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Shahzad Ahmed, London, UK
Understanding our universe, its stars and planets and exploring the vastness of space has been a fascination of our civilisations since antiquity. In fact, the earliest records of astronomical observations date back to the Assyro-Babylonians around 1,000 BCE.[1] This particular discipline of natural science has since gradually evolved from mere observations of the naked eye into the night skies till the present day, where we have such highly advanced technological instruments that enable us to see billions of light-years into space and study the various phases in the history of our universe.
But in the 7th century, deep in the deserts of Arabia, where Bedouin tribes dwelled, hidden from the mighty empires and great civilisations of the time, with no access to any formal education, institutions or libraries, the Holy Qur’an revealed such profound insights about the universe which modern science is only discovering in recent times. For example, among countless signs of the Holy Qur’an is how it aptly describes the creation of the universe in the form of a big bang,[2] its continuous expansion,[3] the singularity of a black hole and the eventual unfolding of the universe.[4]
Another powerful sign whilst unveiling the intricacies of our universe is found in the following Qur’anic proclamation: ‘And by the heaven full of tracks’.[5]
It was only in the 1500s that Nicolaus Copernicus described the planetary paths, and then later, Johannes Kepler developed this theory.[6] Today, it is perhaps a very obvious notion that our planets, comets and stars in the solar system float in their respective orbits in complete harmony and order, with each planet following a particular path, or a track as it were, and travelling in the same orbital plane. However, it is an astonishing fact that 1,400 years ago, centuries before the telescope was even invented, the author of the Holy Qur’an declared this celestial phenomenon.
The miraculous nature of the Qur’an is that the sublime treasures of its divine knowledge continue to unravel in all ages.
So, let us explore another aspect of this great prophecy, which relates to the modern-day transport network of aeroplanes. To see an aeroplane passing high above the clouds has become a permanent feature of our skies, like the clouds themselves. It is estimated that there are around 100,000 flights per day, with millions of people flying to some destination and billions over the course of just a single year.[7] If one looks at any tracking service of flights available online, they will appear as thousands of aircrafts cluttered in the sky, sprawling in all directions, and one wonders that it is a miracle that they do not come into the path of one another. However, thousands of feet above us, a highly sophisticated and complex network is in operation by a dedicated team of air traffic controllers that work round the clock and meticulously calculate flight paths. There are, in fact, tens of thousands of air routes that connect over 10,000 airports across the globe.[8] These highways in the sky are literally invisible ‘tracks’ which the Holy Qur’an had foretold centuries ago.
So the next time you see an aeroplane, take a moment to reflect upon this great miracle of how this modern-day engineering marvel was foretold to an unlettered dweller of the Arabian desert 1,400 years ago.
ENDNOTES
1. https://sci.esa.int/web/gaia/-/53196-the-oldest-sky-maps
2. The Holy Quran, 21:31.
3. The Holy Quran, 51:48.
4. The Holy Quran, 21:105.
5. The Holy Qur’an, 51:8.
6. https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/how-did-we-discover-planets#:~:text=Copernicus’s%20theory%20arranged%20the%20Earth,as%20ellipses%2C%20or%20oval%20shaped.
7. https://www.flightradar24.com/data/statistics
8. https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/mapping-airways-the-worlds-flight-paths-and-airports/#google_vignette
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