July 2012 ~ ISLAM CITY

Professor Salama Abdelhady
Professor of Energy Systems, College of Energy Engineering
Aswan University

This hard question is answered simply and perfectly in Quran by a sentence of seven Arabic words. Such sentence is stated in Quran as a Moses' reply to the Pharos of Egypt when he asked Moses: Who is your God?
The answer, as dedicated in Quran, was:
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YUSUFALI: (When this message was delivered), (Pharaoh) said: "Who, then, O Moses, is the Lord of you two?" He said: "Our Lord is He Who gave to each thing its created form and nature, and further, gave (it) guidance."
PICKTHAL: (Pharaoh) said: Who then is the Lord of you twain, O Moses? : He said: Our Lord is He Who gave unto everything its nature, then guided it aright.
SHAKIR: (Firon) said: And who is your Lord, O Musa? He said: Our Lord is He Who gave to everything its creation, then guided it (to its goal
According to this verse, God is the Creator Who gave every thing its creation; that means its nature, features, specifications and parameters. Then, He is the Guider Who led and integrated all these created elements to fulfill specific functions and jobs in a unique system or order that guides us mercifully to believe in His Uniqueness and Greatness. It states that God, as the Creator of the universe, cannot be defined by any materialistic definition that can be imagined by our materialistic visions. But He defines himself in terms of scientific signs that are seen in His created and guided universe that cannot be created and guided by no ONE But Him. Such miraculous and perfect definition answers all the questions that can be asked in such perfectly created and uniquely managed universe.
So, the answer summarizes God’s scientific signs in the universe that define Him as He himself is beyond our abilities to imagine. Of course, He grasps all of our visions as He created such visions and universe but we cannot grasp Him by our limited vision. Such meanings are stated according to the following verse:
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YUSUFALI: No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all vision: He is above all comprehension, yet is acquainted with all things.

PICKTHAL: Vision comprehendeth Him not, but He comprehendeth (all) vision. He is the Subtile, the Aware.
SHAKIR: Vision comprehends Him not, and He comprehends (all) vision; and He is the Knower of subtleties, the Aware.
However, the Quran defined also God by His Attributes that are understood by Scientific Signs in His universe and in us [1]. God is also recognized by our souls which are the God’s breath in our human bodies [2]. Such souls know, by themselves, God and lead us also, as humans, to Him as they are originated from Him. Our human souls are granted such abilities of logical and scientific thinking as they are breaths of God [2]. The following verses of Quran assure that our belief in God should start by our granted abilities of scientific thinking:
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YUSUFALI: Yet there is among men such a one as disputes about Allah, without scientific Knowledge, without Guidance, and without a Book of Enlightenment,-
PICKTHAL: And among mankind is he who disputeth concerning Allah without scientific knowledge or guidance or a scripture giving light,
SHAKIR: And among men there is he who disputes about Allah without scientific knowledge and without guidance and without an illuminating book,
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YUSUFALI: Do ye not see that Allah has subjected to your (use) all things in the heavens and on earth, and has made his bounties flow to you in exceeding measure, (both) seen and unseen? Yet there are among men those who dispute about Allah, without knowledge and without guidance, and without a Book to enlighten them!
PICKTHAL: See ye not how Allah hath made serviceable unto you whatsoever is in the skies and whatsoever is in the earth and hath loaded you with His favours both without and within? Yet of mankind is he who disputeth concerning Allah, without knowledge or guidance or a scripture giving light.
SHAKIR: Do you not see that Allah has made what is in the heavens and what is in the earth subservient to you, and made complete to you His favors outwardly and inwardly? And among men is he who disputes in respect of Allah though having no knowledge nor guidance, nor a book giving light.
Examples of the scientific signs of God's Attributes in the universe can be seen in the following verse too:
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YUSUFALI: (He is) the Creator of the heavens and the earth: He has made for you pairs from among yourselves, and pairs among cattle: by this means does He multiply you: there is nothing whatever like unto Him, and He is the One that hears and sees (all things).

PICKTHAL: The Creator of the heavens and the earth. He hath made for you pairs of yourselves, and of the cattle also pairs, whereby He multiplieth you. Naught is as His likeness; and He is the Hearer, the Seer.
SHAKIR: The Originator of the heavens and the earth; He made mates for you from among yourselves, and mates of the cattle too, multiplying you thereby; nothing like a likeness of Him; and He is the Hearing, the Seeing

God's definition as the One Who gives everything its creations and then he guides all of them leads us to understand many secrets in this universe. Let us look at the modern sciences to investigate the perfectness of this definition and how it explains signs in our universe and in us. It explains how the whole universe is built by similar constructing blocks, the atoms, and why all the living creatures are built by the same building blocks, the cells. Why all creatures uses Oxygen to burn the food in their bodies and produce Carbon dioxide and water vapor as products of burning, It is simply because, according to this definition, all are originated and guided by One Creator who gave every thing its creation and guides them by a Unique fashion.
Looking at our human body; we find Anatomy is the science that explains how God gives every element in such human body specific features to perform a specific function in the complete human system. It is a study of structure and shape of the body parts and how they relate to one another. When we discuss anatomy, we are specifically interested in how something is built or put together to perform an assigned function. We find Gross Anatomy is a study of large easily observable structures, such as the heart, bones, or skin, and Microscopic Anatomy is a study of very small structures of the body like cells and tissues. However, God’s guidance of every part to perform its function and the jobs of each part is the realm of physiology. Physiology is a study of how the body and its parts function or work together. In other words; Anatomy is a study of creation of each part in our bodies while Physiology is concerned with how each created element is guided to do and how it does it. As examples is the study of our Nervous System which is made up of Brain, Spinal cord, Nerves and sense organs is a branch of Anatomy that deals with specification assigned by God for every thing. While the study of guidance of such elements to perform their Functions that integrates information, responds to irritants or stimuli, detects changes and sends messages (impulses) through the body to other systems or elements like muscles and glands is the subject of physiology. Similarly, the study of cardiovascular system which is made up of blood vessels and heart is another branch of Anatomy that deals with specification assigned by God for every these elements while the study of its guidance to perform its Functions of transport and distribution of oxygen, hormones, nutrients, and other substances to every cell in the body and removal of waste from such cells is a subject of physiology. So, anatomy and physiology are tied to each other and they are the subject of this verse or Who Gives each elements its feature, as Anatomy, and then guides it to perform specific functions that are necessary for the whole human body to perform its function as physiology. We find miraculously that the structure of each created thing relates to its guided function and vice versa. Structures are determined wisely and scientifically to perform assigned functions to actually take place. The inside of the lungs is an example of this. The sacs inside the lungs are not muscular and therefor can not pump air into them. They are however very thin. It is this thin structure that allows the exchange of gases to take place in the lungs. Who gave these sacs such thin structure and who guides such exchange; He is the God. We find the heart is a pump that is able to pump the blood through the whole body into large and small veins in a journey that is as long as a journey around the whole earth. Then He guides such heart to pulsate about 87 pulses in a minute to supply food and air to every cell in our body to offer it the energy and other required resources necessary for survival of such cells. Then it sends the blood to the lungs to exchange the products of food's burning in our cells and get oxygen for a new cycle. It sends also blood to the intestines to get the required food for the cells. Then the heart sucks the wastes from the cells to get rid of them in another designed journey.

Similarly, God arranged the human structures for reproduction where two kinds of sex cells or gametes are designed to perform this job: Sperm, as the male gamete, and an egg or ovum, as the female gamete. Both must meet in the female reproductive system to create a new individual. So, both the female and male reproductive systems are guided also through physiological procedure for reproduction to occur to keep the human race. Looking at the vision and hearing systems, we find God created such systems and He arranged for us how we can see and hear by them. Then He guided them physiologically to recognize what is seen and heard [3].
Of course no one can assume such Anatomy and Physiology are the inventions or the Will of a non-minded nature. But the answer is included in such miraculous definition of God. He is Who gives every thing its creation of accurate specifications and features, Science of Anatomy, and then He guides these creatures to perform their functions, science of Physiology.
Similarly, the study of Astronomy deals with the study of the heavens in an effort to understand the underlying principles governing the guidance or behavior of the planets (including the earth), stars (as our sun) and galaxies and the Universe in general. Of course God gave the sun its feature as a burning star that emits energy to its planets and He created the earth as one of the sun's planets with certain features. But He guides such star and such planet to act by specific accurate rates and in specific neat orbits to accommodate the life on the earth [4].

Similarly, God also gave the seeds of the plants its features and guided them to prepare the food and energy for the life of humans and animals [5]. In the same way, God gave the seas and oceans its capacities to store the salt water and guides the sun and the wind to motivate such stores to send clouds of supplying us by such flowing rivers of fresh water [6]. No one can find a definition for the guidance of these creatures without the belief in God who gave every thing its creation and guides them to follow his order in Unique system that supply the animals, including the humans, with the food and energy from plants and supply them water from seas as expressed by such miraculous definition.
Similarly, God gave the bees its features and characteristics and guides them to build their nests and prepare food for the human [7]. He gave birds also its features and then guides them to fly [8]. Bird migration cannot be understood without the belief in God's guidance to these birds to cover regularly these journeys of thousands of kilometers. It is generally found as a north-and-south movement, with the lanes of heavier concentration following the coasts, mountain ranges and principal river valleys. In general, it may be said that the great routes of migration do conform very closely to major topographical features when these happen to lie in the general direction of the travel to be performed. Such migration routes may be defined also as lanes of individual travel from any particular breeding ground to the winter quarters of the birds that use them. There are four North American flyways that have been named the Atlantic, the Mississippi, the Central and the Pacific Flyways. No one can find a definition for these routes without the belief in God who gave every thing its creation and guides them to follow his order.
Similarly, God gave the fishes their features and guide them how to swam, breath and live in seas. The fish are guided also into immigration patterns or the essential fish habitats which defines those waters and substrates necessary to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding or growth to maturity. Such concept is increasingly used in fisheries management plans in different countries, aiming to identify geographic sites that are particularly important for the maintenance of vigorous fish populations. As most fish species use different habitat types for different parts of their life cycle, the description of essential habitats for one species should include all habitat types that are critical for a species to complete its life cycle. No one can find a definition for these migration patterns without the belief in God who gave every thing its creation and guides them to follow these cycles in specific orders.
As the birds and fishes have specific migration patterns, we find also some animals are following different migration cycles or patterns. The movement of migratory animals usually corresponds with seasonal changes. Many animals migrate to northern regions during summer months. The long summer days in the northernmost portions of the world ensure a good food supply. As fall and colder weather approaches, many animals migrate south to find warm winter weather and available food. Some animals migrate annually with an outward and a homeward journey made in a single year. Some animals' patterns of migration are linked to weather patterns---their movements are dependent on rainfall and the availability of green vegetation. A few animals take several years to complete their migratory cycles. Who arranged for those animals such patterns? The only scientific answer is the God's Quranic definition: Our Lord is He Who gave unto everything its nature, then guided it aright.

God gave the animals its features and guided them how to communicate too. Natural animal communication can include chemical signals (used by some very simple creatures, including protozoa), smell (related to chemical signals, eg. pheromones attract, skunk secretions repel), touch, movement, posture (e.g. dogs, geese), facial gestures (e.g. dogs snarling), visual signals (eg. feathers) and sound (e.g. very many vertebrate and invertebrate calls). Such signals are evolved to attract (especially mates), repel (especially competitors or enemies), signal aggression or submission, advertise species, warn of predators, and communicate about the environment or the availability of food. Of course, such common languages of communication cannot be understood without belief in One God "Allah" Who gave unto everything its nature, then He guided it aright".
So, a proper understanding of such definition of God requires an understanding of science as Anatomy, Physiology, Astronomy, Biology, etc. However, it is not the purpose of the Qur’an to explain science to us but it encourages persons to reflect on the scientific signs in them and the universe around them so that they may realize the greatness of Almighty God. We cannot understand So, it is necessary to state that the offered article deals with examples of the meaning of such perfect definition of God as found in Quran. Of course, we cannot explain all of God's wisdom in such definition. But I think I do my best to get close to the perfectness of such simple and miraculous definition of God as stated in the Holy Quran. Such definition is surely stated by the God Who knows how to define Himself to assure the following verse:
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YUSUFALI: Say: "If the whole of mankind and Jinns were to gather together to produce the like of this Qur'an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they backed up each other with help and support.
PICKTHAL: Say: Verily, though mankind and the jinn should assemble to produce the like of this Qur'an, they could not produce the like thereof though they were helpers one of another.
SHAKIR: Say: If men and jinn should combine together to bring the like of this Quran, they could not bring the like of it, though some of them were aiders of others.

References
[1]. http://www.jannah.org/articles/names.html
[2]. http://www.quran-m.com/firas/en1/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=486:quran-punches-holes-in-atheism-the-treasure-in-our-body--the-gods-breath-soul&catid=44:greatness-of-allah&Itemid=98
[3]. http://www.quran-m.com/firas/en1/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=456:quran-punches-holes-in-atheism&catid=44:greatness-of-allah&Itemid=98
[4]. http://www.quran-m.com/firas/en1/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=484:quran-punches-holes-in-atheism-the-unlimited-gods-power-science-and-intelligence-the-earth-the-moon-and-the-sun&catid=35:universe&Itemid=91
[5]. http://www.quran-m.com/firas/en1/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=480:quran-punches-holes-in-evolutionism&catid=38:human&Itemid=94
[6]. http://www.quran-m.com/firas/en1/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=215:scientific-comments-on-verses-of-the-holy-quran&catid=44:greatness-of-allah&Itemid=98
[7]. http://www.quran-m.com/firas/en1/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=154:holes-in-evolutionism-as-seen-by-quran&catid=36:life-sciences&Itemid=92

[8]. http://www.quran-m.com/firas/en1/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=154:holes-in-evolutionism-as-seen-by-quran&catid=36:life-sciences&Itemid=92
Article Source: Encyclopedia of Scientific Miracles in Quran and Sunnah

Monday, July 30, 2012

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Quran punches holes in Atheism: Who is God?

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