The God particle: Fact or fiction

The Higgs Boson, or as it has been nicknamed, the God Particle, is thought, theoretically, to be one of the original building blocks of the universe; the subatomic particle. The ‘scientific community’ appears to be in hot pursuit of what some scientists theorise is the source of the origin of the universe, and the source of mass for all other particles. Many people in the world consider the present results of this horrifically expensive research a non-event or, at best, a premature celebration of a non-discovery of the subatomic particle, as according to physicists at the LHC near Geneva (Large Hadron Collider) they have only established where the Higgs Boson, aka God particle, is not to be found. Its existence remains, we are told, theoretical possibility, as it is an invisible field that gives mass to particles.

This can, perhaps, be regarded as a scientific achievement, up to this point, and further experiments may well lead to the discovery of ‘God particle’ that is the source of three dimensional universe that we all live in and see about us.

Now I, and I suspect, most people in the world don’t know what are the roles of other subatomic particles (if they too exist), in the process of producing ‘a three or even four dimensional existence’? It is, nonetheless, an achievement to know which particles were not the sources of mass. It would, however, be more helpful to know what roles they do play in terms of their purpose.

While we talk about the efforts of scientists to discover the origin of the physical universe, let us look at their endeavours from an Islamic perspective.

The Quran brings to our attention the fact that there was a huge bang and sudden burst of mass production, out of a ‘single matter’ before the physical universe came into existence. It says in the Surah 21 verse 30: ‘‘Do not the disbelievers (in God the Creator) see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit) before We clove them asunder, and We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe’’?

Here Islamic guidance is not only seen to approve of the efforts of these scientists, in their attempts to discover the origin of this universe, but points to the mathematical possibility of an originator and not to a mathematical zero point. The Quran also reminds us of the fact that this explosion of mass is continuously expanding, resulting in the birth of perhaps many billions more galaxies, in these words: ‘’We have built the heaven with might and indeed we are expanding it.’’S51 V47. Indeed, the Quran encourages people to look into how the creation began: ‘‘Say: go about through the earth and see how Allah originated the creation.’’S29 V20.

Tell-tale signs are lying all around us about how the universe (mass) started. The Quran called them as ‘‘aayaat’’- the signs or the indicators.

Because opinions are polarised as to whether the universe and life are the result of creation or evolution, and as many in the scientific community would not dare to break the taboo of belief in a creator, the attention of scientists is always narrowly focussed on a self-propelled process that was somehow self-triggered, resulting in an intelligently designed universe. We need to take pride, as reasoning human beings, in to these achievements. After all, these scientists do not come from a different planet, and these are the results of their endeavours.

However, we must not assume that all scientists necessarily must proceed from the viewpoint of atheism. On the other hand, the scientific community must respect and give room to those scientists who do believe in the creation, and that behind that ‘single matter’ there was the will of the originator and His design.

The Quran, uses two particular terms to describe the origin of universe, the first one being ‘‘Fatir’’ and the second ‘’Badee’’.

The Quran mentions the word ‘Fatir’ few times and it is regarded as one of God’s attributes. It is written, for example: ‘‘All praise belongs to God who is the originator (Fatir) of the heavens and the earth’’. S35 V1. The word derives from Ftr, which literally means to cleave, to split or cause to split. Could that be an indication to that ‘originating (God) subatomic particle of mass that has come out of splitting the atom?

Bada` literally means to invent in unparalleled way, or to originate (in terms of shape), while the word Badee` is also one of God’s attributes. Bid`ah means originating on patterns unprecedented (original in nature). The Quran says: ‘‘(He is) the Originator (Badee`) of the heavens and the earth. How can He have a son when He has no consort? He created all things. And He has full knowledge of all things’’. S6 V101.

It will be interesting to see how the ‘God particle’ theory develops in the future, in what direction it is steered, and what will be its implication for humans if it is proven.

While huge amounts of funding are being made available for this research, apparently from many different sources, little information is available as to how this $10b project will benefit humanity. In what way, will the discovery of the making of the elements of the mass of our universe benefit the world? Nonetheless, it is claimed, the implications of the discovery of the Higgs Boson, should it be discovered, would be huge.

Whether we have got our priorities right or wrong, or whether it is immensely important or not to explore this, it is a matter for governments and politicians to consider and reflect on. It may be that a successful conclusion to this research will boost the prosperity and welfare of human beings on this earth in future, and maybe that the world will come to know how its existence came about. At least it would give a new dimension to the efforts of philosophers of the past who strove to achieve the same goal, and tried to make sense of everything in existence, though without such enormous funding. Myths and rituals have also arisen seeking to explain existence, some from those believing in a creator and who worshipped him to show their gratitude for life, and others from those simply trying to rationalise or reject.

However, elite research projects always manage to get the largest portion of any funding, even though no one ever knows how such phenomenal amounts of funding are suddenly found. Perhaps the benefits of the discovery will outweigh the concerns the huge investment in this project have provoked and perhaps, God willing, humanity will be compensated, sometime in the future.