Most Read in the Category of Creation through the Language of Sciences

Definition of Man According to Western Philosophy

Plato describes man as follows:

“Man is a featherless biped (a creature with two legs)”.

Diogenes stated that this definition of Plato’s does not represent man; he plucked a rooster, showed it to people and said, “That is the human being Plato describes”.

Aristotle describes man as follows:

“Man is a speaking animal”.

This description is far from showing the nature of man, his loftiness and the wisdom in his creation.

Darwin claimed that man was an animal that came into being by evolving from ape-like animals by chance.

As it can be seen, the philosophers who were not members of a true religion defined man as a featherless biped or a speaking animal.

The education system developed by the Western philosophy based on the definitions above was not in compliance with the natural structure of man; it did not address his certain feelings, emotions and thoughts, especially his desire for eternal life, and distanced him from ethical and human values. Consequently, it led the majority of humanity to oppression, contumacy, transgression, struggle, fight, conflict, and games and entertainment to satisfy the unending desires of his soul.

Allah defines Himself in the Quran

God Almighty introduces Himself to us as follows in the Quran:

God Almighty is pre-eternal, post-eternal, the first and the last. There is nothing or nobody similar to, equal to and like him; He has no partners. His attributes come from His essence. He created everything. He was not created. He did not give birth and He was not born. He is free from space. That is, He is not limited with any place. He is everywhere. He is closer to everything than anything. Everything is infinitely far away from Him.¹

1.al-Ikhlas, 1-4.

Attributes of Allah

Belief in Allah means knowing Him, knowing His attributes of perfection, which are His dhati (essential) and thubuti (positive) attributes, believing in Him like that and saying that He is free and away from any incomplete attributes. Allah is qualified with all attributes of perfection that are worthy of His glory, and is free from incomplete attributes.

All attributes of Allah are pre-eternal and post-eternal attributes. His attributes have no beginning and end. The attributes of Allah do not resemble to those of His creatures.

All attributes of Allah are pre-eternal and post-eternal attributes. His attributes have no beginning and end. The attributes of Allah do not resemble those of His creatures. Although there is a similarity in naming, Allah’s knowledge, will, life and speech do not resemble our knowledge, will, life and speech. We know Him by His names and attributes because we cannot know and comprehend the essence and nature of Allah.

It is stated in the Quran that it is impossible to realize the essence of Allah and to know His nature as follows: 

"No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all vision: He is above all comprehension, yet is acquainted with all things ".¹

The Prophet (pbuh) states the following regarding the issue:

"Meditate on the creatures of Allah but do not meditate on the essence of Allah. Indeed, you cannot do it".²

Man’s mind is something that was created. It cannot grasp its creator. For that reason, it is forbidden to think about the essence of Allah.

Allah’s attributes are divided into two groups: SifatDhatiyah (Essential Attributes) and SifatThubutiyah (Positive/Immutable Attributes).

a-His Essential Attributes  (Attributes of Negation or Sifat Dhatiyah)

They are the attributes that belong to the essence of Allah only and that are impossible and impermissible to be attributed to any of His creatures. The opposites of the essential attributes cannot be thought about Allah. In other words, Allah is free and away from the attributes that express deficiency, finitude and deficiency. Those attributes are also called salbi and tanzihi attributes since it is necessary to say that Allah is free from incomplete attributes. The essential attributes of Allah are as follows:

The opposites of the essential attributes cannot be thought about Allah. In other words, Allah is free and away from the attributes that express deficiency, finitude and deficiency.

1. Wujud: (Existence)

Allah exists. His existence does not originate from any other being. It is His necessary attribute. Allah is wajib al-wujud (necessarily existent). His existence is necessary. The opposite of existence, that is, non-existence cannot be thought about Allah.

2. Qidam: (Pre-eternity)

The non-existence of Allah is unthinkable. No matter how far you go back in history, a time when he does not exist is unthinkable; it cannot be found. For, it is He who created time too. Allah is not a being that came into being afterwards. He is a pre-eternal being. Huduth (origination in time), which is the opposite of the attribute of pre-eternity, cannot be thought about Allah.

3. Baqa: (Everlastingness)

Allah has no ending. It is compulsory for the one that is pre-eternal to be post-eternal too. The opposite of baqa, that is, fana, (having an ending) cannot be thought about Allah. No matter how far you go in the future, there will be no moment in which Allah will not exist. The following is stated in the Quran, about the pre-eternity and post-eternity of Allah:  eternal and eternal:

        "He is the First and the Last..."³; "...Everything (that exists) will perish except His own Face...".⁴

4. Mukhalafatunlil-hawadith (Non-resemblance to the things created later)

Every being other than Allah came into being afterwards. Allah is in no way similar to any of the things that came into being afterwards. The opposite of this attribute resembling what came into being afterwards cannot be thought about Allah. The following is stated in the Quran regarding the issue:

 "...There is nothing whatever like unto Him...".⁵

5. Wahdaniyyah: (Allah’s being the only one in terms of His essence, attributes and deeds, and having no similar one and no partner)

The opposite of wahdaniyyah that is, being more than one, having a partner (shirk) are attributes that cannot be thought about Allah. The chapters of al-Ikhlas and Kafirun and many verses of the Quran reveal the oneness and uniqueness of Allah and reject shirk (polytheism).⁶

6. Qiyam bi Nafsihi: (Self-existence)

Allah is self-existent. He does not need a creature, place, time and reason to exist. Needing any other being cannot be thought about Allah. The following is stated in the Quran regarding the issue:

 "Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;...";⁷

"O ye men! It is ye that have need of Allah: but Allah is the One Free of all wants, worthy of all praise".⁸

b-His Positive/Immutable Attributes (Sifat Thubutiyah)

The characteristics that are the opposites of immutable are unthinkable about Allah. These attributes are pre-eternal and post-eternal; they did not come into being afterwards like the attributes of His creatures. They are the attributes that are the requirements of His existence.

They are the attributes that are obligatory to exist and that express perfection. The characteristics that are the opposites of immutable are unthinkable about Allah. These attributes are pre-eternal and post-eternal; they did not come into being afterwards like the attributes of His creatures. They are the attributes that are the requirements of His existence.

Although there is a similarity in naming, immutable attributes are in no way similar to the attributes of creatures. For, Allah’s knowledge, power and will... are infinite, absolute, pre-eternal and post-eternal. The attributes of His slaves are finite, conditioned, limited, created later, incomplete and inadequate. There are eight immutable attributes:

1. Hayah: (Life)

Allah has life. He is the one that gives life to everything. He has a pre-eternal and post-eternal life. Being dead (mamat), which is the opposite of the attribute life cannot be thought about Allah. The following is stated in the Quran about this attribute:

"And put thy trust in Him Who lives and dies not..."⁹; "(All) faces shall be humbled before (Him) - the Living, the Self-Subsisting, Eternal...".¹⁰

2. Ilm: (Knowledge)

Allah is the one that knows everything. He knows what happened, what happens, what will happen, the past, the future, the secret and the open. The knowledge of Allah does not resemble that of His creatures. It does not increase or decrease. He knows everything with His pre-eternal knowledge. Ignorance, which is the opposite of the attribute of knowledge, is an attribute that is impossible to think about Allah.The following is stated in some of the verses related to Allah’s attribute of knowledge:

 "He knoweth whatever there is on the earth and in the sea. Not a leaf doth fall but with His knowledge...".¹¹

"Seest thou not that Allah doth know (all) that is in the heavens and on earth?...".¹²

3. Sami’: (Hearing)

Allah is the Hearer. He hears anything that is said, whether it is secret in a whisper or open, whether in a slow voice or aloud.  He hears without any means or directions. Hearing something does not prevent him from hearing something else at that moment. Not hearing and deafness are unthinkable about Allah.

4. Basar: (Sight).

Almighty Allah sees everything. Nothing is hidden from the sight of Allah. Allah sees what is hidden, open, bright and dark. Not seeing (blindness) is unthinkable about Allah. The following is stated in a verse regarding the issue:

"(Allah) knows of (the tricks) that deceive with the eyes, and all that the hearts (of men) conceal. And Allah will judge with (justice and) Truth: but those whom (men) invoke besides Him, will not (be in a position) to judge at all. Verily it is Allah (alone) Who hears and sees (all things)."¹³

5. Iradah: (Will)

Allah wills. Whatever Allah wills takes place; what He does not will does not take place. 

 The following is stated in the Quran regarding the issue:

"Say: "O Allah! Lord of Power (And Rule), Thou givest power to whom Thou pleasest, and Thou strippest off power from whom Thou pleasest: Thou enduest with honour whom Thou pleasest, and Thou bringest low whom Thou pleasest...".¹⁴

"To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. He creates what He wills (and plans)...".¹⁵

6. Qudrah: (Power)

Allah has infinite power and strength. Weakness, which is the opposite of the attribute of power, is unthinkable about Allah. There is nothing that His power cannot reach. Everything happening in the universe takes place with the power and strength of Allah. Many-few, big-small are no different for the power of Allah. There is no difference between creating an atom and creating the universe. Stars, galaxies, all space, all living and non-living beings are clear evidences of Allah’s power.

The following is stated in the Quran about the power of Allah:

"… Allah creates what He wills for verily Allah has power over all things."¹⁶

7. Kalam: (Speech)

Allah sent down books to His prophets and spoke to some of His prophets with this attribute. The nature of the attribute of kalam, which is eternal, cannot be known by us. The following is stated in the Quran about this attribute: "When Moses came to the place appointed by Us, and his Lord addressed him, He said: ‘O my Lord! show (Thyself) to me, that I may look upon thee.’"¹⁷

8. Takwin: (Creation, making something that does not exist existent)

Almighty Allah is the only Creator. He created everything he knew with His pre-eternal knowledge with His infinite power and strength. To create, to provide, to resurrect, to kill, to give boons, to punish and to give shape are the results of the attribute takwin. The following is stated in a verse:

"Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is the Guardian and Disposer of all affairs.".¹⁸

1.al-An’am, 103. .
2.Suyuti, al-Jami’us-Saghir, I, 132; Ajluni, Kashful-Khafa, I, 311.
3.al-Hadid, 3.
4.al-Qasas, 88.
5.ash-Shura, 11.
6.seeal-Anbiya, 22; al-Isra, 42; az-Zumar, 4.
7.al-Ikhlas, 1-2.
8.Fatir, 15.
9.al-Furqan, 58.
10.Taha, 111.
11.al-An’am, 59.
12.al-Mujadala, 7.
13.al-Mu’min, 19-20.
14.Aal-iImran, 26.
15.ash-Shura, 49.
16.an-Nur, 44-45.
17.al-A’raf, 143.
18.az-Zumar, 62.

8.1.7-The Problem of Evil

Man can do both good and evil deeds. However, he set the Prophet (pbuh), who had the opportunity to do both  good and evil deeds but who always did good deeds, as a model for us.

As you know, the biggest claim of the people who advocate Atheism and Deism is the problem of evil. Why did Allah create evil? Freud, who could not solve the problem of evil, asked the following questions in the books related to atheism: If God is strong (David Hume thesis), why do these children die? Why does evil exist? Why did God create evil? Why is the duty of creating evil given to a creator? He could not solve the problem of evil. 

Evil dominates when good does not exist. Thus, if good people sit lazily, they will be held responsible. It is enough as evil for good people not to do anything. Then, good people have to be proactive.

Allah created a being that can do good all the time. Angels do only good deeds; it is impossible for them to do evil. He created Satan with e tendency to do evil. The creator wanted to create a being that has the freedom to do both good and evil, that can choose between good and whose freedom He wanted to test. That being is the human being. Man can do both good and evil deeds. However, he set the Prophet (pbuh), whohad the opportunity to do both good and evil deeds but who always did good deeds, as a model for us.

While there is a model of doing good and evil, The best model for doing good deeds served as a prophet for 23 years and always preferred good deeds though he had the opportunity to do both good and evil deeds. Allah advises us to be like him; He shows us the Messenger of Allah as a role model and as a test for our minds. 

Some people who had the opportunity to do both good and evil deeds were created. A good example of this is Merkez Efendi. Sümbül Efendi wass the teacher of Merkez Efendi. There is a cemetery called Merkez Efendi Cemetery in Istanbul. There is  a mosque, a tomb near it. Once, Sümbül Efendi summoned three of his students. He asked them, “How would you create the universe if you were in God’s place?” one of them said, “I would make everyone good.” Another one said, “I would eliminate all evil.” The third one, Merkez Efendi, said “I would leave everything as they are.” After that, he was given the nickname Merkez Efendi.

For, there is a wisdom behind Allah’s creating good and evil in balance. For, there is a test and death. We are not in an immortal world. Those who prefer the good 51% throughout their lives and those who prefer the bad 51% will pass or fail the test at the end of the test, at the end of life.

Question: The following is stated in verses 7 and 8 of the Chapter of at-Tariq:  

     “He is created from a drop emitted-Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs”.Evolutionists say that the verse above is not scientific. What is the truth about it? 

Answer: It is necessary to know the following first: A Muslim accepts that every verse of the Quran is the word of Allah. Verses shows some truths in different ways. In other words, verses have levels of meaning. Some issues are expressed explicitly while some others are expressed by signs or analogy.

   Allah explains the creation of man in various verses in the Holy Quran. In one verse, attention is drawn to the creation from sperm, and it is stated that sperm comes out between the backbone and the ribs:

“Now let man but think from what he is created! He is created from a drop emitted-Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs: Surely (Allah) is able to bring him back (to life)!”¹

The verse states the following for man: He is created from a drop emitted. That drop of liquid is the sperm of the male coming from between the backbone and the ribs. There are millions of sperm in it. One of them unites with the woman’s egg and causes the formation of man.

It is stated in the verse that the liquid containing sperm comes from between the backbone and the ribs. However, it is known that the sperm of the male form in the testicles, which are the reproductive organs of the male, and the egg of the female forms in the ovary, which is the reproductive organ of the female. There seems to be an apparent contradiction here. There can be two explanations of it:

The first one: When man is in the stage of fetus in the mother’s womb, the ovary and testicles develop between the backbone and the ribs of the fetus. That is, the testicles and the ovary are produced in the region between the backbone and the ribs. When the fetus reaches the seventh month, the testicles are slowly lowered into the bag outside the body and the ovary into the pelvis.

The second one: The testicles and the ovary take their food from the location between the backbone and the ribs. In other words, the arteries coming from the abdominal aorta and going to the testicles and the ovary pass between the backbone and the ribs. In the same way, the nerves that feed the ovary and testicles come from the cluster of nerves under the stomach, which is literally in the region between the backbone and the ribs. Lymph vessels also emerge from between the backbone and the ribs.²

It is seen that both the testicles and the egg cell take their food, blood and nerves from the region referred to as the backbone and the ribs. This determination of science is in accordance with the concise expression of the Holy Quran about the creation of man.

The development of sperm, which are male reproductive cells, is ensured through testosterone, and the development of eggs, which are female reproductive cells, through estrogen hormones. Both testosterone, the male hormone, and estrogen, the female hormone, are steroid group hormones and their building blocks are cholesterol. The glands located on the kidneys are also involved in the production of testosterone and estrogen. About 20% of these sex hormones are secreted from the adrenal glands. In other words, the kidneys have an important role in both the production of sperm and the production of eggs. In addition, the kidneys are organs in which other hormones like growth hormones, which are important for growth and reaching puberty, are secreted. The kidneys are precisely in the region stated by the verse. They are the issues that we learn with the development of science. Perhaps many more miraculous aspects of this verse will be discovered in the future.

The explanation by the gynecologist Op. Dr. İsmail Selçuk on November 4, 2016 is as follows:

“Up to the eighth month of the embryological life, the testicles are located under kidneys around the waist, and the ovaries are located under the diaphragm in the abdomen, corresponding to the bottom of the breasts. The testicles descend into the bags through the inguinal canal close to delivery. If it is seen at birth that the testicles have not descended, they are probably stuck in the inguinal canal. If they do not descend to bags after a certain period of time passes, they are descended through an operation.”

As it is seen, 14 centuries ago, the Quran mentions an issue some of whose aspects contemporary science has been able to discover only recently in the following verse: “He is created from a drop emitted-Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs”, which shows that the Quran is the word of Allah and that it is miraculous.

It is impossible for evolutionists’ minds, which become narrow through materialism and are drowned in matter, to rise to the spiritual sky of the Quranic verses and to understand those realities. Due to their mentality, they deny what they cannot comprehend by calling them unscientific or superstitious. What is really unscientific and superstitious is their denying ideas.

1.Tariq, verses 5-8.
2.Ali al-Bar. Translated by A.  Öztürk. İnsanınYaratılışı. Diyanetİş. Başk. Yayını,1991.

Question: What is the wisdom behind the creation of different races?

            “O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).”. (al-Hujurat, 13).

            “In the era when the Quran was sent down, there was a strong tradition of boasting among Arab tribes, and regarding themselves superior to others among Arabs. When Islam proclaimed the equality of people, there were some people who had difficulty in accepting it; some noble families and tribes did not want to marry their daughters off to their freed slaves and other tribes. The Prophet struggled against them, educated the believers and addressed all humanity as follows in his famous Farewell Sermon:” ¹

            “O people! Your Lord is the same. Your father is the same. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab; a white has no superiority over a black, nor does a black have any superiority over a white except by piety and good action. Listen! Have I informed you about this divine truth?” Those who listened to him said all together, “Yes.” Then, he said, “Let those who are here inform those who are not here about it.” (Musnad, V/411)

            Another interpretation of the same verse is as follows:

            "I created you as peoples, nations, and tribes, so that you might know one another and the relations between you in social life, and assist one another; not so that you would regard each other as strangers, refuse to acknowledge one another, and nurture hostility and enmity.

In explanation of the principle of mutual acquaintance and assistance alluded to by the above verse, we say this:

An army is divided into divisions, the divisions into regiments, the regiments into battalions, and companies, and squads, so that all the soldiers may know their many different connections and related duties. In this way, they all will perform properly a general duty in accordance with the principle of mutual assistance, and the collectivity they form will be safe from the attacks of the enemy. The army is not arranged thus to be divided and split up, with one company competing with another, one battalion being hostile to another, and one division acting in opposition to another.

Similarly, Islamic society as a whole is a huge army that is divided into tribes and groups. Nevertheless, it has unity in numerous respects: its groups’ Creator is one and the same, their Provider is one and the same, their Prophet is one and the same, their qibla is one and the same, their Book is one and the same, their country is one and the same; a thousand things are one and the same....

All these things being one and the same necessitates brotherhood, love, and unity. That is to say, being divided into groups and tribes should lead to mutual acquaintance and mutual assistance, not to antipathy and mutual hostility.”²

1.Kur’anYoluTefsiriVolume: 5 Page: 97-98.
2.Nursi, B.S. Mektubat. p. 411-412.

Question: How did different races emerge if humanity came from Hz. Adam and Hz. Hawwa?

Answer: Hz. Adam is the first man and the first prophet. Hz. Hawwa (Eve) is Hz. Adam’s his wife, who was created from his body. Therefore, humanity starts with Hz. Adam. DNAs (Deoxyribose Nucleic Acids), which constitute the human genetic structure, are equipped with a vast information capacity. Some researchers say that if it were possible to transfer the information in human DNA to a book, only an encyclopedia of 100 m² as tall as the distance between the earth and the moon could take this information. This evaluation may seem exaggerated at first glance but when we consider the information we upload to a flash drive or a DVD and the area it covers, we realize that it can be true.

In the genetic structure of our father Adam, the first man, the genetic structure of all his descendants, including all color and race traits, were present in the form of a password. There is nothing to object to it scientifically. Is it not true to say that the genetic structure of you and your spouse include the genetic structure of all your descendants to come up to Doomsday? Since the beginning of the genetic structure of Hz. Hawwa is Hz. Adam, this evaluation is appropriate logically and scientifically.

     Another aspect of the issue is that not all color and race traits present in the genetic structure make themselves shown in the outer appearance that we call the phenotype. The ones that show themselves are dominant traits. Recessive traits have no effect on the phenotype. However, as reproduction continues in the same gene pool, that is, within the human community, recessive traits that get rid of the pressure of dominant traits appear in the offspring in certain proportions. Recessive traits emerge in the tribes and groups that separate from one another and that continue to reproduce within themselves, new combinations appear among those recessive traits; or, a trait that is in the middle of two traits having equal effects in different aspects may emerge. Thus, the diversity that emerged in the genetic structure combined with certain proportions and caused the formation of the colors and races that emerged in today’s people.

**

7.1.1-Allah is pre-eternal

First of all, Allah is pre-eternal; His existence has no beginning. Something that has no firstness (beginning) is pre-eternal (qadim); something that is created in time is hadith (contingent). Allah is qadim; things that are created in time cannot be deities.  Everything other than Allah is hadith; that is to say, they were created afterwards. They were created by the power of Allah. There is no doubt that creatures cannot have the attribute pre-eternal, which is peculiar to the Creator. There was nothing else with His pre-eternal existence. The realms were created later. In that case, the Creator cannot have been created. Asking who created Allah originates from not knowing Allah because whatever is thought as a creaturecannot be a deity.¹

God Almighty is pre-eternal, post-eternal, the first and the last. There is nothing or nobody similar to, equal to and like him; He has no partners. His attributes come from His essence.

Those who do not accept or cannot understand the pre-eternality of Allah have to accept as many deities as atoms by attributing pre-eternality to matter.

1.Bilmen, Ö. N. Büyük İslam İlmihali. Istanbul, 2001, p.14.

An Explanation about Qadar (Destiny/Predestination)

TheProphet states the following in a hadith:

“The creation of each one of you is put together in the womb of the mother in forty days; then, he becomes a clot of thick blood (alaqah), and then he becomes a piece of flesh (mudghah). Then, Allah sends an angel and he is ordered to write four things: the livelihood (rizq), date of death (ajal), deeds of this creature and whether he will be a person of Paradise or Hell. Then, spirit is blown into him.” (Bukhari, Qadar, 1; Bad’ul-Khalq, 6; Anbiya, 2; Tawhid, 28;Muslim, Qadar, 1; Abu Dawud, Sunnah, 17; Tirmidhi, Qadar, 4, 8).

The following questions and similar ones are asked about the statement “whether he will be a person of Paradise or Hell” in the hadith:

“If it is known beforehand what man will do, how can he be held responsible for what he does?”

“If Allah knows what will happen in the future, can it be said that human beings who do the things that are known beforehand have free will?”

“Knowledge is dependent on the known”

In Qadar, God Almighty’s name al-Alim (the Knower of All) is dominant. Knowledge, which is the manifestation of that name, is essential in Qadar. This state is expressed as follows by Islamic scholars: “Knowledge is dependent on the known”. Allah knows the things that will happen because they will happen. However, His knowledge does not determine them. For, knowledge is dependent on the known; knowing does not determine what will happen. What is meant by the statement“knowledge is dependent on the known”?As itis known, knowledge means to learn and know the reality of something by reading, searching, seeing and listening. Knowledge is different from thought. Thought is view, preference, faith and idea that is not definite.

Then,“what does known mean and what does the statement knowledge is dependent on the known mean?”Known is the thing that is known and that is the topic of knowledge and science. The word known includes anything thatis the topic of knowledge and science and anything that is created. We think the examples below will be helpful in understanding the issue:

First, let us try to understand the issue with the following example: The road between Antalya and Isparta has a certain length.This length is called “known” since it is the topic of knowledge. We know the existence of that road and that it is 120 km long. It is called “knowledge/science”. Our knowledge here is dependent on the known; it is in compliance with it and that is why it is called knowledge. We know that this road to be 120 km long because it is 120 km long. It is not 120 km long just because we say it is 120 km long.

If the known were dependent on knowledge, the road would be 150 km long when we said “this road is 150 km”.

There are other examples that explain the issue in scientific data. Scientists determine on what day and at what time the sun will be eclipsed based on experience and research. When that day and time come, the sun is eclipsed. Let us ask now: 

“Was the sun eclipsed because they said ‘the sun will be eclipsed on that day and that time’ or did the scientists determine it like that because the sun was going to be eclipsed at that day and time?”

Let us deal with the issue in terms of qadar:

As the rule “knowledge is dependent on the known” indicates, Allah knows what happens and will happen with His pre-eternal knowledge. His knowledge is also dependent on the known. We do not do things because He knows them so; He knows them because we do or will do so. If the known were dependent on knowledge, we would do things because He knew; in that case, He would direct our will and prevent us from acting freely with our free will. However, Allah knows what happened and what will happen as they are. That is, His knowledge is also dependent on the known.

“Was everything known beforehand?”

Yes, the pre-eternal knowledge knew everything beforehand. Besides, knowing something beforehand and afterwards is not in question for Allah because Allah sees the past, the present and the future at the same time. The whole universe is like an atom in the eye of Allah. That is, he knows the immense universe and manages it as he knows and manages an atom. Less-more, big-small does not matter for His power; His knowledge encompasses everything in the past and in the future.

“Since God Almighty knows with His pre-eternal knowledge that we are people of Paradise or people of Hell, what is the point of making efforts based on our will?”

He knows whether we are people of Paradise or people of Hell. However, He knows it because He knows what we will do based on our free will. His knowing does not bind our will. For, the principle of knowledge is dependent on only knowing the known things and beings. Those beings are not managed from outside through knowledge. That is, a being does not exist because you know that it exists. It does not cease to exist because you know that it does not exist. In other words, you cannot change the properties and place of a being only with your knowledge. The manifestation of will and power is necessary to change the shape, nature and place of a being. Allah makes only His name al-Alim manifest in the issue of qadar just like the length of the road will not change by knowing in the example given above.

It is Allah who creates both the good and the evil. His universal will is dependent on our partial free will.If we want to go to a mosque, He will create that deed. If we want to go to a forbidden place, He will create it too. We are held responsible because we use our partial free will in the bad way..

5.1.2-Creation in the Womb according to the Quran and the Sunnah

In many places, the Quran attracts attention to creation from different aspects in many places and gives detailed information about the stages the fetus undergoes in the womb.

In many places, the Quran attracts attention to creation from different aspects in many places and gives detailed information about the stages the fetus undergoes in the womb. The verses in the chapter of al-Mu’minun mention Hz. Adam’s creation from clay, the phases of the fetus in the womb, the events of death and resurrection together and describe where man comes from and how, and where he goes as follows:

“Man We did create from a quintessence (of clay); Then We placed him as (a drop of) sperm in a place of rest, firmly fixed; Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood; then of that clot We made a (fetus) lump; then we made out of that lump bones and clothed the bones with flesh; then we developed out of it another creature. So blessed be Allah, the best to create! After that, at length ye will die. Again, on the Day of Judgment, will ye be raised up.”¹

Many hadiths are narrated related to the creation of man and the stages he undergoes in the womb.The hadith reported by Abdullah b. Mas’ud is like an interpretation of the verse that gives detailed information about creation:²

     “The creation of each one of you is put together in the womb of the mother in forty days; then, he becomes a clot of thick blood (alaqah), and then he becomes a piece of flesh (mudghah). Then, Allah sends an angel and he is ordered to write four things: the livelihood (rizq), date of death (ajal), deeds of this creature and whether he will be a person of Paradise or Hell. Then, spirit is blown into him.³

The beginning of the creation of man is mentioned in the hadith above; in addition, the stages the fetus undergoes in the womb and the time of the blowing into the spirit are stated.

Whether the phrase“forty days”repeated three times in the hadith means one thing happening after the other or within the other, and whether the word thumma/then means after the time or after the deed are issues related to ijtihad.

In addition, what is meant with the term “the beginning of man’s life”, whether fertilization, creation of the nervous system, the formation of voluntary movements or the blowing of the spirit, caused the formation of different views. Accordingly, the majority accepted the time when the egg was fertilized with the sperm and settled in the uterus as the beginning of man’s life; the other scholars accept it as the end of the fourth month and the beginning of the fifth month,⁴ one hundred and twenty days after fertilization, eighty-fourth day, three months, twelve weeks and more than a month.⁵

The beginning of life in the fetus and the blowing of the spirit into it are different events. Therefore, life continues in cells for a while after death.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) mentions only the beginning of fertilization in another hadith:

“When forty-two nights pass after the semen gets into the womb, Allah sends the angel and gives it the shape. Then, He creates its sense of hearing, sense of sight, its skin, its flesh, its bones.⁶

When those two hadiths are evaluated together, the following fact appears: The first hadith states that the spirit is blown at the end of the third period, that is, one hundred twenty days after the fetus, and the second one states that organs are created on the forty-second day.⁷

      Both the verses and hadiths related to creationand medical data support the view of the majority. As a matter of fact, it is stated in the second hadith that many stages of creation are completed on the forty-second day; only the blowing of the spirit is not mentioned.⁸

Accordingly, the blowing of the spirit and the creation of man are different from each other.

When the hadith is evaluated in the context of the duties of the angels, it is possible to understand the second hadith by attributing it to the first one. Accordingly, the word “nutfah” in the second hadith is used instead of the word “mudghah”. When this determination is considered, the meaning is as follows: when forty-two days passes after the mudhgah, that is, when the fetus completes the three periods of forty days consisting of nutfah, alaqah and mudghah; Allah sends another angel (an angel other than the one responsible for the affairs in the womb) to the nutfah that is converted into mudghah and gives it the full shape of a full human being.⁹

The summary of the issue is as follows: The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) used the word “nutfah” which is the first stage of the three periods of forty days and meant “mughah”, which isthe last one.

      According to what is understood from verses and hadiths, the development of the fetus takes place in two areas. The first one is the material development that can be perceived. In this area, the states of creation that occur one after the other in the body are seen.

The second is a development that is attributed to the growing body but that cannot be perceived; abilities like life, reasoning, will and meditation occur with it. This second development begins when the spirit is blown into the body.¹⁰

The stages of the fetus mentioned in the Quran and the Sunnah do not differ very much from the data obtained by modern medicine after long researches.

Thus, the beginning of life in the fetus and the blowing of the spirit into it are different events. Therefore, life continues in cells for a while after death.¹¹

The stages of the fetus mentioned in the Quran and the Sunnah do not differ very much from the data obtained by modern medicine after long researches. As a matter of fact, Professor Keith Leon Moore, from Anatomy Department of the University of Toronto, states that the classification made by the Quran related to stages the fetus undergoes in the mother’s womb is superior and more accurate than the descriptions and classifications made by the embryologists in the 20th century.¹²

Accordingly, if there are a few differences between modern medicine and the Quran regarding the issue, this indicates that modern medicine will attain the facts informed by the Quran many centuries ago with the new discoveries.

1.al-Mu’minun, 12-14. Many tafsir scholars of the Companions and Tabiun like Ibn Abbas, Sha’bi, Abul-Aliya, Dahhak and Ibn Zayd state that what is meant by ‘then we developed out of it another creature’in the verse is the blowing into the spirit, which takes place after the completion of creation. See AbuJa’far Muhammad Ibn Jarirat-Tabari, Jamiul-Bayan an Ta’wilil-Quran, Darus-Salam, Beirut, 2007, VII, 5910.
2.al-Mu’minun, 12-14.
3.Bukhari, Qadar, 1; Bad’ul-Khalq, 6; Anbiya, 2; Tawhid, 28; Muslim, Qadar, 1; Abu Dawud, Sunnah, 17; Tirmidhi, Qadar, 4.
4.A period of 130 days is meant.
5.Wafa Ghunaymi, ad-Dawabidush-Shar’iyyalil-Mumarasatit-Tibbiyyatil-Mutaalliqabil-Mar’a, Darus-Sumay’i, Riyad, 2009, 266.
6.Muslim, Qadar 1.
7.Muhammad al-Amin b. Abdullah al-Harari, al-Kawkabul-Wahhajwar-Ravdul-Bahhaj fi Sharhi Sahihil-Muslim b. al-Hajjaj, Darul-Minhaj, Jeddah, 2009, XXIV, 517-8.
8.Muslim, Qadar 1.
9.al-Harari, al-Kawkabul-Wahhaj war-Ravdul-Bahhaj fi Sharhi Sahihil-Muslim b. al-Hajjaj, Darul-Minhaj, Jeddah, 2009., XXIV, 517-8.
10.Musfir b. Ali b. Muhammad al-Qahtani, Ijhazul-Janinil-Mushawwahwa Hukmuhu fish-Shariatil-Islamiyya, Majallatush-Sharia wad-Dirasatil-Islamiyya, Kuwayt, year: 18, Issue. 54, 2003, 166.
11.Ahmad Shawqi Ibrahim, Mata Badat Hayatul-Insan, 76;Ghunaymi, ibid, 272.
12.al-Qahtani, ibid, 166.

5-THE CREATION OF FIRST MAN

5.1-THE STAGES OF THE CREATION OF MAN IN THE QURAN*

Tafsir, Hadith and Fiqh are regarded as branches of science according to the Quran; Medicine, Cosmology, History, Geography, etc. are alsoregarded as branches of science. Muslims are obliged to study all branches of science that are beneficial for humanity. A faqih, a mufassir and a muhaddith is considered as a scholar; so is a physicist and a doctor. Indeed, in the context of the verses aboutCosmology, Botany and Zoology, Allah states the following:“Those truly fear Allah, among His Servants, who have knowledge.”¹

The Quran, which invites man to meditate on why and how he was created, mentions two dimensions in order to determine where to start: The creation of Hz. Adam from soil and the formation of man in the womb in stages.

     5.1.1.Creation from Clay

The theory of evolution, which claims that all living beings were derived from a single root, and the creation stages that the Quran informs us, are different from each other in all aspects. Evolution is a theory that was put forward to deny creation and hence a theory that cannot be proved; creation, on the other hand, is a fact that has taken place billions of times for thousands of years. However, some Muslims say that the monkeys and humans may have descended from a common root based on the following verse:²

Evolution is a theory that was put forward to deny creation and hence a theory that cannot be proved; creation, on the other hand, is a fact that has taken place billions of times for thousands of years.

“And well ye knew those amongst you who transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath: We said to them: ‘Be ye apes, despised and rejected’.”³

This verse, which those who claim that the Quran does not reject evolution use as evidence, warned the Jews who were thinking of catching the fish that accumulated on Saturday in the pool they made next to the sea on Sunday and who thought that they obeyed the command of allocating Saturday to worshipping and that they did not flout the ban of fishing and asked them to repent.

The first man and the first prophet, Hz. Adam, was created as a human being; his children married and reproduced for generations.

The Jews who did not obey Allah’s command were suddenly converted into despised monkeys. However, it did not happen over a long time, as evolutionists claim; the people who were converted into monkeys died three days later; none of them could reproduce as monkeys.⁴Besides, evolving is essential in evolution. In the incident mentioned above, the human beings’ conversion into animals is in question.

      The first man and the first prophet, Hz. Adam, was created as a human being; his children married and reproduced for generations. The Holy Quran states clearly declares that Hz. Adam was the only one and he was created from clay. As a matter of fact, Allah states the following:

     “O mankind! Reverence your Guardian-Lord, who created you from a single person, created, of like nature, His mate, and from them twain scattered (like seeds) countless men and women.”.⁵

It is pointed out with the statement ( وَاحِدَةٍنَّفْسٍمِّنخَلَقَكُم) “created you from a single person” in the verse that Hz. Adam was created, with the statement (زَوْجَهَامِنْهَاوَخَلَقَ ) “created, of like nature, His mate” that Hz. Hawwa (Eve) was created from Hz. Adam, with the statement (وَنِسَاءكَثِيرًارِجَالاًمِنْهُمَاوَبَثَّ ) “and from them twain scattered (like seeds) countless men and women” that all humans were derived from  Hz. Adam and Hawwa. In the chapter of az-Zumar, two aspects of creation are mentioned: “He created you (all) from a single person (from Adam),then created, of like nature, his mate.”Then, the following statement follows:“He makes you, in the wombs of your mothers, in stages, one after another, in three veils of darkness.⁶ It is pointed out that Hz. Adam was created from soil but that his children were created in wombs.

The Jews who did not obey Allah’s command were suddenly converted into despised monkeys. However, it did not happen over a long time, as evolutionists claim; the people who were converted into monkeys died three days later; none of them could reproduce as monkeys.

The Holy Quran clearly states that Hz. Adam was created from clay and that his wife was created from him. Accordingly, the stages Hz. Adam went through – until he became a human being – are pointed out in the verses in question and creation is attributed to those stages.

       Allah states that He created Adam from turab/soil,⁷ tin lazib/sticky clay,⁸sulala min tin/ quintessence of clay,⁹hamamasnun/mud molded into shape¹⁰salsal/sounding clay.¹¹

Each of the five words mentioned in the verses corresponds to a stage of creation. It is no different from a person’s saying his house was built of soil, mud or brick. In this statement, information is given about the formation process of the material used in the construction of the house. The type of material used in the construction of the house is soil. Soil turned into mud to become a brick. Brick is the baked clay. As it is seen in the example, there is a development from soil to brick. In that case, it is not wrong to say “the house is made of clay or brick”based on any of the phases of the soil; besides, it will be a wise explanation as it gives specific information about the formation process.

The verses that mention the creation of Hz. Adam from soil are like that too. Allah meant soil,sticky clay, quintessence of clay, mud molded into shape and sounding clay according to the context.

*It was published earlier (ÂdemTatlı, Hasan Akan, İdris Görmez, İsmail Kocaçalışkan. Ayet ve Hadislerin Dilinden Yaratılış.  AkderYayını, Antalya, 2018, p.71-87).
1.Fatir, 28.
2.Ateş, S. Kur’an-ı Kerim’e Göre Evrim Teorisi. Ankara Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, 1972, Vol. 20, Issue. 1, p. 131.
3.al-Baqara, 65.
4.Muhammad al-Amin al-Harari, Hadaiqur-Rawhi war-Rayhan, Darul-Minhaj, Jeddah, 2009, I, 466.
5.an-Nisa, 1.
6.az-Zumar, 6.
7.ar-Rum, 20. For the other verses, see Taha, 55; Hajj, 5; Fatir, 11; al-Mu’min, 67; ar-Rahman, 14.
8.as-Saaffat, 11. It is stated in the following verses that man is created from clay:  al-An’am, 2; al-A’raf, 12; as-Sajda, 7; Sad, 71, 76.
9.al-Mu’minun, 12.
10.al-Hijr, 26.
11.ar-Rahman, 14. also, al-Hijr, 26, 28, 33.

Question:How did the angels know about the blood-shedding characteristic of man?¹

Answer: Another verse that evolutionist creationists use as evidence for evolution is as follows: “Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: "I will create a vicegerent on earth." They said: "Wilt Thou place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood?- whilst we do celebrate Thy praises and glorify Thy holy (name)?" He said: "I know what ye know not."”²

Acting upon the statement “Wilt Thou place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood?” in the verse, some people say wild ancestors of man before the perfection of man are indicated by it. They say the angels uttered that statement by considering those ancestors of man. However, the traits of mischief and shedding blood were observed throughout the history of humanity and they are also seen today. Besides, mischief is a characteristic peculiar to man, not apes. All animals serve the balance on earth. The only being that disturbs this balance and causes mischief is man.     

     We find the answer to the question “How did the angels know this characteristic of man?” in Tabari.

According to what Tabari reports from Ibn Abbas, Ibn Mas’ud and some other Companions, when Allah said to the angels, "I will create a vicegerent on earth", the angels said, "O Lord! What will that vicegerent be like?" He said, "He will have offspring that will cause mischief on earth, that will envy and kill one another." Thus, the angels were informed about this being. This view presents the dialogue that is not mentioned in the verse. That is, it fills the gap between "I will create a vicegerent on earth" and "They said: ‘Wilt Thou place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood?’"

As it can be seen, we witness that scholars approach the text based on an adopted view and they interpret religious texts in the direction of those views in such interpretations. In that case, rather than the approach “what the text says”, the approach “what can I make the text say” dominates the process of interpretation. The tendency to search for the foundations of some scientific developments and theories in religious sources or in the words of ancient scholars often become effective in making different interpretations that are not correct.

            **

1.From Veysel Güllüce’s article “Kur’anIşığında Evrimci Yaratılı şGörüşünün Değerlendirilmesi” (ÂdemTatlı, Hasan Akan, İdris Görmez, İsmail Kocaçalışkan. Ayet ve Hadislerin DilindenYaratılış. Akder Yayını, Antalya, 2018, p. 9).
2.al-Baqara, 30.

9.1.11- Misfortunes that hit us unavoidably

On the other hand, some misfortunes can hit man unavoidably. There are important wisdoms behind them. Once, the Prophet (pbuh) stated the following in Madinah:

“No fatigue, nor disease, nor sorrow, nor sadness, nor hurt, nor distress befalls a Muslim, even if it were the prick he receives from a thorn, but that Allah expiates some of his sins for that.”¹

Hz. Aisha reports the following hadith that has the same meaning:

 “The Messenger of Allah said:

‘There is no misfortune that hits a Muslim with which Allah does not expiate his sins for that.’”²

These explanations show that all kinds of misfortunes, sorrow, grief, sadness, thoughts, fatigue and painful things, are atonement for some of the sins of the believer; they erase and destroy them. Thus, mercy manifests in misfortunes in a sense. The sins of the believer are not left to the Hereafter; he is saved from the penalty in the Hereafter and his degree rises. In that case, such misfortunes are beautiful in terms of their consequences; they are like bitter medication; they free us from sins, which are spiritual illnesses that will darken our hereafter, our eternal world. In this respect, it is necessary to show consent and surrender to qadar.

The Prophet made the following explanation about showing consent to qadar in the face of misfortunes and diseases:

 “If Allah wishes for good and goodness for a person, He sends a misfortune to him (to atone for his sins and to elevate his degree).”³

Abdullah b. Masud narrates the following regarding the issue:

“I went to visit the Prophet (pbuh) when he was ill. He had a severe fever. I said to him,

‘You have a high fever and you are shivering.’

Then, I added,

‘Is it because you will have a double reward for it?’

He said,

‘Yes, for no Muslim is afflicted with any harm but that Allah will remove his sins as the leaves of a tree fall down.’”

In that case, if the Muslim shows consent to qadar and thanks Allah instead of complaining, Allah will clean him of his sins with diseases and misfortunes. From this point of view, misfortunes and problems are blessings and mercy. Man should not complain about them; he should thank Allah for them; such misfortunes should be met with patience and thanking. So, diseases and misfortunes are Allah’s bestowal and gifts in a way. In this respect, Allah gave the most severe diseases and misfortunes to his beloved servants and prophets. Muslims should show consent in the face of diseases, troubles and misfortunes and remember the following verse:

“When afflicted with calamity, they say, ‘Inna lillahiwainnailayhiraji’un = To Allah We belong, and to Him is our return’”⁴

The Prophet (pbuh) also stated the following regarding unavoidable misfortunes:

“If Allah sends punishment upon a nation, it befalls upon the whole population indiscriminately and then they will be resurrected (and judged) according to their deeds.”⁵

It seems that when penalties (difficulties and hardships) such as famine, disease, earthquake, difficulties, costliness and collective deaths are sent to a community, it can hit all kinds of people in the community. Such penalties affect both good and bad people. If the penalty affects only the wicked people, it will be contrary to the secret of testing. In that case, everyone will inevitably be good. However, when Allah resurrects people on the Day of Resurrection, He will reward the good and treat everyone according to their deeds.

1.Umara, p. 375, nr. 607; (Bukhari, Mardawat-Tibb, 1); IbnuAbil-’Izz, p. 366.
2.Umara, p. 375, nr. 606; (Bukhari, Mardawat-Tibb, 1).
3.Hay’ah, Majmaut-Tafasir, III, p. 376, nr. 606.
4.al-Baqara, 15; see alsoLuqman,17; al-Hajj, 35.
5.Umara, p. 455, nr. 775; (Bukhari, Fitan, 19).

6. 3-Being Responsible toward Allah

Man’s responsibility toward Allah related to his purpose of creation can be dealt with under three headings:

a. Knowing Allah
b. Belief in Allah
c. Worshipping Allah

a. Knowing Allah

Once, a firefly was proceeding on a path. However, it was unaware that the light that illuminated his path was reflected from it. After a while, it met some ants. When it saw the ants were looking at it with admiration, it looked into their eyes carefully and curiously. It realized that the light that illuminated its path was reflected from it. Ants admired his light. Thus, the firefly became aware of the light that illuminated its path.

Are we aware of the Creator who created us out of nothing, who put the whole universe under our order, and who fulfilled everything necessary for the continuation of our lives?

Who makes the world rotate, sends down rain from the sky, and make plants grow?

Who takes the night away and brings the day?

Who puts all our organs in their proper places in the mother’s womb, feeds us and makes us grow there?

Who brought us to the world, put the breasts on our mother’s chest and made white, pure milk flow for us?

Who makes our mouths and places teeth like pearls in the mouths?

Who makes our ears and opens our eyes?

Who makes our veins and makes blood circulate in them?

Who makes our hearts and makes them work like a clock for a lifetime?

Everyone knows that a line cannot drawn without a person who draws it, that a letter cannot be written without a scribe, and that a school cannot be managed without an administrator.

Thus, the wonderful creation and administration of all beings in the world shows that they have a creator infinite knowledge, will and power who creates and manages them. The following statement is very important since it clarifies the issue:

"Every village must have its headman; every needle must have its manufacturer and craftsman. And, as you know, every letter must be written by someone. How, then, can it be that so extremely well-ordered a kingdom should have no ruler?”¹

Everything in the universe, from an atom to the sun, from a fly to stars, indicates Allah through His meticulous and proportionate creation and perfect management. If there is a work, there will definitely be a master who makes and produces it.

Who Created?

God Almighty states the following in some verses related to knowing Allah:

“Who is it that readies the skies and the earth as though they were two storehouses for your sustenance, and causes one to produce rain and the other, seeds? Is there anyone other than God Who could make them two subservient storekeepers? In which case, thanks should be offered to Him alone”.²

Man is in need of food. We need rain from the sky and cereals from the ground for the continuation of our lives. Man cannot make rain come down from the sky and cereals grow from the ground on his own.Therefore, we need a powerful being who knows our needs, shows mercy to us and pities us, who can make the earth and heaven fulfill all our needs. That being, who has infinite knowledge, will and power, is Allah.

Who Gave Man his Eyes and Ears?

Who is the owner of your eyes and ears, the most precious of your members? From which workbench or shop did you obtain them? It is only your Sustainer that could give you them. Yunus, 30.

Allah states the following in the Quran by attracting attention to the valuable organs like eyes and ears given to man:

“Who is the owner of your eyes and ears, the most precious of your members? From which workbench or shop did you obtain them? It is only your Sustainer that could give you them. It is He Who creates and raises you, and gave you them. In which case, there is no Sustainer but He, and the only one fit to be worshipped is He.”³

The being that has the most valuable organs and feelings is man. Even the mother who carries the baby in her womb does not know the creation of those organs in the womb and their placement. The one that affixes eyes, ears and nose to man in his mother’s womb and puts the stomach in place cannot be anyone except Allah, who knows that man’s seeing in the world, makes him hear, creates odors and prepares food. That is, the one who created vision and eye is the one who created the sun. The one who created sounds and hearing is the one who puts ear into its place. The one who created the apple as sustenance is the one who affixes the stomach to man.

That is to say, all of the organs in man are the work of Allah. Therefore, man is responsible for knowing Allah, who gives them to him.

Some interesting memoirs about knowing Allah

The young man who had a tattoo done on his arm

After a lecture an academician gave in a prison’s youth ward, a teenager raised his hand and asked,

- How can we believe in someone we do not see? The lecturer pointed to the tattoo on the young man’s arm who asked the question:

- Who made that tattoo and how much did you pay for it? The young man said he had it done for a certain amount of money. Thereupon, the academician asked him,

-All right, lad. Who made the arm on which had that tattoo done? The answer that young man gave was very interesting. He raised his hand:

- "Allah... I believe in him now.”

These two examples clearly show that no matter how much the mind denies Allah, the conscience cannot deny the existence of a Creator.

The young people who say, “How can we believe in Allah, whom we do not see?”

An academician narrates a memoir as follows:

“After graduating from the faculty, I worked as a teacher for several years. I taught chemistry in a high school in a lovely town in Eastern Anatolia. My relationship with the people of the town was warm. I was in good terms with everybody, from students to teachers, from administrators to parents and ordinary people of the town.

I had a very good relationship with my students. Encouraged by my closeness to them, they could easily talk to me about their problems.
In those years, there was terror and anarchy in our country. It was worse in the East than the other regions of the country. In my high school, there were several students who were bigger and even older than me. They were big, half-grown boys. Some groups that took advantage of their state filled the minds of our simple-hearted young men with harmful ideas and converted most of them into anarchists.

They stole the belief in the heart of those young people as well as several humane characteristics of them.

* * *

One of them was called Ziya. He was in his senior year and he was older than most of the students in his class. He was a well-built man. They had stolen many of his spiritual feelings, but his respect to teachers had not been completely lost yet.

One day, he shyly asked permission to ask something:

-Sir! I want to ask you something if you allow.

It was obvious that storms broke out in his inner world and his mind was confused. He was overwhelmed with the graveness of the problem in his mind. I understood the situation very well. In order to comfort him as much as I can and to make sure that he expresses the problem in his mind in a sincere way, I said clearly,

-Yes, of course, Ziya. I am here to answer your questions. I’m listening to you.

- But sir, my question is not about chemistry.

-It doesn’t matter. Ask your question sincerely and openly.

-Sir! They say‘We don’t believe in what we don’t see. We do not see Allah; so, how shall we believe in Him?’

I told him that such questions were quite normal, that many people have those questions in their mind and that it was a frequently asked question. Then, I said,

- Look Ziya! Not everything is visible; in other words, not everything is viewed with eyes. Some things are viewed with the tongue, ear, nose or mind.

These statements aroused an atmosphere of confusion in the classroom. What does to view by ear or tongue mean? Their questions were visible in their eyes. I continued:

For example, if I cook a nice meal and say “Ziya! Come taste this food” and if you say, “Sir, I don’t believe in what I don’t see it with my eyes, I will taste it with my eyes ”, and if you put your eyes into the food, your eyes will be burnt and you will be blind. So, the food is tasted with the tongue. Likewise, when I say, “Look at the smell of this perfume”, you can’t look at it with your eyes. When I say, “Look at the beauty of this music”, you look at it with your ear. You can also look at certain things with your mind. If there is a work of art here, you will understand that there is a master of that work. Thus, we see Allah with our minds.

Then, I turned toward the students and continued:

“-Friends, let’s deal with the issue together through the eyes of a scientist. Can a great work of art like Selimiye Mosque be without an architect? Is our body lower than this architectural structure? There are about 100 trillion cells in human body, which looks like a tremendous city. There is a network of blood vessels about 150,000 kilometers long, covering our entire body. The slightest breakdown in an organ can be the end of our lives. In addition to our inner world’s being wonderful, all essential organs in people are common but no man resembles another man. Our faces, voices, characters are different. Can we attribute those things to coincidence/chance?

Let us clarify the issue a bit more. As you know, the realm of living beings has a different place in the universe. The art wonders seen in the non-living beings are inferior to those seen in the living beings. The simplest living beings are bacteria. Among those bacteria, the one that scientists have researched most is Escherichia Coli bacterium. The weight of this living being, which can be seen under the microscope only after it is magnified tens of thousands of times is 500 billionth of a gram and its diameter is one hundredth of a centimeter.  5000 substances have been paced in such a tiny place. In addition, when each bacterium finds the appropriate environment, it uses water, ammonia and sugar as food and the number of substances increases to 10 thousand in 20 minutes by division. This event is something that a perfect chemist cannot even dream of. A chemist can perform only one reaction in one container. Besides, in an era in which science has progressed so much, it takes a very long time. However, 5,000 substances are synthesized in the same container as the Escherichia Coli bacterium in 20 minutes.

Since that is the case in the simplest living being, you can compare the events in other living beings to those of bacteria.

The issue can be viewed from another angle.

Do you think the human eye can see everything? Are our eyes limitless though everything is limited? Just as our ears can hear frequencies between 20 and 20,000, so too can our eyes can see the rays with wavelengths between 450 and 800 nanometers. We cannot see the rays with bigger and smaller wavelengths. Although X-rays, ultraviolet rays, infrared rays, etc. exist, we cannot see them with our eyes. Should we deny their existence then?

We actually look at the universe through a keyhole. That is, the range of our vision is so narrow. After knowing that, is it not ridiculous to say, "I don’t believe what I don’t see."

Throughout the lesson, Ziya was absent-minded and torpid. It was understood that storms broke out in his inner world. He put his hands on his temples, thinking continuously. I let him alone to the end of the lesson.

* * *

3-4 days passed. One evening Ziya came to my house with a friend.

- Sir! can I come in?

- Yes, of course, Ziya. Our house is open to everyone. They sat down and I offered them some tea. Ziya started to talk while drinking tea:

- Sir, I came here for a purpose.

- I hope it is something good.

- Sir, I came here to become a Muslim. I was shocked and startled when I heard it:

- Are you all right, Ziya? You are already a Muslim.

- Sir. I had a lot of questions and doubts in my mind before you spoke. Some of the books I read and the people I met confused my mind completely. I was in a big depression. I thought for days after your talk and could not sleep many nights. However, I have made up my mind; I am a Muslim from now on. The most appropriate ideas for my mind and conscience are Islamic ideas. Living without a faith is no different than living like an animal.

The September 12 coup took my gun from me; you have come and removed the unbelief in my heart. I am grateful to you. Now, I have taken my first step toward humanity. May Allah be pleased with you.Yes, Ziya. The greatest truth in the universe is belief in Allah. Besides, the most astonishing thing is the denial of the Creator. Your decision has made me very happy. I hope you will not leave the path of the truth after that...

The Purpose of Man’s Being Sent to the World

The wisdom behind and purpose of man’s being sent to this world is to know, to believe in and to worship the Creator of the Universe. adh-Dhariyat, 56.

Man did not come to this world by himself; he was created and sent by Allah. The main purpose and duty of man’s being sent to this world is to know Allah truly, that is, to know Him correctly by His names and attributes. In other words, to believe that He is the creator of the whole universe, that everything from atoms to the stars is governed by His power and will, that everything is His property, and that there is no partner in His property, and to believe and approve by the heart the holy statement “La ilahaillallah (there is no god but Allah)” and its realities.

b- Belief in Allah

Belief means to believe, to accept, approve and understand the truth. It means to accept Islam and act accordingly. Belief means to accept all of the realities about the religion and to act accordingly.

Belief is a light obtained from approving the religious obligations conveyed by the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) in detail and the principles other than obligations in brief.  

Belief means sincerely believing that the things that are known to have been ordered by Allah and informed by the Prophet (pbuh) are true.

The young people who want to see a miracle

A group of young people said to an academician during a conversation:

-“Let Allah show a miracle and we will believe in Him.” The academician said that all the beings in the universe were miracles. He stated that everything that man was too weak to do was a miracle:

- Is man not a miracle? In fact, every organ of man including a strand of hair is a miracle. Is a tree, every leaf of it, blossoms, and the stone in the fruit a miracle? They said,

- “We had a lot of questions about it. However, in the face of this answer, we have given up asking questions. We will listen to you now.”

There are six pillars (principles) of belief:

• Belief in Allah,
• Belief in His angels,
• Belief in His books,
• Belief in His prophets,
• Belief in the Day of Judgment and resurrection after death,
• Belief in qadar (predestination) and that both the good and the bad come from Allah.

Those six principles of belief are a whole. A person has to believe in all those six principles without doubt in order to be a believer. If he does not accept or doubts even only one of them, he will not be a believer. Just as sunlight consists of a combination of seven colors so too does belief consist of believing in all of those six principles.

According to Sa’dTaftazani’s tafsir, "Belief is the light that God Almighty throws into the heart of a person that He wishes after that person’s use of his free will."

Thus, belief is related to man’s partial free will. Man needs to want and do what is necessary. Then, Allah will grant him belief.

Belief is divided into two as imitative belief and investigative belief.

It is very important to make one’s belief investigative belief

“Now, the most important thing to do is to strengthen belief by turning belief into investigative belief and to save belief. It has become a strict necessity and even an obligation to be engaged in the principles of belief more than anything else…

Yes, to what extent can it be useful a try to repair and decorate a building whose foundations have been worn out in order to prevent it from collapsing? Will it be of any use to try to take precautions by applying pesticides on the branches and leaves of a tree whose roots have been rotten in order to prevent it from drying?

Man is a building like a palace. His foundations are the principles of belief. Man is a tree; his roots are the pillars of belief. One of the most important principles of belief is belief in Allah. Then comes belief in prophethood and resurrection. The science (knowledge) that a person tries to obtain in the first place to obtain it is the science of belief. The essence of sciences and the sultan of sciences is the science of belief.

Belief does not consist of a concise approval. Belief has several levels. An imitative belief, especially in this age, will quickly fade in the face of the storms of heresy. Investigative belief is an unshakable and inextinguishable force. Even if the belief of a person who has attained investigative belief is exposed to horrifying hurricanes of irreligion, those hurricanes are doomed to remain ineffective in the face of the strength of that belief. Even the most irreligious philosophers cannot cause delusions and doubts in a person  who has attained investigative belief”.⁴

Man’s Need to Believe in the Existence of Allah

Man has many inherent emotions and feelings. Unless these feelings are taken into consideration, it is impossible for man to find the true bliss and peace in the world. It is possible to classify these feelings and thoughts under three headings:

Firstly, man has numerous hidden and open needs. He desires an apple as well as a garden, a spring, and the eternal Paradise. His heart and stomach need function; he also needs eyes that see, ears that hear and a mind that thinks. He needs air, water, the ground, the sun, and, in short, the whole universe and its administration for the continuation of his life.

Secondly, man has numerous material and spiritual enemies. Everything that can destroy his life, from an invisible, life-threatening microbe to a comet threatening to crash into the world, is his enemy. Man is a being with gentle and sensitive feelings. He is disturbed by a glance and a slight criticism; he has a spirit that is affected from the suffering of those who are harmed by fire, flood and earthquake.

Thirdly, what distresses man all the time is the worry of separation from his beloved ones and friends through death.

Man is always faced with the eternal separation of his beloved ones. His heart breaks down all the time from the pain of their separation. In order to overcome this desperation, a person who does not believe in Allah and the hereafter will seek entertainment to make him forget them; thus, he will not feel the pain of separation in appearance for a certain time like the severely ill people who are injected morphine. This is nothing but man’s deceiving himself.

Let us consider the pain caused by compassion and affection, which are among hundreds of feelings in man, due to unbelief. For example, even only the thought of how a mother will feel in her heart and conscience due to the loss of her only beautiful child horrifies man. What, other than the light of belief, can comfort her, and tell her that she will be with her child in eternal Paradise?

That is why man is struggling in despair because he does not have the strength and power to meet all these needs. Such a person needs someone who has infinite power, will and knowledge, who will meet all his needs, who possesses endless treasures, who has endless power to secure him from all enemies, who will stop all the separations that hurt him, and who can remove death and give eternal life.

All this can be achieved through belief in Allah and the hereafter.

Death is a Certificate of Discharge

Everyone is proud of the honor and authority of his master. If man attaches himself to Allah, who has infinite power, knowledge, will, wealth, mercy and compassion, with belief, and enters His service with worshipping, and if his death, which appears to be his end is converted into a certificate of discharge and if all of his wishes are fulfilled, he will be so  happy, glad, and grateful. What frightens man the most is death. On the other hand, belief makes death loveable by removing it from nothingness because death is a certificate of discharge and a change of place for a believer. It is the beginning of an eternal life and its entrance door. It is a flight from the troubles of the world to the gardens of Paradise. It is a turn to enter into the presence of Allah in order to receive the wages of the good deeds that he has earned in the world. It is an invitation to go to Paradise, which is a place of bliss. It is a reunion with all his beloved friends.

Man’s heart is freed from all of the endless fears, his soul is freed from all sorrows and pains and he gains eternal joy and relief by believing in Allah.

In conclusion, man’s heart is freed from all of the endless fears, his soul is freed from all sorrows and pains and he gains eternal joy and relief by believing in Allah. Such a spiritual strength occurs in his heart that he can withstand every misfortune and every event with that strength. No matter how bad and troubled his world is, he sees his world as the waiting hall of Paradise; therefore, he tolerates all kinds of distress and thanks Allah in patience. Thus, both his world and the hereafter can be turned into Paradise.

If he has no belief, these worries will always give his heart and spirit pain and suffering. Even if his world seems to be like Paradise, the worries about death and eternal separation tear his heart and conscience out. They make him suffer a spiritual Hell penalty.

Is there anything other than belief that can give man this consolation? One of the reasons for the increasing suicide rates and widespread use of drugs and in technically and materially developed societies is the lack of connection to God with belief. The feeling of loneliness and deprivation caused by not being able to recognize Him disturbs people and makes them lose sleep over it.  

A memory

Rauf, the dentist, narrates:

“During the period of communism, when irreligion and unbelief were dominant in Azerbaijan, we were given lessons of denying God. Because of this education, we did not believe in Allah and the hereafter. However, the worry that our lives would end with death and that we would disappear distressed us very much. We found some remedies for ourselves. One of them was sleeping one night and staying awake one night. We thought we extended our lives by doing so. This solution originated from despair. However, we always had the feeling that there would be a real solution to this. With this feeling, we went to the Western countries such as the Netherlands, England, Germany and France after the fall of communism. We read the books of famous philosophers regarding the issue. However, we could not find the answer there either. None of them gave us a satisfactory answer about death and the hereafter.

In the early 1990s, we met a guest who had come from Turkey. I asked them if there was eternal life. They read us and explained the issue of resurrection after death and resurrection from a book called HaşirRisalesi (Resurrection Booklet). I was satisfied with what was read and explained. Then, I introduced a friend of mine (an academician) to them.They read some passages about the existence of Paradise and Hell.

When I returned home after the talk, I received a telephone call from my friend. He said,

‘Rauf! Rauf! Since there is an eternal life, I have been saved from the worry of disappearing, even if it is Hell. I will be able to sleep peacefully tonight.’”

It is the light of belief that illuminates and comforts the human conscience. Belief comforts man’s spirit by illuminating his past and future. An unbelieving man imagines the past in a way that resembles a terrible, dark graveyard. He sees the future in the form of a large, dark, horrific grave that will decay him and everything and that will make snakes and scorpions eat his body. This state, which squeezes man between two graves, causes him to live a terrible life of Hell in his spirit and conscience hopelessly.

Man’s horizon expands from the creation of the world and the sending of Hz. Adam to the world, to the Day of Judgment, to Heaven and Hell. By informing man of eternal bliss, belief develops and perpetuates the abilities and desires that are like seeds in the conscience of man.

It is the light of belief that illuminates and comforts the human conscience. Belief comforts man’s spirit by illuminating his past and future.

In conclusion, man is responsible for taking what is good and nice and leaving what is evil, the ugly and bad with his will. That is the purpose of the will being given to man. That is, man has been given will so that he will obey Allah’s commands and avoid His prohibitions.

c- Worshipping Allah

Worship means to fulfill the commands of Allah and to avoid His prohibitions. Allah states the following in the Quran regarding the issue:

"O ye people! Adore your Guardian-Lord, who created you and those who came before you, that ye may have the chance to learn righteousness; Who has made the earth your couch, and the heavens your canopy; and sent down rain from the heavens; and brought forth therewith Fruits for your sustenance; then set not up rivals unto Allah when ye know (the truth). ".⁵

Thus, worshipping our Lord, who created us out of nothing, is our greatest debt of slavery because He made the world like a palace for us. He sent down water from the sky and extracted all kinds of fruits and food from the ground as sustenance. Therefore, it is one of our most important responsibilities to thank Him by worshipping Him.

Prayer, fasting, hajj and zakah are the most important deeds of worship. The reason why we do those deeds of worship is that Allah orders them. All of the benefits and interests originating from those deeds of worship can only be a reason for preference and encouragement.

The Worship of Prayer

Prayer is the pillar of the religion and it is a very comprehensive prayer and deed of worship that includes all other deeds of worship. It is an invitation to the spiritual presence of Allah, who creates people out of nothing and grants them all kinds of blessings, at certain times five times a day. There is a great comfort of the spirit, the heart and mind in prayer.

Allah does not need our worship

Allah does not need anything. He is Samad, that is, everything needs Him, but He does not need anything. It is man who needs worshipping. Worship is like medicine for our spiritual wounds. For example, if a patient says to a compassionate physician who gives him some useful drugs about his illness and insists that the patient should take them, “Why do you insist so much? Do you need it?”, it will be nonsense. For, it is the patient, not the doctor, who needs them. The doctor insists for the benefit of the patient.

Similarly, Allah commands us to worship for the comfort of our hearts, souls, and minds, and for being saved from spiritual diseases.

Belief consists of a mental and conscientious judgment and approval. It is also worship that strengthens belief and shows the signs of belief as deeds. The most comprehensive and general deed of worship is prayer. Therefore, the following is stated in a hadith: “Prayer is the pillar of religion”. What keeps a building upright is the column. Similarly, what keeps the religion of a person upright, that is, keeps him away from sins and draws him closer to Allah by making him an addressee is his prayer.

Besides, worship is a sign that shows the degree and existence of belief.

Deeds of worship are conducive to the happiness of social life

A strong belief is necessary to fulfill the commands and to avoid the prohibitions of Allah. The maintenance and continuity of such belief is possible only through the continuation and repetition of worship.

A slave’s turning toward Allah makes it necessary for him to worship Allah and obey His commands. Obeying the commands of Allah makes the servant attain a perfect order.

For the perfection and progression of the society, an unshakable fraternity and a genuine love among the members of that society are necessary. Believers renew and strengthen the fraternity and love among them seriously and regularly through five daily prayers and duas to one another. What enables it is only worship.⁶

Deeds of worship are conducive to a person’s perfection

Worship fills the spirit and heart of man with peace and joy, refreshing him. For example, the mind, the spirit and the heart attain great comfort in the worship of prayer. Worship causes the emergence, advancement and development of the abilities that are planted in the form of seeds in the human spirit. For example, deeds of worship such as fasting and zakah develops the feelings like patience, help, generosity, compassion and self-control, which exist in the human spirit.

Man distinguishes the good from the bad with worship, moves away from mistakes and is purified from sins thanks to it. For example, thanks to worship, man keeps away from sins like backbiting, gossiping and having bad thoughts about others.For example, five daily prayers purify man from minor sins committed between two prayers.

It is worship that makes man attain vision and perspective and puts his ideas into a certain order and system. Thanks to worship, the blessing of intellect given to man sees and evaluates the truth as the truth and the wrong as the wrong. Good judgment, which protects man from falling into heedlessness, is attained through worship.

It is worship that purifies man from the spiritual dirt and rust of all sins that he gets with his inner and outer feelings, that is, his eyes and ears from haram things and his mind from doubt and denial.⁷

Man’s duty is to improve his abilities with worshipping

The most important work of man in this world is to develop his abilities, which are his most valuable things. These abilities are like seeds in the soil. They can develop in both a useful and harmful way. Man’s duty is to cultivate and develop the beneficial ones through worship. For example, the feelings such as ambition, obstinacy, concern for the future, love and curiosity exist in the human spirit. These abilities can be used to gain the life of the world, temporary posts and wealth of the world, and fame; they can also be used in the services that enable man to gain the eternal bliss in the Hereafter through the high and eternal realities of belief and the principles of Islam. Worship increases the devotion of man to Allah.

In conclusion, deeds of worship are signs that show the degree of loyalty and respect of man to Allah. Thus, the more man obeys Allah’s commandments and prohibitions, the higher his acceptance will be in the presence of Allah; and, he will be a beloved servant. The highest rank for man is to be able to attain the love of God Almighty.

The criterion of loving Allah is to act in the way that Allah loves. The way that Allah loves is the deeds of worship that He informed us through His prophet, whom He sent as a guide to humanity. The forms and shapes of those deeds of worship are shown in the Sunnah of the Prophet. The Sunnah consists of the words, deeds and acts of the Prophet.

The spirit of worship is sincerity. Sincerity means doing something just because it is a command of Allah.

1.Nursi, B.S. Sözler. p. 63.
2.Yunus,verses 31-32.
3.Yunus,verses 30-31.
4.Nursi, B.S. Sözler. p. 925.
5.al-Anbiya, 22. Muhammad, 38.
6.Nursi, B. S. İşârâtü’lİ’caz. p. 406.
7.Nursi, B.S. İşârâtü’lİ’caz. p. 408.

7.1.4-Allah’s existence is from His own essence

Allah’s existence, which is pre-eternal and post-eternal, is based on His own self. His existence is a necessity of His sacred personality; it does not come from anyone/anything else. For this reason, Allah is called Wajib al-Wujud, that is, Necessarily Existent. His existence is far from needing another creator. What is thought to be created cannot be a deity. Therefore, the question Who created Allah? cannot be asked because such a question is contrary to the definition of Allah at the beginning. In the definition of Allah, it was accepted that He created everything but that He Himself was not created.

The attributes of Allah are from His essence. That is, they are indispensable requirements of His essence. In other words, if those attributes do not exist or if they are limited, He cannot be a deity. It is not possible to consider those essential attributes separately from Him. Those attributes cannot be separated from Him by any means because that being is defined and known by those attributes.

He exists spontaneously; He is pre-eternal. He was not born and he did not give birth, as it is stated in His divine book. He does not need anyone else to exist. If it were not like that, there would be no universe whatsoever.

When this fact is not accepted, there will be no possibility to explain the existence of the world in which we live. It is possible for anything except Allah to exist and not to exist. That is, they may exist or not exist. Therefore, their coming into the realm of existence from the realm of non-existence depends on Allah’s creation. If He wishes, they come into being; if not, they will not exist.

The attributes of Allah are from His essence. That is, they are indispensable requirements of His essence. In other words, if those attributes do not exist or if they are limited, He cannot be a deity. It is not possible to consider those essential attributes separately from Him. Those attributes cannot be separated from Him by any means because that being is defined and known by those attributes.

A simple example can be given to understand the issue better: When we say “a human being”, his head, body, arms and legs come to mind from the definition of human being. The indispensable part of a human being is his head. There cannot be a human being without a head except for a miracle.

When “Allah” is said, His essential and immutable attributes are indispensable.

Since the attributes of Allah are from His essence, the opposite of those attributes cannot be added to Him. However, the attributes of creatures are added to them later. For instance, Allah’s attribute of power is from His essence. Therefore, weakness, which is the opposite of power, cannot enter that power. For, if it is supposed to enter, two opposites must exist at the same time, which is not logically possible. For instance, Allah has infinite power; He cannot be infinitely weak and powerless at the same time. Similarly, He cannot be an ignorant who knows nothing while He has infinite knowledge. Thus, it is impossible for any of the opposites of all essential attributes such as sight, hearing and will to exist in Him.

The manifestation of Allah’s will to create an atom is the same as the manifestation of His will to create the infinite universe, including Paradise and Hell.

Since weakness cannot approach Allah’s power, weakness cannot enter into that power by any means. This clearly shows that there cannot be degrees and stages in His essential power. For, degrees occur in something when its opposites enter into it.

For instance, stages in heat occur when cold enters into it. Stages and degrees occur in beauty when ugliness enters into it.

In all the creatures that have been created, the opposites are intertwined, since the attributes are incidental, that is, given to them later.

In all the created beings, the attributes enter into them afterwards; therefore, the opposites are intertwined in them.

One of the important reasons that mislead people about the attributes of Allah and cause them to deny is that they compare those attributes of Allah with those that are given to them.

Since there are no degrees in the pre-eternal power of Allah, all of the created beings are equal in the face of His infinite power. The biggest becomes equal to the smallest;  particles become similar to stars. The creation of the spring season is as easy as the creation of a single flower for that power.The resurrection of all human beings on the Day of Judgment is like the resurrection of one human being.

The manifestation of Allah’s will to create an atom is the same as the manifestation of His will to create the infinite universe, including Paradise and Hell.

One of the important reasons that mislead people about the attributes of Allah and cause them to deny is that they compare those attributes of Allah with those that are given to them.

It is possible to see the fact that many and few, and big small are not different for the attributes of Allah in some laws that are valid in the universe.

1.Nursi, B. S.  Lem’alar. p.15.
2.Nursi, B. S. Sözler. p. 654-655.

7-KNOWING THE CREATOR

7.1-KNOWING ALLAH’S ATTRIBUTES*

"The scientists who study the creatures of Allah understand His greatness better than anybody else." Fakhruddin ar-Razi

Ontology;

Ontology is the philosophy of existence. This philosophy focuses on the causes and basic principles of existence. Its topic is knowing what exists.

The greatest reality of the philosophy of existence is the existence of Allah, who is Wajib al-Wujud (Necessarily Existent), and knowing Him. 

The recognition of a being or a thing is possible through its definition. Definitions form the basis of all sciences. Definitions are made according to some rules. In mathematics, there are some facts that are accepted as true without questioning; they are called "axioms". The trueness of axioms is not discussed and they are accepted as they are. For example, “infinity“and “zero” are accepted things in mathematics. In mathematics, all definitions and problems are based on those assumptions. If they are questioned and not accepted as they are, it is not possible to do operations in mathematics.

The power of Allah is from His own essence. When the attribute is from the essence, the opposite cannot enter into it. Since its opposite cannot enter into it, there will be no degrees and stages. Thus, many-few, great-small do not matter in creation for the power of Allah.

The highest and the most subtle science is the science of belief, and the largest and most luminous science is Marifatullah (Knowledge of Allah). In other words, knowing Allah, who is the creator of all things and who has infinite attributes such as knowledge, will and power.

The recognition of a being or a thing is possible through its definition. As everything has a description, there must be a definition of Allah too.

As everything has a description, there must be a definition of Allah too. This definition should be exact. In other words, the definition should include all characteristics and attributes of Allah peculiar to Him in a way that should not be confused with the attributes of other beings. 

*From an article in print (Popüler BilimSerisi. Hakk’ın Dilinden Ontoloji. ÂdemTatlı, İdris Görmez. Üsküdar Üniversitesi Yayını, 2019).

5.2- IS THE CLAY FROM WHICH FIRST MAN WAS CREATED A DNA MOLECULE?*

The Quran states in the verses below that man was basically created from clay: “And certainly We created man of clay that gives forth sound, of black mud fashioned in shape” ^{“al-Hijr, 26”}, “Them have We created out of a sticky clay.” ^{“as-Saaffat, 11”}, “He (Allah) created man from sounding clay like unto pottery” ^{“ar-Rahman, 14”} and “He (Allah) began the creation of man with (nothing more than) clay.” ^{“as-Sajda, 7”} 

Science has revealed that man is made up of  DNAs (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) because man consists of cells. Proteins form the basis of cell structure and its functions. The genetic information that provides protein synthesis is located in the DNA molecule. Therefore, human beings are mainly formed from DNA molecules.^1,2,3,4,5

It is also possible for the clay mentioned in the verses regarding the creation of man from clay to be regarded and understood as a DNA molecule.

5.2.1-Black Mud DNA Molecule

Protein synthesis is carried out through the genetic information on DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid). This information, which is specific to each protein, exists in the DNA as encoded arrays of a certain sequence and length. These sequences are called genes. As a work of mercy, the synthesis of the necessary proteins in the required time and in the required cells is achieved by the activation and inactivation of those genes in appropriate cells and at appropriate times. This is achieved through a number of mechanisms called histone modification and DNA methylation. Of these, histone modifications result in the tightly packing and compression of the chromatin strands that make up the DNA molecule. The tightly packed and compressed DNA molecule is called heterochromatin. DNA molecule with heterochromatin structure is seen under the microscope as dark and black.^6,7

This dark-colored molecule can be interpreted as the “black” mud mentioned in the following verse of the Quran: “And certainly We created man… of black mud …”^{“al-Hijr 26”} (Picture 1).

Picture 1: Heterochromatin DNA: Black DNA: Black Mud.

5.2.2-Stinking Mud DNA Molecule

One of the well-known mechanisms by which suitable genes are expressed in appropriate cells and at appropriate times is DNA methylation. DNA methylation is realized by the methylation of cytosine nucleotides, one of the four nucleotides that form it. A methylated compound is usually stinky.⁸

As a matter of fact, dimethyl sulfite and methyl sulfite, which are methylated compounds, cause bad breath and trimethylamine compound causes severe foul fishy smell in trimethylaminuria. The DNA molecule is also a methylated compound due to the methyl groups contained in the cytosine nucleotide. Therefore, the DNA molecule is also a malodorous compound chemically and probably physically.

In the verse stating that first man being was created from black mud, it is also stated that first man being was created from stinking mud:

“And certainly We created man… of stinking mud ….”^{“al-Hijr 26”}
The stinking mud meant herein can be interpreted  as a methylated malodourous DNA molecule.

5.2.3-Dry Mud DNA Molecule

Thymine, which is one of the four nucleotides that make up the DNA molecule, occurs as a result of methylation. The methyl group in this nucleotide makes the DNA molecule assume hydrophobic property, that is, its ability to escape from water. In addition, large and small groove-shaped structures consisting of hydrophobic pockets are placed wisely in the DNA.^9,10,11

Hydrophobia is the property of a molecule to avoid water.¹² That is, the hydrophobic molecules do not get wet at all or get wet very little. Therefore, such molecules are dry. DNA is a hydrophobic molecule due to the methyl group it has. In other words, DNA is a dry molecule that escapes from water and that does not get wet.

This dry property of the DNA molecule due to the hydrophobia is in compliance with the word “dry”  mentioned in the Quran: “And certainly We created man… of dry mud ….” ^{“al-Hijr 26”}(Picture 2)

Picture 2: Hydrophobic DNA: Dry DNA; Dry Mud.

5.2.4-Shaped Mud DNA Molecule

The chromatin strands that make up the DNA molecule are dispersed in the nucleus and they have a very homogeneous appearance under a microscope except during cell division. In the course of cell division, chromatin strands are organized to form structures that allow genetic information to be transferred and, due to some wisdom, the DNA molecules assume the shape of short and thick bars.¹³

This state of the DNA molecule is called a chromosome. Chromosomes are viewed as short thick bars under the microscope. This shape assuming quality of the DNA molecule due to being converted into the form of chromosome corresponds to the phrase “fashioned in shape” in the verse of the Quran: “And certainly We created man … of mud fashioned in shape.” ^{“al-Hijr 26”} (Figure 3)

5.2.5-Sticky Clay DNA Molecule

Carefully resolved natural DNA solutions have a high viscosity at room temperature: (25 °C) and pH 7.0.¹⁴

High viscosity means that a molecule is highly viscous. Therefore, DNA is a sticky molecule. On the other hand, DNA ends formed by the cutting off the DNA chain at certain points by some enzymes for various purposes, such as copying, duplicating or modifying genetic information have a high binding inclination to the ends of other DNA fragments to which they are to be joined. Because of those characteristics, those ends are called “Sticky Ends” in genetic terminology.¹⁵

This viscous property of the DNA molecule originating from its high viscosity and cut off ends can be said to be in compliance with the “sticky” property of the clay mentioned in the following verse of the Quran: “Them have We created out of a sticky clay.” ^{“as-Saaffat,11”}

Protein synthesis is realized through genetic information on the DNA molecule. However, for synthesis, this information on DNA must first be copied to another molecule called RNA (ribonucleic acid) through some enzymes. Copying is carried out by some enzymes. Those enzymes are characterized by their ability to bind to the DNA molecule only when their chains are separated from one another. Therefore, for protein synthesis, the two chains that make up the DNA helix must be separated first.

Picture 3: Chromosome; Shaped DNA; Shaped Clay.

5.2.6-Clay Like Pottery DNA Molecule

Separation can be carried out in two different ways. The first one is the physical heating of the DNA molecule. Heating breaks off the hydrogen bonds holding the two chains together and separates the DNA chains from each other. This method has been used successfully in separating DNA chains in various tests carried out in the laboratory and in the tube.¹⁶

However, this method cannot be used inside the cell because heat can damage other cell structures. Therefore, instead of heat energy, another enzyme-mediated method using chemical energy is used to separate DNA chains within the cell. In this method, the hydrogen bonds that hold the DNA strands together are broken down by a command for several purposes and the double stranded DNA molecule is separated into single strands.¹⁷

The heat-mediated method corresponds to the “method of baking on fire” because in this method, the DNA molecule is heated, in other words, the DNA molecule is baked on fire. Therefore, the DNA molecule obtained at the end of this method corresponds to DNA baked on fire. For, the DNA obtained at the end of this method is obtained as a result of heating, that is, baking on fire.

As for the enzyme-mediated method, it corresponds to the “method of baking on fire” because in this method, the DNA molecule is not heated, that is, is not baked on fire, but at the end of this method, the DNA strands are separated from each other as if they were heated, i.e. baked on fire. Therefore, the DNA molecule obtained at the end of this method corresponds to “DNA as if baked on fire”.

As it is mentioned above, the heating, i.e., baking, method cannot be used inside the cell because heat can damage other cell structures. Man is created from the DNA molecule in the cell. Therefore, the enzyme-mediated method, not the heating method, that is the method of baking on fire, is used in the cell.

Therefore, the Quran does not say “He (Allah) created man from clay baked on fire” but it says “He (Allah) created man from sounding clay like unto pottery.”^{“ar-Rahman, 14”}

The property of DNA molecule chains to be separated from each other through enzymes as if they were heated corresponds to the property of the clay “like unto pottery” mentioned in the verse of the Quran: “He (Allah) created man from clay baked on fire.” ^{“ar-Rahman, 14”}(Picture 4, 5).

5.2.7-Sounding Clay DNA Molecule

Information in some genes in DNA cannot be expressed, i.e., no product can be obtained from it. Such genes are called “silent genes” in genetic terminology.^18,19

Some genes, on the other hand, can express themselves, that is, they are involved in the production of some products. Such genes are called “highly expressed genes”, in other words, loud genes, in genetic terminology.

We think the “sounding” quality of the clay from which man was created mentioned in the following verse of the Qurancorresponds to the ability of the DNA molecule to express itself, that is, to take part in the formation of some products, in other words, to produce sound in genetic terminology: “He (Allah) created man from sounding clay ...” ^{“ar-Rahman, 14”}

Picture 4: In the tube;             Picture 5: In the cell; DNA as if baked on fire;
baked DNA .                        Clay as if baked on fire.

5.2.8- Clay DNA Molecule in First Creation

The first stage of protein synthesis is the copying of the genetic information of the protein onto the RNA through the DNA molecule; the second stage is the reading of this information on the RNA, and the final stage is the addition of the amino acids that are in compliance with that information to one another. In other words, the molecule involved in the first step of protein synthesis is DNA. That is, protein synthesis starts from the DNA molecule.²⁰

This means that man is made from proteins and hence creation of man begins with the DNA molecule. The fact that clay is the substance from which man’s creation starts as it is stated in the following verse of the Quran: “He began the creation of man with (nothing more than) clay” ^{“as-Sajda, 7”} can be said to correspond to the DNA molecule’s being the first substance to be used in  the protein synthesis, that is, the beginning of the creation of man. 

CONCLUSION

It is stated in the Quran that first man was created from clay. Various shapes and structures of the clay are mentioned in this creation. In the verses related to the issue, the following properties are mentioned: “dark, stinking, dry, shaped, sticky clay, dry clay as if baked on fire and sounding clay”.

Those properties of clay, which are mentioned in the Quran, are also seen in the structure of the DNA molecule. This DNA molecule forms the basis of the genetic structure in all living beings. Similarly, 46 chromosomes in every cell that make up the human genetic structure are created from DNA molecules

The DNA molecule’s “dark, black, stinking, dry, shaped, sticky and sounding as if baked” properties correspond with the properties of clay mentioned in the Quran about the creation of man. Therefore, what is meant by the clay material from which first man was created as it is stated by the Quran must be DNA molecule.

The structure of the DNA molecule was understood in the 1955s, in the years when it was understood that man came into being from DNA molecule. However, the Quran mentioned this structure and that man was created from this structure 14 centuries ago.

This proves that the Quran is a miracle. Showing that what the Quran states is true related to such a scientific issue proves that it is Allah, who has infinite knowledge, will and power, who sent down the Quran, creates man and knows everything.

It is also understood by this fact that science and religion are intertwined and confirm each other from the perspective of science-religion relationship. When it is examined carefully, it will be clearly seen that both religion and science lead man to Allah.

* Article in print (Âdem Durmaz, Âdem Tatlı, Ercan Kaya, İdris Görmez,Nihat Yatkın, Orhan Erdoğan,  Ömer İrfan Küfrevioğlu, Veysel Güllüce. İslâmiyet’in DilindenYaratılış. Atatürk ÜniversitesiYayını, 2019, p.177-185).

1.Proteinler Prof. Dr. Arif Altıntaş. https://acikders.ankara.edu.tr/pluginfile.php/1003/mod_resource/content/1/7.%20Proteinler.pd
2.Protein-MembranEtkileşimleriveProteinlerinMembranSistemlerleAyırılmasıSemaElmasSalgınDoktoraTezi Ankara 2004 http://acikarsiv.ankara.edu.tr/browse/1573/
3.Gendenproteine http://abl.gtu.edu.tr/hebe/AblDrive/69973154/w/Storage/217_2010_2_111_69973154/Downloads/ders-53-56-genden-proteine.pdf
4.Protein http://yunus.hacettepe.edu.tr/~b0344706/interest1.htmfrom Vikipedi.
5.Transkripsiyonhttp://www.mikrobiyoloji.org/TR/Genel/BelgeGoster.aspx?F6E10F8892433CFFAAF6AA849816B2EF91FBF5F1F3911EBA
6.http://www.tdk.gov.tr/index.php?option=com_bilimsanat&view=bilimsanat&kategori=terim&hng=md&kelime=heterokromatin access time 2018
7.dspace.baskent.edu.tr/bitstream/handle/11727/1745/218dc1ee... access time 2018
8. http://www.agizkokusu.org/agiz-kokusu-gazlari.html
9.https://studylibtr.com/doc/743099/dna--n%C4%B1n-sekonder-yap%C4%B1s%C4%B1 access 22018
10.https://acikders.ankara.edu.tr/pluginfile.php/7177/mod_resource/content/0/14.%20Hafta.pdf access 2018
11.https://docplayer.biz.tr/21942620-Dna-yapisi-ve-fonksiyonu-dr-mahmut-cerkez-ergoren.html access time 2018
12.https://biyolojidersi.org/hidrofobik.html access time 2018
13.KromozomYapısı ve Sınıflandırılması. https://slideplayer.biz.tr/slide/3106640/ access time 2018
14.Nükleikasitler https://acikders.ankara.edu.tr/pluginfile.php/7177/mod_resource/content/0/14.%20Hafta.pdf
15.https://studylibtr.com/doc/1052271/rekombinant-dna-teknolojisi
16.PCR (Polimeraz Zincir Reaksiyonu) - Ppt Video Online... https://slideplayer.biz.tr/slide/2791721/
17.DNA Replikasyonu | DNA Helikaz http://docs.neu.edu.tr/staff/mahmutcerkez.ergoren/5.DNA%20Replikasyonu_DrErgoren_Di%C5%9F%20Hekimli%C4%9Fi,%20Beslenme%20ve%20Ebelik_22.pdf access time 2018
18.Ökaryotikgenomorganizasyonu - ppt indir – SlidePlayer https://slideplayer.biz.tr/slide/11877528 access time 2018
19.https://watermark.silverchair.com/131-2-FEMS Microbiology Letters 131 (1995) 167-172 Silent genes in bacteria: locus of ‘Salmonella the previously designated ‘cryptic’ilvHI typhimurium LT2’ is active in natural isolates Dennis M. Burns *, Michelle J. Burger, Ifor R. Beacham
20.Moleküler Genetik Prof. Dr. Arif Altıntaş. https://acikders.ankara.edu.tr/pluginfile.php/1005/mod_resource/content/1/9.%20Mol-Gentk.pdf access time 2018.

7.1.2-Allah is the everlasting one

Allah is pre-eternal and everlasting. Post-eternity is the attribute of not having an ending. The being that has an ending is called “fani” (ephemeral); the being that has no ending is called “baqi” (everlasting).

Almighty Allah has the attribute of Baqa because He is eternal, prevailing and there is no end to its existence. His non-existence is unthinkable. All beings that came into being later were created by the power of Allah. They will also disappear with the power of Allah and will be resurrected again; they may undergo thousands of changes. However, Almighty Allah is everlasting; He is far from change and non-existence. For, He is not the work of another being; therefore, he will not go to non-existence or undergo change with the power of that being. On the contrary, all beings are works of His power. Everything is bound to go to non-existence but the existence of Allah, who is magnificent and generous, is permanent and everlasting. Thus, a being that undergoes change cannot be a deity. Unchangeability  is one of  the most important characteristics of the true creator.

NON-EXISTENCE

We did not exist in the past. The world did not exist a long time ago. The universe we see did not exist billions of years ago. As the Prophet put it,

The key we have lost is not with us (is non-existent), but it has an existence in the place where it fell. When things were first created, they were not completely non-existent; they had existence in the knowledge of Allah.

“There was Allah, there was nothing else.”¹

He determined with His knowledge,chose with His will, and created everything out of nothing with His power.

The science of physics, which examines the world, expresses that it is not pre-eternal. Hamdi Yazır expresses it as follows:

 “It is impossible for something non-existent to come into being on its own”² “Nothing can come into existence from non-existence on its own.”³

In Islamic works, non-existence is expressed by the word “adam” and existence by the word “wujud”.

When the question, “does non-existence exist?” is answered as “Yes”, it is given a kind of “wujud” (existence). So, we can clarify adam and wujud as follows:

Wujud is the non-existence of adam, and adam is the non-existence of wujud.⁴

Adam is divided into two parts:

1-Adam al-mahd (Absolute non-existence).
2-Adem al-idafi (Relative non-existence).

The first one is real non-existence. The other means non-existence based on certain conditions.⁵

For example, the key we have lost is not with us (is non-existent), but it has an existence in the place where it fell. When things were first created, they were not completely non-existent; they had existence in the knowledge of Allah.

1.Muhammad Ismail Bukhari, Jamius-Sahih (Sahihul- Bukhari), Bad’ul-Khalq, 1
2.Hamdi Yazır, HakDîniKur’an Dili III, 2007.
3.Yazır, III, 2009
4.Ahmet AvniKonuk, Füsusu’l- HikemTercümeveŞerhi, p. I, 8
5.Konuk, p. I, 8

5.1.3-The Blowing of Spirit into the Fetus

Islamic scholars had two different views about the time when spirit is blown into the fetus:

The majority of the scholars that includes Hanafi, Shafii, Hanbali and Zahiri fiqhscholars states that spirit is blown into the fetus at the end of four months or on the one hundred and twenty-first day. Ibn Hajar states that fiqh scholars agree unanimously on it.¹

The scholars who hold this view base their views on the following evidence:

-As it is mentioned in the previous part, the Prophet (pbuh) states the following in the hadith reported by Ibn Mas’ud:

“The creation of each one of you is put together in the womb of the mother in forty days; then, he becomes a clot of thick blood (alaqah), and then he becomes a piece of flesh (mudghah). Then, Allah sends an angel and he is ordered to write four things: the livelihood (rizq), date of death (ajal), deeds of this creature and whether he will be a person of Paradise or Hell. Then, spirit is blown into him.² Abu Hatim states that what is meant with the verse “then we developed out of it another creature”³ is that when four months pass after the occurrence of nutfah, the angel is sent to it to blow spirit.⁴

The majority of the scholars that includes Hanafi, Shafii, Hanbali and Zahiri fiqhscholars states that spirit is blown into the fetus at the end of four months.

According to some scholars including Qurtubi, the blowing of the spirit takes place after four months and ten days pass, that is, at the end of one hundred and thirty days.⁵

The scholars who adopt this view base their view on the following evidence:

Ibn Abbas states that spirit will be blown into the fetus after four months and ten days pass, which is the iddah period of a woman whose husband dies.⁶

Furthermore, Qurtubi states that the spirit is blown at the end of the fourth month and the beginning of the fifth month and that the fact that the fetus moves after thatindicates it.⁷

However, Muhammad b. Humaydar-Razi, who is in the chain of narrators of this hadith reported by IbnAbbas, was rejected by many hadith scholars, especially Bukhari and Nasai.⁸Therefore, the narration in question is weak. In addition, various medical instruments today indicate that the movements of the fetus begin in earlier periods.

It is also possible to combine those narratives by regarding the first one as the basis as follows:

If the spirit is blown after one hundred and twenty days, it reaches one hundred and thirty days if it is calculated from the time of insemination. In addition, it can be assumed that the blowing of the spirit starts on the one hundred and twentieth day and continues until one hundred and thirtieth day; that is, it can be accepted that the first narration states the beginning of the incident and the other the end of it.

Acting upon the verse, hadiths and current medical data, the following can be said about the fetus:

1. The creation of the fetus begins early in the first forty days and is completed at the beginning of the second forty days. With the formation of the brain and nervous system, the fetus assumes a full human appearance at the end of the third forty days and the beginning of the fourth. This process up tothe birth is the stage where the fetus develops normally.*

2. According to the majority of fiqh scholars, the human life of the fetus begins with the blowing of the spirit because the legal identity of the fetus as a human being is not realized with the brain, but with the spirit.

3. As it is understood from the hadith above, the blowing of the spirit takes place after one hundred and twentieth day. As a matter of fact, many scholars, especially Nawawi, Qurtubi, Ibn Hajar, Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali and Ibn Abidinhold this view.⁹

*This combination eliminates the confusion of HayreddinKaraman, who regards the hadiths problematic due to the numbers 40, 45 and 42. Different numbers show the lower limit and the upper limit. (It is not an appropriate approach for HayreddinKaraman to say that there is a problem in the hadiths related to the blowing of the spirit, that they have no connection with the issue of "killing the fetus and doing something to the fetus" and hence that they are mentioned within the context of the explanations related to the creation of man and determination of his qadar (destiny). Since Karaman regards blowing the spirit as the beginning of creation, he regards hadiths to be contrary to the data modern medicine has reached. In fact, creation and blowing the spirit are different events. See: http://www.hayrettinkaraman.net/yazi/hayat/0077.htm

1.Ibn Hajar, al-Asqalani, Fathul-Bari Bi SharhiSahihil-Bukhari, thq: M. FuadAbdulbaqi, Darul-Maarif, Beirut, nd, XI, 490; Ghunaymi, ibid, 273.
2.Bukhari, Qadar, 1; Badul-Khalq, 6; Anbiya, 2; Tawhid, 28;Muslim, Qadar, 1; Abu Dawud, Sunnah, 17; Tirmidhi, Qadar, 4, 8.
3.al-Mu’minun, 14.
4.Ibn Hajar, Fathul-Bari, XI, 490.
5.al-Qurtubi, Abu Abdullah Muhammad b. Ahmad, al-Jami’u li Ahkamil-Qur’an, Daru Ihyait-Turathil-Arabi, Beirut, 2002, XII, 75., VIII, 12.
6.Qurtubi, ibid, VIII, 12; Ibn Hajar, Fathul-Bari, XI, 494.
7.Qurtubi, ibid, VIII, 12.
8.Ibn Hajar, Tahdhibut-Tahdhib fiRijalil-Hadith, Darul-Kutubil-Ilmiyya, Beirut, 2004, V, 548-50.
9.al-Qahtani, ibid, 171-2.

6-THE PURPOSE OF THE CREATION OF MAN

6.1.WHY WAS MAN CREATED?*

Every being in the universe shows the Creator who created it and becomes a mirror to the attributes of its Creator with its artistic, systematic, regular, wise and purposeful creation. It becomes a mirror to the names Sani (Maker), Bani (Constructor) and Khaliq (Creator) with its creation, the name  Musawwir (Giver of Shape) with its nice shape, the names Nazim (Arranger) and Muqaddir (Determiner) with its systematic and proportionate creation, the names  Razzaq (Sustainer) and Rahman (All Merciful) with its sustenance, the names  Hayy (Living) and Qayyum (Self-Subsisting) with its life, and so on.

        The most valuable, intelligent and conscious being in this universe is man; and man is the most honorable and superior of all creatures with these qualities of his.

       Every being has a reason and purpose of creation; similarly, man must also have a purpose of creation and a duty because every being in this world is created for one and sometimes more than one purpose and aim.

       In that case, who is the one that can answer the question ‘why was man created’ the most correctly?

The one who knows best the purpose of the creation of man is his Creator, who creates man and places him in the most honorable rank.

“The Possessor and Master of the universe surely does everything with knowledge, disposes every affair with wisdom, directs everything all-seeingly, treats everything all-knowingly, and arranges everything willing the instances of wisdom, purposes, and benefits that are apparent in them. Since, then, the One who creates knows, surely the One who knows will speak.”¹

The rule “The One who creates knows, surely the One who knows will speak” is an unchangeable rule. The one who makes and creates man is Allah. He states the purpose of the creation of man as follows:

       “I have only created Jinn and men, that they may serve Me.”²

This verse is interpreted as follows:

“According to the meaning of this mighty verse, the purpose for the sending of man to this world and the wisdom implicit in it, consists of recognizing the Creator of all beings and believing in Him and worshipping Him. The primordial duty of man and the obligation incumbent upon him are to know God and believe in Him, to assent to His Being and unity in submission and perfect certainty.

For man, who by nature desires permanent life and immortal existence, whose unlimited hopes are matched by boundless afflictions, any object or accomplishment other than belief in God, knowledge of God  and  the  means  for  attaining these, which are the fundament and key of eternal life — any such object or accomplishment must be regarded as lowly for man, or even worthless in many cases..³

That is to say, man’s nature, in other words, his most important characteristic, is his desire to live eternally, his unlimited ambitions and desires, and his infinite sorrows and troubles. A person with this nature needs to rely on someone who will fulfill all his desires and seek refuge in someone who will protect him from all his enemies. Meeting this need is possible by believing in and worshipping someone who knows all kinds of desires of man and who has power to fulfill them, and who has infinite knowledge, will, power and compassion to protect him from all kinds of enemies.

The nature and desires of man are pointed out as follows in the interpretation of verse 87 of the Chapter of al-Anbiya:

 “Man, in accordance with the comprehensive nature of his being, as he suffers and shakes with malaria, so also he suffers from the shaking and tremors of the earth, and the supreme convulsion of all beings on the Day of Resurrection. As he fears the infinitesimal microbe, he also fears the shooting star that appears among the heavenly bodies. As he loves his home, he also loves the wide world. As he loves his little garden, he also ardently loves infinite and eternal paradise. Man’s object of worship, Lord, refuge, savior, and goal then can only be the One in the grasp of whose power is the whole universe, under whose command are both atom and planet”.⁴

Man’s desire for eternal life in his nature is his greatest expectation from and his first desire in life. Unless this desire is satisfied, he cannot be happy. This is one of the biggest reasons for the unhappiness of today’s man. In other words, the expectation that he will satisfy the desire of eternal life in this world. The idea that he came to the world just to enjoy and take pleasure deceives him and makes him miserable because it is impossible for the world life to meet this desire for eternal life originating from the nature of man.

That is, he needs to know the existence of an eternal life and that the world is a guesthouse, which will satisfy this desire for eternal life in man. This state is expressed as follows in the interpretation of verse 50 of the Chapter of ar-Rum:        

 “For example, if one servant and illustrator of the intellect called “the imaginative power,” is told that “you can have a million years of life and rule over the world, but in the end you shall become nothing,” it will react with sorrow instead of pleasure, unless deceived by vain fancy and the interference of the soul. The greatest of transient things cannot, then, satisfy the smallest faculty of man.

It is, then, this disposition of man —his desires extending to eternity, his thoughts that embrace all of creation and his wishes that embrace the different varieties of eternal bliss— that demonstrates he has been created for eternity and will indeed proceed to eternity. This world is like a hospice for him, a waiting-room for the hereafter.”⁵

So, it is necessary to know the purpose of the creation of man, his natural structure and real nature. The Western world could not identify and introduce man correctly since it closed its mind and heart to Allah and the Quran. Therefore, it could not give an education appropriate to human nature and dragged eighty percent of humanity into despair and unhappiness. It was able to give a temporary bliss to the remaining twenty percent.

*It was published beforehand (ÂdemTatlı, İdris Görmez, Mehmet Dilek. Etik ve İnsanî Değerler. Hilal Ofset, Isparta, second impression, 2017, p. 244-269).
1.Nursi, B.S. Mektubat. p. 120.
2.adh-Dhariyat, 56.
3.Nursi, B.S.Şuâlar. p. 100.
4.Nursi,B.S. Lem’alar. EnvarNeşriyat, Istanbul, 1996, p. 7.
5.Nursi,B.S. Sözler. p. 106-107.

 4.3.6-Man is a mirror that reflects the names of Allah in the best way

            Nursi says that all beings are mirrors reflecting the names of Allah, and that the mirror that shows His names in the most comprehensive and brightest way is man and he invites people to read themselves:

“Man acts as a mirror to the Divine Names, the imprint of which are upon him. There are more than seventy names the impresses of which are apparent in man’s comprehensive nature. These have been described to a degree at the start of the Third Stopping- Place of the Thirty-Second Word. For example, through his creation, man shows the Names of Maker and Creator; through his being on the ‘Most Excellent of Patterns,’ the Names of Most Merciful and All-Compassionate, and through the fine way he is nurtured and raised, the Names of All-Generous and Granter of Favors, and so on; he shows the differing impresses of different Names through all his members and faculties, all his organs and limbs, all his subtle senses and faculties, all his feelings and emotions. That is to say, just as among the Names there is a Greatest Name, so among the impresses of those Names there is a greatest impress, and that is man. O you who considers himself to be a true man! Read yourself! You may otherwise be either animal-like or inanimate!”¹

This expression also explains the hadith “Allah created man in the form of Rahman”, which sometimes causes misunderstanding, and the statement “Man was created in the image of Allah”, which is its equivalent in the Christian world. He states the following while explaining that statement:“In the impossibility of image regarding God Almighty, what is meant by image is character, ethics and attributes.”²

What is meant by ethics here is to assume the divine ethics, to rely on God Almighty humbly and to be a slave in His presence by knowing his weakness, poverty and mistakes. That is, being a real slave of Allah. In other words, man’s acting in accordance with the manifestation of the names of Allah in his deeds and behaviors. For instance, when he is compassionate and merciful, he will assume the attribute of His name Rahim, when he is clean, the name Quddus (Pure), when he is tidy, the name Nazim (Arranger), when he is measured, the name Muqaddir (Determiner), when he is good and generous, the names Muhsin (Benefactor), Karim (Generous)and Rahman (All-Merciful), when he acts wisely, the name Hakim (Wise). To act like that is a nice habit to arrange life as well as a nice deed of worship. In addition, being a slave of Allah necessitates such deeds.

The secret that elevates the Prophet to the highest level of ethics and worshipping is his being mirrors to the names of Allah in the highest degree.

1.Nursi, B. S., Sözler. 852.
2.Nursi, Emirdağ, rnkneşriyat, Istanbul, 2014, p. 153.

2.2.4-Holography and the Preserved Tablet (Lawh al-Mahfuz)

            Since holography offers a new understanding, our view on things and incidents is expanding. We can now better understand some of the incidents called “inexplicable” by the materialistic view. For instance, new windows are opened in our minds related to “paranormal” events such as synchronicity and meaningful coincidences that we have difficulty in understanding due to shortness of understanding or neglecting the luminous dimension of things.

Holography allows us to explain many things that seem incomprehensible. For instance, telepathy, foretelling, foresight, prophecy, and similar events are the ability to see the information that is recorded on the hologram plate that actually exists and that is available and available at any time “through a different eye”.

            Holography allows us to explain many things that seem incomprehensible. For instance, telepathy, foretelling, foresight, prophecy, and similar events are the ability to see the information that is recorded on the hologram plate that actually exists and that is available and that can be used any time “through a different eye”.

            One of the issues that opens a window to our understanding with holography is the reality of the Preserved Tablet (Lawh al-Mahfuz). The Preserved Tablet is mentioned only in one verse in the Quran. In this verse, it is stated that the Quran is in the Preserved tablet, but there is no definition.¹

The Preserved Tablet is a Divine preservation tablet in which everything is written, the mirror of divine knowledge, the book of predestination and the program of the universe. Our memory is like a small example of this notebook.

However, its features are explained in several verses. According to those verses, the Preserved Tablet is described as the main book in which  nothing is left incomplete,² the information about the things to take place is stored,³ all misfortunes that happen on earth or in people’s souls are recorded,⁴ everything is counted and determined,⁵ all secrets in the sky and the earth are written clearly,⁶ which nobody but the angels created cleanly can touch, which is clear, protected, preserved and stored.

            The Preserved Tablet is a Divine preservation tablet in which everything is written, the mirror of divine knowledge, the book of predestination and the program of the universe. Our memory is like a small example of this notebook. All events that happen to man arerecorded in his memory; similarly, all of the events that happened and that will happen in the universe are recorded in this great memory. Our Lord’s name ”Hafiz”, that is the one who protects and preserves becomes manifest on both “tablets”. It is not appropriate to understand writing every letter when the word “writing” is used. The sequence of genes is a something very different from writing. Words and events are not recorded on a computer hard drive with a pen. Everything and every event being written in the “Clear Record”, “Clear Book”, which are the notebooks of the Preserved Tablet should be written in a way beyond them.

            As holography shows, the smallest part of the universe bearing the properties of the big universe enables “information” ready to be used and available anywhere at any time. Since the universe is structured with holographic properties, it goes beyond the space-time coordinates. In such a plan, the past, the present and the future are in the same place, at the same time. Everything in the “main hologram plate” defined as the “Preserved Tablet” in the Quran has spread to all of the particles of the plate and all of created beings. Each unit can receive all kinds of information about the universe at any time independent of space and time.

However, to benefit from the main information called the Preserved Tablet may depend on people’s ‘spiritual perfection’. As holography shows, since all ‘information’is anywhere at any time independent of time and space, it may be possible to access that information. Karamahs of saints like knowing things that are unknown may be another way of evaluating knowledge.

1. al-Buruj, 22.
2. Al-An’am, 59.
3. Qaf, 4.
4. al-Hadid, 22.
5. Yasin, 12.
6. an-Naml, 75.

10.3.10-THE PAST OF MAN

Some of the fossils proposed as intermediate forms about the past of man are as follows:

10.3.10.1-Long-armed Ape (Ramapithecus)

The being put forward by the evolutionists as the ancestor of man is Ramapithecus. It is claimed to have lived in the Pliocene period, that is, about 14 million years ago.

Figure 5. Parabolic jaw in Ramapithecus.

This being, which is known only from its jawbone and which is claimed to be the ancestor of human beings based on dental structures, has been shown to be a homonid and not a long-armed monkey.¹

10.3.10.2-Southern Ape (Australopithecus)

Another group that is put forward as the ancestor of man is the group of Australopithecus. Various forms of it are proposed. This name was given to various fossils found by Louis Leakey and many others in East Africa. The fossils found by Dart were named as “Australopithecus africanus” ”(African man). Then, the following were included in the same group:Zinantropus, Paranthropus, Pleisanthropus, Telanthropusand Homo habilis.

Australopithecus is proposed as a hominid being that lived two to three million years ago, walked upright and used coarse tools. The brain volume is about 500 cc, the same as in some monkeys with high structure. Its teeth are claimed to be similar to those of Ramapithecus.

Zinjanthropus boisei, which was found by Louis Leakey in the Olduvai Gorge region of Tanzania, is said to be a variant of Australopithecus robustus. Australopithecus was grouped under two species after that. One is A. africanus and the other is A. Robustus.

10.3.10.2.1-African Man (Australopithecus africanus)

It was found in Africa by Dart in 1924. It has small teeth, small jaws and a thin structure. The volume of the skull is estimated to be about 1/3 of today’s human being, i.e. 500 cc; its age is estimated to be 1.8-2.6 million years. (Figure 6)

Figure 6. African Man(Australopithecus africanus) (Lucy Man). Each of the fossils in this skeleton belongs to different living beings. The lower left image was drawn based on this skeleton.

Evolutionist Gould states that the African ape Austrolopithecus afarensis cannot be the ancestor of man. He points out that the fossil fragments that are considered to belong to African apes are fossils of various organisms and that they have been assembled incorrectly.²

10.3.10.2.2- Australopithecus boisei(zinjanthropus)

It is suggested that this form is a variant of Australo­pit­he­cusrobustus. It was discovered in 1959 by Leakey in Tanzania. It has very thick teeth and thick jaws; its upper temple bones protrude as in gorilla and orangutan. The teeth arch and the jaw curve are very parabolic. It is similar to orangutans and chimpanzees of higher organisms. The skull volume is stated to be 500 cc and the age 2 million years.

It is claimed that based on some pieces of the pelvis, arm and foot bones of both A. africanus and A. robustus that Australo­pit­he­cus was an upright walking being.³

Critique of Australopithecus

Almost none of the fossil materials of the past show integrity. In other words, the fossil material that is available represents only a small part of the organism that is claimed. The fact that the fragments belonging to different organisms were brought together on the assumption that they belonged to a single species has an important role in it. In addition, sometimes big mistakes are made in fossil age determinations.

Oxnard and Zuckerman, who investigated the Australopithecus fossil for years, state that Australopithecus is not an upright walking being. Oxnard and Zuckerman’s multi-faceted statistical research on A. africanus’ hand, wrist, foot, shoulder and pelvic bones shows that they do not resemble man but orangutan and chimpanzee.⁴

Zuckerman, who worked with a team on A. africanus for 15 years states the following:

     "It is impossible for A. africanus to be the ancestor of man.⁵

Mantagu states that all Australopithecus resemble monkeys with high structure (apes) in their head structure.⁶

Evolutionist Gould is of the view that the African ape, Austrolopthecus afarensis and A. Africanus, cannot be the ancestor of man; he states that fossil fragments that are considered to belong to African apes are fossils of various organisms and that they were assembled incorrectly.⁷

10.3.10.3- Homo erectus Group

Java Man, Peking Man, Heidelberg Man and Meganthropus were grouped as “Homo erectus”. They are considered to have lived about 500 thousand years ago. It is stated that they walked upright and that their brain volumes were approximately 1000 cc.

      A little time after Darwin published The Origin of Species in 1858, Ernst Haeckel published The History of Creation by being inspired by it. In this work, Haeckel put forward the Mute Ape Man as “the ancestor of man”. He also gave it a Latin name: Pithecanthropus alalus ...

      When this imaginary being was found as a fossil, it would resemble a human in terms of some of its characteristics and a monkey in terms of some of its characteristics. They also indicated where the remains of this being would be found: the ancient hypothetical Lemura continent extending from Madagascar to India and from the Indian Ocean to Indonesia.⁸

10.3.10.3.1- Java Man   (Pithecanthropus erectus)

     In 1887, the Dutch anatomist Eugene Dubois set out with his wife and children to Java, a Dutch colony in East India, as “a health care worker for the Dutch army”. Dubois was on his way to find the Mute Ape Man, which Haeckel had suggested, in the place where he suggested. Two years after his arrival in Sumatra, Dubois convinced the government to carry out paleontological excavations in Java. Some prisoners were sent to the excavation near the Solo River near the village of Trinil, and soldiers were assigned the duty of controlling of the excavation. It is stated that Dubois did not participate in the field work in these excavations and that he examined the findings of the workers brought to him periodically at home.⁹

In 1891, Dubois encountered two important findings among the bones that were brought to him. They were a tooth and a skull found one month after the other in the same fossil bed. However, their exact location could not be determined because they were not recorded during the excavation. At first, Dubois was convinced that they belonged to a chimpanzee. A few months later, however, the prisoners found a femur at the same site. This was the thigh bone of a person walking upright. Dubois combined these pieces to formUpright Walking Ape-ManPithecanthropus erectus (Homo erectus). The brain volume of this being was about 900 cc. A small molar tooth was found in 1898. It was stated that those teeth also belonged to Pithecanthropus (Homo erectus) said. The age of this being was estimated to be 500 thousand years (Figure 7).

Figure 7. The picture of Homo erectus (Java Man), which is assumed to be the “ancestor of man”, drawn based on the fossils.

When Dubois introduced those fossils at the International Congress of Zoology held in Leyden in 1895, the British zoologists claimed that those fossils belonged to man, the Germans claimed that they belonged to human-like apes, and the French stated that they belonged to a transition form between a higher form of ape and man.

Critique of Java Man (Homo erectus)

Koenigswald is of the opinion that the big molar tooth of Java Man belongs to an orangutan and the small one to a human. He states that the skull is similar to that of chimpanzees and gibbons.¹⁰ 

In 1906, a large excavation was carried out in the place where Dubois found the fossils, but nothing except a small piece of bone was found. It is stated that the being called “Java Man” (Homo erectus) is in fact a chimpanzee or gorilla type of ape, that the skull of the ape was combined with the human thigh bone and that it was given the name “Pithecanthropus erectus” (Java Man-Homo erectus).¹¹

What is noteworthy here is the fact that the confession of Dubois, who discovered the fossil Pithecanthropus (Homo erectus) in 1922, has been ignored. In his book “Mankind in the Making”, Howells states that he found two skulls with a brain volume close to that of modern man in the place where Dubois found the first fossil. However, Dubois did not state for 30 years that he had found those skulls. Dubois admitted thirty years later that the being he presented as Java Man (Pithecanthropus-Homo erectus) was actually a big gibbon monkey.¹²

The explanation of Dubois was included in the Encyclopedia of Archeology. The following statement exists in the encyclopedia:

     “At first, there was much opposition to the status implied by the name the ape-man, ‘who walked erect’, but it became generally accepted though Dubois himself finally changed his mind and said that the fossils he found belonged to a giant ape, but this skull gained general acceptance.¹³

The remarkable point here is as follows:

   Dubois, who brought forward the Java Man and found the fossils, admitted that those fossil fragments belonged to an ape, not to the ancestor of man, but this being is still presented as the first ancestor of man in both universities and high schools.

    There can be only one explanation of it: Such behavior is not scientific but ideological behavior based on atheism, making a fool of everybody.

    Oddly enough, some scientists interpret verses of the Quran and hadiths by accepting this Java Man (Homo erectus group), which is claimed to be the ancestor of human beings, as a fact.

How can some scholars and scientists be fooled by these frauds?

Badiuzzaman Said Nursi points out that the reason for such deceptionsis the fact that Satanshows what is wrong as right and what is impossible as possible:

“Firstly: When seen from a great distance, the greatest thing appears the same as the smallest. A star may even appear as a candle.

Secondly: Also, when seen both as secondary and superficially, something which is completely impossible may appear to be possible.

One time an old man was watching the sky in order to spot the new moon of Ramadan when a white hair fell on his eye. Imagining it to be the moon, he announced: ‘I have seen the new moon.’ Now, it is impossible that the white hair should have been the moon, but because his intention was to look for just the moon and the hair was by the way and secondary, he paid it no attention and thought that impossibility was possible.

Thirdly: Also, non-acceptance is one thing and denial is something quite different. Non-acceptance is indifference, a closing of the eyes to something, an ignorant absence of judgement. Many completely impossible things may be concealed within it, and the mind does not concern itself with them.

As for denial, it is not non-acceptance, but an acceptance of non-existence; it is a judgement. The mind is compelled to work.

So a devil like you takes hold of the mind of a person, then leads it to denial. And, showing the false as truth and the impossible as possible through satanic wiles like heedlessness, misguidance, fallacious reasoning, obstinacy, false arguments, pride, deception, and habit, you make those unfortunate creatures in human form swallow unbelief and denial, although they comprise innumerable impossibilities.”¹⁴

Thus, the main reason for being deceived is the fact that what is wrong is shown as right and what is impossible is shown as possible.  That is to say, what is baseless, unreal, superstitious, wrong and false is presented as true and real. In addition, something impossible, and unthinkable is shown as possible. The reasons for this mistake and deception are listed as follows:

The first one is heedlessness. That is, thoughtlessness and being unaware of the facts.

The second one is aberration. That is, to go astray, to leave and move away from the right knowledge.

The third one is sophistry. That is to be deceived by lies, fabrication and unreal words.

The fourth one is stubbornness. In other words, being misled by one’s interlocutor.

The fifth one is conceit. That is, to insist on refusing to accept what is right or truth knowingly. In other words, to insist on what is wrong and to act arrogantly despite knowing that one is wrong and one’s interlocutor is right.

The sixth one is seduction. That is, deception.

The seventh one is the deception of some people who think they are clever by devilish tricks and traps and by denialism, which causes many impossible things to be regarded as possible.

10.3.10.3.2- Piltdown Man (Eanthropusdawsoni)

     Arthur Smith Woodward, the director of the London Museum of Natural History, and medical doctor Charles Dawson, dug out a jaw and skull fossil with a ceremony from a gravel pit near Piltdown, England in 1912. The jaw bone was very similar to that of the monkey, and the teeth and skull were very similar to that of human beings. Those materials were called “Piltdown Man” (Eanthropusdawsoni). The age was determined to be 500 thousand years.

       In the 1930s, the discussions about “did man’s brain or body develop first?” were answered by bringing evidence from Piltdown Man. As a matter of fact, Smith indicates this issue and says:

     “The most interesting aspect of “Piltdown Man” is that it justified the idea that ‘the brain was first in the evolution of man’. The idea that human beings got rid of being apes thanks to the development of the head structure is the most realistic view. Man is an orangutan whose brain is highly developed. Here, the importance of the Piltdown skull lies in its strict validation of those judgements.¹⁵

       In 1950, the amount of fluoride absorbed by the bones from the soil was tested in order to determine the age of Piltdown Man. If the fossil had allegedly remained in the soil for 500,000 years, it would have contained a lot of fluoride. However, there was no fluoride in that fossil... Thus, it was discovered that the material of Piltdown Man was not a fossil, and that it had not remained in the soil for more than a year when it was discovered.

     Later, it was found that the bones, which were subjected to a serious examination, were stained with potassium dichromate to give the appearance that they belonged to the past. Teeth on the jaw bone had been rasped so that they would have a worn and torn appearance¹⁹³.

Thus, they had combined the jaw of a 10-year-old orangutan with human skull and placed human teeth on the jawbone to make it resemble a being between an ape and a human (Figure 8).

     When the people who were responsible for this hoax were searched, no one took the blame. Arthur Smith Woodward and the medical doctor Charles Dawson, who planned this hoax and dug the bones out of the gravel pit with a great ceremony, had died. The journals and other publishing organizations that presented the issue did not accept responsibility.

Clark Howell attracts attention to the fact that the scientific circles were deceived by Piltdown Man for 50 years:

     “Piltdown man was nothing more than a being that consisted of a human skull and an ape’s jaw. It was a hoax placed on purpose. They declared it as the common ancestor of man and ape that lived 500,000 years ago. Some 500 books were written on it. on it. The paleontologists were fooled for 50 years with that  discovery”.¹⁶

The fact that the Piltdown hoax could not be understood for about 50 years despite the research of the greatest authorities of the world increased the doubts about the other fossils. S. Zuckerman holds the view that when the Dubois fossils of Java Man is examined seriously, the result will be no different than the Piltdown Man.¹⁷

Figure 8. Piltdown Man (Eanthropusdawsoni). Orangutan jaw was fixed on human head. It is understood that the jaw of this fossil, which is accepted as “the ancestor of man”, belonged to an orangutan, the skull and the teeth belonged to a human and that it was rasped in order to make it fit the jaw.¹⁸

10.3.10.3.3- Peking Man (Sinanthropuspekinensis)

Figure 9- Peking Man (Sinanthropuspekinensis). Peking Man model made of plaster.

Dr. Davidson Black found two molar teeth in 1921 in a pit 40 km away from Beijing, China, and called them “Sinanthropuspekinensis”. W. C. Pei found the third molar tooth in 1927, and skull fragments and two lower jaws in 1928. Black said those fossils belonged to Peking Man.¹⁹

The materials claimed to be Peking Man were claimed to have been lost during the invasion of Beijing by the Japanese during World War II except for two teeth. O’Connel states that the Japanese did not enter this city and that he was there at that time. O’Connel states that evolutionists themselves destroyed those materials; thus, he states that they shaped the plaster models based on their own evolutionist thoughts.²⁰

10.3.10.3.4- Nebraska Man (Hesperopithecusheroldcookii)

       In 1922, Henry Fairfield Osborn found a large molar tooth in the Western Nebraska and this tooth was named Hespeperopitpitheircusharoldcookii (Nebraska Man).

Figure 10. Nebraska Man (Hesperopithecusheroldcookii). A picture drawn based on a pig’s molar tooth.

       It was claimed that this being, which is estimated to have lived about 500 thousand years ago, belonged to the prehistoric ancestor of man and had the characteristics of half ape and half man; and the picture above was drawn with this idea.

     It was later found out that the tooth belonged to a pig.²¹

10.3.10.3.5- Neanderthal Man (Homo sapiens neanderthalensis)

It was discovered by Dr. Fuhtrott in the Feldhofor cave of the Neanderthal valley in Düsseldorf, Germany in 1856. The skull size of the Neanderthal Man, a race of Homo sapiens, is about as big as that of modern man. It is estimated to have lived 35 thousand to 100 thousand years ago. The Neanderthal Man has been described and presented for more than a hundred years as “a thick-eyed being with a coarse nature, wild-character that walked in a curved state”. In fact, the difference between Neanderthal Man and today’s man is less than the difference between the current people of different tribes.²²

The protrusion of the mouth and eyebrows, which are the characteristics of the Neanderthal race, is typical of the black race. Neanderthal man has a curved skeletal structure. In his article called “Neanderthals Had Rickets”, Ivanhoe states that this structure is not due to kinship with apes without tails, but due to the joint and bone disease caused by lack of vitamin D..²³

It is known that Neanderthal Man grew plants, painted pictures with elegant tools, had some religious beliefs, buried the dead and used a kind of scripture.²⁴

Today Neanderthal Man is classified as “Homo sapiens” (today’s man). It is stated that Neanderthal Man could not be distinguished from other people if he walked in our streets wearing overalls²⁵ (Figure 11).

Paleontologist Erik Trinkaus draws attention to the fact that there is no difference between modern man and Neanderthal Man and states the following:

“Neanderthal ruins and detailed comparisons made between Neanderthal bones and modern human bones show that there is no difference in Neanderthal’s anatomy or in terms of his movement, instrument use, intelligence or speech..²⁶

It is claimed that Neanderthal Man was absorbed by dominant races over time.²⁷

Figure 11- Neanderthal Man.

There are many different opinions and thoughts about Neanderthal Man. Noting that almost everyone has a comment on this issue, Wells states the following:

     “Currently in the news is the never-ending controversy over Neanderthals. Were they our ancestors? Were they a separate species, now extinct? Or were they a race of humans, eventually absorbed into our modern global family? Almost every month, a proponent of one view or another takes to the print media or the airwaves, declaring the matter settled. Wait a few months, however, and someone will probably say the opposite with equal confidence.²⁸

Mentioning the same issue, James Shreeve says:

    “I talked to one hundred and fifty scientists—archaeologists, anatomists, geneticists, geologists, dating experts—and sometimes it seemed I had come away with one hundred and fifty different points of view” about the place of Neanderthals in human evolution Any theory about Neanderthals is like the weather in many parts of the country: If you do not like it, wait a little while and it will change!.²⁹

10.3.11- Evaluation Related to the Past of Man

The evolutionist T. Dobzhansky, who is considered the father of genetics, made the following statement about races:

“We have not been able to solve the problem of the origin of different races of human species though over one and a half centuries passed since Darwin. The issue is still as complicated as it was a century ago”.³⁰

The famous paleontologist David Pilbeam states the following about the past of man:

    “Introductory books - or book reviews - are hardly the place to argue that perhaps generations of students of human evolution, including myself, have been flailing about in the dark: that our data base is too sparse, too slippery, for it to be able to mold our theories. Rather the theories are more statements about us and ideology than about the past.!”^,31,32

No fossil form has been found to show transition through evolution among fish, frogs, reptiles, birds, insects and mammals. Similarly, there is no fossil that connects human beings with the living beings that lived before them.

All this shows that each species is created directly with its genetic potential, abilities and characters.

Geoffrey Clark, Arizona State University anthropologist, states the following in the book he wrote in 1997:

“Scientists have been trying to arrive at a consensus about modern human origins for more than a century. Why have they not been successful? It is because paleoanthropologists proceed from such different biases, preconceptions and assumptions. Thus, explanatory models of human evolution are little more than a house of cards — remove one card... and the whole structure of inference is threatened with collapse”.³³

Henry Gee states the following in his book about the past of man:

 “All evidences about the evolution of man can fit in a small box. To take a line of fossils and claim that they represent a lineage is not a scientific hypothesis that can be tested, but an assertion that carries the same validity as a bedtime story—amusing, perhaps even instructive, but not scientific”.³⁴

Thousands of fossils have been found in the last 150 years. However, none of them shows the characteristics of an intermediate form indicating that one living being came from another living being.

       Schiller points out that human beings emerged differently from other living beings:

     “The fossils about the past of man could not show the transitional forms that were expected... It can easily be said that we did not evolve from a being lower than man and that we come from our own lineage”.³⁵

Robert Eckhardt, Professor of Anthropology at Pennsylvania State University, states the following:

      “In the Hominoids series, there is no fossil with a morphology showing that man has a hominid ancestor”.³⁶

Conclusion

The genetic structure of living beings shows that there is no evolution in the sense of evolvement; and the fossils show that living beings did not emerge from one another in the form of a chain.

From plants like algae and unicellular animals, which appeared first on earth, to higher organisms, the great majority of living beings exist almost in the same shape and form as they first appeared.

All this proves that the creator of those creatures in the past and the creator of these creatures today is the same Being. As a matter of fact, this issue is expressed as follows in a verse:

“See they not how Allah originates creation, then repeats it: truly that is easy for Allah.” (al-Ankabut, 19)

A more striking aspect of the issue is the differences among the individuals of the same species. In other words, although individuals of the same species are similar to one another in terms of organs such as eyes and ears, one individual does not resemble other individuals with their unique characteristics

The similarities in the main organs are evidence for the existence and oneness of the Creator; on the other hand, the fact that each living being has its own genetic characteristics clearly shows that the Creator’s will, preference and that He can create in any way He wishes, along with showing His uniqueness.

These characteristics peculiar to each individual showing the uniqueness of the creator are much more obvious in man in particular; this is also extremely important as a necessity of wisdom for the realization of justice, rights and law among people. Otherwise, if everyone had the same facial features and characteristics, there would be chaos and confusion in society; and many rights would be lost and it would be impossible to maintain the order and safety.

We see this manifestation of the uniqueness of the creator in the whole world. If all animals were of the same shape and structure, it would not be possible to distinguish and recognize them.

This difference also takes place in the realm of non-living beings; every being, including snowflakes, is created with a different form and shape.

It has no aspect that can be explained by science, by the structure of the existing beings, or by reason and logic to say, “all living beings emerged in the form of a chain from one another by chance” by ignoring all those structures mentioned above. It is nothing but an ideological attitude based entirely on atheism and positivist philosophy.

All those wonderful creations cannot happen by chance, nor can they come into being by themselves. On the other hand; it cannot be the work of ignorant, will-less and unconscious nature and causes. Those extremely wise, artistic, orderly, purposeful and planned creations are the work of Allah, who has attributes such as infinite knowledge, will and power.

1.Shipman, S. Baffling Limb on the Family Tree. Discover, 1986, September; Pilbeam,D.R .Nature. 1968, Vo1.219 p.1335; Simons, E. L. and Pilbeam, D.R. Folia Primital. 1965, Vo1.3. p. 81; Eckhard, R.B. Population Genetics and Human Origins. Scientific
2.American. 1972, Vol.226.
3.Gould, J. L. and Keeton, W. T. Biological Science. 6^th impression, New York: W. W. Norton, p. 347, 1996.
4.Broom, R and Schepers, G.W.H.Transv. Mus.Mem. 1946, Vol.2. p.1-272;Clarck, G. Journal of Anatomy. London. 1947, Vol. 19.S.300-333.
5.Oxnard, C. University of Chicago Magazine, 1974, p.8-12.
6.Zuckerman, S. Beyond the Ivory Tower. Top­linger Publ. Co.New York. 1970, pp. 11-12,64,75-94.
7.Montagu, A. Man: His First Million Years. Word Publishers. Yonkers. 1957, p.51-52.
8.Gould, J. L. and Keeton, W. T. Biological Science. 6^th impression, New York: W. W. Norton, p. 347, 1996.
9.Richard, M. Shattering the Myths of Darwinism. Translated by İ. Kapaklıkaya. Son Tartışmalar Işığında Darwinizm’in Mitleri. Gelenek Yayıncılık, Istanbul, 2003.
10.Richard, M. Shattering the Myths of Darwinism. Translated by İ. Kapaklıkaya. Son Tartışmalar Işığında Darwinizm’in Mitleri. GelenekYayıncılık, Istanbul, 2003.
11.Boule, M. and Valois, H.M. Fossil Man. The Dreyden Press. New York. 1957, p.118-123.
12.Gish, D.T. Evolution: The Fossils Say No! 1981. Translated by Â. Tatlı, Fosillerve Evrim. CihanYayınları, Istanbul. 1984.
12.Howells, W.  Mankind in the Making. Doubleday and CO. Garden City N.Y.S. 1967, 155-156.
13.Cottrell, L. The Concise Encyclopedia Arc­heology. Hawthorn. New York. 1960, S. 394.
14.Nursi, Sözler. 224-225.
15.Smith, G. S. Wood word’s tony. New Scientist. 1979, 5 April, p.44.
16.Howell, C. Early Man.New York: Time Life Books, 1973, p.24-25.
17.186. Zuckerman, S. Beyond the Ivory Tower. Top­linger Publ. Co.New York. 1970, pp. 11-12,64,75-94.
18.http://www.history.com/news/piltdown-man-hoax-100-years-ago
19.Boule, M. And Valois, H.M. Fossil Man. The Dreyden Press. New York. 1957, p.118-123.
20.O’Connell, S. Science of Today and the Problems of Genesis. Hawthorne, CA. 1969.
21.Gish, D.T. Evolution: The Fossils Say No! 1981. Terc. Â. Tatlı,  Fosiller ve Evrim. CihanYayınları, Istanbul. 1984.
22.Dobzhansky, T. Changing Man. Science. 1967, Vol.155, p.  410.
23.Anhoe, F. Neanderthals Had Rickets. 1970, Nature. 8.Aug.
24.Use of Symbols Antedates Neanderthal Man. Science Digest.Vol.1.73.1973.p.22
25.Gish, D.T. Evolution: The Fossils Say No! 1981. Terc. Â. Tatlı, Fosiller ve Evrim. CihanYayınları, Istanbul. 1984.
26.Trinkaus, E. Hard Times Among the Neanderthals. Natural History, Vol. 87, December 1978, p.10.
27.Şengün, A. Evrim. SermetMatbaası. Kırklareli. 1984, p.142.
28.Wells, J. Icons of Evolution, Science or Myth? Translated byOrhanDüz. Evrimin İkonları, Bilim Mi Mit Mi? GelenekYayıncılık. Kurtiş Matbaası, Istanbul, p. 206, 2003.
29.Shreeve, J. The Neanderthal Enigma. New York: William Morrow, p.252, 1995.
30.T. Dobzhansky. Science. Vol.127, p. 1958, S.1091.
31.Pilbeam, D. American Scientist, issue, 66,1978, p. 379.
32.Pilbeam, D. Rearranging Our Family Tree. Nature, June, 1978.
33.Clark, A.G. Though a Glass Darkly: Conceptual Issues in Modern Human Origins Research, s.60-76, 1997.
34.Gee, H. In Search of Deep Time: Beyond the Fossil Record to a New History of life. New York: The Free Press, p. 23, 32, 116-117, 202, 1999.
35.Schiller, R. New Findings On The Origin of Man. Reader’s Digest, 1973, August, p.89-90.
36.Eckhardt, R. Population Genetics and Human Origins. Scientific American, number 226,1972, p.94.

9.1.12- A misfortune comes if Allah preordained it

A believer knows that what is not recorded in qadar will not happen. The same thing is valid for misfortunes. The following is stated in verses 22 and 23 of the chapter of al-Hadid:

“No misfortune can happen on earth or in your souls but is recorded in a decree before We bring it into existence: That is truly easy for Allah: In order that ye may not despair over matters that pass you by, nor exult over favors bestowed upon you. For Allah loveth not any vainglorious boaster.”¹

It is explained in the verse above that everything is included in qadar, and that misfortunes are also determined in advance. This is very easy for Allah. Furthermore, a believer who has suffered something should say, “since it has happened, it exists in qadar”; he should not be sad about what he has lost; if he has been given a blessing, he should not be spoiled.

Verse 51of the chapter of at-Tawba also clarifies the issue. When the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was granted a victory and booty, the hypocrites would not rejoice but when the believers were hit by a misfortune (defeat, harm and death) in a war, they would boast by saying, “We secured ourselves by not taking part in the war.” The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was given the following order related to that attitude of the hypocrites:

“Say: ‘Nothing will happen to us except what Allah has decreed for us: He is our protector’: and on Allah let the Believers put their trust.”²

Thus, everything, whether good or bad, that happens to man is based on Allah’s qada and qadar. When a believer is hit by a misfortune, he should say, “Since it has happened, it exists in qadar. Allah is my helper; I trust in Him. I show consent to His qadar and qada; there are definitely wisdoms behind it.” He should show patience and consent to misfortunes. The following principle necessitates it: “Man amanabil-qadaraminamin al-kadar = He who believes in qadar becomes free of distress.”

However, a Muslim cannot commit a sin by deciding to commit it and saying, “That is divine predestination.” Similarly, he cannot say, “That was divine predestination” by blaming qadar; he cannot acquit himself like that.³ Showing consent to unbelief is regarded as unbelief; a person who shows consent to unbelief becomes an unbeliever; similarly, showing consent to sins makes a person a sinner.

It is not appropriate to understand showing consent to qadar like that. In the example above, the person shows consent to a sin. However, Allah is not pleased with that sin since He prohibited that sin. Allah is the Creator of everything, whether good or evil. It is necessary to accept it and show consent. However, one should not commit a crime with which Allah is not pleased and should not blame qadar by saying, “That existed in qadar”. There is no decree in the verses of the Quran and hadiths stating that one should show consent to unbelief and sins and commit them. Besides, man was given will for responsibility; qadar exists in the principles of belief so as to save man from pride and conceit.

1.al-Hadid, 22-23; see alsoTaftazani, Sharhul-Aqaid, p. 192, 203, 221-222, 234-235; Watt, p. 108, 110, 118, 128-130, 392.
2.at-Tawba, 52; Aydın, p. 362.
3.Aydın, p. 369; Gölcük, Kelam Açısından İnsan ve Fiilleri, p. 231-232.

1.1.3.How were the Earth and the Sky separated when they were adjacent?

            Cosmology books liken all of the characteristics of the period after the first six stages of creation to the characteristics of the universe today. Matter was shaped at that time and the mutual and harmonious interaction of the atoms was initiated under high temperature. The formation of atoms helped to form molecules; with the combination of molecules, many substances filled the space; celestial bodies began to form under appropriate physical conditions; suns, worlds, planets were created by a divine power. The typical characteristic after the sixth period is the temperature up to 4,000 degrees. Under that temperature, the whole space was not as dark as it is today; it shone brightly.

The typical characteristic after the sixth period is the temperature up to 4,000 degrees. Under that temperature, the whole space was not as dark as it is today; it shone brightly.

                Due to a requirement of wisdom, the density values ​​increased with the condensation of matter in the form of gas and its cooling over time; and the planets that we know started to be shaped with wisdom from the solidifying matter. By the time the universe reached its first 700,000th year, it was presumably still a homogeneous cloud of hydrogen and helium. However, the universe did not collapse into a single point and turn into a single galaxy; billions of centers of galaxies were created. Why was the universe kept a gas cloud for a long time? Why was it not made collapse into a single point?

Cosmology asked itself this question for years; in 1973, Roger Penrose, a theoretical physicist and a black hole expert, tried to calculate the power of the first creation as “the Initial Uniqueness and Singularity”. He saw tiny dots smaller than a proton that occurred as a result of this ‘Big Bang’. They were not created by the collapse of stars like a black hole; they were created during the first creation. Although those black dots were smaller than an atom, it is understood that they behaved like a black hole and swallowed the things that came before them and left their mark behind.

                Clouds of hydrogen and helium gathered around those great attraction points; thus, the nuclei of billions of galaxies were formed. The universe opened from a point adjacent to a cosmic soup and a cloud of gas; then, it was shaped for a particular purpose. The Quran informs us about that great transformation as follows: 

“Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of creation), before we clove them asunder? We made from water every living being. Will they not then believe?”¹

¹al-Anbiya, 30.

     5.1.5-Creation According to Modern Medicine and Islam

According to modern medicine, pregnancy begins fourteen days after the last menstrual bleeding of the woman. Between the twenty-first and thirtieth days after fertilization, “alaqah” is transformed into “mudghah”. The formation of nervous system is initiated between the twenty-first and twenty-eighth days. The upper regions are formed on the thirty-fifth day, and lower regions on the forty-second day. One week later, first the upper muscles and then the lower muscles are formed and blood circulation is initiated. The heart, which starts to work at the end of the sixth week and the beginning of the seventh week, continues its activities until the end of man’s life. The shaping of the face is completed in the eighth week. The development process of the fetus continues.

In the sixteenth week (one hundred and twentieth day), a new creation begins. This continues until the twentieth week. During this period, the brain, upper regions of the brain and nerve cells are produced. In this period, the fetus ownsall of the organs that it will need in life and that it will usefor his deliberate deeds. It performs abstract operations such as feeling, thinking, remembering and dreaming with them.¹

The First Stage
A Place of Rest, Firmly Fixed

“Then We placed him as (a drop of) sperm in a place of rest, firmly fixed.”  Verse (Quran)

Nutfah lexically means a little water or pure water.²As a term, it meansmale reproduction cell (sperm), female reproduction cell(ovum) and fertilized ovum(zygote).*

The meaning of “nutfah” as “zygote” (fertilized ovum/egg) in the Quran is in the foreground.³

In the intercourse of a man and a woman, only a few hundred of the 200-300 million sperm coming from the man reach the egg. When the first sperm contacts the egg, fertilization occurs. In a few minutes, the outer membranes fuse. Meanwhile, the egg sucks the sperm insideto prevent other sperm from attaching it, and a chemical substance that pushes the other sperm away is released. Consequently, a membrane in which no other sperm can penetrate is formed, and this membrane gradually becomes stiff. The new single cell formed after the sperm and egg cell unite in the tube is called zygote (nutfah). The zygote is divided and sent into the womb; it is placed in the womb by being stuck on the wall of the womb due to some wisdom.⁴

The Quran, which describes in detail all of the stages of creation at a time when man was assumed to grow in the womb like a tree, states that the sperm is converted into a zygote in a sheltered place where nothing can enter it as follows:

“Then We placed him as (a drop of) sperm in a place of rest, firmly fixed.”⁵
Who but Allah may have informed Hz. Muhammad (pbuh), who was illiterate, that the zygote developed in a firmly protected shelter?

The Being Shaped within the Nutfah

Can it be imagined for a person to know the characteristics of the fetus, which is smaller than a pinpoint, in the 7th century AD without revelation?

Hundreds of characteristics of man, including hair and eye color, exist in the sperm that unites with the egg when it is in the state of “nutfah”. Scientists were able to determine itmany centuries later. Is it possible to attribute the following verse, which states that the fetus is shaped as a human being in the first encounter in the nutfah, to a power other than Allah, who created and shaped man?

     “Woe to man! What hath made him reject Allah; From what stuff hath He created him? From a sperm-drop: He hath created him, and then mouldeth him in due proportions.”⁶

According to the verse, the sperm had many characteristics of man as it was transformed into fetus. Can it be imagined for a person to know the characteristics of the fetus, which is smaller than a pinpoint, in the 7th century AD without revelation?

Determination of the Gender

The Quran states that the gender is determined when the fetus is in the form of nutfah as follows:

     “That He did create in pairs,- male and female, From a seed when lodged (in its place).”⁷

The verse states that nutfah (fertilized cell) occurs when the sperm enters into the egg. Scientists managed to determine the gender of the fetus, whether it was male or female at this stage of nutfah only with the advanced models of electron microscope, which was invented in 1932.

However, the Quran states in the 7th century AD that the gender is determined when the sperm enters intothe egg. When the medical books written half a century ago are compared with the tafsir books written centuries ago, it will be seen that many tafsir scholars stated that gender was determined in the stage of nutfah.⁸

Nutfah’s Walk

After the male’s sperm unites with the female egg, the journey of nutfah(fertilized cell) continues until it is placed in the womb. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) states the following regarding the issue:

     “When the drop (of semen) remains in the womb for forty or fifty- five nights, the angel comes and asks: My Lord, will it be good or evil? And one of these things is written. Then, the angel says: My Lord, willit be male or female? And one of these things is written. And his footprints on earth, his death, his livelihood are also recorded. Then his document of destiny is rolled and there is no addition to nor subtraction from it.”⁹

Scientists state that spermenters into the egg and moves toward the womb for a while as nutfah; when it reaches the womb, its movement is stopped and it settles there. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) states that sperm does not remain in a fixed place until it is placed in the womb after fertilization, and that its gender is created in that stage and recorded by the angel. Is there anything other than revelation that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) speaks of the course and stability in the womb at a time when there are no imaging devices? Can the source of what the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) says about the movement and settlement in the womb at a time when there is no imaging device be anything other than revelation?

Women are a field for you

The nutfah splits the wall of the womb and enters into the womb like a seed entering split soil; then, it is pulled inward and it is covered. For this reason, Medicine and Anatomy books call this period “sowing period”. Embryologists compare this state of the womb to the soil in which seeds are planted. The Quran mentioned this relationship, which scientists have observed recently, many centuries ago: “Your wives are as a tilth unto you.”¹⁰

The use of “Ma” (What) instead of “Man” (Who)

The following is stated in a verse related to creation:

     “Allah doth know what every female (womb) doth bear, by how much the wombs fall short (of their time or number) or do exceed. Every single thing is before His sight, in (due) proportion.”¹¹

Although the gender is certain when the sperm enters into the egg, the word “ما” (what), which is used for non-living beings, is used instead of “من“ (who), which is used for living beings; the verse does not say “أُنثَىكُلُّتَحْمِلُمنيَعْلَمُاللّهُ”. The wisdom behind this use is to emphasize that gender is an ordinary event compared to the numerous features from the color of the hair to the shape of the eye.

Falling Short and Exceeding in the Womb

That the Quran mentions the diminishing occurring as a result of the cells that are separated from the nutfah and transformed into “placenta” and mentioning the growth of the rest to become a baby cannot be explained in any other way except as a miracle.

After the mother’s egg and the father’s sperm cell combine and are fertilized, they are divided and reproduced. The placenta is produced from some cells and the baby is formedfrom the rest of the cells through differentiation.¹²

      “Falling short” mentioned in the verse is related to the division in the formation process of the placenta and the separation in “nutfah” as a result of it; the word exceed “تَزْدَادُوَمَا” describethe formation of the child by the growing of the remaining nutfah.As a matter of fact, the “placenta” that is separated from the nutfah remains about half a kilo while the nutfahgrows up and is transformed into a baby.

      That the Quran mentions the diminishing occurring as a result of the cells that are separated from the nutfah and transformed into “placenta” and mentioning the growth of the rest to become a baby cannot be explained in any other way except as a miracle.

The second Stage

Nutfah is converted into “alaqah" after a while. As a matter of fact, Allah states the following: “Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood.”¹³. That is the second great transformation occurring in the fetus.

The Miracle of Alaqah

“Alaqah” lexically means attaching to something and sticking to it. Blood in general is called alaqah but some scholars interpret alaqah as “frozen blood”.¹⁴

The “alaqah (leech)” in water sucks blood by attaching itself to the mouth of the cow and the “alaqah” in the woman sucks blood by attaching itself to the womb.   It is not possible for the Messenger of Allah to have received the knowledge that the nutfah attaches to the womb by being converted into “alaqah” and feeds on blood like the “alaqah” in water and that it is likened to alaqah (leech) so as to be expressed concretely from anyone but Allah.

It is stated in the chapter of al-Alaq based on this second stage that man is created from “alaq”.¹⁵ In Arabic, leech is also called “alaqah”. The following relationship exists between the fetus, which is an “alaqah” and a leech: Leeches living in the ponds attach themselves to the mouths of sheep and cattle that drink water and suck their blood. The state of “alaqah” in water is the same as that of the fetus, which is transformed into “alaqah” from nutfah. Both the fetus and the alaqah are surrounded by water.

The “alaqah” in water sucks blood by attaching itself to the mouth of the cow and the “alaqah” in the woman sucks blood by attaching itself to the womb. It is not possible for the Messenger of Allah to have received the knowledge that the nutfah attaches to the womb by being converted into “alaqah” and feeds on blood like the “alaqah” in water and that it is likened to alaqah so as to be expressed concretely from anyone but Allah.

Mudghah

It is not possible for the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) to learn that the fetus, which is far smaller than a grain of rice, is in the form of something chewed in any way other than revelation.

“Mudghah”, which means “a piece of chewed meat”¹⁶is the name given to the stage of the fetus after “alaqah”. In that stage, an image like something chewedoccurs on “alaqah”. Keith Leon Moore, the American embryologist, takes a piece of soil from the ground, chews it with his teeth, and puts it next to the “mudghah” to show the similarity between the mudghah and something that is chewed and says, “This is the mudghah state of the fetus and the other is the mudghah chewed by the teeth.”¹⁷

The mudghah assumes different shapes like a piece of meat chewed in the mouth but it always maintains the signs that resemble teeth marks. It is not possible for the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) to learn that the fetus, which is far smaller than a grain of rice, is in the form of something chewed in any way other than revelation. 

The bones of the fetus originate form that “mudghah”. The Quran describes it as follows:

“Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood; then of that clot We made a (fetus) lump; then we made out of that lump bones and clothed the bones with flesh.”¹⁸

The mudghah is not converted into bone at once. In some part of it, the cells are not formed fully while in the other part, the mudghah, which forms the basis of the human body, approaches the final stage: The Quran explains it as follows:

     “We created you out of dust, then out of sperm, then out of a leech-like clot, then out of a morsel of flesh, partly formed and partly unformed.”¹⁹

Can a statement made by an illiterate prophetthat some of the organs of the fetus form in it in that state and that the others do not appear yet be explained by anything except a miracle?

The Hadith of Forty-Two Days

By the end of the sixth week, the brain, eyes, mouth, inner ears, heart, lungs and digestive system begin to take shape in the fetus, which is smaller than the rice grain. Do they not show a Creator that has infinite knowledge, will and power?

By the end of the sixth week, the brain, eyes, mouth, inner ears, heart, lungs and digestive system begin to take shape in the fetus, which is smaller than the rice grain. In this period, the ears of the fetus are in the form of small dots. The arms and legs start to take shape. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) states the following about those stages, which can be observed after the fetus is magnified tens of thousands of times under the microscope:

“When forty-two nights pass after the semen gets into the womb, Allah sends the angel and gives it shape. Then,He creates its sense of hearing, sense of sight, its skin, its flesh, its bones.”²⁰

Bones are Created Earlier

Until recently, it was written in the books that flesh was created first in the fetus and that bone was created after that. However, God Almighty states in the Quran that bone is created before flesh: “Then, we made out of that lump (fetus) bones and clothed the bones with flesh”.²¹Afterwards, He clothed those bones with muscle.

      In a British university, a teacher told the students that flesh was created first and that bone was created afterwards. When he discovered years later that bone was created first, he told his students that he made an important discovery and that bone was created first. A Muslim who was among his students said,“The Quran stated it fourteen centuries ago.” The teacher said it was impossible. Finally, the student read the verse from an English translation of the Quran and the teacher had to accept that the Quran mentioned it before.

The Third Stage

After the bones are clothed withmuscle, the third stage begins in the fetus. In this stage, the fetus continues to develop and the body continues to grow and finally it reaches a structure that will carry the soul. The phrase “آخَرَخَلْقًاأَنشَأْنَاهُ”mentioned in the verse means Allah Almighty constructs the fetus in another way and places the spirit in it.

Until recently, it was written in the books that flesh was created first in the fetus and that bone was created after that. However, God Almighty states in the Quran that bone is created before flesh: “Then, we made out of that lump (fetus) bones and clothed the bones with flesh” (al-Mu’minun, 14).

      The two important events of this stage are the continuation of the material development of the fetus and the blowing of the spiritinto it.Therefore, Allah states the following about this incident:“Then, we developed out of it another creature.”²²

Nothing in the universe resemblesman, who is created from matter and spirit. As the Quran states, he is a completely different being. An animal is born, grows, develops, lives as an animal and dies as an animal. However, man grows, becomes a genius, scholar, thinker, reformer, explorer and inventor because he is a completely different being with his spirit.

      Today, science is unable to know in which stage of the fetus feelings and emotions occur and when and how the body and spirit merge. Therefore, when classifications and determinations are made related to creation, if Medicine and Biology, which still remain silent in many issues, take into account the verse of the Quran in which Allah says “We developed out of it (the fetus) another creature” and the hadiths stating that the spirit is blown at the end of the fourth month, they can cover more distances in the journey of discovery.

Conclusion

           Allah states in the following verse that He creates human beings in three veils of darkness in three stages: “He makes you, in the wombs of your mothers, in stages, one after another, in three veils of darkness.”²³

Embryologists say that the development of the fetus in the womb is completed through three embryological stages.²⁴ Accordingly, we can classify the stages of creation as the stages of “nutfah”,“mudghah”and “ruh (spirit)”, which starts with the blowing of the spirit and which distinguishes man from all other living beings.

As our process of understanding man, whom we think we know but who is the great unknown, develops, humanity will be completely saved from the Tale of Evolution and face the reality of Creation.

Evolution is a theory invented to deny creation; on the other hand, the process of creation that begins as a result of the meeting of the zygote with the egg is a fact that Allah imposed as a law.

      In order to understand creation, which is a miracle,better, it is necessary to readthe Holy Quran, which is a concise and miraculous word, more deeply. If some of the students of Islamic Sciences do their masters and doctorates in the faculties of medicine under the supervision of competent academicians, the miraculous declarations of the Quran related to creation will be understood more deeply.

Evolution, which does not and cannot exist, is a fairy tale and Creation is a fact. While Creation has been repeated billions of times for thousands of years, there is not a single notable fact showing that Evolution exists in any written source.

      As our process of understanding man, whom we think we know but who is the great unknown, develops, humanity will be completely saved from the Tale of Evolution.

*The following is stated in al-Mawsuatul-Fiqhiyya: “Some tafsir scholars hold the view that nutfah consists of the sperm of man. They use the verse stating that man is created from “a drop emitted” (at-Tariq 86/6) as the reason for their view that it is the sperm of man. Other scholars say it is nutfah consisting of man’s sperm and woman’s liquid. That is the view of the majority of scholars and tafsir scholars.” See Wizaratul-Awqaf wash-Shuunil-Islamiyya, al-Mawsuatul-Fiqhiyya, Kuwayt 1409/1989, “Janin” item, XVI, 117, 118.
1.Muhammad al-Barr, al-Janinul-Mushawwahwal-Amradul-Warasiyya, Darul-Qalam-Darul-Manar, 1411, 35-48; al-Qahtani, ibid, 168-170.
2.Abul-FadlJamaluddin Muhammad b. MukramIbnul-Manzur, Lisanul-Arab, Beirutnd., IX, 334.
3.al-Insan, 76/2.
4.http://www.jinekolojivegebelik.com/2012/05/sperm-ve-yumurtanin-birlesmesi-dollenme.html ;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKNPyJi-ouU
5.al-Mu’minun, 13..
6.Abasa, 17- 19.
7.an-Najm, 45-46.
8.Tabari, ibid, IX, 7715.
9.Muslim, Qadar, 2.
10.al-Baqara, 233.
11.ar-Ra’d, 8.
12.http://www.jinekolojivegebelik.com/2010/07/plasenta-bebegin-esi.html
13.al-Mu’minun, 14.
14.See. Wizaratul-Awqafwash-Shuunil-Islamiyya, ibid, “Janin” item, XVI, 118.
15.al-Alaq, 2..
16.Wizaratul-Awqafwash-Shuunil-Islamiyya, ibid, “Janin” item, XVI, 118.
17.Nayif Munir, ibid, I, 223.
18.al-Mu’minun,14..
19.al-Hajj, 5.
20.Muslim, Qadar, 3.
21.al-Mu’minun,14..
22.al-Mu’minun,14..
23.az-Zumar, 39/6.
24.Williams S.L, Basic Human Embryology, 1984, p. 64.

2.METAPHYSICAL REALM IN UNDERSTANDING THE CREATION

2.1.LUMINOSITY AND QUANTUM REALM*

2.1.1.Matter, Energy and Luminosity

The physical world that we know consists of energy. In the first phases of the big bang that is estimated to have taken place 13.7 billion years ago, there was only energy. In that phase, everything was inside everything; and it was not possible to talk of taking up volume. In the fractions of the first second of the big bang, elementary particles like quark and gluon formed as a result of the sharp fall in temperature and the condensation of energy; then, protons and neutrons formed as a result of their combination. The formation of the electrons and the transformation of the most of the particles into energy again as a result of the matter-antimatter interaction took place in the first second. The temperature fell to one billion degrees in the first minutes and some protons and neutrons combined to form the nucleus of helium. However, most of the protons continued to exist as hydrogen nuclei. According to the calculations, 379 thousand years after the big bang, the nuclei and the electrons combined to form atoms (mostly hydrogen); matter and energy started to disintegrate. The energy that was not transformed into matter due to some wisdom continued to exist as cosmic background radiation.¹

Matter is a condensed form of energy; and matter and energy can be transformed into each other as it is stated by the famous formula of Einstein: E = mc2.

Matter consists of molecules; molecules consist of atoms and atoms consist of subatomic particles like electrons, protons and neutrons. Matter is a condensed form of energy; and matter and energy can be transformed into each other as it is stated by the famous formula of Einstein: E = mc². It can even be said that matter is a condensed form of energy, which has lost its subtlety. Two basic properties of matter are as follows: it has mass and it takes up space. Therefore, matter is defined as ‘anything that has mass and takes up space’. Matter and energy are physical beings; both are subject to laws of physics; both can be observed and measured. However, unlike matter, energy (like the light from the sun) does not take up space and it has no fixed mass (it has the equivalent mass calculated by the formula of energy: E = mc²). That is, unlike condensed matter, energy is a subtle being that has no mass and that does not take up space on its own. However, as a physical being, it is subject to some limitations – for instance, the speed of electromagnetic radiation cannot exceed the speed of light.

Quantum theory is dominant in the subatomic world and Einstein’s theory of relativity is dominant in the supra-atomic world

Matter and energy are two components of the same whole and they are virtually sources of each other. In the sun, matter constantly turns to energy and the solar energy travels to the world in the form of heat and light with a speed of 300 thousand kilometers per second. That is, matter turns to something that has no mass and that does not take up space (antimatter) and travels at a speed that matter can never reach. Then, it can be said that matter and energy that form the visible, physical world and whose existence are certain through observations are not the same kind of beings. One of them is condensed and the other is subtle. The subtle things are beyond time and space to a certain extent; subtle things are also called half-luminous things. If there exists the state of subtlety or half-luminosity, which is a state of being partly conditional, then, there exists the state of full luminosity and nur, which is an extension of that state and the state of being completely free from the conditions of time and space.

Luminosity is dominant in the subatomic level in the beings and density is dominant in the supra-atomic level. For instance, both the place and speed of the tennis ball, which is a supra-atomic condensed being, can be measured with precision. However, the speed and place of the electron, which is a subatomic subtle being, cannot be determined. If its speed is certain, its place is not certain. That is, it is either nowhere or it can be anywhere. It can even be in two different places.

Then, it is necessary to classify beings in a scale of subtlety-density beginning from full luminosity to full density and to regard beings as a combination of nur and matter. It is certain through observations that luminosity is dominant in the subatomic level in the beings and density is dominant in the supra-atomic level. For instance, both the place and speed of the tennis ball, which is a supra-atomic condensed being, can be measured with precision. However, the speed and place of the electron, which is a subatomic subtle being, cannot be determined. If its speed is certain, its place is not certain. That is, it is either nowhere or it can be anywhere. It can even be in two different places. However, the probability of the electron to be in some places is higher; and this probability distribution is expressed in the form of a wave function. This phenomenon is known as ‘the Heisenberg uncertainty principle’ in physics. That is why the quantum theory is dominant in the subatomic world and Einstein’s theory of relativity is dominant in the supra-atomic world; and a theory to combine those two theories has not been put forward yet despite all efforts. Some phenomena were tried to be explained by some approaches like non-physical parallel universe or multi universe but it has not been possible to reach a conclusion because the concept of illumination was not put forward clearly.

The dilemma of particle-wave property in the subatomic world is one of the cornerstones of the quantum mechanics. That is, electrons and other subatomic particles sometimes act like a particle and sometimes like a wave. Then, it can be said that subatomic particles are neither particles nor waves.

The subatomic particle neutrino, which is much smaller than the electron, is so far away from being dense that it is virtually between existence and non-existence; and it is difficult to measure it.

We imagine the electron as a particle but it is also a wave – just like electromagnetic waves. The wave property of the electron is seen clearly in interference experiments. That is why the dilemma of particle-wave property in the subatomic world is one of the cornerstones of the quantum mechanics. That is, electrons and other subatomic particles sometimes act like a particle and sometimes like a wave. Then, it can be said that subatomic particles are neither particles nor waves because they are different properties.For instance, the sound spreads in the air as a wave; the bullet from a gun moves as a piece of mass. The opposites of them are not possible. Similarly, a fruit cannot be an apple and a pear at the same time. If it can be, then, that fruit is neither an apple nor a pear. Then, subatomic particles must be such things that they should be able to be manifest in two opposite characteristics – both as waves and particles). That can only be achieved by keeping away from density, that is, by being close to luminosity.

A similar argument can be presented for light, which is generally an electromagnetic wave but which also shows the property of particle (photon). The subatomic particle neutrino, which is much smaller than the electron, is so far away from being dense that it is virtually between existence and non-existence; and it is difficult to measure it. It will be seen that the particle of Higgs, also known as ‘the god particle’, whose existence is tried to be proved in the experiments of CERN, is closer to luminosity due to its smallness – if it can be measured.

Unlike the dense beings like tables and chairs that are made of matter, subtle beings made of energy (for instance, light) have no mass and they do not take up space. They settle where there are other things. As a matter of fact, there are hundreds of broadcasts in the same point in the form of electromagnetic energy in the air but there is no jam. All of them travel through one another with a speed of 300 thousand km per second. That is, they can travel round the world a few times in a second and they can virtually be everywhere at the same time. Similarly, a lamp is something that has mass and that takes up space; therefore, it is dense. However, the light coming from the lamp has no mass; it does not take up space and it has no certain place – it is virtually everywhere. However, the intensity of the light decreases as it moves away from the lamp.

Most of the universe that we live in is not in a physical state but is known scientifically; it can only be seen through the eye of the mind.

The closest form of matter to luminosity is probably dark matter and the closest form of energy to luminosity is dark energy because dark matter and dark energy exist scientifically but they have not been observed experimentally. Calculations show that it is impossible for the force of gravity that keeps the stars in galaxies together to be realized by the mass that is seen. Then, a kind of unseen matter called “dark matter” must be providing additional force of gravity. Dark matter does not give, absorb and reflect light. It does not consist of electrons, protons and neutrons. Besides, the observations of the Hubble Telescope in 1998 showed that the expansion of the space does not slow down due to the force of gravity; on the contrary, it speeds up. Astrophysicists have concluded that it can be caused by a mysterious type of energy that is called “dark energy” but that is not known by anybody. It is not possible for this acceleration effect to be caused by anything that exists in the universe now. The view that is seen as a result is that about 70% of the universe consists of dark energy, 25% dark matter, and the remaining 5% consists of the normal universe that includes everything including the neutrinos that can be observed through devices. It means most of the universe that we live in is not in a physical state but is known scientifically; it can only be seen through the eye of the mind.²

The smokeless fire, that is, type of matter or energy for whose existence there is no physical sign, mentioned in the following verses of the Quran is probably dark matter/energy:‘We created man from sounding clay, from mud molded into shape; And the Jinn race, We had created before, from the fire of a scorching wind’‘³And He created Jinn from fire free of smoke.’⁴ In the future, with the development of science, those who will be able to control and use dark matter and dark energy might be able to rule the jinn too, using them for tasks that we cannot even imagine today. As a matter of fact, the verse mentioning the transportation of the throne of Balqis,

“Said an Ifrit of the Jinn: "I will bring it to thee before thou rise from thy Council: indeed, I have full strength for the purpose, and may be trusted." Said one who had knowledge of the Book: "I will bring it to thee within the twinkling of an eye!"⁵ and the verse expressing that Hz. Sulayman (pbuh) governed the jinn and devils and made them do useful deeds, “And of the evil ones were some who dived for him, and did other work besides; and it was We Who guarded them”⁶ and similar verses point out to that issue. Badiuzzaman Said Nursi draws the following lessons from those verses:

“The jinn, the most important inhabitants of the earth after man who are conscious, may serve man. Contact may be made with them. Devils too may be compelled to give up their enmity ‘and whether they want to or not made to serve. Thus, Almighty God made them ‘subject to one of His servants who was obedient to His commands. And through the allusive tongue of the verses, in meaning Almighty God is saying: "O man! I made the jinn, devils, and their evil obey one of My servants who obeyed me. If you too are subjugated to my commands, numerous beings, and even jinn and devils, may be subjugated to you Thus, these verses trace the final limit of this, like spiritualism, the attraction of spirits, and conversing with jinn, which have been strained from the blending of art and science, and have appeared out of their extraordinary material and spiritual sensitivity. And the verses specify the most beneficial form of these and open up the way to them.”⁷

*It was published earlier (ÂdemTatlı. Bilimlerin IşığındaYaratılış. 2nd impression, ÜsküdarÜniversitesiYayını no:2, Istanbul,  2017, p. 87-106).
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang
3. al-Hijr, 26-27.
4. ar-Rahman, 15.
5. an-Naml, 39-40.
6. al-Anbiya, 82.
7. Nursi, B. S. Sözler. p. 306.

6.2- WHAT IS MAN?

There is a great difference between the description of man made by the Western philosophy and the Islamic philosophy.

Christianity accepts that man was born as a sinner. It regards the sin of Hz. Adam’s eating the forbidden fruit as the sin of every child that is born. However, Islam accepts that a newborn child is innocent and sinless and acknowledges that the innocence of the child continues until he/she reaches the age of puberty.

6.2.1-Definition of Man According to the Western Philosophy

            Plato describes man as follows:

“Man is a featherless biped (a creature with two legs)”.

     Diogenes stated that this definition of Plato’s did not represent man; he plucked a rooster, showed it to people and said, “That is the human being Plato describes”.

Aristotle describes man as follows:

“Man is a speaking animal”.

However, a parrot can also speak. Thus, this definition cannot express the nature of man, his loftiness and the wisdom behind his creation.

As it is seen, the philosophers who do not believe in a true religion describe man as a featherless biped or a speaking animal. 

6.2.2- Definition of Man According to Islam

The Quran describes man in the best way. As a matter of fact, the explanation of the verses in the Chapter of at-Tin about the creation of man is as follows:¹

“Since man has been created on the most excellent of patterns and has been given most comprehensive abilities, he has been cast into an arena of trial and examination in which he may rise or fall to stations, ranks, and degrees from the lowest of the low to the highest of the high, from the earth to the Divine Throne, and from minute particles to the sun. He has been sent to this world as a miracle of Divine Power, the result of creation, and a wonder of Divine art before whom have been opened two roads leading either to infinite ascent or infinite descent.”²

            Thus, man differs from other creatures by reason, consciousness and belief. Man has been created in the most excellentand most capable way as a miracle of art and power.

    Man has been sent to this world, which is a place of trial and examination, with the intelligence and abilities given to him. Those abilities can develop in a good or bad way. It is the Islamic religion that will develop them in the best way.

            Besides, man has weakness, helplessness, impotence in his nature; therefore, he needs to believe in a merciful and powerful being from whom he will receive help and who has infinite knowledge and power.

When man uses those abilities in the best way, he can attain the highest ranks, degrees and posts. For example, Hz. Abu Bakr attained the level of veracity (sidq). The opposite is also possible. If he uses his abilities in the wrong way, he can go down to the worst and lowest levels like Abu Jahl.

Man is described as follows: in the tafsir book called Şualar:

“Also, since we see with our eyes and understand with our minds that

• Man is the final and most comprehensive fruit of the tree of the universe,
• And in respect of the Muhammadan (peace and blessings be upon him) reality is its original seed,
• And the supreme sign of the Quran of the universe,
• And he is its throne verse bearing the greatest name,
• And the most honored guest in the palace of the universe,
• The most active functionary empowered over the other inhabitants of the palace,
• The official charged with overseeing the income and expenditure, and the planting and cultivation of the gardens in the quarter of the earth in the city of the universe,
• And is its most noisy and responsible minister, equipped with hundreds of sciences and thousands of arts,
• And an inspector and sort of vicegerent of the monarch of pre-eternity and post-eternity, under his close scrutiny, in the region of the earth in the country of the universe,
• And one with disposal over it whose actions, particular and universal, are all recorded,
• Who has undertaken the supreme trust, from which the heavens and earth and mountains shrank,
• And before whom are two roads, on one of which he is the most wretched of living beings, and on the other, the most fortunate,
• And he is a universal bondsman charged with most extensive worship,
• The place of manifestation of the greatest name of the monarch of the universe and a comprehensive mirror of all his names,
• A special addressee of his, with the best understanding of his divine addresses and speech. The mostneedy of the living beings of the universe,
• And is a wretched living creature who has innumerable desires and goals, numberless enemies and things that harm him, despite his infinite poverty and impotence,
• Is the richest in regard to abilities and potentialities,
• The most suffering in respect of the pleasures of life, whose enjoyment is marred by ghastly pains,
• And a wondrous miracle of the power of the eternally besought one and marvel of divine power who is the most needy and wanting, and worthy and deserving of immortality, and seeks and beseeches eternal happiness with endless prayers, and if all the pleasures of this world were given him, his desire for immortality would not be satisfied,
• And who loves to the degree of worshipping Him the one who bestows bounties on him, and makes him loved and is loved,
• And all of whose faculties, which encompass the universe, testify that he was created to go to eternity, and through the above twenty universal truths is bound to Almighty God’s name of Truth,
• And whose actions are continuously recorded by the All-Glorious Preserver’s Name of Preserver, who sees the most insignificant need of the tiniest animate being, hears it plaint and responds in action; and being related to the whole universe whose deeds are written down by the “noble scribes” of that Name and who more than anything else receives its attentionas required by the above twenty truths, most certainly and without any doubt there will be a resurrection and judgement for man, and in accordance with the Name of Truth, he will receive reward for his above duties and punishment for his faults, and in accordance with the Name of Preserver, he will be questioned and called to account for his actions, all of which have been recorded, and the doors will be opened of the feasting halls of everlasting bliss in the eternal realm, and of the prison of eternal misery; man, who has been an officer with command over numerous species of beings in this world, and has intervened in them and sometimes thrown them into confusion, will not enter the soil never to be questioned concerning his actions, nor lay down in concealment not to be roused”.³

       Thus, man is a guest, a traveler, an official, an inspector in the world and the most honorable being that can be addressed by Allah.

If we liken the universe to a palace, man is the most honorable guest of that palace. In other words, he is a guest before whom even the angels are ordered to prostrate, at whose disposal all the beings in the universe are put and who is entertained generously.

He is also an official who is allowed to benefit from the other beings in the palace of the universe as he wishes, a vicegerent and a traveler who is an addressee of Allah.

Thus, man is both a guest and a traveler, both an official and a vicegerent in the world.

Man is also the last and most fertile fruit of the universe tree, the supreme sign of the Quran of the universe.

There are two ways in front of man. It is either the way to Paradise, the place of eternal bliss, or the way to Hell, the place of eternal torment. Therefore, man should make his evaluation accordingly.

1.at-Tin,verses 4,5,6.
2.Nursi, B, S.  Sözler.p. 382.
3.Nursi, B.S.Şuâlar. p. 218-219.

            1.1.2. The First Six Days of Creation

In the first 10^-2 seconds of creation, the temperature is 100 billion degrees. In this period, the “first universe” and the radiation energy are in the state of “cosmic soup”.

                The First Period: Creation starts with an exceptionally high temperature. In the first 10^-2 seconds of creation, the temperature is 100 billion degrees. In this period, the “first universe” and the radiation energy are in the state of “cosmic soup”. Particles like protons and neutrons that make up the atomic nucleus are not visible yet but the process of creation has become evident. We see only the electron and its opposite positron (anti-electron). We are in a very small period of time, one hundredth of a second, but creation takes place so fast that energy, matter and density are physical quantities now. Matter is partially shaped and dimensioned. It is estimated by means of fine calculations that the universe at that time was expanded to 4 light-years. The density is exceptionally high like the temperature in the first moment of creation According to the calculations of experts with the formula E=mc², the density is 3.8 billion kilograms per liter.

                The tiny nucleus of universe, which is extracted from the darkness of non-existence into the light of existence in a very short time, one hundredth of a second, grows so fast that it has reached 4 light years in that tiny period of time thanks to the hand of an infinite power

The temperature has dropped to 30 billion degrees; neutrons and protons, which are atomic particles, have started to appear. Electrons, positron, neutrinos and antineutrinos are in a state of mixture together with photons.

              The Second Period:This phase includes the incidents that take place in a time period of a tenth of a second. Despite such a short period of time, the changes are sudden and dramatic. The temperature has dropped to 30 billion degrees; neutrons and protons, which are atomic particles, have started to appear. Electrons, positron, neutrinos and antineutrinos are in a state of mixture together with photons: 38 percent neutrons, 68 percent protons… With the emergence of protons and neutrons, it is understood that quarks and gluons have been created in the meantime.

Sufficient “coldness” to bring the neutrons and protons together to form the atom has not been reached during this period.

                The Third Period: In this period, when the first matter of the universe is very compact, the temperature value is quite high. Although it seems to have decreased compared to the second period, the temperature is 10 billion degrees now. Mass density is 380,000 times higher than that of water. Sufficient “coldness” to bring the neutrons and protons together to form the atom has not been obtained during this period.

                The Fourth Period:  The most distinctive feature of this period is that the temperature has been reduced to 3 billion degrees by the Perfectly Wise Creator. The universe is now about 14 seconds old, and the expansion is still going on at an incredible pace. When electrons and positrons (anti-electrons) are brought together for a purpose, both of them are “destroyed” and “energy” emerges in the form of photons.

This is the period when stable atomic nuclei such as hydrogen and helium nuclei begin to be formed by the divine power. In other words, a proton and a neutron have been in an environment where they can stand side by side for the first time. With the formation of extraordinary attraction, the tendency to resist the great spreading speed has begun in those two particles, whose masses are between existence and non-existence. Since almost all of the mass in the atom gathers in the nucleus, the nucleus is the “representative of matter”. The atomic nucleus represents such a dense material structure that only one teaspoon of the substance (protons and neutrons) in the nucleus weighs one hundred million tons. Since the elements of the nucleus are “imprisoned” in a much smaller volume than electrons, their velocity is also unusually high compared to electrons. The nucleus particles have a velocity over 60,000 kilometers per second. The high speed of the protons and neutrons shows them in an unimaginable form of drops of a boiling and bubbling liquid.

  As a result of the science-based experiments and research about atoms and their nuclei, the knowledge we obtain about matter reveal that matter is concentrated in small drops that are distant from one another. The proton and neutron, in other words, the structure of the nucleus, are likened to extremely dense foam droplets that constantly boil.

The next step after the creation of atomic nucleus particles, which consist of neutrons and protons, is to adjust the number of those particles. If that adjustment had not been made as a necessity of mercy and virtue, neutrons and protons created at very close proportions and all atomic nuclei in the universe could have been transformed into helium nuclei. The sun filled with helium would not have been able to shine in the sky and no lights of life could have been sent to this living planet, which is 150 million km away. For, helium is not fuel for the stars as large as the sun; it means the ash that remains. Much larger stars and powerful explosions are necessary to burn this ash.

                As soon as one second has passed after the creation of the universe, the temperature has been reduced to 30 billion degrees; in the meantime, the stabilization process started and neutrons began to transform into protons rapidly. The hydrogen-helium ratio observed in the universe today corresponds to the calculations made regarding this balancing.

Fourteen seconds after the creation, the temperature was reduced to 3 billion degrees, and the process of the creation of electrons was completed.

                Fourteen seconds after the creation, the temperature was reduced to 3 billion degrees, and the process of the creation of electrons was completed. The positive electric force in the universe was stored in the protons created previously; the negative electric force was distributed to the electrons. Thus, the enormous electric force in the universe was completely neutralized; everything was arranged perfectly and in a wonderful balance. As many electrons as protons were created.

                The Fifth Period:The temperature of the universe in this period was reduced to one billion degrees. This temperature is 60 times the current temperature of the center of the sun. The time period from the first period to this period is calculated as 3 minutes and 2 seconds. In this period, photons, neutrinos and anti-neutrinos were dominant.

                The Sixth Period: Up to the 35th minute, when the temperature was decreased to three hundred million degrees, the raw material of everything in the universe was made ready. Temperature was no longer expressed in billions, but in millions. The decrease in temperature is the most distinctive characteristic of this period. Electrons were collided with positrons to generate photon energy. The rate of the existence of electrons is slightly higher than positrons. This surplus was arranged so that it would be equal to the number of protons afterwards.

From the first moment of the universe that started with the Big Bang to the period when it began to take shape, there are basically six different periods. The Quran states that the universe was created in six days as follows:

                “Your Guardian-Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in six days, and is firmly established on the throne (of authority): He draweth the night as a veil o´er the day, each seeking the other in rapid succession: He created the sun, the moon, and the stars, (all) governed by laws under His command. Is it not His to create and to govern? Blessed be Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds.”¹

                In this realm where the solar system and the earth had not been created yet and the term day also differed according to each celestial system, the term day means cycle, era and period.

                On the one hand, the Quran explains the facts that regulate the deeds and behaviors of people; on the other hand, it draws attention to the secrets in the universe and asks people to read it like a book and to reveal the secrets in it by searching.

When we consider the “short history” of the universe from the first creation to the present day, basically six different phases or days draw our attention.²

1^st Day

The first one billion years of the creation, the period from the time when matter and energy were separated to the time when the universe became transparent, constitutes the first day.

2^nd Day

The period that lasted up to 3 billion years, when atomic nuclei heavier than clusters of matter were synthesized and the anterior galaxies were created, constitutes the second day.

3^rd Day

The galaxies recorded by the Hubble Space Telescope in the Deep Field research came into being and the universe began to take shape gradually. On the third day of the universe, which reached 5 billion years, galaxies with heavier atomic nuclei similar to ours started to be created.

4^th Day

This period continued until the universe became 10.3 billion years old. The process of the creation of galaxies similar to ours but with heavier atomic nuclei was completed in this period and the galaxies became quite distinct.

5^th Day

At this stage, the creation of our solar system together with its planets of rotating around orbits began. This process lasted up to the age of 11.5 billion years of the universe.

6^th Day

On the last and the sixth day of the universe, life began to be distinct and finally man was created.                   

The universe, which was originally created as a nucleus, was transformed from shape to shape with the power and wisdom of the Creator, who manifested himself in all things with His work, in billions of years. The evolution phases reached its target. It finally reached the fruit of life through the stages that required a highly sensitive plan and program. The universe and its contents were created in stages. The series of events from the simple to the perfect observed in all works of art became the stage of different manifestations of power in the march of existence. Yes, the universe was not created all of a sudden. The six-period creation of this tree of universe became manifest on man, who was its fruit. He also underwent six stages:

                A ‘nutfah’  taking space in the womb, a sticky state called ‘alaqah’, a piece of chewed called ‘mudghah’ the bones (‘izam’) forming the skeleton of the body, the meat (‘lahm’) dressed on the bones, and finally ‘human being’, who was created with a completely different form.

In short, the universe and the guests in it were created stage by stage and they slowly move toward a point of perfection with a spiritual program called “predestination” (qadar) That is, they were created gradually. We understand the steps of this march when we talk about education and perfection. Perfection is the story of the amorphous energy dough forming the atomic system from phase to phase in the first creation of the universe, and from there to the stars and celestial systems, just like a fig seed becoming a fig through various stages.

                It is not possible to fit “education” and “perfection”, which teach us many realities like knowledge, wisdom and mercy, into a soulless and faint word like “evolution”. Moreover, atheism, which tries to abuse the theory of evolution for its ideology by using chance/coincidence as a basis for its philosophy, shows that it remains out of scientific data and thought by accepting the pre-eternity of matter like the atheist thinkers Before Christ.

¹al-Araf, 54.
²See Ceviz Kabuğunda Evren, S. Hawking, Alfa Yayınları, 2002.

Question: “And Allah has produced you from the earth growing (gradually)” How should we understand the statement above mentioned in verse 17 of the Chapter of Nuh?¹

Answer:     وَاللَّهُ أَنبَتَكُم مِّنَ الْأَرْضِ نَبَاتًا“And Allah has produced you from the earth growing (gradually)”. (Nuh, 17) Evolutionist interpretations were made about the verse above. The word nabat, which is an object in the verse, is a noun used for an infinitive in the sense of inbat as Qurtubi states, that is, it is used in order to strengthen the verb anbata-grew (created) but since the word nabat means plant, it was translated as plant and its position in the sentences was thought to be an adverb; therefore, in many translations of the Quran, it was translated as follows: “Allah grew you from the earth like plants” and “Allah grew you from the earth as plants”.

     However, what is meant in the verse is the creation of Hz. Adam from soil in a nice way. That is, creation is expressed with a similar word (anbata). The word nabatan at the end of the verse is used in place of inbat in the sense of (growing-creating) is the object of the sentence. Thus, the meaning of the statement is “Allah produced you (your father Adam) by creating you from the earth”. This word is interpreted as building/constructing in tafsir books. For instance, Tabari interprets it as follows:

“Allah built you by creating you from the soil of the earth”.

Qurtubi states the following:

“The word nabatan in the verse is an infinitive other than the main infinitive because the main infinitive of the verb “anbata” is “inbat””. Thus, the noun (nabat) was used in place of the infinitive (inbat). Razi states the following:

 “Instead of أنبتكم إنباتاً, أنبتكم نباتاً is used in the verse. The point here is that “inbat” is an attribute of Allah and it cannot be observed.

When the verse immediately after it  ثُمَّ يُعِيدُكُمْ فِيهَا وَيُخْرِجُكُمْ إِخْرَاجًا  “And in the End He will return you into the (earth), and raise you forth (again at the Resurrection)?” is viewed, the meaning of the verse will be understood better. For, Allah’s existence and power are expressed in the verse as well as the fact that resurrection is so easy for Allah. The verse states that Allah, who created you once, can create you again from the earth after you die and are mixed with soil. He definitely has power to do it.

The word inbat(growing/creating from earth) is used in order to make that comparison settle in the minds. A verse similar to that one is as follows: مِنْهَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ وَفِيهَا نُعِيدُكُمْ وَمِنْهَا نُخْرِجُكُمْ تَارَةً أُخْرَى

“From the (earth) did We create you, and into it shall We return you, and from it shall We bring you out once again.”²

As it is seen, the difference between this verse and verse 17 of the Chapter of Nuh is that the word anbata is used in one of them and khalaqna in the other. Both verses were sent down based on the same purpose. 

        The word nabat used in the following verse to express that beauty of Hz. Maryam (Mary) is not in the sense of plant and it is clear that it is used in the sense of growing/creation: 

 “He made her grow in purity and beauty (Waanbatahanabatanhasanan).”³ (For, it is clear that Hz. Maryam was not created and grown as a plant and that she was not converted from a plant to a human being.) The same thing applies to verse 17 of the Chapter of Nuh. To sum up, the verb “anbata” is a word used in the sense of creating.

            **

1.From Veysel Güllüce’s article “Evrimci Görüşün Kur’ân Meâllerindeki İzdüşümleri ”in print. (Âdem Dursun, ÂdemTatlı, Ercan Kaya, İdris Görmez, Nihat Yatkın, Orhan Erdoğan, Ömer İrfan Küfrevioğlu,Veysel Güllüce. İslamiyetin DilindenYaratılış. Atatürk ÜniversitesiYayını, 2019, p. 47).
2.Ta-Ha, 55.
3.Aal-iImran, 37.

1.THE FIRST CREATION OF MATTER AND THE UNIVERSE

1.1.CREATION IN STAGES*

Is the universe really infinite or just too big? Where is its beginning and end? These are the questions that have preoccupied the minds of the thinking people most for ages. According to the materialistic understanding nourished by atheism, the universe does not have a beginning or an end. Until the early years of the twentieth century, it was a dominant idea that the universe was constant in time. However, these understandings were radically altered by developments in science in the early 20th century. The universe was constantly expanding. The universe had a beginning as well as an end.

In the 1920s, space scientists were busy with examining the closest surroundings of space. Optical devices were not as advanced as they are today; electronics and computer had not been in our dictionaries yet. The lunar and solar eclipses were the high-level topics of astronomy at that time. It was believed that the universe consisted of only the Milky Way. In the US, the 2.5-meter diameter mirror telescope was the world’s most advanced telescope. Dr. Hubble used it.

   1.1.1.The First Seconds of Creation     

              It is definitely not possible to repeat the conditions of the moment of creation on earth. However, it is possible to prepare some conditions in the early stages of the universe by giving subatomic particles extremely high velocities and to observe the behavior of the particles under those conditions. Or, at least the incidents that cannot be observed can be predicted thanks to the calculations and formulas of the observable conditions. The first seconds of the Big Bang, the tables and explanations about its first years and first centuries are the results of those observations and calculations.

              The expert scientists working at the 27 km long CERN accelerator station in Switzerland collided electron with anti-electron and eliminated both; then, they examined both the character and behavior of the light that was released. Based on the outcomes, they reached the results of the first creation of the universe. Very interesting results were obtained. First, they dealt with the time scale. Physics has three basic constants. They are; Planck Constant, Velocity of Light Constant and Gravitational Constant.

                     Using those three constants, it is now possible to calculate the tiniest “indivisible” part of time, space and energy.

Physics equations tell us that time will shrink to 10^-43 seconds, which is the smallest possible time interval and that a time interval smaller than that cannot be found in the universe. This fact tells us that time intervals cannot be infinitely small and continuous no matter how small they are and that even the shortest time interval will be finite in mathematics. How can we comprehend the smallest time interval of 10^-43 seconds? It is definitely not possible.

In the smallest period of time when creation started (10^-43 of a second), the temperature was extremely high (10³² degrees). If we compare it to the highest temperature that we can detect at the present time, which is billion (10⁹) degrees, we can understand to some extent how high the temperature at the time of first creation was.

In the range of 10^-43 seconds, the density is extraordinary, as is the gravitational force. It is the period in which everything resembles a dough between amorphous abstract and concrete. We call this period “Planck circuit”. If we move one more step and reach the 10^-37 second of creation, the temperature is still extremely high (10²⁹ degrees). There are no atoms yet. The strong core force, weak force and electromagnetic force, which are the basic forces that keep the universe alive, are not separated yet; they are integrated.

                It is possible to watch what happens over a time period of 10^-9 seconds, or one billionth of a second, in the famous CERN particle accelerator in Switzerland.  Experts report that they obtained a high temperature of up to 10¹⁵ (1 000 trillion) degrees in the experiment. The electromagnetic force and the weak core force are about to separate from each other.

                The stages above try to explain step by step the indeterminate and indescribable “characteristics” before the start of the creation process. In the periods that followed, we can say that the creation of the physical universe began to take shape. One of the best scientists who narrated the story of the creation of the universe is Steven Weinberg. In his book called “The First Three Minutes” Weinberg discusses the developments from the first explosion of creation to the period when galaxies began to form in six stages. Let us now follow the exciting stages of this creation together.

            1.1.2. The First Six Days of Creation

In the first 10^-2 seconds of creation, the temperature is 100 billion degrees. In this period, the “first universe” and the radiation energy are in the state of “cosmic soup”.

                The First Period: Creation starts with an exceptionally high temperature. In the first 10^-2 seconds of creation, the temperature is 100 billion degrees. In this period, the “first universe” and the radiation energy are in the state of “cosmic soup”. Particles like protons and neutrons that make up the atomic nucleus are not visible yet but the process of creation has become evident. We see only the electron and its opposite positron (anti-electron). We are in a very small period of time, one hundredth of a second, but creation takes place so fast that energy, matter and density are physical quantities now. Matter is partially shaped and dimensioned. It is estimated by means of fine calculations that the universe at that time was expanded to 4 light-years. The density is exceptionally high like the temperature in the first moment of creation According to the calculations of experts with the formula E=mc², the density is 3.8 billion kilograms per liter.

                The tiny nucleus of universe, which is extracted from the darkness of non-existence into the light of existence in a very short time, one hundredth of a second, grows so fast that it has reached 4 light years in that tiny period of time thanks to the hand of an infinite power

The temperature has dropped to 30 billion degrees; neutrons and protons, which are atomic particles, have started to appear. Electrons, positron, neutrinos and antineutrinos are in a state of mixture together with photons.

              The Second Period:This phase includes the incidents that take place in a time period of a tenth of a second. Despite such a short period of time, the changes are sudden and dramatic. The temperature has dropped to 30 billion degrees; neutrons and protons, which are atomic particles, have started to appear. Electrons, positron, neutrinos and antineutrinos are in a state of mixture together with photons: 38 percent neutrons, 68 percent protons… With the emergence of protons and neutrons, it is understood that quarks and gluons have been created in the meantime.

Sufficient “coldness” to bring the neutrons and protons together to form the atom has not been reached during this period.

                The Third Period: In this period, when the first matter of the universe is very compact, the temperature value is quite high. Although it seems to have decreased compared to the second period, the temperature is 10 billion degrees now. Mass density is 380,000 times higher than that of water. Sufficient “coldness” to bring the neutrons and protons together to form the atom has not been obtained during this period.

                The Fourth Period:  The most distinctive feature of this period is that the temperature has been reduced to 3 billion degrees by the Perfectly Wise Creator. The universe is now about 14 seconds old, and the expansion is still going on at an incredible pace. When electrons and positrons (anti-electrons) are brought together for a purpose, both of them are “destroyed” and “energy” emerges in the form of photons.

This is the period when stable atomic nuclei such as hydrogen and helium nuclei begin to be formed by the divine power. In other words, a proton and a neutron have been in an environment where they can stand side by side for the first time. With the formation of extraordinary attraction, the tendency to resist the great spreading speed has begun in those two particles, whose masses are between existence and non-existence. Since almost all of the mass in the atom gathers in the nucleus, the nucleus is the “representative of matter”. The atomic nucleus represents such a dense material structure that only one teaspoon of the substance (protons and neutrons) in the nucleus weighs one hundred million tons. Since the elements of the nucleus are “imprisoned” in a much smaller volume than electrons, their velocity is also unusually high compared to electrons. The nucleus particles have a velocity over 60,000 kilometers per second. The high speed of the protons and neutrons shows them in an unimaginable form of drops of a boiling and bubbling liquid.

  As a result of the science-based experiments and research about atoms and their nuclei, the knowledge we obtain about matter reveal that matter is concentrated in small drops that are distant from one another. The proton and neutron, in other words, the structure of the nucleus, are likened to extremely dense foam droplets that constantly boil.

The next step after the creation of atomic nucleus particles, which consist of neutrons and protons, is to adjust the number of those particles. If that adjustment had not been made as a necessity of mercy and virtue, neutrons and protons created at very close proportions and all atomic nuclei in the universe could have been transformed into helium nuclei. The sun filled with helium would not have been able to shine in the sky and no lights of life could have been sent to this living planet, which is 150 million km away. For, helium is not fuel for the stars as large as the sun; it means the ash that remains. Much larger stars and powerful explosions are necessary to burn this ash.

                As soon as one second has passed after the creation of the universe, the temperature has been reduced to 30 billion degrees; in the meantime, the stabilization process started and neutrons began to transform into protons rapidly. The hydrogen-helium ratio observed in the universe today corresponds to the calculations made regarding this balancing.

Fourteen seconds after the creation, the temperature was reduced to 3 billion degrees, and the process of the creation of electrons was completed.

                Fourteen seconds after the creation, the temperature was reduced to 3 billion degrees, and the process of the creation of electrons was completed. The positive electric force in the universe was stored in the protons created previously; the negative electric force was distributed to the electrons. Thus, the enormous electric force in the universe was completely neutralized; everything was arranged perfectly and in a wonderful balance. As many electrons as protons were created.

                The Fifth Period:The temperature of the universe in this period was reduced to one billion degrees. This temperature is 60 times the current temperature of the center of the sun. The time period from the first period to this period is calculated as 3 minutes and 2 seconds. In this period, photons, neutrinos and anti-neutrinos were dominant.

                The Sixth Period: Up to the 35th minute, when the temperature was decreased to three hundred million degrees, the raw material of everything in the universe was made ready. Temperature was no longer expressed in billions, but in millions. The decrease in temperature is the most distinctive characteristic of this period. Electrons were collided with positrons to generate photon energy. The rate of the existence of electrons is slightly higher than positrons. This surplus was arranged so that it would be equal to the number of protons afterwards.

From the first moment of the universe that started with the Big Bang to the period when it began to take shape, there are basically six different periods. The Quran states that the universe was created in six days as follows:

                “Your Guardian-Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in six days, and is firmly established on the throne (of authority): He draweth the night as a veil o´er the day, each seeking the other in rapid succession: He created the sun, the moon, and the stars, (all) governed by laws under His command. Is it not His to create and to govern? Blessed be Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds.”¹

                In this realm where the solar system and the earth had not been created yet and the term day also differed according to each celestial system, the term day means cycle, era and period.

                On the one hand, the Quran explains the facts that regulate the deeds and behaviors of people; on the other hand, it draws attention to the secrets in the universe and asks people to read it like a book and to reveal the secrets in it by searching.

When we consider the “short history” of the universe from the first creation to the present day, basically six different phases or days draw our attention.²

1^st Day

The first one billion years of the creation, the period from the time when matter and energy were separated to the time when the universe became transparent, constitutes the first day.

2^nd Day

The period that lasted up to 3 billion years, when atomic nuclei heavier than clusters of matter were synthesized and the anterior galaxies were created, constitutes the second day.

3^rd Day

The galaxies recorded by the Hubble Space Telescope in the Deep Field research came into being and the universe began to take shape gradually. On the third day of the universe, which reached 5 billion years, galaxies with heavier atomic nuclei similar to ours started to be created.

4^th Day

This period continued until the universe became 10.3 billion years old. The process of the creation of galaxies similar to ours but with heavier atomic nuclei was completed in this period and the galaxies became quite distinct.

5^th Day

At this stage, the creation of our solar system together with its planets of rotating around orbits began. This process lasted up to the age of 11.5 billion years of the universe.

6^th Day

On the last and the sixth day of the universe, life began to be distinct and finally man was created.                   

The universe, which was originally created as a nucleus, was transformed from shape to shape with the power and wisdom of the Creator, who manifested himself in all things with His work, in billions of years. The evolution phases reached its target. It finally reached the fruit of life through the stages that required a highly sensitive plan and program. The universe and its contents were created in stages. The series of events from the simple to the perfect observed in all works of art became the stage of different manifestations of power in the march of existence. Yes, the universe was not created all of a sudden. The six-period creation of this tree of universe became manifest on man, who was its fruit. He also underwent six stages:

                A ‘nutfah’  taking space in the womb, a sticky state called ‘alaqah’, a piece of chewed called ‘mudghah’ the bones (‘izam’) forming the skeleton of the body, the meat (‘lahm’) dressed on the bones, and finally ‘human being’, who was created with a completely different form.

In short, the universe and the guests in it were created stage by stage and they slowly move toward a point of perfection with a spiritual program called “predestination” (qadar) That is, they were created gradually. We understand the steps of this march when we talk about education and perfection. Perfection is the story of the amorphous energy dough forming the atomic system from phase to phase in the first creation of the universe, and from there to the stars and celestial systems, just like a fig seed becoming a fig through various stages.

                It is not possible to fit “education” and “perfection”, which teach us many realities like knowledge, wisdom and mercy, into a soulless and faint word like “evolution”. Moreover, atheism, which tries to abuse the theory of evolution for its ideology by using chance/coincidence as a basis for its philosophy, shows that it remains out of scientific data and thought by accepting the pre-eternity of matter like the atheist thinkers Before Christ.

*It was published earlier (ÂdemTatlı. Bilimlerin IşığındaYaratılış. 2nd impression, ÜsküdarÜniversitesiYayını no:2, Istanbul,  2017, p. 40-53).
¹al-Araf, 54.
²See Ceviz Kabuğunda Evren, S. Hawking, Alfa Yayınları, 2002.

7.2. 3- What does ibda and insha mean?

Ibda means creation out of nothing. It means to give existence to things out of nothing and to create everything that is necessary for things out of nothing.

The first creation of the universe is with absolute and universal ibda. That is, in the first creation of the universe, everything was invented out of nothing.

Insha means the invention (creation) of things with the combination of the existing elements.

There are two kinds of ibda: The first one is absolute or universal ibda. It means to create things out of nothing. The other is partial ibda.

The first creation of the universe is with absolute and universal ibda. That is, in the first creation of the universe, everything was invented out of nothing. To put it more clearly, it means the invention (creation) of the realm of beings out of nothing without any sample, comparison, imitation and model when there was no law, substance, duration, original form and copy to be taken as a model.

9.1.3-Is it not the fault of Satan?

Another question regarding the issue is as follows: “Allah created devils (Satan) and sent them upon us. That is why we commit sins, and some people exit the religion. For this reason, people will go to Hell. We cannot control our will because of devils. But for devils, we would be able to do more good deeds.¹

How does Allah’s mercy and beauty allow this ugliness and horrific misfortune?”

1) It is a fact that most people deviate from the true path because of devils and become people of Hell. However, what is valuable is quality, not quantity. For example, if a farmer has 100 walnuts and buries them in the ground, and if 90 out of 100 walnuts decay, but ten of them become trees, there will be two results:

The first one: The farmer lost 90 walnuts; and his loss is the price of the walnuts.

The second one: Now he has ten walnut trees; his profit from 10 walnut trees will definitely eliminate the loss of his remaining walnuts.

Similarly, God Almighty created the soul, devils, evil and bad deeds; He tests people with them. Thus, even if the majority goes bad like the walnuts decaying under the ground, some people believe. The gain obtained from them is very large and ultimately covers the damage done by others. Are one hundred coins of one cent or one piece of gold coin more valuable? A person who loses 100 cents but earns a piece of gold coin is not at a loss. Allah’s mercy, wisdom and justice allows the existence of Satan and evil because of this mystery.²

2) Man needs action to advance and ascend spiritually, this action is possible through struggle; and struggle is possible through the existence of devils, evil and harmful things. From this point of view, devils and evil things are conducive to great good deeds. They cause some people to rise in perfection and goodness. Thus, their abilities develop.

A wrestler needs action, struggle and an opponent to gain power and skill. He is prepared well so as not to be defeated by his opponent; he looks for ways to prevent him from losing points. Satan is like an opponent that we struggle and fight. Without the soul, the devil and evil things, there will be no struggle; progress will stops, and the degrees of people will remain constant like those of angels. That is one of the wisdom behind the creation of devils and harmful things.

Thus, Satan was created so that we would fight with him and ascend spiritually; he was not created so that we would obey his command and be controlled by him. Therefore, the following is stated in the Quran:

“Follow not the footsteps of the evil one.”³

The enemy exists so that we will fight them not obey them. The following example will clarify the issue too:

Grades are given to assess the achievement of students. Suppose that the highest point is ten and the lowest point is one and the students who get at least 5 points in a test pass and those who get lower points fail. The points from one to four are seemingly against the students. A student may even think, “But for 1, 2, 3 and 4, I would not have failed”. However, the existence of these grades does not aim to make students fail. They exist to make the students work, struggle against laziness and get high points. Thus, those low points are like devils; they cause the students to work and struggle.

On the other hand, if there were no low points, there would not be high points either.In that case, it is not possible to test, to try and hence to ascend. What is the point of a test and trial in which everyone will get good marks and those who are successful and unsuccessful are not discriminated. That is against the secret of testing. All of those points should be taken into consideration related to the creation of devils, evil and harmful things.

1.az-Zumar, 39/7. Due to relevance to the issue,see Taftazani, Sharhul-Aqaid, p. 190, 192, 203, 221, 227, 235.
2.Nursi, B. S. Lem’alar. Envar Neşriyat, Istanbul, 1996, p. 71.
3.al-Baqara, 168, 208; al-An’am, 142; an-Nur, 21.

7.5.4.Hypotheses of Existence

Hypothesis of Random Existence: The hypothesis of the autonomy of the universe, which says, “Everything happened by chance/coincidence.”. In this theory, nature produces everything. Nature produces rain. This hypothesis attributes divinity to nature.

The other is the hypothesis of the domination of rules

In this hypothesis, power is attributed to rules. That is, the rules are written texts like law. When we attribute power to the rules, we defend this hypothesis.

Design-Based Hypothesis of Existence

Apart from the hypotheses above, there is another hypothesis of existence called design-based hypothesis.

How can we analyze those hypotheses? The advocates of the random existence hypothesis state the following: There were polytheistic religions; then, man evolved and monotheistic religions emerged. This evolution continued and finally the following was stated: “Man does not need god anymore.” Moreover, Nietzsche said, “God is dead.” When Nietzsche died, Time Magazine wrote the following: “Nietzsche is dead, and God is dead too”

Nietzsche’s theory is not valid since he could not find a cure for death. Dealing with God, including the 20th century, was thought as going out of the scientific field.

By organizing this congress in the scientific world, we will put forward the design-based creation as a separate hypothesis against the hypothesis of existence based on chance/coincidence, nature and rules; and we will gather evidence for the transformation of this hypothesis into theory. We will transform the arguments about how and by whom was design-based creation made into a theory.

Table 9
Hypotheses of Existence

1-Hypotheses of Random Existence
2-Hypotheses of the Autonomy of the Universe
3-Hypotheses of the Domination of Rules
4-Hypotheses of Design-Based Existence  (God)

Table 10
Reductio Ad Absurdum Method

• In this method, which is also called Proof by Contradiction,when the causality connections are determined and it is proved that three of the ways are impossible, it is understood that the fourth one is certain.
• Some people have reached the mountain top before. It is stated thatthere are four ways to go there. If a mountaineer shows that three ways are closed and that it is impossible to reach the top from them, it is understood that it is possible to reach the top through the fourth way.

Likewise, the theories explaining the existence in the universe are refuted by reasoning methods, the fourth way, “the existence of an external arranger” is proved.

Random Existence is Impossible According to Calculus of Probabilities 
In the random existence hypothesis, calculation of probabilities is in question; the protein in the DNA knows when it will die and how long the lifespan of DNA is. When we look at the structure of DNA, we can see that only the one that knows the whole universe can do it (Table 11).

Table 11
Difference between Concrete- Abstract Reasoning (Thought)

A concrete thinker sees the seed in the apple. An abstract thinker sees the apple in the seed. When we look at the universe like this, we will see the invisible facts through the eye of the mind.

A concrete thinker sees the seed in the apple. An abstract thinker sees the apple in the seed. When we look at the universe like this, we will see the invisible facts through the eye of the mind.

Similarly, when you look at the light, you conclude that it comes from the sun. You look at the light and even if you do not see the sun, you conclude that it comes from the sun  or a similar source.

Figure. An apple and its seeds.¹

Something is perfect, esthetic, cheap, quick and comes into being suddenly. If you go to a contractor and say, “Construct a building with the features mentioned above, that is, in the most beautiful and perfect way in all aspects; it should be the cheapest and built at once”, he will chase you away. However, the whole universe is perfect in all aspects and it was created at once. On the other hand, the autonomy of the universe, the entropy law, requires an external arranger.

You put some water in a glass. If you do not heat it, it gets cold. Or, if you do not mow your garden, it will be covered with grass. The more entropy rises, the more things disintegrate. It goes from perfection to disintegration. Therefore, we need constant control to keep the universe going. Control is necessary for the garden to be neat, similarly,  a creator is necessary in the universe.

As the existence of the table is certain, the existence of Allah is also certain by reasoning. The presence of a prophet is related to the law of abduction. The Prophet does not do anything wrong. He says, let them show if I am wrong. He says he will fight until he is destroyed (Table 12).

Table 12
Law of Abduction Foresees Invisible Reality

• If the Law of Abduction and Kitab Mubin (visible reality) exist, Imam Mubin (knowledge, order), that is invisible reality also exists. 
• The Claim of the Prophet
• Find my mistakes (in the Quran) or I will fight you until I am destroyed. However, they preferred war and misery. They could not find any mistakes about me, if they had found a mistake, they would have been saved (They preferred running away to discussing).²
• According to the Law of Abduction selective syllogism,
• 1^st Premise “The Prophet does not do wrong things.”
• 2^nd Premise The claim, “Show me if I have made something wrong”.
• “I am ready to fight until I am destroyed.”

Table 13
Is the universe Substance-Based or Energy-Based?
The invention of theoretical physics. According to Quantum Dynamics, every substance has wave property. First project, then work; that is, first, abstract information; then, concrete information. Quantum refuted dialectic materialism.
According to Quantum Dynamics,

1- Man is a conscious observer.
2- Everything in the universe both exists and does not exist.
3- They exist when they are observed; they do not exist when they are not observed.
4- Everything can be converted to digital format.
5-An electrical signal starts in the brain before making a decision.

Table 14
Hypothesis of Random Existence
There were polytheistic religions.
They evolved into Monotheistic Religions.
Now there is no need for God.
Random Existence -Struggle for Life - Natural Selection- Survival of the Fittest.
Calculus of Probabilities regard existence on its own impossible due to the probability of 10⁵⁰.

Table 15

• Is Random Existence Possible?
• According to Modal Logic and possible, probable and current calculations of the universe.
• When we look at DNA, it is obvious that only the one who knows the whole universe can do it; for instance, when we look at the light, we understand that it comes from the sun.  (Determinism principle)
• A conscious arranger is obligatory because according to the calculation of probabilities, it is impossible for something to happen by chance.
• It is contrary to the law of deduction, that is, impossible, for something to be perfect, esthetic, quick and cheap as well as happening at once, like the light being evidence for the existence of the sun. 

Table 16
Is the Autonomy of the Universe Possible?

• The law of entropy shows that an external arranger is obligatory.
• There is no consciousness in inorganic substances such as carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen. The creation of a conscious being by living beings with no consciousness is as unreasonable as stones and soil becoming a palace on their own. It is against the law of induction.
• Man employs about half the number of the soldiers of a battalion for the formation, gathering and management of a battalion.

The Imagination of the Real Creator Makes it Necessary for the Creator not to Have a Partner

• The existence of two captains in a team and two headmen in a village shows that will, power and knowledge are not absolute and that they have limits. This state is not sustainable.
• Contrary to the law of  Exclusion. It proves something to be proved by showing that its opposite is wrong.

The questions asked by the audience at the end of the article above and the answers given to them 

Questions and Answers about theories of mind
Question: Is there a gene region or lobe in the brain about reasoning based on logic that is different in man from other animals? Is there anything like that in monkeys? If we are to refute it, we need to have some data.
My second question is that I could not see any difference between theory of mind and theory of theory.
Answer: Let me start with the second question. In the theory of mind, you make a guess about what someone will do. For example, when he puts his hand in his pocket while walking toward the car,  you say, “He will take the key out of his pocket.” However,  in the theory of theory, when you talk to your addressee, you think about what he thinks. When you express your own opinion, you say what the other person thinks. One of them is related to your thought about the other person’s thought and the other is related to your thought about the other person’s behavior. Thinking about thought here is a different concept. In one of them, you think about the behavior and in the other you think about the thought (Table 5).
Question: Are the mind and consciousness the same. Do we know where they are in the brain?
Answer: Today, mind and consciousness are not the same. Previously, people used to say the mind and the body were separate. Now it has been understood that the mind and the body speak to each other. The mind is the function of the brain. The anterior region of the brain is the region of the brain related to logic. When this zone is removed, man becomes like a zombie. He controls his hands and feet; his body functions; he has animal qualities, but he has no human qualities. This occurs in people in whom the front region of the brain is removed. There are studies about consciousness now. There are theses claiming that consciousness is a holographic structure, that there is an upper brain in the quantum dynamics, that there is a quantum brain on brain, and that what establishes the connection with the spirit in man is the brain. There should be physicists in these congresses where these electromagnetic theses are discussed; quantum should also be discussed; there should be a congress where physicists, doctors  and biologists discuss (Table 13).

1.(https://www.google.com.tr/search?q=Elma+%C5%9Fekli+ve+i%C3%A7indeki+%C3%A7ekirde%C4%9Fi&rlz=1)
2.Nursi, B. S. Mektubat. p. 236.

Deeds of worship are conducive to the happiness of social life

A strong belief is necessary to fulfill the commands and to avoid the prohibitions of Allah. The maintenance and continuity of such belief is possible only through the continuation and repetition of worship.

A slave’s turning toward Allah makes it necessary for him to worship Allah and obey His commands. Obeying the commands of Allah makes the servant attain a perfect order.

For the perfection and progression of the society, an unshakable fraternity and a genuine love among the members of that society are necessary. Believers renew and strengthen the fraternity and love among them seriously and regularly through five daily prayers and duas to one another. What enables it is only worship.¹

Deeds of worship are conducive to a person’s perfection

Worship fills the spirit and heart of man with peace and joy, refreshing him. For example, the mind, the spirit and the heart attain great comfort in the worship of prayer. Worship causes the emergence, advancement and development of the abilities that are planted in the form of seeds in the human spirit. For example, deeds of worship such as fasting and zakah develops the feelings like patience, help, generosity, compassion and self-control, which exist in the human spirit.

Man distinguishes the good from the bad with worship, moves away from mistakes and is purified from sins thanks to it. For example, thanks to worship, man keeps away from sins like backbiting, gossiping and having bad thoughts about others.For example, five daily prayers purify man from minor sins committed between two prayers.

It is worship that makes man attain vision and perspective and puts his ideas into a certain order and system. Thanks to worship, the blessing of intellect given to man sees and evaluates the truth as the truth and the wrong as the wrong. Good judgment, which protects man from falling into heedlessness, is attained through worship.

It is worship that purifies man from the spiritual dirt and rust of all sins that he gets with his inner and outer feelings, that is, his eyes and ears from haram things and his mind from doubt and denial.²

Man’s duty is to improve his abilities with worshipping

The most important work of man in this world is to develop his abilities, which are his most valuable things. These abilities are like seeds in the soil. They can develop in both a useful and harmful way. Man’s duty is to cultivate and develop the beneficial ones through worship. For example, the feelings such as ambition, obstinacy, concern for the future, love and curiosity exist in the human spirit. These abilities can be used to gain the life of the world, temporary posts and wealth of the world, and fame; they can also be used in the services that enable man to gain the eternal bliss in the Hereafter through the high and eternal realities of belief and the principles of Islam. Worship increases the devotion of man to Allah.

In conclusion, deeds of worship are signs that show the degree of loyalty and respect of man to Allah. Thus, the more man obeys Allah’s commandments and prohibitions, the higher his acceptance will be in the presence of Allah; and, he will be a beloved servant. The highest rank for man is to be able to attain the love of God Almighty.

The criterion of loving Allah is to act in the way that Allah loves. The way that Allah loves is the deeds of worship that He informed us through His prophet, whom He sent as a guide to humanity. The forms and shapes of those deeds of worship are shown in the Sunnah of the Prophet. The Sunnah consists of the words, deeds and acts of the Prophet.

The spirit of worship is sincerity. Sincerity means doing something just because it is a command of Allah.

1.Nursi, B. S. İşârâtü’lİ’caz. p. 406.
2.Nursi, B.S. İşârâtü’lİ’caz. p. 408.

9.1.2-The world is Paradise for the unbeliever

Question:“Believers believe in Allah, try to obey His orders, but they are usually hit by misfortunes. What is more, the Messenger of Allah said, ‘The world is a dungeon for the believer and Paradise for the unbeliever”. Although the unbeliever is an enemy of Allah and the believer is His friend, why does Allah send misfortunes to believers?”

First of all, the misfortunes that hit believers are primarily blows of compassion. A father may punish his son to make him give up  his mistakes. This punishment is not because of his hostility to his son, but his love for him and his desire to protect him from danger. He wants to educate him and lead him to goodness. Allah Almighty warns His friends with blows of compassion by sending them misfortunes. Besides, He accepts the misfortunes as atonement for their sins and protects them from penalty in Hell. He also regards the goods and wealth lost in the misfortune as sadaqah.

We know that minor crimes are punished in small courts. Major crimes are referred to large courts. Similarly, the penalty of the minor faults of believers can be given in the world in the form of misfortunes. Thus, they are purified here. That is a kind of mercy for them. Since the crimes of unbelievers and heretic people are so big, their penalties are postponed to the Great Court in the hereafter. Therefore, they are not usually punished in the world.

Since the believer is punished in the world for his sins,  the world becomes a kind of a place of punishment and dungeon. And the world is relatively considered a “dungeon” for them compared to the hereafter where they will be very happy. In other words, even if they do not suffer misfortunes in the world, their worldly life is like a dungeon compared to the hereafter.¹

The world is like Paradise for those who do not believe since their major penalties are postponed to the hereafter and since they are rewarded partly for their good deeds in the world.

Secondly, believers obey the commands of Allah, carry the burden of worship and bear the responsibility of being slaves of Allah. Even though they are free, they are “Abdullah = servants and slaves of Allah”. The burden and responsibility of worship are apparently distressful and hard for them. In this respect, the world is also considered their dungeon. However, those who do not believe and heretic people do not have the burden and responsibility of worship in the world. They live freely and independent of all commands and prohibitions, based on their own desires and as they wish; so, they are in a kind of false Paradise.

In addition, no matter what difficulties and misfortunes a believer encounters, he is happier than an unbeliever. His belief grants him a spiritual paradise. Unbelief is a spiritual hell that spiritually punishes it in his spirit.

1.Nursi, B. S. Sözler. Diyanet Vakfı Yayınları-600, Ankara, 2^nd impression, 2016, p. 205.

8.1.4.1-The Chemistry of Love

When the brain is disrupted, the person is taught to speak again. Therefore, the network structure in the brain is a source. A source of the chemical structure in the brain is the chemistry of love. The chemistry of love is an interesting topic. When you fall in love, your sleepy mood disappears. It is about the attraction feature of love. The smell particles related to sexuality are connected with this attraction. Chemicals, dopamine, serotonin, growth hormone, appetite, satiety, hunger and sleep in humans are chemicals related to it. When they are secreted very much, the person becomes very energetic and when they are secreted a little, the energy becomes less. It is about the heart and physical activities. When testosterone and estrogen hormones are secreted excessively, they are connected with the sense of love; smell particles are also associated with the feeling of love; oxytocin and vasopressin are related to the chemistry of love chemistry love, oxytocin is secreted the most in breastfeeding mothers.

Think of the mother-child attachment; the mother is so attached to her child that she sees her child as a part of her and sacrifices herself for her child. For example, when a fire breaks out and the nest of the swallow starts to burn, the swallow immediately goes to the nest and rescues her young. In some cases, the coward chicken attacks the lion. Why? It was created and genetically coded like that. Oxytocin is secreted in such a way that it thinks it is another animal. The brain does it. Oxytocin is produced synthetically today. It is given to male monkeys in Switzerland. They become more interested in the females and in their offspring; they become more interested in furry things. Oxytocin is sold today and it is given to some married couples. They are advised to spray it into their noses before going to bed; it is defined as love hormone. However, the ideal thing is to let the brain produce it on its own.

When it cannot be taught, they attempt to activate a sense of love with synthetic applications. Since the body cannot be given oxytocin 24 hours a day, the intelligent person activates the pharmacy in his brain. He releases his own oxytocin; physical contact increases oxytocin. For instance, hugging increases oxytocin. Therefore, we tell married couples to sleep by hugging each other even if they are cross and even if there is no sexuality. When they lie by hugging each other, oxytocin is secreted and the bonds are strengthened.

Physical contact is one of the languages ​​of love. Another language of love is speaking;  speaking is a language of love; giving each other presents is a language of love; eye contact is a language of love; so is helping. Therefore, when we use the language of love, the brain secretes oxytocin. When oxytocin is secreted, attachment occurs and the feeling of love occurs in a person. Love is derived from the word ivy in Arabic. The ivy is attached to things so much that it dies when the thing it is attached to dies.

The feeling of love is such a feeling; it reached such an ultimate point in Layla and Majnun that Layla and Majnun fell in love but when they came together, their love ended. Then, Majnun said, “Why was this love given to me?” For divine love. Then, Majnun left Layla and headed toward divine love.

However, if Layla and Majnun lived now, we would hospitalize them in psychiatry ward; there would be no love left. He could reach Layla but not God. That is probably one of the risks of science. If there was such a pathological love at the moment, it could be cured; the people of letters will get angry but this is one of the cold faces of science.

10.3. INTERMEDIATE (TRANSITIONAL) FORMS*
Put Forward as Evidence of Evolution

It is claimed by the view of evolution that all living beings evolved over time with the differentiation of a single cell. As evidence for this claim, it was suggested that transitional forms between species would be found. However, for almost 150 years, no example has been put forward to confirm that claim.

Organisms that are assumed to have completed the missing links of the evolutionary chain and that resemble the organism preceding it in terms of some characteristics and the organism succeeding it in terms of some characteristics are called “intermediate form” or “transitional form”.

All scientific studies show that every living being species was created directly with their own genetic potentials, abilities and characteristics.

It used to be claimed that those intermediate forms came into being gradually over time. If all living beings had come from one another in the form of a chain originally from a single cell, there should have been a lot of organisms with the characteristics of intermediate forms in the form of fossils. For example, it is claimed that frogs came into being from fish gradually. There should have been a being with the intermediate form characteristic in this transition; it should have started as 90% fish, 10% frog, continued as 80% fish, 20% frog, and finally ended as 10% fish 90% frog. Such a being that should have occurred at each phase should have had a similar spouse to reproduce and they should have undergone the same phases, reproducing a gene pool.

There should be tens of intermediate forms for the emergence of a different species from a living group by changing as it is claimed. When you think of this for the whole realm of living beings, this number increases to hundreds of thousands. However, there is not even a single fossil that everybody can agree on.

In this regard, in order to mislead the public and to condition them to a certain ideology, the press periodically reports that a fossil has been found and that it is the ancestor of man that lived in the past. Of course, no one has the opportunity to investigate the accuracy of that claim.

Another way of misleading the society on this issue is to show a freak of any kind, that is, a strange creature, and to suggest that the intermediate forms are like that. They have no scientific value. This type of behavior is similar to pulling a rabbit out of the hat by an illusionist.

Let us review living beings in terms of transitional fossil form.

10.3.1- Transition from Protozoa to Invertebrate Metazoa

The first living beings on earth were seen in the Precambrian era about 1.5 billion years ago. They were unicellular algae from Protozoa. This group of living beings is still present in the form and structure in which it first appeared on earth. In the Cambrian era, which came after the Precambrian era, living beings did not display a gradual transition from unicellular to multicellular, as evolutionists claim. The multicellular organisms seen in this period had no similarity to one another and did not show any similarity to their predecessors.

The sudden emergence of multicellular organisms is called “the Cambrian explosion”. Among those living beings are invertebrate with highly complex structure like sponges, corals, Trilobites, Brachiopods, Mollusks, Echinoids and Arthropods.¹

Guttman states in his biology book he published in 1999 that there was no relation or connection between unicellular microorganisms in the Precambrian era and these highly complex invertebrates in the Cambrian era.²

On the other hand, researchers such as Axelrod, George and Kay indicate that Cambrian invertebrates suddenly appeared on Earth at the end of the Precambrian period without a transition form^,.^3,4

On the earth, unicellular algae were first seen about 1.5 billion years ago in the Precambrian Era. After that, multicellular Brachiopods, Mollusks, Echinoids and Arthropods came into being suddenly in the Cambrian Era.  There is no fossil form that shows transition between those groups of living beings.

Richard Monestarsky states that complex life suddenly appeared on earth as follows:

“The remarkably complex forms of animals we see today suddenly appeared. These arrivals coincided with the beginning of the Cambrian era. The seas and the earth filled with the first complex creatures began in this period”.⁵

Richard Dawkins, an evolutionist British zoologist, points out that complex creatures suddenly appeared:

     “The invertebrate groups in the Cambrian strata seem to have occurred there without any history of evolution. This sudden appearance definitely pleases creationists”.⁶

10.3.2- Transition from Invertebrates to Vertebrates⁷

In general, invertebrates have soft parts inside and hard shells outside. It is different in vertebrates. They have a skeleton inside.

There were vertebrates such as jawless vertebrates (Cyclostomata), cartilaginous fish (Elasmobranchii) and bony fishes (Teleostomi) at the end of the Ordovician period, which was observed 430 million years ago and after the Cambrian period and at the beginning of the Devonian age 330 million years ago.

Omma­ney states in his book called “The Fishes” and Romer in his book called “Vertebrata Paleon­to­logy” that there is no fossil to provide a connection between those fish and the invertebrates that are regarded as their ancestors.⁸

Evolutionist paleontologist Gerald Todd points out that there is no transition form between fish groups and states the following:

“All three classes of bony fish appear in fossil strata simultaneously and all of a sudden; they do not show any connection with any groups that can be their ancestors”.⁹

Gordon Taylor states that there is no transition form between finned and limbed creatures:

 “There are no intermediate forms between finned and limbed creatures in the fossil collection of the world”.¹⁰

10.3.3-Transition from Fish to Frogs

The lobe-finned fish (Rhipidistian crossopterygian) and the tailed frog (Ichthyostega) are introduced as a transitional form between fish and frogs (Figures 1a and 1b).

It was assumed that the Rhipidistian crossopterygian, called the Lobe-finned Fish or Coelacanth, lived for a certain period and produced frogs as the environmental conditions changed, and that it had disappeared at the end of the Cretaceous period, approximately 70 million years ago. In his book “The Hamlyn Encyclopedia of Prehistoric Animals”, Hublin states that the fish Latemariachalumnea , which is in the same group as this fossil form, was caught in several places included in Mozambique in 1935, in Madagascar in 1939, in the Comoros in 1953, and in Africa in 1955, which eliminates its feature of being a transitional form¹¹(Figure 2).

Figure 1. a) The picture of the lobe-finned fish (Rhipidistian crossopterygian) regarded as the ancestor of the tailed toad b) The picture the tailed toad (Ichthyostega) drawn based on the data.

Robert Carroll, points out in his book called "Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution" that there is no transitional form between fish and frogs as follows: 

     “We do not have fossils that have the property of transitional form between the first frogs and fish”.¹²

Edwin Colbert and Morales point out that the frogs of the past and the present are of the same structure:

“There is not a single piece of evidence to show that the Paleozoic (First Time) frogs have a common ancestor. The oldest known frogs are similar to those of today”.¹³

Figure 2. Latimaria from the lobe-finned fish (Coelacanth) group.

10.3.4- Transition from Frogs to Reptiles

Seymouria and Didactes, which lived at the beginning of the Permian Period, are suggested as the transitional forms between frogs and reptiles. However, in the light of today’s knowledge, we see that frogs and reptiles lived together in the Carboniferous Period. Therefore, it is not possible to explain both the emergence of reptiles from frogs and the existence of frogs with the deterioration of environmental conditions during the same period. As a matter of fact, Seymouria is considered by some as a “very developed real frog”, not the “ancestor of reptiles.¹⁴

Robert Carroll, points out that there is no fossil showing the transition from frogs to reptiles in his book called“Problems of the Origins of Reptiles”:

     “We do not have a single fossil specimen that could be the true ancestor of the first reptile. Therefore, the absence of such an intermediate form invalidates the claim that there is a transition from frogs to reptiles”.¹⁵

 10.3.5- Transition from Reptiles to Birds

It is suggested that reptile scales turned into feathers during the transition from the reptile to the bird. However, some evolutionists point out that this view is wrong. Barbara, one of them, evaluates the issue as follows:

“Feathers have a very complex structure … There is no form with the feature of transition between scales and feathers”.¹⁶

Brush is of the view that feathers appeared suddenly; he states the following:

“Feathers emerge suddenly in the fossil record as a characteristic of birds only”.¹⁷

Feduccia states that the transition from the reptile to the bird is impossible:

     “Transition from the reptile to the bird is not possible in terms of biophysics”.¹⁸

Archaeopteryx

Archaeopteryx is suggested as the transitional form between reptiles and birds.A fossil was found among the Upper Jurassic limestones (Figure 7.4).

Figure 3. a- Archaeopteryx fossil, b- Estimated form of archaeopteryx.

Archaeopteryx lived approximately 140 million years ago (Figure 3).

     The reptile-like features of archaeopteryx, which is usually in bird form, can be listed as follows:

a) The presence of claws on the edge of the wings.

b) The presence of teeth in the mouth.

c) The presence of the spine in the tail.

It is stated in the work titled “Jurassic Bird Challenges Origin Theories” that Archaeopteryx is not the passage form between reptiles and birds and the following points are put forward about the issue:

1-The Hoatzin bird (Opisthocomus hoatzin), now living in South America, and the Tourako bird of Africa (Touracocoryhaix of the Musophogidae family) also have claws at the edge of their wings in their youth, and the spine structure of the Hoatzin bird is similar to that of the archaeopteryx (Figure 4). There are also three claws on the wings of the Ostrich living in South America.¹⁹

2-The archaeopteryx has an asymmetrical feather structure like that of modern birds. This is regarded as evidence for its flying.

3-It was claimed that the archaeopteryx did not have the necessary breastbone to fly. The last seventh Archaeopteryx fossil that was found revealed the presence of the breastbone.

Paleontologists Lianhai Hou and Zhonghe Zhou of the Vertebrate Paleontology Institute in China found a bird fossil, which they called “Confuciusor” in 1995. Confuciusor, which was the same age as the archaeopteryx, about 140 million years old, had no teeth, and its beak and feathers had the same features as those of modern birds. The skeletal structure of this bird, which is the same as the birds of today, had claws on its wings just like the archaeopteryx.

Figure 4 .Hoatzin bird, which has claws on its wings.

Shipman states that the discovery of Confuciusor refuted the thesis that archaeopteryx was the ancestor of birds.²⁰

A bird named Liaoningornis, which is 130 million years old, was found by Hou, Martin and Alan Feduccia in China in 1996. Liaoningornis, which is 10 million years younger than the archaeopteryx, is reported to have a breastbone that holds the flight muscles, which are also found in the birds of today; the only difference is that the birds of today have teeth in their mouths. Feduccia also states that Liaoningornis invalidates the claim that “the origin of birds is dinosaurs”.²¹

Another fossil related to birds was found in the West Texas Desert. This two-piece fossil, which was evaluated by Sankar Chatterjee in 1984, is called “the first bird” (Protoavis) and is said to have lived 225 million years ago.²²

If it is considered that archaeopteryx lived 140 million years ago, it will be understood that the fossil discovered by Sankar Chatterjee lived 85 million years before archaeopteryx.

According to the claim of evolutionists archaeopteryx must have evolved from dinosaurs. However, in light of the recent fossils, some evolutionists do not accept archaeopteryx’s being the intermediate form. Alan Feduccia, who specializes in birds, states the following:

“I have studied bird skulls for twenty-five years. I do not see any similarities whatsoever between them and dinosaurs. The theropod origins of birds, in my opinion, will be the greatest embarrassment of paleontology of the 20th century!”²³

There was a different claim regarding the archaeopteryx in the Punch magazine dated September 2, 1987. It is claimed in the article published by “William Hewison” that the feather marks belonging to the fossil of the archaeopteryx found in 1861 were put later by Richard Owen with a printing block. The common opinion about the archaeopteryx is that it is a toothed bird, that it lived for a certain period of life and that it disappeared later ^,,24,25,26.

As a matter of fact, some reptiles and frogs today have teeth, while others do not.

10.3.6-Transition from Reptiles to Mammals

Seymouria and didactes are regarded as the ancestors of reptiles. Synopsidae suborder, which is regarded as the pioneer of mammals, was seen on earth before those orders, which are regarded as the ancestors of reptiles. Therefore, it is impossible for reptiles to be the ancestors of mammals.²⁷

In his book titled “The Reptiles That Became Mammals”, Kemp insists that there are no transitional forms showing the transition from reptiles to mammals.

In his book called “Vertebrata Paleontology”, Romer points out that there is no fossil showing that bats (of flying mammals) come from reptiles.²⁸

Ommaney states that the bat fossils found between the aged strata are no different from those of today.²⁹

The evolutionist George Gaylord Simpson, one of the founders of the Neo-Darwinist Theory, states in his work called “Life Before Man” that there is no intermediate form related to mammals:

     “The most puzzling event in the history of life on earth is the change from the Mesozoic, the Age of Reptiles, to the Age of Mammals. It is as if the curtain were rung down suddenly on the stage where all the leading roles were taken by reptiles, especially dinosaurs, in great numbers and bewildering variety, and rose again immediately to reveal the same setting but an entirely new cast, a cast in which the dinosaurs do not appear at all, other reptiles are supernumeraries, and all the leading parts are played by mammals of sorts barely hinted at in the preceding acts”.³⁰

10.3.7-The Horse is put forward as an Example to the Evolution of Higher Organisms

The changes that the horse underwent during its phylogeny are given as an example to the evolution of higher organisms. According to the claim of Weller, Eohippus, known as the “primitive horse”, which lived in the Eocene Epoch, had four toes on each forefoot and three on each hind foot; all of the toes pressed on the ground when it walked.³¹

According to Johnson, the third toe of the horse developed while the others were gradually reduced and disappeared. It is claimed that it was because the horses ate the young branches and leaves of the trees but later began to eat grass since the pastures became dominant beginning from the Miocene Epoch.

It is assumed that only by running fast can it be possible to be protected from the enemies in plains where the horses graze on the grassland; thus, the third toe developed and enlarged, causing the others to disappear. The toes other than the third toe atrophied and became useless and vestigial organs.³²

The Evaluation of the Evolution of the Horse

The decrease in the number of toes is attributed to the feeding style hence running and fleeing from the enemies.

The assumption, “If an organ is used, it will develop, and if it is not used, it will atrophy” is known as “Lamarck’s Principle”. It has been understood for the last 20 years that Lamarck’s principle was based on modification, that is, the transfer of the change in somatic cells to the youngs is impossible; however, it is transferred through a change in the gametes. Besides, through the same reasoning, it will be necessary to explain why many animals primarily rabbits that escape from their enemies did not undergo similar changes.

Wells states the following regarding the issue:

“Three years before Charles Darwin’s death in 1882, Yale University paleontologist Othniel Marsh published a drawing of horse fossils to show how modern one-toed horses had evolved from a small four-toed ancestor. His drawings, which included only foot bones and teeth, were supported by the addition of the skull and the drawings of horse fossils, and quickly found their way into museum exhibits and biology textbooks as evidence for evolution.³³

It is disputable whether the splint bones in the horse leg are vestigial organs because they have some functions. According to Cousins, the functions are as follows:

1. They provide strengthening for the horse’s leg.
2. They are attachment areas for several leg muscles..
3. They make a protective groove for the suspensory ligament that supports a horse’s weight.³⁴

Dunouy and Goldschmidt state that the single-toed horse existed on the earth in the Mesozoic Era, 130 million years ago, that is, long before the multi-toed horse. According to them, the first multi-toed horse appeared in the Eocene, 55 million years ago and the last generation of the multi-toed horse became extinct in the Miocene, about 25 million years ago^,35,36.

Boyce Rensberger, one of the evolutionist biologists, states that the scenario of the evolution of the horse has no foundation in the fossil record, and that no evolutionary process has been observed that would account for the gradual evolution of horses:

     “The popularly told example of horse evolution, suggesting a gradual sequence of changes from four-toed fox-sized creatures living nearly 150 million years ago to today’s much larger one-toed horse, has long been known to be wrong. Instead of gradual change, fossils of each intermediate species appear fully distinct, persist unchanged, and then become extinct. Therefore, they are not transitional forms but different forms with separate structures”.³⁷

Evolutionist Colin Patterson, one of the administrators of the British Museum of Natural History, expresses a similar view:

     “The exhibit on horse evolution prepared fifty years ago, which is still on exhibit downstairs, is nothing but a bad imaginary story. The evolution of the horse has been presented as ‘the great truth’ in hundreds of scientific books. However, what those people do is nothing but speculation”.³⁸

It is stated that the fossils that the equine evolution are based on the invented sequences of fossils, set out in order of size, belonging to different life forms that lived at different times in India, North America, South America and Europe. There is no consensus regarding the issue among the evolutionists. Various researchers have proposed more than 20 different equine evolution sequences. The only thing these sequences have in common is the belief that the first ancestor of the horse was a dog-like animal known as Eohippus (Hyracotherium), which lived in the Eocene Period some 55 million years ago. However, Hitching says, “Eohippus, which is presented as the “ancestor of the horse”, is in fact identical to the animal known as the “Hyrax”, which is still to be found in Africa today, which has nothing to do with the horse and bears no resemblance to it.³⁹

Gordon R. Taylor, an evolutionist, writes the following in his book, “The Great Evolution Mystery” about the sequences of horses:

     “Paleontologists failed to find the fossils related to the equine sequences put forward by evolutionists. The sequence of horses is presented as the only fully worked-out example regarding evolution, but it is not so. The line from Eohippus to today’s Equus is very erratic. Specimens from different sources can be brought together in a convincing-looking sequence, but there is no evidence that they were actually ranged in this order in time^“.⁴⁰

It is understood that each species of the multi-toed horses is a separate kind and that they lived in a certain period and then became extinct... The ancestors of the single-toed horses are also single-toed.

10.3.8-The Past of Insects

Throughout the geological periods on Earth, different organisms and different living species emerged; some of them did not change at all and some of them survived until today with minor changes. Some lived for a certain period and disappeared.

Fossils of insects were found in materials like amber, volcanic ashes and coal. Since even the internal organs, tissues and cell structures were kept in very good condition in amber, they could be compared with the existing insects. In his book called , “Insects in Amber”, Brues states that there are no differences in shape between insects that were created 350 million years ago and the insects living today.⁴¹

However, some of the insects in the past were larger and bigger than their relatives today like big cockroaches and giant ants. One feature of insects is that they have very different forms. Therefore, it is difficult to identify from which source they may have formed. In his book called “The Evolution of Life”, Olsen draws attention to the fact that there is no information about how insects started flying.⁴²

10.3.9-General Evaluation about Transitional Forms

The theory of evolution explains the arrival of living beings on earth with “gradual emergence”. Living organisms must have slowly formed over time from simple to higher structures. Evidence of it will be fossils. When this view was put forward in the 1850s, the general idea was like that. However, since fossil materials to support this view could not be found in the course of time, evolutionists criticized this view. The famous British paleontologist Derek states the following:

“When we examine the fossil record in detail, we see groups that developed on earth suddenly, not through gradual evolution”.⁴³

The evolutionist Carlton expresses a similar view:

High organisms appeared on Earth gradually, depending on time. There can be only one explanation for it: The living beings that were suitable for the earth conditions that improved gradually were sent to the earth. In other words, sheep were created after grass and plants were created. The fossils proposed as intermediate or transitional forms do not have the feature of being intermediate forms.

“Did life on earth evolve slowly and gradually over time? The answer of the fossil record to this question is ‘no’”.⁴⁴

Tom from Oxford University says that there are no fossils showing the transition of species:

“According to the fossil record, many species emerged suddenly, remained unchanged for several million years and disappeared suddenly. There is no single fossil specimen showing the transition of species from one generation to another”.⁴⁵

Steven points out that there is no fossil evidence to confirm gradual evolution and states the following:

“The known fossil record has not been able to provide any fossil evidence that gradual evolution could be valid”.⁴⁶

Adler points out that intermediate form researchers are disappointed with what they have achieved and states the following:

“The more scientists look for inter-species forms, the more disappointment occurs”.⁴⁷

Mark, who is an evolutionist, states that species appear suddenly and disappear suddenly:

“Species form suddenly and disappear suddenly. This supports creationists who claim that species are created by Allah.⁴⁸

Gould, the evolutionist, of Harvard University states that the evolutionary family tree was drawn based on the imagination of evolutionists, not on the fossil record:⁴⁹

“The evolutionary family trees in our books are based on our design, not on the fossil record”.

Throughout the geological periods on Earth, different organisms and different living species emerged; some of them did not change at all and some of them survived until today with minor changes. Some lived for a certain period and disappeared.

One thing that draws attention here is the gradual appearance of high organisms on Earth depending on time. There can be only one explanation for it: The living beings that were suitable for the earth conditions that improved gradually were sent to the earth. In other words, sheep were created after grass and plants were created. The fossils proposed as intermediate or transitional forms do not have the feature of being intermediate forms. It has now been a general opinion that the fossils proposed so far are not sufficient and reliable material.

*It was published beforehand (ÂdemTatlı, Hasan Akan, İdris Görmez, İsmail Kocaçalışkan. Biyolojinin ve Kimyanın DilindenYaratılış. AkderYayını, 2018, p. 174-196).
1.Cloud, S. Pseudofossils, A Plea For Caution. Ge­ology. November. 1973, p. 123.
2.Guttman, B. S. Biology. Boston: WCB/ McGraw-Hill, p.718, 1999.
3.Axelrod, D. Early Cambrian Marine Fauna. Sci­ence. 1959, Vol. 128. p.7. 
4.George, T.N. Fossils in Evolutionary Perspective. Science Progress. 1960, Vol. 48, January, p.5.; Kay, M. and Colbert, H.E. Stratigraphy and Life History. New York. John Wiley and Sons. 1965, p.102.
5.Monestarsky, R. Mysteries of the Orient. Discover, April, 1993, p. 40.
6.Dawkins, R.The Blind Watchmaker. London,W.W. Norton, 1986, p. 229.
7.For more information: ÂdemTatlı. Evrim veYaratılış. Hilal Ofset Isparta,5^th impression, 2018. p. 316
8.Ommaney,F.D. "The Fishes.Life Nature Library." New York. 1964, s.60.; Romer,AS. Vertebrata Paleontology. Chicago Press. 1966, p.15-33.
9.Todd, G.T. Evolution of the Lung and the Origin of Bony Fishes: A Casual    Relationship. American Zoologist, Vol. 26, no: 4, 1980, p.757.
10.Taylor, G. R. The Great Evolution Mystery. Harper &Row, 1983, p.60.
11.Hublin, J. The Hamlyn Encyclopedia of Prehistoric Anima1p. New York. 1984, p.120.
12.Carroll, L. R. Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution. New York W.H.Freeman and Co., 1988, p. 4, 138.
13.Colbert, E. H., & Morales, M. Evolution of the Vertebrates. New York, John Wiley and sons, 1991, p. 99.
14.Curtis, H. and Barnes, S. Invitation to Biology. 5^th impression New York: Worth Publishers, p.405, 1994.
15.Denton, M. Evolution. A Theory in Crisis. Burnett Books, London, 1985.
16.Barbar, J. Stahl. Vertebrate History: Problems in Evolution. New York: Dover Publication, 1985, s.349-350.
17.Brush, A.H. On the Origin of Feathers. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. Vol.9, 1996, s.131-33.
18.Anonymous. Jurassic Bird Challenges Origin Theories. Geotimes. Vol. 41, 1996, s.7.
19.Grimmer, J.L. Natural Geographic. 1962, August. p.391.
20.Shipman, S. Birds do it...Did Dinosaurs? New Scientist, 1 February 1997, p.31.
21.Feduccia, A. Old Bird. Discover. 21 Mart,1997.
22.Time, 25 August1986, p.36.
23.Shipman, S. Birds do it...Did Dinosaurs? New Scientist, 1 February 1997, s.28.
24.Beddart, F.E.  The Structure and Classification of Birds. Longmans, Green and Ca., London.1989, p.160.
25.Gregory, W.K. New American Academy of Sci­ence. Annals, 1916, Vol.  27.p.31.
26.Nouy, L. Human Destiny. The New American Lib­rary. New York. 1947, p.58.; Swinton,W.E. In Biology and Comparative Physi­ology of Birds. Ed.By. A.J. Marshall Academic Press,New York, 1960, Vol. p.1
27.Kemp,T. The Reptiles That Became Mammals. New Scientist. 1982, Vol. 92.
28.Romer,AS. Vertebrata Paleontology. Chicago Press. 1966, s.303.
29.Romer,AS. Vertebrata Paleontology. Chicago Press. 1966, s.15-33.
30.Simpson, G. Life Before Man. New York, Time-Life Books, 1972, p. 42.
31.Weller, M. J. The Course of Evolution. New York. 1969, pp. 689.
32.Johnson,W.H., Laubenga, R. A. and De Lanney, L. E. General Biology. Third Edition. New York. 1965, 788 pp.
33.Wells, J. Ibid p. 181.
34.Cousins, F.W. Creation Research Society Quarterly. 1971, Vol. 8. S. 99.
35.Dunouy, L.Human Destiny.The New American Library. New York.1947, p.74.
36.Goldschmidt, R.B. American Scientist. 1952, Vol. 40.p.97.
37.Rensberger, B. Houston Chronicle, 5 November, 1980, CHAPTER 4, s.15.
38.Patterson, C. Harper’s.  February, 1984, p.60.
39.Hitching, F. The Neck of the Giraffe: Where Darwin Went Wrong? New York.Ticknor and Fields, 1982, p.30-31.
40.Gordon, R.T. The Great Evolution Mystery. London, Sphere Books, 1984, p.230.
41.Brues, C.T. Insects in Amber. Scientific American. 1951, Vol.185. p.60.
42.Olsen,E.C. The Evolution of Life. The New Ame­rican Library. New York. 1965, p.180.
43.Derek, A. The Nature of the Fossil Record. Proceedings of British Geological   Association. Vol. 87, 1976, s.133.
44.Carlton, B. Statis:The Life in the Balance. Geotimes, Vol. 40, Mart 1995, s.18.
45.Tom, S.K. Mammal-Like Reptiles and the Origin of Mammals. New York American Pres, 1982, s.363.
46.Steven, M. S. Macroevolution: Pattern and Process. San Francisco. W.H. Freeman and C., 1979, s.39.
47.Adler, J. Who Doubts Evolution? New Scientist, issue 90,1981, p.831.
48.Mark C. The Revival of the Creationist Crusade. Maclen’s, 19 January, 1981, s.56.
49.Gould, S., J. EvriminDüzensizAdımları. Naturel History. May,1977, p.13.

 4.2.5-DNA shows that its master is pre-eternal and post-eternal

Words will not suffice to explain DNA and RNA molecules. As it is known, DNA is the molecule that carries genetic information in living beings. In other words, they are the molecules in which the plans and programs of living beings are kept and used when necessary. This is called genetic information. The system in which genetic information is kept in all living beings is similar.¹

Figure 7. Schematic appearance of DNA molecule.

      This shows that the creator of all of them is the same. DNA exists in all living beings: in plants, flies, donkeys, etc. Since none of these creatures, even man, who is the most intelligent and conscious among them, cannot make the DNA, and has not been able to understand it fully so far, and since DNA cannot create itself, the one that creates DNA can be only Allah, who has infinite knowledge and power. DNA is not something that is made of steel. On the contrary, it is an extremely simple molecule. Although it is so simple, the genetic information it carries remains unchanged for centuries and is passed on from generation to generation. This fact also clearly shows that the creator of the DNA must be pre-eternal and post-eternal.

            As it is known, man has been able to discover to a great extent the genetic code that the DNA keeps by working for many years. Even the leaders of the two great countries of the world, the USA and the UK, proudly announced this achievement to the world. What did they announce? It was the understanding of the genetic code in DNA. In the meantime, those who discovered DNA (not those who made it) were awarded the Nobel Prize. In other words, no one has ever thought of making a new DNA molecule and putting as much genetic information as possible in it. Since man has never thought of making a DNA molecule though today’s technology is so advanced, the being that makes DNA can only be the Lord of the pre-eternal and post-eternal realms, Almighty God, who has infinite knowledge.

            Nowadays, people are trying to model DNA for computers because a spoonful DNA molecule can store the knowledge that hundreds of advanced computers can.

            In conclusion,

            1. All living beings are made of different arrangements of the same atoms.

            2. The molecules in the cells work continuously without having a break and making a mistake so that living beings will continue living.

            3. The molecular phenomena in humans, animals, and plants in the universe are generally the same.

            4. Since there is almost an infinite number of cells in the living beings in the universe, and the chemical events in all these cells are done perfectly by the molecules, only a being with infinite knowledge, strength, power and wisdom can do them; and that being is Allah, who is the Lord of the realms.

1.Stryer L, Biochemistry, Third edition, W. H. Freeman and Company, New York, 1988, S. 150

Let us briefly explain those various descriptions of man.

What Does Man’s Being a Guest Mean?

Man is a guest and the world is a guesthouse. Each guesthouse has a manual and an official who guides the guests; the manual of the world guesthouse is the heavenly books and its guide is prophets. The last of manual is the Quran and the last guide is the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

The guest has to act based on the requests of the host. He cannot do the things that the host will not consent. He cannot waste, give the food of the host to others, take the food from the table and give others as charity or throw the food away.

Everything in the universe belongs to Allah. Man belongs to Him too. That is, man’s body, material and spiritual feelings, eye, ear, mind, etc. have been entrusted to him temporarily.¹

Man has been equipped with those feelings and emotions just like the equipment entrusted to a soldier by the state. A soldier cannot use the things entrusted to him as he wishes; similarly, man cannot use the means and emotions given to him by Allah as he wishes.

One cannot end his life, which has been entrusted to him by God Almighty, by committing suicide. He cannot blind his eye deliberately; he cannot look at haram things, which means blinding the eye spiritually, without the consent of the one who has given him the eye. He cannot kill his ears, tongue and other organs spiritually by using them to commit haram deeds. He cannot say:

— It is my eye. I can look at whomever I wish.

— It is my ear. I can listen to whatever I wish.

— It is my mouth. I can speak however I wish. All of our organs have been entrusted to us. If we use them without the permission of our Lord, who is the real owner of them, we will be regarded to have killed them spiritually:

Animals are also entrusted to man by Allah. They should be treated well. Man cannot kill an animal whose flesh is not eaten unnecessarily; he cannot torture animals.

What Does Man’s Being a Traveler Mean?

Man is a traveler in this world. We all know that when a journey starts, preparation is made according to the length of the road. The more you intend to stay in a place, the more preparation you make. In this world, man is the traveler of an eternal journey from which he will never return. Everyone will inevitably embark on this journey. The time of departure is not certain. There is no difference between young and old, sick and healthy. Therefore, the most important duty of every person is not to forget about the requirements of the eternal life while thinking about the requirements of this worldly life.

In this journey, man is given a 24-hour capital every day by Allah to obtain the things he needs in both lives. For example, in this journey, prayer will be our spirit in the world, food for the heart and our spiritual wealth; it will be food and light in the grave, into which we will definitely enter; it will be our certificate of salvation in the Gathering Place; it will be light and our mount on the Sirat Bridge over which everybody will have to pass.

In conclusion, man will be called to account for how he spent the capital called life in the world and whether he spent it appropriately or not. 

What Does Man’s Being an Official in the World Mean?

Man was sent to the world as an official. Just as an official is obliged to fulfill his duty so too is man obliged to fulfill the commandments of Allah.

Thus, man, who was sent to the world as an official, is responsible for the fulfillment of the commandments he receives from Allah.

What Does Man’s Being an Inspector and Vicegerent Mean?

Man is an inspector of the earth. The inspector is the one who inspects, searches and investigates something, sees the mistakes and good deeds; he examines and then informs the authorities about them; in short, he searches everything. The purpose of this inspection is to investigate and evaluate all material and spiritual feelings of man and the beings in the universe. That is also what sciences do. As a matter of fact, Nobel Laureate Pakistani physicist, Abdus Salam describes sciences as the art of examining the works of Allah in the universe.

Thus, man does this research with the intelligence and other feelings given to him. The tongue distinguishes all tastes, the eye distinguishes all colors and the ear distinguishes all sounds.

As every work shows its owner, all beings in this universe show Allah. For example, the faces, the eyes, and the fingerprints of a person are unique and they are not the same as those of anybody. This is valid for the people living today and in the past as well as the people to live in the future. Such differences are manifested in everything from animals and plants to snowflakes. The unique creation of everything clearly reveals the oneness, infinite knowledge, will and power of Allah. Allah wants to introduce Himself to people with those works; He also shows that He loves people with His blessings. He wants people to show that they know him by believing in Him and to love Him by worshipping Him.

Man is the vicegerent of the earth; every deed of man is recorded, whether it is small or big, and he has great responsibility both toward the creatures and Allah. The responsibility of man increases as his authority increases. Accordingly, his reward and punishment will increase. A vicegerent cannot act randomly and talk carelessly in the presence of others. He has to act carefully. 

Thus, man has to act temperately and carefully so as not to be ridiculed by others and embarrassed in the presence of Allah since all of his deeds are recorded.  

What Does Man’s Being a Fruit Mean?

If we liken the universe to a tree, man is the last and most talented, perfect fruit of the tree of the universe and a seed of that tree.

What Does the Universe’s Being a Tree Mean?

The universe can be likened to a tree whose roots are elements, whose leaves are plants, whose flowers are animals and whose fruits are human beings. The roots, stem, leaves and flowers of the tree serve fruits; similarly, everything in the universe, including the heavens and the earth, plants and animals, serves man. In other words, man is like the last and most talented fruit of this wonderful tree of the universe.

The purpose and outcome of this tree of universe is man; similarly, the fruit of man is thanking, worshipping, praising and loving his Creator. The thanking, loving, praising and worshipping are also the purpose of creation of the universe along with being the fruit of man.

What Does Man’s Being the Supreme Sign Mean?

If we liken the universe to the Quran written by Allah’s pen of power, man is the supreme sign of that book, that is, the greatest evidence and sign for its author. The sign is clear evidence that no one can deny. The signs are evidence for the author of the book. Everything from atoms to galaxies, including living beings and non-living beings, is evidence to understand and know Allah in the book of the universe.

However, the largest and most brilliant one among them is man. He is the greatest and most comprehensive mirror that shows all of the names of Allah. He serves in the best way as a mirror to the name Khaliq (Creator) and Sani (Maker) with his creation, the name Hayy(Living)with his life, the names Razzaq (Sustainer), Rahim (Compassionate), Rahman (All Merciful), Karim (Generous) and Muhsin (Beneficent) with his sustenance, the name Musawwir(Giver of Shape) with his shape and the names Nazim (Arranger) and Muqaddir(Determiner) with his tidy and proportionate creation.

A picture of a person indicates an artist and his sculpture indicates a sculptor. Man himself, who is a miracle of power, indicates a wonderful artist, and a creator with infinite knowledge, will and power.   

All sciences, especially medical science, try to read and understand man, who was created and written in the form of a book. How is it possible for man, who is written in the form of a book, to come into being without a creator, though even a single letter cannot come into being without a scribe?

In conclusion, the definition made by Western philosophers about man as a featherless biped (a creature with two legs) and a speaking animal, which regards man to be in the same level as animals, cannot be compared to the definition made by the Quran as the most honorable being, the vicegerent on earth, the most delicate and valuable guest of the Sultan of the universe, which elevates man to the level of the highest, most honorable and most valuable being.  

1.Nursi, B.S.Şuâlar. p. 213.

7.6.THE WONDERFUL STRUCTURE OF MAN INDICATES A CREATOR*

7.6.1-The heart that sends ten tons of blood to vessels every day

All of the systems of human body and every organ of it have been created extraordinarily. For example, the heart, which is as big as a lightly squeezed fist, throws the blood, which is like the life water of the bodies, into vessels. The heart throws about 150-160 cm³ of blood, that is about a glass of water, into vessels at a shot. It amounts to 10 liters per minute. The amount of blood thrown by the heart into the blood vessels in one day is enough to fill a 10-ton tanker.

There is an average of 5-5.5 liters of blood in the body of an adult person; it is enough to fill three large jugs. As the same blood circulates the body, that is, as the same blood comes to the heart and is thrown, 10 tons of blood circulates every day. Let us think how much the heart, whose duty is to throw 10 tons of blood into the vessels per day, works in a year and how long it works throughout life. Is it not necessary to thank the Creator, who created our hearts in such a marvelous way, as many times as the heart beats?

7.6.2 -Blood vessel network of one hundred and fifty thousand kilometers

There is a blood vessel network of 150.000 kilometers whose duty is to take the blood that the heart pumps to the organs like water pipes. If the thin, microscopic capillaries are also included, there is a blood vessel network that can surround the earth four times from the equator in the body.¹

The vessels can be likened to a closed water pipe system. The blood, which we can call life water, is carried in the blood vessels that are in a closed system. While most of the blood is water, it also contains oils, proteins, blood sugar and many other chemical structures. However, blood is not just a chemical compound. It contains blood cells, which are shaped elements of blood. Blood cells also include erythrocytes, that is, red blood cells, leukocytes, that is, white blood cells, and thrombocytes (platelets), which enable blood to clot. The number of red blood cells in one cubic millimeter is about 5-5.5 million. Yes, there are more blood cells in the blood as small as a pin point than the population of a large city; they are all organized according to the work they do and they are all created based on fine calculations.

7.6.3- Man is created again every moment

We can liken the human body virtually to a building whose bricks are constantly renewed. Something like that is definitely not possible for buildings. If we make a slight renovation in a building, if we try to change only a brick, there will be dust all around. Changes and renovations that occur in the human body take place in such an organized manner that we do not even notice them. When these changes occur in the body, all of the activities of the body continue without any interruption. You can liken it to replacing the parts of an engine while the engine is running.

The material structure of man is renewed almost every year. However, man retains the same characteristics in terms of his traits and characters. No change takes place in them. We can understand it from the following fact: There is a meaning that is not dependent on matter and does not change with it in man. That meaning is the spirit. If the spirit were dependent on matter, there would be changes in spiritual feelings as the human body changed.

The material changes that occur in human life occur gradually. At the moment of death, this change will occur suddenly; the destruction of cells and tissues will occur in a short time. Since the change in the body throughout life does not cause any change in the spirit, there must be no destruction or alteration in the spirit at the moment of death. The divine power, which does not allow a change in the spirit throughout life, will preserve the spirit, which is the precious essence in man, in death too.

7.6.4- Regeneration of the skin

The most visible and best example of the occurrence of the regeneration in human body is in the nails and hair. Our nails and hair grow every day at a certain rate; this daily microscopic growth becomes visible in the course of time; all of the human hair and nails are renewed every 6 or 7 months. The top layer of our skin, which is called the epidermis, is renewed once a month. The epithelial layer, which forms the inner surface of our intestines, is renewed at least once a week.

The following question can come to mind: “How does this regeneration take place in not only humans but also animals and plants, that is, in all living beings?” The cells are renewed based on the measures imposed by God Almighty, who created us in an extraordinary way and who enables us to live based on a system. The cells that duplicate through a division called mitosis and the cells that are created anew replace the dead cells.

It is called apoptosis in medicine nowadays. Apoptosis is a word that means programmed cell death. In other words, the life of man continues with the manifestation of qadar (destiny);similarly, destiny plays a role in the lives of cells, which are building blocks of man. A brain cell lives until man dies but the lifespan of a cell in the top layer of the skin is about one month. Thus, under the manifestation of destiny, the cells die based on a system and newly created cells replace the ones that die based on an extraordinary system. The spirit is virtually a mold and a model in every human being; a fresh and new body is dressed on this model every year.

7.6.5 -Twenty-five trillion red blood cells

The estimated total number of red blood cells in the blood is 25 trillion. There are about 100 trillion cells in the human body. This means that the red blood cells constitute one fourth of the total number of cells in the body. Red blood cells carry oxygen, which is vital for other body cells, to cells. They also take the carbon dioxide, which occur as a result of the activity of the body cells, from the cells to the lungs.

If we could place 25 trillion red blood cells one over the other like coins, a column of 50 000 km high could occur. If we could place all red blood cells in a single human being next to each other like a chain, we would have a length of approximately 187 500 km. This is a length that can go round the Earth 4.5 times from the equator.

If all of the red blood cells in a human being were to be laid on the floor like a carpet, they could cover a surface of 3800 m². This is equivalent to approximately four decares of land.²

How can all this fit into a human body that is 1.5 to 2 meters tall? That is the extraordinary and miraculous aspect of the issue.

7.6.6 -2.5 million red blood cells die every second

Although regeneration takes place in almost every tissue in the human body, the most typical, obvious and beautiful example of it is seen in the blood as the regeneration of the red blood cells. 2.5 million red blood cells die in the human body every second, not every hour or every minute. This means the death of 150 million red blood cells per minute and 216 billion red blood cells per day in the human body.³

Another feature of the red blood cells is that they cannot divide in the way we call mitosis and they cannot produce baby cells, unlike most of the cells in the body. Red blood cells were not created with the ability to produce new cells to replace them when they die. So, what cells are to replace the 2.5 million cells that die every second in the red blood cells? Allah has created organs that produce blood cells in the human body in order to compensate for this great destruction.

The organs in which blood cells are created in the body are bone marrows, which we would not probably guess. The primary duty of the bones is to help the body skeleton stand like the concrete columns in buildings, as we can imagine. The concrete columns that help the buildings stand are solid, not hollow. The bones that help enable the body to stand are hollow, more precisely, filled with bone marrow. Bone marrow is the tissue in which the most cell regeneration called mitosis takes place. Bone marrow is the place where erythrocytes, namely, red blood cells, are produced. The red blood cells that get old die constantly and this deficiency is compensated by the red blood cells that are constantly created in the bone marrow.

2.5 million red blood cells die per second in man and 2.5 million newly and freshly created red blood cells enter into blood circulation from bone marrows.⁴

This delicate balance continues throughout life. If three million red blood cells entered into blood circulation instead of 2.5 million per second, the balance would be disturbed. Or, on the contrary, if two million red blood cells entered into blood circulation from bone marrows instead of 2.5 million per second, the balance would be disturbed again. 2.5 million red blood cells die per second and 2.5 million red blood cells are re-created. And this balance is maintained throughout life. This delicate balance, which is seen in every organ, every tissue, or even in every cell in the human body, is much more obvious in red blood cells, namely erythrocytes. This delicate balance is just one manifestation of God Almighty’s name Adl, that is, the one that creates everything based on a fine measurement and maintains it in a balance.

This change, which takes place in the body cells, is also seen in the molecular level within the cells. The cytoplasm of the cell is seen in constant motion like boiling water in the microscopic films of the living cells shot with special microscopes. The change in the cell membrane can be shown as an example to this change, which takes place in the molecular level in the cell. A fat molecule in a cell membrane was determined to have changed its place 10 million times in only one second.⁵

7.6.7- Is a bone not renewed?

It can be thought that the bone tissue will not be renewed and that it will remain fixed as concrete columns in buildings. In fact, the bone tissue is one of the most renewed tissues in the body. It has been understood that 25%, that is one-fourth, of the calcium ions in the blood are replaced by the calcium ions stored in the bones every minute.⁶

The old structure in the bone tissue forms with the addition of the new bone tissue. All of the calcium in the bones in infants and 18% of it in adults are renewed every year.⁷

All regeneration activities are clear evidences showing that God Almighty intervenes consciously and controls and manages the universe, the earth, the molecules and atoms of humans, animals and plants all the time. Otherwise, a slight lack of control would lead to an irreparable mess everywhere; everything would be in chaos.

7.6.8- White Blood Cells (Leukocytes)

Along with red blood cells, there is another group of cells called white blood cells, namely leukocytes, in the human blood. They are fewer in number compared to red blood cells. There is only one white blood cell for about a thousand red blood cells in the blood. This rate does not change throughout life and remains at this level. If this rate, which is equal to one to one thousand, increased to two to one thousand, it would be an undesirable state for the body and an indicator of a disease.

There is only one type of red blood cell; there are no other subgroups. Although the white blood cells are few in number, there are sub-groups, that is, varieties of them. Let us deal with lymphocytes, which are a kind of white blood cells, a bit. There are totally about one trillion lymphocytes in the human body. About one billion new lymphocytes are created in the human body every day. They replace the lymphocytes that die. This balance of dying and newly created lymphocytes continues throughout life.

7.6.9- The antibodies that eliminate the harmful substances in the body

One of the important functions of the cells called lymphocytes is to produce and synthesize the chemical substances called antibodies against the antigens that harm the body and all kinds of harmful substances, microbes, etc.; antibodies eliminate the harms of the harmful antigens and virtually neutralize them.

In the human body, 10²⁰, that is, the number having 20 zeros after 10, antibodies are synthesized by lymphocytes throughout life. If all of the other cells in the human body existed but if these cells, whose duty is to produce and synthesize the chemicals called antibodies, did not exist in the human body, a person would die in case of a slight infection, an infectious disease, and infection with a small germ because there would be no chemical substances, antibodies, to defend the body⁸

This is new information that has been obtained as a result of studies and works of many years or even centuries. Who knows the needs of man, creates him in the womb according to the conditions of the world and sends him to the world since the creation of the first man? Who equips the cells in the human body against the harmful effects of bacteria and germs, and protects all humans and animals? Can the mindless, unconscious, blind and handless nature do these things? Is it possible for nature and coincidence to do these things, which require infinite knowledge, power and strength? They can only be the work of Allah, whose knowledge and power are endless.

*It was published beforehand (ÂdemTatlı. Bilimlerin Işığında Yaratılış. Üsküdar Üniversitesi Yayını no: 2, 2017, p. 187-192).
1.Clara M, Maskar Ü.: Histoloji II. Istanbul Üniv. TıpFak Yay, Istanbul 1970, p. 5.
2.Carola R : Human Anatomy& Physiology. Mc Graw Hill Inc, New York, 1992, p.694.
3.Sağlam M: GenelHistoloji. 4^th impression Baskı, Yorum Matbaacılık, Ankara, 1993, p. 212.
4.Kahn F: The Human Body. Random House, New York, 1965, p.134.
5.Genç Z, Tokullugil A: Hücre Biyolojisi. Güneş& Nobel Tıp Kitabevi, Bursa, 1996, p. 22.
6.Rogers A W: Cells and Tissues. Academic Press, Sydney, 1983, p.145.
7.Tümer A: Endokrinolojiye Giriş. Meteksan, Ankara, 1989, p. 89.
8.Kahn F: The Human Body. Random House, New York, 1965, p.141.

a. Knowing Allah

Once, a firefly was proceeding on a path. However, it was unaware that the light that illuminated his path was reflected from it. After a while, it met some ants. When it saw the ants were looking at it with admiration, it looked into their eyes carefully and curiously. It realized that the light that illuminated its path was reflected from it. Ants admired his light. Thus, the firefly became aware of the light that illuminated its path.

Are we aware of the Creator who created us out of nothing, who put the whole universe under our order, and who fulfilled everything necessary for the continuation of our lives?

Who makes the world rotate, sends down rain from the sky, and make plants grow?

Who takes the night away and brings the day?

Who puts all our organs in their proper places in the mother’s womb, feeds us and makes us grow there?

Who brought us to the world, put the breasts on our mother’s chest and made white, pure milk flow for us?

Who makes our mouths and places teeth like pearls in the mouths?

Who makes our ears and opens our eyes?

Who makes our veins and makes blood circulate in them?

Who makes our hearts and makes them work like a clock for a lifetime?

Everyone knows that a line cannot drawn without a person who draws it, that a letter cannot be written without a scribe, and that a school cannot be managed without an administrator.

Thus, the wonderful creation and administration of all beings in the world shows that they have a creator infinite knowledge, will and power who creates and manages them. The following statement is very important since it clarifies the issue:

"Every village must have its headman; every needle must have its manufacturer and craftsman. And, as you know, every letter must be written by someone. How, then, can it be that so extremely well-ordered a kingdom should have no ruler?”¹

Everything in the universe, from an atom to the sun, from a fly to stars, indicates Allah through His meticulous and proportionate creation and perfect management. If there is a work, there will definitely be a master who makes and produces it.

Who Created?

God Almighty states the following in some verses related to knowing Allah:

“Who is it that readies the skies and the earth as though they were two storehouses for your sustenance, and causes one to produce rain and the other, seeds? Is there anyone other than God Who could make them two subservient storekeepers? In which case, thanks should be offered to Him alone”.²

Man is in need of food. We need rain from the sky and cereals from the ground for the continuation of our lives. Man cannot make rain come down from the sky and cereals grow from the ground on his own.Therefore, we need a powerful being who knows our needs, shows mercy to us and pities us, who can make the earth and heaven fulfill all our needs. That being, who has infinite knowledge, will and power, is Allah.

Who Gave Man his Eyes and Ears?

Who is the owner of your eyes and ears, the most precious of your members? From which workbench or shop did you obtain them? It is only your Sustainer that could give you them. Yunus, 30.

Allah states the following in the Quran by attracting attention to the valuable organs like eyes and ears given to man:

“Who is the owner of your eyes and ears, the most precious of your members? From which workbench or shop did you obtain them? It is only your Sustainer that could give you them. It is He Who creates and raises you, and gave you them. In which case, there is no Sustainer but He, and the only one fit to be worshipped is He.”³

The being that has the most valuable organs and feelings is man. Even the mother who carries the baby in her womb does not know the creation of those organs in the womb and their placement. The one that affixes eyes, ears and nose to man in his mother’s womb and puts the stomach in place cannot be anyone except Allah, who knows that man’s seeing in the world, makes him hear, creates odors and prepares food. That is, the one who created vision and eye is the one who created the sun. The one who created sounds and hearing is the one who puts ear into its place. The one who created the apple as sustenance is the one who affixes the stomach to man.

That is to say, all of the organs in man are the work of Allah. Therefore, man is responsible for knowing Allah, who gives them to him.

Some interesting memoirs about knowing Allah

The young man who had a tattoo done on his arm

After a lecture an academician gave in a prison’s youth ward, a teenager raised his hand and asked,

- How can we believe in someone we do not see? The lecturer pointed to the tattoo on the young man’s arm who asked the question:

- Who made that tattoo and how much did you pay for it? The young man said he had it done for a certain amount of money. Thereupon, the academician asked him,

-All right, lad. Who made the arm on which had that tattoo done? The answer that young man gave was very interesting. He raised his hand:

- "Allah... I believe in him now.”

These two examples clearly show that no matter how much the mind denies Allah, the conscience cannot deny the existence of a Creator.

The young people who say, “How can we believe in Allah, whom we do not see?”

An academician narrates a memoir as follows:

“After graduating from the faculty, I worked as a teacher for several years. I taught chemistry in a high school in a lovely town in Eastern Anatolia. My relationship with the people of the town was warm. I was in good terms with everybody, from students to teachers, from administrators to parents and ordinary people of the town.

I had a very good relationship with my students. Encouraged by my closeness to them, they could easily talk to me about their problems.
In those years, there was terror and anarchy in our country. It was worse in the East than the other regions of the country. In my high school, there were several students who were bigger and even older than me. They were big, half-grown boys. Some groups that took advantage of their state filled the minds of our simple-hearted young men with harmful ideas and converted most of them into anarchists.

They stole the belief in the heart of those young people as well as several humane characteristics of them.

* * *

One of them was called Ziya. He was in his senior year and he was older than most of the students in his class. He was a well-built man. They had stolen many of his spiritual feelings, but his respect to teachers had not been completely lost yet.

One day, he shyly asked permission to ask something:

-Sir! I want to ask you something if you allow.

It was obvious that storms broke out in his inner world and his mind was confused. He was overwhelmed with the graveness of the problem in his mind. I understood the situation very well. In order to comfort him as much as I can and to make sure that he expresses the problem in his mind in a sincere way, I said clearly,

-Yes, of course, Ziya. I am here to answer your questions. I’m listening to you.

- But sir, my question is not about chemistry.

-It doesn’t matter. Ask your question sincerely and openly.

-Sir! They say‘We don’t believe in what we don’t see. We do not see Allah; so, how shall we believe in Him?’

I told him that such questions were quite normal, that many people have those questions in their mind and that it was a frequently asked question. Then, I said,

- Look Ziya! Not everything is visible; in other words, not everything is viewed with eyes. Some things are viewed with the tongue, ear, nose or mind.

These statements aroused an atmosphere of confusion in the classroom. What does to view by ear or tongue mean? Their questions were visible in their eyes. I continued:

For example, if I cook a nice meal and say “Ziya! Come taste this food” and if you say, “Sir, I don’t believe in what I don’t see it with my eyes, I will taste it with my eyes ”, and if you put your eyes into the food, your eyes will be burnt and you will be blind. So, the food is tasted with the tongue. Likewise, when I say, “Look at the smell of this perfume”, you can’t look at it with your eyes. When I say, “Look at the beauty of this music”, you look at it with your ear. You can also look at certain things with your mind. If there is a work of art here, you will understand that there is a master of that work. Thus, we see Allah with our minds.

Then, I turned toward the students and continued:

“-Friends, let’s deal with the issue together through the eyes of a scientist. Can a great work of art like Selimiye Mosque be without an architect? Is our body lower than this architectural structure? There are about 100 trillion cells in human body, which looks like a tremendous city. There is a network of blood vessels about 150,000 kilometers long, covering our entire body. The slightest breakdown in an organ can be the end of our lives. In addition to our inner world’s being wonderful, all essential organs in people are common but no man resembles another man. Our faces, voices, characters are different. Can we attribute those things to coincidence/chance?

Let us clarify the issue a bit more. As you know, the realm of living beings has a different place in the universe. The art wonders seen in the non-living beings are inferior to those seen in the living beings. The simplest living beings are bacteria. Among those bacteria, the one that scientists have researched most is Escherichia Coli bacterium. The weight of this living being, which can be seen under the microscope only after it is magnified tens of thousands of times is 500 billionth of a gram and its diameter is one hundredth of a centimeter.  5000 substances have been paced in such a tiny place. In addition, when each bacterium finds the appropriate environment, it uses water, ammonia and sugar as food and the number of substances increases to 10 thousand in 20 minutes by division. This event is something that a perfect chemist cannot even dream of. A chemist can perform only one reaction in one container. Besides, in an era in which science has progressed so much, it takes a very long time. However, 5,000 substances are synthesized in the same container as the Escherichia Coli bacterium in 20 minutes.

Since that is the case in the simplest living being, you can compare the events in other living beings to those of bacteria.

The issue can be viewed from another angle.

Do you think the human eye can see everything? Are our eyes limitless though everything is limited? Just as our ears can hear frequencies between 20 and 20,000, so too can our eyes can see the rays with wavelengths between 450 and 800 nanometers. We cannot see the rays with bigger and smaller wavelengths. Although X-rays, ultraviolet rays, infrared rays, etc. exist, we cannot see them with our eyes. Should we deny their existence then?

We actually look at the universe through a keyhole. That is, the range of our vision is so narrow. After knowing that, is it not ridiculous to say, "I don’t believe what I don’t see."

Throughout the lesson, Ziya was absent-minded and torpid. It was understood that storms broke out in his inner world. He put his hands on his temples, thinking continuously. I let him alone to the end of the lesson.

* * *

3-4 days passed. One evening Ziya came to my house with a friend.

- Sir! can I come in?

- Yes, of course, Ziya. Our house is open to everyone. They sat down and I offered them some tea. Ziya started to talk while drinking tea:

- Sir, I came here for a purpose.

- I hope it is something good.

- Sir, I came here to become a Muslim. I was shocked and startled when I heard it:

- Are you all right, Ziya? You are already a Muslim.

- Sir. I had a lot of questions and doubts in my mind before you spoke. Some of the books I read and the people I met confused my mind completely. I was in a big depression. I thought for days after your talk and could not sleep many nights. However, I have made up my mind; I am a Muslim from now on. The most appropriate ideas for my mind and conscience are Islamic ideas. Living without a faith is no different than living like an animal.

The September 12 coup took my gun from me; you have come and removed the unbelief in my heart. I am grateful to you. Now, I have taken my first step toward humanity. May Allah be pleased with you.Yes, Ziya. The greatest truth in the universe is belief in Allah. Besides, the most astonishing thing is the denial of the Creator. Your decision has made me very happy. I hope you will not leave the path of the truth after that...

The Purpose of Man’s Being Sent to the World

The wisdom behind and purpose of man’s being sent to this world is to know, to believe in and to worship the Creator of the Universe. adh-Dhariyat, 56.

Man did not come to this world by himself; he was created and sent by Allah. The main purpose and duty of man’s being sent to this world is to know Allah truly, that is, to know Him correctly by His names and attributes. In other words, to believe that He is the creator of the whole universe, that everything from atoms to the stars is governed by His power and will, that everything is His property, and that there is no partner in His property, and to believe and approve by the heart the holy statement “La ilahaillallah (there is no god but Allah)” and its realities.

1.Nursi, B.S. Sözler. p. 63.
2.Yunus,verses 31-32.
3.Yunus,verses 30-31.

Conclusion

When the veil of accustomedness is raised, it will be seen that all beings are works of miracles like a chick that comes out of an egg that hatches after 21 days. Will is an arrow that pierces the universe of great explosion that is subject to the laws of physics. The existence of will is an evidence showing that the realm of beings does not consist of matter-energy only. The law comes from the attribute of will and the laws of physics reflect the existence of a universal will. That we extend our weakness to violate the laws of physics to Allah and regard miracles as impossible is the result of the idea of regarding all beings like ourselves. However, the power and will of Allah have encompassed everything and is away from any weaknesses. A lawmaker is dominant over laws and is not dominated by them. The laws of physics do not bind Allah, who has imposed them, because the one who has the power to impose a law with His will has the power to change the law, and if necessary, to cancel it. All miracles and karamahs are based on the temporary and limited cancellation of one or more laws of physics. For this reason, a miracle is a necessary and sufficient condition of prophethood. In conclusion, Allah’s customs are natural laws; unusual incidents are miracles or karamahs.

All miracles and karamahs are based on the temporary and limited cancellation of one or more laws of physics.

7.4.1.The reasons for the mistakes of materialists
7.4.1.1- They seek everything in matter

Those who base their philosophies on materialism want the eye to fulfill the task of the mind and hence make a mistake.

           Allah creates every organ for a certain task. The use of these organs in the wrong place causes misconceptions. For example, the eye was given to us in order to see, the tongue in order to taste and the mind in order to think and to understand the beings. Those who base their philosophies on materialism want the eye to fulfill the task of the mind and hence make a mistake. What the eye sees is only matter. However, the minds of those who seek everything in matter are in their eyes. The eye is blind in spirituality. It is impossible for the eye to see spiritual things such as spirit and mind. The existence of the spirit and the mind is understood by their works; similarly, the existence of Allah can only be understood by his wonderful works that He created to introduce himself. 

What the eye sees is only matter. However, the minds of those who seek everything in matter are in their eyes but the eyes are blind in spirituality.

            An infinite number is not compared with a finite number; can Allah, all of whose attributes are in infinity, be compared to beings with finite attributes?

The creatures are created out of nothing by a creator and undergo change again and again any time. The following are the reasons for the change, moving from one state to another, in the beings: 

Firstly, they were created later.

The second point about which materialists make a mistake in knowing the Creator originates from comparing the created beings with the creator. The creator cannot be of the same kind as the creature. It is a wrong comparison to compare the created beings with the creator.

Secondly, they need to be renewed and move from one state to another in order to become perfect.

Thirdly, they have needs.

Fourthly, they are material beings. 

Fifthly, they are beings that were created afterwards. 

However, God Almighty is pre-eternal.

He is also infinitely perfect in all aspects.

He does not need anything.

He is free from matter. That is, he has a characteristic that is different from all properties of matter.

He is Wajib al-Wujud. That is, he is necessarily existent. He does not need anyone else to exist. It is impossible for Him to change and to transform from one state to another because He is not one of beings that were created later. He is far from all deficient attributes.

He is also pre-eternal; He has no beginning and ending.

He is infinitely perfect in all aspects.

He is never in need of anything. He has a nature different from all of the properties of created beings that can come to mind. 

7.4.1.2-Creation of beings very easily and quickly

One of the reasons for the error of materialists is the infinite ease seen in the creation of beings, extreme quickness and high speed in the works. Although they are evidence for the infinity of Allah’s power, knowledge, and will, materialists conclude that they are created on their own, which is absolutely irrational, since they do not admit that they happen by Allah’s infinite power. This makes the evidence of an infinite power proof for its absence and opens the door to infinite impossibilities. That is, it opens the door to ways of denial that the mind cannot accept. For, in that case, it becomes necessary to attribute the infinite power that is peculiar to Allah and His infinitely perfect attributes like His all-encompassing knowledge to particles so that they can come into being on their own. This means not to accept a single deity but to accept as many deities as the number of particles.

7.4.1.3-They attribute Allah’s works to nature

One of the reasons why naturalists are wrong is that they base Allah’s works on nature. However, nature is an art of Allah; it cannot be an artist. It is a book of Allah written by the pen of power; it cannot be a writer. Nature is an embroidery; it cannot be an embroiderer. It is a notebook; it cannot be a bookkeeper. It is  a law; it cannot be a power. The nature that they accept as the creator of things is the manifestations of the power, wisdom, and will of Allah, who creates everything out of nothing.

The nature that they accept as the creator of things is the manifestations of the power, wisdom, and will of Allah, who creates everything out of nothing.

7.4.1.4-They regard matter as pre-eternal

One of the points that the materialists are mistaken about is that they attribute Allah’s attribute called pre-eternity to matter and accept it as pre-eternal. They see the manifestation of Allah’s power in the beings, but they do not know where it comes from and cannot understand where it is managed from; therefore, they speculate that matter and force are pre-eternal. Thus,  they attribute the works of Allah to the movements seen in matter and to particles.

Allah is free from space, but He is everywhere; He is in the invention of everything and near everything. He sees, knows and manages everything. Can it be such insanity as to attribute the beings, which are His works, to inanimate, blind, unconscious, will-less, unmeasured particles and molecules that are shaken by storms of coincidence and to their movements? It is necessary for those who are a bit sane to know what an ignorant and superstitious idea it is.

Since they do not accept Allah, they are forced to accept numerous deities. In other words, they are forced to accept the pre-eternity and divinity of the innumerable inanimate particles since they are unable to accept in their minds Allah’s pre-eternity and creativity, which are the requirements of His essence.  However, these particles, which are regarded as deities, are like a regular and magnificent army that is moved under Allah’s infinite power and command. How can the neat shapes, the beneficial results, the orderly and wise creations that are composed of those particles be attributed to the mindless, unconscious and ignorant particles? For, if there is an order and system in something, it shows knowledge, will and power.

7.4.1.5- They think the Creator must change too

         There is a continuous activity and change in the universe. That is why they say that the being that makes this activity and change must also change from one state to another state and must not remain in the same state.

         The change of the mirrors on the earth does not show the change of  the sun in the sky but rather the renewal of its manifestations and movements. So, the change of mirrors, pieces of glass, water particles, etc. on the earth that reflect the sun’s light does not indicate that the sun will change too. On the contrary, it shows that the sun does not change, and that it is fixed and permanent, but that the mirrors showing the existence of the sun are renewed and change.

         Every being in the universe is a mirror on which the names and attributes of Allah become manifest and which show the owner of the names:

• Their creation shows the name Khaliq (Creator).
• Their tidiness and orderliness show the names Nazim (Organizer), Munazzim (Arranger).
• Their peculiars shapes show the name Musawwir (Giver of Shape).
• The living beings show the names Hayy (Living) and Muhyi (Giver of Life).
• Their death shows the name Mumit (Taker of Life).
• When the beings that need sustenance are given sustenance, they show the names Razzaq (Sustainer), Rahman (All-Merciful), Karim (Generous), Rahim (All-Compassionate).
• Their adorned and beautiful creation show the names Muzayyin (Adorner), Jamil (beautiful).

        Allah states the following in a verse:

         Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day,- there are indeed Signs for men of understanding.¹

          Thus, as it is stated in the verse, a person who thinks takes a lesson from everything. There are lessons to be learned from the constantly changing activity in the universe and the constant renewal of the beings mirroring the above-mentioned names. One of those lessons is to know the existence of a constant being with unchanging beauty and kindness, a being that is creative and artistic, that provides sustenance, that does not need anything but meets all needs of the needy, whose existence has no beginning and ending, behind this beautiful, perfectly created but constantly changing screen of beings.

        7.4.1.6- They do not know the wisdom behind the change in the universe

        They do not know what kind of wisdoms are behind the continuous change of the beings in the universe. However, if the wisdoms behind the change taking place in the universe are known, the existence of the changer behind them will be understood. Some of the wisdoms behind the change in the universe are as follows:

        Firstly, increasing their beauties.

        Secondly, renewing their flavors.

        Thirdly, refreshing for the display of new works of art. 

        Man always wants change due to his nature. The desire and wish to change things in a room, to change his clothes are inherent in man.  Thus, Allah changes the world, which is like the home of man, at any moment in accordance with his nature and makes His existence felt, showing Himself to eyes. Since there is a change, there will be a creator that changes these pages of the earth and sky, day and night, summer and winter, youth and old age.

        Thus, a person who thinks of these meanings will increase the pleasure, enthusiasm and admiration he will receive from the world by understanding the wisdom behind everything and at the same time he will know Allah’s existence behind these veils of change and thank Him.

1.Aal-iImran, 190.

8.1.2-Neurotheology

We will talk about neurotheology a bit: The rhythm, sensitivity and functions of organs are represented just like computer configurations; and the configurations explain the basic structure theory in the brain;  that is, the information in the brain can be configured. We can do this in daily building treatments now.

New World Project: Human Brain Project. President Obama’s Brain Project, 2015. Obama started it as Brain Initiative as a 10-year project. The N20/Neuroscience 20 Summit was held prior to the G20 Summit. This year, it will take place in Argentina. We, as Üsküdar University, will join it to represent Turkey for the first time. Why is it important? The N20/Neuroscience 20 Summit discusses artificial intelligence, nanotechnology and neurotechnology. There are currently 2,000 nano/neuro technology researchers in NASA. What is NASA? It deals with space. The new space of science is the brain. The new brain project started in 2005; and rat brain was simulated in 2015. Then, human brain was simulated and it was announced in 2018. Henry Markram, who runs this project, stated in his presentation at Oxford University in England that the human brain project could be used for mental illness. About 2 billion people in the world have brain problems.

The reverse 13.3 technique is applied to the brain of mammals with the Blue Brain Project. The Blue Brain Project will play an important role in the future of humanity. Obama has a saying: “We invested one dollar in the GENOM project and earned 147 dollars.” The Brain Project is like that too. An investment is made in it. For example, there is a claim that a device that will transfer information from the computer to the brain will be produced and that more revenue will be obtained from it than the Genome Project. It is considered the new version of the brain

After the discovery of quantum dynamics, materialism was turned upside down. It was understood that the universe was energy-based, not substance-based. To be energy-based, first knowledge is necessary; then, energy is needed, after that, matter is needed.

The US Commission considers human brain research project as one of the most important projects of the 21st century. The European Union has allocated 1 billion Euros to this project. Our colleagues are trying to better understand the basic mechanism of the brain in this project called the new version of the brain. Theaim is tofind ways of treatment for several psychiatric diseases such as Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia and autism in this project, which will last for 10 years. The EU Commission has allocated a large budget. The brand of this project is in Switzerland. The Blue Brain Project combines micro electric power with the features of the genetic algorithm. It uses genetic code, electronics, and neural networks together. In other words, our biological and digital existence come together. Man is a digital being.

In the past, with the emergence of materialism, the universe was considered to be substance-based. After the discovery of quantum dynamics, materialism was turned upside down. It was understood that the universe was energy-based, not substance-based. To be energy-based, first knowledge is necessary; then, energy is needed, after that, matter is needed; then, mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology are necessary. When we think of it as a hierarchy of sciences, we need to classify it like that.

In that case, knowledge comes first, butdialectical materialism says, “Matter comes first but as a reaction to matter, dialectically, concrete information and concrete matter caused abstract knowledge to emerge.” However, it is seen after quantum that there must be information first. DNA indicates that there must be information first.

Mirror neurons work like the wireless and connect with the brain of the other person. Mirror neurons broke the mold.

The information a child learns in the 0-6 year-age range is more than the information he learns throughout his life.

First, knowledge is necessary; then, power is needed followed by will. That is what the quantum thesis, energy-based thesis, says; the computational neuroscience artificial intelligence says it first has calculation, then practice and then action. You see a child here; he touches a stone in such a way that he seems to think that the stone is alive, will look up and speak. For, abstract thinking has not developed in a 2-3-year-old child; he has concrete thinking. A child begins to learn abstract thinking at the age of 5 and 6. That is why he makes animals talk. The brain learns abstract concepts afterwards. The information a child learns in the 0-6 year-age range is more than the information he learns throughout his life. We learn abstract information from the environment through social ways

First, knowledge is necessary; then, power is needed followed by will. That is what the quantum thesis, energy-based thesis, says.

One learns reality after birth; it is not inherent. For example, a child holds a glass of water. He pours water on the ground; we think he misbehaves but he actually strengthens his muscles against gravity. A child who grows in a non-gravity environment cannot learn to walk; his brain learns to walk afterwards.

5.3.1-Types of Creation

When we look around carefully, we see very different beings. They are sent to the field of existence in different styles.

The Quran attributes all kinds of creation to divine knowledge with the following verse: “He (Allah) is well-versed in every kind of creation”.¹ The verse is in a text where resurrection after death is narrated. Hamdi Yazır states the following while explaining the verse:

“Allah knows every kind of creation, with matter and without matter, with tools and without tools, with models and without models, first and later.”²

There are two main types of Allah’s creation:

1-Ibda
2-Insha³

The first one expresses the first creation without any reason matter and means. As a matter of fact, the verse Allah “To Him (Allah) is due the primal origin of the heavens and the earth”⁴is related to this meaning.

Ibda means to create something out of nothing;⁵ Badi’ means “the one who produces something without based on a previous model”. The word Badi’ is involved with having no model and similar thing and having beauty and extraordinariness.⁶

The first creation took place entirely with ibda. There was no precedent or model of this world and any being created in this world before the first creation.

If we liken this universe to a big book with countless books, the elements are its alphabet, and each being consisting of the elements is a separate book. There are twenty-six letters in the English alphabet. However, no book written with twenty-six letters is the same as any other book. We can reach the following conclusion:

“Every insha is an ibda in one aspect.” That is, everything that is created (ibda) constructed from existing matter is created with ibda except for its original matter because something the same as that thing did not exist before and will not exist afterwards either. Therefore, ibdais divided into two:

1-Real ibda.
2-Relative ibda.⁷

There is diversity and coloration in Allah’s creation. For example, the creation of people occurred in three ways:

1- The creation of Hz. Adam directly from soil without a mother and father.
2- The creation of Hz. Isa (Jesus) from his mother without a father.
3- The creation of other people from a mother and a father.

Hz. Adam is an independent, original copy; in fact, every human being is original and independent. A similar case applies to every being. For example, all snowflakes are hexagonal, but none of them has the same pattern. This magnificent fact is expressed as “There is no repetition in manifestation”.⁸ In other words, Allah creates every being “for the first time” so to speak; He does not create the same being again. Although his creation is very quick, there is no “mass production” in His activity because behind every creation, there is “an infinite knowledge, a will that encompasses everything, and a power capable of doing everything”.

1.Yasin , 79
2.Yazır, VI, 4041
3.Nursi, B.S. Lemalar, p. 193.
4.Aal-iImran ,  47
5.Qadi Baydawi, Anwarut- TanzilwaAsrarut- Ta’wil, I, 83
6.Yazır, III, 2006
7.Yazır, III, 2006
8.Konuk, I, 39

9.1.4- Is it not evil to create evil?

Question:“It is Allah who creates both the evil and good things. Is it not evil to create evil since there is no other creator?”

Answer: It is stated in the Quran that the Creator of everything is Allah. However, creating evil is not evil, doing evil is evil. For example, fire can be both good and bad for people.¹

Fire led to many universal good deeds in the advance of civilization. When a person acts carelessly and causes a fire in his house, he has no right to say, “Fire is evil; therefore, it is evil to create fire”.²

Fire became evil for that person due to his own free will. That is, he caused a fire in his house and did something bad. However, fire was good for him up to that time. He cooked his food with it for many years; he used it in the stove to get warm; fire served him in transportation by starting his car. 

The sun was like a stove too; its heat warmed and enlightened the world; it caused photosynthesis to take place; it served all people including those harmed by fire by treating them fruits. However, if a person dies due to sunstroke, the sun becomes evil for him. Nevertheless, the culprit here is not the sun and the creator of the sun, but the person who does not take measures against the sun.

In fact, evil, bad and harmful things are like a kind of fire. We can take advantage of them without making them evil and without being harmed by them. In this respect, we cannot say, “The creation of fire and the sun is evil and bad.“ We cannot say, “The creation of Satan is evil” either.³

1.Taftazani, Sharhul-Aqaid, p. 203, 221, 227, 234-235, 239; Bilmen, Mülahhas, p. 84, 86, 88; Mehmed Vehbi, Akâid-iHayriye, p. 29-32; Gelenbevi, p. 234; Koçar, p. 226-242.
2.Taftazani, Sharhul-Aqaid, p. 227, 235-236, 239.
3.Mutlu, p. 43-45, 50-51, 63-64; Taftazani, Sharhul-Maqasid, IV, 239-240, 255, 276, 279.

9.2.16-Evaluation of death according to Islamic view

According to the Quran, death is programmed and beautiful. Death is the end of the world life and the beginning of an eternal life. There are many verses in the Quran stating that death occurs based on the predetermination by Allah, that death is not the end and that it is the beginning of a new life. (al-Anbiya/35, an-Najm/44, ar-Rum/50, ar-Rum/19, al-Ankabut/57)

For instance, the following is stated in verse 2 of the chapter of al-Mulk about life and death:

“He Who created Death and Life, that He may try which of you is best in deed.”

Tafsir scholars of the Quran are view death with the view of the Quran. In the interpretation of the above verse about death, it is explained that death was created as a blessing as follows:

"It is understood that death is created like life; it too is a bounty. But on the face of it, death is dissolution, non-existence, decay, the extinction of life, the annihilator of pleasures; so how can it be created and a bounty?

The answer: As was stated at the end of the answer to the first question, death is a discharge from the duties of life; it is a rest, a change of residence, a transformation of existence; it is an invitation to eternal life, a beginning, the introduction to an immortal life. Just as life comes into the world through an act of creation and is appointed and determined, so departure from the world is created and determined, and is planned wisely and purposively. The ways plants die, plant life being the simplest level of life, show their death to be a more orderly work of art than life. For although the death of fruits, seeds, and grains appears to occur through their decay and dissolution, it is in fact a sort of kneading that comprises exceedingly well-ordered chemical reactions and a balanced combining of elements and wise formation of particles; their unseen, orderly and wise deaths appear through the life of the new shoots. That is to say, the death of the seed is the onset of the shoot’s life. Indeed, since its death is like life itself, it is created and regular the same as life is.

Moreover, the death of living fruits or animals in the human stomach is the beginning of their rising to the level of human life; it may therefore be said that being thus, their death is more orderly and created than is their life.

If the death of plant life, the lowest level of life, is created, wise, and ordered in that way, the death that befalls human life, the highest level of life, must be the same. Similarly, as a seed sown in the ground becomes a tree in the world of the air, so a man who is laid in the earth will surely produce the shoots of an everlasting life in the Intermediate Realm.

Now for the aspects of death that are bounties; we shall point out four of them.

The First: Death is a great bounty because it means one is freed from the duties and obligations of life, which become burdensome. It is also a door through which one passes in order to join and be united with one’s friends, ninety-nine out of a hundred of whom are already in the Intermediate Realm.

The Second: It is to be released from the narrow, irksome, turbulent prison of this world, and to receive an expansive, joyful, troublefree immortal life, and to enter the sphere of the Eternally Beloved One’s mercy.

The Third: There are numerous factors like old age which make life arduous and show death to be a far superior bounty. For example, if together with your very elderly parents who cause you much distress you beheld before you your grandfather’s grandfathers in all their pitiful state, you would understand what a calamity life is, and what a bounty, death.Another example: one can imagine how difficult life is in the harsh conditions of winter for the beautiful flying insects, the lovers of the beautiful flowers, and what a mercy death is for them

The Fourth: Just as sleep is a comfort, a mercy, a rest, particularly for those afflicted by disaster and the wounded and the sick, so too is death, the elder brother of sleep, a pure bounty and mercy for the disaster-struck and those who suffer tribulations that drive them to suicide. However, as is proved decisively in many of the Words, for the people of misguidance, death is pure torment the same as life, and pure affliction, but that is outside the discussion here.¹

According to Islamic belief, when the worldly life ends with death, an eternal life begins in another world just like a dead and decaying seed being the beginning of a new life.

It is very meaningful and remarkable that the purposes, aims and wisdoms of the programmed death described above and the verses of the Quran, which were sent down 14 centuries ago, are parallel to each other.

The fact that death was created was understood after the discovery of programmed cell death about 50 years ago. However, the Holy Quran stated it clearly about 1450 years ago that death occurred by being created, and thousands of interpreters of the Quran wrote works explaining this meaning.

The Islamic view of the reality of death is compatible with the current scientific view in terms of the following points:

1. Every living being is programmed to die.

2. Death is not a passive incident; it requires a synthesis of energy and matter (creation).

3. Death is beautiful, that is, life is actually possible with death.

Islamic and scientific views are similar related to those three points. However, materialist evolutionists interpret scientific facts differently. According to them, every cell has a death program, but no programmer. It has been decided that every living being will be sent away from this world (death) but no one decides. Programmed death is useful for the living being and it is beautiful, but it is bad to age and die with programmed death. It is possible to increase such meaningless sentences that reflect the philosophy of materialist evolutionists.

According to the Islamic view, if there is a death program in every cell, there is a programmer. If every living being’s death has been decided, there must be a being that decides. If programmed death is good for living beings, aging and dying with programmed death are also good for them.

CONCLUSION

The creation and survival of multicellular organisms is possible through programmed cell death. Many genes, especially p53, are responsible for recording and operating the death program in living beings. Genes and programs written in genes cannot have been formed by random mutations and natural selection, as materialist evolutionists claim because genes in living beings and the death program in genes are extremely sophisticated software with mechanisms that cannot be understood even today. Moreover, it was made for specific purposes, taking into account important benefits. Then, there must be a creator who places the death program into the living being and operates it.

Making and operating the death program is not a passive phenomenon because hundreds of very special compounds are synthesized. Energy is required for this. In other words, killing a living being under normal physiological conditions is actually an active phenomenon. The equivalent of it in Islamic literature is creating. Since there is a deed, there must be a doer. Similarly, if there are created beings, there must be a creator.

It is in the hands of the Creator to keep a living being alive and to kill it. The interesting thing is that the death program in living beings has been prepared in such a way that environmental factors have also been taken into account. However, this effect is not an infinite effect; it is in the forms of lengthening and or shortening a bit. Otherwise, no matter how suitable the environmental factors are, the death program is operated and the cell or the living being is lead to death. The living being is programmed to die and there is no escape from death. Then, there must be important wisdoms and purposes in the killing of living beings.

Programmed cell death is widely used at every stage of life. In other words, the continuity of life is ensured by the balanced operation of the death program. For example, the production of reproductive cells (eggs and sperm), the preparation of the uterus (womb) every month, the creation of tissues and organs in the womb in accordance with this world life, the protection of the living being from diseases in the world and homeostasis (internal balance) are all related to programmed cell death. The aging and death of the living being under normal conditions also occurs with physiologically programmed cell death. Therefore, the aging and death of the living being is in favor of the living being and can be said to be beautiful (Figure 4).

All celestial religions, especially Islam,  and all prophets, especially, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh),  say that death occurs by creation and the result is beautiful. Materialist evolutionists, accept that programmed cell death is beneficial to living beings with one exception. That exception is the aging of the living being and the death that occurs as a result of aging.

It originates from not accepting the Creator who programs the living beings to die and not knowing His purposes of creation. That is, it is the result of not being able to see the existence of a divine power that plans the world and the conditions in the world for life, that organizes mindless and unconscious substances and creates living beings and that uses the programmed death mechanism at every stage of life. However, the beginning of life in the womb, its development and end are based on programmed death. The result of the separation of the living being from the mother’s womb is a transition to another world. That is, it is the beginning of a completely different life.

Figure 4. Life is an irreversible journey and every stage of it is controlled by the death program. According to Islamic belief, death ends the worldly life and starts an eternal life in another world.

Similarly, the survival of the living being in the world life, the continuation of life, aging and finally death are based on programmed cell death. So, the end of world life with programmed death will be the beginning of a new and different life. Only the life of the world will end with death and an eternal life will begin. That is necessary according to conscience and reason.

1.Nursi, B. S. Mektubat. Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı  Yayınları-605. 3^rd impression, Ankara, 2016, p. 11-13.

9-THE REALITY OF DEATH AND WISDOMS BEHIND MISFORTUNES

9.1-WHY DID ALLAH CREATE EVIL AND MISFORTUNES?*

Philosophy and theology have been talking about and discussing the issue of evil and free will for thousands of years. The problem of evil was first raised by Epicurus in Ancient Greece. David Hume discussed the same issue in detail in the 18th century and claimed that the existence of Allah and the existence of evil could not be reconciled. According to him, if Allah were omnipotent and perfect, why did He allow evil? In fact, similar views were expressed by al-Maarri and Ibn ar-Rawandi centuries ago in the Islamic world. Twentieth-century thinkers, such as Paul Drapper and John Mackie, said that the problem of the existence of evils supported atheist ontology and they walked in the same path as those before. In fact, atheist and agnostic thinkers made the most important criticism against theism with the problem of evil.¹

Theist thinkers gave important answers to those criticisms:

For example, according to Farabi, the evils that exist are relative; they have a necessary place in the universal system; and many good deeds cannot be abandoned for a few evil deeds. Although flood occurs due to rain and some people are harmed by it, the good part of rain is more than its evil part. Thus, the creation of rain is not evil; it is good. A lot of good cannot be abandoned for a little evil. The benefits and harms of fire are similar. If evil had not been created at all to prevent harm, more evil would arise. Ibn Sina explains the wisdom behind the creation of evil like Farabi.²

According to John Hick, people need an environment that will allow them to attain spiritual ascension and perfection. Therefore, evil and negativity need to exist. In such an environment, natural and ethical evils are necessary.³

Poverty can help a person to save money and turn toward work. An ill person can learn to maintain his health, to live healthily and to keep a balanced diet. He who sees the harm of telling lies can give up lying. As it is stated in a Turkish proverb, a misfortune is more useful than a lot of advice.

On the other hand, the existence of natural and ethical evils will give people the right to choose and prefer; so, ethical and spiritual ascension will take place.⁴

When Imam Ghazali mentioned the problem of evil, he used the following argument hundreds of years ago: “laysa fil-imkanabdumimmakan = There is nothing more beautiful than what is created in the realm.“ Thus, the world was created in the best way. However, this evidence used related to the creation of evil is generally known as the expression of Leibniz. As Ghazali says, this world was actually created in the most beautiful way, there cannot be anything more beautiful.⁵

Augustine emphasizes free will and makes explanations regarding the same issue: One can choose between good and evil with his free will. Without evil, one would not be able to choose the good. According to him, that should be seen as the main source of the creation of evil.⁶

According to Eleonore Stump, the reason why Allah permits evil is to show man the destructive effects of his free will and it is necessary. Thus, Allah helps people because one cannot correct the destructive effects of his free will in any other way.⁷

According to Richard Swinburne, people should see and know the consequences of their actions in order to ensure that the deeds done with free will comply with ethical laws. Moreover, the evils observed for great goodness should be ethically accepted.⁸

*It was published beforehand (ÂdemTatlı. Bilimlerin Işığında Yaratılış. Üsküdar Üniversitesi Yayını no: 2, 2017, p. 401-430).
1.Taslaman, C. KuantumTeorisi, Felsefe ve Tanrı. Istanbul Yayınevi, 4^th impression, Istanbul, 2010, p. 170- 171; Mehmet Aydın, Din Felsefesi, p. 156.
2.Taslaman, C. ibid p. 171.
3.Taslaman, C. ibid p. 172.
4.Taslaman, C. ibid p. 172.
5.Taslaman, C. ibid p. 172.
6.Taslaman, C. ibid p. 173.
7.Taslaman, C. ibid pp.173- 174.
8.For references, seeTaslaman, C. pp. 174- 175.

9.1.8- Rebellion against Allah’s preference?

1) It is the preference and decision of God Almighty to create man in a certain place and time, as a member of a certain race, with a certain gender, character and characteristics.

“Why was I born here, not in that city and town?

Why are my parents not such and such people?

Why did Allah create me as a member of this race, not that race?

Why am I dark-skinned, not light-skinned?

Why did He create my eyes blue, not black?

Why did He create me as a man or a woman?

Why did He not make my height shorter or longer?”

The questions above and similar ones can be considered reasonable only when they are asked to understand the wisdom behind them. Otherwise, they mean to question Allah, to rebel against Him and even to challenge Him. This means not to show consent to compulsory qadar¹ and not to surrender. What generally underlies such questions is not to show consent to Allah’s preference and decision, to criticize Him and to accuse Him of oppression and injustice. 

Allah’s divine predestination, choice, and will exist in the creation of the universe and in everything. For example, Allah created the sun as a lamp with a certain size, a certain system and certain functions. Can we ask Him the following questions by assuming an attitude that questions, judges and dislikes Him?

“Why did Allah not create the sun as a rectangle?

Why did He not create the sun bigger or smaller?

Why is one day not sixty hours?

Why are there four seasons, not five?

Why does another sun to illuminate the world not exist?”

Such questions can be asked about any issue and any creature. However, they are useless.Those who ask those questions can be given the following answers:

 “Make a rectangular sun to heat us if you do not like its shape. 

Come on! Make a make a bigger or smaller sun.

 If you can do it, increase the number of seasons.

 Come on! Make a day 60 hours…”

Man is definitely weak, very needy and poor. It is clear that we cannot make a lamp and stove like the sun, which Allah hung above us as a miracle. We cannot afford to meet its expenses even for one second. However, man can sometimes resort to ways like challenging, opposing, criticizing and questioning God Almighty, who has infinite knowledge and will, with the cooperation and help of human devils and jinn and his soul and by transgressing his limits.

In fact, there is no difference between the question “Why did He create the sun like this?” and “Why did He create me like this?”

2) The requirement of divinity is to do and create as He wishes. As it is stated in a verse, God Almighty is “Fa’alun lima yurid = Doer (without let) of all that He intends”. He does whatever he wants and does not account for anything to any creature and man.

He is wise; He creates His creatures in a wise way and properly. In fact, there is no defect, error or deficiency in His creations. For this reason, the following is stated regarding the issue: “laysa fil-imkanabda’umimmakan”. That is, there is nothing more beautiful than what is created in the universe.

O ignorant and weak man! Did Allah appoint you as an engineer, witness and critic for what He created? Who are you to challenge him? Nobody has the right to complain about God Almighty because there are countless wisdoms behind the creation of the world. Those wisdoms and purposes might not comply with the desires and wishes of some weak people. If those people were to be pleased, thousands of wisdoms would object to it. A thousand wisdom cannot be opposed to please a person. As a matter of fact, a verse of the Quran explains this fact as follows:

“If the Truth had been in accord with their desires, truly the heavens and the earth, and all beings therein would have been in confusion and corruption.”

Allah does not change the system and order of the universe according to the pleasures of people. Otherwise, the order in the universe will disappear.

Allah did not appoint the small desires of the objecting man as an engineer to the creation of the universe, functioning of its laws and its order. By exceeding his limits, man makes his inadequate mind a criterion and checkpoint for the affairs of Allah. He regards Allah’s help and blessings asbad deeds and misfortunes. He dares to intervene in the universe, which was created by infinite knowledge and power and which functions regularly, in order to satisfy his wishes and to calm his desires, without thinking of his weakness.

1.Things like that are also called “QadarIdtirari”.

ALLAH – REALM RELATIONSHIP

Hamdi Yazır explains the relationship between Allah and the realm as follows:

This realm was created to be a mirror to Allah.

“Allah - realm relationship is creation - creature relationship; it is not giving birth -reproduction relationship.”¹ That is, Allah is the Creator and the realm is one of His creatures. It is not part of Allah. We can understand it with the example of painter and painting. The painting reflects the art of the painter. The existence of the painting shows the existence of the painter but it is not a part of the painter. A similar relationship exists between Allah and this realm.  

This realm was created to be a mirror to Allah. Mawlana states the following regarding the issue:

“What is the mirror of existence? It is non-existence. Existence is seen only in non-existence. As a matter of fact, the rich give food, etc. to the poor.”²

A doctor shows his skill on those who need treatment. A tailor shapes shapeless fabrics. A carpenter turns timber to furniture. The non-existence and deficiency in all of them made them a mirror to Allah’s art.³

Likewise, the mirror of Allah, who has a thousand and one names, is the realm of non-existence. He has created the world and shows His embroidery on it. And His creation of the world is through the command ‘Be!’

1.Yazır, I, 479
2.Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi, Mathnawi, V, 1482.
3.Rumi, V, 1482.

9.1.10- Showing consent to qadar and not cursing time

Showing consent to qadar and surrendering to qada is a sign of being a believer. Once, the Prophet (pbuh) reported the following from Allah Almighty in Madinah:

“Sons of Adam curse time. However, I am the creator of time. Everything is in my hands, and I change the day and night.”¹

1) It is Allah who creates everything including time though He is free from time and space.² Time began with the creation of the earth and the heavens. Everything is by his predestination and judgment. He has predestined and determined everything before the creation of the earth and the heavens.

Qurayshi polytheists pagans and those who looked like them said, “Time is so bad”.  Thus, they attributed the difficulties and the misfortunes that hit them to time; they talked badly about time. Almighty Allah said, “Anad-dahru = I am time”, that is, ”I created time and I manage and control time”.

3) God Almighty has given His slaves what they deserve; he has always been fair to them in His deeds; He has never oppressed them. It is Allah who creates what happens in the course of time; He creates both the good and the evil. However, creation of evil is not evil; doing evil is evil. Nevertheless, people blame time for the bad deeds that they prefer and commit and for the bad results of what they do;³ thus, they actually blame Allah.

4) They sometimes express this thought by saying, “Yakhaybatat-dahri = O loss/disappointment of time”.⁴

Are you pleased with qadar?

When verse 108 of the chapter of at-Tawba was sent down,⁵ the Prophet (pbuh) went to the village of Quba from Madinah with some muhajirs. He stopped and stood at the gate of Quba mosque and asked the people of Quba who were inside the mosque:

 “Are you believers?”

The congregation were surprised by the question. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) asked again.

“Are you believers?”

When they did not answer, Hz. Umar said,

“O Messenger of Allah! They are definitely believers. I am together with them.”

After that, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) asked them the following question about qadar:

 “Do you show consent to Allah’s qada and qadar?”

This time, those in the mosque answered:

“Na’am = Yes.”

The Prophet mentioned belief in qada and qadar there. This incident shows that belief in qada and qadar was an issue that was talked about from time to time. The Companions believed in qada and qadar. The questions and answers continued as follows:

“Do you show patience when you are hit by a misfortune?”

Belief in qada necessitated showing patience in the face of the misfortunes and hardships coming from Allah. The people of Quba answered it with one word:

“Yes.”

Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,

“By the Lord of the Kaaba, you are believers.”⁶

The answers they gave were evidences for their belief. By believing in Allah, they showed consent to qada and qadar,⁷ and showed patience in the face of the misfortunes and calamities. This necessitated not complaining about Allah in the face of the misfortunes and calamities. They were pleased with Allah when they were in comfort and in hardship. Then, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) sat among them and asked,

“O people of Ansar! Allah praised you. What do you do when you make wudu and when you go to toilet?”

The people of Quba gave the following answer:

“O Messenger of Allah! We use three stones to clean the feces. Then, we clean with water.”

Upon, their answer, the Messenger of Allah recited the following verse: “Rijalunyuhibbuna an yattahharu = In it are men who love to be purified…”⁸ The people of Quba had learned cleaning with water or having a bath after becoming junub from Jews. However, the verse praised them, not the Jews. The belief of oneness and fulfilling the requirements of that belief were emphasized along with the importance of cleaning in the verse. It is also stated that they washed the residues of urine with water; they never walked around when they were junub and they did not sleep when they were junub.The people of Quba continued cleaning with water after becoming Muslims. They did not even sleep when they were junub. There are two views about the dirt they were cleaned of:⁹

1) They were praised for being cleaned of material dirt. The verse particularly praises them for using water in the toilet.

2) According to the second view, the reason for the praise is not only because they were people who liked to be cleaned from material dirt. They were muttaqis (people who feared from Allah). They built a mosque on the principle of taqwa (fear of Allah). Thus, they liked to be cleansed from shirk (polytheism) and sins, which are spiritual impurities. They were also the people who were cleansed of unbelief, shirk and hypocrisy, which are the biggest sins, with belief, sincerity and honesty.  So, belief is cleanliness, shirk and unbelief are spiritual impurities as the following verse indicates: “Innamal-mushrikunanajasun = Truly the Pagans are unclean”. It is also a requirement of strong belief and taqwa to want very much to be cleaned from dirt and impurities. Thus, the believer is clean. If he gets dirty, he is cleaned with repentance or water. Cleaning of sins is a means of closeness to Allah and obtaining thawabs. Allah loves them because they are cleaned of unbelief and sins. The following is stated at the end of the same verse:

“Allah loveth those who make themselves pure.”

1) According to the verse above, Ansar and Muhajirs were loved by Allah very much because they liked to be cleaned and showed consent to qadar. Allah declared that he loved them.

2) The love of Allah is of high rank and it is love of the type of affection.¹⁰ Affection means to love fully.

3) Allah’s loving a person means His being pleased with him and promising that He will give him goodness and grant him a lot.¹¹ And they are pleased with Allah no matter what happens to them and what is recorded in their destiny (qadar) because they show consent to what is in their destiny. In other words, they are in the rank of consent. Their patience in the face of misfortunes also shows it. All these explanations show the importance of the mosque built on taqwa as well as the states and virtues of the Companions regarding their belief in qadar.

1.Umara, p. 340, nr. 530; (Bukhari, Tafsirul-Quran, 65/45, 1); Munawi, IV, 470, nr. 6024; Sarıcık, Cahiliye, p. 133-134.
2.See Taslaman, C. ibid. p. 211- 212.
3.Misfortunes hitting people due to what they do; seean-Nisa, 4/62, 79; ash-Shura, 30; an-Nahl, 34; az-Zumar, 51; Aal-iImran , 72; ar-Ra’d, 31; Qasas, 47; al-Maida, 49.
4.Munawi, IV, 481; Watt, p. 111.
5.Sarıcık, M.Çağrı- Medine, p. 369- 372.
6.Hay’ah, Majmaut-Tafasir, III, 197.
7.There is a sign related to the existence of qadar here.
8.Hay’ah, Majmaut-Tafasir, III, 197.
9.Hay’ah, Majmaut-Tafasir, III, 196-197.
10.see Feyruzabadi, al-Qamus, p. 90; Raghib, p. 153; IbnuAbil-’Izz, p. 165; Hay’ah, al-Mu’jam, p. 252; For alaqa, irada, sababa, gharam, mawaddah and other types of love, seeSarıcık, SahabeModeli, p. 130, 160.
11.Hay’ah, Majmaut-Tafasir, III, 197.

9.1.6-Why was I not created as a more handsome person?

Question:Allah creates some people handsome and beautiful and some people ugly; He gives health to some people while others suffer from illnesses throughout their lives. Some people live in comfort, wealth and prosperity while others live in poverty, distress, and hardship. Since everything is predestined with qadar, does qadar not oppress some people; hence, does Allah not commit injustice?

Let us try to solve the problem in the light of the following case study:

1) There was a very rich and very skilled tailor. He sewed beautiful, precious clothes. His style of working was as follows: When he sewed a jacket, coat, shirt and so on, he would use a live model. He would find unemployed, weak, poor men for it and give them high wages in advance daily. The live models would wear a shirt when he wanted and he would lengthen, shorten or cut the shirt with scissors if necessary. He gave different shapes to clothes on the live models. That famous artist would give orders to models likes “bend down, sit down, extend your arm, lie down, get up”. Thus, he wanted to reflect his art on clothes.

One day, he was cutting and shortening a shirt on one of the live models whose wages he paid in advance and fully, giving it different shapes, removing some parts and pinning  some parts. Meanwhile, the model said to him,

 “You give me orders like ‘bend, stand up, sit down, stand up’; thus, you put me into trouble and hardship. Besides, you cut, and shorten the shirt you put on me, making me ugly. What you do is mercilessness and cruelty.”

The tailor was surprised. How could this man talk like that? For, he was paid in full and in advance. The man who was paid in advance had no right to say, ‘You are bothering me.’ Besides, he was only a model; even though the shirt was on him, it did not belong to him. The owner of the shirt and the fabric was the tailor who sewed it and reflected his art on it.

As in this example, Allah, who is the Wise Creator, made people wear a body shirt that He embroidered finely with eye, ear, mind, heart, imagination, love, fear and similar emotions. He wants to show the embroidery of His beautiful names on this body shirt. Therefore, He changes people from state to state, turns them, sometimes makes them sit, sometimes get up, sometimes tire and sometimes relax. Man recognizes and understands his name “Razzaq = Nourisher, Sustainer” with hunger, and he becomes a reflector and mirror of the name of “Shafi = Healer” with illness.

What man, who is like the model in the example, needs to do here is to show patience and gratitude, not to complain because the body and organs, which are the clothes of the spirit, are not actually the property of man. The body shirt was entrusted to him and put on him temporarily like the shirt on the live model. Man did not produce his body and organs himself; he did not buy them by paying someone else. Allah is the owner of all of them. Therefore, the owner of the property can use his property as he wishes.¹

From this point of view, man should not complain by saying, “Why was I not created as a more handsome and beautiful person? Why has Allah made me sick while others are healthy? Why am I in trouble?” For, he has no right to complain. However, if the body had not been entrusted to him and if he had been the real owner of his body, if he had built his own body, or if he had purchased his body from someone else, perhaps he would have a right to complain.

2) Besides, illnesses, misfortunes, difficulties, and states that appear to be negative wash away the impurities of sin and become atonement for sins in our religion. In this respect,we should not complain but be grateful since they actually purify us.  Such states should not be interpreted as cruelty and injustice, but as a mercy, blessing, boon and gift of Allah.

For God Almighty gives the biggest misfortunes to his beloved slaves. The Prophet (pbuh) explains it as follows:

“Those who are given the most severe hardships are prophets, followed by saints and then those resembling them in degrees.”

Those people regard illnesses and misfortunes as a pure gift of worship and mercy and thank Allah patiently.

1.Nursi, B. S. Sözler. Diyanet Vakfı Yayınları-600, Ankara, 2^nd impression, 2016, p. 581-582.

1.2.2.The Terrible Truth

The double-slit experiment proved the wave property of electrons, that is, their ability to oscillate.

 When a nucleus found in the atom, which was considered the smallest part of matter, materialists called it the “terrible truth” because there was nothing smaller than an atom. It was as if a new world had been discovered. In 1923, a Frenchman called Louis de Broglie studied the oscillation of light and its wave property in his doctoral thesis. He claimed that light consisted of photons transmitted as waves. According to him, electrons and other atomic particles moved with waves. In 1925, Erwin Schrödinger took the wave part of this claim and applied it to Newton’s mechanics. According to this new wave mechanics, electrons appeared not as particles but as diffuse waves in a hypothetical mathematical space. Those assumptions were taken seriously since they showed Planck’s oscillations to explain the quantum behavior, the spectrum of the hydrogen atom, and to directly reveal very important quantum numbers. Subsequent experiments also showed the existence of De Broglie’s matter waves.¹

The double-slit experiment proved the wave property of electrons, that is, their ability to oscillate. According to this experiment, the light is passed through two thin slits and projected onto the screen behind the slits. Light passing through the upper slot and then the lower slot passes through the slot and reflects on the opposite side according to the wavelength. Light appears at the top and at the bottom according to its passage through the slot. A particle passes from the top of the wave and then from the bottom by burning. Then, it is understood that it does not go straight. The screen shows a pattern of light and dark lines, called interference pattern. It is understood through this experiment that light does not go straight and that it has sinusoidal waves. The same result was obtained when the same experiment was carried out with electrons, protons and neutrons known as particles in classical physics. In 1927, Clinton Davisson and Lester Germer proved that electrons had wave properties too.²

When it was understood that matter had a wave property, it caused a revolution in physics. Planck’s constant was formulated in the 1925s. Erwin Schrödinger’s wave theory experiment was conducted and Werner Heisenberg described matrix mechanics.

The use of laser in our daily life and the invention of PED and MRI devices used in medicine were achieved thanks to quantum. The MRI device consists of electron motions. Very short-term radio waves are sent to the human body from outside. The electrons collected in a certain direction are sent by radio frequency waves (RF). The radio waves hitting the hydrogen atoms in the body make spin rotation movement. They absorb energy and return to their previous state.

According quantum theory, the universe consists of waves and particles. For instance, matter consists of oscillation and vibration. Everything in the universe consists of waves and particles. They are based on a name of Allah.

They take a photograph of the tissue by measuring the reaction of water molecules. In other words, the MR of the tissue is taken by measuring the density of the hydrogen molecules in the body. Since the rate of the hydrogen distribution gives the liquid distribution rate in the tissues, an MR image showing which region has less water and which region has more water appears. These magnetic changes are made by measuring the energy change. MR can be said to be the quantum in dressed form.

MR is the implementation of quantum. Therefore, those who say that quantum theory is a completed theory are right. According to this theory, the universe consists of waves and particles. For instance, matter consists of oscillation and vibration. Everything in the universe consists of waves and particles. Their formula emerges with energy, speed and position. When we measure them, we measure the wave function; and the formula of the universe appears. Tolerating small changes in the universe is called perturbation theory. This theory is a theory that contains mathematical methods to obtain an approximate solution for a problem that cannot be solved fully acting upon another problem related to this problem.

Thus, the whole material world is a manifestation and reflection of Allah’s name an-Nur (the Luminous Light). That is, all beings are based on a name of Allah.

¹Çetin Bal, “KuantumKuramı”, http://www.zamandayolculuk.com/cetinbal/kuantumkuramisay.htm, (16.04.2003)
²Vikipedi, “ÇiftYarıkDeneyi”, http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%87ift_yar%C4%B1k_deneyi, (updating date: 08. 07. 2011)

8.2.5-Religion-Science Conflict

   Another question that needs to be answered here is this: What will happen if a scientifically proven issue conflicts with the Quran and hadiths? In 1911, Nursi gave a clear answer to this question acting upon the Islamic methodology:

     “It is an established methodological principle that when any item of religious knowledge reported to be based on either the Quran or the Sunnah of the Prophet appears to be in conflict with  reason, the  judgment of  reason—provided that it is genuine—takes priority and, consequently, the item in question is subjected to  interpretation”.¹

     What is meant by reason here is the proven scientific result achieved by human mind and experience. However, the quality of the reasoning to make the final decision on this issue is also important. This is the mind that knows both the essence of the religion and its own limits in the Kantian sense.

     Açıkgenç states that this reason is “illuminated” by revelation, which is important for understanding the issue. Otherwise, it is clearly stated in another statement of Nursi that the purpose here is not pure reason. According to him, since whatever the prophet says is reasonable, the mind commands man to obey his message.²

     Another thinker in the history of Islamic thought that gives priority to reason in the conflict of religion and science is Fakhruddin ar-Razi (1148-1209), the great commentator of the Quran. According to Razi, what needs to be done when the rational evidences conflict with the apparent meanings of verses and hadiths is clear:

      “If rational evidences show something very clearly and if we encounter verses and hadiths that show the opposite, what we can do is one of the following four things:

• To accept the requirements of both rational and religious evidences.
• To reject both of them.
• To accept the religious evidences and to reject the rational ones.
• To accept the rational evidences”.³

     According to Razi, when the first option is accepted, “we will have confirmed two opposite things at the same time, which is impossible”; when the second one is accepted, it will mean to deny both of the two opposite things, which is also impossible. The third option is wrong. Thus, we will have to accept the fourth possibility, to accept what reason, which is a blessing given to us by Allah, necessitates.⁴

        Application of the method

 In his books, Nursi applied his above-mentioned views on religion and science, which we tried to summarize; he explained the religious information criticized and rejected by modern man due to not being rational and scientific by interpreting it.

     The first and most important example is the claims of some scholars about the roundness of the world in the name of religion. According to Nursi, there is no doubt about the roundness of the world for the scholars who were researchers. He gives examples from traditional scholars and states that scholars such as SaduddinTaftazani and Sayyid Sharif Jurjani “held a globe like a ball in their hands” and examined it very carefully.Furthermore, Razi states that İbrahim Hakkı and Ghazali hold the same view. Nevertheless, he accuses those who “deny and reject” the roundness of the world “under the pretext of protecting the religion”  acting upon some “apparent” and “extreme” interpretations of  some religious texts not upon the results of reason and science of “a great murder and betrayal”⁵

The relationship between religion and science, which Nursi based on the Quran and oneness represents a harmonious understanding. He argues that religion (Islam) is the greatest advocate for the emergence and development of science, let alone conflicting with science.

In conclusion, the relationship between religion and science, which Nursi based on the Quran and oneness, represents a harmonious understanding. He argues that religion (Islam) is the greatest advocate for the emergence and development of science, let alone conflicting with science. According to him, the issues seen as a conflict between religion and science do not originate from the essence of religion but from the understanding of the interpreters of the religion in their own age. Acting upon the example of Ibn Sina (Avicenna), every scientist is “a child of the age he lives in” even if he is a genius and very intelligent. It is the fact that this understanding based on history is shaped and limited by the time and environment in which we live. Thomas Kuhn shows this dimension of science in detail with the concept of “paradigm” he developed as a historian and philosopher of science.⁶

     When Nursi’s views are considered as a whole, we see an understanding that knows the limits of reason but also accepts the power of reason illuminated by revelation instead of glorifying reason and science blindly. He draws attention to the structure of the universe, which can be understood by reason and formulated by scientists, by emphasizing the order, system, hierarchy, beauty and esthetics in the universe self-confidently and persistently. Thus, all of the scientific results that are obtained occur within the framework of the wholeness of the principle of oneness; according to Nursi, this product, produced by the alliance of the mind and heart, is defined as wisdom in the Quran.

     The relationship between religion and science, which Nursi based on oneness was defended by some contemporary Muslim thinkers such as I. R. al-Faruqi (1921-1986), Naquib al-Attas, and Seyyed Hossein with similar evidences too; it is emphasized in detail that there is no conflict of religion and science in Islam as the one in the Western civilization.⁷

1.Nursi,B.S. Muhakemat, p.13.
2.Nursi, B.S.Sözler, p. 466.
3.Razi, 1986). Asasut-Taqdis, Tahqiq: Ahmad Hijazi as-Saqa, Cairo: Maktabatul-Kulliyyatil-Azhariyya. p. 220.
4.Razi, ibid
5.Nursi,B.S. Muhakemat, p. 49-50.
6.Kuhn, S. T., (2000).Bilimsel DevrimlerinYapısı,translated byNilüfer Kuyaş), Istanbul: Alan Yayınevi, (5^th impression).
7.Bigliardi, 2015. ibid.

2.1.6-Theology and Luminosity

            In quantum mechanics, the presence of subatomic particles in more than one place at the same time, and assuming opposite characters caused confusion and the serious oppositions of physicists at first; similarly, in the theology of the modern age, in which critical reasoning replaced submission, concepts that are contrary to classical physics like the presence of Allah everywhere although He is nowhere and Allah doing many different things in many different places have been questioned and have been denied by a group because they were contrary to the mind and science. Badiuzzaman Said Nursi, who is a modern age theologian, easily solved those complicated matters, which the mind has difficulty in accepting, in his works called the Risale-i Nur Collection, using the concepts of light and luminosity and the analogy of the sun that he labels as half-luminous effectively and making it a stepladder for the mind.  

            Badiuzzaman Said Nursi divides beings into three groups based on their reflections on the mirror: dense, material luminous (or half-luminous) and luminous. The reflections of the dense material things like the chair, table and even man on the mirror are outside those things and they are dead. For instance, a man is alive; he breathes, sees, talks, rejoices and fears; however, his image on the mirror has no qualities other than its outward appearance.

The perfume smells nice but its reflection on the mirror does not smell. If a person enters into a gallery of mirrors, there appear a thousand people but only that person is alive; the others are all dead. 

Time and space are not in question for luminous beings; and their reflections or images are the same as their originals. However, the degree of the sameness of the reflection is limited to the ability of the mirror.

            The reflections, that is, the images of the half-luminous things made of matter are not the same as their originals but they are not different either. Although the nature of the original and the image is different, the image has many characteristics of the original. Badiuzzaman Said Nursi gives the sun as an example of the material luminous things:

“For example, the sun entered the world, and displayed its reflection in all mirrors. In each of the reflections is present light and the seven colors in light, which are like the sun’s qualities. Let us suppose the sun possessed consciousness, and its heat was pure power; its light, pure knowledge; and its seven colors, the seven attributes, then the single sun would be present in all mirrors at one moment, and would be able to make each a throne for itself and a sort of telephone. One mirror would not be an obstacle to another. It would be able to meet with all of us by means of our mirrors. While we are distant from it, it would be closer to us than ourselves.”¹

The images of angels, which are luminous and living creatures, are both alive and the same as angels. Therefore, Azrail (the angel of death) can be in thousands of places at the same time and can do different things with different faces in each place although he is a single angel.

That is, the sun that is reflected on a huge mirror that is placed outside so that it will see a house that does not receive the sunlight directly and the sun gives the house heat, light and the seven colors just like the sun itself. That is, the sun on the mirror has the image and many characteristics of the sun in sky. Therefore, the half-luminous sun, which is present in thousands of places from a small piece of glass to vast seas at the same time, is a perfect example to explain luminosity, unity and oneness. The reflections on all shining things belong to the same sun that surrounds everywhere (unity) and every reflection shows differences based on the characteristics of the place that it is reflected on (oneness).

Time and space are not in question for luminous beings; and their reflections or images are the same as their originals. However, the degree of the sameness of the reflection is limited to the ability of the mirror. For instance, the images of angels, which are luminous and living creatures, are both alive and the same as angels. Therefore, Azrail (the angel of death) can be in thousands of places at the same time and can do different things with different faces in each place although he is a single angel. It is famous that some blessed people who assumed luminosity could be in more than one place at the same time or could go to a distant place and come back in a moment.

The incident of Mi’raj (Ascension) is not something to wonder for a Being whose essence is light and is a symbol of luminosity. As a matter of fact, the following is stated in a verse:

“Glory to (Allah) Who did take His Servant for Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque whose precincts We did bless― in order that We might show him some of Our Signs.”²

Many verses in the Quran regarding creation like,

“Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is the Guardian and Disposer of all affairs. To Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth.”³

“Verily, when He intends a thing, His command is "Be" and it is! So glory to Him in Whose hands is the dominion of all things.”⁴

“Say: ‘Allah is the Creator of all things: He is the One, the Supreme and Irresistible.’”⁵

“Not a leaf doth fall but with His knowledge.”⁶

“Say: He is Allah the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute”can only be explained by the concept of luminosity and the fact that Allah is Nur and that He is the source of all nurs.

As a matter of fact, questions like the following ones are frequently asked:

“O people of Unity! You say, ‘Say: He is God, the One and Only. God, the Eternally Besought One. That the Creator of the universe is one, He is single, He is eternally besought by all creatures. And that the Creator of everything is He. That He is one in essence and at the same time the reins of everything are directly in His hand, the key to everything is in His grasp; one thing cannot be an obstacle to another. And you say that at the same instant He has total disposal over all things and all their states. How can such a far-fetched fact be believed? How can a single individual be in innumerable places and do innumerable things at the same time with no difficulty?”⁷

A satisfactory answer to questions like the ones above and similar ones is the luminosity of Allah; and it can be made reasonable for the mind through the example of the sun:

“For example, although the sun is a particular and a single individual, it becomes like a universal by means of shining objects. It reflects its image, a sun like itself, in all shining objects, drops of water, and fragments of glass on the face of the earth, according to their capacity. The sun’s heat, light, and the seven colors in its light, a sort of likeness of the essential sun, is found in all shining physical objects.Let us suppose the sun had knowledge and consciousness, then every mirror would be like a sort of dwelling-place or seat or chair for it, it would be in contact with everything in person. It would be able to communicate with all conscious creatures by means of mirrors, with the pupil of every eye, even, each of which would be like a telephone. One thing would not be an obstacle to another. Communicating with one thing would not be a barrier to communicating with another. While being present everywhere, it would be present nowhere.If the sun, which is like a material, partial, and inanimate mirror to only the Divine Name of Light out of innumerable Names, can therefore display universal activity in an unlimited number of places while being a single individual, should the All-Glorious One, with the oneness of His Essence, be unable to perform innumerable actions at the same time?”⁸

Those who did not understand the mystery of luminosity and the luminosity of Allah had to invent gods of goodness and evil and imagine the sky as the battlefield of gods. The reason why those who study science cannot accept the concept of God that is present at all times and everywhere with all of His attributes although He is nowhere is the fact that they are unaware of luminosity. The same scientists had to attribute the production of the hygienic egg, which is a wonder of biotechnology, to the chicken, which did not know what it was doing which ate any food that it found, and produced the egg in a dark environment without using its feet and eyes; and they had to ignore the fact that the matter in the egg turned to a chick, which is a zenith of art and a miracle of creation, in 21 days without the intervention of a hand or a tool all by itself; and they regarded it as a normal event. When they could not find a reasonable and logical explanation, they referred everything to the black box of evolution and thought they settled the issue.

In fact, if it is examined thoroughly, it will be seen that ‘evolution’, which is claimed to have done everything everywhere, has to have the quality of divinity equipped with knowledge, will, power and wisdom, and the quality of luminosity in order to do the things attributed to it.

Since the concept of luminosity is not understood well in the Christian world, gaps were formed in the understanding that the Creator of the universe has an eye that sees everything and has a power that can do anything; and ways leading to polytheism were opened. 

            Badiuzzaman Said Nursi concretizes the luminosity taking place in the creation by giving the example of a tree and its fruits in the 32nd Word. Acting upon this observation, he generalizes it through induction:

“This tree has at least ten thousand fruits and each fruit has at least a hundred winged seeds. At one instant of time, the ten thousand fruits and million seeds display altogether one art and creativity. While the center of the laws of the tree’s formation is present in its roots and trunk, through a manifestation of Divine will and a condensing of the Dominical command, which may be described as particular, individuated, and a knot of life, they are also present at the ends of all its branches, within every fruit and every seed. No part of any member of the tree is lacking them, they are not obstacles to one another; the tree is formed through them.

And that single manifestation of will and that law issuing from a command are not transmitted and radiated like light, heat, and air. For they leave no trace nor may any hint of them be perceived in the long distances and various beings between the places they go. If the fact that they are present in each fruit and seed had occurred through their being transmitted and radiated, some trace or hint of them would be perceived. Rather, they are present in each of those places without being fragmented or radiated. Those universal and general actions are not incompatible with His Oneness and individuality. It may even be said that while the manifestation of will, and the law and knot of life are present in each of the places, they are present in none of them. It is as if the law has as many eyes and ears as there are fruits and seeds of the majestic tree.

Indeed, each part of the tree is like a center of the senses of the law, so that their long intermediaries are not a veil and do not form a barrier. Rather, like telephone wires, they are a means of facilitating and bringing things closer. The farthest is like the nearest.

Since, as is clear from observation, through a single partial manifestation of an attribute of the Single and Eternally Besought One like will, millions of events occur in millions of places without intermediary, it is necessary to be certain, with complete certainty, that the All-Glorious One can have total disposal over the tree of the universe, together with all its parts and particles, through the manifestation of His power and will.”⁹

Badiuzzaman Said Nursi continues by making the acts of luminosity seen in the sun, trees and beings withspirit stepladders and makes people look upward; then, he puts before the eye of the mind the divine luminous sun in a chain of logic concisely and in a way to dazzle the eyes:

“Impotent and subjugated creatures like the sun, and half-luminous creatures like spirit-beings, which are restricted by matter, and the laws issuing from a command and the manifestations of will which are the knot of life and center of direction of this plane tree, these in turn being like its light and spirit, while being in one place and being particulars identifiable as single, according to the mystery of luminosity, they are clearly present in numerous places and in numerous events. And while being particulars restricted by matter, it is as though they take on an absolute universality. And in the space of one second they may demonstrably do a great number of things through the power of choice. You see for yourself and you will not be able to deny it.

The Single and Most Pure and Holy Essence, Whose attributes are all-comprehending and functions, universal, is far beyond and exalted above matter, and is utterly remote and free from any restriction and the darkness of density. All these lights and luminous beings are but obscure shadows of His Sacred Names; and all existence and life and the World of Spirits, the Intermediate Realm, and the World of Similitudes, semi-transparent mirrors reflecting His beauty.

What being can be hidden in the face of His Oneness, which is within the manifestation of His attributes and actions, which in turn are evident through His universal will, absolute power, and all-embracing knowledge? What matter can be difficult for Him? What place can be concealed from Him? What object can remain distant from Him? What individual can draw close to Him without acquiring universality? Can anything at all be hidden from Him? Can any matter at all be an obstacle to another? Can any place at all be empty of His presence?

Ibn al-Abbas (May God be pleased with him) said: "There is an immaterial eye that sees and ear that hears in every being." Is this not so? Are the chains of beings not each like a wire or vein for the swift flowing of His commands and laws? Are obstacles and difficulties not means and intermediaries in His disposal of beings? Are causes and intermediaries not merely an apparent veil?

While He is present nowhere, is He not present everywhere? Does He need at all to be located in a place or situation? Can the veils of distance, smallness, and the degrees of existence be obstacles to His proximity, power of disposal, and witnessing?

Moreover, could the qualities pertaining to material, contingent, dense, numerous, restricted, and limited beings, and the states of change, transformation, division, and occupying space, which are their particular and confined necessary consequences, in any way touch the Most Pure and Holy Essence Who is far beyond matter, is Necessarily Existent, the Light of Lights, and is Single, One, and is free from any restriction or limitation and exalted above and pure of any fault or deficiency? Could impotence in any way be fitting for Him? Could any defect approach the skirt of His splendor and glory? “¹⁰

Badiuzzaman Said Nursi first diagnoses the realities reflected on the beings through careful observations like a proficient scientist and virtually separates it with tweezers and proceeds to the source of this law, whose tip he has discovered, because the reality becomes perfect and generalized if its source is reached. For instance, the half-luminous sun is virtually closer to us than our pupils and it encompasses us with its heat, light and colors but we observe that we are far from the sun due to our dense body, which is limited by the laws of physics; it makes us see the reality that ‘when two things are very far away from each other, one of them can be very close to the other’ and enables us to examine the differences between those two things, which opens the way to understand luminosity.

Conclusion

The attribute of luminosity is the property that is dominant in all levels in subatomic world, and in living beings, especially in humans in the supra-atomic world.

            Quantum mechanics or theory, which started to be established in 1920s and which abolished the sovereignty of Newton mechanics in the subatomic world establishing its own rule unquestionably, invalidated many accepted things related to matter and affected our understanding of beings profoundly. The first victim of Quantum mechanics was the understanding that everything consisted of matter and that everything could be explained by deterministic laws of physics. A big gap has formed with emergence of quantum reality and the collapse of the understanding of time-space, which was known as the strongest ground of science, as a result of the confirmation of the existence of subatomic particles in more than one place at the same time and the fact that they communicated much faster than the speed of light (or rather timelessly), which was thought to be impossible to exceed, through careful measurements and observations; and this gap has not been filled yet. The prominent physicists, who were thought to understand everything in the past, turned out to understand nothing. The efforts to explain the new phenomenon that emerged through some utopian theories like parallel universes, which did not satisfy anybody, were nothing but mind exercises.

            In fact, Quantum mechanics shows even to the blind eyes that timelessness and spacelessness, that is, to be present in more than one place at the same time and to be able to go everywhere at the same time, is a reality that cannot be denied. While deterministic Newton laws, which imprison luminosity, and hence density dominate in the supra-atomic world, matter becomes subtle in the subatomic world and luminosity starts to dominate apparently.  

Through the concept of luminosity and the analogy of the sun, which is a half-luminous being, many issues that baffle the mind in theology and that cannot be accepted by the mind conditioned by the deterministic philosophy can be settled easily. Therefore, the concept of luminosity must be included as an indispensable concept in both natural sciences and social sciences. The groundless fears that science and religion will approach each other and that very bad things will happen if luminosity is accepted must be abandoned. For the happiness of humanity, it is necessary for these two big institutions that play important roles in the life of human beings to stop old disagreements and denying each other, to make peace and to support each other. The positive atmosphere that will be formed will contribute to the development of both institutions.

1. a) Nursi, B. S. Sözler. p. 232. b) http://www.sorularlarisale.com
2. a) Nursi, B. S. Sözler. p. 230-235, b)http://www.sorularlarisale.com
3. az-Zumar, 62-63.
4. Yasin, 82-83.
5. ar-Ra’d,16.
6. al-An’am, 59.
7. al-Ikhlas,1-2.
8. Nursi, B. S. Sözler. 32. Söz
9. a) Nursi, B. S. Sözler. p. 757.    b)http://www.sorularlarisale.com
10. a) Nursi, B. S. Sözler. p. 752-756. *at least.
11. a) Nursi, B. S. Sözler. p. 752. b)http://www.sorularlarisale.com.

  7.5.1. Brain Regions in Logical Reasoning

     The anterior region of the brain is related to paying attention, maintenance, directing attention, short, medium and continuous memory, patience, planning, designing, judging, reaction control, regularity, self-control, solving problems, thinking in detail, predicting about the future, drawing lessons from mistakes, understanding emotions and expression. Empathy, common sense, morale are characteristics of the anterior region of the brain.

     There is a case called Elliot in the literature. This case, which is dealt with in neuroscience, is related to a successful lawyer in the United States. He was very successful; he had a house, car, yacht, etc. He suddenly underwent a personality change around the age of 40. He missed some trials, did not go to work, etc.

In fact, our brain does not work silently; it works unconsciously. We call what we call the unconscious/subconscious implicit memory. If we liken it a computer, the system files work in the computer though we do not notice them; similarly, the brain works though we do not notice it. These characteristics make man different from other living beings.

He lay lazily; after a while, he went to see the doctor for a problem. A tumor as big as a mandarin was observed in the anterior region of the brain in the MRI. After this tumor was removed, he recovered his personality slightly. It was found out that the damage to the front region of the brain caused the personality change.

4-WHAT IS THE NATURE OF LIFE?

4.1.ORIGIN OF LIFE*

It is possible to summarize the views put forward by scientists in geology and biochemistry books related to the origin of life as follows:

The universe occurred 15 to 20 billion years ago with an explosion. As a result of the explosion in which elements such as helium (He) and hydrogen (H) were formed by explosions, planets and the world formed in a very short period of time. Then, elements occurred; after that, compounds were formed as a result of the combination of elements in a period of billions of years. Life started on earth 4.5 to 5 billion years ago.  It is put forward that the first atmosphere of the world consisted of water vapor, methane, other hydrocarbons, cyanide acid, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide. It is stated that O2 joined the atmosphere as a result of the photosynthesis of plants, that organic substances were synthesized as a result of continuous electrical discharges and that animal organisms were synthesized from those organic substances. Some of those views are worth supporting. However, many of those views of scientists are baseless.¹

*It was published earlier (ÂdemTatlı. Bilimlerin Işığında Yaratılış. 2nd Impression, Üsküdar Üniversitesi Yayını no: 2, Istanbul,  2017,  p.  229-233).
1. Peter Karlson, Kurzes Lehrbuch der Biochemie ,1980.

9.1.7-Complaint comes from a right

Complaint stems from a right¹ and a person who is wronged can complain to eliminate the injustice. “Why was I created as an ugly person while others are handsome? Why am I short while others are tall?” Those who utter the complaints above and similar ones and who regard them as injustice and cruelty of qadar think Allah owes them and speak like that. It looks as if they made a deal with God Almighty before they were born. They think Allah owes them a height of 180 cm.

When Allah created people and pre-ordained their bodies by giving a height of 150 cm to some, 160 cm to some, 170 cm to some, etc., they raised their voices and objected:

“Why am I 160 cm tall? 

Why am I 170 cm tall? ”

They assume the same attitude related to the issues such as ugliness-handsomeness and sickness–health. Let us ask them the following questions:

“Does Allah owe you anything? Did you give Him a height of 180 cm before and did He shorten it by 5, 10 or 20 cm when He returned them to some people? You have the right to complain if there is a loss like that.”

In fact, Allah does not owe anything to anyone; whatever He gives man is from His grace and mercy. In this respect, no right is violated and lost, which does not give man the right to complain. On the contrary, we owe God Almighty so many things and rights. Demanding some rights from Him instead of paying our debt to Him is like a debtor denying his debt and complaining about the creditor by saying, “I have been wronged and oppressed.”

In terms of blessing, man has no right to look above and the people superior to him and to complain. On the contrary, he should look at those who are in greater distress than him, be thankful and happy. The following example tells us this fact very well:

A generous man wanted to help a desperate and poor person financially. He took the poor person in front of a minaret and said,

“If you go to the top of the minaret, I will give you a gift for every step you ascend.”

Then, he added:

“I will give you the greatest gift for the top step.”

The desperate poor person reached the top step of the minaret. The minaret was really high. The generous and benevolent person who told him to ascend to the highest step gave him one piece of gold for the first step and two for the second step. He increased the number of gold coins one by one for each step. He gave the poor man a thousand gold coins at the top step of the minaret.

The man expected only two things from the poor man: to thank him and to be grateful to him. However, the poor man forgot the gold coins granted to him and the favor of the generous man and addressed him as follows:

“I wish the minaret were higher. I wish I would go up more steps and get more gold coins.”

Despite all of the grants and help, the poor man started to complain instead of thanking the generous man. He started to oppose and blame the generous and benevolent person by saying, “Why do I not have as much gold as others? Why don’t you give me more?” instead of thanking the man who gave him so much gold.

In fact, this complaint is ingratitude and thanklessness. The benevolent person may not have given him anything because the desperate man had no right to receive anything from him. The rich man gave him the gold coins because of his mercy and as a grant.

Similarly, Allah brought man into existence from nothing; He did not create him as a stone, as soil or as one of the thousands of species of trees and animals. He raised man to the degree of the greatest blessing and bestowal, bestowed the blessings of humanity and Islam. He made him healthy in most of his life, fed him at the table of the earth every day and equipped him with the organs like hands and feet along with spiritual organs like mind, thought and love.²

If we liken every given blessing to a step, man has been ascended to such a high minaret in terms of blessings; he has been granted such great blessings grants and boons. Allah has bestowed upon him so many blessings out of His generosity though he does not owe man anything; can man ignore what He has given him, show ingratitude and think as follows as if Allah has violated his rights and owes him: 

“Why am I 160 cm tall, not 170 cm?

Why am I not as handsome or beautiful as such and such a person?

Why am I sick but such and such a person is not sick?

Is what has happened to me not cruelty and injustice?

In fact, the person who is 60 cm tall and who thinks he is inferior to others should think as follows: 

 “Allah brought me into existence out of nothing; He did not create me as a stone, soil, tree, microbe or animal. Thus, He elevated me to millions of steps of bounties though He does not owe me anything. He would have never created me if He did not want to. He could have created me as a stone or soil”.

Although He expects thanking from me for all those grants and blessings, I look at the people who have been given more blessings and complain about it. However, I have to look at those who have fewer blessing and be thankful. Instead of thinking that I am 10 cm shorter than others, I should think as follows: There are people and creatures that are shorter than me. I could have been even an ant of half a centimeter tall. I should not complain and show ingratitude instead of thanking Allah.”

1.Nursi, B.S. Lem’alar., p. 217.
2.Nursi, B.S.Lemalar, p. 226; (On Sekizinci Deva). Allah is not cruel. See Mehmed Vehbi, Akâid-iHayriye, p. 29-32; Keskin, p. 134.

8.2.5- Every branch of science is based on a name of Allah

“These current advancements are based on the signs taken from religions and inspirations obtained from aphorisms”.Badiuzzaman Said Nursi

     In a work written in the same period, Nursi shows in a different way that  Islam is the master of science by basing each branch of science on a name of Allah. With a style that reminds of the Neo-Platonic interpretations of Plato’s conception of ideals, Nursi states the following: “All attainments and perfections, all learning, all progress, and all sciences, have an elevated reality which is based on one of the Divine Names. On being based on the Name, which is concealed under numerous veils and has various manifestations and different spheres, the sciences and arts and attainments find their perfection and become reality. They are not some incomplete and deficient shadow.”¹

     The greatest miracle of Hz. Adam is being taught the names of things. This quality, which is a miracle of Hz. Adam, was given to his descendants as “ability” and “opportunity”. Man has faculties (including reason) that can understand the universe, which was created by Allah based on a certain order and predestination. In other words, man, whom Allah created in the most beautiful way and equipped with endless faculties and abilities, can find and understand the book of the universe and its creator with those “faculties and abilities.²

     In the process when the Ottoman society suffered a great trauma after the Second Constitutional Monarchy and when modern science was adopted as a new religion,Nursi stated the following clearly: “These current advancements are based on the signs taken from religions and inspirations obtained from aphorisms.” Thus, he criticized the basic theses of positivism; on the other hand, the tried to show that religion-science relationship is based on the Quran.³

     There are two hypotheses here:

Firstly, “Nor anything fresh or dry (green or withered), but is (inscribed) in a record clear (the Quran).”⁴ It is a theological assumption that scientific achievements and technological developments in human history should also be in the Quran according to the verse of the Quran above.

Secondly, acting upon the same thought, the miracles of the prophets mentioned in the Quran can have different meanings for us. According to him, the Quran, which is a general address to humanity, does not “neglect” those important developments in the history of humanity.

“For example, medicine is a science, and also an art; its final point and reality are based on the Absolutely Wise One’s Name of Healer, and through observing that Name’s compassionate manifestations in the vast pharmacy of the earth, medicine finds its perfection and becomes reality” Badiuzzaman Said Nursi

     After this assumption, Nursi’s interpretation is important in terms of showing the harmony between religion and science. The point to which he drew attention related to the miracles of prophets shows  of the Prophet shows what a holistic and deep understanding he had related to  the Quran.

     According to Nursi, “One who searches for truth should be like a diver, freed of the effects of time, able to dive into the depths of the past, weigh ideas on the  scales of  reason, and discover the source of everything”.⁵

     The statement above reminds of Gazali’s expression “diving into ocean like a diver and collecting pearls” about understanding the Quran.⁶ Acting upon the same understanding, Nursi makes a different interpretation related to the miracles of prophets. 

     Firstly, prophets were sent to human societies as pioneers and leaders “in terms of spiritual advancement”.

     Secondly, the miracles given to prophets are examples of the material development and advancement of people. His conclusion is that since the Quran mentions the spiritual perfection of prophets, it encourages people to make use of them and since it mentions the miracles of prophets, it encourages people to make things similar to them and to imitate them.

     Thus, the stories in the Quran are no longer regarded as stories; in addition, the miracles are also given a different meaning. What man needs to do is to try to make things similar to those miracles by developing and using the unlimited faculties created by Allah in his nature through learning. In this context, according to Nursi, like spiritual and moral attainments, material attainments and wonders were first given to mankind as a gift by the hand of miracles. An example of this is the ship, which was a miracle of Hz. Nuh, and the clock, which was a miracle of Hz. Yusuf.⁷

     According to Nursi, all of the great Quran commentators and scholars unanimously agree that each verse of the Quran has many various and different meanings in the sense of “guidance” in terms of the purposes of the religion. Thus, the verses of the miraculous Quran related to the stories of prophets, which are the most brilliant verses,  cannot be historical stories. Moreover, those verses have many meanings within the framework of the purposes of the Quran. On the other hand, the dimension related to our is that “they determine the ultimate boundaries of the human science and art”.⁸

     Thus, the Quran becomes a living book; it encourages the scientists living today as it did in history. On the one hand, it “emphasizes the most advanced goals” of science; on the other hand, “it determines the ultimate goals”. Moreover, with this approach, “it strikes the hand of encouragement on man’s back, urging him to that purpose”.⁹

      The Muslim generations that understood and interpreted the Quran like Nursi in this way in the past turned toward science with great love, enthusiasm, effort and devotion; they built the Islamic science tradition and then the Islamic Civilization as a necessary result of this scientific heritage. Having done something in history is proof that it can be done in the future too if Muslims do not change their view of the Quran and if they see it as a living text full of wisdom.

     Allah’s names “has numerous veils and various manifestations and different spheres” in the realm of beings. Therefore, if a branch of science is based on that name, “the sciences and arts and attainments find their perfection and become reality. They are not some incomplete and deficient shadow”. He tries to explain it through three examples:

For example, engineering is a science; its reality and final point reaches to Almighty God’s Names of All-Just and Determiner, and observes with all their majesty the wise manifestation of those Names in the mirror of engineering.

And, for example, medicine is a science, and also an art; its final point and reality are based on the Absolutely Wise One’s Name of Healer, and through observing that Name’s compassionate manifestations in the vastpharmacy of the earth, medicine finds its perfection and becomes reality. And, for example, the natural sciences, which discuss the reality of beings; through seeing the regulating, nurturing supreme manifestations of Almighty God’s (May His glory be exalted) Name of All-Wise in things, in their benefits and advantages, and through attaining to the Name, and being based on It, these sciences may contain true wisdom. Otherwise they are either transformed into superstition, or become nonsense, or open up the way to misguidance like Naturalist philosophy..¹⁰

     Acting upon those three examples, Nursi tries to show that the relationship between religion and science can be established in a healthy way. In addition, he emphasizes that the Quran “strikes the hand of encouragement on man’s back, urging him to the highest peaks, the furthest limits, the final degrees, which he is far behind at the present degree of his progress. It points its fingers at those degrees, saying: ‘Forward march!’”.¹¹

1.Nursi,B.S. Sözler, p. 311.
2.Nursi, Sözler. 20. Söz; 23. Söz.
3.Nursi,B.S. İşarat-ül İcaz, translated by A. Nursi. Ankara: Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı, p. 656.
4.al-An’am, 59.
5.Nursi,B.S. Muhakemat, p. 22.
6.Ghazali.(2011). Kur’an Mücevherleri (Jawahirul-Quran),translated by A Duram, Istanbul: Hikmet Neşriyat.
7.Nursi, B.S.Sözler, 299 ff.
8.Nursi,B.S. Sözler, p.301.
9.Nursi, B.S. Sözler, p.301.
10.Nursi,B.S. Sözler, p. 310-311.
11.Nursi,B.S. Sözler, p. 312.

4.2.2-Molecules do things that are engineering marvels

            The molecules in living beings are lifeless, mindless, unconscious and simple things. However, they work extremely consciously. In fact, human beings cannot do what they manage to do even with today’s technology. For example, molecules produce energy at constant temperatures. They work at a constant volume and constant pressure. It is definitely not possible for them to prepare and produce such a system on their own. Many molecules come together to do a certain job. And they do this continuously, without getting tired and being confused throughout the lifespan of that living being. In fact, the work of molecules in cells is described as follows by famous biochemists: The chemical activities a cell does in a few minutes can only be done in months by many experienced chemists working in highly developed laboratories.¹

            Molecules are made work with maximum economy in the cell. The yield in their reactions is 100%. It means they do not produce any unnecessary by-products. Energy efficiency is maximum. Cells use many different molecules taken as food very efficiently and convert them to a few simple molecules; they can also make hundreds of different molecules starting from a few simple molecules such as water, carbon dioxide and ammonia.

The enzymes are made work so perfectly, carefully, fast and consciously that they astonish people. However, since these molecules do not have life, mind and consciousness, it will be gullibility to expect them to come together on their own to do a job.

            For instance, producing energy from sugars and fats in humans is quite a long process and many molecules take part in this task. Enzymes constitute most of those molecules. The enzymes are made work so perfectly, carefully, fast and consciously that they astonish people. However, since these molecules do not have life, mind and consciousness, it will be gullibility to expect them to come together on their own to do a job. Then, who makes all these molecules work in a very intelligent and conscious way? Is it not necessary to think about it?

            In addition to enzymes, auxiliary molecules and various minerals are involved in this work. It is not possible to understand how so many molecules, which are quite different from one another, do the same work for years by coming together and without having a rest and making any mistakes. That is, it is not possible for these molecules to achieve such a task on their own. Therefore, whoever created both those molecules and the living beings that they serve must have definitely created the universe too; He is the one who employed those molecules in those works. Nobody else can do it.

            For example, 21 enzymes, about 10 auxiliary molecules and various elements such as Na, K, Fe, P and copper take part in the process of a sugar molecule being transformed into CO2 and water so that they will be used in energy production. Those molecules form an organization shown below in three schemes. The molecules in these three schemes work in series one after the other in an oxygenated environment to convert the sugar molecule (glucose) into CO2 and water. Meanwhile the energy that is produced is used for the needs of the body.²

Figure 1. First reaction series. Glycolysis.³

Figure 2. Second reaction series TCA cycle is an extraordinary organization. Those who discovered this cycle won the Nobel prize.⁴

As it can be seen, it is very difficult even to schematize the molecules that realize these reactions let alone producing those molecules.

Figure 3. The schematized form of the third reaction series: Oxidative phosphorylation (or respiratory chain) reactions (A scientist who explained how those reactions worked with a theory won the Nobel prize).⁵

This reactions series is a real engineering wonder that today’s engineers cannot even imagine because these molecules produce energy at a constant temperature. In addition, they reveal the high energy in the structure of glucose with a great engineering science. These reactions have not been understood yet. This mechanism is almost the same in all living beings. Is it possible for the lifeless, mindless and unconscious molecules to produce this technology, which has not been understood yet though today’s science and technology have advanced so much, on their own?

The enzymes that produce energy from fats in our bodies are similar and they are equally perfect. The enzymes that produce oils are also like that. These enzymes are even called “molecular factories”.⁶

            When you look at Figure 4, you will clearly see that lifeless, mindless and unconscious atoms cannot come together on their own for a very important purpose and make such a complex molecule. Since those living beings in which those molecules work cannot do this, and since those who are not interested in this science are not even aware of the existence of such a thing in their bodies, the being that makes it is Allah, who has endless power and strength, who makes both atoms and molecules, and who knows the living beings and the needs of living beings and, Allah is the Lord of infinite power and might.

Figure 4. Fatty acid synthesis enzyme – Molecular factory that produces fat.⁷

            For instance, sugar (glucose) is produced by the molecules in plants using solar energy, carbon dioxide and water. This is an extremely simple but very cheap and excellent way of nutrition. Is it possible for plants or the molecules in the plant cells to do something like that on their own? Is it reasonable and logical not to know, not to want to know, or even to deny the real owner of this magnificent science?

1.Lehninger AL, Principles of Biochemistry, Worth Publishers, Inc. New York, 1982, p. 3-13.
2.Stryer L, Biochemistry, Third edition, W. H. Freeman and Company, New York, 1988, p. 150
3. http://understandingbiologyandlife.blogspot.com.tr/2011/12/glycolysis-broken-down.html.
4.https://dopeahmeanbio.wordpress.com.
5.http://employees.csbsju.edu/hjakubowski/classes/ch331/oxphos/olcouplingoxphos.html
6.Voet D, Voet JG, Biochemistry, Fourth Edition, John Wiley & Sons, 2011, S. 653.
7.http://news.chess.cornell.edu/articles/2007/Steitz.html

9.2.9-For what purpose is programmed cell death used?

Programmed cell death exists at every stage of life and is an important mechanism of creation (Figure 1).

Let us now consider a few more important purposes of the programmed death mechanism in detail.

The balance in the structure of the living being (homeostasis) is maintained through programmed cell death

Programmed cell death is used in the developmental stages of the living being. Both cell proliferation and death are under control in healthy multicellular organisms. Cells are created by taking into consideration the shape, size and tasks of organs and tissues in living beings; and their numbers are controlled precisely. precise control mechanisms in cell proliferation should also be performed in cell death so that homeostasis would be maintained and life would continue (Figure 2).

Programmed death normally ensures that the content, size and shape of all body parts maintain the desired properties. Homeostasis is not only about keeping the cell number but also water, temperature, pH, sugar, iodine, Na, Cl and so on under control. In this respect, the life of the living being is possible by maintaining all these balances. Death can occur when even only one cell breaks the rules and even only one of the internal balances breaks down.

It is reported in some resources that human body contains approximately 10¹⁴ (100 trillion) cells. However, it has been found in a recent study that this number is approximately 3-4x10¹³ (30-40 trillions). Previously, the number of bacteria in the human body was estimated to be about 10 times the number of cells. This information has also been reported to be inaccurate; it has been determined that the number of cells and the number of bacteria in the human body are approximately the same.¹

Figure 1. Programmed cell death is used in all stages of life.

Figure 2. Life continues with homeostasis. Homeostasis in living beings is possible with programmed death. Programmed killing of cells is just as important as their creation for the maintenance of life.

Billions of cells are killed every day to maintain normal physiological functions and to sustain human life. However, body size is maintained. The integrity and the size of tissues and organs are maintained by establishing the balance between cells that are created and cells that die. The rate of programmed cell death (Apoptosis) in living beings is 20 times faster than mitosis, i.e., cell division.^2,3

Thus, the maintenance of balance is ensured by killing cells when it is necessary, not arbitrarily. The number of cells that die with programmed cell death in one day is approximately 20-30 billion in a child aged  between 8 and14 years, and 50-70 billion in an adult. If development (Mitosis) continued without programmed cell death (Apoptosis), an 80-year-old man would have about 2 tons of bone marrow and lymph nodes as well as 16 km of intestines.⁴

On the other hand, erythrocytes are the most common type of cells in humans. The life span of erythrocytes is approximately 100-120 days. Blood erythrocyte regeneration rate is approximately 200-250 billion/day (200-250X10⁹/day). Erythrocytes are cells without nuclei and mitochondria. Therefore, programmed deaths of erythrocytes (suicides) are similar to apoptosis in some aspects, but different in other aspects. The word “Eryptosis” is used for programmed deaths of erythrocytes.^5,6

Each living being is like a wonderful palace. Each stone (cell) of these palaces is adorned with inimitable arts. Thus, the existence of the master (Creator) is as clear and definite as the existence of the palace. The fact that millions of stones that are uniquely valuable are changed and replaced with new ones in those magnificent palaces every moment and that the balance (homeostasis) is not disrupted during this rapid change show that the master is always at work. It is understood from the planned and programmed destruction (death) of such countless magnificent palaces after they are built and managed wonderfully for a certain period of time that things do not happen by chance. The Master seems to have important purposes in the careful construction and programmed destruction of those numerous palaces.

Programmed cell death is a mechanism that eliminates unwanted, damaged or abnormal cells and maintains normal tissue and organ development and function.

Materialist evolutionists look at the construction and destruction of palaces. They do not think about the Master and why the Master does so. As they do not have answers to give to those who ask, they get angry, shout, accuse them of being reactionists and despise them. They do not recognize the heavenly religions that explain the purpose of the Master. If you want to show, they will close their eyes; if you want to tell them, they will close their ears. 

1.Sender et al.,Revised Estimates for the Number of Human and Bacteria Cells in the Body.  https://www.biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/01/06/036103 (04.11.2018)
2.Sharma et al., World Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 2014, 3 (4), 1854-1872.
3.Raff M.C., Nature, 1992, 356, 397-400.
4.Sharma et al., World Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 2014, 3 (4), 1854-1872.
5.Fölleret al., IUBMB Life, 2008, 60, 10, 661–668.
6.Lockshin R.A. andZakeri Z. J., Cell. Mol. Med. 2007, 11(6), 1214-1224.

10.4.4- The problem of time in evolution in terms of the effect of the atmosphere of the world on living beings       

According to evolutionists, advanced organisms emerged about 250 million years ago. This claim of long period, which is not based on any validated experiment, is based on simple assumptions and estimated calculations. As a matter of fact, it was understood that radiocarbon (C-14) dating method, which is one of the most important techniques used in these calculations, produced wrong results and it was understood as a result of experimental studies that it was not a reliable technique.¹

In addition, these claims should be supported not only by theoretical calculations but also by the fossil record. Around 200 million large fossils and billions of small fossils have been found and archived worldwide. This comprehensive and detailed fossil record shows that all large groups of animals suddenly appeared and remained almost unchanged, and many species suddenly appeared and disappeared.²

Since this issue is of particular interest to anthropologists, it is clear that what is claimed cannot be proved without giving a clear answer to the following questions even though we look at the issue only from a biochemical point of view without entering into details.

What was the amount of gases in the Earth’s atmosphere 250 million years ago, and was it suitable for the living conditions of highly organized cells in particular? For example, radon gas is one of the most important causes of lung cancer.

How was it possible for the living beings to survive in the atmosphere when this gas was released in abundance as a result of volcanic eruptions?

What was the oxygen content of the atmosphere 250 million years ago, and was it enough for living beings with aerobic respiration, or was it excessive and not poisoning?

When exactly was the ozone layer formed?

It is claimed that the ozone layer is produced from the oxygen released by the organisms involved in photosynthesis. How did these living beings protect themselves from radiation when there was no ozone layer?

1.H.E. Suess, The Radiocarbon Record in Tree Rings of the Last 8000 Years, Radiocarbon. (1980). doi:10.1017/S0033822200009462; H.E. Suess, Secular Variations of Cosmogenic 14C on Earth: Their Discovery and Interpretation, Radiocarbon. (1986). doi:10.1017/S0033822200007359.
2.E.C. Scott, Evolution vs. Creationism, 2006. doi:10.1002/sce.20158.

The Experiment That Upset the Principle of Causality

Acting upon this experiment, theoretical physicists developed the thesis “Knowledge goes faster than light”. This upset the principle of causality. In the principle of causality, a result (effect) occurred based on cause. The lamp would not go on if you did not turn on the switch. If the causality principle were not valid, it would be possible to turn on the lamp by thinking and without turning on the switch. The schizophrenic claim “I turned on the light with thought” suggests that it can be realized experimentally.

Information transmission experiments started to be conducted after it was understood that information or imagination traveled faster than light. An astronaut experiment is conducted theoretically. In this experiment, there is an astronaut on a planet a light year away. If some information is sent to him from a laboratory in the world, it will reach him after a light year. However, a fiber optic circle is made and photons are rotated in the circle. The same system is built next to the astronaut, where photons rotate inside a fiber optic tube. When those two devices move at the same time, when the information is sent by moving the direction of the photons of the device in the world, the direction of the photons next to the astronaut one light year away will be changed. When the astronaut sees it, he will know that there is a message. The message will be sent with a system like the Morse code. According to this thesis, the theory has been accepted and has become a hypothesis. A language is formed according to quantum harmony.

4% of the universe is matter and 96% is dark energy. It is thought to be energy, but it is described as dark because it is not seen. It is energy that is independent of light and that does not work like photons. Scientists are trying to find that dark matter. 96% of the universe is now oscillating and vibrating from this dark matter. In quantum dynamics, they are all wave functions.

1.2.5.Introduction of the Physics of Creation

When atomic nuclei are broken down and a faster particle is found, that particle will be defined. When physics first started, it was thought that physics would end where the speed of sound ended. Then, it was said that physics would end where the speed of light ended. Particles faster than light were found in theoretical physics and subatomic particle physics, which in turn means the emergence of a new field of physics. In a sense, this will be physics of creation. The particles that travel faster than light in the world may serve to show the existence of luminous, that is, spiritual beings and angels.

Can a great source of energy like nuclear energy be found and used for the future of humanity? Or will it become a weapon? Research continues along with these questions.

In order to understand the issue of the transformation of atoms from one state into another, it is necessary to know the point physics has reached.

Particles faster than light were found in theoretical physics and subatomic particle physics, which in turn means the emergence of a new field of physics. In a sense, this will be physics of creation. The particles that travel faster than light in the world may serve to show the presence luminous, that is, spiritual beings and angels.

            An example for the transformation of atoms from one state into another is the formation of water. Water forms by the combination of oxygen and hydrogen atoms. Initially, the hydrogen atom is flammable and the oxygen atom causes burning. When those two elements come together and form the blessing of water, which is the source of life, their state changes.

Similarly, the reactions of chlorine (Cl^-) and sodium (Na⁺⁺) elements can be given as an example. The sodium chloride (NaCl2), that is, table salt, is formed when they are brought together and their state changes. The chlorine and sodium ions change state and the formation of a blessing with a new and different reaction is provided.

Thus, when elements are changed from one state to another, some existing properties are eliminated and some non-existing properties are created due to some wisdom.

The transformation of elements from one state into another and their formation within the framework of certain laws show clearly the existence and oneness of a being who controls all elements with His power and changes them from one state to another with His knowledge, will and power.

7.2. BEINGS ARE CREATED OUT OF NOTHING*

One of the frequently asked questions about the creation of beings in order to deny a creator is as follows: “Are beings created out of nothing? Such questions arise from not accepting ijad (invention).

7.2.1-They deny ijad first

We should first state that some materialists and atheists deny ijad first by saying, “This universe was not invented out of nothing, it was formed from particles” instead of denying Allah directly in order to raise doubts in the naïve minds. They go from denial to invention to deny Allah, the inventor of the whole universe. As a matter of fact, whether a thing is created out of nothing suddenly or from particles gradually, there is an arranger (a creator) of it. Since there is a thing, it is a created being; it was created afterwards; it is changeable; there is definitely a preferer, creator and maker who brings it into the realm of being from non-existence, who prefers its existence to non-existence and who is Necessarily Existent and Pre-eternal. 

It is known that no art can be without an artist and no letter can be without a scribe. The existence of the artist and the scribe is more apparent than their works. These works, whether they are made gradually or suddenly, are evidences for their masters. In that case, the creation of beings indicates the existence, oneness, grandeur and majesty of Allah, His attributes and names – no matter how they are created. Thus, the question “Are beings created out of nothing?” cannot be asked in order to deny the Maker of the Realm, but to search His wisdom.

God Almighty has two types of inventions (ijads). One of them is in the form of ibda and ikhtira (invention and originating); that is, the creation of the elements that make up the universe out nothing. The other is insha (construction/production); that is, the invention of beings from particles through combination.

God Almighty has two types of inventions (ijads). One of them is in the form of ibda and ikhtira (invention and originating); that is, the creation of the elements that make up the universe out nothing. The other is insha (construction/production); that is, the invention of beings from particles through combination.

Allah created particles, that is, atoms, which are like the ink of the endless divine letters Allah wrote in this universe, out of nothing with absolute invention. Then, based on the wisdom of showing the manifestations of His names, imposing the laws of his knowledge the principles of his wisdom, and renewing His skills and grants, He brought some beings to the realm of existence through insha. That is,He created the particles out nothing through ibda and constructed other creatures/beings from those particles (insha). 

*It was published beforehand (ÂdemTatlı. Bilimlerin Işığında Yaratılış. Üsküdar Üniversitesi Yayını no: 2, 2017, p. 589-595).

7.5.3.Reasoning Methods, Faith Based on Evidence

     Our brain features refute the theory of evolution’s thesis advocating random existence. How can conceptual thought and  symbolic thought emerge by chance in man? This cannot be explained according to the laws of physics. Therefore, it is an area where a causal relationship like DNA cannot be established now. There is a brain that uses logical reasoning. This logic-based reasoning does not exist in other living beings. There are four known methods of logical reasoning now.

     Deductive method can also be called analysis. You reach the work from the doer, the smoke from the fire. There is a fire behind the mountain, but you do not see the fire; you see the smoke and you say by reasoning, “There is smoke coming from there; there is no smoke without fire.” You see smoke even though you do not see fire. If someone says, “I haven’t seen the fire”, you say, “There is no smoke without fire.” This is evidence of fire. In that case, you cannot say “There is no fire.“

     The other one is the inductive method. The method developed by Aristotle was only the inductive method. We can give understanding creation and existence by examining the fly seen in Table 3 as an example tothe inductive method. The inductive method was understood after Aristotle.

Table 3
     Foundations Based on Evidence

   Figure. Eye of a fly.¹

Logical Reasoning + Evidence in the Universe + Divine teachings = The Fact of Creation

      Examine the characteristics of an ordinary fly. It flaps its wings 500 times per second; it has 8000 lenses in its eye. These features are recorded in its DNA; it lives only a few weeks. What is its function in the universe?

      Abduction was introduced afterwards. Modal logic was introduced in the 1920s. Induction is a method of reasoningthat involves discovering the doer from the work, the fire from the smoke. The other one involves discovering the effect from the cause. One of them is the method of reaching smoke from fire and the other is reaching fire from smoke. (Table 4,5)

Table 4
Reasoning Methods

• Numerical Reasoning. It is reasoning through numbers with the ability to analyze the relationship of sequence.
• Logical Reasoning. It is reasoning through the ability to think and analyze based on logic.
• Nonverbal Reasoning. It is reasoning through the ability to analyze based on seeing and figures/shapes. It expresses the relationship of size, color and shape.   
• Verbal Reasoning. It is reasoning through the ability to analyze and interpret written information.

Table 5
“Logical Reasoning”

1. Deduction, Analysis, from the doer to the work, from effect to cause, “fire becoming evidence for smoke”.
2. Induction, from the work to the doer,from cause to effect, “smoke becoming evidence for fire”
3. Comparison, Abduction, Analogy, Syllogism, from minor premise to major premise,“the trueness of the news about traffic accident”
4. Modern Logic, Modal Logic, Modality. It caused computer and theoretical physics. It was defined in the 1920s.

The marriage of mathematics with logic took place. The age of Informatics began (Bertrand Russell).

Deduction, Analysis, from the doer to the work, from effect to cause, fire becoming evidence for smoke.

Comparison, Abduction, Analogy, Syllogism, from minor premise to major premise, the trueness of the news about traffic accident.

     It makes a premise by taking into account the possible or probable universe that has the value of trueness in the universe we live.

      When one sees a fire, he deduces that it has smoke but the opposite is also possible. That is, he decides that there is fire when he sees smoke. So, when he sees the smoke, he judges the existence of fire. To be able to understand the reason when one sees the results: the first is to understand the cause, and the other is to establish a causal relationship.

     You look at the whole in deduction. You examine a work and try to understand the outcomes.

     In deduction, you see a fire and you establish a connection between fire and smoke. However, in induction, you look at the result, that is the work.  You establish a connection with it and you find the doer. One of them goes from the specific to the general and the other from the general to the specific.  

     The other method is called comparison, abduction or analogy method. It is based on thinking of the minor premises and understanding the major premises. For example, someone came from the city of Şanlıurfa and said, "There was a big accident; two people died." You might or might not believe him. Ten minutes later, someone else came and said, "There was an accident; two people died." Another person came and said the same thing. You would no longer doubt that there was an accident. When a few people independent from one another said it, you would have no doubt that there was an accident.

     It becomes possible to understand the major premise by acting upon some minor premises. This is called abduction, analogy or comparison method. In this way, it becomes possible to reach the truth, that is, to reach the truth by reasoning.

     We can give the dialogue between two children in the mother’s womb expressed in Table 6 as an example of the analogy method.

Table 6
Dialogue between two babies (Analogy example)

Two babies in the mother’s womb are analyzing life after birth.
The first one:
- Arms, legs, eyes, mouths, ears are not necessary here? There must be life after this place.
The second one:
- No. Everything is here.  I don’t believe in what I don’t see.
The first:
- There’s someone who feeds us; we have umbilical cords. There must be a mother.
The second:
- I don’t see her. If she existed, I’d see her. I’m comfortable. I don’t care.
The first:
- I hear a song when it is quiet around. I feel that there’s someone who loves me.
The second:
- These are coincidence. You are dreaming.
The first:
-We’ll get out of here. I don’t see it but I feel the existence of a life. The existence of a life is more likely than its non-existence.
The second:
-You’re right. If there is nothing after this place, life will be meaningless.

     The other method is modal logic. It is also called modern logic. It was defined in 1925-26. The method of finding the truth according to the modal logic is as follows: Suppose that you live in Istanbul. There was a big earthquake in 1999. Is it likely that there will be an earthquake right now? Possible but not likely. If it were likely, you would sleep outside; you would set up a tent; close danger but possible! You would not think of setting up a tent for a very weak danger. When analyzing an issue, it is analyzed by looking at which universe it is. In existence, that is the way of acting in modal logic; can we understand existence by reasoning like this?

     I should first tell you about logic-based reasoning before I can explain to you its logic. Today, there is an analysis system developed for intelligence and reasoning tests using the reasoning methods. It is used in the form of computerized modules. There are SPM and COG tests, also called attention tests, non-verbal learning test called NVLT, long-term attention test called DAUF, and tests called WISC-R and WaisInt, etc. They are all tests that measure reasoning, intelligence, attention and decision-making processes, focusing, causality, difference, similarity, putting in order in time and abstraction.  CAS, Tova and Moxo tests are tests showing attention tests. They are the tests we use in daily practice. They are about measuring a person’s intelligence and reasoning power.

     Those tests are important because man has the ability to use it. You cannot apply an intelligence test to an animal. You cannot do a reasoning test. There is no theory of mind in animals. Only human beings have it. There is even the theory of theory. In the theory of mind, when we see someone putting his hand into his pocket, we think that he will take out his key; and when he takes his hand into his pocket when he goes to his car, you make assumptions about what he is going to do. This is the theory of the mind. For example, autistic people do not have it. An autistic person believes only what he sees. An animal does not have it either. An animal also believes what it sees.

     There is also the theory of theory, thinking what the other person is thinking about. This is called theory of theory. All of them are the features in the human brain; man uses the theory of mind because of these features, which also distinguish between the autistic and the non-autistic. Autists are individuals who have no function other than eating, drinking, and reproduction. It turns people into ill people; and people who cannot produce abstract thoughts emerge with this illness. This exists especially in man. Why does this reasoning feature exist in humans and not in other living beings? This is the feature of understanding the existence of man. This is genetically coded in humans (Table 7,8,9).

Table 7
Theory Of Mind

As reasoning, it includes
1- being able to make predictions about the mental states and thoughts of others,
2- being able to form a theory about the mind of individuals other than ourselves by establishing a relationship,
3-ability to think about thought.²

Table 8

• Intelligence and Reasoning Tests (Vienna Test System, Computer Modul)
• SPM, COG
• NVLT, DAUF
• WISC-R, WAIS INT.
• CAS, TOVA, MOXO
• Those tests measure Focusing, Causality, Difference-Similarity, Timing, Classifying and Abstraction.

Advocates of positivist philosophy said 200 years ago, “We do not need God.” This period is still going on.

1.(https://www.google.com.tr/search?q=Sinek+g%C3%B6z+yap%C4%B1s%C4%B1)
2.Jarrold, Carruthers, Smith and Boucher, 1994

1.2.6.Quantum Electrodynamics and Man’s Free Mind

The brain is constantly in dynamic relationship with quantum resonance. The physicist Sir Roger Penrose, the author of The Emperor’s New Mind, is the one who suggested the connection between the mind and quantum mechanics. Hammeroff (2003), on the other hand, made expansions about the quantum consciousness model proposed by Nick Herbert in 1993. He put forward that microchannels in brain nerve cells could work like computer networks and that they would display the work performance of the brain with the movement of voltage-dependent ion channels. Quantum mechanics explains that man has a personality with a free mind and will rather than being an automatic and biomechanical creature.

According to quantum electro dynamics, the universe is a single and indivisible whole like a hologram. The smallest part has the characteristics of the big part. Quantum leaps, which come in the form of quantum-like general thinking and inspiration, are reasonable.

According to quantum electro dynamics, the universe is a single and indivisible whole like a hologram. The smallest part has the characteristics of the big part. Quantum leaps, which come in the form of quantum-like general thinking and inspiration, are reasonable.

In conclusion, there is neither a mind separate from matter, nor matter separate from the mind. Matter is only a showcase. The spirit can be a wave function. Ten nanometer-long proteins consisting of mini proteins carry chemicals. Emotions such as love, anger, hate, fear and trust have chemical equivalents. Probably Divine Power has commanded to our consciousness to carry the relevant chemicals in quantum electrodynamics through subatomic particles. According to brain measurements, man’s “free mind and free will” acts with the do-undo paradigm.

Matter is actually a thin lace veil strewn over the inner and spiritual realms.

All alternative choices are kept together in a brain that is operated according to quantum principles. When an appropriate stimulant arrives, one of the options is preferred. The rejection-acceptation and build-do paradigm in man’s decisions and preferences can be defined with quantum mechanics.¹

Man makes his choice in every deed of his when basic energy comes, not when energy is gone. Man decides whether to do or not to do something. Accordingly, energy continues after that. Quantum keeps all of the alternative choices in man together, and when an appropriate stimulus comes, man chooses one of the options. That is how man makes his decisions and choices. In other words, decisions are made by the will, which is the selection mechanism placed in man by the Perfectly Wise Creator. 

Classical physicists argued that nothing could go faster than sound. Physicists like Hawking argued that nothing could go faster than light. However, according to the latest information in quantum, the view that information travels faster than light has emerged. The brain is a closed system containing energy and information, but it is also an open system that produces symbols and meanings because it is in open communication with the universe. According to quantum mechanics, everything in the universe is both existent and non-existent at the same time. When it is viewed as a subjective observer, it exists and it disappears when it is not viewed as a subjective observer. It is related to the perception within the nano system. One can either see something or not. That he does not see something does not mean that it does not exist. That system also exists outside that person; so, nothing is non-existent. It is related to man’s being an observer.

¹Tarhan, N. İnançPsikolojisi. Istanbul, Timaş, 2009, p. 41.

Dialogue of Two Babies and Logic of Afterlife

The comparison of concept between the life of a child in the womb and the world life is likened to the comparison between the world and the hereafter. The similarities between the view of a child in the womb on the world and the view of a person in the world on the Hereafter and similar mistakes are dealt with as follows in the “Twenty-Ninth Flash” written by Badiuzzaman Said Nursi:

“Similarly, a child who comes to the world from the womb of his/her mother attains the happiness of the world in return for the suffering in the tunnel.

Back direction: If those who come from behind are viewed from philosophical viewpoint, the following question cannot be answered: ‘Where are they coming from and where are they going? Why did they come to the world?’ Therefore, it will bring about astonishment and hesitation. However, if they are viewed through the glasses of belief, it will be understood that they are sent to the world by the Pre-Eternal Sultan to see and meditate on the miracles of the divine power displayed in the exhibition of the universe.”¹

After passing through a narrow and troubled tunnel, a child in the womb attains the light and bliss in the world. Before the child is born, he questions the existence of world life while he is still in the womb. Let us narrate this questioning with a story:

There are two babies in the womb and they try to analyze postnatal life by talking to each other about the life after the womb. The first baby:

—We will not stay here permanently; we will move on to a life where we will remain permanently after birth. Everyone knows this life. We must be prepared for that life; we must strengthen ourselves against the things will happen after birth.

When we look at the unborn baby, we see that he makes some movements that he does not need there. For example, he sucks his thumb, makes a sucking movement with his lips, swallows the water in the womb though it does not have any nutritional value, makes it go round his body and takes it out. Thus, he makes his stomach and intestines work, exercising for digestion after birth. He activates the speech center of his brain with lip movements.

Prenatal psychology examines psychology before birth. In this branch of psychology, they compare children born through normal delivery with those born by cesarean delivery. They prick a needle in their heels and look at the stress hormones. It is observed that less stress hormone is secreted when the needle is inserted into the heel of the child that passed through the birth canal with difficulty, and stress hormone is secreted by the child born by cesarean section. It is understood that the distress and difficulty experienced while passing through the birth canal gives the child endurance.

The first baby continues to question:

- Since we don’t use organs like arms, legs, ears and eyes here, it means we will need them after we leave here.

  The second baby says:

- No, I don’t think so. It’s all here, and I don’t think there will be another life later; and I don’t think of that life.

The first baby continues:

- Since a mouth is given to us, it means there is food; since eyes are given to us, it means there is light; since we move our lips, it means we will talk; we have an umbilical cord, which means that there is someone who feeds us.

This baby makes predictions about the next life based on the behaviors in the womb. He collects evidence from life in the womb for postnatal life. He says that the existence of postnatal life is more likely than its non-existence. The second baby continues to deny:

- I look at the present day. I believe in what I see; I don’t believe in what I don’t see.

The first baby says he believes there is a mother:

- I don’t see her, but I believe there is a mother because she feeds us with the umbilical cord; she doesn’t allow us to catch a cold; there’s a force that protects us from being ill.

The second baby denies it:

- I don’t see a mother. Why should I believe? If she existed, we would see her.

The first baby continues to say how she feels about the mother:

I sometimes hear a voice, a song when it is silent around. My intuition says that there is someone who loves me. Sometimes I feel she caresses me.

The other baby continues to deny by saying that some things happen by chance. That discussion takes place between the two babies.

A similar dialogue will emerge when we consider the talk between two people one of whom believes in the Hereafter and the other does not, just like those two babies. When the person who believes in the Hereafter looks at his desire for eternal life, it makes no sense that everything will end after death. Food, drinking, saving money and being rich, etc. become meaningless.

If the feeling of hunger in the stomach shows the food, if to see something beautiful shows the feeling of love and leads man to perfection, if the permanency of this system disturbs man and makes him want eternal bliss, they all show that eternal life is necessary. Man’s spirit will be satisfied only by eternity; his psychological needs will be met only by eternal bliss.

The existence of a power that we cannot see but we can feel, that protects us from dangers, whose help we feel when we pray at critical times is much more likely than its non-existence. The feelings, organs, ways of reasoning, reason in man indicate that it should exist. Therefore, the existence of the Hereafter is the closest view to reason and reality. If there is no life after this world life, there is no point in living in this world.

¹Nursi, B. S. Şuâ’alar. Rnk Neşriyat, Istanbul, 2014, p. 752.

1.1.4.The Universe is Expanding

In physics, in the "Doppler event", the sound waves coming from the whistle of a train approaching a station reach an observer in the station at a smaller wavelength. Contrary to this, the number of the soundwaves coming from the whistle of a train distancing from a station decreases in unit of time. This decrease means the decrease of the frequency and the increase of the wavelength. According to the experiments, the light had the same characteristics as the sound waves.

Doppler Effect: Doppler effect relationship between velocity and wavelength is an experience that we encounter every day. Listen to a plane passing over your head; the sound of the engine is heard at a higher pitch; and when it passes and disappears, the pitch of the hearing decreases. The reason for this is as follows: When the airplane moves toward you and when the next wave peak is released, it is closer to you and it reduces the distance between the wave peaks. Similarly, as the plane moves away, the wavelengths increase and the sound pitch we perceive falls.

Doppler event was also valid for light waves. Hubble was watching the rays coming from the galaxies at the telescope. Once, something strange caught his attention when he was examining the spectrum analyses of the light passing through the micro lens systems of the telescope. There was a shift toward red in the wavelengths of the light coming from the galaxies. Under normal circumstances, there should be no change in spectral colors and they should remain constant. Hubble began to think about the main reason for the shift toward red in spectral lines by taking into account the wavelengths. The red color represents the longest wavelength in the wavelength band "visible to the eye".

He wondered why the light from the galaxies was shifting toward red? Hubble soon established a connection between the shift toward red and the Doppler event. According to the Doppler event, the wavelength of the rays coming from a distancing light source got longer, and the lengthening wavelength represented red; so, there was only one explanation: the galaxies were moving away from us. The further galaxies were moving away from us faster. There could be only one interpretation of this distancing and escaping: the universe was expanding.

When the experts in charge of the world’s largest telescope built in Mount Palomar in the USA applied the Hubble law for those distances in 1950, the distancing speeds of the galaxies were calculated. This time, it was found out that galaxies were moving away at a speed of 100,000 kilometers per second.

A galaxy 10 million light years away from us distances from us at a speed of 250 kilometers per second while a galaxy 10 billion light years away was calculated to be distancing from us at a speed of 250,000 kilometers per second.

NGC 6946, which is similar to the Milky Way galaxy we live in, is seen from the front with its splendor. This galaxy is close to us, just “10 million light years” away. The stars of the Milky Way seem like a tulle in front of the galaxy. The Milky Way is just one of the hundreds of billions of galaxies in the universe of which we are a part. There are hundreds of billions of suns in it.

What expands in a large-scale universe model is space. The galaxies on the space "surface" seem to move away from one another, and the galaxies farther away seem to move even faster. We can liken it to the spots on an inflated balloon. As the balloon inflates, the spots will be separated from one another. According to a certain point, distant spots appear to distance more than those that are close to that point.

We witness that the fact that the galaxies move away from one another at an incredible speed was explained in the Quran centuries ago:

"With power and skill did We construct the Firmament: for it is We Who create the vastness of pace (We are expanding it).”¹

What would we see if we were to watch the space with extremely sharp eyes, in the depths of space, without any objects obstructing our vision? To take such a photograph, the Hubble Space Telescope focused on a single dark spot of space; the lights from that spot were “accumulated” for exactly ten days. Even the lights that were four billion times weaker than the stars that could be seen with the naked eye were snapped. And so many galaxies hidden in one dark spot of space became apparent. We should not forget that each of these galaxies contains hundreds of billions of stars! (NASA)

¹adh-Dhariyat, 47.

5.1.4- The Miracle of Creation in the Quran

No book other than the Quran mentioned fertilization in the form and content that modern medicine explained before the microscope was developed and the creation and development phases of the fetus were determined.

The strongest of the scientific theories related to the development of the fetus is the theory of “dwarf fetus”.¹

It used to be thought that the fetus developed like a small tree coming out of a seed and that the only difference between its first state and the last state was a difference of growth until 1940’s, when microscope, which was invented in the 17^th century, reached its advanced state.²

Before the discovery of devices that display stages of the formation and development of the fertilized egg, one of the important controversies of the medical authorities was whether man was created from the male’s sperm or from the female’s menstrual blood.

      On the other hand, modern Medicine states that the development of the fetus in the womb does not take place in one phase and that it passes through different stages before it reaches the stage of birth. Accordingly, the fetus is created from the menstrual blood. The spermhas adutylikethe yeast’s turning milk into cheese. Just like the yeast’s transforming milk into cheese, the sperm does not have any other function than fertilizing the fetus. Until 1775, however, no physician whose knowledge was trusted in the West said that the fetus was the result of the encounter of the male’s sperm with the female’s egg.³

No book other than the Quran mentioned fertilization in the form and content that modern medicine explained before the microscope was developed and the creation and development phases of the fetus were determined.

      Fourteen centuries ago, the Quran rejected both views related to creation and stated that man was created from a mixture of a man’s sperm and a woman’s egg.⁴

At a time when it was accepted that man grew up unchanged in the woman’s womb like a “dwarf tree’, the Quran stated that the fetus was created by passing from one stage to another.⁵

     When Abdulmajid Zindani told E. Marshall Johnson, the Professor of Anatomy from USA in a session, that the Quran states that the fetus was created through certain stages, not in a moment, the American scientist said, “This cannot be true.” Then the following conversation took place between the two: Zindani:

- It is a knownfact that the Quran statedin the 7th century that manwas created by passing through different stages in the womb.

- No! That cannot be true.

- Why do you say it is impossible? The verses of the Quran regarding the issue are very clear; “He makes you, in the wombs of your mothers, in stages, one after another, in three veils of darkness.”⁶; “What is the matter with you, that ye place not your hope for kindness and long-suffering in Allah,- Seeing that it is He that has created you in diverse stages?.”⁷

Shaken by hearing those verses, the American scientist though for a while and said, “There are three possibilities here.” Then, he added the following:

1. Muhammad, who said that the fetus was created in stages, must have had a high-tech microscope or imaging device. Hemust have done research on the fetus by using that device and reached the results that no one knew, and gave us this information.

2.This information is included in the Quran coincidentally.

3. Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.

AbdulmajidZindani argued with the American scientist about the possibilities one by one, and finally the American scientist had to accept the miracle of the Quran.

      The following can be said about the first possibility:

      In the century when the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) lived, people did not have the industrial infrastructure necessary for the construction of a magnifying glass or a microscope. Neither Rome nor Iran had any technological infrastructure to produce a microscope. Accordingly, it was impossible for the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) to examine the developments of the fetus in the womb in a laboratory and to determine the stages and then share them with people.

It cannot be a coincidence that the Quran mentions the stages of the fetus because the Quran mentions in several verses, not in one verse, the stages of fetus concisely or in detail.The explanation of the issue in several verses cannot be a coincidence.

      After Zindani read and explained the verses mentioning the stages the fetus undergoes in the womb, the American scientist had to admit that the claim that the information in the Quran may have been a coincidence was untrue. Johnson accepted the third possibility that the only point of reference to the information related to creation in the Quran was revelation coming from heavens.⁸

1.Abdurrahim Khayrullahash-Sharif, Shubuhat Hawla Marahilil-Janin,http://quran-.com/quran/article/2309/
2.See Nayif Munir Faris, al-I’jazul-Ilmi fil-Quraniwas-Sunnah, MaktabatuIbn Kathir, Kuwayt, 2011, I, 212.
3.See. http://quran-m.com/quran/article/2309.
4.al-Insan, 2.
5.Nuh, 13-14.
6.az-Zumar, 6.
7.Nuh, 13-14.
8.Nayif Munir, ibid, I, 213.

2.1.3-The God Particle

            The subatomic particles like electrons and neutrinos, which are the building blocks of matter, act more like waves although their names are particles, and a place cannot be attributed to them. According to a distribution principle, they are virtually in many places. Therefore, in the subatomic world, subtlety, that is, luminosity, rather than density is dominant. Since it is taken into consideration that the source of the existence of matter is the vibration of a luminous divine power, it is not at all surprising that luminosity is essential in that micro-universe. The problem is not in the clearly observed subtlety of the particles but in the density of the minds. In other words, since the minds of those who search for everything in matter became so focused on matter, that is, they got hard like stone by moving away from spirituality, they cannot see the manifestations of luminosity in the spiritual realm.

It is significant that the Higgs particle, which is claimed to be the essential building block of the universe and which is expected to be observed in the experiments in which particles are clashed at speeds close the speed of light in CERN, is given the name “the god particle” in the world of science as a meaning that is reflected in the consciences. A luminous mind is necessary in order to be able to see and to understand such a half-luminous particle that comes from luminosity and goes toward density. The work of particle physicists, who have not yet settled the confusion caused by the electron that passes through two slits at the same time, is really difficult. Maybe, this particle, which comes from luminosity, will enlighten many minds. As particles move away from the luminous source, which is their field, as particles unite and form bigger particles and as heavy atoms like iron form, density occurs and the rules of the visible realm, in which time and place limitations are in question, start to be dominant.

2.1.4-The Collapse of the Concept of Time

In the subatomic world, the concept of both space and time lose their meaning; the property of timelessness and spacelessness, that is, luminosity comes to the forefront.

As the dense physical beings go down to the dimension of atoms, they become luminous; as they go down to the fundamental subatomic particles, the conditions of density disappear and luminosity becomes the main character. To understand the true nature of the things is possible by understanding the concept of luminosity and using it properly.

            The double-slit experiment explained above shows that the concept of place has collapsed in the subatomic quantum world. Another famous experiment of the quantum mechanics is the entanglement experiment which shows that the concept time has collapsed. The subatomic particles produced at the same time are always in contact with one another no matter how far away they are from one another. This is called entanglement in quantum mechanics. For instance, if one of the two electrons that are in the state of entanglement is exposed to something, its twin reacts immediately even if they are light years away from each other. That is, time virtually stops and a timeless communication takes place. Einstein opposed the idea of entanglement because it is impossible to exceed the light speed (which is true for supra-atomic dense beings) but the phenomenon of entanglement, which is one of the basic concepts of quantum mechanics, was experimented in distances more than 10 kilometers and it was confirmed to be true. That is, in the subatomic world, the concept of both space and time lose their meaning; the property of timelessness and spacelessness, that is, luminosity comes to the forefront.   

            Under the light of the basic concepts of Quantum mechanics and many independent experiments done with subatomic particles, it should be accepted and declared that luminosity is a physical phenomenon for the subatomic world. The basic element to combine the theories of quantum and relativity that are valid but opposite to each other in the subatomic and supra-atomic worlds of the same universe is luminosity; that is, timelessness and spacelessness. If these two theories are combined, the quest for a “combined theory” will end; and the strange state of the existence of two different theories for the same universe will end.

It seems that as the dense physical beings go down to the dimension of atoms, they become luminous; as they go down to the fundamental subatomic particles, the conditions of density disappear and luminosity becomes the main character. To understand the true nature of the things is possible by understanding the concept of luminosity and using it properly. Otherwise, the theory of ‘parallel universes’, in which the existence of numerous ghostly universes that are intertwined with one another and in each of which different laws of physics are present will have to be accepted; this will be very difficult and confuse us instead of leading us to the truth.

Thus, the reality of all sciences is connected with the manifestation of a name of God Almighty, depends on that name, relies on it, and is a mirror to it. The more progress is made in science and the more beauties are shown, the more beauty and honor of the name to which it is connected will be shown

All physical and chemical incidents in the realm of luminosityin the sub-atomic world reveal the secrets of the realities of the names of Allah.

7.1.3- Allah does not resemble any of the created things in any way

One of the attributes of Allah is that He is infinitely perfect in every aspect. He has no resemblance to anything created afterwards. He is different from anything that can come to mind.

He is such a being that the creation of the stars is as easy for him as that of particles; to His power, the greatest thing is subjugated as is the most minute; for Him, nothing is an obstacle to any other thing and no action obstructs any other action.

In this universe, everything that is and that can be created changes, transforms, resembles one another is born, grows and eventually dies and disappears. They all occur due to a need. Allah is not in need of them or anything else.

Humans and other creatures have many needs. They need space, time, eating, drinking, wandering, being created, being born, giving birth and so on. Allah is not in need of any of them. When they were non-existent, He was existent. He cannot be compared to any features of the objects we call matter. He who tries to compare Him to the created beings makes a great mistake. He is “laysa ka mithlihishay’un’’. In other words, there is nothing similar to Him in terms of His essence, attributes or deeds. There cannot be anything equal to Him. He has no partner.

Yes, there can be nothing equal, similar to the Holy Being, who holds and controls the whole universe with all of its deeds and states and who manages it regularly and systematically as if it is a house or a palace; it is impossible for Him to have partners.   

Yes, He is such a being that the creation of the stars is as easy for him as that of particles; to His power, the greatest thing is subjugated as is the most minute; for Him, nothing is an obstacle to any other thing and no action obstructs any other action; in His view, innumerable individuals are present in the same way that a single individual is present; He hears all voices simultaneously and is able to answer the limitless needs of all simultaneously; outside His sphere, will and volition is nothing, no state, as is testified to by the order and balance of the beings in the universe; although He is in no place, He is present everywhere through His power and knowledge; and although everything is utterly distant from Him, He is utterly close to them – that He should have any like, equal, partner, deputy, opposite or peer is not possible; it is impossible.¹

The question Who created Allah? cannot be asked because such a question is contrary to the acceptance in the definition of Allah at the beginning.In the definition of Allah, it was accepted that He created everything but that He Himself was not created.

With the example of sun, we can bring them closer to the mind. For example, the sunlight is close to all things with its heat and seven colors. All beings are millions of kilometers away from it. If the sun is assumed to be intelligent and conscious for a moment and if each of its seven colors is considered as an attribute of it, for example, seeing the green color, hearing the yellow color, speaking the blue color, it can communicate with all beings on earth at the same time. It would hear the sound of all beings at the same time. One would not prevent the other. Although it was near every being, it would be kilometers away them.

If the sun, which is a creature of Allah, is like this with the secret of luminosity, the Almighty God, who has infinite luminosity, can definitely be found everywhere, manage everything Himself, and one deed will not prevent another.²

1.Nursi, B. S. Lemalar. Envar Neşriyat, Istanbul, 1996, p.351-355.
2.Nursi, Sözler. p. 231-232.

9.2.6-Who gives the death order and how?

Every living being and cell has a death program in its genetic structure. However, the death program is not activated before its due time. The death program is activated in due course under normal physiological conditions and death occurs according to this schedule. The time of death varies according to each living being and cell. How is the death program activated in living beings? In other words, for what reasons is the death order given and how is the death mechanism operated?

Lack of growth factors, cytokines (monocytes, macrophages and intercellular communication secreted by lymphocytes), increased intracellular calcium content, tumor necrosis factor (TNF), TGF-B (Transforming Growth Factor), activation of p53 gene due to DNA damage, activation of the Fas/FasL system, viral and bacterial infections, and glucocorticoids are used as a means of giving the death order and operating the death mechanism.¹

The most prominent feature of programmed cell death is the increased cytoplasm density. However, the mechanisms by which cytoplasmic density is increased is not known. The amount of calcium in the cytoplasm increases before programmed death. Calcium is involved in many activities in the cell, especially in signal transduction. Increased calcium in the cell cytoplasm activates some silent enzymes such as endonuclease and transglutaminase. Activation of these enzymes also causes changes in the structure of the cell.^2,3,4

As it is seen, those who give the death order are elements or molecules that are mindless and unconscious. For example, increased intracellular calcium content has been shown to be a reason for operating the programmed mechanism of death. Then, the following question comes to mind: What are the causes of  the increase of the amount of calcium in the cell? In terms of causes, these chained relationships will go longer and longer. That is why, as science progresses, the amount of the unknown increases.

The point that misleads materialist evolutionists here is that the Creator does things by using causes. Those who ignore the meaning and look at only matter will definitely see only matter and causes; they cannot see the truth.

Imagine a person who was shot to death with a gun. The person who killed, planned to kill, and pulled the trigger is a sane person who has will. The weapon, trigger, gunpowder and bullet are causes for the killing. Materialist evolutionists look at only causes, i.e., mindless and unconscious matter, and they attribute the act of killing to matter. However, a being that does wise things cannot be unwise; a being that does conscious things cannot be unconscious and a being that makes right decisions cannot be will-less. We see in programmed cell death that mindless, unconscious and will-less substances do wise, conscious and willed deeds. Then, it is Divine Science, Power and Will that makes the death program and decides when and how the death program should be operated. The mindless and unconscious matter is only a cause or an official.

1.King K.L. and CidlowskiJ.A.,Annual Review of Physiology, 1 998, 60, 601-17.
2.Mason R. S.,Cancer 1999, 85, 2093-102.
3.Wyllie A.H.,Cancer Metastas Rev., 1992, 11, 95-103.
4.Öniz H., SSKTepecik Hast. Derg, 2004, 14 (1), 1-20.

9.1.5-Why does man blame qadar?

Question: Man wants to place the blame upon qadar, Satan and – God forbid – Allah for his mistakes and faults by saying, “I committed this sin because it was in my qadar, it was in divine knowledge. Otherwise, I would not have committed them. Satan and my soul, who deceived me, are to blame.I would not have committed them if Allah had not created evil.” How can the issue be viewed in terms of Satan’s delusions?

Answer: One of the most dangerous and important delusions and tricks of Satan is preventing man from confessing his fault. For, if man accepts and confesses his fault, he will ask forgiveness from Allah, give up his sins and mistakes and take refuge in Allah.

In addition, Satan provokes man’s egoism and makes him defend himself like a lawyer. Thus, man does not accept his mistakes and begins to see himself virtually as a being with no mistakes.¹

However, infallibility and perfection are not in question for human beings. Everybody except prophets can make mistakes and commit sins. Man can improve himself by giving up his sins and mistakes and by reducing them.

Therefore, not accepting one’s mistakes and imperfection, and placing the blame upon qadar and others is one of the delusions and tricks of Satan in a way.²

A person following this path closes the path of asking for forgiveness and taking refuge in Allah, and closes the door of repentance; his egoism gets stronger and he eventually deifies himself. In this respect, he who obeys Satan does not see his own mistakes or he interprets them differently. In fact, he becomes a toy and puppet of Satan. However, even the Prophet Yusuf (joseph) stated the following:

“Nor do I absolve my own self (of blame): the (human) soul is certainly prone to evil.”

Actually, if man thinks a bit, Satan’s delusion and trick will be easily understood: If man accepts and confesses his mistake, he will ask for forgiveness, repent, take refuge in Allah and take precautions. Thus, he will get rid of the evil Satan and being his puppet. So, not to accept one’s mistake and to blame others like qadar, which is a kind of divine knowledge, is a sin bigger than the other sins one commits.³

Besides, man was given will to be responsible for his mistakes. Man wants to commit sins with his free will and commits them; therefore, he needs to blame himself for his sins.

1.Nursi, B. S.  Lemalar, p. 89; Bilmen, Mülahhas, p. 46, 84, 85, 87-88.
2.Mutlu, p. 24-15.
3.Nursi, B. S. Lem’alar, p. 89.

REALMS OF KNOWLEDGE AND POWER*

            ALLAH’S both power and knowledge are pre-eternal and post-eternal.... Then, how should we understand the "realm of knowledge and realm of power"?

The following meaning comes to mind when we say realm of knowledge:

            Before this universe of existence had been created with its suns and stars, its animals and human beings, and its jinn and angels, all of their qualities were present in the pre-eternal knowledge of Allah. The realm of knowledge is this "realm of quality". When Allah wills to create them, they are brought to the realm of existence by divine power. All of these realities that appear in the realm of beings are called "the realm of power". We see that a new meaning is given to the"realm of knowledge and power" in the following statement:

The visible part of all beings flowing in the river of time represents the realm of power, and the invisible part in the unseen realm represents the realm of knowledge.

            Things do not go to non-existence; they rather pass from the realm of power to the realm of knowledge; they go from the Manifest World to the World of the Unseen; they turn from the world of change and transience to the worlds of light and eternity.¹

            Accordingly, “the realm of knowledge” is the unseen realm, and "the realm of power" is the manifest realm. The falling rain, the talking people, the singing birds, etc. today are in the manifest realm and in the realm of power. They came into being with divine power and are fulfilling their duties. All of the beings that will be created from the moment when the first seed of the universe was sown to Doomsday and the hereafter are in the unseen realm and in the realm of knowledge. When the beings in this realm of power migrate from this world after fulfilling their duties, they will migrate to the unseen realm again. We see the following wonderful explanation in the Second Topic of the Twentieth Letter:
           These beings flow with the divine will. This universe is moving with the divine order. These creatures flow constantly in the river of time with the divine permission… They are sent from the unseen realm; they are clothed their apparent bodies in the manifest realm; then, they regularly flow to the unseen realm. They come from the future all the time, visit the present time to relax and go to the past.²

            The visible part of all beings flowing in the river of time represents the realm of power, and the invisible part in the unseen realm represents the realm of knowledge. In this wonderful determination, where knowledge and wisdom are combined together, it is shown in our minds and our imaginations that not only living beings but also all non-living beings flow in the river of time, that human beings move toward death, and that the universe moves towardDoomsday with great speed. The widest realm of this flow and this change is presented to our contemplation with the following sentences:

            He turns the realm of particles, which is the largest realm, to a field, sows, cultivates and reaps crops as muchas the universe with His power and wisdom there all the time. He sends them from the manifest realm to the unseen realm, from the realm of power to the realm of knowledge.³

            If all the atoms present in the universe are likened to a field, their previous and subsequent states appear as separate fields. As much crop as the universe is collected from the universe any moment. As they follow one other, ears are formed and grown, people are born and grown up, hair is lengthened and grayed, seasons are changed, and centuries follow one another. All of these inform us about the activity in the field of particles, which is the largest realm. Thus, the realm of particles is sent to the realm of knowledge from the realm of power, that is, from the manifest realm to the unseen realm all the time.

*It was published beforehand (ÂdemTatlı. Bilimlerin Işığından Yaratılış. 1^st Impression, Üsküdar Üniversitesi Yayını, 2015, p. 159-160).
1.Nursi, B.S. Mektûbat. Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı  Yayınları-605, 2^nd Impression, Ankara, 2016, p. 295-296.
2.Nursi, B.S. Mektûbat. p. 304.
3.Nursi, B.S. Mektûbat. p. 295.

9.2.10-Healthy life is possible only through programmed cell death

Fatal diseases occur if the programmed cell death mechanism in the living being is disrupted.

The programmed cell death mechanism is also in charge of eliminating harmful cells and preventing diseases. The safe destruction of aging, lost, over-produced, irregularly developed or genetically damaged cells for the organism takes place with programmed cell death. The programmed cell death signaling mechanism is integrated into the cell signaling network that regulates responses to all cell factors, from cell death to growth, and from development to stress responses. Programmed cell death is a mechanism that eliminates unwanted, damaged or abnormal cells and maintains normal tissue and organ development and function. Thus, programmed cell death is a necessary mechanism for normal organism function and survival. Acting upon this fact, it can be said, ‘The way of life is through death’. For, balanced cell growth and cell death are features of healthy organisms. Fatal diseases occur if the programmed cell death mechanism in the living being is disrupted.¹

The mechanism of programmed death that is balanced in healthy individuals is impaired only in diseases.*

Being healthy or maintaining health depends only on the balanced operation of the programmed death mechanism in the living being (Figure 3).

Aging cells in tissues where cell production and destruction are rapid, such as skin, intestinal epithelium and blood, are also killed by programmed cell death; they are cleared from the body without causing inflammation by accumulating in the body and place is made available for new cells. Elimination of harmful cells in the organism occurs as follows: Virus-infected cells are eliminated by cytotoxic T cells; immune system cells are eliminated by cellular immune systems; cells with DNA damage are eliminated by p53; cancer cells are eliminated by chemotherapy agents.

Figure 3. Both unbalanced increase and decrease in the number of cells cause diseases.

The destruction of harmful cells whose structures are disrupted in the living beings is carried out by programmed cell death actively at every stage of life. The continuation of life is ensured in this way. For example, cancer cells always occur in the human body. Therefore, it is always possible to get cancer. However, under normal conditions, the programmed cell death mechanism destroys cancer cells whose structures are disrupted and prevents cancer. If programmed cell death mechanism is not operated regularly and if disrupted cells are not destroyed, we will get cancer.

The destruction of harmful cells whose structures are disrupted in the living beings is carried out by programmed cell death actively at every stage of life. The continuation of life is ensured in this way.

Healthy nutrition and environmental factors are effective in the operation of the death program. However, no matter how favorable the conditions are, no living being can escape death. It is based on the will of the Creator, who decides when the death program is to be operated and when the living being is to be killed.

*For instance, neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer, Huntington, Parkinson, etc.), hematologic diseases (aplastic anemia, Fanconi anemia, Hodgkin’s disease, etc.), autoimmune diseases (fulminant hepatitis, insulin-dependent diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.), toxin-related diseases (alcohol-induced hepatitis, sepsis, pulmonary fibrosis, etc.), ischemic diseases (kidney infarction, myocardial infarction, stroke, etc.), bacterial and viral infections (AIDS, Ebola virus, etc.), etc. occur due to the excessive increase of programmed death.Cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, sarcoma, premalignant diseases, autoimmune diseases, atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, Wilson’s disease and various viral infections, Down syndrome, early aging, etc. occurdue to the inadequacy of programmed death mechanism in living beings.
1.Milisavet al.,Apoptosis, 2017, 22, 265–283.

Quantum Physics

Let us move on to Quantum Physics. It is energy-based universe model. The journey of the radiated energy is important.

There is a book called İnanç Psikolojisi. It was published in 2010 and was later translated into English with the name “Faith in the Laboratory”‘ since faith was connected with the neurobiology of faith. It is being sold in amazon.com now. The graphics were also translated into English in the book. Energy is in question here; energy used with medical purposes. You see frequencies higher than 10, like 20 and 18. This frequency increases. According to some views, when man dies, his body lessens 21 grams. What happens? Does the spirit leave? What happens to 21 grams? The electrons stop rotating; it is said that electron loss occurs even though the matter does not lessen. Matter, gamma rays, x rays, ultraviolet rays, naked eye, infrared, radar, microwave, television, short wave, standard radio, astronomical radio, gravity, graviton particle are in question. Air is here; photoenergy particles, electron graviton, dark matter that attracts planets is a debatable issue.

Psychon is also theoretical knowledge, a hypothesis. Currently, the quantum energy band of the holographic universe is subatomic particle.

According to the atomic model, neutrons, electrons, protons show 4%. 94% is called dark energy. The nature of this is unknown. This dark energy is also called spirit or psychon.

We are where physics ends right now. For after the speed of light, physics ends. So what? There is a controversial important area called photon telepathy to see if there are radiant beings.

While the CERN experiment was being conducted in Switzerland, the photons in a laboratory in Chicago moved simultaneously independent of time. Thereupon, a matter-independent energy particle emerges. It is called the Hadron particle. This is the new field of quantum now. Why do I say quantum? What the bleep do we know? A quantum physicist, a theologian and a psychiatrist discuss consciousness together. As a result of the discussion, they decided to do an experiment. The experiment done in Washington DC is as follows:

8.1.5-Crimes Decrease Twenty-five Percent with Prayer

They wanted to do an experiment with a thousand Buddhist monks in Washington DC. They claimed they would reduce crimes by 25%. Then, they went  to the police chief. He laughed and said, “It sounds impossible like saying it snowed in July.”

A thousand Buddhist monks went to Washington, DC. They prayed there for a month. They looked at the statistics a month later and saw that crimes decreased 25%. The theologian, the Quantum Physicist and the psychiatrist discussed the results. They came to the following  conclusion: Those prayers are directed to the energy and flow in the universe. Aggressive emotions in humans may have decreased and crime may have been reduced. We can explain it with quantum.

There is an experiment. You can object scientifically to the result obtained in this experiment. Scientific methodology was used because there was a supernatural reality; it was revealed. As well as revealing the supernatural reality, we can reveal the existence of Allah through scientific methodology. Therefore, this Congress of Creation is very important.

3.1.1-The contradiction between the apparent laws of nature and miracles

One of the basic laws of physics is the principle of the conservation of matter, which can be expressed as “matter does not come into existence out of nothing; it does not go into non-existence from existence”.¹

Everything confirms the trueness of this principle from the simple observation that when you remove 3 slices out of an 8-slice pizza, 5 slices remain to the most accurate scientific measurements made by taking into account matter-energy transformations. However, some religious circles remain aloof from this scientific fact, which they cannot deny because they perceive it to be contrary to Allah’s creation out of nothing. In fact, exact sciences express what is seen based on objective observation only; they do not say anything about Allah’s creating out of nothing because this issue is outside the scope of exact sciences. Scientists’ statements about a supernatural being are not based on science; they are their own views and thoughts.

Isaac Newton, who discovered the law of gravity and who is known as the father of classical physics, objects to the idea of seeing the universe as a big clock/machine and draws attention to the difference between science and difference of opinion as follows:

 “The law of gravity explains the movement of planets but it does not explain who makes them move.”

The power and will of Allah have encompassed everything and is away from any weaknesses. A lawmaker that is dominant over laws and is not dominated by them. The laws of physics do not bind Allah, who has imposed them because the one who has the power to impose a law with His will has the power to change the law, and if necessary, to cancel it temporarily.

Similarly, Galileo, who was excommunicated by the church due to his ideas, describes a scientist as a person who tries to read the book of the universe and to understand it and states the following in his book called Il Saggiatore:

“Philosophy (science) is written in this big book, that is, in the universe. It is such a book that it is always open for our observations but it is not understood unless somebody understands its language and explains its letters.”

Albert Einstein, who is known as the father of modern physics, regards beings as written books:

“We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but does not know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see the universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws but only dimly understand these laws.”²

Badiuzzaman Said Nursi regards the beings as letters or words and the whole universe as a book and mentions it as ‘the grand book of the universe’.

That man cannot comprehend coming into existence out of nothing makes the issue more complicated and causes confusion. For human beings, the conservation of matter or rather matter + energy is a sound law that cannot be violated. Besides, due to a necessity of this law, all perpetual motion machines claiming to produce energy out of nothing are rejected categorically. However, this situation does not bind Allah, who has imposed the law, in terms of the philosophy of religion because the one who has the power to impose a law with His will has the power to change the law, and if necessary, to cancel it temporarily. All miracles and karamahs are based on the temporary and limited cancellation of one or more laws of nature. For this reason, the first request of the people from those who claim to be Allah’s messengers are to show miracles that are impossible to take place under normal circumstances to prove their claims. For, people know very well that feeding five hundred people with food that is enough for five people can be possible only through temporary cancellation of the law of conservation of matter; nobody, including scientists, can do it with their own power.

1.Matter is actually a form of energy; therefore, the principle of conservation of energy or matter plus energy is more general. However, in cases where matter-energy transformation is not in question like nuclear reactions, the idea that matter and energy are conserved separately is a valid approach that provides convenience.

2.Walter Isaacson, Einstein – His Life and Universe, p. 387, Simon & Schuster, New York, 2007.

3.1.3-Laws of Nature as a different dimension of existence

Laws and rules are the foundations of order and peace all over the world; and that is the case in the universe too. For example, if the law of gravity only were to be canceled, everything would start to fly in the air and a complete chaos would break out. In the atomic nuclei, if the strong force holding the quarks and the protons together were to disappear, all atoms would break into pieces and the universe would be transformed into a cloud of particles. The laws in a country reflect the general will of the people who live in that country; similarly, the laws in the universe reflect the universal will that dominates the whole universe. Security forces make individuals obey the laws in countries. Universal forces and effects do it in the universe - like the force of gravity making everything in the world obey the law of gravity.

When the veil of accustomedness is raised, it will be seen that all beings are works of miracles like a chick that comes out of an egg that hatches after 21 days.

Full obedience of every particle of matter to all laws of physics and the laws’ being seen and known only by their manifestations in matter formed the prejudice that the source of laws as well as power was matter. However, there is no element called law in the particles, which are the basic building blocks of matter, or waves; similarly, there is no element called law in the bodies of the people who obey laws. It can even be said that even if all the mass in the universe disappeared and the law of gravity did not exist, and there was no heat conduction - the whole universe being at the same temperature – the law of heat conduction would be valid. Similarly, even if a country did not collect any income tax in a given year, the tax law would still be valid in the whole country since it had income or people producing income.Therefore, laws become manifest in matter, penetrate into matter, and control matter fully, but they are not matter. Thus, the laws are outside the physical world just like the attribute of ‘will’, which comes from outside and dominates matter. In other words, the laws of physics themselves do not cancel but confirm or even necessitate the existence of a realm outside the realm of physics.

c- Worshipping Allah

Worship means to fulfill the commands of Allah and to avoid His prohibitions. Allah states the following in the Quran regarding the issue:

"O ye people! Adore your Guardian-Lord, who created you and those who came before you, that ye may have the chance to learn righteousness; Who has made the earth your couch, and the heavens your canopy; and sent down rain from the heavens; and brought forth therewith Fruits for your sustenance; then set not up rivals unto Allah when ye know (the truth). ".¹

Thus, worshipping our Lord, who created us out of nothing, is our greatest debt of slavery because He made the world like a palace for us. He sent down water from the sky and extracted all kinds of fruits and food from the ground as sustenance. Therefore, it is one of our most important responsibilities to thank Him by worshipping Him.

Prayer, fasting, hajj and zakah are the most important deeds of worship. The reason why we do those deeds of worship is that Allah orders them. All of the benefits and interests originating from those deeds of worship can only be a reason for preference and encouragement.

The Worship of Prayer

Prayer is the pillar of the religion and it is a very comprehensive prayer and deed of worship that includes all other deeds of worship. It is an invitation to the spiritual presence of Allah, who creates people out of nothing and grants them all kinds of blessings, at certain times five times a day. There is a great comfort of the spirit, the heart and mind in prayer.

Allah does not need our worship

Allah does not need anything. He is Samad, that is, everything needs Him, but He does not need anything. It is man who needs worshipping. Worship is like medicine for our spiritual wounds. For example, if a patient says to a compassionate physician who gives him some useful drugs about his illness and insists that the patient should take them, “Why do you insist so much? Do you need it?”, it will be nonsense. For, it is the patient, not the doctor, who needs them. The doctor insists for the benefit of the patient.

Similarly, Allah commands us to worship for the comfort of our hearts, souls, and minds, and for being saved from spiritual diseases.

Belief consists of a mental and conscientious judgment and approval. It is also worship that strengthens belief and shows the signs of belief as deeds. The most comprehensive and general deed of worship is prayer. Therefore, the following is stated in a hadith: “Prayer is the pillar of religion”. What keeps a building upright is the column. Similarly, what keeps the religion of a person upright, that is, keeps him away from sins and draws him closer to Allah by making him an addressee is his prayer.

Besides, worship is a sign that shows the degree and existence of belief.

1.al-Anbiya, 22. Muhammad, 38.

8.2.3-Positivist Movements in Anatolia

     The history of positivist interpretation of science in Turkey goes back to the beginning of the Tanzimat period (1839). One of the results of the Tanzimat Edict is the emergence of the distinction between schools and madrasahs, and the state’s using its influence in favor of schools. As ŞerifMardin describes concisely, this duality, which made its presence felt very much since the 1860s, continued with schools getting stronger than madrasahs.

      Schools, where modern sciences and technology were taught, turned their faces to the future, believing that they would get the contemporary spirit and that they would solve all the problems of the country with positive science while madrasahs sought the solution in a longing history that could not renew and that could not carry to the current time.¹

     When we look at those discussions, we see different segments of the community. Intellectuals like HüseyinHilmi and Said Halim Pasha, who thought the salvation of the state would be through the unification and integration of Islamic culture and Western culture and civilization, were on one side.

     Those who gathered around ZiyaGökalp (1875-1924) and thought the solution was to reconcile Islamic ethics and Turkish traditions, to take the knowledge and technique of Europe for development were on the other side.

Popper pointed out that those who started out to get rid of religious dogmas made science a religion and he criticized them seriously. According to him, the prophet of this new religion is F. Bacon himself. He states the following:
Bacon replaced ‘God’ by the name ‘Nature’. Theology, the science of God, was replaced by the science of Nature. The laws of God were replaced by the laws of Nature. God’s power was replaced by the forces of Nature.

     However,  materialist positivists such as Baha Tevfik (1884-1914), Ahmet Nebil, SüleymanSırrı, Abdullah Cevdet (1869-1931) and TevfikFikret (1870-1915), who were in the second group, advocated the idea that  “religion” was not necessary for  the salvation of the country.²

     According to them, what had to be done was to accept the West as a whole. According to Dr. Abdullah Cevdet and his friends, the only thing to do to save the Empire from collapsing was to be Europeans..³

     Jamaluddin Afghani from the Muslim East (1838-1897) joined the works of Ali Süavi, Namık Kemal and Şinasi related to settling their ideas without losing anything from their Islamic faiths. Afghani was followed by scholars such as Muhammad Abduh (1845-1905), AbdulazizChavish (1876-1929) and Musa Jarullah (1875-1949).⁴

      The tension and friction between the school and the madrasah developed in favor of the school in the late Ottoman period and entered a new phase with the establishment of the Republic. The modern educated people who founded the republic liquidated the graduates of madrasahs who were with them and  who worked together with them and cooperated in the liberation of the country and the establishment of the republic.

     The torch held by the new era in the hands and minds in the way of progress and civilization was positive science. The issues raised by M. Kemal in his speech to the teachers at Samsun İstiklalTicaret School as early as  September 22, 1924 indicated the principles of the new period:

     “The real guide for everything in the world, for civilization, for life and for success, is science. It is heedlessness, ignorance, and aberration to seek a guide except for science. However, it is essential to realize the evolution of the stages of science in every moment we live and to follow its progress over time”.⁵

     Those words were engraved on the façade of the Faculty of Language, History and Geography, which was established with a special mission in 1935 as a symbol of the new era, as “The real guide in life is science”. 

     Karl Popper (1902-1994), the philosopher of science, is one of those who make a “philosophical” criticism of this understanding, which idolizes positivism and natural sciences and makes it a new religion. He wrote in an article published in 1923 that the scientific movement initiated by Francis Bacon (1561-1626), who is considered one of the founding fathers of modern science, was basically "religious or semi-religious."

     Popper pointed out that those who started out to get rid of religious dogmas made science a religion and he criticized them seriously. According to him, the prophet of this new religion is F. Bacon himself:

Bacon replaced ‘God’ by the name ‘Nature’. He left almost everything that remained the same. Theology, the science of God, was replaced by the science of Nature. The laws of God were replaced by the laws of Nature. God’s power was replaced by the forces of Nature. And at a later date, God’s design and God’s judgements were replaced by natural selection. Theological determinism was replaced by scientific determinism, and the book of fate by the predictability of Nature. In short, God’s omnipotence and omniscience were replaced by the omnipotence and omniscience of nature and by the virtual omniscience of natural science.⁶

From the Islamic world, Nursi, answered this movement, which tried to spread the idea of denying a creator under the name of science, by writing a booklet called Tabiat Risalesi (Booklet of Nature). He states the following at the beginning of the booklet:

“This treatise explains through nine ‘Impossibilities,’ themselves comprising at least ninety impossibilities, just how unreasonable, crude and superstitious is the way taken by those Naturalists who are atheists. In order to cut short the discussion here and because these impossibilities have been explained in part in other sections of the Risale-i Nur, some steps in the arguments have been skipped. It occurs to one, therefore, how is it that those famous and supposedly brilliant philosophers accepted such a blatantly obvious superstition, and continue to pursue that way.

Well, the fact is they cannot see its reality. And I am ready to explain in detail and prove through clear and decisive arguments to whoever doubts it that these crude, repugnant and unreasonable¹ impossibilities are the necessary and unavoidable result of their way; in fact, the very gist of their creed.

He explains the word “unreasonable” above as follows:

¹What occasioned the writing of this treatise were attacks being made on the Qur’an by those who called everything that their corrupted minds could not reach a superstition, who were using Nature to justify unbelief, and were vilifying the truths of belief in a most aggressive and ugly fashion. Those attacks stirred up in my heart an intense anger which resulted in those perverted atheists and falsifiers of the truth receiving vehement and harsh slaps. Otherwise, the way generally followed by the Risale-i Nur is a mild, polite and persuasive one.

“Their messengers said: ‘Is there a doubt about Allah, The Creator of the heavens and the earth?’” (Ibrahim, 10)

Nursi states the following in the Introduction of TabiatRisalesi, in which he interpreted the verse above:

O man! You should be aware that there are certain phrases which are commonly used and imply unbelief. The believers also use them, but without realizing their implications. We shall explain three of the most important of them.

The First: “Causes create this.”

The Second: “It forms itself; it comes into existence and later ceases to exist.”

 The Third: “It is natural; nature necessitates and creates it.”

Indeed, since beings exist and this cannot be denied, and since each being comes into existence in a wise and artistic fashion, and since each is not outside time but is being continuously renewed, then, O falsifier of thetruth, you are bound to say either that the causes in the world create beings, for example, this animal; that is to say, it comes into existence through the coming together of causes, or that it forms itself, or that its coming into existence is a requirement and necessary effect of nature, or that it is created through the power of One All-Powerful and All-Glorious.

Since reason can find no way apart from these four, if the first three are definitely proved to be impossible, invalid and absurd, the way of divine unity, which is the fourth way, will necessarily and self-evidently and without doubt or suspicion, be proved true.

Imagine there is a pharmacy in which are found hundreds of jars and phials filled with quite different substances. A living potion and a living remedy are required from those medicaments. So we go to the pharmacy and see that they are to be found there in abundance, yet in great variety. We examine each of the potions.

We see that the ingredients have been taken in varying but precise amounts from each of the jars and phials, one ounce from this, three from that, seven from the next, and so on. If one ounce too much or too little had been taken, the potion would not have been living and would not have displayed its special quality. Next, we study the living remedy. Again, the ingredients have been taken from the jars in a particular measure so that if even the most minute amount too much or too little had been taken, the remedy would have lost its special property. Now, although the jars number more than fifty, the ingredients have been taken from each according to measures and amounts that are all different.

Is it in any way possible or probable that the phials and jars should have been knocked over by a strange coincidence or sudden gust of wind and that only the precise, though different, amounts that had been taken from each of them should have been spilt, and then arranged themselves and come together to form the remedy? Is there anything more superstitious, impossible and absurd than this? If an ass could speak, it would say: “I cannot accept this idea!”, and would gallop off!

Similarly, each living being may be likened to the living potion in the comparison, and each plant to a living remedy. For they are composed ofmatter that has been taken in most precise measure from truly numerous and truly various substances. If these are attributed to causes and the elements and it is claimed, “Causes created these,” it is unreasonable, impossible and absurd a hundred times over, just as it was to claim that the potion in the pharmacy came into existence through the phials being knocked over; by accident.

In short: The vital substances in this vast pharmacy of the universe, which are measured on the scales of divine determining and decree of the All-Wise and Pre-Eternal One, can only come into existence through a boundless wisdom, infinite knowledge and all-encompassing will. The unfortunate person who declares that they are the work of blind, deaf and innumerable elements and causes and natures, which stream like floods; and the foolish, delirious person who claims that that wondrous remedy poured itself out when the phials were knocked over and formed itself, are certainly unreasonable and nonsensical. Indeed, such denial and unbelief is a senseless absurdity.”⁷

1.Mardin, Ş. (1992). Bediüzzaman Said Nursi Olayı, Modern Türkiye’de Din veToplumsal Değişim, Istanbul: İletişim. p. 21-40.
2.Çetinkaya, B. Ali. (2002). “Modern Türkiye’nin Felsefî Kökenleri”, C.Ü.İ.F. Dergisi, Sayı: 2, Sivas, pp. 65-91.
3.Hanioğlu, Ş. (1981). Doktor Abdullah Cevdet ve Dönemi, Istanbul: Üçdal Neşriyat, p. 138.
4.Çetinkaya, ibid
5.Atatürk, G. M. K., (1959).Atatürk’ün Söylev ve Demeçleri II. Compiled by: NimetUnan, Ankara: Türk İnkılâpTarihi Enstitüsü Yayını, II. Baskı, p. 16.
6.Popper, K.R., (1994).The Myth of the Framework: In Defence of Science and Rationality. London: Routledge, p. 82-83.
7.For detailed information: Nursi, B. S. Lem’alar. Sözler Neşriyat, Istanbul, 2003, p. 182-185.

8.1.4.3- The Brain of a Schizophrenic

The anterior region of the schizophrenic person’s brain is not active because there is an encapsulated area in this person’s brain. This person lives in a separate world. He makes it rain, rages wars, and corrects the world. He thinks he is the Mahdi. He lives like that. We had a patient who told us that he was the Mahdi. There is definitely someone in our psychiatry department who claims to be a Mahdi. He received treatment and after three or four weeks he said, “I am not the Mahdi”, but we doubted his statement. We questioned him a little; he laughed and said, "I did not give up the claim of Mahdi, but I decided to be a healthy Mahdi." I said, “It means he has not given up the claim of Mahdi; we have not been able to cure him.” When I take this person out of that world and when I say to him welcome to the realities of life, schizophrenia destroys the realities of life. He is very happy in that world; that is how the schizophrenic’s brain works. There is an active area in that capsule, but the executive part of the brain, which makes man real man, does not work well in those people.

8.1.4.4- The Brain of a Person in Depression

The brain is the intermediary organ in which our spirit structure connects from the realm of meaning to the realm of matter. When the brain is disrupted, the spirit cannot express itself. It is useful to know this fact.

The state of a depressed person, is as follows: The function of the anterior region of his brain is impaired. After the treatment, that area of the brain becomes normal. Before the treatment of the person suffering from depression, the beta waves in the anterior region of the brain are active and magnetic stimulation treatment is performed. After this treatment, this person also recovers from ED 35, Anxiety 33; the anterior region of the brain improves. This person actually has OCD, mood disorder; what we call depression is actually a brain disease. This happens because the brain’s chemistry has deteriorates.

They are not psychiatric illnesses; people make a mistake by calling them so; they are brain diseases. The spirit is a separate structure. The brain is the intermediary organ in which our spirit structure connects from the realm of meaning to the realm of matter. When the brain is disrupted, the spirit cannot express itself. It is useful to know this fact.

9.2.4-The Role of genes in programmed death

RNA or DNA fragments that constitute a particular part of chromosomes is called a gene. If the genetic structure of every living being is likened to a library, the chromosome is a book in the library and the gene is a page or a chapter in the book. Genes are software or programs necessary for the vital tasks and biological development of all organisms. Chromosomes are made up of DNA as if they are packed. Therefore, there are many genes, i.e. programs in a chromosome.

More than 25 genes have been identified for programmed cell death. One of the most important of these genes in humans is the p53 gene, which is a 393 amino acid protein.

How are all the proteins that make up the structure of living beings synthesized?

These genes are synthesized in cells according to the special codes, i.e. the software, on the genes.

Can the mindless and unconscious substances come together by chance on their own and make very wise software or programs?

Definitely not. If there is a program, there must be a programmer too. Materialist evolutionists accept the program and that the program is wonderful. However, they do not accept the programmer. They claim that the perfect software and programs in all living beings are formed by chance and that they occur as a result of mindless and unconscious atoms, elements and molecules’ coming together and organizing.

This perfect system in which we live, the living beings, which are wonders of art, in it and the sophisticated software and programs in living beings can occur only with the existence of a Creator with infinite knowledge, will and power.

More than 25 genes have been identified for programmed cell death. One of the most important of these genes in humans is the p53 gene, which is a 393 amino acid protein.

P53 Gene and its tasks in programmed death

One of the most important tasks of the p53 gene is to control the cell cycle according to environmental conditions and the state of the cell. P53 gene is also involved in DNA repair and synthesis, cell differentiation, genome formation and programmed cell death.^1,2

The program recorded in the p53 gene shows the existence of a programmer. The features of the program that require the will, such as sometimes working sometimes not working according to circumstances, and deciding what to do under which conditions, can be possible only if the programmer is active any time

            P53 is a transcription regulatory gene. If the death program in the p53 gene undergoes mutation or if p53 is not assigned any task in cell death, it is not activated. Therefore, as a sign of mercy, the cell does not enter into the death process. Thus, the life span of the cell is lengthened. The p53 gene in cells is usually activated by cell damage. The protein synthesized under the control of the software in the p53 gene binds to DNA and recognizes the damage. Once the damage has been detected, there are two different ways for the p53 gene.

The first way: If DNA damage is minimal, the cell cycle is stopped at the G1 stage and the damaged DNA is repaired. DNA repair should be performed while the cell is in the G1 stage before proceeding to the S phase because cell DNA is replicated in the S phase. If the cycle was not stopped in the G1 phase during the cell division and if the damaged DNA continued to be produced, the damaged DNAs generated by mutations would change the genome, that is, the gene structure of the living being.

It means mercy and grace do not allow such negativity.

Thus, with the p53 gene, the cell is prevented from entering the S phase until it is cleared of mutations that have a genome-altering effect. Therefore, the p53 gene is also known as a ‘the guardian of the genome’.

The second way: If the DNA damage is too much, the death program in the p53 gene is activated and the cell is killed.³

As it is seen, the program in the p53 gene is not like a conventional computer software. The p53 gene is activated according to the circumstances.

Secondly, timing is managed perfectly.

Thirdly, it is well known what to do and under what circumstances. Most importantly, what p53 does is vital for the living being. However, the p53 gene is a mindless and unconscious protein; it is not possible for it to know them.

Thus, the program recorded in the p53 gene shows the existence of a programmer. The features of the program that require will, such as sometimes working sometimes not working according to circumstances, and deciding what to do under which conditions, can be possible only if the programmer is active any time.

Detection of DNA damage by the p53 gene is not a simple task. Let us think about it a bit. For example, let us think about the devices that detect malfunctions in automobiles.

Firstly,the diagnostic devices are the result of technology and accumulation of knowledge; they are the design of an inventor who knows the equipment in automobiles very well.

Secondly, the diagnostic device does not operate on its own. Someone who is smart and knows the job is necessary for it to operate.

Thirdly, deciding what to do according to the malfunction and doing the repair work, or to scrap the car and send it for recycling if the damage is irreparable are tasks that a being with knowledge and will can do.

However, the p53 gene’s recognizing DNA (very small and very complex) damage, deciding what to do, and taking action (repairing or killing the cell) cannot be explained by chance-based evolutionary mechanisms.

Only sane people with healthy mind can understand the existence of the Creator from these wonderful works. Otherwise, it cannot be explained by reason and understanding for a person who wants copyright or even a patent for his own small works to attribute those wonderful works to chance and coincidence. 

Bcl-2 gene family and their tasks in programmed death

The Bcl-2 gene family, which consists of intracellular antiapoptotic and proapoptotic membrane proteins, also plays an important role in regulating the programmed mechanism of death. In addition, the Bcl-2 gene family is capable of suppressing the progression of cell cycle from G0 to G1 and enhancing the ability of some neurons to regenerate.

Proteins related to Bcl-2 gene family can be examined under 3 groups according to their structures and tasks.

1. The Bcl-2 subgroup (Bcl-2, Bel-XL and Bcl-w):

They have antiapoptotic activity. They are placed on the outer membrane of the mitochondria.

2. Bax subgroup (Bax and Bak):

They are proapoptotic; they serve as perceivers of cell damage and stress sensors and are usually found in the cytoplasm.

3. Bik subgroup (Proapoptotic Bik and Bim).

The distribution of Bcl-2 in the cell varies according to the cell type. The tendency of the cell toward programmed death depends on the type of Bcl-2 it contains. The more proapoptotic proteins in the cell, the more the cell is prone to programmed death, and the more antiapoptotic proteins in the cell, the less the cell is prone to programmed death. Bcl-2 is most commonly placed in the mitochondria, flat endoplasmic reticulum and the membranes around the nucleus. Bcl-2 does not prevent all kinds of cell death.^4,5,6

1.De Senedettiet al.,Med PediatrOnc., 1996, 1, 2-11.
2.Öniz H., SSKTepecik Hast. Derg, 2004, 14 (1), 1-20.
3.Offer et al.,Carcinogenesis, 2002., 23(6), 1025-32.
4.Earnshaw et al.,Annual Review of Biochemistry, 1999, 68, 383-424.
5.Denault, et al.,Chemical Reviews, 2002, 102, 4489-4499.
6.Öniz H., SSKTepecik Hast.Derg, 2004, 14 (1), 1-20.