Science, by its very nature, is a self-correcting process. In scientific methodology, earlier understandings are revised in the presence of new data. Many ideas that once dominated and prevailed scientific thought were later refined or even replaced with the emergence of improved evidence.

Since science leads the way in observing and acquiring knowledge about the physical universe, it is highly unlikely for accurate predictions to arise that go far beyond or directly against the dominant scientific understanding of a given time. Hence, for a religious scripture to precisely describe universal facts centuries ahead of its time cannot be dismissed as mere coincidence—especially when religions are often accused of claiming accord with scientific truths only after those discoveries are made.

In the case of Islam, however, this criticism often arises from a lack of understanding, as the Quran not only relates to phenomena that have already been explained by science but also those that are yet to be discovered. Such examples include its reference to the motion of the sun,^[1] which once stood directly opposed to the prevailing scientific understanding before being validated later, and the existence of extraterrestrial life^[2]—a concept that was once in stark contrast with the long-held assumption of Earth’s cosmic uniqueness, and remains unresolved to this day.

Another notable example concerns the Quranic theory of the universe’s ultimate end that—until very recently—was understood as the least plausible outcome within scientific discourse. Yet once again, new findings are compelling science to shift its narrative towards the Quranic perspective.

An idea which has been dead for a quarter century has made its strong come back this year. The breakthrough came from DESI (the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument), a cutting-edge cosmic survey project that has been mapping the positions and distances of millions of galaxies. DESI’s mission is to understand dark energy by tracking the expansion history of the universe.

DESI’s latest data suggest that dark energy may not be constant after all. Instead, it appears to be evolving over cosmic time.^[7] This observation directly challenges the foundation of our standard cosmological model and opens up entirely new possibilities for the universe’s future.

Building upon the observational hints provided by DESI, another group of scientists took the next crucial step. They asked a simple but significant question: if dark energy is changing, what kind of theoretical framework can explain it—and more importantly, what does that mean for where the universe is headed?

To answer this, the researchers developed a model and fitted it to the DESI’s data along with other cosmological observations, and something remarkable emerged. According to their calculations, dark energy is not just changing—it is weakening. And the trajectory suggests it will not stop there. In their model, dark energy eventually transitions from being repulsive (pushing galaxies apart) to attractive (pulling them together). When that happens, the universe’s expansion would decelerate, come to a halt, and then reverse course entirely.

This can result, in what is called a Big Crunch, where all matter and energy in the universe eventually converges back to a single point. Their calculations also suggested that the universe might stop expanding in about 11 billion years and collapse into a Big Crunch in roughly 33 billion years.^[8]