"Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave"(Prophet Muhammad, circa 632CE)"
"Seek knowledge, even in China"(Prophet Muhammad, circa 632CE)
"All human beings, by their nature, desire to know."(Aristotle, The Metaphysics, circa 322BC)
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/09/400blogpost-four-hundred-knowledge.html
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/
On December 29th 2009 I wrote my final post of 2009 and final post of the decade in which I paid tribute to the publisher of the much-visited and wildly popular ISMAILI MAIL website for completeing 3 full years of operation and for amassing almost 3 million hits from people on 6 continents:
A Tribute To ISMAILI MAIL'S Publisher; My Final Post Of 2009; My Final Post Of The Decade. http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/12/537a-tribute-to-ismaili-mails-publisher.html
Well today, January 31st 2010, is the day those hundreds of thousands of readers propelled ISMAILI MAIL to over 3 million hits.
Here is a collection of posts, some on my Blog, some not, relating to ISMAILI MAIL, that are of personal interest to me(in descending date order):
1)ISMAILI MAIL'S Top Posts Of 2009 Feature A Few By Easy Nash; A Successful Year.
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2010/01/538ismaili-mails-top-posts-of-2009.html
2)A Tribute To ISMAILI MAIL'S Publisher; My Final Post Of 2009; My Final Post Of The Decade.
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/12/537a-tribute-to-ismaili-mails-publisher.html
3)A Collection Of Posts On The Much-Visited And Wildly Popular ISMAILI MAIL Website Entitled 'BBC: Science And Islam-The Power Of Doubt'.
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/12/536-collection-of-posts-on-much-visited.html
4)Jivan Keshavjee, Habib Chagan and the Ismaili community of Pretoria
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2009/11/21/jivan-keshavjee-habib-chagan-and-the-ismaili-community-of-pretoria/
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/11/504blogger-muthal-naidoo-posts-goldmine.html
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/12/534weaving-together-keshavjee-family.html
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/11/505a-collection-of-posts-on-my-blog.html
5)Blogpost Five Hundred IS Blogpost Four Hundred, The High-Octane Fuel That Powers My Blog On The Link Between Science And Religion In Islam
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/08/500blogpost-five-hundred-is-blogpost.html
6)The Conservative Government Of Prime Minister Stephen Harper Has Consistently Shown The Utmost Deference And Respect To His Highness The Aga Khan
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/06/486the-conservative-government-of-prime.html
7)The much-visited and wildly popular Ismaili Mail website surpasses its usual thoroughness in its reporting of Aga Khan IV's visit to Dubai and UAE
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/03/338the-much-visited-and-wildly-popular.html
8)All Ismaili Mail posts pertaining to the name tag 'KESHAVJEE':
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/?s=Keshavjee&searchbutton=go%21
9)All Ismaili Mail posts pertaining to the name tag 'VELSHI'
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/?s=Velshi&searchbutton=go%21
10)All Ismaili Mail posts pertaining to the name tag 'UMEDALY'
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/?s=Umedaly&searchbutton=go%21
11)Another One Of Those Off-Topic Posts
http://easynash.blogspot.com/2007/01/125another-one-of-those-off-topic-posts.html
Easy Nash
http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/science_and_religion_in_islam_the_link/
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/08/500blogpost-five-hundred-is-blogpost.html
In Shia Islam, intellect is a key component of faith. Intellect allows us to understand the creation of God: Aga Khan IV(2008)
The Qur'an itself repeatedly recommends Muslims to become better educated in order better to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
The Quran tells us that signs of Allah's Sovereignty are found in the contemplation of His Creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
This notion of the capacity of the human intellect to understand and to admire the creation of Allah will bring you happiness in your everyday lives: Aga Khan IV(2007)
Islam, eminently logical, placing the greatest emphasis on knowledge, purports to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2006)
The Holy Qu'ran's encouragement to study nature and the physical world around us gave the original impetus to scientific enquiry among Muslims: Aga Khan IV(1985)
The first and only thing created by God was the Intellect(Aql): Prophet Muhammad(circa 632CE)
Sunday, 31 January 2010
Saturday, 30 January 2010
Link to my dialogue with Etheshaam
I just wanna notify the reader of my continuous dialogue with my friend Etheshaam, a Muslim apologist, in which our writing relates to the Qur'an, the Bible and Science:
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7465988133223323978&postID=2149791832182765926
Our dialogue belongs and should have occurred on this blog in which the focus is on the Qur'an and science, but anyway if you find this interesting you can click the link.
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7465988133223323978&postID=2149791832182765926
Our dialogue belongs and should have occurred on this blog in which the focus is on the Qur'an and science, but anyway if you find this interesting you can click the link.
552)Metaphor And Allegory: Rumi And The Symbols Used By Him, By Professor Annemarie Schimmel; Lifelong Learning Articles Section Of The IIS Website.
"The Holy Qu'ran's encouragement to study nature and the physical world around us gave the original impetus to scientific enquiry among Muslims. Exchanges of knowledge between institutions and nations and the widening of man's intellectual horizons are essentially Islamic concepts. The Faith urges freedom of intellectual enquiry and this freedom does not mean that knowledge will lose its spiritual dimension. That dimension is indeed itself a field for intellectual enquiry. I can not illustrate this interdependence of spiritual inspiration and learning better than by recounting a dialogue between Ibn Sina, the philosopher, and Abu Said Abu -Khyar, the Sufi mystic. Ibn Sina remarked, "Whatever I know, he sees". To which Abu Said replied," Whatever I see, he knows"."(Aga Khan IV, Aga Khan University Inauguration Speech, Karachi, Pakistan, November 11th 1985)
Lifelong Learning: Articles
Rumi and the Symbols used by him
Abstract Rudolph Otto draws an allusion between God and a mighty mountain, the summit of which is invisible in eternal darkness. According to this great German theologist, a very small part of this mountain is visible, and this appears as a promontory of good hope. We see this minute promontory, through the haze and the smoke of this world and consider it as the final. Whenever we observe a Providential manifestation, we endeavour to commit it to memory by words or allegories. However, every word we find or every symbol we use to commit the manifestation is in one sense untrue. Therefore, and in accordance with all religions, the proper description of the Divine Secret is silence. It is not possible to describe the secret of the Divine Being which is entirely different from all creation. The human being who discovers this secret and the final truth must not reveal it. As Rumi asserted and reasserted, it is impossible to get near the sun. The light and fire of the sun will destroy instantly anyone who attempts to observe it without the veil. For these two reasons, the mystics who experience this observation in ecstasy use symbols for its description. They do this either to show an image of the final truth or to veil the merciless fire of this truth with a coloured curtain. The works of Rumi are, therefore, saturated with such symbols. There is no other mystic poet either in the East or in the West to equal Rumi in the usage of such rich and resplendent symbols. Eternal Sun – Shams Al-Din The most important symbol Rumi used was the sun. This is not extraordinary because his first and original beloved teacher was Shams al-Din. He saw the reflections and the rays of the Eternal Sun, the face of the Beloved, everywhere. In the absence of this sun, no roses will grow and no fruits ripen. The sun crowns the thorns of the bush with roses and turns the rough stones into red ruby through a process which lasts centuries. In similar manner, the Divine Beloved gives new life and eternal beauty to all lovers who love, suffer and wait longingly. But no one can enter this sun because His glorious magnificence burns all. The sun is a very nice and appropriate symbol to allude to the beauty and the majesty of God. However, one single symbol, no matter how deep and meaningful it may be, cannot be sufficient for the comprehension of the diverse aspects of the Divine Reality. Rumi always searched for and found his symbols in nature. Orchards and gardens, birds and flowers, told the story of the lover and the beloved. The spirit was symbolised by a bird, which symbol was used from the time of the ancient Egyptians to the present day. The allegory of the rose and the nightingale, the duck which escapes into the sea, all allude to the central fact that the spirit desires to return to its original domain. The smallest thing, whether it be a butterfly or a drop of water, in the hands of Rumi gains transparency and reveals the light of the Divine Secret. Man must become lost within the immense ocean of God like a drop of water, because man is like a small wave or fleck of foam created on that ocean. The fortunes afforded by God ebb and flow on that ocean and meet the shores of human life. But according to the wise, the occurrences which take place in our time and space are nothing but the reflections of the tides of fortune and misfortune which occur on that ocean which exists outside the realms of time and space. Whoever meets dissolution on that ocean immediately turns into the mother-of-pearl creating ocean. An absolute abandonment must create an absolute gain. One of the characteristics of Rumi is that the symbols he used had not only one meaning, but were full of different meanings. These symbols can be taken as having a positive or a negative meaning. The fire, for instance, could be taken to mean the fire of hell, which can be extinguished either by the water of mercy or by the light of magnanimity; or it could also be taken to mean the fire of misfortunes which are made to purify the hearts. Where misfortune is used as a symbol of Divine love, it must mean the Fire of Love. In all religions, there are certain symbols to allude to the religious truths and to the relationship of God and His creatures. Most of these symbols allude to the ancient rites and primitive customs. One of the most celebrated examples of these symbols is wine. Rumi draws a comparison between the indescribable intoxication caused by ecstasy and the intoxication caused by wine. In eternity, in (Ruzi-i alast) God, in the shape of a cup-bearer, will hand the wine of love to the crying man away from home, longing for the scent of this cup, thereby indicating to His creatures his original domain or the way to his Beloved. This world is like an empty cup; when the lover sees the cup he becomes intoxicated. Because if the beauty of the cup-bearer becomes manifest and if there is a chance for the lover to drink the love from the lips of the beloved, the lover will perish by the majesty of the beloved. The cup-bearer is also a music-maker. He plays the flute, the lute and the lyre. The melodies produced on these instruments are always nostalgic. Man is like a lyre in the hands of his beloved, playing the tunes of torment; or man is like a lute in the lips of his beloved, inquiring the everlasting longing. The flute, used as a symbol in many religions since ancient Babylonia, was a most favourite symbol with Rumi. According to him the roof and the doors of the house of love were made entirely of songs and poetry. The lover who can understand the voice of the flute responds to its tune and joins in the Sama and flies resplendent around the perpetual light of the Divine Beloved, like a planet or a star around the sun. In the Samaof Rumi and in all symbols relating to the Sama there is the deepest meaning. Because the mystic lover eternally flies resplendent around one centre only; he wants to get near to one goal only and attempts to introduce his secret by using new symbols. The mystic lover finally understands the futility of his poetic endeavours and resumes silence and in silent gratitude flies resplendent around the beauty and majesty of God like an atom around the sun. He listens to His communication, and he gets completely dissolved into a state where there is no dhikr, no speaker and hearer. And the mystic lover flows into dissolution in the midst of all the symbols of different shades and colours and in the darkness of light. (Courtesy: Ismaili Bulletin, Karachi, Pakistan.) http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_ |
Download PDF version of this articleEasy Nash
http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/science_and_religion_in_islam_the_link/
In Shia Islam, intellect is a key component of faith. Intellect allows us to understand the creation of God: Aga Khan IV(2008)
The Qur'an itself repeatedly recommends Muslims to become better educated in order better to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
The Quran tells us that signs of Allah's Sovereignty are found in the contemplation of His Creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
This notion of the capacity of the human intellect to understand and to admire the creation of Allah will bring you happiness in your everyday lives: Aga Khan IV(2007)
Islam, eminently logical, placing the greatest emphasis on knowledge, purports to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2006)
The Holy Qu'ran's encouragement to study nature and the physical world around us gave the original impetus to scientific enquiry among Muslims: Aga Khan IV(1985)
The first and only thing created by God was the Intellect(Aql): Prophet Muhammad(circa 632CE)
http://apps.facebook.com/
In Shia Islam, intellect is a key component of faith. Intellect allows us to understand the creation of God: Aga Khan IV(2008)
The Qur'an itself repeatedly recommends Muslims to become better educated in order better to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
The Quran tells us that signs of Allah's Sovereignty are found in the contemplation of His Creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
This notion of the capacity of the human intellect to understand and to admire the creation of Allah will bring you happiness in your everyday lives: Aga Khan IV(2007)
Islam, eminently logical, placing the greatest emphasis on knowledge, purports to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2006)
The Holy Qu'ran's encouragement to study nature and the physical world around us gave the original impetus to scientific enquiry among Muslims: Aga Khan IV(1985)
The first and only thing created by God was the Intellect(Aql): Prophet Muhammad(circa 632CE)
Tuesday, 26 January 2010
551)A New Telescope Will Scan The Entire Sky And See (Infra)Red; Quotes Of Aga Khan IV And Aga Khan III
"...As we use our intellect to gain new knowledge about Creation, we come to see even more profoundly the depth and breadth of its mysteries. We explore unknown regions beneath the seas – and in outer space. We reach back over hundreds of millions of years in time. Extra-ordinary fossilised geological specimens seize our imagination – palm leaves, amethyst flowers, hedgehog quartz, sea lilies, chrysanthemum and a rich panoply of shells. Indeed, these wonders are found beneath the very soil on which we tread – in every corner of the world – and they connect us with far distant epochs and environments.
And the more we discover, the more we know, the more we penetrate just below the surface of our normal lives – the more our imagination staggers. Just think for example what might lie below the surfaces of celestial bodies all across the far flung reaches of our universe. What we feel, even as we learn, is an ever-renewed sense of wonder, indeed, a powerful sense of awe – and of Divine inspiration"(Aga Khan IV, Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat, Ottawa, Canada, December 6th 2008)
For the full version of this quote see:
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2008/12/21/easy-nashs-blogpost-four-hundred-updated-with-quotes-from-the-opening-of-the-delegation-of-the-ismaili-imamat/
"Islam is fundamentally in its very nature a natural religion. Throughout the Quran God's signs (Ayats) are referred to as the natural phenomenon, the law and order of the universe, the exactitudes and consequences of the relations between natural phenomenon in cause and effect. Over and over, the stars, sun, moon, earthquakes, fruits of the earth and trees are mentioned as the signs of divine power, divine law and divine order"(Aga Khan III, April 4th 1952, Karachi, Pakistan)
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/09/400blogpost-four-hundred-knowledge.html
Science News
A new telescope will scan the entire sky and see (infra)red
By Stephen Ornes
Monday, January 4th, 2010
EnlargeA WISE scientist
Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer project scientist Peter Eisenhardt stands next to the fully assembled satellite.NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech.
Anyone on Earth can look up and see the moon or stars, but it takes a telescope to get a glimpse of planets and the other bright and strange things that share our universe. Astronomers are always finding new ways to observe far-off galaxies and study the mysteries of deep space.
That’s why, on December 14, NASA blasted a small but mighty telescope into space. The telescope is called WISE and is about as wide around as a trashcan. Don’t let its small size fool you: WISE has a powerful digital camera, and it will be taking pictures of some the wildest objects in the known universe, including asteroids, faint stars, blazing galaxies and giant clouds of dust where planets and stars are born.
“I’m very excited because we’re going to be seeing parts of the universe that we haven’t seen before,” Ned Wright told Science News. Wright is the scientist who directs the WISE project, which costs about $320 million.
Since arriving in space, the WISE telescope has been circling the Earth, held by gravity in a polar orbit (this means it crosses close to the north and south poles with each lap). Its camera is pointed outward, away from the Earth, and WISE will snap a picture of a different part of the sky every 11 minutes. After six months it will have taken pictures across the entire sky.
The pictures taken by WISE won’t be like everyday digital photographs, however. WISE stands for “Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer.” As its name suggests, the WISE camera takes pictures of features that that give off infrared radiation.
Radiation is energy that travels as a wave. Visible light, including the familiar spectrum of light that becomes visible in a rainbow, is an example of radiation. When an ordinary digital camera takes a picture of a tree, for example, it receives the waves of visible light that are reflected off the tree. When these waves enter the camera through the lens, they’re processed by the camera, which then puts the image together. Voilà! We see a tree.
EnlargeScanning the skiesAn artist illustrated WISE in space, along with a depiction of infrared radiation behind it.JPL/NASA
Waves of infrared radiation are longer than waves of visible light, so ordinary digital cameras don’t see them, and neither do the eyes of human beings. But we can feel some types of infrared radiation, in the form of heat.
That’s a key idea to why WISE will be able to see things other telescopes can’t. Not everything in the universe shows up in visible light. Asteroids, for example, are giant rocks that float through space — but they absorb most of the light that reaches them. They don’t reflect light, so they’re difficult to see. But they do give off infrared radiation, so an infrared telescope like WISE will be able to produce images of them. During its mission WISE will take pictures of hundreds of thousands of asteroids.
Brown dwarfs are another kind of deep-space object that will show up in WISE’s pictures. These objects are “failed” stars — which means they are not massive enough to jump start the same kind of reactions that power stars such as the sun. Instead, brown dwarfs simply shrink and cool down. They’re so dim that they’re almost impossible to see with visible light, but in the infrared spectrum they glow.
These are just a few of the wonders that will show up in a gallery of WISE’s greatest photos. During its mission, WISE will take pictures of hundreds of millions of stars, asteroids, galaxies and brown dwarfs. Not bad for a flying trashcan!
POWER WORDS:
infrared:
The range of invisible radiation that extends from the long wavelength, or red, end of the visible-light range to the microwave range. Invisible to the eye, it can be detected as a sensation of warmth on the skin.
radiation:
Emission and propagation of energy in the form of rays or waves.
asteroids:
Small celestial bodies that revolve around the sun, usually with orbits lying between Mars and Jupiter. They’re usually between a few and several hundred miles in diameter.
galaxy:
Any of numerous large-scale aggregates of stars, gas and dust that constitute the universe, containing an average of 100 billion (1011) solar masses and ranging in diameter from 1,500 to 300,000 light-years.
telescope:
An arrangement of lenses or mirrors or both that gathers visible light, permitting direct observation or photographic recording of distant objects
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/52553/title/FOR_KIDS_Small_but_WISE_
Easy Nash
http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/science_and_religion_in_islam_the_link/
In Shia Islam, intellect is a key component of faith. Intellect allows us to understand the creation of God: Aga Khan IV(2008)
The Qur'an itself repeatedly recommends Muslims to become better educated in order better to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
The Quran tells us that signs of Allah's Sovereignty are found in the contemplation of His Creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
This notion of the capacity of the human intellect to understand and to admire the creation of Allah will bring you happiness in your everyday lives: Aga Khan IV(2007)
Islam, eminently logical, placing the greatest emphasis on knowledge, purports to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2006)
The Holy Qu'ran's encouragement to study nature and the physical world around us gave the original impetus to scientific enquiry among Muslims: Aga Khan IV(1985)
The first and only thing created by God was the Intellect(Aql): Prophet Muhammad(circa 632CE)
And the more we discover, the more we know, the more we penetrate just below the surface of our normal lives – the more our imagination staggers. Just think for example what might lie below the surfaces of celestial bodies all across the far flung reaches of our universe. What we feel, even as we learn, is an ever-renewed sense of wonder, indeed, a powerful sense of awe – and of Divine inspiration"(Aga Khan IV, Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat, Ottawa, Canada, December 6th 2008)
For the full version of this quote see:
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2008/12/21/easy-nashs-blogpost-four-hundred-updated-with-quotes-from-the-opening-of-the-delegation-of-the-ismaili-imamat/
"Islam is fundamentally in its very nature a natural religion. Throughout the Quran God's signs (Ayats) are referred to as the natural phenomenon, the law and order of the universe, the exactitudes and consequences of the relations between natural phenomenon in cause and effect. Over and over, the stars, sun, moon, earthquakes, fruits of the earth and trees are mentioned as the signs of divine power, divine law and divine order"(Aga Khan III, April 4th 1952, Karachi, Pakistan)
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/09/400blogpost-four-hundred-knowledge.html
Science News
A new telescope will scan the entire sky and see (infra)red
By Stephen Ornes
Monday, January 4th, 2010
EnlargeA WISE scientist
Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer project scientist Peter Eisenhardt stands next to the fully assembled satellite.NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech.
Anyone on Earth can look up and see the moon or stars, but it takes a telescope to get a glimpse of planets and the other bright and strange things that share our universe. Astronomers are always finding new ways to observe far-off galaxies and study the mysteries of deep space.
That’s why, on December 14, NASA blasted a small but mighty telescope into space. The telescope is called WISE and is about as wide around as a trashcan. Don’t let its small size fool you: WISE has a powerful digital camera, and it will be taking pictures of some the wildest objects in the known universe, including asteroids, faint stars, blazing galaxies and giant clouds of dust where planets and stars are born.
“I’m very excited because we’re going to be seeing parts of the universe that we haven’t seen before,” Ned Wright told Science News. Wright is the scientist who directs the WISE project, which costs about $320 million.
Since arriving in space, the WISE telescope has been circling the Earth, held by gravity in a polar orbit (this means it crosses close to the north and south poles with each lap). Its camera is pointed outward, away from the Earth, and WISE will snap a picture of a different part of the sky every 11 minutes. After six months it will have taken pictures across the entire sky.
The pictures taken by WISE won’t be like everyday digital photographs, however. WISE stands for “Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer.” As its name suggests, the WISE camera takes pictures of features that that give off infrared radiation.
Radiation is energy that travels as a wave. Visible light, including the familiar spectrum of light that becomes visible in a rainbow, is an example of radiation. When an ordinary digital camera takes a picture of a tree, for example, it receives the waves of visible light that are reflected off the tree. When these waves enter the camera through the lens, they’re processed by the camera, which then puts the image together. Voilà! We see a tree.
EnlargeScanning the skiesAn artist illustrated WISE in space, along with a depiction of infrared radiation behind it.JPL/NASA
Waves of infrared radiation are longer than waves of visible light, so ordinary digital cameras don’t see them, and neither do the eyes of human beings. But we can feel some types of infrared radiation, in the form of heat.
That’s a key idea to why WISE will be able to see things other telescopes can’t. Not everything in the universe shows up in visible light. Asteroids, for example, are giant rocks that float through space — but they absorb most of the light that reaches them. They don’t reflect light, so they’re difficult to see. But they do give off infrared radiation, so an infrared telescope like WISE will be able to produce images of them. During its mission WISE will take pictures of hundreds of thousands of asteroids.
Brown dwarfs are another kind of deep-space object that will show up in WISE’s pictures. These objects are “failed” stars — which means they are not massive enough to jump start the same kind of reactions that power stars such as the sun. Instead, brown dwarfs simply shrink and cool down. They’re so dim that they’re almost impossible to see with visible light, but in the infrared spectrum they glow.
These are just a few of the wonders that will show up in a gallery of WISE’s greatest photos. During its mission, WISE will take pictures of hundreds of millions of stars, asteroids, galaxies and brown dwarfs. Not bad for a flying trashcan!
POWER WORDS:
infrared:
The range of invisible radiation that extends from the long wavelength, or red, end of the visible-light range to the microwave range. Invisible to the eye, it can be detected as a sensation of warmth on the skin.
radiation:
Emission and propagation of energy in the form of rays or waves.
asteroids:
Small celestial bodies that revolve around the sun, usually with orbits lying between Mars and Jupiter. They’re usually between a few and several hundred miles in diameter.
galaxy:
Any of numerous large-scale aggregates of stars, gas and dust that constitute the universe, containing an average of 100 billion (1011) solar masses and ranging in diameter from 1,500 to 300,000 light-years.
telescope:
An arrangement of lenses or mirrors or both that gathers visible light, permitting direct observation or photographic recording of distant objects
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/52553/title/FOR_KIDS_Small_but_WISE_
Easy Nash
http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/science_and_religion_in_islam_the_link/
In Shia Islam, intellect is a key component of faith. Intellect allows us to understand the creation of God: Aga Khan IV(2008)
The Qur'an itself repeatedly recommends Muslims to become better educated in order better to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
The Quran tells us that signs of Allah's Sovereignty are found in the contemplation of His Creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
This notion of the capacity of the human intellect to understand and to admire the creation of Allah will bring you happiness in your everyday lives: Aga Khan IV(2007)
Islam, eminently logical, placing the greatest emphasis on knowledge, purports to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2006)
The Holy Qu'ran's encouragement to study nature and the physical world around us gave the original impetus to scientific enquiry among Muslims: Aga Khan IV(1985)
The first and only thing created by God was the Intellect(Aql): Prophet Muhammad(circa 632CE)
550)Coalition Spectre Re-Emerging, The Real Pro Rogues, Pinko Lefty Commies: This Last Phrase Applies To Most Canadian Media And All The Opposition.
Reckless media coverage
John Martin
Special to the Times
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
For the most part, Canadians are well served by the country's media. But one has to wonder about the endless attention journalists are devoting to the prorogation of Parliament. A month ago, the word "prorogue" was not even part of the vocabulary of 90 per cent of Canadians. In the last few weeks, however, it has become the one and only issue for pundits, columnists and editorial writers.
Prime Ministers have always taken advantage of the opportunity to suspend the sitting of Parliament when it suits the party in power. Jean Chretien did it four times during his reign; including shutting down the House of Commons on the eve of the release of the Gomery Report which documented a legacy of corruption and kickbacks orchestrated by senior officials in the Liberal party. Naturally, this was barely mentioned in the media. For some reason it's only newsworthy when a Conservative Prime Minister exercises this option.
No politician has been more vicious and vile on the prorogue issue than Bob Rae; surely the next leader of the Liberals. But you'd have to look long and hard to find a single mention of the fact that Rae himself prorogued the legislature a total of four times during his disastrous and ruinous reign as Ontario premier. Historically, the Prime Minister of the day tends to prorogue Parliament once a year; slightly above the rate at which Stephen Harper has chosen to do so.
Most Canadians never have a clue if Parliament happens to be in session or not and could hardly care less about such scheduling. Arguably, the sitting of Parliament is the least productive task for MPs. It's largely theatrics and childish name calling, with little more at stake than getting a sound bite on the evening news. Attendance is generally dismal. Members are constantly running from one section of seats to the other so it looks like there is a crowd gathered around whoever happens to be talking on camera at any point. Rather than listening to whoever is asking or answering a question, MPs are more likely to be text messaging, checking their Blackberries, or involved in a personal conversation with a colleague.
So why the fuss? Why are the country's editorial writers virtually unanimous in their condemnation of Stephen Harper's use of prorogation when such a move has never been considered the least bit newsworthy when other Prime Ministers have used and abused it? Part of the answer must lie in the well established fact that the overwhelming majority of journalists would identify themselves as left, or very left of centre and have never seen the need to hold liberals to the same level of account they do conservatives. We could also attribute some of the insatiable attention of prorogue to an otherwise slow news cycle.
Regardless, despite the cynicism out there, Members of Parliament work their butts off around the clock for a lot less compensation than they would receive in the private sector. With the exception of the separatists, who have no business whatsoever being in Parliament, MPs of all political stripes are to be commended for their community and constituency efforts. The notion that the country's business is not being attended to unless Parliament is in session is absurd.
The nation's media have been shamefully reckless and irresponsible on this matter.
- John Martin is a criminologist at the University of the Fraser Valley and can be contacted at John.Martin@ufv.ca.
http://www2.canada.com/chilliwacktimes/news/story.html?id=0f2b1953-6c1e-4207-b074-f97f6767a1b9
Related:
Historian Michael Bliss: Prorogation's wasted on those who need it most
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/prorogations-wasted-on-those-who-need-it-most/article1448265/
A Work Of Art:
A Collection Of Posts Describing The Stephen Harper Conservative Government's Magnificent New Citizenship Guide; Quotes Of Minister Jason Kenney.
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/12/526a-collection-of-posts-describing.html
Quotes Of Canadian Minister Of Citizenship, Immigration And Multiculturalism Hon. Jason Kenney(2009):
1)When you become a citizen, you're not just getting a travel document into Hotel Canada.
2)I think it's scandalous that someone could become a Canadian not knowing what the poppy represents, or never having heard of Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele, Dieppe or Juno Beach.
3)We mention freedom of conscience and freedom of religion as important rights but we also make it very clear that our laws prohibit barbaric cultural practices, they will not be tolerated, whether or not someone claims that such practices are protected by reference to religion.
4)I think we need to reclaim a deeper sense of citizenship, a sense of shared obligations to one another, to our past, as well as to the future, a kind of civic nationalism where people understand the institutions, values and symbols that are rooted in our history.
John Martin
Special to the Times
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
For the most part, Canadians are well served by the country's media. But one has to wonder about the endless attention journalists are devoting to the prorogation of Parliament. A month ago, the word "prorogue" was not even part of the vocabulary of 90 per cent of Canadians. In the last few weeks, however, it has become the one and only issue for pundits, columnists and editorial writers.
Prime Ministers have always taken advantage of the opportunity to suspend the sitting of Parliament when it suits the party in power. Jean Chretien did it four times during his reign; including shutting down the House of Commons on the eve of the release of the Gomery Report which documented a legacy of corruption and kickbacks orchestrated by senior officials in the Liberal party. Naturally, this was barely mentioned in the media. For some reason it's only newsworthy when a Conservative Prime Minister exercises this option.
No politician has been more vicious and vile on the prorogue issue than Bob Rae; surely the next leader of the Liberals. But you'd have to look long and hard to find a single mention of the fact that Rae himself prorogued the legislature a total of four times during his disastrous and ruinous reign as Ontario premier. Historically, the Prime Minister of the day tends to prorogue Parliament once a year; slightly above the rate at which Stephen Harper has chosen to do so.
Most Canadians never have a clue if Parliament happens to be in session or not and could hardly care less about such scheduling. Arguably, the sitting of Parliament is the least productive task for MPs. It's largely theatrics and childish name calling, with little more at stake than getting a sound bite on the evening news. Attendance is generally dismal. Members are constantly running from one section of seats to the other so it looks like there is a crowd gathered around whoever happens to be talking on camera at any point. Rather than listening to whoever is asking or answering a question, MPs are more likely to be text messaging, checking their Blackberries, or involved in a personal conversation with a colleague.
So why the fuss? Why are the country's editorial writers virtually unanimous in their condemnation of Stephen Harper's use of prorogation when such a move has never been considered the least bit newsworthy when other Prime Ministers have used and abused it? Part of the answer must lie in the well established fact that the overwhelming majority of journalists would identify themselves as left, or very left of centre and have never seen the need to hold liberals to the same level of account they do conservatives. We could also attribute some of the insatiable attention of prorogue to an otherwise slow news cycle.
Regardless, despite the cynicism out there, Members of Parliament work their butts off around the clock for a lot less compensation than they would receive in the private sector. With the exception of the separatists, who have no business whatsoever being in Parliament, MPs of all political stripes are to be commended for their community and constituency efforts. The notion that the country's business is not being attended to unless Parliament is in session is absurd.
The nation's media have been shamefully reckless and irresponsible on this matter.
- John Martin is a criminologist at the University of the Fraser Valley and can be contacted at John.Martin@ufv.ca.
http://www2.canada.com/chilliwacktimes/news/story.html?id=0f2b1953-6c1e-4207-b074-f97f6767a1b9
Related:
Historian Michael Bliss: Prorogation's wasted on those who need it most
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/prorogations-wasted-on-those-who-need-it-most/article1448265/
A Work Of Art:
A Collection Of Posts Describing The Stephen Harper Conservative Government's Magnificent New Citizenship Guide; Quotes Of Minister Jason Kenney.
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/12/526a-collection-of-posts-describing.html
Quotes Of Canadian Minister Of Citizenship, Immigration And Multiculturalism Hon. Jason Kenney(2009):
1)When you become a citizen, you're not just getting a travel document into Hotel Canada.
2)I think it's scandalous that someone could become a Canadian not knowing what the poppy represents, or never having heard of Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele, Dieppe or Juno Beach.
3)We mention freedom of conscience and freedom of religion as important rights but we also make it very clear that our laws prohibit barbaric cultural practices, they will not be tolerated, whether or not someone claims that such practices are protected by reference to religion.
4)I think we need to reclaim a deeper sense of citizenship, a sense of shared obligations to one another, to our past, as well as to the future, a kind of civic nationalism where people understand the institutions, values and symbols that are rooted in our history.
Sunday, 24 January 2010
549)His Holiness Pope Benedict Says To Priests: Go Forth And Blog;Related Posts On Science, Philosophy And Christianity;Quote Of Blogpost Four Hundred
"Our religious leadership must be acutely aware of secular trends, including those generated by this age of science and technology. Equally, our academic or secular elite must be deeply aware of Muslim history, of the scale and depth of leadership exercised by the Islamic empire of the past in all fields"(Aga Khan IV, 6th February 1970, Hyderabad, Pakistan)
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/09/400blogpost-four-hundred-knowledge.html
The China Post
Pope says to priests: Go forth and blog
Sunday, January 24, 2010
VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI has a new commandment for priests struggling to get their message across: Go forth and blog.
The pope, whose own presence on the Web has heavily grown in recent years, urged priests on Saturday to use all multimedia tools at their disposal to preach the Gospel and engage in dialogue with people of other religions and cultures.
And just using e-mail or surfing the Web is often not enough: Priests should use cutting-edge technologies to express themselves and lead their communities, Benedict said in a message released by the Vatican.
"The spread of multimedia communications and its rich 'menu of options' might make us think it sufficient simply to be present on the Web," but priests are "challenged to proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources," he said.
The message, prepared for the World Day of Communications, suggests such possibilities as images, videos, animated features, blogs, and Web sites.
Benedict said young priests should become familiar with new media while still in seminary, though he stressed that the use of new technologies must reflect theological and spiritual principles.
"Priests present in the world of digital communications should be less notable for their media savvy than for their priestly heart, their closeness to Christ," he said.
The 82-year-old pope has often been wary of new media, warning about what he has called the tendency of entertainment media, in particular, to trivialize sex and promote violence, while lamenting that the endless stream of news can make people insensitive to tragedies. But Benedict has also praised new ways of communicating as a "gift to humanity" when used to foster friendship and understanding.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/international/europe/2010/01/24/242059/Pope-says.htm
Related Posts On Science, Philosophy And Christianity On This Blog(9 Posts):
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/search?q=pope
Easy Nash
http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/science_and_religion_in_islam_the_link/
In Shia Islam, intellect is a key component of faith. Intellect allows us to understand the creation of God: Aga Khan IV(2008)
The Qur'an itself repeatedly recommends Muslims to become better educated in order better to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
The Quran tells us that signs of Allah's Sovereignty are found in the contemplation of His Creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
This notion of the capacity of the human intellect to understand and to admire the creation of Allah will bring you happiness in your everyday lives: Aga Khan IV(2007)
Islam, eminently logical, placing the greatest emphasis on knowledge, purports to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2006)
The Holy Qu'ran's encouragement to study nature and the physical world around us gave the original impetus to scientific enquiry among Muslims: Aga Khan IV(1985)
The first and only thing created by God was the Intellect(Aql): Prophet Muhammad(circa 632CE)
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/09/400blogpost-four-hundred-knowledge.html
The China Post
Pope says to priests: Go forth and blog
Sunday, January 24, 2010
VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI has a new commandment for priests struggling to get their message across: Go forth and blog.
The pope, whose own presence on the Web has heavily grown in recent years, urged priests on Saturday to use all multimedia tools at their disposal to preach the Gospel and engage in dialogue with people of other religions and cultures.
And just using e-mail or surfing the Web is often not enough: Priests should use cutting-edge technologies to express themselves and lead their communities, Benedict said in a message released by the Vatican.
"The spread of multimedia communications and its rich 'menu of options' might make us think it sufficient simply to be present on the Web," but priests are "challenged to proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources," he said.
The message, prepared for the World Day of Communications, suggests such possibilities as images, videos, animated features, blogs, and Web sites.
Benedict said young priests should become familiar with new media while still in seminary, though he stressed that the use of new technologies must reflect theological and spiritual principles.
"Priests present in the world of digital communications should be less notable for their media savvy than for their priestly heart, their closeness to Christ," he said.
The 82-year-old pope has often been wary of new media, warning about what he has called the tendency of entertainment media, in particular, to trivialize sex and promote violence, while lamenting that the endless stream of news can make people insensitive to tragedies. But Benedict has also praised new ways of communicating as a "gift to humanity" when used to foster friendship and understanding.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/international/europe/2010/01/24/242059/Pope-says.htm
Related Posts On Science, Philosophy And Christianity On This Blog(9 Posts):
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/search?q=pope
Easy Nash
http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/science_and_religion_in_islam_the_link/
In Shia Islam, intellect is a key component of faith. Intellect allows us to understand the creation of God: Aga Khan IV(2008)
The Qur'an itself repeatedly recommends Muslims to become better educated in order better to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
The Quran tells us that signs of Allah's Sovereignty are found in the contemplation of His Creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
This notion of the capacity of the human intellect to understand and to admire the creation of Allah will bring you happiness in your everyday lives: Aga Khan IV(2007)
Islam, eminently logical, placing the greatest emphasis on knowledge, purports to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2006)
The Holy Qu'ran's encouragement to study nature and the physical world around us gave the original impetus to scientific enquiry among Muslims: Aga Khan IV(1985)
The first and only thing created by God was the Intellect(Aql): Prophet Muhammad(circa 632CE)
Saturday, 23 January 2010
548)No. 9, Ayats(Signs) In The Universe Series:Mathematical Abstractions And Tawhid; Multidimensional Pattern Solved First By Math Then Seen In Nature
"In this context, would it not also be relevant to consider how, above all, it has been the Qur'anic notion of the universe as an expression of Allah's will and creation that has inspired, in diverse Muslim communities, generations of artists, scientists and philosophers? Scientific pursuits, philosophic inquiry and artistic endeavour are all seen as the response of the faithful to the recurring call of the Qur'an to ponder the creation as a way to understand Allah's benevolent majesty. As Sura al-Baqara proclaims: 'Wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah'.The famous verse of 'light' in the Qur'an, the Ayat al-Nur, whose first line is rendered here in the mural behind me, inspires among Muslims a reflection on the sacred, the transcendent. It hints at a cosmos full of signs and symbols that evoke the perfection of Allah's creation and mercy"(Aga Khan IV,Speech, Institute of Ismaili Studies, October 2003, London, U.K.)
"At the basis of the Muslim religion was the fundamental concept of nature’s unity and the absolute oneness of God.
The learning of mathematics was therefore linked to the Muslim religion and developing an understanding of the world, which was helped by knowledge of the Qur’an and vice-versa. The objective was to make students capable of formulating and understanding abstractions and master symbols. Moving from concrete to the abstract, from experience to formulation of ideas and images, and from reality to symbolisation; this preparation was considered essential for improving the understanding of the Universe and its Creator."(Professor Afzal Ahmed, May 2001, Oslo, Norway)
The learning of mathematics was therefore linked to the Muslim religion and developing an understanding of the world, which was helped by knowledge of the Qur’an and vice-versa. The objective was to make students capable of formulating and understanding abstractions and master symbols. Moving from concrete to the abstract, from experience to formulation of ideas and images, and from reality to symbolisation; this preparation was considered essential for improving the understanding of the Universe and its Creator."(Professor Afzal Ahmed, May 2001, Oslo, Norway)
SYMMETRY FOUND HIDDEN IN SUPERCOLD ATOMS
A beautiful math emerges from the acrobatic flips of supercold atoms in a magnetic field, researchers report in the Jan. 8 Science.
Scientists detected an elusive, complex symmetry known as the E8 Lie group in resonating particles, a symmetry long analyzed on paper but never seen in a physical system. The work suggests that this numerical grace may be hidden in other physical systems and may provide a mathematical link between quantum processes in condensed matter and the physics of the cosmos.
“Finding a mathematically exotic symmetry in a regular material we can find on Earth — well, it is mathematically beautiful and very interesting,” comments Robert Konik of Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, N.Y. Symmetries helped theoretical physicists to predict the existence of certain particles before they were detected and to explain phenomena such as superconductivity. E8in particular may help describe the unseen dimensions in string theory. But the emergent E8 symmetry in this system may be nothing more than a mathematical curiosity, researchers say.
The team of scientists from England and Berlin began with chains of the magnetic material cobalt niobate, a material whose electrons have a preferred direction of spin — either up or down. The researchers chilled the cobalt niobate to a cool 40 millikelvins (-273.1˚ Celsius) and then applied a magnetic field to the material. Without this external magnetic field, the spins of the electrons would all align in the same direction, like in an ordinary magnet. But an external magnetic field applied from the right direction introduces a tension, and at some point the electrons prefer to align with that magnetic field instead of with their neighbors. The electron spins are associated with particle-like states, known as quasiparticles, in the system.
That’s when the magic happens. The system approaches what’s known as the quantum critical point, and blocks of quasiparticles begin changing their orientation, which is detectable with a neutron beam, says study coauthor Alan Tennant of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers in Berlin.
Bound by the externally applied magnetic field and the slight magnetic field that exists between chains, the quasiparticles start resonating at mathematically intriguing frequencies. Two of the frequencies occur in the ratio of the golden mean, the influential and aesthetically pleasing ratio of 1.618 often used in art and architecture, says Tennant. The ratios of five frequencies correspond to the complex E8 Lie group symmetry, which represents a 57-dimensional solid. Defining a location on this kind of shape requires 57 coordinates, making it much more elaborate than the three coordinates needed to define a point in ordinary space.
“It is quite remarkable to see a material in the lab behaving with such perfection,” says Tennant. Perhaps this veiled symmetry will also emerge in other physical systems and shed light on bigger questions, he says.
Others aren’t so sure. “To a certain degree, the story of modern physics is a story of symmetry,” says Konik. “But I wouldn’t say this is going to tell us more about the fundamental nature of the universe.”
Theorist Bogdan Dobrescu of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Ill., also expressed caution. Mathematics and theoretical physics “often share the same language,” he says. “But I think that is where the story stops.”
http://www.sciencenews.org/
Related posts:
The learning of mathematics was therefore linked to the Muslim religion and developing an understanding of the world...."; Quotes of Aga Khan IV
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/
Mapping E8(248-dimensional mathematical object); Islam, Mathematics, Reasoning, Symmetry, Dimensions, Symbolism: an Update; Quotes of Aga Khan IV
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/
A Collection of Posts on Symmetry in Nature, as a Product of the Human Mind, Geometry and Harmonious Mathematical Reasoning; Quotes of Aga Khan IV
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/
Easy Nash
In Shia Islam, intellect is a key component of faith. Intellect allows us to understand the creation of God: Aga Khan IV(2008)
The Qur'an itself repeatedly recommends Muslims to become better educated in order better to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
The Quran tells us that signs of Allah's Sovereignty are found in the contemplation of His Creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
This notion of the capacity of the human intellect to understand and to admire the creation of Allah will bring you happiness in your everyday lives: Aga Khan IV(2007)
Islam, eminently logical, placing the greatest emphasis on knowledge, purports to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2006)
The Holy Qu'ran's encouragement to study nature and the physical world around us gave the original impetus to scientific enquiry among Muslims: Aga Khan IV(1985)
The first and only thing created by God was the Intellect(Aql): Prophet Muhammad(circa 632CE)
The Qur'an and the Seven Heavens: Introduction to an upcoming Article
This is going to be a less detailed post with less references; the purpose being to introduce a very lengthy upcoming work.
I am currently preparing a lengthy article on the seven heavens in the Qur’an and the concept of the Greeks and Talmudic Jews on the seven heavens.
Originally, if you consider the Greeks and also the elaboration of some of the early church fathers and the common concepts of their time, the seven heavens were considered as seven tracts, the the running structure of seven planets and their orbits.
These seven planets consisted of the moon as the object nearest the earth, second the sun and further away the orbits of five other planets, which are today recognised as existing in our solar system.
I will post all the early quotes and reference of these when I have brought all the material together into one article.
But notice how the Qur’an is consisted with the early views; we read in Sura 71: 15:
"See ye not How Allah has created The seven heavens One above another, "And made the moon A light in their midst, and made the sun As a (Glorious) Lamp?" [Al-Qur?aan 71:15-16]
This passage does not refer to a miraculous prediction of anything, since the author of the Qur’an states that we see or observe that Allah has created seven heavens one above the other.
Hence this is not a divine miraculous prediction of modern science but an human observation; here the author of the Qur’an even reveals the ability of the early human community to engage in science and to correctly perceive and understand how nature and the universe is structured (even though in this case the scientific information which the early humans saw and which Allah confirms is wrong; but I will get back to that in another article).
Now ask yourself, how did the early human societies observe this structure of seven heavens?
The answer is: they had correctly discovered five of the solar-system planets in their orbits.
The fallacy of their theory was to view the sun and the moon as similar objects, all orbiting in parallel lines around the earth; yet this nevertheless postulated that seven interstellar objects were orbiting in seven tracts, which is consistent with the view of the Qur’anic author.
These orbits were by numerous early writers referred to as seven tracts and seven heavens (I shall give the references from the Qur’an and the pre-Islamic writers in an upcoming post).
This why the Qur’an says that the people of Muhammad’s time had even seen that Allah created seven heavens, each above the other; these seven heavens marked the orbit of the seven planets:
"See ye not How Allah has created The seven heavens One above another," (Sura 71: 15)
This is already a significant error as our solar-system consists of eight planets and five dwarf planets, which already provides evidence that the Qur’an is not based upon divine knowledge but human knowledge; the knowledge that already flourished in Muhammad’s time.
Furthermore, we need to presume that since the Qur’an refers to seven planets it also follows the discoveries and ideas of its time, which viewed the sun and moon as included objects and excluded the earth. This is obvious from the Qur’an, which views the earth to have separated from the heavens and the interstellar matter and objects to derive on a later stage of the cosmological development (Sura 21: 10 and Sura 41: 9-12).
In fact this is also consistent with the views flourishing in Muhammad’s time (but I shall get back to his in a future post).
That Sura 71: 15 is also elaborating on the centrality of the sun and moon as being in the midst of the seven orbits, which is also confirming that the Qur’an utilizes the science of antiquity.
This was also the view of authors who predated Islam, and consists with the idea that the sun and the moon orbited closest to the earth in a orbit circle around the earth, which most ancient thinkers postulated; hence they were central and in the middle of this orbit and lighted up its entire structure.
The passage might even suggest that the sun and the moon light up all seven tracts and the other planets; this is what the ancient thinkers believed.
Except for the moon being an object attached to the earth, the early philosophers got this quite right.
However, the Qur’an might also be in agreement with e.g. Plato that the sun lighted up not only the earth and planets but also the entire universe; take a look at sura 25: 61:
"Blessed is He Who made Constellations in the skies, And placed therein a Lamp And a Moon giving light."
Now, is this supposed to be modern science or prediction of modern science?Brianman is certainly correct that the Qur’an ‘confirms’; but to say that it confirms the truth or modern science is an overstatement!
The Qur’an does certainly not confirm anything, it may certainly quote the early philosophers and their postulates, of which some ideas were fairly correct and others plainly wrong; just a pity that the Qur’an fails to differentiate between these.
The whole Qur’anic reference to seven heavens and that these were observed by the people of the time is nevertheless a fallacy far too serious to overlook and we will in future assess this matter in details.
I am currently preparing a lengthy article on the seven heavens in the Qur’an and the concept of the Greeks and Talmudic Jews on the seven heavens.
Originally, if you consider the Greeks and also the elaboration of some of the early church fathers and the common concepts of their time, the seven heavens were considered as seven tracts, the the running structure of seven planets and their orbits.
These seven planets consisted of the moon as the object nearest the earth, second the sun and further away the orbits of five other planets, which are today recognised as existing in our solar system.
I will post all the early quotes and reference of these when I have brought all the material together into one article.
But notice how the Qur’an is consisted with the early views; we read in Sura 71: 15:
"See ye not How Allah has created The seven heavens One above another, "And made the moon A light in their midst, and made the sun As a (Glorious) Lamp?" [Al-Qur?aan 71:15-16]
This passage does not refer to a miraculous prediction of anything, since the author of the Qur’an states that we see or observe that Allah has created seven heavens one above the other.
Hence this is not a divine miraculous prediction of modern science but an human observation; here the author of the Qur’an even reveals the ability of the early human community to engage in science and to correctly perceive and understand how nature and the universe is structured (even though in this case the scientific information which the early humans saw and which Allah confirms is wrong; but I will get back to that in another article).
Now ask yourself, how did the early human societies observe this structure of seven heavens?
The answer is: they had correctly discovered five of the solar-system planets in their orbits.
The fallacy of their theory was to view the sun and the moon as similar objects, all orbiting in parallel lines around the earth; yet this nevertheless postulated that seven interstellar objects were orbiting in seven tracts, which is consistent with the view of the Qur’anic author.
These orbits were by numerous early writers referred to as seven tracts and seven heavens (I shall give the references from the Qur’an and the pre-Islamic writers in an upcoming post).
This why the Qur’an says that the people of Muhammad’s time had even seen that Allah created seven heavens, each above the other; these seven heavens marked the orbit of the seven planets:
"See ye not How Allah has created The seven heavens One above another," (Sura 71: 15)
This is already a significant error as our solar-system consists of eight planets and five dwarf planets, which already provides evidence that the Qur’an is not based upon divine knowledge but human knowledge; the knowledge that already flourished in Muhammad’s time.
Furthermore, we need to presume that since the Qur’an refers to seven planets it also follows the discoveries and ideas of its time, which viewed the sun and moon as included objects and excluded the earth. This is obvious from the Qur’an, which views the earth to have separated from the heavens and the interstellar matter and objects to derive on a later stage of the cosmological development (Sura 21: 10 and Sura 41: 9-12).
In fact this is also consistent with the views flourishing in Muhammad’s time (but I shall get back to his in a future post).
That Sura 71: 15 is also elaborating on the centrality of the sun and moon as being in the midst of the seven orbits, which is also confirming that the Qur’an utilizes the science of antiquity.
This was also the view of authors who predated Islam, and consists with the idea that the sun and the moon orbited closest to the earth in a orbit circle around the earth, which most ancient thinkers postulated; hence they were central and in the middle of this orbit and lighted up its entire structure.
The passage might even suggest that the sun and the moon light up all seven tracts and the other planets; this is what the ancient thinkers believed.
Except for the moon being an object attached to the earth, the early philosophers got this quite right.
However, the Qur’an might also be in agreement with e.g. Plato that the sun lighted up not only the earth and planets but also the entire universe; take a look at sura 25: 61:
"Blessed is He Who made Constellations in the skies, And placed therein a Lamp And a Moon giving light."
Now, is this supposed to be modern science or prediction of modern science?Brianman is certainly correct that the Qur’an ‘confirms’; but to say that it confirms the truth or modern science is an overstatement!
The Qur’an does certainly not confirm anything, it may certainly quote the early philosophers and their postulates, of which some ideas were fairly correct and others plainly wrong; just a pity that the Qur’an fails to differentiate between these.
The whole Qur’anic reference to seven heavens and that these were observed by the people of the time is nevertheless a fallacy far too serious to overlook and we will in future assess this matter in details.
Thursday, 21 January 2010
547)No. 8, Ayats(Signs) In The Universe Series: Insects Selfprotect From Freezing By Making Their Own Antifreeze; Quotes From Blogpost Four Hundred.
REMARKABLE CREATURES
When Built-In Antifreeze Beats a Winter Coat
By SEAN B. CARROLL
In the bleak midwinter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter
Long ago.
— Christina Rossetti (1872)
As the mercury plunges to its annual lows, those of us at higher latitudes retreat to cozy shelters. We might sympathize with the birds and the squirrels that endure the subfreezing cold outside and fill some feeders, but we don’t give any thought to smaller, less appealing creatures — the insects and spiders, for instance, that inhabited the backyard or woods in the summer.
They will re-emerge in the spring, so somehow they must make it through the bitter cold. How do these animals survive the deep freeze without the benefit of fur or feathers?
The threat to life at low temperatures is not really cold, but ice. With cells and bodies composed mostly of water, ice is potentially lethal because its formation disrupts the balance between the fluids outside and inside of cells, which leads to their shrinkage and irreversible damage to tissues.
Insects have therefore evolved all sorts of ways to avoid freezing. One strategy is to escape winter altogether. Butterflies like the monarch migrate south. A great solution, but this is a relatively rare capability. Most insects remain in their local habitat and must find some other way to avoid freezing. They evade the ice by crawling into holes or burrows below the snow cover and frost line, or, as some insect larvae do, by overwintering on the bottoms of lakes and ponds that do not completely freeze.
But many insects, and other animals, defend themselves against direct exposure to subfreezing temperatures through biochemical ingenuity, by producing antifreeze. In a previous column, I explained how different animal species defend themselves against predators with the same molecule acquired from their environment. By contrast, the story of defense against the cold is one of widespread and diverse innovations.
The first animal antifreezes were identified several decades ago in the blood plasma of Antarctic fish by Arthur DeVries, now at the University of Illinois, and his colleagues. The ocean around Antarctica is very cold, about 29 degrees Fahrenheit. It is salty enough to stay liquid several degrees below the freezing temperature of fresh water. The abundant ice particles floating in these waters are a hazard to fish because, if ingested, they can initiate ice formation in the gut and then — bang, you have frozen fish sticks. Unless something prevents the ice crystals from growing.
That is what the fish antifreeze proteins do. The tissues and bloodstream of about 120 species of fish belonging to the Notothenioidei family are full of antifreeze. These proteins have an unusual repeating structure that allows them to bind to ice crystals and to lower the minimum temperature at which the crystals can grow to about 28 degrees. That is just a bit below the minimum temperature of the Southern Ocean and about two full degrees lower than the freezing point of fish plasma that does not have antifreeze. This small margin of protection has had profound consequences. Antifreeze-bearing fish now dominate Antarctic waters.
The ability to survive and thrive in frigid water is impressive, but insects must survive much colder temperatures on land.
Some, like the snow flea, are active even in winter and can be found hopping about on snow banks when the temperature is as low as 20 degrees. These bugs are not reallyfleas, but springtails, a primitive wingless insect that can leap long distances using its tail. Laurie Graham and Peter Davies at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario,isolated antifreeze proteins from snow fleas and discovered that they also had a simple repeating structure that bound to ice and prevented crystal growth.
The snow flea antifreeze proteins have an entirely different composition from those of antifreezes that have been isolated from other insects, like the fire colored beetle, which has antifreeze proteins that are in turn different from those of the spruce budworm caterpillar. And all of these insect antifreezes are distinct from the kind that keeps Antarctic fish alive. Each animal’s antifreeze is a separate evolutionary invention.
But insect innovation goes beyond antifreeze. Biologists have discovered another strategy for coping with extreme cold: some bugs just tolerate freezing.
In the most northern climates, like the interior of Alaska, midwinter temperatures fall as low as minus 60 degrees Fahrenheit, and snow cover and subzero temperatures can last until May. At these extreme temperatures, most insects are bugsicles. The Alaskan Upis beetle, for example, freezes at around minus 19 degrees. But, remarkably, it can survive exposure to temperatures as low as about minus 100 degrees.
To tolerate freezing, it is crucial that insects minimize the damage that freezing (and thawing) would normally cause.
Insects have evolved a variety of cryoprotective substances. As winter approaches, many freeze-tolerant insects produce high concentrations of glycerol and other kinds of alcohol molecules. These substances don’t prevent freezing, but they slow ice formation and allow the fluids surrounding cells to freeze in a more controlled manner while the contents of the cells remain unfrozen.
For maximum protection, some Arctic insects use a combination of such cryoprotectants and antifreezes to control ice formation, to protect cells and to prevent refreezing as they thaw. Indeed, a new kind of antifreezewas recently discovered in the Upis beetle by a team of researchers from the University of Notre Dame and the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. Unlike the protein antifreezes of other beetles, snow fleas and moths, the Upis antifreeze is a complex sugar called xylomannan that is as effective at suppressing ice growth as the most active insect protein antifreezes.
The necessity of avoiding freezing has truly been the mother of a great number of evolutionary inventions. This new finding raises the likelihood that there are more chemical tricks to discover about how insects cope with extreme cold.
This is not merely a matter of esoteric Arctic entomology.
A long-standing challenge in human organ preservation has been precisely the problem that these insects have solved — how tissues can be frozen for a long time and then thawed out successfully. Research teams are now exploring how to apply insights from the animal world to the operating room.
Sean B. Carroll, a molecular biologist and geneticist, is the author of “Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origin of Species.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/
"Education has been important to my family for a long time. My forefathers founded al-Azhar University in Cairo some 1000 years ago, at the time of the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt. Discovery of knowledge was seen by those founders as an embodiment of religious faith, and faith as reinforced by knowledge of workings of the Creator's physical world. The form of universities has changed over those 1000 years, but that reciprocity between faith and knowledge remains a source of strength"(Aga Khan IV, 27th May1994, Cambridge, Massachusets, U.S.A.)
"......The Quran tells us that signs of Allah’s Sovereignty are found in the contemplation of His Creation - in the heavens and the earth, the night and the day, the clouds and the seas, the winds and the waters...."(Aga Khan IV, Kampala, Uganda, August 22 2007)
"In sum the process of creation can be said to take place at several levels. Ibda represents the initial level - one transcends history, the other creates it. The spiritual and material realms are not dichotomous, since in the Ismaili formulation, matter and spirit are united under a higher genus and each realm possesses its own hierarchy. Though they require linguistic and rational categories for definition, they represent elements of a whole, and a true understanding of God must also take account of His creation. Such a synthesis is crucial to how the human intellect eventually relates to creation and how it ultimately becomes the instrument for penetrating through history the mystery of the unknowable God implied in the formulation of tawhid."(Azim Nanji, Director, Institute of Ismaili Studies, London, U.K., 1998)
"The Holy Qu'ran's encouragement to study nature and the physical world around us gave the original impetus to scientific enquiry among Muslims(Aga Khan IV, Aga Khan University Inauguration Speech, Karachi, Pakistan, November 11th 1985)
"O brother! You asked: What is the [meaning of] `alam [world] and what is that entity to which this name applies? How should we describe the world in its entirety? And how many worlds are there? Explain so that we may recognize. Know, O brother, that the name `alam is derived from [the word] `ilm(knowledge), because the traces of knowledge are evident in [all] parts of the physical world. Thus, we say that the very constitution (nihad) of the world is based on a profound wisdom"(Nasir Khusraw, 11th century Fatimid Ismaili cosmologist-philosopher-poet, from his book "Knowledge and Liberation")
“The physician considers [the bones] so that he may know a way of healing by setting them, but those with insight consider them so that through them they may draw conclusions about the majesty of Him who created and shaped [the bones]. What a difference between the two who consider!”(Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali, Muslim Theologian-Philosopher-Mystic, d1111CE)
Related:
Ayats(Signs) In The Universe Series:A Collection of Seven+ Posts;Quotes of Noble Quran, Prophet Muhammad, Aga Khans, Nasir Khusraw + Al Sijistani
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/03/460ayatssigns-in-universe-seriesa.html
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/
Easy Nash
In Shia Islam, intellect is a key component of faith. Intellect allows us to understand the creation of God: Aga Khan IV(2008)
The Qur'an itself repeatedly recommends Muslims to become better educated in order better to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
The Quran tells us that signs of Allah's Sovereignty are found in the contemplation of His Creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
This notion of the capacity of the human intellect to understand and to admire the creation of Allah will bring you happiness in your everyday lives: Aga Khan IV(2007)
Islam, eminently logical, placing the greatest emphasis on knowledge, purports to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2006)
The Holy Qu'ran's encouragement to study nature and the physical world around us gave the original impetus to scientific enquiry among Muslims: Aga Khan IV(1985)
The first and only thing created by God was the Intellect(Aql): Prophet Muhammad(circa 632CE)
Tuesday, 19 January 2010
Debunking Qur'anic Science: Does the Qur'an Predict that the Moon Reflects Sun Light? Is this a Miracolous Prediction?
A whole range of Muslim apologists have claimed that the Qur’an is miraculous in its prediction of the moon reflecting sunlight; about this matter Zakir Naik writes:
THE LIGHT OF THE MOON IS REFLECTED LIGHT
It was believed by earlier civilizations that the moon emanates its own light. Science now tells us that the light of the moon is reflected light. However this fact was mentioned in the Qur?aan 1,400 years ago in the following verse:
"Blessed is He Who made Constellations in the skies, And placed therein a Lamp And a Moon giving light." [Al-Qur?aan 25:61]
Consider the following verses related to the nature of light from the sun and the moon: "It is He who made the sun To be a shining glory And the moon to be a light (Of beauty)." [Al-Qur?aan 10:5]
"See ye not How Allah has created The seven heavens One above another, "And made the moon A light in their midst, and made the sun As a (Glorious) Lamp?" [Al-Qur?aan 71:15-16]
http://www.scribd.com/doc/18926563/Quran-and-Modern-Science-EnglishBy-Dr-Zakir-Naik
See also a youtube video debunking Zakir Naik’s speculation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIw_obd7a-k
Osama Abdallah has also made similar claims:
So why would Ibn Kathir come up with this statement, many centuries before man discovered that the earth was spherical and that the moon does indeed reflect the sun's light?
http://www.answering-christianity.com/ahmed_eldin/light_of_moon.htm
Notice that Osama Abdallah believes that Ibn Kathir came up with statements about this scientific accuracy only because the Qur’an makes such statements.
Firstly, I am not so sure whether Kathir got this idea from the Qur’an, I don’t think the passage from Kathir clarifies that.
See also two articles from Answering-Islam that refute the claim that the Qur’an even utters such claims:
http://www.answering-islam.org/Quran/Science/moonlight_wc.html
http://www.answering-islam.org/Responses/Shabir-Ally/science10.htm
http://www.answering-islam.org/Responses/Osama/zaatari_moonlight.htm
However, let’s assume that the Qur’an does describe the moon reflecting sun-light; are Zakir Naik and Osama Abdallah then correct in their claims that these are miraculous statements, that these ideas were unknown prior to the revelation of the Qur’an?
The answer is no! This is yet again and example of the typical lies spread by modern Islamic apologists.
In fact the concept that the moon reflected sun-light was a very common concept even a thousand years prior to Islam.
Then why do individuals such as Zakir Naik and Osama Abdallah spread such lies to the masses?
There are three possibilities:
1) Either they knowingly spread such misconception and hence willingly deceive their readers and listeners.
2) Or they have simply not done their homework.
3) Or they are simply taken over by their emotionalism for Islam and are blinded from considering the related facts.
For example:
Anaxagoras (4-5 Century BC) indicated that within the ancient scientific of his time it was argued whether the moon shines by reflected light or emits its own light. Even in this era, even without divine revelation human thinkers got a number of ideas scientifically correct, such as Aristarchus (310-230 BC) whose ideas predicted the modern scientific discovery that the earth with the other planets orbits the sun and that the earth was in a constant rotation, and completed a full rotation once in every twenty-four hours (Russel, History of Western Philosophy, p.222-223).
Hence I wonder why Zakir Naik and Osama Abdallah not give up their faith in Islam and build a religion around Aristarchus, or include him as one of the greatest prophets ever; at least his ideas predict modern science and must therefore indicate divine revelation.
However, let’s look at how common this concept was prior to Muhammad and the rise of Islam:
Thales (585 BC):
The moon is lighted from the sun. 29; 360. Thales et al. agree with the mathematicians that the monthly phases of the moon show that it travels along with the sun and is lighted by it, and eclipses show that it comes into the shadow of the earth, the earth coming between the two heavenly bodies and blocking the light of the moon (Doxographi on Thales, Aet. ii. 1 ; Dox. 327) (6).
Anaxagoras (500-428 BC) considered the moon be to a false-shining star (255).
The Doxographist elaborate further on this:
The moon is below the sun and nearer us. The sun is larger than the Peloponnesos. The moon does not have its own light, but light from the sun (The Doxographists on Anaxagoras, Hipp. Phil. 8 ; Dox. 561) (260-1).
Empedocles (490-430):
As sunlight striking the broad circle of the moon. 154. A borrowed light, circular in form, it revolves about the earth, as if following the track of a chariot (Empedocles, translations of the fragments I) (177).
Ptolemy (90-168):
The Moon principally generates moisture; her proximity to the earth renders her highly capable of exciting damp vapours, and of thus operating sensibly upon animal bodies by relaxation and putrefaction. She has, however, also a moderate share in the production of heat, in consequence of the illumination she receives from the Sun (Ptolemy?s Tetrabiblos: Book the First: Chapter IV, The Influence of the Planetary Orbs) (13).
Lucretius (100-50 BC):
How then, if the sun is so small, can it give of such a flood of light (p.189)?
The moon, too, whether it sheds a borrowed light upon the landscape in its progress or emits a native radiance from its own body. What then of the moon? It may be that it shines only when the sun’s rays fall upon it. Then day by day, as it moves away from the sun’s orb, it turns more its illuminated surface towards our view till in its rising it gazes down face to face up the setting of the sun and beams with lustre at the full. Thereafter, it is bound to hide its light bit by bit behind it as it glides around heaven towards the solar fire from the opposite point of the zodiac (192-193) (Lucretius, The Nature of the Universe).
The Jewish Talmud gets this right:
Abraham once worshipped the moon and said: The light of the moon must be derived from the light of the sun (A Cohen, Everyman?s Talmud, London: J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd/NewYork: E.P. Dutton & Co. Inc, 1949: 2).
Hence once again we have refuted Zakir Naik, Osama Abdallah and a number of modern Muslim apologists who claim that the moon reflecting sun-light was a concept unknown prior to the era of Muhammad and the Qur’an, that is of course only if the Qur’an truly makes this prediction in the first place; but that is stuff for another article.
I urge therefore Zakir Naik, Osama Abdallah, Harun Yahay and others to correct this error.
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