These continents, that emerged after the split of Pangaea, have been constantly moving on the Earth's surface at a rate of several centimetres per year, and in the meantime changing the sea to land ratios of the Earth.
Discovered as a result of the geological research carried out at the beginning of the 20th century, this movement of the Earth's crust is explained by scientists as follows:
The crust and the uppermost part of the mantle, with a thickness of about 100 kms., are divided into segments called plates. There are six major plates, and several small ones. According to the theory called plate tectonics, these plates move about on Earth, carrying continents and ocean floor with them. Continental motion has been measured at from 1-5 cm per year. As the plates continue to move about, this will produce a slow change in Earth's geography. Each year, for instance, the Atlantic Ocean becomes slightly wider.1
There is an important point that needs to be stated here: Allah referred to the motion of mountains as drifting in a verse of the Qur’an. Today, modern scientists also use the term "continental drift" for this motion.2
Continental drift is something that could not have been observed at the time of the revelation of the Qur’an, though Allah clearly indicated how it was to be understood: “You see the mountains you reckoned to be solid” in the verse. Though, He further described this action in the following verse, stating that the mountains were going past like clouds. As has been indicated, attention is clearly drawn to the movement of the layer in which the mountains are fixed.
It is without doubt a great miracle that this scientific fact, only recently discovered by science, should have been revealed in the 7th century, when conceptions of the nature of the universe were based on superstition and myth. This is another very important proof that the Qur’an is the word of Allah.
Sheets, Gardner, and Howe, General Science, 305
2. Powers of Nature (Washington D.C.: National Geographic Society: 1978), 12-13.
|THE END TIMES AND THE EMERGENCE OF THE MAHDI|
PROPHET SULAYMAN (AS):
Sulayman (as) communicates with a female ant
(Sulayman) smiled, laughing at its words, and said: 'My Lord, keep me thankful for the blessing You have bestowed on me and on my parents, and keep me acting rightly, pleasing You, and admit me, by Your mercy, among Your servants who are righteous.' (Surat an-Naml: 19)
- Prophet Sulayman (as) could hear the speech of ants, and this may be pointing to the existence of advanced computer technology in the end times.
- Today, California's Silicon Valley is known as the capital of the technological world. It is very curious that the account of Prophet Sulayman (as) speaks of the Ant Valley. Allah might be pointing to an advanced technology that will appear in the End Times.
- Moreover, ants and other insects are used extensively in high technology. Robot projects developed by studying these creatures closely have advanced a number of fields, including technology and the defense industry. The verse might be pointing to this fact as well.
Blessings relevant to the End Times
Prophet Sulayman's (as) and Dhu'l-Qarnayn's (as) dominion over the world is good news indeed for all Muslims, for these narratives contain significant signs for the End Times. Truly, Muslims who preserve Allah's limits, work hard to spread Islamic morality worldwide, and refuse to shrink in the face of hardship will prevail in all eras of history. Allah will always be behind them with His help and support. Both of these Messengers, due to their above-mentioned abilities (and, of course, many other blessings of Allah), exercised a strong dominion in the world. This same dominion will certainly happen during the End Times.
The great dominion of Islamic morality, as we emphasized earlier, was defined in the hadiths through similar incidents during the dominion of these two Messengers of Allah. Some of these are as follows:
The Mahdi (the rightly guided one) will rule the world like Prophet Dhu'l-Qarnayn and Prophet Sulayman. (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi `Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, p. 29)
There have been four great kings on the earth:two were believers and two unbelievers. The believers were Dhu'l-Qarnayn and Sulayman, and the unbelievers were Nimrod and Bakhtinasr. There will be a fifth king, from the People of my House. (Ibn al-Jawzi)
HOW DO THE COMPLEX
STRUCTURES OF THE MOST ANCIENT CREATURES DEMOLISH THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION?
A trilobite fossil.
Living things form a chain in the fossil record. When we look at these from the oldest to the more recent, they emerge in the form of micro organisms, invertebrate sea creatures, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Proponents of the theory of evolution describe this chain in a prejudiced manner, and try to present it as proof of the theory of evolution. They claim that living things developed from simple to complex forms, and that during this process a wide variety in living species came about. For example, evolutionists suggest that the fact that no human fossils are to be found when 300-million-year-old fossil beds are examined is in some way proof of this. The Turkish evolutionist Professor Aykut Kence says:
Do you wish to invalidate the theory of evolution? Then go and find some human fossils from the Cambrian Age! Anyone who does that will disprove the theory of evolution, and even win the Nobel Prize for his discovery. (Evrim Kurami Konferansi (Conference on the Theory of Evolution), Istanbul Universitesi Fen Fakultesi (University of Istanbul, Facul†y of Science), June 3, 1998)
Development from the primitive to the complex is an imaginary concept
Let us examine the evolutionist logic that pervades Professor Kence's words. The statement that living things developed from primitive forms to complex ones is an evolutionist prejudice that in no way reflects the truth. The American professor of biology Frank L. Marsh, who considered that evolutionist claim, maintains in his book Variation and Fixity in Nature, that living things cannot be arranged in a continuous, unbroken series from simple to complex.( http://www.icr.org/creationproducts/creationscienceproducts/Variation_and_Fixity_in_Nature.html
The fact that almost all known animal phyla suddenly emerged in the Cambrian period is strong evidence against evolutionist claims in this regard. Furthermore, those creatures which suddenly emerged possessed complex bodily structures, not simple ones—the exact opposite of the evolutionist assumption.
Trilobites belonged to the Arthropoda phylum, and were very complicated creatures with hard shells, articulated bodies, and complex organs. The fossil record has made it possible to carry out very detailed studies of trilobites' eyes. The trilobite eye is made up of hundreds of tiny facets, and each one of these contains two lens layers. This eye structure is a real wonder of design. David Raup, a professor of geology at Harvard, Rochester, and Chicago Universities, says, "the trilobites 450 million years ago used an optimal design which would require a well trained and imaginative optical engineer to develop today." (David Raup, "Conflicts Between Darwin and Paleontology,” Bulletin, Field Museum of Natural History, vol. 50, January 1979, p. 24)
Another interesting aspect of the matter is that flies in our day possess the same eye structure. In other words, the same structure has existed for the last 520 million years.
Very little was known about this extraordinary situation in the Cambrian Age when Charles Darwin was writing The Origin of Species. Only since Darwin's time has the fossil record revealed that life suddenly emerged in the Cambrian Age, and that trilobites and other invertebrates came into being all at once. For this reason, Darwin was unable to treat the subject fully in the book. But he did touch on the subject under the heading "On the sudden appearance of groups of allied species in the lowest known fossiliferous strata," where he wrote the following about the Silurian Age (a name which at that time encompassed what we now call the Cambrian):
In Darwin's time, the Cambrian Age was included in the Silurian Age, and Darwin remained silent in the face of the complex structures of the living things that suddenly emerged at that time. In the succeeding 150 years, Darwinism's dilemma on this matter has grown even greater. Above: The Silurian Age by Zdenek Burian.
For instance, I cannot doubt that all the Silurian trilobites have descended from some one crustacean, which must have lived long before the Silurian age, and which probably differed greatly from any known animal…
The Origin of Species
Consequently, if my theory be true, it is indisputable that before the lowest Silurian stratum was deposited, long periods elapsed, as long as, or probably far longer than, the whole interval from the Silurian age to the present day; and that during these vast, yet quite unknown, periods of time, the world swarmed with living creatures. To the question why we do not find records of these vast primordial periods, I can give no satisfactory answer. (Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species, 1859, p. 313-314, (emphasis added))
Darwin said "If my theory be true, it is indisputable that the world swarmed with living creatures before the Silurian Age." As for the question of why there were no fossils of these creatures, he tried to supply an answer throughout his book, using the excuse that "the fossil record is very lacking." But nowadays the fossil record is quite complete, and it clearly reveals that creatures from the Cambrian Age did not have ancestors. This means that we have to reject that sentence of Darwin's which begins "If my theory be true." Darwin's hypotheses were invalid, and for that reason, his theory is mistaken.
Another example demonstrating that life did not develop from primitive forms to complex ones and that life was already exceedingly complex from the moment when it first emerged is the shark, which the fossil record shows to have emerged some 400 million years ago. This animal possesses superior features not even seen in animals created millions of years after it, such as the way it can regenerate lost teeth. Another example is the astonishing resemblances between mammals' eyes and those of octopuses which lived on Earth millions of years before mammals.
The number of chromosomes is not directly related to the complex structures of living things. This is a fact that invalidates the claims of the theory of evolution.
These examples make it clear that living species cannot be neatly arranged from the primitive to the complex.
This fact also emerged as the result of analyses of studies of living things' forms, functions, and genes. For instance, when we examine the very lowest levels of the fossil record from the point of view of shape and size, we see many creatures that were much larger than those which came later (such as dinosaurs).
When we look at the functional properties of living things, we see exactly the same thing. As regards structural development, the ear is an example that disproves the claim of "development from the primitive to the complex." Amphibians possess a middle-ear space, yet reptiles, which emerged after them, have a much simpler system, based on a single small bone, and have no middle-ear space at all.
Genetic studies have produced similar results. Research has demonstrated that the number of chromosomes has no relation to animals' complexity. For example, human beings possess 46 chromosomes, the copepode six, and the microscopic creature called radiolaria exactly 800.
Living things were created at the most " appropriate" time for them
The real fact that emerges from examination of the fossil record is that living things emerged in the periods most suitable for them. God has designed all creatures superbly, and has made them well-suited to meet their needs at the times when they emerged on the Earth.
Let us consider one example of this: the Earth at the time when the oldest bacteria fossils emerge, some 3.5 billion years ago. Atmospheric and temperature conditions at the time were not at all suited to support complex creatures or human beings. That also applies to the Cambrian Age, the finding of human fossils from which, according to the evolutionist Kence, would invalidate the theory of evolution. This period, which refers to some 530 million years ago, was definitely unsuitable for human life. (There were no land animals at all at that time.)
The situation is the same in the great majority of succeeding periods. Examination of the fossil record shows that conditions able to support human life have only existed for the last few million years. The same applies to all other living things. Each living group emerged when the appropriate conditions for it had been arrived at—in other words, "when the time was right."
Evolutionists make an enormous contradiction in the face of that fact, trying to explain it as if these appropriate conditions themselves had created living things, whereas the coming about of "appropriate conditions" only meant that the right time had come. Living things can only emerge with a conscious intervention—in other words, a supernatural creation.
For this reason, the emergence of living things by stages is evidence not of evolution, but of the infinite knowledge and wisdom of God, Who created them. Every living group created established the appropriate conditions for the next group to emerge, and an ecological balance with all living things was set up for us over a long period of time.
On the other hand, we must be aware that this long period of time is only long to us. For God it is but a single "moment." Time is a concept that only applies to created things. As the creator of time itself, God is not bound by it. (For more details see Harun Yahya: Timelessness and the Reality of Fate
If evolutionists wish to show that one species turned into another, then showing that living things emerged step by step on the Earth is no good. The evidence they have to come up with is fossils of the intermediate forms that link these different species together. A theory that maintains that invertebrates turned into fish, fish into reptiles, and reptiles into birds and mammals has to find the fossils to prove it. Darwin accepted that, and wrote that countless examples of these would have to be found, even though none were so far available. In the 150 years that have passed since then, no intermediate forms have been found. As the evolutionist paleontologist Derek W. Ager has admitted, the fossil record shows "not gradual evolution, but the sudden explosion of one group at the expense of another." (Derek A. Ager, "The Nature of the Fossil Record,” Proceedings of the British Geological Association, vol 87, 1976, p. 133, (emphasis added))
In conclusion, natural history reveals that living things did not come about by chance, but that they were created, stage by stage, over long periods over time. This is in complete agreement with the information about creation given in the Qur'an, in which God reveals that he created the universe and all living things in "six days":
God is He Who created the heavens and the Earth and everything between them in six days and then established Himself firmly upon the Throne. You have no protector or intercessor apart from Him. So will you not pay heed? (Qur'an, 32: 4)
The word "day" in the verse (yawm in Arabic) also means a long period of time. In other words, the Qur'an notes that all of nature was created over different times, not all at once. Modern geological discoveries paint a picture that confirms this.
|THE MUSLIM WAY OF SPEAKING|
SPEAKING SO AS TO AROUSE JOY AND ANTHUSIASM
One of the responsibilities of the faithful is that they always maintain high level of joy, contentment and enthusiasm among the believers through their words. Sincere believers experience this pleasure and joy deep within themselves at all times, but they also know that Satan tries to urge the faithful into a state of despair and destroy their will and enthusiasm. Therefore, the faithful support one another against Satan's schemes and, by encouraging one another, render Satan's wiles ineffective.
In addition, even if there were no temptations at all from Satan, Muslims never regard the joy and enthusiasm they feel as adequate; they strive to strengthen both themselves and one another, by continually enhancing these positive sentiments. As is pointed out in the words of the Qur'an, "spur on the believers," (Surat an-Nisa': 84), in order to receive the great rewards in the afterlife, they exert the maximum effort in encouraging one another to pious behavior, in order to earn the approval of Allah. In another verse, "… so race each other to the good." (Surat al-Baqara: 148) Allah announces to the faithful that they have entered a competition in good.
In the life of this world, the lifespan allotted by Allah to humankind is quite short. Furthermore, no-one can know on what day and at what time they will meet their death. For this reason, proceeding slowly or procrastinating in one's efforts to earn Allah's approval, maintaining the excuse that, "Anyway, I have long years ahead of me," is clearly very wrong. On the contrary, we should behave enthusiastically all the time, be ardent and eager, saying, "I may meet my death at any moment." With that regard, the support the faithful render unto one another is very important. By reason of the news given in the Qur'an, they remind one another of the proximity of death, the afterlife and the Day of Judgment and that those who are the most acceptable to Allah are "the forerunners in doing good deeds" (Surat al-Waqi`a:10). Another verse says:
Race each other to forgiveness from your Lord and to a Garden, whose breadth is like that of heaven and earth combined, made ready for those who believe in Allah and His Messengers. That is Allah's favor which He gives to those He wills. Allah's favor is indeed immense.(Surat al-Hadid: 21)
As we are told in the following verse of the Qur'an, "So when you have finished, work on" (Surat al-Inshirah: 7), they encourage one another to engage in good works which will earn the approval of Allah, and when they have no task at hand, to seek to find one. No matter what difficulties or troubles they may encounter, they remind one another that Allah is always at their side and will help them without a doubt. Even under the most trying conditions, they note that they need to keep their hope alive, that they must be patient with a firm resolve, and that there will be a greater reward in the afterlife for living according to the morality spelled out in the Qur'an with zeal and determination.
In awareness the verse of the Qur'an, "Do not give up and do not be downhearted. You shall be uppermost if you are believers," (Surah Al ‘Imran: 139) the faithful maintain that their faith will always guide them to the straight path, and, ultimately, to success. They encourage one another to greater enthusiasm with reminders of what Allah has promised in the afterlife.
SAYING WHAT IS BEST
Say to My servants that they should only say the best. Satan wants to stir up trouble between them. Satan is an outright enemy to man. (Surat al-Isra': 53)
In the Qur'an, Allah commands people to say what is best to one another. People can banter without thinking, or they can make the effort to speak in the finest way. Of the two approaches, the one which would be expected to be acceptable in Allah's sight, and which will earn the approval of Allah, is the second; that is, to do one's utmost and speak in the most conscientious manner.
We can explain this with an example. One may turn a blind eye to the superior behavior of another, and not mention it, or he may admit that it was indeed excellent behavior, but reluctantly and half-heartedly. Or, he may do exactly the opposite and tell the person just how superior was his morality and how exemplary was his behavior, sincerely and from the heart. At first glance, the difference between these two manners may not mean much. However, upon closer inspection, with the regards to the rewards they garner in Allah's sight, there is a great difference. Therefore, in order to speak in the way of the Muslims, Muslims should highlight the good qualities of the other, without in any way giving in to their pride and allowing themselves to be taken over by envy. Trying to ignore the matter, even in part, and growing arrogant, is behavior which reflects the type morality of those who are far removed from the lessons of the Qur'an. The faithful are those who notice such deviance, likely to be whispered from their lower selves, and speak in the best manner they think will be approved by Allah.
Before uttering a word, Muslims consult their conscience and try to say only what is best. They take care not to say a single word which will discomfort the other person, or cause doubt or concern in their heart. On the contrary, they will try to speak in such a way as to put their heart at ease, to console, and thus enthuse them. They speak for the purpose of encouraging others, and ensuring that they are strengthened in faith by bringing them closer to Allah.
And with Allah’s permission, they routed them. Dawud killed Goliath, and Allah gave him kingship and wisdom and taught him whatever He willed. If it were not for Allah’s driving some people back by means of others, Earth would have been corrupted. But Allah shows favor to all the worlds. (Surat al-Baqara, 2:251)
Allah, Who protects believers against all material and spiritual dangers, also grants them irrefutable power against all unbelievers, hypocrites, and idolaters. While unbelievers plan and plot, Allah moves against them. Driving their harm away, He makes the plotters suffer the consequences of their own plots.
Meanwhile, Allah divides unbelievers, makes them fight each another, and thereby causes them to lose their strength. Furthermore, He keeps those who hate Muslims apart from them and afflicts them with many disasters. The Qur’an relates this divine protection for believers, as follows:
Those who were expelled from their homes without any right, merely for saying: “Our Lord is Allah.” If Allah had not driven some people back by means of others, monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, where Allah’s name is mentioned much, would have been pulled down and destroyed. Allah will certainly help those who help Him… (Surat al-Hajj, 22:40)
This aside, only Allah can repel all varieties of difficulty, disease, misgiving, Satan’s promptings to evil, and many other disasters from believers. No doubt, each one of these represents Allah’s overt and hidden help to humanity. He is very compassionate toward His servants, to those who take refuge in Him and seek His help and forgiveness.
IF A PERSON'S CLOSE RELATIVE OR FAMILY MEMBER PERFORMS THE PRESCRIBED ACTS OF WORSHIP, WILL HE OR SHE BENEFIT FROM SUCH A CONNECTION?
In the verse "Neither your blood relations nor your children will be of any use to you. On the Day of Resurrection He will differentiate between you. Allah sees what you do," (Surat al-Mumtahana, 3) Allah informs people that their close relatives will be of no help on that Day. Another verse as "... he will come to Us all alone" (Surah Maryam, 80) reminds each person that he or she will be called to account by himself or herself. Given such statements, no one will benefit from the worship of another on the Day of Judgment. Allah gives every person an individual understanding and an individual conscience, and warns each of them in various ways. For that reason, the worship of one’s closest relatives or family members will benefit only the person who performs them. If people do not fulfill their religious responsibilities, despite seeing their closest relatives and family members doing so, and thus knowing that these pious ones are on the right path, they will be held responsible by Allah in the Hereafter.
HOW DOES THE QUR'AN DEFINE "SUSPICION"?
Allah does not approve of people acting on suspicion and conjecture. In fact, He indicates in many verses that this is a characteristic of the societies of ignorance and that it benefits no one. Following His command to avoid suspicion, the believers do not base any of their ideas on unfounded information. All of their words and ideas always comply with the Qur’an’s morals, are based on absolute evidence, and are just. They do not arrive at suspicion-based decisions about a person; rather, they ask his or her opinion or gather valid evidence.
The believers’ awe of Allah causes them to pay serious attention to this issue. Knowing that they will be judged for each action in the Hereafter and doing their best to earn His Paradise, they are very careful and just in this respect. Allah defines suspicion in these words:
O You who believe. Avoid most suspicion. Indeed, some suspicion is a crime... (Surat al-Hujurat, 12)
(For further reference, please see, Quick Grasp of Faith 1
by Harun Yahya)
COMMUNIST CHINA'S POLICY OF OPPRESSION IN EAST TURKESTAN
By Harun Yahya
When the Communist Party came to power in 1949, China soon turned into a state of fear. That process cost the lives of tens of millions of people because of the repressive and totalitarian methods the communists used to enforce their bloody ideology.
It is commonly assumed that the savage implementation of communism has come to an end. People no longer receive food in return for vouchers, no longer are required to wear uniforms, nor suffer torture because they are unable to learn Mao's "Little Red Book" by heart. Yet communism, adapted by the regime to the new world order, is still alive and well in all its ruthlessness.
A major area of communist savagery is East Turkestan, home to the Muslim Uighur Turks. Located at the westernmost point of China, East Turkestan has been under occupation for the last two centuries or so, and for the last 50 years in particular has suffered great oppression from the despotic regime of the communist Chinese administration. Muslims of East Turkestan are arrested, kept for months (or even years) in Chinese prisons, which are notorious for torture, solely because they want to live by their religion. China's assimilationist policies have prevented the majority Muslim population of East Turkestan from speaking their own language, living by their own culture. The Muslims of East Turkestan expect people of good conscience all over the world to help them wage a war of ideas to bring communist oppression there to an end and make a concerted effort to inform the whole world about their plight.
The aim of this book is both to identify the basic causes of this communist oppression that has been going on all over China for more than half a century, and to make the voice of the wronged people of East Turkestan heard. Initiatives taken to allow the Muslims of East Turkestan to enjoy peace and security can only succeed if the fundamental causes of their oppression are documented and brought to the attention of the world.
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