Our Sun is just one of about 100 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy. This galaxy, in all its glory, is only one of nearly two trillion known galaxies in the universe. Let’s estimate the number of stars across the entire cosmos. In that case, we encounter a staggering figure: a septillion stars — that is, 10²⁴ stars, or a million billion billion stars. These numbers are so vast that they are difficult for the human mind to comprehend, but grasping their magnitude brings us closer to understanding the true immensity of the universe.
Each star is a massive ball of burning gas (mainly hydrogen) held together by gravity and producing energy through nuclear fusion. Stars vary greatly in size, mass, and temperature. Some, like red dwarfs, are small and consume fuel slowly, allowing them to shine for over a trillion years. On the other end are stars like UY Scuti, with a diameter over 1,700 times that of the Sun, which live for only a few million years before ending in massive supernova explosions. Our Sun, with an estimated lifespan of about 10 billion years, is somewhere in the middle and has now lived about half its life.
In each galaxy, there are billions of planetary systems. In the Milky Way alone, there are likely more than 100 billion planets, and evidence suggests that many may lie in habitable zones — regions that might have conditions similar to Earth. In other words, even within our galaxy, there could be billions of potentially life-supporting planets. If we extend this possibility to the entire universe, the existence of life in far-off corners of the cosmos becomes not only possible but even likely.
Yet, what we observe is not the whole reality. Most of the mass of the universe consists of something unobservable: dark matter and dark energy. Dark matter, which comprises about 85% of the universe’s mass, is detected only through its gravitational effects on galaxies. Alongside it, dark energy, which makes up about 70% of the universe’s energy content, is believed to be responsible for the accelerated expansion of the cosmos. Furthermore, billions of black holes are hidden at the centers of galaxies — including a supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way, with a mass millions of times that of the Sun.
The age of the universe is estimated to be around 13.8 billion years. The light we see today from the most distant galaxies has been traveling for billions of years, and what we observe is a glimpse into the distant past. On this cosmic scale, our Earth — this tiny blue dot — is merely a speck in a vast ocean of darkness and light. Our Sun is one of a septillion stars to which we happen to be near. Still, as we gaze at the sky, we are looking at signs of billions of other suns — each with a unique story, perhaps with planets, perhaps with life, and perhaps with mysteries we have yet to comprehend.
Theological Reflection
Amidst all this, there is a foundational point in theology: the smaller and simpler the universe, the more plausible its emergence by chance might seem. But the creation of a universe with such vastness and intricate order renders the idea of randomness highly implausible and unacceptable. Thus, the larger and more complex the universe is, the closer the likelihood of its chance emergence approaches zero.
In response to atheists who use the vastness of the universe to deny the existence of a Creator, one might say that if the universe were smaller, they would use that as a reason to claim it was random. Now that it is grand and vast, they claim humanity’s existence in it is an accident! This is a form of evading the truth. Yet, from the perspective of an insightful mind, the magnitude of the universe is itself a clear sign of the greatness of its Creator — a Creator who has displayed His infinite power across the cosmos and has brought forth such an astonishing order. Therefore, the immensity of the universe is not a reason to reject God but an apparent reason to recognize His power and knowledge.
For better understanding, consider an analogy from the world of technology: writing a simple piece of code by stringing together a few characters is something even a novice student can do. But can Google — with billions of lines of code — be considered the product of chance? Such a project is only possible through the tireless efforts of thousands of engineers and intelligent design. Then how can we possibly believe the universe, which functions with far greater order than Google, is the result of randomness? The difference here is that the Creator of the universe, unlike any human-made project, needs no collaborators and is not bound by time or space. He is one, omnipotent, and the universe is a flawless display of His power.
In this regard, the Holy Quran also draws our attention to the signs in the sky. In Surah Al-Waqi’ah, verses 75 and 76, it says:
“Then I swear by the positions of the stars — and indeed, it is a mighty oath if you only knew.”
This verse presents the positions of the stars as a great sign — a sign for those who reflect and seek the greatness of the Creator in the fabric of creation.
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