Science
and Islam
Edited Dr. Mohammed Javed Yakub Bax, based on the
works of Harun Yahya
"And
your Lord revealed to the bee saying: Make hives in the mountains and in the trees
and in what they build: Then eat of all the fruits and walk in the ways of your
Lord submissively. There comes forth from within it a beverage of many colours,
in which there is healing for men; most surely there is a sign in this for a
people who reflect."
(Surat An-Nahl, 68-69)
Do you know how important a
food source the honey is, which Allah offers man by means of a tiny insect?
Honey is composed of sugars
like glucose and fructose and minerals like magnesium, potassium, calcium,
sodium chlorine, sulphur, iron and phosphate. It contains vitamins B1, B2, C,
B6, B5 and B3 all of which change according to the qualities of the nectar and
pollen. Besides the above, copper, iodine, and zinc exist in it in small
quantities. Several kinds of hormones are also present in it.
As Allah says in the Qur'an,
honey is a "healing for men". This scientific fact was confirmed by
scientists who assembled during the World Apiculture Conference held from 20-26
September 1993 in China. During the conference, treatments with honey
derivatives were discussed. American scientists in particular said that honey,
royal jelly, pollen and propolis (bee resin) cure many diseases. A Romanian
doctor stated that he tried honey on cataract patients, and 2002 out of his
2094 patients recovered completely. Polish doctors also informed the conference
that bee resin helps to cure many diseases such as haemorrhoids, skin problems,
gynaecological diseases and many other disorders.
Nowadays, apiculture and bee
products have opened a new branch for research in countries advanced in
science. Other benefits of honey may be described as below:
Easily digested: Because sugar molecules in honey can convert into other sugars (e.g.
fructose to glucose), honey is easily digested by the most sensitive stomachs,
despite its high acid content. It helps kidneys and intestines to function
better.
Has a low calorie level: Another quality of honey is that, when it is compared with the same
amount of sugar, it gives 40% less calories to the body. Although it gives
great energy to the body it does not add weight.
Rapidly diffuses through the
blood: When accompanied by mild water, honey
diffuses into the bloodstream in 7 minutes. Its free sugar molecules make the
brain function better since the brain is the largest consumer of sugar.
Supports blood formation: Honey provides an important part of the energy needed by the body for
blood formation. In addition, it helps in cleansing the blood. It has some
positive effects in regulating and facilitating blood circulation. It also
functions as a protection against capillary problems and arteriosclerosis.
Does not accommodate
bacteria: This bactericide (bacteria-killing) property
of honey is named "the inhibition effect". Experiments conducted on
honey show that its bactericide properties increase twofold when diluted with
water. It is very interesting to note that newly born bees in the colony are
nourished with diluted honey by the bees responsible for their supervision - as
if they know this feature of the honey.
Royal Jelly: Royal jelly is a substance produced by worker bees inside the beehive.
Inside this nutritious substance are sugar, proteins, fats and many vitamins.
It is used in problems caused by tissue deficiency or body frailty.
It is obvious that honey,
which is produced in much higher amounts than the requirements of the bees, is
made for the benefit of man. And it is also obvious that bees cannot perform
such an unbelievable task "on their own."
"Such
as remember Allah, standing, sitting, and reclining, and consider the creation
of the heavens and the earth, (and say):Our Lord! Thou createst not this in
vain. Glory be to Thee! Preserve us from the doom of Fire. "
(AI Qur'an: AI-Imran,191)
Rain is indeed one of the most important factors for life on the earth.
Rain is a prerequisite for the permanence of life in a region. Rain, which
carries great importance for all living things including human beings, is
mentioned in various verses of the Qur'an where substantial information is given about the formation of
rain, its proportion and effects. The fact that it was not possible for any of
this information to have been discovered at the time of the revelation of the
Qur'an shows us that the Qur'an is the word of Allah.
Now, let us examine the
information given in the Qur'an about rain.
In the eleventh verse of
Surat Az-Zukhruf, rain is defined as water sent down in due measure.
The verse is as follows:
“And
He who sends down (from time to time) water from the sky in due measure, and We
raise to life therewith a land that is dead. Even so will you be raised (from
the dead)”
(Surat
az -Zukhruf, 11)
This "measure"
mentioned in the verse has to do with a couple of characteristics of rain.
First of all, the amount of rain that falls on the earth is always the same. It
is estimated that in one second, 16 million tones of water evaporates from the
earth. This number is equal to the amount of water that drops on the earth in
one second. This means that water continuously circulates in a balanced cycle
according to a "measure".
Another measure related with
rain is about its falling speed. The minimum altitude of rain clouds is 1200
meters. When dropped from this height, an object having the same weight and size
as a raindrop would continuously accelerate and fall on the ground with a speed
of 558 km/h. Certainly, any object that hits the ground with that speed would
cause big damage. If rain happened to fall in the same way, all harvested lands
would be destroyed, residential areas, houses, and cars would be damaged, and
people would not be able to walk around without taking necessary precautions.
What is more, these
calculations are made just for clouds of 1200 meters high, whereas there are
also rain clouds at an altitude of 10 000 meters. A raindrop falling from such
a height could normally reach a very destructive speed. But this is not how it
works; no matter from how high they fall, average speed of raindrops is only
8-10 km/h when they reach the ground. The reason for this is the special form
they take. This special form increases the friction effect of the atmosphere
and prevents acceleration when the raindrops reach a certain speed
"limit". (Today parachutes are designed by using this technique.)
This is not all about the
"measures" of rain. For instance, in the atmospheric layers where it
starts to rain, the temperature may fall so low as 400 oC degrees. Despite this,
raindrops never turn into ice particles. (This would certainly mean a fatal
threat for the living things on the earth). The reason is that the water in the
atmosphere is pure water. As known, pure water hardly freezes even in very low
temperatures.
How rain forms remained a great
mystery for people for a long time. Only after air radars were discovered,
could it have been possible to learn by which stages rain formed. The formation
of rain takes place in three stages:
First, the "raw material"
of rain rises up in the air. Later, clouds are formed and lastly, raindrops
appear. These stages are clearly defined in the Qur'an in which precise
information was given about the formation of rain centuries in advance;
"It
is Allah Who sends the Winds, and they raise the Clouds: then does He spread
them in the sky as He wills, and break them into fragments, until you see
rain-drops issue from the midst thereof: then when He has made them reach such
of his servants as He wills behold, they do rejoice!"
Now, let us look at the
three stages mentioned in the verse:
1st Stage: "It is Allah Who sends the winds..." Countless air bubbles
formed by the foaming in the oceans continuously burst and cause water
particles to be ejected towards the sky. These particles which are rich in salt
are then carried away by winds and move upwards in the atmosphere. These
particles which are called aerosols form clouds by collecting around themselves
the water vapour -that again ascends from the seas - as tiny drops, by a
mechanism called "water trap"
2nd Stage: " ... and they raise
the Clouds: then does He spread them in the sky as He wills, and break them
into fragments...." The clouds form from the water vapor that condenses
around the salt crystals or the dust particles in the air. Because the water
drops in these are very small (with a diameter between 0.01 and 0.02 mm), the clouds are
suspended in the air and they spread in the sky. Thus the sky is covered with
clouds.
3rd Stage: ".... until you see rain-drops issue from the midst
thereof." Water particles that surround salt crystals and dust particles
thicken and form raindrops. So, the drops which become heavier than air depart
from the clouds, and start to fall on the ground as rain.
The conclusion to be arrived
here is that; every stage in the formation of rain is told in the verses of the
Qur'an. Furthermore, these stages are explained in the order they take place...
Just like in many other natural phenomena in the world, it is again the Qur'an
that provides the most correct explanation about these phenomena as well, and
more, that has announced these facts to people centuries before they were
discovered by science.
Life Given to a Dead Land In
the Qur'an, a lot of verses call our attention to a particular function of
rain, which is "giving life to a dead land". It is stated in a verse as:
“We
send down pure water from the sky. That with it We may give life to a dead
land, and slake the thirst of things We have created, - cattle and men in great
numbers.”
(Surat al Furqan, 48- 49)
Salts that fall with rain
are small examples of some fertilizers (calcium, magnesium, potassium etc.)
used for increasing fertility. The heavy metals found in these types of
aerosols, on the other hand, are other elements that increase fertility in the
development and production of plants. Forests also develop and are fed with the
help of these sea-originated aerosols. In this way, 150 million tons of
fertilizer falls on the total surface of lands every year. If there was not a
natural fertilization like this, there would be very little vegetation on the
earth, and the ecological balance would be damaged. What is more interesting is
that this truth, which could only be discovered by modern science, was informed
by Allah in the Qur'an centuries ago.
The water of Zamzam is water
of great virtue, which first sprang forth when Jibreel (peace be upon him)
struck (the earth) with his wing (Saheeh al-Bukhaari, 3364).
Allah provided water for
Ismaa'eel (peace be upon him) and his mother with it. The heart of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was washed with Zamzam water. Many
saheeh ahaadeeth have been narrated concerning its virtues, such as: benefits
benefits The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "The
best water on the face of the earth is the water of Zamzam; it is a kind of
food and a healing from sickness." (Saheeh al-Jaami', 3302).
It was reported that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) drank it, did wudoo' with it
and poured it on his head. He used to carry Zamzam water in small vessels and
large containers in order to pour it on the sick and give it to them to drink.
(Al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, 883).
One of the Sahaabah said: we
used to call it al-Shabbaa'ah (satisfying) and it helped us to take care our
families (i.e., it was filling and helped them to do without food, it was also
sufficient to nourish children). (Al-Silsilat al-Saheehah li,l-Albaani, 2685).
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
"The water of Zamzam is for whatever it is drunk for." (Narrated by
Ibn Maajah, 3062; this is a hasan Hadeeth. Scholars and righteous people have
experienced this - they have drunk it with the intention of fulfilling some
need such as healing from sickness or being freed from poverty and distress,
and Allah fulfilled these hopes).
Al-Akhira (The hereafter)
115
Al-Mala'ikah (Angles) 88
Al-Shayateen (Satan) 88
Al-Hayat (Life) 145
Al-Maout (Death) 145
Al-Rajul (Man) 24
Al-Mar'ha (Women) 24
Al-Shahr (Month) 12
Al-Yahom
(Day) 365
Al-bahar (Sea) 32
Al-bar (Land) 13
If we add up the total words
of both "sea" and "land" we get 45. Now if we do a simple
calculation:
32/45 X 100% = 71.11111111%
13/45 X 100% = 28.88888888%
Above is what we know today,
the percentages of Water (Sea) and Land in the world. Yet another miracle in
the Quran. The Miracles of the Quran
will never end. There will never be a time where mankind can fully take in the
knowledge that is in this holy book. It is a miracle to all mankind, the word
of God (Allah S.W.T.). There is no value that one can set to the words of the
creator. It is a treasure of which guides those that want to succeed in this
life and the hereafter.