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THE HOLY QURAN – FOUNTAIN OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT DR ARTHUR’S OPINION REGARDING THE QURANIC VERSE DEALING WITH SLEEP AND DEATH: The first verses of the Glorious Quran which were revealed in the ignorant and uncivilized environs of Arabia dealt with “knowledge” and “pen”. The very pattern of Visit scribd.com/musarhad for revelation is enough to enforce the significant more articles on Islam. position that “knowledge” and “pen” occupy in the Quranic perspective. Those who are aware of the age of the Quranic revelation are well familiar with the fact that the age was deep down in the darkness of ignorance. The light of the teachings of the earlier prophets (May Allah’s peace be upon them) had grown dim. Even the radiance of Hazrat Isa’s moral philosophy had fainted. People were deprived of the ability of both God-discovery and self-discovery. Human rights were being trampled upon and oppression and tyranny ruled over the days. Mutual battles and conflicts were a rage. Every evil danced and rejoiced with its head held high and breast puffed up. Under such gloomy circumstances, the holy Quran with the lamp of knowledge in its hands appeared before mankind. The light of the lamp spread out in every direction and went on spreading. Eventually the fate of humanity and civility brightened, the springs of scientific research and development gushed forth, the sagacious minds got the courage to study the subtleties of life, and the philosophers and scholars got a chance to fill their cloak-edges with the flowers of wisdom and erudition. In fact, they found the “beautiful flower” of the Quran in such abundance that they could not get hold of all of it, feeling compelled to complain of the shortness of their lives. And the greatest effect that this Book of guidance produced was that: ﺧﻮﺩ ﻧﻪ ﺗﻬﮯ ﺟﻮ ﺭﺍﻩ ﭙﺭ ﺍﻭﺭﻭں ﻜﮯ ﮨﺎﺩﻯ ﺑﻦ ﮔﺌﮯ Those who themselves were not on the path began to guide others.
IN ISLAM’S EMBRACE Though the poet has said this regarding the noble Companions of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), yet one can find a manifestation of the above in all ages. A recent case related to this is that of Dr Arthur Elison. It is said that he was working on a research project. During study, when he came across a particular verse of the Glorious Quran, his wonder knew no bounds. After studying the Quranic verse, he had this to say, “The subject on which I have been toiling for years, has already been discussed by the Quran in its charming literary style many centuries back. After this discovery, he was so touched by the realistic and scholarly attribute of the Book that during a conference on a scientific topic held at Cairo (Egypt), he announced that he had embraced Islam adopting Dr “Abdullah” as his Islamic name. He currently
2 works as the Head of the Electronics Department in a British University. He also made public his resolution that he would be setting up an academic institute that would enlighten the non-Muslims, especially the non-Muslim youth, about the complete harmony between the Quranic teachings and the modern challenges of the contemporary world. The institute would ultimately be able to instil a Quranic consciousness among them that the Book rightly deserves. According to further information gathered from various journals and magazines regarding Dr Arthur Elison, it is known that he has been serving as the chairman of the British Institute of Parapsychology and Theology for the last six years during which he got a chance to meet people professing different faiths and religions. He is presently carrying out research in Europe, the US and Japan. An author of several research papers, many multi-national companies have availed of his services. Before embracing Islam, he was a Christian. The conference at Cairo in which he took part was on the issue of “the medical miracles of the Holy Quran”. He had participated in the conference as a parapsychologist. He presented his research paper in the conference titled “the intimate relationship between death and sleep”. For this purpose he had carried out experiments on human brain using modern machines and advanced electronic devices which, in fact, come under the realm of his specialization. Meanwhile, he studied the major religions of the world. He was influenced by the way the Holy Quran guided him and when he compared the results of his experiments in the light of the Holy Quran, he come across extremely wonderful outcomes. Ultimately, the very verse which people had been reciting for centuries became an instrument of his transformation. The Quranic view on “the close association between death and sleep” was a proof and unseen evidence of his research. The research project on which he had worked for long years had been laid out in the Holy Quran in the form of a theory in the most comprehensive words. And this is not the only instance of its kind, Allah’s Book has been openly declaring many a scientific miracles and hair-splitting subtleties in its numerous verses. According to the learned doctor, the Quranic verse dealing with death and sleep is a living proof of his entire research work. He declared that this was the verse that brought him into the embrace of Islam and that, by Allah’s grace, he was a Muslim now with “Abdullah” as his new name. It has been rightly said: ﺣﻔﺎﻅﺖ ﺟﺲ ﺴﻔﻴﻨہ ﻜﻰ ﺍﻧﮩﻴﮟ ﻣﻨﻈﻮ ﺭﮨﻮﺗﻰ ﮨﮯ ﻜﻨﺎﺭے ﺘﻚ ﺍﺴﮯ ﺨﻭﺪ ﻟﺍ ﻜﮯ ﻁﻭﻔﺎﮟ ﭽﻬﻭﮍ ﺟﺎﺘﮯ ﮨﻴﮟ The ship which He has decided to protect, The storm itself beings that to the safety of the coast.
DEATH AND SLEEP: A QURANIC VERSE IS THE FOUNTAINHEAD OF RESEARCH The verse of the Glorious Quran which Dr Arthur Elison has referred to is the 42nd verse of Sura Az Zumar: ِ اﻟﻠﱠﻪ ﻳـﺘـﻮﻓﱠﻰ ْاﻷَﻧ ُﻔ ﻚ ّ ٍَﺟ ْ ﻴﻦ َﻣ ْﻮﺗِ َﻬﺎ َواﻟﱠﺘِﻲ ﻟ َْﻢ ﺗَ ُﻤ َ ِﻣُﺴَﻤًﻰ إِ ﱠن ﻓِﻲ ذَﻟ َ ﻀﻰ ﻋَﻠَْﻴـ َﻬﺎ اﻟ َْﻤ ْﻮ َ َﻚ اﻟﱠﺘِﻲ ﻗ ُ ﺖ ﻓِﻲ َﻣﻨَ ِﺎﻣ َﻬﺎ ﻓَـﻴُ ْﻤ ِﺴ ت َﻳـُﺮْﺳ ِﻞُ اﻷُْﺧ ﺮْ ىَ إِﻟَﻰ أَ ﻞ َ ﺲﺣ َ ََ ُ َ ٍ َﻵﻳ ○ﺎت ﻟﱢَﻘ ْﻮٍم ﻳَـﺘَـ َﻔ ﱠﻜ ُﺮو َن َ It is Allah Who takes away the souls at the time of their death, and also those (souls) that do not die during their sleep. He keeps those (souls) for which He has ordained death,
3 and sends the rest for an appointed term. Truly, in this are signs for a people who think deeply. (Quran 39:42) For further research and enquiry into the verse, Dr Abdullah worked in the company of Dr Al Mashdani, and with the help of scientific experiments proved that death and sleep are alike in nature. He expressed the results of his research in these words: “After numerous scientific experimentations, we have reached the conclusion that when a person goes to sleep, a particular “thing” leaves his body. When that “thing” returns to his body, the person awakes and when the “thing” does not return, the person dies. These are the very facts that Allah’s Book has pointed out in a lucid manner.
It would be worthwhile to study the comments of some of the Quranic exegetes on the verse. Maulana Abdul Majid Daryabadi (1892-1977) writes: Every human has two kinds of spirits: the life spirit which separates from him at the time of his death leading to his demise, and the consciousness spirit which separates from him at the time of sleep and returns to him after sleep. It is narrated from Hazrat Ali ( )ﺭﺿﻲ ﷲ ﻋﻨﻪthat the primary spirit gets out of the body at the time of sleep as well but it remains somehow connected with the body (just as the the sun remains connected with the earth through the light rays in spite of a separation of nearly 15 crore km) and a sleeping person sees the dreams because of this partial connection. At the time of waking up, this (primary) spirit returns to the body faster than an eye-blink.” Hazrat Abdullah Bin Abbas ( )ﺭﺿﻲ ﷲ ﻋﻨﻪsays: “A son of Adam (a man) has both spirit and soul and, like the sun, both are connected to the body in a ray-like manner. Thus the spirit is that entity which is the basis of consciousness and cognition whereas the soul is that entity which is the cause of life and activity. When a man sleeps, Allah takes away his spirit, not his soul.” (Tafseer e Majidi quoting Madaarik).
The grand Mufti Hazrat Maulana Muhammad Shafee’ Sb explains: “Taking away the soul” means separating it from the human body. At times the soul is completely separated, extrinsically (externally) as well as intrinsically (internally). This is called death. At other times, the connection is broken only extrinsically such that it remains intact intrinsically. The result of this is that sensitivity and voluntary movement, which are the extrinsic indicators of life, come to a halt, while the intrinsic connection of the soul with the body remains as before. Owing to it, the man respires and remains alive. The exact mechanism can be explained thus: the human soul is turned towards the study of ‘Alam e Misaal’, and made unconscious of and disconnected with this world so that the man may get complete rest. Sometimes, this intrinsic connection is also severed (broken) resulting in the body losing life completely.
Quoting Hazrat ‘Ali ( )ﺭﺿﻲ ﷲ ﻋﻨﻪthe grand Mufti also says:
During sleep the human soul steps out of the body but a ray of the soul remains back in the body. On account of this ray-connection, the man sights dreams. Now if this dream occurs while the soul is oriented towards ‘Alam e Misaal’, the vision is a true one whereas if the dream takes place while the soul is returning towards the body, some Satanic manipulations take place and the dream is no more a true one. (Ma’ariful Quran)
4 Maulana Syed Abul A’laa Maududi writes:
“Taking away of soul during sleep” implies bringing to nought the faculties of sensibility and perception, consciousness and cognition, and will and volition. This is a condition for which the Urdu adage( ﺳﻮﻳﺎ ﺍﻭﺭ ُﻣﻮﺍ ﺑﺮﺍﺑﺮThe sleeping and the dead are alike) literally holds true. Therefore, the sleep is also called “the sister of death”. Through the above mentioned verses of Sura Zumar, Allah Ta’ala intends to bring home to every human how life and death lie in the complete control of His powerful hands. No person has the guarantee that when he sleeps in the night, he will necessarily wake up alive in the morning (as it frequently occurs that a man sleeps in the night and remains in the sleep – dies – till the Last Day). Such an incident has occurred to a British emperor also. No one knows what calamity cab befall him in a moment and whether the next moment will be a moment of his life or the moment of his death. At every instance – while the person is sleeping or wide awake, sitting at home or walking or travelling – there is a possibility that all of a sudden some internal disease of his body or an unknown calamity falling upon him from outside can take a form which proves to be the signal of death for him. Thus a person who is so powerless in Allah’s hands proves to be completely stupid if he is unmindful of Allah or deviates from His path. (Tafheemul Quran)
A SIGNIFICANT DUA (FORMULA) RELATED TO SLEEP Undoubtedly, the numerous volumes that experts have produced on the subjects of death, sleep and dream are all details of and commentaries upon the Divine wisdom. In this backdrop bring to your mind the words of the Dua which the Holy Prophet ( ﺻﻠﱠﻰ ﷲ )ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭ ﺳﻠﱠﻢhas directed us to recite at the time of sleeping: the Prophet who brought the recipe of elixir (the Book of Wisdom, i.e. Quran) while getting down Mount Hira on his way back to his people. How this Dua of the Holy Prophet ()ﺻﻠﱠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭ ﺳﻠﱠﻢ enlightens a man of his true position in an exceptional style and makes him supplicate (beg) before the infinitely Wise and Powerful Lord! Read this dua with the purpose of remembering it yourself and making others remember it, and with the intention of reciting it yourself and asking others to recite it:
ْ َ َﻭ ﺇ ِ ْﻥ ﺃَﺭْ َﺳ ْﻠﺘَﻬَﺎ ﻓَﺎﺣْ ﻔ, ﺇِ ْﻥ ﺃَ ْﻣ َﺴ ْﻜﺖَ ﻧَ ْﻔ ِﺴ ْﻲ ﻓَﺎﺭْ َﺣ ْﻤﻬَﺎ,ُْﺖ َﺟ ْﻨ ِﺒ ْﻲ َﻭ ِﺑﻚَ ﺃَﺭْ ﻓَ ُﻌﻪ ُ ﻈﻬَﺎ ِﺑ َﻤﺎ ﺗَﺤْ ﻔَﻆ ُ ﺿﻌ َ ِﺑﺎ ْﺳ ِﻤﻚَ َﺭﺑﱢ ْﻲ َﻭ . َِﺑ ِﻪ ِﻋﺒَﺎﺩَﻙَ ﺍﻟﺼﱠﺎﻟِ ِﺤ ْﻴﻦ In your name, O Lord, I place my side on the bed and with your name only I will be raising my side from the bed. Meanwhile, if you take away my soul (till the Last Day), then have mercy upon it; and if you return the soul then protect it from that (Satanic influences) which you protect your pious servants from.
AN APPEAL TO THE SCIENTISTS After expressing his opinion on the aforementioned verse of Sura Zumar, Dr Abdullah, in his fervent message, stressed upon the Western scientists to “believe in the universal truths of Islam which not only impart lessons in thinking, reasoning, rationality and logical argument but also but also provide solace to the passions and means quenching the spiritual thirst”. He also added that Allah’s Book, the Holy Quran does not
5 reject science; in fact it supports and confirms science. If somewhere one feels doubt regarding it, then it is an evidence of deficiency in science and this only underscores the need for more scientific research and study in the field. In any case, one cannot but admit to the universal grandeur and glory of the Book.
QURAN IS THE CENTRE OF ATTRACTION FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND STUDY INVOLVING TRAVELLING In the period of a year, the writer (Ml Md Rizwan Al Qasmi) has come across several articles in which some non-Muslim doctors have mentioned the Quranic verses and suras which have touched them owing to their academic, research-oriented, scientific or medical significance. If such articles were compiled in the form of a book, it would doubtlessly serve as a destination guide for seekers of truth and guidance. Many valuable articles on the subject have been published earlier as well which demonstrate that today’s scientists could get to the scientific and medical facts which Allah’s Book had unveiled 1400 years ago only after long tears of study and research. For example, there is the sixth verse of Sura Zumar itself, a part of which reads as follows:
ٍ ﺎت ﺛََﻼ ٍ ﻮن أُﱠﻣ َﻬﺎﺗِ ُﻜﻢ َﺧ ْﻠ ًﻘﺎ ِﻣﻦ ﺑـ ْﻌ ِﺪ َﺧﻠ ٍْﻖ ﻓِﻲ ﻇُﻠُﻤ ِ ُﻳ ْﺨﻠُ ُﻘ ُﻜﻢ ﻓِﻲ ﺑﻄ .ث َ ُ ْ َ ْ َ
He creates you in the wombs of your mothers in three veils of darkness, in one stage after the other. (Quran, 39:6) Commenting upon this verse, Maulana Abdul Majid Daryabadi (1892-1977) writes:
The embryo itself resides inside a membrane (placenta) which lies in the womb and the womb in the lower portion of the abdomen. These are the three veils of darkness.
He further writes:
There was a renowned doctor living near Allahabad district who died recently. His clinic was located in the city of Allahabad. Regarding him, a reliable source has reported that he had converted to Islam covertly (secretly). He had turned a votary to the truthfulness of God’s Book because of this verse only. He felt that it was impossible for an unschooled Arab to get acquainted with this deep medical fact fourteen hundred years ago. (Tafseer e Majidi)
Another example is that of French doctor Gharainia who in addition to being a successful medical practitioner of Paris is also a member of the French parliament. He states: Very often, I have been on sea journreys. The greater part of my life has passed living between sea-water and the sky. Dring one such journey, I came across a French translation of the Holy Quran by Moseossa Qari. I opened it and behold, a verdse of Sura Noor was before me which described the view of a sea spectacle:
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ِِ ِِ ِ ٍ ﺎت ﺑَـ ْﻌﻀُ َﻬﺎ ﻓَـ ْﻮ َق ٌ ﺎب ﻇُﻠُ َﻤ ٌ ج ﱢﻣﻦ ﻓَـ ْﻮﻗﻪ َﺳ َﺤ ٌ ج ﱢﻣﻦ ﻓَـ ْﻮﻗﻪ َﻣ ْﻮ ٌ ﺃَﻭْ َﻛﻈُﻠُ َﻤﺎت ﻓﻲ ﺑَ ْﺤﺮٍ ﻟﱡ ﱢﺠ ﱟﻲ ﻳَـﻐْ َﺸﺎﻩُ َﻣ ْﻮ ﱠ ٍ ﺑَـ ْﻌ ○ ﻮرا ﻓَ َﻤﺎ ﻟَﻪُ ِﻣﻦ ﻧﱡﻮٍر ً ُﺾ إِذَا أَ ْﺧ َﺮ َج ﻳَ َﺪﻩُ ﻟَ ْﻢ ﻳَ َﻜ ْﺪ ﻳَـ َﺮ َاﻫﺎ َوَﻣﻦ ﻟ ْﻢ ﻳَ ْﺠ َﻌ ِﻞ اﻟﻠﱠﻪُ ﻟَﻪُ ﻧ
Or (the state of a disbeliever is) like the darkness in a vast deep sea, overwhelmed with a great wave topped by a great wave, topped by dark clouds – with darkness, one above the other. If a man stretches out his hand, he can hardly see it! And he for whom Allah has not appointed light, for him there is no light. I read the verse with keen interest which depicted an oceanic scene. When I read the verse, my heart was deeply moved by the excellence of the metaphor and realism of the style of expression. I thought that Muhammad ( )ﺻﻠﱠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭ ﺳﻠﱠﻢmust be a person like me whose days and nights passed in sea journeys. However, I wondered how he could grasp this mystery. But after just a short span of time, I came to know that Muhammad ( ﺻﻠﱠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ )ﻭ ﺳﻠﱠﻢwas totally unschooled and had never in his life gone on a sea voyage. After this discovery, my heart got illuminated. I understood that these are not the words of Muhammad ( )ﺻﻠﱠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭ ﺳﻠﱠﻢbut the words of that God Who is a witness to the fruitlessness of every drowning person in the deep darkness of night. Then I had no option but to convert to Islam. In what a brief manner, the waywardness of the deviants and the fruitlessness of their efforts have been depicted: as if they are standing on a ship in the dead darkness of black clouds and the storm of sea-waves, witnessing the nervousness of a drowning man. I have little doubt that even the greatest experts of sea disasters cannot depict the ocean calamities in so few words as accurately and poignantly. (Al Jam’iat Weekly, 10-16 May, 1996)
Without doubt, the Book of Wisdom – Holy Quran – is a matchless and endless repository of science and philosophy. To guide others to this and help them in grasping the Quranic wisdom is one’s own good fortune, as also a great service to humanity. That’s the reason why the Holy Prophet ( )ﺻﻠﱠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭ ﺳﻠﱠﻢhas called the teacher and student of the Quranic subjects the noblest person. The Quranic scholar, Abu Muhammad Muslih (Institute of International Quran Movement, Hyderabad) who has penned a commentary on Allah’s Book for children, has made a very mature and intelligent comment in his verse:
ﻏﻳﺭﻮں ﻛﻰ ﻣﺼﻟﺢ ﭙﺳﺗﻰ ﭙﺭ ﺍﻮﺭ ﺍﭙﻧﻰ ﻏﺎﻓﻞ ﮨﺳﺘﻰ ﭙﺭ ﻗﺭﺁﻦ ﭙڑﻫﻮ ﻗﺭﺁﻦ ﭙڑﻫﻮ،ﻛﺭﻧﺎ ﮨﮯ ﺗﻤﮩﻳں ﺍﺣﺴﺎﻥ ﺍﮔﺭ
If you want to do a favour upon other people’s degradation And upon your own unmindful being, then read Quran, read Quran.