I would like to welcome to the stage our speaker, Dr. Zakir Naik, speaking on the subject, the Quran and modern science, compatible or incompatible. I would like to give you now a brief introduction. of Dr. Zakir Naik, and truly it is a brief introduction because there is too much to be said. He is a medical doctor by professional training and a renowned dynamic international orator on Islam and comparative religion. He is the president of the Islamic Research Foundation in Mumbai and clarifies Islamic viewpoints, clearing misconceptions about Islam using the Quran authentic hadith and other religious scriptures as a basis in conjunction with reason, logic, and scientific facts.
He has completed all of this study in preparation by the age now of 41, still young, but sheikh. He is popular for his critical analysis and convincing answers to challenging questions posed by audiences after his public talks. In the last 10 years, Dr. Zakir Naik has delivered more than 1,000 public talks in the United States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Australia, New Zealand. South Africa, Botswana, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Guyana, and South America, and many other countries, in addition to numerous public talks here in India.
He has successfully participated in several symposia and dialogues with prominent personalities of other faiths. His public dialogue with Dr. William Campbell from the United States of America on the topic, the Quran, the Bible, and the light of science was held in Chicago, the United States of America, in April of 2000 and was a resounding success by the grace of Allah. Sheikh Ahmed Didat, the world-famous orator on Islam and comparative religion, who had called Dr. Zakir Naik Didat Plus in 1994. Presented a plaque in May of 2000 with the engraving awarded to Dr. Zakir Abdul Karim Naik for his achievement in the field of dawah and the study of comparison. religion.
Son, what you have done in four years had taken me 40 years to accomplish. Alhamdulillah. To end the quote of Ahmed Didat.
Dr. Zakir Naik appears regularly on many international television channels. in more than 200 countries of the world. He is regularly invited to TV and radio interviews.
More than a hundred of his talks, dialogues, debates, and symposia are available on DVDs, VCDs, video cassettes, audio cassettes, and he has authored several books on Islam and comparative religion. Ladies and gentlemen, without further delay... I would like to welcome Dr. Zakir Naik, President of the Islamic Research Foundation.
Alhamdulillah, wassalatu wassalam al rasulillah wa ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma'in, amma ba'd. A'udhu billahi min ash-shaytani rajeem, bismillahirrahmanirrahim. Avalam yarallazina qafiru, anna samawati wal arda, kaanat ratka nuftaknahuma, wa ja'alna minal ma'i kulla shay'in ha'afala yuminun, rabbish wa li sadri, wa yassin li amri, wa halul uqdatu min lisani yafqaw qawli.
My respected elders, And my dear brothers and sisters, I welcome all of you with Islamic greetings. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. May peace, mercy and blessings of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, of Almighty God, be on all of you. The topic of this evening's talk of mine is... The Quran and modern science, compatible or incompatible?
The glorious Quran is the last and final revelation of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, of Almighty God, which was revealed to the last and final messenger, Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. For any book to claim that it is the word of God, for any book to claim that it is the revelation from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, it should stand the test of time. Previously, hundreds and thousands of years back, it was the age of miracles. And Alhamdulillah, the glorious Quran is the miracle of miracles.
Later on, more than a thousand years back, It was the age of literature and poetry when the Quran was revealed. And Alhamdulillah, Muslims and non-Muslim scholars alike, they claim the glorious Quran to be the best Arabic literature available on the face of the earth. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives the challenge of the glorious Quran.
In Surah Baqarah, chapter number 2, verse number 23 and 24 which says, وَإِن كُنتُم فِي رَيْمٍ And if you are in doubt, as what we have revealed to our servant, Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, from time to time, then produce a surah somewhat similar to it. And call forth your helpers and witnesses. If there are any besides Allah, if your doubts are but true.
And if he cannot, then you will not be able to do it. and of a surety you cannot. فَتَّقُوا النَّارَ الَّتِي وَقُودُوا هَنَّاسُ الْحِجَارَةِ أُدَّتِ الْكَافِرِينَ Then fear the fire whose fuel is men and stones which is prepared for those who reject faith.
Here the Quran gives a challenge, they try and produce a surah somewhat similar to it. And the shortest surah is hardly three verses, hardly few words. No one has done it so far and no one inshallah till eternity will ever be able to do it. But today, suppose a religious scripture, in a very poetic fashion, says that the world is flat. Will a modern man believe in it?
But naturally no, because today is not the day. not the age of literature and poetry. Today is the age of science and technology.
So let us analyze today whether this glorious Quran is compatible or incompatible to modern science. Whether does it pass the test of today, the test of modern science. According to Albert Einstein, The famous physicist and the Nobel Prize winner, he said that science without religion is lame and religion without science is blind. Let me repeat it, that Albert Einstein, the famous physicist and the Nobel Prize winner said that science without religion is lame and religion without science is blind.
Let me remind you that the glorious Quran is not a book of signs. S-C-I-E-N-C-E But it is a book of signs. S-I-G-N-S It's a book of ayats.
And there are more than 6,000 ayats, 6,000 signs in the glorious Quran, out of which more than a thousand speak about signs. As far as my talk today is concerned, I will only be speaking about scientific facts which have been established. I will not be speaking about scientific theories and hypotheses, which all of us know very well, that many a time these theories and hypotheses, they take U-turns. In the field of astronomy, in 1973, there were a couple of scientists.
who got the Nobel Prize and these couple of scientists, they described the creation of the universe and they called it the Big Bang. And they said that initially our universe, it was a primary nebula. Then there was a Big Bang.
There was a secondary separation. which gave rise to galaxies, the stars, the planets, the sun, the moon and the earth on which we live. This they call as the Big Bang. The glorious Quran mentions this in a nutshell. 1400 years ago, in Surah Anbiya, chapter number 21, verse number 30, the ayah I started my talk with.
And it says, Do not the unbelievers see. that the heavens and the earth were joined together and we clothe them asunder. This verse of the glorious Quran speaks about the big bang in a nutshell 1400 years ago, which science says, has discovered decently. Hardly 30 years back, 35 years back. The glorious Quran says in Surah Fusilat, chapter number 41, verse number 11. Moreover, he comprehended in his design the sky when it was smoke and said to it, and the earth, come ye together willingly or unwillingly and they said, we come in willing obedience.
Allah SWT says, that he said to the sky where it was smoke, coming together along with the earth, willingly, unwillingly, and they said we come together in willing obedience. Today the scientists, they tell us that initially the celestial matter of the universe, it was in the form of gas. And the Arabic word used in this verse of Surah Fusila, chapter 41, verse number 11 is dukhan.
Dukhan does not merely mean gas, it specifically means smoke. And today scientists say that smoke is more closer and more scientific as compared to gas because that time it was hot. Imagine, the Quran mentions 1400 years ago which we discovered recently that the initial celestial matter of the universe, it was in the form of smoke. Previously the human beings, we thought that the earth on which we live, it is flat.
It was in 1577, Sir Francis Drake, when he sailed around the earth, he proved that the earth was spherical. Quran mentions in Surah Luqman, chapter number 31, verse number 29, it is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala who merges the night into day and merges the day into night. Alam tara annallaha yuliju layla fin nahari wa yuliju nahara fin layli. It is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala who merges the night into the day and merges the day into the night. Merging is a gradual and slow process.
The night slowly and... gradually merges into the day and the day slowly and gradually merges into the night. If the earth was flat, there would have been a sudden change. It would have been a gradual process of night merging into the day and day merging into the night. Allah gives a similar message in Surah Az-Zumur, chapter number 39, verse number 5. It is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala who overlaps.
the night unto the day and overlaps the day unto the night. That epic word used here is Kauwara, which means to overlap or coil. So the Quran says, it is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala who overlaps or coils the night unto the day and overlaps or coils the day unto the night.
Coiling, the word Kauwara is used, how you coil a turban unto your head. So this overlapping and coiling of the night unto the day and the day unto the night is only possible if the shape of the earth was spherical. If it was flat, it was not possible. And Allah further says in Surah Al-Naziat, chapter number 79, verse number 30, we have made the earth as an expanse and we have made the earth X-shaped.
والْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ زَالِكَ دَحَهَا والْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ زَالِكَ دَحَهَا means and then we made the earth egg-shaped. One of the meanings of the ha is an expanse and the other meaning of the Arabic word the ha it is derived from the Arabic word which means an egg. And we know today that the earth on which we live is not completely round like a ball.
It is geospherical in shape. It is flattened from the pole and it is bulging from the center. And the Arabic word Dhuyya doesn't mean a normal egg. It specifically means the egg of an ostrich.
And if we analyze the shape of the egg of an ostrich, it too is geospherical in shape. Imagine, the glorious Quran mentions 1400 years ago that the shape of the earth is geospherical. It does not say spherical only, it specifically mentions like the egg of an ostrich.
Previously, the scientists, they thought that the light of the moon was its own light. But Quran says in Surah Furqan, chapter number 25, verse number 61, Blessed is he, that is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, who has made the constellations in the sky and placed therein sun, that is a lamp. having its own light and moon having borrowed light.
The Arabic word used for the sun in the Quran, it is Shams. And its light is always described as Siraj, Wahaj or Diyah which means a torch having a light of its own or a blazing lamp or a shining glory. Always the light of the sun is described as Wahaj, Siraj or Diyah meaning a light of its own. own.
The Arabic word for moon is kamar and its light is described as munir or noor meaning borrowed light or a reflected light. There is not a single place in the Quran where the light of the moon is described as its own light. And the Arabic word for star is Najam and its light is described as Saqib.
Meaning the light by the time it reaches the earth, it loses its brightness like a piercing brightness. The bright light by the time it reaches, it consumes itself. And this message...
that the sun has its own light describing as vahaj, siraj or dia and the moon having borrowed light that is munir or reflection of nainur is mentioned in several places in the quran including Surah Yunus, chapter number 10, verse number 5, as well as Surah Nuh, chapter number 71, verse number 15 and 16. And the Quran says in Surah Tariq, chapter number 86, verse number 3, that what Najmus Saqib, describing the star, its light as Saqib, that means it pierces, it's a piercing darkness. Previously, the European scientists... They believed that the earth was the center of the solar system and the universe.
And all the planets as well as the moon and the sun, it revolved around the earth. This was called as geoscience. And this was believed since the time of Ptolemy in the 2nd century BC till as late as 16th century until Nicholas Copernicus in 1512. He propounded the heliocentric theory of the planetary motion and he said. It is the sun which is the center of the solar system.
And all the planets, as well as the earth, it revolves around the sun. And later on, a German scientist by the name of Johannes Kepler, in 1609, he wrote in his book by the name Astronomia Nova, that not only do the planets and the Earth, they revolve around the sun, but they also rotate about their own axis. And when I was in school, I passed my school in 1982, about more than 25 years back. There I too read that the planets and the earth, they revolve around the sun, and the planets and the earth, they rotated about their own axis. And the whole solar system, also in the galaxy it revolved, including the sun, but the sun did not rotate about its own axis.
In this context, the sun was stationary. But, when I read the verse of the Quran, in Surah Anbiya, chapter number 21, verse number 33, which says, It is Allah who has created the night and the day. وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْكَمَرَ The sun and the moon.
كُلٌّ فِي فَلِكِيَةِ اَسْبُهُونَ Each one traveling in orbit with its own motion. So the Quran says, the sun and the moon, besides revolving, They also rotate about their own axis. The Arabic word used here is Yasbuhun. Derived from the Arabic word Sabaha, which describes the motion of a moving body. If I use this Arabic word, big word yasbaha, for a person who is moving on the floor, it will not mean that he is rolling, it will mean he is either walking or running.
If I use the same word for a person in the water, it will not mean he is floating, it will mean he is swimming. Similarly, when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala uses the same word for a celestial body, it does not mean that it is flying in the air, it means it is moving along with its own rotation. It is rotating about its own axis.
So Quran says, The sun and the moon, besides revolving, it also rotates about its own axis. And today, science has discovered that even the sun rotates. Since we can't see the sun directly, you get blinded if you see directly, if you have an equipment and have the image of the sun on a tabletop, we find that there are spots in the sun. And it takes about 25 days for the spots to complete one rotation, indicating that the sun takes place. approximately 25 days to complete one rotation.
Imagine when I was in school, I was taught the sun was stationary, it didn't rotate but its own axis. And the Quran mentioned 14 years ago that it rotates. And now, alhamdulillah, most of the schools have incorporated that the sun also rotates. Further we read in the Quran, it's mentioned in the Quran in Surah Yasin, chapter number 36, verse number 40. It is not permitted for the sun to overtake the moon, nor the night to outstrip the day. The moon and the sun.
Each one traveling in orbits with its own motion. Now the scientists say that the orbit of the sun and the moon is different. So there is no question of the sun overtaking the moon. That's what the Quran says.
And today the scientists, they tell us that the sun is moving in a direction in the universe to a particular fixed direction which is called as the solar apex in the constellation of Hercules also known as Alpha Lyra at a speed of 12 miles per second. And today the scientists tell us that the sunlight we have is due to a chemical reaction which is taking place since billions of years. And one day this chemical reaction will cease. And so will the light of the sun cease to exist.
And so will the life on this earth cease to exist. But the scientists say it will take another few billion years. Quran gives a similar message in Surah Yasin, chapter number 36, verse number 38. وَشَّمْسُ تَجْرِلِ مُسْتَقَرِ اللَّهَ That the sun is running its course for a period determined, to a place determined.
The Arabic word used here is mustaqar, which has two meanings. Either it means for a period determined or it means to a place determined. And today science says that the sun is moving to a particular spot.
known as solar apex and it will exist for a particular time period. So both the meanings of mustaqar to a place determined and for a period determined according to science is perfect. Imagine, Quran mentions this 1400 years ago. When I was in school, I had learned that there are three types of matter, solid, liquid and gas. And previously the scientists believed that the space outside the astronomical systems in the galaxy, it was vacuum.
Lately the scientists have discovered that there are bridges of matter in the interstellar space. It's not vacuum. And it is called as plasma. And they say this matter is in the form of gaseous matter, which has equal number of positive and negative.
ions as well as electrons and the Quran mentions 49 years ago in Surah Furqan chapter number 25 verse number 59 it is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala who has created the heavens and the earth as well as things in between it. So Quran says, there is matter in between the heavens and the earth. Which today's science, they say that this plasma can be considered as the fourth type of matter.
Today's science also tells us that the atmosphere of the earth, it acts like a filter and prevents the harmful radiations from outer space to come onto the surface of the earth. It prevents x-rays and the ultraviolet rays to reach the surface of the earth, which is very important for the sustenance of life. If this filter of the earth's atmosphere wasn't there, then life would not exist on the face of the earth. The Quran says in Surah Anbiya, chapter number 21, verse number 32, that we have...
made the sky as a protected ceiling. We have made the heavens, the Arabic word is samavat, we have made the heavens, that is the sky, as a canopy well guarded. Today science has come to know that this protected ceiling, without this, life would have ceased to exist on the face of the earth.
It was in 1925, a very famous scientist by the name of Edwin Hubble and a famous astronomer, he said that the galaxies are receding. That means the universe is expanding. The Quran mentioned 14 years ago in Surah Dariyat.
Chapter number 51, verse number 47, that we have created the vastness of space. The Arabic word musyun means vastness or the expanding universe. The Quran mentions 14 years ago.
that the universe is expanding, which we have come to know recently, 80 years back, 90 years back. And according to Stephen Hawkins, who is a very famous scientist, he writes in his book, The Brief History of Time, he says that the discovery of the expanding universe is the greatest discovery of the century, which is mentioned in the Quran 14 centuries before. There may be skeptics or some non-Muslims who will say it is nothing great that the Quran speaks about astronomy since the Arabs were very well advanced in the field of astronomy. I do agree with them that the Arabs were advanced in the field of astronomy. But I'd like to remind them, it was centuries after the Quran was revealed that the Arabs advanced in the field of astronomy.
So it is from the Quran that the Arabs learned about astronomy and not the vice versa. And there were many things about astronomy mentioned in the Quran which the Arabs didn't speak about and which we have come to recently. In the field of physics, several centuries ago, there was a theory which was called as atomism.
This was advanced by the Greeks, especially Democrats, who lived 2300 years before. And according to this theory of atomism, atom is the smallest... part of matter.
And this was also known to the Arabs. And the Arabic word for atom in Arabic is called a zarra. And the Arabs also agreed the smallest part of matter. Nothing can be smaller than that. And if you read the Quran, the Quran too speaks about the atom.
Now, after science has advanced in the field of physics, we agree that atom is the smallest particle of matter having a size of 1. the characteristics of the element but an atom too can be divided so does it mean that the Quran is outdated Quran says in surah Saba chapter 34 verse number three As well as in Suryunas, chapter number 10, verse number 61, that when they say, that is unbelievers, that the final hour will never come, tell them it will surely come by the Lord, in whose knowledge is the unseen. And in whose record is the smallest detail of an atom. And there is nothing smaller or greater than an atom which is not there without being.
mentioned in his record. Clearly, that's propitious. So the Quran says that Allah has the knowledge of the unseen.
The minutest detail of the atom is mentioned and even things greater and smaller than the atom is very clearly mentioned in his record. So the Quran mentions 1400 years ago that there are things smaller than the atom. Which science has discovered recently.
In the field of hydrology, We learn about the water cycle in the school. The water cycle that we learn in the school was first described in 1580 by Sir Bernard Palissy. And we learned in school that the water evaporates from the ocean, it forms into clouds, the clouds move, they rise, they condense, and the water falls and flows back into the ocean and the water cycle is completed.
Previously, in 7th century BC, Thales of Miletus, he said, it was the spray of the ocean which was picked up by the winds. which fell into the interior as rain. People did not know how did the rain fall. In 7th century, Tales of Belotus, he said, it was the spray of the ocean which was picked up by the winds and fell into the interior as rain.
People did not know from where did the underground water come. And people believe, even in the time of Plato, that when the water fell, This water flowed by a secret passage into the ocean called Astartes. People did not know from where did the underground water come.
So they thought it was the pressure of the winds on the water which forced the water into the interior. And even till as late as 17th century, people and great thinkers like Descartes believed in this theory. Even in 19th century, people believed in the Aristotle's theory that the water evaporated from the earth and cooled in mountain caverns which fed the springs. Today we know that the underground water is due to the seepage of the rainwater. And Allah says in the Quran.
In Surah Az-Zumur, chapter number 39, verse number 21, Seeth not thou that it is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala who sends on water from the sky, and causes it to soak in the ground, causes springs in the ground, and then causes sown field of various colors to grow. Quran mentions in Surah Rum, chapter number 30, verse number 24. It is Allah who sends His Lord water from the sky and then gives life to the earth after it is dead. The Quran says in Surah Muminun, chapter number 23, verse number 18, it is we who send down water from the sky and we can store it and we can even drain it easily.
The Quran says in Surah Hijar, chapter number 15, verse number 22, that we cause fecundating winds. The Arabic word used is lawaqi, which is the plural of laqaha coming from lakhi, which means to fecundate, which means to impregnate. We cause fecundating winds, we cause winds to impregnate, and then the water falls from the sky.
And today we know that science tells us that the pollen is picked up by the winds and it impregnates the clouds. And the second type is the clouds, they join together. Then there's lightning and water falls from the sky.
A similar message of hydrology and water cycle is mentioned in Surah Noor, chapter number 24, verse number 43. It is Allah who makes the clouds to move gently and then causes them to join, then makes them into a heap and then water emerges from the sky. Quran says in Surah Rum, chapter number 30, verse number 48. that it is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala who makes the clouds to rise and makes it into fragments and then water falls from the sky. The Quran speaks about the water cycle in great detail. The Quran says in Surah Tariq, chapter number 86, verse number 11, وَسَمَعِ زَاتِ الرَّجِي which means by the capacity of the heavens to return. Besides, The sky or the heavens acting like a protected ceiling, besides reflecting all the unwanted dangerous rays back into the space, it also returns back the water evaporation.
What the water evaporates from the ocean, the sky, it sends it back onto the earth. And the Quran says in Surah An-Nur, chapter number 24, verse number 43, that we cause water to fall from the sky, from mountains of clouds. And when we are traveling in an aeroplane, aeroplane wasn't there 14 years back, and when we look at the clouds below, we see it is like mountain of wolves.
The clouds, they appear as mountains. Imagine, Quran mentions that 14 years ago. Quran describes the water cycle in great detail in several verses. Besides the several verses I quoted, there are many other umpteen number of verses which speak about the water cycle.
It's mentioned in Surah Al-A'rafah. are of chapter number 7 verse number 57 in surah raud chapter number 13 verse number 17 in surah chapter number 25 verse number 40 and 49 in surah fatir chapter number 35 verse number 9 in surah yaseen chapter number 36 verse number 34 it's mentioned surah jasha chapter number 45 verse number 5 in surah qaf chapter number 50 verse number 9 and 10 it's mentioned surah wakia chapter number 56 verse number 67 to 70 it's mentioned surah mulk chapter number 16 verse number 30 you can go on only quoting there are several verses of the Quran which speak about the water cycle. You can only give a talk on hydrology and water cycle in the Quran. In the field of geology, and the geologists today they tell us that the radius of the earth on which we live is approximately 3,750 miles.
And the deeper layers, they are hot and fluid. It cannot sustain life. And as we keep on going superficially, it keeps on getting cooler. And the superficial crust on which we live, it is hardly less than 30 miles in thickness. And the geologists, they tell us, there are high possibilities that this superficial crust on which we live, it can shake.
And today the geologists tell us, they talk about the folding phenomena, which gives rise to mountain ranges. And because of this folding phenomena, and because of this mountain, there is stability on the earth. The Quran says, In Surah Naba, chapter number 78, verse number 6 and 7. We have made the earth as an expanse. Well, Jabala Avtada and the mountains as stakes.
The Arabic word Avtada means stakes or tent pegs. Like how we put a tent peg into the ground. We see only a small portion on the top. The major portion goes deep into the ground. So the Quran says the mountains are like tent pegs.
And today science tells us that the mountain has got deep roots. And the portion we see on the top is only a small portion like the tip of an iceberg. The major portion of the iceberg is in the water and only a small portion is here on the top.
And science tells us that the mountains are put firmly on the earth. And Quran gives this message 14 years ago. In Surah Naziat, chapter number 79, verse number 32, as well as Surah Qashiyah, chapter number 88, verse number 19, that we have placed on the earth mountains standing firm.
As far as the subject of geology is concerned, a book by the name The Earth, which is known as one of the best textbooks in the field of geology and is referred in most of the universities in this subject. And one of its authors, his name is Frank Press. who was the president of the Academy of Sciences of USA earlier, and was also the advisor to the ex-president of USA, Jimmy Carter.
And he writes in this book, and he draws the mountain, and shows that the mountain has got deep roots in the shape of veg. Wedge shape. And he shows that the mountain that is seen above the surface of the earth is only a small portion. The major portion has got deep roots.
And he writes in this book that it is due to the mountain which prevents the... earth from shaking. And this is exactly what is mentioned in the Quran 14 years ago in Surah Ambiya, chapter number 21, verse number 31, as well as Surah Luqman, chapter number 31, verse number 10, that we have placed on the earth mountains standing firm lest it would shake with you.
The Quran specifically mentions that the function of the mountain is to prevent the earth from shaking, which we have come to know recently. In the subject of oceanology, there is a verse in the Quran. In Surah Furqan, chapter number 25, verse number 53, we say that it is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala who has let free two bodies of flowing water. One sweet and palatable and the other salty and bitter.
Though they meet, they do not mix. There is a barrier which is forbidden to be trespassed. The same message is repeated in Surah Ar-Rahman, chapter number 55, verse number 19. Maraj al-Bahrain al-Taqyan, that we have let free two bodies of flowing water. Though they meet, they do not mix. There is a barrier, there is a barzakh, which is forbidden to be trespassed.
When the commentators of the Quran, they tried to understand this verse, all of us know very well, and we knew it earlier also, that there are two types of water, sweet and salty. But they could not understand the verse of the Quran, which says that there are two types of water, sweet and salty. Though they meet, they do not mix. There is a barrier which is forbidden to be test passed. There is a barzakh.
The Mufassirins, the commentator could not understand what did it mean. Today after science has advanced we have come to know that whenever However, one type of water flows into the other type of water. Sweet water flows into the salty water. It loses its constituents and gets homogenized into the water it flows.
This transitional homogenizing area, according to the Quran, is called as the Barzakh. It is an unseen barrier. And this has been testified and verified when this verse of the Quran was showed to Prophet Zahir.
who is a very famous marine scientist and a professor in oceanology in the University of Colorado in USA. And he said that what the Quran mentions 1400 years ago has been testified by science recently. And this phenomena can be seen even with the naked eye at the Cape point, the southernmost tip of Cape Town in South Africa.
where one type of water flowed into the other type, we even see that the colors of both these waters differ. Another good example is in Egypt, when river Nile flows into the Mediterranean Sea. And the best example is the Gulf Stream. It flows for thousands of miles.
It starts from the Gulf of Mexico and goes to the east side of North America, travels upwards, then goes eastwards and travels to the west coast of Europe. Close for thousands of miles, but yet the two waters are distinct. And if you are travelling in a ship towards the extreme of the Gulf Stream and pick up, take a bucket of water from the left side, and a bucket of water from the right side, you will find that one is sweet and the other is salty. Even the temperature between the two, they differ. Imagine, Quran speaks about this phenomena 1400 years ago.
In the subject of biology, The Quran says in Surah Anbiya, chapter number 21, verse number 30, وَجَأَنَّ مِنَ الْمَاءِ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ هَيْ أَفْلَأْ يُمِنُونَ We have made from water every living thing. Will you not then believe? Imagine in the deserts of Arabia, The Quran says, we have made from water every living thing. Who could have believed in it? Today after science advanced, we have come to know that every living creature has got cells and the basic substance of cell is cytoplasm which contains about 80% water.
And today science tells us that every living creature contains about 50-90% water. Quran mentions in Surah Noor, chapter number 24, verse number 45. We have created every living animal from water. The Quran says in Surah Furqan, chapter number 25, verse number 54, we have created every human being from water.
In the field of botany, previously we did not know that even the plants have got sexes, male and female. We have come to know about this recently. Recently means 100 years back, 200 years back, 300 years back.
The Quran says in Surah Taha, chapter number 20, verse number 53, it is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala who sends down water from the sky and with it brings various pairs of plants, each separate from the other. The Arabic word used, each separate from the other, meaning male and female. The Arabic word used in the verse of the Quran is azwaj, meaning spouses.
Sexes, male or female. So Quran says that every kind of plant has been made into sexes, male and female. And really science tells us that all the plants, they have got male and female sexes. Even the unisexual plant, they have distinct characteristic of male and female. The Quran says in Surah Ar-Rahd, chapter number 13, verse number 3, every kind of fruit in pairs, two and two.
Even the fruits are created in male and female. And today we know that the superior plants, the end stage is the fruit, before that stage is the flower, which has got stamens and ovules, male and female. And pollen comes and fertilizes, and then we have the fruit, having distinct characteristics of male and female.
Even the parthenocarpic fruits, which are the main fruit, Even they like banana, figs, certain types of pineapple, oranges. They have distinct characteristics. These are unfertilized fruits.
Flowers from unfertilized, the fruits obtained. Even they have distinct characteristics of male and female. The Quran says further in Surah Yasin, chapter number 36, verse number 36. It is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala who has created every animal in pairs.
And human being in pairs. And even things which you know and don't know. Allah says, He has created everything in pairs.
So besides human beings, animals, plants, even things which we don't know. Today we know that things like electricity. Also have got positive and negative, the electrons and protons.
And many things which we don't know. So Allah says, He has created everything in pairs. Things we know as well as things we don't know. In the field of zoology, the Quran says in Surah An-Nam, chapter number 6, verse number 38, we have made every animal that lives on this earth And every creature which has wings and flies in the air to live in community like the human beings.
Today we have come to know that the animals and birds like the human beings, they too live in communities. The Quran says in Surah Al-Nahl, chapter number 16, verse number 68 and 69. It is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala who has taught the bee to build its cells in hills, on trees and human habitations. And to eat of what the earth produces and to find the spacious path of their Lord with great skill.
It was recently, just a few decades earlier, that a scientist by the name of Von Frisch, he got the Nobel Prize for describing the behavior and the movement of the bee. And what does the Quran mean by saying it has taught the bee to build itself in hills, trees, human habitations, eat of what it produces and find the spacious path of the Lord with great skill. Today, after science, advanced after von Frisch described the movement of the bee, we have come to know that whenever a bee finds a new garden or a flower, it goes and tells its fellow bee the exact direction of that garden and flower so that it could collect nectar by a process known as the bee dance.
What we have come to know recently, Quran says, it has taught the bee to find the spacious path of their Lord with great skill. Today, in science we call it the bee dance. And previously we thought it was the male bee which was the worker bee. Today we have come to know that it is not the male bee, it is the female bee which is the worker bee and the gender used in the Quran in Surah Nahal, chapter number 16, verse number 16 and 69 is Fasluqi and Kulli, meaning a female bee. No wonder Shakespeare in his play, Henry IV, He mentioned about people talking about themselves, about the bee, that the soldier bee, the male soldier bee, they go and report to the king.
Today we have come to know, it is not the male bees which is the soldier bee, they are the female bees which are the worker bees. soldier bees. And they don't report to the king but they report to the queen.
Imagine, even the gender of the worker bee, the soldier bee is mentioned in the Quran as the female gender which we have come to know recently. The Quran says in Surah Namal chapter number 27 verse number 17 and 18 Before Solomon marched his host of men, jinns and birds And when they approached a lowly valley of ants, one of the ants said, O ye ants, get into the habitations, lest Solomon and his host will trample you beneath the feet. People would think that was a lie.
what kind of a fairytale book is the Quran? The ants speaking among themselves? No, we have fairytale books.
So what type of a fairytale book is the Quran? The ants talking and speaking among themselves? After science has advanced, we have come to know the animal or insect which has the closest resemblance to the human being is the ant. The ants bury the dead the same way as human beings do. They have a sophisticated method of labor in which their supervisors, managers, foremen, workers, etc.
They have a sophisticated method of communication. they very often even meet to chat. They have marketplaces where they exchange goods. You know souks, we have marketplaces. Even ants have got marketplaces where they exchange goods.
And if in monsoon, during rainy season, if while storing the grain, if the grain gets wet, the ants get the grain in the sunlight to dry. As though they knew that humidity will cause rotting of the grain. And if the grain begins to bud, they chop off the bud as though they knew that budding will cause rotting of the grain.
Imagine, Quran speaks about the lifestyle of the ants 1400 years ago. which we have come to recently. The Quran says in Surah An-Kabut, chapter number 29, verse number 41, As to those who take for protectors, anyone besides Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, they build for themselves houses like that of a spider. For verily, the house of a spider is flimsy. Besides the Quran saying, that any human being who takes for protectors anyone besides Almighty God Allah they are building for themselves houses like that of a spider talking about the web and the house of the spider is flimsy we know that the web is a very flimsy house.
But besides this, today we have come to know that many a time, the male spider is killed by the female spider. The relationship of the husband and wife is not good in the spiders. So besides the Quran talking about the flimsy physical nature of the house, of a person who takes for protector besides Almighty God, is also talking about... the relationships in the house.
In the field of physiology, it was 600 years after the Quran was revealed that Ibn Nafis, he described the blood circulation. And 1000 years after the Quran was revealed, 400 years after Ibn Nafis, William Harvey made it famous to the world. So in our textbook, we know the blood circulation was first described by William Harvey. Actually, it was Ibn-e-Nafis 400 years ago.
This is all media. And today we know that the food we eat, it goes into the stomach, then goes into the intestine. Just in a nutshell, as far as physiology is concerned, about the blood circulation and the production of milk. The food which enters the intestine, the substance of the food, it enters into the bloodstream, through the vessels of the intestine. And via the complex media, very often through the liver, via the bloodstream, it reaches almost all the organs of the body, including the mammary glands, which is responsible for the production of milk.
So what we have come to know today about the blood circulation and the production of milk. of milk is mentioned in a nutshell in the Quran 1400 years ago. In Surah Nahal, chapter number 16, verse number 66, it says that And the same message is repeated in Surah Mu'minoon. Chapter number 23, verse number 21, that verily in the cattle is a lesson for you. We give you to drink milk which is pure, that comes from within the bodies of the cattle and in it are various benefits and of the meat you can eat.
So Quran speaks about the blood circulation and the production of milk in a nutshell 1400 years ago. In the field of medicine, Previously we did not know that the honey was obtained from the belly of the bee. The Quran says in Surah Nahl, chapter number 16, verse number 69, from the belly of the bees we give you a drink of varying colors in which there is healing for humankind. It was only 300 years before a prophet said, Approximately, we came to know that the honey was obtained from the belly of the bee.
And now we have come to know that honey is rich in vitamin K as well as fructose. Recently, we have come to know that even the honey has got mild antiseptic properties. No wonder the Russian soldiers in World War II, they used the honey to cover up the wounds. which prevented the evaporation of moisture and the healing in the wound was done with leaving of very little scar tissue.
And due to the density of honey, germs and bacteria were prevented to grow in the wound. And if a patient is suffering from the allergy of a particular plant, if honey is obtained from that plant and given to that patient, that patient starts developing resistance to it. Imagine what science has come to know today recently. Quran mentions that in the honey there is healing for humankind. In the field of embryology, there were a group of students who collected all the data that they could find in the Quran as well as the hadith dealing with embryology.
And they followed the verse of the Quran, Surah Nihal chapter number 16 verse 43 and Surah Anbiya chapter number 21 verse 43. Number seven which says, فَاسْأَلُوا أَهَلِ الزِّكْرِ إِن كُنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ If you don't know, if you are in doubt, ask the person who is knowledgeable. So these Arab students, they collected the verses of the Quran and the Hadith dealing with embryology and translated it into English and presented it to Prophet Keith Moore about 30 years back, in the late 70s. And Prophet Keith Moore at that time was one of the highest authorities in the field of embryology.
And he was the head of the department of anatomy in the University of Toronto in Canada. When he went through all the translation of verses of the Quran and the Hadith, he said that most of the verses of the Quran which speak about embryology are in perfect conformity with latest advances of embryology. But there are a couple of verses which I cannot say that they are right. Neither can I say they are wrong because I myself don't know about it.
And two such verses were the first two verses of the Quran to be revealed of Surah Ikra or Surah Al-Aq, chapter 96 verse number 1 and 2 which says Ikra bismi rabbikal lazi khalaq khalaqal insana min alaq read, recite, proclaim in the name of their Lord who has created. Who has created the human beings from something which clings a leech-like substance. So, Professor Keith Moore said, I don't know whether the human beings, the embryo, embryology means, it's the study of the development of the human being, the early stages of the human being, in the womb of the mother, for those who don't know. He said that, I do not know whether initial stages of the embryo.
That's the initial stages of a human being. It looks like a leech or not. So he went in his laboratory and under a very powerful microscope observed the early stages of the embryo and compared it with the photograph of a leech.
And he was astonished at the striking resemblance. And later, when 80 questions were asked to him regarding Imran Jinnah, the Quran and the Hadith, he said that if you had asked me these questions 30 years ago, that means from today more than 60 years back, I would not be able to answer more than 80 questions. than 50% because embryology is a new branch of medicine which has developed recently.
And whatever additional information he got, he included in the new edition of his book The Developing Human. The Developing Human is one of the books referred by most of the students throughout the world in the first year of MBBS, first year of medical college. And even I, you know, in the first year of the medical college.
In Bombay, if we had to get just pass marks, we used to refer to the book written by Inderbir Singh. If you wanted to score in embryology, we had to refer to the developing human by Professor Keith Moore. So Professor Keith Moore, he incorporated this new... information he got from the Quran and the Hadith into the third edition of his book, The Developing Human, which got the award for the best medical book written by a single author.
And later on, this book was translated into several languages of the world. And Professor Keith Moore said that This information in the Quran cannot come from human souls. The author of this Quran has to be Almighty God.
And he said that he has no objection in agreeing that Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was the messenger of this God. Imagine Prophet Keith Moore being a Christian said that. Quran says in Surah Tariq, Chapter number 86, verse number 5 to 7, that does not man know from what is created, he is created from a drop coming forth from a space between the backbone and the ribs. What does the Quran say? mean by saying the human beings have been created from a drop coming from a space between the backbone and the ribs.
Today after science has advanced, we have come to know that the genital organs in the human beings in the embryonic age when the child is in the womb of the mother, it developed from a space close to the kidney. That is a space between the spinal column and the 11th and 12th rib. In the male, the genital organ, the male gonads are the testes. In the females, the female gonads, they are the ovaries. And later on, in the embryonic age, these genital organs, the gonads, they descend.
In the female, the ovary descends till the true pelvis. And in the male, via the inguinal canal, it descends to the scrotum. Even after descending in the adult life, yet... These genital organs, they receive the nerve supply from the same space between the backbone and the 11th and 12th rib. And the blood supply from the aorta which is present in the same space between the backbone and the 11th and 12th rib.
And the venous return and the lymphatic drainage goes to the same space, the space between the backbone and the 11th and 12th rib. The Quran mentions in no less than 11 different places that the human beings have been created from a nutfah. it's also mentioned in Surah Hajj chapter 22 verse number 5 and Surah Minun chapter number 23 verse number 13 that the human beings have been created from Nutfah which means a minute quantity of liquid what does the Quran mean that we have created the human beings from a minute quantity of liquid The Quran also says in Surah Sajdah, chapter number 32, verse number 8, that we have created the human being from a quintessence.
And we have created the human beings from Sulalah. That epic word Sulalah, besides meaning quintessence, it also means the best part of the whole. So besides the Quran saying we have created the human beings from a minute quantity of liquid, it also says we have created the human beings from the best part of the whole.
And today science tells us that only one spermatozoa out of the millions of sperms that are emitted is sufficient to fertilize the ovum. Only one out of seven. millions.
So this one out of several millions, the Quran refers a nutfah minute quantity and sulalah the best part of the whole. One out of several millions. The Quran further says in Surah Insan, chapter 76 verse number 2, we have created the human being from nutfah and amshaj, from a minute quantity of mingled fluids. Today's science says that both the male fluid and the female fluid both are responsible for the birth of the baby. So minute quantity of mingled fluids.
And besides the male and the female fluids, even the surrounding fluid takes part. Prostatic fluid, etc. In the field of genetics, Today we have come to know that it is the sperm which is responsible for determining the sex of the child. And today science tells us that the 23rd pair of chromosomes in the human being, it determines the sex of the child.
If it's XX, it's a female. If it's XY, then it's a male. So it is the sperm which is responsible for determining the sex.
If the X of the sperm takes part in the fertilization, then a female is born. If the Y takes part, then a male is born. And this is exactly what the Quran says in Surah Najam, chapter number 53, verse number 45 and 46, that we have created the human being from a minute quantity of liquid which is ejaculated. Minute quantity of liquid, ejaculated means it has to be a male fluid.
The similar message is repeated in Surah Qiyamah, chapter number 75, verse number 37 to 39, that we have created the human being from a minute quantity of sperm. Nutfotin min manyumna We have created the human being from minute quantity of sperm Then made it into an alaka Then made the alaka into mudga Then gave it sex, male and female So the Quran says that the sperm is responsible for the sex of the child Whether it's male or female In this country of ours This great country, India For reasons known best to the Indians In India mainly, most of the people, they prefer having sons rather than daughters. And if a lady gives birth to a daughter, very often the mother-in-law, she will blame the daughter-in-law. That why did you give birth to a daughter?
According to the science and the Quran, if the mother-in-law has to blame anyone, she should not blame the daughter-in-law, she should blame the son. Because it is the male fluid which is responsible for discipline, the sex of the child, male or female. Actually it's in the hands of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
He is the one who makes it male or female. But if the mother has to blame anyone, she should blame the son. Because he is responsible for the sex of the child, male or female.
The Quran says in Surah Az-Zumur, Chapter 39, Verse number 6. that we have made the human beings in stages, one after the other, in three waves of darkness. According to Prophet Keith Moore, he said that this verse of the Quran, when it mentions the three waves of darkness, it refers to the anterior abdominal wall, the uterine wall and the amniocardionic membrane. That the human being is made into stages in three waves of darkness.
The Quran describes the various embryological stages in great detail. The Quran mentions in Surah Muminun, chapter number 23, verse number 12 to 14, that we have created the human being from a quintessence of clay, then made it into a nutfah, a minute quantity of liquid, then made the nutfah into alaqa. a leech like substance. Then made the alaka into mudga, that's a chud like lump.
Then made the mudga into izama, bones. Then clothed the bones with lahim, that is flesh. And then we...
we made a different creature. Glory be to Allah, who's the best to create. These three verses of the Quran describe the various amniological stages, the initial stages of development of a human being in the mother's womb in great detail. First it says that I made it from a nutfah which we discussed, a minute quantity of liquid. Then made the nutfah into alakah, alakah, that means a leech-like substance which we discussed earlier.
The meaning of of the Arabic word alaka, it has got three meanings. One is a leech-like substance. It also means something which clings. And the third meaning of alaka is congealed clot of blood. Besides it looking like a leech, the embryo in the initial stages, it also behaves like a leech.
It behaves like a blood. sucker, it derives its nutrition from the mother through the placenta. It behaves like a blood sucker. So besides looking like a leech, it also behaves like a leech.
The second meaning, something which clings, we know that the embryo... clings to the uterine wall. Throughout the nine months that the fetus is in the womb of the mother, it clings to the uterine wall. The third meaning of alaka is conjugal clot of blood. And today's science tells us that in the initial stages, the blood does not circulate.
And the blood clots in the vessels and it appears like a conjugal clot of blood. So all three meanings of alaka, alhamdulillah, today's science says, is in perfect conformity to latest advances made in embryology. It further says we placed it in a place of security. And we know today that the fetus is protected posteriorly by the spinal column, the backbone, as well as the posterior muscles. And anteriorly it is protected by the entire abdominal wall, by the amniocardial membrane, as well as the amniotic fluid which protects the child.
So the science today testifies that the child is well protected in the womb of the mother. the mother. It further says we made the alaka into a mudga.
A mudga means a chewed like lump. So, Professor Keith Moore took a plastic seal and made it look into a leech like substance, initial stage of embryo and then placed it between his teeth, he bit it to make it appear like a mudga, a chewed like lump. And when he saw it, the teeth marks, it resembled the somites from where the nerves develop.
And the Quran continues, we made the mudga into bones. Then clothed the bones with lahem, that is flesh. Then we made it altogether a different creature.
So what does the Quran mean that we made it into altogether different creature? Till this stage of mudka, izama, lahem, chud like lamb, bones, flesh. Till this stage, today science tells us, the initial stages of development of a human being is similar to the development of a fish, rabbit and many other animals.
Only after this stage Does the human development differ in looks Where we have a head Then we have limbs Then the Quran says We made it into a different creature Glory be to Allah Who is the best to create Imagine The Quran describes the various embryological stages In great detail And Prophet Keith Moore He said That this description given in the Quran Based on shapes Alaka leech like substance mudga chud like lump izama bones laham flesh is far superior to the divisions made in modern embryology where we say stage 1 stage 2 stage 3 stage 4 it's difficult to identify the description given in the Quran far more superior and much more easy. And previously the scientists, they thought, it was in the 16th and 17th century, When scientists like Swamadam, they thought that the sperm contained the miniature human being. The head of the sperm contained the miniature human being and then it grew in the womb of the mother.
Later on, when they came to know that the size of the ovum is bigger than the sperm, D. Grafe, he said that the human being is present in the ovum and not the sperm. Later on in 18th century, Mao Paretis, he propounded the bi-parental theory that both the ovum and the sperm is responsible for the creation of the human being. They fertilize, they form the zygote with the Quran.
has described in great detail. Furthermore, the Quran says in Surah Hajj, chapter number 22, verse number 5, that we have created the human beings from a minute quantity of clay made into alaka, made the alaka into mudka, partly formed and partly unformed. This verse of the Quran was taken to Dr. Marshall Johnson, who is the head of the Department of Anatomy in Daniel Institute in Sir Thomas Jefferson University in USA, in Philadelphia. Now we have come to know in science that if at this stage we cut the embryo and we analyze the organs, we find some of the organs are formed, some are not formed.
So Professor Marshall Johnson said, if we describe this stage of the embryo as a complete creation, it will be wrong. Because some organs are not formed. If we label it as an incomplete creation, that's also wrong because some of the organs are formed.
So there's no better description than the description mentioned in the Quran, partly formed and partly unformed. In Arabic, it can also be treated as differentiated and undifferentiated. And Prophet Marshall Johnson said that at this stage, some cells are differentiated, some are undifferentiated. Further it's mentioned in the Quran, in Surah Sajdah, chapter number 32. verse number 9 that we have given the human beings the faculty of hearing and sight.
It's mentioned in Surah Insan chapter number 76 verse number 2. We have given to the human beings the gift Of hearing, sight and feeling. So the Quran first speaks about hearing, then it speaks about sight. And today science tells us, the first sense to develop in a human being is the sense of hearing.
By the 22nd day, the ear starts to formulate. And by the 5th month of pregnancy, it is completed. And later on, the eye splits open. That's in the 7th month of pregnancy.
So the Quran is perfect in conformity with science. First comes the sense of hearing. then comes the sense of sight.
There was an experiment done where a baby whose mother was a typist a newborn baby was taken and the mother of that baby was a typist and that baby born to a typist was placed along with other nine babies who were born to normal mothers who were not typists. And the typewriter was sounded. All the babies were scared except the baby of the typist.
Because the baby of the typist was used to hearing the typewriter in the womb of the mother. So the baby was used to it. So he wasn't scared. You know there are many hadiths which say that the pregnant woman should read the Quran. Today science has confirmed that when the mother is pregnant, when the lady is pregnant, what she sees, what she hears, what she listens has an impact on the child.
I'd just like to mention two more things before in my talk. The Quran mentions in Surah Qayamah, chapter number 75, verse number 3 and 4, where the unbelievers say that after we have died, after human beings... have died and have been buried and their bones have got disintegrated.
How will Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, Almighty God, be able to reassemble our bones on the day of judgment? So Allah gives a reply. Tell them, Allah can not only reconstruct the bones, He can even reconstruct in perfect order the very tips of your fingers.
What does the Quran mean by saying Almighty God on the day of resurrection? He can not only reconstruct your bones, He can even reconstruct in perfect order the very tips of your fingers. It was in 1880, that Sir Francis Gould, he discovered the fingerprinting method. And he said that no two fingerprints even the first one, even in a million human beings can be identical. And today, people use the fingerprinting method, especially the police, the FBI, the CIA, the CID, to identify the criminal, the robber.
And this fingerprinting method, which we came to know in 1880, Almighty God describes in the Quran 1400 years ago. He can not only reconstruct your bones, he can reconstruct in perfect order the very tips of your fingers. I would like to end my talk by giving the last example of Prof. Thakur Thakur Sean. Prof. Thakur Thakur Sean is head of the Department of Anatomy in the University of Shanghai in Thailand.
And he spent a great deal of time in doing research of pain receptors. We doctors, previously we thought that only the brain was responsible for the feeling of pain. Recently, we have come to know that besides the brain, there are certain receptors in the skin which are called as pain receptors which are responsible for the feeling of pain.
Without the pain receptors, the human being cannot feel pain. That's the reason whenever a patient of burn injury comes to a doctor, he takes a pin and pricks it in the area of burn. If the patient feels pain, the doctor is happy. It's a superficial burn. The pain receptors, they are intact.
If the patient does not feel pain, then the doctor is sad. The pain receptors have been destroyed. It's a deep burn. The Quran mentions in Surah Nisa, chapter number 4, verse number 56. As to those who reject our signs, we shall cast them into the hellfire. And as often as their skins are roasted, we shall give them fresh skins so that they shall feel the pain.
What does the Quran mean by saying that as to those who reject our signs, we shall cast them into the hellfire. And as often as their skins are roasted, we shall give them fresh skin so that they shall feel the pain. indicating that there is something in the skin which is responsible for the feeling of the pain. And today, the scientists and medical doctors have discovered that there are pain receptors in the skin which are responsible for the feeling of pain.
When this translation of the verse was given to Prophet Takratakrishnan, he said, it is impossible. How could a book written 1400 years ago mention about pain receptors? He could not believe in it. Later on, after verifying the translation, and and speaking with other scientists, he was so impressed with the Quran that in the 8th medical conference held in Riyadh, in the conference itself he said, La ilaha illallah Muhammad Rasulullah.
There is no God but Allah and Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, is the messenger of Allah. Alhamdulillah. Dr. Zakir Naik, before I begin the question and answers, a little about myself. In 1996, I accepted Islam at the University of California, Berkeley.
And the lecture which... facilitated my acceptance of Islam was a fraction of this lecture. Had I heard this, I probably would have been overblown. Some people are just given that gift, and you have been given that gift. I shouldn't praise people in their presence, but...
Now, back to the question and answers. In order to make this run as smoothly and quickly as possible, I would ask everyone in attendance tonight to please keep your questions strictly to the topic, to ask your question briefly, to be orderly at the mics and cue. in a line and do not bunch. And I would also like to remind everyone here in the audience that we are brothers and sisters in humanity. And for those non-Muslims who are with us tonight, you are our brothers and you are our sisters, and we will give you a priority at the mics.
So if you have a question, we ask that the volunteers facilitate those people in getting to the microphones. And they have the priority. Brothers and sisters, if you came with a non-Muslim guest and they are slightly shy, please do motivate them to ask their question because we have people who can give the best answers, inshallah.
And for those Muslims here, you have many opportunities, so please do let the non-Muslims ask their questions. We have three microphones, one in the rear for the brothers, in the front for the brothers, and one in the sister section here. So if you have a question, try to make your way to these one, two, three microphones. Written questions will receive second priority.
Those questions at the microphone will be answered first. I know that we have one very patient brother who is a non-Muslim. And he waited this entire talk to ask his question.
So at this time I will go to the front mic in the mails section and ask the brother to please state your name, your occupation, and then briefly state your question. Good evening everyone. My name is Aditya and I'm doing my final year of engineering in Chennai.
Though I'm a Hindu, I've been having this question about Islam that I wanted to ask. I know a better person than Dr. Zakir Naik. As you said in your speech many times the Holy Quran was written 1400 years ago and is considered the most worthy and the latest revelation given by Allah.
So I have two questions to you. Allah who knows all, why didn't He give His best of revelation the first time itself to the first of messengers? And why did God take so many times to give His best of knowledge? And my second question which is related to this is Even before the Holy Quran was written, that is 1400 years ago, human beings had lived in the earth for thousands of years. So why did Allah, the most merciful, didn't give them that best knowledge which He has given us for the last 1400 years?
Thank you. The brother asked a very good question, very relevant question. Two questions, both the questions overlapping the answers. He said that, why did Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala Give this last and final revelation 1400 years ago Why not in day one when you mean we were there and second part was a part of the same question that what about the people who? Lived before 14 years ago.
They were deprived of the Quran So if Allah is most merciful, most gracious, most beneficent, so isn't it that the people earlier before 49 days of the day, very good question. To reply a question, my son, he tells me that, Abba, father, you want me to become a doctor? Why do you put me in nursery, first standard, second standard, then school, then college?
Why don't you put me into medical college directly? If I want my son to become a medical doctor, I don't have to put him into the medical college directly. I have to first make the ground very clear.
First he goes into the pre-primary school, then goes into the school, first standard onwards, passes school, then goes to the higher school, then college and when he's fit... Then he enters the medical college. Similarly, Almighty God, who has knowledge of the unseen, has knowledge of everything.
He even has knowledge of the human beings. So, it is mentioned in the Quran, in Surah Ar-Rahd, chapter number 13, verse number 38. says, that we have sent a revelation in every age, in every period. By name, Torah, Mentioned in the Quran. Torah, Zaboor, Injil in the Quran. But there were several revelations sent.
The first revelation, Almighty God knew that the human beings had to develop. If he would have revealed the Quran at the first time, at the time of Adam, peace be upon him, he knew the human beings won't be able to grasp it. That is the reason in the Quran, the Quran is the In the revelation that came before the Quran, that is the Injeel, today we have the Bible, though we don't consider the Bible to be the Injeel, but some parts of the Bible may be the word of God. It's mentioned in the Bible, in the Gospel of John, chapter number 16, verse number 20 to 14, Jesus Christ, peace be upon him, says, I have many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. For he, when the Spirit of truth shall come, he shall guide you unto all truth.
He shall show you the way to come. He shall glorify me. So here Jesus Christ, peace be upon him, he knew, but yet he said that you will not be able to grasp it.
Therefore, when the last and final messenger will come, he will show you things to come. So similarly, Almighty God, he knew very well that when is the right time for the human beings to receive the last and final revelation of the Quran and that was about 1400 years ago. As far as the second part of the question is concerned, what about the people that came before the Quran was revealed?
I will tell them that if my son goes to standard one, he will not be given the medical question paper. He will be given the question paper of standard one. If he goes to higher school, he will be given the question of higher school. Then junior college. Fine?
So similarly, the basic message of Almighty God in all the scriptures, in all the revelations, from the first revelation till the last revelation, Quran was the same. That you have to believe in one God. That you have to worship Him and no one else.
So all the messengers, right from the first messenger, Adam peace be upon him, right down to Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, peace be upon them all. All of them taught the basic message of oneness of God and about tawhid. And about this message of oneness of God and tawhid, inshallah, I'll be discussing in detail on the last day of this conference, on the last Sunday, that's the 20th of January, inshallah.
Hope that answers the question. Thank you for the question. Do we have another question from a guest here? non-Muslim.
Okay, we'll go to the gentleman's section, rear microphone. Gentlemen, could you please state your name and your occupation, please? Good evening, everyone.
My name is Sanjeev. I'm working here in Landmark Company as an admin executive. I got a few questions, but I asked only two questions regarding Islam. First question is, do Islam believe in rebirth?
And second question is, in Islam, it's not allowed to commit suicide. But many people, that in Pakistan, in Arabic countries... They are blowing themselves up and they are killing many people. So who are the people they are motivating them? Whether they are really following Islam or who is motivating them?
That is my question, sir. There are two questions. The first question, does Islam believe in rebirth?
And the second question, that is suicide prohibited in Islam? How come people in Pakistan, other part of the world... They are blowing up themselves and killing themselves, the two questions. As far as the first question is concerned, that does Islam believe in rebirth? If you ask, only in rebirth, yes.
Islam believes in rebirth. What we believe? That the human beings come to this world once, the Quran says, that we give you life and come on this earth. Then we cause you to die and then we resurrect you again in the next life.
This is exactly what is mentioned in the Vedas. If you read Rig Veda, book number 10, it speaks about punar janam. Punar means next, janam means life. So the Veda speaks about punar janam, about the next life.
But, Unfortunately, most of the Hindus, they misunderstand the meaning of punar janam. Punar means next, janam means life, we believe in the next life. You say punar janam, you say rebirth, we have no problem. Most of the Hindus, they believe in a philosophy known as Samsara.
It's a Sanskrit word. Samsara, which means birth, death, birth, death. A cycle of reincarnation.
A cycle of birth, death, birth, death, birth, death. This cycle of birth, death, birth, death or Samsara or reincarnation is nowhere to be found in the Vedas. What they quote is, A verse of Bhagavad Gita, chapter number 2, verse number 22, which says that like a human being takes off the old clothes and puts on new clothes, same way the soul throws away the old body and puts on the new body.
As far as this is concerned, I have got no objection with the Bhagavad Gita. It is further mentioned even in the Upanishads. that like a caterpillar walks up a grass of blade, it jumps on to the new grass, I've got no problem. Now as far as the scriptures are concerned, if you take the literal meaning of the way, which does not speak about the cycle of life, of birth, death, birth, death, but only speaks about punar janam, next life, Islam speaks the same. But most of the scholars of Hinduism, they could not understand that how can a human being be born with some congenital defect.
How can he be born as a handicap? Some are born healthy, some are born handicapped, some are born in rich family, some are born in poor family. So they thought this was injustice. So how could God be unjust?
Therefore they propounded the theory of samsara, which is nowhere to be found in the Vedas. The Vedas are considered as the highest Hindu scriptures. In the Hindu scriptures, you have the Smriti and you have the Shruti. Smriti means scriptures written by the human beings and Shruti are the Vedas and Upanishads considered to be the word of God.
Now because they could not justify why some people are born in rich families, some in poor families, some are born healthy, some with congenital defect, they propounded this theory of samsara. As far as Islam is concerned, Allah says in the Quran, in Surah Mulk, chapter number 67, verse number 2, It's Allah who has created death and life to test which of you is good in deeds. This life you are leading is a test for the hereafter. And we believe that every child is born sinless, is born masoom. Irrespective whether he is born handicapped or healthy, whether rich family, poor family, all these things are a test for the human beings.
As Allah says in the Quran, in Surah Baqarah, chapter number 2, and Surah Anfal, chapter number 8, verse number 28, He says that surely we will test you with fear and hunger, with loss of life. and loss of what you have earned. It's mentioned in Surah Anfal, chapter number 8, verse number 28, that your children and your wife are a test for you.
Now here we realize that the Quran says your children are a test for you. Now if a child, suppose, is born handicapped, it's a test. For the parents, the parents may be very good, they may be pious, maybe Allah wants to test them more. After giving them a child which is handicapped, yet do they have faith in Allah or not? It's a test.
So whenever any calamity befalls any human being, it's either a punishment or a test. Whenever any good thing happens in your life, it's either a reward or it's a test. That does not mean if something bad happens, it has to be a punishment.
It can be a punishment, it can be a test. If something good happens in your life, it can be a reward or it can be a test. So here, Almighty God is testing the parents that do they have faith in Almighty God. So if a handicapped child is born, the parent may be an average Muslim and if he says, oh why?
My child only has to be born handicapped. Why my child has to be born with a congenital heart disease? Allah is testing them. The people who are good Muslims, they'll say, Allah has destined.
No problem yet. We thank Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And more difficult the test, More higher is the reward. To pass a simple graduation of BA is easy. But to pass MBBS is difficult.
The moment you pass MBBS, in front of your name you get doctor. DR full stop. Highest status.
Examination is difficult, the honor is more. So Almighty God tests different people differently. The child that is born, what the Hindus said, the Hindu scholars, in his previous janam, in his previous birth, he did a sin, therefore he was born handicapped.
They didn't have any other justification. If you do good deeds, then you are born healthy. So what the Hindu scholars, they propounded, that every living creature, it keeps on changing. According to them, the universal brotherhood in Hinduism is, all living creatures are your brothers. So sometimes you are born as an animal, sometimes as a bird, sometimes as a rat, sometimes as a cockroach, sometimes as a human being.
And the human being is the highest level. And you are born as a human being seven times. So they came with this philosophy because they could not justify. why a child is born rich or poor, handicapped or healthy.
Similarly, for a person who is born poor, it's a test for him. For the rich people, he has to give Zakat. Every rich person who has a saving of more than an Ishaab level, 85 grams of gold, he or she should give 2.5% of that saving every lunar year in charity. For the poor person, for him, He gets full marks in Zakat. He is poor, so he has to give no Zakat.
100 out of 100. But we say, poor man. Poor man, he has got 100 out of 100 in Zakat. The rich man, if he gives proper Zakat, he may get 100 out of 100. He says, okay, fine, I have got so much wealth. This part is exempted from Zakat.
He may give 50%. of Zakat. So he will get negative points.
He may not give Zakat at all. Imagine, suppose there is a questioner. There is a question in a question paper which is very easy.
Should you be happy or sad? So when a person is born poor, actually in Zakat, he gets 100 out of 100. Therefore, beloved Prophet said, it's easier for a poor man to go to Jannah than a rich man. But we say, poor man, how sad.
Not sad. 100 out of 100 in Zakat. For the rich man, he has to give charity, he has to give zakat, he has to give donation, he'll be accountable for his wealth.
So what in Islam, we are born in this world once and once is sufficient. Once we die, we are resurrected on the day of judgment. You want to call it rebirth, I've got no problem. You want to call it punarjanam, I've got no problem. We say life after death.
But surely, if I agree with you for sake of argument, for sake of argument, what the Hindu scholars propound, That you know, sometime you are born as animal, sometime bird, sometime human being. I want to ask you the question brother. In this world, as every year is passing on, is the population of the human beings increasing or decreasing brother?
Increasing or decreasing? Increasing. Very good.
Is the sin in the world increasing or decreasing? I can't hear you. Increasing or decreasing?
Increasing, sir. Sorry? Increasing.
Increasing. Human beings are increasing and even sin is increasing. If I agree with the philosophy of Hindu scholars, more the sin increases, the population of human beings should decrease. So therefore, I believe in going to the highest scriptures, Vedas.
When I talk, which I had given the talk earlier in Chennai, during the first peace conference, that was in 2004, similarities between Islam and Hinduism. And there, I showed... compared that even in Vedas it speaks about one God, no idol worship and everything. So what is common between the scriptures we follow? So this, the cycle of samsara, birth, death, birth, death is nowhere to be found in the Vedas.
It's the philosophy of the Hindu scholars to justify because they could not justify why human beings are born poor or healthy which I have given you the answer in Islam. As far as the second question is concerned, that is suicide haram in Islam, is it prohibited? If yes, then why do people commit suicide?
Is somebody instigating them, suicide bombing? The Quran says in Surah Baqarah, chapter number 2, verse 195, that do not make your own hands the cause of your destruction. So according to the Quran, committing suicide is haram, it is prohibited.
So as far as committing suicide, it is prohibited. As far as killing any other innocent human being, the Quran says in Surah Ma'idah, chapter number 5, verse number 32, that if anyone kills any other human being, Whether it be a Muslim or non-Muslim, unless it be for murder or for spreading corruption in the land, it is as though he has killed the whole of humanity. And if anyone saves a human being, it is as though he has saved the whole of humanity. So killing any innocent human being, whether it be a Muslim or non-Muslim, it is prohibited in Islam.
So if anyone, whether he puts a bomb without killing himself or with killing himself, if he kills an innocent human being, it is prohibited. So as far as killing innocent human beings is concerned, it is prohibited. If you use it as a strategy of war, you know, the Japanese used to do the suicide, you know. Initially, where do you get suicide bombing from? According to a professor who wrote a book, Dying to Win America, he says that the first people who did suicide bombing were the LTT.
Tamil Tigers. But yet the blame is put on Muslims. I know why. It's the media. Have you ever heard of any Muslim doing suicide bombing?
It was first the LTT. And then the Americans. And maybe some of the Muslims. Black sheep may have picked up.
But who were the originators? But yet when suicide bombing comes, the terrorists are labelled as Muslims. In Chennai, a few years back, I had also given a talk on terrorism and jihad and Islamic perspective.
Where I've described in detail about this answer of suicide bombing as far as Islamic perspective is concerned. But killing innocent human being and committing suicide is haram. Hope that answers the question.
Thank you for the question. We'll go to the front mic with the males. If there are any other non-Muslims at the back mic or the sisters mics, just have the volunteers raise their hands.
Any non-Muslim ladies are most welcome to ask the question. And if there are non-Muslims... Please feel free to come up on the microphone.
It's your opportunity. And as previous times I've come to Chennai, Alhamdulillah, all the questions were asked by non-Muslims. So I hope even now the non-Muslims of Chennai, MashaAllah, they're bold enough.
You can ask any question, even if it's a... the criticism. Even if you disagree whatever I say, no problem.
Come up and ask the question. Believe me, I am young but I can take it. You can criticize the Quran.
You can criticize Islam. You can ask. This is your opportunity. Please come up on the microphone and have the doubt cleared. This is your opportunity.
And there you've heard it from the man himself. So, your name and occupation please. My name is Ramakrishnan.
I am a software engineer. I have two questions for you. The first is...
What does Islam say about donating organs after death? Is it okay or is it prohibited? Second question is, what does Islam say about atheists?
That's it. The brother has two questions. I think non-Muslims have one, they are asking two, no problem.
The first question is, what does Islam say about donating organs? Second question is about Atheist. As far as the first question is concerned, what does Islam say about donating organs?
There is no direct verse in the Quran or any Sahih Hadith which says whether organs can be donated or not. But there are various conferences that have held in Saudi Arabia and and Malaysia, and very different parts of the world. And the scholars have come to a common consensus that if three things are fulfilled, then organs can be donated. Number one, the person who requires an organ, but natural, it should be a major benefit to his health.
He can receive organ as long as it's a benefit or saves his life. Point number two, the person donating the organ, after he donates the organ, it should not be a major loss to his health. For example, if I donate my heart, I will die.
So I can't donate my heart. But the doctors say that out of two kidneys present, a person can even survive with one kidney. So if my mother has a kidney failure, both the kidneys have failed, I can very well donate my one kidney to my mother. Even she lives, even I live. But naturally, after a person dies, if he wants to donate any other organ, that is permissible.
But if he is alive, he should not donate any part of the body which will cause a major damage to his health or a loss of life. And the third criteria is, it should not be for money. No one should sell organ.
If all these three conditions are fulfilled, then organ donation very well can be done. As far as the second question is concerned, what does Islam have to say about atheist? As far as I'm concerned, whenever I meet an atheist, Are you an atheist, brother?
He said, no. Whenever I meet an atheist, the first thing I do is I congratulate that atheist. People may wonder that why is Zakir congratulating an atheist?
The reason I'm congratulating an atheist is because most of the human beings, they usually do blind belief. He is a Hindu, because father is Hindu. He is a Christian, father is a Christian.
Many Muslims are Muslim because father is a Muslim. Now this atheist, he's thinking. He may be coming from a religious background. His father may be pious, but he does not believe. That how can they be a God who requires to eat, a God who can die, a God who can lie.
So the reason I congratulate the atheist is because he has said the first part of the Islamic Shahada, Islamic creed, La Ilaha, that there is no God. The only thing I have to do is Ilallah, but Allah, which I shall do inshallah. So half my job is done to a non-Muslim. who believes in some other God, first I have to prove to him that the God he is worshipping is wrong. And after I prove to him that the God he is worshipping is wrong, then I have to prove to him about the correct God.
Here, the atheist, half my job is done. He already agrees in the first part of the Islamic Shahada, La Ilaha, there is no God. The only thing I have to do is Ilallah, which I shall do, inshallah.
The first question asked to the atheist is, that, What is the definition of God? If anyone says there is no God, to say there is no God, he should know the definition of God. If he does not know the definition of God, he cannot say there is no God. For example, if I say this is a pen.
Is this a pen? No. It's a book.
To say this is not a pen, you should know the definition of pen. Some people say, no Zakir, I know this is a book, so I can't say it's not a pen. I said, no. If you know the definition of pen, I will say, is this a kitab?
You say, no, it is not a kitab because there is no definition of kitab. To say it's not a kitab, you should know the definition of kitab. Because kitab and book is the same.
So to say it is not a pen, you have to know the definition of pen. You may or may not know the definition of book. Correct?
Similarly, to say there is no God, you should know the definition of God. So now this person, the atheist, he is believing, oh that God, he requires to eat, he can lie, he fights and he loses. He does not believe in a God. So I say, I don't believe in such a God. La ilaha.
Then I tell to him the correct concept of God. And the correct concept of God is mentioned in Surah Al-Khlas, Chapter 112, Verses 1-4, which I shall discuss in the last day of the conference, inshallah, that is on 20th of January. So what is he doing? He is rejecting the false God.
Then I ask the question to the atheist, that if suppose there is equipment which is brought in front of you, who no one in the world has ever seen, no one knows about it, and if I ask the question that who will be the first person who will be able to tell you the mechanism of that equipment, the atheist will tell, the first person who will tell the mechanism of this equipment, who no one in the world has seen, it is the creator. Some may say the manufacturer, some may say the inventor, some will say the person who has made it, maker. He may say creator, maker, inventor, manufacturer, whatever he says, it will be somewhat similar. Don't grapple with the words, what he says, accept it.
Then ask him, then repeat the lecture which I gave, which I don't intend to be reading, that How did the universe come into existence? So he will tell about the Big Bang. Then I'll tell him that, when did you come to know? He will tell you in 1973, yesterday in science, 30 years back, 40 years back. I will say, what you are talking...
About the big bang you came to know 30 years back. It's mentioned in the Quran 1400 years ago. Who could have mentioned it?
He will say, maybe it's a fluke. Don't argue with him. Continue.
What is the shape of the earth? He will tell you, previously people thought it's flat. Now we know it's spherical.
When did you come to know? He will tell you 1577. When Sir Francis Drake sailed around the earth. Men, 300 years back, 400 years back, 450 years back, the Quran mentions 14 years ago. Who could have mentioned it? You will say, oh maybe a prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, he was an intelligent man.
Don't argue, continue. Light of the moon, is it its own light or reflected light? He will tell you. previously we thought light of the moon was its own light. Recently we have come to know a couple of hundred years back, it's reflected light.
It's mentioned in the Quran. Surah Furqan chapter 25 verse 61. Light of the moon is reflected 14 years back. Who could have mentioned it? Now we'll pause. Don't wait for the answer.
Continue. In school, I was taught that the sun was stationary. It did not rotate about its axis. He said, is that mentioned in the Quran?
I said, no, that's what I learned in school. But the Quran says the sun and the moon rotate, which we have come to know recently. In school, 25 years back, I was told the sun did not rotate.
The Quran says 14 years back that the sun rotates. With science, I discovered today. Who could have mentioned that? There will be a pause.
Don't wait for the reply. Continue. So all the scientific things I mentioned in my talk, after each scientific fact, fact, ask him who could have mentioned it before.
And finally, he will tell the creator, the manufacturer, the inventor, the maker, this creator, this manufacturer, this producer, this inventor, we in Islam call as Allah. That's the reason today science is not eliminating God, La Ilaha, it is eliminating models of God, Ilallah. Therefore, Sir Francis Bacon, a very famous philosopher, he said that little knowledge of science makes you an atheist, in-depth knowledge of science makes you a believer in God. So, with this help of this lecture, Quran, Modern Science, you can prove the existence of God scientifically.
Hope that answers the question. Jazakumullahu khair. Brother, go ahead and state your question. I remind the sisters, inshallah, to motivate those non-Muslim sisters that may be amongst you to ask their questions.
This is an excellent opportunity for them. So you should really try to motivate them to come to the microphones. Brother. My name is Ritesh and I'm a student studying 11th standard. My question is, all the religions have limitations of clothing.
Let me be specific to the women. They've changed with time. But why is the burqa still the same?
Why hasn't that changed with time? And one more question. I'm sorry. During Ramzan, I've seen all the Muslims will be fasting.
The Buddha said that by the passage of time, every religion has got clothing. for women but by the passage of time the clothing keeps on changing but why the muslim women yet wear the burqa as far as the clothing is concerned brother in islam there are six criteria for clothing for the man it's from the navel to the knee that is the extent it should be covered for the woman the complete body should be covered the only part that can be seen are the face and hands up to the wrist there are certain scholars who say that even this should be covered The remaining five criteria are the same for the man and the woman. The second is, the clothes they wear, it should not be so tight so that it reveals the figure, it should be loose.
The third is, it should not be translucent or transparent so that you can see through. The fourth is, it should not be so tight so that you can see through. be so glamorous so that it attracts the opposite sex. Fifth, it should not resemble that of the unbeliever.
And sixth, it should not resemble that of the opposite sex. These are basically the six criteria. And most of the six criteria are even mentioned in the other scriptures. If you read the Bible, it's mentioned in the Bible in the book of Deuteronomy, chapter number 22, verse number 5. It says that the woman shall not wear clothes that which pertain to a man.
And a man shall not wear clothes that which pertain to a woman. those who do this, they are creating an abomination. It's further mentioned in the Bible, in the 1st Timothy chapter number 2, verse number 9 that the woman should be dressed up with shamefacedness and sobriety.
They should not wear costly array, pearls and gold. And further it's mentioned in the first Corinthians chapter number 11 verse number 5 to 6 that the woman that prays with the head uncovered her head should be shaved off. There's no verse in the Quran and the hadith which says that the woman who does not cover her head should be shaved off but the Bible is stricter. Bible is stricter than the Quran that if the woman that prays does not cover the head, the head should be shaved off.
The same thing in the Hindu scripture. If you read the Hindu scriptures, it's mentioned in Ramayana that when Pasuram, when it comes to Ram, He says to his wife Sita that he is the elder. Therefore, lower your gaze and guard your modesty.
It's further mentioned if you read Rig Veda, book number 10, chapter number 25, verse number 30. It says that the woman... who wears the clothes of that of a man, she is defiling it. She should not wear the clothes of a man. Further it's mentioned that in Rig Veda, book number 8, that Brahma has ordered that the woman should cover her head.
So in Hindu scriptures, Christian scriptures, Muslim scriptures, modesty is there, covering the head is there. By the passage of time, I do agree with you, that Christianity now, You only see the nuns covering the head. They are called pious. If Muslim women cover their head, they are called subjugated. Why?
Double standards. If you see a nun covered properly, therefore you see the photograph of Mother Mary. Have you seen the photograph of Mother Mary? Like a Muslimah.
And she was a Muslimah. Muslim woman. Properly covered. With the wrist. Only face seen.
What I do agree with you, if you stick to to the six criteria. By fashion, the types of hijab, the burqa, abaya has changed. As long as you follow the six principles of Islam and you change the colour from black to blue to brown, no problem. As long as you don't break any of the six criteria, therefore you see new new styles of hijab. But some styles of burqa, they are so fashionable that they break the law of Islam.
There are so many shiny sequences coming that you're attracting the opposite sex. So that is haram. But otherwise, you want to wear red, you want to wear black color, no problem.
People think black is compulsory. Black is not compulsory. If you wear black, maybe you...
may have to wash the burqa once in a week. If you wear white, you may have to wash every day. The choice is yours.
You wear white and wash it every day. You wear black and wash it once a week. Choice is yours.
As long as it doesn't break any of the criteria, six criteria of hijab. So now there are new types of hijab coming. As long as it doesn't break, you are allowed.
But it should be modest. If it is modest, it's accepted. Second question. That you see in Ramadan, that people fast.
When they fast in the day, in the evening they feast. And I would like to thank you for asking this question. See, why do we fast? Allah says in the Quran in Surah Baqarah, chapter number 2, verse number 183, that fasting has been prescribed to you as it was prescribed to people who came before you, so that you may learn self-restraint.
You may learn taqwa. And today, scientists tell us, if you can control your hunger, you can control almost all your desires. So if you can fast, you can control your other desires.
But I do agree with you, if not all, many Muslims, if you say most also, I would not mind agreeing with you, that they fast, and when they break the fast, they feast. So that defeat is the purpose, I do agree with you. And many of them convert the day into night and night into day.
They sleep the full day and the full night they are playing cricket, in India cricket. So you have to lead a normal life. Like a normal life, you have to do more Ibadah, you have to worship God more. So normally when you fast, but naturally your meals are reduced. It is medically beneficial.
But if you overeat, then there will be a problem. But if you do it the correct way, there are various medical benefits of fasting, which you can refer to my video cassette. And I have given 64 episodes on fasting, which comes during Ramadan. And inshallah you can watch the various benefits of fasting.
Hope that answers the question. Sister Saeed, if you have a question from a non-Muslim sister, could you please state it? As-salamu alaykum. This is on behalf of a non-Muslim, Sister Vandana.
She says, I'm new to this concept, I have limited knowledge, therefore asking a basic question. If out of 6,000 verses, 1,000 are about scientific facts, then what really is the essence of the Quran? This is a very good question, that if the Quran contains more than 6,000 verses, and more than a thousand speak about science, what is the essence of the Quran?
Sister, as I mentioned in my earlier answer, the basic essence of the Quran is Tawhid. Believing in one God and worshipping Him alone and no one else. And the Quran, as I mentioned, is not a book of signs, S-C-I-E-N-C.
It's a book of signs, S-I-G-N-S. It's a book of ayats. The Quran is... A book which shows you how a life should be led.
And when I had a debate with Shishi Ravi Shankar, I said this is the best book on art of living. If there is any book on art of living which is the best, it is the Quran. Best book on art of living. And it has a membership of more than 1.3 billion people.
So this book shows you how to lead a life. Now many a times you understand that because the Quran is the word of Almighty God, one verse of the Quran has got multiple angles. Now the same thousand verses which are speaking about sands, doesn't mean it only speaks about science. It speaks about various other aspects also. That's the beauty of the Quran.
When a layman sees it, he understands it. When a scientific man sees it, he sees it in a different angle. It satisfies both. So that's the beauty of the Quran.
That does not mean that Quran is a book of science. Yes. But there is not a single verse of the Quran which goes against established science.
Because it's a book of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, Almighty God. So this book is a book of guidance, how a life should be led. It shows a person to believe in oneness of God, how to worship Him and how to lead the life. The pros and cons, the farais, what a human being should do and the prohibited things that he should abstain from.
It's mentioned in the Quran. Hope that answers the question, sister. Sister, if you have another question, go ahead. If it's from a non-Muslim.
Your presentation is impressive, but could you just ask this group to raise their hands who knew some of the information that you mentioned now? The thought here is, why is general education and the learning of the Holy Quran not integrated? Sister, I have a question from the audience.
How many of you knew the major portion of what I've said in the lecture? Please raise your hand. Major portion of what I've mentioned, mashallah, you can say, most of them.
At least more than 50%, if not all. And, the reason is, that I've written a book also, Quran and Modern Science, compatible and incompatible, which has been distributed in the conference. If those who have not got a copy, inshallah, on your way out, the copy of my talk, Quran and Modern Science, will be distributed, inshallah. It's a four-color book.
Regarding the part of the question, the second part, that why isn't education being given to the Muslims? So I expected the sister would have thought that maybe 1% or 10%, less than 10% raised the hand. So here you see, mashallah, majority knew it. And yet they came for the talk, alhamdulillah. Maybe they came for the question and answer session.
That is the best part of the program. Sister, as far as Islam is concerned, the first guidance given by Almighty God in the glorious Quran, in the last and final revelation of the human beings, it was not to offer salah. It was not to perform hajj or pilgrimage.
It was ikhra, read, recite, proclaim. So the first guidance given by Almighty God in the last and final revelation, it was to read, it was education. And that is the reason the major stress.
that the Muslims should put is on education and Alhamdulillah, the people of the south, I know from Kerala and even of Madras, mashallah, of Chennai, as far as the percentage is concerned in the other parts of India, Alhamdulillah, the Muslims in Kerala are 100% educated. Not Muslims, all Keralites, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, they're educated. So even culture counts into it.
As far as the religion of Islam is concerned, every Muslim, he should be educated. So, that's the message for those who are not educated, that acquiring education is important. And that is the first guidance given by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the last and final revelation of the glorious Quran.
Hope that answers the question. If the sister could please stay at the microphone, I'll come back to you after I take a question from the gentleman's side. If you have more questions from non-Muslims. If there's another sister who has a question, non-Muslim, then please allow her to come to the mic and ask her question as well.
But until then, I'll go with the brother in the front. Good evening again everyone. It was amazing to see how much science that the glorious Quran contain after your talk.
But in most of the examples from the Quran which you gave, It is very difficult to comprehend what the Quran tells. Before actually the science discovers or invents that particular phenomenon, for example, you said in the honey there is healing of humanity in the Quran and you mentioned it as it's about if a person is maybe say poisoned with a plant the honey of the plant should be taken. So what is the use say of a Almighty Holy Scripture talking about things which you are only able to comprehend after the real invention is made by science.
So can you tell me now something from the Quran? Which will be invented by science later or yet to be invented? Brother, that's a very good question that I've mentioned many things about science indirectly, saying all this was already discovered earlier. And if Quran says something and after science has discovered, so what's the use? Can you tell me something which science hasn't discovered?
Brother, that's the reason the Arabs were advanced in the field of astronomy. Why? Because they read the Quran.
The Quran has a lot of information on astronomy. So when they read the Quran, they try and do more investigation. They do more research.
And that's how they come to know. Quran is a telegraphic message. See, the book of science is only on one subject. In medicine, one subject only requires volumes. So if that way the Quran is, this Quran, most of the human beings, they don't like to read.
Oh, such a big book! So if God Almighty wrote in detail, then even a big building, you'll require thousands of buildings to contain the message of the Quran. Quran is telegraphic message.
So in telegraphic message, many of the Muslims, they read the Quran, and they made advances in science. That's the reason we find, if you go back into history, the Muslims advanced in science and technology. But you pose the question, forget about the past, what about today?
All what I've mentioned has been discovered earlier, but many of them were discovered by Muslims. Some by non-Muslims, some by Europeans. What about things which science hasn't discovered?
Fine. First I'll tell you those things which science hasn't established. But yet there are high chances, which Quran has testified and I believe in it. For example, Quran says in Surah Shura, chapter number 42, verse number 29, that it's Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala who has created the creatures in the heavens and the earth and has placed creatures in them.
So Quran says, there is life besides this earth. Today's science hasn't proved there is life besides this earth. Scientists say, there are high possibilities.
That life will be there besides this earth. So they are sending rockets, spaceships, moon, Mars. Quran says that life besides this earth, I believe in it. Science may discover it tomorrow, after 5 years, after 10 years, after 100 years. Quran says, I believe in it.
Today, there are many hypotheses. How the world will end? It says that the sun will become big. And the world will end.
The mountains will fall down. The mountains will become smooth. The ocean will swell up. The world will enter into a black hole.
Many hypotheses. Many of these hypotheses, not all, they match with the Quran. Quran says in Surah Qiyamah, chapter number 75, verse number 8 and 9, that the sun and the moon, they will join together. The sun will be buried in darkness. If you read Surah Taqweer, chapter number 81, verse 1, 2 and 3, it says that the stars will fall down and lose their luster.
The mountains will fall down to utter ruin. The ocean will swell up. It's mentioned in Surah An-Fitr, chapter number 82, verse 1, 2 and 3. Again, the ocean will swell up. The stars will fall down. Similar to many of the hypotheses.
But Quran says, I believe in it. Quran further says, In Surah Anbiya, chapter number 21, verse number 104, we have created this creation, we will destroy it and create a new creation. Science hasn't discovered that yet.
Quran speaks about life after death. Science hasn't proved that yet. Quran speaks about heaven and hell. Science hasn't proved about that.
Quran speaks about jinn. Today psychologists say, extraterrestrial power. There are some people who get possessed with jinn.
Quran speaks about that. Quran speaks the first man on the earth, what Adam peace be upon him. Science hasn't proved, there are high possibility science will prove. Now you may ask me, that brother Zakir, you gave such a good talk on science and technology, with 100% solid proof, you believe in life after death? You believe in jinn?
You believe in heaven and hell? You are doctor? Isn't this unscientific?
I said, no brother. I believe that it is scientific. Suppose whatever the Quran has mentioned, 80% has proved to be 100% correct. I spoke about astronomy, about geology, motorcycle, oceanography, botany, biology, zoology. So just hypothetically, 80% of what the Quran has mentioned, suppose, has been proved to be 100% correct.
The remaining 20% is ambiguous. Neither right, neither wrong. Not even 0.1% of that 20% which is ambiguous has been proved to be wrong.
There is not a single verse of the Quran which can be proved false by established science. Hypothesis. So my logic says when 80% is 100% correct and the remaining 20% is ambiguous, but not even 0.1% of that 20% is proved wrong. So my logic says that even that 20% inshallah will be correct. not today, tomorrow, after 50 years, after 100 years, after 1000 years, Allah knows, they will prove there is life after death.
They will prove there is jinn. They will prove there is hell. They will prove there is heaven and so on and so forth. I can give another lecture on things which science hasn't proved but inshallah will prove. Hope that answers the question.
Thank you for the question. Sister Saad, if you have another question from a non-Muslim sister, could you please state it? This is the last question from Sister Vandana.
Your memory and grasping is phenomenal. Is there any mention about better memory power? This is a question that my memory is phenomenal through the grace of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Is there any verse in the Quran which speaks about memory? As far as people keep on asking me, that what is the secret? Do you have a computer chip?
What is the secret? The secret, it is given in the Quran. And in my dawah training program which I take for my students, I say there are three things required.
Number one, the Quran says in Surah Al-Imran, chapter number three, verse number 160, that if Allah helps you, none can overcome you. If Allah forsakes you, who is there then who can help you? So let the believers put their trust in Allah.
Number one is trust in Allah. Number two, the Quran says in Surah An-Kabut, chapter number 29, verse number 69, if you strive in the way of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, if you struggle and do jihad in the way of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, Allah will open up your pathways. Number two is hard work. And number three is, Allah says in Surah An-Biyah, chapter number 21, verse number 7. And Surah Nahl, chapter number 16, verse 43. فَسْعَلُوا أَهَلِ الزِّكْرِ إِن كُنْتُ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ If you don't know, ask the person who is knowledgeable.
The third is the technique. The technique which we train in our Dawa training program. People ask me, Brother Zakir, what is the technique? I tell them, that is the third and the least important. Number one is faith in Allah.
With all your techniques in the world. You know, many of my students have done MBA and memorizing technique, triangle and horse. I don't know whether you know about the triangle technique and this and that and pegging.
Initially, they are good students. Towards the end, they come at the bottom. Allah's help is the best, better than any pegging or any triangle, anything, number one.
How do you get Allah's help? If you strive in His way. You strive in this way, you have to get success.
If you don't get success, you are not striving correctly in the way of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Regarding technique of memory etc, that is least important. We have a training course, where we have a 40 days training course, where we train people and mashallah you will be shocked that even my students, alhamdulillah they got chapter number, verse number, chapter number, verse number. We have dawah training program where we get students from different parts of the world and we train them. and how to give lectures, how to handle question and answer session, its training and hard work also.
As far as the verse of the Quran is concerned, before the beginning of my talk, I always quote a verse of the Quran. from surah Taha chapter number 20 verse number 25 and 28 which says This was a dua when almighty God Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells to Moses that go and deliver the message and before delivering the message Moses who was a stutterer he used to stammer and those who know me personally even I was a stammerer when I was a child And in my dream, a person can dream of anything in the world. In my dream, I could have dreamt of becoming the best surgeon in the world. But I couldn't have dreamt of speaking in front of 25 people.
Because I was a stammerer. People ask me, what is your name? My name is Azakir. That was me.
Now I'm coming in the way of Allah SWT. Maybe about 10-15 years back when I was in the field of dawah, when I started doing dawah, stammering wasn't there. When I spoke with Christian missionaries, stammering used to vanish.
I never thought of becoming a speaker. I came on the stage because my colleague was cold feet. I came, it clicked, and now I'm on the stage. And now by Allah's grace, I give lectures to tens of thousands of people, hundreds of thousands of people. The largest gathering is a million people live, Alhamdulillah.
That comes back to the verse of the Quran. When Moses was asked by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to deliver the message to Pharaoh and his people, he read a dua. A dua, a prayer from Surah Taha, chapter number 20, verse number 25 to 28, which says Rabishroohali sadri, O my Lord, expand my breast for me, expand my center for me.
Rabishroohali sadri, vayasilliamri, and make my task easy for me. Rabishroohali sadri, vayasilliamri, vahalul uqdatamillaisaniyafkahu qawli, and remove the impediment from my speech. Because Musa a.s.
was a stammerer, I also was a stammerer. Remove the impediment from my speech so that they will understand me. So the people to whom I'm delivering the message, I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to expand my breath for me, to make my task easy for me.
Remove the impediment from my speech so that the people will understand me. So this is the dua which can also be used for memory. But the main is having faith in Allah. Second is striving hard.
And third is technique. Hope that answers the question. That will be the last question for the evening. And with that, we would like to end this, the second night of the 10-day International Conference and Exhibition brought to you by Peace Vision of Islam for Harmony, Awareness and Education. JazakAllah khair for your attendance.