It is narrated that Imam Ali (a) had said the following: “The name of the sky of the world is Rafi’e and its origin is from the water and the smoke.
Imam Ali (a) describes the first sky as originating from “water and smoke.” This is a reference to the gases and particles that were present during early stages of the universe. The universe began as an extremely hot and dense state, where the matter existed in form of plasma¹, which resemble the description of “smoke”.
“Water” represent ocean of molecules & chemicals which led to origin of life, explaining concept of water vapor being present in earliest stages of the universe. This also hints that water was essential for origin of life on Earth, as its the same in case of life in cosmos.
If we make Water & Smoke as our basis of explanation & that they give us exposure of early states of Universe, we can dwell further as these explaining vast plasma clouds in atmosphere of the gas giants or nebulae² that show red or coppery colour. Copper, with its reddish colour, relate to the various phenomena in the universe, such as the red & orange glow of the distant nebulae or stars which are undergoing fusion processes.
Moreover, the copper’s heat transfer hints at the dynamic and the energetic processes occurring in the stars within this sky layer. The copper is also a conductor of the electricity, which also symbolise how energy flows through the cosmos.
📚 Refrence: Tafseer Kanze al-Daqa’iq wa Bahr al-Ghara’ib Volume 3
