Ramadan 2014, The 21th Day

What will convey to you what the Day of Judgment is? Again! What will convey to you what the Day of Judgment is?It is the Day when a self will have no power to help any other self in any way.The command that Day will be Allah's alone. (Surat al-Infitar,17-19)

Narrated Abu Barzah: Allah’s Messenger said, “A slave of Allah will remain standing on the Day of Judgement till he is questioned about (four things) his life on earth and how he spent it, and about his knowledge and how he utilized it, and his wealth and how he acquired it and in what way did he spend it, and about his body and how he wore it out.” (At-Tirmidhi )

Being attached to this world is a great incident. Being attached to this world is, excuse me but, nothing but being idiocy. A person must be insane to be attached to this world. There is only enough time for being a servant to Allah. It is explicitly seen that this is the most reasonable method. Let’s say that there are a few insane in the world, the fact that 99 percent of them is in this state is a very weird situation. This is always stated in the verse, “A majority of people do not believe”. “A majority of people do not give thanks.” Allah always states this. (March 17, 2012)

The Unavoidable Truth Approaching: The Day of Judgment

Take a look at what kind of works occupy your daily life. You probably spend most of your time rushing somewhere trying to finish deadlines. You pay attention to many things and reflect upon them deeply. But there are also issues you want to avoid to think about. One of these, and may be the most important one, is death, which is a certain “end” that inspire deep fear and distress in many people. (Harun Yahya, Portents of the Day of Judgment)

People who do not live by the morality of the Qur’an try to protect themselves from this end by many methods. The most widespread but the most unrational one is to avoid its thought and, if possible, even to forget about it. Allah relates this fact in the Qur’an as follows:

Every self will taste death. You will be paid your wages in full on the Day of Rising. Anyone who is distanced from the Fire and admitted to the Garden has triumphed. The life of this world is just the enjoyment of delusion. (Surah Al’Imran, 185)

Just as all people preceeding you, your life will also end one day. However, as is the case with all people, the life of this world which will come to an end with death will resume with a new “resurrection” on the Day of Judgment and go on for all eternity. Not only the last day of you, it is also the last day of the Earth and even the universe.

The Day of Judgment when the life of this world will come to an end will also be a glorious “last day” with dimensions beyond the boundaries of imagination on which only sheer terror will be experienced.

Everything on Earth will be ruined and mountains will collapse like heaps of wool. Successive disasters will take place, the Sun will darken, stars will get lost and disappear. Following this Allah revive all people that have ever lived on Earth, gather them together and every human being will witness this day. As our Lord states in one verse, this last day is an “ardous “ one for disbelievers. (Surat al-Muddaththir, 9)

The Day of Judgment is not far in the distance, as majority of people presume, and it draws even closer. On that day everything in this world will disappear together with everything in it. Ambitions, wishes, anger, expectations, hostilities and pleasures will all come to an end. That day will render all plans pertaining to the future futile. For everyone who feigns ignorance that he will be returned to our Lord, all specious wealth, beauties and indulgences of this world which they prefer over enternal life will come to nothing. On that very day people will definetly witness Allah’s existence and face the Day of Reckoning they have tried to forget. If they have disbelieved their short life they have spent in heedlessness will come to an end, an infinite beginning full of torment will await them. This life of eternal torment that will bring no happiness to disbelievers will be so severe from the first moment that those experiencing it will desire to vanish rather than being exposed to the torment. However this will not be possible. On that day everyone will be called to Allah’s presence to give an account of every deed they have done in the life of this world.

The Day of Judgment will be the last day of the life of this world, and even the whole universe. But at the same time it is the beginning of the eternal life in the Hereafter. At the beginning of this eternal life all people will resurrect. Those who had faith in Allah and this day will be hosted in Paradise while disbelievers will be transformed into Hell.

This is the greatest truth that awaits humanity and no other worldly conception can be more important than pondering over this truth.

Ignoring the Day of Judgment that no soul can ever evade will in no way eliminate its existence. On the contrary it will cause them to spend their infinite lives in torment.

What an intelligent and sincere person needs to do is to pay attention to the voice of his conscience as our Lord states, "In fact, man will be clear proof against himself." (Surat al-Qiyama, 14), strive to correct his errors and live a life in compliance with the morality of the Qur'an.

 And the moon is eclipsed, and the sun and moon are fused together, on that Day man will say, ‘Where can I run?’ No indeed! There will be no safe place. That Day the only resting place will be your Lord." (Surat al-Qiyama, 8–12)

The Protein That Reveals the Heart’s Ability to Repair Itself: Thymosin Beta-4

Beyond all the miraculous systems in the body, the heart by itself is one of the finest examples of flawless creation. No similar artificial mechanism that “can keep someone alive” has thus far been  built, despite all the recent scientific advances. With the cells that comprise it, its special valve systems and the manner in which  the opening and closing of these valves is regulated, the heart is an organ with exceptionally complex and special systems. No other organ can do anything like the work it performs.

·      What happens in the event of an impairment in the functioning of this organ?

·      How can the heart repair itself following a heart attack?

·      What role does the thymosin beta-4 (TB4) molecule play in the heart’s self-repair?

Although it is only 22 days since its creation, a small collection of cells on the left side of the fetus begins to move. This collection of cells will never stop now, not for a very long time. It will never tire. It will beat approximately 70 times per minute, some 35 million times per year, and around two trillion times over the course of an average life span. It will pump some 227 million liters of blood over the course of a lifetime. It will tirelessly feed all the organs of the body through the network of blood vessels . The heart functions perfectly in every body because Allah so chooses, and everything it does is under our Lord’s control at every moment. Allah exhibits His artistry of detail in the human body and reveals this in a verse:

“Allah brought you out of your mothers’ wombs knowing nothing at all, and gave you hearing, sight and hearts so that perhaps you would show thanks.” (Surat an-Nahl, 78)

This organ, the foundation of life, also uses blood to nourish itself. However, in order to remind people of their weakness, our Lord may sometimes cause the vessels that feed the heart to narrow, using such natural causes as cholesterol (blood fats), other fats, calcium and combinations of other substances. This then leads to impaired circulation in the blood vessels (coronary arteries) that supply the heart, finally resulting in a heart defect. When the narrowing of the vessels turns into complete blockage over the course of time, the result is severe chest pain and a heart attack. This generally proves fatal, though some victims do survive. But their hearts still suffer damage from the attack.

Recent studies have once again shown Almighty Allah’s love for and mercy on His servants. Because a protein that the heart produces during the developmental stage in children enables the damaged heart to be repaired and increases the vessels supplying it. 

The Healing Power of the Heart: Thymosin Beta-4

During a heart attack, heart cells die when the flow of blood to the heart is suddenly cut off, resulting in irreparable damage. This damage persists in the form of a decreased quality of life in the patient’s later life.

Until recently it used to be thought that, unlike other organs, the heart had no ability to repair itself. Today, however, we know that this damage can be put right by the body. The protein thymosin beta-4 (TB4), which plays a key role in the development of the heart in children, activates stem cells that are lie dormant  in the adult heart. These tiny proteins, known as thymosin, which comes in two forms in living tissue, α 1 and β 4, possess the ability to reprogram cells in the body. The protein is today administered in the form of a drug, and sends the stem cells a code regarding the repair of the heart. The heart thus heals itself without the need for other treatment. Administered in pharmaceutical  form, this protein improves heart performance by up to 25% by causing stem cells to turn into heart and artery cells. It repairs the damaged heart cells, increases the arteries supplying the heart and permits the muscles to repair themselves.

Allah, the Creator of All, Is Most Great

Events in our body that we are unaware of, and whose existence we have usually never even heard of, take place inside us with the greatest regularity. Our heartbeat, essential for our survival, is not something we initiate or maintain of our own will. Our heart is one of the organs miraculously created by our Lord. This organ begins beating as a collection of cells when a person is still in his mother’s womb, and continues to flawlessly discharge its duties until the end of that person’s life.

Research in recent years has revealed that in the event of a defect arising in this immaculately functioning organ, various proteins go into action to repair it. However, proteins themselves possess no such medical knowledge with which to identify defects developing in the heart, and lack the consciousness to save a person's life by taking such precautions. Yet they are present in everyone’s body and ready to serve the same function. A protein with such superior properties is neither the product of human intelligence nor of any supposed evolutionary process. It was created by Allah, He who bestows order, glory and perfection on all He creates. Allah is He Who meets the needs of all created things (Kafi), He Who enfolds them (Muhit) and Who is mighty enough to do all that He wishes, in the manner He wishes (Kadir). He is the only One to be thanked and praised (Hamid). He is the One who creates without previous models (Bedi). This is revealed in the following verse:

“the Originator of the heavens and earth. When He decides on something, He just says to it, ‘Be!’ and it is.” (Surat al-Baqara, 117)

The heart is made up of special muscles that never tire. If your heart muscles were to tire in doing things that cause you fatigue, then you could never do such routine  day-to-day activities as cleaning, sport, climbing up stairs and the like. You would be exhausted before you even began. But apart from exceptional diseases, this never happens. Because Allah manifests His infinite mercy on His servants by bestowing tirelessness on the muscles of the heart. There is no doubt that this is one of the matchless works of our Lord, who knows all things down to the finest detail and Who manifests His omniscience in every detail. The omniscience of Allah is revealed in the following verse: 

"... My Lord encompasses all things in His knowledge so will you not pay heed?” (Surat al-An’am, 80)

There is a highly systematic mechanism in the heart. That mechanism is essential for human life.  Otherwise, a single flaw arising in the system could spell the end of the life of the person concerned. The most important of the heart’s mechanisms is the pumps on its right and left. There are also auricles and ventricles on both sides of the heart. The small pumps on either side are the auricles, while the ventricles constitute the large pumps. The left side of the heart is occupied with clean blood. It is the task of the left auricle and ventricle to ensure that incoming blood reaches the organs and tissues. The right side of the heart is occupied with used (dirty) blood. The right auricle and ventricle send the blood to the lungs for cleaning.

The Heart Is An Immaculate Organ Created By Almighty Allah

·                     It Pumps Blood with Ease:The heart is a piece of flesh the size of a fist composed  of water, fats and proteins. This piece of flesh possesses a more perfect and complex system than the most advanced technological pump that all the experts in the world could produce using their computers. This matchless piece of flesh is strong enough to cause blood to spout up to three  meters  in the air.

·                     It Identifies Oxygen Requirements:The heart pumps as much blood as it calculates the body needs. This wondrous organ pumps just four to six  liters of blood per minute when the body is at rest. That is enough for the person at that time as the cells in the body do not require that much oxygen just then. But someone doing strenuous exercise needs more oxygen. Oxygen needs to be transmitted to the cells more quickly. The heart immediately identifies this need and begins beating faster. The amount of blood pumped by the heart increases by four to seven times during exercise.

·                     It Supports Tiring Muscles: The heart never stops working, but sometimes it works even harder than usual. When one runs, the amount of blood pumped by the heart can rise to 2,270 liters an hour. It can raise its work rate from 70 beats per minute to 180 per minute in order to provide the oxygen our tiring muscles need. It can increase the amount of blood supplied to the tissues five-fold. When our other muscles engage in a  tiring activity, the heart accelerates to support them.

·                     It Coordinates the Auricles and Ventricles:The system in the heart has perfect timing. That is the result of co-ordination and communication among the cells that comprise the heart. The noteworthy thing here, of course, is the “intelligence” in the cells that act under the inspiration of Allah. The cells that make up the heart send a current to the other side of the heart at a speed of some 60 centimeters per second. The signal is sent from a region known as the S.A. node. The cells that make up the S.A. node produce the signal in just 1/14 of a second. There are cells that produce a second current here, known as the A.V. node. The current sets the two auricles into motion as it passes and causes them to contract in order to collect blood. When the electric current, that is still moving, reaches the ventricular muscles, special fibrous cells in the muscle tissue between the right auricle and the right ventricle halt it. This causes a delay in the current reaching the ventricle. The speed of the current falls to 20 centimeters per second and it begins being transmitted in 1/16 of a second. This delay is exceedingly important. Because of it, the auricles fill with blood before the ventricles contract, and are thus able to prepare themselves to pump blood. This is the secret of the synchronized action of the heart.

The Hand That Will Extend From The Sky

A human hand-shaped figure will be seen in space and this will herald the coming of Hz. Mahdi (As).

... AT THAT TIME [OF THE APPEARANCE OF HAZRAT MAHDI (AS)] A HAND WILL BE SEEN REVEALING ITSELF FROM THE SKY... (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 51)

... Asma bint Umays says: THE PORTENT OF THAT DAY [THE COMING OF HAZRAT MAHDI (AS)] IS A HAND EXTENDING FROM THE SKY AND PEOPLE TURNING TO LOOK AT IT. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 69)

This hadith mentions  one of the signs of Mahdi’s coming, ‘the hand extending from the sky’. An image taken by Chandra Observatory of NASA showed a vast stellar formation cluster looking like a hand grabbing another stellar formation. This hand-shaped figure was named by NASA ‘the Hand of God’.

The news report reads as follows:

·NASA photos show giant 'cosmic hand'