The Twelfth Gleam
The sustenance God undertakes to provide & The seven levels of the heavens and the earth
This Gleam expounds two fine points concerning the Qur’an, written in connection with two questions asked by Rafet Bey.
In His Name, All-Glorified is He.
There is nothing but it glorifies Him with His praise.
Peace be upon you, and on your brothers, and God’s mercy and blessings!
My dear, faithful brother, Rafet Bey,
Your questions coming at this difficult time put me in a difficult position. Your two new questions are of little importance, but since they relate to two points concerning the Qur’an, and the question about the earth is connected with criticism of the geography and astronomy of the Qur’anic statement that God has created seven heavens and of the earth the like of them (65:12), they seemed to be significant to me. For this reason, without considering that the questions are of little importance, two issues concerning two verses of the Qur’an will be scientifically explained.
First issue
This consists of two Points.
FIRST POINT: According to the verses,
How many a living creature there is that does not carry its own provisions (in store), but God provides for them, and indeed for you. He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. (29: 60)
Surely God—it is He Who is the All-Providing, Lord of all might, and the All-Forceful. (51: 58)
sustenance is directly in the hands of the All-Powerful One of Majesty and comes from the treasury of His Mercy. Since the provision for every living creature has been undertaken by Him as the Lord of the whole creation, no one should die of hunger. But we can see that many die of hunger or lack provisions. The reality of this matter is as follows:
The Lord’s guarantee is a reality, and no one dies because of a lack of provisions. For the All-Wise of Majesty stores up as reserves in the form of fat some of the provisions He sends to the bodies of living creatures. He even stores up some of the sustenance He sends to each cell in the cell, and keeps it there as a reserve stock to be spent when no sustenance comes from outside. Those whom we perceive as dying of hunger die before this store has been completely consumed. This means that they do not die of a lack of provisions; they rather die from a habit acquired through wrong choices and practices or because of an illness resulting from that wrong choice and practice and giving up that habit.
The natural sustenance stored up in the bodies of living creatures in the form of fat generally suffices for forty days. It may even exceed twice forty days as a result of certain illnesses or spiritually ecstatic states. Years ago (in 1921) it appeared in a newspaper that a man in prison in London managed to live healthily for seventy days without eating anything.
Since, then, the natural sustenance lasts for forty to seventy or eighty days, and since the Divine Name, the All-Providing manifests Itself throughout the earth in an all-inclusive, extensive way; and since food flows forth from breasts and wood in an extraordinary, unexpected fashion, then, if wicked humanity does not interfere out of wrong choice or misuse, the Name, the All-Providing should come to the aid of the starving living creature before the natural sustenance is consumed, and not allow death out of hunger. So, those reported to die of hunger definitely do not die from a lack of provision if they die in less than forty days. Rather, as stated in the adage, “The abandoning of habits is one of the causes of destruction,” their death is either because of a habit acquired through wrong choice or of an illness resulting from abandoning that habit. Therefore, it may be said that there is no death from hunger.
Indeed, it is observed that provision is not in direct proportion to power and will. For example, when utterly deprived of will and power in the womb before coming to the world, babies are given their provisions in such a way that they do not even need to move their mouths. Then when they come into the world, they still do not have power or will, but since they have some sort of capacity or potential senses, they need only to move to fasten their mouths to the breast, and are provided through the fountains of the breasts with the perfect, the most nutritious, and easily digestible sustenance in the kindest and strangest fashion. As they grow in power and will, that fine, readily available sustenance starts to be gradually withdrawn from the infants. The fountains of the breasts dry up, and the child’s sustenance comes from somewhere else. But since they still do not have enough will or power to obtain their sustenance, the All-Providing of Munificence sends their parents’ care and compassion to their assistance. Whenever they have enough power and will, then their sustenance is not sent them in a readily available way.
Sustenance remains in its place and says, “Come and search for me, take me!” Sustenance is not always directly proportional to will or power. In addition to the example of infants above, the fact that the animals weakest in will and power live better and are better provided for proves this.
SECOND POINT: There are different sorts of possibility, such as “possibility in reason,” “possibility by way of practice,” and “ordinary possibility.” If an event is not possible in reason, that is, if sound reason does not see it as being possible, it is rejected. If it is not of the sort that can be obtained through practice or efforts, it can only be a miracle (created by God through a Prophet). It cannot easily be a wonder that can be worked by saints. If something is not possible either through practice or in principle but has been reported to have taken place, it can only be accepted if there is a decisive proof for its occurrence based on direct observation.
It is for this reason that the extraordinary states of Sayyid Ahmad Badawi,35 who managed to live without eating for forty days, are of the sort of possibility obtained through practice. It may have been both an exceptional wonder worked by him and a habitual practice of his. It is unanimously reported that Sayyid Ahmad Badawi, may God sanctify him, had wondrous and ecstatic states of spiritual absorption. He occasionally, but not always, ate once in forty days as a way of working a wonder. He may well have done so because his states of spiritual absorption caused him not to feel the need to eat, in which case, it became a habitual practice. It has reliably been reported that many other saints have worked this sort of wonder. So, as we explained above, since the reserves of sustenance stored up in the body last for more than forty days, and managing without eating for such a length of time is possible by way of practice, and it has been reliably narrated about exceptional people, then it cannot be denied.
Second issue
Two important matters will be explained in connection with the second question, because with the narrow-ranging laws of geography and astronomy and their incomplete principles and tiny measures, scientists have been unable to ascend to the heavens of the Qur’an and discover the seven levels of meanings in the stars of its verses, and thus they have criticized the verses (related to the issues discussed and which we are explaining,) and foolishly even attempted to deny them.
The First Important Matter
This is about the earth having seven levels, like the heavens. Modern scientists, or the sciences concerned with the earth and heavens, deny this. They make this a pretext to oppose some of the truths in the Qur’an. We will briefly mention some points related to this matter.
FIRST POINT: First of all, the apparent, basic meaning of a verse is one thing, and other meanings or connotations inferred from it and the things that confirm it are another. If one of the numerous connotations or meanings inferred cannot yet be confirmed or appears to lack necessary evidence, the basic meaning cannot be denied. Of the numerous parts of the basic meaning regarding the seven levels of the heavens and the earth with its points of resemblance to them, as will be explained below, there are seven apparent realities to point to and confirm it.
Secondly, the verse does not explicitly state that the earth has seven layers. In its apparent meaning, the verse, God is He Who has created seven heavens and of the earth the like of them (65:12), states that God has created the earth like the seven heavens, and made it a dwelling place for His creatures. It does not explicitly state that God has created seven levels of the earth. The likeness in the verse between the heavens and the earth is in regard to both being created and made habitations for creatures.
SECOND POINT: Compared with the heavens, the earth is in fact very small. But in the same way that the heart is equal to the body in one respect, the earth, as the place of exhibition and the focus of countless Divine works of art, can be equal to the heavens as the heart of the universe and, with the meaning it has, its center. From this perspective, (1) the earth has seven climes, as has been understood from early times; (2) it is universally accepted that there are seven continents, namely Europe, Africa, Oceania, the two Asias (at the present, one Asia and Antarctica), and the two Americas; (3) there are the seven great seas or oceans and the parts of the earth they surround in both or either of its hemispheres; (4) the earth has seven contiguous layers from its center through to its outer crust;36 (5) the famous seven universal elements called “the seven levels,” comprise simple, particular elements that are the means of living for animate creatures; (6) there are seven levels or realms comprising the three animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, and the four basic elements of water, air, fire, and soil; (7) there are seven realms of various living and conscious beings, such as jinn, devils, and humans, as discovered by numerous saints of spiritual discovery and observation; and (8) there are seven other spheres or globes resembling ours, and on which living beings particular to each live—and all these facts have been inferred from the above-mentioned verse, which says God is He Who has created seven heavens and of the earth the like of them.
Thus, we have been able to establish in seven ways that the earth has seven levels or layers of seven kinds. The last, eighth meaning is important from another perspective but not included in our discussion.
THIRD POINT: Since the Absolutely Wise One wastes nothing and creates nothing in vain, and since other creatures serve conscious beings, and attain perfection, gain liveliness, and are saved from futility through them, and since the Absolutely Wise and All-Powerful One of Glory has caused the element of air, the world of water, and the layer of earth to be inhabited with innumerable living creatures, and since just as air and water do not prevent the movement of animals, so also dense matter like earth or rock do not impede the conduction of electricity, X-rays, or the like, for sure the All-Wise of Perfection, the Immortal Maker, will certainly not have left uninhabited the seven adjoining layers, with all their parts and places, from the inner core of the earth to the outer crust, where we exist. He has certainly caused these areas to be inhabited by living, conscious creatures particular to each. Among those conscious beings are angels and other spirit beings. For them, the densest and hardest layer is like the sea is for the fish and the air for birds. Even the terrible heat in the core must be for these conscious beings like the sun’s heat for us. Since these conscious spirit beings are created from light, fire is like light for them.
FOURTH POINT: In the Eighteenth Letter, a comparison is mentioned to clarify the irrational descriptions made by some saints of spiritual discovery of some strange marvels concerning the earth’s layers. Its gist is as follows:
The earth is a seed in the corporeal realm, while in the Intermediate Realm or the World of Immaterial Representations or Ideal Forms it is like a huge tree that has stretched its branches as far as the corners of the heavens. Some saints of spiritual discovery have seen demons dwell in a realm of the earth that stretches billions of square miles, but this is not in the corporeal earth itself, but rather on the branches or levels of the earth that are reflected in the World of Ideal Forms. Since an apparently insignificant level of the earth has such a vast reflection in another world, it may surely be said that the earth has seven levels or layers corresponding to the seven levels of the heavens. Thus, by showing the tiny earth as corresponding to the heavens, the relevant Qur’anic verses draw attention to the above-mentioned and other similar points in a miraculously concise way.
The Second Important Matter
The seven heavens and the earth, and whoever is therein, glorify Him. (17: 44)
Then He directed (His Knowledge, Will, Power, and Favor) to the heaven, and formed it into seven heavens. (2: 29)
Many verses like the ones above describe the heavens as seven heavens. A brief explanation of this matter, which was explained in detail in Isharat al-‘Ijaz (“The Signs of the Qur’an’s Miraculousness”), is as follows:
Muslim philosophers and scientists (of the Middle Ages) included in the heavens what the Shari‘a calls the Divine Supreme Throne and the Divine Supreme Seat, and so mentioned the nine heavens in a strange way. The impressive descriptions of those geniuses of philosophy and science continued to influence people for many centuries. This influence was such that many interpreters of the Qur’an felt compelled to reconcile the apparent meanings of the relevant verses with their way of thought. This caused the Qur’an’s miraculousness to be veiled to an extent. In contrast to this classical approach, which it is neither possible to ignore nor to rectify, the modern scientific approach went to the extreme opposite and nearly denied the (plural) existence of the heavens. Both being extreme, these approaches have been unable to portray the reality in its entirety.
As for the sacred wisdom of the wise Qur’an, as always, it chooses the middle, straight way and declares that God Almighty has created seven levels in the heavens. The movable stars move in the heavens like fish (moving in the water), and glorify God. A Prophetic Tradition says, “The sky is a wave held back.”37 That is, it is an ocean in which the waves are stationary.
We will explain this Qur’anic truth decisively, in a brief way, by presenting seven facts and seven aspects of meaning.
The first fact: Science and wisdom do and should admit that this boundless space is not an infinite vacuum, but rather that it is filled with a sort of matter called ether.
The second fact: It is a scientific, logical, and indeed observable reality that there is a kind of matter that fills space and which serves as a link for such laws as gravitation and repulsion among the celestial bodies and which is the conductor of light, heat, and electricity.
The third fact: It is also a fact that ether as a substance, while remaining as ether, also has various forms and formations, like other kinds of matter.
Just as the same matter has three states, liquid, gaseous, or solid, or can be the origin of three types of formations like water, steam, and ice, there is no logical reason to reject that ether has seven states or levels; there is no rational cause for there to be an objection to this statement.
The fourth fact: A careful observation and study of celestial bodies will reveal that there is some difference between the heavenly levels. For example, the level which contains the huge cloud-like sphere called the Milky Way does not resemble the level of fixed stars. It gives the impression that the fixed stars have ripened, like the fruits of summer, while innumerable new stars constantly appear in the form of a cloud in the Milky Way and begin to ripen. That level of fixed stars appears to one with insight as being different from the level of the solar system. So it may be deduced that there are seven heavenly systems or seven levels that are different from one another.
The fifth fact: It is a fact established by perception, inductive reasoning, observation, and experience that when a material is worked, it changes into new forms, and new materials are produced from it. For example, when a diamond mine begins to be worked, ashes and coal, as well as diamonds are obtained from it. To cite another example, when a fire is lit, it gives rise to flames, as well as to smoke and embers. Also, when hydrogen and oxygen are combined, water, ice, and steam are formed. We know that when a single substance is worked, new formations are created and new forms of matter appear. So when the Creative Power started to work on the matter of ether, He must have created from it the heavens, which He formed into seven heavens.
The sixth fact: All the facts mentioned above necessarily indicate both the existence and plurality of the heavens. Since there is more than one heaven, and God, the Ultimate Truth, declares them to be seven in the Qur’an, they are certainly seven.
The seventh fact: As terms like seven, seventy, and seven hundred express multiplicity in Arabic, the universal seven levels may actually comprise multiple levels.
In conclusion: The All-Powerful of Majesty created and formed the seven heavens from ether and organized them into an extremely subtle and wonderful system, sowing the stars in it. Since the Qur’an of miraculous exposition is an eternal address speaking to all levels of understanding among humankind and jinn, surely each level will receive its share from every verse of the Qur’an, and the verses will contain multiple levels of meaning both explicitly and implicitly to satisfy the understanding of all.
Truly, the Qur’anic address is so comprehensive and contains such multiple levels of meaning that it considers all degrees of understanding, from the most uneducated common people to the highest of the elite. This shows that each of its verses has aspects that address every level. It is because of this subtle reality that seven types of people have understood the following seven levels of meaning from the universal meaning of “seven heavens”:
From He formed them into seven heavens, a short-sighted and narrow minded person thinks of the atmosphere with all the formations of air. Another type of person, who is dazzled by cosmology, thinks of the stars, popularly known as the Seven Planets, and their orbits. Yet another group thinks of the seven heavenly spheres resembling ours, which are inhabited by living creatures. A further group of people thinks of the solar system being separated into seven levels, and the existence of another seven systems like the solar system. And yet another group of humankind thinks of the matter of ether being formed into seven levels. Another group, with a broader mind, regards all the visible heavens gilded with stars as a heaven, which is the heaven of our world, and understands that there are six more similar heavens. The seventh and highest class of humanity does not consider the seven heavens to be restricted to the corporeal realm. Rather, they understand that there are seven other realms, such as the Realm of the Hereafter, the Realm of the Unseen, and the Realm of Immaterial Representations or Ideal Forms, and that each of these realms has its own heaven encompassing it like an envelope.
And so, the verse in question has many further specific meanings, like the above-mentioned seven levels of meaning inferred by the seven classes of humanity. Everyone receives their share according to their level of understanding and finds their sustenance at that heavenly table.
Since that verse has so many numerous true meanings that confirm it, the unreasoning philosophers and baffled cosmologists who criticize it on the pretext of rejecting the existence of the seven heavens are like silly children throwing stones at the stars to make one fall. If the verse indicates even a single truth with its meanings, or if a single one of the meanings inferred from it is true, then the verse is true in its general meaning. Furthermore, even if among its specific meanings the verse has a meaning that is literally untrue, but which is commonly accepted, this may have been included among the meanings in order to take into consideration and show respect for the public view. We have seen that the verse has numerous particular meanings, all of which are true. Now consider how modern cosmology or the sciences of geography and astronomy err and, by closing their eyes to the comprehensive meaning of the verse, and ignoring its particular meanings all of which are true, infer a fanciful meaning from it according to their imperfect understanding, hurling stones at it. But the stones fall back and break their heads, destroying their beliefs.
In short, the Qur’an was revealed in seven recitations, and with seven aspects of accurate articulation, seven sorts of miraculousness, seven levels of truth, and seven pillars. Since unbelieving ideas or approaches of materialism have the effect of jinn or devils and cannot ascend to the seven levels of the Qur’an’s heavens, they cannot realize the stars of the verses and thus give false reports. But the meteors of truth fall from the stars of the verses onto their heads, burning them. It is not possible to ascend to the heavens of the Qur’an with jinn-like ideas of misguided philosophy. The stars of the verses can only be ascended with the ladder of true wisdom and on the wings of belief and with the Islamic way of thought and life.
O God! Bestow blessings on the Sun of the heaven of Messengership and the full moon of the firmament of Prophethood, and on his Family and Companions, who are the stars of guidance for the rightly-guided.
All-Glorified are You. We have no knowledge save what You have taught us. Surely You are the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
O God! O Lord of the heavens and the earth! Adorn the hearts of the scribe (and translator) of this treatise and his companions with the stars of the truths of the Qur’an and belief! Amen.
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi
35 Sayyid Ahmad Badawi (d. 1276) was one of the most famous saints in the history of Islam. (Tr.)
36 The earth has several distinct layers, each of which has its own properties: the inner core, the outer core, the lower mantle, the outer mantle, the asthenosphere, the lithosphere, and the crust. The earth can also be seen in its surroundings. The atmosphere which surrounds it is divided into the troposphere, the ozone layer, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, and the thermosphere. The solid earth can be divided into the biosphere, the hydrosphere, and the internal structure of the earth, which includes the crust, mantle and core. (Tr.)
37 at-Tirmidhi, “Tafsir Sura 57” 1; Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Musnad, 2:370. (Tr.)