In the US, Thanksgiving was declared an annual national holiday in 1863, however, its actual origin traces back to harvest festivals that were held by many ancient civilizations. The autumn festival, Thesmosphoria of the Greeks, the harvest festival, Cerelia of the Romans, the full moon harvest festival, Chung Ch’ui of the Chinese, Sukkoth of the Jews and the spring harvest festival of the ancient Egyptians are just some examples. Europeans also used to celebrate a good year at the end of the harvesting in fall, long before the establishment of colonial New England. Aside from the harvest festivals that are observed in many parts of the world, today’s Thanksgiving has roots in the Thanksgiving holidays of the English Puritans. In times of crisis or after a period of misfortune, Puritans would designate special days to thank God and to express gratitude for God’s blessings. These serious religious occasions were distinct from the harvest festivals and were not held regularly.

Puritans, or Separatists, were members of a religious movement that broke from the Church of England in the 16th century in order to reform the church and to establish a middle course between Roman Catholicism and the Protestant reformers’ ideas. In the early 17th century, a group of Separatists escaping religious persecution in England immigrated to America in 1620. After a difficult journey on the famous Mayflower, they reached the coast of America near present-day Provincetown, Massachusetts and founded the Plymouth Colony. Shortly after their arrival, the selected governor of the colony signed a treaty of mutual peace with the chief of the Native American tribe, the Wampanoag, so that they could co-exist in the region. Almost all of the immigrants, or Pilgrims, became ill, and half of them died due to the harsh winter and starvation. In the spring of 1621, the Native Americans taught them how to raise corn in this new land, how to catch fish and how to tap maple trees for their syrup. In the fall, the Pilgrims had an abundant harvest and stored enough food to sustain them through the next winter. They invited the members of the Wampanoag tribe to their celebration. Although this event is considered the first American Thanksgiving, there is no evidence that the Pilgrims thought of the feast as a thanksgiving. They were devoutly religious people and a day of thanksgiving would involve fasting and prayer.

Two years after the first American Thanksgiving celebration was held in 1621 in the Plymouth Colony, the Pilgrims observed a day of fasting and prayer due to drought. When the rains came during their prayers, the day turned into a Thanksgiving day. Gradually, they started to celebrate Thanksgiving after the harvest annually.

As the Thanksgiving celebrations in New England spread into other states, colonial governments designated Thanksgiving days to commemorate various public events. During the American Revolution, following the American victory at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777, the Continental Congress proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving. Later on, in 1789, after the promulgation of the U.S. constitution, the President, George Washington, proclaimed another day of Thanksgiving.

New York State became the first state to observe Thanksgiving annually, with many others following. At this time, Thanksgiving celebrations were still not being held on the same day; generally they were held sometime in November. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln appointed the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving day. This took place during the American Civil War. When Congress established Thanksgiving as a national holiday after the war, Southerners saw Thanksgiving as a Northern custom imposed on them. However, in the late 19th century, Thanksgiving became a widespread national observance, as Thanksgiving’s emphasis on home and family appealed to all people throughout the United States. Later immigrants also appreciated Thanksgiving as a distinctly American holiday and saw it as an introduction to American values.

In the 20th century, as materialistic ideas dominated most value systems, Thanksgiving also took its share. The day following Thanksgiving was accepted as the start of the Christmas shopping season. Large retailers began to sponsor parades decorated richly with huge balloons to attract customers. Retail merchants even petitioned President Roosevelt in 1939 to change Thanksgiving day to one week earlier in order to allow for an extra week of shopping between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The change brought about great opposition from fellow Americans, as well as from opponents in Congress. In 1941, the president had to change the date back to the fourth Thursday of November.

Customarily, US presidents address the nation on Thanksgiving Day in an effort to gain public support for current government policies. It would be amiss not to mention football here as an American Thanksgiving tradition, as many people enjoy their evening watching the Rose Bowl.

Today’s Thanksgiving is about sharing food, family, friends and love. Family members come together at a table loaded with many tasty blessings from God. Classical Thanksgiving menus include turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie, food that is plentiful during the harvest season. As more people immigrated to North America, they brought their traditional food to the Thanksgiving tables. Preparing and eating a large meal is a central part of Thanksgiving, in a way contrary to the spirit of the early Pilgrims, who fasted to express their thankfulness to God. The memory of the Pilgrims still survives though, in the parades of children dressed up in Pilgrim costume, with their tall hats or bonnets and shoes with large silver buckles and in the images of baskets overflowing with fruits and vegetables, that reminds one of the old autumn harvest celebrations. At the Thanksgiving table people usually express their thanks for their family, children, their good health and their well being. Children on the other hand are often not sure what to be thankful for, or they may just be thankful that there is no school on Thanksgiving Day.

Thanksgiving is not just a celebration once a year. It is an act that expresses our gratitude for any gift or blessing from God. Thanksgiving as a holiday may be seen as an American institution, but it is something that belongs to many cultures and religions.

Thanksgiving in Islam

In Islam, thanksgiving is the most important pillar of being a good worshipper and a beloved servant of God. Many verses in the Qur’an express the importance of thanksgiving. Remember Me then and I will remember you. Give thanks to Me and do not be ungrateful. (2:152). If you disbelieve, God does not need you, although He does not approve disbelief in His servants. However, if you give thanks, He will approve that in you. No sinning soul shall bear the burden of another. Then unto your Lord is your return and He will tell you what you used to do. He knows the secrets within the breasts. (39:7)

Many other verses emphasize that what the Creator requests most of His servants is thanksgiving. We have indeed created man from a mixed sperm to test him; and so We made him capable of hearing and sight. We have guided him upon the path, either as thankful or thankless. (76:2-3)

It was out of His mercy that He created the day and the night, so that you may rest in it and to seek some of His bounty, that perchance you may give thanks. (28:73)

Also in Sura al-Rahman (55), it is asked repeatedly: So, which of your Lord’s bounties do you deny? The bounties, such as fruits with different aromas and flavors, are invitations from God for thanksgiving. In this respect, thanksgiving is the appreciation of the providence coming from God, and respect for it. It is an expression of our acceptance of God as the Provider and Sustainer of our presence, rather than crediting our own efforts or mere chance. Thanksgiving is the connection of the worshipper with the name All-Merciful, one of the ninety nine beautiful names of God.

Signs of thanksgiving are contentment, thrift, consent and gratitude, while those of unthankfulness are greed, waste, ingratitude and consumption without discriminating between the lawful and unlawful. There are many kinds of thanksgiving, the most comprehensive of which is the daily prescribed prayers. As it is stated in a hadith;* The Prophet used to pray so much that his feet used to become edematous or swollen, and when he was asked as to why he prays so much, he would say, ˜Shall I not be a thankful servant (to God)?’

Thanksgiving can be an oral or physical act. Saying Al-hamdulillah (praise be to God) in response to a blessing we have appreciated is a kind of thanksgiving. Using our hands, eyes, time and wealth in accordance with God’s will is also thanksgiving. God had already given you victory at Badr, at a time when you were still powerless; so fear God that perchance you might be thankful. (3:123)

Other prophets were also ordered to be thankful for God’s blessings. give thanks, O family of David! And very few of My servants are grateful. (34:13) Indeed, Abraham was a model (of virtue), obedient to God and upright; and he was not one of the polytheists. (He was) thankful for His blessings, and God chose and guided him to a straight path. And We gave him good in this world, and he will be, in the Hereafter, in the ranks of the Righteous. (16:120-122)

Then he (Solomon) smiled, laughing at its words, and said: Lord, inspire me to be thankful for Your blessing, with which You have blessed me and my parents, and to do the right pleasing to You. Admit me, by Your Mercy, into the company of Your righteous servants. (27:19)

One can also realize the importance of thanksgiving from the supplications of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), who desired nothing more than to be a thankful servant of God.

Islamic teachings define human beings as the best of creation. Only through thanksgiving can people attain this highest of ranks, otherwise they will fall to the lowest of the low. In a sense, a Muslim should observe each day of his/her life as a thanksgiving day.

References

• Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2003
• William Bradford by Dorothy Honiss Kelso, www.pilgrimhall.org/bradfordwilliam.htm
• Glorious Qur’an
• The Duty of Thanksgiving, http://www.herkul.org/spring/duty.htm
• (*) Sahih Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 76, Number 478: Narrated by Al-Mughira bin Shu’ba

In a book that deals with questions of logic, when we see numbers written in succession, such as 5, 15, 25; then we are able to discover the relation between these numbers, to predict the next number and to realize that this pattern was made by somebody. However, if we were to be told that these figures indicate the distance covered in equal segments of time by a pebble that has been dropped from a certain height, most of us would not think about the One Who made this general rule.

Or for example, the equation 11.111.111 x 111.111.111 = 12.345.678.987.654.321 may be as amazing to some people as the verses of a beautiful poem, whereas it will leave others cold.

Likewise, the famous mysterious symbols of mathematics, e, i, , are nothing more than some alphabetical signs for most of us, nevertheless they must have meant a lot to the famous physicist, Richard Feyman, since he wrote the following equation in his diary, noting that he admired it: ei+1=0

If we write f (z) = Z2 + c;, this will not be a meaningful sentence for most people. But that will not change the fact that it is an incredibly simple expression of biological and physical reality in an expression which concerns our lives (as in fractal logic). And the picture you see here (Figure 1) is nothing but the analytical projection of this equation on a computer screen.

The spiral form (Figure 2) which can be seen in various things from cone shells to nebulas, has a very simple formula, r2=a2/A which is fascinating for those who spend some time to think about it. All these examples have a point in common. These numbers, which are abstract concepts, are as real as the concrete objects of the physical world. While other sciences make sense, more or less, for a layperson, mathematics can only be appreciated by people who know it well.

The mythological Princess Dido of Phoen-icia fled from the city where her husband (the King;s brother) had been slain by the King. She wanted to settle in Carthage, in North Africa. There the King only allowed her to buy as much land as could be covered by the skin of a cow. Dido decided to interpret the word ;cover; in a wider sense. She had her servants cut the skin in thin strips, connecting them to each other. In the end, she obtained a long cord, estimated to be somewhere from between 1,000 to 2,000 m. long. When it came to placing it on the ground, Dido wanted to find the shape that would cover the largest area. She found the right shape. She made a circle on the ground and she was able to encompass quite a large area of land. As a matter of fact, looking at some ancient castles, we can understand that they were built in this way in order to create the largest structure over the smallest possible area. This explains why the cross-section of a vessel tissue is circular, because it occupies minimal space in the body (Figure 9).

Did you know that mathematical reality applies in our body and in the universe? This fact was realized when scientists developed fractal geometry. The fractal structure we see in the roots and leaves of plants and in the human respiratory and vascular systems are very good examples of this fact. Such excellence indicates the All-Knowing Omnipotent One Who is behind these geometrical designs (Figures 4, 5, 6).

What is the invisible secret of this visible structure? Dido had to enclose the maximum area by using limited material, which she accomplished. Such optimization also exists in the human body and in other living things. The biological systems we have mentioned above have vessel systems designed as fractal networks, delivering the necessary substances to cells. Essentially, these systems are designed in such a way that the vessels occupy minimal space while serving all the cells within the system; this can only be realized through such a fractal structure.

The most striking proof supporting this idea is that if the human veins, which do not take up a great deal of space in the body, were all added together, they would reach a length that is three times the circumference of the world.

How can this be possible? This can be explained quite simply: find an equilateral triangle and carry out the following instructions. First, divide each side of the triangle into three equal sections and place another (smaller) equilateral triangle on the middle section of each side you have divided, facing outwards. If you repeat the same thing for each of these small triangles, you will create the pattern below (Figure 8).

In a fractal structure, as the number of branches near infinity, the shape of the structure resembles a circle more and more. The new area we will find cannot be bigger than the area of the circle, and the points of contact with the circle will approach the maximum value (Figure 9).

We can also explain this fact in the following way: take a circle with a radius of 3 cm. This will serve as the cross-section of a cylindrical object. Then draw seven smaller identical circles inside the first circle. You will see that the proportion between the sum of circumferences and the sum of areas is 5/7. Those who are interested in mathematics will see that as the value of the r (radius) decreases, the difference increases. This clearly indicates that fractal structures are always advantageous. So, what about organs like the brain or the lungs? They do not have a completely fractal structure, yet they really need to have a larger surface area than other objects of equal size. These organs have been enabled to have the largest possible surface area by being convoluted. Otherwise, man would be a strange creature, burdened with a huge mass on his back. Similarly, when we look at a map that shows the coastlines, we see that a coastline that has many capes and bays has a longer coast line than its counterparts, which run straight along the land. All these living things or organs (man, trees, brain etc) have such structures from the very moment they are created. This system or project (Figure 10) cannot have developed on its own, by chance, without there having been a Creator.

Sir James Jean says, ;The Creator must be a perfect Mathematician; in his book The Mysterious Universe. In so saying, he draws attention to mathematics, the mysterious pattern in the universe, and points to the Artist behind the ornamented beauty seen in Creation. The magical science of mathematics whispers its secrets to those who try to perceive it through the eyes of wisdom.

There are several verses in the Quran that outline very clearly why God created the universe and humankind. God was the only existence, and He wanted to be known, loved, and obeyed by intelligent beings that, unlike the angels, would have the free will to choose to worship God. Thus, God created the universe in which the human beings would dwell, multiply, and be subject to a life-long trial, lasting until Judgment Day when the universe would be destroyed, only to turn into a different realm for the Hereafter.

The human mind has the intellectual capacity to contemplate nature and to reach the conclusion that there has to be a Creator for this complexity to exist in such an orderly manner. Yet, how could we know the reason why God created the universe and humankind in particular? Islam recognizes three sources for the answers: the messengers, the scriptures (the Quran in particular), and the universe as ˜the book of signs. These sources explain that creation is a necessary manifestation and the purpose of this manifestation is for the creatures to know God, to love God, and to worship and obey God.

The Word Khalq (creation) and the Creator Al-Khaliq

The Arabic word khalq comes from the root kh-l-q and refers to the act of creation. Creation in Islamic terminology primarily signifies creating something from nothingness in accordance with the creatio ex nihilo (the doctrine of the theory of creation from nothingness). The ability to create belongs only and only to God, who is the al-Khaliq. He is the One Who creates from nothing, establishing at the same time the states, conditions, and the sustenance of all that He has created.1

Islam is built on the principal of the unity (tawhid) of God, which is prevalent in every aspect and practice of the religion. Since He is the only creator, the entire universe owes its existence to God; therefore He is the only one worthy of worship. Likewise, all Islamic principles are deduced by reason, are built on each other, and can be traced back to the fact that God is the Sole Creator.

Sustaining the Creation

The Creator not only has created, but also governs the world according to an order that issues from His Wisdom as well as His Will.2 Thus, Gods Hand is present in all things at all times, as is evident in the harmony and order of nature. The Quranic verse In Whose Hand is the dominion (malakut) of all things(23:88) explains this phenomenon clearly. Everything in the cosmos has a divine aspect to it, since everything was created and is sustained by the Divine One, and more particularly, because God breathed into everything His Divine Breath. Ibn ˜Arabi states that there is no property in the cosmos without a divine support and a lordly attribute.3

The very essence of the cosmos is the ˜Breath of the Compassionate (nafas al-Rahman) while cosmic forms and all that constitutes the order of nature emanate from the archetype realities and ultimately the Divine Essence Itself.4

Thus, Islam views each animate and inanimate being as sacred, as reflecting some aspect of God. Environmen-talism and humanism (in the sense of loving human beings because of the Creator) are innate to Islam due to this principle, and are manifest in Islamic literature and the practices of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

The Purpose of the Creation of the Universe

Islamic theology holds that creation is not without a purpose, rather it has a divine purpose. Numerous verses in the Quran urge humans to question and to observe the creation so that they can understand that it has not been and cannot be created in vain.

Not without purpose did We create heaven and earth and all between! That was the thought of the Unbelievers! But woe to the Unbelievers because of the Fire (of Hell)!(38:27)

“Did you, then, think that We created you in vain and that unto Us you will not be returned?” (23:115)

Gods intention in creating the universe is clearly outlined in the Quran and is centered on humanity. Numerous verses in the Quran explain how the whole universe, the heavens and the earth are arranged to provide for and to serve humanity (Quran: 2:22; 2:29). Thus the universe and everything within are subordinate to mankind, putting the responsibility on man to take care of nature, bringing us back to the environmentalism theme in Islam.

The universe has another, more essential role to play other than for serving humanity. Nature is a divine revelation reflecting and manifesting the Creator. In other words, the most important trait of the cosmos is its theophany. God has also designed it to be a book of signsfor humankind. Human beings may recognize Gods Majesty and comprehend His Divine Names by contemplating nature. As Esposito argues, nature, properly viewed, becomes a revealed book very much like the Quran is itself, composed of individual signs or miracles.5

Do they not look at the sky above them? How We have made it and adorned it, and there are no flaws in it?(50:6)

When viewed from this perspective, the universe takes on an entirely different meaning and becomes increasingly significant for man. The study of natural sciences becomes almost an act of worship, since it leads to knowledge of the Creator. God, in the above verses, urges humans to use the intelligence that He gave them. It is emphasized that we are given this intelligence (and were not created as a plant or an animal, with limited intelligence) so that we use it in the right way and recognize God. Early Muslims took up this command; both natural and social sciences flourished in the Muslim world for centuries in medieval times.

In one of the most well-known phrases on the subject of the purpose of creation, God conveyed through Prophet Muhammad (pbuh): I was a Hidden Treasure and I loved to be known, and so I created the world.6 God manifests His Treasures through His creation since He is a transcendent being that cannot be limited to time and space, and cannot be conceived directly. Also, Prophet Muhammads (pbuh) own words explain that the universe and its contents were created in order to make known the Creator, and to make known that good is to praise it.7 Both of these hadith refer to and require a being with free will and intelligence to know and praise God, which brings us to the core of the matter.

The Purpose of the Creation of Humankind

If the universe was created to serve humanity then what is the purpose of creation for humankind? There are three main reasons that are agreed upon by a wide range of scholars as to why God created humanity: to know God, to love God, and to worship God. All of the Prophets, the revealed scriptures and the universe, as the book of signs, serve as tools through which we know God. The reason for their existence is solely to guide humanity to recognize, acknowledge, and revere God as He deserves. Only after knowing God can we begin to love God in a more conscious and appreciative manner.

I have not created the jinn and mankind except to worship (ibaadah) Me(51:56).

Then the question takes on a new form; what is meant by serving God, or how does one serve God? The Arabic word used in this verse is ˜ibaadah, which translates into English as worship(origin weorthscipe, meaning honor). In this sense, all the prophets preached ˜ibaadah, conveying the message of what God wants human beings to do. In general, worship is defined as all those acts within the circle of halal8 (the acts do not have to be physical, even an intention can be counted as worship) done for the sake of God, to please Him.

Why does God want human beings to worship him by obeying Him and His Divine Laws? Without faith in ones heart, the immediate response to obedience and worship is ˜why does God need my worship? However, it is the human beings themselves who need the worship. Islam presents Divine Laws that guide all aspects of life by distinguishing right from wrong. The Creator alone knows best what is beneficial for His creation and what is not. The divine laws command and prohibit various acts and substances to protect the human spirit, human body and society from harm. In order for human beings to fulfill their potential by living righteous lives, they need to worship God through obedience to His commandments.9 Also, the underlying purpose of the regular acts of worship is to constantly remember God.

What follows is the trial, a concept common to all three monotheistic traditions, although in Islam it takes on a slightly different connotation (The Quran: 18:7; 67:2). Human beings will be held accountable for every single action they do in this life, good as well as bad. Since God provided humanity with guidelines (Divine scriptures) and Messengers and since He gave us intelligence and free will, without accountability and the Judgment Day, creation would be in vain.

He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days-and His Throne was over the waters – that He might try you, which of you is best in conduct(11:7)

God created the heavens and the earth in truth, so that every soul may be rewarded for what it has earned; and they shall not be wronged.(45:22).

The Vicegerency of Humanity

The optimal reason for the creation of humankind lies in the concept of vicegerency. What does it mean for humanity to be the vicegerent of God on earth? God called upon the whole of creation and informed them that He had a trust to offer. All of creation, including the mountains, refused to accept this challenging trust, all, that is, except humanity. Thus, humanity became Gods trustee on earth. There are varying arguments for the definition of the trust. Mawlavi claims that since the only unique trait that humans possess is free will and choice, then this must be the trust. There are several extremely clear verses in the Quran stating that God has appointed humanity as His vicegerent on earth.

It is He Who made you successors on the earth.(6:165)

Philips explains this long term cycle of the role of human beings as follows:

God created human beings with the potential to be good and evil. He implanted in man the desires that need to be controlled according to the Divine Law. God created human beings knowing that they would disobey Him. He thus taught them how to repent and purify themselves. The story of Adam and Eve is a prototype of the human beings repeated cycle. They forgot Gods commandment and were lured by Satan. They disobeyed God and afterwards repented and God forgave them.10

Conclusions to be drawn

The Quran outlines the appropriate chain of conclusions to draw after acknowledging God as the sole creator. Since God created existence and is the source of sustenance, then His creatures should live according to His Will. Thus, the Messengers and the revealed divine scriptures expound the right way of life for His creatures. God urges humans to use their intelligence and power of reasoning to contemplate the universe and the scriptures so that they can recognize and acknowledge Gods wonders. Awe for and thankfulness to God naturally follow, as existence depends only upon Him.

O people, worship your Lord Who has created you as well as those who came before you so that you may guard against evil.(2:21).

His being the creator is a central reason that he is deserving of worship for the entire universe owes its existence to him;11 therefore worship is a requirement of loving and acknowledging God. Also, Worship of him proceeds not merely from his gracious creative act in the past but from dependence upon him for existence at every instant of the present and the future.12

“And why should I not worship Him Who created me, and to Whom you shall be brought back?(36:22).

Conclusion

As is evident from the abundance of Quranic verses related to the creation process and the purpose of creation, God did not leave much room for interpretation nor did He leave this subject ambiguous. Since creation is not a divine comedy, humanity has to understand the reasons for its creation, thus enabling the purpose of creation to be fulfilled. The answer to the crucial question, ˜why have we been created? helps unfold numerous other religious and philosophical questions, thus it is an inclusive and important matter to study and comprehend in the context of Islam.

Conclusively, the purpose of creation can be summarized as follows: God was the only Being; He wanted to be known, loved, and obeyed by intelligent beings that would have the free will to choose to worship God. Creation was not a necessity, but a result of the Divine Will of God. We, as human beings, regard our lives as the most precious thing we have and we would do anything not to lose them. It is, therefore, His Mercy to have created us as human beings without even our knowledge, and also that He sustains us and makes it possible for us to enjoy this life. From this perspective, loving and worshipping God becomes more relevant and logical. 

Footnotes

1 Bayrak, Sheikh Tosun. The Name and The Named.Fons Vitae, 2000., p. 64.

2 Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Religion and The Order of Nature.Oxford University Press, 1996, p. 53.

3 Ibid, p. 61.

4 Ibid, p. 61.

5 Esposito, John. The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World.Oxford University Press, 1995, p.474.

6 Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Ideals and Realities of Islam,ABC International Group, Chicago, 2000, p. 133.

7 Lings, Martin. Symbol and Archetype: A Study of the Meaning of Existence.Malta, Quinta Essentia, 1991, p. 1.

8 ˜Circle of halal is a phrase used to signify all those things, acts, and inten

tions that fall into the category of the permissible in Islam.

9 Philips, Abu Ameenah Bilal. Belief: The Purpose of Creation. www.viewislam.com/belief/purpose, p.3.

10 Ibid.

11 Esposito, John. The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World.Oxford University Press, 1995, p. 472.

12 Ibid, p. 472.

References

• Khan, Pir Vilayat Inayat. Awakening: A Sufi ExperiencePenguin Putnam, New York, 1999.
• Mutahhari, Ayatullah Murtada. Fundamentals of Islamic Thought: God, Man and the Universe.Mizan Press, Berkeley, 1985.
• Mutahhari, Ayatullah Murtada. Goal of Life. Foreign Department of Bethat Foundation, Islamic Republic of Iran. www.al-islam.org/short/goal.
• Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Knowledge and the Sacred.Crossroads Publishing, New York, 1981.
• Nursi, Bediuzzaman Said. The Words: On the Nature and Purposes of Man, Life, and All Things.Sozler Publications, Turkey, 1992.
• Perry, Whithall. A Treasury of Traditional Wisdom.Quinta Essentia, United Kingdom, 1971.
• Philips, Abu Ameenah Bilal. Belief: The Purpose of Creation. www.viewislam.com/belief/purpose.
• Shariati, Ali. Man and Islam.Filinc Ltd, Texas, 1981.
• Ward, Keith. Religion and Creation.larendon Press, Oxford, 1996.

The physical body of a human being is in fact a coordinated and cooperative organization consisting of billions of cells. Every hour, millions of old cells die and millions of new cells are produced in a human body. A young body can produce new cells as fast as they degenerate. However, the total number of cells decrease in the body as a result of aging. Brain cells cannot be renewed after a certain age. Cell loss increases and the number of healthy cells decreases as the body ages. Thus, life gradually loses its balance. As a result of the loss of balance, the harmony and order of the body tend to break down, and death becomes inevitable.

The Indications of Death and its Occurrence

For an organism, especially for the human body, which is one of the most complicated organisms, designating the exact moment of death is rather controversial. There are different methods used today to accurately detect the exact moment of death. It is accepted that a moribund person displays typical signs of death. According to research, there is a period of struggle that precedes the actual moment of death. For sudden death situations, this period is short. On the other hand, if the death is due to a chronic illness, this period may consist of hours or even days. The major signs of death are, for the most part, as follows: the skin becomes pale and loses its elasticity. It is observed that in the eye the blood circulation stops in the retinal arterioles. The muscles lose their tension and there is a loss of bulk. Respiration stops and the pulse fades. The body loses heat until it reaches room temperature. 2-3 hours after death, rigor mortis occurs, due to the hardening of the muscle fibers.

Despite all of these signs, it still seems impossible to detect the exact instance of death. It is well known that many people who have been assumed to be dead have returned to life after some time has passed. According to the information in the book by Lyall Watson, The Biology of Death (Watson, 1987), the definition of death in the Experimental Reanimation Physiology Laboratory is: A state where all life signs, such as consciousness, reflexes, respiration and the heart beat cease, however the organism, as a whole, is not dead yet, the metabolic processes inside the tissues continue and under certain circumstances, all the vital functions can be resumed.The aforementioned signs are in fact the external appearance of death and the explanation of death on a physical level. However, in reality, during the process of death, other than those concerning the physical body, there also exist some interesting, complicated transformations and events, that still await explanation.

The Concept of Second Body

In England, in a study carried out concerning the events that occur just before death, scientists from Southampton Hospital noticed that people who were assumed to be clinically dead could sense most feelings. After brain death has been declared, that is when a patient is assumed to be clinically dead, the scientists claim that, contrary to common opinion, patients can have various feelings. According to these scientists, patients can also perceive the flow of time and light. In a study carried out by Dr. Sam Qarniea and Dr. Peter Fenwick from Southampton Hospital, 63 people who had returned to life from the edge of death (caused by heartfailure) were interviewed. Dr. Fenwick, one of the researchers who interviewed these 63 patients, 4 of whom were pronounced as clinically dead, said that, If it is possible to consider the mind and brain separately, this brings up the question whether the consciousness is awake after death. The results of this research have raised new debates throughout the world.

6 people who were regarded as being dead by modern medicine have claimed that while their brains were regarded as non-functional, that first they saw a bright beam of light, then they entered a happy and peaceful world that was very difficult to describe. Experts pointed out that these 6 people were interviewed separately and yet they used the same expressions; this is a fact which cannot be ignored.

Besides studies on death, people who have been involved in fatal accidents say that they felt comfortable and peaceful at the time of the accident. In the book by Lyall Watson it is mentioned that in such circumstances past memories flash up and the whole life of the person appears in front of their eyes, like a movie. Memories fade away, being replaced with a mystical spiritual state. The nurse who entered a coma remembers that she was seeing a picture of the Taj Mahal; and a mountain climber that fell from a cliff recalls his memories as follows: ˜My body was being crushed and ripped apart, hitting the rocks, however, my consciousness was totally independent of these physical wounds and pain, and it did not even feel them.

Besides the physical body, people have always felt the presence of another body, which is invisible and retains its existence after death. Today, many researchers and experts have begun to talk about the existence of a second body. This body is called the astral, the aetheric or the double.

Previously, the concept of a second body, which has not been accepted by some scientists, was scientifically identified and even photographed. For many years, scientists have been experimenting on the bright light that radiates from the human body when exposed to a high frequency electric current. Some evidence was found regarding the existence of an energy body in living creatures; in other words, the existence of a second body composed of energy has been determined. What is this energy body? What is its origin?

The Relationship between Matter and Energy

The theory of relativity has dramatically changed our view about matter. This theory has shown us that matter is only a form of energy. On the other hand, energy is a quantity related to activity, period and movement. The fact that the mass of a particle is equivalent to a certain amount of energy leads to the conclusion that the particle cannot be regarded as a static object. Accordingly, the mass of a particle is a dynamic object, in other words, the energy appears as mass.

Recently conducted high energy dispersion experiments have shown us in a striking manner the dynamic and continuously changing structure of the world of particles. As a result of these experiments, it has been discovered that matter is entirely a variable entity. Thus, all particles can be transformed into other particles. Particles can be formed from energy or they can be transformed completely into energy. In todays world, classical concepts such as essential particles, material essence or isolated mass/entity have lost their meaning. As a result, the universe as a whole can be seen as an elaborate network of energy processes that cannot be separated one from another and cannot exist alone. Realizing that mass is a form of energy has led modern physics to disregard the understanding of mass as a material thing with a stable body; we have begun to refer to atoms as energy fields, not as the essence and basis for matter. Yet energy is a concept related to movement and activity.

On the other hand, force and matter emerge as consequences of the various assumptions of dynamic processes and structures, which we refer to as the particle. And these are not unrelated to each other. It would be more convenient to regard them as different perspectives of the same truth.

Besides noting that mass is, in fact, a form of energy, energy was also regarded as the mass of light. In modern physics, mass is no longer bound to a material essence, therefore it is assumed that particles are not composed of a basic matter. Now particles are regarded as being energy clusters. However, since energy is related to activity and time processes, subatomic particles are thought to be essentially dynamic.

These dynamic forms, or energy clusters, form the atomic and molecular structures that are the building blocks of substances and that make matter appear macroscopically in a concrete form. Eventually, we arrive at a false conclusion that matter is composed of material essences.

The efforts of humanity to find the truth by trial and error and our desire to discover the essence of everything has broadened the boundaries of science and has brought metaphysics into the arena of science. Today, science is pushing back the boundaries of the unknown by using the God-given abilities of questioning, interpretation and investigation. As a result of improvements in science, scientists have reached the point where they have begun to discover existence beyond matter and to question its properties.

We should disregard the terms and models that we have become accustomed to use scientifically when we go deeper into nature and investigate the ray-like quantity, called energy, that does not have limitations in space and is beyond the dimension of time. When we go beyond the dimensions surrounding us, mechanical terms lose their meaning and they are replaced by organic terms. These terms have attracted attention because of their spiritually based nature.

Kirlian Photography Technique:

Developments in the twentieth century have provided us with supporting evidence that beings are not composed only of their bodily parts, and that there are mysteries beyond matter and energy. Among these are the experiments that took place in the 1940s which demonstrated that living things have a secondary energy body. This technique was named after Semyon and Vaentilla Kirlian, inventors and electricians from Krasnodar, Russia. In the presence of a high-frequency, high-voltage, low-amperage electrical field, the photographs of different objects show glowing, multicolored emanations. These are said to be auras or biofields. After years of study, they were able to take pictures of the energy field that surrounds humans, animals, plants and all living organisms. Their research and subsequent discoveries were the result of observations made in a hospital. During the shock treatment of a patient, there were sparks that jumped through the glass electrodes on the skin of the patient. Inspired by this, Semyon Kirliyan used the instrument at home and performed the first experiment on himself. During the experiment, he saw a blue spark along with a small electric shock and when he processed the film, he saw the silhouette of his finger. Blazing beams from his finger were easily seen in this very first photograph.

The Kirlian technique attracted much attention in many universities in Russia. In 1968 doctors V. Inyushin, W. Grisshchenko, N. Vorobev, N. Shoinki, N. Federova, and F. Gibadulin stated in a joint declaration that All living organisms not only have a physical body composed of atoms and molecules, but they also have an energy body which is a replica of the physical one. This second body was called the bioplasmic body.

Bioplasmic Body and Life

Studies on plants showed that there is a great difference between the radiation that surrounds a faded leaf that is drying out and a fresh leaf, newly picked from its branch. In consecutive photographs of the fresh leaf, the radiation is continuous and dynamic, whereas in those of the dried leaf there is no radiation present. This means that, as a result of the loss of life, the radiation also fades away slowly. In the photograph of a leaf which is partially torn, the missing piece can be observed in its place, however, the energy field belonging to the missing part fades after a while. When living organisms die slowly, the sparks and flames of the bioplasmic body extend outwards and eventually fade away.

As everything has been created in pairs, the twin of our physical body is said to be the virtual body in Islamic literature. The virtual body that is detectable by the Kirlian photography technique has many different names, such as the light covering (Ghilaf-i nurani), the aetheral body (athir-i badan”), the energy body, the second body, the perispirit, the double, the astral body. We have been told that the second body serves as a sheath and a covering for the soul. After death, as a result of the Divine Wisdom, the soul leaves the body, which has served it as a material envelope; however, the soul does not leave the figurative body. The Kirlian photographs have been used to support the view that all living organisms have an energy body which is a copy of their physical body composed of atoms and molecules. In an experiment, an American Doctor Watters exposed about 50 grasshoppers to ether and took their photograph. This was done as soon as he was confident that the grass-hoppers were about to die, and after he had filled the room with steam. As a result, he was able to capture the images of about 13 grasshoppers.

In the former Soviet Union, yogis who can travel out of their body were subjects of scientific research. People can make their energy body leave their physical body under certain conditions, such as during a time of crisis, when in a coma, when meditating, or under the effect of anesthetics. As a result, their soul appears with the energy body.

Appear (as in Tamassul) means to emerge in any shape. Angels, and jinn too, can appear to the human eye (tamassul) as well as in the imagination of humans. Ted Serious, an American, was able to observe the image of his thoughts on the film of a camera while focusing on the objective lens (1960s).

Abstract objects can intervene with the physical world. As time passes, this becomes more evident. When the soul manifests in its virtual body, it looks like itself (that is, the physical body of the person). When we are asleep and our physical body is at rest, an interesting mechanism takes our virtual body into the virtual heavens. The virtual body performs many activities and meets with the double bodies of many people in the world outside the limits of time and location. In death, on the other hand, the virtual body leaves the body and never comes back. The new soul, free from the body goes to the heavens and starts its new life.

Extrasensory Perception: Mediums and Human Aura

There are many mysteries tied up with human beings; the universe is at their service. In fact every member of the human race is a universe in his/her own right. Although humans have many things in common, we can see that some people have extremely improved sensibilities. For some, this sensibility shows itself as extra sensory perception. These people can see some things that we cannot see during the day, while they are awake, or during meditation. The second pair of eyes that enable us to see the virtual bodies of the energy universe can sometimes be used during everyday life. These people tell us that they can see an aura around other people and this aura changes color and is different in sickness or at stressful, difficult times. They can even determine the character and personality of a person by looking at their aura.

Very interesting and informative results have been obtained from observations made by these sensitive people of dying people. The things they see should be investigated and taken into consideration. According to the results of such observations, the energy body, which normally appears as an aura that is present in all living organisms, leaves the body at the instant of death and is able to move consciously out of the body. In other words, when the physical body dies, the second body recovers life.

Davis Observations

Observations of a famous American ESP expert on the death of a dying woman are as follows: There appeared a strong focus, which was gradually increasing around the brain when the woman was about to die. This thing was becoming brighter and stronger as the struggle decreased and the paleness in the body increased. These struggles that are observed during the death are not related to pain and are not felt by the soul. These are entirely organic movements. When the moment of death was near, the organs of the body fell onto the bed like a vacant case and in turn the formation of the other body was being completed separately from the patient. The first part that left the patient was the head of the body and then slowly the remaining parts left the body and finally, it stood up at the front of the head of the patient. There was a bright cord connecting these two bodies, which we refer as the ˜life cord. When this cord broke, some part of it remained on the corpse. It is probably this piece that prevents the corpse from decomposing immediately. The virtual body of the woman became slowly used to freedom and left the house consciously, as if it knew what to do.

We have given just one example of such observations with common themes. Among these is the cloudy image that emerges from the body of the dying person connected to the body by a cord of divine light. As this cord breaks away, this body departs, acting as if it knows where to go.

The common point of these discoveries is that there is an existence of a virtual body that affects all of our bodily organs, making us alive, conscious and able to function; all of this has become more clear in the light of science. We have begun to understand that death is nothing more than the departure of the second body from the corpse and that death is not nonexistence or annihilation, but on the contrary, that it is a passage to a new world where everyone will gather, one by one.

References

• Lyall Watson, THE BIOLOGY OF DEATH: A Natural History of Death, London: Sceptre, 1987 ISBN: 0 340 41727 7
• http://www.occultopedia.com/k/kirlian_photography.htm
• Moss, Thelma, The Body Electric, J.P. Tarcher Inc., Los Angeles , 1979.
• Harold Burr, The Electrodynamic Theory of Life, The Black Box, Connecticut, Yale University Press, 1935

The Plaza of Abraham is a place that will host and welcome people of all faiths, especially followers of the Abrahamic faiths. The Plaza is envisioned as being built on approximately ten acres of land. On this land a large circle, called Abraham’s Circle, has been planned. Three places of worship are positioned on the circle. If the circle were a clock, at 3 o’clock there is a mosque, at 7 o’clock a synagogue, and at 11 o’clock a church is located. These will be active places of worship. People will feel safe and comfortable in these places. To illustrate this feeling of safety and comfort for our readers, we would like to them to imagine that they are going to stay in a foreign city, where they do not know the language. They may well prefer to stay in a hotel which is part of a well-known chain. A significant number of people visiting foreign cities would prefer to stay in a well-known hotel, because even though they have come to this foreign city to explore and discover new, fascinating facts of history and geography, even though they are there to visit places, meet people and otherwise live an experience that is novel and different from what their experience at home, they would still prefer to stay in a place that is familiar to them, as a starting point. In the same way do the places of worship on the Circle of Abraham serve as safe and comfortable starting points for people who want to discover other religions. They give the message: Come, you are safe here.

The imams, the rabbis and the priests to be employed in these places of worship are not simply religious leaders; they are scholars as well. They can and are willing to study different religions without any prejudice. They are also guides for other people in the dialogue experience, they serve to protect this effort from falling into a common dilemma: the blind leading the blind. In interfaith dialogue, in efforts where knowledgeable people are not involved, ignorant members of the groups can easily turn the atmosphere into a critical one. In order to prevent such occurrences, these scholarly religious leaders have authority over the people of their faith and there is an internalized approach to dialogue, based on such principles of interfaith dialogue as courtesy, respect, self-critical examination, abandonment of preconceptions and seeking first to understand before trying to be understood.

The plaza will also have a computerized digital library that provides access to digital copies of the main sources for all three religions. Scholars of the different religions will come together to discuss recent issues, and past and possible future interpretations of the religious sources. These efforts focus on searching for interpretations of the sources that foster peace, harmony and mutual coexistence instead of animosity.

A common value to each of these three faiths is hospitality. To bring this common value to the fore, Abraham’s plaza has a feast table covered by a large tent. Once a year a celebration will be held that will last for many days and weeks. Through this event, the People of the Book (as described in the Qur’an) become the People of the Tent. A feast like this is also likely to attract young people. The feast itself and the possibility of making friends from other faiths and nations is likely to be attractive to them.

We envision replicas of Abraham’s Plaza being constructed on all continents of the earth: Europe, Asia, the Americas, Australia and Africa. We envision plazas in major cities, as well as in any small towns where there is a representation of all these faiths. We live in a strange age. We have the best, most widespread and fastest means of communication and transportation to date. Yet the world still faces challenges of misunderstanding and animosity. Projects like the Abraham’s Plaza are needed to get everyday people involved in an interfaith dialogue and in the active pursuit of a more peaceful world.

Reference

• Feiler, Bruce. Abraham, a Journey into the Hearts of Three Faiths. Harper Collins Publishers, 2002.

Every soul shall have a taste of death (Quran 3:185). Like everything else, stars live and die. Would it make any difference if you knew that the iron in your blood and the calcium in your bones had been assembled inside stars? Atoms heavier than iron are formed by rapid nuclear reactions that can only occur when a massive star explodes. Gold, which is not crucial for our lives, and iodine, which is important for our health, are available, thanks to the violent deaths of massive stars.

The death of a star leads to one of three final states. Most stars, including our Sun, will become white dwarfs, stars about the size of the Earth, with no usable fuels. But the most massive stars explode and leave extraordinary objects behind; either a neutron star or a black hole.

The Sun resists its own gravity by generating energy through nuclear fusion. Under extreme conditions, four hydrogen atoms are combined to form a helium atom, and the mass difference between these atoms are converted to energy which can be calculated by Einsteins famous equation, E=mc², where m is the amount of mass converted to energy and c is the speed of light. In 4.5 billion years, the Sun will exhaust the fuel, hydrogen and helium stored in its core. This will start the chain of events that will result in its death. Since it will not be able to generate any energy to balance the huge weight of its outer layers, it will collapse. This will result in an increase in the temperature around its core. This temperature increase in the shell around the core will start new reactions which will produce excess amounts of energy. This extra energy will cause the Sun to expand and become a red giant. Its size will increase to such an extent that it will swallow Mercury and Venus, and maybe even our planet, Earth. As a giant star, it will have a strong solar wind that carries gas into space. Eventually, it will lose its outer layers, and produce a beautiful planetary nebula.¹ Soon the remains of the Sun will collapse and form a very compact object; a white dwarf. Imagine squeezing the Sun into a planet the size of the Earth. Gravity on a white dwarf is 10 million times greater than it is on Earth. Thus, a person weighing 150 pounds will weigh 1.5 billion pounds on a white dwarf. The white dwarf will burn 100 times fainter than our Sun; if the Earth survives the red giant phase, it will fall into a deadly deep freeze, and would not be a pleasant place to live.²

Medium mass stars, like the Sun, die relatively quietly as they exhaust their fuel and form white dwarfs. In contrast, massive stars live spectacular lives and destroy themselves in violent explosions. Massive stars have too great a mass to die as white dwarfs. They consume hydrogen and become red giants, but unlike the medium mass stars, their core temperature is high enough, about 1 billion degrees, to ignite carbon fusion. After they fuse carbon, they burn oxygen, neon, and magnesium to make silicon and sulfur, and then the silicon fuses to make iron. Iron is the most tightly bound of all atomic nuclei. Nuclear fusion is able to produce energy by combining less tightly bound nuclei into a more tightly bound nucleus, but iron is the limit. Once the core of the star has been converted to iron, there are no nuclear reactions that can burn iron and release the energy. Thus, the iron core is a dead end. The iron core sucks energy from the rest of the star. Since the star cannot produce any energy, it cannot resist its own gravity. In a fraction of a second, the star collapses in on itself. The collapsing core of the massive star quickly becomes a neutron star or a black hole. This collapse happens so rapidly that our most powerful computers are unable to predict the details. The envelope of the star collapses and bounces back off the dense core, which triggers a violent supernova explosion that expels the outer layers of the star to form an expanding supernova remnant. This explosion enriches the neighboring media with iron and other metals. If you throw a water balloon at your friend, your friend will get wet. Massive stars are not water balloons, but they are iron, silver, and metal balloons. When they explode, they seed the interstellar medium³ with metals. If there had not been a massive star death near our solar system when the Sun and the Earth were forming, our solar system would be iron-poor, and we would not be living today. Massive stars die so that we might live. The Quranic verse We have sent down iron, with its mighty strength and diverse uses for mankind (57:25) sheds light on this fact 14 centuries before it was discovered. Only in the past century, with the utilization of modern telescopes, have we had evidence of this. Nursi explained the above verse as iron is sent down together with the globe of the Earth from the Supreme Treasury, as a tremendous bounty. That is to say, the thing most necessary for the house of the Earth is iron, for when the All-Glorious Creator separated the Earth from the Sun and sent it down for mankind, He sent down iron together with it, and met most of mankinds needs with it. The All-Wise Quran decrees in a miraculous fashion: Use this iron in your works and try to excavate it and take advantage of it.⁴

A neutron star, on average, is 1.4 times more massive than the Sun, and is compressed to a radius of about 6 miles. Its density is so high that matter is stable only as a fluid of neutrons. An atom is mostly empty space. The nucleus of an atom is very small compared to the size of the atom. If we represent the nucleus of an atom with a blueberry, then the distance between the nucleus and the electrons would be as great as the height of the Empire State building. If you could eliminate the empty space in atoms, you would be able to squeeze stars larger than the Sun into a radius of about 6 miles (the radius of a neutron star). A neutron star spins several times a second, and has a magnetic field a trillion times stronger than that of the Earth. Observational evidence for neutron stars was first found in 1967 when astronomers found a neutron star (pulsar) rotating around itself in 1.3 seconds and sending radio pulses to Earth. If you have a large enough antenna, you can pick up periodic radio signals from pulsars. On Earth, a teaspoon of the material from a neutron star would weigh 100 million tons.

Another scenario for the end product of the death of a massive star is a black hole. When the core of a star contains more than 3 times the mass of the Sun no known force can stop it when it collapses. The object will not stop collapsing when it reaches the size of a white dwarf or a neutron star, because the electrons or neutrons cannot support the weight of the star. The object will collapse to zero radius (or almost zero radius) and form a black hole. Objects need high speeds to be able to leave another object, to be able to resist falling back due to the gravitational pull of the other object. For example, a space shuttle must reach a speed of 11.2 km/s to to be able to leave the gravitational pull of the Earth in order to go into space. Gravity is so strong near black holes that the escape speed from a black hole is greater than the speed of light. Thus, even light cannot escape; this is the reason why these phenomena are called black holes.

As an object collapses, its gravity increases. If it collapses to zero radius, its density and gravity become infinite. Such a point is called a singularity. Clocks slow down near a singularity. If we were able to watch a person falling into a black hole, we would see them moving more slowly as they came closer to the black hole. In fact, the person would never disappear from sight. From where we were standing, this person would fall more and more slowly, until finally they would hardly seem to move at all. Generations later, our grandchildren would be able to look at this friend approaching the black hole, but never crossing the event horizon (the boundary of the black hole). Black holes are not giant vacuum cleaners that will pull in everything in the universe. A black hole has a huge gravity pull, but its force is quite small if you are not near it. If the sun were replaced by a black hole of a similar mass, the orbits of the planets in our solar system would not change at all. The gravity of a black hole becomes extreme only when approached. There are many black holes in the universe, but they do not pose any threat for us as long as we stay away from them. Next time you advise your children to stay away from strangers, remember to tell them to stay away from black holes, as well.

Footnotes

1. A planetary nebula is an expanding shell of gas ejected from a star, and it has nothing to do with planets.
2. Seeds, M.A., Horizons: Exploring the Universe, 2002, Brooks/Cole
3. The gas and dust between stars.
4. Nursi, S., Flashes, Sozler Yayinevi, 28th Flash

Of course you have been watching movies for years. Maybe you have subscribed to various cable or satellite channels so that you can watch even more movies. So, how many of them had the qualities mentioned above? How many of them, produced with enormous budgets and large casts and over-promoted, can you watch without finally becoming bored ? How many of them can fill you with indescribable emotions and make you resolve to follow in the footsteps of those characters?

One such movie is the masterpiece The Message. How many times have you seen it? I am sure that some of you have watched it ten, fifteen, or even more times. This would not surprise me at all, for we do not get weary of reading the Qur’an, which God revealed to humanity as the source of guidance and peace. Likewise, the lives and struggles of those who tried to live according to the Quranic teachings do not tire us. On the contrary, The Message refreshes your spirit each time you watch it.

There are two versions of this movie. The Message, directed by Moustapha Akhad and produced in the U.S., attracted attention due to the participation of some famous actors and actresses, among them Anthony Quinn, who “lives” the role he plays, Hamza, the Prophet’s uncle. Irene Papas, who played Abu Sufyan’s wife Hind, made this woman a prominent character, although historically Hind did not have an important part in the story.

The other film, the Arab made al-Risala, which has almost the same scenario, was watched mostly in Arab countries. Its most distinguishing feature is that the Qur’anic verses are recited in their original form (instead of in translation). This movie did not attract as much attention, because there were no movie stars in the leading roles. Nevertheless, the characters are portrayed quite successfully.

In both movies, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is not shown. Rather, he is symbolized through the staff he carries, the camel he rides, or the people who talk with him. Both scenarios begin by depicting the “Era of Ignorance” period in Arabia. Makka’s social structure and its culture are shown in some detail: the prevailing tyranny and injustice, the hundreds of deities being worshipped and the sacrifices offered to them, the annual fairs, and other activities are presented. This was the milieu into which the Prophet was born. His world was one in which poetry and rhetoric was favored, women and slaves were not regarded as human, where might was right, and where thousands of people died in blood feuds. In short, there was no one to stand up as a living monument of faith or courage or to speak up for the truth.

We read about the Prophet’s life or learn about it from the people around us. But how many times have we contemplated his struggles and difficulties in order to understand him better? These works fulfill an important duty in terms of informing those who do not have the time for such contemplation about the lives of these ascetic people, by taking them to the Makka of that time.

The revelation’s beginning is portrayed by reciting the first verses in the darkness of the Hira cave. First, the Prophet invites those who are close to him to Islam. Everything is done in great secrecy. The setting is the house of Ibn Arqam (where the early Muslims gathered) and the new converts devote themselves to this cause there. When there are 40 of them, the period of public preaching begins. Then we see another touching scene: the Muslim community is walking toward the Ka’ba with the Messenger in the middle. They are met with stones, spittle, clubs, and insults. One of the most spectacular scenes is close at hand: Hamza, whom the Messenger later nicknamed “the lion of God,” rescues these people, who could have been killed on the spot due to the provocations of Abu Jahl. He rides through the crowd and, to everyone’s surprise, dismounts and hits Abu Jahl with his bow. As a result of beginning to preach in public, the poor and weak Muslims are subjected to violence at the hands of the Makkan polytheists. The audience sees Bilal and Ammar ibn Yasar being tormented and tortured.

One of the most emotive scenes is the discussion held before King Negus between the first Muslims and the Makkan polytheists who followed them there. The Prophet, describing Negus as a just ruler, told the persecuted Muslims to take refuge in his land. So, Amr ibn al- ‘As, at that time a polytheist, was sent to bring them back and was given many gifts to bestow upon Negus. The king listens to their conversation for a long time, and for a moment thinks about handing them over, but decides to protect them after Ja‘far ibn Abu Talib recites the Quranic verses about Mary. These scenes are significant in that they show how the Christians of that time and area viewed Islam.

After a while, the Prophet and many Muslims emigrate to Madina. Another well-known scene is when the Messenger and Abu Bakr enter Madina. When the people, who have been waiting for days on the rooftops and in the trees, begin singing the hymn Talaal Badru to welcome him enthusiastically, a scene is created to touch the heart of all that witness it. And Madina’s Muslims, who beg the Makkan immigrants to stay with them, as well as the heartfelt embraces that are the product of the affiliation felt between the two groups, fill our hearts with emotion and our eyes with longed-for sights.

The following scenes depict the wars between the Muslims and the polytheists. Both movies give a detailed depiction of the battles of Badr and Uhud. The war tactics practiced around the wells of Badr and Mount Uhud are presented as comprehensively as possible. The peace of Hudaybiyah is pictured, but not focused on much. After the polytheists break the treaty, the Muslims, now more powerful than before, led by the Messenger and his followers, march upon Makka. Campfires are lit around Makka to intimidate the polytheists, Abu Sufyan tries to make peace and then coverts to Islam, we see the Prophet’s entrance to the city and witness him heading toward the Ka’ba…

Here come the scenes that fill you with emotion and move you so much. The Makkan exiles are once again walking along the streets of their hometown. Some embrace their relatives, kiss the ground, or similar actions. But the Prophet, who missed God’s House more than anything else, enters the Ka’ba … and we go inside with him. He uses his staff to topple the idols that have darkened the soul of humanity one by one, for they are nothing but stones and wood. We become so absorbed that, for a moment, we forget that we are watching a movie and wish that the camera would move a little so that we could see his blessed hand holding the staff, as well as his holy face. Bilal stands upon the Kab‘a’s roof and calls the faithful to prayer, just as the Prophet has told him to do. This call rings out in Makka … bliss fills the hearts, tears fill the eyes.

Then comes the final scene: the Farewell Sermon. One hundred thousand people fill the Uranah valley of Mount Arafat, and all eyes and ears turn upon him. At the end of this sermon, after he hears his community bear witness that he has fulfilled his duty, he says: “O God, Bear witness!” three times.

We see three blessed riders in the desert, representing the thousands of companions who went out into the world to invite people to Islam. After a certain point they separate, saying farewell to each other. Perhaps never to return, they are setting off for lands that are completely unknown to them in order to obey the Messenger’s command to tell others about Islam. Then the calls to prayer begin, one after another, recited in different tones, from mosques of different architectural styles, located in different lands.

This is how the movie ends , but you just keep sitting in front of the screen for a while. Though your eyes are still on the screen, fixed absently, your mind is there, far away in the deserts of Madina, thinking about the exalted guide who reminded people of their humanity, about the world which had been oblivious of humanity. Your soul is striving to follow on his path, and you leave your seat in a completely different mood.

The Second Fruit of the Fifth Branch

soul! Worship is not the introduction to additional rewards, but the result of previous bounties. Yes, we have received our wages, and are accordingly charged with the duties of service and worship. Because, O soul!, since the All-Glorious Creator, Who clothed you in existence which is pure good, has given you a stomach and appetite, through His Name of Provider, He has placed before you all foods on a table of bounties. Then, since He has given you a life decked out with senses, life too requires sustenance like a stomach; all your senses, like eyes and ears are like hands before which He has placed a table of bounties as broad as the earth. Then, because He has given you humanity, which requires many immaterial foods and bounties, He has laid out before that stomach of humanity, in so far as the hand of the mind can reach, an extensive table of bounties as broad as the worlds of both the inner and outer dimensions of things. Then, since He has given you Islam and belief, which require infinite bounties and are nourished through countless fruits of mercy and are supreme humanity, He has opened up before you a table of bounties, pleasure, and happiness which includes the sphere of contingency together with the sphere of His sacred Names and attributes. Then, through giving you love, which is a light of belief, He has bestowed on you an endless table of bounties, happiness, and pleasure. That is to say, with regard to your corporeality you are an insignificant, weak, impotent, lowly, restricted, limited particular, but through His favour, it is as if you have risen from being an insignificant particular to being a universal, luminous whole. For by giving you life, He has raised you from particularity to a sort of universality; and by giving you humanity, to true universality; and by bestowing Islam on you, to an exalted, luminous universality; and by giving you knowledge and love of Him, He has elevated you to an all-encompassing light.

O soul! You have received this wage, and you are charged with the pleasurable, bountiful, easy, and light duty of worship. But you are lazy in this too. If you perform it half-heartedly, it is as though the former wages are insufficient for you and you are overbearingly wanting greater things. Also, you are complaining: Why was my prayer not accepted? But your right is not complaint, it is supplication. Through His pure grace and munificence, Almighty God bestows Paradise and eternal happiness. So seek refuge in His mercy and munificence constantly. Trust in Him and heed this decree:

Say: In the bounty of God, and His mercy -in that let them rejoice; that is better than the [wealth] they hoard.¹

If you say: How can I respond to these countless, universal bounties with my limited and partial thanks?

The Answer: With a universal intention and boundless belief… For example, a man enters a king’s presence with a gift worth little, and he sees that other gifts worth millions have arrived from acceptable people, and have been lined up there. It occurs to him: My present is nothing. What shall I do? Then he says suddenly: My Lord! I offer you all these valuable gifts in my name. For you are worthy of them. If I had the power, I would have given you gifts equal to them. Thus, the king, who has need of nothing and accepts his subjects’ gifts as a sign of their loyalty and respect, accepts that wretched man’s universal intention and wish, and the worthiness of his elevated belief as though it was the greatest gift.

In exactly the same way, while performing the five daily prayers an impotent servant of Almighty God declares: Salutations be to God! That is, I offer You on my own account all the gifts of worship all creatures offer you through their lives. If I had been able, I would have offered You as many salutations as them, for You are worthy of them, and worthy of more besides. Such an intention and belief comprise extensive universal thanks. The seeds and grains of plants are their intentions.

And for example, the melon utters a thousand intentions in its heart in the form of the nuclei of its seeds: O my Creator! I want to proclaim the embroideries of Your Most Beautiful Names in many places on the earth. Since Almighty God knows how future things will come about, He accepts their intention as actual worship. The rule, A believer’s intention is better than his actions² alludes to this mystery. The wisdom in offering glorifications in also infinite numbers is understood from this mystery. For instance:

Glory and praise be unto You to the number of Your creatures, that may be as pleasing to You as the extent of Your Throne and the ink of Your words, and we glorify You with all the glorifications of Your prophets and saints and angels.³

Just as an officer presents all the duties of his soldiers to the king in his own name, so man, who acts as officer to other creatures, commands the animals and plants, has the capacity to be God’s vicegerent over the beings of the earth, and in his own world considers himself to represent everyone, declares:

You alone do we worship, and from You alone do we seek help.⁴

He offers the worship and seeking of help of all creation to the All-Glorious True Object of Worship in his own name. He also says:

O God! Grant blessings to Muhammad to the number of the particles in existence and all their compounds!

He offers benedictions for the Prophet (pbuh) in the name of everything. Because everything is connected with the Muhammadan Light. Thus, you may understand the wisdom in the countless numbers mentioned in the glorifications and benedictions for the Prophet (pbuh).

Footnotes

1. The Qur’an (10:58)
2. al-Manawi, al-Fayd al-Qadir, vi, 291, No: 9295.
3. Muslim, Dhikr, 79; Tirmidhi, Da’wat, 103; Nasa’i, Sahw, 94; Musnad, i, 258, 353.
4. The Qur’an, 1:4.

In this month ‘The gates of heaven open, the gates of Hell are locked and the devils are chained.’¹During the daytime, fasting and abstinence bring a person closer to God. The evenings are illuminated by prayers. This spiritual enlightenment deepens during the last ten days of Ramadan through supererogatory prayers and abstinence. This spiritual depth is reflected in the community through almsgiving and by helping the poor and the needy.

Fasting during Ramadan cleanses one from earlier sins. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said ‘Five (daily) prayers and from one Friday prayer to the (next) Friday prayer, and from Ramadan to Ramadan are expiatious for the (sins) committed in between (their intervals) provided one shuns the major sins.’²Human nature is susceptible to making mistakes and to committing sins. Our Compassionate Creator gives us numerous opportunities to cleanse our sins; we can do this every day by performing the prescribed prayers and every year by making the most out of the month of Ramadan.

A path of nearness to God goes through the month of Ramadan. Fasting during the daytime, breaking the fast after sunset, prayers at night, and the night meal before dawn are all on this path, a path that every soul should follow. The following verse from the Qur’an affirms this meaning: ‘And when My servants ask you about Me, say: ‘I am near; I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he calls; so they should answer My call and believe in Me, that they may be rightly guided.’ (2: 186)

This month gives us the opportunity to cleanse ourselves for the Ramadan celebration at the end of the month. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) notes that ‘Whoever observes Ramadan well, expecting the reward from God, his past sins are forgiven.’³One who reaches the month of Ramadan but does not take advantage of this opportunity has lost a great amount.

We would like to talk about Ramadan in more detail.

A. FASTING

The Arabic word for fasting, ‘sawm’, means abstinence from what is desired by the carnal self, be it uttering a single word. The word ‘fast’ in the following verse has such a meaning: ‘I have vowed to the Merciful to fast (19: 26)

Based on the Quranic verses and sayings of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), fasting involves abstinence from the greatest human desires, eating, drinking, and sexual intercourse; such abstinence is done with the intention of pleasing God. In other words, it is the worship by abstinence from these desires, from dawn until dusk.

The Gate To Heaven

God ordered us to fast and chose the month of Ramadan for this purpose. Believers fast during this month and do not eat, drink, or have sexual relationships from dawn to dusk. They act with the awareness of fulfilling one of the five pillars of Islam. Sometimes their mouths smell due to hunger. They seek to qualify for the status described in the hadith ‘the breath of one observing fast is sweeter to God than the fragrance of musk.’⁴The faithful acknowledge their servanthood to the Creator and aspire for the ‘Rayyan’ gate to heaven related in the following hadith ‘In Paradise there is a gate which is called Rayyan through which only the observers of fast would enter on the Day on Resurrection. None else would enter along with them. It would be proclaimed: Where are the observers of fast that they should be admitted into it? And when the last of them would enter, it would be closed and no one would enter it.’⁵

They find hope in the hadith ‘He who observes the fast for a day in the way of God, God would remove, because of this day, his face farther from the Fire (of Hell) to the extent of seventy years’ distance.’⁶

They heed Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) advice to Abu Umamah ‘I recommend fasting to you, since there is nothing like it’⁷and live according to the purpose of their creation. They wake up for the night meal in the expectation of God’s blessings, they look forward to breaking their fast in the hope that their souls will be saved from Hell, and their hearts are filled with peace and happiness as they comtemplate their rewards in the hereafter. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) states the following: ‘There are two (occasions) of joy for the observer of the fast. He feels joy when he breaks the fast and he is happy when he meets God.’⁸This joy in the hereafter could be due to the rewards of fasting or it may simply be the peace felt from pleasing God.

Fasting Develops Self-Control

Fasting is one way God cultivates us, as reported in the verse ‘We will certainly test you with some fear and hunger, and with some loss of property and lives and crops. Announce the good news to those who endure patiently.’ (2: 155), saving us from hunger in the hereafter and earning us rewards for our patience. The fast in Ramadan is instrumental for controlling the self and its desires. Jews and Christians fast as well, although the forms and time periods differ.

‘Fasting is a shield.’⁹Fasting helps control the mundane desires of the carnal self. It thereby protects the individual from wrongdoing and extreme indulgence. A person can resist temptations and greed and understand the real and lofty pleasures of life through this connection with God. Indeed, what makes us valuable and different is our ability to control our desires and thoughts.

First of all, fasting first helps normalize temptations and desires. The individual becomes essentially ‘free’ from these desires as they are followed now as a choice, no longer as an uncontrollable obligation. This can be observed in the lives of people who fast and those who do not. People who do not fast generally have less self-control and they become the plaything of their desires and temptations, making mistakes and committing sins. However, people who have developed self-control through fasting are more able to use their reason and to avoid temptations and desires that might lead them into sin.

One who has never fasted cannot know patience and cannot know how to employ his carnal self (nefs) in normal, legitimate ways. Above all, if one who lives an affluent life never fasts, they will become a slave of their carnal desires; they will not be able to distinguish between what is allowed and forbidden. Their conscience may warn them against disgraceful actions, but they will continue to act in an incorrect manner. At most, they treat their ego unjustly; they ruin themselves, going against their own intelligence, logic, religion and wisdom.

In order to mention the protective side of fasting, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: ‘0 young men, those among you who can support a wife should marry, for it restrains eyes from casting (evil glances). and preserves one from immorality; but those who cannot should devote themselves to fasting for it is a means of controlling sexual desire.’10

God accepts good deeds performed only for Him at ten times their value. Sometimes such deeds can be accepted at seven hundred times their value. Fasting is an exceptional worship. The reward of fasting belongs to God. The people who are fasting control themselves, they do not satisfy even their essential needs. Such people abandon all desires, keeping only a desire for God. God then says: ‘Every act of the son of Adam is for him, except the fasting which is (exclusively) for Me, and I will reward him for it.’¹¹and He appreciates this abstention.

To earn God’s love and to obtain his consent, fasting will deepen one, creating a special place for one’s perfection. While the carnal self desires everything, without thinking about it being allowed or forbidden, fasting believers keep themselves away from even legitimate desires. To gain the level of heart and spirit they put barriers up against their animal desires. To detach from the material world they stay hungry. Their hunger and the progress of becoming detached from bodily things are done only for God. While believers fulfill their obligations to attain God’s consent, they cause the other parts of their body to fast in order to increase the positive effect that fasting has. Things that must be done at times other than Ramadan, for example, keeping one’s eyes, hands, tongue and other parts of the body under control, must be continued during Ramadan. There is an inverse relationship between eating and carnal desires. If one has fulfilled his physical appetite, then the carnal appetite comes to the fore. Inversely, if one’s stomach is empty then his other bodily desires will be satisfied. That is why eating less is suggested as a method for someone who leads with the body, but who desires for the spirit to dominate.

The following event¹²related to the subject is very meaningful: ‘God Almighty said to the carnal self: ‘Who am I and who are you?’ The self replied: ‘I am myself and You are Yourself.’ So He punished it and cast it into Hell, then asked it again. Again it replied: ‘I am myself and You are Yourself.’ However He punished it, it did not give up its egoism. Finally He punished it with hunger. That is, He left it hungry. Then again He asked it: ‘Who am I and who are you?’ And the soul replied: ‘You are my Compassionate Sustainer and I am your impotent slave.’ ‘

The believer who fasts is aware of this reality and accepts Ramadan and fasting in Ramadan as a godsend. There is the giving of alms (zakat) in everything. The zakat of the body is fasting. In Ramadan the body is purified from questionable foods. During the days and nights of Ramadan, believers make progress, and attain a higher spiritual rank with the help of God. Believers would like to be able to maintain this level after Ramadan. In order to maintain such a level, a believer has to become self-righteous. A believer must fear the loss of this level, and thus worship more. Worshipping brings a believer closer to God. As one becomes closer to God, one is able to awaken others into becoming a person of worship. A believer lives their entire life with the desire to be a good person and to help others to be good. A life circle that starts with fasting changes such a person to an ideal person. Truly, fasting has such a power.

The Relation Between Fasting and God’s Self Sufficiency

Even if it is only temporary, fasting is a way which helps discern the meaning of ‘God’s Self Sufficiency’. God is ‘The Self Sufficient One’ (Samad). He does not need anything, He never eats or drinks, throughout time and throughout space. God is He on Whom all depend. Believers leave the material world by fasting, leave behind even the necessities of life. By acting in such a manner, as if they do not need anything, and as if they were angels, they educate themselves in the manner of God and become closer to God. This attitude is the resonance of the true care and mercy, acting like a receiver to the breeze that comes from the world of care and mercy at the same frequency.

The Relation of Fasting and Thanksgiving

In the Qur’an it states, ‘He gives you all you ask Him for. And were you to count God’s favors you will never be able to exhaust them.’ (14: 34)

Fasting helps us to see the true face of favors, the value of which we are unaware. The fasting believer is a person who lives in poverty amongst riches. He is hungry and keeps himself from eating until iftar, yet there is food in the home. The believer understands that one drop of water or one crumb of bread is a bounty. Ones who only give thanks for occasional ‘extra’ blessings realize that even the things they take for granted, like bread and water, are great blessings in reality.

Fasting is a form of prayer that helps us to understand what true thanksgiving to God is.

Another concern about thanksgiving and fasting is that if a believer experiences deprivation, even if it is only temporarily, they will then know what deprivation is. This is not knowledge, rather it is a deep interpretation. One who fasts will desire to help the poor. The wealthy believer, after giving thanks, will share his wealth with love and mercy. Fasting is a form of social worship, even if it appears to be an individual worship.

Another practical benefit of fasting concerns health. Fasting is often suggested as a form of protection from illnesses. Overeating is an invitation to many illnesses. Fasting is an asceticism of the spirit and a diet of the body. The soul takes advantage of the empty stomach and makes itself open to development. When a fasting believer is able to fast with his whole body, then the soul lives true asceticism. Eating less helps to talk less and sleep less. If a believer can complete the Dhikr (Remembrance of God) then they are able to leave the material world.

Believers are aware of all these benefits that are provided by fasting. That is why they fast before the month of Ramadan, during the months of Rajab and Shaban. After Ramadan, during the month of Shawwal, they fast for six days; this is considered as having the same reward as fasting for a whole year. This period is called ‘ayyamul ‘biyz’ the 13th,’14th,’ and 15th days in a lunar calendar month. The days of ashura and the arafa are also good opportunities for fasting. In addition, to fast on Mondays and Thursdays is sunna.

B. THE NIGHT OF QADR (Power)

The most important and blessed night within the year is the Night of Qadr (Power). God chose the month of Ramadan for believers to fast and He gave much importance to this night. In the Qur’an, the the Night of Qadr is mentioned, being given utmost importance.

On the Night of Qadr, the single most important event in human history unfolded. The Glorious Qur’an was preserved in ‘the Preserved Tablet’, and the Archangel Gabriel descended with the blessed book to reveal it upon the command of God to His Messenger (pbuh). On this night, the doors of the heavens opened and the revelation descended. So valuable is this Night of Qadr that a special sura has been devoted to it in the Qur’an; it is a night that is better than a thousand months. Gabriel descended many times to earth in order to convey a message to the prophets, but on the Night of Qadr Gabriel, the other angels and God’s mercy poured down to earth for the sake of the Qur’an.

The Night of Qadr is important for us; if this night is spent in prayers and supplications all past sins and mistakes will be forgiven. ‘Whoever stands in prayer during Laylat-ul- Qadr, with faith and being hopeful of God’s reward, will have his former sins forgiven.’¹³

The night of Qadr has meanings, such as the night of power, decree, majesty and honor. The Divine Decrees are issued on this night, the appointed time of everything is fixed and the blessings are apportioned. It is such a great and honored night that its blessings are more than that of a thousand months.

The Night of Qadr is such an important night that there is a special sura devoted to it in the Qur’an:

‘We have sent it (the Qur’an) down on the Night of Qadr.

If only you knew what is the Night of Qadr.

The Night of Qadr is better than a thousand months.

The angels and the Spirit (Gabriel) descend thereon by the leave of their Lord with every command.

It is peace, till the break of dawn.’ (97; 1-6)

1. We have sent it down on the Night of Qadr:

In the first verse, God the Most High, states that the Qur’an was sent down on the Night of Qadr. Indeed the word “Qur’an” is not used in the first verse; instead a pronoun is used. With the sentence ‘We have sent it down’, God indicates both the greatness of He Who sent it and He shows the great honor of that which was sent. The Qur’an is so great and honorable that it is obvious that God has sent it and of course the night on which it was sent must therefore be an important night. The complete Qur’an was sent down from ‘The Preserved Tablet’ on this night to the ‘The House of Glory’ in the lowest heaven, from whence it was revealed piecemeal to the Prophet (pbuh), according to events which took place during his life, over a period of twenty-three years.

2. If only you knew what is the Night of Qadr:

In this verse God makes clear the greatness of the night of Al-Qadr, the night on which He chose to send down the Noble Qur’an. The night of Qadr is such an important night, yet if God had left us alone and had not informed us of its importance we would not have understood the value of this night.

3. The Night of Qadr is better than a thousand months:

The number a thousand might not mean the exact number of months, or it might in fact mean exactly 83 years. The good deeds performed on this night, the fasting on this night and the standing in prayer on this night are all better than the good deeds, prayers and fasting of a thousand months. The rewards of all these are countless. Only God knows how much reward will be given to those who spend the night in prayer. This is a very large blessing for the followers of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

It is reported that the Prophet (pbuh) was shown the people who had lived in ancient times; it seemed as if the lifespan of those in his community were shorter, thus making it not possible for them to accomplish the same amount of deeds as those who had come before, as they had lived longer lives. Thus, God gave Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) the night of Qadr, which is better than a thousand months. This also shows us that a span of 80 years for the people of today is quite a long time.

4-6. The angels and the Spirit (Gabriel) descend thereon by the leave of their Lord with every command. It is peace, till the break of dawn:

The word ‘spirit’ has been interpreted as signifying the Archangel Gabriel. On this night the Archangel Gabriel and innumerable other angels descended with innumerable blessings and mercy. Their descent occured several times, not only once, and this was repeated by other groups of angels who continued to descend until the dawn.

The words “by the Lord’s permission” show the importance of the angels’ descent and their tasks.

The Prophet’s (pbuh) advice, found in different hadiths, suggests that one should search for the Night of Qadr in the last 10 days of Ramadan, especially on odd numbered days.

God’s mercy and peace surrounds believers until dawn. The angels pray for the believers and send salutations of peace to those who are occupied in prayer until dawn. The morning of the night is also full of goodness and it is serene, tranquil and peaceful. A good example of this is the victory of Badr, which took place during the life of the Prophet (pbuh) in the second year of emigration from Makka to Madina.

C. ITIKAF (WITHDRAWING FOR PRAYER)

The meaning of ‘itikaf’ is to continue to do something. In religious terminology it means to stay in (or to withdraw/retract to) a mosque or a similar temple for the purpose of continuous prayer.

When one participates in itikaf, one strives to prepare his heart so that he can ‘let God in’.

In another way, itikaf is to continuously and persistently knock on God’s door saying, ‘please open Your door to me, too’, ‘I won’t leave Your doorstep until You forgive me’, ‘hold the hand that I stretch out to You and don’t let go’, and ‘do not reject me (and leave me with empty hands)’. Truly, the believers who observe the month of Ramadan have already spent the day fasting, therefore withdrawing from worldly deeds. In addition to this, the believers completely give themselves up to prayer and reflection. The believers recite the Holy Qur’an, pray, and keep busy with Dhikr (the mentioning of God and His names). They read books on God (the Face of Truth, the Ultimate Truth) and extend the horizons of their wisdom. At night, they perform the special prayers, the tarawih prayers. Also, they pass the time before dawn with another special prayer, the tahajjud prayer. The believers attract God’s mercy with prayers that ask for forgiveness. Moreover, the believers eat less, sleep less, speak less, and do not deal with worldly deeds. During these holy days and nights they completely focus on the feeling of unity with God (The Truth). They try to stay alert for the gentle inspiration that may come from God. From this perspective, it would be correct to say that the believers that have withdrawn (to itikaf) are people who have stationed themselves to witness the appearances of the Lord.

God Almighty, with His infinite mercy, will not reject the believers who have turned to Him with a sincere heart and who persist in staying on His doorstep; He even hears the ant and does not deny its requests.

The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) organized his work accordingly during the last 10 days (the last third) of Ramadan, and withdrew (itikaf) every year, spending those days worshipping God in seclusion. Traditionally, he would increase the amount of worship to God during the month of Ramadan relative to that in other months. He increased his proximity to God within the month of Ramadan. The Prophet would share his efforts to worship with his wives and would also ask them to also occupy themselves with the worship of God.

Believers who are serious in their intention to follow the Prophet’s tradition can put their hand on God’s door. They can lay their faces on God’s doorstep and during this holy period of time they will be in search of the Lord’s mercy.

D. ALMS OF FITR (ISLAMIC CHARITY)

The monetary worship or charity that is carried out during the month of Ramadan is called Alms (Islamic charity) of Fitr. Worship, such as fasting, reciting the Quran, performing the tarawih prayer, searching for the Night of Qadr and the assessment of this are carried out physically. Alms of Fitr must be delivered to the needy during this month and it must be in monetary form. It is also more virtuous to give the zakat (the annual Islamic tax) during this month, but this is not obligatory. Zakat can be paid at other times. However, the giving of the Alms of Fitr is limited to the month of Ramadan. Although the giving of Fitr is required after sunrise on the first day of ‘Eid (the holiday after Ramadan) it is preferable to give it before this time, so that the needy can enjoy the ‘Eid, having fulfilled their needs.

Fitr is an Arabic word that means to end fasting. The word ‘iftar’ comes from the same root. Fitr also means ‘natural’ (fitrat), in which case the deeper meaning becomes to thank God for having given us the ability to believe in Him, for allowing us to reach the month of Ramadan, for having helped us complete the fasting and the prayers, and for having given us a body to worship Him with. Again, if we derive the meaning from the word ‘fitrat’ we can say that the alm of Fitr is the physical alm.

In terminology the fitr alm is defined as: ‘The alm that is required to be paid by each Muslim who has reached the end of Ramadan and has at least a small (nisab) amount of goods superfluous to his/her personal/basic needs.’ This definition is the one followed by the Hanafi sect. In the Shafii, Maliki and Hanbali sects there is no requirement to have a nisab amount. It is obligatory to give the alm of fitr in all four sects.

The requirement of fitr has been fixed according to the following narration of Abdullah b. Umar (from the Prophet’s hadith): ‘The Prophet (pbuh) has ordered all Muslims, man or woman, free or enslaved, to give fitr equal to one measure of barley or dates.’

What the Alm of Fitr Brings

Fasting believers understand the situation of the poor in their heart when they feel the hunger and understand the condition of people who can barely find a morsel of food. This feeling triggers the desire to help such people. Similarly, the believers prepare for the Eid Holiday by buying themselves and their children nice clothes, and sweet things and chocolates to serve visitors. While doing these things, the alm of fitr is standing in front of them. The believers have already understood the condition of the poor during the Ramadan, sometimes feeling hunger, sometimes feeling thirst, yet nonetheless not indulging in eating during the day.

E. TARAWIH PRAYER

Believers wake up before dawn in order to start their day with the night meal. They fast until evening, when they break their fast. They recite the Qur’an during the day and during the night, or they listen to a recitation of it; this is called a ‘muqabala’. They also perform a prayer at night time that follows the isha prayer. This night prayer is called the ‘tarawih’ prayer.

The word tarawih is the plural of the word ‘tarwiha’, which means comforting and restful. Originally the sitting position that is adopted following every two or four units of this prayer was called the tarwiha. Later on, the plural form of this word, tarawih, became the name of the prayer performed at night during the month of Ramadan.¹⁴The tarawih prayer is only offered during the month of Ramadan following the isha prayer.

It is a muakkad sunna to perform the tarawih prayer. The Messenger of God (pbuh) recommended offering prayers at night during the month of Ramadan. Two examples are given here: ‘Whoever offers the night prayer during the month of Ramadan, believing in and expecting rewards from God, his former sins are forgiven.’¹⁵‘God has made it obligatory (fard) on you to fast during the month of Ramadan. And I made it sunna on you to stand up offering prayers during the night in the month of Ramadan. Whoever fasts with ikhlas (with sincerity; only for the sake of God), believing in and expecting rewards from God, and offers the night prayer, he will be as clean of his sins as he was on the day he was born.’16

Scholars have agreed that what is meant by ‘the night prayer’ in these hadiths is the tarawih prayer.

Besides recommending such prayers, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) himself led his companions a few times in the tarawih prayer. He later discontinued leading the tarawih prayer, so as to not make it obligatory. Any worship routinely practiced by the Prophet (pbuh) could become obligatory. God Almighty gave this right to His Messenger (pbuh). In other words, the worship of the believers was shaped according to the worship of God’s Messenger (pbuh). God determined the obligatory worship for Muslims according to the Prophet’s (pbuh) practices. In fact, the time of the Prophet (pbuh) was a period of ‘tasri’. That is, the rules were being determined during this period.

In the narration of Aisha (pbuh), God’s Messenger (pbuh) performed the tarawih prayer in the mosque with his companions for two or three nights. Because of the enthusiasm of the companions for this prayer, the following nights, after leading the isha prayer he left for his room immediately, and did not come back to the mosque for the tarawih prayer. Some people waited for him. Some people even coughed on purpose to wake him up, thinking that he may have fallen asleep. The Prophet (pbuh) addressed the people who had been waiting the next morning when he came to the mosque for the fajr prayer: ‘I realize your enthusiasm for this prayer. There was nothing to prevent me leading the prayer either. Rather, I was concerned that it may become obligatory on you. If it becomes obligatory on you, you would not be able to carry it out.’17

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) always fulfilled duties of Islam to perfection in his own life-time. He would offer prayers at night, standing until his feet become swollen. He would join the fasts without breaking his fast or without eating the night meal; this is the so called ‘sawm-i wisal’. But he would not ask the same from his companions, instead he recommended them to be moderate. He was so thoughtful and merciful to his people. When he had to choose between two alternatives for his people, he would prefer the easy option. He did the same concerning the tarawih prayer; he showed his compassion and mercy by not coming out to the mosque to lead the tarawih prayer.

One night during Ramadan Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) came to the mosque; he saw some people praying and he asked: ‘What are these people doing?’ The people accompanying him answered: ‘O Messenger of God, these are people who do not know all the Qur’an by heart and Ubay b. Ka’b is leading the prayer for them.’ Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was pleased with this answer and ‘What they are doing is very good; it’s very proper’ he said.18

When Umar Ibn Khattab was Caliph, he ordered Ubay b. Kab to lead a twenty unit prayer for tarawih.¹⁹By so doing, Umar Ibn Khattab accomplished something that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had wished for and had encouraged. At this time, the period of ‘tasri’ was over, the doors of the heavens were closed and it was no longer possible for any kind of worship to become obligatory. In this way, the wish of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was brought about and the tarawih prayer took its place in the observance of Ramadan during the nights as an important worship and a strong sunna act.

In fact, there were many respected companions, such as Uthman, Ali, Talha, Zubayr, Muaz, Abdullah b. Masud and Abdullah b. Abbas among the people who were praying behind the leadership of Ubay b. Kab in the tarawih prayers. They supported Umar’s decision and did not object to him leading. Instead they prayed for him: ‘Umar Ibn Khattab has enlightened our mosques, may God enlighten his grave.’20

During the month of Ramadan, one approaches closer to God by fasting during the day. The tarawih prayer enlightens the night. It helps start a spiritual preparation for the following day. Believers intend to spend the next day in the same way. Intentions and performances fill the days and the nights of Ramadan. As a response to the mercy of God falling on them as rain, believers fully observe this month by worshipping God; in this way they fulfill the wishes of God and at the same time, they walk towards their purpose of creation, they become worthy of paradise. 

F. CONCLUSION

God Almighty, who constantly creates occasions for believers to seek out his forgiveness, offers Ramadan as an invaluable opportunity and urges them to take advantage of it. He forgives those who successfully can do this. For those who cannot afford the level of performance Ramadan requires for a whole month, He further includes a chance to partake in the blessings within the last ten days of Ramadan. These are the days of itikaf for believers, a time to devote most of their time to constant worship and reflection. One who is able to do this is most likely to be forgiven by the end of the month of Ramadan due to his/her opportunity to observe the Night of Qadr. For those who cannot do this either, it is recommended that they look for the Night of Qadr in the odd numbered nights within the days of itikaf, such as the 23rd, 25th, and the 27th. God will forgive the previous sins of those who fully observe the Night of Qadr.

The month of Ramadan is a blissful month during which God Almighty pours down His blessings upon His creatures.

The truth is we do not need to wait for Ramadan in order to gain the blessings of God Almighty. One can search for avenues to forgiveness by making the most of Fridays. Daily prayers, by themselves, are grounds for forgiveness of small sins, as mentioned above. In fact, when one third of every night is over, God virtually calls out from the skies: ‘Are there not any who pray to me, let me accept their prayers; are there not any who ask for something, let me grant them what they ask for; are there not any who ask for forgiveness, let me forgive their sins.’

May God include us among those who make the most the month of Ramadan and earn His forgiveness. Amen.

Footnotes

1 Bukhari, Sawm 5; Muslim, Siyam 1

2 Bukhari, Muslim,

3 Bukhari, Salat al-Tarawih 1, Muslim, Salat al-Musafirin 174

4 Bukhari, Sawm 2, 9, Libas 78; Muslim, Siyam 164

5 Bukhari, Sawm 4; Muslim, Siyam 166

6 Muslim, Sawm, 2572

7 Nasai, Siyam 43

8 Riyad-us-Saliheen 2566

9 Riyad-us-Saliheen 2565

10 Bukhari, Sawm 10; Muslim, Nikah 1

11 Riyad-us-Saliheen 1215

12 Muzakki’n Nufus

13 Riyad-us-Saliheen, 1189

14 Ibn Manzur, Lisanu’l-Arab, rvh mad.

15 Bukhari, Salatu’t-Tarawih, 1; Muslim, Salatu’l- Musafirin, 174.

16 Nasai, Qiyam, 40; Ibn Mace, Iqama, 173.

17 Bukhari, Salatu’t-Tarawih, 2; Muslim, Salatu’l- Musafirin, 178.

18 Tahanawi, I’lau’s- Sunan, 7/59-60.

19 Mewsili, El-Ihtiyar, 1/68-69.

20 Ibrahim Halebi, Multeka, 119.

The end of those who witnessed a miracle and did not believe, even though they had asked for the miracle to be performed, was always disappointment; they experienced one disaster after another. While mentioning former prophets and tribes, the Quran gives many examples of this. Expressed differently, a miracle is an important test by which golden spirits are purified of dust, earth and mud.

However, a miracle has never occurred in such a way that a persons free-will was by force taken from them nor has anyone ever been forced to believe. It has always been desired that the people who encountered the miracle should use their own free-will to evaluate the miraculous event and to arrive at their own conclusion; in religion, responsibility only appears when connected with intelligence and free-will. When these do not exist, as with other creatures, then there can be no responsibility for our actions. Looking at the matter from a different angle, were a miracle to occur as clearly, for example, as if God exists were to be written in the stars above, human will would be totally nullified. In this situation, the difference in quality between the people who are like diamonds and the people who are like coal would not be apparent, and humans would become travellers on a mandatory path, as are all other creatures.

Thus, we can say that the first goal of miracles is to provide a tangible proof when inviting people to faith, giving them something to accept and believe in or to reject and continue in their disbelief, according to their free will. But there is more to miracles than this; with miracles God indicates the limits of knowledge and technology that mankind can eventually attain. The difference between a miracle and technological/scientific advances is that while the prophets are able to perform miracles without tools or technology, ordinary people can succeed in similar acts only with the help of the material and technology that they have produced.

Common Features of Prophets

Every chosen person who was sent with a sacred duty, such as saving mankind from darkness and introducing them to the light, was supported with phenomena like miracles and was given a message for the people to whom the miracle was addressed. Many hearts have surrendered to the enlightened atmosphere of faith, yet many others have died in the arms of eternal deprivation only because they refused to believe in such an important blessing.

Addressing human intelligence and will, the Quran frequently mentions many miracles performed by the prophets. While it would not be possible to mention them all in one article, I would like to relate some of them in order to give an idea about some of these miracles, and then go on to discuss the main topic of the miracles of Jesus.

Generally, miracles occur and finish at the time they are performed, but some miracles which were given to the final prophet, like the miracle of the Quran, continue to be miraculous. In the environment in which it was revealed, the word had a special sovereignty of eloquence, and in this respect the Quran is a miracle sent in a way that has never been equaled.

Each prophet was sent miracles in line with the skills of the people of his era. As magic was of great importance at the time of Moses, his miracles usually took on the form of removing the things the sorcerors had created and by displaying greater skills. Due to the popularity of medicine at the time of Jesus, his miracles were usually related to knowledge in medicine. Thus, the prophets established an important superiority over those whom they were addressing, and by speaking a language that could be understood, they were able to draw attention to themselves and to make their voices heard more easily.

When miracles are viewed from the perspective of pushing back the boundaries of science and technology, Solomons riding on the wind and covering the distance it would take one month to travel in the time between morning and evening demonstrated that great distances could be traversed using the wind. Looking at this miracle with hindsight, we can see that it showed us that humans would be able to utilize the blessing of the wind, and we could even say that it indicated that in the future we would be able to harness it with craft (for example planes, rockets and other means of transport) and, consequently, would be able to travel long distances in a short time. At the same time, Moses bringing forth water by hitting his rod on the ground shows that man can reach many of the treasures that God has hidden for him underground. The main message behind all of these miracles encourages humans to learn from the practical examples of the prophets and to produce results by evaluating our heritage of knowledge and by using our intelligence.

The revelations that God sent were not aimed at only one target; rather the words were loaded with multiple meanings. Accordingly, every event in His statements has many aspects and it is necessary for other people to notice these and present them. The main goal of divine declarations is for the people living today to decipher the language of the miracles and to know how to use their message for the sake of science and technology.

The goal in front of people today is to understand what these miracles mean for today and to utilize this information for progress and development.

The Miracles of Jesus

Jesus (pbuh) was a prophet and, according to Quranic teaching, he has a special place before God. He is one of the five greatest prophets called masters of determination. If we evaluate him in regard to the geography and the ethnic, social and political structure in which he lived and the people to whom he was sent, we see that he faced people who gave precedence to materialism, who did not believe in anything but what they could see and who were persistent, stubborn and intractable in their tribal ideas. Such conditions demonstrate his greatness. The people naturally expected a miracle. In fact, more than expected, the Quran reveals their desires and mentions how they put pressure on Jesus to perform a miracle. When looked at from this perspective, there are many extraordinary events that he accomplished. Among his major miracles we can mention raising the dead, healing blindness and leprosy, blowing life into a bird made from clay, giving news of what happened in peoples houses and bringing down a banquet from the sky.

Miracles before Apostleship

Actually Jesus life is almost a miracle from beginning to end: his being born from a pure spirit like Mary, who had devoted herself to the temple; coming into physical existence as a spirit from God, even though he had no father; speaking in the cradle; and rising to the heavens from among the people. Moreover, the good tidings that he would be a prophet were given before he was born, and his name was given by God, also before he was born. However, because these oc-curred before his duty as messenger began, they are considered to be outside the realm of miracles in the general meaning and they are seen rather as signs emphasizing his place and importance before God. For whatever reason, the end result is that an extraordinary event occurred that would not have been possible under ordinary circumstances. This necessitates attention being focused on Jesus in a different way.

His conception and birth represent a first in human history. Creating Adam without a mother and father, God, in time, created Jesus without a father as well and showed this change in his creation as a sign to all mankind. The Quranic verse related to this draws attention to his creation: Jesus in Gods Sight is like Adam: created him from dust, then He said to him: Be, and there he was. (This is) the truth from your Lord; so do not be not be one of the doubters. (3/59, 60) This verse explains that when Gods power is a matter of consideration, other causes are silent and the pen of power prevails. For this reason, one of Jesus names in the Quran is ruhullah (spirit of God).

Almost as soon as he was born, when people began to accuse Mary, Jesus spoke and exonerated his pure mother, Mary; while he was still in the cradle the duty of prophethood that would later be given to him by his Lord was outlined. In the verse that gives the good news of Jesus birth, it is stated, He shall speak to the people in childhood and in maturity, and he shall be (of the company) of the righteous. (3/46) His speech is given as follows: He said: I am indeed a servant of God: He hath given me revelation and made me a prophet; and He hath made me blessed wheresoever I be, and hath enjoined on me Prayer and Charity as long as I live; (He) hath made me kind to my mother, and not overbearing or miserable; so peace is on me the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be raised up to life (again)! (19/30, 31, 32, 33)

Stating, Such (was) Jesus the son of Mary: (it is) a statement of truth, about which they (vainly) dispute (19/34), the Quran has the final say on the debates regarding Jesus. It both emphasizes his mothers innocence and indicates that Jesus, who was then still a baby, would be a prophet in the future, inviting people to salvation.

If we look at the heart of the matter, for a society of people who did not understand anything but materialism and were closed to spirituality, Jesus conception as the spirit of God and the extraordinary events surrounding his birth must have been the first shock in the name of divine truth to which they would be called in the future. Today, just as great shocks are needed in the treatment of certain illnesses, extraordinary events are needed sometimes in order for society to be freed from bigotry and for general convictions to be turned in the desired direction. Thus, the atmosphere was softened in preparation for the miracles that Jesus would perform later in his mission, and a kind of foundation was prepared for Gods wishes to be comprehended by society.

Miracles After Apostleship

Of course, Jesus miracles were not limited to his birth. On the contrary, after having started his life with a great miracle, Jesus went on to perform many miracles in support of his prophethood. Some of the miracles that were given to his prophethood are mentioned in the Quran as follows, when the angels are talking to Mary about Jesus: And God will teach him the Book and Wisdom, the Law and the Gospel, and (appoint him) an apostle to the Children of Israel, (with this message): I have come to you, with a Sign from your Lord, in that I make for you out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, and breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by Gods leave: and I heal those born blind, and the lepers, and I quicken the dead, by Gods leave; and declare to you what ye eat, and what ye store in your houses. Surely therein is a Sign for you if ye did believe; (I have come to you) to attest the Law which was before me. And to make lawful to you part of what was (before) forbidden to you; I have come to you with a Sign from your Lord. So fear God, and obey me. It is God who is my Lord and your Lord; then worship Him. This is a way that is straight. (3/48, 49, 50, 51) As can be understood, these words belong to the angels and were said before the events occurred. While describing Jesus position, they mention the miracles that will occur through him and give passages from dialogue between him and the tribe.

In addition to emphasizing the same topic, another verse relates what happened to Jesus from the first day: Then will God say: O Jesus the son of Mary! Recount My favour to thee and to thy mother. Behold! I strengthened thee with the holy spirit, so that thou didst speak to the people in childhood and in maturity. Behold! I taught thee the Book and Wisdom, the Law and the Gospel. And behold! Thou makest out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, by My leave, and thou breathest into it, and it becometh a bird by My leave, and thou healest those born blind, and the lepers, by My leave. And behold! Thou bringest forth the dead by My leave. And behold! I did restrain the Children of Israel from (violence to) thee when thou didst show them the Clear Signs, and the unbelievers among them said: This is nothing but evident magic. (5/113)

Another of Jesus miracles is the feast that was provided when his people wanted to eat food from heaven. This event is related in the Quran in a sura entitled Al-Maidah:

Behold! The Disciples said: O Jesus the son of Mary! Can thy Lord send down to us a Table set (with viands) from heaven? Said Jesus: Fear God, if ye have faith. They said: We only wish to eat thereof and satisfy our hearts, and to know that thou hast indeed told us the truth; and that we ourselves may be witnesses to the miracle.’ Said Jesus the son of Mary: ‘ God our Lord! Send us from heaven a Table set (with viands), that there may be for us — for the first and the last of us ” a solemn festival and a Sign from Thee; and provide for our sustenance, for Thou art the best Sustainer (of our needs). God said: I will send it down unto you: but if any of you after that resisteth faith, I will punish him as I have not inflicted on any one among all the peoples. (5/115, 116, 117, 118)

Jesus was made superior from the beginning with extraordinary acts and strengthened by God with these miracles. In the following verse, God indicates that it is time for the people to recognize the values Jesus has brought and to surrender to them: We gave Moses the Book and followed him up with a succession of Apostles; We gave Jesus the son of Mary clear (Signs) and strengthened him with the holy spirit. Is it that whenever there comes to you an Apostle with what ye yourselves desire not, ye are puffed up with pride? ” Some ye called imposters, and others ye slay! 92/87) It is implied here that every command supported by God requires absolute obedience and, at the same time, that we must not stray form the divine path because of doubts raised by our egos and Satan.

Generally there have always been those who prefer to take a reactionary attitude towards all the prophets and to remain closed to new things. Such travellers on the path of darkness label every extraordinary miracle they see as magic. They did not think any differently about Jesus or the events that occurred than they did to any other previous miracles. Jesus reply to this was no different from that of the former prophets. With the satisfaction of performing his duty without fault, Jesus said, as every prophet before him had:

God is truly your Lord and my Lord; so worship Him. That is a straight path. (19/36) Saying this, he left everyone alone to follow their will. This was necessary, as after this, those who wanted to come would; they would be able to find the right path and gain salvation, while those who prefer the darkness will be sacrificed to their own egos.

It is possible to summarize Jesus miracles as follows, according to the way in which they appear in the Quran:

1- Raising the dead.

2- Breathing life into a bird made from clay.

3- Making the blind see.

4- Curing leprosy.

5- Giving news of what was going on inside houses.

6- Being strengthened by the Holy Spirit.

7- Bringing down a banquet from the heavens.

The first thing that strikes one about all of these is that most of Jesus miracles were related to the field of medicine. During his time there were important developments in this area and people were frequently confronted with these. For this reason, his miracles of healing, which cured many problems that were not curable at that time, gained the attention of medical authorities, especially since he had not been educated in this field and had no equipment. They agreed that his results had to have been accomplished with divine assistance.

As we have discussed here, miracles not only contain certain messages for those witnessing the event, but they also demonstrate many things to those who come after. When looked at from this perspective, God is saying many things to the people of today through the miracles performed by Jesus. At first glance, the most obvious message is that it is possible for many things that we perceive as inanimate to be animated by giving them energy; problems with sight and every kind of skin disease can be cured, even if we have not yet found the cure today. All of these are important matters that medicine should be addressing today; there is a cure for every illness. One of the most important duties of experts in the medical field is to find cures from the pharmacy of the universe.

If we look at the banquet that came from the heavens and the way in which the people benefited from the divine blessings in this feast, we can understand that there are many blessings hidden in the heavens, and that it is the duty of man, who has been blessed with intelligence and judgement, to fully investigate these. If we can knock on the doors of mercy in the language of science and technology in the light of this miracle of Jesus, it may be possible for man to reach many feasts full of blessings beyond this world.

Jesus Departure

Like his birth, Jesus departure from mankind was another miracle. God did not leave Jesus in the hands of those who wanted to kill him and, in the words of the Quran, he was raised to the heavens with another miracle, being taken from among mankind to a different plane of life. According to the Quran, that they said (in boast), We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Apostle of God “but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not. Nay God raised him up unto Himself; and God is Exalted in Power, Wise. (4/157, 158)

This detail can be found in another verse explaining this matter: Behold! God said: O Jesus! I will take thee and raise thee to Myself and clear thee (of the falsehoods) of those who blaspheme; I will make those who follow thee superior to those who reject faith, to the Day of Resurrection: Then shall ye all return to me, and I will judge between you of the matters wherein ye dispute. As to those who reject faith, I will punish them with terrible agony in this world and in the Hereafter, nor will they have anyone to help. (3/55, 56)

As can be seen, Jesus life, which was full of miracles, changed dimension with yet another miracle, and he was honored with immortality. Moreover, some narrations regarding his return close to the time of Doomsday to call people to the truth once more are proof that these kinds of miracles will continue in the future.

The End of Time and Jesus

Almost all religions mention a final savior in the future who will turn mankind to the true path once again. There are some narrations in the hadith of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) that Jesus will come again at the end of time and eliminate the idea of atheism. Commenting on these narrations and stating that they are absolutely authentic, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi said, Only a wondrous and miraculous person with an esteemed following will be able to kill and change the calling of the Antichrist who will protect himself with acts of magic, magnetism and spiritualism and enchant everyone. That person is Jesus.

The second coming of Jesus is, of course, within the realm of possibility, when Gods power is taken into consideration, but it should not be forgotten that these kinds of narrations can be metaphorical as well; what may be being implied here is that the idea of atheism will be eliminated and that a victory of faith will be experienced. In this way the path of Jesus and the path of the Spirit of Truth will be united and humanity, once again knowing goodness, beauty, peace and contentment, will live a life imbued with faith.

It is true that prophets are like children of the same mother. All their values are shared ones; their Lord is one; their guidance is one; their aim is one. The world is in need, more than ever, of their message, a message that is to be presented by people whose goal is faith.

Reference

See Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Words, 20th Word, Second Station.

Behold! The angels said: O Mary! God giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be Jesus Christ, the son of Mary, held in honour in this world and the Hereafter and of (the company of) those nearest to God. (Quran 3/45)

Explaining that life is not just one dimensional, Bediuzzaman says that, just as religious martyrs continue to live on another plane of life, Hzr, Elijah, Enoch and Jesus are also on a different plane, and he discusses questions concerning the second coming of Jesus. See Bediuzzaman, Letters, First Letter.

The Antichrist means one who shows falsehood as the truth and the truth as falsehood. There are narrations that a perverted meaning of the idea of faith will be active at the end of time. In this respect, it can mean the person or persons opposed to faith and those who act in accordance with the perverted meaning of faith. When the matter of Jesus killing the Antichrist is looked at in this respect, it can be understood that Jesus, representing faith, will eliminate the Antichrist, representing falsehood, and thoughts belonging to him from society. On a plane where there are no physical bodies, this event can be seen as both sides representing a spiritual personality, thus it can be evaluated within a faith-falsehood framework.

Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Rays, Fifth Ray, Second Station, 13th Point.