RAMADAN 2006 The 3rd Day

It does not befit Allah to address any human being except by inspiration or from behind a veil, or He sends a messenger who then reveals by His permission whatever He wills. He is indeed Most High, All-Wise. (Surat ash-Shura:51)

Allah introduces Himself to us: Allah, the Creator of all the worlds and the sole Sovereign of the universe, is the Most High and the Possessor of the heavens, Earth, and everything in between. There is no deity but Him. High is He, Exalted above all that they associate (with Him). He is the Sovereign, the All-Powerful, and the Lord of the Ways of Ascent. Allah is Self-Sufficient, above all need.

All of the beautiful names belong to Allah, for He is the Owner of infinite beauty and infinite sublimity. A person can know Him only to the extent that He introduces Himself, and can appreciate Him through the verses of the Qur'an. In one verse, Allah describes this name in the following terms:

Allah, there is no deity but Him, the Living, the Self-Sustaining. He is not subject to drowsiness or sleep. Everything in the heavens and Earth belongs to Him. Who can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is before them and what is behind them, but they cannot grasp any of His knowledge, except for what He wills. His Footstool encompasses the heavens and Earth, and their preservation does not tire Him. He is the Most High, the Magnificent. (Surat al-Baqara:255)

The "Intelligent Design" Distraction 3

"Intelligent Design" Is Another of Satan's Distractions

In rejecting one false claim such as evolution, one must be very careful not to fall prey to another of Satan's snares. One of Satan's main objectives is to prevent the recognition of Allah by any means possible, and to cause people to ignore His remembrance.

There are those whom Satan has not been able to deceive with the concept of evolution. But if he can divert them in another direction, such as that of "intelligent design" he will again have achieved his end, in turning people away from remembering Allah.

How Satan manages to appear in the name of truth and causes people to deviate by obstructing truth is revealed in the Qur'an:

He [Satan] said: "By Your misguidance of me, I will lie in ambush for them on your straight path. Then I will come at them, from in front of them and behind them, from their right and from their left. You will not find most of them thankful." (Surat al-A'raf:16-17)

It should be known that overturning the theory of evolution and revealing the "chance" mindset as invalid both demonstrate the existence of Allah, by Whom everything was created, and not of "intelligent design."

To say, "If there is no evolution, then there is intelligent design" is nothing less than adopting yet another false idol to replace the one of evolution.

What Befits A Muslim Is to Adopt the Path of the Prophets and Messengers as Given in the Qur'an

Muslims are not obliged to follow this scientist or that scientific movement, but of the prophets and messengers whom the Qur'an cites as role models, and to follow the pattern of these blessed individuals.

When communicating their messages, the prophets in all ages have employed a very clear, distinct, decisive and comprehensible style. All made perfectly clear their message concerning the existence and oneness of Allah, that there is no deity but Allah, and that He created all things; and they called on people to serve only Him. While preaching that message, none of them refrained from repeating the name of Allah courageously and openly.

Some of the verses describing these characteristics of the prophets are as follows:

We sent Nuh to his people and he said: "My people, worship Allah. You have no deity other than Him. So will you not guard against evil?" (Surat al-Muminun:23)

And Ibrahim, when he said to his people: "Worship Allah and have fear [and respect] of Him. That is better for you if you only knew." (Surat al-'Ankabut:16)

[Yusuf said:] "My fellow-prisoners, are many lords better, or Allah, the only One, the Conqueror? What you serve apart from Him are only names which you and your forefathers have made up. There is no mandate for them from Allah. Allah alone is qualified to judge. His order is to worship none but Him. That is in truth the straight and upright religion, but most of mankind simply do not know." (Surah Yusuf:39-40)

When their brother Lut said to them: "Will you not guard against evil? I am a faithful messenger to you. So have fear [and respect] of Allah and obey me." (Surat ash-Shu'ara':161-163)
And to Madyan We sent their brother Shu'ayb who said: "My people, worship Allah! You have no other deity than Him…" (Surat al-A'raf:85)

['Isa said:] "Allah is my Lord and your Lord so worship Him. This is a straight path." (Surat az-Zukhruf:64)

As we have seen, none of the prophets cited in the Qur'an even hinted at such concepts as "intelligent designer." Each of them clearly declared the commandment of Allah by calling on His Exalted name.

It is incumbent upon all Muslims who adopt the way of the Qur'an and our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saas) to adopt the prophets as their guide and their superior moral values, exemplary attitudes and style as their model.

The Superior Flight System in Insects

How can a midge manages to beat its wings 1,000 times a second?

How does a flea leap hundreds of times its own height?

Why does a butterfly fly forwards when its wings beat up and down?

The fly is one of the creatures referred to in the Qur'an, as only one of the many animals that reveal the infinite knowledge of our Lord. Almighty Allah speaks of this matter in verse 73 of Surat al-Hajj:

O humanity! A likeness has been made, so listen to it carefully. Those you call upon apart from Allah are not even able to create a single fly, even if they were to join together to do it. And if a fly steals something away from them, they cannot get it back from it. How feeble are both the seeker and the sought! (Surat al-Hajj: 73)

Despite recent research, despite all the technologies that Allah has placed at the disposal of humanity, a great many characteristics of living things still preserve their miraculous aspects. As in all things that Allah has created in the body of a fly gives abundant evidence of a superior knowledge. By considering its intricacy, any thinking person can once again reflect on his deep respect for Allah and devotion to Him.

Some of the investigations that scientists have carried out on the flight systems of flies and other small insects are detailed below. The conclusion emerging from this is that no haphazard, trial-and-error force or entity other than Allah can have created the complexity of even a fly.

The flight muscles of many insects such as the locust and dragonfly contract powerfully as a result of stimuli emitted by the nerves that control their every movement. In the locust, for example, signals sent by each nerve cause the flight muscles to contract. By working alternately, not against each another, two complementary groups of muscles, the so-called elevators and depressors, allow the wings to rise up and beat down. Locusts beat their wings 12 to 15 times a second, and in order to be able to fly smaller insects must beat theirs even more rapidly. Honeybees, wasps and flies beat their wings from 200 to 400 times a second, and in midges and some parasites only 1 millimeter (0.03 inch) in size, that rate rises to an astounding 1,000 times a second! Wings beating too fast for the human eye to see have been created with a special structure in order to exhibit such sustained performance.

A nerve is able to send at most 200 signals a second. Then how can a small insect able to beat its wings 1,000 times a second? Research has established that in these insects, there is no one-to-one relationship between signals from the nerves and frequency of wing beats.

In these special systems, created independently in the body of every insect, there is not the slightest irregularity. Their nerves never emit an incorrect signal, and the insects’ muscles always interpret them correctly.
In such species as flies and bees, the muscles that allow flight are not even attached to the wing base! Instead, they attach to the chest by joints that serve as a kind of hinge, while the muscles that lift the wing upwards are attached to the upper and lower surfaces of the chest. When these muscles are contracted, the chest surface flattens and draws the wing base down. The lateral surface of the wing provides a support function and permits the wings to rise. The muscles establishing downward movement are not attached directly to the wing, but operate along the length of the chest. When these muscles are contracted, the chest is retracted in the opposite direction, and the wings are thus drawn downwards.

The wing joint is formed of a special protein known as resilin, which possesses superb elasticity. Since its features are far superior to those of natural or synthetic rubber, chemical engineers are trying to reproduce this substance, in laboratories. In flexing and contracting, resilin is able to store almost all of the energy exerted on it; and when the force pressing on it is lifted, it is able to give back all that energy. As a result, resilin is up to 96% efficient. During wing lift, some 85% of the energy expended is stored for later; this same energy is then re-used in the downward movement that provides lift and propels the insect forward. Its chest walls and muscles have been created with a special structure to make possible this accumulation of energy. However, the energy is actually stored in the joints consisting of resilin. It's of course impossible for an insect, by means of its own efforts, to equip itself with such an extraordinary mechanism for flight. The infinite intelligence and might of Allah has created this special resilin in the insects' bodies.

For smooth flight, straight up-and-down wing movement alone is not sufficient. In order to be able to provide lift and propulsive force, the wings must also have to change their angle of motion during every beat. Insects' wings possess a particular rotational flexibility, depending on the species, which is provided by their so-called direct flight muscles (or DFMs, for short) that produce the forces needed for flight.

When insects seek to climb higher in the air, they increase their wing angle by contracting still further these muscles between the wing joints. Fast-frame and stop-motion photographs have shown that during flight, the wings follow an elliptical course and that for each wing's cycle, its angle alters systematically. This variation is caused by the changing movements of the direct muscles and the wings’ attachment to the body.

The greatest problem faced by very small insect species during flight is air resistance. For them, sheer air density becomes an obstacle for these creatures that can't be underestimated. Moreover, a restrictive layer around the wing the air clings to the wing and this turbulence causes a loss in flight efficiency. In order to be able to overcome that air resistance, flies such as Forcipomya, whose wings are no more than 1 millimeter wide, must beat them 1,000 times a second.

Scientists believe that theoretically, even this speed is insufficient to keep these insects aloft, and that they must employ some other additional system. In fact, Anarsia, a kind of parasite, makes use of a method known as 'beat and shake.' When its wings reach the highest point in their lift, they strike against each another and then open down again. As the wings, with their string vein, open the front air current first sets up a vortex around the wings and assist with the wing beat lift force.

Many species of insects, the locusts included, take note of visual data such as the line of the horizon to determine their direction of flight and eventual destination. For determining their position, flies have been created with an even more extraordinary structure. . These insects have only a single pair of wings, but to the rear of each, there is a knob-shaped lobe known as the halter. Although the halters produce no lift force, they vibrate together with the front wings. When the fly changes its direction of flight, these wing extensions prevent it from deviating off course.

All the information provided here results from studies into the flight techniques of just three or four insect species. Bear in mind that the total number of insect species on Earth is around 10 million. Considering all these remaining millions of species, along with the countless features they contain, one must increase still further one’s amazement at the infinite might of Allah.

Biomimetics: Technology Imitates Nature

Biomimetics means the imitation of living things in nature. This new study is being spoken of more and more often in technological circles and is opening up important new horizons for mankind.

As biomimetics emerges, imitating the structures of living systems, it presents a major setback for those who still support the theory of evolution. From an evolutionist's point of view, it's entirely unacceptable for men-whom they regard as the highest rung on the evolutionary ladder-to try to draw inspiration from (much less imitate) other living things which, allegedly, are so much more primitive than they are.

This book considers the advances that technology has made by taking nature as its model, and examines the flawless but hitherto, little noted systems that have existed ever since living things were first created. It also describes how nature's many varied and highly efficient mechanisms, which baffle the proponents of evolution, are all products of our Lord’s unique creation.

RISE OF ISLAM .COM
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For the last 10 years, the number of Muslims has been increasing throughout the world, and Islam has been growing. Today every fourth person is a Muslim. This number is expected to grow even more in the near future. If we put all the news we hear from the media about peoples' turning to Islam together we can grasp the extraordinary course of events. The purpose of this site is to present all these developments collectively, to analyze them and thus help readers to appreciate the due importance of these events. By doing this, the site aims to increase believers' zeal and enthusiasm.