Turn Your Life Into Happy and Peace

     PAIN RECEPTORS IN THE SKIN It was thought that the sense of feeling and pain was dependent only on the brain. Recent discoveries however prove that there are pain receptors present in the skin, without which a person would not be able to feel pain. When a doctor examines a patient suffering from burn injuries, he verifies the degree of burns by a pinprick. If the patient feels pain, the doctor is happy, because it indicates that the burns are superficial and the pain receptors are intact. On the other hand, if the patient does not feel any pain, it indicates that it is a deep burn and the pain receptors have been destroyed. The Qur’an gives a clear indication of the existence of pain receptors in the following verse: “Those who reject our signs, We shall soon cast into the Fire; as often as their skins are roasted through, We shall change them for fresh skins, that they may taste the Penalty: for ...

               FINGERPRINTS “Does man think that We cannot assemble his bones? Nay, We are able to put together in perfect order the very tips of his fingers.”                                       [Al-Qur’an 75:3-4] Unbelievers argue regarding resurrection taking place after bones of dead people have disintegrated in the earth and how each individual would be identified on the Day of Judgement. Almighty Allah answers that He can not only assemble our bones but can also reconstruct perfectly our very fingertips. Why does the Qur’an, while speaking about determination of the identity of the individual, speak specifically about fingertips? In 1880, fingerprinting became the scientific method of identification, after research done by Sir Francis Golt. No two persons in the world can ever have exactly the ...

     SENSE OF HEARING AND SIGHT The first sense to develop in a developing human embryo is hearing. The foetus can hear sounds after the 24th week. Subsequently, the sense of sight is developed and by the 28th week, the retina becomes sensitive to light. The Qur'an explains it thus: “And He gave you (the faculties of) hearing and sight and feeling (and understanding).”                             [Al-Qur’an 32:9] “Verily We created man from a drop of mingled sperm, in order to try him: so We gave him (the gifts), of Hearing and Sight.”                             [Al-Qur’an 76:2] “It is He Who has created for you (the faculties of) hearing, sight, feeling and understanding: little thanks it is ye give!”                 ...

EMBRYO PARTLY FORMED AND PARTLY UNFORMED At the mudghah stage, if an incision is made in the embryo and the internal organ is dissected, it will be seen that most of them are formed while the remaining are not yet completely formed. According to Prof. Johnson, if we describe the embryo as a complete creation, then we are only describing that part which is already created. If we describe it as an incomplete creation, then we are only describing that part which is not yet created. So, is it a complete creation or an incomplete creation?  There is no better description of this stage of embryogenesis than the Qur’anic description, “partly formed and partly unformed”, as in the following verse: “We created you out of dust, then out of sperm, then out of a leech-like clot, then out of a morsel of flesh, partly formed and partly unformed that We may manifest (Our Power) to you.”              ...

             EMBRYOLOGICAL STAGES “Man We did create from a quintessence (of clay); then We placed him as (a drop of) sperm in a place of rest, firmly fixed; then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood; then of that clot We made a (foetus) lump; then We made out of that lump bones and clothed the bones with flesh; then We developed out of it another creature. so blessed be Allah, the Best to create!”                           [Al-Qur’ an 23:12-14] In this verse Allah states that man is created from a small quantity of liquid which is placed in a place of rest, firmly fixed (well established or lodged) for which the Arabic word qaraarin makeen is used. The uterus is well protected from the posterior by the spinal column supported firmly by the back muscles. The embryo is further protected by the amniotic sac contain...

FOETUS PROTECTED BY THREE VEILS OF DARKNESS           “He makes you,            in the wombs of your mothers,            in stages, one after another,            in three veils of darkness.”                                  [Al-Qur’an 39:6] According to Prof. Keith Moore, these three veils of darkness in the Qur’an refer to: (i) anterior abdominal wall of the mother (ii) the uterine wall (iii) the amnio-chorionic membrane.

               SEX DETERMINATION The sex of a foetus is determined by the nature of the sperm and not of the ovum. The sex of the child, whether female or male, depends on whether the 23rd pair of chromosomes is XX or XY respectively. Primarily, sex determination occurs at fertilization and depends upon the type of sex chromosome in the sperm that fertilizes an ovum. If it is an ‘X’ bearing sperm that fertilizes the ovum, the foetus is a female and if it is a ‘Y’ bearing sperm then the foetus is a male. “That He did create in pairs – male and female, from a seed when lodged (in its place).” [Al-Qur’an 53:45-46] The Arabic word nutfah means a minute quantity of liquid and tumnaa means ejaculated or planted. Terefore nutfah specifically refers to sperm because it is ejaculated. The Qur’an says: “Was he not a drop of sperm emitted (in lowly form)? “Then did he become a clingin...

NUTFATUN AMSHAAJ – MINGLED LIQUIDS             “Verily We created man              from a drop of mingled sperm.”                                              [Al-Qur’an 76:2] The Arabic word nutfatin amshaajin means mingled liquids. According to some commentators of the Qur’an, mingled liquids refers to the male or female agents or liquids. After mixture of male and female gamete, the zygote still remains nutfah. Mingled liquids can also refer to spermatic fluid that is formed of various secretions that come from various glands. Therefore, nutfatin amshaaj, i.e. a minute quantity of mingled fluids refers to the male and female gametes (germinal fluids or cells) and part of the surrounding fluids.

SULALAH – QUINTESSENCE OF LIQUID           “And made his progeny             from a quintessence             of the nature of             a fluid despised.”                                      [Al-Qur’an 32:8] The Arabic word sulaalah means quintessence or the best part of a whole. We have come to know now that only one single spermatozoon that penetrates the ovum is required for fertilization, out of the several million produced by man. That one spermatozoon out of several million, is referred to in the Qur’an as sulaalah. We have also come to know now that only one ovum is fertilized out of the tens of thousand produced by the female. That one ovum out of tens of thousand is also refered to in the Qur'an as Sulaalah. This word also m...

NUTFAH – MINUTE QUANTITY OF LIQUID The Glorious Qur’an mentions no less than eleven times that the human being is created from nutfah, which means a minute quantity of liquid or a trickle of liquid that remains after emptying a cup.  This is mentioned in several verses of the Qur’an including 22:5 and 23:13.1 Science has confirmed in recent times that only one out of an average of three million sperms is required for fertilising the ovum. This means that only 1/3 millionth part or 0.00003% of the quantity of sperms that are emitted is required for fertilisation. 1 The same is also mentioned in the Qur’an in 16:4, 18:37, 35:11, 36:77, 40:67, 53:46, 75:37, 76:2 and 80:19.

DROP EMITTED FROM BETWEEN THE  BACK BONE AND THE RIBS         “Now let man but think          from what he is created!          He is created from          a drop emitted –          Proceeding from between          the back bone and the ribs.”                                        [Al-Qur’an 86:5-7] In embryonic stages, the reproductive organs of the male and female, i.e. the testicles and the ovaries, begin their development near the kidney between the spinal column and the eleventh and twelfth ribs. Later they descend; the female gonads (ovaries) stop in the pelvis while the male gonads (testicles) continue their descent before birth to reach the scrotum through the inguinal canal. Even in adul...

EMBRYOLOGY;    MUSLIMS SEEK ANSWERS A group of Muslim Scholars, under the direction of an eminent Yemani Scholar, Sheikh Abdul Majid Azzindani, collected information concerning embryology  and other sciences in the Qur'an and undisputed Hadith2  and translated it into English. They then followed the Qur'anic advice: “If ye realise this not, ask of those who possess the Message.” [Al-Qur’an 16:43 & 21:7] All the information from the Qur’an and the undisputed Hadith concerning embryology so gathered, after being translated into English and presented to Prof. (Dr.) Keith Moore, Professor of Embryology and Chairman of the Department of Anatomy at the University of Toronto, in Canada. At present he is one of the highest authorities in the field of Embryology. He was asked to give his opinion regarding the material presented to him. After carefully examining it, Dr. Moore said that most of the infor...

     BLOOD CIRCULATION AND MILK The Qur’an was revealed 600 years before the Muslim scientist Ibn Nafees described the circulation of the blood and 1,000 years before William Harwey brought this understanding to the Western world. Roughly thirteen centuries before it was known what happens in the intestines to ensure that organs are nourished by the process of digestive absorption, a verse in the Qur’an described the source of the constituents of milk, in conformity with these notions. To understand the Qur’anic verse concerning the above concepts, it is important to know that chemical reactions occur in the intestines and that, from there, substances extracted from food pass into the blood stream via a complex system; sometimes by way of the liver, depending on their chemical nature. The blood transports them to all the organs of the body, among which are the milk-producing mammary glands. In simple terms, certain su...

HONEY: HEALING FOR HUMANKIND The bee assimilates juices of various kinds of flowers and fruit and forms honey within its body, which it stores in its cells of wax. Only a couple of centuries ago humans came to know that honey comes from the belly of the bee.  But this fact was mentioned in the Qur’an 1,400 years ago in the following verse: “There issues from within their bodies a drink of varying colours, wherein is healing for men.” [Al-Qur’an 16:69] We are only now aware that honey has healing properties and is also a mild antiseptic. The Russians would use honey to cover their wounds in World War II. The wound would retain moisture and would leave very little scar tissue. Due to the density of honey, no fungus or bacteria could grow in the wound. Dramatic improvements were visible in 22 incurable chest and Alzheimer's disease patients at nursing Homes in England who were treated by Sister Carole, a nun, with prop...

LIFESTYLE AND COMMUNICATION OF ANTS           “And before Solomon were             marshalled his hosts –             of Jinns and men and birds,             and they were all kept             in order and ranks.             “At length, when they came             to a (lowly) valley of ants,              one of the ants said :             ‘O ye ants, get into              your habitations,              lest Solomon and his hosts              crush you (under foot)              without knowing it.’”               ...

SPIDER’S WEB, THE FRAGILE HOME            “The parable of those who              take protectors other than Allah              is that of the Spider,              who builds (to itself) a house;              but truly the flimsiest of houses              is the Spider’s house –              if they but knew.”                                      [Al-Qur’an 29:41] Besides giving the physical description of the spider’s web as being very flimsy, delicate and weak, the Qur’an also stresses on the flimsiness of the relationship in the spider’s house, where the female spider many a times kills its mate, the male spider. ...

             THE BEE AND ITS SKILL                  “And thy Lord taught the Bee                   to build its cells in hills,                   on trees, and in                   (men’s) habitations;                    then to eat of all                    the produce (of the earth),                    and find with skill                    the spacious paths of its Lord.”                                         [Al-Qur’an 16:68-69] Von-Frisch rec...

                THE FLIGHT OF BIRDS               “Do they not look at                the birds, held poised                in the midst of (the air                and) the sky?                Nothing holds them up                but (the power of) Allah.                Verily in this are Signs                for those who believe.”                                     [Al-Qur’an 16:79] Another verse also touches on birds:               “Do they not observe     ...

ZOOLOGY;    ANIMALS AND BIRDS LIVE IN COMMUNITIES                    “There is not an animal                    (that lives) on the earth,                     nor a being that flies                     on its wings,                     but (forms part of)                     communities like you.”                                          [Al-Qur’an 6:38] Research has shown that animals and birds live in communities, i.e. they organize, and live and work together.

        EVERYTHING MADE IN PAIRS                     “And of everything                      We have created pairs.”                                               [Al-Qur’an 51:49] This verse lays emphasis on everything. Besides humans, animals, plants and fruits, it may also be referring to electricity in which the atoms consist of negatively – and positively – charged electrons and protons. And many more things! “Glory to Allah, Who created in pairs all things that the earth produces, as well as their own (human) kind and (other) things of which they have no knowledge.” [Al-Qur’an 36:36] The Qur’an here says that everything is created in pairs, including things that the humans do not know at...

FRUITS HAVE MALE AND FEMALE              “And fruit of every kind                He made                in pairs, two and two.”                                                  [Al-Qur’an 13:3] Fruit is the end product of reproduction of the superior plants. The stage preceding fruit is the flower, which has male and female organs (stamens and ovules). Once pollen has been carried to the flower, they bear fruit, which in turn matures and frees its seed. All fruits therefore imply the existence of male and female organs; a fact that is mentioned in the Qur’an.In certain species, fruit can come from non-fertilized flowers (parthenocarpic fruit) e.g. bananas, certain types of pineapple, fig, orange, vine, etc. The...

BOTANY;   PLANTS HAVE MALE AND FEMALE Previously, humans did not know that plants too have male and female gender distinctions. Botany states that every plant has a male and female gender. Even the plants that are unisexual have distinct elements of both male and female.              “‘And has sent down                 water from the sky.’                 With it have We produced                 diverse pairs of plants                 each separate from the others.”                                               [Al-Qur’an 20:53]

DARKNESS IN DEPTHS OF OCEAN Prof. Durga Rao is a world renowned expert in the field of Marine Geology and was a professor at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah.  He was asked to comment on the following verse: “Or (the Unbelievers’ state) is like the depths of darkness in a vast deep ocean, overwhelmed with billow topped by billow, topped by (dark) clouds: depths of darkness, one above another: if a man stretches out his hand, he can hardly see it! For any to whom Allah giveth not light, there is no light!” [Al-Qur’an 24:40] Prof. Rao said that scientists have only now been able to confirm, with the help of modern equipment, that there is darkness in the depths of the ocean. Humans are unable to dive unaided underwater for more than 20 to 30 metres, and cannot survive in the deep oceanic regions at a depth of more than 200 metres. This verse does not refer to all seas because not every sea can be describ...

OCEANOLOGY;  BARRIER BETWEEN SWEET AND SALT WATERS “He has let free the two bodies of flowing water, meeting together: Between them is a Barrier which they do not transgress.”                              [Al-Qur’an 55:19-20] In the Arabic text the word barzakh means a barrier or a partition. This barrier, however, is not a physical partition. The Arabic word maraja literally means ‘they both meet and mix with each other’. Early commentators of the Qur’an were unable to explain the two opposite meanings for the two bodies of water, i.e. they meet and mix, and at the same time there is a barrier between them. Modern Science has discovered that in the places where two different seas meet, there is a barrier between them. This barrier divides the two seas so that each sea has its own temperature, salinity and density.1 Oceanologists are now in a better position t...

            MOUNTAINS FIRMLY FIXED The surface of the earth is broken into many rigid plates that are about 100 km in thickness. These plates float on a partially molten region called aesthenosphere. Mountain formations occur at the boundary of the plates. The earth’s crust is 5 km thick below oceans, about 35 km thick below flat continental surfaces and almost 80 km thick below great mountain ranges. These are the strong foundations on which mountains stand.  The Qur’an refers to the strong mountain foundations in the following verse: “And the mountains hath He firmly fixed.” [Al-Qur’an 79:32] Thus, the information contained in the Glorious Qur'an about the nature of mountains, is in perfect agreement with recent discoveries in geology. 1  Earth, Press and Siever, p. 435. Also see Earth Science, Tarbuck and Lutgens, p. 157 2 A similar message is contained in the Qru'an in 31...

GEOLOGY ;MOUNTAINS ARE LIKE TENT PEGS In geology, the phenomenon of ‘folding’, is a recently discovered fact. Folding is responsible for the formation of mountain ranges. The earth’s crust, on which we live, is like a solid shell, while the deeper layers are hot and fluid, and thus inhospitable to any form of life. It is also known that the stability of the mountains is linked to the phenomenon of folding, for it was the folds that were to provide foundations for the reliefs that constitute the mountains. Geologists tell us that the radius of the Earth is about 6,035 km and the crust on which we live is very thin, ranging between 2 to 35 km. Since the crust is thin, it has a high possibility of shaking. Mountains act like stakes or tent pegs that hold the earth’s crust and give it stability.  The Qur’an contains exactly such a description: “Have We not made the earth as a wide expanse, and the mountains as pegs?” [Al-Qur’an...

             WINDS IMPREGNATE CLOUDS “And We send the fecundating winds, then cause the rain to descend from the sky, therewith providing you with water (in abundance).”                                          [Al-Qur’an 15:22] The Arabic word used here is lawaaqih which is the plural of laqih from laqaha, which means to impregnate or fecundate. In this context, impregnate means that the wind pushes the clouds together increasing the condensation that causes lightning and thus rain. A similar description is found in the following verses of the Qur’an: “Seest thou not that Allah makes the clouds move gently, then joins them together, then makes them into a heap?–then wilt thou see rain issue forth from their midst. And He sends down from the sky mountain masses (of clouds) wherein ...

HYDROLOGY , THE WATER CYCLE In 1580, Bernard Palissy was the first person to describe the present day concept of ‘water cycle’. He described how water evaporates from the oceans and cools to form clouds. The clouds move inland where they rise, condense and fall as rain. This water gathers as lakes and streams and flows back to the ocean in a continuous cycle. In the 7th century B.C., Thales of Miletus believed that surface spray of the oceans was picked up by the wind and carried inland to fall as rain. In earlier times people did not know the source of underground water. They thought the water of the oceans, under the effect of winds, was thrust towards the interior of the continents. They also believed that the water returned by a secret passage or the Great Abyss. This passage is connected to the oceans and has been called the ‘Tartarus’, since Plato’s time. Even Descartes, a great thinker of the eighteenth century, subscribed to this v...

          ATOMS CAN BE DIVIDED In ancient times a well-known theory by the name of ‘Theory of Atomism’ was widely accepted. This theory was originally proposed by the Greeks, in particular by a scholar called Democritus, who lived about 23 centuries ago. Democritus and the people that came after him, assumed that the smallest unit of matter was the atom. The ancient Arabs used to believe the same. The Arabic word zarrah most commonly meant an atom. In recent times modern science has discovered that it is possible to split even an atom. That the atom can be split further is a development of the 20th century. Fourteen centuries ago this concept would have appeared unusual even to an Arab. For him the zarrah was the limit beyond which one could not go.  The following Qur’anic verse however, refuses to acknowledge this limit: “The Unbelievers say, ‘Never to us will come The Hour’: say, ‘Nay! but most ...

          THE EXPANDING UNIVERSE In 1925, American astronomer Edwin Hubble, provided observational evidence that all galaxies are moving away from one another, which implies that the universe is expanding. The expansion of the universe is now an established scientific fact.  This is what the Qur’an says regarding the nature of the universe: “With power and skill did We construct the Firmament: For it is We Who create the vastness of Space.”                            [Al-Qur’an 51:47] The Arabic word musioon is correctly translated as ‘expanding it’, and it refers to the creation of the expanding vastness of the universe. One of the greatest astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, in his book, ‘A Brief History of Time’,says, “The discovery that the universe is expanding was one of the great intellectual revolutions of the 20th c...

          INTERSTELLAR MATTER Space outside organized astronomical systems was earlier assumed to be a vacuum. Astrophysicists later discovered the presence of bridges of matter in this interstellar space. These bridges of matter are called plasma, and consist of completely ionized gas containing equal number of free electrons and positive ions. Plasma is sometimes called the fourth state of matter (besides the three known states viz. solid, liquid and gas).  The Qur’an refers to the presence of this interstellar material in the following verse: “He Who created the heavens  and the earth and all that is between.”                       [Al-Qur’an 25:59] It would be ridiculous for anyone to even suggest that the presence of interstellar galactic material was known 1400 years ago!

    THE SUN WILL EXTINGUISH The light of the sun is due to a chemical process on its surface that has been taking place continuously for the past five billion years. It will come to an end at some point of time in the future, when the sun will be totally extinguished, leading to extinction of all life on earth.  Regarding the impermanence of the sun’s existence, the Qur’an says: “And the Sun runs its course for a period determined for it; that is the decree of (Him) the exalted in Might, the All-Knowing.”                    [Al-Qur’an 36:38] The Arabic word used here is mustaqarr, which means a place or time that is determined. Thus the Qur’an says that the sun runs towards a determined place, and will do so only up to a pre-determined period of time – meaning that it will end or extinguish.

      THE SUN ROTATES For a long time European philosophers and scientists believed that the earth stood still in the centre of the universe and every other body including the sun moved around it. In the West, this geocentric concept of the universe was prevalent right from the time of Ptolemy in the second century B.C. In 1512, Nicholas Copernicus put forward his Heliocentric Theory of Planetary Motion, which asserted that the sun is  motionless at the centre of the solar system with the planets revolving around it. In 1609, the German scientist Yohannus Keppler published the ‘Astronomia Nova’. In this he concluded that not only do the planets move in elliptical orbits around the sun, they also rotate upon their axes at irregular speeds. With this knowledge it became possible for European scientists to explain correctly many of the mechanisms of the solar system, including the sequence of night and day. After these discov...

MOONLIGHT IS REFLECTED LIGHT  It was believed by earlier civilizations that the moon emanates its own light. Science now tells us  that the light of the moon is reflected light. However this fact was mentioned in the Qur’an 1,400 years ago in the following verse: “Blessed is He Who made Constellations in the skies, and placed therein a Lamp and a Moon giving light.” [Al-Qur’an 25:61] The Arabic word for the sun in the Qur’an, is shams. It is also referred to as siraaj which means a ‘torch’ or as wahhaaj meaning ‘a blazing lamp’ or as diya which means ‘shining glory’. All three descriptions are appropriate to the sun, since it generates intense heat and light by its internal combustion. The Arabic word for the moon is qamar and it is described in the Qur’an as muneer which is a body that gives noor i.e. reflected light. Again, the Qur’anic description matches perfectly with the true nature of the moon which does not give...

SHAPE OF THE EARTH IS SPHERICAL In early times, people believed that the earth was flat. For centuries, men were afraid to venture out too far, for fear of falling off the edge! Sir Francis Drake was the first person who proved that the earth is spherical when he sailed around it in 1597. Consider the following Qur’anic verse regarding the alternation of day and night: “Seest thou not that Allah merges Night into Day and He merges Day into Night?” [Al-Qur’an 31:29] Merging here means that the night slowly and gradually changes to day and vice versa. This phenomenon can only take place if the earth is spherical. If the earth was flat, there would have been a sudden change from night to day and from day to night. The following verse also alludes to the spherical shape of the earth: “He created the heavens and the earth in true (proportions): He makes the Night overlap the Day, and the Day overlap the Night.” ...

INITIAL GASEOUS MASS BEFORE CREATION OF GALAXIES Scientists agree that before the galaxies in the universe were formed, celestial matter was initially in the form of gaseous matter. In short, huge gaseous matter or clouds were present before the formation of the galaxies. To describe initial celestial matter, the word ‘smoke’ is more appropriate than gas.  The following Qur’anic verse refers to this state of the universe by the word dukhaan which means smoke. “Moreover, He Comprehended in His design the sky, and it had been (as) smoke: He said to it and to the earth: ‘Come ye together, willingly or unwillingly.’ They said: ‘We do come (together), in willing obedience.’” [Al-Qur’an 41:11] Again, this fact is a corollary to the ‘Big Bang’ and was not known to anyone before the prophetehood of Muhammad (Peace be upon him)1. What then, could have been the source of this knowledge?

CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE: ‘THE BIG BANG’ The creation of the universe is explained by astrophysicists as a widely accepted phenomenon, popularly known as ‘The Big Bang’. It is supported by observational and experimental data gathered by astronomers and astrophysicists for decades. According to ‘The Big Bang’, the whole universe was initially one big mass (Primary Nebula). Then there was a ‘Big Bang’ (Secondary Separation) which resulted in the formation of Galaxies. These then divided to form stars, planets, the sun, the moon, etc. The origin of the universe was unique and the probability of it happening by ‘chance’ is nil. The Qur’an contains the following verse regarding the origin of the universe: “Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of Creation), before We clove them asunder?” [Al-Qu’ran 21:30] The striking similarity between the Qur’anic verse and ‘The Big B...

              In today’s world of growing so-called feminism, the most common question faced by muslim women is ‘Why should women wear hijab in Islam?’ Answers include that hijab protects women from evil glances, or evil thoughts of men; allows a woman to be treated with respect; liberalises women so she no longer is judged by her looks but by her actions,etc. There is no denying that all these reasons are completely true. But the only reason a women should wear hijab is because Allah (SWT) commanded them to do so and Allah (SWT) has a wisdom behind each of HIS commandments.                           VERSES OF QURAN PERTAINING TO HIJAB “O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks (veils) all over their bodies. That will be better, that they should be known (as free respectable women) so as not to be annoyed. And Allaah is Ev...