Man can attain inner depth as much as he can discern himself correctly.

It is a well-observed fact that in our lives we have no input or choice in choosing the place and time of our birth, the parents we have, the name we are given, our race or color, or even the time and place of our death. Most of the time, we do not even have control over whom we meet. Most importantly, it was not us who made the decision to be ourselves; our father produced millions of sperm, only one was permitted to fertilize of our mother’s egg. Moreover, we could have not been human at all, but some other animal or plant. Therefore, one can say that we, ourselves per se, have no power in choosing the most important determinants in our lives.

Let us think about our bodily functions. Which biological processes can we control on our own? In reality, none. We cannot control the complex functions of our cells or our organs, our breathing, our digestion, or our hormonal cycles. In fact, these processes occur without us realizing that they are taking place in our body. What about the world in which we live? We do not and cannot control the perfect process of photosynthesis (i.e., the chemical processes that lead to the production of oxygen on this planet) in leaves and other green organisms, the natural occurrence of animals and plants upon which we depend, the water cycle, the movement of clouds, or even the formation of rain. Maybe it would be good to imagine a world without photosynthesis: we would not have enough oxygen; we would suffocate within a couple of hours. It is humbling to know that we cannot even make the oxygen upon which we depend for each and every breath.

What about the process of eating? Many times, without thinking deeply enough we say, “I ate.” However, if we analyze the situation carefully with insight and deep thought, we will come to a conclusion that we do not “eat,” we are fed. How is this possible? First of all, we cannot control the movement of muscles in our arm. Studying the mechanisms of muscle contraction in biology makes this evident. Muscle contraction is a very complex process that no human can interfere with, as countless chemical processes take place in our muscles to enable our hand to move, pick up our food, and place it in our mouth. The biochemistry of muscle contraction involves the interaction of calcium ions and calcium-binding proteins and the energy currency of living cells, adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Without the necessary co-ordinate interactions between these biochemical entities, muscle fibers cannot contract. Yet these countless enzymes and proteins that we depend on for life are built in our bodies without our power or knowledge.

The chewing process is equally complex. What if our jaw muscles locked-would it be possible to move our jaw to chew the food? In fact, the complexity of all these processes is so great that the possibility of error is very high. Yet 99.9999…% of the time, they are perfectly effective. However, in contradiction to this basic fact, we seem oblivious and unaware that it is not us who is directly involved in bringing about our actions, as we say, “I did it,” or “I achieved it.”

It is interesting that classical Sufism sees the human body as a transient palace, as a home kept in order by the great host; by a Creator; who built the body to serve the human soul placed inside it. We can also come to this conclusion by reflecting profoundly on the realities of our beings. More often than not, however, we take for granted the complexity of ‘simple’ movement (or service), such as that of our fingers, hands, and arms, occurrences that happen everyday, at every moment of our lives. This does not mean, however, that we are not responsible for our actions. Our responsibility lies in the innermost intentions, thoughts, and motives behind these actions, which will finally determine the true consequences or fruits of our behavior.

There is a very thought-provoking verse in the Holy Qur’an: Truly, mankind is very unjust and very ignorant (Ahzab 33:72). This verse is a poignant summary of the true human condition, because the human consciousness is so weak that it forgets its own ignorance and dependence, and thus becomes arrogant. In reality, however, our needs are endless and we are inherently unable to meet them ourselves. There are endless things we want to do, yet we are so dependent on the help of a force far beyond us that we cannot achieve them ourselves. And all the while, our enemies−arrogance, revenge, hatred, racism, prejudice, envy, vanity, miserliness−are countless. The central duty of a human being boils down to appreciating these processes so as to recognize the inherent inability, weakness, and powerlessness of the self, and to submit to the sole power that is able to control them: the Creator.

Understanding the true identity of the self in the guest-house of the body is the key to solving “the mystery of our existence.”¹ The self provides us with a ‘mirror,’ a reflector that directs us to our Creator and His attributes and that serves to assess our relationship with the Lord and the rest of existence. The “I” is the mysterious entity that sees and understands the Creator as the one with endless knowledge, mercy, power, wisdom, sight, and hearing. The “I” can understand that just as it can “own,” or take care of a house or a child, the Creator owns and takes care of the entire universe. Likewise, the “I” can come to similar conclusions with respect to “its” sight, hearing, compassion, caring, love, and so on. In this manner, the “I” acts like a pointer to a greater truth and reality above itself. Similarly, when the “I” observes the universe, the knowledge it gains enlightens and widens the mind, while it makes the heart softer and more caring. Having achieved this state of unity of mind and heart, “I” becomes a servant of the One who sent it to this world and who sustains it. Moreover, the same unity of mind and heart necessitates being in the service of life and mankind.

However, when the “I” becomes oblivious to its purpose for existence, it becomes a despotic tyrant, destroying and abusing not only itself but also everything else around it (think about some of the world leaders in the first half of the 20th century). Such an “I” grants itself ownership and sovereignty. Likewise, it grants independent ownership of everyone else to themselves, so that the whole world comes to think that they independently, “own” their “self.” The Qur’an calls this action “a tremendous wrong” (Luqman 31:13).

History is filled with scenarios that confirm these two sides or branches of “I.” The Prophets represent the “I” that submitted to the Creator, while the other branch represents the “I” that turned away from the Creator. One is the way of true guidance, while the other is the basis of materialism and atheism, where all existence is described as being composed of matter that is thought to be “absolute.” By giving the attributes of the Creator to matter, mankind commits the greatest crime possible and opens the doors of oppression against his self. Prophethood, on the other hand, teaches mankind to see nature as a collection of divine laws laid by the Creator and illustrating His power; “cause and effect” is a veil covering the reality of His Will. In an active and endless lesson to mankind, the Prophets also teach that the purpose and duty of man is to achieve virtuous character by knowing his own weaknesses and by seeking help from the power of his Creator. He does this by knowing his needs and trusting in the mercy of the Creator and by knowing his faults and seeking His pardon and forgiveness while always praising the perfection of His attributes and actions.

Based on a hadith,² classical Muslim scholars described the root cause of a diseased soul to have excessive love and attachment to this world and self-satisfaction. Bediuzzaman Said Nursi referred to such love as “poisoned honey.” Love for the sake of the worldly pleasures, and the love of power and authority are part of love for this world. The desire to dominate others is as destructive to a human soul as water is to iron. While the diseased soul sees itself as adequate and self-satisfied, perhaps even believing itself to be better than other souls, the soul that knows itself to be inadequate and needy is dissatisfied with itself and ceaselessly seeks to achieve a more virtuous character.

We conclude this matter with the words of a classical Turkish “dervish” or scholar, Yunus Emre, who lived many centuries ago in Central Anatolia:

Knowledge is for knowing the Truth
Knowledge is for knowing the self
If you do not know yourself, then
What a worthless act you commit.

Notes

1. Nursi, Said. The Words, Thirtieth Word, The Risale-i Nur Collection.
2. Love of the world is the source of all errors and sins (Bayhaqi, 7,338).

In a healthy body, all of the involuntarily functioning mechanisms seem to know what to do, at the right time and in the right amount. But are these systems really “autonomous,” doing what they will? Can it be coincidence that each time the perfect choice out of thousands of possibilities is made?

Regular controlling mechanisms are needed for our bodily activities to function properly. This duty has been given to the nervous system. The autonomic nervous system (ANS), which is in charge of controlling the vital functions of the body, is designed to function in an involuntary, reflexive manner. The operating systems of several machines that make our life easier are developed by being modeled on the ANS. Take an air-conditioned car with a thermostat for example. When the air is cold, a heat sensitive mechanism automatically starts and it provides the engine with more gas and it produces more energy. And when it is warm enough inside the car, this time the thermometer urges the system to reduce the gas-flow back to normal. Likewise, sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves placed in the autonomic system are given the duty of a regulator that restores the altered functioning of organs back to normal so that they do not upset the balance of our body.

If the light coming to our eyes is too bright, vision is blurred. When the retina is exposed to excessive stimuli this causes the parasympathetic nerves to send signals to the eyes to contract the pupils so that the sensitive layers of the eyes are protected and the vision is cleared. In darkness or under dim light, the sympathetic system is called to duty again and this time the pupils are enlarged. The sympathetic-parasympathetic (autonomic) nervous systems granted to human beings play a role in optimizing eyesight under differing intensities of light.

Parasympathetic nerves are created in a way to stimulate the saliva and tear glands, as well as the glands in organs like the nose, stomach, intestines, pancreas, etc. When the secretion in these glands is surplus to our requirements, the canals in connection with them are shrunk and the secretion is lessened. Without such a system, germs would boom, morsels would not soften in our mouth, food intake would not decompose in our stomachs, the gastric mucus which protects the inner stomach from acid would not be secreted, and the final stage of digestion, absorption of digested nutrition, would not happen. Likewise, if our tear glands did not function, sores would emerge on our eyes; if there were no nasal mucus, dust and germs suspending in the air would easily reach our lungs.

The physiological functioning of the lungs and their protection are also maintained through the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. When our tissues need more oxygen, the sympathetic system is activated. The air sacs are enlarged and more air is let in. If toxic gases, dust, cigarette smoke or other harmful elements enter the respiratory tract or the lungs are exposed to any destructive matter, the air sacs are narrowed by the immediate intervention of the parasympathetic system. In this way, the secretion in the air sacs increases and the harmful substance is prevented from going deeper into the lungs. Then the harmful substance is thrown out through secretion and the reflex of coughing.

When the blood pressure drops below 50mm Hg for any reason (due to hemorrhage, medication, body position, etc), the sympathetic system immediately works to send blood to the brain and the heart. As these are the most vital organs, they are given priority at receiving blood. Our blood circulation is carried out within a closed-circuit system and there is a constant amount of blood. Therefore, sending an organ more blood means lessening the blood sent to other organs. To maintain this, the sympathetic system again works to cause narrowing. When food intake reaches the stomach, the parasympathetic system is stimulated to enlarge the relative veins. More blood is pumped to the stomach.

Everything in both systems is designed to protect the organs, tissues, and systems; in other words, the entire body. When a person’s blood pressure goes up, the baro-receptors, which help regulate the pressure in the veins, are stimulated in order to ward off the danger and the narrowing effect of the sympathetic system on the veins is taken under control. In this way, the pressure applied by the blood to the walls of the veins is eliminated. During physical exercise or in a state of stress, anxiety, or worry, the tissues use more oxygen and the sympathetic alarm is switched on.

Blood is pumped faster to meet the need of the tissues. During sleep, the body needs less energy and the metabolism is slow. Therefore, a slower heartbeat is required. During a time of distress or fear, the sympathetic stimulators are under pressure due to hyperventilation. Then the parasympathetic system is put into service and the heartbeat and the blood flow to tissues slow down.

Sphincters are ring shaped muscles that maintain the constriction of a body passage or orifice. With sympathetic signals they constrict and block the passage, and the parasympathetic signals ease them to open the way. If it weren’t for the sympathetic system, the urine produced in the kidneys would not be under control and we would wet our trousers. However, what happens in practice is that when the kidneys produce a certain amount of urine, two sphincters controlled by the sympathetic system contract and they prevent an untimely emptying of the bladder.

Similarly, there are sphincters in the gastro-intestinal tract. If the sympathetic system had not been given the duty of controlling them, the food we eat would not stay with us until it was absorbed and it would be disposed of immediately. On the other hand, the malfunctioning of the parasympathetic system would cause obstructions and we would suffer greatly. Take the parasympathetic system working in our urinary tract for instance. It works without our control and if it did not work, the urine collected in the bladder would press back on the kidneys and cripple them.

In some functions, like the breaking down of fats, ejaculation, increase in brain activity, or the contraction of skeletal muscles, the parasympathetic system is not involved. Since its involvement might harm the body, it is not given a duty here, and the sympathetic system on its own suffices.

There are several other functions carried out by the autonomous nervous system. It works without our will or conscious control. As humans we tend to claim: “I did this, I did that.” When you eat something, your conscious control is limited to chewing the food and swallowing it. We cannot tell our stomach to digest or not to digest the food. In a healthy body, all of the involuntarily functioning mechanisms seem to know what to do, at the right time and in the right amount. But are these systems really “autonomous,” doing what they will? Can it be coincidence that each time the perfect choice out of thousands of possibilities is made? Is it at all possible for these fascinating systems to be a just a work of random causes?

Statements like “God must have createdwith special care” are most inconvenientand disagreeable. Even for the mostsplendid things, God Almightycommands “Be! and it is.”

Imagine yourself in Spain, walking through the Alhambra palace. As you gaze at the artistry and beautiful architecture, you feel an urge to meet the master who built it. When you study other works of art, you see that throughout history, artists have used materials such as marble, iron, stones, wood, and glass, which are all found in abundance throughout our world, scattered in different places. The master architect however, uses the knowledge and willpower granted to him as it is represented in the spirit of a civilization. He transforms these things into living history. In other words, the physical structure and artistry of the Alhambra palace may stimulate a thinking mind to understand the whole of Andalusian civilization.

In the same way, imagine a clock. It is made of various parts: mills, springs, screws, etc. that are all made of materials like iron, nickel, and copper. Again, these can all be found in abundance around the world. An intelligent clockmaker uses these items as he accurately plans, calculates, and measures the correct number and placement of the mills, how they turn, their diameters, and other details that all require very sensitive adjustments. The mastery of craftsmanship contributes to the precision, and thereby to the value of the clock. Although the famous evolutionist Richard Dawkins claimed that such an accurate machine could be made by a “blind clockmaker,” I am compelled to grant the genius of accuracy with a little more respect to suggest that a precise clock requires the attention of a focused eye.

Just as with Alhambra and the clock, the genius of artistry and precision, when we perceive of the human being as work of art, we begin to understand the mastery that lies behind its development. Highlighting the amazing factual data about our physical and chemical structure, in this article, I try to find an answer to the question “what is a human being?” The resulting data reveals the degree to which human beings exist as magnificent works of art. My intent is to illustrate the intention of the Ultimate Master behind human existence.

Here are some basic facts about the approximate numbers, size, and longevity of our cells, the smallest living units in our body:

Facts in total numbers

Cells in a human body: 100 trillion

The variety of cells: 210

Cells dying every second: 50 million

Cells being created every second: 50 million

Red corpuscles: 25 trillion

White corpuscles: 25-100 billion

Neurons: 30 billion

(for a comparison, there are 100,000 neurons in the body of a fly and 10 million in the brain of a mouse)

Neurons in the brain cortex: 10 billion

Neurons in the cerebellar cortex: 10 billion

Synapses of all neurons: 100 trillion

Cells dying in a normal day: 50-100 thousand

Cells activated at a remembering process: 10-100 million

Cells producing gastric acid: male 1 billion, female 820 million

Size of sperms-the smallest cells: 3-5m (1 micrometer=10-6 m)

Size of glial cells in the brain: 5m

Diameter of egg cells-the biggest cells: 100-120 m

Average size of a liver cell: 30-50 m

Diameter of a red corpuscle: 7 m

Diameter of a kidney cell’s nucleus: 6.2 m

Chromosomes’ adjoined width at metaphase: 4.5 m

Diameter of the nucleus of a ganglion cell in the spinal cord: 1.2 m

Diameter of a mitochondria: 0.5-1.2 m

Diameter of a lysosome (enzyme carrier): 0.2-0.5 m

Microvilli on the small intestinal cells: 100nm (1 nanometer=10–9 m)

Diameter of a ribosome:12-20nm

Thickness of a cell membrane: 8.0nm

Diameter of a nexus on a cell membrane: 3.0nm

Diameter of a DNA double helix: 2.0nm

Length of an amino acid molecule: 0.8-1.1nm

Diameter of an atom: 0.1-0.5nm

Longevity of cells

Anal epithelial cells: 4.3 days

Epidermis cells: 19.2 days

Bowel epithelial cells: 10 days

Intestinal mucous cells: 1.4 days

Rectal mucous cells: 6.2 days

Bladder epithelial cells: 66.5 days

Lip epidermis cells: 14.7 days

Sole epidermis cells: 19.1 days

Tracheal epithelial cells: 47.6 days

Alveolar cells: 8.1 days

Gastric cardia epithelial cells: 9.1 days

Pyloric epithelial cells: 1.8-1.9 days

Inner ear epithelial cells: 34.5 days

Red corpuscles: 120days

Neutrophils: 4-5 days

Eosinophils: 10 days

Lymphocytes: 5 days to years

Monocytes: several months

Liver cells : 222 days

Kidney epithelial cells: 286 days

Thyroid epithelial cells: 287 days

Bone cells: 25-30 years

Neurons Lifelong

The cells which do not divide and reproduce:

Egg cells, brain cells, neurons, sweat gland cells, and hair papilla cells.

The human body is thus similar to a massive 3-D jigsaw puzzle; an incredibly complex one with trillions of minute-size pieces. It begins with a collection of 0.1 to 0.5 nanometer atoms that all come together to make up the elements of cells. From these elements-mitochondria and the like-a 100 trillion cells are formed that all come together to form the organs, muscles, tissue, and bones of the human body. All come together in a splendid fashion and all work together as if they are well aware of each other. All of this precision comes to together to form something that is both precise and beautiful.

This is not all. The process is renewed every second as cells wear out, die, and are reborn. In a few years, the body is an entirely new thing. Even more, the longevity of cells varies; some live only 1.4 days (intestinal mucous cells), while others last for months. Your body replaces cells at exact moments with perfect timing. No pause is allowed, and this is supposed to go on for some seventy years. It seems impossible to believe that such a thing can ever happen, that a “blind puzzle-maker” or any other chance-based mechanism could produce such a result. But here we are, living examples of beauty and precision. Somebody has already made us, didn’t He?

Like much of what I saw in Turkey, I spent a great deal of time processing the experience, letting it really sink in, and figuring out what it meant for me. I saw this experience as a powerful metaphor for the wider communion of God-seekers, attempting to live together on a world stage. Each of us as individuals and as units−places of worship, denominations, religions−each is spinning in a hungry drive to experience the divine, to understand and be a part of the mystery and magnitude of God. We are too often, however, distracted by the waxing and waning distances between the dancers, the different ways of spinning, insecurities in our own movement. We are colliding with one another in a clumsy, chaotic mess. If we could lift our eyes and our arms to God and just spin, moving in the ecstatic reality of God’s love, not only would our personal spiritual experience be enriched, but we would begin to spin together, to fall into a beautiful, cosmic dance, one of peace and harmony.

The question then comes: how do we do that? This place of harmony and peace, quite frankly, seems distant and illusory. Humanity is a diverse assortment of peoples, trying to live together in an increasingly small world. And, it’s not looking good.

There is a startlingly prevalent tone in the world arena of intolerance, judgment, and hatred. Mankind is tragically plagued with violence, hurt, oppression, and war, and too much of this takes place in the context of religious differences. Our differences aren’t going to dissipate any time soon, nor should they. What has to happen is dialogue. We have got to learn to love one another, to respect one another, and to communicate with one another. As people of God, we can do one of two things. We can couple our religious identity with that of a soldier, armed and ready for the clash of religious empires, or we can take our seat at the table of humanity with a voice of love, humility, and faith.

Religious tolerance is a huge first step that we must take, first in our personal lives, then toward a peaceful world communion. Religion is one of the most deep and penetrating faces of the human condition. It bears in it an energy of passion and intensity, a power that little else in the sphere of human existence does. We are inherently driven to seek a union with our creator, with the divine, with something that is greater than ourselves. While I personally believe that this hunger is a universal, natural core of our being, it undoubtedly manifests itself in infinitely varying ways. There is no ignoring the fact that there are huge differences and points of separation between the world’s religious nomenclature. There are points of convergence and divergence on every level, from East to West, Jew to Buddhist, Episcopalian to Baptist, and from me to you. The only way to love all in the context of this diversity is to acknowledge and respect those differences.

Now, it is important to note that religious tolerance is not merely a failure to stand up for what one believes. It isn’t a weak cop-out. It begins with a security and understanding of one’s own identity, one’s spiritual core. An awareness of and conviction to one’s own beliefs allows for calmly, strongly held, but permeable boundaries. Tolerance does not require an abdication of those boundaries, but neither does it call for a relentless defense of those boundaries.

Stopping at tolerance is not enough, though. There is no room for growth in merely recognizing differences and agreeing to respect one another from a distance. If we, as individuals, seek growth, and if we as a global religious community seek movement toward a peaceful existence together, have to take it further. We have to dialogue, to engage in a meaningful conversation with one another. Dialogue is a two way sharing between different sides. This means that through love, you share your faith with others. But, it also means that through love you seek a better understanding of those whose faith is different from your own.

Interfaith dialogue is an extremely powerful, highly underestimated tool for achieving peace in such a deeply divided world. Globalization is rapidly and forcefully changing the way we live our lives, whether we realize it or not. Every day, technology transportation, and communication are getting better, placing the entire world in our reach. Geographical separation is becoming much less significant and real. The cultural and religious separations, however, are not narrowing. I live in a tiny global neighborhood with Jews, Muslims, and Hindus, Baptists, Roman Catholics, Methodists and the like. We are neighbors who don’t understand one another, don’t talk to one another….we just stay at home, separated by high fences. The fences are there for a reason, we tell ourselves. Better yet, let’s build them higher, and let’s build some more. How much energy have we spent on building these barriers? We have to be intentional about breaking down those fences and living out the inclusiveness and universality of God’s immeasurable and unconditional love. This doesn’t mean losing our identity or abdicating our beliefs. It means making love, compassion, and understanding a priority.

One of Christ’s major endeavors as a social activist was to tear down the walls that separate humanity and to unite all of mankind under the banner of divine love. The Jewish community during his time was in a tumultuous state of tension between its religious identity and a growing Roman presence. Among the varying responses from the Jewish community, one of the most prevalent was that of the Pharisees. They believed that the redemption of Israel would come from a strict adherence to the complex codes of holiness and purity. Christ made clear, though, that it is Yahweh’s love, compassion, and mercy that supercede the walls that we build to separate and compartmentalize ourselves. He wanted to override the barriers that separate Jews and Greeks, Slaves and Free, prostitutes and tax-collectors, Pharisees and Saducees, rich and poor with divine love. We are called to do the same.

While there are very real issues that separate the religions of the world, our points of commonality are far greater. In loving one another we must understand, dig deeper into our differences. We must move away from a polemic approach to one another and toward a respectful appreciation for religious diversity. We must come to the table with humility and a sincere desire to grow.

In “The Dialogue Decalogue,” Leonard Swidler lists some commandments for effective inter-religious dialogue.

1. The purpose of dialogue is to increase understanding.

2. Participants should engage in both interfaith and inter-religious dialogue.

3. Participants should be honest and sincere.

4. Participants should assume that other participants are equally honest and sincere.

5. Each participant should be allowed self-definition.

6. There should be no preconceptions as to areas of disagreement.

7. Dialogue can only occur between equals.

8. Dialogue can only occur where there is mutual trust.

9. Participants must be self-critical of their religious traditions.

10. Participants must attempt to experience how the traditions of others affect them holistically.

Basically, interfaith dialogue brings people of faith together, creates a loving, respectful relationship between them, and offers immeasurable growth to every party.

I know I’m running on some really broad, abstract ideas, so I want to offer my real, personal experience with interfaith dialogue. My interest in dialogue between religions and within my own faith goes far back, but my recent trip to Turkey transformed that interest into something much deeper and more passionate.

We traveled all over the country, visiting important cultural and religious sites and spending time with people who were a part of this huge movement in Turkey and within Islam. The movement stems from the teachings of Fethullah Gulen, a religious leader and social activist.

I also left with a massive charge on my heart to bring Christianity to the table with equal fervor and conviction. We need to step it up, join our voices in this exciting and hopeful journey toward peace through understanding and education. We have so much to gain, and so much to offer.

I want to leave you with a quote by Huston Smith. “What a strange fellowship this is, the God-seekers in every land lifting their voices in the most disparate way imaginable to the God of all life. How does it sound from above? Like bedlam, or do the strains blend in strange, ethereal harmony? Does one faith carry the lead, or do the parts share in counterpoint and antiphony where not in full-throated chorus? We cannot know. All we can do is try to listen carefully and with full attention to each voice in turn as it addresses the divine.”

Did the Companions of the Prophet go to America?

Research conducted in the West during the twentieth century has proven the existence of Muslims on the American mainland approximately seven centuries before Christopher Columbus. Similarly, archeological excavations, linguistic, and philological analyses of languages and settlement names in the region, the fact that coins, household tools and other utensils were discovered there that were similar to those of the Abbasids in the eighth and ninth centuries are all justifications of the theory that Muslims, beginning from 650 CE, made their way to the continent for settlement, during which time they erected mosques and schools, leaving a prolonged impact on the natives, i.e. American Indians.

The Islamic sources carry no information as regards Muslim settlement in America, although research undertaken by Professor Barry Fell of Harvard University confirms that Muslims reached the continent at the time of Uthman, the third Caliph, concomitantly indicating the significant possibility that some of the Companions could have arrived there as well.

Many Western researchers acknowledge the famous map of Piri Reis as proof of Muslim presence in America long before the endeavors of Columbus, as it minutely comprises the map of America, as well as extremely accurate measurements of the distance between America and Africa.

According to Salvatore Michael Trento, former director of the Center for Archeological Research in Middletown, New York, before embarking on his first voyage to America, Columbus had read the book of Roger Bacon of Oxford University, which comprised information, compiled from a variety of Arabic resources, about geographical regions on the other side of the Atlantic; hence Columbus’ previous knowledge of the islands in the Atlantic Ocean and other places.1

Proofs in Western sources

1. Professor Barry Fell, retired lecturer from Harvard University and also a member of the American Academy of Science and Arts, the Royal Society, the Epigraphy Society and the Society of Scientific and Archeological Discoveries, is adamant about the arrival of Islam in America in the 650s,2 predicating this argument upon the Cufic calligraphy belonging to that era found in various diggings across America. If the words of Professor Fell have truth-value, then the Muslims had arrived in America during the era of Uthman, or at least that of Ali, the fourth caliph. Such information, however, is not found in Muslim sources.

Professor Fell again uses the results of various archeological diggings undertaken across many regions in the states of Colorado, New Mexico, and Indiana to assert the construction of Muslim schools during 700-800 CE. Writings, drawings, and charts inscribed on rocks discovered in the most remote and untainted terrains of Western America are relics bestowed by the elementary and intermediate systems of Muslim education at the time. These documents were written in the old Cufic letters of North African Arabic, covering subjects such as reading, writing, arithmetic, religion, history, geography, mathematics, astronomy, and navigation. The descendants of these settlers are thought to be the current native tribes of Iroquois, Algonquin, Anasazi, Hohokam, and Olmec.

2. The second evidence offered by Professor Fell is that the inscription of “In the Name of God” (picture 1), found on a rock during archeological work in Nevada, belongs to the seventh century, when the haraka sign system had not yet been developed. Likewise, the stone bearing the inscription “Muhammad is the Prophet of God” (picture 2) is pertinent to the same era. As seen by comparison of the two pictures, the inscriptions are not in the style of Modern Arabic; conversely they are in a Cufic style relevant to the seventh century.3

The Arabs, according to the findings of Professor Fell, settled in Nevada during the seventh and eighth centuries. The earlier existence of a school, which taught Islam and science, particularly navigation, has come to light following the archeological investigation undertaken by Professors Heizer and Baumhoff of California University around site WA 25 in Nevada. The excavations in Nevada have uncovered writings in Naskhi Arabic and Cufic style that are inscribed on rocks which carry information about this school (picture 3). The application of the mathematical formula “five diamonds equal an alif” (alif is the first letter of Arabic alphabet) may be seen in this picture (pictures 3b and 3c). The Arabic letters in pictures 3b and 3c, found amid excavations in Nevada, are in exactly the same style as North African Arabic. Again similarly, another rock was found in Nevada bearing the name “God”, the style of which is yet again reminiscent of the prevalent technique of seventh and eighth-century North Africa. The calligraphical similarities between various writing styles of the Prophet’s name over diverse periods, particularly those relating to Africa and America, found during archeological investigations are striking indeed. Figure A of picture 4 was found in al-Ain Lahag, Morocco and figure B in East Walker River; both are currently at the University of California. Figure C was discovered in Nevada and figures C and D were located in Churchill County and are also currently preserved at the University of California; likewise figure F was discovered in al-Haji Minoun, Morocco, while figure G, inscribed on ceramic, was revealed in al-Suk, Tripoli, Libya and figure H, at the University of California, was discovered at Cottonwood Canyon, while finally figure I was located on the border of Morocco and Libya. All these inscriptions belong to the eighth and ninth centuries, clearly illustrating the resemblance in style between North America and North Africa, as well as overtly suggesting a migration that occurred from Africa to America.

3. In the twelfth century the Athapcan Tribe, comprised of native Apaches and Navajos, raided the area inhabited by the Arabs, who either ended up fleeing or were exiled toward the South. These illiterate natives were spellbound by the schools founded by the Arabs, and, perhaps with the assistance of captives, attempted to imitate the same subjects, transforming the geometrical shapes into mythical beasts, which carried on for centuries.

4. Picture 5 is the Cufic writing found in 1951 in the White Mountains, close to the town of Benton on the border of Nevada. The words Shaytan maha mayan, i.e. the Devil is the source of all lies, have been written in a Cufic style peculiar to the seventh century.

5. Once more, a rock inscription belonging to post-650 CE, bearing the Cufic letters H-M-I-D of the word Hamid (picture 6), is another Arabic script discovered on the Atlata rocks in the Valley of Fire in Nevada.

6. While traveling from Malden to Cambridge in the state of Massachusetts in 1787 (on what is now RT. 16), the Reverend Thaddeus Mason Harris noticed some coins discovered by workers during road construction. The workers, not putting much value on these coins, presented him with a handful. Consequently, Harris decided to send these coins to the library of Harvard College for examination (picture 7). The study yielded that these were in fact Samarqand dirhams from the eighth and ninth centuries. As can be seen in the picture, the coins manifestly display the inscriptions La ilaha ill-Allah Muhammadun Rasulullah (There is no deity but God, and Muhammad is His Messenger) and Bismillah (in the name of God).

7. Picture 8 shows a piece of rock discovered in a cave in the region of Corinto in El Salvador, bearing the inscription Malaka Haji mi Malaya; this has been identified as belonging to the thirteenth century, suggesting a possible arrival of Muslims in South America, perhaps coming from somewhere near Indonesia.

7. During his second voyage, Columbus was told by the natives of Espanola (Haiti) of black men who had appeared on the island before him and they showed him the lances that had been left there by these Africans to support their assertions. The tips of the lances were of a metal, an alloy of gold, which they called guanin, a word which is semantically remarkably similar to the Arabic word ghina, meaning richness. Columbus had in fact brought some of this guanin back to Spain, recording that it was composed of 56.25% gold, 18.75% silver and 25% copper, ratios that were prevalent in African Guinea as standards for the processing of metals.

8. On his third voyage to the New World, Columbus visited Trinidad, where the sailors noticed the symmetrically patterned cotton and colorful handkerchiefs of the natives. Afterward, Columbus realized that the handkerchiefs, which the natives called almayzar, were all much the same in color, style, and use as the headscarves and waist bands used in Guinea. The word almayzar is Arabic, and denotes a cover, tie, apron, or skirt, and is a component of the regional costumes of the Moors, Arabs and, Berbers of North Africa, who had conquered Spain in the eighth century. Columbus observed that the local women wore cotton garments and wrote in astonishment that they had learned of the concept namus, i.e. chastity. In much the same vein, Hernan Cortes, another Spanish explorer, later recorded that the clothing of local women consisted of long veils and skirts decorated with ornaments that were similar to those of the Moors. Ferdinand, Columbus’ son, was also quick to notice the resemblance between the cotton dresses of the natives and the ornamented shawls fashioned by Moorish women in Granada. The cradles used by the natives, furthermore, very closely resembled those of North Africa.

9. Columbus recorded on 21 October 1492 that he had noticed a mosque on top of a mountain while sailing around Cibara on the northeast coast of Cuba. Relics of mosques carrying Qur’anic inscriptions on their minarets have been found in Cuba, Mexico, Texas, and Nevada since these times.

10. Leo Weiner, a well-known Harvard historian and linguist, stated in his book The Discovery of Africa and America, written in 1920, that Columbus was aware of the existence of Mandinka, an ethnic group of West Africa, in the New World. The same book also affirms that Columbus was aware that West African Muslims were living across North America, including the south, middle regions and Canada, as well as in the Caribbean, and that they had marital and commercial ties with the native tribes of Iroque and Algonquin.

11. A preponderance of the voyages embarked upon by Columbus and other Spanish and Portuguese explorers toward the other side of the Atlantic were undertaken only in the light of the geographical and navigational knowledge prepared by Muslims. Al-Masudi’s (871-957 CE) work Muruj’uz-Zahab, for instance, was written with this sort of data compiled by Muslim traders from across Africa and Asia. Two of Columbus’ captains on the first voyage, in actual fact, were Muslims: Martin Alonso Pinzon was in charge of the Pinta, while his brother Vicente Yanez Pinzon was the designated captain of Nina; both were from the Moroccan Marinid dynasty, descendants of Sultan Abu Zayan Muhammad III (r. 1362-1366). Formerly well-to-do ship riggers, they assisted Columbus in organizing his voyage of exploration, preparing the Santa Maria, the flagship, and covering all its expenses.

12. Christopher Columbus has recorded the custom of nose piercing, which used to be and still popular in the Middle Eastern and Arab countries, as being prevalent in some islands across the Atlantic also mentions the writing of letters in Arabic.

13. In the account of sixteenth century missionaries in America, the local copper mines, found particularly in Virginia, Tennessee, and Wisconsin were not operated by the natives, but instead by people from the Middle East, towards whom the natives nurtured a profound sympathy.

14. A sum of 565 names, 484 in America and 81 in Canada, of villages, towns, cities, mountains, lakes, rivers and etcetera, are etymologically Arabic, designated by locals long before the arrival of Columbus. Many of these names are in fact the same as names of Islamic places; Mecca in Indiana, Medina in Idaho, Medina in New York, Medina and Hazen in North Dakota, Medina in Ohio, Medina in Tennessee, Medina in Texas, Medina and Arva in Ontario, Mahomet in Illinois and Mona in Utah, are just a few noticeable names at the outset. A closer analysis of the names of native tribes will immediately reveal their Arabic etymological ancestry; Anasazi, Apache, Arawak, Arikana, Chavin, Cherokee, Cree, Hohokam, Hupa, Hopi, Makkah, Mohician, Mohawk, Nazca, Zulu, and Zuni are only a few.

House and building Structures

Archeological excavations conducted throughout North America and North Africa reveal a corresponding architectural resemblance between ninth century buildings. The structure of a Berber house of the Atlas Mountains, Morocco (picture 9), for instance, is exactly the same as that of a house in New Mexico (picture 10). The same similarity can be traced between the Castle of Montezuma discovered in Arizona and the remnants found in Mesa Verde in Colorado and the general structure of Berber buildings (picture 11-12).

The research undertaken by Professor Cyrus Thomas of the Smithsonian Institute shows that a small cabin built from piles of rock found in Ellenville, New York is virtually the same as the cabin, again of rock, found around Aqabah, Southern Arabia, both of which are thought to have been built around the start of the eighth century (picture 13).

Arabic words prevalent among natives prior to the arrival of Europeans

The pervasiveness of many Islamic words across the continent prior to European influx is verified by the following terms discovered in the regions currently known as New England and Nova Scotia, in America and Canada respectively. Fell pointed to some words as example of Arabic influence on Native Americans. All of the words listed below are derived from the Arabic language. However, time had eroded their original meanings and most are not used in Arabic today.

The last Muslim stronghold in Spain, Granada, fell just before the Spanish Inquisition was established in 1492. Non-Christians were forced to either convert to Catholicism to save themselves from the tyranny of the Inquisition or were exiled from the country. Documents exist which prove the existence of immigrant Muslims in Spanish America before 1550. In 1539 an edict from Spanish King Charles V was put into practice which forbade the immigration of Muslims to settlements in the West. This edict was later expanded to expel all Muslims from overseas Spanish colonies in 1543. The existence of Muslims in overseas islands and regions was known along with the fact that the Spanish king issued such an edict. Again, in many Islamic sources, it is noted that Muslims living in Spain and North Africa made overseas voyages during the Andalusia period. Scientific research on this subject will bring out many documents into the daylight, documents which have escaped the notice of both Muslims in America and those throughout the world, which will perhaps serve, in the future if not immediately, as a starting point for a re-evaluation of the history of America.

Notes

1. Trento, Salvatore Michael. The Search for Lost America, p.15 Penguin Books, New York: 1978.

2. Fell, Dr. Barry. Saga America, p. 190, Time Books, New York: 1980.

3. ibid. p. xiv.

4. ibid. pp. 332-333.

5. ibid. pp. 333-334.

6 ibid. p. 182.

7. ibid. p. 243.

8. ibid. p. 26.

6. ibid. p. 276.

7. Teacher, John Boyd. Christopher Columbus, p. 380, New York: 1950.

8. Columbus, Ferdinand. The Life of Admiral Christopher Columbus, p. 232 Rutgers Uni. Press, 1959.

9. Obregon, Mauricio. The Columbus Papers, The Barcelona Letter of 1493.

10. The Landfall Controversy, and the Indian Guides, McMillan Co., New York: 1991.

11. Weiner, Dr. Leo. Africa and the Discovery of America, Vol.2 p. 365-366 Philadelphia: 1920.

12. Obregon, 1493.

13. Trento, 1978, p. 23.

14. ibid. p. 29.

15. ibid. p. 65.

16. Fell, 1980. 250-252.

17. Trento, 1978, p. 15.

18. Fell, 1980. p. 400-403.

There are many identified species of phytoplanktons. Phytoplanktons live for a day or two under normal conditions, and when they die they sink to the bottom. As a single-celled organism, phytoplankton is not only one of the main components of marine food chain, it is also assigned with an important role in carbon cycle which keeps atmospheric temperature in balance and the level of oxygen under control. Because of their significance, scientists have always showed considerable attention to phytoplanktons.

Photosynthesis in phytoplanktons

All living things need energy and organic building blocks in order to grow and maintain their lives. Plants transform sunlight into chemical energy and inorganic materials to organic materials. This process is called photosynthesis. Other living organisms consume plants to meet their food and energy needs. Like terrestrial plants, phytoplanktons also have chlorophyll pigments to process photosynthesis. This is how fish and other animals in the oceans obtain their food.

Global effects

The larger the world’s phytoplankton population, the more carbon dioxide gets pulled from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide is responsible for as much as 50% of the total greenhouse effect. There is a divine wisdom behind existence of phytoplanktons in big populations which help with the adjustment of carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere and thereby the greenhouse effect.

Phytoplanktons have an interactive relationship with their environment. This interactive relationship either increases or decreases the population of phytoplanktons in accordance with environmental changes. Scientists have found that a given population of phytoplankton can double once per day. Large populations of this organism, sustained over long periods of time, could significantly lower atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and, in turn, lower average temperatures. Populations of this marine plant will grow or diminish rapidly in response to changes in its environment. Changes in the trends for a given phytoplankton population-such as its density, spatial distribution, and rate of population growth or diminishment-will alert scientists that environmental conditions are changing there.

Phytoplanktons and sulfur cycle

Dimethylsulfide (DMS) is a sulfuric compound which is synthesized by phytoplanktons. This compound has an important role in softening climate and cloud formation. It has a peculiar odor and although it is frequently perceived as a harmfully polluting chemical, it fulfills a very important task within the bio-geo-chemical cycle on Earth. In order to better recognize climate changes on a global scale and to develop smarter environmental politics, we need to know more about this gas compound.

The production of DMS is dependent upon co-existence of various organisms. Some species of phytoplanktons synthesize the dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) molecule, from which DMS is broken down. Bacteria and phytoplanktons participate in this break down which assimilates DMSP into DMS or other compounds. Some of the produced DMS vaporizes into the atmosphere from the salty sea water and become tropospheric sulfate gas after oxidization. Consequently, this gas plays a direct role in the global radiation balance by the upward scatter of solar radiation, and an indirect role as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). Clouds affect the Earth’s radiation balance and thereby greatly influence its temperature and climate. DMS represents 95% of the natural marine flux of sulfur gases to the atmosphere, and scientists estimate that the flux of marine DMS supplies about 50% of the global biogenic source of sulfur to the atmosphere.

In order for the sulfuric cycle in nature to continue, it is necessary that sulfuric compounds are transferred from the ocean to land through the atmosphere. DMS, the source for 95% of natural sulfuric gas coming from the oceans, served as cloud condensation nuclei and helps carry sulfuric compounds move to the land with rain.

DMS emissions that originate from phytoplanktons play a significant role in climate formations. One third of the radiation coming from the sun reflects back into the space from the clouds, ice, and snow. The remaining two thirds is absorbed to some extent by the atmosphere, and to a greater extent by oceans and rocks. This energy is converted to heat some of which is later reflected by land and ocean as ultraviolet rays towards the space warming the atmosphere. If the Earth intakes more energy than it loses, the end result is global warming; the opposite is global cooling.

The size of clouds and water driblets indicate global climate changes. The more cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), the smaller the water droplets and the denser a cloud. This, in turn, influences the cloud’s radioactivity.

DMS containing chemical reactions from poles to tropical waters are important for us to estimate man-based and natural effects on the chemistry of atmosphere and the climate more accurately. It sounds somewhat weird for us that we first destroy the environmental balance God has established before we try to discover what we have done using the natural laws He has enjoined.

References

• Norris, K.B., 2003. “Dimethylsulfide emission: Climate control by marine algae?” ASFA: Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts, http://www.csa. com/discoveryguides/dimethyl/overview.php
• http://www.oceansonline.com/phytoplankton.htm
• http://www.sciencephotolibrary.com
• http://www.cedareden.com/phyto.html

A believer takes all the divine blessings he or she is honored with as an expression of God’s infinite Mercy. Our merits, gifts, and the favors granted to us are all roses from His divine garden. When we ponder upon them, we begin to grasp that we derive not from ourselves, but from His divine presence. He is the real actor behind all that we do. Ignoring this fact should be viewed as daring to claim partnership with Him. Consider the verses, “It is God who has created you and all that you do”;1 and “You cannot will unless God wills.”2 Consider the verses next to the hadith “Whatever God wishes, happens, and whatever God wishes not to happen, does not.”3 People shaped by these criteria do not consider many blessings granted by God to be products of their own achievements; they do not take personal pride in those things they have done.

Favors from God are not supposed to lead us to pride, boasting, or arrogance, but rather, to thanksgiving, praise, and reliance in God. One can feel in his or her conscience that serving in the way of God is a divine favor not only for those who serve, but also for those whom the divine message is conveyed.

At this point, I would like to relate one of my memories. Once I happened to visit Australia and I saw that some of our people who shared the same thoughts and feelings had planned to open up a dormitory and invited some statesmen to the opening. They requested me to make a speech. Although uncomfortable, I had to make a short speech at the podium. After I finished, they introduced me to these statesmen. At that moment, I felt a bit dizzy, and then I felt sorry for them. I spoke to myself, “O Lord, I wish people showed interest in them, not in me, so that I did not see them feel alienated like that. I wish they did not feel that this dorm did not belong to them. I wish I was in their shoes, and that they were in mine.” I bent twofold with the feeling. Although we have some ambitions as a natural outcome of human nature, I wish all believers had such thoughts and feelings. So, stop feeling contempt for others, believers should see others as better and more virtuous than themselves.

In addition, apparent success at serving in the way of God is not the only indication of being virtuous in God’s sight. Sometimes, being a means to guide a single person to truth can be as good as guiding thousands, or as charitable as establishing thousands of institutions. In the words of Said Nursi “A few good deeds done for the sincere sake of God is preferable to numerous insincere deeds.”4 In this respect, others may seem to have failed in outward appearance, but in terms of the inner dimension, it is possible that their position could be far better. In this respect, we must definitely see others as better than ourselves, know them as better, and applaud everybody’s deeds for the sake of God.

On the other hand, a believer’s understanding to serve in the way of God does not let him take pride in himself. The great scholar Nursi never claimed that his genius was a product of personal insight: “Do not say: ‘I am an object of Divine manifestations. One who receives and reflects Divine beauty becomes beautiful.’ That beauty has not assumed a perpetual form in you, and so you may reflect it for only a short time…”5 So all the beauties manifested in us completely belong to the Creator, the source of all beauties. Again, he presents a different perspective on the matter by saying: “O my arrogant carnal soul. Do not be proud of your services to God’s religion. As stated in a Prophetic Tradition, God may strengthen this religion by means of a dissolute person. You are not pure, so regard yourself as that dissolute person.”6 If great figures such as Said Nursi, people whom God enabled to be of great service, see themselves as humble in their endeavors, then how can we illustrate pride in ours? I leave it to your considerations. We had better say:

This is not what becomes to a slave like me,
Why have I been granted so generously?
(M. Lutfi Effendi of Alvar)

For people of discernment, talking about “us” is the least degree of associating partners with God; and saying “He” expresses refraining from it. When we go to bed, get up, sit down, think, open or close our eyes…in other words, in every moment of our life we should keep saying “He,” and at every instant we should keep up the awareness that everything and everyone comes from Him.

Notes

1. Saffat 37:96
2. Insan 76:30
3. Abu Dawud, Adab, 100.
4. Nursi, Said. The Flashes Collection, 17th Flash, 13th note of the 3rd matter.
5. Nursi, Said. The Words, 18th Word, First point.
6. ibid, 26th Word, the fourth topic’s conclusion.

Yet once Muslims were far more distinguished in their piety; they were more devout, more correct and decent in their morality, more stable and wholesome in their customs and practices, more worthy to dominate world affairs on account of their social and political horizons and their more progressive and sophisticated modes of thought. They practiced their religion without fault or failure, perfected their morality, understood the place and value of science and knowledge, always managed to be ahead of the level of learning and the standards of the era in which they lived, and properly appreciated and balanced the relation and interaction between inspiration, reason, and experience.

That is why they were able to rule such vast lands, from the Pyrenees to the Indian Ocean, from Kazan to Somalia, from Poitiers to the Great Wall of China, with the best administrative and governing system known up to that time, and their ideals aroused the admiration of all. While other peoples were experiencing the darkest ages in their history, the Muslims, in the territories under their jurisdiction, enjoyed and extended to other people’s systems of governance that were idealized as a utopia or an earthly paradise.

What a pity that this part of the world deviated and distanced itself from the historical dynamics and Islamic values which had kept it standing upright through the ages, and that it became slave to ignorance, immorality, superstition, and carnal pleasure. This is when Islamic civilization began its slide into the abyss of darkness and great disappointments; when it began to be dragged into one crisis after another; when it became scattered everywhere, like prayer beads when the string has been snapped; when it was left under the stairs, like pages fallen from a book with a loose binding; when it was profoundly shaken by fruitless rivalries, bent double under the weight of a thousand disputes, bewildered and stupefied into singing the songs of freedom even as it moaned and groaned bitterly under the most shameful, humiliating enslavement; when it began to lack a strong sense of identity, yet was very strong in its selfishness; when it took a stand in defiance of God and the Prophet arguing them to be taboos, yet was in the grip of so many others; when it began to become “the most wretched of all.”

Despite many efforts of ill-meaning detractors, from within and without, the recent gloomy period has in fact not lasted long. Muslims today, who now account for about a fifth of the human population, are striving for a fresh revival nearly everywhere in the Islamic world and are trying to save themselves from this accursed era of enslavement. Particularly in recent times, the fact that they have had to face new calamities every day has heightened the spiritual attentiveness of Muslims, has given momentum to their return to God, and has aroused and excited their resolve.

As we were certain of both the conformity between the spirit of Islam and human nature, with its support for both the material and spiritual advancement of humans, and with its unique quality to balance this world and the Hereafter, we survived with breathing, “the truth will always be victorious; the truth can never be defeated”1; and day and night we were in expectation of The (happy) end is for those who are righteous,2 never losing hope. And today we are able to witness, in all walks of life, a fast-growing inclination to Islam; we can now observe that Islam is coming to the fore and gaining prominence in a vast area, from the United States to the Asian steppes, from Scandinavia to Australia.

Although many missionary activities of different faiths are systematically carried out by various groups, they have been unable to arouse one tenth of the interest and warmth in their respective religion that greets Islam. Today, throughout many continents of the world, thousands of people choose to embrace Islam every year, taking refuge in the light of the Qur’an, even though they know that they may be sentenced to some form of starvation and misery.

Unless we fail to keep our loyalty to God,3 glad tidings of the divine message will be experienced once more:

When there comes the help of God and the victory; and you see men entering the religion of God in companies; then celebrate the praise of your Lord, and ask His forgiveness; surely He is oft-returning (to mercy). (Nasr 110:1-3)

From America to Europe, from the Balkans to the Great Wall of China and the heart of Africa, indeed, almost everywhere, faith, hope, security, and therefore, peace and contentment will be experienced once more under the umbrella of Islam; the whole of humanity will witness a new world order that is far beyond imagination; everyone will benefit to the extent to which their nature, disposition and mentality allow.

Notes

1. See Bukhari, Janaiz, 79.
2. A’raf 7:28, Hud 11:49.
3. See Ra’d 13:11, Anfal 8:53.

When the sky is cleft asunder; And when the planets are dispersed, and when the oceans are poured forth. (Infitar 82:1-3)

The events that are to occur on the Day of Judgment are clearly depicted in the Qur’an. The relevant verses emphasize that the Day of Judgment is not an ending that will only involve the Earth, but one which will also incorporate other planets on a universal scale.

Insofar as causes are concerned, what could be the force that will be able to disperse a robust system, rendering all forces including gravity obsolete and forcing planets and stars out of their orbits?

The following verses seem to imply that this force will also affect “lustrous” heavenly bodies:

When the sun is folded up, and when the stars fall losing their luster; and when the mountains are set moving. (Takwir 81:1-3)

For the word kuwwirat (folded up) in the verse “When the sun is folded up,” the famous scholar Fakhreddin Razi, in concordance with a narration from the third Caliph Umar, interprets this word to mean “to darken by expunging light.” Now, how could Divine Predestination operate on the physical world, in the folding and collection of light? In the past few years, scientists have been pondering the possibility of the gravitational power of black holes in accomplishing such a role. As we know, even light, alongside matter, cannot resist the irrepressible gravitation of the black hole.

The events depicted in the verses given above may be, with the will of the Creator, dependent on the gravitational power of black holes.

It is a fact that we’re sitting on a sphere of fire, as we speak, and the gases that constitute the atmosphere are held above the Earth by the force of gravity. With the impact of the strong force of gravity however, the air we breathe will be the first thing to vanish from the Earth’s atmosphere. Thus, with the disappearance of external pressure on such an occasion, internal pressure will gain ascendance in all creatures, who are composed predominantly of water (70%), causing them to shatter into pieces.

Along with other planets, the gravitational bonds of billions of stars (asteroids, meteors and comets) found on the two asteroid zones of the Solar System, all of which are sustained by Divine Power, will perhaps be torn apart with the force of black holes.

The geometrical gravity balances could perhaps also play a role in setting the Day of Judgment in motion. As can be observed in the General Theory of Relativity, the space-time levelness of the universe could, to quote the Qur’an, be folded and scrunched akin to a piece of paper, in which case, the stars, having been moved out of their places, will plummet from their positions.

Similar to how a cloth or net is elongated or pulled down under the impact of heavy objects, the universe (the net of space-time) will also stretch and yield, and in fact rip and crack, or more precisely be punctured, from the dense objects placed inside it, that is the black holes. The puncture, in this case, denotes the invalidation of physical laws.

It can be assumed that the black holes, placed at the center of the universe, will gradually expand, until the entire galaxy virtually becomes a black hole, and with the unification of every black hole, the whole universe will effectively be rendered a black hole itself.

When the camel goes through the eye of the needle…

Those who deny our revelations and scorn them, for them the gates of heaven will not be opened nor will they enter the Garden until the camel goes through the eye of the needle. Such is how we penalize the guilty! (A’raf 7:40)

A camel going through the eye of a needle calls to mind how the universal bodies will be passed through the singularity, the tiny openings of black holes. This comparison is reminiscent of how a giant sphere that comes within the swallowing vicinity of the black hole, may become stretched out to the point of becoming a virtual string, eventually becoming ingested by an object much smaller than itself.

A star, hundreds of thousands times bigger than the sun, could be reduced to the head of a needle once it begins to be warped by the black holes, phenomena in which space and time themselves are compelled to twist and turn.

The central area where the gravity force of the black hole is at its peak is described as “the event horizon.” The black holes could in fact be passages that allow us to enter other universes. In such a situation, we can hypothetically evaluate what will become of an astronaut who falls into a black hole.

We align our watches in correspondence with the astronaut’s, and bid him farewell towards the event horizon. As the astronaut approaches the event horizon where gravity gradually increases, we notice his watch is starting to operate more slowly. In the vicinity of the event horizon of a black hole the size of our sun, while our watches indicate that 1 second has passed, the astronaut’s watch will show that 3.3 seconds have passed, as time, where he is, flows much slower.

As our astronaut draws near to the event horizon, the 33 seconds indicated by his watch (10 times slower than before) will be equivalent again to our 1 second, and when he eventually and completely enters the event horizon, time will have frozen, halting the disparity between each second.

How would the space traveler perceive this hypothetical journey?

Not only will the space traveler become cognizant of the slower elapse of time, he may also witness an elongation of his body as he draws nearer to the event horizon. Since the force of gravity will take more of a toll on the extremities, that is the head and the feet, by the time the astronaut asks the question “What is happening?” he would already have begun to be extended like a string. The passing second for the astronaut progressively approaching the event horizon, will begin to become one month or one year later in the Universe. A pace away from the horizon the entire future of the Universe will fit into a single second of the astronaut, who, by now, is swiftly being pulled in to the point of singularity, finding himself on the other side. In this area, the Special Relativity Theory, essentially based on the thesis that the velocity of light is absolute velocity, i.e. the greatest velocity in the Universe, loses its validity, in that, as one approaches the singularity, the gravitational force affecting the astronaut or space ship will become so intense that the actual speed will surpass the velocity of light itself. Thus, the tangibility of a velocity greater than that of light will render all principles of causality obsolete, during which a regressive journey in time becomes practically possible. The interpretations of this issue are as such: A person plummeting into the well of singularity may live the whole history of the universe in the blink of an eye. They now have become a time traveler; the present, past, and future are all presented to their vision. As if passing through the eye of a needle, they may have passed through to another universe.

Imam Ghazzali, while interpreting the verses concerning the Day of Judgment, in his epistle Kashf al-Ulum al-Akhirah, puts the accent on Universal cessation:

“When God wills the commencement of the Judgment with the blowing of the Horn, you will see the mountains flying and moving about like clouds, seas amalgamating with one another, the Sun folded and being blacked out, the stars scattering around like beads disengaged from their strings, the sky rotating ferociously like a millstone, the ground trembling terrifyingly, stretching and expanding like leather. In that God will decree the dismissal of the orbits and no living thing will remain alive on earth or in the heavens. The spirited will surrender their spirits. The Earth and Heavens will be availed of their inhabitants.”

Said Nursi, alternatively, lays emphasis on the deterioration of the finely tuned connections, such as gravity, electromagnetic and nuclear forces, etc., attaching universal entities together, depicting the Day of Judgment in the following words:

“Consider the Qur’anic description of the minute and precise interrelationship of the universe’s constituent parts. Consider their sublime and delicate organization into a system. If any heavenly body were told to leave its axis, the universe would be thrown into the throes of death. Stars would collide, planets would be scattered, and the sound of exploding spheres would fill space. Mountains would begin to move, and Earth would be flattened. Eternal Power will bring about the next life in just this way, and the elements of Paradise and Hell will be separated from each other.”1

Regardless of how the Armageddon occurs, Nursi asserts that what has been repeatedly highlighted by the Qur’an will be realized:

“If the universe is not destroyed by an external destructive event, with the Eternal Will’s permission, it eventually will begin to die. Even scientists say this. According to the Qur’an, it will give a sharp cry, and then the following things will happen:

When the sun is folded up, and when the stars fall losing their luster; and when the mountains are set moving. (Takwir, 81:1-3)

When the sky is cleft asunder; and when the planets are dispersed, and when the oceans are poured forth. (Infitar 82:1-3)”2

Our aim here is to evaluate the incredible events miraculously foretold by the Qur’an from the cognitive perspective bestowed upon us by God through contemporary sciences and to gain broader points of view. Only God, however, can know the exact form of present and future events.

Notes

1. Nursi, Said. The Words, The Light, Inc., New Jersey: 2005, p. 546.

2. Ibid, p. 545.

The day that my daughter and I were headed to the airport, my new Turkish friend, Abdurrahman, who has been visiting our church for the last two years as a gesture of peace and global tolerance, asked me about the word “tolerance.”

It had come to his attention that tolerance can mean something negative. “I want more than to have someone simply tolerate me!” a colleague told him.

The conversation stuck with me on my flight to Istanbul and for the next couple of days. Then somewhere near the ancient cities of Lystra, Derbe and Iconium, my thoughts took shape and I wrote this essay entitled “Tolerance.”

“What is tolerance?” It is not all good. At its basest level – Level 1 – it is putting up with another, sitting on clenched fist. It is not trust. It is not friendship. It is a truce. “If I let you be, will you let me be?” And this is what we call tolerance.

Sometimes, and these times are beautiful, tolerance reaches a second level – Level 2 – it is talking. It may not seem like tolerance. Sometimes it is loud. Sometimes it is awkward. Sometimes it is offensive. It is like learning how to dance, but it is growth.

“This is who I am. This is what I believe! This is what I eat! This is how I dress and worship!”

We learn a little about each other. And this is tolerance.

Quietness sets in, and then, almost as if on its own, tolerance grows – Level 3. It is listening. Trust has begun to replace suspicion. Question marks replace exclamation points. “Tell me about yourself: What is your family like? Your faith? Your home?”

Jaws relax. Hands open and sometimes are even clasped together rather than clenched. Smiles replace suspicion, and we learn. Most people see this as tolerance, but there are more stages, more beautiful, relational transformations.

As stone silence gives way to talking and talking yields to listening … as hands go from being clenched to opened to clasped, another level of tolerance emerges: Level 4. It is respect.

There is an appreciation for the other. You are just as much a person as I. Your family has fears and hopes even as mine does. You cry and laugh and worry and pray as I do. The balance has shifted to where we see eye to eye without condescension. This is tolerance.

Respect is a beautiful stage in the process of tolerance. As it grows and stories are shared, we reach another level of tolerance, almost by accident – Level 5 – it is our story. Somehow as I told you my story and you told me your story, we were writing our story. We shared watermelon on the rooftop. We sang songs in the night air. Remember, we started singing separately, but ended singing together.

Our story. Our memories. Community. Tolerance.

It has come so far, this concept of tolerance, from truce to trust, from respect to relationships, from sharing stories to shaping stories. And yet there is more: Level 6. It is friendship. Solidarity. I now like you and you like me. I think of you when you are absent. I smile when I see you, and you smile, too. Handshakes have given way to embraces; nods are replaced by pats on the back and the mussing of hair. Reunions are arranged, future contacts desired.

I am no longer curious; I care. I truly care for you my friend, for your family, for your country. And this is tolerance.

Seven is the perfect number. There are seven days of the week, seven seals in Revelation, and there are seven levels to tolerance. Level 7? It is love.

Walls are removed, suspicions are relaxed, reservations are repealed. Eyes sparkle with delight rather than peering for inconsistencies and flaws. Your pain causes me to hurt. Your joy causes me to laugh. Your pleasure brings me delight. Hands are held, not just shaken. Souls embrace as well as arms. We are brothers, sisters, siblings. We are certain that God loves us and that God expects us to love each other, and we are elated to comply.

Tolerance has been made complete in love and perfect love casts out all fear.

“What is tolerance?” I was once asked.

It is truce: Sitting on clenched fist.

It is talking: Claiming my rights, my story.

It is listening: Being open to your story.

It is respect: Clasping hands together in trust.

It is one story: Creating shared moments.

It is friendship: Genuine caring.

It is love: Expressing complete, mature, perfect love.

It is God’s desire for our world. It is our world’s only hope and it is my desire. Tolerance.

Originally published at www.theeagle.com. The Bryan-College Station Eagle.