Research on the heavens

There are many verses and narrations about the "sky" that shows that the sky is beyond human limited knowledge. According to explicit Quranic verses, all planets and celestial bodies and galaxies are only ornaments for the heavens of the world (the first heaven) - We adorned the lower heaven with the adornment of the planets (The holy surah Al-Safat- 6).This verse means: We adorned the heaven of the earth with the ornament of stars. However, we cannoteven comprehend this sky. However, heaven itself has seven floors and seven levels and the higher heavens are different from the range and the degree defined for the first heaven.
The honorableMullaSadra (May Allah exalt his status) also commented on the creation of the heavens and the stars in the third volume of Asfar, page 139 as follows: "And now raise your head to the sky and see and think about the manner of creation of the heavens and the planets and in its rotation in the arrangement and regularity and in the rise and sunset and the difference of its East and West and its tireless sun and moon and its Jupiter and Saturn in the permanent movement and its quest in the love of God and asking to meet him with no lethargy".
Raise your face to the sky,thinking and reflecting on the globes and the stars, and their order and relation, how they are constantly circulating, how they are connected and organized, and how they rise and set. The sun, moon, Jupiter and Saturn in the movement of the planets and their constancy, quality of absorption and attraction, the quality of their influence and effect, their dignity, their magnificence and glory, which according to the logic of the Quran are all and all ornaments of the atmospherelending splendor to the ornamentation of the thought.
"On the love of God and asking to meet him”:Know that they are engaged in the love of Allah and quest for meeting Him, attempting and movingwith enthusiasm and joy."Be aware that the growth of all that is on the earth and their balance, including the growth of trees, the waves of the seas and the aroma of flowers is the effect of these stars and heavenly bodies.The balance of the human body in grappling with the flow of blood and the manner of stagnation and rise of its particles, all and all are affected by the effects of these celestial bodies and light of the stars.
If the intellectual and brain wave of the explorers and scholars of the world are to perform the dance of knowledge and for instance want to find the quality and quantity of regulation of the balance which Mercury's mass has on a billion human brain neurons, they will not be able to be convinced.Yes, receiving these gifts is not and will not be possible, except through the wave-like secrets within them.
It should be noted that the role of the universe in the world of creation is very important, as scholars such as Galileo, the French Flammarion, Ibn Rashad Andalusia(Averroes), AbūRayḥān-AL Bīrūnī, Avicenna and Mirdamad (May Allah exalt his status) have studied and presented views on the absorption and repulsion of the planets.Furthermore, among the researches carried out in the field of the heavens, some have had scientific motivation and material gain, while others were motivated by divine and spiritual causes and in addition their aim is and was to show the signs of God's grace.
However, if we want toliterally study the word "firmament", we must say that firmament means "the sphere" and "sky". Many of the ancient people believed that the firmaments were nine fold: Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, etc.
In the explanation, it should be said: The first heavenly sphere is called "Moon Orbit" because it is located on the Moon (It is also referred to as the universe of elements or the world under the moon).The second is the "Mercury Orbit", which is located in a convex form after the first firmament and surrounds the moon and also the material universe.Similarly, each of the next planets, called after one of the stars, is located such that each one surrounds the other, which are located in the following order: Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn respectively. After these seven planets, the eighth firmamentor the firmament of constants is located andis divided into twelve towers (SeyyedHaidarAmoli, Al-Muhyt al-'Azam and Al-Bahr al-Kahram, The Islamic Printing and Publishing Organization, p. 211). The last firmament that surrounds all other planets and is the last limit of the universe of matter, including the elemental and ethereal material, is called the firmament satin, or "Entity Locator".In this way, the physical world consisting of elements and ethereal atmospheresis composed of nine nested firmaments and each of the higher planets surroundsthe lower planets and realms, and is considered to be the controlling force for it. (SeyyedJafarSajjadi, Islamic Culture and education, Tehran University Press, p. 257.)
Now, how far is this view acceptable?It is imperative for you as a researcher to investigate it.
However, if we want to find the secret of floating of firmamentsin the world, we must know that according to the views of previous scholars, the universe of creationgenerally has three ranks: The world of intellects (non-material), the world of souls (mediating between material and non-material) and the universe of bodies or the universe of matter. The world of bodies or the material universe is also divided into two parts: Elemental objects and ethereal objects. Elemental objects are the apparent and worldly materials that are composed of material elements that are constantly changing, but ethereal bodies have a steady fixed form, created from a subtle material, and therefore the firmament has a floating state. (Seyyed Mohammad Khaled Ghaffari, Encyclopedia of Exhibitions of Sheikh Ishraq Works, Association of Cultural Works, p. 59).In fact, ether is a fifth element other than the four elements that make up the mass of the planet and does not undergo corruption, rending, and healing. (ibid, p. 60).
Here we want to study the views of Empedocles, the pre-Socratic philosopher of the fifth century BC.Empedocles is one of the characters who, in addition to research in medicine, chemistry and physics presented some points about the planets. He lived before Christ and was taught by the Pythagoreans. The life of Empedocles is full of half-legendary turmoil; among them he believed: In old times, there was a young boy who then changed into a miss, later transformed into a bush full of flowers, then into a bird, and changed once again in the form of a fish, swimming in the depths of the sea (Will-Durant, The History of Civilization, p. 390.)These statements refer to his acceptance of the issue of reincarnation.It should be noted that reincarnation is one hundred percent rejected according to the Quran and religious logic and this statement by Empedocles is neither based on the Qur'an and the traditions of the Infallible Imamsnor on wisdom, and is nothing more than a legend.
Another viewpoint of Empedocles is: "Whatever light that radiates from the sun is received by the objects and particles and the land does not receive any of it. In his opinion, feeling comes from the separation of particles from objects and their appearance in sensory matters. Therefore, it takes some time for the light to reach us from the sun and as the earth prevents the rays of the sun, the night appears.”
This is not acceptable in accordance with the heart of the verses of the Holy Qur'an. When He says, “We set yoursustenance through mercy and rain on the lands”, not only the sustenance that adorns and builds the body butsustenance also refers to perfection, truth and mysticism that spreads through the earth to hearts.You as an audience may thinkthat your sustenance of knowledge perhaps comes from the sight of the eyes and the composition of the body and matter, but in fact, you will find that beyond matter lies another world;this is called the sustenance of the heart.
As we have said, among the research carried out in the field of the Heaven, some researches had a scientific motive and material gain, while others had divine and spiritual motivesand also their purpose was and is to show the signs of God's grace. According to old wisdom, special properties have been attributed to each planet and certain signs have been specified that are in harmony with the planet(Ahkam al-Najm, AbūRayḥānMuḥammad ibn Aḥmad Al-Bīrūnī, the printing house of the Majles.)However, if we want to enter the court of truth and righteousness and the right and wrong of these sciences and research on the old scientific principles, the comments of the greatest jurisprudent, Sheikh Ansari (May Allah exalt his status) in this regard will be presented in which he has investigated the issue in several sections:
First, If the reports and news of the situation of the planets and stars are based on correct principles and rules of science, such as the news of the movement and circulation of the stars and the phenomenon of solar eclipse, which is due to the moon blocking the light of the sun from reaching Earth and the lunar eclipse caused by the shadow of the Earth blocking the light of the sun, this part is correct too and it is permissible to report such news. Second, If the basis of the work of the astronomer is definite experience andon this basis the following news is presented that the stars indicate that a phenomenonwill occur, the report of such a thing is correct and is certainly not religiously forbidden.An example of this is the case of Khajeh Nasir al-Din Tusi that promoted astronomy and quoted: He arrived at a mill on one of his trips and stayed there overnight. The miller said: "Rest under the ceiling tonight because it is raining."Khajeh looked at the heavenly bodies and did not pay attention to the rainfall. “I have a dog that does not go to the rooftop on rainy nights and sleeps under the ceiling," But Khajeh slept on the rooftop and at night it rained and this highly surprised the man.
Third,if the phenomena and events that arise in the astronomical sense are directly and independently considered to be the effect of stars (without reference to God) and such a statement is reported, such a report and statementis religiously forbidden and there is a forbidden issue in this section.
However, one of the issues that arises in the field of the planets is "movement of the firmament".The honorableMullaSadraconsidered this issue in detail in the first volume of Asfar under the topic of Qidam(eternal) andHuduth (created at a specific time).In fact, he considers the origin of time to be from the movement of planets and believes that all of the objects of the universe such as lengths and sizes and also effects in the universe are regulated by the movement of the firmament. According to divine wisdom, the command of movement issued to firmaments is to such a level that it does not exceed its limits. Ifit moves a little bit slower or faster, the objects of the universe become larger or smaller and no longer serve the purpose designated for them. Therefore,it should moveat a balanced level so that for example our body remains at its desired size.
Many mystics have commented that the firmament is created by the command of "Be", but it is better to say that the creation of the universe is from God, the movement of the firmament is from the Messenger of Allah (PBUH)and the force that has to keep it for it not to go astrayis our great Mowla,the pillar of the universe of creation, Ali Ibn Abi Talib (AS).However, if the velocity of the firmament istoo high, the world will burn, and if it islow, the world will remain.Indeed, the one who grants balance to the firmament is Eṣṭmat al-KubraFatemeh al-Zahra (SA).
Hence, we have understood that the life of every being in the material world is immersed in the rotation of the planets and within the world. Firmaments rotate and this movement causes opposite forces in the organism of creatures to jump and dance so that healthy mind, healthy way and vision, healthy words and beliefs bear fruit within every human being.
Source: A series of research-based topics by the philosSopherOstadSeyyed Ali Mousavi