Seb'a Samawat (Seven Levels of Heaven)

[Nur Student]

:bism:
The seven heavens and the earth and all that is in them extols and glorifies Him [to the end of the verse] (17:44) *
And has applied His design to the heavens and fashioned them into seven heavens, and He has full knowledge of all things.(2:29)

Numerous verses like these depict the heavens as sevenfold.

Ancient philosophy conceived of the heavens as being nine in number; accepting in the tongue of the Shari‘a the throne of God and seat of God together with the seven heavens, they depicted the heavens in strange manner. The glittering terms of the philosophers held mankind under their sway for many centuries. In fact, many Qur’anic commentators were compelled to make the apparent meanings of verses conform to their school. In this way the All-Wise Qur’an’s miraculousness was veiled to an extent. As for the new philosophy, called modern science, in the face of the excesses of ancient philosophy about the heavens it went to the other extreme and quite simply denied the heavens’ existence. The former went to excess and the latter was deficient; they were unable to portray reality in its entirety.

As for the sacred wisdom of the All-Wise Qur’an, it left aside such excess and deficiency, and choosing the middle way said that the All-Glorious Maker created the seven levels of the heavens. The planets swim in the heavens like fish and glorify God. It says in a Hadith: “The skies are waves held back.” (1) That is, the heavens are an ocean the waves of which are stationary.

We shall prove this Qur’anic truth extremely briefly with rules and seven aspects of meaning.

First Rule: It is established by science and philosophy that limitless space is not an infinite vacuum, but is filled with matter called ether.

The Second: It is established by science and reason, indeed by observation, that a matter which fills space is the bond of the laws governing the heavenly bodies like those of attraction and repulsion, and is the conductor and transmitter of such forces in matter as light, heat, and electricity.

The Third: It has been established empirically that while remaining as ether, it has various forms and formations like other matter. Just as there are three states of the same matter, liquid, gas and solid, for instance, steam, water, and ice; so there is nothing to reasonably prevent ether having seven states or levels; it cannot be objected to in any way.

The Fourth: If the heavenly bodies are studied carefully, it will be seen that there is a difference in the levels. The level that contains the vast nebular sphere called the Milky Way of course does not resemble the level of the fixed stars. It is as if those stars have ripened and matured like the fruits of summer, while the uncountable stars apparent in the form of a cloud in the Milky Way are constantly emerging and beginning to mature. According to accurate conjecture, the level of fixed stars also appears different to the level of the solar system. And so on. One may adduce seven systems and seven levels which differ from one another.

The Fifth: It is established by conjecture, sense, inductive reasoning, and experience that if a material is given order and form and if other artefacts are made from the material, it is transformed into various levels and forms. For example, when a diamond mine is worked, from the material, ashes, coal, and diamonds are produced. And when fire is lit, it separates into the levels of flame, smoke, and embers. And when water and oxygen are combined, levels like water, ice, and steam are formed. That is to say, when a single substance is worked, it may separate into levels. In which case, when Creative Power started to work in the substance called ether, in accordance with the verse, “And fashioned them into seven heavens,” it created from it seven sorts of heavens as differing levels.

The Sixth: The above indications necessarily indicate both the existence, and the plurality, of the heavens. Since the heavens are certainly numerous, and the Bringer of Sure News (UWBP) stated in the tongue of the Qur’an that they number seven, for sure they are seven.

The Seventh: Since in Arabic, terms like seven, seventy, and seven hundred express multiplicity, those universal seven levels may comprise multiple levels.

I n S h o r t : The All-Powerful One of Glory created the seven heavens from ether, and forming it into levels, ordered it with a truly fine and wondrous order and sowed the stars in it. Since the Qur’an of Miraculous Exposition is a pre-eternal address speaking to all the classes of all mankind and the jinn, for sure each of those classes will receive its share from the Qur’an’s verses and its verses will contain various and numerous meanings, both explicit and implicit, in a way that will satisfy the understanding of each.

Yes, the breadth of the Qur’anic address and the comprehensiveness of its meanings and indications and its conforming to and flattering all the degrees of understanding from the most uneducated common people to the highest of the elite shows that all its verses have an aspect which looks to each class. Thus, in consequence of this mystery, as an example, seven classes of men understand as follows the meaning of seven various levels from the universal meaning “seven heavens:”

A short-sighted and narrow-minded class of men understands the atmosphere from the verse “and fashioned them into seven heavens.” While another class of men befogged by astronomy understands the famous stars known popularly as the seven planets, and their orbits. Yet another group understands seven celestial globes resembling our globe, which are inhabited by living creatures. (2) A further group of men understands the solar system being separated into seven levels, and seven solar systems together with our system. And yet another group undertands the ether being separated into seven levels. Another class of men with broader ideas counts all the visible skies gilded with stars as a heaven, and saying that it is this world’s heaven, understands that there are six levels of heavens besides it. And mankind’s seventh and highest class do not consider the seven heavens to be restricted to the Manifest World, and understands that the Worlds of the Hereafter and the Unseen, and this world, and the World of Similitudes all have seven heavens, each of which is an encompassing container and roof.

Similarly, there are many further particular meanings in the universal of the verse, like the above-mentioned seven levels of meaning of the seven levels. Everyone receives his share according to his understanding and everyone finds his sustenance at that heavenly table.

Since the verse has thus numerous points confirming it, the unreasoning philosophers and foolish astronomers attacking the verse in that way on the pretext of denying the heavens is like silly children throwing stones at a star in the hope of making it fall. Because if one of the points confirming it from the verse’s universal meaning is correct, the universal meaning is correct and true. A particular even which is not literally true but is commonly accepted may be included in the universal meaning in order to conform to the generally held ideas. Whereas we saw numerous particulars which are right and true. Now look at this unfair, unjust geography and drunken intoxicated astronomy: how wrong these two sciences have been, closing their eyes to the universal meaning, which is right and correct and true, and not seeing the aspects which confirm it and are absolutely right; they have fancied an imaginary and extraordinary particular to be the meaning of the verse and thrown stones at the verse! And they have broken their own heads and lost their belief!

I n S h o r t : Since like jinns and satans, unbelieving materialist ideas have been unable to ascend to the seven levels of the skies of the Qur’an, which was revealed in seven recitations, (3) and with seven aspects, seven sorts of miraculousness, seven truths, and seven pillars, they do not know what there is and what there is not in the stars of its verses and give false and inaccurate reports. So falling stars like the above discussion descend on their heads from the stars of those verses and scorch them. Yes, the heavens of the Qur’an cannot be ascended to by means of the jinn-like ideas of philosophy. The stars of its verses can only be risen to through the ascension of true wisdom and the wings of belief and Islam.

O God! Grant blessings to the Sun of the skies of prophethood and Moon of the firmament of messengerhood, and to his Family and Companions, the stars of guidance for the rightly-guided.Glory be unto You! We have no knowledge save that which You have taught us; indeed You are All-Knowing, All-Wise.(2:32)

~ The Twelfth Flash

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Dipnot-1 Tirmidhi, Tafsir Sura 58, 1; Musnad, ii, 370; al-Mubarakfuri, Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi, No: 3352; al-Haythami, Majma‘ al-Zawa’id, viii, 132

Dipnot-2
See, al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak, ii, 535; al-Tabari, Jami‘ al-Bayan, xxviii, 153-4.

Dipnot-3 See, Bukhari, Fada’il al-Qur’an, 5, 27; Tawhid, 553; Muslim, Salat al-musafirin, 270: Tirmidhi, Qira’at, 2.

[observer]

First Rule: It is established by science and philosophy that limitless space is not an infinite vacuum, but is filled with matter called ether.

Hi, the ether was thought to exist and was used as an explanation for the propagation of light through space, but its existence was disproved in the 19th century by Michelson and Morley in a famous experiment. Therefore, science comprehensively rejects the idea of an ether.

Are you thinking of something else here?

[Nur Student]

Hi, the ether was thought to exist and was used as an explanation for the propagation of light through space, but its existence was disproved in the 19th century by Michelson and Morley in a famous experiment. Therefore, science comprehensively rejects the idea of an ether.

The names may change, but the reality doesn't.

(...)
Lorentz on his side continued to use the aether concept. In his lectures of around 1911 he pointed out that what "the theory of relativity has to say ... can be carried out independently of what one thinks of the aether and the time". He commented that "whether there is an aether or not, electromagnetic fields certainly exist, and so also does the energy of the electrical oscillations" so that, "if we do not like the name of "aether", we must use another word as a peg to hang all these things upon." He concluded that "one cannot deny the bearer of these concepts a certain substantiality"...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ether

The Second: It is established by science and reason, indeed by observation, that a matter which fills space is the bond of the laws governing the heavenly bodies like those of attraction and repulsion, and is the conductor and transmitter of such forces in matter as light, heat, and electricity.

Peace,

[observer]

The names may change, but the reality doesn't.,

But we haven't replaced the concept of the ether. The Michelson-Morley experiment showed that there is no substance like an aether in the vacuum of space (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michels...nt_experiments). There is no matter that exists in the same way as the aether was thought to exist.

Lorentz says that electromagnetic fields exist - yes, of course. We thought that the aether was how electromagnetism in the form of light travelled, but it's not so. Electromagnetic waves do not need a medium to propagate through, this was a mistaken belief in science that we have since overcome.

If you are saying that fields are something "material" then I think you are on very shaky ground.

Lorentz's theory that you quote from has long been superseded by quantum field theory and no longer holds true (if it ever did).

Also, the link you provide is to a different article on a different kind of ether - this is the aether that you mention: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luminiferous_aether

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[Nur Student]

Also, the link you provide is to a different article on a different kind of ether - this is the aether that you mention: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luminiferous_aether

Thanks for the correction.

There is no matter that exists in the same way as the aether was thought to exist.

You don't seem to get the point. If there was literally nothing between two objects - e.g. between us and another person - it would be impossible to see and hear him. In order to be able to make a sound and reliable experiment, scientists need to provide a place which is completely 'non-existent'. However, they are not able to provide such conditions. They can empty the air in a balloon but they can't make the space in it non-existent.

Peace,