The first verse of the first sura in the Qur'an proclaims, after the opening invocation, the following:
‘In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful’, ‘Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds.’ The terms 'worlds' reappears dozens of times in the Qur'an. The Heavens are referred to as multiple as well, not only on account of their plural form, but also because of their symbolic numerical quantity 7. This number is used 24 times throughout the Qur'an for various numerical quantities. It often carries the meaning of 'many' although we do not know exactly why this meaning of the figure was used. The Greeks and Romans also seem to have used the number 7 to mean an undefined idea of plurality. Apart from the Qur'an, we often find the number 7 meaning plurality in texts from the Prophet Muhammad's time, or from the first centuries following him, which record his words (hadiths). Thus in the Qur'an, the number 7 referred to the Heavens (samawat) mean innumerable celestial worlds:
(God) is the One Who created for you all that is on the earth. Moreover He turned to the heaven and fashioned seven heavens with harmony. He is full of Knowledge of all things (29:2)
And We have made, above you, seven tracts. We have never been unmindful of the Creation (23:17)
(God) is the One Who created seven heavens one above another. Thou can see no fault in the creation of the Beneficent. Turn the vision again! Can thou see any flaw? (67:3)
Did you see how God created seven heavens one above another and made the moon a light therein and made the sun a lamp? (71:15-16).
<>It is to be noted that while the Bible calls both Moon and Sun 'lights', here, as always in the Qur'an, they are differently named; the first is called 'Light' (nur) and the second is compared in this verse to a 'lamp (siraj) producing light'.
We have built above you seven strong (heavens) and placed a blazing lamp. (78:12)
Here the blazing lamp is the Sun.
There are, therefore, many Heavens and Earths, and it comes as no small surprise to the reader of the Qur'an to find that earths such as our own may be found in the Universe, a fact that has been predicted in the Quran but not explored or verified as yet by the astrophysicists of our time. For though much has been learnt about the great Universe, of which our earth forms a part so tiny and insignificant, there remains, as the astrophysicists themselves admit, much to be discovered. However, the knowledge that science has gained on the primary nebula and the way it split up into an incommensurable quantity of stars grouped into galaxies leaves absolutely no doubt as to the legitimacy of a concept of the plurality of worlds.
God is the One Who created seven heavens and of the earth (ard) a similar number. The Command descends among them so that you know that God has power over all things and comprehends all things in His knowledge (65:12)
Apart from things in the Heavens and on the Earth, several verses of the Holy Quran also refer to the things between the Heavens and the Earth. Here are some instances:
To Him (God) belongs what is in the heavens, on earth, between them and beneath the soil (20:6)
. . . the One Who created the heavens, the earth and what is between them in six Days (25:59)
God is the One Who created the heavens, the earth and what is between them in six Days (32:4)
This Creation outside the Heavens and outside the Earth, mentioned several times, is not so difficult to imagine. To understand these verses, reference must be made to the most recent human observations on the existence of cosmic extra-galactic material and one must indeed go back to ideas established by contemporary science on the formation of the Universe, starting with the simplest and proceeding to the most complex. When it is stated that God created the heavens, the earth and what is between them in six Days, one should not reckon these days as our days on the earth.
CREATION OF THE SPIRITUAL UNIVERSE AND UNSEEN WORLDS
God is also creator of the spiritual world which is invisible and may be subdivided into several kinds: the worlds of Lahut and Jabrut (worlds of God’s nature and attributes) and the malakut, i.e., the world of angles, spirits and many other things. Besides, He is also created Jinns out of fire. There is diversity of opinion about the nature of angels. Ancient philosophers call them pure essence. The Muslims believe that their bodies are so fine and subtle that they cannot be perceived by our senses. They can, however, appear before or disappear from us whenever they like. Their subtlety enables them to travel from east to west in the twinkling of an eye. Besides the spirits and angels there are also Jinns who have been created out of fire and are also hidden from our eyes.
And He created Jinns from fire free of smoke (55:15)
Jinns had been created by God much earlier before mankind but both of them are endowed with the same purpose and that is adoration of God.
I have created Jinns and men only that they might worship Me (51:56).
And it is interesting to note that in the one and only Surah ‘Rahman’ (The Beneficient) both men and Jinns have been jointly addressed by God with the following burden that is repeated
Then which of the favors of your Lord will ye deny?
The mystery of invisible creatures has always bewildered our imagination. Even the Satan (the Devil) who had refused to conform the orders of God on the eve of Adam’s creation has been forever out of sight and is empowered to see us adroitly anywhere at any moment under all circumstances.
O ye Children of Adam! Let not Satan seduce you, in the same manner as he got your parents out of the Garden, stripping them of their raiment, to expose their shame: for he and his tribe watch you from a position where ye cannot see them: We made the evil ones friends (only) to those who are without faith (7:27)
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