RAMADAN 2005 23rd Day
Harun Yahya|
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| Ayat of the Day | ||||||||||||
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| Hadith of the Day: | ||||||||||||
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| Miracles of the Qur’an: | ||||||||||||
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In fact, the Qur'an revealed that such developments and achievements would one day be realized. For instance, Allah draws our attention to this in the following verse:
The Arabic word sultan, translated here as "a clear authority," has other meanings as well: force, power, sovereignty, dominion, law, path, permission, give leave, justify, and proof. Careful examination reveals that the above verse emphasizes that humanity will be able to move into the depths of Earth and sky, but only with a superior power. In all likelihood, this superior power is the superior technology employed in the twentieth century, for it enabled scientists to achieve this great feat. THE VOYAGE TO THE MOON
After referring to the Moon, the above verses then say that people will mount up stage by stage. The term tarkabu comes from the verb rakiba, (to mount, walk on a path, follow, embark upon, set about, participate, or rule). In the light of these meanings, it is very likely that the expression "you will mount up stage by stage" refers to a vehicle to be boarded. Indeed, the astronauts' spacecraft pass through each layer of the atmosphere one by one, and then begin to pass through the Moon's gravitational field. Thus, the Moon is reached by moving through individual layers. In addition, the swearing by the Moon in Surat al-Inshiqaq 18 further strengthens this emphasis, meaning that the verse may well be a sign that humanity will travel to the Moon. (Allah knows best.) | ||||||||||||
| Wonders of Creation: | ||||||||||||
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| Lives of the Prophets: | ||||||||||||
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Prophet Musa (as) was born into adversity. Even at the moment of his birth, his life was already in jeopardy. Pharaoh ordered all male children killed and the females spared for slavery. Ensnared by such circumstances, Musa (as) was forced to lead his life among the slaves under the constant threat of death. His mother had been concerned about him until the moment she was inspired by Allah:
Allah instructed Musa's (as) mother and told her to put him into a chest and send it floating down the Nile, if the soldiers of Pharaoh ever learned about his birth. As she feared for the life of her son, she followed what was revealed to her. Not knowing where and how the flowing waters would have carried her son, she placed Musa (as) into a chest and released him to the waters of the Nile. However, by the inspiration of Allah, she knew he would ultimately return back to her and become a prophet. Allah, the Creator and Sustainer of everything, created Musa (as) and his mother and allowed them know their destiny. Some time later, Allah reminded Musa (as) about the facts of his early childhood as follows:
At this point, we should expand on the subject of destiny. Allah, as specified in the above verse, told the mother of Musa (as) to leave the child in the water, and informed her that Pharaoh would later find him, and that Musa (as) would ultimately return to her as a messenger of Allah. In other words, that Musa (as) would be placed in a chest and sent to the river, that he would be found and taken care of by Pharaoh, and that he would eventually become one of the prophets, were all known beforehand. That is because all of these events were predetermined by Allah, according to His will, and which He allowed Musa's (as) mother to know of in advance. Here, we should make note that all the details pertaining to the life of Musa (as) were predetermined in the sight of Allah, and that they had all come true as had been ordained. The fulfillment of the revelation offered to Musa's (as) mother was possible through the occurrence of countless conditions predetermined by destiny. Musa's (as) avoiding the soldiers of Pharaoh and his reaching the palace of Pharaoh without drowning were dependent on the fulfillment of certain conditions. They are the following: 1- The chest the baby Musa (as) was placed in would have to have been watertight. Therefore, he who constructed the chest would have crafted it in appropriate manner so as to allow to float. Moreover, the shape of the chest was an important factor as far as its speed on the water; it had to neither flow too quickly, floating passed Pharaoh's palace, nor too slowly, stopping at some point before the Palace. The chest would have to have been crafted into just the exact shape so as to allow it to float at just the right speed. These factors all comprised the numerous details preordained as part of the carpenter's destiny, crafting the chest exactly as he had to. 2- The current that had carried the chest would have to have been neither too fast nor too slow, but just the right speed. This could have only been possible by a precise calculation of the amount of rainfall which constituted the Nile's water volume-intensity per minute. This amount is also part of the intricate details in the destiny predetermined by Allah. 3- The blowing winds must have also affected the chest in the appropriate manner. That is, the winds also blew in compliance with a certain predetermined destiny. They must have blown neither too fast to cause it to drift, nor in the opposite direction, changing its direction, and nor too slow, slowing its speed. 4- When in the Nile, no one could have found the chest. That is, no one, except who should have, was supposed to have come across it or noticed it. Consequently, in compliance with a specified destiny, every one living along the Nile had not been near to or noticed the chest. In fact, these conditions were all part of the destiny preordained by Allah. 5- As well as the life of Musa (as), the lives of Pharaoh and his family, were also set to comply with a certain destiny. They would also have to have been exactly at the right place at the right time so as to permit them find Musa (as). The family of Pharaoh could have planned to come to the shore earlier. The factor which had ordained them to come there at the precise time was their destiny. The above are only a few of the factors which allowed Pharaoh find Musa (as). All of them had occurred exactly as was revealed to Musa's (as) mother. In fact, the promise Allah gave to the mother of Musa (as), and all the other events which have happened, have all taken place and been fulfilled as already ordained by Allah. The events involved in Musa's (as) destiny were not limited to only those events recounted so far. Each moment of his life was carefully predetermined according to a specific destiny. Neither the place nor the year of his birth, nor the people he was surrounded by, nor his mother or father were designated according to his own choice. It was Allah Who ordained and created each one. This fact was also proclaimed by Prophet Muhammad (saas) who said "Everything is by decree—even incapacity and ability" (Muslim) A deeper consideration of these incidents will allow us to have a better grasp of how every moment of our lives is bound within our destiny. Through numerous examples, Musa's (as) story allows one to contemplate the meaning and implications of his destiny. In the various details of the story of Musa (as), Allah reminds us that an individual's life, as well as the lives of all mankind and the whole universe, are bound within the destiny he has ordained. Just as how Musa (as) floated on the Nile in compliance with his destiny, so were Pharaoh and his family made to reach the place where they were to encounter Musa (as). From the verses related to this subject, we learn that Pharaoh's family had behaved exactly as was previously revealed to Musa's (as) mother, that is, they had taken Musa (as) under their care without being aware of what the future would hold for them:
And thus Pharaoh and his family, utterly unaware of what the destiny had in store for them, found Musa (as) and adopted him as their own. In fact, they had decided to keep him in the hope that the child would some day be of some benefit to them. In the meantime, Musa's (as) mother was concerned about her son since she did not know what had happened to him. To cope with this situation, Allah strengthened her heart:
The baby Musa (as) refused all the wet nurses, that is, he did not drink their milk, because, according to the destiny outlined for him, Allah had ordained him to drink only his own mother's milk. This makes light of the fact that everything human beings wish for are also in compliance with the destiny ordained by Allah. As had been revealed to his mother, the Prophet Musa (as) ultimately returned to his own family. In the story of Musa (as), Allah illustrates that He often creates what appear to be difficult situation with no apparent way out, and that events which are perceived as adversities may well turn out to actually be wonderful blessings. A mother, fearing the threat of her baby being killed by cruel soldiers, to save him, leaves the child to float in the waters of a river. The same child is then adopted by the most powerful family of the country, who ultimately return the baby back to her mother because he refuses all the other wet nurses… Each one of these events is a miracle in itself, demonstrating the ultimate perfection in the destiny decreed by Allah. For believers, every detail of one's destiny eventually turns out to be a blessing. As can be seen in the above example, sometimes Allah prepares such blessings for us through the most unexpected circumstances.
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| Evolution Deceit: | ||||||||||||
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According to the theory of evolution, reptiles' forefeet slowly turned into wings over time as they hunted for insects. This theory is based on no scientific discoveries whatsoever. But there is another interesting side to it: Flies can already fly. So how did they acquire wings? And generally speaking, what is the origin of insects, of which flies are just one class? In the classification of living things, insects make up a subphylum, Insecta, of the phylum Arthropoda. The oldest insect fossils belong to the Devonian Age (410 to 360 million years ago). In the Pennsylvanian Age which followed (325 to 286 million years ago), there emerged a great number of different insect species. For instance, cockroaches emerge all of a sudden, and with the same structure as they have today. Betty Faber, of the American Museum of Natural History, reports that fossil cockroaches from 350 million years ago are exactly the same as those of today.1
Winged insects also emerge suddenly in the fossil record, and with all the features peculiar to them. For example, a large number of dragonfly fossils from the Pennsylvanian Age have been found. And these dragonflies have exactly the same structures as their counterparts today. One interesting point here is the fact that dragonflies and flies emerge all of a sudden, together with wingless insects. This disproves the theory that wingless insects developed wings and gradually evolved into flying ones. In one of their articles in the book Biomechanics in Evolution, Robin Wootton and Charles P. Ellington have this to say on the subject:
One major characteristic of flies, which emerge all of a sudden in the fossil record, is their amazing flying technique. An average fly flaps its wings 500 times a second. Moreover, it moves both its wings simultaneously. The slightest dissonance in the vibration of its wings would cause the fly to lose balance, but this never happens. In an article titled "The Mechanical Design of Fly Wings," Wootton further observes:
Of course the sudden emergence of living things with such a perfect creation as this cannot be explained by any evolutionist account. That is why Pierre-Paul Grassé says, "We are in the dark concerning the origin of insects."146 The origin of insects clearly proves the fact of creation. 1. M. Kusinitz, Science World, 4 February, 1983, p. 19.
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| Quick Grasp of Faith: | ||||||||||||
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The Qur’an advises the believers to enjoin one another to do right and to forbid wrong. This surely pleases Allah. However, the really important thing is to do what they ask others to do, thereby setting an example in their own behavior and good morals. If somebody knows that a particular action is wrong and is disturbed to see someone else doing it, then he or she is equally responsible for abandoning this act and performing the right action. Allah reminds the believers of this, as follows:
Who are the "People of the Book"? They are the Jews and the Christians, to whom the Torah and the Gospel were sent. But since these books have been distorted over time, Allah sent Prophet Muhammad (saas) to warn them, and the Qur’an as their holy book. Some of the verses related to them are as follows:
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| Book Review: | ||||||||||||
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| Site of the Day: | ||||||||||||
| In this site, we will deal with the common woman’s character as seen in unbelieving societies and analyze how this erroneous character become established. In addition, we explore Maryam’s character, whom Allah raised above all other women, and thereby define the ideal Muslim woman’s character. As a result of this analysis, we will see that this superiority is only in terms of faith, fear and respect of Allah, and fine character, and that every man or woman who does good deeds will be justly rewarded with Allah’s good pleasure, mercy, and Paradise, as mentioned below: “Anyone, male or female, who does right actions and believes, will enter the Garden. They will not be wronged by so much as the tiniest speck” (Surat an-Nisa’: 124). | ||||||||||||
Humanity's exploration of space was accelerated with the Soviet satellite Sputnik on 4 October 1957, which carried aloft the first man to ever leave Earth's atmosphere: Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. On 20 July 1969, the American astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first human being ever to set foot on the Moon.
Maples', and particularly sugar maples', defense planning for the protection of their leaves and shoots from harmful living creatures is usually much more effective than the insecticides human beings produce. Although the sugar maple has very sugary water in its trunk, it sends a substance called "tannin" to its leaves. This is a substance which makes insects ill. Insects, having eaten the leaves containing tannin, go up to the uppermost leaves, which contain less tannin, to escape. But the uppermost leaves are where birds go most. The insects which flee there are then hunted by birds. Thanks to this strategy, the sugar maple is saved from the depredations of insects with little harm done. 
Creatures such as spiders, ticks, and millipedes are not insects, but rather belong to other subphyla of Arthropoda. Important fossil discoveries of these creatures were communicated to the 1983 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The interesting thing about these 380-million-year-old spider, tick, and centipede fossils is the fact that they are no different from specimens alive today. One of the scientists who examined the fossils remarked that, "they looked like they might have died yesterday."2
