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Published on 20th September, 2001
The Physics of the Day of Judgement
By
Dr Mohammad Humayoun Khan
And
Allah says in the Quoran:
Chapter:
50, Verse: 47
When
we are dead and have become dust and bones
Shall
then we indeed be raised again?
Chapter:
75, Verses: 3 & 4
Man
thinks that, We shall not assemble his bones
Yes
Truly! We are able to restore his very fingers!
Chapter:
22, Verse: 7
The
Hour will come there is no doubt
And
God will raise those who are in the graves.
The
belief in life after death is universal; it is reflected in the
teachings
of all the major religions of the world, permeating culture and
time. Despite tremendous scientific and technological advancement
of
the twentieth century, we have no answers to many questions that have
plagued the minds of people from time immemorial:
-
What happens to us
on dying?
-
What is soul?
-
Does it leave the body to enter the spiritual
world, which is beyond human perception in some other dimension?
-
Are the souls reincarnated entering some other body to be recycled
again as in the beliefs of some eastern religions?
-
Is the soul captured
and kept somewhere until the Day of Judgment to be reunited with
the body that rises from the grave?
-
How can a body that had decayed
and disappeared into dust, regain its original shape and form?
We
can believe what we wish, however the modern world is based on
truthful
pursuit of science and technology. Truth cannot be decided on
wishful
thinking or majority vote, if that was the case then Columbus
would
have surely fallen off the earth in 1492.
We live in a world that demands scientific proof and
is not just content with belief. The belief or even the proof
however, is only for the believer, and belief comes from within our
hearts. Even the greatest of proofs will not satisfy the non-believer,
while the slightest evidence can be a great source of satisfaction for
the believer. In this context let us look at the story of
Prophet Ibrahim ('a) given in the Quran. (Chapter ii
verse 260.) Prophet Ibrahim wanted to know how God gives life to
the dead. He had the faith of a man who was willing to sacrifice his
own son for the sake of God, yet he wanted reassurance; which then was
given to him in the form of a great miracle. Ordinary people like us
are also in need of reassurance in a world where science and
technology have assumed greater importance than religion. The Muslims
are very fortunate in this respect as they posses the final revelation the Quran, a miracle for all times.
Scientific advancements have provided better
understanding of many Quranic verses that may have appeared obscure in
the past. The Quran accurately describes a variety of scientific facts
that were discovered in the last one hundred years. This is one of the
reasons that the Quran stands far above other religious books in its
authority as a truly revealed book.
The Quran in many verses describes the future of the universe and The
Day of Judgment. The verses appear to depict some great final
catastrophe that will affect the whole universe. Many chapters mention
the final earthquake, the opening of gates in the sky and "a
time" in which mankind will see what they had done before so that
they will become witnesses against their own selves.
In this article I explore the similarities between the Quranic
description of The Day of Judgment and some theories of cosmology that
predict reversal of time in the future with the beginning of the
contraction phase of the universe. You will be surprised to learn that
the religious contention that man will rise from the grave is not a
myth or wishful thinking but is based on real scientific principles. I
would like to however caution the reader that scientific ideas keep on
changing, and my presentation here does not in any way mean that this
is the only way for mankind to come back alive. God has absolute power
and when He wishes something to happen IT IS.
.
Chapter: 35, Verse: 9
It is God, Who sends the winds and they raise a cloud
Then leads it to a dead land and revives
The earth after its death, Such is the Resurrection
The raising of clouds and the growth of plants following rain indeed
appear miraculous and were considered as such in the past. Now we
understand these as due to various natural laws. In the Quran the
resurrection is compared to the physical processes such as the growth
of plants after rain; this suggest that revival after death is also
based on some physical laws created by God.
Following are the main themes of the Day of Judgment that are
described in the Quran:
-
The final earthquake and the transformation of the earth into a
hollow sphere
-
Rising from the grave.
-
A time when our hands feet and tongue will become witnesses
against us.
-
Opening of gates in the sky, through which every one will be
removed to some other higher dimensions beyond the dying universe.
All of the above events can be explained on the basis of reversal of
time and the accompanying reversal of gravity which the physicists
believe, has to happen if the time is going to reverse. Sometimes in
the future the knowledge of the Day of Judgment that is given in the
Quoran might become widely known and accepted as the truth.
Chapter 41: verse 53
We shall show them our signs on the horizons and within themselves
Until it will become apparent to them, that it is the truth
Is your Lord not sufficient since He is witness over all things?
To understand how the future of the universe is linked to the Day of
Judgment, some knowledge of cosmology is essential. In the next few
pages we will learn, how the universe began, what it is like now and
what are the possibilities in the future. Our solar system
consists of earth and eight other planets that are orbiting around a
star that we call the sun. The sun, along with two hundred billion
other stars, comprises our galaxy "The Milky Way." The
galaxies are shaped roughly like a disc, with the stars orbiting at
various distances around a large central mass.
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The universe is so vast that the distances between stars and galaxies
have to be measured in "light years." A light year is the
distance travelled by light in a year, at the speed of three hundred
thousand kilometres per second. The distance between the earth and the
sun is only eight minutes at the speed of light. Compared to this, the
nearest star from the earth other than our sun, is four light years
away. The galaxy we live in, "The Milky Way", is one hundred
and fifty thousand light years across. This means that travelling at
the speed of light, it would take one hundred and fifty thousand years
to go from one side of Milky Way to the other. The galaxies on the
average are separated from each other by ten million light years. Many
hundred billion such galaxies are part of the truly gigantic universe.
Chapter: 40, Verse: 57
The creation of the heavens and the earth
Is definitely a greater thing than creation of mankind,
However, most of mankind knows not
The galaxies other than our
"Milky Way" are moving away from us at tremendous speeds.
This can be ascertained, by analysing the light given off by the
galaxies, by an instrument called the spectroscope. The more distant a
galaxy is the greater is its speed of recession. This motion of the
galaxies is due to the expansion of the universe. The universe began
about fifteen to twenty billion years ago with a tremendous explosion
called "The big bang" and has been expanding ever since. The
universe is not just a sphere of galaxies rushing away from each other
into unending emptiness of space. It can be compared to a balloon with
many dots on it, each representing a galaxy. However, the surface of
this balloon, which is two dimensional, represents all three
dimensions of our space, and is expanding into a higher dimension,
that is beyond our imagination.
It is not known if the universe will expand forever, or if one day it
will begin to contract. In either case, the future of all the
inhabitants of the universe could be rather bleak. If the expansion
continues, after billions of years, all the energy of the sun and
stars will be exhausted and every living thing will freeze to death.
Eventually, only the expanding emptiness will remain. Alternatively if
there is enough mass in the universe, gravity will one day stop the
expansion and then contraction will begin. A contracting universe
would ultimately end in a very hot and compressed state called
"The Big Crunch." This would also destroy all life forms, as
we know them.
Besides the above two depressing and purposeless scenarios of the
future, there is an another possibility. Some physicists feel that
time may reverse when the universe begins contracting. This prospect has a striking resemblance to the Quranic description of the
Day of Judgment.
Now, let us turn our attention to the verses in the Quran that
describe the beginning, the expansion and eventually the contraction
of the universe. There is marked similarity between the Quranic
revelation and recent discoveries in cosmology. The Quranic verses
however, go far beyond modern cosmology in describing the future of
the universe. The Quran gives us insight into laws of the
universe that are yet to be discovered, the laws of the contracting
universe.
The universe came into existence billions of years ago with a
tremendous explosion called "The big bang." This is clearly
mentioned in the Quran in the following verses:
Chapter: 21, Verse: 30
Have not "those who disbelieve" known
That heavens and earth were of one piece,
We parted them and,
We made every living thing of water
Will they not then believe?
The discovery of "The Big Bang" and that of "The
aquatic origin of life" was made by the non-Muslims, ("those
who disbelieve"). When the universe began all matter and space
(heavens) was at one point (one piece). Then everything was
separated in what the physicists describe as "The big bang."
The evidence that the universe began in the "The big bang"
is so overwhelming that it is now considered a fact and not just a
theory.
The Universe has been expanding since its creation. Hubbell,
an astronomer made this great discovery, in the early part of this
century. It was also predicted by Einstein's theory of
"General Relativity." The expansion of the universe is
clearly mentioned in the following Quranic verses:
Chapter: 51, Verse: 47
The heavens, We have built with power and, We are expanding it.
Time is one of the most elusive mysteries of the universe. No one
knows what time really is. Albert Einstein explained time by
saying that time is something that we measure with the clock. Time
passes slowly within objects moving at speeds close to that of light
and stops altogether at the speed of light. Time also slows near
massive objects like earth, sun, very dense stars called the neutron
stars, and almost stops inside the super massive stars “the black
holes.” Time has a direction, it always moves towards the
future. We see rain falling from the sky, objects breaking up, people
getting older, and people dying. We do not see a glass becoming
"unbroken" or anyone returning from the dead. That could
happen only if time ran backwards. Some physicists like Michael
Berry, Thomas Gold, and Steven Hawking have proposed that time may
reverse when the universe begins to contract. Verses in the Quran
suggest that one day the universe will start contracting and this will
coincide with beginning of the Day of Judgment. Chapter: 21, Verse: 104
"The day" when, We shall roll up the heavens as a
recorder rolls up a
written scroll.
As, We began the first creation We shall repeat it.
In the above verse, "The Day" means The Day of Judgment and
the contraction of the universe, is compared to the closing of a
scroll. This is when time may reverse. Reversal of time will cause man
to rise from his grave and again become alive. Every event will
be replayed again as everything has been recorded in time. Chapter: 45, Verse: 29
This book pronounces against you with truth
We have caused (all) you did to be recorded. (In time)
Chapter: 27, Verse: 75
And there is nothing hidden in the heavens,
Or the earth, but it is a clear record. (In time)
As the history of earth runs backwards through time, nations will
return one after another. All the good and evil deeds of the
individual as well as that of the nations will become completely
apparent as time reversal occurs.
Chapter: 45, Verse: 28 (time reversal)
And you will see each nation humbled, each nation called to its
record.
And it will be said to them: This day you are repaid for what you used
to do
The playing back of time will cause people to see what they had done
previously. They will have no control over their hands, feet,
mouths, and eyes. All the wrong and right things that were done before
by them will be repeated again. In this sense, the mouths,
hands, and feet, will become witnesses against them in front of the
angels and God, and they will not be able to deny any of their wrong
doings.
Chapter: 24, Verse: 24 (time reversal)
On the day when their tongues and their hands and their feet
Testify against them as to what they used to do
Chapter: 78, Verse: 40
We warn you of doom at hand. A day when a man will look on that his
own hand has sent before,
and the non-believers will cry: "Wish
that we were dust”
Chapter: 77, Verse: 11
And, the messengers are brought into their time appointed
The prophets will be returned into their time as time runs backwards
Man is given a free will to choose between right and wrong in the
expanding universe, that is, when all his deeds are recorded in
time. In the contracting universe, there will be no free will,
and no one will have power to harm or do good to others, or change
anything that he has done in his previous life. Chapter: 82, Verse: 19
A day when no soul has power at all
Over any other soul, The absolute command on that day is God's
Chapter: 99, Verse: 1
When earth is shaken with her final earthquake
Gravity is due to minute differences in time at different heights.
Time passes at a slightly faster rate at the top of a mountain, as
compared to the sea level. This difference in time, although
imperceptible to us, is enough to make things fall to earth, and can be measured with
the aid of atomic clocks. If time reverses in the contracting phase of
the universe, then this time difference will also reverse. This will cause gravity to reverse so that everything will fall upwards,
producing an earthquake of a magnitude never seen before. The earth
along with the mountains will be suddenly lifted up from under our
feet
and subsequently come crashing down.
Chapter: 69, Verses: 13 & 14
When the trumpet is blown one blast
The earth with the mountains
Shall be lifted and crushed with one crash
The reversal of gravity will cause the earth to literally explode and
turn inside out. The mountains will fall apart. The red-hot lava will
be thrown out lighting up the sky like molten copper Chapter
70: verse 8
When the sky will be like molten copper
And the hills will be like flakes of wool
Chapter: 84, Verses: 3 & 4
And when the earth is spread out
And casts out all that was in her and is “Empty.”
The reversal of gravity will cause earth to expand outwards, throwing
out all of its insides. The mass of the earth however, will not
disperse, as reversal of time will be directing all the matter to
return to its previous position in time. Thus, time and gravity will
become two opposing forces in the contracting universe. A balance
between these two forces will change the earth into a large sphere,
empty from inside. The position of the sky will translocate so that it
will occupy the centre of the hollowed earth. Chapter: 14,
Verse: 48
On the day when the earth will be changed
Other than this earth and the heavens also
And they will come forth unto God, The One The Almighty.
The inner surface of the hollowed earth will be the exact-replica of
the present day earth as time plays backwards. However, the outer
surface of the earth will be made from the liquid lava that is at the present time inside the earth, thus it will become smooth without any
mountains, hills, valleys or any kind of unevenness. Chapter
20 verses 105-107
They will ask about the mountains,
Say: My Lord will break them into scattered dust
And leave it (earth) as an empty plane,
So you see neither curve nor ruggedness.
The following verses describe the Day of Judgment in a comprehensive
manner. The Day of Judgment will start with the final earthquake as
gravity reverses. The reversal of gravity will cause the earth
to throw out all that was once inside her, thereby becoming,
completely empty.The hollowed earth will have the sky towards its
centre. The people will begin to rise from the graves coming back
alive, one after another, "in scattered groups". The history
of nations will be played back with the reversal of time.
Nations as well as people will be totally powerless caught in the
backward flow of time. They will helplessly re-enact and witness their
own deeds of the past. This drama will continue until each one of us
is removed to the beyond.
Chapter 99: Earthquake verses 1-6
When earth is shaken with her final earthquake.
And earth yields its burdens. (From within
And man says what's wrong with her
That day she will relate her History (in time)
Because your Lord inspires her
That day mankind will issue forth
In scattered groups to be shown their deeds
To an inquiring mind, it may occur that the reversal of time can lead
to the resurrection from the grave. If this process remained unchecked
then we will continue to grow younger, pass through our childhood and
regress into nothingness in our mother’s wombs. This is also what
time reversal theories say, again a purposeless exercise. Well not
quite so! The thought of the great and final earthquake may instil
fear into our hearts, but the real purpose is to make the higher
dimensions
accessible for escape from the collapsing universe. God has designed
the universe with great precision. After the resurrection,
arrangements have been made, to escape the unrelenting effect of time
reversal, to beyond this universe. Chapter:
10, Verse: 45
On that Day, He shall gather them together
It will seem as if they have stayed (in the grave) for an hour, recognizing
one another.
Those who were not guided and denied the meeting with God will perish.
Mathematically there are an infinite number of dimensions. However we
only live in a three dimensional space. Every object in our daily
lives has a length, width, and height. The concept that there are more
than three dimensions is impossible to imagine. However, higher
dimensions do exist as intense gravity near the sun causes the space
to curve in an extra higher dimension. Einstein considered this for
the first time and was able to accurately calculate the orbit of the
inner planet
Mercury. Einstein's theory of general relativity is based on the
concept of higher dimensions.
We may gain some insight into the concept of higher dimensions by
studying the problems faced by people in the past. There was a time
when people believed that the earth is flat. They were afraid of the
possibility of falling off the earth if they travelled too far. This
cannot happen because the surface of the earth is curved and
continuous like that of a sphere. To get off the earth we just need to
move in a dimension (direction) that is perpendicular to the surface.
That is straight up, from anywhere we are. We face a similar
conceptual problem in understanding the higher dimensions. We
may imagine that we can leave the universe only by travelling very
far, but that is also not true. Even if we travelled billions of
miles, we will remain within the confines of our three dimensional
space.
Chapter: 72, Verse: 12
We know that we cannot escape from God
In the earth, nor can we escape by flight
The only way to go beyond the universe is by moving into a higher
dimension in a direction that is perpendicular to our three
dimensional space, right from where we are. In the present expanding
universe this is not possible, as our space is not continuous with the
higher dimensions. For that to happen, our space will have to
literally be torn apart first and then be connected to the higher
dimensions. Can this happen in the centre of the black holes?
Chapter: 78, Verse: 19
And heaven is opened and becomes as gates
The opening of gates in the sky is a concept similar to that of black
holes. Such openings can be the gateways to beyond the universe
through the higher dimensions. Massive stars, which collapse
inward under their own weight, can form black holes. Gravity in such
objects is so strong that even light cannot escape and they become
invisible. Hence, the name black holes. Some physicists believe
that space-time may be ripped apart in the black holes, producing
gateways to beyond this universe. The curvature producing mass of the
black hole however also blocks the opening, thus preventing anything
from escaping to the higher dimensions.
In the contracting universe, this problem should not exist. The
reversal of gravity in the contracting phase will change all the
heavenly bodies into massive hollow structures just as described in
the Quran. These hollow structures will have empty skies in their
centre where even the reversed gravity of relatively lighter objects
like earth, will have a run away effect. This will cause the fabric of
space-time to be torn apart, forming portals or gateways to the higher
dimensions. Chapter: 69, Verse: 16
The heavens will split asunder,
For that day, it will be frail.
Mankind will see many strange things in the contracting universe that
may cause confusion, (When sight is confounded.) One of these is the
rising of sun from the west, which is mentioned, in an authentic
hadith. This phenomenon due to the reversal of time will be visible
briefly as the Day of Judgment begins. This will be immediately
followed by the final earthquake, which will change the earth into a
hollow structure; from within which both the sun and the moon will not
be visible. (The moon is eclipsed.) The gateways to beyond the
universe will form in the centre-sky, and may appear as a bright light
constantly shining from straight above. This may cause us to wonder
whether the sun and the moon have become one: (The sun and moon are
united). This dilemma is probably mentioned in the following verses. Chapter 75, verses 7, 8, 9
When sight is confounded,
And the moon is eclipsed (hidden from view)
And sun and moon are united. (Appear as one light)
The stars will stop shining as the light moves back with reversal of
time. They will also be hidden from view from within the hollowed
earth. Chapter: 78, Verse: 8
When the stars are put out.
Chapter: 25, Verse: 25
A day when the heavens and the clouds will be rent Asunder and the
angels will be sent down . A grand descent
As the gates open in the centre-sky of the earth in the contracting
universe, a spectacular site will be seen as thousands of angels
descend down to accomplish the task assigned to them on the Day of Judgment.
Chapter: 18, Verse: 47
Think of the day when, We remove the hills,
And you see the earth emerging and We gather them together,
As to leave not one of them behind.
The collapsing universe will ultimately be destroyed in a fireball
which physicists call the "Big Crunch." Everyone will be
gathered much before that time comes and no one will be left behind.
The angels of “The grand descent” may accomplish the gathering and removal of
humans to “The Beyond”. Anyone remaining behind could regress to
nothingness, as time will be running backwards.
Chapter: 84, Verse: 19
That you shall "ride" on from plane to plane
In our final journey through the gates that will open in the centre
sky, we may cross many planes or dimensions. The word “ride” is
used in the Quran, as if this journey will be accomplished by riding
on "something."
As we leave this universe we may be collected together on some vast
plane in an another dimension, every one will come from all times and
places in history to face the judgment of their deeds and heaven and
hell.
Chapter: 33, Verse: 63
Men ask you of the Hour. Say the knowledge of it is with God
only.
What can convey to you that may be the Hour is near.
Chapter: 29, Verse: 53
They bid you to hasten on the doom.
And if a term had not been appointed,
The doom would have definitely come on them.
And it will come upon them suddenly
When they perceive not.
Superficially, it seems that if we knew the rate at which the
expansion of the universe is slowing, then we should be able to
predict when the Day of Judgment will begin. However, if time is
related to the expansion of space, we cannot observe the slowing of the expansion.
This would be like attempting to measure the speed of a car with a
clock that is connected to its wheels, so that the speed of time would
depend on the speed of the car. If the car slowed-down the time will
also slowdown and speed of the car would always appear the same.
Similarly so is the expansion of the universe.
°A book by this author titled, “Resurrection of
Mankind Through the Reversal of Time," is available at
www.islamicity.com/bazar/
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