When the noise of daily life has reduced and, on a lucky day, we turn our eyes to the sky during a clear night, we come upon a humble fact: the universe, our place in it, and the imperative to be human. We live on one planet, revolving around a normal star in a universe that is so large it is difficult to comprehend using our intellect. Science has taught us that the world does not declare our importance; it is not centered on us. But, to be ironic, it is we who open the eyes of the universe. Allah writes in the Quran, saying, “There are signs in the making of the heavens and earth in favor of those who reason” (3:190). The huge universe is put forward as a sign, an ayah.
For thousands of years, we have treated the Earth as a solid and stony ground on which we stand, but this perception is a fallacy. Our world is continuously moving. It goes around on its axis at an approximate speed of 1,670km/h at the equator, giving it the day and night cycle. At the same time, it spins around the Sun at an even faster pace, as it spins once a year.
Most importantly, the angle of inclination of the Earth is about 23.5 o. The reason seasons exist is not an incidental detail. In its absence, large parts of the earth would be frozen or burnt, and life as we know it would probably never have existed. It is this cosmic geometry that is associated with human beings, biodiversity of species, and even life itself.
There is nothing beneath which the earth is supported. It is suspended in space by gravity, not as a downwards-pulling force, but as a curvature of spacetime itself. As the general theory of relativity proposed by Einstein suggests, large objects cause a distortion of space around them, and everything else trails their path.
The nearest neighbourhood is made up of the eight planets that orbit the Sun, which is already more than four billion years old and a medium-sized star. The Solar System contains natural satellites, minor bodies, comets, and debris that were left by the formation of the planets. Earth sits in a thin window of these objects called the habitable zone, which is the area where temperatures allow the existence of liquid water. Small changes in the distance to the Sun, the composition of the atmosphere, or the mass of the planet can make Earth lifeless. The factors necessary to support life on Earth are extremely specific, and very, very few planets of the observable universe have such incredible qualities.
Expanding our range of vision, the Solar System is a tiny fragment of the Milky Way Galaxy, a huge, dart-shaped pattern, which hosts one hundred and four hundred billion stars. It has a radius of about one hundred thousand light-years. The distance, not the time of flight, the measure of a light-year is the distance that light travels in a year, and light travels a distance of about nine point four six trillion kilometres, which is approximately a year.
Our Solar System is not placed close to the galactic centre; the system is located in a small spiral arm and is not dominating any advantageous location. We are not special even in our own galaxy. However, even the Milky Way is just a single galaxy in an estimated two hundred billion galaxies in the visible universe.
Around thirteen point eight billion years ago, an event was experienced, and a Big Bang happened. This was not the expansion of space but rather the expansion of space itself. Space, time, energy, and matter were created simultaneously. The Quran claims that, “Have not those who disbelieve been looking at the fact that the heavens and the earth used to be united together, and then we have separated them both?” (21:30).
The scientific evidence has the cosmic microwave background radiation and the redshift of the distant galaxies showing the expansion, also the abundance of light elements like hydrogen and helium even observed.
It was at this moment that time started; there was no previous time in any traditional sense. The universe has been evolving since cooling and expanding, and acquiring structure – particles to atoms, stars to galaxies, chemistry to life. Each is said in the Quran, “And the heavens We have erected strength, and indeed expanding it, we”.
Science believes that the Earth developed its life over billions of years. Basic self-replicating molecules gradually evolved into cells, multicellular systems, nervous systems, and finally to brains able to reflect. Complexity was added to the world through random mutation and natural selection. The universe also created creatures at some stage that can pose questions to themselves.
Nature is not alien to human consciousness; it is one of the most complicated manifestations of nature. We are an assembly of the same substances that were made in old stars- the iron in our blood, and the calcium in our bones were synthesized in the furnaces of the stars long before the Earth was formed. No one is an outsider looking in; we are the cosmos, making instant, momentary consciousness of itself.
Since we live in a very large universe, it is only reasonable to suspect that there are other places where there is life. However, never before in decades has any actual article of extraterrestrial intelligence been uncovered. Communication is very challenging due to the huge distances that exist between the stars and galaxies. The civilizations can come and go without even intersecting in time.
Whether the reason behind the existence of intelligent life is scarce or just lonely, we still have a conclusion that conscious experience is a treasure. When the universe is silent, it is therefore all the more important that every thinking, feeling mind exists.
Mankind has embarked on traveling out of its cradle planet. The Voyagers 1 and 2 have been out of the Solar System and have brought records of sounds, images, and music on Earth- messages of a small species to the universe to announce its presence. The present-day missions survey far-off galaxies, robot ground explorers on Mars, and look back into the primeval universe.
These directions are not just technological accomplishments, but manifestations of interest, amazement, and modesty. The reason why we explore is not that the universe has to provide us with answers; it is because posing questions is what it means to be a human being. Atoms consist of subatomic particles. Atoms form molecules. Molecules form cells. Cells form organisms. Organisms form societies. Societies shape planets. Planets orbit stars. Stars form galaxies. The universe is full of galaxies.
When we take a closer look, everything is so much related: the habitable zone, our lives, conscious awareness, meaning everything suggests a search for meaning, of seeking the Creator and His creation, and living life to the full extent. The Quran asserts that there shall be no disparity in the creation of the most merciful (67:3).
A human life, when compared to cosmic time, is short-lived, just a few decades compared to billions of years. Nonetheless, love, grief, joy, fear, creativity, anxiety, sickness, and hope occur within this short period. We make relationships, narrate tales, heal, and have influence.
Realizing that time is a precious resource gives evading benevolence, education, and bonding a sense of urgency. The weakness of life is not a drawback, but it is what makes it worth it. The universe makes us aware that our existence is rare and fragile, we have an extremely small amount of time to be here, and that all human feelings and minds are unique in the whole universe. Hate, anger, and cruelty are not justified; we have all the reasons to live life to its best and reach human potential, as well as make this place and experience easier to live for future generations. As the Quran (18:7) reads, “Indeed, we have made whatever we have on earth an ornament to the earth, that we may test them.”
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The views and opinions expressed in this article/paper are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Paradigm Shift.
Abdullah Khan is a psychology enthusiast who studies in detail the behavior of the human being and social transformations and is pursuing an MPhil in Psychology at MY University Islamabad and can be contacted at [email protected].