Allah, Jinn, and Extrasolar Life Filled Planets

During medieval times, Christian theologians accepted the Ptolemaic earth-centered Greek view of the universe as an absolute universal truth. They believed that the earth, life in general and human life in particular should be the center of God’s world. Thus they also taught that the incarnation of God through the body of Jesus must be an absolutely unique event the likes of which could not happen elsewhere.

Even today Jose Funes, the director of the Vatican’s astronomical observatory, who has a degree in theology and a doctorate in astronomy, said that, “What is clear is that while God may have created aliens and planets similar to Earth, there can be no second Jesus.” “The discovery of intelligent life does not mean there’s another Jesus,” he insisted because “the incarnation of the son of God is a unique event in the history of humanity; of the Universe.”

But Islam teaches that Allah, the one and only God of the whole universe, has not only sent thousands of prophets to all the nations and peoples of mankind on earth, but has also sent prophets to the jinn, who are non-human species everywhere else: “O company of jinn and mankind, if you are able to pass beyond the regions of the heavens and the earth, then pass. You will not pass except by authority (from Allah).” (Qur’an 55:33)

Life on Planet Earth had to begin somewhere, and scientists think that “somewhere” is LUCA—or the Last Universal Common Ancestor. True to its name, this prokaryote-like organism represents the ancestor of every living thing, from the tiniest of bacteria to the grandest of blue whales.

While the Cambrian Explosion kickstarted complex life in a major way some 530 million years, the true timeline of life on Planet Earth is much longer. For years, scientists have estimated that LUCA likely arrived on the scene some 4 billion years, which is only 600 million years after the planet’s formation.

But now a study from an international team of scientists pushes that timeline back even further to some 4.2 billion years ago, while also discovering some fascinating details about what life for LUCA might’ve been like. The results of the study were published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution in 2024.

LUCA on Planet Earth started 4.2 billion years ago but LUCA on other planets started billions of years earlier: ”Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “This ˹Quran˺ has been revealed by the One Who knows the secrets of heavens and earth. Surely He is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”” (Quran 25:6)

In Islamic tradition creation describes a universe populated by three main intelligent beings created by Allah: Angels (from light), Jinn (from fire), and Humans (from earth clay). The Jinn were created millions of years before humankind, inhabiting hundreds of thousands of years before Humans.

Creation of the Jinn: Allah created LUCA jinn from a “smokeless flame of fire”. They were granted free will and lived on Earth and other planets, but according to tradition, on Planet Earth they rebelled, caused chaos, and shed blood.

Creation of Adam: Allah announced to the angels His plan to create a successor (Khalifa) on Earth: mankind. Adam was formed from earth clay.

Allah commanded the angels and the jinn present in heaven to bow down to Adam. All bowed except Iblis (a jinn), who refused out of arrogance, claiming he was superior because he was made of fire, while Adam was only made of earth clay.

Both the Qur’an and the Hebrew Bible teach that God created the whole universe to be conducive to the universal evolution of life. The Qur’an says, “We have not sent you but as a blessing for all the worlds.” (21:107) The Hebrew Bible says in the Zabur of Prophet David, the King of Israel, “Your kingdom is a kingdom of all worlds; and Your dominion is for all generations.” (Psalms 145:13)

These two statements show that God’s concern for the religious guidance of all intelligent creatures is universal and therefore God’s prophets must be active wherever intelligent creatures live.

Two recent studies support this Islamic-Jewish view. One study in the journal Nature reported by Science Daily found that organic compounds of unexpected complexity exist throughout the Universe. Thus complex organic compounds are not the sole domain of living beings, but can be made naturally by stars. This means that life is not a random fluke; the universe itself is formed to produce life. So far more than 6,000 planets have been found.

Organic substances commonly found throughout the universe contain a mixture of ring-like and chain-like components. The compounds are so complex that their chemical structures resemble those of coal and petroleum. Since coal and oil are remnants of ancient life, this type of organic matter was thought to arise only from living organisms. The team’s discovery suggests that complex organic compounds can be synthesized in space even in the absence of life.

Now the Kepler space telescope has discovered several near-Earth-sized planets in the “habitable zone” around a sun-like star capable of hosting life, according to NASA reports.

Space may be vast, but it isn’t lonely. Research indicates the Milky Way is teeming with billions of planets like ours, circling stars just like our sun. Astronomers calculate that in our galaxy alone there are at least 8-9 billion stars (22%) like our sun with Earth-sized planets that are ‘not too hot or not too cold’ for life to develop.

The Zabur of David says, “Your kingdom is a kingdom of all worlds; and Your dominion is for all generations.” (Zabur-Psalms 145:13); and the Qur’an says, “We have not sent you but as a blessing for all the worlds.” (Al-Anbiya 107). Muslim commentators say this refers to the 18.000 inhabitable worlds created by Allah. Our world is but one of them. (Mir’at-e-Kainat, vol.1, p.77)
Just four centuries ago the Catholic Inquisition punished those who dared to voice new ideas.

Since Jews and Muslim are more open to learning about new scientific discoveries than some Christians neither Islam or Judaism created a Catholic Inquisition like organization.

Some Christians still think that only the Earth’s life forms can be at the center of God’s creation. Even in America today, many Protestant Christians avoid learning about new scientific discoveries. According to a recently completed study “Religious Understandings of Science”, among members of non-Christian religions, 42 percent of Jews and 52 percent of Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus (taken as a group) are twice as interested in new scientific discoveries compared to only 22 percent of Protestant evangelicals.

Scientists have discovered a giant black hole that they believe may have been formed in the first few microseconds after the Big Bang. The black hole is so huge that it may change our understanding of how these cosmic giants form. If the findings are confirmed, this will be the first evidence of primordial black holes, which were predicted to exist by Stephen Hawking in the 1970s.

Before I decided to become a Reform Rabbi, I was studying to become an astrophysicist. I still follow scientific developments closely and I can safely say that many astrophysicists think that by the end of this decade dozens of earth-like planets will be found much closer to us.

They also think that before the end of the next decade we will have evidence of more than one planet with an atmosphere that not only contains clear signs of the water needed for life to develop but also has the levels of oxygen that can only be produced by large numbers of living beings. “From water We made every living thing. Will they not then believe?” (Qur’an, 21:30)

Indeed, scientists now believe that every living thing on our planet is descendant from creatures that first originated in our planet’s oceans more than three billion years ago. Humans, one of Planet Earth’s most recent species, are also descendants from God’s original creation: ”It is He Who has created man from water.” (Qur’an, 25:54)

As it is written in the Zabur of Prophet David, the King of Israel, “The heavens declare the glory of God. The universe proclaims God’s handiwork.” (Psalms 19:2)

Medieval sources describe jinn inhabiting the earth before the creation of mankind. They serve as a pattern for later human disobedience: they were first created by God, then rebelled against God’s messengers, shed blood and exploited the environment, and were eventually punished by God’s angels. Muslims raised the question of whether some jinn may have survived from primordial times. Some Quran exegetes such as ibn Kathir hold this to be the case. Especially in folklore, the belief that some jinn still hide in desolate places is widespread.

The 72nd chapter of the Qur’an entitled Al-Jinn (The Jinn), as well as the heading and introductory bismillah of the next chapter entitled al-Muzzammil (The Enshrouded One)

Jinn are mentioned approximately 29 times in the Quran, exclusively in Meccan surahs. The Quran assumes that the audience is familiar with the subject without elaborating on the jinn much further.

According to the Quran 51:56-57, Muhammad was sent as a prophet to both human and jinn communities, and prophets and messengers were sent to both communities. Throughout the Quran, humans and jinn (al-ins wa-l-jinn) appear frequently as a pair, designating their equal status in regards to their creation and rejecting that jinn share divinity with the Creator