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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: | ||||||||||||
The above verses indicate the existence of life forms unknown to people at the time of the revelation of the Qur'an. Indeed, with the discovery of the microscope, new living things too small to be seen with the naked eye have also been discovered by man. People have therefore begun to learn about the existence of these life forms, indicated in the Qur'an. Other verses which point to the existence of micro-organisms, which are invisible to the naked eye and generally consist of a single cell, read:
Fourteen centuries ago, the Qur'an indicated the existence of living things beyond those which can be seen with the naked eye. This is another spectacular miracle contained within the verses of the Qur'an. THE EXISTENCE OF ANIMAL SOCIETIES
As a result of modern-day animal and bird ecology study, we know that all animals and birds live in the form of separate societies. Lengthy and wide-ranging studies have shown that there is a rather systematic social order among animals. Despite having the greatest numbers in the world, ants also exhibit an order which can serve as an example to human beings in many areas: technology, collective labor, military strategy, an advanced communications network, a hierarchical order, discipline and flawless town planning. Ants live in societies known as colonies and in such order amongst themselves that one could even say that they have a civilization similar to that of human beings. As ants produce and store their food, they also watch over their young, defend the colony and wage war against their enemies. There are even colonies which engage in "sewing," "agriculture" and "animal rearing." These animals have a very powerful communications network amongst themselves. Their social organization and expertise are far superior to any other living thing. (See Harun Yahya, The Miracle in the Ant, Goodword Books, 2002) Communal animals with ordered lives also operate together in the face of danger. For instance, when birds of prey such as hawks or owls enter the area, smaller birds surround these birds en masse. They then produce a special sound to draw other birds to the area. The aggressive behavior displayed by small birds en masse generally drives birds of prey away.
A flock of birds flying together protects all its members in the same way. For instance, a flock of starlings flying together leave a wide distance between one another. When they see a hawk, however, they close the distance between them. They thus make it harder for the hawk to dive in amidst the flock. Even if the hawk does so, it will be acting to its own detriment. Its wings will be damaged and it will be unable to hunt. Mammals also act in consort when there is an attack on the group. For example, zebras take their young into the middle of the herd when they flee from enemies. Dolphins also swim in groups and fight off their greatest enemy, sharks, as a group. There are countless examples of and a great many details concerning the social lives of animals. These facts acquired about animals are the result of long years of research. As we have seen, the information about animals given in the Qur'an-as in all areas-shows that the book of Islam is indeed the word of Allah. | ||||||||||||
Wonders of Creation: | ||||||||||||
AMAZING JOURNEY OF MONARCH BUTTERFLIES The migration story of Monarch butterflies, which live in southeast Canada, is more complex than that of the birds.
With the coming of autumn, the situation changes. Migration starts in autumn and the generation that migrates, lives much longer than the other generations that lived in the same year. The Monarchs that migrate are the fourth generation in the year. Interestingly enough, the migration starts exactly on the night of the autumn equinox. The butterflies that migrate to the south live six months longer than the previous three generations. They need to live exactly this long to complete their journey and return. The butterflies that go down to the south do not disperse after they pass across the Tropic of Cancer and leave the cold weather behind. After migrating over half of the American continent, millions of butterflies settle down in the middle of Mexico. Here the ridges of volcanic mountains are covered with a great variety of flora. Located at a height of 3,000 meters, this place is warm enough for the subsistence of the butterflies. For a period of four months, from December to March, they eat nothing. As the fat stored in their bodies nourishes them, they only drink water. Flowers that bloom in the spring are quite important for the Monarchs. After a four-month fast, for the first time, in the spring they give themselves a nectar feast. They now have stored enough energy to return to North America. This generation, which lives a two-month life span extended to eight months, is no different from the three earlier generations in other respects. They mate at the end of March before setting out to their journey. On the equinox, the colony starts flying back to the north. Soon after they complete their journey and arrive in Canada, they die. However, before they die, they give birth to a new generation, which is necessary for the perpetuation of their species. The newly born generation is the first generation of the year and lives about one and a half months long. Then comes the second and third generations. When it comes to the fourth generation, migration starts over again. This generation will live six months longer than the others will, and the chain will continue in the same way. This interesting system provokes many questions: how is that the fourth of every four generations lives six months longer? How does this long-lived generation always coincide with winter and has done so for thousands of years? How do these butterflies always start migrating at the equinox, and how do they attune themselves so sensitively, or are they using a calendar? No doubt, there are no answers to these questions through "evolution" or other variants on that theory. The butterflies must have borne these interesting characteristics from the time they came into existence. If the first fourth generation of Monarchs on Earth did not have the characteristic to live long, then all the butterflies would die within that winter and these animals would become extinct. Monarchs must have borne this extraordinary characteristic from the time they were created. "Coincidences" unquestionably do not have such a faculty as could arrange the generations of the animal according to migration. On the other hand, it is also unlikely that butterflies decided to make their fourth generations live longer and arranged their metabolisms, DNA, and genes accordingly. Obviously, the Monarchs were created possessing such features. | ||||||||||||
Lives of the Prophets: | ||||||||||||
Allah is the Helper and Protector of Prophet Muhammad (saas) and all the believers. Allah always helped Prophet Muhammad (saas), eased his difficulties, opened the way for him, strengthened him both physically and spiritually, and supported him with other devout believers. As for his enemies, Allah clouded their understanding, reduced their strength, foiled their plots and thus, prevented them doing any harm to the Prophet (saas). Allah describes Himself as the Prophet's (saas) Helper:
As the verse states, Allah always assisted the Prophet (saas). That is why no service or assistance can leave the Prophet (saas) under a debt of gratitude. It is Allah Who helps the Prophet (saas), and even if that person had not been there, Allah would have used someone else, or angels or the jinn to help the Prophet (saas). In another verse, Allah commanded the Prophet (saas) to communicate His religion with no fear of other people, and promised that He would protect him. The verse in question reads:
Those shallow and narrow-minded deniers, unable to comprehend the power of Allah and the true state of affairs, thought that they would be able to overcome, frighten or disable the Prophet (saas), and thus devised countless plots against him. These people were not aware that the Prophet (saas) was under the protection of Allah, and so could not comprehend that fact. They believed themselves to be superior to and stronger than the Prophet (saas). Yet, Allah disrupted all their plots, and even, miraculously, turned them against themselves. None of their plots were of any good. These people, who failed to comprehend that Allah saw, heard and read the secrets of their hearts when they gathered to plot against the Prophet (saas), could not grasp that even if they hid from the Prophet (saas) they could not hide from Allah. In the Qur'an, Allah refers to such people in this way:
In another verse, Allah reveals to the Prophet (saas) that nobody will be able to harm him, that He is his Protector, and that Gabriel and the devout believers, are all the Prophet (saas)'s friends, helpers and supporters:
Allah describes the blessings and assistance He provides for the Prophet (saas):
Knowing that Allah would help him in all matters, even in the most difficult situations, the Prophet (saas) put his trust in Him and never fell into despair. He told his companions that Allah was with them and saw and heard all, thus inspiring them too. Those who follow the way of the Prophet (saas) and take him as their model must never lose hope in Allah's mercy and succor. They must know that Allah is always at their side as they hope for His mercy, compassion and Paradise. Allah makes the following promise to the faithful in a verse:
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Evolution Deceit: | ||||||||||||
For instance, an error in the sequence of the nucleotides making up a gene would render that gene completely useless. When it is considered that there are 200,000 genes in the human body, it becomes clearer how impossible it is for the millions of nucleotides making up these genes to have been formed, in the right sequence, by chance. The evolutionary biologist Frank Salisbury has comments on this impossibility: A medium protein might include about 300 amino acids. The DNA gene controlling this would have about 1,000 nucleotides in its chain. Since there are four kinds of nucleotides in a DNA chain, one consisting of 1,000 links could exist in 41,000 forms. Using a little algebra (logarithms) we can see that 41,000=10600. Ten multiplied by itself 600 times gives the figure 1 followed by 600 zeros! This number is completely beyond our comprehension.1 The number 41,000 is the equivalent of 10600. This means 1 followed by 600 zeros. As 1 with 12 zeros after it indicates a trillion, 600 zeros represents an inconceivable number. The impossibility of the formation of RNA and DNA by a coincidental accumulation of nucleotides is expressed by the French scientist Paul Auger in this way: We have to sharply distinguish the two stages in the chance formation of complex molecules such as nucleotides by chemical events. The production of nucleotides one by one—which is possible—and the combination of these within very special sequences. The second is absolutely impossible.2 For many years, Francis Crick believed in the theory of molecular evolution, but eventually he had to admit to himself that such a complex molecule could not have emerged spontaneously by chance, as the result of an evolutionary process: An honest man, armed with all the knowledge available to us now, could only state that, in some sense, the origin of life appears at the moment to be almost a miracle.3 The Turkish evolutionist Professor Ali Demirsoy was forced to make the following confession on the issue: In fact, the probability of the formation of a protein and a nucleic acid (DNA-RNA) is a probability way beyond estimating. Furthermore, the chance of the emergence of a certain protein chain is so slight as to be called astronomic.4 A very interesting paradox emerges at this point: While DNA can only replicate with the help of special proteins (enzymes), the synthesis of these proteins can only be realized by the information encoded in DNA. As they both depend on each other, they have to exist at the same time for replication. Science writer John Horgan explains the dilemma in this way: DNA cannot do its work, including forming more DNA, without the help of catalytic proteins, or enzymes. In short, proteins cannot form without DNA, but neither can DNA form without proteins.5 This situation once again undermines the scenario that life could have come about by accident. Homer Jacobson, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, comments: Directions for the reproduction of plans, for energy and the extraction of parts from the current environment, for the growth sequence, and for the effector mechanism translating instructions into growth—all had to be simultaneously present at that moment [when life began]. This combination of events has seemed an incredibly unlikely happenstance...6 The quotation above was written two years after the discovery of the structure of DNA by Watson and Crick. But despite all the developments in science, this problem for evolutionists remains unsolved. This is why German biochemist Douglas R. Hofstadter says: 'How did the Genetic Code, along with the mechanisms for its translation (ribosomes and RNA molecules), originate?' For the moment, we will have to content ourselves with a sense of wonder and awe, rather than with an answer.7 Stanley Miller and Francis Crick's close associate from the University of San Diego, California, the highly reputed evolutionist Dr. Leslie Orgel says in an article published in 1994: It is extremely improbable that proteins and nucleic acids, both of which are structurally complex, arose spontaneously in the same place at the same time. Yet it also seems impossible to have one without the other. And so, at first glance, one might have to conclude that life could never, in fact, have originated by chemical means.8 Alongside all of this, it is chemically impossible for nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA, which possess a definite string of information, to have emerged by chance, or for even one of the nucleotides which compose them to have come about by accident and to have survived and maintained its unadulterated state under the conditions of the primordial world. Even the famous journal Scientific American, which follows an evolutionist line, has been obliged to confess the doubts of evolutionists on this subject: Even the simpler molecules are produced only in small amounts in realistic experiments simulating possible primitive earth conditions. What is worse, these molecules are generally minor constituents of tars: It remains problematical how they could have been separated and purified through geochemical processes whose normal effects are to make organic mixtures more and more of a jumble. With somewhat more complex molecules these difficulties rapidly increase. In particular a purely geochemical origin of nucleotides (the subunits of DNA and RNA) presents great difficulties.9 Of course, the statement "it is quite impossible for life to have emerged by chemical means" simply means that life is created. This "chemical evolution" that evolutionists have been talking about since the beginning of the last century never happened, and is nothing but a myth. But most evolutionists believe in this and similar totally unscientific fairy tales as if they were true, because accepting creation means accepting the existence of Allah—and they have conditioned themselves not to accept this truth. One famous biologist from Australia, Michael Denton, discusses the subject in his book Evolution: A Theory in Crisis: To the skeptic, the proposition that the genetic programs of higher organisms, consisting of something close to a thousand million bits of information, equivalent to the sequence of letters in a small library of 1,000 volumes, containing in encoded form countless thousands of intricate algorithms controlling, specifying, and ordering the growth and development of billions and billions of cells into the form of a complex organism, were composed by a purely random process is simply an affront to reason. But to the Darwinist, the idea is accepted without a ripple of doubt - the paradigm takes precedence!10 1. Frank B. Salisbury, "Doubts about the Modern Synthetic Theory of Evolution," American Biology Teacher, September 1971, p. 336.
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Quick Grasp of Faith: | ||||||||||||
Allah informs us in the Qur'an that unbelievers will be flung into Hellfire, and will have garments of fire and tar. (Surat al-Hajj: 19) Yet the punishment of Hell is not limited to fire:
What is listed here is in fact only a small portion of the types of punishment of Hell. In Hell there are punishments that are so painful that no one on Earth can ever imagine. Besides the regret they feel, the spiritual pain that Allah inflicts on the companions of the Fire will everlastingly burn their hearts. Allah draws attention to this spiritual pain in the Qur'an as follows:
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Book Review: | ||||||||||||
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Site of the Day: | ||||||||||||
The Day of Judgment, which will bring "death" to the universe just like the death of people, is a matter that people do not like to think about; rather, they consider it as a remote and distant matter. They have a vague idea of what will happen on that Day, but since the thought of it scares them, people are inclined to forget about it. Rather than facing up to it, they just get on with their lives instead. People are most affected by the final day aspect of this Day for all beings, whether living or non-living. The Day of Judgment is the final day of life on Earth and for the universe. But at the same time, it is the beginning of the eternal life in the Hereafter. This Site reveals the Day and its events, and warns of its difficulties. What matters most is that the Day of Judgment is a reality for all people and, as such, should not be ignored. This site will help you to think about its existence and reality in the light of the Qur'an's verses. |