Spirit of Islam, April 2013

The Observation of Space O NE of the new developments of modernity is space travel. A number of people have travelled into space and have studied the earth and many galaxies through high-powered telescopes, discovering many things which were hitherto unknown. One of these discoveries is that there is no planet similar to the earth anywhere in the vast universe. There is life on our earth with its totally balanced life support system. On the subject of how entirely appropriate this system was for human life on earth, one scientist typified it as “the right type of material at the right place.” The unique quality possessed by our earth is the life existing upon it, the highest form being that of human beings. In this respect the earth, where the existence of man is an exception, is a singularity in the vast universe. The existence of this kind of life is not a simple matter. Innumerable factors, making up the life support system, are essential to its survival and all of these factors must co-exist in exactly the right proportion to each other. This meaningful exception in the vast universe is undoubtedly the result of purposeful creation and proof of there being a Planner. The earth and its life support system could only have come into being as a result of Divine Intervention. Earth: the Exception If a space traveller could make a thorough survey of the entire universe, he would find that it was totally lifeless. In limitless space, he would SCIENCE AND THEOLOGY Part 2 Our universe is based on very firm laws. It is custom made for our habitation. The order, organisation and design evident in it is extraordinary. All of these compulsively lead us to accept that some agency outside the universe is responsible for its creation and functioning. Denying God’s existence because of His being invisible is an anachronistic argument in the age of modern science. The choice does not lie between the universe without God and the universe with God; but rather between the universe with God and no universe at all. ................ Part 1 appeared in the previous issue ................