How Big is The Universe?

Welcome to Quran for Humanity channel. Here we discuss various topics about the Quran. Today we will discuss the size of the universe as described by modern science, the Quran and prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

How big is the universe? This question has been on the minds of thousands of ordinary people as well as scientists for centuries. The latest scientific and technical developments are helping us to get the answer gradually. Recent images from the James Webb telescope have brought this question again to the surface. Because of progress in science and technology, we were getting various details and images of space for the last few decades, but the latest images from the James Webb telescope are throwing new light on the topic we will discuss in this video. But we also want to bring to your attention another side of this question, which is rather more amazing – the clues provided by the Quran and hadith (narrations by prophet Muhammad (pbuh) fourteen hundred years ago and how close they are to the answers provided by science.

First let us see what answer we got from the latest images of the Webb telescope.

When the president and vice president of USA were receiving a briefing of the first images from the James Webb telescope, President Biden asked a NASA official, “Please tell us what we are seeing?” The NASA official gave an amazing reply.

“If you held a grain of sand on the tip of your finger at the arm’s length that is the part of the universe that you’re seeing, just one little speck of the universe…..and you’re seeing just a small little portion of the universe…..100 years ago we thought there is only one galaxy and now the number is unlimited and in our galaxy we have billions of stars and suns…and there are billions of galaxies with billions of stars and suns and we are getting our first glimpse…we are looking back at 13 billion (light) years.”

Amazing, just amazing we were seeing hundreds or thousands of galaxies in the image provided by the Webb telescope and they were compared to a grain of sand in comparison to the desert and described as just “a small speck”. If now we start to visualize the size of the universe based on this comment, our minds will start spinning.

But equally amazing is the narration of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) how he described the size of heavens in his narrations fourteen hundred years ago when science and technology did not exist in their current state.

So let us check what the Quran and Hadith say about the universe.

Quran

In the Quran, Allah (the most Glorified and the most High) mentions in multiple places that He has created seven heavens in the sky. We will examine two such verses.

It is He [Allah] who created for you all of that which is on the earth. Then He directed Himself to the heaven, [His being above all creation], and made them seven heavens, and He is Knowing of all things. 2.29  

Blessed is He [Allah] in whose hand is dominion, and He is over all things competent [He] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed – and He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving –  – [And] who created seven heavens in layers. 67:3 

The Quran does not elaborate on the size or any other details about these heavens. But there are hadiths (Narrations by prophet Muhammad (pbuh) about the size of the universe which come very close to what science discovers today. We will view some video clips mentioning those hadiths.

Hadith -Saying of prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)

Following narration was adapted from the video of Sh. Omar Suleiman describing the hadith that:

The size of first heaven is like the ring thrown in a desert and second heaven being desert– size of second heaven is like a ring thrown in the desert compared to third heaven and third heaven being desert. There are seven heavens like that. This was said fourteen hundred years ago. Now compare this to what the Nasa official said “just one hundred years ago we thought there is only one galaxy” -means the size of the universe was so small in our minds.

When we compare the vastness of the universe described by both the sources, they come so close. Isn’t it amazing that someone described the universe and heavens so close to what the science is describing today, without any technology- any scientific instrument! Allahu Akbar. How can one ever have any guess about what is the size of skies while looking at the them with naked eyes only. Allahu Akbar! What more evidence do we need to vouch for truth of the Quran and Hadith?

With this, we have come to an end of today’s discussion. We will bring you more talks about the Quran, so keep visiting us and don’t forget to subscribe to our channel and press the bell sign, so you get the notification for all new videos. May Allah’s guidance and peace be upon all of humanity.