colour but they are all still rocks.
The rock is on the horn of a bull, this one is more difficult because we have to know what the bull meant culturally and historically to the arabs to give a better answer, but from the general characteristics we know a bull is strong and big. The rock being just on the tip of the bull rather than his back may mean what is beneath quarks is touching them with the tip of what it is but there is an entire creation there behind it, this image also means the bull is balancing the rock (quarks and other particles), therefore this is more than likely a reference to the higgs field which balances other particles by giving them Mass, and Mass decided their fate.
Regarding the Soil, Allah says in the Quran “The Most Gracious Istawa (established him self) over the Throne” (20:5) what this means is explained by the Hadith in which the prophet (saws) said “Allah hath Seventy Thousand Veils of Light and Darkness (the particles and matter of subatomic space): were He to withdraw their curtain, then would the splendors of His Aspect surely consume everyone who apprehended Him with his sight.” (Imam al Ghazali Mishqat al Anwar), what this is saying is that Allah established His Aspect above the throne and it was from the splendour of his aspect (his light of lights) that He created the universe, the ahadith in the next chapter will show this.
Allah uses the word Istiwah which means established or affixed because that is a moment of creation, this is when Allah revealed Himself to the Arsh (throne) and there are no veils between Him and it.
The inkwell was said to have helped the pen in it’s task, the Pen could write the fate of everything because the inkwell (Nun or Fish) predefined the paths of every particle in space, from the subatomic depths to the physical world, Allah defined the path of everything and fated it through the laws that govern space.
When Ali (ra) asked the prophet (saws) about fate whether it was all predestined or all free, it was because of the laws of the universe that the prophet (saws) said “it was between the two”. The Laws of the Universe predefine and fate everything to a certain extent, than man makes his choices after that. For example a man catches a ball, the laws of physics defined the path of the ball heading towards him, the man makes a choice to catch it this is his free will, making a decision about what to do with the ball after is another choice of his, like throwing it back, the laws of physics will then fate what is going to occur next.
There are three forces in the universe that govern everything that occurs sub-atomically, when Allah created the space we know He created a fourth, Gravity, it only works on large objects and doesn’t affect the particles in the universe. Because of these Laws the physical world predefined everything sub-atomically, how it would occur and what the ultimate fate of every particle is, the pen could then write the fate of everything down.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]