Question
Is the belief in the existence of life on other planets acceptable from the point of view of Islam?
Answer
Before we talk about Islamic views on extraterrestrial life forms, we need to clearly understand what they are. They are not beings like angels, in which belief is mandatory for Muslims.
If they really exist, extraterrestrial beings should have a material existence in the world of space and time, on planets that differ in their properties and characteristics from the Earth.
Such creatures may have a simple, single-celled form, such as looking like bacteria, but most people usually use the term "extraterrestrial life form" to mean intelligent life on other planets.
From a scientific point of view, there are several important points that we should not overlook when discussing life forms.
The emergence and existence of life requires complex and subtle chemical reactions. Such reactions, in turn, require a liquid medium to facilitate their course, but we must know that liquids cannot exist in isolation in space or on the bodies of living beings without gas pressure on a solid surface.
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Now it becomes clear that of all the known objects in the solar system, only the Earth has the conditions necessary for the existence of liquid in the necessary conditions.
It is also possible that Jupiter's moons Europa and Ganymede, as well as Saturn's moon Titan, may have liquid on or below the planet's surface, so there is a distant possibility that some form of life may exist on these planets.
And we know that of all liquids, it is water that actually has special properties that are critical to the formation of life.
The possibility of the existence of extraterrestrial life forms, from the point of view of the text of the Koran
In this context, it is worth remembering what the Qur'an says about the relationship between life and water: “Can't non-believers see that heaven and earth were one and that We divided them and created all life out of water? Will they not believe? (Surah al-Anbiya, ayah 30)
Modern science claims that life began at sea when simple molecules joined together and gained the ability to reproduce themselves.
Allah Almighty said that He created all life from water and raised a protective canopy over the Earth. Allah is infinitely wise, and all that remains for us is to study, investigate and reflect.
There are verses in the Qur'an that apparently support belief in the existence of other forms of life, although scholars do not know of any specific verse that explicitly states their existence. For example, the very phrase "Lord of the Worlds" (Rabbul-Alamin) indicates the possibility of the existence of the creations of Allah in many worlds.
In several verses of the Qur'an, various types of Allah's creations are mentioned: “Among His signs is the creation of heaven and earth, as well as those living creatures that He placed on them. He is able to collect them whenever he wants (Sura ash-Shura, ayah 29)
Based on the above verse, among other things, some of the Muslim scholars of the Qur'an admit the belief in the existence of life on other planets or anywhere other than Earth.
Notice the expression in the above verse "and also those living things that He has placed on them." There is a reference here to creatures that inhabit planets other than Earth. In this verse the word "dabba" is used to define living beings. This word means "any rational, corporeal being capable of spontaneous movement." This is contrasted with disembodied, spiritual beings such as angels.
So one day, if scientists come up with strong evidence of the existence of alien beings, it should not come as a surprise to Muslims.
Influence of modern culture
In general, the topic of aliens and UFOs presents great opportunities for modern culture, attracting the imagination of people, at the same time, largely relying on their growing interest in the wonders of science and technology. This also includes endless psychics, clairvoyants, mediums, cosmoenergetic healers and other charlatans parasitizing on the ignorance of the gullible public.
As far as the Islamic point of view is concerned, all this speculation is completely at the mercy of science, since Islam supports all kinds of honest scientific research.
Islam encourages humanity to explore the Universe, because this, ultimately, should lead a person to a deeper faith in Almighty Allah. Scientifically, no convincing evidence has yet been found for the existence of life on other planets or other galaxies.
But the universe is so huge that we cannot discount the possibility of life on any distant planets in one of the millions of galaxies. This is a sound scientific approach to everything that is still completely unknown.
We do not know all the secrets of the Universe and cannot know them. And finally, the question of the existence of aliens is not related to the foundations of our faith, and their existence or absence should not occupy our minds for a long time.