The advent of science has exposed for us a unique pattern of the universe. There was a time when the earth was considered to be the center of the universe, that it was stationary, and the heavenly bodies revolved around it. Then came a time when the people explored the solar system through the help of the telescope; and so, they gave the sun, the pride of place. Now we know that our solar system is but an insignificant family of planets at the edge of the huge galaxy which we call the Milky Way.
We see the moon rotating around the earth, like a happy child dancing brightly around its mother. There are eight other planets, besides our own earth, in the solar family; and five of them have satellites of their own. Mars and Neptune have two moons each; Jupiter has twelve moons and satellites; Saturn has nine and Uranus has five moons. All the moons and satellites rotate around their planets. And all these planets, in turn, rotate around the sun, which may be called the head of the family.
Now, let us trace back our steps before going further.
All these stars, planets, and satellites are made of atoms. And an atom itself is just a miniature solar system. Formerly, it was believed that atoms were immutable entities, i.e., they could not be divided. Now that atoms are known to have so many particles, the belief in their indestructibility has been shattered away. Atoms consist of a nucleus and a number of electrons. The nucleus is built from simple particles: neutrons and protons. The nucleus is located at the center of the atom and is surrounded by electrons. Electrons revolve around the nucleus in a fixed orbit much like our solar system. It should be mentioned here, to make the picture more clear, that the nucleus of an atom is a particle of very small radius, but of exceedingly great density. In plain words, all the atomic mass (except a negligible fraction) is concentrated in the nucleus, while the size of the nucleus is less than one hundred thousandth of the size of an atom. And don't forget that more than 100,000,000 atoms can be put side by side in one centimeter. Now, as we have stated earlier, the atom is a world in itself. The protons and neutrons behave as though they were rotating around their own axis, like rotating tops. Their spin suggests the idea of an internal rotation.
Thus, we see that there is a single pattern of operation, right from the smallest sub-atomic particles to the mighty solar system.
But this is not the end of the story.
As we know, the sun, together with its family, is placed on the brink of the Milky Way. “If we could view the Milky Way from a vast distance and see it as a whole, we should observe a rather flat wheel of stars with spiral arms — something like the sparks of a Catherine wheel.” It consists of many millions of separate stars like our sun. This system of stars is physically connected by gravitational forces and moves through space as a whole. It is called a Galaxy.
If we think that our solar system is a family of stars, a galaxy may be called a very big tribe consisting of millions and millions of such families.
The multitude of galaxies were unknown in the past. By about 1920 it was thought that there were at least 500,000 galaxies. Now, with the advent of powerful telescopes this number had risen to 100,000,000, and is increasing day by day. So far as the eyes of cameras and telescopes can see, there are clusters and clusters of galaxies.
Human knowledge, at present, is in its infancy. Nobody knows what is beyond these galaxies. Nor do we know much about the nature of their movement. The Qur'ān says, “God has decorated the nearest sky with these lamps (i.e., stars).” So we know that until now, we have not seen the end of even the first sky. And who knows what wonders are hidden beyond the first sky! “You have not been given knowledge but a little.”
So, let us confine our talk to the little that we know about. We know that the particles of atoms are rotating around their axis; satellites are rotating around their planets; planets are rotating around their stars; and stars along with their dependent families, are rotating in the galaxies.
Our faith in monotheism, the Unity or Oneness of God, is the purest in the world. We have given countless proofs for our belief in the last fourteen centuries. Now science has opened a new path, which, also leads to the belief in the Unity of God. It may be described briefly, in these words: “The uniform pattern of the universe is an indisputable proof that all this has been made by one, and only one, Creator.”
When we see two identical watches, we need not be told that they were made in the same factory. On the same ground, when we see the entire universe woven into a single entity; all its components governed by the same laws; all its parts operating on the same pattern, our natural instinct guides us to believe that it is created, made and controlled by ONE and only ONE Creator.
And, remember, there is a great difference between watches and the universe. Watches may be imitated or duplicated by impostors and forgerers. But, as the scientists say, “by definition there is only one universe. One cannot repeat it or do experiments with it.” So, we need not bother ourselves with the thought of any imitation-gods. If the universe —the creation— cannot be more than one, how can God —the Creator— be more than one?
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This lesson is entirely based on chapter 18 of Syed Saeed Akhtar Rizvi's God of Islam, Dar-es-salaam, 1970. It has been slightly summarized and edited to suit this course by S.M. Rizvi.
Question Paper On Lesson 5
Question 1: [20 points]
(a) Is it preferable to work under one boss or several bosses?
(b) Comment on the situation when a person works under two supervisors and each gives him conflicting orders.
Question 2: [20 points]
One of the examples of uniformity and consistency in this universe is that in Toronto the longest and the shortest days fall exactly on the same day every year since time immemorial. Give two more such examples from your own observation.
Question 3: [10 points]
Describe in your own words the scientific evidence that points to the existence of only One God.
source : Islam: Faith, Practice & History /by Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi
