Man Does Not Exist Anywhere Except On The Planet Earth.

Keeping in view the modern scientific discoveries that:

1)     The developmental processes of universe proceed in one direction only and that ;

2)     These processes are irreversible, and in view of our discussion that Man is placed at the top of all the creative stages - the only stage where creative activity is in progress - we can be sure that Man exists at the Planet Earth only.

Nevertheless we shall in this chapter exclusively examine the idea of extraterrestrial life of modern sciences and the Holy Quran to establish that Man lives at the Planet Earth only at the top of all creation and that higher creative processes in one direction must proceed only on building and strengthening the Human Self's in greater and greater Self-illumination.

The idea of extraterrestrial life is very old. With the introduction of the era of space exploration, scientists were hopeful that they would be able to find out the possible existence of extraterrestrial life. Nevertheless the space probes have so far ruled out chances of even the elementary form of life anywhere in our solar system except the Earth. The rest of solar system is now acknowledged as lifeless, dead and barren.

As regards the staggering vastness of Cosmos housing millions of galaxies and unimaginable numbers of stars, the currently accepted laws of physics reveal that even in the Low Energy Phase of the processing of matter only fifty kinds of organic molecules have been discovered in the planets and in the interstellar medium which are far remote and negligible even to conform a unified physical order necessary for sustaining organic life as on the Earth. Nevertheless, not contented with the scientific discovery there are some who believe that man is not unique on Earth and that human beings also exist in distant planets. Their argument is simple but it remains outside the range of scientific proof. They say:

"If we just consider the only form of life that we know of in the Solar System, let us try to estimate the number of other sites propitious for the appearance of life in other stars of our Galaxy. We can at once eliminate some stars since it is necessary for planetary system to have been formed about stars with sufficiently long life-times for the development and evolution of life…if all double and multiple star systems are rejected as well, because their radiation is not stable enough, there still remain about twenty billion stars in our Galaxy which are stable for long enough for life to emerge."

If we multiply the number of stars considered stable for life in our galaxy with the million of galaxies stretched beyond, we are apt to assume that there exist uncountable worlds inhabited by life. Nevertheless, the currently accepted laws of physics do not support such a notion. Particularly the fact that the matter of Cosmos obeys only a very small number of unified physical laws as established on the earth rejects the presence of organic life anywhere in the universe except the earth.

Earth - The Only Planet Inhabited By Man.

Our study of the development of the universe has shown that it has developed in the following successive creative stages or orders:

1)     The Cosmos - Phase I and Phase II;

2)     The Planet Earth;

3)     The Vegetables;

4)     The Animals; and finally

5)     The present Self-conscious Stage of Man.

According to the modern physics, the Cosmos has developed in two successive[i] phases of the processing of matter. The physicists say that the developmental process of matter is still very poorly understood in almost every case, except one, the development of the Earth. When we study the development of the Earth and start of organic life on it, we find that life did not appear on the Earth until the Earth as a unit order passed through a complete process of synthesis of various elements and developed its behaviour in a series of unified physical laws. Simultaneously on completion of physical laws and appearance of life, the physical laws became immutable. Had the physical laws accepted any change or modification on appearance of organic life, the successive life tiers built on them would have been destroyed. Similar is the case with the successive stages of life. The study of the development of Man has shown that simultaneously on appearance of higher life, the life values and forms in the preceding stages became immutable, that is, no new species were created in them. The same law applies to the elementary stage of Cosmos. With the completion of physical laws in one of its planets, that is, the Earth, further creative activity stopped[ii] in the whole Cosmic order. This is because simultaneously with the accomplishment of full values of the stage in any of its leading system, repetition of the same is neither admissible nor allowed under the creative process. Repetition of values finally achieved by a certain stage implies that no purpose exist behind creation. Whereas the processes of creation are duly disciplined, dynamic and purposive. They are heading in one direction towards achieving higher and higher goals as willed by the Creator of the universe.

We shall now explain briefly the fundamental laws of the creative process accepted by the modern physics. These laws would support the view that it is the earth only, which is inhabited by man.

I. The Universe Has Developed In Successive Stages And Is Governed By Laws.

The universe has developed in successive stages. Each developed stage of the universe exists as a unique system of behaviour disciplined from within. The developing process of universe is rational. It is controlled by laws such as:

1)     The higher stage starts only on completion of the preceding stage;

2)     The  higher stage, without overthrowing the values achieved in the preceding stage(s) dominates them; and

3)     Simultaneously on completion of the preceding stage and start of a higher creative stage, the values earned in the preceding stage become immutable.

We give the name "nature " to all these orders which were active at one time and which have since become immutable with the beginning of the higher order. At present the top Creative Order is the Self-conscious Stage of man. Accordingly, the creative activity is going on only at this stage.

II. The Creative Processes Of The Universe Are Irreversible; They Proceed Only In One Direction.

Scientifically study of the various developing stages as listed above shows that each stage continues to stick to its own values, as a separate and independent unit. This is evident from the fact that life at each stage can neither step down to the preceding stage nor can it jump to the higher stage. If man likes to revert to the Animal Stage and become an animal, it is simply impossible. If he does, he must lose his Self-consciousness. The same is true of other stages of life. Once having completed the Animal Stage, no animal can jump into the Self-conscious Stage of Man to become a human being or step down to the Vegetables. This shows that each stage of the universe is a complete plan of its own respective stage, which exists as a perfect independent unit within the overall creative purpose of the Creator.

Besides, as revealed by the natural sciences, the direction on which the creative process has proceeded from stage to stage is essentially mental, intellectual, volitional; and emotional - the fundamental attributes of consciousness or life. This is evident from the fact that what really concrete has emerged at the top creative stage, that is, the present Creative Stage of Man, it is attainment of Self-consciousness. It follows that basically all the system of the universe, right from particle to the thinking man, has the attributes of consciousness. In other words, everything is alive of its needs and purposes. As a matter of fact we can determine the direction or differentiate between the various developmental stages, of the universe only on the basis of succeeding consciousness expressed in behaviour relevant to each developed stage. This establishes that the only direction on which the development of the universe has proceeded is the direction towards achieving the greater and greater enlightenment, awareness and Self-consciousness. Thus seen, the future higher stage of man will consist in the development of his Self-knowledge in the form of Self-illumination and not in a still greater development and complication of his brain and body which have since become immutable.

III. On Completion Of Values At A Certain Creative Stage, Nature Does Not Repeat them. The Values So Completed Are Succeeded By The Next Creative Order.

Repetition of values accomplished at a certain stage is against the developmental processes of the universe. As a matter of fact no development was possible if Nature would have repeated its gains finally accomplished at a certain creative stage. Thus the fundamental law that Nature once having accomplished values at a certain stage never repeats them establishes that higher life process must proceed on the Planet earth which first of all accomplished the unified physical laws on it. If we assume that even after completion of unified physical laws on Earth, Nature still continued to develop physical laws on other planets, in that case the creative activity would have stopped. It would have implied that Nature has no higher aim or purpose behind the development of the Universe. Scientific discoveries rule out assumption as it amounts to negating the very fundamental laws of the creative process, which establish that:

1)     Creative processes proceed only in one direction; they are irreversible;

2)     The higher creative stage must start simultaneously on completion of the preceding stage;

3)     With the simultaneous start of a higher creative stage on closing of the preceding stage, the values of the preceding stage become immutable and continue to maintain them for serving as a base for the higher creative stages. We call the stages so completed as "living nature" or simply as nature. If the preceding stages continue to develop or accept changes or modifications in them, the higher creative stage built on them cannot stand. Hence no change in values is admissible on completion of a certain stage nor the same is repeated by Nature.

Had the Nature on succession of Vegetable Stage simultaneously on completion of the physical laws on the planet Earth continued to develop similar laws in other planets, it would have violated the great law according to which simultaneously on succession of a higher creative stage, the values earned in the preceding stage become fixed. We can understand this on the analogy of the creative stages of Vegetables and Animals. Once the Vegetable Stage is accomplished its values and simultaneously the higher stage of Animal took its start on it; no further vegetable species were created. Whatever and wherever the species had already been created they become fixed. Similarly, on completion of sense perceptions of Human body and appearance of higher creative stage of Self-consciousness, no more animal species were created. Here too whatever and wherever the animal species had already been created, they became fixed. Accordingly once the physical laws were accomplished on the Planet Earth and simultaneously the higher Vegetable Stage started on it, the laws says that whatever and wherever the physical laws had been developed in other planets simultaneously on completion of physical laws on Earth, they must stand fixed. Nature does not repeat its creative order once it has accomplished full values of the stage.

That ever since the organic life appeared on the Planet Earth it continued to develop in successive stages establishes our claim that it is the Planet Earth only, which first of all accomplished unified order of physical laws on it. These laws dominate the laws prevailing in the whole Cosmos. It should be noted that the creative activity has not yet stopped at the earth as it still in progress at the top (present) creative stage of man. It further supports the view that complete physical laws were first accomplished by Nature on our Earth.

Modern scientific discoveries give rational view of the universe. If we assume that different kinds of physical laws exist on different planets, it would imply that the developmental processes of the universe are not rational and as such the universe follows no laws, has no aim behind its development and does not exist as a unit order. It would also imply that the laws prevailing on our Earth are not universal and our claim that there is continuity of laws in the universe will prove false. It means that we try in vain to find out the reality of the universe, if different kinds of laws are prevailing in different parts of the universe. Hence such an assumption is rejected out-rightly as it against the rational development of the universe. Keeping in view the rational development of the universe and also the currently accepted laws of physics given below, we are led to believe that the unified physical laws were first accomplished only on the Planet earth:

1)     The matter of Cosmos appears to obey[iii] a very small number of physical laws, which can be expressed by a series of unified physical laws.

2)     As against the physical laws of Cosmic matter, the laws of physics and chemistry that are established in the laboratory on Earth hold good throughout the universe. In other words, the physical laws of the Earth dominate the laws of the whole Cosmos! This accepted law of physics further establishes that in spite of its development in higher stages, Single Overall Creative Law (Purpose) prevails the whole Cosmos.

Our discussion in the light of the scientific discoveries has shown that since physical laws have first been accomplished on the planet Earth and the Nature on completion of values in a certain creative stage does not repeat them, we can be sure that Man exists only on the planet Earth. We shall now examine this question in the light of the revelations made in the Holy Quran.

Extraterrestrial Life and Man

(Discussion in the light of Holy Quran)

When we study the Holy Quran, we find that Man is not only placed at the top of all creation but that whatsoever exists in the universe is made subservient to him. The following verses of the Holy Quran reflect on it:

"And Allah made of science unto you whatsoever is in the heavens and whatever is in the Earth; it is all from Him. Lo! Herein verily are portents for people who reflect." ------------45(13)

"See ye not how Allah hath made serviceable unto you whatever is in the skies and whatsoever is in the Earth and hath loaded you with His favours both without and within? Yet of mankind is he who disputeth concerning Allah, without knowledge or guidance or a Scripture giving light." -----31(20)

These clear injunctions out-rightly reject the notion of those who advocate organic life in extraterrestrial planets. These verses explicitly display man as the master of the whole creation and so it places the Earth not only second higher Creative Order but also unique in the whole universe. And just for that matter, our Prophet (S.A.W) has been called by Allah:

"… Grace towards all mankind." --------21(107)[iv]

And the Holy Quran has been described:

"This (message) is no less than a reminder to all mankind." -----81(27).

It follows from it that if human beings live in other worlds, they must live as subservient to the earthly man. The verses, as a matter of fact, place all universal phenomenon in the service of man. Also these establish that man is the best of the whole creation.

The Holy Quran further establishes the fact that we are the only civilisation in the whole universe in the following verse:

"Fir that cause We decreed for the Children of Israel that whosoever killeth a human being for other than manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he had killed all mankind, and who so saveth the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind. Our messengers came unto them of old with clear proofs (of Allah's sovereignty), but afterwards, Lo! Many of them became prodigals in the earth."  ------5(32)

The Quranic injunction that whosoever killeth a human being in the earth, it shall be as if he had killed all man-kind, and who so saved the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind supports the fact that human beings are not only the best of all creation for whom the whole universe has been created but that they are inhabited only on the earth.

Some people misinterpret the meaning of "Rabul Allamin" as given in the Holy Quran to mean the existence of uncountable worlds inhabited by man elsewhere. It is not correct, as the interpretation of "Rabul Allamin" given by Allah in the Holy Quran is explicitly available in the form of a simple dialogue between Moses and Pharaoh as under:

"And come together unto Pharaoh and say: Lo! We bear a message of the Lord of the World."  ---26(16)

"Pharaoh said: And what is the Lord of the Worlds." ----26(23)

"(Moses) said: Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them; if ye had but sure belief." ---26(24)

This clear interpretation of "Rabul Allamin" from our Allah, the Creator and Nourisher of the universe should serve as a guidance to those who interpret these words up in the Cosmos inhabited by beings like man.

It may be stated that the word " Rabul Allamin" which refers to the whole universe has been used in the Holy Quran at several places which carry different meanings as well. Its application is restricted according to the context for explaining particular nations, events or situations where stress is to be laid or where it is desired by Allah to mention distinctly His blessings bestowed by Him on His Messengers and Prophets. At certain places it is also used for the whole humanity as well. Some of the verses from the Holy Quran are given below:

"And verily, We gave the children of Israel the Scripture and the Command and the Prophethood, and provided them with good things and favoured them over all (peoples)." ----45(16)

"And when the angels said: O Mary! Lo! Allah hath chosen thee and made thee pure, and hath preferred thee above (all) the women of creation."  ----3(42)

"He said: Lo! They are my guest. Affront me not! And keep your duty to Allah, and shame me not. They said: Have we not forbidden you from (entertaining) any one?"  ---------------15(68-70)

"And We rescued him and those with him in the ship, and made of it a portent for the peoples." --------29(15)

"Lo! The first Sanctuary appointed for mankind was that at Becca, a blessed place, a guidance to the peoples." --------3(96)

"Peace by unto Noah among the peoples!" ----37(79)

As stated above, the use of word "Rabil Allamin" in such verses is restricted for laying stress on the importance of certain events. Thus the word "Allamin" is never used for the existence of uncountable worlds inhabited by man.

Our discussion in the light of scientific discoveries and the Holy Quran has shown that since physical laws have first been completed on the Planet earth and the Nature on completion of values in a certain creative stage never repeats them, we can be sure that man exists only on the planet earth.

Conjectures regarding the existence of uncountable worlds beyond, made on the basis of fathomless distances in the space, have no scientific import. These conjectures simply reveal the state of mind of those who are mostly awed by the huge physical might of the Cosmos and are unaware of the greatness, beauty and might of their own beings as well as the Beauty, Might and Wisdom of that real Designer, Builder and Controller of this unprecedented universe. Man is the essence of the whole creation. He is the man who determines the behaviour of all the creative orders; we call them universe and classify them relative to their rational behaviour in succession. It is, therefore, not the mere awful vastness of the Cosmos; its wonderful hierarchical system possessed of great discipline, concord and harmony which inspire us but what really inspires and strengthens our souls is the mysterious sensation of the presence of certain limitless Superior Spirit which encompasses the incomprehensible universe. Einstein, who is sometimes called as materialist, says:[v]

"The most beautiful and most profound emotion we can experience is the sensation of the mystical. It is the sower of all true science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead. To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty which our dull faculties can comprehend only in their most primitive forms - this knowledge, this feeling is at the centre of true religiousness."

On the other occasion he declared:

"The cosmic religious experience is the strongest and noblest main spring of a scientific research." "My religion" he says. "Consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble minds. This deeply emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible universe, forms my idea of God."

The Cosmos reminds us of the presence of the illimitable Superior Spirit. It is there also to remind us our own greatness. This fact has been made clear in the following beautiful verses of the Holy Quran;

"Lo! In the creation of the heavens and the earth and (in) the difference of night and day are tokens (of His sovereignty) for men of understanding. Such as remember Allah, standing, sitting, and reclining and consider the creation of the heavens and the earth (and say): Our Lord! Thou createdst not this in vain. Glory to be Thee! Preserve us from the doom of Fire." ----3(190-191)

We belittle the grand purpose of the Creator when we say that He only aims at mass production of human beings everywhere in the Cosmos. Human being is unique and rightfully the ruler of all that which exists. It is the Human Self or Soul, which is the real universe. Without it, the whole splendour, might concord and beauty of the Cosmos has no meaning.

Man stands at the top creative order of the whole universe and so is the Planet Earth, which exists at the top of Cosmos as a second higher creative order. Let scientists grope for human species elsewhere in the universe in vain. Our real object, besides reflecting on the wonderful creation and paying our humble admiration to our Allah, is to love, respect and help the destitute and forsaken amongst us. Thus inspired with fellow - human beings let us seek our Lord collectively to Whom we all belong.

Sceptics Lack Impetus

In an article which appeared in Sputnik, November, 1977 under the caption "Are We a Unique Civilisation", Dr Iosif Shklovsky describes human beings as unique in the whole universe and demands that instead of evading our responsibilities, we should lend a powerful impetus to the creative activity of each individual and all humanity, colossal increasing its responsibility in the face of the formidable problems facing it. Dr. Shklovsky (though with usual caution as a scientist) thus winds up his article:

"The picture of the objectively existing universe with its underlying laws which is opening up to us excludes the presence of cosmic-scale intelligent activity; the present technical level of observational astronomy is too high to maintain that the activity of intelligence which transforms cosmic objects can remain "invisible " to man.

It all suggests that the assumption that we are the only civilisation in our galaxy or even the local system of galaxies, if not in the whole Universe, is now much more - not less - valid than the traditional concept of the popularity of inhabited worlds.

Perhaps the conclusion that ours is the only civilisation in the Universe (at least practically, if not absolutely), is of major moral and ethical significance for mankind. It makes the value of man's technological and, still more, humanistic achievements, the incomparably greater. The importance of the fact that mankind is something like vanguard of matter in at least a very large section of the cosmos if not in the whole Universe should lend a powerful impetus to the creative activity of each individual and all humanity, colossal increasing its responsibility in the face of the formidable problems facing it. The impermissibility of senseless, barbaric wars, of suicidal destruction of the environment is becoming abundantly clear."

Notwithstanding the above scientific view, there has been all types of speculative hypothesis about visits of beings from other planets to the Earth both in the past and in our times (flying saucers). In its recent issue, December 1987, the Readers Digest under the caption " What's behind our UFO MANIA" has claimed that the tales and hypothesis about unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and alien intruders remain outside the range of scientific proof, and too often they seem to demonstrate public gullibility. These have, however, led production of several books in which old delusions dressed up in new garbs continue to make business.

The question arises as to why some scientists want to see man also in other worlds. The answer can be understood from the fact that if the human beings have been created in innumerable worlds in the Cosmos without any purpose, then we can reject this notion because the universe is not a machine, it is living and purposive. The creative process proceeds only in one direction without ever repeating its successes already achieved by it. Hence the Law of Nature does not support the concept of creation of innumerable identical human beings.

The development of the Cosmos in two successive phases and then creation of the Earth and raising on it different tiers of life, that is, the Vegetables, the Animals, and the Man, one above the other, support the fact that the creative processes of the universe are purposive and that the human being who lives at the top creative order of the universe has a laudable goal which he has been destined to achieve step by step. The following verses explain these facts:

"And We created not the Heaven and the Earth and all that between them in vain. That is the opinion of those who disbelieve. And woe unto those who disbelieve from the Fire!" ----38(27)

"That ye shall journey on from stage to stage. What aileth them, then, that they believe not."  -----84(19-20)

The Ultimate Goal of creation of Man is his Creator only:

"And that thy Lord, He is the goal" ----53(42)[translated from Marmaduke Pickthall]

Although the existence of numberless worlds inhabited by man elsewhere is not supported by the revelation as well as by the modern physics but for the sake of argument let us see as to how far it is justified.

We know that the creative process of man is active today on this Earth. The Divine Law of providing guidance to humanity and establishing its discipline through purge of communities which retard overall progress of humanity is a part of the creative process and it aims at helping humanity for its steady advance towards achieving full discipline as ordained by the Creator during its worldly life. As soon as the Creator has achieved this aim, Doomsday must follow so that human deeds may be judged and rewarded under the overall purpose of the creation of humanity. Thus once humanity has successfully achieved the values of the creative stage to its affinity as ordained by the Creator, the plea of raising numerous worlds and humanities for gaining the same discipline under the same guidance is uncalled for. The creative processes of the development of the universe reveal that they are dynamic and proceed only in one direction. Hence these processes rule out repetition of values once finally achieved in a system.

The idea of the creation of uncountable worlds and humanities further degrades the self-respect of human being who lives at the top of the creative orders of the universe. Human being is not only the best of all creation but as revealed by Allah in verse 45(13) all things created in the Heavens and the Earth have been made subservient to him. Man stands at the highest rung of life or consciousness. When he ponders over the earliest phases of creation and sees the vastness of heavens and the huge celestial bodies manifesting great energy and grandeur, he is convinced that its Maker is most Magnificent and Omnipotent. When he finds in them great discipline and uniformity, these make him aware of certain purpose behind their creation. Furthermore, being the essence of all creation, he feels that he is also unique in the whole universe. The various creative orders of the universe are nothing but the milestones of the journey through which he was raised.

Those who are not aware of human greatness, they are apt to be overawed by the grandeur of the Cosmos and forget their own reality. Such persons are as good as dead. On the other hand, those who have self-knowledge, they realise that the whole universe is indeed micro-miniaturised in their psychic deeps as Allama Muhammad Iqbal says:

"The identity of a non-believer is this that he is lost in the world, whereas countless worlds lie embedded within the very inner - self of a believer.)

Conclusions

If we are convinced that the Holy Quran and the modern physics have established that human being despite vastness of the Cosmos is unique in the whole universe. It leads us to far-reaching conclusions:

1)     It explicitly confirms that the universe is not a machine; it is purposive (spiritual). Accordingly man is apt to abhor all man-made ideals, concepts which are based on materialist thought and which aim at dividing and exploiting the humanity.

2)     Being the crown of all creation and living as vanguard of all created life, direct cognition of Allah in Human Self is natural. Thus craving for spiritual union with the Creator and loving Him in his ideals is psychic necessity of every human being. Direct spiritual cognition of Allah in Human Self-shows that Allah also lives as near to man as his life vein. This is how this fact has been revealed in the Holy Quran:

"And when My servants question thee concerning Me, then surely I am nigh." ------------------------2(186)

3)     It enhances the prestige of man in the eye of man and induces powerful impetus to the creative activity of each individual and all humanity for applying humanistic approach for solving the human problems.

Has Planet Earth Come As A Unique Planet Merely By Chance?

Had there been no external arrangement laid by Nature for the guidance of mankind, man would never have understood the reality merely on the basis of his intellect. This is evident from the fact that on the one hand when man compares the staggering vastness of the universe and presence of innumerable earth - like planets with that of the Planet Earth - a tiny speck - he is led to believe that there must be innumerable worlds like the Planet earth inhabited by man and on the other hand if he is convinced that Planet Earth is unique Planet in the whole Cosmos which supports life, he takes it as a mere chance! Although classic physics - the science of knowledge through measurements - has categorically accepted that nothing can move without law and even if we regard some event a mere chance, that chance must have already been laid in the system or else resulted under a long series of legal frame work as discipline and in-discipline can never go side by side. The universe is such a wonderfully balanced organisation disciplined under law that it is quite inconceivable that the order and balance could have emerged without unique typical characteristics in which the Earth is placed. The adjustment of the Earth to life and its diminutive size compared with the immensity of space are too numerous to be accounted for by chance. The following factors will show that how the infinite values of the Cosmos have micro-miniaturised in the form and shape of the Earth:

1)     The diminutive size of the earth compared with the immensity of space is sometimes disparagingly referred to. If the earth were as small as the moon, i.e. one fourth of its present diameter, the force of gravity (one sixth that of the earth) would fail to hold both atmosphere and water, and temperatures would be fatally extreme. If double its present diameter, the enlarged earth would have four times its present surface and twice its force of gravity, the atmosphere would be dangerously reduced in height, and its pressure would be increased from 15 to 30 ponds per square inch, with serious repercussion upon life. The winter areas would be greatly increased and the regions of habitability would be seriously diminished. Communities of people would be isolated, travel and communication rendered difficult or almost impossible.

2)     If our Earth were of the size of the sun, but retaining its density, gravity would be 150 times as great, the atmosphere diminished to about four miles in height, evaporation of water rendered impossible and pressure increased to over a ton per square inch. A one pound animal would weight 150 pounds and human beings would reduce in size to that of, say, a squirrel. Intellectual life would be impossible to such creatures.

3)     If the earth were removed to double its present distance from the sun, the heat received would be reduced to one fourth its present amount, the orbital velocity would be only one half, the winter season would be doubled in length and life would be frozen out. If its solar distance were halved, the heat received would be four times as great, the orbital velocity would be doubled, seasons would be halved in length and the planet would be too parched to sustain life. In size and distance from sun, and in orbital velocity, the earth is able to sustain life, so that mankind can enjoy physical, intellectual and spiritual life as it now prevails.

4)     The earth completes one rotation on its axis in twenty-four hours. In other words, it is rotating on its axis at a speed of one thousand miles per hour. Suppose its speed were reduced to 200 miles/hour - which is quite possible, our days and nights would then be prolonged to ten times their present duration. The heat of the summer would become scorching and would reduce the entire vegetation of the planet to ashes during the day time, and whatever survived the heat would be shrivelled up by the severe cold during the excessively long nights. Just one change in one set of conditions would bring total devastation in its wake. Other changes could do the same. The sun, which is now our source of life, could become the most terrible scourge if, for example, the distance between the earth and the sun  - approximately 93,000,000 miles - were reduced by half, then its 12,000 degree Fahrenheit surface temperature would cause this paper to burst into flames. Conversely, if the distance were doubled, the earth's surface would become too cold to allow any life to survive. A star 10,000 times bigger than the sun would keep the entire earth roasting hot, like an oven. The earth's inclination in space at an angle of 23 degrees is one of the greatest marvels to man, because that is what causes our seasons, making the greater part of the earth habitable and providing a greater diversity of plant life. Had the earth's axis been perpendicular, there would have been perpetual darkness at the North and the South Poles, the oceanic vapours would have travelled northwards and the earth's surface would have been covered in either glaciers or deserts - to describe but a few of the adverse effects. This would have rendered the survival of life on earth impossible. One can go endlessly imagining different sets of physical circumstances which could have precluded or destroyed human existence. It is unthinkable then that the perfect conditions for man to come into existence on earth were simply self-generating and had no origin in divine inspiration.

5)     Currently, scientists are convinced that the earth and the other planets did not form from the sun, but were formed of particles coming together at the same time that the sun itself was being formed. The earth was never at sun temperature, but it did grow quite warm through the energies of collision of all the particles that formed it. It grew warm enough so that its relatively small mass could not hold an atmosphere or water vapour to begin with.

·       The solid body of the newly formed earth had, in other words, neither atmosphere nor ocean. Where then, did they come from? There existed water (and gases) in loose combination with the rocky substances making up the solid portion of the globe. As that solid portion packed together more and more tightly under the pull of gravity, its interior grew hotter and hotter. Water vapour and gas were forced out of combination with the rock and came fizzing from its substance. The gaseous bubbles, forming and collecting, racked the baby earth with enormous quakes, escaping heat produced violent volcanic eruptions. For unnumbered years, liquid water did not fall from the sky; rather water vapour whistled out of the crust and then condensed. The oceans formed from below, not from above.

6)     If the oceans had been deeper by just a few more feet, they would have absorbed all available Carbon Dioxide and Oxygen, and no vegetation of any kind could have survived upon the earth's surface. If the air in the atmosphere had been less dense than it is present, the twenty million meteors that daily enter it at speeds, of about 30 miles/second, would be crashing down all over the earth, burning up all combustible matter and perforating the whole of the earth's surface. The heat alone of a meteor travelling 90 times faster than a bullet would be enough to annihilate so vulnerable a creature as man. It is thanks to this atmospheric layer being of an appropriate density that mankind is safeguard against these fiery showers of celestial debris. This density is also exactly right for solar actinic rays to reach the earth in such proportions as will promote the growth of vegetation, destroy harmful bacteria, and make vitamins available which may be absorbed directly from the sunlight through the skin, or indirectly from edible matter through the digestive tract. How wonderful it is to have all these benefits in exact proportion to our requirements.

7)     Oxygen is the source of life and is not obtainable from any source other than atmosphere. But had it formed 50% of the atmosphere or more, instead of the present 21% combustibility of all matter on the earth's surface would have been so high that even if just a single tree caught fire, whole forests would at once explode. Similarly, had the proportion of oxygen in the atmosphere been as low as 10% life might conceivably have adjusted to this over the centuries, but it is unlikely that human civilisation would have taken its present form. And if the matter present on the earth's surface had absorbed all of the free oxygen instead of only a part, no animal life would have been possible at all.

8)     Along with oxygen, hydrogen, carbon dioxide and carbon gases in their free form as well as in the form of different compounds are the most important ingredients of life - the very foundations, in fact, on which our life rests. There being not even one chance in a 100 million that all those elements should have assembled in such favourable proportions on any other planet at any one given time, we have to ask ourselves how it came about that such freely moving gases formed themselves into a compound and remained suspended in the atmosphere in exactly the right proportions to sustain life. As the noted physicist, Morton White puts it, "Science has no explanation to offer for the facts, and to say it is accidental is to defy mathematics".

9)     We have to concede that there is a formidable array of facts in this world, in the universe, which cannot be explained unless we admit the intervention of a superior mind. For instance, the density of ice is less than that of water, because, as it freezes, its volume increases in relation to its mass. It is because of this that ice floats instead of sinking to the bottom of lakes and rivers and gradually forming a solid mass. On the surface of the water, it forms a layer of insulation to maintain the water below at a temperature above freezing point. Fish and other forms of marine life are thus permitted to survive throughout the winter, and, when spring comes, the ice melts rapidly. If water did not behave in this way, all of us in general, and people in cold countries in particular, would face severe calamities. Clearly this property of water is tremendously important to life.

Besides above factors which make earth as a unique planet, the following features peculiar on earth are imperative for sustaining life;

·       The tilt of earth 23.5 degree axial of orbit, or ecliptic, about the sun results in long winter nights and long summer days alternating between both polar regions and causing seasonal variations in climate. The habitable area of the earth in thus doubled and our earth sustains a greater diversity of plant life than would be possible on a stationary globe.

·       The atmosphere of life-supporting gasses is sufficient high (about 500 miles) and dense to blanket the earth against the deadly impact of 20 million meteors those daily enter it at speeds of about 330 miles/second. Among many other functions the atmosphere also maintains the temperature within safe limits for life, and carries the vital supply of fresh water vapour far inland from the oceans to irrigate the earth, without which it would become a lifeless desert. Thus the oceans, with the atmosphere, are the balance wheel of nature.

·       Four remarkable properties of water - its power of absorbing vast quantities of oxygen at low temperatures, its maximum density at 4 degree Centigrade, above freezing, whereby lakes and rivers remain liquid, the lesser density of ice than water so that it remains on the surface, and the power of releasing great quantities of heat as it freezes - preserves life in oceans, lakes and rivers throughout the long winters.

·       The dry land is a stable platform for much terrestrial life. The soil provides the minerals which plant life assimilates and transforms into needful foods for animals. The presence of metals near the surface renders the arts of civilisation possible.

The marvellous mathematical exactitude is found in making the earth. The behaviour even of inanimate matter is not in any way haphazard: on the contrary, it, "obeys" definite"natural laws". No matter in which corner of the world at any given time the word "water" will invariably mean " a compound consisting of 11.1% of hydrogen and 88.9% of oxygen". As land animals, we tend to forget that the most extensive habitat for life is the world's oceans. The oceans occupy about 70% of the earth's surface. Even this figure does not give a true estimate of the space available for marine life. On land, organisms occupy a flat and narrow zone from several meters below the surface to rarely more than 30 meters above it. Nearly all-terrestrial life is restricted to this zone about 40 meters thick. The average depth of the oceans, on the other hand, is roughly 4,000 meters. Since organisms are found throughout the depths of the oceans, the actual space available for marine life is about 300 times greater as the space available for terrestrial life!

The fact that the planet Earth is the only planet in the whole Cosmos which has the "urge " to strictly preserve its substance under its overall discipline shows that the Earth exists as some thing like a living organism. Lewis Thomas, a leading biologist in his book titled "The Lives of a Cell" thus writes about the Earth:

"I have been trying to think of the earth as a kind of organism, but it is no go. I cannot think of it this way. It is too big, too complex, with too many working parts lacking visible connections. The other night, driving through a hilly wooded part of southern New England, I wondered about this. If not like an organism, what is it like, what is it most like: Then, satisfactorily for that moment, it came to me: it is most like a single cell."

The view of Lewis Thomas that the Planet Earth is most like a single cell is more near to the truth. The mathematical characteristics of the physical laws (a priori-consciousness) support the view that earth exits as kind of organism.

[i] The extraterrestrial life debate. P.388 (The Cambridge Atlas of Astronomy).

[ii] When we say that on appearance of higher creative stage, no creative activity continues in the stage, it implies that no new creation or development is made in that stage. Nevertheless the whole stage continues to live and maintain it as usual through the procreative process. Accordingly, the Cosmos since completion of physical laws on the earth is apt to maintain its hierarchical system, which includes birth and death of galaxies, stars and planets under the laws, developed on it before the completion of physical laws on the Earth. Similar is the case with earth. On start of Vegetables, the Earth continues to maintain its unified behaviour (physical laws) so developed before the start of organic stages.

[iii] The Cambridge Atlas of Astronomy. P.12

[iv] Since whatever is existing in the universe is alive relevant to the stage of its creation and essence of the whole universe is the prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) on whom guidance for humanity reached completion, the last prophet is truly the blessing for the whole universe. Allama Muhammad Iqbal in Javaid Nama has expressed this fact. The fact that the last prophet of Allah , sent for the whole humanity , is truly the flower of the whole universe is revealed in one of the Hadith-I-Qudsia in the following words:

"If it were not you, I would not have created the universe."

[v] The Universe and Dr. Einstein. PP.108-109