Physics
Held in Place
Scientific Context
Cosmological Constants and the Balance of Existence
One of the most striking discoveries in modern physics is that the universe runs on a set of numbers so precisely balanced that even the slightest change would make life impossible. Physicists call them the fundamental constants—values that determine how strongly gravity pulls, how tightly atoms hold together, and how fast stars burn. There are roughly two dozen of them, and each one sits in a range so narrow that the slightest deviation would prevent the structures we observe from forming at all.
This precision is especially evident in the energy locked in empty space, what physicists call the cosmological constant. This value is tuned to a precision of about 1 part in 10120 — a number so incomprehensibly vast it dwarfs the number of atoms in the observable universe. Shift it up even fractionally, and space would expand so violently that no galaxies, stars, or planets could ever form. Shift it down, and gravity would crush everything back into itself before life had a chance to appear. The precision of this expansion was confirmed by three independent observational campaigns starting in 1998, work for which Saul Perlmutter, Brian Schmidt, and Adam Riess shared the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics.
The same precision applies to the four fundamental forces. The electromagnetic force, responsible for chemistry and the structure of every atom, is roughly 1036 times stronger than gravity. If gravity were even slightly stronger, stars would burn through their fuel in a few million years instead of billions—far too short for complex life to evolve. If the electromagnetic force were weaker, atoms could not hold together, and chemistry would be impossible. The British astrophysicist Martin Rees called these constants a cosmic recipe in which every ingredient must be measured to extraordinary precision, or the whole thing fails.
Two main scientific responses have emerged to explain this. The first is the anthropic principle: we observe this exact universe because if it were any different, we would not be here to observe it. The second is the multiverse hypothesis: we inhabit one of an infinite number of universes, each with its own random settings. Neither answer is currently testable. What remains uncontested is the observation itself; the numbers that govern the universe are balanced with a precision that has no agreed-upon explanation within physics alone.
Islamic Context
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُمْسِكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ أَن تَزُولَا وَلَئِن زَالَتَا إِنْ أَمْسَكَهُمَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ مِّن بَعْدِهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورًا
Indeed, Allah holds the heavens and the earth, lest they shift from their places. And if they should shift, there is no one who could hold them after Him. Indeed, He is Forbearing and Forgiving.
— Quran 35:41
The verse centers on two exact terms to describe the architecture of existence: yumsiku (He holds) and tazūlā (to shift). In classical Arabic, the verbal noun zawāl does not mean vanishing into nothingness; it is a spatial term describing a body's displacement from its fixed axis or established boundary. Early Quranic scholars like Al-Tabari (d. 923) understood this not as a metaphor, but as a description of physical reality. The verse asserts that the heavens and the earth possess a natural capability for collapse, and their structural integrity is only maintained because they are actively held in place.
Fakhr al-Din al-Razi’s (d. 1210) commentary focused deeply on this inherent dependency. He argued that there is no logical or physical necessity for the universe to remain in its current, stable state. The immense mass of the cosmos possesses no autonomous ability to maintain its own position. Every component of creation requires a continuous, external cause to keep it from shifting out of its boundaries. The grammatical choice of the present-tense yumsiku reinforces this: the universe is not a self-sustaining structure left to run on its own momentum, but a highly precarious construct that requires a constant, real-time imposition of order.
The conditional clause—warning that nothing could hold the heavens and the earth if they were to shift—acts as a categorical denial of autonomous, secondary forces. Many scholars, including Al-Qurtubi (d. 1273), understood this to mean the universe contains no internal failsafe. If the foundational grip is withdrawn, there is no underlying physical mechanism, backup system, or independent law of nature capable of catching the collapsing cosmos. The structural failure would be absolute, demonstrating that the forces governing the natural order do not possess the independent capacity to arrest their own collapse.
The conclusion of the verse, which names God as "Forbearing" and "Forgiving," was tied by Ibn Kathir directly to this act of holding. In his commentary, "forbearance" (ḥilm) is not merely an abstract emotion; it is defined as the deliberate restraint of a collapse. Because the natural tendency of the heavens and the earth is to shift and give way, the continued stability of the world is a literal act of withholding.
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The Connection
The cosmological constants reveal a universe perched on a razor’s edge, where the slightest deviation would trigger a catastrophic displacement from life-permitting boundaries. This is the exact state described by the Arabic term zawāl—a violent departure from an established axis. Physics characterizes this stability as a fragile equilibrium lacking inherent necessity. The verse asserts that the forces governing existence are not autonomous, but are actively held within their parameters to prevent a collapse that nature cannot arrest itself.
