DEVOTED TO ALLAH
The Purpose Of A Believer's Life: The Approval Of Allah
… Allah will guide to the ways of peace those who follow what pleases Him. He will bring them by His will from darkness to the light, and will guide them to a straight path. (Surat al-Ma'ida: 16)
What makes a Muslim different from other people? Non-Muslims may answer this question in a number of ways; They may talk about cultural and moral differences, about "different outlooks on the world" or values which they deny outright. Alternatively, some may say the difference has its roots in the different ideologies which Muslims embrace. However, all these answers relate to "visible" differences that appear to be the consequences of a more fundamental one. Often, they fail to grasp the reasons underlying this difference. (In fact, if they are not Muslims, it is because they have failed to grasp this very difference.)
There is one point to be stressed before proceeding to explain the basic attribute that makes a Muslim different: When we talk about a "Muslim," we are not referring to someone whose ID card has the word "Muslim" written on it. Muslim is actually the name Allah gives to those who adhere to His religion. The basic attribute, referred to in the Qur'an, that distinguishes Muslims from other people is their being aware of Allah's infinite might. Awareness of Allah's infinite might does not in all cases mean affirmation of the existence of a Creator, however. The Qur'an underlines this fact as follows:
Say: "Who provides for you out of heaven and earth? Who controls hearing and sight? Who brings forth the living from the dead and the dead from the living? Who ordains all things?" They will reply, "Allah." Say, "Then will you not fear Allah? Such is Allah, your Lord, the Truth, and what is there after truth except misguidance? How then can you turn away from Him?" (Surah Yunus: 31-32)
In the verse above, the questions are put to somebody who acknowledges the existence of Allah, accepts His attributes yet, despite all these attributes, has no fear of Allah and thus turns away from Him. (In fact, Satan does not reject the existence of Allah either.)
Grasping Allah's might is not only a matter of verbal confirmation. Believers are those who recognise Allah's existence and His greatness, "are steadfast in their duty" to Him and re-orient all their deeds and conduct in the light of this reality which has become apparent to them. Others, on the other hand, are either those who deny Allah, or, as in the case of the people depicted in the above verse, those who do not perform their duty to Allah, despite their awareness of His existence.
Throughout their lives, such people remain entirely oblivious of Allah, the Creator of man. To whom they owe their life and how and why they were granted a lifetime on earth are questions with which they do not care to concern themselves. They envision a kind of life entirely separate from Allah and His religion. However, the following comparison in the Qur'an makes it clear that such a life rests upon vain and rotten bases and is doomed to destruction:
Who is better: someone who founds his building on fear of Allah and His approval; or someone who founds his building on the brink of a crumbling precipice, so that it collapses with him into the Fire of Hell? Allah does not love wrongdoers. (Surat at Tawba: 109)
As the above verse also informs us, the lives of those who lack faith, as described in the Qur'an, are founded on the brink of a "crumbling precipice." The major goal to which unbelievers are committed is the attainment of happiness and peace "in this world." In this sense, what they most want is to become rich. They do their best to achieve this goal, making all-out physical and mental efforts. For others, on the other hand, becoming a respected and well-known person is the purpose of life; they will do anything and make any sacrifices to earn public respect. However, these are nothing but worldly goals that will vanish once death comes upon them. Some of them may even elude their grasp right here in this world.
A believer, however, is fully aware of Allah's existence and might. He knows why Allah has created him and what His expectations are of him. For this reason, his basic aim in life is to be a servant with whom Allah is pleased. He employs all means to try to reach his goal, and strives to do so. This being the case, he resolves the mystery of death: for many it means nothing but the ultimate end but for him, death is not extinction, but a phase of transition to the real life.
Disbelievers assume death, which they take to be an incident that puts an end to their lives, to be a "self-generated accident," just as they assume life to have emerged coincidentally and spontaneously. The fact is, however, that Allah creates life and likewise takes it away. Death, which is by no means a coincidence or an accident, is an incident that takes place by the law of Allah at a predestined moment and place.
A Muslim is a person who grasps that Allah has power over all things and that death is not an end but a transition to the real abode of man (the hereafter). Aware of these facts, he carefully avoids building his life on a "crumbling precipice." He turns to Allah, aware that He is the real Owner and Creator of life, death and what lies beyond. In this system created by Allah, he comprehends that wealth, social status or good looks are not the means that lead man to success; they are only "causes" operating under the rules laid down by Allah, which are effective for only a brief period of time.
The key to the system that Allah has created is the consent of Allah. That is because Allah guides only those who seek His approval.
…Allah will guide to the ways of peace those who follow what pleases Him. He will bring them by His will from darkness to the light, and will guide them to a straight path. (Surat al-Ma'ida: 16)
A Muslim is a Muslim because he seeks Allah's approval. This is the most important trait that makes a Muslim different from all other people. Muslims see religion as a way to earn Allah's approval, whereas the majority of people consider it to be a system of beliefs which occupies an insignificant portion of their lives.
Indeed, at this very point there emerges the distinction between real Muslims and those who imitate them (hypocrites). Muslims embrace religion as a path of guidance to the approval of Allah. For hypocrites, however, it is something from which they derive benefits. That is why a hypocrite's prayers are of a "pretentious" nature (Surat al-Ma'un: 6) while Muslims pray in humility (Surat al-Mu'minun: 1-2). Similarly, while Muslims spend their money in Allah's cause, hypocrites spend to impress people rather than to earn Allah's approval.
You who believe! Do not nullify your almsgiving by demands for gratitude or insulting words, like him who spends his wealth, showing off to people and not having faith in Allah and the Last Day. He is like a smooth rock coated with soil, which, when heavy rain falls on it, is left stripped bare. They shall have no power over anything they have earned. Allah does not guide the unbelievers. (Surat al-Baqara: 264)
WHY IS DENYING THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION PORTRAYED
AS REJECTING DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESS?
Leonardo Da Vinci | Max Planck | Einstein |
Newton | Galileo | Kepler |
THE word "evolution" has been used in several senses in recent times. A social aspect has been added to it, for instance, and the word has come to mean human progress and technological development. There is nothing wrong with the concept of "evolution" when it is used in this sense. There is no doubt that man will use his intelligence, knowledge, and strength to develop over time. The sum of human knowledge will grow from generation to generation. In the same way that this is not evidence for the theory of evolution itself, which seeks to explain the emergence of life by chance, neither does it conflict in any way with the fact of creation.
Yet evolutionists engage in a facile word game here, and confuse a true concept with a false one. For example, it is true to state that "On account of man's long years of living as a social being, his knowledge, culture, and technology are in a constant state of development." (We must remember, however, that there can be regression over time as well as progress. Sociologically speaking, there have been times of progress, as well as times of stagnation and regression.) However, the claim that "In the same way as man has developed and progressed, living species have also advanced and changed over time" is completely false. Although it is perfectly logical and scientific to say that, as a thinking being, man's knowledge has increased and been passed on to subsequent generations, allowing constant progress, it is utterly senseless to claim that living species developed and evolved by chance and coincidence, in accordance with uncontrolled and unconscious natural conditions.
The greatest names in the advancement of science were all creationists
No matter how much evolutionists try to identify themselves with concepts such as innovation and progress, history has shown that the real initiators of innovation and progress have always been faithful scientists who have believed in divine creation.
We see the mark of such believing scientists at every point of scientific progress. Leonardo da Vinci, Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo, who opened a new era in astronomy, Cuvier, the founder of paleontology, Linnaeus, the founder of the modern classification system for plants and animals, Isaac Newton, the discoverer of the law of gravity, Edwin Hubble, who discovered the existence of the galaxies and the expansion of the universe, and many others have believed in God and that life and the universe were created by Him.
One of the greatest scientists of the twentieth century, Albert Einstein, said:
I cannot conceive of a genuine scientist without that profound faith. The situation may be expressed by an image: science without religion is lame...1
The German Max Planck, who laid the foundations of modern physics, said:
Anybody who has been seriously engaged in scientific work of any kind realises that over the entrance to the gates of the temple of science are written the words: Ye must have faith. It is a quality which the scientist cannot dispense with.2
The history of science reveals that change and progress have been the work of creationist scientists. On the other hand, of course, scientific developments in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries especially have allowed us to come by countless pieces of evidence of creation. Modern science and technology have allowed us to discover the fact that the universe came into being from nothing, in other words that it was "created." It is a fact accepted by the whole scientific world that the universe came into being and developed as a result of the explosion of one single point. In this way, the model of the infinite universe, with no beginning or end, maintained by materialists under the primitive scientific conditions of the nineteenth century has been destroyed. It has been realised that the universe was created, as it says in the Qur'an, and that it has a beginning and frontiers and has expanded over time. The Qur'an expresses this fact thus:
Do those who disbelieve not see that the heavens and the Earth were sewn together and then We unstitched them and that We made from water every living thing? So will they not believe? (Surat al-Anbiya,30)
It is We Who have built the universe with (Our Creative) power, and verily, it is We Who are steadily expanding it. (Surat adh-Dhariyat, 47)
It was again twentieth century scientific progress that allowed us to discover more evidence of the design in life. The electron microscope revealed the structure of the cell, the smallest unit of life, as well as the parts that comprise it. The discovery of DNA demonstrated the infinite intelligence in the cell. Biochemical and physiological advances have shown the flawless workings at the molecular level of the body, and its superior design which cannot be explained by anything other than creation.
As opposed to all this, it was the primitive state of science 150 years ago that prepared the ground for the formation of the theory of evolution.
In conclusion, it is impossible to consider those who believe in creation, and who constantly provide new evidence of it, as being opposed to progress, development, and science. On the contrary, such people are their greatest supporters. Those who actually oppose progress are those who turn their backs on all the scientific evidence and defend the theory of evolution, which is nothing but an unsubstantiated fantasy.
1. Science, Philosophy and Religion, A Symposium, published by the Conference on Science, Philosophy and Religion in Their Relation to the Democratic Way of Life, Inc., New York, 1941, (emphasis added)
2. Max Planck, Where Is Science Going?, Allen & Unwin, 1933, p.214, (emphasis added)
A Perfect Perceiver: Skin
You can hold and carry objects with smooth surfaces like a glass, for example. You can feel softness when you touch a feather and hardness when you hold a stone. Perceiving all this and sending necessary signals to your brain, your skin has the characteristics that enable you to visualize the objects in your brain.
A great number of nerves exist in the fingertips. This provides you with facility in movement and does not cause any inconvenience. On the other hand, in "less important" regions, on a man's back for example, there are fewer nerve endings present. This is a very important advantage. Now, let's assume the opposite: Let's assume that our fingertips are quite insensitive while nerves are arranged in greater numbers at the back of our bodies. This, undoubtedly, would be very troublesome. In such a situation while we could not use our hands properly, we would feel the slightest object touching our back, the folding of our clothing, for example.
Human skin is a complex organ consisting of many layers, containing nerves for perception, circulation canals, airing systems and heat and moisture regulators which protect the body like a shield against the rays of the sun. Because of this, a man can be in great danger if a part of his skin is damaged. Under the skin is a layer consisting of fat. This layer of fat serves as insulation against heat. Over this layer is another one, most of which consists of proteins that give the skin elasticity.
If we were to lift the skin and look just one centimeter below it, the sight greeting us would be an unaesthetic, even frightful sight, where fats and proteins and various blood vessels exist. By means of the feature that enables it to cover these structures, the skin both provides a very important aesthetic contribution and also enables us to protect ourselves from outside factors. It will be sufficient to remark upon a couple of the functions of the skin that makes it vital for us and to ponder on them in order to understand the importance of its existence.
Human skin prevents the disturbance of the water balance of the body, is strong and elastic, can repair itself, protect the body from harmful rays, maintains contact with the outside world, and protect the temperature of the body in cold or hot weather.
Human skin, which functions as a sensitive detector and an advanced air-conditioner meeting all kinds of needs, is a blessing that has been created by God, with the beauty it provides visually and the features it has to protect man. The skin, about which many pages of books have been written, once again displays God's magnificence in creation to us.
The Collapse of Darwinism Related in the Charles Darwin Hall - 23.02.2008
United Kingdom/The Guardian
A report in the 23 February, 2008, issue of the British daily The Guardian, which enjoys a circulation of 400,000, dealt with a conference on “The Collapse of the Theory of Evolution,” held at the University of London. The fact that the conference was held in a hall devoted to the memory of Charles Darwin was described as “an effective blow” by creationists. The report then went on to say:
For the creationist movement, it must have seemed the most miraculous of coups. The British venue for an assault on the theory of evolution was none other than a prestigious hall bearing Charles Darwin’s name, built on the grounds of his former London home.
Flyers on the event, The Collapse of Evolution theory, began to circulate this week, with the location highlighted as “in the very building dedicated to Charles Darwin, on the spot he once lived”.
... The speakers represent Harun Yahya, a creationist organization which claims there was no Stone Age, that God taught parrots to talk, and that Darwinism is the root of all terrorism and must be eliminated.
The talk was arranged by University College London’s Islamic Society as a part of Islam awareness week. When university officials heard how many people were expected, they offered up the Darwin lecture theatre…
Islam Is Enfolding the World / Daily Vakit / 18.06.2005
Both the Qur’an and the hadith of our Prophet (saws) impart the glad tidings that Islamic moral values will come to rule the world. The turning towards religious moral values and Islam that began after the 1980s is one of the signs that, by God’s will, these tidings will soon become a reality. This report in the Turkish daily Vakit considered Islamic developments in various parts of the world and stated that Islam was growing stronger in many different countries.
LONG-HORNED BEETLE Age: 25 million years Period: Oligocene Location: Dominican Republic
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One of the most important characteristics of these insects, members of the family Cerambycidae, is their antennae, many times longer than their bodies and reminiscent of stag antlers. The antennae of some species living in Asia are known to reach as long as 22 centimeters (8.7 in) in length.
These creatures, fossilized in amber, have come down from millions of years in the past and openly declare the invalidity of the theory of evolution. Today, the fossil record is just about complete; and this fact comes as a terrible disappointment to evolutionist paleontologists. Although countless fossils have been discovered, not a single one constitutes any evidence for Darwinism.
Moreover, the fossils unearthed not only provide no proof of evolution, but they also eliminate the false proofs submitted. In other words, fossil research has revealed a truth far from the expectations of Darwin and the evolutionists who came after him—the fact of Creation.
ASH-SHAFI‘,(The Intercessor)
Or have they adopted intercessors besides Allah? Say: “Even though they do not control a thing and have no awareness?” Say: “ Intercession is entirely Allah's affair . The kingdom of the heavens and Earth is His. Then you will be returned to Him.” ( Surat az-Zumar, 43-44)
Those who have faith in Allah and yet associate partners with Him assume that these partners will intercede for them on the Day of Judgment. According to their belief, such “guardians” will take responsibility for their followers or purify them. And so they undertake strenuous efforts to earn their approval and constantly think of them. But this is no more than a huge delusion, for Allah states that He will be the only Protector on the Day of Judgment, as follows:
Abandon those who have turned their religion into a game and a diversion, who have been deluded by the life of the world. Remind [them] by it [the Qur'an], lest a person is delivered up to destruction for what he has earned with no protector or intercessor besides Allah. Were he to offer every kind of compensation, it would not be accepted from him... ( Surat al-An‘am, 70)
On that Day, no one will befriend another or bear someone's sins. As Allah informs us, only those who please Him will be allowed to intercede, and this person will surely say the truth. Unbelievers will find no guardian or intercessor on that Day, and no support, protection, or intercession, for Allah is the only Guardian and Intercessor:
Allah created the heavens and Earth and everything between them in six days, and then established Himself firmly upon the Throne. You have no protector or intercessor apart from Him. So will you not pay heed? ( Surat as-Sajda, 4)
Harun Yahya Conferences
Throughout this website we invite you to explore the details about possible subjects for a conference. For those who are not familiar with Harun Yahya conferences, you will be able to watch some filmed events that will give you an idea of how easily they may be organized.
http://www.harunyahyaconferences.com/Home.html
AN INTERVIEW WITH MR.ADNAN OKTAR BY TURKMENELI TV
(Istanbul - April, 2008)
- Some authors in Turkey are on the side of anarchy and chaos. They insist on their side being in the right at all costs. They want the other side to be given no rights and to be silenced, which is very wrong. For example, I am a nationalist and supporter of religion and spiritual matters, but I also want atheists to be able to live as first class citizens. I want them to enjoy complete freedom, too.
- In my opinion, every nationalist, everyone who espouses religious views, every rational, devout person who wishes to see a Great Turkey must be very careful over being led by the nose of the press. They need to put a question mark after any report that comes their way.
- The ideal thing is the formation of the Turkish-Islamic Union. That means all Islamic countries adopting a single leader, all Turkic countries having a single leader, because their populations are generally Muslim.
For brave and honest explanations about the Turkish-Islamic Union and the future of Turkey, watch the whole interview with Mr.Adnan Oktar by Turkmeneli TV.
HOW DO THE UNWISE INTERPRET THE QUR’AN
A sincere, conscientious person can understand and apply the basic spiritual subjects and commandments in the Qur’an with ease. However, a non-believer who is insincere and prejudiced, will be unable to comprehend the Qur’an correctly since he follows his baser self. That is why he lacks the ability to reason. This book discusses the reasons why such unperceptive people misinterpret the Qur’an, studies various examples of their illogical comments and objections to the Qur’anic verses and responds to them.
WHAT DARWINISTS NEVER REALIZE
1-Darwinists never realize how the protein they claim formed by chance in muddy water could have emerged, how a second protein joined onto the first, and then a third, how this whole impossible system continued, and how it is impossible for all these to come together by chance, become alive and give rise to the cell.
2-Darwinists never realize how they can never explain how the nucleus in the cell, that they claim formed as the result of chance processes, came into being, and that even if this happened, how it became a living entity.
3-Darwinists never realize how the body that they maintain came into being by chance felt the need for a brain, eyes, a skeletal system and joints, and possesses a cell nucleus, mitochondria and DNA.
4-Darwinists never realize how although some tree species, such as poplars, lose up to 265 liters of water an hour in hot weather, they will never dry up, how they come to possess a perfect root system, and how such a system cannot be the product of chance.
5-Darwinists never realize the astonishing consciousness in the way that single-celled, microscopic algae known as diatoms construct homes for themselves in the sea made out of silicon, the building block of glass, and how only Almighty Allah could have taught the ability in question to these organisms, which are too small to be seen with the naked eye.
6-Darwinists never realize how blind termites just 1-2 centimeters long construct miniature cities up to 4-5 meters in size, several of which may sometimes be joined together in the same spot, and how they display such a superior level of intelligence.
7-Darwinists never realize the flawless ventilation system, the chambers set out according to requirements (nurseries, hatcheries, royal chambers etc.), or the agricultural areas in the colonies built by unconscious termites, which they claim came into existence by chance through natural processes.
8-Darwinists never realize how the order exhibited in colonies consisting of millions of termites was established, how every termite knows its own task, how it is that they always co-operate together, and how no Darwinian mechanism could ever bring this about.
9-Darwinists never realize how the presence of more than one potential king and queen in the termite colony will lead to chaos and a break-down of discipline, and how termites take wide-ranging measures to ensure there is only one king and queen.
10-Darwinists may give speeches and write books about venous tissues and employ frequent Latin terminology, but they never realize that they are unable to answer the question of how these cells came together in such an ordered manner.