Q403 :The United States Space Agency, NASA, speaks
of extra-terrestrial life which may be encountered away from our
universe. Is this true? What does Islam say about life in outer
space?
A403 : What space programs are speaking about at the
present stage is exploration of the solar system which is a small part
of our galaxy. As you realize, the earth is only one planet in our
solar system which has a number of planets such as Venus, Mars and
Saturn. Some of these plants have moons of their own, in the same way
as the earth has its moon. Distance between these planets extends to
millions of miles. Nevertheless, the whole solar system is only a small
portion of the galaxy. The universe includes millions and millions of
galaxies, each one of them having millions of suns and solar systems.
When we imagine such a vast existence, we can speak of outer space. But
outer space is part of the one universe which includes all these
galaxies. When you imagine such an almost endless universe, you can
easily conclude that it is possible to have life in other parts of it.
Indeed, it is only a manifestation of the greatness of Allah and His
power of creation that life be present in other planets and solar
systems in a variety of forms. Allah has not chosen to tell us about
these forms of life because such knowledge would not benefit us in the
fulfillment of the task He has assigned to us, namely, to build human
life on earth. Moreover, it may be very difficult for us to imagine the
existence of other types of life, since we do not have a chance to know
them at a close distance.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )