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Patches & AppliquesA Journey Through Falak, Stars, and Beyond
When we look at the night sky, we see shining points of light—planets, stars, and galaxies. These are not abstract ideas, but real creations, arranged in perfect order. The Qur’an describes the seven skies, each layered above the other: the orbits of the Moon, Mercury (ʿUṭārid), Venus (Zuhra), the Sun (Shams), Mars (Mirrikh), Jupiter (Mushtarī), and Saturn (Zuhal). Beyond them lies the Falak al-Burūj, the sphere of stars. Still farther is the Falak al-Muḥīṭ, the all-encompassing sky.
To sense the immensity of these spheres, we can shrink the universe onto paper and hand-held scales. Through three stages, the vastness of creation comes into perspective.
Stage One: Earth as a 1 mm Dot
Draw a tiny 1 mm dot on paper. That dot represents Earth.
- The Moon’s orbit lies only a few cm away.
- The Sun would be about 15 cm from the dot.
- Jupiter more than 1 m out.
- Saturn, the seventh sky, nearly 3 m away.
Even on a room-sized sheet, the planetary system barely fits. And yet this is only the opening act of the heavens.
Stage Two: Shrinking the Seven Skies
Now shrink the entire planetary system—Earth to Saturn—into a single 1 mm circle. That speck contains all the planets and their orbits.
Beyond it lies the Falak al-Burūj, the starry sphere. To mark its edge, we use Earendel (the farthest star detected so far). Its light has traveled about 12.9 billion years to reach us.
At this scale:
- Saturn’s orbit = 1 mm
- Distance to Earendel ≈ 85 million km on paper
To grasp this size, compare with Earth’s diameter (12,742 km). The paper needed equals 6,700 Earths laid side by side. Imagine covering such a sheet just to draw the stars!
This shows how tiny the planetary skies are compared to the starry heavens.
Stage Three: The Egg and the Infinite Desert
Now imagine shrinking the entire Falak al-Burūj—all stars and galaxies up to Earendel—into the size of a chicken egg, about 5 cm wide. Inside that egg sits the whole visible universe.
Beyond it stretches the Falak al-Muḥīṭ, the all-encompassing sphere. Modern astronomy estimates the radius of the observable universe at about 46.5 billion light-years. In our scale, that would be about 36 cm—slightly larger than a small book.
But the truth is greater. Falak al-Muḥīṭ is not limited to what we can see. The visible universe is only the starting point, like a tiny egg placed in a vast desert. Beyond it lies an endless expanse that no telescope can capture, no imagination can measure.
Reflections
These stages are not just numbers, but lessons:
- Perspective – Earth is a dot, the planets a speck, the stars thousands of Earths wide, and the visible universe an egg in an infinite desert.
- Reality – The Qur’an’s skies are real, not symbolic. Each layer opens into realms greater than the last.
- Infinity – Even our most powerful vision sees only a speck in the limitless ocean of Falak al-Muḥīṭ.
Conclusion
All of this vast machinery—the skies, planets, stars, and galaxies—was created not in vain, but with purpose. Humanity is the pinnacle of this design. The universe exists as a stage for human beings, who are destined to recognize, serve, and reflect the wisdom of Allah.
So when you look at the heavens, whether a single star or the thought of infinite space, remember: it all exists so that humans may live, know, and fulfill their purpose.
