The Quran says: “Do not the disbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were one solid mass (ratq) which we tore asunder (fatq) …” (21:30) Ratq means wholesomeness and compactness, while fatq is the opposite: disintegration. Modern studies in astronomy have confirmed the truth of this concept; various observations have led scientists to postulate that an explosion formed the universe from a state of high density and temperature (the ‘big-bang’ theory) and that the cosmos evolved from the original, highly compressed, scorching gas, taking the form of galaxies of stars, cosmic dust, meteorites and asteroids. The present outward motion of the galaxies is a result of this explosion. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica (1984), this is ‘the theory now favoured by most cosmologists.’ The more science advances, the closer it comes to God. One is compelled to agree with what Dr Maurice Bucaille writes in the following paragraph of his book, The Bible, the Quran and Science: “Given the level of knowledge in Muhammad’s day, it is inconceivable that many of the Quran’s statements connected with science could have been the work of a man. It is, moreover, legitimate not only to regard the Quran as the expression of a Revelation but also to award it an extraordinary place on account of the guarantee of authenticity it provides and the presence in it of the scientific statement which, when studied today, appear as a challenge to explain in human terms.”
In the Quran, there is a verse in Surah Anbiya: Copy arabic text (21.30)
The translation is: The heavens and the earth were joint together, then we split them asunder. The heavens and the earth were joint together, then we split them asunder, and we made every living thing out of water.
Two words have been used here: ratq and fatq Earlier, the heavens and the earth were in a state of ratq. Ratq is used in Arabic to mean things that are joint together. It is indeed unique that the Quran is saying that initially, the entire mass of the heavens and the earth was joint together in a single form. It was in an integrated form. Then fatq happened.
Fatq means to open up. Earlier it was ratq and then fatq occurred. Earlier the entire universe was in an integrated form, and then disintegration occurred. This is exactly what science has discovered as the Big Bang.
The Big Bang theory says that the entire universe was earlier in the form of a cosmic ball. All the particles of the universe were joined together. Then an explosion occurred, which caused all particles to disperse. This was ratq, which was followed by fatq. Then the Quran says: We made every living thing out of water. Water is symbolic of how things were formed later. Disintegration of all particles occurred and then God joined it all together. Water is an example. There are two elements in water: oxygen and hydrogen. When oxygen atom and hydrogen atoms combine, we get water. There are many particles dispersed in air. When particles come together, we get an atom. First particles joined to make atoms and then atoms combined to make molecules.
