Have you ever wondered what Islam says about life beyond Earth?

While the idea of aliens is often treated as sci-fi, our classical Islamic tradition has long included fascinating reflections on the possibility of extra-terrestrial life.

In our latest blog post, we consider:
📖 Creatures of the heavens and the earth
📚 Musings of exegetes like Ibn Atiyya and Ibn al-Jawzi
🌌 Reflections on the cosmos as signs of God's Creative Power

Allah's Attributes

A substantial portion of Quranic discourse deals with describing the Attributes of God. In the Islamic worldview, such knowledge is deemed as essential for both spiritual and moral growth.

The more we learn of God’s Mercy, Kindness, and Compassion, the more we are inspired to behave in such a way towards others. The more we learn of God’s Power and Majesty, the more humble we feel before God. Thus, the Quran expounds on many of these various aspects of God to facilitate growth of the individual.

The Quran and the Cosmos

Of the many manifestations of God’s Power is nature itself and the cosmos. The Quran contains a plethora of descriptions of nature and cosmology to instil in the reader an awareness of God’s Creative Capacity.

“Indeed, in the creation of the universe and the cycles of night and day are signs for people of sound intellect.” (Quran, 3: 190).

The Quran contains descriptions of both macro and micro natural processes in the context of understanding God’s Creative Power. Vivid descriptions of embryological development, oceanic wave cycles, the emergence of plant life, the water cycle, and celestial orbits are just a few of the many processes that are outlined.

However, beyond the explicit description of existence, there are subtle indications of a very intriguing aspect of the universe that has been on the minds of philosophers and scientists for centuries. This is the theory of extra-terrestrial life.

A Deeper Look

It is mentioned in the Quran,

“And of his signs is the creation of the heavens and earth and what He has dispersed throughout them both of creatures…” (42:29).

At first glance it may seem as though this verse is similar to the aforementioned quote from the Quran. However, when we look further we see an interesting use of the dual pronoun in regards to creatures in both the heavens and the earth. What are these creatures in the heavens?

The Arabic word that is used for creature is daaba. Mujaahid, an early scholar of Tafseer (Exegesis), explains that the creatures in the sky refer to angels (al-Jaami’ li-Ahkaam al-Quran by al-Qurtubi).

However, many of the later scholars pointed out that holding such a view is problematic. Al-Aloosi (d. 1270 AH), a more recent scholar, mentions, that to interpret daaba as angel is a stretch of the meaning from a linguistic perspective (Ruh al-Ma’ani). Tafseer al-Jalalayn explains that daaba “is what walks on this earth, such as humans and the rest of the animals”.

This is clearly not in reference to the angelic beings. Such a definition of daaba fits more with other creatures living in the galaxy. In fact, some of the classical scholars of Tafseer have used this verse to ponder on the possibility of creatures in the heavens that we don't know of.

“It is possible that the Most High has created the heavens and spread Daaba (creatures) that we do not know of.” (Ibn Atiyya (d.546 AH) – Al-Muharar al-Wajeez fee Tafseer al-Kitaab al-Aziz)

“It is possible that there are creatures in the skies that we aren’t aware of” (Ibn Juzayy al-Gharnaati d. 741 AH – Al-Tasheel li-Uloom al-Tanzeel)

Another verse, which garners more support to this theory within the Islamic tradition, is at the end of the 65th chapter.

“It is Allah who created seven heavens and of the earth a similar number…” (65:12)

Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 597 AH) includes an astonishing narration from Ibn Abbas on the reality of the 7 earths.

“In every earth there is an Adam similar to your Adam, a Noah similar to your Noah, an Abraham similar to your Abraham and a Jesus like your Jesus.” (Zaad al-Maseer fee Ilm at-Tafseer).

This narration indicates not only the possibility of life on other worlds or planets, but intelligent life similar to the human experience.

Thus, it is clear that the possibility of extra-terrestrial life is grounded within the Islamic tradition.

“…And He creates that which you do not know.” (Quran, 16:8)