God Arises
The Challenge of The Qur’an
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be only thirty times the size of the sun. In view of
how recently these calculations have been made, it
is quite extraordinary that 1500 years ago the Quran
asserted that not only had the universe expanded
from a condensed form but that its original
quantum of matter had remained constant, so that it
could conceivably be re-condensed into a relatively
small space. It describes the end of the universe
thus: “On that day, we shall roll up the heaven like
a scroll of writing” (21:104).
The moon is our nearest neighbor in space, its
distance from the earth being just two lakh and
forty thousand miles. Due to this proximity, its
gravitational force affects the sea waves, causing an
extraordinary rise in the water level twice a day. At
certain points these waves rise as high as sixty feet.
The land surface too is affected by this lunar pull,
but only in terms of a few inches. The present
distance between the earth and moon is optimal
from man’s point of view, there being several
advantages. If this distance were reduced, for
example to only fifty thousand miles, the seas
would be so stormy that a major part of the earth
would be submerged in them and, moreover, the
