The sublime creation of marine life forms

Marine mammals possess special bodily systems to allow themto survive
entirely in water.
Whales and dolphins represent the living group known as, "marine
mammals." These creatures are part of the mammal class because, just
likemammals on dry land, they give birth to and suckle their young,
use lungs for breathing, and heat their own bodies. However, since
they are mammals that livein the sea, their physical structures
arerather different to those of other mammals. They have special
bodily systemsdesigned for living entirely in water, thanks to which
they are able to swim for many kilometres without tiring and to see
everything in the water and on land with the same clarity. (Harun
Yahya, The Design in Nature)
The Ability to See Clearly in Different Environments
The eyes of whales and dolphins permit them to see in very different
surroundings. Their vision is equally perfect beneath and above the
water. A dolphin, for example, can leap 6 metres above the water and
easily seize a piece of food held up for it in the air. Yet, most
living creatures, human beings included, are unable to see very well
outside their own habitats, due to differences in the refraction of
light. Thedifference between the eyes of marine mammals and
terrestrial mammals are astonishingly detailed. On land, the potential
dangers facing the eye are physical impacts and dust. That is why
terrestrial mammals have eyelids. In a water environment, however, the
greatest dangers are salt levels,the pressure arising when diving down
to great depths, and damage due to marine currents. In order to avoid
direct contact with the current, the eyes are located on the sides
ofthe head. There is alsoa hard layer that protects the eye during
deep diving. Since the bottom of the sea is in darkness beneath a
depth of 9 metres, the eyes of marine mammals have been equipped with
various features allowing them to adapt to the darkness. For example,
the lens is perfectly spherical. Light-sensitive rod cells are more
numerous than cone cells, which are sensitive to colour anddetail. In
addition, there is a special phosphorus containing layer inside the
eye. That is why marine animals can see so well in the dark.
The Miracle of Life in Salt Water
Mammals, such as whales and dolphins, that live in the sea require
fresh water in order to survive. Unlike fish, however, they do not
meet that need using salt water. These mammals meet the greater part
of their water requirements by eating other living things that contain
only a third as much salt as the level in the oceans.
For marine mammals, with such restricted water resources, it is of the
greatest importance that as much water as possible be stored
andpreserved inside their bodies. The well-known scientific journal,
Scientific American, examined this important subjectunder the heading,
"How marine mammals drink salt water." In a statementin the magazine,
the marine biologist, Robert Kennedy, described how marinemammals
obtain the water they need from the food they consume. Kennedy noted
that marine mammals reduce the levels of salt in their bodies and
regulate the water in their blood by avoiding salty food particles
(Scientific American, July, 2001).
Research has shown that marine mammalsare able to preserve the fresh
water in their bodies, thanks tosolutions that are unique to them. In
order to avoid water loss, these creatures do not sweat since they
have no sweat glands in their skin. Their kidneys also reduce the
amount of water expelled in urine by maintaining a high level of urea
in the blood. Water loss is thereby reduced to a minimum.
Complex Mechanisms
These vital functions are obviously essential to marine mammals'
survival. However, it is impossible for them to have thought of
anddiscovered all these finely-tuned details of their own will. These
creatures possess no intelligence with which to choose what they will
eat or to maintain the water in their bodies. Even if they did possess
such intelligence, it would still be impossible for them to construct
the complex mechanisms in question inside their own bodies. All these
solutions, the product of intelligence, are signs of creation revealed
tous by science that we encounter in a great many living things. There
is no doubt that it is Almighty Allah, Lord of the Worlds, who creates
marine mammals and inspires them with how to maintain the levels of
water in theirbodies.
The Interesting Way That Marine Mammals Sleep
How do marine mammals, that spend their entire lives in the water,
manage to sleep without drowning?
A team led by Bruce Hecker, director of the South Carolina Aquarium,
investigated the answer to this question and revealedtwo basic methods
of sleeping.
Marine mammals either rest silently in ahorizontal or vertical
position in the water, or else sleep while slowly swimming alongside
another animal. Dolphins, which live alone, tend to sleep more deeply
and at night. This is known as "logging," because, in this state, the
dolphin resemblesa log floating on the surface of the water. When
marine mammals sleep and swim at the same time, this is known as
"napping." Young whales and dolphins rest and sleep by being drawn
into the slipstreams created bytheir mothers, known as "echelon
swimming." At these times, the mother is also able to sleep while
moving. Adult male dolphins, on the other hand, usually travel in
pairs and swim side by side when sleeping. Females and youngsters
travel in larger groups, or pods.They are able to rest in the same
general area or else pair up with companionable animals to sleep
whileswimming.
When sleeping, these animals shut down half of their brains, together
with the opposite eye. The other half of the brain remains awake at a
low level of alertness. This attentive side is employed to watch out
for predators, obstacles, and other animals. At the same time, it also
emits a signal telling the animal when to rise tothe surface for fresh
air. After some two hours or so, the animal reverses the situation,
resting the attentive half of the brain and activating the other. This
model is generally referred to as "cat-napping." Dolphins generally
sleep at night, once, and for a period of only a few hours. Theyare
generally active during the later hours of the night, probably
matching this period of wakefulness to catch fish and squid.
There can be no doubtthat it is Almighty Allah who bestows these
systems on marine mammals. Allah has created these life forms with the
ideal characteristics to permit them to survive. Our responsibility is
to have sure and certain faith in our Lord and to be able to see the
manifest evidence of His existence on Earth:
"And in your creation and all the creatures He has spread about there
are Signs for people with certainty."(Surat Al-Jathiyya,4)

Ashab al-Suffa who spent their wealth andthemselves in the wayof Allah are exemplaryfor all Muslims

All the companions of our Prophet (saas) are examplary in their
superior morality and self-sacrifice. However especially those who
were called Ashab al-Suffa devoted 24 hours of their lives to Allah,
never got married,never pursued passions like family, children,
possessions or position; remained within the company of our Prophet
(saas) all the time and were educated by our Prophet (saas)
personally.
The companions of our Prophet (saas) who stayed in the antechamber
later annexed to the north part of Masjid al-Nabawi (the Mosque of our
Prophet (saas)) were referred as Ashab al-Suffa. They were those
blessed people who never married, had no relatives or attachment to a
tribe. They were not involved in trade and devoted all their time to
earn Allah's good pleasure and learn knowledge from our Prophet
(saas). Away from their families, they paid no attention to the
worldly deeds and continuously learned theQur'an and listened to our
Prophet's (saas) lectures and were sent to Muslim tribes to teach them
the Qur'an and the Sunnah. They were around 400-500 people and were
also known as the army of Wisdom.
Our Prophet (saas) was closely interested in their education.
These distinguished people who devoted themselves to Allah's way in
the true sense of the word, never missed the teachings of our Prophet
(saas). They were always ready there, memorized the teachings and
narrated them to other companions. It is told that the following verse
was revealed about Ashab al-Suffa (M.Hamdi Yazir, Hak Dini Kur'an
Dili, The Language of theQur'an, the Righteous Religion , 2/940)
It is for the poor who are held back in the Wayof Allah, unable to
travel in the land. The ignorantconsider them rich because of their
reticence. You will know them by their mark. Theydo not ask from
people insistently. Whatever good you give away, Allah knows it.
(Surat al-Baqara, 273)
The followers of Hazrat Mahdi (as) will, Insha'Allah, also spend
every moment of their lives in the way of Allah, they will never leave
Hazrat Mahdi (as ) and never dread from oppression and hardship.
Indeed, Insha'Allah together with Hazrat Mahdi (as), they will work
very hard to cause the morality of the Qur'an dominate the world.

The eminence Islam attaches to women

God's commandments about the status of women and the relations
between men and women, which havebeen revealed to us through the
Qur'an, consist of full justice. In this regard, Islam suggests
equality of rights, responsibilities and duties between the two
genders. Islam is based on sympathy, tolerance and respect for human
beings, and does not discriminate against women in this matter. On the
contrary, Islam gives women greatsocial value, freedom and comfort.
In the Qur'an God tells usthat the tasks and responsibilities of women
are the same as those of men. While performing these tasks and
responsibilities men and women must help and support each other:
The men and women of the believers are friends of one another. They
command what is right and forbid what is wrong, and establish prayer
and pay alms, and obey Allah and His Messenger. They are the people on
whom Allah will have mercy. Allah is Almighty, All Wise. (Qur'an,
9:71)
God emphasizes that believers will be rewarded in the same manner
according to their deeds, regardless of their gender:
Their Lord responds to them: 'I will not let the deeds of any doer
among you go to waste, male or female - you are both the same in that
respect... (Qur'an, 3:195)
Anyone who acts rightly,male or female, being a believer, We will give
them a good life and Wewill recompense them according to the best of
what they did. (Qur'an, 16:97)
In another verse, Muslimmen and women are considered together, and it
is stressed that both have the same responsibility and status in God's
sight:
Men and women who are Muslims, men and women who are believers, men
and women who are obedient, men and women who are truthful, men and
women who are steadfast, men and women who are humble, men and women
who give alms, men and women who fast, men and women who guard their
private parts, men and women who remember Allah much: Allah has
prepared forgiveness forthem and an immense reward. (Qur'an, 33:35)
In the Qur'an there are many more verses stating that men and women
are exactly equalin terms of their tasks and responsibilities and
their rewards or punishments in return. There are a few differences in
social issues, but these are for the comfort and protection of women.
The commands of the Qur'an regard the congenital differences between
the two genders resulting from their creation, and suggest a system
maintaining equal justice for men and women in this light.
Many rules and commandments exist in the Qur'an regarding
theprotection of women's rights on marriage. Marriage is based on
thefree will of both parties; the husband has to provide economic
support for his wife (4:4); the husband has tolook after his ex-wife
after divorce (65:6).
The Islamic Emancipation of Women
In fact, Islam brought with it a great emancipation for women, who
were severely persecuted in the pagan era. Prof. Bernard Lewis, known
asone of the greatest Western experts on the history of Islam and the
Middle East, makes the following comment:
In general, the advent ofIslam brought an enormous improvement in the
position of women in ancient Arabia, endowing them with property and
some other rights , and giving them a measure of protection against
ill treatment by their husbands or owners. Thekilling of female
infants, sanctioned by custom in Pagan Arabia, was outlawed by Islam.
But the position of women remained poor, and worsened when, in this as
in so many other respects, the original message of Islam lost its
impetus and was modified under the influence of pre-existingattitudes
and customs. [i]
Karen Armstrong, another Western expert on Islam, makes the following comment:
We must remember what life had been like for women in the pre-Islamic
period when female infanticide was the norm and when women had no
rights at all. Like slaves, women were treated as an inferior species,
who had no legal existence. In such a primitive world, what Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) achieved for women was extraordinary . The very idea
that a woman could be witness or could inherit anything atall in her
own right was astonishing. [ii]
In fact, during the manycenturies that followed Prophet Muhammad
(pbuh), women of the Islamic societies had a much higher social
position than the women of Christendom. Karen Armstrong emphasizes
that, during the Middle Ages;
... the Muslims were horrified to see the way Western Christians
treated their women in the Crusader states, and Christian scholars
denounced Islam for giving too much power to menials like slaves and
women. [iii]
Anna King, a modern Muslim woman and a convert - or, better to say, a
revert - to Islam, explains the Islamic emancipation of womenas
follows:
Islam gave women the right to buy and sell on their own, own
businesses and express her views politically, alsoencouraged women to
study and learn Islamic knowledge, breaking a ban which several
beliefs had stipulated, which forbid women to acquire any religious
knowledge or touch religious texts... It also abolished the practice
ofmarrying a woman without her consent.
The tendencies to see women as "an inferior species" who has no right
for education and that must be totally secluded from the society arose
much later in the Islamic world, as aresult of deviations fromthe
right Qur'anic path.
Thus, the mentality that despises women, excludes them from society
and regards them as second class citizens has no place in Islam.
In fact, devout women are depicted as good examples for mankind inthe
Qur'an. One is Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. Another is the wife
of the Egyptian Pharaoh who, despite her husband's wickedness, is also
described as an ideal Muslim. (see, 66:11-12) The Qur'an also
describes very gentle conversations between the Prophet Solomon and
the Queen of Sheba (27:42-44), and between Moses and two young ladies
(28:23-26), which symbolize the civilized social relationship between
the two genders.
Therefore, it is impossible for a Muslim to have a bigoted approach
to women. In a society where true Islamic morals are practiced,
immense respect and sympathy will be shown to women, and it will be
ensured that they can live in comfort.
The fundamental rule inQur'anic exegesis is ensuring that the derived
meaning is in conformity with the integrity of the Qur'an. When this
is considered, it is seen that all the rules mentioned to us byAllah
regarding women form a social structure allowing them to live in the
most comfortable and happiest way. In a society where all the moral
values mentioned by Islam are practiced comprehensively, the social
position of women becomes even more exalted than in societies that we
today regard as modern.

Knowledge and wisdom -provisions of the caller

From the greatest favors of Allaah and bounties upon a slave is to
facilitate means and reasonsby which he becomes one who carries out
the mission of the religion and to be among those who strive and
sacrifice all that isprecious to them, to establish the laws of Allaah
on earth and inorder for the Word of Allaah to be supreme and
uppermost and the word of the disbelievers the lower most. This high
rank and honorable one is the most dignified rank and the highest
levels. It is the rank of messengers and their way, may Allaah their
mention. This same task is to be shouldered by the scholars, who
inherited this fromthe Prophets and Messengers.
Calling people to Allaah is an obligation upon all Muslim at different
levels but it differs according to the level of knowledge, wisdom,
way, rank, profession and time. This obligation is evident from many
verses that are clear in the Quran,like the Saying of Allaah (which
means): "Let there arise out of you a group of people inviting toall
that is good, meaning Islam, enjoining virtue (meaning
Islamicmonotheism) and forbidding all evil (Polytheism and
disbelief)." [Quran 3:104].
And also like the Saying of Allaah (which means): " Say, meaning O!
Mohammad, this is my way, I invite on to Allaah with sure knowledge, I
and whosoever and I follow me and glorify, and exalted is Allaah"
[Quran 12:108].
And the Saying of Allaah (which means): "Invite to the way of your
Lord with wisdom and fair preaching and argue with them in a way that
is better" [Quran 16:125].
In order for the one who is propagating Islam to achieve positive
results in his mission, he should fulfil the following two matters:
1) Propagating based on sure knowledge: Allaah Says (what means):
"Say, this is my way , I invite on to Allaah with sure knowledge, me
and whosoever follows me and exalted is Allaah and I am not one of the
polytheist" [Quran 12:108]. It is necessary for all those who desire
to call to Allaah to have sure knowledge regarding the matter and
issue of propagation and inviting to Allaah. Some people indulge
themselves in the field of propagation without possessing any
knowledge.
Some scholars said that sure knowledge is divided into three parts:
a) Knowing what one is inviting to
b) Knowing the situation of the one invited.
c) Knowing how to invite
First: Knowing what one is inviting to; the propagator must know the
Islamic ruling on the issue he is calling to, because he might call to
something thinking that it is an obligation while it is not, and thus
obligates people with something that Allaah did not oblige them with.
Or he might warn against something thinking that it is prohibited
while it is not, and so on. Therefore, knowing what one is calling the
people to is a vital issue.
Second: Knowing the situation of the invited: the evidence for the
importance of this issue is the narration of Mu'aath when the Prophet
sent him to Yemen, he said to him: "You are approaching a group form
the people of the book , so let the first thing you call them to be
the testimony that none is worthy of beiong worshipped but Allaah".
Notice that he informed him about the situationof those whom he will
be calling, so Mu'aath, may Allaah be pleqased with him, would be
prepared and be acquainted withtheir situation and how he should
approach them. It is a mistake that a person invites or calls another
person not knowinghis situation, his arguments, the kind of falsehood
he is on or what he believes in, because he (i.e. the one being
called) might present an argument which the Muslim propagator does not
havean answer to, which results in the retreat of the truth.
Third: Knowing how to invite: This refers to the methods of
propagation, as Allaah did not leave the matter up to us, but he
guided us to the ideal way. The Prophet also guided us how to
priorities things which leads us to the second issue.
2) Adopting a wise method of calling people: One of the Names of
Allaah is Al-Hakeem, which implies wisdom, and it is mentioned many
times in the Quran in connection to knowledge. Allaah knows all
matters and decrees everything according to His knowledge, based on
what is best for the given situation and what will yield the greatest
benefit to His slaves. He is the Most Wise and Most Knowledgeable in
His words, actions, sayings and rulings.
A wise person is he who places the correct matter in the most suitable
place or situation, as defeined by Imaam Ibn Al-Qayyim . This can be
attributed, in its perfect form, only to Allaah, asHe is the only One
who is All-Knowledgeable of everything and the Most Wise in His
decrees and rulings.
One of the things that reflect the wisdom of the caller to Islam is
his basing his call on knowledge, because wisdom is derived from
knowledge, as Allaah says (what means): "Invite to the way of your
Lord with wisdom…" [Quran 16:125]. What is the understanding and the
proper definition of wisdom.
Selecting the correct method along with the appropriate words is
another matter that reflects wisdom in the caller. He should address
people in a comprehensible manner, to facilitate understanding on the
part of those called.
For example, one should not talk to people about the virtue of
optionally fasting three days every month while they do not observe
the fast during the month of Ramadhaan, and so on.
Thus, a propagator of Islam should be mindful of these matters when
calling people to the pathof Allaah, lest he drives them away due to a
shortage in any of them.