What is nothing? That's a good question. Let us consider categories that contain everything and if eliminate them, we have nothing. Let us say that everything can be encompassed by the following categories

God

Life

Our physical selves

the physical universe

You can see that these things overlap. We are alive. We are part of the physical universe and God is in us as well as the creator of everything else.

Let s imagine a situation where God exists. God might have been some kind of primordial intelligence that was able to reproduce and get bigger (not physically bigger because God is Spirit. So there is at one point God and nothing else. God begins to create other things. I believe that when God created the physical universe out of nothing, the first thing to go into that area of nothingness is God Himself. Then Time and Space are created, then matter comes later. So, I would say that nothingness is where you don't have God, Time, Space, Matter or any living beings.

By definition, "nothing" is blank. But I think what you're getting at is what is the cause of this world? The cause of this world is the Big Bang by many scientist and professionals. However, as a Muslims, I believe the cause of the world is God (Who is actually responsible for the Big Bang happening as scientists proved to be true and they can't be wrong). He created everything and is the reason for everthing. However, I must mention/note that nothing created Him because then it would just be an endless cycle or chain followed by that entailing scenario (E,g, He was created by Him who was then created by Him, and then Him, and then Him etc.)

I wish I could explain it better and more sufficiently, but how about I just lend you the information from which I got this worthy knowledge from?

http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/1560/quran-o... <-- So, this is the link that talks about how Allah, God in Islam, is connected to the Big Bang Theory, or how He's responsible for it and caused it which in effect created the universe...

There's also this which is much shorter and easier: http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/212/quran-on...

And about the endless chain example, I can't find it's page but it's in the same website I'm lending you :) The article is about the truth of Allah or God. I think it's in the Logical Proofs section (just go to the left table with all the tabs and you will find it there in the Why Islam is the Truth tab) In fact, I suggest you check out that website and explore it. I found it very enjoyable and insightful, and you might to. So try that. You won't regert it; it's so helpful :)

If you wish to know more about Islam then please see this website:

whyislam.com

Hope that helps in a way :)

Before the universe began, it is thought that all of the energy and matter that exists today occupied a space smaller than the size of an electron. This of course is the big bang. The origins of where this small ball of energy came from is unknown. But lets assume it has always existed. It has no beginning in a sense. This idea is easy to accept when you realize that time did not exist until the big bang. So if that little ball of energy has no beginning, I suppose it would be safe to say that there never was nothing. Everything comes from something and something must always exist.

Nothing and Everything is a 'mathematical' concept created by humans, since nothing links to the number '0' in our brains. Perhaps this way of understanding the universe is faulty because humans can't even fully grasp the concept or even presence of 'infinity', which goes through the same thought process of 'everything'. People are exploring numerical concepts like negative infinity, or the number right next to zero (where there is no value in between that number and 0)... This only shows that our mathematical concepts are possibly flawed or inadequate to a large extent. We simply don't know our Universe enough.

Everything did not come from nothing! Wrong premise. Everything came from something. There is a start and end to everything, even the Universe. Life started with water, which in-turn came from solar energy blast. This created chemical elements, which then created reactions and thus life.

Nothing is the greatest mystery for us.

Here is my considered view for whatever it may be worth.

I think nothingness is a state of existence where there could be infinite things in existence and yet they may be in total equilibrium so that there is no motion and hence no time either..... this state is such that there are various opposites in existence which effectively cancel out each other COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY, so that their overall existence is no different from absolute nothingness.

The above seems a good theory but I am stuck with a puzzle here.... once this state of being is reached, so that time and motion come to complete halt, then how would it change again to start time and motion... is it the hand of God (this super power would obviously be without any shape or form because everything in any shape and form must cancel out each other to have created the state of nothingness in the first place)......

Well, there is really no explanation that fully satisfies our quest in this area.

Science has long confirmed that 'something' cannot come from 'nothing'. 'Nothing', being the 'absence of something,' has no existence or inherent reality except as a category of mental thought in the mind's imagination. Since energy and matter cannot be created or destroyed, only made to change form, existence is eternal, and 'Everything' is all there ever is. Not only can 'nothing' NOT be found 'anywhere' in the universe, even if it could, where could it be? How could anyone even experience it?

Kindly download English version of a 24 line explanation/difinition of "Nothing" given by Shri Shankaracharya in Sanskrit in eighth Century called Nanja Shatgam or also called as Nivana Shatgam/ or Atma Shatgam

Science has long confirmed that 'something' cannot come from 'nothing'. 'Nothing', being the 'absence of something,' has no existence or inherent reality except as a category of mental thought in the mind's imagination. Since energy and matter cannot be created or destroyed, only made to change form, existence is eternal, and 'Everything' is all there ever is. Not only can 'nothing' NOT be found 'anywhere' in the universe, even if it could, where could it be? How could anyone even experience it?

There is only our false concept of nothing. Even if there is nothing, that at least makes it something; nothing. Do you see how our concept of nothing just contradicts itself? In this sense we needn't worry about there ever actually being nothing. So, to answer your question; nothing is nothing. That's what it is. Then you could ask what is 'it is'??

Since our concepts come from our minds, I would suggest asking your mind where your concept of 'nothing' comes from. Since our minds come from our brains, then you should find out about your brain. Since our brains come from our bodies and your body came from your parent's bodies, then you could enquire in to that, and etc.

If you are asking about before the big bang, I'm not wise within the conventions of that academic discipline to say. But what I understand of it is that since time itself came into existence at that instant, then it seems to me to be an event that we cannot use our current understanding of the physical universe to answer.