There is a conclusion reached by scientists that the universe had a beginning, and cosmologists and physicists generally agree upon that. Its point of origin is commonly referred to as "the Big Bang". This theory states that the matter of the universe was a single, dense, extremely hot mass which exploded and from this resulted the universe (and stars and planetary bodies) through expansion and cooling. This theory is not the only one though and it does have flaws.
What proceeds below does not assume the complete correctness of the big bang theory, but only serves as an illustration to show how scientists behave (in light of their own theorization). Further, it is not necessary to accept the big bang theory in order to assert that the universe had a beginning, especially considering that the big bang model is tentative and involves a lot of speculation and imaginary matter and forces to patch up its contradictiosn with observed and empirical data.
Now, that this theory that it indicates the universe had a beginning is problematic. Why? Because if the universe had a beginning, that it had an originating cause naturally follows, because it is impossible for something to come out of nothing and for something to bring itself into existence from pure non-existence. Alarm bells ring. The connection between something having a beginning, being originated (muhdath) and what brought it about (muhdith) is intuitive and innate to the soul and to reason and it is corroborated through the collective human experience, in the sum of all human activity, that effects can't be their own causes. Universes don't bring themselves into existence from non-being and nor does dog poo mysteriously appear in parks all across the world through self-creation or non-cause. Add this to the issue of fine-tuning and you have a huge problem.
From this point on we can see how cosmologists, physicists, philosophers and their likes tried to treat this problem of the universe being finite (having a limit) in time. A lot of them, like Einstein, were operating on the assumption that the "blueprint for the cosmos" they were seeking would indicate the universe is eternal. That's why it is said that Einstein did not like an expanding universe (it implied that the universe was not eternal). These scientists were trying to find an "ultimate blueprint" for the universe which could be expressed in mathematical terms, to reduce it all into a single equation essentially. The "Big Bang theory" made that difficult and these physicists made attempts to get rid of the unwelcome implications. The atheist is in fact a faithful believer. The atheist has psychological reasons to believe in his theories, not rational ones, because the most obvious and plain theory (what is originated must have an originator) is the one he is trying to fight all the way through. It's constantly forcing him into a sweat. He's always having to change his underwear, and he's not getting too much sleep either.
We can also introduce the Philosophers here who try to tackle the problem (of a universe) from another angle by asking philosophical questions, they key one being "Why" does the universe exist. Philosophers and scientists generally do not get on, but they do help each other out where philosophers give scientists philosophical reasons to get out of sticky situations and to maintain their doubts. This is because they are both dealing with two different issues that ultimately relate back to an originator. How did the universe come about? Why did it come about? Atheist scientists tackle the first. Atheist philosophers tackle the second. All of these people have an article of faith. The belief that there is an answer out there [besides the one that is rooted in fitrah and aql] that explains how everything came from nothing. That is the deity. The worship is the pursuit of the answer through through science and philosophy. It's cloaked religion.
From here, we can look at the way these people tried to tackle the awkward and huge problem staring them in the face. In fact, they are trying to deal with two major problems The first is getting around the problem of the universe having a beginning. We can't have that, it's only good for the "religious nutters". The second is to deal with the problem of the universe coming from what they refer to as a "singular mass." So where they want to lead to is to speak of the universe being eternal (solves the first one) and to try to get the universe to come out of nothing, and by nothing (solves the second one). So the belief and psychology comes first (kufr concealing the fitrah), then science is layered on top of it, not the other way around. Enter the likes of Stephen Hawkins and richard dawkins and all the other "sagacious believers" amongst the physicists, cosmologisits and so on. From what they brought in order to conceal, drown and fight the fitrah, aql and authentic naql includes:
The universe was "self-creating" (tell a nine-year old child that the fridge in the kitchen self-created and check his or her response).
There was a "sea of infinite potentiality" from which the universe came to be, just another way of saying "it came from nothing" with "infinite potentiality" being a way of fleeing from saying "it came from an originator." It's like saying the glass of water on the table came from of "sea of infinite potentiality" to avoid acknowledging that someone may just have put it there.
"Parallel universes" [multiple realities] (Shrodinger's Cat!), meaning there are many worlds, which is a way to explain the problems they encountered in quantum mechanics, which is a field of science underlying quantum cosmology which is the "science" trying to explain where the universe came from and how it runs.
Finding a "wave function" that runs through the entire cosmos to prove it came from nothing. It's just speculation, and this so called "wave function" can't be seen, measured, tested. This is "religion" disguised as "science."
Our universe emerged from a much smaller universe called a "de Sitter" universe (which itself is eternal, or one of many universes)
Aliens from another universe evolved (through a type of Darwinian evolution) to such an advance state they learned how to create universes, and after many attempts found a way to create one in which life became possible. These aliens then went around seeding life on planets. We are not taking the Michael here, some of these "religious nutters" do propose this as a plausible explanation. Many thanks obviously go to Hollywood for taking this mainstream and giving those atheists a helping hand. Fiction can be turned into fact through entertainment more easily than torturous papers in academic journals.
This is only a selection, and we are only limited by the rate at which these sagacious atheist believers are able to pull out theories from their posteriors in order to fight fitrah and aql.
Now, along comes Hawkins (the real smart dude in the wheelchair he wasn't always in), he is another sagacious believer who believes that the answer is "out there" and even if Spock never found it, someone eventually will. Here's Hawkins' deal, as in his method of trying to get rid of the universe having a beginning (and the very awkward implication that goes with it): As you move away from the "Big Bang", you speak of things taking place "after" one another. As you move towards it (i.e. go backwards in time) you speak of things taking place "before" one another. All of this leads back, according to the theory, to a single mass and a universe having a beginning in time (as per what is already known). There are mathematical schemes that are able to describe all of this (as in the physics of the universe as it goes backwards). Behind it all are clear mathematical equations that characterize these things and they are firmly determined and can't be altered, and they are based upon a fixed scheme of mathematics in which there is order. You can't change 1,2,3,4,5,6,7... into 5,3,7,2,1,4,6... because that is how things are. So Hawkins comes along and says that there was a point when we move back towards the "Big Bang" where the mathematical scheme of things changed into something else (from what we currenly know and have), into some imaginary (that means "fairy-tale") scheme of mathematics where things are not sequential and where we don't have a "before" and "after" (as we do in the mathematics and physics based upon real numbers). Bang! Pow! Whapp! Zappo! Holy Atomic Pile Batman! We've just got rid of the universe having a beginning. Now, there is no before, before a before. We're just swimming in an endless ocean of space and time [having physical mathematics different to ours where there is no "order" and "sense" and no "before" or "after"]. Next we can say this version of space-time has always been there, but at some point just happened to give way to a new scheme of physical mathematics that allows the universe (as it is now) to come to be.
This is a case of "believe first then seek evidence". But then again, what else would you expect from "religious nutters?"
Now that we've got rid of the "Big Bang" problem, as in "a beginning", the next part is to demote this universe and not make it so special at all. So it becomes just one grain of the billions of grains of sand in a beach, what's so special about that?! And that is the next part of the sagacious atheist believer's "science." When we add all of this together, the following is the atheists credo of quantum cosmology which by their particular definition of "science" has "scientific status":
Our universe emerged from a smaller circular mini-universe having space-time, its called a de Sitter universe and it existed in a place where there was no space and no time (as we know it). Ok, we know this is hard to understand and hard to believe, but that's just how it is, and you've got to believe it, because science is telling you so. This mini-universe did not come from anywhere, and you may find this hard to believe as well, but please, just have faith in it. And to reassure you, our "wave function" which helps to explain the cosmos says that this de Sitter universe was "probable, possible" (i.e. mumkin), so if it was "probable, possible" we can assume (with a bit of faith) that "it actually was." Now that we have given you solid proof (as in what has just preceded) that a de Sitter universe actually existed, what happened is that this de Sitter universe evolved into ours through inflation for no particular reason. These things happen.
The way all of this is arrived at is through circular reasoning, where you assume that a certain type of universe existed, and lo! your mathematical calculations show that the very type of universe you were looking for is actually there because it has been shown by your calculations to be "probable" and then you leap from "probable" and assume that it was "actual." You can understand now why Stephen Hawkings is a much liked figure amongst atheist philosophers, scientists and Darwinists. But as you can see, this is religion disguised as "science." It represents a more deeper issue of the battle against fitrah in the name of "science." What it really is, is kibr (arrogance, pride) juhood (rejection), inaad (stubborn denial) trying its best to conceal, cover and drown that fitrah and the aql sareeh (sound, uncorrupted reason) flowing from it, which are both in complete conformity with naql saheeh (sound authentic text).
These verses are extremely appropriate to our discussion.
The creation of the heavens and the earth is indeed greater than the creation of mankind, yet most of mankind know not. (40:57) Were they created by nothing, or were they themselves the creators? Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Nay, but they have no firm belief (conviction). (52:35-36). And they say: "There is nothing but our life of this world, we die and we live and nothing destroys us except time." And they have no knowledge of it, they only conjecture. (45:24)
There is also another approach we can speak of here which is that we mentioned earlier how scientists have determined around 30 or 40 odd cosmological constants or parameters which indicate an absolutely unfathomable degree of "fine tuning" in the universe, one that allows life to arise and exist. From them are the gravitational constant, the nuclear forces, the electromagnetic force, the speed of light, and even ratios between these forces like the ratio of electromagentic force to gravitational force and so on, and they are fine-tuned to a flabbergasting degree of precision. This is also a big problem for the sagacious atheist believer because of the inevitable question: Who ordered all of this? And why O why do these laws follow such strict obedience? This is why we also see the race to find a single universal constant, to essentialy reduce the universe and make it as simple as possible and definable in a single universal equation or constant or wave function or whatever. The aim behind all of this activity is to disguise what fitrah and aql clearly recognize to be design and intelligent agency. Their "science" is all about making what is incredibly improbable, complex, to be not so special and not so improbable after all. So as we said before, this is the psychology of kufr, giving rise to a rigged type of "science", the aim of which is a ferocious war against fitrah, aql sareeh and naql saheeh. Behind it is money and politics and a world-view built upon this psychology permeates academia, giving an air of "consensus" in "scientific" matters. You only progress in the church of science by demonstrating your devotion to its credo.
We could go on and on, and start discussing string theories (again just another attempt to continue that "pursuit" of finding an answer besides the obvious) which require 10 dimensions, or 20, or 40, or even infinite dimensions (instead of three or four), until we come to a stage when these people started saying that there is something wrong with the universe, because our string theory is telling us so. In other words, because string theory does not fit the universe, the universe must be botched, because our theory can't be wrong. Hence, there must be multi-verses out there (i.e. gazillions of universes) and string theory accounts for all of them as a whole. And as for the laws of this universe (which don't fit with string theory), they are one miniscule aspect of gazillions of physical, mathematical possibilities that our string theory accounts for. If you noticed, we just entered the world of Peter Pan. So just like man was created through Darwinian Evolution, then likewise our universe (in which there is life) also came about through a type of "Darwinian Evolution." There's more and more - we don't want to put you through the expense of buying pop-corn - but you must have got the idea by now as to where the movie is going.
Ultimately, scientists are faced with only two explanations. Its either God (originator) or its nothing. Some also invoke "natural law" but that is a swindle that can be discussed elsewhere. Here, you can understand the profoundness of the verse in Surah al-Tur, "Were they created by nothing, or were they themselves the creators? Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Nay, but they have no firm belief (conviction)" (52:35-36). Science (as it relates to an atheist's point of view) is all about finding an alternative to what is plain and obvious. Then it is defined so that only certain theories (favourable to their psychological constitution) are given "scientific status" which leads to a contrived "consensus."
Finally, "quantum cosmology" (i.e. the "science" that deals with the problem of the universe) is not an observational science and relies upon the creative invention of lots of unseen particles and forces and includes a lot of mathematical metaphysics.
Please note the difference between hard physics that deals in real things and between the "quantum cosmology" and its creative speculative theories that could well be used for a modern edition of the Brother's Grimm Galactic Fairy Tales.