Spatial dimensions and unseen reality, important in both science and religion, are areas that have perennially fascinated human beings. The quest for truth, in these and other areas, is best realized when both empirical investigations and divine revelations are wisely utilized. The human race lives in and perceives a three-dimensional world, but the existence of at least one additional (unseen) dimension continues to intrigue humankind. Might not time be a fourth dimension, one that continues alongside the spatial dimensions of height, width, and depth? In terms of relativity, all actions take place not only in the three spatial dimensions but also in the fourth dimension of time; this constitutes the space-time concept.

In 1919, the Polish mathematician Theodor Kaluza (1885-1954) advanced the idea that the universe might have more than three spatial dimensions. He reasoned that there might be a curled-up dimension too small to be seen. Attempts to explain this dimension tend to be convoluted, even when accompanied by illustrations, precisely because it is impossible, in our three-dimensional world, to represent anything in more than three dimensions, even in a sculptured object.

Brian Greene (b. 1963)—a Columbia University physicist, and author of The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory (Norton, 1999)—not only understands this field of physics, but also has contributed immensely to it. His writing concerning string theory, while admittedly controversial and based on a theory in its formative stages, suggests some interesting perspectives that are being considered. Creative speculation, coupled with critical evaluation, lies at the heart of scientific progress. He spends several pages in his bestseller developing an analogy based on a garden hose stretched across a canyon, with an ant crawling upon it. The hose, which appears different to a human with binoculars than to one without them, and also different to the ant, contains a curled-up space that is invisible to all. To imagine oneself successfully inserting a solid book through a solid mirror is to perceive the illusive fourth dimension. An indirect way to approach the complexity of the fourth dimension is to imagine a world of living things that are, like a drawing on a page, only two-dimensional. Those with 3-D capacity would be able to see a two-D world, but those living in two dimensions would be unable to comprehend the three-dimensional counterpart. The extra dimension that Kaluza worked out involved the amalgamation of electromagnetism and relativity.

What do things look like in a super tiny world with ten dimensions? Imagine a picture (displayed in approximations because it represents a six-dimensional shape on a two-dimensional page) in which a drawing of stairways going nowhere is rolled up into a kind of ball of yarn. The ball shape is no accident, for the additional dimensions posited are curled-up, which renders it as difficult to see as the inside of Greene’s hose stretched across a canyon with a crawling ant on the outside. These six-dimensional spaces exist within the three dimensions we know and see and trust. “String theory” maintains that these gigantically-minute vibrating strings, these multi-dimensional voyagers, actually determine the mass of particles and the charge of forces at the subatomic level, which in turn shapes activity in the real world we inhabit. Obviously, string theory is in its infancy, as is the case with all emerging scientific theories. The general pattern has been that theories partially explain truth, and thereby expand the sum of human knowledge. It is crucial to remember that theories are theories, attempts to advance human knowledge. According to this theoretical perspective, the dimensions beyond 3-D are required for the particular resonances rendered by the strings, similar to how musical resonance varies according to violin wood and shape.

Islamic insights into energy-based, higher-dimensional life forms

Since their genesis, humans have relied on religion to explain things which are true, but nonetheless unseen by the inhabitants of a three-dimensional world. Belief in the unseen, or that which cannot be scientifically proven, is a standard element of religious participation. The Qur’an provides many insights regarding the unseen and the effect of the hidden aspects of reality on human lives. First, it links the creation of life forms to water and other earthy elements: “God created every animal from water” (24:45); “… the heavens and the earth were joined together, then We clove them asunder and We got every living thing out of the water …” (21:30).

The Qur’an also affirms the existence of aspects of creation that are beyond the comprehension of humans: “Glory be to Him Who created the components of couples of every kind: of what the ground caused to grow, of themselves (human beings) and of what you do not know” (36:36). Besides indicating that earthy life forms evolved from water and clay (earthy elements), the Holy Qur’an also mentions another type of life form created from “smokeless fire.” There are 117 identified elements on earth and all the earthy life forms evolved from some combination of these elements, with water playing a fundamental role. While elements have been identified, and are scientifically verifiable, we do not know how many forms of energy exist in the universe, but known forms include electrical, radiant, thermal, sound, motion, gravitational, chemical, nuclear, mechanical, solar, geothermal, hydro, fossil, biomass, wind, and natural gas. Moreover, since, each of these classes of energy has multiple subclasses, it is estimated that there are hundreds of kinds of energy. For example, visible light has various wavelengths representing numerous colors, each representing a different kind of energy within the visible light class. Within light there are spectra that are invisible to us, i.e. UV and IR lights that we utilize for our benefits (taking x-rays and for sterilizing various objects).

If “smokeless fire” is interpreted to refer to a class of energy, then the Holy Qur’an seems to suggest the possibility that certain life forms have arisen from energy sources: “And indeed, We created man from sounding clay of altered black smooth mud. And the jinn, We created aforetime from the smokeless flame of fire” (Qur’an Sura 15, verses 26-27; italics added). It stands to reason that our 3-D-limited vision and linear interpretation of time prevents us from seeing life forms that exceed these dimensions, but many people, from many faiths, have insisted that they have felt their influence.

Based on our knowledge of the speed of light (186,000 miles per second), we would assume that an energy-based life form moving at that speed would clearly be invisible to dimension-limited mortals. Humans cannot see any light beyond a limited visible spectrum, but they can sometimes perceive the effects of such light. Persons who hear their cell phones ring would think it ludicrous to dismiss the existence of sound-causing microwaves on the grounds that they are invisible. Nor would they refuse to acknowledge the heating capacity of microwave ovens simply because they cannot visually perceive the tiny waves. Likewise, x-ray photographs, or sunburned skin, give evidence of that which is unseen but nevertheless real. These effects of energy are routinely felt but not seen. Earlier theoretical postulations and examination have led to developments in these known areas of energy forms. Contemporary theories, including string theories, will, hopefully, result in further breakthroughs.

Perspectives on unembodied entities, often called spirits, abound. They range from deep doctrinal perspectives from theologians to the speculative viewpoints of scholars and persons from all walks of life. What these widely divergent views have in common is their belief in the reality of the unseen, and the idea that the unseen may, under certain conditions, be seen. In Zoroastrianism, the evil spirit Angra Mainyu opposes the leading deity, Ahura Mazda. Descriptions of this evil figure have much in common with the devil or Satan (the counterpart of the Islamic jinn, Iblis), who figures prominently in Judaism and Christianity. In Greek mythology, the Daemones are spirits who influence world conditions. Examples of these numerous spirits, and what they bring to humanity, are Algea (pain), Elpis (hope), Eupheme (praise), Momus (criticism), Nemesis (jealousy), and Phobus (fear) (Theo Greek Mythology: Exploring Mythology in Classical Literature and Art, http://www.theoi.com/greek-mythology/personifications.html). In Hinduism and other religions that teach reincarnation, spirits continue to exist through various iterations of life. Hinduism refers to the soul as the Atman, that spiritual entity that precedes birth and continues after death (Bhagavad Gita, chapter 2, http://www.bhagavad-gita.org/).

Mormons, like Muslims, stress the importance of the Prophet Abraham, peace be upon him, and their “Book of Abraham” (derived from an ancient Egyptian papyrus) reveals that spirits exist prior to gaining a body through mortal birth. These spirits “have no beginning; they existed before, they shall have no end, they shall exist after, for they are … eternal” (Abraham 3:38). Likewise, the Holy Qur’an informs to us that God has created all the souls of humankind before He created Adam and made covenants with them: “When your Lord drew forth the Children of Adam – from their loins – their descendants and made them testify concerning themselves, (saying): ‘Am I not your Lord?’ They said: ‘Yes! We so witness!’ Lest you should say on the Day of Judgment: ‘Of this we were unaware!’” (7:172). Referring to unembodied personages still awaiting birth, Abraham states, “Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones” (Abraham 3:22). Abraham learned that he was one of these: “And God . . . stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born” (Abraham 3:23). Christian and Jewish beliefs overlap in the Jewish Tanakh and the Christian Old Testament, which include this teaching from the prophet Jeremiah: “Before I [the Lord] formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5). These passages help us understand the views of other religious groups regarding unembodied spirits, a concept that exists prominently, albeit with significant differences, in Islam, which emphasizes jinn.

The Holy Qur’an states that the Creator has made many non-earthy life forms that are energy-based, and capable of changing shape and form. The two life forms described in the Qur’an (in addition to human beings) are angels and jinn. It depicts angels as having originated from light and as lacking free will; they simply obey. It describes the jinn, created from smokeless fire, as preceding the creation of humankind which was made from mud or clay. Both the Qur’an and related Hadith (words and deeds ascribed to the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him) identify the jinn as spirit entities capable of appearing in different forms and of acting according to their own free will to assist humans or lead them astray, as well as to worship God or to deny Him. Islam teaches that the jinns can take the form of various 3-D life forms, including birds, dogs, bees, and humans (Ameen, 2005). In an article describing Islamic medical sciences, Speziale (2003) describes the jinn as “created from fire, who inhabit a subtle world in which mankind is immersed, as into a liquid.” This description corresponds well with Kaluza’s string theory as both deal with a multidimensional world, much of which is beyond our limited sensory perceptions. The Qur’an thus portrays the jinns as occupants of a parallel world of spirits, a doctrinal stance that – as shown above – has its counterpart is many other religions.

The jinn are mentioned in more than forty verses in the Qur’an; one chapter is named (Surat-ul-Jinn) explicitly after them. Further information regarding the jinn, their food, behavior, and capabilities come to us through information regarding the Prophet that has been transmitted over the generations via the Hadith. Among the references to the jinns is the following passage from which we may infer that jinns have the ability and responsibility to choose right over wrong: “‘O you tribes of Jinn and humans, did not messengers come to you from amongst you and relate to you My revelations, and warn you of the meeting of this Day?’ They said: ‘Yes, we bear witness upon ourselves;’ and the worldly life deceived them, and they bore witness on themselves that they were rejecters” (Qur’an Sura 6, Verse 130). A second verse reinforces this conclusion: “I did not create the jinns and the humans except to worship Me alone” (51:55).

The validity of string theory relies on the reality of unseen dimensions, and although we do not purport that the Holy Quran directly endorses this theory, it does support a search for truth. Moreover, a number of Qur’anic passages suggest the reality of more dimensions than meet the human eye, and of human inability to comprehend these additional dimensions: “The seven heavens extol His limitless glory, and the earth, and all that they contain; and there is not a single thing but extols His limitless glory and praise: but you [O men] fail to grasp the manner of their glorifying Him!” (Qur’an Sura 17, verse 44; italics added); “Do you not see how God has created seven heavens in full harmony with one another?” (Qur’an Sura 71, Verse 15; italics added).

Can we see jinns?

As inhabitants of a three-dimensional world, we would presumably be able to see a 2-D world, just as we are able to read the two-dimensional words on these magazine pages. Following this logic, those living in a parallel world, with more dimensions than earth’s inhabitants perceive, would have the capacity to observe 3-D activity while remaining invisible to the lower-dimension world. According to such logic, jinns could see humans but not vice-versa. The Holy Qur’an states, “Lo, he [the devilish Iblis] sees you, he and his tribe, from whence you see him not” (Al-Araaf verse 27). Iblis (the counterpart of Satan, Lucifer, the Devil, etc.) is the leader of the evil jinns.

The following verse from the Qur’an, which sounds like a divine approbation of space exploration, has been intriguing to many: “O assembly of Jinns and Men, if you can penetrate regions of the heavens and the earth, then penetrate them! You will not penetrate them save with a Power” (Qur’an Sura 55, verse 33). The Pakistani Islamic scholar Mawdudi asserts that Qur’anic verses describe the capabilities and limitations of the jinn, specifically their ability to travel rapidly though space: “In surah Al-Hijr: 16-18, surah As-Saaffat: 6-10 and surah Al-Mulka: 5, it has been said that although the jinn can ascend to the heavens, they cannot exceed a certain limit; if they try to ascend beyond that limit and try to hear what goes on in the heavens, they are not allowed to do so, and if they eavesdrop they are driven away by meteorites” (The Alim for Windows).

Ghosts and jinns

Western civilization has generally misunderstood Islamic doctrine concerning jinns and has often erroneously equated ghosts with jinns. In Islam, the jinns are real life forms capable of carrying out behaviors and mental processes. Whereas the ghost of Western traditions tends to be the departed spirit of a deceased mortal; Islam has no such concept per se, but maintains that so-called manifestations of ghosts are nothing more than close encounters with jinns. Countless individuals have insisted that they have seen implausible life forms or other objects that appear to have crossed over into the human dimensions to become visible for a time. Many have affirmed that they have seen loved ones, which they explain as the spirit of the deceased, but Islam would tend to interpret such manifestations as evidence of jinns. Some have gone so far as to maintain that such occurrences are explicable via scientific theory, which may be substantiated by evidence. One theoretical explanation is founded on the presence of energy in human life, and in life from other dimensions. Others have maintained that energy appears when supernatural manifestations occur, including cases of so-called hauntings or paranormal activity. Assuming that jinns are made of energy and give off energy, it has been hypothesized that their presence might be measured by electromagnetic force (EMF) detectors, which can examine and record even the smallest fluctuations in electromagnetic fields. According to this line of reasoning, the human body radiates a limited electromagnetic field; electrical appliances – from low-energy light bulbs to higher-energy televisions and computers – give off even more; and jinns, or so-called ghosts, theoretically, would cause far higher levels of measurable electromagnetic distortion. Some have insisted that these distortions are so powerful that they interfere with the working ability of computer systems, EMF detectors, and audio-visual equipment; and that high levels of static electricity have been detected by sophisticated devices. Like string theory, such theoretical suppositions invite investigation, analysis, and refinement in pursuit of truth.

Yet another theoretical approach focuses on recording temperature changes to scientifically detect the presence of invisible entities. This approach maintains that because fluctuations of more than ten degrees have been recorded in small areas with constant temperatures, it is reasonable to conclude that some energy-altering form has been present. Temperature does not change unless something causes such a change. Further theoretical modeling has revolved around cold spots and hot spots, the former linked to the notion that light does not reflect correctly off ghosts, which gives them a dark form because light is absorbed into the ghost. This theory would explain the claim that, even though ghosts absorb both light and heat energy, the general area around them is several degrees cooler than elsewhere in the room. Hot-spot theorists argue that just the opposite occurs; ghosts reflect light and heat rather than absorb it, thus causing the area to be hot or cold.

One of the most common claims of unexplained objects that become temporarily visible involves unidentified flying objects (UFOs). In many accounts, UFO observers report serious EMF distortions, which may result in an engine stalling or car lights ceasing to function. One can speculate that the ability of giant flying objects to maneuver with amazing speed could be due to the presence of jinns, whether for serious or mischievous motives during their brief crossing into the 3-D terrestrial realm.

The Prophet Muhammad’s traditions inform us that the jinns live, take nourishment, have offspring, enjoy life, and die, although their lifespan is unfathomable to 3-D-limited mortals. Like humans, they create different languages, believe in diverse religions, establish varied civilizations, and may choose to be either good or evil. Islamic belief credits jinns with the capacity to terrify humans, carry out pranks, and take possession of their consciousness. Ameen (2005), in his text The Jinn and Human Sickness, describes the type of sickness caused by the jinn, including physical sickness, hallucinations, creating enmity between people, sexual problems, and psychological disorders (52-3). Symptoms of jinn possession have also been categorized and researched by Ameen and include erratic behavior, seizures with no medical cause, paralysis of limbs, frequent headaches, and barrenness in women with no medical cause, Therefore, Islam, as well as other religions, resorts to some form of exorcism – that is, the expulsion of evil spirits from possessed victims. The ability to expel jinn from the human body has been described in Hadithic tradition. Biblical literature also documents the existence of demon possession and the ability to remove such evil spirits from the human body (see specifically the Gospels of Matthew and Mark). Of course, the symptoms of possession are also common problems that plague many humans due simply to aging, accidents, genetic disabilities, or emotional trauma and should not automatically be attributed to jinn possession without careful medical and psychiatric examination.

In summary, we remind our readers that truth is truth, regardless of where it is found, and ultimately all truth is perfectly correlated and logical. Given the sensory and perceptual limitations imposed by three-dimensional mortality, the dazzling possibilities suggested by string theory and other explanations of the unseen prove tantalizing to humans, who are searching to correlate the truths gleaned from various sources, including science and religion. We trust that the summary of string theory, the citations from the Holy Qur’an, the comparative perspectives from other religious traditions, and the overview of some phenomena that seem logically inexplicable, without the insights of revealed theology, will spark interest in the ongoing quest for truth that renders the human experience both fascinating and meaningful.

Figure 1: One of the ways to explain the multiple Dimensions is “String theory.” Theoretical string theory analyses, in hopes of eventually producing a comprehensive “theory of everything,” have focused not only on strings but also on membranes and have inspired new mathematical advances vis-à-vis Calabi-Yau spaces and knots.

(Adapted from Onpedia http://www.onpedia.com/encyclopedia/string-theory)

“For he who has but one tool, the hammer, the whole world looks like a nail.”

Since the time of Copernicus, natural philosophers have commonly assumed there is a real, physical world that exists prior to and independent of the human mind, and they have set themselves the task of penetrating “beyond the veil” of subjective impressions to that external “objective” world. Thus, the real world is viewed as something devoid of subjective experience. On the other hand, though the causes of experiences are thought to be objective and available to everyone, the experiences themselves are only available to the person experiencing them. This makes it almost impossible to draw a clear boundary between what constitutes objective or subjective experience.

Paulson, in his article “The Nearing Death Process and Pastoral Counseling,” proposes the acknowledgement of multiple domains for humans. He argues that reducing everything into one domain, either into the objective or subjective domain, causes problems: “This situation was illustrated by Viktor Frank through the aid of a three-dimensional model. In three-dimensional space, a cylinder is a cylinder, containing both rectangular and spherical components. But, when presented in two-dimensional space, the cylinder provides two conflicting views: it is either a sphere or a rectangle. One must be right and the other wrong (Fig. 1). In life, when a subject is reduced to the objective domain, consciousness, thoughts, feelings, and perceptions are viewed merely as biochemical reactions. That is, under the laws of science (physics, biology, and biochemistry), conscious thoughts, feelings, and perceptions cannot exist, whereas they do. Conversely, many postmodern philosophers reduce both subjective and objective domains into the cultural domain of shared meaning. In this view, the world we live in is completely relative.”

Attaining empirical knowledge through one’s sense-based experiences, one frames an individual view of the colorful face of creation. The constant flow of views and perceptions maps the external world in the human mind on two axes, one subjective and the other objective. This mapping process causes every individual living under the same sky to have a world of their own. For example, a despairing, lamenting, weeping person sees beings as weeping and in despair, while a cheerful, optimistic, merry person sees the universe as joyful and smiling.

This brings subjectivity to our attention. One can use this subjective point of view with the aim of strengthening faith in God’s existence and regarding every creature as part of the great fellowship of this faith, worshipping God. For a reflective person who is engaged in solemn worship and glorification discovers and sees to a degree the certain, truly existent and worship and glorification performed by all beings, while a person who abandons worship through neglect or denial sees beings in a state of idleness, as playthings in the hands of coincidence and mere accidents.

One should sometimes take the side of subjectivity to be able to feel joy and happiness in this worldly life. Although there is seemingly a dark and ugly face of existence, everything, stemming from Divine beauty, will eventually return to the same source. Although not everyone can fully understand this reality, everybody should always look at the brightest side of existence. As the famous scholar, Said Nursi, points out, “Those who attend to the good side of everything contemplate the good. Those who contemplate the good enjoy life.”

There is no doubt that all of us should view the created with an educated look. Eyes are the windows through which the soul sees outer space. One should be selective when it comes to where one opens those windows to. The thinking mechanism generates outputs depending on the inputs it receives. Everything is beautiful in itself or in its outcomes, thus the explorer of the universe should always beam his censors towards this beautiful side of the existence. One should support this subjective perception of the universe by every possible means, tolerating his ignorance and shortcomings in seeing the objective beauty of the universe.

As we all are human beings, we all have our own weaknesses in our personal realms. We can categorize the weaknesses embedded in our natures as follows: worldly ambition (that can result in forgetting about the Creator), greed, fear (which can make us sacrifice even our honor and integrity), racism and negative nationalism (which can mean one only feels satisfied at swallowing the rights of other nations), and selfishness. The main source feeding these weaknesses is thinking that one will live forever in this worldly life. This thought or feeling is completely subjective. None of us applies the concept of “death” to ourselves; everyone thinks it only applies to others. We see the mountains as stable, our surroundings as unchanging, and this observation leads us to think we will also remain unchanged. This deceptive subjectivity paralyzes sincerity and opens ways to the corruption and moral suicide of society. Explorers of the universe should spoil the poisonous sweetness of this subjectivity with the bitter taste of the contemplation of death itself. The reality of death is so vivid that it cannot be denied.

The example of a man in a small room of which four walls are mirrors can demonstrate this fact further. The man thinks that the small room is an infinitely large space, looking at its reflections in the mirrors. When the man stretches out his hand, touches the surface of the mirror and breaks it, he understands the inevitable reality. There is death, an end to unlimited wants and wishes for eternity on the earth. This objective fact exists regardless of what human minds think about it.

Human beings exist in impotence on this earth. It is as foolish to say that nature obeys our will or command as to say that a baby’s parents serve him due to his own power. Whenever delusions cause humans to think that they have a godly existence, they should remember Pharaoh’s fate and never forget that even a tiny microbe can defeat and force them to lie down for weeks. Hospitals, prisons and graveyards tear off this subjective mask of power and show the objective pure face of human beings’ underlying impotence.

Another important drawback of subjectivity is “familiarity.” Our lack of information and knowledge about a particular topic is our ignorance on that topic. However, if we do not even know that we lack that knowledge, this is called “compound ignorance.” For example, the rising and setting of the sun every day and spring’s appearing with bouquets of flowers at our doorsteps every year are not understood or appreciated by most people, as these natural events happen continuously without any interruption. People become blinded by a veil of “subjective familiarity.” They do not see the true value of events which appear to be usual and ordinary but in fact are extraordinary.

Another misuse of subjectivity is seen in the ways that people put a distance between each other and build a solid wall of enmity that blocks the way to peace and harmony in society. The reasons for putting up these barriers are far from being objective; they are only the dark shadows of our subjective caprices. Let us say that there is a ship carrying ten people out of whom nine are murderers and one is innocent. No one with right thinking would try to sink that ship in order to get rid of the nine murderers at the expense of the life of the one innocent. A judge looking at the incident through the lens of objectivity would demand the securing of the rights of the innocent.

Similarly, every human being on this earth is a spectacular ship built by the Creator. Everybody has good and bad sides. Nobody has the right to hate another person just because that person has some bad qualities. Hatred means sinking that hated ship of the individual in the eyes of the one committing the deed of hatred. Most of the arguments people use to support turning their backs on one another are as small as a pebble compared to arguments that are as great as mountains and that would bring apparently opposing sides together. All of us were created by the same God. This is a reason –for most- for fellowship stronger by far than the relation between the children of the same father. All of us are sharing the same slice of time out of thousands of years, a very small probability if one thinks of the millions of years since the beginning of creation. We all have a longing for love, tenderness, warmth, openness, honesty, and integrity. We are all afraid of clashes, tears, fears, the unpredictability of darkness, and sorrows. We, as fellow human beings, have so much in common.

The human being’s objective and subjective view of the universe should be a perspective illuminating both the soul and body. That perspective adds a third dimension to the two-dimensional picture in most of our minds. It highlights the wonders of this universe and the depth and richness hidden under the flat, quiet, calm ocean of creation.

Notes

1. Wallace, B.Alan, , “The Intersubjective Worlds of Science and Religion,” from Science, Religion and Human Experience, Oxford University Press, 2005.
2. Frankl, V. E. (1959). The will to meaning, New York: New American Library
3. Paulson, Daryl S, “The Nearing Death Process and Pastoral Counseling,” Pastoral Psychology, Vol. 52, No. 4, March 2004.
4. Nursi, Said, The Letters, NJ: Tughra Books, 2007, p. 450.
5. For more discussion on human weakness see Nursi, 2007, pp. 399–413.
6. See Nursi, 2007, p. 282.

We certainly fail if we try to consider time as only a matter of determining the hour. It is, in fact, a dimension like depth, height and length. One reason of our difficulty in perceiving time may be caused by the fact that our optical perception is sensitive only to three dimensions, but no others. Many animals cannot comprehend the dimension of depth. Some animals see their environs in two dimensions as in pictures. We have difficulty perceiving other dimensions just as animals which see the world in two colors live without any awareness of other colors.

Humankind, with the most sophisticated aspects, has a very different and privileged position above all creation. In spite of this, we have limited sight, hearing, and other senses. Many a world that is beyond our senses remains imperceptible to us.

Another aspect of time that supports its dimensional feature is that it is in full conformity with and proportional to other dimensions. In terms of its extent, duration of events increases or decreases in parallel with spatial dimensions. Man lives for around sixty to seventy years, while microscopic animals live around one or two days. The life of the sun and the universe which constitute the macrocosmos is expressed in billions of years. On the other hand, the life of subatomic particles is expressed in billionths of a second. Thus, we assume them as being resonances. There is time reduction together with and compatible with space constriction on the sub-atomic scale, and this fact is yet another proof that time is also a dimension.

How shall we understand the other dimensions of space? What does the fourth dimension of space mean? Let alone describing, it is not easy to even imagine this.

If a is the length, a2 is the area and a3 is the volume of a thing, then what is a4? If we see space as a giant plain sheet of paper, that sheet of paper has no depth but only a surface. If we fold crumple it into the shape of a sphere, we obtain “Riemann space.” Just like we perceive the three-dimensional earth as a two-dimensional surface while we are on it, this 3-dimensional sphere made of 2-dimensional paper will be perceived as 2 dimensional by us. We can only talk about the third dimension after we generate a depth, that is, after we step outside the paper and move above and below it.

The fourth co-ordinate of space is a tunnel. Let us suppose that the universe is two-dimensional, that is, it is like a thin sheet of paper, and let us human beings be like pictures with no thickness over its surface just like the pictures on a newspaper. We are free to move in all directions on this sheet of paper. We can sense four directions. But we will never perceive the terms “up” and “down” (or “upper” and “lower”) since we will never leave the surface of this sheet of paper. Such terms will seem unacceptable to us even we are told of them. Accordingly, we will never hear of a third dimension and our vocabularies will never contain such terms as “up” and “down.”

If a three-dimensional object existed above our fictional paper realm and if this object even slit our paper realm and went away, we still would not see it in three dimensions but only the part of it intersecting our paper realm. If such a thing were a sphere, for instance, we would see its projection in a circular form. Its latitudinal sections would gradually expand starting from the poles, reach their largest on the equator line and its ring-like (circular) shape would gradually decrease and finally disappear at the other pole. That is, we would see it only as its cross section or shade. Such a three-dimensional object would seem two-dimensional to us since we would suddenly see its cross section. The sudden appearance, expansion, decrease and final vanishing of that spherical object in our two-dimensional realm would seem quite amazing to us since our shapes are fixed and immovable.

The three-dimensional shade of an extraterrestrial four-dimensional object overshadows our three-dimensional space. We see the linear tunnels in cross-section, not longitudinally, just as we see the sphere as circular. Though the sphere is a simple object, it amazes us.

Let us now imagine a more complex form. Let us, for instance, reflect the shadow of a vase onto a wall and obtain various shades by turning it repeatedly. A fixed and immovable portrait on the wall would regard the shadow and its variations reflected over the same plane with surprise and fear, since that portrait, or that person without depth, sees only what is reflected on the wall, but not us and the vase. The wall is the only realm for him and there is nothing for him beyond and behind the wall even if we say so.

We humans tend to assess events within the narrow limits of space and within certain dimensions, since we are bound within a single space–time cone. The conceptualization of space with its dimensions of height, length and depth is possible for us. However, the fourth dimension, time, is an abstract and metaphysical measure even though it is studied within physics. The tunnel thus seems to us like an incredible dimension.

Our perceptions with the five senses in the visible universe can be considered as the projections of non-physical and multi-dimensional realities (the eighteen thousand realms) to our domain. Clearly, in order to gain a better understanding of those realms, which we do not see but which we feel exist, with the help of the physics, we need to emancipate ourselves from the narrow patterns of time and space in this world of trial. We need to travel toward the horizon of spirit and develop an all-new scientific language which approaches physics and metaphysics together. Finally, we can say, in Bediüzzaman’s words, that the physical and observable universe which is the domain of research for modern physics is an ornamented curtain veiling the world of the unseen.

Osman Cakmak is a professor of chemistry at Gaziosmanpasa University, Tokat, Turkey.

In this path of loving, how can it possibly be That we see the world through You, and yet we don’t see You?
Rumi

What is the universe? The search for the answer to this fundamental question has been the starting point of philosophy and science. However, believers, mostly turn to religion for an ultimate answer. Most Muslim thinkers have considered the Divine Names as the primary things to be comprehended through which we can gain knowledge of the cosmos. And growing numbers of people have suggested that the universe is a hologram which makes us images of a higher reality. The first question that comes to mind is this: Can God’s manifestation, as explained in Sufi texts, promote to a holographic universe? The article, however, does not aim to answer this question, but rather to show that holographic model of the universe can feed our imaginations to perceive self-disclosure (tajalli) of God in everything. For this purpose, we will first concentrate on the main characteristics of a hologram, explore what is meant by a holographic universe, and then use these as metaphors to understand the cosmos in terms of God’s names.

What is a Hologram?

Holography is an imaging technique much like photography. However, in the case of holography, the image of the object is three-dimensional. The main instrument behind this dimensionality is the laser light. Let’s see how we can obtain a hologram, for example, of a flower. To achieve this, a beam of laser light is separated into two by a beam-splitter. One beam falls directly onto light-sensitive film. The other beam is reflected from the flower and then shines onto the same film. When these two beams overlap, they form an interference pattern on the film which is called a “hologram.” The pattern, which looks like the ripples formed by rain drops on a pond, can be seen once the film is developed. A three-dimensional image of the flower is produced as soon as the hologram is illuminated by another laser light. That is because the whole message of all the visual aspects of the flower is enfolded on the two-dimensional surface of the film. Actually, what happens is the revelation of the flower information, as recorded in the interference pattern. The startling feature is that if we cut the hologram in half and then illuminate one piece by a laser, we will still be able to produce the entire image. Even, if we keep cutting the film into smaller and smaller pieces, every single piece will still possess the whole information of the flower. Furthermore, we can see the different sides of the flower when we look at its image from different angles, giving us a convincing illusion of seeing a three-dimensional object.

The Holographic Universe

The idea that universe can be a hologram is brought forward by the fact that not only light waves, but also matter waves, can display the behavior of interference. A deeper level of interpretation for a holographic universe arose through the theoretical models that try to explain the coordinated action of the four fundamental forces in nature. These theories suggest 11 dimensions of space-time which actually appear four-dimensional on a human scale. This would, in a way, imply that the information of reality in eleven dimensions is projected onto the four-dimensional space-time substrate that we live in. However, it is with Gerard’t Hooft’s “Holographic Principle” that the holographic nature of all physical systems became apparent, for it explains how a three-dimensional physical system can be described by a theory based on a system’s two-dimensional surface area. Thus, the idea of a “holographic universe” was on stage once this principle had been applied to universe, the biggest physical system we know of. With the holographic model of universe comes the realization that each point in the universe contains the whole universe in itself: every grain of sand is connected to every planet in the cosmos, just as every subatomic particle comprises a web of interconnections by which it becomes intertwined with the human cell. David Bohm is one of the 20th century scientists known for recognizing this wholeness in nature. Bohm’s interpretation of the universe as a hologram came as an explanation to a 1982 experiment, performed by Alain Aspect and his team, which revealed how fast sub-atomic particles communicate with each other. Actually, the communication is found to be so fast, even faster than speed of light, as if particles “knew each others’ fates.” Bohm suggested that particles do not need any signal to communicate with each other simply because the separation between them is an illusion. The explicit separateness is a projection from a higher level of reality, that he calls Implicate Order, where everything is connected. The particle acts as if it knows the other particle’s fate because it has the other particle’s information within itself. Another scientist who saw the holography in action is neurophysiologist Karl Pribram. He was trying to find which specific locations in the brain are assigned to store our memories. His experiments revealed there is no such localization. Pribram claims that the pattern formed by the interference of electrical signals from each nerve cell in the brain is where, in fact, the memories are “stored.”

God’s Manifestation

Many Muslim thinkers, from Ghazzali to Ibn al Arabi, have presented God as Light, and all entities in the cosmos as the dim reflections of that Light. The Qur’an affirms this approach with its many verses, one of the best known being that “God is the light (nur) of the heavens and the earth” (24:35). However, since God has neither resemblance nor similarity to any of His creatures, this kind of description should not be considered as a likeness to the light we know of, but as a metaphor. The symbolism of light is used mainly to explain the relationship between God and creation. But first, one should know about Divine Names to understand this relationship.

In point of fact, in the Qur’an, the verses generally end with a mention of some of the Divine Names-The Life Giver, The Slayer, The Forgiver, The All-Provider, The All-Knowing, The Creator, etc. Actually, we name Him “Creator” after witnessing the effect of this name on creation. For example, we witness mercy on creation and so we call Him “The Merciful.” Everything from physical beings to the sciences manifests God’s names in some mode or another. All types of hearing originate from Him being “The All-Hearing.” “The All-Just” shines in the way the planets are placed in their orbits, while “The All-Provider” can be seen in how each and every animal is taken care of. Medicine reflects “The All-Healing,” while geometry reflects “The All-Shaping.” To explain God’s manifestation (zohur), Said Nursi once gave the example of the sun and its light in his Sixteenth Word: We can think the light from the sun as God’s light and its attributes as God’s attributes. For example, the heat of the white light can be thought as God’s Power, and brightness as God’s Knowledge. The moment the sun reflects, let’s say on a mirror, its heat and brightness are also there in addition to its image. In a similar manner, God manifests Himself in all beings with all His attributes. However there is ranking in this manifestation which depends upon the being’s abilities and quality. We can use the analogy of light to see how different qualities give rise to different manifestations. A flat mirror has the ability to produce the image of the object with its original size and shape, while mirrors in fun houses can cause distortions depending on the curvature. Actually, in Sufism, the fact that the Names are various and are being manifested to varying degrees is given as the reason for variety in the universe as well as in human beings. And thus, human beings, created with the most complex abilities, have the highest place in the ranking, while the heart, the subtlest faculty of a man is considered as the center of manifestation.

Taking the analogy of light further, and using the allegory of a hologram, we can better visualize the relationship between the creation and God and the idea of ranking in His manifestation. In our analogy, laser light represents God’s attributes, the hologram (film) represents four-dimensional space-time, and the interference pattern corresponds to interfering with God’s names. Therefore, everything in the cosmos can be viewed as a pattern of Divine Names enfolded throughout space and time. As a result, one can conclude that the

Divine Names are not so much ontological entities but simply the effect of such interference, like two lights overlapping. God’s attributes give birth to all existent things just as laser light interference gives birth to a hologram. This analogy is consistent with the Sufi texts that draw the distinction between God’s Names (asma) and Attributes (sifat). Imam Rabbani, a well known Islamic scholar, emphasizes this distinction in his Letters. Divine attributes (such as Existence, Having No Beginning, Eternal Permanence, Being Unlike the Created, Self-Subsistence, Life, Knowledge, Power, Speech, Will, Hearing, Seeing, and Creating) are the features that cannot be separated from God Himself (Dhat). But once God discloses Himself, the effects of the Attributes are manifested and we call these effects Divine Names. In a nutshell, this means, the Attributes are the sources of Names, just as the light is the source of interference.

Furthermore, with the analogy of space-time as a hologram, if we cut the space-time into an infinite number of pieces, the whole universe is present at every location. Mahmud Shabstari expresses perfectly such an interconnection and unity in all creation in his Gulshan-i Raz (The Mystic Rose Garden):

Know the world is a mirror from head to foot,

In every atom a hundred blazing suns.

If you cleave the heart of one drop of water,

A hundred pure oceans emerge from it.

If you examine closely each grain of sand,

A thousand Adams may be seen in it.

In its members a gnat is like an elephant;

In its qualities a drop of rain is like the Nile.

The heart of a barley-corn equals a hundred harvests,

A world dwells in the heart of a millet seed.

In the wing of a gnat is the ocean of the life,

In the pupil of the eye a heaven;

What though the grain of the heart be small,

It is a station for the Lord of both worlds to dwell therein. (Translated by E. H. Whinfield)

This way of looking at everything may lead a believer to embrace the doctrine of wahdat-al wujud, the interpretation of oneness of existence. This results in the denial of the existence of the universe and because of the belief that the only thing that exists is God. One remark necessary at this point is that this might sound a lot like pantheism. However, a critical distinction is that in pantheism, what is denied is God, not the universe. Actually, many people, in trying to integrate the perspective of holographic universe with Sufism, adopt the Sufi belief “hama ost,” meaning “All is He,” another name for wahdat-al wujud. But the holographic metaphor, as presented above, may better serve in our attempt to understand God’s Unity (tawhid) without denying the universe. Thinking all beings as an interference of God’s names is consistent with the faith that every entity is a Divine location. However, note that we drew the distinction between Divine Names and Divine Attributes. Every being is kept in existence through God’s names. Things exist not because God abides in them with his infinite Being. In other words, and most importantly, it is not that God Himself is everywhere in the cosmos, but rather that His Names are present at every point. He does not dwell in cosmos, but is, instead, the source of cosmos. He is eternal-while cosmos ceases to exist once its connection to Him is cut. This standpoint is referred in Sufism as “hama az ost,” meaning “All is from Him.” In this view, the existence of universe is not denied but its level of existence can be questioned. If the true existence is defined as God’s Absolute existence, the universe does not have a true existence but is still in a mode of existence which is temporal and contingent. This existential challenge is explained by Islamic thinkers through the example of a shadow. The relationship of creation to the Creator is like that between a shadow and the actual shape. Thus, the likeness witnessed in a shadow and a hologram is such that we can conceptualize God’s manifestation-but He is not limited by these dimensions.

In fact, the similitude of hologram can also help us to conceive the spiritual unveiling. Interference patterns originating from different objects can be recorded on the same film by projecting the laser beams at different and varying angles. In such a case, depending on the direction and frequency of the beam that you send through the film, a different three-dimensional image will appear. Two points to emphasize are that the use of laser light is necessary to see the higher dimensionality, and that one can see different realities. In a similar fashion, in a spiritual journey, a traveler needs to have radiance from God’s light to be able to witness further dimensions. With the light of God, spiritual unveiling occurs and a Sufi may see different instances of a reality depending upon His station, which Divine name He is reflecting on or reciting, etc. Thus, the complex information that every element in the universe can reveal about every other entity depends on the fact that God’s names denote each other. We can further use the notion of interference to delineate the concept of ranking in God’s manifestation. In an interference pattern, not all points have the same brightness. The degree of brightness depends on the location and the way the two lights overlap. There are even points where no light can be observed. This, however, does not mean there is no light there; it simply cannot be seen due to destructive interference. Extrapolating this into God’s manifestation, every entity is a Divine location, even if it cannot manifest Him.

To end this train of thought, we should find an answer to a mysterious question. If everything in four-dimensional space-time comes into existence once a higher reality is projected on the void of darkness by God’s Light, what, then, is that higher multidimensional reality? It is a reality which can only be witnessed by those who see behind the appearance of things-by those who free themselves from the material world and carnal desires. It is, perhaps, the Preserved Tablet (Lawh al-Mahfuz) mentioned in chapter, The Constellations (Buruj). Ultimately, this is a question that can only be answered by those who have purified their hearts and can see beyond.

Ancient people, considering it very important to determine Earth’shape, derived two important clues from the night skies. According to Aristotle (384-322 bce), these were lunar eclipses and the North Star. Lunar eclipses occur when the sun, Earth, and the moon line up in such a way that Earth temporarily blocks the sun’s light from reaching the moon while its circular shadow gradually crosses the moon’s face. The North Star appears lower in the sky the further south we go: at the Equator it lies directly on the horizon, at a latitude of 45 it is 45 above the horizon; and at the North Pole it is directly overhead. However, it is not visible south of the Equator.(1) As both of these indicate a spherical Earth, the scholars of that time discarded the idea of a flat Earth.

The more challenging question was how to determine Earth’s size. Eratosthenes of Alexandria (third century bce) had a simple yet brilliant idea: insert a gnomon (a vertical stick) into a level piece of ground. This enabled him to determine noon’s exact time (when the shadow was the shortest). It was also used as a compass, for in the Northern Hemisphere the gnomon’s shadow points north.

But can such a simple device determine Earth’s size? Aswan, located about 500 miles south of Alexandria, sits on the Tropic of Cancer. So, at noon of June 21 (the summer solstice), a gnomon inserted there has no shadow. By doing just that in Alexandria, Eratosthenes found that the angle was 1/50 of a circle’s circumference (i.e., 2p/50). In other words, the angle at Earth’s center corresponding to the arc between Aswan and Alexandria on Earth’s surface is 1/50 of a circle’s circumference. Since the distance between Alexandria and Aswan is 500 miles, Earth’s circumference should be 25,000 miles, which is its actual circumference.(2) Thus, Earth’s size and shape was pretty well established over 2,000 years ago.

This knowledge was lost to Europe when the ancient civilizations crumbled. But Islamic civilization and culture, which was rising at roughly the same time as the West was declining, produced scholars and scientists who translated and refined quite a bit of this ancient knowledge. For example, in 1424 al-Kashi used Archimedes’ method of computing to determine its values to 16 decimal places. Ulug Beg compiled the greatest star catalog known at that time. During al-Ma’mun reign (813-833), al-Khwarizmi measured one degree of latitude on Earth’s surface and obtained the result of 57 miles. This means that Earth’s circumference is 360×57 = 20,520 miles.(3) Thus, in the ninth century, Muslim scientists knew that Earth was spherical and had a good idea of its size. Most Europeans at that time, believed that Earth was flat and the universe impenetrable.

The Qur’an describes Earth’s geographical shape and change in that shape: Do they not see how We gradually shrink the land from its outlying borders? Is it then they who will be victors? (21:44).(4) The reference to shrinking could relate to the now-known fact that Earth is compressed at the poles.

At a time when people generally believed that Earth was flat and stationary, the Qur’an explicitly and implicitly revealed that it is round. More unexpectedly still, it also says that its precise shape is more like an ostrich egg than a sphere: After than He shaped Earth like an egg, whence He caused to spring forth the water thereof, and the pasture thereof (79: 30-32).

The verb daha’ means “to shape like an egg,” and its derived noun da’hia is still used to mean “an egg.” As this may have appeared incorrect to pre-modern scientists, some interpreters misunderstood the word’s meaning as “stretched out,” perhaps fearing that its literal meaning would only confuse people. Modern scientific instruments recently established that Earth is shaped more like an egg than a perfect sphere, and that there is a slight flattening around the poles and a slight curving around the Equator.

The West receives “lost” knowledge

An enduring Western myth is that Columbus had to overcome a pervasive belief that he would sail off the edge of a flat Earth by sailing west to Asia. This myth stems in part from compressing the past and conflating the early Middle Ages, when Europe’s belief in a flat Earth was widespread, with the late Middle Ages, when Europe’s knowledge had caught up with and partially surpassed that of ancient Greece and medieval Islam.

During the Renaissance, Europe came into contact with “lost” knowledge by translating Greek and Arabic works. One important book was Ptolemy’s Geography, which accepts Earth’s spherical shape. Geography once more became available in the original Greek, which was not widely known in the thirteenth century. This book was translated into Latin in the late fifteenth century and became widely known. Columbus owned a copy printed in 1479.

By the time of Columbus, the idea of a spherical Earth was widely accepted in theory. Columbus believed this and wanted to sail west to the eastern shores of Asia. Earth’s size was the real issue. Ptolemy’s estimate was as much as 20% too low. Also, he vastly overestimated Asia’s size. The resulting map depicted an Earth with oceans between Europe’s western tip and Asia’s eastern tip, which was well within range of the provisions that ships of that time could carry. Columbus’ estimate of the distance to Asia was wrong, as was his assumption that there was no land between Europe and Asia. Fortunately for him, these two “wrongs” made a “right,” with all of its attendant fame and glory.

The Shape of the Universe

So far, we have given external information (i.e., lunar eclipses and the North Star) about Earth’s spherical shape based upon its position in the universe. If we use this method to determine the universe’s shape, we must observe it in an external manner. As this is not possible, let’s reconsider the question of Earth’s shape with a slight change: Can we determine Earth’s shape by using measurements and observations done only on its surface, and thereby acquire intrinsic information that can inform us of the universe’s shape?

Karl Gauss (1777-1855) answered this question positively by inventing “curvature,” which measures a given surface’s “bumpiness” at a specific point. A flat piece of paper has no bumps and so its curvature is zero. But if we look at a sphere at each point, we see some bumpiness. Gauss called such bumpiness “positive curvature.” Another kind of bumpiness is “saddle-shaped.” We can think of positive curvature at a point as follows: If we put a piece of flat paper on a surface at that point, the surface lies totally on one side of the paper. But in negatively curved space, this cannot happen.

To describe this concept formally (minus some technicalities), assume constant curvatures on the shapes in question. In other words, the shape is totally symmetric and every point has the same amount of bumpiness. There are several ways to describe curvature. Gauss’s formulation for curvature is brilliant. But before that, let’s look at his intrinsic proof for a spherical Earth. Imagine an orchard so large that any deviation from flatness is perceptible. First plant trees on the Equator every 100 kms (the approximate distance between two meridians on the Equator). Then plant another tree 100 kms (the approximate distance between two parallels) north of each tree, and do this several times. If Earth is flat, the distance between them would be same. But since the distance between the two consecutive trees (on the same parallel) decreases, Earth is spherical.

Having seen that an intuitively positive curvature implies a spherical shape, we want to follow this method to get an idea about the universe’s shape. Georg Riemann (1826-66), trying to do just that, invented “curved space” and explained how to compute its curvature. We could launch six probes at equally spaced points along the Equator, and have each of them continually monitor the distance to the two adjacent probes. If space is flat, the distances at any point in its journey would equal the distance from the probe to Earth’s center (an equilateral triangle). For negative curvature, the distance between probes would grow faster than the distance the probe had traveled from Earth; in positively curved space, the distance between probes would grow slower than the distance covered by the probes since leaving Earth.

There are two common misconceptions about the curvature of space. The first one is that curvature is a rather vague or qualitative concept. In reality, it is quite precise and assigns to each point in space and each direction at that point an exact number determined by the shape of the space near the specific location. The second one is that to describe curved space, one must think of it as “curving” into a fourth dimension. This can be useful in visualizing curved space for people familiar with four-dimensional Euclidean space (four-dimensional coordinate space). Unfortunately, science popularizers and science fiction writers often lace this concept with mystical overtones. This is more likely to confuse average people. In other words, measurements made in ordinary three-dimensional space may disagree with the results embodied in Euclidean geometry, for curvature measures the degree and kind of deviation from the Euclidean model.

Riemann also proposed a radically different (non-Euclidian) model for the universe: “spherical space.” This would be the case if space had a constant positive curvature. Based on this, he said that the universe should be a hypersphere (a three-dimensional sphere). The usual sphere is two-dimensional and lives in three-dimensional Euclidean space. In general, n-dimensional sphere is described as in the (n+1)-dimensional Euclidean space, and the set of points whose distance from origin (the point 0) is 1.

The more intuitive way to describe hypersphere comes from the usual sphere. Starting from a point in the sphere called the South Pole, and as we go in a direction in the sphere, we see concentric circles becoming larger until we reach the Equator, after which they become smaller and we finally reach North Pole. The situation is similar in hypersphere. Start from a point in the sphere called the South Pole, and as we go in a direction in the sphere, the concentric “spheres” become larger until we reach the Equator, after which they become smaller until we reach the North Pole. We can generalize this concept for any sphere of any dimension.

Earlier philosophers speculated that the universe was infinite in extent; others (e.g., Plato, Aristotle, Newton, and Leibniz) rejected this as implausible. But the alternative seemed equally dubious: If it did not go on forever, then “like the flat Earth” it had to end somewhere. And, what was beyond that? This model solved the Euclidean paradox of the universe’s “edge,” for if the universe is positively curved, it can be finite in extent and still not have any “edge.” In Riemann’s model, every part of the universe looks just like every other part, as far as shapes and measurements go.

Qur’an 51:47-48 mentions the universe’s spreading out or expansion in space: And the firmament: We constructed it with power and skill, and We are spreading it. This verse reveals that the distance between celestial bodies is increasing, which means that the universe is expanding.

Hubbel’s law

The most surprising discovery of the twentieth century was made by Edwin Hubble in 1929: The universe is not static, but is in a state of rapid expansion. Based upon his observations, he stated Hubble’s Law: Other galaxies are receding from us, the rate at which they recede depends upon their distance, and there is a constant ratio (the Hubble constant) between their velocity and their distance from us.

This law’s most dramatic consequence is what it tells about how we got to where we are now. If distances between galaxies increase as we look toward the future, they must decrease as we go back in time. Each ring of galaxies must have been closer to us in the past; the further away (or back in time) we go, the closer they would have been, and the faster they appear to be moving toward us.

Hubbel’s evidence was limited to a few relatively nearby galaxies. Over the years, however, thousands of observations extended and refined the measurements, and confirmed the general correctness of the velocity-distance relation. Current best estimates are that those galaxies are a billion light-years away (a light-year is roughly 6 trillion miles). Assuming that light always travels at the same speed, those galaxies must have been 1/20 of a light-year closer to us each year in the past. To have ended up a billion light years away, they must have started at exactly the same point as we did “the Big Bang” some 20 billion years ago.

Let’s start by using concentric rings of galaxies at intervals of a billion light-years. Then there are 20 rings, because five rings from us represents galaxies 5 billion light-years distant from us. To see them, we need to see their light that has been traveling for 5 billion years. Thus, we now see their position 5 billion years ago. As there was nothing 20 billion years ago, the outmost ring must the twentieth ring. This might sound paradoxical, as the circles of galaxies seem to grow larger as they move further away from us. However, the paradox is only apparent. Assuming Earth is in the South Pole and that the rings are a sphere’s latitudes, the rings become larger by the Equator and then become smaller until, in the twentieth ring, we reach the North Pole. This time, the rings are spheres and thus fit in the hypersphere. So Hubble’s Law supports our model of hypersphere for the universe.

But how can an expanding universe fit into our picture? In the sphere, the whole surface is expanding, just like inflating a balloon. So the distance from us (at Earth) to the Big Bang is increasing in all directions. In other words, any two points in the universe recede from each other, just as any two points on the balloon recede from each other during inflation.

The issue of time

So far, we have considered the universe’s shape at a fixed time. But, in physics, it is useful to consider space and time together. After Einstein’s brilliant publications about special relativity, Hermann Minkowski (1864-1909) proposed a very useful four-dimensional space-time model as the fabric of the physical universe. In a global picture, each fixed time represents a thin slice of space-time. Like an onion, each layer (assuming there are infinite very thin layers) corresponds to the universe at different fixed times. Given that each fixed time is a hypersphere, the layers are hyperspheres. According to Hubble’s Law, the hypersphere becomes larger as time passes. Just like an onion, the inner layers are smaller and the outer layers are larger.

In an ordinary onion, the layers are usually spheres; in the universe, the layers are hyperspheres. Assuming that the outer-most slice represents the universe at this time, the space-time “so far” is a four-dimensional onion, with layers of the universe at different times. The center of this “onion” corresponds to the Big Bang. We receive the picture of space-time until “this time.” Now, let mathematics predict the future of the space-time, just as Newton’s laws allowed a detailed description of the solar system’s future course. As time evolves, the universe expands, distances between galaxies grow, and gravity weakens. Thus, the space-time curvature diminishes and successive hyperspheres grow at a slower rate.

Two possibilities emerge: The hyperspheres continue to grow indefinitely, although at an ever-decreasing rate, or reach a maximum size and start to contract, in exactly the same fashion as the parallels of latitude on Earth: starting at the North Pole, growing until they reach their maximum size at the Equator, and then begin contracting toward the South Pole. If the universe contracts, distances between galaxies would decrease, gravity and curvature would increase, and the successive hyperspheres would shrink ever faster, eventually contracting into a single point: the “Big Crunch.”

We could then draw a map of the universe as a succession of hyperspheres growing in size for during the first half of its life and contracting during the second half. All space-time would then form a kind of super-hypersphere a four-dimensional object known as a “four-dimensional sphere.”

Conclusion

At a fixed time, the universe should be a hypersphere. When the time dimension is added, space-time should be super-hypersphere, with a “Big Bang” like the South Pole, each fixed time of the universe corresponding to the parallels, and finally a “Big Crunch” corresponding to the North Pole in our space-time model.

Almost everybody has heard that time is the fourth dimension. Even though this concept is easy to imagine, people find it hard to understand because of its mystification by science popularizers. We live in three-dimensional space. This means that I can parameterize the universe such that I can describe any point in it by using just three letters (a, b, c).

Footnotes

1. All of these statements are only approximately true. They would be exactly true if the North Star was precisely overhead at the North Pole, instead of being off center by about 1.
2. The real estimate might not be 25,000 miles, as we do not know the exact correspondence between ancient and current measurements. However, this was a very good estimate for that time.
3. Despite the potential errors mentioned in footnote 2, this also was a good estimate for that time.