PERFECT ORBITS
7-By the Sky with its ingeniously devised
paths (orbits)
51- The Dispersing, 7
The Arabic expession zatul hubuk means ingeniously devised paths (orbits). The expression connotes formations beautifully designed.
The scintillating brilliance of stars that has enchanted man ever since the beginning of his existence, the incomparable sight unfolded in the sky have always attracted the attebtion of man overshwhelming him. Inifinite number of poems and prose work describe the charming sensations that the sky generated in the human breast. Rising and setting of the Sun, the phases of the moon, the sky studded with stars give the picture of a steady state universe. To the naked eye the universe full or orbits is not visible. Stars that move at incrredible speeds seem to us stationary. The fact that all stars and heavenly bodies are in motion was established after the discovecry of the telescope and advance of science. The number of galaxies in the universe exceeds one hundred billion, each comprising more than one hundred million stars some larger and some smaller than the Sun. Our Sun is comparably of middle size. These starts have many planets like the Earth and the planets have their sattelites like the Moon. All these have come about after having detached from one single point. All these stars and planets and satellites have their respective orbits. The omnipotence of God is conspicuous in His creation. God who originated everything from a single point demonstrated that the skill involved was not inherent in that speck of dust; having generated from it an infinite number of celestial bodies displated the endlessness of his power and the facillity for Him of this process. Everyone of these bodies move in heir orbits so that the state of the universe changes every second. This variaton takes place by the motion within its respective orbit of every star, planet and satellite. Every moment in the universe is a new occurrence, so is every instant of a star, a planet and a satellite.
ARGUMENT FROM MOTION
The process of motion has been subject of study by many thinkers throughout history. Plato said that the source of motion must have been a sentient Creator and described the universe as being governed by a Creator who was good and beneficent. Aristotle’s point of departure was motion, the prime mover was the original source and cause of motion in the universe was an idea that was developed by Aristotle. Aristotle’s postulation of the eternal Creator was based on the concept of the prime mover. Farabi, representative of Islamic world concluded that the prime mover was the source of all existence and that He, the unmoved mover, had generated the movement. The Ihvan-i Sefa, a philosophical-religious association of the 10th century, produced encyclopedic works. This association underlined the motion of the universe, confirmed the process of creation out of nothing, drawing the attention to the order reigning in the universe and the perpetual movement that proved the existence of God. A great many Christian thinkers like Thomas Aquinas saw the motion of the universe as an evidence of a Supreme Being.
The fact that the motion in the universe is not limited to our solar system or to a handful of stars, but is spread all over the space is a very important point since it is also a proof of the endlessness of the power of God. The attention that the verse draws to the orbits in the space is also meaningful. The galaxies in perpetual motion which comprise stars having their respective pathways, the planets that trace elliptical orbits around the stars and the satellites that make their rounds about the planets.If motion had not been devised to be intrinsic part of the matter we could not have sat comfortably in our chairs to watch the TV. Nor would the Sun, the Earth and our very selves exist. All these formations owe their existence to the moving objects. The movement of stars in their orbits, the movement of planets around the stars rendered our existence possible and our sipping coffee while watching the TV. The creation of motion in an ingenious and regular order that gave rise to a chain reaction and observations by the human being of galaxies forming the macrocosm and to atoms is a ---- cry in the face of those who are willing to conceive the images of God. There will certianly be people who will turn a deaf ear to these cries. The verse 7 of the sura The Dispersing drawing our attention to the orbits is followed by the following verses.
8- You are surely caught in contradictions
9- From which only he turns who is turned away.
51- The Dispersing, 8-9
