Christian and Jewish scripture

Islamic theology is strictly monotheistic. Consequently, the Qur’an denies such Christian doctrines as the Trinity and the resurrection of Jesus, which can seem to suggest that God works in a partnership (Jacques 2004, 16). Yet Jesus is always honored in the Qur’an. He is referred to as a “sign” of mercy and an “example.” Nowhere is he or any other Prophet criticized (Jacques 2004, 16). Moses is also revered in the Qur’an, where he is referred to more than one hundred times (Khan 2001, 35.

The Qur’an does not claim to supersede the scriptures that came before it, but is understood to complete the revelations of the Prophets (Jacques 2004, 298). It is a culmination of the history of divine revelation, which includes stories from the Old and New Testaments such as the stories of Abraham, Moses, Noah, and Jesus. Sura 61:6 is an example of how the Qur’an affirms the validity of Jewish and Christian scriptures: “And when Jesus son of Mary said, ‘Children of Israel, I am indeed God’s messenger to you, confirming the Torah that has gone before me…’” (Murata and Chittick 1994, 165).

Qur’anic doctrine about the “People of the Book”

In the Qur’an, Jews, and Christians are referred to as Ahl al-kitab, meaning “the People of the Book.” The Qur’an makes distinctions between the People of the Book. Many verses acknowledge that there are both wrongdoers and righteous ones among them (Sarýtoprak 2000, 323).

Where the Qur’an criticizes the People of the Book, it generally makes clear that it is referring only to those who do not adhere to the message of the Prophets (tawhid) (Murata and Chittick, 1994, 170):

Those who persistently disbelieve from among the People of the Book and the polytheists would not abandon until there had come to them the Clear Evidence … Surely those who disbelieve from among the People of the Book and from among the polytheists will be in the fire of Hell a seed of which unbelief bears, abiding therein. (98:1, 6)

Some verses that criticize the People of the Book without making a distinction are open to various interpretations. For example, Sura 5:55 states: “Oh believers, take not Jews and Christians as friends; they’re friends of each other. Whoso of you makes them as friends is one of them.” Said Nursi suggests that the verse may refer to particular groups of Jews and Christians who committed treachery during the days of the Medina Charter. Nursi points out that at the time of the Prophet, people hated and loved each other solely on the basis of religion, so close relationships with non-Muslims were considered hypocritical (Sarýtoprak 327). As the basis for friendships has changed, hypocrisy in this respect is no longer an issue.

Another reason why such verses should be interpreted broadly rather than literally is because some of the words used in their original Arabic forms are ambiguous. In this verse, the word for friend (wali) can mean guardian. The sentence might mean that Muslims cannot make Jews or Christians their guardians. In some verses, the People of the Book are referred to as kafir, meaning either “one who denies the existence of God” or “one who denies the prophethood of Muhammad.” Non-Muslims are not necessarily kafirs in the first sense of the word (Sarýtoprak, 328).

The Qur’an commonly advocates tolerance, respect, and goodwill towards the People of the Book. For example, Sura 60:8 declares:

God does not forbid you, as regards those who do not make war against you on account of your Religion, nor drive you away from your homes, to be kindly to them, and act towards them with equity. God surely loves the scrupulously equitable.

In addition to advocating tolerance, the Qur’an praises the People of the Book. In Sura 21:7, they are referred to as “People of Knowledge” (ahl al-dhikr) (Sarýtoprak, 328) and verses 3:113-15 declare:

Yet, they are not all alike: among the People of the Book, there is an upright community, reciting God’s Revelations in the watches of the night and prostrating (themselves in worship). They believe in God and the Last Day, and enjoin and promote what is right and good, and forbid and try to prevent evil, and hasten to do good deeds, as if competing with one another. Those are of the righteous ones. Whatever good they do, they will never be denied the reward of it; and God has full knowledge of the God-revering, pious.

This sura provides an example of how the Qur’an recognizes that the People of the Book worship the same God as Muslims. This recognition of a common ground is repeated in other verses, such as 3:64, which commands:

Say (to them, O Messenger): “O People of the Book, come to a word common between us and you, that we worship none but God, and associate none as partner with Him, and that none of us take others for Lords, apart from God.”

Another implication in Sura 3:115 is that the People of the Book will be rewarded. A general theme in the Qur’an is that those People of the Book who accept tawhid will have salvation (Murata and Chittick, 168). For example, Sura 2:62 states:

Those who believe (Muslims), the Jews, the Christians, and the Sabaeans, whosoever believe in God and the Last Day and do good deeds, they shall have their reward from their Lord, shall have nothing to fear, nor shall they come to grief.

Tolerance in Practice

The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) protected and defended the People of the Book. In the hadith by Al-Munawi, he is quoted as saying: “Who wrongs a Jew or Christian will have myself as his prosecutor on the day of Judgement.” In Al-Bayhaqi’s hadith he is quoted: “Whosoever persecuted a dhimmi [non-Muslim who paid a protection tax] or usurped his rights, or took work from him beyond his capacity, or took something from him without his permission, I shall be a complainant against him on the Day of Resurrection.” Al-Bukhari tells of how Muhammad would not exclude Jewish people when he visited the sick. On one occasion, when a Jewish funeral procession passed by him, he stood up out of respect, and when asked why, replied: “Is it not a human soul?”

The Prophet’s respect for the People of the Book was an example to others during his time. One of his companions, Hizam b. Hakim, reproached the Governor of Syria when he saw a group of group of Christians standing out in the hot sun as punishment for not paying their taxes.

Said Nursi also advocated tolerance, affirming that Muslims and non-Muslims are equal before Qur’anic law, and that people should be praised and loved based on their individual attributes (Sarýtoprak 326–327).

Dhimmi law and jizya

Soon after the Hijra (the migration of the Prophet to Medina), the Prophet signed a pact with the local tribes of Medina. Famously known as the Medina Charter, the Prophet aimed at generating a peaceful, pluralist society in this town, which was torn apart with decades-long civil strife and bloodshed. However, when this pact was violated by some Jewish tribes who supported the Meccans against Muslims, Jews were eventually driven out. Yet cooperation was renewed when the Prophet concluded a treaty with the Jews of Khaibar (Jacques 14–16).

Under an Islamic government, dhimmi law was developed in relations with the People of the Book which required them to pay a poll tax, or jizya, which is sanctioned in the Qur’an (9:29).

In exchange, Muslims were responsible for the protection of the People of the Book in their society. During the reign of the second Caliph, the Governor of Homs (in modern-day Syria) returned the poll tax to his Christian subjects because he realized he could not protect them against the Byzantine army (Jacques 14–16).

The policies surrounding jizya were relatively fair. Under a Muslim government, non-Muslims were not required to pay zakat (prescribed charity), which was a legal and religious requirement for Muslims. Furthermore, the poor, the blind, the elderly, the rescue workers at the houses of worship, women and children were all exempt from jizya. If it was not paid, the maximum punishment was imprisonment, and if a person died without having paid it, it could not become a debt transferred to his estate or heirs (Jacques 14–16).

Interaction between Muslims and the People of the Book

Muslims, Jews, and Christians socialized among one another regularly and rather freely in the Islamic Middle Ages, creating bonds (Cohen 2000, 39, 42). For example, they met in public baths, and business partnerships between Muslims and non-Muslims occurred despite disapproval of some authorities. Some Muslims even took part in Christian and Jewish religious celebrations. Jews and Christians had many ample opportunities in daily life “to cross barriers in the hierarchy of Islamic society” (Cohen 2000, 39). Dhimmis enjoyed acceptance in intellectual circles (majalis) and studied with Muslims at universities, particularly during the “renaissance of Islam” in cosmopolitan tenth-century Baghdad. Cohen states that “Jewish physicians were found in Arab society in numbers disproportionate to the Jewish presence in the population at large … They also formed part of the interdenominational circle of physicians working in state hospitals and adorning Muslim courts” (Cohen 2000, 42).

In the early Abbasid period, Muslims and Christian theologians frequently corresponded by sending letters to each other, or in debates. Although the dialogue was concerned with both parties trying to prove the superiority of their religion over the other, it was nevertheless constructive and meaningful (Sirry 2005, 365–73).

Life in Spain (al Andalus) between 711 and 1492 is a prime example of harmonious coexistence between Muslims, Jews, and Christians. Jews and Christians enjoyed participation in Arab cultural activities, such as poetry competitions and intellectual circles (Menocal 2002, 173–80).

In 1856, full egalitarian rights were given to all citizens of the Ottoman Empire. Citizens of any religion could be accepted into government service and enroll in military and state schools (Sarýtoprak, 322).

Restrictions in Muslim-Dhimmi Relations

In the fourteenth century, jurist Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya wrote an influential book compiling general Islamic laws for dhimmis: Ahkam ahl al-dhimma (The Laws pertaining to the Protected People) (Cohen 53). Among these, he states that Muslims may convey condolences to non-Muslims or congratulate them on marriage, birth or good health with the exception of occasions, which contradict Islamic tenets (Jacques 39).

In some domains, such as marriage and dining, Muslim interaction with the People of the book is given Qur’anic sanction.

This day (all) pure, wholesome things have been made lawful for you. And the food of those who were given the Book before is lawful for you, just as your food is lawful for them. And (lawful for you in marriage) are chaste women from among the believers, and from among those who were given the Book before, provided that you give them their bridal-due, taking them in honest wedlock, and not in debauchery, nor as secret love-companions. Whoever rejects faith, all his works are in vain, and in the Hereafter he will be among the losers. (5:5)

Sunni law permitted the eating of animals slaughtered by the People of the Book. Muslims could eat food provided by Jews as the Prophet Muhammad himself had done (Cohen 41). It was more problematic to eat in Christian homes, as pork might be served. However, Shia Islam rejected food prepared by dhimmis as unclean.

Sura 5:5 allows Muslim men to marry dhimmi women, not the other way around. This is to protect the woman’s rights, because the man might forcefully impose his religion on his Muslim wife (Cohen 41). If the wife of a Jewish or Christian couple converts to Islam, the marriage becomes invalid and from then on she may only marry Muslim men (Spectorsky 2000, 274). A Muslim husband is required to permit his non-Muslim wife to observe her religious rituals in the household and to read her own scriptures, and not encourage her to break rituals such as fasting and (for Jews) keeping the Sabbath (Cohen 41).

Conclusion

In studying the Qur’an, it is evident that Islam is inherently tolerant of Judaism and Christianity. It requires Muslims to respect the validity of the Scriptures of the People of the Book, and their right to be treated with kindness. The practice of the Prophet is consistent with this view as is the example of many influential Muslims throughout history, such as Said Nursi and Rumi. In today’s world of pluralism and multiculturalism, understanding is essential for adherents of different religions to coexist in peace and harmony. Muslims, Jews, and Christians must understand the tolerant message of Islam and the great Muslim role models. Exclusive focus on seemingly negative Qur’anic verses such as 5:55, without understanding the context, can lead to fear and hatred. They must embrace their similarities to see that they are brethren, and embrace their differences as a chance for learning. Amidst the twentieth and twenty-first century conflicts between the Islamic World and the West, one might see peaceful coexistence between religious groups as idealistic. But one needs only to look at the experience of Jews and Christians under Islamic rule in the Middle Ages to see that religious pluralism is possible.

References

• Cohen, A. 1984. Jewish Life under Islam: Jerusalem in the Sixteenth Century. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
• Cohen, M.R. 1994. Under Crescent and Cross: The Jews in the Middle Ages. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.
• ——. 2000. “Sociability and the Concept of Galut in Jewish-Muslim Relations in the Middle Ages” in Judaism and Islam: Boundaries, Communication and Interaction: Essays in Honor of William M. Brinner. Edited by B.H. Hary, J.L. Hayes, and F. Astern. Brill’s Series in Jewish Studies 27. Leiden: Brill.
• Huda, Q. 2003. “Knowledge of Allah and the Islamic View of Other Religions,” Theological Studies 64: 278–305.
• Jacques, W. 2004. “Christians, Muslims, Jews and Their Religions.” Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations 15: 13–33.
• Khan, I.A. 2001. “The Qur’anic View of Moses as a Messenger of God from the Children of Israel to Pharaoh.” In Jewish-Muslim Encounters: History, Philosophy and Culture, Edited by C. Selengut. St. Paul, Minn.: Paragon House.
• Lewis, B. 1984. The Jews and Islam. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.
• Menocal, M.R. 2002. “Culture in the Time of Tolerance: Al-Andalus as a Model for Our Own Time.” Palestine-Israel Journal of Politics, Economics & Culture 8/9: 173–180.
• Murata, S., and W.C. Chittick. 1994. The Vision of Islam. New York: Paragon House.
• Sarýtoprak, Z. 2000. “Said Nursi’s Teachings on the People of the Book: A Case Study of Islamic Social Policy in the Early Twentieth Century.” Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations 11: 321–32.
• Sirry, M.A. 2005. “Early Muslim-Christian Dialogue: A Closer Look at Major Themes of the Theological Encounter.” Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations Vol. 16: 361–76.
• Spectorsky, S. 2000. “Problems of Intermarriage in Early fiqh Texts.” In Judaism and Islam: Boundaries, Communication and Interaction: Essays in Honor of William M. Brinner. Edited by B.H. Hary, J.L. Hayes, and F. Astern. Brill’s Series in Jewish Studies 27. Leiden: Brill.

Resurrection plants are desiccation (extreme dryness) tolerant plant species. All are relatively small and mostly found in Southern Africa, North America, Brazil, and Australia. They are able to stay in a dehydrated state under conditions in which other plants would perish. They come back to life and resume their physiological activities when water becomes available again. During the dehydration process, leaves of resurrection plants shrink and curl up due to water loss. Some of them fold up their stems into a tight ball as they desiccate to limit surface area and conserve internal moisture. It is not yet clear how the leaves and stems reduce their size. However, electron microscopy revealed desiccation-induced cell wall folding in the majority of mesophyll and epidermal cells of a resurrection plant. Thick-walled vascular tissue did not fold and supported the surrounding tissue, thereby limiting the extent of leaf shrinkage and allowing leaf morphology to be rapidly regained upon rehydration (Moore et al 2006, 651–62). When the resurrection plant is dehydrated, its stomatal conductance and intercellular CO2 concentration is decreased and hence its photosynthetic rate, but sugar, starch and non-structural carbohydrate reserves increased during this stage. Mature tissues of resurrection plants such as leaves and roots are able to remain in the air-dried state for months by reaching an inactive state, comparable to dormancy in seeds in several aspects. All metabolic functions are reduced to a bare minimum and they appear to be dead. Resurrection plants take immediate advantage of rainfall after dry periods: they absorb water, grow rapidly, and reproduce (Bartels 2005, 696–701; Xu 2010, 183–190).

One of the most common examples of resurrection plants is Myrothamnus flabellifolia, grown in southern Africa, the only known woody resurrection plant. Craterostigma wilmsii and Xerophyta viscosa are other resurrection plants from southern Africa. All these plants are used extensively in African medicine and traditional culture. Ramonda serbica and her sister Haberlea rhodopensis are members of Gesneriaceae family from the Balkan peninsula; they are rare and forbidden for collecting. Anastatica hierochuntica is native to western Asia, while Selaginella lepidophylla is collected from the wilderness of the southwestern United States and Mexico, sold to tourists, and exported worldwide—it can even be bought online, in their dry and lifeless form. After buying this plant, we soak it in water and voila! If one does not have a “green thumb” and still want to have greenery in one’s home, this resurrection plant might work best for you. However, its downside is that sometimes people complain that the gray-brown ball and its branches do not become fully green or open up in water totally, which does not look very attractive. But even though you may not like how it looks, your kids might enjoy it as a science project.

Why is it important to know how these plants survive drought and come back to life?

The world’s need for water is likely to become one of the most critical resource issues of this century. The International Water Management Institute predicts that by the year 2025, one-third of the world’s population will reside in regions that experience severe water scarcity (www.iwmi.org) (Bartels and Salamini 2001, 1346–1353). Drought is a factor that dramatically threatens the world’s food supply. Therefore, plant scientists have been interested in using resurrection plants as model organisms to find out noble cellular mechanisms for improving the drought tolerance of important crop plants. Research on the molecular genetic mechanisms, metabolic and antioxidant systems as well as macromolecular and structural stabilizing processes in resurrection plants have been carried out (Moore et al 2009, 110–7). One study of Craterostigma wilmsii demonstrates that it relies almost entirely on protection during natural drying; however, it also induces a repair mechanism during rehydration that enables recovery from rapid drying. Thus, it apparently has the ability to repair if protection is inadequate and damage is incurred (Cooper 2002, 1805–13). In addition to repair mechanisms of resurrection plants, the processes that involve regulation of gene and protein activity that allow these plants to use energy storage efficiently have been investigated. The resurrection capability appears to be associated with the accumulation of a carbohydrate in the tissues as they dry. In a majority of cases, sucrose is the major carbohydrate that accumulates (Norwood et al. 2000, 159–65). In addition, an unusual disaccharide named trehalose, which is the main blood sugar in insects and serves as a major energy storage molecule enabling flight, is found in high levels in resurrection plants. This is unusual, because normally there is not much trehalose in plants. It has been proposed that trehalose serves as an osmoprotectant (Avonce et al 2005, 276–279). Osmoprotectants are small molecules that help organisms to survive when a rapid change in the movement of water across their cell membrane occurs. Peter Scott of the Annuals of Botany wrote a summary of the ability of resurrection plant Craterostigma plantagineum to survive dehydration and revive (Scott 2000, 159–166). According to his botanical briefing the roots, being in the soil, are most likely to sense the decrease in water availability first. Abscisic Acid (ABA), a plant hormone, is synthesized and released by roots as a response to drought stress. Once released, ABA could activate batteries of genes required for metabolic processes such as the accumulation of sucrose from either stored carbohydrates or through an alteration in photosynthetic carbon partitioning. In addition, the synthesis of other proteins such as dehydrins and Late Embryogenesis Abundant proteins (LEAs) could help to stabilize the plant cells as they lose water. Thus as the tissues dehydrate, leaves shrink, chlorophyll is degraded, sucrose accumulates and ultimately the xylem, which is one of the transport tissues in plants, fills with air and the plants become desiccated. On addition of water, the xylem refills with water and cells begin to take up water and expand, enzymes present in the tissues are activated, sucrose is metabolized, and chlorophyll is resynthesized. Within 24 hours the plant is restored, and is reproductively active within two weeks.

Based on these findings, it is of particular significance to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms of resurrection plants and focus on biological engineering strategies for improving plant drought tolerance in important crop species such as cotton, soybeans, peanuts, corn, and potatoes. But these plants do not merely represent a unique model for scientists to understand a plant’s ability to cope with drought; they also serve us to deepen our faith for the Day of Judgment and rationalize it in our minds. The astonishing changes in the tissue of resurrection plants, and how they are brought back to life when they appear to be completely dead, remind us of Qur’anic verses such as the one below regarding the resurrection of decayed flesh and bones (36:78–79).

“And he puts forth for Us a parable, and forgets his own creation. He says: ‘Who will give life to these bones when they have rotted away and became dust?’ Say: ‘He will give life to them Who created them for the first time! And He is the All-Knower of every creation!’”

Time-lapse videos of resurrection plants in action, like Xerophyta and Jericho rose, are available on the web. Enjoy!

References

• Moore JP, Nguema-Ona E, Chevalier L, Lindsey GG, Brandt WF, Lerouge P, Farrant JM, Driouich A. 2006. Response of the leaf cell wall to desiccation in the resurrection plant Myrothamnus flabellifolius. Plant Physiol. 141:651–62.
• Bartels D. 2005. Desiccation Tolerance Studied in the Resurrection Plant Craterostigma plantagineum. Integr. Comp. Biol. 45: 696–701
• Xu D, Su P, Zhang R, Li H, Zhao L, Wang G. 2010. Photosynthetic parameters and carbon reserves of a resurrection plant Reaumuria soongorica during dehydration and rehydration. Plant Growth Reg. 60: 183–190.
• http://faculty.ucc.edu/biology-ombrello/pow/resurrection_plant.htm
• Bartels D, Salamini F. 2001. Desiccation tolerance in the resurrection plant Craterostigma plantagineum. A contribution to the study of drought tolerance at the molecular level. Plant Physiol. 127:1346–1353.
• Moore JP, Le NT, Brandt WF, Driouich A, Farrant JM. 2009 Towards a systems-based understanding of plant desiccation tolerance. Trends Plant Sci. 14:110–7.
• Cooper K, Farrant JM. 2002. Recovery of the resurrection plant Craterostigma wilmsii from desiccation: protection versus repair. J Exp Bot. 53:1805–13.
• Norwood M, Truesdale MR, Richter A, Scott P. 2000. Photosynthetic carbohydrate metabolism in the resurrection plant Craterostigma plantagineum. J Exp Bot. 51:159–65.
• Avonce N, Leyman B, Thevelein J, Iturriaga G. 2005. Trehalose metabolism and glucose sensing in plants. Biochem Soc Trans. 33:276–279.
• Scott P. 2000. Resurrection Plants and the Secrets of Eternal Leaf Annals of Botany. 85: 159–166.

The Fountain of Living Waters frames Christian Scriptures from beginning to end. In Genesis, the first book of the Torah, in the very first verse, we read: “In the beginning, when God began to create, the Earth was without form and void, and the Spirit of God moved over the face of the deep.” The deep in Hebrew is tehom. Such depth is not only the literal vastness of the primordial ocean; tehom also points us to the truth that creation comes from chaos. Life begins in the waters of the womb; cosmos originates in chaos.

Then, in the very last verses of Christian Scriptures, the Book of Revelation, another water image appears. The author borrows from the Prophet Ezekiel to envision the new Jerusalem, the city of peace. This city comes down from heaven, and in its center is a river of life. This river contains crystal clear water, washing away all violence, so that “nothing any more shall be accursed.” Living Waters flow through Christian Scriptures from alpha to omega.

The Holy Bible practically drips; 692 verses refer to waters. Prophet Moses leads the people of Israel to freedom through the waters of the Red (or Reed) Sea. Prophet Jonah doesn’t think it’s such a good idea to preach repentance to the people of Nineveh, Israel’s enemy, and embarks on a boat going the opposite direction. But God swallows him up in the belly of a whale, and he returns to the waters of creation, the chaos of tehom. And what does he do there? He prays. His prayer brings him safely to Nineveh, where out of the waters he brings the enemy to repentance. Living Water, the Fountain, turns enemies to allies. This truth is beautifully conveyed in perhaps the most famous Psalm, Psalm 23:

The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for Thou art with me. Thou preparest a table before me in the company of my enemies. My cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.

The Fountain overflows with abundance, to invite even enemies to the table of justice and mercy.

But the Fountain of our Source also dissolves our petty, ego-driven associations. Prophet Amos puts this best. The people of Israel in his day were unjust. They treated the poor with callous disregard, they didn’t educate their youth, they were violent. But they were also pious, praying five times a day (or the ancient equivalent, anyway!)

And hear what God says, through Amos: “I hate, I despise your festivals. The noise of your solemn assemblies hurts my ears … But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

The Fountain of love is not just a gentle flowing stream. It’s also a tsunami of the power of love that sweeps away all our pretenses. The Fountain throws us unto the mercy of an infinite flood of justice.

Of course, for Christians like me, this merciful and just Fountain also points to, indeed is incarnate within Jesus. Jesus is Living Waters. The story that most clearly conveys this metaphor is in the Gospel of John, where Jesus meets a Samaritan woman by a well and asks her for a drink. She asks him what he’s doing there, for being at a well was woman’s work, and Jesus’ disciples are scandalized, because rabbis didn’t talk to women, much less Samaritans (who were racially “other”). And to make matters worse, this woman has been married five times, and she is now living with a man who is not her husband.

But Jesus tells her: “The water that you give me will only temporarily quench my thirst. But the water I give to you is living waters, and it will well up in you to eternal life.”

And this woman cries out: “Give me this water!” And Jesus says: “I am he.”

Jesus is innocent and perfect compassion. He is a drink of water on a hot day. He is mercy for outcasts, for the poor, for sinners like this Samaritan woman. And what he brings is the possibility that we, too, might live compassionate lives. So the woman goes and tells her neighbors: “I’ve met the Messiah!” She has been washed in the Fountain.

Once we lose our attachment to petty associations, we can live for others, out of true grace. “Whoever seeks to save one’s life,” Jesus teaches, “will lose it. But whoever gives up one’s life for my sake and for the sake of the good news (the gospel), will find true life.”

True life is a life lived for others. This doesn’t entail masochism, but instead offers fulfillment. Psychologists teach that when we are fully engaged in a task we lose the usual blinders of self-consciousness and enter into what they call “flow.” We’re “in the zone,” whether at work, at play, or in love. The point is this: when we love, we truly live.

This is why Lutheran Christians like myself celebrate the baptism of infants. Sometimes, baptism is misunderstood as a one-time event: you get dunked and you’re done. In fact, baptism is more like a first contact with the Fountain. Metaphorically, it can be experienced daily, even many times a day.

Whenever we wash, we can be reminded of our Source. Whenever it rains, we can remember the Fountain. Whenever we take a drink, we can give thanks to God for the mercy of compassion.

All in all, then, baptism is not unlike wudu—the washing of regeneration—that prepares us to pray. As the Apostle Paul urged us, “Pray constantly.” This doesn’t mean doing salat perpetually, it means being aware of our Source. Praying constantly means giving up petty attachments or associations, such as greed, anger, and violence. And praying constantly means giving ourselves away in acts of compassion. When we find the flow of love, we live.

Reading The Fountain as a Christian connects me not only to a magazine, but also to a profound metaphor. The Fountain reminds us of our Source, dissolves petty egoist attachments as we learn about our world, and invites us to join the flow of compassionate living. And isn’t that worth at least the price of a subscription?

Paul Davies, a British-born cosmologist, theoretical physicist, and bestselling author, conducts inter-disciplinary research in the areas of physics, cosmology, and biology. Dr. Davies is the director of a new research center at Arizona State University called Beyond. The mission of the center is to explore the great questions of our existence, the origin of our universe and life, the nature of consciousness, and the mathematical laws that underpin the universe. He is particularly interested in the Big Bang Theory, one of the most influential theories of our time concerning the origins of our universe.

Matter&Beyond: You are a cosmologist and the topic obviously is fascinating. But what is the root of our connection with space? What is the root of our human fascination with the sky and stars?

It’s very interesting to speculate if human beings had developed on a planet that was totally covered in cloud and had no awareness of the sky and astronomical bodies, whether society would’ve developed very differently. It’s quite clear when you look back at human history that the “heavens,” as they used to be called, had a very major role to play in all early civilizations. We can see evidence of astronomical observatories, thousands of years ago, long before the invention of telescopes. There are monuments, for example, pyramids that were built or Stonehenge in England, which are clearly astronomical monuments of some sort. And then we think of the world’s great religions and they all have an astronomical component. Think of the role of the new moon in Islam, for example, or the Star of Bethlehem in Christianity. … I think we can trace this preoccupation with the sky and the heavens to the early days of the development of agriculture because it became really important for people to know when to plant their crops and when to harvest them and the different seasons and so on. We can imagine that, say 10,000 years ago, people studied the sky very, very carefully and they became familiar with the movement of the objects and they invented complicated mathematical formulas to chart them.

M&B: How did our fascination with space change after industrialization?

What I would say has happened in the last three or four hundred years is that actually most people have become less aware of space. We live in cities that are polluted so we don’t see outer space. We’re too busy looking at televisions or driving home from work so we never look up and see this wonderland above our heads. How many people, for example, could name even the major constellations of stars if they were ever taken outside of their cities to somewhere where they could see the dark night sky? And so astronomy has become in a way less and less significant in people’s lives.

M&B: But today astronomy and cosmology is making a comeback. There are a lot of bestseller popular science books written on space and time.

I think during the 1970s and ‘80s people became very antiscientific, perhaps as a result of a reaction to the Vietnam War. Astronomy somehow remained aloof from that. It was perceived as a subject that wasn’t dangerous, that we could study the stars, they were a long way away using benign equipment like telescopes and astronomers weren’t going to threaten anybody. And so I think exploring the universe has been seen in many ways as a sort of untainted glorious enterprise that doesn’t have this sort of threatening aspect to it. It’s still, of course, immensely popular. People still want to go to planetariums and they read books on astronomy and they like television productions on astronomical things. But I think it’s shifted now from those early days where people’s lives really revolved around the stars in a very literal sense, and those days are now gone.

M&B: You are a cosmologist, but based on the wide range of research areas at the center Beyond, I would say that you look more like a modern seeker of old times.

Since the dawn of human history people have asked the great questions of existence, how did the universe come to exist? What is the role of human beings in the great cosmic scheme of things? How will the universe end? What is it made of? Now for the greater part of human history, these questions were addressed by priests and philosophers. But in recent years, science has made progress as well. So scientists find themselves now asking those same age-old questions of existence. In my career, I have covered topics like the origin of the universe and the origin of life, the nature of time, the nature of consciousness, and the underlying laws of the universe. Inevitably these topics trespass on territory which was previously almost exclusively philosophy or religion’s. Now science has a story to tell about these great issues.

M&B: If you have to pick the most interesting question modern science is trying to answer, what would be your choice?

I suppose the most interesting thing modern science is telling us about is how the universe came into existence. When I was a student, the Big Bang Theory was just one of many ideas about the origin of the universe. But over the past 30 years it’s become much more secure so that not only do we know that there was a Big Bang about 13.7 billion years ago, but we know a great deal about the details including the conditions that prevailed in the universe back to as little as one-trillionth of a second after the Big Bang. So we’re now able to reconstruct precisely how the universe went bang and how it developed over the subsequent billions of years into what we see today. So I think that the scientific story of the genesis of a universe is fascinating—its origin, its explosive outbursts, and the long period of enrichment and complexification of matter leading eventually to the emergence of life and beings like ourselves who could look back and reflect on it all.

M&B: The Big Bang Theory is well established. Yet it’s still open to commentaries and interpretations.

It’s often said that science deals with “how?” questions and religion deals with “why?” questions and so you don’t normally go to a scientist to find meaning or purpose in the universe. Nevertheless it is clear that because science is now able to fill in so many details about the big picture, that scientists are inevitably asked to make pronouncements about meaning and purpose. As they do so, they divide about equally into two groups. One group who says, “Well, the universe is beautiful, it’s so ingenious that it looks as if it has been designed by an intelligent creator but in fact it hasn’t.” There is no meaning, no purpose in the universe. The famous quote by Steven Weinberg, the American cosmologist, goes: “The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it also seems pointless.” Then the other half of cosmologists look at this same set of facts and they agree about the facts but they interpret them differently. They will say, “Well, it does suggest that there is a grand scheme of things, it does suggest that the universe is about something. This grand and wonderful scheme, which is so ingeniously constructed, does suggest that there is something deeper to it all.”

M&B: We find more and more scientists thinking and writing about these topics on both sides.

Human beings usually are not happy just to have a technical description of how the universe works, and in particular people always want to ask the question what happened before the Big Bang? What made the Big Bang go bang? Why is there a universe in the first place, and why is the universe as it is and not something different? And these are questions right on the edge of science because science really can only deal with things that can be measured and observed. They can deal with the facts of the world, the things before us. When we come to questions about why does the world exist at all or why are there laws and where do those laws come from, it’s very difficult for science to make a contribution. Nevertheless, in the last ten or twenty years more and more scientists have been addressing those questions. The nature of physical laws is a very good example… When I was a student, you were simply told the laws of physics are what they are, we don’t know why, maybe there isn’t any reason why—that’s just the way it is. It was not the job of the scientists to ask why those laws of physics exist. The job of the scientist was to discover what the laws are and then apply them. But that has changed. There is now a feeling that maybe the nature of physical laws is something that is a proper, legitimate subject for scientific inquiry. And so there’s a whole bunch of physicists who are looking at alternative laws.

M&B: How do they theorize alternative laws?

Supposing we stipulate a different law of gravitation and see what the consequences would be. We can work out using mathematics what it would be like if gravity differed a little bit from the observed law. And then we can do the same with the other forces of nature and other features of the world. What would it be like if we lived in the universe with 23 space dimensions instead of three? We can work that out. Partly that’s a recreational exercise—it would be fun to know what it would be like in a universe with different dimensions or different forces—but also we would like to know is there anything special about the particular laws of this particular universe.

M&B: What is the result of such experiments?

There is something special and that special thing is that the particular laws that we observe in this universe are very strangely conducive to the emergence of life. They’re highly suited to life, even suspiciously so. It’s almost as if these laws have been fine-tuned for life, and so at that point disagreement sets in and some scientists say, “Well, it’s just a lucky coincidence that that is the case,” and others say, “No, there must be some other explanation for it.” But it is certainly the case that the universe we observe and the laws that underpin it, which used to just be regarded as given, as not a proper subject for inquiry, are now being studied as one set among a vast variety of possible sets, and it’s generally agreed that the particular laws that we observe are very special in their relation to the ability to bring forth life.

M&B: And you call this a “cosmic jackpot.”

My book, Cosmic Jackpot: Why Our Universe Is Just Right for Life, examines a very specific problem, the problem of why the universe seems to be just right for life. When we look at the fundamental laws of physics and the way that the universe originated in the Big Bang, there are many features that appear to be coincidences or the happy arrangement of different aspects of physical laws without which there would be no life and no observers like ourselves. And the question is, What are we to make of that? Some people say, “Well, it looks like the whole thing is a fix, it looks like the universe is being created by an Intelligent Designer.” Well, obviously all the scientists aren’t going to believe that. So instead they come up with other explanations.

M&B: There is the theory of multiverses.

According to that theory, there are many universes each of which has its own set of laws and these laws are just randomly distributed across these universes. So here and there, just by chance, the laws are going to come out just right for life. It’s no surprise that we find ourselves living in a universe where conditions are just right for life because we could hardly live in a universe which had laws of physics that did not permit life. It’s like a gigantic cosmic lottery with all of these different universes and we’ve just hit the cosmic jackpot because we’re winners of this vast lottery. So that is the popular view as to how we explain that the universe is just right for life. I think that view is progressive but I think it falls far short of providing a complete explanation of existence. I take life seriously and I take the mind seriously so I don’t think that these are just incidental phenomena in the great cosmic scheme of things. I think they’re fundamental to the workings of the universe as a whole and so what I’m trying to do here is to go beyond the rather startled debate between science and religion that’s existed for the last 30 years about the ultimate source of reality.

M&B: It just seems to me, just based on intuition, that we’re not alone here. The universe is so vast, there’s just got to be life somewhere. Does mathematics and statistics support this intuition?

A lot of people make that mistake by saying, statistically, there has to be life elsewhere, the universe is so vast, so many stars out there. It would be incredible if this was the only planet with life. It’s just simply not true. The probability of forming even the simplest enzyme, the simplest protein in known life, if you did it just by shuffling the building blocks, the amino acids that make up for that, is infinitesimal. If you took the entire volume of the universe and filled it with an amino acid soup and just kept shuffling and shuffling and shuffling, you would simply not make it. If it’s happened once, we’re it. It would not happen anywhere else. So the probability of life forming in that way by chance is twice as infinitesimal. So if that’s the way life happened, the fact we live in a vast universe makes no different whatsoever.

M&B: People who are not scientists may think that scientists are the smartest of all of us so they must be figuring out everything, they’re the smartest ones who bring the technology. They look at scientists as natural guides. Do you see a danger here?

Scientists are human beings like everybody else, and I think it’s a mistake to see scientists as generally cold, hard, soulless people who don’t care about the consequences of their work. Scientists are very passionate people and they feel passionately not only about their work but about other aspects of human life. It is also a mistake to think that scientists have any special moral authority over questions of general relevance to human beings. The vast majority of problems that we confront in the world really are only related obliquely, if at all, to science. We struggle with things like the ruin of our environment or international disputes or family concerns or education concerns. These sort of day-to-day things loom very large in people’s lives, but I’m not sure that scientists make a contribution. Science is obviously relevant to some of these things, for example, if we could find a better source of energy that doesn’t heat the planet, that would be good. So science can play a role, but individual scientists, I don’t think are any better than anybody else as moral judges.

All the organs functioning in your body have a direct or indirect relationship with me. I can be compared to a kind of “chemical brain.” All metabolic activities are among my duties, including the control of excretions, digestion, and the composition of blood. You would be stupefied if I listed every single function I carry out, but let me tell you this much: biochemists have discovered that I am directly included in more than 80 different activities and related to more than 5,000 chemical reactions taking place in your body. Surprised? But this is only what they’ve learned so far; you do not know me in detail yet. My plain appearance is in contrast with my numerous functions. My size is about one-tenth of the body of a six-month-old fetus; now that you have become a young man, I weigh about one fiftieth of your body weight. Since I am the largest excretory organ in your body, I am firmly strapped with mesentery so you can run, jump, and make other movements without trouble.

Most people see me merely as a bile-producing organ, which happens to be among the simplest of my duties. Let me explain it another way: the heat I produce while working is equal to one-third of the heat your body produces while resting. I have a special circulatory system. Since I am located at a “junction,” the blood coming from the intestines which bear nutrient molecules come to my vein first together with the blood from the spleen, before joining the rest of the bloodstream. It can be compared to an obligatory customs check. The amount of blood I supervise within 24 hours is about 2,000 liters. With every heartbeat, almost 28 percent of the blood being pumped passes through me.

I adjust the level of blood sugar in a very sensitive balance. If you eat desserts or pastries I convert excess sugar into glycogen (animal starch) and store it. If your blood sugar decreases from hunger, I break down glycogen into sugar (glucose) and come to your help so that you do not come to a halt, like a car out of fuel.

I use various protein molecules to synthesize numerous enzymes. I also play a role in blood coagulation, red blood cell production, and storing the iron you need. You know, nothing is wasted in the divine system of nature. So how can I waste anything? When the aged red blood cells die, I help the spleen to break them down and store the iron they contain. My job in fat metabolism is no less important. Thanks to the bile I produce, the fatty food you eat is broken down to smaller molecules to be absorbed in a way similar to detergents remove oily remnants from dishes. Naturally, the fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) are also absorbed along the process. I store the excess of both these vitamins and fats. Fats are an important fuel particularly for your heart muscles. I excrete an average of 600–700 grams of bile a day. Two minutes after oily foods pass to duodenum the walls of my gallbladder are operated. Through contractions of 2–6 times a minute and a pressure of 25–30 mmHg, the bile is passed to duodenum in a time span of 15 to 90 minutes. What gives bile its yellowish-green color is the substance named bilirubin, which appears with the breaking down of the old red blood cells and disposed of through the bowels.

The Kuppffer cells—as you name them—have the duty of checking out newly produced blood cells one by one in addition to producing antibodies against germs. If any ill-formed blood cells come up, I must detect and destroy them. Otherwise they corrupt your blood. Thanks to the Kuppffer cells, the ill-formed blood cells are destroyed as soon as they are detected.

The average longevity of my cells varies between 150-180 days (220 days maximum). New cells are produced immediately to replace the dying ones and the system works smoothly. In each of these cells there are 1,000-3,000 mitochondria and millions of ribosome. An average of 180 new ribosome are produced every second. Although none of my cells have consciousness or intelligence, thousands of them come together to form little lobes resembling hexagons. The number of these lobes varies between 50,000 to 100,000.

Dear Peter, you intake various toxic substances together with the foods you eat. You don’t even realize that food has been corrupted by bacteria and fungi until its taste changes. Frankly, you should not have lived very long with so much toxic intake; Providence has given me an important duty to protect you from such harm. I capture these toxic compounds released into your bloodstream and neutralize them. The same goes for different medicines you take; I try to neutralize their toxic effects as well. But I have my own limits of tolerance; if I am faced with more toxic substances than I can handle, then I give signals of danger. You wonder how. Well, I shout “help” through red spots in your hands and itchy spots on your skin. You should be more careful about what goes down your throat.

Given that I fulfill various important functions, the littlest failure in me reveals itself as a health problem immediately. Hepatitis is among the common diseases heralding my failure. Excessive increase of bilirubin in your blood causes the white of your eye and your skin to turn yellow. I fear viruses most. Particularly hepatitis B and C viruses destroy my tissue. And alcohol, as you know, is my sworn enemy. I have to exert myself to neutralize even a tiny amount of alcohol. And if the hepatitis virus is added, I become knocked down and contract cirrhosis. It does not happen suddenly, though. Along the process which you know as liver failure I give various signals: skin eruption, digestion problems, sleepiness, and headache after meals, and so on. Since these symptoms are not serious problems, most people ignore these signals I give. Due to my various functions, the lab tests about me are more than a hundred.

Talking about my enemies may have upset you a bit, but it’s not all doom and gloom. After all, I am the organ with the highest capacity to renew itself. Sounds good, right? Otherwise I would have been finished off long ago, so this ability is a real blessing. Let me give you an example: although 90 percent of my cells are destroyed during hepatitis, I can help you survive with the remaining 10 percent if you rest well and control what you eat. If you ignore the disease, it might lead you and me to the grave. Do not ever believe those who take this lightly and say: “This doctor says that a small amount of alcohol is good for health.” Tell it to the marines. Those who say that should visit hospitals first. I’m sorry, Peter, but it really gets on my nerves. If they could only appreciate a work of art like me. Anyway, that’s all for now, please take good care of me.

A man is willing to die (why?), his family seems to have no objections (how come?), there is an institution assisting this family (how come?), it is being recorded and broadcast (what?!).

The controversial documentary stirred up a reaction in some religious circles and pro-life charities, as viewers discussed the ethics of broadcasting euthanasia in the days following this program. But what is so chilly about this video is not whether a network should broadcast it, but a man’s willingness to end his own life. If life had any meaning for this person, he would not be willing to cause his own death. If he meant anything to his family, they would never allow him to do it. This story is so desperate, so heartbreaking, that it leaves us without words.

Mary Lahaj of Boston shares with us a story in this issue that would counterbalance the hopelessness and dispel the dark clouds the above-mentioned documentary caused. “At God’s Door” is the story of a woman who was able to stand up on her own feet after a traumatic youth. Hers is a source of inspiration for many of us who have failed, or feel on the edge of a cliff at times, to rise up in belief for a new life.

Professor Anwar Alam from India reviews a book on a global movement of education and dialogue: The Gulen Movement, Civic Service Without Borders is one of a handful of must-read books that authoritatively deals with this social phenomenon—called the Hizmet movement—affiliated with successful schools, dialogue activities, and relief organizations around the world.

An interview with Paul Davies lays down some of the “Great Questions of Existence” and shares with us how science can contribute to our making sense of them.

The Lead Article expounds on the rights of God and human rights, and how they are related. “Life” is one such right, and the Giver of Life certainly has something to say about this.

we wait. The sun steady

in its track. Vicissitudes

of light, shadows thinning,

growing long. We endure

and wait. Salvation in

the hour before the hour

before dusk. The seedlings

come twirling down,

skittering along the street.

The shadows quiver like

benevolent ghosts. The trees

cackle their sussurant laugh.

And we, impatient, sentient

beings, wish time to be inert.

Existence is in two kinds: self/independent and dependent. “The One that essentially exists” exists by and of oneself and this attribute is exclusive only to God Almighty, the unconditionally rich One Who is in need of nothing, the absolutely Independent, the One free from all shortcomings, Who is neither a matter, a substance, nor a quality, nor is He bound with space, the one and only Lord of eternity and the Possessor of all perfect attributes. The Truth in this sense is one of the beautiful names of the Divine, and all other truths and rights are nothing but Its manifestations and disclosures in their respective ways. The agreement between oneself and the outer world and their uniform nature are not as such by themselves or by their own rights; they exist by His right, because He deems them necessary, thus granting them the right to exist and be. It is false to bind their being to themselves, for self-existence is not possible for them—things are real only in relation to the Truth. They maintain temporarily in this world bound with the calendar of Divine destiny, and indefinitely in the world to come.

In this respect, truth is One in its independent existence. It is the absolute and immutable existence of the Divine Truth; everything else is a ray thereof. All things other than Him exist dependently, thus are defective due to their permanent need for a point of support. Yet, because they exist through the rays of the Truth, they are considered to be existent and constant. All that we consider constant in its existence is a ray of the light of the Truth’s existence. Each emergence, development, work, activity, duty, and responsibility that occurs in “the realms of acts and works” carries a value as long as it is related to the Truth. Any activity that cannot be connected or related to the Truth, anything that is not operated, started with, analyzed or synthesized according to this relationship, is false and a means of devastation. All kinds of operations, initiations, and activities, and whatever outcome they may yield, even faith and virtuous deeds (if virtuous is still the right word) that are not related to the Truth are nothing more than delusions, propositions, and—in the words of the lawgiver Prophet—“fatigue in vain.”

True believers relate all their deeds to the Divine name of The Truth; it is indispensable, and with this conviction they take action. They consider being faithful to The Truth as a compulsory levy, and as a sign of Divine grace (jabri-lutfi). Respect for The Truth adorns their lives, and they are always occupied with it. They value transient, perishable, and seemingly deceptive things—things that are in one sense the opposite of truth because of their dependent, relative worth, which is the measure of their engagement with them. Believers seek for what is eternal and permanent—for that which promises direction and a good ending, for that which reminds of Him, for that which speaks of Him in plain words, for that which falls within the Truth in the true sense of it, for that which prompts considerations of the Truth in the spirit. They always thrive to walk along the axis of truth determined by the True One. Their path is as wide as a highway along which they believe in truth, act in truth, relate in truth, speak in truth, stand with truth, and behave in truth. They call upon the Truth to overcome all obstacles as they head for the True One’s pleasure. They carry out their works faithful to the truth, are always occupied in truthful activities, and tirelessly work to elevate truth. When they are supposed to take, they take only what is due to them. For the rights they are expected to grant, they do so without failure. They are always cautious about those things that do not have any relationship to the truth, for they lead to falsehood.

Truth—and rights in relation to it—has a wide domain of connotations: the opposite of falsehood, the heavier side of the scale balancing power, everyone’s lot, and the fulfillment of individual rights pertaining to interests, privileges, needs, and obligations as recognized by a legitimate regime.

The real proprietor of all these rights is God, the Truth, to whom all parts and wholes, substances and qualities, causes and effects belong to. Nevertheless, through some authorized posts, He conferred these rights to some in the form of interests and authorizations, and to others with the capacity to benefit from these interests and to assume authorities. Those who take on these capacities have to maintain a balance by caring for public rights as much as individual rights.

On the face of what we can see in this world, these rights are assumed by individuals or corporate bodies. Still, as touched upon above and to emphasize once more, all rights belong to God, the True One, and they have been entrusted to human beings as gifts. What we call “the rights of God,” “the rights of human beings,” or “civil rights” arise from legal judgments developed from these rights and pertain to the jurists’ terminology. Now, let us open a small window into the jurisprudential classification that deals with rights under three headings:

1. The rights that are due only to God, as God Almighty is the true Owner of everything. Public law that “relatively” belongs to the society is considered within these rights.

2. Rights of individuals by virtue of natural provision that allows people with the capacity to possess, appropriate, increase, and benefit from them.

3. Rights bound with provisions under common law that relates to both individuals and the society with respect to interests, benefits, and capacity to appropriate.

Rights that are due to God only are superior to all other rights. These rights are immune from all interventions, the way they operate cannot be changed, and they have priority—no other right can surpass them. Pardons cannot be operated, conciliations cannot be sought, nor can they be forfeited, not even can it be attempted. Violation of any of these rights, in whatever form and nature, relates to the public and renders all of society the plaintiff; however, the protection of these rights has been conferred to the state on behalf of the public to investigate violations. Every member of society has the right to complain about such violations and testify when necessary.

Rights of God in Islam include worship (salah), fasting (sawm), purifying alms (zakah), pilgrimage (hajj) as well as taxations like ushr (tithe), sadaqa al-fitr (compulsory charity paid after the month of Ramadan), haraj (land tax), legal punishments and expiations. Rights in kind, receivables, and provisions on individual freedoms under private law are also considered within this category according to their respective degree of significance. In Islam, individuals are granted the full discretion of things they are eligible to use, as long as they do not waste and use extravagantly. They may choose not to benefit from some of their due rights, and redistribute them to others, or spend in learning and education, establish foundations and thus convert their charity into a lasting one. Individuals may give up from some of their rights and forgo some of their claims from other individuals or the public.

Benefits and interests in common law belong to both individuals and the public, thus decisions over these rights are made according to the balance whether a certain right weighs heavier on the scale of the individuals or the public. Such matters are usually taken care of by jurists.

Human rights are what we speak of more than ever in our age. According to Islam, every human being is born free. Every one is equal to one another in their rights and worth. Freedom of thought, freedom of expression, and freedom of conscience are indispensable rights of every individual. Islam recognizes the same rights and opportunities for everyone regardless of race, sex, language, and religion. As a whole these rights cover the spiritual and physical aspects of human beings, in addition to the rights defined today and those that will be defined in the future.

Throughout human history, human rights have evolved through lengthy processes until we have attained the current level of understanding; yet, it is questionable whether this level is sufficient. There have been great struggles in this direction many times: definitions were stretched to extremes, and many false actions were taken—while correcting one falsehood, another was produced. When a certain framework was finally drawn, efforts to perfect it with revisions, editing, and fine-tunings have never come to an end, and are not likely to very soon. Corrections, expansions, and elaborations have brought along new sets of mistakes. Frequently, good will and endless efforts have brought about nothing but disappointment, which either resulted in a loss of hope or back to square one. Problems have never ended, neither have alternative searches. Many thoughts have been rendered worthless due to oppositions and disputes, while many fantasies have been chased after in delirium for no greater purpose than to fill in the gaps; this delirium does not appear to be coming to an end soon.

Human rights were comprehensively defined with the advent of Islam. These rights, which were expressed in earlier religions only in general terms, or left latent as allusions that needed explanation with independent reasoning, were established once more by the very clear style of the Qur’an and the Prophet’s practice, without leaving room for deviation.

The Holy Qur’an has outlined human rights in detail in an utterly unique language. One can see a great emphasis on the protection of these rights in the Qur’an, which declared certain sanctions according to the conditions in question. The lawgiver Prophet clearly delineated these rights with the transactions he carried out himself. He warned insistently that these rights also pertain to the rights of God, and being in full compliance with them is necessary.

In Islamic terminology, all rights originate from God’s will, and each are a blessing entrusted as a sign of His grace even if out of our will (jabri-lutfi) to humanity. Rights, therefore, are granted to every human by creation and they cannot be purchased or traded, reduced, increased, or exchanged; they cannot be passed on to the discretion of the sovereign nor can they ever be used as a commodity. The greatest assurance of rights is when members of a society and the respected and honest authorities embrace this definition of rights wholeheartedly, and make it a part of their nature, honor it like their own souls, and strive for its protection.

This perception of rights is only be possible in a society that recognizes these rights as gracefully bestowed by God Almighty, a society that is appreciative to all the blessings of the Divine, a society that proceeds straightforward with an extraordinary refinement, believing in the fact that they will be held accountable tomorrow for what they do today, a society that upholds the truth and respects all rights. It is not possible to talk about human values and human rights in the truest sense of the word among masses who have no faith in God and the Day of Judgment, masses who do not follow scriptures or acknowledge messengers—they do not value rights nor do they show respect to truth. They have no appreciation for essential matters of belief; they give the impression of having some kind of faith, but a faith of their own, which revolves around sensuality. For them, it is not faith if it does not give way to their carnal desires; it is not science if it does not comply with their wishes. Those who are not from among them cannot be a scholar, and—when completely lost in delirium—they consider everyone other than themselves ignorant and every believer reactionary. They defame those who do not think the same as outdated, and in classifying individuals they divide society into camps. Indeed, their thoughts do not stem from common sense, and their behavior is bigoted. The satanic intellectual legacy they have inherited is an overused, worn-out conflictual dialectics that is deceptive. The crude power they employ against truth is a desperate, diabolical product of impotent reason; when they fail intellectually, it is customary for them to resort to demagogy or conflictual dialectics, a method implemented for the first time by Satan at the mysterious order of God to prostrate to the Prophet Adam. Thus, Satan can be considered as the inventor of conflictual dialectics; its later subcontractors have been the abusers of power who failed against the truth.

Muslims always strived at the highest of their capacity to observe human rights in the most scrupulous manner, not least during the Age of Light—the time of the Prophet. Their firm faith in God and the Hereafter, their well-settled spiritual conviction for the superiority of the rule of law, and their determination to continue on the straight path required them to act in harmony with the nature of their being. A genuine aspect of their condition was to be in sincere servanthood to God Almighty. They painstakingly fulfilled what was expected of them, and remained upright by their inner inclinations, which were shaped by the consciousness of “perfect goodness,” or ihsan—consciousness that God is All-Aware and All-Seeing. They did what they did because they were ordered to do so, aware of the fine line between obedience and disobedience. They welcomed all the orders and advice of the Prophet, the Master of the Law, wholeheartedly; during his time, opposition was limited to a small circle of hypocrites. None of the Prophet’s words were left floating; whatever he said reached its target and went far beyond mere semantics.

When the Prophet honored Medina, he meticulously observed the stipulations of the Charter he signed with a diverse community of different faiths, worldviews, and ethnicities. Regardless of religion, race, and social rank, the law was equally implemented for everyone, and the city of Medina became a safe haven for each community. It was a golden age and the town of the Prophet was like a garden of Paradise. Those who remained close to this age have been close to God and to fellow human beings, while others who failed to strive against their carnal desires and ambitions and darkened their centuries have turned to dust.

Neither the Medina Charter, nor a few examples confined within this framework, were all Islam had to say about human rights. The Sultan of Messengers taught us about human rights throughout his lifetime. He warned us to pay the utmost attention to all rights, and never to ignore even seemingly minor ones. For him, anything that is underestimated is no longer minor. He reminded us how far the respect and fear of God Almighty could reach, so that he could prevent the violations of major rights. He was determined, and always implemented what he said. He was known for his sensitivity and virtue, and these qualities made every believer set a throne for him in their hearts.

Just before he passed away to his Lord, he gave his farewell to an angelic community of tens of thousands during the hajj—his one and only major pilgrimage—and addressed not only them, but all his followers to come until the end times. One last time, he recounted all the principles he had been teaching for years, and each of his statements during the sermon were a human rights declaration. Masters of speech could indeed discern that every word of his final sermon resonated with his lifetime message. His audience, not unfamiliar with these sayings, perhaps was honored to hear those pearls from him again, though they were stated rather differently this time. The Prophet declared his message one last time to his community, a community of loyal followers who drank in his words and practiced them, to pass them on to the next generation.

The Sultan of Speech touched on many diverse issues that day, from the rights of God to family law, and laid down in one sense the core of his mission. The majority of all rights belongs to God, and thus he started his sermon, naming other rights according to their significance, though it may be to the extent of a passing note or an implication. “Fear God and refrain from disobeying Him” was his first word. As a matter of fact, belief in God and obeying Him with due respect would be an assurance and sanction of respect for all human rights. Lack of it would render respect for human rights very difficult, perhaps impossible.

Then he pointed to the duties and responsibilities of spouses to one another, repeatedly emphasizing that women are blessings preciously entrusted, and must be treated accordingly. He warned about the harmony within the family as an essential principle that makes a society what it is and urged us to fear God in this respect. He trod on all the deeply rooted customs from the time of ignorance.

Protection of one’s property, life, mind, religion, and progeny was one of the key issues he stressed over and over with refreshed breath, as if he was speaking from beyond, standing on the rim of the other world. “Your Lord is one, and your father is one: all of you are of Adam, and Adam was of soil,” and he raised his voice, offering a golden key to solve a major problem that afflicts our age like a plague.

In the sermons he delivered during the farewell hajj, he always referred to a grand court where each of us will be questioned on the minutiae of our lives, and enjoined us to carefully observe rights of all kinds. Certain issues of human rights have not yet been resolved even in modern times. Islam, however, established very firmly the principle of lawfulness centuries ago. Unless definitely judged, no one is a criminal, and even the convicted has certain rights that can never be taken away. No one should be interrogated based on probabilities; no one should be tortured. Each right is precious and should never be undermined. The power should be dependent on the right, and no right can be sacrificed against power.

Power has always been like the arch-enemy of truth, be it in social, economic, administrative, and political life. Those who have crude power used this power according to their own self-interest. They interpreted life as an arena of conflict and struggle, thus denied rights to others as much as their power and prevailing circumstances allowed them to; “I have the power!” they cried, as they deliriously raised their sword to the sky.

But for those who take the truth and what is right as their point of support, they have preferred the good pleasure of the True One, placing virtue over their personal interests as well as they could. They considered all rights as manifestations of the beautiful Divine name of the Truth, and observed them accordingly, as they have embraced all human beings as brothers and sisters, and rushed to their help when needed. Such truthful believers strived to restrain their carnal desires, and tried to live as mystics, spending their lives turned toward Heaven, thus turning this world into a heavenly garden.

These people of light used lasting solutions for the protection of minorities, laborers, children, the sick, the homeless, and the unemployed, through various funds and foundations. It was not basic human rights only that were under care in the world of Islam: others also had rights over the possessions of Muslims—it was a tax on the wealthy for those who were in need. And as they shared their belongings, believers were very careful not to make others feel indebted for this favor.

For as long as we represented our values, this is how we have believed, lived, and behaved. When significant junctions like belief, religion, and goodness have cracked apart, then falsehood has replaced the truth, the powerful have oppressed the weak, and rights have been violated. Then God has taken away from us consciousness of fraternity, feelings of security and compassion, respect for rights, and all the blessings He had graciously entrusted. Would He give them back? I do not know. But He always granted them to those who were truthful in their liabilities, faith, submission, and patience. He never deserted those who were loyal to their word and turned to Him in devotion to truth.

God has an infinite number of names, starting with the Truth
How great it is for a servant to uphold it,
Think, why did the blessed Companions read sura Asr,
Before they adjourned.
For well-versed in this chapter is the secret of salvation
True faith comes first, followed by prayer
By truth and perseverance: this is humanness,
When all four are combined, there are no more worries for you.
M. Akif

Original Article: Ramirez G. et al., Science 331, 211 (2011).

We have had to deal with tests and exams in academic and professional life from childhood on. Though we are motivated to perform our best, the pressure-filled situations generally cause us to perform below our abilities. University of Chicago researchers were interested in finding an intervention that would improve performance under such conditions, especially for those students who do not do well on exams because they are blocked by anxiety. Their study showed that simply writing down our thoughts and concerns immediately before a high-stress event can increase performance from 5–12 percent when it matters most. The simple brain-focusing exercise of writing down feelings for ten minutes before an exam reduces anxiety and increases exam scores significantly. The researchers concluded that writing allows individuals to reexamine the situation and revaluate concerns, reducing anxiety and increasing one’s ability to focus. This type of writing may help people perform their best not only on tests but also in variety of high-stress situations—a big presentation to a client, a speech to an audience, or even a job interview.

2- Life Without Starlight

Original Article: Hooper, D. & Steffen, J.H. (arXiv:1103.5086v1).

Liquid water is considered the common solvent to catalyze carbon-based life on planets. This assumption defines a rather tight region around stars, which is called the “habitable zone.” The energy absorbed from the host star through its light allows planets in the habitable zones to melt water into liquid. Water would either evaporate or remain ice if the planet is too close to or distant from the star. A recent study suggested that starlight may not be the only energy source that can convert ice into liquid water and maintain it in that state. Dark matter annihilation may produce enough heat in special circumstances for planets that may not be sufficiently heated by their host star. Ordinary matter constitutes only about 20 percent of the matter in the universe, while dark matter makes up about 80 percent of all matter. It is believed that dark matter weakly interacts with atomic nuclei. Therefore, one of the leading models for dark matter is called “weakly interacting massive particles” (WIMPs). In cases where dark matter interacts with nuclei, WIMPs can transfer momentum to the nucleus. Then they can get gravitationally captured and subsequently decay as energetic particles. This process can produce heat as a consequence. On Earth, the concentration of dark matter at its center is not sufficient to produce observable contributions to the planet’s total heat budget. However for planets around stars that are closer to the centers of their galaxy, where the concentration of dark matter is significantly higher, just enough heat may be produced by gravitationally captured and annihilated dark matter. The abundance of planets detected by NASA’s satellite mission-Kepler suggests that perhaps life in the universe might be more abundant than we thought.

3- How Much Digital Information Can Mankind Store?

Original Article: Hilbert, H. & López, P., Science 332, 60 (2011).

Have you ever wondered how much total information is stored by human beings? We store information in two different forms: analog storage such as books, printed photos, and audio cassettes, and digital storage such as hard drives, CDs, DVDs, and the like. A recent paper analyzed how the total information storage and processing ability of human beings changed between the years of 1986 and 2007. The study estimated that the total information stored as of 2007 is 295 exabytes. An exabyte is equal to one million terabytes or one billion gigabytes. If all this information was stored on CDs, this stack of CDs would reach beyond the moon. If it was stored in books, it would be enough to cover the entire United States with 13 layers of books. Interestingly, the information stored by DNA in one single human body is about 300 times larger than the entire amount of information stored by humanity. In 2000, only 25 percent of known information was stored in digital form; this ratio increased to 94 percent in 2007. The area in which the “information revolution” is most evident is computation. The study found that the global computing capacity increased by 58 percent per year during this time. But even at this fast rate of growth, in 2007 the total instructions per second that humankind can carry out on its general-purpose computers were about the same as the maximum number of nerve impulses executed by one human brain per second.

4- Tricking the Brain to Attack Alzheimer’s Disease

Original Articles: Atwal, J. K. et al., Science Translational Medicine 3, 84ra43 (2011) & Yu, Y. J. et al., Science Translational Medicine 3, 84ra44 (2011).

Alzheimer’s disease affects many people, especially in later stages of life, and as the lifespan of humans increases, it becomes much more prevalent everyday. The primary cause of Alzheimer’s disease is unknown, but scientists generally associate the disease with the appearance of plaques and tangles in brain cells, often caused by a protein called amyloid. Hence, a natural strategy would be to attack these proteins that form these plaques. Yet, the biggest obstacle in our brain is the blood-brain barrier, which prevents viruses and other unwanted visitors from entering our most delicate organ. Scientists have tried to overcome this barrier with many different drugs and strategies, but there is no clear winner yet. Two recent studies reported in Science Translational Medicine journal give us a new hope in our fight against Alzheimer’s disease. Scientists devised a clever strategy to trick the gatekeepers of the blood-brain barrier into escorting antibodies against the Alzheimer’s-associated proteins. This method reduced the levels of amyloid by up to 50 percent inside mouse brain cells. Designed antibodies had two arms—one arm to target the enzyme, BACE1, which produces the amyloid, and the other arm to bind to the transferring receptor, which in turn deceived the endothelial cells from the blood-brain barrier to internalize the antibody. There are many other brain disorders that we have a limited arsenal against because of the blood-brain barrier. Hence this new method can be used for these diseases, which opens up a whole new venue of targeting strategies.

Don’t most people think that being happy is the most important thing? Isn’t eating one of the most accessible pleasures we have? Why should people limit their culinary pleasures? More outrageous, why should we afflict ourselves by fasting? Why do Islam and Judaism restrict their adherents from the simple pleasure of food each year? For the entire month of Ramadan, Muslims fast from first light until sundown, abstaining from food, drink and marital relations. The Qur’an says, “Oh you who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that you may (learn) self-restraint” (2:183). Why should the Torah decree for Jews a day of fasting (Leviticus 16:29, 23:27) when for twenty-four hours adult Jews (in good health) are supposed to trouble their bodies by abstaining from eating, drinking and marital relations? Both religions teach us that what we do not eat may be even more important than what we do eat.

All animals eat, but only humans choose not to eat some foods that are both nutritious and tasty. Some people do not eat meat for religious or ethical reasons. Jews and Muslims do not eat pork for religious and spiritual reasons. On fast days such as Yom Kippur—the Day of Atonement and the ninth of Av (a day of mourning like the Shi’a observance of Ashura on the tenth of Muharram)—Jews do not eat or drink anything at all, and abstain from marital relations for twenty-four hours. Fasting results in many different outcomes that help bring us closer to God.

First of all, fasting teaches compassion. It is easy to talk about the world’s problem of hunger, easy to feel sorry that millions of people go to bed hungry each day. But not until one actually feels it in one’s own body does the impact truly hit home. Compassion based on empathy is much stronger and more consistent than compassion based on pity. It is a feeling that leads to action. Fasting is never an end in itself; it has many different outcomes. But none of the other outcomes are of real moral value if compassion is not enlarged and extended through fasting. As the prophet Isaiah said, “The truth is that at the same time you fast, you pursue your own interests and oppress your workers. Your fasting makes you violent, and you quarrel and fight. The kind of fasting I want is this: remove the chains of oppression and the yoke of injustice, and let the oppressed go free. Share your food with the hungry and open your homes to the homeless poor” (Isaiah 58:3-7).

Second, fasting is an exercise in will power. Many people think they can’t fast because it’s too difficult, but actually the discomfort of hunger pangs is relatively minor. A headache, muscle soreness from too much exercise, or a toothache are more severe than the pain temporary hunger produces. I have on one occasion fasted for three days, and found that after the first twenty-four hours the pain decreases slightly, as the stomach becomes numb. The real reason it is challenging to fast is because it so easy to break the fast, since food is almost always in easy reach — all you have to do is take a bite. Thus the key to fasting is the will power to decide again and again not to eat or drink. Our society has increasingly become one of self-indulgence; we lack basic self-discipline. Fasting opposes our increasing “softness” in life; when people exercise their will power to fast, they are affirming their self-control and celebrating mastery over themselves. We need continually to prove to ourselves that we can do it, because we are aware of our frequent failures to be self-disciplined.

The third outcome of fasting is improved physical health. Of course, one twenty-four hour fast will not have any more effect than one day of exercise; only prolonged and regular fasting promotes health. The annual fast on Yom Kippur can, however, awaken us to the importance of how much and how often we eat. For many years, research has shown that when animals are slightly underfed, receiving a balanced diet below the normal quantity for maximum physical health, their life spans were prolonged from 50 to 100 percent. With all the additives placed in food these days, a reduction of total food intake is healthful. More important, since our society has problems with overabundance, fasting provides a good lesson in the virtue of denial. Illnesses caused by overeating are increasing in affluent Western countries, such as the incidence of diabetes. Sixteen million people in the United States have diabetes, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Diabetes can lead to blindness, kidney disease, heart disease, nerve damage, amputation and sometimes death. The prevalence of the disease is related to high rates of obesity and sedentary lifestyles, which increase the risk of developing the disease. More than half of adults in Los Angeles are overweight, and 60 percent do not get regular exercise. One-fifth of all those who are obese will develop diabetes. Thus going without any food, or even water, for a twenty-four hour period challenges us to think about the benefits of the spiritual doctrine “less is more.”

Fourth in our list of outcomes is that fasting is a positive struggle against our dependencies. We live in a consumer society, and are constantly bombarded by advertising that tells us we must have this or that to be healthy, happy, popular, or wise. By fasting, we assert that we need not be totally reliant on external, material things, even essentials such as food. If our most basic need for food and drink can be suspended for twenty-four hours, how much more may we learn to limit our needs for all non-essentials? Judaism and Islam do not advocate asceticism as an end in itself; in fact, it’s against Jewish and Muslim law to deny ourselves normal physical pleasures. But in our overheated consumer society, it is necessary periodically to turn off the constant pressure to consume, and forcibly remind ourselves that “Man does not live by bread alone” (Deuteronomy 8:3).

Fifth, fasting serves as a penance. Though self-inflicted pain may alleviate some guilt, it is much better to reduce one’s guilt with offsetting acts of righteousness. This is why charity is an important part of Yom Kippur, and the same is true for Muslims during Ramadan. Indeed, Judaism teaches that fasting which doesn’t increase compassion is ignored by God. The concept of fasting as penance helps us to understand that our hunger pains can be beneficial. Contemporary culture desires happiness and comfort above all else. Any pain or suffering is seen as unnecessary, even evil. Though we occasionally hear people echo values from the past that suffering can help one grow, or that an existence unalloyed with grief would lack certain qualities of greatness, many today think that the primary goal in life is to always be happy and free from all discomfort. The satisfaction one derives from the self-induced pain of fasting provides insight into a better possible reaction to the normal, external suffering we will all experience throughout our lives. Taking a pill is not always the best way to alleviate pain, especially if by doing so we allay the symptoms without reaching the root cause.

Sixth, fasting is good for the soul. It often serves as an aid for spiritual experiences. For most people, especially those who have not fasted regularly before, hunger pains are a distraction. People who are not by nature spiritual or emotional individuals will probably find that a one-day fast is insufficient to induce an altered state of consciousness. Those who have fasted regularly on Yom Kippur might like to try a two- to three-day fast (liquids permitted after the first 24 hours). It is best to go about daily activities and devote late evening or early morning to meditation and prayer. Having already fasted for Yom Kippur, one may simply extend the fast another thirty-six to forty-eight hours. We are prohibited to fast prior to Yom Kippur; eating a good meal prior to Yom Kippur Eve is a mitzvah (religious duty), because Judaism, like Islam, opposes excessive asceticism.

The seventh outcome of fasting is the performance of a mitzvah, which is the one fundamental reason for fasting on Yom Kippur. We do carry out mitzvot (religious duties) in order to benefit ourselves, but because our duty as Jews requires us to do them. Fasting is a very personal mitzvah, with primarily personal consequences. Fasting on Yom Kippur is a personal offering to God, from each and every Jew who fasts. For more than 100 generations, Jews have fasted on this day; fasting is part of the Jewish people’s covenant with God. The principal reason to fast is to fulfill God’s commandment, but the outcome of the fast can be any of a half-dozen forms of self-fulfillment. But simply knowing that one has done one’s duty as a faithful Jew is the most basic and primary outcome of all.

Finally, fasting should be combined with the study of Torah (the five books of Moses specifically, or Scriptural texts in general). A medieval text states, “Better to eat a little and study twice as much, for the study of Torah is superior to fasting.” Indeed, the more one studies, the less one needs to fast. Fasting is a very personal, experiential offering. However, though study is also a personal experience, it takes place with a text and/or a teacher. The Divine will is often more readily and truly experienced in study or in spiritual dialogue with others than in solitary meditation.

May our fasting become a first step toward the removal of the chains of self-oppression and narrow-mindedness that enslave us, our neighbors, and our world! May future years of shared fasting by Muslims and Jews lead to a greater understanding and respect through increased acceptance of religious pluralism. May we always be part of those organizations and movements that are fully committed to contributing to world peace, and who are equally committed to respecting both our own religion and our neighbor’s.

Muslim scholar Fethullah Gulen points out that the Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) and some non-Abrahamic faiths (Hinduism) accept that there is only One source for all religions, and pursue the same goal. Gulen states: “As a Muslim, I accept all Prophets and Books sent to different peoples throughout history, and regard belief in them as an essential principle of being Muslim. A Muslim is a true follower of Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, and all other Prophets. Not believing in one Prophet or Book means that one is not a Muslim. Thus we acknowledge the oneness and basic unity of religion, which is a symphony of God’s blessings and mercy, and the universality of belief in religion.” Gulen’s description of universal religion as a symphony is an excellent illustration. One cannot have harmony if everyone plays the same notes; and one cannot have symphony if everyone plays the same instruments. Individual conductors and composers are different, but the source of musical creativity is One. According to a hadith narrated by Abu Huraira, Prophet Muhammad said, “The prophets are paternal brothers; their mothers are different, yet their religion is one (because they all have the same father)” (Bukhari, Book 55, Hadith 652).

Allen S. Maller is the former Rabbi of Temple Akiba in Culver City, California. He has authored several books and is currently the editor of a series of prayer books for the Jewish High Holy Days.