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Definitions: Oxford Languages
Islam:
The religion of the Muslims, a monotheistic faith regarded as revealed through Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم,) as the Prophet of Allah.
Atheism:
Disbelief in the existence of God or gods.
Universe:
All existing matter and space considered as a whole; the cosmos. The universe is believed to be at least 10 billion light years in diameter and contains a vast number of galaxies; it has been expanding since its creation in the Big Bang about 13.7 billion years ago.
Note: Though Humanly provided scientific data for the Universe is limited and the scope is very limited as well, while Islam provides a complete picture.
Islamic Definition of Universe:
In Islam, the universe (
al-`Ālam) is defined as everything other than Allah, a creation brought into being by His command "Kun" (Be!), serving as a sign of His power and wisdom, and existing for a set purpose and time, not eternally, with humans as integral parts meant to recognize their Creator through study and reflection. It's a divinely ordered system, often described in Quranic terms as seven heavens and earth, governed by God's continuous attention.
Ref: https://fkp.usim.edu.my/islam-and-cosmology/
Presumption:
I assume that, Atheist view about the Universe is based on whatever information humans have perceived through scientific discoveries and knowledge, known as Science.
So,
lets Dive into what they present:
Question:
What is the origin of the universe according to Science?
Scientific Explanation:
The best-supported theory of our universe's origin centers on an event known as the big bang. This theory was born of the observation that other galaxies are moving away from our own at great speed in all directions, as if they had all been propelled by an ancient explosive force.
A Belgian priest named Georges Lemaître first suggested the big bang theory in the 1920s, when he theorized that the universe began from a single primordial atom. The idea received major boosts from Edwin Hubble's observations that galaxies are speeding away from us in all directions, as well as from the 1960s discovery of cosmic microwave radiation—interpreted as echoes of the big bang—by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson.
(So Science Gets It Wrong. Then What?)
Further work has helped clarify the big bang's tempo. Here’s the theory: In the first 10^-43 seconds of its existence, the universe was very compact, less than a million billion billionth the size of a single atom. It's thought that at such an incomprehensibly dense, energetic state, the four fundamental forces—gravity, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces—were forged into a single force, but our current theories haven't yet figured out how a single, unified force would work. To pull this off, we'd need to know how gravity works on the subatomic scale, but we currently don't.
Ref: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/origins-of-the-universe
As we are going to debate about the origin of the universe, that means it should be about the very beginning and the reasons or means to come into existence.
When we talk about the very beginning then we have already seen that the big bang was the origin of the universe.
If we see above information about the big bang we see it is about t≠0 but some part of a sec. But what and how was the universe at t=0. If we know about that then we can know how it originated.
What do we get from the given article?
https://www.einstein-online.info/en/spotlight/big_bangs/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Quote:
If we simply follow the predictions of Einstein’s theory of general relativity for the evolution of a simple expanding, homogeneous universe filled with matter and radiation, then our journey into the past will eventually come to an end – a point in time where we cannot go back any further. At this moment, all the galaxies that we see around us today were compressed into a region of zero volume – to a single point in space. Since density is defined as mass divided by volume, the density was infinite. In Einstein’s theory, matter influences the way that the geometry of space and time is distorted, and at this moment of infinite matter density, the curvature of spacetime was infinite, as well. Within the simple cosmological models based on general relativity, there is no possibility to go to any earlier times than this. Such a boundary of time (or, more generally, of spacetime) is called a singularity.
Quote:
The beginning of the universe is a singularity which is commonly called the “big bang singularity” or simply the “big bang”.
Quote:
Directly afterwards, there followed a period of expansion during which the temperature and density of matter in the universe were so extreme that current science cannot tell us what happened – we simply do not have reliable physical theories describing the properties of matter under such extreme conditions.
Quote:
Often, the big bang phase is taken to include a hypothetical period of rapid, accelerated expansion called inflation, which began as early as 10-43 seconds after the big bang singularity.
Quote:
Quote:
Whether or not there really was a big bang singularity is a totally different question. Most cosmologists would be very surprised if it turned out that our universe really did have an infinitely dense, infinitely hot, infinitely curved beginning. Commonly, the fact that a model predicts infinite values for some physical quantity indicates that the model is too simple and fails to include some crucial aspect of the real world. In fact, we already know what the usual cosmological models fail to include: At ultra-high densities, with the whole of the observable universe squeezed into a volume much smaller than that of an atom, we would expect quantum effects to become crucially important. But the cosmological standard models do not include full quantum versions of space, time and geometry – they are not based on a quantum theory of gravity. However, at the present time we do not yet have a reliable theory of quantum gravity. While there are promising candidates for such a theory, none are developed far enough to yield reliable predictions for the very early universe.
Quote:
Thus, while some cosmologists do not have a problem with assuming that our universe began in a singular state, most are convinced that the big bang singularity is an artefact – to be replaced by a more accurate description once quantum gravity research has made suitable progress. To be replaced with what? Nobody knows for sure. In some models, we can go infinitely far into the past (one example is presented in the spotlight text Avoiding the big bang). In others, the big bang is replaced by a beginning of the universe which avoids all infinities, but in which time itself is rather different from what we are used to (some more information about this can be found in the spotlight text Searching for the quantum beginning of the universe).
Let's dive into another source.
Link:
Quote:
“Cosmology’s greatest challenge is understanding the big bang itself — the sudden, violent emergence of all space, time and matter from an infinitely dense point called a singularity. … All the laws of physics break down. … We have no reason to think that a singularity would generate a universe as ordered as the one we see.”
Another:
Quote:
The singularity is the most mysterious and problematic part of a black hole. It's where our concepts of space and time literally no longer make sense,
Quote:
Black holes — regions of space-time with extreme curvature — first arose as a concept from solutions to Einstein's field equations suggested by German physicist and astronomer Karl Schwartzchild as he served on the front line during the First World War in 1915. These solutions go to infinity at the center of that region. Physicists don't like infinities, as they indicate the breakdown or incompleteness of their models, or suggest something entirely unphysical. That means something really troubling and undesirable for physicists.
Summery:
In short the universe at singularity is infinitely dense and has 0 volume and time and space did not exist.
All laws of physics break here. Science knows nothing about this state of the universe.
The very hard question, even more harder than singularity itself, is how this state of the universe came into existence in the first place. How can the whole universe which we can observe be so dense or concentrated that no volume exists.
You can say if it was in the form of energy with no mass at all which normally all lights are, massless particles. I do not know how someone can say particles in the first place. And the whole universe comes into existence from it.
What that force would be called who would have compressed the universe into such a state if it existed in any form before. Or even brought forward into existence if it did not exist at all.
Science has no answer for it.
Does Islam have it?
Let's dive into Islamic stance and model for the universe.
I am going to use Quranic verses and Hadith about the origin of the universe and its model.
Singularity and Big Bang in Quran:
Surah Al-Anbiya (21:30) from the Quran:
Arabic text:
أَوَلَمْ يَرَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَنَّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ كَانَتَا رَتْقًا فَفَتَقْنَاهُمَا ۖ وَجَعَلْنَا مِنَ الْمَاءِ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ حَيٍّ ۖ أَفَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
Translation (Sahih International):
Have those who disbelieved not considered that the heavens and the earth were a joined entity (ratqan), and We separated them (fataqnāhumā) and made from water every living thing? Then will they not believe?
Ratqan (رَتْقًا)
This is the word you specifically asked about. It comes from the root ر-ت-ق (r-t-q), which means something that is closed up, fused together, joined/sewn tightly, or sealed so that there is no separation or opening.
Fataqnāhumā (فَفَتَقْنَاهُمَا)
From the root ف-ت-ق (f-t-q), the opposite of ratq: to split apart, separate, open up, or tear/cloven. It means "We clove them asunder" or "We separated them."
So
Modern interpretations often connect it to the idea of the universe being a single dense point/mass before separation (similar to Big Bang cosmology concepts, though the verse itself is miraculous in its description regardless of scientific parallels).
Surah Adh-Dhariyat (51:47):
وَالسَّمَاءَ بَنَيْنَاهَا بِأَيْدٍ وَإِنَّا لَمُوسِعُونَ
Transliteration:
And the heaven We constructed with strength/power, and indeed, We are [its] expander.
Key words:
Al-samā'a (السَّمَاءَ) — "The heaven" or "the sky/universe/cosmos." In Quranic usage, it often refers to the entire heavenly structure or the universe beyond the earth (singular form here, but contextually encompassing the vast heavens).
Banaynāhā (بَنَيْنَاهَا) — From the root ب-ن-ي (b-n-y), meaning "to build," "to construct," or "to erect/found firmly." It implies building with skill, strength, and purpose — not casually, but with deliberate power and design. The dual/plural "We" (na) emphasizes Allah's majestic act of creation.
Bi-aydin (بِأَيْدٍ) — This is one of the more nuanced words. From the root أ-ي-د (ʾ-y-d), it means "with strength," "with power," "with might," or "with firm hands/support." Classical tafsirs (e.g., Ibn Kathir, Tabari) explain it as "with power and force" or "with Our invincible might" — indicating that the construction of the heavens required immense divine strength, far beyond human capability. It's not literal "hands" but a metaphor for absolute power (similar to other Quranic uses like "yad" for power/authority). Some render it as "with (Our) power" or "by Our might."
La-mūsi‘ūn(a) (لَمُوسِعُونَ) — This is the key difficult word often highlighted. From the root و-س-ع (w-s-‘), which means "to expand," "to make wide/broad," "to extend/enlarge," or "to make spacious." The form "mūsi‘ūn" is the active participle plural: "We are expanders" or "We are (steadily/continuously) expanding (it)." In tafsirs:
- Classical scholars (like Ibn Abbas, Mujahid) explained it as Allah continuously making the heaven vast and spacious.
- Many modern interpretations connect it to the scientific observation of the expanding universe (discovered in the 20th century), seeing it as a miraculous sign of ongoing cosmic expansion following creation/separation (as in 21:30's "fataqnā").
Surah Al-Furqan (25:59)
الَّذِىۡ خَلَقَ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالۡاَرۡضَ وَمَا بَيۡنَهُمَا فِىۡ سِتَّةِ اَيَّامٍ ثُمَّ اسۡتَوٰى عَلَى الۡعَرۡشِۛۚ الرَّحۡمٰنُ فَسۡـَٔلۡ بِهٖ خَبِيۡرًا
Translation:
He is˺ the One Who created the heavens and the earth and everything in between in six Days,1 then established Himself on the Throne. ˹He is˺ the Most Compassionate! Ask ˹none other than˺ the All-Knowledgeable about Himself.
Quran 41 (9-11)
(a six days course)
9
Say, “Do you really disbelieve in the One who has created the earth in two days, and ascribe to Him partners? That is the Lord of the worlds.
10
He has placed firm mountains in it (the earth) towering above it, and put blessings in it, and proportioned its foods therein, in four days, equal for those who ask.
11
Then He turned straight to the sky, while it was a smoke, and said to it and to the earth, “Come (to My obedience), both of you, willingly or unwillingly.” Both said, “We come willingly.”
12
So He accomplished them as seven skies in two days, and settled in every sky its (due) thing. And We have decorated the closest sky with lamps, and protected it properly. All this is the determination of the All-Mighty, the All-Knowing.
Qur’anic Framework: Sura Fussilat 9–12
- Earth and Sustenance
- Allah says He created the earth in 2 days and established sustenance over it in 2 more days (41:9–10).
- The verse uses siwāʾ (سَوَاءً) → interpreted as “equally distributed” sustenance across the earth.
- Total “4 days” = earth + sustenance, aligning metaphorically with billions-of-years evolution.
- Heaven(s)
- Verse 11: Allah says the heaven and earth were smoke (dukhan) and commanded them to come forth.
- Smoke = early nebula / cosmic plasma stage.
- “Come willingly” = obey natural laws; universe evolves according to Allah’s will.
- Verse 12: He completed seven heavens in 2 days and adorned the nearest heaven with stars.
- The Qur’an distinguishes earth+heaven (4 days) and the seven heavens (2 days).
- Total creation = 6 days, matching the Quranic framework.
Takeaway: The Qur’an provides a staged description: early condensed cosmic matter (earth + heavens) → sustenance → structured heavens. This framework aligns with a unified early universe evolving over cosmic time.
- t = 0 / Singularity
- Modern cosmology: At Planck time (~10⁻⁴³ sec), physics breaks down.
- Equations predict infinite density — a mathematical limit, not a literal “dot.”
- The Qur’an describes a condensed unified state: heaven and earth as smoke, then expansion begins.
- Key point: Science cannot describe this state; revelation affirms Allah’s creative power at the origin.
- Energy and Matter
- Early universe: dominated by high-energy radiation and fundamental fields.
- Mass emerges from energy (pair production, E=mc²).
- Science describes behavior (how matter/energy interact), not ontological essence.
- Photon / Light Analogy
- Photons = massless, yet real; measurable by effects, not tangible in classical sense.
- Similarly, Allah sustains creation through unseen power; measurable only by observable effects, not by physical means.
Takeaway: Physics explains the evolution of matter and energy, but cannot explain ultimate origin, essence of laws, or why the universe exists at all. Qur’an provides that metaphysical grounding.
Conclusion:
The Qur’an presents a coherent cosmological framework that remarkably aligns with multiple established scientific findings:
- The universe had a beginning (21:30)
- It was once unified before separation (21:30)
- It expanded (51:47)
- The early state involved “smoke” (41:11) — consistent with a hot gaseous cosmic phase
- Creation unfolded in ordered stages (multiple “six days” verses)
Modern cosmology independently confirms:
- The universe began from an initial dense state.
- It expanded.
- It passed through plasma/gas-dominated phases.
- Structure formation occurred progressively.
This alignment is not forced, and it is not copied from 7th-century cosmology — because 7th-century cosmology did not contain Big Bang expansion, cosmic plasma states, or a temporal beginning of spacetime.
yes,
- When two independent knowledge systems converge on multiple major points,
- And one of them predates modern instruments by 1400 years,
- And that system avoids the scientific errors common at its time,
- Then it is rational to treat its remaining statements with epistemic credibility.
That is not blind faith.
That is inference to the best explanation.
Science admits that at t → 0, its equations break down. It cannot describe the origin state.
The Qur’an, however, affirms:
- The universe had a beginning.
- It emerged from a unified state.
- It expanded.
- It developed in ordered stages.
Where science reaches mathematical silence, revelation speaks.
And where science later discovers confirmed facts, the Qur’an had already stated them.
If the Qur’an consistently aligns with established reality where verification is possible, then it is rational — not blind — to trust it regarding what lies beyond current scientific reach.
The Qur’an provides ontological truths and foundational cosmological structure.
Science explains mechanisms.
The Qur’an explains origin, purpose, and ultimate cause.
Mechanism does not eliminate causation.
