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http://www.optagon.page.tl/Extraterrestrials-in-Islam.htm

Extraterrestrials in Islam
By Nadeem Haque and Zeshan Shahbaz

People of earth, your attention, please,"... This is Prostetnic Vogon
Jeltz of the Galactic Hyperspace Planning Council,"..."As you will no
doubt be aware, the plans for development of the outlying regions of
the galaxy require the building of a hyperspatial express route
through your star system, and regrettably your planet is one of those
scheduled for demolition. The process will take slightly less than two
of your earth minutes. Thank you."
              (From Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas
Adams)

In academic circles, when the captivating question of the possible
existence or non-existence of intelligent extraterrestrial life is
debated, the validity of religions, which view humans as the only
intelligent or superior species that God has created, is seriously
undermined. Mistakenly, Islam is included in this list of 'undermined
religions'. However, rather than undermining Islam, the possible
discovery of extraterrestrials would actually reinforce and
dramatically confirm that which is already contained in the Quran. In
this article, we shall attempt to provide an overview of the Islamic
perspective on this subject.

We are not Alone!
According to Islam we are certainly not alone, for in the Quran it is
stated that:

        ...among His signs is the creation of the heavens and the
        earth, and whatever corporeal creatures (dabbahtun) that He
        has dispersed throughout them. He is able to gather them
        together, whenever He wills. [Quran 42:29]

There are several points that need to be elaborated upon, with respect
to this key verse: Firstly, in the Quran the word used is dabbah
(plural dawab) which refers to entities that are comprised and/or
evolved from water (see verse 24:45), where it is stated that God has
created every dabbah from water). The word dabbah also denotes any
sentient, corporeal being capable of spontaneous movement**. Secondly,
this passage states that life in this universe is widespread. Thirdly,
the verse portrays that we will one day, sometime in the future,
communicate and/or meet with other extraterrestrial beings and that
this will be one of the signs of the Creator - signs of design, wonder
and power that reflect the Intelligence that originated the Universe
and its stellar inhabitants. The reason why the statement regarding
the gathering of corporeal entities in this universe, relates to an
event in the universe itself, rather than in the hereafter, on the day
of judgment, is because when, in the Quran, it states elsewhere that
there will be a gathering of entities in the next life, it does so in
respect of them gathering unto God, or an equivalent qualification.
However, in this particular passage, the gathering between life forms
is not between them and God, but between themselves. Furthermore, when
the word 'signs' or 'sign' is used, it means that the sign will, at
some point, be realized or seen by human beings in this life. For
example, in the Quran (10:92), it is stated that the Pharaoh who
chased Prophet Moses will be preserved in his body as a sign for those
who come after him. Indeed, Pharaoh Merneptah's body today does indeed
remain preserved as a sign for us in the Cairo Museum in Egypt today,
as has been discussed in detail by Maurice Bucaille, in his now
famous, The Bible, Quran and Science. If the creatures in the rest of
the universe will be a sign for us, we must, at some point in space
and time, realize it concretely. Let us hope that these entities are
not as insensitive as Douglas Adam's 'Vogons', quoted above, or as
duplicitously cunning as the aliens in a now classic Twilight Zone
episode, who visit earth purportedly TO SERVE MAN. Unbeknownst to the
simple earthlings, to serve man actually meant to literally serve them
on the dinner plate, as opposed to being in service for man!

Clusters of Earths
Remarkably, the Quran also states that there are other earth-like
planets, which consequently means that they are hospitable to life. In
connection with the following verse, it is important to note that the
number seven in the Arabic is often synonymous with "several", but it
may also mean exactly seven. The Quran says, "It is God who has
created seven heavens (samawati) and of the earth their like. His
command prevails among them, in order that you might know that He has
power of all things, since His knowledge is all-encompassing [Quran
65:12]." How is this "of the earth," that the Quran speaks of, like
the seven heavens? The word sama, plural samawati, refers to "that
which is above" and is contextual in nature. In Quran (67:3) and
(71:15), it is stated that God has created the seven heavens, one
above the other. In addition, the "lower heaven" mentioned in (41:12),
comprises of planets (kaukab), indicating that the "lower heaven" or
literally "the lower that which is above" points to a type of
grouping, in this case the grouping of planets around one star, that
is, the solar system. Taking this linguistic and contextual evidence,
we realize that "seven heavens" consequently refers to the
hierarchically clustered way in which the universe has been
structured. For example, we live in our solar system, and, of course,
beyond our cosmic neighbourhood, a multitude of other stellar systems
abound. These stellar systems may be clustered, that is, they are
'bunched-up' together in terms of their relative proximity to each
other. When you take a cluster of these clusters of stars, they form a
galaxy, where our galaxy alone contains an estimated 100 thousand
million stars. But these galaxies themselves are also clustered, and
these cluster of galaxies are, likewise, also clustered, i.e. they
form superclusters.  Astronomers estimate that the universe roughly
contains 100 billion galaxies. If this "of the earth" is like the
seven heavens, then it means that there are clusters of earths as well
(i.e. earth-like planets orbiting nearby stars). In which case there
would be countless of earth-like planets in the universe. It is worth
noting that the Prophet Muhammad also mentioned the plurality of
earths:

        ...Say: O God, the Lord of the seven heavens and whatever
        they cover, Lord of the earths and whatever they contain....
        [At-Tabarani in his Al-Kahir and Al-Awsat]

The Nature of Extraterrestrial Intelligence
All of this leads to the following intriguing question: If there are
other entities on other far flung planets, are there any as
intelligent as us, or at least have the potential to be intelligent
like us? Surprisingly, the Quran does not state that we are the
topmost species in the realm of the universe, in our overall
attributes, intellectual and/or physical:

        And indeed We have honoured the children of Adam, and We
        carried them by land and sea. We have provided them with
        wholesome things, having specially favoured them above
        many of those whom We have created. [Quran 17:70]

Yes, favoured "above many," but not all! Perhaps, this verse is among
the most overlooked in the Quran. It is here explicitly implied that
there may be at least one, but likely many other species superior to
us in these respects. The fact that the extraterrestrial entities show
no fear during the day when the universe will come to an abrupt end,
implies that these entities too, like us, have 'free-will' in terms of
the potential for moral fallibility:

        And the Day on which the Trumpet will be blown - all those
        who are in the cosmic systems (samawati: i.e. on planets in
        the tens of billions of galaxies) as well as on the earth,
will be
        terrified, except those whom God wills. And all shall appear
        before Him humbled. [Quran 27:87]

        And the trumpet will be blown, and all those who are in the
        cosmic systems as well as on the earth, will swoon, except,
        those whom God wills. [Quran 39:68]

In fact, it is only entities with 'free-will' like us humans that will
be either happy or sad, in terror or at peace, on that awesome day
(refer to Quran 80:34-42), the wild animals all being terrified (refer
to Quran 81:5). If there are creatures in the rest of the universe
that can be terrified or content, when facing this ultimate calamity,
then they must also belong to what can be called The 'Free Will' Class
of Species, i.e. those who have the ability to disobey God and are
capable of higher abstractive reasoning. Indeed, on other planets,
there are beings like us who either obey or deviate in matters of
belief, which by affiliation also implies that they would likely have
parallel developments on their respective planets as on ours, in terms
of God sending down Prophets to remind and warn them. Indeed the
Creator would never leave 'free-willed' entities like us without such
guidance if, on such a planet, higher communal based life had evolved
such as the Neolithic Revolution on Earth. Indeed, the following verse
drives the point home, regarding the primary notion of entities like
us having the ability to go against their Creator:

        And unto God (alone) falls in prostration whoever is in the
        cosmic systems and on the earth, willingly (e.g. good human
        beings and extraterrestrial beings who follow God's laws) or
        unwillingly, as do their shadows in the mornings and
        afternoons. [Quran 13:15]

Many other verses in the Quran discuss the glorification of moral
entities to their Sustainer, making it clear that the Universe is
teeming with life, where this life is solid-bodied like us (i.e.
carbon-based life), as it casts shadows as stated above. There are two
other most interesting passages that need to be quoted, the first one
which reveals that extraterrestrial language is spoken and the second
one which depicts all creatures having the need to seek their Creator,
in terms of the provision of physical sustenance, through their own
planetary ecologies:

        He says: My Sustainer knows whatever is spoken in the
        universe and on the earth therein. He is the All-Hearer, the
        All-Knower. [Quran 21:4]

        All those who are in the cosmic systems and on earth turn to
        Him in their supplications; every day He manifests
        Himself in yet another splendorous way. [Quran 55:29]

The readers are encouraged to read the Quran and look into the
following verses as well: 19:93, 17:44, 17:55, 30:26 and 22:18.

One of the reasons why a lot of Muslims are not aware of these details
about extraterrestrial life is because they have assumed that when the
Quran declares things in the 'seven heavens and the earth' worshipping
God, it refers to the angels or birds. However, interestingly enough,
the following verse tells us explicitly that there are entities other
than the angels. And there is a similar verse that helps us factor out
birds (24:41). In the verse that factors out angels, the
extraterrestrial creatures, scattered throughout the cosmos, have been
denoted by the word 'dabbah', as explained above:

        For, before God prostrates all that is in the cosmic systems
        as well as on the earth - corporeal creatures and the
        angels. They (the angels) do not bear themselves with false
        pride, having reverence for their Sustainer high above
        them, and do whatever they are bidden to do. [Quran 16:49-50]

To underscore the exposed evidence for extraterrestrials in Islam,
here is a tafseer (commentary) of the Quranic verse 65:12 by one of
the closest and most trusted companions of the Prophet Muhammad -
Abdullah Ibn 'Abbas. Ibn 'Abbas, when questioned about this verse,
said:

If I tell you its details, you would disbelieve, meaning you would
reject it. (Then he said): There are seven earths, and every earth has
a prophet like your prophet, Adam like Adam, Noah like Noah, Abraham
like Abraham, and Jesus like Jesus. [Al-Suyuti, Durr al-Manthur,
5:581-582]

If these extra-solar worlds do have, or have had prophets then they
must have revelation, or have had revelation. Is there someone out
there, in the vast reaches of space, on a bluish-green or other shaded
dot circling a lonely star, or binary star systems, writing an article
just like this one, where we are being referred to as the
extraterrestrials? It is indeed something to ponder about.

*See note 20 on Surah 2:29. Asad, The Message of the Quran.
**See note 55 on Surah 16:49. Ibid.

Nadeem Haque is the co-author of From Facts to Values: Certainty,
Order, Balance and their Universal Implications and From Microbits to
Everything: A New Unified View of Physics and Cosmology, and has
written four other unpublished manuscripts in the areas of the
Existence and Nature of God, Islam and the environment, evolution in
the Quran and philosophical short stories and essays (e.g. Chance or
Intelligence). He may be reached at nhaque@mail.com

Zeshan Shahbaz is an independent researcher and freelance writer. His
e-mail address is zshahbaz@mail.com

http://www.optagon.page.tl/Extraterrestrials-in-Islam.htm

I am a Christian personally but I do believe there are other intelligent   societies in the universe. Why would their not be? It's nothing but a chance for god to further spread his work, love and plan. It really only makes sense that there is other life in the universe, even the science agrees with the possibility, or more accurately probability.