First Point:

Second Point:

Third Point:

Point Four:

Fifth Point:

In the Name of Allah, The Compassionate, The Merciful

Glory be unto Thee! We have no knowledge save that which Thou hast taught us: Verily Thou art All-Knowing, All-Wise Qur'an 2:32

One wonders why the Qur’an comments on matters like these things that were not known to anyone at the time of revelation or even for centuries afterwards, unless Allah knows in His eternal knowledge that the time will come when man will then immediately realize that the Qur’an is the Word of Allah and that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is His last Messenger, stresses Prof. Zaghloul El-Naggar.

One of the main features of our planet is its fractured nature. These fractures allow enormous amount of molten rock to flow out and produce these mid-oceanic ridges. Unless the earth has these fractures that can communicate with the areas of high heat flow below the Earth’s crust, life on earth would have been virtually impossible. One wonders how the Prophet knew these facts since he never rode the sea. How would he know this unless he was informed by Allah, the Creator. And why does the Qur’an refer to such unknown facts at the time of its revelation and for centuries to follow unless Allah knows in His eternal knowledge that the time will come when scientists can discover these facts and immediately realize that the Qur’an is the Word of Allah and that Muhammad was the seal of His Prophets and His messengers.

The Sea Set on Fire

In Surah At-Tur (52:6), Allah swears an oath: Wal bahril masjur, “By the sea set on fire.” Water and fire are incompatible, water quenches fire and fire causes water to evaporate and it is virtually impossible to have water and fire in one place. Therefore, early commentators on Qur’an thought in the first instance that the verse probably is referring to Akhirah, the last hour, because there is another verse which says: Waithal-Biharu-sujjirat translated as: “When the seas will be set on fire.” But the context of the oath in Surah At-Tur is in relation to things that exist in our present day life. They immediately said that it could not refer to Akhirah, and has to refer to our worldly life. They then started looking for another meaning for the word masjur, other than “set to fire”. They found in the Arabic language that some of the meanings of sajjara means mala-a wa kaffaa (it has been filled with water and kept from transgressing on land). This is true because we have many instances in the history of our planet when the seas encroached more on land than they do today. We also know that the maximum amount of fresh water on land is stored in the form of ice caps in the two poles as well as at the peaks of high mountains.

This massive amount of fresh water does not need more than 4-5 degrees Celsius to melt and 4-5 degrees are nothing in the climatic changes of our planet. If these ice caps were made to melt, this can raise the water level of seas and ocean by 100 meters, or so and would be more than enough to drown most of the present day civilizations which lie very close to shore lines. The commentators thus said that the meaning of al bahril masjur is not “the sea set on fire” but “the sea that is filled with water and stopped from transgressing on land.” This is correct, but when the scientists went down to study the mid-oceanic ridges, they found that they are all composed of volcanic rocks. They also found that the network of fault lines that traverse the planet actually ooze magma at temperatures that exceed 1,000 degrees Celsius resulting in seas and oceans that are actually set on fire. Water boiling to superheated steam at temperatures of 200 degree Celsius or more. This is a fact that came to our knowledge only in the late 60’s of this century.

Mountains in the Qur’an

Another striking example in the Qur’an relates to mountains. The Qur’an speaks about mountains in 49 different verses. In one of these verses the Qur’an describes mountains as pegs or pickets. “And the mountains as pegs (awtaadaa) (78:7). If we take any scientific or linguistic dictionary of today and look for the meaning of mountain, we will find that scientists define mountains as high elevations on the surface of our planet.

Elevations that exceed 610 m in height are called mountains and anything below this is regarded as a hill. However, in many of the American references, elevations above 300 meters are considered mountains. The Qur’an that was revealed more than 14 centuries ago describes mountains as pegs or pickets. If we look at a tent’s peg, we find that most of its length, is buried in the ground, its smallest part crops out on the surface of the ground and its function is fixation.

Scientists have now come to realize that mountains are not just surface elevation into the ground, and these are called mountain roots. Mountain roots were never known to scientists before the turn of this century and they were highly debated until recently. A peak like Mount Everest, which is almost 9 km above the ground’s surface, has a root that develops for more than 125 km inside the Earth’s outer rocky layer.

Just as the peg or picket’s function is mainly to hold the tent solidly to the ground, so too is the exact same role of mountains. We have come to know that the outer rocky layer of the Earth is fractured by faults into plates that float on molten magma. With the earth’s rotation around its own axis, these floating plates would have been rapidly moving had it not been for the stabilizing influence of mountains. No soil could have accumulated, no water could have been stored in the soil, no plant could have germinated, no road constructed, no house could have been built, and life would have been impossible on our planet. For this reason Allah showered his bounties on man by fixing the earth with mountains. Mountains act like pegs or pickets that hold the continental masses down and stops them moving. Muhammad (peace be upon him) is quoted to have said in an authentic hadith that when Allah created the earth it started to shake and jerk, then Allah stabilized it with mountains.

In our Solar System

The source of iron (Fe), we read in the Qur’an: “Verily, We have sent down iron in which there is great might and uses for human beings.” (57:25) When the early commentators of the Qur’an tried to explain this verse, they explained that anzalnaa (we have sent down), was not a physical sending down but meant that iron was created with the qualities of strength and might. However, it has recently been proven that all iron, not only in our planet but in the entire solar system was obtained from outer space. This is because the temperature of the sun cannot generate iron. The sun has a surface temperature of 6000 degrees Celsius and a central temperature of about 20 million degrees Celsius. There exists much hotter stars which are known as novae or super novae where temperatures can reach 100s of billions of degrees Celsius and it is in these stars that iron is formed. When the percentage of iron reaches a certain proportion of the mass of the star it explodes and these exploded particles travel in space until they are captured by the gravitational fields of other heavenly bodies. This is how our solar system all obtained its iron and it is an established fact today that all the iron in our solar system was not generated or created within the system but has come to it from outer space.

One wonders why the Qur’an comments on matter like these things that were not known to anyone at the time of revelation or even for centuries afterwards, unless Allah knows in His eternal knowledge that the time will come when man will then immediately realize that the Qur’an is the Word of Allah and that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is His last Messenger.

Kid Sheikh Dazzles Muslim World

Daily Observer; Tuesday March 9, 1999; Banjul, The Gambia

For many months the strange story of a wonderkid from Arusha, Tanzania has been circulating in the grapevine. When we received a write-up on him three weeks ago, we censored it in the beliefe that it appeared too spurious to be true. But the story of the four-year old Sheikh Sherifdeen Khalifa is proving to be an enduring enigma, as spun in this story culled from a recent edition of the Nigerian weekly, Tempo.

His story belongs to one of the dozen wonders (or is it seven?) of the ancient world. It's almost implausible: a two year old (now four) preacher, spreads Islamic gospel and sermonises like a knowledgeable adult!

Sheikh Khalifa Sherifdeen's world is, however, neither medieval, nor ancient. He lives in the present. He never went to school yet he reads the Qur'an and Bible. He stopped breast-feeding at two months.

At Itakete, in Benin Republic, the kid-preacher sermonised about the death inevitability of death, the totality of God's power over all; that all, except Allah, (Almighty God) are going to die, questioning where will the rich and kings be on the day of Qiyama (resurrection). He listed five questions which Allah (God) will ask every soul on the day of ressurection. They are: How did you spend your time on earth? How did you spend your youth? How did you take care of the poor?; Did you use the knowledge given to you properly?

He enjoined believers to confess their sins and refuse to go back to it.

He sermonised over God's abhorrence of sundry vices: drinking, adultery excessive thirst for lucre, etc. All those he capped with a long prayer in Arabic.

Most times while he spoke, he still exhibited infant traits. Very often, while sitting, he is either swinging his multi-colored, white-dominated white canvass or fiddling with tip a of the table cloth. At a stage, the kid preacher was caught sucking his right thumb, while he asked the audience to be less noisy, covering his mouth with his palm in gesticulation.

When a middle-aged Christian asked if Jesus Christ wa coming back, Khalifa Sherifdeen answered in the affirmative. One of the signs of Jesus' return, says Khalifa is the appearance of strange, small children like him talking like adults. While another person asked him how many years he was going to spend on earth as the town (Itakete) was awash with rumours that he will be only 10. His response was that life belongs to the Almighty alone.

Another Christian woman asked him whether everybody should become a Muslim or remain as Christians following the teachings of Jesus and whether he (Sherifdeen Khalifa) was a Prophet of God? He responded in the negative to the last question, saying he was a creature of God- the same God that created Jesus.

He riled not a few Christians in the audience when he said Jesus was a creature of God. The youthful innocence and upperturbed mien of the kid preacher was however noticeable. He carried on as if nothing was amiss.

Now four years old, Khalifa Sherifdeen is creating waves across the Muslim world, traversing international borders at will. He has been to Cameroon, Kenya, Congo, Malta, Chad, and Benin Republic, where he met and preached to Beninoise president Mathieu Kerekou.

Muslims also claim he had converted thousands of non-Muslimsto the Muslim faith. In Nigeria, he is the rave of the moment in Muslim homes, as video cassettes of his sermons, pictures, almanacs and stickers, become progressively popularised. And as zealots of all faiths are wont to do, Muslim faithful are crashing in on the Khalifa miracle to call the Non-Muslims to embrace their faith. Says Chief Imam of Horin Mallam Mohammed Abashir, "Khalifa Sherifdeen is a miracle from our God, Allah. It is a divine testimony from Him about the authenticity and truth of the Islamic faith.

Born four years ago in Arusha, Tanzania, to Christian parents of the Catholic tradition Kahlifa, reports say, converted his mother Domisia kimaro and father Francis Fundinkira to Islam before he began his transborder evangelism-all with his unusually oversized head.

A ringing minus however dot Khalifa's sermons, translators are too many while sermon arrangements could be somewhat rowdy

by Harun Yahya

Surely Allah is not ashamed to set forth any parable – (that of) of a gnat or anything above that.” (Al-Baqara, 26)

As people are invited to contemplate on their own creation, the Qur’an frequently calls people to investigate the nature and to see the signs of Allah therein. The whole universe, with all its living and non-living elements, consists of the signs revealing that they have been “created.” They exist just in order to demonstrate the power, knowledge and art of their Creator. Mankind is responsible to know these signs and appreciate the Creator of all, Allah. All living things possess these signs, yet there are some specifically mentioned animals in the Qur’an. The mosquito is one of these. This is referred to in the Qur’an in the below verse:

Surely Allah is not ashamed to set forth any parable – (that of) a gnat or anything above that; then as for those who believe, they know that it is the truth from their Lord, and as for those who disbelieve, they say: What is it that Allah means by this parable: He causes many to err by it and many He leads aright by it! But He does not cause to err by it (any) except the transgressors.” (Al-Baqara, 26)

When considering the life of the mosquito, we can say that it has a very extraordinary adventure. What is generally known about mosquitoes is that they absorb and feed on blood. Yet, this is not completely true. Not all the mosquitoes, but only the female ones, absorb blood. Their need for blood is not related to feeding at all. Actually, both male and female mosquitoes feed on the nectar of flowers. The only reason that females, unlike males, do absorb blood is for their eggs, which need to mature with the proteins contained in the blood. In other words, a female mosquito absorbs blood just to ensure the survival of the new generation.

The point to be stressed here is that the verse of the Qur’an points out only the “female” mosquito. As previously mentioned, it is only the female mosquito which has the superior capabilities that will be detailed here. So, it is surely quite expressive that female mosquitoes are particularly emphasized in the Qur’an. Besides, it is a remarkable fact to point out that at the time of the revelation of the Qur’an, this knowledge was completely unknown to mankind.

The development process and its phases is one of the most amazing aspects of the mosquito. This animal converts from a larva through completely different phases. Let us see this adventurous story of the mosquito briefly. The mosquito eggs, which are fed with blood, are laid on damp leaves or dried ponds for maturation by the female mosquito, during summer of fall. But prior to this, the mother initially examines the ground thoroughly by using a receptor placed under her abdomen, functioning as a humidity and temperature sensor. She aims at finding a convenient place for her eggs. These eggs, which have a length of less than one mm, are arranged in a line either in groups or one by one. Some species lay their eggs joined to each other forming a raft, some of which may contain up to 300 eggs.

The carefully placed white eggs soon start to change their color. This takes only about a few hours after they are laid down, and they become completely black in color. With this change, they attain an excellent protection against birds and insects. Their dark color cannot be recognized by these organisms.

It takes a winter for the incubation period to complete. Since eggs are created with such a structure to resists a long and cold winter, they survive until spring when their incubation period ends. When the incubation period is complete, the larvae start getting out of their eggs, all about the same time. The first egg is immediately followed by the others. As soon as they get out of the eggs, they start to swim in water. Now, the underwater days start for the mosquitoes.

The continuously fed larvae grow with great speed. Soon the skin covering their body gets too small to let them grow any further. This is the time for their firs skin change. The hard and brittle skin gets easily broken. Until this developmental cycle is completed as a whole, the mosquito larvae will change its skin two more times.

Since the life of the mosquito initialized in water, the system designed for feeding of the larvae is rather impressive. The larvae empowers whirlpools in the water with its feathered prolongations located at the two sides of its mouth, which lead bacteria and other microorganisms for feeding. A solution also exists for its respiration: each larva has an innate diving equipment. They breathe via respiratory tubes at their back while standing upside down in water. This system may be resembled to “snorkels” used by the divers. During the employment of this method, the larva secrete a sticky secretion from their body in order to prevent water from leaking inside, through the respiratory openings. Shortly, the animal lives with the help of the combined harmony of all these delicate balances.

If it did not have a respiratory tube, it would not survive; if it did not have a sticky secretion, its respiratory tube would be chocked.

As the time goes by, most of the larvae change their skin once more. The last skin change is rather different from the others. With this last change, larvae pass onto the final phase of their maturation, the “pupa phase,” and they are ready to become a real mosquito at the end. So, the time has come for the mature pupa to get out of the sheath covering its body.

However, the creature that gets out of the sheath is so different from the earlier phases, that it seems unbelievable for them to be just two developmental phases of the same being. And this metamorphoses is too complicated and delicate to be designed by the larva itself, nor by its mother, or any other thing.

During this last transition period, there is a threat for the creature, since the respiratory openings above the water may get closed with the leaking of water inside. This will naturally mean that the pupa will be out of breath, and die. But from then on, respiration will not be done via these holes. There emerge two new air tubes on the head of the pupa. Therefore, before the pupa gets ready for the last skin change, firstly these two tubes rise on the water. This will be its new method for respiration. During the three or four days of the pupa phase, there will be no nutrition for the coming mosquito. Now, the mosquito within the pupa cocoon is mature enough and ready to fl with all its organs and organelles like antennas, trunks, feet, chest, wings, abdomen, and large eyes covering most of its head. Then the pup cocoon is torn at the top. This stage where a complete mosquito will emerge is the most dangerous stage of all. The greatest risk is water leakage into the cocoon. However, the torn top is covered with a sticky liquid preventing the head from contacting water. The mosquito must get out of water without having any direct contact with water, so only its feet touch the water surface. This instant is extremely important; even a light wind may cause its death. Finally, the mosquito leaves for its first flight after a rest of about half an hour. It should be noted once again: The animal has gotten out of water without even touching the water…At this point, the question that should come to mind is, how the first mosquito has attained such an “ability”? Might be that a larva has decided to transform into a mosquito after changing skin three times? Absolutely, these are impossible. This tiny animal, which Allah gives as an example, has specifically been created as it is. This leads the Muslims to ponder on the creation of Allah and think that Allah has not created all these for nothing, they fear Allah and act totally to comply with His Will. Men who celebrate the praises of Allah, standing, sitting and lying down on their sides, and contemplate the (wonders of) creation in the heavens and the earth, (With the thought): “Our Lord! Not for naught Hast Thou created (all) this! Glory to Thee! Give us salvation from the penalty of the Fire.”