Harmony in Allah’s Universe

 

Allah says in the Noble Qur’an:  “And the heaven We built with Our own powers (aydin) and indeed We go on expanding it” (Qur’an 51:47).

The Universe is all of time and space,  including planets, stars, galaxies, contents of intergalactic space, the smallest subatomic particles, and all matter and energy.

Currently, the observable universe is about 28 billion parsecs or 91 billion light-years in diameter. Humankind do not know the size of the whole Universe and may be either finite or infinite.

Observations and the development of physical theories have led to inferences about the composition and evolution of the Universe.

In this interesting documentary, we’ll learn more about the universe we’re living in, the science of Cosmology and the theories which helped us in understanding some info about the place we’re living in which we call the Cosmos.

Observations of the distribution of these galaxies and their spectral lines have led to many of the theories of modern physical cosmology.

Expanding Universe

Observations in the late 1990s indicated the rate of the expansion of the Universe is increasing. This indicated that the majority of energy is most likely in an unknown form called dark energy. 

The majority of mass in the universe also appears to exist in an unknown form, called dark matter.

The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological model describing the development of the Universe. Space and time were created in the Big Bang.

Allah says in the Qur’an:  “Do not the unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were a closed-up mass (ratqan), then We clove them asunder (fataqna)?…”  (Qur’an 21:31)

These were imbued with a fixed amount of energy and matter. As space expands, the density of that matter and energy decreases.

After the initial expansion, it cooled sufficiently to allow the formation first of subatomic particles and later of simple atoms.

Giant clouds of these primordial elements later coalesced through gravity to form stars. Assuming that the prevailing model is correct, the age of the Universe is 13.799±0.021 billion years.

There are many competing hypotheses about the ultimate fate of the Universe. Science remains unsure about what, if anything, preceded the Big Bang.

- aboutislam.net

Why Can’t We See God?

 

Since time began, many have asked, “Why can’t we see God?” The quest for God has always been at the core of human life.

Human beings have always been searching for this Supreme Being that has created them and originated the whole universe.

They have always been looking for this great power that runs the universe in such a perfect way.

The hearts realized His existence; yet, the senses could not encapsulate Him.

The simple reason for this is that senses are created by Him. They are placed within the limits of their humanness, and therefore, cannot go beyond these limitations.

People cannot tell how many spikes there are in a bicycle if it is running quickly. They cannot tell what is behind a wall. The laws of the universe govern the human being, but they do not govern God who created both the universe and the human being.

Since God is beyond space, direction, and encapsulation; a human being cannot encapsulate Him with his eyes. Human eyes normally see things in a singular perspective and perceive them with certain descriptions like size, shape, and color.

Since God is beyond all these limitations, a human eye cannot witness Him. In addition, we cannot think of Him in terms of quantity, size, direction, or color because He is the Creator of all these things, and therefore these quantities and qualifiers do not apply to Him.

This is, put simply, the meaning of the verse you referred to:

{No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all vision: He is above all comprehension, yet is acquainted with all things.} (Quran 6:103)

Some people may find this quite odd, but it is the ultimate truth. There are many things in our life which cannot be seen or tested by our senses, yet we truly believe in their existence.

If someone asks us whether we have a mind or not, we will say: “Yes, we do”. But if one wants physical proof of that, it will be difficult to prove, simply because it is something that cannot be seen (the mind that is, and not the brain itself).

How do we believe in the existence of our minds then? Through witnessing its effects in our lives.

Similarly, we believe in the existence of God although we cannot see Him. We believe in His Omnipotence because we see its effects.

We cannot see Him with our eyes because we are limited and human, but we can see His Power in every newborn child. We can see His Greatness in the mountains, in the skies, and in the vast earth. And we can see His Beauty in every corner of this beautiful universe.

Muslims express their witnessing of His Beauty when they say: “MashaAllah” (How wonderful Allah’s will is).  We express our witnessing of His Glory when we say, “SubhanaAllah” (glory belongs to Allah). In this manner, we are never absent from His Existence; and we never feel alone in this universe.

The Quran, which Muslims believe is the word of God, directs us to see Allah in everything around us and feel His existence and power through reflection. The Quran tells us to look deep into the way we are created, the substance from which we are created, the manner our bodies are shaped, and so on.

The Quran tells us to reflect upon the plants and mountains, the skies and seas, the deserts and greenery, the barren lands and fertile soils. In all this, the existence of Allah is proven to us and His Glory becomes so clear that our belief in Him increases.

There is a very famous story about a teacher who wanted to test the faith of his students. Therefore, he gave each one of them an apple and said, “let each one of you hide himself in a place where no one can see him and eat his apple.”

A few minutes later, each student came back after he had eaten his apple with the exception of one student who came with his apple still in his hand. The teacher asked his student, “why have not you eaten your apple?”

The student answered, “you asked us to hide ourselves in a place where no one can see us. I tried to find such a place but could not. There was one person who could see me all the time and I could not hide myself from Him”.

When the teacher wondered who that was, the student said, “Allah, He was with me all the time, I cannot hide myself from Him, and I cannot escape His Knowledge”. Thereupon, the teacher embraced his student and said, “you are my true student”.

- aboutislam.net

About Sheikh Ahmad Saad

Ahmed Saad is the founding director of Ihsan Institute of Arabic & Islamic Studies-UK. An international speaker and dynamic scholar. (http://www.ihsaninstitute.co.uk )

Water: It Also Flows in Paradise

 

“Allah created the heavens from its vapors” (Surat Al-‘Anbya’ 21:30); yet we often devalue its healing powers. The Prophet (SAW) advised us to “allow for one third food, one third water and one third air.“

Science advices drinking at least 8-10 eight-ounce glasses of water a day. This including a glass ½-hour before and after every meal.

Water helps to flush out toxins and fats from our bodies. Moreover, it keeps our system functioning evenly so that we are energetic.

The human body is two-thirds water. In fact, this fluid is involved in every bodily process including digestion, absorption, circulation and excretion.

With water being such an important cornerstone to life, we need to consider the purity of our water sources.

Numerous studies on Zamzam water concluded that it’s one of the purest and cleanest waters we can enjoy.

Clean Water

However, can most of us say the same about our primary water source? Many people are drinking what really boils down to a chemical concoction when they fill their cups from the tap.

We can absorb toxins from water through drinking, cooking, bathing, showering, or swimming.

If our primary source of water is from the tap, we are absorbing toxins with it. All water from public works systems contains contaminants such as parasites, viruses, herbicides, pesticides, cyanides, asbestos, and industrial chemicals.

Even residues from pesticides used decades ago may still be present in the water system today. This polluted water is then treated with chlorine, fluoride, carbon, lime, phosphates, soda, ash, and aluminum sulfate to “purify” it, and sent through zinc and cadmium pipe joints and copper pipes to our homes.

It is ironic that we use additional chemicals to combat the chemicals and pollutants that are already in the water. It is like adding insult to injury.

To be precise, forty-seven “insults” in all are added to our water to disinfect, fluoridate, soften, coagulate, chlorinate, oxidate, condition, neutralize, and control the odor and color of it. Among these chemicals are chlorine and fluoride. Chlorine can either be absorbed or ingested, leeches potassium and sodium from the body causing electrolyte depletion.

The salts used to fluoridate our nation’s water supply, sodium fluoride and Hexafluorosilicic acid, are industrial by-products that are not found in nature. They are so toxic that they are used in rat poison. We can get all the natural fluorine we need from fish, bones, quince and raw goat’s milk.

The only way we can remove fluorine from our water is to use reverse osmosis – distillation or activated aluminum filtration. Many people drink distilled water because it doesn’t contain fluoride; however, it can also be detrimental to the health if used long- term because it too leeches minerals from the body.

Nevertheless, experts agree that water lacking some of its original nutrients is still superior to water laden with chemicals and toxins.

Having Best Zamzam Water

To have the best water that we can, it needs to be filtered in some way. All filters remove dirt, rust and sediment, although some do a better job than others.

Most department store filters will take out 98% of chlorine and up to 95% of heavy metals such as lead, aluminum, mercury and copper, and significantly reduce zinc, cadmium, and sulfates. More sophisticated filters like a Katadyn will take out 100% of parasites, cysts and bacteria.

There are many choices of models – you can purchase a countertop distiller, a six-step ultraviolet sterilization unit, or reverse osmosis units with varying degrees of advancement. In the end, each of us should choose the system that best suits us.

A system that claims 100% removal of bacteria would be an over-kill for someone drinking chlorinated tap water. A person living in a farming district would want to make sure they have a unit that filters pesticides, and a person in urban areas or the suburbs may want to get their water tested before they make a final decision on what system they will use.

We can also buy bottled water; however, many studies show that much of it is about as good as what comes out of the tap without a filter.

In conclusion, for those of us who are not fortunate enough to live next door to the well of Zamzam, we need to seriously consider purifying our water – whether it be for drinking, bathing or swimming in. The Qur’an says (21:30), “We made water essential for every life.”

In order to supply our bodies with this very essential nutrient, we have to consider whether what we are actually absorbing and consuming is, in fact, real water.

- aboutislam.net

About Dr. Karima Burns

Dr. Karima Burns has been counseling as a Home-path for over 9 years. From the U.S. she is a doctor in Naturopathy, a Master Herbalist, and teaches with inspiration from the Waldorf school. She uses art, health and education to heal others.