Time travel, wormholes, portals, dimensions, time dilation, intergalactic movement etc are terms common to a man well versed in science fiction. But can a man well versed in religion make sense of them? Flipping pages of pages through canonized Islamic literature, we can’t seem to find any such words, terms or anything close to it? Then how did these terminologies suddenly become so common among the masses? A man preaching them as part of iman is completely absurd. Has too much childhood exposure to science fiction impacted the brain of a man intending to inspire people? Fitting Islam into ideas we are inspired by is nothing new. Crooks have always tried to fit religion into what’s trending (becoming apologetic) or what they are inspired by. Mutazilites, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, Waheed ud Din, Javed Ahmad Ghamdi are to name a few. But Islam is not up for any inspirational interpretation.
وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يُجَادِلُ فِي اللَّهِ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ وَلَا هُدًى وَلَا كِتَابٍ مُّنِيرٍ
And of the people is he who disputes about Allah without knowledge or guidance or an enlightening book [from Him][Surah Hajj: 8]
This article is written with an intent no more than as a well-wisher of the masses impacted by a completely alien and absurd idea, time travel. Time travel was popularized in a novel by H.G. Wells in 1895, The Time Machine. Later, in 1904, Albert Einstein through the concept of ‘special and general relativity’ hints at the possibility of time travel.
With all the scientific data, time travel until now is a mere theory. It completely relies on thought experiments and hypothetical situations, mostly mentioning creation of vehicles that travel at the speed of light to transfer humans and objects to a time ahead of Earth time. In my opinion, relativity is very real and relevant too. This relevancy of relativity was made clear to me many years ago in an urgency when I had to run to a public bathroom and I found written on its door, how long a minute is depends on which side of the bathroom you are on. So yes, relativity makes sense but to be able to reach a future that has not taken place yet? Or to reach another world through a magical door (portal)? To me, this is interesting in science fiction but in reality, neither has science advanced to that level nor have any religious or historic scriptures mentioned it.
Recorded history and literature play an important role in understanding the past and making deductions for the future. Time travel or the ideas related to it have not been mentioned in any of historic literature except mythology, especially Hindu mythology. Mythology is no different than any fictional novel. So, time travel has always been used in fiction literature to attract an audience but none of the serious non-fiction or religious literature makes mention of it. Neither does science claim it except hypothetically. The only way to explain a man’s obsession with it is from fiction literature and movies.
Now why is preaching time travel and ideas related to it as part of faith a problem? Firstly, no one should dare add strange ideas into the religion of Allah (Today, I have completed your religion for you. [5:3]) or make their own interpretation after RasulAllah ﷺ has guided his ummah. The Qur’an, the life of RasulAllah ﷺ and our Salaf; Sahaba, Tabi’un, Taba Tabi’un (the pious predecessors) plus 1400 years of literature of our great ulemas (scholars): Sheikh Ibn Tammiya, Imam Bukhari, Imam Ibn Jawzi, Imam Hanbal, Imam Abu Hanifa and many more, gives us a light to judge right from wrong and to adhere to Islam. How does something never mentioned in the entire history of Islam even once by any of the great personalities suddenly take birth as a part of our Iman? The Qur’an does not mention it, hadith doesn’t mention it, Sahabas don’t mention it, or the scholars in later age do not mention it. Time travel has nothing to do with our faith. If the idea is really inspiring, write a novel, not make it a religious thought. The best we can make of it is, we all are “time travelers” in that we all travel through time, one hour, one minute, one second at a time. No one goes any more quickly or slowly than that. The time Surah Al-Asr talks about.
Secondly, this is an attack on the basic belief of Unseen. Belief in Al-Ghaib (Unseen) is an essential part of our faith. We cannot be Muslim without it. What is belief in Al-Ghaib? Believing in a world beyond human perception, above our five senses. Now humans often become enslaved to reason. They fall into the trap of making sense of things with their limited vision. For instance, slaves to reason tried to fit the miracle of Mairaj (accession) into scientific knowledge and denied it (Astagfirullah). Now time travel? How to limit miracles to our limited sense, give it a new touch, touch of time travel. Believing in Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ)’s attributes, angels, akhirah is a basic belief of Islam.
From theories of time travel and portals, we get the notion that Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) is dependent on worldly means to make things occur. For instance, saying that it is not possible for the water of earth to flood the entire Earth (flood of Nuh (عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)). Therefore, intergalactic activity (flood water came from another galaxy through a portal) occurred at the time of Noah. Is Allah dependent on means for things to happen? Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) says ‘Kun’ (Be) and it happens. He is far above cause and effect. Trying to encapsulate Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ)’s power to our limited mind through things that fascinate us is denying Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ)’s attributes at some level. SubhanAllah – Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) is perfect, free from fault, flawless. Is depending on means not a fault?
Trying to understand Day of Judgment through science fiction movies. Coloring verses of the Qur’an with Hollywood exposure is definitely dementing the belief of Unseen.
The Qur’an says:
وَفُتِحَتِ السَّمَاءُ فَكَانَتْ أَبْوَابًا
And the heaven is opened and will become gateways
[An-Naba: 19]
No authentic Tafsir (explanation of the Qur’an) is present from the time of Abdullah bin Masood (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) till now nor any Companion nor scholar mentions portals to the divine world. We cannot after 1400 years reinvent the meaning of a word in Qur’an. Qur’an is not studied with linguistic understanding, not word meanings rather it is studied with the lexical understanding. The era of the Prophet ﷺ and Companions is the angle through which we study the Qur’an. Hollywood, science fiction or any other oriental or western angle is not what is to be used to interpret and derive ideas from.
For instance, taking the word of سَبَبا ً(sababa) from Surah Al-Kahf in the story of Dhul Qarnain as “paths to heaven” or portals to other galaxies is self-created Tafsir of Qur’an. We will see what Companion, who were present when the Qur’an was being revealed took سَبَبا as. The authentic classical tafsirs such as Tafsir At-Tabri, Tafsir Ibn Kathir based on hadith and quotations of the Sahaba explain سَبَبا ًas (ilm) knowledge or means. Therefore, for a man to appear after 1400 years of Islamic history and wake up and call all men of knowledge illiterate and misunderstood and establish himself as the one who rightly understood the Qur’an is worrisome.
إِن يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا الظَّنَّ وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَخْرُصُونَ
They follow not except assumption, and they are not but falsifying.
[Surah Al-An’aam: 116]
Making sense of the lifting of Isa (عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ) through our minds is absolute stupidity. No Sahaba ever heard the Prophet ﷺ say Isa ibn Maryam traveled through a portal to another galaxy. How Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) did it and how Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) has kept him are things we might never understand therefore, we believe in the Unseen and that suffices for us. We must believe like the Companions believed.
وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ آمِنُوا كَمَا آمَنَ النَّاسُ قَالُوا أَنُؤْمِنُ كَمَا آمَنَ السُّفَهَاءُ ۗ أَلَا إِنَّهُمْ هُمُ السُّفَهَاءُ وَلَٰكِن لَّا يَعْلَمُونَ
And when it is said to them, “Believe as the people have believed,” they say, “Should we believe as the foolish have believed?” Unquestionably, it is they who are the foolish, but they know [it] not.
[Surah Al-Baqara:13]
These were the people who gave their hearts to Islam and not their minds.
Could the companions of RasulAllah ﷺ sitting under the shade of trees writing verses of the Quran on bones and stones make sense of the Unseen? Could they make sense of Kiraman Katibin recording their every action and Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) recreating their entire life on the day of Judgement? But did they question it? Did they wonder? Did they get into the concepts beyond human perception? Did they allow their mind to pace to their logical reasoning? No. They simply heard and believed. That’s it! No questions. That is what is required of us. To shun our minds (aqal) instead ‘hear, believe and obey.’
The amount of respect the companions had for RasulAllah ﷺ, they hesitated from asking too many questions. In fact, they waited for the Bedouins to ask. The illiterate uncultured Bedouins came with the questions and Sahabas eagerly listened and learnt. Even when the Bedouins asked, RasulAllah ﷺ redirected their questions. A Bedouin comes and questions, when will day of judgement come? How does RasulAllah ﷺ quench his natural thirst for knowledge? He directs it in the right direction as we learn in this hadith:
Narrated Anas (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ):
A man asked the Prophet (ﷺ) about the Hour (i.e. Day of Judgment) saying, “When will the Hour be?” The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “What have you prepared for it?”
(Sahih al-Bukhari: 3688)
We are taught to stick to the important part and adhere to only what is relevant to you. Do not get into the futile debate of how Day of Judgement will occur, how will all the people fit onto Earth, how did Nuh (عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ) flood covered the Earth, how did RasulAllah ﷺ travel to the heavens, how did people of cave stay asleep for so many years, where is Jesus, how was throne of Bilquis presented in a blink of an eye, etc? Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) trains our minds. He simply skips the irrelevant details in the stories He narrates in the Qur’an and reminds us to trust Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ)’s Ultimate Knowledge:
قُل رَّبِّي أَعْلَمُ بِعِدَّتِهِم
My Lord is most knowing of their number
[Surah Al-Kahf: 22]
Belief in the Unseen and miracles is beyond human mind, they are related to the divine world. Trying to make sense of them other than revelation can only lead men astray. As the poet, Allama Iqbal has described this concept:
Subah-e-Azal Ye Mujh Se Kaha Jibreel Ne
Jo Aqal Ka Ghulam Ho, Woh Dil Na Kar Qabool
Jibraeel on Creationʹs Early Morn gave a piece of useful counsel:
He bade me not accept a heart enchained by mind of man like slave.
I will end this discussion from the Qur’an which should suffice for us.
الَّذِي أَنزَلَ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ مِنْهُ آيَاتٌ مُّحْكَمَاتٌ هُنَّ أُمُّ الْكِتَابِ وَأُخَرُ مُتَشَابِهَاتٌ ۖ فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ زَيْغٌ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ مَا تَشَابَهَ مِنْهُ ابْتِغَاءَ الْفِتْنَةِ وَابْتِغَاءَ تَأْوِيلِهِ ۗ وَمَا يَعْلَمُ تَأْوِيلَهُ إِلَّا اللَّهُ ۗ وَالرَّاسِخُونَ فِي الْعِلْمِ يَقُولُونَ آمَنَّا بِهِ كُلٌّ مِّنْ عِندِ رَبِّنَا ۗ وَمَا يَذَّكَّرُ إِلَّا أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ
It is He who has sent down to you, [O Muhammad], the Book; in it are verses [that are] precise – they are the foundation of the Book – and others unspecific. As for those in whose hearts is deviation [from truth], they will follow that of it which is unspecific, seeking discord and seeking an interpretation [suitable to them]. And no one knows its [true] interpretation except Allah. But those firm in knowledge say, “We believe in it. All [of it] is from our Lord.” And no one will be reminded except those of understanding.
[Surah Ale-Imran: 7]
We must learn Islam from the right people. People who teach with authentic knowledge and sources. Who take the words of RasulAllah ﷺ and Salaf as Islam.
