Raising the Heavens without Pillars
Selections from the Book The Story of The Beginning of Creation and The Creation of Adam, peace be upon him …
Written by Dr. Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi...
Episode (39)
Allah Almighty said: {It is Allah who erected the heavens without pillars that you [can] see; then He established Himself above the Throne and made subject the sun and the moon, each running [its course] for a specified term. He arranges [each] matter; He details the signs that you may, of the meeting with your Lord, be certain. (2) And it is He who spread the earth and placed therein firmly set mountains and rivers; and from all of the fruits He made therein two mates; He causes the night to cover the day. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought. (3)} [Ar-Ra'd: 2-3]. Allah Almighty also said: {He created the heavens without pillars that you see and has cast into the earth firmly set mountains, lest it should shift with you, and dispersed therein from every creature. And We sent down rain from the sky and made grow therein [plants] of every noble kind. (10) This is the creation of Allah. So show Me what those other than Him have created. Rather, the wrongdoers are in clear error. (11)} [Luqman: 10-11].
The interpreters have provided two interpretations of the verses related to the pillars. Some of them assert that the heavens have pillars, but they are not visible. Thus, the meaning of the verse is: Allah is the One who raised the heavens without visible pillars, with the phrase {that you see} describing "the pillars", and the pronoun refers back to "pillars". Others believe that the heavens do not have pillars at all, and the meaning of the verse would then be: Allah is the One who raised the heavens as you see them without pillars, making the phrase {that you see} an adjective for the heavens, with the pronoun referring back to the heavens.
Contemporary astronomers lean toward the first interpretation; they say that all celestial bodies have been created by the Creator, may He be exalted, and that each body is like a brick in a towering structure. He raised all these bodies, one above the other, using forces that are a type of centripetal force, while simultaneously binding them with a strong gravitational force. Gravity balances the centripetal forces resulting from the orbits in nearly circular paths or elliptical sectors, and these forces act like the pillars that indeed exist. Even though we can see them with our eyes, that does not mean that these pillars do not exist at all. We can imagine them within the realm of every material body, and perhaps if one of us were granted an additional sense beyond our current senses, they would be able to see or feel those pillars, just as we perceive any material or ordinary body with our usual senses.
Dr. Zaghloul Al-Najjar states: Cosmic studies indicate the presence of hidden forces in the fundamental building blocks of matter, in both atoms and molecules, and in all celestial bodies, governing the construction of the universe and holding it together until Allah wills to destroy it and create anew. Among the forces identified by scientists in both the earth and the sky are four forms believed to be various aspects of a single supreme force that flows through different parts of the universe, binding it together; otherwise, its structure would unravel.
These forces are: the strong nuclear force, the weak nuclear force, the electromagnetic (electric and magnetic) force, and the force of gravity. These four forces are the hidden pillars upon which the structure of the heavens and the earth stands. Scientists have recognized them through their apparent and hidden effects in all perceptible things in the universe. Astronomers and theoretical physicists believe that these four forces must converge into a single form of force that represents the unity of construction in this universe, witnessing to the Creator's absolute oneness above all His creation.
- Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi, The Story of The Beginning of Creation and The Creation of Adam, peace be upon him, pp. 260-262.
- The Eternal Miracle, Al-Salabi, p. 36.
- Al-Salabi, the same reference, p. 37.
For further information and review of the sources for the article, see:
The Book of The Story of The Beginning of Creation and The Creation of Adam, peace be upon him on the official website of Sheikh Dr. Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi:
