DANGERS OF A NUCLEAR WARFARE

By Asad Ali Malik Australia

An impending disaster is on its verge of casting a great shadow over the entire world; the only thing holding it back is God’s Grace over mankind and the diligent prayers of many righteous individuals which invoke God’s Mercy. The next world war is at our doorstep and it seems that it has brought something which all of us have been fearing; nuclear warfare. During a virtual meeting on 13 February 2022, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaba said:

“It is said that if Ukraine and Russia go to war then there is the danger of this evolving into a world war and resultantly nuclear weapons can be used.”

Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a form of military conflict or political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons utilise a chain of nuclear reactions to create an almost instant mass explosion. These weapons, in contrast to conventional weapons, can produce mass destruction in a shorter period of time and can have long-lasting effects. There is the immediate effect of the explosion which comes in the form of a shockwave travelling up to a miles or more depending on the size of the nuclear weapon. Then, directly behind the shockwave, travels the intense heatwave which vaporises everything in its path due to immense heat. In fact, the heat is so intense that a huge fireball is created spanning up to a couple of mile. This fireball has enough energy to create a thermal flash brighter than the sun for several seconds. This heat can cause severe burns even up to 20 miles away from the core of the explosion. As the rapidly expanding fireball pushes into the surrounding air, it creates a blast wave consisting of an abrupt jump in air pressure. This blast wave initially flows outwards at thousands of miles per hour but it slows down with distance, eventually coming to a halt. This blast wave is responsible for most of the physical damage done to the surrounds. Humans are surprisingly resilient to this blast wave but the collapse of the surround terrain and buildings usually end up taking most of the lives.

Both nuclear and conventional weapons produce destructive blast effects, although of vastly different magnitude. But what makes the nuclear weapons so much more dangerous is the radioactive fallout which follows the explosions and causes the long-lasting damage. There is a lot of radiation produced during the explosions but the half-life of those isotopes usually doesn’t exceed the time scale of the blast. However, there are some radioactive isotopes produced during the explosion whose half-life is much longer and these can linger after the explosion for a lot longer contaminating the surrounds; this is what fallout refers to. The immediate lethal effects of these radioactive isotopes only last for days or weeks but the radioactive contamination can linger on for several years. Our beloved Hazooraba has been warning the world officials about the dangers of a nuclear warfare for almost twenty years now. During his Friday Sermon on 9 May 2003, while warning of the horrific consequences of atomic warfare, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaba said:

“… These incidents [of nuclear devastation] were witnessed in the Second World War even when those atomic bombs were of low capacity. Now, much more powerful atomic bombs have been developed. It is apparent from the current situation of the world that it is hastily moving towards destruction. Therefore, as always, it is the responsibility of Jama’at Ahmadiyya which has a deep love for humanity, that they should pray and pray fervently to save humanity. May the world recognize God and save itself from destruction as much as possible.”

These nuclear weapons have a global effect due to the sheer quantity of the radioactive material being ejected into the atmosphere. The radioactive material produced during the explosion, due to the vast amount of heat, rises high into the atmosphere, reaching the highest parts of the stratosphere layer. To date, the only use of nuclear weapons, besides the testing of them, occurred in 1945 during the conflict between America and Japan. The American atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the first and only uses of these weapons in a conflict. On August 6, 1945, a uranium based nuclear weapon, code name “Little Boy”, was detonated over Hiroshima. Three days later, on August 9, a plutonium based implosion-type nuclear weapon, code name “Fat Man”, was detonated over Nagasaki. Together, these two bombings resulted in the deaths of approximately 200,000 people and Japan surrendered without any further conflict. The fallout effect of these two weapons was so great that the atmospheric nuclear testing afterwards resulted in detectable levels of radioactive fission products across the globe, and some of that radiation is still present with us even today.

J. Robert Oppenheimer, an American theoretical physicist, has been given the title of “father of the atomic bomb.” He was part of the committee of scientist who were working on the atomic bomb. He only realised the true power this weapon held after its completion and was one of the many who advised against the use of this weapon on Japan. He hated his creation after realising what sort of destruction was possible with it. He has been famously quoted to have said “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”

Even our beloved Hazooraba has expressed his concern of these weapon’s long-lasting effects. On 9 March 2019, while addressing the 16th Annual Peace Symposium of Jama’at Ahmadiyya UK, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaba stated:

“If there is a nuclear war, we will not only be destroying the world today but we will also be leaving behind a lasting trail of destruction and misery for our future generations. Hence, we must pause and reflect on the consequences of our actions. We should not consider any issue or conflict, whether within a country or at an international level, to be insignificant.”

If we observe these effects after only two comparatively smaller nuclear bomb detonations and several few test explosions, then what would happen is a full out nuclear warfare were to start? The explosive power of these weapons is so much greater than that of the conventional weapons that if a war were to break out then it is possible that some countries would be completely wiped out.

On 24 March 2012, during his keynote address at the 9th Annual Peace Symposium of Jama’at Ahmadiyya UK,

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaba, said:

“Japan is the one country to have experienced the abhorrent consequences of atomic warfare, when it was attacked by nuclear bombs during the Second World War … The nuclear bombs that were used at that time and which caused widespread devastation, were much less powerful than the atomic weapons that are possessed by even very small nations today … Let it be clear that if nuclear weapons are used again today, then it is quite possible that parts of certain countries could be completely wiped off the map. They could cease to exist …”

Not only would we observe mass destruction everywhere at the time of the conflict but we would also observe the long-lasting effects of the radioactive isotopes which would be released into the atmosphere. The effects of these radioactive isotopes would echo through time for several generations possibly causing permanent damage to humanity. So what is so devastating about the widespread of these radioactive isotopes? There are several short and long term effects on a human when they come into contact with enough of these radioactive isotopes. One of the main concerns is the alteration of the human DNA which can lead to diseases like cancer. Trace amounts of these radioactive isotopes inside of a pregnant woman can be passed on to the child, which could lead to a defective birth of a child with physical or mental disabilities or possible future diseases, which can also develop early. These effects pass down from generation to generation, possibly worsening every generation. The spread of these radioactive isotopes can lead to the contamination of water, crops, and animals which we consume and therefore indirectly ingest these isotopes. The increase of these isotopes in atmosphere means we also breathe them in more often hence letting them enter our bloodstream.

Another devastating effect of nuclear warfare would be on the climate of our planet. With just the explosions of tens or hundreds of nuclear weapons, the climate of our planet could drastically change. Less than one percent of all the nuclear weapons in the world could disrupt the global climate enough to cause a mass famine in the world, threatening as many as two billion people with starvation. There are enough nuclear weapons on the Earth which if used could bring about a nuclear winter, essentially destroying the whole ecosystem on the planet which all life on Earth depends on. With every use of nuclear weapon there is a high amount of soot released into the atmosphere. These soot clouds block most of the sunlight and restrict it from reaching the surface of our planet. With enough nuclear explosions, the whole of our planet can be covered in a layer of soot clouds. This would block majority of the sunlight causing the global temperature to plummet, killing majority of the life on earth and bring it to a new ice age.

In the Holy Quran, Almighty Allah also talks about nuclear weaponry, specifically in Chapter 104, Al-Humazah. Of course reading its translation is not going to allow you to see where Almighty Allah mentions about nuclear weaponry as Arabic is a very rich language and a lot of interpretation is lost when its translated into another language. However, this interpretation can be found in the commentary of the Holy Quran. In the book “Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge & Truth”, Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmadrh mentions ‘Nuclear Holocaust’ in which he also mentions a Quranic prophesy about it. Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad writes in his book: “Among the Quranic prophecies relating to events and inventions of our age, there are some which are of outstanding importance and great global significance. One such prophecy relates to the impending danger of a nuclear holocaust.

This prophecy was made at a time when man could not entertain the idea of an atomic explosion by any stretch of his imagination. But as we will presently illustrate, there are certain verses of the Holy Quran which clearly speak of tiny insignificant particles which are described as storehouses of immense energy, as though the fire of hell was locked within them. Amazing as it may seem, this is exactly what is literally described in the following verses.

Woe to every backbiter, slanderer, Who amasses wealth and counts it over and over. He imagines that his wealth will make him immortal.

Nay! he shall surely be cast into the “hotamah”. And what should make thee know what the “hotamah” is?

Allah’s fire as preserved fuel, Which will leap suddenly on to the hearts. It is locked up in outstretched pillars to be used against them.

(The Holy Quran, Chapter 104, Verse 2-10)

This short Quranic Chapter is densely packed with astounding statements which lie far beyond the reach of the people of that age. Strange is it not, to read that the sinful people of a certain description would be cast into the Hotamah, which means the tiniest of particles, such as we see floating in a beam of light which passes through a poorly lit room.

Authentic Arabic lexicons describe hotamah as possessing two root meanings; first hatamah, which means ‘to pound’ or ‘pulverize into extremely small particles’, and the second hitmah, which means ‘the smallest insignificant particle’. Thus hitmah is the result obtained by breaking something down to its smallest constituents.

The two meanings just mentioned can rightfully be applied to any extremely minute particle which has reached the limits of its divisible potential. As the concept of the atom had not been born fourteen hundred years ago, the nearest substitute to it could only be hotamah which also sounds intriguingly close to atom. One hardly recovers from the shock of the claim that a time would come when man would be cast in the hotamah when another claim, even more bizarre, comes in its wake.

Explaining the word hotamah, the Holy Quran speaks of a blazing fire built within it and confined in extended columns. It goes on to declare that when man will be cast into it, this fire will directly leap upon his heart as though no intervening rib cage existed. This can only mean that this fire would be of a completely different nature which could directly kill the heart before it could scorch the body. Certainly no fire known to man of that age could be described as such.

These however are not the only elements of surprise about this description; what follows is even more astonishing. This fire is mentioned as having been locked up in outstretched columns waiting to leap upon man till such time as it is destined to be unleashed.”

In the end, we have to listen to Huzoor’saba instructions and addressing all Ahmadis, Huzooraba said:

“It is your duty to pray. Continue to pray that Allah the Almighty safeguards you from a world war. … It is prayer alone that can save you.”