Had Alhasan gotten his wish, that book would still have been worth reading. From the very first page Steffens brilliantly brings Alhasan’s internal character to life on the page, sketching a conflicted, fascinating portrait of a reluctant hero. It’s not easy to dramatize the acts of thinking and creating – and harder still to do so in a subtle, elegant style – yet Steffens manages the trick. Watching Alhasan’s mind work is a beautiful process, the prose moving along smoothly, like the gears of a reliable old clock. 

Fate, however, did not grant Ibn al-Haytham his quiet life – or us our quiet book. While walking home from his friend’s study, Alhasan notices a mysterious stranger stalking him through the streets of Basra. His encounter with Al-Ghazi, a brutish emissary from the Fatimid Caliphate, will upend Alhasan’s modest existence, sending him on a journey to Cairo, where Al-Hakim – the Mad Caliph – demands a dam be constructed to block the Nile. Alhasan will be the man to design it and oversee its construction.

After its intimate, scholarly beginning, “The Prisoner of Al-Hakim” feels, for much of its middle section, like the best kind of adventure novel – a road-trip book full of swashbuckling, danger, and indelible scenery. Alhasan and Al-Ghazi make a classic odd couple. One is thoughtful and self-contained, the other gregarious but ferocious. Their relationship begins as captive and captor, two polar opposites forced by autocratic decree to coexist. This especially rankles the captured Alhasan:

As a young man, Alhasan had dreamed of becoming a warrior like the great generals of history, including his own grandfather, nicknamed Al-Haytham, “The Lion,” for his courage in battle against the Buwayhids.

Alhasan’s father had counseled him against becoming a soldier. “There are many ways to serve God and your people,” the elder Alhasan had said. “Taking up the sword is one way. Taking up the pen is another. Give your people knowledge, and you will make them great.”

In the end, Alhasan had taken his father’s advice. He had given his people knowledge, but now he found himself at the mercy of a brute with a sword.

When their party is beset by bandits, the two men are forced to rely on one another. The reader will recognize their relationship following a well-worn, but effective, arc – from enmity to grudging respect, and finally to friendship. This trajectory could feel pat in the hands of lesser writer, but Steffens’ myriad talents imbue it with grace and very real emotion.

Readers will likely tear through this middle section. Steffens’ gift for internal monologue is matched by his deftness with action sequences. It would be understandable if the contrast between quiet and internal and loud and external was jarring, but the changes in tone always feel natural and organic. The novel seems to bounce between at least four different genres: historical fiction; a character study; a book of ideas; and an adventure novel. Yet somehow Steffens makes it all fit harmoniously together. He creates vivid characters, through both dialogue and gesture, and he has the historian’s knack for never providing too many details, but always providing the right detail:

Alhasan stood and looked at the man in the gold-trimmed robe. He had piercing blue eyes flecked with reddish gold. No one had introduced them, but Alhasan knew he was standing before none other than Al-Hakim Bi-amr Allah, ruler of the Fatimid Caliphate.

As Al-Ghazi and Alhasan reach Cairo, the real trouble begins. Their party, sent to survey the Nile, is beset by one disaster after another. Many members, including the Mad Caliph’s counsel, Al-Jarajarai, begin to think the project is cursed.

Part of the pleasure of reading is being surprised. All too often, the astute reader can sense where a book is going (of course, this is pleasurable in its own way, too). Halfway through The Prisoner of Al-Hakim, most readers will have a sense of where the book is headed – trials and tribulations, but ultimately triumph. But then the novel sharply veers off course, and the book’s action moves from the banks of the Nile to the confines of Alhasan’s mind. Again, were Steffens a less talented writer, such a dramatic swerve might seem forced; here, it seems natural. As with all good writing, the characters dictate the action, not vice versa.

The shift is surprising, but considering the characters involved – including the dangerous dogmatist Al-Jarajarai – it makes sense. Yet even here, Steffens shows restraint. Many writers would paint in broad strokes, framing Al-Jarjarai as a one-dimensional villain. But he is given long sections to expound on his ideas, interacting with – instead of against – the other characters. His frustrations with Alhasan are antagonistic, but also understandable; the two men’s personalities couldn’t be more conflicting.

With Alhasan’s future, as well as the dam project, in doubt, he once again sets his mind to all the proofs and ideas he’d wanted to explore back in Basra. He begins by memorizing the Qur’an. Showing religious faith – especially the kind of quiet, devout faith Ibn al-Haytham practiced – can be as difficult for the writer as depicting the inner workings of a great mind. In the book’s final third, Steffens does both, and he does so without losing the story’s momentum. As Alhasan grows in his faith, he grows intellectually, too. His scientific revelations are inextricably connected to his practice of Islam.

Of course, Alhasan is not working alone. He has an unexpected student and assistant helping him as he gets closer and closer to unraveling one of the great mysteries of his time. Through their interactions, Steffens turns one more trick of his own by introducing a fifth genre into the book’s latter stages: romance.  They hurtle towards a surprising conclusion that has been earned by all parties – the characters, the author, and us readers. 

Any work of fiction is a monumental undertaking, but historical fiction is an even taller order. Research must be seamlessly integrated into a plot; characters must be fleshed out based upon the historical record. Fact must coexist with fiction. With so many moving parts, it’s a nearly impossible balance. To do it as well as Steffens has – and to have it be as entertaining as The Prisoner of al-Hakim is – feels, as so many of Ibn al-Haytham’s discoveries must have felt, like magic.

“Give your people knowledge, and you will make them great.”

Interview with Bradley Steffens

How did you start writing?

I loved poetry as a kid—Dr. Seuss, song lyrics, and classic children’s poems like “The Children’s Hour,” “If Once You Have Slept On An Island,” and “Nancy Hanks”—and I tried my hand at versifying. When I was about ten I wrote a stanza-by-stanza parody of “Casey at the Bat” that I thought at the time was pretty good. (Unfortunately, I lost it.) I also read the sports columnist Jim Murray every day in the Los Angeles Times and thought that must be a nice job. I tried to follow in Murray’s footsteps in a sense when I began to create little sports pages for my father, who was a machinist who worked second shift at an aerospace factory. He couldn’t listen to baseball games at work, so I left him notes about the games before I went to bed. I was eleven. Once I was out of school for the summer, my descriptions became more elaborate, and I began typing them on my mother’s old Smith Corona manual typewriter. It got so that I was producing full-page accounts, which I really enjoyed doing. I added little sidebars, anecdotes, and even weather reports. When I was in sixth grade, my mother and I attended Open House Night, and she proudly told my teacher about the “newspapers” I made for my dad. I about died of embarrassment. But the teacher suggested I create newspapers based on the ancient history we were studying. There was no way out of it, so I did one on Socrates drinking hemlock. The teacher made copies of it and handed them out to the class as required reading. The other kids hated me. But that was my first publication and my first effort at bringing history alive. I did about ten more that year, and I began to form an identity as a writer.

Are you personally religious? In the character of Alhasan, you brilliantly capture what it’s like to be a scholar of religious persuasion – of showing how the religious mind can work. What role has your faith – or lack thereof – played in your writing?

I am religious. I pray every day. I was raised in the Lutheran Church. I considered the ministry at one point, in part because I loved listening to the sermons and I thought it would be exciting to make your living writing meditations on faith and scripture. Of course there are other facets of the ministry that didn’t suit me as well. I never got “the call.” As a teenager, I became serious about writing, and I followed that path.

One of the things that touched me deeply about Alhasan Ibn al-Haytham was his devotion to God. He was above all a man of faith. One of the things he said in a letter he wrote when he was sixty-three years old was: “It became my belief that for gaining access to the effulgence and closeness to God, there is no better way than that of searching for truth and knowledge.” I use that quote early in The Prisoner of Al-Hakim, because it is essential to understanding not only the man, but also why he did what he did—why he pioneered experimental science.

In the West we have a schism between science and religion, but what I find fascinating is that experimental science was a product of Alhasan’s faith. As a Muslim, he believed that only God is perfect and that human beings are deeply flawed. As a result, he had a deep skepticism toward human endeavors, including human reasoning. In Doubts Concerning Ptolemy, he wrote: “The seeker after truth is not one who studies the writings of the ancients and, following his natural disposition, puts his trust in them, but rather the one who suspects his faith in them and questions what he gathers from them, the one who submits to argument and demonstration, and not to the sayings of a human being whose nature is fraught with all kinds of imperfection and deficiency.”

He yearned to find a way to avoid the pitfalls and limitations of human reasoning. Mathematics did that, but he wanted to expand on that. This is what drove him to devise what he called “true demonstrations,” what we call experiments. He wanted to bypass human opinion and interact directly with nature. At one point in the novel, he says, “If we are to know the truth about nature, we must enter into a dialogue with the universe itself.” While I invented that particular line, it closely tracks not only what I quoted above, but also a statement he made in the introduction to his Book of Optics. He said, “I formerly composed a treatise on light and vision in which I employed persuasive methods of reasoning, but when true demonstrations relating to all objects of vision occurred to me, I started afresh. Whoever, therefore, comes upon the said treatise must know that it should be discarded.” He realized that experimentation rendered all works based purely on “persuasive reasoning” obsolete, including his own. In this we see his tremendous humility and the attitude of a true scientist.

Where did you first hear about Alhasan? I know you wrote a children’s book about him; what inspired you to turn his story into a novel?

I first heard about him in 1991 when I was working on a book entitled Photography for a series called The Encyclopedia of Discovery and Invention. In the chapter about pre-invention technology, I talked about the camera obscura. Alhasan is credited as the first person to accurately describe the physics behind its workings. What I found interesting was that my source said Alhasan used the camera obscura in an experiment to test whether or not light rays travel in straight lines. I thought, “Hold on. Experiment? I thought Galileo was the first person to conduct experiments.” That got me interested in him. As it turned out, he devised the camera obscura to test something even more subtle than whether light rays travel in straight lines. He had already established that. He actually wanted to test whether or not light rays interfere with each other, or, as he put it, “Do lights and colors mix in the air?” He believed, based on observation, that they did not, but he constructed a camera obscura to test that hypothesis. That, to me, was groundbreaking. Others, such as astronomers, had tested their hypotheses by observing nature. But Alhasan imagined and built an apparatus to test a discrete hypothesis, and that, I believe, is an altogether different thing.

As I delved into the origins of modern science, I found that various people had been credited as the “first scientist” by different authors over the years, including Galileo, of course, but also Leonardo da Vinci, who preceded Galileo, and Roger Bacon, who preceded Leonardo. But no one had discussed Alhasan, even though Bacon actually referred to his work in his Opus Majus. In fact, Alhasan’s Book of Optics was known throughout Europe in a Latin translation and was one of the earliest printed books. So that gave me the idea of writing the biography Ibn al-Haytham: First Scientist, which was published by Morgan Reynolds in 2006.

The idea for turning his biography into a novel came from an interview—like this one. I was interviewed about Ibn al-Haytham: First Scientist by a reporter for The North County Times in Escondido, California, in 2007. After the interview, the reporter, Ruth Marvin Webster, closed her notebook and asked me if I wrote fiction. I said no. She said, “That is an amazing life story. You should write a historical [novel] based on it, then you could fill in all the missing details.” I didn’t write fiction and had no intention of doing so, but I wanted a good interview to appear, so I said, “That’s a great idea.” Then she added a sentence that changed my life. She said, “But of course he would have to have a love interest.” I almost laughed out loud. The idea of Alhasan and a love interest seemed farfetched, but, wanting the good interview, I suppressed the laugh and said, “Of course!”

When I thought about it the next morning, I did laugh out loud. But then I got to thinking about the facts in Alhasan’s life. There is one intriguing detail: The inscription in the oldest surviving copy of his Book of Optics states that the copyist was Alhasan’s son-in-law. That, of course, means Alhasan had a daughter and, thus, a wife—the love interest. I began to consider the date of the copy, the date Alhasan left for Egypt, the date of his release from house arrest in Egypt, and I suddenly envisioned who this love interest might be. I realized I had the kernel of a story. The question was, would I write it?

Did you find the process of writing a novel for an adult audience to be difficult? What was the transition like–from writing stories for children to this, a full-blown historical novel?

That’s the funny thing: I hadn’t written stories for children. I had never written fiction of any kind. I had published dozens of poems, and I had written some plays-in-verse that had been professionally produced when I was in my twenties, but I hadn’t written a word of fiction. It all seemed a bit overwhelming—plot, subplot, setting, mood, characterization, dialogue. However, I had this story, so I thought I would give it a try. I decided to keep it as simple as possible—to concentrate on the action and leave the insights and wisdom to Alhasan.

Why do you think Alhasan’s story is important for a contemporary audience?

First, it’s important to set the historical record straight. Experimental science has its origins not in Europe—as I was taught in school—but in the Middle East. Second, there’s the religious angle. Faith and science need not be opposed. Third, Westerners in general need to become more acquainted with Islamic history, culture, and achievements. Fourth, I hope that by bringing these characters to life, I will help readers of all backgrounds have a greater appreciation for the struggles these people went through and how they overcame obstacles. The world we have today didn’t fall from the sky. It was built step by step, increment by increment, by people just like us. They deserve to be remembered and appreciated.

A lot of historians have ignored the role that science played in the Islamic world. Alhasan is just one example of the important work Islamic thinkers were doing in the fields of math and science. Why do you think history – at least Western history – has discounted their achievements?

It’s complex. On the one hand, many of the first Europeans to learn about Islamic ideas were members of the Christian clergy, such as Roger Bacon. There may have been a general reluctance to give credit to Muslims. However, the Europeans did embrace Muslim scholars, including Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Ibn Rushd (Averroes), and Al-Khawarizmi (Algoritmi). Alhasan himself was revered in Europe for hundreds of years. As I point out in my biography, when the Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius published an atlas of the moon in 1647, the frontispiece bore the likenesses of two people: Galileo, shown holding a telescope, and Ibn al-Haytham, depicted with a geometric drawing in his hand. They were considered the two pillars of science at that time. What happened after that is that European scientists and mathematicians such as Newton eventually surpassed their work. Scholars stopped referring to it, and they were forgotten. But six hundred years was a pretty good run for Alhasan. I mean, just imagine: We are closer in time to Galileo than Galileo was to Alhasan.

Do you see evidence in today’s world of science and faith still working together, side-by-side?

I see it in the Arab world more than in the West. Islam has never had the same conflicts with science that Christianity has. Science in the West is very secular. If you’re a person of faith, you keep that kind of quiet. But I spent three-and-a-half years in Qatar, working in two scientific research institutes—as a communications consultant, not as a scientist—and there the Muslim scientists were quite open about their faith.

What is your hope for the book? Who do you hope will read it?

About a billion people would be nice! Actually, my thinking on that has changed over time. At first I wanted commercial success and the recognition of reviewers. But I have received such positive feedback from people who have read it—my “beta readers,” my editors, and a few friends—that now I realize there are people out there who are really going to enjoy this book, and I just want them to find it. I want them to have that pleasant experience. It is my gift to them.

Before I wrote the novel, I had several friends tell me that they loved historical fiction because it was an escape and at the same time they learned a lot about other times and other cultures. I remember one friend way back in the 1970s who told me how much she loved Shōgun by James Clavell for those reasons. That really stuck with me. I hope that people feel that way about my book, and that in some small way it succeeds in building bridges between cultures.

What is your next project? Do you think you’ll continue to write novels?

I’ve been busy writing more nonfiction books for young adults—I wrote eight last year alone, and I have contracts for four more. Last year, I started another novel set in the Islamic Golden Age. It’s deeper, more complex, and more psychological than The Prisoner of Al-Hakim. But about two months ago, I was talking to someone about The Prisoner, and he asked, “Have you thought of writing a sequel?” I had, vaguely, but had set the idea aside. A sequel, sure, but about what? But when this guy asked me about it, I thought back to where I had last seen the main characters, and I suddenly envisioned a scene that would kick off a new adventure. When I got home, I sat down and wrote that scene, and then several others. Things just clicked. I have written 17,000 words and am very excited about it. I can see why authors write series: Once you have created a cast of characters, you have a lot to work with. You just put them into new situations, create new problems, and see what they do. I love these characters, and the longer I can keep them in my life, the better.

However, many privacy advocacy groups are still not buying that claim. They believe the bill falls short of protecting civil liberties. The Electronic Frontier Foundation [2] stated, “We’ve been clear that we must end mass surveillance under all surveillance authorities. We’re disappointed that this bill does not do more toward that end, but the new USA Freedom Act serves as a welcome first step and should be seen as such.” The American Civil Liberties Union [3] opposed an earlier, similar bill (the CISPA), stating that “It still permits companies to share sensitive and personal customer information with the government and allows the military to collect the internet records of everyday Americans … We urge the members to vote ‘no’.”

Robin Koerner at WatchingAmerica.com argues that privacy vs. security is a false dichotomy anyway: “Either the math is wrong. Or the morality is wrong. Or both” [4]. He insists that the best strategy is not giving up any liberties – which stems from the frequently quoted Benjamin Franklin rule, “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Corporate surveillance is even more invasive But new bills on the Hill are not the only issues threatening our privacy: there is the ongoing tradeoff between privacy and personalized commercial services. Even if we limit the government’s power, the corporate world is still collecting all kinds of personal information, supposedly to provide better service. (There is that “better service” argument again!) Moreover, thanks to the social media frenzy, most of us are willingly sharing all our personal information online. A 2013 survey by Visa security [5] shows that more than 58% of consumers have shared details over social media that put them at risk of fraud or identity theft.

When it comes to digital natives those numbers are even higher. A recent PEW Research survey [6] shows that more than 90% of teens share their real names and pictures, 80% share their birthdates, and 20% share their cell numbers and personal videos on the Internet. Considering this culture of sharing, and also the governmental and industrial mass collection of personal data, some argue there is no point in discussing this issue anymore, as privacy as we know it is already dead. It has been more than a decade since the CEO of Sun Microsystems famously said that, “You have zero privacy anyway… Get over it!” [7].

The renowned futurist David Houle argues the same in his short book, [8] where he explains that the definition of privacy changed over time, and we should accept the current reality: “It is hypocritical to complain about the lack of privacy if you post information on social media, use the GPS function of your smart phone, surf the Internet, or increasingly, drive on the toll ways and in the cities of America. Don’t complain if you are constantly letting convenience and the cool factor of technology trump concerns about privacy.” Is privacy already dead? Science magazine declared “The End of Privacy” in a special January, 2015, issue. The editorial concluded, “Meanwhile, how we think and feel about privacy isn’t static. Already, younger people reveal much more about their lives on the Web than older people do, and our preferences about what we want to keep private can change depending on the context, the moment, or how we’re nudged. Privacy as we have known it is ending, and we’re only beginning to fathom the consequences” [9].

In “Risk of Exposure,” another article from the same special issue, Martin Enserink demonstrated with recent real life examples that “When new or dangerous infectious diseases strike, public health often trumps personal privacy.” He explained that, “Reigning in bloggers and Twitter users may not be easy, but even professional efforts to track outbreaks pose new threats to privacy. Information about specific patients – although anonymized – is now shared worldwide on public email lists for emerging diseases …” [10].

In another article, “Hiding in Plain Sight,” the author concludes that, “In the end, human movements are often so predictable that they are hard to conceal. Location-hiding techniques are most valuable when you want to hide one-off trips… But when it comes to protecting the location of your home and workplace, you might as well give up on privacy” [11]. Hasan Elahi, an artist at the University of Maryland, seems to be taking this advice to heart. When the US Government mistakenly added his name to its terrorist watch list, he fought back by turning his life inside-out for the entire world to see [12]. He basically made his life an open book. He documented nearly every hour of his life, posted his debit card transactions, and used a GPS device in his pocket to report his real-time physical location. “If Big Brother was watching, Elahi would bore him to death” [13]. It might have worked for Elahi, but embracing such invasive surveillance raises a common sentiment: that there is nothing wrong with such invasiveness, and only the people who act bad or have something to hide care about privacy.

Why privacy still matters

In his TED talk, “Why Privacy Matters,” Glen Greenwald pointed out the hypocrisy of the social media moguls on the issue, for while these moguls pronounced that privacy is no longer a “social norm,” when it comes to their personal lives, they do their best to ensure to have a zone of privacy [14]. It is difficult to avoid all of these social media sites. For digital natives, having an online presence on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram is an existential issue. But considering the pace and amount of data shared on these social media sites, a malicious person or corporation could easily connect the dots and draw a more complete picture of anyone than one would ever expect.

With the internet or smart TVs capable of listening to our conversations in our living rooms [15], we maybe already be living in an Orwellian world. Therefore, reading excerpts from the classic dystopia of George Orwell “1984,” Greenwald concluded his TED Talk by saying: … a society in which people can be monitored at all times is a society that breeds conformity and obedience and submission, which is why every tyrant, the most overt to the most subtle, craves that system. Conversely, even more importantly, it is a realm of privacy, the ability to go somewhere where we can think and reason and interact and speak without the judgmental eyes of others being cast upon us, in which creativity and exploration and dissent exclusively reside, and that is the reason why, when we allow a society to exist in which we’re subject to constant monitoring, we allow the essence of human freedom to be severely crippled. How do we protect our privacy? In the aforementioned special issue of Science, a recent book by the law professor and privacy expert Frank Pasquale was spotlighted [16].

In The Black Box Society, Pasquale argues that the classic remedy that requires informed consent from an individual does not work anymore. It “at best works for the rich, who can afford pricy lawyers and reputation managers to enforce their privacy rights…” The article continued Pasquale’s argument: In contrast, Pasquale argues for a fundamental shift in privacy protection, from a focus on notice and consent at the time of data collection to stringent regulation of the actual use of data by corporations and government agencies. His reasoning is sensible, and he is not alone; a growing number of privacy advocates are in favor of data use regulation. If such regulations were to be put in place, it would represent an epic change in how we aim to protect privacy in our society. Susan Landau, professor of cybersecurity policy at WPI, concluded similarly in her Science article – we must control the use of data to protect privacy [17]. “Controlling use is complex, but combining technology, policy, and law is the best way to control incursions from business and government.”

References

[1] Thorp, F. (June 2, 2015), “Barack Obama signs ‘USA FREEDOM ACT’ to reform NSA Surveillance”, retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/nsa-snooping/senate-vote-measure-reform-nsa-surveillance-n368341

[2] Jaycox, M., Reitman, R. (2015), retrieved from https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/04/new-usa-freedom-act-step-right-direction-more-must-be-done

[3] Boorstin, J. (2013) “Privacy vs. Cybersecurity: The Debate Heats Up”, retrieved from http://www.cnbc.com/id/100632315

[4] Koerner, R (2014), “Privacy vs. Security: A False Dichotomy”retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robin-koerner/privacy-vs-security-a-fal_b_4698157.html

[5] http://www.visasecuritysense.com/en_US/fraud-news.jsp#OMG2muchinfo

[6] http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/05/21/what-teens-share-on-social-media-2/

[7] Sprenger, P(1999), “Sun on Privacy: Get over it!” http://archive.wired.com/politics/law/news/1999/01/17538 [8] Houle, David, “Is Privacy Dead? The Future of Privacy in the Digital Age” http://davidhoule.com/books/is-privacy-dead

[9]Special Issue on “The End of Privacy” (January 30, 2015), Science Magazine, http://www.sciencemag.org/site/special/privacy/

[10] Ensreink, M. (2015), “Risk of Exposure”, retrieved from http://www.sciencemag.org/content/347/6221/498

[11] You, J. (2015), “Hiding in Plain Sight”, retrieved from http://www.sciencemag.org/content/347/6221/500

[12] http://www.ted.com/talks/hasan_elahi

[13] Newman, Bruce. 2008. “I’m not a terrorist, says San Jose State professor who puts his life online,” The Mercury News.

[14] https://www.singularityweblog.com/glenn-greenwald-on-privacy/

[15] “Your Smart TV is eavesdropping on your private conversations” http://money.cnn.com/2015/02/09/technology/security/samsung-smart-tv-privacy/

[16] Mayer-Schonborger, V. (2015) “Connecting the Dots”, retrieved from http://www.sciencemag.org/content/347/6221/481

[17] Landau, S. (2015), “Control use of data to protect privacy”, retrieved from http://107.21.79.195/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Controlling_Use-478.pdf

Or think of yourself rejected by your father and your community because of your out-of-the-box beliefs that challenged theirs, and you have only a few who believe in you.

And just for good measure, add to these the wrath of the ruthless ruler of your land who has declared you his archenemy.

This would be more or less a very brief summary of the story of the great patriarch Abraham, peace be upon him, as told in the holy scriptures. Considered as one of the key figures in the history of monotheism, Abraham holds a very central role in the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions. Today, his mission is being revitalized through meetings and panels where his legacy is discussed from the perspectives of different traditions, in the hopes of creating friendships across faiths. I had the opportunity of participating in some of these events this past year and, while making new friends, I was also able to see my Abraham in the eyes of friends from other traditions. Despite some of the recent polarization, it is very hope-inspiring to see many American communities striving to consolidate bonds among different groups and treating diversity as a source of richness.

What you will be reading below is an effort to share some reflections on this great man, whose life can by no means be retold within the limited scope of an article. 

At a time of tension between different religious and cultural voices, Abraham – the patriarch of monotheism – could be a uniting force.

Abraham in the Muslim neighborhood

Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic and Turkish) is a commonplace element of our cultural makeup, as many of our religious values are. Abraham and his family are remembered, praised, and prayed for by Muslims in their daily prescribed prayers, during the annual festival of sacrifice (eid al-adha), and also when performing the Hajj, which is the pilgrimage to the holy land of Mecca. How the name and the story of Abraham are reflected in Muslim worship will be detailed below in the section “Abraham and Islamic worship.”

“Abraham” is a popular name across Muslim communities. And especially in places like Urfa, Turkey, it is very difficult – perhaps even impossible – to find a third male name other than Halil or Ibrahim. “Halil” literally means friend and is one of the distinctive attributes of Abraham.

The historical city of Urfa, on the Turkish-Syrian border, is dedicated almost entirely to the memory of Abraham. Balıklı Göl, or Abraham’s Pool, one of the most visited ancient sites in Urfa, is believed to be the place where he was thrown into fire, and by God’s will, the fire turned “cool and peaceful” for him. According to the legend, the logs that were used in the furnace turned to fish, which still exist today.

Many restaurants across Turkey have the name “Halil Ibrahim Sofrası,” which is an allusion to the generous hospitality Abraham used to show his guests. In Turkish folk culture, it is told that he would not eat without having a guest at his table, and if there was no one, he would go out to find one.

Stories attributed to Abraham

Some of the stories that are recorded in religious literature and discussed in reading groups to impart moral lessons are believed to have been first told in the scriptures that were revealed to Abraham. Prominent Islamic scholar Bediüzzaman Said Nursi noted that the story he narrates and expounds on in his 8th Word in the Risale-i Nur collection did originally exist in the “scrolls” of Abraham. Also told as an “Eastern fable” by famous novelist Leo Tolstoy in his Confession (1884), Bediüzzaman paraphrased this story for the purpose of his religious wisdom, turning the “traveler” in the story into two brothers, one obedient and wise and the other rebellious. In Bediüzzaman’s version, although they aim to reach the same destination, the two brothers choose different paths on the same journey of life, yet going through the same ordeals, escaping from a beast and trying to survive in a well.

Bediüzzaman’s version reads like a lesson on the fate of two characters, the wicked and the prosperous, in the al-A’la Chapter of the Qur’an. This parable is recorded as “Man in Well” in the legend of two Christian martyrs from India, Barlaam and Josaphat, and in other earlier versions in Buddhist literature, too (Bilici 2014). Joseph Jacobs wrote that this parable “was one of the most popular morals of mediaeval sermonisers. Indeed, it puts in a most vivid form the most central practical doctrine of both Christian and Buddhistic Ethics. The supreme attraction of the pleasures of the senses amidst all the dangers of life and the perpetual threat of death has never been more vividly expressed” (Jacobs, 1896, p. lxx).

As we have no access to the scrolls of Abraham, we cannot prove whether they originally date back to him or not. However, considering the widespread existence of this parable across different traditions, if we are to credit it to a historical figure, Abraham is certainly the best fit.

Another story attributed to Abraham goes that he was once again hosting a guest. As he started eating, he called the name of God first, while his guest did not. Abraham asked him why he did not say God’s name first, to which his guest replied that he was a fire-worshipper. Abraham showed the man the door. Then, God asked Abraham why he did so. “He denied You, my Lord.” God said, “That man has been denying Me his entire life, and I am still feeding him.”

Whether this really took place as it is told here or not, the story reflects the infinite Mercy that rules the universe. God extends His mercy without questioning whether we truly recognize Him, and He asks us to do the same for others. This divine guidance is what lies behind Abraham’s legendary hospitality, the one that finds expression in so many restaurant names today.

Abraham, the friend of God

Islamic tradition records that God has sent every community a messenger to guide them to faith (Qur’an 10:47; 13:7). According to some narrations, there are as many as 124,000 messengers. Abraham, “the friend of God,” is among the five top messengers of God, the others of whom are Noah, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad, peace be upon them. They are called “ulu’l azm,” i.e. masters of determination, and are exclusively praised in the following verse from the Qur’an:

Of the Religion (that He made for humankind and revealed through His Messengers throughout history), He has laid down for you as way of life what He willed to Noah, and that which We reveal to you, and what We willed to Abraham, and Moses, and Jesus, (commanding): “Establish the Religion, and do not divide into opposing groups concerning it.” What you call people to is hard and distressful for those who associate partners with God. God chooses whom He wills and brings them together (in faith and in obedience) to Himself, and He guides to Himself whoever turns to Him in devotion. (42:13)

Abraham and Islamic worship

Practicing Muslims who pray five times a day mention Abraham’s name at least 28 times (the number is double if one includes voluntary prayers) in the following way: “O God, send grace and honor to Muhammad and his family, just as You sent grace and honor to Abraham and his family.” Many Turks, and perhaps other Muslim nations too, add Abraham’s name to the Muslim prayer after eating when they ask for God to further His grace upon them (ni’mat Jalil-ul’lah), the Prophet’s mediation on the Day (shafaat ya Rasulullah) of Judgment, and the abundance God blessed Abraham with (barakat Halil-ul’lah).

A full chapter in the Qur’an is named after Abraham. A lengthy portion of this chapter (14:35-41) is a beautiful prayer of Abraham for Mecca to be a secure land and that his progeny to be protected from ever worshipping idols.

Abraham’s legacy manifests itself more thoroughly in the pilgrimage to Mecca, which is an obligatory duty for Muslims who can afford it. Almost all of the rites of pilgrimage, the hajj, and the locations where the hajj is observed have all been inherited from Abraham. The history of Mecca, the holiest place for Muslims, starts with Abraham, when he brought his wife Hagar and baby son Ishmael to begin the first human settlement there. Muslims remember the frustration of Hagar seeking water as they run between Safa and Marwa around the holy sanctuary. As the pilgrims wash themselves from the well of Zamzam, they remember God’s mercy upon her and upon humanity, when God sent them the angel to bring this abundant source of water from out of nowhere under Ishmael’s heel; a fountain so abundant that it keeps flowing even today, watering pilgrims.

The Ka‘ba, the cubic building located at the heart of Mecca, was built by Abraham and Ishmael. As Muslims circumambulate the Ka‘ba, they start from the corner of Black Stone, which was placed by Abraham, and after their cycles are complete, they stand for prayer behind the Station of Abraham (maqam Ibrahim), which is believed to be the rock he climbed while building the sanctuary. Another rite of the hajj is Jamarat, where pilgrims throw pebbles at three pillars. It is believed that Abraham and his son stoned Satan away when he tried to seduce them to turn back from the sacrifice. And at Mina, pilgrims offer their sacrificial animals whose meat are given away in charity, as they remember Abraham’s ordeal with his son, who God “ransomed with a sacrifice of tremendous worth” (Qur’an 37:107).

As a side note, a great majority of Islamic scholars agree that the son to be sacrificed was Ishmael, while some think he was Isaac. Whichever son was going to be sacrificed that day is not completely insignificant; however, there are more important lessons to be learned from this story, and it does not produce any benefit to engage in disputes on this matter. Besides, for Muslims, both Ishmael and Isaac are prophets and are equally respectable. This ordeal did not only testify to Abraham’s and his son’s incredible submission to God, but it also showed the atrocity of human sacrifice, which was, and unfortunately still is, one of the most violent forms of false devotion to the Divine.

Abraham’s mission

Islamic faith holds at its center the oneness of God, which is believed to be one of the key teachings of all prophets, from Adam to Muhammad, peace be upon them. Despite varying outward forms, all the messengers sent to humanity taught their communities God’s uniqueness (tawhid), resurrection and life after death (hashir), messengership (nubuwwa), and worship (ibada). However, Abraham’s firm stance against idolatry and other forms of associating partners with God (shirk), which had reached an unprecedented extreme in his time, made his mission even more connected to the revival of monotheism. Even when he was a child, he would not pay any respect to the idols his father was crafting. He always opposed his community’s worshipping of idols and celestial structures, like the moon and the sun. While he was staunchly against them, he still engaged in a “gradual” effort to invigorate his audience’s logical reasoning. The Qur’anexplains, in 6:76-79, how their deities are temporary, even if they might be as bright as a star or as glorious as the sun, which are doomed to eventually set. Abraham voices the inner conscience of every human whose desire for eternity cannot be truly satisfied by false deities when he says, “I love not the things that set” (6:76). Professor Ibrahim Canan notes that Abraham’s evident challenge to his own people “must have taken place after he had been thrown into the fire,” when an intellectual struggle ceased to be possible (Canan 2007, 47).

Despite his gradual and convincing argument to inculcate certainty of faith, the response he got from his community was what almost all messengers of God received:

We had showed Abraham (the ugliness and irrationality of polytheism and) the inner dimension of (the existence of) the heavens and the earth, and the eternal truth. We had done so that he might be one of those who have achieved certainty of faith (6:75). They replied: “But we found our forefathers doing the same” (26:74).

Abraham’s mission almost exactly matches the Prophet Muhammad’s. Between them are connections at multiple levels: ancestral relations through Ishmael, the Ka‘ba as the shared sanctuary, and their struggle to show the truth at times when idol-worshipping was at its highest. Leaving behind his hometown where idol-worshipping was the unbreakable norm, Abraham was ordered to build the Ka‘ba, to be a direction for prayer and site of pilgrimage, as a place to praise the only true God the Creator. The Prophet Muhammad was born in the shade of this holy sanctuary, but it was already filled with hundreds of idols, and his mission was to reinstate its holiness by purifying it from them. Not surprisingly, when he started calling his community to the One God, they said: “Enough for us (are the ways) that we found our forefathers on” (5:104).

Another interesting connection is that the Prophet was a descendant of Ishmael, whose mother, Hagar, was given by the ruler of Egypt as a gift to Sarah, who gave her to Abraham. Centuries later, Muqawqis, the ruler of Egypt, would send Maria to the Prophet as a gift, and the Prophet would name his son from her Ibrahim, or Abraham.

Submission

What stands tallest amongst Abraham’s many virtues is his confidence in, and submission to, the Almighty. It is told that an angel came to offer help when Abraham was being thrown to the fire, and Abraham said, “Sufficient for me is God.” He was in such a state of Divine refuge that he did not ask for the intervention of any other being.

Abraham’s trust in God was also proven when he was told to take Hagar and his son Ishmael away from home and leave them in the middle of the desert. Abraham did not answer Hagar’s questions about why he was leaving them there, until Hagar asked whether this was a command from God. The wisdom of this would manifest itself in time: Abraham and Ishmael would later build the Ka‘ba there, and the Arab nation would emerge from that community. The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, would come from that community, generations later.

Another ordeal Abraham had to face was his sacrificing his son. It is told that when Abraham had the dream, he waited for two more days, and when he saw the dream again, he was assured of the Divine source of it. Both he and his son had full confidence in this command, and they were rewarded when God’s ransomed the boy and granted us the “festival of sacrifice,” which we still celebrate today as we remember the honor and value of human life while sharing food with the poor.

Conclusion

Abraham’s story is a rich source of lessons for anyone who seeks a life of virtue and commitment to a Prophetic mission. More importantly, as we are living through difficult times of extreme polarization across religious, cultural, and political divides, Abraham can be held up as a unifying figure among Jews, Christians, and Muslims, whose scriptures praise him and his family as the father of all prophets. His path of full confidence in God in the face of imminent death and apparently unbearable ordeals could inspire all of us today, but is especially useful for those being persecuted and who are being forced to leave their homelands or to abandon their families, and who are even threatened with torture and death.

References

• Bediüzzaman Said Nursi. 2006. The Words. NJ: Tughra Books.
• Joseph Jacobs. 1896. Barlaam and Josaphat: English Lives of Buddha, London: Davit Nutt.
• Leo Tolstoy. 1983. Confession (Translated by David Patterson). WW Norton & Company, NY and London.
• Ibrahim Canan. 2007. The Message of Abraham: His Life, Virtues, and Mission. NJ: The Light, Inc.
• Mücahit Bilici. 2014. “Kuyudaki Adam: Tolstoy, Bediüzzaman ve Buda.” Istanbul: Taraf.

Abraham in the Jewish Tradition

The introduction of Abram in the twelfth chapter of the biblical book of Genesis, aids in the Hebrew Bible’s transition from a text focused on the general workings of the world, to a text specifically focused on the creation, development, and flourishing of the Israelite people and nation.  God calls upon Abram to leave his land, his birthplace, and his father’s home in Ur of the Chaldeans (in the Mesopotamian region) and go on a journey “to the land that God will show him” (Genesis 12:1-2).  That Abram followed such a call with such deeply trusting faith is quite remarkable. 

As a result of Abram’s faithful journey, God chooses to establish a covenant with him.  Renaming Abram as Abraham, God promises Abraham that he will “become a father of the multitude of nations,” that Abraham’s descendants will be “exceedingly numerous,” and that Abraham and his offspring will live in the land of Canaan as an “everlasting possession” (Genesis 17:4-8).  As a partner with God in this covenant, Abraham and his descendants must keep God’s commandments, and males will be circumcised as an indication of their adherence to God’s covenant. 

In addition to the establishment of the covenant, Abraham’s character is developed in other scenes.  We see Abraham as a man who cares deeply for his family and for the needs of others.  In one remarkable episode, when God announces to Abraham the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham questions God directly, demanding that the Judge of the world act righteously.  More gently, Abraham is regarded as a person of loving hospitality, welcoming three strangers into his tent, and feeding them, when he himself is recovering from having just circumcised himself.  He also faces the tremendous trial of being called by God to bring forward his beloved son Isaac as a sacrifice – until an angel of God intervenes.  Teachings from rabbinic sages developed concepts surrounding Abraham’s unbreakable, unwavering faith in God, and that during his lifetime, he succeeded in overcoming ten specific trials regarding his faith, moments when God was testing his devotion to his faith.

Abraham is remembered in our daily prayers, traditionally recited three times a day.  The opening prayer of a rubric in our service known as the Amidah, the “standing” prayer, is an extended reference to our patriarchs (and in egalitarian congregations to our matriarchs too).  We praise God as the “God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob” linking ourselves today with our biblical ancestors.  Such an important historical connection inspires the Jewish people to aspire to a life in which we live by the best attributes of our ancestors, and continue to make those values our own. 

Rabbi Paul Jacobson
Temple Avodat Shalom
River Edge, New Jersey

Jews refer to Abraham as Avraham Avinu, Abraham our father. He is very important to us: our first patriarch, the one whose family was chosen to have a covenant with God. Of course, not all Jews believe the same things about our spiritual ancestors, whose stories are told in our Torah. I will share the way I think about Abraham, with which many, but not all, Jews would probably agree.

It is not important, to me, to think of Abraham as perfect in any way. Rather, I see him as just as human as any one of us, and that is meaningful to me, because if Abraham was an imperfect human, and God chose him, it means God can choose us, too. One of the stories we learn about Abraham is that God told him that He, God, was going to destroy the great cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because of the evil behavior of the people there. Abraham does not simply accept this. He argues on behalf of any righteous people who may live there. He stands up to God, asking whether God will destroy the place if as few as 10 righteous people live there. God says no – though apparently there were not even 10, because the place is destroyed (Genesis, 18:17-33).

Later, God commands Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac (Yitzchak), and Abraham does not object at all (Genesis, 22:1-19). This is troubling for many Jews, who struggle with how a father could agree to sacrifice his son, regardless of who is telling him to. When we find the behavior of our patriarchs and matriarchs troubling, we see it as an invitation to look more deeply at the story to find meaning for our own lives.

One of the ways I have understood Abraham’s lack of objection is that it’s easier sometimes to stand up for strangers, as Abraham stood up for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, than to stand up for ourselves. This is a reading that sees Abraham as being so devastated by the command to sacrifice Isaac that he numbly complies without argument. (Jews also understand the stories in our Torah as having multiple meanings, even contradictory ones.) This interpretation helped me to understand something about many people, not just Abraham.

We look to Avraham Avinu to find God’s first covenant with a family that later became the Jewish people. We look to him as an example of a relationship with God—he tries to understand, he questions, he argues, sometimes he looks out for himself, and sometimes he does as he is told. He isn’t perfect, but God chooses him. And we can strive to have that kind of relationship with God, too.

Rabbi Heidi Hoover
Temple Beth Emeth
Brooklyn, New York

Abraham in the Christian Tradition

From the deepest mists of time our Holy Scriptures tell of Abraham’s wanderings through life with his wife Sarah from Mesopotamia, possibly near Edessa (Urfa in modern day Turkey), across the Sinai and into Egypt and then back again into the Hebron Valley. These Holy Scriptures also tell of Abraham’s spiritual wanderings and even his stumbles, as he becomes ever more aware of the call to live in a covenant relationship of righteousness, trust and love with our One God and Father of Us All.

Like so many of us today, Abraham, this great and ancient archetype of so many faiths and cultures, was called into a personal relationship of righteousness and faith with God and humanity.  Descriptions of the human experience as we struggle with both good and evil extend through his life and all through the genealogies of our faith for thousands of generations; the path of faith and righteousness, though life and culture is filled with both human weakness and yet also joy.

Christians take heart and great assurance in these accounts of the struggles and the enduring honesty, faithfulness and forgiveness shared between God, Abraham and Sarah. They are the ancestors of our Savior Jesus Christ, whom we believe has stepped into history to bring us forth in forgiveness and restoration from our own weakness and stumbles in our life of faith. So Christians also claim Abraham and Sarah as our own ancestors.

The Book of Genesis (25:9) tells us that when Abraham “was gathered to his people” his sons Isaac and Ishmael came together to bury his remains in the cave of Machpelah that was purchased earlier from the Hittites as a burial place for his wife Sarah.

I find this passage touched with love and hope for each of us today. For here we notice that Abraham’s sons, who took their separate ways as patriarchs in their own expressions of faith, came together once again to honor their father. They came together in peace even in the presence of their mutual and ancient enemy, the Hittites.

And so, may we, as brothers and sisters in faith like Abraham, Sarah, Ishmael and Isaac, and even those beyond the understanding of our faith, be brought together again under the high calling of living within God’s covenant of steadfast love, abiding justice and eternal mercy.

The Rev. Anne McRae Wrede
The Episcopal Churches of St. Stephen
Beverly and Riverside New Jersey

This article is a fruit of interfaith gatherings organized by a number of partners from different faith traditions. I am very thankful to everyone involved, but especially to Rabbi Paul Jacobson (Temple Avodat Shalom), Fr. Michael Perry (Our Lady of Refuge Church), Rabbi Matt Carl, Cantor Sam Levine, and Sally Hipscher (East Midwood Jewish Center), Rabbi Heidi Hoover (Temple Beth Emeth), Rev. Anne McRae Wrede (Episcopal Churches of St. Stephen Beverly and Riverside New Jersey), Mr. Ercan Tozan (Peace Islands Institute), and Mr. Fethullah Önal (Turkish Cultural Center), for their efforts to provide us with opportunities to reflect on the legacy of Abraham and to promote peace in our society.

Taqwa is having the due high regard for God Almighty. And those who adopt it as their life philosophy and accordingly adjust their feelings, thoughts, and deeds are called muttaqi. To live a life of sincere taqwa it is important to follow a certain discipline by avoiding extremes in all aspects of one’s life and to maintain a straight path. Putting forth some compelling criteria beyond the prescribed framework and trying to put them into practice may turn one’s life into an unbearable experience.

People should not be forced to practice what is voluntary as if it is compulsory. Instead of forcing people to do things, it is better to give good advice. In the case of a Muslim, for instance, the importance of supererogatory prayers like tahajjud should be emphasized. Muslims should be told that turning towards God, the Creator of the heavens and earth, in the darkness of the night when no one else is around may seriously help the faithful on their spiritual progress. It should be advised that we pray a great deal to the One Who showers us with His blessings – even if we do not deserve them – and enables us to accomplish more than we have the power to accomplish. Such blessings and benevolence require us expressing our gratitude verbally and in attitude. Therefore, it should be considered everyone’s essential duty to emphasize supererogatory prayer for a life of taqwa.

Before giving advice to others, it is important to practice additional prayers oneself; otherwise, your words will ring hollow. One’s own sincere practice makes a big difference, especially when it is to the point of losing one’s pleasure for anything when missing any such prayers.

One of the basics of piety that needs attention is the matter of a believer’s care with respect to what is permissible and what is not. I do not believe those who are not careful in observing what has been allowed and what has been prohibited, regardless of how insignificant the issue may seem, can attain taqwa or piety. Even if such people read the Holy Qur’an, for instance, they cannot feel the expected sense of awe in their spirit. The Holy Qur’an is a book that leads the pious to guidance (2:2). The basic characteristic of a pious person is escaping the unlawful and fulfilling compulsory obligations.

It can be said that one’s worldview also plays an important role in attaining the level of true piety. Yes, the world has two faces that lead people to both good and evil. In the words of a hadith, the world is “a prison for believers and a heaven for non-believers.” In another description it is called a ploughed field for the afterlife. Yes, a person comes to this world once and harvests in the afterlife what he has sown here. So we should appreciate the blessings we have been given here like youth, health, wealth, life, and time; and we should evaluate these blessings before we lose them. For these are like credit cards with which we can possess the worlds.

However, even though they possess all these blessings, there are those who are like fish in the ocean who are unaware of the water’s value. Yes, in spite of everything, a person should always live in awareness that there will be another life to come.

Another important matter for achieving piety or attaining new dimensions of faith is being able to escape from daily tasks and become busy with things that will provide metaphysical tension. A person should live such periods to the fullest and then during his new period of duty he can profitably work with enthusiasm. Yes, time set aside for this purpose, and the foundation laid and activities made during it, are indispensable dynamics for this world and the next.

Closing this section, I would like to mention a characteristic of people who have attained piety based on a statement in the Qur’an:

They remember and mention God (with their tongues and hearts), standing and sitting and lying down on their sides (whether during the Prayer or not), and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth. (Having grasped the purpose of their creation and the meaning they contain, they conclude and say): “Our Lord, You have not created this (the universe) without meaning and purpose (3:191).

Cooperstone JL et al. Tomatoes protect against development of UV-induced keratinocyte carcinoma via metabolomic alterations. Scientific Reports, July 2017

Skin cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. A new study suggests that nutrient rich tomatoes may be an effective tool in the fight against skin cancer. Tomatoes are already known to be a good remedy for sunburn. Dietary carotenoids are pigmenting compounds that give tomatoes their color. Lycopene, the primary carotenoid in tomatoes, has been shown to be the most effective antioxidant of these pigments. In the study, the researchers fed a group of mice a daily diet made up of 10% tomato powder for 35 weeks. They then exposed these mice to ultraviolet light. In comparison to those mice not given tomato powder, the male mice given tomato powder showed a 50% decrease in skin cancer tumors. Interestingly, there was no significant reduction in tumors for the female mice.

This study emphasizes once more the importance of sex when designing preventive strategies for cancer. In addition, lycopene administered from a whole tomato appears more effective in preventing redness after UV exposure than the synthesized supplement, suggesting other unknown compounds in tomatoes may also play a role. Finally, researchers underline the simple fact that foods are not drugs, but they can possibly, over a lifetime of consumption, impact the development of certain diseases.

New wearable sensor worn like a second skin

Miyamoto A et al. Inflammation-free, gas-permeable, lightweight, stretchable on-skin electronics with nanomeshes. Nature Nanotechnology, July 2017.

Wearable electronics are smart electronic devices that are designed to provide humans with digital assistance about everyday tasks. These devices are rapidly increasing, and it is estimated that within five years there could be half a billion devices strapped onto, or even embedded in, human bodies. Today, the most popular devices are health/fitness trackers and smart watches, which monitor health and provide ready access to online health services. These technologies promise to transform medicine, as these wearables can manage care and ultimately treat symptoms of various diseases.

The current technology is pushing hard to replace bulky health sensors with super-thin wearables that can record data through skin. The first generation of devices for skin monitoring have been bulky and impractical, restricting natural movement. Now a group of researchers have developed an innovative solution, one that seems almost out of a science-fiction movie. They demonstrated that a flexible, mesh-like structure of metallic nanofilaments successfully integrates with the skin on human fingers without irritation or interruption. Each nanofilament is about 300-500 nm in diameter and coated in a thin layer of gold. The mesh-like film sticks to the skin thanks to an ultra-thin layer of polyvinyl alchohol (PVA), a reagent commonly used in contact lenses and artificial cartilage. PVA showed exceptional performance in hypoallergenic tests when compared to conventional plastic and elastomer films. 

This newly designed device allows for very precise, long-term monitoring with minimal disruption to the carrier, facilitating active, body-worn sensors sensitive to touch, temperature, and pressure. These next-generation wearables greatly exceed those of traditional wristband-mounted devices and the technology could even have potential applications on internal organs.  In the near future, there will be devices that alert people with epilepsy to incipient seizures, help prevent anxiety attacks, and enable blind people to navigate.

Generosity sparks happiness in the brain

Park SQ et al. A neural link between generosity and happiness. Nature Communications, July 2017.

Philosophers, psychologists, and economists have spent hundreds of years contemplating what drives or inspires humans to perform acts of generosity.
In attempts to answer this question, some have speculated that giving satisfies a desire to boost one’s social standing in a group. Others have suggested it promotes tribal cooperation and cohesion, a key element in human survival. Another group of researchers claimed that we give only because we expect to receive something in return. The real answer, a new study suggests, may be much simpler: Giving makes us happy. To explore the connection between generosity and happiness, researchers divided 50 participants into two groups – experimental and control – who were each told they would be given 25 Swiss francs ($26)  per week for four weeks.

While the experimental group were asked to commit to spending their money on other people by buying gifts or taking them to dinner, the control group were told to spend the money to spoil themselves. After committing to spending, the participants were asked to answer a questionnaire while their brains were being scanned with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Participants in the experimental group were found to make more generous choices in an independent decision-making task and showed greater increases in self-reported happiness when compared to the control group. In addition, brain scans revealed that generous decisions engaged the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) in the experimental group, and the TPJ subsequently activated neurons in the ventral striatum, which is associated with happiness.

This study provides behavioral and neural evidence that supports the link between generosity and happiness, and it has implications for education, politics, economics, and public health. But many interesting questions remain to be explored: Can communication between these brain regions be trained and strengthened? Does the effect last when it is used deliberately – that is, if a person only behaves generously in order to feel happier? Can a lack of generosity have the opposite effect, stimulating negative brain processes?

History is filled with eras we don’t want to remember. Times of war, bloodshed, violence, persecution… Things we wish would remain deep in the past.

The irony is that the worst times were arguably the times when virtue and good character were best exemplified. Prophet Abraham’s life is just such an example, peace be upon him. Accepted as a patriarch by Jews, Christians, and Muslims, the story of Abraham, as told in the Holy Scriptures, could help the faithful of these three religions approach one another as cousins, if not brothers, as opposed to rivals. The faithful would be wise to study his struggle under the persecution of his society and state; his methodology of teaching; his and his family’s ordeals; his emigration; and his commitment to his cause.

In this issue, The Fountain explores what Abraham means to Muslims, Jews, and Christians. A Muslim author, two Jewish Rabbis, and a Christian Reverend reflect how Abraham’s story is understood in their own traditions, as well as how Abraham’s legacy manifests in day-to-day life, prayers, and worship. These reflections on Abraham may serve as a good source of reference for interfaith practitioners.

When studying the periodic table in chemistry class, none of us knew it was missing some elements. The Russian chemist Dimitri Ivanovich Mendeleyev (d. 1907), who deserves most of the credit for the table as we know it, predicted that the table would eventually be filled by new elements, to be found in the future. The article “The Last Elements” describes the qualities of the last four elements discovered a few years ago.

Our lives are deeply intertwined with the internet and social media – a 24/7 engagement in a virtual world. In “Protecting Our Privacy – or What Is Left of It?” we explore how much we are exposing ourselves to intrusion by others. Despite mass surveillance by the government and corporations, privacy still matters, and necessary measures must be taken by “combining technology, policy, and law.”

During an inauspicious period when the masses suffered concentric separations and succumbed to darkness, and when societies were stranded and stunted, their people losing hope as they were diverted from the path, these travelers of light essentially taught all exhausted travelers the qualities and conditions of being privileged as “the best of creation.” They invited the weary to self-respect, rousing the eyes and ears of those who had stopped walking on the path, and promising resurrection to lifeless hearts.

Thanks to their profound disposition and representation, over time, the abyss between the soul’s horizon and humanity became nothing more than a plain. The seemingly insurmountable peaks turned into highways. Each sea of blood and pus became a crystal clear waterfall. The travelers of light led the stricken, hopeless souls towards the horizon of light beams.

The travelers of light were created from dirt and clay, too; however, after spiritual transformations, they took wing in tandem with the creatures of light. They lent their wings to those in their environment so they could soar towards the peaks of “annihilation in God” (fana fillah) and subsistence with God (baqa billah). These are realms with no element or quality. Leaving their corporeal edifice a step behind and finding their metaphysical profundities far better, they ascended toward the realms where angels resound “May God bless you!” (barakallah). They even ventured toward the inexplicable domains far beyond the essence, where they urge, “Ride forth, for you have the ball and the mallet.” 

Almighty God, with His Divine will, majestic might and power, perfect favor, and profound compassion, reciprocated their step toward him with miles of proximity, bestowing innumerable favors on them for their turning toward Him, even if they just turned an inch. He conferred on them boundless Divine favors in return for their loyalty. He replied to their limited love and affection with His infinite and boundless kindness. He produced downpours of favor that no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard, and no mind has ever imagined.

Due to this, the travelers of light started fluttering between amazement (hayra) and stupor (hayman). They couldn’t think of leaving that atmosphere, even for a while.  How could they, when they always had an eye far beyond the horizons? When their hearts beat with eagerness for infinity and their emotions burst forth with the joy of love and unity? Of course, as they ascended to the “inexplicable” peaks on top of the atmosphere, they – by conferring all that pertains to the carnal self to anger and sensitivity – were filled with a profound sense of humility, modesty, shame, and awe, and each was inversely proportional with their horizons of sensation.

Sometimes, they sobbed and said:

“If the Compassionate One weighs me with these sins,
The Scale at the assembly place of Judgement will break!”
Sometimes they thoroughly criticized themselves:
“I glanced at the universe’s book of deeds,
I have not seen any book rivaling the anthology of my sins!”

As opposed to these blessed soldiers of truth who have always been dedicated to veracity and still run from one peak to another, there are also ill-fated, ever-shackled slaves of lust, fame, pomp, show, and power. They are those following Satan and his posse. Since they have turned away from servanthood to God, they have chased innumerable idols. Besides losing the hereafter, they have turned their world into hell thanks to stress, angst, and paranoia. They have lived with the fear and worry of losing all they have acquired, and by fabricating whimsical foes, they have engaged in fighting them, both plainly and secretly. They have spent their power and strength on tyranny, injustice, domination, oppression, aggression, and molestation. They have stooped to the position of being more evil than the most damned tyrants.

Within the constant cycle of historical recurrences, the slaves of pomp, power, reign, and fame have always displayed parallel attitudes to one another. They have all resorted to similar tricks, fooled the masses with similar conspiracies, and eventually fell into a pit of their own digging. How nicely Sheikh’ul-Islam Ibn Kemal puts it:

“Given a pick in the hand of your carnal self,
Do not dig a pit on the path of anyone.
Whoever digs a pit on the path of another,
Himself falls face down into that pit.”

With no exception, the arrogant, egotistical bullies of the past perished in similar finales. Surely, today’s fanatical and delirious tyrants, who disregard fairness, consideration, and justice, will meet the same end in the very near future.

In contrast to them, the radiant faces who are directed towards the right course always see the truth, think accurately, and strive to deliver others toward the truth. They lend a saving hand to those tripped and dragged by Satan. By showing them the signs along the road, the radiant souls arouse the shaken ones, orienting them toward light and radiance. It is their indispensable wish to save those who deviate from the oppression of falsehood. It is their mission to deliver them to the joyous clime of truth and justice, hence crowning their lives with the sentiment of letting others live.

No matter how dark days may turn, what distress weeks may bring, or what months may start and end in oppression, the radiant souls smile towards the future, believing:

“The night is always gravid with joy and sorrow,
See what emerges from the womb of the night before the daybreak!”

They walk on toward that sacred destination that is the object of their wishes and say, “Every night has its dawn and every winter has its spring.” They walk on by seeing each trouble and predicament as a font of purification, heedful that domination and tyranny are two inseparable trials placed on the path of prophets. Aware of walking towards infinity and turning down worldly offers, they walk toward eternity and reach beyond the world, to where the splendors of infinitude are apparent. They do so already intoxicated by and languid with the reflections on the beyond.  

May God bless the diligent travelers of this path thousands of times! Shame on the futureless, miserable tyrants who want to turn them away from this path!

The periodic table is a grouping of elements (atoms) of similar characteristics. It came about primarily as a result of the work of the Russian chemist Dimitri Ivanovich Mendeleyev (1834-1907). The elements in the table form 18 groups (columns), side by side, and 7 periods (rows), one under the other. To use a metaphor: with this discovery, the last four owners have taken their places in the apartment building of elements, which consists of 118 flats. The new elements have a total of 114 friends, 92 of which are found in nature.

For now, the 113th element is known as (Uut), the 115th element as (Uup), the 117th element as (Uus), and the 118th element as (Uuo); names are still being sought for them. Elements can be named after the team who discovered them, a mythological idea, a mineral, a name of a place, or the name of a famous figure in science history.

Let’s get to know the four new elements, which were obtained by the work of Russian, American, and Japanese scientists. These elements are produced in a laboratory, like 22 other artificial elements. They are not found in nature. Though we say they’re artificially produced, they aren’t created from scratch; they’re obtained from the reactions of other elements. In other words, the possibilities of their existence are limited by the properties given to the elements that cause them to come into existence.

These elements come into being through radioactive reactions triggered in specialized labs. These four elements, which are synthetic and radioactive, are in the 7th period. They cannot be seen with the naked eye and they are degraded in a time period shorter than a second.

The new elements

113th element (Uut): The element is obtained by the chain radioactive reaction of the element dubnium (Db) and has an atomic number of 113 and an atomic weight of 284. Since the study was carried out by Kosuke Morita and his team at the Riken Institute in Japan, they will be the eponyms of this element.

115th element (Uup): This element, discovered in Russia, has a proton number of 115 and an atomic weight of 289. It was obtained by the fusions [1] of the elements americium (Am) and calcium (Ca). This and the 117th element have been discovered in studies conducted in various laboratories in Russia and the United States [2].

117th Element (Uus): This element was obtained by the radioactive fusion reactions between calcium (Ca) and berkelium (Bk). It has the atomic number 117 and an atomic weight of 284.

118th element (Uuo): The proton number of this last element is 118 and the atomic weight is 294. It was obtained as a result of studies done in institutes in Russia and in the United States [3]. It was obtained by the fusion of the elements californium (Cf) and calcium (Ca).

Mendeleyev had predicted that the periodic table would eventually be filled with new elements to be found in the future. If he was alive today, perhaps he would be the most delighted scientist, as his predictions proved right. He was the famous chemist who discovered that the proton numbers of the elements were not just random numbers but continued in a sequential fashion, with no jumps in between. The point that we have arrived at today confirms Mendeleyev’s belief that we have the periodic table of elements complete with the atomic numbers starting from 1 to 118, without any gaps.

The question remains: can there not be more elements? Today’s scientific world says that the inner elements of the push-pull balance in the nucleus of an atom, such as the weak nuclear force [4] and strong nuclear force [5] do not allow this. The proton, neutron, and electrons, which are atomic sub-particles, carry the properties of smaller sub-particles, such as quarks and leptons, which make up these particles. We can thus say that the one who created inner forces in the atom can only be the creator of the smallest particles. That is, only the one who created these forces can set the limits for whether more elements can occur or not. Everything living and inanimate in the universe is made up of atoms; we can thus say that the creator of quarks and leptons is the creator of the physical world.

After all, the physical and chemical properties of all beings are related to the atoms that form them. It can be estimated that the characteristics of the atoms were given in the first few seconds of the Big Bang. This means that all the elements were created, with all their necessary pieces, nearly 14 billion years ago.

Here’s a thought experiment. Imagine if oxygen had been created in the liquid state rather than gas. Or what would happen if the atoms that form water produced a solid under normal conditions? What would the universe look like today? Would the conditions for life have been met? Would any of us be here?

Let’s give another example about metals: which elements would be metal or non-metal was decided at the very beginning of the universe. This is important: the physical and chemical properties of the metals we use are different from each other. If this were not the case, metals would have a very limited use in human societies. Suppose there were no iron or aluminium: how would we build a ship? If we used other metals – say, a metal with a high density, such as Osmium (Os) – then the ship wouldn’t float. A ship made of another semi-lightweight metal, such as lithium (Li), might float and move faster, due to its low density. But another feature of lithium is that it is very active. It is so active that a ship made of lithium would react with the water and explode as soon as it made contact. If a gold (Au) or platinum (Pt) ship were built, it would probably float for hundreds of years. But it is impossible to find the funding for such a ship.

Even one small difference in the elements could have completely changed how the entire universe functions.  Everything was designed with a superb order at the atomic level, even to the level of subatomic particles. One must ask how this perfect design came into being.

The elements were precisely created according to how human beings would need them, in what state, and with which physical and chemical characteristics. Perhaps it will be proved that the new elements will have strategic functions in the future. Whatever their fate, their existence is further proof of the universe’s perfect order.

Notes

[1] Fusion: The process of combining two elements as a result of nuclear reactions to form a heavier element
[2] Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
[3] Russia’s Joint Institute for Nuclear Research and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the US.
[4] Weak nuclear force affects proton and neutron sub-particles
[5] Strong nuclear force allows the proton and neutrons in the atomic nucleus to stay together.

References

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35220823
• http://www.webelements.com

Sea cucumbers consist of three main parts: the body fluid, internal organs, and the body wall. Each part has separate, biologically important compounds.  The most important distinguishing feature of the sea cucumber is the calcareous ring surrounding the pharynx or throat.  This ring is a connection point for the muscles of oral tentacles and the endpoints of longitudinal muscles.

One characteristic that distinguishes the sea cucumber from the other echinoderms is its crown, which consists of 10-30 tentacles around the mouth.  The tentacles can be shaped like fingers, feathers, umbrellas, or shields.  These structures help to sense, touch, and hunt.  Sea cucumbers move slowly and carry plankton, mud, and other organic material, especially diatoms, which they catch in the environment.  90% of sea cucumber species have an inner skeleton of calcium carbonate platelets right under the skin.  This structure consists of reduced calcareous microscopic ossicles and connective tissue. In some species, the ossicles expand to form a flattened, plate-like structure.

There are two important reasons why the economic value of these creatures is high. One of these is pharmacological properties, especially in America and Asia: tablets acquired from the animal’s body wall are used in various treatments. In Australia, compounds derived from these living organisms are used in the production of anti-inflammatory medicines.

A large industry has been formed due to the sea cucumber’s popularity as food. People catch them in the wild, but they’re also bred in captivity.

Some sea cucumbers have a group of organs that are not present in other vertebrates. These are the “respiratory trees” that are present in the body cavity.  Thanks to the hydrostatic nature of the respiratory organs, water can be drained into the body.  The sea cucumbers “breathe” by removing the oxygen from the water via the respiratory trees.

Sea cucumbers do not have a real brain and have no obvious sensory organs, either.  With the help of various nerve endings connected to the skin, they gain a sense of touch and can feel the presence of light.  Some sea cucumbers have a large number of adhesive disc tube “feet.” Since they cannot swim, they move only with their strong longitudinal muscles or with these tube feet.  They also use these slowly moving feet as sensory organs.

Defense mechanisms

1) Some marine species living in coral reefs have great defense mechanisms in order to protect themselves.  The sea cucumber has a unique one: by squeezing its muscles, it first stretches some of its internal organs, makes them sticky, and then blows them out of its anus, onto a potential attacker.  The predator, covered with the sticky organ of the sea cucumber, is perplexed and may even be temporarily blinded. The sea cucumber is not adversely affected by such an attack: the internal organs are recreated within a few weeks.  It can continue breathing thanks to the sea water taken into the body cavity until the organs are renewed.

2) The Holothuria sanctuary sea cucumber has a unique defense mechanism: the “cuvier organ.”  When the sea cucumber feels itself in danger, the cuvier leaves the tubules like a fishnet. These tubules, used as munitions in defense, have been created to be highly adhesive.  Thanks to this mechanism, a fish or crab can easily be made ineffective.

3) Another effective method of protection for sea cucumbers is a form of chemical defense.  A toxic chemical soup, secreted by some species, can pose a serious danger to other organisms.  Toxic substances in the skin of some have also been created as a deterrent to living creatures who want to hunt them down.

4) However, the most original feature of sea cucumbers is their ability to pass through narrow passages by literally liquefying their bodies.  Thanks to the magnificent neurological control mechanism given to it, a sea cucumber can convert solid tissue into a fluid, and then go back to a solid state again. The special collagen fibers in the tissues make this possible: 70 percent of the protein in a sea cucumber’s body wall consists of collagen.  By “liquefying,” a sea cucumber can flow through a small crack, and then it can return to its original state.  This trick can also be used to hide from predators.

Like so many organisms, sea cucumbers have been perfectly created to thrive in their specific environments. Their unique, awe-inspiring traits are a testament to the incredible design visible in the natural world.

References

1. Kerr, Alexander M. 2000. Holothuroidea. Sea cucumbers. Version 01 December 2000. http://dev.tolweb.org/Holothuroidea/19240/2000.12.01 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

1. Mehmet Aydin,  Some biological characteristics of the sea cucumber Holothuria (Platyperona) sanctori Delle Chiaje, 1823 (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea),  Biological Diversity and Conservation – 6 / 3(2013) Pg. 153-154-155-156-157-158-159

“The whole society becomes visible to itself as an imperishable living unit. Generations of individuals pass, like anonymous cells from a living body; but the sustaining, timeless form remains.” – Joseph Campbell, ​The Hero With A Thousand Faces

If there is to be a future in which to write a history of the 21st century, a great listening must occur. There must be a re-inhabiting of the Earth where people are participants in its systems. If it happens, this century will then be known as the Holistic Age, an age in which humanity began to recognize its place as a keystone species within the ecosystem, urging responsible action, living, and thought.

This age, if it comes to pass, would be based on an interdisciplinary approach, with a balance of respect for empirical, intuitive, and indigenous knowledge, rather than an emphasis purely on empiricism. The recognition of the sacred in substance would begin to be the basis of social cohesion and practice in all areas. Objectivity, as was shown in Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, would be recognized as an approximation. The greater certainty with which one aspect of a particle is known, the less certain another aspect becomes. Science would begin to put back together what it took apart, studying systems rather than parts. A shift in thinking, from objects to relationships, would take place. This reintegration would be total: cultural, spiritual, social, political, and so forth, for each would function only with the health and connection of the other.

I will propose four branches that have advanced the illusion of the split between the human, nature, mind, and heart, and the Holistic Age would begin to heal this split.

For the first time in human history, the dawn of the 21st century saw the planet’s systems pushed to the limit. Industrialization spread commerce across the globe, tapping into a finite, planetary pool of resources. Technology advanced exponentially, linking the world’s communications via satellites and the internet. Civil rights movements encouraged the world’s marginalized to equalize the playing field. The split between the mind and spirit imploded, as the theories of relativity and quantum mechanics had opened new doors a century earlier. What was thought to be the final chapter of physics suddenly disintegrated into uncertainties that blew open previous structures of thought. The economic models of unlimited growth and colonialism put forth by classical economists such as Adam Smith led to a tipping point of change. This change was catalyzed by unsustainable land practices and the use of fossil fuels, both of which stemmed from this split between mind and spirit, human and nature.

The first branch of the split in the Western world was language, especially written language. The subject, “I”, is separate from the object and must agree with the verb. If there is no “I” separate from “all that is” then, for example, instead of saying “I am skipping rocks,” we could say “This human-cell-of-the-earth and this rock-cell-of-the-earth are drawn to one another and the rock is orbited into lake-earth.” Of course, this is clumsy. It would be easier to say, “Rock skips lake makes rings of water.” Any subsuming of the “I” or pluralization, as in “We skip rock,” is almost a caricature of our stereotypes of so-called primitive thought. But a language humble enough to leave out the human ego or separation from the rest of the cosmos is not primitive at all. Could it be that the cultivation of our mind-ego above all else is actually a neurosis? A linguistic evolution would necessitate breaking some of the rules we have held so dear. Language could be stretched to unite us further with reality rather than separating us from it. Perhaps this is the work of poets.

Poetry brings us to stories. All cultures of the past have told stories so as to order time, the cosmos, and society’s place within these structures. These stories were our myths, but also the dawn of our religions and sciences. During the Age of Enlightenment, matters of science and the spirit split into two opposing paths. This rift in thought was brought about by scientists such as René Descartes, who himself was spiritual, but saw matter as definitively separate from mind. The philosophies of scientists such as Descartes influenced a dualistic paradigm that sparked the Industrial Revolution, which perfected the machine and the mechanistic mindset. This led to a global ecological crisis as fossil fuels were extracted, forests were clear cut, and water polluted at exponentially increasing rates. Thus the mind no longer saw itself as part of the body, and the body suffered. Purely “rational” science was one split leading to the next: the mechanistic industrial paradigm.

Intent or goals are then defined clearly by analyzing our thought and speech, without disregarding that which cannot be quantified. For example, love, the intelligence of nature, justice, and peace cannot be quantified, but this does not mean they should be cut out of the goals of the system because productivity and capital can be quantified more easily. Our intent shapes our actions and the definition of our goal must be also shaped carefully in order to carry out this action with integrity.

The last two ways deal with our perceptions of the world, our paradigms. Our worldview is the set of concepts we take for granted, every value and principle from money to cosmology. In order for us to change our world, we must change our paradigm. In order for us to do this, we could implement a scientific inquiry into our modes of thought and create a model of our beliefs. We begin by stepping outside of our model and seeing it for what it is. We recognize the set of desired beliefs according to our values or doctrine may not match our thoughts, speech, and actions. Then we can see our set of belief systems, actual and desired, for what they are and analyze how they work or do not work.

At this last stage, we could begin to transcend paradigms altogether. In the Holistic Age, there would be a sense of spaciousness for every truth ever born. Every perception of each living being would be understood as creating the Cosmos. Each different perspective would be embraced as a necessary and beautiful unfolding. No truth would be seen as greater or lesser than another truth. They would be seen to function symbiotically in a vast interconnected network of truths, a living being that is the Universe, evolving and becoming friends with itself through the mirror of our consciousness. This could be nothing short of Enlightenment itself.