Harry Martinson's epic poem Aniara, published in 1956, narrates the tragedy of a spaceship carrying emigrants from a devastated Earth to Mars. A gravitational perturbation diverts the vessel irretrievably into deep space, stranding its passengers in isolation. Amid this crisis, the passengers deify Mima, an advanced machine that displays cosmic images for consolation. When Mima malfunctions and ceases operation, the society fragments into hedonism, cults, and authoritarian control.
Martinson, who shared the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1974 with Eyvind Johnson, drew from postwar anxieties to craft this tale. Its themes align with the Quran's teachings on shirk - the act of associating partners with God. The Quran uses parables to illustrate the futility of worshipping created entities, emphasizing tawhid, the oneness of God.
The passengers' reliance on Mima exemplifies this error. They kneel before it, seeking “perfect grace” in the “barren house of space.” Martinson's narrator observes:
I pray too when they are at their prayer / that it be true, all this that is occurring.
This parallels the Quran's parable of the spider in Surah Al-Ankabut (29:41):
The example of those who take allies other than Allah is like that of the spider who takes a home. And indeed, the weakest of homes is the home of the spider, if they knew.
Mima provides a temporary illusion but fails when exposed to Earth's destruction, described as “granite's white-hot weeping.” In Islamic doctrine, only God offers enduring protection; dependence on finite creations leads to ruin.
The Quran's account of Prophet Ibrahim in Surah Al-Anbiya (21:51-70) further illustrates this. Ibrahim confronts idol worshippers:
Do you worship instead of Allah that which cannot benefit you at all or harm you?
He destroys the idols to demonstrate their powerlessness. Mima, a human invention - “half-invented by humans, half self-evolved” - similarly offers no aid in crisis, echoing the idols' impotence.
After Mima's failure, the ship descends into disorder: orgiastic rituals, rival sects, and tyranny. This division reflects Surah Az-Zumar (39:29):
Allah presents an example: a man owned by quarreling partners and another belonging exclusively to one master. Are the two equal in comparison?
Shirk fosters fragmentation, while tawhid promotes unity.
The Quran warns of unresponsive deities in Surah Al-Ahqaf (46:5):
And who is more astray than he who invokes besides Allah those who will not respond to him until the Day of Resurrection, and they, of their invocation, are unaware?
Mima's post-failure silence aligns with this, as do Surah An-Nahl (16:21):
They are dead, not alive, and they do not perceive when they will be resurrected.
Islam regards shirk as the sole unforgivable sin without repentance, per Surah An-Nisa (4:48):
Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills.
The Quran questions such devotion in Surah Al-An'am (6:71):
Say, “Shall we invoke instead of Allah that which neither benefits us nor harms us and be turned back on our heels after Allah has guided us?”
Aniara concludes in annihilation, the ship adrift as a tomb. The Quran, however, extends hope through repentance and tawhid. In an age of technological advancement, this convergence underscores a key principle: creations serve humanity but cannot replace the Creator.