A Brief History of Primordial Light from the Perspectives of Sufi and Modern Science

Abstract

The primordial light is fundamental in the creation of the universe from the Sufi cosmology. In particular of the Sufi tradition, the Ishrāqἱ (illumination) school serves as a major School of thought in the Islamic intellectual history with the knowledge of the Muhammadan Light (Nūr Muhammad) becoming the most prominent cosmological point of debate among of Muslim scholars. To date, discussions and reviews on the understanding of the Muhammadan Light from the perspective of theology, literature, philosophy and the cosmological view in comparison to modern cosmology are still lacking. In modern cosmology, the Big Bang theory which is directly related to the light cosmology has been significantly discussed. The present study provides additional evidence with respect to the cosmological perspective highlighting the importance of light cosmology aspects with the insights of combining both cosmological postulates by evidence of direct connection with current modern and Sufi cosmology (worldviews). The present study renders the understanding of the gnosis of God and His Prophet Muhammad PBUH through the light cosmology perspective. Sejarah Ringkas Cahaya Primordium dari Perspektif Sufi dan Sains ModenCahaya primordium merupakan asas dalam penciptaan alam semesta daripada kosmologi sufi. Mengikut tradisi sufi khususnya, mazhab Ishrāqἱ (Iluminasi) berfungsi sebagai mazhab pemikiran utama dalam sejarah intelektual Islam dengan pengetahuan tentang cahaya Muhammadan (Nūr Muhammad), ia menjadi titik perbahasan kosmologi terkenal di kalangan para sarjana Muslim. Sehingga kini, perbincangan dan tinjauan mengenai pemahaman Cahaya Muhammad daripada perspektif teologi, sastera, falsafah dan pandangan alam kosmologi berbanding dengan kosmologi moden masih kurang dibahaskan. Dalam kosmologi moden, teori Letupan Besar yang mana secara langsung berkaitan dengan kosmologi cahaya telah banyak dibincangkan. Kajian ini memberikan bukti tambahan berkenaan perspektif kosmologi yang menekankan pentingnya aspek kosmologi cahaya melalui pandangan yang menggabungkan kedua-dua postulat kosmologi dengan bukti hubungan langsung menerusi kosmologi moden semasa dan kosmologi sufi (pandangan alam). Kajian ini memberikan pemahaman tentang ma’rifat kepada Allah SWT dan Rasul-Nya, Nabi Muhammad SAW melalui perspektif kosmologi cahaya.