The Earth’s Gravitational Force
Did We not make the earth a receptacle? (Surat al-Mursalat, 25)
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| Isaac Newton |
The Arabic word "kifatan," translated as "receptacle" in the above verse, means "living things being gathered together and protected in their dwellings.” It can also mean “a place where living or inanimate things are gathered together” or “a place on which things are piled or collected.” "Kifatan" comes from the root word "kafata," which means "to collect, gather toward one, embrace."
With its gravitational force, the earth pulls human beings and everything else on it - living or inanimate - toward its center. It is very likely that the use of a verb meaning "to pull toward one" refers to this force of gravity. (Allah knows the truth.)
Thanks to the force of gravity that pulls animals, plants, human beings and everything else on Earth toward itself, people are able to walk on the ground, objects can remain where they are without flying off into the air, athmosphere encircles the Earth and rain falls on Earth.
Sir Isaac Newton, regarded as one of the greatest scientists ever, investigated this feature of the Earth. During his studies, he made one of the greatest scientific discoveries of all time. He wrote about gravity in his famous book, Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), first published in 1687. The Latin word "attraere" Newton used in discussing gravity also means "to attract, bring together."
The reference in the Qur'an to one of the Earth's four great forces, only defined in the 17th century, is just one of the proofs that the Qur'an was sent down from the Presence of Allah.
The Solidity of The Atom and Electron Orbits
"You will see the mountains you reckoned to be solid going past like clouds–the handwork of Allah Who gives to everything its solidity. He is aware of what you do." (Surat an-Naml, 88)
One possible interpretation of the above verse is that it may very well be a reference to the strength of the atom, the building block of all matter. It may allude to the orbit of electrons in the atom, which students all over the world are taught about in their daily science lessons. Looked at in the context of atoms, the use of the term "to everything its solidity" can be interpreted as referring to the solidity of the atom, which cannot be broken even if struck with a sledgehammer (Allah knows the truth). That is because objects themselves are not perfectly solid. Only the atom is perfectly solid.
For example, even if a vase is shattered, the atoms that make it up remain solid. A car may turn into a pile of junk after an accident, or a skyscraper may collapse after an explosion, but the atoms remain unwavering in their unity. Indeed, the situation remains the same whether it is a delicate flower or a tough piece of metal: the atoms that constitute matter do not fall apart or stray off-orbit. Therefore, even the most fragile-looking piece of matter is actually very solid in its Creation. The wisdom behind the reference to "everything" in the verse may well lie in the fact that the atom is the basis of all matter.
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| The illustration depicts the movement of electrons resembling clouds that constitute matter by joining atoms together, literally like glue.6 |
Very solid structures are even to be found in nuclear bombs, which work by splitting atomic bonds. In nuclear fission, the atomic nucleus is split and then divided into two smaller atoms. In the nuclear fusion technique, two small atoms are combined together to make one larger atom. For example, solar energy is manufactured in this way, by hydrogen being turned into helium. As a result, there is a constant cycle from matter to energy and from energy to matter, and there is a general solidity in the universe at the atomic level.
If one examines this verse of the Qur’an further, there may also be reference to the clouds of electrons around atomic nuclei, whose movement is likened to "mountains... going past like clouds." (Allah knows the truth.) The electrons in their orbits, in the atoms, that make up the “mountains” strongly resemble a cloud – this can be said about their appearance, not to mention their constant and rapid motion around the nucleus. Indeed, the orbiting electrons in the atom are regularly described as an "electron cloud" in contemporary scientific literature.7 The concept of an electron cloud is used in molecular physics, chemistry and quantum chemistry to describe the way they move in a manner similar to a cloud around the atomic nucleus.8
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It is impossible to understand the structure of the atom and establish this cloud-like appearance of electrons without such high-tech devices as electron microscopes. The fact that the information provided fourteen centuries ago in the Qur'an matches the discoveries of advanced, present-day technology is one of the miracles of the Qur'an. It is also a manifestation of our Lord's titles of Alim (He Who knows all things), Fatir (the Creator) and Halik (He Who will see and arrange the existence of all things and Who creates accordingly, He Who creates from nothing).
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