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Exploring the Seven "Heavens" (Sab'a Samaawaat) of Qur'an in Astrophysics

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 Exploring the Seven “Heavens” (Sab’a
Samaawaat) of Qur’an in Astrophysics

Dr. Javed Jamil

Chair in Islamic Studies & Research

Yenepoya University

Derelakatte, Mangalore, Karnataka - 575018 (India)

Muslims believe Qur’an to be the Word of God, the Lord of the Universe and therefore
have insurmountable faith in whatever Qur’an says. It is clear from Qur’an that the universe is
not just a space containing individual entities in the form of stars, planets, satellites and
numerous other structures but is a well developed and highly organized system governed,
sustained and regulated by God. Qur’an talks of the universe not as something having no entity
of its own, only containing matter and space, having no dynamic existence in its entirety, but as
one that is acting as a fully grown administrative set-up like that of a country. It describes the
universe as “Mulk” or State and God as its “maalik” or “Head”:

The Generous Lord is the One in whose hands is the State of (Universe), and He has authority over
everything. (He is) the One who created Death and Life so that He may examine who among you
is excellent in performance. (Qur’an, 67: 1-2)

To Him belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth (Qur’an, 57: 2)

Dr Javed Jamil | Exploring the Seven “Heavens” (Sab’a Samaawaat) of Qur’an in Astrophysics
After studying Qur’an, it can be noted without an iota of uncertainty that:

1. The universe is a well-developed state like an administrative setup with a Head:

2. The universe has a well-established constitution comprising various laws and forces
(Umoor) like Electromagnetic Force, Gravitational Force, Laws related to Quantum
mechanics, laws related to heat, light, electricity, etc;
3. The universe has well established Power centres and offices like Lauh-e-Mahfuz (Secure
Tablet), Baitul Mamoor, Arsh, etc;
4. The universe has an advanced system of communication with “umoor”, “malaik”, “Ruh”
and other forces taking important parts.
5. The universe has a dedicated team of State servants in angels (which may be special
forces) that perform the duties assigned to them.
6. The universe is composed of several tiers of organization that are called “samaawaat” or
heavens.
7. The universe is able to maintain Order and create and evolve living beings.
8. Earth is an important part of the universe, where man is acting as a viceroy of the Head
of the universe.

For the above system to work there should be a well established system of Physical laws in place
that must have:

1. Vehicles (forces) of high enough speed to keep the universe intact, orderly and organized;
2. A mechanism by which the universe does not slip into an ever increasing entropy;
3. A mechanism that can explain the maintenance of universe in such a low entropy state.

Qur’an uses a large number of words to describe various components of the universe. These
include Samaawaat (singular: sama), Najm, Burooj, Najm-ath-thaqib, Masabih, Shihab-ath-
thaqib, Tariq, Kawakib (singular: kaukab), Shams, Ard, Qamar, etc.

In this paper, I will limit myself to trying to understand “Samawaat”, usually translated as
Heavens, and their various components enumerated above. The singular of samawaat is sama. It

Dr Javed Jamil | Exploring the Seven “Heavens” (Sab’a Samaawaat) of Qur’an in Astrophysics
has been used a number of times in the Qur’an, which tells us that there are seven “heavens” in
the universe. What are these seven heavens? It is not difficult to understand that seven heavens
refer to systems within the universe that act as seven tiers of universal organisation. I will
therefore use “Cosmic Tier” as the translation of “Sama” instead of “heaven”.

In terms of the physical organisation, the universe may well be like our world. The World has
continents, the continents have countries, countries have states/provinces, states have districts,
districts have blocks/cities, blocks/cities have villages/colonies and colonies have homes. The
universe, according to Qur’an, is like a State and, from a position on the Earth, has seven
functional units, the Cosmic Tiers, called samawaat above the Earth. On the basis of the present
knowledge about the universe and the descriptions given in Qur’an , for now, we can understand
the seven “cosmic tiers” as follows:

First Cosmic tier (Sky)

The gravitational field of the Earth including atmosphere forms the First Cosmic Tier. Qur’an
describes all the major components of this tier and their functions:

It is He who has formed the Earth like a floor and the sky like a roof for you; He showered rain
from the sky and brought out with it fruits as food for you; knowing (these facts) very well, you
are not (supposed to) transform other (deities) into virtual competitors of God. (2: 22)

Just as the roof protects the inhabitants from the unwanted things from above it, the Sky
including its Ozone layer protects the Earth from the harmful rays and other things. It is important
to note that:

1. The Ozone layer in the Earth’s atmosphere acts as a filter for the shorter wavelength
and highly hazardous ultraviolet radiation (UVR) from the Sun, protecting life on Earth
from its potentially harmful effects. The lower the Ozone level, the higher is the solar

Dr Javed Jamil | Exploring the Seven “Heavens” (Sab’a Samaawaat) of Qur’an in Astrophysics
 UVR. Without this protection, survival of human beings would have become almost
impossible;
2. Sky protects against asteroids. Astronomers think that if it were not for the giant planet
Jupiter exerting its gravitational force on the asteroids in the belt, the inner planets
would be constantly bombarded by large asteroids.1 The presence of Jupiter
actually protects Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars from repeated asteroid collisions.
3. Sky protects against Meteors. Meteors strike the molecules in the atmosphere with a
great speed, and the heat generated turns them into dust particles before disappearing
in the air.2
4. It also protects us against intense cold. The approximate temperature in space is -270
degrees Celsius. The atmosphere prevents the heat energy directed to the Earth from
going back to space. The atmosphere arranges an even distribution of heat on Earth by
meteorological phenomena.
5. Then there is another protection in the form of a Van Allen radiation belt. An article on
the subject says, “Van Allen radiation belt is a zone of energetic charged particles, most
of which originate from the solar wind, that are captured by and held around a planet by
that planet's magnetic field. Earth has two such belts and sometimes others may be
temporarily created. …. Earth's two main belts extend from an altitude of about 640 to
58,000 km (400 to 36,040 mi) above the surface in which region radiation levels vary.
Most of the particles that form the belts are thought to come from solar wind and other
particles by cosmic rays. By trapping the solar wind, the magnetic field deflects those
energetic particles and protects the atmosphere from destruction. The belts are located
in the inner region of Earth's magnetosphere. The belts trap energetic electrons
and protons. Other nuclei, such as alpha particles, are less prevalent.” 3

Qur’an also describes the First Cosmic Tier as the sky in which birds fly:

Dr Javed Jamil | Exploring the Seven “Heavens” (Sab’a Samaawaat) of Qur’an in Astrophysics
“Did they not observe the birds in a controlled (flight) in the atmosphere of the sky? None holds
them there except God. There is certainly a reason to wonder in this (phenomenon) for the
community of the People of Commitment.” (Qur’an 16: 79)

The flight of birds is made possible through the use of the laws of Nature and properties of
matter created by the System established by God. Birds mastered the art of flying long
before humans developed planes. The wonderful part is that it was done with just the help of
their feathers and bones. There are four major dimensions of flight that Birds master in order to
flap their wings overhead. These are namely, weight, lift, thrust, and drag. Birds have lower
weight due to their hollow bones, which make it easier for them to fly. Lift is made possible by
wing flapping, which forces the wind to glide over the interlocking barbules of a feather. Birds
have the ability to decrease the amount of lift by reshaping their wings into a downward V,
which is called a negative dihedral. When both wings are pointed upward in a V, this is called
positive dihedral. A negative dihedral will allow a bird to return to the ground. Thermal lift is
called soaring. Birds take advantage of these pockets of warm air based on the principle that
heat rises. When Birds have to make a long jump, they do it by pushing their wings not upward,
but backward. Thrust opposes drag, the force working against it to bring something in flight
back down to Earth. Drag is caused by friction. The aerodynamic streamline shape of a bird
and plane decreases the amount of drag.4

Qur’an describes about the role of the sky in the recycling of water through rains, which help in
the growth and sustenance of the living beings. Qur’an says:
“He created the Cosmic Tiers without observable pillars and has formed hard mountains in the
Earth so that it does not quake with you; and has scattered a large number of species of animals.
Furthermore, We descended rain from the sky; then We grew in it every “generous paired
entity*”. (Qur’an, 31: 10)

Dr Javed Jamil | Exploring the Seven “Heavens” (Sab’a Samaawaat) of Qur’an in Astrophysics
(**“zaujin kareem”(generous pairs) reflects the fact that almost all the animals and plants are
bisexual in nature. This paired nature of everything is one of the fundamental properties of the
universe. Even atoms have positive and negative particles.)

The Second Cosmic Tier: Solar System (Sun,

planets, Earth, moon, Asteroids, meteors)
Qur’an terms the Second Cosmic Tier as “Sama-al-dunya”, the Cosmic Tier, which contains the
Planet Earth indicating the Solar System. Qur’an describes all the major constituents of the Solar
System, namely Sun, Planets, Satellites, Asteroids and Meteors. See the following verses:

We, of course We embellished the Cosmic Tier of the World with the beauty of the Planets; and
We secured it from every rebellious Devil*; they cannot hear (the sounds towards) the higher
areas; and will be pushed from all sides, remaining suspended; and this a perpetual torment; with
the exception if some part is captured and taken away (by the atmosphere), which is then followed
turning it into a flame of piercing brightness. (37: 6-10)

Several points in the above quoted verses capture attention. Satan (Devil), in the opinion of this
writer, may also reflect the Law of Disorder. Disorder is a fundamental property of the universe,
as everything moves from order to disorder, unless a reverse process is applied. Satan represents
an Earthly form of disorder, specifically targeting humans. In the higher parts of the Solar System,
beyond the atmosphere of the Earth, sound is not audible because sound requires a medium.
Things remain suspended beyond a certain height from the Earth (like satellites) but when a mass
of particles enters the Earth’s atmosphere it turns into meteorites. An article on meteorites says,
“When a meteoroid, comet, or asteroid enters Earth's atmosphere at a speed typically in excess
of 20 km/s (72,000 m/h; 45,000 mph), aerodynamic heating of that object produces a streak of
light, both from the glowing object and the trail of glowing particles that it leaves in its wake. This
phenomenon is called a meteor or "shooting star". 5

Dr Javed Jamil | Exploring the Seven “Heavens” (Sab’a Samaawaat) of Qur’an in Astrophysics
Qur’an also gives a hint about the number of the planets in the Solar System. Describing the
story of Prophet Joseph, Qur’an says:

“Listen! Joseph said to his father: “My Father! Of course I saw eleven planets and the Sun and
moon; I saw them bowing in respect to me.” (Qur’an 12:4)

The word “kaukab” in Qur’an appears to correspond to the current understanding of Planets.
Planets are the bodies that are substantially large and move in respect to a star. The dream of
Joseph appears to describe the Solar System and suggest that 11 (if 11 mentioned in the dream
do not include Earth) or 12 bodies (if 11 mentioned in the dream includes Earth) may be
counted as the planets. The number of the planets recognized till now are 8-9 depending upon
the definitions. These are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and
Pluto. But new proposals are emerging. The International Astronomical Union has announced a
proposal that would boost the number of planets in the Solar System to 12. Under their new
classification, the asteroid Ceres, Pluto’s moon Charon, and the newly discovered UB313 (aka
Xena) would join the traditional 9 planets. If the size and the motion relative to Sun are both
recognized as the criteria, it would become 11.6

Look at another verse:

“It is He Who created the night and the day, and the Sun* and the Moon; each floats in its own
orbit.” (Qur’an 21: 33)

Common people tend to think that Sun does not move, and the Earth revolves round the Sun.
The truth is that Sun is also moving with substantial speed. The Earth is moving with a speed of
30 km/s around the Sun and relative to the Sun. The Sun is orbiting the center of our Galaxy,
the Milky Way, with the speed of about 250 km/s. Our Galaxy is moving relatively to the Local
Group (the name of our Cluster) where it orbits and the Local Group too moves within
Supercluster. There is nothing at absolute rest within the universe. All are moving relative to

Dr Javed Jamil | Exploring the Seven “Heavens” (Sab’a Samaawaat) of Qur’an in Astrophysics
one another and ultimately in respect to God whose Chair of Authority encompasses the
universe from all sides.

Another verse indicates that while Sun has its own light, moon only reflects it:

“It is He Who formed the Sun luminous and the Moon shining and fixed phases for (each) so that
you may count the years and carry out calculations; and God did not create this (system) but
with a Mandate; He elaborates the wonders for people desiring knowledge. The truth is that (the
phenomenon of) the continuous exchange of night and day and (the details of) whatever He
created in the Cosmic Tiers and the Earth are no less than wonders for the Community of Awe-
Inspired Devout (of God).” (Qur’an 10: 5)

Qur’anic word “Misbaah”, commonly translated as stars, clearly appears to point to asteroids.
The word used for stars in Qur’an is “Najam”. Qur’an says:

“And we had adorned the Cosmic Tier of the World with asteroids, and We had made them
missiles for the Evil Ones, and We prepared for them the Punishment of the Blazing Fire.”
(Qur’an 67: 5)

Another verse reads:

“Further, We embellished the Cosmic Tier of the World with asteroids and (a system of) safety.
This was the predetermined action by the Lord-of-Power-Knowledge.” (Qur’an 41: 12)

“Shayateen” in Qur’an seems to be also used for human beings treading the Satanic path. There
are evidences of many asteroids falling on the Earth destroying people.

Qur’an points to the fact that Sun and Moon do not coalesce into one another:

Dr Javed Jamil | Exploring the Seven “Heavens” (Sab’a Samaawaat) of Qur’an in Astrophysics
“The Sun cannot break the law by capturing the Moon, and the Night does not supersede the
Day: Each one floats in (its own) orbit.” (Qur’an 36: 39-40)

Third Cosmic Tier: Galaxy

Qur’an says:

The Cosmic Tier of Pathways is witness. (Qur’an 51: 7)

“al-samaai daatil hubuk”(Cosmic Tier of Pathways) used in the above verse appears to
correspond to the Third Cosmic Tier, our Galaxy, which interestingly is known as Milky Way or
the Milky Pathway, which contains numerous star systems like our Solar System. A galaxy is
defined as a collection of stars and interstellar material held together by gravity. The galaxy our
Sun lives in is called the Milky Way or the Galaxy. The Milky Way is a galaxy with a diameter
between 150,000 and 200,000 light years and contains 100=400 billion stars, Sun being just one
of them.

Fourth Cosmic Tier: Galaxy Cluster

Qur’an says:

The Generous Lord is One Who formed a Cosmic Tier as Cluster and formed within it lamp-like
(stars) along with shining moon. (Qur’an 25: 61)

”Sama’an burujan” in the opinion of this writer may indicate the Cluster – note that buruj is the
plural of burj indicating a cluster- which has many galaxies. Cluster has many galaxies including
Milky Way.

Dr Javed Jamil | Exploring the Seven “Heavens” (Sab’a Samaawaat) of Qur’an in Astrophysics
The Cosmic Tier with Cluster is witness. (Qur’an 85: 1)

A galaxy cluster, or cluster of galaxies, is a structure that consists of anywhere from hundreds to
thousands of galaxies that are bound together by gravity with typical masses ranging from
1014–1015 solar masses. The name of our cluster is Local Group.. The largest, most massive
galaxies in the Local Group are the Milky Way, Andromeda and the Triangulum Galaxy.

Fifth COSMIC TIER: Supercluster

Qur’an says:

The Cosmic Tier with Attractor is Witness (Qur’an 86: 11)

“as-samaai daatir-raj’i” has often been translated as the “heaven with returner”. I feel “raj’a” is
something towards which things tend to move due to its gravitational power owing to its large
size. This appears to point towards our Supercluster, which contains Great Attractor.

A Supercluster is among the largest-known structures of the cosmos containing large group of
smaller galaxy clusters or galaxy groups. The Milky Way is part of the Local Group galaxy (which
contains more than 54 galaxies), which in turn is part of the Virgo Cluster, which is part of the
Laniakea Supercluster. According to space scientists, the Great Attractor is an apparent
gravitational anomaly in intergalactic space at the center of the local Laniakea Supercluster, in
which the Milky Way is located, in the so-called Zone of Avoidance that is very difficult to
observe in visible wavelengths due to the obscuring effects of our own galactic plane. 7 This
anomaly points to a localized concentration of mass thousands of times more massive than
the Milky Way.

Dr Javed Jamil | Exploring the Seven “Heavens” (Sab’a Samaawaat) of Qur’an in Astrophysics
This Supercluster is known to span over 500 million light-years, while the Local Group spans
over 10 million light-years.8 The number of superclusters in the observable universe is
estimated to be 10 million.9 Our Supercluster, which is sometimes called the Local Supercluster,
contains the Local Group with our galaxy, the Milky Way. It also contains the Virgo Cluster near
its center. It is thought to contain over 47,000 galaxies. It was in 2014 that the newly Laniakea
Supercluster was announced, which subsumed the Virgo Supercluster becoming a component
of the new supercluster.10

Sixth Cosmic Tier: THE PART WITH QUASARS

Qur’an says:

The Cosmic Tier and its Striker* is witness; and what will make you understand what the Striker
is? It is the Star with extraordinary brightness. (86: 1-3)

The Arabic word “tariq” used in the above verse means striker. The description appears closest
to Quasars, the most shining object in the universe situated at a huge distance, which may be
part of the sixth Cosmic Tier. There is no name given yet to the collection of super clusters. I will
call it Continent of Clusters.

Quasars are among the most distant objects powered by black holes a billion times as massive
as our Sun. Some facts about Quasars are as follows:

1. Quasars are among the brightest and most distant known celestial objects and are
crucial to understanding the early universe.
2. Quasars are thought to form in regions of the universe where the large-scale density of
matter is much higher than average;
3. Most quasars have been found billions of light-years away11.

Dr Javed Jamil | Exploring the Seven “Heavens” (Sab’a Samaawaat) of Qur’an in Astrophysics
 4. In December 2017, the most distant quasar was found sitting more than 13 billion light-
years from Earth.
5. Quasars emit energies of millions, billions, or even trillions of electron volts. This energy
exceeds the total of the light of all the stars within a galaxy. The brightest objects in the
universe, they shine anywhere from 10 to 100,000 times brighter than the Milky Way.
6. "Quasars are capable of emitting hundreds or even thousands of times the entire energy
output of our galaxy, making them some of the most luminous and energetic objects in
the entire universe," according to NASA12.

Seventh Cosmic tier: UNIVERSE as a whole with

important places in uppermost region
The Seventh Cosmic Tier is the universe as a whole with outermost or the uppermost region
containing certain wondrous places. Qur’an says:

“And he was at high point of the Horizon; then he was close to the Two Arches or below it; then
God communicated to him whatever He (decided) to communicate; his understanding did not
fail him; will you now dispute what He watched? And he also saw him in the last descent close to
the Lote-Tree of the uppermost region; in its vicinity is Garden of Retreat. Attention! The “Lote”
was shrouded in a breathtaking scene; his eyes, fixed at the site, did not swerve. What he
witnessed there was a truly grand wonder of his Lord. (Qur’an 53: 7-18)

This uppermost part of the Universe may be invisible for now. It may contain some of the offices
and the Secured Disc, which may be the centre of all the programs of the Universe.

So, the atmosphere and the gravitational field of the Earth is the first Cosmic Tier, which is part
of the Solar System (the Second Cosmic Tier), which is a part of our galaxy, the Milky Way (Third
Cosmic Tier), which is part of our galactic cluster, the Local Group (Fourth Cosmic Tier), which is

Dr Javed Jamil | Exploring the Seven “Heavens” (Sab’a Samaawaat) of Qur’an in Astrophysics
a part of our Supercluster, the Laniakea Supercluster (Fifth Cosmic Tier), which is a part of Sixth
Cosmic Sphere containing Quasar, which is ultimately part of the Universe as a whole with
uppermost layer encompassing the Universe, perhaps not yet visible Seventh Cosmic Tier.
Alternatively, Virgo may be the Fifth and Laniakea Supercluster may be the Sixth Cosmic Tier
followed by the most distant Part containing Quasars and the Secured Disc. In coming decades,
hopefully the whole structure of the universe will become better known and we will be in a better
position to understand the Qur’anic wonders.

In conclusion, according to Qur’an, the universe, from the point of view of the inhabitants of the
Earth, consists of the Planet Earth and seven tiers of the organisation above it. Qur’an says:

* It is He Who created seven Cosmic Tiers, set in an orderly sequence of positioning; you will find
no imbalances in the creation by the Kind Lord; now move your sight again to find any breach;
once again turn your sight in investigation; your sight will revert to you, failed and fazed. (Qur’an
67: 3-5)

The universe therefore, from Qur’anic point of view, is a well-organised perfectly coordinated
and regulated system like a state with a king. God of course is the unchallenged
King/President/Governor/Chief Commander of the State of the Universe.

Note: The translations of the Qur’anic verses in this paper are by the writer of this paper himself,
which have been extracted from the forthcoming book, “A Systematic Study of Qur’an”, which in
turn will be the advanced version of “The Essence of the Divine Verses” published in 2003.

Dr Javed Jamil
Chair in Islamic Studies & Research
Yenepoya University
Deralakatte, Mangalore, Karnataka 575018 India

Dr Javed Jamil | Exploring the Seven “Heavens” (Sab’a Samaawaat) of Qur’an in Astrophysics
*Dr. Javed Jamil is Chair of Islamic Studies & Research, Yenepoya (deemed to be) University,
Mangaluru, Karnataka, India; Email: doctorforu123@yahoo.com, Mob: 918130340339
Postal address:

Dr Javed Jamil | Exploring the Seven “Heavens” (Sab’a Samaawaat) of Qur’an in Astrophysics
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Dr Javed Jamil | Exploring the Seven “Heavens” (Sab’a Samaawaat) of Qur’an in Astrophysics

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