بانابوكرالجديدة

The Big Crunch0

By Magdy Abd ALshafy

The end of the Universe in Science and the Holy Quran is compatible.

Overview

One of the most acceptable scenarios of the end of the universe is the Big Crunch, which states that the universe can't keep expanding forever, there will be time when the expansion of the universe stops and then the universe will recede back.

The Holy Quran states the same fact and the same way that the Big crunch predicts.

The creation and the end of the universe

It became scientifically established that the universe came into existence when a huge explosion(the Big Bang) took place, then a huge cloud of smoke was formed ,from this gaseous cloud the galaxies were created. It has been proven that universe has been expanding ever since because of this explosion.

The end of the universe

According to the Big Crunch, the universe will not keep expanding for ever because of the gravity.

This gravity will slow down the expansion of the universe till it stops expanding. In order for the expansion to be stopped, there must be enough matter in the universe.

The matter in the observable universe can’t stop the expansion of the universe. However, recently, Scientists noticed that there is a huge mass lost in the structure of the universe. Scientists call the lost mass" the dark matter", which fills the whole of the universe

Where is the lost mass of the universe

However recent observations indicate billions of dwelling stars in between the Galaxies, much more stars than expected, actually.

Also known is that Galaxies do contain large quantities of invisible matter (black holes). Nobody knows the nature of this dark matter, but possibly 90 to 99 percent of all matter is of this kind.

What is the dark matter ?

It is a very strange form of matter. Although it has mass, it does not interact with everyday objects and it passes straight through our bodies. Physicists call the matter dark because it is invisible.

Yet, we know it exists. Because dark matter has mass, it exerts a gravitational pull. It causes galaxies and clusters of galaxies to develop and hold together. If it weren’t for dark matter, our galaxy would not exist as we know it, and human life would not have developed.

Dark matter is more than five times as abundant as all the matter we have detected so far. As cosmologist Sean Carroll says, “Most of the universe can’t even be bothered to interact with you.”

Whatever dark matter is, it is not made of any of the particles we have ever detected in experiments. Dark matter could have—at the subatomic level—very weak interactions with normal matter, but physicists have not yet been able to observe those interactions.

Experiments around the world are trying to detect and study dark matter particles in more direct ways. Facilities like the Large Hadron Collider could create dark matter particles.

Dark matter is mysterious matter, it doesn't react or radiate

The Dark matter will stop the universe

The dark matter will slow the expansion of the universe till it halts then it will recede back.

It is there! It is there! It is simply not visible. (Lorna Simmons , Printed in Reflections ).

Although it cannot be seen, there is solid evidence that more than 90% of the total mass in the universe is composed of Dark Matter.

More on the dark matter

The mass of the universe, after the discovery of the dark matter in the black hole and the dwelling stars, will stop the expansion of the universe and then make it recede back.

It is scientifically known that the velocity of the universe expansion has decreased a great deal since it started to expand.

It is also scientifically known that the heat of the universe has decreased from some billions degree to a very few degrees. ( Dr.Zagloul Al-Nagar)

This means that the expansion of the universe has decreased a little.

In a nutshell

The universe will not be expanding forever.

The expansion of the universe will slow down till it stops.

The universe will recede back to its birth place or shrink.

All galaxies will come close and close to one another till they form one mass, superdense and very hot where no physical laws can explain.

The universe will be rolled like scroll on which all the galaxies are located.

The rolling will be like rolling up a sheet of paper.

Another bang will take place because of the dense and heat.

What does the Holy Quran
say about the End of the Universe?

God says in the Holy Quran what means “The Day We roll up the heavens with the same parallel of a scroll rolling up books; as We produced the first creation We repeat it, a promise We have undertaken, verily We shall fulfill it" (21: 104).

The compatibility between Quran and Science

Reading this Holy verse, we will notice that:

The verse is talking about how the universe will end.

The Quranic words “Rolling up the heaven” refers to the scientific words” The shrinking of the universe”
(2)”… with the same parallel of a scroll rolling up books” refers to the way the universe will be rolled up, it even refers to the state when the universe will be when it is rolled up.

So Quran and science are compatible about:

There will be an end to the universe

This end will be through contracting the universe.

To the Atheists

Atheism is no longer supported doctrine after its basics had been undermined by the " Big Bang"- a fact that implies that the universe has a beginning and hence a Creator.

The Holy Quran provides scientific evidence in the age of science; the scientific statements in the Holy Quran is a fulfillment of a Quranic prophecy that God will show his signs and miracles in the universe.

God says what means" We(God) will show them our portents in the horizons and in themselves."

The scientific miracles in the Holy Quran and in the words of the prophet are numerous and as variables as scientific branches.

The Holy Quran, God's last word to humanity, not only contains precepts , concepts about God, solution to man's problems, laws, news about the perished nations, highly elevated philosophy , matchless concepts of ethics, all coupled with ecstasy that moves one's heart but also it always renders the evidence to the existence of God and evidence to divine source of the Holy Quran according to the culture of every age and every man.

Logical questions

Mohammed was illiterate who could not read nor could he write. How could an illiterate like Mohammed in the time where the best knowledge was mostly superstition could produce such scientific statement that are completely compatible with science unless he was a prophet?

Why did he indulge himself in such sensitive scientific question that people at his time didn't understand and was completely out the scope of their minds?

Why didn't he follow the culture of his time at least to avoid any scientific confrontation with them?

We read in the Holy Quran " we will show them out signs in the horizons and in themselves"

How could he know that man will conquer the universe and made these amazing discoveries unless he was a prophet from God?

How could he know that man will develop a science called anatomy unless he was a prophet?

He must have been a prophet, who received his revelation from God

Evidences to God's Artistry

The last few decades have witnessed a lot of findings in the universe that furnish a profusion of evidence to the existence of God , these evidences have dealt a fatal blow to the long-cherished claim of co-incidence, it was a claim that reigned over the minds of peoples who left behind the sound reason.Pondering over the recent researches about the universe will disclose such claims and will surely lead us to the fact that this universe muse have been created by Super power, the least change in the universe would have surely led to the collapse of the universe.In this article we will quote the following information from http://www.harunyahya.com/Every cloud contains thousands—sometimes millions—of tons of water in the form of vapor Every year, the amount of water that evaporates and that falls back to the Earth in the form of rain is "constant": 513 trillion tons. The pressure the mountains exert on the crust of the earth with their enormous mass prevents the magma movements in the core of the earth from reaching the earth and destroying the earth's crust.The speed of rain drops, regardless of their size, does not exceed 8 meters in a second. The world has to rotate about its axis at a certain speed (1,670 km/h at the equator). If the earth’s speed of rotation were to exceed a certain limit, the atmosphere would grow extremely warm, increasing the gas molecules’ velocity of escape from the earth and causing the atmosphere to be dispersed in space and to vanish. The distance between stars in our galaxy is about 30 million miles. If this distance was much less, planetary orbits would be destabilized. The earth's axis is inclined 23° 27' to the plane of the ecliptic. IF this inclination did not exist, the temperature gradient between the poles and equator would be much higher than it is and the temperate zones wouldn't be so temperate—or livable. If air resistance were higher, our lungs would be forced to work harder to enable us to breathe. If surface gravity were stronger, atmosphere would retain too much ammonia and methane. If surface gravity were weaker, planet's atmosphere would lose too much water. If thickness of crust were thinner, volcanic and tectonic activity would be too great. If rotation period were longer, diurnal temperature differences would be too great. If gravitational interaction with moon were greater, tidal effects on the oceans, atmosphere, and rotational period would be too severe. If gravitational interaction with moon were less, orbital obliquity changes would cause climatic instabilities. If oxygen to nitrogen ratio in the atmosphere were larger, advanced life functions would proceed too quickly. If carbon dioxide and water vapor levels in atmosphere were greater, runaway greenhouse effect would develop. If carbon dioxide and water vapor levels in atmosphere were less, greenhouse effect would be insufficient. If ozone level in atmosphere were greater, surface temperature would be too low. If ozone level in atmosphere were less, surface temperatures would be too high; there would be too much UV radiation at the surface. If seismic activity were greater, too many life-forms would be destroyed. If seismic activity were less, nutrients on ocean floors (from river runoff) would not be recycled. If plants didn't release oxygen, the oxygen-breathers would eventually use up all the free oxygen in the atmosphere and that would be the end of them. If your body's temperature were to fall just a few degrees, many of its vital functions would fail. If the surface of our world had less water than it does land, the temperature differences between night and day would have been much greater. There are over 250 billion stars in the Milky Way.A smaller star than the Sun would cause the Earth to grow extremely cold, and a bigger star would scorch the Earth.The Sun is traveling at the enormous speed of 720,000 kilometers an hour.Winds blowing nearly 2,000 kilometers an hour blast across the surface of Neptune.Saturn is composed entirely of gas and its density is less than water. The difference between the daytime and nighttime sides of Mercury is as much as 1,000°C. Carbon is the basis of life on earth because all organic molecules (such as nucleic acids, amino acids, proteins, fats, and sugars) are formed by the combination of carbon with other elements in various ways. Earth could not be a home for life if it were as near the sun as Venus is or as far from it as Jupiter. The atmosphere protects the earth from the freezing cold of space, which is about minus 270oC. A single sun burst is equivalent to 100 billion atomic bombs similar to the one dropped on Hiroshima. We would need over five hundred years to count the number of atoms inside a tiny grain of salt. Our sun has a surface temperature of about 6,000°C.Every cloud contains thousands—sometimes millions—of tons of water in the form of vapor. Every year, the amount of water that evaporates and that falls back to the Earth in the form of rain is "constant": 513 trillion tons. The pressure the mountains exert on the crust of the earth with their enormous mass prevents the magma movements in the core of the earth from reaching the earth and destroying the earth's crust. The speed of rain drops, regardless of their size, does not exceed 8 meters in a second.

By Magdy Abdalshafy

After man landed on the moon and pictures were sent to the earth, it has become certain that the earth and the whole of the universe are immersed in darkness

and that light is just a thin layer that envelops the half part facing the sun and that the general role is darkness and light is something accidental connected with the day layer.

Man's thirst for more and more about the universe is never quenched. So, among the many discoveries that man reached after long observations and calculations is that whole of the universe is a huge building and that there is nothing in the universe could be called" empty place" as the matter and all the different kinds of energy fill the universe.( Professor Zagloul Al-Nagar)

In the Holy Quran, God's final word to humanity, there are scientific statements that are completely in agreement with modern science; among these are scientific statement about most of discoveries man made as regard the universe.

It is noteworthy that most of the cosmos verses in the Holy Quran always correlate between the universe and atheists- the universe and its wonders are compelling evidence to the existence of God.

Modern astrophysics statements about the universe are found in the Holy Quran, The Holy Quran gives new evidence to the modern atheists that this universe has a Creator and moreover these are evidences to non-Muslims that this book was revealed by God and that Mohammed was a real prophet.

We will select verse number"15" from chapter"14" and you will be astonished at the number of the scientific facts mentioned in it and how this verse is compatible with the science, so what does this verse say:

"Even if We opened out to them a gate from heaven, and they were to continue (all day) ascending ( in a curve line) therein, (14) They would only say: "Our eyes have been covered: Nay, we have been bewitched by sorcery." (14:14-15)

So what can we conclude from reading this verse:

Man will someday conquer the universe

The universe is a huge structure

Motion in the universe can't be in straight line

The universe is engulfed by darkness

When we finish discussing this verse we will move to another verse that gives the following scientific facts:

(1) The day layer turns the invisible sun light into visible light

(2) The size of the day layer to the darkness of the universe.

Let's discuss the first verse in the light of the new scientific discoveries

Man will travel into space

The verse says: Even if We open a door in the heavens and they ascend through it in broad daylight, (14) They will say all the same: "Our eyes were dazed (and clouded over). We were a people ensorcelled." (14:14-15)

The few words shaded with yellow implies that man will conquer the universe and this prophecy was fulfilled as in late 1960s, man landed on the moon and many space travels followed to study the universe. The Holy Quran, God last word to humanity, predicted this great incident.

The Universe is a huge building

The scientific fact implied in the first few words shaded in yellow also implies that the universe is building. "Even if We open a door in the heavens…" Have you ever seen gates without building, the fact that the universe is building is stressed in many other verses, the use of the words" gates" is significant, Dr Zagloul Al-Nagar says that the universe does have what look like gates.

Does science refer to the universe as a building?

The answer is plain" yes"

It is now scientifically established that no place in the universe that can be empty, the universe is filled with the different kinds of energy and matter that resulted from the big bang, scientists calculate the rate of the dark and energy matter to be a little over (90%) of the whole mass of the universe. Moreover, the way that galaxies are formed and arranged emphasizes that the universe is a huge building.

Scientists say that today's huge galaxies are the result of merging small building-block galaxies in the early Universe. Now, they have detected for the first time such "bricks" with the Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys and the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Astronomers-Have-Discovered-the-Building-Blocks-of-the-Universe-64919.shtml

Motion into space

Einstein theory of relativity has predicted that light curves in space, and moreover; modern astrophysical studies have proved that motion into space should be in a curve course not straight course because of gravity in the universe. The Holy Quran uses the Arabic word” Ya’erogoun” , the word is used in Arabic when we refer to a walk which is not in straight line, also, the Holy Quran always uses the word when referring to ascending into space.

So the Holy Quran and science are in agreement

The darkness of the universe

The verse says " Even if We opened out to them a gate from heaven, and they were to continue (all day) ascending therein, (14) They would only say: "Our eyes have been covered: Nay, we have been bewitched by sorcery." (14:14-15)

The verse means if God opens a gate into sky for the disbeliever, they will say that our eyes are covered, that is, they are unable to see…why? Because of the darkness that engulfs the whole of the universe, the Holy verse says" …our eyes are covered"… what can you see when you cover your eyes…just try… it is darkness…what does modern science say about the darkness of the universe?

When the first space ship was launched for the first time, it carried back, among its findings, one of the most important discoveries; this was” the whole of the universe is completely immersed in darkness." Pictures of the earth from the moon shows that the earth is hanging in darkness, even pictures for the sun shows that it is hanging in the darkness of the universe.

So how can light be produced in the earth day and is there any reference to this in the Holy Quran?

The earth is engulfed by darkness of the universe, just a thin layer of light can be seen

It has become scientifically known that light travels from the sun to the earth invisible, it only turns into light when it begin to penetrate our atmosphere where water vapours and solid tiny matters hanging in the atmosphere and this helps in fractioning and reflecting this invisible rays and thus these rays turn into light. The sun, along with the stars, is seen as blue dots when moving out the atmosphere because the universe is completely engulfed with darkness.

So it became an established fact that the thin layer that surround the earth is responsible for ”LIGHT”

Dr. Alfandi, an Egyptian expert in this field, says the sun rays can’t be seen unless dispersed by air and dust particles when penetrating the atmosphere. This explains why the sun rays can't be seen in the outer space where there is no atmosphere, moreover the whole of the universe is completely dark, even the center of the sun is dark despite the high temperature. Rays travel from the center of the sun unseen and can be only distinguished into light in the outer layer of the sun then travel to the earth unseen and can only be seen when it penetrates the atmosphere.

The Holy Quran, 1400 years before science refers to these facts: How?

Gate ways into heaven refers to the universe structure or building. Have you ever seen gates without a building?

They ascend (in curve course) into heaven refers to the movement into space which must be in curve course owing to the gravity.

They would certainly say: "Only our eyes have been covered over refers to the fact that the universe is immersed in darkness,

The first man landed on the moon describes the darkness of the universe using the same words used in the Holy verse.

Compatibility between science and Quran

And even if we open to them a gateway of heaven, so that they ascend( in a curve line) into it all the while, (14) They would certainly say: Only our eyes have been covered over, rather we are an enchanted people. (15:14)

The words marked in yellow refer to the darkness in the universe, the first astronaut who travelled into space, when describing the darkness of the universe, used the same words of the holy Quran, he said it was as if my eyes were covered or I was under magic spell."

The same fact is stressed in many other verses with some scientific additions, God says in the Holy Quran what means:

"Are you the harder to create or the heaven? He built it. (27) He raised( increased) its thickness , then put it into a right good state. (28) And He made dark its night and brought out its light. (27:29)

On reading the above mentioned verse again you will notice four scientific statements that are completely compatible with the scientific discoveries:

" He built it" is a another reference to the universe being a building

"..He raised its thickness .." is a reference to the expansion of the universe and this fact is stressed also in the following verse:

"The heaven, We have built it with power. Verily. We are expanding it((sura 51, verse 47)

"He made dark its nigh" is a reference to the creation of the universe darkness in the successive stages of the universe creation, note the pronoun" its" refers to the universe, so we can say that this Holy verse refers to the darkness of the universe; in a later stage the celestial entities began to shrink and the in-between dusts began to be swept and thus the light of the sun began to be sent and be seen as the second pronoun" its" points out.

The day layer turns the invisible sun light into visible light

The Holy Quran determines the Day Layer

By the sun and its brightness (1) And [by] the moon when it follows it (2) And [by] the day when it displays it (3) And [by] the night when it covers it (4) And [by] the sky and He who constructed it (91:1-5)

This verse wonderfully expresses one of the amazing facts that was only reached during the last few decades; according to this verse it is not the sun which makes the day with its beautiful light. Then what? The verse says” it is the day (atmosphere) which makes the sun light visible or the light.

It is scientifically known that “day layer” is the one which makes the sun visible and it is, too, the one which makes it invisible. So the Holy Quran is an agreement with science.

So, according to Dr Nohammed Gamal Al-Fandy, the day layer is so thin( 200km) and this separate the darkness of the universe from us.

The Holy Quran determines the size of the day layer to the size of the universe.

"And a sign to them is the night: We skin from it the day, then lo! they are in the dark" (36:36-37)

The verse emphasizes the previously discussed scientific statements, the verse implies that the general rule is darkness, darkness that everywhere. The Holy verse likens the darkness to a slaughtered animal and the day light to the skin of the slaughtered animal.

The light of sun, being likened to the skin of a slaughtered animal, is so thin to the darkness of the universe being likened to the huge body of the slaughtered animal if compared to its skin.

So you have to imagine the darkness of the universe under it is a layer of light---what if you draw this layer? Surely it is darkness.

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The Holy Quran Refers to the Atmosphere

Modern studies service crucial evidence that the atmosphere along with Allen belt plays an important role in preserving and sustaining life

; the atmosphere keeps the weather temperature around its normal ranges. Just to think how great this blessing is take the moon as an example; the temperature of one side of the moon is over one hundred degree while the other side is one hundred degree under zero. The nearest planet to the sun suffers the same problem. Most of the planets have no atmosphere or rather law atmosphere density and as a result they are a target of heavy meteors, destructive outburst of energy from the sun and radiations emitted from the sun and other stars.

All the planets are pelted with meteors except the earth, only very few number, usually very small, penetrate the atmospheres which prevent the multitude from reaching the earth.

However, if an object is big enough it can survive passage through the atmosphere. The damage done by a meteorite (an object that strikes the Earth) depends upon its initial size. 10--100 m: Objects in this size range can produce devastation similar to that of an atomic blast (leading to them occasionally being called "city- busters"). Effects include severe damage to or collapse of standing buildings and the ignition of flammable materials leading to widespread fires. The radius over which such effects occur would vary depending upon the size and composition of the object, but could easily exceed 10 km. The Tunguska event, in Siberia, of 1908 is thought to have been from an object about 60 m in size; it led to trees being flattened out to 20 km and trees 40 km away being damaged. At the small end of this size range, objects about 10 m strike the Earth about once a decade. Fortunately, only the densest objects, those containing iron, survive to the surface; most of the objects of this size explode sufficiently high in the atmosphere that there are no effects (other than maybe a loud noise) on the ground. At the larger end of this size range, it is estimated that the Earth is struck several times a millennium or about 1 impact every 100--200 yr. 100 m--1 km: Objects in this size range are likely to cause severe damage over a regional area, possibly as large as a continent (hence the name "continent-busters"). If they strike land, they will almost certainly produce a crater, while an ocean impact will generate large tidal waves. A 150 m object might produce a crater 3 km in diameter, an ejecta blanket 10 km in diameter, and a zone of destruction extending much farther out. For a 1 km impactor the zone of destruction might reasonably extend to cover countries. The death toll could be in the tens to hundreds of millions. A 1 km impactor could begin to have minor global consequences, including global cooling caused by vast amounts of dust in the atmosphere. Estimates from the geologic record suggest that craters are formed on the Earth roughly once every 5000 yr. 1--10 km: Objects in this size range are likely to cause severe global effects ("species-busters"). An impact 65 million years ago by an object of 5--10 km in diameter is thought to have been partially or fully responsible for the extinction of half the living species of animals and plants at the time, including the dinosaurs. The crater alone from such an impact will be 10--15 times larger than the object itself. World-wide crop failures from dust injected into the atmosphere could imperil civilization, and the largest-sized objects could make the human species extinct. The frequency with which the Earth is struck by such objects has to be estimated from the geological and paleontological record. At the low end of this size range, estimates are that such impacts occur roughly every 300 000 yr; at the upper end of the size range, impacts occur about every 10 million years.

The atmosphere also prevents the fatal temperature of the universe (approximated to be 270 under zero) from reaching the earth.

It also prevents the fatal radiations emitted from the sun and the stars which could lead to the destruction of the living cell. Interestingly, the atmosphere lets only harmless and useful rays- visible light, near ultraviolet light, and radio waves pass through. All of this radiation is vital for life. Near ultraviolet rays, which are only partially let in by the atmosphere, are very important for the photosynthesis of plants and for the survival of all living beings

The energy released in a Sun burst is so powerful that the human mind would hardly comprehend it: A single burst is equivalent to 100 billion atomic bombs similar to the one dropped on Hiroshima. The world is protected from the destructive effects of this energy by the atmosphere and the Van Allen Belts.

Dr. Hugh Ross has this to say on the importance of Van Allen Belts to our lives:

In fact, the Earth has the highest density of any of the planets in our Solar System. This large nickel-iron core is responsible for our large magnetic field. This magnetic field produces the Van-Allen radiation shield, which protects the Earth from radiation bombardment. If this shield were not present, life would not be possible on the Earth. The only other rocky planet to have any magnetic field is Mercury - but its field strength is 100 times less than the Earth's. Even Venus, our sister planet, has no magnetic field. The Van-Allen radiation shield is a design unique to the Earth

The magnetosphere layer, formed by the magnetic field of the Earth, serves as a shield protecting the earth from celestial bodies, harmful cosmic rays and particles. These belts at thousands of kilometres above the earth protect the living things on the Earth from the fatal energy that would otherwise reach it from space.

The Holy Quran more than one thousand and four hundred year before scince could prove these startling facts refers to this fact.

God says in the Holy Quran what means:

We made the sky a preserved and protected roof yet still they turn away from Our Signs.."
(The Qur'an, 21:32)

The Holy Qur'an; Its Historical Authenticity

Nadir Aqueel Ansari

The Holy Qur'an was presented to the people of Arabia by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). It was presented in parts over a period of 23 years of his prophetic life. The book presents itself as the word of God and the Holy Prophet also presented it as such. The Muslims believe that the Holy Qur'an, being the revealed word of God, is the cornerstone of their faith. They get their philosophy, beliefs and laws from this book - it is the basic source of the Islamic faith. It is the Word of God revealed to his Messenger Muhammad Peace be upon him, who read it out before the world loud and clear. Not only did he recite it to the people of Arabia, he also made elaborate arrangements to ensure that it's contents be preserved and his companions should learn it by heart and should also write it down. The Holy Prophet's stress on the supremacy of the Book of Allah, over all other sources of knowledge, was unequivocal and categorical. It is believed by the Muslims that the Holy Prophet actually heard or received the divine words. The Holy Qur'an was either communicated to him through Wahy (Revelation), or through an angel or spoken by God himself. All these forms of communication, the Muslims believe, are verbatim in nature, that is to say, that actual words, revealed by Allah, constitute the Holy Book. It is not like the writings of the New Testament, where God inspires a scribe to write down the scripture; the idea and words are those of the scribe while God only supervises the scribe or the scribe was inspired by God, Who revealed a certain idea to him. The scribe then wrote it down in his own words. In case of the Qur'an, the words and ideas are both divine.The words and verses of the Holy Qur'an were preserved, through the oral as well as the written traditions, in the Prophet's lifetime. A large number of companions of the Prophet participated in this preservation process and the text was safely handed over to the next generation.What do we mean when we say that the Holy Qur'an in our hands is exactly the one that was revealed to the Holy Prophet, and that this is an established fact of history?The meaning and significance of this statement can be explained in the terms of history where we would like to know when a historical fact is established beyond any shadow of doubt.Chains of reports consisting of individualsUsually information about the past has reached us through oral reports, written reports or archaeological artifacts. For instance, the plays of Shakespeare have reached us through documentary evidence (written words). The stories of Achilles originated as oral reports (words of mouth), which were later recorded by early Greek writers. The report that Buddha used to meditate in a certain posture, has reached us through archaeological remains (pieces of art like statues and engravings). These reports are considered as matters of micro history, which are to be judged in the light of the authenticity of the narrators (in case of oral evidence), the scribes (in case of written evidence) or the artists that created the pieces of art (in case of archaeological evidence).Discussions in micro history hinge on detailed and incisive discussions on individuals (scribes, narrators and artists). The lives of these individuals are examined to get an idea of the authenticity of the report they have conveyed us. Their character, capabilities, resources, environment, and location at a certain place and time are studied. Obviously, the individual being the king pin in such instances of micro history, must be shown to be reliable, truthful, intelligent (to confirm his ability to comprehend, retain and truly express the facts) and unprejudiced.Once the individuals are investigated, the historians turn to the question of continuity. Continuity means that the individuals involved in collecting and then transmitting the report must be shown to be in a state of uninterrupted contact and communication. We are referring to the fact that there should be an immediate proximity in time and place between the two reporters who form one ring of the chain of transmission. There should be no time when the report remained with anonymous narrators because then we cannot investigate the individuals. It should also not suffer from oblivion because, in that case, any change or corruption in the report, during the time it remained hidden from us, cannot be ruled out. If the communication between two consecutive reporters is smooth, continuous and uninterrupted, the report gathers strength. This evidence for continuity is however to be produced in respect of each stage of the chain of reporters to say with a fair degree of confidence that the report is worth consideration. If the investigation of individuals and continuity of the report leads to positive conclusions, we have established one chain of the report. Sometimes two or more such chains of reports, leading to the same event, can be established. For example, two courtiers of Akbar the Great may narrate the same incident. In such cases, the supporting narration should be identical or at least similar. If the individuals and their continuity have been investigated, these corroborating reports strengthen and reinforce each other and we are able to place more confidence in the substance brought out by them.We can summarize our discussion by saying that in micro history, the following components are vital:· Individuals
· Continuity of the report
· Corroboration (if any)If an event or a substance is supported by this investigation it becomes worth considering for a historian. However, it can never establish a fact beyond any shadow of doubt. The primary reason is that in such examinations, the historicity of the report ultimately depends on one or two individuals. If our investigation about even one of the individuals in the chain of reporters is faulty, the entire chain is shaken. These individuals may be widely known as men of reasonably good character, fairly reliable memory, sound understanding and relatively free of prejudices. However, they cannot be assumed to be of infallibly good character, unfailing memory, perfect understanding and absolutely free of prejudices.Similarly, our investigation (and finally our judgment) about them can be extremely cautious, scientific and objective, yet it cannot be infallible and indubitable. We were told that an individual was known to be honest, truthful and reliable, but we know that individual behavior is not predictable. One may be honest and truthful most of the times and yet stumble at a particular instance. One may have a sound memory yet he may forget something. Moreover, how are we going to collect evidence about reporters themselves? Obviously, we would establish more chains of reporters to learn about a certain historical character. These sources would suffer from the same limitations, thereby compounding our problem.Before proceeding ahead let us summarize our discussion. The chains of reports consisting of individuals, may lead us to a fair degree of plausibility of an event, yet they cannot lead us to the knowledge of the event that is beyond any shadow of doubt because of the following reasons:· The reliability of the report hinges on one or two individuals
· These individuals are not infallible.
· Our investigation and judgment about these individuals can also be incorrect.The Scholars of Hadeeth of early Muslim History were alive to the above weaknesses in the information [regarding historical facts] provided by individuals. It is because of this reason that they termed an "Individual-to-Individual" report as "Khabr-e-Wahid" (or an Individual's Report). Almost the entire Hadeeth literature consists of Akhbar-e-Ahad (Individual Reports).Chains of reports consisting of GenerationsOn the other hand in macro history we deal with facts, incidents and reports transmitted, not by one or two individuals to another individual, but by one generation that witnessed these facts and incidents to another generation. For example, the fact that the World War I did take place in the beginning of the twentieth century, is a fact transmitted by a generation to another. The generation that actually fought and witnessed the war conveyed this knowledge to the next generation and so on till it reached us. This communication to succeeding generations can be through any means - oral, written or through any mode of art.Here we should note, that the unit of the chain of transmission of such information is not individuals, but generations. This singular difference changes the very character of such a report. An important aspect of "Generation-to-Generation" Transfer is that it does not deal with opinions and ideas of individuals but the hard facts which were witnessed, seen and/or heard by the first Generation. [i] This condition eliminates the possibility of including mythologies and opinions in the "Generation-to-generation" Transmission.The essential differences between Individual-to-individual Transmission and Generation-to-generation Transmission are:1. The reliability of the report from generation-to-generation does not hinge upon one or two individuals. It rather depends on the hundreds and thousands of people that lived together in a known place and time.2. It is no more necessary to investigate the character, understanding, memory or impartiality of individuals. The entire generations can neither be investigated nor is it necessary. When such a large number of people convey a fact, it is impossible that all of them could have wrongly reported it, forgotten it or could have developed a consensus on telling lies.3. There is no need to establish the continuity of reporting system because one generation is so perfectly enmeshed into another and the contact and proximity with the next generation is so tremendous and obvious that conducting an inquiry to prove it is not required.4. When hundreds and thousands of people are conveying a fact to the next generation, we do not need any corroborating evidence. Agreement of the entire generation is so overwhelmingly strong that it renders further corroboration redundant.Terminology of the Muslim HistoriographyIn the Historiography (`Ilm-e-Hadeeth) developed by the Muslims, the "Individual-to-individual" Report is termed as Khabr-e-Wahid (an Individual's Report) whereas the "Generation-to-generation" Report is called Khabr-e-Mutawatir, and the process of Generation-to-generation Transmission is known as Tawatur. We would now use the term Tawatur for the process of Generation-to-generation Transmission of a fact.The Holy Qur'an has reached us through TawaturThe Holy Qur'an has reached us through the process of tawatur - historical continuity and perpetuation achieved through transfer from generation-to-generation. When we say that the Qur'an has reached us through tawatur, we imply that so many people in every generation conveyed it to the next and so on that there can be no doubt about its authenticity. It was not transmitted by a few persons in one generation to a few persons in the next. It was handed over by the entire generation to the next generation. The Generation of the Companions witnessed the revelation and compilation of the Holy Qur'an during the life of the Holy Prophet and then handed it over to the next generation and so on.Its certainty has far exceeded the need for any debate. In the presence of established history, we would not accept any individual reports and rumors to the contrary. For instances a report in one of the history books that claims that Akbar the Great never ruled in India, would not be considered by us. The fact that Akbar the Great ruled over India for half a century is so established, that any odd report to the contrary would be simply ignored. So is the case of the Holy Qur'an. Since it has achieved the status of Tawatur, no odd report would affect its credibility. When generations and generations of people without interruption hold the Qur'an as the one and only version of the divine guidance received from the Holy Prophet, such reports would not infringe upon its authenticity. The evidence for the Qur'an is so overwhelming, involving millions of people, that it would simply override any odd reports that may be found anywhere.The History of the compilation of the Holy Qur'an found in the books of history and exegesis confirms that the transmission of the Holy Qur'an from one generation to the other has been Mutawatir.During the Holy Prophet's LifeDuring the first thirteen years of his ministry at Mecca, the Prophet Muhammad used to read out the revealed passages to the small group of his followers and non-believers. His followers used to commit the revelation to their hearts. There is evidence that the revealed verses or chapters were also written down on whatever writing material was available.[i] It is reported that when Umar, learnt that his sister and her husband had converted to Islam, he hurried to her sister's house in anger. When he arrived at her house, she hid the part of Qur'an she was reading. When Umar expressed his eagerness to see what they were reading, his sister told her to wash before touching the scripture.[ii] This shows that as early as the sixth year of the Prophet's ministry, the Qur'an was being written down, in addition to being learnt by heart. When the Prophet migrated to Medina and established a state, he made elaborate arrangements under the state machinery, for the preservation and large scale dissemination of the Qur'an. He constituted a committee of about forty of his literate companions who were assigned the task of recording the Holy Book.[iii] Hadhrat Zaid was the full time Secretary of the Committee of the Scribes. On receiving a verse or verses from Allah, the Holy Prophet used to call one of the members of the committee and get it dictated. Then the written passage was read out to the Prophet and was corrected and approved by him. It was then issued for all. People used to copy it and memorize it. Given the swelling number of his followers after Migration, the Qur'an was learnt and recorded by a large number of his followers.[iv] The Qur'an was being revealed in accordance with the needs of the different stages of the prophetic mission. It was however not compiled in the chronological order of its revelation. While compiling and arranging it, the Qur'an was given a new order, which was to have a meaningful coherence for the readers in future. Whenever the Prophet dictated a newly revealed passage of the Qur'an to the Scribes, he used to direct them regarding the placement of that passage in the Qur'an as well. This means that not only was the Qur'an being recorded and memorized as it was being revealed piecemeal, it was also being compiled and given a new order under the personal supervision of the Prophet. The Prophet in turn was being instructed by Allah about the placement of passages in the desired order.[v] Thus the entire Qur'an was systematically recorded and arranged on written material during the lifetime of the Prophet. However the Qur'an was recorded not in one volume but on tanned hides, stone tablets, wooden tablets, piecesof cloth etc. One complete set of the Qur'an was with the State authorities, i.e. with the Holy Prophet. It was placed in the Mosque of the Prophet (Masjid-e-Nabavi) from where any one was free to make a copy for himself or to refer to it in case he wished to memorize it. It however appears that apart from this centrally placed copy, a number of other copies also existed. A few of them must have been complete copies whereas in case of others, portions of the Qur'an were in possession of a number of Companions of the Prophet.[vi] It appears that the Official Copy, although complete, checked, and approved by the Prophet was available in the life of the Holy Prophet, yet it was not bound in one volume (bain al lawhayn). The entire Qur'an was memorized by the Prophet himself and numerous other companions. It is reported that when the revelation of the Holy Qur'an was completed, the Angel Gabriel heard the final recitation of the Holy Qur'an from the Holy Prophet.The Holy Qur'an constituted the life blood of the early Muslim community during the life of Holy Prophet. It was recited five times a day, people used to commit it to their hearts and used to study it with utmost care and concentration. People were graded and appreciated on the basis of their knowledge and the extent of the Qur'an that they had memorized. All affairs of the state as well as the social life of Arabia were governed in the light of the provisions of the Qur'an. All civil servants, military commanders and judges used to seek guidance from the Qur'an. During the Prophet's life time, when he used to send governors and judges to far off places, he used to instruct them that they have to govern and decide in the light of the Qur'an. These facts show that Qur'an was alive in that society not because of written manuscripts but as a necessity of faith and an inevitable source of guidance for social, political and legal affairs.It is therefore incorrect to suggest that the Holy Qur'an was compiled and written in the days of Caliphs Abu Bakr or Uthman. It was preserved under the personal supervision of the Holy Prophet in his lifetime. It is also natural to believe that he could not neglect the task of its preservation. One of the primary missions of the Holy Prophet was to deliver the divine message to mankind. This message consisted of the Holy Qur'an. He could not shift this responsibility to later generations.