Extraterrestrial Life: a Qur'anic View

Extraterrestrial Life: a Qur'anic View
By Dr Dildar Ahmed, Pakistan
It is not impossible, scientifically or theologically, that in the future aliens, or the extraterrestrial living creatures, may travel to the earth and humans may travel to the far-off stars. What appears a miracle today may become a common phenomenon tomorrow. The question of extraterrestrial life fascinates the men of deep insight and knowledge and laypersons alike. It would therefore be of much interest for them to know what possibly a revealed scripture may say about the existence and nature of aliens. The Qur’an has a number of verses that can be understood to have a possible allusion to the existence of conscious life form in the “heavens”.
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The second half of the 20th century witnessed remarkable advances in the field of space science. Man successfully landed on the moon, and his space missions acquired lots of information about the sun and its planets and satellites, as well as other stars and galaxies. The process of research and investigation is still going on with ever-increasing speed and widening scope.
Perhaps the most fascinating question of space research is as to the possibility of life outside of the earth, the extra-terrestrial life. The presence of chemical elements forming living bodies on the earth has also been indicated on other planets of the solar system. However, the research has not yet showed any evidence of the existence of life on any of the planets or satellites of the solar system. Generally, the conditions on these celestial bodies are not conducive for the appearance and survival of life. Nevertheless, this is not the whole story. There are billions of galaxies in this universe, each containing billions of stars. The scientists believe that a great number of stars, if not all, have planets revolving around them, like those of our own solar system. Under such a situation, it is possible that a great number of planets may exist that have environmental conditions similar to those on the earth. Such planets virtually can have living organisms, in one form or the other, on them. The chemistry of the elements found in the universe suggests that those living organisms will be most probably very similar to those of the earth-if not completely analogous to them.
However, the possibility of the existence of an entirely different life form cannot be ruled out. The undiscovered world my literally have unprecedented wonders for us.
In this context, the most important question is that of the existence of conscious beings like humans on the earth. We have no scientific answer yet. However, the scientists are hopeful that some day they will succeed to find out for sure if any form of life exists in the heavens.
With this background, now, let us investigate what guidance we can derive from the Holy Qur’an about the existence of life on the celestial bodies. Although a Scripture is not primarily meant per se to teach man what he can learn through his God-gifted faculties, the way it describes its message may provide the reflecting mind a food for thought on such subjects. Keeping in mind how frequently the Qur’an has invited man to reflect on the wonders of nature, to investigate what possible conclusions of scientific significance one can draw from its descriptions is an interesting study. On the basis of the study of some of the ayaat/verses we can infer that the Qur’an has important references to the existence of the extra-terrestrial life.
A very clear hint as to the existence of aliens can be found in the following verse.
‘And among His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the living creatures that He has scattered through them: and He has power to gather them together when He wills.’[1]
At another place, the Holy Qur’an has a similar indication:
‘And to God doth obeisance all that is in the heavens and on earth, whether moving (living) creatures or the angels: for none are arrogant (before their Lord).’[2]
The Arabic word used in these verses for the ‘living creatures’ is daabah, which denotes ‘any sentient, corporeal being capable of spontaneous movement’ (Asad [3]) or ‘living creatures of all kinds’ (Abdullah Yusuf Ali [4]).
Commenting on 42:29, Abdullah Yusuf Ali observes: “Life is not confined to our one little planet. ….it is reasonable to suppose that life in some form or other is scattered through some of the millions of heavenly bodies scattered through space.” [5]
In the Qur’an, the word daabah has been used for animals as well as for the human beings [see, for example, 8:22, 11:6, 16:61, 22:18, 24:45, 27:82, 35:28, 35:45]. Commenting on 42:29, the great classical commentator of the Qur’an, Imam Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (1149-1209) observes:
‘It is not impossible that in the heavens there are species of animals that move just like humans walk on the earth.’[6]
Some verses of the Holy Qur’an may be interpreted to have an allusion to the existence of the earth-like bodies in the universe. Such a conclusion may, for example, be drawn from the following verse:
“Allah it is who hath created seven heavens, and of the earth the like thereof.” [7]
Although many translators have understood the phrase “the like thereof”, Arabic mithlahunna, to signify the similarity in number, it may equally be understood to have an indication of the similarity in creation, i.e., it is God who has created the heavens and similarly (bodies of the kind) of the earth [8]. Thus, the verse can be translated as follows.
‘God is He who has created seven heavens, and like them, (bodies of the kind) of the earth’. [9]
Syed Abu al-Aala Maududi, for example, has translated the verse in a similar way [10]. Significantly, the Qur’an has never used the plural word for the earth; it has always used the singular word ardh (earth). Here it talks about the bodies of the kind of the earth, denoting, possibly, the planets or other celestial bodies, having conditions similar to those on the earth- the conditions that are favourable for the development and survival of the life.(The words ‘seven heavens’ in the abovementioned verse possibly signify the multiplicity of the cosmic systems[11]). For completeness, two more verses are quoted below:
“The seven heavens and the earth, and all beings therein, declare His glory….” (17:44)
“Say: “My Sustainer knows whatever is spoken in the heaven and on the earth; and He alone is all-hearing, all-knowing.” (21:4)
These verses can be understood to indicate the presence of intelligent life on the heavenly bodies. Grammatically, the Arabic “man” (who) is used, as a rule, for intelligent beings, and the words “whatever is spoken” also indicate the presence of rational beings that can think and speak.
It is interesting to note that the possibility of existence of living organisms in the heavenly bodies is also supported by some Hadiths, sayings attributed to the Holy Prophet, and by other Islamic traditions. For example, commenting on 65:12, Ibn Kathir narrated a possible Hadith that points out the existence of an earth-like heavenly body, at a considerable distance from the sun, which is inhabited by some living creatures [12]. In a tradition attributed to Hazrat Ali, the fourth righteous-caliph, it is said that “in the stellar bodies there are cities like those on the earth” [13]. Irrespective of the authenticity of such traditions, they do give us one clear massage: the idea of the existence of extra-terrestrial life is not new in Islam; it goes back to the very early times.
Now, let us once again look at the last segment of 42:29, namely, ‘and He has power to gather them together when He wills’. This statement may have manifold meaning. It may allude to the gathering of the creatures at the Day of Judgment. However, at the same time, it may be understood to mean that the creatures of different heavenly bodies including the earth will some day come in contact with one another. If so, that will happen according to the will of God- that is, in accordance with the laws He has ingrained in nature.
Conclusion From the study of some of its verses it, thus, appears that the Holy Qur’an not only affirms the existence of living organisms on one or more of the celestial bodies, it also seems to predict their being exposed to one another somewhere in the future.
Notes and References
1. The Qur’an, 42:29. Translation is by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur’an, Da’wah Academy, International Islamic University, Islamabad, 2004, p. 1424.
2. The Qur’an, 16:49. Translation is by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, p.740.
3. Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Qur’an, Dar al-Andalus, Gibraltar, 1984, p. 401.
4. See Abdullah Yusuf Ali, p.1424.
5. Ibid.
6. See his Al-Tafsir al-Kabir, Vol. IX, Dar Ihya al-Tirath al-Arabi, Beirut, 1995, p. 599.
7. Translation by is Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Qur’an, Islamic Book Trust, Kuala Lumpur, 2001, p. 827.
8. See, for example, Pir Muhammad Karam Shah al-Azhari, Zia al-Qur’an, Zia al-Qur’an Publication, Lahore, 1400H, p. 288.
9. This rendering is by the author.
10. See his Tafhim al-Qur’an, Vol. V, Idara Tarjuman al-Qur’an, Lahore, 1991, p. 581.
11. See, for example, Muhammad Asad, p. 8.
12. See his Tafsir Ibn Kathir, (Urdu translation), Maktaba-e-Quddusia, Lahore, nd, p. 380. The commentators have mentioned along with the sayings attributed to the Holy Prophet, Athaar or sayings attributed to the Companions that have references to the other “earths” inhabited by creatures like humans. See, for example, Ibne Kathir, Op.Cit.
13. Nasir Makarim Shirazi, Tafsir-e-Namoona (Urdu translation), Misbah al-Qur’an Trust, Lahore, 1416H, p. 370.