Embryonic stem cells are cells in the early stages of embryonic development when a fertilized egg cell is divided first into two cells and then into four, eight, and sixteen. Each grows into a brand new cell type and multiplies as per the codes present in its DNA program as tissues form and organization starts. 

After twenty years of research and accompanying debates on the human embryo, we are finally on the threshold of both reshaping our present concepts in biology and moving on to clinical case studies. The first human embryonic stem cells were produced in 1998. Studies researching the question, “Can we treat diabetes by reprogramming the DNA in these cells at the beginning of life?” switched first to how human genes worked and which genes are responsible for the development of particular tissues and then to the embryonic stem cells for these areas and ultimately to replacing or reprogramming a “faulty or deficient” gene.

The most controversial topics in genetics and embryonic studies are related to bioethics. Many scientists are grappling with questions like whether is it ethically correct to intervene with the genetic programming of a fertilized human egg (zygote)? If so, what should be the limits? Are we trespassing a divine domain?

Embryonic stem cells have been an excellent source of information that we lacked throughout history about how living organisms started to develop. Like astronomers who trace their knowledge to the Big Bang in order to obtain fundamental information about the origin of the universe, biologists have been researching how the molecules in a single cell went through sequential and planned changes, how they transformed and acquired new functions that triggered the mind-blowing developments in diverse, miraculous living organisms. Scientists have found out how primordial embryonic cells transformed into more than 200 cell types that constitute various tissues and organs. The number of studies has skyrocketed about which molecule types can be used to regenerate the damaged tissue, say, after a traffic accident. Embryonic studies that focus on the regeneration or reparation of medulla cells (spinal cord) have been a source of hope for some patients with permanent paralysis because of a broken back injury or severed spine in a traffic accident or those who are still stranded in wheelchairs. Similarly, the preliminary findings of research into Parkinson’s and diabetes are extremely promising, and a new study reports of two blind people with macular degeneration (which causes blindness) who have been treated.

Initial studies

In 1981 researchers successfully obtained stem cells from a rat embryo culture. They soon realized that the cells held a secret potential: they could grow into 200 different types of cells. Later Wisconsin-Madison University biologist James Thomson derived stem cells from primates for the first time. Three years afterwards, Thomson derived the first human embryonic stem cells from donated but unused embryos.

The increasing number of research studies into embryonic stem cells sparked off intense debate both in religious circles and among the science community that care passionately about the sanctity of humans. Allegedly, lab studies were conducted on human embryos without restrictions, which were grown until tissues and organs formed but were then killed. In 2001, the US president George W. Bush slashed federal funds, stating that stem cell research was not strictly ethical. Deriving embryonic cells was banned in many countries including Germany and Italy. In other countries, however, studies went full speed ahead. Indeed, reports flooded in about stem cells grown by researchers in Australia, Singapore, Israel, Canada and the USA into nerve cells, immune system cells, and heart cells.

Before long, a new idea emerged about transferring new cells into the egg cell – like nuclei of body cells used in cloning Dolly the sheep – to produce various tailor-made, fully DNA-compatible tissues and organs, as they had the same genome as the donor’s. It became a topic of everyday conversations that spare organs could be cultivated for the human body just like spare parts of cars or other machinery were produced to replace a faulty or damaged part. In fact, if it were not for claims such as “creating a new human” there would be no objections against producing a kidney, lung, or heart from the DNA of a patient and thus overcome the major problem of tissue rejection in transplantation of organs.

If faulty or defective genes could be removed and replaced by healthy genes in the DNA of stem cells, many incurable genetic diseases could easily be fixed and many prospective parents who avoid having a child because of a defective gene they carry would welcome the development enthusiastically.

We are on the threshold of reshaping our present concepts in biology and moving on to clinical case studies. Embryonic studies have been a source of hope for even patients with diseases like paralysis and blindness.

Just in time and in the right amount

Embryonic stem cells are cells in the early stages of embryonic development when a fertilized egg cell is divided first into two cells and then into four, eight, and sixteen. Each grows into a brand new cell type and multiplies as per the codes present in its DNA program as tissues form and organization starts. It is most mysterious and miraculous that the molecules that lead a stem cell to transform into a new type of cell are synthesized at exactly the right moment and in the precise amount.  Scientists are currently trying to figure out which molecule leads a cell to become a nerve, muscle, or bone cell when attached to it. They are likely to decode the molecules by monitoring the tissues that remain undeveloped because of missing genes resulting from DNA mutations observed in certain genetic diseases.

The new field that has developed in the last two decades called regenerative medicine is predicated on tapping into the potential of stem cells by repairing missing or faulty tissues, or completing a link in the chain necessary for the functioning of a dysfunctional metabolic process. In 2006, stem cell biologist Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University in Japan successfully transformed adult rat cells into an embryonic state. The following year, human body cells were transformed into embryonic stem cells. The ensuing research has led to the acknowledgement that it was theoretically possible to transform stem cells into any cell type, a promising cure for diseased embryos that have genetically missing parts.

The major problem, however, is keeping these delicate cells alive in a culture medium. In 2007, Yoshiki Sasai discovered a molecule called rock inhibitor that nourished the cell colonies he grew. The success rate in generating new cell colonies rose to 27%. Parmar from Swedish Lund University heralded “a new golden era” by producing new neurons from embryonic stem cells for the treatment of Parkinson’s.

As new techniques were developed for producing cells fast and reliably, these cells turned out to involve a very low risk of developing cancer. “We don’t yet know how this hidden power and balance that can be transformed into any cell type is controlled,” states Hiromitsu Nakauchi, a stem cell biologist at Tokyo University who researches making blood platelets out of stem cells derived from the embryo or somatic cells.

Experiments are underway that aim to treat disorders by activating stem cells stored in the body that have not yet differentiated through the help of proper stimulating molecules. 

Miraculous differentiation

As the techniques for producing and feeding stem cells got easier, researchers aimed at growing and forming tissues and organs. A connective tissue or an outer covering like the skin that lacks a shape but takes the shape of the underlying muscles and bones can be produced even in a Petri dish and then transplanted to a burned or missing area of the skin. The present aim is the production of organs such as the kidney or the heart that has a particular shape and is made up of a number of different tissues. If the correct signal molecules responsible for cell division and differentiation can be identified and readily used where necessary and at the right amount, then organs including any type of tissue can be produced. Researchers like James Wells at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in Ohio have tested the damage of drugs on intestines by using the partial intestines they developed from stem cells rather than administer them to normal humans, thereby hailing the imminent age of intestine transplants.

In 2004, the doctors who did tube baby experiments for a patient in Chicago known to have a genetic disorder started to produce a series of stem cells from generated embryos. They made models at the cellular level of the emergence of such genetic disorders as thalassemia, Huntington’s disease, Marfan syndrome, and muscle dystrophy. In 2007, they used embryonic stem cells to suppress molecular changes that trigger mental disorders caused by a genetic disorder called fragile X syndrome.

Research shows that multipotent (mesenchymal) cells stimulated at the outset of tissues are even more promising than embryonic cells with respect to diseases because it is easier to repair damaged or missing tissue by guiding them. However, it is essential in a genetic disorder that cells derived at the beginning of the embryonic stage should be used in order to replace faulty genes with healthy ones and address the disorder at its outset.

Experiments are underway that aim to treat disorders by activating stem cells stored in the body that have not yet differentiated through the help of proper stimulating molecules. In this way, as many as ten illnesses are likely to be treated, some of which include diabetes, macular degeneration in the eye, and neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s.

Douglas Melton from Harvard Stem Cell Institute in Cambridge has worked for fifteen years to transform embryonic stem cells into insulin-producing β-cells. He has produced pancreatic cells that sense glucose and produce insulin and he hopes to transplant them to end the dependence of patients of diabetes type-1 on insulin shots. The last obstacle remains to be the introduction of these cells to the system so that they are not destroyed by the patient’s immune system.

Clinically, it is believed that stimulated multipotent cells have a greater advantage than embryonic cells because the produced cells and tissues have the same DNA as the patient and thus do not cause any immune reaction when they are transplanted. The problem for many genetic disorders including type-1 diabetes is that the patient has the same mutation in his or her genes, and a method should be devised for cleaning and replacing these cells.

Another problem is the cost. It is reported that preparation of a series of multipotent cells will cost about one million dollars. However, the cost is expected to decrease and cells will be developed for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, which is caused by a loss of neurotransmitter substance, which enable communication between nerves, and dopamine.

Treatment of macular degeneration is a popular target in this field. Patients gained the ability to read, though slowly, one year after the transplantation of part of stimulated multipotent cells to a damaged retina.

Such research studies normally cause some opposition. Playing with genes and embryos involve certain ethical and health risks. Yet, as reported in a Prophetic tradition, with all our God-given abilities like intelligence, curiosity, and willpower, humans can, and hopefully will, find cures for all diseases. Research into stem cells has the potential to provide many breakthroughs in these efforts to find healing for every human. Scientists and ethicists have to work together to determine our direction not to cause any unintended harm to any single soul while moving forward with this research.

This perspective was endorsed by many scholars and writers from around the world who kindly submitted their testimonials for The Fountain in 2013. Here is one by Rabbi Allen Maller from Los Angeles: “What I like most about The Fountain magazine is its wide perspective – not just about religion, science, the past or the present. It seeks to bring together in a special, respectful way different people’s insights in the nature of both the material and spiritual world that we live in.” Professor Wan Daud, from Malaysia, says, “All the articles and interviews show respect for knowledge, sciences, and hospitality, in a manner that is engaging and friendly to the mind.” John Davis from Athens, Alabama, concurs when he says, “Through the articles in The Fountain we can see that the other person faces the same concerns about life, about family, and about love and friendship as we do.” Professor David Perlmutter from Austin, Texas, explains our motto even better: “The Fountain is one of those few venues left where they step back and ask some big philosophical questions about society and faith.” You can read more of these testimonials from our anniversary pamphlet, “A Panorama of 20 Years,” which is available on our website, or watch these testimonial videos by clicking the Testimonial button.

The change of motto inspired us to conduct last year’s essay contest to inspire writers to ponder over their life philosophies and to condense them into a few words, like a motto. The 400 essays we received from around the world is evidence that all of us are quite interested in investing in some intellectual engagement and voicing our worldviews with others.

In the interest of sharing such viewpoints, we also convened a small group of 12 scholars from the US and Europe to meet with their colleagues based in Turkey for a three-day workshop last November. The topic was again inspired by our motto: “Conversations on Life, Knowledge, and Belief.” Unobstructed by formal structures of paper presentations that are usually required in other academic gatherings, partners enjoyed the freedom of lengthy periods of free discussions and defending their arguments. You can read a detailed report of the event on our website under blog: “An Overview of the Conference.”

Borrowing from the Lead Article of this issue, “we reflect on the joyous past and the beautiful future yet to come.”

Certainly, the future must never be forgotten; we should always accept it as the basis for projects of construction and revival in accordance with the pattern of our shared spirit, and we should respect it. Our great past too must be remembered in a positive way; it should be considered as a reference for the sake of spiritual roots. Alongside all of this, however, we must value most highly the time in which we find ourselves and use it scrupulously. To my mind, this is the right way for some to escape the feeling of constriction which is compressing and suffocating them. For, seeking refuge in tales of the past in a pessimistic mood and cherishing inconsistent dreams about the future while ignoring facts will lead us nowhere at all. Until now, such dreams have served no purpose other than worsening our longings, our grief, and disappointment.

How bitter it is that some just waste away their lives in a tide of vain fancies, instead of overcoming the constriction and tedium of their situation by strengthening their faith and relationship with God. This life is so short and limited for people like that; it has neither width nor depth enough to satisfy their aspirations, nor does it promise any hope in terms of the immensity of human feelings. Life is extremely unreliable; it can neither be quenched, nor does it consent to feed others till they are satisfied. It is not clear whether you can really possess it. You carry it on your shoulders for a lifetime, and then it just departs at an unknown turn without bidding farewell. Yes, no one holds a promissory note showing how long they will spend in this world. It is uncertain whether we can really rely on that term we all know, “average life expectancy.” Any morning or evening, or any other time of the day, while minding our own business, or preoccupied with something, unaware of the surprise to come, while walking down the street, without being given a chance to organize ourselves, we can suddenly just be dismissed from this world. As Yunus Emre, the Sufi poet, says,

They will put you in a coffin,
And lower it into darkness,
Without anybody going along with you,
You will be committed to the ground.

Everything finishes for us as we go into the grave; we make a break with what we have left behind, everything, including all our belongings and our children. Those who are still alive, crying out in their grief or running to the funeral, are faced with nothingness.

Oddly enough, we never take this end into account. In this respect, a particular life, a combination of a thousand factors, which has continued up to a certain day and which was expected to come to a result, is never possible again. Now, the book of personal accounts is closed, and a new stage in the accounting procedures, over and above all others, begins. We can call it the farewell to everything: to life, to beauty, to what we enjoy so much, to all the hopes and expectations which are now setting.

In this state, where all desires fade away, where all dreams vanish, where all hopes subside, where all sadness grows darker, and where all ideals turn into a broken dream, any person-no matter who-will feel thoroughly shaken. Maybe they fall to their knees, but there is not much that can be done anymore. As they see themselves topple over and be buried under the ground, they become gloomily pensive, moaning in desperation and sweating with the thought that they too will perish like everything else; they moan as their crystal palaces shatter, as their dreams are overturned and as joyful laughter, loving and being loved, and enjoyment of life all come to an end. Now the winds of autumn moan within their soul, and to them, every gusting wind sounds out the emptying of life everywhere. With such a feeling of emptiness, all the philosophies, civilizations, and cultures which we can describe as the order that is woven from common feelings, thoughts and the experiences of millions-maybe billions-of people, merely flow into the same vague and indefinite void. Newcomers are no more than shadows and those departing disappear into disordered dreams. Hollow frames, blurry lines, and cold absence replace all vital activities and all that which once seemed rose-colored.

The beauties which were always enwrapped in colors no longer shine, neither is there a sign of the brilliant faces, nor a trace of the tempting attractions he or she once knew; now the end of this fleeting world is apparent, and the most lovely faces are like autumn leaves on the path that has been stamped out by non-existence.

To some, the cavities opened in a person’s soul by death are so deep that, just as all souls who set off to such a void quake at their own non-existence, they too are startled by other people, nations, and even all existences and universes that pour into nothingness; they go through horrors. These people always play tunes of longing and grief; woeful sighs are heard around them all the time. Their dark atmosphere echoes with complaints about having come to this wilderness.

Be they young or old, such grief and disappointment are inevitable for those who lead a life confined to the limits of the body and the material world. Alcohol, gambling, entertainment, and leading a heedless life may provide some with temporary comfort in a state of oblivion, but they hold absolutely nothing to offer in the name of happiness. On the contrary, the usual condition of those who are addicted to such activities is nothing but stress, madness, misery, and frenzy. They writhe in successive afflictions every moment; they constantly suffer the darkest moods and enter delirious states.

Faith, hope, and breadth of conscience are what free people from their own constraints and carry them round the comforting and spacious realms of the soul; they enable everybody to take a relieving breath by dispersing the haze and clouds of heresy, unbelief, doubt, and hesitation; they turn dungeons into palaces and make one aware of the heavenly breezes; they elevate petty humankind to an expanse equal to and even transcending universes.

Whether it will be possible to explain this to those who are entangled in bodily existence and unable to see the vastness within their souls, I do not know.

In addition to all these questions, there is one aspect of time that will attract a believer in God and that is time’s fascinating connection with the act of creation and the continuity of physical processes. In this article, we choose to probe down to subatomic distances in an attempt to understand the act of creation and clarify the meaning of time, leaving cosmological time aside. Along the way, we will visit what some Muslim scholars have said regarding the issue. It is, however, useful to look first at the view of modern physics on time.

The classic and modern view on time in physics

The best known physicist who wrote on time is Newton. For Newton space and time were separate and were backgrounds on which physical processes evolved. Therefore, time can exist with or without events. As, according to Newton, time is a linear continuum of instants and each instant exists by itself, we can only talk about the existence of the present. In this approach time is absolute, meaning that it is the same everywhere in the universe. So your “now” is the same with my “now” no matter how fast each of us is moving. One consequence of this classic and commonsense view is that time-travel is not possible. At the beginning of the twentieth century, after the work of Hermann Minkowski and Einstein’s relativity theory the question “What is time” received the answer, “time is the fourth dimension,” which has become almost a cliché. It is not only difficult for us to visualize the fourth dimension itself, but also its relation with space. In Minkowski’s space-time, a time dimension can turn into a space dimension by a rotation, just as the length of an object can turn into its height by simply rotating the object. Actually, it is wrong, after all, to think of space and time as two independent things. As soon as there is space, there is time by default. An event happens in space-time at a particular space-time location and space-time spans all through these locations on which many other events happen. In 1919, in an interview he gave for The New York Times, Einstein explained the shift in the view of space-time: “Till now it was believed that time and space existed by themselves, even there was nothing, no Sun, no Earth, no stars, while now we know that time and space are not the vessel for the Universe but could not exist at all if there was nothing, no contents, namely, no Sun, no Earth, and other celestial bodies.”1

The new notion of space-time has also changed the deep-seated belief that only the present is real, because in the space-time present, the past and the future all exist together. “Physicists prefer to think of time as laid out in its entirety-a time space analogous to a landscape-with all past and future events located there together. It is a notion sometimes referred to as block time. Completely absent from this description of nature is anything that singles out a privileged special moment as the present or any process that would systematically turn future events into the present, then past, events. In short, the time of the physicist does not pass or flow.”2 The above view of the universe, described by Paul Davies, has been called “The Block Universe”; this view has also been supported by many philosophers like Leibniz and Spinoza. It is not wrong to say that it is not time that flows but it is us who are flowing by changing our space-time location in the space-time landscape at each instant. Simply put by Aristotle, “Time is motion.” There is a very nice example given by Rumi, also used by Imam al-Rabbani, given to explain the non-real nature of matter, which also explains how space-time comes into being with motion. Imagine a stick that is spinning at high speed with a fixed light on one side. Even though the light is fixed at just one point, once the stick is spun at high speed, we see a circle of light.

The theory of special relativity has also revealed that time is not absolute: Time actually slows with motion and stops when the speed reaches that of light. This effect becomes apparent only at speeds close to the speed of light at the quantum world and is not noticeable to us since the human scale motion is far too slow. The relative nature of time enters the general relativity theory as well with a theory that explains gravity as the curvature of space-time. One of the striking features of the equations of general relativity, which was noticed first by Godel in 1949 and then by many others, is that they allow for closed time-like curves in space-time. This means the possibility of time travel, at least theoretically.

A time scale we know nothing about

Modern view of time as explained above is valid up to atomic scale and has taken its place in the basic structure of quantum theory. However, science has no experimental ground to reveal anything about the nature of time at Planck’s scale or at smaller levels. The Plank scale corresponds to a time of 10-44 seconds and a distance of 10-35 m. This is a distance which is a hundred times a million times a million times a million smaller then the atomic nucleus. At such distances the quantum theory does not work. We have neither the necessary theory nor the necessary experimental facility to say anything about time.3

Relation of time with the act of creation

Long before revolutionary changes in the view of physical time at the beginning of the twentieth century there were always metaphysical explanations for what time really is; one of these was that of René Descartes. In his meditation on God’s existence, he argues that God must and does continually recreate the world at each instant. Therefore, time is a divine process of recreation. There are two points in Descartes’ statement. One is that creation is a continuous act and the other is its relation with time. We are all aware that the continuity of creation is found in the teachings of the Torah, the Bible, and the Qur’an. It is not that God created the universe at the beginning and left it to evolve according to laws. When it comes to the relation of creation to the essence of time, Descartes view, at first, may be considered to be a metaphysical speculation. But it may also be an inspiration which Descartes received from a divine scripture.

Many Muslim scholars as well have taken Qur’anic verses on creation as references for their meditations on the nature of time. Ibn al-Arabi, in his Kitab Ayyam al-Sha’n writes about the structure of time and takes the Qur’anic verse Every day (yawm) He is in a new manifestation (sha’n) (Rahman 55:29) as a reference. The Arabic word “yawm” which means day is interpreted not as a time period that we call “day” but as a day in God’s Divine Presence. In Qur’an, the special word “sha’n” is used while talking about God’s acts to distinguish these from human acts. Besides sha’n (God’s act of creation) is always associated with the smallest and finest of times that leads to the fact that His acts happen with an incredible speed. There are few Qur’anic verses about the incredible speed of creation. One is:

God creates whatever He wills; when He decrees a thing, He does but say to it “Be!” and it is (Al Imran 3:47).

And the other is:

Our commands are done within the blink of an eye (Qamar 54:50).

Both verses imply not only that God creates whatever He wills without any difficulty but also the speed which His acts and His commands are carried out. Therefore, most scholars interpreted verse 55:29 as “God is in a new manifestation or at an affair at each instant.”

Now going down to sub-atomic levels where we come closer to the recreation at each instant and reading the following lines from The Words by the Turkish Islamic scholar Said Nursi we are better able to understand the essence of time:

“Indeed, the transformations of particles are the motion and meaningful vibrations that proceed according to the dictation and principles of “The Clear Record” (Imam-i Mubin) which is a title of Divine Knowledge and Command and is the arrangement of the past origin and future progeny of everything in the World of the Unseen. They proceed by means of transcription from “The Clear Book” (Kitab-i Mubin), which is a title for Divine Power and Will and is formed of the present and the Manifest World and consists of the free disposal of that power and will in the creation of things. Thus, this motion and meaningful vibration proceed from the writing and drawing of the words of Power in ‘The Tablet of Effacement and Reaffirmation,’ which is a metaphorical page, and the reality of the stream of time.”4

The terms Imam-i Mubin and Kitab-i Mubin are used in the Qur’an in the following verses respectively.

And we have vested (the knowledge and authority) of everything in the manifest record. (Ya Sin 36:12)

The unbelievers claim, “The Last Hour will not come upon us.” Say: “Nay, but, by my Lord, Who is the Knower of the unseen, it will most certainly come upon you.” Not an atom’s weight of whatever there is in the heavens or in the earth escapes Him, nor is there anything smaller than that, or greater, but it is recorded in a Manifest Book. (Saba 34:3)

The term Imam-i Mubin, which is interchangeably used with Lawh al-Mahfuz by many Islamic scholars, is associated with Divine Knowledge and Command. Since Divine Knowledge encompasses everything, the Imam-i Mubin includes the past, present and future as well as the world of unseen. Time from azal (eternity in past) to abad (eternity in future) are found in Imam-i Mubin. Kitab-i Mubin, however, embraces only the present. We understand from the above Qur’anic verse that, Kitab-i Mubin accommodates the inward (batin) meaning of creation as well as the outward (zahir). The passage of time lies in a close relationship between Imam-i Mubin and Kitab-i Mubin. Time passes when God’s command proceeds from the Sphere of Divine Knowledge to the Sphere of Divine Power. Since we are restricted in time and are only witnesses to the Book of the Universe, that is, Kitab-i Mubin, we see only the present, instant after instant. In a way, we witness recreation instant after instant, a creation that continues completely unnoticed due to the incredible speed of God’s commands from Imam-i Mubin to Kitab-i Mubin. The interpretation given by Ibn al-Arabi to the Qur’anic verse Nay, (although they admit that We were not so,) they are in a confused state of mind about a new creation (after destruction) (Qaf 50:15) is that: There is continuous renewal of creation in every instant. What people see in the first instant is not identical to what they saw in the previous instant. So people are in confusion about this. Actually, through the manifestation of His Names, God continuously creates, annihilates and re-creates the universe.

Creation, time and the continuity of physical events

Keeping in mind the connection between Imam-i Mubin and Kitab-i Mubin and the renewal of creation at each instant, we can now contemplate on another puzzling issue: The continuity of physical events. Even before quantum mechanics revealed the discontinuous nature of sub-atomic particles, some philosophers argued that it is the mind’s apprehension of discrete events as being continuous that leads us to conclude that things around us are continuous. The best known macro scale examples are watching a motion picture in cinema which is actually seeing 60 images one after another in one second, and looking at a burning light bulb which is, in fact, light that is flickering many times. Even though these processes are discrete in nature, our mental snapshots one after another gives the impression that these processes are continuous. How about the discontinuity in the micro world? Professor Whitehead nicely explains the discreteness of the (motion of) electron in the following lines:

“It is not wrong to assume that an electron does not continuously traverse its path in space. The alternative notion as to its mode of existence is that it appears at a series of discrete positions in space which it occupies for successive durations of time. It is as though an automobile, moving at the average rate of thirty miles an hour along a road, did not traverse the road continuously, but appeared successively at the successive milestones remaining for two minutes at each milestone.”5

At this point it is agreeable to look further down to the distances that are smaller than Plank length, the smallest physical arena we can think of, where physics meets metaphysics and the act of creation takes place. This locus may well be the realm of discontinuity as well, as it is at this locus that materialization takes place. At this locus we may be able to witness God’s repeated acts of creation and annihilation and re-creation again, if we were able to probe down so far. So at the sub-atomic level, the transformation of particles can all be viewed as the vibrations that occur while God’s command is carried out from Imam-i Mubin to Kitab-i Mubin and back to Imam-i Mubin. Hence, there is the continuous cycle of coming into existence and dying in the Book of the Universe, if we call not appearing in the universe for a fraction of a fraction of a second dying, of course.

Taking the Qur’anic verse 28:886 as a reference, Nursi says “Existence continuously comes from God and returns to and perishes in God’s Knowledge”7 and he claims that there is no absolute nothingness (‘adam) since nothing can escape from God’s Sphere of Knowledge. In other words, even if something ceases to exist in the physical universe, or something that has not been even created or seen yet has some mode of existence, as it exists in God’s Knowledge. Because in God the ideas of all things are fixed, Imam-i Mubin, the title of His Knowledge, is also associated with a’yan thabita, which means fixed prototypes, where the latent realities of things exist.

Time versus dahr

Other than the term “zaman”, meaning time, the term “dahr” is also used in some Qur’anic verses (45/24).8 Scholars give different views on the use of the latter word; the widely accepted one is that “dahr” means a long period of time, an eon. Sadruddin Konevi calls God “Dahr-i Daim” meaning “everlasting dahr” and identifies this as the eternal time which does not have relative aspect but includes relative and temporal time (zaman). According to him, dahr is the essence of time. This helps us to understand the Prophetic saying: “Curse not dahr, for God is dahr.”

Conclusion

We have seen what physics has to say about time, but we will never know if science can grasp the whole truth. Moreover, science cannot tell anything about the nature of time for and smaller than “Plank era.” We either stop at that point and do not question further or break the tenets of positivism. Islamic scholars and intellectuals have always linked time to God’s act of creation. Said Nursi further linked the passage of time to the relation between Imam-i Mubin and Kitab-i Mubin. Being a creation in space-time we are bound to relative time and have only the perception of events in time. But it may well be that innermost essence of time lies not in the material world but in the Unseen.

Notes

1. The New York Times, December 1919.
2. Paul Davies, “The Mysterious Flow,” Scientific American (September 2002).
3. To probe down such small distances we need a particle accelerator much more powerful than the one proposed by SSC (Superconducting Super Collider) project that had been canceled by US Congress after spending $2 billion.
4. Said Nursi, The Words, The Thirtieth Word.
5. Alfred N. Whitehead, Science and Modern World.
6. Everything is perishable (and so perishing) except His “Face” (His Eternal Self and what is done in seeking His good pleasure (Qasas 28:88).
7. Said Nursi, The Letters, “The 15th Letter.”
8. And they say: “What is there but our life in this world? We shall die and we live, and nothing but time can destroy us.” But of that they have no knowledge: they merely conjecture (Jathiya 45:24).

Did you know that we are actually stardust? Most probably, you didn’t. Nuh Gedik lifts our eyes from the ground into the depths of space. In his thought-provoking article he describes how a star explodes to present a marvelous celestial supernova show. Supernova explosions are actually “the only source of heavy elements, including iron . . . the carbon that makes our cells, the hemoglobin that carries oxygen in our blood, and basically almost everything in our body are all made of elements produced in these explosions.” “Supernova Explosions” explains more not only about stars, but also about our chemical make-up.

The mysteries of nature are disclosed a bit more by another show, this time on earth: The glowworms of the Waitomo caves in New Zealand are bioluminescent flies which present stunning shows that rival the star-lit sky at night. The theory of evolution fails to explain the complex nature of this minute insect which can yield light at an output of 100% with no energy wasted as heat. Have we yet reached such a capacity of power production? Safak Ozturk tells us more in his “A Message from Glowworms.”

Inefficient use of time is something that we all complain about. Everyday, we get up in the morning and rush to our jobs to start work in time. However, today, more frequently than ever, we end up having spent our days having done little more than checking several e-mails, making telephone calls, and going to meetings to change schedules and deadlines. Cafer Tayyar Yavuz highlights the importance of even the smallest slice of time we usually ignore and explains how better efficiency can be achieved in our use of time.

“Now I’d like you to step forward over here. They’re not that different from you, are they? Same haircuts. Full of hormones, just like you. Invincible, just like you feel. The world is their oyster. They believe they’re destined for great things, just like many of you; their eyes are full of hope, just like you. Did they wait until it was too late to make from their lives even one iota of what they were capable? Because, you see gentlemen, these boys are now fertilizing daffodils. But if you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. Listen, you hear it? …(1)

In order to emphasize the point, he brings them closer to the photos and whispers in their ears:

Carpe… hear it? …carpe, carpe diem, seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary.”(2)

In this article, we will look at the phrase carpe diem in detail and find answers for such questions as: What is carpe diem? Why is it so important? What if we don’t carpe diem? and How can we live by this phrase?

Carpe diem defined

Carpe diem is a quotation from the Roman poet Horace (65-8 bce). It appears in the last line of Poem 11 in the first book of his Odes, which was published in 23 bce. The Latin word carpe refers to seize, and diem refers to day.

Carpe diem is a way of thinking, perceiving, and approaching daily life. It simply means to seize the day and to know that yesterday has already left you, and as for tomorrow, you have nothing to prove that it will be yours. In which case, your true life is the present day.(3) Thus, make the present day the most important day of your life. Seize the day, catch the wind, and use all of your potential before it is too late to reach your goals and to realize your dreams.

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why they call it the present. Babatunde Olatunji

Carpe diem does not suggest that yesterday was unimportant or that tomorrow is not critical. Rather, it means that today is the only day over which we have some control, and that today is the day during which we can introduce differences into our life.

This idea is stated clearly in a Sanskrit proverb:

Look to this day,

This very life of life.

In its brief course lie all

The realities and verities of existence:

The bliss of growth,

The splendor of action,

The glory of power.

For yesterday is but a dream,

And tomorrow is only a vision.

But today, well lived,

Makes every yesterday a dream of happiness,

And every tomorrow a vision of hope.

Look well, therefore, to this day.

The importance of seizing the day.

A Senegalese proverb says: If you wait for tomorrow, tomorrow comes. If you don’t wait for tomorrow, tomorrow comes. In other words, time marches on. However, we should not forget that every day is unique in itself, since each one of us has only one chance to live each day. No one has another life in the bank. Let’s ask ourselves: If I knew that today was my last day, what would I do? We most certainly would make good use of this day! This is what carpe diem means, and the reason why it is important.

The same idea can be seen clearly in the carpe diem cliché read by Prof. Keating to his students in the Dead Poets Society:

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may

Old Time is still a-Flying;

And this same flower that smiles today,

Tomorrow will be dying.(4) Robert Herrick

In addition, we should know that carpe diem is the key to understanding how nice, valuable, and important the current day is. When we realize this, we get a better understanding of what is really happening now, as well as a chance to respond to it with our full capacity on time so that we can make use of the opportunities provided by the current day. Thanks to this approach, we can live a more present-centered life, achieve our goals, and become more successful and happy. Richard Carlson’s formula for success illustrates this quite well: “When you focus your attention in this moment, instead of moments that are over or yet to be, you will maximize your productivity, creativity, and ability to accomplish your goals. Too many future-oriented or past-oriented thoughts cloud your vision and distract you from what you are doing. The more present-moment oriented you become, the easier it will be to stay on track, get focused, concentrate, and achieve your goals. In short, an undistracted mind is able to make wise, appropriate decisions.”(5)

No yesterdays are ever wasted for those who give themselves to today. Brendan Francis

What if we do not seize the day?

In this case, we never truly understand what is really happening around us. We either live in the past or the future – not today. If we do not capture the day and do not shape our life, we let other people and factors shape and direct our own life and so loose control of our own boat. We start making zigzags with every storm in the ocean that is our world. As a result, this vicious circle does not let us become who we really are and does not allow us to reach our goals and dreams, although we have the potential to do so.

Fr. Alfred D’Souza says: For a long time, it had seemed to me that life was about to begin – real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way. Something to be got through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.(6) source needed. Those who do not live by carpe diem will always face such obstacles. They will always get ready to live, but in reality, they will never live.

Furthermore, we must remember that every day is a new door with a new hope for a new beginning. If we do not seize the day, we think of today as past hardship and difficulty, as troubles and misfortune. Distressed, we imagine the possible future sorrows of disaster, become impatient and pessimistic, and feel unhappy. In being so, we resemble a foolish commander, who, although the enemy’s right flank joined his right flank and became fresh forces for him, sent a significant force to the right flank, and weakened the center. Then, while there were no enemy soldiers on the left flank, he sent a large force there and gave them the order to fire. No forces then remained in the center. The enemy understood this and then attacked and routed him.(7) As it is seen in this example, we ruin the center (the present day) by focusing more on past worries and future concerns than on the present day.

How to seize the day?

First, we should remember that “every day is a new door for new beginnings. And for everyone, every day has a private world out of this world, and its nature is dependent on the person’s heart, thoughts, and actions. [This is] like a splendid palace reflected in a mirror, [which] takes on the color of the mirror; if it is black, the mirror appears black; if it is red, it appears red. Also it takes on the qualities of the mirror; if the mirror is smooth, it shows the palace to be beautiful, and if it is not, it shows it to be ugly.(8) As we understand this and alter the shape of our own world with today’s heart, mind, actions, and wishes, we will make differences in our lives and acquire a more hopeful and positive perspective in order to achieve our goals and to become happy.

When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us. Alexander Graham Bell

Second, we should perceive the past as destiny, which cannot be changed, and the future as a new place that can be built with today’s thoughts and actions. Otherwise, we will always be occupied with past worries and future concerns.

Today’s opportunities erase yesterday’s failures. Gene Brown

“As for future days, they have not yet arrived, and to think of them now and feel bored and worried is a lunacy like thinking today of future hunger and thirst, and starting to shout and cry out.(9) Since this is the truth, reasonable people will think only of today in connection with hardship, suffering, and so on.

Third, we should recognize, accept, and appreciate who we really are and the conditions in which we live. Thus instead of complaining or admiring, we should look at those who are living in worse conditions than us and be thankful for the things that we have. In addition, we should use our wings of hope and determination to become like those who are living in better conditions than us. Doing so will help us to become more realistic and to live a more present-time-oriented life. Otherwise, our minds will be engaged with time-consuming, unproductive ideas and opinions. And, as a result, there will be no room remaining for carpe diem.

Fourth, we should be well-organized, systematic, and more focused toward our goals. We should not postpone anything, but rather should do things on time by making good use of each moment, for it is almost impossible to seize the day if we do not even know what to do, how to do, and when to do it. Such people can be blown from one coast to another by any little change of wind in their life.

You may delay, but time will not. Benjamin Franklin

Fifth, and last, we should not worry about anything; rather, we should make a serious effort to continue with a new eagerness and fresh enthusiasm each day.

Conclusion

Carpe diem is a way of life that makes people more successful and happier by helping them to live more in the present time. We should recognize that if we practice this idea, if we make today the best that it can be, if we can be attentive and sensitive to what is happening now, as well as make wise and appropriate decisions today, then we should be hopeful. Why? Because all of the efforts exerted and the hardships endured are like melodies of the happy future world in whose warmth the past and the future will be embraced and the present will unburden itself to its blessed friends.

Footnotes

1. Tom Schulman, 1989, Dead Poet’s Society Movie Script
2. Ibid.
3. Bediuzzaman, The Words, 21st Word, First Station, Fifth Warning
4. “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time”, Robert Herrick
5. “You Can Be Happy No Matter What”, Richard Carlson
6. Fr. Alfred D’Souza, www.quotationspage.com
7. Bediuzzaman, The Words, 21st Word, Third Station, Fifth Warning
8. Bediuzzaman, The Words, 21st Word, First Station, Fifth Warning
9. Bediuzzaman, The Words, 21st Word, Third Station, Fifth Warning

This fundamental teaching of brotherhood and sisterhood regardless of religious affiliation is being overshadowed by suspicion, anger, mistrust, and other negative trends and emotions that continue to arise from our pursuit of ever-more comfort and possessions and our refusal to realize that such things are finite. As we continue to gather them into our hands, others are deprived of what they regard as their fair share and become fertile ground for resentment and either passive or active resistance. Their negative worldview is only strengthened and expanded by the continued lack of modern education, meaningful employment, adequate health care, freedom from fear, and many other things that those of us who are more fortunate take for granted.

Underlying the above quotations is the need to understand others, for there can be no love among people without mutual respect and acceptance of one’s right to be different. Calls to celebrate diversity and accept multiculturalism abound, but many individuals and institutions have yet to go beyond mouthing the words while doing nothing to make them a reality. This is the true challenge of the new millennium.

In this issue, we present several articles on what we should expect from believers; certain similarities among the monotheistic religions; the roles of men and women, parents and children, and how they should work together to create a better society; the place of prayer in one’s life; and the need for joining scientific and spiritual knowledge to improve the quality of life for everyone. In addition, we present several short articles on the values of introspection and self-reflection, self-reliance and the need to stop blaming others for what happens to us, and how we should view other people.

We analyze one nation’s successful quest for development to see if its methods can be applied by other nations. Also discussed is the potential of e-learning to spread relevant knowledge in areas that previously had no access to it, and the hope that they will be able to benefit from it. Two of our authors explain how democratic governing institutions prevent wars between democratic nations and civil wars within those same nations, and how the formation of social capital increases society’s overall well-being.

Our scientific articles discuss the benefits of lightning on our health and even our moods, and how the existence of what scientists call ‘dark matter’ could signal a change in how we perceive ourselves and our place in the universe.

We hope that you enjoy this issue and, as always, look forward to your comments.

Establishing peace between people of different religions, backgrounds, and nationalities has always been a primary concern of civilized nations. Such a goal cannot be achieved overnight, of course, for it requires that all people become aware of the need for understanding and appreciating various religions and cultures through peaceful dialogue. The Fountain attaches great importance to such values, and strives to bring our readers’ articles that embrace this concept. To ensure a peaceful and productive future for everyone, it is vital that all societies incorporate and abide by these values.

In this issue, we present two articles that discuss this goal. The first article emphasizes the importance of interfaith dialogue and shows how misunderstanding other people’s religions actually veils many common beliefs and practices. Only dialogue can bring about a mutual understanding and appreciation of differences.

Thee second article focuses on the two largest religions today: Islam and Christianity. Interesting facts are brought forward about Islam’s respect for Christianity, and how the respect was implemented from the days of Prophet Muhammad and on into the Ottoman era. For instance, after Jerusalem was conquered during the Caliphate of Umar, all people, regardless of race and religion, were guaranteed their rights to life, property, and religion, as well as the rights to pray and keep their churches and synagogues.

As The Fountoin always strives to keep our readers up-to-date on current issues and developments in various fields of technology and science, we present an article on the energy market’s current situation and short-term future trends, as well as one on the increasing computerization of motorized transport.

On the more spiritual side, one article sheds light on our pursuit of and path to happiness and perfection. We have been created perfectly; we have all the faculties and senses we need. But are all of our amazing capabilities meant to be used here alone? After all, we are here only for a while and then enter the grave. According to the author, our eternal life starts at that point. While we are in this world, we are supposed to prepare ourselves our eternal life by using our senses, intellect, and feelings, not to mention worshipping God, to realize our full potential and achieve all kinds of perfection. The author describes and shares two analogies to explain his views.

Thank you to all of our readers who participated in our Writing Competition 2000! The deadline for writing submittals has passed, and we look forward to announcing the winners in our October 2000 issue. Keep an eye out to see if you’re one of them!

Please keep sending or e-mailing your comments. We eagerly await your input on each issue and value your opinions. Always feel free to send in general feedback and requests for topics or questions that you would like answered. Remember this is your magazine. It’s up to you to shape it the way you would lik to, and it’s up to us to implement your ideas and suggestions.

We hope to hear from you soon!

Enjoy your magazine!

O you who believe! Refrain from cherishing suspicions about others for some of such suspicions are a grave sin, and do not spy. And let some of you not backbite the others. Would anyone among you love to eat of the flesh of his dead brother? (You see that) you abhor it. Fear God. Surely God is the All-Relenting, the All-Compassionate.

Ibrahim Adham, one of the famous Muslim Sufis, left a table of food where a Muslim was backbitten, and said:

– I came here to eat food, but you have begun eating rotten flesh.

Khalid Rabi’, a famous Muslim saint, narrates:

– Some people were backbiting a man at that time in the mosque. I warned them not to do that but later when they began backbiting another one, I also happened to utter a few ill words about him. That night I had a dream in which a tall, dark man offered me a dish of bacon. I refused it saying that bacon was regarded as foul and therefore forbidden by my religion. He responded to me:

– You ate something fouler than this in the day just past.

When I woke up, I felt the smell and taste of that bad flesh in my mouth and stomach. I asked for God’s forgiveness for forty days.

To those who backbit him, Hasan al-Basri, one of the most famous Muslims ascetics who lived in the seventh century, sent a present with a letter in which he wrote:

– I have heard that you talked ill about me. By doing so, you took over my sins and gave me your spiritual merits. I request you to accept this present in return for the good you did me.

Imam Sha’rani, a Muslim scholar and saint who lived in Egypt in the 16th century, writes:

After the people receive in the Hereafter the records in which the deeds they did in this world are registered, some people will say to God Almighty: ‘O God! Where are the prayers and fasts I did and the alms I gave? None of them have been recorded here.’

God replies to them:

– Whatever good you did was recorded there. However, you were not able to keep those good deeds. You gave their merits to those you backbit. Go and look at the records of your brothers whom you backbit! You will see them there!

Again Imam Sha’rani writes:

Together with his people, the Prophet Moses, upon him be peace, prayed to God for rain for three days, but even a drop of rain did not come. When Moses asked God about the reason why rain did not come, God answered:

Your prayer is unacceptable by Me, for there is one among you who always talks ill about his brothers and backbites them.

The Prophet Moses entreated God to inform them who that man was so that they could expel him from among them. However, the Almighty responded:

O Moses! Would you like to cause me to backbite a man?

‘Abdullah ibn Masud, one of the leading Companions of the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, used to say to those who backbit others:

– Stand up and do wudu’! For what comes out of your mouths is not less foul than what comes out of your bowels.

Among the most visible characteristics of this age, we see that right is consistently sacrificed for the sake of might, selfish interests replace all other considerations, racial discrimination has a pre-eminent role in determining social attitudes and relations, and force (in one form or another) is resorted to as the single means to resolve national and international differences. Power must have its due place in the scheme of things, but if we see it as the single or most effective means of solving problems, we will have to explain why we, as human beings, are endowed with such faculties as reason and compassion. All the social revolutions and military movements of the past which were not based on belief, knowledge, moral values and sound reasoning failed to endure much beyond the lifetimes of their leaders.

When used to serve the cause of right and sound reasoning, power may do some good on the way to resolving problems. However, power has always been a means of destruction when subject to the rule of ambition and greed, of coarse feelings and coarse ideas. It is the madness of disposing and increasing power that drove Alexander to military ventures in Asia, which brought the genius of Napoleon to ruin, and most recently made Hitler the most accursed of the human race. Despite these lessons, right and intelligence remain under the dominion of power in the world.

Behind the chaotic whirl of damnable ideas and events in the world, there lies the abuse of power, the over-rating of its usefulness, so that human values, reasonableness and respect for right have been replaced by the resort to force. And it would seem that the chaos is set to continue until the few who dispose great power are submitted to the cause of right. Only then will the many, freed from the chaos and confusion, see the world and events taking place in it clearly without any bartier before them.

For oppressed peoples to survive in a world where only the mighty have the right to live, it is essential that they free themselves from the clutches of the minority who wield power, and bring that power under the dominion of right.

While learning lessons from the past, we should know how to prepare a desirable future for ourselves. In order to have hope for the future and not to sink deeper into a darker whirl of new, greater confusions, we need altruistic souls who live not for themselves but for others, who prefer others’ happiness to their own. Only those willing and able to sacrifice themselves for the well-being of humanity as a whole can save mankind from today’s chaos and confusions.

When the light-diffusing ideas, united with love and altruism, are shared by the majority of mankind, the ‘storms’ blowing world-wide will stop and the pains and sufferings come to an end. When the ideas of the heroes of love and altruism, combined with just discipline and balanced freedom, are a determining factor in the power balance of the world, world-wide social crises and massive problems arising from international relations will be solved one by one and the balance between joy and sorrow and happiness and misfortune reestablished.

Humanity expect from us – from the believers – great efforts to move mankind towards the realization of world peace and harmony. Every attempt, every effort, made to attain this goal, every movement to support right and truth, is a most blessed step taken toward God. Every step taken in that direction, however small it is, will play a part in the new, expected reform world-wide. Such steps may be thought of as drops, fallen into our present, from the blue ocean of the future. In that future, mankind will enjoy true happiness. We live now upon the dream of that blessed time to come.