THE DARK MATTER

Source : I couldn't recall the source of this article.

He Who created the heavens and the earth and ALL THAT IS BETWEEN, in six days, and is firmly established on the Throne (of Authority): Allah Most Gracious: ask thou, then, about Him of any acquainted (with such things). (Quran 25:59)

In many verses, Quran talks about creating the heavens and the earth in six days. Only in couple of verses, Quran makes it a point to add something else i.e. wama baynahuma, which means "what's between them". My entire fascination and fixation was initially on "six days", whether it was really six days, six years, periods, stages and I never appreciated this word "what's between them". As I grew up and read and started to sort of study, I was really surprised to see that the truly amazing thing in this verse is the word "what's between them".

So I started going back to see what did our scholars say about this word in the tafsir books and most scholars glossed over this word in its entirety and focused mainly on heavens and earth. One or two books of tafsir said "what's between them" means the trees and animals on the surface of the earth must be what Quran is talking about. We can not say this interpretation is wrong but we can definitely say that today there is a better interpretation.

What is that interpretation in my opinion?

It is the notion of what we have come to learn as a product of 20th century science called "Dark Matter".

We know that everything is made of atoms. Atoms are made of electrons, protons and neutrons. Science advances more, then we say even the electrons, protons and neutrons are made of even smaller things like quarks and so forth. Then all of a sudden science discovers that there is another form of matter out there that we are not able to detect with any of our conventional methods at all. Most of the way, we are able to say that matter exists is because it interacts with electromagnetic radiation either it interacts with light or it interacts with X-rays or gamma rays.

Dark matter does not seem to interact with anything that we know about. We are able to deduce its existence simply because it has gravitational force.

Professor John Vacca in his book "The World's 20 Greatest Unsolved Problems" discusses about the mystery of dark matter in its very first chapter because he considers dark matters as the most basic fundamental problem and everything else is less important than that.

MALE (voice-over) : Stars spinning around the center of galaxies were supposed to behave like the planets.

NATARAJAN: With our solar system, you have the sun in the center and you have sort of the planets orbiting around. And since the dominant gravity is that of the sun, the planets that are the outer planets, they are much slower than the planets that are inside. So naturally what people expected

to find was similarly in a galaxy, if you measure the speed of the stars away from the center towards the Edge, you expect it to fall off.

And what Vera Rubin found instead, which actually she measured that, for a spiral galaxy was that the speed stayed the same. As she sort of mapped the speed of the stars from the inside out all the way to the Edge, they stayed the same.

Rubin was the first to pose the question that baffled the scientist ever since. If all the stars in a galaxy moved with the same speed regardless of their distance from the center, then the center could not be the only source of gravity, something else should be exerting the powerful force, something that we simply can not see.

Rubin had every reason to believe that her discovery will bring great excitement. Her announcement that there was dark matter associated with every individual galaxy was received with much skepticism because of far reaching implications it had on the percentage of dark matter in the universe. From her work, she inferred that almost 90% of the mass in a spiral galaxy had to be dark matter.

Rubin's finding suggested that the destiny of galaxies is governed by a vast and inscrutable network. Every galaxy is enveloped in dark matter, invisibly locking all the stars in its embrace with the gravity of its exertion.

MALE (voice-over) : What was the Dark Matter? Steve Hawking one of the leading scientists of the 21th century says,

STEVE HAWKINGS: By its very nature, (cold) dark matter has to be hard to detect. Finding a way to do so is one of the most difficult tasks in physics today.

There are two possibilities. If there is only a fair small amount of dark matter, the universe will continue to expand forever and on the other hand if there is a lot of dark matter, then the gravity will slow down the expansion of the universe and stop in eventually. Then the universe will begin to contract and will end up in a Big Crunch, like the Big Bang reverse.

As Steve Hawkins indicated, the fate of the universe and Allah knows the best, is ultimately determined based on the amount of dark matter that is contained in this universe. If there is no sufficient dark matter, the universe will keep expanding forever. If there is more than certain critical amount of dark matter, that would be enough for the stars to loose some of the energy and the expansion slows down a little bit, that will be enough for the gravitational force to run this process in reverse, the way it initially began.

Scientists have sent space probe to try to define and they call it gamma. Gamma is a quotient.On the top half of the quotient is the total amount of mass in the universe (an easy enough idea). On the bottom half is the amount of mass needed to provide enough gravity so that the universe doesn't fly apart forever. If gamma is greater than one then the mass of the universe is greater than the amount needed to hold it together and the universe will contract back on itself. If gamma is less than one then the mass of the universe is less than the amount needed to hold it together and the universe will expand out through space forever. All the measurements they made fell on the line very close to gamma being equal to one. We don't really have a good handle yet at all on what is going to happen. But the time scale when the Big Crunch will happen will be determined based on the how much dark matter there is.
"Do they not reflect in their own minds? Not but for just ends and for a term appointed, did Allah create the heavens and the earth, and all between them: yet are there truly many among men who deny the meeting with their Lord (at the Resurrection) ! (Quran 30:8)

When Allah says, "Do they not ponder themselves", it means He is giving us a hint. In one of the very few instances where Allah puts in wama baynahuma, which means "what's between them", He linked "what's between them" to "this is for an appointed period". In my mind what interesting way of looking into this verse is that Allah may be giving us a hint and Allah knows the best that the dark matter is indeed going to determine this "ajal' meaning "how long it would last". Allah further says, despite all of these so many people do not believe that they are going to meet God.

Steve Hawking believes in Big Crunch whereas other scientists believe that the universe will keep expanding. (img:2450103061715)

Allah says in the Quran, "The Day that WE ROLL UP THE HEAVENS LIKE A SCROLL ROLLED UP FOR BOOKS (COMPLETED) (completed), - even as We produced the first creation, so shall We produce a new one: a promise We have undertaken: truly shall We fulfill it.." (Quran 21:104)

In the past, science was not developed as we have today and hence tafsirs could not explain this verse the way we described. Hence based on the Quranic verse it is evident that the Universe will contract and Allah knows the best.

RAHSIA ZIKIR DAN KAITANNYA DENGAN SAINS

Artikel Asal : Warga Melayu Abjad Haraki dalam forum tertutup PENGURUSAN DAN TEKNOLOGI (FB)

Sempena bulan puasa yang mulia ini, Pok Nik ingin berkongsi perbincangan Pok Nik dengan seorang saintis Melayu Islam (dinamakan "hamba Allah")..

Apa yang menarik dalam perbincangan berkenaan ialah beliau memadankan antara pemikiran ulama Nusantara dan cetusan daripadanya yang melahirkan inovasi, sains dan teknologi serta beliau sangat suka berbincang dengan Pok Nik kerana input-input kerohanian dan sains. Selain itu, Pok Nik sendiri menaruh minat yang mendalam dalam membuat "pembedahan semula" kitab-kitab ulama Nusantara bagi meneruskan warisan di zaman Khalaf dan memaparkan kehebatan Melayu Islam - Islam Melayu yang mana ulama Nusantara bukanlah semata-mata seorang ulama ilmu agama sahaja tetapi juga merupakan saintis yang bijak.

Penafian

Pok Nik ingin mengingatkan bahawa tidak sekali-kali tujuan artikel ini untuk menyamakan taraf hadits dengan qadim - umpamanya sains menerangkan mukjizat dan karomah. Sebenarnya mukjizat dan karomah itulah yang melahirkan ilham (secara laduni) kepada alam hadits untuk mengaplikasikannya semasa hidup di dunia ini.

I'tiqad kita perlu dijaga bahawa mukjizat dan karomah bukan sains, ianya adalah perkara yang mencarik adat bagi menyelesaikan masalah dan mematikan hujjah serta menebalkan lagi iman.

Pok Nik juga berharap jika ada mana-mana ahli forum yang ada persoalan sila merujuk kepada pakar dalam bidang-bidang yang disebutkan dalam artikel ini.

BISMILLAAHIRRAHMAANIRRAHIM.

Berikut adalah hasil daripada perbincangan berkenaan.

Sesetengah pengikut dan murid kepada guru yang diizinkan Allah SWT melihat perkara mencarik adat ini, telah terilham untuk membuat satu inovasi hasil dari pemerhatiannya sendiri. Ini kerana perkara yang mencarik adat itu adalah bersifat Rahmatul 'Alamin atas asbab penzahirnya.

Ianya bersifat pengajaran, dakwah dan perjalanan di dunia itu sendiri. Ianya juga bersifat keberkatan kepada alam sekitarnya (seperti menurunkan hujan dsb).

Firman Allah yang bermaksud: “Ingatlah, dengan mengingati Allah jiwa kamu akan tenang.”

Walau dengan cara apapun kita berzikir samada dengan sebutan kalimat Allah SWT secara berulang-ulang (atau tasbih, tahmid dsb) atau membaca ayat-ayat suci Al-Qur'an, rabitah, tawassul, fana, mahupun sebutan berulang-ulang, berdoa dsb. seseorang ulama dikira sampai ke matlamat yang disebutkan dalam ayat di atas apabila dia mengingati Allah SWT SEHINGGA jiwanya tenang. Jika dia tidak tenang dia tidak akan dapat kembali seperti Firman Allah SWT :

"Wahai Jiwa yang tenang, kembalilah kepada Tuhanmu dengan redha dan diredhai, maka masuklah kedalam (golongan) hambaKu, dan masuklah ke dalam (Syurga) JannahKu"

Juga ulama apabila ditimpa dugaan atau musibah, beliau akan terus mengingati Allah SWT sebagaimana firmanNya :

“ Orang-orang yang sabar itu apabila mereka ditimpa musibah mereka akan berkata : Innaa lillaahi wa-inna ilaihi roojiuun “ ~ Surah al-Baqarah , ayat 155

Juga disaran "kembali kepada Allah" kerana bila "kembali", jiwa akan "tenang-tenteram" dan semoga kita masuk dalam golongan hambaNya (yang redha dan diredhai walaupun berapa banyak musibah dan dugaan datang sekalipun)

Kembali kepada perbincangan kita.

Firman Allah SWT :

"Maha Suci Allah yang telah menciptakan PASANG-PASANGAN, baik dari apa yang ditumbuhkan oleh bumi dan dari diri mereka maupun dari apa yang tidak mereka ketahui." (QS Yasin: 36)

FirmanNya lagi :

"Dan segala sesuatu Kami ciptakan berpasang-pasangan supaya kamu MENGINGAT akan kebesaran Allah." (QS Adz-Dzaariyat: 49)

(Lihat pertalian "Pasangan" dengan "Zikir")

Telah terdapat laporan, dalam Qisasul Aulia, kisah hamba yang sentiasa suka berpuasa dan memenuhi puasa itu dengan berzikir sehingga mencapai ke peringkat fana dan apabila tuan kepada hamba itu balik ke rumahnya, dia melihat zahirnya satu cahaya yang tidak diketahui puncanya. Apabila tuan itu rapat ke bilik hamba berkenaan, cahaya itu tiba-tiba hilang.

Dari segi teori temporal dan fizik kuantum, apabila seseorang ulama berzikir, maka semua nisbah jisim dan antijisim (persekitaran alam dan dalam diri) akan bertemu (kata kunci, Pasangan jisim dan antijisim) kerana barokah dari zikir seorang ulama itu apatah lagi apabila dia bertaraf waliyullah.

Apabila pertembungan unsur ghaib dan nyata (adat bertemu mencarik adat) maka ianya akan melahirkan satu bentuk cahaya (atau cahaya bertemu cahaya menzahirkan cahaya di atas cahaya) (kata kunci : Pasangan unsur ghaib dan nyata dan cahaya bertemu cahaya)

Maksud ayat: Surah an Nur ayat 35 – 37.

“Allah (memberi) cahaya (kepada) langit dan bumi. Perumpamaan cahaya Allah adalah seperti lubang yang tidak tembus yang di dalamnya ada pelita besar. Pelita itu di dalam kaca dan kaca itu seakan-akan (bintang yang bercahaya) seperti mutiara yang menyalakan minyak dari pohon yang banyak berkahnya, iaitu pohon zaitun yang tumbuh tidak di sebelah timur (sesuatu) dan tidak pula di sebelah baratnya yang minyaknya sahaja menerangi walaupun tidak disentuh api.

Cahaya di atas cahaya (berlapis-lapis) - ALLAH MEMBIMBING KEPADA CAHAYANYA (untuk) SESIAPA YANG DIA KEHENDAKI dan Allah membuat perumpamaan-perumpamaan bagi manusia dan Allah Maha Mengetahui segala sesuatu. Bertasbih kepada Allah di masjid-masjid yang telah diperintahkan untuk dimulakan dan disebut namanya di dalamnya, pada waktu pagi dan pada waktu petang.

Dari satu segi, di sini jelas, "sesiapa yang Dia kehendaki" tentunya dua dari golongan itu adalah Sidiqqin dan Solihin (termasuk ulama) yang sentiasa mengingatinya semasa baring, bangun, berjalan dll.

Perkara mencarik adat ini sudah banyak kali dilaporkan oleh murid-murid kepada Tuan Guru Haji Kenali dan juga Syeikh Wan Ahmad Fathani yang melihat guru mereka seolah-olah mengeluarkan cahaya pada persekitaran.

Malah di zaman Rasulullah S.A.W. sendiri, ramai pengikut dan para sahabat mereka seakan-akan terlihat cahaya di wajah dan tubuh badan baginda S.A.W. kerana ingatan baginda yang tidak putus-putus kepada Allah SWT dalam perbuatan apa sekalipun.

Bagi mereka yang mempelajari kisah asal-usul manusia, maka kita sudah pasti mengetahui sedikit sebanyak mengenai Nur Muhammad samada dalam konteks kejadian atau semasa peristiwa Israk Mikraj.

Kadang-kadang dilihat petir, guruh dan hujan akan berlaku samada rintik-rintik atau lebat sebagai tanda keberkatan dari langit yang dibawa oleh para malaikat kepada orang-orang yang berzikir itu. Ini kerana kelebihan yang ada pada wali-wali Allah ialah "doanya menurunkan hujan" (gelaran yang sama diberikan pada Sultan Aulia Syeikh Muhyiddin Abdul Qadir Jilani dan juga Imam Al-Mahdi)

Rasulullah s.a.w. juga menjelaskan bahawa para malaikat akan memayungi orang-orang yang mengingati Allah, melimpahkan mereka dengan rahmat serta beroleh rasa ketenangan. Sabda baginda yang bermaksud: Tidaklah berhimpun suatu kaum kerana mengingati Allah, melainkan mereka akan dinaungi oleh para malaikat, dilimpahkan dengan rahmat serta diturunkan ke atas mereka ketenangan dan Allah menyebut mereka (meningkatkan darjat) di kalangan orang yang berada di sisi-Nya. (Riwayat Muslim).

Selaras dengan Firman Allah SWT : Ingatilah Aku dan Aku akan mengingatimu.

Dilihat kejadian hujan ini pula ialah kerana pasangan bertemu pasangan (cas negatif pada awan kumulunimbus bertemu dengan pasangannya cas positif di muka bumi menyebabkan laluan ion mencari titik rintangan bumi yang paling rendah bagi mengalirkan cas negatif ke bumi dan menzahirkan satu bentuk tenaga nyahcas elektrik iaitu kilat dan akibatnya lahirlah hujan)

(kata kunci : pasangan cas "negatif" dan "positif")

Dalam tubuh apabila dikaji, seorang ulama yang berada dalam keadaan tenang dan tenteram kerana zikir yang disebut - lidah, hati, anggota dalam apa juga bentuk sebutan sekalipun, maka akan berlaku reaksi asid amino menerusi pasangan tryptophan dan tyrosine.

Semasa peringkat tenang, trytophan menyeberangi halangan darah ke otak mengikut laluan yang sama dan akan melahirkan perasaan tenteram dalam diri. Ketika ini juga, neuron akan membentuk norepinephrine. Dan seseorang ulama itu akan merasakan perasaan seolah-olah "suspended" (fana), sejuk tubuh badan - seperti mayat (kerana pertembungan pasangan alam hadis dengan alam yang tiada masa dan dimensi - contohnya barzakh) Rasa seram sejuk ini; dalam konteks biologi, ialah kerana penurunan suhu badan dan kekurangan kadar asas metabolisma badan bagi menyimpan lebih tenaga (semasa berpuasa atau suasana "suspended" ini)

Apabila dia habis waktu zikirnya dan berbuka puasa, dia biasanya akan berbuka puasa dengan kurma yang mengandungi banyak protin dan serat. (begitu juga dengan nasi yang mengandungi kabohidrat) Maka dengan sendirinya tyrosine (dengan neurotransmitter dopamine untuk aktiviti) pula akan menggantikan trytophan tadi dan memberikan ulama itu tenaga untuk dia melakukan kerja-kerja lain (bahagian di dunianya) atau bertazkirah atau kembali berzikir. Ini samalah dengan Sunnah Baginda S.A.W. yang berbuka puasa dengan kurma (berprotin dan berserat) dan kadangkala daging (yang memberikan tenaga)

Kata kunci (pasangan trytophan dan tyrosine, pasangan neurotransmitter norepinephrine dan dopamine)

Sambungan dari Surah Nur ayat 38 berbunyi :

"Lelaki yang tidak dilalaikan oleh perniagaan dan tidak pula oleh jual beli dari mengingati Allah dan dari mendirikan solat dan dari membayar zakat. Mereka takut pada suatu hari (yang di hari itu) Hati dan penglihatan menjadi goncang. Mereka yang mengerjakan demikian itu supaya Allah memberikan balasan kepada mereka (dengan balasan) yang lebih baik dari apa yang mereka kerjakan, dan supaya Allah menambahkan kurnianya kepada mereka. Dan Allah memberi rezeki pada siapa yang dikehendakinya.”

Maka di sini juga jelas, selepas zikir, maka seseorang itu akan mengerjakan solat dan membayar zakat (aktiviti fizikal) dan ditambahnya pula Rezeki.

Dari kajian metabolisma pula, semasa berpuasa (sunat atau wajib) dan berzikir, penggunaan tenaga akan ditumpukan kepada sistem imun, penyembuhan dan metabolisma badan. Asid amino juga membantu pembentuk protein lebih efisien bagi menghasilkan sel-sel serta tisu yang lebih sihat (termasuk proses penyembuhan tisu yang rosak hasil protein sintesis dan antibodi badan yang lebih teratur)

Sebenarnya tenaga yang tersimpan ini juga datangnya dari sumber zikir semasa berpuasa inilah yang dipanggil tenaga rohani atau tenaga dari cahaya.

Itulah sebabnya ulama kelihatan seperti berseri (awet muda) ditambah pula dengan cahaya di wajahnya hasil zikirnya walaupun ulama itu telah berusia (perembesan hormon - anti penuaan dibantu pula dengan penyeberangan tryptophan). Selepas dia berbuka puasa samada dengan nasi atau kurma mahupun daging, maka metabolisma akan berlaku kembali dengan menzahirkan reaksi pasangan anabolisma (tenaga) dan katabolisma (pemecahan makanan dalam respirasi sel) dalam bentuk tenaga membentuk komponen sel spt. protein dan asid nukleik.

(Kata kunci (metabolisma - anabolisma dan katabolisma, tenaga - protein dan asid nukleik)

Tenaga zahir dari makanan ini akan memudahkan pula solat terawih (atau solat-solat lain) dll. termasuk menguatkan sistem kardiovaskular kerana solat terawih digelar solat sambil berehat serta merupakan satu riadah yang luarbiasa.

Kembali kepada Firman Allah SWT :

"Maha Suci Allah yang telah menciptakan pasang-pasangan, baik dari APA YANG DITUMBUHKAN OLEH BUMI dan dari diri mereka maupun dari apa yang tidak mereka ketahui." (QS Yasin: 36)

Ada laporan juga yang menyatakan seseorang ulama itu ditimpa penyakit sebagai sebahagian dari ujian ke atas kesabaran mereka. Maka mereka akan bersolat hajat dan berzikir memohon Allah SWT menyembuhkan penyakit yang dideritai menerusi ilham laduni untuk mencari sejenis tumbuhan/herba termasuk cara penggunaan/aplikasinya.

Banyak kes yang didapati, golongan ulama ini akan bertemu dengan penawar dalam bentuk asbabnya iaitu herba dan pohon - selain ayat-ayat dan doa-doa penyembuh (Kata kunci Penawar dan Penyakit) seperti tongkat ali, rempah gunung, akar sarsi, habbatus shawda, sambung nyawa, mahkota dewa dll.

Maka lahirlah kitab-kitab Thibb yang masyhur oleh ulama-ulama Nusantara. Akhirnya kerana sifat Rahmatul 'Aalamin yang zahir pada ulama berkenaan, bukan sahaja penyakitnya sembuh tetapi kitab-kitab Thibb ini dijadikan asas perubatan alternatif -tradisional, homeopathy dan konvensional pula. Industri perubatan pula telah melahirkan peluang kerja dan peluang perniagaan. (berangkai-rangkai kebajikannya walaupun ulama berkenaan telah meninggal dunia namun kesannya masih ada di dunia ini dan menjadi kebajikan pula padanya (Ilmu yang dimanfaatkan)

Jika dilihat kembali pertembungan pasangan pelbagai ini, fahamlah kita bawa kalimat tauhid iaitu Laa ilaa ha illAllah MuhammadarRasuulullah (atau kalimah syahadah) itu dipisahkan dengan huruf "HU" di tengah-tengahnya dan fahamlah juga kita kenapa zikir "HU" atau "Allah HU" atau "HU-Allah sentiasa digunakan untuk "zikir nafas" turun dan naik oleh para ulama yang ahli dalam babnya. Dan "HU" itu sendiri adalah asma Allah.

Nafas itu sendiri merupakah pemisah antara jasad dan ruh dan jika terpisah antara jasad dan ruh maka kita akan kembali ke alam barzakh.

Diharapkan dengan tertulisnya artikel ringkas ini, kita sama-sama mula dapat menerima hakikat kesyumulan dan kesempurnaan Islam yang tidak tertakluk kepada aqidah, syariah dan akhlak semata-mata, malah sains dan teknologi samada fizik, biologi, kimia dan pecahan-pecahannya. Kita perlu mengembalikan kesemua ilmu ini kepada Allah SWT dan bertasbih padaNya kerana nikmat yang diberikan di dunia ini (walaupun sementara) sangatlah banyak sekali dan tidak terbilang - apatah lagi nikmat di akhirat nanti.

WASSALAM, WALLAHUALAM

Does Physics Confirm the Qur'anic Worldview?

A New World in This Generation - for the Next 7 Generations

The Planetization Structure, Blueprint and Plan Provides
the New Coordinates and Scaffold to Change the World

Quantum Islam:
Does Physics Confirm the Qur'anic Worldview? - By Dr Kevin J. Barrett

The Qur'an, it has been argued, is unique among the scriptures of the major world religions in its compatibility with the shifts in world-view that have accompanied major scientific discoveries.

When Copernicus argued that the earth was not the center of the universe, the Christian worldview was thrown into chaos. Christians, with their anthropocentric cosmology, believed that we human beings were the be-all and end-all of the entire cosmos, so our planet had to be at the exact center of everything. This error was the natural result of confusing God with one of His creatures, a human being. The humanist heirs to Christianity persist in the same error, though they, along with most Christians, have grudgingly accepted the Copernican revolution, at least in astronomy. Muslims, on the other hand, have always known Allah as rabb al-`alamin, the Lord of the Worlds. That means that there are many worlds, of which ours is just one. Copernicus's discovery was not particularly surprising or disturbing to Muslims.

The success of popularizations of quantum physics, especially the recent film What the Bleep do We Know, suggests that a new Copernican revolution is brewing. Once again Muslims will find that its consequences are in accordance with Qur'anic teachings, even as non-Muslims find their entire worldviews turned upside-down. And once again, at the heart of the change is a scientific discovery showing that our world is merely one of an almost infinite plethora of other worlds.

Quantum physics, the most successful mathematical model of physical reality, tells us that “deep reality” consists not of physical objects, but of probability waves. Each point on a probability wave corresponds to an actual state of physical reality as we experience and measure it. But along with the one that we perceive and measure are an almost infinitely large number of other realities—other worlds—that seem to exist in parallel universes to which our senses and instruments do not have access.

The Western scientists who developed quantum theory have had difficulty accepting its implications. Like the pre-Copernican popes, they are emotionally attached to the idea that their own little world is the center of everything. Could my physical universe really be just one of a huge number of parallel universes branching out to infinity? If there are so many worlds, why do I just perceive one of them?

Islam answers “Why not?” If quantum physics is correct, Allah is Lord of the Worlds not just in the sense of having created an enormous number of suns and planets, but also in unfolding a multiplicity of worlds (universes) as part of the very process of creation. The idea that these unfolding worlds exist in a realm hidden from us should not surprise readers of the Qur'an, which repeatedly speaks of `alam al-ghaib (the concealed dimension of reality). Nor should Muslims be dismayed by the almost infinite richness and mulitiplicity of Allah's creation. After all, Allah is the One who only has to say “Be” and it is. Nor should Muslims have difficulty accepting their humble place in this magnificent scheme. After all, our purpose and place is to submit to Allah, not boastfully insist that we and we alone must be the center of creation.

The new Copernican revolution of quantum physics inspired the recent movie sensation What the Bleep Do We Know, a lively, thought-provoking film that predictably takes a somewhat narcissistic approach to quantum reality. Whereas Islam orients us toward awed submission to the Lord of the Worlds, new age spirituality often emphasizes personal power and gratification. Rather than finding balance and inner peace, and marveling at the stunning richness and multiplicity of unfolding creation, the new age approach to the discovery of multiple universes is, “That means I can choose which universe I want to live in—I can control the very reality I perceive! Wow, I'm almost a god! Maybe I AM God!” This mistake is inevitable, given Western culture's drift from Christianity (which confuses a man with God) to humanism (which makes mankind into its God) to the current state of confusion as technology grasps for seemingly godlike powers.

Are there really multiple realities branching out all around us, and can we really choose between them? This question reduces a tremendous insight into the nature of reality into a pragmatic quest for power. Here are the stages the Western world is going through as it confronts the new Copernican revolution of quantum reality:

(1) Denial. From Einstein's “God does not play dice with the universe” to the ongoing attempts to explain how the many “unreal” quantum realities collapse into the single “one truly real” reality that I perceive, the egocentric consciousness desperately clings to the illusion that its reality is the only real one; all others are mere illusion that must be explained away.

(2) Egocentric, power-mongering acceptance of quantum reality. Exemplified by the film What the Bleep do We Know, this approach accepts the multiple realities implication of quantum physics, but views it mainly as a tool for personal empowerment: getting rid of negative emotions, experiencing more pleasure, and generally choosing to live a more enjoyable, less neurotic life. While there is nothing wrong with getting rid of addictions and negative emotions and experiencing pleasure, making this the central goal of existence is self-defeating.

(3) Experiencing the larger vision of reality quantum physics describes, and assuming an orientation of awed, grateful submission to the Creator of that amazing reality-process.

The third stage is the one recommended in no uncertain terms by the Qur'an. Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, Creator of all that exists, is the One who is All-Knowing and All-Seeing. The basic grounding and orientation of our existence should be awed submission to Allah, not a neurotic pursuit for power over the tiny corner of reality that we inhabit.

Of the popularizations of quantum physics that I am familiar with, perhaps the best—and certainly the most interesting from a Muslim perspective—is Science, Sense & Soul: The Mystical-Physical Nature of Human Existence by Casey Blood, Ph.D. (Los Angeles: Renaissance Books, 2001). The author, a physicist who has been heavily influenced by Islamic ideas, offers an amazingly lucid interpretation of quantum physics that closely fits the Qur'anic cosmology.

As Blood describes it, the quantum description of reality puts an end to the age of materialism, by requiring the existence of nonphysical Mind behind the physical brain. This nonphysical element is extremely rich and complex, and corresponds to the part of us that survives death—the ruh in traditional Islamic cosmology. During life, it makes choices between the quantum realities corresponding to our thoughts, and these choices have immense repercussions for our experience not only of life, but also after death. In fact, the choices we make in life will have their most immense repercussions after death, as Islam teaches us. Why? Because while we are alive, the physical universe modifies and structures our consciousness, rendering finite the repercussions of each thought-choice we make. When our non-physical Mind is cut off from the physical universe, as happens to a certain extent in sleep and with absolute finality at death, the thought-forms of Mind itself become the whole of consciousness. All the good and bad that we have done is eternalized, and we enter the form of eternity shaped by our own actions. In other words, we enter an eternal paradise or jahannum that is the fruit of our choices during life. Thus our choices are of immense importance, as the Qur'an repeatedly warns us.

Blood's quantum cosmology not only suggests the existence of Allah, creator and sustainer, Lord of the Words, it demands it. By assuming that quantum reality is physical reality, Blood shows that something else—a very big something else—is needed. At the level of our individual consciousness, that something else is the nonphysical Mind or soul. At the level of the cosmos as a whole, a unifying non-physical mind underlying and creating the quantum-governed physical dimension is equally necessary. Now what could we call such an all-creating, all-embracing, absolute-justice-dispensing, all-merciful non-material mind? Muslims would call it Allah.

Besides suggesting the reality of Allah, paradise, hellfire and judgment, based on the most straightforward interpretation of contemporary physics, Blood also demonstrates where angels and jnun fit into the scheme. The realm of angels, he writes, is an aspect of non-physical Mind that is relatively closer to Allah and further from quantum-governed material reality; while the realm of the jnun is a denser layer of non-physical Mind closer to material reality. Our own Mind (ruh) can and does experience both planes.

It is well known that certain passages in the Qur'an have prefigured later scientific discoveries. But until I read Blood's book, I had never heard anyone claim that the most straightforward interpretation of the most basic scientific approach to reality, physics, had confirmed the key principles of the Islamic worldview. This is quite an interesting bit of news. As the amazing implications of quantum physics slowly seep into global consciousness, perhaps the narcissistic “Wow! I create reality” phase will give way to a more mature understanding of the cosmos—an understanding rooted in an Islamic worldview confirmed by the ripening of scientific knowledge.