When electrons were first discovered,
they were thought to be particles like the protons
and neutrons found in the nucleus. In the experiments
that followed, however, it was discovered that
they display wave characteristics like light particles,
that is, photons. Subsequently, quantum physicists
came to the conclusion that every particle is
simultaneously a wave form with its own distinct
frequency.
SIGNS
FROM THE QUR'AN
When studying
the subject of electron shells, one must
also think over a verse pointing to this
subject in the Qur'an. There are 7 electron
shells around the nucleus of the atom. On
each shell are electrons in fixed numbers.
Could it be that the expression "the
seven heavens" used in the Qur'an to
describe the layers forming the heavens,
may also be pointing to the orbits electron
shells that are as if the heavens of the
atom?
He Who created the seven heavens in layers.
You will not find any flaw in the creation
of the All-Merciful. Look again – do you
see any gaps? (Surat al-Mulk: 3)
This figure never changes. It never becomes
6 or 8. Here, the really miraculous thing
is that this figure of seven electron shells
is in total harmony with the verse.
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 It is known that light is
spread in a way similar to the ripples created
on the surface of water when a stone is throne
into a lake. However, light sometimes bears the
characteristic of a particle of matter and is
observed in the form of sporadic, intermittent
pulses like rain drops falling on a window-pane.
This same dichotomy was experienced in the electron
as well, which led to great confusion in the world
of science. The following words of Richard P.
Feynman, the renowned Professor of Theoretical
Physics, was to lay the whole confusion to rest:
Now we know how the electrons and light behave.
But what can I call it? If I say they behave like
particles I give the wrong impression; also if
I say they behave like waves. They behave in their
own inimitable way, which technically could be
called a quantum mechanical way. They behave in
a way that is like nothing that you have ever
seen before… An atom does not behave like a weight
hanging on a spring and oscillating. Nor does
it behave like a miniature representation of the
solar system with little planets going around
in orbits. Nor does it appear to be somewhat like
a cloud or fog of some sort surrounding the nucleus.
It behaves like nothing you have ever seen before.
There is one simplification at least. Electrons
behave in this respect in exactly the same way
as photons; they are both screwy, but in exactly
the same way. How they behave, therefore, takes
a great deal of imagination to appreciate, because
we are going to describe something that is different
from anything you know about. 1
Because scientists were never
able to explain the behaviour of electrons, as
a solution they gave a new name to it: "Quantum
Mechanical Motion". Let us again quote from
Professor Feynman who in the following words states
the exceptional nature of that and the awe he
feels:
Do not keep saying to yourself, if you can possibly
avoid it, 'But how can it be like that?' because
you will get 'down the drain', into a blind alley
from which nobody has yet escaped. Nobody knows
how it can be like that.2
Yet, the blind alley Feynman refers to here is
actually not so. The reason why some people can
never figure a way out of this dilemma is that
despite substantial evidence, they cannot accept
that these incredible systems and equilibriums
have been brought into existence by the sublime
Creator. The situation is extremely clear: Allah
created the universe when it was not, furnished
it with extraordinary balances and brought it
into being without any preceding example. The
answer to the scientists' question "How can
it be like that?" that can never be solved,
nor understood, lies in the fact that Allah is
the Creator of everything and that everything
exists only by His command "Be!"
To Him is due the primal origin
of the heavens and the earth.
When He
decides on something, He just says to it, 'Be!'
and it is. (Surat
al-Baqarah: 117)
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