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"Verily your blood and your property are as sacred and inviolable as the sacredness of this day of yours, in this month of yours, in this land of yours. Behold! Everything pertaining to the days of ignorance is under my feet completely abolished. Abolished are also the blood revenges of the days of ignorance. The first claim of ours on blood revenge which I abolish is that of the son of Rabi`ah ibn al Harith. And the usury riba of the pre-Islamic period is abolished, and the first of our usury I abolish is that of `Abbas ibn `Abd al Muttalib, for it is all abolished. Fear God concerning women! Verily you have taken them on the security of God, and intercourse with them has been made lawful unto you by words of God. You too have rights over them, and they should not allow anyone to sit on your bed whom you do not like. But if they do that, you can chastise them but not severely. Their rights upon you are that you should provide them with food and clothing in a fitting manner. I have left among you the Book of God, and if you hold fast to it you would never go astray. And you would be asked about me (on the day of resurrection), (now tell me) what would you say? They (the audience) said: "We bear witness that you have conveyed (the message), discharged (the ministry of Prophethood) and given wise (sincere) counsel." He (the narrator) said: "He (the Prophet) then raised his forefinger toward the sky and pointed it at the people (and said): "O God, bear witness, O God, bear witness." [The report is from Sahih Muslim, 4/38-43, from the hadith of Jabir ibn `Abd Allah. Al Shaykh Muhammad Nasir al Din al Albani made some brief additions to it, from other books of hadith which narrated the hadith of Jabir with some sahih additions (Hijjat alNabi, pp. 71-73). See the report of Jabir in Hadith in Hijjat al-Nabii, 38-41. See part of the khutbah in Sahih al Bukhari, Fath al Bari, 8/108). Ibn Ishaq mentioned the long text of the farewell khutbah without isnad. Imam Ahmad mentioned the long text of the khutbah of the farewell pilgrimage, which was given in the middle of the Ayyam al Tashriq. Its isnad includes `Ali ibn Zayd ibn Jad`aan, who al Hafiz ibn Hajar, in al Taqrib, said was weak. Al Bannaa said, "Al Bazzar narrated a similar report with the same meaning from Ibn `Umar with a different isnad." The Imams of hadith narrated parts of it in their books, in different chapters, through sahih isnads; and Allah knows best. (Al Fath al Rabbani, 279-281)]
He delivered another sermon at Mina, when he said, "Do not return to Kufr, killing one another, after I am gone." [Sahih al Bukhari, Fath al Bari, 8/107; Muslim, Sahih, 1/82]
[End of excerpt from Dr `Umari’s work]
From Benefits of this Great Sermon:
[Adapted from Masaa’il Muhimma `an il-`Umrah wa’l-Hajj by Muhammad Jameel Zeeno]
* Prohibition of shedding innocent blood, and taking of wealth without right, which stresses Islam’s protection of souls.
* Nullification of validity of actions of Jahiliyyah
* Prohibition of taking Riba (usury and interest), which is an increase on the principal, whether small or large. Allah the Most High says: "But if you repent, you may have your capital." [Al Baqarah (2:279)]
* Admonition to fulfill and give women their rights, and to deal with them in goodness. Many authentic hadeeths have been narrated in this regard, which elucidate their rights and warn against taking them unjustly.
* Advice to strongly cling to the Book of Allah, in which lies the honor of Muslims and their victory. Likewise, the order to stick to the Sunnah, which explains the Qur’an, for verily the reason for Muslims’ weakness today is their leaving of judging by the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger. There will be no victory for Muslims except by returning to these two Sources.
* Testimony of the Companions that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, conveyed the message, discharged his trust and counseled the Ummah.
* Order to take rituals of Hajj and other rituals from the Prophet’s sayings, actions and tacit agreements.
* Subtle indication that the Prophet’s farewell would soon come.
* Warning against fighting and killing among Muslims, which is disbelief in action, which does not take one out of the fold of Islam, as in his, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, saying: "Cursing a Muslim is fusooq, and fighting him is kufr." [Agreed upon]
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When I say..I am a Muslim,
I'm not shouting: "Down with Christians and Jews"
I am whispering: "I seek peace"
and Islam is the path that I choose.
When I say..I am a Muslim,
I'm not shouting: "Down with Christians and Jews"
I am whispering: "I seek peace"
and Islam is the path that I choose.
When I say.. I am a Muslim,
I speak of this with pride.
And confess that sometimes I stumble,
and need Allah to be my guide.
When I say..I am a Muslim,
I know this makes me strong.
And in those times when I am weak,
I pray to Allah for strength to carry on.
When I say. . . I am a Muslim,
I'm not boasting of success.
I'm acknowledging that Allah has rescued me,
and I cannot ever repay the debt.
When I say..I am a Muslim,
I'm not claiming to be perfect.
My flaws are indeed visible,
but Allah forgives because his followers are worth it.
When I say..I am a Muslim,
it does not mean I will never feel pain.
I still have my share of heartaches,
which is why I invoke Allah's name.
When I say..I am a Muslim,
I do not wish to judge.
I have no such authority
My duty is to submit to Allah's all-encompassing love.
Islamic pride all the way
When I say.. I am a Muslim,
I speak of this with pride.
And confess that sometimes I stumble,
and need Allah to be my guide.
When I say..I am a Muslim,
I know this makes me strong.
And in those times when I am weak,
I pray to Allah for strength to carry on.
When I say. . . I am a Muslim,
I'm not boasting of success.
I'm acknowledging that Allah has rescued me,
and I cannot ever repay the debt.
When I say..I am a Muslim,
I'm not claiming to be perfect.
My flaws are indeed visible,
but Allah forgives because his followers are worth it.
When I say..I am a Muslim,
it does not mean I will never feel pain.
I still have my share of heartaches,
which is why I invoke Allah's name.
When I say..I am a Muslim,
I do not wish to judge.
I have no such authority
My duty is to submit to Allah's all-encompassing love.
Islamic pride all the way
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Asalam Alycome
this was sent to me so i thought i would share it.
Posted by Fima, thank you Fima
Ya Allah
Today, upon a bus,
I saw a girl with golden hair.
and wished I was as fair.
When suddenly she rose to leave,
I saw her hobble down the aisle.
She had one leg and wore a crutch.
But as she passed, a smile.
Ya Allah, forgive me when I whine.
I have 2 legs, the world is mine.
I stopped to buy some candy.
The lad who sold it had such charm.
I talked with him, he seemed so glad.
If I were late, it'd do no harm.
And as I left, he said to me,
"I thank you, you've been so kind.
It's nice to talk with folks like you.
You see," he said, "I'm blind."
Ya Allah, forgive me when I whine.
I have 2 eyes, the world is mine.
Later while walking down the street,
I saw a child with eyes of blue.
He stood and watched the others play.
He did not know what to do.
I stopped a moment and then I said,
"Why don't you join the others, dear?"
He looked ahead without a word.
And then I knew, he couldn't hear.
Ya Allah, forgive me when I whine.
I have 2 ears, the world is mine.
With feet to take me where I'd go.
With eyes to see the sunset's glow.
With ears to hear what I'd know.
Ya Allah, forgive me when I whine.
I've been blessed indeed, the world is mine.
asalam alycome Warahmatulahi abarakatu
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Christians and Muslims both believe in Jesus, love him, and honor him. They are, however, divided over the question of his divinity.
Fortunately, this difference can be resolved if we refer the question to both the Bible and the Quran, because, both the Bible and the Quran teach that Jesus is not God.
It is clear enough to everyone that the Quran denies the divinity of Jesus, so we do not need to spend much time explaining that.
On the other hand, many people misunderstand the Bible; they feel that the belief in Jesus as God is so widespread that it must have come from the Bible. This article shows quite conclusively that the Bible does not teach that.
The Bible clearly teaches that Jesus is not God. In the Bible God is always someone else other than Jesus.
Some will say that something Jesus said or something he did while on the earth proves that he is God. We will show that the disciples never came to the conclusion that Jesus is God. And those are people who lived and walked with Jesus and thus knew first hand what he said and did. Furthermore, we are told in the Acts of the Apostles in the Bible that the disciples were being guided by the Holy Spirit. If Jesus is God, surely they should know it. But they did not. They kept worshipping the one true God who was worshipped by Abraham, Moses, and Jesus (see Acts 3:13).
All of the writers of the Bible believed that God was not Jesus. The idea that Jesus is God did not become part of Christian belief until after the Bible was written, and took many centuries to become part of the faith of Christians.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke, authors of the first three Gospels, believed that Jesus was not God (see Mark 10:18 and Matthew 19:17). They believed that he was the son of God in the sense of a righteous person. Many others too, are similarly called sons of God (see Matthew 23:1-9).
Paul, believed to be the author of some thirteen or fourteen letters in the Bible, also believed that Jesus is not God. For Paul, God first created Jesus, then used Jesus as the agent by which to create the rest of creation (see Colossians 1:15 and 1 Corinthians 8:6). Similar ideas are found in the letter to the Hebrews, and also in the Gospel and Letters of John composed some seventy years after Jesus. In all of these writings, however, Jesus is still a creature of God and is therefore forever subservient to God (see 1 Corinthians 15:28).
Now, because Paul, John, and the author of Hebrews believed that Jesus was God’s first creature, some of what they wrote clearly show that Jesus was a pre-existent powerful being. This is often misunderstood to mean that he must have been God. But to say that Jesus was God is to go against what these very authors wrote. Although these authors had this later belief that Jesus is greater than all creatures, they also believed that he was still lesser than God. In fact, John quotes Jesus as saying: “...the Father is greater than I.” (John 14:28). And Paul declares that the head of every woman is her husband, the head of every man is Christ, and the head of Christ is God (see 1 Corinthians 11:3).
Therefore, to find something in these writings and claim that these teach that Jesus is God is to misuse and misquote what those authors are saying. What they wrote must be understood in the context of their belief that Jesus is a creature of God as they have already clearly said.
So we see then, that some of the later writers had a higher view of Jesus, but none of the writers of the Bible believed that Jesus is God. The Bible clearly teaches that there is only one true God, the one whom Jesus worshipped (see John 17: 3).
In the rest of this article we will explore the Bible in more depth, and deal with the passages which are most often misquoted as proofs of Jesus’ divinity. We will show, with God’s help, that these do not mean what they are so often used to prove.
2) Evidence From the Acts of the Apostles:
Jesus performed many miraculous wonders, and he without doubt said a lot of wonderful things about himself. Some people use what he said and did as a proof that he was God. But his original disciples who lived and walked with him, and were eyewitnesses to what he said and did, never reached this conclusion.
The Acts of the Apostles in the Bible details the activity of the disciples over a period of thirty years after Jesus was lifted up to heaven. Throughout this period they never refer to Jesus as God. They continually and consistently use the title God to refer to someone else other than Jesus.
Peter stood up with the eleven disciples and addressed the crowd saying: “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.” (Acts 2:22).
It was God, therefore, who did the miracles through Jesus to convince people that Jesus was backed by God. Peter did not see the miracles as proof that Jesus is God.
In fact, the way Peter refers to God and to Jesus makes it clear that Jesus is not God. For he always turns the title God away from Jesus. Take the following references for example:
“God has raised this Jesus...” (Acts 2:32)
“God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” (Acts 2:36)
In both passages, the title God is turned away from Jesus. So why he did this, if Jesus was God?
For Peter, Jesus was a servant of God. Peter said: “God raised up his servant...” (Acts 3:26). The title servant refers to Jesus. This is clear from a previous passage where Peter declared: “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus.” (Acts 3:13).
Peter must have known that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob never spoke of a Triune God. They always spoke of God as the only God. Here, as in Matthew 12:18, Jesus is the servant of God. Matthew tells us that Jesus was the same servant of God spoken of in Isaiah 42:1. So, according to Matthew and Peter, Jesus is not God, but God’s servant. The Old Testament repeatedly says that God is alone (e.g. Isaiah 45:5).
All of the disciples of Jesus held this view. In Acts 4:24 we are told that the believers prayed to God saying: “...they raised their voices together in prayer to God. ‘Sovereign Lord,’ they said, ‘you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.’” It is clear that the one they were praying to was not Jesus, because, two verses later, they referred to Jesus as “...your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.” (Acts 4:27).
If Jesus was God, his disciples should have said this clearly. Instead, they kept preaching that Jesus was God’s Christ. We are told in Acts: “Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.” (Acts 5:42).
The Greek word “Christ” is a human title. It means “Anointed.” If Jesus was God, why would the disciples continually refer to him with human titles like servant and Christ of God, and consistently use the title God for the one who raised Jesus? Did they fear men? No! They boldly preached the truth fearing neither imprisonment nor death. When they faced opposition from the authorities, Peter declared: “We must obey God rather than men! The God of our fathers raised Jesus...” (Acts 5:29-30).
Were they lacking the Holy Spirit? No! They were supported by the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2:3, 4:8, and 5:32). They were simply teaching what they had learnt from Jesus — that Jesus was not God but, rather, God’s servant and Christ.
The Quran confirms that Jesus was the Messiah (Christ), and that he was God’s servant (see the Holy Quran 3:45 and 19:30).
3) Jesus is Not All-Powerful, and Not All-Knowing:
Christians and Muslims agree that God is all-powerful and all-knowing. The Gospels show that Jesus was not all-powerful, and not all-knowing, since he had some limitations.
Mark tells us in his gospel that Jesus was unable to do any powerful work in his hometown except few things: “He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.” (Mark 6:5). Mark also tells us that when Jesus tried to heal a certain blind man, the man was not healed after the first attempt, and Jesus had to try a second time (see Mark 8:22-26).
Therefore, although we hold a great love and respect for Jesus, we need to understand that he is not the all-powerful God.
Mark’s Gospel also reveals that Jesus had limitations in his knowledge. In Mark 13:32, Jesus declared that he himself does not know when the last day will occur, but the Father alone knows that (see also Matthew 24:36).
Therefore, Jesus could not have been the all-knowing God. Some will say that Jesus knew when the last day will occur, but he chose not to tell. But that complicates matters further. Jesus could have said that he knows but he does not wish to tell. Instead, he said that he does not know. We must believe him. Jesus does not lie at all.
The Gospel of Luke also reveals that Jesus had limited knowledge. Luke says that Jesus increased in wisdom (Luke 2:52). In Hebrews too (Hebrews 5:8) we read that Jesus learned obedience. But God’s knowledge and wisdom is always perfect, and God does not learn new things. He knows everything always. So, if Jesus learned something new, that proves that he did not know everything before that, and thus he was not God.
Another example for the limited knowledge of Jesus is the fig tree episode in the Gospels. Mark tells us as follows: “The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs.” (Mark 11:12-13).
It is clear from these verses that the knowledge of Jesus was limited on two counts. First, he did not know that the tree had no fruit until he came to it. Second, he did not know that it was not the right season to expect figs on trees.
Can he become God later? No! Because there is only one God, and He is God from everlasting to everlasting (see Psalms 90:2).
Someone may say that Jesus was God but he took the form of a servant and therefore became limited. Well, that would mean that God changed. But God does not change. God said so according to Malachi 3:6.
Jesus never was God, and never will be. In the Bible, God declares: “Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.” (Isaiah 43:10).
The Bible clearly shows that Jesus was not all-powerful and all-knowing as the true God should be.
4) The Greatest Commandment in the Bible and the Quran:
Some will say that this whole discussion over the divinity of Jesus is unnecessary. They say, the important thing is to accept Jesus as your personal savior. On the contrary, the Bible’s writers stressed that, in order to be saved, it is necessary to understand who exactly is God. Failure to understand this would be to violate the first and greatest of all the commandments in the Bible. This commandment was emphasized by Jesus, on whom be peace, when a teacher of the Law of Moses asked him: “‘Of all the commandments, which is the most important?’ ‘The most important one,’ answered Jesus, ‘is this: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’” (Mark 12:28-30).
Notice that Jesus was quoting the first commandment from the book of Deuteronomy 6:4-5. Jesus confirmed not only that this commandment is still valid, but also that it is the most important of all the commandments. If Jesus thought that he himself is God, why did not he say so? Instead, he stressed that God is one. The man who questioned Jesus understood this, and what the man says next makes it clear that God is not Jesus, for he said to Jesus: “‘Well said, teacher,’ the man replied. ‘You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him.’” (Mark 12:32).
Now if Jesus was God, he would have told the man so. Instead, he let the man refer to God as someone other than Jesus, and he even saw that the man had spoken wisely: “When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’” (Mark 12:34). If Jesus knew that God is a trinity, why did not he say so? Why did not he say that God is one in three, or three in one? Instead, he declared that God is one. True imitators of Jesus will imitate him also in this declaration of God’s oneness. They will not add the word three where Jesus never said it.
Does salvation depend on this commandment? Yes, says the Bible! Jesus made this clear when another man approached Jesus to learn from him (see Mark 10:17-29). The man fell on his knees and said to Jesus: “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied: “Why do you call me good? No one is good — except God alone.” (Mark 10:17-18).
By so saying, Jesus made a clear distinction between himself and God. Then he proceeded with the answer to the man’s question about how to get salvation. Jesus told him: “If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” (Matthew 19:17, also see Mark 10:19).
Remember that the most important of all the commandments, according to Jesus, is to know God as the only God. Jesus further emphasized this in the Gospel According to John. In John 17:1, Jesus lifted his eyes to heaven and prayed, addressing God as Father. Then in verse three, he said to God as follows: “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3).
This proves beyond doubt that if people want to get eternal life they must know that the One, whom Jesus was praying to, is the only true God, and they must know that Jesus was sent by the true God. Some say that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. But Jesus said that the Father alone is the only true God. True followers of Jesus will follow him in this too. Jesus had said that his true followers are those who hold to his teachings. He said: “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.” (John 8:31). His teaching is that people must continue to keep the commandments, especially the first commandment which emphasizes that God is alone, and that God should be loved with all our hearts and all our strengths.
We love Jesus, but we must not love him as God. Today many love Jesus more than they love God. This is because they see God as a vengeful person who wanted to exact a penalty from them, and they see Jesus as the savior who rescued them from the wrath of God. Yet God is our only savior. According to Isaiah 43:11, God said: “I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior.” Also God said according to Isaiah 45:21-22: “Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me. Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.”
The Quran confirms the first commandment and addresses it to all humankind (see the Holy Quran 2:163). And God declares that true believers love Him more than anyone else or anything else (Quran 2:165).
5) Paul Believed That Jesus is not God:
Many people use Paul’s writings as proof that Jesus is God. But this is not fair to Paul, because Paul clearly believed that Jesus is not God. In his first letter to Timothy, Paul wrote: “I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions...” (1 Timothy 5:21).
It is clear from this that the title God applies not to Christ Jesus, but to someone else. In the following chapter, he again differentiates between God and Jesus when he says: “In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession...” (1 Timothy 6:13).
Paul then went on to speak of the second appearance of Jesus: “the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time.” (1 Timothy 6:14-15).
Again, the title God is deliberately turned away from Jesus. Incidentally, many people think that when Jesus is called “Lord” in the Bible that this means “God.” But in the Bible this title means master or teacher, and it can be used for addressing humans (see 1 Peter 3:6).
What is more important, however, is to notice what Paul said about God in the following passage, which clearly shows that Jesus is not God: “God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever.” (1 Timothy 6:15-16).
Paul said that God alone is immortal. Immortal means he does not die. Check any dictionary. Now, anyone who believes that Jesus died cannot believe that Jesus is God. Such a belief would contradict what Paul said here. Furthermore, to say that God died is a blasphemy against God. Who would run the world if God died? Paul believed that God does not die.
Paul also said in that passage that God dwells in unapproachable light — that no one has seen God or can see him. Paul knew that many thousands of people had seen Jesus. Yet Paul said that no one has seen God, because Paul was sure that Jesus is not God. This is why Paul went on teaching that Jesus was not God, but that he was the Christ (see Acts 9:22 and 18:5).
When he was in Athens, Paul spoke of God as “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.” (Acts 17:24). Then he identified Jesus as “the man he (i.e. God) has appointed.” (Acts 17:31).
Clearly, for Paul, Jesus was not God, and he would be shocked to see his writings used for proving the opposite of what he believed. Paul even testified in court saying: “I admit that I worship the God of our fathers...” (Acts 24:14).
He also said that Jesus is the servant of that God, for we read in Acts: “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus.” (Acts 3:13).
For Paul, the Father alone is God. Paul said that there is “one God and Father of all...” (Ephesians 4:6). Paul said again: “...for us there is but one God, the Father . . . and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ...” (1 Corinthians 8:6).
Paul’s letter to the Philippians (Philippians 2:6-11) is often quoted as a proof that Jesus is God. But the very passage shows that Jesus is not God. This passage has to agree with Isaiah 45:22-24 where God said that every knee should bow to God, and every tongue should confess that righteousness and strength are in God alone. Paul was aware of this passage, for he quoted it in Romans 14:11. Knowing this, Paul declared: “I kneel before the Father.” (Ephesians 3:14).
The letter to the Hebrews (Hebrews 1:6) says that the angels of God should worship the Son. But this passage depends on Deuteronomy 32:43, in the Septuagint version of the Old Testament. This phrase cannot be found in the Old Testament used by Christians today, and the Septuagint version is no longer considered valid by Christians. However, even the Septuagint version, does not say worship the Son. It says let the Angels of God worship God. The Bible insists that God alone is to be worshipped: “When the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites, he commanded them: ‘Do not worship any other gods or bow down to them, serve them or sacrifice to them. But the LORD, who brought you up out of Egypt with mighty power and outstretched arm, is the one you must worship. To him you shall bow down and to him offer sacrifices. You must always be careful to keep the decrees and ordinances, the laws and commands he wrote for you. Do not worship other gods. Do not forget the covenant I have made with you, and do not worship other gods. Rather, worship the LORD your God; it is he who will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.’” (2 Kings 17:35-39).
Jesus, on whom be peace, believed in this, for he also stressed it in Luke 4:8. And Jesus too fell on his face and worshipped God (see Matthew 26:39). Paul knew that Jesus worshipped God (see Hebrews 5:7). Paul taught that Jesus will remain forever subservient to God (see 1 Corinthians 15:28).
6) Evidence from the Gospel of John:
The Gospel of John, the fourth Gospel, was completed to its present form some seventy years after Jesus was raised up to heaven. This Gospel in its final form says one more thing about Jesus that was unknown from the previous three Gospels — that Jesus was the Word of God. John means that Jesus was God’s agent through whom God created everything else. This is often misunderstood to mean that Jesus was God Himself. But John was saying, as Paul had already said, that Jesus was God’s first creature. In the Book of Revelation in the Bible, we find that Jesus is: “the beginning of God’s creation” (Revelation 3:14, also see 1 Corinthians 8:6 and Colossians 1:15).
Anyone who says that the Word of God is a person distinct from God must also admit that the Word was created, for the Word speaks in the Bible saying: “The LORD brought me forth as the first of his works...” (Proverbs 8:22).
This Gospel, nevertheless, clearly teaches that Jesus is not God. If it did not continue this teaching, then it would contradict the other three Gospels and also the letters of Paul from which it is clearly established that Jesus is not God. We find here that Jesus was not co-equal with the Father, for Jesus said: “...the Father is greater than I.” (John 14:28).
People forget this and they say that Jesus is equal to the Father. Whom should we believe — Jesus or the people? Muslims and Christians agree that God is self-existent. This means that He does not derive his existence from anyone. Yet John tells us that Jesus’ existence is caused by the Father. Jesus said in this Gospel: “...I live because of the Father...” (John 6:57).
John tells us that Jesus cannot do anything by his own when he quotes Jesus as saying: “By myself I can do nothing...” (John 5:30). This agrees with what we learn about Jesus from other Gospels. In Mark, for example, we learn that Jesus performed miracles by a power which was not within his control. This is especially clear from an episode in which a woman is healed of her incurable bleeding. The woman came up behind him and touched his cloak, and she was immediately healed. But Jesus had no idea who touched him. Mark describes Jesus’ actions thus: “At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, ‘Who touched my clothes?’” (Mark 5:30). His disciples could not provide a satisfactory answer, so Mark tells us: “Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it.” (Mark 5:32). This shows that the power that healed the woman was not within Jesus’ control. He knew that the power had gone out of him, but he did not know where it went. Some other intelligent being had to guide that power to the woman who needed to be healed. God was that intelligent being.
It is no wonder, then, that in Acts of the Apostles we read that it was God who did the miracles through Jesus (Acts 2:22).
God did extraordinary miracles through others too, but that does not make the others God (see Acts 19:11). Why, then, is Jesus taken for God? Even when Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead, he had to ask God to do it. Lazarus’ sister, Martha, knew this, for she said to Jesus: “I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” (John 11:22).
Martha knew that Jesus was not God, and John who reported this with approval knew it also. Jesus had a God, for when he was about to ascend to heaven, he said: “I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” (John 20:17).
John was sure that no one had seen God, although he knew that many people had seen Jesus (see John 1:18 and 1 John 4:12). In fact Jesus himself told the crowds, that they have never seen the Father, nor have they heard the Father’s voice (John 5:37). Notice that if Jesus was the Father, his statement here would be false. Who is the only God in John’s Gospel? The Father alone.
Jesus testified this when he declared that the God of the Jews is the Father (John 8:54). Jesus too confirmed that the Father alone is the only true God (see John 17:1-3). And Jesus said to his enemies: “...you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God.” (John 8:40). According to John, therefore, Jesus was not God, and nothing John wrote should be taken as proof that he was God — unless one wishes to disagree with John.
7) God and Jesus Are Two Separate Beings:
Many people use certain verses of the Bible as proof that Jesus is God. However, all of these verses, when understood in context, prove the opposite!
For example, in Matthew 9:2, Jesus said to a certain man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” Because of this, some say that Jesus must be God since only God can forgive sins. However, if you are willing to read just a few verses further, you will find that the people “...praised God, who had given such authority to men.” (Matthew 9:8). This shows that the people knew, and Matthew agrees, that Jesus is not the only man to receive such authority from God.
Jesus himself emphasized that he does not speak on his own authority (John 14:10) and he does nothing on his own authority, but he speaks only what the Father has taught him (John 8:28). What Jesus did here was as follows. Jesus announced to the man the knowledge Jesus received from God that God had forgiven the man.
Notice that Jesus did not say, “I forgive your sins,” but rather, “your sins are forgiven,” implying, as this would to his Jewish listeners, that God had forgiven the man. Jesus, then, did not have the power to forgive sins, and in that very episode he called himself “the Son of Man” (Matthew 9:6).
John 10:30 is often used as proof that Jesus is God because Jesus said, “I and the father are one.” But, if you read the next six verses, you will find Jesus explaining that his enemies were wrong to think that he was claiming to be God. What Jesus obviously means here is that he is one with the Father in purpose. Jesus also prayed that his disciples should be one just as Jesus and the Father are one. Obviously, he was not praying that all his disciples should somehow merge into one individual (see John 17:11 and 22). And when Luke reports that the disciples were all one, Luke does not mean that they became one single human being, but that they shared a common purpose although they were separate beings (see Acts 4:32). In terms of essence, Jesus and the Father are two, for Jesus said they are two witnesses (John 8:14-18). They have to be two, since one is greater than the other (see John 14:28). When Jesus prayed to be saved from the cross, he said: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42).
This shows that they had two separate wills, although Jesus submitted his will to the will of the Father. Two wills mean two separate individuals.
Furthermore, Jesus is reported to have said: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). If one of them forsook the other, then they must be two separate entities.
Again, Jesus is reported to have said: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” (Luke 23:46). If the spirit of one can be placed into the hands of another, they must be two separate beings.
In all of these instances, Jesus is clearly subordinate to the Father. When Jesus knelt down and prayed he obviously was not praying to himself (see Luke 22:41). He was praying to his God.
Throughout the New Testament, the Father alone is called God. In fact, the titles “Father” and “God” are used to designate one individual, not three, and never Jesus. This is also clear from the fact that Matthew substituted the title “Father” in the place of the title “God” in at least two places in his Gospel (compare Matthew 10:29 with Luke 12:6, and Matthew 12:50 with Mark 3:35). If Matthew is right in doing so, then the Father alone is God.
Was Jesus the Father? No! Because Jesus said: “And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.” (Matthew 23:9). So Jesus is not the Father, since Jesus was standing on the earth when he said this.
The Quran seeks to bring people back to the true faith that was taught by Jesus, and by his true disciples who continued in his teaching. That teaching emphasized a continued commitment to the first commandment that God is alone. In the Quran, God directs Muslims to call readers of the Bible back to that true faith. God have said in the Quran:
Say: “O people of the Book (Christians and Jews)! Come to a word that is just between us and you: that we shall worship none but God, and that we shall associate no partners with Him, and that none of us shall take others as lords beside God.” (Quran, 3:64)
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The Islamic and Christian views of Jesus: a comparison
The person of Jesus or Isa in Arabic (peace be upon him) is of great significance in both Islam and Christianity. However, there are differences in terms of beliefs about the nature and life occurrences of this noble Messenger.
Source of information about Jesus in Islam
Most of the Islamic information about Jesus is actually found in the Quran.
The Quran was revealed by God to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and memorized and written down in his lifetime. Today, anyone who calls him or herself a Muslim believes in the complete authenticity of the Quran as the original revealed guidance from God.
Source of information about Jesus in Christianity
Christians take their information about Jesus from the Bible, which includes the Old and New Testaments.
These contain four biblical narratives covering the life and death of Jesus. They have been written, according to tradition, respectively by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They are placed at the beginning of the New Testament and comprise close to half of it.
Encyclopedia Britannica notes that none of the sources of his life and work can be traced to Jesus himself; he did not leave a single known written word. Also, there are no contemporary accounts written of his life and death. What can be established about the historical Jesus depends almost without exception on Christian traditions, especially on the material used in the composition of the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke, which reflect the outlook of the later church and its faith in Jesus.
Below are the views of Islam and Christianity based on primary source texts and core beliefs.
ISLAM
1. Do Muslims believe he was a Messenger of One God? YES
Belief in all of the Prophets and Messengers of God is a fundamental article of faith in Islam. Thus, believing in Prophets Adam, Jesus, Moses, and Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon them) is a requirement for anyone who calls him or herself a Muslim. A person claiming to be a Muslim who, for instance, denies the Messengership of Jesus, is not considered a Muslim.
The Quran says in reference to the status of Jesus as a Messenger:
"The Messiah (Jesus), son of Mary, was no more than a Messenger before whom many Messengers have passed away; and his mother adhered wholly to truthfulness, and they both ate food (as other mortals do). See how We make Our signs clear to them; and see where they are turning away!" (Quran 5:75).
2. Do Muslims believe he was born of a Virgin Mother? YES
Like Christians, Muslims believe Mary, Maria in Spanish, or Maryam as she is called in Arabic, was a chaste, virgin woman, who miraculously gave birth to Jesus.
"Relate in the Book the story of Mary, when she withdrew from her family, to a place in the East. She screened herself from them; then We sent to her Our spirit (angel Gabriel) and he appeared before her as a man in all respects. She said: I seek refuge from you in God Most Gracious (come not near) if you do fear God. He said: Nay, I am only a Messenger from your Lord, to announce to you the gift of a pure son. She said: How shall I have a son, when no man has ever touched me, and I am not unchaste? He said: So it will be, your Lord says: 'That is easy for Me; and We wish to appoint him as a sign unto men and a Mercy from Us': It was a matter so decreed" (Quran 19:16-21).
3. Do Muslims believe Jesus had a miraculous birth? YES
The Quran says:
"She (Mary) said: 'O my Lord! How shall I have a son when no man has touched me.' He (God) said: 'So (it will be) for God creates what He wills. When He has decreed something, He says to it only: 'Be!'- and it is" (3:47).
It should also be noted about his birth that:
"Verily, the likeness of Jesus in God's Sight is the likeness of Adam. He (God) created him from dust, then (He) said to him: 'Be!'-and he was" (Quran 3:59).
4. Do Muslims believe Jesus spoke in the cradle? YES
"Then she (Mary) pointed to him. They said: 'How can we talk to one who is a child in the cradle?' He (Jesus) said: 'Verily! I am a slave of God, He has given me the Scripture and made me a Prophet; " (19:29-30).
5. Do Muslims believe he performed miracles? YES
Muslims, like Christians believe Jesus performed miracles. But these were performed by the will and permission of God, Who has power and control over all things.
"Then will God say: 'O Jesus the son of Mary! recount My favor to you and to your mother. Behold! I strengthened you with the Holy Spirit (the angel Gabriel) so that you did speak to the people in childhood and in maturity. Behold! I taught you the Book and Wisdom, the Law and the Gospel. And behold: you make out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, by My leave, and you breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by My leave, and you heal those born blind, and the lepers by My leave. And behold! you bring forth the dead by My leave. And behold! I did restrain the children of Israel from (violence to you) when you did show them the Clear Signs, and the unbelievers among them said: 'This is nothing but evident magic' (5:110).
6. Do Muslims believe in the Trinity? NO
Muslims believe in the Absolute Oneness of God, Who is a Supreme Being free of human limitations, needs and wants. He has no partners in His Divinity. He is the Creator of everything and is completely separate from His creation.
God says in the Quran regarding the Trinity:
"People of the Book (Jews and Christians)! Do not exceed the limits in your religion, and attribute to God nothing except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was only a Messenger of God, and His command that He conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in God and in His Messengers, and do not say: 'God is a Trinity.' Give up this assertion; it would be better for you. God is indeed just One God. Far be it from His glory that He should have a son. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and in the earth. God is sufficient for a guardian" (Quran 4:171).
7. Do Muslims believe that Jesus was the son of God? NO
"Say: "God is Unique! God, the Source [of everything]. He has not fathered anyone nor was He fathered, and there is nothing comparable to Him!" (Quran 112:1-4).
The Quran also states:
"Such was Jesus, the son of Mary; it is a statement of truth, about which they vainly dispute. It is not befitting to the majesty of God, that He should beget a son. Glory be to Him! When He determines a matter, He only says to it, 'Be' and it is" (Quran 19:34-35).
8. Do Muslims believe Jesus was killed on the cross then resurrected? NO
""They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but they thought they did." (Quran 4:156) "God lifted him up to His presence. God is Almighty, All-Wise" (Quran 4:157) .
CHRISTIANITY
1. Do Christians believe Jesus was a human being and Messenger of God? YES & NO
With the exception of Unitarian Christians, who like all the early followers of Jesus, still do not believe in the Trinity, most Christians now believe in the Divinity of Jesus, which is connected to the belief in Trinity. They say he is the second member of the Triune God, the Son of the first part of the Triune God, and at the same time "fully" God in every respect.
2. Do Christians believe he was born of a Virgin Mother? YES
A chaste and pious human woman who gave birth to Jesus Christ, the second member of the Trinity, the Son of God, and at the same time "fully" God Almighty in every respect.
Christians believe however, that while she was a virgin, she was married to a man named Joseph (Bible: Matthew:1:18). According to Matthew 1:25, Joseph "kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus".
3. Do Christians believe he had a miraculous birth? YES
"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit" (Bible: Matthew 1:18)
4. Do Christians believe he performed miracles? YES
"And now, Lord, look upon their threats, and grant to thy servants to speak thy word with all boldness, while thou stretches out thy hand to heal, and sign and wonders are performed through the name of thy holy servant Jesus (Bible: Acts 4:30).
Christians believe that Jesus performed these miracles because he was the Son of God as well as the incarnation of God.
5. Do Christians believe in the Trinity? YES
With the exception of the Unitarian Christians, who do not believe in the Divinity of Christ, the Trinity, according to the Catholic encyclopedia, is the term used for the central doctrine of the Christian religion. The belief is that in the unity of the Godhead there are Three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three Persons or beings are distinct from each another, while being similar in character: uncreated and omnipotent.
The First Vatican Council has explained the meaning to be attributed to the term mystery in theology. It lays down that a mystery is a truth which we are not merely incapable of discovering apart from Divine Revelation, but which, even when revealed, remains "hidden by the veil of faith and enveloped, so to speak, by a kind of darkness" (Const., "De fide. cath.", iv). The First Vatican Council further defined that the Christian Faith contains mysteries strictly so called (can. 4). All theologians admit that the doctrine of the Trinity is of the number of these. The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that of all revealed truths, this is the most impenetrable to reason.
6. Do Christians believe that Jesus was the son of God? YES
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him (Bible: John 3:16).
However, it is interesting to note that the term "son of God" is used in other parts of the Bible to refer to Adam (Bible: Luke 3:38), Israel (Bible: Exodus 4:22) and David (Bible: Psalms 2:7) as well. The creatures of God are usually referred to in the Bible as children of God.
The role of Paul of Tarsus in shaping this belief and the belief in Trinity
The notion of Jesus as son of God is something that was established under the influence of Paul of Tarsus (originally named Saul), who had been an enemy of Jesus, but later changed course and joined the disciples after the departure of Jesus.
Later, however, he initiated a number of changes into early Christian teachings, in contradiction, for instance, to disciples like Barnabas, who believed in the Oneness of God and who had actually lived and met with Jesus.
Paul is considered by a number of Christian scholars to be the father of Christianity due to his additions of the following ideas:
that Jesus is the son of God,
the concept of Atonement,
the renunciation of the Law of the Torah.
Paul did these things in hopes of winning over the Gentiles (non-Jewish people). His letters are another of the primary sources of information on Jesus according to the Christian tradition.
The original followers of Prophet Jesus opposed these blatant misrepresentations of the message of Jesus. They struggled to reject the notion of the Divinity of Jesus for close to 200 years.
One person who was an original follower of Jesus was Barnabas. He was a Jew born in Cyrus and a successful preacher of the teachings of Jesus. Because of his closeness to Jesus, he was an important member of the small group of disciples in Jerusalem who had had gathered together following the disappearance of Jesus.
The question of Jesus's nature, origin and relationship with God was not raised amongst Barnabas and the small group of disciples. Jesus was considered a man miraculously endowed by God. Nothing in the words of Jesus or the events in his life led them to modify this view.
The Gospel of Barnabas was accepted as a Canonical Gospel in the Churches of Alexandria till 325 CE Iranaeus (130-200) wrote in support of pure monotheism and opposed Paul for injecting into Christianity doctrines of the pagan Roman religion and Platonic philosophy. He quoted extensively from the Gospel of Barnabas in support of his views. This indicates that the Gospel of Barnabas was in circulation in the first and second centuries of Christianity.
In 325 (CE), a council of Christian leaders met at Nicaea and made Paul's beliefs officially part of Christian doctrine. It also ordered that all original Gospels in Hebrew script which contradicted Paul's beliefs should be destroyed. An edict was issued that anyone in possession of these Gospels would be put to death.
The Gospel of Barnabas has miraculously survived though.
7. Do Christians believe he was killed on the cross? YES
This is a core Christian belief and it relates to the concept of atonement. According to this belief, Jesus died to save mankind from sin. However, this is not stated explicitly in the four gospels which form the primary source texts of Christianity. It is found, however, in Romans 6:8,9.
Christians believe Jesus was spat on, cut, humiliated, kicked, striped and finally hung up on the cross to endure a slow and painful death.
According, to Christian belief, the original sin of Adam and Eve of eating from the forbidden tree was so great that God could not forgive it by simply willing it, rather it was necessary to erase it with the blood of a sinless, innocent Jesus.
Resurrection
The four Gospels and the Epistles of St. Paul are the main sources of Christianity which discuss the Resurrection of Jesus after his crucifixion. According to St. Matthew, Jesus appeared to the holy women, and again on a mountain in Galilee. Mark's Gospel tells a different story: Jesus was seen by Mary Magdalene, by the two disciples at Emmaus, and the Eleven before his Ascension into heaven.
Luke's Gospel says Jesus walked with the disciples to Emmaus, appeared to Peter and to the assembled disciples in Jerusalem. In John's Gospel, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, to the ten Apostles on Easter Sunday, to the Eleven a week later, and to seven disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.
Another account of the resurrection by St. Paul is found in Bible: Corinthians 15: 3-8.
According to Christian belief, Resurrection is a manifestation of God's justice, Who exalted Christ to a life of glory, as Christ had humbled himself unto death (Phil., 2: 8-9). This event also completes the mystery of Christian salvation and redemption. The death of Jesus frees believers from sin, and with his resurrection, he restores to them the most important privileges lost by sin (Bible: Romans 4:25).
More importantly, the belief in the resurrection of Jesus indicates Christian acknowledgment of Christ as the immortal God, the cause of believers' own resurrection (Bible: I Corinthians 4: 21; Phil., 3:20-21), as well as the model and the support of a new life of grace (Bible: Romans 4: 4-6; 9-11).
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COSMOLOGY IN
THE QURAN: THE CREATION
According to NASA, the authority in Space exploration, The Universe is the
sum of all matter
that
exists and the space in which all events occur or could occur.
In
cosmological terms,
the universe is thought to be a
finite or
infinite
space-time continuum
in which all matter and energy exist.
Birth of the Universe and Big Bang Theory
The Big Bang Theory
is the dominant scientific theory about the origin of the universe. According to
the big bang, the universe was created sometime between 10 billion and 20
billion years ago from a cosmic explosion that hurled matter and in all
directions.
Scientists Today,
Believe that the Universe was created from a single point (near zero volume)
infinitely dense and infinitely hot.
Since the Big
Bang, the universe has been continuously expanding and, thus, there has been
more and more distance between clusters of galaxies. This phenomenon of galaxies
moving farther away from each other is known as the red shift. As light from
distant galaxies approach earth there is an increase of space between earth and
the galaxy, which leads to wavelengths being stretched.
In addition to
the understanding of the velocity of galaxies emanating from a single point,
there is further evidence for the Big Bang. In 1964, two astronomers, Arno
Penzias and Robert Wilson, in an attempt to detect microwaves from outer space,
inadvertently discovered a noise of extraterrestrial origin. The noise did not
seem to emanate from one location but instead, it came from all directions at
once. It became obvious that what they heard was radiation from the farthest
reaches of the universe which had been left over from the Big Bang. This
discovery of the radioactive aftermath of the initial explosion lent much
credence to the Big Bang theory.
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What
Allah has said about it in the Quran?
"He is the Originator of the heavens and the earth." (6:101)
”Verily Allah knows the secrets of the heavens and the earth.” (49:18)
”- He that has full knowledge of (all) that is hidden.” (34:48)
“Do
not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as
one unit of creation), before we clove them asunder? We made from water every
living thing. Will they not then believe?” (21:30)
The
Expansion of the Universe
Then,
in the late 1920's, Hubble, building on results obtained earlier by Slipher,
combined Doppler shift measurements of radial velocities with distance
measurements to conclude that almost all galaxies were flying away from the
Milky Way, and that the velocity of recession was proportional to the distance
from us: the further the galaxy from us, the faster it was receding.
It
later turned out that there were systematic errors in the earliest measurements,
associated primarily with a failure to realize that there were two kinds of
Cepheids, failure to disguish in some cases Cepheid and RR-Lyra variables, and
failure to account for the scattering of starlight by interstellar dust.
However, although corrections for these mistakes changed the distance scales by
as much as factors of two, they did not alter the fundamental conclusions:
1.
There are many galaxies outside of our own.
2.
These galaxies are all receding from us if we go to large enough distances.
3.
The velocity of recession is proportional to the distance from us.
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What
Allah has said about it in the Quran?
"And it is We who have constructed the heaven with might, and verily, it is We
who are steadily expanding it."
(51:47)
Galaxy Formation
How galaxies
formed after the Big Bang is a question still being studied by astronomers.
Astronomers hypothesize that approximately a billion years after the Big Bang,
there were clumps of matter scattered throughout the universe. Some of these
clumps were dispersed by their internal motions, while others grew by attracting
other nearby matter. These surviving clumps became the beginnings of the
galaxies we see today. They first appeared about 14 billion years ago.
When a clump
becomes massive enough, it starts to collapse under its own gravity. At this
point, the clump becomes a protogalaxy. Astronomers hypothesize that
protogalaxies consist of both dark matter and normal hydrogen gas. Due to
collisions within the gas, the hydrogen loses energy and falls to the central
region of the protogalaxy. Because of the collisions of the gas, protogalaxies
should emit infrared light. The dark matter remains as a halo surrounding the
protogalaxy.
Astronomers
think that the difference in appearance between elliptical and spiral galaxies
is related to how quickly stars were made. Stars form when gas clouds in the
protogalaxy collide. If the stars are formed over a long period of time, while
some stars are forming, the remaining gas between the stars continues to
collapse. Due to the overall motion of matter in the protogalaxy, this gas
settles into a disk. Further variations in the density of the gas result in the
establishment of "arms" in the disk. The result is a spiral galaxy. If, on the
other hand, stars are made all at once, then the stars remain in the initial
spherical distribution that the gas had in the protogalaxy. These form an
elliptical galaxy.
Astronomers also
think that collisions between galaxies play a role in establishing the different
types of galaxies. When two galaxies come close to each other, they may merge,
throw out matter and stars from one galaxy, and/or induce new star formation.
Astronomers now think that many ellipticals result from the collision of
galaxies. We now know that giant ellipticals found in the center of galaxy
clusters are due to multiple galaxy collisions.
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What Allah has said
about it in the Quran?
“Moreover He comprehended in His design the sky, and it had been (as) smoke: He
said to it and to the earth: "Come ye together, willingly or unwillingly." They
said: "We do come (together), in willing obedience." (41:11)
The
known number of Galaxies in the Universe
The
Hubble Deep Field image shows hundreds of galaxies in a region of the sky only
an arcminute across; about 1/30 the diameter of the full moon. If this spot of
the sky is typical, you can easily estimate how many galaxies there are:
There
are 42,000 square degrees over the full sky, and 60x60 = 3600 spots as big as
the Hubble Deep Field per square degree, so the total galaxies is about 3600 x
42,000 x 200 = 3.6 x 4.2 x 2 billion or about 40 billion.
In
our Local Group there are about thirty galaxies, of which only five would be
visible at the distance probed by the Hubble Deep Field. This means we have to
multiply 40 billion by about 6 to account for these smaller galaxies. That gives
us an estimate of about 240 billion galaxies in our visible universe.
There
is approximately
about 7 ×
1022 Stars (70 Trillion Billion) and 400 Trillion Billion planets
orbiting these stars.
Collision of Galaxies
Galaxies smashing
into one another sounds like an explosive event. On the contrary, they probably
slide together smoothly, generating little fanfare. Galaxies are mostly empty
space, and the distance between stars is so huge that the probability of stars
colliding is almost Null.
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What Allah has said
about it in the Quran?
“It is not permitted to the Sun to catch up the Moon, nor can the Night outstrip
the Day: Each (just) swims along in (its own) orbit (according to Law).” (36:40)
The Relativity of
Time
Dr. Mansour
Hassab-Elnaby, in a paper entitled: 'A New Astronomical Quranic Method for the
Determination of the Greatest Speed C', asserts that the Quran establishes a
time/space reference system, which is indicative of the relativity of time and
the constancy of the speed of light (represented by 'C' in scientific notation).
Albert Einstein used these concepts to establish his well-known 'field
equations' which provide the mathematical explanation for the interaction of
matter, energy, space and time in the universe. The basis of Dr. Hassab-Elnaby’s
paper is the Quranic verse which means: “He rules (all) affairs from the
heavens to the earth: in the end will (all affairs) go up to Him, on a Day, the
space whereof will be (as) a thousand years of your reckoning.” (32:5)
Thus, the Quran suggests that time is not absolute in the universe, a discovery
made only in the early part of the twentieth century. The abovementioned Quranic
verse, according to Dr. Hassab-Elnaby, implies a 'cosmic affair' of extremely
high speed, making it possible to travel, in one day, the distance the moon
travels around the Earth over a period of 1,000 years. The use of the lunar
calendar in reckoning Earth time is explicitly stated in the following verse,
which means:” It is He Who made the sun to be
a shining glory and the moon to be a light (of beauty), and measured out stages
for her; that ye might know the number of years and the count (of time). Nowise
did Allah create this but in truth and righteousness. (Thus) doth He explain His
Signs in detail, for those who understand.” (10:5).
Furthermore, Dr. Hassab-Elnaby uses the mathematical relationship given in this
verse – one day of 'cosmic reckoning' equal to a thousand years of 'Earth
reckoning' – along with established scientific data on the movements of the
Earth and the moon to calculate the speed which provides a linkage between the
two systems of reckoning time. The resulting speed, he points out, is
299,792.458 kilometers per second, which is exactly, to the decimal point, the
speed of light recorded by the United States National Bureau of Standards.
The Orbits of the
Planets
In
physics, an orbit
is the path that an object makes around another object while under the influence
of a source of
centripetal force,
such as
gravity.
Orbits were first analyzed mathematically by
Johannes Kepler who
formulated his results in his three
laws of planetary motion.
First, he found that the orbits of the
planets in our
solar system are
elliptical, not
circular (or
epicyclic), as had
previously been believed, and that the sun is not located at the center of the
orbits, but rather at one
focus. Second, he
found that the orbital speed of each planet is not constant, as had previously
been thought, but rather that the speed of the planet depends on the planet's
distance from the sun. And third, Kepler found a universal relationship between
the orbital properties of all the planets orbiting the sun. For each planet, the
cube of the planet's distance from the sun, measured in
astronomical units
(AU), is equal to the square of the planet's orbital period, measured in Earth
years. Jupiter, for example, is approximately 5.2 AU from the sun and its
orbital period is 11.86 Earth years. So 5.2 cubed equals 11.86 squared, as
predicted.
Isaac Newton
demonstrated that Kepler's laws were derivable from his theory of
gravitation and
that, in general, the orbits of bodies responding to the force of gravity were
conic sections.
Newton showed that a pair of bodies follow orbits of dimensions that are in
inverse proportion to their
masses about their
common
center of mass.
Where one body is much more massive than the other, it is a convenient
approximation to take the center of mass as coinciding with the center of the
more massive body.
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What Allah has said
about it in the Quran?
"It is He Who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. They swim
along, each in an orbit. " (21:33)
"And the sun runs to its resting place. That is the decree of the Almighty, the
All-Knowing. " (36:38)
“It is not permitted to the Sun to catch up the Moon, nor can the Night
outstrip the Day: Each (just) swims along in (its own) orbit (according to
Law).” (36:40)
"By the sky full of paths and orbits." (51:7)
The Bible says:
“Earth is Flat” What the Creator said about it in the Quran?
"He has
created the Heavens and the Earth for Truth. He wraps the night up in the day,
and wraps the day up in the night." (39:5)
In the Qur'an, the
words used for describing the universe are quite remarkable. The Arabic word
that is translated as "to wrap" in the above verse is "takwir". In English, it
means "to make one thing lap over another, folded up as a garment that is laid
away". (For instance, in Arabic dictionaries this word is used for the action of
wrapping one thing around another, in the way that a turban is put on.)
The information
given in the verse about the day and the night wrapping each other up includes
accurate information about the shape of the world. This can be true only if the
earth is round. This means that in the Qur'an, which was revealed in the 7th
century, the roundness of the world has been told back then.
The Bible Says:
“The Earth is resting on four pillars”, What the Creator said about it in the
Quran?
"He created the heavens without any pillars that you can see." (31:10)
The
Quran Says: The Universe functions with Allah s commands and cannot be sustained
without it.
“It is Allah Who sustains the heavens and the earth, lest they cease (to
function): and if they should fail, there is none - not one - can sustain them
thereafter: Verily He is Most Forbearing, Oft-Forgiving” (35:41)
Motion of the Earth
in the Quran
ü
First verse
regarding motion of the earth
“Have we not made the earth “kifaata”?” (77:25)
Allah says in the
Holy Quran that Allah made the earth kifaata. The motion of the earth is hidden
beyond this word. Lets see the wideness of the word kifaata & how beautifully
Allah is describing us the motion of the earth.
When the word
kifaata, use with birds, the meaning will be "a bird, with contracting its furs,
flying fastly.".
The similar word
when use with horse, the meaning will be "the horse become uncontrolled and the
traveler can't able to control it.
And when this word
"kifaata" used with earth then it will meant that the earth is fastly moving
(flying) keeping all creatures and its movement is not controllable by traveler
(all creatures).
ü
Second verse regarding motion of the earth
“6. Have We not made the earth as a wide expanse,
7.
And the mountains as pegs? “(78:6-7)
The
Arabic word used for cradle is "Mihaada". The Quran compares the earth to a
cradle because a cradle is a place of rest that is engaged in motion.
ü
Third
verse regarding motion of the earth
“And the earth is wada'aha for the creatures” (55:10}
"wada'atinnaaqah" means " a running camel".
"Wada'aturrajul" means "a running man".
We
observed that the word "running" common in both meanings, hence in the above
verse the word "wada'a" used with the earth. thus the translation of this verse
should read as follows:
“And the earth, is a running object for the creatures” (55:10}
ü
4th
Verse Regarding Motion Of the Earth
“Who has made for you the earth as a farsh....”.(2:22)
Farasha means a "flying insect" like moth, mosquito etc. This meaning of farash
is used in the following verse of the Holy Quran:
"youma yakoomun naaso ka al_faraashil mabsoos" (101:4). (Transliteration)
“It is a day where on mankind will be like moths (farash) scattered about.”
(101:4).
Hence
when Allah says that the earth is farsh then it meant that the earth is like a
flying insect which is proving motion of the earth.
The Earth s atmosphere as described in the Quran
“And
We have made the heavens as a canopy well guarded: yet do they turn away from
the Signs which these things (point to)!” (21:32)
In the Qur'an,
ALLAH calls our attention to a very interesting attribute of the sky:
"We made the sky a preserved and protected roof yet still they turn away from
Our Signs.." (21:32)
This attribute of the sky has been proved by scientific research carried out in
the 20th century.
The atmosphere surrounding the earth serves crucial functions for the continuity
of life. While destroying many meteors big and small as they approach the earth,
it prevents them from falling to earth and harming living things.
In addition, the atmosphere filters the light rays coming from space that are
harmful to living things. Interestingly, the atmosphere lets only harmless and
useful rays- visible light, near ultraviolet light, and radio waves pass
through. All of this radiation is vital for life. Near ultraviolet rays, which
are only partially let in by the atmosphere, are very important for the
photosynthesis of plants and for the survival of all living beings. The majority
of the intense ultraviolet rays emitted from the sun are filtered out by the
ozone layer of the atmosphere and only a limited-and essential-part of the
ultraviolet spectrum
The protective
function of the atmosphere does not end here. The atmosphere also protects the
earth from the freezing cold of the space, which is about minus 270o C.
It is not only the atmosphere that protects the Earth from harmful effects. In
addition to the atmosphere, the Van Allen Belt, a layer caused by the magnetic
field of the Earth, also serves as a shield against the harmful radiation that
threatens our planet. This radiation, which is constantly emitted by the Sun and
other stars, is deadly to living things. If the Van Allen belt did not exist,
the massive outbursts of energy called solar flares that frequently occur in the
Sun would destroy all life on Earth.
Dr. Hugh Ross has this to say on the importance of Van Allen Belts to our lives:
In fact, the Earth has the highest density of any of the planets in our Solar
System. This large nickel-iron core is responsible for our large magnetic field.
This magnetic field produces the Van-Allen radiation shield, which protects the
Earth from radiation bombardment. If this shield were not present, life would
not be possible on the Earth. The only other rocky planet to have any magnetic
field is Mercury - but its field strength is 100 times less than the Earth's.
Even Venus, our sister planet, has no magnetic field. The Van-Allen radiation
shield is a design unique to the Earth.
The energy transmitted in just one of these bursts detected in recent years was
calculated to be equivalent to 100 billion atomic bombs similar to the one
dropped on Hiroshima. Fifty-eight hours after the burst, it was observed that
the magnetic needles of compasses displayed unusual movement and 250 kilometers
above the earth's atmosphere, the temperature suddenly increased to 2,500o C.
In short, a perfect system is at work high above the Earth. It surrounds our
world and protects it against external threats. Scientists only learned about it
recently, yet centuries ago, ALLAH informed us in the Qur'an of the world's
atmosphere functioning as a protective shield.
The
Layers Of The Atmosphere
One fact about the universe revealed in the verses of the Qur'an is that the sky
is made up of seven layers.
"It is He Who created everything on the earth for you and then directed His
attention up to heaven and arranged it into seven regular heavens. He has
knowledge of all things." (2:29)
"Then He turned to heaven when it was smoke. In two days He determined them as
seven heavens and revealed, in every heaven, its own mandate." (41:12)
The word "heavens", which appears in many verses in the Qur'an, is used to refer
to the sky above the Earth, as well as the entire universe. Given this meaning
of the word, it is seen that the Earth's sky, or the atmosphere, is made up of
seven layers.
Indeed, today it is known that the world's atmosphere consists of different
layers that lie on top of each other. Furthermore, it consists, just as is
described in the Qur'an, of exactly seven layers. In a scientific source, the
subject is described as follows:
Scientists have found that the atmosphere consists of several layers. The layers
differ in such physical properties as pressure and the types of gasses. The
layer of the atmosphere closest to Earth is called the TROPOSPHERE. It contains
about 90% of the total mass of the atmosphere. The layer above the troposphere
is called the STRATOSPHERE. The OZONE LAYER is the part of the stratosphere
where absorption of ultraviolet rays occurs. The layer above the stratosphere is
called the MESOSPHERE. The THERMOSPHERE lies above the mesosphere. The ionized
gases form a layer within the thermosphere called the IONOSPHERE. The outermost
part of Earth's atmosphere extends from about 480 km out to 960 km. This part is
called the EXOSPHERE. (Carolyn Sheets, Robert Gardner, Samuel F. Howe; General
Science, Allyn and Bacon Inc. Newton, Massachusetts, 1985, s. 319-322)
If we count the number of layers cited in this source, we see that the
atmosphere consists of exactly seven layers, just as stated in the verse.
1. Troposphere
2. Stratosphere
3. Ozonosphere
4. Mesosphere
5. Thermosphere
6. Ionosphere
7. Exosphere
Another important miracle on this subject is mentioned in the statement "(He)
revealed, in every heaven, its own mandate.", in verse 12 of Sura Fussilet. In
other words, in the verse, ALLAH states that He assigned each heaven its own
duty. Truly, as seen in previous chapters, each one of these layers has vital
duties for the benefit of human kind and all other living things on the Earth.
Each layer has a particular function, ranging from forming rain to preventing
harmful rays, from reflecting radio waves, to averting the harmful effects of
meteors.
One of these functions, for example, is stated in a scientific source as
follows:
Earth's atmosphere
has 7 layers. The lowest layer is called troposphere. Rain, snow and wind only
take place in the troposphere.
It is a great
miracle that these facts, which could not possibly be discovered without the
technology of the 20th century, were explicitly stated by the Qur'an 1,400 years
ago.
The Functions Of
Mountains
The Qur'an draws
attention to a very important geological function of mountains.
"We placed firmly embedded mountains on the earth, so it would not move under
them…" (21:31)
As we have noticed, it is stated in the verse that mountains have the function
of preventing shocks in the Earth.
This fact was not known by anyone at the time the Qur'an was revealed. It was in
fact brought to light only recently as a result of the findings of modern
geology.
According to these findings, mountains emerge as a result of the movements and
collisions of massive plates forming the Earth's crust. When two plates collide,
the stronger one slides under the other, the one on the top bends and forms
heights and mountains. The layer beneath proceeds under the ground and makes a
deep extension downward. That means that mountains have a portion stretching
downwards, as large as their visible parts on the Earth.
In a scientific text, the structure of mountains is described as follows:
Where continents are thicker, as in mountain ranges, the crust sinks deeper into
the mantle. (General Science, Carolyn Sheets, Robert Gardner, Samuel F. Howe;
Allyn and Bacon Inc. Newton, Massachusetts, 1985, s. 305)
In a verse, this role of the mountains is pointed out by a comparison with
"pegs":
"Have We not made the earth as a bed and the mountains its pegs?"(78:6-7)
Mountains, in other words, clench the plates in the Earth's crust together by
extending above and beneath the Earth's surface at the conjunction points of
these plates. In this way, they fix the Earth's crust, and prevent it from
drifting over the magma stratum or among its plates. Briefly, we may liken
mountains to nails that keep pieces of wood together.
This fixing function of the mountains is described in scientific literature by
the term "isostasy". Isostasy means the following:
Isostasy: general equilibrium in the Earth's crust maintained by a yielding flow
of rock material beneath the surface under gravitational stress.
This vital role of mountains, that was discovered by modern geology and seismic
research, was revealed in the Qur'an centuries ago as an example of the supreme
wisdom in ALLAH's creation.
"We placed firmly embedded mountains on the earth, so it would not move under
them..." (21:31)
The
Fecundating Winds
In one verse of the Qur'an, the "fecundating" characteristic of the winds, and
the formation of rain as a result are mentioned.
"And We send the fecundating winds, then cause water to descend from the sky,
therewith providing you with water in abundance." (15:22)
In this verse, it is pointed out that the first stage in the formation of rain
is wind. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the only relationship between
the wind and the rain that was known, was that the wind drove the clouds.
However, modern meteorological findings have demonstrated the "fecundating" role
of the wind in the formation of rain.
This fecundating function of the wind works in the following way:
On the surface of oceans and seas, countless air bubbles form because of the
water's foaming action. The moment these bubbles burst, thousands of tiny
particles, with a diameter of just one hundredth of a millimeter, are thrown up
into the air. These particles, known as "aerosols", mix with dust carried from
the land by the wind, and are carried to the upper layers of the atmosphere.
These particles carried to higher altitudes by winds come into contact with
water vapour up there. Water vapour condenses around these particles and turns
into water droplets. These water droplets first come together and form clouds,
and then fall to the Earth in the form of rain.
As seen, winds "fecundate" the water vapour floating in the air with the
particles they carry from the sea, and eventually help the formation of rain
clouds.
If winds did not possess this property, water droplets in the upper atmosphere
would never form, and there would be no such thing as rain.
The most important
point here is that this critical role of the wind in the formation of rain was
stated centuries ago in a verse of the Qur'an, at a time when people knew very
little about natural phenomena…
The
Seas Not Mingling With One Another
One of the properties of seas that has only recently been discovered is related
in a verse of the Qur'an as follows:
"He has let loose the two seas, converging together, with a barrier between them
they do not break through." (55:19-20)
This property of the seas, that they come together yet do not mingle with one
another at all, has only very recently been discovered by oceanographers.
Because of the physical force called "surface tension", the waters of
neighboring seas do not mix. Caused by the difference in the density of their
waters, surface tension prevents them from mingling with one another, just as if
a thin wall were between them.
The interesting side to this is that during a period when people had no
knowledge of physics, surface tension, or oceanography; this was revealed in the
Qur'an.
Darkness In The Seas And Internal Waves
"Or (the unbelievers' state) are like the darkness of a fathomless sea which is
covered by waves above which are waves above which are clouds, layers of
darkness, one upon the other. If he puts out his hand, he can scarcely see it.
Those ALLAH gives no light to, they have no light." (24:40)
The general environment in deep seas is described in the book named Oceans:
The darkness in deep seas and oceans is found around a depth of 200 meters and
below. At this depth, there is almost no light. Below a depth of 1000 meters
there is no light at all.
Today, we know about the general structure of the sea, the characteristics of
the living things in it, its salinity, as well as the amount of water it
contains, its surface area and depth. Submarines and special equipment,
developed with modern technology, enable scientists to obtain this information.
Human beings are not able to dive more than 40 meters down without the aid of
special equipment. They cannot survive unaided in the deep, dark parts of the
oceans, such as at a depth of 200 meters. For these reasons, scientists have
only recently been able to discover these detailed pieces of information about
seas. However, the statement of "darkness in a deep sea" was used in Sura Nur
1,400 years ago. It is certainly one of the miracles of the Qur'an that such
information was given at a time where no equipment to enable man to dive into
the depths of the oceans was available.
In addition “…like
the darkness of a fathomless sea which is covered by waves above which are waves
above which are clouds…" (24:40) draws our
attention to another miracle of the Qur'an.
Scientists have recently discovered that there are internal waves, which "occur
on density interfaces between layers of different densities." These internal
waves cover the deep waters of seas and oceans because deep water has a higher
density than the water above it. Internal waves act like surface waves. They can
break, just like surface waves. Internal waves cannot be seen by the human eye,
but they can be detected by studying temperature or salinity changes at a given
location.
The statements in the Qur'an run absolutely parallel to the above explanation.
Without research, one can only see the waves on the surface of the sea. It is
impossible for one to know about the internal waves beneath the sea. Yet, in
Sura Nur, ALLAH draws our attention to another type of wave that occurs in the
depths of the oceans. Certainly, this fact, which scientists has discovered very
recently, shows once again that the Qur'an is the word of ALLAH.
The Proportion Of
Rain
One of the items of information given in the Qur'an about rain is that it is
sent down to Earth in due measure. This is mentioned in Sura Zukhruf as follows;
"It is He who sends down water in due measure from the sky by which We bring a
dead land back to life. That is how you too will be raised (from the dead)."
(43:11)
This measured quantity in rain has again been discovered by modern research. It
is estimated that in one second, approximately 16 million tons of water
evaporates from the Earth. This figure amounts to 513 trillion tons of water in
one year. This number is equal to the amount of rain that falls on the Earth in
a year. This means that water continuously circulates in a balanced cycle, in a
"measure". Life on Earth depends on this water cycle. Even if people used all
the available technology in the world, they would not be able to reproduce this
cycle artificially.
Even a minor deviation in this equilibrium would very soon give rise to a major
ecological imbalance that would bring about the end of life on Earth. Yet, this
never happens, and rain keeps falling every year in exactly the same quantity
just as revealed in the Qur'an.
The Formation Of
Rain
How rain forms remained a great mystery for a long time. Only after weather
radar was invented was it possible to discover the stages by which rain is
formed.
According to this, the formation of rain takes place in three stages. First, the
"raw material" of rain rises up into the air with the wind. Later, clouds are
formed, and finally raindrops appear.
The Qur'an's account of the formation of rain refers exactly to this process. In
one verse, this formation is described in this way:
"It is ALLAH Who sends the winds which stir up clouds which He spreads about the
sky however He wills. He forms them into dark clumps and you see the rain come
pouring out from the middle of them. When He makes it fall on those of His
slaves He wills, they rejoice" (30:48)
Now, let us examine
these three stages outlined in the verse more technically.
FIRST STAGE:
"It is ALLAH Who sends the winds..."
Countless air bubbles formed by the foaming of the oceans continuously burst and
cause water particles to be ejected towards the sky. These particles, which are
rich in salt, are then carried away by winds and rise upward in the atmosphere.
These particles, which are called aerosols, function as water traps, and form
cloud drops by collecting around the water vapour themselves, which rises from
the seas as tiny droplets.
SECOND STAGE:
"....
which stir up clouds which He spreads about the sky however He wills. He forms
them into dark clumps..."
The clouds are formed from water vapour that condenses around the salt crystals
or dust particles in the air. Because the water droplets in these clouds are
very small (with a diameter between 0.01 and 0.02 mm), the clouds are suspended
in the air, and spread across the sky. Thus, the sky is covered in clouds.
THIRD STAGE:
"…and you see the rain come pouring our from the middle of them"
The water particles that surround salt crystals and dust particles thicken and
form raindrops, so, drops that become heavier than the air leave the clouds and
start to fall to the ground as rain.
As we have seen, every stage in the formation of rain is related in the verses
of the Qur'an. Furthermore, these stages are explained in exactly the right
sequence. Just as with many other natural phenomena on the Earth, ALLAH gives
the most correct explanation of this phenomenon as well, and made it known to
people in the Qur'an centuries before it was discovered.
In another verse, the following information is given about the formation of
rain:
"Have you not seen how ALLAH drives along the clouds, then joins them together,
then makes them into a stack, and then you see the rain come out of it? And He
sends down from the sky mountain masses (of clouds) with cold hail in them,
striking with it anyone He wills and averting it from anyone He wills. The
brightness of His lightning almost blinds the sight." (24:43)
Scientists studying cloud types came across surprising results regarding the
formation of rain clouds. Rain clouds are formed and shaped according to
definite systems and stages. The formation stages of cumulonimbus, one kind of
rain cloud, are these:
1. STAGE, Being
driven along:
Clouds are carried
along, that is, they are driven along, by the wind.
2. STAGE, Joining:
Then, small clouds (cumulus clouds) driven along by the wind join together,
forming a larger cloud.
3. STAGE, Stacking:
When the small clouds join together, updrafts within the larger cloud increase.
The updrafts near the centre of the cloud are stronger than those near the
edges. These updrafts cause the cloud body to grow vertically, so the cloud is
stacked up. This vertical growth causes the cloud body to stretch into cooler
regions of the atmosphere, where drops of water and hail formulate and begin to
grow larger and larger. When these drops of water and hail become too heavy for
the updrafts to support them, they begin to fall from the cloud as rain, hail,
etc. (Anthes, Richard A.; John J. Cahir; Alistair B. Fraser; and Hans A.
Panofsky, 1981, The Atmosphere, s. 269; Millers, Albert; and Jack C. Thompson,
1975, Elements of Meteorology, s. 141-142)
We must remember that meteorologists have only recently come to know these
details of cloud formation, structure and function, by using advanced equipment
like planes, satellites, computers etc. It is evident that ALLAH has given us a
piece of information that could not have been known 1,400 years ago.
The Movements Of
The Mountains
In one verse, we
are informed that mountains are not motionless as they seem, but are in constant
motion.
"You will see the mountains you reckoned to be solid going past like clouds."
(27:88)
This motion of the mountains is caused by the movement of the Earth's crust that
they are located on. The Earth's crust 'floats' over the mantle layer, which is
denser. It was at the beginning of the 20th century when, for the first time in
history, a German scientist by the name of Alfred Wegener proposed that the
continents of the earth had been attached together when it first formed, but
then drifted in different directions, and thus separated as they moved away from
each other.
Geologists understood that that Wegener was right only in the 1980s, 50 years
after his death. As Wegener pointed out in an article published in 1915, the
land masses on the earth were joined together about 500 million years ago. As
Wegener pointed out in a 1915 article, the land masses of the earth were joined
together some 500 million years ago, and this large mass, called Pangaea, was
located in the South Pole.
Approximately 180 million years ago, Pangaea divided into two parts, which
drifted in different directions. One of these giant continents was Gondwana,
which included Africa, Australia, Antarctica and India. The second one was
Laurasia, which included Europe, North America and Asia, except for India. Over
the next 150 million years following this separation, Gondwana and Laurasia
divided into smaller parts.
These continents that emerged after the split of Pangaea have been constantly
moving on the Earth's surface at several centimetres per year, in the meantime
changing the sea and land ratios of the Earth.
Discovered as a result of the geological research carried out at the beginning
of the 20th century, this movement of the Earth's crust is explained by
scientists as follows:
The crust and the uppermost part of the mantle, with a thickness of about 100
kms., are divided into segments called plates. There are six major plates, and
several small ones. According to the theory called plate tectonics, these plates
move about on Earth, carrying continents and ocean floor with them. Continental
motion has been measured at from 1-5 cm per year. As the plates continue to move
about, this will produce a slow change in Earth's geography. Each year, for
instance, the Atlantic Ocean becomes slightly wider.
There is a very important point to be stated here: ALLAH has referred to the
motion of mountains as a drifting action in the verse. Today, modern scientists
also use the term "Continental Drift" for this motion.
Unquestionably, it is one of the miracles of the Qur'an that this scientific
fact, which has recently been discovered by science, was announced in the
Qur'an.
The
Secret O Iron
Iron is one of the
elements highlighted in the Qur'an. In Sura Hadid, meaning Iron, we are
informed:
"…And We sent down iron in which there lies great force and which has many uses
for mankind...." (57:25)
The word "sent down," particularly used for iron in the verse, could be thought
of having a metaphorical meaning to explain that iron has been given to benefit
people. But when we take into consideration the literal meaning of the word,
which is, "being physically sent down from the sky", we realize that this verse
implies a very significant scientific miracle.
This is because modern astronomical findings have disclosed that the iron found
in our world has come from the giant stars in outer space.
The heavy metals in the universe are produced in the nuclei of big stars. Our
solar system, however, does not possess a suitable structure for producing iron
on its own. Iron can only be produced in much bigger stars than the Sun, where
the temperature reaches a few hundred million degrees. When the amount of iron
exceeds a certain level in a star, the star can no longer accommodate it, and
eventually it explodes in what is called a "nova" or a "supernova". As a result
of this explosion, meteors containing iron are scattered around the universe,
and they move through the void until attracted by the gravitational force of a
celestial body.
All this shows that iron did not form on the Earth, but was carried from
exploding stars in space via meteors, and was "sent down to earth", in exactly
the same way as stated in the verse: It is clear that this fact could not have
been scientifically known in the 7th century, when the Qur'an was revealed.
Pairs
In Creation
"Glory be to Him Who created all the pairs: from what the earth produces and
from themselves and from things unknown to them." ( 36:36)
Although the concept of ''pair'' or "couple" commonly stands for male and
female, the statement of ''from things unknown to them'' has wider implications.
Today, one of the implications of the verse has been revealed. The British
scientist Paul Dirac, who proposed that matter is created in pairs, was awarded
the Nobel Prize for physics in 1933. This discovery, called ''parité'',
maintains that matter is paired with its opposite: anti-matter. Anti-matter
carries the opposite properties to matter. For instance, as opposed to matter,
the electron of anti-matter is positively charged and its protons are negatively
charged. This fact is stated in a scientific source in this way:
"...every particle has its antiparticle of opposite charge… …and the uncertainty
relation tells us that pair creation and pair annihilation happen in the vacuum
at all times, in all places." (http://www.2think.org/nothingness. html, Henning
Genz – Nothingness: The Science of Empty Space, p. 205)
The
Returning Sky
"By Heaven with its cyclical systems." (86:11)
This word interpreted as "cyclical" in Qur'an translations also has meanings of
"sending back" or "returning".
As known, the atmosphere surrounding the Earth consists of many layers. Each
layer serves an important purpose for the benefit of life. Research has revealed
that these layers have the function of turning the materials or rays they are
exposed to back into space or back down to the Earth. Now let us examine with a
few examples of this "recycling" function of the layers encircling the Earth.
The troposphere, 13 to 15 kilometers above the Earth, enables water vapor rising
from the surface of the Earth to be condensed and turn back as rain.
The ozone layer, at an altitude of 25 kilometers, reflects harmful radiation and
ultraviolet light coming from space and turns both back into space.
The ionosphere, reflects radio waves broadcast from the Earth back down to
different parts of the world, just like a passive communications satellite, and
thus makes wireless communication, radio, and television broadcasting possible
over long distances.
The magnetosphere layer turns the harmful radioactive particles emitted by the
Sun and other stars back into space before they reach the Earth.
The fact that this property of the atmosphere's layers, that was onlt
demonstrated in the recent past was announced centuries ago in the Qur'an, once
again demonstrates that the Qur'an is the word of ALLAH.
Pulsars In The Quran
Pulsars are rotating
neutron stars which
emit detectable
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