RELIGIN AND SCIENCE

Kamis, Desember 18, 2008

IDENTITY ON FINGER TIPS

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IDENTITY ON FINGER TIPS

3- Does the human being think that We cannot assemble his bones? 
4- Surely, We are able to reconstruct even his fingertips. 
75-The Resurrection, 3-4 

Fingerprints did not mean much to the people at the Prophet?s time. An 
Englishman by the name of Genn Ginsen, in 1856, found out that the pattern of 
lines at the tip of a person?s finger was something unique to the individual. 
Until 1856, men knew nothing about this characteristic of fingertips. The 
discovery of the fact that the pattern of lines on fingertips was a sort of 
identity card is often used by the police to help find criminals. The pattern 
lines of the fingertips differ even in identical twins. This identity card 
cannot be forged; it affixes a unique signature to whatever it touches. One 
cannot imitate or deny it. We carry it about us till the end of our days. 
Epidermal burns or injuries or aging distort our bodies in one way or another, 
yet cannot change this fact. 

These patterns of lines are traced within the womb when the fetus completes its 
three months? period. Research is currently being carried out to see whether 
these lines may be used to detect genetic defects in our body. To the best of 
our knowledge so far, nothing positive has been discovered on this issue. It is, 
however, likely that something new may emerge any day. 

At the time of the descent of the Quran, fingertips had nothing special about 
them. God, who will cause man to come back to life on the Day of Judgment, 
stresses the importance of fingertips. 

DATA CONCEALED ON FINGERTIPS
One of the basic indications of this verse may refer to the patterns of lines on 
man?s fingertips. There may be other indications, according to which all the 
characteristics of our body are encoded on our fingertips. It could be implied 
that during our re-creation all the particularities and features of our body 
will be restored, so it may be that what lies on our fingertips, apparently of 
little significance, will be sufficient for this process. The reason why 
fingertips are given as example is the general acceptance that they are simple 
things of not much worth. Nevertheless, even the seemingly insignificant tip of 
a finger is a data bank, thanks to which the entire body may be re-fashioned. 
DNA is one of the most important discoveries in human history. The discovery of 
DNA put an end to the idea that the human cell had a simple structure with its 
contents. As the cell came to be analyzed more and more, the complexity of its 
makeup was better understood. Even one piece of DNA includes a cipher formed of 
a series of more than three billion codes. From the color of our hair to our 
little finger, everything is contained in this code. A printout of data related 
to DNA would form the contents of about 1000 volumes of one million pages. What 
is more, DNA has the capacity to duplicate all these data within 20 to 80 
minutes. In the lore contained in the 1000 volumes of one single DNA, one can 
find all the characteristics of the body. The DNA of a simple cell on the 
fingertip will give one all the necessary information. Our Creator can easily 
have recourse to this lore to re-create man. It would be as easy for Him to do 
so as if He were creating him for the first time. 

78- And he makes comparisons for Us and forgets his own creation. He says ?Who 
can resurrect the bones after they are rotten?? 
79- Say ?He who created them the first time. He has knowledge of every creation.? 
36-Ya-Seen, 78-79

Copyright © 2001-2008 Quranic Research Group 

LAYERS OF HEAVENS

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LAYERS OF HEAVENS

3- He created the seven heavens (skies) in layers. You do not see any 
imperfection in the creation by the Gracious. Turn your eyes again. Do you see 
any flaw? 
67-The Kingdom, 3 

The statement in the Quran about seven heavens may be interpreted as seven 
different strata, seven different dimensions or seven different fields of 
attraction. A closer analysis of the atmosphere, which, to the naked eye may 
present uniformity, makes it clear that it is not actually so. 

The different layers of our atmosphere could not have been known at the time of 
the Prophet. This fact cannot have been established fortuitously. The Quran 
refers to different layers in the atmosphere in perfect accord with each other. 
One can also conjecture that such layers can exist in space. The creation of 
these harmonious layers is a phenomenon visible from the microcosm of the atom 
to the macrocosm of the universe. Let us remember the layers and orbits of the 
electron around the nucleus of the atom. The fact that the maximum number of 
orbits in the atom is seven may also be significant. 

The number seven has special connotations in the Quran. As a matter of fact, ?seven? 
in Arabic, also expresses a plurality; the expression ?seven heavens,? may 
either mean the number seven as the actual number of heavens, or a plurality of 
heavens. This usage of ?seven? in the Arabic has been commented upon throughout 
history by many exegetics. In the sura Luqmaan, 27th verse, the expression ?seven 
seas? is used and in the sura Repentance, verse 80 states that: ?Even if you ask 
forgiveness for them seventy times, God will not forgive them.? So, it is said 
that both ?seven? and ?seventy? express a plurality. A similar usage of the 
number ?seven? expressing a plurality may also be seen in ancient Greek and 
Roman. 

LAYERS OF THE ATMOSPHERE AND THE OBJECTIVES THEY SERVE 
We know now that atmosphere is made of layers that make life on earth possible. 
The absence of any one of these layers would be the end of life on earth. God, 
whose flawless art is conspicuous everywhere, displays once again His design by 
drawing attention - in the Quran - to atmospheric layers. Each of these layers 
dutifully performs its function contributing to the perfect performance of the 
whole. The fact that the lifeless atoms of the atmosphere are in the service of 
man, as if forming a conscious entity, is a consequence of God?s compassion. 

The atmosphere is divided into layers, of which the (1) Troposphere is the 
lowest layer, closest to the surface of the earth. The Troposphere, which is as 
low as six km, extends to a height of 12 km at the equator. Atmospheric 
phenomena take place within the portion of three to four kilometers from the 
surface. 75% of atmospheric gases are in this layer. Above the Troposphere is 
the (2) Stratosphere extending about 50 km up. The third is (3) the Ozonosphere, 
the ozone layer in other words, which is the protector from ultraviolet rays 
having lethal effects on living beings. Above lies the (4) Mesosphere which in 
turn, is topped by the (5) Thermosphere followed by the (6) Ionosphere, the 
upper layer reaching to a height of 500 km from the earth. Radio waves are 
reflected from this layer, rendering communication possible. Above 500 km lies 
the fringe region known as the (7) Exosphere, extending up to 10,000 km. The 
proportion of gases in this layer is very low and divided into ions. We can thus 
divide the atmosphere into 7 layers. The number 7 may change of course, if 
researchers prefer examining these layers by different groupings. 

However it is interesting to find that the commonly agreed classification of 
atmospheric layers supports the Quranic information and it is beyond mere 
interest when we evaluate it together with all other scientific remarks in the 
Quran. Even if the reader does not find this classification persuasive, then he 
or she may subscribe to the alternative understanding that the figure seven 
expresses a plurality, without bringing any change in the miraculous 
significance of the verse. This double meaning of ?seven layers? thus leaves no 
loopholes. Separating the atmosphere into harmonious layers is a modern 
discovery. The level of scientific knowledge at the time of the descent of the 
Quran did not permit making differentiation between the layers of atmosphere. 
Verse 12 of sura 41 reads: ?So He ordained them seven heavens (skies) in two 
days (periods) and revealed in every heaven its affair...? making it clear that 
every layer served a different purpose, thanks to which life on earth was 
possible. 

Copyright © 2001-2008 Quranic Research Group 

SEMEN IS A COMPOUND

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SEMEN IS A COMPOUND

Our odyssey, that began with the creation of this liquid compound, led us to 
acquire such skills as seeing, hearing and other processes of extreme complexity. 
No man within his senses can attribute his or her perfect creation to the skills 
of a drop of a mixture and coincidences. The Creator who is Omniscient, 
Omnipotent, who is exalted and beyond all praise, is the Author of these things 
as stated in the Quran.

CREATION FROM A DROP
36- Does man think that he will be left uncontrolled? 
37- Was he not a drop of semen emitted? 
75-The Resurrection, 36-37 

The Quran says that God who created man watches over him. In verse 37 it is 
stated that he is created from ?a drop of semen.? Here again we are in the 
presence of a scientific fact inaccessible at the time of the Prophet. In this 
verse, the Arabic words ?maney? (semen) and ?nutfah? (drop) are differentiated. 
?Nutfah? means what is left of a liquid in a bucket whose contents have been 
emptied. Thus the expression refers to a portion and not to all the semen. The 
semen contains in a single ejaculation, along with its other constituents, sperm 
numbering between 
100 million and 200 million. One out of hundreds of millions of sperm fertilizes 
the egg. In other words, the zygote, product of the union of two gametes, is but 
the result of a small part of the semen. The sperm or the spermatozoon, the male 
gamete, typically consisting of a head containing the nucleus, a middle piece 
containing a mitochondrion and a 
comparatively long tail whose structure is similar to that of a lagellum. 
Hundreds of millions of sperm, leaving the male?s organ, head for the ovum 
waving their tails. The distance they cover in the woman?s organ of reproduction 
involves a considerably long journey, if measured in microns the length of a 
sperm (a micron is equal to one millionth of a meter). To cover such a distance 
means to swim long distances, kilometers in fact. Many of the sperm die on the 
way and only a few succeed in reaching the target. Of the multitude of sperm 
surrounding the egg, only one is allowed to penetrate, barring the way to all 
others. Half of the genetic data of this sperm is contained in a head of 5 
microns. The other genetic code is waiting in the mother?s womb. All these are 
the result of many concurring details. God displays his artistry in every 
instance. 

Copyright © 2001-2008 Quranic Research Group 

COMMUNICATION BETWEEN BIRDS

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COMMUNICATION BETWEEN BIRDS

16- And Solomon was David?s heir. He said: ?O my people! We have been taught the
speech of birds...?
27-The Ant, 16

In the above verse, it is said that the Prophet Solomon was taught the speech of
birds in addition to the endowments that God?s grace had adorned him with. The
Quran refers to the communication between birds and to the fact that the
twittering and singing of birds has particular meanings. Birds, like human
beings, do communicate. This undeniable communication is certainly not as
developed as it is in man.

Research conducted by zoologists has established that sounds emitted by animals
are meaningful and not haphazard. Birds, ants, dolphins, etc., have systems of
communication.

MEANINGS IN SOUNDS EMITTED BY BIRDS
As the Quran speaks of the language of birds, let us take a look at research
conducted on birds. Brazilian and American ornithologists have studied the
hummingbird (one of the tiniest birds in the world) and published their findings
in the British journal Nature. The author of the article, Maria Luisa Da Silva,
says that the vocabulary of the hummingbird is not innate but develops afterward.
In other words, the hummingbird learns to speak as human beings do.

Studies on crows have demonstrated that they emit a variety of sounds, namely,
to call the colony of crows to come together, to express alarm, and to
communicate a state of distress. Ornithologists, who have recorded these sounds
using a sonograph, are still engaged in deciphering the meanings behind them.
Bernd Heinrich, among these scientists who speak of the difficulty in decoding
the sonograms, associates this research work with the work of the inhabitants of
other planets visiting our earth and trying to decipher eating, playing, making
love and activities like catching fish using a sonograph. What we are trying to
do is to imagine ourselves in their place. Bernd Heinrich speaks of the
difficulty encountered in deciphering the language of animals in general, as
different species have different ways of communication, each calling for a
different approach.

There is a body language, expressed by the changes in your body position and
movements, that show what you are feeling or thinking. Nodding means ?yes,?
hailing is a sign of calling to someone in order to greet him or try to attract
his attention. Although the sounds emitted by birds are a means of communication,
they also have, in general, a body language. Their body language is easier to
decipher. For instance, a bird that emits a sound by touching its beak with his
tongue means ?I am a friend, I have no intention to harm you.? Theresa Jordan
gives a whole list of signs, demonstrating thereby that even the body language
necessitates a glossary.

The physiology of birds is as interesting as their language, the long distances
they cover without swerving from their destination are something to marvel at.
Ornithologists studying birds will see God?s perfect artistry revealed in these
creatures too.

38- All the creatures on earth, and all the birds that fly with wings are
communities like you. We did not leave anything out of this Book. Then they will
all be gathered before their Lord.
6-The Cattle, 38

Copyright © 2001-2008 Quranic Research Group

THE SUN ALSO MOVES ALONG

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THE SUN ALSO MOVES ALONG

38- And the Sun moves on to its destination. That is the ordinance of the Mighty, 
the Knower. 
36-Ya-Seen, 38 

For a long time in the past men thought that the earth was stationary and that 
the sun revolved around the earth. Later Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo 
postulated the theory that the sun was stationary and that the earth revolved 
about the sun. It was even later, thanks to sophisticated telescopes and the 
accumulation of cosmological data, that it was concluded that the sun was moving 
as well and the earth revolved about the sun in motion. Despite the fact that it 
took science this long, this motion of the sun had already been told 1400 years 
ago in the Quran. Contrary to the assertion that the sun traced a vicious circle 
about the earth or that it was stationary, the 38th verse of the sura Ya-Seen 
stated correctly that it moved on to its destination. As in other subjects, in 
this one also the Quran is the source that gave a correct account of the sun?s 
motion.

THE METHOD OF THE QURAN AND THE METHOD OF SCIENCE
A book of science purports to demonstrate the theses it advances and the points 
of reference. The Quran is the message from the Creator of the Universe and 
describes the Universe in the word of its Creator, in a style different from 
that of a book on science. The fact that basic statements about the universe in 
the Quran were destined to come to light after the lapse of more than a 
millennium, that none of its statements referring to various scientific issues 
contained errors, shows that the Quran is the book of the Creator of the 
Universe. Unlike a scientific treatise that tries to find answers to such 
inquiries into the whys, wherefores and hows and seeks corroborative proofs to 
theories advanced, the Quran makes final statements. The scientific method has 
to follow a well-known path before it formulates the postulates toward which the 
Quran draws a beeline. 

We see that the methodological ways of science differ from the direct 
communications of the Quran. Regardless of statements made, science must follow 
its own path consisting of stages. This is a consequence of the structure of 
scientific knowledge. As a matter of fact, the Quran promotes scientific 
research both upon the earth and in space. On the other hand, I am not trying to 
create a contest between science and the Quran by juxtaposing the Quranic 
statements and the secular scientific conclusions. What I have been trying to do 
is to draw attention to the fact that the straightforward statements made in the 
Quran tally with the conclusions of science arrived at by following 
predetermined stages of research, thus proving the realization of what has been 
predicted in the Quran. The Quran?s origin is the Creator, who is the Knower of 
Everything. The information directly communicated by the Quran was inaccessible 
through scientific methods which would have recourse to the accumulation of data, 
formulas, observations and technical findings. The Creator of both the universe 
and the rules governing it had already communicated the findings of science in 
the Quran. 

THE SPEED OF THE SUN
The sun moves at a speed of 700,000 km/h in the direction of the star Vega, 
following its orbital path referred to as the Solar Apex. The Earth rotates 
around its own axis while revolving about the sun, moving along with the Solar 
System. 

The sun rises every morning and sets every night. However, the points where it 
rises and sets are never the same. The earth travels around the sun, which moves 
in the universe without ever passing through the same point. To imagine that in 
the course of time elapsed from the time at which we started reading our book 
until now that we are reading this very page, the sun, along with our world, 
have traveled a few million kilometers, and that we have not been adversely 
affected by this motion in any way whatsoever, may give use a clue of God?s 
system.

RISING POINTS OF THE SUN
5- The Lord of the heavens, and the earth, and all that lies between them, and 
the Lord of the easts (places where the sun rise). 
37-Who Stand in Row, 5 

Because the earth has a spherical shape, the sun that rises somewhere sets 
simultaneously somewhere else. Night and day chase each other. Therefore we 
cannot speak of a given point from which the sun rises, but rather of different 
points. The hour of dawn is different at every single point of our sphere. Every 
spot on the earth expects the rise of the sun while it is ?rising? at different 
spots in space. The sun we behold every morning is a giant nuclear reactor. This 
reactor, generated by the conversion of hydrogen atoms into helium, performs its 
task marvelously. We continue our journey in space unaware of the immense speed 
of our source of life toward our predestined point. God?s omnipotence and the 
Quran?s miracles will unfold to those who take heed, who have an inquiring mind 
and are truthful in their approach to the Quranic verses. 

43- And such are the parables we set forth for the people, but only those 
understand them who have knowledge. 
29-The Spider, 43 80

Copyright © 2001-2008 Quranic Research Group 

BLACK HOLES:MIGHTY OATH

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BLACK HOLES:MIGHTY OATH

75- So, I swear by the place where the stars fall. 
76- And that is indeed a mighty oath, if you but knew. 
56-The Inevitable, 75-76 

The expression ?place where... fall? (mawqi) also mentioned in the sura, The 
Cave (Kehf), verse 53, means the place where the sinners fall, i.e., hell. The 
root of this word is ?WaQa?Aa? and it means the action of falling, a happening 
and an incidence. Stars perpetuate their existence with hydrogen bombs exploding 
in them. During these explosions a portion of matter is transferred into energy, 
emitting heat of immeasurably high temperature. Conversion of one gram of matter 
into energy may be obtained by burning two million kilograms of coal. For 
instance, in our sun-which is but a star of medium size-four billion kilograms 
of matter are converted into energy every second. A star uses but a small 
portion of its matter as fuel, and when this fuel is exhausted, it dies off. The 
lifetime that God designed for the living had also been apportioned for the 
stars. As new stars are born somewhere in the universe, the old ones bid 
farewell, as if saying: ?We pass away, but our Creator is for ever abiding and 
his Creation is perpetual.?

FALLING OF STARS AND MIGHTY OATH
The place where the stars fall is stressed by an oath coupled with the epithet ?mighty.? 
We shall see incommensurately great mathematical figures in connection with the 
death of stars whose fuel is exhausted. The great numerical values in the 
universe come about at the death of stars to which reference is made with the 
following words in the Quran, ?And that is indeed a mighty oath, if you but knew.? 
Everybody versed in physics knows that one of the most interesting phenomena in 
the universe is the black hole that comes about in the wake of the death of 
massive stars whose magnitudes are greater than three times the size of our sun. 
Having depleted their fuel, these cosmic bodies die, collapsing inward upon 
themselves. The giant stars that contract possess a great gravitational force. 
This force is so immense that even light, with its velocity of approximately 300,000 
km/sec, cannot escape it; these black holes absorb even the light that passes by. 
Later on, a great many planets and stars are attracted by this gravitational 
force. Black holes also constitute ?the place where the stars fall.? The 
existence of black holes is deduced from the fact that they attract as 
whirlpools the matter of other nearby stars and emit Xrays, swallowing all the 
lights and stars around. The most interesting studies of Stephen Hawking are on 
black holes. Stephen Hawking discovered the radiation that came to be called the 
Hawking Radiation by establishing the fact that a black hole could emit 
radiation while conforming to the physical laws of energy. 

The black holes formed by the collapse of stars by their gravitational force are 
in perfect conformity with verses 75-76 of the sura, The Inevitable. At the time 
of the descent of the Quran, the end of a star by being transformed into a black 
hole was something unknown. A star turning into a black hole and the stages it 
goes through are very interesting phenomena. 

Stars that run out of fuel do not immediately collapse. They grow in size at 
first, as if inflated. Their temperature, around 15 million degrees, rises up to 
100 million degrees. They are first transformed into red giants or super giants. 
The area covered by a super giant is so vast that it can easily contain more 
than sixty million suns. The immensity of these numerical values is reminiscent 
of the magnitudes indicated in 76th verse of the sura. 

Some of the supernovas contract and turn into white dwarf stars whose mass equal 
the size of a human being but weigh 10 million kilograms. Still greater stars 
become neutron stars (pulsars), stars supposed to form in the final stage of the 
stellar evolution; these consist of a super dense mass mainly of neutrons having 
a strong attractive force. The matter in the neutron stars is extremely dense. 
Just to give you an idea, a teaspoonful of this matter would weigh one billion 
tons.While all these spectacular events are taking place, we, on our planet, 
continue to sleep, run and talk, quite unaware of them. So is our life: rendered 
possible by forces beyond our ken.

Copyright © 2001-2008 Quranic Research Group