A real figure or a product of the popular imagination?

As with almost every other folk hero, the life of Nasr al-Din Khodja is clouded in diversely remembered legends. However, researches done about him since the middle of the previous century are almost all agreed that he was born in Sivrihisar, a district of the province Eskisehir in central Turkey. According to the information O. Gokyay gives in the article he wrote in Islam Ansiklopedisi (An Encyclopedia of Islam) Istanbul, 1986), Fuat Koprulu (Nasreddin Hoca, Istanbul, 1918) writes that one of the late muftis of Sivrihisar called Hasan Effendi notes in his incomplete book entitled Majmu’a-i Ma’arif (The Encyclopaedia of Education) that Nasr al-Din Khodja was born in a village near Sivrihisar called Horto and served as imam (prayer-leader) for some time following the death of his father who had been an imam, migrated to Aksehir, a district of the province Konya in central Turkey, and completed his life there.

However, there are some assertions that Nasr al-Din Khodja is a later product of popular invention. According to such assertions, there was a man named Nasr al-Mahmud who acquired the confidence of Geyhatu, the then commander of the Mongol armies in Turkey, and prevented him from doing much wrong and bloodshed. Since that man was wise and loved by the people, his wise sayings led the people to create a Nasr al-Din Khodja. However, such assertions were refuted by serious researchers. Among them, Ismail Haqqi Konyali, who wrote a voluminuous book about Nasr al-Din Khodja and Aksehir called Nasreddin Hoca’nin Þehri Aksehir: Tarihi, Turistik Kilavuz (A Historical and Touristic Guide to Aksehir, the Town of Nasr al-Din Khodja), Istanbul, 1945, notes that there were four Nasr al-Dins who lived in the same period who did the same job as Nasr al-Din Mahmud, and the same claims could be made about them. Nasr al-Din Khodja can be none of them. He is one who really lived in Aksehir.

In his article ‘A propos de quelques tentatives d’identification de Nasreddin Hodja’ Internationaler Kongress der Volkszerzahlungsfarcher, Kiev and Kopenhagen, 1959). Pertev Naili Boratav writes that in some genealogies prepared in later times, Khidr Celebi, the famous qadi (judge) of Istanbul during the reign of Mehmed II and the father of Sinan Pasha, the author of Tadarru’name (A Supplication to God), is recorded to have been from Sivrihisar and descended from the family of Nasr al-Din Khodja. Boratav also notes that in a manuscript he found in Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, some of the anecdotes attributed to Nasr al-Din Khodja are also attributed to the people of Sivrihisar and a man called Khadji. Some Western researchers such as H. Ethe, M. Hartmann and A. Wesselski claim that the anecdotes attributed to Nasr al-Din Khodja are anonymous anecdotes told in almost every part of the world and that therefore Nasr al-Din Khodja is an invention. Some others like R. Basset and Christensen are of the opinion that the anecdotes attributed to Nasr al-Din Khodja are adaptations of the wise sayings and anecdotes ascribed to Juha, who lived in Iraq in the 10th century and became very famous. However, such claims arise from a defective generalization. As sages or wise men like Nasr al-Din Khodja may have lived in almost every country, the anecdotes of Nasr al-Din Khodja may have been transmitted to other countries through different ways of communication. It is certain that a man called Nasr al-Din Khodja, a very perceptive and wise man able to discern the weak spots and defects in human character who tried to cure them through humour and wit, really did exist.

Nasr al-Din Khodja’s tomb is in Aksehir. Ismail Haqqi Konyali notes that he saw in person an inscription on one of the six columns supporting the inner dome. According to that inscription one of the soldiers of Bayezid I, the Ottoman ruler who died in 1403, called Mehmed, visited that tomb in 1393. And in a register of foundations and state lands ordered to be prepared by Gedik Ahmed Pasha, who conquered Aksehir in 1476 in the name of the Ottomans, there is the tomb of Nasr al-Din Khodja and a madrassa donated by him for public benefit.

Historical background and anecdotes

Most of the researches done on Nasr al-Din Khodja are agreed that he lived in the thirteenth century. In the epitaph inscribed on a grave stone belonging to the Khodja’s daughter Fatima found in Sivrihisar, it is written that Fatima died in 1327. Lamii (d. 1533) writes in his Lata’if that Nasr al-Din Khodja was a contemporary of Shayyad Hamza, a folk poet who lived in the 13th century. Ismail Haqqi Konyali records that the Khodja was a contemporary of Pir Abi and Khadja Jihan and together with them was taught by Khadaja Fakih who died in 1221. According to these and other similar records, Nasr al-Din Khodja lived in the 13th century.

The thirteenth century is a very critical one in the medieval history of Turkey. The Mongol invasion after the Crusades put an end to the great state of the Seljuks, and caused Turkey to be torn into many parts. In addition, internal rebellions and conflicts made life very difficult for the people. So, in that critical period, we encounter three important, contemporary figures. Among them, Mawlana Jalal al-Din al-Rumi was a Sufi master very influential in city centres among the lettered and ruling classes. As a champion of Islamic love and tolerance, he left indelible marks in not only Muslim but also world history. Yunus Emre is the counterpart of Mawlana among the common people. He expressed in plain Turkish what Mawlana did in a very lofty style in Persian and served for the lessening of the pains of people and removing of internal rifts and enmities among them. Nasr al-Din Khodja, the third figure among those three, was a sage, a philosopher of the people, and a moralist. However, endowed with a very good sense of humour, he pointed out the moral deformation among people and, without hurting the feelings of anyone, he criticized people for their defects in a gentle and clever way. He retorts or anecdotes are full of witty remarks and moral wisdom.

It is impossible to accept that all the anecdotes attributed to the Khodja as belonging to him. It is a fact that fame usually appropriates what does not belong to it. That is, it is common tendency to attribute to a famous individual even what does not really belong to him. That is why a considerable percentage of anecdotes attributed to the Khodja cannot belong to him. For example, among those anecdotes there are some said to have taken place between the Khodja and Amir Timur, who defeated the Ottoman ruler Bayazid I in 1402 and invaded Turkey. However, it is impossible for the Khodja to have met Timur. Public imagination, over time, has attributed to the Khodja some anecdotes resembling those of the Khodja.

The anecdotes attributed to the Khodja have appeared in written form from the 16th century onwards. However, the first books to be compiled about the Khodja and his anecdotes were published in the second quarter of the last century. The first translations into European languages appeared almost a quarter century after their publication in Turkey. Of the most famous, La Literature Populaire Turque by Edmond Saussey (Paris, 1936} and Nasreddin Hoca et ses histoires Turques by Jean-Paul Gamier (Paris 1958) are particularly worth mentioning.

The main duty and purpose of human life is to seek understanding. The effort of doing so, known as education, is a perfecting process though which we earn, in the spiritual, intellectual, and physical dimensions of their beings, the rank appointed for us as the perfect pattern of creation. At birth, the outset of the earthly phase of our journey from the world of spirits to eternity, we are wholly impotent and needy. By contrast, most animals come into the world as if matured or perfected beforehand. Within a few hours or days or months, they learn everything necessary for their survival, as well as how to relate to their environment and with other creatures. For example, sparrows or bees acquire maturity and all the physical and social skills they need within about twenty days; we need twenty years or more to acquire a comparable level of maturity.

We are born helpless as well as ignorant of the laws of life and must cry out to get the help we need. After a year or so, we can stand on our feet and walk a little. When we are about fifteen, we are expected to have understood the difference between good and evil, the beneficial and the harmful. However, it will take us our whole lives to acquire intellectual and spiritual perfection. Our principal duty in life is to acquire perfection and purity in our thinking, conceptions, and belief. By fulfilling our duty of servanthood to the Creator, Nourisher, and Protector, and by penetrating the mystery of creation through our potentials and faculties, we seek to attain to the rank of true humanity and become worthy of a blissful, eternal life in another, exalted world.

Our humanity is directly proportional to our emotions’ purity. Although those who are full of bad feelings and whose souls are influenced by egoism look like human beings, whether they really are human is doubtful. Almost everyone can train their bodies, but few can educate their minds and feelings. The former training produces strong bodies, while the latter produces spiritual people.

Our Innate Faculties and Education

Since the time of Ibn Miskawayh, human faculties or “drives” have been dealt with in three categories: reason, anger, and lust. Reason encompasses all of our powers of conception, imagination, calculation, memory, learning, and so on. Anger covers our power of self-defense, which Islamic jurisprudence defines as that needed to defend our faith and religion, sanity, possessions, life and family, and other sacred values. Lust is the name for the driving force of our animal appetites: Decked out for humanity is the passionate love of desires for the opposite sex and offspring; for hoarded treasures of gold and silver; for branded horses, cattle, and plantations; and for all kinds of worldly things (3:14).

These drives are found in other creatures. However, whether in their desires, intelligence, or determination to defend life and territory, these drives are limited in all creatures but humanity. Each of us is uniquely endowed with free will and the consequent obligation to discipline our powers. This struggle for discipline determines our humanity. In combination with each other and with circumstances, our faculties often are expressed through jealousy, hatred, enmity, hypocrisy, and show. They also need to be disciplined.

We are not only composed of body and mind. Each of us has a spirit that needs satisfaction. Without this, we cannot find true happiness and perfection. Spiritual satisfaction is possible only through knowledge of God and belief in Him. Confined within the physical world, our own particular carnal self, time, and place can be experienced as a dungeon. We can escape it through belief and regular worship, and by refraining from extremes while using our faculties or powers. We must not seek to annul our drives, but to use our free will to contain and purify them, to channel and direct them toward virtue. For example, we are not expected to eliminate lust, but to satisfy it lawfully through reproduction. Happiness lies in confining our lust to the lawful bounds of decency and chastity, not in engaging in debauchery and dissipation.

Similarly, jealousy can be channeled into emulation free of rancor, which inspires us to emulate those who excel in goodness and good deeds. Applying the proper discipline to our reason results in the acquisition of knowledge, and ultimately of understanding or wisdom. Purifying and training anger leads to courage and forbearance. Disciplining our passion and desire develops our chastity.

If every virtue is thought of as the center of a circle, and any movement away from the center as a vice, the vice becomes greater as we move further away from the center. Every virtue therefore has innumerable vices, since there is only one center in a circle but an infinite number of points around it. It is irrelevant in which direction the deviation occurs, for deviation from the center, in whatever direction, is a vice.

There are two extremes related to each moral virtue: deficiency or excess. The two extremes connected with wisdom are stupidity and cunning. For courage they are cowardice and rashness, and for chastity they are lethargy and uncontrolled lust. So a person’s perfection, the ultimate purpose of our existence, lies in maintaining a condition of balance and moderation between the two extremes relating to every virtue. ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib is reported to have said:

“God has characterized angels by intellect without sexual desire, passion, and anger, and animals with anger and desire without intellect. He exalted humanity by bestowing upon them all of these qualities. Accordingly, if a person’s intellect dominates his or her desire and ferocity, he or she rises to a station above that of angels, because this station is attained by a human being in spite of the existence of obstacles that do not vex angels.

“Improving a community is possible only by elevating the young generations to the rank of humanity, not by obliterating the bad ones. Unless a seed composed of religion, tradition, and historical consciousness is germinated throughout the country, new evil elements will appear and grow in the place of each eradicated bad one.”

The Real Meaning and Value of Education

Education through learning and a commendable way of life is a sublime duty that manifests the Divine Name Rabb (Upbringer and Sustainer). By fulfilling it, we attain the rank of true humanity and become a beneficial element of society.

Education is vital for both societies and individuals. First, our humanity is directly proportional to our emotions’ purity. Although those who are full of bad feelings and whose souls are influenced by egoism look like human beings, whether they really are so is questionable. Almost anyone can be successful in physical training, but few can educate their minds and feelings. Second, improving a community is possible by elevating the coming generations to the rank of humanity, not by obliterating the bad ones. Unless the seeds of religion, traditional values, and historical consciousness germinate throughout the country, new bad elements will inevitably grow up in the place of every bad element that has been eradicated.

A nation’s future depends on its youth. Any people who want to secure their future should apply as much energy to raising their children as they devote to other issues. A nation that fails its youth, that abandons them to foreign cultural influences, jeopardizes their identity and is subject to cultural and political weakness.

The reasons for the vices observed in today’s generation, as well as the incompetence of some administrators and other nation-wide troubles, lie in the prevailing conditions and ruling elite of 25 years ago. Likewise, those who are charged with educating today’s young people will be responsible for the vices and virtues that will appear in another 25 years. Those who wish to predict a nation’s future can do so correctly by taking a full account of the education and upbringing given to its young people. “Real” life is possible only through knowledge. Thus, those who neglect learning and teaching should be counted as “dead” even though they are living, for we were created to learn and communicate to others what we have learned.

Right decisions depend on having a sound mind and being capable of sound thought. Science and knowledge illuminate and develop the mind. For this reason, a mind deprived of science and knowledge cannot reach right decisions, is always exposed to deception, and is subject to being misled.

We are only truly human if we learn, teach, and inspire others. It is difficult to regard those who are ignorant and without desire to learn as truly human. It is also questionable whether learned people who do not renew and reform themselves in order to set an example for others are truly human. Status and merit acquired through knowledge and science are higher and more lasting than those obtained through other means.

Given the great importance of learning and teaching, we must determine what is to be learned and taught, and when and how to do so. Although knowledge is a value in itself, the purpose of learning is to make knowledge a guide in life and illuminate the road to human betterment. Thus, any knowledge not appropriated for the self is a burden to the learner, and a science that does not direct one toward sublime goals is a deception.

But knowledge acquired for a right purpose is an inexhaustible source of blessings for the learner. Those who possess such a source are always sought by people, like a source of fresh water, and lead people to the good. Knowledge limited to empty theories and unabsorbed pieces of learning, which arouses suspicions in minds and darkens hearts, is a “heap of garbage” around which desperate and confused souls flounder. Therefore, science and knowledge should seek to uncover humanity’s nature and creation’s mysteries. Any knowledge, even “scientific,” is true only if it sheds light on the mysteries of human nature and the dark areas of existence.

Family, School, and Environment

People who want to guarantee their future cannot be indifferent how their children are being educated. The family, school, environment, and mass media should cooperate to ensure the desired result. Opposing tendencies among these vital institutions will subject young people to contradictory influences that will distract them and dissipate their energy. In particular, the mass media should contribute to young people’s education by following the education policy approved by the community. The school must be as perfect as possible with respect to curriculum, its teachers’ scientific and moral standards of teachers, and its physical conditions. A family must provide the necessary warmth and quality of atmosphere in which the children are raised.

In the early centuries of Islam, minds, hearts, and souls strove to understand that which the Lord of the heavens and the Earth approves. Each conversation, discussion, correspondence, and event was directed to that end. As a result, whoever could do so imbibed the right values and spirit from the surrounding environment. It was as if everything was a teacher to prepare the individual’s mind and soul and develop his or her capacity to attain a high level in Islamic sciences. The first school in which we receive the necessary education to be perfected is the home.

The home is vital to raising of a healthy generation and ensuring a healthy social system or structure. This responsibility continues throughout life. The impressions we receive from our family cannot be deleted later in life. Furthermore, the family’s control over the child at home, with respect to other siblings and toys, continues at school, with respect to the child’s friends, books, and places visited. Parents must feed their children’s minds with knowledge and science before their minds become engaged in useless things, for souls without truth and knowledge are fields in which evil thoughts are cultivated and grown.

Children can receive a good education at home only if there is a healthy family life. Thus marriage should be undertaken to form a healthy family life and so contribute to the permanence of one’s nation in particular, and of the human population in general. Peace, happiness, and security at home is the mutual accord between the spouses in thought, morals, and belief. Couples who decide to marry should know each other very well and consider purity of feelings, chastity, morality, and virtue rather than wealth and physical charm. Children’s mischief and impudence reflect the atmosphere in which they are being raised. A dysfunctional family life increasingly reflects upon the child’s spirit, and therefore upon society.

In the family, elders should treat those younger than them with compassion, and the young should show respect for their elders. Parents should love and respect each other, and treat their children with compassion and due consideration of their feelings. They must treat each child justly and not discriminate among them. If parents encourage their children to develop their abilities and be useful to themselves and the community, they have given the nation a strong new pillar. If they do not cultivate the proper feelings in their children, they release scorpions into the community.

The School and the Teacher

A school may be considered a laboratory that offers an elixir that can prevent or heal the ills of life. Those who have the knowledge and wisdom to prepare and administer it are the teachers.

A school is a place of learning about everything related to this life and the next. It can shed light on vital ideas and events, and enable its students to understand their natural and human environment. It also can quickly open the way to unveiling the meaning of things and events, thereby leading a student to wholeness of thought and contemplation. In essence, a school is a kind of place of worship whose “holy people” are teachers.

Real teachers sow the pure seed and preserve it. They occupy themselves with what is good and wholesome, and lead and guide the children in life and whatever events they encounter. For a school to be a true institution of education, students first should be equipped with an ideal, a love of their language and how to use it most effectively, good morals, and perennial human values. Their social identity must be built on these foundations.

Education is different from teaching. Most people can teach, but only a very few can educate. Communities composed of individuals devoid of a sublime ideal, good manners, and human values are like rude individuals who have no loyalty in friendship or consistency in enmity. Those who trust such people are always disappointed, and those who depend upon them are sooner or later left without support. The best way of equipping one with such values is a sound religious education.

A community’s survival depends on idealism and good morals, as well as on reaching the necessary level in scientific and technological progress. For this reason, trades and crafts should be taught beginning at least in the elementary level. A good school is not a building where only theoretical information is given, but an institution or a laboratory where students are prepared for life.

Patience is of great importance in education. Educating people is the most sacred, but also the most difficult, task in life. In addition to setting a good personal example, teachers should be patient enough to obtain the desired result. They should know their students very well, and address their intellects and their hearts, spirits, and feelings. The best way to educate people is to show a special concern for every individual, not forgetting that each individual is a different “world.”

School provides its pupils with the possibilities of continuous reading, and speaks even when it is silent. Because of this, although it seems to occupy only one phase of life, school actually dominates all times and events. For the rest of their lives, pupils re-enact what they learned at school and derive continuous influence therefrom. Teachers should know how to find a way to the student’s heart and leave indelible imprints upon his or her mind. They should test the information to be passed on to students by refining their own minds and the prisms of their hearts. A good lesson is one that does more than provide pupils with useful information or skills; it should elevate them into the presence of the unknown. This enables the students to acquire a penetrating vision into the reality of things, and to see each event as a sign of the unseen world.

In recent years, we have realized that the world’s supplies of coal, gas and oil are limited. Nuclear power has been used as an alternative solution to fossil fuels. However, the use of nuclear power and fossil fuels incurred environmental problems so there is widespread public antipathy. As a result, the popularity of renewable energy has grown during the past twenty years. The World Energy Council estimated that renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, hydro, wave and bio-mass, met 18% of the world’s energy needs in 1990 (World Energy Council, 1993). Their scenario is that the contribution from renewable energy could increase 30% by 2020.

One of the most promising of the renewable energy sources is the direct conversion of solar energy into electricity by photovoltaic generation. There are many reasons for growing popularity:

1. Photovoltaic generators do not pollute the air and do not leave waste products.

2. Photovoltaic generators are silent during operation.

3. They work effectively even in cloudy weather. They are more efficient at low temperatures.

4. As there are no moving parts, they work reliably for 20-30 years with little maintenance.

5. Solar energy is available everywhere so power can be generated anywhere it is needed. This makes photovoltaic generators attractive in the many places where there is no mains supply.

6. Photovoltaic generators can be planned and installed within a few months in contrast to conventional power stations which take at least five years to become operational.

7. Finally, photovoltaic generators can be located anywhere, such as in the roof or walls of an existing or already planned building, therefore they do no need to use up extra land.

The photovoltaic effect was first observed by Edmund Becquerel in 1839. Much later, in the 1930s, solid state researches developed the first photocells which were used in photographic exposure meters. In 1954, the Bell Telephone Laboratories made crystalline silicon solar cells with a conversion efficiency of 6% which was used in space programs. The market for photovoltaic modules has been growing steadily since; in 1991 it had reached about 50 MW per annum.

Solar Cell

The total radiant power from the sun falling on one square meter of a surface area can be as high as 1000W/m2 on a clear summer’s day and it can fall to 100W/m2 in cloudy conditions. In northern Europe, it seldom exceeds 850W/m2 (Treble F.C., 1993).

The inactive energy, solar energy, can be converted into electrical energy by solar cells. The absorption of light in semiconductors creates additional electrical charge carriers, both electrons and holes equally. If an electric field exists within the semiconductor, the negative electrons and positive holes move in opposite directions and this electrical charge separation results in the creation of a voltage. The movement of the electrical charges creates an electrical current and voltage so both current and voltage are generated simultaneously. This is the photovoltaic effect, the creation of a voltage by the action of light.

The basic way to establish an electric field in a semiconductor is to make a p-n junction. The electric field at the junction attracts electrons from the p-side and forces them to the n-side making it negatively charged. Similarly holes from the n-side are forced to the p-side, making this positively charged. Thus holes are creating a voltage. Figure 1 shows the basic features of a solar cell. The front contact grid is a thin metallic grid on the front surface and the back contact usually covers the whole of the back. This is called an n-on-p cell. Silicon is one of the popular semiconductor in the electronics industry so it is used for solar cells. Most commercial cells have a probable 20% efficiency which is the ratio of the maximum output power to the input power from the sun, but over 25% efficiency has been achieved in the laboratory. The theoretical limit for crystalline silicon cells is about 30% under 1000W/m2 irradiance and 25 °C operating temperature (Hill B., 1995). Solar cells which were made from gallium arsenate have achieved 34.2% efficiency.

Solar cells are fine objects which must be protected from any possible damage. The cells are usually connected in series, in parallel or a combination of both in order to produce necessary power and voltage. A photovoltaic module which is a collection of solar cells was bought about US$4/Wp (US$ per peak watt) in 1995. Modules must be capable of reliable operation for many years. The current target is a lifetimes of 30 years.

Photovoltaic applications

In 1994 the total world sales of photovoltaic modules reached 70 MWp per year. In recent years, photovoltaic modules have found many applications in various sectors. The main applications are given below:

1. Space applications: solar cells were first used to produce electricity for satellites in 1958. Since then, photovoltaic power generation has become an essential energy source in space. Solar cells can operate near or far from sun. 

2. Telecommunication: transmitters and repeater stations are often located in distant places such us mountains, islands or deserts. Solar power has proved the cheapest and most reliable power for transmitters and repeater stations. 

3. Electricity in villages: the majority of the population of the developing countries, approximately two billion people, live in small villages without electricity. As almost developing countries will find extending the mains grid to a few customers far removed from the mains supply lines too expensive, photovoltaic systems are the obvious, cheaper alternative. A small photovoltaic module with a battery can provide enough power for basic lighting, TV and a small refrigerator for a house. By 1993 more than 10,000 home systems had been installed in Indonesia. In addition, solar home systems had been installed in the Philippines, the Dominican Republic, Columbia, India, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe by 1993. The average price of a 50 Wp solar home system was about US$500 in 1993. Assume that a 50 Wp solar house system in future will cost about US$250, then 400 million solar home systems will be

installed in the world. The other applications of solar modules in villages are water pumping, irrigation, water purification, street lighting and TV receivers (Lysen E.H., 1994). 

4. Grid connected buildings: the solar modules can be fixed on roofs or walls so no additional land is required. The most sensible use of photovoltaic cladding would be on commercial buildings because they need energy during working hours rather than at night. Photovoltaic cladding presently costs about 800m-2 in comparison with marble cladding cost around 1000m-2, granite cladding 800m-2. Photovoltaic cladding gives high-tech images for office blocks at lower cost than marble. 

5. Central power stations: photovoltaic power stations have, so far, only been installed for purposes of research. Today, Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain and USA have small stations of this type.

The other applications of photovoltaic systems are pocket calculators, watches, clocks, torches, garden lights, portable radios, battery chargers for boats, caravans, electric cars, toys, railway signals, traffic warning lights, alarm systems, automatic weather stations, military equipment and so on.

Conclusion

The photovoltaic system cannot at present compete with mains electricity. However, early in the next century, when economies of scale are expected to bring about a reduction in manufacturing costs, solar power will be an important energy source.

References

• World Energy Council (1993) Energy for Tomorrow’s World, Kogan Page /St. Martin’s Press.
• Treble F. C. (1993) Solar Energy, The Solar Energy Society, Birmingham.
• Hill B. (1995) ‘Solar Power’, IEE Power Engineering Journal, (August 1995), pp. 175-80. Lysen E.H. (1994) ‘Photovolts for villages’, IEEE Spectrum, 31, (10), pp.34-9.

The universe is not passive. It is not neutral. We cannot interpret it as we wish. There is only one correct way of looking at the world, one universal world-view which is common to all humanity. This view is taught to us in the Qur’an as well as in the book of the universe by our Creator.

This does not mean that the Qur’anic world-view does not recognize that the perception of the world differs from one person to another. It allows for plurality within unity so that a universal dialogue is possible. In this world-view there is no fragmentation and no conflict. There is only harmony, assistance, peace and compassion.

The materialist scientific world-view is based on radical fragmentation. Materialist science takes nature to mean a mechanism with no inherent value and meaning. It isolates an object by cutting off its connections with the rest of the world and studies it within its immediate environment.

Whereas our perception of ourselves tells us that we are meaningful and part of the whole universe, and everything must have a meaning and must be part of the whole universe, materialist science has left the subject. i.e. man, out of the universe, and insofar as this science is taking over, people feel that they have no place in this world. They are isolated from other people. Their lives have no meaning, except in a very limited, egoistic sense. Man is alienated from his environment and from himself.

In the light of modern physics, the mechanistic view is an incoherent description of nature. The developments of modem physics call for a radical revision in our concept of reality. They shattered all the principal concepts of classical physics.

Many concepts, like the causal nature of physical phenomena and the ideal of an objective description of nature, changed with the advent of the new theories of modern science, quantum, relativity and, more recently, chaos theory.

However, these changes have not been matched by parallel changes in the world-view of science. The modifications took place only on a mathematical level. Because all that counts for scientists is the development of mathematical formulations of the behaviour of physical phenomena. Such a goal is not regarded merely for its technical utility; rather most scientists believe that prediction of this kind is all that knowledge is about.

They claim that our concept of reality is of little or no importance. However, it is clear that our concept of reality has a tremendous effect on how we behave in relation to nature and to other people, and also on the meaning life has for us as individuals. We cannot dispense with a world-view.

This attitude of the scientists is in contradiction with modern science. Classically it was thought that science could describe and explain everything in the world ‘objectively’ i.e. as it actually is in reality and that the ‘observer’ i.e. the scientist himself, could describe the world by means of mathematical models which were independent of his judgement. The discoveries of modern physics, however, point towards the unity of all things, an unbroken wholeness which denies the classical fragmentation of the world into separate and independent parts. In the quantum theory, every particle is linked to the rest of the universe and cannot be isolated from it. This oneness of the universe includes human beings as well. The quantum theory, together with abolishing the notion of fundamentally separate objects, has introduced the concept of ‘participator’ to replace that of the neutral observer. Modern science therefore restores man to his central position. It puts an end to the notion of neutral, objective description of nature and thus to impartial objective science.

Up to the present, materialist science has been based on a deterministic, causal view of the world. Although the latest theories like the quantum and chaos theories are leading to a world-view where there is no room for fragmentation and determinism, materialist scientists still insist on following the fragmented and causal approach. They have to be reductionist because they believe in causality. At the same time they do realize that their materialist world-view is collapsing. Theoretically they understand that, in order to explain one thing, they need to know its connections to all other things. This is obviously impossible because these connections extend in time and in space beyond human capacities; they are infinite and cannot be embraced by human beings who are also parts of those connections.

The materialist scientists understand that the unity of the universe points to an Absolute Creator. For the things we study do not bear meanings limited to themselves but testify to the Absoluteness of their Creator. But in order to be able to claim that their scientific studies produce knowledge, the scientists insist on denying the Absolute Creator. And because their scientific method is based on causality which cannot accommodate the unity of the universe, they ignore that unity and compartmentalize the universe so that they can study each compartment as the product of a limited number of causes. In this way, they can pretend the universe has no Creator and its meaning is limited to what they tell us about it. They thus claim their science to be the source of knowledge.

There have been many controversies over the conceptual foundations of modem physics. The mechanistic model of reality is not appropriate to modern science. Scientists avoid this issue by adopting the attitude that the paradoxes and contradictions of their science are inherent in nature, thus implying that those paradoxes and contradictions have nothing to do with the inadequacy of their world-view.

But how one can apply the reductionist scientific reasoning to the inseparable universe? It has been widely discussed by scientists and philosophers, but what hasn’t yet been realized is that the nature of the materialistic approach to scientific reasoning is incompatible with the unity of the universe. Therefore, either that approach to scientific reasoning or the concept of the unity of the universe has to be reconsidered.

That the universe is an inseparable whole is not in dispute. Indeed, the unity observed in the totality of the universe including man is so manifest that no one can deny it.

Therefore the materialistic approach to the scientific method has to be reconsidered. This method is reductionist. It reduces every thing to fragments then attributes each fragment to causes. However, in reality, all things are interconnected and interdependent. For this reason it is impossible to attribute anything, however small it is, to causes which are themselves transient and contingent. Because whatever is responsible for one thing must be responsible for everything. We cannot have one thing without the whole.

Why can we ascribe a thing to its antecedents in time, but not to its neighbour in space? Why should a thing be able to produce another thing just because it happened before? All modern scientists know that space and time are fully equivalent. They are unified into a four-dimensional continuum in which ‘here’ and ‘there’ ‘before’ and ‘after’ are relative. In this four-dimensional space the temporal sequence is converted into a simultaneous co-existence, the side by side existence of all things. Thus causality appears to be an idea which is limited to a prejudiced experience of the world.

Causality leads to the vicious chain of cause and effect. For each cause is also an effect. Also the effect is totally different from the cause. Things and effects are usually so full of art and beneficial purposes that let alone their simple immediate causes, even if all causes gathered they would be unable to produce one single thing.

In short, in order for a cause to produce an effect it has to be able to produce the whole universe in which that effect takes place, for that effect cannot exist without the whole universe. They cannot exist separately. Causality is therefore the antitheses of ‘There is no god but God,’ the core of the Qur’anic world-view. Materialist scientists imagine powerless, dependent and ignorant causes to be responsible for the existence of beings and things and thus fancy them to possess absolute qualities. In this way they are implying (tacitly believing) that each of those causes possesses qualities which can only be attributed to God.

However, the latest discoveries of modern science, like the unity of the universe and the inseparability of its parts, exclude the possibility of all the explanations put forward by materialistic science. They demonstrate that all entities, whether in nature or in the laws and causes attributed to them, are all devoid of power and knowledge. They are contingent, transient and dependent beings. But the properties attributed to any of such entities need infinite qualities like absolute power and knowledge.

This shows that causality is by no means necessarily to be linked with ‘objective’ study, ‘neutral’ scientific investigation. It is no more than a personal opinion. Moreover, it is an opinion that is irrational, a non-sense. Nevertheless, there is still a widespread conviction that science can do without a Creator. This seemed possible in classical physics, but in quantum mechanics the situation is untenable.

Physics is full of examples of ingenuity and subtlety that exclude the causal interpretation and make known the All-Powerful, All-Knowing One. A few illustrations will, I hope, suffice to convince us that the universe with all that is within it is His product.

The idea that the universe began with a Big Bang is something of a paradox. Of the four forces of nature, only gravity acts systematically on a cosmic scale, and in our experience gravity is attractive, a pulling force. But the explosion which marked the creation of the universe required a very powerful pushing force to set the cosmos on its still continuing path of expansion. It is puzzling that the expanding universe is dominated by the force of gravity which is contracting, not expanding. Careful measurements show that the rate of expansion has been ‘very fine-tuned’ to fall on this narrow line between two catastrophes: a little slower, and the cosmos would collapse, a little faster and the cosmic material would have long ago completely dispersed. The materialist scientists can see that such a precisely calculated explosion requires infinite power and knowledge, and yet deny the act of creation. Therefore they are compelled to say, ‘It just happened; it must be accepted as a special initial condition’

The initial condition, however, had to be very special indeed. And the rate of expansion is only one of countless cosmic miracles. But in their misguidance, they fancy those miracles of Absolute Power to be ‘remarkable’ coincidences, and imply that the universe is a random accident.

So, strikingly, the most fundamental theory of recent modern science is totally compatible with the notion of the Absolute Creator. Moreover, it is not compatible with causality. Thus, the need for God, the Causer of causes, enters science in a fundamental way.

Classically, it is believed that a measurement performed in one place cannot instantaneously affect a particle in another, very distant place. The basis for this belief is that interactions between systems tend to decline with distance. For according to causality a cause has to be in the immediate vicinity of its effect. Otherwise how can particles several metres, let alone light years apart, influence each other’s position and motion?

Quantum mechanics, by contrast, predicts a greater degree of correlation, as though the two particles are co-operating by telepathy. This forces us to ask how it is possible to explain this remarkable degree of co-operation between different parts of the universe that have never been in communication with each other without mentioning their Creator. How can they achieve this miracle? Divine Unity is obviously the only reasonable, consistent and acceptable, to the point of being necessary, explanation of this miracle and indeed of the universe and all that is in it, including man.

To the materialists this situation is a paradox because it cannot be explained with causality. But to the believer in God, this is a beautiful aspect of His Unity. It envisions a universal coherence and points to all-encompassing principles that run throughout the cosmos.

When we break the vicious chain of cause and effect, the meaningless world of materialism gives way to a world illumined with meaning and purpose. The universe becomes like a vast book addressing man and making known its Author so that its readers take lessons and constantly increase in knowledge of their Maker and strengthen their belief and certainty in the fundamentals of faith.

In short, everything is full of art and is being constantly renewed, and, like the effect, the cause of each thing is also created. For each thing to exist there is need for infinite power and knowledge. Thus there must exist a Possessor of Absolute Power and Knowledge who directly creates the cause and the effect together, which together demonstrate the attributes of their Maker. They are proclaiming the Divine Power and perfection through their own powerlessness and deficiency. They are all announcing. ‘There is no god but God.’

Just as the universe points to this truth of Divine Unity so does the Owner of the universe teach us this truth in the sacred books He has revealed. The phrase ‘There is no god but God’ is the fundamental of revelation and it is confirmed by the testimony of beings. It is the key to the Qur’an. A key that makes it possible to know the riddle of the creation of the universe, a riddle that has reduced materialist science and philosophy to impotence. The path of Unity is the path of Revelation. It is the only path that shows man his Master and Owner, and causes him to recognize his True Object of Worship who possesses an absolute power that will guarantee all his needs.

The Qur’an is the only source that teaches us that the universe and the beings within it do not bear a meaning limited to themselves but testify to their Maker’s Unity. It teaches what the universe is and what duties it is performing.

For this reason, every Muslim should study the universe and see that all beings, through their order, mutual relationship and duties, utterly refute the false claims of materialist and atheistic reasoning. They affirm that they are nothing but the property and creatures of a Single Creator. Each rejects the false notions of chance and causality. Each ascribes all other beings to its own Creator. Each is a proof that the Creator has no partners. Indeed, when the Creator’s Unity is known and understood correctly, it becomes clear that there is nothing to necessitate that causes should possess any power. So, they cannot be partners to the Creator. It is impossible for them to be so. Then the Muslim scientist will say through his investigations and discoveries, ‘There is no god but God, alone and without partner.’

The universe is a document to be used by the believers. Believing in God is, as the Qur’an informs us, to assent with one’s heart to the Creator with all His attributes supported by the testimony of the whole universe. The true affirmation of God’s Unity is a judgement, a confirmation, an assent and acceptance that can find its Owner present with all things. It sees in all things a path leading to its Owner. It does not regard anything as an obstacle to His presence. For, otherwise, it would be necessary to tear and cast aside the universe in order to find Him. and that is impossible for us.

The universe is not the property of materialistic science which has used the universe in a destructive way precisely because it has been unable to find the meaning of the universe.

There is no dichotomy between true science and revelation. Rather true progress and happiness for mankind can only be achieved in the way of the Qur’an. All scientific and technological advances are merely the uncovering of the way the universe is created. When the universe is seen to be a vast and meaningful unified book describing its Author and the beings in it as signs of their Creator, all these discoveries and advances reinforce belief rather than causing doubt and bewilderment.

The most serious disease afflicting modern man in his search for happiness and the meaning of life is to regard science, the study of the created world, as separate and irreconcilable with revelation, the word of the Creator. But as man learns to heed the universe and his senses, rather than the materialist scientists, he will wake up to the contradictions of their scientific reasoning. More and more people are beginning to realize that their scientific reasoning is no longer valid. Faced with beauty, awesomeness and purpose, attempts to explain creation with causality are becoming increasingly untenable. Then they will feel the need and importance for true science and knowledge which yield knowledge and belief in God.

Following the classical Newtonian physics and under the spell of developments in science, physicists of the 19th century claimed that they could explain every phenomenon in the universe. E. Dubois Reymond, at a meeting held in memory of Leibniz in the Prussian Academy in 1880 was a bit humbler: ‘There have remained eight enigmas in the universe, three of which we are unable to solve yet: The essential nature of matter and force, the essence and origin of movement and the nature of consciousness. The three of the rest that we can solve although with great difficulties are: The origin of life, the order in the universe and the apparent purpose for it and the origin of thought and language. As for the seventh, we can say nothing about it. It is the individual free will (quoted in A. Adivar, Ilim ve Din (Science and Religion), Istanbul 1980, p. 282).

The sub-atomic world threw all scientists into confusion. This world and the ‘quantum cosmology’ which it introduces, rather than being a heap or assemblage of concrete things, is made up of five elements: the mass of the electron in the field where an action occurs (M), the mass of the proton (m), the electrical charge which these two elements carry, the energy quanta (h)-the amount of the energy remaining during the occurrence of the action-and the unchanging speed of light (c). These five elements of the universe can even be reduced to action or energy waves travelling through space in tiny packets or quanta. Since the quanta required for an action are special to it and exist independently of the quanta required for the previous action, it becomes impossible to predict the exact state of the universe. If the universe is in t1 state now, it cannot be predicted that it will be the same in t2 state. Paul Renteln, assistant professor of physics at California State University, writes: ‘Modern physicists live in two different worlds. In one world we can predict the future position and momentum of a particle if we know its present position and momentum. This is the world of classical physics, including the physics described by Einstein’s theory of gravity, the general theory of relativity. In the second world it is impossible to predict the exact position and momentum of a particle. This is the probabilistic, subatomic world of quantum mechanics. General relativity and quantum mechanics are the two great pillars that form the foundation of 20th-physics, and yet their precepts assume two different kinds of universe.’ (American Scientist, Nov.-Dec, 1991, p.508)

The real nature of this sub-atomic world and the events taking place in it make it impossible to construct a theory to describe them, because they cannot be observed. One reason for their unobservability is that, as Renteln writes in an attempt to propose a theory which he calls quantum gravity to reconcile the two different worlds of classical and quantum physics, ‘the events take place at a scale far smaller than any realm yet explored by experimental physics. It is only when particles approach to within about 10-35 meter that their gravitational interactions have to be described in the same quantum-mechanical terms that we adopt to understand the other forces of nature. This distance is 1024 times smaller than the diameter of an atom-which means that the characteristic scale of quantum gravity bears the same relation to the size of an atom as an atom bears to the size of the solar system. To probe such small distances would require a particle accelerator 1015 times more powerful than the proposed Superconducting Supercollider.’

At the outset of this century, electrons surrounding the nucleus of an atom were thought to orbit the nucleus like planets in a miniature solar system. However, later researches modified that view. The electron is now understood to be more of an energy field cloud fluctuating around a nucleus. The nucleus itself seemed to be composed of two smaller constituents-protons and neutrons. However, in the 1960s, physicists Murray Gell-Mann and George Zweig confirmed by experiments that protons and neutrons were made up of even more elementary particles, which Gell-Mann called ‘quarks.’

Quarks cannot be seen, not just because they are too small but also because they do not seem to be quite ‘all there.’ Quarks are better described as swirls of dynamic energy, which means that solid matter is not, at its fundamental level, solid at all. Anything you hold in your hand and which seems solid, is really a quivering, shimmering, lacy lattice of energy, pulsating millions of times every second as billions of fundamental particles gyrate and spin in an eternal dance. At its most fundamental level, everything is energy held together by forces of incredible power. This is not all that makes us unable to predict even the nearest future of the universe. According to Werner Heisenberg’s theories, at just the time when we can know either where a particle is or how fast it is travelling, we cannot know both. This is because the very act of measuring the particle alters its behaviour. Measuring the particle’s speed changes its position, and measuring its position changes its speed. 

However, the unpredictability in the sub-atomic world does not change anything in our everyday, predictable world. Everything works according to the basic laws of classical Newtonian physics. Why is this so and how should our view of the world and events be? Scientists who believe in the existence of God and His creation of the universe suggest that creation was not a single event. That is, God did not create the universe as a single act and then leave it to operate according to the laws He established. Rather, creation is a continuous act (creatio continua). In other words, roughly like the movement of energy or electricity and its illuminating our world by means of bulbs, existence continuously comes from God and returns to and perishes in Him. Through the manifestation of all His Names, God continuously creates, annihilates and re-creates the universe. Some medieval Muslim scholarly saints such as Muhy al-Din ibn al- ‘Arabi and Mawlana Jalal al-Din al-Rumi called these pairs of acts as the continuous cycle of coming into existence and dying. Because of the incredible speed of this movement, the universe appears to be uniform and continuous. Rumi likens this to the fast spinning of a staff on one end of which there is fixed a light. When spun at speed, the light on the end of the staff appears as if a circle of light. Unable to explain the extreme complexity of existence and the events taking place, some scientists assert that everything is in chaos and attribute the formation of the universe as it is to mere chance. According to them, other universes could have formed, they simply did not, and there is no reason that the universe is the way it is. Given that it is impossible for even three or more unconscious things moving at random to come together by themselves to form even the simplest entity, it is highly questionable whether a rational person can accept that the wonderful order prevailing in the universe according to which we can direct our lives can be explained without attributing it to a supernatural intellect. A. Cressy Morrison writes:

The proverbial penny may turn up heads ten time running and the chance of an eleventh is not expected but is still one in two, but the chance of a run of ten heads is very small. Suppose you have a bag containing one hundred marbles, ninety-nine black and one white. Shake the bag and let out one. The chance that the first marble out is the white one is exactly one in one hundred. Now put the marbles back and start over again. The chance of the white coming out is still one in a hundred, but the chance of the white coming out first twice in succession is one in ten thousand. Now try a third time, and the chance of the white coming out three times in succession is one hundred times ten thousand or one in a billion. Try another time or two and the figures become astronomical. The results of chance are as closely bound by law as the fact that two and two make four. All the nearly exact requirements of life could not be brought about on one planet at one time by chance. The size of the earth, the distance from the sun, the thickness of the earth’s crust, the quantity of water, the amount of carbon dioxide, the volume of nitrogen, the emergence of man and his survival-all point to order out of chaos, to design and purpose, and to the fact that, according to the inexorable laws of mathematics, all these could not occur by chance simultaneously on one planet once in a billion times. It could so occur, but it did not so occur. (Man Does Not Stand Alone, New York, pp.98-9.)

Attributing the impossible to chance is a trick of the human mind, its stubborn resistance, which confuses a theoretical possibility with the actual facts. For example, it is possible that the Pacific Ocean has now changed into milk, but actually it has not. As it is impossible to construct a building on a flowing stream, God Almighty spread over the unpredictability of the sub-atomic world the veil of the speed of its movement and made the universe dependent on what we call laws. It is for this reason that everything in the outer face of nature works according to the basic laws of classical Newtonian physics. However, it is a matter of controversy between the two schools of Ahl al-Sunna wa ‘l-Jama’a whether the universe has a continuous existence working according to established laws and things accordingly have perpetual properties or God continuously creates the universe and orders each component of it what to do at every moment. The followers of the Maturidi School assert that God created the universe and set it to operate according to certain laws which He established, giving each thing certain properties. For example, fire burns because God gave it the quality of burning. Whereas, the followers of the Ash’ari School maintain that the universe does not have a perpetual, established existence and reality. Nor do things have essential qualities of themselves. God creates the universe anew each ‘moment’ and directs it continuously by ordering each thing to do what it must do. For example, fire does not essentially have the quality of burning, rather, God gives it the order to burn and it burns. Since according to the dictates of life in the universe, He usually orders it to burn, we think that fire essentially has the quality of burning.

As we accept the ‘relative’ truth of both Newtonian and quantum physics at the same time, we can also accept the truth of the views of both schools of Muslim faith. As a matter of belief and as life at the most fundamental level of existence as in the sub-atomic world points out, God is continuously active, creating the universe anew and directly administering it. While at practical level, life will be impossible for us if we do not accept or assume the uniform continuity or stability of existence. What would life be if we were conscious that the sun would not rise tomorrow morning or that we might not live a second longer, although it is theoretically conceivable both that the sun might not rise tomorrow and that we might not survive a second longer?

where he flounders a whole lifetime among waves of anxiety.

At every step and every station, he expects a dawn of hope to break;

Morning begins with pains, evening comes with the hopes of union.

Over and again, winds of mortality blow and are biting cold;

Lamentations as if from rejected orphans are heard everywhere.

By and by, arising from deep within his own conscience come

heavenly sounds laden with meaning and mystery.

A time comes when, like overflowing waves, he overflows

with longing to touch eternity and sails as far as the shore.

But he is stopped there, unable to move as if held in chains.

He brims over with zeal but remains in his narrow pool.

Confined within the walls of matter, man feels imprisoned

though knowing the horizons of being are of infinite breadth.

He always lives autumn in the corners of his heart

and travels through the dark pits of despair lamenting.

Those with hearts set on eternity live a honeymoon every night,

rapturous and joyful with the pleasure of endless spectacles

Observing existence with the profound intuition of their hearts,

they welcome there the music from the higher worlds beyond.

Dressed in shirts of flame, with roses between their lips,

even in the cruelest storms of the most painful days,

their spirits receive fresh life from the ardour of their hearts

and the profound contentment their conviction brings.

Every day man is washed in that ocean of purification,

and feels Him as deeply as angels, and at times

when he is utterly alone, he feels His care and nearness,

and tastes the delight of love and intimacy with Him.

The Qur’an is not a book of sciences. But since sciences deal with nature and man and since sciences and technology constitute a very important aspect of man’s life and are themselves the product of man’s mind, the Qur’an, which contains ‘whatever is wet and dry’ either explicitly or implicitly or by allusion, certainly refers to sciences and scientific advancements. But, while sciences deal with nature and things for their own sake and concentrate on the question of ‘how?’, the Qur’an refers to them for the sake of God and for their most, fundamental purpose as signs of Divine Existence and Unity as the manifestations of Divine Names, and therefore as the means of obtaining knowledge of God. Second, the Qur’an seeks to guide people and inculcate in them belief and high standards of morality. The great majority of people do not have specialized knowledge about scientific facts or theories. It would be inappropriate for a book of guidance directed to all people in all ages to refer to things and natural events in the manner of sciences. If the Qur’an referred to, say, the sun as a heavenly body of such and such size, made up of gases composed of two thousand billion times billion tonnes of matter, with the remains of other elements and in which for every million atoms of hydrogen there are about 85,000 helium atoms, most people would be simply bewildered or indifferent. As the comprehensive and conclusive Revelation, the Qur’an addresses all levels of understanding and intends to be understood, with belief and action to follow understanding. Since most people judge according to their sense-impressions, the Qur’an uses the appropriate language and style. For example, while narrating the story of Dhu’l-Qarnayn, the Qur’an says that he reached the setting-place of the sun and found the sun setting in a fiery muddy spring (18.86). It is obvious that the sun does not set in a spring. But this verse, besides giving many clues to certain facts to be discovered later, considers ordinary sense-impressions. First of all, we understand from the verse that Dhu’l-Qarnayn went as far as the western end of a land adjoining water around which there was not another visible land. That is why most commentators of the Qur’an have concluded that it was the Atlantic Ocean. Second, the verse implicitly states that Dhu’l-Qarnayn did not reach the coasts of the land he conquered in the west but advanced only so far as the point from which he could see the ocean like a spring. Thirdly, when he reached that point, it was a fiery summer day and, most probably because of the vapours rising from the ocean and the marshy land adjoining the sea, it appeared from afar like a muddy spring. Fourthly, the verse contains a subtle and important point. The word translated here as spring also means eye and the sun. As the Qur’an, because of its elevated perspective, looks at the world from ‘on high’ and also there are innumerable eyes watching the world from on high, the ocean from that perspective, however large it may appear to the people in this world, appears no bigger than a spring. Further, there is a subtle allusion here to a time when those who believe in God will gain enough power and equipment to rule, at least, a considerable part of the world and, ascending the heavens, observe the world from on high.

The statement just discussed comprises only five words. All the statements of the Qur’an contain lots of information either explicitly or implicitly and allusively to satisfy all levels of understanding in all times until the Judgement Day. Another example is a statement of only four words: The sun moves (in its course) to a resting-place for it (36.38). Before elucidating other meanings and connotations of this statement, we should remember that in the past people, judging again by their sense-impressions, believed that the earth was motionless while the sun moved around it. Later developments in science and observations showed that the earth spins upon its own axis and orbits the sun which is, relatively, motionless. First of all, since people see the sun moving, the Qur’an mentions it as moving. Second, the Qur’an mentions the sun here as an illustration of the magnificent order prevailing throughout the universe as a sign of God’s Might and Knowledge, The context is as follows:

A sign for them is the night. We strip it of the day, and behold! they are in darkness. And the sun moves (in its course) to a resting-place for it. That is the measuring and ordaining of the All-Mighty, the All-Knowing. And for the moon We have appointed mansions till it returns like an old shrivelled palm-leaf. It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor does the night outstrip the day. They float, each in an orbit. (36.37-40)

We understand from the statement in its context that the sun has a vital function in the universal order. The Qur’an uses in the statement mustaqarr, meaning a fixed course to follow, stability and the place in which stability is secured. So, the statement can mean that the sun has a central position in the order of the universe. Second, the preposition used together with the word ‘stability1, li, has three meanings: for, to, and in. Therefore, the exact meaning of the statement comprising four words is: The sun moves following a route or course to a fixed place determined for it for the purpose of its (system’s) stability.

In recent decades, solar astronomers have been able to observe that the sun is not in fact motionless. It quivers and shakes and continually rings like a well-hit gong. These vibrations of the sun reveal vital information about the sun’s deep interior, its hidden layers, information which affects calculations of the age of the universe. Also, knowing exactly how the sun spins internally is important in testing Einstein’s theory of general relativity. Like so many other significant findings in astronomy, this discovery about the sun was totally unexpected. Having discovered the quivering and ringing sun, some astronomers have commented that it is as if the sun were a symphony orchestra, with all the instruments being played simultaneously. All the vibrations combine at times to produce a net oscillation on the solar surface that is thousands of times stronger than any individual vibration.

Commenting on the Qur’anic verse. The sun moves to a resting-place for it, several decades before this totally unexpected discovery in astronomy, Said Nursi had written:

As the word ‘moves’ points to a style, the phrase ‘in its course’ demonstrates a reality. The sun, like a vessel built of gold, travels and floats in the ocean of the heavens comprising ether and defined as a stretched and tightened wave. Although it quivers and shakes in its course or orbit, since people see it running, the Qur’an uses the word travel or float. However, since the origin of the force of gravity is movement, the sun moves and quivers in its orbit. Through this vibration, which is the wheel of its figurative movement, its satellites are attracted to it and preserved from falling and scattering. When a tree quivers, its fruits fall. But, when the sun quivers and shakes, its fruits-its satellites-are preserved from falling. Again, wisdom requires that the sun should move and travel on its mobile throne-its course or orbit-accompanied by its soldiers-its satellites. For the Divine Power has made everything moving and condemned nothing to absolute rest or motionlessness. Divine Mercy allows nothing to be condemned to inertia which is the cousin of death. So, the sun is free, it can travel provided it obeys the laws of God and does not disturb others’ freedom. So, it may actually be travelling, as its travelling may also be figurative. However, what is important according to the Qur’an is the universal order, the wheel of which is the sun and its movement. Through the sun, the stability and orderliness are ensured. [Muhakemat (Reasonings), Istanbul 1988, pp. 68-69.]

Recomended Reading

• BUCAILLE, M. (1987) The Bible, The Qur’an and Science, Taj Company, Delhi.
• JONES, B, (1992) The Night Sky, Salamander Books Ltd.
• NURBAKI, H. (1989) Verses from the Glorious Qur’an and the Facts of Science, T.D.V., Ankara.
• LEIBACHER, J., R. NOYES, J. TOOMRE & R. ULRICH (1985) ‘Helioseismology’, Scientific American (September), pp.48-57.
• BARTUSIAC, M, (1994) ‘Sounds of the Sun’, American Scientist (January-February), pp.61-68.

The governor explained the reason why he came to his office late in the morning:

It is not proper to explain it, but since you want me to, I consent to do it: I do not have any servants and my wife is ill. I knead the dough myself and make the bread, and only after doing other work at home am I able to leave for my office.

In answer to the second complaint of the people, the governor said:

Although it is not proper to explain this either, I will explain it since you want me to. I spend all my day among them to attend to their work and needs. When it is night, shall I not worship my Lord and accuse myself before Him for what I did during the long day?

The third complaint of the people was that Sa’id ibn ‘Amir stayed at home one day a week and did not come out among the people. The governor answered that complaint:

As I said before, I do not have any servants and my wife is ill. I have only one suit of clothes and wash it on that day. That is why I cannot go out among them one day in the week.

The last complaint was that the governor sometimes lost his senses and almost went mad. The explanation was as follows:

When Hubayb was martyred by the Makkan polytheists I had not yet become a Muslim and was present on the scene. [Hubayb was among the deputation the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, sent to the tribes of Adal and al-Qarah to teach them the Qur’an upon their request. However, when the deputation halted to have a rest in the area where the Hudayl tribe lived, and while sleeping, they were all at once attacked by the Hudayli unbelievers. Three of the deputation were martyred, the rest, among whom were Hubayb and Zayd ibn Dasina were submitted to the Makkans. The Makkans kept Hubayb and Zayd as prisoners for some time and then took them out of the city to kill them.] When Hubayb was about to be killed, Abu Sufyan stepped forward and said to him:

I adjure you by God, Hubayb, don’t you wish that Muhammad was with us now in your place so that we might cut off his head, and that you were with your family?’

‘By God,’ said Hubayb, ‘let alone wishing that Muhammad were here in my place so that I were with my family, I do not wish that even a thorn should hurt his foot in Madina.’

Abu Sufyan was astonished by this answer. He turned to those present, and said:

‘By God, I swear I have never seen a man who was so loved as Muhammad’s Companions love him.’

I could have helped Hubayb then, but since I was then among those who associated partners with God, I did not. So, whenever I remember this event, thinking that God will never forgive me, I lose my senses and go almost mad.

‘Umar, may God be pleased with him, was content with his governor’s conduct and gave him one thousand gold pieces to meet his needs. However, the pious, righteous governor turned to his wife and said: ‘Let us spend this for a day when we will need it more than at any other time. Let us distribute it among those poorer than us.’

The governor handed the gold pieces to one among his family to distribute them among the poor, which he did.

Almost all the governors of Caliph ‘Umar were of a like quality in belief, conduct and understanding of administration. God-fearing, piety and righteousness were the lights by which they made their decisions and conducted their lives. It was the golden age in human history, or ‘the Happy Time’ as it is called in Islamic tradition.

The first revolution began when scientists agreed that DNA is the genetic material. Study showed that a DNA molecule is made up of nucleotides, in turn made of deoxyribose sugar, a phosphate molecule and one of the four nitrogenous bases: adenine, guanine, cytosine and thymine. Each DNA molecule has two strands that are twisted in a helical form, as discovered by Watson and Crick. The sequence of nitrogenous bases in the two strands determines the genetic information inherited.

The second revolution was the discovery in bacterial cells of special enzymes, the restriction enzymes, which have the property of being able to cut DNA at a specific point in the sequence.

Recombinant DNA technology was initially developed as a tool to allow scientists to obtain many copies of DNA segments so that it could be studied further biochemically. It actually began with the first studies of the genetics of bacteria and viruses that infect bacterial cells, bacteriophages. A bacterium can accept segments of new DNA and incorporate this foreign DNA into its own chromosome. To a genetic engineer this is a desirable property. The incorporated DNA is henceforth replicated and transcribed along with the cell’s original, native DNA.

Usually foreign DNA is not added directly into a bacterial genome, but into a plasmid, a small circular DNA molecule that exists outside the main DNA of the bacteria. Plasmids are cut by restriction enzymes that cleave the plasmid. In addition, foreign DNA is cleaved with the same restriction enzyme and then combined to the plasmid which is now called a vector. Such a combination is possible only if both DNA molecules are cut by the same restriction enzyme, because of the complementarity of the single strand sequence obtained after the cut. The vector is then injected to the bacterial cell. If this foreign DNA contains a gene, then the cell will acquire new characteristics and is said to be transformed, as a new product, not found in normal bacterial cells, has been produced.

Since the first day of its discovery, recombinant DNA technology caused dramatic changes not only in the field of genetics, but also in many other fields where it has useful applications. The most important of these are such medical applications as production of useful proteins on a commercial scale. In 1982, human insulin, produced by bacterial cells that contain human insulin gene transplant, reached the market. Insulin is a hormone needed daily by millions of people with diabetes. This insulin is also better for some patients who cannot tolerate the slight differences between human insulin and previously marketed insulin taken from pig and cattle livers. Another protein produced in this manner is human interferon, so called because it interferes with replication of viruses in the human body. Genetic engineers were also able to synthesize, by the method explained above, the enzyme urokinase. This enzyme is responsible for dissolving blood clots in blood vessels, the brain or lungs.

Secondly, genetic engineering offered a solution to a number of pollution problems. Scientists were able to transform some aquatic bacteria and introduce into them the characteristics of other bacterial cells found in oil wells. These transformed bacteria can consume oil spills present in water which contaminate the aquatic environment and endanger aquatic life.

There are many other applications of this new and fast-developing technology. Among them: safer vaccines made by engineering a weaker version of the disease-causing agent; enzymes for industry and pesticide accidents produced by engineering bacterial cells that have an enzyme to convert the waste to harmless substances; creating improved strains of crops and farm animals; and replacing defective genes in the human genome.

Not surprisingly, this scientific revolution has raised questions in many people’s minds about its possible negative effects. First, are the transgenic crops safe to eat? Since the new genes and the proteins they encode contain the same nucleotides and amino acids found in all our food, there seems to be little risk from most new genes. However, new crops must be checked to ensure that any new protein produced does not interact with the plant normal chemistry to produce toxic substances. In addition, any plant engineered to produce toxins that fend off insects or disease must be tested to see if the toxin content endangers human consumers. Several experiments are already under way in which genetically engineered plants have been tested outdoors. Researchers watch to see whether such plants are as good under field conditions as in the laboratory, whether they die out or become established and whether they stay put or spread beyond application sites. Genetically engineered crops are also being field-tested.

There has been considerable controversy about the safety of such experimental release of genetically engineered plants into the environment. People have also worried about the possibility of an accident in a genetic engineering laboratory. Suppose a strain of bacteria for a dangerous toxin were let loose on the world? Most workers feel that the chance of this happening is slight because safe-guards and safety procedures are already in place. The bacteria used in recombinant DNA technology experiments are usually E coli, a species universally found in the human intestine. Further, the genetic strains used in the laboratory have been developed so as to be unable to survive outside their test-tube homes. The danger is further reduced by the regulation of laboratories doing DNA recombination research.

However, the biggest anxiety was over the aspiration, expressed by some scientists, to clone human beings. Such a possibility, if ever realized, would undo one of the most important characteristics of our species, the non-existence of two absolutely identical human beings. Some people tried to justify investigation of this possibility by saying that it could ‘duplicate’ geniuses like Einstein!

But first, how is such cloning done? The removal, by special techniques, of the haploid nucleus of an unfertilized ovum; then the addition to this anucleated ovum of a diploid nucleus taken from any somatic cell. The new ovum then acts as a fertilized egg and starts to divide and develop in the uterus of the female to whom it is injected. Dr J. Gordon, from Stanford University, said that these experiments were done on frogs and two identical frogs were produced, albeit after a great many trials. And lastly, as everybody must have heard, the identical of a sheep was also produced in Scotland. However, scientists guess that they will be able to perform such experiments on humans in the not unforseeable future. An indication of this came when Dr Jerry Hall, of George Washington University, and his colleagues, were able to produce several identical embryos from only one fertilized egg. This experiment was done by replicating the genetic material of a fertilized egg and introducing it to another unfertilized anucleated ovum.

Another fearful dimension of genetic engineering lies in the possibility of adapting and amending certain characteristics, thus of producing a ‘superbreed.’ Dr Samia Timatmi, Professor of Human Genetics in the National Centre for Scientific Research in Egypt, has said that scientists have found that it is possible to change particular human characteristics, such as eye colour and height, even intelligence. However, she adds that the aim of scientists at this stage is to seek cures for different genetically carried defects and diseases. Dr Yahya Zakariya, of the same institution, is less sanguine about what is possible. He considers that changing human characteristics is not so easy for many reasons. First, the attempt to change one gene might lead to unknown consequences. Second, he points out that usually a single characteristic is not controlled by a single gene but by a complex set of genes. Because scientists do not yet know and cannot isolate these genes, it seems that the notion of producing a ‘superbreed’ still belongs to the realm of science fiction not fact.

The general public’s unease over genetic engineering experiments has not always stopped at the level of verbal protest. It turned into action when hundreds of people demonstrated near the laboratories of George Washington University against the work of Dr Jerry Hall and his colleagues. Demonstrators described this work as scientific chaos and called for the prohibition of such fearful experiments.

In view of such unease, it is only proper to ask how the Islamic religion considers such experiments and possibilities. How does it regard the positive aspects of genetic engineering? Do Muslims consider such experiments and research to be in conflict with Islamic beliefs and Qur’anic verses or permissible under the general Qur’an injunction to human beings to make observations and experiments, to study and reflect on nature?

Before trying to answer these questions, we should first note that research in this field is still very new. Most Islamic legal experts have therefore paid little attention to this field. They seem to regard the research as if it were only hypothetical and not something that is opening up practicable options and doing so very rapidly. For example, Dr A. Abu Farha, Head of the Qur’anic Sciences department in Al-Azhar, having said that Islam urges man to study and experiment so long as this is for the benefit of the human race, added that the Islamic attitude towards such research is caution. However, other jurists have realized the importance of recombinant DNA technology, and the need to regulate it to secure its benefits and to contain its dangers. As a result, they called for more attention to be given to this subject in particular and to the field in general. Dr Ahmed Sharaf-Eddine showed, in his paper submitted to the Conference on Reproduction in Islam, held in Kuwait in 1983, that the danger of such experiments lies in their consequences for unique, distinguishing human characteristics such as mind and self, which are highly esteemed in Islam. He argued that research in this field must, because its results are going to be applied to the human race, be governed by the basic rules of the Islamic religion.

A view widely held among Islamic scholars is that new concepts in science will never be contradictory with Islamic fundamentals because any new hypothesis will not become established fact or truth unless it falls in agreement with the Qur’an and Sunna. Even though neither the Qur’an nor the books recording the Sunna are scientific books, and though the decision for every single eventuality is not directly stated in them, they do contain general rules that can be applied to every eventuality and enable a rational decision to be taken. God says: Nothing have We omitted from the book (6.38). By using the different sources of legislation, scholars can work out appropriate decisions for different or new situations. However, no one individual scholar can give a detailed, specific decision concerning genetic engineering experiments, especially in these decades, where legal decisions concerning the new developments in science are taken in annual conferences where contemporary Islamic scholars assemble.

Some scholars have initiated the task of applying the general principles of Islamic Law to the recent advances, in order to facilitate a final ruling on both the positive and negative sides of genetic engineering. Dr Abdel Satar Abu Guda, in his paper submitted to the Conference on Reproduction in Islam, stated that, if the aim of such experiments is to cure and help the victims of genetically inherited diseases, then one can say that Islam encourages such technology or at least permits it, since such action falls under the general Islamic injunction to treat disease and bring benefits to the human race. According to the well-known saying of the Prophet, upon him be peace, that for every ailment (except old age) there is a remedy, the search for cures to inherited diseases must be legitimate. In addition, genetic engineering applications on plants are, according to Dr Abu Guda, permitted in Islam as they aim to increase the benefits to mankind from plants, which falls under the Qur’anic verse (31.20): Do you not see that God has subjected to your use all things in the heavens and on earth?

The general consensus of the scholars on the aspirations to change human nature by playing with the genetic make-up of human beings is negative. They are of the opinion that experiments so directed are but the response to the orders of the devil since they aspire to change the innate quality of the human race. God says (4.119): They call but upon Satan, the persistent rebel. God did curse him, but he said I will take of Thy servants a portion marked off. I will mislead them and I will create in them false desires; I will order them to slit the ears of cattle and to deface the fair nature created by-God. Whoever forsaking God, takes Satan for a friend has surely suffered a loss that is manifest. Because God has created humans in a perfect way (We have indeed created man in the best of moulds (95.4)), no human experiment

can create a better human being. Also God prohibited anything that can alter human consciousness transiently such as alcohol, drugs, and witchcraft, the effects of which can cause people to ruin themselves in body, mind and character, as well as financially. By analogy, scholars argue that the same general principle of preserving human character should apply to attempts to alter character by genetic intervention.

Shaikh Muhammad Al-Ghazali expressed a very clear opinion on the attempts to produce a ‘superman.’ He said: ‘If we consider human fancies and use medicine to realize them, what is likely to happen? We will damage this world.’ He added that we should master ‘ethical engineering’ rather than genetic engineering. Dr Muhammad Al-Mutajali considered that cloning human beings and seeking to produce a ‘superman’ are to be prohibited on the bases of the verse, No change there is in the work wrought by God (30.30), which proscribes such fundamental alterations. He added that such an action could led to the confusion of lineages and ancestry.

Broadly, the consensus seems to be that the use of science for the benefit of the human race is acceptable in Islam, but that fundamental changes in the fundamentals of human nature and (consequently) human relationships are not acceptable. Man should not think that because he has been able to modify the genetic content of plants, he is at liberty to do all that he desires to do in this life. God says (10.24): The likeness of the life of the present is as the rain which We send down from the skies: by its mingling arises the produce of earth which provides food for men and animals till the earth is clad with its golden ornaments and is decked out in beauty. The people to whom it belongs think they have all powers of disposal over it. There reaches it Our command by night or by day and We make it like a harvest clean-mown as if it had not flourished only the day before! Thus We explain the signs in detail for those who reflect.

Scientists at the end of the Conference on Reproduction in Islam recommended that it is legal to use recombinant DNA technology to produce chemicals and drugs needed for the benefit of society and for the elimination of harm. However, the recommendation is general. It is not restricted to human recombinant DNA technology, i.e. there is no detailed ruling on every specific aspect of these new experiments. (The decision may be contrasted, in this respect, to that taken in Makka a decade ago concerning in vitro fertilization.) What is clear from the recommendation is that human cloning is prohibited because it does not fall within the ambit of the general legal principle: ‘The removal of harm and the obtaining of benefits.’ Also, human cloning would result in many unanswerable questions. For example, How can we regulate the relation between the original person and his copies? A person could, in theory, be his or her own parent! What are the consequences for the laws of inheritance? Moreover, human cloning, if ever realized, would annul human relationships based on the family, as marriage would no longer be the way to get children, something that plainly ignores or even contradicts the law of God who says (30.21): And among His signs is this that he created for you mates from among yourselves, that you may dwell in tranquillity with them and He has put love and mercy between your hearts. Verily in that are signs for those who reflect. How would humanity fare without love and mercy between the hearts of men and women? What would be the character of children reared in the absence of a family environment or one lacking in such qualities?

There is a further, also fearful, dimension to the problem. What are the likely consequences between nations if one nation is able, long before the others, to realize this dream of producing a ‘superbreed’? Or the likely consequences within even a single nation? Clearly, only the ‘best’ citizens with ‘perfect’ mental and physical health, will be cloned, or would it be only the richest and most powerful? In either case, discrimination is inevitable and will inevitably lead to conflict.

The hope of producing a ‘superbreed’ or cloning ‘supermen’ is based upon a wildly optimistic estimate of the capacity of human scientific knowledge and of human wisdom in the use of it. It cannot but lead to (if it does not already derive from) a denial of Divine authority and power.

The Qur’an states (76.1-3): Has there not been over man a long period of time when he was a nothing not even mentioned? Verily We created man from a drop of mingled sperm. In order to try him We gave him the gifts of learning and sight. We showed him the way: whether he be grateful or ungrateful.

In sum, not all genetic engineering applications are prohibited and not all are allowed. Those directed towards the benefit of the human race are allowed, but those used to fundamentally alter human nature and God’s work are prohibited. Science must be controlled by religion and ethics because a scientist with no restraints is but a devil.

References

• Al-Jundi, Ahmad, Conference on Reproduction in Islam. Ministry of Health, Kuwait, 1983.
• Beck, Liam et al., Life, 3rd edn. Harper Collins. New York. 1991. ‘Genetic Engineering’ Ahidati, 20 (52). p.15.
• Mashing, Abel Rahman, ‘Transplantation of identical human embryos’, Al Moslemoon, 12 Nov 1993, no 458, p.7.
• Verma, I. ‘Gene Therapy’. Scientific American, Nov 1990 V 263 No 5, pp.34-41.

Jinn are conscious beings charged with Divine obligations.

The word jinn literally means something hidden or veiled from sight. As mentioned earlier (The Fountain No. 15), jinn are a species or kind of beings that cannot be seen with the naked eye, nor can we see them with telescopes or microscopes. In the Qur’an, there is a short chapter called Jinn, which tells us that a band of jinn listened to the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, and some of them believed in his message and some did not:

Say: ‘It has been revealed to me that a company of the jinn gave ear, and they said: “We have heard a wonderful Qur’an, which guides to righteousness, so we believe in it and we shall not join (in belief and worship) any (gods) with our Lord. And (we believe) that He-exalted be the glory of our Lord-has taken neither wife nor son… Among us there are righteous folk and among us there are far from that. We are sects having different rules, (al-Jinn, 72. 1-2, 11)

From this we understand that like mankind, jinn are also conscious beings charged with Divine obligations. Recent discoveries in biology made it clear that God created beings particular to each realm in the universe. Jinn might have been created while the earth was a body of some sort of fire. They preceded mankind in creation and were responsible for cultivating and improving the world. Although God later superseded them with mankind, He did not exempt the jinn from religious obligations.

Jinn are created from smokeless fire

As we mentioned before, the Qur’an states that jinn are created from smokeless fire (al-Rahman, 55.15). In another verse, it clarifies that the fire from which jinn are created is scorching and penetrating as deep as the inner part of the body (al-Hijr, 15.27). We are not certain whether the Qur’an means energy or something like X-rays by smokeless, penetrating and scorching fire.

Jinn, like angels, are not bound by the constraints of time and space within which we move.

Like angels, jinn move extremely fast; they are not bound by the constraints of time and space within which we normally move. However, since the spirit is more active and faster than jinn, a man who lives at the level of the spirit’s life, who can go beyond the limits of matter and the confines of time and space within which normal people live, can excel the jinn in speed and activity. For example, as we read in the Qur’an, when the Prophet Solomon asked those around him who could bring the throne of the Queen of the Yemen, one of the jinn answered that he could bring it before he finished the meeting and stood up from his seat. However, a man who had special knowledge from God replied; ‘I can bring it to you in a time shorter than the twinkling of an eye,’ and he did so (al-Naml, 27.38-40).

Compared to men, jinn, like angels, can do more difficult things.

Nothing is difficult for God Almighty; it is equally easy for Him to create the whole of the universe and a tiny particle. He has provided men, jinn and angels with power and strength appropriate for the function or duties of each. As He uses angels in the supervision of the movements of celestial bodies, He has allowed man to rule on the earth, dominate over matter and build civilizations and produce technology.

Power and strength are not limited to the physical world, nor are they proportional to bodily size. We observe that immaterial things are much more powerful than huge physical bodies. For example, memory is much more spacious and comprehensive than a large room. We can touch with our hands a very near object, but our eyes can travel long distances in an instant while our imagination can go beyond time and space all at once. Winds can pull out trees and demolish huge buildings. A young, thin shoot of a plant can split rocks and appear in sun-light. The power of energy, whose existence we can know through the effect it produces, is known to every body. All this shows that the power of something is not proportional to its physical structure, rather the immaterial world is dominant over the physical world, and immaterial entities are much more powerful than material ones.

Appearance of angels and jinn in the visible world in different forms

As we indicated earlier, it is possible for angels and jinn to take on form and appear in the visible world in the shape of any being. We do observe, in the material world, a movement from the visible to the invisible. For example, the evaporation of water and its disappearance in the atmosphere; the transformation of solid matter into fluid or gas (steam); or, in nuclear fission, the transformation of matter into energy. Likewise, we also observe in the world a movement, in the other direction, namely from the invisible to the visible. Gases become fluid, evaporated water is transformed into drops of rain or snow or even hail, and energy into matter. Similarly, intangible thoughts and meanings in our minds can appear in the tangible form of letters and words in essays and books.

In an analogous way, invisible beings like angels, jinn and other spirit entities are clothed in some material substance such as air or ether and then become visible. According to Imam Shibli, if God wills, He allows them to take on a form when they utter any of God’s Names which functions like a key or visa enabling them to take on form, and they become visible in the world. If they attempt to take on a visible form without God’s permission in reliance on their own abilities, they are torn into pieces and perish.’

We read in the Qur’an (Maryam, 19.17) that the spirit God sent to Mary, and whom Muslim scholars have concluded was the Archangel Gabriel, appeared before her as a human being. When Gabriel came to the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, with Revelation or God’s Messages, he rarely appeared in his original form but usually came in the form of either a warrior or a traveller or a Companion called Dihya. For example, he came in the form of a warrior on horseback following the end of the Battle of the Trench and told the Prophet upon him be peace: ‘O Messenger of God! You have taken off your mail-coat but we, the angels, have not yet done so. God orders you to march upon Banu Qurayza.’ Once he came in the form of a traveller dressed in white and, in order to instruct the Companions in religion, asked the Prophet questions like What is belief? What is Islam? What is Ihsan (excellence or perfection of virtue), and When is Doomsday?

Like angels and jinn, Satan (who belongs to the jinn) can also appear in different forms. It is narrated that before the Battle of Badr he appeared to the leaders of the Quraysh in the form of on old man from Najd and gave them some advice. Likewise, a Companion who was keeping guard of war spoils caught him trying to harm the spoils. He entreated the Companion to release him, which he did. However, when this took place the third time, the Companion attempted to take him to God’s Messenger, but Satan appealed: ‘Release me, and I will tell you that by which you can be secure against me.’ The Companion asked what that was. Satan replied that it was the Verse of the Throne (the verse 255 of sura al-Baqara). When informed of the event, God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, commented: ‘That wicked one is a liar, but on that occasion he told the truth.’

In the chapter of the Qur’an called al-Ahqaf, it is related that a party of jinn listened to God’s Messenger reciting the Qur’an and, when they returned to their people, said: ‘Our people! Surely we listened to a Book which has been revealed after Moses and affirms what precedes it, and which guides to right and to the Straight Path’ (46.30). The sura continues with their impressions of or remarks on what they listened to. There are also Traditions which tell us that the Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, recited to them from the Qur’an and preached to them his Message.

Jinn can also appear in the forms of different animals like snakes, scorpions, cattle, donkeys and birds. When our Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, took the oath of allegiance from them in the valley of Batn al-Nakhla, he wanted them to appear to his Umma either in their own form or in other agreeable forms, not in the forms of harmful animals like dogs and scorpions. He also warned his Umma, saying: ‘When you see any vermin in your house, say to it three times: “For God’s sake, leave here!” For it may be from your jinn friends. If it does not leave, it is not from jinn. Then you are permitted to kill it, if it is harmful.’ The jinn who gave allegiance to God’s Messenger promised him: ‘If your Umma recite basmala (the formula In the Name of God, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate) before anything they do and cover all their dishes, we will touch neither their food nor their drink.’ We do not know how they eat of our foods or drink of our beverages. Another Tradition says: ‘[When you have relieved yourselves] do not clean yourselves with bones and dried pieces of dung, for they are among the foods of your jinn brothers.’