CounterCurrent Issue 3

8/3/2019 CounterCurrent Issue 3

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COUNTERCURRENT - ISSUE 03

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From wherever you are seated, cast a glance

around you, and you will see that everything

that your sight falls on has been produced by

careful design and planning. Nothing has ap-

peared from nowhere or come into existence ofits own accord; from the mighty skyscraper to

the tiny pin; from the huge soaring planes to the

humble ball pen; and from the complex chips

of computers to a simple toothpick. Everything

has its origin in the design of a maker; some-

thing which all rational minds must acknowl-

edge. If such is the case with man-made items,

how then do we explain the expansive and

multifarious phenomena, where man has no say

or input, and the efciency and consistency ofwhich continues to bafe him to this day.

The beautiful panorama of nature all around

us with the awless mechanism with which

it functions and thrives is itself the most con-

spicuous and evident proof of God. The solar

system with its immaculate precision, the de-

fense mechanisms innate within all living spe-

cies, the marvelous water cycle, the blood cir-

culation and the elaborate system of digestion

of living creatures, the symmetry observable inthe arrangement and positioning of organs, the

sophistication in the functioning of just a single

organ, the eye, and with millions of living crea-

tures being equipped with a pair of these mind-

boggling tools of vision ask yourself can

this all be the product of random chance or a

mere accident? If you cannot imagine a single

pin without a maker and designer, how can

editorial you attribute all this and much more most ofwhich not even probed by human observation

to accident or an incomprehensible theory

such as evolution?

The more we advance in science the closer we

should be getting to God and the more certain

about the role of religion and Afterlife. For sci-

ence is in no way contrary to religion; rather,

science can only conrm religion; it cannot re-

ject it. The two are complementary, as science

tells us the how of things while religion ex-

plains the why.

The fact that many great scientists have been

and are believers in God also refutes the theory

that science is contrary to religion. This is what

Max Planck, the great physicist of the twentieth

century and recipient of the Nobel Prize [1918]

had to say at the time of being awarded:

As a man who has devoted his entire life to

the most clearheaded science, to the study of

matter, I can tell you as a result of my research

this much: there is no matter as such. All matter

originates and exists only by virtue of a force

which brings the particle of an atom to vibra-

tion and holds this most minute solar system of

the atom together. We must assume behind thisforce the existence of a conscious and intelli-

gent mind. This mind is the matrix of all mat-

ter.

There is no doubt that religion can be twisted

and warped to suit vested interests and even to

promote violence, but to reject faith in God on

that basis is no different from denying the ex-

istence of medicine due to the abuse of it by

some doctors.

3

ContentsEditorial..... Page 3 - God-oriented Life..... Page 4 - The Veil

Unveiled..... Page 7 - Miracles of Jesus [Eesaa, pbuh]..... Page 11

Achieving Your Goals.... Page 13 & 17 - The Miracle in the Defence

System.....Page 14 - Islam and Slavery.... Page 18 - What is the

Secret?.... Page 20


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By Wahiduddin Khan

The earth is the suns sat-

ellite. It constantly orbits

around the sun. It takes

one year to complete such

a rotation. This movement

of the earth around the sun

is essential for the healthy

functioning of life on

earth. If the earth did notrevolve around the sun, its

existence would have no

meaning, and life would

come to an end.

This is a practical example

of how we should lead our

lives in this world. This ex-

ample is indeed a physicaldemonstration that shows

how man must revolve

around God, just as the

earth revolves around the

sun. It means that all of

mans activities should be

based on God.

The earth rotates as com-pelled to by the laws of na-

ture. But man, of his own

free will, should surrender

to God. He should build

a life, which is based on

the concept of God. This

consciousness is the real

ascension of man. In this

consciousness lies the se-cret of all success.

GOD-ORIENTED LIFE

Discovery of God

The God-oriented life be-

gins with the discovery of

God. When individuals,

whether men or women,

discover God, it means

that they have found the

truth. And this truth per-

vades their whole being.This feeling of having dis-

covered the truth becomes

such a thrilling experience

that it lls them with ev-

erlasting conviction. This

everlasting conviction re-

moves all frustrations from

their lives. Therefore, loss-

es are no longer such, for,in spite of them, they never

lose the feeling that their

greatest asset, i.e. God, is

still with them.

Man experiences this real-

ization by pondering upon

Gods creations. The truth

is that the present universeis an expression of Gods

attributes. In this respect,

the present universe is a

complete introduction to

God. God is visible in His

creations, just as a human

being sees his own reec-

tion in the mirror, without

having any doubts aboutit.

The vastness of space tellsman that God, its Creator,

is boundless. The obser-

vation of the sun and the

stars shows us that God

is all light. The heights

of the mountains show us

the greatness of God. The

waves of the sea and the

ow of the river tell usthat God is a storehouse

of boundless blessings.

We see Gods bounties in

the greenery of the trees.

Mans existence becomes

a proof of Gods existence.

In the waft of air he experi-

ences a divine touch. In the

chirping of the birds, hehears Gods songs.

Remembrance of God

The God-oriented life for

man starts by his remem-

bering God. He begins to

feel the presence of God.

Everything serves to re-

mind him of God. Godsremembrance is never

absent from his heart and

mind. His mornings and

evenings should be spent

as if he is living in Gods

neighbourhood. Just as

rain replenishes the crops,

so does he remain ever

immersed in the remem-brance of God.

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God: A Source of Spiritual

Awakening

God is a spiritual focus

for man. One whose heart

is attached to God under-

goes spiritual experiencesat every moment. Belief

in God becomes a source

of spiritual development

for him. Filled with the

love of God, he does not

need anything further. God

becomes a vast ocean for

him to continue to swim

in without ever experienc-ing any limit. In the form

of spiritual awakening, he

receives such great wealth

that he does not feel any

need for anything else.

For one who discovers

God, the entire universe

becomes an open book of

God for him. Every leaf ofa tree becomes a page of

the divine book. When he

sees the sun, he feels as if

God is lighting His heav-

enly torch so that he may

read His book clearly. The

Universe becomes, as it

were, a supernal university

and he its student.

Finding God is to nd his

centre of Love. Man by

birth is a seeker of a Su-

preme Being who is far

above him, who is free

from all limitations and

who may form the centre

of his feelings, in short, aBeing after nding whom

the grown man becomes as

satised as a child after be-

ing held in the embrace of

his mother.

This discovery of God

saves one from regardingsomething other than God

as God and mistakenly and

unrealistically thinking it

to be the answer to the urge

inherent in his nature. The

discovery of God is to ful-

ll his or her real urge to

nd God. And the failure to

discover God means failingto nd that which is mans

greatest need. One who

fails to nd God is com-

pelled by his natural urge

to give the place of God to

something other than God.

This place is sometimes

accorded to a certain hu-

man being, sometimes to acertain animal, sometimes

to a phenomenon of nature,

sometimes to a certain ma-

terial power, sometimes to

a certain supposed concept

and sometimes just to the

self.

Even if one fails to dis-cover God, or he becomes

a denier of God, it is not in

his or her power to stie

the urge in his nature to

nd God. That is why those

men and women who have

not found God inevitably

come to hold something

other than God as God.And this supposed God is

always some creature or

the other of God. By na-

ture, it is possible for man

not to accept the real God

as God, but it is not possi-

ble for anyone to save him-

self or herself from grant-ing the status of divinity to

something other than God.

Making God ones object

of worship raises mans

position. On the contrary,

regarding something other

than God as God amounts

to descending from the

level of humanity.

God is therefore indispens-

able to man. His life is

incomplete without God.

A philosopher has aptly

remarked that had there

been no God, we would

have had to invent one.

Fortunately, God exists inreality. We can believe in

God with conviction, not

as a supposition, but as a

fact. And we can accord

Him the place He deserves

in our lives.

Accountability of God

It is essential that manshould have within his

reach, a super formula for

lifes management. God

provides just such a formu-

laa complete principle

for lifes management.

Human beings are not like

machines controlled by amechanical system, nor are

they like animals who are

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governed by their instincts.

Human beings enjoy free-

dom. They take decisions

about their actions of their

own free will. Now the

question arises as to howto keep man to the right

course, how to make him

consistently disciplined

in his behaviour. History

shows the ineffectiveness

of all worldly measures in

this connection, whether

social pressures, enforce-

ment of the law of the landor the appeals of reform-

ers.

Experience shows that the

pressure of society is lim-

ited, if not totally ineffec-

tive. There are so many

loopholes in the law that it

is not difcult for wrong-doers to nd a way out.

The reformers bid to re-

form people are nothing

but appeals, and appeals

alone cannot bring about a

revolution in human life.

The truth is that for the at-

tainment of disciplined be-haviour, it is essential for

one to be convinced of the

existence of a power far

superior to himself, a Be-

ing Who is aware of mans

activities at every moment;

who can reward and pun-

ish man, and from whom it

is impossible to escape.

There can be only one be-

ing of this nature and that

is God. Belief in God func-

tions at two levels at the

same time. On the one hand,

man nds in God a guard-

ian who is aware of all hisactivities and who has un-

limited power to chastise

him. It is not possible for

man to escape Gods chas-

tisement. Belief in God

compels man to steadfastly

adopt a proper attitude in

all situations, privately as

well as publicly. Only thencan he save himself from

the wrath of God. Another

point is that belief in God

is a storehouse of limitless

hope. Man can lead his life

in this world with the con-

viction that if he incurs any

loss because of treading

the path of truth, or if hesuffers from any other ad-

versity, he will be able to

endure it. For if he adheres

to the path of truth, God

will grant him a reward in

the form of eternal para-

dise, and there can be no

reward greater than this.

It is not possible for man

on his own to bind himself

to moral values or adhere

to justice. This is possible

only when he is convinced

of the fact that he is under

a super powera super

power who observes jus-

tice to the extent of perfec-tion; for whom it is fully

possible to guide man to

the true path and also pun-

ish those who deviate from

this true path.

This present, limited world

is totally inadequate forpunishing a criminal. Sim-

ilarly, this world is also in-

adequate for granting great

rewards for ones good

deeds. The concept of God

tells us that God can cre-

ate a far better world free

from all the limitations of

the present world, wherereward and punishment

both can be satisfactorily

awarded.

The concept of a living and

powerful God is necessari-

ly accompanied by the con-

cept of accountability. And

the concept of accountabil-ity guarantees right think-

ing and right actions on the

part of man. It makes man

cautious by reminding him

of Gods chastisement.

Moreover, this gives him

the conviction of receiving

Gods reward if he adheres

to the right path at all costsand in all situations. The

concept of God provides

man with an ideology in

which loss is turned to gain

and in which adversity

brings with it good tidings.

It is therefore submission

to God that is the only way

of life for both man and theuniverse.

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The Islamic veil or hijab

refers to the loose-tting,plain and opaque outer gar-

ments which cover a Mus-

lim womans body. While

basically identical to the

clothing depicted in tradi-

tional Christian represen-

tations of Mary (Peace be

upon her), and every nun

who has sought to emulateher since, the hijab is read-

ily singled out as a sign of

extremism, the supposedly

inferior status of Muslim

women. Those who see

women as little more than

sex objects are dismayed

at the phenomenon of edu-

cated, professional or, inany case, free Western

women turning to Islam.

The claim that female con-

verts are either brainwashed

fanatics blinded by their

veils or suppressed victims

frantic to be liberated is no

longer accepted, although,

sensationalist and often

politically motivated re-

ports of oppressed Muslim

women in some contempo-

rary backward societies still

enforce the negative stereo-

type. What follows is a brief

look at the status of women

in Islam through comparing

the role of the veil in both

Islam and Christianity.Whoever works righteous-

ness, man or woman, and

has faith, verily, to them Wewill give a new life, good

and pure. And We will be-

stow on such their reward

according to the best of their

actions. (Quran 16:97)

In what would form part of

a New Testament, St. Paul

obligated the then common practice of the veil for all

women:

And every woman who

prays or prophesies with her

head uncovered dishonours

her head - it is just as though

her head were shaved. If a

woman does not cover her

head, she should have herhair cut off; and if it is a dis-

grace for a woman to have

her hair cut off or shaved

off, she should cover her

head. A man ought not to

cover his head, since he

is the image and glory of

God; but the woman is the

glory of man. For man did

not come from woman, but

woman from man; neither

was man created for wom-

an, but woman for man.[1]

For this reason, and because

of the angels, woman ought

to have a sign of authority

on her head. (I Corinthians

11:4-10)

St. Tertullian, in his trea-

tise, On the Veiling of Vir-

gins, even obliged its use athome: Young women, you

wear your veils out on the

streets, so you should wear

them in the church; you

wear them when you are

among strangers, then wear

them among your brothers.

So Islam didnt invent theveil, it merely endorsed it,

presenting it as a sign of

faith, modesty and chastity

which serves to protect the

devout from molestation.

O Prophet! Tell your

wives and daughters and

the believing women that

they should cast their cloaksover their bodies (when

outdoors) so that they be

recognized as such (decent,

chaste believers) and not

molested... (Quran 33:59)

In truth, the Muslim wom-

ans veil is but one facet of

her noble status a status

due in part to the tremen-

dous responsibility that is

placed upon her. Simply

put, woman is the initial

teacher in the building of

a righteous society. This

is why from the most im-

portant individual obliga-

tions upon a person is to

show gratitude, kindness

and good companionshipto their mother. Once, the

THE VEIL UNVEILED

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Prophet Muhammad, peace

be upon him, was asked:

O Messenger of God! Who

from amongst mankind war-

rants the best companion-

ship from me? The Prophetreplied: Your mother. The

man asked: Then who?

The Prophet said: Your

mother. The man asked:

Then who? The Prophet

repeated: Your mother.

Again, the man asked:

Then who? The Prophet

nally said: (Then) your

father. (Bukhari, Muslim)

While the mother is given

precedence over and above

the father in kindness and

good treatment, Islam, like

Christianity, teaches that

God designated man to

be the natural head of the

household.And they (women) have

rights (over their husbands)

similar (to the rights of

their husbands) over them

according to what is eq-

uitable. But men have a de-

gree (of responsibility) over

them (Quran 2:228)

In Islam, mans author-

ity is in proportion to his

socio-economic responsi-

bilities,[2] responsibilities

which reect the psycho-

logical and physiological

differences with which God

created the sexes.

And the male is not

like the female... (Quran

3:36)[3]

Marriage is the means by

which both sexes can fulll

their different but comple-

mentary and mutually ben-

ecial roles.

And among His signs is

that He created for you

mates from among your-

selves; that you may dwell

with them in serenity and

tranquility. And He has put

love and compassion be-

tween your hearts. Truly in

that are signs for those who

reect. (Quran 30:21)

Islams appeal, wherever

it has triumphed, has been

in its simplicity. It requires

submission to some basic,

straightforward rules which

are easily kept, and in return

it offers that most wonder-

ful and rare commodity, peace of mind ... its disci-

pline, safety and certain-

ties have an appeal for girls

lost in the churning seas of

permissiveness, whose own

families have been weak-

ened by the crumbling of

the two-parent family, the

absence of fathers and theimpermanence of husbands,

if there are husbands in the

rst place rather than boy-

friends and baby-fathers.

And in most societies it

is the women who sustain

religions in the home and

among children. (Peter

Hitchens, Will Britain Con-

vert to Islam? Mail on Sun-

day, 2/11/03)

They (your wives, O

men) are a garment for you

and you (men) are a gar-

ment for them (Quran

2:187)

Sex itself is not taboo in

Islam. On the contrary, law-

ful sexual relations are re-

garded as deeds of charity!

Renowned scholar and for-

mer nun, Karen Armstrong,

writes:

Mohammed certainly did

not think that women were

sexually disgusting. When

his wife had her period he

used to make a point of

reclining in her lap, of tak-

ing his prayer mat from her

hand, saying for the ben-

et of his disciples, Your

menstruation is not in your

hand. He would drink from

the same cup, saying, Yourmenstruation is not on your

lips ... The harsh sexual

punishments meted out to

sexual offenders in some

Islamic countries is because

sexuality is valued and the

ideal has been debased, not,

as in the past in the West,

because sexuality is abhor-rent. (The Gospel Accord-

ing to Woman, 1986:2)

Linguistically, the Quranic

terms for womb and mer-

cy are synonymous. This is

because, rather than Gods

punishment, childbirth in

Islam is seen as one of His

countless blessings. Be-

sides, the notion that God

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condemns the innocent is

quite blasphemous! More-

over, Islam teaches that all

children are born innocent

and sinless upon the trah:

a natural monotheisticand righteous disposition.

Hence, one who embraces

Islam is said to revert back

to their natural religion. It

is only the childs immoral

upbringing that converts

him / her into a rebellious

sinner.

Whosoever works evil

will not be requited except

with its like; and whoso-

ever works righteousness,

whether male or female, and

is a true Believer, such will

enter Paradise, wherein they

will have provision without

limit. (Quran 40:40)

In the eld of learning andknowledge too, women are

encouraged, rather obligat-

ed, to obtain their rightful

share. The Prophet said:

The seeking of knowledge

is compulsory upon every

(male or female) Muslim.

(Ibn Maja)

Furthermore, the most hon-

oured position one can reach

in Muslim society is that of a

scholar. The Prophets wife,

Aaishah, from whom lead-

ing Companions acquired

knowledge, is but one ex-

ample of learned women

who continue to greatly in-

uence Islamic society. As

were several female teach-

ers of the celebrated sage

and master of the Islamic

sciences, Ibn Taymiyya (d.

1328).

Are those who knowequal to those who know

not? It is only those with

understanding who will re-

member. (Quran 39:9)

Many of the resurgent pre-

Islamic cultural practices

that have tragically come

to be associated with Islam,

such as forced marriages,

female genital mutila-

tion, bridal (as opposed to

groom-paid) dowries, hon-

our killings and the crimi-

nalization of rape victims,

only resurfaced following

the disruption caused by

colonialism and the result-

ing disconnect between the

common Muslims and theirsources of knowledge. It is

always the learned scholars

of Islam, men and women,

who are the rst victims

of any imperialist purge.

Nevertheless, in light of the

Quran and Sunnah [Pro-

phetic tradition], the veil

of misinformation cloakingthe true status of women

in Islam is easily removed.

Moreover, Islam continues

to grow faster than any oth-

er way of life with women,

accounting for some 75% of

all European and American

converts - ironic, given the

widespread Western preju-

dice that Islam oppresses

women!

Westerners despairing of

their own society - rising in

crime, family breakdown,

drugs and alcoholism - have

come to admire the disci-pline and security of Islam.

(Lucy Berrington, Why

British women are turning

to Islam, Times, 9/11/93)

These women have ac-

knowledged the same truth

that led King Negus of

Abyssinia to embrace Is-

lam following a speech in

which the Companions of

the Prophet informed him:

Gods Messenger forbade

us to speak evil of women.

(Ibn Hisham)

Verily, those who slander

chaste women; innocent un-

suspecting believing wom-

en: they are cursed in thisworld and the next. And

for them will be a great tor-

ment. (Quran 24:23)

Today, many nuns and de-

vout women of the Ortho-

dox, Catholic, Near Eastern

and African churches still

wear the Christian veil.

The Muslim woman toowears her hijab, declaring

her faith in humility and

servitude before God. Only

those given divine sanction

- her immediate family and

other believing women -

may view her. In effect, she

is saying: Judge me for my

faith, not my body - I give

you no other choice. When

faithfully implemented, as

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it was by its earliest adher-

ents, Islam offers women

the freedom, dignity, justice

and protection that have

long remained out of their

reach. Mankind inheritedfrom the Prophet a great

Islamic tradition when he

said:

The best of you (men) are

those who best treat their

women.

The believing men and

women are protectors of

one another. They enjoin

the good and forbid the evil;

they establish prayer and

give alms (to the needy);

and they obey God and His

Messenger. These, God

will have mercy on them.

Lo! God is Mighty, Wise.

(Quran 9:71)

Islam granted women con-tractual rights, conjugal

rights, the right to inherit,

to initiate divorce, to inde-

pendently own and control

wealth and property, to

set up and run businesses,

to earn and receive equal

pay, to retain their maiden

names, etc., over 1400 yearsago while the democratic

West granted similar rights

only in the last 50 years of

the 20th century! In fact,

besides casual abortion,

much of what feminists

still ght for had already

been sanctioned by Islam.

Not to mention that West-

ern-style emancipation - es-

sentially women copying

men has not only imposed

impossible demands on the

weaker sex, but has also left

womanhood without any

intrinsic value. As for the

veiled Muslim celebratingher womanhood, she is but

a reection of chastity, hu-

mility and dignity, a mirror

of her devotion to and belief

in God - factors which liber-

ate, not subjugate - and for

this she can expect a great

reward.

For Muslim men and

women, for believing men

and women, for devout men

and women, for truthful

men and women, for patient

men and women, for hum-

ble men and women, for

charitable men and women,

for fasting men and women,

for men and women whoguard their chastity, and for

men and women who en-

gage much in Gods praise:

for them has God prepared

forgiveness and a great re-

ward. (Quran 33:35)

Footnotes:

[1] Islam teaches that Godis not a man, but the Cre-

ator of man (and woman);

and He created both sexes

for one noble purpose: I

have not created jinn (spir-

its) and humans except

that they may worship and

serve Me (alone). (Quran

51:56)

[2] Hence, the Muslim man

is granted a greater share of

inheritance than the wom-

an. He is legally bound to

provide for and maintain all

the females of the household

from his personal wealthwhile the womans wealth is

hers alone to spend, invest

or save as she pleases.

[3] Dr. Alexis Carrel, the

French Noble Laureate,

reinforces this point when

he writes: The difference

existing between man and

woman do not come from

the particular form of the

sexual organs, the presence

of the uterus, from gestation

or from the mode of edu-

cation. They are of a more

fundamental impregnation

of the entire organism ... Ig-

norance of these fundamen-

tal facts has led promotersof feminism to believe that

both sexes should have the

same powers and the same

responsibilities. In reality,

woman differs profoundly

from man. Every one of the

cells of her body bears the

mark of her sex. The same

is true of her organs and,above all, of her nervous

system. Physiological laws

... cannot be replaced by hu-

man wishes. We are obliged

to accept them just as they

are. Women should develop

their aptitudes in accor-

dance with their own nature,

without trying to imitate

males. (Carrel, Man and

the Unknown, 1949:91)

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Another of Jesus miracles isthe feast that was provided

when his people wanted to

eat food from heaven. This

event is related in the Quran

in a chapter entitled Al-Mai-

dah:

Behold! The Disciples said:

O Jesus the son of Mary!

Can thy Lord send down tous a Table set (with viands)

from heaven? Said Jesus:

Fear God, if ye have faith.

They said: We only wish to

eat thereof and satisfy our

hearts, and to know that thou

hast indeed told us the truth;

and that we ourselves may

be witnesses to the miracle.

Said Jesus the son of Mary:

God our Lord! Send us

from heaven a Table set (with

viands), that there may be for

us -- for the rst and the last

of us a solemn festival and

a Sign from Thee; and pro-

vide for our sustenance, for

Thou art the best Sustainer

(of our needs). God said: Iwill send it down unto you:

but if any of you after that

resisteth faith, I will punish

him as I have not inicted

on any one among all the

peoples. (5/115, 116, 117,

118)

Jesus was made superior from

the beginning with extraor-

dinary acts and strengthened

by God with these miracles.In the following verse, God

indicates that it is time for

the people to recognize the

values Jesus has brought and

to surrender to them: We

gave Moses the Book and

followed him up with a suc-

cession of Apostles; We gave

Jesus the son of Mary clear

(Signs) and strengthenedhim with the Holy Spirit. Is

it that whenever there comes

to you an Apostle with what

ye yourselves desire not, ye

are puffed up with pride?

Some ye called imposters,

and others ye slay! (92/87)

It is implied here that every

command supported by God

requires absolute obedi-

ence and, at the same time,

that we must not stray from

the divine path because of

doubts raised by our egos

and Satan.

Generally there have always

been those who prefer to

take a reactionary attitude to-wards all the prophets and to

remain closed to new things.

Such travellers on the path

of darkness label every ex-

traordinary miracle they see

as magic. They did not think

any differently about Jesus or

the events that occurred than

they did to any other previ-

ous miracles. Jesus reply to

this was no different from

that of the former prophets.With the satisfaction of per-

forming his duty without

fault, Jesus said, as every

prophet before him had:

God is truly your Lord and

my Lord; so worship Him.

That is a straight path.

(19/36) Saying this, he left

everyone alone to followtheir will. This was neces-

sary, as after this, those who

wanted to come would; they

would be able to nd the

right path and gain salvation,

while those who prefer the

darkness will be sacriced to

their own egos.

It is possible to summa-

rize Jesus miracles as fol-

lows, according to the way

in which they appear in the

Quran:

1- Raising the dead.

2- Breathing life into a bird

made from clay.

3- Making the blind see.

4- Curing leprosy.5- Giving news of what was

going on inside houses.

6- Being strengthened by the

Holy Spirit.

7- Bringing down a banquet

from the heavens.

The rst thing that strikes

one about all of these is that

most of Jesus miracles were

related to the eld of medi-

THE MIRACLES OF JESUS

[Eesaa, pbuh]Continued from previous issue

11


12/20


cine. During his time there

were important develop-

ments in this area and people

were frequently confronted

with these. For this reason,

his miracles of healing,

which cured many problems

that were not curable at that

time, gained the attention of

medical authorities, espe-

cially since he had not been

educated in this eld and had

no equipment. They agreed

that his results had to have

been accomplished with di-

vine assistance.

As we have discussed here,

miracles not only contain

certain messages for those

witnessing the event, but

they also demonstrate many

things to those who come

after. When looked at from

this perspective, God is

saying many things to the

people of today through the

miracles performed by Je-

sus. At rst glance, the most

obvious message is that it is

possible for many things that

we perceive as inanimate to

be animated by giving them

energy; problems with sight

and every kind of skin dis-ease can be cured, even if

we have not yet found the

cure today. All of these are

important matters that medi-

cine should be addressing

today; there is a cure for ev-

ery illness. One of the most

important duties of experts

in the medical eld is to nd

cures from the pharmacy ofthe universe.

If we look at the banquet that

came from the heavens and

the way in which the people

beneted from the divine

blessings in this feast, we

can understand that there are

many blessings hidden in the

heavens, and that it is the

duty of man, who has been

blessed with intelligence and

judgement, to fully investi-

gate these. If we can knock

on the doors of mercy in

the language of science and

technology in the light of

this miracle of Jesus, it may

be possible for man to reachmany feasts full of blessings

beyond this world.

Jesus Departure

Like his birth, Jesus de-

parture from mankind was

another miracle. God did

not leave Jesus in the hands

of those who wanted to kill

him and, in the words of the

Quran, he was raised to the

heavens with another mira-

cle, being taken from among

mankind to a different plane

of life. According to the

Quran, that they said

(in boast), We killed Christ

Jesus the son of Mary, theApostle of God but they

killed him not, nor crucied

him, but so it was made to

appear to them, and those

who differ therein are full

of doubts, with no (certain)

knowledge, but only conjec-

ture to follow, for of a surety

they killed him not. Nay God

raised him up unto Himself;and God is Exalted in Power,

Wise. (4/157, 158)

This detail can be found in

another verse explaining this

matter: Behold! God said:

O Jesus! I will take thee

and raise thee to Myself and

clear thee (of the falsehoods)

of those who blaspheme; I

will make those who follow

thee superior to those who

reject faith, to the Day of

Resurrection: Then shall ye

all return to me, and I will

judge between you of the

matters wherein ye dispute.

As to those who reject faith,I will punish them with ter-

rible agony in this world and

in the Hereafter, nor will

they have anyone to help.

(3/55, 56)

As can be seen, Jesus life,

which was full of miracles,

changed dimension with yet

another miracle, and he was

honoured with immortality.

Moreover, some narrations

regarding his return close to

the time of Doomsday to call

people to the truth once more

are proof that these kinds of

miracles will continue in the

future.

The End of Time and Jesus

Almost all religions men-

tion a nal saviour in the fu-

ture who will turn mankind

to the true path once again.

There are some narrations in

the sayings of Prophet Mu-

hammad (pbuh) that Jesus

will come again at the endof time and eliminate the

idea of atheism. Comment-

12


13/20


ing on these narrations and

stating that they are abso-

lutely authentic, Bedizza-

man Said Nursi said, Only

a wondrous and miraculous

person with an esteemed fol-lowing will be able to kill

and change the calling of the

Antichrist who will protect

himself with acts of magic,

magnetism and spiritualism

and enchant everyone. That

person is Jesus.

The second coming of Je-

sus is, of course, within the

realm of possibility, when

Gods power is taken into

consideration and the con-

sistency with which this has been narrated in the Pro-

phetic statements. Upon his

return, falsehood and evil

will be eliminated and vic-

tory of faith will be experi-

enced. In this way the calling

of Jesus and the calling of all

Prophets will be united, and

humanity, once again know-

ing goodness, beauty, peace

and contentment, will live a

life imbued with faith.

It is true that prophets are like

children of the same mother.All their values are shared

ones; their Lord is one; their

guidance is one; their aim is

one. The world is in need,

more than ever, of their mes-

sage, a message that is to be

presented by people whose

goal is faith.

One of the big questions most of us have

in our lives is how to achieve our goals.

Have you ever felt that most things in

your life just seem to happen to you, rath-

er than you exercising conscious control

over them? This is quite a common feel-

ing. Its as if we are simply fullling other

peoples expectations, whether those

people are our colleagues, our boss, our

friends, or even our children.

One of the reasons people nd it difcult

to break out of this sort of trap and achieve

the things that they want to achieve is

because they simply dont know how to

make a goal and achieve it. Its not one of

the things we are taught about at school,

and when we get into the world of workwe only learn how to meet targets which

other people have set for us, not learn how

to invent and carry out our own projects.

The right way to achieve a goal is very

simple. By that I dont mean that achiev-

ing the goal will necessarily be simple it

may involve a lot of hard work and exper-

imentation. What I mean is that to move

from failing to achieve goals to achievingthem is a very simple adjustment in our

mindset. If we know how to do it, it be-

comes much easier.

Most people make the mistake of thinking

that to achieve a goal one needs to set up

a detailed plan. In order to write out a de-

tailed plan, you need to know what actions

are necessary in order to achieve the goal.

This is exactly what most people dont

know when they want to set out to do some-

thing new. So they are put off trying going

for the goal because they dont feel capable

of drawing up a plan.

Or perhaps they do draw up a plan, and then

they nd that it doesnt work. Deadlines get

passed, and difculties arise. The plan gets

abandoned and work stops. So the goal dies

of neglect. What they didnt realise is that

deadlines and plans are just tools they arenot the essence of how to achieve a goal.

In fact during many stages of achieving a

goal they may be more of a hindrance than

a help.The right way to go about achieving

a goal is to know where you want to go and

keep moving to get there. Its as simple as

that. You dont need to know every step of

the way. You just need to know the next

step.

Continued on page 17...

ACHIEVING YOUR GOALS By Mark Forster

13


14/20


Defence is an issue that has to be giventop priority by a country for the continu-

ance of its existence. Nations have always

to watch out for all kinds of internal and

external threats, assaults, risks of wars and

terrorist actions. This is why they allocate

a great part of their ofcial budgets to de-

fence. Armies are provided with the most

advanced aircraft, ships, and arms, and the

forces of defence are always kept at thehighest level of preparedness.

The human body is surrounded by a great

number of enemies and threats. These en-

emies are bacteria, viruses, and similar

microscopic organisms. They exist every-

where; in the air we inhale, the water we

drink, the food we eat, and the environment

in which we live.

What most people are not aware of is that

the human body has an excellent army, the

immune system, which ghts against en-

emies. This is a real army made up of many

soldiers and ofcials with different as-

signments, who are specially trained, em-

ploy high technology and ght with con-

ventional and chemical weapons.

Every day, even every minute, a permanent

war is fought between this army and the en-

emy forces, but away from our knowledge.

This war can also be in the form of minor,

local skirmishes as well as battles in which

the whole body is involved and alarmed.

We call these battles diseases.

The general conduct of this war almostnever changes. The enemy attempts to

fool the other side by camouaging itself

when intruding into the body. The trained

investigative forces are assigned by the de-fence to identify the enemies. The enemies

are identied and appropriate weapons are

produced to exterminate them. Then there

is close contact, the defeat of the enemy,

cease-re, and clearance of the battle-

ground. Last, there is storage of every type

of information about the enemy as a pre-

caution against the possibility of a later at-

tack....

Now let us examine this interesting war

closer.

The Besieged Castle: The Human Body

We can liken the human body to a castle

besieged by enemies. The enemies look for

various ways to invade this castle. The hu-

man skin is the wall of this castle.

The substance of keratin in the cells of the

skin is an impassable barrier for bacteria

and fungi. Foreign substances that reach

the skin cannot pass through this wall.

Moreover, although the outer layer of skin

that contains keratin is continuously rubbed

off, it is renewed by skin growing from be-

neath. Thus, all unwanted guests that havesqueezed between the skin are ejected from

the body together with dead skin, during

renewal of the skin from inwards to out-

wards. The enemy can only make its way

in through a wound that is inicted on the

skin.

The Front Line

One of the ways through which viruses en-

ter the body is air. The enemy pushes its

The Miracle in the Defence SystemBy Harun Yahya

14


15/20


way to the body through the air inhaled.

However, a special secretion in the nasal

mucous membrane and cell-swallowing

defence elements in the lungs (phagocytes)

meet these enemies and take control of

the situation before the danger grows. Di-gestive enzymes in the stomach acid and

small intestine eliminate a great number

of the microbes that seek to enter the body

through food.

The Clash Of The Enemies

There are some microbes that have settled

in various parts of the human body (such

as skin, skin folds, mouth, nose, eye, up-

per respiratory canals, digestive canal, the

genitals) yet do not cause illness.

When a foreign microbe enters the body,

these domestic microbes - thinking that

their habitation would be invaded- and not

wishing to give way to the foreigners who

invade their habitation - ght strenuously.

We can dene them as professional sol-diers. They try to protect their territory for

their own ends. Thus, the complex army in

our body is reinforced by these micro sup-

ports.

Step By Step To Hot War

If a microscopic intruder entering the body

can overcome defence elements on guardand bacteria serving as soldiers, it causes

war to begin. After that, the body, with its

ordered army, ghts a perfect offence-de-

fence war against this foreign army.

The war fought by the defence system is

comprises four parts:

1. Identication of the enemy.

2. Fortication of defences and preparation

of offensive weapons.

3. Attack and battle.

4. Retreat to normal state.

The cells that rst meet the enemy units are

macrophage cells that make phagocyto-

sis, i.e., that engulf the enemy. These cellsare involved in close contact with the en-

emy, and ght a hand-to-hand war. They are

just like infantrymen who ght a bayonet

war against enemy units and struggle at the

distant front line of the army.

Moreover, macrophages function as intel-

ligence units, or as the secret service of an

army. They hold one portion of the enemy

they destroy. This portion is used to iden-

tify the enemys identity and to determine

its features. Macrophages pass this portion

to another intelligence unit, messenger-T

cells.

General Alarm

When a country is involved in war, a general

mobilisation is declared. Most of the naturalresources and the budget are spent on war

expenses. The economy is re-arranged ac-

cording to this extraordinary situation and

the country is involved in total action. In a

war, which the defensive army of the body

will ght as a whole, mobilisation is also

declared. Do you wonder how?

If the enemy is more than they can handle,the cavalcades (macrophages) that launch

an attack secrete a special substance. The

name of this substance is pyrogen and

it is a kind of alarm call. After travelling a

long way, pyrogen reaches the brain and

stimulates the fever-increasing centre of the

brain. Following this stimulation, the brain

sets off alarms in the body and the person

develops a high fever. The patient with

a high fever naturally feels a need to rest.

Thus, the energy needed by the defence

15


16/20


army is not spent elsewhere. As seen, there

exists an extremely complex plan and de-

sign at work.

The Ordered Army Swings Into Action

The war between the microscopic intruder

and the immune system becomes more

complicated after mobilisation, that is, your

falling ill in bed. At this stage, infantry-

men (phagocytes) and cavalrymen (macro-

phages) have proved insufcient, the whole

body is alarmed, and the war becomes heat-

ed. At this stage, lymphocytes - (T and B

cells) - intervene.

Cavalrymen (macrophages) pass the infor-

mation they have on the enemy to T helper

cells. These cells summon T cytotoxic and B

cells to the battleground. These are the most

effective ghters of the immune system.

Weaponry Production

As soon as B cells receive informationabout the enemy, they start producing weap-

ons. These weapons, just like ballistic mis-

siles, are only produced to hit the enemy on

whom information is available. This pro-

duction is so perfect that the three dimen-

sional structure of the microscopic intruder

and the three dimensional structure of the

weapon fully match each other. This accord

is like that between a key and its lock.

Antibodies advance towards the enemy

and clamp tightly on it. After this stage,

the enemy is neutralised like a tank that

has its treads, cannon and gun destroyed.

Afterwards, other members of the immune

system come and eliminate the neutralised

enemy.

Here, there is a very important point to con-

sider: there are millions of types of enemy

that the immune system will confront. B

cells can produce an appropriate weapon

for all types of enemy no matter what they

are. This means that the immune system in-

nately has the knowledge and capability to

produce the keys appropriate to millions ofdifferent types of locks. These unconscious

cells have the ability to make millions of

types of antibodies, and their using it in the

best way proves the existence of a creation

by the Owner of an exalted power.

Furthermore, the system is more sophisti-

cated. As B cells destroy the enemy with

ballistic weapons, T cytotoxic cells also

ght a tough war against the enemy. When

some viruses enter a cell, they can hide from

the weapons produced by the B cells. The

T cytotoxic cells nd the diseased cells in

which this camouaged enemy hides and

destroy them.

After The Victory

After the enemy is defeated, the T suppres-sor cells swing into action. These cells give

the army of defence the command to cease

re, and cause the T cytotoxic and B cells to

stop their activities. Thus, the body does not

carry on in a state of mobilisation in vain.

After the war is over, most of the T and B

cells produced specically for the war com-

plete their lifecycle and die. This tough war,

however, is not to be forgotten. Before thewar, a short time passed while the enemy

was identied and the necessary prepara-

tions made. If the enemy ever comes back,

the body will be much better prepared. A

group of memory cells, which have come

to know the features of the enemy, will con-

stantly serve in the immune system in future.

In a possible second attack, the immune

system, with the information in the memory

cells, will have the means to react before

the enemy gains force. The reason why we

16


17/20


do not catch mumps or measles again, after

we have once caught them, is because of the

memory of our immune system.

Who Is He Who Creates The System?

After all the information we have examined,

we have to take our time and think about

how this perfect immune system to which

we owe our lives has come to exist. There is

a awless plan at work. Everything needed

for the operation of this plan is intact: mac-

rophages, the pyrogen substance, the fever

raising centre of the brain, the bodys fever

raising mechanisms, B cells, T cells, weap-

ons... How, then, has this perfect system

come into being?

Not surprisingly, the theory of evolution,

which proposes that living beings have

come into being by coincidence, cannot ex-

plain how this complex system came about.

The claim of the theory of evolution is that

living beings and living systems have origi-

nated step-by-step by the accumulation oflittle coincidences. However, the immune

system cannot by any means have origi-

nated step-by-step. The reason is that in

the case of the absence or malfunction of

even one of the factors that make up the sys-

tem, the system cannot work and the person

could not survive. The system must have

come into being completely and awlessly

with all its components intact. This reality

renders the notion of coincidence mean-

ingless.

Who, then, makes this plan? Who knows

that the bodys fever must rise, and that only

that way the energy needed by the army of

defence will not be spent elsewhere? Is it

the macrophages? Macrophages are merely

tiny cells. They do not have the capacity to

think. They are living organisms that obey

an established superior order and that full

their duties.

Is it man? Certainly not. People are not even

aware that such a perfect system is at work

in their own bodies. However, this system,

of which we are unaware, protects us from

certain death.

It is obvious that the one who created the

immune system, and who created the whole

human body, should be a Creator Who hasexalted knowledge and might. This Creator

is Allah, the One and Only God, Who has

created the human body from a drop of

uid.

Harunyahya.com

...Continued from page 13

The absolutely essential key to achieving any goal is to keep taking the next step, in other

words to keep moving. Its a very simple formula: if you keep moving towards a goal you

will progress; if you stop moving the goal will wither and die. If you keep moving, you will

have setbacks of course, but provided you keep moving you can take the setbacks one at

a time and continue. What everyone nds when they start moving towards a desired result

is that opportunities start arising which they could never have predicted. Thats one of the

reasons why detailed plans at the wrong stage may get in the way. The worst thing you can

do with any goal is to sit around waiting for the circumstances to be exactly right or for

inspiration to strike. Inspiration comes to those who are actively working on the subject,and you will then nd yourself making your own circumstances.

17


18/20


Among the many misconcep-

tions about Islam that havewrongly defamed the faith is

the notion that it allows, or at

least has allowed, slavery to

ourish. This, however, re-

mains an unsubstantiated alle-

gation in which there is not a

grain of truth, as we shall now

see. On the contrary, it com-

pletely forbids these practices.

It is quite outrageous to asso-ciate such barbarities with a

religion revealed to upgrade

humanity.

The point which needs to be

appreciated and which, per-

haps, is the real cause of the

misconception is that Islam

had adopted a gradual pro-

cess to abolish the institutionof slavery because of the so-

cial conditions prevalent in

Arabia at that time. It must be

kept in mind that slavery was

an integral part of the pre-

Islamic Arab society. There

were scores of slave men and

women in almost every house.

This was largely due to two

reasons: First, during thosetimes, the standard practice

of dispensing with prisoners

of war was to distribute them

among the army who captured

them. Second, there were ex-

tensive slave markets in Ara-

bia in that period where men

and women of all ages were

sold like animals.

In these circumstances, in

which slavery had become

an essential constituent of the

Arab society, Islam adopteda gradual way to eliminate it.

An immediate order of pro-

hibition would have created

immense social and economic

problems. It would have be-

come impossible for the so-

ciety to cater for the needs of

a large army of slaves, who

were, otherwise, dependent

on various families. Also, thenational treasury was in no

position to provide them all

on a permanent basis. A large

number among them were old

and incapable of supporting

themselves. The only alterna-

tive left for them, if they were

instantly freed, would have

been to turn to beggary and

become an economic burdenfor the society. The question

of slave girls and women was

even more critical, keeping

in view their own low moral

standards. Freeing them, all

of a sudden, would have only

resulted in a tremendous in-

crease in brothels.

Perhaps, the reason behindthis gradual eradication can

be understood better if one

considers the economic posi-

tion of modern society which

is largely based on interest.

How the parasite of interest

has crippled many a society

and continues to widen the

gap between the rich and the

poor is apparent to every keeneye. However, there is no de-

nying the fact that without

it our present, self-inicted

economic system cannot sus-tain itself. Every reasonable

person will acknowledge that

today if a government wishes

to rid the economy from this

menace then, in spite of its

abomination, it will have to

adopt a gradual methodology.

During this interim period in-

terest oriented deals will have

to be tolerated and tempo-rary laws will have to be en-

acted to handle them, just as

the Quran had given certain

provisional directives about

slaves during the interim pe-

riod of their gradual eradica-

tion. An alternative economic

framework will have to be

steadily incorporated in place

of the existing one. A suddenabolition, without another par-

allel base, will only hasten the

total collapse of the economic

system, which, of course, will

be disastrous for the country.

To avert a similar disaster and

to ward off a similar catastro-

phe, Islam had adopted a pro-

gressive and a gradual scheme,fourteen hundred years ago,

to do away with the inhuman

institution of slavery. Follow-

ing are some of the measures

it took in this regard:

1. In the early Makkan pe-

riod, it pronounced that slave

emancipation was a great

deed of piety. The very ini-tial Makkan chapters of the

Quran appealed to the Mus-

18

ISLAM AND SLAVERY


19/20


lims to liberate as many slaves

as they could.

2. The Prophet pbuh, un-

equivocally, directed the Mus-

lims to raise the standard of

living of the slaves and bring

it equal to their own standard.This, of course, was meant to

discourage people from per-

sisting with them.

3. For the atonement of

many sins manumission of

slaves was divinely ordained.

4. All slave men and women

who could support themselves

in the society were directed to

marry one another, in order toraise their moral and social

status.

5. A permanent head in the

public treasury was xed to set

free slave men and women.

6. Prostitution, which was

largely carried out through

slave women, who were most-

ly forced by their masters to

do so, was totally prohibited.

7. The affronting names of

abd (slave-man) and amah

(slave-woman) by which

slave men and women were

called, were abrogated so that

people would stop regarding

them as slaves. In their place,

the wordsfataa (boy) andfa-

taah (girl) were introduced.

8. Finally, the law ofmu-

kaatabah provided very easy

access for slaves to the gate-

way of freedom. Every slave

who was capable of support-

ing himself was allowed by

law to free himself, provided

that he either gave a certain

monetary amount to his mas-

ter or carried out certain er-

rands for him. After this, he

could live as a free man. [Ap-

plying to females too] A spe-

cial head in the treasury was

xed for this purpose; also,

wealthy people were urged to

help the slaves in this regard.

The net result of this law was

that only handicapped and oldslaves were left to be provid-

ed for by their masters, which

not only went in their own fa-

vour but also prevented them

from becoming an economic

burden on the society.

The following is a passage of

Roger Du Pasquier, from his

book Unveiling Islam:

...To answer this question, it

should rst be remarked that

Islam has tolerated slavery but

has never approved of it, and

that all its teachings and pre-

scriptions in this regard lead

to its alleviation as far as pos-

sible in the short term, and, in

the longer term, conduce to its

progressive suppression. To

abolish it would have been im-

possible in a world in which it

was generally practiced by all

the states which bordered on

the new Muslim empire, and

in which the idea of challeng-

ing the principle itself had not

occurred to anyone. It was the

custom to enslave prisoners

of war -- when these were not

simply massacred -- and the

Islamic state would have put

itself at a grave disadvantage

vis-a-vis its enemies had it not

reciprocated to some extent.

By guaranteeing them hu-

mane treatment, and various

possibilities of subsequently

releasing themselves, it en-

sured that a good number of

combatants in the opposing

armies preferred captivity at

the hands of Muslims to death

on the eld of battle.

It should be very clearly

underlined that the slavery

once practiced in the Muslimworld cannot be compared

to the form it had assumed -

- for instance -- in the Roman

Empire. Islamic legislation

subjected slaveowners to a

set of precise obligations, rst

among which was the slaves

right to life, for, according to

a hadith, Whoever kills his

slave shall be killed by us. Inconsequence, the murder of a

slave was punished like that

of a free man.

There are many other

hadiths which dene Islams

true attitude in this regard.

The Prophet said: Your slaves

are your brethren; therefore

whoever has a brother who

depends upon him must feed

and clothe him in the way he

feeds and clothes himself; and

should not impose upon him

tasks which exceed his capac-

ity; should you ask them to

do such things, then you are

obliged to help them. The

Shariah takes this injunction,

among many others, into ac-

count when dening the re-

sponsibilities and duties of

slaveholders.

It should be noted that it was

not long before the institution

of slavery was completely

abolished, and now slav-

ery, thanks to the wisdom of

Shariah, is an alien concept,

rather an abomination, in the

Muslim society.

19


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What is the Secret?

Our death is our wedding with eternity.

What is the secret? God is One.

The sunlight splits when entering the windows of the house.

This multiplicity exists in the cluster of grapes;

It is not in the juice made from the grapes.

For he who is living in the Light of God,The death of the carnal soul is a blessing.

Regarding him, say neither bad nor good,

For he is gone beyond the good and the bad.

Fix your eyes on God and do not talk about what is

invisible,

So that he may place another look in your eyes.

It is in the vision of the physical eyes

That no invisible or secret thing exists.

But when the eye is turned toward the Light of God

What thing could remain hidden under such a Light?

Although all lights emanate from the Divine Light

Dont call all these lights the Light of God;

It is the eternal light which is the Light of God,The ephemeral light is an attribute of the body and the esh.

...Oh God who gives the grace of vision!

The bird of vision is ying towards You with the wings of desire.

By Jalaluddin Rumi

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