Hayy Ponders Over Heaven And Stars

THUS far had he arrived with his reflections about the fourth septenary of his age. He recognised that the heavens and all the stars contained therein were bodies, because they are extended according to the three dimensions: length, breadth, and thickness.

Then he began to ask himself whether their extension was infinite, whether they extended to an endless length and breadth, or whether they were circumscribed by any bounds and terminated by certain limits.

Hayy Finds That The Body Of Heaven Is Finite

This problem continually occupied his mind. But soon, owing to the power of his reflection and the penetration of his thought, he perceived that the idea of an infinite body was an absurdity, an impossibility, a notion quite unintelligible. And he confirmed himself in this way of thinking by numerous arguments that presented themselves to his mind.

And when, by the singular sharpness of his wit, he had satisfied himself that the body of heaven was finite, he wanted to find out, in the next place, of what form it was and how it was limited by the superficies that compassed it round.

Hayy Contemplates Sun, Moon, And Stars

First of all he contemplated the sun, moon, and stars, and saw that they all rose in the East, and set in the West; and those lights which went right over his head described a greater circle, whilst those at a greater distance from the vertical point towards the North or South described the lesser circle. So that the least circles which were described by any of the stars were those two which went round the two poles, the one North, the other South, the last of which is the circle of the star Suhail (that is Can opus) and the circle Al-farkadani, which was next the northern.

And, since he lived in an island situated under the equinoctial line, all those circles cut the horizon at right angles and had alike reference to North and South, seeing both the poles appeared to him at once. He observed that when a star arose in a larger circle and another in a lesser, yet they both arose together and set at the same time, and he noticed it to be the case with all stars at all times.

Hayy Concludes That The Heaven Is Of A Spherical Figure

Therefore, it was evident to him that the heaven was of a spherical figure.

In this he was further confirmed by observing the return of the sun, moon, and the other stars to the East after their setting; and also because they always appeared to him of the same proportion of magnitude when they arose, when they were in the midst of heaven, and when they set; for if their motions had not been circular, they must have been nearer to sight at some time than at others; and then their dimensions would have appeared greater or lesser when they were nearer to him or further off.

But since there was no such appearance, he felt assured that the figure of heaven was spherical. Then he considered the motion of the moon, and saw that it was carried from the East to the West as the other planets were. So that at length a great part of astronomy became known to him.

It appeared to him, further, that the motions of the planets were in different spheres, all of which were comprehended in another that was above them all, and which turned about all the rest in the space of a day and a night. But it would be too tedious to set down, to explain in particular, how he advanced in this science; and what we have already said is quite sufficient for our present purpose.

Now, when he had attained to this degree of astronomical science, he found that the whole of the heavens and whatever it contained was one thing composed of parts mutually joined together; and that all those bodies which he had before considered - as earth, water, air, plants, animals -were all of them contained in it, so that none of them went beyond its bounds. He found also that the whole body was like one animal in which the stars answered to the senses; the spheres joined together answered to the limbs; and all those bodies therein, which were liable to generation and corruption, resembled those things which are contained in the belly of an animal.

Hayy Ponders Over The Creation Of The World

Now, whereas it appeared to him that the whole world was only one Substance which stood in need of a voluntary Agent, and that its various parts seemed to him but one thing, in like manner as the bodies of the lower world which is subject to generation and corruption, he took a broad view of the whole world, and debated within himself whether it existed in time after it had been, and came to be out of nothing; or whether it was a thing that had existed from eternity and never wanted a beginning.

In respect to this matter, he had many and grave doubts within himself, so that neither of these opinions prevailed over the other. For when he proposed to himself the belief of eternity, there arose many objections in his mind with regard to the impossibility of an infinite being, just as the existence of an infinite body had seemed impossible to him.

He saw, furthermore, that any substance that was not void of qualities produced anew, but always endued with them, must also itself be produced anew, because it cannot be said to be before them; and that which cannot exist before qualities newly produced, must needs itself be newly produced.

On the other hand, however, when he proposed to himself to believe in a new production thereof, other objections occurred to him - in particular this, that the notion of its being produced after non-existence could in no wise be understood, unless it was supposed there was some time antecedent to its existence; whereas time was amongst the number of those things that belonged to the world and was inseparable therefrom, wherefore the world cannot be understood to be later than time.

He then reasoned within himself: if the world be produced anew, it must needs have a producer or creator; and if so, why did this creator create the world now and not before?