The Quran references the universe's state right after the Big Bang in a way that aligns with modern cosmological understanding, despite this knowledge being unknown 1400 years ago.

After the Big Bang, the universe was opaque, with photons unable to travel freely. This phase lasted for around 380,000 years. The universe was primarily made of hydrogen and helium, and it was so hot that the gas was ionized, making it opaque, much like today's smoke. This "smoke" state gradually cleared as the universe cooled, eventually becoming transparent to visible light. For other wavelengths, the universe remained opaque for about a billion years.

The term "Dukhan" (دُخانٌ), which means smoke, accurately describes the state of the universe after the Big Bang. This was a hot, dense, and opaque gas, consistent with our modern understanding of the early universe's conditions.

Today, scientists know that the universe's early state was like a "smoke-filled" environment. It was a hot, ionized gas that prevented light from traveling freely, which was only cleared when the universe cooled enough for photons to escape. This phase, referred to as the "recombination" era, ended after about 380,000 years, as the universe cooled enough to allow photons to travel, creating the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation we observe today. This scientific explanation aligns with the Quran's description of the universe being in a state of "smoke," an accurate depiction of the universe's condition shortly after the Big Bang. Whilst these verses might not necessarily reference the scientific findings mentioned here, they showcase how, even the most hard to imagine realities explained by the Quran, can be shown to be permissible with modern scientific discoveries.