In this post-9/11 world, the word “Muslim” conjures up many images and has many connotations. Real knowledge or understanding of Islam and Muslims however, is few and far between.

In her book Surrendering to God, Dr. Tatari starts by expounding on the literal meaning of what it means to be a muslim, which we find is the verbal noun “submitter.” She explains that a person is a submitter (muslim) if and when he or she submits their mind, heart, and actions to the Will of God. From this perspective, the book not only appeals to those who profess a Muslim identity, but to everyone who strive to find answers to their existential questions and submit to their Creator.

The book addresses the basic existential questions that torment us when they remain unanswered. For those who are swept amidst the chores of life and feel they are about to drown without meaning, the book gives them the opportunity to pause and reset.

This book helps bridge the divide between what we know as Islam and what really is Islam. As a Christian, I found the overlap in the principles of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism comforting in an era when there is all too much emphasis on our differences.

Surrendering to God is not a how-to, nor is it an academic text. Instead, it is an occasionally biographical account of one woman’s journey deeper into her religion that manages to address the larger points of what being a follower of Islam means. Tatari is clear in emphasizing that this is her account, and should not be seen as the definitive guide. She also emphasizes that the relationship one fosters with their Creator is a personal one, that “Faith is a personal matter between a believer and her Creator.”

While very grounded, Surrendering to God frequently makes reference to beautiful passages that illustrate the beauty the author finds in her devotion. One example is when she states: “In Islam, human beings are not deemed to be intrinsically evil. We have the potential to be higher than angels or lower than animals.”

Dr. Tatari makes an important point that religion and science are not incompatible, and that questioning one’s religion is not a sin: “I have learned that this natural … questioning is a gift of God to find Him and that in numerous Qur’anic verses He urges us to question everything.” This is important because all too often to express curiosity, to question, and yes, to occasionally doubt is seen as the currency of the faithless or the “doubters” when in reality it is often the means of getting closer to God.

This book opens a fresh and insightful window into Islam as a practical lifestyle and way of life. Although it deals with theoretical concepts, it is wholly practical. It sheds light on Islam as a religion that is lived rather than just read.

While perhaps intended for Muslims (or muslims, as I have learned from the book that there is a distinction), this book makes great reading for those early on in their relationship with Islam, and for those who are just generally curious about Islam and what it means to be a muslim.

Surrendering to God is a thought-provoking read, no matter what one’s background is. This book will be inspiring to anyone who is trying to grow closer to God and reflect on what is truly important in life.

Dr. Rayna Flye is Research and Evaluation Specialist at Beaverton School District in Oregon.

Sarahsi’s commentary on this incident is quite thoughtful: “The judge must pay extreme attention to this matter because of the following saying of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him: ‘The noble one should not be hopeful for your favor, nor should the weaker despair of your unfair treatment.’ If the noble one is positioned in the front, he or she may raise hopes for the judge’s favoring them, which will dishearten the weaker who will be concerned of a possible injustice incurred on them.” (Sarahsi 1983, 61)

Let us consider this incident. An ordinary citizen, who happens to be a Christian, complains and files a case against the Muslim President of the country without any concern of the consequences. The Chief Justice of the fantastic Abbasid Empire is Imam Abu Yusuf, the great jurist of the Hanafi school of thought, second only to Imam Azam. He hears both parties without being able to bring them to the same level of seating, for he is too shy to ask the Caliph to rise up from where he is and stand next to the plaintiff. This would normally be perceived as a minor, even insignificant lapse; but the judge never forgets this for his entire life, and considers it his most grievous error. In fact, it so grieves him, it is the one lapse he asks God to forgive him for. On the other hand, Sarahsi’s comment is also worth analysis, as he does not deem this incident an insignificant one, but takes a very meticulous approach when he says, “The judge must pay extreme attention to this matter.” We should also keep in mind that this incident is not narrated in a fictional work of stories or legends, but in one of the fundamental sources of Hanafi jurisprudence, and this makes the incident even more significant and makes it sufficient to reflect, singlehandedly, Islam’s very accommodating and tolerant policy towards non-Muslims.

Forbearance, or tolerance, is kindheartedness without expecting anything in return, and it is more comprehensive than a mere word or slogan in Islamic terminology. It is an injunction in the religion, as it is firmly established by Divine revelation and explained by the Prophet. This duty upon believers has taken a material form in the Age of Happiness, during the reign of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, and throughout fourteen centuries of Islamic civilization. It is a product of the eternal and universal faith of Islam.

The Qur’an raised the columns of forbearance upon the Islamic foundations of life, universe, and mankind. Oneness is an attribute to God, and God alone; whereas all of creation is a manifestation of multiplicity, diversity, and differences. The basis of Islamic tolerance is that justice is obligatory. The Qur’anic description of God is “the Lord of the worlds,” the Lord of all mankind (Fatiha 1:1). As a result of this rationale, Islam embraces all the heritages of prophethood sent to all nations.

The Qur’an confirms the truthful acts of those who followed past prophets, corrects their faults or introduces new commandments (Maidah 5:48; Al Imran 3:3-4; A’raf 7:157-158).

Tolerant and just conduct towards non-Muslims was not only observed in the early days of Islam, but also in the following centuries. The Ottomans, from their onset in the late thirteenth century, particularly stand out for their political character. They prioritized avoiding internal conflicts with other principalities in Asia minor, and focused more on expanding westward to annex Byzantine towns. Their engagements with the non-Muslim people of these towns were never solely based on warfare and military power; instead, they cultivated relations based on fair treatment and tolerance. This diplomacy of fairness and forbearance paved the way for Orhan Bey (d. 1362) to have the gates of Bursa opened to him in peace in 1326 (Neşri 1983, 67; Akgündüz 1999, 430; Ihsanoğlu 1999, 422).

There is an overwhelming consensus among historians that the Ottomans were able to expand their territories in Asia Minor and the Balkans not only through military means but also through many social and ethical factors. Otherwise it is impossible to hold so many different ethnicities, with different faiths and languages, united (Eryılmaz 1990, 24). Sultan Mehmed II’s declaration on non-Muslims following the conquest of Istanbul is exemplary in terms of religious liberties, as he recognized the people’s freedom to worship in their own tradition; to conduct ceremonies as they did before; to travel freely; that their properties, shops, groves, farms, families, servants, and slaves were inviolable; that there was going to be no forced conversion to Islam; that their boys would not be conscripted; that they could choose their own community leaders; and that they would not be forced to work without compensation (Akgündüz 1999, 430; Ihsanoğlu 1999, 422-3).

The Ottoman policy on non-Muslims was mostly inspired from a judgment derived from a saying of the Prophet: “They (non-Muslims) have the same rights as we Muslims do; they are liable to the same duties as we Muslims are” (lahum ma lana wa alayhim ma alayna).

These rights and liberties the Ottomans recognized for the non-Muslim community become even more meaningful when compared with the situation in Europe during the same period of history. Bernard Lewis was visiting Turkey in the 1990s. In an interview for TRT (Turkish national network), the reporter asked him to comment on why, in the sixteenth through nineteenth centuries, there is almost no record of Turkish travelers in Europe, whereas there were quite a number of European travelers who travelled across the Ottoman territories. I am summarizing Lewis’ answer as follows: “In those centuries there was no obstacle for Europeans to travel in the Ottoman land, for the Ottoman government was a state of rule and law. Europeans could visit the country on a visa (musta’man), travel, and follow up on their business freely. The travelers were of different religions, but they could freely gather with their co-believers or the locals who spoke their own language and hold services in their places of worship. They did not feel homesick or alienated. On the other hand, however, a Muslim could no way dare to visit a European country in those centuries without forsaking his life. Fanaticism was at its peak in Europe.”

The Ottomans had almost no competition in championing the freedom of religious belief and practice as a cornerstone of social order. The Ottomans also had non-Muslim groups represented in the parliament as ministers and at other senior levels; there were sometimes almost as many as fifty non-Muslim members of parliament, especially in the nineteenth century.

A more recent event was when Assyrian Christians, in the city of Mardin, had to confront the Ottoman state in 1915. Following the internal conflicts between Muslims and Armenians during World War I, in which the Tashnak and Hinchak groups of Armenians massacred Turkish villages, the Union and Progress government of the Ottoman state passed a decision to send all Armenian citizens – with the exception of those residing in Istanbul – into exile. Despite the fact that Assyrian Christians were not involved in any of those incidents, state officers in Mardin wanted to send them into exile too, simply because they were also Christians. In the chaotic environment of war, murder and violence followed this decision, and Assyrians from Midyat armed themselves and gathered in the village of Aynverd (Gulgozu). They did not obey calls to concede their weapons, for they did not trust the state’s army. Shaikh Fethullah Hamidi, of the Mardin region, announced a religious ruling that it would not be lawful according to Islam to harm Assyrians, and that their lives, properties, and honor were inviolable. He further communicated with state officers and, after three months of persistent efforts, secured a warrant of safety for the Assyrians. Assyrians never forgot his selfless stance and hard work, and as a sign of appreciation, they hang his picture next to their patriarch in the Mardin Deyruzzaferan Patriarchate.

Inspired by these ideas, Fethullah Gülen, one of Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in 2013,” and the Hizmet Movement, which has developed around this thought and guidance, are trying to reflect the same spirit of dialogue among different nations, religions, and cultures around the world. Born out of Turkey, this movement is now active in around 140 countries. Their outreach extends to all walks of life, regardless of differences, and their achievements raise our hopes that the world can once more experience a time of tolerance and coexistence, at least to the same degree, if not higher, as in the historical examples described in this article.

Dr. Yildirim is a professor of Qur’anic exegesis in the School of Divinity, Fatih University, Istanbul.

References

• Akgündüz, Ahmet, Said Öztürk. 1999. Bilinmeyen Osmanlı, Istanbul: Osmanlı Araştırmaları Vakfı Yayınları.
• Eryılmaz, Bilal. 1990. Osmanlı Devletinde Gayrimüslim Tebaanın Yönetimi, Istanbul: Risale Yayınları.
• Gibbons, Herbert Adams. 1998. Osmanlı imparatorluğunun Kuruluşu, Translated by R. Hulusi (Özdem), Istanbul: 21.Yüzyıl Yay.
• Hamidi, Muhammed Sadık. 2002. Mardini Es-Seyyid Eş-Şeyh Hamid Evlad ve Torunları, Istanbul,.
• Ihsanoğlu, Ekmeleddin. 1999. Osmanlı Devleti Tarihi I-II, Istanbul: Zaman Gazetesi Yayınları.
• Serahsî, Şemsu’l-eimme. 1983. el-Mebsut, Istanbul: Çağrı Yayınevi.

This beach is one of the starkest reminders of the extent of human impact on oceans.

Kamilo Beach is not the only junk beach in the world. Similar trashed beaches exist in the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean and Baja California. The litter on these shores and in the seas is so excessive that it is even visible to the people on land. Out towards the open seas, huge garbage patches fill the middle of the ocean, like wide loops of rotating currents, also known as gyres (www.marinedebris.noaa.gov).

Gyres

Gyres are major surface currents that circle the oceans. They are driven by persistent winds and the Coriolis Effect which is caused by the Earth’s rotation. The human impact on oceans is displayed by the gyres. They gather trash released into seas from countries around the oceans and through rivers they carry the floating objects and trash spewed from fallen shipping containers.

This was dramatically demonstrated when a cargo of sports shoes were lost in the sea in 1990. The shoes floated and drifted with the currents. Eventually thousands of them washed up on shores from Alaska to California. The manufacturer provided the serial numbers of the lost shoes. Beachcombers responded to calls by researchers regarding the time and location that they found the beached shoes. When all the data points were combined, the gyre’s circulation period over 3 years was obtained. Tracking a spill of bathtub toys provided similar results.

Outsourcing of manufacturing overseas and worldwide supply chains are made possibly by networks of container shipping lines. For reasons of economies of scale, the containers are stacked precariously high on the decks. At rough seas in the open ocean, some of these containers are washed overboard. There are about 10 million 40-foot cargo containers in use in the world. Every year a few thousand of them are washed off the decks of ships in heavy seas. The lost cargo rarely becomes news; it often stays confidential among the ship owner, the importer, the exporter and the insurer. Many of the lost containers sink to the bottom of the ocean. However some of them float and release their contents. This is the source of the flotillas of running shoes, or the toys that get carried away by the currents and winds.

The great garbage patch in North Pacific Ocean covers an area double the size of Texas. Like a conveyor belt, North Pacific Subtropical Gyre rotates clockwise, carrying with it the natural or man-made floating objects. The life span of a gyre is about three years. The floating objects may end washed up at beaches or they may be drifted to the center of the gyre where the currents are weakest. This is where the garbage patch forms—from millions of tons of plastic and other debris covering millions of square miles (www.dels.nas.edu).

Plastics

Plastic nurdles are a significant part of the pollution. These tiny beads are used as raw material in manufacturing. They are carried in container loads across the oceans and are occasionally spilled in large amounts and dispersed at sea.

Compared to organic matter that rots, decays, and gets recycled back into biomass by organisms, plastic is durable. A single plastic water bottle can last for hundreds of years. Suspended in sea water, these plastic particles absorb toxic chemicals. When marine animals consume the floating plastic, disproportionately high levels of these toxic materials are accumulated in their bodies. Some of these animals end up as food on our dinner table. Yes, that plastic tossed into the sea returns back as poisonous seasoning in our diet!

Plastics are contaminating the food chain at different levels. The animals at sea mistake trash for food. The microscopic particles get absorbed by animals filtering sea water for food. Easily mistaken for jellyfish in water, plastic bags suffocate sea animals that ingest them for food. Larger items threaten sea birds and mammals. Seabirds die when their guts get clogged with swallowed plastic items, and other animals starve because their stomachs are full of debris (www.commerce.senate.gov/pdf/marinedebris).

Fishing

A serious source of marine debris is the fishing industry. Numerous fishing nets and floats get lost and are abandoned at sea. These nets, which may extend a distance of many miles, strangle turtles and other sea mammals. Fishing industries should be inspected to keep track of their gear. There are organizations like the Monterey Bay Aquarium (www.montereybayaquarium.org) that distribute information about environmentally friendly fishing. In a free market economy where people vote with their money, consumers should inquire about the sources of seafood and support fishermen that do not leave their nets behind.

Enforcement in open seas requires international cooperation. Vessels should be inspected at their ports of call. Volunteers spotting container ships may record differences in cargo and alert authorities for missing containers. Marine laws, fees, taxes, and insurance premiums can be updated to deter unsafe loading of container ships. In the long run, vessel designs, navigational routes, shipping schedules and weather monitoring should be improved for minimization of cargo loss. An international cooperation is essential to oversee these efforts. The balance sheet of shipping business should include the cost of loss-free transport of containers.

Human negligence

The seas appear to be vast, but we seem to have come to the limits of it by the sheer amounts of garbage dumped into the rivers and by the contamination by marine transportation. These are inescapable reminders that we have reached the limits of this resource. The sea often regurgitates whatever is dumped inside it. This is like a slap on the beach, where the ocean hits back at us with our own trash, not to praise us or show approval, but to bring before our eyes the chaos we have created.

The universe is granted with an internal maintenance system, recycling its own waste products, hence reflecting the absolute purity of the Divine in His creation. The responsibility of humans as “vicegerents” of the earth include using the Earth’s resources without dumping or wasting but safeguarding the environmental balance and acknowledging that every creation has its purpose in being and should be treated accordingly.

The trashed beaches and mid-ocean garbage patches are signs of the deadly and long lasting effects introduced by humans into the seas. This is totally avoidable. We should employ a zero waste approach to our consumption habits. Cost of reusing, recycling and safe disposal of products should be reflected in the price of goods. Laws and regulations should be updated and enforced to minimize the dispersion of long lasting contaminants into the environment. The shipping and fishing industries should be accountable for lost cargo and gear. The seabirds should not starve, and the turtles should not drown due to our negligence.

References

• Auman, H.J., Ludwig, J.P., Giesy, J.P., Colborn, T., (1997) “Plastic ingestion by Laysan Albatross chicks on Sand Island, Midway Atoll, in 1994 and 1995.” in Albatross Biology and Conservation, (ed by G. Robinson and R. Gales). Surrey Beatty & Sons:Chipping Norton. Pp. 239-44
• Spear, L.B., Ainley, D.G. & Ribic, C.A. (1995). “Incidence of plastic in seabirds from the tropical Pacific, 1984–91: relation with distribution of species, sex, age, season, year and body weight.” Marine Environmental Research 40: 123–146
• http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2003/feb/26/20030226-085636-3495r/
• Ebbesmeyer, Curtis; Eric Scigliano. 2009. Flotsametrics and the Floating World: How One Man’s Obsession with Runaway Sneakers and Rubber Ducks Revolutionized Ocean Science. London: Collins.

While general nearness, meaning God’s nearness to creation, encompasses everything and every person, particular nearness depends on belief and can be acquired by doing whatever God has decreed as good and right. This nearness to the Almighty is possessed by those who have discovered the way of nearness and, having entered the corridor leading to eternity, reach every morning and evening with a new, deep dimension of belief. Such people are included in the verse: “God is with those who keep from evil in reverence for God, and are doers of good” (16:128). Those who have obtained this rank recite: “Surely my Lord accompanies me and will guide me” (26:62) while inhaling, and: “Surely God is with us” (9:40) while exhaling.

In particular nearness, consciousness of belief and perfect goodness have the same worth and significance as light to seeing and soul to body. Performing obligatory and supererogatory religious duties with this consciousness are like wings of light that carry one toward the “skies” of infinitude. The safest, most acceptable, and direct way of nearness to God is performing obligatory religious duties; however, performing supererogatory religious duties, which have no limit and show loyalty and devotion to God, results in true nearness and the rank of being loved by God Almighty.

A traveler to God enters new corridors leading to eternity on the wings of supererogatory duties, and feels rewarded with new Divine gifts, which engender an even greater desire to perform obligatory and supererogatory duties. One awakened to this truth feels in his or her conscience the love of God in direct proportion to his or her love of God. As stated in the hadith qudsi¹:

“My servant cannot get near to Me through anything else more lovable to Me than doing the obligatory religious duties. However, by doing supererogatory duties he gets nearer to Me, and when he becomes near to Me, I shall be his eyes to see with, his ears to hear with, his hands to grasp with, and his legs to walk on.”

In short, such a believer is directed to act by the Divine Will.

Nearness acquired through performing obligatory duties is another title of the rank of one’s being loved by God, and is included among those loved by God. As for nearness acquired through performing supererogatory duties, this is the rank of all one’s acts being ascribed to God. It is a particular Divine bestowal and honoring, as pronounced in: “You (Believers) slew them not, but God slew them. And you (Muhammad) did not throw when you threw, but God threw” (8:17).

Nearness, a particular gift of God, cannot be credited to one’s actions without considering its Divine origin. Nearness to Him originates in His Greatness and Mercy, and remoteness from Him is one of the weaknesses and “dark pits” of our character or nature. The writer of Gülistan (The Rose Garden) aptly expresses the origin of nearness and remoteness:

The Friend is nearer to me than myself;
How strange it is that I am remote from Him.
What can I say and what can I do, that
While He is with me, I am distant from Him.

Remoteness means being distant from God and perishing. According to Sufis, the first indication of remoteness is the cessation of Divine gifts, and the final indication is that if a particular Divine help does not come, the person seeking it is completely lost and perishes. Just as degrees of nearness are based on whether one is an ordinary believer, a saint, a good and righteous person, or one brought near to God, remoteness also has its degrees in a line descending to Satan, who occupies the lowest point of perishing.

Nearness to God is a Divine favor, and remoteness from him is a deprivation. However, one cannot always feel his or her personal nearness to or remoteness from Him. The greatest favor of God is that He does not allow one to feel His (special) favor (e.g., being a saint or near to Him), lest the believer so honored should feel pride and thus lose such favor. As a result, those nearest to God are usually unaware of their nearness. However, one’s unawareness of his or her personal remoteness from God is a Divine reprisal. There are still others who, intoxicated with the love of God and making no distinction between nearness and remoteness, neither show desire for nearness nor worry over remoteness. The following couplet expresses the thoughts of such intoxicated souls:

Jami, worry yourself about neither nearness nor remoteness;
There is neither nearness nor remoteness, nor union nor parting.

It is an acknowledged fact that remoteness denotes horror and deprivation. However, some shiver because of the winds of awe blowing from nearness and feel themselves caught in the clutches of Divine wrath and destruction. Nearness to the King is a burning fire may express this mood. Nevertheless, if nearness may be likened to the slopes of Paradise that open to breezes of Divine familiarity and friendship, remoteness should be regarded as the pits of deprivation and loss.

¹ A Prophetic Tradition whose meaning belongs directly to God and the wording to the Prophet.

The first is the preservation of characteristic, long term data imprints that describes the development of an organism in the stable DNA sequences.

Second is the storage of medium term epigenetically featured data that is carried a couple of generations further down the cellular level. Epigenetic information is not stored within nucleotide sequences but in the chemical modifications of these sequences (like the methylation of repeated strings of GC dinucleotide).

Third is the storage of data generated as a result of dynamic interactions between proteins, RNA and DNA in order to adapt to the events and changes during cellular life cycle in the form of nucleoprotein or DNA-protein complexes.

The data generation and storage capacity of DNA in three different hierarchical levels and time periods demonstrates that genome plays a plethora of roles in cellular activities and heredity. Formatting of genome for its generation and storage of data is carried out via DNA sequences of various features. Genomic system is composed of repeating DNA sequences. DNA sequences (satellite) function as a marker as they repeat numerous times in various frequencies. Genome includes genomic folders similar to that of computer systems. These genomic folders, also known as the epigenetic index of genomes, are responsible for the remodeling of chromatin and the coordinated control of genomic functions. Repeating DNA sequences play a critical role in replication of genome (making a copy of DNA), dispersal of copied DNA into daughter cells and construction of support systems that enable organization of chromatins.

It is possible to better understand genomic functions in relation to examples such as memory sticks and hard drives that are used in electronic information systems. The difference between a genome as a basic data-information storage medium from a hard disc is that it can be replicated as required by its nature and these replicas can be transferred to daughter cells. Following examples could be given to illustrate that a genome gains function only when it interacts with various data processing modules in the cell.

1. A copy of genome is produced by cellular DNA replication system
2. Correct localization of each genome copy towards daughter cells is only possible when chromosome segregation system works (the centrosomes and microtubules)
3. The central transcription system is responsible for the copy of data from DNA to RNA. Different gene expression patterns are developed via regulation of transcription time and level with the help of transcription factors and a web of cell signalization.

Very intricately organized genomic system structures are designed through the successive combination of protein encoding sequences, signals distributed in various places and repeating DNA sequences. Formatting of genome resembles formatting of computer programs. Various repeated serial commands of computer software are used to allocate addresses to files independent of the original data contained; different computer systems use different signals and structures to manage programs. In a similar fashion, diverse living species often utilize repeating DNA sequences and chromosomal structures to organize the encoded information and to format their genomes.

Diversity and variation of repeating DNA sequences are building blocks that are constructed into different genomic system structures. Genomes of different organisms bear characteristic system morphology just like computers with various operating systems and hardware. For instance, animal cells are created as a good model to take and incorporate foreign DNA into their genomes. Genetic data transfer among organisms of the same kind is referred to as “vertical gene transfer” whereas transfers between different species, genuses and classes are called “horizontal gene transfer.” Mobile DNA sequences like transposons are very effective horizontal gene transfer agents.

Cellular differentiation and morphogenesis (formation of tissue and organ from cell) is not programmed completely in the primary structure of the DNA sequence. Components of modular programs are encoded in a flexible way and a continuous renewed and recombined arrangement is enabled when needed.

The reason behind creation of different organisms from a single genome is this utilization of such genomic structure. Metamorphosis, that is the development of different organisms like invertebrates such as a caterpillar and a butterfly, is a good example of this feature.

Two organisms from the perspective of the same genomic protein and RNA codes can be considered as two different species. Different genomic structures and repetition of sequences among different organisms are distinctive criteria for the identification of species since these features can lead to mismatch of reproductive cells, different expression patterns of genetic code sequences, and may cause ecological diversity as well. That is why repeated DNA sequences are very important in studying parental relationships. Today, microsatellite DNA as repeated DNA sequences are used to configure biological relations among individuals in forensic sciences. Plant species vary in respect to the repeated sequences in centromeres in their chromosomes; these variations are used for identification of species. Main determinants of genomic system structure are diversity, frequency, and genomic localization of repeated DNA sequences. To explain this with examples, we could say that successively repeated sequences at centromeres, telomere repetitions and transcription, packing of chromatin, repeated sequences that are spread throughout genome in charge of cellular functions like nucleus localization are the main elements of the genome system structure. Genome is a single integrated system that is controlled closely and remotely via communication webs that use repeated sequences.

While explaining the Qur’anic concept of the Manifest Record (36:12) Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, the great renovator of Islamic thought in Turkey in the twentieth century, wrote that the Manifest Record expresses one aspect of Divine knowledge that is related “more to the past and future than to the present. It is a book of Divine Destiny that contains the origins, roots, and seeds of things, rather than their flourishing forms in their visible existence” (30th Word, Second Aim).

Inspired from this view, a seed can be considered as a tiny adorned form of Divinely creative command as programs and indexes and as a determinant for those programs and indexes in the organization of an entire tree. Since the Manifest Record book, as a title of Divine knowledge and command, observes the past and the future rather than the present, the genome of a grain or a seed acts like a library and an archive in which the future and past of an organism is written.

Sequences encoding different information in DNA

Different information types corresponding with various DNA sequences exist in the genome. These DNA sequences that were considered junk for a long time because they were not coding proteins, have in fact been found to be responsible for an amazing array of functions in genomic structure. Some of these sequences include:

1. Group determining sequences that enable coordinated or successive expression of genes,
2. Sequences acting as a marker in charge of initiation and termination during transcription of DNA to RNA ,
3. Signal sequences responsible for conversion of primary immature RNA, sequences into smaller functional RNA molecules,
4. Transcription control sequences that determine the expression frequency of genes,
5. Sequences that identify and mark the initiation regions for intensification and remodeling of chromatins,
6. Sequences that make binding regions which affect the relocation of genome in nucleus or nucleolus,
7. Sequences that target regions where covalent DNA modification (methylation) with functional groups like methyl takes place,
8. Sequences that control and identify the regions responsible for initiation of DNA replication,
9. Sequences that make the structures which enable completion of replication at terminal ends,
10. Sequences at the segregation points that enable equal distribution of copied DNA molecules into daughter cells and centromere sequences,
11. Sequences responsible for guidance during repair of DNA bound errors and damages,
12. Start point sequences used for repackaging of genomes,

Recurring sequences exist in the genomes of many organisms and shows great structural diversity. Recurring elements function as an initiator or terminator for heterochromatin regions. Furthermore they form an important scaffold and binding spots for folding of DNA structure. As if they carry out the job of an architectural mold in specific shaping of genome to be packed into a very limited area. The ratio of repeating sequences in genome (60-90%) is much more than sequences that are encoding proteins and RNA (10-40%). To explain it with an example, chromosomes in human genome are made up of packages of protein-DNA such as heterochromatin and euchromatin. Heterochromatin regions usually make up the regions with no transcription whereas euchromatin regions feature DNA transcription.

The ratio of protein encoding sequences to the entire human DNA is approximately 1.2%. Around 43% of euchromatin regions are composed of recurring and mobile DNA elements. 18% of heterochromatin region is also made of satellite (dense repeating sequences) and mobile DNA elements. Therefore almost 50% of human genomic DNA is composed of these repeating DNA sequences. In bacteria however, these only make up around 5-10% of the genome. These sequences were described as parasitic and junk individual DNA structures up until today and still continues to be described thus by many researchers and scientist. Nevertheless, even today, mobile DNA elements and repeating sequences are accepted as genomic parasites. Recent advances in the last ten years that have demonstrated this is not true, have instead revealed the vital importance of repeating sequences in genomic functions.

Repeating DNA sequences affect chromatin (dense pack of DNA and protein) structure in two ways. Irregular repeating DNA sequence copies contain binding regions for proteins that organize DNA. Heterochromatin (darker since it is densely packed chromatin) inhibits transcription and recombination, delays replication, and generally blocks the reading of information in DNA sequences that contain genetic coding. Heterochromatin regions are distributed throughout the chromosome. Because of this, presence of regions with coupled successive repeated sequences triggers heterochromatin formation.

In fruit flies, placement of protein encoding loci required for eye pigmentation near the heterochromatin blocks in centromeres (phenomenon of position effect) is provided via organization of chromosomes and thus, formation of phenotypic characters are inhibited. The “phenomenon of position effect” is convincing evidence that genome is a major system which is integrated with composition of partially repeating DNA sequences. When heterochromatin amount is increased in XYY male fruit flies, reorganized pigmentation of eye expression decreases. In XO males, when heterochromatin amount decreases, inhibition becomes severe. Changes in levels of protein which binds to special heterochromatin specific DNA regions generate opposite effects. Decrease in these proteins reduces or suppresses “phenomenon of position effect.” Surplus synthesis of these proteins also enriches this effect.

Repeating DNA sequences play an important role in the transfer of genome into daughter cells. For instance, they function in formation of the centromeres as chromosomal binding regions for microtubules, during gamete formation as linear terminals of chromosomes are replicated, and during chromosomal matching. Distribution of repeating sequences plays a major role in configuration of genomic functions. Each genome has genomic system structure that is shaped dependent on the amount of repeating DNA sequences to a major extent.

Going back to Nursi’s explanation of the Manifest Record, we can draw a parallelism between the book of the universe and the book of revelation, the first of which shows us that certain sequences in the genome are repeated for significance and necessity, just as many verses are repeated frequently in the Qur’an with nuances to refer to different meanings, benefits, and purposes, opening a wider space for many interpretations.

A genome is not only a book that contains protein and RNA codes, but also has a complex system structure with many functions for cellular vitality. The most needed sequences are those that are repeated more frequently. They are not pieces of junk DNA as predicted, they are jewels Divinely constructed.

References

• Shapiro J. A. 2001. “Genome Formatting for Computation and Function :Genome Organization and Reorganization in Evolution: Formatting for Computation and Function.” Presented at a symposium on “Contextualizing the Genome,” Ghent University, Belgium, November 25 – 28, 2001 (Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., in press)
• Shapiro, J.A. 2005. “A 21st century view of evolution: genome system architecture, repetitive DNA, and natural genetic engineering.” Gene 345, pp: 91–100.
• Shapiro J. A. and Sternberg R. V. 2005. “Why repetitive DNA is essential to genome function.” Biol. Rev., 80, pp. 1–24. Cambridge Philosophical Society.

In order to find your new self in tranquility

As you transformed, the sanctuary became the enemy

Demolishing your home turned out to be your first duty

Don’t worry, you will be okay

You didn’t belong there anyway

Embrace life, or else you will be cast away

Remember, you have only a single day

You are now like a newborn star in dreams

Behold your beauty and elegant limbs

Feel the air flow by you, flip your wings

Taste the drops of life on the leaves

I wish I were you, just like a baby

My smiles could buy world’s sympathy

And my cries would enslave everybody

Each day, sailing towards a new discovery

But, what is it that you are still searching in pain?

Don’t tell me all this splendor is in vain

You are a blossom in the air, don’t be insane

I cannot reason your ceaseless disdain

Oh butterfly, you have woken me up

Is this face mine or is it makeup

Or, am I you in my dream? Reality is messed up

After a life-long delusion, I need a clean up

I am now seeking a beauty

One that I saw in a dream I don’t remember

From one flower to another, alas I cannot find it.

I am starving, how am I going to survive?

But my yearning for the beauty becomes my food.

A beauty whose absence is so powerful,

I cannot even imagine reunion with it,

A beauty that is with me, but I am far from it.

Seth Mette is a professor of aerospace engineering

The harmful foodstuff eaten is spat out quickly through vomiting and so damages of such foodstuff is minimized. Occurring upon taking of any poisonous food or alcohol, vomiting directly contributes to treatment by ensuring a quick disgorge of the harmful stuff. Variations in amounts of estrogen and progesterone hormones during pregnancy helps in noticing even the least amount of toxins (poisons) found in the blood by way of increasing sensitivity of the chemoreceptor trigger zone within the brain stem. When this zone of the brain takes notice of toxins in the blood, it immediately activates feeling of nausea and vomiting. Margie Profet, a researcher from the University of California at Berkeley was the first person who drew attention to this issue in 1995. She asserted that food craving is a divinely merciful mechanism aiming at protection of the miraculously developing embryo against probable dangers within the human body. She also asserted that food craving protects the embryo from natural toxins in foods. Vomiting may also happen to travellers and sufferers of migraine. Certain psychological factors such as unpleasant smell and excessive fear may result in vomiting as well.

If, however, vomiting recurs and turns out to become a habit, one should be careful, for vomiting causes new problems such as electrolyte losses and dehydration while irritating the alimentary canal, throat, mouth and teeth through which vomited matter passes. In addition to these, regurgitating might be inadvisable and indeed should be avoided in certain cases of poisoning which develop due to ingestion of petroleum products and burning chemicals like hypochlorite and ammonia which are used in house cleaning. The reason for this is because petroleum products may cause pulmonary infection of chemical origin in the lungs and burning chemicals may cause scalds on the tissues they touch during regurgitating.

Just like all the systems that our bodies are equipped with, vomiting also happens in accordance with a plan and program during which a wonderful co-ordination is displayed. The vomiting center in the brain is responsible for such co-ordination.

Rapid increase in salivation and nasal secretion prior to vomiting plays a key role in alleviating damages of the highly acidified vomited matter over the interior surfaces of the mouth and nose. Increased salivation helps with the protection of tooth enamel too. The pushing process of the foods eaten normally occurs from the intestines towards the bowels during the course of digestion. However, it reverses and occurs from the intestines towards the stomach during which the muscles of gastrointestinal tracts relax, open and the contents of the intestines are thus gathered in the stomach. Taking deep breaths prior to vomiting decreases the need for breathing during vomiting and blocking of the air passage by vocal cords’ converging prevents aspiration, that is, the passage of contents of stomach to the lungs. If such mechanisms did not exist, every vomiting attack might have ended catastrophically. Breathing attempts apply negative pressure on the rib cage and convulsion of stomach muscles applies positive pressure within the abdomen in spite of the converging of vocal cords. A pressure decrease is observed in order for contents of the stomach to be regurgitated. Muscles of the gastrointestinal tract tighten while muscles of the gate between alimentary canal and stomach relax just before vomiting. So, regurgitating via alimentary canal occurs without passage of stomach contents to intestines. Upon completion of vomiting, there is the disappearance of abdominal convulsions and the secretion of endorphin in the blood, so a person breathes sigh of relief.

In conclusion, although vomiting is perceived as something which is seemingly unpleasant, it is indeed a fine product of Divine artistry like all other systems and mechanisms of our body. Vomiting, as one of the proofs that God has created nothing useless and unnecessary, is certainly a great blessing bestowed upon us.

References

• “Sickening sounds – research to make your ears cringe.” University of Salford. January 28, 2007.
• Lunsden, K, and Holden WS. 1969. “The act of vomiting in man.” Gut 10: 173-179.
• Margie Profet (1995) Protecting Your Baby-to-Be: Preventing Birth Defects in the First Trimester. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. pp. viii, 312.
• Flaxman, S.M. and P.W. Sherman 2000. “Morning sickness: A mechanism for protecting mother and embryo.” Quarterly Review of Biology June 2000. 75:1-36.

Abraham

Abraham is a figure mentioned in the Torah, Bible, and Qur’an whom Jewish, Christian and Muslim believers regard as the founding patriarch of the Israelites and Ishmaelites. In the Jewish tradition, God promised Abraham that through his offspring, all the nations of the world would come to be blessed (Genesis 12:3), interpreted in Christian tradition as a reference to Christ. Abraham’s generations are presented as part of the crowning explanation of how the world has been fashioned by the hand of God and how relationships of peoples were established by Him. Biblical narratives represent Abraham as a wealthy, powerful and supremely virtuous man. In the New Testament, Abraham is mentioned prominently as a man of faith and an obedient man of God (Hebrews 11). For Muslims, he is a prophet and the ancestor of the Prophet Muhammad through his son Ishmael. He is commonly termed “Khalil Ullah,” the friend of God. Those who maintained the pure monotheistic beliefs of Abraham after him were said to be Hanif, people who rejected idolatry and retained some of the tenets of the religion of Abraham. Well after God’s covenant relationship with Abraham had been established (Gen 13:14-18), he meets with a mysterious character, “… Melchizedek king of Salem …priest of God Most High” (Gen 14:18). Melchizedek blessed Abraham who paid him tithes. On his covenant pilgrimage, Abraham is aided and supported by someone outside of God’s newly formed covenant with him. Both figures benefit from each other and respect the Divine connection each has, even though different kinds of relationships with God are evident. Abraham believed in God and was accordingly called to be the father of many nations; Melchizedek was the king of Salem and a priest. Both individuals were God’s people and though different, one could bless the other, and the other paid worshipful respect with a tithe in response.

Because Abraham’s wife Sarah continued to be infertile, in accordance with custom she gave to Abraham her handmaid Hagar as his wife (Gen 16:3). Sarah found that Hagar was expecting a child, and unable to endure the reproach of barrenness, she dealt harshly with Hagar and forced her to flee (16:1-14). God heard Hagar’s sorrow and promised her that her descendants will be too numerous to count (17:20).

Hagar

Hagar, according to the Abrahamic faiths, was a handmaiden of Sarah, wife of Abraham. Her story is reported in the Book of Genesis in Judeo-Christian tradition. In Islam, her story is mentioned in the Qur’an. Hagar was the daughter of the King of Maghreb, a descendant of the Islamic prophet Salih. Her father was killed by Pharaoh and she was captured and taken as slave. Later, because of her royal blood, she was made mistress of the female slaves and given access to all of Pharaoh’s wealth. Upon conversion to Abraham’s faith, the Pharaoh gave Hagar to Sarah.

After Sarah gave birth to Isaac, she told Abraham to cast out Hagar with her son Ishmael, and according to Judaic teachings, God commanded Abraham to obey his wife’s wishes and expel Hagar and Ishmael into the desert alone. Abraham was reluctant to send his son away, but God promised to make a great nation out of Ishmael because he was Abraham’s offspring. So early one morning, Abraham took bread and a container of water and sent Hagar and his son Ishmael away.

According to the Islamic tradition, Abraham brings Hagar and Ishmael to Mecca where angel Gabriel shows him the Ka‘ba. The objective of this journey is to “resettle” rather than “expel” Hagar. The journey begins in Syria, when Ishmael is still suckling. Finally, upon reaching the site of the Ka‘ba, Abraham leaves Hagar and son Ishmael under a tree and provides them with water. Hagar, learning that God had ordered Abraham to leave her in the desert, respects his decision. Muslims believe that God ordered Abraham to leave Hagar in order to test his obedience to God’s commands. However, soon Hagar runs out of water, and baby Ishmael is about to die of thirst. Hagar panics and climbs two nearby mountains repeatedly in search for water. After her seventh climb, Ishmael scratches the ground, and water gushes forth from a spring.

Ishmael

Both Jewish and Islamic traditions consider Ishmael as the ancestor of the Arab people. Judaism maintains that Isaac rather than Ishmael was the true heir of Abraham. Chapters 16-25 of the book of Genesis contain the stories of Ishmael which was partly mentioned above. The New Testament contains few references to Ishmael (Galatians 4).

The circumcision of Muslims has its roots in the tradition that Abraham and Ishmael were circumcised. Abraham and Ishmael are also said to have built the foundations of the Ka‘ba. Islamic traditions hold that the Ka‘ba was first built by the first man, Adam. Abraham and Ishmael rebuilt the Ka‘ba on its foundations. In addition, Ishmael was the actual son that Abraham was called on to sacrifice. To support this view Muslims believe that at the time Ishmael was his only son and the promise to Sarah of Isaac followed by Jacob excluded the possibility of a sacrifice of Isaac.

Sarah at first loved Ishmael, but when she herself had borne Isaac, she was not willing that Ishmael should be brought up together with Isaac. She persuaded Abraham to send Ishmael and his mother to some distant country. But Ishmael was very dear to Abraham. He initially refused to do as Sarah asked, but he finally gave in to his wife’s request when God told him that He would take care of Ishmael, since he was a descendant of Abraham.

Being a loving father and husband, Abraham did not want to send Hagar and Ishmael away (or leave them). However, he was a Prophet, and he knew that Divine message was much more important that anything else, even his own family. He had spent many lonely nights praying and asking for God to give him a child. God gave him Ishmael, the first child to be named by God, and now he was sending that child away. In addition, at least in the Islamic tradition, he was commanded to sacrifice the same child for His sake. I believe that as ordinary human beings, we cannot imagine his sorrow and sadness. He left Hagar and Ishmael in the wilderness, and then prayed:

“O our Lord! I have settled my offspring (Ishmael) in an uncultivable valley near Your Sacred House (Ka‘ba), so that, our Lord, they may establish the prayer; so make the hearts of people incline towards them, provide them with the produce of earth (by such means as trade), so that they may give thanks” (Abraham 14:37).

Ishmael’s wives

Hagar lived in the valley near the Ka‘ba until some people from the Arab tribe of Jurhum, or a family from Jurhum, passed by her and her child as they were passing by the Ka‘ba. They landed in the lower part of Mecca where they saw a bird that was known for flying around water circling over a particular spot. They said: “This bird must be flying around water, though we know that there is no water in this valley.” They sent one or two messengers who discovered the source of the water and returned to inform the others. When they all came towards the water, Ishmael’s mother Hagar was sitting near it. They asked her: “Do you allow us to stay with you?” She replied: “Yes, but you will have no right to possess the water.” They agreed. Ishmael’s mother was pleased with the whole situation, as she loved to enjoy the company of people. So, they settled there, and later on they sent for their families, who came and settled with them so that some families became permanent residents there. Ishmael grew up and learned Arabic from them and his virtues and manners made the rest of the tribe love and admire him as he grew up, and when he reached the age of puberty, they made him marry a woman from among them.

According to the book of Genesis (21:21), Ishmael lived in the wilderness of Paran, a mountain range in Mecca, and his mother made him wed someone from Egypt. His wife’s name is never mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. However, when we look at The Book of Jasher, a Hebrew midrash, which is named after the Sefer HaYashar mentioned in Joshua and 2 Samuel, we find that her name is Ribah (or Meribah) (Jas 25:15) (Parry 2005, 68). After Ishmael divorced Ribah, he wed someone else from the land of Canaan, and her name was Malchuth (Jas 25:18) (Parry 68). The reason for the divorce was because his first wife, Ribah was rude to Abraham when he came to visit Ishmael, she beat her children, and she cursed and reproached Ishmael. Abraham left a message for Ishmael to put her away. His second wife, Malchuth was a woman of Canaan who honored Abraham and was approved by him as a good wife. Although most of the Islamic sources do not mention the names of Ishmael’s wives, let us listen to their stories as recounted by the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him:

“After Ishmael’s mother had died, Abraham came after Ishmael’s marriage in order to see his family that he had left before, but he did not find Ishmael there. When he asked Ishmael’s wife about him, she replied: ‘He has gone in search of our livelihood.’ Then he asked her about their way of living and their condition, and she replied: ‘We are living in misery; we are living in hardship and destitution,’ complaining to him. He said, ‘When your husband returns, convey my salutation to him and tell him to change the threshold of the gate (of his house).

When Ishmael came, he seemed to have felt something unusual, so he asked his wife: ‘Has anyone visited you?’ She replied: Yes, an old man of such-and-such description came and asked me about you, and I informed him, and he asked about our state of living, and I told him that we were living in a hardship and poverty.’ On that Ishmael said: ‘Did he advise you anything?’ She replied: ‘Yes, he told me to convey his salutation to you and to tell you to change the threshold of your gate.’ Ishmael said: ‘It was my father, and he has ordered me to divorce you. Go back to your family.’ So, Ishmael divorced her and married another woman.

Then Abraham stayed away from them for a period as long as God wished and called on them again, he did not find Ishmael. So he came to Ishmael’s wife and asked her about Ishmael. She said: ‘He has gone in search of our livelihood.’ Abraham asked her: ‘How are you getting on?’ asking her about their sustenance and living. She replied: ‘We are prosperous and well-off (we have everything in abundance).’ Then she thanked God.

Then Abraham said to Ishmael’s wife: ‘When your husband comes, give my regards to him and tell him that he should keep firm the threshold of his gate.’ When Ishmael came back, he asked his wife: ‘Did anyone call on you?’ She replied: Yes, a good-looking old man came to me,’ so she praised him and added: ‘He asked about you and I informed him, and he asked about our livelihood and I told him that we were in a good condition.’ Ishmael asked her: ‘Did he give you any piece of advice?’ She said: Yes, he told me to give his regards to you and ordered that you should keep firm the threshold of your gate.’ On that Ishmael said: ‘It was my father, and you are the threshold (of the gate). He has ordered me to keep you with me.” (Khan 1996, #583)

Ishmael’s children

According to the Bible, Ishmael had 12 sons who became twelve tribal chiefs. The twelve sons of Ishmael, were named Nebaioth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah (Gen 25:12-16). The descendants of Ishmael are described as “Arabian” people. Some Biblical scholars also believe that the area outlined in Genesis as the final destination of Ishmael and his descendants (from Havilah to Assyria) refers to the Arabian Peninsula. The Ishmaelites were a confederation of tribes like early Israel.

Nebaioth: More information is known about Ishmael’s eldest son Nebaioth than any of the others. The name Nebaioth is said to mean “prophecies” or possibly fruitful (this is the reason why the list of names here have begun with the one signifying prophecy because a prophet, Prophet Muhammad, was going to come from among Ishmael’s descendants). Nabataeans, a pastoral tribe was named after him. Nabataeans conferred their names on the Arabian nations. These Nabataeans spoke and wrote an early form of Arabic and thus they were often referred to as “Arabs” by Greek and Roman historians.

Arabic inscription form Jebel Ghunaym, dating to the sixth century BC or significantly later, speak of a war between the people of Nebaioth and the people of Tema, another son of Ishmael (Knoppers 2003, 278). They must have disliked each other because they were not from the same mother. On the other hand, even though they were from different mothers, there was a marital relationship between the people of Nebaioth and Edomite groups who were also known as the descendants of Mishma, the son of Ishmael. In the Bible, the tribe of Nebaioth and Kedar were renowned for sheep raising (Isaiah 60:7). Isaiah says that Nabataeans first settled in the country southeast of Palestine, and wandered gradually in search of pasturage till they came to Kedar.

Nabataeans established bases in a number of seaports. While most of us think of the Nabataeans as people who transported goods in the desert by camel caravan, it has become increasingly evident that the Nabataeans were also a sea trading people. The Nabataeans built an impressive civilization based on merchant trade and their capital was originally the city of Petra, southern Jordan.

Kedar: The sons of Kedar became known as the Kedarites. They were the most powerful tribe of northern Arab tribes (Klein 2006, 72). The Kedarites were the main military power of the sons of Ishmael. They were known for their fighters and particularly their archers. Evidently, the Kedarites occupied a position of power and glory in the ancient near east. The Kedarites and the Nabataeans attacked the western borders of Assyria, kingdom of northern Mesopotamia that became the centre of one of the great empires of the ancient Middle East, but were defeated. The commercial routes in northern Arabia were under the dominion of the Kedarites, too. Because of that great power, Ezekiel 27:21 associates Arabia with all of the princes of Kedar, suggesting a confederation under their leadership.

Kedar means “blackness or sorrow.” The tribes of Kedar are said to have lived in villages, a mode of life also characteristic of all 12 twelve Ishmaelite tribes. Some of them lived alone (Jer 49:31) in tents which were black in color (Cohen 1962, 9:3).

Adbeel: The name Adbeel is said to mean “vapor,” and this signifies that Islam puts emphasis on works, and according to the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, working is equal to worshipping. The people of Adbeel also had great military power like the Kedarites. They were given the duty as the Assyrian king’s agent on the borders of Egypt (Cohen 1:45).

Mibsam: The name Mibsam which means “sweet odor” underlines the sensitivity of Islam. It is said that this tribe may be involved in the spice trade, too.

Mishma: The name Mishma means “hearing.” Islam is a religion which has a scripture, the Qur’an, and Qur’an means recitation. The revelations given to the Prophet Muhammad were by hearing. Some historians have wondered if the descendants of Mishma were the founders of the villages around Jebel Mishma. It is thought that these two tribes, Mibsam and Mishma may have intermarried with the Simeonites (I Chronicles 4:24-27) and disappeared from history as a separate entity.

Dumah: Dumah is mentioned in the Biblical records as a city in Canaan (Joshua 15:52). It is also associated with Edom and Seir in Isaiah 21:11. Dumah, which means “silence”, was in ancient times a very important and strategic junction on the major trade route between Syria, Babylon, Najd and the Hejaz. This area has water, and was a stopping place for caravan traders coming from Tayma, before proceeding on to Syria or Babylonia. This strategic location effectively made Dumah the entrance point to north Arabia.

Massa: Massa means “touch or produce.” Archeologists Winnett and Reed discovered some graffiti texts mentioning the tribe Massa, in connection with Dedan and Nebaioth. These texts refer to the war against Dedan, the war against Nebaioth and the war against Massa. Therefore, these tribes appear to have been close to each other at this time (Cohen 3:299).

Some expositors of the scripture have taken notice of the signification of those last three names (Mishma, Dumah, and Massa) which are put together (Gen 25:14), as containing good advice to us all, Mishma, Dumah, and Massa, that is, hear, keep silence, and bear; we can see them together in the same order in James 1:19, “Be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath.”

Hadad: Some historians speculate that this tribe may have become known as the Harar, or the Hararina people that lived near the mountains northwest of Palmyra (Cohen 2:507). It is also interesting to notice that there is a Hadad tribe in Arabia. Most of the Hadads are now Christians, and are located throughout Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine.

Tema: Tema is usually associated with the ancient oasis of Tayma, located northeast of the Hejaz district. Tiglath Pileser III, the king of Assyria, received tributes from Tayma, as well as from other Arabian oasis. A coalition was made up of Massa, the city of Tayma, the tribes of Saba, and Adbeel. Once defeated, these tribes had to send tribute of gold, silver, camels and spices of all kinds (Cohen 4:533). Isaiah 21:13-14 invites the people of Tayma to provide water and food for their fugitive countrymen, in an apparent allusion to Tiglath Pileser’s invasion of North Arabia. By the first century BC, the Nabataeans began to dominate Tayma and it slowly became a part of their trading empire.

Jetur: A tribe descended from Ishmael which was at war with the Israelites of Transjordan.

Naphish: The name Naphish means “one who refreshes himself.” The people of Jetur and Naphish were the enemies of the Reubenites, Gadites, and Manasseh (I Chr 5:19).

Kedemah: The name Kedemah means “eastward.”

Basemath or Mahalath: Besides these 12 sons, Ishmael had a daughter. According to Gen 28:9, her name is Mahalath, but Gen 36:3 says that her name is Basemath. Rebekah, the wife of Isaac, complained about the Hittite wives of Esau, and Isaac charged Esau, “You shall not marry one of the Canaanite women” (Gen 28:6). In order to please his father, Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath, daughter of Ishmael, and sister of Nebaioth. We could say that Esau looked for happiness among the descendants of Ishmael because he knew that like his father Isaac, Ishmael was also the subject of the Divine promises.

It is interesting that as considered true heir of Abraham, Isaac had just two sons, yet Ishmael had 12 sons and one daughter. After many years passed, Abraham came to visit Ishmael, checked up on his family and their well being, and showed that he never forgot Ishmael because he knew who Ishmael was. Ishmael was the first son of Abraham, and the first child named by God and regarded as the fulfillment of a Divine promise.

References

• Cohen, S. “Nebaioth.” 1962. The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.
• Khan, Muhammad Muhsin. 1996. The English Translation of Sahih Al Bukhari with the Arabic Text, Al Saadawi Publications.
• Klein, Ralph W. 2006. I Chronicles. ed. Thomas Kruger. Minneapolis: Fortress Press.
• Knoppers, Gary N. 2003. I Chronicles 1-9: The Anchor Bible Dictionary. New York: Doubleday.
• Parry, J. H. 2005. The Book of Jasher. New York: Cosimo, Inc.
• Unal, Ali. 2006. The Qur’an with Annotated Interpretation in Modern English. New Jersey: Tughra Books.
• Wenham, Gordon J. 1994. Genesis 16-50: Word Biblical Commentary. ed. David A. Hubbard and Glenn W. Barker. Dallas: Word Books.

Distribution and density of the hairs in our body is coded in our genes. This program is activated after birth and hair roots are formed at around 8th-10th week of pregnancy. The hairs that cover the fetus are thin, short, and weak. The growth of hairs is completed in the 22nd week. Number of hairs in a fetus does not change much according to gender. Later on in a person’s life, hairs can become dense or rare, owing to factors such as race, age, gender and hormonal state. There are hair roots covering almost all over our body except for the soles, palms, forehead, the areas under the eyes, on and behind the ears.

A hair is made up of the hair root and the hair shaft on it. A hair root is surrounded with two layers. The duty of these layers is to prevent harm to the hair shaft and let the hair grow in the right direction. A hair root is a multilayered structure where every layer has a different function. The papilla is in the base of the hair root and it basically serves to send nourishment to hair cells. The upper layer of the hair shaft is the hard substance called keratin. The innermost layer, which can be seen as the spinal cord of a hair, does not exist in every hair shaft. The second layer, known as the cortex, constitutes most of the hair shaft. The color of hair is mostly determined by the pigment in this layer. The outermost layer is the upper skin of the hair.

Hairs in different parts of the body have their peculiar forms of and limits to growing. Under the control of hormones, hair roots cause hairs of different properties—such as thickness and color—to form. The hairs in moustache, armpits, between the legs, beard, and on the head grow fast and continually. On the other hand, the hairs on our arms, chest, back, legs and including those in the eyebrows grow very slowly and they know their limits. If the person does not own functional testicles, there may be no hair in certain areas of the body except for the hair on his head.

Most of us are apt to think that certain stories make our hair curl; actually, hair erector muscles are the unsung heroes of those stories. Under every hair in the body, there is an erector muscle that makes it move. These muscles have important functions for the body.

Firstly, it helps the oil glands carry out their function. The oil sacks are located on the surface of a hair. The sizes of these sacks are around 0.2-2 millimeters. Sacks are in the form of clusters. Oil glands are also placed all over the body, accept for the soles and palms. They are the natural “lubricants” for the skin and hairs; they protect the skin from the damage of drying up. Every gland under the skin has a channel. There are alveoli that open to every channel. When the hair muscle is stimulated, the hairs become erect and the connected gland start secreting a substance called sebum. The glands empty their contents to the body of the hair.

Regulating the acidity (pH) level of the skin is among the duties of the hair erector muscle and it produces a protective gel. The oily secretion forms a thin layer of gel; as it serves protecting the skin from heat and cold, it is given an antibacterial effect as well. The natural coating of the skin prevents reproduction of harmful germs. The pH level of the skin is 5-6 and it does not allow bacteria to grow. If this substance is not secreted from the skin, the pH acidity shifts toward alkali, moisture level of the skin increases; the fat layer and then the natural coating is damaged. Thus, germs find a suitable environment to reproduce.

Hair erector muscles are also given a role in adjusting body heat. The hairs in the human body are not related to heat isolation. When the body is exposed to cold environments, the mechanisms that increase body heat are activated. When sympathetic nervous system stimulates hair erector muscles, they contract, hairs bristle, and the body heat is tampered through the reduced heat release. Sometimes, even the invisibly small hairs erect and goose bumps appear on the skin. The purpose is to form a screen for heat. They also allow for perspiration in hot weather and help the body to cool down. In addition, hair erector muscles serve as touching receptors as well. The receptors in hairs easily detect objects on the body surface. Hairs that are activated by touch stimulate the nerve tissue in their base. In a way, they keep a round the clock watch for the body; as tiny and unsung heroes.

They say that perfection is hidden in details, which is also very true for hairs. And perhaps, the secret to appreciation lies in recognizing details, and appreciating their perfection.

The fascinating aspect of these materials stems from the fact that when certain particles or devices are manufactured on the nanometer size region by means of special chemical and physical methods, they start showing distinct properties dependent on size, shape, and elemental compositions (such as huge amount of light absorption/emission, plasmonic resonance, high surface area, ability to convert light into heat, desirable magnetic properties, etc). Each of these features have found many applications in technology and they provide superior properties when compared to conventional materials. This article will not cover each technology based on nanomaterials but rather focus on the medical aspects and applications of nanotechnology and the direction it is heading.

Nano-medicine is a novel branch of nanotechnology seeking to deliver medically relevant drugs and imaging agents to the desired sites of the body. Biomedical imaging and drug delivery fields are benefitting from nanotechnology to a greater extent because not only do nanomaterials provide unprecedented results in diagnosis and therapies, considerable amounts of incentives in the form of governmental and private funding also drive topnotch institutions and scientists to study these materials around globe. For instance, iron oxide—when designed and manufactured on the nanometer order—can compete with, if not replace, most of the commercial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents due to some of its attributes, (i.e., being much more sensitive) requiring a less amount compared to other contrast agents, non-toxic to humans, and easy to manipulate in terms of its chemistry (1). Nanometer-sized spherical and rod-shaped Cadmium/Tellerium/Lead sulfides and selenides, also known as “Quantum Dots,” can absorb and emit light from ultra-violet (UV) to infrared region (IR) and this phenomenon could be utilized to construct biomedical sensors capable of detecting biologically relevant species (such as blood glucose, tumor markers, hormones, and etc.) with great accuracy and speed (2). Even by using multiple colors emitting “Quantum Dots,” one can, in principle, detect more than one biological entity simultaneously. Furthermore, their superior emissive properties could be harnessed to develop sensitive and selective fluorescence imaging techniques and assays which can lead to simple and early diagnosis of diseases. Gold nanorods, if irradiated with IR lasers, can generate extreme local temperatures in the surrounding medium owing to “plasmonic resonance of surface electrons,” and this feature could be directed to killing of localized tumor tissues known as “Photothermal Theraphy” (3).

Another class of nanomaterial called liposomes (4) can actually mimic lipid bilayer of the cell membrane which gives rise to a protective layer around organelles and nucleus, and maintains the transport of ions and molecules in and out of the cell. Synthetic liposomes, strikingly, can accommodate various cargoes extending from drugs to imaging agents in their inner cavity and render controlled release of its cargo as it circulates in the body, thereby providing longer bio-availability.

One of the most alluring uses of nanoparticle formulations in cancer therapy is their dimension. Certain sizes of nanoparticles can permeate into tumoral sites and be retained in that region longer than small particles or molecules. This extraordinary feature of nanoparticles, called “enhanced permeability and retention effect” (5), was utilized with liposomes to deliver chemotherapeutics to cancerous tissues effectively in a slow and controlled manner. In addition, chemical malleability of nanoparticles give rise to smart formulations which could respond to external stimuli in drug delivery applications. For example, the fact that cancer cells have lower pH values as compared to normal cells has been used to trigger release and delivery of drugs on site (6).

An alternative approach to conventional treatments is gene therapy in which the malfunctioning or mutant gene has been reintroduced into cells with a properly functioning one in order to restore the malady (7). Nanoparticles, especially polymeric counterparts, have shown promising results in encapsulating, carrying and delivering the gene of interest into desired cells.

Apart from synthetic nanoparticles, naturally occurring nanoparticles, have lately received great attention due to their unique structures and properties such as biocompatibility, uniform size, as well as suitability to chemical and genetic engineering. Plant and bacterial viruses, known as viral nanoparticles (8), have been tested for imaging and drug delivery applications, and because they infect only plants and bacteria, they are considered to be benign towards mammalians. Their inner and outer amino acids could be chemically modified with drugs and imaging modalities and cleverly engineered drug release mechanism could be invoked to operate upon external or internal stimulus.

Nanomaterials are, furthermore, suitable candidates for vaccine development. The immune system normally recognizes certain chemical groups on the surface of antigens (pathogens) and develops its defense mechanism based on this recognition. Multiple copies of these chemical groups could be chemically tailored around the surface of nanomaterial, and thereby could trigger the same immune response more efficiently (9).

The future of medicine will be shaped and enhanced through a targeted delivery of drugs and imaging contrasts into desired sites. Promisingly, nanoparticles will be able to assist in this regard to a considerable extent. Today’s cancer chemotherapy rely mostly on administering a variety of cancer drugs via intravenous (injecting through the vein) or oral means which delivers drugs to cancer cells as well as a considerable amount to healthy tissues which causes major side effects. In order to accumulate higher doses of drugs in tumor cells selectively and minimize nonspecific delivery, nanoparticles loaded with drugs and chemically decorated with “smart molecules” which have the ability to recognize cancer cells and specifically bind to them have been designed and tested successfully (10). These smart groups (organic molecules, antibodies, peptides and small molecules), surprisingly, have higher binding affinities toward some receptors over-expressed in cancer cells. Furthermore, encapsulation of drugs by nanomaterials provides a protective shell which prevents leakage of drugs to other sites.

An important drawback of cancer therapy is drug resistance in which cancer cells develop mechanisms to pump chemotherapeutics out of cells and decreases the efficacy of drugs. Nanoparticles, however, invalidate these resistance mechanisms by encapsulating drugs and should therefore not be exposed directly to surrounding cell environment. When nanoparticles reach the desired destination in the cell, an engineered mechanism or stimulus augment the release and drugs are expected to show their activity without any compromise (11).

It is fascinating to see how these small nanoparticles behave cleverly and orderly even though they look like inanimate and unconscious clusters of atoms. The extraordinary art, design and engineering witnessed in macro dimensions can also be seen in nano dimensions which means that a conscious and purposeful Hand of Power is present and visible in this nanoworld.

To sum up, nanomaterials could be ideal platforms for drug delivery and imaging applications and could complement the deficiencies in conventional therapies. Loading multiple copies of these entities into nanoparticles and devising clever mechanisms to target and deliver them into desired sites would be key elements in the nanomedicine of the future. We are living in a world where each of us has someone in our families or among our friends who are going through painful cancer treatments, which is a heart-rending and traumatic experience. Hopefully, nanomaterial-based therapies would give rise to solutions and success in battling against cancer. For in one prophetic tradition the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, says: “O servants of God! Search for ways for treatment of illnesses. If God gives you ailments, for sure He bestows upon you cures for those.”

And why can’t this bestowal be in the nano form?

References

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• Raymo FM, Yildiz I. “Luminescent chemosensors based on semiconductor quantum dots.” Phys Chem Chem Phys 2007;9:2036-2043.
• Giljohann DA, Seferos DS, Daniel WL, Massich MD, Patel PC, Mirkin CA. “Gold Nanoparticles for Biology and Medicine.” Angew Chem Int Edit 2010;49:3280-3294.
• Jesorka A, Orwar O. “Liposomes: Technologies and Analytical Applications.” Annu Rev Anal Chem 2008;1:801-832.
• Sancey L, Barbier E, Hirsjarvi S et al. “Enhanced Permeability and Retention (EPR) effect in tumors: characterization by MRI and fluorescence imaging.” B Cancer 2011;98:S67-S67.
• Hruby M, Konak C, Ulbrich K. “Polymeric micellar pH-sensitive drug delivery system for doxorubicin.” J Control Release 2005;103:137-148.
• Waehler R, Russell SJ, Curiel DT. “Engineering targeted viral vectors for gene therapy.” Nat Rev Genet 2007;8:573-587.
• Yildiz I, Shukla S, Steinmetz NF. “Applications of viral nanoparticles in medicine.” Curr Opin Biotech 2011;22:901-908.
• Peek LJ, Middaugh CR, Berkland C. “Nanotechnology in vaccine delivery.” Adv Drug Deliver Rev 2008;60:915-928.
• Ruoslahti E, Bhatia SN, Sailor MJ. “Targeting of drugs and nanoparticles to tumors.” J Cell Biol 2010;188:759-768.
• Liang XJ, Chen C, Zhao Y, Wang PC. “Circumventing tumor resistance to chemotherapy by nanotechnology.” Methods Mol Biol 2010;596:467-88.