RAMADAN 2005 The 3rd Day

1841

18 February, 2018

Ayat of the Day

You who believe, be steadfast; be supreme in steadfastness; be firm on the battlefield; and fear Allah; so that hopefully you will be successful.
(Surah Al ‘Imran: 200)

Hadith of the Day:

The best word is the Word of Allah
and the best guidance is
the guidance of Muhammad (saas).
(Ibn Majah)

Miracles of the Qur'an:

RAINS WHICH BRING A DEAD LAND BACK TO LIFE

The rain's function of "bringing a dead land back to life" is indicated in several verses of the Qur'an:

... We send down from heaven pure water so that by it We can bring a dead land to life and give drink to many of the animals and people We created. (Surat al-Furqan: 48-49)

As well as bringing water, an essential requirement for living things, to the earth, the rain also has a fertilizing property. Drops of rain which evaporate from the sea and reach the clouds contain certain substances which "revitalize" dead soil. These raindrops with such "revitalizing" properties are called "surface tension droplets." These form from the top layer of the surface of the sea, called the micro-layer by biologists; in this surface layer, less than one-tenth of a millimeter thick, are found large quantities of organic waste formed from the decomposition of microscopic algae and zooplanktons. Some of these wastes collect and absorb elements such as phosphorus, magnesium and potassium, which are rarely found in sea water, as well as heavy metals such as copper, zinc, cobalt and lead. Seeds and plants on the surface of the Earth receive large quantities of the mineral salts and elements they need to grow from these raindrops. The Qur'an refers to this in these terms:

And We sent down blessed water from the sky and made gardens grow by it and grain for harvesting. (Surah Qaf: 9)

These salts which descend with the rain are examples in miniature of fertilizers traditionally used to enhance productivity (calcium, magnesium, potassium etc.). Heavy metals of the kind found in aerosols create elements which increase productivity during growth and production of plants. In short, rain is an important fertilizer. With the fertilizer provided by rain alone, within a hundred years, a soil of poor quality can obtain all the elements necessary for plants. Forests also grow and are nourished with help from these chemicals which originate from the sea.

In this way, every year some 150 million tons of particles of fertilizer fall to earth. Were it not for this fertilizing function, there would have been far fewer plants on the Earth and the balance of life would have been disturbed. The information about the revitalization of plants in the verse is just one of the countless miraculous properties of the Qur'an.

Wonders of Creation:

"THE FOUR ANIMALS EMPHASIZED IN THE QUR'AN" 2

THE HONEY BEE

It is well known by almost everyone that honey is a fundamental food source for the human body, whereas only a few people are aware of the extraordinary qualities of its producer, the honeybee.

As we know, the food source of bees is nectar, which is not found during winter. For this reason, they combine the nectar collected in summer time with special secretions of their body, produce a new nutrient - honey - and store it for the coming winter months.

It is noteworthy that the amount of honey stored by bees is much greater than their actual need. The first question that comes to mind is why do the bees not give up this "excess production", which seems a waste of time and energy for them? The answer to this question is hidden in the "inspiration" stated in the verse to have been given the bee.

Bees produce honey not only for themselves but also for human beings. Bees, like many other natural beings, are also dedicated to the service of man, just as the chicken lays at least one egg a day although it does not need it, and the cow produces much more milk than its offspring needs.

Excellent Organization in the Hive

The bees’ lives in the hive and their honey production are fascinating. Without going into too much detail, let us discover the basic features of the "social life" of bees. Bees must carry out numerous "tasks" and they manage all of them with excellent organization.

Regulation of humidity and ventilation: The humidity of the hive, which gives honey its highly protective quality, must be kept within certain limits. If humidity is over or under those limits, then the honey is spoiled and loses its protective and nutritious qualities. Similarly, the temperature in the hive has to be 35o C throughout 10 months of the year. In order to keep the temperature and humidity of the hive within certain limits, a special group takes charge of "ventilation".

Health system: The efforts of the bees to preserve the quality of honey are not limited to the regulation of humidity and heat. A perfect healthcare system exists within the hive to keep all events that may result in the production of bacteria under control. The main purpose of this system is to remove all substances likely to cause bacteria production. The basic principle of this health system is to prevent foreign substances from entering the hive. To secure this, two guardians are always kept at the entrance of the hive. If a foreign substance or insect enters the hive despite this precaution, all bees act to remove it from the hive.

The Architectural Wonders of Honeycombs

Bees produce more honey than they actually need and store it in honeycombs. The hexagonal structure of the honeycomb is well-known to everyone. Have you ever wondered why bees construct hexagonal honeycombs rather than octagonal, or pentagonal?

Mathematicians looking for answer to this question reached an interesting conclusion: "A hexagon is the most appropriate geometric form for the maximum use of a given area."

A hexagonal cell requires the minimum amount of wax for construction while it stores the maximum amount of honey. So the bee uses the most appropriate form possible.

In the face of this extraordinary performance, we, for sure, have to admit the existence of a superior will that ordains these creatures. Evolutionists want to explain away this achievement with the concept of "instinct" and try to present it as a simple attribute of the bee. However, if there is an instinct at work, if this rules over all bees and provides that all bees work in harmony though uninformed of one another, then it means that there is an exalted Wisdom that rules over all these tiny creatures.

To put it more explicitly, Allah, the Creator of these tiny creatures, "inspires" them with what they have to do. This fact was declared in the Qur'an fourteen centuries ago:

Your Lord inspired the bees: "Build dwellings in the mountains and the trees, and also in the structures which men erect. Then eat from every kind of fruit and travel the paths of your Lord, made easy for you to follow." From their bellies comes a drink of varying colors, containing healing for mankind. There is certainly a sign in that for people who reflect. (Surat an-Nahl: 68-69)

Lives of the Prophets:

Prophet Abraham’s (as) Religion -II

All hanifs, regardless of when they live, are distinguished by their glorification of Allah without ascribing partners to Him. One of the prophets’ main duties was to rescue people from their misguided belief systems and worldviews, as well as those practices and values that transgressed the limits set down by Allah for humanity, and to call their people to the true religion. One hadith informs us of the following:

Abu Bakrah (ra) relates that: “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, once asked: ‘Shall I inform you of a great sin, one of the greatest sins? ...[It is] to ascribe a partner to Allah.’”2

In one verse, Allah reveals that Islam is as easy as Prophet Abraham’s (as) religion:

... He [Allah] has selected you and not placed any constraint upon you in the religion—the religion of your forefather Abraham. He named you Muslims before, and also in this, so that the messenger could be witness against you and you could be witnesses against all of humanity. So perform the prescribed prayers, give alms, and hold fast to Allah. He is your Protector—the Best Protector, the Best Helper. (Surat al-Hajj: 78)

According to the Qur’an, the people who turn to Allah and live by His religion in its true sense are Muslim. The word Muslim comes from the Arabic word salam and means one who has achieved well-being or who has submitted (to Allah). The essence of being Muslim lies in submitting to Allah and living in the ensuing peace and security. The prophets, all of whom guided their people to the true path, submitted totally to our Lord and were sincerely devoted to Him, are role models for us. By turning to and then submitting to our Lord, seeking refuge in Him, taking Him as their only friend, and asking for help only from Him, they are all called Muslim in the Qur’an.

For instance, Allah commanded Prophet Noah (as) to tell his tribe “My wage is the responsibility of Allah alone. I am commanded to be one of the Muslims” (Surah Yunus: 72); Prophet Moses (as) told his tribe “My people. If you believe in Allah, then put your trust in Him, if you are Muslims” (Surah Yunus: 84); and Prophet Solomon (as) addressed his tribe in these terms: “Do not rise up against me, but come to me in submission [as Muslims]” (Surat an-Naml: 31). In the Qur’an, Allah reveals the following to His followers:

When I inspired the disciples [of Jesus] to believe in Me and in My Messenger [Jesus], they said: "We believe. Bear witness that we are Muslims." (Surat al-Ma’ida: 111)

As can be seen from the above verses, sincere believers are those people who submit to Allah, live solely by religious moral values, and have pure faith. Allah honors such people with the name Muslim.

Prophet Joseph’s (as) prayer is a fine example for us in several areas. Allah reveals it in the following verse:

... You have granted power to me in the land and taught me the true meaning of events. O, Originator of the heavens and Earth. You are my Friend in this world and the Hereafter, so take me as a Muslim at my death and join me to the people who are righteous. (Surah Yusuf: 101)

Prophet Abraham’s (as) joyful faith in Allah, his deep love for Him, his submission to all of His commands, as well as his obedience and superior morality, are emphasized in the Qur’an. Some of these verses read:

Our Lord, make us both Muslims submitted to You and our descendents a Muslim community submitted to You. Show us our rites of worship and turn toward us. You are the Ever-Returning, the Most Merciful. (Surat al-Baqara: 128)

When his Lord said to him: “Become a Muslim,” he [Abraham] said: “I am a Muslim who has submitted to the Lord of all the worlds.” (Surat al-Baqara: 131)

Every Muslim must take Prophet Abraham’s (as) pleasing morality, sincere faith, and total submission and obedience to Allah as role models. In fact, his discernment and determination in presenting Allah’s message are among the important traits that all people who call themselves Muslims should adopt.

Originally, all divine religions were based on Prophet Abraham’s (as) religion. However, Christianity and Judaism were corrupted over time and so moved away from their original nature: not ascribing partners to Allah (the greatest sin) and living solely to earn His good pleasure.

The love and respect felt by both present-day Christians and Jews for Prophet Abraham (as) unites them in a common foundation with Muslims. Members of these three divinely revealed religions therefore share a common belief in Allah, which they have inherited from Prophet Abraham (as), and seek to serve Him. However, Christians and Jews misinterpret some aspects of Prophet Abraham’s (as) religion. The Qur’an informs us that Muslims have invited them to this common word:

Say: “O People of the Book [Christians and Jews], come to a proposition that is the same for us and you—that we should worship none but Allah, associate no partners with Him, and take no one of us as lords besides Allah.” If they turn away, say: “Bear witness that we are Muslims.” (Surah ‘Al Imran: 64)

Evolution Deceit:

The "Intelligent Design" Distraction

Fossil Record Refutes Evolution

Some 140 years ago Darwin put forward the following argument: "Right now there are no transitional forms, yet further research will uncover them." Is this argument still valid today? In other words, considering the conclusions from the entire fossil record, should we accept that transitional forms never existed, or should we wait for the results of new research?

The wealth of the existing fossil record will surely answer this question. When we look at the paleontological findings, we come across an abundance of fossils. Billions of fossils have been uncovered all around the world.1 Based on these fossils, 250,000 distinct species have been identified, and these bear striking similarities to the 1.5 million identified species currently living on earth.2 (Of these 1.5 million species, 1 million are insects.) Despite the abundance of fossil sources, not a single transitional form has been uncovered, and it is unlikely that any transitional forms will be found as a result of new excavations.

A professor of paleontology from Glasgow University, T. Neville George, admitted this fact years ago:

There is no need to apologize any longer for the poverty of the fossil record. In some ways it has become almost unmanageably rich and discovery is outpacing integration… The fossil record nevertheless continues to be composed mainly of gaps.3

And Niles Eldredge, the well-known paleontologist and curator of the American Museum of Natural History, expresses as follows the invalidity of Darwin's claim that the insufficiency of the fossil record is the reason why no transitional forms have been found:

The record jumps, and all the evidence shows that the record is real: the gaps we see reflect real events in life's history – not the artifact of a poor fossil record.4

Another American scholar, Robert Wesson, states in his 1991 book Beyond Natural Selection, that "the gaps in the fossil record are real and meaningful." He elaborates this claim in this way:

The gaps in the record are real, however. The absence of a record of any important branching is quite phenomenal. Species are usually static, or nearly so, for long periods, species seldom and genera never show evolution into new species or genera but replacement of one by another, and change is more or less abrupt.5

This situation invalidates the above argument, which has been stated by Darwinism for 140 years. The fossil record is rich enough for us to understand the origins of life, and explicitly reveals that distinct species came into existence on earth all of a sudden, with all their distinct forms.

The Truth Revealed by the Fossil Record

Where does the "evolution-paleontology" relationship, which has taken subconscious root in society over many decades, actually stem from? Why do most people have the impression that there is a positive connection between Darwin's theory and the fossil record whenever the latter is mentioned? The answer to these questions is supplied in an article in the leading journal Science:

A large number of well-trained scientists outside of evolutionary biology and paleontology have unfortunately gotten the idea that the fossil record is far more Darwinian than it is. This probably comes from the oversimplification inevitable in secondary sources: low-level textbooks, semipopular articles, and so on. Also, there is probably some wishful thinking involved. In the years after Darwin, his advocates hoped to find predictable progressions. In general these have not been found yet the optimism has died hard, and some pure fantasy has crept into textbooks.6

N. Eldredge and I. Tattersall also make an important comment:

That individual kinds of fossils remain recognizably the same throughout the length of their occurrence in the fossil record had been known to paleontologists long before Darwin published his Origin. Darwin himself, ...prophesied that future generations of paleontologists would fill in these gaps by diligent search ...One hundred and twenty years of paleontological research later, it has become abundantly clear that the fossil record will not confirm this part of Darwin's predictions. Nor is the problem a miserably poor record. The fossil record simply shows that this prediction is wrong.

The observation that species are amazingly conservative and static entities throughout long periods of time has all the qualities of the emperor's new clothes: everyone knew it but preferred to ignore it. Paleontologists, faced with a recalcitrant record obstinately refusing to yield Darwin's predicted pattern, simply looked the other way.7

Likewise, the American paleontologist Steven M. Stanley describes how the Darwinist dogma, which dominates the world of science, has ignored this reality demonstrated by the fossil record:

The known fossil record is not, and never has been, in accord with gradualism. What is remarkable is that, through a variety of historical circumstances, even the history of opposition has been obscured. ... 'The majority of paleontologists felt their evidence simply contradicted Darwin's stress on minute, slow, and cumulative changes leading to species transformation.' ... their story has been suppressed.8

1. Duane T. Gish, Evolution: Fossils Still Say No, CA, 1995, p. 41
2. David Day, Vanished Species, Gallery Books, New York, 1989.
3. T. Neville George, "Fossils in Evolutionary Perspective," Science Progress, vol. 48, January 1960, pp. 1, 3. (emphasis added)
4. N. Eldredge and I. Tattersall, The Myths of Human Evolution, Columbia University Press, 1982, p. 59. (emphasis added)
5. R. Wesson, Beyond Natural Selection, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1991, p. 45.
6. Science, July 17, 1981, p. 289. (emphasis added)
7. N. Eldredge, and I. Tattersall, The Myths of Human Evolution, Columbia University Press, 1982, pp. 45-46. (emphasis added)
8. S. M. Stanley, The New Evolutionary Timetable: Fossils, Genes, and the Origin of Species, Basic Books Inc., N.Y., 1981, p. 71. (emphasis added)

Quick Grasp of Faith:

What does moral cleanliness mean?

In the Qur'an Allah states that people should be morally clean too. It is stated that he who avoids the evil of his soul (nafs) and purifies it will succeed. Allah states in Surat ash-Shams:

By the soul and the One Who proportioned and inspired it with knowledge of depravity and with its sense of duty, he who purifies it has succeeded, he who covers it up has failed. (Surat ash-Shams: 7-10)

Moral purity is attainable, as we are informed in the verse, when one avoids the evil that one's soul commands one to commit. Someone who is morally pure has a sincere faith and a peaceful spirit. All his thoughts and all his deeds are righteous. In every event he encounters, he behaves in a manner that shows that he is well pleased with Allah. He is sincere and genuine. He well knows that there is definitely goodness in everything Allah creates.

Such people are purified from the corruption in their soul. Allah heralds the good end that these people will meet:

... You can only warn those who fear their Lord in the Unseen and establish prayer. Whoever is purified, is purified for himself alone. Allah is your final destination. (Surah Fatir: 18)

He who has purified himself will have success. (Surat al-A’la: 14)

Book Review:

The Religion of Darwinism

The majority of people suppose that the theory of evolution is a proved scientific fact. They believe that this so-called "scientific" guise underpins its impact on the world. Darwinism, however, is a superstitious religion that has masked the belief in evolution inherited from the Sumerians and the ancient Greeks with the veil of 19th century science. What is the purpose of this idolatrous belief, which has come down to our age from ancient times, as well as that of its founder, his so-called divine book, and his missionaries? The covert aspects of Darwinism are addressed in this book... >>

Site of the Day:

www.evidencesofcreation.com

All the works of Harun Yahya, is made up of striking passages highlighting the basic ideas on various topics. In this site, you will witness the sincere style of the author, based on the Qur'an. Anyone who reads these books and follow the works seriously and carefully will soon gain a deep insight into the true nature of the world he lives in.

solidarity

The Day After Tomorrow

WORKS

CATEGORIES

RAMADAN 2005 The 3rd Day

The Religion of Darwinism