Written and collected by Zia H Shah MD

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُمْسِكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ أَن تَزُولَا ۚ وَلَئِن زَالَتَا إِنْ أَمْسَكَهُمَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ مِّن بَعْدِهِ ۚ إِنَّهُ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورًا

Qur’an 35:41 (MAS Abdel Haleem’s translation): “God keeps the heavens and earth from vanishing; if they did vanish, no one else could stop them. God is most forbearing, most forgiving.”

Introduction

Qur’an 35:41 makes a profound claim about the dependence of the universe on a higher power. It asserts that God actively “keeps the heavens and earth from vanishing”, implying that all of cosmic existence endures only by His sustaining command. If He were to withdraw this support, “no one else could stop them” from collapsing into non-existence myislam.org. In Islamic theology, this verse highlights God’s absolute sovereignty over creation and the contingency of the universe – the idea that the cosmos is not self-sustaining or necessary in itself, but relies on an external Sustainer. Classical Muslim scholars understood this verse as a reminder of God’s ongoing preservation of the world and a rebuttal to any notion that other beings (like idols or saints) share in upholding reality surahquran.com surahquran.com. In our times, this ancient worldview gains intriguing new dimensions: advances in physics and cosmology reveal how finely balanced and “unlikely” our universe is, and the Simulation Hypothesis in philosophy offers a provocative metaphor – that our entire reality might be akin to a programmed illusion. This commentary will explore Qur’an 35:41 first through classical interpretations, and then through the lens of modern science and simulation theory, illustrating how new discoveries echo age-old insights about a universe utterly dependent on its Creator. Along the way, we will see how even cutting-edge ideas like a “digital” universe or a simulated world resonate with Islamic concepts such as continuous divine sustenance and the distinction between this transient world and a more fundamental ultimate reality.

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