As far as the origin of language is concerned, Abrahamic traditions agree on the fact that language is a gift of God to humanity. To exemplify, the Holy Bible in Genesis 2:20 (King James’ Version) states that: “[20] And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.” Identically, the Holy Qur’an in Surah Al-Baqara (The Cow) voices the following verse: “And He taught Adam the names of all things; then He placed them before the angels, and said: ‘Tell me the names of these if ye are right’?” Both of these divine expressions indicate clearly that mankind was created from the beginning with an innate capacity to use language. Therefore, a theist from any level of society does not have any doubts about the origin of human language; for him the explanation is both simple and persuasive.

However, for those who do not subscribe to such a faith tradition, it is rather nerve-racking to come up with a unanimous answer as to the emergence of language since there are so many competing and contradictory theories and hypotheses. Efforts to explain the origins of language usually sound dubious and are collected under two main hypotheses in linguistics that are based upon human invention and necessity. According to the “pooh-pooh hypothesis,” the first words originated from involuntary exclamations expressing a human’s pleasure, dislike, pain, hunger and so on, which later on led to the expression of more complicated feelings and ideas. Given this, the first human words would have been involuntary “Aa!”  “ouch,” “ha-ha-ha,” etc., which were used to name the actions that resulted in these sounds. Yet, the problem with this thesis is that emotional exclamations not only constitute only a small part of any human language but also that they are highly language specific. Apart from sneezes, tears, and laughter, exclamations show variations among languages. For instance, English people say “ouch,” Russians “ol,” and native Indians “eee” to indicate sudden ache or discomfort. That is, their forms mostly hinge on a specific language that already exists rather than preceding language.

The second is Charles Darwin’s own “ta-ta hypothesis” (which he himself finds rather erroneous) about the origin of language. For him, human speech might have come from a kind of mouth pantomime according to which speech organs were used to imitate different forms of hand signs. That is to say, human language originated from body movements which were soon imitated by speech organs; therefore the first-ever words used to be lip icons of hand movements. However, here again we notice inconsistency because the meaning of human gestures vary from culture to culture, such as the “thumbs-up/thumbs-down” once used by Romans to decide upon the life of a defeated gladiator. While for Western people the “thumps-up” gesture implies a positive remark expressing mainly a task well done, it surprisingly has negative implications in Greece, Russia, Italy, Latin America and West Africa where it instead stands for the middle finger.

These are only two amid various other inconsistent hypotheses (which include the “ding-dong”, “bow-wow”, warning, “yo-he-ho”, and lying hypothesis) offered as an explanation for the origin of language. What is interesting is that in the late 19th century, the Linguistic Society in London and Paris forbade any commentary and debate on the emergence of human language for valuable time was wasted to find a sane thesis.

This reminds me of letters from the Islamic scholar Said Nursi in which he states that just showing the evidence is sufficient to prove the presence of anything; otherwise you have to inquire of the entire world so as to show its non-presence. In Islamic law, two witnesses are enough to resolve any skeptical case; this may be a lawsuit, a dispute, doubt or disagreement between people. For example, if two people testify that they have seen the crescent, which is the harbinger of the holy month Ramadan in Islam, there is no need to ask other people for verification of the same sight. Even if thousands of people oppose the sighting, it is worthless and does not change the truth. Perhaps, what Abrahamic traditions are teaching us on language is the only source to verify its origin.

Experiments have proved lack of sleep as a cause of death. Lab mice that are deprived of sleep for three to four consecutive days eventually die. Lack of sleep for a long period of time, especially when combined with excessive fatigue, poses a serious threat to our health.

There are intensive research efforts to understand the mysterious workings of the biological mechanisms underlying sleep. Human beings spend almost a third of their lives in sleep. Yet, the basic sleep mechanism and its functions are still not completely known. Each of many theories proposed for understanding the secrets of sleep provide different evidence, but no guaranteed results have been attained so far. Initially, sleep was considered a rest period. However, although brain activity lowers during sleep, the brain continues actively working. It can be said that the brain rests itself by working during sleep.

Scientists classify a person’s state of consciousness as one of three stages:

1. Wakefulness
2. REM sleep
3. Deep sleep

According to this classification, sleep is divided into deep sleep and REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. During a night’s sleep, there is a loop of REM sleep and deep sleep. Approximately 90 minutes of deep sleep is followed by REM sleep, which lasts between 5 and 30 minutes. Approximately 75% of the total sleep span is deep sleep; 25% is REM sleep. REM sleep happens while slipping into sleep from wakefulness. Just before waking from sleep, a short-term REM is observed.

During the first hours of sleep, REM spans are shorter, and they grow longer during the last hours of sleep. If a person is extremely tired, they experience extremely short REM sleep spans within the first hour of their sleep. They may even slip into deep sleep without REM. Right after mid-sleep, REM sleep periods last longer. If a person is deprived of all or partial sleep – such as the deep sleep or REM – they will need to sleep longer at the next opportunity. If they are deprived of REM sleep or deep sleep for longer periods, they will have longer deep sleep.

REM Sleep

REM (Rapid Eye Movement) is given this name due to the intensive and fast eye movements during this sleep stage. During REM, not only the eyes but also hands, arms, legs, and fingers move. An onlooker may think the sleeper is fully awake. However, scientists are unable to fully explain the reason why it is difficult waking a person in REM, although they are active as if they are awake – this is a paradox. In fact, a person in deep sleep may be awakened easier, by either sound or touch. If it is difficult to wake a person during the REM stages in their sleep, it may also be considered as a paradox for that person to wake from REM sleep.

During REM sleep, contrary to rapid eye movements and gestures, a person’s muscles are extremely relaxed and soft, to the extent of a wrist drop. This is called REM paralysis.

The reasons, mechanisms, and even benefits of REM sleep are not known for certain. The newest theory in sleep research claims the relationship between REM sleep and acetylcholine secretion. Acetylcholine is a brain hormone that triggers movement. Yet, acetylcholine typically causes wakefulness. This, too, appears as another paradox.

Dreams seen during the REM stage are remembered more clearly. The limbic system, including the hippocampus and amygdala, is active during REM sleep, thus it is assumed that it is easier to commit dreams to memory during this stage. The hippocampus is tasked with committing (reinforcing) information.

During REM sleep, a person’s heartbeat and breathing are more frequent and irregular. This also relates to what a person sees in their dream. During this stage, the basal metabolism rate is higher or equal to that of wakefulness. Electroencephalography (EEG) readings register beta waves, which normally show during wakefulness. Alpha waves show during times of calm, when the brain rests during wakefulness, such as at times when one closes their eyes and dispels thoughts. However, when the brain is actively dealing with an issue or when a person experiences an upset, beta waves appear. Beta waves also show during REM stage. This shows that the brain is active during REM stage.

Deep sleep

This stage of sleep is also called low wave sleep or delta sleep. During this stage, movements are at minimum, and the muscle tone is harder. Heartbeat, breathing, basic metabolic rate, and blood pressure are low. Internal organs like the stomach, intestines, urinary tract, and even the liver minimize their activities and slip into an actual rest.

During this stage, dreams and even nightmares may also be seen. However, one cannot remember a majority of dreams when they wake up. It is assumed that the traffic between the cortex and the lower structures of the brain are disengaged during the deep sleep stage. People wake up from nightmares, only to usually remember the last part.

EEG readings during deep sleep stage show delta waves. The presence of delta waves hints at the disengaged traffic between the cortex and the lower nervous system components (thalamus, hypothalamus, brain stem, hippocampus). This condition also shows that the person is in deep rest, free from pain and other bodily stimuli.

Secreted at night, melatonin is a hormone that protects against cancer and slows down the aging process. Melatonin also plays a role in lowering bad cholesterol (LDL) and balancing body heat and blood pressure. Melatonin secretion starts around 10:00 p.m. and reaches its maximum around 5:00 a.m. That’s why, the most ideal sleep is after 10:00 p.m. when melatonin secretion starts. Bedside lamps are not suggested as they hinder the secretion of this night-bound hormone. People should also avoid conditions such as stress, smoking, extreme lighting, lack of adequate daylight, and working at lengthy periods, which lower melatonin level.

What makes this event unique compared to other attempts at bringing people together to celebrate our heritages, our cultures, and our languages? For me it is the spirit of the philosophical rationale underpinning the organizers of the event: the Horizon Educational Trust, the Gauteng Provincial Department of Arts, Culture and Recreation of South Africa, the South African-Turkish Business Association, and the Turquoise Harmony Institute. What do they share in common that helps them to run a festival of diversity?

First, the festival is deeply focused on the “the diamonds” of the show: namely, the youth, who are students from a range of Turkish schools across the globe who came to showcase their experiences of dialogue, sharing the riches of their own cultures while embracing the opportunities for self-growth, discovery, and development as they learned to speak a common language of respect and value. Yes, there were the perfunctory speeches from dignitaries and sponsors. Yes, the organizers emphasized the role of Turkey offering not just bilateral South Africa-Turkey relations, but also access into the worlds where Turkish conceptions were sowing seeds across the international community. Yes, there was a nod to providing awards to the Mandela family in recognition of his contribution to world peace. But these speeches did not dominate the program; it was clear that the unexpressed agenda of the organizers was directed not towards scoring political points or grandstanding. The event was an opportunity to learn from others through appreciating difference and viewing “others” not as potential threats, a waging of supremacist ideological battles, or the harmful promotion of political factions. We, as the audience, were spectators of a new world in gestation.

The simplicity and genuineness of the hosts came through on multiple levels, but especially in how they promoted the view that cultural dialogues are easily communicated beyond linguistic specifics. The universal languages of arts, music, and dance speak volumes. The festival program directors marked each individual presentation with an evocative introduction translating the songs they rendered and offering connection with the message of the colors of a rainbow world, enriched by our diversity. Whist they hinted at the countries of origin of the performers, they were careful not to set any one up as “exotic others” against some normative hegemony, or in a competitive ascendancy. Each performance was afforded a dignity in its own right and the young stars rose spectacularly to the occasion with confidence and committed expertise. They exuded that this was a festival, not a competition; a celebration of dialogue of selves, not egoistic performances.

Notably, the program was also consciously planned to bring different performers onto the same stage in simultaneous coupled or multiple-group renditions, showing that it is not uniqueness alone that is to be valued, but one’s ability to stand alongside, and in concert with, other perspectives and points of view. We saw Romanian and Georgian songstresses hold back-to-back performances with South African backing vocals. We were mesmerized by a heartfelt Whitney Houston song, “I Am Nothing Without You” performed by an Australian teenager wearing traditional Islamic dress. We witnessed the choral singing of Turkish and South African songs by enthusiastic students on a full stage. A duo of a lanky African American and a suave South African Durbanite executed a spirited “Stand By Me” performance. An elegant impersonation of Adele’s “Someone Like You” by a Catholic girl from the Philippines sent shivers down one spine and brought tears to most eyes:

I wish nothing but the best for you…

The penetrating, almost operative gusto of “Je t’aime” by a pint-sized French lass celebrated the wonderful potential young people possess. Mozambican sisters, and Netherlander siblings, and Madagascar soloist performers continued to show the spirit of the festival by singing in Portuguese, Dutch, and Turkish. Audience members fervently waved randomly distributed miniature flags from all participating countries. Each member of the audience was randomly assigned arbitrary custodianship of these nationalistic symbols. The “We are the World” popular mantra brought all solo performers alongside the whole starry cast in a memorable display of togetherness. A South African dance group exhibited their pot pourri of traditional Turkish folkdances. Local variations of kwaito music and gumboot dancers culminated in a costumed celebration of all performers: North, South, East, and West in a rousing reinterpretation of the Southern anthem, Shoholoza. A tribute from the whole student group to both Mahatma Gandhi (in Gurathi) and Nelson Mandela (in isiXhosa) demonstrated the lessons of these international icons of harmony and commitment to social justice, through quiet, yet powerful engagement and dialogue. The celebratory pictures of their historical lives, presented in a back-to-back sequence, were a tribute by themselves. What a collage of possibilities peppered with the spice of smiles!

The music genres spanned both traditional and modern forms. It was quite evident that the star performers (ranging in age from early to late teens) were selected as exemplars of exceptional artistry. Each performance was reinforced by graphic slides depicting scenes from the performers’ home countries. Natural fauna and flora, cultural and architectural monuments, and significant people or groups formed the worldwide educational tour via the panoramic backdrop visuals. Some graphics told visual stories of evolving forms and features of the worldwide community. The program saw the presentation of singers performing their own and other cultural languages. They adapted costume styles from different settings outside their home countries. The kaleidoscope that emerged was a festival of variety: where people of different groups exchanged dress styles, languages, and dance choreographs to communicate the possibility for the dialogical space that a new cultural movement can embrace.

South Africans are perhaps skeptical of this kind of multicultural celebration due to apartheid. In such a form of cultural celebration, different cultures are placed alongside each other as enclaved entities, highlighting the “boundaries” of one’s beliefs, a celebration of otherness. Such divergence produced a “multi-cultural” endeavor that promoted a political hierarchy of perspectives which took on racialized proportions with disastrous effects.

In present times however, many proponents of the “new era” of cultural affirmation in post-apartheid South Africa see cultural celebration as an attempt to assert a new regime of hierarchies with one cultural form replacing the previously powerful forms. This is also more often associated with the representations of political power which silence those who differ from the majority perspective, the new master narrative, or dominant worldview. How different is this from multi-cultural apartheid?

By contrast, the Turkish school movement inspired by the international Hizmet philosophy of “service to humanity” is characterized by a worldview that celebrates the interdependent common ground across all cultural expressions. Their outward manifestations may differ, but cultural representations highlight the similitude of our humanity, and our quest for dialogue, love, and tolerance. This is embodied by the writings and teachings of a key founder of the Hizmet Movement: Fethullah Gülen. In this version of “inter-culturalism,” the attempt is to develop individuals who are conscious of their own self and their heritage, but not in service of a protectionist or preservationist agenda. From this firm position of self-strength, one is able to reach out to the world of others. We see in others, too, our agenda for our common quests. Our reaching out is a service to realizing peace and harmony – which is a goal sorely needed in a war-torn, politicized and ideologized world, which often uses religious beliefs as rallying points for promoting hostility, supremacy, and divergence. Sometimes these separatist agendas are disguised econometric plots, too! Cultural affirmation is not a hearkening to a fossilized past, but a recognition that our habits and routines can mutate and extend through dialogue and exchange; our borders can be more inviting and more welcoming.

A third kind of cultural engagement is “juxta-culturalism” which merely tolerates different groups walking alongside each other, never interconnecting. This is sadly the lived experiences of many who pursue only a narcissist nationalistic myopic agenda, seeing only the boundaries of geography and politics as the border of their selfhood. This produces expressions of xenophobia which does not recognize the inherent commonality of all human beings. We are all created equal in the eyes of God. Our nationalist identity is only a man-made demarcation, dividing one set of people from another. It is more commonplace that many individuals in our modern global society, live outside the borders within which their forefathers were born. We may draw our cultural roots from one geographic space, but live in another context altogether.

Human history has been replete with stories of crossing borders, migrations due to the ravages of political, economic, or natural disasters. Not all of these journeys are tales of joy. More likely, the fragile settled communities interpret the visiting migrant culture as undercutting the nationalistic goals of their society. Open hostility is unfortunately sanctioned as the appropriate response to keep the outsiders from penetrating our “safe world.” So, which version of cultural affirmation did the festival of language and culture promote?

I think that a version of “trans-disciplinary culturalism” emerged as the young stars of the show interacted to generate a positive energy of harmony by crossing over to the other side. Their own past matters; they remained rooted on their own river banks. But they were confident enough to swim across to the other side. The young performers were firmly grounded in the here and now of the present 21^st century, with all its influences: technology, media, and new musical and art forms, which they transported across the global village. And they dared us to dream of the possibility of building a new, shared cultural world. Their message was simple: we are simultaneously of the past, in the present, and eager to create the future. This movement across time and space, culture and geography, history and identity, are not threatening but enriching.

One of my lasting impressions was the emotional image of students embracing each other at the end of the show: this was the world in dialogue with each other. They had made a connection with those around them that would live on in their lives for many years. They will become the ambassadors of the new world order. The official festival song reverberates:

I saw a luminous future in my dream one night.
Lights were silent pouring down everywhere.
It was like a harmoniously working clock.
Dark nights had gone away.
A new world!
A new world!
They were building a new world.
Everywhere sparkled like the skies.
They were building a new world.

After the ceremony, I chatted with a young 12 year-old Albanian youth to congratulate him on his commanding and welcoming stage performance. He simply smiled broadly.

“No English. Me speak no English.” He smiled and held my hand, clutching his Albanian costume in one hand, his proud flag in another, and his infectious energy pouring out. Despite his lack of English skills, he was able to communicate via his open-hearted spirit.

What a festival of cultures and languages! Not essentialized, but harmonized. It was an expression of joyous humanity.

And there we found our God.

But now I think: was he from Albania or Afghanistan? Why do I not know these countries and their foreign flags? But does it matter?

His heart sparkled.

Reflections on the “13^th International Festival of Languages and Culture”
www.iflc.co.za
“Colours of the world”
18 March 2015
Nelson Mandela Theatre, Braaamfontein, Johannesburg

Michael Anthony Samuel is a professor of education at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, School of Education, Durban, South Africa.

Defraud is not just the act of usurping financial or material means that aren’t yours. Spiritual defraud exists, and it is also a major sin.

Believers are strictly warned in the Qur’an to avoid defraud. What is the scope of “defraud” and what are the specific messages for believers of our age?

The following verse in the Qur’an lays down a comprehensive definition of defraud and its consequences:

It is not conceivable that a Prophet defrauds; and whoever defrauds (by stealing from public property or war-gains) will come with what he gained by his fraud on the Day of Resurrection. Then, every soul shall be repaid in full what it has earned (while in the world), and they will not be wronged. (3:161)

In its general definition, defrauding means taking something unlawful, benefiting from it, and breaching the public trust. In a more specific context, it refers to stealing something from war gains before they are distributed, and to take secretly from what belongs to the public and abusing what belongs to the state.

The verse first and foremost starts by absolving all messengers of God from defraud and all other forms of corruption. None of the prophets, from Adam to Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad (peace be upon them), was involved in this evil act; they possessed only what they knew was their lawful property.

There are different reports about the reason for the revelation of the verse. One of these reports relates the verse to the Battle of Uhud. Accordingly, a group of immature people, most of whom were the hypocrites of Medina, made baseless claims about the noble Prophet, claiming that he would allocate some of the war gains for himself.^[1] The verse clearly reveals that defrauding is out of the question for the great figure who led a perfectly upright life from the beginning. Even one case suffices to show his staggering innocence: when the Prophet gave his last breath, his shield was held by a Jewish pawnbroker.^[2] As he led his personal life in immense and profound heedfulness, he also showed perfect sensitivity against anything that could raise the smallest doubt about his upright life.

Defraud covers every sort of misappropriation. Obtaining property by generating false speculations relying on one’s authority or misappropriating from discretionary funds are all various forms of defraud. These acts cannot be justified based on a self-acclaimed credit due to one’s services. What is more, it is another form of defraud if one runs for a candidacy to office although he does not deserve it nor does he have any merits for it.

By pointing to the good examples of the Prophets, the verse articulates that their communities should not be involved in this corruption. Otherwise, there are consequences they will have to face. If we consider cases of embezzlement from state banks, wasting people’s money, and pushing people to poverty by burdening the state with loans, it will be better understood how grave a sin defraud is.

Self-criticism

Actually, the devoted souls should show more sensitivity in keeping away from defraud. For example, if they gather together for the sake of servitude to God or worship, we need to have the thought within about whether it is our lawful right to step on the carpet under our feet. If we do not do that, then it means we have lost our sensitivity on this issue. I am not saying that it is not your right. Those who built these establishments bought the carpets for your use; this is a different issue. The point I am trying to make is that we need to be so sensitive as to question ourselves about whether we deserve to use these carpets by prostrating ourselves on them and causing them to wear out a bit. We are eating from the food they serve us here, but are we really deserving of it? Having concerns, hesitations, and sensitivity about this issue is very important. Caring about where the morsel in one’s mouth comes from, to whom it belonged, questioning is it really lawful or not, and showing great sensitivity in this respect is a very important duty that falls on a believer.

Accountability

People running donations-based establishments like schools, cultural centers, and the like must show the same sensitivity. The people who support such services trust the volunteers who run these organizations. If there is defraud somewhere, even if it is as little as one-seventh of a grain of barley in worth, God will bring us to account for it. Nevertheless the Qur’an declares, “Whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it; and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it” (az-Zalzalah 99:8). Accordingly, we will be held liable for even smaller sins. The Arabic word dharra refers to the smallest particle of matter; it used to be called a molecule, then an atom, and then a subatomic particle… You can even call it an ion or ether. So according to the verse, God Almighty will call us to account for evils we cannot even see with a microscope or x-ray.

Bediuzzaman also spent his life with the utmost sensitivity of this kind. In order not to shake the trust of society, he accounted for his very modest belongings. “This coat I wear, I bought it seven years ago as a second hand item. For five years I have been getting by on four and a half liras for clothing, underwear, shoes, and socks.” He did not leave any place for the slightest doubts to be raised about him. Then he explained that he possessed a chicken, which laid an egg every day in spite of the winter, and that its chick grew up and started to lay eggs no sooner than its mother was unable to lay eggs. All of these are not simple stories. By doing that, he accounted for his belongings before the people.

The greatest credit is the people’s trust. People give their support, for they have the belief that, “There is no shadow of doubt and speculative purposes in these people’s lives.” Therefore, if you commit some form of defraud by laying your hands on something that is not your lawful right, you will have, first of all, broken this trust. On the other hand, imagine that the people put their trust in you, but you betrayed them; God will bring one to account for that betrayal.

For the same reason I told certain people who have been my friends for 40 to 45 years, “You had better not own an apartment or car of your own.” I am not such a sensitive person, but let me tell you one thing I did. Many times I opened my hands to God and prayed: “My God, please, here I am imploring You, do not grant worldly means to my own brothers.” Because, if others see them enjoying some wealth, they can say, “Then he is taking something from somewhere.” Praise be to my God, every one of them is employed somewhere as workers and I—the whole world is a witness to it—am not disturbed by this at all. Let them keep living—may God grant them long life—as laborers. I will not feel sad at all. I would be sad if they died as sinful people or if other people gossiped about their dishonesty; for it would mean discrediting an ideal the people gave heartfelt support to.

Thieves of success

Let me express as a final point that defraud can happen with not only material but also spiritual matters. For example, Bediuzzaman mentioned that the victory of an entire battalion cannot be ascribed to their commander only.^[3] All the rewards and honor do not belong to the commander, but the entire army. For this reason, laying claims on the accomplishment of an entire movement means associating partners with God, on the one hand (for treating causality like Divine Power), and defraud on the other. It is a great danger if a person lays claim to certain achievements by disregarding the efforts of millions and asserting his role by saying, “my plans and projects, my insight and thoughts…” and appropriating the people’s appreciation for himself by saying, “I did it.” And if others respond to him by singing his praises, and if he welcomes these, it is a further degree of disrespect and moral corruption. Such an attitude is also a form of defraud, a major sin, and a betrayal of trust.

^[1] As-Sa’labi, Al-Kashf wa’l-Bayan, 3/196; Al-Baghawi, Ma’alimu’t-Tanzil, 1/366; Az-Zamahshari,

Al-Kashshaf, 1/461

^[2] Sahih al-Bukhari, Jihad, 89; Sunan at-Tirmidhi, Buyu, 7; Sunan ibn Majah, Ruhun, 1

^[3] Nursi, The Gleams, p. 185.

In order to shed light on this matter, I would like to reference a part of the movie The Truman Show. In this movie, a man’s life is continuously recorded and broadcast worldwide as a TV show. From babyhood on, his life is completely planned, and many of his major life events are designed by the makers of the show. However, all of this is unbeknownst to the main character, Truman. As he grows into his elementary school years, he develops a passion for exploring the world. But this would mean that he would have to leave the movie set, which by now covers a huge area and is deliberately surrounded by water, giving the impression that Truman is living on an island. So, in order to avoid his departure from the movie set and in order not to violate his freedom of choice at the same time, the moviemakers do two things. First, a set-up is made in which Truman’s father drowns in the sea when he and Truman were caught in a storm while sailing. Thus, a negative psychological association is used in order to keep Truman away from the sea. In Truman’s later years, the show’s architects assign a geography teacher who consistently curtails Truman’s passion for exploration. Anytime he expresses interest in exploring a place, his teacher tells him that it has already been done. The plan of the show’s makers works; Truman buries his passion for exploration deep into his heart.

Before returning to our topic, I would also like to mention the main idea of a TEDx talk by Nate Staniforth. Nate is a performing magician from Iowa City, and he visits kids, some of them as young as kindergarteners, for a purpose he believes in: helping people experience awe. At the end of his talk, his advice to the audience is that when you see a trick, instead of quickly going on-line and learning how it is done, take your time and experience the awe for a while. If you don’t, learning the reality behind the trick is going to instantly destroy the feelings of awe and amazement. This is similar to someone telling you a joke, and in the middle of it, another person who already knows the joke revealing the punch line, which ruins all the entertainment.

People are created with different levels of interest in math and science. For a small minority, these subjects are inherently attractive, but for quite a lot of people, they are no more than a school obligation. But these views can change. Sometimes, students develop at different paces, and after a few years of showing no interest, they start to have a passion for math or science. And sooner or later, when they have that passion, suddenly, the life stories of different scientists electrify their imagination. The path leading to an innovation or a theory energizes the blood in their veins. When they get to the moment at which the long-sought explanation is revealed, they feel as if they themselves have found it. And when they are presented with an experiment that includes new and surprising concepts, they imagine themselves at the outset of a great journey. Symphonies start playing their most exhilarating notes in their minds.

Then what happens? Well, we don’t allow them time to experience this feeling of awe and amazement for long. Before they have the opportunity to use their imagination and intellect, we present them with an explanation and a mathematical formula that has been experimentally verified. And in doing this, the language of instruction involves authoritative phrases like, “this phenomenon is known as…,” “the governing equation is…,” “the explanation for the rate of change is controlled by…” For some of the students, these explanations seem more complicated than the phenomena themselves. For others, they mean that there is an explanation as to how something seemingly magical is happening. The more we stress explanations, the stronger the impression that “everything is known, and you can’t touch this.”

For many of them, the story ends here, which means by enriching science education and growing the list of explanations, we are actually channeling students away from science towards the things they can experiment and explore with: smart phones, computer games, etc.

However, this is not the whole story, because there are students, despite being few in number, who still enjoy learning these explanations. Although the original awe loses its strength upon learning the explanation, the existence of an answer, and humanity’s ability to discover it, bring a new kind of awe. This is good, but what is the difference between these people who enjoy learning the explanations and those who don’t?

I am going to use a metaphor to solve this puzzle. When we look upon the night sky, we see only points of light. However, today we know that some of these lights are actually galaxies, containing billions of stars. And we also know that there are other points of light that are invisible to the unaided human eye. How do we know this? We have telescopes that enhance our vision. They work as follows: the larger the mirror of the telescope, the higher the resolution (i.e., the zoom-in capability). With larger telescopes, we can see into galaxies that, from afar, seem like dots in the sky. Also, in order to see some distant bodies, telescopes need a very long exposure time to collect sufficient light from them. These two factors – a larger eye and a longer wait time – determine how deeply we can see into the universe.

Looking back to the issue of science education through these two factors, most students either don’t have a wide enough intellectual perspective to grasp the beauties that are hidden in the big picture or they don’t have enough patience to work on finding the phenomena that are invisible at first glance. But these deficiencies are not just on the student’s side. It is also possible that the teachers themselves cannot see the big picture and the accompanying awe, which leaves the students helpless. Lastly, the curriculums may not be giving enough time for the students to digest the new material and feel the joy of discovery.

In his article, A Rationale for Fiction, which appeared in the 49th issue of The Fountain, Firat Kocol talks about classifying knowledge into two categories: transferable and nontransferable. For example, basic addition would be transferable, but feelings of surprise would be nontransferable. In real life, there is a varying mix of these two types of knowledge. In any event, Kocol claims that nontransferable knowledge can only be evoked in the audience through fiction, be it in the form of art, story, or music.

When we think in terms of science education, it is not difficult to see that all of our efforts are aimed at the transferable aspects of science. The nontransferable side of it, such as the feeling of awe, is ignored. Instead, the feelings of awe and amazement are considered as the job of the entertainment industry, powered by audio-visual technologies. After all, feelings are not scientific, anyway (or so the logic goes!). Hence, as science education has ignored the human soul, the human soul has started ignoring science.

Perhaps it is like Truman’s psychological aversion to sea travel: when we see the feeling of awe drown in a sea of information, we turn away from it, and that information cannot become a part of us. But again: why awe? Why is this feeling of awe and amazement so important for us? Why, when it is absent, do we disconnect ourselves from a subject?

Awe is a reverential feeling we have when faced with something unpredictable. The unknown relationship between the start and the end bewilders our minds. In other words, awe is the attraction of the unknown, not that of the known. Therefore, a body of knowledge that appears to have an answer for all the questions in the mind of the student has no relation to awe! This is even truer if that body of knowledge claims to be unique, and shuts the door of unpredictability.

This is contrary to the image of science in our minds, isn’t it? Why should a complete and consistent theory of everything be repulsive to the human mind, when that mind that has been working on that puzzle for thousands of years?

Luckily, a mathematician from the early 20th century stumbled upon something similar, and his answer, known as Gödel’s incompleteness theorem, perplexed the community of mathematicians. Taking this theory as basis, we can say that it is impossible for a body of knowledge to have a complete and consistent explanation for everything. In other words, science cannot achieve what it wants to ultimately achieve. It’s logical that this failure would trickle down to science education, too.

But how can students feel this fallacy when they are not even capable of understanding it? The answer lies in the nontransferable aspect of the taught material. Just like you don’t need to know the molecular content of a food in order to feel that it is rotten, the inhibition of awe is enough for a student’s mind to disregard a body of knowledge because it feels off.

Just like the existence of light in the outer world and the existence of eyes in our bodies necessitate each other, the existence of incompleteness and inconsistencies in the outer world necessitate the feeling of awe. The feeling of awe wants the door of unpredictability open.

This can lead to only one conclusion: that we must reincorporate awe into our science education, teaching students to feel amazement when faced with extraordinary, or even ordinary, events. If we don’t do this, the status of math and the sciences will continue to deteriorate among newer generations.

Even if work done is for the sake of good, if it does not occasionally add color to life, then one can experience boredom beyond monotony. The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, prevented those who gave themselves to worship from worshiping in a way that would bring boredom.

One of the heroines of this situation was Zaynab binti Jahsh, a sultan of the women’s world. She was a woman famous for her devotion to worship and her generosity. She took the Prophet as a role model and behaved like him as best as she could. A member of a noble family, our mother Zaynab was one of the honorable of the Quraysh tribe. Perhaps due to a spiritual state derived from her heritage, she experienced inner turmoil when she married Zayd. However, she was to be the wife of the Blessed Prophet. God made their marriage in the heavens with the verse: We united you with her in marriage (Qur’an 33:37).

Our mother Zaynab was so devoted to worship that she stretched a rope between two poles in the masjid so she could lean on it when she got tired. Seeing this rope, the Messenger of God said as a warning:

“Untie the rope. When you get tired, rest, and after you rest, perform worship. If you do not show weariness, in a similar way, God will not show it towards you and will give you what you want.” At another time he stated, “When you are sleepy while you pray, it is probable that the favorable prayer you would make will turn into an unfavorable one,” thus recommending the performance of worship after rest.

Similarly, it is certain that constantly doing work along the same lines will bring on boredom. In order not to allow this to happen, there is benefit in visiting a different place within your means and to becoming busy with other things. Also, in order to increase your love and enthusiasm and to increase your motivations for good service, it is helpful to see people who share the same ideas and feelings that you do.

In fact, you can stay in such a place as a guest. Also, you can visit places of historical heritage and institutions established for good service to others. In this way, you both relax and maintain your liveliness. To the contrary, your body might relax in places where heedlessness and excitement are promoted, but your spirit cannot. Actually the body’s full relaxation depends on the spirit’s being lively and alert. If the hope is that the spirit relaxes as well as the body, then you should visit people who show devotion to worship and good virtues and who are good examples with the way they live. I can comfortably say that money used for gasoline and other expenses in these visits will be considered charity. In this way, we will have given the best charity for our families, and we will have taken them out for pleasure as well. Even if vacations made for purposes other than these relax the body, they also allow for the prolongation of heedlessness and some subtle faculties of human spirit may be destroyed.

In summary, those with believing hearts should not neglect to go on vacation on certain days of the month or year, within means, for the purpose of their own and their family’s relaxation. It is very important for the sake of continued vitality.

The children who appreciate their talents and capabilities-believing in the importance of them-and have self-confidence become active agents in their personal improvement since belief and confidence motivate them. They do not feel shy when asking questions, trying something new, or exploring. Instead of waiting for an opportunity to knock at their doors, they take advantage of present opportunities. They act with courage in exploring life and joining in every aspect of life.

If their thoughts and decisions are not valued, if they suffer from violence, are not taken seriously, if their excuses are mostly considered lies, if their confidence is generally thought of as a sign of know-it-all behavior, if their pleasure is seen as a sign of being pampered, then children will not develop self-respect and they will lose self-confidence.

Another point that should be kept in mind is that children always want to spend some time on their special interests. Yet, if it is the parents who generally decide what the child should do and do not offer other options, the child becomes deprived of his or her interest.

Since children are not very experienced, they can easily start to think that they are not capable. The most helpful action to remove this kind of feeling is to make them realize that there are some people who can understand them and have empathy with them. If the child experiences emotional support from parents, his or her chance of overcoming the anxieties of incapability and attaining a healthy character increases. On the other hand, if the parents do not pay attention to the complex feelings of the child and the reasons behind them, some new problems may arise. Things that are not significant for us may be very significant for the child; so we should not ignore the fears of a child.

When children feel incapable of dealing with a new problem, the parents should reveal their belief in their capacity to overcome the problem and show their support. When children need the parents, they should be near enough that the children can find them as soon as they look for them. However, this “closeness” should not be limited only to physical occasions. There should be emotional support, too.

The most important way for parents to supply this psychological support is to show their love to their children. Hugging, kissing and putting an arm on the child’s shoulder can be much more impressive than saying, “Do not be afraid; I am here with you!” Nevertheless, to say, “I show my support through my actions. There is no need to state it,” is not true. Expressing, “I love you!” with the tongue may not be so important for adults, but it is a magical expression that every child wants to hear. In this way, the child feels strong and every duty turns into a pleasure for them. To make children gain self-confidence, the parents should first know them from every aspect, recognize their talents, and then should establish necessary environment to improve their abilities. Moreover, it is essential to give opportunity to children to express their thoughts very often, to try to understand their feelings by asking, “What do you think? How do you feel?” to look at their face while they are speaking, to say how much you love the child, to make them feel that you care about them and value their opinion, to assign them some works and responsibilities that are compatible with their age, and to appreciate positive behaviors and successes they have demonstrated. In addition, it is important to set some time aside for the child, to chat with them, to talk about their negative behavior and how it could be corrected, not to forget special days, to establish a happy and peaceful family environment, to strengthen family relations and to make children feel that they are an inseparable part of the family. Children who are socially active are more self-confident, and they can easily join in the social environment around them. In this sense, especially less sociable children should be encouraged to attend social activities, and, if it is necessary, the parent should accompany the child, and promote them in asking for permission to speak inside a community. Also, parents should neither humiliate their child among other people nor exaggerate his or her failures. In order to help the child to establish a strong character, the fears and concerns of the child should be respected; thus, the parents should avoid severely critical or judgmental behavior, and they should not compare the child with other children. Furthermore, children should be required to do things that are appropriate to their age, especially to do homework by themselves. The parents should avoid improper types of punishment and reward.

Hence, children should not be belittled, and their presence should be respected; however, the parents should not expect extraordinary things, and keep in mind that the child has a different and improving character. The parents should pay attention to their school life, character education and spiritual life. Such prayers in action that are made through the tongue of necessity should also be supported with the actual prayers, and therefore parents should trust that God will arrange things for the best.

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.

Autism is four to five times more prevalent in boys than girls and knows no racial, ethnic, or social boundaries.(1) Family income, life-style, and educational levels play no role in determining whether the child will be autistic or not. Kanner observed that many of the children with autism seen in clinic came from well-educated, intelligent parents from the middle and upper social classes.(2) Surveys conducted in different countries concluded that between 2 and 4 children in every 10,000 develop autism, usually in the ratio of 3 or 4 boys to each girl. The Autism Society of America’s (ASA) equivalent estimate is 300,000 to 400,000 individuals in America.(3)

Diagnosing Autism

Autism impacts the brain’s normal development in areas of social interaction and communication skills. Autistic children and adults typically have difficulties in verbal and nonverbal communication, social interaction, and leisure or play activities. The disorder makes it hard for them to communicate with others and relate to the outside world. Sometimes, aggressive and/or self-injurious behavior also may be present. Autistic people may exhibit repeated body movements (hand flapping, rocking), unusual responses to people or attachments to objects, and resistance to changes in routines. Individuals also may experience sensitivities in sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste.(4)

Current research links autism to biological or neurological differences in the brain. Such medical conditions as phenylketonuria (PKU), tuberous sclerosis, and fragile X syndrome have been identified in some autistic children.(5) But not everyone with these conditions becomes autistic. As there are no medical tests for diagnosing autism, an accurate diagnosis requires observing the individual’s communication, behavior, and developmental levels. However, because many behaviors associated with autism are shared by such other disorders as mental handicaps and Asperger’s syndrome, various medical tests must be tried to rule out or identify other possible causes of the exhibited symptoms.

Since the disorder’s characteristics are so varied, ideally a child should be evaluated by a multidisciplinary team consisting of, among others, a neurologist, a psychologist, a developmental pediatrician, a speech/language therapist, a learning consultant, or another professional knowledgeable about autism. Diagnosis is difficult for practitioners with limited training or exposure to autism, and misdiagnoses do occur. Difficulties in recognizing and acknowledging this condition often lead to a lack of services to meet an autistic individual’s complex needs.

A brief observation in one setting cannot present a true picture of an individual’s abilities and behaviors. Parental (and other caregivers’) input and developmental history are important components of an accurate diagnosis. At first, some autistic people may appear mentally retarded, have a behavior disorder or a hearing problem, or even odd and eccentric behavior. To complicate matters further, these conditions can occur together with autism. However, autism must be distinguished from other conditions, since an accurate diagnosis and early identification can provide the basis for devising an appropriate and effective educational and treatment program.

Indications of Autism

Children within the pervasive developmental disorder spectrum often appear relatively normal in their development until the age of 24-30 months, when parents may notice delays in language, play, or social interaction. By themselves, any such delay would not result in a diagnosis of a pervasive developmental disorder. Autism is a combination of several developmental challenges. The following areas are among those that may be affected by autism (6):

Communication: Develops language skills slowly or not at all, uses words without attaching the usual meanings, communicates with gestures instead of words, and has a short attention span.

Social Interaction: Spends time alone, shows little interest in making friends, and is less responsive to such social cues as eye contact or smiles.

Sensory Impairment: May be sensitive to sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste.

Play: Shows a lack of spontaneous or imaginative play, does not imitate others’ actions, and does not initiate pretend games.

Behavior: May be overactive or very passive; throw tantrums for no apparent reason; show an obsessive interest in one item, idea, activity, or person; exhibit an apparent lack of common sense; may show aggression to others or self; and often has difficulty with changes in routine.

Some autistic individuals may have other disorders that affect the brain’s functioning (e.g., epilepsy, mental retardation, Down’s syndrome) or genetic disorders (e.g., fragile X, Landau-Kleffner, William’s, or Tourette’s syndromes). Many of those diagnosed with autism will test in the range of mental retardation. Approximately 25-30 percent may develop a seizure pattern at some point.(7)

As every autistic person is an individual having a unique personality and combination of characteristics, those affected show great differences. For example, some mildly affected individuals may exhibit only slight delays in language and greater challenges with social interactions. They might find it hard to initiate or maintain a conversation. Communication is often described as talking at others.

Autistic people process and respond to information uniquely. Educators and other service providers must consider each autistic person’s pattern of learning strengths and difficulties, when assessing learning and behavior, to ensure effective intervention. Individuals with autism can learn when information about how they receive and express information is addressed and implemented in their programs.

Their abilities may fluctuate daily due to difficulties in concentration, processing, or anxiety. Those who show evidence of learning one day may give no such indication the next day. Changes in external stimuli and anxiety also can affect learning. They may have average or above-average verbal, memory, or spatial skills but find it difficult to be imaginative or join in activities. Individuals with more severe challenges may require intensive support to manage the basic tasks and needs of daily life.(8)

Contrary to popular understanding, many autistic children and adults may make eye contact, show affection, smile and laugh, and exhibit other emotions, although in varying degrees.(9) Like other children, they respond to their environment in both positive and negative ways. Autism may affect their range of responses and make it harder to control how their bodies and minds react. Sometimes visual, motor, and/or processing problems make it difficult to maintain eye contact. Some autistic individuals use peripheral vision rather than looking directly at others.(10) Sometimes another person’s touch or closeness results in withdrawal even from family members. Anxiety, fear, and confusion may result from being unable to make sense of the world in a routine way.

Therapies

Therapies are available, among them applied behavior analysis, auditory integration training, dietary intervention, discrete trial teaching, medication, music therapy, occupational therapy, the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), physical therapy, sensory integration, speech/language therapy, Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped Children (TEACCH), and vision therapy. There are various approaches to psychological therapies, and each one follows a different path. Behavioral therapy would stress shaping such adaptive behaviors as toilet training and decreasing mal-adaptive behavior, analyzing behavior through its causes and consequences to identify factors that would reward or encourage appropriate behavior, and discouraging disruptive behavior. Rewards are usually based on the patient’s values.

Behavioral therapy seems to be the most effective, for it replaces inappropriate behavior with appropriate behavior and helps the person fit into society. Psychotherapy probably would not be very helpful, for it is based on the principle that parents must become better parents if the child is to develop emotionally. As parents cannot cause their child’s autism, this premise is invalid.(11)

Functioning in Society

Autistic adults can benefit from vocational training by acquiring job-related skills, and from social and recreational programs. They can live in settings ranging from an independent home or apartment to group homes, supervised apartment settings, with other family members, or in a more structured residential care. More autistic adult support groups are emerging around the country. Many self-advocates form networks to share information, support each other, and speak for themselves in the public arena. They frequently attend and/or speaking at conferences and workshops on autism. Others provide valuable insight into this disability’s challenges by publishing articles and books and appearing in television specials about themselves and their disabilities.(12)

TEACCH, a program established by Eric Schopler in North Carolina and widely used in America, includes language- and behavior-focused intervention programs, as well as school and other agency consultation.(13) This treatment also works with parents by encouraging parent training and counseling or facilitating parent support groups.

With appropriate treatment, some behaviors associated with autism may change or diminish over time. Communication and social deficits continue in some form throughout life, but other difficulties may fade or change with age, education, or level of stress. The person often begins to use skills in natural situations and to participate in a broader range of interests and activities. Many autistic individuals enjoy their lives and make meaningful contributions to their community. People with autism can learn to compensate for and cope with their disability quite well.

Studies show that autistic people respond well to highly structured, specialized education programs tailored to their needs.(14) A well-designed intervention may include some elements of communication therapy, social skills development, sensory integration therapy, and applied behavior analysis delivered by trained professionals in a consistent, comprehensive, and coordinated way. The more severe challenges of some autistic children may be best addressed by a structured education and behavior program featuring a one-on-one teacher-to-student ratio or a small group environment. However, many other autistic children may succeed in a fully inclusive general education environment if they receive appropriate support.

Some autistic adults live and work independently, drive a car, earn a college degree, or get married. Others may be fairly independent and only need some support for daily pressures, while some depend on a great deal of support from family and professionals.

In addition to appropriate educational supports, autistic students should receive training in functional living skills at the earliest possible age. Learning to cross a street safely, buying something, or asking for help are critical skills that may be hard even for those of average intelligence. Tasks that enhance the person’s independence and give more opportunity for personal choice and freedom are important.

To be effective, an approach should be flexible, rely on positive reinforcement, be re-evaluated regularly, and provide a smooth transition from home to school to community environments. A good program also incorporates parent and caregiver training and support systems, along with general skills for all settings. Rarely can a family, teacher, or other caregiver provide effective help unless offered consultation or in-service training by an experienced specialist who is knowledgeable about autism.

Research into this puzzling condition continues. According to the Associated Press, (Nov. 28, 2000): Scientists have long theorized that about (15) different genes play a role … and now they’ve finally found one of those genes… The NIH [National Institutes of Health] called the finding a significant step in understanding what predisposes people to developing autism.15

Footnotes

1. http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/aut.html.
2. Simon Baron-Cohen and Patrick Bolton, Autism: The Facts (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996).
3. Ibid.
4. Michael Rutter and Eric Schopler, Autism, A Reappraisal of Concepts and Treatment (New York: Plenum Press, 1976).
5. Baron-Cohen and Bolton, Autism.
6. Rutter and Schopler, Autism.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid.
11. Baron-Cohen and Bolton, Autism.
12. Rutter and Schopler, Autism.
13. Eric Schopler, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology, editor of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, and author of numerous books and articles on autism. TEACCH is the nation’s first and only comprehensive statewide program for the treatment and education of autistic and communication-handicapped children. (www.autism-society.org/package/edkids-erics.html) He developed TEACCH in the early 1970s. Also see Rutter and Schopler, Autism.
14. Ibid.
15. www.foxnews.com/scitech/112800/autism.sml.

Every thing, every being in existence displays God’s Unity as a most manifest truth. For example, of the innumerable arguments for His existence and Unity, consider life: He makes everything out of one thing and makes one thing out of many things. He makes the countless members and systems of the animal body out of fertilizing sperm-bearing fluid and also out of simple water which is drunk. Thus, to make out of one thing everything is surely the work of an Absolutely All-Powerful One. Also, One Who transforms with perfect orderliness numerous substances contained in innumerably diverse kinds of vegetable or animal food into particular bodies, weaving from them a unique skin for each, and various members of the body, is surely an All-Powerful and Absolutely All- Knowing One.

Second argument

If you consider air, you can also see His undeniable Unity. Air is a marvellous conductor: it conducts innumerable sounds, voices, images and other things like lightning, etc. It conducts all at the same instant without the least confusion and one without hindering the other. This explicitly shows that there is One, without any partners whatsoever, Who has created all things according to His Wisdom and controls and administers them.

Third argument

The universe resembles a tree, which has grown from a seed containing the program of the future full form of the tree. So, all things in the universe are closely interrelated with one another. Each particle in the body, for example, a particle in the pupil of the eye, has relations with the eye itself, as well as with the head, and the powers of reproduction, attraction and repulsion, with the veins and arteries, and with other veins, and motor and sensory nerves, which serve the circulation of blood and the working of the body, and with the rest of the body, and it has also duties in relation to each. This evidently shows one who is not blind that the whole of the body, including every particle, is a work of an Eternal, All-Powerful One and operates under His command.

A molecule of air may visit any flower and any fruit. It may also enter into it and work within it. If it were not subjugated to, and working under, the command of an Absolutely All-Powerful One, that wandering molecule of air would have to know all the systems and structures of all flowers and fruits and how they are formed down to their peripheric lines. So that molecule does, therefore, show the rays of a light of Divine Unity like a sun. You may compare light, earth, and water with air.

In any event, the original sources of things which, according to science, are hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen, are the components of earth, air, water, and light.

The seeds of all flowering and fruit-bearing plants are the same in composition: they are all composed of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen. They only differ on account of and in respect of the program of their progenitor, deposited in them by Divine Destiny. If we put the seeds of various flowering and fruit-bearing plants one after another in a flower-pot filled with earth, which is composed of particular or certain elements, each plant will appear in the wonderful form and shape, the amazing members, peculiar to it. If those particles were not subjugated to, and under the command of, One Who knows each thing with all its features, structures, and life-cycles, and the conditions of its life, and is capable of endowing everything with a being suitable to it and everything necessary for it, and to Whose Power everything is subjected without the least resistance, then either there would have to be in each particle of the earth ‘immaterial factories’ determining all the future lives of the plants, and workshops to the number of all the flowering and fruit-bearing plants, so that each could be the origin for all those various beings, differing in form, taste, colour, and members, or each of those plants should have an all-encompassing knowledge and a power capable of forming themselves. That means, if the connection of beings with Almighty God is severed, then it becomes necessary to accept gods to the number of the particles in the earth. This is the most inconceivable of superstitions.

Also, in each particle are two further true witnesses to the necessary existence and Unity of the Maker: despite its absolute powerlessness, each particle is able to do a great variety of significant duties, and despite its lifelessness, by acting in conformity with the universal order, each particle displays a universal consciousness. That means, each particle testifies, through its impotence, to the necessary existence of the Absolutely All-Powerful One, and through acting in conformity with the order of the universe, to His Unity.

Fourth argument

Out of the living creatures, a human being, for instance, is plainly a miniature of the universe, and a fruit of the tree of creation or the universe and a seed of this world, such that he comprises samples of most species of beings. It is as if that living being is a drop distilled from the whole universe with the most subtle and sensitive balance. That means, to create this living being and be the Lord over him requires having a free disposal of the whole universe.

Thus, one who is not lost in fancies and delusions will understand that to make, for example, a honeybee, a sort of small index of most things, and to inscribe, for example, in man, most features of the universe, and to include in one point, for example, in a tiny fig seed, the program of the whole fig tree, and to exhibit, for example, in man’s heart, the works of all the Divine Names which are manifest throughout the universe, and to record in the human memory, which is situated in a place the size of a lentil, ‘writings’ enough to fill a library, and to include in it a detailed index of all the events in the cosmos, is most certainly a stamp unique to the Creator of all things and the All-Majestic Lord of the universe.

Fifth argument

Life in the whole of the universe displays a symphony of mutual helping. Just like the members, organs and systems, even cells, of a living animal body, all parts of the universe support and help one another. For example, for a single apple to come into existence, air, water, earth, the sun, even all the parts of the universe, give hand in hand and co-operate. Like the components of a factory or the building blocks of a palace, creatures support one another, come to one another’s aid and co-operate to meet one another’s needs. In a perfect orderliness they all work together. Joining efforts, they serve living beings. Elements in earth come to the aid of plants: they serve their coming into existence and maintaining their lives. Most animals live on plants and man lives on plants and animals. Thus, elements form the basic foundation of the physical constitution of living beings.

Acting in accordance with the rule of mutual assistance which is in force in the whole universe-from the sun and moon, night and day, winter and summer, to plants coming to the aid of needy and hungry animals, and animals hastening to the help of weak, needy men, and even nutritious substances rushing to the help of delicate, helpless infants, and fruits, and particles of food, moving to assist the cells of the body-they demonstrate to anyone who is not altogether blind that they are acting through the power of a single, Most Munificent Upbringer, and at the command of a single, Most Wise Administrator.

Sixth argument

The universal providence and favour included in the universal wisdom which is clearly apparent in the purposeful creation of things, and the comprehensive mercy evident from the providence, and the universal sustenance required by that mercy in order to provide all living beings with the food they need, form a seal of Divine Unity so brilliant that anyone who has not altogether lost his power of sight and reasoning will see and understand it.

Like an individual being in need of sustenance to maintain its life, we see that all the beings in the world, especially the living beings, whether universal or particular, wholes or parts, have many demands and needs, material and otherwise, for their existence, lives, and the maintenance of their lives. They need such things that although they are unable to obtain the least of them, we see that all their requirements, their material and immaterial sustenance, are met for them in a way and from a place unexpected, and with perfect order, at the appropriate time, in a suitable fashion, with perfect wisdom. Does this want and need of creatures and this way of help and assistance from the Unseen not show as clearly as the sun an All-Wise Nurturer of Majesty, an All-Compassionate Provider of Grace?

Seventh argument

Consider the sun: from the planets to drops of water, to fragments of glass and sparkling snow-flakes, a radiant effect particular to the sun is apparent. If you do not accept the tiny suns apparent in these innumerable things to be the manifestations of the sun’s ref lection, then you will have to countenance the absurdity of accepting the actual existence of a sun in each drop of water, and in each fragment of glass and transparent object facing the light of the sun.

If the images or reflections of the sun in drops of water and fragments of glass and various colours in flowers are not attributed to the sun, then it will be necessary to accept the existence of innumerable suns in place of the one sun, which is an utterly inconceivable superstition. In just the same way, if everything in the universe is not attributed to One God, the Absolutely All-Powerful One, it will be necessary to accept, in place of One God, as many gods as the particles in the universe. This will mean falling to the degree of accepting a hundred-fold inconceivability.

Eighth argument

God raises to life in spring and summer hundreds of thousands of species of plants and animals with complete differentiation and specification and perfect orderliness and separation amid infinite intermingling and confusion. He ‘inscribes’ on the face of the earth the individual members of hundreds of thousands of different species all together without fault, forgetting, mistake or deficiency, and in most well-balanced, well-proportioned, well-ordered and perfect fashion. This evidently points to One of Majesty, an All-Powerful One of Perfection, an All-Wise One of Grace and Beauty, One Who has an infinite Power, all-encompassing Knowledge, and a Will capable of governing the whole universe.

Also, consider amazing Divine operations on the face of the earth in spring and summer. For that activity is absolutely extensive, and alongside its extensiveness absolutely speedy, and alongside its speed, absolutely liberal or generous, and alongside its liberality, done in absolute orderliness, a most perfect beauty of art and in a most perfect form of creation. Therefore, it is such a seal that only One with an infinite knowledge and boundless power can own it. That seal certainly belongs to One Who, although He is nowhere, is all-present and all-seeing, everywhere. Nothing is hidden from Him, nor difficult for him. With respect to His Power, particles and stars are equal.

Ninth Argument

Seeds sown in a field show that both the field and the seeds are under the disposal of one who owns both. Likewise, the fundamental elements of life-like air, water and earth-being universal and present everywhere despite their simplicity, and each being of the same nature everywhere, and the plants and animals being found everywhere despite their essentially similar nature vis vis the diverse conditions of life, show that they are under the disposal of a single miracle-displaying Maker in such a fashion that every flower, every fruit, and every animal is a stamp, a seal, a signature of that Maker. Wherever they are found, each proclaims in the tongue of its being: Whoever’s stamp I bear, this location is also of His making. Whoever’s seal I carry, this place is a missive of His also. Whoever’s signature I indicate, this land is also of His weaving.’ That means, only the one who holds all the elements in the grasp of his power can own and sustain the least of creatures, and anyone who is not blind can see that only one who exercises lordship over all plants and animals can own, sustain, and govern the simplest one of them.

Truly, in the tongue of similarity to other individuals, each individual being says: ‘Only one who owns my species can be the owner of me, otherwise not.’ In the tongue of spreading over the face of the earth together with other species, each species says: ‘Only one who owns the whole face of the earth can be our owner, otherwise not.’ In the tongue of being bound to the sun, together with other planets, and of its mutual relations with the heavens, the earth says: ‘Only one who owns all these can be my owner, otherwise not.’ Supposing apples were conscious and someone were to say to one among them, ‘You are my work of art’, that apple would scold him, saying: ‘Be silent! If you are capable of forming all the apples on the earth, rather if you have a free disposal over all the fruit-bearing trees spread over the earth, and all the gifts of the All-Merciful One proceeding from the treasury of Mercy in shiploads, only then can you claim Lordship over me.’

Tenth argument

As explained above, since the countless fruits of a tree depend on one law of growth from one centre, they are as easy and cheap to raise as one single fruit. In other words, the multiplicity of centres requires for a single fruit as much hardship, expenditure, and equipment as for the whole of the tree, as to manufacture the military equipment necessary for a single soldier all the factories required for the whole army are necessary. That means, when a single result related to numerous individuals is dependent on a multiplicity of centres, as many difficulties as the number of the individuals involved arise. Thus, the extraordinary ease clearly seen in all species arises from unity.

The correspondence and similarity in basic members between all the individuals of a species, and all the divisions of a genus, proves that they are the works of a single Maker, as they are ‘inscribed’ with the same Pen and the seal on them is also one and the same. Also, the absolute facility observed in their coming into existence, the lack of difficulty, requires, to the degree of being necessary and inevitable, that they are the works of One Maker. Otherwise difficulties to the degree of making their existence impossible would doom that genus and that species to non-existence.

To conclude: When attributed to Almighty God, all things become as easy as a single thing, while if they are ascribed to causes, a single thing becomes as difficult as everything. Since this is so, the extraordinary cheapness and facility observed in the universe and endless abundance before our eyes display the stamp of Unity like the sun. If these fruits which we obtain in such plenty and for so little cost were not the property of the One of Unity, even if we gave the whole world in payment, we would not have a single pomegranate to eat, since it requires the purposeful and conscious cooperation of as many and universal elements as earth, air, water, and the light and heat of the sun, an the seed, which are all unconscious and act at the disposal of a Single Maker, Who is Almighty God. The cost of a single pomegranate or any other fruit is the whole universe.

Eleventh argument

Just as life, which manifests the Divine Grace, is an argument and proof for Divine Unity, indeed even a sort of manifestation of Divine Unity, so too, death, which manifests the Divine Majesty, is an argument and proof for Divine Oneness.

For example-God’s is the highest comparison-by showing the sun’s image and light, and its reflection, the bubbles on a mighty river sparkling in the sun, and transparent objects glistening on the face of the earth, testify to the existence of the sun. Despite the occasional disappearance of the sparkling bubbles on the flowing river (for example when it passes under a bridge), the splendid continuation of the sun’s manifestations and the uninterrupted display of its light on the successive troops of bubbles bears decisive witness that the little images of the sun, the lights that appear and then disappear, sparkle and die away, and then are renewed, are evidence of an enduring, perpetual, single sun, which continues to manifest itself from on high. Therefore, those sparkling bubbles which through their appearance demonstrate the existence of the sun, display its continuation and unity through their disappearance and extinction.

In just the same way, these beings that are in a continuous flux testify through their existence and life to the necessary existence and Oneness of the Necessarily Existent Being. They testify to His Unity, eternity and permanence through their decay and death. Truly, just as the beautiful, delicate creatures that are renewed and recruited along with the alternation of day and night, and summer and winter, and the passage of centuries and ages, certainly show the existence, Unity and permanence of an elevated, everlasting One with a continuous display of beauty, so too, the decay and death of those creatures together with the apparent causes for their lives. demonstrates that the (material or natural) causes are nothing other than a mere veil. This is a fact which decisively proves that these arts, these inscriptions, these manifestations, are the constantly renewed arts, the changing inscriptions, the moving mirrors of an All-Beautiful One of Majesty.

Twelfth argument

For example, the perfect design and adornments of a perfect palace show behind them the perfection of a master-builder’s acts. The perfection of the acts shows the perfection of that eminent builder’s titles, which specify his rank. The perfection of the titles show the perfection of the builder’s attributes which are the origin of his art. The perfection of the art and attributes show the perfection of the abilities and essential capacity of that master. The perfection of those essential abilities and capacity show the perfection of the essential nature of the master.

In just the same way, these faultless works observed in the universe, this art in the well-ordered beings of the universe, point evidently to the perfection of the acts of an Effective, Powerful Agent. The perfection of those acts clearly point to the perfection of that Majestic Agent’s Names. That perfection necessarily points and testifies to the perfection of the Attributes of the Majestic One known by the Names. The perfection of the Attributes certainly points and testifies to the perfection of the essential capacity and qualities of the Perfect One qualified by those attributes. The perfection of the essential capacity and qualities point with such absolute certainty to the perfection of the One having such capacity and qualities that all the types of perfections observed throughout the universe are but the signs of His Perfection, hints of His Majesty, and allusions to His Beauty, in the forms of pale, weak shadows in comparison with His Perfect Reality.

From The 22nd Word by Said Nursi