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The 6th Day

THE CREATION OF WHAT LIES BETWEEN THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH

The Qur’an contains a great many verses concerning the creation of the earth, the heavens and what lies between:

We did not create the heavens and earth and everything between them, except with truth. The Hour is certainly coming, so turn away graciously. (Qur’an, 15:85)

Everything in the heavens and everything on the earth and everything in between them and everything under the ground belongs to Him. (Qur’an, 20:6)

We did not create heaven and earth and everything in between them as a game. (Qur’an, 21:16)

Scientists state that first of all, a mass of hot gas increased in density. This mass later divided into smaller parts to form galactic matter and later still, the stars and planets. To put it another way, the Earth along with stars around it, are all parts which separated from a united body of gas. Some of these parts brought the suns and planets into being, thus leading to the emergence of the many Solar Systems and galaxies. As we have set out in earlier sections of this book, the universe was first in a state of “ratq” (fusion: combined together, united) and then became “fataqa” (divided into parts). The emergence of the universe is described with the most suitable words in the Qur’an, in such a way as to confirm the scientific accounts. 1

On the occasion of every division, a few particles remained outside the new, fundamental bodies forming in space. The scientific name for these extra particles is “interstellar galactic material.” Interstellar matter consists of 60% of hydrogen, 38% of helium and 2% of all other elements. 99% of the interstellar matter consists of interstellar gas and 1% of interstellar dust, which probably consists of heavy elements in small particles of 0,0001 to 0.001 mm in diameter. 2 Scientists regard these substances as very important from the point of view of astrophysical measurements. These substances are so fine as to be capable of being regarded as dust, smoke or gas. However, when one considers these substances as a whole, they represent a larger mass than the total of all the galaxies in space. Although the existence of this interstellar galactic matter was only discovered in 1920, attention was drawn to the existence of these particles, described as “ma baynahuma”—translated as “everything between them”—hundreds of years ago in the Qur’an.

(For further reference, please see, Miracles of the Qur'an, by Harun Yahya)

1. Kazi, 130 Evident Miracles in the Qur'an, 53
2. Digitale Ausgabe LexiRom (Digital Expenditure LexiRom), Meyers Lexikon in drei Bänden (Meyers Encyclopedia in three volumes) (Mannheim: Bibliographisches Institut & F.A. Brockhaus AG: 1995).
Digitale Ausgabe LexiRom (Digital Expenditure LexiRom), Meyers Lexikon in drei Bänden (Meyers Encyclopedia in three volumes) (Mannheim: Bibliographisches Institut & F.A. Brockhaus AG: 1995).

THE END TIMES AND THE EMERGENCE OF THE MAHDI

Some important explanations about the End Times are as follows: During the terrible chaos of the final times, Allah will use a servant having superior morality known as the Mahdi (the guide to the truth), to invite humanity back to the right path. The Mahdi's first task will be to wage a war of ideas within the Islamic world and to turn those Muslims who have moved away from Islam's true essence back to true belief and morality.

At this point, the Mahdi has three basic tasks:

1. Tearing down all philosophical systems that deny Allah's Existence and support atheism.
2. Fighting superstition by freeing Islam from the yoke of those hypocritical individuals who have corrupted it, and then revealing and implementing true Islamic morality based on the rules of the Qur'an.
3. Strengthening the entire Islamic world, both politically and socially, and then bringing about peace, security and well-being in addition to solving societal problems.

According to many hadiths, Prophet 'Isa (as) will return to Earth at the same time, and will call upon all Christians and Jews, in particular, to abandon their current superstitions and to live by the Qur'an. As the Christians harken to him, the Islamic and Christian worlds will come together in one faith, and the world will experience that period of great peace, security, happiness, and well-being known as the Golden Age.

Signs of the Mahdi's Emergence: Pervasive corruption

While a corrupt environment enables believers with strong faith to increase their faith and patience, and their rewards in the Hereafter, it leads those with weak and superficial faith to lose their faith or weaken it further. The Mahdi will come when the existing corrupt environment is extremely intense and severe.

The Mahdi, one of my children, comes into being, by the blessing of Allah, upon the approach of the Day of Judgment and the weakening of the hearts of the faithful because of death, hunger, and the disappearance of the sunnah, and the emergence of innovations and the loss of means by which to enjoin the right and forbidding the wrong. His justice and prosperity will ease the hearts of the faithful, and friendship and love will settle between the non-Arab and Arab nations. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi `Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-Zaman, p. 66)

Disorder, corruption, and fear will emerge in the West... Corruption will proliferate. (Mukhtasar Tazkirah Qurtubi)

A kind of corruption will surface, from which no party will be able to protect itself, and spread immediately to every direction. This situation will persist until one comes and says: 'O people, from now on your leader is the Mahdi.' (Ibn Hajar Haytahami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi'alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, p. 23)

The hadiths speak of a corruption that will touch everybody and spread quickly. In other words, a certain type of corruption that is known to everybody and opposes religion and Allah will target the people's faith. Today, materialist philosophy is the largest and most comprehensive trend designed to deny Allah's Existence and creation. Underlying this philosophy is the 'theory of evolution,' which provides it with a self-proclaimed 'scientific' basis. Even though it is not based on any scientific and logical evidence, certain materialist circles throughout the world continue to work for its acceptance by using methods associated with strong propaganda, deceit, and even fraud.

Today, as this theory has penetrated almost every household by means of both the press and television, almost everyone in the Muslim world and everywhere else has heard of it. This theory is first presented as fact when people are children by means of countless lies and deceit. As they grow older, they continue to be misled by such funny nonsense that they, and humanity as a whole, came into being merely as a result of coincidences and that they descended from monkeys. Youths of all age are brainwashed at all stages of their education by evolutionist lies.

There is a noteworthy point here. As our Prophet (saas) noted in one of his hadiths, corruption's global pervasiveness and rapid spread can materialize only when suitable technological means are available, as they are today (e.g., the press, publications, broadcasting, the Internet, and satellite communication). As the relevant technology did not exist in the past, corruption could not spread throughout the world. As a result, no other worldwide corruption that had declared war against Allah's Existence, creation, and religion was seen in the past. All of these are among the important signs that the Mahdi's advent coincides with the present time.

Religious prohibitions gaining acceptance

The prevailing lifestyle of our own time, which has spread so widely in the last several decades and makes no distinction between what religion prohibits and allows, while tolerating all kinds of debauchery, reflects the environment depicted in the hadiths. Several hadiths describe this dark environment, the harbinger of the Mahdi's emergence, as follows:

The Mahdi will not emerge unless disbelief invades everywhere and is openly committed in the public. What rules in such times is the invasion by disbelief... That is its power. (Mektubat-i Rabbani, 2:259)

The Mahdi will emerge following the instance of such vile corruption (fitnah) whereby all of the prohibitions are regarded as lawful. (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi `Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, p. 23)

(For further reference, please see, The End of Times and the Mahdi, by Harun Yahya)

THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION CONFLICTS WITH THE QUR’AN - II

ERROR 1.
The Error that Man was Created by “Evolutionary Stages”

What is the matter with you that you do not hope for honour from Allah, when He created you by successive stages? (Surat an-Nuh: 13-14)

Those who support evolutionary creation interpret the words ‘successive stages’ as meaning ‘going through evolutionary stages’. However, the interpretation of the Arabic word ‘atwaran’ to mean ‘evolutionary stages’ is these peoples’ personal comment, and is universally rejected by the Islamic world.

The word ‘atwar,’ meaning ‘situation, condition,’ is the plural of the word ‘tawru,’ and appears in that form in no other Qur’anic verse. The Islamic world’s interpretations of this verse demonstrate that fact.

In his interpretation of the Holy Qur’an, Muhammed Hamdi Yazir of Elmali, a well-known modern Islamic scholar, translated the verse as: ‘He has created you stage by stage through several conditions.’ In his commentary on the verse he described these stages as ‘steps of evolution.’ However, the meaning of expression ‘steps of evolution’ here has nothing whatsoever to do with the theory of evolution, which proposes that man has his roots in other living species. In fact, immediately afterwards he says what these stages are:

‘According to the explanation given by Ebu’s Suud, first there come the elements, then nutriments, then mixtures, then sperm, then a piece of flesh, then flesh and bone, and this is finally shaped with a completely different creation. “Blessed be Allah, the Best of Creators!” (Surat al-Muminun: 23-24) Is Not Allah, the greatest of creators, worthy of praise and respect? Can He not raise you still further with another form and creation? Or can He not also destroy you and cast you down into sorrowful torment? Why do you not think of these things?’

As can be seen from the above statements, this verse is describing how a person reaches his mother’s womb as a sperm and then develops as an embryo and then a piece of flesh, then develops into flesh and bone before emerging into the world as a human being.

In Imam at-Tabari’s commentary, Verse 14 of Surah Nuh is translated as ‘In fact, he created you by stages,’ and interpreted as meaning, ‘You were first in the form of a sperm, then He created you as a blood clot, then a small piece of flesh.’ (Tabari Commentary, Imam at-Tabari, volume six, page 2631)

Another modern Muslim scholar, Omar Nasuhi Bilmen translates the verse, ‘In fact, He created you through various degrees,’ and goes on to interpret it as follows:

‘He (created) you through various degrees, you were first of all a seed, then a drop of blood, you became a piece of flesh and possessed bones, then you were born as a human being. Are not all these assorted and exemplary occurrences and changes shining proofs of the existence, power and greatness of a Lord of Creation? Why do you not think of your own creation? (Omar Nasuhi Bilmen, Turkish Edition of and Commentary on the Qur’an, volume eight, page 3851)

As we have seen, the Islamic world has agreed on the interpretation of Surah Nuh verse 14, that it refers to the process involved in a sperm’s becoming a human being. That the verse needs to be interpreted in this way is clear from the principle of ‘interpreting Qur’anic verses in the light of other Qur’anic verses.’ Because in other verses Allah explains the stages of creation as being those inside the mother’s womb. That is why the word ‘atwaran’ needs to be translated in this way. It is not justified to use the word as support for the theory of evolution, which tries to tie the origins of man to another living species.

ERROR 2.
The Error that There are Signs of the Evolutionary Process in the Qur’an

There surely came over man a period of time when he was a thing not worth mentioning. (Surat al-Insan: 1)

The above is another verse used by those same circles as evidence for evolution. In one translation based on personal interpretations, the expression “when he was a thing not worth mentioning” is expressed as ‘a statement of previous states before man became man.’ Whereas this claim is just as far from the truth as the first one.

The Arabic part of the underlined section runs as follows:

‘lam yakun shay-an mathkooran’

Lam yakun means ‘he was not’

Shay-an means ‘a thing’

Mathkooran means ‘mentioned’

Trying to use this expression as evidence for evolution is really forcing the words. In fact, this verse is not interpreted as an evolutionary process by the Islamic world. For example Hamdi Yazir of Elmali comments on the statement of time in the verse as follows:

‘In the beginning were elements and minerals, then vegetable and animal nutrients, kind of clay (Surat al-Muminun: 12) were created out of them by stages, then something emerged very slowly and by stages from the sperm that was filtered from them. But that was not something called a human being. Just as mankind is not eternal, nor his substance is; it has emerged later. Man came into being long after the beginning of time and the creation of the universe.’

Omar Nasuhi Bilmen explains the verse in this way:

‘These verses announce that Allah created man to see and hear out of a drop of water when he was not, and that He has set a test for him… Mankind did not exist in the beginning, he was created later as a figured body out of a drop of water, soil and mud. That person was not known at that time, his name and why he had been created were a mystery to the inhabitants of the earth and sky. He then began to be reminded that he has a soul. (Omer Nasuhi Bilmen, Turkish Edition of and Commentary on the Qur’an, volume eight, page 3851)

Imam at-Tabari explains the verse as meaning ‘Such a long period of time passed since the time of Adam that at that time he was not even a thing that had any worth and superiority. He was nothing but sticky and modified mud.’ (Tabari Commentary, Imam at-Tabari, volume six, page 2684)

For this reason, to see the expression of time in this verse as an ‘evolutionary period’ is a purely subjective interpretation of the Qur’an.

(For further reference, please see, Why Darwinism is Incompatible with the Qur'an, by Harun Yahya)

SPEAKING SO AS TO PRAISE AND EXALT ALLAH

In the verse, "If you ask them, 'Who created the heavens and the earth and made the sun and moon subservient?' they will say, 'Allah.' So how have they been perverted?" (Surat al-Anqabut: 61), Allah points here to that type of people who are far removed from the truth, despite their being aware that it is Allah Who created them, and that it is only He Who can provide for them. One of the foremost traits of believers, who are blessed with true faith, is that they demonstrate their sincere faith in Allah and their devotion to Him in every aspect of their lives, at all times and instances, and in every word and deed. They love Allah far more than anyone or any other thing in this world. They are in awe of Allah's power, knowledge, artistry and wisdom. They want to be His friend, while they are in this world, and earn His approval. They try to attain the greatest nearness to Allah, and become the best loved of His servants beyond any others in history.

Such deep love is reflected in their speech. They employ every word for the purpose of remembering and exalting Allah, and towards earning His approval. The love they feel for Allah is far greater than their love of people, and it is easily discernable from their speech that when they love others it is merely for the sake of Allah. They know that it is Allah Who created all mankind, and that it is He Who proffers them all blessings of this world. Therefore, every thing of beauty which they see, every favor done for them, and every experience of affection towards them is a blessing which comes from Allah. All are manifestations of Allah's love, mercy and compassion for His servants. As such, we ought to be thankful only to Allah and show all gratitude to Him. Recognizing this truth, believers speak in such a way as to make evident their knowledge that Allah is exalted far above everything and everyone. In the Qur'an, the believers' love of Allah and their devotion to Him are expressed in the following manner:

Some people set up equals to Allah, loving them as they should love Allah. But those who have faith have greater love for Allah. (Surat al-Baqara: 165)

As is pointed out in this verse, those who fail to understand this truth love creatures they idolize beside Allah as they ought to love Allah Himself. In the speech of these people, will often be found a use of words that reveals their failure to appreciate Allah with the appreciation due Him, as well as their false esteem for other beings. Some speak of money, property, reputation or of people they admire in a way which presents them as equal to Allah. Some say that they believe in Allah, but employ language which instead shows they place their friends above Allah. When they meet a person who speaks inappropriately about Allah, it does not bother them, nor do they warn the one guilty. Though, when a single word is spoken against those they love, they oppose it immediately. They will not allow a word to be said against their loved-ones or any injustice to be done to them.

All such incorrect behavior exposes the insincerity of those who claim faith in Allah, but who do not have such faith fixed in their hearts. True believers love Allah more than anything else, exalt Him with words and hold Him high above everything. They never participate in the banter of those who speak in opposition to Allah or to His religion. If they have an opportunity to explain the truth to these people, they do so, but if the others are determined not to heed their warnings, then, in that case, they absolve themselves of their hostile and blasphemous language.

Such believers will not even allow themselves to watch a film or listen to a song whose content is in open opposition to Allah's judgments. No matter what the situation, they do not permit a word to be spoken which will not be approved by Allah. They do not take part in any such discussions because in the Qur'an Allah gives the following warning:

It has been sent down to you in the Book that when you hear Allah's Signs being rejected and mocked at by people, you must not sit with them till they start talking of other things. If you do you are just the same as them. Allah will gather all the hypocrites and the unbelievers into Hell. (Surat an-Nisa': 140)

Muslims acting with this knowledge in mind adopt, defend and support the morality of Islam in all instances and times, and through to the end of their lives. They show forth their faith in Allah, and their regard for Him, above all else, in their every word and deed.

(For further reference, please see, Muslim Way of Speaking, by Harun Yahya)

AL-‘ALEE
The Most High

It does not befit Allah to address any human being except by inspiration or from behind a veil, or He sends a messenger who then reveals by His permission whatever He wills. He is indeed Most High, All-Wise. (Surat ash-Shura, 42:51)

Allah introduces Himself to us: Allah, the Creator of all the worlds and the sole Sovereign of the universe, is the Most High and the Possessor of the heavens, Earth, and everything in between. There is no deity but Him. High is He, Exalted above all that they associate (with Him). He is the Sovereign, the All-Powerful, and the Lord of the Ways of Ascent. Allah is Self-Sufficient, above all need.

All of the beautiful names belong to Allah, for He is the Owner of infinite beauty and infinite sublimity. A person can know Him only to the extent that He introduces Himself, and can appreciate Him through the verses of the Qur’an. In one verse, Allah describes this name in the following terms:

Allah, there is no deity but Him, the Living, the Self-Sustaining. He is not subject to drowsiness or sleep. Everything in the heavens and Earth belongs to Him. Who can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is before them and what is behind them, but they cannot grasp any of His knowledge, except for what He wills. His Footstool encompasses the heavens and Earth, and their preservation does not tire Him. He is the Most High, the Magnificent. (Surat al-Baqara, 2:255)

(For further reference, please see, Names of Allah, by Harun Yahya)

FOR WHAT DID THE PROPHETS AND BELIEVERS PRAY?

Allah sets no limits on prayer, invites believers to take refuge in Him, and tells them to ask for help in anything: "Call on Me and I will answer you" (Surah Ghafir, 60). The Qur’an gives some examples of these prayers, as follows:

- To guide them on the Straight Path, the Path of those whom Allah has blessed, and to separate them from the path of those with anger on them, and of the misguided. (Surat al-Fatiha, 5-7)
- To make the place they live a place of safety and to provide the inhabitants of their city, who have faith in Allah and the Last Day, with crops. (Surat al-Baqara, 126)
- To make them Muslims submitted to Allah, and their descendants a Muslim community submitted to Allah. (Surat al-Baqara, 128)
- To show them their rituals of worship. (Surat al-Baqara, 128)
- To turn toward them. (Surat al-Baqara, 128)
- To raise up among them a Messenger to recite His Signs to them, teach them the Book and Wisdom, and purify them. (Surat al-Baqara, 129)
- To give them good both in the world and in the Hereafter. (Surat al-Baqara, 201)
- To safeguard them from the punishment of the Fire. (Surat al-Baqara, 201)
- To pour down steadfastness upon them, make their feet firm, and help them against the unbelievers. (Surat al-Baqara, 250)
- Not to take them to task if they forget or make a mistake. (Surat al-Baqara, 286)
- Not to place on them a load like the one He placed on those before them, and not to place on them a load they do not have the strength to bear. (Surat al-Baqara, 286)
- To pardon them, to forgive them, and to have mercy on them. (Surat al-Baqara, 286)
- Not to make their hearts swerve after He has guided them, and to give them mercy. (Surah Al `Imran, 8)
- To forgive their wrong actions, to erase their bad actions. (Surah Al `Imran, 193)
- To give them what He promised them through His Messengers. (Surah Al `Imran, 194)
- Not to disgrace them on the Day of Resurrection. (Surat Al `Imran, 194)
- To judge between them and their people with truth. (Surat al-A`raf, 89)
- To take them back to Him as Muslims. (Surat al-A`raf, 126)
- To rescue them, by His mercy, from the unbelievers. (Surah Yunus, 86)
- To grant them supporting authority direct from His presence. (Surat al-Isra’, 80)
- To make them people who keep up prayer and to accept their prayers. (Surah Ibrahim, 40)
- To forgive them and their parents on the Day of Judgment. (Surah Ibrahim, 41)
- To expand their breasts and to make their task easy for them. (Surat Ta Ha, 25-26)
- To safeguard them from the goadings of the devils. (Surat al-Mu’minun, 97-98)
- To make them a good example for those who do their duty. (Surat al-Furqan, 74)
- To give them right judgment. (Surat ash-Shu`ara’, 83)
- To make them among the inheritors of the garden of delight, and not to disgrace them on the Day of Resurrection. (Surat ash-Shu`ara’, 85, 87)
- To keep them thankful for the blessing He has bestowed on them and on their parents, and to keep them acting rightly and to admit them, by His mercy, among His righteous servants. (Surat an-Naml, 19)
- To bestow good on them. (Surat al-Qasas, 24)
- To forgive them and their brothers (and sisters) who preceded them in faith and not to put any rancor in their hearts toward believers. (Surat al-Hashr, 10)
- To give them a kingdom from His presence. (Surah Sad, 35)
- To give them decisive speech. (Surah Ta Ha, 27-28)

(For further reference, please see, Quick Grasp of Faith 1, 2, 3 by Harun Yahya)

DARK CLAN

By Harun Yahya

In the world we live in a problem exists that is threatening social peace and harmony in every nation big or small: moral degeneration. In other words, people have forsaken moral qualities like being good, righteous, honest, forgiving, just, compassionate and honourable, in exchange for immorality and have chosen amorality as a life philosophy. How this problem (at the bottom of which lies egotism, greed, ruthlessness and carelessness) will be solved represents one of the biggest issues of the twenty-first century.

The common view, which is true to some extent, that moral degeneration is an inevitable occurrence caused by the bad living conditions prevailing in society, does not provide a clear picture in relation to the causes and solutions to the problem because it fails to take into account a fundamental reality. It views social collapse as an independent phenomenon governed by its own internal processes, whereas the moral degeneration experienced in many countries of the world is deliberately directed and supported by a powerful body of people held together by a complex network of intricate relations and nefarious connections. These people use every means of propaganda, which is particularly effective in societies where spiritual values are weak and where lifestyles are not underpinned by religious morality.

This powerful network consists of hundreds even thousands of people of all nations, languages and professions connected to one another by greed. Apart from relationships based on illegal or immoral gains, the common characteristics of the members of this group are their animosity towards religious values, their perverse philosophy and their corrupt way of life. It is possible to liken this large community to a clan which has been dispersed to the four corners of the earth. The dictionary definition of the word clan is either a group of people of common ancestry or, without having necessarily biological bonds, a group of people adhering to one totem accepted as the symbol of the group.

The purpose behind choosing the term "dark clan" is to convey the sense of a web-like structure with offshoots in every country, orchestrating the moral degeneration of today's world. Even though it presents itself as highly modern, its structural design is reminiscent of the historical totemic clans. This dark clan is to be found behind all kinds of despicable deeds, corruption and perversion. It controls drug-trafficking operations, prostitution rings and promotes immorality. The members of this clan manage to portray themselves in a positive light through their collaborators in the media. They enjoy the de facto protection of their collaborators in the security forces and succeed in using the law to their own advantage through their collaborators in departments of justice. They also display a powerful unity against those perceived as enemies. Their greatest enemies are the believers who want to destroy their corrupt business networks, who struggle to make morality, harmony and justice dominant in the world and who strive tirelessly on the ideological battlefield to bring seriousness of the situation to people's attention.

Another important fact to bear in mind when reading this book is that the dark clan is not a structure emerging from recent history. There always were and always will be, until the Day of Judgment, clan-like organizations and units orchestrating evil, diverting people to denial and degeneration, creating chaos and anarchy and destroying harmony and security. The battle between good and evil has been fought throughout history. Opposite every believer communicating God's religion and virtue, there always stood a similar group, labouring to undermine the believers and to prevent the spread of morality. This is a reality God revealed to us in the Qur'an. It is possible that the Qur'anic expression, "ruling elite of society" (7:88) indicates the people who are the brains behind these clans (God knows best). In the chapter of the Qur'an entitled Al-An'am, God says:

And likewise in every city We set up its greatest wrongdoers to plot in it. They plot against themselves alone, but they are not aware of it. (Qur'an, 6: 123)

God reveals the unifying force bringing them together:

… The satans inspire their friends to dispute with you… (Qur'an, 6: 121)

It is Satan who brings the dark clan together, organises them against the believers and determines their strategy. However, Satan and his adherents are definitely doomed in the end. God says in the Qur'an:
Say to those who disbelieve: 'You will be overwhelmed and crowded into Hell. What an evil resting-place!' (Qur'an, 3: 12)

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