An Important Excerpt from the Works of HARUN YAHYA
Say: "In whose hand is the dominion over everything, He who gives protection and from whom no protection can be given, if you have any knowledge?"
They will say: "Allah's." Say: "So how have you been bewitched?"
They will say: "Allah's." Say: "So how have you been bewitched?"
The fact is that We have given them the truth and they are liars. (Surat al-Muminun: 84-90)
Thinking Removes the Spell on People
In the above verse, Allah asks people, "So how have you been bewitched?" The word "bewitched" in the verse implies a state of mental numbness that takes control of people as a whole. An unthinking person's mind is benumbed, his sight becomes fuzzy, he acts as if he does not see the facts before his eyes, and his faculty of judgement weakens. He becomes incapable of grasping even a plain truth. He cannot be fully conscious of extraordinary events taking place right beside him. He does not notice the intricate details of events. The reason for people's leading heedless lives for thousands of years and their staying away from thought as a whole, as if it is merely a cultural heritage, is actually this mental numbness.
We can explain one of the outcomes of this collective spell with an example:
Beneath the earth's surface lies a "boiling stratum" called magma. The crust of the earth is very thin, which implies that this blaze is very close to us, almost under our feet. In order to have a better understanding of how thin the earth's crust is we can make a comparison: the thickness of the earth's crust in proportion to the whole earth can be compared to the thickness of apple peel in proportion to the whole apple.
Everyone knows that there is a stratum boiling at very high temperatures right beneath the earth's surface, but does not think much about it. This is because their parents, brothers, relatives, friends, neighbours, the journalists of the newspapers they read, TV programme producers and their university professors do not think about it either.
Let us try to make you think over this a little. Let us assume that a person, having lost his memory, tries to learn about his surroundings by asking questions of everyone around him. This person would first ask where he is. What would he think if he was told that beneath the ground he stands on lies a globe of boiling fire and that these flames could gush out of the earth's surface in the event of a strong earthquake or a volcanic eruption? Let us go further and suppose that this person was told that this world is simply a small planet and it floats in an infinite dark void called space and that space contains even greater dangers than the substratum of the earth. For example, meteors weighing tons freely move around in it. There is no reason why they should not alter their courses, perhaps because of some gravitational influence from another planet, and collide with the earth.
Surely, that person would not be able to forget, even for a moment, the risky situation he is in. He would investigate how people lead their lives in such an environment to which they hang on by the skin of their teeth. He would realise that a flawless system has been brought into being. The inside of the planet on which he lives contains great danger, yet very delicate balances prevent this danger from harming people, except in unusual circumstances. The person who realises this understands that the earth and all creatures on it live and continue their existence in safety only by the will of Allah, owing to the flawless balance He has created.
This example is only one of millions, even billions of examples upon which people need to ponder. Giving another example will be useful to help us understand how heedlessness affects people's faculty of thought and restrains their intellectual capacity.
People know that the life of this world passes away and ends very rapidly, yet still, they behave as if they will never leave this world. They act as if there is no death in the world. This, indeed, is a kind of "spell" carried over from generation to generation. This has such a strong effect that when someone talks about death, people immediately close the subject for fear of breaking the spell on them and facing the realities. People who have spent their entire lives in order to buy fine houses, summer residences and cars, and to send their children to good colleges, do not want to think that one day they will die and that they will not be able to take their cars, their houses, or children with them. Consequently, rather than beginning to do something for the real life after death, they choose not to think.
However, everyone, sooner or later, will definitely die and after one dies, whether one believes it or not, the eternal life will begin for everyone. Whether this eternal life will be spent in paradise or in hell depends on what one has done in the short life of this world. While such is the plain truth, the only reason why people behave as if death does not exist is this spell that has covered them up because they do not think.
Those who cannot, by thinking, save themselves from this spell and therefore from a heedless state, will understand the facts by seeing them with their eyes after they die. Allah communicates this fact in the Qur'an:
You were heedless of this, so We have stripped you of your covering and today your sight is sharp. (Surah Qaf: 22)
As Allah says in the verse, the sight which here is blurred because of not thinking, will be "sharp" at the time when the person gives account in the hereafter after death.
It should be pointed out that people deliberately impose on themselves such a spell. They suppose that by doing so they will live restful and relaxed lives. However, it is very easy for anyone to make a decision and shake off this mental numbness, and begin to live with a clear consciousness. Allah has presented the solution to people; people who reflect can dispel this enchantment while they are in the world. They thus come to understand that all events have a purpose and an inner meaning, and are able to see wisdom in the events that Allah creates at every instant.
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From the Book; DEEP THINKING
As we know, madrasahs are one of Islamic societies' oldest education-teaching institutions. Before madrasahs, education and teaching activities in the Islamic world were carried out in places of such varying names and characters as masjids, mosques, scholars' homes, palaces and bookshops. Since mosques and masjids in particular were used for instruction in the essentials of religion, they were also employed for education and teaching purposes.
According to Islamic history, following the first revelation to our Prophet (saas), the first Muslims who converted to Islam secretly assembled in the house of al-Arqam, one of the companions of the Prophet, where they were instructed and taught by our Prophet (saas). It is said that this is how the school and madrasah were born in Islam. The Dar-al-Arqam (House of Arqam), known as the first madrasah in Islam, is still preserved in memory of those days. With the founding of the Islamic State in Medina by our Prophet (saas) following the Hegira, the Masjid Nabawi constructed there became a centre of Islamic education and teaching. Muslims would gather there, study the Qur'an and Islam and improve themselves. The gradual increase in need caused our Prophet (saas) to found other education centres in different parts of the city. Madrasah education continued in the same way during the period of the four caliphs.
Not only religious knowledge was taught in the madrasahs; sciences of the time, such as astronomy, mathematics, geometry and medicine were also given an important place. Later still, courses in Western languages, Persian, history, geography, astronomy, mechanics, trigonometry, chemistry, painting, physical training, hygiene, social sciences, philosophy, economics and finance were added to the curriculum. These institutions continued to be known as "medreses" during the time of the Turks.
The Nizamiyah madrasahs opened by Sultan Alparslan's vizier Nizam al-Mulk during the Great Seljuk Empire and named after him are very well known. Following this new line adopted by the Seljuk Empire, there was a rush to open madrasahs just about everywhere in the Islamic world.
In the 13th and 14th centuries, centres such as Cairo, Damascus, Basra and Bukhara, and particularly the Transoxania region, became the most important powers in the development of Ottoman institutions of learning under the influence of the madrasahs they possessed. Their instruction was very definitely one of the major factors in the success of the Ottoman Empire, one of the greatest empires in the world and which survived for six centuries.
A Muslim needs to know the Qur'an in order to correctly understand and interpret the world, human beings, natural events and everything in the universe. Knowing for what purpose Allah created the universe, human beings and all other living things is of the greatest importance from the point of view of appreciating Him properly. Engaging in activities based solely on artificial knowledge, without a knowledge of the Qur'an and without considering the hidden aspects of events, cannot lead to productive results. In the Qur'an, Allah summons humanity to investigate and reflect upon the heavens, the earth, mountains, stars, plants, seeds, animals, the alternation of the night and the day, the creation of man, the rain and many other created things. Examining these, man comes to recognize the artistry of Allah's creation in the world around him, and ultimately, to know our Creator, Who created the entire universe and everything in it from nothing.
"Science" offers a method by which the universe, and all the beings therein, may be examined to discover the artistry in Allah's creation, thereby communicating it to mankind. Religion, therefore, encourages science, adopting it as a tool by which to study the subtleties of Allah's creation.
Religion not only encourages scientific study, but also permits that, supported by the truths revealed through religion, scientific research be conclusive and expeditious. The reason being, that religion is the only source to provide accurate and definitive answers as to how life and the universe came into being. As such, if initiated upon a proper foundation, research will reveal the truths regarding the origin of the universe and the organization of life, in the shortest time, and with minimum effort and energy. Science can only achieve true results if it adopts the aim of studying the infinite might of Allah and the proofs of creation in the universe, and if it pursues its activities solely in that light. Only if science is properly directed, if it is kept on a correct course in other words, can it become a vehicle whereby mankind achieves useful information and progress. As stated by Albert Einstein, considered one of the greatest scientists of the 20th century, "science without religion is lame", which is to say, that science, unguided by religion, cannot proceed correctly, but rather, wastes much time in achieving certain results, and worse, is often inconclusive.
In the event that the purpose behind the creation of man, the transitory nature of this world, the fact that what matters is the life of the hereafter, death, the certain existence of destiny and the hereafter, the fact that every individual will have to account for his deeds, and the existence of heaven and hell are all fully known, then this will shape the individual's way of looking at events, his way of living and his reactions to the events he encounters. If these truths are not known, then even if a person receives the very best education in the very best schools and/or participates in academic studies at the very highest level, that education will still not be enough. That is because the important thing is for the individual to have a lifestyle and moral values which are pleasing to Allah.
This world is very transitory and is created as a place of testing. The individual is tested here, and will receive a recompense in the hereafter based on the moral values and behaviour he displayed in the life of this world. This is an unavoidable fact for all people. For that reason, as well as receiving a modern scientific education the individual should also be immersed in religious matters. That is because someone who has adopted the moral values of the Qur'an and comprehended the religion will use this knowledge and technology he has learnt in the manner most pleasing to Allah, and thus for the benefit of mankind.
No matter what an individual's profession, status or education may be, he will still need religious instruction. Indeed, religious instruction imparted from an early age will enable that individual to have a strong character and to have pleasing moral values and a healthy way of looking at the world. Muslims must therefore attach the greatest importance to education in all respects. Allah reveals the importance of knowledge in a holy verse:
Only those of His servants with knowledge have fear of Allah. Allah is Almighty, Ever-Forgiving. (Qur'an, 35:28)
Excerpt by HARUN YAHYA from ARTICLES 2
Excerpt from the Book; TRUE WISDOM DESCRIBED IN THE QUR’AN;
by HARUN YAHYA
by HARUN YAHYA
Wisdom is "a higher dimension of consciousness", which many people who have not attained faith have not experienced. With such consciousness the individual’s mind is very clear. However, what provides this clearness is neither the brain's capacity, nor sharpness of intelligence, nor skill. The cause of this clearness of mind is the person’s faith in Allah and the Qur’an. One who uses the Qur’an as a guide is rid of all the incorrect information he formerly had. This is replaced solely with correct knowledge.
Foremost among the knowledge he acquires, is the real meaning of this world. One with a clear mind knows from the Qur’an that Allah has created this world as a transient place to test humankind. He can clearly see that the world has been created attractive and adorned with pretty things on purpose, and that some people lose themselves among these things and forget their true life, which is the Hereafter. But the believer himself, as he can arrive at the reality of any situation through the Qur’an, prepares for the Hereafter.
It is the wise who can truly grasp the truth about death. A person with wisdom, even though he may be the richest, the most attractive, and the most esteemed, knows that being so will not be of any help to him when he dies one day. But, he also realizes that death is not an end but rather a beginning. People who lead their lives according to Allah’s will will go to Heaven and those who get carried away with worldly life and forget their responsibilities toward Allah will end up in Hell. Furthermore, he recognizes that Heaven is infinite and far superior to this life which does not exceed 80-90 years and is full of shortcomings. For this reason, he sees death as the beginning of an infinite life where he will be united with Allah’s mercy, rather than as an annihilation that brings sadness. This knowledge also allows him to fully comprehend the reality of the Hereafter.
Something else these people with the clear conscience stemming from wisdom can comprehend is the reality of fate. They know that Allah, the possessor of infinite wisdom, has created everything on earth, small or big, with a purpose and divine reason. Even if they face an event, which at first sight seems unfavourable, they never forget that every cloud has a silver lining and that Allah is merely testing them. Because they can grasp this reality, they submit to Allah with all their heart, they trust Him completely, and they gladly accept their destiny.
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