Big Crunch

We often hear and read about the ayah where the Qur'an describes the beginning of the universe, in Surah 21 verse 30, where Allah poses the question:

Have not the unbelievers seen that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit) and We broke them asunder? And We made from water every living thing, will they not then believe?

This verse predates the theory of the Big Bang by hundred of years, and have been known by Muslims way before the invention of any of the modern astronomic devices.

However, our subject here is what scientists call the Big Crunch. Paradoxically, in the same chapter (The prophets) where, as we have seen, Allah talks about the creations of the universe out of a single unit, we find another verse talking about the end of the universe.

In verse 104, Allah (swt) says: "The day that We roll up the heaven like a scroll rolled up for books. Just as We created the first creation, so shall We produce a new one. A promise We have undertaken, truly shall We fulfill it."

Here Allah (swt) foretells the end of the universe, just as most scientists say it is most likely to happen.

 

"The Universe might yet collapse in a devastating "big crunch". Physicists have shown that even though its growth is speeding up, it could still start to implode by the time it is only twice its current age.

"A few years ago, nobody would even think seriously about the end of the world within the next 10 to 20 billion years, especially since we learned that the Universe's expansion is accelerating," says Andrei Linde of Stanford University. "Now we see it is a real possibility."

 

In 1998, astronomers studying distant supernovae found evidence that the expansion of the Universe is getting faster. This suggests that some kind of "dark energy" is pushing space apart.

Most theories of dark energy propose that the Universe's accelerating expansion is driven by a cosmos-wide repulsive "scalar field" that has a uniform magnitude right across space. A similar energy field is thought to have made the Universe expand incredibly quickly just after the big bang, a period known as inflation. In August, Linde won the Dirac medal for his role in developing this theory.
 

Scientists have assumed that the repulsion of the field will drop as the Universe grows, eventually falling to zero. Though this would slow the rate of expansion of the Universe, it would never actually stop expanding. But Linde says this assumption could be wrong." [1]

[1] http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn2759-universe-might-yet-collapse-in-big-crunch.htm

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Facial lift for the earth

See they not how we visit the land, reducing it of its outlying parts? (When) Allah doometh there is none that can postpone His doom, and He is swift at reckoning. (13.41)Tectonic plates (click picture to enlarge)

The surface of our planet is composed of tectonic plates that are in constant change, movement, and mutual preasure. A result of these phenomena are earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes. However, Allah has provided the earth with a unique system in order to release this preassure and make this planet an inhabitable one. Allah (swt) has made part of the tectonic plates disappear under others, melting and becoming flowing magma, reappearing in oher parts of the earth in the form of volcanoes.Thus, the face of the earth undergoes a kind of lifting operation and is literally shortened in some parts of the planet like the western shores of South America.

The following is an abstract from www.sciencedirect.com

"The Central Andes of South America form the second largest high elevation plateau on earth. Extreme elevations have formed on a noncollisional margin with abundant associated arc magmatism. It has long been thought that the crustal thickness necessary to support Andean topography was not accounted for by known crustal shortening alone. We show that this may in part be due to a two-dimensional treatment of the problem. A three-dimensional analysis of crustal shortening and crustal thickness shows that displacement of material towards the axis of the bend in the Central Andes has added a significant volume of crust not accounted for in previous comparisons. We find that present-day crustal thickness between 12°S and 25°S is accounted for (10% to 3%)with the same shortening estimates, and the same assumed initial crustal thickness as had previously led to the conclusion of a 25–35% deficit in shortening relative to volume of crustal material. We suggest that the present-day measured crustal thickness distribution may not match that predicted due to shortening, and substantial redistribution of crust may have occurred by both erosion and deposition at the surface and lower crustal flow in regions of the thermally weakened middle and lower crust."

Also, a result of this thrust is the formation of mountains: (source Encyclopaedia Britannica)

"In most mountain belts, terrains have been elevated as a result of crustal shortening by the thrusting of one block or slice of crust over another and/or by the folding of layers of rock. The topography of mountain ranges and mountain belts depends in part on the amount of displacement on such faults, on the angles at which faults dip, on the degree to which crustal shortening occurs by..."

More info on the topic on: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/394808/mountain/49652/Crustal-shortening#ref=ref499662

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Misguidance and lack of oxygen

"Whomsoever God desires to guide, He expands his breast to Islam; whomsoever He desires to lead astray, He makes his breast narrow, tight, as if he were climbing to heaven. So God lays abomination upon those who believe not." (6.125)

Every verse of the Quran is called an Ayah, which means both a miracle and a sign. The Quran has been and will always be an everlasting source of astonishment and amazement for human beings. As human knowledge expands, we find new miracles in the Quran that testify for its divine source.

This ayah (verse) of the Holy Quran I have mentioned above contains at least one type of miracle. Allah gives an example of those he does not guide to the right path, as if their chests are too narrow and tight for guidance to enter them and reach their hearts. He says " as if he were climbing to heaven". How does this ayah constitute a clear scientific miracle?Modern transportation has enabled human beings to conquer places they once thought they would never reach. Like the tips of the highest mountains, the skies and even outer space. In these places, there is a lack or an absence of oxygen that makes it either very hard or impossible for our lungs to obtain the air we need. Therefore, humans have come up with artificial ways and utensils and instruments to secure their necessary air supply. In this context, the typical movie scenes come to our mind where the pilot asks the passengers to put on their oxygen masks.

Here we have the Quran, a 1450 year-old book, mentioning this fact that has not been discovered untill the last centuries. Even if for argument sake, we take for granted that some people could have known this fact back then, those would be the people living in the Himalayas, the Andes or some very high region on earth. Our beloved prophet Muhammad (pbuh) lived in a desert where mountains are quite low.This is a simple aspect of the miraculous nature of this Holy Book. You will encounter these signs and miracles by the hundreds as you read, contemplate and reflect on this tremendously wonderful Book Allah has blessed us with.

Mount Everest, the higest mountain on earth (22989 ft)

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