God, the Religion of Science

Tag: Solar System

  • Theological Discussion on the Unique Design of Earth (Emphasizing the Role of Jupiter)

    Theological Discussion on the Unique Design of Earth (Emphasizing the Role of Jupiter)

    The planet Jupiter plays an indirect yet highly effective role in protecting EarthEarth, particularly through its gravitational influences that deflect or attract many asteroids and comets that could potentially collide with EarthEarth. Due to its immense mass (over 300 times that of Earth Earth), Jupiter has a powerful gravitational field. This characteristic causes many wandering bodies in space, such as asteroids and comets, to be attracted to Jupiter or deflected from their paths instead of colliding with Earth Earth. A historical example is the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet, which in 1994 was drawn in by Jupiter’s gravity and collided with the planet instead of hitting EarthEarth. This event is one of the best examples demonstrating Jupiter’s protective role. Scientists believe that if Jupiter did not exist or its mass was significantly less, Earth Earth Earth would be at a much higher risk of being struck by celestial bodies. Such collisions could have catastrophic environmental consequences or even lead to species extinction. Now, imagine what would happen if Jupiter did not exist in the solar system. Many wandering bodies like asteroids and comets would strike Earth Earth, bombarding it daily with numerous asteroids and comets, making life difficult. Picture yourself sleeping at home at night or walking down the street during the day when suddenly an asteroid or meteorite strikes your location; this scenario could make life on EarthEarth challenging or even impossible. However, it should be noted that EarthEarth is designed to be exceptionally unique, with all necessary components, including a large moon to regulate tides, a suitable magnetic field, and an atmosphere alongside Jupiter acting as a shield. The distance from the Sun is also perfectly calibrated, so all these factors have come together to create conditions for life on Earth Earth. Even if we consider the combination of all these factors without a Creator, the probability of our existence would still be close to zero. Jupiter could have been absent like many other places in the universe where life does not exist, but because it is present, Earth can evade many dangers from celestial bodies.


    Jupiter serves a role similar to an umbrella that protects a person from hail. Now, if human reason accepts that the occurrence of an umbrella is accidental, then the presence of Jupiter at that point could also be a result of chance. However, when human reason cannot accept that a small umbrella could be the result of an accident and must necessarily have a maker, it follows that Jupiter, with its size and greatness that protects Earth Earth, cannot be without a Creator. Another point is that in the absence of Jupiter, even if life existed, due to the arising problems, it might not have developed into intelligent and modern forms, and the bombardment of the planet could have hindered Earth’s development, which is also noteworthy. In verse 65 of Surah Al-Hajj, Allah the Almighty mentions: “Do you not know that Allah has made subservient to you whatever is in the EarthEarth and the ships that sail through the sea by His command? And He holds back the heaven from falling upon the EarthEarth except by His permission? Surely, Allah is Most Kind and Merciful to humanity.”

  • The Secrets of the Cosmos: From a Septillion Stars to Humanity’s Place in the Universe

    The Secrets of the Cosmos: From a Septillion Stars to Humanity’s Place in the Universe

    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.