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has added a new journalBBC News, Kamsar camp, Pakistan-administered Kashmir
Naqsha's muscles have stiffened in the foetal position she was found in Doctors say it is a miracle.
Naqsha Bibi, 40, was recovered alive from the debris of a collapsed
house in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on 10 December.
The unexpected rescue came more than two months after the 8 October earthquake destroyed large parts of Indian and Pakistan-administered Kashmir and northern areas in Pakistan.
Naqsha Bibi, now under hospital treatment, is suffering from muscle stiffness and is so weak that she can barely talk.
She weighs under 35kg - about half the weight of an average woman her size.
But since being brought to Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani-administered Kashmir, she has been put on a liquid diet and is showing signs of recovery.
Doctors say that on Tuesday morning she gave them a smile.
Rescue
"We were not even looking for her," says Faiz Din, her cousin who found her.
Faiz Din, Naqsha's cousin, accidentally found her in the debris
Naqsha Bibi and her family are residents of the Kamsar refugee camp some six kilometres from Muzaffarabad.
The camp was set up in 1990 for people from Indian-controlled Kashmir trapped on this side when borders were closed amid rising tensions between Pakistan and India.
Her family included a brother and their father - their mother had died before they entered Pakistan-administered territory.
Faiz Din says both her father's legs were broken in the earthquake and he was flown to Islamabad aboard a rescue helicopter within a week after the quake.
Her brother went with their father as an attendant.
"At that time, we thought Naqsha had either fallen down the hill or gone to live in some relief camp in the city," says Faiz Din.
Part of the hill that houses the Kamsar camp had collapsed into the river below.
Anyone who was not found immediately was thought to have fallen with the crumbling hillside and died.
"Frankly, we were all so busy taking care of our own families that no one was thinking of the house next door," Faiz Din says.
Trapped
It seems that Naqsha was trapped in her kitchen when her small house collapsed around her.
Naqsha is on a liquid diet but too weak to talk
The space where she was found was not even big enough for her to stretch her arms or legs.
Over the 63 days that she spent in this grave of sorts - her muscles frozen in a crouching position.
Even on the hospital bed now, she maintains her embryonic position and doctors say she will need extensive physiotherapy to return to her normal self again.
What remains a mystery - at least till Naqsha Bibi is able to tell her story - is how she managed to survive for so long.
Faiz Din says there were some traces of food, most of it rotting, in the kitchen when he found her.
The air in the tiny space was fresh, which implies that some airway must have remained open through the debris.
And there was a trickle of water on one side of the kitchen, probably from one of several tiny streams that dot the Kamsar area.
"We started clearing the debris of her house on 10 December, mainly to pull the iron sheets off the collapsed roof to build ourselves a shelter," says Faiz Din.
"But as we cleared one side of the house, some of the debris fell away exposing the cavity where she was holed up."
Misfortune
Naqsha's nightmare, however, was not immediately over. Naqsha's collapsed house where she was stuck in the kitchen "We first thought she was dead but she opened her eyes as we were
pulling her out," says Faiz.
Naqsha was unable to respond to repeated offerings of food and water. Apparently, her condition convinced her rescuers that she was on the verge of death.
That was why Faiz Din didn't take her to a doctor immediately despite being so close to Muzaffarabad.
"We thought she was going to die any moment," he says.
"So we just put her inside a tent and let her be."
Two days later when a team of German doctors visited the Kamsar camp,
they were told about Naqsha Bibi.
They contacted the Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA) who sent
Dr Hafeezur Rehman to bring Naqsha to Muzaffarabad.
Miracle
At Muzaffarabad's PIMA medical camp, Naqsha was examined by a Danish
doctor of Pakistani origin, Mariam Bashir.
"She seemed to be physically stable but in shock," Dr Bashir told the
BBC.
Part of Kamsar camp had collapsed into the river below
The first challenge for the doctors was to feed her.
Starting intravenously, they moved within hours to a liquid diet and
were greatly encouraged by her body's response to nutrition.
On 13 December, a psychiatrist spent three hours with her checking her
responses and said she was able to understand most of his requests.
But she was still unable to carry out even simple tasks such as sticking
out her tongue or speaking.
PIMA now plans to bring in a physiotherapist to help revive her limbs
which are still stiff.
Most of the doctors are now convinced that given the right treatment
Naqsha may be able to lead a normal life once again.
Dr Abdul Hamid was one of the doctors treating Naqsha.
When asked how someone could possibly survive for such a long time, he
said, "medical science may struggle to accept it but there are miracles in
this world, you know."
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has added a new journalFACTS THAT SCIENCE REVEALS:
MIRACLES OF THE QUR??AN
Fourteen centuries ago, God sent down to humanity the Qur??an as a book of guidance. He called upon people to be guided to the truth by adhering to this book. Since the day of its revelation to the day of resurrection, this last divine book will remain the sole guide for humanity.
The matchless style of the Qur??an and the superior wisdom in it are definite evidence that it is the word of God. In addition, the Qur??an has many miraculous attributes proving that it is a revelation from God. One of these attributes is the fact that a number of scientific truths that we have only been able to uncover by the technology of the 20th century were stated in the Qur??an 1,400 years ago.
Of course the Qur??an is not a book of science. However, many scientific facts that are expressed in an extremely concise and profound manner in its verses have only been discovered with the technology of the 20th century. These facts could not have been known at the time of the Qur??an??s revelation and this is still more proof that the Qur??an is the word of God.
In order to understand the scientific miracle of the Qur??an, we must first take a look at the level of science at the time when this holy book was revealed.
In the 7th century, when the Qur??an was revealed, Arab society had many superstitious and groundless beliefs where scientific issues were concerned. Lacking the technology to examine the universe and nature, these early Arabs believed in legends inherited from past generations. They supposed, for example, that mountains supported the sky above. They believed that the world was flat and that there were high mountains at its both ends. It was thought that these mountains were pillars that kept the vault of heaven high above.
However all these superstitious beliefs of Arab society were eliminated with the Qur??an. The verse ??God is He who raised up the heavens without any support...??(Surat ar-Rad, 2), for example, invalidated the belief that the sky remains above because of the mountains. In many other subjects, important facts were revealed at a time when no one could have known them. The Qur??an, which was revealed at a time when people knew very little about astronomy, physics, or biology, contains key facts on a variety of subjects such as the creation of the universe, the creation of the human being, the structure of the atmosphere, and the delicate balances that make life on earth possible.
Let us now take a look at some of the scientific truths revealed in the Qur??an.
THE SCIENTIFIC MIRACLES OF THE QUR??AN
The creation of the universe
The origin of the universe is described in the Qur??an in the following verse:
He is the Originator of the heavens and the earth. (Surat al-An??am: 101)
This information given in the Qur??an is in full agreement with the findings of contemporary science. The conclusion that astrophysics has reached today is that the entire universe, together with the dimensions of matter and time, came into existence as a result of a great explosion that occurred in no time. This event, known as ??The Big Bang?? produced the entire universe about 15 billion years ago, creating it from nothingness as the result of the explosion of a single point. Modern scientific circles are in agreement that the Big Bang is the only rational and provable explanation of the beginning of the universe and of how the universe came into being.
Before the Big Bang, there was no such thing as matter. From a condition of non-existence in which neither matter, nor energy, nor even time existed and which can only be defined metaphysically, matter, energy, and time were all created. This fact, only recently discovered by modern physics, was announced to us in the Qur??an 1,400 years ago.
The expansion of the universe
In the Qur??an, which was revealed 14 centuries ago at a time when the science of astronomy was still primitive, the expansion of the universe was described like this:
And it is We who have constructed the heaven with might, and verily, it is We who are steadily expanding it. (Surat adh-Dhariyat: 47)
The word ??heaven??, as stated in this verse, is used in various places in the Qur??an with the meaning of space and universe. Here again, the word is used with this meaning. In other words, in the Qur??an, it is communicated that the universe ??expands??.
And this is the very conclusion that science has reached today.
Until the dawn of the 20th century, the only view prevailing in the world of science was that ??the universe has a constant nature and it has existed since infinite time??. The research, observations, and calculations carried out by means of modern technology, however, revealed that the universe in fact had a beginning and that it constantly expands.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Russian physicist Alexander Friedmann and the Belgian cosmologist Georges Lemaitre theoretically calculated that the universe is in constant motion and that it is expanding.
This fact was proved also by observational data in 1929. While observing the sky with a telescope, Edwin Hubble, the American astronomer, discovered that the stars and galaxies were constantly moving away from each other. A universe where everything constantly moves away from each other implied a constantly expanding universe. The observations carried out in the following years verified that the universe constantly expands. This fact was explained in the Qur??an when it was yet unknown by anyone. This is because the Qur??an is the word of God, the Creator, and the Ruler of the entire universe.
Orbits
While referring to the sun and the moon in the Qur??an, it is emphasized that each moves in a certain orbit.
It is He Who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. They swim along, each in an orbit. (Surat al-Anbiya, 33)
It is mentioned in another verse too that the sun is not static but moves in a certain orbit:
And the sun runs to its resting place. That is the decree of the Almighty, the All-Knowing. (Surah Ya Sin, 38)
These facts communicated in the Qur??an have been discovered by astronomical observations in our age. According to the calculations of experts on astronomy, the sun is traveling at the enormous speed of 720 thousand kilometers an hour in the direction of the star Vega in a particular orbit called the Solar Apex. This means that the sun travels roughly 17 million and 280 thousand kilometers a day. Along with the sun, all planets and satellites within the gravitational system of the sun also travel the same distance. In addition, all the stars in the universe are in a similar planned motion.
That the entire universe is full of paths and orbits such as this one, is inscribed in the Qur??an as follows:
By the sky full of paths and orbits. (Surat adh-Dhariyat, 7)
There are about 200 billion galaxies in the universe consisting of nearly 200 billion stars in each. Most of these stars have planets and most of those planets have satellites. All of these heavenly bodies move in very precisely computed orbits. For millions of years, each has been ??swimming?? along in its own orbit in perfect harmony and order with all the others. Moreover, many comets also move along in the orbits determined for them.
The orbits in the universe do not only belong to celestial bodies. The galaxies also travel at enormous speeds in computed, planned orbits. During these movements, none of these celestial bodies cut across another??s path, or collide with another. Indeed, it has been observed that some galaxies pass through each other with none of their components touching each other.
Surely at the time the Qur??an was revealed, humankind did not possess today??s telescopes or advanced observation technologies to observe space in a range of millions of kilometers, nor the modern knowledge of physics or astronomy. Therefore, at that time, it was not possible to determine scientifically that space is ??full of paths and orbits?? as stated in the verse. However, this was openly declared to us in the Qur??an that was revealed at that time:?Vbecause the Qur??an is the word of God.
The protected roof
In the Qur??an, God calls our attention to a very interesting attribute of the sky:
We made the sky a preserved and protected roof yet still they turn away from Our Signs.. (Surat al-Anbiya, 32)
This attribute of the sky has been proved by scientific research done in the 20th century.
The atmosphere surrounding the earth serves crucial functions for the continuity of life. While destroying many meteors big and small as they approach the earth, it prevents them from falling to earth and harming living things.
In addition, the atmosphere filters the light rays coming from space that are harmful to living beings. Interestingly, the atmosphere lets only harmless and useful rays?V visible light, near ultraviolet light, and radio waves pass through. All of this radiation is vital for life. Near ultraviolet rays, which are only partially let in by the atmosphere, are very important for the photosynthesis of plants and for the survival of all living beings. The majority of the intensive ultraviolet rays emitted from the sun are filtered out by the ozone layer of the atmosphere and only a limited?Vand essential?Vpart of the ultraviolet spectrum reaches the earth.
The protective function of the atmosphere does not end here. The atmosphere also protects the earth from the freezing cold of the space, which is about minus 270 degrees Centigrade.
It is not only the atmosphere that protects the earth from harmful effects. In addition to the atmosphere, the Van Allen Belt, a layer caused by the magnetic field of the earth, also serves as a shield against the harmful radiation that threatens our planet. This radiation, which is constantly emitted by the sun and other stars, is deadly to living things. If the Van Allen belt did not exist, the massive outbursts of energy called solar flares that occur frequently in the sun would destroy all life on earth.
The energy transmitted in just one of these flashes detected in recent years was calculated to be equivalent to 100 billion atomic bombs similar to the one dropped on Hiroshima. Fifty-eight hours after the flash, it was observed that the magnetic needles of compasses displayed unusual movement and 250 kilometers above the earth??s atmosphere, the temperature suddenly increased to 2,500 degrees Celsius.
In short, a perfect system is at work high above the earth. It surrounds our world and protects it against external threats. Scientists only learned about it recently, yet centuries ago, we were informed in the Qur??an about the world??s atmosphere functioning as a protective shield.
The returning sky
The 11th verse of Surat at-Tariq in the Qur??an, refers to the ??returning?? function of the sky.
By Heaven with its cyclical systems. (Surat at-Tariq, 11)
This word interpreted as ??cyclical?? in Qur??an translations also has meanings of ??sending back?? or ??returning??.
As known, the atmosphere surrounding the earth consists of many layers.
Each layer serves an important purpose for life??s benefit. Research has revealed that these layers have the function of turning the materials or rays they are exposed to back into space or back down on earth. Now let us examine with a few examples this ??recycling?? function of the layers encircling the earth.
The troposphere, 13 to 15 kilometers above the earth, enables water vapor rising from the surface to be condensed and turn back down to the earth as rain.
The ozone layer, at an altitude of 25 kilometers, reflects harmful radiation and ultraviolet light coming from space and turns both back into space.
The ionosphere, reflects radio waves broadcast from the earth back down to different parts of the world just like a passive communications satellite and thus makes wireless communication, radio, and television broadcasting possible over long distances.
The fact that this property of the sky??s layers, which could only be scientifically discovered recently, was declared centuries ago in the Qur??an, once again demonstrates that the Qur??an is the word of God.
The layers of the atmosphere
One fact about the universe revealed in the verses of the Qur??an is that the sky is made up of seven layers.
It is He who created everything on the earth for you and then directed His attention up to heaven and arranged it into seven regular heavens. He has knowledge of all things. (Surat al-Baqara, 29)
Then He turned to heaven when it was smoke... (Surat al-Fussilat, 11)
In two days He determined them as seven heavens and revealed, in every heaven, its own mandate. (Surat al-Fussilat, 12)
The word ??heavens??, which appears in many verses in the Qur??an, is used to refer to the sky of the earth as well as the entire universe. Given this meaning of the word, it is seen that the earth??s sky or the atmosphere is made up of seven layers.
Indeed, today it is known that the world??s atmosphere consists of different layers that lie on top of each other. Furthermore, it consists, just as is described in the Qur??an, exactly of seven layers. In a scientific source, the subject is described as follows:
Scientists have found that the atmosphere consists of several layers. The layers differ in such physical properties as pressure and the types of gasses. The layer of the atmosphere closest to Earth is called the TROPOSPHERE. It contains about 90% of the total mass of the atmosphere. The layer above the troposphere is called the STRATOSPHERE. The OZONE LAYER is the part of the stratosphere where absorption of ultraviolet rays occurs. The layer above the stratosphere is called the MESOSPHERE. The THERMOSPHERE lies above the mesosphere. The ionized gases form a layer within the thermosphere called the IONOSPHERE. The outermost part of Earth??s atmosphere extends from about 480 km out to 960 km. This part is called the EXOSPHERE.
If we count the number of layers cited in this source, we see that the atmosphere consists of exactly seven layers, just as stated in the verse. It is a great miracle that these facts, which could not possibly be discovered without the technology of the 20th century, were explicitly stated by the Qur??an 1,400 years ago.
The function of mountains
The Qur??an draws attention to a very important geological function of mountains.
We placed firmly embedded mountains on the earth, so it would not move under them?K (Surat al-Anbiya, 31)
As noticed, it is stated in the verse that the mountains have the function of preventing shocks on the earth.
This fact was not known by anyone at the time the Qur??an was revealed. It was in fact brought to light recently as a result of the findings of modern geology.
According to these findings, mountains emerge as a result of the movements and collisions of massive plates forming the earth??s crust. When two plates collide, the stronger one slides under the other, the one on the top bends and forms heights and mountains. The layer beneath proceeds under the ground and makes a deep extension downward. That means that mountains have a portion stretching downwards as large as their visible portion on the earth.
In a scientific text, the structure of mountains is described as follows:
??Where continents are thicker, as in mountain ranges, the crust sinks deeper into the mantle.??
In a verse, this role of the mountains is pointed out through a comparison with ??pegs??:
Have We not made the earth as a bed and the mountains its pegs? (Surat an-Naba, 6-7)
Mountains in other words clench the plates in the earth??s crust together by extending above and beneath the earth??s surface at the conjunction points of these plates. In this way, they fix the earth??s crust and prevent it from drifting over the magma stratum or among its plates.
Briefly, we may liken mountains to nails that keep wood pieces together.
This fixing function of the mountains is defined in scientific literature with the term ??isostasy??. Isostasy means the following:
Isostasy: general equilibrium in the earth's crust maintained by a yielding flow of rock material beneath the surface under gravitational stress.
This vital role of mountains that was discovered by modern geology and seismic research was revealed in the Qur??an centuries ago as an example of the supreme wisdom in God??s creation.
We placed firmly embedded mountains on the earth, so it would not move under them... (Surat al-Anbiya: 31)
The movements of mountains
In one of the verses, we are informed that the mountains are not motionless as they seem but that they are in constant motion.
You will see the mountains you reckoned to be solid going past like clouds. Such is the artistry of God, who disposes of all things in perfect order; surely He is Aware of what you do. (Surat an-Naml, 88)
This motion of the mountains is caused by the movement of the earth??s crust that they are located on. The earth??s crust sort of floats over the mantle layer, which is denser.
It was at the beginning of the 20th century when, for the first time in history, a German scientist by the name of Alfred Wegener proposed that the continents of the earth had been attached together at the initial phases of the world, but then drifted in different directions and thus separated as they moved away from each other. Geologists understood that that Wegener was right only in the 1980s, 50 years after his death.
Discovered as a result of the geological research carried out at the beginning of the 20th century, this movement of the earth??s crust is explained by scientists as follows:
??The crust and the uppermost part of the mantle, with a thickness of about 100 kms, are divided into segments called plates. There are six major plates, and several small ones. According to the theory called plate tectonics, these plates move about on Earth, carrying continents and ocean floor with them. Continental motion has been measured at from 1-5 cm per year. As the plates continue to move about, this will produce a slow change in Earth??s geography. Each year, for instance, the Atlantic Ocean becomes slightly wider.??
There is a very important point to be stated here: God has referred to the motion of mountains as a drifting action in the verse. Today, modern scientists also use the term ??continental drift?? for this motion.
Unquestionably, it is one of the miracles of the Qur??an that this scientific fact, which has been recently discovered by science, was announced in the Qur??an.
The mystery in iron
Iron is one of the elements highlighted in the Qur??an. In Surat al-Hadid, meaning Iron, we are informed:
?KAnd We sent down iron in which there lies great force and which has many uses for mankind.... (Surat al-Hadid: 25)
The word ??sent down?? particularly used for iron in the verse, could be thought of having a metaphorical meaning to explain that iron is given to the service of people. But when we take into consideration the literal meaning of the word, which is, ??being physically sent down from the sky??, we realize that this verse implies a very significant scientific miracle.
This is because modern astronomical findings have disclosed that the metal of iron found in our world has come down from the giant stars in outer space.
The heavy metals in the universe are produced in the nucleus of big stars. Our solar system, however, does not have a suitable structure to produce iron on its own. Iron can only be produced in much bigger stars than the sun, where the temperature reaches a few hundred million degrees. When the amount of iron exceeds a certain level in a star, the star can no longer bear it and eventually it explodes in what is called a ??nova?? or a ??supernova??. As a result of this explosion, meteors containing iron are scattered around the universe and they move through the void until attracted by the gravitational force of a celestial body.
All this shows that the iron metal did not form on the earth but was carried from exploding stars in space via meteors and was ??sent down to earth?? exactly the same way as stated in the verse: It is clear that this fact could not have been scientifically known in the 7th century, when the Qur??an was revealed.
And We sent down iron in which there lies great force and which has many uses for mankind. (Surat al-Hadid: 25)
In addition, the 25th verse of Surat al-Hadid, which refers to iron, includes two interesting mathematical codes. Surat al-Hadid is the 57th Surah in the Qur??an. The numerical value of the word ??Al-Hadid?? in Arabic, in other words its Abjad, is the same number: 57. The numerical value of the word ??Hadid?? alone is 26, and 26 is the atomic number of iron.
The proportion of rain
In a verse of the Qur??an, the ??fecundating?? characteristic of the winds and the formation of rain as a result are mentioned.
??And We send the fecundating winds, then cause water to descend from the sky, therewith providing you with water in abundance??. (Surat al-Hijr, 22)
In this verse, it is pointed out that the first stage in the formation of rain is wind. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the only relationship between the wind and the rain that was known, was the wind??s driving clouds. However, modern meteorological findings have demonstrated the ??fecundating?? role of the winds in the formation of rain.
This fecundating function of the wind works in the following way:
On the surface of oceans and seas, countless air bubbles form because of the foaming action. The moment these bubbles burst, thousands of tiny particles, with a diameter one hundredth of a millimeter, are thrown into the air. These particles, known as ??aerosols??, mix with dust carried from land by winds, and are carried to upper layers of the atmosphere. These particles carried to higher altitudes by winds come in contact with water vapor up there. Water vapor condenses around these particles and turns into water droplets. These water droplets first come together and form clouds, and then fall on the earth in the form of rain.
As seen, winds ??fecundate?? the water vapor floating in the air with the particles they carry from the sea and eventually help the formation of rain clouds.
If winds did not possess this property, water droplets in the higher atmosphere would never form and there would be no such thing as rain.
The most important point here is that this critical role of the winds in the formation of rain was stated centuries ago in a verse of the Qur??an, at a time when people knew almost very little about natural phenomena?K
Another fact given in the Qur??an about rain is that it is sent down on earth in due measure. This is mentioned in Surat az-Zukhruf as follows;
It is He who sends down water in due measure from the sky by which We bring a dead land back to life. That is how you too will be raised (from the dead). (Surat az - Zukhruf, 11)
This measure in rain has again been discovered by modern research. It is estimated that in one second, approximately 16 million tons of water evaporate from the earth. This figure amounts to 513 trillion tons of water in one year. This number is equal to the amount of rain that falls on the earth in a year. This means that water continuously circulates in a balanced cycle according to a ??measure??. Life on earth depends on this water cycle. Even if people had used all the technology in the world, they would not be able to produce this cycle artificially.
Even a minor deviation in this amount would very soon give rise to a major ecological imbalance that would bring about the end of life on earth. Yet, this never happens and rain keeps falling every year in exactly the same amount?V just as is revealed in the Qur??an.
The seas?? not mingling with one another
One of the properties of seas that was very recently discovered is related in a verse of the Qur??an as follows:
He has let loose the two seas, converging together, with a barrier between them they do not break through. (Surat ar-Rahman: 19-20)
This property of the seas that converge together yet do not mingle with one another at all has been very recently discovered by oceanographers. Because of a physical force called the ??surface tension??, the waters of neighboring seas do not mix. Caused by the difference in the density of the seas, surface tension prevents the seas from mingling with one another just as if a thin wall were between them.
The interesting side of it is that during a period when people had no knowledge of physics, surface tension, or oceanography; this was revealed in the Qur??an.
The sex of a baby
Until fairly recently, it was thought that a baby??s sex was determined by the mother??s cells. Or at least, it was believed that the sex was determined by the male and female cells together. But we are given a different kind of information in the Qur??an where it is stated that masculinity or femininity is created out of the ??sperm poured forth into the womb??.
That He created in pairs?Vmale and female?Vout of a drop of sperm as it is poured forth. (Surat an-Najm, 45-46)
The improving disciplines of genetics and molecular biology have scientifically validated the accuracy of this information given by the Qur??an. It is now understood that sex is determined by sperm cells coming from the male and that the female has no role in this process.
Chromosomes are the main elements in determining sex. Two of the 46 chromosomes that determine the structure of a human being are identified as the sex chromosomes. These two chromosomes are called ??XY?? in males and ??XX?? in females, because the shapes of the chromosomes resemble these letters. The Y chromosome carries the genes that code for masculinity, while the X chromosome carries the genes that code for femininity.
Formation of a new human being begins with the cross combination of one of these chromosomes, which exist in males and females in pairs. In females, both components of the sex cell, which divides into two during ovulation, carry X chromosomes. The sex cell of a male, on the other hand, produces two different kinds of sperm, one that contains X chromosomes and the other Y chromosomes. If an X chromosome from the female unites with a sperm that contains an X chromosome, then the baby is female. If it unites with the sperm that contains a Y chromosome, the baby is male.
In other words, a baby??s sex is determined by which chromosome from the male unites with the female??s ovum.
None of this was known until the discovery of genetics in the 20th century. Indeed, in many cultures, it was believed that a baby??s sex was determined by the female??s body. That was why women were blamed when they gave birth to girls. Thirteen centuries before human genes were discovered, the Qur??an however revealed information that denies this superstition and referred to the origin of sex being not with women but with the semen coming from men.
If we keep on examining the facts announced to us in the Qur??an about the formation of people, we again encounter some very important scientific miracles.
When the sperm of the male unites with the ovum of the female, the essence of the baby to be born is formed. This single cell known as ??zygote?? in biology will instantly start to reproduce by dividing and eventually become a ??piece of flesh??. This of course can only be seen by human beings with the aid of a microscope.
The zygote, however, does not spend its developmental period in a void. It clings to the uterus just like roots that are firmly fixed to the earth by their tendrils. Through this bond, the zygote can obtain the substances essential to its development from the mother??s body.
Here, at this point, a very significant miracle of the Qur??an is revealed. While referring to the zygote developing in the mother??s womb, God uses the word ??alaq?? in the Qur??an:
Recite: In the name of your Lord Who created man from alaq. Recite: And your Lord is the Most Generous. (Surat al-Alaq, 1-3)
The meaning of the word ??alaq?? in Arabic is ??a thing that clings to some place??. The word is literally used to describe leeches that cling to a body to suck blood.
Certainly it is not a coincidence that such an appropriate word is used for the zygote developing in the mother??s womb. This proves once again that the Qur??an is a revelation from God, the Lord of all the Worlds.
Fingerprints
While it is told in the Qur??an that it is easy for God to bring man to life after death, the fingerprint of man is particularly emphasized:
Yes, We are able to put together in perfect order the very tips of his fingers. (Surat al-Qiyama, 3-4)
The emphasis on fingerprints has a very special meaning. This is because everyone??s fingerprint is unique to himself. Every person who is alive or who has ever lived in this world has a set of unique fingerprints.
That is why fingerprints are accepted as a very important identity card exclusive to its owner and used for this purpose around the world.
But what is important is that this feature of the fingerprint was only discovered in the late 19th century. Before then, people regarded fingerprints as ordinary curves without any specific importance or meaning. However in the Qur??an, God points to the fingertips, which did not attract anyone??s attention at that time, and calls our attention to their importance?Van importance that could only be understood in our age.
The wrapping of muscles over the bones
Another important aspect of the information mentioned in the verses of the Qur??an is the developmental stages of a human in the mother??s womb. It is stated in the verses that in the mother??s womb, first the bones develop, and then the muscles form which wrap around these bones.
(We) then formed the drop into a clot and formed the clot into a lump and formed the lump into bones and clothed the bones in flesh; and then brought him into being as another creature. Blessed be God, the Best of Creators! (Surat al-Muminun: 14)
Embryology is a branch of science that studies the development of embryo in the mother??s womb. Until very recently, embryologists assumed that the bones and muscles in an embryo developed at the same time. For this reason, for a long time, some people claimed that these verses were in conflict with science. Yet, advanced microscopic research conducted by virtue of new technological developments has revealed that the revelation of the Qur??an is word by word correct. These examinations at the microscopic level showed that the development inside the mother??s womb takes place in just the way it is described in the verses. First, the cartilage tissue of the embryo ossifies. Then muscular cells that are selected from amongst the tissue around the bones come together and wrap around these bones. This event is described in a scientific publication with the following words:
??During the seventh week, the skeleton begins to spread throughout the body and the bones take their familiar shapes. At the end of the seventh week and during the eighth week the muscles take their positions around the bone forms.??
In short, man??s developmental stages as they are described in the Qur??an are in perfect harmony with the findings of modern embryology.
Three stages of the baby in the womb
In the Qur??an, it is related that man is created in a three-stage process in the mother??s womb.
... He creates you stage by stage in your mothers?? wombs in a threefold darkness. That is God, your Lord. Sovereignty is His. There is no god but Him. So what has made you deviate? (Surat az-Zumar: 6)
As will be understood, it is pointed out in this verse that a human being is created in the mother??s womb in three distinct stages. Indeed, modern biology has revealed that the baby??s embryological development takes place in three distinct regions in the mother??s womb. Today, in all the embryology textbooks studied in the faculties of medicine, this subject is taken as an element of basic knowledge. For instance in Basic Human Embryology, a fundamental reference text in the field of embryology, this fact is stated as follows: The life in the uterus has three stages: pre-embryonic; first two and a half weeks, embryonic; until the end of the eight week, and fetal; from the eight week to labor??
These phases refer to the different developmental stages of a baby. Information on the development in the mother??s womb became available only after observations done with modern devices. Yet, just like many other scientific facts, these pieces of information are imparted in the verses of the Qur??an in a miraculous way. The fact that such detailed and accurate information was given in the Qur??an at a time when people had scarce information on medical matters is clear evidence that the Qur??an is not the word of man, but the word of God.
NEWS FROM THE FUTURE
Another miraculous aspect of the Qur??an is that it revealed beforehand a number important events that would occur in the future. The 27th verse of Surat al-Fath, for example, gave the believers glad tidings that they would conquer Mecca, which was then under the occupation of pagans:
God has confirmed His Messenger??s vision with truth: ??You will enter the Masjid al-Haram in safety, God willing, shaving your heads and cutting your hair without any fear.?? He knew what you did not know and ordained, in place of this, an imminent victory. (Surat al-Fath, 27)
In close consideration, the verse is seen to announce yet another victory that will take place before the victory of Mecca. Indeed, as stated in the verse, the believers first conquered the Khyber Fortress, which was under the control of the Jews, and then entered Mecca.
The victory of Byzantium
Another piece of news that the Qur??an gives about the future is found in the first verses of Surat ar-Room, which refers to the Byzantine Empire, the eastern part of the later Roman Empire. In these verses, it is stated that the Byzantine Empire had met with a great defeat but that it would soon gain victory.
(2) The Romans have been defeated (3) in the land nearby, but after their defeat they will themselves be victorious (4) in a few years?? time. The affair is God??s from beginning to end. (Surat Ar-Room, 1-4)
These verses were revealed around 620 CE, almost seven years after the severe defeat of Christian Byzantium at the hands of the Persians, when the Byzantines lost Jerusalem. Yet it was related in the verses that Byzantium would shortly be victorious. In fact, Byzantium had then suffered such heavy losses that it seemed impossible for it even to maintain its existence let alone be victorious again. Not only the Persians, but also Avars, Slavs and Lombards posed serious threats to the Byzantine Empire. The Avars had come as far as the walls of Constantinople. The Byzantine emperor Heraclius had ordered the gold and silver in churches to be melted and turned into money in order to meet the expenses of the army. Many governors had revolted against Emperor Heraclius and the empire was on the point of collapse. Mesopotamia, Cilicia, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and Armenia, which earlier belonged to Byzantium, were invaded by the idolater Persians. In short, everyone was expecting the Byzantine Empire to be destroyed. But right at that moment, the first verses of Surat ar-Room were revealed announcing that Byzantium would gain triumph in a few years?? time.
Around seven years after the revelation of the first verses of Surat ar-Room, in December 627 CE, a decisive battle between Byzantium and Persian Empire was fought at Nineveh. And this time the Byzantine army surprisingly defeated the Persians. A few months later, the Persians had to make an agreement with Byzantium, which obligated them to return the territories they had taken from them. At the end, ??the victory of the Romans?? proclaimed by God in the Qur??an, miraculously came true.
Another miracle revealed in these verses is the announcement of a geographical fact that could not be discovered by anyone in that period. In the third verse of Surat ar-Room, we are informed that the Romans had been defeated in the lowest region of the earth. This expression, ??Edna el Ard?? in Arabic, is interpreted as ??a nearby place?? in many translations. Yet this is not the literal meaning of the original statement but rather a figurative interpretation of it. The word ??Edna?? in Arabic is derived from the word ??deni??, which means ??low?? and ??ard??, which means ??world??. Therefore the expression ??Edna el Ard?? means ??the lowest place on the earth??.
Most interestingly, crucial stages of the war fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Persians, when the Byzantines were defeated and lost Jerusalem, had really taken place at the lowest point on earth. This specified region is the basin of the Dead Sea, which is situated at the intersection point of the lands belonging to Syria, Palestine, and Jordan. The ??Dead Sea??, lying at 395 meters below sea level, is the lowest region of the earth. This means that the Byzantines were defeated at the lowest part of the world just as stated in the verse.
The most interesting point lies in the fact that the altitude of the Dead Sea could only be measured with modern measurement techniques. Before that, it was impossible for anyone to know that it was the lowest region on the surface of the earth. Yet, this region was stated to be the lowest point on the earth in the Qur??an. Hence, this provides another evidence that the Qur??an is divine revelation.
Word Repetitions
Apart from the miraculous characteristic of the Qur??an, which we have looked into so far, it also has a ??mathematical miracle??. An example of this is the numbers of repetitions of some words in the Qur??an. Some related words are surprisingly repeated the same number of times. Below are such words and the numbers of their repetitions in the Qur??an.
?? The word ??Day?? is repeated 365 times in singular form while its plural and dual forms ??days?? together are repeated 30 times. The number of repetitions of the word ??moon?? is 12.
?? The word ??punishment?? is repeated 117 times while the expression ??forgiveness??, which is one of the basic principles of the Qur??an, is repeated exactly twice as many times.
?? The number of times the words, ??world ?? and ??hereafter?? are repeated is also the same: 115
?? The statement of ??seven heavens?? is repeated seven times. ??The creation of the heavens?? is also repeated seven times.
?? The word ??faith?? (iman) (without genitive) is repeated 25 times throughout the Qur??an, as is also the word ??infidelity or covering over the truth?? (kufr).
?? The word ??zakah?? is repeated 32 times while the number of repetitions of the word ??blessing?? is also 32.
?? The expression ??the truly virtuous?? is used 6 times, but ??libertine?? is used half as much, i.e., 3 times.
??Human being?? is used 65 times: the sum of the number of mentions of the stages of man??s creation is the same: i.e. (Human being 65, Soil 17, Drop of Sperm 12, Embryo 6, A half formed lump of flesh 3, Bone 15, Flesh 12)
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Conclusion
All that we have seen so far shows us an apparent fact: the Qur??an is such a book that all the news related in it has proved to be true and facts that no one could ever have known at the time were announced in its verses. Certainly this provides clear evidence that the Qur??an is not the word of man. The Qur??an is the word of God, the Originator of everything and the Almighty Who encompasses everything with His knowledge. In a verse. God remarks on the Qur??an:
If it had been from other than God, they would have found many inconsistencies in it. (Surat an-Nisa: 82)
Not only are there no inconsistencies in the Qur??an, every piece of information it contains reveals the miracle of this divine book more and more each day. What falls to man is to hold fast to this divine book revealed by God and receive it as his one and only guide. In one of the verses, God calls out to us:
And this is a Book We have sent down and blessed, so follow it and have fear of God so that hopefully you will gain mercy. (Surat al-Anam: 155)
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has added a new journalDefence is an issue that has to be given top priority by a country for the continuance 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 official budgets to defence. Armies are provided with the most advanced aircraft, ships, and arms, and the forces of defence are always kept at the highest level of preparedness.
The human body is surrounded by a great number of enemies and threats. These enemies are bacteria, viruses, and similar microscopic organisms. They exist everywhere; 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 fights against enemies. This is a real army made up of many "soldiers" and "officials" with different assignments, who are specially trained, employ high technology and fight with conventional and chemical weapons.
Every day, even every minute, a permanent war is fought between this army and the enemy 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 almost never changes. The enemy attempts to fool the other side by camouflaging itself when intruding into the body. The trained investigative forces are assigned by the defence to identify the enemies. The enemies are identified and appropriate weapons are produced to exterminate them. Then there is close contact, the defeat of the enemy, cease-fire, and clearance of the battleground. Last, there is storage of every type of information about the enemy as a precaution against the possibility of a later attack....
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 human 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 beneath. Thus, all unwanted guests that have squeezed between the skin are ejected from the body together with dead skin, during renewal of the skin from inwards to outwards. The enemy can only make its way in through a wound that is inflicted on the skin.
THE FRONT LINE
One of the ways through which viruses enter the body is air. The enemy pushes its 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. Digestive 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, upper 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 - fight strenuously. We can define them as professional soldiers. They try to protect their territory for their own ends. Thus, the complex army in our body is reinforced by these micro supports.
STEP BY STEP TO HOT WAR
If a microscopic intruder entering the body can overcome defence elements on guard and bacteria serving as soldiers, it causes war to begin with. After that, the body, with its ordered army, fights a perfect offence-defence war against this foreign army.
The war fought by the defence system is comprised of four parts:
1. Identification of the enemy.
2. The fortification of defences and the preparation of offensive weapons.
3. Attack and battle.
4. Retreat to normal state.
The cells that first meet the enemy units are macrophage cells that make "phagocytosis", i.e., that engulf the enemy. These cells are involved in close contact with the enemy, and fight a hand-to-hand war. They are just like infantrymen who fight a bayonet war against enemy units and struggle at the distant front line of the army.
Moreover, macrophages function as intelligence units, or as the secret service of an army. They hold one portion of the enemy they destroy. This portion is used to identify the enemy?s 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 natural resources and the budget are spent on war expenses. The economy is re-arranged according to this extraordinary situation and the country is involved in total action. In a war, which the defensive army of the body will fight 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 army is not spent elsewhere. As seen, there exists an extremely complex plan and design 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, infantrymen (phagocytes) and cavalrymen (macrophages) have proved insufficient, the whole body is alarmed, and the war becomes heated. At this stage, lymphocytes - (T and B cells) - intervene.
Cavalrymen (macrophages) pass the information 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 fighters of the immune system.
WEAPONRY PRODUCTION
As soon as B cells receive information about the enemy, they start producing weapons. These weapons, just like ballistic missiles, are only produced to hit the enemy on whom information is available. This production is so perfect that the three dimensional 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 consider: 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 innately has the knowledge and capability to produce the keys appropriate to millions of different 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 sophisticated. As B cells destroy the enemy with ballistic weapons, T cytotoxic cells also fight 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 find the diseased cells in which this camouflaged enemy hides and destroy them.
AFTER THE VICTORY
After the enemy is defeated, the T suppressor cells swing into action. These cells give the army of defence the command to cease fire, 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 specifically for the war complete their lifecycle and die. This tough war, however, is not to be forgotten. Before the war, a short time passed while the enemy was identified and the necessary preparations 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 constantly 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 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 flawless plan at work. Everything needed for the operation of this plan is intact: macrophages, the pyrogen substance, the fever raising centre of the brain, the body?s fever raising mechanisms, B cells, T cells, weapons... 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 explain how this complex system came about. The claim of the theory of evolution is that living beings and living systems have originated step-by-step by the accumulation of little coincidences. However, the immune system cannot by any means have originated "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 system, the system cannot work and the person could not survive. The system must have come into being completely and flawlessly with all its components intact. This reality renders the notion of "coincidence" meaningless.
Who, then, makes this plan? Who knows that the body?s 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 fulfil 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 has exalted knowledge and might. This Creator is Allah, Who has created the human body from a "drop of fluid".
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has added a new journalThis tree is found in a forest near sidney, the bottom half of a tree trunk is bowed in such away that it resembles a person in a posture of Islamic prayer, the ruku.
If we look closer we see the "hands" of the tree man" are resting on his knees. The ppl say that the most amazing thing is that the tree man is directly facing the holy kaaba in Mecca.
yes maybe some ppl will say that this is a fake, but why it should be a fake? We know that Allah (t) has the most powerness. He can do EVERYTHING! And why not also this?
nativemuslim
alhumdillah yes when i first saw this i was amazed with joy i have it as my desktop on my computer.nativemuslim
ASALAM ALAIKUMYES IF YOU GO TO THE SITE OF ISLAMCAN.COM YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SEE ALL OF ALLAH'S MIRACLES LIKE THE ONE WITH ALLAH'S NAME WRITTEN INTO THE BABY'S EAR AND ON YOUR HANDS SPELLES ALLAH'S NAME AND ETC. FROM FATIMAH