With all respect for its grandeur, I have to confess my inability and insufficiency to elaborate on the depth of meaning and richness of expression and style of the Qur’an. A considerable number of studies have been dedicated to the Qur’an, and many more studies will be carried out on this topic. There is no doubt that all these studies have presented valuable content for any seeking person to grasp the gist of what the Qur’an stands for and to believe in its message, and they mirror the order of Islam in its true essence. However, it would not be right for anyone to claim that they have come up with a perfect interpretation of the endless content of this expository atlas of humankind, the universe and the truth of Divinity. The Qur’an can be interpreted only to the extent that a heavenly and Divine word can be interpreted by human perception. Thus, although it does not seem to be possible to spell out this huge atlas within the measures of an article, we cannot stay indifferent to or neglect studying the Qur’an with the excuse that our interpretations are deficient or the power of our discourse is inadequate. Everyone has the right to study the Qur’an, more than that, it is a duty upon those equipped with necessary, accurate knowledge. We should work harder to better understand the Qur’an, while the learned should wield all their perceptiveness and sensations toward understanding it and conveying its message, allowing a wider audience to learn more from it.

The Qur’an is a miracle of eloquence honored with the merit of being the voice of all ages. It is the most luminous expression of the Divine Speech, around whose light the angels hover like moths. If we take into consideration its Source and purpose of revelation, its first representative(s) and the impact it leaves on hearts, then we must realize that it is not a book to put to one side. When the Qur’an speaks, angels fall deep into a silent vigilance, spirit beings fall prostrate, and the jinn, enchanted with its voice, set out to the deserts to meet it.

The Qur’an is the expression and explanation of God’s laws of creation or “nature,” and the strongest and immutable source of religious rules and pillars. The Qur’an is the indisputable Book that includes the most reliable criteria for studying existence (the whole universe and humankind), thus for all individual, familial, social, or ethical problems we must seek wisdom and illumination from the Qur’an; it cries out that its source is the all-encompassing Knowledge of the One Who knows everything with their causes and results. The Qur’an has captivated everyone to whom its voice has reached-provided they were not prejudiced-with its holistic perspective, comprehensive discourse and style, the vastness of its content and meaning, its delicate expressions, its magical expounding in proportion to the different levels of knowledge and understanding, and its capacity to penetrate souls. Neither its friends nor its foes have been able to come up with something in a similar style or an utterance that is equal in grandiosity, the former motivated for imitation, the latter in fury to choke off its voice, despite their efforts for almost fourteen centuries, even when they use the same material and concentrate on the same issues. Their works have never been able to overcome artificiality, they have never been appreciated by masters of literary skills, and they have never evoked any lasting or effective influence.

The Superiority of the Qur’an

The Qur’an has such a musical harmony and delicate correlations between the topics it deals with, be they interrelated or apparently unrelated with each other, so that one is able to realize, with only the slightest effort of comprehensive thinking, that many apparently unrelated topics have points of junction. The mastership of discourse belongs to the Qur’an, which no literary personality can challenge, and enables those of its audience who are unprejudiced and can judge with some reason to obtain some things from it, introducing them to deeper contemplation beyond their horizons of thought. If once they can judge fairly and let their souls delve into this heavenly waterfall of expression, all other speech-like voices will immediately turn into nothing but rumblings.

Above all, the Qur’an has come from an all-encompassing Knowledge; it contains and explains the meaning and content of human and non-human existence, of humankind, nature, and all the worlds; it is both their language and interpreter of their purpose of creation. It speaks to multifarious dimensions of its audience all at the same time: while addressing the mind, it does not neglect to speak to the heart in its own language; when it calls out to the consciousness, it does not push emotions aside; while conversing with the faculties of reasoning and logic, it does not leave the soul without any favor. All faculties and senses, external and internal, benefit from the Qur’an, which gives each its share without giving rise to any deprivation and contradiction. They all receive their share from this heavenly table, each to the extent of its capacity, and enjoy a most harmonious composition.

All Divine Scriptures, especially before human interpolations were mixed with the original texts, possessed the same holistic approach and all-embracing quality; nevertheless the superiority and widest comprehension of the Qur’an are evident in proportion to the profundity of the spirit of the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings. It is by no means possible to show any other heavenly or man-made book which excels it with its content and extensiveness. It is by no means an exaggeration to claim its uniqueness in dealing with humanity, the universe and Divinity in the most comprehensive, as well as the most exquisite fashion, while interpreting them in the best forms of synthesis and analysis in its own way.

Topics in the Qur’an

All of the topics that the Qur’an deals with are the most valuable treasures of the truths pertaining to Divinity and the realm of creation. Some of these truths are decisive or explicit in meaning and content, and others are concise, metaphorical, and allegorical, the explanation of which has been entrusted to the one who brought the Qur’an, upon him be peace and blessings, and the scholars favored with inspiration. The Qur’an never complicates any of the matters it presents or analyzes. It presents topics concerned with the essentials of faith, worship, and morality, and basic principles of individual and social life clearly and succinctly; while for matters requiring comprehensive thinking, reflection, and careful consideration, it demands deeper examination and scrutiny, and suggests turning to God, without approving of burdening oneself with grave matters that one cannot shoulder. Like a magical chandelier which continuously shines brighter, it is a means for brand new discoveries at diverse wavelengths as hearts and minds go deeper in thought, thus offering Divine gifts of all kinds to our internal and external senses. With its blessings and inspirations augmenting in excess, and light rain becoming a deluge, and with its endless beauty and glittering lights, the Qur’an showers banquets one within another to those who ponder and study it.

True understanding of existence and what lies beyond the sensed dimension of the cosmos, and also humankind with its spiritual depths is possible only through the Qur’an. They discover in its bright realm straight thinking and real sources of reflection, and are thereby saved from the vicious circles of deception and misjudgments based on probabilities. There is no other source of knowledge that is not mistaken or not entrusted to uncertainty or doubt other than this miraculous Speech from God, the All-Knowing of the Unseen. The Qur’an explains and presents everything explicitly, plainly, and correctly. It enables us to understand that it is we who make errors in evaluating the issues, giving rise to contradictory judgments and in filling in the gaps entrusted to reflection. Understanding and interpreting the Qur’an correctly is not only a duty upon us, but also a requirement of our fidelity to it. The fulfillment of this duty and fidelity is closely related with the erudition of every capable and well-equipped individual and in their living in devotion to God. Such individuals dive into this vast ocean with utmost sincerity and commitment for the good pleasure of God, uncovering the truth so that it flourishes. They proceed toward this infinite horizon with caution, composure, comprehensive thought, and without surrendering to their carnality. The Messenger, who brought the Qur’an from God, is their first and greatest guide; they follow the pious scholars among the earliest generations of Islam in the light of its expressions, which are decisive and explicit in meaning and content. They are less likely to err; their efforts to attain the pleasure of God are rewarded with special treatment. Their interpretations and explanations of the Qur’an are each a hue and adornment of Qur’anic uniqueness.

A sound interpretation

On the other hand, the Qur’an cannot be explained as it deserves in consideration of its position and loftiness with rudimentary Arabic and the limited scope of dictionaries; such an attempt would also be manifest disrespect to this heavenly monument of speech. It should be rendered in other languages as is required. Anything concerning Qur’anic expositions (tafsir) should be very well versed and before they are launched, every tafsir should be tested against the exalted Islamic sciences. What falls to us is not to bring the Divine Word down to our level of perception and expression in its immeasurable immensity and depth, excusing such an act as we have translated it for the benefit of everyone. While it is a duty, an appreciation of, or an act of respect toward the Qur’an for experts to make the Qur’an known to everyone via exposition, interpretation, or a commentary, such an attempt would be paramount to insolence if one did not have a high command of Arabic grammar, the principles of rhetoric or eloquence, knowledge of the study of Qur’anic exposition (tafsir), the methodology of hadith studies (Traditions of Prophet) and Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh). The Qur’an cannot be translated as a novel is; even the translation of a novel calls for an expertise in its own genre. Forging the way toward a sound interpretation of the Qur’an, it would be better to discuss first what a “translation” is, and what tafsir (exposition) and ta”wil (commentary) mean. Translation is the rendering of a text or statement in one language into another language, while preserving the meaning. An accurate translation would be to transfer the exact meaning of every word—if this is ever possible—while preserving the relationships between word combinations. On the other hand, a literal translation of the words only, or an exclusively semantic translation would be a deficient translation. To a certain extent we can also talk about translation software; however, the current technology or even more advanced technology to come is not able to help very much in the translation of substantial literary works. Consider the situation when the text is the Word of God, which addresses all times, conditions, and levels and therefore the exposition of which with all its depths is considerably dependent on time, inspiration, and circumstances. Some works of literature are said to be impossible to accurately render; then it is clear that there is no way that the Holy Qur’an, with its immense profundity, can be expressed by an ordinary translation. Many Muslim scholars, including Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, are of the opinion that it is impossible to translate the Qur’an, due to the aforementioned and many other considerations. Some other scholars, on the other hand, approach the matter cautiously, but more moderately, provided that the prerequisites underscored above have been abided with. The late Hamdi Yazýr, one of the greatest contemporary expounders of the Qur’an, states that the translation must exactly correspond to the original text in terms of explicitness and indications, conciseness and comprehensiveness, generalizations and specifics, restrictedness or exclusiveness and inclusiveness, powerfulness, and appropriateness, and eloquence and style. Therefore, prose or poetry can be translated into another language which is as developed as the original language, with the condition that the translator is well-versed with the subtleties of both languages; however such a translation is hardly possible for a book which addresses the mind and heart, the soul and all the senses together, with all its diverse literary delicacy, and its vigor and exuberance. And what happens if the book to be translated is a work of God that transcends all other books Divine or non-Divine with its dimensions beyond time and space, and speaks to all ages?!…

To be understood and to be lived by

The Qur’an is, in the words of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, a Divine interpretation of the book of existence; it is the voice and breath of the laws of creation, the true interpreter of things and events that bear multifarious meanings, a candid expounder of this world and the world to come, the revealer of the treasure of the Divine Names hidden in the heavens and on the earth, the mysterious key to the mysteries beyond all things, the plain language of the beyond manifested in this world; the sun, the foundation, and the geometry of the spiritual world of Islam, the sacred map that explicitly lays out the worlds of the Hereafter with clearly drawn lines, the voice and clearest interpreter of the Divine Essence, Attributes, and Names, the most reliable teacher of all humanity; the air, the water, and the light of the Islamic world, and the Word of the All-Exalted, All-Majestic Being, Who is the Creator and Lord of all worlds, and His decree and address. This is not to say that the Qur’an cannot be understood; on the contrary and most importantly of all, it was revealed to humanity to be understood and to be lived by. However, its phrases are so deep and have so many meanings, its content is so multi-layered, that even if we can know and understand the meaning of every single word, and sense certain things from word combinations, we will certainly miss many truths that are contained in styles, indications, suggestions, connotations, and purposes, that cannot be fully reflected in any translation. I am of the opinion that every person who approaches the Qur’an with an open mind can perceive all of the above characteristics, and thus appreciate that its sublimity and transcendence cannot be confided to a simple translation. A translation might certainly have some value in proportion to the translator”s learning, knowledge, horizon of perception, and skills; however, it can never convey the Qur’an in all its profundity; therefore no translation, nor no commentary or interpretation can be called the Qur’an itself. A number of books have been written about Qur’anic interpretation and commentary, while objections to the Qur’an and some of its contents have been repeatedly addressed. Many more interpretations and commentaries will continue to be prepared in the future too, just as many new objections will be answered, and this will perhaps continue until the end of time. How many new doubts will be manufactured about the Qur’an; how many more times will minds be exposed to contamination; what new unthinkable plots will Satan, our eternal enemy, play on weak believers; what new scenarios, unheard of until today, will the devils of humankind and jinn put on the stage to tempt humanity; how many more times will they induce suspicion with regards to our values and agitate people? Such animosity has always existed and will continue to exist. Thankfully, hundreds of people with zeal to serve the Religion, will always stand to face them by exploring new depths of that Book of lofty truths and strive to interpret that Eternal Speech, which they hold in the greatest esteem. The mischievous organizations of Satan and his companions will always be challenged by the companions of the Qur’an.

An abridged version of Fethullah Gulen”s introduction to The Qur’an with Annotated Interpretation in Modern English by Ali Ünal.

“It is I who created you out of a pool of mud and it is again I who resurrected you after your death. Yet, you object to me and complain about the good things I have done for you?”
“Father! God commands me to respect my parents but not to obey them if they should encourage me to associate partners with Him. You are no more than a servant bringing the blessings of God to me; and you are no more than a human, just like me.”
“You have been blinded by the stories of old times…”

Science and technology have developed tremendously over the last century and are still developing. Almost everyday we see new and improved instruments entering our daily lives, such as cellular phones, the Internet, faster cars and planes. Each of these instruments changes our life styles and affects our relations with other people. However, there are always two ways to use the technology that produces these instruments. It can be used for the common good of humanity, thereby turning this world into a paradise. Alternatively, technology can be exploited for the benefit of a certain group of people at the expense of human rights and moral values. Particularly in the twentieth century, we have witnessed several examples of genocide, terrorist bombings, and destructive actions that threaten humanity, each carried out with a strong technological infrastructure. Therefore, humanity is facing a severe challenge in the face of the opportunities brought by technology. One has to ask, “How are we doing in terms of evaluating the powers we have been given? Considering the future of science and technology, are we ready to handle much greater power?” In this article, let us travel to the future to see the state of science and technology so that we can have an idea about the increasing importance of moral values in the face of the expanding powers that mankind can exercise.

First, we need a reliable means of transport to take our imagination to the future and to obtain accurate and useful data. According to Said Nursi, the miracles that the messengers of God showed and other miraculous historical events related in the Qur’an are clues about the future limits of science and technology.¹ So, we are going to embark on these miracles and survey the future level of science.

Transportation and communication

The miracles that help us on this way come from the prophets Muhammad, Solomon, and the people of the cave (the seven sleepers). It is reported that on the night of the Ascension (Isra 17:1), Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, traveled from Mecca to Jerusalem and from there to the heavens, receiving direct revelation from God, and then returned to Mecca (621 AD). When he returned, his bed was still warm.

The other event, which is from Prophet Solomon, is concerned with the transportation of the throne of the queen of Sheba. It is reported that either Solomon himself or a servant of his brought the throne of the queen of Sheba from a long distance in a time less than a blink of an eye (Naml 27:38-40). It is also said in the Qur’an that Solomon was able to travel one month’s distance in a night. It is interesting that the distances referred to are given in terms of time and not with an exact distance as “so many kilometers.” This shows that the distance traveled within a given time frame is relative. It is a fact that we can observe if we compare the mode of travel today to that of the 1700’s. Today, the distances traveled in spaceflight correspond to years of travel in the past. Similarly, one month’s travel with the available technology today will be traveled over night in the future. Therefore, this verse gives an indication that it will be possible to cover long distances in a short time as technology advances.

The people of the cave are reported as the few Christians of their time who escaped the prosecution of the local Roman government. During their seclusion or refuge in a cave, they felt that they had slept for a night or even less. However, the Qur’an tells us that they slept for 300 years (Kahf 18:9-26).

The first three events explained above, i.e. the Miraj, the transportation of throne of the queen of Sheba, the travels of Solomon, are related to traveling long distances in a very short time, which can be understood as the contraction of space, as well. Traveling one month’s distance over night and the passage of 300 years over night, on the other hand, are related to the slowing of time for a group of people, which can be interpreted as the contraction of time. If we look at the future with the clues given in these miracles, we see that distance in space and time will lose its meaning. Due to the high speed of transportation, the entire world, perhaps even the solar system, will become a village. This fact is depicted in a tradition of the Prophet Muhammad in which he says that “the approaching or contraction of time and space is a sign of the end of time.”²

Medicine and cybernetics

Medicine has been the common point on which many prophets showed miracles. Therefore, much can be said about this subject, if all of these miracles are examined. For brevity, some key events are going to be discussed here. Both Jesus (Al Imran 3:49) and Muhammad,³ peace be upon them, showed many miracles concerning the healing of the ill or disabled people. Considering that those illnesses were incurable at the time, the mentioned miracles tell that every illness eventually can be treated with a proper cure.⁴ For instance, it is known that both prophets healed the blind by God’s leave. It is not surprising today to hear some blind people gaining the ability to see after a successful operation. Another promise in this context is the removal of the effects of old age. This is expressed by “the conception of a baby at old age,” which happened with the wives of the Prophets Abraham (15:53-55) and Zachariah (19:2-11). These prophets had sons as a response to their prayers when both themselves and their wives were at significantly old age.

In terms of human birth, the creation of Adam, and the birth of Jesus are examples of human birth that did not follow the regular ways we are used to. According to Qur’an, Jesus, peace be upon him, was created without a father (Al Imran 3:47); and Adam was created with neither a father nor a mother (Hijr 15:28-29), but rather he was created out of mud. In conjunction with these birth cases, consider the following miracle of Jesus. It is told in the Qur’an that, with an order from God, Jesus made the figure of a bird out of mud, and then blew on to it. With the leave of God, the “bird-shaped mud” became an actual bird and flew off (Al Imran 3:49). These two unusual birth cases and the creation of a living bird out of mud give a clue about the possibility of obtaining human generations, or even other animals, without needing biological parents. The creation of living organisms out of mud can also be interpreted as a sign of the future level of cybernetics, when humans will be able to make androids that can emulate the living creatures in many aspects.

Another branch of the miracles under this subject is about the reviving of the dead. Prophets Moses (Baqara 2:72-73), Jesus (Al Imran 3:49) and Muhammad,⁵ peace be upon them, all showed miracles about reviving of the dead. Prophet Abraham, also, experienced a parallel event as a response to one of his prayers (Baqara 2:260). He asked for a sign from God about the resurrection. God told him to acquire four birds, and tame them; then to slaughter the birds, mix their flesh, and distribute this mixture to four mountaintops. When Abraham called the birds back, each flew back to him all resurrected to their original bodies. All these mean that near the end of time, with the advancements in medicine, it will be possible to sustain the life of the people who have deadly illnesses or injuries, or in other words, people who might have died according to our understanding today.

Before proceeding further, it is necessary to take a moment here to discuss the meaning of certain terms in conjunction with the abilities given to humankind through science. When we refer to the creation as done by God, we talk about an action that needs nothing as its starting point, i.e. God does not need earth or natural laws to create living beings, or others to help Him acquire the knowledge on that matter. But, when we talk about creation as done by humans, then we have to account for some raw material, and an acquired knowledge, which is the common scientific heritage of humanity. Without proper education and mindset, it is an inherent temptation to engage the meanings associated with God’s creation to our actions. So, one has to watch out for this kind of corruption that can eventually harm the faith.

Death and resurrection are two other terms to be clarified in this context. Consider a patient with a chronic heart disease whose heart has been replaced by an artificial one with a surgery; or, think about a patient who entered a shock due to a deadly accident, and recovered upon undergoing several operations and receiving intensive care. If we were to have someone from, say, 10th century witness these examples, it would look like the doctors are resurrecting the dead, or extending the life of an almost dead. Similarly, with the further advancements in medicine, we may reach a point where all illnesses are cured and average life expectancy grows to three-digit years of age. For example, a person whose body is severely crushed in an accident or was severely burned in a fire may be brought back to life with complete health. With the eyes of today, this would look like resurrecting the dead. Nevertheless, it will be the recovery of someone who has not died, yet, according to the understanding of that time. So, the above examples point to the fact that there is a difference between death and severe disruptions in the functioning of the body due to different reasons. These disruptions force the soul and the spirit of the individual change the form of life they are experiencing, and death is an irreversible change of form of life. However, there are other intermediary forms of life between the form that is attained after death and the form we are experiencing now.⁶

A person who may look like dead can actually be alive but experiencing the conditions of a different form until actual death comes when one”s soul leaves the body or a medical recovery occurs. Within this context, the medical technology we practice is a permission of interference with the execution of the life among these different forms. As humanity grows older, we learn the extents of the permission we are given, and use it for the betterment of life. A natural question at this point is that if we will ever be able to achieve eternal life using technology. We do know that no matter what we do in this world, there will be an ultimate end to the life of the universe and everything in it. So, we can strive for the betterment and extension of life in this world, but there is an appointed time of death for everyone and everything, which cannot be brought nearer or farther with human interference. For this reason, it is possible that people who do not have strong faith are going to be inclined towards the assumption that they are achieving immortality with medical achievements. Nevertheless, it is God who enables us to exercise control and power in this universe, and it is Him who is going to bring the ultimate death to everybody and everything as He promised.

Space science

Two miracles from the Qur’an related to this subject are the splitting of the moon by the Prophet Muhammad, and the travels of Dhu al-Qarnayn. The first sign, which was the parting of the moon (Qamar 54:1-2), is further discussed and explained in the Risale-i Nur7 and in the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad.⁸ According to these resources, one night, as a miracle shown primarily to the Meccan people, the moon split into two with a gesture of the Prophet”s finger, and then reunited. This event might be an indication of the force that powers future explorations into space; a force that can part the heavenly bodies into pieces. As far as the second miracle, it is told in the Qur’an that in one of his journeys, Dhu al-Qarnayn met some people who lived on a place that did not have a veil to protect them from their sun (Kahf 18:90). In another verse (Anbiya 21:32), the Qur’an describes the atmosphere as a protecting-cover around the earth. Based on these two verses, it is reasonable to imagine that the people mentioned are living on a planet that does not have an atmosphere. The only way to achieve sustained human existence on a planet without an atmosphere is to have advanced technology that will enable the traveling of long distances in space within reasonable time and that will help establish a human-friendly environment with all the vital supplies.

The end of time

Now, imagine the world with the aspects discussed until here: We, humans, can travel worldwide instantly, go to different places in the universe within reasonable time, and establish settlements on the planets that do not have an atmosphere. Besides, due to advances in medicine, all medical problems are cured, and as a result, our average life increases to limits that are beyond imagination. In terms of engineering and cybernetics, we can make machines that serve us like human servants… If all these come true, then people will be tempted to forget that they are just mortal creatures. Likewise, too proud of the scientific achievements they made, some people might doubt of God”s existence, imagining their human selves as the maker of everything. They might start asking if “the stories of the ancient people about the existence of a God and a judgment day” were real. Some people might literally start considering themselves as gods. Very few people will persist to believe in God, and say, “all this is given to us out of God”s grace; our capabilities are His signs for us and He is certainly able to bring the end of time; and He will do so as He promised in His holy books.” This will be the time when humanity will have concluded its developmental journey in terms of science, exercising full power as the representatives of divinity in the universe. These trends are explained in similar ways in some of the hadiths9 of the Prophet Muhammad.

Along with these hadiths, it is a thought-provoking fact that the example of the Pharaoh, who rebelled against God by claiming divinity, is mentioned in different chapters of the Qur’an: The Pharaoh said: “O Haman! Build me a lofty tower so that I may attain the ways; the ways of (peering into) the skies, and that I may have a look at the God of Moses, even though I am sure that he is a liar.” Thus were his evil deeds decked out to be appealing to the Pharaoh, and he was debarred from the (right) way. And the scheme of the Pharaoh ended in nothing but destruction. (Mu”min 40:36-37) In analogy to the example of Pharaoh, with the ability to control everything, people might start defying God in their thoughts, feelings and actions. Due to their corrupt situation, this state is going to look appealing to them, as in the case of Pharaoh. The end of such a period will be “the end of time,” and God will end everything with the catastrophic events that are explained in detail in the Qur’an. Whether all these events come just like explained here or not, this is an imaginative journey to the future based on the interpretation of some of the clues given in religious sources. As you take your breaths at this very moment, realize that we are not there, yet. Although it is in our hands to yield to bad moral values, thereby bringing our own end in this universe, it is also in our hands to achieve the high moral and religious values, which are heavenly technologies, to extend our existence in this world and receive the eternal prosperity.

Notes

1. Nursi, S., The Words, 20th Word, p. 266, The Light, Inc., Istanbul: 2005.
2. Gulen, M.F., The Messenger of God: Muhammad, The Light, Inc., New Jersey: 2005, p. 60.
3. Nursi, S., The Letters 1, 19th Letter, Truestar, Izmir: 1995, pp. 165-172.
4. Bukhari, Kitab al-Tibb, 1.
5. Nursi, 1995, p. 188.
6. Nursi, 1995, p. 1-3.
7. Nursi, 1995, pp. 254-259.
8. Bukhari, Manaqib, 27.
9. Gulen, 2005, p. 49.

With a contemplative eye, one finds that the facts he deduced from the treasures of this Divine Book are many and various and that they relate to all knowledge, science, culture, or philosophy, despite their differences.

In this article I will try to explain one of the many Qur’anic facts that Nursi derived and to which he drew attention, a fact that had not been explained before or whose share of study and research was brief, immature, or incomplete.

It is what he refers to as “the Qur’an’s preservation of the existing equilibrium among all sublime divine truths.” Explaining this fact, Nursi states that this preservation and equilibrium represent a property that certainly does not exist in any human work of art, in any of the thoughts of the greatest intellectuals, in any of the righteous people’s traditions, or in any of the books of illuminists who delve into hidden matters. Each of these groups clung to one branch, or at most two, of the great tree of truth, and so became preoccupied with its leaves and fruits, ignoring the other branches, either because of ignorance or because they were unmindful of them. It is as if there was a kind of division of labor so that they could specialize among them.

The ocean of truths

Nursi draws a similarity between this and a great treasure found by divers at the bottom of a sea. Because each one of them has seen only a small part of this great treasure, which is separated from the other parts, the divers’ perceptions of it differ and even contradict one another. Then, Nursi goes on to say, “The Qur’an, that ocean of truths, encompasses and sees in its verses the entire treasure and describes its jewels in such a harmonious and balanced way that they show their beauty perfectly” (Nursi, 25th Word, 2005, p 458).

I believe that this great truth to which Nursi draws our attention in the above lines needs some explanation, especially when its proof has become crystal clear in the extreme confusion prevailing among all western scholars or all those researchers who stray from the guidance and light of the Qur’an. This fact has also become manifest within their works or conversations, as will be seen later.

Many are those who think that the universe we live in is full of many different truths, whereas the fact is that this conception is a false illusion; the universe has only one single truth, which has many different branches and angles.

For instance, those who devote themselves to studying astronomy, geology, zoology, history, biology, psychology, philosophy, ethics, etc. walk in different directions along the one global truth. The magnitude of this truth, with its diverse aspects and directions, make many people, including many intellectuals and specialized scientists, think that there are various scientific truths that are independent from one another. That is why some of them do not concern themselves with what the others have discovered and limit themselves to the world of the independent truth they imagine to exist.

That is why the information people have in such fields is incomplete or even misleading. Further, such

information does not quench their thirst or satisfy their aspirations, but rather adds to their perplexity and confusion. This is because the more they delve into such information the more they are faced with threads that surpass the limits of their research and the ranges of their studies. If they try to follow some of this new information, they will be led to ranges which are more spacious and to threads which are more entangled and complicated.

Partial knowledge

Such partial knowledge, which may seem like independent truths within the firm universal structure are, in fact, like so many chapters in one great scientific book that is only concerned with one subject. What can one gain if one only finds one of its chapters and occupies oneself with studying it thoroughly and meticulously? Or even, what would one understand of such book if one studies all of its chapters without following any order or coordination, and without referring to any connection between one chapter and the other? It is unquestionably clear that such a person will not emerge from such a study, however meticulous and profound it is, with anything but some broken concepts and incomplete information, which are in total nothing but the worst kind of compound ignorance, even if they are partially true information. The same applies to the universe: It is a whole book, containing so many connected and harmonious parts, even if they seem to be independent and disharmonious before the eye that quickly glances over them.

The proof of that which Said Nursi has stated in brief is the fact that so many of the scholars and philosophers who have enjoyed world-wide fame have returned to in their final days, complaining about ignorance, seeking knowledge, and suffering confusion.

To illustrate, in his autobiography, we find Bertrand Russell stating that although he achieved much of what he had dreamt of, including love and peace, as far as seeking knowledge, he had gained nothing more than misfortune.

Even the man who created special and general theories of relativity and established the rules of space, time and gravity, that is, Albert Einstein, complained of the same problem and disclosed to his friend, the American writer George Ferk, that the information he had gathered about the universe could provide him with nothing except a mysterious riddle that was impossible to solve. When George Ferk asked him about death he answered, “I don’t know.”

In his book Anti-Duhring, Friedrich Engels expresses his confusion about the issues of the universe in a long speech in which he says, “How little we know about the origin of blood corpuscles, and how numerous are the missing links even today, for example, in the establishment of a rational relationship between the symptoms of a disease and its causes! Again, often enough discoveries such as that of the cell are made which compel us to revise completely all formerly established final and ultimate truths in the realm of biology, and to discard whole piles of them once and for all.” He continues, “But eternal truths are in an even worse plight in the third group of sciences, the historical ones; … In the sphere of human history our knowledge is therefore even more backward than in the realm of biology.” He goes on to say, “…and the generations which will correct us are likely to be far more numerous than those whose knowledge we are in a position to correct-often enough with considerable contempt.”I am certain that the appearance of extreme philosophical doctrines such as idealism, existentialism, pragmatism, and the like is but the fruit of a disorder that results from an incomplete and partial knowledge about conceiving the overall structure of existence, of course with the supposition that this partial knowledge is correct. Partial knowledge can never convince the mind and appease the soul, except if it comes after having achieved an overall comprehensive knowledge that encompasses the structure of all existence: humanity, universe, life, and the relationship between them. It is not important for such overall knowledge to be profound and precise, especially at first, yet, it is extremely important that it be correct and comprehensive. In this connection, I shall remind you of a scientific truth to which we should direct our attention as proof of what is being said. The study of 20% of a mass that is composed of many parts does not necessarily lead to a correct perception of 20% of the facts about this mass. In fact, such a study does not even lead to the correct perception of 1% of the facts of this mass, but it may lead to some distorted conceptions about this mass in general. What a researcher may conclude from such a study is nothing but some illusions which they consider to be information and science. What is the percentage of correct information which a person may conclude from putting a magnifying glass on a certain spot on the map and totally concentrating on the scope of this glass, contemplating bright colors and broad lines that appear under their eyes, before getting to know the whole map with all its longitudes and latitudes? Although they may get to know “some knowledge” when they comprehend the colors, read the names of towns and cities under the magnifier correctly, observing the bending lines, etc. this kind of knowledge should actually be called “dead knowledge” as it has no connection with any of the information contained on the overall map. Such is the truth of the knowledge gained by the person who searches for the truth about the universal existence and limits their mind to one of its angles or one of its parts. It is certainly a dead knowledge that has no relation with the knowledge and information that the universe as a whole reveals. That is why such knowledge cannot provide its owner with any aspect of the scientific certainty that the researcher seeks.

Comprehensive knowledge

Now, the question is how can we get to know the overall comprehensive knowledge? In other words, where would one find this map, which displays to us the comprehensive perspective for perceiving all of the universal structure, and reveals to us the kind of relationship that exists between its major aspects and basic elements? It is certainly known that we shall not find any such map except in the Qur’an, as Nursi asserts. In fact, this is the essential mission for which the Qur’an was revealed and upon which the self-knowledge of humanity depends. Through the Qur’an mankind can easily identify its ability to shoulder the responsibility with which it was charged and for which it has been created. We should all be aware that only if the Qur’an is the word of the Creator of this universe can it comprise the whole comprehensive picture of the unity of these created things that are connected and intertwined in such a marvelous harmony. Whoever devotes themselves to studying the Qur’an with due contemplation, dedication, and scrutiny shall discover that this book starts by acquainting humanity with itself, its properties, and its missions in this life. Then, it explains to humanity the life that they enjoy with all the important and trivial things it contains, and causes them to see its beginning, its end, and its relation with what will come after it. After that, the Qur’an allows human beings to perceive universal phenomena around them and how these phenomena are connected to them in a comprehensive overall way. In this way, it causes us to observe the fixed courses that never undergo any development or change and the sophisticated symbols that are exploited for the interests of mankind. These are the general elements of the structure of this existence: human beings, life, universe, and any other components.

Therefore, these are the springs of all knowledge. In this way, the universal structure appears before human sight through their contemplation of that amazing Divine Book. It appears just like a huge tree would appear before you as you look at it from level ground without anything to block your view; the tree clearly appears before your eyes with its body, huge trunk, spread out branches, and the fruit it carries among its leaves. Thus, if human beings, after such overall comprehensive knowledge that is deduced from the Qur’an, plunge into the sea of universal existence and dive deep into whatever aspect or part they desire to know and study they will not be lost in mazes or be misled by the refracted spectrum that results from the view being limited to narrow separated angles. Through their dependence on this comprehensive map, which has become printed on their insight, human beings attain that which will protect them from being misled or deluded, and that which will make them aware of the relationship between the parts that may seem discordant or independent. This kind of awareness is what is meant by “knowledge,” the importance and honor of which are recurrently mentioned in the Qur’anic verses. The Qur’an also refers to those who are gifted with such scientific insight, for example in the verse that states, The erudite among His servants fear God Alone (Fatir 35:28). As for those who start by placing huge magnifying glasses on small spots on the huge universal map and then stare at these spots while they are unaware of the map itself, these are the people to whom God refers in the verse that reads, They know only some appearance of the life of the world… (Rum 30:7). Some may think that the phrase “some appearance” (which is the translation of the Arabic word zahiran in the verse), refers to a superficial understanding of things. However, the fact is that the superficial understanding of a thing is knowledge about which a person brags while they are still ignorant of the truth and magnitude of this same thing. So they start to delve in and concentrate on a single corner of such a thing, abandoning its spacious magnitude.

Still, there is a question which should be directed to those who, like Said Nursi, state that no philosophy or any other branch of knowledge can substitute for the cognitive role of the Qur’an. The question is: Has anybody who understands the sciences of the universe in the light of the Qur’an thought of death as a perplexing mystery, as was the case with Einstein? In addition, has anyone, after starting to ponder upon the universal map shown in this Divine Book, happened to be taken away by their knowledge from the life in which they are living into confusing ignorance or desolate darkness? On the contrary, this only happens to those scientists and philosophers who embarked on their scientific journeys at a great distance from the great Qur’anic gate that gives humanity an overall perception of the universal mass and its comprehensive relationships. Examine closely, for as long as you like, the history of past and present scientists who have taken the Qur’an as a cognitive course for themselves and as a ship in their intellectual journeys throughout this universe. You shall never find anyone of them whose knowledge has thrown them into confusion or whose scientific discoveries have thrust them into fear or gloominess. The opposite is always true.

In this work we study a verse from the Qur’an, the 47th verse of the Sura al-Dhariyat (The Winds that Scatter), under the light of new discoveries in the field of astrophysics. We note that recent evidence about the accelerating expansion of the universe is also strongly consistent with this verse, although this has shocked the scientific community. In the last part of the article, we discuss possible relations of “metaphysical dimensions” and the concept of “the seven layers” with the word “sama” (translated in to English as “heaven”) as mentioned in the verse.

The existence of the universe is perhaps one of the greatest mysteries in science and philosophy. No convincing argument has been ever put forward that has enabled us to understand this amazing event, not since the beginning of modern science. Religions like Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, on the other hand, explain that the Creator built our robust universe directly out of physical nothingness, independent of any cause. Therefore, the initial creation of such universe would be impossible to explain physically (M. F. Gulen, from his conference on “Evolution and reality”).

In his translation of the relevant verse, S. Yildirim has noted that God keeps the universe expanding and He will continue to do so. Yildirim attributes two meanings to the word musiun in the verse; the first is the owner of great power, strength and wealth; the second is one who expands. Thus, it should not be a surprise to learn that this verse is indeed describing a continually-expanding universe. This might further lead Muslims to think that the Creator has not left the universe unattended after the Big Bang, but rather it is He who has kept creating and expanding it.

In the 1920’s a discovery was made that completely changed our perception of space. It was discovered that distant stars depart from the solar system and leave us even more and more alone in dark space. Then, Fr. Georges-Henri Lemaître, a Belgian astrophysicist, mathematician, and Catholic priest, proposed the idea of the expanding universe. Despite its finite size, it was believed that the universe was expanding.

We can explain this fact simply by an analogy. Think of a toy balloon with spots on it. Mark one of those spots and inflate the balloon. As we inflate it, we observe that all other spots on the surface of the balloon move away from the marked one. So, if we replace the balloon with our universe, the spots will be the stars and planets. If the universe is expanding indeed, then we expect them to be moving away from each other. In other words, the distances between heavenly bodies must be increasing.

Unfortunately, we don’t have a gigantic ruler to measure such immense distances. However, there are other means, such as measuring wave frequencies. Consider the following analogy: Someone throws one ball every second toward a target. Assume that balls travel with constant velocity. If the thrower is stationary, the target will receive one ball every second. However, if the thrower is moving towards the target, it will receive balls more frequently because the balls will be less spaced out. The converse is true if the thrower is moving away from the target. So it is actually the wavelength which is affected; as a consequence, the perceived frequency is also affected. That is, the distances between the waves emitted by objects moving away from us (wavelength) must be increasing, so the frequency decreasing. Likewise, think of an ambulance siren coming towards you and going away from you. It is a good example showing that while an acoustic source that is approaching us emits a higher frequency, the same source radiates lower frequency when going away from us. In physics this is known as the Doppler effect.

Red shift

This phenomenon does not only occur with sound waves, but also with electromagnetic waves. When we think of the spectrum of light, violet at one end has the shortest wavelength and red at the other end has the longest wavelength of visible light. So, any wave of light shifting toward red means the source is moving away from us. It has been determined that the frequency of light emitted by the elements within distant stars shift to a lower frequency, which is called a red shift.

It is this shift that makes astrophysicists think that the universe is expanding. One mustn’t be confused by red shift. This terminology is just used to explain in what direction the frequency is actually shifting on the spectrum. Those signals captured from distant stars have a much smaller frequency (much higher wavelength) than that of red light and they are indeed in the microwave regime and shifting to even much smaller frequency radio waves.

In 2002, an article presenting new evidence of the accelerating expansion of the universe was published by the Royal Astronomical Society. It was not so long ago, only five years, that general opinion concurred with a decelerating expansion. However, the first evidence found by two astronomers in that year led us into a universe that expands in an accelerating fashion, contrary to previous views. This result was absolutely unexpected, because many scientists believed that expansion would slow down due to gravity. Another interesting fact is that if space were to cease expanding, this would be in contradiction to the above verse. God, however, by never allowing this to happen, shows how futile the actions of those who deny His verses are and how extensive His power is, as well as how purposefully He creates.

Dark energy

The groups who worked in the above study figured out, from the brightness of supernovas in distant galaxies, that the universe must expand more and more in the future due to a peculiar dark energy within it. The concept of dark energy was first postulated by Einstein, who named it the “cosmological constant.” However, since this did not fit in well with his theory of general relativity, he withdrew it and said that it was a scientific blunder. Since then, dark energy has had a rather controversial history.

A team of 27 astronomers, directed by Professor Efstathiou of Cambridge University, proposed strong evidence supporting the existence of dark matter, based on completely novel techniques. Their results, which were consistent with previous supernovas, showed that the universe is indeed full of dark matter. Professor Efstathiou thinks that the explanation of dark energy might include additional dimensions like creation (Big Bang) as well. Fr. Lemaître also proposed the expanding universe theory at an opportune time since Edwin Hubble would soon release his red shift observations that strongly supported an expanding universe and, consequently, the Big Bang theory. Here, the Big Bang is seen as the beginning of a continuous expansion.

The verse seems to tell us miraculously that the expansion of the universe will not cease, despite our limited knowledge of the physical reason for its acceleration.

The Hubble Telescope

Another article, published in Nature, presents us the first and deepest picture of space taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. This caused the astronomers to compete in solving the mysteries of the arts of God. The picture, also known as the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, was broadcasted and published in various programs and journals. It has not only shown us the farthest stars of the universe, but the youngest as well. It was very difficult to detect such weak light with the former technology. This picture reveals the embryonic universe, with an age of only 500 million years old. Estimated age of the universe is 13-14 billion years. Three physicists from American Natural History Museum in New York started a competition to publish an article on the Ultra Deep Field picture after the data was disclosed. They hope to answer many questions about the past and future universe. A group at the Stony Brook University, New York, directed by Kenneth Lanzetta, analysed the embryonic samples in the picture to try to discover when various galaxies had been born and how they had evolved. Two other groups are studying the motions of stars and galaxies, as the picture is a result of data collected over a month.

Having looked at the expansion of universe under the light of recent discoveries, now we turn our attention to two other arguments that could be relevant to expansion. Namely, ether (a substance which it is believed fills up the vast universe and which is the ultimate building block of the space), and the seven-layer-universe.

Despite the Michelson-Morley experiment, which argued against theory of luminiferous ether, the propagation of electric, light, or heat in space shows the existence of a substance through which they flow. The Michelson-Morley experiment is nothing more than just a test of the non-existence of certain qualities of ether. For example, in order to show the existence of photons, of which light is made up, we cannot go beyond showing the features of photons. In other words, depending on how we have defined its qualities, we can observe different aspects in the photon, ether, or anything else. In fact, even today, we don’t really know what a photon really is, although we observe its affects every day. In short, it is not possible to show the non-existence of phenomena that cannot be absolutely defined. Instead, we can only test the existence of the properties that we have defined and attributed to them, and thus we better understand their nature of existence in the context of those pre-defined qualities. Hence, the existence of ether is still controversial and needs more thorough research.

Seven layers

Regarding the seven-layer-universe, on the other hand, how is it possible for ether to manifest itself in seven heavens? It may be that these seven layers are not all posed above our heads, but rather that they may be found one with another. The universe is composed of many systems and networks that are the building blocks of their counterparts on larger scales. Each system is governed by laws, which differ slightly from one another. Inside the atom there exists a proton with its unique organization and in a proton we find quarks. For example, communication between protons and electrons is mediated by the electromagnetic force, while the quarks inside the protons communicate via the strong force. These interleaved circles show us that the universe is indeed composed of numerous layers.

We may use these layers for the metaphysical world as well. The human being is not only composed of matter, but also has a mind, a soul, and intelligence. Although these components are accepted as existing by all, their exact nature has not yet been explained by positive sciences.

It seems that the universe is composed of at least two different worlds: The material world (physical) and the immaterial (metaphysical) world. Are these two worlds completely separate, or do they have some features in common? In fact, the existence of humanity might prove to be this common set. But, it may also be true for the universe itself. Nursi states that the distant galaxies, stars and planets are not empty, but home to many spirits and angels who have their own consciences. Thus, one can say that despite the boundaries which separate these two worlds, such as different numbers of temporal and spatial dimensions, they constitute a whole, the Universe. The interaction between them will never fail as long as the universe exists.

The existence of two separate worlds is not that difficult to believe, but there is more:

It is He Who (prepared the earth for your life before He gave you life, and) created all that is in the world for you (in order to create you – the human species – and make the earth suitable for your life); then He directed (His Knowledge, Will, Power, and Favor) to the heaven, and formed it into seven heavens. He has full knowledge of everything. (Baqara 2:29)

The Qur’an calls the heaven where the sun, moon and stars are the lowest heaven or the heaven of the world (Mulk 67:5). The other six heavens may be the heavens of the worlds of the Hereafter.1 We are not sure whether this seven-layer heavens can only be attributed to the physical universe. It might be able to apply to the universe as a whole, with its all seen and unseen layers as well. Even the worlds of angels and spirits may be expanding in accordance with the laws therein, to show how the power and the wealth of God are comprehended in those worlds as well. Although our Earth is finite, the expansion may not be restricted to our finite world, but it may continue in infinite worlds as well.

It is possible that the space being filled with ether has an important role in paving the orbits of planets or stars, as well as other heavenly bodies. We believe that future studies on dark matter, ether, and string theory will help us to better understand the expansion process of the universe.

Note

1. What the Qur’an means by seven heavens has been interpreted in different ways. For further information see Unal, 2006, p. 19.

References

• Ünal, Ali, The Qur’an with Annotated Interpretation in Modern English, The Light, Inc., New Jersey: 2006.
• Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 330, 21 (2002).
• Nursi, S., The Words, The Light, Inc., Istanbul: 2005.

The family is the smallest unit of society and it should be a source of happiness for the individual. This is why a sound dialogue between parents and their children is so important. When we bring up our children, we should regard them as being entrusted to us by the Almighty. Treating them affectionately and inspiring confidence in them plays an important role in terms of preparing them for their future life as physically and psychologically healthy individuals.

In spite of the cozy atmosphere of the home, we might come across some problems that are difficult to solve. Some problems are apparent to our friends and neighbors, while others are known only by family members and are kept secret. In such cases, we may not know how to deal with a problem, and therefore need to seek help from an expert. Wetting the bed is a typical example of such problems. When such a problem persistently occurs it is only compounded if we hurt the child and cause them to feel bad or inferior because of this problem; what many people do not realize is that this is a problem that is easily solved.

Families with children who wet the bed while between the ages of 5 and 15, sometimes even up to the age of 20 have a serious problem. Every morning, these families wake up to find another problem. The nasty smell, changing the sheets and cleaning the pajamas are not things that people enjoy first thing in the morning.

Along with the burden of dealing with dirty clothes and sheets, the family members become worried, as they do not know when the problem will end. But it is the child who worries most. The problem is only compounded as the child realizes that they cannot have friends to stay, nor stay at someone else’s house, as this may lead to others finding about the problem; such worries only cause further problems such as losing self-confidence, inferiority complexes, shyness and poor performance at school.

Some families do not try to search for solutions, saying illogical things like, “His uncle used to wet the bed too. That didn’t go on for too long. The same will happen with our child as well,” or “It’s nothing unusual. Most children do it. It will be alright,” or “It will just stop without treatment. They say that there is no treatment anyway.”

Bedwetting is actually a common problem. What then, are the underlying reasons? How common is it in reality? Is there an effective treatment for it? Does it just stop on its own? If so, when and how does it stop? Or is it possible for someone to remain a bed-wetter all of their lives? Does the treatment have any side effects? What is the success rate of the treatment? We will try to answer all these questions.

Occasional cases of bedwetting until the age of five are considered as nothing unusual. If bedwetting continues after the age of five, then this indicates an illness known as “enuresis.” Research carried out on primary school aged children found that between 20-30% of children wet the bed in general. It is usually more common among boys. The percentage increases with children from families of a lower socio-economic background, mostly due to malnutrition.

The main causes for bedwetting

Genetic factors are accepted as playing a role, based on the fact that 70% of the children who wet the bed have close relatives with the same problem, and that there is a high incidence rate among identical twins. It is thought to be caused mostly by a lack of an anti-diuretic hormone that reduces urine production at night. There are other reasons as well.

If a person with diabetes has too great an intake of fluids before bedtime they may wet the bed. Moreover, urinary tract infections, kidney stones, parasites, anemia, a lack of calcium, magnesium, zinc, or vitamins (A, B, D, E), problems with adenoids, and enlarged tonsils may all cause bedwetting.

Anemia and adenoids cause hypoxia (a deficiency of the amount of oxygen available in the blood) and hypercapnia (the presence of an abnormally high level of carbon dioxide in the blood). If these conditions are present, then the patient sleeps too soundly and the control of the central nervous system over the other systems is weakened. As a result, the patient wets the bed as they have lost some control over their muscles.

At least half of people who suffer from bedwetting are considered to do so because of psychological reasons. If a child begins to wet the bed in spite of having had no such problem before, this indicates that the child subconsciously wants to return to their infancy when they were the center of attention. By wetting the bed, the child might be wishing to receive more care from the parents.

Wetting the bed might be a reaction to family problems or the birth of a sibling. Various types of anxiety may cause the child to suffer from depression, which is another reason that causes very sound sleep.

Bedwetting is thought to result from psychological problems if it is accompanied by problems like suffering from a tic, stuttering, nail-biting, over-jealousy, or failure at school. A child with a urinary tract or bladder infection or kidney stones may not be able to control their need to urinate during the day either. If no physical illness can be detected, then there may be a serious psychological disorder.

Diagnosis and treatment

Starting from the principle “every disease has a cause,” we should first of all search for any possible causes. We can begin with simple ways, such as urine and blood tests. If these do not provide a satisfactory answer, then the other possible causes that were mentioned above should be investigated. The kidneys and the bladder should be checked with an ultrasound, while the adenoids and chronic bronchitis, as well as the tonsils, should be examined. If no viral or organic cause can be found, then psychological problems should be investigated. When the reason has been found, then it is time to start the treatment.

After a diagnosis has been made, the parents should be informed about the cause of the problem. It should also be noted that enuresis may result from incorrect forms of toilet training.

In the treatment of psychologically-caused cases of bedwetting, taking the child to a doctor, carrying out blood and urinary tests, and the family’s efforts to treat the child (i.e. paying for the treatment, waiting at the doctor’s, etc) are all considered to be part of the treatment. The child sees that importance has been given to them, that efforts are being made and that money is being spent on them alone. Having seen that the parents and the doctor have played their part, it is the child’s turn to do what is expected of them. Prescribing the correct medicine, or if there is no physical problem, merely saying, “nothing is wrong” is the start of the treatment.

If the bladder turns out to be smaller than normal, the child is advised to hold their urine longer than normal in order to expand the bladder. The period of waiting is lengthened gradually. The child is asked to keep a record of “wet” and “dry” days and they are rewarded for the “dry” days. Drinking less in the evening may facilitate treatment.

Medication and treatment

The medication changes according to the diagnosis. For instance, if there is a urinary tract or bladder infection, then antibiotics are used. If there are psychological reasons, special pediatric anti-depressants will be prescribed. Anti-depressants cause the patient to sleep lighter. When the child does not sleep so soundly, they are able to control their urination, and wake up and go to the toilet.

There are drugs that help to expand the bladder capacity of people whose bladders are smaller than normal; these drugs can be very useful indeed. Some problems with the urinary tract or bladder can also be eliminated by surgery.

If the patient has trouble breathing due to adenoids or enlarged tonsils, these should be removed by surgery as well. For anemia, the patient is given substances such as vitamins, iron and zinc along with a prescribed diet. In cases of calcium deficiency, a calcium-rich diet and calcium tablets are recommended.

If a child shows more than one of the symptoms, then a combined treatment is followed. Laser acupuncture treatment can also be useful. Bedwetting can be prevented by using anti-diuretic hormone tablets or sprays as well. With the correct diagnosis and treatment, the success rate of such treatments is between 95-98%.

The most common occurrence is that children will stop wetting the bed after puberty without any need for treatment. However, it is not a good idea to wait for this to happen, because treatment that will help bedwetting stop occurring is available. Only 2-5% of patients continue to wet the bed after the age of twenty. Most often, such patients wet the bed due to some organic problem.

The medicines prescribed against bedwetting have been in use for about 30-35 years; they have been proven to be safe and to have no side effects.

A related study

In a study carried out in Bursa, Turkey, the records of 164 patients who suffered from bedwetting were examined. According to this study, the following data was obtained: 52 patients (32%) were girls and 112 patients (68%) were boys. 36 of the boys were aged 6-8, 48 of them were aged 9-12 and the remaining 28 were 13 years of age or older. 20 girls were aged 6-8, 16 girls were aged 9-12 and 16 girls were 13 or older.

When the causes were investigated, it turned out that 18 of the 112 boys (16%) had urinary tract or bladder infections and kidney stones, while 18 boys were suffering from cystitis, which can be diagnosed with an ultrasound, 12 boys (11%) had problems with their adenoids, chronic bronchitis, and tonsils, which made breathing difficult for them. No organic causes were found in 64 patients (57%); in these cases it was found that the cause was purely psychological. 24 out of 52 girls (46%) had urinary tract or bladder infections, while the other 54% had psychological reasons for wetting the bed.

Half of the patients stopped wetting the bed at the end of the first month, and almost all the patients were treated successfully by the end of the second month. The success rate was 98%.

After having examined this data, it is clear that the problem of bedwetting is not difficult to solve without blaming and hurting our children. When we confront such problems in life, we should not despair or panic. We should keep in mind that God Almighty has created a cure for every problem, and that finding the cure requires patience and determination.

Nowadays, almost everyone working in corporate America agrees that there is dog-eat-dog competition going on among rival companies as well as among candidates for jobs in these companies. The price companies pay for even a short period of “relaxation” in this non-stop race is very high: it is paramount to going out of business. The same holds true for individuals; a brief disengagement from the field or the market is likely to have serious negative consequences for one’s career. There is endless hassle without a break. Such stiff competition has devastating results at all levels: At the individual level, a wide range of psychological disorders and psychosomatic illnesses, such as stress and stress-related disturbances, and frequently sacrificing one’s values, such as altruism and humility, to survive in a job; at the family level, neglecting family members, especially children, who beg for genuine care and quality time from their parents; at the societal level, the loss of respect and care for one another, and indifference to problems in the society.

This article is neither a detailed description of the complete list of problems caused by the current system in many industrialized countries nor a practical remedy guaranteed to work the next day. It is obvious that the problems mentioned above cannot be fixed overnight or through band-aid solutions to only one aspect of life. With that in mind, it is also important to realize that any solution to any problem is influenced to a great extent by the underlying philosophy. Therefore, this article offers some fruits of reflection by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, collectively suggesting a thought-provoking perspective to the disturbing picture given above. To this end, a unique description of the gracious environment offered by nature-in its unspoiled, pure form-is presented, as opposed to the suffocating climate-as briefly described above-in the superficial world that mankind has built for itself.

While being continuously busy with, or even overwhelmed by, the necessities of modern life have you ever reflected upon what Almighty offers us through Nature? Here are a few points to think about and thank for; please read with your heart as well as with your mind:

• All animate beings-from the most powerless to the most powerful-are given some suitable form of sustenance. A hand of infinite generosity gives feasts to all living things, none being forgotten. A little thought given to the variety of living things on the earth and the corresponding diversity of the types of sustenance they continuously beg for will suffice to realize the overall grace as a principle that is always at work.1

• By merely glancing at the material causes we can find clues that we have been provided with all our needs. Has it ever occurred to you that we are being dressed in the finest of fabrics-silk-by an insect that has no limbs and that we are eating wholesome and sweet honey from a bug that has a poisonous sting? Have you ever reflected on grapes? Bediuzzaman once saw a grapevine in a garden. He counted the bunches hanging from that grapevine, all of a thickness of two fingers. They numbered one hundred and fifty five. He counted the grapes in one bunch. There were around one hundred and twenty. He thought that if that vine had been a tap from which flowed honey-flavored water and if it had given a constant flow of water, it would have been just enough for to water the grapes, which in the face of extreme heat, contained hundreds of little pumps of the sherbet of mercy.2-3

• There is an inverse relationship between sustenance on the one hand and strength and willpower on the other. The more one relies on strength and willpower, the more difficult it will be to sustain one’s life. For example, it is the most helpless and delicate creatures that have the choicest food; for example, infants and the young of all species. The most impotent and least intelligent animals are the best nourished; like worms with fruit. On the other hand, the most powerful and intelligent animals experience difficulty in their livelihood. It is the wild beasts, such as lions, that have to relentlessly pursue their prey. The cunning fox remains thin in its search for food.4

• Compassion is apparent in relationships between living things. In the world of plants, look at the fruit-bearing trees. For example, the coconut tree, which carrying fruit that are like so many cans of ready-to-drink nourishment, gives sweet milk to its fruits while contenting itself with muddy water. Trees like the pomegranate and grapevines distribute a delicious beverage to their fruit and, in extreme heat, content themselves with mud. In the world of animals, look at the self-sacrifice mothers display. The hen has the courage to sacrifice its life for her chicks, throwing herself at a dog. She remains hungry and gives them food to eat. And she receives such pleasure in her duty that she prefers the pains of hunger and pangs of death.5-6

Regardless of how much we, human beings, have destroyed such a nourishing cradle in pursuit of our endless desires this is the description of our environment-in its pristine form-that has been prepared for humankind. One can easily realize what an important mistake it is for a guest, long awaited and shown such respect, to be in conflict with such a wonderful environment. Personally, I would be much happier to be in harmony with this environment than to be an inhabitant of a merciless, hostile one.

Just imagine for a second that aliens in space are watching the world. They will quickly realize that human beings, the most intelligent of living things, are those in the greatest agony; in contrast to all other members of the same world who are living content with their lives. I think we need to stop and take a careful look at our lives from above this hasty flow and decide what we are looking for.

Nature is out there, always ready to provide lessons that offer solutions to the problems in the world of humanity and I hope that the people tackling these problems will consult with this objective, age-old instructor and, where applicable, make use of the wisdom it offers.

Notes

• Nursi, Said, The Words, Sozler Publications, Translated by Þukran Vahide, Istanbul: 2002, The Tenth Word, Second Truth, p. 75.
• Ibid.
• Ibid., The twenty-second word; second station; sixth flash. p. 309.
• Ibid., p. 75.
• Ibid., p. 75.
• Nursi, Said, The Flashes Collection, Sozler Publications, Translated by Þukran Vahide, Istanbul: 2000, The Seventeenth Flash, Eighth Note, p. 171.

The problem of pulmonary tuberculosis in pregnancy has attracted the attention of doctors for many years and it is still a current issue. Modern researchers and physicians divide tuberculosis into several independent problems which have difficult solutions. On the one hand, there is the influence of tuberculosis on the course of pregnancy and child delivery as well as on the health of a mother and her child. On the other hand, there is the influence of pregnancy and childbirth, the puerperal period and lactation on the course and progress of tuberculosis.

Research on how pregnancy influences the course of tuberculosis has been carried out for many years. Even in the oldest available documents we can find instructions for “personal precautions” and preventative measures against tuberculosis, as well as thoughts about pregnancy and tuberculosis. In 1400 BC the Law of Manu from ancient India prohibited marriages to girls from families with tuberculosis. In different world religions, including Islam and Christianity, there are special restrictions concerning people who suffer from this illness.

In ancient times Hippocrates and Galen taught that pregnancy has a positive influence on the function of lungs. But the Islamic doctors, Arabian as well as Spanish, of the Cordoba Caliphate considered that the blessed process of pregnancy must not be complicated by pulmonary diseases.

With time European medical science changed its point of view. From the second part of the 17th century until the beginning of the 19th century doctors considered that pregnancy had a bad effect on the course of tuberculosis, but then the situation, for some reason, changed. Doctors began to think that pregnancy had a good influence on lung diseases. They even started to advise girls who were susceptible to tuberculosis to marry. Time passed and doctors began to change their opinion on tuberculosis in pregnancy and the extremes in views became less obvious. This happened due to the introduction of an artificial pneumothorax into the treatment of tuberculosis.

Since then the third period in the understanding of the relationship between pregnancy and tuberculosis has begun. The opinion about the course of tuberculosis in pregnant women has changed due to the successful therapy of tuberculosis with the help of the artificial pneumothorax.

During the gestation period, all the organs and tissues of the entire organism experience an increased load, as they are trying to satisfy both their own needs and that of the developing fetus. These morphological and functional changes do not lead to any pathological state in the mother if she is healthy and her course of pregnancy is normal. If the woman’s organism has been weakened by a chronic immunodeficiency due to poor environmental conditions or if she has a tuberculosis process in her organism, then functional changes and tissue dystrophies can develop in her nervous system which will lead to metabolic disorders. Changes in ergasia caused by pregnancy and connected with changes in higher nervous activity, as well as with endocrine reorganization, can influence the development and the course of the tubercular process.

Before penicillin was discovered, pregnancy usually led to the progression of the disease and in many cases even ended fatally. Nowadays due to the use of effective antituberculous medicines the attitude towards possible pregnancy of women who have active tuberculosis has considerably changed.

Tuberculosis in a pregnant woman usually starts in an acute form; at this stage infiltrative forms of the disease with necrogenic and bacterioexcretion prevail, often combined with exudative pleurisy, trachea, larynx and bronchi lesions.

Frequent consecutive pregnancies have a negative effect on the state of women who suffer from tuberculosis; they weaken the organism and can cause the recrudescence of the tuberculosis process. This is very typical of many families in poor Asian and African countries. More than half of all pregnant women suffering from an active form of tuberculosis experience a progressive iron deficiency anemia during the first three months of pregnancy and in the second trimester of pregnancy this can be observed in almost all patients. Malaria is also widespread in Asian and African countries that are situated to the south of Sahara and are the second reason for iron deficiency anemia.

According to modern views, one of the reasons for the recrudescence of the tubercular process during pregnancy is an irregular or non-systematic treatment of this illness or the absence of any treatment at all. The recrudescence of the process observed in those suffering from destructive pulmonary tuberculosis is caused by the severity of the illness itself when new conditions for the organism occur. In this case, pregnancy begins against the background of an advanced chronic immune deficiency. At the same time, due to the feto-placental complex operation, functional changes in the nervous, respiratory, cardiovascular and urinary systems, as well as hormonal changes, in the organism of a pregnant woman take place.

Moreover, the development of the fetal skeleton requires calcium which is absorbed not only via the blood of the mother, but also from the healed niduses of tuberculosis and as a result, the progression of a specific process can appear.

The reactivation of the tubercular process happens due to a decrease in the responsiveness of the organism and because of an increase in the activity of the reproductive hormones and the loosening of the connective tissues which are physiologically involved in pregnancy. The amount of plasma and extra vascular fluid increases. Due to these changes, a swelling and loosening in the inactive tubercular niduses with the mycobacteria of tuberculosis can appear. And loosening, in its turn, enables a lymphohematogenous spread of mycobacteria.

In addition to these, the delivery of a child leads to a speedy reorganization of all the functions of the organism; lactation and nursing in their turn are combined with an increased loss daily of nutritious matters and a large amount of protein and fats. In case of destructive pulmonary tuberculosis, due to the fact that the diaphragm descends (resulting in the abdominal decompression ceasing to have a therapeutic action of pneumoperitoneum) bronchogenic dissemination appears in the unaffected parts of the lungs.

A specific active process can be observed in women belonging to the high-risk group in connection with tuberculosis. The high-risk group combines women who have recently suffered from tuberculosis (less than one year after treatment), those who have just been operated on for a tuberculosis connected illness (less than one year), women with tuberculosis of different localizations younger than 20 years (for Asia and Africa) and those older than 35 years (for Europe and the USA), those with widespread forms of the tubercular process withstanding its stage, women who have had contact with people discharging bacteria or people suffering from tuberculosis but not discharging bacteria, and also those who have coexisting illnesses (diabetes, chronic nonspecific pulmonary illnesses, problems with kidneys, stomach and duodenum ulcer), and also women who use alcohol, narcotics, those who smoke and lead asocial ways of life. In these cases, the women must be properly examined during the gestation period, including X-rays.

Treatment of tuberculosis during pregnancy

All other conditions being equal, the timely detection of active tuberculosis during pregnancy allows doctors to provide a full course of treatment, allowing the woman to recover and give birth to a healthy child. Untreated active tuberculosis of the mother is much more dangerous for the fetus than anti-tuberculosis chemotherapy.

Special attention must be paid to healthy women who are in contact with bacillary patients. Quite often these women might undergo active tuberculosis for the first time during pregnancy or after the delivery itself.

In the pre-penicillin era the recrudescence of the tubercular process during pregnancy and after the delivery proceeded in an acute form with frank infiltrative changes, a necrogenic process, bloody expectoration and very often a generalization of the process. Nowadays, the clinical outlook for complications and the recrudescence of tuberculosis against the background of pregnancy is less gloomy. It more resembles the toxicosis of pregnancy or respiratory diseases.

While examining a patient, special attention must be paid to chest problems like moist or dry coughs, bloody expectoration, pain in the chest and shortness of breath. If the patient coughs with expectoration for 2 weeks then she must be examined for mycobacteria with the usage of a microscopic technique.

Another syndrome, which is also very important, is a complex of intoxication symptoms (weakness, hidrosis, anorexia, weight loss, long-lasting low grade fever and hyperirritability) which need to be detected to discover the reason for their development. While examining the anamnesis of a pregnant woman it is necessary to learn if she has ever suffered from tuberculosis before, if she has had any possible contacts with infected people, whether there are cases of tuberculosis or concomitant diseases in her family as all of these can be very useful for the verification of tuberculosis.

When active pulmonary tuberculosis is suspected an X-ray examination is necessary. When the chest is in frontal projection, the X-ray exposure of the fetus is 10 times lower than that of its mother (with compulsory use of a protective apron). Examination of the cough expectoration for the presence of tubercular mycobacteria is one of the easiest, most effective and informative diagnostic methods.

Chemotherapy, which destroys the tubercle bacillus that spread in the organism, plays a leading role in the variety of methods for tuberculosis treatment. By reducing the population of bacteria, chemotherapy supports the healing process, the dispersion of inflammatory changes, the closing of caverns, the encapsulation of the remaining loci as well as preventing the development of sclerosis. When the patient suffers from tuberculosis, the healing processes are very slow; the first stage of the recovery process of mycobacteria ceases and only after some months, in the case of a successful treatment of tuberculosis, does the healing process finish.

The necessary treatment of pregnant women who suffer from tuberculosis must start as soon as the diagnosis has been made. Chemotherapy implies taking antibacterial medicines (isoniaside, rifampicin, pyrazinamide, ethambutol, ethionamide and etc.) in different combinations. The choice of this or that combination depends on the stage of the disease as well as on any undesirable reactions to the medicines prescribed.

The treatment of tuberculosis (if there are indications) continues during the entire pregnancy and lactation period. In particular, patients with tuberculosis that has been diagnosed during the pregnancy are in need of treatment. When there is a systematic treatment, up to the moment of delivery and in the puerperal period, positive clinicoradiologic dynamics can be observed regarding the specific inflammation (stoppage of bacterioexcretion, closing of caverns, dispersion of loci, infiltration and exudate). Patients who reject treatment during the process of pregnancy suffer from an advancement of the illness.

Transplacental infection of the fetus with tuberculosis almost never occurs, but the baby can be infected from the mother in the puerperal period. There is also a possibility of contamination during delivery, but this is a rare occurrence.. God truly protects the innocent!

Permission to breast feed must be given by a joint resolution of an obstetrician, a pediatrician, and a specialist of tuberculosis taking into account the state of a woman and the form and the stage of the tubercular process. Overall precautionary measures must be taken (a nonbacterial mask of 5-6 layers covering the nose and the mouth, a kerchief covering the head and thoroughly washed hands).

A bacteriological study of the breast milk of women who suffer from tuberculosis shows that typical mycobacteria rarely vegetates (no more than 0.33%). Human milk has the ability to suppress the development of the mycobacteria of tuberculosis. This must be connected with the rich spectrum of ferments, immunoglobulins, cellular elements, macro-phages, the complement system, interferon and other factors of nonspecific protection which human milk contains.

The contraindications for nursing are as follows: tuberculosis of the lactiferous gland, an acute form of tuberculosis, active pulmonary tuberculosis with bacterioexcretion, active tuberculosis of any organs detected at the end of the pregnancy or after the delivery, and recrudescence of tuberculosis during the pregnancy. Children born to such mothers are immediately isolated after their birth and bottle fed, they are vaccinated and stay in the hospital for 6 weeks if possible (the minimum period for compulsory postvaccinal isolation).

Thus the tubercular process in the lungs, especially an active one, will have a negative influence on pregnancy and delivery. Babies born to such mothers belong to a high-risk group as far as the possibility of neonatal pathology and antenatal death of the fetus are regarded. Women with pulmonary tuberculosis must undergo regular consultations with both an obstetrician-gynecologist and a phthisiologist from the very early stages of their pregnancy. They must also receive special treatment until all the signs of active tuberculosis have been eliminated.

Jacques Derrida¹

For over two thousand years despotism has been used by the West as a concept for slandering systems that differ from it. What this means is that the term itself is European. It was used against the French king as a means of opposition. It was also used by Montesquieu and Engels as a strategy of accusation against Oriental regimes. Karl Wittfogel attempted to adopt it for the case of Soviet Russia, but he did not succeed, because the term has been indexed to the East since the time of ancient Greece. The East for the Greeks was Persia, then, it became Seljuk-Ottoman Empire and the Mongols for a while.

“Enlightened despotism” was used in positive terms for Frederic the Great and Catherine II; however, even this positive attempt did not conceal this myth or alleviate the burden of this prejudice. To sum up, the term despotism has cast a silhouette over the Eurasian map since the time of Aristotle’s Politics. What is more, the notions developed in the West still dominate today, even in the mindset of some “intellectuals” in the East.

There have been many books written on this subject. Edward Said struggled greatly at the beginning with his Orientalism, published in 1978, and in subsequent studies. There has been much research conducted on the problems and contradictions of Eurocentrism. In 1748 Montesquieu presents us with a discussion of despotism in his The Spirit of Laws. However, his outmoded theory was found to be ridiculous by Voltaire at the time and by Anquetil-Duperron thirty years later in 1778.

In fact, the aim of the “Eastern Orientalists” is clear: they are trying to find an explanation for the lack of development in the East. Montesquieu-who invented the term despotism while criticizing the French king-would be pleased if he could hear the repercussions of his theory still haunting Eastern history after 250 years. The philosophers of the Enlightenment were very clever men, they used special terms for special aims, and the myth of “Oriental despotism” is one of the terms used for multiple aims.

The French thinker Louis Althusser analyzes and criticizes Montesquieu in his book Politics and History.2 Althusser first of all tries to “understand” the thinker he is examining. He evaluates works by Montesquieu in general terms and he divides the thoughts into themes. Despotism is one of these themes.

Althusser thinks that Montesquieu’s main aim was not to defend a republic or a democracy against despotism, but rather to support monarchy and make it something that the King would opt for. Therefore, he continually tries to frighten the King with the specter of despotism, a degenerated form of monarchy. He wanted to show the King that if you abuse the monarchy you will become a despot, like that of the Turkish and Chinese states. His warning was, “Be careful not to abuse the monarchy!”

Montesquieu was not an innocent philosopher merely giving advice to his ruler. Philosophers are at least as far removed from innocence as politicians are. However, Althusser does not see things so simple. He thinks that Montesquieu uttered these “great ideas” in order to consolidate the importance of the feudal lords, of whom he was one, in the eyes of the King.

According to Althusser, Montesquieu was trying to bring back the interests of his class that would be lost by centralizing the monarchy.3 Montesquieu was in the camp of the feudal rightist party and he was constantly criticizing Louis XIV-a monarch who represents French monarchy at its peak; he was advising him not to be a despot. If the French king became drawn into the sphere of despotism, then the privileges and rights of the upper classes would be abolished, and they would have to hand over not only their power, but also their wealth to the control of the central authority. Montesquieu lists all the problems inherent in despotism; Louis XIV would continue to distribute offices that had formerly belonged to the aristocrats-a practice started by Cardinal Richelieu-to the newly emerging bourgeoisie, and the logical consequence of this is that Louis XIV would come close to establishing a tyranny.4

Here is what Montesquieu said clearly: Despotism is a regime of fear. There is only one ruler. There are no intermediaries between the King and the people. The despot who rules arbitrarily does stand much of a chance if the people, living like a herd of animals, were to rebel against him en masse. Despotism can not oppose rebellions because the King will be the only target of a huge upsurge, and therefore the life of the king and the continuity of the regime can easily be threatened. However, if there are intermediary classes-of which Montesquieu was a member-who stand between the king and the people, they would be the target of the masses. The king would be free from blame and he would not be a direct target. Finally, Montesquieu concludes: “O Kings! Distance yourself from despotism if you want to protect your reign from the violence of the people.”5

Montesquieu denigrates despotism, particularly in his Letters from Persia, by giving examples from the administration of the Ottoman sultan and the Iranian shah (the Ottomans and the Safavids became the devils in this despotism context and were the parties accused of despotism).6 Yet, as Althusser cleverly recognized, Montesquieu’s problem was not with the Ottoman Empire or Iran. They were just distorted mirrors, fake images, or boogeyman chosen to serve the aim of the feudal rightist opposition that was trying to stand against the king. In short, Althusser wanted the Turks and the Ottomans to be left alone and he was calling for European thought to confess their faults.

Concepts should be perceived as an umbrella rather than as a shopping bag into which we can cram everything. If we use them in the latter fashion then, as implied by Braudel, they tell us nothing, while trying to tell everything. Likewise, Karl Popper-a philosopher of science-was right when he said if we do not limit a concept, a theory, or a scheme and if we try to use it to explain everything, then it is difficult to call it scientific. This is also true for the concept of despotism. If this term is used in an unrestricted sense and is universalized, there will be a superficiality that eliminates all minor differences within the concept. This leads to an evaporation of the deep meanings that are hidden in the nuances, an atrophy of complex thinking and an establishment of thinking based on limits and ease. Because of this we need to talk about multiple despotisms rather than unique despotism.

In The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Political Thought, 7 there are four meanings for the term despotism:

1. In political terms, despotism emerged for the first time in the war between the Persians and Greeks in 5th century B.C. However, the term was formulated by Aristotle. According to him, despotism was an administration confined to Asian barbaric people. Therefore, the first conceptual iron door between Asia and Europe was constructed by Aristotle, who is known as “the first teacher” in Islamic philosophy. According to him, Asian peoples are natural born slaves and are accustomed to living under the authority of a single leader. He thought that their power was derived from despotism. However, since Greek (Europeans) people were superior to Asians in terms of rational capability and spirit, they should be the rulers. Thus, despotism was commonly used in a pejorative sense.

2. In the 16th century, the colonial powers that went to discover new lands to plunder frequently remembered Aristotle’s legitimizing despotism concept. The slave trade was inspired by this ancient obsession with despotism. The people who divided the world into two camps, the free and the barbaric, like Machiavelli, Bodin, Hobbes, and Grotius, believed that the soldiers of European republics were more virtuous than those of the barbarians. According to this belief, it was therefore acceptable for the virtuous to convert the slavish barbarians into slaves.

3. In the 17th and 18th centuries two opposing groups in France, the French aristocrats and the Huguenots (French Protestants, some of who took refugee in the Ottoman Empire after the Edict of Nantes) used the term despotism as a tool of criticism for a European state. Therefore, the content of the term despotism expanded to European rulers who were ruling over free people. In conclusion, the term became two-sided; one for “Western despotism” and the other for “Eastern.” The despotism concept of Montesquieu emerged in the context of this century.

4. There is one other thesis which originated from the Swedish-born French liberal Benjamin Constant and was developed by Tocqueville. This thesis argues that the term of despotism had lost its ancient and original meaning after the French Revolution. These discussions allowed despotism to enter European politics and led to many interesting discussions, like “democratic despotism” or “the tyranny of the majority.”

After all these definitions those of Hegel, Marx, Weber, J. Stuart Mill, and Wittfogel follow; these are not very different in the main line of thought, also seeing despotism as something reserved for the East. They use terms “petrification, “resistance to change” and “static” as symbols of despotism and see it as the reason why eastern societies did not create democratic tendencies and a civil society.

Edward Said in his Orientalism has already shown that the concept of “the East” is a fiction. To put it more correctly, it is an image constructed by the European imperial subject in his mind and then imposed on the world. Therefore, there is no fixed “reality” of the East; rather there is only the ideologically distorted image of the “East” constructed over the ages in the Western imagination. Yet, our mission seems more difficult, as Said does not present us with any clue that can differentiate the “factual” and “fictional” faces of the East. He only diagnoses the existence of the fiction and analyzes the roles of the most important actors (Orientalists) in creating such a fiction. This critical tradition of Orientalism developed greatly after the pioneering role of Edward Said. According to his perception, the East has been singly constructed in the West. Arif Dirlik in his The Postcolonial Aura elegantly criticizes Said”s thought and says that Said is obsessed with external Orientalists; however, Dirlik puts it that Said seems to be unable to recognize the internal Orientalists among easterners.

According to Dirlik, Edward Said takes Orientalism as something that has finished; however Dirlik suggests that it is a continuing process. Thus, he advises that we closely examine local compradors. He asks the question that if there were not collaborationists in the “Orient” would it be so easy for a perspective like Orientalism to settle there? Finally, departing from the Chinese example, he tries to display how Asian intellectuals supported and adopted the Orientalist discourse at its birth and throughout its evolution, and how they worked hard in order to make their societies adopt this perspective.8 This striking thought of Arif Dirlik may facilitate our task, as it is very interesting to note how eastern intellectuals adopted a pejorative and humiliating term like eastern despotism for defining their own histories without questioning and criticizing it, how they were able to take on the habit of seeing their societies through the eyes of a Western subject and in the name of liberation and modernization. According to this approach, the commoditization of Chinese culture and its presentation as a static and petrified entity and marketing it like a commodity to Western people are one side of the Orientalization of the Orient itself.

The other side is glorifying the superior Western race, its land and its culture after humiliating the Orient. Furthermore, the East believes that if it possesses superior properties to that of the West it will be also superior and have a free-minded society. To sum up, much as Hegel strived to achieve, Easterners have put themselves onto this scale of frozen, static and unchanging societies because that is what the West thinks of them. So we have to admire the success of the Orientalist project. Lucette Valensi, in his encompassing and striking study, The Birth of the Despot: Venice and the Sublime Porte, draws conclusions from reports of Venetian ambassadors and arrives at how the concept of the “despot” was constructed in Europe. He says that the Ottoman sultan had not been called a despot and the Ottoman order had not been conceptualized as despotism before. On the contrary, the power, brilliance, and progressiveness of the Ottoman administration were often discussed.

However, beginning with the 17th century, the discourses of the Venetian ambassadors started to change. It was strange, according to Valensi, how the “grand Turc” was transformed into a “despot” in the 17th century. He rightfully asks why the Venetian ambassadors had glorified the Ottoman sultan until the 16th century and then humiliated him in the 17th century. It is clear that there was a change in the Venetian perspective of the Ottomans during this century. As Valensi himself elegantly points out: In the end, the ambassadors and then Montesquieu dressed an ancient Greek concept in a Turkish robe. To say it more correctly, that time is not very distant from us. The fantasy of pure power follows us and transforms its vision continuously.9 According to Valensi, Oriental despotism is just an image reflected onto non-western societies by the West in order to satisfy its fantasy of power. Yet, this image reflects the passion of power in the West; a passion that desires to be as powerful as the Ottomans. Voltaire declares the concept of despotism as presented by his contemporary Montesquieu as ridiculous; he defends that a mass of people ruled by a regime led by a single leader cannot survive; even though it might be possible for it to remain standing, it will not be for long. There was no despotic rule according to Voltaire because it could not exist. It is nothing less than a lie to talk about the existence of such a regime.

As I mentioned above, the concept of despotism, which Voltaire found absurd and fictive, has been used with the aim of concealing rather than describing, complicating rather than explaining. However, we should direct our energy and attention to understanding the facts rather than thinking within limits and fantasies. Then, our attempt to find the realities will remind us that our past is not “a foreign country,” it will give us sound clues about our present and past. Likewise, Voltaire, addressing Montesquieu, explained the Ottoman reality to those who thought like Montesquieu. Voltaire underlined that not only were the Turks free, but they also did not discriminate according to class. Their only criterion of privilege was merit. The facts Voltaire provides about the Ottomans are in complete contrast with the fiction. In conclusion, when carefully examined, myths like “Oriental despotism” do not amount to anything more than European fantasies about the East. Seeing despotism as an oriental concept is no more realistic than the Western misconception of the harem, where the sultan is depicted with hundreds of women. As long as we adopt orientalist presumptions without thoroughly questioning them, we will be unable to tell where the fictional ends and where the factual starts.

Notes

1. Jacques Derrida, Of Grammatology, The John Hopkins University Press, 1976, p.80
2. Louis Althusser, Politika ve Tarih: Montesquieu-Rousseau, (Politics and History: Montesquieu-Rousseau) Ankara: Verso, 1987. Translated by Alaattin Azenel and Ömür Sezgin.
3. For this transitional period, the seigneurs or landlords were delivering their rights to central government, that is, the central state was becoming a universal seigneurate, see W. H. Lewis, The Splendid Century: Life in the France of Louis XIV, Anchor Books, 1957, pp. 73-79.
4. Stephan J. Lee, Aspects of European History, 1494-1789, Routledge, 1986, p. 167.
5. Micheal Curtis, “The Oriental Despotic Universe of Montesquieu&”, Princeton Papers in Near Eastern Studies, n. 3, 1994, pp. 1-33.
6. Montesquieu, Ãran Mektuplari (Letters from Persia), Anka, Istanbul, 2001, p. 88-89. Translated by Muhiddin Gaklu.
7. David Miller (ed), The Blackwell Encylopedia of Political Thought, Blackwell, 1998.
8. Arif Dirlik, Postcolonial Aura: Third World Criticism in the Age of Global Capitalism, Westview Press, 1998
9. Lucette Valensi, The Birth of the Despot: Venice and the Sublime Porte (Despotun Dogusu: Venedik ve Bab-i Âli), tr. A. Turgut Arnas, Baslam, Istanbul: 1994.

When we look at the current situation, those who study science are required to have a philosophical background of secular concepts and judgments; all the scientific activities and the required methods to be carried out by this person are to be built on this secular basis.

The method of scientific research

In the course of history scientific methods developed first in Mesopotamia, the cradle of humanity and the prophets, then in Central Asia and Andalusia, and finally in Western Europe, with efforts to make use of science so that human life would be easier. Nowadays these methods have a universal character and they include observation, experimental observation, experimentation, measuring, statistics, definitions along international standards, analogy, development of theories, antitheses and others.

Surely, this is not the only way to learn about the universe, life, and humanity. Furthermore, the true source of information is the One Who created everything that is studied by science-all the world of existence and the physical laws-that is God, the Almighty, the All-Wise. The Lord of the worlds created causes as a thin veil over His divine power and He has given the universe to the use of humanity. He gave us consciousness, intellect, reasoning, and curiosity to explore, and then He sent us messengers to convey His commands. In this way He always invited us to reflection and to use our mind. So, one of the means of satisfying our inherent curiosity to explore, of benefiting from what has God given us, and of reaching the truth-the knowledge of God-has been the methods of modern science which are always open to criticism and reform.

Observation

One needs to fulfill certain standards in order to obtain reliable information about the subject that is being observed and to compare this information with the results of other observations. These standards require that the measurements (distance, time, atmospheric conditions, the quality and sensitivity of the tools of observation, etc.) be recorded and correctly evaluated. The observation-watching the objects in the sky or following the life of a lion family in the savannah for instance-might seem to be a passive and objective study at the beginning. When there is conscious human intervention, however, the time of observation, the experience of the observer, their attentiveness, the accuracy of their devices, and their purpose of study bears importance in terms of the outcome. In addition, different observers in theoretically equal conditions may come up with different results. In short, the observer is an indispensable part of what they observe and measure. According to Einstein the assumption that there is an outer world abstracted from the perceiver is common to all natural sciences. On the other hand, perception only through the senses provides indirect information about the outer world, and we can only understand physical reality through reasoning. As a result, our knowledge of the physical reality can never be conclusive.

Experiment, measurement, and universal statement

All experiments are a scientific study where the experimenter contributes actively (as a determining factor). The drawbacks which occur for observation also occur for experiments to an even greater extent. The conditions of the experiment may not be always under strict control and there could be some factors that have been overlooked which affect the outcome.

Like observation, minimizing the mistakes of an experiment and expressing it in a universal statement depend on how much place has been given for standard measurements, mathematics, and common terminology. From the local environment to the world scale, the findings of scientific activity that has not been shared with others cannot be an inspiration for other original studies (science is a common value of humanity). Therefore, the developmental level of a science is understood from that science’s ability to use standard measurement techniques and mathematics, and then state the findings in internationally accepted ways.

In its broadest sense, measurement means numbering objects and events in accordance with certain rules. In any case, it should not be forgotten that these numbers represent those objects in only some aspects, not completely. The records taken during an observation or an experiment, particularly mathematical measurements, impose certain systematical limitations on the data and turn them into comparable values which give way to statistical analysis. Therefore, they pave the way for classification and generalization.

Generalization and induction

Classification and generalization are important schematic steps for they facilitate identifying the objects and events in the physical world, defining them, and understanding their function. The next step is to analyze things and events individually and this constitutes a reliable way of defining general rules, discovering the principle of the “system” that exists in the whole universe, and then obtaining complicated knowledge of the world around us. The deduction principle of Aristotle, which prevailed in Europe and the Muslim world during the Middle Ages, was replaced by this new understanding, namely the induction method. Induction is an analytical approach which studies events separately in order to reach a certain synthesis (an idea about the whole) for the sake of understanding nature and the universe. Particularly in natural sciences, generalizations require every thing and event to be tested one by one and then to be compared with the general rule; this way, important advancements have been made (e.g. after having tested all metals, the resulting principle was “all metals expand when they are heated”). However, the notion of accepting these generalizations as definite and unchangeable principles lost its reliability after Popper.

Theory, but how?

According to Popper, the verification of a scientific theory does not mean that it has been proven. Actually, what matters is not whether a theory is veritable or not, but whether a theory is disprovable or not. So to say that a theory is not open to criticism, that it cannot be disproved or tested is not scientific.

When we apply this to a concrete example, the theory of evolution, which is defined as a biological phenomenon that took place in the geological time scale, we find that it is not open to observation or experiment. Therefore, it cannot be proven in terms of natural sciences. More importantly, theory of evolution is not scientific, as it seems impossible to prove the opposite of what this theory suggests. We are not saying that we cannot prove the opposite; the theory is built in such a way that we have no chance to prove the opposite, and it is just not scientific.

Scientific data is accepted as an agreed value of humanity. The neutrality of science, or the neutrality of a scientist to be exact, suggests that things and events existing in the universe are all beyond personal and subjective judgments and they should be dealt with accordingly. Neutrality is in a way an honest attitude that has been adopted for seeking for truth with a skeptical approach while trying to reach a sound result. In any case, we need to keep in mind that in some branches of science we cannot remain absolutely neutral and our worldview may have an effect as well. Just as in daily life, our perception tends to be selective about what is happening around us in scientific activities as well. So neutrality in science cannot always be accepted as an absolute, but rather is something that is open for discussion.

The human conflict

The position of mankind presents a dual nature in the world which points to its Creator and the paths that lead to Him from every direction. Mankind has been created in a planet of negligible size in comparison to the vastness of the universe. We are just impotent guests. The sphere of our power is awfully narrow. On the other hand, our Creator gave the universe for our use, and He protects the planet where humans live against dangers in advance. He has bestowed upon us mental ability and the power to reflect upon the world, to explore, and to benefit from it. He has created all the living or non-living things and the physical laws for the sake of humanity. As mentioned before, we continue to explore the world around us and give this activity a name: “science.”

In spite of being feeble creatures, we human beings in time have taken the abilities granted to us, the scientific advancements, the achievements we made and the power brought by them as our own work and we have idolized our own bodies and mind. Then we claim that science is the ultimate reliable source, in spite of its being an activity with its own weaknesses. We began to see science as a separate being, independent from us, even from the Almighty Lord, and finally we take science as a conscious superior being that is able to explain everything, the only source of information, and a “sacred” concept, together with its methods. This outrageous ingratitude and rebellion against our Creator shakes the spiritual values of societies and causes them to degenerate by confusing minds, leading to the use of science against humanity in an uncontrolled way, like a dangerous weapon.

After Darwin, evolutionists began to explain the facts about all species in nature through the presumption of “evolution by natural selection.” However it is not correct to take natural selection as being deterministic. There is some partial truth in it; but it is not an ever-valid essential rule. The criterion of weakness for a species or an individual being cannot be clearly defined. Evolutionists had overlooked the fact that the species created in different structures and capacities in order to perform different functions in the system of nature could not be evaluated for a criteria of common weakness. So the natural selection mechanism they suggested was seemingly attractive, but a rough and over-generalizing assumption, chalk and cheese, were mixed together.

Seeing nature as an arena of struggle is another mistaken approach adopted by those who use scientific studies as a tool for denial which threatens the moral value of humanity (the mistake of adopting excessive approaches was constantly repeated through the history of Western philosophy). Nevertheless, the admiration we feel for nature shows how beautifully it has been created and kept alive. Being a perfectly working system with all its faculties, where solidarity and a cooperative balance play the major role, nature appeals to our heart and inspires aesthetically. In the physical or social systems we establish we try to imitate the examples nature presents us. Millions of different species, countless living things live in different habitats, in different ecosystems. All of them-big or small- are parts of a smoothly running system. Discovering and making detailed analyses of the micro or macro biological mechanisms that contribute to the system only became possible in the 20th century thanks to scientific developments. In any case these discoveries have not raised any metaphysical excitement among the scientists whose hearts were hardened by their denial.

Unfortunately, the cost of the damage we caused to ourselves and to the entire world have been great. Again, we forgot the (small) lesson we learned in a short time and could not help but originate chronic evils that revealed the harm we caused to people and nature in the long run.

Humanity needs to ponder on such pictures and possible ones of the future. They need to be somehow introduced to the divine message God sent us through His Messengers. They need to discover the revelation of the True Owner of the universe, realize the miracle of creation, acknowledge their own impotence, and understand the conditions of the balance-material and spiritual-of being human. They should give up their mistaken struggle in opposing their Creator which harms themselves and the world. All people who believe in the vital importance of the matter should act in accordance with the responsibility brought by this emergency and keep in mind that faith is of ultimate worth before God. As believers, we should pray to this end, with our actions as well.

In 1896, Marconi was successful in sending signals through a wireless telegraph to a distance of a few kilometers away. However, how would it be possible to provide intercontinental communication via radiotelegraphy and radiotelephone? In 1901, together with his assistants, G.S. Kemp and P.W. Paget, Marconi successfully transmitted and received transatlantic signals between Poldhu, Cornwall and New Foundland, Canada, using a kite aerial at Signal Hill in Cornwall, England. It was Edward Appleton who first discovered that radio waves were broadcast around the world after they are reflected back from the ionosphere, one of the highest electrified layers of the atmosphere that contains large concentrations of charged particles (ions) and free electrons. Electromagnetic waves that are sent from radio transmitters to outer space are reflected back to every corner of the Earth after hitting this gas and plasma layer that is composed of charged particles. Thus, radio and radiotelephone communication is made possible for the benefit of human beings. After that time, being able to use a law that had been ordained by the Supreme Creator, human beings were able to reach a level that enabled them to conduct transatlantic communications via radiotelegraphy. But what makes radio waves so special?

Radio waves

The frequency spectrum of electromagnetic waves begins from the “sub-sound frequency region” (1Hz) stretching up until cosmic rays (Figure 1). Radio communication is made using the electromagnetic waves that form part of this frequency spectrum. Radio communication systems can be classified into four groups relating to their frequency regions:

– LF/MF (Low Frequency/Medium Frequency)

– HF (High Frequency)

– VHF/UHF (Very /Ultra High Frequency)

– SHF (Super High Frequency)

Specifications of radio waves are taken into account in this classification. The main element that makes radio waves similar or different from each other is the frequency band that determines their wave length. Radio waves move at the speed of light (300 thousand km per second), much faster than sound itself, so to find the wave length of a radio wave, we divide its velocity by its frequency.

Frequencies used within the radio frequency spectrum measure between 20 KHz and 30 GHz. Theoretically, the high frequency band is between 3 and 30 MHz, while in practice it is between 1.6 and 30 MHz. The interval between 4 and 18 MHz is the most-widely used region in the spectrum.

The atmosphere

Our Lord, Who incessantly prepares the Earth in a beautiful manner, also protects all of life with a perfect shield called the “atmosphere.” Scientists have divided the atmosphere into seven layers in order to reveal the unknown facts about it. These seven layers are different from each other in terms of temperature, pressure and humidity levels, and the natural events that occur in them. If we ascend from the Earth toward the sky, we pass through the layers of the troposphere, stratosphere, ozonosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, ionosphere and the exosphere. All these layers cover a distance of about 3,000 km. Each of the atmospheric layers serves a vital cause. Every layer has many functions, ranging from the formation of rain clouds to the prevention of harmful beams reaching the Earth, from reflecting radio waves to inactivating meteors. One duty of the ionosphere that we are aware of today is to act as a reflector and distributor for radio waves.

The ionosphere and distribution of radio waves

Good transatlantic radio communication depends upon many factors. Depending on the frequency of the radio waves, the season of the year, the position of the Sun, the location of the broadcasting area and the time of day, the communication area may vary from 100 km to 10,000 km.

Radio waves are propagated around the Earth in two forms, either as ground waves or as sky waves (Figure 2). In high-frequency radio communication, it is important to choose the best frequency for the time and means of propagation.

Starting from 50 km above the Earth and stretching 440 km, the ionosphere is filled with a high concentration of free electrons and gases. Why is the ionosphere important for transatlantic radio communication? The electrified ions that fill the whole of the ionospheric layer that completely surrounds the Earth reflect radio waves from all directions to every part of the world. According to their frequencies and ionization, radio waves are completely absorbed in the ionosphere and they are either partly refracted and distributed to the outer space or are reflected and returned to the world. The electromagnetic waves within a range of 30 MHz can return to Earth after being reflected by the ionosphere.

It is accepted that the ionosphere is formed at different ionizing levels in different layers, known as D, E, F1, and F2 (Figure 3). The ionization level in the outer layers of the ionosphere is higher than that of the inner layers. The D layer, the innermost layer of the ionosphere, is 76-93 km above the Earth and is characterized by low ion densities and low collision frequencies of electrons and ions with neutral particles. Serving to absorb most energy below 7 MHz, this layer is ionized during the daylight hours, completely disappearing at night. It reaches full ionization level just after sunrise and is at its peak at noon time, immediately losing energy after sun-set.

The E layer is the region of the ionosphere that was discovered first. In this layer, molecular ion production is at its peak at about 110-115 km above the Earth. There are plenty of molecular gases at this height. This layer is a suitable platform from which radio operators can reflect signals to distant stations. Reaching a maximum at noon, the ionization in the E layer decreases towards the end of the day, disappearing completely at midnight. Moreover, at unpredictable intervals, ionized gas clouds accumulate in certain regions of this layer. This can be detected by the variable dense clouds of ionization that occur in the E layer due to the spatial and temporal structure in the ionizing particle precipitation. The plasma density of the E layer can be greatly changed because of these occasional formations. These formations, which are called “sporadic E layers,” are used by radio amateurs for long distance VHF (Very High Frequency) operation. Since the plasma density in layers D and E is highest at noon and present during the other hours of daylight, these layers are used in the daytime.

The next layer of ionosphere exists at about 160 and 400 km above the Earth and consists of layers that have a higher density of free electrons caused by the ionizing effect of solar radiation. Since the density of gas molecules at this height is low, ion and electron collisions occur very slowly in this layer. When solar radiation is high (during the day) this layer can be divided into two independent regions, F1 and F2. The F1 layer is present at 152 and 203 km above the surface of the Earth. During the night, the F1 layer merges with the F2 layer. The F2 layer exists at 250 and 400 km above the surface of the Earth. The majority of HF (shortwave) transmissions are propagated by the F2 layer, which is the main reflecting layer for HF communications both at day and at night. Reaching its maximum level of ionization just after midday, the layer is at its minimum just before sunrise. The F2 layer can be used for 10-20 MHz during the day and 3-8 MHz during the night. Since the F layer exists at a very high altitude, it is exposed to sunlight for longer periods of the day and it dissipates very slowly at night. In this case, the only layer of the ionosphere that can be used during the night is the F layer, which I is composed of the F1 and F2 layers.

Solar radiation, and consequently ionization, alters periodically. For instance, as the days are long during the summer months, ionization is also high at this period. During this time, radio waves are absorbed or attenuated more in layers E and D, and propagation covers only a small area. However, since the days are shorter during the autumn and winter, less solar energy reaches these ionospheric layers. Hence, low frequencies can easily pass through the weakly ionized D and E layers and reach the stronger F layer from where they can be propagated over long distances.

Another long term factor in ionization is the regular 11-year activity cycle of sun spots. Sun spots are believed to be caused by violent eruptions on the Sun and they are characterized by unusually strong magnetic fields. During periods of maximum sun spot activity, the density of ionization increases in all the layers of the ionosphere. During these periods, the D layer absorbs more and the critical frequencies of layers E, F1 and F2 are higher, therefore, for long distance communication higher operating frequencies over 30 MHz should be used. During terms of minimum sun spot activity, the E and F layers have weak ionization, so they cannot reflect the radio waves back onto the Earth. In this period, frequencies over 20 MHz are not used much. Along with this regular variation, “sudden ionospheric disturbances (SID)” also negatively affect the propagation of radio waves. SID are thought to be caused by severe solar eruptions, but the real cause of this phenomena is still not clearly known. (Figure 4)

Sudden ionospheric disturbances can disturb radio communication for hours or even days. Strong solar eruptions cause a sudden abnormal increase in the ionization density in the D layer, hence even the high frequency radio waves coming from the side of the Earth that is facing the Sun are completely absorbed by this layer and frequencies above 2 MHz are unable to penetrate it. When SID occurs, long distance propagation of HF radio waves may be completely blocked.

Ionospheric storms are another disturbing factor for radio communication. When a solar eruption occurs, it takes between 20 and 40 hours for the magnetic storm to reach the Earth. The ionospheric storms cause the F2 layer to virtually lose its ion density. At this time, when the range of frequencies used for communication is much smaller than normal, communication is only possible at lower frequencies.

Frequency and propagation routes in radio communications

The definition of the frequency to be used for radio communication is an important parameter for ensuring healthy propagation. For this, the Maximum Usable Frequency (MUF), and the Lowest Usable Frequency (LUF) are determined. Frequencies over MUF penetrate the ionosphere, shooting right through the ionosphere and going out into space, whereas frequencies below MUF are reflected. LUF is the lowest frequency that is completely absorbed in the D layer. To conduct good communication, a frequency, calculated as MUF×0.85, should be used. This frequency may be lower at night and higher during the day.

Apart from the propagation frequency, the path that is chosen to transmit the radio waves from one point to the other also must be calculated accurately. The angle at which the radio waves enter the atmosphere (angle of incidence) defines the path that will be covered by the waves on their way to Earth. The angle of incidence should be small enough for the waves to be reflected back to Earth and large enough so that the waves will not penetrate the ionospheric layer. Smaller critical angles should be used for smaller frequencies and larger critical angles should be used for larger frequencies so that they will not penetrate through the ionospheric layer and be lost in space.

Consequently, apart from periods when solar eruptions are strong, radio waves that are over 30 MHz frequency are not reflected and can penetrate the atmosphere and reach outer space, hence making the communication between outer space and the Earth possible.

For transatlantic communications conducted via communication satellites, radio waves over 30 MHz are used. Artificial satellites imitate the ionospheric layer, their original source of inspiration, and act as a reflector for these waves (Figure 5). Waves coming from the Earth are reflected by these satellites if they are within their coverage area. However, these manmade satellites have very limited coverage areas. Although they are produced with the highest technology available, their cost is very high and they last only for about 25 years. Nevertheless, for radio waves lower than 30 MHz, the ionosphere, that covers the whole of our planet, acts as a natural satellite. Because of this characteristic of the ionosphere, we do not have to focus at any certain point. Moreover, there is no need for maintenance, nor any energy supplement, and the ionosphere is permanent. The atmosphere has been granted for our service for as long as Earth survives. Through searching and exploring new facts about the universe and all beings, we realize more and more that neither meaningless nor useless matter exists in the material world of creation. Therefore, we are better able to understand that the universe is packed with wonderful favors and blessings that are addressed directly to humanity.