Before discussing “The Search for Alien Life: Quran and Ahlebait (a),” let’s first understand the meaning of the word “alien.”

What does the term ‘Alien’ mean?

The term “alien” can have several different meanings, depending on the context in which it is used. In the context of science fiction and discussions about the possibility of life beyond Earth, “alien” often refers to beings or life forms from other planets or celestial bodies. Or a creature from outer space; extraterrestrial.

We may not have concrete knowledge about the existence of extraterrestrial life on other planets, and while we lack detailed insights into their existence, and although it is not directly mentioned but there are some references in the Quran and Hadiths that imply their presence.

Allah knows the absolute truth, but He has given us brain and the ability to think which we use to understand and explore the world. As the Quran says:

“Say, ‘Travel through the land and observe how He began creation. Then Allah will produce the final creation. Indeed Allah, over all things, is competent.’’ Surah Al-Ankabut (29:20)

The Quran and the Concept of Alien Life:

Starting with the surah:

“Alhamdu lillahi Rabbil ‘alamin.”

This Quran verse 1:2 is the second verse of the first chapter (Surah Al-Fatiha) in the Quran. In English translation, this verse is often rendered as:

“Praise be to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.”

This verse is the opening of the Quran and is recited in daily prayers by Muslims. It serves as a declaration of praise and recognition of Allah as the Lord and Sustainer of all creation. Allah emphasizes that He is the Lord of all worlds, which could possibly encompass worlds as in planets, universes, or dimensions. The word ‘Aalam,’ used to denote worlds in this context, can signify an entire world or an entire population. Classical scholars traditionally interpreted ‘Aalam’ to encompass people, animals, jinn, angels, and more. However, right from the outset, Allah is conveying the message that we are not alone.

Another Verse Of Quran:

“وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ خَلْقُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَثَّ فِيهِمَا مِن دَابَّةٍ ۚ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ جَمْعِهِمْ إِذَا يَشَاءُ قَدِيرٌ”

“And among His Signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the living creatures that He has scattered through them: and He has power to gather them together when He wills.” [Quran 42:29]

An examination of this verse leads many to believe that Allah is making a clear reference to the existence of extraterrestrial/alien life. Firstly, this belief arises because the plural form, ‘Samawaat’ (heavens), is used, indicating that Allah is not solely referring to the sky above us. Secondly, the word ‘daabah’ is employed to describe these creatures. ‘Daabah’ typically refers to land-dwelling animals that move across the Earth’s surface. Hence, Allah is not alluding to spiritual beings but to tangible beings that inhabit the heavens, meaning beyond Earth’s confines.

Al-Allamah al-Sayyid Muhammad Husayn at-Tabataba’i (1892-1981) is one of the greatest and the most original thinkers of the contemporary Muslim world. He was a prolific writer and an inspiring teacher, who devoted whole of his life to Islamic studies.

In a commentary on this verse, Allamah Tabatabai says:

“The apparent meaning of this verse is that there are living creatures (Dawab) in the heavens similar to those on Earth.” (Al-Mizan – Volume 35, Page 66)

Book Link: Al-Mizan – Volume 35

Islamic theologian Fahir al-Din al-Razi says in his commentary of this verse:

It is not impossible that in the heavens there are species of animals that move just like humans walk on the earth.” (Religions and extra-terrestrial life, David Weintraub, pg. 165)

Agha Mahdi Puya, the Ayatollah who authored his famous Quranic tafsir, was quite specific about the existence of alien life. He wrote:
“Life is not confined to Earth. This verse indicates that life, in some form or another, exists in the millions of heavenly bodies scattered throughout space. The Almighty, who created such countless beings, surely has the power to bring them together when the trumpet is blown.”

In another verses of Quran Allah says:

“Allah is He Who created seven heavens, and of the earth the like thereof. The divine command comes down in their midst, that you may know that Allah has power over all things, and that Allah encompasses all things in His knowledge…”
(Holy Quran: 65:13)

In this verse, Allah hints at the existence of similar, if not identical, celestial bodies to Earth. While this may allude to planets in general, He also reminds us that divine revelation descends upon all of them. This could imply that divine revelation extends to alien life forms as well.

In another verse:

“The seven heavens, the earth, and all that is within them give glory to Him. There is nothing but gives glory to Him with His praise, though you do not understand their hymns of praise. He is Most Forbearing, Exceedingly Forgiving.” [Quran: 17:44]

In this context, Allah employs the pronoun ‘men’ when referring to ‘those,’ suggesting that He is alluding to intelligent life inhabiting the heavens or distant star systems.

The last verse, which Dr. Yasir Qadhi mentions, is perhaps the most significant piece of evidence for the potential existence of extraterrestrial life (although he leans towards its possibility rather than fully endorsing it). In this verse, Allah states:

“Indeed, We have dignified the children of Adam, carried them on land and sea, granted them good and lawful provisions, and privileged them far above many of Our creatures.”
(Holy Qur’an 17:1)

His argument revolves around Allah’s statement that human beings are elevated above “many of Our creatures,” rather than all of them. Given our knowledge that we are superior to angels, jinn, and animals, this verse hints at the existence of another form of creation that remains unknown to us—possibly, alien life.

Alien Life In Hadiths:

Now, the main thing starts from here as I gather all the resources and hadiths that provide evidence of the existence of alien life on other planets. When you read these hadiths, they will undoubtedly astonish you and make the topic even more intresting! Let’s start with the teaching of Imam Jaffar al-Sadiq (a).

Imam Jaffar al-Sadiq (a) on the Concept of Alien Life:

Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq, full name Ja’far ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq, was a prominent Islamic scholar and the sixth Imam in Twelver Shia Islam. He is regarded as one of the founders of the Ja’fari school of jurisprudence within Shia Islam. His teachings also had an impact on Sunni scholars and contributed to the broader development of Islamic thought during his time. He says:

Maybe you see that God created only this single world and that God did not create humans besides you. Well I swear by God that God created thousands and thousands of other worlds and thousands and thousands of humankind.”
(Bihar Al-Anwar, Vol. 8, p. 375)

In this hadith, it is emphasized that God’s creation extends beyond our world. It assures us that God has created many other worlds and populated them with various human civilizations.

Another Hadiths in Khisal:

Another hadith I came across, also attributed to Imam Al-Sadiq, says:

Allah has created twelve thousand worlds and every one of them is bigger than the seven skies and seven earths together, none of the people of these worlds ever think that Allah has created any other worlds.” (Khisal, vol. 2, pg. 639, hadith 14)

Now let me share you the accurate words of this hadith which are written in the book!

God Has Created One Million Worlds and One Million Breed of Humans:

28-44 (The compiler of the book narrated) that his father – may God be pleased with him – narrated that Sa’ed ibn Abdullah quoted on the authority of Muhammad ibn Isa, on the authority of Al-Hassan ibn Mahboob, on the authority of Amr ibn Shimr, on the authority of Jabir ibn Yazid that Aba Ja’far al-Baqir(a) was asked about the following words of God the Honorable the Exalted, ‘Were We then weary with the first Creation, that they should be in confused doubt about a new Creation?’

The Imam (a) replied, “O Jabir! Its interpretation is that when the Honorable the Exalted God destroys this creation; this world and houses; the people of Heaven in Heaven; and the people of Hell in Hell, then the Honorable the Exalted God will create another world with a new set of monotheist people without any male or female distinction to worship Him. God will create another Earth for them to live in and will create another sky to cast a shadow upon their heads. Maybe you believe that the Honorable the Exalted God has not created any other world and has not created any other humans than you? Indeed, I swear by God that the Blessed the Sublimed God has created a million worlds and a million breeds of humans, and you are in the very end of these worlds and of the last breed of human beings.

God Has Twelve Thousand Worlds:

28-4 (The compiler of the book narrated) that his father – may God be pleased with him – narrated that Sa’ed ibn Abdullah quoted Al-Hussein ibn Abdul Samad, on the authority of Al-Hussein ibn Ali ibn Abi Uthman, on the authority of Al-Ebad ibn Abdul Khaliq, on the authority of someone who narrated that Aba Abdullah as-Sadiq (MGB) said,

“The Honorable the Exalted God has created 12,000 worlds each of which is more extensive than the seven heavens and the seven Earths. None of these worlds know that God the Honorable the Exalted has any other worlds except their own world. However, I am a proof for all of them.” (Khisal)

Don’t worry; I will also provide the PDF link of the book below, where you can easily download it!

Download the book from here: Al-Khisal, A Numeric Classification of Traditions on Characteristics

Hadiths from Basaair Al Darajaat:

• It is narrated to us by Muhammad Bin Al Husayn, from Safwan Bin Yahya, from one of his men,

‘From Abu Abdullah, from his father, from Ali Bin Al-Husayn (a), from Amir Al-Momineen (a) having said: ‘For Allah there is a city behind the west called Jabalqa, and in Jabalqa there are seventy thousand communities. There isn’t any community from it except it is similar to this community. They do not disobey Allah for the blink of an eye. They do not do any deed nor say any word except the supplication against the two former ones, and the disavowment from both of them, and the Wilayah for People of the Household of Rasool-Allah” (17560).

• It is narrated to us by Ahmad Bin Musa, from Al Husayn Bin Musa Al Khashab, from Ali Bin Hassan, from AbdulRahman Bin Kaseer:

“From Abu Abdullah (asws) having said: “Behind the eye of this sun of yours there are forty eyes of the sun wherein are a lot of creatures, and from behind your moon that are forty moons wherein are a lot of creatures, not knowing whether Allah (azwj) Created Adam (as) or did not Create him” (1758).’

• He (the narrator) said, ‘I said, ‘And what is the domain?’ Heasws said: “The veil, by Allah (azwj)! Behind that are seventy thousand worlds, more than the number of the humans and the Jinn, and all of them are cursing” (1762).

Read also: ARE ATOMS LIVING? QURANIC AND SCIENTIFIC INSIGHTS.

Behind the Sun and Moon:

• It is narrated to us by Muhammad Bin Isa, from Yunus, from Abdul Samad, from Jabir,
‘From Abu Ja’far, he (the narrator) said, ‘I heard him saying:

“Behind this sun of yours there are forty eyes of the sun, what is between a sun to a sun there are forty millennia (travel distance). Therein are numerous creatures not knowing whether Allah Created
Adamas or did not Create him. And from behind this moon of yours there are forty moons, in what is between a moon to a moon there is a travel distance of forty days. Therein are numerous creatures not knowing whether Allah Created Adam (as) or did not Create him.” (1764) -Basaair Al Darajaat

Here’s the text without unnecessary spaces:

It is narrated to us by Ahmad Bin Muhammad, from Abu Yahya Al Wasity, from Dorost, from Ajlan Abu Salih who said,

“A man entered to see Abu Abdullah and said to him, ‘May I be sacrificed for you! This is the dome of Adam (as)?’ He (a) said: ‘Yes, and in it are many domes. Behind this west of yours are thirty-nine wests, white lands filled with creatures being illuminated by its light. They do not disobey Allah (azwj) for the blink of an eye. They don’t know whether Allah (azwj) Created Adam (as) or not.” (1765) -Basaair Al Darajaat

Hadith Of Imam Hassan (a):

It is narrated to us by Al Husayn Bin Muhammad Bin Aamir, from Moalla Bin Muhammad al Isfahani, from Muhammad Bin Jamhour, from Suleyman Bin Sama’at, from Abdullah Bin Al Qasim, from Sama’at Bin Mihran, from Abu Al Jaroud, from Abu Saeed who said,

‘Al-Hassan Bin Ali (a) said: “For Allah (azwj) there is a city in the east and a city in the west, upon each are bridges of iron, in each bridge are seventy thousand shutters of gold, from each shutter enter a thousand languages of human beings, and there isn’t any language in it except it is different from the other, and there is no language from it except and I know it, and there is no son of the Prophet (as) in them nor between them apart from me and my brother, and I am the Divine Authority to them’’. 1767 -Basaair Al Darajaat

Download this book: “Basaair Al Darajaat”

Don’t worry; I will also provide the PDF link of the book below, where you can easily download it! Click here: Basaair Al Darajaat

Hadith of Imam Ali (a):

In another tradition found in Safinatul Bahar, Imam Ali states:

“These stars which are in the sky are like cities, similar to the cities on Earth. Every city is connected with another city (every star with another star) by pillars of light.” (Safinatul Bahar: Volume 2, Page 574)

While Imam Ali often used metaphors that were understandable to the Arabs of his time in describing the Universe (as seen in Nahjul Balagha), one could argue that in this instance, he is making a literal reference to extraterrestrial civilizations.

Hadith of Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (a):

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (a.s), the fifth Shi’a Imam and the son of the fourth Imam Ali ibn Hussain ‘Zayn ul-Abideen’ (a.s), who composed the revered Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya (Scroll of the Prostrater), tells us:

“Do you believe that this is the only world God created? That He didn’t create beings other than humans? Indeed, God has created thousands upon thousands of worlds with thousands upon thousands of Adams, and you live on just the last of these worlds, among the last of these Adamic creations!”
Source: Al-Saduq, Kitab al-Tawhid, (ed.) al-Sayyid Hashim al-Husayni al-Tehrani, 277.

Another saying of Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (a):

“Since this world was created, Allah, the Exalted, has created seven human species none of which were of the race of Adam. He created them from the surface of the Earth, and set each species of beings, one afteranother, with its kind upon the Earth. Then he created Adam, the father of humankind, and brought his children into being from him.” (Majlisi)

Additional Hadiths on the concept of Alien Life:

• When asked whether there were human beings on other planets, Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq was more cautious, responding that: “I cannot say that there are human beings in other worlds, but I can say that there are living beings that we cannot see because of the great distance between us” (Maghz-e Mutafakker Jehan Shi‘ah).

• When Ibn ‘Abbas, the cousin and companion of the Prophet Muhammad, was asked to interpret the Qur’anic verse regarding the seven earths (65:12), he explained that “In each of those earths there is a Prophet like your Prophet, an Adam like your Adam, a Noah like your Noah, an Abraham like your Abraham, and a Jesus like your Jesus” (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Abi Hatim, Hakim, Bayhaqi, Ibn Hajar, Ibn Kathir, and Dhahabi).

• As the Imams from the Ahl al-Bayt, the Household of the Prophet, have elucidated, there have been multiple Adams, with the Adam mentioned in the Bible and the Qur’an being the most recent among them. When inquired about who preceded Adam, Imam ‘Ali (a.s) answered, “Adam.” When questioned about who preceded that Adam, he responded, “Adam.” When probed about who came before that Adam, he replied, “Thousands of Adams” (cf. Ibn Babawayh). In essence, various human species have inhabited both this world and other worlds before us, and the exact count of these species is known only to Allah.

Now what do you think?

After reading these teachings from the Ahlebait (a), I was surprised like why we don’t hear these kinds of teachings in our gatherings, majalis and schools. We believe that the family of the Prophet possesses profound knowledge of each and everything, and these teachings gives us the light that there might be some form of life in space. They may not necessarily be human beings, but these teachings strongly imply the existence of some form of life beyond Earth, as some of the teachings clearly mention them.

Scholars on the Concept of Alien Life:

1) In his magnum opus “al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya” (“The Meccan Revelations”), the Andalusian polymath, metaphysician, and scholar Shaykh al-Akbar Muhiyideen Ibn al-Arabi (1165-1240), one of Sunni Sufism’s greatest saints and sages, describes an encounter with a celestial being from the “alam al-mithal” (the imaginal world) in the following words:

“In a visionary experience (waqi’a) I had, I once saw an individual circumambulating the Kaaba. He informed me that he was one of my ancestors and revealed his name [124]. Curiously, I inquired about the time of his death, and he responded, ‘It was 40,000 years ago.’ Intrigued, I then questioned him about Adam, considering the established chronology of his era, which suggested that Adam lived much more recently than 40,000 years ago. In response, he said to me, ‘Which Adam are you inquiring about? Are you referring to the most recent Adam?'”

Note 124: A more detailed account of this encounter can be found in chapter 390 of the Futuhat, dedicated to the inner understanding of “time” (al-zaman), where a passage (III 459.8-14) vividly illustrates the unique nature of this particular experience.

“Now God caused me to see…while I was going around the Ka’ba…” There this mysterious “ancestor” also reminds Ibn Arabi of the Hadith of the Prophet stating that, “God created 100,000 Adams.”

Source: Ibn ‘Arabi. Al-Futuhat Al-Makkiyya (The Meccan Revelations). Volume I. Translated by William C. Chittick & James W. Morris. Volume I Pir Press, 2002. Page 222.

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2) In his comprehensive Quranic commentary titled “Tafsir al-Mizan” in Arabic and Persian, the renowned Shi’a scholar and mystic Allamah M.H. Tabataba’i (1904-1981), who hails from Iran, offers insights into the opening verse of the first Surah of the Qur’an, “Alhamdulillahi Rabbil ‘Alamin” (meaning “All praise belongs to the Cherishing Lord of the Worlds”). He notes that “the apparent meaning of this verse suggests the existence of living creatures (singular: Dawab, plural: Dabbatun) in the heavens similar to those on earth.” It’s important to clarify that linguistically, the term “dabbatun” is distinct from angels, who are incorporeal beings, as it signifies embodied entities.

Source: Al-Tafsir al-Mizan, Volume 18, page 58. Translation into English by Seyyed S. Akhtar Rizvi. [Source Website: al-mizan.org]

3) According to Dr. John Andrew Morrow in the first chapter of his book “Restoring the Balance” (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2016), titled “Islam and Extraterrestrials”:

The first chapter of the Holy Qur’an begins with the words, “Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.” Instead of referring to just one world, Almighty Allah uses the term “worlds,” in the plural, on 46 different occasions. While this term originally encompasses various physical realms of existence on our planet, including different plant and animal worlds, as well as various spiritual dimensions, it also extends to the 70 sextillion visible stars in the universe and the planets and satellites orbiting around countless stars. Thus, in addition to confirming the existence of other worlds, the Qur’an acknowledges the presence of other Earth-like planets.

Final Thoughts:

In conclusion, the Hadiths attributed to the Ahl al-Bayt (the family of the Prophet) and other sources point to the belief in the existence of other worlds and civilizations. These Hadiths, particularly those attributed to Imam Jaffar al-Sadiq (a), emphasize that God has created numerous worlds and diverse human beings across these worlds, extending beyond the human race of Adam (a.s). These Hadiths strongly imply the presence of extraterrestrial life forms.

We’re not sure about the exact kind of life that might exist out there. It could be tiny (micro-living) or even larger than humans. Maybe they exist in a way we can’t see like in another dimension. But one thing is clear: Allah didn’t create the vast universe just for us on Earth. So, in the end, let’s remember this quote: “We are not alone.”

Remember me in your prayers! Allah Hafiz.

Thankyou for Reading!

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