What Was Before the Big Bang?

Part 1: The Quran Spoke of Cosmic Origins

One of the most striking verses is:

Sūrah al-Anbiyāʾ 21:30 (الأنبياء):

Do not the disbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (رَتْقًا), then We split them apart (فَفَتَقْنَاهُمَا)?

• Ratq (رَتْقًا) a fused, unified mass
• Fataq (فَفَتَقْنَاهُمَا) tearing or separating them

Modern scientists call this the Big Bang: A point in time when all matter and energy were compressed in a single singularity, then expanded creating space, time, and the cosmos.

This verse is a precise description of the cosmic inflation theory revealed centuries before Hubble, Einstein, or quantum physics.

Part 2: What Was Before the Universe?

Hadith from Sahih al-Bukhari 7418:

Allah was, and there was nothing besides Him. His Throne was upon the water.

This is a Sahih (authentic) narration that powerfully answers the pre-creation state:

• No time
• No space
• No particles or light
• No laws of physics

Only Allah the Eternal, Absolute existed.

Before what we call the Big Bang, there was nothing except Allah.

Part 3: The Mysterious Realm of Amā (عَمَاء)

Another profound narration, from Abu Ruzayn al-Uqayli (رضي الله عنه), adds more depth:

Reported in Sunan Ibn Majah, Jami at-Tirmidhi, Musnad Ahmad, and al-Bayhaqi (رحمه الله):

I asked: "O Messenger of Allah, where was our Lord before He created creation?" He replied: "He was in Amā, with no air above it, and no air beneath it. Then He created His Throne upon the water."

What is Amā?

• From the Arabic root ʿ-m-y (ع م ي) meaning concealed, veiled, or obscure.
• Not physical clouds, rather a realm of obscurity, unknown to creation.
• Described by scholars as a metaphysical veil, non-physical state, or pre-creation concealment.

In modern terms, this may be likened to a state beyond time and space, what physicists call pre-spacetime or a quantum foam.

Part 4: Classical Scholars on Amā

Ibn Taymiyyah (ابن تيمية) (رحمه الله)

Explains Amā as a non-physical realm, not implying any spatial limit. It signifies the inaccessibility of Allah's essence before creation.

Imam al-Khattabi (الخطابي) (رحمه الله)

Stresses that the hadith refers to a state, not a place. Asking how Allah existed is outside human comprehension.

Ibn al-Jawzi (ابن الجوزي) (رحمه الله)

Clarifies that Amā is not to be taken literally as clouds, but rather a symbol of concealment and veiling, unlike anything in creation.

Modern Science vs. Revelation: A Comparison

Final Lessons

1. Islamic cosmology predates scientific theories by more than a millennium and it remains timeless.
2. The Quran and Hadith do not just offer metaphors; they offer foundational metaphysical truths about reality.
3. Modern physics is catching up to what revelation stated clearly: The universe had a beginning
4. It was created from nothing
5. There was no time or space before it
6. Only Allah existed, eternally and independently

Conclusion: Before Theories, There Was Revelation

While science is a tool to explore the physical world, revelation explains what lies beyond it. The question What was before the Big Bang? is not new. It was asked and answered 1400+ years ago, with unmatched clarity.

Allah was, and nothing was with Him. He was in Amā, then He created the Throne. The heavens and the earth were joined, then We split them.

References

1. Sūrah al-Anbiyāʾ 21:30
2. Sahih al-Bukhari 7418
3. Sunan Ibn Majah 182
4. Jami at-Tirmidhi Book on Tafsir (تفسير)
5. Musnad Ahmad Hadith on Abu Ruzayn
6. Ibn Taymiyyah Majmu al-Fatawa
7. Lisān al-Arab, Tāj al-Arūs, Ibn al-Jawzi Talbis Iblis
8. Al-Bayhaqi Al-Asma wa al-Sifat

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