- published: 23 Oct 2014
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Islamic cosmology refers to cosmology in Islamic societies. It is mainly derived from the Qur'an, Hadith, Sunnah, and current Islamic as well as other pre-Islamic sources. The Qur'an itself mentions seven heavens and a vast universe sustained by Allah.
Islamic thought categorizes the entire cosmos into two domains: the Unseen Universe (Arabic عالم الغيب , Aalam-ul-Ghaib), which is imperceptible to mankind in general, has properties unknown to us, and includes Allah(metaphorically), angels, Paradise, Hell, seven heavens, and Al-Arsh (the Divine Throne)[1]; and the Observable Universe (Arabic عالم الشهود , Alam-ul-Shahood), perceptible through the five senses (possibly enhanced by means of instruments). The Qur'an says: "Allah is He, Who is the only God, the knower of the Unseen and the Observed."
In the light of a detailed description of the creation of the Universe drawn from the Qur'an and Sunnah, the purpose of existence is for God to become known, to be discovered by human beings. Before the creation, Allah was known only to himself, because nothing existed but he. It was part of his grand design that through created beings the Attributes of Allah were to be fulfilled.
Muneer Goolam Fareed, born 1956 (age 55–56), is a Muslim scholar and the former Secretary General of ISNA (Islamic Society of North America).
Muneer Fareed is a South African citizen of Indian descent. He studied Arabic Language and Literature at King Abdulaziz University, Mecca and got a theological license in Islamic Studies (Ijazah) from the Darul Uloom Deoband, India. Fareed moved to the U.S. in 1989 and obtained his Ph.D. in 1994 from the University of Michigan, with his dissertation entitled, "Legal Reform in the Muslim world: The anatomy of a scholarly dispute in the 19th and the early 20th centuries on the usage of Ijtihad as a legal tool." He worked as an Imam of the Islamic Association of Greater Detroit from 1989 to 2000 and was an Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at Wayne State University until 2006. He succeeded Sayyid Syeed as the new Secretary General of the Islamic Society of North America in late 2006. Fareed is also a member of the Fiqh Council of North America.