The Universe's Invisible Hand

- by Dr. Slama Abd AL-Hady

The main Problem which faces the Atheists or Evolutionists is their BLIND FAITH that sciences contradict religions. In Quran, ALLAH is motivating people to gain the scientific knowledge since it is the way to see His Wisdom in such scientifically Created Universe.

[29.20] Say: Wander in the earth and search how He makes the start of creation, then ALLAH creates the latter creation (in the Day of Resurrection; surely Allah has power over all things.

Science is the tool to see ALLAH’s Uniqueness and Will in each Star, Planet, Atom, Cell, Sun, Earth, Procedure, Order, Processing, Operating, organ, eye, ear, stomach, foot, animal, human, insect, etc. The first step ALLAH made after Adam’s creation, He taught him How to recognize his world, the names, the colors, the good, the evil, the responsibility, etc. Then ALLAH sent messengers to announce them His Existence and to inform them His Guidance:

[3.138] This Quran is a clear (logic) ALLAH’s announcement (declared statement) for people (all), and it is guidance and admonition to the true believers.

By ALLAH’s Mercy, we are gifted the logic to learn and recognize His Wisdom in the verses of the Quran:

[55.1-13] The Beneficent ALLAH, Taught the Quran, He created man, Taught him the recognition of his world, Learn him to search how the sun and the moon follow a reckoning, And the herbs and the trees are in accord to His Wisdom. He made (designed) the balance in the raised heavens, Though you may not be inordinate in respect of the balance or measures (Justice), And keep up the balance with equity and do not make deficient measures (inequity). And the earth, He has set it (arranged it) for the life of His Creatures; therein is He Created fruit and palms having sheathed clusters, And grains with (its) husk and fragrance. WHICH THEN OF THE BOUNTIES (EVIDENCES, SIGNS) OF YOUR LORD (ALLAH) WILL YOU DENY?

Another main problem which faces the Cosmology Scientists is that they haven’t seen the Start of Creation of the Universe, and they Cannot predict How it will be Ended. So, all their theories are confusing.

However, I shall compare what the ALLAH announced in His Book, the Quran, since more than 14 centuries, with the underlined scientific trials of cosmologists to search the heavens in a modern published scientific paper, 2007, with the title:

The Universe's Invisible Hand, By Christopher J. Conselice, http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-universes-invisible-hand, January 2007,

We read in the paper:

Since the days of American astronomer Edwin Hubble, observers have known that all but the nearest galaxies “are moving away from us at a rapid rate”. This rate is proportional to distance: the more distant a galaxy is, the faster its recession. Such a pattern implied that galaxies are not moving through space in the conventional sense but are being carried along as “the fabric of space itself stretches”.

We shall see these underlined statements, as assumed or concluded by scientists according to scientifically discovered evidences, are stated since more than fourteen centuries in the Quran in a most convenient way. Regarding the widening of the universe, We read in the Quran:

[51:47] We construct the Firmament with Our (ALLAH’s) Hand for it is We Who create its vastness (unlimited widening) in Space.

Regarding the fabric of the universe and its stretching, we read:

[21:30] Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were a unique fabric and then before We stretched them asunder? We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?

Regarding the title of the paper, we read in the paper:

For decades, astronomers struggled to answer the obvious follow-up question: How does the expansion rate change over time? They assure the existence of an INVISIBLE HAND to control such universe expansion and to manage such rates according to the Title of this Research.

The answer of this title or the search for the INVISIBLE HAND is found in the same Verse [ 51:47] of the Quran, i.e.:

[51:47] We construct the Firmament with Our (ALLAH’s) Hand for it is We Who create its vastness (unlimited widening) in Space

In this verse, the Creator announces that searched Invisible is HIS HAND or as stated “WITH OUR HANDS”, or “ALLAH’s Hands”, since the speaker is ALLAH who revealed such Verses to Muhammad(SAW).

In the same paper of January 2007, we read:

The situation gets more complicated as you continue to zoom in and reach the scale of galaxies and galaxy clusters. Galaxies, including our own Milky Way, do not expand with time. “Their size is controlled by an equilibrium or balance between gravity and the angular momentum of the stars, gas and other material that make them up”; they grow only by accreting new material from intergalactic space or by merging with other galaxies. Cosmic expansion has an insignificant effect on them. Thus, it is not at all obvious that dark energy should have had any say whatsoever in how galaxies formed.

The underlined sentence which searches who set such “Equilibrium or balance in the universe” is answered or stated clearly in the Quran. So, in the Quran, We read:

[55:7] And the Firmament (universe) has He (ALLAH) raised high, and He has set up therein the prevailing Balance (equilibrium in such universe).

So, such prevailing equilibrium which confuses the scientist is SET by the Creator as clearly ANNOUNCED in this verse, and it has no other possible answer.

In the same 2007 paper we read:

According to models, dark matter began to clump immediately after the big bang, forming spherical blobs that astronomers refer to as "halos." The baryons, in contrast, were initially kept from clumping by their interactions with one another and with radiation. “They remained in a hot, gaseous phase. As the universe expanded, this gas cooled and the baryons were able to pack themselves together”. The first stars and galaxies coalesced out of this cooled gas a few hundred million years after the big bang. They did not materialize in random locations but in the centers of the dark matter halos that had already taken shape.

The Quran, since more than 14 centuries, casted these discoveries and answered the confusing questions and set the true facts. In Quran we read the truth of the bracketed sentence by a clear statement that universe was, in one of its early stages, in the form of “smoke” or “hot gases”. Then ALLAH’s will pack them in such ordered heavens and earth. It is illogic to assume such funny underlined statement “packed themselves”. How may such hot gases design such wonderful packing mechanism to produce such unique universe? So, the Quran gives the truth In the Quran, we read

[41:11-12] Moreover, He comprehended in His design the sky, and it had been (as) smoke: He ordered them as sky and earth: "Come ye according to My (ALLAH’s) Will" They obeyed: "We do come (together), in willing obedience."  So He arranged them as seven firmaments (7 is a cyclic number according to Arabic language, meaning indefinite figure as the repetitive weeks of 7 days) in two Days (day means a stage of thousands or millions of years) and He assigned to each heaven its duty and command.

So; What we see, what we discover and what we prove are ALLAH’s signs which were stated in the Quran as scientific evidences for His Wisdom and Mercy. Such understanding is given by the following verses:

[41:53] Soon will We show them Our Signs in the (furthest) Universe and in their own-selves , until it becomes manifest to them that this (ALLAH’s Wisdom) is the Truth. Is it not enough that thy Lord doth witness all things?

[27:93] And say: "Praise be to Allah, Who will soon show you His Signs, so that ye shall know them"; and thy Lord is not predicting (knowing) of all that ye do.

The New Symbol of Women’s Liberation

- By Sara Bokker

I am an American woman who was born in the midst of America’s “Heartland.”I grew up, just like any other girl, being fixated with the glamour of life in “the big city.”Eventually, I moved to Florida and on to South Beach of Miami, a hotspot for those seeking the “glamorous life.”Naturally, I did what most average Western girls do.I focused on my appearance and appeal, basing my self-worth on how much attention I got from others.I worked out religiously and became a personal trainer, acquired an upscale waterfront residence, became a regular “exhibiting” beach-goer and was able to attain a “living-in-style” kind of life.

Years went by, only to realize that my scale of self-fulfillment and happiness slid down the more I progressed in my “feminine appeal.” I was a slave to fashion. I was a hostage to my looks.

As the gap continued to progressively widen between my self-fulfillment and lifestyle, I sought refuge in escapes from alcohol and parties to meditation, activism, and alternative religions, only to have the little gap widen to what seemed like a valley.  I eventually realized it all was merely a pain killer rather than an effective remedy.

By now it was September 11, 2001.As I witnessed the ensuing barrage on Islam, Islamic values and culture, and the infamous declaration of the “new crusade,” I started to notice something called Islam.Up until that point, all I had associated with Islam was women covered in “tents,” wife beaters, harems, and a world of terrorism.

As a feminist libertarian, and an activist who was pursuing a better world for all, my path crossed with that of another activist who was already at the lead of indiscriminately furthering causes of reform and justice for all.I joined in the ongoing campaigns of my new mentor which included, at the time, election reform and civil rights, among others.Now my new activism was fundamentally different.Instead of “selectively” advocating justice only to some, I learned that ideals such as justice, freedom, and respect are meant to be and are essentially universal, and that own good and common good are not in conflict.For the first time, I knew what “all people are created equal” really means.But most importantly, I learned that it only takes faith to see the world as one and to see the unity in creation.

One day I came across a book that is negatively stereotyped in the West--The Holy Qur’an.I was first attracted by the style and approach of the Qur’an, and then intrigued by its outlook on existence, life, creation, and the relationship between Creator and creation.I found the Qur’an to be a very insightful address to heart and soul without the need for an interpreter or pastor.

Eventually I hit a moment of truth: my new-found self-fulfilling activism was nothing more than merely embracing a faith called Islam where I could live in peace as a “functional” Muslim.

I bought a beautiful long gown and head cover resembling the Muslim woman’s dress code and I walked down the same streets and neighborhoods where only days earlier I had walked in my shorts, bikini, or “elegant” western business attire.  Although the people, the faces, and the shops were all the same, one thing was remarkably distinct--I was not--nor was the peace at being a woman I experienced for the very first time.I felt as if the chains had been broken and I was finally free.I was delighted with the new looks of wonder on people’s faces in place of the looks of a hunter watching his prey I had once sought.Suddenly a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.I no longer spent all my time consumed with shopping, makeup, getting my hair done, and working out. Finally, I was free.

Of all places, I found my Islam at the heart of what some call “the most scandalous place on earth,” which makes it all the more dear and special.

While content with Hijab I became curious about Niqab, seeing an increasing number of Muslim women in it. I asked my Muslim husband, whom I married after I reverted to Islam, whether I should wear Niqab or just settle for the Hijab I was already wearing.My husband simply advised me that he believes Hijab is mandatory in Islam while Niqab is not.At the time, my Hijab consisted of head scarf that covered all my hair except for my face, and a loose long black gown called “Abaya” that covered all my body from neck to toe.

A year-and-a-half passed, and I told my husband I wanted to wear Niqab.My reason, this time, was that I felt it would be more pleasing to Allah, the Creator, increasing my feeling of peace at being more modest.He supported my decision and took me to buy an “Isdaal,” a loose black gown that covers from head to toe, and Niqab, which covers all my head and face except for my eyes.

Soon enough, news started breaking about politicians, Vatican clergymen, libertarians, and so-called human rights and freedom activists condemning Hijab at times, and Niqab at others as being oppressive to women, an obstacle to social integration, and more recently, as an Egyptian official called it--“a sign of backwardness.”

I find it to be a blatant hypocrisy when Western governments and so-called human rights groups rush to defend woman’s rights when some governments impose a certain dress code on women, yet such “freedom fighters” look the other way when women are being deprived of their rights, work, and education just because they choose to exercise their right to wear Niqab or Hijab.Today, women in Hijab or Niqab are being increasingly barred from work and education not only under totalitarian regimes such as in Tunisia,Morocco, and Egypt, but also in Western democracies such as France, Holland, and Britain.

Today I am still a feminist,but a Muslim feminist,who calls on Muslim women to assume their responsibilities in providing all the support they can for their husbands to be good Muslims. To raise their children as upright Muslims so they may be beacons of light for all humanity once again. To enjoin good--any good--and to forbid evil--any evil.To speak righteousness and to speak up against all ills.To fight for our right to wear Niqab or Hijab and to please our Creator whichever way we chose.But just as importantly to carry our experience with Niqab or Hijab to fellow women who may never have had the chance to understand what wearing Niqab or Hijab means to us and why do we, so dearly, embrace it.

Most of the women I know wearing Niqab are Western reverts,some of whom are not even married. Others wear Niqab without full support of either family or surroundings. What we all have in common is that it is the personal choice of each and every one of us, which none of us is willing to surrender.

Willingly or unwillingly, women are bombarded with styles of “dressing-in-little-to-nothing” virtually in every means of communication everywhere in the world.As an ex non-Muslim, I insist on women’s right to equally know about Hijab, its virtues, and the peace and happiness it brings to a woman’s life as it did to mine.Yesterday, the bikini was the symbol of my liberty, when in actuality it only liberated me from my spirituality and true value as a respectable human being.

I couldn’t be happier to shed my bikini in SouthBeach and the “glamorous” Western lifestyle to live in peace with my Creator and enjoy living among fellow humans as a worthy person.It is why I choose to wear Niqab, and why I will die defending my inalienable right to wear it.

Today, Niqab is the new symbol of woman’s liberation to find who she is, what her purpose is, and the type of relation she chooses to have with her Creator.

To women who surrender to the ugly stereotype against the Islamic modesty of Hijab, I say:You don’t know what you are missing.

To you, the ill-fated corrupting conquerors of civilization, so-called crusaders, I say: BRING IT ON.

Sara Bokker is a former actress/model/fitness instructor and activist. Currently, Sara is Director of Communications at "The March For Justice," a co-founder of "The Global Sisters Network," and producer of the infamous "Shock & Awe Gallery”.