Astronomy in Islamic Perspective

 

The Qur'an is a guide for humans to be pious. Taqwa comes from Arabic which means self-preservation, fear, self-preservation, alertness, fulfillment of obligations etc. People who are pious are people who take care of themselves so as not to do actions that are not pleasing to Allah, and fulfill obligations to Allah SWT through obedience to the teachings brought by His Apostle. Taqwa is the highest position in the eyes of God, as explained in the Qur'an Surah Al Hujurat verse 13 which means that the most honorable among you in the sight of Allah is the one who is most pious. Indeed, Allah is All-Knowing, All-knowing.

It is very fitting that Allah places taqwa in the highest degree of a creature. From here will be born individuals with noble character, both in relation to the Creator and with fellow creatures.

The birth of a behavior or charity must be based on a belief or faith. Faith and taqwa have a very close relationship and cannot be separated from one another. The higher one's faith, the higher the urge to always spread goodness in life in the world.

There are many ways that humans can do to increase their belief in Allah SWT as the only God who is worthy of worship and the owner of the entire universe who is Almighty over all that He has. There are so many verses that explain the greatness of Allah SWT, such as in Surah An-Nahl: 65-70, Al-Baqarah: 164, .An-Nahl: 72, Al-Israa: 12 and Al-Anbiyaa: 30.

Besides being contained in the Qur'an as a qauliyah verse, there are also Kauniyah verses, namely verses that show His greatness through what He created in this universe. As explained by Shihab (1996) that there are no less than 750 verses from the Qur'an that describe various problems of life and life, including about the universe and its phenomena which are often called kawniyyah verses. This number does not include the verses that alluded to it implicitly.

Furthermore, he argues that related to nature and its phenomena, at least three things can be said regarding this matter, namely:

(1) The Qur'an commands or encourages humans to pay attention to and study the universe in order to obtain benefits and conveniences for their lives, and to bring them to awareness of the Oneness and Omnipotence of Allah SWT.

This command implies that humans have the potential to know and take advantage of the laws that govern these natural phenomena. However, this knowledge and utilization is not the ultimate goal.

(2) Nature and everything in it and the laws that govern it, were created, owned and under the control of Allah SWT and regulated very carefully.

The universe cannot escape from these decrees unless it is willed by God. From this it is implied that:

(a) The universe or its elements may not be worshiped, deified or cult.

(b) Humans can draw conclusions about the existence of general and binding provisions for the universe and its phenomena (natural laws).

From the above opinion, it can be concluded that in the creation of nature, in addition to being able to be utilized and managed for human survival, there is also a special mission, namely to be proof of the greatness of Allah who has created everything very carefully and regularly. This is what is called sunnatullah, namely the law established by Allah to regulate the creation and mechanism of the universe which is natural, that is, fixed and automatic.

God created nature with a clear legal order, of course, not without purpose. Allah gives space to the human mind as an extraordinary gift from Allah to develop its ability to be able to manage nature well. With reason, humans are able to develop the potential of nature to be able to give birth to thousands of benefits for humans without causing impacts that will be able to damage nature itself, both now and in the future. This at the same time dispels the doubts of angels who ask Allah SWT about the matter as contained in Q.S Al-Baqarah verse 30 which means "Why do you want to make (caliph) on earth a person who will do mischief on him and shed blood?" And more importantly, this will open the human mind to realize that behind it all there must be a Supreme Ruler. Recognition of the majesty of Allah will play a very large role in growing awareness of human nature as a servant whose main task is to worship as intended. This is stated in the letter Adz Dzariyat verse 56 which means "And I did not create the jinn and humans except to worship Me".

The Qur'an has reminded humans a lot to be able to make what is in nature as material for reflection or contemplation about the greatness of Allah as in Surah An Nahl verse 65 which means as follows: "And Allah sends down water (rain) from the sky and with water. He gives life to the earth after its death. Verily in that are indeed signs (the greatness of God) for those who listen (lessons).

Even the Qur'an itself can be a human reference in studying natural phenomena in various scientific fields including in the field of Astronomy as in Surah al Anbiya ': 33 "And it is He Who has created the night and the day, the sun and the moon. Each of them circulates on the path."

The meaning of the above verse is that every planet in the sky is subject to a static orbit. It revolves in its orbit and never deviates from it. This is what prevents the planets and celestial bodies from colliding with each other. Such is God in regulating the laws in outer space which are very orderly and detailed.

Astronomy is the study of celestial bodies and natural phenomena that occur outside the earth, including phenomena in the earth's upper atmosphere originating from outer space such as meteors and aurorae. Astronomy from time to time is always changing along with the development of science and technology. By using tools such as telescopes, astronomers in their research are increasingly showing conformity with the theory that is widely revealed in the Qur'an which was revealed in the 7th century.

There are so many benefits that humans can take from the laws of the solar system which are part of the sunnatullah. One example of the earth's rotation is the earth rotating on its axis. This condition will cause many natural phenomena, one of which is an event that we often see every day, namely the alternation of day and night. When the earth is exposed to sunlight, the earth will experience daylight. On the other hand, when the earth is facing away from the sun, it will be night. What happens if during the day there will be heat that is continuous and never changes. Or vice versa the night will be cold continuously without seeing the rising sun. Surely humans will face a life that, because the day is made so that humans get energy from the sun and have activities to make a living. While night replaces day so that humans rest and to restore body strength and maintain body stamina.

        From the description above, it can be concluded that in the Islamic concept, the law that applies in outer space (astronomy) is part of the sunnatullah, namely the decree of Allah who has a legal order and with a very detailed and comprehensive design. There are several lessons behind the sunnatullah, including:

  1. The existence of a great design shows the greatness of the Designer, namely Allah SWT. So by studying this phenomenon will be able to increase the strength of belief in the greatness of Allah SWT.
  2. The design is made with regular laws and not something random, in addition to showing the greatness of the designer as well as to provide space for the human mind to think as part of the responsibility to carry out the task of his caliphate to manage nature in order to maintain human survival in the world.
  3. The existence of many benefits that can be taken from God's decree will foster a sense of gratitude that will never stop as God's blessings continue to flow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

REFERENCE LIST

 

Kinah, Kiki. 2022. Bumi Bulat atau Datar?, Ini Penjelasan Pakar Tafsirhttps://iqra.republika.co.id/berita/ozx195396/bumi-bulat-atau-datar-ini-penjelasan-ahli-tafsir-alquran. Accessed June 9, 2022

____.2017. Kemukjizatan Al Qur'an dalam bidang astronomi http://www.rtbi-benngkulu.com/2017/07/kemukjizatan-al-quran-dalam-astronomi.html. Retrieved June 9, 2022

Shihab, M. Qurays. Ayat-ayat Kawniyyah dalam Al Qur'an. http://media.isnet.org/kmi/islam/Quraish/Membumi/Kawniyyah.html. Retrieved June 9, 2022

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