Think of yourself as a desert ant. You leave your nest to search for food early in the morning in the deserts of Tunisia, except you do not know where to find food. You, therefore, walk randomly in the desert in a circuitous outward path from your nest until you find food. If you would find food, how do you get it back to your home? How do you go back without having left for yourself any traces or signs in the wasteland, without knowing where you located, and most importantly, without ending up stranded in the scorching heat of the desert? Could you accomplish coming back each day with food? Well, desert ants can.

To find out how ants can do this, scientists observed their behavior, and surprisingly they have found that ants did not follow back on the same trail they randomly took after they left their nests. Instead, ants took a direct route as if they already knew where the nest exactly located. How do these ants find the closest way and shortest distance to their nest from their current locations? Former studies had found that red and forest ants secrete a chemical substance to mark their paths. They leave a trail of chemical scents or visual traces behind them—like leaving a trail of breadcrumbs to help you find your way home. However, the structure of desert sands and conditions are not consonant with containing chemicals that will carry an odor or leave visual cues. Even if such markings have made, it is hard to guarantee that they will remain intact long enough considering the harsh conditions of the desert. As in Hansel and Gretel fairy tale kids who could not return home for the breadcrumbs they had left on the trail eaten by birds. Therefore, these desert ants must be equipped with another cognitive mechanism so that they can return to their nests before succumbing to the midday heat.  

Black desert ants (Cataglyphis fortis) emerge from their nests in the heat of desert sand, which rises to 70 degrees with the rise of the morning sun, to search for the remains of other insects that were not as heat resistant as they are. They can only survive for one hour on the hot sand and under the blazing sun, which means that within an hour, they must find their food and bring it back home without getting lost. The journey is quite arduous and dangerous each day. If the slightest confusion occurs and they are not able to return to their nest in time, then it could cost them their lives.

Scientists conducted a series of research in the scorching deserts of Tunisia to find out how desert ants take their food to their nests in the shortest route possible. Researchers first determined an anthill and plotted the terrain around it to set up a coordinate plane. They observed that the ants left their nests very early in the morning to begin their daily search for food, and many of them eventually found grubs that had been planted by the scientists. However, researchers moved the ants to locations that they had not previously been to after the ant began carrying the food back to their nests. The attempt was to understand whether there was a “sign placement system” within the ants. This system would encourage the ant to find its last known location, in this instance where it had picked up, then find its way back home. However, the ant instead began heading directly to its nest. It was as if the ant determined its position concerning its nest and set off for it immediately. This experiment was repeated on many ants numerous times and with the same consistent results. The ants, as soon as they had placed on the ground, moved to the nest relative to there. With a wondrous intrinsic coding of some neurons in their nervous systems, they traveled the distance between their new location and the nest in the shortest way possible. In addition to this, the margin of error was very nominal; they found their nests with a ten percent error in the average distance of 500-meters and with an error of only two degrees in angle. Additionally, a fascinating discovery revealed that the ants could calculate errors in their navigation systems. As they approach their destination, they would make adjustments if they need to by moving back and forth in parallel lines to reach the nest with minimum error.

Scientists determined that desert ants have about a thousand lenses in their compound eyes (remember that a human eye has only one lens) and 80 lenses in each of their eyes that can detect polarized light that comes from different points in the sky. Polarized light occurs when sunlight enters the atmosphere of Earth, hits air molecules and other particles, and then scatters in all directions. This dispersion leads to polarization, and the light that starts to vibrate in many planes begins to vibrate in only one plane. Therefore, the strongest of them is a distinct polarization that always makes a 90-degree angle towards the sun. The lens system in the eyes of desert ants uses this polarization to form a kind of Sky Map. These ants will occasionally stop and robotically move their heads while returning to their nest. This brief period allows the ants to make this sky map by surveying the sky and making a mental note of its layout. Researchers believe that ants can then calculate the direction that they need to travel to return to their nest. They repeat this movement along the way to continually update their sky maps. If they cannot find their home, then they utilize a patterned search method with a set of circular motions. It means that each ant knows how far it is from their nest at every point of their journey.

Then, how do ants find their direction to the nest? Perhaps they were guided by the position of the sun in the sky is. To test this hypothesis, researchers placed a set of mirrors to make ants perceive the sun in a different state than where it ordinarily would be. It observed that the ants changed their directions according to the new state of the sun. However, this finding raised another question; researchers wondered how the time of day would affect the ants since the sun moves across the sky during the day. However, this finding raised another question; researchers wondered how the time of day would affect the ants since the sun moves across the sky during the day.

In another part of the experiment, the researchers caught the ants after they found the bait, closed a box over them, and kept them inside the box for several hours so that they could not see the sun and its movements. It expected that the ants would have trouble finding their way back after they were released since a long time had passed, and the sun was in a drastically different position in the sky. However, they once again returned home by using the shortest distance possible. It understood that the desert ants were aware that time was passing even though they could not see the sun.

We now understand that ants determine their direction home by using the sun, but we still do not know how they figure out the distance they must travel to return to their nest. Researchers have developed three hypotheses to explore this phenomenon. The first hypothesis was the energy hypothesis. According to this hypothesis, the ants were able to know how much energy they needed on the way back by calculating it they had spent until they reached their food. The depletion of their energy meant the end of their journey. An ant loaded with extra weights to test this hypothesis as soon as it reached its food. The scientists thought that if their body weight increased, then they would not be able to strike reach the nest since they would spend more energy on the return trip. However, in this case, it did not affect the ants, and they returned home in the shortest way possible regardless of their weight.

The second hypothesis was the optical-flow hypothesis. In this hypothesis, it believed that the ants had visual memory, and this was how they remembered the way back. To prove this, scientists prevented the ants from seeing their surroundings by blindfolding the ants when they found their food source. However, the blindfold did not prevent the ants from obtaining the shortest distance back home. As a follow-up to this experiment, the researchers placed an extensive television screen in front of the ants showing an endless desert on the television screen to make the ants feel as if they had crossed the entire desert in this simulation. They used various types of simulations, but the result did not change; the ants found their way.

The last test involved the pedometer hypothesis. It surmised that ants could be counting their steps to determine how far they had traveled. To test whether they were doing so, researchers attached stilts made of hair strands to the legs of one group of ants after they found the food. As their legs now extended, they could move with longer scale steps. Another group of ants had their legs cut below the knee, thus shortened to increase the number of steps needed to walk the required distance back. They then observed the return journey of both groups of ants. The results were astounding; the ants with shorter legs had concluded their course before reaching the nest, while the ants with longer legs ended up passing the nest. Thus, it understood that the ants counted their steps according to the distance they traveled.

The findings reveal that the ants are created with an internal system that keeps track of the steps they take and re-calibrates itself on the way back. People make these complex calculations with measuring instruments and by knowing the laws of trigonometry. However, these small creatures find their way directly back without using any tools or computer applications. They do not use their perception to find direction, and they do not use any other directional methods because they all remember direction and distance as they move forward. If you look at this situation, what would be your simplest explanation? You can only have one definition: These little creatures can measure distances and angles precisely by applying mathematical calculations and trigonometry within their conditions. Since the first day of their existence, these creatures show only a few of the shreds of evidence of the divine power created them out of nothing with wondrous systems and superior abilities in their bodies.

I have put my trust in God, my Lord, and your Lord. No living creature is there, but He holds it by its forelock and keeps it under His complete control. Undoubtedly, my Lord is on a straight path (He governs all that exists and carries out His decrees rightly and with absolute justice). (Surah Hud, 56)

Humps store fat and also protect camels’ other tissues from heating due to sun light. It has also been reported that camels’ coats insulate them from heat by reflecting sunlight. This extra fat tissue (about 10-15 kg) provides not only energy in long desert journeys but also water through a biochemical process which leads to the production water molecules (1,111 g of water per 1,000 g of fat converted). It is also noteworthy that sparing a specific part of the body for storing fat and refraining from storage in other tissues provides decreased fat density, thus lessening heat retention due to fat.

Water is scarce in the desert and needs to be stored in large amounts when available. Amazingly, camels can drink up to 150-200 liters of water at once, and yet, after three days, there is no sign of water in their stomachs. Drinking so much water in such a short time could be a problem; this would be like a human drinking 20-40 liters of water in 10 minutes, which would induce water intoxication. The oval shape of camel’s red blood cells, and their ability to swell until double in volume provides plasticity in this situation.

Camels can lose up to 25% of their bodily fluids without showing signs of dehydration. This provides an extra durability against long-term water shortage. For comparison, most mammals can only withstand about 3-4% dehydration; further water loss might lead to cardiac failure due to thickened blood. Another protective property given to camels that allows decreased water loss is that they drop feces that are so dry they can be used as a fuel. For comparison, a dromedary camel loses 2.5 liters of water daily through feces (about just 40-60% water) while cattle lose 20-40 liters.

Camels also regulate sweating in a unique way. Their body temperature does not need to be constant; it can move between 34 and 41 degrees centigrade. They don’t sweat until it is over 40 degrees. These regulations allow them to preserve approximately 5 liters of water per day. A camel’s kidney function is also tightly regulated according to the availability of water. If they don’t drink water for days, urine production is limited to approximately 500g. On the other hand, if water is abundant it could go up to 7 liters. This urine is unusually thick, too – it resembles syrup. Remarkably, camels never run, which would increase transpiration; instead they just amble quickly.

However, dehydration can be still an issue, which will negatively affect the flow of red blood cells. Remarkably, camels have oval red blood cells, which better resist clumping when compared to round, human red blood cells. There are no other mammals with oval red blood cells.

Food is another problem for animals living in the desert, especially for big ones like camels. Interestingly, camels have split lips, which allow them to graze easily. They can eat thorny twigs without any injury. Eating green plants also provide the moisture that they need.

Sand is often a problem, especially during sand storms. Remarkably, camels are equipped with systems that allow them to close theirs nostrils to get protection against wind and sand. In addition, camels have two layers of thick eyelashes, which provide additional protection from the dust. The specific shape of their nostrils allows them to preserve vapor and allows returning it to the body.

Traveling over sand is difficult. Camels are created in a way that allows their four legs to kick in all directions. Remarkably, Camels are equipped with paddy hoofs and two toes to protect them from sinking in the sand and burning of the hot sand. In addition, they have long legs, which keep them further from the hot ground.

Though the modern world seems to have replaced them as a major mode of transportation, they are still widely used in areas such as North Africa.

It seems likely many more remarkable discoveries about camels are on the horizon. Medical researchers are studying how camels function – because these amazing animals might contain a secret which could save human lives.

Link between excess body fat and cancer

It is obvious that camels undergo a rapid cycle of fat storage and destruction. They store large amounts of fat – up to 15 kg. The correlation between excess body fat and various cancers in humans has long been known. For instance, a WCRF report recommended maintaining a BMI of 20-25%, and claimed it as one of the key factors can prevent cancer. However, a connection between obesity and cancer at the molecular level remains largely unknown. Intriguingly, a recent study performed at UT Southwestern Medical Center by Dr. Scherer and his colleagues shows how fat cells induce cancer cells to thrive in the breast, or fatty livers.

They showed that fat cells allow the growth of tumors via the secretion of a variety of extracellular factors. One of the fat cells derived extracellular factor, which is found abundantly in unhealthy fat tissue, is endotrophin. What endotrophin does is cause induction of blood vessels, which feeds tumors; as we gain weight, this increases the chance of getting cancer. The inhibition of endotrophin by antibodies in mice with breast cancer had a remarkable reduction on tumor growth and prevented metastasis to other tissues.

Well, if fat is bad and could increase the chance of cancer, and camels store and destroy fat as a survival mechanism, then how do camels manage the increased risk of cancer? Do they also have another remarkable property that lies on the horizon to be discovered? It’s probable there is a mechanism in camels that protects them from such adverse effects of excess fat. If so, how can we benefit from it to solve one of the biggest hurdles to human health? Some researchers might be close to answering these questions.

Antineoplastons

An interesting study, started back in 1967 by Dr. Burzynski and colleagues, examined the peptides in the urine samples of healthy and cancerous patients. They have found that cancer patients lacked a significant content of peptides in their urine. This finding led to the hypothesis that there might be a protective mechanism against the formation of cancer in the body through peptides. They identified a specific group of peptides found in the urine, later named Antineoplastons that show anti-cancer properties. A treatment scheme was developed through balancing the antineoplaston deficiency in cancer patients to control the abnormal cellular growth. They have tested both in laboratory and on the various cancer patients, and demonstrated some degree of response, albeit with excessive criticism from the scientific community. The mechanism of action of antineoplaston is proposed as functioning as a molecular switch; this activates tumor suppressors and inactivates oncogenes (drivers of cancer formation). Dr. Burzynski, in his clinic at Houston, TX, is still providing treatments to cancer patients with late stages of cancer using Antineoplastons, and claiming that there are survivals with his approach.

The use of compounds identified in the urine could be considered as a kind of urine therapy, which is used as an alternative treatment to cancer that has been historically practiced for different purposes. This reminds me of the prescription of some Bedouins, who got sick when they came to city. They suggested drinking the milk and urine of freely grazing camels at the city’s outskirts. It has been said that they drank this concoction and grew healthy again. This incidence and historical use of urine therapy suggests that camel’s milk and urine could have unique substances that might be effective in the treatment of diseases, maybe even of cancer. An interesting point here is that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, specifically ordered to drink from animals that are freely gazing, which is also mentioned in the Qur’an, such as in the miracle of the Prophet Salih with the she-camel about which his community was tried: “[S]o leave her to feed in God’s earth” (11:64). This points to not only the consumption of products from freely grazing animals, which is known to affect their nutrition levels and taste, but also to their increased therapeutic potential.

The Holy Qur’an calls for reflection on the camel specifically. I am little bit disappointed that the Houston Zoo does not have such a monumental animal. Contemplation on the camel provides various lessons on the understanding the Maker and Owner of the worlds and living beings, and the superior techniques used in the makeup of animals that live in the harsh conditions of deserts.

References

• 10 Amazing Facts About Camels. Retrieved from http://news.softpedia.com/news/10-Amazing-Facts-About-Camels-68843.shtml on April, 14, 2013.

• 20 Amazing Facts About Camels. Retrieved from http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/news-expressive-faces-camels?image=1#mzJyLiKcQPMoM1tD.99 on April, 14, 2013.

• Facts About Camels. Retrieved from http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/facts-about-camels-1654.html on April, 14, 2013.

• Camel. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camel on April, 14, 2013.

• Excess Body Fat Causes Cancer. • The WCRF report, 2007. Retrieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/87350.php on April, 21, 2013.

• Finding – and fighting – the fat that fuels cancer. Retrieved from http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/newsroom/news-releases/year-2013/feb/endotrophin-scherer.html on April, 21, 2013.

• Jiyoung Park and Philipp E. Scherer. Adipocyte-derived endotrophin promotes malignant tumor progression. J Clin Invest. 2012;122(11):4243–4256. doi:10.1172/JCI63930.

• Stanislaw R. Burzynski. The present state of antineoplaston research. Integr Cancer Ther. 2004 Mar;3(1):47-58.

• Urine Therapy. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urine_therapy on April 22, 2013.

• Ravi: Enes. Tirmizi, Tibb 6, (2043)

As recounted in the Qur’an (14: 34–41), Abraham left his wife Hagar and son Ishmael in the valley of Mecca on God’s command. There was the Ka’ba there, but it had been destroyed in time. When Ishmael was young, Abraham re-constructed the Ka’ba together with him. Because of the sanctity of the Ka’ba, people began to settle around it, and this is how Mecca appeared as a town and a center of pilgrimage and trade connecting merchants on caravans from Syria and Jordan, all the way to Abyssinia (Ethiopia). Organized in tribes, Mecca suffered from racial fanaticism and feudal warfare for centuries, leaving women without a value as they could not take part in wars.

In a larger context, the Byzantium and Persian Empires were in constant conflict and intermittently fought for over sixty years, which exhausted their respective peoples. There was a desperate need for a message that prioritized peace over war, a message that celebrated freedoms and rights for everyone regardless of color, race, or gender. And came the Prophet from Mecca, who taught and promised all of these. He was not alone in his mission, and his closest Companion was Abu Bakr.

Also called As-siddiq (“The Upright” in Arabic), Abu Bakr was approximately two years younger than the Prophet. Before embracing Islam, he was known as Abdul Ka’ba (the servant of Ka’ba), then the Prophet changed his name to Abdullah (the servant of God).

Among the youth, frolics, dissipations and frivolities were very common behaviors, but Abu Bakr was completely different. He had a very disciplined life. Once he was asked if he had drunk wine in his days of ignorance. He said he had never touched the wine because he had wanted to keep his reputation and respectability. This shows that he enjoyed a good reputation and respectability even before Islam (Ibn al-Athir, 1280).

He did not receive a formal education as many other Arab men, but he was a keen observer; he was continually observing what was going on around him. He had a very good memory. He could recite verses if he heard them only once. He attended poetical events (Ibn al-Athir, 1280).

Abu Bakr traveled to different countries including Abyssinia, Yemen, and Syria. These business trips brought him wealth, experience and broadened his outlook on life. He became one of the richest businessmen of Mecca. Accordingly, his social importance increased among people. He was hardworking, generous, friendly, truthful, committed. He had a lot of influence among his friends and acquaintances. As a trader, he was always fair, he never deceived people. He would visit the sick; he gave alms to the poor (at-Tabarî, 1987). One day the Prophet asked his people, “Is there anyone here who visited a sick one today?” Abu Bakr said, “I did.” “Is there anyone who fasted today?” Abu Bakr said, “I did.” “Is there anyone who participated in a funeral?” Abu Bakr said, “I did.” “Is there anyone who assisted someone who was poor?” Abu Bakr said, “I did.” Then the Prophet said, “Whoever does these four deeds in one day is counted among the people of heaven.”

While Abu Bakr was still young, he volunteered for an office which decided the blood money for the killed or injured. It was like a judge or magistrate’s office. He always satisfied both sides with his fair decisions. (at-Tabarî, 1987).

When God’s message was revealed to Muhammad, the first man to believe in him was Abu Bakr. On the day that he stated his belief, he gave his decision quickly and without hesitation showing he had complete trust in Muhammad. The Prophet admired his acceptance of Islam with the words, “Except Abu Bakr, everyone I have invited to Islam has experienced some period of hesitation. But Abu Bakr accepted my invitation without any hesitation” (Bukhari, 870). In fact, Abu Bakr had always doubted the validity of idolatry and had no enthusiasm for worshiping idols.

When Islam began to spread in Mecca, Meccan polytheists inflicted torture and intimidation on the believers, forcing many of them to immigrate to Abyssinia. Yet, Abu Bakr did not leave. He preferred to stay with the Prophet to support him in his time of need. And he was going to be the company to the Prophet in the Hijrah, his historic journey to Medina, which would transform the course of history forever.

Later when the battles of Badr and Uhud took place between Muslims and the Arab pagans, Abu Bakr, along with a few other companions, was entrusted with the Prophet’s safety. When Mecca was at last subdued in 630 AD, all the tribes of Arabia were convinced that Muhammad was a messenger sent to them by God. They stopped resisting and sent delegates to Medina proclaiming their allegiance to him. While he was busy receiving delegates, he entrusted Abu Bakr to preside over the pilgrims. This incident proved of vital importance later when a caliph was chosen after the death of the Prophet (Ibnal-Kathir, Isma’il, 1932).

His leadership

The Prophet made a pilgrimage two years after the conquest of Mecca. This would be called the “Farewell Pilgrimage,” as the Prophet became ill on his return to Medina and died two weeks after the illness. During the last days of his illness, he could not lead the prayers in the Mosque. He gave instructions to his wife Aisha to tell her father Abu Bakr to lead the prayers. This was taken by the Muslims as another sign to choose Abu Bakr to be their caliph after the Prophet’s departure (Ibn Hisham, 1992).

When the Prophet died in 632 AD, many people, among whom was ‘Umar bin al-Khattab, were shocked and refused to believe that he died. But Abu Bakr, steadfast as usual, addressed the bewildered masses and convinced them that Muhammad was no more than a Prophet like other Prophets who had died before him, and that there was no reason why they should not acknowledge his death. After much debate, in which both sides—the Medinans and the Meccans—expressed their opinions elaborately and freely, Abu Bakr was unanimously accepted to be the first Caliph. Soon there was a public meeting in the Mosque, and people from near and far flocked there to swear their oath of allegiance to Abu Bakr (Ibn Hisham, 1992).

The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, categorically rejected racism and tribalism. He also put an end to tribal wars. Sir William Muir makes the following comment:

The first peculiarity, then, which attracts our attention is the subdivision of the Arabs into innumerable bodies… each independent of the others: restless and often at war amongst themselves; and even when united by blood or by interest, ever ready on some significant cause to separate and give way to an implacable hostility. Thus at the era of Islam the retrospect of Arabian history exhibits, as in the kaleidoscope, an ever-varying state of combination and repulsion, such as had hitherto rendered abortive any attempt at a general union… The problem had yet to be solved, by what force these tribes could be subdued or drawn to one common center; and it was solved by Muhammad (Muir,1988).

Instead of tribalism and tribal attachment, the Prophet Muhammad instituted virtue and God-consciousness. He also instituted allegiance or public consent. People were free to elect their administrator. So after the Prophet’s death, his followers came together and discussed among themselves who would be their new leader. Since the one who would lead the newly-established Muslim community would succeed the Prophet in his leadership in all things except Prophethood, he was named the Successor. The Caliph means the one who succeeds. So the leaders of the Muslim community after the Prophet’s death were called Caliph.

1- The Wars of Apostasy

Abu Bakr had to struggle with apostates and false prophets. What elements caused the wars of apostasy? First, the death of the Prophet was a great shock to Muslims. For the first time in the lives of both the Meccans and the Medinans, they were united around a single religion. Their centuries-old customs and feudal or tribal values and understandings were abolished. Their absorption of the new system would not be easy. They accepted this system in the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad. So his death was a great shock. Adoption of the new system was difficult especially for the newly-converted desert tribes. Some of them left the new religion and followed false prophets who appeared among them and called them back to their old customs.

Secondly, Islam instituted zakat (alms-giving or charity). It was collected from the rich and spent for the well-being of the poor and for the wayfarers left without money to complete their travel. It was also used for those who cannot pay their debts, and for those who strive in “God’s cause”. Some desert tribes refused to pay it after the Prophet’s death. This signaled their revolt against the new administration in Medina.

Thirdly, the influence of the Romans from the north and the Persians and the Abyssinians from the east and the south encouraged the distant tribes to return back to their own beliefs and customs. (As?m, 1981).

Abu Bakr succeeded in putting down the rebellions and re-instituted unity in Arabia. His good reputation among people, his character, and his wise measures were influential in surpassing the rebellions and re-instituting the unity. He sent military units against the revolting tribes. In the end, those tribes gave up their disobedience.

2- Usame’s punitive expedition

The changes brought about by the Muslims in Arabia drew the attention of the Roman (Byzantium) Empire. In order to prevent their growing strength, they sent armies. During the time of the Prophet, Roman and Muslim armies fought in Muta, on the border of Jordan. No side could overpower the other in this first encounter. One year before the Prophet’s death, Romans organized another powerful army. On hearing this, the Prophet left Medina with his army and went as far as Tabuk, in the far north of Arabia. However, the Prophet’s illness caused this army to stay in Madina without departing. After his death, due to the news of rebellions in some desert tribes, some Muslims wanted to cancel this expedition. But Abu Bakr, as the newly-chosen Caliph, firmly opposed the idea, saying: “I will never cancel anything initiated by the Prophet”. The curious thing about this army was that it was made up of mostly the early Companions of the Prophet, but its leader was Usame ibn Zayd, who was only 18 years old. During the lifetime of the Prophet, his old Companions objected, but they were given a heated sermon in which both Usame and his father were praised as competent leaders (At-Tabarî, 1987).

3- Compilation of the Qur’an

1200 Muslims were killed in the battle called Aqraba, among them were many who were committing the Qur’an to memory. Umar ibn al Khattab, whose brother Zayd was among the dead, thought deeply of what might happen if wars continued and more such people were killed. He reached the conclusion that if the Qur’an was to be preserved, it ought to be compiled into one volume. At that time, it was scattered among the companions of the Prophet, with each preserving certain portions of it. Methods of preservation differed. Some had it written on parchment; others on palm branches stripped of leaves; a third group was written on bones; and a fourth on stone tablets; a large number also memorized it by heart. If many of those who had memorized it were killed, then a part of the Holy Book might disappear. So Umar went to the caliph, who was then sitting in the Prophet’s grand Mosque. He discussed his idea with him, but Abu Bakr rejected it because it was not something done by the Prophet. A lengthy debate followed, after which Abu Bakr was convinced that Umar was right (Ezzati, 1978).

Abu Bakr’s compilation of the Qur’an is regarded by many as his most significant legacy. It was even more significant than the wars of apostasy and the conquest of Iraq and Syria. Ali ibn Abi Talib used to say: “May God have mercy upon Abu Bakr! He is worthy of being superbly rewarded because he was unique in compiling the Qur’an” (Ibn Hajar, 1988).

Harun Gultekin is a teacher at Pioneer Academy of Science, New Jersey.

References

• Al-Bukhari, Muhammad. 870. SahihBukhari. Haidth no: 4/1701.
• at-Tabarî. 1987. Abu Ja’far Muhammad ibn Jarir, Tarikh al-Umamwa al-Muluk, Beirut.
• Cevdet, Ahmed (Pa?a). 1976. K?sas-? Enbiya ve Tavarih-i Hulefa, Bedir Publishing, Istanbul.
• Ezzati, Abul-Fazl. 1978. An Introduction to the History of the Spread of Islam, London, News and Media Ltd.
• Ibn al-Athir. 1280. Usd al-ghaba fi ma’rifat al-sahaba, Cairo.
• Ibn al-Kathir, Abu’l-Fida’ Isma’il. 1932. al-Bidayahwa’n-Nihayah, Vol. 14, Beirut.
• Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani. 1988. Al-Isabah fi Tamyiz as-Sahabah, Daru’l-Bayan, Cairo.
• Ibn Hisham. 1992. al-Sirah an-Nabawiya, Dar al- Fikr, Beirut.
• Köksal, M. Asim. 1981. ?slâmTarihi, ?amil Publishing, Istanbul.
• Muir, Sir William. 1988. Life of Muhammad, Osnabrück: Biblio.

The Aral crisis is the best example of an ecological problem with serious social and economic consequences, directly or indirectly connected with all the states of Central Asia. The critical situation caused by the Aral Sea drying off was the result of agrarian economy tendency on the basis of irrigated agriculture development and volume growth of irrevocable water consumption for irrigation.

The Aral Sea was once the fourth biggest inland sea of the world, located between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan (formerly in the Soviet Union). It moderated the inland climate for many centuries through water evaporation, which gave life to the surrounding deserts of Central Asia. The Aral Sea also was inhabited by more than one hundred fish species and supported productive fishing industries. Some fifty years ago the Aral Sea was surrounded by prosperous fishing towns like Moynaq.

The water area of Aral has periodically expanded and contracted in the course of history. These changes have affected the climate and the state of the region and led to important migrations in history. In spite of the massive glacier melting in the North and South Pole because of global warming, which would be expected to increase the level of inland waters, the Aral is rapidly losing its water. Because of poor environmental planning and the negligence of humans, the Aral Sea is now dying and according to the experts it will disappear in less than ten years.

The Aral Sea started to dry off in the early twentieth century. In 1918 Lenin decided that the only two water supplies of the Aral, the River Amu and the River Syr should be diverted for irrigation of the desert to increase land for agriculture. The idea was to boost agriculture, and this worked for a short period of time. The Soviets or Uzbekistan became the world’s largest exporter of cotton, which they referred to as white gold. The area of irrigated lands increased from 3 million hectares to 8 million. The population of the region increased from 7 million (1940) to 50 million (2000). At the initial stage of this project which seemed a brilliant idea at first sight, the irrigated land built up the economy of the Central Asian Soviet States and produced millions of jobs. Although, the result of the project was brief joy and success, the price of poor planning turned out to be by far too high.

First of all, the government had decided to grow cotton in a desert terrain. Cotton farming requires lots of water, which would not occur naturally in the desert. They also increased the production of other crops like water melons, cereal, and rice. Diverting the rivers cut the supply to the Aral Sea, and due to evaporation, it began to shrink. The first irrigation canals were initiated in the 1930s; however, these canals were poorly built, extremely inefficient, and wasted more than 50% of the water. Even today in Uzbekistan only 12% of canals are leakproof. The level of the sea has gone down constantly ever since; in the 1960s it became obvious that the sea level was falling; there was an average 20cm fall per year until the 1970s, when the fall became 50–60cm a year, and now it is 80–90cm a year. Especially in the period of 1960–1980 the diversion of water doubled, which reflected on cotton cropping as much as on the decreasing sea level.

The loss of water exposed the salty sea bed in the Southern Aral. Dust storms spread salty soil into the irrigated areas. Farmers tried to fight against salt contamination by flushing the soil with large volumes of water, which makes its way back to the sea. In addition, farmers used high levels of pesticides and fertilizers to increase the efficiency of crop production. However, these chemicals leave traces of nitrogen and other salts in high amounts in the soil. By flushing the soil with water to reduce salt levels, pesticides and fertilizers were also washed out and further polluted the sea.

Even more unsettling is that the Soviet government knew that they would lose the Aral Sea; in 1968 an expert said “it is obvious to everyone that the evaporation of the Aral Sea is inevitable”; and they also knew that fishing would be hit but the sad fact is that the government saw the Aral as an “error of nature.” The consequences of cutting the Aral’s water supplies and the irrigation of the desert were the beginnings of serious ecological and social problems in the 1960s. The sea was lost to fishing and transportation. This business of “killing nature” has not only affected the people living in the immediate vicinity of the sea. They did lose their jobs and they had to restart their lives, but the whole environment was affected too. Loss of water caused an increase in the overall salinity of the sea. Besides that, the bed of the sea, which held toxic chemicals and pesticides, was now revealed. The local drinking water is hence contaminated. The Aral was once the habitat of more than 120 unique species; now it has only thirty-eight. Being a heat reservoir, it had a cooling effect on the environment, but now the temperature can go above 120 degrees, winters still being harsh. Poisonous dust and salt storms take their toll. Infant mortality, tuberculosis, cancer and lung disease are thirty times higher than normal levels because the water is contaminated by fertilizers, pesticides and salt.

Currently the sea has lost more than 60% of its surface area and more than 80% of its volume; as of 2004 the salinity is 45g/l, normal value being 10g/l. While shrinking, it has split into two lakes, the North and South Aral Seas, now 95 miles away from Moynaq, leaving vast areas of salty desert behind. A BBC reporter said, “What appears to be snow on the seabed is really salt. The winds blow this as far as the Himalayas. The children of Moynaq have made a playground out of the wrecks of ships which might have provided food and a future for them.” The drying out of the Aral may lead to even more serious consequences in future if measures are not taken soon. First, increased temperatures may lead to the degradation of mountain glaciers. This could be highly dangerous for the region because the glaciers feed the River Amu and River Syr, and they are the only remaining storage for the supply of fresh water and moisture. Second, the Aral’s sea bed emits massive amounts of salt and dust into the atmosphere. Polluted air is carried over the area by a powerful air stream. Traces of pesticides and salt from the Aral region are now found in the blood of penguins in Antarctica. Moreover, the pollution affects areas thousands of miles away, such as the glaciers of Greenland and the forests of Norway.

In 2003 Kazakhstan decided to make this split permanent by building a dam (Kokaral Dike) between the northern and southern parts. The restoration effort focuses on the Northern Aral which is small and less polluted. This seals the fate of the Southern Aral, and is synonymous with its vanishing. The northern water supply, the River Syr has been restored and diverted back into the sea. Although it will not be the same again for sure, planners think that fishing will be rescued and the North Aral Sea will stabilize the climate by smoothing out the high and low temperature extremes and increasing rainfall. The efforts have helped to lower the salinity level which has even allowed the reintroduction of fishing in this area. The result is surprisingly encouraging. There are other proposals like diverting the Volga, Ob, and Irtysh rivers but this would be very costly and could cause yet another catastrophe.

This story has everything in it. Humans who disregard the ecosystem takes the gift in nature for granted. As we can see, however, nature is not infinite and it is breakable. Hundreds of years may pass until the region completely recovers. The magnitude of the disaster is comparable in scope to those of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and might be even worse. This is a great example of short-term greed and ill-guided economic moves disregarding the whole ecosystem and bringing consequences which have to be dealt with in the long run. In this particular case, there could have been other ways to avoid the damaging decision to cut the water supply of the lake fully, such as relying on a different type of crop which requires less water, or making more efficient use of water, and so on.

This disaster is a single example of the type of global catastrophe we might encounter again in the future. This being so it should be kept in mind when we think of our future. A lot of the damage humankind causes might still be avoided if we act firmly and quickly. This is not just necessary for our grandchildren or our children but even for our own generation since the consequences of ecological destruction are being seen more rapidly now. The widely known global warming cannot be belittled, and, as the Aral Sea example might have taught us, the consequences can be terrible. It is likely that more such unpredicted events will afflict us. Added to this, there are water pollution, deforestation, and the destruction of wet-lands. Every day we hear or read about these consequences of negligence and greed. But these geographical features are all in perfect harmony, and we cannot rudely and unthinkingly destroy them. As Lester Brown comments, “Previous generations have always been anxious about the future, but we are the first who decide if the Earth inherited by our children will be inhabited.”

Timur Ceylan is an expert engineer at AMD Technologies, San Francisco.

References

• National report: “On the environment state and use of natural resources in the Republic of Uzbekistan.” State Committee on Nature Protection of Uzbekistan. Tashkent, 1998.
• K.Isentaev. “Geological structure and perspectives of oil and gas reserves of the Aral Sea.” Workshop report. Almaty, 1997.
• Ministerial conference of Central Asia. “Assessment of the environment.” Aarhus, Denmark, 1998.
• J. Mahambetova. Non-government union. “Aral tenizi.” Aralsk, 1999.

For Muslims, it is now the Hajj season, a grand reflection of humanity’s unity and devotion to their Creator. Although countless authors have analyzed it, one point stands out: Hagar, a wife of Prophet Abraham and left by him in the desert with her infant son, ran between the hills of Safa and Marwah to find water. Muslims would be well advised to remember this as they jog between these two hills, as the Qur’an tells us to improve our lot through work, not through talking and complaining.

This is also a time of great importance for all Fountain staff members, for it is our tenth-year anniversary! As we launch into our eleventh year, we pledge to continue our mission: to work for interfaith dialogue, encourage individual and civilizational tolerance, and show the relevance of religious values and belief to modern life. Along with your continued active support and trust, which has helped us reach this milestone, we know that the Fountain’s articles will continue to improve and reach an ever-larger audience with its message that ‘yes, all of us really can live in peace if we treat each other with respect and dignity.’

In this issue, in honor of International Women’s Day, our feature article discusses how the monotheistic religions’ legal codes traditionally viewed women. The author provides a detailed study based upon a close reading of the Torah, the Bible, and the Qur’an. What he found might surprise you.

We also present several scientific articles on defining intelligence, attempts to formulate a ‘theory of everything,’ and how modern scientific discoveries are providing proof of God’s Existence. In the interest of sparking discussion, we offer articles on Christianity, Islam in the eyes of non-Muslims, an imaginary dialogue on democracy, and what could happen if human consciousness were transplanted. We also have our regular spiritual articles and one on a Chinese Muslim admiral who, before Columbus, led naval expeditions that dwarfed those of the later European explorers.

As technology makes physical distance ever more irrelevant and allows more people to travel, we need to understand that we also must globalize our minds and worldviews in order to contribute to humanity’s and society’s betterment on an ever-larger scale. The Qur’an tells us to plant a tree even on the Last Day. Just like Hagar in the desert, we must act instead of complain.

Thanks to all of our readers who tell us that they appreciate our efforts. We receive many calls from our subscribers in America who are anxious to get the latest issue. The mainstream media is also taking note of us: Several prestigious publishers want to reprint a few The Fountain articles. This is the kind of magazine that we want to be: relevant, eagerly awaited, and expanding. Send us your articles, and let’s work together to make the world a better place for everyone!

As this is the kick-off issue for our new era, we have changed the design. Please let us know what you think about it. We also ask all of you to work with us, for The Fountain belongs to all of us. We look forward to hearing from you!

Even though nature is an exhibition of miracles, we prefer to call it a book, for we hear and read it like a book and watch it with admiration while walking through its colorful gilt embroideries.

Just as the elegant architectural details of a chalet whisper that there is more to the chalet than what we see, this marvelous book of nature directs our consciousness to the source of all beauty and order beyond itself–the source that creates and brings to light. With every formation, this source makes us feel the presence of a perfect organizer and displayer. However, it cannot be sensed because its greatness is beyond human comprehension and perception.

When we look at the skies (heavens), we notice that this architecture in nature appears to be concentric. The mountains seem to lean their heads majestically at the skies’ feet, and the skies’ self-surrender to the strong desire of togetherness are nice symbols of this architecture.

This excellent book and perfect exhibition, created by Eternal Mercy and offered for our observation and study, is now even less valued and cared about than a pile of garbage. It is being transformed into a desert and rubbish from all quarters. Today nature is shaken, ruined, and scattered. Air, the throne of Divine Command and Will, is full of malicious smoke, a whirlpool fluctuating with subjugation. Water, the symbol of Compassion, is no more than death canals of tar.

The land, although created as a symbol of God’s infinite Kindness and Benevolence, is now an infertile desert having very little to offer.

Like all other things entrusted to us, we have ruined this book and destroyed this wonderful exhibition. Actually, we have betrayed ourselves by transforming this beautiful world into a hell.

If humanity does not rebuild and cultivate this destroyed planet and return it to its original beauty, we will experience events like Noah’s Flood in the near future.

Regardless of the modern mockery of these foolish lovers, one can find a deeper meaning in some of these stories. The mystic interpretation of Leyla and Mejnun, a well-known seventh-century Arab love tale, brings a different shade to the unforgettable theme: love. This story is quite original. As usual, they fall in love, are separated by their families, and continue to love each other. There is even a happy ending. The originality comes from the Sufi (mystical) interpretation of this love, a love that transforms love for a person into love for the Divine.

Many interpretations and versions of this story have come from Arab, Persian, and Turkish poets. The Turkish poet Fuzuli writes: Leyla and Qays (later called Mejnun) meet in childhood at school. As they grow up, their love becomes obvious. Leyla’s father forbids her to attend school and see Qays, for their obvious love is a very inconvenient situation in Bedouin culture. Leyla’s father rejects Qays when the latter’s father seeks permission for his son to marry Leyla. Overcome by grief, Qays goes mad. Nicknamed Mejnun (the obsessed, mad one), he leaves home and roams the desert.

His father takes him on a pilgrimage to the Kabah, hoping for a cure. Mejnun does not pray for a cure, but for his love to so increase that he will mention his beloved until the end of time:

Wherever in the world Thou findest pain,
To that sweet pain my aching heart enchain,
And banish from me every show of sense,
And closely bind me to a love intense,
For Leyla let me burn in fiercest fire,
That Thou in her I see is my desire.(1)

His wish was granted, and his love grew. He returned to the desert, leaving his family and worldly pleasure. Sympathizers brought him food and clothes; others scolded his uncontrollable passion. He was considered a madman and unfit for this world. Surely there were other women he could marry. What was this burning desire that only ceased in the cold desert night’s caress? People said:

This flame which is the reboiling
of the affections cometh from fire of
youth. When youth departeth from man
that boil of fire cooleth down.(2)

 Mejnun replied:

I am His majesty the Emperor of Love.
I have not been ashamed of lust.
became immune to the lechery provoked by
terrestrial flatterings by means of a bath of purity.
I have freed myself from the impurity of my lust.
I have destroyed the market of the passions.(3)

Mejnun’s love was neither worldly nor the passion of youthful excitement; rather, it was something far deeper-an existing emotion waiting for a spark. Kindled by Leyla, this love was now out of control:

Love for thee cannot be removed from the heart;
this mystery cannot ever be revealed to anyone.
This mystery came into my body with my mother’s milk
and it will go out again with my soul.
I feed on love; if love dies, I die too.
My nature hath been brought up on love;
my destiny must only be love.(4)

This great ability to love was not to perish in lifelong separation, but rather to flourish, for it was placed in him for a reason: Mejnun’s love was also seen as a preparation for Divine love. Earthly beauty is like a curtain which hides Divine beauty, whose brilliance could not be borne by the human eye. By practising earthly love, man prepares himself for the divine. According to the Persian mystic Aynulqudat, executed at Hamadan in 1132, Providence wanted Mejnun to practise with the love of Leyla in order to dedicate him later to Divine Love, as if he were a steed destined for a king and first ridden by others until he was tamed and trained.(5)

In that vast empty desert, Mejnun thinks only of love’s meaning and why it was given to humanity. He scorns people, unworthy of true love:

Love which is not eternal
is a toy of youthful lechery.
Love is that which doth not diminish,
which goeth back not one step
as long as it lasteth.
This love is not amusing fantasy
destined to disappear for ever.(6)

Love is a mystery. Many have said what it is not or should not be, but it is harder to say what it is, for its source is unknown. Sufis are those who try to understand the source of love. Gulen illuminates this mystery of love:

Ashq (passion or intense, ecstatic love), which the spirit feels without the intervention of free will, cannot be controlled by the person so affected, for its real source is God, Who loves Himself in a way special to His Sacred Essence and is essentially different from the love felt by the created for the created or the Creator. This sacred, essential love of God for Himself, including His Attributes and Names, is the reason why he created the world. It is also this love that manifests itself in human beings as love of God, as the most essential center of humanity’s relationship with God.(7)

Mejnun lost himself in Leyla and no longer existed as Mejnun. Roaming the desert, a realm as vast as the human heart and mind, he reflected on life, love, and separation. He found meaning in his grief:

I treated my passion for Leyla with Leyla as a drunkard treats himself with wine.(8)

This deep, mysterious love was a frequent topic in mystic circles. Mejnun was given as an example to Sufis who desired to feel true love. Sibli (1861-1945) proclaimed in a sermon: O people! This Mejnun of the Banu Amir! If one should ask him about Layla (Leyla) he would say: I am Layla!’ He for Layla (spiritual) would abstain himself from Layla (physical) in order to remain forever in her presence. This made him abstract from every idea except Layla, and he saw everything only for Layla. On another occasion Sibli said: Like Mejnun of the Banu Amir who when he beheld the wild animals said: Layla’ and when he beheld the mountains said: Layla’ and when he beheld men said: Layla.’ In fact when he was asked his name and how he was, he replied: Layla’.(9)

Here, one sees that Mejnun’s love for Leyla has been transformed into another kind of love. It has grown higher and rooted deeper than any worldly love could:

Whoever am I? And what is my name?
How do they recognize me
if not as thy shadow?
I reckon myself as nothing,
for I come from nothing and remain nothing.

The greatest barrier to true love is the self (ego). To be one with the beloved, the lover must sacrifice himself or herself. In most fairy tales, this sacrifice is symbolized by a hero facing a fire-breathing dragon or performing a dangerous task for the beloved. The hero risks his or her life to please or reach the beloved. Defeating one’s ego is just as difficult. Once people acquire control over the ego (passions), they may continue on the path toward true love. Mejnun reached the level of understanding, which Sufis call the state of knowing God. The Sufi understanding of true love is based on the Islamic tradition: [God said:] I was a hidden treasure. I willed to be known.

According to Stoddart: God can only be known, however, when the human ego, which instinctively regards itself as a self-sufficient centre”a kind of divinity’ in addition to the Divinity”is extinguished before the infinitude of God, in accordance with the words: There is no divinity but God.’ This does not mean that the immortal essence of the soul has to be annihilated; what must be dissolved is that mental morass, compounded of ego-determined passions and imaginings, the constant tendency of which is to restrict consciousness to the level of ephemeral appearances. When this veil’ of selfishness is lifted from the Spirit which is hidden underneath”the Spirit which sees through to the essences of things”then for the first time things are seen as they really are. God is seen in His all-embracing Presence, and the creature as a pure possibility contained in the Divine Being.(10)

Desert dwellers accepted Mejnun, and he roamed with deer and wild birds. He no longer looked or acted like a normal human being. According to one version, once he came upon a deer caught in a hunter’s trap. He released it, saying that he did so only because it reminded him of Leyla. The deer is loved for it reminds one of the beloved’s attributes, just as all beauty in the world is loved because it reflects the All Beautiful One. Mejnun felt sympathy for the deer because he could see Leyla’s image in it. The deer carried signs that reminded him of Leyla. Everything around him, all that was material and created, had no significance in its own right. They could not be loved if that urge to love was not planted in Mejnun’s heart.

One day Leyla comes across Mejnun in the desert. She bursts into tears and offers him her love. In one version, Mejnun’s gives a short and stunning answer, when she says: It is I, Leyla! He looks at her blankly and asks: Who is Leyla? This is the peak of the story.

Mejnun, named so after his heart-breaking experience of being without Leyla, has now reached a higher level of love and can no longer recognize the one who he once thought he could not live without:

To talk of being I or being you is out of place here.
In our faith there is no Duality.
Here I am. The other is but a beautiful portrait.
Here you are. The other is dust.(11)

In Nizami’s version, this stunning last meeting shows Mejnun’s condition as an ascetic:

Since the love for thee is fixed in me,
what is the use of thy image?
Since the love for thee appeared,
it is well that thy face should disappear.(12)

According to one reading, he had repeated Leyla so much that the words came out as Mevla (Creator). The joyous love felt by Sufis is fed constantly by the beloved’s brilliant reflections, which they witness night and day. They see life in another way, and those who do not see what they see surely may consider them mejnun.

Let us complete our words with the words of this wise, madman:

What use to me is a mortal Leyla?
I need a Leyla who will stay alive.
Behold, you see why I have broken with the world saying: Leyla, Leyla!
I shall break with Leyla too,
and then only the Lord remains.(13)

Footnotes

1. Sofi Huri (trans.), Leyla and Mecnun by Fuzuli (London: Gresham Press, 1970), 191.
2. Ibid., 68.
3. Ibid
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid., 62.
6. Ibid., 68.
7. Gulen, M. Fethullah, Key Concepts in the Practice of Sufism (Virginia: The Fountain, 2000).
8. Huri, Leyla and Mecnun, 55.
9. Ibid., 61.
10. William Stoddart, Sufism (New York: Paragon, 1986), 45.
11. Huri, Leyla and Mecnun, 72.
12. Ibid., 71.
13. Ibid., 63. 

Grief of separation consumes the lover, and yet

even in gloomiest hours, he never despairs of ‘spring’;

journeying from desert to desert amid bitter tears

in ever-constant hope of the union he desires.

He weeps from deep within a heart like embers,

always alert and on the move as if chasing gazelle,

drunk upon hope of the beloved who eludes him

and whom he finds again in his nightly dreams.

Phantoms of anxiety beset his spirit, on his face

now joy shines like sunrise, now sunset gloom;

at times the door is ajar on a far landscape just

perceptible, it’s colours and tones hinting Paradise.

A moment comes when despair overwhelms and hope

seems unrecoverable, and then another when dawn breaks

in perfumed brightness. At times he withers like leaves,

melts like candles, and his sobbing his heard from afar.

Even then, in never-ending autumn, the root of his desire

flowers in hope, he transforms the grief of separation

into longing music, makes deepest wells of sorrow

brim with joy, celebrating the immortality of Love.

In the deep wells of his eyes a meaning settles

from the eternal life and is present in his looks and smile;

his feelings sound the depths of eternity, then flow out

like soil-enriching river floods or fertile winds.

Whoever truly loves understands love is everything;

that it may be either fatal poison or elixir of life;

but whoever loves the Truth and pursues the ways

to the Eternal Being knows it as inspiration, as life.

***