The Eighth Imam...

The Eighth Imam, upon whom be peace, spoke as follows to one of his companions concerning this Qur’anic expression: "Did God not say in the Qur’an, 'without a pillar that you may see'?" The companion answered, 'Yes," whereupon the Imam added, "In that case there is a pillar but it cannot be seen." [^2] In the course of refuting the materialist view that the human being is destined to utter annihilation, the Qur’an describes the evolutionary movement of the universe saying, "Do the deniers not look at the heavens above them and see how We have placed them on a firm foundation, adorned them with the stars and made them immune to all flaws?

Were We tired by their first creation (so that We might experience difficulty in creating them anew)? They (the unbelievers) are themselves clothed every instant in a new garment of creation."(50:6, 7, 15) In other words, those who because of their shortsightedness and narrowness of vision imagined the world to be stagnant and stationary are in error, because they are themselves in a state of constant motion, together with the entire universe.

The motion of the human being is connected to the general motion of the universe, and after death, too, his spiritual motion will continue, through the appearance of the Promised Day and the fulfillment of the Divine promise; his motion will never be cut short by death. In expounding this precise scientific truth, the Qur’an does not restrict itself to the dry philosophical aspects of the matter.

By entrusting the discussion of the matter to the Prophet, a person who had never studied, who had grown up in a spiritually dark environment with no philosophical tradition, the Qur’an simultaneously puts forward a truth that is of vital significance to the human being. That truth is the immortality of the spirit, the existence of resurrection and judgment, with all that that implies for the responsibilities of the human being while still alive.

The Qur’an also refers to the internal motion of the earth when it says: "You look at the mountains and imagine them to be solid and stable. But they are engaged in inward motion and growth, just like the clouds. This inward motion is of God's creation and making: He has fashioned all things in a correct way, and He is well aware of your conduct and deeds."(27:88) This verse calls attention to the inward dynamic motion of mountains.