From the Genesis-How Allah Created the Universe

"Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is the Guardian and Disposer of all affairs. To Him belongs the keys of havens and the earth…" --- Qur'an chapter 39 verses 62-63

Since time immemorial, historians have divided history in three generational periods:

1- The Earlier Ages; which contains historical account from the beginning on how God created the universe-the planets, stars, moon and the sun, etc. The creation of the first man on earth[Adam], the period from the last of the Roman rule to the conquest of Constantinople[Istanbul] under Sultan Muhammad Usamani, the second.
2- The Middle Ages; The events that had occurred after the era of Adam, or so many years before or after Deluge, the fall of Western Roman Empire[476AD], Charlemagne, the Emperor of Romans[800AD], Treaty of Verdun[843AD].
3- The modern Ages; The scientific discoveries and discoveries of the present day lands, the first and the second world wars, etc.

And this series commences right from the beginning of creation:
Allah was existing [and nobody knows how long He was existing], He then wanted to reveal Himself His prospective creatures, and He mentioned the word: "Kun", or "Be" and the Universe came into existence. Allah made the earth and the heaven [universe] in six day, by just a verbal command. One day of Allah is equal to one thousand years by our reckoning. As He stated in Qur'an chapter 25 verse 59 that: "He[Allah] is who created the heavens and the earth and what is between them in six days and then established Himself above the Throne[of His kingdom]."
And most intellectuals in the field of divine knowledge have agreed that, Allah created the Universe in six days, but had differed on the nature of those days-were they like our earthly 24 hours, a day or each day is like a thousand years in our reckoning. And by then He had already crafted, created and calibrated His throne on the surface of water.
In a hadith reported by Imran Bun Husuain and narrated by Bukhari in a chapter, "Kitabu Badhul Khalq", or a lesson on the "Beginning of Creation", that: "Allah was existing long and there was nothing in existence and His throne was on the water body. And He wrote everything in the Qur'an, and He then created the Universe." However, other historians were with the opinion that, He created the "Pen" before all other creatures. And Ibn Juraij and Ibnil Qayyimul Jawzii tilted towards this opinion. And after the "Pen" then came the thick cloud. They based their argument on a hadith narrated by Imam Ahmad, Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi, that Ubadatu Bun Samit reported that, the Prophet[PBUH] said: "Verily, the first thing that Allah created was the "Pen", He then commanded it to write, and it wrote all what would/will happen until the Last Day." And in another hadith narrated by Imam Muslim in his "Kitabul Qadr", "Lesson on Predestination", Abdulah Bun Umru Bunl 'Aas said, I heard the messenger of Allah[PBUH] said: "Allah had written the predestination[He ordained] of the entire creatures fifty thousand years before He created the heaven and earth[Universe], while His throne was situated on the surface of water."
According to Imran Bun Husuian, the people of Yemen approached the Prophet[PBUH] and said: "We came to you to learn about issues in the deen, and to ask the first thing[Allah created]." And he said: "Allah was existing and there was nothing, and His Throne was on the surface of the water, and He wrote everything in the Qur'an and then created the heaven and earth."
In a hadith narrated by Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah and Tirmidhi, Abbass the son of Abdul Muttalib reported that; We were once sitting in the entourage of the Prophet[PBUH] at Bathaa-i, then [sahab]a cloud passed by, and the Prophet[PBUH] said; "Do you know what this is? We then said; the cloud. He said; and [muzun] or moist clouds . And we were silent. And then asked again; Do you know the distance between the heaven and earth? We said; It is only Allah and His messenger who know. He said; "The distance between them is equivalent to the distance of a journey of five hundred years, and the distance between one level of the heaven to another would also take five hundred years and on the top of the seventh[last] layer of the heaven is a body of water, the distance between its top and bottom is like the distance between the heaven and earth…on top of it is the Throne of Allah, the length of it from top to bottom is equivalent to the distance between the heaven and earth. And Allah Is situated on top of it. And none of the deeds of mankind escapes Him!"
According to Ibn Abbass, in a hadith narrated by Al-Tabarani, the Prophet[PBUH] said: "Allah created, "Lauhul Mahfuz", or "Preserved Tablet" it is white and [durrah] rounded shaped, its pages are created from [yaaqoot] read ruby, its pen is light, and the writings are [sparkling] light of Allah. On each day, in 360 seconds, He creates, He enriches, He causes death and gives live, He promotes and demotes and does whatever He wishes!"
And Ibn Abass also narrated in another hadith that; On the surface of "Lauhul Mahfuz" or "Preserved Tablet" is written: "La Ilaha Illa La Wahdahu, Deenuhul Islam, Wa Muhammadun Abduhu Wa Rasuluhu, Faman Aamana Billahi Wa sadaqa Biwa'adihi Wa ttaba'a Rusuluhu Adkhala-ul Jannah!" that: "There is no God but Allah Alone, His religion is Islam, And Muhammad is His Messenger, he who believes in Allah and confirms the truth of His Promise and follow His Prophets, He will grant him Paradise."
Allah says in Qur'an chapter 85 verses 21-22, that: "But this is a Glorious[honored] Qur'an, inscribed in["Lauhul Mahfuz"], a "Preserved Slat[Tablet]". Allah's Message is not ephemeral. It is eternal. The "Slate" is "preserved" or guarded from corruption.
Allah created two great lights for the world-the sun to shine like gold by the day and the moon to shine like silver by the night. Allah also made the stars twinkle, sparkle and shine. Then came the dry land and the oceans. By just saying the words, "Be" to them, they came into existence.
He upon creating them, He put them together in one fold and then separated them.
Allah says in Qur'an chapter 41 verse 11-12, that: "He [Allah] comprehended in His design the heaven when it was(only) a smoke and said to it and to the earth, "Come [into being] willingly or by compulsion." They[heavens and earth] said, "We have come willingly!...And He[Allah] completed them as seven heavens within two days and inspired[i.e. made known] in each heaven its command [what actions to engage itself in]…And We Allah adorned the nearest heaven with lamps[i.e. stars, for beauty] as a protection…That is the determination of the Exalted in Might, the All Knowing!"
These verses indicate that the heavens in the beginning were just smoky mass before being transformed into various galactic systems of stars and planets. And in Qur'an chapter 21 verse 30, He says: "Have they not who disbelieve seen that the heavens and the earth were joined together(as one piece), then We[Allah] parted them...And created from water every living thing?" Recent advancement in astronomy, especially, the Big Bang theory of the creation of the universe corroborated with this statement of the Qur'an. The Big Bang Theory was first proposed in 1950 by Ralph Alpher, Hans Bethe and George Gasmow. It holds that the universe in the beginning was concentrated as one unit in the form of a super dense agglomeration of matter and energy. Some fifteen billion years ago[the Qur'an did not state the date, though. Probably, they might have used carbon-dating techniques], there was a Big Bang, when within 10 minus 32 of a seconds the universe expanded 10 to 30 or more of its initial size. As a result of this explosion the super dense agglomeration of matter and energy was scattered into multitudes of fragments, all traveling with different speeds and in different directions, finally condensing to form the present heavenly bodies[planets, stars, sun, moons, metriots, etc].
Regarding the first verse: "…He comprehended in His design the heaven when it was (only) a smoke...", it became a modification of the Big Bang Theory called, "Inflationary Theory", which describes the original condensed matter as arising from an empty space. The astronomers today have pictures of other galaxies being formed by condensation of spiraling celestial cosmic mists. Both of these recent findings are in harmony with the Qur'an. It should however be noted that what astronomers call "mist", the Qur'an calls "smoke". Needless to say the word, "smoke" implies a hot gaseous mass containing airborne particles. This is indeed another example of the literary miracle of the Qur'an that it gives an accurate description of the topic at hand by using the most appropriate words.
Furthermore, studies in astronomy show that, the number of stars in the sky that Allah created as a result of the Big Bang event, is as numerous as all the sand grains on all the sea or ocean of our plant, earth. Many of the stars being vastly greater in size than our earth, some even being of such enormous size that they could accommodate hundreds of thousands of earths inside them and still have room to spare. A few of them are even big enough to contain millions of earths. The universe is so vast that an airplane flying at the greatest speed imaginable, i.e. at the speed of light,[186,282 miles per second] would take about ten billion years to complete just a single trip around the whole universe. Even with such a huge circumference, this universe is not static, but is expanding. According to an estimate by Eddington, every 1300 million years, all distances in the Universe are doubled. This means that even an imaginary airplane travelling at the speed of light would not ever be able to catch up with this unending expansion. Well Allah the creator stated this in the Qur'an over 1400 years ago when He says: "With Might did We[Allah] construct the heaven, verily We are continuously expanding it."
Clearly, these scientific and historic discoveries have been vindicated by the Qur'an, it reminds me of a wisdom of Imam Ali Bun Abi Talib, the fourth Khaliph and cousin of the Prophet, whom the Prophet named as, "Babu Madinatul Ilm", that is, "The gate to the town of knowledge". He said in a narration of Al-daramy on the chapter, "Fadaa-ilul-Qur'an" : "In the book of Allah, there are news of what happened before you[mankind], information of what will happened after you, and the [legal/judicial] ruling of what happens among you, it is to differentiate not to emaciate, he who neglects it, Allah would distance him, and he who seeks any guidance from other source, Allah will lead him astray." In another wisdom he said: "Verily, there are verses in the Qur'an that get interpreted with the passage of time."

HusseiniYushau BabalWaiz, is the Research & Outreach Coordinator at the Center for Media & Peace Initiatives Inc. New York, Author of three books, including "Islam Promotes Tolerance & Prohibits Terrorism-Reviving the Islamic Advocacy of Mercy and Magnanimity to Mankind" & Tutor in Arabic & Islamic Studies in New York, babalwaiz71@gmail.com
NB: Folks, this is the first in the new series entitled: "Delving Deep Inside the Islamic Historic Memory Lane", which will be running for months or even years, aimed at showcasing the amazing historical phenomena that happened in the pre and post Islamic world. Inform your colleagues, families and friends to follow me on facebook [husseini baba alwaiz] and twitter[@babalwaiz], weekly.
References:

Al-Bidayah Wal-Nihayah [The Beginning & The End],by Abul Fadah, Imam Hafiz Ibn Kathir
160 Mysteries & Miracles of the Qur'an, by Dr. Mazhar Kazi
The Qur'an-An Abiding Wonder, by Maulana Wahiddu Khan
The History of Islam, by Akbar Shah Najeebabadi