Page 212 - For Men of Understanding

The orbits in the universe are not confined to the motions of certain celestial
bodies. Our solar system and the galaxies have a great activity around other cen-
tres as well. Each year, the earth and the Solar system move 500 million kilome-
tres away from their location of the previous year. It has been computed that even
a minor deviation of the celestial bodies from their orbits would lead to results that
would turn the system upside down. For instance, let us look at what a 3 mil-
limetre deviation above or below the normal in the world’s orbit would cause:
"While rotating around the sun, the earth follows such an orbit that, every 18
miles, it only deviates 2.8 millimetres from a direct course. The orbit followed
by the earth never changes, because even a deviation of 3 millimetres would
cause catastrophic disasters: if the deviation were 2.5 mm instead of 2.8 mm,
then the orbit would be very large, and all of us would freeze. If the deviation
were 3.1 mm, we would be scorched to death." (Bilim ve Teknik, July 1983)
Another characteristic of heavenly bodies is that they also rotate around their
own axes. The verse which reads "[I swear] by heaven which returns," (Surat
at-Tariq: 11) indicates this truth. Naturally, at the time when the Qur'an was
revealed, people had no telescopes with which to study bodies millions of kilo-
metres away in space, advanced observation technology or our modern knowl-
edge of physics and astronomy. It was therefore impossible to establish that space
had "its oscillating orbits," (Surat adh-Dhariyat: 7) as described in the verse. The
Qur'an however, revealed at that time, provided clear information concerning that
fact. This is proof that this book is indeed Allah's word.

BLACK HOLES
th
The 20 century saw a great many new discoveries regarding celestial phe-
nomena in the universe. One of these entities, which has only recently been
encountered, is the Black Hole. These are formed when a star which has con-
sumed all its fuel collapses in on itself, eventually turning into a black hole with
infinite density and zero volume and an immensely powerful magnetic field. We
are unable to see black holes even with the most powerful telescope, because

their gravitational pull is so strong that light is unable to escape from them.
However, such a collapsed star can be perceived by means of the effect it has on
the surrounding area. In Surat al-Waqi'a, Allah draws attention to this matter in this
way, by swearing upon the position of stars:
And I swear by the stars' positions-and that is a mighty oath if you only
knew. (Surat al-Waqi'a: 75-76)

The term "black hole" was first employed in 1969 by the American physicist
John Wheeler. Previously, we imagined that we were able to see all the stars.
However, it later emerged that there were stars in space whose light we were

210 For Men of Understanding