In Xanadu: A Quest, William Dalrymple’s first book, is a work that amassed critical acclaim from the likes of Sir Alex Guinness (“The delightful, and funny, surprise mystery tour of the year”), and the doyen of modern travel literature Patrick Leigh Fermor (“…a most gifted book touched by the spirits of Kinglake, Robert Byron and Evelyn Waugh”), which must have made the twenty-two-year-old author’s head spin. It is by turns a very funny book. He changed his female traveling companion halfway but still managed to produce a work loaded with history and knowledge acquired when the author set off in the footsteps of Marco Polo from Jerusalem to the fabled city court of Kubla Khan in China. But those were early days and William Dalrymple has now become the chronicler of all things pertaining to the subcontinent of India, with doorstopper books to match. His Nine Lives is a personal favorite and amounts to research beyond the call of duty in which the writer sets off in search of the sacred in modern India. Again, marvelous writing as the author attaches himself to some of the adventurers within the life of the soul who have devoted their lives to extremes.

Music

After being made aware of World Music, we have been given a novel approach to Orientalism   through what has been termed “fusion.” Jan Garbarek is a Norwegian jazz musician who has felt an attraction to the music of the Orient. He is a saxophonist of great ability, an ability that that has enabled him to transcend common musical performance for he is able to assimilate the themes and rhythms of the East without seemingly imposing the conventions of the West. Any reader wishing to experience Garbarek’s music is advised to purchase the CD Madar, which has been released on the excellent German ECM label. Given that all musical appreciation is subjective, your correspondent suggests that this is currently the most exciting music on the planet. Grabarek plays tenor- and soprano saxophones on this recording, with Anouar Brahem from Tunis on the lute-like oud, supported admirably by the scintillating tabla of Ustad Shaukat Hussein from India. It is perfectly apparent that despite pessimistic and obviously conflicting academic views, East will meet West as sure as there exists any attraction between the sexes, and above all between musicians. Which medium could bring it about better than music, for some the highest of the arts?

For the general record-purchasing public the music of Asia more or less began with George Harrison who learned to play the sitar (“I started 15 years too late,” he said), and sang My Sweet Lord, his emotionally charged yearn for transcendence, with a brief intro on the instrument that beguiled everyone. The book that documents, in a fascinating way, all of the Asian music that revolutionized and widened the West’s appreciation of it is The Dawn of Indian Music in the West by Peter Lavezzoli, with an introduction by the master, Ravi Shankar. The author, himself a musician, tells of the violin virtuoso Yehudi Menuhin’s impassioned support of Indian classical music as early as 1955. Lavezzoli’s relentless research is a magnificent tribute and includes some fascinating and extensive in-depth interviews with classical, jazz and rock musicians who had willingly succumbed to the art of the raga. The interviews reveal that the rock musicians of the 1950s and ’60s were endowed with sensibilities that went beyond the norm and showed that they were not always interested in musical excitement based on a series of riffs and little else. David Crosby, who went on be a part of the successful Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young band, and Roger McGuinn of the Byrds, were both intelligent men who were at home with John Coltrane’s jazz and were also intrigued with the intricacies of Indian classical music. The sarod drone, the sitar’s first notes – like tin-foil blossoms cascading down – tinkles seductively to your ears. Then comes the pervasive backwash of delicate, reverberating sound the way an artist gives the foundation to a picture, followed by the pulsating ever-present sheets of sound. John Coltrane would have felt perfectly at home. The tabla player waits, resisting any urge to intrude until, there it is, the sudden opening, the sudden right moment, and with a decisive whack he was a part of it all. His insistent accents, punctuations, and singing taps made everything perfect. The sarod, the sitar and the tabla become instrumental friends. They literally hit a groove.

Lavezzoli’s book is a kaleidoscopic, dense appraisal for anyone with any interest in music of what can only be termed spiritual inspiration. This has to be the definitive work.

The Orientalists

Kristian Davies has produced a book of unsurpassed beauty. The Orientalists – Western Artists in Arabia, The Sahara, Persia & India is utterly irresistible. Published in 2005 and sold at an unbelievably reasonable $70, one will now need to consider spending around $200 for the cheapest on the market, then think in terms of $2,000 for a pristine copy. For anyone wishing to own great books, the outlay is worth it. There are 300 pages of text, and color plates in which to drench your eyes. We are not excused the debate around the theme that has raged for a while.

Orientalism has become the catchword for all that could be seen as negative. It is again, addressed here, that one finds the debate about blame apportioned to the West in respect of attitudes against all that is by definition “other.” On the one hand Mr. Davies rightly defends his position by presenting great works of art that are reason enough in themselves to make pointless all intellectual contention. One sides with Mr. Davies because – what the heck – who gives two figs for politics when one is confronted with such unsurpassed beauty? To be fair, however, one also reads something rather damning in The Brown Sahib (revisited) by Varindra Tarzie Vittachi in which he quotes from Lord Macaulay in 1835: “We must at present do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern, a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect.” The West has looked down on the East, but then humans apparently need something or someone to look down on for reasons best known to their own inner worlds. The argument that an excess of Oriental color and physical voluptuousness is not without reason, however, and one can be startled by what appears to be an exaggeration of physical prowess or physical beauty. Then something otherwise commonplace is seen. The tiles portrayed, quite rightly, in many Oriental pictures are here at a level of gorgeousness beyond comparison. The carpets are sublime, and the camels magnificently haughty. Kristian Davies has given us a dream made apparent with additional essays on Arthur Rimbaud, Jean-Louis Burckhardt, Sir Richard F. Burton, Jean-Léon Gérôme, JamesTissot and Jane Digby el-Mezrab. The color plates, which dazzle and delight are by such painters as Gustav Bauernfeind, and the American James Fairman, together with the British painter David Roberts, Eugène Delacroix, and many, many more.

In the “footnotes of Ibn Battuta”

Tim Mackintosh-Smith gives us Travels with a Tangerine: A Journey in the Footnotes of Ibn Battutah. The title may suggest a less than adept juggler, but a Tangerine meant here is a person from Tangiers. Mr. M-S (he abbreviates his hero throughout to IB) has a way with words and once underway is hardly stoppable when his pen doth riotous flow. His knowledge of all things Oriental will astonish, he is mind-bogglingly informed about God and the world and, of course, Ibn Battuta. Book two within his IB trilogy is The Hall of a Thousand Pillars, and it is here that M-S, faithfully follows IB’s journeys in India, which started in 1332. Book three is Landfalls: On the Edge of Islam from Zanzibar to the Alhambra. There is a free-for-all exposition of IB’s Islamic acquaintances and, again, M-S shows the depth of his own reading and research on the ground (try foot-slogging around India and you will know what that means). This is premier-league travel writing, which also makes Tim Mackintosh-Smith an Orientalist of note.

Istanbul

There have been many books written about the city of Constantine, but probably the most famous in modern times is Strolling Through Istanbul by Hilary Sumner-Boyd and John Freely. These two American expatriate academics produced a book, first published in 1972, that the Times of London reviewed as “the best travel guide to Istanbul.” This book is exhaustive in detail and is meant for people who will be obliged to walk the walk and have little breath remaining to talk. Chapter for chapter, day by day, each city landmark is given an itinerary, with maps, that will appeal to visitors who will definitely wish to go beyond the Grand Bazaar (your correspondent remembers it before the Coca-Cola machines), although it is also described, of course. The Haghia Sophia is given elucidation, as is Topkapi, and an endless series of museums, monuments, palaces, bazaars, markets, mosques, streets and alleys, schools of religion and, quite obviously, the ubiquitous public baths. History is writ large and architecture larger still. One of the wonders is the Şehzade mosque, also known as the Prince’s Palace, which was created by Süleyman the Magnificent to commemorate his son who died at the age of only 22. Determination and well-worn-in shoes are called for because the book urges one to go forth and inspect a further Süleyman edifice, the Süleymaniye mosque complex, considered by the authors to be the most important Ottoman building in Istanbul. The book continues to be a fascinating read and there is little, if anything, of the history of the city that has been left out. This book is highly recommended as a proper guide for visitors with both physical and intellectual stamina that will probably not inform one of a good restaurant, but will get you deeply immersed in the history of one of the world’s most fascinating cities.

Published in 2016 by the American University in Cairo Press, and edited by the Turkish novelist and essayist Kaya Genç, An Istanbul Anthology – Travel Writing through the Centuries comprises a selection of vignettes by famous men and women of letters. Mark Twain remains true to character with his sardonic wit, while André Gide and Gustav Flaubert are dismissive to an extreme. Ernest Hemingway is positively lyrical (“…the Golden Horn with its minarets rising out of it slim and clean towards the sun…”), and also included are brief extracts from the writings of Hans Christian Anderson, Herman Melville, and many more. Lady Hester Stanhope tells of her experiences in the Cağaloğlu hamam, after which she awakens hungry and refreshed. Gérard de Nerval describes a Dervish lodge at Pera. Théophile Gautier offers a knowledgeable introduction to Ramadan in the city. Twenty-four writers are here, some with more than one piece included. This delightful little book contains a number of beautiful illustrations of seemingly antique vintage.

Jerusalem

One of my favorite books is by the now demised but still celebrated author, Amos Oz. In his revealing In the Land of Israel the writer undertook a tour of the Holy Land in the 1980s to interview Jews and Arabs of all kinds. This amounts to worldly wisdom strictly according to the status quo. Amos Oz, however, was a peacenik and he included an interview with an elderly person who was quoted as saying, “This land belongs to nobody but God, when both the Arabs and the Israelis realize that there will be peace.” What is most evident is the view from the ground, of the ordinary people of all political or religious persuasions. We read of the internal worlds of those inhabiting a land in conflict. Israel exists in a state of cause and effect. In an interview that your correspondent had with the now demised Teddy Kollek, the mayor of Jerusalem for 28 years, he said, “I don’t think Jerusalem is worth the loss of a single life.” Amos Oz’s interviews end for the most part in expressions of bitter resolve or a sheer sense of helplessness. Above all else this book is as good as it gets when one wishes to become acquainted with the turmoil that is prevalent in the land of Israel. The writing is superb, pithy, factual, and embarrassingly honest.

And so to bed, and what better read than The Middle East Bedside Book to help one end the day with a contented smile or two. Edited by Tahir Shah, we find a selection of proverbs by Abdesalam Tunisi, who suggests that “too many captains sink the ship,” which obviously rings a culinary bell. There are extracts from The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan (sic) as well as A Thousand and One Nights. Among The Saying from the Prophet Mohammed is one example that will give pause for thought at the end of Ramadan: “How many who fast who know nothing of fasting except its thirst, and how many pray who know nothing of prayer but its sleeplessness.” Quite understandably Tahir has included some of the writings by his famous father, Idries Shah, who contributes a bantering essay about British expats in Bahrain. The writer on all things pertaining to Sufism actually offers less spiritual wisdom but all the more of his Travel Notes, which can be fully enjoyed in his book Destination Mecca. There are stories galore, each under their own title, such as Chivalry and Teachers, Customs and Social Habits, Rituals and Human Nature, Eating Customs among the Turks and Arabs (including several recipes), Wisdom and Honor, most of which are taken from early manuscripts. Under “behavior” we read from Ibn Amru: the Prophet said “The most beloved of mine among you is whoever has the best manners.” Suffice it to say, this book is a gem.

Addendum

A force to be reckoned with is Alfred Guillaume’s The Life of Muhammad – a translation of Ibn Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah. First published in Pakistan by the Oxford University Press in 1955, and now available in an edition of 1983, Guillaume’s work amounts to more than 800 pages of small print, which covers just about every aspect of the Prophet’s life. This work amounts to detail to the ultimate degree and should be on any serious Muslim’s bookshelf.

• The Orientalists – Part 1

“How can it be that mathematics, being after all a product of human thought which is independent of experience, is so admirably appropriate to the objects of reality?”
Albert Einstein

I have always been pretty sure that mathematics and science are the best languages to explain the natural phenomena. While for many mathematics is too abstract, for me, it is the beautiful language of the universe.

There is no upper limit to the numerical abilities of humans. First, we discovered fire, to get warm. Then, we needed light, so we invented electricity. When we needed to talk to someone 10,000 miles away, we invented the internet. Behind all these inventions, was mathematics.

Of course, the universe cannot speak or think. However, we, the people, can read the universe. There are many scientifically and mathematically inclined people who can read the universe and find answers and then describe them. We, the normal people, can also use our imagination as an apparatus to read the universe and nature. If we can read, hence, something is written. In order to write, a language is always needed. So, the universe should have a language. The letters are circles, triangles, hexagons, etc.

Everything in life has mathematical patterns. Think of the wild animals with stripes or patterns for the purposes of camouflage. But why does a leopard or cheetah or tiger have a particular design?

The Enigma codebreaker, Alan Turing, had a mathematical theory about leopard’s spots. Turing suggested in his paper “The Chemical Basis of Morphogenesis” (published in 1952) “a mathematical schema for the formation of the patterns found in animals and plants.” This was 60 years ago [1].

Stars have patterns. Astrologists have been looking at the outer space searching for patterns to better understand life. Whatever it may be that they find, it is always about mathematics.

Seasons have patterns. They come and go. And they influence nature: the climate changes, animals migrate north or south, rain comes, snow melts, the earth changes color, etc.… Of course, seasons cannot make these miracles. They can only have mathematical patterns.

Einstein had pondered for years on how mathematics works so perfectly. He knew that mathematics is the bridge or the language that connects humans with the universe. And being a connection between us and the universe makes mathematics the greatest achievement of mankind.

If you take a closer look at the patterns of our world, you will witness the language of mathematics. Let me give you some specific examples.

Fibonacci, the golden ratio, spiral, cabbage…

Our universe is filled with spiral designs. Spirals can be found in the shapes of the DNA double helix, flowers, elephant tusks, sunflowers, hurricanes, draining water, animal horns, a nautilus shell, a snail shell, a pinecone, a cabbage, a fingerprint, algae, galaxies… the list goes on and on. Tons of lifeless and living things have spiral designs. And they are not random spirals. They have something in common: the golden ratio! And surprisingly, “there is a strong case that this so-called ‘Golden Ratio’ (1.61803…) can be related not only to aspects of mathematics but also to physics, chemistry, biology and the topology of space-time” [2].

All these spirals in nature tell us there are numbers all around us. Let’s observe the numbers of petals on some flowers. When you count the number of petals of the flowers in your garden, you will get the numbers 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, or 55. These numbers are not random numbers. These are very unique numbers; they are part of a sequence developed by Fibonacci, a 13th century mathematician, by adding up the last two numbers starting from 1:

1+1= 2, 1+2= 3, 2+3= 5, 3+5=8 …

1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, …

F_n= F_n-1+F_n-2, F₁=1, F₂=1

But, why are those Fibonacci numbers so important? The key is, the relationship between the progression of growth and the proportion. There is a harmonic proportion hidden in the Fibonacci sequence.

A fact: If you divide one number in the sequence by the previous number, the answers result in or come closer to phi:

For example: 5/3 = 1.6666;

13/8 = 1.6250; 377/233 = 1.61802575; 317811/196418 = 1.618033399

Definition: In mathematics, two quantities are in the golden ratio if their ratio is the same as the ratio of their sum to the larger of the two quantities [3].

These numbers can be demonstrated with the spiral of the florets in a sunflower. The florets in a sunflower head also form two spirals. If you count the clockwise and counterclockwise spirals that reach the outer edge, you’ll usually find a pair of numbers from the sequence: 34 and 55. If it is a very large sunflower, you will get 89 and 144 [4].

These spirals are not only in sunflowers. You can see them if you look at a pine cone or a daisy. If you mark the spirals and count them, you will always get a number from the Fibonacci sequence. And if you count in the other direction, this time you will find an adjacent Fibonacci number.

The nautilus shell, the golden mean

What makes the nautilus shell so special for mathematicians? Having the Golden Mean. But how do we know that the nautilus shell has the Golden Mean?

First of all, we will start with drawing a small, one unit square. Then we will draw another square which is larger than the previous one. We need to add in a counterclockwise direction. The length of each square has a value from the Fibonacci sequence: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55 … Then we can draw spirals, starting with the smallest one, outward through the largest one. Then the Golden Mean will appear.

Flowers, plants, or objects have no idea about mathematics, yet they manifest the best of mathematical patterns. This marvelous mathematical art has been placed in their nature for us not to be fascinated only but also to explore the mysteries behind it.

Note

1. https://www.bbcearth.com/blog/?article=the-maths-behind-a-leopards-spots
2. https://www.sajs.co.za/article/view/4033
3. http://mathworld.wolfram.com/GoldenRatio.html
4. http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/05/sunflowers-show-complex-fibonacci-sequences

She was studying biology and was in love with the micro-cosmos.

“Why don’t you go to lab, then?” Alice asked. “It would be better if you stay there. At least we’ll know where to find you.”

Marylyn breathed and responded. “You know, there are three tiers of knowledge. One is while you sit in class. There, you just hear about cells, the plants, and various kinds of bacteria. When you are in lab, you see that the knowledge you know so far is just a narrative. But when I am in nature, even it is only one tree, I can live it. I can breathe in, breathe out, and each time my cells will appreciate me, my soul will feel refreshed. I wish I could breathe in all knowledge as such. I wish I could be more into their hidden world.”

“You know, I love hiking,” Sharon said. “I love seeing places that I have never been to. To get to know a tree I have never been introduced to before is a way of getting to know the wilderness friendship community. I try hard to have a meaning each time I walk on a new trail. There is that huge connection and circulation in nature. A drop of water that was once at Manhattan Beach can return back to the Bay Area as morning dew. A leaf that left the family tree in one fall can return to her wilderness society in the form of a new nutrient that serves birds or other animals in the form of a new plant. Scientists follow birds that travel for years, but we all travel around. That makes us a family. All are given to the service of humans at the end. Beauty is the thing that makes me think the most. Each snow crystal has a unique blueprint, though we cannot see that with our bare eyes. When an ocean wave pounds the shore, the way the drops of water scatter is very mathematical. You can measure it, and figure out a pattern. But does the water know this? Do flowers know how to calculate how to take off their petals, mathematically, every morning when they see the sun? If not, what kind of knowledge is it? As a human, am I the only one who can read this knowledge?

“If so, we are given both a big responsibility and a very deep honor. I cannot appreciate enough that duty and honor. But, my problem is it is not as easy to read or listen to the language of the universe as it is to read a book. But I imagine, if I could listen to that language, what would it feel like? I would have new friends each and every day from nature, friends who would have scientific names. But I know them beyond science. This is a knowledge of friendship. This is beyond just names; it is to be able to carry a conversation and be one of them.”

“You are funny,” Alberto said. “You should have studied philosophy.”

Karen was silent until that moment. “What you say about three layers of knowledge, reminded me of 3-D movies. It’s as if you would rather be in that movie. But I suppose we do not have a 4-D.”

“I agree,” continued Alice. “But I assume there is something in nature that tells you even though you are in the most beautiful place, it will not last long. Or you will not be able to penetrate into it. You are just an outsider. When you read a book, you can have a special imagined space for that book in your mind. Movies are different. Say, you read Great Expectations. Your characters and places are unique to you when you read it. No cinema can substitute the places and characters your imagination generates in your little world. So when you read, you enter into a secret world of your own. It is so secret that sometimes, even words or art cannot describe it. You travel to the tops of mountains, or to city centers – except those places only exist inside of you. And you can go to those places whenever you want to.

“Nature is like the words on the page of a book. The first layer of knowledge is to attain the ability to read. But when letters composed of leaves come together and form a word from a tree, and when you put trees together what does the sentence of the forest say to you? This is, again, a secret world. First it reads, then it tells, then it speaks, and I suppose at the zenith, it feels. When we go into the wilderness, the first impression is that feeling. Then we go backwards and try to see where it speaks, what it says, what it writes. At the zenith of that inner journey, we meet ourselves as a reader of nature. We are interlocutor, we are in a conversation that touches, that encompasses, but it is beyond the limits of even 4-D. We do not know how to describe it. Thus, we can only say that it feels.”

“Well, is it like me when I want to lie in one letter of a song?” Liam asked. “Or take that word as a jacket and wear it for days? Once we even discussed with my friends in philosophy club whether to initiate a group on wearing the sounds of words in our every day presence. A friend once made a presentation on how we talk out our inner self when we meditate and how that moment of meditation is indeed a replica of nature speaking in its own language. He brought pictures both from nature and from other traditions. He showed how sitting in silence is reminiscent of how trees with big, strong roots lay out on the earth. He showed how oceans and the earth prostrate, teaching us to be humble despite the fact that oceans and water compose 70% of the world and the rest is the soil. He showed us flowers that open their hands and arms to reach out beyond the sky and heavens. When we bow down, we intend to leave our carnal selves in the shape of an animal on four legs, he believed. In his presentation, nature spoke in the form of a human. But I do not know the reverse. Can humans decipher more than the symbolic language of nature? Can we delve in between the lines of the book of universe?”

‘This is a very sophisticated talk. I’m not sure I can add much to it,” Suzie said. “Yet, I see that this is also our daily lives. You know my friends in art school, we seek ways to make things speak in the language of art. I suppose one flower is an example of the highest level of sophistication in the artistic language. Humans can make that flower speak in zillions of languages. But art also feels. The regular words are just a tool to express the meaning. It is mostly a knowledge that is revealed in the forms of feeling. Is feeling also a type of knowledge?”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Evan responded. “My professor used to say that sometimes a great article begins with an unsatisfied feeling. You do research and find out that you were not satisfied because of an aspect you missed or that you were right and the literature dismissed one important point. Thus, we shall not underestimate feelings as a point of origin, but we have to dig deeper for the source of knowledge. Feelings are a trigger; the rest is all on the results of the analysis.”

“Well then,” Sharon said. “It is five minutes to my class. Hope to see you again afterwards?”

After that question, I found myself at the doctors.

“If your heart is OK, then your body is OK,” she told me with worrying eyes.

“I’ve never had pain in my chest for this long,” I told her. “It feels as if somebody is sitting on my heart. But if I put my hand on my chest, that warmth helps to alleviate the pain.”

She was concerned. We stopped and she urged me to go to the ER immediately.

“I need to pray,” I told her. “It will take ten minutes and I will be at the hospital praying room. There are always a few people there, so don’t worry.”

She nodded. “I believe in the power of the prayer and meditation,” she added. And she ensured that I see a specialist for the chest pain.

I left that building and crossed the road to go to the other building. I was holding my heart, thinking the metaphors that we think of as a mundane saying. None of the metaphorical descriptions were solely poetry or were merely linguistic elaboration. Rather, they all meant what is untold and unseen and indescribable. At that moment I realized this heart was given to me. I was doing my best for a month to satisfy her needs and to ease her tension. But she was behaving as a separate and independent unit that has her own free will. I realized this for the first time in my life. Maybe the metaphor for this case would be extending a helping a hand to my heart, or to surround her with muscles. Maybe I forced too much on her, or did not appreciate the help my individual organs, my body as a whole, have given me.

That night, a friend of mine, not knowing what I had been thinking during the day, told me that we should talk to our bodies. “You should thank your feet that carried you all those years, my friend,” she said. “You should appreciate your eyes, which never gave up on you. You should thank your arms and hands since you would be speechless without them as a writer. You should thank your brain, for she listened to her Owner all these years and served you to be a better human every day.” “You know,” I added, “you are so right. After all, the one who cannot thank people and things cannot thank their Owner, the Beautiful, the Merciful, the Wise, the Choice Maker!”

I have been reading a lot lately. But there is something we learn from life and other people that no book can cover. Thus, I believe humankind is a unique book, its own kind of scripture. Humans read the universe with one eye, and the Scriptures with the other. Thus, we are given double eyes. And humans stand at the conjunction of these two books of meaning, being ourselves the third book which is uniquely because it is not just a book to read but also a reader. The more humans read these two books, the more we become a readable book.

So what is written in me? I suppose the basis of all lines is this sentence I heard from my doctor today: Save your heart, if the heart is good then your body and mind will be healthy. I wish I knew the language of the heart that would make my body healthy and would make my mind a reader and my self a book. The heart is at the center of human life, both in the physical and metaphysical senses. The heart is at the heart of the fact that humankind is a book to be read and discovered. The heart defines what we feel and motivates us in life. The heart defines which way the mind will travel. The heart is the teacher of the mind. Do you think we can unravel the language of the heart?

No matter how fast or how far a person runs, the horizon will always be beyond them. This being the case, the real distance and depth of the horizon is inside a person, it is in their mind and perception…

A race I will always remember

Not too long ago, when I was still a little boy, I found myself running from my father’s village to my mother’s, and from my mother’s to another and to another, in the hope of catching up with something that was neither a ball, some other toy, nor a bird, but rather the point, the line where the sky seemed to touch the earth. We call it the “horizon.” That line, that “place,” first presented itself to me hiding right behind the trees to the left of my father’s house. I started out that day walking rather leisurely because the distance between me and the horizon seemed so short. When I observed that the sky had moved, or rather seemed to have moved further away, I hastened my steps. Then I noticed that the sky moved further and further away. Well, being determined to reach the place where the sky certainly touched the ground, I kept walking faster and faster until I found myself running.

I ran for quite a while until I realized that “there”, where the sky and the earth met, was still further away, that it would take me more time and effort than I had thought. I went back—I had to go back—to my father’s village, back to my usual village life because I saw that perhaps much more was involved, that maybe much more effort was called for in order to achieve what I desired, namely, to get to the point where I could touch the sky, where I could climb the sky. I went back to the ordinary, the normal life and experience of the village and of my people. But I did not tell anyone, I did not discuss the experience with anyone, even though I did not stop and could not stop thinking about it. I thought to myself that perhaps a week, a month, maybe a year would suffice for me to reach the place where the sky and the earth embraced. I was absolutely certain that right there in front of me, over there, not too far away, the sky touched the ground. And I thought that perhaps all I needed to do was keep walking, keep running, and keep racing forward, without stopping, without interruptions, without distractions in order to get to where the sky kissed the ground.

Today, thirty-five years later, I have realized that I was not wrong. I was right. The sky did touch the ground. It touches the ground all the time. You may ask “but where and how?” The sky touches the ground in our perception. Look across from your window into the distance. What do you see? Or, go outside and look in the distance. What do you see? The sky is right there, over there, touching the ground, the road, the houses, the trees, the mountains, the sea, and remaining there. But keep in mind that this is all happening in our perception. In perception, things are the way they appear, the way they seem. No rigorous, critical thinking is involved. And this happens so many times, and in fact is happening now; it happens every time that we are not thinking deeply, with attention and effort. It happens every time we fail to allow other perspectives, other possibilities and other possible interpretations to emerge.

The sky touches the earth, embraces and kisses the ground, right there in a fixed position, as long as you do not move. Once you move, it moves. And when you run after it, it too runs, not towards you though, but rather away from you. If you stand still, it stands still. If you stay where you are, it remains where it is. If you move even an inch, it will move. It will never allow you to catch up with it, to touch it; it will never allow you to possess it, to tame it; it will never allow you to take possession of it. And yet, it is always there, “putting everything into perspective.” By that I mean the horizon enables us to see, for without horizon one cannot see much of anything. Think about it! Everything presents itself in horizon. Everything dwells in the horizon, everything is within the confines of the horizon, and depends more or less on this phenomenon. And if I may borrow an expression from Saint Paul’s speech at the Areopagus (Acts 17:28) and be at liberty to use it as I see fit in this context (just as some scholars say he himself was at liberty to do with the same expression from the writing of Epimenides of Knossos (6th Century B.C.)), one can say that “that in which we live and move and have our being” is the horizon.

Standing still, remaining in one fixed position is not in the nature of the horizon. Its every stop (or what appears to be its end, its boundary) is temporary and transitory, like a pilgrim’s stop on a journey whose destination is still far away. It keeps moving, and it invites us to keep moving too, keep working, keep meeting people, keep exploring, keep digging, keep sowing, keep cultivating, keep harvesting, keep looking, keep reading, keep writing, keep thinking, keep talking, keep wondering.

We hear, not infrequently, the expression, “on the horizon/in the horizon.” What does it mean? It means in view, in the possible future, in sight. That which is in or on the horizon appears close, and seems to be approaching; it is as if it’s right there among the things that one hopes to do soon, as something squarely within one’s reach, among the things that one’s abilities can handle. What is in the horizon, then, is something that appears “present” and seems quite achievable.

What is a horizon? And what does it do?

A horizon is inseparable from a living, perceiving human being who is in the open or in the frontier of the open. There are no horizons in closed spaces, closed places. The distance between a living human being and the line where the sky and the earth meet is very wide. It is infinite. It is far, far away. You can only measure it with your eyes, your mind and your soul. You can figure out how long it is only to the extent that your eyes, your mind and your soul can go. An application of any other measuring device will only frustrate you because the moment you start going after it to measure it, it will recede. But the truth is that what you are actually seeing of the horizon is only a small part of it. The bigger part is on the other side of the horizon. Every horizon has at least two parts: a front and a back. The front of the horizon consists of the part you are seeing, and its back consists of the part hidden from you because of the hills and mountains, the earth, the road, the trees, the sea. In fact, the line where the sky seems to touch the earth is really only a perceived curve or a perceived point of contact, but the horizon really goes far and farther away, without end: it stretches into infinity.

All the things we are seeing are in fact standing in the way of the horizon. Similarly, all the things we are thinking right now, all our thoughts and ideas, everything that is presently on our minds can be an obstacle to a deeper and fuller understanding and appreciation of the horizon. We have to let go of all of these things in order to begin to have an idea of the depth and richness of the horizon.

For now, let us focus on the part of the horizon that is visible to us. It is a world, the world that we live in or would like to live in. Normally, it consists of people, people of different religions and/or of no religion at all, people of different languages and cultures, different experiences, different states and walks of life, different situations and aspirations, people driven by different desires, values and visions, people of very deep opinions, inspirations, beliefs and deep convictions other than our own, people heading in a thousand and one directions. This world, this visible side of the horizon also includes animals of many different types and habitats, which eat different kinds of food and have different spans of life. It also includes many different trees, bushes and flowers, and different types of grasses, etc. Mountains and hills and valleys too, rivers and big oceans, streams and creeks, are all part of this side of the horizon. Small and big houses, low and high buildings, shelters and palaces, mud houses and ghettoes are all part of this side of the horizon that we are seeing. But we do not actually see everything that we know is out there, that is all around us, that is over there in front of us…

How do we even know that there is anything out there, that other people are out there? A long walk, travels, meeting people, doing business with people, education, etc. confirm that there are other people out there, other lifestyles, other ways of thinking, other ways of doing things, other attractions, other things that people consider as very precious and worth dying for. We read about these things, have actually met and seen them with our own eyes, have lived with people of different orientations and values, have had some great opportunities to exchange ideas with them. But neither our reading and studying nor our investigative and explorative eyes can exhaust the visible side of the horizon because even the visible side has its own invisible aspects and invisible faces. Let us take for example persons, situations and objects.

From time to time, a person whom I have known for many years, not only surprises me, but also seems to be a surprise to herself/himself whenever s/he says something or does something I could never have thought or imagined her or him doing. And people of this nature are not uncommon.

How about situations? They are similar. Even the most familiar situations often have aspects that are new and different, which we can see if and when we look with more attention and care. And the moment we become used to these, even newer different aspects of the same situation emerge. The same goes for things such as books, clocks, chairs, doors, and so on. A book often presents us with information that we did not see the first time we read it. And if you read it again, you will again see something you missed the second time you read it. If you wish, you can read it again and again, and you will see something new every time. The book will never fail to make you see something new and/or think something new.

Can a chair or a door do something similar? That is, can a chair or a door make you see something new or think something new every time you encounter them? Let us see. A chair, unlike a book, seems to have no generative power. It seems mute and sterile. But can a chair speak and make us think? The answer is yes, it can speak and make us think. No one would disagree that the chair of Pontius Pilate, the chair of a Court Judge, the chair of Saint Peter, and so forth do have a powerful message. Although these chairs I have cited are special, every chair can say something to us and really make us think. For example, chairs for children and for adults make us think different thoughts, which by the way, make us give children appropriate chairs and to adults what is suitable for them. If we did not think differently of these chairs, chances are we would give adults the chairs meant for children and vice-versa, or give the same kind of chairs to everybody, children and adults alike, seriously compromising comfort. And some chairs would even fall apart (that is, if children’s chairs are given to heavy people like me to sit on).

Doors too make us think. For example, the Door of No Return in Goree Island in Dakar, Senegal, and the Door of Hope in Johannesburg, South Africa, makes every visitor think. But again, although these specific references are special, every door, including those that may seem unimposing and insignificant, can really make us think. Every door has a message.

The bottom line is that even the most visible side of the horizon can have aspects that may not be totally obvious and immediately accessible. Therefore, the visible, that which seems completely clear can still make us think because it often has layers, folds, dimensions, messages that lie beneath its surface. There are always other meanings, other messages behind the obvious. And the moment we finish harvesting one message, the moment we finish reading one meaning, the horizon presents us another one, and yet another, and so on and so forth. Inexhaustible indeed, this horizon can constantly give new meaning, hope, color, shape, style, texture, depth, taste and strength to our lives for endless joy and delight, even under very difficult circumstances. Why? Because the horizon has power to liberate us from the present, the immediate, the obvious. As it draws back, so to speak, that is, when we attempt to respond to its invitation into the open, when we dare to go after it, go with it into the deep, when we allow ourselves to move with it and flow with it, then it can open new doors, generate new ideas, launch new beginnings, reveal inroads, illuminate new bridges, disclose exits, uncover new faces, make terrains of other possibilities visible, make cooperation and collaboration possible, make teamwork possible, bring along other solutions, other fertile soils. With the horizon, there are no closed doors, no human being is a finished project, no done deal, no finished once-and-for-all discussions, no insurmountable barriers. The horizon’s open field stretches into infinity.

All of this is but an invitation to read between the lines, i.e., “to resist simplistic interpretations that dogmatically ascribe fixed significations to [things]” (G. Weiss, Refiguring the Ordinary, Indiana University, Bloomington, 2008, p.58).

It is about the need to go on researching other possible meanings and interpretations of a text, to go on searching for other possible answers to certain problems, to appreciate the expanding limits, and to devote more time and energy to the lifelong project of exploration of self and of the world (and of God) (see P. Okogie’s “Horizon: the birthing world” in the Journal of Horizons of Horizons, Vol. 1, no. 1, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, 2012, p.10).

Rev. Dr. Okogie is Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Bioethics, University of Saint Anselm, Rome, Italy.

There are many examples of inspirations in history. Sometimes it comes with a dream, as it happened to famous chemist, Friedrich Kekule (1829-1896), helping him to make one of the most amazing discoveries of his time. He saw atoms in his dream whirling, dancing and reassembling themselves in a snake-like motion, and the snake snapping its own tail. This dream provided him with the inspiration to discover the benzene ring. Benzene, a colorless and highly flammable liquid, is an important industrial solvent in the production of drugs, plastics, and dyes. Kekule is not the only person who found inspiration to an important question in his dream. For example, Otto Loewi, a famous German scientist, was inspired by a dream about an experiment that became the foundation for the theory of chemical transmission of the nervous impulse and led to a Nobel Prize. Once you contemplate on a question long enough, it becomes an important part of your life. You start seeing things in a different way, and everything becomes related to that question.

Ten years ago, a close friend of mine asked me a very interesting question. He said, “Did you ever read or witness any inspiration from Holy Scriptures, like the Qur’an, pointing to the Internet? After this question, I started to think deeply about the texts I had read, or the things I saw in my environment, and selected my readings more carefully. This helped me to capture more inspirations from my life.

It did not take long for me to relate many verses from scriptures to the question posed by my friend. It was an easy process to go backwards from the result to the possible starting ideas (verses). The hard thing about inspiration is that both the starting point and the result are unknown. Once we know the result that we wanted to achieve, it is easy to relate many things and find similarities around us that might get us to the same point. This can be either a scientific fact or a religious belief.

The relationship between science and religion, and inspirations from scriptures are the two most common controversial topics. Science and religion are the two strongest forces influencing humans. Some people use science to justify religious claims, while others start from religious information to reach unknown scientific points. Both approaches have many challenges, and may lead to consequences that conflict with one’s belief. Scriptures can help us think outside of the box, and provide many inspirations for science. However, it is important to keep the balance between both worlds, while working hard on understanding science and building our faith on a solid ground.

So, how did I find the verses that pointed to the idea of the Internet in the Scriptures? I started to think of the core properties that make up the Internet. What will be my first words if I wanted to define the Internet? Some of the key definitions or features of the Internet that came to my mind was “a world-wide network of computers,” “connecting people to each other,” “storing or accessing world of information,” “removing physical boundaries,” “easy and cheap communication,” or “freedom of speech.”

Which feature of the Internet would sound too intricate to ever exist a thousand years ago? Probably, the possibility of storing and accessing all the information available throughout the history of mankind would be the most challenging feature. We haven’t reached that point with the Internet yet, but so much ground has been covered towards this goal. Let’s see how much progress is made on this road of storage and retrieval.

Wikipedia, a free web-based multilingual encyclopedia project, has over 22 million articles (over four million in the English Wikipedia). There are roughly 40 million books in US libraries. Google is building the largest online library in the history of the world, and already scanned over 20 million books. ISI Web of Knowledge, an online scientific database, is a source for thousands of journals with millions of articles published from 1900s to present. Everything published in the last couple of centuries becoming available online from handwritten books to newspaper archives, magazines, and journals.

Chemistry databases list information (e.g. structures, spectra, reactions, syntheses, and thermo-physical data) for tens of millions of organic and inorganic compounds known to man that are used in various industries. Biological databases provide information (e.g. gene sequences, textual descriptions, attributes and ontology classifications, citations, and tabular data) for living and even extinct organisms.

Besides the published information, other types of data from various types of arts, music and picture libraries are becoming an important part of the Internet. More and more museums provide virtual galleries that make all paintings, sculptures and other art pieces accessible to remote users. E-government projects make personal records, health and financial data of all citizens available to related parties. More personal information is available online through personal blogs, image galleries, video sharing, and discussion forums.

Could you make a person, fifty years or even fourteen hundred years ago, believe that one day all the information would be available in a book, a box or a device? This was my starting point to find clues about the Internet in the scriptures. This journey led to many interesting ideas and understanding of my environment. In the middle of the search, the Holy Qur’an provided an important message to summarize this journey:

“With clear arguments and scriptures; and We have revealed to you the Reminder, that you may explain clearly to men what is sent for them, and that they may think and reflect.” (Qur’an 16:44)

As an explanation to this verse, Ibn Mas`ud, the sixth person to embrace Islam, said “[Allah] made it clear that in this Qur’an there is complete knowledge of and about everything.” The Holy Qur’an contains many verses about events in the past and future, what is lawful and unlawful, and information about the religion, our life in this world, and our destiny in the afterlife. Divinely inspired Scriptures, Prophets, and laws were sent successively, in part as an assurance of the true knowledge.

Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish Muslim scholar, lists the types of knowledge and understanding as follows; “… that is based on beholding or actively seeing something, inner (comprehensive knowledge) or outer (description and measurement), implementation of the lesser understanding (technology) or of the spiritual understanding (contemplation and worship, which yield wisdom), learning and teaching, self-based or other-based, the learner’s or teacher’s belief in independence of action or being, and of the believer’s surrender and trust to the Creator …” [1]. We need to learn how to “read” the universe and scriptures consciously to acquire true understanding and wisdom.

My search for the inspiration for an idea of the Internet led me to find many verses from the Holy Qur’an. Here are some of the verses that I personally think is a starting point to inspire the idea of storing all the information known to mankind.

“… there is not a grain in the darkness (or depths) of the earth, nor anything fresh or dry (green or withered), but is (inscribed) in a clear record (to those who can read)” (Qur’an 6:59)

“… nor is hidden from the Lord (so much as) the weight of an atom on the earth or in heaven. And not the smallest and not the greatest of these things but are recorded in a clear record” (Qur’an 10:61)

“… and there is nothing hidden, in heaven or earth, but is (recorded) in a clear record” (Quran 27:75)

These verses can be interpreted in different ways. Some scholars refer these verses to the knowledge of the All-Knowing God, or a book called Lawh al-Mahfuz that stores the information on the destiny of mankind. Actually relating these verses with the Internet, and the traditional interpretations have a very interesting connection. With ever-growing capacity and capabilities, the Internet is like a small book of destiny that stores our everyday life. However, it is far from storing every single event in the universe. This helps us to realize how mighty and vast the knowledge of the God is, and the capacity of Lawh al-Mahfuz.

When I recited the verses from Qur’an that related to the idea of the Internet, my friend was surprised. As in this example, scientific discoveries and inspirations can be connected with the verses from the Qur’an in many ways. It is important to make this connection for the greater good. Gülen says, “… Recent scientific discoveries have clarified certain Qur’anic verses. Such advances in knowledge occur successively, as the universe proceeds upon its decreed course and in the measure of understanding appointed for us. We must acknowledge and praise the efforts and achievements of researchers and scientists, but they should not lead us to ingratitude and insolence (the roots of unbelief). Rather, we should reaffirm our dependence upon the Creator for guidance both in our quest for and application of knowledge…” [1]. There is no doubt that the Qur’an drives us to deep thoughts, creativity, inspirations and great ideas.

Our further discussion raised another important question, “What is the purpose of reading scriptures?” To know why we read scriptures is as important as reading itself. The Qur’an explains the meaning of reading and draws attention to creation [2] by saying: “Read, in the name of your Lord, Who created” [Qur’an 96:1]. The Qur’an suggests us to observe the universe and learn from its laws and processes so we do not repeat the mistakes of the previous generations, and instead, build a better future.

Acknowledgment: This article was produced at MERGEOUS [3], an online article and project development service for authors and publishers dedicated to the advancement of technologies in the merging realm of science and religion.

Halil I. Demir is an internet entrepreneur and freelance writer.

References

1. Gülen, Fethullah. Questions and Answers about Islam, NJ: The Light, Inc.
2. Gülen. Fethullah Religious Education of the Child, NJ: The Light, Inc.
3. Mergeous, http://www.mergeous.com

I know You say

There is no compulsion in religion

But I don’t want this freedom

Any longer

You can have it

And me as well

Only teach me to count

One and one and one is one

And gather up the world’s phone-books

So You can read me

All of Your beautiful names.

Jacob Winkler is a spiritual teacher and creator of the website www.glorytothehighest.com.

The Arabic word that is used to describe the Prophet’s illiteracy is “ummi.” This word is derived from “umm,” which means “mother, the middle or navel of everything, where everything or something springs up.” Ummi, thus, connects the Prophet to his mother and refers to his purest nature which remained as unsullied as on the day she gave birth to him. This word also refers to the Prophet’s connection to his birthplace, Mecca, which is described in the Qur’an as “the mother of towns (Umm al-Qura, 6:92), and to the holy shrine Ka’ba, the mother of houses (Umm al-Buyut). The Prophet, peace be upon him, could not read the Torah or Bible or other books. God did not teach him to read or write, and this was one of the requirements for his messengership.

In fact, the following verse states this: You did not (O Messenger) read of any book before it (the revelation of this Qur’an), nor did you write one with your right (or left) hand. For then, those who have ever sought to disprove the truth might have a reason to doubt (it) (29:48). As can be understood from the verse, writing and reading were not taught to the Messenger of God. If he had known how to, those pursuing falsehood would have said, “He takes previous books, reads them, and explains to us what he read.” However, everyone-friends and foes-knew that the Prophet was illiterate. Consequently, here we see that his not being able to read and write is related to his messengership, and this fact was confirmed by his peers during his time, the Age of Happiness. In this respect, the Prophet was not made to write.

However, it is necessary to say here immediately that knowledge does not mean being able to write. The Messenger of God was given the knowledge of both former times and of the times to come. When God poured his blessings over him, the horizons lying between the East and the West cracked open, and he saw everything in front of him like the pages of a book, from an atom to the globe and from the macro-realm to the micro-realm. God blew into his spirit the capacity “to express and read the truth” when He said, “Read!” (96:1). God said “Read” and He made His Prophet recite as he memorized the revelation all at once. His words that he spoke in relation to every concern of life outside of the Qur’an are a separate treasury of knowledge, and this treasury is called “non-recited revelation” (wahy al-ghayri matluw). Non-recited revelation means revelation other than the Qur’an that was blown directly into the Prophet Muhammad’s spirit by God by means of Gabriel.

God’s Prophet spoke throughout his life, and the distinguished Companions at his side recorded his speech. At one time some Companions thought that it was not right to record things spoken by him who as a human being could get upset at times. Abu Hurayra describes this incident as follows: “None among the Companions of the Prophet know more hadith (the Prophet’s sayings and actions) than me; however, Abdullah b. Amr ibn al-As is an exception, for I did not write it, but he did.” Actually, according to the statement of Abdullah b. Amr, he would write down everything he heard from God’s Messenger. Some said to him, “You write every word that comes out of the Prophet’s mouth, but he is a human also. There are times when he is angry and times when he is pleased” (Hadith narrators conceal whose words these were as a matter of courtesy and because it is not necessary.) Due to this, Abdullah ibn Amr stopped writing and informed the Prophet about it. The Prophet raised his hand to his blessed mouth and said, “Write! I swear to God in Whose hand my life is that nothing but the truth comes out from here.”

Even if he was a human, he was still a prophet; his anger and his pleasure were for God, and he always spoke the truth in every state. Yes, none of his words were from whim, and they did not stem from human desires. More correctly, he did not speak from himself, but only what was revealed to him (see 53:3). The Prophet’s illiteracy should not be understood to mean that he did not know anything. Even before revelation came he was a perfect and exalted spirit. He acted according to the remnants of the religion of Abraham, peace be upon him. He was known by those around him as a virtuous person. If that had not been the case, at a time when people were killing one another in Mecca, would they have turned to him as a judge? God created him special. Then, He reflected His own knowledge to that mirror, and we witnessed the truths belonging to God in His Messenger.

The cell is the structural, functional, and biological unit of all organisms. All information needed for numerous processes in a cell, including repair and division, is contained in DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid). DNA is a huge single molecule with intriguing features. How can a single molecule have such a dominant role in preserving information essential for the continuation of life? What are the mechanisms and levels of organization during its function? What does DNA mean for a single cell or for a human being? It’s impossible to answer these great questions in a single article; however, understanding the ways DNA exerts its role, DNA’s impact on multiple levels ranging from a single cell to an organism, and coordination between various levels, can potentially open up new frontiers in our mind and in our perception of life.

“Double helix” architecture of DNA DNA has an elegant structure that forms the basis for all of its functions. DNA is a repeating structure of nucleotides. Each nucleotide is formed of a phosphate group, 5-carbon sugar (deoxyribose) and a nitrogen-containing base attached to the sugar from outside to inside (See Figure 1a for a schematic view of DNA). There are four types of nucleotides in DNA, differing only in bases. We can consider bases as the identity of nucleotides. These four nucleotides are shown with letters A (adenine), T (thymine), G (guanine) and C (cytosine). Thousands of nucleotides bound with sugar-phosphate covalent bonds come together to form long strings. The sugar-phosphate backbone can be imagined as the steelwork of a skyscraper. The nice thing about nucleotides is their specific match to each other in double helix. A forms a base pair with only T, and G forms a base pair with only C. These pairs are bound to each other with hydrogen bonds. This feature is the key that makes DNA a double ladder. Two strings of nucleotides form a double helix by selective interactions of As with Ts, and Gs with Cs (See Figure 1b for 3-D structure of DNA). In DNA structure, hydrophobic bases tend to stay inside of double helix and hydrophilic sugar-phosphates stay outside interacting with water in nucleus. This feature helps DNA to form a double ladder. The length of the sugar-phosphate backbone is more than the bases. To compensate for the length difference, the sugar-phosphate backbone wraps around the bases inside, as a road wraps around a mountain to climb to the top. This simple difference is the main reason for DNA to form a helix.

The double-stranded nature of DNA with specific base pairing is one of its key features as genetic material. DNA is replicated using one strand as a template. Replication machinery reads one strand of DNA and builds the second strand by putting As against Ts and Gs against Cs. If a mutation occurs in one strand, it can be repaired using the second strand. This system is like photocopying DNA from itself instead of building it from scratch every time. That is why specific base pairing of nucleotides in the double helix makes it possible to replicate DNA through generations, protecting its integrity and information content. The code of DNA, an alphabet with four letters DNA contains the information to produce nano-sized cellular machineries called proteins. We mentioned that there are four types of nucleotides. Nucleotides are like letters in DNA, three of them are code for one amino acid of protein. We can make it more understandable by giving an example: “ATG-GCC-CTG-TGG-ATG” as a nucleotide sequence of DNA corresponds to the first five amino acids of a protein called insulin (a hormone regulating blood glucose level that is important in diabetes) and amino acid sequence is methionine-alanine-leucine-tryptophan-methionine. The code is so sensitive that even a single mistake in the sequence of DNA can cause serious diseases in humans such as sickle-cell disease or cystic fibrosis. With all these nucleotides, DNA can be thought of as a book containing amino acid sequence information for thousands of proteins (about 30,000 in humans). The amount of information contained in DNA is incredible: a typical human cell contains 2 meters of DNA that is tightly packed by proteins in the nucleus. If we tried to write the information from DNA into books, the book would contain over one billion words and 1,500,000 pages. DNA-protein interdependency and the cell as a micro-factory DNA can be thought of as an instruction manual that stores information for proteins and RNAs. Proteins, as molecular machines, perform particular tasks such as energy production and synthesis of DNA and RNA (See Figure 2 for the structure of proteins). Certain proteins read the information on DNA and make a transient copy of certain regions of DNA. These copies are called messenger-RNAs (mRNAs) and mRNAs are transported from nucleus to cytoplasm (See Figure 3 for representation of mRNA production from DNA by proteins). In cytoplasm, the information on mRNAs is read by protein complexes called ribosome. Ribosomes produce new proteins processing the data from mRNAs. This information flow from DNA to proteins is called central dogma in molecular biology (Figure 4). The data that is encoded in DNA can be read, translated, and put into the form of product only by proteins. We can conclude that for a protein to be produced, DNA is essential; for DNA regions to be read into proteins, proteins are essential. So, there is interdependency between proteins and DNA. Proteins without DNA have no future and no ability to regenerate and DNA without proteins is just like an instruction and manufacture manual of a computer without the user and computer itself. We can imagine the cell as a sophisticated factory, and proteins as the machines of the factory. DNA includes the instructions for the factory to be rebuilt and for itself to be rewritten for every new factory. It has instructions on how to build every machine in the factory. It has also codes for when and how much of these machines should be produced (we will discuss more about these codes on DNA in the next section). On the other hand, the timing and control of all these productions also depend on machines in the factory. Some of these machineries read and decode the instruction manual, some of them produce new machines by reading the decoded copies of the instruction manual, some of them act as sensors for the signals, some of them transmit signals to other machines, some of them produce signals by measuring the levels of materials in the factory, some of them function in communication with other factories, and so on. As we can see, DNA and proteins are meaningful for life only when they are together in the excellent cell context. This is a perfect example of the principle that the whole is bigger than the sum of its parts, because each element of the cell system has limited potential, until it comes together with the others to blossom into life.

The famous term “Gene” We can think of genes as functional units of DNA. A gene has the information content for at least one protein. Humans have about 20,500 genes that are read by protein machineries to produce proteins. Special proteins read the information on genes and make a transient copy of these certain regions of DNA. The process of making a copy of a gene as an mRNA is called transcription.

Genes don’t only store information; they have an intrinsic architecture of design to coordinate transcription utilizing three main components: promoter, coding region, and terminator. The promoter is the gene region that signals for the start of transcription. Protein machineries bind to the promoter and activate transcription. The coding region has the information for the amino acid sequence of the protein. The terminator region gives the stop signal for transcription. There are different functional regions on DNA located between separate genes such as enhancer regions that are platforms for binding regulatory proteins to tune the transcription.

The coding region of genes has multiple reading blocks for amino acid sequences and these reading blocks are called as exons. For some genes, different combinations of exons can be put together to give rise to different proteins. This mechanism allows one gene to be able to produce multiple proteins, increasing the efficiency of genetic material. A similar mechanism is used to produce antibodies (proteins recognizing foreign antigens) by the immune system. Different regional genes come together by a mechanism of DNA rearrangement (V(D)J recombination) and their differential combinations form many different antibodies. For example, a part of the antibody that is called a heavy chain is produced by a DNA region containing 65 variable (V) genes plus 27 diversity (D) genes and 6 joining (J) genes (5, 6). This produces a combination of 65 V genes x 27 D genes x 6 J genes = 10,530 heavy chains. There is a similar mechanism of rearrangement for light chain and variable region of antibodies, which result in millions of different antibodies for host antigens. A single example in the immune system shows us that DNA not only has a decent design for the coding system, but it also has ingenious and creative mechanisms to maximize its potential.

Gene expression is orchestrated during development and formation of organs The human body which consists of more than 1013 (ten trillion) cells is generated from a single cell called the zygote (see Figure 5). This tells us that, in a single cell, all the information and instructions to build and coordinate the systems of human body is encoded. Different tissues and organs including muscles, nerve cells, connective tissue, and eyes are fruits of one single cell. They all contain the same genetic information. Then what makes them different?

Promoters, enhancers, and repressors located in and nearby genes are important in spatial and temporal control of gene expression in different cell types of the body. Each cell type in our organs expresses a different subset of genes; this is what gives a cell its identity. For example, in muscles, myosin is expressed and in the eye’s retina, rhodopsin is expressed. Myosin functions in contraction and rhodopsin functions in vision. What determines the expression of rhodopsin in the eye but not in a muscle? The determination process occurs during development by programmed interactions of specific proteins called transcription factors, and restricted regions of DNA including promoters and enhancers. During development, certain regulatory proteins in a specific cell type, bind to DNA regions of only some genes (for example, in future retinal cells of the eye, rhodopsin gene would be activated but not myosin) and this predetermination orchestrates differential expression of genes to give rise to hundreds of different types of cells.

Different layers of complexity and organization related to DNA

There are different layers of function for DNA—each subtitle of this article tries to focus on a certain layer of function. DNA as a molecule has a double helix structure and is replicated through generations to preserve genetic information. It stores genetic information and has a four-letter alphabet for the expression of proteins. In the second layer, DNA has an informational unit called gene and thousands of genes are encoded in DNA to contain information for proteins. Each gene is controlled individually by making use of promoters and enhancers. In the third layer, all processes in the cell micro-factory as an entity are performed through interactions of DNA and proteins with each other and among themselves. Proteins read DNA code and work as cellular nano-machineries. In another layer, temporal and spatial expression of genes on DNA are orchestrated and different subsets of genes give rise to different cell types and organs. Organs communicate with each other to function properly and keep the balance and homeostasis of the body. The information stored in DNA not only coordinates highly sophisticated processes of a single cell, it simultaneously projects the whole body system of a human being, which is billions times bigger than a single cell.

DNA functions in all these different layers and keeps a great harmony in coordination between various layers of function. After grasping this complexity, organization and communication from a single molecule, to proteins, to a single cell, to tissues and organs, and to a human being by utilization of DNA, should not we ask ourselves, “can these elements come into existence by random forces and collisions?

References

1. Calladine, C. R. et al. 2004. Understanding DNA: The Molecule and How It Works, Academic Press

2. http://www.genome.gov

3. Li A, Rue M, Zhou J, et al. 2004. “Utilization of Ig heavy chain variable, diversity, and joining gene segments in children with B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia: implications for the mechanisms of VDJ recombination and for pathogenesis.” Blood 103 June (12): 4602–9.

Pre-school children and reading

Reading books to little children is one of the best ways of spending time with them. What we tell them at this period has a greater influence on them, because this is the period when their personalities are developing. It is a very remarkable fact that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) counseled Muslims to whisper the adhan and iqama in a baby’s ear as soon as he/she was born; from this we can infer that we should start talking to our child from the very first day. Today, researchers who study child development have reached the same conclusion.

As soon as our baby can differentiate colors and shapes, we can begin to communicate with him/her using books. A picture will catch a child’s attention. It is better to explain something to a child with a picture or a photograph, for it is recognized that learning is more effective with visual support. Our child will be interested in books at an early age if we show them the pictures in a book and talk about them. Such a practice is useful in terms of language development and establishing a dialogue between parents and their children, as well as making children feel that their parents love them. A further benefit in introducing books to children at an early age is that it raises their interest in books. In time, books become their close friends and reading becomes a need for them. As Victor Hugo stated, the need to read is like gunpowder, once it is ignited it does not die out.

During the pre-school period, if the parents read books to their children everyday, their child’s vocabulary will become enriched and their ability to think will improve along with their intellectual progress. In this way, children will learn to listen and to speak. They will grow up as individuals who love reading. They often ask questions when a story is being read, for children learn by asking. They should be given logical and satisfactory answers. Their questions should never be ignored or undermined. They should never be misinformed. Children are never bored by listening to the same stories over and over. This helps them to become familiar with the vocabulary and facilitates absorbing the message given in the book.

What is the benefit of books?

Books are the most important means of educating children. We transfer our culture to new generations via books. Books improve language use and teach about life. Children can get to know people through books and evaluate them. Within the plots of novels and stories, children come to recognize human behavior. Starting from this point, they learn what kind of people should be considered as friends and what type of behavior is to be avoided.

A child who reads about the problems in life and the ways to cope with these knows what to do when he/she encounters similar problems in real life. Books teach children to use their imagination and to love people, nature and living things. Books raise interest in inventions and technology. They teach about man’s place and his duty in the universe. The stories children read teach them that they should not step on ants, destroy bird-nests, that they should not let animals starve and so on. They make children feel in their consciences that lying, stealing, and fighting are all wrong. Children internalize values, such as being kind to people, helping them without expecting anything in return, courage, determination, modesty, being resolute and striving for success when identifying themselves with the heroes in the books they read.

Books are a means of entertainment as well. Riddles, puzzles, mind games and anecdotes contribute to the mental development of children and help them enjoy themselves.

The reason for reading:

Reading is related to the way we perceive the world and our perspective of life, universe and our self-opinion. Reading is the outcome of the urge to discover new things and our desire, as a human being to understand ourselves, the reason of our existence, our Creator and the mysteries of the universe. This must be the reason why the first order of the Qur’an is Read. People can achieve these only by reading.

How can we motivate children toward books and reading?

There is no magical way to make children love reading. Nevertheless, we can try different ways to approach this problem. We have already mentioned some methods that can be used with pre-school children. We can apply different methods for older children.

First of all, if the adults at home constantly read and share their opinions with each other about the themes or characters in the books they are reading, the children will develop an interest in reading. Reading starts with the family. Even a little child who cannot read or write, holds a book, turns its pages, looks at its pictures, asks questions about it and in the end, reading becomes as natural for him/her as eating and drinking. In short, if reading has a place in our own life, our children will read too.

We should not just present books as a means of transferring information. We should emphasize the entertaining and attractive sides of books also. Children should be made to meet books as if they were meeting a friend. Illustrated story books, novels, books of riddles, puzzles and anecdotes are usually more interesting for children. Such books warm children to reading.

We should read together with our child. Children love this. We should alter the tone of our voice when we read what different characters are saying, trying to animate the story. If the parent is the only one reading, it will be boring for the child. Sometimes the child should read to his/her parents. Some parents habitually read stories to their children before they go to sleep. This is a good method that can be used in most families.

Children should be taken to book fairs and bookshops, they should be given time to take a look at the books. They should be allowed to choose some of the books they are to read. We should be careful about choosing books suitable to their age. A book should have interesting illustrations and should be written in a language that is grammatically accurate, yet interesting.

In conclusion, if we choose the right ways, any child can love reading. However, we cannot make a child read a book by force. Even if we cannot help the children to love books, then at least we should not make them hate books. Once a person hates books, it is very difficult for them to warm to them again.