In the Holy Quran some verses are very clear on the subject of Extra Terrestrial Intelegence . In Sûrah 42 verse 29 Allah Almighty says:
Among His signs, is the creation of heavens and earth
And living creatures
He has dispersed therein,
And He is able to gather them together
When He wills.
The commentators of the Holy Quran both in antiquity & in the modern times, while commenting on the above verse, have indicated towards the existence of intelligent beings like humans in heavens. Hazrat Ibn-i-Abbas, a disciple and companion of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), was reluctant to explain this verse for common people.
When someone asked him to explain this verse he said if he explained that verse he would not believe in it. However, his explanation of the verse has been narrated through different sources in the following words:
'Every earth has a prophet like Muhammad, Adam like our Adam, a Noah like our Noah, and Abraham like our Abraham, and Jesus like our Jesus (peace be upon them)'. (Maududi, Maulana: Tafheem-Al-Quran, (Lahore: Islamic publications, 1996) Vol: 5, PP581-583)
The author of the commentary KHAZIN (VOL: 6, p.104) says:
"It is possible that different creatures created by Allah in the heavens might be moving about like human beings." (Hameed ur Rehman Abbasi: Notes on Tafseer-Al-Quran (Lahore, Anjuman-i- khuddamuddin) PP 208-213)
According to commentary SADI-ALAL-JALALAIN there is nothing to stop from adopting the literal interpretation of the above verse, i.e., Allah has created living beings in the heavens which move about in the heavens as humans do on the earth (vol:4, p:34). (Ibid)
The commentator of RUH ALMAHANI commented on the verse thus:
The authentic traditions of the prophet prove the existence of living creatures in the heavens…also it is not far fetched to believe that there exist living creatures and beasts in the heavens which have such shapes and conditions which are not in our knowledge(page:526). (Ibid)
Maulana Maududi comments on the verse in the following words:
It is a clear indication that life not only exists on the earth but also on other planets. (Maududi, Op.Cit, pp)
Bashiruddin Mehmood, a Pakistani scientist, explains the above verse thus:
It is obvious from the verse that living creatures, as on earth, must be widely scattered among the heavenly worlds also. It also means that cosmos has innumerous living worlds with all types of animals beasts and human beings dispersed therein. (Bashiruddin Mahmood: Mechanics of the Doomsday and Life after Death (New Delhi, Kitab Bhawan) PP 139)
Another verse of the Holy Quran which refers to the existence of life supporting heavenly bodies is verse 15 of SURA 65.The verse is:
Allah it is, who has created seven heavens,
And of the earth like thereof----
The commandment comes down
Among them gradually,
So that you may know that
Allah is able to do all things,
He surrounds all things in knowledge (65:15)
Maulana Maududi interprets the above verse in the following words: WAMINALARDH MISLUHUN (i.e. AND OF THE EARTH LIKE THEREOF) means that as this earth is the abode of living creatures there do exist other earths like bodies which are the abode of living beings. Hazrat Ibn-i-Abbas among old commentators of Holy Quran is the only one who stated this fact in that era when no one was ready to accept the fact that there could be any other abode than the earth where intelligent beings do exist. (Maududi, Maulana, Op. Cit, pp)
The interpretation of the verse as given by Bashiruddin Mehmood is:
In the verse the statement COMMANDMENT COMES DOWN AMONG THEM GRADUALLY is also of great significance; this means that development of each one of these earth systems is a slow evolutionary process. Turbulence is basically a feature of the hot and active systems such as nebulae etc. But once a heavenly body is destined to become a life supporting place, the process of change is slowed down there. An example of this slow change is our own earth. According to the current scientific thought, it is about 4 to 5 billion years old and has evolved to its present state. First signs of life appeared on it after several billion years of its existence. Even after that it took hundred of millions of years to have mature life on it…. The concept that other earths are like our earth, implies that their development in space may be guided by the same set of rules, and life pattern in them should be exactly ours. This must be so because, God Who is the Maker of scientific laws is the same everywhere. (Bashiruddin Mahmood, Op. Cit, pp 140.)
Among His signs, is the creation of heavens and earth
And living creatures
He has dispersed therein,
And He is able to gather them together
When He wills.
The commentators of the Holy Quran both in antiquity & in the modern times, while commenting on the above verse, have indicated towards the existence of intelligent beings like humans in heavens. Hazrat Ibn-i-Abbas, a disciple and companion of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), was reluctant to explain this verse for common people.
When someone asked him to explain this verse he said if he explained that verse he would not believe in it. However, his explanation of the verse has been narrated through different sources in the following words:
'Every earth has a prophet like Muhammad, Adam like our Adam, a Noah like our Noah, and Abraham like our Abraham, and Jesus like our Jesus (peace be upon them)'. (Maududi, Maulana: Tafheem-Al-Quran, (Lahore: Islamic publications, 1996) Vol: 5, PP581-583)
The author of the commentary KHAZIN (VOL: 6, p.104) says:
"It is possible that different creatures created by Allah in the heavens might be moving about like human beings." (Hameed ur Rehman Abbasi: Notes on Tafseer-Al-Quran (Lahore, Anjuman-i- khuddamuddin) PP 208-213)
According to commentary SADI-ALAL-JALALAIN there is nothing to stop from adopting the literal interpretation of the above verse, i.e., Allah has created living beings in the heavens which move about in the heavens as humans do on the earth (vol:4, p:34). (Ibid)
The commentator of RUH ALMAHANI commented on the verse thus:
The authentic traditions of the prophet prove the existence of living creatures in the heavens…also it is not far fetched to believe that there exist living creatures and beasts in the heavens which have such shapes and conditions which are not in our knowledge(page:526). (Ibid)
Maulana Maududi comments on the verse in the following words:
It is a clear indication that life not only exists on the earth but also on other planets. (Maududi, Op.Cit, pp)
Bashiruddin Mehmood, a Pakistani scientist, explains the above verse thus:
It is obvious from the verse that living creatures, as on earth, must be widely scattered among the heavenly worlds also. It also means that cosmos has innumerous living worlds with all types of animals beasts and human beings dispersed therein. (Bashiruddin Mahmood: Mechanics of the Doomsday and Life after Death (New Delhi, Kitab Bhawan) PP 139)
Another verse of the Holy Quran which refers to the existence of life supporting heavenly bodies is verse 15 of SURA 65.The verse is:
Allah it is, who has created seven heavens,
And of the earth like thereof----
The commandment comes down
Among them gradually,
So that you may know that
Allah is able to do all things,
He surrounds all things in knowledge (65:15)
Maulana Maududi interprets the above verse in the following words: WAMINALARDH MISLUHUN (i.e. AND OF THE EARTH LIKE THEREOF) means that as this earth is the abode of living creatures there do exist other earths like bodies which are the abode of living beings. Hazrat Ibn-i-Abbas among old commentators of Holy Quran is the only one who stated this fact in that era when no one was ready to accept the fact that there could be any other abode than the earth where intelligent beings do exist. (Maududi, Maulana, Op. Cit, pp)
The interpretation of the verse as given by Bashiruddin Mehmood is:
In the verse the statement COMMANDMENT COMES DOWN AMONG THEM GRADUALLY is also of great significance; this means that development of each one of these earth systems is a slow evolutionary process. Turbulence is basically a feature of the hot and active systems such as nebulae etc. But once a heavenly body is destined to become a life supporting place, the process of change is slowed down there. An example of this slow change is our own earth. According to the current scientific thought, it is about 4 to 5 billion years old and has evolved to its present state. First signs of life appeared on it after several billion years of its existence. Even after that it took hundred of millions of years to have mature life on it…. The concept that other earths are like our earth, implies that their development in space may be guided by the same set of rules, and life pattern in them should be exactly ours. This must be so because, God Who is the Maker of scientific laws is the same everywhere. (Bashiruddin Mahmood, Op. Cit, pp 140.)
With Love
Badr Zaman
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