An Invitation to Think

The question of why mankind came into existence has been contemplated by every civilisation since the beginning of creation. However, in this age of science and technology, we do not give much thought to actually finding out the purpose of our existence. From the cradle to the grave we strive in some way to obtain the material goals that society has set for us. No longer do we have the time or are we encouraged to ponder about questions of life for ourselves. Instead, we place our trust in scientists and theologians who claim to know the answers to life.

For example, have you ever wondered about the perfect order of the universe? Look at the world around you. Why is pure water tasteless, and why does it have such life-giving qualities to plants and animals, that no other liquid has? Man has discovered that water boils at 100 degrees and that the speed of light is 3.0 x 10/⁸ metres per second. However, he did not make these laws to be so. Man did not design the earth to be spherical nor did he design the universe as we know it. Man has no power whatsoever to change these laws.

Think about the fine-tuning of the universe; our universe is governed by constant numbers, untune or alter any one of them and the stars, planets and humans would then not exist at all. The first crucial number D (=3) is the number of spatial dimensions: we live in a three-dimensional universe. Life couldn’t exist if D were two or four. Time is the fourth dimension, but distinctively different from the others in that it has a built-in arrow: we ‘move’ only towards the future.

The cosmic number omega (W) measures the amount of material in the universe - galaxies, diffuse gas, and ‘dark matter’.

A universe within which W was too high would have collapsed long ago; had W been too low, no galaxies would have formed. The inflationary theory of the Big Bang says W = 1.

Another number, epsilon (e=0.007) defines how firmly atomic nuclei bind together and how all the atoms on Earth were made. The value of e controls the power from the Sun and, more sensitively, how stars transmute hydrogen into all the atoms of the periodic table. Carbon and oxygen are common, and gold and uranium are rare, because of what happens in the stars. If e were 0.006 or 0.008, we could not exist. The cosmos is so vast because there is one crucially important huge number N (=1036). This is the ratio of the strength of the electrical force to the gravitational force. The fabric or texture of our universe depends on the number Q and represents the ratio of two fundamental energies.

If Q (= 1/100,000) were even smaller, the universe would be inert and without structure; if Q was much larger, it would be a violent place, dominated by giant black holes. The last number l (=0.7) controls the expansion of our universe. Fortunately for us, l is very small. Otherwise, its effect would have stopped galaxies and stars from forming. Hence, the existence of a life-permitting universe is due to conditions that must have been fine-tuned to a degree that is literally incalculable. The reality rationally points to the decisive fact that there must have been an intelligent Creator.

“And among His (God’s) Signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the variations in your languages and your colours; verily in that are Signs for those who know.” Qur'an 30/22