Do aliens exist in islam? This is a question that has spawned many debates in the last couple of decades, and with the advent of the internet, more and more thinkers have managed to connect the dots and have their views on this exposed in such a constructive way, that we might actually have a clear answer for this question.
The origin of aliens
The idea of aliens appears in many religions, oftentimes not directly portrayed as such, but as supernatural beings that arrive or watch us from unknown places. These are not necessarily physical plains, and are often mentioned simply as “high above” or “among the stars” concepts. These definitions are vague, because astronomical concepts were almost non-existent before the middle of the previous milenia. So what can we say? Do aliens exist in islam?
When the Quran was written, astronomy was almost non-existent, especially for the general public, so most people assume that even the concept of aliens could have been something that was not yet invented. But this is not quite true. The Quran actually openly talks about the fact that life does exist on other planets, and by extension that ours is not the only livable one. So in this case what answers our inquiry that aliens exist in islam?
Allah created seven heavens and just as many earths. This is treated as a fact, and some people might wonder why this exact number. Well seven is a special number, the symbol of perfection, meaning that Allah created as many heavens and earths, ergo planets, as many he seemed fit for his purposes. This number is a mystical one, that often appears to present something uncertain, pure and powerful.
What does an alien actually look like?
But planets, and the earth, by most ancient views, are solid, inanimate entities that do not necessarily harbor life on them. So if life on them cannot be sustained how do aliens exist in islam? Contrary to this limited view, in the Quran it is specified that “And among His Signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and of whatever living creatures He has spread forth in both.”
These creatures are called dabbatun, and they are creatures from the heavens or the skyes. Some might mistake them for birds, but for birds a different word is used. These creatures live in all those separate worlds, each completely unrelated to the other, and fulfilling the same role to the rest (i.e. the creature from heavens for others like him, based on their point of view).
The idea also appears that these dabbatuns might not even necessarily be animate creatures. Does that mean that they are dead? Maybe civilizations that are far gone in time, with which we did not manage to synchronize in the vastness of the universe? The more likely explanation is that most of them might simply not represent the kind of biological life that we are accustomed to, here on earth.
This is by no means a far-out concept. Scientists even today still debate on how intelligent life might look on other planets, and how they might have evolved. How could we get in touch with an intelligent lifeform that exists as waves of light or as a different vibration of matter? It is mesmerizing that the Quran actually leaves this fairly open, acknowledging the fact that creation can take way more forms than what we humans can imagine. Aliens exist in islam, and not only that, but it also points out that the number of them is not limited and their shape and form are more than likely completely different from ours.
Angels or aliens, the distinction is clear
Seeing that aliens exist in islam, there is one more important distinction that has to be made. These creatures are not angels, and they do not fulfill these roles. While it might be tempting to think so, as angels are portrayed in many different ways between different religions, these creatures seem to have a different role in the grand scheme of things.
They move both on land and in air, they might even be conscious, but they are not angels. They have the same status amongst the beings of Allah, as we do and seemingly fill in the same existential roles.
Aliens and Islamic morality
In the Quran it is also mentioned, that whenever we pray, we must send our prayers to every living thing, and this includes the ones that are not necessarily in contact with us. Seeing that aliens exist in islam, a new concept appears in this case, and that is the concept of morality, as these creatures are judged and should be judged but the same metrics as us.
In that case these aliens seem to have a prophet, like we do or a Noah or even an Adam. This might sound like a parallel universe, right? On the contrary, the likely scenario is that we might actually share them. These might be things that they know, or things that they are completely ignorant to, but that doesn’t take away the likelihood that we exist in the same plane at once.
As it is known, the enlightened golden age of islam actually started off the age of astronomy. And it seems that the Quran was already well ahead in predicting not just the possibility but the actual existence of alien lifeforms. While the details are scarce and the meaning might be up for debate, the thing is, this was pretty openly treated as a fact by it.
Final thoughts
So to answer the original question: yes, aliens exist in islam and they are quite clearly described in the Quran. The ones they predicted might not be perfect for a Hollywood movie, but the actual openness towards the idea is shockingly forward thinking. While the western world has just started to openly discuss aliens, in Islam there is already a historic tradition for this.
