The Big Bang Theory
Consider the Big Bang theory, perhaps the biggest controversy in the science verses religion debate. This theory is a direct consequence of the expansion of the universe. If the universe is expanding as we know it, then if you turn back the clock, it will keep contracting until the universe was just a single point. In physics that point is known as the singularity, an object of extremely high density. The theory states that the entire universe came from this point when it exploded (big bang) and split into numerous pieces. These pieces then formed all the stars, planets, etc.
Many religious people do not believe in this theory because they say it contradicts the fact that God created the universe and also science has not been able to determine where exactly the singularity came from. Islam brings these two together. Yes, God created the universe, but He did it through the Big Bang. The Quran says, “…the heavens and the earth were a joined entity, and We separated them and made from water every living thing” (21:30).
Here “joined entity” refers to the singularity and the separation refers to the Big Bang. The part about every living thing being made from water is also scientifically accurate as we know today. This is a clear indication of the Big Bang, given 1400 years before modern science determined how the universe began. Again, this is proof of the Quran’s divinity as in the 7th century no one could have even guessed as to how the universe was born.
Planets and Stars
Every planet and moon in our solar system has an orbit. That orbit can be approximated as a circle centered on the sun. However the sun does not remain stationary; it also has an orbit. It revolves around the Milky Way galaxy just like the earth revolves around the sun. So in fact our entire solar system is orbiting the Milky Way. It takes more than 200 million years for the sun to compete an orbit of the galaxy.
The orbit of the sun was discovered in the 17th or 18th century when scientists realized that the Milky Way was like a spinning disk. Amazingly, the Quran stated this fact 1000 years before science discovered it. God says in it, “And it is He who created the night and the day and the sun and the moon; all in an orbit are swimming” (21:33).
This verse clearly indicated that the sun and the moon each travel in their own orbits, as we know today. Again it was not possible in the 7th century for humans to make this discovery. The only explanation is that it was a divine revelation.
Lastly, consider the formation of stars and planets. Stars are formed in nebulas, and start off as a cloud of gases. The process begins when the cloud starts to collapse on itself when it becomes unstable and there is an imbalance of forces. The material in the center becomes incredibly hot and dense and this is the part that eventually becomes the star itself. Planets and solar systems are formed from the leftover material from a star. The remaining dust from the creation of a star clumps together because of gravity. These clumps revolve around the star at high speeds and collide with each other, forming even bigger clumps. Eventually after undergoing many collisions they turn into planets.
Planets are either rocky or gaseous depending on how far they were formed from the star. So the basic idea is that both stars and planets start off as gases and after some processes become celestial objects. This fact was mentioned in the Quran 1400 years ago in the following verse: “Then He directed Himself to the heaven while it was smoke and said to it and to the earth, ‘Come [into being], willingly or by compulsion.’ They said, ‘We have come willingly’” (41:11). The word “smoke” refers to the gaseous clouds from which stars and planets form