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Category: Koran, Qur'an - The Final Testament

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Pharaoh regarded himself as a deity and responded with slanders and threats to Prophet Musa's (as) calls for him to believe in Allah. This arrogant attitude lasted until he was faced with the threat of death through drowning. The Qur'an relates that Pharaoh immediately turned to belief when faced with Allah's punishment:

{We brought the tribe of Israel across the sea, and Pharaoh and his troops pursued them out of tyranny and enmity. Then, when he was on the point of drowning, he [Pharaoh] said: "I believe that there is no god but Him in Whom the tribe of Israel believes. I am one of the Muslims."} (Qur'an, 10:90)

However, this last-minute conversion was not accepted, for it was not sincere. According to the Qur'an, Allah exclaimed:

{"What, now! When previously you rebelled and were one of the corrupters? Today we will preserve your body so you can be a Sign for people who come after you. Surely many people are heedless of Our Signs."} (Qur'an, 10:91-92)

The information that Pharaoh's corpse would serve as a sign for later generations may be regarded as an indication that his body would not decay. On display in the Royal Mummies Chamber of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo is a mummified body believed to be that of this tyrant. In all likelihood, Pharaoh's body floated to shore after being drowned, was found and mummified by the Egyptians, and then carried to a previously prepared burial chamber.

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Category: Koran, Qur'an - The Final Testament

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Iron is one of the elements highlighted in the Quran. In the chapter known Al-Hadeed, meaning Iron, we are informed:

“And We also sent down iron in which there lies great force and which has many uses for mankind…” (Quran 57:25)

The word “anzalnaa,” translated as "sent down" and used for iron in the verse, could be thought of having a metaphorical meaning to explain that iron has been given to benefit people. But, when we take into consideration the literal meaning of the word, which is, "being physically sent down from the sky, as this word usage had not been employed in the Quran except literally, like the descending of the rain or revelation, we realize that this verse implies a very significant scientific miracle. Because, modern astronomical findings have disclosed that the iron found in our world has come from giant stars in outer space.[1]

Not only the iron on earth, but also the iron in the entire Solar System, comes from outer space, since the temperature in the Sun is inadequate for the formation of iron. The sun has a surface temperature of 6,000 degrees Celsius, and a core temperature of approximately 20 million degrees. Iron can only be produced in much larger 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 accommodate it, and it eventually explodes in what is called a "nova" or a "supernova." These explosions make it possible for iron to be given off into space.[2]

One scientific source provides the following information on this subject:

“There is also evidence for older supernova events: Enhanced levels of iron-60 in deep-sea sediments have been interpreted as indications that a supernova explosion occurred within 90 light-years of the sun about 5 million years ago. Iron-60 is a radioactive isotope of iron, formed in supernova explosions, which decays with a half life of 1.5 million years. An enhanced presence of this isotope in a geologic layer indicates the recent nucleosynthesis of elements nearby in space and their subsequent transport to the earth (perhaps as part of dust grains).”[3]

All this shows that iron did not form on the Earth, but was carried from Supernovas, and was "sent down," as stated in the verse. It is clear that this fact could not have been known in the 7th century, when the Quran was revealed. Nevertheless, this fact is related in the Quran, the Word of God, Who encompasses all things in His infinite knowledge.

The fact that the verse specifically mentions iron is quite astounding, considering that these discoveries were made at the end of the 20th century. In his book Nature’s Destiny, the well-known microbiologist Michael Denton emphasizes the importance of iron:

“Of all the metals there is none more essential to life than iron. It is the accumulation of iron in the center of a star which triggers a supernova explosion and the subsequent scattering of the vital atoms of life throughout the cosmos. It was the drawing by gravity of iron atoms to the center of the primeval earth that generated the heat which caused the initial chemical differentiation of the earth, the outgassing of the early atmosphere, and ultimately the formation of the hydrosphere. It is molten iron in the center of the earth which, acting like a gigantic dynamo, generates the earth’s magnetic field, which in turn creates the Van Allen radiation belts that shield the earth’s surface from destructive high-energy-penetrating cosmic radiation and preserve the crucial ozone layer from cosmic ray destruction…

“Without the iron atom, there would be no carbon-based life in the cosmos; no supernovae, no heating of the primitive earth, no atmosphere or hydrosphere. There would be no protective magnetic field, no Van Allen radiation belts, no ozone layer, no metal to make hemoglobin [in human blood], no metal to tame the reactivity of oxygen, and no oxidative metabolism.

“The intriguing and intimate relationship between life and iron, between the red color of blood and the dying of some distant star, not only indicates the relevance of metals to biology but also the biocentricity of the cosmos…”[4]

This account clearly indicates the importance of the iron atom. The fact that particular attention is drawn to iron in the Quran also emphasizes the importance of the element.

Moreover, iron oxide particles were used in a cancer treatment in recent months and positive developments were observed. A team led by Dr. Andreas Jordan, at the world famous Charité Hospital in Germany, succeeded in destroying cancer cells with this new technique developed for the treatment of cancer—magnetic fluid hyperthermia (high temperature magnetic liquid). As a result of this technique, first performed on the 26-year-old Nikolaus H., no new cancer cells were observed in the patient in the following three months.

This method of treatment can be summarized as follows:

1. A liquid containing iron oxide particles is injected into the tumour by means of a special syringe. These particles spread throughout the tumour cells. This liquid consists of thousands of millions of particles, 1,000 times smaller than the red blood corpuscles, of iron oxide in 1 cm3 that can easily flow through all blood vessels. [5]

2. The patient is then placed in a machine with a powerful magnetic field.

3. This magnetic field, applied externally, begins to set the iron particles in the tumour in motion. During this time the temperature in the tumour containing the iron oxide particles rises by up to 45 degrees.

4. In a few minutes the cancer cells, unable to protect themselves from the heat, are either weakened or destroyed. The tumour may then be completely eradicated with subsequent chemotherapy.[6]

In this treatment it is only the cancer cells that are affected by the magnetic field, since only they contain the iron oxide particles. The spread of this technique is a major development in the treatment of this potentially lethal disease. Iron has also been found to be a cure for people suffering from anemia. In the treatment of such a widespread diseases, the use of the expression “iron in which there lies great force and which has many uses for mankind” (Quran, 57:25) in the Quran is particularly noteworthy. Indeed, in that verse, the Quran may be indicating the benefits of iron even for human health. (God knows best.)

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Footnotes:

[1] Dr. Mazhar U. Kazi, 130 Evident Miracles in the Qur'an (New York, USA: Crescent Publishing House: 1998), 110-111; and www.wamy.co.uk/announcements3.html, from Prof. Zighloul Raghib El-Naggar’s speech.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Priscilla Frisch, “The Galactic Environment of the Sun,” American Scientist, January-February 2000, www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/21173?fulltext=true.
[4] Michael J. Denton, Nature’s Destiny (The Free Press: 1998), 198.
[5] www.inm-gmbh.de/cgi-bin/frame/frameloader.pl?sprache=en&url=http://www.inm-gmbh.de/htdocs/technologien/highlights/highlights_en.htm.
[6] "Nanotechnology successfully helps cancer therapies," IIC Fast Track, Nanotech News from Eastern Germany, Industrial Investment Council, October 2003; www.iic.de/uploads/media/NANO_FT_Nov2003_01.pdf

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Category: Koran, Qur'an - The Final Testament

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In the early 7th century, the two most powerful empires at the time were the Byzantine[1]  and Persian Empires.  In the years 613 - 614 C.E the two Empires went to war, with the Byzantines suffering a severe defeat at the hands of the Persians.  Damascus and Jerusalem both fell to the Persian Empire.  In the chapter, The Romans, in the Holy Quran, it is stated that the Byzantines had met with a great defeat but would soon gain victory:

“The Romans have been defeated in the lowest land, but after their defeat they will soon be victorious.  Within three to nine years.  The decision of the matter, before and after, is with God.” (Quran 30:2-4)

These verses, above,  were revealed around 620 C.E, almost 7 years after the severe defeat of the Christian Byzantines at the hands of the idolater Persians in 613 – 614 C.E.  Yet it was related in the verses that the Byzantines would shortly be victorious.  In-fact, Byzantine had been so heavily defeated that it seemed impossible for the Empire to even maintain its very existence, let alone be victorious again.

Not only the Persians, but also the Avars, Slavs and Lombards (located to the North and West of the Byzantine Empire) posed serious threats to the Byzantine Empire’s sovereignty.  The Avars had come as far as the walls of Constantinople and  had nearly captured the Emperor, himself.  Many governors had revolted against Emperor Heraclius, and the Empire was on the point of collapse.  Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and Armenia, which had earlier  belonged to the Byzantine Empire, were invaded by the Persians.  In short, everyone was expecting the Byzantine Empire to be destroyed, but right at that moment the first verses of the chapter, The Romans, were revealed announcing that the Byzantines would regain triumph in a few years time. Shortly after this revelation, the Byzantine Emperor proceeded to order the gold and silver in churches to be melted and turned into money in order both to meet the demanding expenses of the army, and finance his drive to regain the lost territories.

Around 7 years after the revelation of the first verses of The Romans, in December, 627 C.E, a decisive battle between The Byzantine Empire and the Persian Empire was fought in the area around the Dead Sea,[2] and this time it was the Byzantine army which surprisingly defeated the Persians.  A few months later, the Persians had to make an agreement with the Byzantines which obliged them to return the territories they had taken from them.  So, in the end, the victory of the Romans proclaimed by God in the Quran miraculously came through.

Another miracle revealed in the mentioned verses is the announcement of a geographical fact that  no-one would have been able to discover in that period.  In the third verse of  The Romans, it was mentioned that the Romans were defeated “in the lowest land” (Quran 30:3).  Significantly, the places where the main battles took place (in Damascus and Jerusalem) lie in a vast area of low-lying land called the Great Rift Valley.  The Great Rift Valley is a huge 5,000 km fault line in the earth’s crust that runs from northern Syria in the Middle-East of Asia to central Mozambique in East Africa.  The northernmost extension runs through Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Jordon.  The rift then extends south to the Gulf of Aden, makes its way through East Africa, then finally ends at the lower Zambezi River valley in Mozambique.

An interesting fact that has been discovered recently, with the help of satellite images, is that the area around the Dead Sea (located in the Great Rift Valley) has the lowest altitude on Earth. In fact, the lowest point on Earth is the shoreline of the Dead Sea, with an altitude of around 400 meters[3]  below sea level.  The fact that it lies at the lowest point means that water does not drain from the sea.  No land point on earth has a lower altitude than the shoreline of the Dead Sea.[4]

Dead Sea Rift Valley, Israel and Jordan October 1984.  Seen from an altitude of 190 nautical miles (350 kilometers) in this near-vertical photograph, the Dead Sea Rift Valley slices south-north through the Middle East. The surface of the Dead Sea, 1292 feet (394 meters) below sea level, is the lowest point on Earth. (Courtesy: The Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center, Photo #: STS41G-120-56, http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov)

Therefore it becomes clear that the country or prefecture which occupies the rift valley in the vicinity of the Dead Sea is what is meant in the Quran by “the lowest land.”  This is a true miracle of the Quran because no-one could have known or foreseen such a fact in the 7th century due to the fact that satellites and modern day technology were not available at the time.  Once again, the only possible explanation is that Prophet Muhammad had truly received divine revelation from God, The Creator and Originator of the universe.

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Category: Koran, Qur'an - The Final Testament

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God has said in the Quran about one of the evil unbelievers who forbade the Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, from praying at the Kaaba:

“No!  If he does not stop, We will take him by the naseyah (front of the head), a lying, sinful naseyah (front of the head)!” (Quran 96:15-16)

If we look into the skull at the front of the head, we will find the prefrontal area of the cerebrum (see figure 1).  What does physiology tell us about the function of this area?  A book entitled Essentials of Anatomy & Physiology says about this area, “The motivation and the foresight to plan and initiate movements occur in the anterior portion of the frontal lobes, the prefrontal area. This is a region of association cortex...”[1]  Also the book says, “In relation to its involvement in motivation, the prefrontal area is also thought to be the functional center for aggression....”[2]

Figure 1: Functional regions of the left hemisphere of the cerebral cortex.  The prefrontal area is located at the front of the cerebral cortex. (Essentials of Anatomy & Physiology, Seeley and others, p. 210.)

So, this area of the cerebrum is responsible for planning, motivating, and initiating good and sinful behavior and is responsible for the telling of lies and the speaking of truth.  Thus, it is proper to describe the front of the head as lying and sinful when someone lies or commits a sin, as the Quran has said, “...A lying, sinful naseyah (front of the head)!”

Scientists have only discovered these functions of the prefrontal area in the last sixty years, according to Professor Keith L. Moore.[3]

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Footnotes:

[1] Essentials of Anatomy & Physiology, Seeley and others, p. 211.  Also see The Human Nervous System, Noback and others, pp. 410-411.
[2] Essentials of Anatomy & Physiology, Seeley and others, p. 211.
[3]Al-E’jaz al-Elmy fee al-Naseyah (The Scientific Miracles in the Front of the Head), Moore and others, p. 41.