Page 211 - For Men of Understanding

hend when compared with our earthly standards. Magnitudes in space are
enormous when compared with the measurements we employ on earth. Stars
and planets, with masses of billions or trillions of tons, galaxies, and galaxy
clusters, with sizes in numerical values that can only be represented numeri-
cally by mathematicians, move in space at tremendous velocities.
For instance, the earth rotates about its axis at a mean velocity of about
1,670 km an hour. When we remember that the fastest bullet has an average
velocity of 1,800 km an hour, it becomes clear how fast the earth is moving
despite its giant size.
The earth’s orbital velocity around the sun is about sixty times that of the
bullet’s: 108,000 km an hour. (If it were possible to manufacture a vehicle that
could move so fast, it would orbit the earth in twenty-two minutes.)
These figures, however, only relate to the earth. The solar system is even
more amazing. The velocity of this system is at a level which pushes the limits
of logic. In the universe, as systems increase in size, velocities also increase.
The solar system revolves around the centre of the galaxy at 720,000 km an
hour. The velocity of the "Milky Way" itself, comprising some 200 billion stars,
is 950,000 km an hour in space.
This overwhelming speed actually shows that our lives on the earth are
lived on the knife-edge. Normally, it would be quite likely for huge accidents
to occur in such a complex system. However, as Allah says in the verse, in this
system is no "flaw" or "want of proportion". The universe is created for a pur-
pose and it operates according to the balance Allah has established.

ORBITS AND THE ROTATING UNIVERSE
One of the most important reasons for the great equilibrium in the universe
is the fact that celestial bodies follow specific paths. Stars, planets and satellites
all rotate around their own axes and also rotate together with the system of
which they are a part. The universe functions within a finely-tuned order, just
like the wheels in a factory.
There are more than 100 billion galaxies in the visible universe and each
small galaxy contains approximately a billion stars. Furthermore, each big
galaxy contains more than a trillion. (World Book Encyclopedia, 2003; contrib-
utor: Kenneth Brecher, Ph.D., Professor of Astronomy and Physics, Boston

University.) Many of these stars have planets and many of those planets have
satellites. All these celestial bodies follow the most finely calculated paths and
orbits. For millions of years, each one has been moving in its own path in flaw-
less harmony with all the others. In addition to these, there are also a great
many comets moving along in their own pre-determined paths.

Recent Scientific Findings and the Qur'an 209