Islam

Islam

Friday 31 July 2020

Pandemic of Prophet Ibrahim’s Time and Eid Al-Adha

Masjid Bandaraya Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
This Eid is the second Eid many of us spend in quarantine. While the lockdow and precautions have relaxed in many places, we can expect the festivities to look very different, compared to previous years. 
Eid Al-Adha comes at the end of the ten best days of the Islamic calendar year; Dhul-Hijjah Days.
In usual times, millions of pilgrims struggle through the heat and crowds to fulfill their Hajj while the rest of us long to be in their place. Khutbahs (sermons) across the world recount the story of Prophets Abraham (Ibrahim) and Ishmael (Isma`il) (peace be upon them) in detail.
This Eid offers us a unique spiritual perspective. So while we cope, let us not fail to take the opportunity to reflect on Prophet Ibrahim’s story.

Spiritual Disease is a Pandemic Too

Prophet Ibrahim also lived during a pandemic. It was not a pandemic of physical disease, but a pandemic of spiritual disease. His people disregarded the symptoms.
While coronavirus (COVID-19) has led to an upheaval of so many lives, the spiritual pandemic of Ibrahim’s time destroyed both the dunya (worldly life) and Akhira (Hereafter) of his people.
We read in the Quran what means:
{And mention in the Book [the story of] Abraham. Indeed, he was a man of truth and a prophet. [Mention] when he said to his father, “O my father, why do you worship that which does not hear and does not see and will not benefit you at all?
O my father, indeed there has come to me of knowledge that which has not come to you, so follow me; I will guide you to an even path.
O my father, do not worship Satan. Indeed Satan has ever been, to the Most Merciful, disobedient.} (Maryam 19:41-44)
Prophet Ibrahim witnessed the contagious ignorance of his people. Even as a young man, he called out the hypocrisy of his people. He would watch his very own father construct idols with his bare hands, only to sell them for people to worship.
His people were spiritually sick but refused to acknowledge the cure. Their excuse was simply that they found their ancestors doing the same. His attempts to contain this disease were through logical arguments; which the Quran clearly documented. 

Heart Disease

There is a reason why scholars use the word “disease” and “sickness” to describe a heart that is heedless of God. Just as physical disease has the capacity to impair every body system; spiritual disease wreaks havoc on a person’s reality.
Prophet Ibrahim’s people would perform actions like offering their wealth and food to stone statues. Imagine how many families went hungry, how many poor people lost their money and how many opportunities were lost waiting for an “answer” from stones that men carved.
Prophet Ibrahim would continue to question these immoral practices, until his people would decide that a permanent quarantine was the only way to shut him up.
Many of us know the story. After Prophet Ibrahim destroys the idols of his people to prove that they are but an evil tradition passed on from their ancestors, his people decide to kill him. A raging fire is set; Ibrahim is chained and thrown into it. Little did his people know that their fire would be ineffective by the Will of God.

Lonely But Never Alone

We read in the Quran:
{Indeed, Abraham was a [comprehensive] leader, devoutly obedient to Allah, inclining toward truth, and he was not of those who associate others with Allah.} (An-Nahl 16:120)
One of the biggest trials of the pandemic is the chronic loneliness many have had to experience. It is a well-established fact that loneliness contributes to both physical and mental un-wellness. Humans are social creatures. We need human connection. But even Prophet Ibrahim experienced loneliness. 
In the Quran, Allah the Almighty calls Prophet Ibrahim an “ummah.” Some scholars explain this verse to mean an expression of Ibrahim’s faith, worship and piety. Others say it has a more literal meaning: at one point, Ibrahim was the only faithful believer of his people.
Similar experiences of isolation would be repeated in Prophet Ibrahim’s life. But these experiences were always a reminder to him: his reliance is only on Allah. And in fact, he never was truly alone, because Allah was his friend:
{And who is better in religion than one who submits himself to Allah while being a doer of good and follows the religion of Abraham, inclining toward truth? And Allah took Abraham as an intimate friend.} (An-Nisa 4:125)

Uncertainty In Trying Times

As we social distance, I reflect on Ibrahim’s command to social distance from his beloved wife and child, Hajar and Isma`l (peace be upon them).
As we feel uncertainty about when the world will revert to a tolerable normal, I imagine the emotions felt by both Ibrahim and Hajar not knowing what Allah had planned for them.
I reflect on the uncertainty but trust in Allah that Ibrahim and Isma`l felt as they built the Kabah. I wonder what Ibrahim felt when Allah commanded him to call people to worship in the middle of a dry, barren desert even though his family constituted the world’s only believers in Allah.
As we celebrate Eid Al-Adha this year, let us not lose sight of the lessons from our beloved Prophet Ibrahim. We are in uncertain times and we’ve lost many beautiful lives. Many have and continue to be tested with unbelievable difficulty. There is much anxiety and fear to feel. But as believers, we seek strength from Allah and inspiration from the stories of his intimate friend, Ibrahim. - aboutislam.net

Thursday 30 July 2020

What is Eid-ul-Adha?

There are two key Eid’s (Celebration Festivals) in Islam: Eid-ul-Fitr, which signifies the completion of the Holy Month of Ramadan; and Eid-ul-Adha, the greater Eid, which follows the completion of the annual Hajj pilgrimage, at the time of Qurbani (sacrifice).
Although Eid-ul-Adha has no direct relation to the Hajj Pilgrimage, it is but a day after the completion of Hajj and therefore has significance in time.
The day of Eid-ul-Adha falls on the tenth day in the final (twelfth) month of the Islamic Lunar Calendar; Dhu-al-Hijjah. The day that celebrations fall on is dependent on a legitimate sighting of the moon, following the completion of the annual Holy Pilgrimage of Hajj -  which is an obligation for all Muslim’s who fit specific criteria, one of the important Five Pillars of Islam.
The celebration of Eid-ul-Adha is to commemorate Prophet Ibrahim’s devotion to Allah SWT and his readiness to sacrifice his son, Ismail. At the very point of sacrifice, Allah SWT replaced Ismail with a ram, which was to be slaughtered in place of his son. This command from Allah SWT was a test of Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness and commitment to obey his Lord’s command, without question. Therefore, Eid-ul-Adha means the festival of sacrifice.
Depending on the country, the celebrations of Eid-ul-Adha can last anywhere between two and four days. The act of Qurbani (sacrifice) is carried out following the Eid Salaah (Eid Prayers), which are performed in congregation at the nearest Mosque on the morning of Eid.
The act of Qurbani consists of slaughtering an animal as a sacrifice to mark this occasion in remembrance of Prophet Ibrahim’s sacrifice for Allah SWT. This is also known as Udhiya. The days of animal sacrifice total three days, from the 10th to the 12th of Dhu-al-Hijjah.
The sacrificial animal must be a sheep, lamb, goat, cow, bull or a camel; the sheep, lamb or goat consist of one Qurbani share, whereas a bull, cow or camel consist of seven shares per animal. The animal must be in good health and over a certain age in order to be slaughtered, in a “halal” friendly, Islamic way.
The Qurbani meat can then divided into three equal portions per share; one-third is for you and your family, one-third is for friends, and the final third is to be donated to those in need.
Traditionally, the day is spent celebrating with family, friends and loved ones, often wearing new or best attire and the giving of gifts.muslimaid.org
WISHING ALL MUSLIMS A "HAPPY EID AL-ADHA"

Wednesday 29 July 2020

Standing at Arafah, Longing for Forgiveness?



Short Answer:
  • Allah frees far more people from Hellfire on the Day of Arafah than on any other day.
  • Non-pilgrims are recommended to observe fasting on the Day of Arafah. It expiates the sins of the preceding year and the coming year.
  • The recommended supplication is: “There is no deity worthy of worship but Allah alone. He has no partners. To Him belongs the kingdom and all praise, and He has power over all things.”
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It is a sunnah to leave for Arafah after the sunrise of the 9th day of Dhul-Hijjah.
This is while uttering takbir (which is saying: Allahu Akbar (God is the Greatest), tahlil, (which is saying: la ilaha ila-Allah (there is no God but Allah)) and talbiyah (which is saying: labbayka Allahumma labbayk)).
The Prophet (peace be upon him) spent the day at Arafah until almost sunset. Then he said:
O Bilal! Ask the people to be quiet and listen to me.
Bilal stood up and asked the people to be quiet and listen to the Prophet. When they were quiet, the Prophet said:
O People! A little while ago Gabriel (peace be upon him) came to me, gave me salutations from Allah, and informed me that Allah has forgiven those who spend the Day at Arafah…
At this, Umar ibn Al-Khattab stood up and asked:
O Allah’s Messenger, is this for us only?
The Prophet said:
This is for you, and for all those who will come after you, until the Day of Judgment…
Umar exclaimed:
How plentiful and blissful Allah’s bounties are! (Authenticated by Al-Albani)
The Prophet also said:
Allah frees far more people from Hellfire on the Day of Arafah than on any other day. Allah comes closer this day and proudly says to the angels: ‘What do these people want and seek?!'” (Muslim)
In fact, the importance of standing on the Mountain of Arafah during the journey of Hajj is highly confirmed in the Prophet’s very words:

“Staying at Arafah”

“Staying at Arafah” means physical as well as mental presence in any part of Arafah. This is whether one is awake, asleep, riding, sitting, lying down or even walking.
It is recommended to seek forgiveness of Allah as much as possible, glorify Allah, and supplicate for one’s well-being and welfare in this life and in the Hereafter.
It is also recommended to supplicate for the welfare of others. This is to be done sincerely with fervor, attention and with hands raised humbly in supplication.
As for the recommended supplications, it was reported that on the Day of Arafah the Prophet (peace be upon him) would say:
There is no deity worthy of worship but Allah alone. He has no partners. To Him alone, belongs the Kingdom, and all praise. In His hand is all the good, and He has power over all things.
Again, it was reported that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
The supplication most frequently used by the prophets before me and by me on the Day of Arafah is this:
‘There is no deity worthy of worship but Allah alone. He has no partners. To Him belongs the kingdom and all praise, and He has power over all things. O Allah! Place light [guidance] in my sight, in my ears and in my heart. O Allah! Open my heart and ease my tasks. O Allah! I seek refuge with You from evil whispers, from confusion, from the trial of the grave, from the evil that takes place during the day or night, from the evil carried by the winds, and from the afflictions of the world.'”

Leaving Arafah

According to Sunnah, pilgrims should leave Arafah quietly and peacefully after sunset. The Prophet left Arafah very peacefully and quietly, while saying:
O people, walk calmly; rushing or making hast is not a virtue… (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
The inner peace to be felt then is a reflection of the pilgrim’s certainty that his or her worship has been accepted. This in itself is a sign of faith in Allah, because it is His promise to accept those whom are granted that blessed stand.

Dr. Mohsen Haredy, a member of the Ask About Islam Editorial Staff, would like to add the following:

It is highly recommended for non-pilgrims to observe fasting on the Day of Arafah.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) exhorted us to do good deeds during the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah and fasting is one of those good deeds.
Abu Qatada al-Ansari (May Allah be pleased with him) reported that:
“…. He (the Prophet) was asked about fasting on the day of Arafah, whereupon he said: It expiates the sins of the preceding year and the coming year.” (Muslim)
As for pilgrims, they are not allowed to fast on the Day of Arafah so that they will be strong enough to worship and supplicate Allah on this great day.
Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet “Forbade fasting on the day of Arafah for one who is actually at Arafah.” (Ahmad)
The Prophet himself did not fast the Day of Arafah when he performed Hajj. Umm al-Fadl bint al-Harith reported that some people argued about the fasting of the Messenger of Allah on the day of Arafah.
Some of them said that he had been fasting, whereas the others said that he had not been fasting. I sent a cup of milk to him while he was riding his camel at Arafah, and he drank it. (Muslim)
Salam.

(From About Islam’s archives)

Tuesday 28 July 2020

The Eighth Day of the Hajj Pilgrimage: The Day of Tarwiyah

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Tarwiyah is the eighth day of the Islamic month of Dhu Al-Hijjah and it marks the journey of Hajj pilgrims from Mecca to Muna.

In Arabic the word “tarwiya” means “to quench thirst” and the day is named as such, due to the fact that traditionally pilgrims used to fill up on water in Mecca before setting off on the journey, as in early times water was difficult, if not impossible to obtain whilst on route.

For this reason people were required to drink enough to last until the end of the Hajj pilgrimage.

Mina is located in the desert approximately seven kilometres north-east of Mecca. Pilgrims to pray and supplicate during their stay in Mina. At dawn on the ninth day of the month of Dhu Al Hijjah, pilgrims prays and leave Mina for Arafa, for what is considered the most significant day of the Hajj pilgrimage.


- atheer.om

Is Blood of Sacrificed Animals Meant to Forgive Sins?


Short Answer:
  • Muslims sacrifice an animal to commemorate the events that happened to Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham), peace be upon him.
  • Prophet Ibrahim submitted to the Will of Allah. His son did too. When he was about to slaughter his son, Allah spared him of doing so. He ransomed his son with a great sacrifice that He sent.
  • The point of this whole event is not the animal itself, or its meat or blood, but rather God-consciousness. It’s an occasion of mercy, sharing and remembrance of the mercy of God.
________________________________
The answer is no.
This is not the purpose of sacrificing animals in ‘Eid Al-Adha, and this is not how sins are forgiven. We will discuss the two issues here briefly.
First, with regards to the purpose behind the sacrificed animals, this is what Allah Almighty says in the Quran:
Their meat will not reach Allah, nor will their blood, but what reaches Him is piety from you. Thus have We subjected them to you that you may glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and give good tidings to the doers of good. (Quran 22: 34-37)
Sacrificing the animal commemorates the events that happened to Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham), peace be upon him.

The Story of Ibrahim

What happened to him illustrated the meaning of true and pure monotheism, full belief, trust and reliance upon The Creator Allah Almighty, and how He rewards His sincere slaves.
(The story is mentioned in Quran, Chapter 37, Verses 99-113, for your reference.)
For a little background, Ibrahim (peace be upon him) had left his own father and his people when he found that they associated others with Allah Almighty and weren’t monotheists.
He choose to worship Allah alone. He rejected any false gods even if this meant leaving his own people. They wanted to burn him for insulting their false gods.
So he decided to leave them and remain on the straight path of pure monotheism. Ibrahim asked The Creator for a righteous son. Allah Almighty gave him a son. But He tested him with this gift.
The gifts that Allah gives us are not to take us away from His path. We should continue loving Him primarily as The Giver and appreciating and being faithful to Him above all else.
So Allah asked Ibrahim to slaughter his dear son.
While this is quite a heavy and difficult command for him, his heart was in full reliance and trust in Allah. He knew that whatever Allah decrees is the best for His slaves because He is the Most Merciful, The All Wise, All Knowing and Owner of everything in the heavens and the earth.
So Ibrahim submitted to the Will of Allah. His son did too. When Ibrahim was about to slaughter his son, Allah spared him of doing so. He ransomed his son with a great sacrifice that He sent.
The point of this trial was testing the attachments in the heart of Ibrahim and his son. Are they dedicated and in full faith, trust and belief in Allah, or are they full of fears, doubts or love for things in the mortal worldly life?

The Gifts Allah Blessed Him With

When Allah saw their sincerity in faith (which is the purpose of the creation of all mankind), He saved Ibrahim and his son from the difficult trial.
He ransomed his son with a great sacrifice, “A ram which had grazed in Paradise for forty years” (Tafsir Ibn Kathir).
Then, he gifted Ibrahim with another son—Ishaq (Isaac).
Later, and for all time, he gave Ibrahim an honorable reputation in later generations. Until the end of time people will remember him and learn from his story.
Allah also said, “peace upon Ibrahim”. This shows that the ultimate peace from the Source of Peace Himself is granted to those who have deep faith in Him and are in true submission to Him.
This word, submission, means that one is in line with the purpose of his/her creation, not fighting against that purpose of creation, and this gives a feeling of peace, serenity, stability, satisfaction and gratitude.

The Point is God-Consciousness

So, the point of this whole event is not the animal itself, or its meat or blood, but rather the God-consciousness, the true, pure and sincere faith of the believers in their Creator, because this is the essence of a meaningful relationship with Him.
Allah says what means:
And whosoever has taqwa of Allah (God-consciousness), He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty). And He will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine. And whosoever puts his trust in Allah, then He will suffice him. Verily, Allah will accomplish his purpose. Indeed Allah has set a measure for all things. (Quran 65:2-3)
And this is what happened to Ibrahim: he proved his faith in Allah despite the difficult situation, and Allah made a way out for him from this difficulty.
Allah wants to see the minds, hearts, and actions of His slaves submitting to Him and deeply connecting with Him as He orders and instructs. This is the true belief in and humility before The Creator.
He created those sacrificed animals and all other creation. Their blood won’t do anything to him. Nor will it affect the created beings if they don’t fix their own hearts, minds and actions.
So in the feast of Al-Adha, for example, if you look at what actually happens with the sacrifice of an animal, it actually brings benefit to us, not to God. God is free of need.
What happens is that we eat from what He has provided for us, feed the poor and share with our families.
It’s an occasion of mercy, sharing and remembrance of the mercy of God.
Also, it serves as remembrance of His mercy on Prophet Abraham- peace be upon him- and the fact that He spared Him from having to slaughter his own son. It is the mercy we celebrate.
And God loves those who are grateful to Him, and those who observe what He is doing, what He is giving and are thankful.

In the next part, we will discuss sin and repentance.

If God is The Just, why would He accept that I throw my sins on someone/something else?
If He is Al-Ghany (The Free of Need) why would the blood, flesh, etc. benefit Him?
How could blood remove my sin or how could it realistically fix the problem or make me sincerely lead a righteous life as God ordered?

(From Ask About Islam’s archives)
Ask yourself this: if God is The Just, why would He accept that I throw my sins on someone/something else?
If He is Al-Ghany (The Free of Need) why would the blood, flesh, etc. benefit Him?
How could blood remove my sin or how could it realistically fix the problem or make me sincerely lead a righteous life as God ordered?

True Justice

Imagine if a judge in your district—instead of imprisoning and punishing a rapist/criminal/thief—imprisons and punishes an innocent person.
Does this make him a good judge? More importantly, will this really solve the problem when the innocent is punished and the wrongdoers are spared? Wouldn’t this spread more corruption?
The best thing to do is to have the wrong-doers rectify what THEY have done. This is beneficial to them and to everyone else.
How would someone else’s blood, or some animal’s blood, change my heart? It’s like we wish to delegate our own work to someone else or something else to avoid taking responsibility and sincere actions to fix our lives.
Allah won’t allow injustice by having someone else who is innocent carry other’s sins. It goes against God’s Justice and Mercy.
He says:
If you disbelieve, then God is not in need of you; He likes not disbelief for his slaves. And if you are grateful, He is pleased therewith for you. No bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another. Then to your Lord is your return, and He will inform you what you used to do. He is the All-Knower of that which is in the breasts (Of men). (Quran 39:07)
Allah is capable of forgiving easily, and He is not in need of spilled blood.
He wants to see His slaves working sincerely in rectifying their affairs because when they lead a righteous meaning life as He prescribes, they’ll be able to learn more about Him and connect with Him, know and love Him deeply and yearn for the eternal life near Him.
So, each person is responsible for his/her own action, no one carries any body’s burden or sins,Allah who created each and every person with love, dignity and honor wants to see His created beings living up to the purpose they were created for.

No Original Sin

The Quranic perspective illustrates that human beings are innocent in nature, not sinful.
Allah doesn’t judge you on how bad you’ve been in the past or how bad your ancestors have been, but on how good you strive to become.
This goes back to the story of Adam and Eve- peace be upon them both. Take a look at what their story says in one location in the Quran for example:
And We said, “O Adam, dwell, you and your wife, in Paradise and eat therefrom in [ease and] abundance from wherever you will. But do not approach this tree, lest you be among the wrongdoers.”
But Satan caused them to slip out of it and removed them from that [condition] in which they had been. And We said, “Go down, [all of you], as enemies to one another, and you will have upon the earth a place of settlement and provision for a time.”
Then Adam received from his Lord [some] words, and He accepted his repentance. Indeed, it is He who is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful. (Quran 2:35-37)
So, as you see, repentance is important, and acceptance of repentance is based on correcting one’s acts and leading righteous life with sincerity and perseverance.

God Wants Piety

God wants piety in that He wants His creations to lead righteous life out of true knowledge of Him, true understanding, genuine love of Him, and patience and perseverance on His path.
So, salvation in Islam is through knowledge and action, not symbolic terms. It is a life journey. It’s a process. Repentance and God’s Mercy and Forgiveness are essential to understanding this point.
Allah’s Names include The Perpetual Forgiver. He forgives sins so long as people do the following:
1- Repent sincerely and wholeheartedly.
2- Stop the sin and do not go back to doing it.
3- Regret it and acknowledge how wrong it was.
4- Continue to do righteous deeds and remain on the path of righteousness.
This is how one rectifies his own life and make conscious intellectual, emotional and physical effort to stop a sin.

The Doors of Forgiveness Are ALWAYS Open

Allah said in a Hadith Qudsi:
“O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great at it. ”
The doors of forgiveness are always open, but you’ll notice here that the key is sincerity in continuing on the right path. If you slipped, you repent again and again.
God wants His creations to lead righteous lives out of true knowledge of Him, true understanding, genuine love of Him, and patience and perseverance on this path.
And this is what we’re living for and striving to achieve.
This is why we celebrate and commemorate Prophet Ibrahim as a noble Prophet who proved his true and sincere belief, commitment and faith in the Creator and perseverance on His path.
I hope this answers your question.
Salam and please keep in touch.

(This is from AboutIslam’s archives and was published previously)

THE SCIENTIFIC WORLD IS TURNING TO GOD

“As people have certainly been influenced by me, I want to try and correct the enormous damage I may have done.” (Anthony Flew)
The newspapers these days are echoing with these regret-filled words by Antony Flew, in his time a well-known atheist philosopher.  The 81-year-old British professor of philosophy Flew chose to become an atheist at the age of 15, and first made a name for himself in the academic field with a paper published in 1950.  In the 54 years that followed, he defended atheism as a teacher at the universities of Oxford, Aberdeen, Keele and Reading, at many American and Canadian universities he visited, in debates, books, lecture halls and articles.  In recent days, however, Flew has announced that he has abandoned this error and accepts that the universe was created.
The decisive factor in this radical change of view is the clear and definitive evidence revealed by science on the subject of creation.  Flew realized, in the face of the information-based complexity of life, that the true origin of life is intelligent design and that the atheism he had espoused for 66 years was a discredited philosophy.
Flew announced the scientific reasons underlying this change in belief in these terms:
“Biologists’ investigation of DNA has shown, by the almost unbelievable complexity of the arrangements which are needed to produce [life], that intelligence must have been involved.”[1]
“It has become inordinately difficult even to begin to think about constructing a naturalistic theory of the evolution of that first reproducing organism.”[2]
“I have been persuaded that it is simply out of the question that the first living matter evolved out of dead matter and then developed into an extraordinarily complicated creature.”[3]
The DNA research which Flew cites as a fundamental reason for his change of opinion has indeed revealed striking facts about creation.  The helix shape of the DNA molecule, its possession of the genetic code, the nucleotide strings that refute blind chance, the storage of encyclopedic quantities of information and many other striking findings have revealed that the structure and functions of this molecule were arranged for life with a special design.  Comments by scientists concerned with DNA research bear witness to this fact.
Francis Crick, for instance, one of the scientists who revealed the helix shape of DNA admitted in the face of the findings regarding DNA that the origin of life indicated a miracle:
An honest man, armed with all the knowledge available to us now, could only state that in some sense, the origin of life appears at the moment to be almost a miracle, so many are the conditions which would have had to have been satisfied to get it going.[4]
Based on his calculations, Led Adleman of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles has stated that one gram of DNA can store as much information as a trillion compact discs.[5]  Gene Myers, a scientist employed on the Human Genome Project, has said the following in the face of the miraculous arrangements he witnessed:
“What really astounds me is the architecture of life… The system is extremely complex.  It’s like it was designed… There’s a huge intelligence there.”[6]
The most striking fact about DNA is that the existence of the coded genetic information can definitely not be explained in terms of matter and energy or natural laws.  Dr. Werner Gitt, a professor at the German Federal Institute of Physics and Technology, has said this on the subject:
A code system is always the result of a mental process… It should be emphasized that matter as such is unable to generate any code.  All experiences indicate that a thinking being voluntarily exercising his own free will, cognition, and creativity, is required… There is no known natural law through which matter can give rise to information, neither is any physical process or material phenomenon known that can do this.[7]
Creationist scientists and philosophers played a major role in Flew’s acceptance of intelligent design, backed up by all these findings.  In recent times Flew participated in debates with scientists and philosophers who were proponents of creation, and exchanged ideas with them.  The final turning point in that process was a discussion organized by the Institute for Metascientific Research in Texas in May, 2003.  Professor Flew participated in the discussion together with the author, Roy Abraham Varghese, a physicist, and the molecular biologist, Gerald Schroeder.  Flew was impressed by the weight of the scientific evidence in favor of creation and by the convincing nature of his opponents’ arguments and abandoned atheism as an idea in the period following that discussion.  In a letter he wrote for the August-September, 2003, edition of the British magazine Philosophy Now, he recommended Schroeder’s book “The Hidden Face of God: Science Reveals the Ultimate Truth” and Varghese’s book “The Wonderful World.”[8]  During an interview with the professor of philosophy and theology Gary R. Habermas, who also played a major role in his change of mind,[9]  and also on the video “Has Science Discovered God?”  he openly stated that he believed in intelligent design.

The “Intelligence Pervading the Universe” and the Collapse of Atheism

In the face of all the scientific developments outlined above, the acceptance of intelligent design by Anthony Flew, famous for defending atheism for many years, reflects a final scene in the process of collapse which atheism is being subjected to Modern science has revealed the existence of an “intelligence pervading the universe,” thus leaving atheism out of the equation.
In his book “The Hidden Face of God,” Gerald Schroeder, one of the creationist scientists who influenced Flew, writes:
A single consciousness, a universal wisdom, pervades the universe.  The discoveries of science, those that search the quantum nature of subatomic matter, have moved us to the brink of a startling realization: all existence is the expression of this wisdom.  In the laboratories we experience it as information that first physically articulated as energy and then condensed into the form of matter.  Every particle, every being, from atom to human, appears to represent a level of information, of wisdom.[10]
Scientific research into both the functioning of the cell and the subatomic particles of matter has revealed this fact in an indisputable manner: Life and the universe were brought into being from nothing by the will of an entity possessed of a superior knowledge and wisdom.  There is no doubt that the possessor of that knowledge and wisdom that designed the universe at all levels is Almighty God.  God reveals these truths in many verses of the Quran. - islamreligion.com
FOOTNOTES:
[1]Richard N. Ostling, “Lifelong atheist changes mind about divine creator,” The Washington Times 10 December 2004; (http://washingtontimes.com/national/20041209-113212-2782r.htm.)
[2]Antony Flew, “Letter from Antony Flew on Darwinism and Theology,” Philosophy Now; (http://www.philosophynow.org/issue47/47flew.htm.)
[3]Stuart Wavell and Will Iredale, “Sorry, says atheist-in-chief, I do believe in God after all,” The Sunday Times, 12 December 2004; (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1400368,00.html)
[4]Francis Crick, Life Itself: Its Origin and Nature, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1981, p. 88
[5]John Whitfield, “Physicists plunder life’s tool chest”, 24 April 2003; (http://www.nature.com/nsu/030421/030421-6.html)
[6]San Francisco Chronicle, 19 February, 2001
[7]Werner Gitt, In the Beginning Was Information, CLV, Bielenfeld, Germany, pp. 64-7, 79
[8]Antony Flew, “Letter from Antony Flew on Darwinism and Theology,” Philosophy Now; (http://www.philosophynow.org/issue47/47flew.htm.)
[9]“Atheist Becomes Theist: Exclusive Interview with Former Atheist Antony Flew;” (http://www.biola.edu/antonyflew/index.cfm.)
[10]Gerald Schroeder, The Hidden Face of God, Touchstone, New York, 2001, p. xi.