Aliens and UFOs in the Noble Quran:
Introduction:
On 7th August 1996,NASA (1) scientists made an announcement that made front page headlines throughout the world.Within a Martian meteorite,they had found evidence of a microscopic lifeform that may have existed on Mars more than three billion years ago. (2) Although other studies were later published which challenged this conclusion, (3) numerous recent discoveries,for example,the discovery by the Galileo spacecraft, (4) in February 1997,of a possible red-coloured sea under the ice crust of Jupiter's moon,Europa, (5) are raising hopes that we may soon be able to get an answer to one of the oldest and most interesting questions asked by humans-"Is anyone out there,or are we alone in the universe?"
However,it may be that none of us may live to see the day when scientists will give us a definitive answer to this question.For Muslims,that should not be a problem.We already have the answer.Although many Muslims are unaware of the fact,the Quran (6) explicitly mentions the existence of extraterrestrial life.
The existence of creatures of a spiritual nature,such as angels,in the universe,is accepted as a fact by all Muslims,as well as people of other religions, such as Christians.The point that generates excitement among the public,and scientists is the question of whether material lifeforms like ourselves,which can be found by science,do actually exist outside the earth. (7) The objective of this article is to present evidence from the Quran for the existence in the universe,of MATERIAL lifeforms ("Life as we know it").
"Dabbatun"
In Sura 42,Verse 29 (42:29) of the Quran,we are told, "Among His (God's) 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." (8) Before proceeding further,a point or two must be noted.The word "sama",translated "heavens",is also the Arabic for "sky".One may object that the verse refers to creatures in the sky (which would be birds),not in the heavens.However,birds are mentioned seperately from creatures of the heavens in 24:41, "Seest thou not that it is God Whose praise all beings in the heavens and on earth do celebrate,and the birds (of the air) with wings outspread?..." (9)
In a note to 42;29,Muhammad Asad states,"In the Quran,the expression "the heavens and earth" invariably denotes the universe in its entireity." (10) The Quran mentions that inanimate objects also worship God:"Do they not look at God's creation, (even) among (inanimate) things- how their (very) shadows turn round,from right to left,prostrating themselves to God..."(16:48). (11) Therefore,may not the creatures spoken of in 42:29 in the heavens,be inanimate creatures of God.
The next verse, 16:49 goes, "And to God doth obeisance all that is in the heavens and earth,whether moving (living) creatures or the angels...".
(12) The word translated "living creatures" here is the same as that in 42:29- "Dabbatun".Comments Asad,"The word dabbah denotes any sentient,corporeal being capable of spontaneous movement and is contrasted here with the non-corporeal,spiritual beings designated as "angels" ". (13) In other words,42:29 is referring to precisely the type of lifeforms that science is searching for,not some metaphysical entities.Yusuf Ali says,"Dabbatun:beasts,living,crawling creatures of all kind." (14) This is the same word used in 2:164,"...in the beasts of all kinds that He scatters through the earth...are signs for a people that are wise," (15) and in 24:45,"And God has created every animal from water : of them are some that creep on their bellies;some that walk on two legs;and some that walk on four. God creates what he wills..."
(16) Commenting on 42:29,Allama Shabbir Ahmad Usmani says,"From the verse it appears that like on the earth,there are some kinds of animals- living creatures- in the heavens also." (17) On the same verse,Yusuf Ali comments, "Life is not confined to our one little Planet.It is a very old speculation to imagine some life like human life on the planet Mars...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." (18) From such remarks,the reader will realize that Muslim scholars are well aware of the fact that 42:29 clearly mentions the existence of aliens.
Is there any alien intelligent life ?
Although the discovery of any form of life outside the earth would be dramatic,humankind is especially interested in knowing whether there is any alien intelligent life in the universe.NASA previously had a program on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI).Although now scrapped due to budget cuts, private SETI organizations (19) have now been made which continue the search.The Planetary Society, (20) a private organization,in which the film director Steven Speilberg (21) is a member of the Board of Directors,has the largest SETI program in the world.So far, no sign of alien intelligent life has turned up.Can the Quran provide an answer?
Sura 27:65 commands,"Say:None in the heavens or on earth, except God,knows what is hidden:nor can they perceive when they shall be raised up (for Judgement)." (22) This shows that,like humans,there are other creatures in the universe that will also be raised from the dead.We are told in 19:93-96,"Not one of the beings in the heavens and the earth but must come to (God) Most Gracious as a servant.He does take an account of them (all),and hath numbered them (all) exactly.And everyone of them will come to Him singly on the Day of Judgement.On those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, will (God) Most Gracious bestow love." (23) From these verses we learn that there are alien lifeforms that,like us,will also be judged according to the works that they do during their lives.Among them are the believers.Therefore,naturally,there will also be those aliens who are unbelievers.The believers will be rewarded.The lifeforms being descibed in the above verses can hardly be expected to be microorganisms.The Quran is referring to creatures of a level of development that makes them morally accountable beings.They must be organisms possessing qualities which we would ascribe to intelligent lifeforms.
In Sura 72:14-15,jinn (a type of spiritual lifeform,which the Quran mention as living on the earth) say,"Amongst us are some that submit their wills (to God),and some that swerve from justice.Now those who submit their wills- they have sought out (the path) of right conduct:But those who swerve- they are (but) fuel for Hell-fire." (24) The Quran mentions that good jinn will be rewarded with Paradise.Summing up from all the above verses,it is clear that Judgement Day is for creatures in the whole universe (Sura 39:68-"The Trumpet will (just) be sounded when all that are in the heavens and on earth will swoon, except such as it will please God (to exempt).Then will a second one be sounded,when,behold,they will be standing and looking on!") (25) and like jinn,aliens will also be sharing Paradise and Hell with humans.In fact,the Quran mentions that Paradise is of a size like that of our present universe- 57:21,"Therefore (vie) with one another for the pardon of your Lord,and for a Paradise as vast as heaven and earh, prepared for those who believe in Allah and His apostles." (26) Therefore, it is not surprising that when we are sharing this universe with aliens,we should share Paradise and Hell with them too.The Quran shows us,therefore,that not only do aliens exist,but among them are also intelligent beings.
Where can aliens be found?
Read the whole interesting article here:
http://www.answering-christianity.com/aliens_in_quran.htm
Introduction:
On 7th August 1996,NASA (1) scientists made an announcement that made front page headlines throughout the world.Within a Martian meteorite,they had found evidence of a microscopic lifeform that may have existed on Mars more than three billion years ago. (2) Although other studies were later published which challenged this conclusion, (3) numerous recent discoveries,for example,the discovery by the Galileo spacecraft, (4) in February 1997,of a possible red-coloured sea under the ice crust of Jupiter's moon,Europa, (5) are raising hopes that we may soon be able to get an answer to one of the oldest and most interesting questions asked by humans-"Is anyone out there,or are we alone in the universe?"
However,it may be that none of us may live to see the day when scientists will give us a definitive answer to this question.For Muslims,that should not be a problem.We already have the answer.Although many Muslims are unaware of the fact,the Quran (6) explicitly mentions the existence of extraterrestrial life.
The existence of creatures of a spiritual nature,such as angels,in the universe,is accepted as a fact by all Muslims,as well as people of other religions, such as Christians.The point that generates excitement among the public,and scientists is the question of whether material lifeforms like ourselves,which can be found by science,do actually exist outside the earth. (7) The objective of this article is to present evidence from the Quran for the existence in the universe,of MATERIAL lifeforms ("Life as we know it").
"Dabbatun"
In Sura 42,Verse 29 (42:29) of the Quran,we are told, "Among His (God's) 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." (8) Before proceeding further,a point or two must be noted.The word "sama",translated "heavens",is also the Arabic for "sky".One may object that the verse refers to creatures in the sky (which would be birds),not in the heavens.However,birds are mentioned seperately from creatures of the heavens in 24:41, "Seest thou not that it is God Whose praise all beings in the heavens and on earth do celebrate,and the birds (of the air) with wings outspread?..." (9)
In a note to 42;29,Muhammad Asad states,"In the Quran,the expression "the heavens and earth" invariably denotes the universe in its entireity." (10) The Quran mentions that inanimate objects also worship God:"Do they not look at God's creation, (even) among (inanimate) things- how their (very) shadows turn round,from right to left,prostrating themselves to God..."(16:48). (11) Therefore,may not the creatures spoken of in 42:29 in the heavens,be inanimate creatures of God.
The next verse, 16:49 goes, "And to God doth obeisance all that is in the heavens and earth,whether moving (living) creatures or the angels...".
(12) The word translated "living creatures" here is the same as that in 42:29- "Dabbatun".Comments Asad,"The word dabbah denotes any sentient,corporeal being capable of spontaneous movement and is contrasted here with the non-corporeal,spiritual beings designated as "angels" ". (13) In other words,42:29 is referring to precisely the type of lifeforms that science is searching for,not some metaphysical entities.Yusuf Ali says,"Dabbatun:beasts,living,crawling creatures of all kind." (14) This is the same word used in 2:164,"...in the beasts of all kinds that He scatters through the earth...are signs for a people that are wise," (15) and in 24:45,"And God has created every animal from water : of them are some that creep on their bellies;some that walk on two legs;and some that walk on four. God creates what he wills..."
(16) Commenting on 42:29,Allama Shabbir Ahmad Usmani says,"From the verse it appears that like on the earth,there are some kinds of animals- living creatures- in the heavens also." (17) On the same verse,Yusuf Ali comments, "Life is not confined to our one little Planet.It is a very old speculation to imagine some life like human life on the planet Mars...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." (18) From such remarks,the reader will realize that Muslim scholars are well aware of the fact that 42:29 clearly mentions the existence of aliens.
Is there any alien intelligent life ?
Although the discovery of any form of life outside the earth would be dramatic,humankind is especially interested in knowing whether there is any alien intelligent life in the universe.NASA previously had a program on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI).Although now scrapped due to budget cuts, private SETI organizations (19) have now been made which continue the search.The Planetary Society, (20) a private organization,in which the film director Steven Speilberg (21) is a member of the Board of Directors,has the largest SETI program in the world.So far, no sign of alien intelligent life has turned up.Can the Quran provide an answer?
Sura 27:65 commands,"Say:None in the heavens or on earth, except God,knows what is hidden:nor can they perceive when they shall be raised up (for Judgement)." (22) This shows that,like humans,there are other creatures in the universe that will also be raised from the dead.We are told in 19:93-96,"Not one of the beings in the heavens and the earth but must come to (God) Most Gracious as a servant.He does take an account of them (all),and hath numbered them (all) exactly.And everyone of them will come to Him singly on the Day of Judgement.On those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, will (God) Most Gracious bestow love." (23) From these verses we learn that there are alien lifeforms that,like us,will also be judged according to the works that they do during their lives.Among them are the believers.Therefore,naturally,there will also be those aliens who are unbelievers.The believers will be rewarded.The lifeforms being descibed in the above verses can hardly be expected to be microorganisms.The Quran is referring to creatures of a level of development that makes them morally accountable beings.They must be organisms possessing qualities which we would ascribe to intelligent lifeforms.
In Sura 72:14-15,jinn (a type of spiritual lifeform,which the Quran mention as living on the earth) say,"Amongst us are some that submit their wills (to God),and some that swerve from justice.Now those who submit their wills- they have sought out (the path) of right conduct:But those who swerve- they are (but) fuel for Hell-fire." (24) The Quran mentions that good jinn will be rewarded with Paradise.Summing up from all the above verses,it is clear that Judgement Day is for creatures in the whole universe (Sura 39:68-"The Trumpet will (just) be sounded when all that are in the heavens and on earth will swoon, except such as it will please God (to exempt).Then will a second one be sounded,when,behold,they will be standing and looking on!") (25) and like jinn,aliens will also be sharing Paradise and Hell with humans.In fact,the Quran mentions that Paradise is of a size like that of our present universe- 57:21,"Therefore (vie) with one another for the pardon of your Lord,and for a Paradise as vast as heaven and earh, prepared for those who believe in Allah and His apostles." (26) Therefore, it is not surprising that when we are sharing this universe with aliens,we should share Paradise and Hell with them too.The Quran shows us,therefore,that not only do aliens exist,but among them are also intelligent beings.
Where can aliens be found?
Read the whole interesting article here:
http://www.answering-christianity.com/aliens_in_quran.htm
